Funerals

Well, we've got a temp of 44 (F) outside and the day is supposed to be nice and sunny.  Today's high is predicted to be in the mid 70s (F), a nice temp for a funeral.  As of right now, I'm going to my Aunt's viewing, though I don't know if there's going to be an actual open coffin viewing.  When my her husband died the casket was closed.  It seemed very odd.  The funeral is going to be held in the same room, so I may stick around, or I may just head home.  

In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm not a big believer in funerals.  If you're more interested in seeing who, and how many people show up, you're not really there seeking closure.  Sitting in a room while a reverend, minister, or priest spends forty minutes of your time trying to both proselytize and manipulate your feelings in order to make you cry, is not my idea of fun.  Having a reception, or a wake, where people can come together and talk creates a much more memorable experience, since most people are interested in the attendees and what they've been doing with their lives since the last funeral brought them together.  If you do feel the need for a funeral, make it small and private, with just the immediate family.  There should be no reason for you to publicize your grief.  For myself?  I'm not having one.  My wishes are to be cremated and have my ashes mixed with those of my dogs, and then spread along some woodsy path.  If people want to walk along while this happens, they're welcome to join.  No speeches, no homily, no favorite songs.  Then, afterwards, go have a glass of merlot, or nice zinfandel. 

Change of subject.

Flooring retail was financially sound yesterday.  I had 2 nice sales, got my second measure for the week and a credit card.  I'm not working today.  The most interesting part was I got to drink some watermelon soft drink.  It was quite tasty.

Reports just came in that one of our Navy vessels was hit by 2 missiles in the Strait of Hormuz.  I saw that Orangie said today was the day our sailors were going to start putting their lives on the line because of his broken war.  I've been hearing that things are going to get a lot more bloodier over there.  If that's true, a massive majority of Americans are going to be hating this administration so much.  Don't expect Orangie and his cultists to change.  All they care about is their grasp on power.  Their need to say "shut up, we're in charge," overrides and sense of responsibility.  They simply do not care about the cost in lives.  Tragically, they do believe they will be in charge for forever.

The Serpent with the Golden Tongue

 Okay, so last night was a little cold.  This morning our temp was 41 (F).  Oddly enough, they were calling for a frost warning.  I didn't see the warning which ended a short time ago, but with overnight lows in the 40s (F) there's no way we're going to have frost.  Today we start warming up again.  By Wednesday we should be in the upper 70s(F), but only for a day.  Another cold front is expected to move through the region and daily highs will drop back into the upper 60s (F).

Retail was hopping in our garden department yesterday.  There was a bit of a breeze and the temps were in the mid 50s (F), but it was so very sunny.  Today's going to be a repeat.  My flooring customer called and said she had been called in to work and so she'd be showing up today to purchase.  I also received a call from one of my carpet installs, he, too, will be showing up today.  This means I should be processing 2 sales today.  Management will like that.

I've almost reached level 80 on Expedition 33.  On my first play through, as soon as the Paintress was dispatched, I moved directly onto the endgame without even attempting some of the areas on the map, those that were far more difficult.  This time I'm effecting the challenge.  And even though the boss fights are extremely brutal, they're still a lot of fun.  I'm also learning so much more about the war between the writer's and the painters, and how it was the older daughter, Clea's jealousy and anger reached malevolent proportions.  Tonight I'm going to the Isle of Eyes.

Overnight, the Orange Anus said the Cuba was going to be next.  If you didn't expect this, you haven't been paying attention, or else you're not getting your information from the right sources.

In recent days leakers from the administration at first told us that Orangie wanted to be classified in the same group of powerful people as Alexander the Great, and Napoleon.  However, his mental deterioration has continued and we're now hearing the believes himself to be the most powerful man to ever have lived.  It's his ego, you know?  And with him talking with Putin so frequently, you know his blow Bro, Vlad, is encouraging his dementiated state.  There are some who think Vlad has extreme dirt on Orangie, I know, I used to think that.  However, more and more, as Orangie  attempts world domination, I'm think that he's being encouraged by Vlad, the serpent with the golden tongue.  Remember, in Orangie's mind Vlad is one of the greatest dictators in the world, andpraise from him is more than enough incentive to do the worst things in the world.

Affordability

Saturday!  We've got a bit of a breeze outside and, because a small cold front moved through the area last night, temps are going to be a bit cooler than yesterday's high of 63 (F).  This is fine.  We are, after all, heading right into the middle of Spring.  And that small cold front?  It brought with it a smattering of rain, that's good at this time of year.  Fill up the aquifers.  Summer is coming, and we don't want to have to deal with any drought warnings should the temps rise and hang above normal.

Yesterday was a meh day.  I was supposed to go for a ride and canceled.  My quad is still a bit achy.  Rather than exacerbate a slightly painful situation, I thought it better to sit back and take it easy.  Since no workouts are scheduled for today and tomorrow, this will be a lite weekend.  There's nothing wrong with that.

I did put in my bereavement request yesterday.  This afternoon, when I'm at work I'll check and see if they will actually pay me to take off for the death of my aunt.  When I worked for International Paper, immediate family was mother, father, sister and brother, though the Orange retailer is different, though I don't know if they'll still that different.  

And the Orange Anus spoke at The Villages yesterday.  Some of the Main Stream Media said that this was his return to the public spotlight after the staged incident at the Washington Hilton.  This is deceitful.  His ego requires his face be on some screen each and every day.  He did rant yesterday in what some of the Main Stream Media called a "profane speech."  It's about time.  The profanity?  He claims that the affordability crisis is Democratic bullshit.  Of course, if you're a billionaire there's no problem.

He also terminated the war with Iran yesterday.  Yes, that's the word he used:  terminated.  He must think that he's on some sort of presidential reality TV Show.  I don't doubt if a day doesn't go by without him asking at least one member of his staff if he's gotten his Emmy nomination yet.  Unfortunately, he's in no position to terminate anything, though he's trying daily.  He wants to terminate every policy that helps to provide a safety net for the American problem.  In case you have realized it yet, no one makes money with safety nets.  He needs those seniors at The villages to dig even deeper into their savings to pay for their Medicare.  His answer to high prices is credit.  You can afford to fill you car with gas as long as you put that charge on a credit card.  He and his billionaire buddies don't care if you struggle to pay the bill, it's not about your struggling, it's all about them hitting their profit margin.

Tunnel Vision

Outside the sun is shining brightly on Central PA.  The temps are a bit cool, sitting at a chilly 52 (F), but this afternoon things are going to be warming up.  Forecasters are telling us that we should be hitting the mid 60s (F).  This is Spring.  It's May day.  Summer is only a month and a half away.  I can't wait.

Retail was very slow yesterday.  We might have missed our plan by $100,000.  Wow!  That's a very serious dollar amount to be off.  Is it the economy?  I'd say yes.  One of my tile installs came in to go over her quote.  Some things were cut out to bring the price down.  She did not buy.  She told me that she's waiting on one more quote to come in.  She also asked if we were going to be lower than that quote.  If she thinks we're going to price match, she's wrong.  She did seem pleased when I told her that even though product prices might go up, the quote was good for a year.  I got the idea that she's planning on waiting about a month to make a decision.  

