The Rally

 And we have soaking rain.  What we were supposed to get yesterday arrived sometime in the early morning hours.  Temps are expected to climb into the upper 90s (F) and that means our humidity is going to skyrocket.  We're under heat advisories for the next 3 days.  I looked at the weather forecast and reminded myself that we are not quite halfway through the summer season.  One thing on the report that I did find surprising was that, thanks to wildfires out west, our sunsets might be more colorful.

Many chores were finished yesterday.  I felt really good.  Because I have to work this afternoon, not so much will be finished.  

I did get a 7 mile ride in yesterday, that took me 55 minutes.  Why so long, you ask?  Well, it was all up hill, with an average 3% grade.  As a result, I got in a nice leg workout.  I hate hills, but in life, there are times when they are necessary.

Over 25,000 words has been written for The Body in History, which means I'm a third of the way through the first draft.   I'm pleased.  I really like the characters in this one, from the British poetess, to the German real estate investor and his wife.  The more I write, the more complex my characters become.  Since it takes place in Greece, Delphi to be precise, one of my editors asked me if the gods were going to come into play.  I replied with a question.  "What do you think?"

Kamala had a rally down in Georgia last evening.  The place was packed.  The former Lieutenant Governor, a Republican, said he has never seen so much excitement.  There were a lot of people there!

Not surprising, there was no one there wearing a weird little hat, or a weird little costume.  Nope.  This was just a lot of normal Americans bent on putting the weird Republican party into the past tense.  A brutal change is coming for the Republicans.  Perhaps if they had taken the time to try and even remotely understand America, but no, the only thing they've ever been interested in is saying "shut up! we're in charge!"

The director for Project 2025 stepped down yesterday.  This was done with a modicum of fanfare with the loyal Trumpist media outlets trying to turn it into a big thing.  Don't believe it.  Project 2025 has not been shelved, or even put on the back burner.  It's simply been relabeled Plan 47, at least that, or something quite similar has taken Project 2025's place on Orange Anus' website.  Believe me, this monstrosity ain't going away.  This is just another Republican lie.  Make sure no one forgets this.

The Man with the Glasses

 Rain is in the forecast.  The drizzle has already begun.  Temps are predicted to climb into the mid 80s (F), but the humidity will be high.  After today's rains temps will again climb back up into the 90s (F).  While the past 2 summers have been on the cool side, this warmth should have been expected.  The rest of the world is having very hot days, so why should we here in Central PA have to deal with the same thing.

I did have a nice conversation yesterday with my manager regarding the attitude I had to deal with from the other manager on Sunday.  He asked if I got the $4700 sale, and when I told him I did, he said, "that's what's important, making sure the customer is happy."  Of course, getting that sale made him happy.  From what I gather, none of the other managers have much respect for the one who tried to intimidate me, so I'm getting broad smiles and nods from them, while he seems to have made himself invisible.  

And, since it's raining, I'm using the dryer today instead of hanging my loads of laundry outside to dry.  

Also, after everything I've been posting about the Orange Anus, I thought this might be a decent little palate cleanser.  This is something to be proud of.  I tried posting the video, but NBC Sports has it locked down tight in YouTube, so watch him in action.  His name is Steve Nedoroscik.

Last night there was a zoom call:  White Dudes for Harris.  Over 175,000 men were on that call.  They heard a number of speakers and raised over $4 million for the Harris campaign.  That's a big finger in the eye of the Republican party.  Not surprisingly, the NYT posted an NYT/Sienna poll this morning implying that 75% of men likely to vote were pro Trump.  I hope the irony isn't lost on any of you, since the billionaire owner of the NYT has been pushing a rather obvious pro Trump agenda.  In case you didn't know, it's all about the tax cuts.  The same thing is true about that dufuss Elon Musk, who shut down the White Dudes for Harris Twitter account during the event.  The reason:  The account was suspended for trying to avoid suspension.  Musk wants his tax break, too.  

And evidently Leonard Leo, Clarence Thomas' sugar daddy, had a bit of a meltdown over Biden wanting to create forcible ethics rules for the Supreme Court.  I mean, what's a sugar daddy supposed to do if he can't spoil his favorite Oreo boy toy?

When They Go Low, We Open the Gates of Hell

 The temps began climbing yesterday and today we're supposed to top out in the mid 90s (F).  Tomorrow, however, on my day off, we're supposed to have rain... or showers... or possibly thundershowers.  There's nothing too specific in the forecast, just that we're supposed to have rain.

Yesterday I had an issue with one of our managers.  It was the last of a installation promotion we were running and a couple came in to pay for their carpet.  The program has been glitchie in our system since day one, so we've always done markdowns.  This manager, who has never had to deal with this, decided to complicate matters.  He wanted to know where the discount was coming from, and he was talking about calling IT.  All the time he was throwing up roadblocks to providing good customer service, the customers were standing there listening.  When all was said and done, and the customers got their due discount, they came back to the flooring desk and thanked me.  I will say something to the Specialty manager this morning about this problem.

Otherwise yesterday was pretty meh.  I worked on the book a little.

I'm working my way through volume 2 of Three Body Problem, which is almost 500 pages long.  While I write mostly in dialog, with conversation moving the story forward, this is mostly narration that includes a lot of social commentary.  In my mind, that bogs things down.  Why describe it when you can just say it?  And while I'll have 3 and 4 people involved in a conversation, Cixin Liu, the author, rarely has more than 2.  That seems to narrow the perspective so much, or perhaps it might be that I feel more comfortable writing discussions with differing viewpoints.

This is amusing.

Remember when Michelle Obama said "when they go low, we go high?"  Well, I saw something this weekend which makes even more sense to me, in fact I'm surprised no one has ever thought of it before.  "When they go low, we open the gates of Hell."  There, doesn't that sound so much better?  And I don't think it will be that difficult.  I mean, the open mouth of Hell is simply waiting to chomp down on a tasty Republican, or maybe 4 or 5 chewy Christians, they're a bit gooey, so a conservative toothpick might be in order before it gets tossed into the fire.

And Donny Dipshit, as Jeff Tiedrich calls him, posted a single all-cap sentence on his platform of corruption, Truth Social:  I AM NOT WEIRD.    Who is he talking to?  His cultists?  Those weird people who are just like him?

Finally, prepare yourselves, Biden has just announced future plans for the Supreme Court:  18 year term limits, and specific rules to deal with bribery and corruption.  The Federalists hate this, so you will hear a lot of shrieking, and moaning, and gnashing of teeth from Republicans.   He also wants a constitutional amendment to eliminate their immunity ruling.  Crimeny, this will be the conservative death knell. 

Good Lord

 So, hello Sunday.  I hope every one's doing fine.  The weather's nice, with today's predicted high to be in the upper 80s (F).  No rain is forecast.  Tomorrow, however, they're calling for afternoon storms.  It doesn't really bother me since I work.  

