I know what Ezra means when he talks about feeling a strange calm today. Actually, for me, it's more like the feeling I used to get as a big test that I'd really studied for was being handed out. Confident, but still nervous, you know?

There are lots of tales of busier-than-ever polling places out there. There are stories like this and reports like this to boost one's confidence. Even the weather in Houston is currently cooperating.

One of the side effects of blogging is having friends call you to ask who they should vote for in a given race. Lorenzo Sadun and the powers behind City Prop 1 were the beneficiaries.

One sentiment that seems to be prevalent is the hope that one way or another we'll have a clear winner today. I wonder if there will be some kind of backlash if the final electoral vote tally isn't that close but the losing side unleashes the lawyers anyway. Maybe this will be the year that suing after the fact becomes a less profitable tactic. We can only hope.