How does my garden grow?

Spring officially arrives in 20 days.  Woohoo!  Not that there aren't already signs.  My daffodils by the back porch already have buds, and the Idiot Jerk in the White House thinks Donnie Jr has the worst judgment... Oh, wait!  That's not a sign of spring!  Well.... maybe...    When I read that yesterday I almost burst out laughing.  We normal people have known that for years, but now, thanks to Michael Cohen, the whole world knows it, including... Donnie Jr.  I can't even imagine the size of the brick little Donnie shit when he found out his old man pretty much thought of him as a dumb fuck.
Let's head back to spring, okay?  I have roses in my front yard, this year I thought I'd plant some oriental poppies and some vibrant sunflowers among them to jazz things up a bit.

You know what I'm talking about, like when Rashida Tlaib accused Mark Meadows, a white Republican from North Carolina of using Lynne Patton, a "friend' of the Idiot Jerk's family, as a prop to prove the Idiot Jerk was not racist.  My, what a colorful conversation that was, Meadows being called a racist using a racist stunt in a desperate attempt to prove the Idiot Jerk wasn't racist.  My, I'll bet his cheeks were burning, redder than the scarlet poppies I'll be growing next to my roses.
And, of course, those seeds of futility the Idiot Jerk had hoped to nurture into blooming deceit during his "summit" with Kim Dumb Chunk fell on fallow ground.  No flowers there.  Perhaps if he'd sent Donnie Jr in advance to spread a little manure, and maybe pop a few MAGA hats on some of the Vietnamese.  Nahhh.
Yesterday rattled the Republicans terribly.  Their worst nightmares are coming true.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House, who many believe God sent to fulfill their most craven dreams, is actually harvesting souls... for the other guy.  Today, Cohen is going to speak again, behind closed doors.  Today he's going to talk about the Idiot Jerk... and Russia.  After today, they will be shaking in their boots.  Today they will get an earful on the types of weeds the Idiot Jerk has planted and nurtured.  I can tell you, there isn't a poppy, or a rose, or a sunflower in his garden.

Riding through

Okay so it's Wednesday and I get to go back to work today (boo!  hiss!)  What makes this even more dastardly is that I have to work for 5 days and only get 1 (one) day off before working another 5 days.  That's enough to make you say "shit."  Am I right?
I rode over 5 miles yesterday.  North Applegate... it's in Oregon.

This is what I see on my TV

This is one of my favorite rides.  It wasn't until after Rouvy augmented the rides that I got to see the beautiful scenery.  Of course, you're not sitting there looking at a still picture, it moves.  The faster you ride, the faster you pass by the scenery.  With this kind of augmentation I can ride any stage in the Tour de France!  Ain't that pretty amazing!

Some evil Republican ass named Gaetz threatened to release personal information about Cohen and now he's apologizing.  Too late.  This guy is an attorney... and he threatened a witness... and now a number of people are working to get him disbarred.  Ooopsy.  But then this is typical behavior of one who supports the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  In fact, I'm sure this is a tactic the Idiot approves of, one he's had his henchmen use time and time again.

And, of course, today is the day Cohen opens the floodgates.  I saw somewhere that Republicans are concerned his testimony might upstage the summit between a dirty dictator and a wannabe dictator. Uh, someone should tell them 'upstage' is not the correct word.  Cohen is going to be on TV.  Every news feed I get is going to be broadcasting his testimony, and don't forget some milquetoast the Republicans can badger about.  He has teeth, and he's going to use them.  Every time they bite him, he will bite them back.  Not only is he going to avenge his soul, single-handedly he is going to attempt to take down the most corrupting force in the Republican party.

Turkey in the Straw

So, here it is, Tuesday.  Late entry today.  I had breakfast with my sister and brother this AM.  I also slept in... until 5:30.  Tomorrow I'll be back to the standard 0400 wake-up call.  If I get the chance I want to do a couple of miles on the bike this afternoon.  Actually, I know I'll have the chance, it's just that I might not want to put on the shoes and slip into the spandex.
Starting tomorrow I will have the joy of working for 5 days in a row, followed by a single day off, and then another 5 days.  Shit.  This is what I don't like.  Work.  My brother asked me how long I expected to work full-time.  He always asks me this, and my response is always the same, until I get the car paid off and add a little more to my bank account.  Once I feel comfortable, I will go part-time.
And the irony of the day is that the Idiot Jerk is in Vietnam.... you know?  Interesting how bone spurs didn't stop this trip from happening.
What is actually more interesting is that he's going to be out of the country when the shit hits the fans.  I mean, like today the House is going to vote against his racist wall and quite likely the Senate will vote against it, too.  That ain't going to sit well with his racist base... nope, not at all.  They don't like being told that they're assholes. 
Then tomorrow Mike Cohen is going to step into the Center Ring where he will dazzle us with tales of moral degeneracy, and amaze us with feats of wonderment as he details how phony the contortionist in the White House truly is... prepare to be stunned!  Is it any wonder this summit was planned now?  I think this is what his administration considers damage control, offset the negativity with some sort of sketchy deal with Kim Dumb Chunk.  In Vietnam, of all places.  Wouldn't it be funny if the Idiot Jerk gimps around a little bit... because of his... you know?
And then, of course, there is the Mueller probe... well, it's not quite a probe.  I suspect the only one who's in the mood for probing is Lindsey Graham... if you know what I mean.
For those interested in the progress of "The Body in the Tower," I'm up to 65,000 words... with 4 chapters left to complete.  I'm working on a chapter called "Comfort Food," in which Cook serves up Turkey in the Straw.

Not that the chapter is gastronomic by any means.