I work today, too, and I'm hoping it's not going to be like yesterday.  I had to cut carpet twice and sheet vinyl once.  One of the carpet cuts was... amusing.  It was for a young couple who were building a dog bed for the foot of their bed.  She said, "when he's full grown, he's going to be too big to sleep on the bed," so I asked how big he was going to get and she replied, "30 pounds."  Of course, I had to laugh.  I did not ask if they had a teeny, tiny bed, but did tell them how at one time I had 180 pounds of dogs sleeping on my bed.  They looked quite perplexed, and I felt bad that they thought a 30 pound dog was big.

The rest of the day was boring.

And as Maddie would tell you, Harrisburg is about 75%/25% liberal/conservative.  Geographically, I'm in the 25% area and many of the people here are traditional Republican.  Some of the people who have friended me on Facebook from this side of the river are Trumpers.  I really have no problem pissing them off.  In fact, sometimes I find it rather joyful.  This being said, I had a grand time posting this.  Good Lord, I'm sure some were truly offended. 

I am surprised that none of you heard me laughing.

Reading what the Orange Anus is saying at his rallies, and on occasion listening to small bits since it's impossible to listen to him for more than 10 -12 seconds without becoming openly hostile to assholes, it's obvious he's becoming more and more erratic.  Unhinged is too nice a word.  And the Main Stream Media is beginning to pick up on this, as both NPR, The Hill, and the Washington Post published his telling a Christian rally that they needed to vote for him.  He actually told them that if they voted for him now, they would have to vote in four years, or ever again.  This man is so desperate to squeeze out an orange turd.

The Villages, which is usually hard core Republican, had a golf cart parade for Kamala yesterday.  According to many sources, there were at least 500 golf carts in the parade.  Ronnie DeSantis claimed there were only 100, but good Lord, most of us know that Ronnie D is a lyin' Republican.  Wait, let me change that.  Ronnie D is a failed, lyin' Republican.

They Did it in the Rain

 Yesterday, I slept.  The weather was nice.  I did a load of laundry and hung it out to dry.  I went for a 2.5 mile walk in Adams-Ricci, enjoying the wonderful weather, and then... around one PM, I laid down on the bed and slept for an hour.  Damn.  I hate when that happens.  The day was going so well, and then I lost an hour.  And when I woke up I didn't feel like doing anything. 

Well, that makes it sound like nothing was accomplished.  That's not true.  I sealed the grout on my backsplash, I cleaned a bit, and went to my neighborhood Giant supermarket.  And I drove out to the airport to locate the long term parking lot, and got lost trying to find my way back to the highway.  I haven't been there in over 15 years and things at the airport have changed.  And yes, I am doing long term parking.  I'd have no problem getting a ride to the airport for my departure flight, however, my return flight is supposed to land at 10:30 PM, which means it might actually arrive closer to 11, and you can add another 15 minutes onto when I finally get my luggage, which would be an inconvenience.

When I woke up yesterday afternoon, I went downstairs and watched this:

What an amazing opening ceremony for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and they did it in the rain.  In a four hour time period, France set the bar so high for opening ceremonies it's doubtful anyone will ever reach it.  There were no puppet parades around the inside of a stadium.  Instead we got high opera, low opera, and heavy metal.  We saw a headless Marie Antoinette singing in a window, and a tour through the Louvre. Ravel played on a grand piano in the rain.  And nobody complained.  And, of course, the Olympic cauldron is suspended from a hot air balloon over a fountain in the Tuileries!  I've sat in a chair at that fountain and let the world pass me by on two occasions.  And, of course, there was Celine Dion.  

True, some Parisians got out of town, but that happens every time the Olympics are held.  And there was some petty crime, but there was also petty crime at the Republican convention, and there was petty crime at the Super Bowl.  Every time you have this many people, there is going to be crime. 

I also understand the Religious Right in the country found some of the bits upsetting.  They will not get over it.  We need to keep them out of power.  

Finally, on the political side, the Orange Anus gave a speech yesterday in which he told his audience to vote for him.  "If you vote for me, in four years, everything will be fixed.  You won't have to vote.  You won't have to vote ever again."  He is desperately sowing seeds of rebellion. He needs to lose, and lose badly.

Trump Has No Balls

 Yesterday was... not quite meh, but not terrible.  The temps climbed into the mid 80s (F) and the humidity dried up a bit.  There was supposedly a threat of thundershowers, but that amounted to nothing.  Clouds came and went, and I hung 2 loads of laundry outside to dry.  No worries.

There's already a load of my brightly colored T-shirts hanging on the drying rack.  I'm loving this summer.

So, I've been debating if I want to give up my Xbox Game Pass.  They just raised the price, and with tax (there's always tax) it's $20 a month.  There would be value in this if I were downloading and playing lots of games, but I'm not, there are very few studios that I follow.  Besides, most of the games being produced are geared for young adults, or Teens, and are uninteresting.  I also don't see many games coming out that I feel a desperate need to play.  

And, the Paris Olympics begin today, and rather than build brand new venues, Paris is going to be showcasing what's already there.  There will be rowing on the Seine!  How exciting is that!  Fencing at Versailles!  Of course, Parisians will be upset because of delays, and crowds, and the changes that are happening.  I've met Parisians and they are very difficult to satisfy.  In a week's time, this will all be in the past and Paris, and France, will be much better off financially.

And the coward Trump will not be debating Kamala Harris.  No surprise there.  I laughed at the bit where he says the Democrats are in chaos.  

The truth is that Donald Trump has always been a coward.  The instant he has to "put up, or shut up," he chickens out.  This old man is terrified.  I don't doubt that even the idea of standing on the stage next to a smart black woman has him cowering in his boots.  And, as always, he's trying to place the blame on someone else.  Honestly, if he truly wants to be president he should see this as a challenge.  Can you hear me laughing.  I'm surprised he didn't try a "well, I'm too busy with my campaign to debate" excuse.  The Republican party just took a major hit because many of their voters who are sitting on the fence will now just stay home.  He's a weak man who has always depended on the balls of his attorneys to survive.

And what is all this stuff about JD Vance having sex with a sofa?  He definitely is not out to impress the ladies, is he?

This is What Greatness Looks Like

 Well, the temps climbed into the upper 80s (F) yesterday, and it was humid... (understatement).  Right now the outside temp is 73 (F) and it is humid.  In fact, that does appear to be the word of the day for Central PA. We might have spotty showers this morning, but this afternoon the temps will climb into the upper 80s (F) and it's supposed to be humid.  This is summer, after all, and for the time being, these temps are just a little higher than those we had over the 2 previous years, though it wasn't nearly as humid.

Work was slow, until I was about to leave, then customers began showing up.  Our aisle associate is on vacation, so there's only one specialist from 7 until closing, and while he's a very nice man, my loyalty to the orange home improvement retailer I work for ends at 7.  The inability to staff sufficiently is a corporate issue.  Bringing someone one in to replace the aisle associate's hours is a payroll expense.  Frequently, customers are having to make do with the fact that there are no people on the sales floor to help them.  The current HR rep was complaining, corporate only gave her 187 hours for scheduling.  That may sound like a lot of hours, but not when you're staffing a store that sells over $1 million a week.  There are going to be some serious gaps without a scheduled associate in Hardware, and Plumbing, and customers are just going to have to deal with that fact.

Of course, Joe Biden gave one the last speeches as president last night.  I watched it.  

