What's in a Name

 Another Monday, another work week.  The weather's supposed to be nice, that's defined as temps in the low to mid 80s (F) during the day, with night time temps falling into the low to mid 60s (F).  These temps are not normal August temps for us here in Central PA.  These are the days that are called the Dog Days.  I have to keep reminding myself that last summer our temps were much warmer.

Yesterday was oh... so slow at work.  I did manage to make my sales goal for the week, not that my measly numbers are going to make anybody happy.  I was talking to my ASM and he was venting his frustration because things beyond our control were effecting our sales figures and corporate wasn't taking them into account.  I commiserated with him for a while and then reminded him that when it comes to sales, it doesn't make a difference why a store isn't making plan, corporate needs a scapegoat which is why the store always gets blamed.  Always.

I made a little video about my team of characters, Eli, Max, Bobby, and Jules.  This gives you a little bit more information about them and their names.

And I'm wondering just how tumultuous this week is going to be for the Republican party.  Last week they had some bad moments, and they had some worse moments. I saw an interesting comparison between Nixon and Trump in that Nixon had Ehrlichman, Haldeman, and Dean, while Trump has the valet, the pool boy, and the geek; can we talk lack of sophistication here?

A low point was probably Sammy Alito admitting to the Wall Street Journal that he believed himself, and the other members of the Supreme Court to be demi-gods, unfettered by any rules and regulations Congress might attempt to apply to their ethics.

Though honestly, I have to admit that Ronnie DeSantis and his team doubling down on his new education agenda stating that some slaves benefitted from being slaves.  I sit wondering what black Republicans must be thinking about this white guy, and his team, telling them that their great, great grandparents, and the seven generations of grandparents before them, actually benefited from being slaves, that they learned something that helped them in their personal lives... as slaves.  

A La Carte

 Well, it's Sunday.  Because I work, this will not be a day of rest... slow boredom, perhaps.  After 12 noon, I'll be the only one at the flooring desk.  This is vacation season.  Not only are customers spending their hard earned dollars getting a little Rest and Relaxation, so are associates.  I have met most of my goals, so I'm not concerned.

Weather wise, we are heading into the doldrums of temps in the mid 80s (F).  That's right.  Forecasters are saying that for the next 2 weeks we rarely get past 85 (F).  I'm fine with that.  There also doesn't seem to be much rain in forecast.  That's okay, too.  I don't mind not having to mow my lawn.

I stopped off on my way home from work last night to pick up blueberries and ended up buying Chinese for dinner, of course, it couldn't be simple.  The Chinese food can be purchased a la carte, or from the buffet table.  As I was perusing the berries, there was small family ordering a la carte, and behind them a mother and daughter who were pushing around full grocery carts.  Realizing that the a la carte people were going to take a while I wondered around for 4 or 5 minutes, returning to get in line as they were leaving and the mother and daughter were preparing to give their order.  Instead of using their time in line to decided what they wanted for dinner, that's when the mother and daughter began asking each other what they wanted.  So, I had to stand there and wait while they reached a decision on whether they were going to get lo mien or fried rice, and, unfortunately, they too, were ordering a la carte.  Sadly, I don't doubt for a second that this is how they go through life, waiting until the last minute and then indecisive as hell.

And in case you haven't heard, there was a little GOP rally in Iowa and Trump walked on stage to the song lyric, "one could end up going to jail, one could end up being president."  That line about going to jail?  That played as he walked across the stage to the podium.  From what I've read, Team Trump is furious.  So, what does this duffer in orange do?  Insult everybody who isn't kissing his ass.  Even the Governor was not exempt, because she'd had kind words for Tim Scott, who's also running for the nomination.  Ouch.  Even Fox had sad words about the event.

Of course, we're all still wondering about which indictments are going to fall next, Fanni's or Jack's.  The suspense might end this week.

Wiping Things Clean

 It's Saturday, and we have a 98% chance of rain today.  The temperature might climb to 91 (F), that's iffy, I suspect, depending upon the rains get here.  We did have rain last night, which seems to be the weather pattern we seem to be stuck in and the longer we stay in it, the less likely my yard will turn brown.  It's nearly August and my lawn is lush and verdant.

Whereas Thursday had been very productive, yesterday was not so much.  I did get things done, but I'd wanted to go for a ride in Corsica and that didn't happen.  Not that I spent the rehearsing to be a lackluster dullard, the front aquarium did get cleaned, the dishes done, and words written. There was just nothing physical, nothing to burn calories, which is always aggravating.

I don't know about you, but I truly despise the new Twitter logo.  An X.  It looks stupid on my phone, and evidently Musty Musk doesn't have the trademark.  Excuse me, but isn't that the definition of stupid?  Change you company's logo without owning the trademark?  

Yesterday I did pull the hard drive from that old Dell Inspiron laptop I have.  To make sure it's totally destroyed, I'm going to drop it into the industrial compactor at work this afternoon.  

Here's one of my dahlias.  I love the color.

So, the attorneys for our morally degenerate former president, ie the Orange Anus, met with the DOJ on Thursday.  Everybody was anticipating more indictments.  Well, disappointingly enough, that didn't happen, however yesterday we learned that more charges had been added to the Mar a Lago document case.  He evidently wanted to have the server for the security cameras "wiped clean."  This information comes courtesy of a first hand witness.  In case you didn't know, wiping the server clean, erasing all documentation of whom he was showing those secret documents to, is obstruction. 

And then Sammy Alito claimed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Congress can't enforce ethics changes at the Supreme Court.  Sounds like Sammy wants to be a two-bit dictator of sorts, don't it?  Sammy's also a bit mistaken.  In fact, people are saying it appears that he's gone off the deep end.  I don't think anybody would be surprised if that's true.

Make Your Own Kind of Music

 Fasten your seatbelts, Central PA, today's going to be a real scorcher... sort of... kind of... well, our temps are predicted to hit 94 (F).  So far, the weather forecasters have been spot on when it comes to their Fahrenheit predictions.  If they continue, tomorrow we'll be back in the upper 80s (F) with showers and storms.  More rain?  Yeah.  It's a good think I mowed my lawn yesterday.

I got a lot done yesterday.  Worked on the big tank, adding 4 more fish and a live plant.  The 3 large angelfish were curious at first, but they're fish, so their curiosity doesn't last long.

There's a woodcarver on Instagram that I follow named Dillon who posts interesting videos on making bowls, and pens, and other objects out of wood.  Yesterday he posted some idiocy on how porn leads to sex trafficking.  He didn't like when I told him that was wrong.  He directed me to some website FTND (Fight the New Drug) which claims porn is the newest drug.  Being me, I sent him several links to very reputable sites which note that porn, itself, has nothing to do with sex trafficking.  He has yet to respond.

Oh, and I went to see Barbie last night.  It was awesome!  Even though the trailers implied the film was going to be silly, it isn't at all.  In a way it's a primer for young girls and women on how to make their way in the real world.  I can understand why a number of conservative men, insecure in their masculinity, might have a problem with it.  There are some very funny scenes, and some very touching scenes... yes, Barbie cries... and so does Ken. There will be Oscar nominations all around for this one.

