Exit Poll Boycott

by publius

Tomorrow I plan to wake up and read the newspaper. Then I'm going to turn my computer off and restart it at 7 EST when the first polls close. Radio silence for me. Maybe I'll take a stroll. Perhaps I'll whittle. Maybe I'll even start my Learn Spanish program.* But one thing I won't be doing is checking on -- or writing about -- exit polls. Why, you ask? Exhibit A:

Publius, "Over?", Nov. 2, 2004

I just talked to a friend of mine with polling/media connections with the heavy-hitter insiders. He says it's over. The second and more reliable round of exits are coming in. Up in Ohio. Up in Florida. Way up in NH. Tied in VA, NV, NM, and IA.

I don't want to jinx, but it's looking really good.

"Heavy hitter insiders" - jesus. But that's why you should ignore exit polls. And here's why you should go vote (same author, later that day):

UPDATE 5: I just saw the following three Yahoo headlines all in one column:

• Republicans retain control of Senate
• GOP defeats three veteran Texas Democrats
• Voters in nine states OK gay marriage bans

Dear Lord, make it stop.

Go vote. Go help others vote.

[*I'm using Barron's but it's really boring. Anyone have better suggestions?]

Comments

[laurenhat]

I like the SpanishPod podcasts. I listen to their Newbie podcasts and occasionally the next level up and try to learn vocabulary from the dialogues. And then sometimes when I'm working and can't pay close attention, I play their Advanced level podcasts so that I can get more used to the sound of the language and segmenting out words (even when I can't tell what they mean).

Good luck with Spanish, and with getting through the day offline. You're stronger than I if you can do that.

[danthelawyer]

I'm with you on the exit poll boycott. But you can do more than just vote. GOTV! Call people in Ohio or Pennsylvania. Watch polls. Take old folks to the polls. Do something. Please?

[evie]

c'mon. Make a GOTV call or two.

[crimelord]

Iam planning on going crabing tomorrow. Figure on a couple dozen nice blue crabs, sourdough bread, and a 12 pack of Mexican beer for dinner.

[Anthony Damiani]

Awww. Some people have no sense of fun.

[wonkie]

i'm driving my neighbor's cat to the vet. ANd then I'm going to walk dogs for the dog shelter. ANd then I'm going to drive my neighbor's cat home from the vet. And then I'm going to stick my head up my computer and obsess for hours. At some point Paul will interrupt me for dinner. Then more obsessing, followed by a celebration on the deck with cigars and Irish Cream.

Then, starting Wed, I am going to get my life back.

[quihana]

Rosetta Stone works for me. It really is as painless as the ads promise. And they even have different versions for Spanish Spanish and Latin American Spanish.

[MeDrewNotYou]

Anyone have better suggestions?

Learn Chinese.

/pessimistic snark

[xanax]

Publius: this should get you started.

Lesson One:

"Bway Noes Dee Ahs Mee Ah Mee Go"

Lesson Two:

"Vie Ah Con Car Nay!"

PS: Go, Brocco!

[Pooh]

See, I had planned to go with the Publius plan and go see 2-3 movies tomorrow.

Instead, my name somehow got submitted to a legal protection team. Hence, I shall be spending most of the day in the heart of Palinville, Wasilla, AK, just waiting for bad news...

[Phil]

Rosetta Stone, definitely. And I don't just say that because I'm a software developer there.

[Coturnix]

Ah, I remember those posts of yours, Publius. ;-)

I'll take the kids to school, go vote, do some work, go give my students an exam, then go home and watch TV around 8pm Eastern.

I'll try to keep my cool....

[jonnybutter]

Rosetta Stone works for me. It really is as painless as the ads promise.

Yes.

I have to teach tomorrow until 9:30 ET. The horror! I'm going to take my laptop and sneak peeks, though.

[ivyelm]

I tried several Spanish learning products (including Rosetta Stone) and finally settled into Platiquemos (see http://www.platiquemos-letstalk.com/FAQ-Q&A/Comparisons/Platiquemos-Barron%27s%20Comparison.htm ). Like Barrons, it is based on the Foreign Service Institute. The URL takes you to their FAQ where he explicitly explains what he does differently from Barrons.

Rosetta Stone is not a bad place to start, but I felt like I had three problems with it: 1) I like audio because I can do it at the gym or while driving or walking to work. 2) I thought it was a hard way to learn verbs. and 3) Rosetta Stone and some other courses I tried didn't have a hope of including enough vocabulary. There's no getting around it, you need to continually build vocabulary. Platiquemos has a tremendous number of audio lessons. You make progress with each lesson. I thought it was very well done. Other products I have tried: Speak in a Week and Spanish for Gringoes. Both were OK, but couldn't do more than get me started.

[Gary Farber]

I just wonder if Barack and Michelle and David P. and all my other best friends will quit writing me.

[Anarch]

Rosetta Stone, definitely. And I don't just say that because I'm a software developer there.

That is, I think, the single most awesome revelation since I've been working here...

[Phil]

That is, I think, the single most awesome revelation since I've been working here...

??? Most puzzled...

[Warren Terra]

One good way to keep yourself too busy to surf the tubes is to sign up as a volunteer and pound some pavement. Since I got personally involved I've been vastly less informed of political developments - no time, even though my phone gets decent internet. I learned of the tragic death of Obama's grandmother from a very nice voter whose door I knocked on doing GOTV, for example.

[MeDrewNotYou]

Happy Election Day! Woo!

See you again tonight publius!

[sd]

I'm fond of the Teach Yourself series for language learning. It's pretty much what it says on the label.

[hilzoy]

Dixville Notch: Obama 15, McCain 6, with 100% turnout, and 100% of votes tallied. ;)

Apparently, it's the first time they've gone Democratic since 1968.

[Todd]

I really like the Pimsleur audio language programs. They will say a word or phrase, then tell you to say it, then they'll say it again, then give you another chance to try it. Intermittently, during each 30-minute lesson, they will randomly ask you to say something from earlier in the lesson, or the previous lesson, always repeating the answer twice to help you fine-tune your pronunciation. That pattern of repetition does a much better job of firmly embedding vocabulary and grammar in my memory than other programs I've tried. I used their Arabic program when I was in Baghdad, and constantly wondered why I'd ever tried to learn a language any other way.

[MeDrewNotYou]

hilzoy- You'd better have splinters from all the knocking on wood you're doing. ^.^

[Hartmut]

hilzoy, how many votes of that got challenged? ;-)

[Anarch]

??? Most puzzled...

Longer me: that sounds like a totally awesome job, and I'm deeply envious. (:

[liberal japonicus]

I agree with Anarch, the Rosetta Stone software is good stuff, and it's cool to know someone on the inside. Though I think the fact the parents of folks were commenting here was awesomer, though I can see that Anarch might not see that as anything to write home about...

[anon]

Michel Thomas for Spanish. Look no further. It is superb.

[rickm]

I'm in the process of teaching myself Arabic, and have tried various language learning programs.

Trying to learn a language simply via Rosetta Stone is a complete waste of time. Many of the intricacies of Arabic grammer and verb conjugation will take 100s of hours to learn by inference (RS' method). Any other program/course will simply spell these rules out to you.

IMO, there is simply no better way to learn a language than using spaced repetition software, like Mnemosyne, SuperMemo, or Anki. Mnemosyne and Anki are free, easy to use, and inject vast amounts of vocabulary into your long term memory. Its the closest thing we have to the Matrix method of learning languages.