Behind the 34 crimes

Can you believe this?  The clouds have gone away and the sun has come out!  A sunny day is to be had by all.  I feel like dancing in the streets!  

Yesterday was one of those terribly boring days at work.  I did manage to get a measure, but mostly all I did was walk around to get my 7500 steps in.  Nothing happens when there aren't any customers in the store.  

Audio for 5 more chapters needs to be uploaded for The Body on the Lawn before I can submit it to ACX (read Audible), and then I'll have top wait a few weeks for them to review the recordings to see if they meet their standards.  The more I've been playing around with this, the more I've been toying with the idea of just recording the next book myself.  Most of you haven't heard my speaking voice, but it ain't that bad.

I'm scheduled for bloodwork this morning, my annual physical is next Friday, which means fasting, except for black coffee, and so I'm hungry as Hell is for Donald Trump's slimy, fat ass, so I'll be finishing this when I get back.

Well, 3 vials of blood later, I'm back, and I didn't have to pee in a cup!

One of my most favorite groups is back with a new song, Naked and Alive, and, according to them, it's about self love... the physical kind.  I like this song.

And, of course, yesterday afternoon, judgement began for Donald Trump.  You'll notice that I said began, since this is just the start.  For those of you with friends who simply don't understand, you need to explain he was found guilty of Election Fraud, among other things, not simply paying off Stormy Daniels.  A lot of people are confused about that.  Tell them that 10 years after the fact, Trump was worried that his having sex with a Playboy Bunny and a porn star would be terrible for his campaign, and so chose to pay for their secrecy.  Because he didn't want these payoffs linked to him, he set up a fake company, and then hired fictitious employees to create a fake payroll expense, and then used the money for that fake payroll expense to write checks to Michael Cohen who then used those funds to payoff the Bunny and the porn star.  The payoff was the sole purpose of the fake company and fake employees.  To do this he broke 34 different laws.  Ouch.

Republicans are outraged.  Their Orange Anus deity turns out to be just as fake as the fake company he started.  I do believe his minions and sycophants believed the country would rise up in protest, in fact, they were very vocal about their revenge and so far... crickets.

One thing I did find funny was that upon leaving the courthouse, his motorcade heading to Trump Tower came to a standstill after getting caught up in a traffic jam.   

 

Furiously Bad

 Well, yesterday began fine weatherwise, but then the clouds rolled in... again, as did the sporadic thunderstorms.  As I lay down to sleep last night, I could hear the patter of rain on my windows... again.  For now, I think the rain has passed.  We've got clouds scuttling across the sky, but the temps are mid Spring, down in the mid 50s (F).  According to Accuweather, the next 5 days should be dry.  I don't think anybody quite believes that will happen.

Most of yesterday morning and early afternoon was spent adjust the kbps on different chapters of the audiobook and more importantly the volume.  Translation:  I'm equalizing the decibel range.  ACX (read Audible) requires what they call a standardized volume and all chapters need to fall into specific number of decibels.  This can be done during recording, but unless you're in a sound studio it's rather difficult because, as humans, we tend to move our heads when we're speaking, we get a little closer to the microphone, or pull away the tiniest of bits.  The changes I have to make are small, 1 decibel up, or possibly .8 decibels down.  The only way to know how much to change is to upload the chapter, wait for ACX to analyze it, and then make that tiny correction before uploading it again.  I'm using an app called Audacity, which simplifies the process.  I should be finished either today, or tomorrow.

And I went to see the latest Mad Max movie last night.  Avoid it at all costs.  A very chiseled Chris Hemsworth is the villain and is Anya Taylor-Joy as the heroine. While they obviously go to the gym daily, no one else does, since the rest of the cast is overweight and either scared or missing body parts.  There are long action set pieces and a few, short bits of dialogue that are intended to move the story... possibly forward.  About 2 hours and 15 minutes into the two and a half hour long saga, you get a voiceover because someone, somewhere decided that the audience needed to know what was going on.  This movie is a prequel to Mad Max - Fury Road (that film won 6 Oscars), so during the credits you actually get to see clips of that earlier, much better movie.

And, of course, the jury is still out.  There seems to be a little confusion, he only needs to be found guilty on one of the 34 charges against him to be declared guilty.  This is how it works most often when there are multiple charges, which is why having a Hung Jury doesn't happen when there are so many multiple charges.  That doesn't mean there isn't one person who's going to vote not guilty on every charge, it's just that the odds of that happening are very slim.  One thing you can count on, his cultists will be furious if he's found guilty, and I don't doubt that many will be waiting for a voiceover to tell them what in hell is going on.

Bodies

 Wednesday has arrived.  Temps are comfortable.  The sun is shining.  All that's supposed to change late this afternoon as thunderstorms move into the area.  I'll have to deal with that.  Looking at the long range forecast, I'd have to say that summer is approaching: more sun and less rain.  I like this type of weather.  Are there scorching days ahead of us?  Can't say, but if the weather pattern holds, if this year is like the past 2, then I'd have to say probably not.  By the way, temps are cooking in those rabidly Right Wing states of Texas and Florida.  That's fine with me.

Usually, on my first day off after working 3, I tend to do as little as possible.  Not that I'm worn out, or tired, I just like to... well, do nothing.  No, that's wrong, I did things, just not chore related.  Reading, writing, and just a touch of cleaning, like doing the dishes by hand.

I shoved the two area rugs that had been in the writing room into my garbage can and took it to the curb for pick-up.  When Waste Management took over, they gave everybody oversized garbage cans, so they easily fit inside.  The cans are so big, I can fit just about anything inside, except for the dog sofa.

This morning, I'm going to either cancel my Amazon Prime, or reduce it greatly.  There's nothing interesting to watch, except for the occasional originals, and I can't see paying for something I'm not going to watch.  Netflix, however, has things I like.  Last night I finished watching "Bodies," which I really liked.  It's the story of 4 detectives investigating the same murder victim decades apart.  It's almost like an anthology series since each detective is dealing with issues, and all of them choosing to make a sacrifice.

Of course, they had closing arguments yesterday in Trump's election interference trial.  He was a little miffed that his defense team couldn't go last, which is odd.  After all of the people he has sued, you'd think he would have realized that Karma was going to put him in the same shoes as all of his victims.  One of the things I've found very satisfying is that while he pays his attorneys to call him Mr. President, Judge Merchan calls him Mr. Trump.  That, among so many other unpleasant things, must be burning his ass.  In fact, for a few moments I'd thought of calling this entry Burning His Ass, but decided would only lead to too many truly vulgar thoughts.

The Holiday is Over

 We have sunshine!  How wonderful.  Temps are predicted to be moderate this afternoon, hovering around in the mid 70s (F).  I can deal with that.  Humidity might be a little high, but I can deal with a little sticky, sweatiness.  We have a higher chance for thunderstorms tomorrow, but I can deal with that, too.  What we really need is the sunshine to dry things out.

