Okay, so it's Sunday. I don't work, which is nice since yesterday's storm brought down a small branch and it needs to be cut up. Cooler temps are forecast - today's only up to 87 (F), it is summer after all. I have Central Air so I'm not too concerned.
I get to work tomorrow... and then off again for one day. Tuesday I go for blood work, annual physical, you know? Needles... hate them. And it's 5 vials... I don't know why they need so much of my blood.
I've been putzing around with Google Maps... not locations, but evidently you can make your own maps. I've been thinking about creating one for the next book. Something I can put in front of the chapters. That way people will know exactly where the Rattler's Den Reptile and Snake Emporium is located. Yes, I know, snakes are reptiles... but I like the alliteration of the name. Don't you like the way it rolls of your tongue? Say softly. Rattler's Den Reptile and Snake Emporium.
I guess the Idiot Jerk in the White House walked into North Korea. His minions are shrieking "Yes! Yes!" Let's give a violent dictator exactly what he wants... an American president saying "yes... yes." You see, little Kim Jong Dumb Shit has learned the Art of the Deal. He now knows how to manipulate the Idiot Jerk in the White House, a man so desperate to be accepted into the Dictator's Club, he will bow his head to any dictator in order to win praise.
Word is that the Idiot Jerk also caved to the Chinese. Remember, the Idiot Jerk initiated these Trade Wars... and now he's making concessions to Xi Jingping in order to start "trade talks." It looks like Xi has learned the Art of the Deal, too.
And the Idiot Jerk is also doing some shitty on the Fourth of July... he's making a speech during the celebration at Washington. There's a lot of concern he's going to try and turn it into a political rally. Excuse me, but how dumb do you have to be to not see this coming? In his small, putrid mind he believes this is going to be great. He does not comprehend an approval rating in the very low 40's is not good. As long as his adoring base shows up, he'll be happy as a pig in shit. The fact that a number of protests are being planned doesn't enter into his dictatorial fantasy sequence. He doesn't understand a large majority of American want to wipe that shitty smile from his face. He is stupid. He is totally clueless that America is going to react badly when they see a lot of MAGA heads jumping around at his feet. Democracy is going to fix this problem, and he's not going to like it. Good.
Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Court This
When I got off work yesterday the temperature was 97 (F). They finally came out with some sort of heat warning... and a thunderstorm watch. We got the heat but not the storms. It's not supposed to be as hot tomorrow. Nice, I have off. There's lawn work. For me, it seems as though there's always something that needs to be cut back, trimmed, mowed, or whacked. As long as it's not stinkin' hot I don't mind.
Strava is an app for runners and cyclists. Of course, I have a subscription. Here is my page if you have an interest. I've signed up for a challenge to ride either 100, 500, or 1000 miles in the next month. I'm aiming for the lower end. Succeeding should be easy. 500 miles would be tough to do - I work full time. I'd have to average 17 miles a day... every day. Doubt if that's going to happen. What will I get out of the challenge? Maybe a T-shirt. That would be nice. The competition is fierce, however. When last I checked, over 70,000 people had signed up. You didn't know there were that many runners and cyclists in the world, did you?
And, what about that Supreme Court? Now, I know there are Liberals out there who are expecting every case to go their way. I hate to tell you, but that's never going to happen, so take it in stride. You may be upset, but let me tell you, Conservatives are screaming mad. You see, they believed that by loading the court with Conservatives they'd get to do the Happy Dance with every decision. Holy Shit, that ain't happening. Look at the Citizenship question... The Idiot Jerk in the White House called Chief Justice Roberts a 'turncoat.' Think about that word.
On the gerrymandering issue? They have never, ever... ever taken a stand on gerrymandering. They are never going to take a stand. If your state has been gerrymandered to hell by the Republicans, get out the Blue vote and kick the suckers out.
They kicked back when Alabama appealed a lower court's decision that parts of their Anti-abortion law were unconstitutional. Evangelicals are pissed. This Court was supposed to approve these strict laws.
In fact, rather than swinging horribly to the right, their decisions have more or less been Left Leaning, mostly because our Constitution is not a rigidly Conservative document, which is a serious problem for the Republican Party... and the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
Strava is an app for runners and cyclists. Of course, I have a subscription. Here is my page if you have an interest. I've signed up for a challenge to ride either 100, 500, or 1000 miles in the next month. I'm aiming for the lower end. Succeeding should be easy. 500 miles would be tough to do - I work full time. I'd have to average 17 miles a day... every day. Doubt if that's going to happen. What will I get out of the challenge? Maybe a T-shirt. That would be nice. The competition is fierce, however. When last I checked, over 70,000 people had signed up. You didn't know there were that many runners and cyclists in the world, did you?
And, what about that Supreme Court? Now, I know there are Liberals out there who are expecting every case to go their way. I hate to tell you, but that's never going to happen, so take it in stride. You may be upset, but let me tell you, Conservatives are screaming mad. You see, they believed that by loading the court with Conservatives they'd get to do the Happy Dance with every decision. Holy Shit, that ain't happening. Look at the Citizenship question... The Idiot Jerk in the White House called Chief Justice Roberts a 'turncoat.' Think about that word.
On the gerrymandering issue? They have never, ever... ever taken a stand on gerrymandering. They are never going to take a stand. If your state has been gerrymandered to hell by the Republicans, get out the Blue vote and kick the suckers out.
They kicked back when Alabama appealed a lower court's decision that parts of their Anti-abortion law were unconstitutional. Evangelicals are pissed. This Court was supposed to approve these strict laws.
In fact, rather than swinging horribly to the right, their decisions have more or less been Left Leaning, mostly because our Constitution is not a rigidly Conservative document, which is a serious problem for the Republican Party... and the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
Friday, June 28, 2019
Abandon Ship
Today is Friday... it's also payday. I like it when money goes into my bank account because I like to buy things. Don't we all?
Anyway, last night was the 2nd night of the first Democratic Debates. As usual, I watch a bit, mostly because one of them is going kick the snot out of the Idiot Jerk in the next election. As luck would happen, I tuned in during the "pass the torch" discussion was happening. That's right, I saw Uncle Joe say he wasn't ready to pass the torch. What ensued was a moment of Democratic inspirational chaos, with everyone trying to make a comment. Looking over notes from a number of different sources this morning it seems as though 3 survived with almost flying colors: Harris, Butigieg, and Bennett. Nobody else, including 2 of the front runners, Biden and Sanders fared very well. When I get the chance I need to find the clip where Maddow uses a quote to ask Sanders a question and he says something to the effect that the quote is a mischaracterization. I guess the audience erupted in laughter when Maddow said "but you said it." I've said it before and I'll say it again, Bernie's an old fool who's just trying to feed his ego.
On the way home from work yesterday I saw that the temperature was 98 (F). It dropped down to 97 by the time I hit Enola. This is funny because no one has said anything about heat warnings. Maybe we only have heat waves in July...
Oh, my, and it seems as though the Idiot Jerk and his wealthy minions are thinking about screwing around with taxes... again. I didn't get the gist of what's being planned, but evidently something with Capital Gains. He knows Congress will not approve it... the election is coming, so he using some sort of Executive Action to bypass all those Senators who would vote against it. This change will... of course, benefit the wealthy, and only the wealthy. I see this as another sign that those around him realize he's going to fail in his bid to get re-elected. They're trying to shove as much shit into their lifeboat as they can.
Can you even begin to imagine a debate between the Idiot Jerk and either Warren or Harris? I wonder how many times he'd say "fuck" on National TV.
Anyway, last night was the 2nd night of the first Democratic Debates. As usual, I watch a bit, mostly because one of them is going kick the snot out of the Idiot Jerk in the next election. As luck would happen, I tuned in during the "pass the torch" discussion was happening. That's right, I saw Uncle Joe say he wasn't ready to pass the torch. What ensued was a moment of Democratic inspirational chaos, with everyone trying to make a comment. Looking over notes from a number of different sources this morning it seems as though 3 survived with almost flying colors: Harris, Butigieg, and Bennett. Nobody else, including 2 of the front runners, Biden and Sanders fared very well. When I get the chance I need to find the clip where Maddow uses a quote to ask Sanders a question and he says something to the effect that the quote is a mischaracterization. I guess the audience erupted in laughter when Maddow said "but you said it." I've said it before and I'll say it again, Bernie's an old fool who's just trying to feed his ego.
On the way home from work yesterday I saw that the temperature was 98 (F). It dropped down to 97 by the time I hit Enola. This is funny because no one has said anything about heat warnings. Maybe we only have heat waves in July...
Oh, my, and it seems as though the Idiot Jerk and his wealthy minions are thinking about screwing around with taxes... again. I didn't get the gist of what's being planned, but evidently something with Capital Gains. He knows Congress will not approve it... the election is coming, so he using some sort of Executive Action to bypass all those Senators who would vote against it. This change will... of course, benefit the wealthy, and only the wealthy. I see this as another sign that those around him realize he's going to fail in his bid to get re-elected. They're trying to shove as much shit into their lifeboat as they can.
Can you even begin to imagine a debate between the Idiot Jerk and either Warren or Harris? I wonder how many times he'd say "fuck" on National TV.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Standing Out
Thursday... the 27th of June. The forecast is for stinking hot temperatures - up in the 90's (F). Yesterday was hot, too. When I got in my car to leave work the temp was 96 (F). That's a bit on the warm side. Since there was not a lot of humidity it wasn't too bad. We're supposed to have thunderstorms pass through on Saturday should cool off a bit. I am so glad I have Central Air, that was a worthwhile investment.
And, of course, the first of this week's 2 debates was last night. I turned them on for a bit, not the entire thing, mind you, just for a few minutes. I heard some of Klobuchar's none performance, and Warren talking about Medicare for All. I did not hear anything from Ryan, or Delaney, or... oh, what's his name.... I was surprised at how fiery Warren was; I've always though of her a quiet. The funny thing about Medicare for All is that it's nothing more than the Universal Health Care they have in Canada, and the UK, and... in fact, in a lot of countries around the world. Here, in the United States, our government wants us to pay through the nose - that's American Capitalism. Somebody needs to be making a fuckin' buck. This is why the GOP has always been failures when it comes to Health Care. They don't vote for anything that doesn't make some rich guy even richer. Their wonderful tax overhaul shows just how much proof their is in that pudding, how the wealthy and corporations got cake out of the piece of legislation and everybody else got crumbs. They will never change. Greed is part of their nature.
I understand the BBC, Beto, Booker, and Castro, spoke in Spanish. Nice. Too early in the campaign, though, I think. Being bilingual is an asset. However, when speaking Spanish becomes the high point of your performance in a debate, rather than where you stand on issues, you fail. This morning, while reading articles about last night, the fact that those 3 spoke Spanish got press portends problems since their positions on America's difficulties resonated little.
Reuters said Warren remained unscathed. That's their way of saying she ruled the roost.
If you have your red pens ready, there are at least 5 names you can cross off your list.
Finally, I'd like to introduce you to another member of my rose family.
He's an orange climber. Hopefully he will climb up the wrought iron on the side of my front porch. He has some perfume, but mostly his color is what stands out. In an odd way, he does what Warren did last night.
And, of course, the first of this week's 2 debates was last night. I turned them on for a bit, not the entire thing, mind you, just for a few minutes. I heard some of Klobuchar's none performance, and Warren talking about Medicare for All. I did not hear anything from Ryan, or Delaney, or... oh, what's his name.... I was surprised at how fiery Warren was; I've always though of her a quiet. The funny thing about Medicare for All is that it's nothing more than the Universal Health Care they have in Canada, and the UK, and... in fact, in a lot of countries around the world. Here, in the United States, our government wants us to pay through the nose - that's American Capitalism. Somebody needs to be making a fuckin' buck. This is why the GOP has always been failures when it comes to Health Care. They don't vote for anything that doesn't make some rich guy even richer. Their wonderful tax overhaul shows just how much proof their is in that pudding, how the wealthy and corporations got cake out of the piece of legislation and everybody else got crumbs. They will never change. Greed is part of their nature.
