Just saw it confirmed on USA Today's website. Crap, crap, crap.

Yeah, I'm really sad about Paul Newman.

I watched the first hour of the debate and then went to bed. My impression was that Obama didn't blow me away, but McCain seemed like he was trying WAY too hard to look relaxed. And his "passionate" voice was seriously nervous and (I hate the word but can't think of a better one) shrill.

I also noticed that Obama was repeating his larger points over and over (as was McCain), but had a much larger stable of specifics to back them up with. McCain repeated himself a LOT. Which probably won't wind up hurting him because the press only wants sound bites anyway.

I was disappointed that Obama kept going back to the "we shouldn't have gone to war in the first place" point. He can't be the candidate of the future if he won't answer the question "What are we going to do in Iraq NOW" Of COURSE we should never have gone into Iraq in the first place. But we're there now, and he's going to have to deal with that. He talked a little about his 16-month withdrawal plan, but there was too much "I was right 6 years ago, nyah!" for me.

I thought Obama did a great job laughing off the ad hominem attacks - it made McCain look desperate. Also caught the subtle trick of calling him "John" - made sure the audience knew they were peers/colleagues without having to directly confront the experience question.

I had to laugh at McCain's "most liberal Senator" swipe because it took me a beat to realize he hadn't meant it as a compliment. Probably the reason I'm not a swing voter.

Paul Newman has died of cancer.

Oh no!

Sad news about Paul Newman.

My new next door neighbor just knocked on my door, then gave up and left the building before I could get dressed and answer. I have a sinking feeling this is going to happen a lot... if you're not patient enough to give me 60 whole seconds to answer the door on a Saturday morning, you're in for a lot of wasted time (in one minute increments) standing in the hallway.

I think my last building was ideal for me - shared stairwell and fair walk to the parking lot, so plenty of opportunities to bump into neighbors and exchange pleasantries, but none of us were really the drop-by-for-a-visit type.

I just made an oven pancake thing that was a traditional breakfast growing up for three of us, but really, it's two eggs and a half cup of flour, so I just ate the whole thing. Of course, it's also a crapload of butter, so now I'm a little yuck. But still yum!

Ooh, yum, maybe that's what I'll do when my groceries get here.

So, I just learned that the David Eyre's Pancake is not just from the hippy kids' cookbook that I make it out of, but is actually a Craig Claiborne recipe! [link] AKA Dutch Baby.

I had nightmares last night. I don't really remember them except McCain's head kept floating around. Guess I shouldn't watch the debates

sorry to hear about Paul Newman

So sad, though not unexpected, about Paul Newman.

My mother the RN and I were discussing the debates last night, discussing McCain's health, comparing his behavior in 2008 to his behavior in 2000, and we both agreed McCain is acting much like my step-grandfather did after his TIAs. Scary.