The First Big Step

I start my split days off today... no work, and the dogs let me sleep in another 15 minutes. 
Montana had an early snowstorm.  The Southeastern states are having a rip-roaring heatwave.  As climate change continues to effect the world, people will begin to move.  Yes, even in the United States.  This is called immigration.  And animals, too, as their natural habitats grow too wet, or too dry, too cold or too warm, will head towards more habitable areas.  So many people in the world are totally unprepared.  Things like this have happened before in our billion years history.  The difference between then and now?  Someone is here to record the changes.  This will all become very interesting.  If you're thinking of retiring to some sunny trailer park in Florida, keep in mind that expensive mobile home may be underwater sooner rather than later.  Here's one projection:

The smart ones will prepare, the dumb ones won't.  You know who I'm talking about, those fools running around in their little red MAGA hats.  And then they'll shriek "how can this be?!"
So, what am I going to do on my day off?  Lots of little stuff.  Ride bike, of course.  I got 11.1 miles in yesterday.  I find that I'm not as sluggish if I ride.  Those 2 weeks when I was trying to do that 5 rides a week challenge screwed up my schedule for a bit.  You only needed 15 minutes a day.  That doesn't work for me.  I need to get between 45 and 50 minutes a day.
The Idiot Jerk in the White House had his Henchies throw a whine-a-thon yesterday.  Sadly, neither Stevie, nor Lindsay, nor Jimmy Jordan.  Jimmy had to deal with Jake Tapper.   Jimmy ended up his Crazy Christian head slapped silly.  And the rumor's going around Mickey Mulvaney's job might be in the shitter because he didn't have a working plan to deal with... impeachment.  This administration, this political party, is so out of touch with America.  They don't understand that the first big step towards making America great again is to impeach the Idiot Jerk in the White House.

It's a little dark

So, I stopped off at T-Mobile and bought myself a new USB cable for my phone.  Now it charges.  I'm happy.  I don't need to buy a new one.  Though, I checked out Google Pixels while I was there.  Mine is 2.5 years old.  I usually hold on to them for about 4 years.

"So, this is Me" was lamenting about the approach month of October.  This might make him cringe horrifically.  On October 7, our store is getting it's Christmas set.  For 2-3 days little orange elves will putting up Christmas trees, filling shelves with decorations and lights, and setting up hideous, inflatable lawn ornaments.  

I've been playing around with the GoPro making little videos of this and that.  I have to experiment with light to see what looks good, what you can see, and what doesn't work... at all.  Here's a dark shot of me walking the dogs early in the morning.  You can hear me telling the GoPro to stop recording at the end.  We are approaching an apartment building lit by a streetlight.

Isn't this fun!!!

There are a number of things I find amusing about this whole Impeachment process, things that are being said.  One of them is that the Idiot Jerk was blindsided, that he and his sycophants and henchies have no plan on dealing with proceedings.  This makes sense because all he's done is lie to himself (and them) about how popular.  He watches Fox News, which only recently has begun to run stories about his falling behind in the polls.  And he gets mad, that's not what he wants to hear.  He wants praise and glory.  He's a Reality Entertainer with his own Star on the sidewalk in Hollywood.  At least he had a star, I think someone took a jack-hammer to it.  He's been living in a crazy, little world of his own making in which he can do and say whatever he wants.  He goes to rallies which have been finally tuned to appeal to his addled, minority group of white voters.  He's a liar who's been living a lie almost his entire life and everything not catering to those lies is "fake news."  And so he was blindsided, and that's funny.  This man is dumb as a brick.  He's survived this long thanks to his attorneys, all of whom are much smarter  and crooked than he is.  I've said this numerous times, the Idiot Jerk is going to make Richard Nixon look like an alter boy.

Tiny

It's day number 4 at work.  For a lot of you out there the day has a name.  For me?  It's number 4.  Interestingly enough, while at work yesterday I got a phone call from a customer who had been set up to have her floor measured.  She needed to change that date, so I did, telling her it was "now going to be on Friday, the 11th."  Her reply: "oh, I don't know what day of the week it is... I'm retired."  My suspicion is that her calendar is not too full.  She needs to become more active.
I made 3 more videos when I walked the dogs yesterday morning.  One is short, of the sunrise.  Now all I have to do is see about syncing them to my computer and editing them.  GoPro provides background scores... blahhh.  Very vanilla.  I suspect I will end up buying a decent editing software.  Hell, I might even pull out the Korg and start recording again.
Speaking of dogs.  There was a couple asking questions about blinds yesterday, mid to upper 20's... oh, and her mother was with and she seemed to be running the show.  At one point I made the comment that blinds "are easy to install."  The wife said "oh, I'm in the medical profession, I'm not at all mechanically inclined." ...   Do I need to repeat that for you?  Anyway, the husband, a good looking man who I have no doubt was also a professional, said nothing.  All he did was stand there holding a leash (not his), and on the end of that leash was a little dog.

It was one of these

A wee little dog, no more than 12 inches high, and just as long, and not really a dog... more of a toy, and very... emasculating.  All I could think of was that this nice looking gentleman has not testicles.
After one day in the headlines, 43 % of Americans no feel the Idiot Jerk should be impeached.  That's a jump of 7%.  Even more interesting, the number of those who said impeachment was wrong dropped as well.  There are still a lot on the fence.  As the days go on, that will change.  While some GOP spokespeople have said they don't need to start pulling their wagons into a circle, many, like Mitch McTurtle are privately showing more concern about their own re-election then they are the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  This is, after all, the type of loyalty he's paid for.

The Inquiry

Friday = my Hump Day.  Because I requested off for this coming Saturday, Kid's Workshop day, I get to work 5 days, have one day off, then work another 4 days before my next day off.
Early polls show American voters beginning to take a shine to "the inquiry."  Let me rephrase that, polls indicate Democrats and Independent voters are becoming more positive about impeaching the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Republicans?  They're doing flaming back flips.  Have you seen them?  I almost had 2 at the flooring desk yesterday, a husband and wife team, older than me, white (of course), who want to buy remote control blinds (that's right, press a button your blind goes up, press a button your blind comes down).  He started to complain about the impeachment garbage happening to the Idiot Jerk.  I said, "I can't stand the man."  Woah!  Little sparkly fireworks began shooting out his ears.  She started lurching side to side in her chair as she prepared to shit a brick.  I immediately changed the subject.  I had to think about the other customers in the showroom.  Didn't know if our Liability Insurance covered injuries caused by back Republicans doing flaming back flips.
There are evidently 2 categories of Republicans when it comes to "the inquiry."  Those that are light and giddy, believing Americans are going to vote for the Idiot Jerk in 2020 because the feel sorry for him....   .....  Dumb as bricks they are.  And then there are those who are the back flippers and the brick shooters, the ones who don't understand what Democracy is and how it works.  That group is furious.  This is the same mentality which believed their party would rule America for ever when Reagan had his landslide victory.  Dumb as bricks they are, too.
Republicans have always suffered from this problem, probably because they call themselves the Grand Old Party.  Well, they got the Old part right.  Now they are outraged!  What they think of as their God given authority is being challenged.  Right.  What they need to do is rethink their philosophies, religious and secular.  If their Supreme Being, the One who created the entire Universe, including Einstein's Theory of Relativity, needed to rely on the Electoral College to get the Idiot Jerk into the White House... well, he's not that powerful, is he?  The truth is, the Idiot Jerk has bad Karma and he's spreading it throughout their ranks.  They don't understand that for them, this might be Judgment.

