Supreme Failure

 Forecasters are saying we're in for another day in the 80s (F) and the skies are still supposed to be hazy with Canadian wild fire smoke.  People with breathing issues might have problems, I'm not one of them.

My lawn did get mowed yesterday.  I talked with the owner of the house next door, again.  He is a rather disreputable individual who seems to think he's shrewd.  He told me the house is going on sale in about 3 weeks and that he's not going through a real estate agent.  He said, "if you know enough people agents aren't necessary, so why should I pay one commission?"  Translation, he's going to try and sell it without having a home inspection done.  This also means someone's going to be buying a house with a lot of problems.  

As far as exercising, yesterday was pretty much of a bust.  I did get in the dumbbell workout, however my Heart Rate Monitor died.  It just stopped communicating with every device it was connected to; nothing could find it.  According to my phone, the last sync had been on 6/27 and at that time the battery was full.  I've had problems with it before, so, after muttering a few obscenities and cutting my ride really short, I ordered a new one.  Free overnight delivery.  It arrive this morning around 0700.

And I uploaded another little video to my YouTube channel on the next book, The Body in Motion.  Here it is for your enjoyment.

As expected, the conservative Supreme Court threw out Affirmative Action for universities and colleges yesterday.  And, as expected, Clarence Thomas, a man who took advantage of Affirmative Action to get where he is, voted against it.  For him, I suspect it was more about revenge than anything.  Purportedly, when he was going to Harvard, thanks to Affirmative Action, he complained to friends that he felt like a 2nd class student, that others thought he was there only because of Affirmative Action, rather then on his qualifications.  He evidently still doesn't realize that his qualifications wouldn't have gotten him a place on the door stoop.  That man is so filled with hatred.

Oh, and the Koch group is raising money to find someone they deem qualified to run against Trump, at least $70 million so far.  They know that if he gets the nomination he will set back conservatism decades.

Without the Lies they are Nothing

 Good Morning!  Hopefully your weather is as good as mine, except for the smoke which has returned.  It's like looking through low level fog.  It doesn't smell like smoke, but you can see it.  Forecasters are predicting the temps to climb into the mid 80s (F) today, which makes it prime lawn mowing weather and believe me, my little front lawn needs it.  All the rain we've been getting as kicked the grass into a high level growing rate.

There's a car parked in front of my neighbor's house, though as far as I know, no one stayed over night.  I was talking with some of my other neighbors yesterday afternoon and we're all in agreement that who ever buys it is going to have to rehab the rehab.  Because of our location, all of us believe the seller's going to get what he's asking.  Unfortunately, the new owner's going to have to put on a new roof... and then there's the bit about the unfinished basement.

I went to see Asteroid City last evening.  Some parts were very funny in a quirky sort of way, others had a lot to be desired.  Part of the problem is that it begins in black and white as a narrator introduces a play and then shifts to color to represent the play.  It switches back and forth between the two and there's no correlation between the two.  The black and white section is disjointed and becomes more of an intrusion into the colored story line.  You'll notice in the trailer, all you see is the color section. 

Evidently Kev McCarthy said some unkind things about the Moral Degenerate and was so severely chastised by the MAGA base that he went groveling back to the Orange Anus asking for forgiveness.  Watching the Republican party devolve is... well, interesting.  It's not that they don't realize that a majority of the country is Centrist, the truth is they just don't care.  During the 2020 election, Trump got 74 million votes and for them that number is now etched in stone.  They believe those voters are guaranteed.  They rely on their own polls to reinforce this belief.  Trump does a townhall in New Hampshire, 200 MAGA cult members show up and Twitter gets flooded with pics showing the small crowd because because the Cult will post deep fakes showing thousands in the room.  It's like the pics they showed of Dodger stadium before the Pride Game.  The stadium was filled to capacity, however the cult posted pics that were taken an hour and a half before the crowd was allowed in, proving that if it weren't for their lies, Republicans would have nothing.

Conservatives have always been Bad Losers

 So, we've reached the middle of the week.  The heat and humidity are moving east.  Forecasters are saying to today's high temp might hit 79 (F), not that the past few days have been torrid, really, it's just been heavily humid.  The central air is on, though it seems to rarely run.  

One of the things that's changed since Biggie died is that Lily rarely gets what I used to call her nervous belly.  At least once every two weeks she's stop eating and you could hear her belly making growling noises.  Sometimes she'd throw up clear liquid.  That has all changed, so evidently Biggie must have gotten on her nerves a lot.  Of course, she's also getting spoiled rotten.  It turns out she like to eat bananas, so every morning when I'm making my breakfast she get a couple slices of banana.

Tammy from across the street stopped me yesterday when I was coming back from my Giant Supermarket to ask me about the neighbor on my right.  She told me he was diabetic and that last week an ambulance came, and then she asked if I knew anything.  Gee, I didn't even know he was diabetic.  He and I will talk on occasion, but that's about it.  I just can't be bothered to monitor the activities of everyone who lives on my street.

The lung screening survey turned out to be a bust.  I stopped smoking too many years ago and the possiblity of anything going wrong with my lungs is unlikely.

Some may find this odd but I bought myself a white board to track my exercise / workout routines and hung it on the wall of the computer / cycling / weight training room.   I don't know yet if it will inspire me to be more physically active or not.  Honestly, I think I'm fairly active already.  But being more so can only help.

Yesterday the Supreme Court handed authoritarian conservatives a big loss.  You see, they so desperately feel they need to say "shut up, we're in charge," they tried to change the way elections are run in the states.  If their candidates were losing, or had lost, they wanted to have the state legislatures decide on elections, and some states have what are called super majorities, in which one party runs the state, they could continue to insure elected officials were of the same party.  The Supreme Court said no to that cheat.  And, as might be expected, conservatives are pissed that they got their hand in the cookie jar and they have taken their pissing and moaning to the Internet.  Conservatives have always been bad losers.

Document This

 So, is Tuesday going to be drier than Monday?  I ask this because we had a whopper of a storm, almost 1.5 inches of rain at my house.  Not a lot of thunder and booming, but basically a torrential downpour that lasted for at least an hour.  My lawn will soon be a jungle.  

I have a survey scheduled for 1100 related to the CT scan I just had done on my lungs.  From what I was told when they called to set up the appointment, this might actually be the last thing I have to do since my lungs are clear.  Supposedly it's only going to take 15 minutes.  I will see if I can wrap it up in 5.

The owner of the house next door stopped by the flooring desk yesterday.  He was bragging that he paid $75K for the house next door and was going to sell it for $170.  I'm betting he gets a bit less than that.  Since he bought just about everything from the great Orange Retailer I work at, I pretty much know how much $$$ he put into the rehab.  How much?  He went cheap, cut corners.  They put down very inexpensive vinyl planks over flooring that's old enough to have been made with asbestos.  If hew gets that much, I'm going to feel bad for the new owners.

