The caucuses are finally here, and I'm not watching the results on TV. I don't have CNN or MSNBC or any other cable news station, and I don't have a lot of patience for watching the caucusing in real time on C-SPAN.

But I do have Twitter.

And I've got to say, following my Twitter friends' conversation has been educational.

Patrick Ruffini, who's gathering caucusgoers' tweets at twitter.com/iowacaucus, has already said he thinks Obama will win for the Dems. It's far too early though, methinks, but his Twitter feed is a great way to get numbers.

I'm also listening to the inimitable Brian Lehrer on WNYC, the New York-area NPR affiliate.

A special Google Maps mashup is supposed to be charting the results in real time, but I haven't seen anything yet.

Iowacaucusresults.com is showing the Democratic results, and at the moment John Edwards is leading the Democratic pack.

Super blogger Andy Carvin just twittered "Let's all pause for a moment to cross our fingers and hope that Twitter doesn't crash tonight." He's got that right.