Pummeled

 Our outside temp is 49 (F).  That's chilly.  Our afternoon temp is supposed to climb up into the high 70s (F), possibly hitting the low 80s (F).  I work today, so the outside temps, whether its sunny or not, don't phase me.  I work half a day tomorrow, and then I'm off for 2 days.  On those days, the temps are supposed to be comfortable and our skies will be partially cloudy.  This is good.  There is yardwork that needs to be done.

Yesterday was a meh sort of day.  I didn't really do anything in the morning, other than loll around the house waiting to go to work.  Retail in the flooring department?  It was so slow.  Our garden department is still busy, most likely because the weather is nice.  I think a lot of people might be planting small gardens this year because food prices keep going up.  

There was a time when we could change and add products to installs before they were sold.  Then corporate decided a measurement services team could handle the job better, and hired a large number of people to work from their homes doing exactly what we were doing.  Well, they've decided that idea wasn't working, or that they weren't getting a big enough bang for their payroll expense, so they've shifted that process back to the specialists.  To do this, they gave us new software.  For training, they gave us a printout. So, what we're now doing is wingin' it.  And all of those people who they hired to work from home?  Most of them seem to have been let go.

Howie brought in a bunch of sticks this morning.

Yesterday the wacko in the White House was shit posting from Hell, at least it seemed like that.  This should come as no surprise since he's being forced to take his name off of the Kennedy Center.  Orange is red with rage.  This is a good thing.  His ego deserves to be beaten to a pulp.  And to add insult to injury, everyone one of the performers, except Vanilla Ice, who were going to be part of his Freedom 250 propaganda event have pulled out.  Many are saying that they didn't realize it was going to be political, but let's be honest.  But let's be honest, everything Orangie does is politicized to praise the living Hell out of him.  Rejection is beginning to pummel him from all sides.  This is a very good thing.  We like to see bullies getting pummeled.  

 

I am a Rare Bird

So, it's Saturday.  Temps dropped a bit overnight.  Today's high will only be in the high 60s (F).  We do have sunshine, though, and there is more than a bit of a breeze blowing.  While temps will warm up this coming week, the high temps will barely be scratching the low 80s (F).  These temps are fine.  They could stay this way all summer.

Yesterday was fairly productive.  I spent some time summerizing the house, i.e. I washed and store blankets.  They will sit out the summer store in a tote until the Autumn weather arrives.  I did some house cleaning, as well.  And in the afternoon got in a 9 mile ride in Corsica, which is becoming one of my favorite rides.

I found out this morning that I'm a rare bird, so to speak.  I am one of 2.7 million service members (US Navy here) to serve in the Vietnam War Zone.  Of that 2.7 million, there are between 610,000 and 850,000 of us who are still alive.  And every day there are less of us.  But then this is how life is.  Time never stops.

Today, when I go into work, I'm going to have a talk with management.  On Thursday, one the specialists said he was going to lunch and was seen driving his car out of the parking lot.  When I took my break 2.5 hours later, he was trying to punch in at the time clock.  We are required to take a full half hour lunch break.  If we try to punch in early, the time clock buzzes and tells us how many minutes we need to wait before punching back in.  He got the buzz when he tried to punch back in, and the message he needed to wait one more minute.  This means that he left the property 2.5 hours earlier, came back, and then punched out for his lunch.  Why are people so damn stupid?

As a palate cleanser, here's a pic of Howie.   See how he smiles.

And I guess the only artist who's still performing at Orangie's Freedom 250 concert is Vanilla Ice.  He posted some sort of rigmarole saying it was an honor.  This should not come as a surprise since he has already performed several times at Mar a Lago.  He also plagiarized the bassline in Under Pressure, a case that was settled out of court in which his record company was forced to pay Queen and David Bowie $4 million.  Being that his bona fides include crook and thief, I'm sure he will feel right at home  performing to cultists.

And yesterday was not a good day for Orangie.  He has to take his name off of the Kennedy Center.  A hold was put on his $1.8 billion slush fund.  And his $10 billion suit against the IRS was reopened because it has the stench of corruption.  Oh, and the White House released the report of his physical and everybody laughed.  The bruising on his hands is still being caused by his frequent shaking of hands.  He's still 6 feet, 3 inches tall, and still weighs in at 230 lbs.  This should surprise no one since he has always been bad with numbers.