Otherwise, yesterday was pretty meh. 

My aunt's funeral is on Monday, so this morning I put in a bereavement request.  I can't remember if we get bereavement pay for aunts and uncles, though for some reason I think you do.  I think the Orange retailer I work for considers them part of your immediate family.

My friend Chris, from Greece, is in the Himalayas.  He sent this picture with a comment about it being more than 999 steps.  This is in reference to the staircase up the side of a cliff in Palamidi, Greece.

Evidently Scott Jennings, a cultist on CNN is taking a short break.  He announced this on Monday, and then last evening dropped the F bomb against Adam Mockler, a young, outspoken Liberal on TV.  People are calling for his break to be made permanent.  We shall see.

And in their haste to destroy the Voting Rights Act, the conservatives on the Supreme Court failed to look at how easily Democrats might turn it into an advantage.  This is because conservatives live for tunnel vision.  There is no big picture for them, just that tiny pinprick of reality at the end of the tunnel.  The fact that Blue states could do exactly what they want the Red states to do never occurred to them.  But then this has always been a problem with Conservatives.  They're only interested in how the policies they live for will effect themselves.  The fact that those same policies might be weaponized against them never reaches the state of a cohesive thought.  I don't doubt that it bumbles around in their brains like some nebulous incredulity, as they scratch their heads curiously saying, "what?"

The Voting Rights Act

Here in Central Pa we had overcast skies yesterday and the occasional drizzle until around 4 PM, and then it started to rain, a soaker, as they like to call steady rain.  Today, forecasters are calling for on and off sunshine with our temps topping off in the the low 60s (F).  This means everything is going to grow.  That means I'm going to have to mow the lawn, probably tomorrow morning. Yeah!

And yesterday was productive!  All my veggies have been planted and fertilized.  Laundry was done.  Cleaning was done.  It was a good day.

Yesterday was also a good workout day.  While there's an exercised called a dumbbell thruster, there were no squats.  I'm going to go easy on the squats for a while.  My left knee is still a bit wonky and I don't want to do anything that might actually damage it.  

My aunt Lois died yesterday.  She was 91.  She was a very nice lady.  When I was born back in 1952, my dad's parents drove down to Florida because I was the first male grandson to be born.  Lois, who was 18, was with them.  What an adventure that must have been for her!  In today's America a lot of people will fly their families down to Disneyworld.  It's so commonplace, no one thinks about it.  But 73 years ago Florida would have been like traveling to a totally different country.

I snapped a picture of Howie on the the futon yesterday.  I've gotten a lot of comments about how big he's gotten.  Believe me when I tell you, I don't think of him as being big, he's just my little booby boy.

Of course, yesterday the Supreme Court smashed apart the Voting Rights Act because a majority of the judges, all white, believe that minority groups no longer need to have a unified voice.  The racist Sammy Alito wrote the majority opinion.  Sammy wants a white, Republican, authoritarian government running America.  Future generations are not going to see Sammy as a decent human being.  Quite the contrary.  They will look at his racist opinions and define him as what he truly is, a bigoted, phony Catholic.

And gas prices increased again yesterday.  Since I didn't go anywhere, I don't know how high they went locally, but from what I'm seeing online, 40 cents seems to be the standard increase.  This is how you lose elections, no matter how much you gerrymander, or how often Sammy Alito stomps his tiny racist feet.  Hint, hint, gas prices are not going to go down soon, not that Sammy has to worry about the price per gallon.  

Finally, Elonia Musk was in court yesterday.  He and Sam Altman are going head to head, legally, about Chat GP, I think, and Elonia's verbosity and bullshit got to be too much for the judge.  Yepper, the judge told him to basically shut up.  Elonia found that rather... disparaging.  Now, how nice is that?

And it's Comey and Disney... Again

Temps today are supposed to hit 60 (F), but just briefly before showers enter the picture.  We're going to be staying in this pattern of moderate temps and showers for a while.  Next Wednesday there 's a blip when the temps are expected to hit the low 70s (F), but it's only a blip.  Except for a few days with partial sunshine, the forecast is for showers, showers, showers.

Yesterday was a decent day.  Much was accomplished, including the purchase of 4 more tomato plants and a poblano pepper plant.  I've got 3 more containers to fill.  Last year I tried zucchinis and cucumbers and got zilch. Maybe this year I'll try eggplant.

I also got a 45 minute ride in.  My quad is still a bit achy, so I may go lite on the squats today.  There are leg extensions in today's workout, but both legs are used.  It was the single leg extensions on the left leg that were tough.

And I got an email this morning from YouTube.  They've blocked my edited version of Storm at the behest of Virgin Music.  I sent a copy to a friend yesterday morning and at that time it had 39,000 views and over 2000 likes.  That's not too shabby.  I suspect that if I had contacted Virgin and asked to pay for the rights they would have said "yes," but I don't doubt that would have bee expensive.  Copies of that shortened version are everywhere, so I was obviously not the only one impressed enough to make a copy.  

And the administration is going after both Kimmel and Comey again.  I've heard that the CEO of Disney is far more concerned about a public backlash than he is of the FCC, no doubt because he has lawyers who can tie that up in the courts for years, or at least until Orangie and his personal henchie Brendan Carr can be removed.  And the Comey indictment?  It's for his picture of sea shells on the beach that say 86 47.  This administration is a total joke and that is showing up in Orangie's approval ratings.  According to a recent poll by You Gov, only 18% of Americans strongly approve.

And in case you're wondering, it ain't gonna get no better for him.  I don't doubt that the Comey and the Disney bullshit are distractions from the fact that the economy is going to continue to tank.  Big headline today is that gas prices have gone up again.  They're going to go much higher, as will food prices.  Discretionary spending is going to collapse.  Americans are going to be punished for this idiocy, and so Americans will punish those in charge.  As I've said before, the midterms are going to be an extermination even for the Republican party.

Another incumbent Republican congressman dropped out of his race for re-election yesterday.  That brings the total number of Republicans to 36.  He'd rather dropout than lose.  No surprise there.

Viral

We have an iffy day in store for us here in Central PA.  Temps are going to be stuck in the high 60s (F) today with light showers scattering across the region.  We did have sunshine for a few moments the morning before the clouds began moving in.  Beginning Thursday, daily highs will be hovering in the upper 50s (F), though, on a good note for gardeners, no frosty days are expected.

My workout yesterday went well, mostly.  The 25 lb dumbbells were... interesting.  The dumbbell bench press was easy, the 25 dumbbell squats not so much.  My quads are a little sore this morning, as is my left knee.  I chalk this up to the fact that instead of starting off with 8 reps I did 10.  There are times when I'm a bit of an overachiever.  

That Storm II video I posted yesterday has gone viral on my YouTube channel.  In fact, the full 7+ minute video has gone viral world wide.  I, alone, have over 1900 likes and almost 500 comments from around the world the last time I looked.  YouTube notified me that because I'm using copyrighted material I can't monetize it and that the copyright holder has already monetized it.  I find this amusing because nothing on my channel is monetized, and YouTube says this makes it hunky dory.  It's actually rather complimentary to know something I've done has helped spread choreographic genius around the world.  Here it is again for those who missed it.