And I saw this on Twitter yesterday and had to laugh.

How appropriate.

I saw where the bimbo judge in charge of the Mar a Lago document case is doing her best to create havoc in her attempt to save Trump's orange ass.  She doesn't see why they need 84 witnesses, and she thinks their names should be released to the press, and... well, she is doing what Trump wants her to do.  The DOJ went over her head before and you can be sure they'll do it again.  One thing that stands out about Jack Smith, he is not naïve.   The DOJ knew full well she was probably going to be getting this case when they chose to indict the Orange Anus in Florida.  You can be they took into consideration how both dumb and loyal Aileen Cannon is to her benefactor.  Anyone who doesn't understand how prepared Smith is has got to be either stupid, or a Republican, or, more than likely, both.

Paint Job

 Hello, Monday.  What's on tap today?  For me?  An 8 hour shift at work.

Outside the skies are overcast.  There's a 90% chance of thunderstorms, though there doesn't seem to be a solid band of rain heading towards the region.  The air is humid, so I guess storms are just going to start popping up here and there this afternoon.

Work was slow yesterday.  I'm expecting the same thing today.  Business is down all across the region.  They finally, at last night's store meeting, said something to the effect that we're suffering through the retail version of the downside of Covid.  Honestly, I don't believe anyone in corporate America gave it a thought, that would be their greed blinding them to the truth.

They painted my neighbor's house yesterday a light gray.  They sort of left the white trim (there's overspray which they're not cleaning off).  Everything is gray, even the porch floor, and it's all tracked up with dirt already.  They painted over aluminum siding that's close to 40 years old.  Aluminum siding lasts between 20 - 40 years.  That coat of paint is not going to keep it from breaking down.  Even the porch light got painted.

As for the rest of the world?  No one quite knows what to think about the Russian nearly, almost a coup.  There are so many theories out there.  I'm suspecting Moscow is happy about that, but everything else?  Well, the Orange Anus' blow bro did not come out of this unscathed.  One of the ideas being floated is that Putin's going to tell the world that they've achieved what they wanted in the Ukraine and go home.  Sadly, I think that's not going to happen.

And it seems as though the Moral Degenerate can't open his mouth without mentioning Jesus.  Like the little Christian robots they want to be, Evangelicals are bowing to him.  The idea that any deity who'd use Trump would be on the same par as George Santos doesn't even occur to them.

The Illustrated Band

 Well, another day of rest has arrived that isn't going to be too restful.  The weather forecast is hot and humid, though for us here in Central PA, hot means in the mid 80s (F).  We had thunderstorms yesterday, and they're predicted again for today... and tomorrow... and Tuesday.    This is fine.  At some point in the day on Tuesday I'm going to need to mow my lawn.  That's fine.

The angelfish is still alive.  

Business was slow yesterday.  I did almost have a measure, but then they decided that rather than pay the $35 deposit (which gets deducted when they purchase) they decided to check out Lowe's.  They said they'd most likely be back, but they never returned.  Honestly, I don't think they had any intention of going through with it.  Believe me, our competition has a variation of the same deal.

The band workout I've started doing is different.  I've never really worked with them before and they are so different than free weights, or any of the equipment I use at Planet Fitness, where the weight you are working with is constant.  With bands, tension builds.  It does feel different.  Some swear by them, I'm still in wait and see mode.  Here's a brief video from Fit Gent to illustrate what I'm talking about.  Fit Gent, by the way, is not the guy on the bands, it's a gym, in case any of you were wondering.

And, of course, the Russian coup is over... maybe... we don't really know.  People are scratching their heads wondering just what in hell happened.  There are a lot of theories out there.  The one I like is that Priczgoin (sp) thought other members of the military would join him, and they didn't.  He evidently didn't realize there is a big difference between the military and a mercenary group.  Now people are waiting to see if he does fall out of a window, or eat a plutonium sandwich (thanks Treaders).  Either way, there are now 25 thousand mercenaries without a leader, who are probably not too keen on working with Moscow.  Ouch.

And the Orange Anus gave a speech in front of Evangelicals last night and pretty much told them he was sent by God.  So, he's not only going to take out the Republican Party, Evangelical Christianity is also on the memu.

Wagner Strikes Back

 And once again rain is in the forecast.  We had a lot yesterday and, sad to say, my lawn is now a verdant green.  That means next week, in between the raindrops, I'm going to have to mow it.  

I did get more accomplished yesterday than the day before, which is nice.  There are always things to do, I just need to stop ignoring them.  

One of my angelfish is very sick.  I know it's only a matter of time.  Then there will be two.  Right now they're the only things swimming around in the big tank, which is going to see a big change.  Since I have a 5 gallon tank, I'll probably transfer to the 2 survivors to that in order to clean out the big tank completely.  I have black algae, and while it doesn't harm the fish, it will cover everything in the tank.  There are solutions, like using hydrogen peroxide, but that will kill everything, which is why I'm going to need to use the 5 gallon tank.

I was at my local Petsmart last week. They've done a major upgrade to the fish department, so there will be no need to drive down to that Fish Place.  The big tank's going to be pure community.  Probably a lot of live bearers, fish that will tolerate snails, which will eat the algae, since I don't doubt it's going to be a constant in that tank as long as it exists.

And, of course, yesterday this began happening... a bit of a Civil War in Russia.

This took the Putinistas like Tucker Carlson, and Tulsi Gabbard by surprise.  While using the excuse that the Russian military hit their troops with missile fire killing many, the Wagner group left the Ukraine and drove into Russia to take control of the military.  Ouch!  People are humorously wondering if this is what the Orange Anus meant by saying he could stop the war in 24 hours.  I'm certain he's quite upset that his blow bro Vlad is now in some serious shit.  Ouchy!  Whispers are saying this little revolution has been in the planning stages for some time.  Now Russia, who was depending upon the Wagner group mercenaries to help take the Ukraine now has to defend Putin's actions from many angles.  I don't doubt that many of the Oligarchs who are fed up with Putin's War are actively cheering from the sidelines.  And all of those American congressmen who were pro Putin, pro authoritarian government are looking extremely stupid right now.

Zuck vs Musk

 Well, here it is Friday and it hasn't stopped raining.  Well, not completely.  I guess if I were describe it, I'd say we were showery with occasional periods of steady rain.  It was so steady this morning Lily didn't want to go out.  Sooner or later her bladder will force her out into the rain.  I have a towel ready.  Honestly, she loves being dried off, so I'm surprised she's not going out more often.