Thiel flees to Argentina

Holy Crap, can you believe it?  We made it to the end of the week with only 3 days of rain!  Don't get too happy with this dry weather, though, showers are on the forecast for next week.  Daily high temps are supposed to be hovering around in the mid 70s (F).  That will be nice.  I have a feeling this summer is going to be stinkin' hot, so enjoy the comfortable temps while they last.

Yesterday, in spite of having to work, was a fairly productive day.  My workout was almost superb.  I got my heartrate up to 146.  This is actually good.  I'd like to sustain it for more than 3 minutes though.  Five would be nice.  8 would be even better.  Numbers are funny, in case you didn't know.  According to style manuals, you should never use a digit to start out a sentence, the number should always be spelled out.  Yet in current literary fashion, there are writers who do just that.  I do it occasionally.  I guess that makes me a rule breaker.  Eight comes across softer than 8, and seems to have less emphasis.  Sentences don't always need to start with words that can be capitalized.

Work was boring.  I sold an install to our store manager's mom.  She was quite nice.

I have a bike ride scheduled for this afternoon.  I think I check and see if there are any routes in Sardinia.

And the Republican regime has become totally untethered from reality.  Who in their right mind thought that a trailer trash UFC Cage Match on the front lawn of the White House was a good idea?  You can bet that someone on Orangie's team is going to profit greatly from this, since this is a "for Profit" administration.

The big news yesterday, even though it didn't get much of a headline in the Main Stream Media, was that Peter Thiel, JD Vance's mentor from Hell, has fled to Argentina. 

Many on social media were quick to point out that 80 years ago a number of Nazis also relocated to that country.  Perhaps he moved because inflation in Argentina is still historically severe and he wanted to use his billions to help improve that country's economy.  He did blurt out something about America's political future being bad.  This might imply he's worried that he might have to pay taxes.  Or it could be that, as John Gray occasionally says, he knows things are going to go "tits up" in this country and wanted to get out before his bacon got tossed in the frying pan.  Since he's a billionaire coward, I'm thinking the latter.

Then, of course, there is that Freedom 250 concert (?) event.  Orangie wanted to throw a birthday bash for himself and I have to admit, that idiot is killin' it... literally.  Of the original list of performers, the only one  who came close to be considered a minor headliner was Martina McBride and now she, like so many of those others listed, has pulled out.  In fact, the only artist who hasn't canceled is Vanilla Ice.  Vanilla who, you ask?

Trump's No Flight Zone

According to the forecast, we're in a bit of a cool down and our daily highs are going to be in the mid 70s (F).  I don't know if I'd call that a cool down since those temps pretty much define my comfort zone.  The long range forecast doesn't have a single day where the high  heat will be approaching the 80 (F) degree mark.  Keep in mind, we are still in Spring.  We're a little over 3 weeks out before the commencement of summer.

Yesterday turned out to be a very good day.  Many chores were completed.  I finished recording all of the snippets of video I'm planning on using to introduce The Body in 4/4 Time.  I hope this thing looks presentable.  Originally, I had thought of doing something with animation, but a friend of mine just happened to have a metronome that he let me borrow.

And I do get to go to work today.  Memorial Day is over so I suspect it will be a fun, lap filled day.  I know that I have 2 customers I'm going to need to call, since sales are important.  We are heading into that summertime zone when the kids are home from school and plans are just starting to be made for the family summer vacation.  Though things might be different this year with prices continuing to go climb.

I made chicken marsala for dinner last evening.  It was quite tasty.

I saw an interesting posit about the Orange Anus.  Let's start of with Don Jr.'s wedding, which was in Bermuda.  Orangie said he was too busy to attend.  Then Orangie had his physical, after which he stood in front of a column and talked about it for approximately 3 minutes. Some people thought he was diaper dumping.  But sometimes when people get bad news, while they don't always talk about columns, they will do something, anything, to stop thinking about the bad news.  Then he moved his cabinet meeting from Camp David, about 60 miles away, back to the White House because of the bad weather.  Bad weather?  We had rain showers.  By helicopter, Camp David is only a 30 minute flight away.  There are a number of serious health concerns that would keep Orangie from flying.  So, did his doctors put Orangie into a no fly zone?  People are waiting to see how it is before he flies back down to Mar a Lago.

Snake Bit

Well, we got drizzles.  Our high temp for this afternoon was supposed to be in the low 80s (F), now, however, it appears we'll only be in the high 70s (F).  That's fine.  I'd like to save on the cooling expense until it gets hot enough to be essential.  I also see that the mini-heatwave we had last week has now arrived in the UK.  These weather anomalies are going to become more and more frequent as the climate crisis continues to grow.  

