Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ November 11th to November 17th

Post Election Redux: FLORIDA

Let's look at Florida, I didn't call it for Obama, Nate Silver said it was too close to call. In the End Obama took it by 0.6% of the vote or 51,938 votes. Again, like Virginia, voters in heavily Democrat areas waited in some precincts for up to 8 hours AFTER the polls closed to cast a ballot. 1) Obama faired far better in most of the Urban areas: Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Gainesville and Tallahassee. (Romney took Jacksonville and Pensacola) 2) The Panhandle continued it's reputation as being one of the most Republican areas in the nation. 3) Hispanic, Black, Jewish, Youth (18-29), and Female voters in Florida proved a stronger coalition in the end. 4) Florida also gave the House three new Democrat congresspeople and returned a Democrat Senator to office. With a growing shift in demographics that favor Democrats on ALL the metrics, Florida, like Virginia will continue to be a swing state into the near future.

Post Election Redux: OHIO

Ohio is an interesting critter this time out. The Erie shore remained faithful from Toledo to Ashtabula with Cleveland smack dab at its heart. Both Akron and Youngstown, too. And then four other satellites of blue stand out and our home to Athens and Ohio State, Columbus, Dayton and notoriously "red" Cincinnati. So what do we know about the vote in Ohio? 1) Running a commercial that was 100% falsehood during the final week of the election bashing the leading source of Ohio's economic comeback might not be such a brilliant idea--thank you, Rob Portman! 2) Younger Ohioans went for Obama: 18-29 by 63% (Athens, por ejemplo) and 30 to 44 by 51%. 3) Women favored Obama by 55%, which mirrored the national average of this demographic. 4) 96% of African America and 54% of Hispanic citizens of the buck-eye state chose Obama. 5) 62% of unmarried Ohioans chose Obama. Was it that squeaky clean married Mormon shine that scared them off? It's a curious statistic. Nationwide, 62% of unmarried Americans who voted, voted for Obama also, while only 44% of married Americans did.

Post Election Redux: VIRGINIA

Let's look at Virginia: A state that Obama took by over 110,000 votes thousands of which were cast by people willing to wait up to and over 6 hours AFTER the polls closed. Some key points to consider: 1) Romney did best is far western Tazwell County with 78.2% of the approximately 17,500 votes counted. 2) Even in many counties that went for Romney, the Independent cities went for Obama. 3) Northern Virginia and Richmond proved the Democrat strongholds that they have always been. 4) The military bastion of Norfolk/Newport News/Portsmouth also went very decisively for Obama. 5) The military in Virginia supported Obama by large margins over Romney, ending the myth that Republican's hold sway over the military vote. 6) Charlottesville was another power locale for Obama owing to a strong showing of young voters (ages 18 to 29). 7) Obama's strongest showing was in Petersburg with 90.4% of the approximately 13,000 votes cast. 8) Northern Virginia support was buffered by both huge percentages of Hispanic and Asian support.

Bacon Saturday!

When it comes to Bacon, I can be a little bit like that dog on the commercial for the bacon flavored dog biscuits, right? But I limit myself to only eating once or twice a month. Today was Bacon day!

Breakfast was Huevos Primavera with Hickory-smoked Bacon!

Dinner Bacon-wrapped Shrimp-Kabobs! In my best Lt. Sulu impersonation, let me just say, "Oh my..."!

What To Expect Tonight

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm kinda politically wonkish... And so tonight I will be awaiting the outcome with great anticipation. I also love graphic design. I anticipate a long night, and one in which the numbers will favor Governor Romney for the majority of the evening. Obama will be declared the winner after the poles close in California, Oregon and Washington at 11:00 pm. And the critical state in the mix will be Virginia. Ohio and possibly Florida will simply be icing on the cake.

When The Polls Close

Election Day!

My advice? Eat a hearty breakfast and then GO VOTE!!! Yeah!

Lego Construction Boom Continues

With a new Bicycle Shop in the lot next to the rising Ice Cream Parlor with the Italian Restorante on the other side.

I often use real buildings as inspiration. The one in the photo from Amsterdam, I think inspired the ground floor here.

The interior ground floor is complete with merchandize.

And a helpful sails clerk to assist you with your purchase.

I context you can see that it sits in the formerly vacant lot between the Italian Restorante and the new brownstone with the ice cream parlor on the ground floor.

A bird's eye view of the block.

New Lego Construction In Progress

Pride Birthdays and Memorials for the Week ~ November 4th to November 10th

Presidential Race Map #17: The Finale

Tree Down!

Sandy leaves her mark and my wiggly ornamental Willow pays the price.

Sandy Redux

Sunday Afternoon

Sunday Evening @ 10:04 PM

Monday Morning @ 7:49 AM

Monday Afternoon @ 3:19 PM

Monday Evening @ 6:23 PM

Monday Evening @ 8:56 PM

Tuesday Morning @ 6:23 AM

15 Under 50

While exploring the open-seats in the House of Representatives and their likely outcomes, I was intrigued by several of the probable freshman congress members. Here are 15 of the 60 who are all under 50 and caught my attention.

The Outcome Of The Open-Seats In The House

I am predicting that of the 60 open seats, 31 will go to Democrats and 29 to Republicans. Republicans will elect all white candidates, only 2 of which will be women. Democrats will elect Racial representation as follows: 55% white, 19% Hispanic, 16% Black and 10% Asian, and 10 of the 31 freshmen will be women.

Sandy-rizing My Home!

Something wicked this way cometh!

First the storm gutters!

Then this morning the deck...