Getting excited

Okay, so we're into Thursday.  Clouds, showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast for today and tonight.  This weather pattern is supposed to continue into next week.  The following week, when I have vacation, things are supposed to be more summer like... you know, sunny and warm.
I read this interesting opinion on the Idiot Jerk in the White House; how he really is terrified of the Mueller investigation.   For the first time in his life he can't just shit away accountability.  He knows he's a scumbag, doesn't care that he's a scumbag, he just wants to tell people what to do.  Rather than demonstrate ethical attributes which earn loyalty, he found it much easier to buy it.  His favorite choice of attack was always the lawsuit.  Small business owners were easy prey.  Except now, that option is no longer available.  When something goes wrong with the economy, his supporters will go for his throat.  He knows this.  He is an asswipe phony who's managed to lie himself into a position where he may be the first American president who goes to prison.  I find that rather exciting.   Well, not that I think that will happen.  As I've said before, he'll run away to Russia first.  That's what cowards always do, and that is one thing you can be certain of, he is a coward.
For the past 2 weeks, ever since Blogger did an update, I've not been getting any notification when someone leaves a comment.  A lot of bloggers have been complaining and evidently Blogger is working on a fix. 
So, I went out yesterday and bought a new toy.  A PS4 Pro.  I have been having issues with my Xbox one special edition.  They started with the original controller's inability to stay synced with the console.  After much arguing with Microsoft, they replaced the controller.  Sometimes with a disc in the drive, I needed to disconnect the power cable in order for the console to boot up.  At other times the game will play in what seems to be slow motion.  You should get more than 2 years play time out of a console.   The PS4 Pro gets good reviews and is expected to be around for a number of years (4 or 5) before a new console gets released.  I may no longer be playing games by then.... nah, I'll still be playing.

I also have a bit of a problem with Microsoft.  I bought a Surface tablet for my writing and... well, the damn thing is not nearly as versatile as I was expecting. 
And the new Bethesda game is..... Fallout 76, which evidently takes place in West Virginia....  Holy Shit!  Coal Country!!  On the Fallout timeline, the story starts in October 2102 - 25 years after a nuclear war devastated the planet, a war initiated by the Chinese, I might add.  More reveals about the game will come in the next 11 days.

Oh... dear me... I'm getting excited.

Please Stand By

Wednesday!!  My weekend begins!!  And the weather is supposed to be shitty!!  High humidity!!  Storms quite possible!!
Ah, well, this is how it goes.  I checked the calendar this morning and saw that legally we are still in spring.  Spring is a transitional season from winter cold to summer hot... and usually dry.  We will have to wait and see on that one.
I saw where some bimbolina politician from Tennessee has said pornography causes school shootings.  Now true, she was speaking to a group of pastors, but give me a break.  Everything they have chosen to pass judgment on causes school shootings... except the availability of guns.  The fact that any nearly brain dead supporter of the Idiot Jerk in the White House... or, to be perfectly transparent, the fact that any brain dead numb nuts who wants a gun, can get a gun, which absolutely nothing to do with school shootings.  No, blame pornography.  Porn must be popular in Tennessee since she says you can buy it in super markets.  Wonder if it's located in the Deli section.  You know?  "Hey, I'd like an order of T&A to go."
And yesterday Bethesda started their reveal of their new game.  Teaser trailer to arrive today.  How did they do this?   With a livecast of a Bobble head standing in front of a test pattern.  These things are indicators of a new Fallout game.

During the livecast several people wandered through the scene.  They had balloons, drank what might have been booze, did  brief little skits. Eventually, someone put the Bobble head to sleep, laying him on his side and setting his alarm for 0945 this AM.  At one point Forbes noted that over 140,000 people were watching (which beats the number at the Idiot Jerk's inauguration).
Now I know there are those out there who are saying... "oh, it's just a video game," without realizing that this game, coming from Bethesda Studios, Maryland, the United States, will make more money then "The Avengers, Infinity War."  How important is this game?  Forbes is continuing to broadcast the livestream.

And for those who don't know who or what Forbes is, here's the link.
At this point, all I can say is

PLEASE STAND BY

By Invitation

This is the last day of my 4 day work week.  Two days off starting tomorrow will be nice.  Sadly, the weather looks to be somewhat shitty for my mid-week weekend.  Sunny, humid, but with the possibility of storms and thunderstorms.  Yippee!
And, speaking of storms, I didn't pay too much attention to the latest streams of shit from the Idiot Jerk's Twitter account.  From what I gather, he spit out a lot of diarrhea with the usual chunky bits for his followers.
I haven't done a workout in like... oh, a week and a half and I feel all slacked.  Tomorrow, there's some things that need to be done, but I'm hoping to get both a free weight session in and a ride.  There is the possibility I might have to be satisfied with just one of those.  If that happens, I'll focus on the ride.  Your legs are the engines of your body.  Keep them strong.
Twelve days until the Bethesda E3 Event.  The only bad thing is that it's going to be a 6:30 PM Pacific Time, which is a lot later here on the east coast.  Excitement is building.  There's going to be a big announcement.  Holy Crap!  I might have to actually stay up and watch it live!

Tomorrow, one of the things I'm going to have to do is run the push mower over my front lawn again.  All this rain makes the green grass grow.
Oh, and I might go see Solo on Thursday.  Maybe.  Don't know yet.  Reviews are... so, so.  And ticket sales fell below expectations.  They should have waited.  But no, greed has taken over the Star Wars empire.  As a result, you're going to see dropping ticket sales as no expectations build.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go throw a load of laundry in the washer.

Dickies

So, it's Monday... a holiday, no less, and I get to work.  We didn't get any thunderstorms, however the sky is overcast and from time to time we have a drizzly, misty, rainy, shitty weather.  And it's not really supposed to improve.  I'm off on Wednesday and Thursday, the weather was supposed to be sunny, but now we may be dealing with Albert.
Blogger has done some changes... one that apparently is not too popular is their notification system.  Prior to the change I'd get an email when ever someone commented... that no longer happens.  Now I actually have to sign into the blog and click on the comments button.  Another thing that's going away are the polls.  Never used them myself.  In fact, I'm not really a poll person... well, I guess I should clarify that since it depends upon the pole.
The Idiot Jerk has also been Tweeting up a shit storm this past weekend.  My, doesn't this guy have a lot of anger and hatred inside.  I hate to rain on his parade, but... well... things aren't going to get any better... ever.  He's a corpulent loud mouth who's realizing just how expensive loyalty can be.
One nice thing about to day is they're feeding us at the store.  They used always grill burgers and hot dogs, with potato and macaroni salads, chips... you know?  the picnic shindig stuff.  However, that's changed.  Today we're getting Dickey's barbecue.  Someone in management loves Dickey's.  You will notice I'm not advantage of that name.  You can all have fun and create your own pun.  As I said when I heard they were serving us Dickies.... What the hell!!  That was followed by... you mean the phony turtlenecks?  Of course, I was joking.  Which is almost as funny as standing in a gay bar and shouting "Will the Real Dickey please stand up!"
For those who don't find that funny, now might be a good time to shower off.