I understand the BBC, Beto, Booker, and Castro, spoke in Spanish. Nice. Too early in the campaign, though, I think. Being bilingual is an asset. However, when speaking Spanish becomes the high point of your performance in a debate, rather than where you stand on issues, you fail. This morning, while reading articles about last night, the fact that those 3 spoke Spanish got press portends problems since their positions on America's difficulties resonated little.
Reuters said Warren remained unscathed. That's their way of saying she ruled the roost.
If you have your red pens ready, there are at least 5 names you can cross off your list.
Finally, I'd like to introduce you to another member of my rose family.
He's an orange climber. Hopefully he will climb up the wrought iron on the side of my front porch. He has some perfume, but mostly his color is what stands out. In an odd way, he does what Warren did last night.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Corrections
Well, it's Wednesday. I work... for the next 4 days. My next schedule was posted yesterday, the one 3 weeks out and it's much better. Until then it's single days off for me, something I don't like.
Yesterday was a good personal day off. Not that I accomplished much other than cleaning the bathroom.
I had done a global command to The Body on the Lawn when I first published it because mostly I called my main character Eli, though occasionally I wrote Ely. The command was supposed to make Eli universal... what it did was take those three letters and turn them into Eli throughout the book. As a result, believe became bElieve and eliminate became Eliminate. That has now been fixed.
Tonight is the first of 2 Democratic debates. I may watch some. My prediction is that no one is going to break out; rather, the results will point the non-candidates toward elected position in which they can do more for America. America needs to take back the power. We need to take over control in order to correct this problem and jail Mitch and Elaine for corruption. He knows it's coming. All you need to do is look in his eyes to see the terror.
If you knit or crochet and belong to Ravelry.com, you now know support for the Idiot Jerk on this social website is now forbidden.
I have a baby butternut squash growing out back. It's about 2 inches long. I have 4 plants grown from seeds I'd saved. So far this is the only one I've been able to identify. I'm hoping for at least one cantaloupe.
I went to see "The Secret Life of Pets 2" last evening. Meh. It had some funny parts but overall it did not trigger my "woah" button. I'm not a big Kevin Hart fan and he voiced one of the main characters. Someone, somewhere thought having a white bunny talking trash was funny. Nope. This was nothing but a bad stereotype written for adult Kevin Hart fans and nothing more.
And, who ended up with the duck yesterday?
Yesterday was a good personal day off. Not that I accomplished much other than cleaning the bathroom.
I had done a global command to The Body on the Lawn when I first published it because mostly I called my main character Eli, though occasionally I wrote Ely. The command was supposed to make Eli universal... what it did was take those three letters and turn them into Eli throughout the book. As a result, believe became bElieve and eliminate became Eliminate. That has now been fixed.
Tonight is the first of 2 Democratic debates. I may watch some. My prediction is that no one is going to break out; rather, the results will point the non-candidates toward elected position in which they can do more for America. America needs to take back the power. We need to take over control in order to correct this problem and jail Mitch and Elaine for corruption. He knows it's coming. All you need to do is look in his eyes to see the terror.
If you knit or crochet and belong to Ravelry.com, you now know support for the Idiot Jerk on this social website is now forbidden.
I have a baby butternut squash growing out back. It's about 2 inches long. I have 4 plants grown from seeds I'd saved. So far this is the only one I've been able to identify. I'm hoping for at least one cantaloupe.
I went to see "The Secret Life of Pets 2" last evening. Meh. It had some funny parts but overall it did not trigger my "woah" button. I'm not a big Kevin Hart fan and he voiced one of the main characters. Someone, somewhere thought having a white bunny talking trash was funny. Nope. This was nothing but a bad stereotype written for adult Kevin Hart fans and nothing more.
And, who ended up with the duck yesterday?
For about 3 hours Biggie had control. It's a big duck, 15 inches long, and at one point he used it as a pillow.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Dogs and Duck on Bed
Wow! I got quite a lot accomplished yesterday... like my whole list. I mowed my lawn and then I whacked my weeds, and then, for good measure I pulled my weeds because sometimes it's fun. Five loads of laundry? Done. A six mile bicycle ride was included in the afternoon. All in all, I'd say it was a good day.
Today I'm going to take a personal day... I need to rest up after yesterday.
Frank Bruni zeroed in on one of the Idiot Jerk's biggest problems. While he's focusing on how the Idiot Jerk treats the LGBTQ community, in reality this is how he treats women, people of color, immigrants (legal and illegal), politicians... everybody except his adoring fan base. He will give them anything to maintain their "ardor," at the expense of every other human on the planet. He desperately wants to be worshiped... He is two-faced. And those who praise him? They are a minority. His approval rating sits at around 40%. A large number of people don't like him. Losing the popular vote and getting elected with only the Electoral College does not give you Carte Blanche to do what ever you want. This has, however, long been a problem with Republicans. Their attitude as for too long been "shut up. We're in charge. We're going to do what we want, so screw you." Their mantra has always been: My Money, My Taxes, My Religion. The time has come to treat this minority they way they treat everyone else. They need to be taught that they have not been Chosen.
Anyway, we had rain last night, so it's a good thing I got my yard work done yesterday. My nectarines are beginning to ripen and I have either squash, or cantaloupes, or both, growing along the side of the house. More dahlias are budding, which means more pictures soon. If it weren't going to be hot and humid today, I'd take the dogs up to the park for a walk. Of course, that doesn't mean they're not going to have fun.
That's them this morning... on the bed... with their once yellow duck.
Today I'm going to take a personal day... I need to rest up after yesterday.
Frank Bruni zeroed in on one of the Idiot Jerk's biggest problems. While he's focusing on how the Idiot Jerk treats the LGBTQ community, in reality this is how he treats women, people of color, immigrants (legal and illegal), politicians... everybody except his adoring fan base. He will give them anything to maintain their "ardor," at the expense of every other human on the planet. He desperately wants to be worshiped... He is two-faced. And those who praise him? They are a minority. His approval rating sits at around 40%. A large number of people don't like him. Losing the popular vote and getting elected with only the Electoral College does not give you Carte Blanche to do what ever you want. This has, however, long been a problem with Republicans. Their attitude as for too long been "shut up. We're in charge. We're going to do what we want, so screw you." Their mantra has always been: My Money, My Taxes, My Religion. The time has come to treat this minority they way they treat everyone else. They need to be taught that they have not been Chosen.
Anyway, we had rain last night, so it's a good thing I got my yard work done yesterday. My nectarines are beginning to ripen and I have either squash, or cantaloupes, or both, growing along the side of the house. More dahlias are budding, which means more pictures soon. If it weren't going to be hot and humid today, I'd take the dogs up to the park for a walk. Of course, that doesn't mean they're not going to have fun.
That's them this morning... on the bed... with their once yellow duck.
Monday, June 24, 2019
The Man in the Hat
So, I'm off today. If you missed my little Yippee Skippy dance, I'm sorry. I'd do it again but, unfortunately, I've too much shit to get done.
Stupid customers started crawling out form under their rocks yesterday and I was on the verge of turning delectably dour when... my shift ended and I got to go home!
Let's see: there was the man with the crappy phone connection who called to see if we could make a stair runner out of carpet he had left over from an install quite a number of years ago (I looked in the system and he was no longer listed which means it was over 10 years ago). He didn't like my response... so he asked me about ceiling tile he purchased in 2015. He got a bit upset when I told him they were only available for purchase from Armstrong, not through the store since we no longer carry that style.
Then there was the woman who called and wanted me to go over her install quote over the phone. I told her we prefer customers to come into the store and she laid down the law. "I'm partially handicapped so that's next to impossible." Of course, she did not have an email copy of the quote and there were issues... many, many issues: there were charges for dismantling platform beds... 3 of them, and wall units, 2 of them (and I'm looking a pictures because our measure techs take pictures of problems). I pointed out one piece of furniture she said "well, that's just an armoire and it's only a little over 6 feet high (and easily over 4 feet wide). I did some changes and emailed her a copy of the quote. I did some changes and emailed her a copy... She's going to mull over the install.
And then there was the man in the hat. A tall, black gentleman asked me to cut some blinds for him, on the way to the blind cutter another older, white gentleman stopped me. "I need information on indoor and outdoor tile." I explained I was going to cut blinds and called another associate, "we have a customer in the tile aisle who has questions about indoor and outdoor tiles." After cutting the blinds, I was heading towards the flooring desk when the associate I had called stopped me. "There's no one in the tile aisle." I looked down the tile aisle... no one there, so I headed back to the Flooring Desk. As I was getting ready to sit down, I saw the gentleman in the hat had returned, so I went up to him to see if I could help. "I've been waiting here for an hour," he growled. Me? I pulled out the store phone and checked the time I'd called the other associate. "I'm sorry, but I called for assistance a little over 5 minutes ago, and you weren't in the tile aisle when he got there." Well, he didn't like that.. at all. I tried helping him. Every answer I gave me was wrong. He objected to everything... because it wasn't what he wanted me to tell him. "I'll ask at your Pro Desk, they'll have the answers," he said, very angry. I looked at his hat, and I looked at him, and smiled. "They're closed on Sunday." He stormed away. This is the mentality that voted for the Idiot Jerk in the White House. That little MAGA hat he wears exemplifies complete failure, and in his mind we are the ones responsible for his being a dumb fuck.
Stupid customers started crawling out form under their rocks yesterday and I was on the verge of turning delectably dour when... my shift ended and I got to go home!
Let's see: there was the man with the crappy phone connection who called to see if we could make a stair runner out of carpet he had left over from an install quite a number of years ago (I looked in the system and he was no longer listed which means it was over 10 years ago). He didn't like my response... so he asked me about ceiling tile he purchased in 2015. He got a bit upset when I told him they were only available for purchase from Armstrong, not through the store since we no longer carry that style.
Then there was the woman who called and wanted me to go over her install quote over the phone. I told her we prefer customers to come into the store and she laid down the law. "I'm partially handicapped so that's next to impossible." Of course, she did not have an email copy of the quote and there were issues... many, many issues: there were charges for dismantling platform beds... 3 of them, and wall units, 2 of them (and I'm looking a pictures because our measure techs take pictures of problems). I pointed out one piece of furniture she said "well, that's just an armoire and it's only a little over 6 feet high (and easily over 4 feet wide). I did some changes and emailed her a copy of the quote. I did some changes and emailed her a copy... She's going to mull over the install.
And then there was the man in the hat. A tall, black gentleman asked me to cut some blinds for him, on the way to the blind cutter another older, white gentleman stopped me. "I need information on indoor and outdoor tile." I explained I was going to cut blinds and called another associate, "we have a customer in the tile aisle who has questions about indoor and outdoor tiles." After cutting the blinds, I was heading towards the flooring desk when the associate I had called stopped me. "There's no one in the tile aisle." I looked down the tile aisle... no one there, so I headed back to the Flooring Desk. As I was getting ready to sit down, I saw the gentleman in the hat had returned, so I went up to him to see if I could help. "I've been waiting here for an hour," he growled. Me? I pulled out the store phone and checked the time I'd called the other associate. "I'm sorry, but I called for assistance a little over 5 minutes ago, and you weren't in the tile aisle when he got there." Well, he didn't like that.. at all. I tried helping him. Every answer I gave me was wrong. He objected to everything... because it wasn't what he wanted me to tell him. "I'll ask at your Pro Desk, they'll have the answers," he said, very angry. I looked at his hat, and I looked at him, and smiled. "They're closed on Sunday." He stormed away. This is the mentality that voted for the Idiot Jerk in the White House. That little MAGA hat he wears exemplifies complete failure, and in his mind we are the ones responsible for his being a dumb fuck.