My Oscar views

Okay, so I watched the Oscars.  Having no host was a big improvement.  To me, it seemed as if a lot of the pomposity was taken out of the ceremony which was fine with me.  For years the show has been more like "The Cavalcade of Stars," with presenters slowly walking to the microphone while the orchestra plays.  That didn't happen last night, they walked on and listed the nominees and announced the winner. I saw where some people complained about the set... again, I liked it.  They shrank the proscenium down, which mean shorter walks for everybody while creating a more intimate feel.  In fact, the whole show had a much more personal feel, something lacking for so many years.
Interesting points:  The two films with the most nominations failed to live up to their promise, with "The Favorite" winning one, and "Roma" winning three awards.  "Black Panther" won the most, garnering the tech and costume awards.  "Vice" didn't win anything... that didn't surprise me, in the end it's only a star vehicle to win Christian Bale and Best Actor Oscar.  "Green Book" won Best Picture.  To be truthful, that win could have gone a number of ways because there were a number of good films.  I thought, for a while, it might actually go to "Bohemian Rhapsody," except it had that Bryan Singer cringe worthy shit hanging over it; no one mentioned his name.  After "Roma" won for Best Foreign Film, it was out of the running for Best Picture...
Two things that didn't work:  Acceptance speeches - if you're a major winner, (Best Actor, Actress, etc) then you can talk.  If you win "Best Documentary," or Best Short Subject" understand you have a limited time n the stage.  If there are 4 to win awards and you're the first to reach the microphone, don't pull out a phone book and start reading - show a little consideration... you have a limited time on the stage.  The other thing that didn't work:  gowns with trains.  Holy shit!  If you do not wear a gown with a 4 foot train (or longer) do not wear one to an award ceremony where you may need to walk more than 2 feet, and then climb a stairs.  Trains were rampant last night!  What the hell were these women thinking?  There is absolutely nothing glamorous about hoisting 20 pounds of fabric over your arm so you can struggle down the aisle and up to the podium.  Perhaps they were all hoping Chris Evans would help them to the stage.
I was thought it very refreshing not to have any gimmicky bullshit like pizza getting delivered, or going to the theater next door to thank the fans.
Bette Midler was great!
Having Brad Cooper and Lady Gaga come up from the audience to sing "Shallow" was very simple and very smart.  Like I said, a lot of the pomposity we've seen for so many years was absent.
Finally, there was a lot of brown skin on stage last night.  I'm sure a lot of white Republicans didn't watch... that's part of the denial process.  What shame.  They missed a good show.

Unplug this

Finally, today is Sunday, the first of my 3 days off in a row.  It took long enough to get here, didn't it?  After that, unfortunately, I have to work 5 days before I get another day off, and it's only one.  Split days off - I hate them.
That nice blue coffee maker I bought?  There's something wrong with the programming.  How do I know?  Well, it turns itself on.  That means it's either a programming issue or it's possessed.  I'm going to go with the programming issue.  The problems is that there are only 2 buttons on the front.  The red one indicates the coffee maker is brewing.  The other, a light green color, does everything else:  sets the time on the clock, sets AM / PM, and lets you set a timer to start brewing.  Holding it in for 3 seconds supposedly lets you set the clock.  Example:  green button 3 seconds & you can set AM / PM; green button 3 seconds & you can set minutes by pressing... the green button, once you have minutes set, press and hold the green button for 3 seconds - that lets you set the hours by... pressing the green button.  Pressing the green button too long will set the timer.  However, if the power goes off, or the coffeemaker gets unplugged, the clock will reset to a random time and the timer does pretty much the same thing.  Here in Enola we sometimes get very brief power outages; the lights don't even flicker, I know because I'll find the bedroom clock flashing, and, of course, that will screw up the coffee maker.  My answer?  Just keep the damn thing unplugged so I don't wake up, or come home to find the warmer hot, with an empty carafe sitting on it.
And, what about the owner of the New England Patriots hitting whore houses? 

Yeah, this Krafty old sucker

Holy Shit!  And we're not even talking about a high class establishment here.  Shit, doesn't he know there's such a thing as a 'call girl?'  He's a good friend of the Idiot Jerk  in the White House.  I wonder if they swap whore house stories?  Oh, wait, it's not a whore house.  It's a 'massage parlor.'  And it looks like it's in a strip mall (no pun intended)

Don't picture it!  Clear your brain completely!  Let it go blank!  Otherwise you'll begin to wonder how often he was having his green button pushed...  I'm betting he rarely needed to be 'unplugged.'

Similarities

It's Saturday... finally.  I weighed myself and discovered I'd gained half a pound.  Shit.  I got up this morning with the intention of doing at least 40 minutes of cardio and ended up putzing around.  No cardio.  Shit.
The results of the Mueller investigation will most likely not make it to the Justice Department until the week of March 4... which is when the Idiot Jerk is planning on throwing a Beach Blanket Bingo party for Kim Ding Dong.

Oh, wait, neither of their names are in the credits... damn that Main Stream Media and their Fake Trailers.  Everyone knows Frankie and DeeDee are just minor characters!  He and Kim are the real stars of the show.
Back when Jussie began his little lie jive it occurred to me that there was a similarity with another celebrity from the days of yore who also tried to hide behind a melting fudgsicle.  This morning I saw the LA Times also saw fit to make a comparison.  Tawdry little tale, isn't it, the woeful history of Aimee Semple McPhearson?  Many of the Crazy Christians bowing down to Aimee forgave her, to do otherwise meant they had placed their faith in a phony, that the words she was preaching were flawed, and that they had made a terrible mistake.  They encapsulated their beliefs within a thick husk of denial.
The same thing is true today with the supporters of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  "How can he be so bad if he gives us what we want?" they cry, without understanding he is giving them what they want for a reason:  praise... loyalty... fealty.  They are a very selfish group.  They care about only themselves, and their beliefs, and the more narrow minded those beliefs the happier they are.  They are desperately trying to control how you channel your emotions and desires, your wants and your needs.  They crave power.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House will give them everything they want because he's a stupid, arrogant man.  Little does he understand that by doing so, they usurp the power he, himself, so desperately craves.  He is fulfilling their heart's desire.   So desperate is he to be re-elected, he will do whatever they want.  This clown is anything but a genius.
Oh, and I see the Idiot Jerk nominated another perky bottled blond to be Ambassador to the United Nations.  Shit!  I wonder if she let him grab her pussy.

Who's for lunch?

Yesterday got warmer than I was expecting.  When I drove home from work the thermometer in my car had the temp at 55 (F).  Bye bye snow.  Officially we only have 26 more days of Winter.  Now I don't mind winter, normally, but this year we seem to have had more ice than usual.  Almost every snowfall we've had is followed by sleet and freezing rain.  This past storm, we actually made the list on the Weather Channel (I saw it at work) with 1/4 inch of ice.  The dogs hate ice.  They don't know what it is.  Their paws do not have biometric traction strips and so they will slide.  Believe me, they are not graceful.  And, just like humans, a fall can strain a joint or pull a muscle.
Yesterday Sixpence noted that the Idiot Jerk was jumping on board the 'Smollet  hate wagon' while failing to mention the Coast Guard Lieutenant who had amassed a cache of guns and ammunition with the intent of killing Democrats and others.  We all know from past Republican responses to shit like this, silence equals acceptance.  I don't think a lot of Republicans realize just how much this man hates, and I'm talking about the Idiot Jerk.  But then Republicans, themselves, are filled with hatred towards everything they cannot control.  This is why they will lose.  We do not live in a hive... or a nest.  We are human beings.
And... of course, Mueller's report is almost ready to be turned into the Department of Justice.  Many are talking about it.  One of the words being bandied about in regard to the White House response is "bracing."  That's not a good word when it comes to an investigation.  When used as a verb, brace is indicative of something bad about to happen:  you brace for a collusion... oh, wait, I mean collision.  There's a lot of commentary out there on how much of the report is going to be made public.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House wants it locked in its own little Pandora's Box.  We know that will never happen.  There will be leakers.  When it comes to leaks, this administration is like the Titanic, after the iceberg.  If you think the rats are jumping now, just wait.  One thing you can bet on, the Idiot Jerk is not going to go down with his ship.  Nah, he's going to be the old guy dressed as the fat chick in the lifeboat.  You do know what they say about lifeboats, don't you?  What happens in lifeboats stays in lifeboats... usually because almost everybody gets eaten.