Oh, and for those of you who don't know, here's a picture of a red dickie.

Nice, huh?

Bloomers and Idiots

Well, here it is, Sunday.  Today is the hump day for your 3 day weekend.  For me?  Just another work day.
Yesterday work was odd - strange customers, the kind who usually only come out at night when the moon is full.
Like the woman who asked me "where do you keep your dish rags."  She frowned as I politely told her "we're a home improvement store.  We don't carry dish rags."
Or the couple who stopped in as I was ready to leave, complaining that they were going to need to rescheduled their carpet measure.  They told me the measure had been scheduled for 6 PM (we don't measure past 3:30 PM) however the "guy who was supposed to measure cancelled because he'd fallen into a hole...."  When I called our measurement services to reschedule I got a message telling me they had closed at 7 PM.  I'd never gotten that message before.
Then there was the woman who needed to have a blind re-cut, it was a half inch too wide.  When I'd finished, she looked at the edge of the blind, pointing out a small amount of chipping.  You needed to look very, very close to see what she was talking about.  The cutters uses a circular saw blade, the cut is always good, but not perfectly clean.  Politely, I told this was almost always the case.  Her face got really, really red.  "I had 7 blinds cut the other day and there was no problem."  Demonstrating great customer service skills, I reached for a new blind.  "Here, let me cut another for you."  And... of course.... after the blind was cut, you could see fine chipping along the edge.  She got redder.  I thought one of two things was going to happen:  either her head would explode... or she'd burst into tears.  However, what she did do was take the blind, shove it into her cart, and walk away without another word.  I wouldn't be surprised if that blind, and the 7 she had cut, ended up getting returned because she's going to go home and check out those blinds.  She'll get pissed, and want her money back.
Today is supposed to be cooler with thunderstorms.  Already dark clouds are looming over the tree tops on the hill behind my house.  In anticipation, I took a couple more pics of my roses since storms will knock them to pieces.

White and pink

Biggie kept trying to get in every picture...  What a ham.

One of the reds

The color is actually more of a blood red.

Another one from Little Stonehenge

While some fade, others bloom.

Chip This

Well, it's Saturday and I get to go back to work.  We've already had a rain shower - more thunderstorms are supposed to be on the way, though nothing severe.
I went to see my new Optometrist yesterday, she works for the VA.  Very nice.  She seemed somewhat surprised when I told her Kilmore Eye Ass only had me putting drops in one eye.  That explains why the pressure in my left was higher than the pressure in the right.  Also interesting, was that the high pressure in the left eye was not high enough to actually warrant treatment, nor diagnose as being true glaucoma.  Maybe it's a good thing I'm no longer going to Kilmore Eye Ass.  I signed a waver.  They're going to be sending her my medical records.
Looking at the pile of limbs and branches behind my back fence, I have to admit to pondering the purchase of a wood chipper.  Most of the debris is three inches or less, and the wood chips would provide a really good mulch.  There's also the possibility I might be able to use it on any thin Republicans who get too close to the house.

Wouldn't this be just dandy!

And I guess there's a lot of bipartisan shrieking going on because the Idiot Jerk is caving to the Chinese... you know?  ZTE?  As I said before, you need to keep in mind that both he and Ivanka have trademarks in China and nothing is more important to the Idiot Jerk than those trademarks.

My roses are also beginning to bud and bloom.  I took some pics yesterday out front.

That's the orange bush.

And the yellow bush and the orange bush.  There is also a yellow rose bush inside the fence, as well and one that's blood red, one that is white, and one that is white and pink..  When they're all blooming at the same time my yard smells heavenly.

Time Test

Friday... my 2nd day off.
I have an appointment this AM with a VA optometrist.  I do need to get my glaucoma drops refilled.  Hopefully they'll be able to do with without my having to see an Ophthalmologist.
I went to see Deadpool 2 last evening.  Even though I liked the film a lot, in my opinion the first Deadpool was better.  The humor in the 2nd installment is much darker.  The ending does try and resolve this, which was nice.  The only problem I had with it was the "time issue."  Bit of a spoiler here, though not much of one.  The Josh Brolin character comes back in time to solve a problem.  In fact, the use of time to fix a problem seems to be quite common in science fiction / fantasy.  Captain Kirk did it how many times in Star Trek.  Superman spun the earth backwards to bring Lois Lane back to life.  Oh, and "The Avengers, Infinity War 2" and something's going to need to be done to fix the ending of part 1.  Changing the past might actually make the future worse.  Nobody thinks of that.  This is because people look at an isolated event.  Things are much more complicated than that.
Look at the North Korea mess.  Where's the Republican chatter about the Peace Prize now?  Or the Idiot Jerk reneging on the supposed tariffs for the Chinese tech industry?  On that last one, I still think that has more to do with both Ivanka's and the Idiot Jerk's trademarks than anything else.  He's a deal maker, remember, and nothing's more important to him than his own personal gain.  He sees his supporters as nothing more than tools for enriching himself.
On a lighter note, all the branches torn from the maple trees behind my house have been sawed into smaller chunks.  They are piled on the back side of the fence.  As I looked at them yesterday, I thought to myself, "gee, maybe I should get a wood chipper."  Nah.
My roses and peonies are all in bloom even the ones in Little Stonehenge.

I have four rose bushes in my back yard, two peonies, and a shit load of Rose of Sharons which I'm starting to rip out.  Oh, and some beans I planted earlier are beginning to grow.

The slice and dice of Twitter Hell

Well, I celebrated yesterday being my 6th day in a row by slicing the side of my forefinger with a carpet knife.  Not a long cut, my fingers aren't that thick, but the blade went about as deep as you can go with cutting bone.  Pissed me off.  I looked down after I'd done it and said "fuck."  It didn't hurt, but boy did it bleed... drip, drip, drip, as I walked to the paint department to get a band-aid. One of the associates asked if I needed stitches.  "Nah," I said.  Then she said "you should at least use a butterfly bandage to hold it together."  Gimme a break.  Last night when I got home, I squeezed on some neosporin and changed the bandage.  This morning?  There's just a thin, red line.  I heal fast.
Today is supposed to be nice.  Unfortunately, I'm going to have to waste it by getting out the chainsaw and cutting up all of the branches ripped from the trees behind my house during the last storm.  And there's the problem with the lawn, which desperately needs to be cut... mowing is out of the question since the last week of steady rain has turned it into a field.
Oh, and for those who didn't hear, a Federal Judge decided that the Idiot Jerk in the White House can no longer censor who responds to his Tweets.  This doesn't mean he's actually going to read the comments.  I have no doubts and aide does that, only showing him the ones praising his benefice.  Still, no matter how he wants to dice it, his 'get real Donald' (or what ever it's called) Twitter account is going to be flooded with anger and hatred.  People are going to slice him to ribbons.  He's going to look at one of his aides and say "yo, show me the Luv," and they're going to show him a screen that says "eat shit, scumbag."
This is life, and the Idiot Jerk does not handle reality well.