Lets hope today is more productive than yesterday.  Not that yesterday was a waste, it just seemed as though every hour or so I felt the need to take a quick catnap.  I'm blaming it on the rain, the dizzles never seemed to let up.  It's not that I didn't get anything accomplished, I did:  a 52 minute dumbbell workout, and a fast walk on the treadmill.  However, the afternoon bike ride didn't happen.

As everyone knows by now, the little submersible imploded explosively.  Not everyone is sad.  A number of news outlets are reporting on the lack of sympathy many are directing towards these very wealthy individuals.  Some are calling it schadenfreude (enjoying the misfortune of others).  I don't doubt part of it is that the extremely wealthy are not well liked, and they really don't care if you like them or not.  The vast majority of humans on this planet are not even blips on their radar, so when something bad happens to five of them no one really feels sorry for them.

And speaking of the uber wealthy, I understand the cage match is going to take place.  What cage match, you ask, scratching you head.  The one between Zuck and Musk!  Evidently there are some really hard feelings between the two of them.  If I were a gambling man, and I'm not, I'd probably put my money on the skinny ginger rather than the bloated South African.

And, of course, the House of Representatives continues to unravel.  Really, everything those cultists are doing now is geared to trying to maintain a hold on their base voters.  Now they're trying to expunge the two impeachments against the Orange Anus.  This is what you would expect from a cult.  The small percentage of voters they are trying to please will never get them the presidency.  They did poorly in the last election, and they'll do even worse in the next one.  For them to understand that, would mean they understood the American people.  That's something that will never happen.  Which is why the party is dying.

Congratulations

 Well, we got more rain.  The temp outside on this cool Thursday morning is hovering around the 59 (F) mark.  A little reminder for those who missed it, we are in summer now.  While weather forecasters are saying our temps will climb up into the 80s (F), at present there are no predictions about us hitting the sweltering 90s (F).  Of course, I don't think I need to remind any of you that we are still young in the season.  Give it a few weeks.

Since today is supposed to be drizzly, showery and overcast, there will be no yardwork today.  Instead, the time will be dedicated to fun, inside activities, like the continuing saga of painting trim.

I'm nearing the 30,000 word mark on the next book.  My guys have ordered their bikes for the early morning chase through the alleys of New York City... oh... dear... I may have given something away.

And last evening I received this email.  I'm excited!  My royalties get paid to Findaway, which takes a %,  so there's no way I'm going to break the bank on this little endeavor.  However, I suspect I will spend a little more time promoting the audiobook than I do with the ebooks.  Promotion on Kindle can be very expensive and usually the only one satisfied with the returns is Amazon.

In politics, the House of Representatives censured Adam Schiff in retaliation for his honesty regarding the Orange Anus and his attempted coup.  What sorry gang of snotty nosed brats the Republicans have become in their attempt to deify Trump.  Evidently Kev McCarthy had to bang his gavel in an attempt to quell the chorus of Shame, Shame, Shame that members of the house were chanting.

And many news organizations that there was a big cat fight between White Trash Boebert and Fascist Bimbo Green over Boebert's attempted Impeachment Grand Stand.  Evidently Green called Bobo a bitch loud enough for quite a number of people to hear and repeat.  This part is on the verge of coming apart at the seams, and watch out when it rips open completely.  What Joy!

 

Underwater

Well, the first day of Summer has arrived and the temps here in Central PA are predicted to stay in the mid to upper 70s (C).  Do not think this means that the rest of the season is going to be cool and comfortable.  We also seem to have a bit of rain in the forecast, again, this medium range prediction is unreliable.  There is a reason we call July and August the dog days of summer.

If you don't believe me, take a gander at Texas where they're having a mini-heatwave.  I feel sorry for those people.  Many of them are conservatives and as such believe climate change is a bit of fluffy fiction liberals have whipped up like a lite souffle.  Remember, conservatives will never admit they're wrong, even on the hottest and driest of days.

For those of you in need of a little shirtless Aaron Taylor Johnson, he's got a new movie coming out this fall.  I do suspect that some of you, however, will skip it because it's a Marvel movie.  Yep, Aaron's going to be a shirtless super hero. 

The mini-sub drama continues.  A Canadian search and rescue plane picked up sounds under water that might be someone hitting something with a hammer.  I find it interesting that a plane, up in the air, can pick up sounds originating underwater.  If Canadians can do that, I'm certain the US has the same capabilities, as do the Chinese, though maybe not the Russians, their war with the Ukraine has proven they're basically a 3rd world country with a leader who thinks himself savvy.

Evidently Lauren Boebert had initiated articles of impeachment against Biden in the House which will require a floor vote.  It will end up being tabled because most members realize that her White Trash approach to authoritarianism is nothing more than MAGA cult grandstanding.  So far, McCarthy has remained silent.  Even he know this will hurt the party.  As for Boebert?  I don't doubt she believes this will offset all of the bad press she's been garnering lately in regard to her impending divorce, and her finances (or supposedly lack there of), and her dating a rather unattractive Evangelical minister.

 

Stating Facts

 There is the possibility we might have rain today.  The sky is overcast and the temps are supposed to climb all the way up to 80 (F).  Yesterday, our thermometers hit the upper 80s (F) and you would have thought we were in a screaming heat wave the way people were reacting.  Crimany!  You'd think they were going to start melting the second they hit the parking lot.  My Central Air did kick on a bit, but only for a few minutes.  

I did have an elderly woman with serious arthritis as a customer yesterday.  She was going to live with her son and was having new carpeting put into her bedroom.   She was paying for her room and he was paying for the rest of the house.  This is going to be a bit of a complicated installation since they both want their carpet installed on the same day.  I felt bad for her.  She was fine once she was sitting in the chair, but I had to lift her up into a standing position after she'd chosen her carpet.  That was a first for me, getting up close and personal with a stranger.

And, if any of you are wondering what I do when the days are slow and boring, besides wandering the store and getting thousands of steps in, I work on the next book.  I take notes.  Sometimes they're random points that I feel are going to need to fill in gaps, and sometimes it's who sections of chapters.  This is what I did yesterday.

I guess most of you have heard that a small, submersible (read minisub) has disappeared while taking wealthy tourists down to see the Titanic.  One of the was billionaire Hadish HamishHis stepson sent out his "Thoughts and Prayers," which surprised me, since I only thought Republicans did that when there was a school shooting.

And for those keeping score.  I was banned from Twitter for making a comment that went against their rules.  And what was it that I said that was so terrible.  Well, it was in regard to Marjorie Taylor Green.  A few day ago, after she spit one of her standard lies, I typed:  "Some day someone's going to punch her in the mouth."  That comment broke Twitter's rules and, of course, I chose not to retract it because in my mind I was merely stating a fact.  She has Tweeted far worse things than that, but than she's on Elon's friend list.

