Davos Dipshit

With an outside temp of 10 (F), I can say that things are frigid.  We will, supposedly, warm up into the mid 30s (F) and tomorrow's high should be cracking open that low 40s (F) box.  However, our weather is predicted to take a turn for the worse starting Friday and lasting over the weekend as another Arctic Blast, or Polar Plunge, or whatever it is they want to call the incoming weather pattern, rides roughshod over much of the country.  If enough moisture moves up from the south we could end u with significant snowfall.  

Because Howie has the smarts of a 2 year-old, which is very smart for a dog, he has no conception of what the cold is and so wants to go outside all of the time.  Even though he has a nice, thick warm coat, his nose is bare, so I limit is outside fun time.  Yesterday he had one of his stubborn, I'm not coming back into the warm house moments.  Picture this:  me outside, wearing my coat, of course, chasing him around the yard to get him back inside, and him thinking this is a wonderful wintertime game.  Every time this happens I do pray that the neighbors are not recording me.

I did my Federal Taxes yesterday.  I use a service called OLT, which, as long as your Adjusted Gross Income is less that $51,000, is free.  I always do my taxes early because for some reason I always get a refund.  Last year that nice little sum of money was deposited into my bank account on January 31.  Much of this year's refund will go to paying off the principle of my car loan. 

And even though I know you would all like to see a video of me chasing Howie around the yard yesterday, you'll have to make do with him attempting to pass himself off as a sleeping angel on the chair.

Yesterday the Orange Anus gave a speech that ran almost 2 hours long.  His team no doubt thought this was a good thing.  Wisely, networks began cutting away after his first hour of "incoherent ramblings."  Those are their words, not mine.  Why does his administration let this happen?  Because his cultists will excuse everything he says.  They also know that using the 25th amendment to remove his insane ass from the presidency would put J.D. Vance in charge, and Orange's cult hates JD.  

Bovino, the loser supposedly, kind of, running ICE followed him for a Q&A and quickly cut that short when he was asked a question he didn't like.  He's a little guy suffering from a Napoleon Crisis.  When the cameras are on him, he walks with a weird strut, thinking, perhaps, that this makes him look taller than his 5' 6" stature.  He's another one of Orangie's failures.

And evidently Nutlick... I mean Lutnick, spoke, or perhaps I should say yelled at a dinner last evening in Davos accusing them of being weak because they didn't all bow down and kiss Orangie's ass... and they heckled, and jeered him, and walked out.  Ooof.

It's my understand that Orangie's speaking right now at Davos and that within 4 minutes of taking the stage he brought up Joe Biden and the radical left.  He is truly the Davos Dipshit.

 

Norway

I'm pleased to say that our temperature has gone up one full degree since I got out of bed this morning.  Right now we are sitting at a very, very chill 13 (F).  My furnace is running.  In three days we're supposed to be back up in the 40s (F), but only briefly.  The forecast is for our temps to drop again.  One of the weather headlines blurted out that we are experiencing a polar plunge, which, I suppose, is slightly different than an arctic freeze... perhaps.

I did work yesterday.  And I got a measure.  That should make management happy.  I also got to meet our new, full-time closing flooring specialist.  Isaiah.  While he has carpet experience, he also seems to have worked with 2D and 3D animation and got quite excited when I told him I'd downloaded Blender thinking that I might intro the next book with a bit of animation.  Of course, having worked in Human Resources, I'm well aware how often first impressions can be skewed.

And I also stepped on the scale yesterday.  Wowza.  I need to cut back on my caloric intake.  Squats have been non-existent from my workout since I paused Trainwell' they need to return quickly.

I also signed up for a year of Duolingo just to study Norwegian.  It's a lot less expensive than Babel.  

This is, I suppose, partly apropos since the Orange Anus is in Davos claiming that Norway, the country, controls the Nobel Peace Prize.  This man is so stupid.  It's frightening to know that there is a political party in the United States that stands behind his insanity.  They rationalize his dementia by saying things like "he's always been like this."  That, in itself, is a lie.  Orange is now cringe crazy.  He is only going to get worse.  Foolish voters believed his lies that he was going to help the economy, that isn't happening.  American consumers paid for 96% of Orangie's tariffs.  Those increased prices are not going to go down.  For that to happen, billionaires would need to take a voluntary cut in pay.  That's not going to happen!  One thing that is really telling is that 64% of Republicans would have no problem with the United States buying Greenland.   Do they not understand that their taxes would be paying for this, not the billionaires who hope to reap the rewards of the rare earths located there?  Sadly, I have to believe that Republicans are all that stupid, and they have managed to get themselves into a position of power that will only destroy them in the end.

Plainclothes

New week, new forecast!  Our outside temp is in the upper teens (F), which is cold.  We are expected to climb above freezing today, but that's not going to happen tomorrow.  As long as my furnace is running efficiently, I don't mind the cold.  I don't mind going outside.  When I do, I always end up thinking briefly about what things were like 200 years ago.  Their winters were just as cold before people had the luxury of insulating fabrics.  A good, expensive coat, would have been made of wool, a cheap one cotton.  Even though we still bundle up, todays bundling doesn't make us look 50 pounds heavier.  In general, people were on the heavier side because nothing beats a good insulating layer of fat.

Yesterday was slow at the store.  I did learn through a phone conversation with a customer that we have a serious issue.  Corporate really likes to see our installs for us, however, they don't check the details, and because of this they sold an install that was not ready to be sold.  The customer had her entire house measured and had chosen a carpet, however, she wanted vinyl in her kitchen and foyer.  She told corporate this on 1/12 and no one removed the kitchen and foyer from the quote.  On 1/13 corporate sold her the install with carpet still going into the kitchen and foyer.  Yesterday, she called with the vinyl planks she wanted installed, however, her quote is now closed, sold and paid in full... for carpet in the kitchen and the foyer.  Not only did they sell her too much carpet, it's been cut and shipped, and is now with the installer.  Ouch.