Gee, I hope that image isn't too graphic... perhaps I should have posted one of my finger.

Tomorrow

Well, it's Wednesday and the end of my 6 day work week.  We had thunderstorms and rain yesterday, however the sun has come out this morning.  And it's supposed to be coming out tomorrow.  You can bet your bottom dollar on that...

Though I don't know if the sun coming out tomorrow is going to be any relief for the White House... or to be more specific, the north lawn.  You see something is going on there.  Something not very nice.  The ground is beginning to open up.  A sinkhole!  And it's growing.  Now, we're not talking about something tiny here.   The last measurements had it a couple feet across and a few feet deep.  I'm waiting for the Idiot Jerk to blame it on Mueller...   Or Clinton...  Or Kim Sung dumb.  Or, perhaps that's the access point for the spy who infiltrated his campaign.  Some are saying it's a sign from God.  Either way, we now know that under his administration the Swamp Is Growing.
We have a paint rebate going on at the store.  Notice, I'm not calling it a sale.  Some people do.  Nope, you get a rebate for every gallon of Behr paint you buy.  I'm going to pick up a gallon for my staircase before I leave today.  The rebate is on a Visa card so you can actually use it anywhere.  Most people prefer sales rather than rebates.  They want the $$ off right away.  Filling out a form online takes too much time for them.  We do rebates because statistics show many people buy the paint but fail to follow through with the rebate.  This is how American Retail works.  Don't expect anything for free.

To jab or stab?

Tuesday... and the rain is back.  The first thunderstorm came through around 0200.  Today is supposed to be pretty much of a wash out.  Tomorrow the sun is supposed to come back out.  By Thursday things should be dry enough for me to saw, and wack, and bag... and I had been hoping to take the bike out on the road.  We shall have to wait and see.  I'm off Friday, so maybe I'll just save the wacking until then.
I've been pretty much of a slug for the past week.  I've done little more then sporadic rides on the trainer.  Some weight training, but nothing regular.  I'm blaming the weather.  Like right now, while I'm typing this, the air is so thick with humidity you could almost cut it with a butter knife.  The temperature is in the high 60's, so I can't turn on the Central Air.  What most people forget is that this type of weather is normal for Central PA.  Summer and winter aren't bad in the part of the county.  One gets hot (occasionally) and one gets cold and snowy (occasionally), it's spring and fall that are the shits.
So, I guess one of the messages the DNC has settled on for the mid-term elections is "corruption."  There are so many choices, though, so many choices.  One thing they do need to be careful of is shrieking overkill.  This is a lesson so apparent in what I'll call 'recent history.'  You need look no farther back than Bill Clinton's re-election to see what I'm talking about.  Sure, Democrats loved him.  The Dot.com money was starting to flow in.  Those things helped, but what really worked in his favor was the Republican Overkill Machine.  The loud, endless attacks by Republicans worked against them.  The American Voters punished them by re-electing the source of their hatred.  We meed to avoid that pitfall, that tar trap which will suck us under.  The last thing in the world we want is for people to begin feeling sorry for the Idiot Jerk and his minions.  This means attacks against them must be varied and loud enough to be heard.  Constant little pinpricks is what we need.  Little jabs all over the Republican body.  Don't copy their failed strategy of overkill.
Of course, they're still using that same, tired old strategy.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House is blindly stabbing away at the truth.  And his supporters love that shit.  They are a minority.

Believe me when I tell you, a jab is better than a stab when it comes to building up long term anger.  The fool who blindly stabs very rarely does little more than superficial damage.

Texas Warzone

Monday, Monday, can't stop that day....

That was the Momas and the Popas, a vocal group from the pre-dawn of Pop music.  For some of you, Monday is the start of a new work week.  For me?  Well, sometime last night I hit my 'hump' minute.  I'll be on a downhill slide for the next three days.  And the weather is supposed to be fine.  On Thursday I'm planning on taking the bike off the trainer and out on the road for a bit.  As always, that will entail some hazards since I live in a suburb.  Twenty-one years ago when I moved to Enola it was a small town to the northwest of Harrisburg.  Not anymore.  The streets are just as narrow, however now they have much more traffic.  

I see where the Idiot Jerk in the White House wants the Justice Department to investigate what he's calling a 'spy' in his campaign.  He believes the 'spy' story because Hannity told him there was a 'spy.'  Also, there's the fact that all this shit his team, including dopey Donny Jr. is being made public.  In his mind there had to be a 'spy.'  How else would all of his scumduggery be leaking to the press...   He will never understand this is what happens when you surround yourself with asswipes and sycophants on a National Level.  This is just another bit of unraveling.  Be prepared, it will get worse.

Oh, and see that the Vice Governor, or maybe it's the Assistant Governor, or maybe we should call him the dumbshit wanna be Governor, of Texas is calling for the arming of school teachers.  He also farted out something about the 2nd Amendment guaranteeing a 'well armed militia.'  Texans love their guns.  That state will pass legislation arming teachers, because... God wants them to do that.  Nothing must interfere with the sanctity of their guns.  And the state will move one step closer to becoming a war zone.  Won't that make the gun makers, and the bullet makers, and the laser scope makers happy!!

On a lighter note, I was taking the garbage out last night and my neighbor told me that they too had a chipmunk in their house.  She found the little critter in their dog food bag, too the bag outside and released him.  Having one in a house is odd, having 2 in 2 different houses is...  Oh, my, we might be under attack by Chip and Dale! 

Isn't that rather Froggy?

Sunday.
The rain has stopped.  Still cloudy, though every now and then the sky clears a bit and sunshine glints off the roof of my car.  Temp wise we're supposed to hit the low 80's (F) today.  They're call for scattered thunderstorms, hopefully they'll be scattered somewhere else and things will begin to dry out.
There was an small death here yesterday.  Last evening, after I got home from work, I checked my email, and read everybody's blog, I nestled myself into my Morris chair to kill cult members in Far Cry 5.  Big Seig kept nosing around  the chair in front of the window, poking his head in first one side and then the other.  I thought he was looking for their squeaky ball.  Thinking I'd get it for him, I pulled the chair front.  There on the floor was the corpse of a chipmunk.  Some how the little guy must have gotten into the house.  I felt bad for him.  How terrible it must have been to be chased, and bitten by Big Seig and Lily.  And, of course, they didn't he wasn't a toy.
This is my 3rd day out of 6, which means I don't really have a hump day this week.  I will have a hump evening.
I  only rode a little over 5 miles this morning, something with hills.  I've completed this ride before, but when I hit 5 when I hit the halfway point I stopped.  I did wear my gecko socks.  The only bad thing about my snazzy socks is not being able to see them while I'm riding.
Did everybody see the vid with Harry and Meghan driving away in the Jaguar?  I had to laugh.  They didn't use their seat belts... and did the really go anywhere?  Or just cruise out the gate?  For the life of me I can't picture them driving themselves to their reception.  Do you know what I mean?  Without an escort?  To Frogmore House....  Frogmore house?