And, of course, there were no indictments yesterday.  You have to admit, the DOJ really knows how to be a tease.  Instead of indictments, they gave us more charges in the Mar a Lago document case.  That was, perhaps, the reason why Trump's attorneys were at the DC courthouse yesterday.  Can you believe that he actually wanted to destroy security footage?  I guess that's why they drained the pool into the security room, to dry and destroy the servers.  Ouch.  Because of the additional charges, he's knows for certain there is a mole at Mar a Lago.  Isn't it amusing, Barbie is singing a song that is resonating around the world, while Trump is only squawking noses that are discordantly out of tune

Compassion

 Thursday.  Temps are predicted to be about 2 degrees (F) higher than yesterday which was 92 (F).  For those who are prepared to whine, I hate to tell you but that's a normal summer temperature for Central PA.  We haven't hit 100 (F) yet.  It's also normal for our temps to climb that high.  Tomorrow we're suppose to reach the upper 90s (F), but then the Fahrenheit is forecast to drop back for daily highs in the mid 80s (F)

Yesterday was one of those days of accomplishments I'm happy with.  Weight training, a bike ride, cleaned the living room aquarium, and words written on the new book.  I also managed to move to another level on Star Wars: Jedi Survivor.  I'm always pleased to advance.

Hopefully, sometime this morning I'll get my front lawn mowed.  It's pretty tall, and if we get more rain it's just going to get taller.  The last thing I want to do is get out my weed wacker to cut it low enough so I can mow.

Here's a picture of one of my roses.  They're starting to bloom again, but for some reason all of them are smaller than before.  It's a little blurry, but that doesn't effect the bright color at all.

In case you hadn't heard, Hunter Biden's plea deal fell apart yesterday.  For a while the Republicans were whooping with glee, that was until Mitch McConnel had TIA in public.  All of a sudden, Hunter Biden was old news.  I've watched the clip a few times of him freezing up mid-sentence and it's really weird.  I'd truly feel sorry for the man, but I suspect this is all part of his Karma.  I was pleased to see that Biden called him to see if he was alright; that's todays Republicans would never do.  In fact, it's being pointed out how when Biden tripped over a sandbag he took the brunt of substantial mockery from Republicans, while with McConnell Democrats are offering concern and consideration and compassion.

Will today be indictment day?  

Sign This

 Well, it's Wednesday and temps in Central PA are supposed to climb into the low 90s (F) and already people are complaining.  The forecast is for 3 days with temps in the 90s (F) with the high Friday around 98 (F).  This is nothing compared to the weeks the temps have climbed into the low 100s (F) down south, yet people are still going to be going "OMG, can you believe hot stinkin' hot it is?"  In case you're wondering, Saturday the temps are supposed to drop back into the mid 80s (F).  

I didn't get a lot accomplished yesterday.  Only 1 load of laundry.  Wednesday is usually laundry day.  I have the window open in the laundry room because the dryer does put out some heat, but I'll close it since temps are going to be warm outside.  

Some people had a small book signing for me last evening.  This are nice little get-togethers which usually end up with increased sales.  They're usually held at restaurants where tables can be pulled together.  I sign, and then everybody eats.  For some odd reason, rather than do tables, people were in booths in a restaurant that was packed.  It was loud, and the arrangements made it difficult to see and talk to people, still, I did manage to sign some books.  

And, of course, everybody is anxiously waiting for more indictments to drop.  I'm sure the bookies must be making a fortune as people bet which day the next bunch are going to be announced.  It's almost as though we're watching a slow motion horserace as people wager who's going to be first, the DOJ, or Fanni in Atlanta.  This is so much fun.

Of course, people were laughing that the DeSantis campaign jettisoned 38 staffers yesterday.  Some people are calling it a shake-up, other a downsizing.  I'm surprised Ronnie D's not dancing around and singing "do nobody give me no more bad news."  And it is like a constant smack, smack, smack, like four vehicles in his entourage being involved in an traffic accident yesterday.   If I were religious, I might have to point out that it looks a lot like God has set his sites on Ronnie D, perhaps it was his claim that he could have been a disciple.  It's almost like he's trying to set up his own version of the MAGA cult.

Judgement

 My long weekly mini-vaca starts today.  I will not be sitting at the flooring desk until Saturday, when I will once again begin my 3 day stretch.  Next week, however, I be doing the odd 3 day schedule again, working Thursday and off Sunday for a visit to York.  

A thunderstorm passed overhead last night with a lot of rain.  This one actually woke me up... somewhat, I could hear the thunder and for a few moments I was vaguely aware of rain pounding down against the bedroom windows.  The storm didn't really disturb me.  About 2:30 am, however, I did wake up and make did a little research on book number 8.  This is why I have a tablet by the bed.  Needless to say, notes were taken.

Even though retail was slow yesterday, I did manage to get my 2 requisite measures for the week.  I'm set.  I have 9 installs waiting to go, all I need to do is hope those customers decide to "pull the trigger," as they say.  There's a big meeting happing on Friday where, from what I've heard, management is going to start twisting the thumbscrews.  This will effect the full-timers more than it will me.  This is what happens when corporate executives make bad business decisions.

Here's a pic of Lily impatiently waiting to go for her morning walk.  She is getting so gray around her muzzle.

Ronnie DeSantis is doubling down on his racist opinion that slaves benefitted from the enslavement because... well, Meatball Ron believes that backing down would make him look weak.  While this might play well with the MAGA cult, for many in America it's a really bad failure.  I don't know who told him alienating whole voting blocs was a good idea, but, well as far as Democrats are concerned, it's a good way to keep Republicans from voting for him.  Fox News, in their attempt to aid and abet him, some ass named Greg Gutfield actually said that some Jews benefitted from the Holocaust.  

And, as the trucks continue to gather outside the DC Courthouse, the glow of satisfaction is beginning to well up from my heart like a many colored aura filling the air with delight.  We would have missed all of Trump's suffering if he'd been indicted earlier just to satisfy those impatient few who needed to see him in cuffs sooner.  His inane rantings on Truth Social are almost as good as manna in the wilderness as each day we learn one more person has flipped.  Yes, the floodgates have opened.  All of those rats he surrounded himself with are desperately trying to avoid being skinned alive.  If I were very religious, I say Judgement is coming for the Republican Party.

Something's Coming

 Well, it's Monday morning and we are sitting under a small thunderstorm, barely a splotch on the map, and the whole thing should be done with in about 20 minutes.  So far, this summer has turned out to be rainier than most.  Rain is not a bad thing, as long as it's not torrential.