I watched Plainclothes on Mubi, (you can also rent the movie on Apple +).  Listed as a romantic thriller, Plainclothes tells the story of a young police officer who's job is to lure unsuspecting gay men into restrooms where the police will arrest them... until he develops a crush on one of his targets. While it does get intense towards the end, I say this is more of a psychological drama.  While Russell Tovey is good, Tome Blyth as the young police officer is amazing.

And saw that the Orange Anus is evidently threatening Norway because they didn't give him the Nobel Peace Prize.  Holy Crap!  He sent them a letter.  Maybe I should have said Holy Shit instead.  The more his dementia grows, the worse things get for the Republican party.  And they simply can not do anything to stop him.  The instant they do that, their house of cards will fall apart.  They have been so desperate for power for so long, they stopped caring about who was leading their party years ago.  If I were a devout Christian, I say he is without a doubt a Spawn of Satan.  I'm not, so I'll just say that Orangie epitomizes pure evil.  He's going to the Economic Summit in Davos this week, or at least that's on his schedule.  Those leaders are not going to welcome him.  This will be unpleasant for Orangie.  He is unable to deal with rejection.  I do not doubt he will leave soon after he arrives.  With a little luck, maybe he'll stroke out on the flight back to Mar a Lago.

Winter Wonderland

We have a bit of a winter wonderland outside.  About 2 inches of snow fell overnight.  Our temps are sitting just around freezing, so I don't think the stuff will be hanging around too long.  Our afternoon temps are supposed to climb into the mid 30s (F) and that's in the melting zone. The streets have already melted clear. 

People ask how Howie is in the snow expecting me to tell them he becomes Mr. Excitement.  He does not.  After answering the call of nature in 2 or 3 spots, he spends most of his time looking for sticks buried under the snow.  He doesn't dash around exuberantly.  

Knowing how foreign languages exercise the brain, I've also started a thing on Duolingo for Norwegian.  Supposedly this is one of the easiest languages to learn, mostly because there are so many ties to English.  It doesn't hurt to give it a shot.

Work was relatively slow yesterday.  I did get a measure.   That will make management happy.  And I do work this afternoon.  This is a short Sunday for me.  Noon until 6 PM.  And I'm back on the schedule for tomorrow.

Here's a pic of our winter wonderland.

And for those not paying attention, the tariffs continue.  Well, not only are they continuing, they're growing.  The Orange Asshole just increased them to the 8 European countries who are sending troops to Greenland.  There are times when I need to just clasp my head in my hands just to make sure the old gourd doesn't explode.  We have a 79 year-old man with dementia running this country who has surrounded himself with kiss ass enablers who are never, ever going to stop him.  Doing so would put an end to their own personal grift.  And these enablers are so stupid, I don't doubt many of them think they will be able to hold onto their ill gotten gains after he is gone.

Also, for those who haven't heard, the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on Orangie's ability to set tariffs.  If they rule against him, these tariffs will turn into a maelstrom of shit.  And, if they rule for him?  Well, either way there is a good possibility our economy is doomed.  That, in itself, is going to doom the Republican party.

 

Trump is the World's Village Idiot

We have snow!  Free cardio has finally arrived in Central PA... well, kind of...  Actually, we got a dusting.  That's it.  Nothing more.  And while our temp is at 30 (F), this afternoon's highs are predicted to be in the upper 30s (F) to low 40s (F), so the little snow that we have will disappear.  

Yesterday was meh... again.  Perhaps I'm going through the winter blues.  One thing that is for certain is that without the morning notification from Trainwell, and a text from my trainer, I have all too easily found reasons to not workout.  Other, unimportant things suddenly become more important.  Don't think I don't do things, I do, but the things I do tend to not be beneficial.  There's truth in the saying that time wasted is not time well spent.  If there isn't a saying like that, then I suppose I just made one up.

I do get to go to work this afternoon.  We have a new assistant manager and I have yet to meet her.  The last one was not too special.  She tended to avoid being on the floor.  That was a big complaint, you could never find her when she was needed.  I remember 2 distinct times when I needed her to help deal with difficult customers and she chose to stay back in the office.  Telling someone how you want things to be done over the phone does not solve the problem.

Four chapters left to finish in The Body in 4:4 Time.

Here's a pic of Howie in the dusting.

In spite of everything the Republicans are saying about Orangie's state of dementia, like he doesn't have alzheimers, etc, every time he poses for the camera his dysfunctional brain distinctly expresses itself.  And the world is quite aware of his disability, and they are commenting.  Not that we don't have commenters here in the USA, but when some wonderful person in France writes "Nous savon ou vit l'idiot du village du monde entier," I have to laugh.  And these voices are not just French.  Every country in the world knows that Orangie is nothing more than the village idiot with too much power, and they are treading us accordingly.

Did you see how the Canadians went around the US and set up some really good deals with China.  They're just going to ignore the village idiot.

And Greenland?  The Village Idiot has become an international embarrassment.  And believe me, he's only going to get worse as the midterms approach, and the truth of how much he is despised by so many Americans becomes more and more apparent.  And there will be midterms, don't fret you minds about that.

Seven Dials

We have 20 (F) outside.  There's a lot of bright sunshine.  We're in the beginning of a warming trend that will peak tomorrow with temps in the 40s (F) and rain.  Then, our temps will drop again, climbing only slightly as we head into next week.  I had hopped we might be getting a mild winter, that does not appear to be the case.  This means I will have to spend more money on my heating bill than I would have liked.  Utility expense are continuing to rise.  I'm so glad we don't have one of those new data centers near me, otherwise I'm sure my electrical bill would have gone through the roof.