It's snack time.

Stability, or lack thereof

Well, we had snow... about 6 inches up here in Enola, and we had ice, too.  The branches have crystallized, all glittery in the lamp light.  The only thing keeping it from being a Hallmark moment is the absence of "B" actors fawning all over each other in a "G" rated game of touchy-feely.  That, and the fact it's slick as hell.  Good thing temp is going to hit the 40's (F) today.
Can we talk about things that warm the cockles of every Conservative's heart?  I'm sure this lit a toasty, little fire in their bosoms.  This guy wanted to kill Democrats and News people, among others.  Of course, you do know he is not alone. There is more than one of him out there, and all of them support the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  He encourages them.  They, just like him, despise criticism.  They want to be thought of as special, as chosen.  Rather than focus on the needs of others, they prefer self-specialization... in other words, they are very selfish.  Just like the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Whether they understand or not, he has become their face... and he's pretty damn ugly.  He tells them who to hate, and they hate.  He bellows "the New York Times is an enemy of the state," and they agree.  What fucking state is he talking about?  North Carolina?
Oh, I forgot, since he only gets his briefings from Fox News, he may not know, but North Carolina is already screwed.  Wait, I have to correct myself, it's not the state that's screwed, it's the Republican Party.  Can we talk about voter fraud?  If you want, you can watch a clip of Mark Harris crying in the back of the courtroom as his son testifies against him.  Harris was warned and do you know what he told himself?  "I don't have tow worry.  I'm special.  This is for the good of all conservatives."  Now that his ass is in the fire, you can bet he's going to apologize and ask forgiveness.  Will he learn anything?  Absolutely not.  He's a Conservative.  He's Special.  He believes he's been Chosen.  If he hasn't already done so, you can bet his white pastor will tell him "It's for the good of the party."
And Jussie has been arrested.  Things to keep in mind, a lot of people jumped on board the Jussie Bandwagon because he provided them with the ugly truth about racism, when in actuality he was providing them with the ugly truth about mental illness.  Does he hate white people so much he felt compelled to create an ugly incident in order to vilify them?  Or are his neural transmitters consistently misfiring to such a degree his actions seemed rational... to him?  The truth is we may never precisely know.  Of one thing we can be certain, he was not spurred into action, like the Coast Guard Lieutenant who wanted to kill Democrats, my a morally degenerate president spewing hatred.  Jussie's problem is personal.  I do not think he was terrified the Idiot Jerk in the White House might be impeached.

Courting the Truth

Well, it's Wednesday morning and I'm sitting here waiting for the snow.  Yeah, we're under another winter storm warning with a prediction of 3 - 6 inches (possibly 8) inches... before it turns to ice and then rain.  Tomorrow the temps are supposed to be in the mid 40's (F) which means what ever we get today is going to be on the Fast Track for melting.  My plan is to go into work for a few hours and then leave early.  This storm seems to be moving fast.
I filled out my jury selection questionnaire online.  The last time was selected I only had to spend 1 day at the court house, but that was at the end of the month and most cases had already been settled.  I went to the Cumberland County website to see what the caseload was like for the week starting March 25 - nothing is listed so far.  That doesn't mean there aren't going to be any, just that cases haven't been listed.  The average length for one of these trials is about 2 days.  They're Civil not Criminal, which means someone feels they are owed.
And, speaking of court cases, I guess everybody has seen that the family of that kid in a MAGA hat who tried to stared down an American Indian is suing the Washington Post for $250 million.  They must be taking their cues from the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  My guess is they're hoping the Washington Post will settle out of court for a lower, yet still substantial amount.  We'll have to wait on this one.  Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post and right now he I suspect he's fairly keen on smacking back and stomping down on Conservative Republicans.
I bought some doggy stairs from Amazon.  They were supposed to have been delivered yesterday.  There was a slight problem.  I should expect delivery today... during a winter storm... right.  They're being delivered by the USPS - the last winter storm delayed a delivery by 2 days... my expectations for their arrival today are not that high.  Do you know what I mean?

Make it Stop

Here it is, Tuesday, and I get to go back to work.  My calendar has been fixed.  My 3 days off in a row are next week.  Blame it on anticipation.
And, I know, everybody is waiting to get the first glimpse of my fritters, some of you for a very long time.  Well, without further ado, here they are:

As you can see, they look more like cakes.  When fried, chickpeas take on a real nutty flavor, and even though they recommend a yogurt / cucumber dressing (which I did use) they are even tastier when using that not so Mediterranean condiment ketchup.  Think of french fries on speed.
Back when Obama was president, right after the Idiot Jerk won by a technicality, some bimbolina in Virginia posted something to her Instagram account about Michelle, comparing her to an ape.  Well, it seems this fool, a Conservative of course, claimed her home had sustained damages during a hurricane.  She lied, and now she's gong to go to jail.  She told FEMA her damages came to over $18,000... except there weren't any damages... none.  Oh, shit!  Can we talk about having bad Karma?  Conservatives are such dumb ass wipes!
If that wasn't bad enough, look at North Carolina.  Republicans and their voter fraud.  It's always those who shriek the loudest, the ones who are constantly pointing their fingers, who end up being the ones most guilty.  It is quite likely North Carolinians will have to go to the poles one more time.  The question you need to keep in mind is this, if these corrupt conservatives were responsible for this type of voter fraud in the State Election, what did they do in the National Election.  Did North Carolina really go to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And, if white Republicans are this corrupt in North Carolina, what does that say about the Republicans in others states with large minority populations?
And isn't the Idiot Jerk freaking out about McCabe and Rosenstein?  While I don't have one, I do know people who have Twitter accounts just so they can laugh at him.  I do not doubt that there are quite a number of Crazy Christians running around wailing "Dear Lord, Make it Stop!  Make it Stop!"

Spicy!