Doesn't that sound like something from Harry Potter?  Frogmore House.  Evidently it's closed to the public.  Actually, Frogmore is only about one half mile from the castle.  Oh, and it's part of the Windsor estate.  So, it wasn't like Harry saying "yo, Meg, let's go for a spin in the Jag."

Time to kick ass

Well, we have rain... what they've been forecasting... kind of...  Nothing torrential to report here in Central PA.  No downpours.  Just a steady rain which will last until sometime this afternoon.
Prince Harry and Meghan got married.  Good for them.  I do think making that the number headline after 9 students and one teacher's aid were shot to death yesterday in Texas is rather sad.  Yep, click on any major media outlet and their wedding is topping the bill.  Oprah's there.  The Clooney's are there.  The Idiot Jerk isn't.  He's no doubt huddling with the NRA planning their next leap into denial.
Anyway, yesterday was not a good day for high school students in the United States.  Prepare yourselves.  Brain dead supporters of the NRA will start shrieking about teachers having guns... more guns.  More guns mean more lives.  They will become more desperate as they realized they're going to lose.
Oh, and I saw that the Idiot Jerk is now claiming there was an FBI spy planted in his campaign.  This moron is beyond belief.  Well, for sane people at least.  His supporters, who love their conspiracy theories, are right up there with him.  Dumb-da-dumb, dumb.
E3 is in 3 weeks.  I know a lot of you out there may not know what that is so I'll tell you.  It's the Electronic Entertainment Expo for 2018.  There are a lot of gaming industry conventions, but E3 is the biggest.  E3 is where the reveals happen for next year... well, most of the time.  While I like playing games from Ubisoft (Assassin's Creed, Far Cry), most of the games I play come from Bethesda.  That's right, an American gaming studio based in Rockville, Maryland (isn't that amazing).  Bethesda doesn't actually participate in E3, they're are doing their showcase the day before, on June 10.  Anticipation is bubbling and boiling and reaching the overflowing stage.  They've already done a number of reveals, the biggest so far is for Rage 2.  Rage was fun - a post-apocalyptic shooter.  However Rage 2 will not be released until 2019.
Something else.  Something bigger is going to be released this fall.  What's it going to be?  No one knows.  Three weeks and  counting.
I'll leave you with the gameplay trailer for Rage 2, an open world, driving, shooter that looks like it's going to be fun.

What better way to say it's time we started kicking ass?

Let the Deluge Come

The humidity is high - like I am living in a sponge.  Being not warm enough for the Central Air, and not cool enough for the heat, I'm relying on the ceiling fans to keep the air circulating.
Yesterday's ride was only 13.2 miles which is fine.  There was, however a problem with my Suunto Spartan.  While cycling indoors, the Spartan acts as both a timer and a heart rate monitor.  At the end of my ride I press one button to stop the timer and a 2nd to stop the ride.  That didn't happen.  Pressing the first button moved the Spartan into stopwatch mode.  The 'end ride' screen never came up.  Pressing 'end' button did nothing.  Of course I said "oh, Shit."  Plugging the watch into my computer, I ran a diagnostic and got ****error****error**** in bright red letters.  My only option was to do a reset.  All data in my watch would be erased.  No problem.  The only thing I lost was yesterday's ride, which was a bitch.  Sometimes things happen.  You deal with them and move on.
So yesterday was also the one year anniversary of Mueller's investigation.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House called the 'greatest witch hunt in history...' gee, and I thought the Benghazi hearings took that prize.  What's this moron going to do in November when the Liberals and the Centrists take back the House?  And, quite possibly the Senate?  You can bet for the next 6 months those radically conservative Republicans are going to be shoveling as much shit and fake news as they possibly can into the public arena.  And after the elections?  Prepare yourselves for a deluge of shrieking, and wailing, and rending of hair.  They will join their voices in a thunderous chorale of pure hatred as they find themselves hosed into the gutter.
Sometime today, the clouds are going to open up.  Rain is coming.  Supposedly heavy at times.  Enough inches to put us in a flood zone.  Of course, the GOP is already in a flood zone.  Get ready to watch them pull on their floaties.

This means business at the store will be slow.  That's to be expected anyway.  Our Memorial Day sale has already started, but the firework bargains don't start shooting off until Thursday.  Surprisingly, I'm off Thursday & Friday.  Optometrist appointment with the VA.

Ducky Dandy

Well, we had rain all through the night, a steady soaking rain, which is supposed to continue through the rest of the day.  In fact, looking at the forecast, things might not start drying out until Monday... maybe.  No lumberjack outfit today.
There are other things needing to be done around the house on my day off.
I'm going to see my Mom this afternoon.  Picked up cookies this morning at Giant to take over as a snack.  She usually seems to remember me... that is slowly changing.  She'll turn 85 in July.  In her mind she's always turning 81 and nothing can convince her otherwise.  Someday her age will be irrelevant.
There was an interesting article in the BBC about our Crazy Christian Vice President and some of the things he's been saying.  His delusions make my Mom's delusions look like flights of whimsy.  Every time he thinks about his beliefs his dopamine levels must crash through the roof.  He's a neurotransmitter junkie.  Like all junkies, he will do anything and everything to keep the rush going.  For him that means more religion.  As the article points out, the statistics he uses fail to meet the reality check.  They're not true.  However for him, the truth doesn't give him the little jolt his deceit does, and so he lies.  And like a junkie, he doesn't know or care that he's lying.  All he really wants is that little ping in his brain.
The sad truth that Pence and the rest of his zealot friends fail to understand is that they are in a non sustainable position.  They aren't making enough babies.  Perhaps this is how the Universe passes judgment.   Not with a bang and a flash, but rather something less extravagant.  They are in the process of dying off.  Next on the list is Islam.  If it fails to meet Universal standards, it too will fade away.
Anyway, we seem to be sitting in a swamp of humidity here in Central Pa.  We are in a flood watch.
The peace talks with North Korea may be in jeopardy - like supporters of the Idiot Jerk in the White House are surprised.
Gas are going up!  Brent crude was up to $80 a barrel.
I have a ride scheduled for this afternoon.  I'd like to get 20 miles in - that would be ducky dandy.