And I did do stuff yesterday.  No workout, though.  And I was supposed to get a ride in.  That didn't happen.  I did get a bunch of writing done.  And I also baked some drop biscuits that were ho hum, just okay.  Howie wasn't even interested, so maybe ho hum is being too kind.  Dinner was a stromboli from Al's pizzeria.  I was going to make pork stir-fry, but that didn't happen.  I'll cook that this evening, making enough for tomorrow's lunch.

Yesterday was another sort of nappy kind of day.  Overcast and cold all day.  Yuck.

I did watch Seven Dials on Netflix last evening, all 3 episodes.  Back when I was in the Navy, I was still a voracious reader and, lucky for me, the exchange store in Subic Bay sold paperbacks of almost all of Agatha Christie's mystery novels.  Even though she is most known for her famous sleuths Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple, she did write a number of books with other sleuths.  Tommy and Tuppence were 2 of them, and they were interesting.  The Seven Dials Mystery was a stand alone book, though Scotland Yard's detective Battle does show up in other Christie mysteries.  I don't remember being impressed by the book, though as I watched the series certain elements did strike a familiar cord, one of which she later used in one of her better known books Death on the Nile.  I thought the first 2 episodes were good, but in the 3rd, and what should be the most important, things began to unravel.  Instead of having me on the edge of my seat, the reveal was disappointing.

Yesterday Elena Marcado gave her Noble Peace Prize to the Orange Anus.  She is, I believe I'm putting this kindly, pretty much of a Twit.  She gave him her prestigious award because she believes he will look kindly on her.  She thinks he will help her become president of Venezuela.  I don't doubt she believes in a lot of things, possibly even the tooth fairy.  The Orange Anus has already called himself the "acting" president of Venezuela.  He is not going to give that up.  There's a pic of her leaving the White House with a red bag of MAGA swag.  I do hope she understands that's all she's going to get, unless she turns full MAGA and lets the US bleed Venezuela dry.

And there are whispers circulating that Orangie's team is in the process of looking at recalibrating Minneapolis, since a majority of Americans are rejecting the violence they see ICE pursuing in that city.  Sadly, that's not what Stevie Miller wants.  So, I have my doubts on any sort of change.

The Banishers

Below freezing.  That would be 0 for you who use Celsius.  For those of use who use the out of date Fahrenheit scale, that's how we say our current temp is 28 (F).  If you're living in Central PA, don't plan on the outside temps climbing more than a notch or two today.  We are day one into what might be a two day big freeze.  This will pass.

Things were done yesterday.  Chores were completed.  I was going to do a pork stir fry for dinner and ended up opting out for a much simpler bacon and eggs.  Sometimes easy peasy is best.

I did do a lot of what I call running around yesterday late morning and early afternoon.  I bought stuff, including new shoelaces for my sneakers:  $12!  For shoelaces.  Hells Bells!  I also bought another sweatshirt because we're approaching the dead of winter and I love sweatshirts.  I also wanted one that didn't have any stains.  My favorite yellow one was all blotched up when Howie ran into me while I was holding a glass of red wine.  

There was also a stop off at the store, not to purchase anything, but to see why my vacation hours hadn't been added.  Since I was shorted hours for the last 2 weeks, I decided to use some of my vacation pay to keep my paychecks balanced and those hours were not included.  An assistant manager found the forms I filled out (along with several other associate requests) and discovered they had never been entered into the system.  The problem is solved, however the woman whose job it is to enter requests is probably in trouble.

I did begin playing a new game.  The Banishers is about two people, a Scotsman and a woman of color, in the mid 1600s who banish spirits to either heaven or hell.  Of course, there's a twists.  She dies early in the game and he has to decide whether to kill people to keep her alive, or, in the end, send her to heaven.  I'm enjoying sending spirits to hell.

As we all should expected, couch fucker Vance broke the tie to kill the War Powers Act giving Orangie the power to send American troops into Venezuela.  As I said in an earlier blog, this is going to be Vietnam (pt 2).  The Republicans don't care if Americans die.  The truly terrible thing about this is that everything is being done to keep the Epstein Files secret, at least that's the primary reason.  Another reason that's in a very strong 2nd place is the need for Republicans to demonstrate their power.  They are the "shut up, we're in charge," party.  They desperately want to dictate how Americans live their lives.  In reality, they are only focused on their own selfishness and greed.  Conservatives are a flawed group.  They have always been like this.  The only way they will learn is if they are severely punished.  Our only choice is to vote them out, and prosecute them.  Those that don't learn, need to be banished to Hell.

   

Invection Point Dead Ahead

We have 41 (F) degrees outside and drizzles.  Though we haven't hit our high for today, I can tell that temp is right around the corner.  Next we will have the chills, followed by some snow showers as temps begin to drop.  So, what happened to the warming trend that began the week?  My guess is that sucker went south as a cold air mass pushed in from Canada.  This is how winter goes.  The good news is that we're almost 1/3 of the way through the season.  Even better news is that in about 8 weeks we'll be nearly halfway to aphelion.

Yesterday turned into my standard Tuesday.  I had a bike ride scheduled, and that didn't happen.  I was sluggish all day.  This doesn't mean I didn't get anything accomplished.  Nope.  Chores were done.  The problem was that every hour or so, I felt as though I should take a mini-nap.  I think part of the problem was that I started off early, a little after 0515.  Obviously, 5 hours of sleep doesn't work.

I did bake a bacon, Swiss cheese, and mushroom quiche for dinner. Can we talk about tasty?

And I did some writing.  I'm figuring I have about 4 more chapters to go before the first draft is completed.  I'm at that mental moment when I'm telling myself I need to wrap things up in order to begin book number 10.  I do have a working title that's just waiting for a decent story:  The Body in the Words.

I went to see Greenland Migration last night.  I streamed the first one, so I thought I might as well continue the series by buying a ticket for part 2.  I should have waited.  Gerard Butler is fine in the lead, and for the first 40 minutes or so everything is fine, but then they science gets short shrift.  In the first film, the comet that hits earth was supposed to be a planet killer, but many of the buildings in London are still standing, and there are quite a few people who survived the even without being in an underground shelter.  The impact crater is in the south of France, the entire eastern half of the United States is gone, but London still stands.  If you're interested, wait until it's on Netflix.