Yesterday was very productive.  My lawn, front and back, was mowed.  Shopping was done.  Gas was bought for the car.  $46.00!  And that was with 30 cents off of every gallon.  I got a nice 9 mile ride in on the bike in Fausto, Italy.  It was so boring.  I will never ride in Fausto again.  In the evening I played some Crimson Desert.  It's interesting.  I'm not impressed with the combat.  That may change.  

The Bluetooth keyboard I use with my writing laptop stopped working.  Actually, it might still be working, I just couldn't get the Bluetooth to connect.  I tried a 2nd keyboard and had the same problem.  It might be the drivers.  I may spend some time putzing around with it this afternoon, but not much, the laptop  keyboard works just as good.

And since my roses have started blooming, I thought I share a pic of the peach colored climber I have by the front porch.

In today's segment of "aren't numbers fun":  Of the 18.7 million registered voters in Texas, only 855,00 showed up to vote Paxton or Cronyn.  Think about that.

And on Orangie's 3rd physical in 13months?  Seniors with serious medical issues are going to have frequent physicals because they can go downhill so very fast.  They are desperately trying to keep him alive for as long as possible since there's no one as charismatically evil to run the cult.

Yesterday, RFK Jr put out a video of himself playing with snakes. This is video without relevance.  He was bitten, and that grinning sack of shit stood there... grinning.  I had to laugh because you do know that so many of his followers, the ones that drink the raw milk, are going to run out and try the same thing... and get themselves snake bit.  And some of them might die.

Memorial Day Rant

Well, the sun came out yesterday.  It wasn't supposed to, but it did and the temps climbed into the upper 70s (F).  And people went ahead with their cookouts.  This meant that they stayed away from the store.  Sales were not glowing yesterday, but the sun was.  We're going to have the same today, with temps climbing into the low 80s (F).  We have the same forecast for tomorrow, though an occasional spritz of showers is also in the forecast.

All this rain has worked wonders on my raised garden, except for the dill.  (heavy sigh).  The dill didn't make it.  I checked this morning and the few slender stalks that were growing were laid flat and dead to the world.  Well, hell.  I have to go buy a hose this morning, so maybe I'll buy another pack of seeds. I also need another tomato cage.

Work yesterday was boring.  I did get 2 tiny sales to start off the week.  Management grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and there were tons of cookies for desert.  As a veteran, they also gave me a bag of candy and a nice T-shirt with our logo on it.  I get a T-shirt from them on Veteran's Day and on Memorial Day.  One of my little quirks is that I don't wear shirts with logos in public, I'm not being paid extra to advertise, so I wear them around the house or as an undershirt when I go out in public.  

I went out this morning and took a few pics of my roses.  Here's one.

Of course, what would Memorial Day be without an unhinged rant from our pedophile in the White House.  he continued overnight.  The more he rants, the more he hurts the GOP.  He and his allies believe that every Republican will vote Republican, that there is some intrinsic loyalty built into them that no matter what he says or does, in the voting booth they will, without thought, simply vote Republican.  Of course, this is a lie, but then desperate people will grasp onto any lie rather than even attempt to understand the truth.

One of the things he tweeted said that for peace to exist in the middle east, all countries need to accept Israel.  To be truthful, I think most countries would as long as there was also a Palestinian state, however that runs contrary to Netanyahu's expansionism, so that's a non starter.

And it's run-off election day in Texas, Paxton vs Cronyn.  Orangie likes the corrupt stench of Paxton, who, if he loses, will shriek election fraud.  You see, with Republicans, rather than admit they're horrific candidates, they will always place the blame on someone or something else.

On Again, Off Again

Holy Moly! Our temp is up to 61 (F), though we still have the rain.  If the forecasters are correct our high on this drizzly day will be in the low 70s (F).  We are heading into a warming period, something that's a bit closer to seasonal.  June is less than a week away.  I do want to remind people that our recent cold period does mean this summer is going to be cool and damp, in fact it might be quite the opposite.  The latter, I think, might be what we are in for.

And retail yesterday was slow.  One of my customers stopped in about 45 minutes before I was supposed to leave to get quotes on her carpet installation.  Unfortunately, we need to call our measurement services to have quotes built, and when I called them I got a message saying that my hold time might be less than 15 minutes.  That means I could have been on hold for 20 -25 minutes, so I sent them emails asking them to build the quotes.  This afternoon I will follow up to insure that the quotes were built and sent to her.  They have a problem of only building only one quote.

