Irresolution

New Years Eve and it's my... Friday... again.  My fifth day Friday was yesterday.  This is my sixth day Friday.  I don't have to work tomorrow.  That doesn't mean I'm going to let my ass get sloshed tonight.  Nope.  I think it rather odd that some will stay up, celebrate the coming New Year with way too many libations, and then spend the first day of that New Year recovering from a hangover.  Ask yourself, is that how you really want to start the next decade?
And, of course, there are a lot of bumble brains out there who jump right into their pre-failure mode and set resolutions.  By now, you'd think they'd know just how badly their going to fail.  They don't.  And they always just shrug off these failures.  That tells you quite a bit about their lack of fortitude.  Makes you wonder how many other failures they've had in their lives.  I don't understand the ability to dust your resolve with lack of importance, stow it in the forgetful box, and hope you can remember to unpack it next year.  Maybe what these people should do is make irresolutions instead. Yeah, don't that make you nod your head?  That makes so much more sense if you're a bumble brain.  Irresolutions take away the commitment... and responsibility.

That's from Patrick Henry.  Remember him?  He's also responsible for that catchy little phrase "give me liberty, or give me death."  Believe me, Republicans hate that phrase.  In their world view, they desperately want to circumscribe liberty with very narrow lines.  They do not believe in Democracy.  Keep the truth alive.  Show your resolve.  Be resolute.  Vote Blue.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Holy Crap!  It's Monday.  This is my 5th day working.  I have one more before I get the day off and that's tomorrow.  Somehow I think I'm the only Specialist scheduled.  Makes sense.  Who in their right mind goes shopping for flooring on New Years Eve?  Oh, that's right, I forget, there are those morons who believe every holiday equates to a SALE.  Not this holiday.
I went downstairs this morning to find a little guest sitting in my kitchen sink.  You know, I had thought my buddy Mr. Snake had taken care of all the mousies around my house.  Well, he missed one.  This one was just teenie weenie.  Now, I don't mind if mousetraps do their job, but me?  I have a difficult time bonking the little suckers on the head.  Instead, I scooped him up in a pan set him free outside.  That right, I'm a sucker for fur.
There's an interesting article in Reuters about Religion in America... Or, maybe I should say Evangelicalism, which is a sect of Christianity.  Poll results show there are schisms forming mostly among generational lines.  The older, crazy Christians want to be much more politicized; the younger ones see them as failing.  The issues are those every Evangelical is supposed to hold dear to his heart:  immigration, no gun control, abortion, and LGBT rights.  That's right, the older ones are enamored of the late 1950's and 60's.  The younger ones see the religion as evolving and evidently less interested in Cherry Picking.  Not surprisingly, I've read that Billy Barr sees America on its way to hell... but then he's an old school Crazy White Christian.

And finally, in a little more than a day and a half we will be starting a new decade.  Some are going through a "what the hell" stage.  Not me.  I look forward to the future.  Whether you want to believe it or not, evolution happens.  Without it there is death.  Change is essential for continuity.  Life cannot exist for long in stasis.  And life here on earth will continue.  Those who dismay at change will die off.  This has been happening since the dawn of time, or the Big Bang... which ever came first.  The only thing we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride.  This year will be very interesting as more of the old school dies off and more of the new school continues to exert itself.  Out with the Old, in the the New.

Eat it

Okay, so is everybody resting today?  I mean it is Sunday after all.  I can remember Blue Laws here in Pennsylvania.   Blue Laws you ask... well, there was a time when religion in this dictated Sunday was supposed to be a day of rest.  Stores were closed.  Even grocery stores.  Business's were closed so employees could go to church.  There were no such things as Convenience stores, no 7-11's, or Stop & Go's, or whatever you call them.  If you ran out of milk, you did without.  Movie theaters were open, but if you were like my Mom you never went.  She considered going to the movies on Sunday a sin.  There was nothing wrong with sitting on your sofa watching cable TV, but plunking down your hard earned 35 cents to see a movie was sinful.  (That's right, when I was much younger, kids paid 35 cents to go to the movies).  There are some who dream of bringing those days back as a way of controlling the population.  They want to dictate what is good and what is bad.  Remember, give them an inch and they'll take a mile out of your life.
And, of course, it was only a matter of time before one of the dog's Christmas toys succumbed.  Every year I try and pick which one will fail to survive the first week.  This year, I thought the T-Rex was going to bite the bullet early, of course I also thought it was going to be their favorite.  I was wrong on both counts.  This year that infamy goes to... the inch worm.

Now, I'll admit he doesn't quite look like and inch worm, rather his appearance is much more akin to dino cycling socks.

 Needless to say, the dogs have pulled the worm's plastic innards out, the parts that have the squeaky, noisemaker.  That plastic thing is already in the trash.  The worm's outer skin will be there soon, other wise Biggie will eat it.  I'll throw it out before it gets swallowed.  This is exactly what we need to do with those groups who want to limit what we can do on Sundays.  Just look them in the eye and say:

That's right, just tell them to eat it... and then wait for them to regurgitate.

Formality?

Saturday and I get to work.  One good thing, there is no Kid's Workshop today.  That happens next week and I have, as has become my habit, requested off.
The dogs are running around shaking the shit out of their T-Rex.  Earlier they were toying with their pink flamingo.  But now?  Their attention is focused on the tan predator they got for Christmas.
And speaking of work, it is very slow.  I did sell some flooring yesterday.  Even though sales normally go down this time of year, we are still given goals.  The idea is that even though we might go into the hole, we have the rest of the year to make up for these winter doldrums.  Me?  I'm happy to just stay in the middle of the pack.  I don't sweat the big stuff, don't aim for 'big sales,' as there tend to be problems with them.  A customer spending $2500 doesn't have the grand expectations of one spending $12,000.  The low end customer is just looking for carpet.  The one spending more money is trying to fulfill a dream, one usually inspired by that pretentiously insipid HGTV.  Those customers are expecting perfection in superficiality.
Stores always get their associates a gift for Christmas.  For the past few years, ours has been giving us sweatshirts.  Last years was a hoodie with a zipper all the down the front and you could chose your color (black, white, or gray).  I chose a heather gray color, and wear mine quite a bit.  This year there really was no choice in color.  Everybody got the same gray.  And they're turtleneck sweatshirts.

They're very nice... but I don't do turtlenecks.  After years of mandatory shirts and ties, I don't want anything tight around my neck.  Nothing.  The same thing is true with my wrists.  Long sleeved shirts are always unbuttoned and halfway up my forearms.  I am a very informal person.  My tuxedo has been hanging in my closet gathering dust.  It's been 20 - 25 years since I last wore it.  I guess I should dust it off and give it to Community Aid.  I'm sure there must be one desperately poor person out there who needs one.