Uneventful

 Well, it's Monday and the temps are supposed to climb into the upper 80s (F) today.  Tomorrow, they're supposed to be dropping, with highs in the mid 70s (F).  Honestly, the 80s are fine with me.  Last night I turned on the ceiling fan in the bedroom.  That's it.  Of course, things are going to be getting much warmer as we head into summer.

Today is Juneteenth and, since it's not Thanksgiving or Christmas, the store is open.  And no, we are not running and special deals right now.  The next ones will not arrive until July 4, and the only good deals you're going to find then are in the appliance department.  Sales last week were slow.  This is not going to change anytime soon.

The Orange retailer I work for has its on Social Media system called Yammer.  I ignore it because, well, I don't feel the need to chatter about life in the workplace.  One of our kitchen designers finds Yammer fascinating.  He's on it a lot.  According to him, the hottest topic right now is about how slow business is, yes the slow down is effect business country wide.  Ho... Hum.  Maybe they should stop raising their prices to hit their plan.  However, if they did that the cost of their stock would fall and... well, some billionaire might lose money.

I usually start the day with a healthy breakfast.  This is what mine looked like today.  Honestly, it's what it looks like most days.

The war of words between Chris Christie, and Trump, and DeSantis heated up over the weekend.  I love it!  Tim Scott said Biden hates him and honestly, I don't think Biden and his team even think about him.  There was some chatter about anti-vax Kennedy - he's going to make some noise before he disappears into the woodwork.  And really, the past 2 days have been rather uneventful.  Sometimes that is good.

Benched

 Yesterday the weather was nice.  Temps were in the mid 80s (F).  Today's supposed to be a repeat.  In case you didn't know, we're sitting on the front doorstep to summer.  Looking at our midrange forecast, we're predicted to have sunshine and rain over the next week and a half.  That's fine with me.  I'd rather my lawn be nice and green instead of brown and crunchy this early in the season, that will happen in July and August.

Retail was busy when I got to work yesterday, but around but as the day wore on began to slowly die.  When I left at 7 PM there were no incoming hordes of shoppers pulling into the parking lot.  Sales for the past week were flat. The couple with the expensive blind order never came into purchase, now that sale price is gone and their blinds will cost more, that's if they decide to purchase. 

Today will probably be the same as yesterday, only slower.  There will the be standard after church rush, but then the quiet will ensue.

As I was preparing to leave work yesterday, I got a text from my bank saying that someone had tried to transfer funds out of my account.  When I first saw it, I spoke vulgar French because my debit card had been hacked not too long ago.  However, once I saw that my bank wanted me to sign in to my account to fix the problem I became suspicious. What I did do was wait until I got home and then, on the computer not on my phone, I signed into my account.  Oops.  No warnings.  There was nothing wrong at all.  However, this means someone out there knows the bank I use, probably from the card hack, but not my account number.  Believe me, that text looked very official.  Even the logo was spot on.

So, about a year ago I gave away my weight bench and now, 12 months later realize that was a mistake so I bought another.

Newsweek sometimes repeats the articles they send to me which can be annoying, especially since I only rarely read them.  Three times over the past 2 days they've sent me an op - ed by Marianne Williamson.  She is once again running for the Democratic nomination, not because she thinks she has a chance at winning, but because she likes her reputation of being a spoiler.  Ralph Nadar had the same problem.  He enjoyed taking votes away from the candidate most likely to win, and during the presidential race would run as an independent.  She's going to do the same thing.  It's all about ego.  Nothing else.  It's a shame there isn't a way she could be benched.

 

Saint Ronnie

 Greetings and salutations from Central Pennsylvania.   The weather is nice here.  Outside the temps are a comfortable 61 (F), just right for sleeping.  This afternoon, if the forecasters are correct, they'll climb into the middle 80s (F).  It would be a truly great day if I didn't have to work.  Sadly, this is Saturday, one of the days I'm always scheduled to work.

If anyone asks "How's business?" I'll probably reply "so, so," since we're no longer in lawn and garden season.  The curb appeal drawn starts slacking off after Memorial Day.  This doesn't mean that people aren't still going to be buying plants and garden veggies, they're just going to be fewer and fewer of them.  If you haven't got your veggies in the ground by now, it's a little late, unless you're one of those who want to plant a fully grown tomato plant that already has tomatoes on it.  Believe me, there are those who do that.

I ordered a small weight bench, it arrived yesterday.  I used to have a nice Weider bench but I gave it away since I'd thought I'd never use it again.  Well, I was wrong, and since I was wrong had to spend a small amount of my money.  This is how it goes.  I'd rather give things away and occasionally need to rebuy what was given then fill my house with clutter.  Believe me, I know individuals who never give anything or throw anything away.

And I know that this pic will have some of you scratching your heads.  To give you some sort of explanation, let's just that say that knots may play a part in my next book, The Body in Motion.

I just got a news flash that Arnie Schwarzenegger has said that Trump will never will the presidency.  No surprise there.  He goes on to say that while the Orange Anus is polling well among conservatives and that, apparently, is what the GOP looks at rather than the national picture, getting 33% of the vote will never win him the presidency.  Isn't this what I've been saying all along?  

Oh, and Ronnie DeSantis has gone on record as saying that were these Biblical times, he could have been one of the disciples.  Since he's a devout Catholic, at least that's what he says, and since every one of the disciples is a Saint in the Catholic Church, he's alluding to his belief that he should be recognized as Saint Ronnie.  Right, that must be why he was wearing those white boots. 

Shut Up, We're in Charge

Well, here it is, Friday already.  Seems like just yesterday it was Tuesday and I was starting my mini-midweek break.  I'd call it a vacation, or possibly a staycation because I wasn't working and didn't go anywhere, but I did do things.  Like hang a door between the kitchen and the back porch.  When I picked it up at the store, there was a white tail deer walking through the parking lot.  I'd have taken a pic but my phone was in my pocket.

I'm going to cancel my subscription to Adobe since I don't use it.  Originally the idea had been to use it to create the PDF files needed to publish paperbacks through Barnes & Noble, but since I'm moving into audiobooks the odds of that happening are slim.  And, speaking of audiobooks, The Body Under Ice is complete.  It's in the Review stage and unless problems are discovered should be available to purchase in 20 - 30 days.  It will be available on a number of markets, including Spotify.  It will be, however, on Audible because that platform require you sign a 7 year exclusivity contract.  They also take a bigger chunk of your royalties, so audible is out.

So, I'm adding bands into my workout routine.  Any guesses on how long it will take me to look like this?