For those who are interested, I am working on an updated teaser for The Body in 4:4 Time.

Of course, the shit show in Washington continues.  Honestly, it seem as if Main Stream Media's attempt to sane wash the Orange Anus is doing more harm than good.  Isn't that a nice little irony.  Their viewership is also on the decline, and they're not to happy about that.  Their problem is that if they are critical of Orangie, he will cut off their access.  So, they post bits and pieces of disinformation that a large majority of Americans know to be outright lies.  They want you to be sorry for them, don't be, they made their bed.

I'm hearing lots of bad whispers about a potential breakup between Orangie and his Cracker Jack Crazy Christian Defense Secretary Petey Hegseth.  Evidently Orangie has learned that Petey's been lying to him badly about the damage inflicted up us by Iran.  He's also finding out that Petey has had our military shooting tons and tons of ordinance to the point where we're beginning to run low.  Remember, Orangie will never look bad in public.  Add that to the fact that Iran made Orangie an offer he doesn't like, and Iran does seem to be holding all of the cards.

Storm II

Today's weather is going to be nice.  As you might expect, that means I work this afternoon.  Tuesday and Wednesday rain is n the forecast and those are my days off during the week.  Today's high temps are going to be in the mid 70s (F).  Tomorrows?  We'll be drizzling our way through a high in the upper 50s (F) to low 60s (F).  I'd like to mow my lawn tomorrow.  We shall have to wait and see.

Work was slow yesterday.  There were a few customers, but not a lot of sales.  We did not reach our sales goal for the past week.  This is how it goes. I do have a gripe about our Service Desk:  one of the associates chose to accept a return on cut carpet.  I remember well the customer, a woman with 2 men who was going to install carpet herself, with their help I suspect.  We cut the carpet, pulled down a roll of carpet padding, and sold her a number of tack strips those thin wood slats with sharp little nails that go around the perimeter of the room.  Yesterday afternoon she returned everything.  The padding and tack strips were still in their packaging, so we can sell those.  The carpet?  We ain't never going to sell that.  No one buy remnant carpet.  We got rid of our remnant carpet bay because those rolls of cut carpet sat there for years.  There some times when you need to say "no," and customer has to eat that cost.

Every now and then we see something and hear something that strikes a cord, that mesmerizes you into a Wow! moment.  That happened to me on Saturday when I saw a video with the Young Lean, a Swedish rapper/musician.  Choreographed by Damien Jalet, the video is composed of 2 songs.  I only recorded the second song, Storm II.  Some of you got an unedited version in an email, or a teaser on Instagram.  Here's Storm II.  This is amazing.

And the chaos of the White House Correspondent's Dinner continues.  The fact that 70% of Americans believe the whole thing was stage tells you quite a bit about this administration.  Three quarters of Americans are fed up with the lies and deceit coming out of Washington.  Was it staged?  A growing consensus is that they knew the Friendly Assassin was coming, that's why security was so lax.  My belief is that these idiots thought they would let this incident play out to their advantage, possibly a replay on the Butler, PA incident.  I do believe they thought this would improve his approval ratings.  Let's be honest, the only thing these loser know how to do is fail.  They did not want one Secret Service agent to shoot another Secret Service agent, yet that was the only shooting injury.  Oarngie wasn't supposed to fall on camera, but he did.  And his interview with Norah O'Donnell?  I do believe they thought that would cement a warm fuzzy place for him in America's hearts.  Fail.  CBS may have bent the knee, but Norah went for blood and got it, and Orangie revealed on live TV what a rotten human being he is.  He is the Storm.

Staged

Yesterday, we had cold rain from mid-morning to early in the evening.  During that time the temperature hung in the low 50s (F).  The rain did stop sometime overnight though ours skies have remained overcast.  Today's high will be in the low 60s (F).  Then, tomorrow, we'll hit the low 70s (F) before dropping back down to daily highs in the 60s (F).

Retail was slow in the flooring department.  I did have a blind install go through for about $900.  That will add to my sales goal.  Since I only have a few measures, I will not be reaching my sale goal this week.  Who knows what this coming week will bring.  Gas prices are not going down and at some point the number of customers prioritizing a new flooring installation is going to drop.  I'm going to pick up veggie seedlings before I leave.  My military discount helps me get a better price.  Tomato plants were selling at $5 per seedling.  Still, who knows what the price of tomatoes will be when harvest season arrives.

After doing a few chores when I got home, I played Expedition 33.  It wasn't until I went to bed that I learned that there had been an incident in Washington.  

Let me set the stage by saying last night was the first time ever... and I do mean ever, that the Orange Anus attended the White House Correspondent's Dinner.  This is because both comedians and correspondents use the dinner to shamelessly mock the president.  Orange needs to be kowtowed to.  Dealing with the brunt of humorists is not his forte.  

Now that the stage is set, for some reason I was not surprised when I saw that there had been an active shooter in the Hilton hotel.  Not in the dining room where the dinner was taking place, but in the hotel.  Not impressed I went to sleep.  This morning I discovered many comments in a similar vein overwhelming social media.

There are many, many, many more comments that are even more succinct.  One comment pointed out that Orangie's approval rating is in the toilet and... well, it worked for Reagan.  But this is the 3rd faux attempt at an assassination, even though it has not be classified as one.  It's still just an incident that shut down the Correspondent's dinner before anyone had a chance to make fun of Orangie.  Now we know one of the reasons he was there, no one was going to make fun of him.  Another reason appears to be that it gave him a chance to plug his ballroom on national media... live.  And gathered around him, nodding their heads and smiling were members of his liquor cabinet, not one of them looking serious after such a serious incident.  This is because the whole thing was staged.

Vote, Vote, Vote!

 We have a nice, chilly 52 (F) outside and, thanks to a minor cold front that went through last evening, we ain't going to get much warmer.  This is what we should all be expecting for another 3 or 4 weeks.  Cool and rainy doesn't mean you can't plant your garden, it just means that you might be a little uncomfortable while you're transplanting your seedling, or sowing your seeds.

Yesterday was nice.  I got a lot done, including a ride in Germany.  

One thing that was fairly high on the "to do" list, was upgrade my VPN.  I have Panda anti-virus, and it works well, however the VPN that comes with it was.. bad.  Many times it wouldn't connect and occasionally it would block certain websites, like Blogger, or Joe, My God.  Some might ask, "why use a VPN?" well, mostly because I don't want someone decided that I should be tracked.  At present, we have some serious wack-a-doodles in the world, and not all of them are in our government.  Panda has a lot of servers, however some of them are in China, I don't see that as being an advantage.  Even worse, they also have servers in Russia.  So I dropped their VPN and signed up with NordVPN.  Nord has an outstanding reputation.

There's no workout scheduled today.  I like the fact that now all of my workouts are scheduled during the week and that I have the weekends off.

And this came in the mail yesterday.  It will be filled out and mailed this morning!