Okay, so it's Monday, my 2nd and last day off for a whole week.  Sometime this morning I'm going to have to rekey my calendar and fix my faux pas of dates... my 3 day weekend is next week.  Now, ain't that disappointing.
I did 45 minutes of cardio yesterday.  If anybody wants to see the results, here's the link.  This is the new Suunto app.
I am making my chickpea fritters today.  I know everybody is waiting for the pictures... I will oblige, of course.  I made the sauce yesterday - cucumber, dill, and plain yogurt... tasty stuff!  My friend Betsy said it was also good on scrambled eggs, and then went on to say "actually, it's great on just about everything."  We'll have to wait and see how it sits on a Chickpea Fritter.
I also ordered dog steps for the bed... for the dogs, or, I guess I should say Seig since he's the big one.   He sometimes finds vaulting 118 pounds up the the 33 inch bed difficult.
And, of course, yesterday morning the Idiot Jerk in the White House sent out his minions to drum up support for his racist wall.  His supreme immigration racist, Stevie Miller didn't do so well with Chris Wallace on Fox.  His responses were dodgy.  When asked to cite an example where a president had over-ruled Congress to declare a National Emergency he failed... totally.  You have to remember, he is as racist as his two-bit, wannabe dictator boss.  This whole episode is not sitting well with the country.  While his minions love him, the Idiot Jerk's approval rating continues its decline.  One funny article I saw claimed he was hoping his meeting with Kim Jung Dumb was going to bolster his approval rating.  Shit!  That's bad. 
And what about the McCabe interviews?  I found the the little tidbit about Putin telling the Idiot Jerk not worry about North Korea since they could "never hit the coastline with a ballistic missile," really spicy.  I'll bet that's going to sit well with Little Kim.  Oops!  Ah, well, not to worry, Kim learned a long time ago the could lie through his teeth to the Idiot Jerk and get away with it, as long he peppered the fool with praise.  We all know that's what Vlad does in between the beef stroganoff and the cheap sex.

And now, for a commercial break

Today is the first of 3 days off in a row for me.  You could say I am pleasantly happy.
The Oscars are on tonight... (sorry, next week).  I'll watch.  I go to a lot of movies.  There is no host, which should make the ceremony interesting.  The Academy tried to shorten the show by announcing certain awards were to be given out during commercial breaks.  After a lot of loud complaining, that's not going to happen.  So, what makes the show run long?  Here are 3 suggestions they should consider if they want to shorten the run time:

#3.  Don't seat nominees at the back of the auditorium.  When 4 people win for Best Documentary, they wait in the aisle until everyone is out of the row.  Then together, they all walk down to the stage (nobody runs at the Oscars).

#2.  Eliminate the long acceptance speeches.  Winners feel the need to thank everybody.  Unfortunately for them, nobody cares who helped them on their long, struggling path to success.  Sometimes they ramble on.. and on... and on.  Remember McConaughey?  He won for a film whose title is pretty much forgotten by just about everybody.  His career was going nowhere before the win, and since has been approaching the death spiral zone.

#1.  Cut the commercials since they take up the most amount of time.  The Academy has decided they don't want to financially break even with the telecast, they want to make money.  This means there's an award followed by 3 minutes of commercials.  There are 24 awards and there are commercial breaks after 23 of them.  Someone introduces a film clip from a nominated film... and then there's a commercial break.  We hear a nominated song... and there's a commercial break.  When you have over 72 minutes of commercial breaks in a broadcast scheduled to run 3 hours, you have a problem.  The fact that they even considered giving awards out during commercial breaks is one of the definitions of failure.  People watch to see the awards, not 25 minutes celebrating the wonderment of Samsung.  What do I do during those aggravating mini-intermissions?  Usually taking a leak, or getting another glass of wine, or both.

Finally, I'm going to touch briefly on the Jussie Smollet problem, and it is a problem.  If you read this blog, you know I sat silent while everybody was jumping aboard the Jussie train.  I'm the cynic, remember?  Personally, I thought the whole thing sounded sketchy right from the beginning: a black celebrity, walking alone on a secluded street in the early morning hours gets attacked by white racists.  These things do happen, and they are ugly, and people get killed.  If the police are correct and this thing was staged, Jussie Smollet is a terrible man who took advantage of the sympathy of millions of human beings.

Cynic

It's Saturday, February 16, and we have 32 days of winter left... officially.  We all know there is no specific second when the weather is going to begin to warm up because Mother Nature isn't that considerate.  She's going to do the same thing this year as she does every year, tease the hell out of us.
I'm not going to New Jersey!!  I am really so glad!  Training is fine, as long as it's within a 20 mile radius.  Two and a half hours on the road for a 6 hour training sessions is ridiculous.  Add to that the fact we most often try to car pool which means I usually drive... it's the only way to guarantee no one smokes in the car.  I simply hate that.
I also got notification yesterday that I'm scheduled for Jury Duty on the March 25.  Yippee.  I've been to this rodeo before.  I didn't get selected then, and probably will not get selected this time, no doubt because this little sign begins to flash over my head in bright, neon red letters:  CYNIC   That's right, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit cynical.  I work in retail, remember?  Where someone is always trying to get something for free.  We see them daily, liars with tempers flaring because they feel they are owed.  Oh, and this is for Civil Court, a place where people go, the place where people go to swindle big settlements from insurance companies.  Not that the insurance companies shouldn't pay, but sometimes the greedy side of humanity presents its face.
And, since I'm being cynical, how about that Ann Coulter trying to do a little tap dance all over the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  "A stupid act designed to please his stupidest voters," is, I believe, what she Tweeted, or something very similar.  As expected, the Idiot Jerk shit out a couple of words saying "he didn't know her."  Excuse me, but wasn't he happy as a pig in shit when she was singing his praises?  Keep in mind, his "stupidest voters" will not remember that far back.  And I am in no way defending the Nazi Princess Ann, she's just pissed she is no longer one of his closest advisers.  In case you didn't know, instead of the briefings he's supposed to be getting from the CIA, and Homeland Security, and a whole bunch of other security organizations, the Idiot Jerk is relying on the advice from Thimble Nose and Bumble Brain, aka Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, a political hack and a spineless, political entertainer.
Adding to the irony of that Shit Show in the Rose Garden yesterday was the fact that an American with a gun murdered 5 people in Aurora, Illinois yesterday, before being killed by police.
Anyway, after today I'm off for 3 days.  Nice.  Not that I  have big plans.  I'm thinking about making chickpea fritters on Monday.  How's that for excitement?

Now, don't that look scrumptious?

Digest This

It's Friday the 15.  I get to go to work.  One of my fellow associates in Flooring did something stupid.  Now we are all waiting to see what the fallout is going to be - there is the possibility it might very radioactive for one of us... not me.  I'm one of those people in the stands with a front row seat.  This is how life goes, you know?
I did my 40 minutes of cardio this morning and realized that my Sole 95 was tracking my mileage wrong.  Yesterday I did 2 miles and it only racked up one.  That sucks.  My Suunto Spartan tracks it differently, always a little less than the elliptical.  Outside it tracks your mileage through GPS but on a stationary piece of equipment is relies on arm movement since most people swing their arms when they walk.
Since my diet is, fore the most part, Mediterranean I decided to buy a cookbook.  That's right, I rarely eat red meat, mostly chicken and fish.  Of course, like most cookbooks, the recipes here have been created in a kitchen, which means I will dumb some of them down by skipping some of the ingredients, like pine nuts. 

