I worked on homework most of the weekend, with an enjoyable respite of roleplaying with Dan and Michael on AIM (that's AOL's Instant Messaging, for those not in-the-know about such things). Marilyn has been the Good Wife by not only performing her usual duties of cooking tasty meals and generally being the one who keeps the apartment from collapsing, but has also been keeping me on task with my homework. She helped me immensely in purchasing materials for the table I have to build in my Foundation 3D class, and she also guided me in taking pictures for my Foundation Photo class (though she did divert me from taking interesting pictures of brides and grooms appearing out of nowhere at the park down the street).

I listened to the first Presidential Debate on the radio, so my experience was a bit different from, say, my wife's, who watched it on television. It was better for Bush on the radio, I think, because he has those goofy expressions and you get the impression that he's sputtering a bit when you watch him at the podium. On the radio, he sounded like he was on top of things, very quick to answer Kerry's charges even if he tended toward repeating himself. The TV folks are playing it as a win for Kerry, but I disagree - most of what was said has already been said by both parties on the campaign trail, but I think Kerry made some statements that will ultimately hurt him. Of course, I think that just about everything Kerry says hurts him, so take that as you will. Still, the whole "global test" quote will, I think, sum him up until November. Kerry also strikes me as naive in his approach to the War on Terror, despite his striking "I will kill the terrorists" quote. Summits don't scare terrorists, and even though France loves Kerry, I seriously doubt that they will jump into Iraq if Kerry is elected. Kerry's approach to Iran ("Let's give them what they want!") frightens me, and though I don't know the details of the North Korea situation (aside from the fact that the country is in the dark ages and Kim Jong-Il is a lunatic), I don't trust him with that particular powder keg, either.

My normally apathetic co-worker Shaun rolled his eyes when I turned the radio to the debates. In ten minutes, he was rapt. He heard more of them than I did, actually, since I had to close down the registers.

Even if you're not into politics, you might still be interested in looking at the candidates' notes. Kerry's notes get a little, um, racy, but they're both quite an insight, really:

Kerry's Notes
Bush's Notes