Number 7

It's Thursday, and another day at work.  The temp is supposed to only go up to 80 (F).  This weekend is supposed to be warm, up to 91 (F) on Saturday, but then after that temps begin to drop.  I have this funny feeling they'll drop fast.  One day we'll have Summer, the next day we'll be in the middle of Fall.
Yesterday was... interesting.  I'm not the only one who's calling the Idiot Jerk in the White House an extortionist.  Things to think about:  The White House released 5 pages of notes they say detailed the conversation between the Idiot Jerk and the Ukrainian president.  They did not release the actual transcript... which I suspect is far more incriminating.  The Ukrainians are claiming the White House had certain conditions which needed to be met before that call could take place, the topic of Biden and his son being an extremely important one.  Oh, and the Idiot Jerk suggested Hillary's deleted emails are in the Ukraine. 
Republicans are distressed.  I work with several of the Idiot Jerk's supporters and yesterday they looked very solemn.  What they desperately want to say is "but this is how he is, he does things like this, ignore them."  The truth is they will accept any evil as long as they're are in charge.
For sometime I've said he's going to make Richard Nixon look like an alter boy.  For those not old enough.  Richard Nixon also had an election scandal, a little thing called Watergate because he was worried  he wasn't going to be re-elected.  Grab your popcorn folks, this is going to be very entertaining for Democrats.
I did a new ride yesterday, in Greece, from Agios Georgios to Chalikounas Corfu.  This is a short ride, just 7.64 miles.  The funny thing is while I was checking out my stats I got an email from Rouvy.  They were updating the top 10 cyclists for that ride.  Holy Crap.  Out of everyone who has ridden that route, I'm number 7.

Here's the link if you want to see my stats.  And yes, if you want to follow me on Strava you can, they list me as the 3rd fastest worldwide.  What this really means is that not that many cyclists have ridden this ride.  Still, these little things are what makes this fun.  Oh, and yes, in case you didn't know... I am Paridave.

Screaming banshees and light souffles

Yippee Skippy!  I get to go back to work today.  The new schedule is posted, and even thought I don't have a fixed schedule, I seem to have the same days off every week.  I seem to be getting Mondays and Tuesdays off every week, except for next... Kid's Workshop.  I've been requesting off on the first Saturday of every month and that tends to throw my schedule off for that week.
And... of course... everybody knows that a formal inquiry into the Articles of Impeachment has been initiated.  Remember, this is just an inquiry which can be a very lengthy process.  I'm suspecting the intention is more to add more damage to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  True, they may get to a point where a formal vote is held, but until then we'll get to see the Idiot Jerk in the White House running around like a screaming banshee with his hair on fire.  He has turned into the dastardly CEO whom the majority of stockholders want fired.  Not that he doesn't have his loyalists, those sycophants and dingle-berry 'yes men' who leech off of his power.  Oh, and there are also the Crazy Christians as well as your dumb as brick Republicans.  They will have no problem following him down the toilet when we finally flush the damn thing.
I didn't see it, I don't have cable, but evidently last evening Faux News started shooting fireworks out their ass....   Anger, you know?  Quite a few Republicans are attempting to make comparisons to the Clinton impeachment simply because of the word... impeachment.  They believe the Idiot Jerk was handed his re-election.  Not even close.  Clinton is quite charismatic while the Idiot Jerk is not.  Independent voters stayed with Clinton.  The Idiot Jerk is driving them away.  The Republicans kicked like a dead horse, over and over and over again.  All the Democrats have done is constantly poke the Idiot Jerk with his own lies and actions.  Under Clinton the economy was growing... now:  Consumer Confidence dropped seriously in August.  Re-election for the Idiot Jerk?  No way.  Republicans still don't understand he was sent to destroy them.
On the light side, I went to see "Downton Abbey" last evening. I enjoyed the film.  Those two hours were a bit of a souffle, light and tastefully amusing.  Maggie Smith was definitely the stand out with her tartly sarcastic one-liners.  The drama was never overcooked.  King George looked kingly.  Robert has a dapple of salt and pepper.  The theater was rather full.  When we bought our tickets, we were told "well, this is the number one movie."  Who'd have thunk... Downton Abbey.  Oh, and I did stand up and survey the audience.  I can guarantee Aaron Schock was no where in the audience.

Lies and Extortion

So, Boris Johnson lied to the Queen of England.  My phone's been buzzing with notifications for the past 5 minutes.  You do know she's going to shake her finger at him.  Naughty Boris.  So much desperation trying to create the old empire, so much hatred for change.  He lied to the Queen.  Every media outlet in the world is pointing at him and laughing.  History will remember him not as some noble man who led the UK out of tyrannical EU, but rather as the buffoon who lied to the Queen.  For Boris?  This is a bad day in Bedrock.  This is a very rude awakening to Boris and his Brexiteers:  their shit stinks.
And then there is the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  According to the Wall Street Journal, 10 days before the Idiot Jerk made his now infamous call to the Ukraine our own Moral Degenerate froze $319 million in aid to that country.  These funds had been approved by Congress to help the Ukraine fight Russian aggression.  You know?  Russia?  When the Idiot Jerk's Blow Bro Vlad lives?  Because the Idiot Jerk is terrified he's going to lose the election and go to jail, he wanted dirt on Uncle Joe.  So much so, he resorted to...(are you ready for this?) Extortion.  For those who don't know what the definition of extortion is, this is it:

Extortion is a form of theft that occurs when an offender obtains money, property, or services from another person through coercion. To constitute coercion, the necessary act can be the threat of violence, destruction of property, or improper government action.

The emphasis being on 'improper government action.'  For those who paid any attention to the Idiot Jerk in the White, this type of behavior pattern is pretty much the norm.  That's right, he's an asshole.  They're asking he release the transcripts of that phone call.  My money says he's going to turn into Tricky Dick Nixon and have his personal Rosemary Woods make it disappear.
Did Boris extort the Queen?  Nah, he just lied.
And, finally... my GoPro came yesterday.  It came directly from GoPro.  The price was only $20 more than what I had paid for a model that was 3 years old.

I've already been playing around with it.  I had also bought a number of mounts so I can stick it just about anywhere.  One of those that was included was a strap to attach it to my helmet.  Hhhmm.  I wasn't too wild about that, so I ordered a mount for my handlebars.  This might sound odd, but I want to be able to see where my camera is.  No lie.