One thing I didn't do that much of yesterday, was follow the evil antics of Orangie and his minions.  This administration resonates with evil intent.  I can honestly say I never believed there would be a point in my life where I saw such a vile minority group wield such hatred against America.  They despise harmony.  I wonder what went wrong with these people to have such bitter minds.  These billionaires who want to rule the world?  They are not kind people.  In fact, one might wonder if they are indeed some broken mutation, their genetic degradation forged forged in the fires of selfishness and greed.  What's even more amazing is that so many of these people claim to be Christians without understand that with the compassion of Christ they are anything but... Christian.  To be Woke is to have compassion, to have consideration, and these people have none of those attributes.  They do not understand that they have set their sights on an invection point that will begin their own demise.

When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Our outside temp is sitting at 25 (F).  According to the forecasters, by this afternoon that number will have doubled.  That's right.  They're saying we should be in the low 50s (F) this afternoon.  That's a big increase to the original "low 40s (F)."  The long range forecast has our weather pattern to snap back to colder days sometime next week, meaning that the chilling event for later in the week has been put on hold.

Yesterday was a good day as far as accomplishments go.  I got a nice workout done in the morning.  Using both dumbbells and the new piece of equipment, they run about an hour..  Cleaning was done.  Several loads of laundry were put through the washer and dryer.  I spent time working on my Spanish.  Overall, I was pleased.

My Cuisinart combo coffee bean grinder and maker is in the trash and I'm back to using the Krupp's brewer I used for years.  I did keep the stainless steel, insulated coffee pot, however, to use as a carafe.  The first cup is always great, however, coffee sitting in a glass pot on a hot warmer will soon begin to cook.  Cooked coffee is bitter, so after brewing, I pour the coffee from the glass pot into the stainless steel, insulated carafe, where it will stay warm for hours.

I have a lot of vinyl.  While I did give some albums away over the years, quite a few remain and every now and then I will pull a record out of its dustcover and pop it on the turntable.  This morning I listened to Roberta, by Jerome Kern.  There are many versions, some sung, others simply instrumental.  Here's an instrumental version from the year I was born, danced by Gower and Marge Champion.  It's rather nifty.

And while the shit show in Washington continues to take place, more and more we're beginning to see Orangie losing over and over again.  His administration has always lost court cases, but here of late that number seems to have picked up speed.  Where his losses were happening once a week, now the courts seem to be ruling against him daily.  This is all very good, because Orangie hates to seen as a loser.  The more he loses, the more his anger twists and burns.  We are also beginning to see more Republican Senators and Congressmen stand up to him, possibly because we are in an election year.  Instead of comprehending just what they're doing wrong, they are bullheadedly plowing ahead.  The subpoenas against Jerome Powell by the 74 year-old wino Jeannine Pirro and one of Orangie's favorite fascists, Bill Pulte, have struck a nerve among a number of Republicans.  Wall Street was not happy.  Can you hear me laughing?  Remember, Orangie is a bad loser, and these nutjobs prove him to be just that, a loser.  Orangie is in the process of wracking up so many losses, and I'm betting that more than smoke is getting in his eyes.

Twinless

 The outside temps this morning when I checked was 29 (F).  While our afternoon high will not be hitting the 50s (F), our thermometers will be recording temps in the mid 40s (F).  Heading into the dead of winter, I'd call that a win.  Temps will slowly increase over the next few days until rain, once again, arrives in the region.  Then, they will drop once again. How low will they go?  Well, that's anybody's guess.

I did work my full 8 hour shift yesterday.  When I walked out of the doors on my way home, we had made plan for the day.  This is good.  Wednesday and Sunday were the only days that we hit our goal, all of the other days were misses.  We have a few weeks left in the fiscal year, and I'm guessing store management is hoping that we don't miss by $1 million.  In my 17 years with the orange retailer, I've never seen us be this far under plan.

We also had a not too bright customer attempt to make return.  A woman came up the the returns desk with an armful small pieces of molding, trim, and quarter-round, the longest being about 15 inches.  These were the leftovers after her project had been completed.  She was upset when she was told that in order to get a refund, she needed to return the entire 8 foot piece she had paid for, not the 15 inches she didn't use.  

Last night I watched a really good movie, Twinless, with Dylan O'Brien playing identical twins.  Rocky is gay, and Roman is straight.  After Rocky dies suddenly, Roman goes to a support group for twins whose other half has died.  The movie's listed as a comedy, but there are moments  of both laughter and grief as Roman learns to live without his brother.  And in case you're wondering, you do get to see Dylan's... pornstache.

Of course, nothing changed yesterday, we're still living in the same old shit show, or maybe I should say variations of the same old shit show.  

Orangie posted a picture of himself as the "acting president of Venezuela," on his Truth Social account.  I'm sure that's going to go over well the the paramilitary groups down there.  Everything he's doing is giving them one more reason to kill Americans.  One of my associates in flooring has a son in the Marines, so I asked him if his son had said anything to him, and I was told there are rumblings about sending troops.  I think this will be a certainty, rather than an option.  Orangie is pissed that the CEO of Exxon Mobile told him that Venezuela is uninvestable.  Since Orangie has no regard for human life, I don't doubt for a second he and his minions have decided to fix that.

Because Orangie wants the FED to drop interest rates again, the DOJ is attacking Chairman Powell.  Prepare yourselves, he is going to bankrupt the country.  That's the only thing he's really good at.

