Honestly, I don't have that much on my mind today, but fear that leaving the "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" lyrics up too long may be creepy.

I did find out over the weekend that I have at least one reader, dispelling the myth that I've been typing into the wind all this time. A hearty Blogalicious thanks to Mrs. Allyson Harper-Nixon for actually reading this. Assuming you didn't quit after reading about my concern over Parmalat.

It's election day today, though without the frisson of last year, when even the most jaded citizen stayed up to see the networks claim that Al Gore had won Neptune. It is funny to think in all the furor over the election last year that most election (and election coverage) practices seem to be the same. Not that we've had a lot to measure by; the mayoral election in Boston today appears to be a formality, and the special election to fill Joe Moakley's seat just happened to fall on 9/11. It seems like the only place where I read anything about new voting technology anymore is the Wired website, and even that isn't what it once was.

I hope this is just the result of what's "news worthy" and not a typical out of mind, out of sight response. Americans are not always that good about learning a lesson and growing from it. Please see the second oil crisis of the 1970s as an example. My hope is that the 2004 election is chadless, but I don't expect it.

Oh, and my obligatory Patriots mention. They won over the Falcons in Atlanta, showing their more typical defense and one of the odder touchdowns I've seen when a pass to David Patten bounced off him and into the arms of Troy Brown, who was a good 5 yards away. They get Buffalo at home this week (damn well better be a win), then have the Rams and Saints back to back. They play the Rams at night, so one can hope that we get some nice mid-November weather right about then. It may be the only way to slow them down.