Okay, so I saw this humorous article in The Hill about Senate Republicans and how they're worried that the Republicans in the House are going to screw everything up.  You see, those radical conservatives in the House are furious about the debt ceiling deal.  They saw their chances of gauging great holes in the Biden administration, and in Medicare and Social Security go up in smoke.  Remember, these the insurrectionists who all desperately want to shriek "Shut UP!  We're in Charge!" loudly into your ears.  Rather than take their defeat and move on, they're planning on retaliating, just like the Orange Anus.  They are writing smaller, sharper bits of legislation which they hope will hobble the economy to such a degree the Biden administration looks bad.  The Senate Republicans are smart enough to know this will lose the votes, however for those Crazies in the House bleeding away Republican voters is far less important than shrieking "Shut UP!  We're in Charge!"

AI Jesus

Hello, Thursday.  Outside temps are cool, upper 50s (F), though the forecast is for them to rise up into the mid 80s (F) today.  I can live with that.  If the forecasters are correct, however, we have more rain on the way.  I can live with that, too.  I don't mind mowing my small lawn.  Green is a very good color.

After Lily gets her walk this morning, and she and I do go for one everyday that it isn't raining, I'm going to head over to the store to make a purchase.  A door to go between the back porch and the kitchen is going to need to be installed.  That will be fun.  It's all part of the slow kitchen redo.  I say slow because I'm doing as much of it by myself as possible.  

I ordered a weight bench, it should be arriving tomorrow.  Yesterday I swung by Planet Fitness and put my membership on hold until November, mostly because of the summer kids, though they're not all kids.  Groups of students, both high school and college, will spend a lot of time there not really working out, but taking up space.  PF becomes their hangout, so to speak.

Results are back from my CT scan.  My lungs are unremarkable.  So is everything else, including my pleural membranes, my upper digestive track.  In fact, everything except my spine, which was noted for the arthritis.  

This, on the other hand is remarkable.  I've already pre-ordered my copy.  I simply cannot wait to go into spacer.

I sent my brother a link to an article on AI Jesus, so far no response.   He will answer your questions about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness... and He's on Twitch.  I do not doubt that some will embrace Him, others will not.  They will rage against Him.  He will alter they way Christians think of God, because suddenly He's going to be on your phone, your tablet, or your computer screen.  Certain Cracker Jack Crazy Christians will Him as a way  to manipulate the masses and let's be honest, phonies like Frankie Graham desperately want to manipulate the masses.  And, if you're not Christian, fear not, there will soon be an AI Bhudia, as well as a Hindu version and a Moslem version.  It will hurt the monotheistic religions worse than the philosophical religions because... well, it's hard believe that God didn't see this coming. 

 

Donut Day

We're starting off Wednesday on the right foot because outside we have a nice soaker going on.  The weather map has an extensive blob of green slowly moving over the entire state.  There is the possibility of thunderstorms as well.  Getting soaking rains twice in one week is good for everything.

The results from my CAT scan should be available for me to read tomorrow.  The VA requests 36 hours for the doctor to view them and write his report.   Interestingly enough, the VA has multiple locations where they can do the imaging, and they are not in the same building.  Yesterday I was walked to the building where they do Physical Therapy and Rehab.  For those who've never seen the donut, here's the one I took my 2 minute ride through.  I ;think it looks almost Scifi Fab.

And, of course, yesterday the Orange Anus had his fingerprints taken for the 2nd time as charges were filed against him.  Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom, however from all the reports that I've seen he sat quietly.  Amusingly, today is actually his birthday, so he was lucky enough to get his present a day early.  

As might be expected, Fox News photographed the fake Melania outside the courthouse because...well, it's Fox New, which explains so very much.

One thing that did have me wondering was where were those 50,000 supporters, demonstrators, and protestors.  So many added hours were put on the Atlanta police department payroll to cover them.  In fact, estimates are that only about 500 people showed up, including one man wearing a pig head mask and that the atmosphere was circus-like.  Those numbers must have been terribly disheartening for the Orange Anus after he called for his cult members to rally.  This doesn't mean that about 2/3 of the Republican party have abandoned him, they haven't.  They won't.  That will never happen.  This is how a political party dies.

Note This

 Today is Tuesday and my four day weekly break has begun.  I will be heading down to Lebanon shortly.  Happily, most of the traffic will be heading into Harrisburg, rather than away from it.  That's fine with me.  

Yesterday we had rain.  Lots of rain.  Almost one full inch fell over the region so things are going to start greening up.  I'm excited.  I didn't hear one person complaining.  

And while business at the store was slow, I did manage to get 3 measures.  Management was happy.  I didn't sell anything else, however, which meant for a long, boring day.  I couldn't wait to leave.

Of course, when I did get home, it wasn't as though I had enough time to sit and play a video game.  All of the audio chapters for The Body Under Ice have been uploaded.  I've been taking lots of notes on things that need to be changed.  Like how long the break for a comma, or for a period.  Words that get pronounced oddly, or skipped.  Chapters are not recorded in one sitting, but are actually recorded in bits and pieces which are then stitched together to make a whole.  About 3 times that stitching is a bit rough and will need to be smoothed out.  All of the song lyrics that I included in the book are being removed.  They just don't work in an audiobook.  In fact, this has been a great learning experience.  I now know how much prep work needs to go into a manuscript before it gets recorded.  Here are some of my notes.

And, of course, the Orange Anus is going to be officially indicted today.  Miami is prepping for 50,000 protestors.  If it gets ugly, and that is a very distinct possibility, and if it looks at all like a reenactment of January 6 the Republicans are going to look bad.  No matter how much they want to portray Trump as the victim, they will fail.  Today is probably not a good day to be in Miami.  This is quite likely going to be a shit show that Ronnie D is going to have to deal with... that should be funny.  Does anyone know if he's even in Florida.

Take a Deep Breath

 Monday.  Today is going to be a rain day.  A big storm is heading our way.  Really Big.  In the southern US there will be high winds.  For us up here in Central PA, they're predicting rain.  Hopefully we'll get buckets.  As I've said before, my lawn is brown and that normally happens in July and August.  

I also work today.  I worked yesterday.  Flooring was slow.  Our Garden department is still busy, so was our paint department, but the rest of the store was slow.  Sadly, we were the only store in the district that was making plan.  This is the curse of Jack Welch, who decided corporate profit came before everything else.  No one realized how badly he was breaking the system.  I don't doubt that at some point the world's economy will collapse thanks to Jack's approach to greed.  This is going to be a terrible case of live and learn, that's if we learn anything.