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Groan... Groan
Here I am heading in to my 5th day of work. Luckily for me and my brain I'm off tomorrow. After that I'm supposed to work for another 5 days straight. Where as my schedule had been great for a few weeks - now it sucks. I'm set up for 'consecutive days off,' and that's not happening for the next 3 weeks. This is why one accumulates personal time.
The dogs just ran by on their way into the bedroom with their purple wubba.
Anyway, I'm going to pick up a couple of bags of mulch when I leave work this afternoon. My Mom always said mulsh instead of mulch, I think she thought it sounded sophisticated. My Dad did the same thing with Hawaii, he always pronounced it Havaii trying to make it foreign and exotic.
So, I'm wondering if there's infighting among the Idiot Jerk's sycophants since he's been flip-flopping quite a bit lately. First he's 'cocked and loaded' for Iran, than it's '150 people might be injured,' and ICE is going to pick up thousands of illegal immigrants, and then it isn't because of the Democrats. That last one is really funny, you know, trying to put the blame on someone else because he's incompetent. 2020 is approaching and the last thing the GOP wants is an unpopular war. His problem is Bolton wants a war, so does that Crazy Christian Pompeo, they just want to kill themselves some Muslims, but only the ones who aren't buying weapons from us.
On the utter laughable scene, Jared the Stupid revealed a Middle-East Peace Plan which is solely dependent upon investment... $50 billion in investments. Money is evidently the answer, especially for the investors who are hoping to make a boatload of money. Nobody's buying, well, maybe Netanyahu because Jared's a nice Jewish boy who comes highly recommended by his father-in-law.
Well, it's time for me to get ready for work... groan... groan
The dogs just ran by on their way into the bedroom with their purple wubba.
Anyway, I'm going to pick up a couple of bags of mulch when I leave work this afternoon. My Mom always said mulsh instead of mulch, I think she thought it sounded sophisticated. My Dad did the same thing with Hawaii, he always pronounced it Havaii trying to make it foreign and exotic.
So, I'm wondering if there's infighting among the Idiot Jerk's sycophants since he's been flip-flopping quite a bit lately. First he's 'cocked and loaded' for Iran, than it's '150 people might be injured,' and ICE is going to pick up thousands of illegal immigrants, and then it isn't because of the Democrats. That last one is really funny, you know, trying to put the blame on someone else because he's incompetent. 2020 is approaching and the last thing the GOP wants is an unpopular war. His problem is Bolton wants a war, so does that Crazy Christian Pompeo, they just want to kill themselves some Muslims, but only the ones who aren't buying weapons from us.
On the utter laughable scene, Jared the Stupid revealed a Middle-East Peace Plan which is solely dependent upon investment... $50 billion in investments. Money is evidently the answer, especially for the investors who are hoping to make a boatload of money. Nobody's buying, well, maybe Netanyahu because Jared's a nice Jewish boy who comes highly recommended by his father-in-law.
Well, it's time for me to get ready for work... groan... groan
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Beware the Wolf
Well, it's Saturday... The weather is supposed to be nice. Today is not the first Saturday of the months so do not bring your children to the store for Children's Workshop. Every Saturday people show up with their kids and we tell them that's it's only on the first Saturday of the month. Tired of hearing the sound of little hammers only one hundred feet away, I've taken to requesting off on the first Saturday of every month.
More of my Dahlias are blooming, though from the same plant. I have 5 other plants of different colors. I'll post pics of them when they begin blooming.
Did you ever hear about the wolf in the sheep's clothing?
it's about people who masquerade as one thing when in reality they are something completely different. We're dealing with that very issue right now. I saw this article in The Hill. There was something similar in Towleroad. I'm speaking about the Evangelical Sect of Christianity, those crazies who love the Idiot Jerk in the White House. He loves them back because they lower their heads and bow to him. He gives them the power they so desperately crave. They are going to do everything they can to get that Moral Degenerate re-elected. His approval rating is sitting around 40% and they make up a large chunk of that percentage. They are a minority group who wish to dictate life for a majority of Americans. For their votes, he will slice apart every style of life they hate and let them pass judgment on all. Remember that war crazy eyed Michele Bachman ranted about? They have just declared it... and they will do anything to win it. We can not let that happen. Ever.
I picked the last of my peaches from the tree. They are tasty! I didn't think I'd get any this year and ended up with 7. My nectarine tree has about 20. I'm pleased.
More of my Dahlias are blooming, though from the same plant. I have 5 other plants of different colors. I'll post pics of them when they begin blooming.
Did you ever hear about the wolf in the sheep's clothing?
it's about people who masquerade as one thing when in reality they are something completely different. We're dealing with that very issue right now. I saw this article in The Hill. There was something similar in Towleroad. I'm speaking about the Evangelical Sect of Christianity, those crazies who love the Idiot Jerk in the White House. He loves them back because they lower their heads and bow to him. He gives them the power they so desperately crave. They are going to do everything they can to get that Moral Degenerate re-elected. His approval rating is sitting around 40% and they make up a large chunk of that percentage. They are a minority group who wish to dictate life for a majority of Americans. For their votes, he will slice apart every style of life they hate and let them pass judgment on all. Remember that war crazy eyed Michele Bachman ranted about? They have just declared it... and they will do anything to win it. We can not let that happen. Ever.
I picked the last of my peaches from the tree. They are tasty! I didn't think I'd get any this year and ended up with 7. My nectarine tree has about 20. I'm pleased.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Run for the Senate
I checked my calendar this morning and it's... Friday. Now, imagine that.
We had some hefty downpours but nothing torrential. It rains like hell for about seven or eight minutes and the stops for a couple of hours. You'd almost think your lawn was on steroids. And it's everything, not just your front yard. Supposedly the sun's supposed to come out tomorrow... can someone cue Annie?
I've started alternating my cardio, one day it's the bike and the next it's the elliptical. Yesterday it was the elliptical. I put together a new playlist and... it was terrible. It needs work. Too many slow intros making me lose my stride. Usually I listen to whole albums when I'm on the bike because there are hills and they slow you down.
Evidently there are quite a few Democrats out there who feel that those 15 - 16 longshot candidates need to get out of the presidential race. Maybe if enough of us started shouting at them they might understand. Run For The Senate! Perhaps if we all emailed them a copy of Samantha Bee's Public Service Announcement they might get the hint.
If you need to cut out this Republican cancer, this tumor of conservationism, you need to start slicing away at the source. Believe it or not, I'm not talking about the Idiot Jerk in the White House. It's the Senate that's protecting him, tonguing his stinky little bunghole. We need to pack them all in a short bus heading towards Lemming Land where they can all jump off a cliff. Unfortunately, these "candidates" don't seem to realize that when we move a Democrat into the Oval Office, unless we change the Senate, not much is going to be done. Oh, sure, those Executive Orders the Idiot dictator wannabe has issued will disappear. But legislation? Remember Merrick Garland? That was the Senate. Think of all of those unqualified people the Idiot Jerk put in positions of power simply because they too tongued his ass. The Senate, under Mitch McConnell, voted them into those jobs because they had a majority. If we had control of the Senate, the Idiot Jerk would have been gone a long time ago... so would his 'nelly nazi' vice president.
A Blue Wave doesn't just mean the House of Representatives and the Presidency, it includes the Senate as well. As Americans, we need to let these wannabe candidates know what our priorities are, and tell them to Run for the Senate.
We had some hefty downpours but nothing torrential. It rains like hell for about seven or eight minutes and the stops for a couple of hours. You'd almost think your lawn was on steroids. And it's everything, not just your front yard. Supposedly the sun's supposed to come out tomorrow... can someone cue Annie?
I've started alternating my cardio, one day it's the bike and the next it's the elliptical. Yesterday it was the elliptical. I put together a new playlist and... it was terrible. It needs work. Too many slow intros making me lose my stride. Usually I listen to whole albums when I'm on the bike because there are hills and they slow you down.
Evidently there are quite a few Democrats out there who feel that those 15 - 16 longshot candidates need to get out of the presidential race. Maybe if enough of us started shouting at them they might understand. Run For The Senate! Perhaps if we all emailed them a copy of Samantha Bee's Public Service Announcement they might get the hint.
If you need to cut out this Republican cancer, this tumor of conservationism, you need to start slicing away at the source. Believe it or not, I'm not talking about the Idiot Jerk in the White House. It's the Senate that's protecting him, tonguing his stinky little bunghole. We need to pack them all in a short bus heading towards Lemming Land where they can all jump off a cliff. Unfortunately, these "candidates" don't seem to realize that when we move a Democrat into the Oval Office, unless we change the Senate, not much is going to be done. Oh, sure, those Executive Orders the Idiot dictator wannabe has issued will disappear. But legislation? Remember Merrick Garland? That was the Senate. Think of all of those unqualified people the Idiot Jerk put in positions of power simply because they too tongued his ass. The Senate, under Mitch McConnell, voted them into those jobs because they had a majority. If we had control of the Senate, the Idiot Jerk would have been gone a long time ago... so would his 'nelly nazi' vice president.
A Blue Wave doesn't just mean the House of Representatives and the Presidency, it includes the Senate as well. As Americans, we need to let these wannabe candidates know what our priorities are, and tell them to Run for the Senate.
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Ammunition
It rained hard last night. The first thing I did this morning was check in the basement for water. Very old stone foundation here and with heavy rains I can often look down and see that a river runs through it. The deepest it's been has been 18 inches. Today there were just some damp patches so there was no need to pull the pump out.
I only did a little over 4 miles on the bike last night. I'd chose a new route which started off with a hill. That will only be a good idea if I do a shorter ride first to loosen up my legs.
And what about that racial flap circling around Biden? A few of the contenders want to knock him out of his Front-runner status, this, however, is not the right way to do it. Their desperation to get points in the polls is taking them into divisive territory. Dividing the Democratic Party just so you can make points is a bad idea. Bernie did it in 2016 and no matter what people want to tell you, the party never truly came back as a whole and... we ended up with the Idiot Jerk in the White House. Racially dividing the base is a bad idea, and if they are not careful that is what will happen. Let me tell you, if you think the last 2.5 years with the Idiot Jerk have been bad, an additional 4 years will the total ruination of this country.
Part of the problem is that we have too many candidates. Except for Biden, Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg, no one stands out.... Beto's fifteen minutes are over for the time being, he needs to take a step back and do something in Texas, like take out Ted Cruz. Bill de Blasio? Nope. Booker? Nope. Let me toss out a few other names that just roll off your tongue when you think of presidential candidates: Delancey, Gabbard, Inslee, Swalwell, Williamson, and Yang. And there are more.... but I think I've already made my point. I had the joy of seeing and hearing Obama speak in Harrisburg a number of years ago. He spoke of many issues which needed fixing: health, education, women's rights, human rights, the economy. Many of today's crop of candidates have only one issue they're going to fix... and with some it isn't even a major issue. We have 2 nights of debates coming up. Very few will watch both nights. Personally, I think the Democratic Party set the bar too low. They should have raised the criteria to reduce the number of candidates. Because they didn't do this, these candidates will begin to attack each other in order to grow their own base.
By blowing up this issue of Biden working with Segregationists a long time ago, Booker and Harris have given the opposition sound bites to use against Biden in a National campaign, if he gets the nomination. Oh, shit. Do not give the Idiot Jerk ammunition.
