The Wheels of Justice

 Well, it's Monday morning, it's 17 (F) outside, and I have to work  in the paint department on what had originally been scheduled as a day off.   Being part-time is nice, however, if I hadn't been a paint manager for 4 years they would never have asked me to work.

My air-fryer arrived yesterday.  So far, it's been through the test run, nothing has been cooked yet.  There's a preset for shrimp, that will probably never be used, I like my shrimp steamed with port wine and Old Bay seasoning.  Using port makes it easy to flambé  the little suckers.  Very tasty, let me tell you.

I had thought I'd drive down to That Fish Place to pick up some plants for the aquarium this afternoon, now that's not going to happen.  Maybe tomorrow morning.

And, since The Body in Repose is with my first reader / editor, I've begun to doodle around.  Here are the characters for The Body Under Ice.  The victim is pretty obvious, but which one of them is the killer is anybody's guess.   Well, that's not quite right.  I know who kills Charlie Beechum.

As for The Body in Repose, I asked how the reading was going... in fact, I had to ask twice, and received this 2 word response.  Really good.

Oh, and the Orange Anus gave a speech down in Texas during which he talked about his pending lawsuits.  Well, he didn't really talk about them, just asked his followers for there to be protests if he was 'illegally' charged.  Big Protests, like the one from January 6.  Basically, he just threatened the prosecutors.  This is the sort of thing you'd expect from a criminal, wannabe dictator who feels the wheels of justice are coming to roll over his ugly orange ass.  This man doesn't care how many might die to save his ego.  Remember, in his mind, nothing demonstrates loyalty more than sacrifice.

The Surprising Truth

 Well, hello to a quiet Sunday morning.  The temps here in Central PA are a chilly 13 (F), for all of you Celsius people, that is really cold.

I did order an air fryer using my Amazon points so the cost was mere pennies.  It should be arriving sometime this afternoon, hopefully before I go to work.  Yep, I do have to work today.  A full 4 hours.  Sunday afternoons are usually slow, so I don't care.  And... surprise, surprise, I'm working tomorrow, but only because the asked politely.  And I'm going to be in Paint because one of the paint associates is out with Covid, or at least her husband has it, she was still waiting for her test to come back.  She had the single shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine and that was about 6 months ago, so everybody is waiting to see how things turn out.

While I'm cautiously waiting on an opinion from my first editor on The Body in Repose, I've begun taking notes on The Body Under Ice.  The dogs had to go out last night around 0100.  Since I couldn't get back to sleep right away, I grabbed the tablet by my bed.  Now I have a list of things I need to verify, such as is there such a thing as the Great Lakes Oceanographic Institute? (Just checked, there isn't).  I've already checked to see if there bicycle races on ice (there are), which is a plus, because my 2 guys love to ride bicycles.

And here's a funny thing, in a recent poll (supposedly) 83%  of Republicans said they would not vote for a Republican candidate who said Biden won the election.  This means they will only vote for an individual who reinforces The Big Lie.  Of course, we all know the reliability of polls is... questionable.  Honestly, I have difficulty believing there are that many stupid people in America.  But then again, every day over 2000 unvaxed Americans, mostly Republicans, die of Covid so that poll may be more accurate than I think.

Vote By Mail

 So, here it is, Saturday.  For us, here in Central PA, the cyclone bomb was a bust, barely a dusting, though we do have wind the the temperatures have dropped.  Today's high is expected to be around 23 (F).  That's cold.

I am sitting in my new desk chair as I write this.  Clipping my nails.  I'm just about finished, all I need now is to soften the edges with an emery board.  You know what I'm talking about, those cardboard nail files.  Interesting note, I need to keep them up on a shelf.  If Biggie gets a hold of one, he'll eat it.  What can I say.  He will also eat paper towels and tissues, given the chance.

Here's a pic of the new chair, manufactured by Steelcase.  Tres comfy.  Interesting point:  one of the reviewers gave it 2 stars claiming it was difficult to assemble.  That person must not be very mechanically inclined.  The chair was pretty much assembled upon arrival.  Nothing had to be bolted or screwed together.  It took all of... maybe, 2 minutes.

For those who didn't hear, a court struck down Pennsylvania's mail-in voting yesterday.  It's a Republican judge, in case you hadn't guessed, and the suit against the law was pursued by Republicans For the Big Lie.  As you might expect, the Orange Anus cheered.  The ruling says the state constitution needs to be amended to provide for mail-in voting which will never happen because Republicans have a majority in the state legislature.  Honestly, I've never seen such a level of stupidity.  You see, if you're in the military and stationed anywhere else in the world, you can no longer vote by mail.  That's right.  You need to use leave time and fly home to Pennsylvania just to vote on election day.  Of course, by the same token, if you're a Republican living in The Villages who also maintains a house up here in Pennsylvania, you can no longer vote twice... because that is the only voter fraud they've discovered.  Oh, and in case you are wondering, appeals are underway.

Snow White

 Well, it's Friday, I don't work today.  That's nice.  Snow was falling when I got up.  We're not getting much, a dusting to maybe 3 inches... maybe.  Most of the storm is moving up the coast.  New England will get hit, we'll end up with a light brushing.

Looking out my bathroom window, I did see a bunny on the hill behind my my house.  Here he / she is, pretty much in the center of the picture.  As I've mentioned before, I live in bunny Hell.  If you can see one, you know  2 = 3 others nearby.  The top of the hill is my property, but since there's no path, I let nature run it's course.  About twelve years ago the family in the house behind my tried to make it part of their lawn, hence the remnants of a sandbox.  They, however, moved moved and the current residents have no interest in it.  

This is a quiet day for me.  I'm not working on a book, though I may take a few notes on the next one.  I'll probably work on my German, play a game.  I might do both a walk and a ride.  The time has come to begin burning the calories.  I've spent too much time sitting behind my desk nibbling away in between the turning of a phrase.  

I've read that an air fryer is better than a microwave, any opinions?  

Politically speaking, small towns in the heart of Crazy, Cracker Jack, White Christendom are people's rights, and not just LGBTQ rights.  Jewish rights, POC rights. These conservatives have such a desperate need to dictate and control they see everyone who is not white and Cracker Jack Crazy as the enemy.

And, of course, there's Peter Dinklage shit about the live action version of Sleeping Beauty.  His stating he movie is about "seven dwarves living in a cave" proves he's never seen the movie, other wise he'd know they live in a home.  He must have hated The Lord of the Rings, because there were  lot of dwarves in that epic. and they actually did live in caves.  When I think of Snow White, I think of seven short people taking in a homeless girl, and then trying to protect her from her evil stepmother.  Personally, I think Dinklage has a little chip on his shoulder.