Otherwise, the day was boring.  We were served breakfast all day, which was nice.  The sausages were fine.  However, they decided to make chocolate ship pancakes.  I love pancakes... plain pancakes.  I might be a grazer, but I'm also a very picky eater.

I finished watching The Boroughs last night.  I enjoyed it.  The cast is almost entirely made up of late middle aged and younger senior actors.  It's good to see actors I grew up with still working their trade.  Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard are simply terrific!  And when was the last time you got to see Alfred Molina singing Bruce Springsteen's Thunder Road?  On the surface, The Boroughs is a senior living facility, where older people go to spend the rest of the lives in cul-de-sacs.  Except there's something off in The Boroughs.  Something seems to be hiding in the dark.  This series is a freaking hoot!

And the Orange Asshole's on again, off again war is... well, who the hell knows.  Supposedly he was going to give away the store until the details leaked, and then the deal he was claiming was good was not to his satisfaction and was off.  It also turns out that this is actually not a deal, but the concept of a deal, a memorandum with some bullet points, nothing more.  It also seems as though Iran is the country in charge, dictating what they want the terms to be and the OA is so desperate to end his failed war he will accept anything.  You would think at at least one of his advisors would let him know that the instant terms are signed, the world is going to know just how badly he caved.

Evidently Orangie has another visit to Walter Reed Hospital on his schedule... possibly, though not necessarily likely, at least not one in which the results are going to be made public.  I suspect that this bloated bag of shit is leaking from so many seems, right now they're struggling to keep him from exploding.

That Ship Has Sailed

Well, it rained all night and I feel as though I should add "the day I left," but that would mean I'd have to break out the banjo and sing a chorus of Oh' Susanna.  Big problem, I don't have a banjo, which might be a good thing.  Outside, the drizzles continue.  The overcast skies are still hanging close to the ground, and that will help keep our temps cool.  We might get up into the mid 50s (F) today, but that's about as high as it's going to get.  When I left for work yesterday afternoon our outside temp was 48 (F).  Needless to say, the heat in my house was on.  

And work was slow.  When I got to the flooring desk, I had to complete a carpet install that had been started by our aisle associate.  The measure was made on line and the customer hadn't added a carpet.  The sale was simple enough, the only problem was that the customer had doused himself with some god awful cologne that was so sweet and over powering it felt as though it were torching the life out of my nasal passages.  What a good thing it was that the sale only took about 10 minutes, otherwise I'd have had to tell him to stand back at least 10 feet.

Otherwise, the day was boring.  I easily got in my steps.  When I got home, I played the new game I bought.  It's okay.  I have to get used to the differences.  I'm still in the tutorial stage, and I will admit to being tired: must have been all those steps I got in earlier.

Here's another picture of my roses.  This time of year, my yard is awash in color... as well as rain.

 

Evidently Orangie's Secret Service shot someone near the White House yesterday.  I think it is interesting that so much of the online chatter indicates massive number of people believe this to be another False Flag, meaning the administration is attempting to use the incident to drum up Orangie's approval ratings.  It ain't gonna work.  That ship has already sailed.  At this point, nothing is going to improve his terrible status with the American people.

And right now I'm seeing details on the peace deal Orangie's floating as a way to get out of the stupid war he began.  He is, and this is me being as concise as possible, giving them the kitchen sink... and the cupboards, as well as their choice in appliances.  Remember, his best seller, The Art of the Deal was written by someone else.  I understand that part of the "deal" is for us to pay a toll to the Iranians on every ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz.  The ship that sailed?  It's going to be expensive.

The Memorial Weekend Begins

So, here we are on Saturday morning, the first day of a three day weekend, a holiday weekend, and our outside temp is 49 (F), and we have a steady rain.  Folks, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but here in Central PA, it ain't gonna get much better.  Our high temp might be in the low 60s (F).  I'm not talking about a patch of rain, nor a swath of rain, I'm talking about an enormous sheet of rain covering almost the entire northeast of the country.  The skies are not going to start clearing up until sometime on Monday.   Tuesday's going to be nice.  That's a good thing.  I don't work on Tuesdays and I am definitely going to have to mow the lawn.

Yesterday was sort of busy.  I didn't cook anything special.  Dinner was ham salad.  That was the last of the Easter ham.  I did some grocery shopping.  I bought a ham hock so perhaps on Tuesday I'll make bean soup.  I have tons of dried beans, some wrinkly old potatoes, so I'll probably stop off at the supermarket on my way home from work tomorrow and pick up a carrot or two.  

