I can’t wait for the networks to call the winner of this election, so I am doing it myself.

It’s 10pm eastern time, 0300gmt here in north London and I hearby declare Barack Hussein Obama the winner of the 2008 presidential election.

Based on everything I’ve absorbed in the last half hour, there’s no way McCain could reach the magic 270 electoral votes.

Remember, you read it here first, fuckers!

the northlondonhippy
0301gmt - 5th November 2008

Pennsylvania has gone to Obama.

Apparently that’s a good indication of where the race is going.

Also, it is looking good in Florida, which as you may recall has been a problematic state for the Democrats in previous elections…especially 2000 for poor ol’ Al Gore.

Even this close to a result, I am still nervous and unsure.

I’m still alternating between CNN and FoxNews, though I definitely prefer CNN. CNN has been highlighting viewer reports of various voting irregularities across America, with a really cool graphic map. The more orange an area is, the more they are screwing with people’s right to a free and fair vote.

And don’t forget the holograms!

It’s just gone 9pm on the east coast of America (0200gmt here in north London) and according to CNN, Obama is now leading leading McCain with about 3 electoral votes to one. That’s a pretty good margin, let’s hope it holds!

the northlondonhippy
02:02gmt - 5th November 2008

It’s all too slow, they are being too conservative and cautious in their predictions.

Tell me who’s winning!

As of now, Obama is up, up, up!

All you need to do is look at the people at the two candidates “victory” rallies. In Chicago, where as many as one million people are expected, it already looks like one hell of a party, while in Phoenix, the gathering appears to be more like a wake.

At this point, does anyone really think McCain can pull this off? Even McCain himself looked glum as he arrived in Phoenix a short while ago.

My tv viewing is settling into a routine, switching mainly between CNN (who I think have the edge) and FoxNews, with the occasional stop on the BBC. SKY seems a bit slow and looks a bit cheap and the BBC is actually doing a pretty good job, but the American networks have the resources and speed to do the story justice.

And what a story its going to turn out to be!

the northlondonhippy
01:25gmt - 5th November 2008

It might be closer than the pre-polling suggests, but I am already getting the feeling that its going to be a good night for Obama and his party.

I’ve been flipping between:

- FoxNews
- CNN
- MS-NBC
- SKY
- BBC

They all have giant sets and really whizzy graphics, especially the American networks. They’re all being cautious in their projections, which is sensible, but not very exciting.

CNN win on the technology front, Wolf Blitzer is talking to actual, life-like holograms of people in other parts of the country. Spooky!

The key states at this hour remain too close to call, but that in itself could be telling us something, as the key states in previous elections were firmly in the Republican column.

The internet may be my personal medium of choice for doing my own thing, but at heart I am a television viewer. I’m splitting my time between my desktop computer and my tv, though as this thing heats up, I’ll probably switch to surfing on my iPhone while I remain on the sofa. Like you needed to know that.

- the northlondonhippy
- 00:25gmt - 5th November 2008

If you didn’t watch last night’s final presidential debate, here’s what you missed:

At least that’s how it looked when I was watching it…

I’m going to be paying more attention to the US presidential race now that we are fairly certain who the two main candidates will be. It’s not that I haven’t been paying attention all along, I just haven’t written much about it so far.

I’m not actually going to write that much today, but rather I am going to let one of the candidates speak for himself.

This video was put together by Robert Greenwald of “OutFoxed” fame; that’s the film that ripped the shit out of Fox News. It’s worth seeing, if you haven’t already. Here’s his latest on presumptive Republican presidential candidate, John McCain.

Seems to me this guy is not qualified to be the next president, if his contradictory statements are anything to go on. Of course, the current incumbent wasn’t qualified to be dog catcher, never mind president and he got two terms. Though to put it in perspective, Bush the lesser now has the LOWEST APPROVAL RATING OF ANY PRESIDENT EVER.

If that many people really hate Bush now, how can McCain stand a chance? A McCain presidency would just be four more years of the same and I can’t see anyone voting for that, can you?

I haven’t really weighed in on the upcoming US presidential elections yet and I thought it was about time I did.

I think I was waiting for the field to narrow to the final two candidates and like most of the world and media (of which I play a small role), thought it would have been resolved by now. It just goes to show you what the media knows…sweet FA.

Except me, of course with my crystal balls and amazing predictive powers of foresight.

I’ve always joked that newsrooms should replace their forward planning desks with psychics anyway. Just imagine if someone could tell you where to put a TV camera for the next big plane crash or political assassination. Talk about a world exclusive!