Storm Damage

Well, it's Wednesday and it's raining... and I'm off - don't work today or tomorrow.
Yesterday was interesting for several reasons:  we had primary day in PA - and there was a pink / blue surge... a rather large one, which most likely dumbfounded vast numbers of the GOP - How could large numbers of voters... including a sizable number of women, vote for candidates not associated with the GOP?  No one ever said they were smart.  I'm wondering if there was any relation between the weather and the politics.
Yesterday, at 4:41 my phone buzzed.  My watch buzzed.  The store phone I was holding buzzed.  Tornado warning.  So, what did quite a few of the customers do?  Walk into the plate glass vestibules that mark are entrance and exit to watch shit blow by outside.  That's right.  Carts are careening across the parking.  Branches and chunks of wood are flying through the air, and these people decide to stand in an area that has glass to their left... glass to their right... and glass directly in front of them.  They wanted a 270 degree view of destruction.
When I got home from work I discovered the high winds had ripped a number of  branches from my trees. Storm Damage.

Those are 2 branches the winds ripped from trees on the hill and blew 40 or so odd feet.

And this one was taken from my back porch, looking towards the hill.  Halfway up, on the right hand side, you can see the top of my fence.  Somewhere underneath are my garbage and recycling cans.  Oh, and there are more branches beyond the fence - to both the left and the right.  If the rain lets up, I'm going to go out and start cutting them up.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get out chainsaw.  That means I'll get to wear my lumberjack outfit.

Teach them a lesson

There is a thin red line running like a razor through out parts of this country.  Slicing rights into shreds, this sharp blade wielded by Conservatives stabs at democracy and hacks away freedoms.  The scar tissue left behind is filled with broken people whose lives have been diminished.  Their goal is a Faith based country in which the majority will be outsiders, ostracized and beaten back and crushed.  How do we stop this evil?

Vote.

Blue.

Today is primary day in Pennsylvania.  The decision is up to you.  Vote and triumph, or stay home and succumb.  Your life, your choice, your democracy, is far more precious than they believe.

Teach them a lesson.

Everything

Well, it's Monday and the start of a new work week for some of you.  For Me?  Yesterday was hump day and this is the beginning of the downhill slide into my next 2 days off.  After that I'll be working through a 6 day slog.
There are changes happening in the store, people getting moved to new departments, two Supervisor position being eliminated (3 will do the work 5 used to do), and who knows what else.  The loss of 2 positions runs counter to what was supposed to be happening with this great tax cut.  Remember?  Jobs were supposed to be created.  These changes will be happening nationally.  Isn't that a big cut in payroll expenses?
The door are opening to a new US Embassy today... in Jerusalem... and the Crazy Christians are jumping up and down with glee, so self-absorbed in their own selfish beliefs they have lost themselves.  We have an Idiot Jerk in the White House who is giving a minority group everything they want without comprehending the damage he, and they, are doing.  This lesson will have a very expensive price tag.  For them, their Belief justifies Everything.  In the end, their Belief will cost them... Everything.
The weather today is supposed to 19 degrees warmer than yesterday, which topped off at 58 (F).  Clouds and showers are supposed to continue for most of the week.  Everything will be fine as long as their are breaks for the dogs to go outside and do their doodles.  Right now they're chasing each other around downstairs.  One of them has a squeaky ball and the other wants it.  As I'd said yesterday, Big Seig really liked my new socks.  Well, joy of joys, I did managed to get a snippet of video with him grabbing the pair with the gecko.

You'll get to see my nice yellow hallway.  I loved that paint job for years.  Loved the color.  But, things are going go change.  There's a new color coming.  Eventually I'm going to want to sell the house and I'd rather paint now and enjoy it for a couple of years.  Oh, it's probably not going to be as neutral as some would like...

The Socks

Well, we had thunderstorms yesterday and since then a steady drizzle which is supposed to continue until tomorrow morning.
My new sock arrived as well.  I bought them, not because of the skull or the spider, for the gecko.

Snazzy, huh?  Big Seig likes them too.  He thought they were a toy and I had to chase him down the hall to get them out of his mouth.
I also got a 10 mile ride in this morning.  Place was called Fallonica - which is in Italy.
The Amgen Tour of California starts today.  As the years pass, this race becomes more and more prestigious.  We are seeing more AAA team riders, which is a very good thing.  As with The Tour Down Under, cycling is becoming a truly international sport.  Teams are realizing there are fans everywhere.  Minor teams that never got a word of press have riders competing along side riders who have climbed on to the podiums of the Tour de France.  This is really amazing.
Oh, and I saw that someone named Mulvaney said the White House didn't need to apologize for that... "joke" since it was made at a private meeting.  Well, if that demonstration of ignorance became public than that meeting wasn't too private, now was it?  Without an apology we can only believe that "jokes' of this type are rather prevalent in the Idiot Jerk's administration.  This is, however, the type of  trash behavior we're all coming to expect from the Idiot Jerk and those surrounding him.
Oh, and it's Mother's Day.  My sister called me yesterday.  She'd taken a present to our Mom and everything was fine... until my Mom called her later in the day, most likely to thank her again.  However, she ended up rambling incoherently for about fifteen minutes, not angry, just moving farther into her dementia.  She did the same thing when I visited her on Wednesday, tying bits of pieces of different memories together, all of which centered around my great grandmother climbing onto a kitchen sink to pee in it.  My sister was distressed.  So I told her there was not much we can do.   Everything is disassembling.  Sometimes this is how things end.

Crap, more rainy weather

We're supposed to have heavy thunderstorms today.  We had a thunderstorm watch the other day and ended up with a sprinkle.  The temperature is supposed to drop with the high only reaching the mid 60's (F).  Looking at the long range forecast (2 weeks out), this seems to be a pattern.  Just like last year.  While so far May hasn't been that bad, last year it was one of our rainiest months.
Of course there's a new stench permeating the ground of the the White House.  You know?  The aide who made that terrible McCain comment.  She apologized saying it was meant to be a joke.  Who in their right mind would want to be defined by that?  I'm sure there supporters of the Idiot Jerk found it funny, as well as the Idiot Jerk, himself, which is why we've heard nothing from him.  But then he's a scumbag.
One joke that is funny are the pseudo bribes by AT&T and Novartis....  Notice, I'm calling them pseudo bribes since legally they haven't been classified as bribes... yet.  Be prepared for large staffing changes at both companies as they attempt damage control.  For those who don't know, we are seeing "The Art of the Deal" in action.  Middle management money launderers used as proxies.  Useful people who are dufus enough to take the blame.  The Idiot Jerk will shrug and frown and wash his hands, irritated because now he's going to have find some other numb nut to do his dirty work.  That's where the real 'art' is, finding the next fool.
I was going to ride the bike this morning but didn't.  I did, however, order some more colorful socks.  They should be arriving today.  I'm excited.  Personally, I think it's having to work the 5 days in a row.  After a 2 day break there's going to be 6 days in a row.  Then I'll have a mid-week weekend and another 4 days in a row.  When I am off the forecast is for cloudy, showers, and thunderstorms.  I'd go part-time but I want to get a new car next year and that means banking some bucks and dealing with a car payment.
I think I'll go play around with the dumbbells a bit to burn off these somber vibes.