Stepping aside is the right thing to do.  He is elderly.  There were times that I felt bad for him. but he also made me proud.  I don't think many people understand how difficult it is for an older person to come to terms with their age on public TV, and that's what Joe Biden did.  As we age, we like to keep those very personal moments private.  There are those who never accept the reality of getting old and fight it, but there comes a point when we should all sit ourselves down and admit to ourselves that we are not nearly as spry, or as fit, or smart as we used to be.  This is what greatness looks like.

And now the fun begins.  The Republicans have so many things going against them and one of them is their complete denial of reality.  Republicans live in their own jagged, little world where narrowed tunnel vision is the norm.  It's not that they refuse to see America as it really is, they simply can't, it's not within the scope of their vision.  This will be their downfall.  They will define failure for political parties for far into the future.

Be Sad. Be Happy.

 Well, so here it is Wednesday.  The outside temp is 72 (F), though forecasters are saying we're only supposed to heat up into the mid 80s (F).  We are getting rain, what you might want to call intermittent showers which may, or may not end this morning.  We're cranking around here with some serious humidity and they're projecting the possibility of thunderstorms.  We've had a number of those lately.

Yesterday turned out to be a rather good day: I got a 2.5 mile walk in at Adams-Ricci, and then later in the afternoon 13 mile ride in, in Thailand, of all places.  For some reason Garmin has a number of Thai rides on the Tacx app.  To me, it looks a lot like the Philippines.

My turntable, and speakers, and record cabinet were also moved downstairs.  Part of this is new window prep.  I'm trying to cut down on furniture in the master bedroom, and they were an easy thing to relocate.  They are now situated where the dog's toybox used to be.  That's right, the dogs had their own toybox and it was filled with toys.  I'm hoping not to spoil the new puppy as badly, but we'll have to wait and see how that goes.

I wrote yesterday how Nikki Haley's election PAC had chosen to support Kamala Harris, and was correct to a point.  It was evidently not her primary PAC and the $$$ was less.  This is the one that switched loyalty and Haley's group immediately sent out a cease and desist order.  She's also telling her supporters that they need to vote for Trump.  Someone should let Nikki know that many of those votes she got were protest votes from Republicans who despise the Orange Anus.  Please tell me she isn't that dumb.  Here's a copy of the order.

And speaking of the Orange Anus, evidently his team has chosen to stop holding in very inexpensive outdoor rallies, not that they were ever heavily attended.  As for indoor venues being costlier?  Well, it's not as though he ever paid for them.  He has that terrible reputation of defaulting on bills, that's because he believes that someone as evil as he should never have to pay... for anything.  That's why he has lackies.

Biden's going to speak on national TV tonight.  His speech is going to be quite touching, probably making a lot of people cry.  Be sad.  Be happy.  Be glad, because all of those Republicans standing on the sidelines are going to be gnashing their teeth as a decent and honorable man begins to say his goodbyes.  Biden will make points that will carry through into Kamala's campaign.

I'm a 71 year-old man living in Central PA, and I know the assignment.

Something in the Air

 Well, we had rain yesterday.  Lots of rain.  What was original supposed to be the occasional thundershower, turned into a soaking rain.  Not that we didn't have thunder... and lightning, but I'm going to say we probably got at least an inch of rain as well, and for my brown, brown lawn it was so nice to get a good drink of water.  

I did work yesterday.  It was a long 8 hours, not that I didn't talk to customers, however no one was interested in setting up a measure.  Sales from last week look a bit janky, no doubt because of that Microsoft software update that went wrong.  One of the casualties of that screw-up was the color matcher in the paint department.  It will now only work on one of the computers, the one that isn't on a desk.  I know this because I spent an hour and a half working in the paint department yesterday covering lunches.

A new toner cartridge is arriving today for my laser printer.  One of the things I do when writing, is to print off each chapter after it's finished and put it in a binder.  I like having a hard copy for making notes, especially for the first draft.  I keep that hard copy, so I can go back and look at what I changed and why I changed it.

And after Sunday night's excitement, last night was calm.  I've started playing Starfield again.  Right from the beginning.  Not surprising, my character looks almost exactly the same as he did on my first play through.

Something else I've notice:  Angry conservatives are bending themselves in double in outrage at the Kamala Harris nomination.  Holy Crap! man!  They are furious!  And we thought they'd taken off the mask when Trump got elected; how wrong could we have been.  Conservatives are ugly, hateful people... and it seem that they're also rather impotent, spitting out their venom because that's all they have.

On the other hand you have America.  We are a country with a silent majority who, it just so happens, is not conservative.  We are a country that loves our Democracy.  We may not be as diverse as some people want, but we are changing, we are maturing.  America is filled with decent folk who find Donald Trump, and his cultists ugly and deformed.  This is so apparent with the Harris campaign, with the number of delegates giving her their support.  On top of the war chest she inherited from Biden, an additional $231 million dollars has been donated to her campaign since the announcement.  A Zoom call that hoped to get 1000 black women call in got 44,000 callers.  Nikki Haley's Election PAC, with it's $40 million, has swung its support to the Harris campaign.  I wrote before about how conservatives should be scared of waking up the giant, well, the giant is awake.  I see it in the videos.  I hear it in people's voice.  Pride in Democracy.  You can feel it like static electricity lifting up the hair on your  arms.  We can almost taste it, that super special something in the air.

Democrats Play the Republicans

 Yesterday, the weathermen lied.  We had a hot one: 98 (F), that's about 10 degrees warmer than they were predicting, and, silly me, I turned off the central air thinking it shouldn't be that warm in the house when I got home from work.  Wrong.  Not that it took that long to cool the place down, it was just such a shock walking through the front door into an oven.

And work was steady, not that a I got any measures.  The customers with the sample issue from Saturday came in, they'd gotten measured and were so pleased with the quote they're upgrading their carpet to something more expensive.  This is how Karma works, you go out of your way a little, and Karma balances that extra step.  They'll probably buy on Wednesday.  That's nice.  It's a $3500 sale.

Other than that my day was pretty much meh... 

Except for one little thing.

I got my first newsflash from The Guardian and the rest of Main Stream Media slowly followed.  As soon as I heard the first announcement a feeling of elation gathered around me like a bouquet of flowers.  I knew this decision was coming, I just didn't know when, just as I knew it was, and is roiling the Republican party to it's very core.  Their problem is that they are now stuck with a 78 year-old felon as their candidate, the oldest candidate in American history.  That problem is compounded by the fact that so many Americans simply can't stomach Donald Trump.  He is the Orange Anus... with hemorrhoids.  

When I had breakfast with my brother, we talked about Biden stepping down and he asked me if I thought this had been in the works since January.  I told him I didn't know.  I do believe that in spite of everything that's been talked about on the news we were never really told the what was actually going on.  The fact that Biden did so poorly at his the debate had me wondering, was that planned?  It was definitely a Kickstarter for what happened yesterday.  Did the Democrats play the Republicans?  I'd like to think so.