I only did a little over 4 miles on the bike last night. I'd chose a new route which started off with a hill. That will only be a good idea if I do a shorter ride first to loosen up my legs.
And what about that racial flap circling around Biden? A few of the contenders want to knock him out of his Front-runner status, this, however, is not the right way to do it. Their desperation to get points in the polls is taking them into divisive territory. Dividing the Democratic Party just so you can make points is a bad idea. Bernie did it in 2016 and no matter what people want to tell you, the party never truly came back as a whole and... we ended up with the Idiot Jerk in the White House. Racially dividing the base is a bad idea, and if they are not careful that is what will happen. Let me tell you, if you think the last 2.5 years with the Idiot Jerk have been bad, an additional 4 years will the total ruination of this country.
Part of the problem is that we have too many candidates. Except for Biden, Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg, no one stands out.... Beto's fifteen minutes are over for the time being, he needs to take a step back and do something in Texas, like take out Ted Cruz. Bill de Blasio? Nope. Booker? Nope. Let me toss out a few other names that just roll off your tongue when you think of presidential candidates: Delancey, Gabbard, Inslee, Swalwell, Williamson, and Yang. And there are more.... but I think I've already made my point. I had the joy of seeing and hearing Obama speak in Harrisburg a number of years ago. He spoke of many issues which needed fixing: health, education, women's rights, human rights, the economy. Many of today's crop of candidates have only one issue they're going to fix... and with some it isn't even a major issue. We have 2 nights of debates coming up. Very few will watch both nights. Personally, I think the Democratic Party set the bar too low. They should have raised the criteria to reduce the number of candidates. Because they didn't do this, these candidates will begin to attack each other in order to grow their own base.
By blowing up this issue of Biden working with Segregationists a long time ago, Booker and Harris have given the opposition sound bites to use against Biden in a National campaign, if he gets the nomination. Oh, shit. Do not give the Idiot Jerk ammunition.
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
Aladdin... and other stuff
Today is Wednesday and it's my 'get to go back to work for pay day.' I'm not excited at all. The idea of working for 5 days, having 1 day off and then working for another 5 days just isn't tickling my fancy.
I went to see "Aladdin" last night. I had the same problem with the live version that I had with the animated version. While the first 15 - 20 minutes are interesting, the fun doesn't start until the genie makes his appearance. This is my way of saying Will Smith does a really good job, and he is really blue... most of the time. In the animated film "Never had a Friend like Me" is entertaining, in the life action film it is a fully blown showstopper. The film takes on a whole new dynamic once his lamp gets rubbed. Also, hats off to Disney for using a cast which is of middle eastern decent. Sadly, it seems as though only genies get to take their shirts off.
I went to see "Aladdin" last night. I had the same problem with the live version that I had with the animated version. While the first 15 - 20 minutes are interesting, the fun doesn't start until the genie makes his appearance. This is my way of saying Will Smith does a really good job, and he is really blue... most of the time. In the animated film "Never had a Friend like Me" is entertaining, in the life action film it is a fully blown showstopper. The film takes on a whole new dynamic once his lamp gets rubbed. Also, hats off to Disney for using a cast which is of middle eastern decent. Sadly, it seems as though only genies get to take their shirts off.
In case you missed it, the Idiot Jerk in the White House held his kick-off rally last night. His campaign slogan is "Keep America Great" and he was surrounded by white people wearing MAGA hats. I'd have posted a picture but I don't think my security software could handle all of that corrupt data. The last thing I want is for an image of him to crash my expensive gaming PC.
After over a month, I've finally gotten back on my bike, yesterday for over 5 miles. I've been riding the CBTT Concord. That's actually the Charlie Baker Time Trial for Concord. There are some nice little hills which give the legs a good stretch.
The only thing odd is that the ride was filmed (that's right, on my monitor it actually looks like I'm pedaling down the street) in the late fall or late winter since there are no leaves on the trees. That must have been one cool ride. Once I get this nailed, I might try the ride around Red Rocks Amphitheater just to see what that looks like.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
The Dahlias are coming!
Well, it's Tuesday. This is my last day off, tomorrow I go back to work. I'm not excited.
My sister, brother and I are having breakfast this morning. They're getting their copies of The Body in the Tower. Yippee!
I do believe it rained most of the night. My lawn's going to be too wet this afternoon to mow, and I'm not off again for 5 days... that's right, I get to work for 5 days before celebrating with 1 day off. Then I work 5 more days. This shitty schedule is my fault. I did a request off believing the scheduler would be generous. She wasn't. Damn.
I saw this interesting tidbit from The Hill. The Republican base truly is shrinking. It looks like the Grand Old Part is really old... and white... and more than a little dumb, no doubt because of those silly red hats they wear.
I took a snap of some of my dahlias yesterday... in the drizzle.
There are more on the way. Next year I think I'll put a bed of the out front among the roses.
And finally, Kaiser Chiefs are coming out with a new album on or around July 26. The date is already on my calendar. Here's the explicit version of their first release.
My sister, brother and I are having breakfast this morning. They're getting their copies of The Body in the Tower. Yippee!
I do believe it rained most of the night. My lawn's going to be too wet this afternoon to mow, and I'm not off again for 5 days... that's right, I get to work for 5 days before celebrating with 1 day off. Then I work 5 more days. This shitty schedule is my fault. I did a request off believing the scheduler would be generous. She wasn't. Damn.
I saw this interesting tidbit from The Hill. The Republican base truly is shrinking. It looks like the Grand Old Part is really old... and white... and more than a little dumb, no doubt because of those silly red hats they wear.
I took a snap of some of my dahlias yesterday... in the drizzle.
And finally, Kaiser Chiefs are coming out with a new album on or around July 26. The date is already on my calendar. Here's the explicit version of their first release.
And, as always, the work continues.
Monday, June 17, 2019
The Truth about Ratings
Okay, so it's Monday, the 2nd of my three days off in a row. Yesterday it was supposed to be rainy... didn't happen, at least not over my house. I got so much yard work done. Today the weather is not going to be as accommodating. I was surprised this morning to see Accuweather has us under a Flash Flood Watch... until tomorrow afternoon. That sucks.
Yesterday, besides the lawn work, I also got a haircut and trimmed my mustache, just in case anybody was wondering.
Even Fox News is releasing polls which show the Idiot Jerk in the White House in trouble. How accurate are these polls? While not being spot on, they're closer than those used in the 2016 election. Algorithms have been adjusted; now they incorporate fundamental questions skipped back then, like 'are you a middle-aged, white person who loves to run around wearing a MAGA hat?' Of course, the GOP is using these polls to scare the shit out of his base. They're terrified power is going to wrenched from his dirty, little fingers and he'll go into self-exile in Moscow. They have reason to fear. They have a moral degenerate in the White House who has no problem telling George Stephanopoulos he'd have no problem colluding with a foreign government if they offered him dirt on his political opponent. This is a really, really bad replay of the Trump Tower meeting. How much do you think that little turd did to his approval ratings? It doesn't make a difference who the Democratic nominee is, that sound bite will air constantly up until the second the last polling station closes, and they know it. Pardon my language, but this guy is a dumb as a fucking brick.
Speaking of ratings, if you buy The Body in the Tower, or have bought The Body on the Lawn, please go to Amazon and give it a rating. They mean everything on Amazon. No matter what people go to that Internet Retail Giant looking for, be it mystery suspense novel, or coffee maker, or headphones, the first thing they click on is the rating. Customers like to buy something which has been rated 'good,' they don't like to gamble.
And finally, yesterday I received this comment:
Yesterday, besides the lawn work, I also got a haircut and trimmed my mustache, just in case anybody was wondering.
Even Fox News is releasing polls which show the Idiot Jerk in the White House in trouble. How accurate are these polls? While not being spot on, they're closer than those used in the 2016 election. Algorithms have been adjusted; now they incorporate fundamental questions skipped back then, like 'are you a middle-aged, white person who loves to run around wearing a MAGA hat?' Of course, the GOP is using these polls to scare the shit out of his base. They're terrified power is going to wrenched from his dirty, little fingers and he'll go into self-exile in Moscow. They have reason to fear. They have a moral degenerate in the White House who has no problem telling George Stephanopoulos he'd have no problem colluding with a foreign government if they offered him dirt on his political opponent. This is a really, really bad replay of the Trump Tower meeting. How much do you think that little turd did to his approval ratings? It doesn't make a difference who the Democratic nominee is, that sound bite will air constantly up until the second the last polling station closes, and they know it. Pardon my language, but this guy is a dumb as a fucking brick.
Speaking of ratings, if you buy The Body in the Tower, or have bought The Body on the Lawn, please go to Amazon and give it a rating. They mean everything on Amazon. No matter what people go to that Internet Retail Giant looking for, be it mystery suspense novel, or coffee maker, or headphones, the first thing they click on is the rating. Customers like to buy something which has been rated 'good,' they don't like to gamble.
And finally, yesterday I received this comment:
AnonymousJune 16, 2019 at 12:20 PM
Your book, "The Body In The Tower" is now part of the collection at The Stonewall National Museum And Archive.
I don't know who Anonymous is, but if this is true I do believe it's a bit of an honor. Unfortunately, it was posted by an 'unknown person,' so I can't really thank him or her personally. I don't even know how you put a book into this collection. Anyway, whom ever you are... Thanks!!
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Rattle, rattle
Here it is, Sunday, my first day off of 3 in a row and I'm sure a lot of you are thinking I slept in... well, I didn't. Too much to do. Besides, sleeping in can turn into a bad habit. So far I have paid some bills, am in the process of finishing up my first load of laundry, and spent an hour doing research. Rattle snakes, you know? Diamondbacks. Did you know you will start to feel the symptoms of a rattlesnake bite almost immediately after being bitten? I don't mean the pain of being bitten, but rather the symptoms of the venom. Also, and this I found amazing, the venom does not travel through your blood stream. Nope, it circulates through your lymphatic system. This actually improves your chances of survival since it moves much slower than if it traveled through your blood stream. It turns out I know someone who's been... snake bit. One of the most fascinating things I've learned about Diamondbacks, in fact it's true with all rattlers, is that they don't always rattle before striking... that's a myth. Sometimes they warn you... but not always. That's right, you don't always get this:
And evidently Mike Fuckabee was so rattled by a CNN reported who basically claimed his daughter, Sarah Fuckabee Slanders, was a lying sack of shit. The truth is both of these MAGA heads have sold their souls to the Idiot Jerk in the White House in order to get the power they so sinfully crave.
Speaking of the Idiot Jerk. I suspect the internal GOP polls have him more than a little rattled. They paint a bleak picture of what Americans think of the Moral Degenerate in the White House. That picture's going to get worse because starting today India is putting tariffs on almonds and apples. In case you didn't know, India is our largest importer of almonds and apples. You see, the Idiot Jerk thought India would cave... and they didn't. How rattled is the Idiot Jerk? He Tweeted out (I think it was a Tweet) some sort of nonsense yesterday about the stock market crashing if he doesn't get re-elected. This guy's a moron.
And evidently Mike Fuckabee was so rattled by a CNN reported who basically claimed his daughter, Sarah Fuckabee Slanders, was a lying sack of shit. The truth is both of these MAGA heads have sold their souls to the Idiot Jerk in the White House in order to get the power they so sinfully crave.
Speaking of the Idiot Jerk. I suspect the internal GOP polls have him more than a little rattled. They paint a bleak picture of what Americans think of the Moral Degenerate in the White House. That picture's going to get worse because starting today India is putting tariffs on almonds and apples. In case you didn't know, India is our largest importer of almonds and apples. You see, the Idiot Jerk thought India would cave... and they didn't. How rattled is the Idiot Jerk? He Tweeted out (I think it was a Tweet) some sort of nonsense yesterday about the stock market crashing if he doesn't get re-elected. This guy's a moron.
