Reporter's Notebook

MATTHEW COOPER, TIME's deputy bureau chief in Washington, coordinated this week's election coverage.

"Washington had no idea George Bush would have such a great election night. I've been talking to political insiders trying to get a handle on how the Republicans pulled this off, how the Democrats blew it and where both parties go from here. When I spoke to Richard Gephardt, he seemed genuinely disappointed he had not been able to deliver House Democrats to the Promised Land.

"I turn 40 this winter, and I've been covering elections since 1980. Every few years the Democrats wake up with a hangover--'80, '84, '88, '94, '00 and now this one. Just like being a Boston Red Sox fan, there's a certain heartache in being a Democrat. But, as both parties have proven over the years, each loss contains the seeds of renewal."

Staff writers ANITA HAMILTON and LEV GROSSMAN and regular contributor MARYANNE BUECHNER, with fins, produced our annual Best Inventions feature.

HAMILTON: "I've tested new products since the early 1990s, when I started out at a computer magazine. What made the Inventions project fun was that we could focus purely on great ideas without worrying whether they would be successful in the marketplace. For example, I love the virtual keyboard designed by VKB. Typing on it was like magic because the keyboard is an optical illusion. Will it ever get to market? Who knows? It's still a great idea."

GROSSMAN: "I've been writing on technology for seven years, and what I love is capturing the exact moment when a beautiful idea--skis that think! spillproof pants!--turns into reality. Twenty years from now we'll say, 'Remember when you used to spill Merlot on your pants and they'd get stained?' This is the moment when 'now' turns into 'used to.' And that's great for me--I'm an incorrigible wine spiller."

BUECHNER: "In the five years I've been writing about technology for TIME, I've always tried to give practical advice. Reporting this Inventions package was like a vacation--I stopped being sensible and looked for things that were cool, even ridiculous. The best part was introducing Cindy Smart to my 2-year-old son, who seemed disturbed to hear a doll talking in full sentences, something he hasn't quite mastered himself. Or maybe he's just wary of blonds."

JEFF CHU, staff writer in TIME's London office, wrote the story on the new James Bond film, Die Another Day.

"I spent four days in Cadiz, Spain, with the cast and crew. During the day I'd just hang out on the set, and at night I'd hit the tapas bars with the crew. It got to the point where Pierce Brosnan said, 'What? You're still here? Are you writing a thesis on us or something?'

"The highlight had to be the filming of Halle Berry's homage to Ursula Andress in 1962's Dr. No, emerging from the sea in a bikini. The water was frigid. Screenwriter Robert Wade turned to me as Berry came out for the last time and said, in that loaded way that is pure Bond, 'She suffered for her art.'"