I went shopping yesterday and was shocked to see that Roma tomatoes went from $1.99 a pound to $2.99 a pound.  Damn!  That's a bit of price hike, isn't it.  Smucker's jelly is now $4.59 for their standard, 17 oz jar.  Prices are only going to go higher.  And, in case you're wondering, Orangie flew down to Mar a Lago this weekend to go golfing... again.  This is his standard modus operandi; shit posting during the week and golfing on the weekend.  In case some of you haven't figured it out yet, he doesn't like America, but then it seems as if he doesn't like any country with the exception of Russia.  Since he doesn't like America, he's not going to do anything to really solve the problems inflation is causing.  Being part of the 1%, inflation doesn't effect him and if it did, he would simply find some what to write it off on his taxes.  

With approval ratings as low as they are, you'd think the Republican party would at least make the attempt to appease the growing anger against them.  Nah.  Rather than attempt at mollifying the general public, they're going to throw as much conservative shit against the wall and hope some of it survives the midterms.  They are totally clueless.  They're fairly certain they're going to lose the House of Representatives, and quite probably the Senate, too.  The likelihood of Orangie being impeached on day one are fairly high, they're hoping that there aren't enough votes in the Senate to remove him from office.  Since they don't learn lessons, I do suspect they're going to be punished so severely by the American people the midterms might be an extermination even for the Republican party.

Bountiful

 Today is going to be the last day our temps climb in the 70s (F) for some time.  With the rain coming into the area tomorrow, our daily highs will only be in the mid 60s (F).  That's a bit on the chilly side, but is what is considered normal Spring weather.  We are in a transitional season.  Since there is chit chat about a Super Nino this year, I'm suspecting that the longer the transition lasts, the better it will be for this part of the country, least weather wise.

Yesterday was a good day at work.  I got a measure, sold a lot of tile, and signed up a customer for a credit card.  Management will be happy.  All of that happened in the last hour I worked.  The rest of the day was slow.  I got in my steps.   Days like that are fine.  For the most part, I get paid to sit around.

Yesterday morning I also got in a decent workout in.  I'm in an upgrade stage.  More repetitions have been added to a number of exercises and I'm now going to be using 25 pound dumbbells for my bench press.  I'm pleased.  Increased strength means I'm building muscle.  Building muscle is a good thing for those of us who are getting older.  

Of course, yesterday this happened.  The Orange Anus took an extended nap.

Keep in mind, this is just a single screen shot, the video version is much better.  He sleeps for over 2 minutes.  When he wakes up, he looks around with a confused look on his face no doubt wondering just where in Hell he is.   

I'm not a Joe Rogan fan and it's not because he's quite short.  He has no core values, epitomizing the "what's in it for me," influencer.  Lately, however, he seems to be coming to the realization that selling out his ethical compass for fame and fortune may not have been a good thing.  Every now and then he blurts out something on his podcast which indicates being pro Orangie may not have been the solid career move he thought it was going to be.  He spoke out about the Department of Justice shutting down the Epstein files, as an example.  Then yesterday he blurted out that if Orangie though of using the Iran war to shut down the midterms, then the entire nation would rise up against him.  This is true.  This was always the biggest mistake Republicans made in deluding themselves that all they had to do was be in charge.  I would not be surprised if the backlash against Republicans, Conservatives, and billionaires is so bad that many of them will be tried and jailed.  Some of them may try and run, but I wouldn't be surprised to see mercenaries turn into bounty hunters.

Filling up the Gas Tank

Our outside temp is in the low 50s (F).  This afternoon's high will be in the low 80s (F).  I'd say we're moving into another warming trend, however these temps are going to begin sinking tomorrow.  After today, we'll have at least a week of daily high temps in the mid 60s (F).  The forecast is also calling for showers.  Showers are good, especially as we head into growing season.

Yesterday was a decent day.  Laundry was done in the morning.  I also got in a good workout.  In the afternoon, I had lunch with proofreader Don at Dockside Willies.  Their menu is large and it's basically a sit down version of fast food.  I had what they call a stax, chicken on top of french fries, it was decent, however, I ordered peanut butter pie and it definitely tasted as though it had been mass produced.  Unfortunately most of the restaurants around here, even those considered up scale, outsource their desert making.   Don also let me borrow this.  Tick Tock, tick tock.

I received an email from the state, my mail-in ballot should be arriving within the next 7 days.  That baby is always filled out and returned ASAP.  

Yesterday, after lunch, I picked up some things at my local Giant supermarket and then filled up my gas tank.  Giant lets you earn bonus points on your purchases which can be deducted from the cost per gallon.  Yesterday, had I not been able to use those points, it would have cost me $55 to fill up my tank.  Because I don't drive a lot, that fill-up will last me at least 2 weeks.  There are people who don't shop at Giant, who don't get discount points, and who drive much more than I do; their gas expense must be downright exorbitant. 

I understand the Orange Anus read some sort of Bible verse in which the thought he was talking about himself.

Rumors are swirling that he's going to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell.  Isn't this what all pedophiles do?

Finally, his approval rating is down to 33%.  That's the Republican cultists plus about 5% of voters who are wacked out in the brain.   Don't worry, it will keep going down.  Nothing can save him now.  The question is will he get down to 25%?  George W. Bush was that low.  I think that's a doable target.

 

Virginia

So, Central Pa is heading into a warming trend, at least for the next few days.  When we cool off, and we will cool off, temps are not going to be as cool, with overnight lows down in the mid 40s (F).  As I look at the long range forecast though, it seems as though this year is going to be a repeat of the past few years in that the April showers that bring may flowers are going to be arriving in May... again.  It doesn't really matter when we get the spring rains, as long as we get them.  

And yesterday wasn't a bad day.  Much was done.  Dusting and cleaning up the Howie hair can take quite a bit of time.  He does shed a lot.  Sometimes, when you rub his back, his hair seems to just fountain off.  None of my boxes ever shed like this.  Howie's shedding is pervasive.  

Anyway, that was my yesterday.  Clean.  Do laundry.  Dinner was leftovers, so there was no cooking.

I did, however, take a bike ride that suffered from a computer glitch, and a rather weird one at that.  There's a ride in Corsica that I like.  It's stage 4 of a 6 stage ride that is, with all 6 stages, over 120 miles long.  Stage 4 is a moderate ride having some difficult, smaller hills.  Twelve minutes into stage 4, the small GPS window in the top right  corner of the screen accelerated into this super fast mode while the main screen flashed on and off.  This was the glitch.  When the flashing and the acceleration stopped, my ride had been changed.  I was now at the beginning of stage 2, a difficult ride, facing a 4 mile hill with an average grade of 6%.  Being a trooper, I continued to ride up that hill for another 28 minutes.  This is that hill.

And if you go to an open door or window and cup your hand around you ear and listen, you can hear the hypocritical screams of raging MAGA cultists.  While they had no problem gerrymandering Texas, and Missouri, and Ohio in an attempt to maintain their grip on power, they're having a horrible time accepting Virginia's decision to let the voters decide on whether to redistrict or not.  The voters said, "yeah, let's put the screws to that Orange shithole in the White House."  Texas, Missouri, and Ohio were gerrymanders by authoritarians, Virginia was done the democratic way.  Statistically speaking, had Orangie and his asswipes would have had a better advantage if they'd not decided to gerrymander.  Now they've shit in their pants, or, as in his case, shit in his diaper.

