I voted a couple of weeks ago via absentee ballot, so no worries there. And yes, the US dollar has been surging since oil prices went up and seems to have been a factor in driving oil prices down again. The Candian dollar is back down to around 80 cents, and the British pound has also dropped significantly against the USD. I think the yen is one of the few currencies that *hasn't* dropped against the USD. This would be a great time to go to Australia, from a purely financial point of view. Well, and from a seasonal point of view too, I suppose.