Diggin' the Dirt

I slept in till 0500!!  And I slept well, only one bathroom call during the night for me, there were no trips downstairs to let the dogs out.  Sometimes that doesn't happen.  Lily's the one who will sit by the bed and quietly let me know "it's pee time."  That usually happens about an hour and a half after I've turned out the lights.
My GoPro arrives today.  Most like the deliver will occur this morning.  Originally scheduled for between 0800 and 1230, UPS change the time to "by the end of the day."  I just looked, my new toy is listed as being "out for delivery" and it's a little after 0600.
Before I left work yesterday, I picked up bags of moss and perlite to use for wintering my dahlias.  I live in the 5B temperature zone:  winter temps can drop to -5 - 0 (F).  That's cold enough to kill them.  This means storing them in a box in a cool, dry place until early next spring when they will once again be planted outside.  I also picked up a bag of allium bulbs.  Supposedly there are 30 of them in the bag.  More spring and summer flowers!

And, isn't this whistleblower crisis interesting.  The problem for the Republicans is that they desperately want to hurt Uncle Joe.  They see him as the biggest threat to the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  In fact, can't you just hear that scumbag shrieking "dirt!  I need dirt!"  Yeah, that sounds like him.  Just as we can all see him holding up a $250 million aid package in order to get the new Ukrainian president to give him the dirt he so desperately wants.  How Republican.  No ethics, no values, phony to the very end.  His approval rating never gets above the mid 40 percentile. his disapproval rating meanders from the high 50's to the low 60's.  The only thing a majority of American's give him any credit for is the economy... which is teetering.  Since he has nothing to really show for his first 3 years in office, his only alternative is to dig up the dirt, the same thing he, himself is mired in up to his head.  He's terrified of losing the election.  He's terrified of looking at jail time, not only for him, but for Ivanka Danka, and Donnie the Dorkhead jr.  Eric?  He's just going to pop into his jester outfit and try and earn so coins in Central Park.

Putin's Pants

Welcome to my Friday.  Confused?  That's fine, I don't mind.  Sometimes a little confusion leads to insight, you know?  When the clouds clear?  And you have one of them Holy Shit Moments?
I pulled out my Garmin Fenix 3 and popped it on the charger last evening.  My Suunto Spartan's been acting weird recording my heart rate, not that there 's anything wrong with my heart.  My sitting heart rate is usually in the mid-fifties (thank you cycling), that reading is fine.  However, once I begin cycling that number drops for about  2 - 3 minutes into the mid-40's, and so I'm wondering just how accurate are the readings I'm getting.  The Fenix 3 is an older model now, they're up to Fenix 6 which does so much more...  In other words, the temptation is beginning to grow.
And my, isn't this whistleblower thing spiraling out of control for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Did you like the bit about the Idiot Jerk saying the emphasis should be on Biden and his ties to the Ukraine during his time as Vice President... remember this is coming from the Moral Degenerate who's desperately trying to get in Putin's Pants.  What this really does is illustrate how he and his spawn run their businesses.  Corruption is his middle name.  What his base totally fails to understand is that after his ass is locked up and jail, all eyes are going to turn towards them.  Judgement is coming.
My GoPro Hero6 Silver will be arriving tomorrow.  The app is already set up on my phone.  This is what it's supposed to do:

Of course, I don't know if I'm ever going to jump out of a plane, but then I'm not like the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Given the chance to land in Putin's Pants, his only question would be:  With or without a parachute?

In the Ukraine

It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting here writing this and eating my breakfast.  For those interested, my breakfast is always the same thing:  oatmeal.  Not plain and simple, mind you.  I include a tablespoon each of:  almonds, walnuts, unsalted sunflower seeds, dried cherries, and chunky peanut butter.  What can I say?  Basically it's fruit and nuts.  This is me.
Oh, and coffee.  I make a pot of 6 cups which ends up being 3 large mugs.  There are those who can only drink decaffeinated... I feel so sorry for them.  They get jittery.  I remember a long time ago, when my sister was around 12, my Mom let her drink coffee... on occasion.  This is because my sister, rather then get jittery, would end up dusting everything in the house... without being told.  I can also remember a time when drinking coffee in the evening guaranteed a few sleepless hours.  Those days are gone.  Now I can drink a pot and go right to bed with my only concern being how many times I'd need to get up to pee.
I see where there a whistle-blower issue with the Idiot Jerk.  No one knows exactly what the scumbag did, though allegations are beginning to surface.  Something to do with the Ukrainian Prime Minister and a politically motivated request for dirt.  Oh, and Rudy Giuliani, who's substrata of intelligence is evidently shifting again was the contact person.  You'd think the Idiot Jerk would know that Rudy's little gray cells are all flippy-floppy.  Of course, we also have to remember the Idiot Jerk loves his liars.
Am I like the only one who's noticed that the Phony Humans, the Republican Party, no longer sing their praises of Family Values?  It's kind of difficult with the Moral Degenerate in the White House.  They will get worse, you know?  They have that craven need for power.  Shut them up and shut them down.  That's the only way.
Now, if you'll excuse, I've got 180 pounds of dogs needing to be taken for a walk.

Wickedly

When I got up this morning the temp was 49 (F).  Time to break out the sweat pants & shirts!  While I do truly love wearing just shorts and T-shirts, I do have to admit to also loving my sweats.  There's nothing like bundling up in them when the air is crisp against the skin.
I completed the return cycle of my fault Go-Pro yesterday after work by dropping it off at my nearest UPS Store.  The credit has been issued.  That will help wash out the charge for the Go-Pro 7 Silver which, as I type, is on it's way from Louisville, Kentucky.  I find the idea amusing that a small camera used for the making of mini-action videos should be shipped from the same state as slow moving Moscow Mitch.  As time goes on we will learn more and more the only thing he and his wife were speedy at was in the padding of their bank accounts.  How Republican of him.
In the UK, their Supreme Court is going to decided if Boris lied to the Queen... Well, of course he did.  Do you think he cares?  Of course not.  This whole Brexit thing is about power and the ability to wield it.  As in the US, the Brits have a block of voters who don't want to be part of anything.  Nope.  They need to be in charge.  Over there they call them Brexiteers.  Here in the US we call them Republicans.  They're a loudly vocal group who constantly aspire to be powerful.  Their favorite pronoun is "my."  Their favorite command is "shut up!  we're in charge!"  I may be mistaken, but I do believe it was the Idiot Reagan who labeled them the "silent majority."  Well, true to form, he had it wrong.  They are the "loud minority," and that grates wickedly their last nerve... the minority bit.
And I have to apologize, there are no magic pictures today, but I will give you a bit of an update on The Body in the Well.  Almost 46,000 words have been written, and this is just the first draft.  There are some really funny parts, and some very suspenseful parts, and some are very dramatic.  And, of course, there are the snaky parts.  Three of them to be precise.  You know, 3 is a special number in universal as well as religious thought: wholeness, completeness, and perfection?  While I have no idea what will be going through your average reader's mind when they hit the final snaky part, I would not be surprised if the first two words out of their mouth are "Holy Shit!"  That is the reaction I got from Cori, my cover artist, when I told here what was going to happen.  Of course, I laughed wickedly.