Tomorrow morning I'm heading down to the Lebanon VA for a CAT scan.  At one point in my life I used to smoke.  Well, I quit that habit a long time ago, however, foolishly I never marked down the year I quit; I think it was around 17 years ago.  Anyway, medically, they like to do CAT scans on your lungs yearly for at least 15 years after you quit to insure nothing's happening.  Since I can't remember the actual year, my doctor recommends I have one this year, and next year, just to be on the safe side.  Honestly, with all of the cardio I do, I think my lungs must be in pretty good shape.

And, of course, tomorrow is T Day.  I understand the Orange Anus will be arriving there today.  His girl Eileen will be presiding for the present.  There are a lot of calls for her to recuse herself.  That's probably not going to happen.  She's going to end up humiliating herself again.  This is part of her role in playing the loyalist.  She will lower her head for the executioners blade again... and again... and again.

According to Newsweek, only 50% of Americans hare happy for the indictments.  Who makes up that dissenting 50%?  Well, Republicans make up about 30%, and the other % is composed of independents, and non-thinkers, and foreign agents (I just made that up, foreign agents probably only represent about 12%).  Why such a high % opposing the indictments?  Well, for one thing I believe the "Shut up, We're in Charge" party realizes the hammer is really going to come down hard this time.  Whereas Clinton was helped when they impeached him for peccadillo, this is far, far worse.  And the indictments haven't stopped.  There are more on the way.  How will they effect that 50%?  In ways they cannot even begin to comprehend.  They will still vote, but not nearly in the numbers they will need to win seats in the House and Senate.  Not that they will vote against the Republican party.  Nope, they're just going to sit out an election or two... or possibly 3.  Trump will continue to break the party apart.  Don't hold your breath expecting him to change anytime soon.

When it's over

 Well, it's Sunday, a day of rest for some, but not for me.  I work.  But then that's become standard.  My schedule never seems to change.  That's fine.  I remember when I was full time associates would almost kill to have a fixed schedule.  

Weather wise?  Today is supposed to be warm and sunny.  Of course, I work.  Tomorrow?  We have a 99% chance of rain.  I haven't look to see if that's spotty showers or possible a soaker.  We could use the latter.

All of the chapters of The Body Under Ice have been uploaded.  I am over halfway done listening to them and making notes for corrections.  While I've always written Bobby Tussel and his reliance on variations of the word "fuck" to be humorous, when you actually get to hear him, he's laugh out loud funny.  

Above is a pictures of Paul McCartney that I took while he was in concert at Hershey.  The song playing?  Live and Let Die.  With the approaching court appearance of the Orange Anus, I do think we should keep this song in mind because this may be how we end up dealing with the far Right branch of the Republican part, or at least certain members.  One thing noticeable is that it's the House, the far Right Freedom Caucus that is up in arms, not the Senate.  Mitch McConnell and his crew have remained very, very silent.  I suspect he's trying to get them to keep their hands clean since someone is going to have to try and carry on the Republican Party after this shit show is over.

Showering off our Nuclear Secrets

 We did get some rain yesterday.  A nice soaking shower for about a half hour early in the evening.  Any day I don't have to stand out front watering my plants is a good day.  I don't water the lawn, however, so that's nice and brown.  There is little difference between the way it looks now and the way it normally looks in late July and August.  

I ordered a small weight bench because... well, I gave the one I had away because I didn't think I'd ever use it again.  Well, that proves how much I know.  I'm also planning on cancelling my membership at Planet Fitness.  I've been paying them $10 a month for almost 5 years (all through the Pandemic even though I didn't go).  As usual, every spring and summer it gets inundated with teenagers and young adults mostly as a place to hang out with their friends.  Usually, my attendance just drops, but this year I've decided to cancel.  I can restart in the fall when they go back to school and college. 

The recordings are flowing in thick and heavy for the audiobook.  I emailed David telling him that most of the changes I had were editing, shortening the pauses between words.  He's changed the phrasing in certain areas which works.  It didn't take me long to realize that reading a book aloud is a lot different than simply reading it.

And yesterday I, as well as the rest of the world, got to see this.

Now, I don't know about your but me?  I saw a crystal chandelier in a bathroom, and a crystal sconce, and lots of brown marble, but what my eye was really drawn to was that crappy shower curtain!  Holy Shit!  All that crystal and marble, and a shower curtain that looks like it was picked up in Walmart.  Oh, and of course there are the boxes of documents, some of which are evidently nuclear secrets.  I'm sure there's nothing more fun than sudsing up your loofah, while reading about Iran's nuclear capabilities.

I did read through the indictment because... oh, shall we say I was interested.  I found the bit about them finding boxes open with documents spilled out onto the floor rather telling.  I personally thought that indicates that some unauthorized person might have been hurriedly perusing and photographing them... but then that's just me.  I write mysteries, so I tend to be suspicious.

Number 2

 Friday.  The end of the work week has arrived for some of you.  My work weekend is just around the corner.

I don't know if it's the drizzly showers we have right now or not, but the hazy smoke from Canada's fires is no where to be seen.  This is fine with me.  They're predicting we might get a thundershower this afternoon.  That would be fine with me, too.  

For about an hour yesterday, I did some more digging on the roots of that burning bush.  This my be a rather long process.

Biggie's urn arrived.  It's a bit bigger than I expected, though is much more impressive than the one is ashes were in.  It's very shiny!

And, for those of you who haven't heard the news, Trump is going top be officially indicted for a 2nd time on Tuesday.  Miami is probably not going to be very pleasant on Tuesday.  Purportedly part of his indictment has to do with the Espionage Act which might entail him actually being arrested, put in handcuffs, and sent to a jail cell.  While 62% of America would love this, I doubt if it will happen.  One of his attorneys said that he was going to fight this thing through and not run off to Scotland.  Personally, I think that's a very good possibility.  Especially if he gets indicted a 3rd time in Atlanta.

Republicans are in an uproar, at least publicly.  Privately I'm betting many of them are scared.  A majority of Americans can't stand their politics.  We are a Centrist country unfortunately Republicans don't really care.  All they want to do is say "shut up, do as we say, we're in charge."  They hate Democracy.  

Oh, and speaking of Democracy, the Supreme Court released a decision yesterday ripping Alabama's racist redistricting maps.  Ouch for the white Republicans in that state.  Not surprisingly, the angriest dissent came for Clarence Thomas who loves him his white sugar daddy.

Any Day Now

 Yesterday was quiet.  The weather was cool, only climbing into the the low 70s (F), and we had a steady breeze coming down from the north.   They're calling for the same weather pattern today.  Tomorrow rain is again in the forecast.  We have an 80% chance of getting wet.  I'm looking forward to it.  Hopefully it will wash some of the smokey haze away.

Speaking of the smokey haze, I understand today is supposed to be our worst.  It is, at times, like fog.  Unlike New York, where it's orange, ours is mostly gray.