Dirty

 Yikes, I am scheduled to work today starting at 0930.  That's really early for me.  Even when I was working full time, I was never at the store earlier than 1030.  The only good thing about such an early schedule is that I get to leave early, at 1500.  You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be punching out precisely... well, maybe a little earlier.

The Body in Repose was dropped off at my first editor last evening.  When I began, I had 3 friends who read and advised since my editing skills are not the best.  This was evident in my first 2 books.  Now, I have 4 very good people who are not afraid to criticize.  I may not always listen to their advice, but mostly I do, and the quality of my writing has improved and I thank them for that.  For them, the fun is just beginning.

Here's another song whose lyrics appears in The Body in Repose.  Could they be used in an Alternative Dancercise Class? (evil laugh).  Come on... let's get our hands Dirty.

And let's give a hearty round of applause to Steve Breyer, who has announced his retirement from the Supreme Court.  One thing I didn't know, his replacement can be chosen before his actual retirement date, so even though his last day on the Court will not be until this fall, the process is starting now.  Biden has promised a black woman, wouldn't that be super?  I do doubt very much if Clarence Thomas will like that, having someone black who, unlike him, is not desperately trying to prove that she's white.

Old Nancy

 Well, I'm up early and it's a cool 15 (F) outside.  For you Celsius people, that's -9.44.  When it's this cold, I wait by the door when the dogs go out to do their business, rather than let them wait on the back porch.

And I am up early, the crack of dawn is still a few hours away.  And it isn't because my new chair is arriving today.  Nope.  I'm in the final pages, of the final draft, of The Body in Repose.  In a rather literal way, I'm having a baby without all the mess.  Instead of the birth canal, there is my printer.  Size wise, this one is slightly larger than average, right now a bit over 80,000 words.  And really what I'm waiting for is my readers and editors to give it the once over.  Will it be a yeah, or a nay?  One thing I have noticed is that my two wine drinking protagonists, Eli and Max, tend to imbibe more the closer they get to reaching the denouement.  

In other bits and pieces, I did bake blueberry muffins yesterday, from scratch.  And in case you're wondering, they are tasty as hell.  Believe me, it's all of the brown sugar and butter.

Oh, and I saw that Nancy Pelosi is going to run for re-election.  Now, don't get me wrong, but Nancy is old.  Old Congressmen, like Republicans, rarely compromise.  Old Congressmen are in love with the power their time in office lets them wield.  And, while I like Nancy, she is old.  She needs to step aside and let a little new blood take the reins.  If Nancy really wants to make a difference at her age, she needs to retire to The Villages and raise a lot of havoc with all of the old, conservative Republicans living there.

Bomb This

 Guten Morgen.  That's right, I'm working on my German again.  Every day.  This is my 2nd attempt, so I'm interested in seeing how I'm going to fare.  

I did order a new desk chair.  I couldn't get the pipe clamps to fit tightly to keep the seat from deflating, and deflating is the correct word.  Looking back at the reviews of this chair, this issue appears to become quite common as it gets older.  For what I initially paid, I did think it would last longer than 3 years.

So, what's in store for today?  Possibly and load or two of laundry.  Maybe some blueberry muffins.  Now, doesn't that sound tasty?  Freshly baked, and with more than a smidgen of butter, on a cold wintery day?

And, of course, later a ride on the bike.  Tacx has popped in a number of new rides.  Nothing with too many hills, though, Max Sullivan is the only one I know who has legs of steel for climbing and he's fictional.  Will there be a demonstration of his prowess in The Body in Repose?  Hhhhmmm, that's possible, even in the French Quarter.

And I saw that a cyclonic bomb is suppose to roar up the eastern seaboard later this week or this weekend.  Here in Central PA we're going to miss out on the snow.

Here's an interesting little stat:  currently in the US around 2300 people are dying of Covid everyday, the vast majority being unvaccinated.  This means that by the time the election arrives in November, the Republican party will have lost about 490,000 votes, give or take a few thousand.  Hey!  More power to them!

And what about DeSantis in Florida?  All these new laws he pushing for?  He desperately wants to make himself a dictator governor.  There are quite a number of aging Republicans living in The Villages, enough voters to swing the vote.  He's appealing to them, to their need to look at those around them and say "shut up!  we're in charge!"  He's gambling that, come election time, there are still enough of them left alive to still swing the vote.  He is going to go down in history as the worst governor the state has ever had.  

The Thanksgiving Fight Club

Well, a happy Monday to each and everyone of you.  I get to work today.  Wow!  Now isn't that exciting? For a full six hours.  Those hours don't get me a lunch break, so around 1500 I'll take my standard break.  That's right.  I get breaks.  15 minutes at a shot.  In a 6 hour shift, I get 2 breaks.  Usually, I only take one twenty minute break. That's enough time to eat something and check through my emails.

I went down to York yesterday to have lunch with a friend.  Lots of fun.  We stopped by the Petco so I could look at what they had in stock for live plants.  disappointment reigned.  I'll probably end up driving down to That Fish Place, which is also now called That Pet Place.

Shortly after I post this, I'm going to see if I can fix my chair.  How nice if it works!  There's nothing like saving yourself a couple hundred dollar expense.

It's never too early to start thinking of the lyrics I'll be using for my next book.  Right now it's looking a lot like it'll be called The Body Under Ice, however, that's always subject to change.  Almost immediately this song popped into my head, you know, the land of the ice and snow.  Of course, it all depends upon what strikes my fancy when I start writing.  The Body on the Beach, about fossil hunters in Montana, made a big geographical shift to Colorado and became The Body in the Well.  This means upstate Michigan in the winter may end up shifting to Amsterdam in the winter, and I might end up calling the book Hans Brinker and his Murderous Silver Skates.

So, did everybody get a jolly laugh from Loser #45's whine that the January 6 committee is going after children?  I'm sure 40 year old Ivanka Danka's old man taught her quite well how to wield the knife in order to stab as deeply into the back as possible.  Children?  That's a laugh.  He has spawn.  Oh, and than there was the bit about Michael Cohen revealing Trump's dictum, 'if any of my kids go to jail, make sure it's Donny Jr, not Ivanka.'  Nice, eh?  I'm betting Thanksgivings for this family are a lot like Fight Club.