Magic

Well, here it is Thursday and my ass is running late.  Why you ask?
Well, I got home yesterday and my GoPro was waiting for me.  I unpacked it, put in the sim card and battery, and turned it on.  It beeped several times.  I could see the top of my desk on the view screen... and then it turned off.  I looked at the instructions and one of the most prominent things on Page 1 was 'charge the battery.'  So I plugged in the charger.  Fully charged, I tried turning on the camera.  Nothing happened.  I thought, maybe I was wrong and it wasn't fully charged, so I plugged it in again.  And then I turned it on.  It worked well.  And I thought it still needed to be charged a little more.  Wrong.  There's a problem.  It only works when it's plugged in.  The minute I take it off the charger the camera turns off.  Shit.
I contacted Amazon this morning.  Turns out I purchased the camera from a 3rd party vendor, not GoPro.  There's nothing wrong with that... I've bought quite a number of things through 3rd parties.  But sometimes 3rd parties don't always sell you precisely what they advertise, or, if you remember my desk delivery issues, try to provide services on the cheap.  I have no problem dealing with these vendors.  I was given the option to return the camera.  So, this afternoon on my way home from work, I'm stopping by the UPS store.
Funny thing though, I had bought a Hero 5 Black GoPro, which is one of their older models.  This morning, go to the GoPro website, I saw they had a Hero 7 Silver, their newest model for only $20 more than what I had originally paid.  It's ordered and should be here in about 2 days.  The credit for my refund will just about cover the charge.  This is what I should have done in the first place.
In political news:  I saw where Baby's calling for a Unity Coalition government in Israel.  The powerful liberals want that too, but you can bet once it's formed Baby's going to find himself sitting in the room down the hall when ever they meet.  And soon, his corruption trial is going to begin.
And I know people don't understand that when I sit down and write magic happens.  But now I have proof.  Yesterday, as I was sitting in the living room with the morning sun shining in through the front door, I could see it.  I took a pictures.  Now you can see the magic, too.

Erased

Tuesday, I get to go back to work.  The Go-Pro arrives today as well.  I checked the tracking, something I always do when I purchase things online.  I have to admit I'm a little excited.  What a shame I didn't have this a few years ago, back when the arthritis had paralyzed my right leg.  Then you could have seen cute little videos of me falling down the stairs, or off the back porch.  How cherish it would be to have one of me tottering through my Giant supermarket with my brother yelling in the background "hold on to the cart!  don't let go of the cart!"
I see where Baby Netanyahu's political career is dangling by a thread.  It is Baby, isn't it?  I mean, he is like the Israeli version of the Idiot Jerk in the White House so that would make sense.  I was trying to think back, wondering if there was ever a time when he wasn't corrupt.
Cokie Roberts passed away.  She was always such a bright spot on the Sunday morning news shows, intelligent with a dry sense of humor.  Give her the due she deserves.
And what about Elizabeth Warren?  Holy Crap!  Can we talk about rally's here?  Over 20,000 thousand strong.  In case you didn't know, that's almost as many people who showed up for the Idiot Jerk's inauguration!

Pictures like the one above must give him the burning runs... severely.  I'm surprised he didn't run around shrieking "fake news! fake news!  photoshopped pictures!"  Can you even begin to imagine what will happen if she wins the election?  They always have a meeting, you know?  The outgoing president sits down with the incoming president.  I wouldn't be surprised if he skips it.  The idea of being beaten down by a woman would be too great a blow to his ego.  Because you know she'd look him in the eye and say "everything you've done is going to be erased.  America is going to expunge you from the record books.  We are going to treat you and your party worse than you treated Obama."  And then, of course, she'd smile and say, "don't worry though, we're getting you a supersized orange coverall."

The Dental Appointment

Late entry today because of a Dental Appointment.  Scheduled at 0700.  My front four lower teeth had a new layer of enamel applied.  Enamel wears away over time.  This is an aging issue.  I was out by 0722 and in the chair for maybe... 12 minutes of that time.  My co-pay was $120.  Had my insurance not covered a large portion, my charge would have been $696.  This is one of the many things wrong with America, not immigrants trying to come here for a better life.  I can guarantee you there are no illegal immigrants working in my Dentist's office.  To partially compensate myself, I kept one of their pens.  As you can see, they are very nice pens.

And I didn't really take it since I am paying for it after all.
I saw where the Idiot Jerk was in New Mexico in an attempt to sell himself to Hispanic voters.  That's a lie. His immigration policies prove this.  Judging from the few pics I saw, his audience was overwhelmingly white.  They were his targets, not Hispanics.
I rode 13.5 miles yesterday, and there were hills.  I was in the beautiful, rolling hills of Oberschwaben-Kempten, Germany.  I rode for over an hour... and it was fun.  I find I do better on mileage challenges rather then frequency challenges, riding so many days a week.
On the recommendation of a friend, I ordered a Go-Pro.  He said "you can film so many things."  He's right, of course.  It arrives tomorrow.  Not one of the expensive models, it's an older one, a Go-Pro5.  There are so many things I will be able to show you HaHaHaHa (evil laugh). 

Now, ain't that the icing on the cake?

Well, it's Monday.  This is my 2nd day off in a row.  I'm living the dream!!!
Yesterday I had to go to the store to buy some wood filler.  I'm painting trim and there were two small holes that needed filling.  While there, I told HR to take my name out of consideration for the COS position.  You see, if I were to get that position I would never, ever again have a three day weekend.  When I'm at work I walk quite a bit, 11 to 12 thousand steps a day going up and down aisles talking to customers.  The position I had applied for is a sitting position.  I have some serious arthritis in my lower back so sitting 8 hours a day is probably not the best for me.  Oh, and it would also be a lateral move for me... no pay increase. 
Gas prices are going to go up!  Saudi Arabia suffered a drone attack.  A couple of interesting points about that.  Even though the Houthis are jumping up and down, claiming responsibility, the Idiot Jerk's administration wants to blame Iran.  Even though we export millions of barrels a year, we import most of our oil from Saudi Arabia.  This is how the GOP wants to make America Great.  Their creed is 'Tis better to make money then to take care of your own.'
You'd think they'd understand higher prices at the pump are going to hurt the Idiot Jerk's approval rating.  Higher gas prices are going to have a detrimental effect on the economy.  That is not a good thing when when you consider the Idiot Jerk's handling of the economy is the only thing that gives his approval rating any kind of boost.  But that's changing as more and more people realize the only thing the Idiot Jerk is good at is blowing smoke up your ass.  Of course, Republicans have been doing that for years... and years... and years.  Think of them as vaping with their rectums.
And speaking of supporters, we had one on Saturday in the flooring department.  A middle-aged white man who loudly said he 'loved the Idiot Jerk.'  He went on to say that ICE had raided the place where "I get my cakes.  I couldn't buy cakes for a while, but now everything back the way it was."...  ... Believe me, I had no idea what this moron was talking about.  I even took the time to Google it.  Cakes... Immigration... illegal aliens.  The only thing I could find was a 2010 raid on a San Diego bakery.  As far as Central Pennsylvania, there was a raid in 2018, but that was at pizza shops in Lebanon and Palmyra, and those individuals were arrested for expired visas.  I know ICE had a big raid down in Mississippi.  Does anyone know if that included a Twinkie factory?  Or maybe Little Debbies?  Personally, I do believe someone's been blowing some rather decorated smoke up this guy's ass... and he likes.