Ultimate Loser

It's Friday!  Payday (for me)! and a day before I have my Semi-Mid-week Hump Day.  That's what I'm calling it.  My SMH.  Sounds like either a test or a medical condition.  "Some struggle greatly with their SMH, not me."  This is because we are entering our boring season.  No one wants to have flooring installed during the winter in this part of the country.  The weather is too chancy.  There are usually 2 reasons our customers replace their carpet:  They're selling the house; The old stuff is giving them too many rug burns!  Actually, I made that last one up.  If it is true, most customers don't talk about it which, upon thinking of the people I sell carpet to, is very, very kind of them.
So, what did the dogs do after a fun day of playing with their toys:

Since there are new episodes of "Lost in Space" on Neflix, I started watching the show again.  The episodes I've seen so far look promising.  Last season the writers took way too much time building characters.  It wasn't until the very last seconds of the very last episode that the Robinson family became "Lost in Space."  That's right.  Last season should have been titled "We're Going to be Lost in Space 10 Episodes From Now."
And, from what I see in the news, the Idiot Jerk in the White House goes on a Twitter rage every day about having his ass impeached.  He is a piece of White Trash who has spent most of his life doing what ever he wants, relying on attorney's to clean up his shit before too many notice how bad it stinks.  His unbounded selfishness is only surpassed by his total lack of compassion.  Instead of talking up his attributes, tiny as they are, his base angrily shouts "this is how he is, just deal with it."  And now his feelings have been hurt, ooohhhh.  Now, isn't that a shame?  He is being treated the same way he has treated so many, many others.  He doesn't have a clue, but his fall is just getting started.  He started losing long before that first time he lied to himself, that moment when he told himself he was a winner.  He is the ultimate loser.

The Gift

So, I get to go back to work today.  Ho... hum.  We will be busy at the Returns Desk as customers bring back the impulse buys, those gifts which somehow failed to ring the bell.  There will also be those looking for deep discounts in our remaining Christmas decorations.  They will probably be sorely disappointed.  We dropped them by 50% a week before the holiday.  All that remains is the shit stuff no one really wants, like ugly inflatables.  They weren't as big a seller this year as they have been in the past.  Let us hope that like all trendy things they have peaked.

And, out of all the toys the dogs got, their favorite is not the one humans liked.  Maybe we should think more like dogs... and cats, for that matter.  The adorable T-Rex sits silently on the hallway floor, abandoned by Lily and Biggie as another toy has completely stolen their attention.  I uploaded this from my phone, so my apologies if it plays sideways. (It only turns sideways if you blow it up)

That's the Wuba Fish from Kong.  And I thought Biggie would just walk in... wrong.  Now it's one of those moments the world gets to see.

Gallup posted one of their regular polls.  The Idiot Jerk's approval rating has actually gone up a couple of points... since the impeachment hearings have started.  This was always the potential problem.  Not from Democrats, mind you, but from Independent voters.  They are the largest voting block in the country.  Our hardliners need to keep that in mind.  No matter how watertight they might believe their case against the Idiot Jerk to be, the Independents will be the ones who make the decision in the ballot box this coming November.  We may think they want a T-Rex, but really, it's the Wuba Fish they're going to find most satisfying.

On Christmas

Well, it's Christmas Day.  Ho Ho Ho.  I hope everybody out there is having a wonderful, relaxing day.  Remember, don't sweat the small stuff.  This is a holiday.  Enjoy.
The dogs have not, I repeat not, been given all of their presents yet because... they're dogs.  Their toys will be divvied out during the day.  They will look at them and decide if they're going to be 'forever toys' or 'forgettable toys.'  Children are the same way, they either love their toys or they don't.
As a lot of you know, I was stationed on the USS Constellation while in the Navy.  One of my buddies posted this picture of the flight deck this morning.  This gives you an idea of how big an aircraft carrier is:

Touch football on the flight deck

I'm planning a ride, maybe in Turin, for this afternoon... after I eat some ham.  I will give the dogs the fat, part of their Christmas day celebration.  This is supposed to be a day of celebration, you know... after the harvests are in.   This is the time we prepare to cozy ourselves into our warm houses during the sleepy time of winter.

One of the many bright spots in my own little abode this season is my Christmas cactus.  It's blooming:

Now, ain't that nice?

And I've just given the dogs their first toys.  Lily is almost in rapture over her green, squeaky inchworm, and Biggie is laying on his orange, squeaky squirrel... that way Lily can't play with it.  Ah, the joy of dogs.

Today

Tis the morning, before the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  Is anybody working out there?  Of course, that question is loaded.  My friend Patty said she's going to hit the supermarket this morning... good luck with that.  I zipped down to my local giant yesterday for a few items.  Even at 0900 the store was very busy.  Lots of elderly people were buying necessities since everything closes down tomorrow.  I had no problem parking far from Giant.  And though the aisles were crowded, self-checkout was a breeze.  Most elderly people hate self-checkout.  They want a cashier.  And so, they stand and wait in line of other elderly people.
I went to see the next iteration of "Jumanji" last evening.  Since no one really remembers the minor characters... the kids who were sucked into the game in the first film, they need to be introduced.  That was a tedious twelve minutes.  The only bright spots were the introduction of Danny DeVito and Danny Glover.  Though the film is funny (and it is really funny), much of the humor revolves around their gaming avatars.   Even Kevin Hart was funny, and for me that's saying a lot.

And, since this is the day before Christmas, news is going to be light today.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House is in his Dachau in Mar (something or other).
Oh, and Christianity Today had another op-ed about phony Christians selling their souls to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Most of them are going to ignore it.  To do otherwise entails looking at the growing evil within their hearts.  They will never do that... accept the fact that they are unclean.

Having your cake

Here it is... Monday.  Some of you are going back to work for a day, or two.  I have been scheduled off.  I was off yesterday as well.  Did little, except for our store's Holiday Party.  As I age, I find I'm less and less of a party person.  Ours has been at the same venue for the past 5 years.  They always order the same menu.  Desert was either chocolate or carrot cake., both mass produced.  I've baked carrot cakes.  They're very moist, but there is texture.  Like this:

The carrot cake last night was more like a boiled pudding which had been way over-cooked and the artificially flavored cream cheese icing was... about as palatable as the cake.  Nothing changes.  Same thing goes for the music.  Meh.  One of my fellow associates sitting at my table said of the music:  It's okay to dance to, but I would never listen to it.  Sorry, but I listen to the music I dance to; I don't shut down my brain to the notes being played and lyrics being sung.  Oh, and it's all about sex.  I can remember when dancing used to be about having fun, when there were many focal points, now every song seems to be about banging bimbos.
So, what's planned for today?  Some grocery shopping.  Some cleaning.  I have a rocking chair up in the attic which used to belong to my Mom.  I'm giving it  away.  That's one less thing up there to get rid of.  And, of course there's going to be a ride.  I have no idea where or for how many miles.  What I do know is that I stepped on the scale this morning and... Let's just say I need to burn about 50 million calories.
If you leave a comment you'll see I've begun moderating again.  I had hoped maybe our troll had moved on... nope.  Obviously the poor thing doesn't read much since his comments never relate to the blog.  They don't seem to be anything more than a puerile attempt at crude humor.  I wonder if he's one of the Russkies who so often show up in the stats.

