Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

Research in Review Magazine: Aren't the new machines supposed to let you know if you didn't cast a valid vote?

Lance deHaven-Smith: No, that's one of the problems. It's obviously not letting people know. There was a special election in the spring, where only one contest was on the ballot. I think it was the spring of 2004, in Palm Beach County where several hundred voters came and turned in ballots that didnt register a vote. [Robert] Wexler, a congressman there, sued to try to get the touch-screen machines either decertified or require a paper ballot because he said, People aren't going to come out for this one thing and not cast a vote.

It shows that the machines have got a problem. But the state wouldn't act.

-- from an interview in the Fall/Winter 2005 issue.

My birthday went well enough. And thank you, to everybody who wished me a happy one.

I had just barely enough spoons to go to MVA and get my driver's license renewed and still make it to 3LF rehearsal (though I did get there rather late). This isn't great, but it's a whole lot better than not having enough, which has happened far too often lately. The trip to MVA went smoothly (about half an hour from finding a parking space to leaving there), though I was feeling a little wobbly. I didn't deal with renewing my car's registration; I didn't want to push it and I've still got most of a week for that, so one more halfway decent day will suffice. The Sheepie made me a birthday cake and brought it to 3LF -- extra chocolatey chocolate, a bit on the bitter side for what one usually expects from a cake, complemented/contrasted/offset by attack-sweet (sharply sweet) orange icing. I loved it -- yum! I think it was a little too unusual for a few people, but hey, it was my birthday and I liked it. (She'd asked me ahead of time what sort of cake I wanted.) I joined folks for what I thought would be a quick bite at IHoP after rehearsal; a slow waitress made that longer than I'd planned, and I was starting to feel pretty crashy by the time food was brought out -- I headed for home straightaway so as to finish driving before becoming too tired to drive safely. anniemal had come up from Virginia bearing baloons and a few goodies. One thing that could've made the evening better would have been the battery in my cell phone not flatlining in a disturbingly short time (about three hours after it was disconnected from the charger). Curious; no idea whether this was a one-time glitch, some funky mode I accidentally triggered, or what. (Maybe the car radio triggerred the voice-commands feature too often or something? It does that sometimes when I listen to C-SPAN with the handsfree thingie plugged in.)

Today I'm feeling like I did too much yesterday (and I had major trouble falling asleep, so I've not slept enough); I'm going to try for another nap so I can make it to HCB rehearsal tonight, and put off a couple of major items on my urgent-to-do list until tomorrow (then plan to rest most of Friday to prepare for Friday night's gig (also Saturday night's gig)).

I'm behind on email. I hope to catch up in the next couple of days, but am not counting on doing so before late Sunday.

To all who helped me celebrate, by singing and/or sharing cake, or with electronic greetings from afar, thanks.

I've got a bunch of unwritten current-events journal entries in my head. Getting them out will depending on finding overlapping gaps in my sleep schedule and my doing-stuff schedule.