Weighing in on things

Oh my gosh!  It's Sunday!  and I'm off.  That's right, I'm not scheduled.  This is the first of 3 days in a row!  It's like a mini-vacation, you know?  And just think, I already have a load of laundry in the washer!
I went to see "It, Chapter 2) last evening.  It's good.  However, I have to say I thought the first part was better. The first film was based solely on the 'Losers' as children.  Chapter 2 is more consistent with the way the novel was written:  the children's story and the adult's story are intertwined.  In Chapter 2 both stories are juxtaposed against each other with each adult having a flashback to one specific childhood memory which creates lapses in the tension.  And then there is the Ending.  King tends to have a problem with his endings.  They don't always achieve the climax you are expecting.  A good screenwriter can fix this.  With that being said, Chapter 2's ending is vastly improved over the book, especially when you consider what they were working with.  Acting wise?  The cast does a very good job, though Bill Hader is definitely the standout performance.  His line "oh, there he is" made me laugh loudly.

A couple days back Sixpence blogged about supplements, how there seems to be a lot of erectile dysfunction out there.  I'm not a big believer in supplements since for the most parts there's not a lot of credible evidence on their reliability.  I do, however take two, and not because of any type of dysfunction, rather my reasoning is protein based.  Usually I will drink an 8 oz concoction of whey about fifteen minutes before I ride the bike.  Supposedly the extra protein in my blood will help make the ride easier... I don't really know if it does or not.  Whey is a fast acting protein which goes through your system fast.  For all I know, a healthy bowl of oatmeal might do the same thing... except that would hang around in your stomach for a bit, and that's something I don't want.  Any whey (haha) these are the two that I take:

The one on the right, Legion, is expensive but is said to come from grass fed Irish cows... the ones they have in Ireland...  ....  Don't really know about that.  At some time in the future I will most likely settle on one brand, which I'm thinking is going to be the "Gold Standard."  Over all that one has the best ratings.

War Paint

Well, today is my Friday.  There you have it.  My days will be eternally screwed up.  Everybody else thinks it's Saturday.  I wonder what day it is on Ceti Alpha V...  Does anybody out there know?
I interviewed for the COS position yesterday.  Il y a un petit probleme.  The position does not get consecutive days off.  Shit.  Right now they're looking at Sunday and either Wednesday or Thursday.  You know me and my desire to have consecutive days off.  I told them I would have no problem working Sunday if I could get Wednesday and Thursday off... as a weekend.  Believe me, this is a no-fly zone if they don't agree.
Lily's booboo paw is gone.  Yesterday she was as bouncy as ever.  This has happened from time to time with all of my dogs.  They remind me of small children who turn a minor pain into a major medical situation.  Like so many things in life, the booboo paw will pass.
I'm probably going to drop out of that cycling challenge.  Not because it is excruciatingly difficult, it isn't.  Looking back on my cycling record, four days per week of cycling is my norm.  I get really good cardio with that.  My leg muscles continue to gain strength.  Time gets in the way of 5 days per week.  Usually 1 - 2 days per week I end up staying late at work.  That throws my schedule off.  Sometimes I actually have to come home and... well, do stuff other than cycling.  Household chores, you know?  I've no problem getting in 4 days... but 5 seems really illusive.  As long as I'm getting over 200 miles a month in, I'm happy.
So, the dust from the last debate has just about settled.  Evidently, they're saying Teflon Joe is still the number one seed.  The growing consensus is that the dust-up will be between he and Warren.  Just think about it.  This woman the Idiot Jerk in the White House has denigrated might be the one leading the Democrats and Independents on the War Path.  I don't care if you like her or not.  I have just one thing to say:  Put on your War Paint!!

Ghostly

I guess it's Friday....  Life with a retail schedule is always confusing.

Lilly had a booboo paw yesterday.  She didn't want to put any pressure on her left paw... at first. This morning there seems to be little problem, but yesterday she was in 'needful sympathy' mode. 

This morning I get to interview for that COS position.  I guess I have a good chance at getting it.  Having been in management, I'd say the decision has already been made as to who they're going to move (since for me it wouldn't be a promotion).  If it's not me... well, that's fine.

There was a debate last evening.  I didn't watch any of it.  However, I guess the ratings are beginning to ratchet up.  People are beginning to pay attention.  They waited until the field began shrinking.    They let the process 'winnow the chafe' so to speak.  Evidently Julian Castro was aggressive...  He doesn't understand.  Most of the comments I saw were about the top three.  Did Steyer show up?  If he did, I wonder what he felt like knowing he's at the bottom of the barrel.

And evidently the Idiot Jerk had a rally in Baltimore... I suspect more lies leaked from that shitty mouth of his.  I know he made some sort of comment about Warren... this is to be expected.  He is going to ramp up his attacks as the number of candidates get smaller.  What we need to see, is those no longer in the race slowly begin to unify behind the remaining candidates... oh, and they need to start speaking out about the Idiot Jerk.  He doesn't do well with criticism.  That's right.  They need to begin to criticize. 

And, I've continued doing research while writing The Body in the Well.  Colorado and California lead the nations when it comes to ghost towns.  Did you know that Colorado alone has over 250?  And some of these towns were not small.  One boasted 18 saloons and 2 dance halls.  I find that amazing.  Here's a vid on Colorado ghost towns.  A bit of a disclaimer: this guys Top 10 don't exactly correlate with other Top 10 lists.  In fact there are quite a few which are better known than these 10.

