Click for the full-size video.

Take a look!

For the Fourth, though, we’re going to take a break from building photo galleries, studying and everything else, with a quick jaunt over to Austin to relax and celebrate.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone (twice over)!

We’re resting up now after an afternoon ride to the Via Colori street art festival downtown… the fair was, well, festive, with large and curious crowds flowing about the colorful and eclectic artwork etched on the pavement…

Karina received her new, hard-earned toy yesterday — a Canon 40D DSLR. Much excitement and picture taking ensued!

My little piece of history.

I chose not to vote early, participating instead in the great ritual of democracy on the appointed day — Tuesday, November 4. I rode my bike to the polling place, just a few blocks from home in Houston’s historic Third Ward, a center of strength for Barack Obama.

The lines were non-existent. A little worrisome, I thought, but not unexpected in the middle of the workday.

I stepped into the booth, with a sense of the profound and historic moment buzzing through me… and after triple-checking that I indeed marked it correctly, I cast my ballot.

For change. For transformation. With hope.

A few hours later, Karina and I were whooping, weeping and breaking open the champagne!

At home, aka Election Central, following CNN, MSNBC, NYTimes.com and Twitter.

As Obama surpassed 270 electoral votes, we broke out the champagne!

Where were you when Obama and America made history?

Karina and I met Andres in the spring, when he came home to Houston from L.A. to help campaign for Obama in the Houston primary election. He had recorded a beautiful Spanish-language video called Sí, Se Puede Cambiar as part of his efforts on Obama’s behalf.

He has just released an English-language version, incorporating footage from Houston… (and be sure to check out the split-second cameo that Karina and I make at the 2:12 mark!)…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hljtL80klM

ps: During that week with Andres, we met the guys from United for Obama, Eric Byler (pictured, left), Annabel Park, and Quan Phung. They were all visiting from Virginia and California.

Karina’s mama came to visit with us over the past week, partly for a high-tech videoconference with folks back home in the Philippines, partly to experience a few days-in-the-wacky-life with us. During her brief stay, she got to see our nocturnal ways, complete with a ride in the local electric taxi and a long session working online at the cafe. As you can see from the photo, Mama turned out to be quite well suited to the life of the urban tech nomad…

A woman fights high winds and rain in Midtown Houston.

As Hurricane Ike’s storms began to subside, a few hardy and curious people in the neighborhood began wandering out of their sheltering homes to survey the area. We found streets submerged by the downpours, mature trees snapped or uprooted (along with their smaller brethren), and debris ranging from roof shingles to mangled billboards strewn about where they were flung by Ike’s 100mph winds.

Some checked their homes for damage, others began the cleanup by clearing clogged storm drains. Many picked up their routines where they left off, walking their dogs to the park despite the chaos and floods. One experience was shared in common — every one of us looked with some wonder at the artifacts of Ike’s devastating power, whether with awestruck eyes or the voracious lenses of digital cameras (or in my case, both).

See more photos from the neighborhood in the immediate aftermath here.

Neighbors work to clear storm drains on the flooded streets of Midtown Houston immediately after Ike’s passage.

[Posting these photos three days after the storm, now that I have Internet access at the office — still no power or Internet at home]

This photo was taken at first light, as Hurricane Ike moved north past Houston.

Contemporaneous Tweets:

After so many hours of nonstop violence, Ike is finally calming down in Midtown. Rain still steady but rafter-shaking howl is down noticeably … 07:12 AM September 13, 2008

Dawn brings a view of Ike-blasted Midtown. Chenevert near Elgin submerged under several inches of water. 07:29 AM September 13, 2008

Sheets of Ike rain still pouring down on Midtown but the house no longer sounds like it’s about to implode. 07:59 AM September 13, 2008

Ike’s flood waters starting to lap at foundations of neighboring townhomes in Midtown. 08:32 AM September 13, 2008

Chenevert in Midtown still flooded but water is receding. Tap h2o pressure very low. City urges boiling for now. 10:12 AM September 13, 2008