And speaking of political assassinations, why are people so obsessed with someone bumping off Barak Obama. You know, some wacko doesn’t have to kill the black candidate. It’s not a rule, or even a suggested guideline. It’s actually reprehensible to suggest it, but the suggestion is out there, far more than you might expect.

My friends over at ANORAK NEWS, have been charting the OBAMA DEATH CULT, thanks to public comments by former Republican candidate Mike Huckabee and now HILLARY CLINTON.

These are just the two most recent and high profile examples, but there are more.

Why is everyone so afraid of an Obama presidency?

I think the answer to that is quite complex and anyone who says its just down to racism, is missing the point. I’m not going to deny there is a racist element to it, because it is certainly a component and for some, the only reason, but there’s more to it than that.

Obama represents change and a break from the past. He is, if nothing else, creating an illusion, that he will take America in a different and more progressive and dare I say, liberal direction. Whether or not that is true, remains to be seen, but he is certainly marketing himself that way.

So many people wouldn’t be talking about some nut killing Obama, if they weren’t afraid of him.

I have a silly theory that he might be the anti-christ, but of course I don’t believe in that nonsense any more than I believe in the real one. It always gets a laugh though, except from committed Christians (and shouldn’t they all be?), who give me knowing glances and a couple of leaflets from their church.

Whenever I listen to Obama speak, I actually like what I hear. I realise that’s a politician’s job, but he does do it well. When he says he would talk directly with his enemies, I applaud him, when he says he’ll pull all the troops out of Iraq as quickly and safely as possible, I commend him and when he says he’ll allow the use of medical marijuana, I’d kiss him.

But would I vote for him? If he ends up being the democratic candidate, of course I would, but it doesn’t matter, because I am not a voter. Anything is better than another four years of McBush.

But back to the “kill Obama” sideshow…I found this clip from Fox News especially disturbing. Actually it really fucked me off. See what you think…

You can still win my bubbler. Go on, take a chance, its not like it costs you anything!

I’ve just finished a mammoth run of work. I collapsed in a heap yesterday and stayed that way for around 12 hours until one of my kittens woke me up around 4:30am this morning. Hey ho.

My kittens are now 10 months old and the little boy is already huge. He is going to be a giant, monster cat when he is fully grown. He was the one who woke me this morning, by sitting on my chest and staring me awake. His little sister was laying on my legs at the same time, sort of rolling around, also trying to get my attention.

And that’s really all they wanted; attention. There was plenty of food and water for them, they didn’t need me for that. They simply required me to pay them attention. That didn’t take very long.

Once up, I had to feed the older cats, a 3 year old and a 16 year old. The 3 year just needed me to pretend to feed her, so that she would think it was time for her to eat. Yes, she is slightly neurotic, but that’s OK.

The 16 year old, our oldest cat needs tinned food these days, as the dry stuff is a bit too hard for her to chew. She’s nearly completely blind from cataracts, but still gets around the house very well. That’s not true outside though and as of a couple of days ago, I can no longer let her go out. She went under the fence into my neighbour’s yard and couldn’t find her way back - I had to go and rescue her and she was carried home in my arms. She’s still quite feisty and is doing quite well considering her age.

After sorting out the cats, I parked myself in front of my iMac and did some surfing. Between my RSS feeds and sites I visit regularly, I probably visited at least 30 of them before 6am.

I also downloaded the latest episode of Lost. Yes, I know I could wait a few days and catch it on Sky One, but why would I do that? Then I would miss out on all the cool stuff on the internet that follows, which is released at the American ABC pace.

I’m really into Lost, I think it is easily one of the best programmes on the box. It’s so complex and layered and mostly it does my head in, but I know they are taking it somewhere. I am really looking forward to watching the last 2 seasons play out, especially as there are only 3 more hours of it left this series, before another agonising 10 month wait for more.

I’ve also been watching Mad Men, which I missed when it first aired and was easily downloadable, but thanks to BBC4, I’ve been able to see the entire series. Wow, its good and Don Draper has got to be the ultimate in capitalist anti-heroes. I’ve always liked anti-heroes and secretly like to think I’m one myself. You’re all rooting for me, even though you know you shouldn’t.

After hanging out with the Losties, I made myself my first proper coffee of the day with my Vivi. I haven’t used it over a week, because of my erratic work schedule and sleep pattern, but I haven’t gone without excellent coffee.

My secondary method of brewing fresh coffee is now a device called an AeroPress.

It’s quick and easy to use and it cleans up in seconds. What’s not to love?

