OTIDT Outtakes: Monday October 25

Other things I did on Monday that could've been turned into One Thing I Did Today entries:

• My job for the day was to basically act as an on-site representative for Dominion Voting, the company who provided the software and machines for tabulating election results. If anything went wrong, I was supposed to be there to "help." I'd received about two hours of training, so I wasn't expecting to be able to do much, but when I arrived in the town of LaSalle, they were getting error messages galore. After looking through their setup, I realized that they had an older version of the software! I e-mailed Dominion HQ, got the newest version e-mailed to me, and installed it on their computers. Things ran MUCH smoother after that. I believe the phrase "saved the day" was thrown around when they discussed my contributions. You're welcome, LaSalle residents, for saving democracy.
• Amherstburg's setup had no problems, so I wasn't needed much there, but there was one highlight: among the scrutineers watching the results being tabulated was an outspoken old woman who constantly asked questions and seemed generally suspicious of the process. At one point, she called the chief election officer in Amherstburg a "bitch." I know this not because I witnessed it, but because both parties mentioned it to me later (old lady: "I shouldn't have called her a bitch..."; election officer: "at least you didn't get called a bitch today!")
• For breakfast, I went to a restaurant called Cora's and ordered the most ridiculous plate of fruit I'd ever seen. It was easily the most fruit I've eaten in one meal in my life, even counting fruit salads. It was also the first time I can remember ordering a meal which the menu describes in terms like "beautiful" and "lavishly cut."