08:09 CDT
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This morning's commute took 88 minutes. No road rage or other 
aggressive driving were encountered. I only have one event scheduled 
in the lab at 09:30. The rest of the day should be quiet. The good 
news was that gas at Costco was down to $3.39 per gallon when I 
stopped to fill up the truck. 

Our family took advantage of early voting yesterday. The line moved 
quickly, and nobody was acting up. Earlier last week, the San Antonio 
news had reported on an unnamed individual who was getting unruly in 
the line at our main county voting center. The person was making loud 
remarks about their chosen candidate, and insulting other candidates. 
A voting official did intervene, but that person denied any 
wrongdoing. I get the feeling that the law enforcement officer on duty 
probably also had some "advice" for the alleged miscreant. 

Our time at the polls was good. I did have to fulfill a few extra 
steps because I had opted to vote in person in lieu of submitting my 
mail-in ballot. I had to fill out a form certifying that my mail-in 
ballot was being cancelled, and that the election judge had take 
possession of it. When I was asked if there was a particular reason 
for changing my mind. I told the judge that I had my reservations 
about the US Postal Service handling my election mail properly (I 
didn't trust that my ballot would not be "lost in the mail"). After 
all, our household is a blue dot in a very red county.