Venezuela is Vietnam (pt2)

Well, weather forecasters had predicted some serious rains and winds before our temps descended into the 30s (F).  They were right about the rain, not so right about the winds.  When I left work last evening things were a bit breezy, but the serious winds were definitely missing.  As for our descent into colder temps?  Hhhmm.  Now our daily highs are going to be hovering about in the mid 40s (F) instead of the 30s (F), as the forecasters had predicted.  Those colder temps?  They're going to be moving into the area next week, at least so our weather people say.

I did work yesterday.  The store was a few thousand $$ shy of hitting our goal when I left, so in all likelihood, yesterday was a greenback day for us.  Sadly, we are underwater for the week.  I do have a sale that's going to be going through today.  This is going to be another sale that gets a discount because the customer couldn't be measured before the promo ended, and they went to California for the New Years.  However, this markdown isn't going to be as hefty as the one I had to do last week.  

Otherwise, yesterday was not too eventful.

Today's going to be even less so, since I'm going to be at the store for a full 8 hours.  I will probably use my spare time sitting at the flooring desk to work on the book.  I estimate I've got another 9000 words to go before the first draft is finished.  

And for those of you who don't know what the country looks like, this is Venezuela.

For those of you who haven't heard, the State Department is urging Americans in Venezuela to leave because Paramilitary troops are setting up roadblocks to get Americans.  Believe me when I tell you that very soon Orangie and his administration will make the decision to send troops "in country."   That's right, boots on the ground.  This is going to be Vietnam (pt 2).  The main difference between that war (which wasn't called a war) and this war (which will not be called a war), it that we went into Vietnam attempting to try and set up a democracy.  Regime changes never work.  We'll be going into Venezuela because Orangie wants the oil.  Big oil told him the country is uninvestable, so Orangie is going to try and change that because his greed is one of the few things he lives for.  This will splinter the cultists even more, since very few of them will want their kids going off to fight and die for Orangie's Oil.

Bubbles

 Our temps are still in the low 40s (F) but that's going to be changing when the rain moves through the area.  Originally, the prediction was for us to have a period of long, soaking rain.  That has now been updated to showers.  Then the wind will begin to blow and the temps will drop.  Tomorrow's high is expected to be in the mid to upper 30s (F).

Some things were done yesterday, not nearly as much as I had planned.  I did get a nice workout in, almost an hour long, that burned off 223 calories.  Some people have no idea how good that is, but then they don't realize sitting down and scrolling through their social media burns about 6 calories for the same period of time.  Moving finger muscles do not burn up a lot of calories.  I expect to be a bit sore today, but that's fine.  Working your muscles is a good thing.

An interesting thing about Howie is that he has 2 food dishes.  Not because he eats so much.  One is his normal ceramic bowl, and the other is a Chinet bowl (stiff cardboard).  He has 2 because occasionally I will pour drippings (bacon, or beef, or whatever) onto his kibble.  The drippings go into his Chinet dish and when he's finished, I throw what's leftover away. 

I did get some writing done, as well as work on my Spanish a bit.  I had shrimp and rice for dinner.

Here's a pic of the tank in the living room.

Am I the only one who wonders just what in hell is going through the minds of all those Republicans sitting out and watching this shit show unveil itself more and more every day?  Do they even understand that only their cultist base watches Foz Entertainment, that the rest of America is watching, or getting their news, from some other media outlet?  Personally, I don't think they do.  I think they have isolated themselves in a little bubble of beliefs of their own making, and nothing exists outside of that thin delusional membrane separating them from fantasy and reality.  I think this is what happened in Minneapolis.  I think that when Jonathan Gross was confronted with the smiling face of Nicole Renee Good, who told him, "hey dude, I'm not mad," his bubble burst.  I think he was so enraged by the reality that she offered him a smile, rather than terror and fear, the only choice he felt he had was to kill her.  His is the soul of Donald Trump.

Oh, and prep for things to get worse in the Venezuela arc of Orangie's storyline.  The CEO of Exxon-Mobile told him yesterday that the country was uninvestible.  So, Orangie's going to try and send American troops there to change that, because he is in his own bubble, too.   

  

Blue Balls

Rain is coming.  Yepper.  The temps wee above freezing this morning.  Things are going to stay warm until this front passes.  That's means we will be getting rain and not snow.  We need the precipitation, so it doesn't matter to me if it's white and wet, or simply wet.  Snow does provide free cardio to hose of you so inclined to take advantage.

Yesterday was things were done, not just as many as I'd wanted.  The aquariums were cleaned.  Laundry was done.  Many words were written.  Still, it does seem as though I slacked off for most of the day.  I don't doubt some of this has to do with the chaos going through our country right now.

Today's my last day off for the week. To be rather frank, I'm not too wild about having 5 days off in a row.  One of the things that quickly became obvious is that I don't think about the days of the week; there's no difference between Tuesday and Wednesday.  I remember talking to a gent at the store and he tole me he loves that, not knowing or caring which day of the week it is.  Well, shit.  I like things better organized.  This is why I maintain a workout schedule, and a laundry schedule.  I have all sorts of little schedules.  On certain days I start writing at 2 in the afternoon, on other days I start writing at 4 PM.  Regularity in one's life is a good thing.

I had a subscription to Nuts.com for dried blueberries.  I canceled it this morning.  They reduced the bag size from 16 oz to 13 oz.  They also reduced the cost, however the per ounce price actually went up.  This is called a price increase.

And here's a pic of Howie with his blue ball.  I posted 2 different pics on social media and called them "blue balls."  It's a joke.

Within a few hours, the Supreme Court is going to release their decision on Orangie's tariffs.  Does he, like the despot he wants to be, have the authority to put them into effect outside of Congress.  Our constitution says that he doesn't.  If the court rules that he doesn't, this is going to be a cluster fuck on the grandest scale this country has ever seen.  How Wall Street will act is anybody's guess.  If the court rules against Orangie, do not expect our prices to go down much.  Corporations have already made adjustments to their fiscal plans to include the extra revenue they're getting by passing these tariffs onto customers.