 

Donny Has a Bad Week

 Another slow Sunday has arrived.  I don't have to work today, so I'm going to lunch with some friends, and then it's a stop at my neighborhood Giant supermarket.  I put gas in my car.  $40 worth of gas.  I think that's way too much even if it is less than what they pay in the EU.  Of course, Big Oil spits out the same excuse over and over again... supplies are down.  That could be.  The true reason gas is so expensive is American Capitalism.  Big Oil does need their 5% growth every year.  They don't care if it screws you over.  They don't know you from Adam.  All they do know is that they need to keep their investors happy.  And Americans will piss and moan, and look for someone other than Big Oil to blame.

I watched "Encanto" last evening.  Very nice.  I saw the trailer multiple times and had no idea it was a musical.  I also watched several episodes of "The Book of Boba Fett."  That's good, too.  It was rated TV14, which means the violence might be a little too intense for the kiddies.  Honestly, the show isn't meant for kiddies at all, but you know there are stupid parents out there who will permit the 4 and 5 year old kids to watch the show because nothing says stupid like a parent using the TV as a baby sitter.

And of course, we all know that Donny had a bad week.  I truly wish that could be an understatement, but it isn't, mostly because I suspect there are many more bad weeks yet to come.  Thanks to the Supreme Court Mitch McConnell packed, information that had been sitting stagnant is now flowing.  The January 6 committee now knows so much.  People are beginning to anticipate.  They're wondering if Ginni Thomas' ass is going to get thrown on the Barbie to roast, if Ivanka Danka's going to to stab daddy'o in the back to save her own stinky ass, if Giuliani is going to have a jail cell named in his honor, to name just a few.  And the New York Attorney General is humiliating his constantly, dousing his lies with facts and setting them afire.  I liked the bit about his apartment in Trump Tower that went from 30,000 square feet for tax purposes, down to 10,000 actual square feet.  Wow, I can smell the smoke and see the cinders from here.

For All of Us

 Well, here it is, Saturday and I'm in a work-a-day, off-a-day cycle until Tuesday, at which point I will be off for 2 days..  The temps are cold outside.  Enola was a cool and nippy 8 (F), and the temps are only predicted to climb another 20 degrees.  Down south they're experiencing the chilly, willy joy of winter.  They needn't worry.  In a few months their temps are going to be blazing hot again.

Rather than right out purchase a new desk chair, I Googled my problem, the seat doesn't stay up.  Wow!  There's a quick fix using a pipe clamp!  I have one of those!  Unfortunately it's too small.  Now, isn't it a good thing I get to go to work today?  I can pick one up before I leave.  I would rather spend $1.79 rather than $300, and if it doesn't work... well, I didn't really lose anything in trying to correct the problem.

There was this really interesting article in the NYT about exercise.  Which is better?  Getting all sweaty in the morning, or later in the day?  Well, it depends.  Morning exercise appears to be better if you want to lose pounds or kilograms, afternoon seems to help with health issues.  The example they give is Type 2 Diabetes.  Working out in the afternoon seems to help your pancreas manufacture insulin.  Me, I'd rather lose the pounds, so I'll keep doing what I'm doing, riding my Cannondale Synapse

And, of course, Mitch McConnell stepped in shit when he attempted to classified African American voters as different than American voters.  The fact that he used the words African American rather than black illustrates just how out he is.  Now he's saying he forgot the word 'all.'  Sorry, Mitch.  Listen to his entire statement.  He forgot nothing.

Rewrite This

Slept in again this morning , and not because I stayed up late.  When the alarm clock went off this morning, I simply turned it off and rolled over.  This is getting to be a bad habit, I think.  Perhaps I'm going through the winter doldrums. 

The temps might warm up into the mid-30's next week.  This winter is colder than the last two.  The snow and ice are non-relenting.  The roads and sidewalks are clear, but crunchy, crusty, icy snow covers everything else.

My upstairs desk chair broke.  The seat no longer stays at the height I want, sinking as low as it can go within in few minutes after I sit down.  It's a gaming chair and a lot of gamers like sitting low to the ground, I don't.  That's one of the reasons I drive an SUV, so my ass isn't riding a foot above the road.  This means the search will soon begin for a new desk chair.

The Body in Repose is over half complete. The rewrite is going in fast. This is what it looks like, in case any of you are wondering.  So, how important do you think the sentence, 'Bobby sat back in his chair and popped the top of another Anchor Beer,' is to the story?  Hhhmmm

I saw where Ivanka Danka has been asked to testify before the January 6 committee.  I'm wondering how much dirt they have on her that they can afford to 'ask.'  Will she comply and turn the screws on her father?  Well, let's be honest, she's a Trump so the only ass she's worried about is her own.

Finally, there's a lot of buzzy buzz going around that Clarence (my skin's only dark because of the bad lighting) Thomas was the only judge to vote against releasing Trump's communications from January 6 because his wife Ginni's name is going to figure prominently.  For those who don't know, Ginni (my lighting is so much better than Clarence's) is an Evangelical  Conservative Activist.  One of the things I find interesting about the couple is that even though they've been married since 1987, they have no naturally born children, nor have they adopted any children, unlike Amy Coney Boney Barrett.

Formalities

 Well, it's raining.  The forecast called for sloppy, wet snow and we got rain.  After today the temps drop.  We're getting another one of those Arctic Blasts.  Oh, and we're not even a month into winter, so there's no need for you to check your calendar.  This year, winter seems to be moving much slower than usual.  Of course, as I get older, maybe I'm not finding winter as much fun as when I was younger.

My aunt's viewing / funeral are today.  I've chosen skip it because of the reception line.  Now some may think this sounds silly, but I really hate waiting in lines and this line is going to be long.  My aunt had 4 children, so they, and their spouses, are going to be lined up just past the casket.  There are also 11 grandchildren and they, and their spouses, will be lined up just past their parents.  After that there will be a cluster great grandchildren who number 17.  Inevitably one or more of them will say, "why is it we only see each other at funerals?"  Well, because our worlds very rarely interact.  If you live 5 miles away, and the only time you see these people is at the end of someone's life, you might want to re-evaluate your relationships.  Their side of the family is very formal: an open casket viewing, a funeral, and graveside services (the rain has turned to snow) followed by a private luncheon for the family.  There will be navy blue suits and expensive dresses purchased for the occasion.  hhhmp.   I asked to my brother, "why couldn't they just do a nice memorial service when the weather is nicer?"  See, I'd go to something like that.