And Orangie extended the ceasefire with Iran yesterday because it was TACO Tuesday.  However, the Strait of Hormuz is still closed.  Iran is going to put the screws to us.  Where as Orangie failed at regime change, the Iranians are going to be successful.  Many polls have Orangie's approval rating at either 32% or 33%.  Main Stream Media may have it around 35%.  That's their attempt to put a psitive spin on it  Americans hate him.  That hatred is only going to grow as prices continue to climb.  In the end, the GOP is going to face the terrible truth at all their gerrymandering was a waste of time.

The Sound of Murder

Good morning world!  Right now, the temp here in Central PA is 32, but not around my house.  How do I know?  Water that isn't frozen in my backyard.  So, the temp might be cold somewhere else, but not here.  As a precautionary measure, I covered my 2 tomato plants last evening.  This morning they're looking fine.  Hopefully, that will be the last time our temps get that cold, at least until autumn has us in its sights.

Work yesterday was blah.  Slow.  I purportedly made a mistake in a blind install.  Our customer order specialist claimed that I sold a blind that was only 9 inches wide.  It was actually supposed to be 70 inches wide.  You can't design a blind that is less than 14 inches because there's not enough room in the headrail for the string mechanism.  If you try to, the system generates an error.  So, something, somewhere happened.

Since this is Tuesday, I'm not scheduled.  That's fine with me.  I have a bike ride scheduled for this afternoon.   That, too, is good.  I want to work on my Blender.  That's the software that let's you create your own 2D animations.  Why, you might ask?  Because I'm wanting to do something akin to this for The Body in 4:4 Time.  Can you hear it?  The 4:4 time?  That's the sound of murder.

And the bag of Orange shit who managed to get elected was in Virginia last night.  He's not happy.  The fact that Virginians are voting today as to whether on not they should redistrict has him rankled.  It was fine for Republicans to gerrymander in Texas, and Missouri, and Ohio, but the fact that Virginia wants to do the same to help Democrats is unpatriotic.  Both Orangie and the Republican party know that America is on the cusp of a Blue Tsunami and that scares the bejesus out of them.  The truly terrible thing for them about the midterms is that if they had for just a few moments put their selfishness and greed aside and put some sort of restraints on the Orange Anus this would most likely not be a problem for them.  However, they are the party of selfishness and greed.  There was no way they could stop feeding their craven desire for power.  The America of their dreams would have a permanent Republican, authoritarian government.  They never cared what other Americans wanted.  America was great... until the Republicans got the Orange Anus in the White House, now it will take decades to recover.

Cook This

Our outside temps is 41 (F) and we're sort of under a freeze warning for tonight, but only sort of.  Originally temps were supposed to be in the low 30s (F), but now it appears that they will only be dropping into mid 30s (F), at least in our neck of the woods.  One thing to keep in mind about this warning is that it is not localized, but rather regional.  The actual warning is for "some areas," of Central Pa, that includes town and cities in what many would classify as northern Pa.

I spent a full shift working yesterday.  It was, as expected, slow in the flooring department.  Things were a bit busier our in the garden area.  Even though the sun did come out in the afternoon, there was a constant cool breeze that on occasion gusted.  No workout was done.  No cleaning, either..  Management will be glad that I made most of my goals; the usual ones, no credit cards, however.  Convincing people to go deeper into credit card debt is not something I do.

I also had a nice chat with the Store Manager about this pay increase fiasco, and fiasco might truly be an understatement.  A long time ago, associates for the large, orange retailer I work for received their pay increases on their hire date.  But then accountant type in corporate decided to only issue raises twice a year.  This meant that some associates, like me, suffered an 18 month wait between increases.  Then Covid happened, and the decision was made to give raises just once a year, however the wait between raises was 13 months, not 12.  Do you see what they're doing there?  This year, after 5 years of giving yearly increases, and in an attempt to make their bottom line look better, the large orange retailer has gone back to giving pay increases twice a year.  This means that some associates will have to wait longer than 12 months to get an increase in pay.  This of policy was not communicated well, and to make matters worse, this year no one tells you how much of a raise you're going to get, you have to go on line to see it.  People are pissed.

After listening to people piss and moan yesterday, I must say I did have more than a fleeting moment of laughter when I saw a video of RFK Jr walking through an airport when a reporter suddenly asked him what his fascination with road kill was all about.  This is rather relevant in that I do believe he and his wife, Cheryl Hines, are putting out a cookbook.

Of course, his shit show with Iran is continuing.  One thing I did notice this morning is that Orangie failed to make his now standard statement that a peace deal was in the works.  For those who don't know, he uses these little lies to manipulate the stock market.  Perhaps this is because he has idiots in charge?  It might also be that Iran's media puts out constant reminders of how idiotic Orangie and his team our.  Orangie likes to say that things are progressing well and Iran basically pisses on his words as soon as they're out of his mouth.

All administrations have leaks of some sort, but Orangie's?  It's almost as though staffers in this administration hate him so much they can't wait to sneak behind the scenes snapshots.  It's terrible that the high level of chaos we are experiencing daily is nothing compared to what's going on around this phony president.  Not one single soul knows what in hell they are doing, and not one single soul will try and removed this idiot from office; they live for the corruption. 

And Kash Patel drinks a little

The cold wave is upon us.  Storms came through the area last not, not a lot of thunder or lighting, but we did get some nice, steady rain.  As a result this morning's outside temp is s50 (F).  Clouds are supposed to hang around Central PA for most of the day.  Things will stay cool, with the high this afternoon expected to be in the mid 50s (F).  And, as expected, there is a freeze warning for Tuesday night.

And yesterday was okay.  Saturday and Sunday are no workout days, so I spent yesterday morning doing other stuff.  That includes editing.  Oh, and I also had to go to work.  I did managed to get a measure, so most of my goals have been met for the week.  Our garden department was rocking again.  Flooring?  Well, I managed to get my steps in early, and that's in spite of having to avoid the garden department.  I know flooring.  I don't  know flora.  The last thing I want a customer to do is wonder why a flooring specialist is wandering around the vegetable seedlings.  It's not a good look.

I do have to work today, too.  Right now we have drizzles.  The prediction is for us to have drizzles all day.  Business will be slow.  Perhaps I can go back to my original route through the garden department.

In case everyone missed it, under Jeff Bezos' ownership, The Washington Post has become a prolific sane washer of the Orange Anus.  They used to have a reputation for writing articles that provided a critical insight into the workings of Washington.  Now they publish puff pieces of Orangie and constant criticisms of those who disparage him.  With this in mind, I was more than a little surprised when they published this pic of him this morning in the Sunday edition. Even though the sharp edges of the article about his obsessing over his ballroom had been blunted, I was surprised that they would still used this very unflattering picture of him.  I mean, he looks like's he's eagerly awaiting life support.