And the Republicans are shitting bricks, almost literally.  In their playbook, Biden was going to stay in the race and lose.  Now they're going to be dealing with someone younger, that's already a mark against them.  Trump has already said the next 2 debates are in jeopardy; he clearly doesn't want to go up against someone who might call him out.  I hope the Democrat's candidate is Harris.  I want her to force Trump to debate her, a black woman, and then humiliate him in public.  This is Karma, too.  If you've been paying attention to the Republican party for any length of time, you've realized that they are all voice and no spine.

Main Stream Media

 It's Sunday, the temp is 68 (F) and, again, it's predicted to climb into the mid to upper 80s (F).  The skies are supposed to be partly cloudy, though there is not going to be any hint of rain.  That might show up tomorrow, which is going to be a replay of today, except with more humidity.

I do get to work today.  I worked yesterday.  I have a pair of customers whom might be difficult.  Usually, when a customer sets up a measure they're allowed to order 3 free carpet samples.  Well, they ordered one sample when the paid for their measure and then showed up yesterday to order 2 more free samples. The system wouldn't let me order them.  I got an error saying their measure number had already been used. Not everyone who orders multiple samples makes a quick decision because not everyone is happy with their original choice.  I'm thinking the large, orange home improvement retailer I work for changed the ordering process.   The customers called last evening before I left and were quite upset they hadn't received an email letting them know their samples had been ordered.  He was rather adamant about how they needed these 2 more samples before they could make a decision. I explained the situation.  He was not happy.  So, this morning when I get to work, I'm going to set up a fake measure in order to get a measure number, and order them their other two samples, and then tomorrow, or Thursday, I'll cancel the measure.  

I also got into an argument with a fellow associate that started with his telling me something he'd heard on Fox (notice, I've dropped the News).  My dander went up and I said things... but it's Fox, the joke of Main Stream Media.  The fact that people who are supposed to have brains still watch tabloid entertainment and think that it's news.  Remember this?

And for those who haven't noticed, there seems to be a big problem with Main Stream Media, and it's not that they're putting out fake news, as much as that they're not covering the news the way they used to; these days they're focused on how often their website gets hits.  Instead of reporting the news, they seem to be creating drama especially around Biden.  Though let's be honest, part of my complaint is that the reports of Biden's mental status seem to be constant, and I truly wish that subject wasn't their bread and butter.  However, when the Lincoln Project says that the administration has been deceitful about Uncle Joe's capabilities, you need to wonder.  I do really hope he's not being a stubborn old man.  If that's the case, then the MSM has been doing their job, we just don't like it.

Voting for Survival

 Showers are on the menu for today.  The morning temps were 69 (F), though they've already climbed to 71 (F).  Besides the spotty showers (yes, no steady rain, just occasional drizzles that will do nothing to help the dryness) our high is supposed to be in the upper 80s (F).  Just a little bit less nice than yesterday.

Speaking of yesterday, it was another day of accomplishments.  A walk in the park (2.3 miles), a ride on the bike, and the big aquarium got cleaned.

I'm also trying something new and odd with my kitchen floor.  Old houses like mine do not have a subfloor.  My hardwood planking sits right on the studs.  Over the past 119 years flexibility has crept in, they will go up and down slightly when you walk on them.  To fix this, I installed MSB because it was cheaper than 3/4 inch plywood.  This doesn't eliminate the movement, but reduces it a lot.  Still, those floor boards do shift a little.  To eliminate the possibility of the vinyl planks unlocking, I'm gluing them down.  I'm also going to be cementing all of the seams to make them look more like porcelain tiles.  When that's done, I'm going to poly the top since there's going to be at least one dog in the house when I get back from Greece.

I was looking to see if the RNC convention gave the Orange Anus any boost in the polls, and so far there's none to speak of, which seems about right.  This loser survived a domestic terror event and got zilch.  That tells you what America thinks of Donald Trump.  Even though polls lie, he's pretty much tied with Biden, the 81 year old candidate who's possibly in decline, across the board.  What people really need to come to grips with is that this election is not about the candidate, not at all.  It's really about Democracy vs Authoritarianism.  Because the Supreme Court gave the presidency far reaching powers with their decision that they have to a large extent full immunity for their actions, if Trump is sworn into office he will immediately begin spitting out Executive Orders over ruling everything.  Nothing he does will help the average American and when all those millions realize he and the Republican party have no problem hitting them with the shitty end of the stick, chaos will erupt.  I've said this before, Trump's blow bro Vlad doesn't want us as a political partner, he wants to knock America out of it's place as the number one Super Power in the world.  Putin wants there be violent civil unrest in America.  So, for all you dummies out there, it's not about voting for the candidate, it's about voting for survival.  

Trump Fakes an Injury

The weather was beautiful yesterday!  Today we're going to have a repeat!  Nice.  Sunny.  Low humidity.  Right now, the outside temp is 66 (F) The temps are predicted to hover in the mid 80s (F).  Now, how's that for a perfect summer day.

I had breakfast with my brother yesterday.  He was recently laid off.  That's not a good thing to happen to you when you're 60, and I don't know if he understand the implications of that yet.  Even though laws have been passed to eliminate age description, I can tell you that unless a company is actively higher upper middle-aged people, they're most likely ignoring the laws, especially if they're a conservative company.

After that heavy, heavy breakfast, I got a 2.4 mile walk in at Adams - Ricci.  I took my camera so I get more familiar with using it, and to see what if felt like hanging around my neck by the strap.  I'm planning on using it for most of the pictures in Greece, though the phone is going to be used for taking selfies.  That's something I'm not really looking forward to; I've never been one to plant my face all over the place.

Later in the afternoon, I also went for a 13 mile bike ride.  

All in all, yesterday was highly productive.  I love days like that.

And, of course, last night the Spawn of Satan accepted the Republican nomination for president wearing a teabag.

Republicans simply do not understand how stupid that looks.  I searched for images of a grazing wound caused by a rifle similar to an AR-15.  The velocity of that bullet even grazing the tip of his ear would have torn off skin and cartilage.  If Trump had been grazed, much of his ear would be gone.  Also keep in mind, this is Trump, had a bullet done physical damage graphic pictures of his injuries would be front page news.  As I said before, he, no doubt under the supervision of Putin, is tea bagging America.  He has never been anything more than a two-bit con artist, a liar from the day he was born.  And from what I've seen, all he did was repeat one of his rally speeches.  

And it does sound a lot like Biden is being convinced to drop out of the race.  I feel bad for the man.  I've been a loyal Democrat for decades.  Still, he needs to do what's best for the country.  He needs to insure that Democracy not only survives, but thrives, and if that means getting out of the race, then that's what he as to do.  Let's be honest, he's done an outstanding job.  He can still be a revered older statesman and still wield a lot of power.  It's better to resign yourself to being a sage, than to go down a loser.

The Ticket

Yesterday was hot, but not as stinkin' hot as it has been.  We did get passing storms, lots of rain for about 5 minutes.  No thunder and lightening.   The temperatures did drop afterwards.  That was nice.  Of course, when I got up this morning around 0515 the low was 73 (F).  This means the day is probably going to be warmer than the forecast.