The Von Traps in Scotland

It's Sunday and I'm sleeping in.  By the end of this weekend the final draft for The Body in the Well will be finished  - at least the first draft.
Being the creative persons I am, the next book is already taking shape..  Without giving too much away, 2 things are important:  This song.

 and the fact that people lie.  And, of course, the it might be subtitled "The Von Traps go to Scotland
And while it might be violent, it might not be as bad as this:

So, yes, after the Body in the Well is published I may have to go to Scotland to resource The boy by the Cairn.

Ain't Christmas just Dandy!

Winter Solstice

Well, it's Christmas... kind of.  Today's supposed to be retail's busiest day.  Today is also my last day of work before my mini-vac.  I'm excited.  I know not too many will visit the Flooring Desk.  The departments which are going to be shopped hard will be Hardware and Garden - most of our Christmas stuff has already been put on Clearance.  Ha!  No buys for me.
Today is also Winter Solstice... the shortest day of the year!

Starting tomorrow, everyday will be longer... until the middle of June, at which time we will hit peak sunshine up here in the Northern Hemisphere.  Now, that should put a Sunny smile on your face.  and I'm not talking about Sunny Rigalito either.  You don't know Sunny yet, but she's the Sheriff of Rattler's Den.  She's originally from Boston.  According to her, she cold-cocked her husband to get out of an abusive marriage.  Bobby Tussel thinks she used a caste iron frying pan rather than her fist.
And, of course Epoch Times has been shut down.  For those of you who don't look at Facebook, Epoch Times put out a lot of Pro-president articles which were blatant propaganda.  The website had a lot of friends.... MAGA Heads, you know?  And it spoon-fed them this pablum of deceit in order to curl their toes in delight.  And Facebook shut it down.  Because?  It was run by Vietnamese in order to interfere in our elections.  They sought to sow discord.  And it was all half-truths and lies, mostly lies... the stuff Conservatives live on.
And finally, the Idiot Jerk in the White House signed a funding bill yesterday to keep the government running.  Interesting, isn't it?  He needs to be impeached before he decides to sign a bi-partisan bill with out an ugly Tweet.  One of the things I find amusing in the bill is that it includes the funding of a Space Force.  I had to laugh at that.  Wouldn't it be funny if the only things this moron is remembered for are:  1, that he was impeached; and 2, he funded the branch of the military that took us out into space. 

My Day of Adventure

It's Friday!  Two more days and I'm off for 4 - that's almost a mini-vacation.  I'm excited.
And yesterday?  Well, it turned into a day of adventure.  The new TV for the cycling room was scheduled to be delivered.  I spent most of the morning getting the room ready, redecorating, so to speak.  Notice, I used 'redecorating' rather than 'rearranging' since the latter comes across as rather mundane.
After the redecorating was finished, all I had to do was wait.  There are some occasions where I suffer from impatience.  Yesterday... was one.  Mostly because I had gotten that email from Amazon telling me my delivery date had been changed to today.  Then, at 1117, I received a text to let me know my TV had been delivered.  This was odd, since the dogs, believing every UPS delivery man is a present from god, had been silent.  There had been no joyous "he's here! he's here" barking, or jumping around.  Nothing.  Just silence.  So, I opened the front door and looked out onto the porch and saw... Nothing.  No TV.  Son of a bitch.  I called UPS and was told that yes, the TV had been delivered at 1106.  I told the girl on the phone "not at my house."  That's right.  My Ultra High Definition, 50 inch, Smart TV had been delivered to the wrong address.  Son of a bitch!
Now, I wasn't feeling distraught, just... aggravated.  I understand UPS drivers grow a third ass because they run off two over the holidays.  Putting on shoes and pulling on my winter coat, I started my trek down the street in search of my TV.  My thinking was he had gotten the street right and the address wrong.  And I was right.  Five houses down my spanking new TV was nestled on someone else's front porch.  So, I picked it up and carried it home, not even considering the fact that some might see me as being a porch pirate.
A little after 2 the UPS driver showed up and asked if I'd gotten my TV.  I saw his truck was parked halfway down the block, at the wrong address, and there was another driver with him standing out in the middle of the street.  He asked if I had gotten my TV.  I told him "yes," and he apologized.  This is how it goes sometimes.  I'm sure this happens more often then we might like to think.  They are human, after all.
Anyway, this is what the new set-up looks like:

And, sitting on the screen, I am really close to that big screen:

It's like looking out a window.

Also, for those interested.  I discovered I can go into Bob's blog by using Explorer, or Internet Explorer, or what ever the hell Microsoft calls their browser.

False Republicans

Thursday - and it's cold outside... 18 (F) and holding.  If the forecast is correct, we're not supposed to get above freezing.  I'm comfy here in my warm house, thanks to my two thermal heating units who cozy up to me whenever I lie down.
Has anybody else had trouble accessing Bob's blog?  It never loads for me and I get the message "page unresponsive."
I have been tracking the progress of my TV and was pleased to see it had arrived in Harrisburg at 0337.  Why the arrival date was changed to 12/20 is beyond me.  Perhaps a little Grinch was at the keyboard out in Phoenix, from whence it shipped.
Of course, the House of Representatives voted on the Articles of Impeachment.  As expected, voting went down party lines.  I saw where Tulsi Gabbard voted present, rather than take a stand.  She's the Democratic candidate who claims she's not being groomed by the Russkies to run as an Independent.  There's something wrong about her. 
I also saw where Moscow Mitch and his chorus of goosestepping henchies pushed through another 13 ideologically corrupt conservative judges.  Whether you know it or not.  That is an act of desperation.  He knows his party is going to be removed and is trying to spawn as much crazy corruption before that day happens.  There are legal ways to remove those judges.
An interesting side note:  I can remember being told by Evangelical Christians that they had no problem with the Idiot Jerk being removed and replaced by Mike Pence.  Now, however, they're singing a different tune.  For a supposedly religious group, this shows how easily they have been corrupted by the power the Idiot Jerk bestows upon them.  In fact, yesterday some moron compared the vote on impeachment to the trial of Jesus.  Can we talk about false gods?  How about false prophets?
And finally, to add a bit of levity, I thought I'd share a pic of one of the toys the dogs are getting for Christmas this year.  It's a T-Rex!

And let me tell you, they knew he was out of the box for a photo shoot.  In 2 seconds flat they had that little guy surrounded.  Luckily for him, I'm taller then they, so quickly back into the box he went, safe and sound until Christmas morning.

Majority Rules

Well, here it is... Wednesday.  Is everybody ready for a Jolly Holiday?  I am... sort of...
One of the things I'm getting myself for Christmas this year is a new, larger TV for the cycling room.  I'm going from 32 inches to 50 inches.  Size is important.  And so I've been moving things around, rearranging, redecorating, call it what you will, I'm prepping things just right in order to find out if bigger is better.  When I purchased this TV on December 12, I was given a delivery date  of 12/19.  I was scheduled to work.  In order to be at home for delivery I pretty much jumped through hoops at work... and then last night I received an email telling me the delivery date had been changed... to Friday... and, of course, I'm working.  I was told that it's too late to change the date back to 12/19, so it looks like it's going to be arriving on Monday, 12/23.  I'm still taking off tomorrow.
I did buy myself a doggy snow globe and that will help me brighten up the days until the new TV arrives.

