GO VOTE!

<rant>
GO VOTE!

I would say something like I don't mean to be preachy, but I'm going to be preachy so why lie.

I know that unless you are in a few particular states your vote will have no impact on the results. However, showing up and voting is how you let politicians know they have to worry about what you think. Especially if you are young GO VOTE. Young people don't vote and politicians can't waste their time and effort on a group of people that doesn't vote. A friend who worked in D.C. for a summer said the guy she worked for wanted to do stuff for young people, but couldn't because it wouldn't do him any good in the polls.

GO VOTE! - especially if you are young.
</rant>

In other news I just saw the Borat movie - I laughed so hard my jaw hurts.

I've been spending my weeks in San Jose and weekends back in Orange County and LA. A bit tiring, but hey for miles, hotel points, and free meals I'll put up with it. And this week got to meet up with Dad in Palo Alto.

Over the last month or so I've gone to Hollywood and Venice Beach. It struck me that those are two of the big LA tourist attractions and are also the two main places for crazies to hang out in LA. Made me think that if someone came to visit LA they might get the impression that people out here are all a bunch of nuts and that this would lead to stereotypes of the city... oh wait. Well anytime I think that maybe LA needs some PR advice I think of the Hollywood sign. It's a sign that is a tourist attraction because it is famous. Why is it famous? Because it is famous. How amazing is that? The city has bootstrapped the fame of a sign to a point that the fame is self sustaining!

While I'm on the topic on Hollywood and craziness - near the chinese theater there are people dressed up in various movie costumes and you can pay them to take a picture with them. Everyone is a recognizable character, except this one guy who has been there every time I've been there who is some very strange but fairly elaborate devil like character. Anyway in Borat when he goes to hollywood the devil guy is there - it was interesting watching the film in Orange County because I got the sense that the people around me also recognized him. There was also a lot of mumbling between people when Borat went to Orange (for those in the cheap seats, Orange is a city in Orange County).

<rant>
One last:

GO VOTE!
</rant>