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Cake day: July 1st, 2023

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  • Early voting in the US as we know it today, meaning going to a polling place to cast your vote in-person prior to election day, started in Texas in 1987 and spread to other states from there. Every state has its own specific rules regarding how long the early voting period lasts, and other aspects like how long polling places are open each day may even be left up to local governments.

    Where I’m at in Texas, we have some early voting locations that stay open until 10pm, even on weekends. I’ve never had to wait more than 20 minutes to vote (and usually less) since I started voting in the 2000 election. We have 12 days to vote before election day, and even a website with real-time updates on wait times at each polling place across the county.

    The drawback is there are fewer voting sites open during early voting, so people with transportation barriers will have to expend effort to get there, but you can do so on whatever day works for your schedule. On election day itself, way more polling sites are open, so there’s likely to be a site within walking distance or a short drive in denser areas, but lines are much longer than during the early voting period, and many people have to work because it’s a Tuesday and not a holiday

    Also, Mississippi, Alabama, and New Hampshire have no early voting and pretty much require everyone in the entire state to vote on election day.








  • Mullis acquired a reputation for erratic behavior at Cetus, once threatening to bring a gun to work; he also engaged in “public lovers’ quarrels” with his then-girlfriend (a fellow chemist at the company) and “nearly came to blows with another scientist” at a staff party, according to California Magazine. White recalled: “It definitely put me in a tough spot. His behavior was so outrageous that the other scientists thought that the only reason I didn’t fire him outright was that he was a friend of mine.”

    After resigning from Cetus in 1986, Mullis served as director of molecular biology for Xytronyx, Inc. in San Diego for two years. While inventing a UV-sensitive ink at Xytronyx, he became skeptical of the existence of the ozone hole.

    And he only goes downhill from there…