We shall see what happens.
Oh, and both the Senate and the House have approved the funding bill.  And the Idiot Jerk is going to declare a National Emergency to get funding for his racist wall, the one his white, Evangelical base deems necessary to keep out all those brown Catholics from Central America.  I think Nancy said it best when she cited 'gun violence' as a National Emergency.  Their terror of a brown threat is causing part of the white to open a Pandora's Box.  Do they care?  Hell no.  They seriously believe they are in a 'do or die' fight to save 'white America.'  They can't understand evolution has decided that battle a long time ago when the gene for brown skin became dominant.  Of course, they don't believe in evolution either, since that would make them neither superior, or chosen.

Valentine's Day

It's Thursday.  It's also Valentine's day.  This is not a big day for me, not because I don't have any sweeties in my life, I have to large 4 legged ones.  I would say, without a doubt, that my lack of sentiment goes all the way back to 2nd grade, when I had that horrid Mrs. Miller as a teacher.  Everyone in the class needed to bring a shoe box which we all decorated with little, red construction paper hearts.  Every day, for a week before Valentine's day the class spent some time everyday making little valentines, the idea being to put them into the shoe boxes of your friends.  Valentine's day arrived and we all took our boxes to our desks, opening them to see who'd given us a Valentine.  There was a lot of laughing  and giggling as children held up little handmade cards saying "I got one from Alice," or "I got one from George."  When I opened my box I had three.  That was it.  No more.  Only three friends.  This was the same teacher who tied me to my chair with twine because she said I was standing up too much, and who left me and a few others sitting alone in the classroom while she took the rest of the class to hear her son play violin.  It's also the same teacher who punished kids by making them stand in front of the classroom and recite "The Lord' Prayer."  That routine put her on the witness stand when once child's parents sued the school district.  So, did I really only get 3 valentines while everybody else got 20+?  I suspect that only Mrs. Miller knows the answer to that question.

And on a more humorous note, both the House and the Senate are giving the Idiot Jerk a little bouquet of roses for Valentine's Day.  Ultra-Conservatives are shrieking mad!  They are furious they can not force their racist views down the throats of the American people.  They would be happy as hell if all they had to give us were 3 little valentines, and nothing more.  Whereas I thanked my three friends, put the lid back on my shoe box and put it under my desk, a majority of Americans are shouting "screw you assholes, get out of our way!"  And like Mrs. Miller, their racism is now in the witness box for all to see.

Listen UP

Wednesday.  I work... and this isn't even my hump day.  Shit.
So, when I got home from work yesterday we had about 3/4 inch to an inch of icy slush, mostly slush with a crust of ice.  Grabbing my handy dandy shovel, I cleared off the back porch, steps, and the veranda for the dogs.  They love snow when it's soft and fluffy - hate it when it's crunchy slippery.  I then took care of the front sidewalks - didn't take me long at all.  I just put the shovel down and used it like a plow.  The prediction is for us to warm up over the next couple of days.  Good.
Okay, the the mailman drops off this letter from the E. Cumberland Road Neighbors last evening and when I opened it I found an invite to join a 'public website' specifically for my neighborhood at nextdoor.com... well, kinda... and probably not.  It was written by someone named Corinda Traina - I Googled the name... nada.  Nextdoor.com is a social network started in California about 12 years ago and neighborhoods are groups of people who live in the same region.  Sorry, this isn't for me, so it's going in the trash.
And, how's this for stupid?  Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at the flooring desk and I received a call form our Measurements Services regarding a customer.  They had just sold her a carpet installation, around $2000, and after she gave them her credit card number asked them when she was going to be able to pick out her carpet...  🙄🙄🤣😂🤣  Let me explain...  After having their rooms measured, customers normally choose the carpet and the color and the padding.  The minute they pay for it, that carpet gets ordered.  Sometimes, if a customer can't make up their mind, a generic carpet and color is keyed into the order.  All this is explained to the customer.  Most customers will have decided on a specific carpet and color before they are actually measured.  When Measurements Services sells an install, they verify all of this information since the last thing they want to do is sell you a style and color carpet you do not want.  This customer evidently wasn't listening and blindly gave them her credit card number.  End result:  I had to cancel the purchase order and process a refund. 

And finally, I saw where the Idiot Jerk in the White House is 'unhappy' with the joint legislation which will keep the government open, but gives him nothing for his WALL.  I guess the American Freedom Caucus, that crazy bunch of hate mongers, is telling him to sign it.  They're telling him to go around Congress in order to have his WALL built.  In fact, I do believe Lindsey Graham is advocating the declaration of a National Emergency.  For those who don't know, the American Freedom Caucus is an all white, Evangelical boys club.  Do you know what's going to happen if he declares a National Emergency?  Well, I'm going to quote Dirty Harry.  "Make my day."

And today's sandwich is....

Well, it's Tuesday.  I get to go to work today after having only one day off.  The thought had crossed my mind to take a snow day.  I mean, yesterday afternoon the Winter Storm Advisory was changed to a Winter Storm Warning, with 3 to 6 inches predicted.   When I pulled back the drapes this morning and looked out the window I was... disappointed.  We have maybe 2.5 inches of snow.  That's it.  I check Accuweather and there is still a Winter Storm Warning  listed, however Cumberland county is no longer included.  The bulk of the Winter Storm appears to have stayed to our west.  I'm already shoveled out, so it looks appears as though I'm going to be heading in to work.  It's going to be a slow day.  There will be a lot of noise coming from the 'swing area' to the left of our front entrance - they're setting up the patio event.  For us, February 11 screams "Spring Is In The Air!"
Evidently the Idiot Jerk in the White House held some sort of lie fest down in El Paso yesterday.  I know because I saw a pictures.  There was a large banner behind him which read "Finish the Wall."  Okay, some brave soul needs to sit him down and tell him they haven't even laid the first bricks.  How can you finish something you haven't even started?  Or, maybe there was this really big typo at the banner factory.  Maybe the banners was supposed to read "Finish Funding the Wall," or maybe it wasn't a typo, perhaps the size banner they ordered didn't have space for that one additional word.
And the Senate has reached a compromise on funding the government and while there is money for some fencing and improvements, and the hiring of more personnel, there is no money for... The Wall.  Now it goes to the House.  If they're smart, they'll approve it and shoot that bill off to the Idiot Jerk's desk.  You see, the Idiot Jerk has said he'll veto anything that doesn't give him $5.7 billion for a wall.  Do you see what they're doing here?  If he signs it, he CAVES.  If he vetoes it, he, personally, will once again be responsible for the government shutting down.  Oh, shit!  That means there's another shit sandwich on his menu.

And I read somewhere, that the National Enquirer is claiming the brother of Jeff Bezos' mistress is the one who provide them with his penis pics.   Wow!  That's a pretty good way to break up an extramarital affair, ain't it?

