It was shortly after I walked into the SPACE Gallery Wednesday night when Nat May, the gallery's executive director, asked me if I wanted a shot of whiskey.

Figuring for the night ahead - moderating the debate among the seven candidates running in the First District Congressional race, reading the questions, and speaking in front of a live studio audience - it seemed like it might be a good idea.

I've had my fair share of public speaking engagements over the years, starting with student council in high school and more recently in panel discussions on the press or journalism workshops for young writers.

But this is politics, and that means people's ideals, passions and futures are in the mix. For the candidates it's another opportunity to present themselves to the public, share their views and beliefs and distance themselves from their peers.

For the public it's part of the bigger process of taking
part in what our civics and history teachers often called "our civic duty."

And in the middle of it is just me, playing equal parts traffic cop and Bob Barker.

It's time for another weekly installment of The Scanner, otherwise known as "The NXT Desk goofs off and looks up random stuff on the web instead of writing something better."

About a month ago I got a call from the League of Young Voters looking for my help on something.

No stranger to the League, I gladly said I'd be happy to help in any way (as long as it did not conflict with my job, naturally.).

They wanted me to moderate a forum with the candidates running for Maine's First Congressional District seat.

I said, "Sure...I can do that."

Was there something going on at Portland High School yesterday?
I drove past there and it looked like the entire city was trying to get in there.

It's the biggest thing since the last biggest thing...which was probably the Super Bowl.

It's Super Tuesday and in states near and far from Maine primaries are taking place that will (in theory) determine who the presidential nominees are for the Democrats and the Republicans.

Lucky for you we here on the NXT desk have up–to–the–minute coverage of the campaigns that you likely won't find elsewhere.

Obviously you can find a lot of things on CraigsList, and as anyone who has read Best of CraigsList knows, it is often hilarious.

It's Monday. You know it, I know it. I'm coming off a bitter doughnut/brunch experience yesterday that still has me rattled. Let's dispense with the pleasantries and just get on with this thing.

The Portland Chapter of the NAACP is holding a rally in Tommy's Park in the Old Port today in support of the Jena 6 starting at 5 p.m.

I snuck in (about as stealthily as a 6'3" man can) and caught the tail end of The League of Young Voter's local candidates debate last night over at the Community Television Network studios.

No, I am not teaching a Poli Sci course - which is good for all of us.

If you'll recall a few weeks back there was a minor dust-up between Republican Sen. Susan Collins and Democratic Congressman Tom Allen, who is hoping to take her spot in the Senate next year.

YouTube is a lot of things, including a distraction, a source of comedy, a repository of nostalgia and embarrassment.

YouTube is a lot of things, including a distraction, a source of comedy, a repository of nostalgia and embarrassment.

For several years now the League of Young Voters has been doing the best it can to crash the traditional political scene by bringing a bunch of young people with them.

For all my MegaStorm 2007 jokes, guess who ended up manning the phones and chasing power outages yesterday. Sadly, I did not get access to anything with the word Doppler in it.