Fully Baked

Well, here it is Friday, the end of the work week for some, not for me.  My week is just starting.  My next 2 days off are Wednesday and Thursday.  And, after that I will get to work 6 days without a break. 
Next Wednesday I get my car inspected.  Yippee.  The dealer I use, Brenner Motors, has their service set up a la carte - you get to pick what you need done... and the price is listed.  After you're finished choosing, everything is totaled, including the sales tax.  Nice feature.  You know what you're going to be charged before you even hand them your keys.
Odd thing:  Night before last I dreamed I was going back to Singapore and this stupid woman put this stickers on my luggage that were very expensive so I made her take them off.  Then, of course, we find out that the Idiot Jerk is going to be meeting with Kim in... Singapore.  Implications?  This is the first time in America's history that a sitting president has sat down with a dictator who, just a few years ago, fed his uncle to dogs.  Remember that?  Well, maybe he didn't actually feed him to hungry dogs.  Nah, he just called him a traitor and had him shot to death.
Of course, Republicans and jumping up and down shouting with joy and Evangelicals feel the 2nd Coming is near... all for naught.  North Korea is not going to give up its nuclear program.  Concessions made might be symbolic at best, nothing more.  They realize they are dealing with a Fool who thinks he's a player, who thinks he's shrewd.  The sad truth is all they need to do is tell him what he wants to hear, lie to him the way he lies to everybody else, and he'll be happy.  There will be no real accomplishments when this summit is over.  In the end, this will be nothing more than a happy photo op, the sort of phony thing the Idiot Jerk lives for, that will make him in his own mind special.  This whole thing is nothing more than a half baked scheme to improve his image, nothing more.
My bread is baked.  Wheat.  I've never baked whole wheat bread before.  Very dense.

As you can see, I don't use bread pans.  I have them, I just happen to like the crust a little more chewy.  I bake bread for eating, not for sandwiches.  Being perfectly honest, I'm not a big sandwich person.  Unlike the Idiot Jerk in the White House, I like things fully baked, not inconsistent and half raw. 

Make it rise

Thursday.  I'm off.  Blog's a little late today because I'm baking bread today.  I'm also going to go see my Mom this afternoon before my bicycle ride.  That means the bread needs to rise twice and be baked before 1 PM.  I also did free weights this AM.  Hoisting the dumbbells around always takes at least an hour.
I saw where Vlad wants a summit with the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  My first thoughts were that he's not too happy we're pulling out of the Iran Nuclear Accord.  The last thing anybody wants is for Israel and Iran to nuke it out.  Later I saw something in Bloomberg which pretty much echoed what I'd been thinking.  Foolish Vlad.  He thought having the Idiot Jerk in the White House would make his life easier, instead things are now much more complicated.  Vlad failed to realized that the Idiot Jerk would surround himself with Ultra Right Wing sycophants more interested in policy that was not at all conducive to Moscow's wants.  Instead of getting a surrogate satellite nation he got John Bolton.  Oops.
And the Michael Cohen story keeps getting worse and worse.  Selling access to the White House?  Dear me.... Why is it that every time someone turns over a rock near the Idiot Jerk we find more corruption?  You can bet that if there was payola in it for the Idiot Jerk, he was involved.
On the three Americans who were released by the North Koreans?  Conservatives are lauding praise on the Idiot Jerk - that guy is such a deal maker, isn't he?  Sadly for them, he's just a pony prince.  The force to be reckoned with here are the Chinese.  Of course, that's not stopping the Republicans from sucking out all of the credit they can.  Do they understand?  That's very doubtful.  Just like the North Korean nukes.  There's an Idiot Jerk supporter at work who was reveling in a nuclear free North Korea, and how his president was responsible.  Duh.  People are so damn stupid.  North Korea's power isn't in their nukes... it's in their hackers.  "Oh, no, no," Republicans say, shaking their heads, "it's the nukes."  Remember the Sony hack?  That was easy pickings.  Conservatives still don't understand.  "The North Koreans are that sophisticated," they whine.  Just wait.
Anyway, one of the Itoh peonies I planted has finally started to stick it's head out of the ground.  I'm so happy.  Now all I have to do is wait for the other two.

Here's a pic of the bread.  My hands are so wonderful.  Just think, all I had to do was touch it to make it rise....

Yo... look... here comes November

There was no surprise yesterday when the Idiot Jerk in the White House pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Treaty.  This was the expected step from the egocentric douche a minority of Americans managed to get elected.  White Republicans have removed another of Obama's, our first black president, achievements.  They will tell you racism has nothing to do with it, but it does.  They will also tell you that the Idiot Jerk, in spite of 4 bankruptcies and who knows how many failed deals, is a deal maker.  That is really a major part of the Idiot Jerk's problem.  He loves to sell himself as being shrewd.  Just like he loves to sell himself as being very, very rich.  And the GOP does love their phonies.  This is their mindset.  They are so terribly wrong.
Every Republican president since Eisenhower has left the economy either shattered or in tatters.  And every Republican failure has been blamed on someone or something else.  That's how their disinformation works.  Someone else is always at fault.  The truth is Reagan's Trickle Down Economics was a bandage program at best and why it began failing halfway through his 2nd term.  No matter how bad things get they refuse to admit their policies are subpar.
Get ready, gas prices are going to go up.  The $$$ you spend are the pump are going to increase... dramatically.  That's another fact.  Every time there's a Republican in the White House gas becomes expensive.  That's because the oil we pump out of Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas and Alaska gets sold overseas.  Oil companies make more money exporting than they do selling to Americans.  That's a rather sad statement, but clearly defines American Capitalism.  It's all about the buckos.  Oops, there goes that great tax cut.
On a lighter note - I rode 13.7 miles yesterday.  Sorry, no sweaty photos.  This morning was going to be free weights but that didn't happen.  I also get to go to work today.  And then I'm off tomorrow.  Of course, then I will have to work for 5 days in a row.  That' sucks.  Then it will be 2 days off and then... are you ready for this?.. I'll get to work 6 days without a day off. 
We are approaching our Memorial Day weekend which is... our busiest weekend in the year.  And you though that was the Black Friday weekend.  Nope.  Gas grills and mulch fly out of the store.  People by $1000 patio sets.  Everybody wants a freaking bamboo blind... we don't sell them in the store, sorry.  This means I'm going to be putting in pretty many hours, but then we head into June and things begin to slow down.  That's when I'll move back to 32 hour work weeks.
After yesterday's sour announcement by the Idiot Jerk in the White House... remember, November is approaching much faster than the GOP wants.  They already know they're going to lose the House.  The time has come to take back the damn Senate and cook their asses.

Vote Blue and watch the Idiot Jerk cry.