Shorty

It's Monday... my day off (notice to the singularity)... and it's snowing.  We're only supposed to get another 1 - 3 inches before it switches over to... mixed precipitation.  That change is not going to happen until later this evening though the ice accumulations is only supposed to be about 1/10th of an inch.
They threw the Grammy's last night.  Didn't watch.  Never do.  I like my female vocalists to actually vocalize rather than sound like they are expirating helium.  The same thing goes for male vocalists; give me a baritone with range rather than a 'high ball' tenor - I don't find falsetto listenable.  I did see Fall Out Boy's "MANIA" got a nomination for best rock album... didn't win.  And for a bit of humor, I saw that the chick who won best Gospel has really big, really blond hair, I mean like almost inflatable big; goes with the territory I guess.  There was a time when a Grammy win figured into my record buying habits and as a result I own a lot of vinyl I now regret purchasing.
In case you didn't see... we're heading for another shutdown.  That's right, the government's going to be 'closed for business' one more time.  Am I like the only one who's recognized how often this is happening under this administration?  This is because the Republican concept of negotiation and compromise revolves totally around one simple statement:  "This is what we want."  They are not now and never will be open to any variation on that demand.  Democrats will say "well, we'll give this if you give us that," and the Republicans say "This is what we want."  Going into these negotiations the Republicans realized they were not getting any money for the Idiot Jerk's racist wall.  Of course, there are going to be other sticking points since the Republican idea of immigration reform is "Keep out the brown people."
This Sunday evening we have the Oscars.  I'll watch them.  This year will be interesting because there is no host.  Originally Kevin Hart had been slated to handle the Master of Ceremonies job, but then he suddenly dropped out over past homophobic comments he'd made.  Personally, I think that was a front, a cheap excuse to cover up the real problem with Kevin Hart.  You see, the man is tiny.  Little.  Short.  His biography lists his height as 5 feet 4 inches.  He was on a talk show where he claimed to be 5 feet 4.5 inches but eventually, after much back and forth between he and the host, admitted to being only 5 feet 2 inches tall.  He is almost a short person.

I'm betting his agent looked him in the eye and said "bad move, everybody in the world is going to start calling you 'shorty.'"  Thanks to movie magic, in "Jumanji" he was only a few inches shorter than Dwayne Johnson, in real life Dwayne's more than a bit taller.

Maybe he should start singing Gospel, that way he could himself some big hair.

A Doggy Decision

Well, it's Sunday... and I work today.  I'm off tomorrow but then I get to work for 5 days in a row.  Shit.
I could have sold some carpet to a customer yesterday but he's going to wait.  He is retired and he and his wife are buying a place in Florida.  The carpet they are installing installs in 72 work hours after the purchase order is created, and they're not ready.  It was sad because they have a dog, a 5 year old Golden Retriever, which they had with them, and they couldn't take him with them to Florida.  The dog had been adopted and will be going to her new home on Monday.  The couple was very upset.  While I felt bad, I also thought they were pretty damn stupid.  The community where they are moving doesn't allow dogs.  So, they couldn't fine a place that takes dogs?  Don't sit there and give me some sob story when every decision they have made has evidently excluded the dog they say they love.  This couple is only in their mid-sixties.  Did they really need to move now?  They are selling their house in Mechanicsburg, paying to have it painted, and putting in cheap as hell carpet, because he wants to move to Florida.  It was fairly obvious he was the one making the decisions, not her.  May his heart break for a long, long time.
Suunto has come out with a new app which works better than their Moves Count app.  Their new app works well on my inexpensive Asus tablet, so I posted a comment in their forum. and of course I got shit.  You see, the app is designed for phones... and tablets, if you got one.  One guy listed all of his tech equipment, complaining he didn't see any reason to go out and buy tablet as well.  In response, I listed my "equipment" and noted it was easier to take a tablet to the gym.  Of course, I received no replied.  Sometimes it helps to be ballsy.
And, finally, I read in The Hill this morning how people in 'the know' are beginning to believe the National Enquirer's Pecker might end up in jail because it's looking more and more like that rag did, in fact, try to blackmail and extort Amazon's Bezos.  Even though he's old and wrinkly, I'm sure there are some 'attractive' inmates who might find his tired, rich ass attractive.  I'd bet that's one romantic tryst the National Enquirer would not cover...  at least not with lurid pictures on the Front Page.  Of course, like a lot of Peckers, this one's stupid.  The implications that the Idiot Jerk's administration had Bezos' email account hacked is just one more shit storm aiming for the bull's eye asshole in the White House.
Here's a pic of Lily...  A lot of times I post pics of Seig because he's so big and boofy, she, on the other hand, is quite the lady.

The wrong path

Well, it's Saturday morning.  I did 40+ minutes on the elliptical .  I feel good.
Hey, what about Virginia?  Isn't that a shit show?  When this whole thing is over we're going to have a much tighter definition of 'consensual.'  It wouldn't surprise me if guys start carrying around a pre-coital, pre-cunnalingual, and or a pre-felatial form... you know?  Sort of like a pre-nup?  Both parties will need to sign before foreplay can begin.  This will eliminate the "I had too much to drink," and the "I felt coerced," excuses.  Let's be honest here, life for those in any position of power is becoming very toxic, for who are in power, and men are not the only ones being accused.  Fingers are being pointed at both gays and straights; some of the rightly so.  No one is even going to attempt to defend the evil of a Kevin Spacey.  In retail, we have something called 'buyer's remorse,' where someone buys something and then later feels they've made a mistake.  Many times they are simply swept up in the moment.  Time speeds up.  They make a decision they later regret.  I've seen customers buy $4000 in carpet, and when the installers arrive, they claim it's the wrong carpet, or the wrong color, and want their money back.  And, if they raise a big enough stink, guess who gets their money back?  Now, I'm not defending the Brett Kavanaughs out there, the ones who get drunk and fell sexually entitled.  That guy's an asshole.  But there are cases when things happen in the heat of the moment and they seem very spontaneous.  We need to be very careful here, rather than jump on the blame bus because we feel it's the right thing to do.  We must weight the facts from both sides carefully, to do otherwise might send us down the path towards Puritanism.  That would not be a good thing.
And finally, I saw this shot taken by the Chinese as part of their lunar mission.  Stunning, isn't it?

As I looked at this picture, I thought "That should be our lunar mission."  If we don't get off our asses and start doing something, we are going to miss the money shot, and all we'll be doing is looking at other people's pictures.