Yesterday was very slow at the store.  There was a bit of a customer incident in the grout aisle.  I saw a friend of mine walking towards the flooring desk and as I stood up, he told me a woman needed assistance. The first thing she asked me was "do you have any grout lighter than platinum?"  Our selection of the Simple Grout she was looking at is very limited, so I told her I didn't know.  That was not the right answer.  She told me the other associate was going to get a ladder because she said, "I need 2 of those," pointing to a higher shelf.  Growing impatient, she asked how much grout she needed for coverage with hexagonal tile.  I told her our charts are for square tile, but gave her a guestimate (not what she wanted).  The associate came back and pulled down the box she'd been pointing to, and she scolded him, "not those, those up there," without naming the product.  She wanted 5 gallon buckets of premixed mortar (heavy), so I told her he would need to get an electric ladder.  (Not what she wanted to hear).  While I went to get my store phone to check inventory, she went latched onto an appliance specialist since I wasn't providing her with the service she was demanding.  I ended up selling carpet to another customer while the appliance associate and a plumbing associate filled her order.  I'm not very good with impatient people.

I took a picture of some red raspberries while Lily and I were out on her morning walk the other day.  Behind the berries and hidden beneath the ivy is a concrete staircase leading up the front entrance of a house.  Nice, eh?

So, Barbie smashed box office records yesterday raking in over $155 million in the US alone.  Oppenheimer didn't due to shabbily either, pulling in $80+ million.  The Internet had a big laugh at Bennie Shapiro burning Barbie and Ken dolls dress like Ken.  That's right.  Bennie evidently didn't realize that the black T-shirt and pants he was wearing matched Ken's outfit in the movie... and this is after seeing the movie.  Perhaps his subconscious just need to send a subliminal message to his viewers that deep in his heart he desperately wanted to be just like Ken.

And, of course, social media was abuzz because large media vans and trucks began filling up the parking around the DC Courthouse.  Something is expected to happen there either today or tomorrow (perhaps).  That's right... Something's Coming.

Zoom into This

 Sunday, and here in Central Pa the outside temp is 64 (F).  Nice sleeping weather.  My A/C rarely runs during the day and it's set at 73 (F).  I'm sure the River Birch tree and the Gingko trees help with keeping the inside temps down.  So far the summer has been fine here in Central PA, however we still have all of August and half of September to get through.

I had my Zoom call yesterday, and for the most part it was boring.  Only eight of us participated.  One of the problems is that the the guy who organizes them believes they need to be held on Saturday afternoons as that is the time when most people are available.  That is simply not the case.  We are all retired, or semi-retired and for those with families, weekends are the times when they get together with their kids and grandkids. And so there were excuses from those who didn't attend: one was kayaking with his wife and grandkids, another had chartered a boat to go deep sea fishing, another was visiting a flower show with his wife and daughter, one was on the golf course.  Anyway, here's a pic from it.

And for those who didn't know it, Barbie is smashing box office records, with Oppenheimer distantly on her heels.  Conservatives are flipping out as their carefully curated shrieks of Wokeness are falling on deaf ears all across the country.  While the director, Greta Gerwig, did not openly eviscerate the Cracker Jack Crazy Conservatives, she did jib and jab at them enough for Benny Shapiro to buy Barbie and Ken dolls and set them ablaze.  While I'm sure his followers nearly wet themselves with glee, the rest of America looked at his prank and realized he's as big of a dick as Ronnie DeSantis.

Speaking of Ronnie, he's doubling down on his "slaves benefitted from being slaves" rhetoric.  He is not moving to the far right, he's just becoming more and more extreme about his racism.  You look at his campaign, and at what he's doing to Florida, and you think he can't get any worse and then his administration pulls something like this.  I can't even imagine what world he's living in.

Eat Mor Peepol

Well, it's Saturday.  The weather's nice, not too humid and not too hot. Over night the temps drop down into the mid 60s (F) and there's nothing wrong with that, it's good sleeping weather.  My central air only runs occasionally during the day.  That's fine with me, it helps keep my electric bill low since this is the time of year when it usually skyrockets.  

I got some treadmill time in yesterday, as well as the dumbbell routine for my arms.  The only issue I had was the old Samsung TV which I use for the treadmill has begun to have issues.  The HDMI ports don't seem to be working anymore, so I needed to run a line from the TV to my modem to connect to YouTube.  As I said, it is old, at least 15 years old, meaning time is slowly breaking it down.

I saw an interesting tidbit about relationships between children and their parents.  Apparently about 25% of all children are estranged from at least one of their parents.  This doesn't surprise me.  I don't think it's as much as not respecting your parents, as it is parents are not all perfect.  They get divorced and when that happens their children usually pick sides.  The world is changing and change requires new rules.  Some have a very difficult time understanding this.  Their viewpoint is unsustainable.  Change is inevitable.

I'm borrowing this pic from Fearsome because I do suspect there are those out there who believe this to be true.

This is obviously true among white people in the red conservative states, like Alabama where the Supreme Court told them they needed to fix their gerrymandered map and give black voters 2 congressional districts, and the white Republicans refused, drawing up on one district.  Their white Republican governor, Kay Ivey signed off on this.  Giving black voters 2 districts would give them more power, and those white crackers down in Alabama simply refuse to do that.  They don't understand that minorities, not just black people, but all people of color are making more babies than then white people.  It is only a matter of time until that boot is going to be on the other foot, and that boot is going to stomp, at which point that sign will read Eat Mor White Peepol.  

Hope!

 As usual, we had rain last night, a lot of rain.  There were thunderstorm warnings and flash flood warnings, most of which happened while I was sleeping.  I do vaguely remember hearing thunder, but then I usually sleep like a log... or a rock... or whatever.

Yesterday at work I got 2 measures.  Corporate should be happy.  One was for roller blinds.  It was a young woman.  I honestly don't think she has any idea what she's doing;.  When I told her she needed to return to the store after the measurement, she seem surprised.  I believe she thinks they measure tech will take care of everything.  Her English was adequate. 

And today, being Friday, I am off work.  Things do need to be done around the house.  Plus there's weight training and and ride.  I am concerned about maintaining muscle mass as I grow older.  The idea of looking like a baby when I'm 95 years old does not appeal to me in the least.

It seems as though there might be hope for Bobby Tussel's drinking habits after all.  It appears as though the unionized employees of Anchor beer might be buying the brewery.

That nectarine tree I cut down?  Well, unlike the peach tree, it's not doing to well.  It does have a little moss starting to grow on the side.

Of course, whiny Jimmy Jordan had another weaponization committee meeting, this time with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  The bimbo who won Liz Cheney's seat asked him about the 2020 stolen election and he told her he didn't anything at all about that, of course, the cult has a one track mind and that's to sow as much disinformation as possible.  Of course, RFK, Jr was caught by Democrats in a number of lies, like his saying Covid was a bioweapon designed by the Chinese to kill whites and blacks while not harming the Chinese and the Ashkenazi Jews.  He claims he never said it, however there are videos of him saying it.  Oops.  He's not the only to forget that in today's world everyone has a phone, and so many are using their phones to record what people say.