Yesterday, Joe Manchin, a 74 year old white man from Conservative West Virginia who's thinking of his re-election campaign, and Krysten Sinema, a 45 year old white woman who said compromise is better than changing the filibuster, voted with the Republican minority, a group who had already changed the filibuster rules to stack the Supreme Court, to not change the filibuster rules.  These two need to be fired.  They are both too self-serving to be efficient.

On a brighter note, the Supreme Court gave Loser #45 bad news, Executive Privilege does not cover the documentation of January 6.  That dumb shit Trump doesn't understand this court, which he stacked to save his ass, will throw him to the wolves in their attempt to prove to America they have not been politicized.  In the end both will lose.

Crush This

 So, this is hump day for some of you.  Wednesday is always one of my days off, meaning this will never, ever again be a hump day for me.  I'm okay with that.

Tomorrow is my aunt's funeral.  There's a viewing at 1000 I had planned on attending but...  There is Omicron.  One of our associates died from Covid last week and quite a number are out sick.  Should I or shouldn't I?  I don't mind going into work because the store is huge.  Tomorrow, however, will be in a funeral parlor where the ceilings are not high, and there will be a long line of people waiting to give my four cousins condolences.  And since my aunt was elderly, mostly there will be a lot of old people there, old Republicans, to be precise.  As I type, I'm rapidly talking myself out of attending.

And yesterday Microsoft dropped some big news!  They're buying Activision / Blizzard for $67.8 billion and paying in Cash.  Now, I know some will shrug this off with a "I have no interesting in gaming," however this is bigger than gaming.  This involves the Metaverse: AI, Cloud Services, Virtual Services, as well as gaming.  This company owns one of the most popular mobile games in the world.  People waste their lunch time at the store playing this game, and I'm sure everybody out there knows its name:  Candy Crush.  By the way, I hate this mindless, little game.

Finally, yesterday court papers were filed by the New York AG claiming there was 'significant' evidence that Ivanka Danka and Donny Jr lied about their property, inflating and then deflating values to either get a better loan or to pay less taxes, thereby defrauding banks, and investors, and the Federal Government.  Why doesn't this surprise me?  This is what we should expect from a crime family.  

Will there be Conflict?

Tuesdays are usually garbage days, except on holidays, or except when we have Mondays like yesterday with ice and snow.  Since those big trucks didn't go around yesterday, they make their Monday rounds on Tuesday.  Garbage day for me will be tomorrow.  Good.  I've a lot to put out.

I did drive over to my local Giant supermarket after shoveling and scraping my way out yesterday to buy myself an ice cream reward for all of my hard work.  No, the dogs didn't get any.  They didn't help shovel.  In fact, while Lily was outside for a bit, Seig was sleeping soundly on the sofa.  In case you didn't know, dogs sleep about 18 hours a day.

And yes, I did eat the whole thing

My aunt's viewing / funeral is Thursday morning.  I'll stop in to say to my cousins, but then leave.  I'm not a big funeral person.  They rarely celebrate the person's life, rather their intentions aim more to wring out a few tears and to propound upon an afterlife.  I don't think people even remotely understand how long an eternity truly is.

And I saw this in Al Jazeera yesterday, yes, I do find other viewpoints interesting.  Civil War in the United States.  I do believe many Conservatives have not problem with the idea of this country going to war with itself.   Let's be honest here, they are not intelligent.  I like the part where the author calls them 'hillbillies.'  Honestly, these people, the Cawthorns, and the Marjorie Taylor Greens, and the Boeberts,  have no concept of history, they believe themselves to be special, to be chosen.  These same thoughts prevailed in the Conservative south prior to The Civil War.  Many actually believed the 'war' was going to be over in a few, short weeks.  It wasn't.  What they thought was going to be an easy peasy victory turned out to be a long, bloody conflict.  In the end, they got their asses beat.  And the Republicans today?  Clueless as Hell.  The only way to peaceably remove them from power is to vote them out, otherwise conflict is possible.  Either way they're going to lose.

Ice age

 Well, we had snow, and ice, and rain.  The current temp is 36 (F), however that's going to be about as high as the thermometer gets today.  Shortly, the temps are going to be on an icy, downhill slide.  This being the case, I did call the store and tell them I was taking a personal day today.  Shoveling will be a pain, since beneath the heavy inch of slushy snow there is ice, which needs to be chipped.

My aunt Crystal died Saturday evening.  Viewing and services are going to be held on Thursday.  I remember her as being loud and gregarious.  At 37 years of age, my tonsils were surgically removed because of yearly bouts of tonsillitis.  My aunt worked on one of the anesthesiology teams at the hospital.  One of the things I will always remember is coming out of the anesthesia and hearing her say, "David, it's your Aunt Crystal, do you want me to give you morphine?"  I left my sister a voicemail suggesting she and I go to the viewing and skip the service.  

I understand Trump verbally went after DeSantis because, well, Florida's only big enough for one authoritarian ego.  Sometimes there nothing better to watch than an authoritarian party becoming partisan with it's own rank and file.  I guess the big question is "who's going to throw the first sucker punch?"  You can bet your bottom dollar one of them is on the way.

Little Boners and Whimpering Lies

 The Weekend will end tonight!  At midnight!  That was for all of you who weren't sure because there is this storm moving up the east coast.  Well, not exactly, and only kind of bring snow and freezing rain up into Central PA.  States to the south are going to get hit and some of them don't do well with snow and ice.  Right now our forecasters are saying we might get between 1 and 3 inches of mixed precipitation.  I told you that's what we were going to end up getting.  Just when will we get this snowy, icy, freezing rain Slurpee?  Well, they're not even sure on that, so let's just say the slop should start falling between 1300 and 1800.

On the interesting side of things, while I was poring over maps of Mackinac Island, I discovered a small islet to the the northeast called Edison Island.  The small environmental research station run by the Navy was shut down several years ago leaving nature to slowly reclaim the buildings.  Personally, I think this makes for a really great setting for The Body Under Ice.

Oh, and in case you didn't hear, Novak Djokovic lost his bid to stay in Australia.  😁  Boy, I'll bet he's pouting like hell.  Back when I was in the Navy, we were always being told that when you're in a foreign country, you follow their rules.  Rather than do that, Djokovic lied, for a while he almost got away with it, but then he compounded his insult to Australia by telling people he tested positive for Covid and chose not to quarantine.  He went places because he's a famous tennis player. Now he's going home.