Darker than Life

Today's Friday and the end of the work week... wait, what the hell am I talking about?  I'm in retail.  I get to work Saturday and Sunday...  Sure, I have off Monday, but then I have to work 5 days in a row.  Then it's 2 days off, followed by another 5 day stretch... and this is the slow time of the year.
I got home from work yesterday afternoon and discovered one of the dogs had pulled a pack of Ramen noodles from the back of the counter (yes, every now and then I get a craving for Ramen noodles).  There were crumbs on the living room floor.  Oh, and the soup packet as well.  All they wanted were the crunchy noodles.
I saw where Chief Justice Roberts flipped to the left on some sort of crazy abortion law Louisiana was trying to run down the throats of their citizens.  To be honest, he didn't really flip, he just took a more Centrist position.  The 'Right to Lifers,' however, see it as a betrayal.  I don't have much patience for them since their only goal is to eliminate a woman's right to choose.  They don't care about babies, or what their lives are going to be like, they just want to eliminate choice.  I've always said "if you're Pro-Life, you'd better have about 15 kids in your household, other wise you're nothing more than a loud-mouthed, pushy, phony."
Of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House is seething over the fact that his Tax-Returns are going to be investigated.  The Mueller probe infuriates him, the Tax-Return investigations?  That nearly scares the fake tan off his skin.  They're going to have to double spray him to hide his glowing fear.  Can we talk about having a real shitty job?  Imagine being the poor sucker who has to spray him down standing there aiming a hose while the Idiot Jerk slowly turns in front of you.  Is that the stuff of nightmares, or what?  And does he actually think about the end result?  Or does he just automatically order #9.

Oh, wait, the chart only goes up to #7...   Now, be serious, do you really think that's going to stop him?  What makes this so hysterical is that this is a man who doesn't like people with dark skin.

It's... here!

Well, it's Thursday and I get to go back to work. Yippee.  I work 4 days, have off 1 and then I have a 40 hour work week.  Shit.  Then I have 2 days off and another 40 work week... double shit.  We have a new scheduler who's just learning the ropes.  I'm going to be patient.
I guess about 74% of those who watched the Idiot Jerk's speech approved of it.  Ratings wise, he had about a million more viewers than last year, but that # is actually less than his best at 48 million.  Keep in mind those 46.5 million viewers equal about 14% of the total population.  So, who really watched the Idiot Jerk?  Republican, and some Independents... that's all.  So, when they say he got a 74% approval rating... well, that's what you would expect if only his base was watching.  Duh.
And... of course, yesterday, being Wednesday, meant my desk arrived.  It was delivered by 2 nice, young me who picked it up and carried it in... without taking off the door.  This delay could have been avoided if initially they had just taken it out of the box.  I'm going to have a friend come over to help me lift it so I can straighten out the rugs, but other wise it's just ducky dandy!

In case you are wondering, the books on the shelves are original copies:  Tom Swift on the top, Jerry Todd on the bottom, so, in case you were ever wondering, Tom tops Jerry.
Here's another angle.  If you look, you can see Big Seig's head.  He celebrated the arrival by walking around squeaking his purple squirrel for about two minutes.

I started organizing my drawers last night, in between working on the new project.  Let me tell you... I have sooooo much space.

The Rebuttal

Well, today is Wednesday, my 3rd day off in a row.  Ain't that exciting.  I have a dental appointment this morning.  Also, the desk arrives today, sometime within a 3 hours window:  11-3.  It's about time!  If the company I bought it from hadn't tried to cheap it out on the first deliver, I'd be writing at it by now.
I did my taxes yesterday.  I am getting money back.  However, the $$$ are on par with what I used to get back when I was able to itemize... before the house was paid off.  With all of the 'wahooing!' and knee-slapping by the Republicans when they got their precious tax bill through Congress, I thought I might get more.... Shit!  That's Right.  I'm in the wrong tax bracket to get the big bucks!  Those bucks will be going to the likes of DeVos, and Mnunchin, and Schultz (the coffee guy.)  We know they're going to take those refund checks and buy something to help grow the economy, like those tailor made suits from a nice guy in Hong Kong,  or that handbag made of Italian leather from in Serrano, Italy.  You know, the kind of people who think Saks is just like Target, only with a better selection.
Oh, and the Idiot Jerk in the White House gave a speech last night.  Evidently he accused Democrats of not kissing his ass.  The women wore white... his favorite color, so you know he couldn't stop looking at them.  He still wants his racist Wall.  Main Stream media was fair, from what I can tell.  I didn't check, but I'm sure Faux News chortled their Hosannas the they they always do.
I did watch some clips of Stacey Abrams' rebuttal.  She was calm, and well spoken. 

How shrewd of her to call out the 'shutdown' as an engineered plot by the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  He thought that would be a great bargaining chip.  He's always been an asshole.  I liked the fact that their were people behind her, listening to her, representing America.  I wonder how many Republicans nearly broke their fingers changing channels in order to avoid seeing her.  It will be interesting to see how she does in the ratings.
Finally, I guess the Idiot Jerk complained about all of the investigations... it seems like a new one is popping up everyday, doesn't it?  Anyway, he cited them (at least that's what he seemed to be saying) as keeping him from doing his presidential duties.  Shit. This guy has 60 Executive Hours each week.  All he does is watch Fox News and eat McDonalds.

Shiny

Well, it's Tuesday, my 2nd day off in a row.  I'm loving it.  Of course, the price will be having to work for 4 days straight followed by two 40 hours weeks.  Shit.
Being that it is Tuesday, February 5, you should all be aware that the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to be farting his way through another series of lies this evening on National Television.  I'm wondering if, perhaps, Stacey Abrams, who will be giving the Democratic rebuttal will get higher ratings.  In case you didn't know, that happened the last time he chose to spew his racism on National Television. 
And the first thing this morning I had to do some changes to my Google account.  I like Google as a browser, however, they want you to sign up for all of these other things... like Google Drive.  A long time ago I had a problem an old Dell PC.  I called their Help Desk and the woman, who was very nice, told me how to fix it... the wrong way, and my hard drive was wiped clean... Oops.  So I got Google Drive mostly for their Backup and Sync app.  Everything was now going to be save.  Everything.  Every picture, every video, every note... is saved in my computer and in Google Drive.  Deleting things from my computer, like pics of the Idiot Jerk I use in my blog, does not delete them from the drive, however.  Deleting things from the Drive takes them out of both places.  Of course, I started running out of space in the Drive and Google wanted me to buy more space.  You know?  Pay money to store shit I'm never going to use?  Right.  So, this morning I uninstalled the 'Back up and Sync' app.  I like using cloud storage, but only for those things I want to save, you know?  Like dog pictures.
Anyway, I finished shining up the silver candelabra for my desk (which arrives tomorrow, supposedly).  This is what it looks like all polished up and shiny.