And, of course, there is the arrival of Karma this afternoon sometime.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House is enraged!  He is going to be impeached.  He's shrieking that this whole thing is illegal politics...  If he is right, what does that say about the Republican's impeachment of Bill Clinton?  Oh... wait a minute... they say that was different.  But then they've always had thin skin.  And today, when the votes get counted, that skin is going to suffer greatly.  They have always been two faced.  The party of "family values" is now the party of "just deal with it."  A minority party who can only get into the White House through the Electoral College is learning that the Majority still rules.  And they hate that.

Forever House

Yesterday you saw the new location for my Cyclocross bike.  Included was a bit of my ceiling, which I decoupaged a number of years ago with the help of a friend.  Anne Marie thought that was impressive.  That was nothing... and I say this with all modesty.  I see a number of people who are interested in putting flooring into a home they have just purchased.  Many of them say "this is not my forever house."  Forever House.  That's a catchy little phrase HGTV came up with.  These people don't understand, you buy a home and over time make it into your forever house.  You do this buy personalizing it with paint, and paper, and decor.  You take the space and make it intimate and comfortable.  That bit of decoupage ceiling you saw yesterday was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.  Here's a couple shots of the International Male version of the Sistine Chapel:

This is a Forever House.

Anyway, I guess they're going to vote on the articles of impeachment tomorrow.  Merry Christmas Idiot Jerk!  America is sending you a Christmas Card.  Of course, his henchies and sycophants are flipping out.  They're beginning to realize how bad it is to shake his hand without wearing the mandatory rubber gloves.  He's been rubbing off on them, and now they, too, are contaminated.  Just look at Billy Barr who at one point was considered Conservative but not deranged.  Now even the Idiot Jerk's base realize the only reason Billy is in that position is to defend and protect the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  To do so, he will use every means within the grasp of his stubby fingers to destroy Democracy.  All he cares about is receiving unction from his Tinfoil dictator.  Foolishly, he wants to believe he is in a forever house.  His reckoning day is approaching... fast.

The Finish Line

Snow!   Nah, no snow.  They forecast 1 - 3 inches... if we get a dusting we will be lucky.  When I let them out this morning flakes were falling... here... and there.  Most of the storm is moving to our south.  Anne Marie might end up with 2 - 3 inches.  Bob and Carlos should be getting rain.  Rain?  How's that for putting you into the Christmas Spirit?
Yesterday I rode Eistobel... in Deutschland.  16.19 miles, with mile long hill that has a grade that wavers between 7% and 9.5%.  Two years ago this was one of the challenge rides; one that I didn't complete because of the difficult.  The really good riders finish this route in 35 - 40 minutes.  I take a bit longer.  I felt really good.  In fact, my friend Betsy called about 10 minutes after I'd completed it and she said "why you're not even out of breath."  Of course, I had to laugh at that.  Now, I was in training mode, if I ride the same route in Race Mode it counts it as a 'ride through.'  Riders will ride the same route over and over again trying to increase their speed.  Some as many as 30 - 40 times, all attempting to increase their speed and decrease their time.
And... prepping for my new training room, I've moved my Cyclocross X7 form the Shakespeare wall to the stars and planets wall.  In case you're wondering, yes... the stars and planets glow in the dark,

and yes, I did decoupage my ceiling.
Today is also the day the impeachment proceedings once again.  The Democrats want Mulvaney to testify...  That will never happen.  From what they've been saying, all the Republicans want are taped depositions, nothing else.  If, in desperation, they do bring in witnesses and they are only for the defense, they fail.  It turns their trial into a reverse kangaroo court in which the accused is automatically found innocent.  They want to acquit this defendant so badly, to do other wise shows the depths of their own corruption.  They are racing towards the finish line with as little sense of gilty as possible, cheating every step of the way.

Heaven in your Mouth

I slept in the morning.   At 0500 my alarm started chirping "good morning, the time is 0500," and I turned it off.  I've a lot planned for today, but I didn't want to get an early start... if that makes any sense.  Neither did the dogs.
Mrs. Puff's house, across the street from mine, has been sold.  And yes, her name was Mrs. Puff.  A U-Haul pulled up in front last night and a couple pieces of furniture were carried in by two men.  The streetlight up around the bend was out, so they didn't have a lot of light.  Of course, the dogs were out barking.  I suspect the truck will return, probably this later this morning or this afternoon.
Sundays are always quiet days for politics, unless the Idiot Jerk in the White House begins Tweeting some sort of bullshit.  I think an interesting thing about this impeachment is the Republicans desperately want to compare it to Clinton's.  Main differences:  they kicked a dead horse for a very long time; Clinton was fairly popular, except among a minority group called Republicans; The 'dot.coms' hit and everybody in the country was making lots & lots of money.  None of those are going to happen. 
And I've been craving coconut custard.  I love coconut.  However, I didn't really feel like putting the effort into baking one.  Instead, I opted for making something akin to a custard / pudding with real whole milk, real eggs, and real butter... and a lot of sugar.  Yum!  I should write this recipe down because this is heaven in your mouth.  In other words, this is calorie Hell.

The chocolate sauce on top (Hershey's, of course) gives it a Mounds Bar flavor.

Climb

And my weekend begins tomorrow!  Who knows what today will bring.  The weather is going to be dreary with rain, sometimes heavy at times.  At the store, all of those special buys are being condensed faster than lies slip from the lips of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Let me tell you, that's pretty damn fast!
I wasn't going to get myself anything 'big' for Christmas this year.  With that being said, I can tell you it arrives next this coming Thursday.  I scheduled myself an emergency vacation day.  Golly.
Cori, my cover artist, and I had a nice long chat yesterday.  This one was similar to the conversation we had about "The Body in the Tower," when I said "you know, I think bullet holes would be neat."  That's how it works.  I make a suggestion and she counters.  This back and forth continues until we settle on something both of us like.  I will give you one detail: no people are going to be on the cover.
There is one more cycling challenge I need to accomplish before I move to the higher level.  I need to ride Passo Giau, in Italy.  This is what I rode yesterday.

That's right, I climbed 1,112 feet in altitude.  That 3.6 miles is over half of the ride... and it never levels out.  Interestingly, my heart rate does not go up much, usually sitting at between 116 and 125 beats per minute.  My legs weren't bothering me at all.  Another 2.7 miles and I'd have hit the top and completed the challenge.  For a while I was concerned the challenge might be too much.  Now I'm not.  Hopefully, during my 4 day mini-vac over Christmas, I will plunk my ass in the saddle and finish this sucker.
And, of course, the impeachment comes ever closer.  Word is out that the Idiot Jerk is in a very volatile mood.  The whole world is watching our tinfoil dictator being humiliated.  Doesn't that make you feel good?  It should.  And the Idiot Jerk wants to drag out the impeachment trial as long as possible... because he believes he will prove his conspiracy theory correct, and at that point people will start feeling sorry for him.  He will never understand he's about as sympathetic as a turd in a toilet bowl.  The longer he drags this out, the longer Republicans try to turn this into a dead horse, the more Independent voters he loses.  The GOP will not realize until it is way too late that he was sent to destroy their party.