And will Putin invade the Ukraine?  Of course.  He has this little boner which is telling him to take Russia back to the time of the Czars.  Like a lot of little boners, his will screw him over.  There will end up being a bloody insurgency, and shortly after that starts, Kazakhstan's going to begin biting his ass again.  With insurgencies raging on both ends of the country, the Russian people are going to start stomping their feet shouting "Putey baby, put your little boner back in your pants," but by then it will be too late for him.

And, finally, the biggest loser in America, the greatest liar to make an appearance of the soon the soon to be defunct OANN (Cracker Jack Crazy Cable News Network), Donald Trump was in Arizona yesterday.  That's right, he held a rally for The Big Lie and a lot of crazies were in attendance.  Since this loser can't do anything else but lie, he... well, lied.  Surprisingly, he didn't get a lot of press coverage because, well, his lies are old.  He, and his party, are rapidly becoming a broken record.  This is how the the Republican Party dies, not with a bang, but with whimpering lie.

Counterfeit Election Results

 Well, it's Saturday.  Two days before the big storm, or maybe semi-big, snow possibly turning to freezing rain storm.  We'll just have to wait, won't we?  My question is whether I should buy a bottle of wine on my way home from work this evening just in case.  While a lot of people have Monday, the 17th off as a paid holiday, I don't.  Calling off is not going to cost me any holiday pay... and that would give me another 3 day weekend.

I got another 13.86 mile ride in yesterday - the Ilger Front, in Belgium.  Fun stuff.  I felt it in my legs a bit, but not much.  Today I'm going to get in a walk before I go to work.  In case anyone is wondering, I'm still using the heating pads from time to time.  They keep my lumbar spine loosie goosie and flexible.

I checked in with my cover artist yesterday, she and her husband both have Covid.  She's doing fine, however, her husband was acting like a 'contrary old man.'  Translation: she can't wait to get out of the freaking house, even if it means going back to work.  That's understandable.  

People keep complaining about how the January 6 committee doesn't seem to be doing anything, and what they are doing appears to be happening very slowly.  The face they show to the public tells us nothing about what's happening behind the scenes.  The sudden arrest of 11 Oath Keepers is significant and came out of nowhere.  Then, for those of you who missed it, they revealed that 5 states sent counterfeit election results to Congress, election results claiming the Orange Anus had won the state.  All were signed by Republican election officials.  They were rejected, of course, but the National Archives is releasing them to interested citizens.  This means every one is going to get the chance to see these lying signatures.  Here's the signature page sent in by Pennsylvania Republicans.

Speaking of the Orange Anus, he's speaking today in Arizona, a state where the Republican election committee has certified Biden as president.  This is also the state where Cyber Ninja was paid to find out the Orange Anus actually lost.  I'm sure the January 6 committee is going to be playing close attention to those who show up.

Finally, I see Conservatives are going after Brett Kavanaugh for his decision on vaccines and mask mandates for health care workers.  It's taking Brett a long time to realize these Conservatives believe they've bought and paid for his entire soul.

State's Witness?

 Hello Friday!  I'm almost always happy on Friday.  I'm unavailable to work any Fridays, so this will always be one of my days off.  I am scheduled to work tomorrow, and Sunday, and Monday, but... there's a snowstorm expected to roll into town sometime late Sunday afternoon.  People at work were pissing and moaning about it yesterday, not that we're supposed to get snow, rather they were all 'het' up because 'total accumulations' were changing.  We were 4 days out and they wanted to know how much snow we were going to be getting.  Damn!

My cover artist and her husband have Covid, just sent her a text to check in on them.  At work, we now have 3 people on their 2nd go round because getting it once doesn't mean your done.   Sly little virus, ain't it?  One of the associates who was in the ICU came back yesterday, quite a few pounds lighter and no longer on oxygen.  He was one of those who kept claiming it was no worse than the flu.

I took this pic of the dogs on their sofa (operative words being 'their sofa') last evening while I was working on the rewrite.  You can see the ugly shade I bought to keep direct sunlight from hitting the aquarium.  Biggie had a bit of a fall on the kitchen floor a little earlier.  In case you didn't know, bounding big dogs don't bounce, their feet slide out from under them.  Even though he was fine, he still felt he needed to be medicated with a few biscuits.

As you all know, the Supreme Court shot down the vaccine / mask mandate yesterday.  No one should have been surprised.  The Conservatives got their way.  I have no problem with that,  On a good day about 1200 unvaxed conservative voters die from Covid, on a bad day for them even more die.  This doesn't mean you can get out your party hats and noisemakers, but make sure you know where they are.

Oh, and eleven Oath Keepers were arrested for sedition yesterday.  One of those taken into custody was Stewart Rhodes, their big gonzo.  Against his lawyer's advice, he had been talking to the January 6 committee.  Some sort of plea deal wouldn't surprise me.  I just wondering how many will agree to turn state's witness and offer to testify against sitting members of congress.

Was it McConnell or Trump?

 Holy Moly, guacamole!  I have to work today!  In the words of one of my intrepid sleuths... Shit.

Yesterday I received a text from a fellow associate informing me that we lost an associate to Covid.  An older man who was vaccinated, he had underlying health issues.  I know the anti-vaxxers are going to point to as an example of how vaccines don't work.  They will keep believing their lies until they, too, are welcomed home by Covid.  One of them had a serious bout with the virus about 4 months ago, meaning his natural immunity has just about run it's course.  I don't doubt that in another 3 months he'll get sick again, we've had 3 associates so far who have gotten it twice.

I rode over 14 miles yesterday on the bike.  It took me a while, my legs are a bit out of shape, but it felt good.  I was pleased... except for the fact that it took so long for my workout to upload.  By long time, I mean over 2 hours.  I don't know what the problem was, but let me tell you, I was starting to get froufrou frantic thinking there might be a problem with the old laptop I use... it is old, and slow.

Helpful Household Hint:  if your honey starts to sugar in the jar, pop that baby in the microwave for a few seconds.  If the bottle does this, you had it in for too long.

I know a lot of foolish Evangelicals believe God sent Trump to give them a conservative Supreme Court in order to overturn Roe v Wade.  In case you didn't know it, they are desperately blind.  Trump gave them nothing, it was Mitch McConnell who put the last 3 Cracker Jack Crazies on the Court... and it took him how many years?  Five?  Obama was president when he (McConnell) started this process.  Wow!  And he (McConnell) had to adjust the filibuster rules to give them their 3 judges.  To hear Republicans talk today, changing those rules is the same as cheating.  Well, (as Eli Zinneman-Myers would say) Shit! I find it odd that the Deity they claim created the Universe (go look at it some night, it's really, really big) in 6 days, took 5 years and needed to cheat in order to give Evangelicals what they want.  Of course... they could be wrong.