Oh, dear me

There's was a football game last night... I didn't watch it.  After sitting in the seats down in Washington for a nationally televised football game I can tell you, the Super Bowl is nothing more than a celebration for the people addicted to the hype.  The sad truth is evident when people say things like "My team's not playing, but I'll watch it for the commercials."  One of the things I hate most in life are... commercials.  If you're that addicted to cutesy advertising you can go online and binge watch all 45 minutes of Super Bowl commercials.  Remember, however, doing so is not for the faint of heart.
We know Northam from Virginia wasn't watching the Super Bowl, he was fielding phone calls and meeting with his staff.  The question of the hour is... will he do what a Republican would never do if he were in the same situation... resign?
And, of course, running up to last night's game, there were an infinite number of stories concerning American football, the teams, and even the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  He likes to get his name in the press, you know?  I don't normally read to much about him.  One can only read so much about hate before barfing.  Anyway, there were a number of articles concerning his spawn, Barron, and how the Idiot Jerk didn't really want him to play American football.  There were a number of pictures and they are what grabbed my attention.  There were none of a happy, smiling family unless they were staged for a photo op.  Instead I saw anger, and arrogance, and... well, some are going to say I'm being bad, but in quite a few Barron actually looked demonic.  Like this one:

Oh, dear me, doesn't Barron look a little like Damien... from "The Omen?"

I'm not making any connections to evil here, just asking.  don't know.  I do know Melanoma seems to be shooting someone the evil eye.

A little head?

Today is Super Bowl Sunday - I only work until 4:30, so I'll be home, but... I won't watch.  Duh.
I got a call from the delivery people while at work yesterday.  Wednesday's the day for delivery.  They will call me Monday or Tuesday with a 3 hour window.  I'm off.  The temperature is supposed to be in the mid 40's (F)... what could be better?
This guy named Northam, the governor of Virginia may (or may not have, depending upon which of his stories you want to believe) while back in college.  Was that him in the picture?  Maybe.  Was it a stupid thing to do?  Definitely.  Are we going to publicly punish every one of those students in that yearbook?  Nope.  Except for Northam, they're all going to go about their happy, happy ways.  You can bet some of those students matured into very conservative Republicans, Northam, on the other hand, liberalized his views and became a Democrat.  A lot of Democrats say he should resign.  A lot Republicans are saying the same thing, not because they find his prank racist, but rather because they want to stake a Democratic Governor.  He says he's not going to.  Me?  I say we should let the people of Virginia decide.  Democracy is for the people and by the people.  In the next election the voters of Virginia will decide if he's racist or not.  They will look as his record.  Is it Liberal or Conservative?  Has he been a good Democrat?  The calls for him to resign are well taken, they show we hold our own accountable, unlike those Republicans who voted for Kavanaugh.  At the end of the day, however, we need to let the Virginians choose.  It's their right as Americans.
The AI on my Galaxy 8 is acting up.  Yesterday, as my alarm was going off, Bixby said "today's going to be a good day for a picnic."  The sun did come out, but the temp only made it up to 33 (F).  This morning Bixby said "today's going to be cool and cloudy," and the temp's are supposed to go up to 44 (F).  Oops.
The other day, as I was laying in bed, Seig rested his head upon my chest.  For those who don't understand... this is not a little head.

Allez, Allez!

When I got up this morning the temperature was 4 (F) - that's still cold.  It's supposed to go up to 40 (F) today.  I really hope it does.  I have ice.  Usually I use Hailite salt - no problem.  The dogs have never had a problem with it.  This year I decided to get the 'pet friendly' stuff.  Well, it doesn't work... no, that's wrong.  Each granule melts the area directly beneath it which means you get lots of little holes in the ice.  That's one problem.  My back porch is enclosed with a vinyl floor.  This 'pet friendly' shit makes that vinyl slick as... ice.  That's the 2nd problem.  I put a throw rug down... and that slides.  The only solution is to scrub it down every time the dogs go in and out.  My dogs go in and out a lot.  Let me tell you, this pet friendly shit is a pain in the ass.
So, Cory Booker is running for president.  My brother doesn't like Cory at all.  He texted me the equivalent of a sarcastic cheer.  My reply reminded him that by 2020 1/3 of all registered voters will be minorities.  No response.
The Idiot Jerk gave some sort of interview with the Times (?)  in which he was asked about 'fake news' and his response was something like, 'it wouldn't be fake if it was a good story.'  In other words, he wouldn't call it 'fake news' if they published 'fake news'.  Ironic, isn't it?
In French, the verb for 'to go' is aller.  Yelling 'allez' is often used as a cheer, you know 'go, go, go.' In fact, if you've ever seen any of the Tour de France, you will see the fans lined up along the route shouting 'allez, allez.'   However, while 'go' can be used as cheer, it can also be used as a command, or a desperate plea.  Sometimes a certain song will fixate in my mind while I'm writing.  The lyrics rarely influence me, however the tone, the beat, and the instrumentation provide inspiration.  Right now I'm working on a chapter tentatively titled 'Allez, Allez!' and this is what I'm listening to.

The song is "Super Fade."

Dogs and a Duck and other things.

It's Friday!  I have the day off!  And lots of things to do.  I accomplished quite a lot yesterday, including 40 minutes of cardio.
I actually talked to the delivery people about my desk, trying to find out when it would be arriving.  I have been upgraded to White Glove - Premier, though they didn't seem to know.  With this level the desk will be unpacked and checked for damages before delivery, and then upon delivery I, too, will check for damages.
Overnight the temps only dropped down to 11 (F).  I feel a warming trend coming on.  For those who don't know, we are approaching the halfway point for winter.  Yippee!  Though, the forecast calls for 1 - 2 inches of snow today.  No problem!
And I saw this yesterday.  Apparently Republicans are beginning to jump ship, or maybe I should just say change parties.  This is a bit of a problem for a party which desperately wants to believe they represent a majority of Americans.  They don't.  In fact, anytime statistics are brought up they whine "main stream media."  The believe "main stream media" corrupts the truth.  They would rather you read the Drudge Report, or Breitbart, and watch Fox and Friends.  Those are outlets which spout out the Ultra Conservative viewpoints they love so dearly, and loving something dearly allows you to pass judgment on that which you dislike or even hate.
Bloomberg posted a report card on the Idiot Jerk's first 2 years in office.  His record is terrible when compared to the previous 3 presidents.  For those who don't know, Bloomberg has a niche audience.  Not everybody enjoys reading financial information, some find it too dry, other see it as simply boring.  Conservatives, however, see Bloomberg as "Main Stream Media" because it doesn't kiss the ass of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Of course, I do believe Michael Bloomberg has also called the Idiot Jerk a 'losing sack of shit,' which is in no way going to endear him, or his news organization, in their hearts.
And finally, a bit of fluff.  Yesterday I began shining the silver candelabra, and while I was out in the kitchen polishing away tarnish I heard the dogs playing with something.  Grabbing my phone, I headed into the dining room.  There I discovered them with their big, yellow, squeaky duck.  Of course they stopped the minute they saw me.

It was like I was invading their space.