Saturday, June 15, 2019
Cover this Up
Okay, so it's Saturday. I work today. I woke thinking I had the day off, however, as I turned off the alarm and looked at my calendar I realized I was wrong. They're forecasting rain and showers tonight into to tomorrow afternoon. Figures, doesn't it.... I don't work.
I understand the Idiot Jerk in the White House has sent a 'want ad' to quite a few sanitariums in the deep south. He's looking for a white, pathological liar to take over for Sarah (she who speaks with forked tongue) Sanders Fuckleberry. I wonder if Roy Moore's going to apply, just so he can wave the Ten Commandments as he lies.
I saw where a detective down in Tennessee, who's also a Crazy Christian, is having his cases reviewed. You see, he preaches about hating the gays. His name is Grayson Fritts. He has his own Baptist Church, of course, and claims to be "just preaching the Bible;" make that selectively teaching the bits he's cherry picked, the one's he believes legitimize his hatred. In case you're wondering, he preached something about "gays being worthy of death." I suspect he needs to be institutionalized.
When I decided to start self-publishing I put a lot of thought into what I want for cover-art. Many books today use either a photograph or a collage of photo images for cover-art, except for romance novels which rely on romantic images of long-haired men without shirts. I didn't want that. No pictures for me. I work with a woman (I used to be her boss at one time) who's very talented. She runs her own cake decorating business. Right now she's painting a mural for a school. I asked her one day if she'd like to do the cover-art. She gave me one of those "what the hell are you talking about" looks. I explained that for The Body on the Lawn I wanted readers to see Carlotta Valdez walking to her death. Cori suddenly smiled and said "yeah, I can do that."
With The Body in the Tower I said "how about bullet holes?" We talked about what should be depicted inside them. I suspect she would have liked to include something from the catacombs, but there's no light. As Florien says "it is very black where we are going." At one point she asked "do you want blood around the crashed bicycle?" I said "no," but she did put in a crushed water bottle. It was her idea to have the background go from yellow to blood red. I liked that. Such a nice touch for a murder mystery, action thriller.
With all this being said, I'd like you to meet Cori, the artist behind the covers.
I understand the Idiot Jerk in the White House has sent a 'want ad' to quite a few sanitariums in the deep south. He's looking for a white, pathological liar to take over for Sarah (she who speaks with forked tongue) Sanders Fuckleberry. I wonder if Roy Moore's going to apply, just so he can wave the Ten Commandments as he lies.
I saw where a detective down in Tennessee, who's also a Crazy Christian, is having his cases reviewed. You see, he preaches about hating the gays. His name is Grayson Fritts. He has his own Baptist Church, of course, and claims to be "just preaching the Bible;" make that selectively teaching the bits he's cherry picked, the one's he believes legitimize his hatred. In case you're wondering, he preached something about "gays being worthy of death." I suspect he needs to be institutionalized.
When I decided to start self-publishing I put a lot of thought into what I want for cover-art. Many books today use either a photograph or a collage of photo images for cover-art, except for romance novels which rely on romantic images of long-haired men without shirts. I didn't want that. No pictures for me. I work with a woman (I used to be her boss at one time) who's very talented. She runs her own cake decorating business. Right now she's painting a mural for a school. I asked her one day if she'd like to do the cover-art. She gave me one of those "what the hell are you talking about" looks. I explained that for The Body on the Lawn I wanted readers to see Carlotta Valdez walking to her death. Cori suddenly smiled and said "yeah, I can do that."
With The Body in the Tower I said "how about bullet holes?" We talked about what should be depicted inside them. I suspect she would have liked to include something from the catacombs, but there's no light. As Florien says "it is very black where we are going." At one point she asked "do you want blood around the crashed bicycle?" I said "no," but she did put in a crushed water bottle. It was her idea to have the background go from yellow to blood red. I liked that. Such a nice touch for a murder mystery, action thriller.
With all this being said, I'd like you to meet Cori, the artist behind the covers.
I told her I had already started work on The Body in the Well and she said "give me at least a year." I think 8 months is more realistic. And, in case you are wonder, both books are available at Amazon.
Friday, June 14, 2019
The Republican smorgasbord
Okay, so it's Friday and I have to go back to work for 2 days. How's that for a mini bite in the ass?
And the smorgasbord of shit the Republicans are offering the American voters is getting steamier... I'm at a loss of words to describe just how steamy... which is saying something, you know? The Idiot Jerk admits to ABC News (one of his so-called Fake News Networks) that he would basically collude with a foreign government to get dirt on a political opponent. Apparently he doesn't understand that's what the Mueller investigation was attempting to prove. Then McConnell said he would kill anything Democratically sponsored... how's that for partisan brinkmanship? The NYT has an interesting article on McConnell's phoniness. Pompeo's using a an extremely blurry video clip to blame the Iranians for the attack on those 2 tankers. As an Evangelical Christian, he wants a war with what he considers the greatest Muslim enemy in the world. The Chinese hate Pompeo, they believe he's partially to blame for the tariffs. And then... of course... there was the Prince of Whales Tweet. That proved his stupidity, which is nothing new to most of us.
A comment from Sixpence yesterday gave me an idea. I've been posting pictures of the three individuals I thank in the book for helping with the editing process. Coming up you'll get to see who does my cover art. But I was thinking... if one of you buys either of my books, and gives it a decent review, and chooses to send me a picture, I will post it here as a way of thanking you.
On other writing news, I'm doing an update to The Body on the Lawn. After publishing, I realized a global command I had done had gone awry... I'm fixing that.
Yesterday, during a break in the rain, I let the dogs out. I looked out about 5 minutes later just to check on them and there was Big Seig, standing under the nectarine tree eating green nectarines. Oh, my, he had the worst gas last night.
And the smorgasbord of shit the Republicans are offering the American voters is getting steamier... I'm at a loss of words to describe just how steamy... which is saying something, you know? The Idiot Jerk admits to ABC News (one of his so-called Fake News Networks) that he would basically collude with a foreign government to get dirt on a political opponent. Apparently he doesn't understand that's what the Mueller investigation was attempting to prove. Then McConnell said he would kill anything Democratically sponsored... how's that for partisan brinkmanship? The NYT has an interesting article on McConnell's phoniness. Pompeo's using a an extremely blurry video clip to blame the Iranians for the attack on those 2 tankers. As an Evangelical Christian, he wants a war with what he considers the greatest Muslim enemy in the world. The Chinese hate Pompeo, they believe he's partially to blame for the tariffs. And then... of course... there was the Prince of Whales Tweet. That proved his stupidity, which is nothing new to most of us.
A comment from Sixpence yesterday gave me an idea. I've been posting pictures of the three individuals I thank in the book for helping with the editing process. Coming up you'll get to see who does my cover art. But I was thinking... if one of you buys either of my books, and gives it a decent review, and chooses to send me a picture, I will post it here as a way of thanking you.
On other writing news, I'm doing an update to The Body on the Lawn. After publishing, I realized a global command I had done had gone awry... I'm fixing that.
Yesterday, during a break in the rain, I let the dogs out. I looked out about 5 minutes later just to check on them and there was Big Seig, standing under the nectarine tree eating green nectarines. Oh, my, he had the worst gas last night.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Meet Gloria
Thursday! Day off! Rain... again.
My lower back is bothering me, so I'm going to start doing my 'core' routine again. Arthritis, you know? The disc jelly has gushed out and my lumbar vertebrae and they are slowly fusing together, which is actually more of a nuisance than anything else. Core exercises keep things flexible, unfortunately I've been lax. It's time to pull out the purple yoga mat, and the red, green, and yellow bands.
And the Idiot Jerk has been busy: his Executive Order on documents related to the 2020 census question on citizenship are now off limits to Congress; he said he'd listen to foreign 'dirt' in an election (like the Russkies?); the Budget gap worsened by $739 billion... and he said nothing.
What this does is define him more sharply as the most racist, crooked, and financially stupid president in America's history. This is why he is a dream come true to Republicans. They've always been selfish as hell and dumb as bricks.
And now I'd like you to meet Gloria. Back when I was almost finished with The Body on the Lawn, I decided I needed readers. Friends are good for giving feedback but they aren't always as objective as you need them to be, so I started looking for a voice that could say "nope." I was a supervisor back then, and one day sitting in staff meeting I said something to Pat, a fellow supervisor, about my predicament. She said "my Mom might want to do that." A couple days later she told me Gloria had said she'd read and critique the manuscript. This was gamble, you see Gloria is an Italian, Catholic, great-grandmother. I had no idea how she was going to react to a book in which the main characters were 2 gay men in a long term relationship. She loved it.
She told me that in The Body in the Tower her two most favorite characters were... Bobby Tussel and Jules Laurent, one an ex-Baltimore cop, and the other a member of the Paris police. I wonder what she'll think of Sunny Rigalito, a character in the next book who cold-cocks her husband when he tells her she'd look prettier as a blond.
My lower back is bothering me, so I'm going to start doing my 'core' routine again. Arthritis, you know? The disc jelly has gushed out and my lumbar vertebrae and they are slowly fusing together, which is actually more of a nuisance than anything else. Core exercises keep things flexible, unfortunately I've been lax. It's time to pull out the purple yoga mat, and the red, green, and yellow bands.
And the Idiot Jerk has been busy: his Executive Order on documents related to the 2020 census question on citizenship are now off limits to Congress; he said he'd listen to foreign 'dirt' in an election (like the Russkies?); the Budget gap worsened by $739 billion... and he said nothing.
What this does is define him more sharply as the most racist, crooked, and financially stupid president in America's history. This is why he is a dream come true to Republicans. They've always been selfish as hell and dumb as bricks.
And now I'd like you to meet Gloria. Back when I was almost finished with The Body on the Lawn, I decided I needed readers. Friends are good for giving feedback but they aren't always as objective as you need them to be, so I started looking for a voice that could say "nope." I was a supervisor back then, and one day sitting in staff meeting I said something to Pat, a fellow supervisor, about my predicament. She said "my Mom might want to do that." A couple days later she told me Gloria had said she'd read and critique the manuscript. This was gamble, you see Gloria is an Italian, Catholic, great-grandmother. I had no idea how she was going to react to a book in which the main characters were 2 gay men in a long term relationship. She loved it.
She told me that in The Body in the Tower her two most favorite characters were... Bobby Tussel and Jules Laurent, one an ex-Baltimore cop, and the other a member of the Paris police. I wonder what she'll think of Sunny Rigalito, a character in the next book who cold-cocks her husband when he tells her she'd look prettier as a blond.
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Rate this
Oh, dear me... the Idiot Jerk's approval rating is dropping... among Independent voters. Now, isn't that a surprise. And this was before he waved a piece of paper touting a 'secret' deal with Mexico. People in Washington are whispering among themselves "what secret deal... what secret deal?" In case you didn't know, his base believes him. They're ecstatic. This is better than the secret sauce used on your Big Mac! Tasty! They are on the verge of foaming at the mouth. And the icing on the cake is the "nice" letter he got from Kim Dumb Shit... on their anniversary. The only problem is that the Independents are saying "wait a minute, this guy's an asshole." Believe me, this does not bode well for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
Anyway, Don, one my other readers, received his copy of The Body in the Tower yesterday. He has a degree in English and is the closest thing I have to an actual editor. When I got his copy of the manuscript back there was red ink all over it. He wrote things like 'vague,' and 'confusing,' and 'what happened to the yellow sock hat?' Here is Don.
Don did not appreciate the way the narrative switches between 1st person and 3rd person. Well, I fixed the 'vague,' and the 'confusing,' and answered the questions about 'the yellow sock hat,' and left the narrative switching as I had originally written it.