Toast

 So, it's another chilly day outside, meaning the temperature is sitting at a cool 18 (F).  Things are supposed to warm up, though.  By this afternoon we're supposed to be in either the high 30's or the low 40's.  I'd prefer the latter since I have to clean up al those little frozen gifts the dogs have left for me in the yard.  Right now every poop, big or little, is frozen to the ground.

I don't really have a lot planned for today: a ride on the bike, working on the rewrite.  I've been spending a lot of time on the latter.  Changes always happen at this stage.  One thing that is constant is the word count increases.  Sentences, and even paragraphs, get added to the story in order to clarify certain points.  In the next chapter L'Oof Porte, an upscale restaurant in the Garden District, will be getting a face lift.

Bread was baked yesterday, here's a picture since John wanted to see it.  And what did I do with that bread?  Well, for dinner I made French Toast.  So, here's the bread.

And here's the toast.

It was scrumptious but had way too many calories.

And Trump called out 'gutless' politicians who are too cowardly to tell people they've gotten a booster.  So, who's he gunning for?  DeSantis?  Rand Paul?  He said this on OAN, a Cracker Jack Crazy Conservative outlet.  He also said that the vaccines have saved tens of millions of lives.  That horrific sucking noise you're hearing?  That's the sound of Republicans being forced to pull their heads out of their asses.  Wow, I'll bet that hurts!

Piss Off

 I just checked the temps!  We're a cold 17 (F) here in Enola.  The heat is running and, not surprisingly, the dogs are still in bed.  And they're wearing fur coats, too.  Tomorrow, temps are supposed to reach 40 (F).  That's fine.  We are in winter, though the previous 2 were relatively warm.  

The aquarium is still a work in progress.  The fish are swimming around the new decorations.  Many of the live plants are gone because of the algae problem, it grew every where.  Oh, and it isn't really algae, it's cyanobacteria which is... a bacteria.  There are several reasons cyano can flourish in a tank, my problem is direct sunlight.  I have a lot of it during the day.  My house has a southern exposure with large windows.  To help alleviate the problem, a light filtering shade has been installed on the large dining room / writing room window.  This helps.  A blackout shade would be better, but I don't want to turn the room into a cave.  And, rather than use erythromycin (that's right, an antibiotic) I've chosen to used a product which slightly elevates the PH of the water to keep the bacteria from growing.  So far, that seems to be working fine.  Next up will be the addition of live plants which will eat up some of the nutrients the cyano feeds on.  If things work out well, there should be pictures in a few weeks.

I'm going to bake bread today.  Italian.  Delicious.

Remember when Mike Pence tried to pray away the Covid?  Well, that didn't work, did it?  

Well, some Cracker Jack Crazy is now advocating urine therapy to fight the disease.  He wants you to start swigging your own pee to fight the disease.  Well, you know what they say, desperate times call for desperate measure.  Personally, I think this is just his way of legitimizing 'water sports' in order to make Trump's golden shower video more acceptable to the MAGA brain.

As for Mike Pence, I understand he's being told he should cooperate with the January 6 Committee since his certification of Biden's victory pissed all over his political ambitions.  Honestly, though, I don't know if he understands that it's better to be pissed off than pissed on.

 

Award Season

Hello Monday!

For those who are wondering, I did go to work yesterday.  The roads were dry and the temps increased to a balmy 74 (F) when I punched out around 7 PM.  Three customers showed up about 10 minutes before I left wanting blinds cut.  I let my associate cut them because mentally I had already punched out for the day.  This is what happens to our minds when we know we have 3 days off in a row.

As I said, when I left the temps were nearly above freezing, however the wind picked up and they plummeted.  Today our high is supposed to hit a chilly 29 (F), and tonight?  We're dropping down into the teens.  

I am going to have to hit my neighborhood Giant supermarket today... or tomorrow.

There was an article in the NYT about Hollywood and Award Season.  November and December are the two months during which the heavy hitting dramas are released, those the studios are hoping will take home awards.  The Operative Word here is drama.  This year, dramas faired horrifically at the box office and Hollywood is in a tizzy because... well, they've always turned their collective noses up at anything that wasn't a drama.  What did people brave the theaters for this year?  Science Fiction, Adventure, Super Heroes.  You would have thought some smarty pants studio exec would have realized that during a pandemic most people don't want to exchange the drama of life for the fictional drama of a movie.  Now there are a boatload of soul wrenching dramas waiting to be nominated that no one has an intention of seeing.  Ouch.  Maybe now they'll put that drama stick out of their but and begin to award films that people enjoy, rather than films that pet their dramatic ego.

And, speaking of little films, here's a little cutie I put together on the spur of the moment.  Enjoy.

I see where people are upset because Jim Jordan's running for a third term. He said, way back when, that he was only going to run for 2 terms in Congress.  Now, because he's decided to run for a 3rd term, people are calling him a liar. Hell, he's always been a liar.  Didn't they know that?

 

The difference between Covid and the Flu

 And so we begin Sunday, the quiet day.  Almost as if knowing this is a day of rest for some religions, Mother Nature has bestowed upon Central Pennsylvania freezing rain.  Forecasts predict up to a quarter of an inch.  This is her way of saying "stay at home, don't go anywhere."  Will people listen?  Many will, but there is always that group of dummies who will get in their cars and drive to MacDonald's for breakfast.  These people with unfettered brains will be the death of themselves, and possibly others as well.

I'm scheduled to work from 3 PM to 7 PM, if I look out the window and there's a glaze on the sidewalk, I'll probably take some personal time.  "Better safe than sorry," I say.

I took this pic of the dogs yesterday.  Doesn't it look like they've just finished reprimanding me?  Of course, all I have to do is say "biscuit" and it's smiles all around.

And, of course, there was a large Twitter storm yesterday concerning Neil Gorsuch's verbal faux pas.  People were outraged that while questioning OSHA's interpretation of Biden's mask mandate he said "hundreds of thousands of people die every year from the flu."  At least that, or something very similar, is what the transcript listed as his statement.  However, the transcript interpreted him incorrectly.  The transcript missed a comma.  He actually said, if you listen to the recording, "hundreds, thousands of people die every year from the flu," and OSHA doesn't regulate that.  Personally, his actual comment is far more damning since he's comparing well over 800,000 deaths to "hundreds, thousands."  This is the type of thinking we have come to expect from Cracker Jack Crazy Conservatives.  