Work was meh yesterday.  I sold some carpet to a senior woman.  She's putting it in her large bedroom which isn't finished yet.  I said they should probably wait to purchase until the contractor was finished  and that got shot down fast.  She wanted to take advantage of 10% markdown which ended yesterday.  This means the installer is going to have to warehouse her carpet until she's ready for the install.  Of course, for that great, orange home improvement retailer I work for, it's all about making the sale, impositioning the installer should have no bearing on the sale.

Emmy award nominations were announced yesterday.  Shogun got quite a few.  I enjoyed that show, however, all of the acting nominations went to Asians.  While there's nothing wrong with that, I feel bad for Cosmo Jarvis, if it weren't for his British navigator there would be no story.

For those who haven't been paying attention, the RNC is still going on.  Last night JD Vance spoke, tonight will belong to the Moral Degenerate.  The big question will he show up with another tea bag taped to his ear?  That would be par for the course since this entire charade is just another chance for the Republicans to teabag America.

Can we speak about ironies?  Yesterday, while scanning through my phone to waste time at work, I came across an article with the headline "Biden might consider dropping out of race if a medical condition deemed it necessary," or something to that effect.  And then news comes out that he has been diagnosed with a mild case of Covid, a disease that is still a killer.  Then this morning I read that he is apparently more amenable to dropping out of the race... after a chat with Schumer and Jeffries. I feel bad for him.  No one wants to be a one term president, even if he did help the economy and the country begin to heal from the trauma caused by Trump.  In spite of what he wants, I do suspect that he will soon remove his hat from the race.  That would pretty much make Kamala the nominee.  I do believe that a Harris / Buttigieg ticket would be unstoppable. 

America's Sleeping Giant

 Our temps hit 100 (F) yesterday, for the first time in a long time.  We didn't break any records, so it's a pretty good guess that we've gotten that high before.  I went outside on a couple of occasions.  Believe me, it was a great day to dry clothing outside.  Two loads!  My savings from not running the dryer went to paying the Central Air expense, which seemed to be running constantly.

I got a text from Tammy, the neighbor living across the street, asking me why I didn't go to Eileen's Memorial Service on Saturday.  A month and a half ago she had told me part of the service was to be done at the A-Frame Eileen and her husband had built, and then the group was going to move to a spot near the river for spreading her ashes.  Her and her deceased husband's wedding bands were then supposed to be floated down the river on a tiny boat, and after all of that, people were supposed to meet at Dukes (a restaurant on the river).  I had told her I had no idea where the A-Frame was and she told me not to worry.  On Saturday, Tammy left early without saying anything, and I thought it would be rude of me to miss the service and just show up at Dukes for the food.  It's a lot like skipping the wedding and going to the reception, if you know what I mean.  When I reminded her of this she texted back, "oh, I should have told, there was a change of plans, everybody just met at Dukes, the service was done later."  Holy Crap.  Not that I was really upset.  Eileen was a good neighbor.  She took care of my animals when I went to France, and my decision to go to the service was just a nice gesture.  Still, there seems to have been a lot lacking in organizational skills.

And, as one might have expected, quite a few people are mocking Trump's bandaged ear, especially since this was the first time anyone has seen it.  The joke in this picture is that cultists will wear fake bandages to honor the Spawn of Satan.  Sadly, this turns out to be more than a joke.  They are selling fake mini-bandages at the convention that you can buy for just $5 a pop, bandages you can fold around the top of your ear.  This is what cultists do.

So far, there is still not medical report to prove the bullet actually winged his ear.  I'm betting that's never going to be forthcoming.  

The unity he called for disappeared completely on the second night of the Republican convention as people shouted, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

However, the decisions made by this conservative Supreme Court have cursed the GOP.  Flipping Roe v Wade is sending millions of women to the polls and they're not voting Republican.  Their decision on presidential immunity, to completely remove accountability has pissed quite a few people off.  There's a saying, waking up the sleeping giant will make the whole world tremble.  That used to refer to China.  But there's a sleeping giant in this country made up of women, centrists, and every kind of minority you can think of.  Republicans simply do not understand this.  They have convinced themselves that all they need to say is "shut up, we're in charge," and the nation will bend at the knee.  They are going to learn what happens when America's sleeping giant awakens, and then Republicans will be gone.

Played by Republicans

 This morning's temp is 74 (F).  Today's high is supposed to be 101 (F).  Honestly, I can't remember have the high temp being over 100 (F).  How hot is it?  I sold some fake grass to a woman yesterday who wanted it for her dog; it's too hot to walk him on the sidewalk.  I didn't ask if she was going to keep the grass in her house or not.  

I did get a nice little flooring sale, and also a lead for interior shutters, which are expensive, so the lead made management happy.  

Otherwise, it was a pretty much of a meh day.  Most of the customers I talked to at work complained about the heat.  Sometimes I want to remind them that we had a very warm winter, but usually I don't.  I can see in their eyes that the only time weather makes an impact on their lives is when it's an event, such as a deep snow, or as in this summer, which, halfway through July, is very hot.  They'll remember this summer, unless next summer warmer.  Of course, if summers continue to get warmer because of Global Warming, this summer will be remembered as the first.

I watched a movie called Creator last evening.  It started off good, very good, actually.  Americans are the bad guys trying to kill off synthetic people who have been blamed for a terrible event.  Asians have no problem with the synths, and so America basically invades Asia.  About 2/3 of the way through the film, however, it goes off the rails, and the ending is a letdown. 

So, yesterday when I got the flash that Trump had chose JD Vance as his vice presidential candidate I started chort, chort, chortling away.  What does Vance bring to Trump?  Well, unlike Rubio and Bergum, he's politically stupid, and, unlike Rubio and Bergum, he's a celebrity of sorts.  That's important to Trump.  In fact, in Trump's press release, he mentioned that Vance was a famous author and that Hillbilly Legacy had been made into a movie.  Great qualifications for a vice president to have.  No one should have been surprised.  In fact, I'm guessing Tim Scott is a little relieved because now he doesn't have to get married.

Another thing about that supposed assassination attempt.  I want to remind people that Reagan also survived and assassination attempt and his approval rating went through the roof.  I've often told Republicans waiting for another Reagan, they need someone who has survived an assassination attempt.  Of course, after he was shot, the press played Reagan up as being like your grandfather.  Trump's a convicted felon, and there is nothing grandfatherly about him.  There are so many things that simply don't add up to this... shooting, except for Republicans, many are scratching their heads and starting to wonder if they've been played.  

Taking the High Road

 Well, here it is, Monday morning already.  The temp in the cycling, gaming computer room is a warm 78 (F), only a few degrees warmer than it is outside.  Tomorrow, the mercury is supposed to crack 101 (F), a rarity for us.  The prediction is for spotty thunderstorms this afternoon, by spotty they mean that they'll bypass Enola.  This seems to happen a lot on the West Shore, with many of the recent storms trekking up the valleys to the north and south of us.

Yesterday was a boring work day.  I did get a measure.  I sold some carpet, somebody else's measure so they'll get the sale.  I also designed some blinds - a really big order, probably around $24,000.  There was a time when you could sell a measure for a blind install, but the associate who designed the blinds would get most of the credit.  They changed a while back.  The associate who sold this measure didn't work yesterday, and will not be working today when the customer will probably buy.  Myself and another associate will put in the design time and the credit will go to the individual who spent 5 minutes setting up the measure.  This is an issue which needs to be fixed.