I'm off tomorrow and they're forecasting rain. That's fine. I don't mind as long as I don't have to go to work. In 2.5 years my car will be paid off. Then I'm going to go part-time.
And Biggie just gave me a purple, squeaky squirrel.
Anyway, Don, one my other readers, received his copy of The Body in the Tower yesterday. He has a degree in English and is the closest thing I have to an actual editor. When I got his copy of the manuscript back there was red ink all over it. He wrote things like 'vague,' and 'confusing,' and 'what happened to the yellow sock hat?' Here is Don.
Don did not appreciate the way the narrative switches between 1st person and 3rd person. Well, I fixed the 'vague,' and the 'confusing,' and answered the questions about 'the yellow sock hat,' and left the narrative switching as I had originally written it.
I'm off tomorrow and they're forecasting rain. That's fine. I don't mind as long as I don't have to go to work. In 2.5 years my car will be paid off. Then I'm going to go part-time.
And Biggie just gave me a purple, squeaky squirrel.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
One of my readers
Crap, yesterday was Whit Monday and I missed it... Actually, I saw it on my calendar and had to look it up because no one I know seems to give a whit. Yep, just another faux holiday the growing majority find unimportant. Now, if companies started making it a paid holiday... wait, that'll never happen because they don't give a whit either. That would cost money.
I'm reading my way through the paperback copy of The Body in the Tower, so far I've found 10 typos I missed, which will be corrected. One of the things I thought I'd do with this book is try and take pictures of the readers and cover artist (if they'll let me) and post them here so you can meet them. A bit of recognition, you know?
This is Patty.
Patty got to read the first draft. She went through it with a pink highlighter. Pink is not my favorite color. There were so many pink 'question marks, her way of saying "what's up here?" She's the one who said there was too much cycling and not enough story. She said the cycling bits were... boring. Shit. She's also responsible for Bishop Halsey showing up when he does. For those interested, Patty graduated from the Anne Marie school of artistic linguistics, so things are never just... boring, and it's never just "what's up here."
Anyway, I guess the Idiot Jerk in the White House tried to put some distance between himself and Nixon, another Republican scumbag who got his ass elected. I've said this once I'll say it again, when all the dirt comes out on the Idiot Jerk, he's going to make Richard Nixon look like an alter boy, and we know what happens to alter boys.
Of all the games introduced at this year's E3, there were only 2 that tickled my fancy. Cyberpunk 2077 gets released in 2020, but The Outer Worlds is getting released in October. I already have my pre-order in, because that's only like... oh, 4 months away. Enjoy the trailer. Love that rock and roll.
I'm reading my way through the paperback copy of The Body in the Tower, so far I've found 10 typos I missed, which will be corrected. One of the things I thought I'd do with this book is try and take pictures of the readers and cover artist (if they'll let me) and post them here so you can meet them. A bit of recognition, you know?
This is Patty.
Anyway, I guess the Idiot Jerk in the White House tried to put some distance between himself and Nixon, another Republican scumbag who got his ass elected. I've said this once I'll say it again, when all the dirt comes out on the Idiot Jerk, he's going to make Richard Nixon look like an alter boy, and we know what happens to alter boys.
Of all the games introduced at this year's E3, there were only 2 that tickled my fancy. Cyberpunk 2077 gets released in 2020, but The Outer Worlds is getting released in October. I already have my pre-order in, because that's only like... oh, 4 months away. Enjoy the trailer. Love that rock and roll.
Favorite line so far: "The board... their lackies... they're all a bunch of swine!"
Monday, June 10, 2019
Rocketman and other stuff
Okay, so what can I say, it's Monday and I slept in... and they is half over... okay, it's not half over, it got my ass out of bed around 0715. When you normally get up between 0430 and 0500 that's late.
I saw "Rocketman" last night. It is very, very good and far more dramatic than I was expecting. Even though Taron Egerton looks nothing like Elton John, it takes about 4 seconds after he makes his grand entrance at the beginning of the film to convince you otherwise. One of the things I find amusing is the brouhaha about the sex scene and how it might be cut in order for the movie to get a PG-13 rating. The language alone guaranteed "Rocketman" was going to be rated R. Elton likes to swear... a lot. This is also not a 'linear' biography, the songs are not in sequence, rather, they are used to emphasize an emotional moment. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Egerton can sing, his vocal chops work quite well with the music. Isn't it nice to go see a movie about a legendary rock star and the lead actor sings all of the songs. One final note on this great film, I really did love that devil costume and how it was used.
Did the Idiot Jerk do anything yesterday? It's rare for him not to fart out some stupid shit, even on a Sunday.
Tomorrow I have to go back to work. Crap. For 2 whole days. I like this 2 days on, 2 days off schedule. Once the car is paid for, this is what it's going to be like.
Finally, E3 started yesterday in LA. That's when publishers announce upcoming games. The biggest splash was made by the studio CD Projekt Red. They gave us a release date yesterday for their next big game, Cyberpunk 2077... and the announcement was made by Keanu Reeves. I can not wait. A word of warning, there is language in this trailer.
I saw "Rocketman" last night. It is very, very good and far more dramatic than I was expecting. Even though Taron Egerton looks nothing like Elton John, it takes about 4 seconds after he makes his grand entrance at the beginning of the film to convince you otherwise. One of the things I find amusing is the brouhaha about the sex scene and how it might be cut in order for the movie to get a PG-13 rating. The language alone guaranteed "Rocketman" was going to be rated R. Elton likes to swear... a lot. This is also not a 'linear' biography, the songs are not in sequence, rather, they are used to emphasize an emotional moment. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Egerton can sing, his vocal chops work quite well with the music. Isn't it nice to go see a movie about a legendary rock star and the lead actor sings all of the songs. One final note on this great film, I really did love that devil costume and how it was used.
Did the Idiot Jerk do anything yesterday? It's rare for him not to fart out some stupid shit, even on a Sunday.
Tomorrow I have to go back to work. Crap. For 2 whole days. I like this 2 days on, 2 days off schedule. Once the car is paid for, this is what it's going to be like.
Finally, E3 started yesterday in LA. That's when publishers announce upcoming games. The biggest splash was made by the studio CD Projekt Red. They gave us a release date yesterday for their next big game, Cyberpunk 2077... and the announcement was made by Keanu Reeves. I can not wait. A word of warning, there is language in this trailer.
Sunday, June 9, 2019
I was wrong! Sort of...
So, evidently the terms in the US / Mexico agreement had been agreed to by both countries weeks before the Idiot Jerk in the White House began shrieking about tariffs. Fool on me for believing this Moral Degenerate had successfully managed to badger a foreign country into submission. On the other hand, we all now know for certain this little shit charade was aimed directly at his racist base. They squeal with delight every time he puts on one of these little dictator masquerades. They will never understand his administration is nothing more than a two bit funhouse filled with cheap trickery, just like his life.
Anyway, it's Sunday. I'm off. I'm going to see "Rocketman" this evening.
Oh, and I have to mow my grass this afternoon - tomorrow it's supposed to be rainy.
Cori, the woman who does the artwork for my books, has lived on farms for most of her life. She tells me my big, black snakey friend has probably been living here for some time. My catching a glance of him on my back sidewalk was extremely rare. That's fine with me. I'm tired of having to put mousetraps out every fall. This is how nature works, you know?
And my peaches are maturing:
Anyway, it's Sunday. I'm off. I'm going to see "Rocketman" this evening.
Oh, and I have to mow my grass this afternoon - tomorrow it's supposed to be rainy.
Cori, the woman who does the artwork for my books, has lived on farms for most of her life. She tells me my big, black snakey friend has probably been living here for some time. My catching a glance of him on my back sidewalk was extremely rare. That's fine with me. I'm tired of having to put mousetraps out every fall. This is how nature works, you know?
And my peaches are maturing:
There are only seven peaches on the tree, but I guess that's just fine for the first crop. Here's a closeup of one:
The only problem is that they're small... about the size of large plums. I thought it was a full size tree, but it's a dwarf so I guess this is about as good as it gets.
On the other hand, my nectarine tree has 17 nectarines. It is not a dwarf, so will grow to between 15 and 20 feet in height. This means I'll end up with baskets of nectarines.
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Mexico caved
After today I have 2 more days off. I'm excited even though weather forecasters are predicting Monday will be a washout. Rain, you know? More rain, That means I will need to get the lawn mowed tomorrow.
So, the wife of one of my Navy buddies posted a list of the "10 best reads for the summer" on Facebook yesterday. Good humoredly I asked her where my book (s) were. Her response was to ask if I was going to read 'her book,' a 118 page volume of essays she'd published in 2016. which was only available in paperback format. I had no problem buying her book, I can give to my friend Betsy as a Christmas present. This morning I find a comment from her; she purchased the less expensive Kindle version rather than the paperback, which has the same cost as her book. Cheap. I replied by saying I was anticipating her "sparkling review." Let me tell you, I was a bit irritated. The fair thing for her to do would have been to pay the same $$ as I was paying.
And, in case you didn't see the headlines, Mexico caved to the Idiot Jerk in the White House. They should have paid attention to China, learned from them, but they didn't. What they have done is put themselves in the same position as the contractors who do work on the Idiot Jerk's properties. Any time he wants he can claim they're not holding up their end of the bargain, and once again threaten them with taxes. The probability factor of this happening is extremely high. If they're not holding their breaths, they should be since it's just a matter of time.
Oh, and there's a new couple on the block: Xi and Vlad. They're getting quite cozy, going boating together and doing 'what not' in private. This must be infuriating for the Idiot Jerk. Chinese exports need to go somewhere, and Russia's just as good as the United States. Oops! Whether you want to understand this or not, the Idiot Jerk has in fact initiated World War III. He's going to bloody the world's economy because he's stupid. He is the end of the Republican Party. The GOP has been setting up their downfall for years and their MAGA head base will follow them into oblivion. Mitch McConnell's 'do nothing' legislature tactic is going to smash him into a bloody pulp. You see, they never understood Karma, that 'what goes around comes around' because they never understood "I" and "me" and "my" are not the three most important words in the human language. No one ever said Republicans were smart.
So, the wife of one of my Navy buddies posted a list of the "10 best reads for the summer" on Facebook yesterday. Good humoredly I asked her where my book (s) were. Her response was to ask if I was going to read 'her book,' a 118 page volume of essays she'd published in 2016. which was only available in paperback format. I had no problem buying her book, I can give to my friend Betsy as a Christmas present. This morning I find a comment from her; she purchased the less expensive Kindle version rather than the paperback, which has the same cost as her book. Cheap. I replied by saying I was anticipating her "sparkling review." Let me tell you, I was a bit irritated. The fair thing for her to do would have been to pay the same $$ as I was paying.
And, in case you didn't see the headlines, Mexico caved to the Idiot Jerk in the White House. They should have paid attention to China, learned from them, but they didn't. What they have done is put themselves in the same position as the contractors who do work on the Idiot Jerk's properties. Any time he wants he can claim they're not holding up their end of the bargain, and once again threaten them with taxes. The probability factor of this happening is extremely high. If they're not holding their breaths, they should be since it's just a matter of time.
Oh, and there's a new couple on the block: Xi and Vlad. They're getting quite cozy, going boating together and doing 'what not' in private. This must be infuriating for the Idiot Jerk. Chinese exports need to go somewhere, and Russia's just as good as the United States. Oops! Whether you want to understand this or not, the Idiot Jerk has in fact initiated World War III. He's going to bloody the world's economy because he's stupid. He is the end of the Republican Party. The GOP has been setting up their downfall for years and their MAGA head base will follow them into oblivion. Mitch McConnell's 'do nothing' legislature tactic is going to smash him into a bloody pulp. You see, they never understood Karma, that 'what goes around comes around' because they never understood "I" and "me" and "my" are not the three most important words in the human language. No one ever said Republicans were smart.