And I did work yesterday.  We had customers in the morning and none in the afternoon, no doubt because of picnics and cookouts.  It was Monday and seemed like Sunday, and was mostly boring.  I do get holiday pay (4 hours since I'm part-time) which is nice.  I did explain to a few associates what Memorial Day was, and why it was a National Holiday, but only one person at work thanked me for my service.  Food, of sorts, was provided: burgers, chicken tenders, and hot dogs on the grill, but that's it, none of the fixin's.  No deserts or beverages were provided, I was told this was because they didn't have enough money.  The orange retailer is punishing us.  They used to provide Fun Funds for holidays, and they still do, only now those $$$ are limited.  You can increase those funds by winning credit card contests: the top store in the district to sign up new credit cards, or the top store to get leads or measures.  To do either of those you need customers.

It seems as though no one went to the movies this holiday weekend, usually one of the biggest of the year.  Perhaps that's because 2 niche films were released.  The fact that someone, somewhere thought Garfield was going to be a hit tells you a lot about the lack of rational thinking in Hollywood.  Going to the movies has become super expensive because of Corporate Greed.  People need a reason to plunk down all those buckos.  Mad Max and Garfield provide no reason what so ever.

Here's a view of the writing room from the staircase.  The updating of the floor should be finished by tomorrow.

With the Holiday over, politically things should get back to their chaotic normal.  For those who missed it, Trump was photographed walking around a parking lot at some Naas car race waving, and gesturing, and saluting no one in particular.  While he looked zany, his team was filming bits to edit into crowd reactions to make it seem like he is extremely popular, something he needs to do after so many media outlets reported on his getting booed badly.  Remember, everything he does is staged.  Everything he says is a lie.

Thanking Those Who Served

 Happy Memorial Day to everyone who's celebrating here in the US.  It's one of those holidays that should be a holiday and would be if Capitalism taken control of the steering wheel.  It's no longer about honoring all those soldiers and sailors who died for America, rather, it's not about the deal to get the sale.  To do that, retailers work their damndest to get people away from celebrations and into their stores with sweet prices.

We dealt with the inevitable questions yesterday, and will have to deal with them today.  "What's your Memorial Day Sale?"  One woman with a toddler turned abruptly and walked away when I told her we had nothing on sale.  This is how it goes.  Business will probably be slightly busy this morning, but as the day wears on it will die off.  At some point people decide to fire up the grill.

The weather on this holiday is supposed to be humid, not as warm as yesterday, which wasn't really that warm, but with the threat of thunderstorms.  We had rain over night.  

They are bringing food in:  burgers and grilled chicken.  I'd rather have burgers and dogs.  I'm not wild about chicken on the grill unless it's dripping with barbecue sauce.  That ain't gonna happen.

Take a moment today and think about those who served.  Thank those young men and women who gave their lives for our Democracy.  We owe them so much.

Holiday Blog

Well, we're into the 2nd day of our holiday weekend and the weather is stormy... sort of.  Today the humidity is supposed to soar..  No thunderstorms are in the forecast, at least not for today.  We did have a few yesterday.  Lots of rain at times, drenching Central Pa.  More are predicted for tomorrow as this weather pattern moves through.  It will be here and gone in no time.  

Retail was not too good yesterday.  Our measure system was down making it impossible for us to sell a flooring measure.  Not a good thing on the holiday weekend, when customers do stop in during the early hours.  Afternoons and evenings are slow, since that's when the cookouts and barbecues start.

I saw this little review of Interview With a Vampire and thought it cute.  I was so disappointed in that movie.

And for those who missed it, Trump was mercilessly booed last evening at the Libertarian Convention.  It was more than joyous watching him get all red in the face.  If you get a chance watch some of the videos, one the best showed him leaving the stage looking rather dejected.  Simply Wonderful

 

For Generations

 So, how does the Memorial Day weekend begin?  With the forecast for thunderstorms today, tomorrow, and Monday.  Will storms put in an appearance?  Possibly. They were supposed to show up on Thursday and stayed away.  One thing I have noticed about the latest predictions is the use of the word "hot."  Today is supposed to be "hot," but the high is only expected to reach 87 (F).  To me, that's not hot.  97 (F) would be hot.  It's not hot until I have to turn on the Central Air.

Speaking of hot, has anyone heard if Florida and Texas are still super hot?  Boy, those babies will be cooking by the time July and August roll around.

I did get much accomplished yesterday.  The lawn was mowed.  I took the weed wacker into the dog yard (that fenced in area) and cut that back.  Now I'll be able to mow the entire thing with my lawn mower.  I worked on the writing room floor, mopping the entire thing with Murphy's Oil Soap.  Lying down on it, though, I think I could still smell a bit of dog.  I have some spray cleaner that should eliminate that, and, as a last resort, I can put down another layer of polyurethane.  

Swatches arrived with sofa fabrics, and I'm going to go with a brown velvet.  It will coordinate with the drapes and will pop on the yellow area rug.  It's also going to be great at camouflaging dog hair.  

Being a holiday weekend, things will most likely be rather quiet on the political front.  I'm thinking that might be a good thing.  Things are quite turbulent.  America is restless.  While growing up, I had been taught that history was broken up into 2 parts, BC (Before Christ) and AD (After Christ).  Well, that was changed a while back to BCE (Before Current Era) and CE (Current Era).  Christ was taken out of the picture since for a vast majority of peoples in the world he is irrelevant.  In the United States, I don't doubt we, too, will speak of eras, splitting our history into 2 parts: BT (Before Trump) and AT (After Trump).  He has become historically relevant, not because he is good for the country, rather it is the polarizing effect he creates.  He will lose the election this November and about 45 % of the population will be upset, and those losers, like those who loved the Confederacy, will be around for generations.

Big News

 Well Happy Friday to everyone out there.  Here in Central PA, our temps are supposed to be moderately high, mid 80s (F) with partially cloudy skies for the Memorial Day weekend.  Wow! This holiday just sort crept up on me.  In fact, it's difficult to believe that the month of May is nearly over.  Time is just zipping by.

I did work yesterday.  Retail was slow.  At one point, our Operations Manager wandered over to the flooring desk for a nice little chat, during which he asked how long it had been since I managed the Front End (all of the cashiers).  When I told him 5 years, he said, "oh, that's not that long ago."  So I politely told him I had no interest in going backwards, and the thought struck me that perhaps I should start acting my age... Hell, that'll never happen.

And in sort of big news, evidently Target, Walmart, and Aldis have announced they're going to begin dropping prices.  This is what happens when you outprice yourself.  Of course, supposedly this is just food prices, Target and Walmart didn't say they weren't going to raise prices elsewhere.  I don't doubt that other retailers are going to follow suit.  The power of the dollar is not spending it when they want you to, but rather when you make the decision yourself.  

When I got home from work, my neighbor from across the street called me over.  She's a very nice woman who's basically a chain smoker.  I've talked about her before.  She was one of the co-signers of the will that was invalidated, and we had to drive around looking for a Notary Public in order to sign another document saying we were the original signers.  Anyway, she called me over and gave me some dahlias, that I shall have to plant out later this morning.  Right now they're sitting in a baking pan in my kitchen sink.