The fact that Kash Patel is a drunkard should come as no surprise to anyone.  I realized this truth the minute those videos of him drunkenly jumping around with the American Hockey team at the winter Olympics were released.  The only reason he has that position is because he'll never vote to oust Trump using the 25th amendment.  Why many are saying he needs to be fired, don't count on it, or at least not in the way you think it will happen.  Orangie will do to Kash what he's done to both Bondi and Noem, create another department where he can still get paid his original salary and have access to the private planes he wants to jet-set around the country.  Patel knows too much.  

Vermouth

 Today will be our last day of fun in the sun for a while.  Overnight temps are going to be dropping and tomorrow's drizzly high will be in the 50s (F).  There are going to be at least one frost warning later in the week.  Our weather is flip-flopping,  central air on one week, and heat on the next.  Don't worry, the heat is still coming, and will be arriving sooner than you think.

Yesterday was sort of a meh day.  I didn't work.  literally, I didn't really do much of anything except go for a 10 Mile bike ride.  There were also 3 loads of laundry done as well.  Also, I did a little lawn work, including throwing out the hose reel system.  Looking back, I guess I'd have to say the day wasn't that much of a waste.

This is the season of pay increases.  I got mine, a whopping 3%.  Now, those are going to be some big bucks you can take to the bank.  For some reason, I was the only one who could see mine.  Usually, they give you a piece of paper with your increase printed on it.  That still may happen before payday.  But everyone should be able to see their increase on their online payroll file.  But as of Thursday, no one else could see their increase.  I find this interesting.  I'm wondering if others might be getting a lower % and that might be why their files haven't been updated yet.

The Strait of Vermouth is not open, neither is the Strait of Hormuz.

This is in spite of what the Liar in the White House says.  One thing I'm seeing more and more of though, is people calling out Main Stream Media for simply regurgitating everything he says as though it's a fact.  He is a pathological liar.  Everyone in MSM knows this, yet every time Orangie says something, they repeat it as though it were fact.  Orange  says this, and Orangie says that without so much as a nod to the fact that nothing he says is true.  By now most people have also realized that he uses his phony announcements to manipulate the stock market.  Billionaires just keep getting richer.  At some point it's going to break, then I don't doubt many of them will drink a bottle of Vermouth and jump out a window.

Ballroom Dancing

Well, our temps are a nice, comfy 64 (F) outside.  We'll be getting warm again today, but our afternoon high is only supposed to be in the upper 70s (f).  That's an improvement over highs in the low 90s (F)... in mid April.  Sunday we will be cooling off and, if the long range forecast is correct, our temps will stay in the mid 60s (F) for at least a week.  As we head into May, things will be warming up again.

I worked yesterday.  It was boring.  Last week our store was making our sales plan every day.  This week?  Not so much.  At this point, management is no doubt hoping for a big weekend, but Sunday?  Well, the forecast is calling for rain.  Even though there are people who don't mind browsing through the garden department in the drizzles, many will not.  They will stay home.

On the bright side, I did have 2 sales:  a carpet installation, and a blind installation.  This means I will have met my sales goal for the week.  That's a plus.  The few other customers I've talked to had no interest in having flooring installed.  They were either "just looking," or "just starting the process."  Those 2 phrases are completely interchangeable and both mean "thanks, but no thanks."

Howie's dewclaw scratched me yesterday and it did draw blood.  I was sitting down in the living room and he and I were playing catch with his neon green bone, when he decided he wanted to jump on my lap.  I put my arm up to stop him because he's a little too big to be jumping on my lap, and that's when it happened.  t's not really as bad as it looks, though I did wear an long sleeve shirt to work.

So, Orangie was bragging about his ballroom again, or more specifically, about what's going to be built beneath it.  

Let's see, there's a state of the art medical center, a combat center, a drone proof military center, a bomb shelter, his personal MacDonald's... well, maybe not the MacDonald's.  Though he's said there's going to be top, top secret stuff there and in his mind a MacDonald's might be essential, but not necessarily top, top secret.  For those of you who don't know, minor versions of those things were already under the East Wing.  And while I don't mind being a spoil sport when it comes to Orangie, I'm wondering why he thought it necessary to tell the entire world.  Doesn't it seem as though he's setting up his new ballroom to be the number one target?  Especially since he spends most of his time at Mar a Lago?  Since this new construction is entirely backed by private contributions, think Zuckerberg, and Miriam Anderson, and Bezos, amongst others, one can only wonder what's in it for them.  Since most of them already have built rather formidable compounds, I'm betting they're not planning on staying there in case something bad happens.   Makes one wonder, doesn't it.

Finally, Russel Vought testified before Congress yesterday. This man is a soulless sack of shit brimming to the top with unbridled hatred of every he can't control.  He needs to go to jail for a very long time.

Extermination Event

While it seems as though we're living in a slow cooker, these unnaturally warm days will pass.  The temp was 66 (F) this morning and is already rising.  We'll hit the low 90s (F).  In fact, this heat will stick with us for next 2 days before temps crash.  Yepper.  The flip side is coming.  Next week we're going to have frost warnings.  I'm suspecting this might just be a teaser for the real heat waves that will be heading our way this summer.

And yesterday was sort of a good/meh day.  I got things done.  But for some reason I felt as though I should take nap, after nap, after nap.  I chalk it up to boredom.  I finished mowing my lawn, and did some other yard work.  The I've started dismantling the retractable garden hose reel to see if I can salvage the hose.  It fell off the outside wall because I mounted it onto the wooden siding beneath the aluminum siding.  Both sidings together are about 2 inches thick and my trusty stud finder wasn't working through the aluminum.  Rather than drill four more holes, I've decided to see if I can take the thing apart and just use the hose.  We shall see.

I did get my workout yesterday.  That was fine.  I'm doing more reps on the leg extensions and the hammer jack curls, so those routines have been adjusted accordingly.  My trainer always sounds impressed when I do these upward adjustments, since it implies I'm getting stronger.  One thing's for certain, I aint' getting any younger.

And I've started Act III on my playthrough of Expedition 33.  The first time was a lot of fun, this is much funner.  I know things now I didn't know before.  The first time I simply wanted to beat the game.  Now I'm going after bosses that hadn't been part of the main storyline and enjoying the fights thoroughly.

For those who missed it, JD gave a speech at a Turning Point USA... well, I guess you might want to call it a small gathering of small minds.  Erika Kirk was a no-show, no doubt because ticket sales were not going to cover the cost of her pyro-technique entry.  So JD was left to face this.  Less than 25% of the seating had been sold.

And in the shit you can't make up category, we have Petey Hegseth  reading a made-up Bible verse from the movie Pulp Fiction thinking it was from... the Bible, now known as the gospel according to Quentin.

Rather loud whispers are saying that the Republican party is flipping out behind closed doors because Orangie's, and JD's attacks on the Pope are going to hurt them in the mid-terms.  They whining that Orangie is getting bad advice from certain people, like Petey.  Well, they're the ones who approved these people.  That's right, they voted for Orangie to make Petey the Secretary of Defense, and all of those other Christian Nationalists.  And Orangie is never going to give up on those crazy cultists because they make him something he's always wanted to be, a god.  So, when they tell him that the Pope is his enemy, he's going to believe them.  This means we should expect the attacks to continue.  If they hadn't been so power hungry the upcoming losses might have been avoided.  Now, the Republican party might actually be looking at an extermination event.

