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Halloweenie

Ah, Halloween. I love dressing up. I was thinking about going tonight as Herbert Hoover and walking around telling everyone there was nothing to worry about. But Hoover doesn't really have any distinguishing characteristics, so I'd just be a guy in a suit.

I guess I could get a rubber chicken ("A chicken in every pot..."). But I'm afraid people wouldn't get it and I'd just be a guy in a suit with a rubber chicken.

Florida and Politics

Just got back from two weeks in Florida - one week at a conference in God-forsaken Orlando, and then a week seeing family in Clearwater. It worked out pretty well actually - the work part was necessary and successful, and the family part was more fun than I expected.

I got to go flying again too - took up an old Cessna 172RG to see if I still remembered how to fly the thing. It was great. I was rough around the edges but it all came back to me, as if I'd never quit flying 15 years ago. I forgot how much I missed doing it.

(Some pics here...)

Since I got back, the politics have been completely immersive - everyone's going crazy with the final days of this long, long campaign. A lot of people I talk to are exhausted by now and sick of it, but I'm just happy to be seeing this campaign from inside the States. I really enjoy this madness and only wish I had more time away from work to take more of an active role.

Seattle is a pretty "blue" city, which is fun - I was wearing my Obama t-shirt the other day on the street and people were smiling and shouting nice things at me. One girl walking the opposite direction on the sidewalk zipped down her jacket and flashed me her own Obama t-shirt. It's fun to be part of a tribe.

There's so much commentary out there right now I really don't have anything to add that hasn't been said before. I think we're at the cusp of an amazing inflection point in history. Whichever way the election goes, the US population - and especially the younger people - has never been this activated and engaged by the politics, at least not in my lifetime. I only hope that continues and becomes a new status quo. We need people to be interested, and to pay attention, because this is only going to get harder from now on. We're going to need people to be deeply engaged with some of the hard decisions that are coming, if we have any chance of finding a way to survive what's coming in the next few years.

One thing I will say - despite whatever is coming out of the polls, we would be fools to think this election is already decided. A lot can happen in 8 days. There is no time for complacency. This is in no way over.