Anybody what to guess how Myra Gershwin comes into play in The Body in History?  (Can you hear me laughing).

And in just 6 weeks I'll be in Greece.  I did get an update from Explore.com.  After I land in Athens, I will need to go through immigration, get my luggage (1 suitcase) and go to the airport entrance where I should find someone holding up a sign with my name on it.  At least, this is how it's supposed to work.  When I went to Paris, I had to call the hotel and have them send my ride.  I'm looking forward to  seeing this:

I also saw where they're beginning to think the attack on Trump's ear as Domestic Terrorism, rather than a shot fired at his earlobe.  It turns out that the shooter was not the one who made a $15 donation to a Blue Pac, that was a much older white man from Pittsburgh with the same name.  So far, they're not finding anything in his past to indicate he had a grudge against Trump (even though so many of us do).

I saw where Melanoma put out some sort of statement about the "violent bullet" that struck her husband's ear.  Someone needs to tell Melanoma that bullets are violent, shooter are.

Both Democrats and Republicans, as well as their presidential candidates and ask for calmness on both sides: the Republicans are not listening.  Representative Mike Collins, another wack job from Georgia, is publicly saying that Biden put out the hit on Trump.  Their base is angry, and they're going to do everything in their power to enrage them even more.

Finally, some unknown senior Democrat has supposedly said that a number of Democrats have resigned themselves to four more years of the Orange Anus.  This individual is a spineless sack of shit who needs to be identified and rooted out.  Taking the high road doesn't mean giving up hope at the drop of the hat, and I don't doubt for a second that person still believes in polls.

Harbinger of Death

 Okay, yesterday was hot, in more ways then one.  Our temps hit 97 (F) and the sun was bold and bright.  We are under a heat advisory until Wednesday, when storms are predicted to move across the area.  We had a similar prediction last week, and we did get a lot of rain from a storm overnight, but the head stayed.  This is the kind of summer I remember from my youth, though I do believe it's hotter now.

Yesterday was a vacation day for me so I could attend a memorial service, and I didn't go.  I was expecting my neighbor from across the street to text me a reminder, and she didn't, and I had no idea where it was going to take place, so I stayed home and read.

And I also ate tons of food yesterday.  For some reason, I had a voracious appetite.  The results were obvious when I stepped on the scale this morning.

Does everybody remember when Trump thought this was funny?

Remember when Trump joked about Paul Pelosi being attacked by a hammer?  Republicans, themselves, thought that was pretty damn funny.  They all joked about it... until the video came out and then we got crickets from them.  

On January 5, 2024, after a shooting at an Iowa school that killed one child and injured several, he said this:

“It’s just horrible – so surprising to see it here. But we have to get over it. We have to move forward.”*

And back in 2023, at an address to the NRA, he talked about gun violence and who was really to blame:

the long history of deadly school shootings in the US is “not a gun problem”. He instead blamed the issue on Democrats, mental health issues, marijuana and the transgender community.*

Yesterday, a 20 year-old Republican with an AR-15 style rifle tried to assassinate him.  One of his cultists told NBC news that Trump was now a martyr, and the he was guaranteed to win the election.  If he were more of a sympathetic person, that might be true, but he is renowned for his attacks on his opponents.  He will not use this to garner sympathy, but will use it to attack everyone and everything he sees standing in his way.  This changes nothing.  Republicans have a convention starting tomorrow, and I would be surprised if there were not more violence there.  I am reminded of the Democrat convention in Chicago in 1968.  Those riots cost the Democrats so much.  Republicans have been setting themselves up for this for a long time.  Trump is the harbinger of death for the Republican party.

* from The Guardian

Breaking out of the rut

 Well, we've got overcast skies here again this morning.  Temps are supposed hit the low 90s (F).which means our cooling off period is over.  The heat index is suppose to be maxing out Monday and Tuesday as the heat Mr. Shife has been dealing with moves over us.  If the forecast holds, Tuesday we should hit 101 (F).  It hasn't been that stinky hot in years.

Tuesday I'm scheduled to meet my cousin and her husband for lunch.  We've turned this into a 3 month ritual and it's a lot of fun.  We do reminisce, but we also talk about what's going on in our lives.  One of their grand kids is a good enough swimmer to get a scholarship and dreams of going to the Olympics someday.  I find that fascinating.  When I was growing up, the focus was on getting a job, getting married, and having a family.  Competitive sports for a large majority of my class ended with graduation, and that was a nearly impossible rut to get out of, and while I didn't break out completely by joining the Navy, I did by going to college when I was discharged.

I'm going to a memorial service today for my neighbor Eileen.  She's the one whose will I signed and then later made ink changes to it, a legal no no.  I'm really neutral about the entire thing.

Just took a picture of my peaches.  This is what they look like.  There is not going to be an abundant crop, and they're growing much slower than they did in the past.  Two years ago I was harvesting them by now.

There are days when I feel comfortable about the approaching election and days when I don't.  We do have a lot of dumbasses in this country who, because of their lack of education, believe that an authoritarian government would work in their favor, that an authoritarian leader like Trump would sow benefits upon them.  Can you hear me laughing?  In the history of mankind, that has never, ever happened.  It's is those bumpkins who end up suffering the most, and their suffering goes hand in hand with their whining about how bad things are.  These are the same people who will get a job and will deride it constantly, but never take the initiative to go out and find a better job.  These are the voters Trump and the Republicans depend upon.  It's why they campaign against wokeness.  A dumb voter is always easier to manipulate.  They will never break out of the rut, that would take too much effort.

Worthless

 So, I stayed up a little later and so slept a little later.  The outside temp was 68 (F) when I woke up.  That's nice.  Today's supposed to be cooler, low to mid 80s (F) and I can deal with that.  Sunday, however, the heat will be returning for a few days.  There's no getting around the fact that it is summer.  Possible rain is also in the forecast.  That would be nice.

When I got to work yesterday, one of my fellow associates told me that one of my measures had sold.  That gives me over $3000 in sales for the week.  However, later on, before I left for the day, I went in to check the order and the wrong product was attached.  It looked to me as the someone from Home Depot Measurement Services went in and changed the product.  Rather than call the customer, I first sent an email to the associate who sold the order, copying one of our Customer Order Specialists to see if the customer had originated this change.  The last thing I wanted to do was call the customer.  If this change was done by one of our associates, it would make us look like big douches.  And if it was a mistake, this might also let us fix it without the customer knowing about it.

I finished watching Lockwood and Co. on Netflix last night.  It was... not bad, a little too predictable in the last 2 episodes.  Perhaps if what they were looking for was the most evil thing ever created I might have enjoyed it better.  The minute an older character befriended a younger character I said to myself, well, I know where this is going.  And I was right.  The first 2/3 are really good, it's just in the last third that the stereotypical ending takes over.  When I copied the trailer link, I saw that the series was canceled after only 1 season because viewership declined.  I don't doubt for a second that it was the last 2 episodes that killed this series.