Run with this

Yesterday I cleaned the downstairs, today I'll do the same to the 2nd floor.  Were I living in France, yesterday I would have cleaned the ground floor and today I will clean the 1st floor.  Isn't my life a joy.
Today I also want to get my hair cut.  Another joy, having my hair short.  My neighbor left his hair grow and now looks like a haggard, old woman.
While going to Giant yesterday morning, I passed a young man, probably in his mid-twenties.  He was running up a hill on the Wertzville Road.  Shirtless.  He obviously spends quite a lot of time working out... lifting weights... and running.  All of his muscles were moving.  His arms synchronized with his gait.  And I thought to myself, that's rather amazing.  You know?  Seeing a Greek God running up the Wertzville Road?

He looked a lot like this... but this is somebody else, the guy I saw had not tats

Oh, and there are primary elections today... prepping the country for the midterms.  Both Indiana and West Virginia have Republican candidates running for Congress who make the GOP nervous... very nervous.  You see some of these candidates act quite a lot like the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And  the GOP is very concerned that these 'wanna be Idiot Jerks' will cost them seats.  They're terrified of losing their majority.  Even the Idiot Jerk is so worried he told the voters of West Virginia to vote for the more moderate Republicans.  Now, isn't that rich?

Oh, and the Idiot Jerk is going to announce sometime today whether he's going to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal.  You can bet, his final decision will be solely derived not from thoughtful contributions by those surrounding him.  Nope, he is going to run with the 'yea' or 'nay' that chases down the most press.  He doesn't really care about nuclear proliferation.  His every decision is based on what will get the most people talking about him.  His ego needs to feed it's addiction.

  

Over 12 miles on teeny weeny legs

Well, I went to see "Infinity War" last evening.  Some spoilers:  Chris Evans has a beard.  Thor gets a new eye.  One character says "no resurrections this time."  That's hokey pokey. This is the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I liked "Infinity War."  My only complaint might be the levity.  A lot of the drama was offset by comic relief.  There's is nothing wrong with savoring the juices of drama, I don't see a need to sweeten them up with a laugh - there are times when that sounds forced.  What some people... well, maybe a lot of people didn't seem to understand is that this was Part 1.  Part 2 gets released in 2019.  Oh, and there's a cliffhanger.... a really, really big cliffhanger.  If that ending troubles you, don't worry - everything works out in the end.  Believe me.  In fact if you watch the film carefully, and listen to what is said, you will understand just how Part 2's happy ending will be achieved.
In fact, the only problem I had during the movie was with my legs.  I rode over 12 miles yesterday.  My lactic acid levels were high.  About halfway through the film my right quads started to cramp up.  Have you ever had a cramp in your foot?  Well, that's what was happening in my right leg and believe me, it's difficult straightening out your leg in a movie seat.  And then, a few minutes after the right quads stop cramping... you guessed it, the left started up.  Luckily there was no one sitting to my left so I ended up stretching both legs in that direction.  What I should have done was go stand by the wall, but that would have meant going past the rest of the people in the row.  In a way, you could say I was suffering for Pop Art.
Oh, and I took a snap after the ride.

Holy shit!  Don't my shapely legs look teeny weeny?

Things Change

Well, looks as though we're back to sweat pants and sweat shirt weather.  Today the high is only supposed to go up to 63 (F).  Monday and Tuesday we should hit the mid to upper 70's with some sunshine.  Today, though?  Overcast, drizzly, and cool is the forecast.
So I got to work yesterday and discovered that I had been told wrong, we weren't having tacos, rather nachos were on the menu... so to speak, and nachos do not a meal make... well, they do if you hear 4 or 5 pounds.  See, it was just nachos and salsa.  Thus my lunch consisted of nachos and a 'cup of noodles.'  Yummy.  Bet that has you all smackin' your lips just reading about it.
I see that the Idiot Jerk in the White House pissed off the French... and the British by farting stupidity during his NRA speech.  Anything and everything he says has one goal: for people to talk about him.  Does he care about France?  Or Britain?  Hell no.  But then he doesn't really care about America either.  His sole priority is getting his ego fed.  The country is being run by his advisers who have few other duties.  Those other chores consist of making sure Faux News is on every TV in the White House, and that there's plenty of canned, diet Coke on hand.
I do have a 'to do' list for my first of three days off, but it's not chock full of what I consider work.  I want to go to my Giant, I need to make an appointment to have my car inspected, and laundry is also part of the agenda.  I'd also like to dust and vacuum the upstairs.  This evening I'm going to go see "The Avengers."  Everybody I know who's seen it say it's very good.  One of my friends said to remember that this is only Part 1, and that Part 2 comes out next year.  Like most serials, I'm presuming bad things happen in 1 and then get rectified in 2.  I guess the real question is whether this movie is going to steamroll it's way to a billion dollars in two weeks.  Disney has become pretty much of a juggernaut when it comes to entertainment.  I can remember when Disney was the equivalent of pablum entertainment relying on saggy family films and milked down action films all of which had soppy endings with the company making most of its money from its theme parks.  My, haven't times changed.

Getting rid of the Cinco de Mayo Fluff

Well here we are on Saturday.  Cinco de Mayo.  I'm not taking lunch today because they're providing food.  Tacos.  That's right, we're going to be celebrating Cinco de Mayo at the store by eating tacos (hint of sarcasm).  Now, don't get me wrong, I like tacos, but I also like burritos, and taquitos.  Many out there will be downing Margaritas today.  Not me.  Not a big tequila fan.  Anyway, my feeling is that we've taken a Mexican Holiday and both commercialized it and whitewashed it, I mean, can't you see the Idiot Jerk in the White House holding up a taco and saying "Happy Cinco de Mayo?"  Oh, and he might have some of his kitchen staff come out and stand around him while he eats his taco and washes it down with a diet Coke.
For those who don't know, Cinco de Mayo is an important part of the Mexican Heritage.  Unfortunately for many conservatives, this is just a day when you get to wear funny hats, have a reason to go to Taco Bell, and maybe drink tequila.  In their minds they will still be equating Mexican people with bad hombres, and drug dealers, and illegal immigrants.  When they visualize Mexicans all they see are people with darker skin, the opposite of the white Conservative.  Oh, and most of them are Catholic... which is a big part of the White Evangelical bias.  What can be worse than being dark skinned and Catholic?  Well, maybe being a white, racist Republican.
After today's celebration at work, I can get myself back into my standard routine.  With the past couple of days of dealing with the sudden onset of mid-July temperatures, and my neighbors sewage issues I've fallen out of sync.  This means I've not lifted waits since Tuesday, nor ridden the bike, and on top of that have eaten way too much junk.  As much as I hate to say it, in the past couple of days I've grown fluffy.

Holy shit, I feel like I'm a 30

This is a feeling I hate.  And I can trace the whole thing back to breakfast with my brother on Wednesday morning.  I ate heavier than normal, planning on riding that afternoon, but the ride didn't take place because... sewage issues, and talks with the bean heads plumbers my neighbors hired.  Everything sort of snowballed from there.
Anyway, the shit storm that is the Idiot Jerk's administration continues to fire shit rockets all over the place.  I guess he spoke to the NRA yesterday and called London a War Zone.  He calls a lot of places a War Zone.  When he flew over Harrisburg he called the city a War Zone.  Oh, and the white trash Evangelicals here still voted for him.  Stupid is as stupid does.