Pears

Can you believe it's Thursday already?  Wait.  Let me look at my calendar.  Nope.  I'm wrong.  It's just another work day.  There, isn't that easier?  Just calling today another workday?  I work tomorrow, too, but then I have 2 days off.  Yippee!
Oh, my.  I'm getting a lot of steps in at the store.  We've got our Christmas shoppers, who are looking for deals, and that's about it.  Contractor's work load slows during the holidays because no one wants their house torn up over the holidays.  And then there is the weather.  While they're forecasting a high of around 50 (F) tomorrow, usually you can find them hanging around the upper 30's to mid 40's.  So now is the time when people begin planning their spring events.
"The Body in the Well" is moving along nicely.  The tentative title for the chapter I'm working on right now is 'In Nancy's Notch.'  I'm sure that will change.  My cover artist says that sounds too much like porn.  She's right.  What's funny is that Nancy's notch is not really what you think.  It isn't really Nancy's notch isn't really a notch at all.  It's a saloon, in a town which was once known as Bartlett... as in the pear.  Of course, that was before Jack Nancy came to town.

Anyway, I guess everybody now knows BoJo's Conservatives won.  Brexit is going to be a done deal on January 31st.  There goes the NHS.  A lot of people are going to be upset when they start gettting bills for their healthcare.  The foreigners are going to move back to the continent and take their jobs with them, but that's okay.  Lower paying jobs are going to save the day... right? As long as some believe they have their sovereign rights back things are going to be just jack dandy.

I saw that in this country consumer prices just edged up a little... well, that's not totally accurate. Food and gasoline prices climb more than a little bit.  Their increase was offset by lower priced cars and trucks.  Prices in my neighborhood Giant have gone up a lot.  But that's okay, right?  This is how you make America great.  Oh, and when January rolls around, prepare for a less than glowing jobs report.  All those temp jobs are going to go away until next Christmas.  Part-timers in my store will find their schedules cut, many will only get 5 hours a week.  Part-timers are supplementing their income, they're not working for the fun of it.  Five hours a week just doesn't cut it.  Do you really think the Idiot Jerk in the White House cares?  or Republicans?  or Conservatives?  Hell no.

The BoJo Dance

For those counting, today is my hump day.  Yippee.
I did get a measure yesterday.  That's what we're supposed to do. Get measures for flooring installations.  For a moment I was a bright spot.  The dark spot was that the large, home improvement retailer lowered not only 4th quarter expectations, but also their forecast for next year.  Why the drop in sales?  They're claiming it is most likely due to theft caused by the opioid crisis.  That's right, addicts are coming in and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products...  Now, that's what I call slinging horseshit.  Addicts aren't that smart.  Nope.  Theft is a business.  It's called Organized Crime.  And it ain't going away any time soon.
On the lighter side, I bought some new clips for my cycling shoes... to be more exact, the left shoe.

This pair included little, rubber covers so they don't click - clack like tap shoes when I'm walking around on my hardwood floors.  They also keep me from scratching the floor as well.  Believe me, I've never had any desire to be a tap dancer.
Unlike Boris from the UK, who has no problem shuffling from one routine to another.  He's a younger version of our Idiot Jerk.  And dance?  That man should be on Dancing with the Duds, or what ever the British dance show is called where phonies line up to trot out their lines.  Lie Dancing?  They're experts.  And no, that's not a typo.  I didn't mean to say Line Dancing.  You know he is a agreeing to some crazy deals with our Idiot Jerk that will end up with the citizens of the UK paying through the nose.  But that's okay.  He will pirouette in to a pas de deux with our Idiot Jerk, all the while smiling back over his shoulder to avoid seeing the higher costs his Conservative government will establish.  And those addled fools who vote for him will see their NHS being whittled down to the bone.
Anyway, my route last night was in Canyonville.  A little over 16 miles long.  Not very memorable, so I'm deleting it from my downloaded routes.  No ride tonight.  It's every other night from now on.  That works better for me.  Longer, with a 24 hour recovery period in between.

Reality Show

Well, we were supposed to have snow on the ground this morning.  We didn't.  At first they were forecasting 1 - 3 inches, at some point that changed to 1 inch and then finally to 'a dusting.'  Nada.  I like snow.  The dogs like snow.  Now the forecast is for cooler weather, but no snow.  And, next week we're supposed to be getting more rain.  Son of a bitch.
There was some doofus in the store yesterday with a MAGA hat on.  When I politely asked if I could help them, he shook his head and said "we're just checking out prices."  I was going to tell him prices keep on going up, something he was never going to believe.  Nope.  All he believes is the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
And for those who don't know, two articles of impeachment were released yesterday.  That's right, only two.  Believe me, they are enough.
Speaking of the Idiot Jerk, he was in Central Pennsylvania last night at one of his crazed rallies.  This morning I saw my nephew's wife ranted on Facebook about the traffic.  Here's a bit about the event from Penn Live.  Security was, as the article says, heavy.  Sections, and intersections, of Routes 322 and 283 were closed shutting down traffic while his motorcade drove through.  Scott Wagner, a failed GOP candidate for governor is going to pay Derry Township the estimated $15 - $20 thousand in security charges.  The Idiot Jerk is a very unpopular president.  His ego also requires that the world stop as he passes by.  Missy Pence was there too.  They're terrified of losing Pennsylvania in the next election.
As for the impeachment...(drum roll please).  It now moves into the Senate.  So, let the show begin.

Both the Democrats and the Republicans want a quick hearing.  The Democrats worry the GOP is going to trivialized the procedure to death (they kick dead horses, don't they?), and the GOP worries about how badly it's going to make the administration look.  But the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  He wants a big, brassy, bold, bullshit filled reality show.  Live witness!  Yeah.  He wants them to drill for the details on live TV.  He wants a conspiracy song and dance show.  And that scares the Republicans silly.  That is the last thing they want.  You see they know this whole Ukraine thing is based on his untethered brain grasping for straws.  The Idiot Jerk believes that if he brings down Biden is re-election will be guaranteed. In case you don't know, this man is dumb as a fucking brick.

Lacking credibility

Well, I get to go back to work today... for another 5 days.  Ho-hum.
I did a 17+ mile ride in Greece yesterday, rather than the 6 mile climb challenge I need to complete.

