The First Tuesday in November

All afternoon I have been tied to my computer watching US election results. As I write this (7pm Wednesday for me, midnight Tuesday on the west coast) the last two senate seats are tantalizingly close to going to the good guys, and I am staying at my office for at least another hour to keep an eye on that.

The first Tuesday in November is a notable day here, too. And it is taken much more seriously - I'm sure that a higher percentage of Australians do something special for Melbourne Cup Day than Americans vote. Yup, it's a holiday built around a horse race. An offical public holiday just in the state of Victoria, but no one here seemed to have a problem skipping work to go to the track yesterday for a few bets and quite a few drinks. It's hard to photograph running horses.