The cool thing for me about my AeroPress is that I can use the exact same coffee I use in the Vivi, ground the exact same way, so no messing around with the setting my grinder. The AeroPress makes what I would describe as something similar to espresso, in strength and volume, but not in texture or complexity. That’s ok, because the AeroPress costs significantly less than a proper pro-sumer espresso machine.

You can pick up an AeroPress for as little as under 20 quid (email me if you want the site selling them that low, they also sell the best freshly roasted beans in the UK) and it will make amazing coffee for you too.

By far, the most important thing you need for making great coffee is freshly roasted, freshly ground beans. When I first started looking into coffee, this was the most difficult thing to get my head around, mainly because of the cost of a decent grinder capable of producing the quality you need for a good espresso machine. Some people even say the espresso machine is an accessory for the grinder and that didn’t really make sense to me until I used my set-up for a while.

An espresso machine basically has an on/off switch; you turn the pump on to force water through the ground coffee (at the right pressure and temperature) and then you switch it off when you’ve reached the required volume or level of extraction. That’s all the control you really have, on and off. The grinder is what actually gives you any say in how your coffee is produced, the coarser the grinder, the faster the pour, the finer the grind, the slower the pour. You aim to produce a double espresso in around 30 seconds, with the colour of the coffee stream going tan around that time as well.

Ok, this is tedious to you if you have no interest in coffee, but as you can probably tell, I’ve really got into this in a big way. I’m drinking my 2nd coffee of the day right now and its every bit as good as my first. Consistency is what you aim for in making good coffee and I can pretty much reproduce the same result over and over. That job in Starbucks is looking more and more likely!

It’s just gone 8am, here in north London, the sun is shining and its expected to be another warm day. I’ve been awake for 3 and 1/2 hours and I’ve pretty much told you everything I’ve already done. I’ve replied to a few emails and now I’ve written this post. You are fully and completely up to date.

All that’s left to do now, is post this on my website and you’ll know that’s happened because you’re reading it. I’ve got nothing left to share with you for now.

(you can still win my bubbler, along with many other prizes, click here to find out more!)

Hey kids, I’ve got something cool to share with you!

A friend of my has produced, directed and edited a music video for her husband’s band and it is fucking amazing! This really deserves a wide audience and I’m aiming to do my part by posting it here. If you’ve got a spare three minutes, I implore you to watch the following video.

So without further ado, here’s the video for “Ah Woohoo!” from the band, Sushalini!

I’m blown away by it! I think she did an excellent job on a very low budget with a shoestring crew. I hope you all liked it too…Tell your mates to check it out!

I grant you permission to prod my neck or clasp my wrist. Indeed, I do still possess a pulse for I remain alive and nearly well.

I haven’t been ill, not really. I’ve been suffering from a malady known as overwork-itis and I am the cause of this affliction. I’ve worked 10 out of the last 13 nights, with tonight being my final night - number 11. Go me. After that, I’m off for a couple of weeks to catch my breath and catch up with you guys.

So much for my 100 post thing, you might possibly be thinking. Well, I am here to tell ya that 100 days hasn’t passed yet. I can still catch up. How do you know I won’t snort a shit load of crystal meth and stay up for 6 days and nights, doing nothing but blogging?

You know this, because I’m telling you, I shan’t be ingesting any horrible, crappy, man-made shite! This hippy don’t do class A drugs no more, anyway!

But I can still catch up. I haven’t counted to see how behind I am, but I’m sure its not an insurmountable number. This hippy is a hippy that can do! And does! And will…!

Fuck, I might start buying into my own hype. Naw, I’m far to cynical and clever for that. Besides, its not like I’m actually selling anything. Everything I do, I do for you, for free! When’s the last time you got an invoice from this hippy?

I wouldn’t know how to charge for this shit, anyway. Just send me your credit card numbers (and don’t forget the 3 digit signature strip number too) and I’ll buy myself something pretty, on you.

Wouldn’t you like to buy me something pretty? Like a Porsche? Nothing says you love me like a finely engineered German sports car. And I’m going to be 45 years old in January, don’t you think I’m ready for a mid-life-crisis mobile?

And speaking of gifts, I’m sure I’m not the only one who you’re shopping for because it’s Christmas soon. That means this hippy’s holiday shopping guide will be coming soon too. As a fervent consumer of everything, I am well-placed to help you choose gifts for people I’ve never met…as long as they are cool people, but if you’re reading my blog, you must be cool and everyone you know is cool too. It’s simple math, really.

Are you digging it? Groovy!