This was the first route I've ridden in which the wildlife I saw was something other than birds or dogs (there are lots of dogs being walked).  About halfway through the ride a deer ran across the road in front of me.  I will admit there was a moment of surrealism.  Surprisingly, I missed the snake 4 miles farther down the road.  This was a fun ride.
I saw where the Watchdog group came out yesterday and said the FBI had not been spying on the Idiot Jerk's campaign... and Billy Barr was having none of it.  That was to be expected.  I'm sure the Idiot Jerk tossed him a fish since Billy's proving he's better then the trained seal he desperately wants to be.
One of the biggest belly laughs I got was from reading an article in Bloomberg Business Week, where author said that even while the Idiot Jerk is facing impeachment, this is the best of times for him... and he cited the November jobs report as proof.  He claimed the Idiot Jerk was solidifying his re-election because of... the November jobs report.  This nitwit has to be a superficial conservative.  Evidently the fact that the GM strike was over and thousands of people went back to work eluded him.  As did the fact that at this time of year there are massive amounts of seasonal hiring.  You know?  Christmas is coming?  UPS is hiring like it's going out of style... for temp jobs.  The same with the United States Postal Service.  And Amazon.  An associate of mine interview with UPS and was told flat out that in 3 weeks the job was going to disappear.  Anyone making a prediction from the November jobs report lacks total credibility... unless of course he's an Idiot Jerk henchie.
Last evening when I went up to bed I found Biggie already there.  Lilly was there, as well, but she didn't give me the look Biggie gave me, that 'you don't really expect me to move' look.  For some reason or other, he doesn't seem to understand that bed is mine... I'm just kindly letting them sleep on it.

He moved.

Scot-Free

Well, it's Monday and I don't go back to work today, unlike some of you.  That will happen tomorrow.  My schedule is not bad for the next couple of weeks.  What will be interesting will the the one for the week of the new year.  That's a 32 hour work week with 8 hours holiday pay.  I could work for 5 days in a row, or for as many as 9.  I have a scheduled 4 days off starting on 1/4, so we shall have to wait and see.
I have mounted my clock.  I know some will find that sentence amusing.  Here it is.

Not only will I now know what the time is, I'll also know the temperature.  Heat rises.  I always knew my upstairs was warmer than the first floor (ground floor for everyone living outside the United States).  The variance is 4 degrees.  It will be interesting to see how warm the room gets when I start pedaling.
I downloaded another route in Greece, however I won't be riding it today.  This afternoon I'm going to try and climb a 6 mile hill in Italy that's part of my challenge.  If I can get to the top of that I will move up to the next level in Rouvy Cycling.
Oh, and I saw the Russians were banned from the next Olympics.  Doping.  Now, I don't know if the directive is coming from the top, but I wouldn't be surprised.  We have our Idiot Jerk, the Russians have their Putsy Putin.  Both are trying to be Emperors.   I understand Putsy Putin is losing his popularity.  Our Idiot Jerk was never really popular... except among of small-minded individuals.
There was an interesting article in Reuters in regard to jobs and America.  Jobs are going to coastal cities, not cities in the heart of the country.   There doesn't seem to be much potential in cities like Indianapolis, and St. Louis, and Kansas City for future job growth, which runs completely contrary to  the Idiot Jerk's "Make America First" campaign.  The voters in those cities who turned out for the Idiot Jerk might just as well have sat home on their toilets and flushed their votes away.  The only way jobs will return to those areas is if we give corporations big tax breaks and incentives, and that doesn't guarantee those jobs they bring will be high paying.  We should never started giving them tax breaks in the first place.  Of course, isn't that what the GOP has always planned, for the American people to bear the burden of taxes while corporations go Scot-Free?  They call it Trickle Down Economics.

Rides

Okay, so this is the first day of my weekend and I slept in... kind of.   I still had to get up briefly at 0430 to let the dogs do their morning business outside, but then it was back under the covers for me, and rightly so - the temps outside were 23 (F).

The new clock is here.  It's nice.  It's gets hung today.  Pics tomorrow...  holy crap, I can feel your excitement permeating the air around my monitor.

I've talked about Leadville before, you know, home of Leadville Johnny Brown?  EF (the Cannondale cycling team) sent me an email this morning about the Leadville 100, a grueling mountain bike race.  The mine in Leadville was shut down in 1985 and over 3000 people were laid off - basically overnight.  Leadville almost became another ghost town in the Colorado Rockies... until some bright cookie came up with the idea of a mountain bike race.  The town survived.  The video is fascinating because it talks about the town and the race.  (Side note) Leadville is in no way the inspiration behind Rattler's Den.

And continuing on the cycling theme, I rode from Zevio to Verona yesterday.  14.5 miles.  This time the guy with the Gopro had a ginger haired friend with him.  The ride takes you into the heart of the city, so while you start out on one lane gravel roads, you end up with city traffic.  No one told me Verona had a Colosseum until I rode by it.  You ride between a lot of cars and even more tourists.  I liked the ride a lot.  Now I can say I rode with Two Gentlemen from Verona.  Oddly enough, I didn't see anybody dancing around singing directions.

That's "Where's North?" from "Two Gentleman from Verona (a play by William Shakespeare)"

The jockish side of me

Holy Crap!  It's Saturday, the first Saturday in December and today is Kid's Workshop... and I forgot to ask off.  Son of a bitch!  Now I'm going to have to go listen to hundreds of little hammers pounding for 3.5 hours.  Sometimes they do painting projects instead of building projects, that's quieter but clean-up for the store can be very time consuming.
My new clock comes today.  I ordered it specifically for the shelf in front of my Cannondale.  When I'm pedaling away, I just want to be able to look up and see what time it is.  And speaking of rides, Rouvy introduced 2 new ones yesterday, in Italy.  Unfortunately, they're group rides, meaning they're only at certain times of the day and you have to connect with a group of riders.  Well, the times these rides are offered are a bit on the inconvenient side, and I like to just climb on the bike and ride.  Rats!  Since I wanted to ride in Italy, I did a ride search.  There are over 100 routes to choose from.  I selected a ride from Zevio to Verona, about 15 miles, fairly flat.  Monday I'm planning on riding up a long hill in Italy.  That should be fun.
Today is my parent's 68th wedding anniversary.  That's right, they got married on Pearl Harbor Day.
I don't know if it's part of the aging process or not, but a while back my toes began moving back and forth inside my shoes.  I suspect my cycling may have something to do with it.  Or, perhaps it's the arthritis in my lower back.  Anyway, when I'm walking around at work, my socks rub them and on more than one occasion I thought I might be on my way to getting a blister.  So, I bought some Kineseology Tape.  You know, the sort of things jocks wear?  And I've started taping my toes.  All of a sudden, no problem.

Mine is red, one of my favorite colors.  The water polo player was not included in the box.
I read where the Idiot Jerk in the White House and his administration are refusing to get involved with the Impeachment process.  This was to be expected.  The Democrats need to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate as fast as possible.  Throw the ball in the the Republican Court.  Believe me, the Republicans are going to vote it into the history books as fast as possible.  There will be no, long, drawn out trial.  While they would love to attack, attack, attack, they're know such a thing would do more to hurt the Idiot Jerk and help Biden.  Having a trial would cut their open for the public to see and hear.  A lot of them are already scared shitless.
Oh, and I see Duncan Hunter's is going to resign which means there is going to be one less Republican in the House.  Oh, now isn't that a shame.

