As the story opens, the Hunter & Hunter detective agency has been hired by another private eye named Starlock to do a little investigating. It seems that the recently deceased treasurer of a small city outside of Chicago has been found to have embezzled almost fifty thousand dollars. Starlock thinks the man’s daughter may know something about the money, but he can’t very well investigate her himself, since he’s just given her a job.

So Ed is assigned to move into the daughter’s boarding house and get to know her a little better. Which he does, in spades.

And not to damn much else happens. The first 120 pages are so are just a build-up, with not much development at all. In the last 30 pages there’s a lot going on, but it wasn’t enough. It’s a shame, too, because Fred Brown has written books that have very twisty, inventive plots, but this was just a snooze. Not recommended.

President Bush congratulated Obama yesterday and pledged to do all he can to help smooth the transition. I hope that now the Bush years are over, more of his opponents will see that he’s a sincere man who did what he thought best for the country. He made mistakes, but he’s not evil. Anyway, here’s the video:

Yesterday, a black man was elected President of the United States. I didn’t think I’d see it in my lifetime, but honestly, it seems a little anticlimactic (to me, at least) because the least interesting thing about Barack Obama is the color of his skin. But to millions of African-Americans, this is validation it’s their country, too.

I voted for McCain because I like his policies better, but I believe that Obama is a man of honor and integrity, and someone who will display good judgement. I sincerely hope that he can lead the country into a period of peace and prosperity over the next few years.

As for the Republicans, they’d be wise to remember the words of Winston Churchill, a man whose political career appeared to be over several times: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”

The real winner, of course, is America. In this country we vote for our leader directly - he’s not selected by some back-room cabal, as happens even in modern democracies such as Japan. Nor is our leader the most powerful, or the most brutal. In America, to become President, you must persuade people that your position is the right one. If you lose, well, there’s another election in four years.

Most of the prominent right-leaning web sites seem to be offering subdued but sincere congratulations to Mr. Obama, following the lead of John McCain in his gracious concession speech:

And here’s Obama’s victory speech:

Congratulations to both men on a hard-fought campaign.

I just got back from voting, and I hope all of you out there were able to cast your vote as well. And whether or not your guy wins, just remember: America is not John McCain or Barak Obama. America is 330 million people, people who head off to work every day to make a better life for their family, or head off to school to make a better life for themselves. And some are just ‘heads.

That was America yesterday, and it will be America tomorrow, no matter who wins. We don’t live in a perfect country, but we live in the best country in the history of the Earth, and country that’s getting better all the time, despite what doomsayers may predict. I know many people don’t share my optimism, but just look at the expansion of freedom in the past 50 years. In 1958, a black man could not drink from the water fountain in many places; today, one will probably be elected President.

So whether your candidate wins or loses, raise a glass tonight and thank God you don’t live in Canada*.

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* A gratuitous shot at Dean and KBS. At least Sandra had the good sense to move down here where it’s warm.

Now, I am not a homophobe, but I found it enormously amusing that a writer for a San Francisco newspaper was named Nancy and Gay. What’s her middle name? Flaming? Fabulous?

Of course I don’t know anything about Ms. Gay, but statistics say she’s probably not gay after all. Of course, statistics also say that a woman is more likely to write for the Home & Garden section than the sports pages, so what do they know! I’ve had a look at her archive at the Chronicle and she certainly seems competent enough. I just think that, maybe, she should have either A) kept her maiden name, or B) gotten married. Just a suggestion.