The Orange Anus had a rally yesterday in the Bronx and around 7 thousand showed up.  The population of the Bronx is 1.4 million.  That's a terribly big ouch when you realize just how small an area the Bronx actually covers.  We're not even talking minor mileage here.

There are a lot of funny stories about Nikki Haley's flip, one was that she's putting all of her eggs in the 2028 basket, thinking she has a better chance for the presidency then.  I know, it simply doesn't make sense.  By supporting Trump, it's not going to put her in a better position after he loses.

And the shocker that should have been expected was Clarence Thomas saying that with the Brown vs the School Board decision, that landmark decision saying black children needed to be treated the same as white children, the Supreme Court had probably made a mistake.  This is coming from a black man who would not be on the Court if that decision had not been made.  In case you haven't realized it yet, there is something seriously wrong with Thomas.

Turbulent Times

 Well, it's stinky winky humid outside.  You know what I'm talking about, when your clothing feels damp and sticky and clings like some sort of cotton cellophane.  The wind is also picking up.  Dark storm clouds are shortly supposed to let loose, the coming rain is supposed to reduce the humidity.  Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

Retail was slow yesterday.  I did manage to get a measure for blinds.  We have a very good sale coming up for Memorial Day.  Geez.  I can't believe the holiday is upon us.  Time does seem to be flying by.  Not that our sales are going to be improving anytime soon.  People seem to be, for the most part, simply fed up with the expense of home improvements.  This is how American capitalism is supposed to work.  People no longer pay the high prices and stop buying; businesses drop their prices to increase sales.  The problem all too often, however, has been that corporations are simply saying "screw you, buy or do without."  Still, it may be working.  Recently both MacDonalds and Target have announced they were going to begin reducing prices.  How much this effect overall pricing among retailers might be an economist's nightmare.

My new area rug arrives today.  The yellow one.  I did some prepping of the floor yesterday.  I'm excited.

I have to use a different format for listing the chapters in the audio version of The Body on the Lawn.  Rather than have to change format in my future books, I'm switching over now.  This is how the table of contents is supposed to look.

A quick update on the weather.  The rain we were supposed to be getting is moving north of us, so it looks like we're going to miss most of it.

And Nikki Haley told the world she wouldn't vote for Biden yesterday, and that she will vote for Trump.  Does that mean her voters will do likewise?   We're going to need to take a wait and see approach to understand how that effects the Republican protest vote.

Any day now the jury will be sent out in Trump's election interference trial.  Will they come back with a guilty verdict?  There is that possibility.  One thing you can be certain of, is that if they do the Orange Anus will file an immediate appeal in an attempt to stay out of prison.  And if they do reach a guilty verdict, how will that effect the November elections?  How turbulent will the times be?  Maybe we should all fasten our seatbelts.

Donnie and the Teleprompter

 We're up to Wednesday and the nice weather's supposed to hold until sometime this afternoon, when thunderstorms are supposed to arrive.  Thunder boomers are expected to be a nuisance both today and tomorrow, however the temps are predicted to stay warm.  Warm is fine.

Much ended up being accomplished yesterday, that doesn't happen to always be the case.  You know the adage about the best laid plans?  Yesterday they were successful.  A section of my hardwood floor where a large splinter had come out years ago was patched.  The living room tank was cleaned.  Dishes were done.  Rooms were cleaned.

The only disappointment was that the sofa I dismantled and carried out to the curb is still sitting there.  I will call the township office later this morning and complain.  

I also, finally, got back to working on The Body in History late in the afternoon.  One of the things I did was research which word was better taberna or taverna, one is Italian and one is Greek.  Can you guess which is which?  This doesn't mean that I'm finished working on the audio version of The Body on the Lawn.  Later this morning I will need to increase the Kbps to 192.  Apparently that's the magic number Audible requires for the audio book to be played on a large variety of devices.

Last night's dinner was Chicken Cacciatore, it was delicious.  I made enough so I have 4 more meals sitting in the refrigerator.

Early yesterday morning Donnie Dementia posted a video to his Truth Social account promising a "unified Reich" once he gets elected.  Of course, it was taken down shortly after being posted, however, he'd already accomplished what he wanted to do: send a message to those far right fascist groups who want total control.  Do not think this was not his intention.  Something you should realize, Trump hates America because it rejected him in 2020.  This is why he lies about winning.  And, why he lies about voter fraud.  Losing makes him a failure, one thing his feeble mind cannot accept.  To be successful, he will do whatever he feels is necessary, which means turning to the far right, the Christian Nationalists, and American Nazis.  He doesn't care if he manages to initiate a civil war; everything is on the table in order for him to prove himself successful.  Lucky for us he has a lot of serious problems, including dementia.  He will never debate Biden because he needs a teleprompter to keep his speeches somewhat sane.  It has become a necessity for him, without it, he's status as a loser is on full display.

Daily chores

 My day off is supposed to be filled with sunshine!  There is 0% chance of rain.  Some people in the Central PA region are on the verge of reaching ecstasy over this news.  Tomorrow, we're supposed to top off in the high 80s (F) and the chance of rain increases to 25%.  Of course, I'm scheduled to work tomorrow afternoon, so as long as it holds off until I've ensconced myself at the flooring desk I'll be fine.

Specialty retail was soooo slow yesterday.  I spent most of the time looking at styles of loveseats for my writing room.  Originally, I'd thought of getting something that was peachy colored, however, trying to picture that in my head wasn't working.  It never does.  Mostly I think with an inner monologue, meaning my thoughts are mostly taken up with words, not pictures.  So, I did the next best thing, I've ordered swatches and chose colors and fabrics that coordinate with the draperies that are already hung.  

On my schedule for today is laundry (there always seems to be laundry), some work on the writing room, floor, a ride on the bike this afternoon, and uploading files of the audio book to Audible.  How much of that will actually be accomplished is another matter.  Back when I was working fulltime, relaxing, unwinding, and recharging were all done on my first day off.  Those 3 things are not conducive to getting chores done and I honestly don't have time for them.

I just zipped out and snapped a picture of one of my Itoh peonies.  For some reason I didn't get a lot of buds this year, perhaps it's because we've basically had constant rain and cloud cover for so long.  I don't know.

And, isn't Florida a funny state?  I mean, not only does it have Disney, there are also millions of conservative senior citizens who moved to the sunshine state in total denial of Climate Change.   I don't know if you've been paying any attention to the temperatures down there, but they've been suffering under a heat wave.  In some places, daily temps are reaching 108 (F) which is hot, almost Death Valley hot.  That means super high electric bills to cool things down, which means senior facilities are increasing their rates because they need to turn a profit.  And we're not even close to the dog days of summer.  This is Karma, for those who don't know it.  

Trump's election interference trial had a dash of excitement yesterday.  His first defense witness caused the courtroom to be cleared.  Guy named Costello, who rolled his eyes and glared at the judge from the witness stand; a fool whom everyone believes made a terrible impression on the jury.  In other words, someone just like Trump.