Crazier than Hell

It's Thursday.  Yippee Skipee!  We had a little rain last night with our thunder and lighting... but just a little.  They're forecasting possible thunderstorms until this evening with a real heavy emphasis on the word 'possible.'  These 'possible' storms will keep the temps from hitting the 80's (F) today, but not tomorrow.  I am quite ready for 'cool.'  Yesterday, on the ride home from work, the temp was sitting at a muggy 96 (F).  In my opinion, we should have left those temps behind by now.
Microsoft did an update last evening.  Well, shit.  Normally I have several Windows open, flicking back and forth between them to make comparisons, copy URL's, download pic.  This morning, when I right clicked on the Chrome icon and clicked on 'New Window' I got an error message:  That item is no longer available.  It might have been moved, renamed, or removed.  Microsoft doesn't want you to used Google, or Chrome, they want you to use Bing. I don't like Bing, which is why I've never used it.  So, I just pinned another Google window to my Task Bar.
I was where Tom Steyer is going to be on the Debate Stage.  Idiot.  We really need Congress to outlaw billionaires in the White House.  For some reason, there is a group of voters out there who see that word... billionaire... and honestly believe the best person we can have in the Oval office is a successful businessman.  Nope.  Look what we have now... an asshole from Hell.  Literally.  I saw some sort of nonsense where some Evangelical Crazy Lady has said the White House has been blessed by the Superior Blood of Jesus....   That's the sort of shit his Crazy Christian base love.  It gets them rolling in the aisles and speaking in tongues.  If these people ever truly get in charge we will have a Civil War.  I have no doubts about that.  You see, they would have no problem in creating a Crazy Christian Police State.
Oh, and I saw where some very intelligent Scottish judges has said that Johnson's proroguing of Parliament was illegal.  Smart guys.  They, as well as many others, realize the only reason Boris decided to pull this shit was to Parliament's hands.  They need to lock his Nationalist ass up, or deport him, or do something to shut him up.  Interestingly enough, documents have been released which show a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for the UK.  Does Boris care if people get hurt.  Nope.  He will never understand the days of the British Empire are over.  The time has come to transition to a United Europe.  A unified bloc of countries has more power than a single nation. 
As for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  He's going to get his ass whipped in 2020.  A fitting end is coming to the Moral Degenerate.

Rejection.

Wednesday... and schedules are due to be updated in the system.  I can't wait to see what mine looks like because it's been kind of crappy here lately.
Temps here are supposed to 92 (F), which is stinky winky hot.  And, of course, some moron at work claimed this was Indian Summer....  Sorry.  Indian Summer does not occur until after the first frost of the year.  Oh, and we don't always get one.  And some years we'll get two.  People just don't understand weather lore.  I don't expect them to.
And, of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House termed his henchie Bolton, who's lucky, if this were North Korea he'd have had his ass fed to the dogs.  The firing was... messy.  You know it's bad when things like this turn into Twitter Affairs.  But then the Idiot Jerk lives for Twitter.  Twitter keeps the spotlight on him.  He needs that.  I found it interesting that, at least from what I heard, two voices kept him from bringing the Taliban to Camp David:  Bolton and Pence.  Now, one of them is gone.  Rejected and ejected by the Idiot Jerk because he just didn't say 'yes' enough.  He'll keep Pence around because he can't afford to alienate his Crazy Christian Base.
I also saw where the North Koreans want to sit down and chat again.  Is another breakfast buffet in the works?  How is this for speculation:  with Bolton out of the picture, the Idiot Jerk can, courtesy Air Force One, fly Kim Dumb Shit to Washington for an "very important morning meeting on the Mall."  Hey, with maybe a stopover in Disneyland so Kim can ride Magic Mountain!  Even though Bolton hated everything that wasn't pure, white, and American, he did wield some control over the Idiot Jerk... now he's gone. Soon to be replace by a 'yes man' extraordinaire.
I began playing Greedfall last night.  This game is from an independent group of game developers named Spiders located in Paris... yeah, that's right, the City of Light.  Right now, if I'm correct, about 22 people are employed by Spiders.  This is amazing when you consider how complicated video games are these days.  Developers like Bethesda employ hundreds of people and have studios all over the United States and Canada.  Because Greedfall is a Role Playing Game, you can have relationships with most of your companions.  So I tried to pick up the first Companion I signed up:  Kurt.  Of course, I got rejected.  He's still suspicious of me.  But, it's a role playing game so that can change.

Political Constipation

It's Tuesday... I get to go back to work after my one day off... for another 5 days.  Of, course, then I do have three off in a row so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.
My neighbors bought a new car.  For years they had a small Jeep SUV, now they own a small Mitsubishi SUV....  I researched Mitsubishi SUV's several times in the past which is why, when I decided to buy I purchased a Subaru.  Their new car has 4 Wheel Drive, mine has All Wheel Drive.  In this part of the country, where we can get a moderate snow depth in winter, All Wheel Drive is better.  He and his wife were excited that now they can drive on the beach when they visit their daughter, who lives in Maryland.  Hhhhmm.
An update on The Body in the Well.  I'm moving in Chapter 18, tentatively titled 'Special Delivery.'  Total word count is 40700 (actually at little higher), and it is now legally considered a novella.
I do have an Instagram account and have been attempting to post more often.  Yesterday I add the cover of The Body in the Tower with the tag line "care for a little murder with your Tour de France?"
There's a special election down in North Carolina today.  The Idiot Jerk campaigned there last evening.  The morally corrupt GOP desperately need to win this.  The Idiot Jerk won there by 12% during his campaign of lies.  And this special election is close... too close to call, which is why the Idiot Jerk was there.  The GOP are scared shitless.  Too close to call in a district the Moral Degenerate swept is their nightmare coming true.  I don't know if the Democrats will win, I'd like them to, but let's be honest, coming within 1% of victory will constipate the GOP for months.
I wasn't going to ride yesterday... but of course I did.  8.5 miles on that ride that's supposed to take me to the Blue Lagoon.  You know, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland?  Anyway, I did that in 30 minutes.  Since I'm in this cycling challenge to ride 5 days a week for 4 weeks, I've decided to focus on my leg strength rather than distance, though I'm still planning on a couple of rides that have some mileage.  I've improved since the last time I rode this route.  Then it took me an hour to do 12 miles.  Hills are good.
As for Boris?  I understand he's just order a case of Dulcolax.

Swifty gets Tooled

Well, it's Monday.  I have the day off.  Plans were in the works to go see "It, Chapter 2" this evening... I've asked for a postponement until next weekend.  I have so much crap to do today.  Blame goes to the split days off.  I hate them.  Catching up, not only on my household chores, but also my 'to do' list, is virtually impossible.
I see where the Idiot Jerk's planned Koffee Klatch with the Taliban crashed and very publicly burned badly.  In case you didn't realize it, this was part of his re-election strategy.  You know?  On 9/11 announce that a 'peace accord' had been reached with the Taliban... the guys who shielded Bin Laden for all those years.  His base, his adoring fan club, would have heralded this enormous breakthrough causing a lot of voters to see him as a 'peacemaker.'  They don't realize it's all done for PR.  They're trying to make this Idiot Jerk look pretty.  They were hoping for another 'North Korean' breakthrough... except that one is rapidly falling apart.  Kim Dumb Junk got exactly what he wanted, acceptance as the legitimate ruler of a ruthless dictatorship.  Remember when the Idiot Jerk said that Kim "had to make some difficult decisions?"  The only thing the Idiot Jerk is any good at is blowing smoke up the asses of his believers.
And this 2nd bit is for Bob.  If he hasn't heard this, it may actually make him squeal with delight.  The rabid fan base of his least favorite pop start Taylor Swift, (Swifty, as he calls her) evidently have burning diarrhea of the mouth.  For those who don't know, she's the one with CGI lyrics who sells millions of $$$ in music to pop fans who love floundering around in the shallow depths of her emotion.  Yeah, you know what I mean... she's the white version of Beyonce.  But then, that's why they're Pop Stars... they go Pop!
Anyway, Taylor released an album called "Lover," (I think that's what it's called) about a week ago and it shrieked to the number one position in the charts.  She loves being in number one.  However, one week later a Rock & Roll group named Tool (don't you just love that name?) released an album called Fear Inoculum.  Holy Shit!  Sales are great!  In fact, they're so great Tool has knocked Taylor's ass out of the number one spot... after only one week.  That's right, she was only number one for one week.  I like Tool.  I have a number of their albums.  Isn't it great when Rock & Roll puts Pop in the shallow end of the pool?  For those who've never heard them, here's the title track of their new album, the one that kicked Swifty into the gutter.