And as expected, the administration swung into full lie mode regarding the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis.  The only ones believe Orangie's side of the story are the hard core cultists who would, if directed by Orangie, eat shit sandwiches.

This should come as no surprise, but Big Oil is saying "now wait a minute," on sending their people to Venezuela.  They say the country is an unsafe environment.  But then, what's safety to Orangie, he's not going to work there, and he has no problem sending young Americans to go die there.  And Marcado offering to give Orangie her Peace Prize?  That woman is delusional and has absolutely no idea who she's dealing with.

Loyalty

We have another warm one outside.  The current temp on the veranda is 38 (F), and for this time of year, that's not bad.  The January thaw continues.  Tomorrow will be nice, too.  Then, just in time for me to go back to work the rain will set in.  They say we might get as much as an inch on Saturday.  Because we've had some warm days, most of that will soak in rather than run off and cause severe flash flooding.

I had planned on getting a workout in yesterday morning, but didn't.  A lunch was scheduled with my cousin and her husband.  Any time I have something scheduled for the early afternoon my schedule seems to go to shit, and of course that happened.  And, as should be expected, after eating a full meal all those carbs kicked and I didn't feel like throwing around the dumbbells when I got home.

So, I ate too much and did nothing else.  Well that's not entirely correct, we had a very nice conversation touching on a vast number of topics, even political, which we usually avoid.  You see, my cousin and her husband are Republicans and have been all of their lives.  Like many Republicans, and Democrats as well, they have been loyal to their party.  They actually had signs for Orangie in their front yard, however that's changed.  I don't know what precisely Orangie did to lose them, perhaps it was a number of things.  While they appreciated the capture of Maduro, everything else about Venezuela pisses them off.  As my cousin's husband, a Navy veteran, said, "this is Vietnam all over again." Orangie's talk of acquiring Greenland is another very sore subject.  Will they vote for a Democrat in the mid-terms?  I don't know.   I'd say they'd most likely not vote at all, rather than show support for the current administration.  

Loyalty to Orangie is beginning to fall apart on all fronts, except his most zealot cultists.  Coming home yesterday and hearing about the murder of an American mother by an agent of this administration set my blood to boil.  We are living in an age of chaos because many people loyal to their political party believed Orangie's lies.  They ignored everything he has done in his life simply because he spun a web of lies they wanted to hear.  Now those strands of loyalty are being sheared in two, sharpened by the blades of his reality, a world in which soulless people fester with hatred.  For those who have yet to figure it out, his cult hates everything that is decent and good.  They don't want your life to be easier.  They want you to hurt, and suffer.  Orangie is doing things that constantly test the loyalty of his cultists; their acceptance of his acts of evil affirm their worship of him, and this gives him great satisfaction.  The fact that he is losing his grasp on a much larger group phases him not.  If they're not loyal, they are of no use to him.  His winnowing of his flock saps his strength; they have never been the armor and shield he thinks they are.  Their loyalty is dying.

Going UP

 While not quite balmy, the 37 (F) degree temperature outside was nice.  That was when I first got out of bed.  We're up to 40 (F), and things are only going to get warmer.  I guess there are some out there saying that we're going through a January thaw, and that appears to be true.  Long range forecasts, however, to indicate are return to colder temps next week.  If the forecasters are correct, our daily highs should be in the 40s (F).  Still, that ain't bad.

Oddly enough, yesterday was really a meh kind of day.  Tuesdays have been like that for quite some time now.  I used to believe working the weekend and Monday were the cause.  Apparently, I'm wrong.  Tuesdays for me just seem to be me.  I mean things were done, just not as many as I would have liked, and I didn't waste time on social media.  I tend to do that when I'm at work rather than when I'm at home; now you know where I'm really wasting time.  

Two loaves of bread were baked yesterday, the old fashioned way, kneading by hand.  There's a mini-debate going on in my head as to whether I'm going to invest in another bread machine or not.  The machine is easier though slower.  For the time being I'll probably be using the age old method of standing at the counter and rolling, and folding the dough with my hands.  To be honest, there's something calming about that.

For those who don't see my social media posts, I call this Ball in his Mouth.  My cousin sent me a note telling me how cute Howie is, and I replied, "Yeah, 75 pounds of cute!"

Orangie was blubbering away yesterday at a Republican retreat and among the many threats that fell from his mouth was one regarding the mid-terms.  Some of the Main Stream Media outlets said he "quipped" about them.  For those who don't know, a quip is a short, witty comment that sounds spur of the moment.  This was not a quip, and even a Republican knows that.  Orangie is an extremely unpopular president who has lived his life lying and making unpopular decision that benefit on himself and his closest allies.  He knows, as does the Republican party, that the mid-terms will be the end of his regime, if they take place.  Their problem is that they are completely unprepared to deal with the consequences should they try and interfere.  They are the minority party, and instead of trying to grow their base, they are doing everything they possibly can to alienate themselves from the loyalty they need.  Insurance premiums for their voters are going up.  Food prices for their voters are going up.  They have removed subsides that help many of Orangie's supporters in red states to buy food.  As the number of hungry people goes up, so does their anger.  This is a lose/lose situation that Conservatives have never taken the time to think about.  

This is Not Going to End Well

Our outside temp is a chilly 29 (F).  Today will be warming up, however, climbing up into the mid 40s (F).  By Thursday our temps should be in the mid to upper 50s (F).  There's nothing wrong with temps like that when your heading into the dead of winter, and that is our current direction.  Personally, I feel that Spring should be right around the corner, not a little over 2 months away.  On the bright side, I saw that 30 days from now we'll be getting a full 54 minutes more of daylight.  Now, isn't that a nice thought.

Yesterday was a workout day and a writing day.  I've upped the poundage on my dumbbells for the bench press to 25 lbs in each hand.  Actually, I upped the weight that I use in all of my dumbbell exercises.  Needless to say I'm a bit sore today.  There's nothing wrong with having a little bit of ache in your triceps, or your shoulders.  Or your quads, even.  Six months ago if you'd told me I'd be doing squats with 20 lb dumbbells I'd have called you crazy since I hate squats.