Mustard

 It's cloudy outside.  Temps are suppose to climb up into the low 80s (F), but sunshine is going to be absent for most of the day.  Tomorrow is predicted to be warmer, and by Thursday we should be simmering in the high 80s (F) to low 90s (F).  While some people have already turned on their air conditioning, I haven't.  It's not like I really need it.  That'll happen when we hit that slow summer broil stage when the temps upstairs are much warmer than those downstairs.

Retail was busy yesterday, but mostly in the morning.  As the day stretched on, customers became few and far between.  I did manage to get quite a few miles doing laps around the building, always avoiding the garden since that is where the customers were congregating, among the shrubs, and bushes, and veggie plants.

And I'm happy to say that I didn't have to download Fotor in order to change the cover art from rectangular to square.  I played around with it in Word, since that has a photo editor, or something that passes for one.  All I have to do is save it as a picture and I should be good to go.

Also, since tomorrow is garbage day, after I finish here, I'm going to begin lugging the remnants of that old doggy sofa out onto the curb.  Free pickup, you can't beat that, now can you? 

 One of the things I did to waste time at work yesterday, was to start looking online for area rugs.  We sell them, but they're crap.  I saw one that's mustard color which I think will go well with the juniper berry color of the walls.  With maybe a peach or watermelon loveseat.  That might look good.  

The president (or whatever they call him) of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash yesterday, and as you might suspect, authorities in that country are saying that we are partially to blame because of our sanctions against them keep them from getting replacement parts for their helicopter fleet.  Well, maybe they should have bought their helicopters from Russia, or China, rather than the US.  Of course, it could be that both of those countries peddle inferior products.

And the spokesperson from Wildwood, New Jersey, is retracting the number of people attending the rally held by the Orange Anus.  Now she's claiming that large number she made up was from her visually seeing lots, and lots of people in bars and at other events on that same day.  Of course, if you're a Republican, any lie will do.

Opinionated

 Well, as the forecasters predicted, we have sunshine.  In fact, not a single drop of rain is predicted for the next week.  Sure, some of the days are supposed to be partly cloudy, but, if there correct, we'll see nary a drop of precipitation.  That'll be nice.

Work was slow yesterday.  I understand it was busier in the morning, during that constant drizzle, but in the afternoon, after the rain had stopped, the customers dropped off.  The only bright spot was that I had my review.  The large, orange, home improvement retailer I work for had done away with reviews during covid, now they are coming back.  I'm evidently number one in the store in getting measures.  Everyone seems to attribute that to the fact that I'm a "nice guy."  I find that funny since I am surrounded by so many other people whom I think are much nicer.  Perhaps that's because I don't know what's going on in their heads, while I know very well what's going on in mine.  Are my thoughts bad?  Nah, but I am definitely very opinionated and if you rub me the wrong way you will get to hear my opinion.

When I finish here, I'm going to go downstairs to the writing room and download a program called Fotor into the writing laptop.  I began uploading the files for the audio version of The Body on the Lawn yesterday and discovered that the cover art needs to be perfectly square.  Fotor takes the rectangular art that I have and does just that.  I don't know whether to classify this as a learning experience, or a bother.

Here's what my writing room floor looks like with all of the area rugs out.  There's a spot where it looks like I must have spilled some sort of oil and it created a stain.  Whatever it was, it didn't create a strong enough memory for me to remember.  And, for those who are curious, the round thing is a hatbox that has stamps on the lid from the first Grand Prix in Paris in 1906, and that is a Columbia Graphinola dated to 1926.  Somehow, I seem to accumulate old stuff.

And, since it's the weekend, politically things are quiet; that doesn't mean I stop thinking.  One thing that occurred to me is how so many wealthy Christians want to believe that their wealth is a blessing from God.  This makes me wonder if they ever think about wealthy Muslims.  Not Christians, and yet some of them are the richest people in the world.  Or, do they ever consider Asian billionaires, again some of the wealthiest people in world, and definitely not Christian.  Aren't these people blessed, too?  Or is it that Christian billionaires have tiny, selfish, inconsiderate minds that can only regard themselves as being blessed?

Trump, Alito, and the cloudy day

 The weather forecasters were correct, we do have rain this morning.  A gentle, soaking rain is falling; I heard it while still laying in bed.  It's a shame the only time they're accurate, when they're right on the money, it's usually when they're predicting rain.  Our highs will be in the upper 60s (F), tomorrow they're supposed to be higher.  By the time we get to the middle of the week they're supposed to be back in the 80s (F).

All the area rugs are out of the writing room, one is rolled up on the front porch, the other is rolled up on the back porch.  Both have the musky scent of Eau de Dog.  I've ordered an enzyme based solution to spray on the hardwood floor.  I also bought hardwood floor refinisher to help cover up the marks from their nails.  This is the price you pay when you have both dogs and hardwood.

I do get to work today.  Yippee!  I don't doubt that the crowds of shoppers we do get will mostly be in the garden department.  We're in full spring mode now, and even if it rains, they're going to want to gussy up their curb appeal heading into Memorial Day.  

Dermot, the narrator, has sent me all of the audio books for The Body on the Lawn.  We got along well.  He does a lot of animation, so he had no problem with the various voices in the book, and believe me, there are a lot of voices.  I always thought about characters and what they're going to say, I never once considered what they would sound like.  Eli sounds nice, Max has a deeper voice.  I was also surprised by how much humor is in it.  It's not a comedy, but there are parts where you do chuckle.

Yesterday, I also went to my neighborhood Giant supermarket and picked up a few essentials and when I got home, I snapped a picture of my back yard.  It is quite verdant.  I just need for the rain to stop and the sun to come out and dry things up so I can get at it with my weed wacker and lawn mower.

Yesterday, Donald Trump went to his son Barron's graduation, not so much, I think, because he wanted to, but more so because he opened his mouth and whined about it during his election interference trial.  I wonder how many in that graduating class were happy to have such a well known Moral Degenerate amongst them.  I wonder if he had a team handing out little MAGA hats.  I didn't check, but I don't doubt he did some sort of mini press conference to lie about his trial.

Though, more people were talking about Alito and his upside down flag, and even more were talking about how, whenever hard right conservatives get into trouble they blame their wives.  The fact that he said she hung the flag upside down indicates she was for the insurrection is made even saltier by his claiming she was upset by a neighbor's sign that said Fuck Trump.  Alito is bad.  He needs to be impeached.

Trump's Trial Turns Musical

 Well, let's say hello to Friday, and my day off, and, as you might expect we have a 95% chance of cloud cover.  That 5% of sunshine, that happened around 6 AM.  No rain is in the forecast, though, that's supposed to arrive tomorrow.  That's not going to be good for our garden department.  No one wants to wandering around looking at shrubberies in the rain.

