As usual, MrsBlue and I exercised our right to vote yesterday, and also as usual, this was a very painless process thanks to the relative tininess of our village. What was unusual was the method, as New York has finally dispensed with the lever-operated polling booths that have been in use since the dark ages before I was born in favor of an optical scanning system. In a way this seems like a step backward, as using a magic marker to fill-in circles on a paper is pretty low-tech. On the other hand, it also seems like a good way to deal with large groups of voters in places where that happens, as there is no limit on the number of people that can be filling out ballots simultaneously before they are fed into a scanner, and while I can't recall any hanging chad-style voting disputes in these parts, the paper trail would certainly come in handy in the event of recounts.

Links:	Thanks Ant and Mike Martinez and Acleacius.
Play:	Rescue On Cocoa Farm. Ether Space Defense. Obama vs Zombies.
Link:	Big Brother Barbie? Thanks Slashdot.
Stories:	Chilean miner to compete in New York City Marathon. Thanks Neatorama. Call for mandatory salt curbs. Seattle Starbucks Beer and Wine List.
Science:	Has Dark Matter Finally Been Seen? Time Will Tell. Thanks dakslf. NASA wants more hypersonic spaceship research. Virus breakthrough raises hope over ending common cold.
Images:	The Family That WoWs Together. LEGO Frog Dissection. Superhero FAIL.
Media:	Amazing 86-yard punt that got some help from the wind. Thanks Neatorama.
The Funnies:	My Only Hope - Savage Chickens. Brevity.