Ready for Kerry

Tampa is gearing up for Big John. After the debate (or "debate") in Miami tonight, Big John is coming to Tampa for a rally at the University of South Florida Sun Dome. We hope to have at least 10,000 (unscreened) cheering people for the event, os if you're in or hear Tampa and can come to USF at 10:30 and stay 'til 4:30, it'd be great to see you. Remember security rules, so no umbrellas or large handbags, and bring picture ID.

What a surprise!

A mistake by an election worker "lost" 245 electronic ballots cast in last month's Florida primary, but the mix-up did not change the outcome of any race when the votes were finally counted, authorities said.

Hillsborough County residents cast the ballots before the Aug. 31 election on an ATM-style machine set up at a library, Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson said. A member of Johnson's staff left the machine, made by Sequoia Voting Systems, in test mode. The votes were recorded and stored but not counted until they were found Friday.

Johnson said the votes were discovered missing when his staff compared the number of people who signed in to vote at the precinct and the number of ballots counted there. In all, the county had 118,699 votes cast.
(via WaPo)

That could have been my vote lost. I voted early at that very site. The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections will be chosen this November, with the choices being Buddy Johnson, the (appointed) Republican incumbent and Rob McKenna, the Democratic challenger who is presently an IT specialist at Eckerd Drugs. McKenna's main campaign promise is to provide these new machines with a paper trail.

Keeping ancient Hondas alive

Just got back from dropping the 94 Honda for service. Losing coolant and overheating, so I decided to drop it at the shop and pick up a rental. Last time I tried to baby a bad radiator I trashed the engine, so never again. Trying to keep the old ride as long as possible, with its 203,000 miles. As Tom & Ray say, the cheapest car is the one you already own.

Entartete Kunst

My first post -- "Entartete Kunst" means Degenerate Art, and the Nazis vowed to stamp it out. But the Degenerate Art lasted and the Third Reich didn't. There's a lesson there.