Speaking of shrubberies, I'm thinking of buy some sort of hemlock to put in front of my porch, one that does well in shade since it will sit in the shadow of the gingko tree.\

And I learned a thing yesterday.  My desk is big, and heavy, and impossible for me to lift by myself with all of the drawers inside.  However, I can push the thing, so I've begun pushing it around the writing room in order to get the area rugs out from under it.  One of the rugs was rolled up and taped yesterday, and is now sitting on my back porch waiting to go out in the garbage.  The second one will be gone later this morning.  One thing that surprised me, was how much of a doggie odor they have.  It's a good thing none of my friends never decided to have a lay down my floor.\

There were some interesting entries on social media yesterday, things that out and out made me laugh, one of which was when they tried to get Bo Bo Boebert to sign a Beetlejuice program.  I understand that when she went to speak she was nearly droned out by people chanting that name over and over again.

And then there were the Bootlickers.  Evidently, Matty Gaetz has decided to form a new faux rock band that really does nothing more than play air guitar and lip sync badly.

As for the trial, from all reports Trump's attorney, some guy named Blanche (I try a name change if I were him) lost his temper on more than one occasion.  Was his temper tantrum successful at doing anything other than showing his weaknesses?  Only the jury knows.

Sunshine

 Sunshine!  At last, what a shame I have to do to work today.  Unfortunately, I took a personal day yesterday when it was cloudy and drizzly because... well, it was cloudy and drizzly.  If you live in Central PA, you know what I'm talking about.  I know this is all part of the transition into summer, but this past winter was gloomy, too, warmer than usual, but not a lot of sunshine.

Yesterday was a good day for getting things accomplished.  Much was done, and still, there is much left to do.  Now that it's sunny, I feel as though I need to grab my weed wacker and wack away at the tall grass, but that will probably wait until tomorrow when it's only supposed to be partly sunny.  There are other chores needing to be done today.  The living room area rug arrived yesterday, so I want to get that laid down today.  That will entail moving furniture.  I also want to get in either a dumbbell workout and some time on the treadmill.  I got a bike ride in yesterday, not as long, but with more gusto and a higher wattage in order to burn just as many calories.  Yes, that's right, for those who don't know, your energy output is measured in wattage.  A higher wattage means a better workout.

I did have breakfast with my brother this morning. He and his wife have just returned from Scotland.  I asked him if he bought a kilt, and he admitted buying one, but hadn't worn it yet.  He did tell me that in spite of what some might think, kilts are quite masculine.  If had the legs, I'd buy one.

And I borrowed this from social media yesterday.

Of course, everyone seems to be talking about the debates, 2 of them, without an audience.  Oooh, that's not good for the Morale Degenerate Trump, he loves him his cultists noising it up when he burbles up some lie.  However, that's not going to happen.  There's not going to be a small crowd of Cracker Jack crazies to whom he turn and mug.  Personally, even though he has agreed to the debates, I wouldn't doubt if talks fall apart because his team knows he might suddenly start ranting about... oh, say Hannibal Lecter. Every day it seems as if another four or five clips are added of him meandering off topic to brag about... oh, water for instance rather than speak about a coherent subject.  Somehow, I don't think he has a lot of sunshine on his shoulders these days.

Revenge

 The forecast for Central PA is drizzle and showers throughout the day.  Yep.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but the forecast for May is the same forecast for this month we've had for the past 2 years.  Growing up, they used to say "April showers bring May flowers," and while we do have the flowers, the skies have overcast far more than they have not.  If this is a trend, then this summer will be warm, but not hot.  It will be interesting to see if the pattern holds.

Yesterday much was accomplished, and there was a lot to get done, including a mowing of the lawn.  I went out right after I posted my blog and began mowing.  Good thing, too, because the drizzles began around 10 AM and continued throughout the day.  By 4 PM we were stuck in a sustained steady drizzle until well late into the evening.  I have no idea when it stopped.

On this cloudy morning, I'm having peanut butter oatmeal for breakfast, instead of my normal cereal; the weather calls for it.

And I went to the movies last evening, and it wasn't to see The Fall Guy, you know, the Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt vehicle.  Nope, I went to see The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.  I will admit I'm not too familiar with the franchise.  55 years ago, the original film had that stunner of an ending, though the sequels were weak, and after that I lost interest.  I partially watched the Markie Mark film, too, and thought that was a waste of time and so paid little attention to the follow-up films focusing on Caesar.  So, why go to see the latest installment?  Curiosity.  It's getting a lot of good whispers, and they're well deserved.  It has one of the finest story arcs I've seen in years.  Characters grow and develop, a lot.  The film does have a big Wow factor.

Michael Cohen did testify yesterday.  Was he brutally honest?  Well, he was brutal.  I understand that the Orange Anus sat with his eyes closed throughout his testimony.  For someone like Trump who demands the ultimate in loyalty, this would have been the ultimate betrayal.  Cohen admitted he hates Trump, and that he did want revenge, but wanting revenge doesn't mean lying.  Sometimes the sweetest revenge is in the simplest of truths.  Honesty is a virtue and everyone admits that Cohen has admitted there is little that is virtuous in his life.  Is he doing this for the betterment of America?  Possibly.  Mostly, however, he's doing it for payback.  Was he corrupted by Trump?  To some extent, but then for someone as evil as Trump, corrupting the weak is oh, so very easy.  Will the jury side with Cohen, we can only hope they're smarter than the Orange Anus.

Toot Your Own Horn

 When I climbed out of bed this morning the sun was shining.  Much has changed.  The clouds have come rolling in, and later this afternoon, or at least so I've read, showers are going to move into the area.  Temps will be in the low 70s (F) and that won't be bad, but these constant showers are making it difficult to mow my lawn.

Looking at my chore list for today, it looks like it's chock full of things that need to be done, however, the time involved for each chore isn't heavy on the minutes.  The longest is mowing the lawn, if the clouds don't decide to bless me with drizzles, and even that's only about 20 minutes.  I mow fast, though the height of the grass may slow me down, so maybe that should be 25.  None of the tanks need to be cleaned, but I need to run to the post office, and then to my local Giant supermarket.  That errand will consume the most time.

The area rug I bought for the living room arrives today.  I'd like to get that laid, but there are other things I need to do to prep for it.  I'm going to need assistance in moving the desk, unless I take all of the drawers out, then I think ;I can move it, but that's going to be a chore in itself, so I'm planning on getting that done next week.

Yesterday, retail was oh, so slow.  Believe me, it was a long 8 hours.  I did manage to get a small sale, and that's fine.  How good are my sales?  The other part-time associate has racked up $46,000 in the last 6 months, while I just topped $180.000, and I'm only $26,000 behind the full time specialists.  Believe me, I do let management know that, too.  Many years ago, I had an Human Resources manager tell me that you need to "toot your own horn," because no one else will.

And Michael Cohen was tooting his horn yesterday.

Evidently there was some concern that he was going to come across as a jerk, since most people view fixers as the underbelly of the beast.  Let's face it, working for the Orange Anus, Cohen has truly slithered his way through mountains shit.  Evidently, nobody likes him, except possibly his family.  He is not the loving Father Knows Best kind of guy.  But, to the prosecution's relief he was pleasant and well prepared.  he brought the receipts.  Cohen knows where the bodies are buried, and he dug up a few yesterday.  

