How Does Germany Hand-Count Votes In A Matter Of Three Hours Or Less?

 In a normal election, the German poll stations close at 6 PM on a Sunday (it will always be done on Sundays).

You show up as a voter with your national ID card (mandated), and have a letter sent to you from the city hall...identifying the location of the station and the time, with your name and address on it.  You present that at the door.

They read your name off the listing and give you a ballot.

The ballot is for a party situation.....not a candidate himself or herself.  It's one single sheet.  

You finish the sheet and push it into a box.

At the end of the day.....around a dozen to two-dozen people are there to count ballots (into pile A or pile B).  It's counted by hand, and usually takes about an hour....then repeated.  As long as the numbers come up right after the second count....that's it.

End of the discussion.  

You know the official winner by 7 PM in most cases....sometimes upgraded to 8 PM where issues occur.

Germans can't understand why you can't have a national ID card in the US....nor why people are totally lost on where to vote, or how you could possibly vote in multiple elections, or why it takes two or three days to count votes.  

The only response?  It's complicated, and you emphasize 'rocket science' several times in the discussion.

Those Twitter Folks

 Most Twitter folks will have a new job arranged within 30 days....but probably leaving Silicon Valley for it.

The screwed folks?  Moderators.  I just don't see their profession having many openings.  

So yeah, they might have to spend six months at McDonalds before they get a new skill.

Maybe you'd be better off to just not mention you were a moderator for six years, and just hint at some other 'team' within Twitter. 

Inflation

 If you'd asked me....as a kid....prior to 1973....what inflation was, I would have responded that it was the act of inflating a tire when flat.  Beyond that, I had no idea.

So along came the period of 1973.  This definition problem came up in class, and the history teacher probably spent three-quarters of a class trying to detail what this was.  To be frank, he did a crappy job.

Eventually, some kid in the class asked the correct question.....how this related to a soda and candy bar at the canteen (the snack shop of the school).  

The answer came forth, and 90-percent of the class....with the help of a soda/candy bar theme....came to grasp inflation.

I should state for the record, that the remaining ten percent felt this was rocket science and too much heavy information to lay upon them.

To be honest, once you get to your mid-30s.....making real money and spending real money....inflation is pretty simple to understand.

But what bothers me today....you have a whole new crowd in schools and universities...that cannot get the concept of inflation in their minds.  They can understand the concept of a Starbucks $6 a cup of coffee going to $6.50 but then they respond....'so what'.  

If you handed the same crowd just $6 for their morning coffee....they'd respond that they need another 50 cents, and just wish inflation away with the free 50 cents.  

That's the reality of 2022.

My Impression of the Paul Pelosi 'Moment'

 After long consideration....I think Paul got up around 2:10 AM....still having buzz on from some booze that evening...to take a pee.

I think he stood there and realized some guy was in the bedroom, and hammer-dude was asked to identify himself.  

Paul, being rather stoic and non-confrontational.....asked hammer-dude if him needed a beer?  

Hammer-dude was caught off guard by the friendly nature of Paul.  

The two.....clad in underwear each....don't know why hammer-dude was this way, but I'd assume he was on bath salts....proceeded down the stairs and Paul handed him a beer, then called the cops.

During the whole ten minutes, Paul demonstrated ultimate cool behavior and was like a 80-year old version of Paul Newman.

As the cops arrived....Paul opens the door, and says his 'friend' needs some help.....walking back toward the hammer-dude. 

It's at this point when the hammer-dude realizes this friendly nature was fake, and whacked Paul pretty good.

Paul remembers nothing much of the evening.....but the concussion has given him some forgetful thoughts about him being married to Nancy.  

End of the story.