One of the things I've begun doing is following 3 brothers named Meiselas on their YouTube channel.  They do tend to pick apart the far Right Republicans.  One of the things they talked about was Trump saying that he had millions of followers, actually saying he had 100 million followers, and how the members of his cult actually believed him.  If that were true, his rallies would draw hundreds of thousands; they don't.  Pictures and videos of the cult assembling around their cherished lead may be described in the thousands, but literally there are only 2 and 3 thousand, no more.  He has less hope of getting a crowd that loud, then Bobby Tussel has of getting another hundred cases of Anchor beer.

Hunter's Pics

While most of yesterday was sunny and moderate temps, we did have heavy rain again last night.  I don't know how long it lasted, but the sidewalk out back was still wet this morning when I left Lily out.  Normally, Julys are dry and hot, not so this year.  The heat is staying to our south, or moving quickly past us up north.

Both Texas and Florida appear to be on the broiler.  Ah, well, that's how Climate Change goes.  You never know how the cards are going to go until you get a chance to look at the hand you've been dealt.

Yesterday was a sleepy kind of day.  I ate, and lay around, my normal Tuesday behavior pattern, though I did manage to get a couple hours in writing.  I should probably do a video on my writing techniques in case anybody is interested.

Oh, because of a craving, I did drive down to Dairy Queen and buy myself a Turtle Blizzard.  It's a curse, you know, not the craving of the Turtle Blizzards, but that Dairy Queen is less than 3/4 of a mile away.  Holy Moly, I should have walked, that way I'd have burned off some of the calories I was filling myself up with.\

And I guess everybody knows I was in the Navy and on an Aircraft Carrier. though I don't think many understand the size of the ship involved.  So, this is what the Constellation looked like moored in San Diego harbor.  The pic was supposedly taken in 1974, which would have been the year before we sailed up to Bremerton, WA to go into drydock.

And, of course, yesterday Jimmy Jordan threw a party in the House of Representatives and, as expected, all the Republicans showed up as clowns.  There were whistleblowers who weren't exactly tooting their horns.  Their facts turned out to biased conjecture.  These losers are so desperate to implicate the Bidens in some sort of horrible crime family scheme and the Democrats are quickly pointing out that a Trump appointed Attorney General, as well as a Trump appointed lawyer found no chargeable offenses against either Hunter or Joe Biden.  What they're really trying to do is draw media attention away from the impending indictments of Trump.  And they're getting desperate.  How desperate?  Yesterday Marjorie Taylor (I'm dumber than shit) Green showed Hunter's dick pics on the House floor, and then later when on to email them out to her constituents.  The GOP is so lost.

Tasty and Glad

Well, wasn't yesterday tasty?  And I'm not just talking about breakfast with my brother, who's now sporting a full beard.  I had Eggs Benedict, if anyone is interested.  They were quite tasty.  Because it's just 2 eggs on an English muffin with a bit of hollandaise on top with a side of hash browns, I don't feel overly full after the meal.  Some people believe they need to leave the restaurant feeling bloated in order to get their money's worth.

And while we didn't get any rain yesterday here in Central PA, the sun was out most of the day, it did rain elsewhere.

There was an interesting article on age and friendship on the Washington Post page which linked to AARP.  Evidently it's good to have younger friends, as well as those in your age bracket.  Of course, I've known this for years and believe it or not, my friends come in all ages.  There is a bit of an age issue in not only this country, but in the world; too many see age as being stratifying, and you really should associate with those in your own layer.   Well, that's just horseshit.

And I have gladiolas!  They haven't bloomed is so many years, so I'm suspecting it's all the rain we've been having.

And, of course, the American people were served a scrumptious appetizer yesterday in the form of a Target letter received by the dishonorable Orange Anus.  An amusing aside:  during breakfast I told my brother I thought Christie was going to get the nomination and he found that funny, and then an hour later the Moral Degenerate throws out this savory bit in order wring more sympathy from his cult (and don't forget the buckos they'll send him).  Don't forget that Christie has qualified for the first debate and all Trump is doing is handing him plates filled with chewy ammunition.  At this point, I suspect there might not be a Republican debate.  Trump will refuse to be yelled at on national TV.

Then yesterday afternoon my cup ranneth over with joy when up in Michigan 16 indictments were handed out to those trying to send false electors to Washington, liars and losers ready certify their liar and chief Donald Trump.  Keep in mind, these are still just the appetizers.

The Rainy Rose

Well, here it is Tuesday and I'm running late because I had breakfast with my brother.  

We had lottsa rain over night.  More is on the way today.  It's a good thing I mowed the lawn yesterday.

This will be quick because Lily needs to go for her walk.  She gets one every day.

Yesterday was one of those days of accomplishment I love.  Not only was a lot of yardwork done, I got in an arm work out (55 minutes) and a ride, 14.14 miles with an average speed of 17 mph.  I also managed to maintain an average heartrate of 135 for over half an hour; that's considered good cardio.

Today will be a bit more strength training, and perhaps a band workout.  I really should use them since I bought them.

Here's a snap of a rainy rose.  Yes, they're all beginning to bloom again.

And, this should be of no surprise to anyone who has been paying any attention to the Republican Party.  Their problem is that they didn't care how crazy the base was or how much Trump whipped them into a frenzy as long as they voted Republican, and now they have a problem.  Now indictments are going to be falling like rain, and not just on the Orange Anus, and they have no alternative.  Prepare yourselves, the Republicans are only going to grow more insanely evil.

Just a brief not to Bob's bit on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.  Most are not aware, but his first wife committed suicide after finding his hand written diary detailing extra-marital affairs with 34 other women.  This should give you an idea of what his mental state was back then and what it still is today.  Even his own family bit him back about his claim that Covid was a Bioweapon designed by the Chinese to kill whites and blacks while not effecting the Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews.  

Constructive Criticism

 The rain we were supposed to be getting yesterday passed us by, moving up the coast farther to our east.  We has spotting showers for a while.  The temps cooled down a bit, but keep in mind that this is summer and they will most certainly rebound later in the afternoon.  I'm fine with that.  So far it seems as though we had a warm winter and a summer filled with medium grade temps.  I don't mind that; my central A/C doesn't need to run which saves me money on my electric bill.

I had a goal of 2 measures last week, I got 4.  Whoo! Hoo!

My schedule's odd this week.  Rather than work Monday, I'm working Thursday... don't ask me why.  It's an odd thing.  Instead of having 4 sequential days off, I'm 3 off, 1 on, and then 2 off.  After that my schedule goes back to what it was for a week, and then there is a shift again because I requested a Sunday off to go down to York.

Since the fish / aquarium center has been updated at PetSmart, I'll probably use that rather than drive down to Lancaster.  They even have plants now.

And I've added another video to my YouTube channel.  It got a couple hardy-har-hars when I posted it to Facebook.