I'm also seeing a lot of consternation from people who are looking at the polls and seeing Biden behind in many.  I find it fascinating that in many of these reports the cite how Trump over performed the polls in 2016, and how Democrats over performed in 2018, 2020, and really over performed in 2022.  Remember 2022?  When Republicans were predicted to smash whatever strength the Democrats had because, traditionally, the party that loses the presidency gains seats in both the congress and the senate in the next election.  Ooops.  Tradition was upended, so were the polls.  The truth is that polls will never recover the accuracy they once had, but news sources are desperate to create drama in order to generate the number of clicks advertisers want to see.  I hate to say this, but they are generating fake news, but it's not just Main Stream media, it's everybody.  This is what happens when you abandon truth for advertising dollars.  

Fudging 80.,000

 Outside it's overcast.  Tomorrow, when I'm off, the sun is supposed to come out and I should be able to mow my lawn.  Temps should be fine as well.

And, as for yesterday when there was no entry, I had started one meaning to finish it after returning from breakfast with my brother.  Things did not go as planned.  In fact, yesterday my best be described as a day of oddities.  I got to Denny's, always his restaurant of choice right on time, got a table, ordered coffee... and waited.  After waiting 8 minutes, I sent him a text letting him know I was at the restaurant.  No response.  25 minutes later, I sent another text asking if he'd forgotten.  Five minutes later I got a response, he didn't know about breakfast, so I texted him about his invite the day before.  He blamed Verizon, saying it was an older text that somehow had been delayed, however, an older text would have shown the correct older date and time.  Hhhmm.  Was he suffering from a moment of blondness?  I found the whole thing rather amusing, however, it did set a pattern for how the rest of the day panned out.

Then, later in the day, I was surprised by getting a call from my friend Justin.  He and his girlfriend live about 3 blocks away, and he'll pop into the store occasionally, but he never calls.  It was so odd.

I did hit my sales goal for the week, and got one measure, that should keep management sort of happy.  I did piss my supervisor off a little bit when I recommended to a customer to check out Amazon for a specialty screw he was looking for, instead of looking on our website.  We don't carry specialty screws.

The Orange Anus had a rally at Wildwood, or some beach in New Jersey and, of course, he and his team had to lie about attendance.  They claimed 80 to 100 thousand were in attendance.  That was not the case.  It didn't take long for people to begin posting pictures and videos of people beginning to leave his rally.  Why do Republicans have to lie so much?  Here's a shot showing 50,000 people at a Pink concert (she's at the far end) in Atlantic City, next to picture of the crowd of what?  Maybe 8,000 that went to see Trump.

Keep in mind, the Orange Anus knows nothing about the truth, through out his entire life he has been the most popular, most intelligent, biggest liar there has ever been.  

His court case continues today.  Michael Cohen, his chief fixer is going to testify.  Prepare yourselves for Trump to be reprimanded, he's going to be loud and angry in the courtroom.

No lights

 It rained yesterday.  While it would have been if the forecast was just a little wrong, it wasn't.  So, while we had a storm that was little more than steady drizzle with heavy cloud cover, much of the world got to see the aurora borealis.  While the cloud cover is a little thinner this morning, the best of the solar storm has passed.  Today we're supposed to warm up into the mid 60s (F),. but the showers are supposed to remain.

I did get in 2 miles on the treadmill.  That was good.  I'm getting my Greek body in shape for my trip.

I work today, but I don't have to be at the store until 2.  I had the same schedule Wednesday and Thursday, though on Thursday my brain misfired and I showed up at my normally scheduled 1 PM.  So, I'll get an extra hour of pay this week.  I did have to let management no to keep it from showing up on my performance review.  They do that now.  Too many early ins, or too many lates, and they will dock your performance.  How's that for micromanaging?

The dog sofa is sitting in pieces on my front porch.  It will stay there until next Monday evening, at which time I will move it out onto the curb.  There is so much space in the writing room now.  Behind the sofa, I discovered some dabbles of trim paint on the floor, so I'll grab my little sanding bar and erase them.  I also have some renew finisher to put that satin sheen back on the planks.

There was testimony at Trump's election interference trial, but most of it was technical.  One of the amusing facts that came out was that he only personally signed checks when there was skullduggery involved.  I doubt very much if he did so because he wanted to and his personal touch, rather, I suspect he did so because he wanted to be personally involved, because he thought he was too shifty to get caught.  He definitely thought he was too smart to ever get caught.

And I saw that Melania has decided Barron is not going to be part of the political process of getting his biological father nominated, he's declined being a delegate from the Crazy State of Florida.  I find this funny.  It almost seems as though Melania doesn't want her son to be just another puppet child for the Orange Anus.

One final thing.  Evidently the RNC is really unhappy with how the Secret Service is setting up crowd control for their convention.  A park, one quarter mile away has been set up for protestors, and the RNC thinks that too close.  They want a secure belt around the convention hall that's much wider.  Makes you wonder, what are they worried about.  Another Chicago?

Bonus Points

 A steady, drizzling rain began yesterday afternoon, the sort of thing we call a soaker, and it hasn't really stopped.  Temps dropped.  We're now in the mid 50s (F), and the weather forecasters say this is where we're going to hang for the rest of the day.  Good thing I didn't pack my sweatpants and shirts for the summer.  I'd just sit home and wait it out, but I'm running low on milk and bread, so later I'll be heading out to my local Giant supermarket.

Speaking of Giant, they did not bring back the super bonus point deals. That's a shame.  It means buying gas for the car is going to get pricier.  This is corporate greed.  The bonus points could not only be used to buy gas, but to buy groceries as well.  The few bonus points you provide, the more people have to spend.

Retail was slow yesterday as well, for the most part.  They are really pushing us to get leads and measure, for a lead, you sign up a customer to have someone go to their home and try and sell, them doors, or windows, or sign them up for a hot water heater installation.  Measures are when you sign them up to have a measure tech go to their homes and measure for carpet, or doors, windows.  Measures and leads are seen as guaranteed sales. They push measures and leads all the time, but mostly during the slow months of winter.  Not anymore.  If we make plan for the day, it's usually because some customer has purchased an installation.  People just aren't spending the money they used to spend. 

I made an appointment yesterday to have them pick up the dog sofa in 2 weeks.  Waste Management will do it for free, but it does need to be disassembled for them to do so.  This is what it looks like now.  Oh, and I'm also going to be getting rid of those ugly area rugs.  I bought them when they were on clearance, $29 each.  

Stormy testified again yesterday.  That woman is nobody's fool.  She has painted so many terrible pictures I don't want to think about, scared they'd stick in my brain for ever, like Donald Trump in silk pajamas, or even worse, in boxer shorts.  I probably shouldn't have written then, because now you'll think about them too, and those images will be stuck in your head for all of eternity.

Of course, people are also talking about the Orange Anus and his meeting with the CEOs of the Big Oil companies... and the promise he made them, to gut the EPA, all for the price of a measly billion dollars.  Reports say he said the money was to be used by his campaign, well, we know that's a lie.  He has legal bills that ought to be paid and he's already using campaign funding for that purpose.  And I say ought to be paid because he has a bad habit of not paying, if fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't offer them bonus points in lieu of payment.