For those who haven't heard, AT&T was hacked in 2022... and we're just finding out about it now.  Personally, I believe they should lose that great tax break given to them by the Orange Anus.

And Biden gave a one hour press conference last evening.  I actually watched a snippet, the bit were he said Vice President Trump, then I turned it off.  There is no denying he is an old man.  Will he withdraw from the race?  Probably not.  Will he be getting my vote?  Of course.  I want to be able to complain like hell if he loses, which I don't think will happen.  Voting also gives me the right piss and moan if, during his second term, he does something I don't like.  If I don't vote, then my opinion is mute.  Back when I first started working as a Flooring Specialist, I worked with a bald gent who had very strong liberal opinions.  One day, while were cutting carpet for a customer, he told me he and his wife never voted, they just didn't see any point in it.  Being the outspoken person I am, I immediately told him that since he didn't vote, his opinions were worthless, that they had no merit.  America doesn't need armchair voters, those constant complainers who fail to see the need for participation.  Their loud voices too often have little or no value.

Furniture

 The heat dome has cracked... at least for a few days.  The prediction today is for our temps to only climb into the mid 80s (F), which will be nice.  By next week, we're supposed to be in the slow cooker.  One thing I have noticed, and this is probably because I am getting older, is that I don't seem to be minding the heat.  The Central Air is set at 74 and there are times when I'm downstairs playing a game, or writing when I think that's a bit cool.  And the truth is that I am getting older.

Yesterday was one of those sleepy days, not that I spent the entire day napping.  I got in an 11 mile ride on the bike and tossed around my dumbbells for a bit.  The kitchen floor was swept and mopped, and the kitchen cabinets got a good cleaning.  In fact, I spent a lot less time on Threads than I usually do.  My Twitter account was shut down a while back.  

My new kitchen scale arrived.  It just weighs the food.  I'm not nearly anal enough to buy one that provides nutritional value as well.  

I also placed the order for my chair.  It's costing a pretty penny, as they say, though I doubt very much if anybody still uses pennies.  It should be arriving in 10 - 12 weeks, or week or two after I get back from Greece.  Interior Define is the company making it.  Furniture makers; I never thought I'd be using them so frequently.  Anyway, here's what it should look like, though hopefully, the color will be less green and more brown.  The swatch is a dark tan.

And Democrats are in a bit of a bind; our presumed presidential candidate is 81 years old and quite a few people think that's too old to be president.  Does it matter?  For someone who's been advocating age limits for members of Congress, the answer is yes.  You can go to old wise men for advice, but I don't think one of them should be running the country.  Even though I'd hoped he would have realized that he was a one term, caretaker president after the Orange Anus left office, I also always suspected he run for a 2nd term.  I do believe he and his advisors thought it would be a much smoother ride.  I also think the plan was, after he was sworn in for a 2nd term, he'd resign and the country would have almost 4 years of Kamal, setting her up to run for re-election.  He has a live interview with Lester Holt on Monday.  No matter how well he does, the Republicans are going to hammer him on his age, not that this is really going to matter. People's minds have already been made up.  They are either going to vote for good or evil, Democracy or dictatorship.  We already know that turn-out for the Republicans has already been damaged by the Anti-Trumpers, this means Democrats need to show up at the polls in force.  As Bob says, "Vote Blue."

Troll Farms

 Supposedly, today is the last day of this heat cycle we've been stuck in for the past week.  The outside temp was 76 (F) when I woke up, with the predicted high for the day to be around 97 (F).  However, this afternoon storms should be moving through the area (the remnants of Beryl) and they're saying that is going to cool us off.  Tomorrow, temps are predicted to be more seasonal.

Being that it is so warm, my forays outside have been rather limited.  Mostly to my local Giant supermarket.  However, I've bought my way through all of the bonus point deals for this week, and since I have more than enough food in the house, will be spending money there until Friday or Saturday.

Even though I hate doing it, I've realized that I need to begin counting calories again.  Rats!  I had to order a new kitchen scale because my old one stopped working.  It lights up, and you can change from ounces, to pounds, to milliliters, however it just doesn't weight things.  No matter what you put on the scale, the readout says it weighs nothing.  This would good if it meant food had no calories.

I started watching Hit Man on Netflix last evening, and after about a half hour turned it off.  This was supposed to be Glenn Powell's breakout roll, his character, however, is just not that interesting.  This might because of his constantly changing appearance.  The makeup is very good, but so many changes make it difficult to identify with the lead character.  Which Glenn Powell are you supposed to like?  Hit Man is another one of those Netflix movies that only played for a week in theaters to make it eligible during award season.  This is a good indicator that they thought it didn't have box office legs, not even little ones.

Honestly, I can wait for this election cycle to be over.  I feel so terribly sorry for those who have cable, who have to watch commercials, because they are just beginning.  And it's not just commercials, it's every where.  I'm tired of getting texts begging for money.  The fact that so many have access to my phone number is frightening.  As soon as the text show up, I just block the numbers.  If I get a text asking me whom I'm voting for?  I block it.  I don't respond to any of them.  I do believe my feelings and my actions are common among so many people.  Do not believe anything you read or hear about the candidates.  The troll farms are working overtime.

Do not vote for a candidate, vote for Democracy.  Republican authoritarianism will destroy America as we know it.  They truly don't care if they burn down the country if they can rebuild it the way they want, however, I've yet to see an arsonist do that.  Mostly, they just glory in the ashes like pigs in shit.

 

Main Stream Media's Failure

 The temp was 76 (F) this morning when I woke up.  When I checked out the forecast for today there was one word:  Toasty!  That being said, the drapes are pulled in my upstairs windows.  Remember, my upstairs windows are very old, quite possibly the original windows installed when the house was built in 1905.  This means that when the sun hits them, they turn into magnifying heat rays raising the temps upstairs into the mid 90s (F).  The central air helps, but it can do little to combat  the problem with the windows.  In about 6 weeks this problem will be solved.

I'm also preparing to order the new chair for the writing room.  I'd have ordered it earlier, but I didn't want it arriving while I was in Greece.  

Since it's so hot, I'm not planning on going for a walk in Adams-Ricci today, or possibly tomorrow.  Temps should be dropping on Thursday thanks to the rains we're supposed to be getting from Beryl.  That might turn my lawn back to green.  No one in the neighborhood has mowed their brown grass lately.  

I planted 2 grape vines, one is growing nicely, the other?  I water both daily and I discovered that one not growing had been snapped off at the base.  I don't know how that happened, but suspect that means that it's a goner.  Of course, that happened to one of my Itoh peonies and it took 3 years before it began to sprout.  I don't know anything about grapes, so maybe the same thing will happen.  Here's a pic of the one that's growing, ignore the bird poop, I wasn't going to clean it off for the picture.

Evidently, the Orange Anus had not been seen in public in 10, no make that 11 days.  Biden, on the other hand, has make 18 appearances, and at not one did he appear feeble.  Apparently Trump is supposed to have some sort of rally today in Florida, where the temp are supposed to be in what?  the low 100s (F).  It's very close to one of his Florida properties, and he gets chauffeured to every location.  So, if it takes place, he'll probably show up.  We shall have to wait and see.