I was talking to one of the men working on the house next door.  He's told me it's almost time for it to be painted, inside and out.  Gray.  I hate gray.  

The audiobook of The Body Under Ice is being uploaded by chapter.  That's nice because most of the chapters are short, so time wise each is about 6 minutes long.  That's probably also great for people who listen to audiobooks.  Having to stop listening at the end of a chapter is great.

And of course, there's this:

Any day now.  Possibly even sometime this afternoon.  He's broken the Espionage Act, as if we didn't know.  Remember, he's always believed he was above the law and could do whatever he liked.  

I found it interesting that the House of Representatives has adjourned for the week because of internal Republican chaos.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of that had to do with the impending indictment (s).  One of Jack Smith's investigations has to do with the Jan 6 insurrection, and mealy mouthed Mark Meadows has flipped for that Grand Jury as well.  I'm sure he's already turned in texts to and from an array of people, like Jimmy Jordan, Scott Perry, and that ever popular Ginni Thomas.

And, speaking of the Thomases, I see where Clarence has has for an extension on filling his financial statement for the past year.  He must be finding it difficult to make bribery sound legit.

Air Quality Alert

 So, yesterday was nice.  We actually got some rain; enough so that I didn't feel the need to go out and water the flowers.  I'm going to spend some time outside today weeding, but probably not much since we are under an Air Quality Alert.  The Canadian wildfire smoke is upon us.  If the NYT is correct it should be what they term medium thickness.  I have no idea how they judge or grade the thickness.  Are they referring to it's density, or to the particulates that make up the cloud?

A number of audio files for The Body Under Ice were uploaded last evening.  The narrator sent me and email telling me to take notes and that corrections would be done after I've listened to the entire book.  So, thanks to the Air Quality Alert, my inside hours should be well occupied.  I can't wait to hear them cutting through the ice to retrieve the body.

Looking out the window, things do look a bit hazy.  When I take Lily for her morning walk, I will sniff around to see if I can smell.

:"We Don't Talk About Bruno" from the movie Encanto was a big hit for Disney.  One thing that has always bother me was my inability to hear all the lyrics at the end; there are so many different voices singing.  Last night I solved that problem.  I watched the lyric video.  Had Disney made the right choice and nominated this song it would have walked away with the Oscar for Best Song of the Year. 

And, of course, the Internet was abuzz yesterday because Mark Meadows has testified before two (2) Grand Juries in regard to the Trump investigations.  There were a lot of cute little videos of pancakes being turned over.  So far, I haven't seen and all caps commentary by the Orange Anus.  Don't worry, it will happen.

Ronnie D may be in some legal trouble for flying a 2nd flight of immigrants to California.  His campaign is hurting, hence the flights.  He wants voters to think he's doing the right thing.  His 2 hot button issues are evidently the illegal transport of legal aliens and wokeness, something he cannot describe.  And just think, the real Republican shit show hasn't even truly begun yet.

Waiting for the Big Guns

 Finally, my 3 day work weekend is over.  Not that I find that time at the store stressful, mostly the passing minutes are slow and tedious because customers in the flooring department are few and far between.  I did design an $8,000 order of blinds yesterday.  Yeah, read that dollar figure correctly.  Honestly, I'd need to have far more disposable income than I could ever dream of to spend that kind of money on blinds.

Since I did work, I didn't get to enjoy the beautiful day, sunny with a bit of a breeze.  Today there is the possibility of rain (read that rare showers).  I'm pretty much going to ignore that forecast.  When it comes to precipitation our local forecaster's accuracy has be rather unpredictable.

Chores are planned for today, as they are for everyday.  As well as a trip to my local Giant supermarket.  And, of course, Lily gets her walk.  That's something she loves.  We didn't get a lot of walks in when Biggie was still alive because it was a chore for him to just get around the block.  Don't get me wrong, he loved those short walks, but once we were home he'd just lay done and pant for a while.  Now, Lily and I go daily.  She will be 10 in August and she's still bouncy as hell.

Here's an update on my peaches.  If I've counted correctly there are 4 on the tree, a big difference from the 100s I used to get. Here's a pic of one.

And the GOP presidential race is beginning to really heat up.  Mikey Pence announced.  Today Chris Christie is announcing.  Both of them are going after Trump.  Nikki H is also lobbing small hand grenades towards the Orange Anus, none really strong enough to actually make it explode.  Supposedly there is open warfare between Ronnie D and Donnie T, though to my mind it's only small arms fire.  I'm waiting until they both decide to bring in the Big Guns.  I suspect that will happen once Donnie T gets indicted for espionage... or some other crime against Democracy.  When that happens they're going to try and verbally nuke each other.  Who loses in this approaching shit show?  Why the GOP.  Every aspect of their political machine is going to be damaged.  All the "anti legislation" is going to take a back seat at the back of the bus because no one is going to care except their petty base.  You know, those rarified individuals who live in Magadonia.

 

Pink

 Hello Monday!  I hope everybody had a good weekend.  The weather here in Enola was warm and dry while severe thunderstorms battered the area around my little suburb.  Because of this, I had to drag out the hose last evening and water my plants.  No rain is scheduled in the foreseeable future.  It's almost as if we're heading into the dog days of summer without the heat.

I did get another measure yesterday while working.  That really puts me up for the week.  My sales were good, too, for a part time associate.  

One of the higher-ups in our region is in a world of shit.  We were told there was an install promotion going on for vinyl and laminate surfaces, and signs were posted.  A number of measures were done before it was discovered our store was not included.  As a result, because people are now buying those installations, our store is having to do some major markdowns.  The kind that curdle the blood of any accountant looking at our books.  This type of mistake brings out the worst in customers.

Here's a bit of hilarity.  Evidently production of the new Barbie movie had some trouble getting enough of the right color pink.  If you've seen the trailer, you will realize how much pink there is in the movie.  If you haven't, well, here it is.  I think this movie is going to be a blast.

And here's a little bit of the NYT:  Ad revenue for Twitter is down 59% from last year.  I don't know about you, but I find that fascinating.  This is how Elon Musk learns how pricey his opinion of what constitutes free speech is going to be.  Oh, and advertisers are not flocking back.  They are taking their revenue elsewhere.  Of course, Elon doesn't understand how far his ego has led him astray.  Instead of changing course, he's going to continue down the same path,  Everyone is learning that even though Elon sold the idea to the world that he's a smart man, in real time it turns out he's dumb as a box of rocks.

Trump's documents Grand Jury reconvenes today.  Prepare yourselves for a stream of rage in all Caps.

My Pig Costune

 We had storms yesterday.  Harrisburg got hit, but that's on the East Shore and I'm on the West Shore (shore designating one side of the Susquehanna from the other) and we got nada in the rain department.  There was some thunder and lightening, but none overhead.  Dry we were and dry we will remain, unless some rain happens to accidently fall on us in the next few days.