And Ronnie D's is shaking up his campaign staffing, possibly because of the video in which one of his staffers admitted to being stoned.  Or, it could also be that his vision of Woke Hell is simply not catching fire.  Ronnie suffers from the same problem almost every other Republican politician suffers from, the inability to understand that his decisions run against the grain of most Americans.  The Orange Anus used the word Woke and Ronnie, believing it to be the true yellow brick road to the presidency instantly became the anti-woke overachiever.  Because of this he damns constructive criticism; that would me he's wrong.  He doesn't know that surrounding yourself only with people who think like you will spoil you into believing your are always correct.  Believe me, Ronnie has spoiled himself into believing he is the answer to every Cracker Jack Republicans Conservative wet dream.

The Salt of my Brow

 Well, Sunday has finally arrived.  The weather is supposed to be warm and humid with the possibility of a deluge.  I find that amusing: we used to just have severe storms or thunderstorms, now we have to contend with the regular deluge.  I don't know if the storms have truly changed that much, or if the weather forecasters have discovered an new word of the day.  Let's be honest here, deluge sounds more terrible than storm.  We do know how much they love to exemplify disasters in order to trend on social media.

I did get a measure yesterday.  That means I've met my measure goal for the week, however my sales are sitting $629.  Yep, that's it.  But then you have to remember that sales are down all over the place.  You can only take advantage of customers for so long, and they they simply stop buying.  Believe me, corporate can run as many gimmicks as they want, in the end most people are smart enough to know it's a gimmick.  Not all people, but most.

Normally, I don't wear caps, though I'll tug a knit hat down over my head in the winter to keep my ears warm.  However, and you should there's always a however, I do wear caps when I'm either on the bike or on the treadmill since I sweat a lot.  This is the salt of my brow on the treadmill cap.

George Will has an interesting opinion in the Washington Post this morning claiming neither Trump nor DeSantis will get the nomination.  Keep in mind, his wife is part of Tim Scott's campaign, one that will flail and then disappear.  I do, however, (there's however again), think his statement is correct.  Just who will get the Republican nomination?  I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't Chris Christie, mostly because he's doing the one thing no other GOP candidate is doing: attacking Trump.  There are a lot of Centrist and Left Leaning Republicans out there who are gleefully enjoying every barb Christie jams into the thin skinned Orange Anus.  I don't doubt that soon he'll start putting feathers on those barbs so they stand out even more.  And if you think he sharp now, wait until more indictments drop.  This is going to get so entertaining!

Verizon vs T-Mobile

 Hello Saturday.  The temps outside are middlin', if that's even a word, hovering in the high 60s (F).  They are going to climb into the low 90s (F) again, in fact forecasters are predicting daytime highs in the low 90s (F) for the next week or so.  I don't mind them.  The southern states are sweltering.  Keep in mind most of them are run by Conservatives who don't believe in Climate Change.  The idea that things are going to only get worse does not occur to them, and when they do these yoyos will ask God why this is happening to them.  Then, of course, they'll probably begin sacrificing things like chickens, and goats because some dolt will believe this is how you solve Climate Change.

I was working on a very old Dell Inspiron 5160 that has Windows XP as an operating system, and it does appear to be a lost cause.  It doesn't connect to anything.  My printers are non existent.  There is a way in which I could update the O/S but that would mean downloading Rufus onto a flash drive, as well as downloading Windows 10, and then copying them to the laptop, however this thing is so old it only has 34.5 GB of memory, and of that only 16.4 GB are available.  Thankfully, there really isn't anything of value on it.

Verizon had some sort of an update and my auto-pay was deleted.  No notifications, except for the one that told my it had failed.  The link I have saved doesn't work.  Yes, that's right, the link I have to go in and manually pay my account no longer works.  I had to access my account through the email they sent me.  There's a big push to get customer to download their app.  Sorry, Charlie.  Everyone I know who has Verizon has high bills, like 3 times what I pay.  I'm thinking the time may have arrived to move on to T-Mobile's wireless Internet.  My nephew has it and loves it.

I saw that up in New Hampshire, Chris Christie is in double digits and is only 1% below Ronnie DeSantis.  I'm betting that pisses of Ronnie and Casey.  An internal memo got leaked from Ronnie's campaign that acknowledge he was in deep shit, so, what does Ronnie do?  He says he would invade China.  That's right, he wants to start a war with China.  This man is dumb as a freaking brick.

Because Christie has reached enough donations, as well as double digits, he meets the RNC requirements for joining the other candidates on the debate stage.  You can be Ronnie D will be there spitting out the word "woke" every few seconds.  I'm betting the Orange Anus will be a no show.  That gutless sack of shit is terrified to come face to face with Christie, who just might call him a gutless sack of shit, as well as a Loser.

They Are Eating Their Own

Hello Friday!  It's difficult to believe the week has passed so quickly.  For the past few days the temps have climbed into the very summery lower 90s (F), though we've been spared the rain.  As if to balance things out, forecasters are again predicting rain in the form of frequent deluges.  They may begin this afternoon.  I have plans for a ride this afternoon, so I really don't care.

Yesterday was one of those days of accomplishments I'm happy with: a nice arm workout (55 minutes in total), a good cleaning for the big tank and medium cleaning for the smaller one, and a bit of a rewrite on the chapter called Leslie's Silence.  I do have another video on YouTube, but I'm thinking I will probably post those here on Tuesdays; set up some sort of routine.

Before it gets too hot today, hot for Lily that is, I'm going to take her for a walk.  We go everyday, but early since she is in her senior years.  

They put in a marble counter top in the house next door yesterday.  It is, like everything else in the house, gray.  Marble's fine if you remember to keep it sealed.  If you don't, because it's porous, there's a good possibility of it staining.  I had a customer once who asked if there was a way to get a red wine stain out of a marble counter top.  Rather than give her the bad news that the only way she'd be able to get it out was to cut it out, I sent her to the kitchen designers; let them be the bearers of the bad news.

An evidently the conspiracy theorists are attacking AMC theaters because of the Qanon film The Sound of Freedom.  That's right, they're spreading vicious rumors about delays in showtimes, and showings being cut short because of A/C problems, and what not.  Of course, none of this is true, but tell that to the Qanon crowd who will never let a little truth interfere with a good conspiracy theory.

And then yesterday, this happened.

Wack-job Hageman is the one who replaced Liz Cheney.  She has no clue that Christopher Wray is a true, blue blooded Republican, a Conservative in every sense of the word, while she, herself, is a card carrying member of the Cult of Trump.  Her main goal was not to use intelligent questions to find answers.  Nope!  Instead she spouted unproven conspiracy theories in an attempt to make him look bad.  I did enjoy the bit towards the end where he described her beliefs as insane.  

What made yesterday's hearing more striking was the fact that the Democrats lined up with the Conservative Wray to make the MAGA cult look truly incompetent.  This was another disastrously terrible hearing for Jim Jordan's committee.  As several conservative commentators noted:  They're eating their own.

Anchor This

Yesterday was warm, low 90s (F).  Today's predicted to be warmer, mid 90s (F), with a high expected to be 95 (F).  A reminder:  we are in summer and the season is notoriously known for hot temps.  Of course, I'm in Central PA, not down in Texas, or along the Gulf Coast where the temps will be bordering on Hellish.  