Growers

Can you believe it's Sunday already?  I can.  I work today.  Don't get too close, my excitement is contagious.
Yesterday was a beautiful day.  I accomplished much.  Three loads of laundry.  Groceries were purchased. A trip to Stauffer's of Kissel Hill for 2 new succulents.

They may look small, but you gotta believe me... these guys are growers.

I reorganized my silverware drawer... I have twenty-three forks... I am never going to need that many forks.  The same is true with spoons and knifes.  I have 18 steak knives.  There's no way I'm going to eat that much steak.

I got in a 10 mile ride at place called Lipon Lake in Czech Republic.  It was listed as a 26 mile flat ride...  Well, it is flat... after the 2 mile hill, the one which goes up to an 18% grade, that you reach 4 miles into the ride.

Oh, and then I baked a Swiss cheese, spinach, and mushroom quiche for dinner.

The crust looks a little rough because I used mostly whole wheat flour and olive oil, and I didn't want to spend a lot of time daintifying it.  I knew it wasn't going to grow fat and puffy.  It was only meant to be a shell.  Oh, and I didn't use heavy cream,  Whole milk does the same thing.

Oh, and I saw where NOAA has criticized some meteorologists for illustrating how bad the Idiot Jerk's use of a Sharpie was in his fake weather prediction.  Now we know someone in charge there has their tongue up his ass.

The truth about Trail Ridge Road

So, how am I going to celebrate my Saturday?  My day off?  Well, there's laundry that needs to be done.  I don't know,  but for a single person I seem to wash my duds a lot.
Oh, and I'm going to go to my neighborhood Giant.  Occasionally I will stop in at my neighborhood Weis Market, but not so much now that they too no longer carry the 31.1 pound bags of Beneful.  That's how Purina makes their fiscal plan, give you less product and charge you the same price.
A bike ride is planned.  Yesterday I checked out Trail Ridge Road... it's 20 mile ride... all uphill!  Son of a bitch! My speed was a little over 8 miles an hour... I rode for 40 minutes... do the math.  It's in the Colorado Rockies.  This is what it looks like in the summer.

Oh, and they get snow there...  Here's a pic of Max cycling in the snow.

Of course, it isn't really Max, he's a fictional character, but you get the idea.  Speaking of Max, Louann Pomfrete, proprietress of the Rattler's Den Reptile and Snake Emporium has just told Eli that "sometimes God blesses us with a smart-ass just to prove He has a sense of humor."
Oh, and Bob posted something funny about Anthony Perkins and his views on evolution.  As an Evangelical shit bag, Anthony doesn't believe in evolution.  Nope, in his small mind nothing changes.  He is in deep denial even as the human species is fully demonstrating the evolutionary process.  Dominant genes are asserting themselves in regard to eye and skin color.  Anthony would rather read his Bible than educate himself on genetics because... well, genetics is saying he's not as superior as he desperately wants to believe.  He loves his ignorance.

A prickly affair

I was all set to run around the house this morning shouting "It's Saturday!  It's Saturday!  No work!" but then I realized I was a day early.  That will happen tomorrow.
Ubisoft emailed me my 'key' for Ghost Recon - Breakpoint last evening so I downloaded the game while I slept.  Nice. This is the Open Beta version, which is more of a sales promotional thing rather the closed Beta version in which a select group of players actually try and break the game. I understand that can be a lot of fun.  But, as an open Beta, it shuts down on 9/9 and may not be available to play again until it's official release.  One of the other games I ordered Greedfall, is due to be delivered on Wednesday.
I'm looking for a new cactus.  I've had a Barrel Cactus for 9 years and last Monday, while I was watering my plants... I over watered it.  This was one those... what in hell was I thinking about moments.  The next morning I emptied all the water sitting filling the base... but it was too late.  It's a cactus, after all.  The entire barrel, which was almost 7 inches high, has turned brown and collapsed.

I stuck it outside for a couple of days hoping the heat of the sun might revive the little guy... nothing.  He just keeps collapsing in upon himself.
And I thought it interesting that even Boris Johnson's brother has added his own little knife to those already in Boris' back...  The sad truth is that Boris deserves to be pricked even more.
Oh, and I saw... hold onto your hats... that the Idiot Jerk's spawn is planning on running for the White House in 2024.  This group of breeders is totally out of touch with the real world.  Someone should tell them that Wisconsin, a state with a lot of family owned farms, is leading the country in farm bankruptcies.  And yes, these are some of the people who voted to Make America Great Again.  45 family owned farms filed for bankruptcy last year.  That's not a good thing.  You see, they didn't realized that the cheese the Idiot Jerk prefers most on his Big Macs is processed.  Now, how is that for a burr in their sides?

Climb... Climb

So, it's Thursday.  I get to work today and tomorrow, and then I'm off a day, back on a day, and then off a day.
I'm probably going to go see "It,2" or whatever it's called on Monday.  The film is going to make a lot of money.  The first part was done well, let's hope part 2 is just as good.
I got my stats yesterday from the month of August.  I was so pleased I started showing people.  Now, I get to show you what my cycling was like last month.

Not bad, eh?  As you can see, I'm working on my climbs.  Your legs are the engines of your body.  The best way to strengthen them is to use them.  11% grades are ruthlessly bad.
It looks like that narrow minded conservative Boris Johnson had his boris slapped repeatedly.  He was ignorant as hell to Theresa May, but at least she managed to hang in there for what?  almost 2 years?  I wonder if he's going to cry in public.  I mean, he was down and they kept kicking him.  That's a brutal ego treatment.  He deserves it, of course.  Over the past couple of days we've gotten the sort of high drama Masterpiece Theater used to dole out weekly.
And the numbers of people furious at the Idiot Jerk in the White House are rising.  He and his hateful base simply do not understand that taking $3.6 billion from the military, from projects already approved, in order to build his racist wall does not go over well with... the military, for one.  At least one school is not going to be built in order for him to give his hateful Evangelical Base the wall.  Puerto Rico?  Well, he's always hate Puerto Rico, an island where people have brown skin and speak Spanish. 
Oh, and just wait and see how much aid we send to the Bahamas...  Conservatives see no value in spending their hard earned tax dollars on helping a country so devastated.  It's their greed factor.  This is a mountain they will never climb.