CPAC is a Russkie Asset

We've had an overnight low of 61 (F).  That's getting close to summertime temps.  Don't worry, there will soon be a chill in the air.  Colder overnight temps will be moving into the area starting Friday.  Sunday's supposed to be a day of rain, rain, go away.  Then we will once again be back to more seasonal temps, but only for a short time.  Summer is barreling at us full blast.

Yesterday was good.  I paid my real estate taxes (ugh) and did some shopping.  Most of my front lawn was mowed.  Most, because I  use and electric lawn mower and the battery ran out.  The mower's probably 6 or 7 years old, and the battery is just as old.  One fact we all know about batteries is that they don't last forever, you can only recharge them so many times before the charge begins to fail.  Sadly, because of the age of the mower, I might not be able to purchase another battery, built in obsolescence, you know?  We are surrounded by it.  Nothing lasts forever.  Being that it's warm again today, I'll be mowing the backyard this afternoon, and also doing more yardwork.  

Today is also tax day.  That means I'll be doing my local taxes this afternoon.  I never owe anything.  It's just that they're a pain to do.

And I received a bill in the mail from Dental Associates, the group that extracted my molar.  I evidently owe another $88.  The total expense was $649.  Of that, Met Life paid $90.40 and $307.20 was written off.  Yeah, that's right, $307.20.  In other words, the dentist needed to overcharge Met Life by $307.20 in order to get a $90.40 payment, and I pay the rest.  That's not a good deal.  There is something terribly wrong with health care in this country.

And here's a pic of my first 2 tomato plants.

And you'll never guess which group of billionaires is making a killing off of of Orangie's war: Big Oil.  It's estimated that they're earning $30 million an hour more than before Orangie started this shit show.  Me?  I'm wondering when that's going to start trickling down.  It's a good thing I'm being sarcastic.  And in case you're forgetting, Big Oil got a really nice tax break in Orangie's Big, Beautiful Bill.  Remember, those billionaires don't care how shitty your life is, they're only concerned with growing their bank accounts.

One of the reasons yesterday was such a good day was that I was too busy to sit down and peruse social media.  However, that didn't stop me from learning certain things, perhaps the biggest of which Petyr Magyar, Hungary's new Prime Minister, said the country was no longer going to fund CPAC.  And the money they were giving to CPAC was actually Russian money, no doubt a way for the Russian mafia to do their money laundering.  This means that Charlie Kirk's ambitious endeavor was funded by the Russkies, which makes them a Russian Asset.  You know, it seems as though those damn Russkie oligarchs got their stinky fingers in just about everybody's pie.

Dashed

I got up early this morning because... well, I just couldn't sleep.  Our outside temps here in Central PA are a cool 62 (F).  We are going to warm up... a bit.  Halfway through April and our afternoon temps will be cruising the through the mid 80s (F).  By Thursday we should be in the low 90s (F).  Remember that heat wave California had a few weeks ago?  Well, it's here.  The long range forecast doesn't show us getting much in the way of precipitation, so in a day are so we'll be getting warnings about the risk of fire. 

I got a nice workout in yesterday morning.  Some editing was done.  And I worked.  Again, the garden department was hopping, while flooring sat silent for the most part.  I got my laps in, though I've had to alter my route.  Walking through the garden department has become question hazardous.  I'm neither a plant specialist, a hose specialist, nor a fertilizer specialist, so I can answer none of the questions customers pose regarding those and other related products customers might ask.  One thing I did notices, was that this year we're no longer carrying outdoor area rugs.  A lot of people like to put them under their patio furniture, and in previous years we had a nice selection.  Not this year. 

And here's something you rarely get a chance to see.   This is how the cover art for my newest book begins, with standard, water based primer (and no, this is not an advert for Kilz) on a 6" x 9" canvas.  

And Orangie couldn't let the horrific backlash about portraying himself as Jesus die down before he changed the tactic of his chaos.  He had a grandmother deliver Door Dash to the Oval Office..

This is actually an actress, Sarah Simmons, who might be a grandma, but who doesn't work for Door Dash.  In this schticky video, Sarah delivered MacDonalds to the Oval Office and told Orangie that she had to take on a job in her retirement years to help pay for her husband's cancer treatments.  One can only wonder what wacked out idiot came up with this idea.  I do think this was supposed to make him appear benevolent, giving a $100 tip to a senior citizen forced to work in her retirement years because health care in this country is so expensive.  On the left side you have poverty, and on the right side you have the pomposity of gold, glitz and grift.  And, of course, she is an actress.  What a shame we have so many feeble minded fools in this country who believe that this was real.

Blasphemy

Temps are warming up here in Central PA quite a bit.  By Thursday, we should be in the lower 90s (F).  I'm sorry, but we're still in April.  That's way too hot for this time of the year.  We will cool off a bit, with one forecasted day of temps in the mid 50s (F), but most days our afternoon highs will be in the upper 60s (F) to mid 70s (F).  I'm betting we start selling window A/C units like they're going out of style.

I did work yesterday.  Flooring was slow.  Our garden department was kicking.  I got my laps.  Our garden associates were sweating their little patooties off. I know this for a fact because on my trek through the store I saw a patootie lying on the floor in Aisle 55, next the the garden fertilizer, and it was definitely wearing what was left of an orange apron.  Here's a word to the wise, if you're shopping for curb appeal, looking for garden supplies, or feel the urge to peruse the petunias, do it on a weekday.  While there are those who still believe weekends were made for Michelob, there are many more who don't understand that visiting a home improvement garden center on a weekend means long lines and short tempers.

On the bright side, I did manage to sell 2 install measures.  

Otherwise yesterday was same old, same old, and might have been about as quiet a day as we get with this administration, and then this happened.  True, it is AI, but it gives you a good idea of what's going on in Orangie's head.

He posted this after attacking Pope Leo for being weak.  The truth is that Orangie knows that Pope Leo is a very popular religious leader, and Orangie, in his demented state, needs his cult to see him as a very popular religious leader.  Or maybe he felt he needed to do something to change the subject of Vik Orban's landslide loss to some other subject, something more authoritarian, something more blasphemous.  If that was his intention, he somewhat succeeded, at least in America.  People keep asking how can he be even more outrageous, well, they simply need to stop asking because he will undoubtedly find away.

And Vik Orban did lose badly in Hungary.  Tisza party needed a super majority of seats to take total control and then ended up with 138.  Orbie Baby lost so badly he had no choice but to concede.  Keep in mind Orbie still has allies in the government who will try to stall and hinder Hungary from moving to full Democracy.  But his loss was a sucker punch to Putin.  I'm betting Vlad is more than a little miffed.  His war with the Ukraine is now in it's 5th year and his budso Vik just got the shit kicked out of him in a general election.  

Foundering

Saturday was nice and sunny with the temps in the low to mid 60s (F) and a nice Spring day was had by almost all, not me though, I worked.  Today we're going to be a few degrees warmer.  It's going to be sunny again.  I also work again this afternoon.  