Yesterday was also a high Carb day, not that it took me completely by surprise.  I had lunch with my cousin and her husband, a heavy lunch.  For me that's never a good thing because one good thing leads to another, and then to too much and I ended up eating ice cream and a number of little cakey things, like brownies, only made with graham crackers.  Then I turned into a slug for the rest of the night.  I did not step on the scale this morning.

And for those who read my books, I have some bad news... well, not for the readers, but for Bobby Tussel, the ex-Baltimore police officer with a bullet in his brain.  He will be quite disheartened to hear that Anchor beer is going out of business.  How will he get by without any warm Anchor beer?  I understand the brewery and recipes are up for sale.

And can we just talk a bit about the hilarity of the Republican party?  Keep in mind that the GOP is absolutely nothing without a dead horse to kick.  For years it was Hillary.  Just the name Clinton would set them off in a kicking frenzy.  Well, that's changed.  Now they have Hunter Biden.  Oh, and they have his laptop which seems to contain nothing but pictures which have absolutely nothing to do with Burisma.  Besides the laptop, there are purported deals with China, and cocaine use (he's been to rehab).  They have whistleblowers who've been bought, and Gal Luft, a super witness who was going to blow the roof off of the Hunter Biden scandal, until America found out that Luft was indicted last November, and is a Chinese Agent, and...  ?Without a dead horse to kick, the Republican party is nothing, and the few horses they have are rotten to the core.  And it's too late for them to change, which is good for both Democracy and America.

Corporate Greed

So, it's Wednesday.  Once again the temps are supposed to climb into the lower 90s (F)  The Central Air is on, but the temp is set to 75 (F), there's no need for the house to be chilly willy.  The forecast for tomorrow is the same, later in the week the temps are predicted to drop into the upper 80s (F), which is fine with me.  

Lily's downstairs chewing on a pig ear.  Yes, she's getting spoiled, but then she is an old lady and seniors dogs need to be spoiled.  She's developed a bit of a slowness when she sits down, so the arthritis has finally arrived.  Hers is not nearly as bad as Biggie's was, but then he had so many other problems as well.  I don't know if I'll put her on puppy Nsaids or not, I guess it all depends on how bad things get for her.

We go for a walk every day.  On our way we pass an old Craftsman house that used to have a beautiful stone wall next to the sidewalk.  However, the people who live there are seniors and the upkeep of the wall has not been the best.  The textures of the different types and colors of moss make it a rather interesting, however, this is how things move into history.

And there was an interesting article in The Hill on the number of single households in America.  This is a bit of an eyeopener, to say the least.  I was somewhat surprised when I saw that it was as high as 30%.  Then, of course, I took a few moments and thought about it, about how many people I know are not married and living alone.  I don't doubt that certain socially conservative groups are going to use this figure to try and guilt some people in dealing with some sort of frowned upon stigmata.  And I was not surprised to see that a number of corporations aren't happy with this.  Couples make babies, single people usually don't.  Because of that the population of the United Staters is dropping and as far as corporations are concerned, fewer people mean lower profits.  They want people to make babies, lots of babies.  That's one of the main reasons they're also pumping money into the hands of the anti-abortion crowd.  It's not about the sanctity of life.  Nope.  It really all about corporate greed.

1962

The sun is out, the outside temp is 65 (F) and the temps today are predicted to only climb into the mid-80s (F), oh, and the humidity is supposed to be tolerable.  Oh, and it's one of my none work days.  Just about everyday that is a non-workday is good.  Not that I dislike work, mind you, but with business being so abysmal it does get boring.

I did get a phone measure yesterday from a woman who wants to have a carpet installation.  She let me know that she put the same carpet in her condo on Florida, a cheap pattern with a 5 year warranty.  She's also selling the condo in Florida, in fact she and her husband are going to be going down for the closing next week.  There's a fly in the ointment, though.  We're running a special that expires on July 30, and they drive down, and this Friday she's out of town for a business meeting, and they're leaving on Monday.  I know that's a lot of "ands," and unfortunately there is one more: and the first measure date available in July 17, when they're in Florida.  Measure services has been contacted and they will update her if an earlier date becomes available.

Here's a great article from the WaPo basically saying that HGTV is make you depressed.  It turns out that all of those pretentious people pushing neutral color palates in order to be trendy are bad for your psyche.  Stark Whites and bland neutrals with zippo for contrast are not good for you heads.  Of course, I've been saying this for years.  Color is good unless you want to live your life as a drone.

And I saw this picture of my ship taken in 1962.  Newly built, and leaving the shipyards, it's on it's way to the Atlantic.  I was 10 years old then and had no idea I'd live 3 years of my life beneath its flight deck.  The mast is canted to its port side rather than straight up to fit beneath the Brooklyn Bridge

There are rumors that Jack Smith wants January the 6 indictments of Trump and his evil cohorts to be done before Fannie's in Atlanta.  Sounds good to me.  I'm sure his team and Fannie's team are having some really sweet conversations.

It also looks like Sweden's going to be joining NATO.  I find it nearly hilarious that the one thing Vlad the stupid didn't want is happening because his greed for power is making him look overwhelmingly stupid.  He wanted his blow bro Trump to dismantle the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and instead the organization is growing larger, and stronger.  I'm fine with this!

From the Channel

 Right on time, the new week has arrived and the skies are a bit overcast.  The air's supposed to be a bit less humid today, with the temps climbing into the mid 80s (F).  There's only a 5% chance of rain, we got enough yesterday... again.  Yes, we had another deluge.  Yes, we had another flood warning.  Surprisingly, no, I didn't get water in my basement.  That's nice.  I will need to mow my lawn again this week.  I don't mind.

Retail was slow yesterday.  I did manage to get a measure.  That should keep people happy.  I did not make my sales plan last week.  That will turn those happy faces into frowns (small shrug).  There was a time when I could see all the sales data from every store in the district, that's been taken away, not only from me, but from many of middle management in the stores.  They're shifting to a new reporting system and at this point in my retail career I could care less.

I'm going to be uploading another little video to my channel either tomorrow or Wednesday, depending upon when it get's completed.  I'd like to make it a weekly thing, but that all depends upon whether I think I have anything to say.  One of my friends say that would be rare, meaning he thinks I talk a lot.  He might be right.  Anyway, here's the snippet I posted last week.  Can you tell I'm working to keep my voice from sounding way too animated?

And it seems that Ronnie DeSantis is getting a lot of flack from just about everybody in the Conservative world.  I don't doubt much of this is because he's decided to base his campaign on Wokeness, a word that has no definition.  Well, that might be a bit incorrect.  It seems as though Wokeness is everything Conservatives don't look, from books, to movies, to attitudes, and even social media.  