Friday, June 7, 2019
All about my snake... and other things.
Well, I get to go back to work today... for today and tomorrow, then I'm off for 2 more days. A permanent schedule like this would be wonderful...
Anyway, I'm going to spend a few moments here bragging about my snake. Now, I don't want anybody getting jealous, but my snake is big... real long, probably longer than most of imagine. Oh, and he's black, of course I don't really know if I have the gender right since I didn't roll him over to see if he has a little snakey penis. So, you ask, how long is my snake? Well, I'd say he's easily over 5 feet long with about a 2 inch diameter. He's very quiet, in fact I was quite surprised to find out he was living here. Yesterday morning was the first time I actually saw him. I looked out the back door window and there he was, casually snaking his way across the sidewalk. That's how I know how big he is, the sidewalk is 4 feet wide at that point. Now I know why my chipmunk population has been on the decline. A friend asked me what I was going to do about him and I said "nothing." Hopefully he will take care of my mouse problem and mousetraps will be unnecessary this fall.
The picture above is stock since I had neither my phone nor my camera with me. The truth is I may never see him again. Black snakes are nocturnal. They hunt at night. In case you're wondering, the dogs didn't see him. I kept them in the house. They would have killed the poor thing.
We're a year and a half from the 2020 election and polls are revealing things that are not too surprising, in other words this is what most Americans suspected. Evidently only 38% of female voters are planning on voting for the Idiot Jerk, that's your Crazy Christian crowd and your Crazy Conservative crowd, and a small percentage of non-thinkers. In case you didn't know, women are one of the largest voting blocks in the United States and everything the Idiot Jerk does to please his Crazy Christian base goes against the grain of 62% of that voting block. This man is dumb as a brick. He relies on Crazy Christian sycophants who tell him he was chosen by God to give them what they want. They are depraved. I can only wonder what they're going to do when he gets voted out of office.
Anyway, I'm going to spend a few moments here bragging about my snake. Now, I don't want anybody getting jealous, but my snake is big... real long, probably longer than most of imagine. Oh, and he's black, of course I don't really know if I have the gender right since I didn't roll him over to see if he has a little snakey penis. So, you ask, how long is my snake? Well, I'd say he's easily over 5 feet long with about a 2 inch diameter. He's very quiet, in fact I was quite surprised to find out he was living here. Yesterday morning was the first time I actually saw him. I looked out the back door window and there he was, casually snaking his way across the sidewalk. That's how I know how big he is, the sidewalk is 4 feet wide at that point. Now I know why my chipmunk population has been on the decline. A friend asked me what I was going to do about him and I said "nothing." Hopefully he will take care of my mouse problem and mousetraps will be unnecessary this fall.
The picture above is stock since I had neither my phone nor my camera with me. The truth is I may never see him again. Black snakes are nocturnal. They hunt at night. In case you're wondering, the dogs didn't see him. I kept them in the house. They would have killed the poor thing.
We're a year and a half from the 2020 election and polls are revealing things that are not too surprising, in other words this is what most Americans suspected. Evidently only 38% of female voters are planning on voting for the Idiot Jerk, that's your Crazy Christian crowd and your Crazy Conservative crowd, and a small percentage of non-thinkers. In case you didn't know, women are one of the largest voting blocks in the United States and everything the Idiot Jerk does to please his Crazy Christian base goes against the grain of 62% of that voting block. This man is dumb as a brick. He relies on Crazy Christian sycophants who tell him he was chosen by God to give them what they want. They are depraved. I can only wonder what they're going to do when he gets voted out of office.
Thursday, June 6, 2019
What's in a Name
Late entry today because I stayed up late... watching "The ABC Murders" on Amazon. I had read the book... oh, 40 some years ago and remembered it well. Writing a mystery is really all about misdirection. There is a murder and you provide a number of alternative suspects with enough clues to make you think they're guilty, all the while dangling the real killer in front of the reader's eyes. Agatha Christie did this very well. This is why they still make movies and TV series out of her books today.
My name will never be as famous as hers, which is fine with me. There was an issue with Amazon, however in regard to my name. Hat's off to Sixpence for pointing this out to me. You see, I am not the only Dave Snyder who is an author publishing on Amazon. I have a very common name. At one point there were actually 17 Dave Snyders in the Harrisburg phone book, 3 of them living in East Pennsboro (Enola) alone. When you initially set up your author's page, you type in your name and a list of authors comes up and he chose the wrong Dave Snyder. This does not effect the royalties, but it does list me as being the author of his books which is a problem since I write mystery, suspense novels with gay characters and he writes faith based fantasy... well, I don't really know if they're fantasies but they are faith based, with titles like The Road To Sodom and Managing the Fold.
Here's the link to my page https://www.amazon.com/Dave-Snyder/e/B07HZT8L8Q?ref_=pe_584750_33951330
Definitely not something I would write. Anyway, Amazon is fixing the problem for good. I was told my titles might disappear for 1 - 3 days, but then they will be back.
And I guess we're going to have tariffs on products coming from Mexico. I suspect that till all is said and done, the Idiot Jerk will end up crashing the world's economy.
Also, from what I saw yesterday, polls do not look good for him getting his orange ass re-elected. Biden has a double digit lead in states the Idiot Jerk needs to win. In fact, states like Texas, which swallowed his shit in 2016, are now questionable... that's right, questionable. The simple truth is Americans don't want a moral degenerate in the White House. Conservatives are going to get their asses whupped.
My name will never be as famous as hers, which is fine with me. There was an issue with Amazon, however in regard to my name. Hat's off to Sixpence for pointing this out to me. You see, I am not the only Dave Snyder who is an author publishing on Amazon. I have a very common name. At one point there were actually 17 Dave Snyders in the Harrisburg phone book, 3 of them living in East Pennsboro (Enola) alone. When you initially set up your author's page, you type in your name and a list of authors comes up and he chose the wrong Dave Snyder. This does not effect the royalties, but it does list me as being the author of his books which is a problem since I write mystery, suspense novels with gay characters and he writes faith based fantasy... well, I don't really know if they're fantasies but they are faith based, with titles like The Road To Sodom and Managing the Fold.
Here's the link to my page https://www.amazon.com/Dave-Snyder/e/B07HZT8L8Q?ref_=pe_584750_33951330
Definitely not something I would write. Anyway, Amazon is fixing the problem for good. I was told my titles might disappear for 1 - 3 days, but then they will be back.
And I guess we're going to have tariffs on products coming from Mexico. I suspect that till all is said and done, the Idiot Jerk will end up crashing the world's economy.
Also, from what I saw yesterday, polls do not look good for him getting his orange ass re-elected. Biden has a double digit lead in states the Idiot Jerk needs to win. In fact, states like Texas, which swallowed his shit in 2016, are now questionable... that's right, questionable. The simple truth is Americans don't want a moral degenerate in the White House. Conservatives are going to get their asses whupped.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
A Little Late for the Party
Well, today's Wednesday and I'm off. I was a little surprised I made it through my second 6 day stretch, of course the chores have accumulated during that time. Yard work is planned for today, and tomorrow... and at some point I'm going to need to get a haircut and cut my nails. How's that for la-de-dah?
And I do believe today is the last day for the Idiot Jerk to spreading discord and discontent in the UK. There were a lot of protests. I don't think they bother him, rather he likes to think of himself as an interrupter, he creates disruption in order to cover the dirt. He desperately wants to be the champion of Greed, that being the most obvious sign of success. I find it interesting with all the billionaires in the world, he seems to be the only who's had to file for bankruptcy... often.
Oh, and I saw where Hope Hicks was going to turn over documents to Congress relating to the 2016 election and the White House is trying to stop her from doing so... which is what you do once you've been exonerated... unless, of course, they show how the Idiot Jerk knew Russia was helping him get elected. You know, that is what he said...until he deleted the Tweet. That Tweet will make a nice campaign poster for the 2020 election, won't it?
I had read an article a while back which stated the two times in a person's life when they are the most creative are their 20's and their 50's. If that were true, than I'd have to say I came little late to the party. Of course, for me that isn't true. I thought I'd write about that today. This article, however, is what caught my attention this morning. I was surprised by how much this defines me. My brain never stops putting things together, even when I'm sleeping. In fact, no matter what I'm doing different ideas will touch each other, form a junction, and go jointly into some new direction. Yesterday morning I woke with the idea of having Eli, one of my main characters, riding down a trail on a mountain bike. As I headed back to take my morning shower, I knew he needed to be following another character. During my shower I realized the character he was following needed to point to the left and say "snake," in order for them to turn to the right. Stepping out of the shower, I understood that in the new book snakes needed to be a metaphor for the truth, and how some people avoid the truth for the same reason they avoid snakes. I know not everybody is going to understand this, but snakes are very important. We learn from them.
Now, I know some are thinking the Idiot Jerk is a snake... they're wrong. He's a festering sore who will go gangrene if we don't treat him the way he needs to be treated.
As for coming late to the party? I think I've always been at the party.
And I do believe today is the last day for the Idiot Jerk to spreading discord and discontent in the UK. There were a lot of protests. I don't think they bother him, rather he likes to think of himself as an interrupter, he creates disruption in order to cover the dirt. He desperately wants to be the champion of Greed, that being the most obvious sign of success. I find it interesting with all the billionaires in the world, he seems to be the only who's had to file for bankruptcy... often.
Oh, and I saw where Hope Hicks was going to turn over documents to Congress relating to the 2016 election and the White House is trying to stop her from doing so... which is what you do once you've been exonerated... unless, of course, they show how the Idiot Jerk knew Russia was helping him get elected. You know, that is what he said...until he deleted the Tweet. That Tweet will make a nice campaign poster for the 2020 election, won't it?
I had read an article a while back which stated the two times in a person's life when they are the most creative are their 20's and their 50's. If that were true, than I'd have to say I came little late to the party. Of course, for me that isn't true. I thought I'd write about that today. This article, however, is what caught my attention this morning. I was surprised by how much this defines me. My brain never stops putting things together, even when I'm sleeping. In fact, no matter what I'm doing different ideas will touch each other, form a junction, and go jointly into some new direction. Yesterday morning I woke with the idea of having Eli, one of my main characters, riding down a trail on a mountain bike. As I headed back to take my morning shower, I knew he needed to be following another character. During my shower I realized the character he was following needed to point to the left and say "snake," in order for them to turn to the right. Stepping out of the shower, I understood that in the new book snakes needed to be a metaphor for the truth, and how some people avoid the truth for the same reason they avoid snakes. I know not everybody is going to understand this, but snakes are very important. We learn from them.
Now, I know some are thinking the Idiot Jerk is a snake... they're wrong. He's a festering sore who will go gangrene if we don't treat him the way he needs to be treated.
As for coming late to the party? I think I've always been at the party.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
The right words
Oh, my, it's Tuesday... and I am going to go to work today. This is the last of 6 days in a row. It's sucks. On the plus side? I'm not going to use any personal time. This is good. I don't get sick often but when I do... well, I'm usually off work for a couple of days. Having personal time on the books allows for a decent recuperation
The Idiot Jerk is in the UK... and there's no Fox News to kiss his ugly, fat, cellulite ass which means his propaganda message needs to rely on his fellow white Supremacist Rupert Murdoch and his shit rags. He's been hinting at "great deals" if there is a total divorce from the EU. A hard Brexit is what the Idiot Jerk wants. Of course, all those Brexiteers (sic British MAGA heads) need to understand this is the same approach he takes with the contractors who build his properties. In the end, he leaves them with a plate of steaming shit. For the Idiot Jerk, 'great deals' translates to: prepare to be screwed over royally.
