Won’t watch.
Can’t watch.
Yeah–I’m a wimp.
But my point (and I do have one) is that it’s just fine to be wimplike in just that way.
To that end…let me share with you some of my security blanket.
Tikka the magnificent:
The captivating Champ: 
And the lonely sea and sky:
(I was on that seaside road as a squall approached the iconic Thatcher Island twin lights and by sheer luck caught this.)
My instructions to self: inhale. Exhale. Repeat.
Add bourbon as necessary.
Non-debate open thread, y’all.
japa21
Not a bourbon kind of guy, but everything else is right on.
Prescott Cactus
I’d rather watch the end of the White Sox game than the debate (down 4-0, 7th)
prostratedragon
Hey, kitty cats, long time no see😺!
My provider has catch-up, so I’m watching old Robert Wise movies from earlier today. Might skip to The Set-Up.
Ken
He’s talking about Haitians eating dogs.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
I’m driving from Denver to KC tomorrow in my Bolt EV. First long-distance trip since I bought it back in Misery a year ago now.
Gonna go the northern route so as to stay off soul-sucking I-70…which will make charging a challenge but the route also makes it harder to drive like a maniac (my profile), which is awful for EV efficiency.
I’m actually looking forward to camping tomorrow night in Lincoln KS.
MobiusKlein
Not watching either. Wife has friends over to watch, and I just can’t/won’t
Went to pick up trash instead
Yutsano
Tikka looks…almost pleased at your presence.
Champ just attac.
Fair Economist
I don’t normally like watching politicians speak, even ones I agree with. Harris is an exception – she’s good! But it’s not worth watching Trump, so I took a shower instead.
Sandia Blanca
I’m here to report that the Balconesfault and Sandia Blanca mini-meetup was a success, as we and our spouses attended Astronomy on Tap at Celis Brewery in Austin. No debate content at all!
Barbara
I’m catching up on the Proms festival and watching a terrific women’s volleyball match. And my heart is STILL racing as I read comments. Tom, keep us apprised of the new book. It’s not out yet is it?
Tim in Cape Fear
I got anxiety won’t let me watch live events. WWE, sure. Realtime life/death stuff, no way. I’ll have my recaps soon. Tucker & Dale vs Evil right now.
moonbat
Sounds like a good plan to me, except I prefer scotch to bourbon. I love the lighthouse(s) picture. Simply wonderful.
I maintain that we put a lot of unnecessary weight on the outcome of these debates and then if everything doesn’t go according to our wishes (fantasies) we freak out for no good reason and instantly get played by the horse race media. I don’t care how much Adderall they pump the orange menace full of, he cannot project presidential. And I don’t care how much he Gish gallops he is not going to be able to fluster her. So what’s to worry about?
Elizabelle
Actually, Kamala is slicing and dicing.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Elizabelle:
And making julianne fries…wtf julianne fries are (an old line from ‘Rocky Horror’)
Enhanced Voting Techniques
@Elizabelle: Sounds like she is being the happy warrior on this?
Mousebumples
I’m postcarding tonight. 8 down. Many more to go…
waspuppet
I honestly can’t watch. He triggers my domestic abuse trauma. BLAH BLAH BLAH THIS CONVERSATION IS GOING TO BE ABOUT WHAT I SAY ITS ABOUT AND THAT WILL CHANGE WHENEVER I FEEL LIKE IT AND ALL YOU CAN DO IS REACT TO ME OR LET ME GET AWAY WITH IT BLAH BLAH BLAH BELCH BLAH.
Can’t.
SpaceUnit
Y’all are missing out! This is awesome.
wombat probability cloud
Thank you. Martini (gin) in hand, I’m following the live blog here rather than watching live.
Tom Levenson
@waspuppet: I really can’t either. My spouse is listening on her new hearing aids/stealth ear buds. My son and a bunch of friends are drinking aperol spritzes through the madness. I’m up at my desk listening to 70s rock and bouncing between Balloon Juice and Bluesky.
I’ve been drinking bourbon. Will now switch to rye.
cmorenc
Relax! Kamala is doing well – enough that you will be reassured when you watch the replay.
anitamargarita
Tikka has an amazing cat face.
HumboldtBlue
That Tikka nose is Romanesque.
Jeffro
I totally get it TL but be sure to check out the highlights (ie, all 90 minutes) tomorrow
It’s like watching a shark feeding frenzy, only there’s just one shark and she’s wearing her prosecutor hat to the fullest (metaphorically speaking!)
Gin & Tonic
@Tom Levenson:
Which one? Inquiring minds and all that.
Tom Levenson
@Jeffro: Oh, I will.
I love watching the replays of victories. (Ask me how many times I’ve watched the fourth quarter and overtime of the Pats-Atlanta SB. Or rather, don’t.)
Jeffro
@Elizabelle: that’s a GREAT way to put it! :)
”she slices, she dices, she purées, she blends, she whips, she folds”
she’s fucking CRUSHING him
zhena gogolia
@waspuppet: Yeah, don’t. But Kamala is great. I wish I had a way of just watching her parts. But we are getting really triggered by him. It’s just as you say.
Mary
I watched for an hour. Kamala is wonderful but I can’t bear to listen to Trump. It makes me so tense. I had to turn it off. He is so very vile.
Tom Levenson
@Gin & Tonic: Bourbon: Redwood Empire Pipe Dream. It’s become my go-to mid priced bourbon lately. Really a nice drink.
Rye: Michter’s Rye. It’s not bad, but not great either. This was a one-bottle experiment, and I’ll be moving on to something else next.