I did print off my 1099 SM yesterday in preparation for doing my income taxes.  All I need now is my W2 from the home improvement retailer I work for, and my taxes will be done.  

And game playing.  I've been playing Outer Worlds 2 since October 29.  I've leveled up to the point where I rarely die, and when I do it's usually my fault because I've done something stupid.  

Dinner yesterday was a chorizo and rice dish with lots of cilantro.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but I will tell you it was quite tasty.

I saw that Stevie Miller as on CNN last evening shrieking about the United States being a Super Power, and as such should start acting like one; that we should forcibly take Greenland.  This little man is dumb as a brick.  He's a big mouthed man in a tiny body, think Napoleon, however Napoleon was intelligent.  Miller?  Let me be redundant and tell you that he is dumb as a brick.  This is going to turn out badly for the United States.  He will be arrested and quite probably executed for war crimes.  Then Tommy Tuberville said there is no such thing as International Law.  I am starting to believe that RFK's brain worm is not dead, but rather has been quietly breeding, most probably at Mar a Lago.

The apposition leader for Venezuela, Machado, the woman who won the Nobel Peace Price also went on TV saying that the Orange Anus she'd give that prize to Orangie if he allowed free elections in Venezuela.  That woman evidently doesn't understand how Orangie works.  He doesn't want a Democratic government there, he wants a colony that is subservient to American Big Oil.  This is why they are calling Marco Rubio a Viceroy.  What is most likely to happen is that her opposition party will join the revolutionaries when they begin attacking the American troops Orangie will soon be putting on the ground.  This is not going to end will.

Oh... Shit

Temps are on the rise here in Central PA.  Our high this afternoon is predicted to hit the 40 (F) mark, and by Thursday, we should be in the upper 50s (F).  The big question is just how cold will we get once this warming trend ends.  Long range forecasts have us back down in the upper 30s (F).  I'd say that's likely.  I'm really supper happy as long as we don't have to deal with any subzero days.

And yesterday, being Sunday, I worked the entire day not selling carpet or flooring installations.  Oh, I was on the clock, but foot traffic was light.  Corporate has seen fit to adjust our fiscal plan down.  There is no way the store is ever going to be make up the 6 figure deficit we have accumulated since January of last year.  We did have customers wandering through the department, but every one of the said they were just looking.

This up coming week will be interesting since I'm not scheduled again until next Saturday.  There are things I would like to do, but they will cost money and now is not the time that I want to spend my hard earned dollars.  We are entering a time of savings.  Being a spendthrift right now is not part of the plan.

I'm going to try cooking up something new today with chorizo. If it looks good, I'll post pics tomorrow.

The Venezuelan shit show continues.  The Orange Asshole with dementia who, at this point, is most likely nothing more than a puppet of those around him like Stevie Miller, is going to take this country into war again.  The Vice President of Venezuela, who has been sworn in as president, has come out against the occupation by the United States.  Oh... Shit.  Orangie says he has no problem sending in troops who will have to deal with a jungle environment, just like in Vietnam.  Oh... Shit.  One of the big problems is that Conservatives have this inherent belief that all they have to do is say, "Shut up!  We're in charge!" and everybody will do what they want.  And that ain't gonna happen in Venezuela.  And he's threatening more air strikes and all that is going to do is piss the Venezuelans off even more.  The people of that country may have hated Maduro, but they sure as hell don't want the Orange Asshole handing their oil reserves over to Big Oil Billionaires, who are unified in their conservative stupidity.

Expansionism Fails

We have 38 (F) outside.  The forecast is, as I expected, for temps to continue to rise.  My Wednesday we should be in either the high 40s (F) or low 50s (F).  The long range forecast is for temps to consistently hover in the mid 40s (F).  I have no problem with that.

Yesterday I did work.  The store is not going to make plan this week.  Without giving any actual details that might be considered proprietary, right now we looking at missing play by 6 figures.  Corporate has reduced our plan, but at this point nothing will help.  This is how it goes.

I did have a far eastern customer who paid to have a measure.  He's selling his house.  His wife asked when carpeting was going to go on sale, so I told her that never happens.  There is a big difference between buying carpeting and a washer/dryer combo.  Oh, and here's a big hint to all of you interested in buying appliances that are on sale.  They are never, ever sold at the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price).  Like a new car, that sticker price has one intention, to make you think you're getting a great deal.  Spend a few minutes online and you'll discover that the "sale" price is, in fact, the standard price.

And I do get to work today.  But then I have off for the rest of this week.  The same is true for next week.  I did put in to take 5 hours vacation, both this week and next to keep my paycheck from falling too low.

Here's a random picture I've pulled from my files since I wanted something interesting to look at.  It's picture of Harrisburg from the west shore.

And someone is saying that Venezuela is going to be run by both Hegseth and Rubio.  This is going to go poorly, as these things tend to do.  Expansionism is dead.  That is one of many things that conservatives totally fail to understand.  Three hundred years ago, Orangie's invasion of Venezuela would have worked for a time.  In today's world, with easy access to guns and assorted other types of killing weapons, failure is eminent.  Venezuelans are going to fight.  However, as I've mentioned before, conservatives have this "shut up, we're in charge" mentality.  They have always been wrong.  Take those Venezuelans down in Miami who were dancing around yesterday, this morning they're scratching their heads and asking why Orangie's Hegseth and Rubio are going to run their country.  They are on their way to being very unhappy campers.  And the idiots in Orangie's government literally have no idea what they have gotten themselves into.  This will be another Vietnam.

And if you don't believe me about the expansionism, just look at that idiot Putin.  He's 4 years into a war with over a million Russian casualties and there is no end is sight. 