Dumbells

Well, here it is, Saturday... again.  I do have to go in to work today, for 6 hours.  Hopefully they will be fine.  This is the time of year when business does a dive... at least on most years.  Last year business was... busy.  Same as the year before.  I don't know where people are getting the money, but they don't seem to mind spending it.  Perhaps most of them are just content to go deeper and deeper into debt.  That is not such a good plan.  Believe me, the sooner you are debt free, the better life will be.

Rather than 3 miles a day, I've been walking 2 on the treadmill, well, to be more accurate, I usually walk for 45 minutes.  I was under the belief that my Garmin Fenix Pro 6 tracking distance through footsteps, so steps were wracking up every time my feet hit the moving belt.  Nope.  That's not the case.  Evidently the swinging of your arm as you walk is what is used for that calculation.  This means gripping the HRM on the front bar to check your heart rate causes you to lose steps.  Not swinging your arms forcefully enough, will cause you to lose steps.  Son of a bitch!

And, for those cold winter days when the temperatures are below freezing and you don't want to bundle up to go to the gym, might I recommend The Fit Gent.  He does all of his workouts with just bands and dumbbells, and by dumbbells I mean the ones you hold in your hand, not the ones you work with.

One of the things I find truly amazing about Republicans is that they really don't think.  They jump to conclusions as though they were concrete facts, rather than a proven conclusion.  Take the 74 million voters who checked Trump rather than Biden on their ballot.  In their feeble minds, those 74 million are locked in and guaranteed to vote Republican.  That terrible miscalculation is one dumbbells can not stop themselves from making, to think otherwise would mean they might be wrong.  Conservatives are never wrong, and they will lie through their teeth to convince you of that fact.  This is why they need to be relegated to some obscure political position where they will have absolutely no access to change what normal people expect in their daily lives.  And, since they will never learn, our only choice is to vote them into the history books as a greasy foot note.  Vote Blue.   Vote Blue.   Vote Blue.

 

The Big Lie... again, and again

 Well, it's Friday, a none work day for me.  That's right.  I am unavailable to be scheduled on Fridays.  The same is true for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  At some point, I will add another day in order to have four days off per week. 

Being off today is a good thing since we had snow last night.  Not much, around 4 inches, meaning I'll have to do some shoveling later.  And later, since I have the ingredients, I'll make some chicken soup, they say it's good for the soul.  I don't really think that's true, but it is tasty.

Wasn't that a great speech by Biden yesterday?  I was working, so I didn't get the chance to see it in its entirety.  It did piss off a lot of Republicans.  Just as many confederates never got over losing the Civil War, they will never come to terms with Trumps defeat.  Their policies, their beliefs, all were rejected by over 7 million Americans.  And what did Trump do?  Spit out the only thing Republicans can believe in: The Big Lie.  Of course, politicized Evangelicals have believe it, to do otherwise might indicate that God doesn't have Trump's back, and if that were the case... welll... oh.... shit!  Their desperation might have caused them to make a really big mistake.

And I understand Ted Cruz was on Tucker Carlson last evening.  Evidently Carlson dropped his drawers and turned around in order for Cruz to obligingly kiss his ass.  One comment I saw hit the nail of truth right on the head:  Cruz is more concerned about Carlson's opinion then he is the opinions of his constituents.  Cruz doesn't understand the minute he flew to Cancun last year, he wrote his own ticket out of Congress and no amount of kissing Carlson's ass is going to save him.

Mid-Terms are coming up.  Vote Blue to save America.

Anniversary Day

 Hello, Thursday.  

Lily's eye is improving.  Her nictitating membrane is only covering the inner corner of her eye, and depending upon what she's looking at will disappear completely.  The swelling has also started to go down.   This is a good thing since she is not a 'vet friendly' dog, not that she's mean, though she's very picky about who is around me.  She loves my friend Justin, but will bark at my neighbor until he leaves.  Right now, she and Biggie are sleeping in on the bed.

I did bake spice cookies yesterday, though I didn't quite follow the recipe.  They're supposed to be small, around an inch in diameter.  I like my cookies large, so mine are almost 4 times the size.  Believe me, they are tasty!

And, of course, today is the anniversary of the Republican's attempt to overthrow Democracy.  We should have expected their attempted coup.  They've been becoming more desperate ever since Reagan's re-election.  They went through their T-Party stage, where they felt they alone could define Democracy.  With Obama, they became the obstructionists known as the Do Nothing Party, refusing to compromise.  At that point, we should have realized how much they desperately wanted an Authoritarian Government they, themselves could run.  Then, because too many Democrats stayed home thinking Hillary had it in the bag, they pulled off an Electoral College win that put a wannabe dictator in the White House.  He obligingly gave them everything they'd ever dreamt of, except a 2nd term.  And they were angry.  They were going to steal back the election.  Not only did they fail, their failure was televised around the world.  We have only just begun to put them down.  Keeping them out of office is our job.  Vote blue.  Be a true American and vote them into obscurity.

Track this

Well, here it is Wednesday and so far no mid-week crisis.  

There was a bit of concern yesterday with Lily's right eye.  When she woke up her nictitating membrane didn't retract completely.  Crap.  Of course, I jumped on my computer and the first thing that popped up was 'cherry eye.'  However, that usually crops up during the puppy stage, 8-9 months.  In dogs her age, the issue is usually caused by a problem with a gland under her eye, and... yep, she has some swelling below her eye.  I suspect she has a bit of an infection in there since it's not as bad today as it was yesterday.  Right now she's under observation since there are long stretches where the membrane is completely retracted.

I've a busy day planned for today.  Lots of chores to do.  A list has even been made.  We shall see what gets accomplished.  

I was walked 2 miles on the treadmill yesterday and... there was a bit of a problem with my Fenix 6 Pro.  It wasn't tracking correctly.  My distance is logged into the app so after a walk is finished, I can see things like pacing, how many times my feet hit the treadmill.  At 3.2 mph there were obvious gaps where my steps slowed down.  You don't slow down when the belt you're walking on is speeding along a 3.2 miles an hour.  Slowing down, leads to falling.  That didn't happen, in fact my pace was right on.  I've been recording these discrepancies for some time, and will soon contact Garmin.  I'm sure they'll have an excuse.  Large tech companies always do.