One of the ironies of this election is that in 2016 and 2020, the Republicans shrieked against polls and the Main Stream Media, this time, with they're not, in fact, they seem to be getting quite cuddly with the same groups they disparaged terribly in the previous 2 elections.  One thing Democrats have learned, is that polls lie, and that the main stream media will is more favorable to a candidate who's promising to give them tax breaks.  They simply don't understand that their advertising would go to shit if an authoritarian government ever gets elected because they'd all have to report the same shit, and any media group that didn't follow policy would be shut down.  You'd think these dummies would look at how things are really done in Russia, or China, or North Korea. 

What Americans Think

 We have heat warnings again for today with temps expected to be in the mid to upper 90s (F).  The same warnings are in effect for tomorrow.  Wednesday, it looks like we're going to be getting some rain, though I suspect they will be spotty at best.  We're in the dry days of July and August, when rain is usually a tough commodity to come by, so unless we get the remnants of a tropical storm or hurricane we can't expect much in the way of precipitation.

Work was boring yesterday.  Not a lot of customers.  This is normally a slow time of year.  People plan and go on vacations.  Kids are home from school.  Most importantly, when it's as hot as it's been, people don't want installers keeping door open and letting the expensive cooled air out.  Spring and fall are our best times for installation.  Corporate understands this, that's why are measure quota drops.  At least they understand one thing about the economy.

I've bought a couple of pair of walking shorts in anticipation for my trip to Greece.  Some are new, some I picked up at Community Aid.  I've never been a clothes horse.  This means I don't need to dress up, just look presentable.  

And this is one of my short weeks at work: today, Thursday, and Sunday.  I took Saturday off because I have a memorial service to attend in the afternoon.  It's one of those outside affairs where the deceased's ashes, per her wishes, are going to be floated down a stream... I'd say I was going to take pictures, but that might be too tacky... or then again, maybe not.  We shall have to wait and see.

Well, I guess it's time I started working on this.

One of the things that bites my ass is Democrats suddenly asking Biden to step down.  Mostly, I think, they're doing it because they don't think he's going to get the votes in November.  Believe me, if he's nominated, he going to get the votes.  At the same time, should he step down, I don't think it really matters who the Democratic nominee for president is, he (or she) is going to get the votes.  This is not a beauty pageant.  Voters are not that stupid.  They're not going to vote on what the New York Times says, or NBC news, they're going to vote on the issues.  While some might see the words Status Quo as being too normal, that is what American wants,  Status Quo is balanced, unchanging, something that you can count on.  America wants reliability.  Americans don't want an authoritarian government telling them how to live their lives.  That's what they see when the look at the Republican party.  They look at the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v Wade, and at court's recent immunity decision, and they don't like what they see.  They don't like Project 2025.  People are very pissed off about that, and Republicans, in their own tiny minds don't care what a majority of Americans think.  Republicans just want to say "shut up!  we're in charge!"

Putting our Feet Down

 Well, we're having a mini-heatwave here.  Temps are very warm, in fact most of you would say it's damn hot and I might just agree with you.  Yesterday our mercury climbed to 97 (F) with a real fee of 101 (F) and I stayed inside the house throughout the afternoon.  I did go for my walk at Adams-Ricci in the morning, but the temps were cooler than, in the upper 70s (F).  And we have more on tap for today, Monday, and Tuesday.  Drat, there goes my electric bill.  For the past 2 years, our summers were cool and my Central Air was only run sparingly.  Yesterday, that baby was going on every hour or so, and I have the first floor temp set at 74 (F).

My brother had a family cookout yesterday and invited me, and I politely declined because of the heat.  Usually, I work on Saturdays, but yesterday I had off and if it hadn't been so hot, would have accepted.  I get along well with he and his wife, and his kids.  

Instead, I spent most of the day working on The Body in History.  I wrote an entire chapter tentatively titled Labyrinth and yes, if you're are curious, Eli and Max do get to meet Pan... or maybe it isn't.  Maybe it's just a college student with 7 little goats.  And maybe Max, the smartass, makes one of the most groan inducing puns in the world.

And for those who think the economy is bad, just look what the stock market is doing.

You would think that those stock holders who've been raking in the $$$ for the past 3 years would realize that the resulting chaos of a Trump presidency would drive the market down, but they don't.  All they can think about is another tax break, which would be bad news for a majority of Americans since the last tax break Trump gave them hasn't been paid for yet.  In fact, Wall Street is responsible for a lot of the economic problems facing Americans today.  The price you pay for breakfast cereal is totally dependent upon how much money General Mills, or Post, or Kellogg needs to make on each box of Cheerios, or Frosted Flakes they sell.  The more revenue they earn, the happier Wall Street is, and their stock price goes up.  Wall Street doesn't care if you have to pay $4.59 for a box of Grape Nuts, as long as you keep paying it.  Most people don't understand that in today's economy, inflation translates to corporate greed.  Prices go up and will stay high in order for General Mills, and Post, and Kellogg to insure Wall Street that they're going to be keeping their 5% growth their stock holders expect.  The Average American is always going to be screwed over by Big Business until we Americans finally put our foot down.

What A Stinker!

 Our temps are predicted to stay in the mid 90s (F) again today.  If you went outside yesterday, you realized what a sweaty, stinker it was. If humidity had a value, yesterday was rich, and the same is predicted for today. For the last 2 years, we lucked out, our summers were cool and comfortable, this year that trend is broken.  The temp in the training, cycling, upstairs computer room was 78 (F), and as the day progress it is only going to get warmer.  Since that's the room where I ride, and walk, and row, and throw around my dumbbells, that locker room bouquet does tend to fragrance the air.

I did hit the nature trail at Adams-Ricci yesterday, in spite of the heat.  My only issue was a mother with 4 young children, each with a brightly colored, plastic butterfly net hit the trail before me, so I revised my route.  They were probably disappointed, because there are no butterflies fluttering about in the rocky shadows of that path.

For some reason, I have a problem with touch screens, especially cellphones.  Even with the sensitivity set low, it's not necessary for me to actually touch the screen to activate an app and so it's not unusual for me to put my phone in my pocket with Garmin Connect, or Accuweather burning up my battery.  Because of this, I always use a wallet phone case.  My old one has gone ratty, and my new one should be arriving Monday.  

I think this is important.

So, Joe Biden gave his long awaited interview on ABC News yesterday.  I didn't watch it, not even a snippet on YouTube.  He's an old man who desperately want a 2nd term to add to his legitimacy.  I'll admit that our choices this election cycle are not the best, but one is far superior.  This November Americans will get to choose the path this nation walks, one of Democracy, or one of Authoritarianism.  One guy wants to be president, the other a dictator modeled after his blow bro Vlad Putin.  Biden represents a group that is far thinking, while Trump heads up a group that simply want to shriek "shut up!  We're in Charge!"  The problem with the "shut up, we're in charge" group is that they don't understand America.  They don't want to.  Understanding is something they don't want to reckon with, yet it will reckon with them should they win.  All you need do is look at the Abortion Ballet Measures to see this is true.  It will not be pretty for them, and when the dust settles the Republican Party will be shattered, and those red states lying broken in the dust.