Update

Just a few things to point out today, followed by an election rant:

David is feeding well - we're giving him solid food every other day right now and he's adjusting. Meanwhile, there's ample opportunities for comedy in the process.

My parents came and visited last weekend, and they babysat for us Monday night while Jane and I went to go see Raw at the Garden. It was a good time - if you are one who occasionally enjoys the guilty pleasure of pro wrestling, go see it sometime live. It's fun.

David now giggles regularly - sometimes just spontaneously when he's looking at something that strikes him as amusing. I still can't believe just how lucky Jane and I are to have done this well in the baby lotto.

We're going to the auto show tonight - it's still undecided if we're going to get a new car for her or not, but we'd rather look at them all in a venue where we can see them all at once than go dealer-hopping if we decide to get one. If we have another child, we'll definitely get a new car (maybe even the dreaded minivan - we'll see), but we may do it regardless. Her Mazda is pretty small.

I've been having a good year, as far as football handicapping goes. Maybe I should move to Vegas and start a new line of work.

Poor Woodge just bought a house up in Newburyport and is learning about the joy of homeownership. I just lent him some of my tools for doing electric and telephone wiring diagnostics. I wish him luck - he'll need it.

As for yesterday's election results:

Here in Mass., I was not a big O'Brien fan. I won't miss her at all. I'm not all that impressed with Mitt Romney (and I was very disappointed in his Lt. Governor pick, but the Republican talent pool here is pretty shallow), but at least he's not a current Beacon Hill player. By polling as well as he did, Michael Cloud kept the Libertarians on the major-party list (with 19% against Kerry - no Republican bothered to run). This was good, as Carla Howell ran a truly dismal campaign. After about 6 years of her being the state Libertarian standard-bearer, it's time for a change.

As for the national scene, here's the text of an e-mail I sent about it earlier:

I think one of three scenarios is in play here...

Either Bush successfully pulled off a "wag the dog" scheme by putting Iraq at the top of the list, fooling Americans into supporting him who normally wouldn't. If that's the case, I'm profoundly disappointed in the gullibility of the average American.

Or the typical voter isn't sophisticated enough to recognize the value of a divided government. If that's the case, I'm profoundly disappointed in the lack of intelligence on the part of the average American.

Or, worse of all, the average American agrees with the Republican vision for America, and really believes that the conservative agenda is correct. If that's the case, I'm profoundly disgusted and frightened by the average American.

So, though I have no love for the Democrats, I am not a happy man. A divided government would not confirm a John Ashcroft to be the primary defender of the Constitution. And that's just for starters. I'm really worried about the direction this country may be headed, and I now hope Bush Jr.'s Iraq war winds up the same way as his dad's war - with the current Bush's popularity declining steeply afterwards and winding up a one-termer. Because unless something unforseen happens, the next few years do not look good.