Pricked

Okay, so today is Thursday... it seems like only yesterday it was... Thursday.  It is Thursday, isn't it?
My 2020 Roar calendar arrived yesterday.  Roar used to be Warwick Rowers.  They've grown.  Now there are coyly posed naked men from other rowing teams, as well as other sports, gracing the months, including Team Sky sports.  I was curious to see if there were any cyclists included, however this year they didn't identify the men.  At least not on the print copy.
And, speaking of cycling, I rode 20.23 miles yesterday as part of one of the challenges I need to complete to move up to Elite cyclist.  It took me 98 minutes.  My legs didn't bother me nearly as much as my butt.  Son of a bitch!  I could feel every stitch of fabric in my shorts when I was finished!
Last night I went to see "Knives Out."  It's a mystery with some serious comic overtones.  I enjoyed the film immensely.  The acting is top notch.  Don Johnson is in it.  I haven't seen him in anything for a long, long time.  He's aging well.  A clean shaven Chris Evans is here too, with really pink lips.  I'm glad to see he's getting roles outside of the 'superhero' genre.  Toni Collette is amazing as Joni, one of the siblings squabbling for a piece of the inheritance pie.  I love a good mystery, and this one's good.  There is a treasure trove of clues and red herrings which delightfully confuse and lead the viewer down the wrong garden path.  And dogs, of course, in fact, one of the first things you see are the dogs.

And I saw where Justin Timberlake made a public apology to his wife for holding hands with someone else.  Can you imagine that?  He found himself suddenly being attacked by all those social media knives.  They are now both judge and jury as to what he can and cannot do.  As I was reading that snippet, I began to wonder just who these people were, the one who dictate to Justin how he lives his life.  It took me all of about 2 minutes.  You see, right after seeing that headline, I went over to Amazon to look for a digital clock for the cycling room.  Lo and behold, they were advertising the Chris Pratt store on their Home Page.  The Chris Pratt store?  That's when I knew just who exactly Justin was afraid of... the same group who buy shit from the Chris Pratt store.  Not too smart, but easily influenced by celebrity.  The last thing their idols want is for them to pull out their sharp, little, vengeful knives.
Just like the Idiot Jerk in the White House, who for so many, many years enjoyed wielding the knife.  Now barely a minute goes by without him being pricked.

The Next Part

Well, my Christmas week schedule is out.  Not bad, if I have to say so.  I'm off work form 12/22 -12/25, going back on the 26th.  The store will be decently staffed that day:  Returns.  That's when the dog beds, and Olaf pillows, and faux copper frying pans get returned.  Yeah, for a home improvement store, we sell a lot of crap on Black Friday.  This year, for a change, we did not sell pink and blue rocking horses, nor did offer kid sized motorcycles.  Yepper, for the past 4 years our Black Friday offerings included kid-sized motorcycles.  Now I know you're asking yourselves what kind of moron buys a motorcycle for and 8 or 9 year-old?  The same kind who voted for the Idiot Jerk in the White House. 
And, speaking of Christmas, in previous years Black Friday initiated the change in our canned music to Christmas carols.  That's all we heard, from the minute the store opened to the second we locked our doors at night.  Not so this year.  Except for our Crazy Christian associates, everyone is quite pleased.  Now we hear a carol, and then 3 or 4 non-holiday songs.  Now, I know there are a lot of you out there gasping in horror.  What's Christmas without Burl Ives?!  Knowing your addiction well, I got a clip for you just to ease your shakes and tremors.  If you're like me, you can skip to the next part.

The Next Part.

With Harris out of the presidential race, I know there are those out there wringing your handkerchiefs crying where's our diversity?  Where's our diversity?  Well, we still have a gay man running, as well as an Asian, an African American, and way too many septuagenarians.  Our most important goal right now is not to put the most liberal, diverse candidate into the White House.  The goal we must prioritize is the removal of the Idiot Jerk.  No matter how desperately some of you might be hoping the impeachment will do this for us... it ain't gonna happen.  Congress is going to let the voters do the dirty work.  That way they can say it was the judgment of the American People.  So, what we all need to do is put on our stompin' shoes.  We need to stomp them down so hard, so when the 2020 election is over they're not going to know what hit them.

Monster

So, I stepped on the scale this morning and found that I managed to knock off 1.9 pounds (.86 kg).  This drop in weight will be normal for the next 5 or 6 days as I work off my thanksgiving gains.  It's all the carbs I eat.  Carbs are not bad if you exercise, however I went 4 days without a bike ride; that's never good.  I went for an 11 mile ride last evening.  The only thing bad was my choice of music:  Tales from Topographic Oceans, by Yes.  This is one of my all time favorite albums - not so good for pace setting.  Two nights ago, when I rode 19 miles I listened to Smoke and Mirrors by Imagine Dragons.  That album includes this song from 2013.

If you're a Lady Gaga fan, you'll recognize Monster since she covered it on her Fame Monster album.
And, speaking Monsters, what about the Idiot Jerk's trip to the UK.  I understand he and BOJO met, sans pictures of course, not that they didn't take any snaps, they just can release them to the public since they might lose BOJO votes.  In fact, this trip to the NATO summit is much different than the past 2.  In the past, all the Idiot Jerk had to do was hold out his hand and say "Big Mac me" and lo and behold, a fast food burger was handed to him.  Every time he does that on this trip he finds out someone has handed him a shit sandwich instead.
I understand this whole impeachment thing is on the verge of skinning him alive.  He's never had a problem doing this to others, but now that the tables are turned... different story.  His base is clotting together to from a big scab around him.  They need to protect him from the truth, which proves him to be so much worse than a Monster.
Oh, and finally, what about Jared the Joke Boy?  Has anybody ever heard anything about that great Mid East Peace Plan he spent millions of taxpayer dollars working on?  They keeps saying they're going to release it when the time is right.  Evidently all he came up with was the same tired joke.  Rather than say he's an incompetent jokester, he's been moved to the Trade Table.  Isn't that frightening? 

Breaking America

Yesterday work was... odd, seeming more like a Sunday morning rather than a Monday.  Financially we did really well last week, one of only 2 stores to hit their forecast.  Some missed largely because of... well, probably online sales.  The main focus for us now until Christmas is to condense.  That's a word which will ring constantly.  Condense.  All the crap that didn't sell gets moved into smaller and smaller areas.  Oh... and prices start to drop on it because it's... crap.  If you thought you were getting a deal on it on Black Friday, wait 2 weeks.
Here in Central Pennsylvania we were all waiting for snow yesterday and... some received a dusting.  I got nothing.  Most of the white stuff fell on the mountain tops surrounding the Susquehanna Valley.

Now, I know there are some who will say "that's isn't a mountain."  You're wrong.  It's part of the Appalachian Mountain range, a very old and distinguished mountain range.  Back when Europe was still anchored to our Eastern Seaboard, the Appalachians were higher than either the Rockies or the Alps.  Now in their senior years, they deserve our respect.  Besides, you ought to try riding a bicycle up one... then you'll know it's a mountain.
I saw where the Idiot Jerk in the White House is slapping new tariffs on Brazil and Argentina because... they're selling boatloads of soybeans to China.  All of those boatloads our American framers used to sell?  Well, the Chinese have found another source.  This is what's called a Free Market Economy.  Our American farmers are having an 'oh Shit!' moment.  They believed they were the only ones in the world selling soybeans.  And the fact that these tariffs might tighten the bonds between Brazil, Argentina and China totally eludes the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  This is how you break America.
And new tariffs are threatened against France and the European Union.  That's right.  They passed new laws which will financially hurt American Tech Companies - the result, tariffs against them.  The problem is that France and the EU are saying "bring it on, Asswipe."  Ooops.  This is the wrong reaction.  They're supposed to cower and bow down at American Greed.  Wrong.  They're going to give us the finger.  This is just one more example of how the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to break America.
Oh, and this just in:  The Idiot Jerk says it might be better to wait until after the 2020 to try and get a deal from China.  Oh, Shit!  And how many Americans went deeply into debt over Black Friday?  This is how you break America.

