And it looks like the voters finally delivered a resounding "frak you" to the liquor wholesalers and the UFCW — we'll be able to buy all manner of alcoholic beverages at the grocery store starting 1 June. It's not a perfect initiative by any stretch; stores under 900 m^2 aren't generally allowed to obtain liquor licenses, and beer still has to go through the three-tier fat cats. But it's still a solid blow to the rent-seekers.

So now that that's settled... Texas supposedly stands for smaller government, but Washington now has more permissive gun, gambling, and liquor laws. How about you people in Austin start walking the walk and stop subsidizing your wholesaler buddies?

I want to hit In-N-Out and the Computer History Museum before heading to the con. The problem is that doesn't seem particularly doable on public transit. I can deal with the trip to the hotel to drop off my luggage, but then it's 90 minutes each way out to Mountain View.

Take a cab? Sounded like a good idea, at least one way, but from downtown to Mountain View would be $50 plus tip. That's not quite London-expensive, but a bit more than Boston.

So... pulled up the Hertz website, and for $60 plus gas I can have a car for the day, including LDW and the at-airport surcharge extortion. Drive to lunch and the museum; return at the downtown Hertz location, conveniently located in none other than the con hotel. Bonus: two hours of my life back. I think we've got a deal.