I was asked why I don't write romance into my books. Well, I'm not a very romantic person. I like things at face value. The divorce rate in Pennsylvania is over 60% mostly because people base their marriage on romance. They don't realize that in a relationship romance is the cherry on top of the sundae... it is not the sundae. Ice cream melts. Besides, I have a talent for putting words together which create tension.
The Idiot Jerk is in the UK... and there's no Fox News to kiss his ugly, fat, cellulite ass which means his propaganda message needs to rely on his fellow white Supremacist Rupert Murdoch and his shit rags. He's been hinting at "great deals" if there is a total divorce from the EU. A hard Brexit is what the Idiot Jerk wants. Of course, all those Brexiteers (sic British MAGA heads) need to understand this is the same approach he takes with the contractors who build his properties. In the end, he leaves them with a plate of steaming shit. For the Idiot Jerk, 'great deals' translates to: prepare to be screwed over royally.
I was asked why I don't write romance into my books. Well, I'm not a very romantic person. I like things at face value. The divorce rate in Pennsylvania is over 60% mostly because people base their marriage on romance. They don't realize that in a relationship romance is the cherry on top of the sundae... it is not the sundae. Ice cream melts. Besides, I have a talent for putting words together which create tension.
Narration is fine, but letting the reader eavesdrop on a conversation? Letting them hear the words from a character's mouth? In "The Body on the Lawn," Eli has a confrontation with his father. From the beginning of the book the reader knows they do not get along, so I've already set the bar high for their conversation. By the end of the chapter one of them wins, the other loses badly. There is high tension. One reader told me the tension in that chapter is 'palpable.' When I told that to one of my 'readers' he said, "that's a very good word for it." And I did it without out either of them swearing. For me, writing is about creating drama, tension, suspense... and using the right words. I like doing that.
Monday, June 3, 2019
Honey... look
Well, it's Monday, my 5th day out of 6 scheduled work days. Will I make it through tomorrow? And complete all 6? Hhhmmm.
I ordered some hostas for the shady area under the river birch, they arrive today. I was going to buy some at work but they sold out... go figure.
My left knee is sore, must have twisted it the wrong way coming down off of a ladder. I had to get 3 boxes of Lash flat tile spacers for a customer yesterday. He returned them later, evidently he didn't know what he wanted.
A bit about my writing. For those who don't know, I live in Central Pennsylvania, which is actually the tip of the so called Bible Belt. Being Ultra Conservative, I found I needed to drive down to Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia if I wanted to buy books with gay characters. Then came Amazon. It was great. No more 2.5 hour drives to buy a couple of paperbacks. And then something bizarre happened, a number of authors started using their initial rather than their given names. You know, like I.T. Lucas, and S.J. Hines (as an example). Being the inquisitive person I am, I Googled these authors and discovered they were actually women. That's right, women were writing gay books with gay protagonists, not lesbian, mind you... gay. They still are, though now they no longer strictly use initials in their 'nom de plumes,' you know? Now they're Sloane... or Casey. What these authors are really doing is writing female protagonists with a female point of view and just giving them men's names, like Gary, or Frank, or Tom. I've always had a problem with this; I'm white so I can't write from a black perspective, or a Latino perspective, and I am definitely male and therefore cannot write from a female perspective. I'm not saying that what they write is bad, these authors sell a lot of books. However, this is one of the reasons I started writing again, to provide an alternative that is truer than a fictitious 'nom de plume.'
Anyway, my honeysuckle's in full bloom.
I ordered some hostas for the shady area under the river birch, they arrive today. I was going to buy some at work but they sold out... go figure.
My left knee is sore, must have twisted it the wrong way coming down off of a ladder. I had to get 3 boxes of Lash flat tile spacers for a customer yesterday. He returned them later, evidently he didn't know what he wanted.
A bit about my writing. For those who don't know, I live in Central Pennsylvania, which is actually the tip of the so called Bible Belt. Being Ultra Conservative, I found I needed to drive down to Giovanni's Room in Philadelphia if I wanted to buy books with gay characters. Then came Amazon. It was great. No more 2.5 hour drives to buy a couple of paperbacks. And then something bizarre happened, a number of authors started using their initial rather than their given names. You know, like I.T. Lucas, and S.J. Hines (as an example). Being the inquisitive person I am, I Googled these authors and discovered they were actually women. That's right, women were writing gay books with gay protagonists, not lesbian, mind you... gay. They still are, though now they no longer strictly use initials in their 'nom de plumes,' you know? Now they're Sloane... or Casey. What these authors are really doing is writing female protagonists with a female point of view and just giving them men's names, like Gary, or Frank, or Tom. I've always had a problem with this; I'm white so I can't write from a black perspective, or a Latino perspective, and I am definitely male and therefore cannot write from a female perspective. I'm not saying that what they write is bad, these authors sell a lot of books. However, this is one of the reasons I started writing again, to provide an alternative that is truer than a fictitious 'nom de plume.'
Anyway, my honeysuckle's in full bloom.
On the right hand, side you can see my neighbor's stairway leading to the top of the hill behind our houses.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
In need of a palate cleanser
Well, it's Sunday. Sometime last night I hit my 'hump moment.' Unfortunately I slept through it and was unable to celebrate. This is how life is; I've gotten used to it a long time ago.
I saw that a 'disgruntled' man killed 11 people in Virginia Beach. That word bothers the hell out of me. He was disgruntled, which means he was unhappy. He was fed-up with the way things were going at his job. So, instead of getting another job he got a gun. He didn't specifically target those who had made him unhappy, he shot randomly. One of his victims was in a car outside the municipal building. Now eleven families have been traumatized, their grief is palpable, because he was angry... and he had a gun... with a lot of ammunition. First off, he should not have had access to a weapon. This mental instability of his did not just appear out of no where. Gun laws are much stricter in France. You need to pass a psychological test before being issued a gun permit. In the United States, however, we have sanctified the Holy Gun. Secondly, where the hell were this man's supervisors and his co-workers? Disgruntled people don't hide the fact that they're angry. They don't bake cookies and take them into work one day, and the next go in and shoot people. People don't just snap. There are always signs. When you see them in a co-worker, you need to bring it to someone's attention. This means you need to care about the mental state of people you work with because if you don't, instead of packing lunch some morning they might pack a gun. This doesn't mean you need to like them, but you do need to care about their emotional stability because your life might be at risk if you don't.
Now for something different. The honeysuckle is exploding all over my back fence... unfortunately I have not been able to take pictures yet... be patient.
And since the next book is going to take place in the ghost towns of the Colorado Rockies, I thought I'd toss this out on this Sunday morning. Here's a little palate cleanser.
Can anyone guess which one of my characters is going to end up buying a pair of chaps?
I saw that a 'disgruntled' man killed 11 people in Virginia Beach. That word bothers the hell out of me. He was disgruntled, which means he was unhappy. He was fed-up with the way things were going at his job. So, instead of getting another job he got a gun. He didn't specifically target those who had made him unhappy, he shot randomly. One of his victims was in a car outside the municipal building. Now eleven families have been traumatized, their grief is palpable, because he was angry... and he had a gun... with a lot of ammunition. First off, he should not have had access to a weapon. This mental instability of his did not just appear out of no where. Gun laws are much stricter in France. You need to pass a psychological test before being issued a gun permit. In the United States, however, we have sanctified the Holy Gun. Secondly, where the hell were this man's supervisors and his co-workers? Disgruntled people don't hide the fact that they're angry. They don't bake cookies and take them into work one day, and the next go in and shoot people. People don't just snap. There are always signs. When you see them in a co-worker, you need to bring it to someone's attention. This means you need to care about the mental state of people you work with because if you don't, instead of packing lunch some morning they might pack a gun. This doesn't mean you need to like them, but you do need to care about their emotional stability because your life might be at risk if you don't.
Now for something different. The honeysuckle is exploding all over my back fence... unfortunately I have not been able to take pictures yet... be patient.
And since the next book is going to take place in the ghost towns of the Colorado Rockies, I thought I'd toss this out on this Sunday morning. Here's a little palate cleanser.
Can anyone guess which one of my characters is going to end up buying a pair of chaps?
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Not your Average Saloon Girl
It's Saturday, June 1. Being the first Saturday of the month, we have our Kid's Workshop. Because the weather is supposed to be nice, we are going to be swamped with kids, well over 300, who's parents fail to comprehend we are a warehouse home improvement store. We block aisles and use lift equipment. Many of our customers have long since passed through the 'parenting stage' and now see so many children as a nuisance. Because the mothers and fathers of the 'over 300' don't understand this, chaos will reign. I'm seriously thinking of requesting off the first Saturday of every month.
For those interested in purchasing a paperback copy of "The Body in the Tower," use this link: it's in 'books' at Amazon. It's 278 pages long, which is 41 pages longer than the first book. And remember, reviews... reviews... reviews. They are important. I buy a lot from Amazon and I usually try and leave reviews. Mostly their good. Every now and then I buy something that's not quite up to snuff and I let them know. Hopefully, your reviews will be good.
And regarding the new project: my original notes called for a restaurant / diner, similar to Denny's. Last evening, however, I realized that wasn't going to work. The current day Rattler's Den (town name) needed something more, something with a little more pizzazz. So while I was doing my cardio, I started thinking about saloons, something a little crusty, a little touristy, and, of course, something from my childhood popped into my head.
Anybody out there remember Miss Kitty? She was not your average saloon girl.
Oh, and by the way, the Idiot Jerk has threatened Mexico with a tariff... because of the immigrants. Humans have been migrating for thousands of years, but the white Republican party doesn't like migration, the flow of human beings from one location to the next. They want to build walls. Maybe, instead of doing that they should read a little chapter from the Old Testament called... Exodus. I mean, they were brown people, too, in fact they looked a lot like Syrians, and Iraqis, and Saudis, and Iranians... but don't tell that to the Evangelicals.
Oh, and the administration also downgraded India out of 'favored nation' status in order to raise export prices to them.
In case you didn't realize it, the Idiot Jerk in the White House is a terrible businessman who's only good at selling lies about his business acumen.
For those interested in purchasing a paperback copy of "The Body in the Tower," use this link: it's in 'books' at Amazon. It's 278 pages long, which is 41 pages longer than the first book. And remember, reviews... reviews... reviews. They are important. I buy a lot from Amazon and I usually try and leave reviews. Mostly their good. Every now and then I buy something that's not quite up to snuff and I let them know. Hopefully, your reviews will be good.
And regarding the new project: my original notes called for a restaurant / diner, similar to Denny's. Last evening, however, I realized that wasn't going to work. The current day Rattler's Den (town name) needed something more, something with a little more pizzazz. So while I was doing my cardio, I started thinking about saloons, something a little crusty, a little touristy, and, of course, something from my childhood popped into my head.
Anybody out there remember Miss Kitty? She was not your average saloon girl.
Oh, and by the way, the Idiot Jerk has threatened Mexico with a tariff... because of the immigrants. Humans have been migrating for thousands of years, but the white Republican party doesn't like migration, the flow of human beings from one location to the next. They want to build walls. Maybe, instead of doing that they should read a little chapter from the Old Testament called... Exodus. I mean, they were brown people, too, in fact they looked a lot like Syrians, and Iraqis, and Saudis, and Iranians... but don't tell that to the Evangelicals.
Oh, and the administration also downgraded India out of 'favored nation' status in order to raise export prices to them.
In case you didn't realize it, the Idiot Jerk in the White House is a terrible businessman who's only good at selling lies about his business acumen.
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