let's hope my fingers don't cramp

First of all, I'm never ceased to be amazed at how many tidbits of political insider knowledge I've picked up from my habitual "West Wing" watching. Take today, for example. It's early in the afternoon, but the rain clouds are so thick you would think it's close to dusk. It's been raining all day, and is supposed to continue for another 10 straight days. Relevance? Because of Josh Lyman, I know that both parties are freaking out that voter turnout will be down because of the bad weather.

And speaking of TV, that's where you can watch me tonight. I'm working in one of the four Associated Press Election Centers in the country. How half of these centers ended up in Spokane is still a bit of a mystery. I will be tabulating voting results by phone as AP stringers call in from counties from 11 states, including Washington, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and California. So as you watch the CNN ticker, give a shout out to whatever election bash you're attending and say "hey, I know one of the people who's sitting for 11 hours at a computer typing in numbers all night." The best part? We get free lasagna for dinner.