Church and State

Well, here it is Wednesday.  The temps are supposed to go up to 89 (F) here today.  Translation:  I'm still using my Central Air in September.
Today is my anniversary date - I've worked for the worlds largest home improvement retailer for 11 years... now ain't that just ducky?  Another 3 weeks of vacation has been added to my 'available hours.'  While I'd like to schedule it all for next week, I'll end up dribbling it out in drabs.  Make it last, you know?
My latest cycling challenge started on Monday - at least 15 minutes a day for 5 days a week, for 4 weeks.  I should have no problem with it.
Boris got some bad news yesterday.  You see, he's trying to emulate the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  He likes to make brash statements totally ignoring their lack of veracity.  I do honestly believe he wants a 'no deal Brexit.'  He's a lot like Conservatives in the US who believe Trickle Down economics works... well, it does if your rich as hell.
And Conservatives in North Carolina had their asses racked over the coals thanks to their corrupt gerrymandering yesterday.  The Supreme Court didn't want to touch that slimey ball of shit, so the state took care of it, the Pennsylvania took care of it: declared it unconstitutional.  They need to redraw their dirty little map which allowed their Republican legislators to basically choose those areas giving them the most votes.  There was absolutely nothing 'fair' about the current map.  As a result, there is now a good possibility North Carolina will go true Blue.
Dorian is inching towards Florida.  And then he's going to slowly turn bring his destruction north.  I feel sorry for those people.  He's going to be catastrophic to their lives and to the American economy.  So many of the products those people are going to need to rebuild come from... China.  This is how it goes when you have a Moral Degenerate in the White House crapping on the Constitution when it comes to a separation of Church and State.

In Summation

Well, it's Tuesday and I get to go back to work.  This little stint is going to be 4 days long.  I'm off on Saturday.  It's Kid's Workshop.  I've been requesting off the first Saturday of every month so I don't have to deal with the 300 + kiddies and their pounding little hammers.
I'm interested to see how prices have gone up.  They started increasing about 3 weeks ago.  One thing to keep in mind about a lot of products, they may say "made in the USA," but means assembled.  The parts come from all over the world.  Cars are a good example.  Toyota, and Nissan, and Honda, and Ford, and General Motors all have assembly lines in the US but the parts are almost entirely imported.
And for those who think the Idiot Jerk in the White House is driving the "Israel is the greatest country in the world" train, surprise!  He isn't.  It's the Evangelicals.  It's the prophecy, you know?  That all Jews will go home... to Israel.  Unfortunately, that's not happening.  In fact, the only ones going back are the Evangelicals.  Tourism is up.  And the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to give that voting block everything their black little hearts desire.
Speaking of Evangelicals, my brother and his kids are heading down to Topsail, North Carolina in a week and a half.  Two years ago they went down and their cat died.  Last year Hurricane Florence went through and their vacation was delayed for a month... and when they did go, our Mom died.  And now, of course, there's Dorian... slowly inching his way towards Florida.  There's a good possibility he may pick up strength in warm waters between the Bahamas and the US mainland.  This may be interesting.
Finally, in a little over 2 months The Outer Worlds gets released.  The anticipation for this game is very high.  I'm really stoked for the action!  the adventure!  and the sick humor!  This last trailer sums it up quite nicely.  Enjoy.

Scrumptious

Here it is... Monday, not really Labor Day since that holiday used to always fall on the first Tuesday of September... does anybody remember that?  For about half of the American workforce, it doesn't make a difference since their positions are service related.  I'm one of that group.  While some of you are working 32 hours and getting paid for 40, I'm working 40 and getting paid for 48.  Holiday pay, you know?  I'll bank the extra cash... that's what I usually do.
One of the things I did while lazing around this morning was watch the UCI Mens Downhill Mountain Bike Races from up near Quebec.  They cover about 3.25 miles in a little over 5 minutes riding through places like Le Bois Sans Nom and through boulders and at one stage over a 15 foot cliff.  These guys are nuts.  I didn't watch the women's race, but I can tell you they're just as crazy.
I was down in York, PA yesterday visiting my friend Betsy.  We had lunch at one restaurant but had desert the Lyndon Diner.  It's owned by Greeks and they make their own pastries.  Simply delicious.  I had a scrumptious pastry with an even more scrumptious cheesy filling doused with some sort of liqueur. 

As we were eating, I said to her that most Conservatives considered Greeks a minority group simply because of their dark complexion.  That's odd if you think about it, since they gave us Democracy.  We also talked about how Conservatives keep talking about bringing jobs back to the USA without understanding prices would have a drastic increase for that to happen.  They balk at a $15 an hour minimum wage, hell, people are going to want way more than that if you expect them to start putting iphones together in this country.
I guess Dorian has dropped down to a category 4 but has also slowed down.  He's trying to decide where to go next.  Maybe he's waiting for the warm waters to build up his strength. 
Well, it's time for me to get my ass in gear.  I've got to hit my neighborhood Giant so I have fruit for my lunch next week.

Truth

Here it is Sunday and I have the day off.  I was going to sleep... dogs, however don't understand days off.  Nature calls, usually at the same time every morning.  I decided to make good use of my time.  The 2nd load of laundry is in the washer.  My cycling shorts, and shirts, and socks have been gently washed and hung up to air dry.  That's the best way to handle their delicacy.  There are a few more chores on my agenda before I head down to York around 10 AM.
Instead of a direct hit on Mar Lago, it looks as though Dorian is going to slowly tear his way up the eastern seaboard.  I suspect destruction will abound.  And if I remember correctly, the Idiot Jerk in the White House has decided to pull $150 million from FEMA to help build his racist wall.  You do know, don't you, that the government is going will need to borrow more $$$ to cover disaster relief?
More of the Idiot Jerk's tariffs are kicking in today.  I understand there's no grace period, meaning that if the products have shipped they will be immune from price increases.  Nope.  Last night at midnight prices began climbing upwards.  I don't know how much flooring is going up, I do know that for the past three weeks we've received quite a number of pallets of vinyl planking.  Be prepared to say "oh... shit!"
And there was another mass shooting down in Texas yesterday.  Five dead, and 21 injured.  In Texas.  I do believe that state now has the most liberal gun laws in the country.  Be prepared, like the prices, the numbers are going to be increasing.  2nd amendment people actually believe that in situations like the one that happened yesterday, these incidents happen too fast even the most skilled person to think "gee, I should pull out my gun and fire back."  Especially when the shooter is driving around in a vehicle targeting random people.  They don't even have enough time to think "oh... shit."  They don't understand that bullets are moving at a speed of 1400 - 1500 feet per second.  That's faster than the blink of an eye.
"The Body in the Well" is moving along quite nicely.  I'm approaching the halfway point in the first draft.  I'm already thinking about how I'll vary the beginning, since it's one of the most important chapters.  "The Body in the Tower" began with a celebration of cycling.  "The Body in the Lawn" had that ominous first word paragraph, Darkness.  "The Body in the Well"  also begins with a one word paragraph which is totally dependent upon what you believe, what you've taken to heart as being certifiable.

Truth.