A present from a neighbor

My neighbor, Suzi Sturdy, made this wreath for me. She knows that without her help, I'll never put anything on my front door. I thought it was a genuinely kind gesture. And I love The Star part of the wreath.

Karl Rove weighs in on the election

Everyone knows about Karl Rove. I found this on the Web. It's Karl Rove & Co.'s state-by-state breakdown of who takes each state. He also makes a final call of the election (but as we've said before, voters determine winners, not polls). So vote.

http://www.rove.com/uploads/0000/0049/McCain-Obama_11_3_08_FINAL.pdf

Interestingly, he does indeed call North Carolina for McCain, something more and more people believe will be the case. But it's clear that North Carolina is one of the tightest states for the presidential race. This state appears deadlocked and it will come down to which political party gets out the vote.

Why didn't I follow the instructions?

It clearly says in about 10 places, DO NOT use sharp objects to remove ice from the freezer in my compact refrigerator. It warns that you might puncture the coils.

So what do I do?

I use a screwdriver to remove the ice. And while I successfully removed the ice, I did indeed puncture the coils. The refrigerator dies. A perfect ending to a really lousy day.

I will never ever use a sharp object to remove ice again. Of course, I have to buy a new refrigerator first. Bummer.

Early voting lines healthy

It looked like the early voting lines were extremely healthy on Saturday. Apparently, extending the hours made a lot of sense. Perhaps it will help alleviate long lines on Tuesday in what is expected to be a record turnout.