A Rush of Glee

 Thursday is starting off with a slightly overcast sky, that's supposed to change to showery later this afternoon as the temps begin to drop.  Tomorrow, my day off, are temps are predicted to be much cooler with showers.  In fact, that seems to be the forecast for the next week, with very little sunshine.  That's fine.  I don't need to go outside to ride my bicycle.

Yesterday's 5 hours at the store were boring.  At one point I took a walk around the store to count customers and counted 8.  To compensate, they will raise prices and call it inflation.  Associates in the store think American people are growing wise when it comes to retail pricing.  I suspect Wall Street is going to be pissed.  There is this belief that people will automatically pay the higher prices to get what they want.  Sorry, it turns out that many Americans like their money just as much the one percenters, and I suspect Capitalism in general is going to be going through some very painful growth spurts as investors realize a continuous 5% growth rate is impossible to maintain.

The dog sofa is coming apart.  Not knowing exactly how to disassemble a recliner sofa, I wasted an entire hour removing bolts from the end recliner before realizing that the two steel rods on the bottom were holding it all together.  Once I take those off, I will end up with 5 individual pieces which are so much easier to move out onto my porch, and from there to the curb for the garbage men to pick up on Monday.

Oh, and yesterday this happened:  

I was sitting at the Flooring desk when I first watched that little clip and I will admit to feeling a rush of glee.  Yep, I laughed out loud.  True, I was a bit stunned by the volume, that so many Republicans joined the Democrats to vocalize their utter disdain for this blonde bimbo from Georgia.  She did manage to get a little over 40 votes, including the disreputable Scotty Perry from Pennsylvania.  

Personally, I think this is representative of America's view of the far right conservative wing of the Republican party.  They are losing elections.  Their agenda is simple, an authoritarian government that says "shut up, we're in charge," because it's not about governing for them, it's about dictating.  GOP officials already know they're going to lose in November, that's why Trump and his henchies have already begun to say they will not accept the results of the election.  He, and the party he controls, have become a national embarrassment.  This is something they will never be able to understand.

When it rains, it pours

We had thunderstorms overnight.  I heard them... vaguely, so the thunder must have been loud since I can sleep through most noise.  I haven't checked the buckets out back yet, so I've no idea how much rain fell.  Our high today is supposed to top off at around 88 (F), and except for a spotty shower this morning, no rain is in the forecast.  The rest of the week is another story.  As the month continues, more and more it's looking like a replay of the last 2 years, the April showers held off until May.

Yesterday was busy.  Much was accomplished.  

I've begun disassembling the sofa which has a recliner on each end.  I was worried about how easy it was going to come apart, but everything seems bolted together.  I should have one of the ends totally removed by the time I head in to work today.

I also got a 12 mile ride in on the bike yesterday.  It was a new ride, in Kansas, which is flat, and very boring.  I'll probably not ride it again.  It's on a big screen TV and I want to be able to see the scenery, yesterday, there was nothing.  It might be a good ride if you just want to work on speed.

It seems as though one of the school board members at the Cumberland Valley High School has resigned.  He was one of those who voted against having Maulik Pancholy talk about bullying and was upset that the school board voted to reinvite him to speak.  There was a public meeting and many, many parents showed up and complained about their original decision.  He doesn't believe that parents have any business telling the school board how to do their jobs.  While I didn't check his political affiliation, I'd bet money on his being not only a Republican, but a white Evangelical as well.

And while it didn't rain here yesterday afternoon, it did in a New York City courthouse.

Can you hear me laughing?  She was rather explicit in her testimony, so much so, that the judge seemed to seriously consider a mistrial.  That would be a bad thing.  While we all want to listen and laugh at the salacious details of her one night stand with the Orange Turd (her words, not mine), her answers need to be specific to the question being asked.  Verbal asides may be funny, but they do need to be pertinent to the case.  Still, I'd say those Americans following Trump's election interference case, were quite satisfied to see his nose publicly rubbed in his own shit.

Other things that popped up yesterday was the fact that the Orange Turd now has a campaign event during his son Barron's graduation.  Wow.  Like is that any surprise?  Remember the big stink he raised about not being able to attend.  In the eyes of the voting public, I suspect this hurts him worse than Stormy's testimony,.

Also, in the Indiana primary, Nikki Haley took 22% of the vote.  Those people who cast their ballots for her will not be voting for Trump in November.

Jail Time

 Tuesday.  It's my day off, and it's very foggy outside. What's strange is that Accuweather did not send out a fog advisory or warning, so maybe it's just very localized, like only on my street.  I doubt that.  Temps are supposed to climb up into the mid 70s (F) today, but the threat of thunderstorms is hanging over our heads.  We have the same forecast for tomorrow.  Yippee.  

I did work yesterday.  Business was slow.  That doesn't mean we weren't busy.  The regional manager is walking our store this morning.  That means everybody has to be working making the store look presentable.  I'm rarely impressed by people or the positions they hold with the company, so being off today and not being able to meet him today doesn't phase me in the least bit.  I have met upper management before, and while it's always nice, those moments are not things that I treasure.

My narrator has sent me 9 chapters that I need to listen to and as I get them I download them onto the writing computer.  I was surprised to see that Chapter 4 is 24 minutes long.  Wow!  I guess I'm wordier than I thought.

I'm getting rid of the dog sofa in the writing as well as the area rugs since they do carry the fragrance Eau de Chien and I don't want to start the new pup that I'll be getting with any easily learned bad habits.  The first area rug from the living room is already gone.  I was going to call Waste Management and then have friends drag the sofa out onto the front lawn, it's heavy since each end is a recliner.  Yesterday, however, I realized that I can break it out in easier to manage pieces, so that's probably what I'm going to do.  In fact, the first piece is already in the garbage.  When finished, the writing room will have an entirely different look.  My great grandmother's library table and possible a wing chair will be taking the sofa's place.

So, yesterday Judge Merchan to the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, that he was seriously considering sending him to jail for his breaking the gag rule.  I'm thinking that in Trump's addled brain he thinks he's far too privileged for this to ever happen, that should he have to spend some time behind bars his cultists would revolt and cause wide spread havoc.  I don't think they would.  Cultists are all bluster, no spine.  They'll shriek and moan, and slap themselves around their heads until their silly, and do nothing except make empty threats.  And think of the bright spots!  For a short period of time, Trump would most likely lose his phone privileges, and he wouldn't be able to have his little press conferences, or hold private fund raisers where he could call Democrats the Gestapo.  Oh, and the world would probably get a chance to see him in an orange jumpsuit.  And the Republican party would die.

The Cute... and not so cute

 So, here it is Monday, and we're under a dense fog advisory, and it is foggy, but not so much around my house.  Perhaps in low lying areas it's clustering like cotton balls, but up here on the hill in Enola we have nothing but wispiness. 

