Spent the evening among friends. We cooked a quiche, which was well received. One guy in the corner was filling out his ballot during the party and rushed out right before the deadline; I believe he did make it to the ballot collection location in time. When the election was called (we got the news from Comedy Central’s Indecision 2008) there was a big group hug and singing of patriotic songs. Then the champagne and single-malt came out.

I’ve been reading 538 obsessively for the last few months, so the election went pretty much as I’d been expecting it to. Which means that my main emotional note at the moment is a profound relief rather than anything more in the joy spectrum. But still…

Okay, let me give you an analogy, because that’s what I do. Right after I retired, I got rid of the last PC in the house, replacing it with a shiny new iMac. Since then my overall stress levels have been down noticeably, because I can ignore all the news about Windows patches, Windows bugs, and Windows viruses. I suspect the next year will see an even more noticeable reduction in stress, because I will no longer have to worry about what that asshole in the White House is going to do to us next.

It won’t be perfect. Obama will disappoint us in some areas. But all in all, it’s going to be much, much better than it has been.

Thank you, America.

California? Not so much.