And speaking of social media, sometime yesterday Elon Musk, once again proving he is anything but a genius, Tweeted out "Zuck is a cuck."  Immediately afterwards hilarity ensued.  People were laughing at it on both Twitter and Threads.  As someone pointed out, if your 12 years old, "Zuck is a cuck" might impress all your other 12 year-old friends, but shortly after the age of 13 it practically becomes self-mocking.  I don't know if Musk is a cuck or not, but he sure is one dumb ass.

Old Laptops

 Yesterday was hot and humid but no rain... well, perhaps a light shower somewhere other than where I was, which was working.  Today's going to be different.  The ariel flood watches were posted yesterday.  Temps are supposed to be very warm (though not hot), and the region is supposed to be rife with humidity.

On and off storms will take our already slow business to an even slower level.  As long as they keep paying me, I don't mind.  In fact that's what I tell people who complain about how bored they are because business is slow slow.  "Be happy," I say, "they could send you home in order for them to save money."  I work with people who depend upon their part-time earnings to make their lives comfortable.

I talked to my friend Betsy last evening who just returned from her first ever cruise.  She loved it.  So I suggested that since she now has her passport, she could travel to Greece with me when I go.  Her comment:  "Can we take a boat?"  I told her we'd probably have to fly.  When I do go, I will probably try and build my own itinerary using available day tours.  That's what I did in Paris and it worked out well.

So I'm clearing off pictures and files off three old laptops that I have (one which still has Windows XP) and while it's fun looking at this old stuff, it's more difficult than I had imagine.  Software has changed so much.  So many things are not compatible.  Anyway, here's a 16 year-old picture of me holding my very first Cannondale bike.

Politically speaking, everything seems so very quiet.  Though, thinking about it, while it may be quiet there is this almost palpable feeling that terrible cloud that Republicans have been whispering about, the one they think is still hanging on the horizon, is much closer than they really want to believe.  There are hissing whispers about Rudy trying to proffer a plea deal regarding Jan 6, and Lin Wood abruptly retiring as another possible plea deal, not to mention Meadows unsubstantiated flip which now everybody is taking as a given.  One political party as put themselves in a terrible corner and it's not wet paint on the floor that's keeping them there, it's Donald J. Trump.  I get much enjoyment about watching them squirm.

Barbie's Adventure!

 And the weekend is upon us!  I get to work (notice the lack of an exclamation mark).  It does pay for my movie going experience, as well as a lot of other things, so I suppose I really shouldn't complain.  And it's only 3 days a week.

Yesterday was warm, again in the low 90s (F), and there was the threat of a possible thunderstorm, which we got, but while there wasn't a lot of thunder and lightening, when it came to the rain this storm was on steroids.  The warnings went out for small stream flooding because we received 2 inches of rain in 45 minutes.  Yes, it was deluge time in Central PA.  Those raindrops were immense.

I drove over to PetSmart yesterday morning and picked up 3 snails.  Now that there are only angelfish in the big tank, I don't have to worry about them being eaten, and hopefully they'll work on eliminating a lot of the algae.  So far they seem to be quite at home gorging themselves until their little snail bellies are full, then they'll rest a bit, and then gorge some more.

And, of course, there was a major political controversy yesterday: Vietnam banned the Barbie movie! (notice the exclamation point!).  Seeing the potential of another dead horse to kick around, a number of Republicans, Ted Cruz included, jumped aboard the band wagon.  What's the to do all about?  Well, there's this small dotted line off the cost of Asia, notice that on the map is says Asia, not China, and evidently China has used 9 dots to indicate where their territorial waters end.  There are, if you'll count, only 8 dots here but, and I do hate repeating myself, Republicans, including Ted Cruz, need a dead horse to kick.  Isn't it sad how Republicans will do anything to waste America's tax dollars.

Finally, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, gave Trump's legal team until July 13 to get the security clearances in place for his legal team to defend him over his theft of top secret documents.  This will cause delays, of course, all part of the plan, and all the while making it look like she's doing her job.  I can't wait until that Orange Anus is locked up.

Indian Jones and the Dial of Desitny

 Well, the end of the work week has arrived.  This means I am scheduled to work tomorrow.  Yippee.  

For the past 2 days the weather has been hot, or perhaps I should say rather warm since both Wednesday and Thursday our thermometers have climbed into the low 90s (F).  They're nothing like what they have down south where the temps are in the low 100s (F).  Of course, we're just at the beginning of summer, things will probably start cooking when we get later into July and August.

I finally got in a decent dumbbell workout (53 minutes) and bike ride (14.02 miles) yesterday and felt so much better.  I find that when I get the workouts in I feel much better.  When I don't I tend to want to take naps, not a good thing.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against taking a nice nap, it's just that they need to be taken in serious moderation.  I have no plans on sleeping away the rest of my life.

Last evening I went to see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and I liked it... a lot.  I'm sure many of Harrison Fords action shots were done by a stunt double, but for an 80 year old man he was rather impressive.  I suspect one of the problems some people might have is seeing people they consider to be old staring in an action movie.  Get over it, people. The storyline was good.  Mads Madsen played the villain well, smooth and slick, and slimy.  

One thing I found fascinating about the movie is that there really is an Antikythera though I doubt very much if it was built by Archimedes, and though only one has been found, I suspect there were more in the ancient Greek world.

And probably the only really big and very joyful news is that Elon Musk is flipping out about Threads.  While I'm not wild about Mark Zuckerberg, I have no problem seeing Musk's ruination at his hands.  One thing I am seeing, and hope you are, too, is people posting good advice about the haters.  Be certain that Libs of TikTok will show up in your feed.  When they do and try to incite you with inflammatory comments and videos do not respond just mute them.  The fewer responses they get, the more they find themselves muted, the less often they will show up.  This is how you use the algorithms to your benefit.

Very... interresting.

 Well, yesterday the weather was rather warm, we hit the low 90s (F), and I did not mow my lawn.  That will need to be done later this morning, or possibly in the early afternoon.  Forecasters are predicting a repeat today.  The heat doesn't really bother me.  Lily does, however, so her morning walk is shortened; we only go around the block if the temps are too warm.

Yesterday turned out to be one of those days in which I was really productive in one way, I worked on the big fish tank, and unproductive in others, no workout, no ride, and no time spent on the treadmill.  I had wanted to do one of my little videos for the channel and didn't, but at the same time added over 1000 words to the new book.  Hopefully, I'll get to throw something together this morning, maybe with a little Prokofiev for background music.

I did sign up for Threads since I already have an Instagram account.  I'm going to have to change my password since evidently someone signed into my account from New Jersey yesterday.  In case you're wondering, I was not in New Jersey yesterday.

Oh, and I baked a quiche with leeks, ham, and Swiss cheese.  It's very tasty, but way too rich.  Most of it ended up being frozen for later.  

Lin Wood, one of Trump's most loyal legal supporters suddenly up and retired yesterday in Georgia.  Permanently.  He can never practice law again, if that's what you can call his stop the steal antics.  Many are wondering if this might be the result of some sort of plea deal.  Looking at how so many are crumbling around Trump, I'd say that's rather likely.