I've tried setting it back to factory defaults

And I guess everybody has seen that the spawn of Satan, Trump, has cancelled his little hate fest for tomorrow.  From what I understand there was a lot of horror ratcheting through the Republican part over what he might say.  They know 72% of the American people view the events of January 6, 2021 as an attack on Democracy... and are not happy.  At the same time, they also know they need the votes of those 28% who loyally believe their evil master.  I'm betting the party made another deal with the devil in order to shut him up.  This is how evil works.  Remember, for him it's all about 'the art of the deal.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/well/bone-joint-surgery.html

The Expanse, and other things

 What can I say about yesterday besides work was slow.  I did have an elderly woman come in to buy carpet, she had purchased carpet and an install from us 9 years ago.  She was a little upset that we no longer carried that style anymore.  In fact, there were a number of things she had issues with including cost.  In 2013 she paid $1.33 a square foot, even back then that was fairly inexpensive carpet, and she was, again, looking at inexpensive carpets.  Since I can see the notes made by the specialists 9 years ago, I knew she had registered complaints about many things in order to drive down the cost.  Not wanting to have to deal with a repeat of these issues, I simply signed out sample boards, deciding I'd let someone else sell her the measure she needed for the install.

Last evening I watched the first 4 episodes of The Expanse.  This is the series last season and will only have 6 episodes.  As such, I was expecting them to be longer, which was not the case.  The longest barely topped 50 minutes.  In a few weeks I'll watch the last 2 episodes.  

I received a Christmas card from a friend yesterday.  It's been years.  Since I stopped buying cards years ago.  My sister, however, gave me some nice stationary a long time ago so I'll jot down my 'thank yous' on some nice note paper and send it off.

Today, since I've planned nothing, I'll probably get around to baking those spice cookies.

Also, if the forecasters are correct, Central PA should be getting 3-6 inches of snow on Friday, another one of my days off.

And I don't know if this is true, but I thought I saw that Facebook has also shut down that bottled blond, Q Quack Pot, Marjorie Taylor something or other.  Good.  I'll bet that put her back on her knees in front of her favorite faux deity, The Orange Anus, praying for... well... something.  He's doing some sort of crazy shit on January 6, so I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up there.

Cover This

 For a Sunday, yesterday business was sporadic, hectic in the morning, which I missed, then slowing down to spurts in the afternoon.  People looking for sales.

I was called over to appliances to help and had to give the sad news to some customers that we don't carry our display appliances in stock.  Nope.  People come in believing that if we have it on display we're going to have a couple in the back room.  We don't.  We do have a bunch of crappy Vissani refrigerators, the low end of the Magic Chef line, which is one of the lower end products owned by Whirlpool.  You get what you pay for.  Cheap is not good.

My schedule is odd this week.  I work 4 days, but odd shifts.  I have a 7 hour day today and Thursday, a six hour day on Saturday, but only 4 hours on Sunday - from 3PM to 7PM.  Our scheduler must think irregularity makes for a better constitution.  After this week, I'll have 3 day work weeks for a while.  That's just fine with me.

They're calling for snow flurries this AM - no accumulation.

I did get the cover art for The Body in Repose and... well... shit... will you look at that.  It's painted backwards.

And what about Marjorie Taylor dumb shit having her personal Twitter account shut down?  Surprisingly enough, this is not what happened.  It was not space lasers that did her account in; rather her constant regurgitation of Covid lies was the cause.  The fact that her very lies are killing off Republican party does not even register in her brain.  If it does, she is probably one of those who qualifies it by saying, "those that die are not really going to be effecting our numbers, besides, when we lose we're always going to claim voter fraud."

Teaser

So, I get to work yesterday and for some reason management decided not to bring in food.  Maybe they're getting cheap.  Anyway, for a meal I supped on chicken ramen noodles, and 2 strawberry health bars, oh, and a single serving bag of potato chips from Panera Bread.  Today I'm taking my meal.  Chicken.

Oh, and it rained all day yesterday.  According to the forecast more rain is on the way for today as well.  As long as there are pauses for the dogs to go outside, rain is fine.  Snow is fine, too.  Though if this year is anything like last, we're not going to see much.

And this is Sunday, meaning this is going to be a slow day in blogland.  That being the case, I thought I'd post a couple of videos.  The first was a moment of spontaneity.  Sitting on the dog's sofa, I grabbed my phone did a little bit about the editing process.  You can tell this is an impromptu moment because the dogs are not trying to hog their way into the forefront.  Also, I sound a bit stuffy for some reason or other.  Apologies, for the quality, I copied this from something I posted to Facebook

Also, about a year ago, I had begun taking notes on The Body in Repose.  One day, I was wasting time at the computer watching YouTube videos when I came across a performer named Horus Mozarabe who's a male belly dancer.   The idea of using a 1940's style night club similar to one in either Manhattan or Los Angeles was already in the notes, though this club was going to be set in the present day French Quarter.  Something clicked while I was watching this video.  Grabbing a fluorescent yellow post-it note, I wrote down the name of this night club:  The Amon-Ra.  Here's Horus.

 

Heading in to 2022

Welcome to the New Year.  I hit the sack around 10:15 because last night was just another night in 3 billion year long string of just another nights.  The real power of the New Year should be in looking forward, rather than back.  The past is something you learn from, not live in.

The death of Betty White yesterday put a sorrowful spin on the end of what was already a somber year.

A lot of people make resolutions at the beginning of the new year.  I stopped doing that a long time ago.  Resolutions fail because people want to make the resolution, they don't really want to deal with the changes resolutions bring.

Cori handed over the cover art for The Body in Repose.  I think it's rather spectacular.

Oh, and I do get to work today.  They'll be bringing in food.  Probably barbecue.  It's free, so I'm not going to complain.  Business should be very slow.  We may get some customers looking for sales; American Capitalism says 'no sales today.'

Governor Abbott of Texas has requested aid from the Federal Government.  Health workers, help setting up testing sites, and monoclonal antibodies for treatment.  He's lucky there's a Democrat in the White House.  Were the situations reversed, had it been a Democratic state asking Trump for aid, the response would have been "you're not kissing my ass enough, so fuck you."

And, of course, that other Conservative douchebag governor Ron DeSantis is still on vacation somewhere.  I understand Florida is about to go into unofficial lockdown.  This is how the Republican party in Florida dies.

I saw this on another blog, though I forgot to note down which one.  Whomever posted it first, thank you!  Though I will have to admit searching through Door Dash to see if anyone was selling Gahg.

Hope you all had a Happy New Year.  I know we're all looking forward to the hell we're going to raise in 2022.