Chinese Democracy and Tuesday Clips

Today's Weather, Satan Feels A Cold Snap

Go get your Dr Pepper, it actually exists. How long did it take Axl to make an album?

I've gone from grad school to grandfather

Five whole presidential elections

There was still a Soviet Union

Only a year and a half... oh, wait, that's on Jupiter.

The cutting edge of technology: a 386 with a 30 meg hard drive and 640 K or RAM, and running Windows 3.1, DOS 5.0, WordPerfect and Prodigy

More than doubles the old obsessive compulsive rock star procrastination record held by Tom Scholz of Boston (1978-86)

But not as long as actual Chinese democracy.

Add your favorite time metaphor in the comments.

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Now, the news from this century:

One of the best things about taking over the government, aside from actually, you know, taking over the government, is the swath of vacancies Obama's creating through his Cabinet picks. Gives us political junkies something to write about post-election.

Ambinder has a good overall guide to implications, and CQ looks specifically at Arizona, where Gov. Napolitano is set for Homeland Security and Rep. Raul Grijalva is on the short list for Interior.

I lost the link, but one wag suggested that Obama get NY Gov. David Patterson to fill the likely Hillary Senate vacancy with... Bill, thus keeping him busy and behaving. One thing's for sure: won't be Eliot Spitzer.

In Delaware, the outgoing governor names Ted Kaufman to the Biden seat. Who?!? Former Biden chief of staff in a blatant seat-warmer move while Beau Biden cools his heels over at the war.

Kaufman is the first placeholder senator since Harlan Mathews of Tennessee, who filled Al Gore's seat in `93 and `94. I'm not counting Dean Barkley of Minnesota, currently running a close race for third in the Minnesota recount with Lizard People. The Body made that appointment the day before that awful election when Wellstone died, so there was never a chance for the appointee to run.

Speaking of recounts, up in Waterloo Jeff Danielson picked up 8 votes on the second go-round and keeps his state Senate seat for the Dems.

We've all seen the red and blue county maps that the GOP likes to show off, as if to argue that the red counties of Nebraska with more cattle than people somehow indicate a landslide. And then there's the distorted shape maps that blow urban counties up to match population. But here's a new trick to use: opacity. The vast rural stretches are near-invisible, while the places where people actually live are bright blue (or, less often, red).

And if you're REALLY, really jonesing for some returns, it's election day in... Greenland!