====== A comment on ads ======

I don't usually comment on what goes on in the sidebar of this site, because normally the self-serve ads have absolutely no bearing on the editorial content here. That said, I did encourage the currently-running ad (by offering an ad slot for free) for [[http://www.electoral-vote.com/|electoral-vote.com]] for several reasons. First, the guy who runs the site is a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_S._Tanenbaum|hoopy frood]] in the computer science world. Secondly, I watch that site avidly, myself. The biggest reason from my point of view, however, is that this US election is important.

It's not all that computer-y, and not all that LOL, but some things trancend the lulz:  if you're a US citizen (even if you're abroad, like ast and me), please make every effort possible to find out about the candidates and vote this November.