The life at the End of the World

Crap, I get to go back to work today.  Now, ain't that just damn ducky?  And snow is on the way, not much, they're calling for 1 - inches, at least the last time I checked Accuweather.  I had been hoping the white stuff was going to start falling over night, then I might have an excuse for calling off today... a weak excuse, I'll admit, but still something on the periphery of acceptability.  No such luck.
I got a nice ride in yesterday afternoon:  Ratzenreid - Wegscheidel.  It took me a little over an hour to ride 19.2 miles.  My legs felt fine afterwards.  Burned off almost 800 calories.  To celebrate I made egg rolls.  Delicious.  That is the compensation, you know?  Being able to eat with out the worry of putting on that extra pound.  And building muscle, too.
'The Bend in the River' chapter is finished, at least the rough draft.  I've moved on to 'Conversation in a Pickup Truck.'  This is where our heroes have a  Q & A with Cedric Greely.  Nice name, eh? 
And I understand neither the Idiot Jerk in the White House nor one of his council will be sitting in during this weeks Impeachment process.  They say to do so would insinuate guilt, and they claim they did nothing wrong.  Of course, just about every criminal convicted has always said the same thing. 
And for those who didn't know, Jade Evans is back on Youtube.  Jade who?  She's one of Lori Loughlin's media slut daughters.  This is making news only because her lying scab of a mother is involved with that college entrance scandal.  I didn't read either the NYT or the LA Times articles because... these are bad Americans, the trashy kind who love basting themselves in their own, phony superiority.
About the title... I had this weird dream last night.  It was actually me reading the legalese crap Google (or any app, for that matter) has you read every year concerning your security; the documentation where you acknowledge your rights to privacy and how much of your information they can share.  And it wasn't so much as my reading, but rather hearing a voice read it aloud.  Everything was going fine until the voice said "and I give all password access to the life at the end of the world," at which point I stopped it.   The life at the end of the world?  Who the hell was that?  Since I didn't know, I revoked the access... and woke up.  Interesting, eh?  So much so, I Googled 'the life at the end of the world,' after making coffee, of course.   This is what I found:  something by Wendie Renard.  You can read it in French, if you want.

Hhhm, looks like I denied Wendie password privileges. 

Books of my Youth

Holy Crap!  It's December!  Doesn't time fly?  In just 3 weeks we will hit the shortest day of the year... and it's about damn time.  I can't wait for our days of more sunlight and less nightfall.
And I did managed to get an extra half hour of sleep this morning.  Of course, since I've been up I've already managed to pop a load of laundry into the washer.
And I did not arise to find ice and snow glittering the landscape.  Nope.  Now they are forecasting a mixed bag of precipitation for later this morning which might give us a very light glazing.  Just to be on the safe side, I bought a 50 lb bag of rock salt before I left work.  I need to do more work with my upper body muscles because that sucker was heavy as hell.
I paid another visit up to my attic yesterday.  I have about 5 boxes of books up there I have to decide what to do with.  Well, 4 now, one was thrown out.  Squirrel pee.  The pages of most of the books in that box were stuck together.  Yes, I do get squirrels in my attic, I'd rather them than bats in my belfry.  Anyway, one of the boxes that hadn't been peed on held some of the books of my youth.  I took a pic of some of them:

I have no idea what to do with them.  They're all around 55 - 57 years old.  What do you do with the relics of your childhood?
Politically, this holiday season has been rather quiet.  Very few Tweets from the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  I understand he needed to be bound and gagged to keep him from spilling the beans about his trip to Afghanistan.  The Democrats are supposed to be working on the Articles of Impeachment starting tomorrow.  They need to get this thing done.  Wrap up the accusations and send them to the Senate which will vote them down.  We all know this is going to happen.  The smart thing to do is use the Senate's vote against them in the upcoming elections.  While they will trumpet their vote and denounce the Articles, a majority of the country has already passed judgment on them.  At this point they are really only trying to keep their base from being shredded away from them.  Prepare yourself for the lies, because that party is going to lie like the sack of shit in the White House.

Bridges

Oh, dear Lord!  I stepped on the scale this morning!!!
Actually, it wasn't that bad.  Nothing more than a 1.3 lb increase that will be temporary at best.  Of course, there's more food today at work.  It's meatball sub day!  Now, let me be perfectly honest, while I loved the Tacos we had yesterday... anything Italian hits the spot.  This is interesting because my ancestry is French, German, and Irish, (the Irish is definitely the source of my impatient temperament, no doubt).  No doubt tomorrow's weigh-in will represent more of a temporary increase.
Yesterday was busy, evening in the Flooring Department.  Lots of people buying... junk.  The morning, after I to work was rather slow, but business picked up in the afternoon.  In the past we had most of business in the morning and then a serious slowdown in the afternoon.  Sales were fairly good.  Let me tell you, I was glad to leave.  I have tomorrow off, and I'm glad for that.
Every morning, when my alarm goes off, I'm treated to news headlines.  Today I heard one from Faux News questioning whether the impeachment process was beginning to backfire on the Democrats.  I think that's a desperation message for the Conservative Base, giving them something to grasp onto as their world continues to collapse.  I think we all realize the Senate is never going to vote to impeach the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  To do that, would be to admit their own culpability, their or crimes and misdemeanors.  The main job of this entire process is to continually erode his base, slowly whittle them down until the numbers going to the polls represent nothing but failure.  So far, from everything thing I've seen, that seems to be working well.
In my first book the pivotal chapter was 'Meeting with Morris,' in which Eli confronts his father.  I've been told the tension in that chapter is palpable.  In "The Body in the Tower," the pivotal chapter was 'Splish Splash,' where Eli and Max get to see first hand the hacked security footage of the murder in the Eiffel Tower.  For the past 2 weeks I've been working on a chapter called 'Bend in the River,' the pivotal chapter in The Body in the Well.  I'm having a grand old time.  As you might suspect, it does take place at... a bend in the river, the Uncompahgre to be precise.  There is an old wooden trestle bridge.  And Bobby Tussel discovers what cold, mountain waters do to certain parts of the male anatomy (I do like my humor, you know?).  Anyway, I've been looking for pics which show trestle bridges at bends in rivers... which has turned up some interesting photos.  Here's one:

And here's another:

The first provides an idea of what the bridge looks like, the second what the environment looks like today.  The big difference is the trees along the Uncompahgre are mostly conifers.