Ashes

Another Friday and another day to work... and tomorrow as well.  Sunday I'm off, starting a 3 day weekend. 
As far as I know, my neighbor's sewage issues have been rectified.  Everything is drying out on my side.  The only saving grace was that their drainage pipe was on a shale substrate which acted like a giant filter. 
Oh, and my day's kinked up just a little.  Internet was down when I got up.  Unfortunately so much of what I do depends on accessing different websites.  I even track my weight sessions on a tablet that links to an online app.  This morning everything was 'red.'  Things didn't come back online until around 6:30 which put me really, really far behind.
Celine Dion has a new video out - "Ashes,' the theme from Deadpool 2.  Now, I'm not a big fan mostly because for about 8 months straight you couldn't turn around without her singing that "My Heart..." whatever, from Titanic.  This means I suffered through a bit of trepidation prior to watching it.  I was surprised.  While some may find it funny, (well, it is at the end) I found it rather touching.  The juxtaposition of Deadpool dancing next to Celine for a few moments became 'art.'  My only wonder is that when she sings it at the Oscars next year, will Deadpool be dancing next to her.

As for the Idiot Jerk in the White House... holy... shit.  His entire life he's depended upon his attorneys for fixing his mistakes, and for the most part everything was done in private.  Not any more.  Everything is playing out on Main Stream media.  And none of them are on the same page, except for blaming... Main Stream media.  "Fake News," they shriek, and then lie.  Giuliani's lies contradict those of the Idiot Jerk who keeps changing his story.  The whole administration is going down in flames, and while Deadpool will rise from the ashes, the Republican cinders are just going to be washed away by the Blue Wave.

The bread of life

Okay, so yesterday started off great.  I got out my chain saw and cut down an immense Rose of Sharon tree.  Took me about an hour and a half.  Then I started bagging.  West Fairview Township picks up yard waste for free (no grass clippings) as long as it's in a brown bag.  I will have 7 bags sitting on the curb this Saturday.
I was also going to get a ride in... but I dawdled.  You see I had ordered 3 new water bottles and they normally deliver around 2 - 2:30.  Well, they delivered the bottles... and something else... something I didn't order.  Twenty pounds of whole wheat flour.

There was a gift receipt inside from an Internalist down in Delaware, an Indian woman.  Since I have no idea who she is I presumed some mistake had been made.  Being curious, I went to Amazon to find out how you send gifts - evidently some people set up lists for things they want, and you can't just randomly gift someone something by accident.  I don't have a list, however, if someone has my email address they can gift me something.  I told my brother that maybe this was a sign that I should begin baking bread... I don't think he found that too funny... you know?  The religious implications of bread being the Body.
Speaking of my brother, I had breakfast with him yesterday morning - I shot an arrow into his balloon regarding the Idiot Jerk in the White House by telling him the real power behind the thaw in North Korea was the Chinese.  All of the changes we've been seeing started what?  Two weeks after Kim's secret trip by train to see Li?  If you want to find out who the real deal makers are here, look to the Far East.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House?  They're going to play him for everything his bankrupt soul is worth.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to look up a recipe for roti.

Digging and Picking Propecia

Well, here it is Wednesday and I have the day off.
My neighbor's sewage problems are far worse then they thought.  Yesterday 6 feet of cast iron sewage pipe were removed - filled with rocks and debris (and I don't use the word debris lightly).  PVC piping replaced the damaged pipe.  They checked my side, and there's no drainage problem.  There's still more blockage, however, on their side, so the plumbers are back today.  They're going to use pressure 4000 psi to blow out what ever blockage is left in their pipes. 
I had breakfast with my brother this AM.  Pickpockets hit is wife at Michael's, took her wallet with all the credit and debit cards.  In the 15 - 20 minutes she spent browsed the store before heading to checkout, they stole almost $7000 by buying gift cards at a Target 2 blocks away.  Of course, Target shut down the gift cards and the debit and credit cards are all frozen.  They didn't really lose any money, but this has been a learning experience.  Her wallet was filched from her purse, which was setting on her shopping cart, when she turned to answer some questions from a man to her rear. This is how it goes.
Evidently the great big super tax cut the Republicans isn't working the way Republicans said it would.... so says Marco Rubio.  Now why am I not surprised?  Probably because Republican tax cuts have always played like a broken record... they keep repeating the same faulty belief that American Corporations will use their breaks to reinvest in the American Worker.  Truth is they do, but only in a very minor way.  Mostly they buy back stocks, give bonuses, and pay dividends.
And a funny thing is happening on the way to the Texas Midterm election.  Rafael Cruz is being challenged in a big, big way by Beto O'Rourke.  Not only is Beto raising big bucks, he's challenged Rafael to 6 debates... 2 of which are supposed to be in Spanish.... Oops.  Seems as though Rafael's Espanol is not so great... not so good, well, maybe he's as good as a beginner.  This is about what you'd expect from a Republican who's trying to put a lot of distance himself and his ethnicity.  Oh, and by the way, in case you didn't know, Rafael is the son of an immigrant.
And finally, it seems as though the Idiot Jerk in the White House takes Propecia  His personal physician prescribes it for him.  Maybe we should all be digging Propecia, picking it up anyway we can.  Why?  Because Propecia apparently does amazing things to hair follicles, tickles and stimulates them.  If we all took Propecia we could all have hair like this!!!

Dig this

Well, yesterday was different.  I finished my yard work, rode the bike (steep hills 7.7% grade) and did some laundry.  My washer and dryer are down in the basement.  So, I'm taking a load of shirts down and smell... sewage.  Not a good thing.  So I look around and towards the front of my basement I have a pool, about 1" deep and about 4 feet across... and it's not mine.  It seems my neighbor's caste iron pipe from the house to the sewer pipe has a crack.  Repairs are hopefully being done today.
This morning was a free weight workout.  For those interested, my workouts usually run at least an hour and involve dumbbells, 12, 15, 20, and 25 pounders.  Today I did 10 sets, or 30 reps, for a total weight of 6732 pounds.  I'm satisfied.
UGI is also digging up my street today.  Flagger Force is out.  The dogs are barking at all of them, telling them to go away.  They just repaved my street last year... and now there are going to be lumpy patches.  For almost 17 years nothing was done, and in the last 3 years we've had a new sewer line put in and now new and improved natural gas lines.... Oh, and today just happens to be garbage day so there's a vehicular cluster fuck going on.
And I'd like to give kudos to John Kelly in reference to his description of the the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  I've been saying all along, he's the Idiot Jerk.  Apparently John's been telling White House staff the same thing, over and over again.  And, of course, the Idiot Jerk is fuming.  He hates being called an Idiot even though he acts like one on a daily basis.
Of course, today I do have to work, which means I'm going to have to wend my way down Cumberland Road in the apposite direction. Yippee!