Venezuelan Pardons to Come

We had another cool one last night, though this morning's temps was a few degrees shy of the 21 (F) we had a few days ago, we still dropped into the low 20s (F) overnight.  Today's high should be top off somewhere in the low 30s (F),  Tomorrow, however, our daily highs will be back up in the 40s (F).  That's a good thing.  The only thing I don't like about winter is spending money on the heating bill.  While I do use the Central Air in the summer, the thermostat is set high enough so the unit is not running constantly.

Yesterday was a shopping day, workout day, and writing day.  All three were accomplished.  Buying a triceps pull-down was first on the list.  They are available online, but at far more $$$ than Dick's was charging.  Then I zipped over to my local BJs for coffee and Spam, that's for Howie, and then to my local Giant supermarket.

The rest of my Christmas ham was turned into ham salad.  I love the stuff.  One of my memories of being stationed in San Diego is walking down to the mobile canteen on the pier and buying a ham salad sandwich, Ding Dongs, and a Dr. Pepper.  I don't eat Ding Dongs anymore, and only rarely drink soft drink, but I still love a good ham salad sandwich.  Sometimes I will toast them with cheese.  Let me tell you, that is truly delish.

Back before Christmas I did order a smaller pull-down bar before Christmas.  The last time FedEx scanned the package was on January 1 in Latham, Kansas.  The bar was supposed to be delivered on January 2, but didn't arrive.  Now I'm waiting for them to give me a new delivery date.

The ACA subsidies have expired because Republicans wanted them to.  So, who is going to be paying more for insurance?

In general, insurance is going up for everybody in one way or another.  My friend Patty works in the insurance industry and she tells me that some of the premium increases have been as high a 81%.  This makes Republicans happy.  They do not believe that your tax dollars should go to help someone disadvantaged to get health insurance.  Their view is that if these individuals can't afford health coverage, well it's just too damn bad.  This is going to get ugly.

And a bit about the Maduro capture.  I heard notifications popping into my in box overnight, so I knew something was up.  I know there are dipshits out there who are happy that the wanna be dictator in America has supposedly taken down a Venezuelan dictator.  In truth, this whole invasion is to benefit big oil; their greed never stops.  As for Maduro?  In spite of Pammy Jo Bondi's posturing and Rubio's almost ribald rhetoric, Maduro really has nothing to worry about, as long as he can afford to pay the bribe.  For those who don't know, Orangie just pardoned the Honduran president/dictator who was found guilty of smuggling tons of cocaine into the United States.  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that pardons are running between $1 and $6 million. Just start prepping yourselves for gas prices to go up.

Barnyard Symphony

 So our outside temps was 22 (F) when I threw back the sheets this morning and jumped out of bed.  Only one of those statements is true.  For the next 3 days our high will only climb into the low 30s (F), after that we should be sailing into temps where the daily high will be in the mid 40s (F).  This is winter, after all, and what would winter be in the Middle Atlantic States if we didn't have some cold days.

Well, yesterday was day one of the new year and no, I did not sit through 3 hours of commercials in order to say that I watched the Tournament of Roses Parade.  You seem, I am old enough to remember when you didn't have to sit through 3 minutes of commercials between oohing and ahing at the next float.  I'm even old enough to remember seeing those beautifully decorated floats on a black and white TV screen, with Betty White and Lorne Greene reading the commentary.  Don't worry, I'm not going to wax nostalgic.  I'll be the first to admit that color is so much better, and a decent flat screen TV will knock the socks off even one of the best tube TVs that were around.

And yesterday was traditional in that I cooked pork and sauerkraut.  For those who don't know, that is very traditional in Pennsylvania German households.  Did you see what I did their?  Pennsylvania German rather than Pennsylvania Deutsch.  Evidently there is still a lot of confusion out there among people who think we're Pennsylvania Dutch.

I also got a lot of writing done on a chapter called Barnyard Symphony.  Symphonies use many instruments, and while walking to the Blue Barn on the Old Mill Estate, get to hear many voices, each with a distinctive timbre and pitch.  Of course when they get to the barn they might find someone dancing to this song from 1980.  This is part of the way I balance the two stories, one in the present and one set 40 years ago.  Oh, Leah rocks.

And, as we all should have expected, Orangie's going to bring the chaos from the old year into the new one.  He can't stop himself.  I honestly believe he doesn't know how to live without the chaos.  He needs to keep the constant blustering around him in order to keep people talking about him.  When he gets a question he doesn't like, he simply lies.  I don't doubt that he is always asking if people are talking about him.  He needs to be the subject of every conversation.

One thing that came out was a comment he made about taking aspirin.  There was a time when doctors recommended that you take a baby aspirin a day.  They believed this was good for their heart.  However, that has changed.  The only people who take an aspirin a day are those who have already suffered a heart attack or a stroke.  For seniors, like Orangie, an aspirin a day might actually cause internal bleeding.  Is he truly taking 4 times the recommended dosage?  Probably not.  I suspect that his meds are highly regulated since the instant a blood vessel pops in his brain the Republican Party is over.

2026

 Well, here we are at the start of another new year, and this is a good thing.

We're cold here in Central PA.  Our high today will not quite reach the 30 (F) degree mark.  Tomorrow, things will begin to warm up.

Even though 2025 seemed to be a totally bleak and dark year, there were some bright spots:

I started a training course and am building muscle.  Seriously, you should see my biceps.

I've discovered Spanish Cinema - it's good.

The Heritage Foundation is splintering because, heh heh, they've become too antisemite.

The Orange Anus has lost way more court battles than conservatives thought possible.

With all of the special elections across the country, the Republican failed to flip even one, while 21% of those elections flipped from Republican to Democrat by really large margins.

And finally, Orangie has decided not to try and activate National Guard troops in Democratic cities and states.  This is a major setback for the Project 2025 people because they thought they could use those troops as enforcers.  

I suspect that the sun might come out and shine in 2026.