Monday

Pop comes into the big room for a serious talk. Dish is likely to raise the prices on its premium movie channels. Pop wants to cut. He has to keep Starz for his westerns. I don't like the idea of losing HBO, because they seem to do better with their series programs, and I was especially looking forward to the new "West World". But I said go ahead and lose it all. I even suggesting giving up NetFlix, but he watches that at midnight when I have gone to bed. As far as I am concerned, all we really need is the air-conditioning and the Internet, aside from food and housing. Still, you cannot say that this is trending well. We are limping to the end. ... I mention how we once gave up on the porno channel, and I realized that, thanks to the Internet, we are not missing that one at all now, especially since they only air the safest, most politically correct porn. ... ... Some pre-debate tweeting. Ms. Stradley says, "In this election it is hard to say anything is hyperbole given bizarre comments supporting authoritarian strongmen, nukes, etc." Ana Marie Cox says, "Exactly… The guy admires Putin and has the patience of a junkie, the morals of a mobster. Who knows what would happen." ... I thought Ana Marie would be a good tweeter, and she is. She is another opinion-maker that I have lost sight of for about ten years, and those years have not been overly kind to her. At 44 she looks more like 54. But it looks like she still has a young wit and is willing to share it pretty freely. ... ... Hmm, the stars of the TV show "West Wing" are hitting the campaign trail for Hillary. ... ... Pop is excited about the presidential debate: he's taking over the big room in order to watch it on the big screen. That's a bit of a letdown for me, but I can live with it. ... Pop has had a change of heart. I won't have to shut everything down and clear away and start-up in the office. And it will be easier for me to watch over Coco lying behind the couch. I honestly think she likes it when I step back there and give her little finger-pettings as I tell her, "I love you, Coco, I love you." The way she looks up at me, still of this world, awake to its charms and hopes. ... ... Less than ten minutes before the big debate is set to begin, Sugar tweets, "Does anyone else feel a touch of nerves combined with like, a crushing sense of dread and creeping horror at what we are about to witness?" ... ... The debate is done. They both did a reasonable job at doing what they had to do: she looked healthy, and he was relatively self-controlled. For the first fifteen minutes, it was a little scary, because Trump was looking like your perfectly ordinary mainstream political candidate, and I think he might have won if he could maintain that pose. However, he still overheats easily, coming back at any perceived slight like a fireball while being loose with the facts. After this performance, the contest seems to be back to being Hillary's to lose, with more undecided independents swinging her way, unless there is a much bigger white nationalist vote than we dare to think. ... For the record, I followed four twitters throughout the debate: Ana Marie Cox, Krugman, Ann Coulter, as well as Sugar. It helped to liven things up. Poor Ann was upset that they did not pay any real attention to immigration and crime - those major Trumpian issues. Sugar is helping to organize an underground railroad for Americans hoping to escape to Canada. Krugman is worried that journalists will grade Hillary on a much tougher scale and give away the election to one of the greatest boobs to ever run for president. Ana Marie is celebrating after Hillary blew Trump away.