Our flooring department is not busy.  Our garden department?  Like a big sponge it's sucking in customer cash.  Lots of buckos are flowing into our registers... or maybe not so much cash since many people no longer carry greenbacks.  Now they mostly just whip out the plastic.  Seriously though, I will admit to being astounded when I looked at the financials just before leaving.  Our garden department alone made more than the entire store's plan.  That's a hell of a lot of mulch.  While customers were buying other things, yesterday mulch was king.  We have something called a mulch pit consisting of hundreds of pallets of mulch lining a lane wide enough for a truck to drive down.  The store walkie-talkies were constantly going off, "assistance needed in the mulch pit."  Customers were buying 20 - 30 bags of mulch at a time.

Speaking of mulch... I don't.  I have too many squirrels.  I mulched one year and they dug it up and carried it all over the lawn.

For the most part, I'd say that yesterday was just like every other Saturday.  I was supposed to get a bike ride in but did a mini workout instead.  Otherwise, the day was interchangeable with every other Saturday over the past several years.

Oh, and this is why everyone was lining up for mulch.

As expected, ceasefire talks between us and the Iranian's broke down.  Was it because the Iranians showed with the wrong style couch?  Even though that's a rather amusing thought, I doubt that's the explanation.  More likely Vance's incompetence at negotiation is too blame, that and the fact that he was with a real estate agent and Orangie's son-in-law.  The only thing those two are interested in is striking a deal that will enrich themselves.  Remember, with Orangie, everything revolves around the deal.  Also, keep in mind that he is not the wheeler dealer he claims to be.  His problem is that he approaches every deal with one line of thought in his head, "what's in it for me?"

There's a big election in Hungary today.  Viktor Orbin might finally be voted out of power.  He's a Putin henchie, who's been ruining Hungary for over 15 years in order to kowtow to his boss.  If, for some terrible reason he wins, a majority of Hungarians will know that he cheated and will rise up.  I do not think his government is prepared for that.

And finally, Orangie's ship of fools is foundering even more.  He flew down to Miami to go to a cage match and people booed him terribly.  Fox Entertainment said he got a raucous welcome, trying to spin it positively.  Patrons recorded the hostility on their phones.  His base is shitting itself into tiny little pieces.  He's a lot like his budso Vik, who's ship is going down fast by the bow.

Wrecked

We finally have some Spring weather on tap for today.  The high is expected to be in the mid 60s (F).  Same thing for tomorrow.  Monday, our high is expected to be in the low 70s (F).  This is how a transitional season works, slowly raising the temps.  Going from winter to summer in three short weeks as we did last year is not good.

And yesterday was a pretty good day.  Things were done.  A ride was done on the bike.  I had been planning on doing a short strength training session, but because the weather was so nice, did lawn work instead.  There is a lot that has to be done and the temps are warm enough to do it.  I will do my raised container garden again.  Hopefully things will work out better than last year.  I think I got about 6 tomatoes and one cucumber in total.  I'm going to be planting sunflower seeds this year, too.  That'll keep the squirrels happy, and squirrels running through the yard makes Howie happy.  

I do get to go into work today.  My measure goal for this week is 3, I'm fairly certain that's not going to happen.  Inflation has ticked up.  Smart people think about that before purchasing large expense installations.  The money to pay over $4 for a gallon of gas has to come from somewhere.  While there are some out there who would rather walk on new expensive flooring rather than eat a decent meal, they are few and far between.

And, of course, this happened yesterday.  This takes me back to my childhood and watching capsule's splash down on a black and white TV.  This would have been news that rocked the world, if it weren't for the asshole in the White House.

The only way his ego could have given this any decent amount of praise would have been if his orange ass had been in the capsule.  Thought, let's be honest here, if that had been the case, the astronauts would have kicked his ass out the door on the far side of the moon.

So, there's this little meeting going on in Islamabad.  It's about giving the Middle East some semblance of peace.  That's going to be difficult.  Bibi, the War Criminal, is, like the Orange Anus, going to do anything and everything to keep his ass out of jail.  He doesn't care how many civilians he has to murder.  In his mind, his ass is more important than their lives.  He is truly a wrecked human being.

The Iranians demanded Vance be involved instead of the real estate guy and Orangie's son-in-law, who are only interested in making a deal that benefits their bank accounts.  This doesn't mean that Vance is even close to being a skilled negotiator.  However, the Iranians know that if the dangle the right couch in front of him, he'll agree to every one of their demands.

And I don't know if this happened or not, and if it did happen, when it happened, but I got a notification letting me know Fox Entertainment quickly cut away from the Orange Anus just as he was saying the Iranian army has been defeated.  They're one of the main groups responsible for this mess.  Don't think it means they're going to put a cork in it.  Nope.  They're just going to be much more careful about the propaganda they put out.

Melania Tries to Jump Ship

Our outside temps are in the mid 40s (F), and they're supposed to be climbing into the mid 70s (F).  They chill off a bit overnight, but after tomorrow they're going to be climbing again.  Forecasters are saying we'll be have several days where they climb into the upper 80s (F)  It's way too early in the season for that too happen.  Our window A/C unit sales are going to go through the roof.

And yesterday was a good day, at least as far as accomplishments go.  Sadly, I did have to spend the afternoon sitting at the flooring desk getting paid to basically do nothing.  No customers.  No sales.  My supervisors did come over to piss and moan about how all she gets is disrespect from management.  I know that she had been counselled about her rather authoritarian approach to her position.  Like too many other people, however, she did not prioritized those sessions and invest them into her own style of management. Now she will nurture her anger for years to come.

On the bright side, I did get a decent workout in yesterday morning.

On an even brighter side, my first editor has returned his copy of The Body in 4:4 Time with his notes and criticisms.  He did add that this is his favorite book so far.  As expected, I suggested we get together for lunch so he can shower me with praise in order to do a deeper dive into his opinions.  He does think that some of my chapter titles aren't musical enough, or not apropos to the chapters themselves, so here's a pic of some them.  You may want to save this for future reference.

And the cringe level posting by the Orange Anus continued last evening when he posted an actual video of a woman being beaten to death with a hammer on his Truth Social account.  Was this because Melanoma gave a speech in which she spent 6 minutes trying to tell the world that she and Orangie weren't introduced by Jeffy Epstein, and that she was never, ever an escort.  This denial caused many people to post pictures and videos of her and Ghislaine Maxwell, and Jeffy, and, of course, the Orange Anus.  

The video might also have been a continuation of the hate he was throwing at his one time MAGA influencers, like Joe Rogan, and Meg Kelly, and Tuck Carlson, who, among many others, decided to start aiming spitballs of shit in his direction.  They're claiming this was not what they voted for, well, that's a lie, they all did want an authoritarian government, except not the one we have.  

Or maybe it's because military personnel who have survived the attack on Kuwait have begun speaking out.  They're calling both Hegseth and Orangie liars to their faces.  These victims of Orangie's idiocy are telling the world that they were completely unprepared for any sort of drone attack, that there was no warning system in place.  

Oh, and word has just come out that inflation roared last month.  This should have been expected.