Even though I did manage to get a measure, work was slow.  During the four days I was off work, I reached my sales goal, in fact I had over $10,000 in sales.  That should keep management happy.  The only thing I'm falling behind on is signing people up for credit.  Well, we all know how I feel about that. 

Jon, the PT I turn to for advice on my character Max's job as a physical therapy, told me yesterday "you're out on the Internet."  Of all things, he stumbled across me in my pig costume.  This picture here, and it's 25 years old.  Damn, I'm going to have to start updating myself.  

Evidently Ronnie D has a bad problem of saying "woke."  It's so bad, every time he speaks in public people count the number of times he says it.  He uses that term quite frequently, most likely because he believes most Americans fear "woke."  Sadly for Ronnie D, he's wrong.  It seems as though on 38% of Americans find being "woke" to be a problem, or, in other words, the Republican part as well as small percentage of unregistered members of the MAGA cult.  Don't tell Ronnie D, but America is not falling for this.  But then, being the socially incompetent fool he is, he will never understand.

The Running Nose

 So, I get to go to work today and it's also supposed to rain, we might possibly even have a thundershower.  That would be nice.  It would be nice not to have to water the lawn and my plants when i get home from work, and just possibly save a little money on the water bill.  

And how busy will the store be today?  That's difficult to say.  Schools are now out for the season, which means parents must now parent during the day.  We do know, however, that not all parents do that, some rely on TV, or games, or just about anything that doesn't interfere with their personal space and time.

I am working on losing the extra pounds I put on during the Memorial Day weekend.  Who would have thought that grazing can had so many extra ounces?  And that they'd show up when I stood on the scale?  

I started watching Fubar last evening on Netflix and got about a half an hour into it before turning it off.  I didn't find the humor funny and the premise sounded like something network TV might find intriguing.  All Netflix did was take out the commercials and add language.  

As for digging out my Burning Bush, it's happening slowly.  I only put about an hour into the job every day... more or less.  I figure it might take me a week or so.  Then I'll have to decide if I want to plant something not so aggressive, or just grow grass right up top the porch.  Honestly, either works for me.

Lily likes to supervise

And, of course, people are still upset about the Debt Ceiling agreement, mostly Republicans.  That's fine.  They can never have too much bad luck.  

The GOP's civil war is really beginning to heat up.  I don't know if any out there has seen the video with Ronnie D standing by as Cassie D speaks.  Excruciating.  She rambles on... and on, trying to paint a happy family portrait.  This so viewers can compare Ronnie D's family life and Donnie T's divorces / porn star past.  Believe me, excruciating is not close enough to describing her speech.  The only excitement comes near the end when Ronnie D begins wiping his running nose with his finger.  This man has no social skills what so ever.

The Machine

 Well, the end of the work week has arrived for some, not for me, though since tomorrow I will be sitting behind the computer at the Flooring desk.  They're predicting showers.  Any rain would be helpful.  Right now I'm using my new hose and reel daily just to keep the flowers from drying out.  Temps are predicted to cool off as well.  Yesterday we topped off in the lower 90s (F) and we're supposed to repeat today.

With this heat, I'm still slowly digging out the remnants of my Burning Bush as well as several other assorted bushes that had taken root behind it.  The pile of dirt is growing.  Once I've removed the root structure to my satisfaction the dirt will fill the hole back up.

I was going to go for a ride yesterday afternoon and discovered the battery in my HRM had died.  Crap!  Rather than stop, I switched to my Garmin watch.  Crap!  My heart rate zoomed up to way over 150 for the first minute and then dropped down to 99, which was wrong.  This is one of my reasons why I don't track my performance with my watch.

And I went to the movies last night.  There were fire truck outside the theater when I got there, evidently one of their rooftop A/C units had blown.  As a result, we had a 20 minute delay before the film started.  On the plus side, we didn't  have to sit through the commercials, on the negative side, we didn't get to see any trailers.  On the big downside though was price of admission went up $2.00 for senior tickets.  This means I'm going to be skipping the beverage from now on.

As for the movie?  I went to see The Machine.  It was hysterical, definitely deserving it's R rating for both language and violence.  For those who need to see shirtless men, there were a lot of shirtless men.  It's also not for the squeamish, though the violence is more along the lines of John Wick, just bloodier.

As expected, the Debt Ceiling crisis has been abated.  Surprisingly, at least for me that is, both Manchin and Sinema voted for it.  Of course, after their overblown drama show, and their screams and rants, the Republicans lost bigly.  No one should be surprised.  They are now the losing team, and will be for some time to come.

And Ronnie D just can't seem to get away from his bad press.  This is to be expected from a short man with Napoleonic issues.  I know Maddie had been hoping for debates, but they ain't gonna happen.  Putting Ronnie D and Donnie T on a stage would only result in a word salad blood bath.  That might be entertaining, but I don't think the GOP is that stupid... at least I don't think they are.
 

No Disappointment Here

 Hello June 1.  Welcome to Pride Month!

The mercury is going to be rising up into the low 90s today and tomorrow.  The A/C is quiet now, but I don't doubt later this afternoon it will be fired up.  

I've been dealing with an algae problem in the big tank.  The stuff grows on everything.  For a while I thought it was being caused by direct sunlight coming in through the big window, now, however I don't think that's the case, though it may be a contributing factor.  I also have algae growth in the living room tank where there's no direct sunlight.  So, I'm thinking it's probably the LED lighting.  An easy fix would be to toss in a couple of snails, but I have Tiger Barbs in the big tank and they eat snails.  This afternoon sometime, the barbs are getting moved to the living room tank where they can swim around with lots of other barbs.  That will leave only the angelfish in the big tank.  They don't eat snails.

Using my trusty old weed wacker, I did some real damage to the English ivy outside the fence yesterday.  Good.  I will get rid of it completely.

Because we've had no rain, there's no need to mow my brown lawn.  This usually doesn't happen until July and August.  Dryness came early this year.

I'm trying to grow garlic.  All I need to do is keep it watered.

And a bipartisan vote got the Debt Ceiling bill out of the House of Representatives and into the Senate.  Was anybody really worried?  I wasn't.  While nobody got everything they wanted, this is a good bill mostly because of certain things, one being that the next fight over the debt ceiling has been pushed back to 2025, meaning it can't be used during the election of 2024..  

Another important thing to remember about this legislation is that the far right crazies in the House suffered a serious defeat.  The "shut up, we're in charge," crowd lost in a big way.  That alone should warm the cockles of an Liberal cynic's heart.  Because the country is Centrist, the extremists on both sides of the aisle were terribly disappointed.