And I saw where Mark Robinson, the seriously overweight Lt. Governor from North Carolina, defended the Mom's for Liberty in using a quote from Adolf Hitler.  This very large man who loves to push around his faith in an attempt to be a very large authority evidently doesn't know that Hitler was not a Christian.  In fact, he evidently called Christianity a Jewish plot, and saw God as an impersonal force who really didn't care about humanity.  He also believe in the superiority of the Aryan race, which God had evidently chosen.  Someone should tell Mr. Robinson that he doesn't fit the Aryan picture being both very large and black.  Oops.

Republican Masks

 Happy 5th of July!  I know it's not a holiday, but decided to throw it out there just in case any of you were still in the holiday spirit.  

The quiche did not get baked yesterday, it will be dinner this evening.  I actually didn't do much yesterday.  I did do the dumbbell workout, but the ride was scrapped in favor of a nap.  That's one thing I've notice about my schedule, after working 3 days in a row, I inevitably feel napping should be prioritized on my next day of rest.  Not that Lily minds.  All I have to say is that one little word and she racing up the stairs to the bed.

She was a bit disappointed this AM when I made my breakfast: no bananas.  I cut up the last one yesterday.  Rather than drive the 5 minutes to my local, neighborhood Giant supermarket, I did without the morning.  Lily love bananas, so she had to do without as well.  I tried substituting a walnut since it's just as healthy and she didn't want anything to do with it.

I'm planning on uploading another one of my little videos to my channel today on the next book.  I'm going to try and upload one weekly, just in case anyone wants to watch the creative process in action.  

A funny thing about the Kennedy campaign, Republicans who anticipated his taking voters away from Biden are now finding out they were wrong.  In reality, it seems as though he's bleeding voters away from Trump.  

A small bag of white powder was found in the White House and as usual Republicans think this is another way for them to kick Hunter Biden.  They have a problem, however, most people think this tiny bag was most like planted by a Republican desperate to keep kicking a dead horse.  

And then there's the flag Trump posted on his Truth Social account, the one that read Fuck Biden.  Ouch.  Just when you thought every Republican mask had been ripped off, another makes an appearance waiting to be torn away to reveal even more evil.  The heart and soul of the Republican party stinks with the stench of pure evil, and of course, the MAGA Cult ate it up.

Happy 4th of July!

 The great retail giant I work for celebrated the 4th yesterday with a cook-out for associates.  I worked and got a free meal.  I don't know what they're doing today on the actual holiday.  Honestly, I don't really care, I don't work.  I do need to get a dumbbell workout and a ride in today, so that will fill up some of my time.  I also plan on baking a leek quiche, now how exciting is that?

Happy 4th of July, y'all.

When is a Holiday not a Holiday?

 Maybe we here in Central PA should all start singing Stormy Weather since yesterday was a replay of the day before, in fact, our weather patterns seem to be stuck in reruns.  The same pattern is predicted to happen today: a rise in humidity followed by storms, some of which are accompanied by thunder and lightning.  Keep in mind, we are getting lots of much needed rain.  My lawn is green!

I had to deal with a customer yesterday who is... was not too wise.  She has dogs who pee on the floor, so she had her carpet removed and had cheap laminate installed.  How cheap, just a smidgen above the crap we won't install because it's simply too cheap.  The product she chose is so cheap our measurement service refused to build a quote, so I had them build a quote with one product and then substituted the correct product.  She sat by the flooring desk and played games on her phone while I rebuilt her quote.  She can afford better, but she's one of those people who thinks cost doesn't matter, that the same quality is there no matter how inexpensive the product.  Within a year, because her dogs will be peeing on that flooring, it will warp and soak in the dog pee, and it will start to stink, and she'll have to replace it.  She is going to get what she paid for.

So, today is a holiday that isn't a holiday.  For some, this will be the official paid holiday, for others it will be tomorrow.  Some business will be closed today so their employees can have 3 or 4 day weekends, others will not.  Today they will be grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken at the store, tomorrow they will not... at least nothing's in the plans so far for tomorrow.  Since I work today, I won't have to take a lunch.  Since I'm off tomorrow, I don't really care.  So, if you're scheduled off today and get holiday pay, have a Happy Fourth (Pt 1).

And because this is a holiday weekend, the political news has been rather quiet, possibly because all Hell is going to be let loose.  There are rumors swirling that the Orange Turds attorneys have received notification of more indictments coming from Atlanta.  There are also whispers about additional indictments coming from the Mar a Lago document case.  People are asking if Rudy G. is going to voluntarily flip...  that shouldn't even be a question.  For all the loyalty Trump demands, he never, ever gives any in return.  Then he gets pissed when people turn on him.  Those fools who stay loyal to him will never get a holiday, unless they're like Rudy and flip to save their own selfish ass.

Whoopee

 Well, here in Central PA we are halfway through the July 4 holiday weekend.  Whoopee.  Oh, and we had rain last night.  Lots of rain.  While not a deluge, it was steady and sometimes heavy.  More is expected today, with forecasters calling for cloudy skies and thunderstorms.  Last night's rain will insure my lawn gets another mowing this week.  Whoopee.

Business was slow yesterday at the store.  I cut some blinds for a customer.  That was about all the action I saw.  This is not the time of year for flooring.  There will be customers, however, who show up because they need a new grill and need to buy one that's fully assembled and ready to go.  We all know people like this, the ones who wait until the last minute because it never occurs to them that they might want to be a little preemptive when it comes to grilling on the holiday weekend.  They will also complain because we have no grills left in the mid-price range and the only grills sitting out front on our concrete apron and the high end grills, and those that might survive one barbecue.  

Yesterday was also the first stage of the Tour de France!  Whoopee!  I do like watching it live and would love to be there.  This year it starts in Spain.  The opening stage took them through a number of Spanish towns including Guernica.  I was waiting for the announcers to mention Picasso, or the fire bombing of that city... nada.  Even a slight mention would be nice.  I actually got a chance to see that infamous Picasso painting a long time ago.  

And as might be expected, the fallout is still dropping from the Supreme Court decisions.  I like to remind people, that for every action, there is a reaction.  This is how life moves on.  This is also how change happens.  Conservatives, in their desperate attempt to turn back to clock do not understand this, which is why all of their attempts to alter the future will fail.  Without evolution there is death.

As a point of interest, I'd like to point out something I mentioned a while back the AI Jesus showing up on the internet.  I asked 2 people the same thing, "when the AI Jesus answers, could it be God speaking?"  One of them nodded and told I was asking a valid question.  The other, however, said he didn't trust AI, and would rather depend upon the old ways.  Translation:  the 2 individual doesn't really want God to speak, he wants everything that can be said, to have been already said.  God can't do any finetuning because His words might not be what the 2nd individual wants to hear.  No matter how safe the old ways seem to be, they will always fail. Life and religion will move on, leaving them far behind.  Whoopee!