Retail was busy yesterday morning, mostly because one of my fellow associates called off and our aisle associate left early.  That meant me, myself, and I was the only specialist in the flooring department.  I dealt with a couple who set up a measure and nearly came to blows over the type of flooring they were going to install.  It's always odd when they argue in front of me.  They also had a problem setting up the measure date, first he was working, then she was working, and the dates they were available began to shrink.  They finally ended up setting themselves up for a measure on a Sunday, but after church. They were so disorganized.

There there was Seth and Steph.  Middle-aged, and cute as buttons.  They actually had a conversation about what carpet they were going to buy, and it was so casual, I almost felt like I was eavesdropping.  Damn!  If only I could write dialogue that good.

I began watching Dead Boy Detectives on Netflx.  It's interesting, but not what I was thinking it was going to be.  There are 2 dead young men who are ghosts, but instead of being in the UK, they've managed to get themselves stuck in a town in the state of Washington.  And there's an immortal witch, and a cat king.  It's cute, and will have no problem stretching the series out over several nights of viewing pleasure.

And on the not so cute side, Kristi Noem was attempting damage control yesterday and failing miserably.  Believe me, hilarity abounded on CBS, where she rotated one lie sloppily into another.  In her book she claims to have stared down Kim Dumb Chow of North Korea, but when pressed said that she wasn't going to go into specifics, but that she has met many world leaders.  She is a horse's ass.

And Timmy Scott was filling up his own diaper by refusing to say if he'd accepts a Trump loss in 2024.  He refused 5 times.  This desperate man is so full of shit, I'm surprised they make a diaper big enough to hold it all.

Dead Americans

 Say hello to a drizzly Sunday.  Yepper!  We're in the middle of a long, soaking rain which will continue throughout most of the day.  Temps are moderate, cold enough on occasion for the heat to turn on.  Yes, that's right, unlike some people, I didn't turn the furnace off for the season.  Last year, spring was cool and rainy, and it seems as though I've learned my lesson.  Also, for the past few years, we've received more rain in May than we did in April, even though April showers are supposed to bring May flowers.

I got loads done yesterday, including another 11 mile ride on the bike in San Remo.  One thing that's different with my bike rides is that I no longer listen to music.  Instead, I've started listening to lectures.  I made the attempt to listen to podcasts, but could get interested two or three people having a conversation about a subject I didn't find interesting.  I don't have that problem with lectures.  Perhaps it's the eternal student in me, always finding interest in learning new things.  Right now, as some of you might suspect, it's a series of lectures on ancient Greece.  

This morning my narrators sent me chapters 2 and 3 to listen to, unfortunately I do have to work today, so I'll have to listen to them this evening when I get home.  There have been a few changes that I've suspected, but not many.  His pacing is quite good.  The Body on the Lawn, even though it has less words than The Body Under Ice, will no doubt be closer to 8 hours in length, 3 hours longer than The Body Under Ice.  This has all been a valuable learning experience.

And I thought this to be very funny.

And that is not Mike Pence holding the sign

Evidently, Trump had a private fund raiser last evening and during his ramblings likened the Biden administration to the Gestapo.  He has already stated that he will not accept the results of the 2024 election if he loses.  This rhetoric should frighten you, because in his mind it is all about saving his ass.  He needs to win in order for him to have full immunity from all of his charges.  This is really about saving his ass, and if he needs to goad his cultists into starting a war to do so, he will.  I'm sure he will be quite pleased if his cultists give their lives in order to sustain his freedom.  He is a businessman, after all, and dead Americans would be a small price to pay for him to be the ultimate CEO.

Hope?

 Well, I hope everybody's planning on having a busy Saturday.  This is the weekend some of you work for, though the weather here in Central PA may not be specifically what you want.  The skies are overcast.  The temps are down.  We'll be lucky if we hit 60 (F) today.

Since the weather is not conducive to home improvement shopping, foot traffic at the store will probably be down.  Not that it bothers me.  For the first time in ages, I was given a Saturday off, one that I didn't request.  One that no doubt jabs at a fellow associate in the Flooring and Decor department, since he always requests weekends off.  He's one of those who came to retail without understanding that Saturday and Sunday are the days we have the highest sales.  He came from a job where he had weekends off, and even though he's been an associate for over 5 years, still complains.  When I was in HR, I always told people, if you don't like your job then get another.  He will not do that, too much effort.

Yesterday was I got a lot done, and yet I didn't.  The weed wacking I wanted to do on Thursday was done yesterday, though I wanted to get in a dumbbell workout, and didn't.  For some odd reason, all I wanted to do was nap.  This past week was the 2nd in which I worked on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, so maybe it was the total hours that made me so drowsy.

I did go out into the drizzle and snap the first roses of the season.

And, of course, yesterday there was one of those heart stopping moments during Trump's election interference trial that usually only happens in movies:  Hope Hicks broke down in tears.  A Trump loyalist, she broke with him after January 6.  Hope is helping the prosecution and lot of little tidbits came out, like the fact that Trump lied to her, saying that Michael Cohen has paid Stormy the money out of his own pocket.  According to Hope, Cohen didn't do anything  on his own without broadcasting it to every one he saw in hopes of getting a compliment.  For him to do so and not brag, and not expect others to generously praise him, would have been so out of character, she knew Trump had to be lying.

Can Hope be trusted?  Geez.  It seems as though everyone in Trump's inner circle lied constantly.

Shitzinpantz

 Well a good Friday morning to all of you out there in the world.  It's a nice day here in Central PA.  The outside temp is in the low 60s (F), though if the forecast is correct clouds will come rolling in later this afternoon.  That's okay.  We might warm up another 15 degrees if the weather forecasters are correct, that is not always the case.  Yesterday, on my ride home from the store, the temp was 92 (F) which should have broke a record, though that might have been the official temp.  Officially, temps in the air around my car are rarely taken into consideration.

My 2nd load of laundry is already in the washer.  I've taken to dry certain things, like T-shirts, and towels, and... well, just about everything except pants, outside on the drying rack, at least on warm days.  I'll use less electricity.  The dryer is nice for pants, that way there no need to iron out the wrinkles.  Iron?  Does anybody still iron anything?

I'll also be going to my neighborhood Giant supermarket later this morning.  They've gotten cheap with their bonus points, which is irritating.  You earn bonus points by spending $$$.  They would also run lots of specials where you could earn more points by buying, oh, say $35 in meat.  Beginning last week, those deals disappeared.  You can still earn bonus points, but the good deals are gone.  Now you can earn 30 points by buying 4 pounds of bananas.  That's a lot of bananas.

I thought this was cute.

I was going to post a picture of Von Shitzinpantz, but thought them all to be too crass, I do have my limitations.  For those who don't know, that was Michael Cohen's nickname for his boss, the Orange Anus himself, Donald Trump.  That came out yesterday at his election interference trial.  Now, I don't know about you, but it has been my experience that nicknames are usually based on some sort of fact, act, or occurrence, and while talking about bodily functions is the fodder of four year-old humor, it wouldn't surprise me in the least that Donald Trump shits in his pants... regularly, and is, no doubt, the reason he wears Depends.  Let's be honest here, we all know that Donald Trump is now, and has always been, full of shit.