My favorite $35-40 rye is Few’s, but I can’t easily find it here. Michter’s is ok, but I prefer their bourbon and haven’t really found a rye that makes me go “yeah” for a while.
Kristine
@Tom Levenson: Have you tried Bulleit Rye?
I like Bulleit Bourbon as well.
Priest
Fine looking cat.
Gin & Tonic
@Tom Levenson:
Next time you’re at a state store north of the border, look for Willett Family Estate Rye. A bit above your price point, not a lot, but well worth it. Hard to find, though.
Gvg
I don’t like debates anyway.
Picture reminds me of a vivid experience decades ago. I had a night ocean biology class at the Junior college in Orlando, Valencia CC. There was a thunderstorm we were watching on break that was just amazing, hundreds of strikes. The next day the news reported how many were recorded. That was when I learned that Florida got more “recorded” lightning strikes than anywhere else in the world. It is thought that a part of the high monsoon area of India gets a comparable or higher amount but they didn’t have the equipment then to record all those fast strikes. Later I learned that lightening (and small fires) are an important part of Florida’s natural ecology. Some plants need fire to germinate or compete. Also lightening causes an increase in nitrogen which is fertilizer. I don’t know how that works.
Since then I have wondered if we would ever be able to capture the lightening strikes as an energy source. Currently I think it would melt equipment and explode storage batteries. There is a lot of energy there.
Tom Levenson
@Gin & Tonic: Will give it a try. Liked the Willet pot still bourbon until they changed the mash bill, so I know they can make a fine whiskey.
Tom Levenson
@Kristine: Not a huge fan of Bulleit. De gustibus non disputandem est.
Ol' Nat
Adding Bourbon. Thank you!
Tom Levenson
@Priest: Thank you.
I think so.
He’s getting really old these days, and I worry about him. But he retains the best purr this side of the Poconos. (And the other side too, dammit.)
Ksmiami
@Tom Levenson: I only saw an image of them on TV. So is listening w earbuds but Trump looks ollld
MobiusKlein
@Tom Levenson:
Redwood Empire- that’s some fine ass Bourbon. Now I’m craving some
Ken
By a curious coincidence, down 4-0 is about where Trump stands too.
(BTW Ken@4 isn’t me. I should have picked a more distinctive nym when I joined lo these many years ago.)
Lynn Dee
“The lonely sea and sky …”
Beautiful photo.
pieceofpeace
@Fair Economist: Showering, cleansing seems appropriate under these circumstances.
And reassuring to read brief, positive comments of her performance from those with stronger stomachs.
The Unmitigated Gaul
@Jeffro: She’s goad. He’s exploding
WaterGirl
@Priest: You had better not try to eat it! //
NotMax
@Tom Levenson
Thumbs up for Bulleit rye. Acceptably smooth and mellow. Prefer it to their bourbon.
pat
OK, so I watched it. What a shit-show. trump lies and lies and lies again and there is no antagonism toward his lies. My god….
zhena gogolia
@pieceofpeace: She was fantastic.
JML
Didn’t watch. Twins were on and it was Pablo Day so that was fun to watch. Then saw the replay of England v Finland was on and I had no idea what the score was from earlier, so this has been fun to watch.
I will admit to being curious to see what the post-debate coverage will look like, but I’m not subjecting myself to the bellowing lies of the Orange Idiot.
Trivia Man
@Tom Levenson: Tonight I am trying Tullamore Dew Ir9sh whisky, first impression is good.
Trivia Man
@Kristine: Templeton rye is good.
Trivia Man
@Tom Levenson: As they say in Die Fliedermaus, “Chacon a son gout”
frosty
@Tom Levenson: Willet was my favorite when we did the Kentucky distillery tour a few years ago. Or maybe Woodford Reserve Double Oaked … but $60/bottle is a little rich for me, especially considering how fast it gets emptied!
These days it’s Wild Turkey 80 for bourbon and different ryes. The one I have in the cabinet now is Pennsyltucky Rye from Midstate Distilling in Harrisburg. I bought it for the name!
KSinMA
Lovely photos!
Chris T.
@Gvg:
Dry air is mostly a mix of nitrogen gas (about 78% of it) and oxygen (about 21%—almost all of the rest). Add some water vapor (because it’s a cloud / raining) and sprinkle in miscellaneous extra stuff like carbon dioxide and argon and so on, and you have the atmosphere.
The bolt splits the nitrogen gas (N₂, two nitrogens) into atoms. It also splits up water (H₂O). So now there’s free N and H atoms floating around, and sometimes they combine into NH₃, one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms. That’s ammonia, which dissolves into the rain and hits the ground. Fertilizer is mostly ammonia (packaged differently than in rain, but same general idea).
(PS: “Lightning” has no Es at all in it. Presumably it burned them up. Lightening is also a word but refers to making something whiter or better-lit or easier to carry, etc. /pedant)
There is indeed a lot of energy, but it’s basically just concentrated-and-converted wind energy, which is much easier to capture as wind. Whenever you concentrate energy down into a really small ball-of-it, it’s functionally nearly the same as an explosive. This is the same problem with the power stored in batteries (note that both lead-acid and lithium ion batteries can start fires, it’s just easier with the Li-ion ones).
(For that matter, you can start fires with steel wool and an AA or 9v battery. Handy sometimes when camping.)
Kosh III
@Ken: He’s talking about Haitians eating dogs.
Doesn’t the dumb fraker know it Asians he’s supposed to insult with that lie?
No, I didn’t watch instead watching more of Preacher.