I am scheduled to work this afternoon.  I'm not expecting it to be busy.  It is the holiday weekend.  Those who do show up will only be doing so because they're looking for the Memorial Day sales.  In the flooring department, we're doing a free install on specialty carpet.  Up until about 8 months ago, all of our carpet installs were free.  Then they began charging so could see an install charge on their quote, however, to offset this they lowered all of the carpet prices.  Then, 3 months ago, they repriced carpet according to density and... if you guessed that 70% of our carpets went up in price you'd be right.  And that increase was more than the amount they deducted to offset the install charge.  Remember, it's all about insuring that the customer pays as much as possible. It's all about greed.

And here's another picture of some of my roses.

What about Tulsi Gabbard quitting?  She's always been seen as a Russian asset, so I'm suspecting Putin has more important issues for her to attend.  I'm suspecting that perhaps her resignation was a mutual decision by both her and Orangie.  In his mind women are good for one thing, and one thing only, and diplomacy is not that one thing.  I also suspect that Orangie's blow bro Vlad is not too happy with Orangie's performance.  One of his main objectives, after all, was to insure that Ukraine capitulated.  Now that Ukraine is kicking Vlad's booty boy ass in so many Russian cities, it must be obvious to Vlad that Orangie is too untethered to be any use at all to him.  Even the real estate goons, Witkoff and Kushner seem to have disappeared form the negotiating stage, and both had some serious ties to Vlad.  I'm suspecting that Orangie's abysmal approval ratings have turned him into the biggest political anchor the world has ever seen.

Gas Prices will be going up

Well, our temps are back in the 50s (F).  Today's high is expected to possibly reach 61 (F).  That's what I call cool.  And, as I said yesterday, this drizzly weather is going to ruin a lot of Memorial Day cookouts.  Looking at the weather map, you can see that this is not going to be an isolated event.  I work the weekend, so I don't have to worry about any plans getting rained out.  T

They will be cooking hot dogs and burgers for us at the store this weekend, so exercise will need to be adjusted.  I'm going to have to figure out a way to burn more calories.  Because of the weather, I doubt if the store will seem much in the way of last minute grill purchases, and with temps barely in the 60s (F) there sure as hell ain't gonna be a big rush for window A/C units.  After Memorial Day, curb appeal purchases are going to fall.  While there are always those individuals who will splurge on an expensive project, I do suspect the retail industry, as a whole, is going to get very idle.

And I'm thinking of painting the writing room.  It's been a grayish teal for a number of years now, so something lighter, perhaps.  I've always had a fondness for greens.  I picked up a few paint chips when I worked on Monday.  Now I'm at the point where I'm thinking I might want to invest in the purchase of a paint sample.  

And yesterday's latkes were delicious.  I will make them again sometime.

Being the Memorial Day weekend, both Congress and the Senate have adjourned until June, and once again we've seen Mikey Johnson bowing his head low to the Orange Anus.  The Senate passed a war powers act, putting an end to Orangie's war with Iran.  They sent it to Congress and Mikey, knowing there were enough Republican and Democratic votes in the House of Representatives to pass the legislation, never brought it up for a vote.  In fact, he sent Congress home.  I find this pathetic, his need to bow down, to so easily acquiesce to his leadership to the pedophile in the White House.  It's almost as if he feels this war with Iran is essential.  Ignoring the fact that it's unpopular is not wise.  Americans are heaping so much blame on the Orange Anus for... well, everything.  The Republicans do not want America to snap, because they will be hit with the shitty end of the stick.

Finally, our gas prices are high.  They would be much higher if it weren't for the fact that Orangie's administration is releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.  At present that reserve has dropped to below 400 million barrels of oil.  Here in the US, we use, on average, around 20 million barrels a day.  This means we have about 20 days of oil on reserve.  Higher gas prices mean an angrier America.  Without an end to this war, that reserve is going to get lower and eventually gas prices will go through the roof.  I'm very much in doubt if Congress will do anything to stop Orangie, so prepare yourselves.

The Reds Have It

Well, the heat is gone.  A front moved through the area and we've been left with cloudy skies and drizzles.  If you're in Central PA and had plans for a big Memorial Day weekend bash, they're going to be washed out.  the rain will be hanging around until Monday.  Temps will not climb into the 70s (F).  We have returned to sweatshirt and sweatpants weather.  I have no problem with this. The hot days of summer are going to be here soon enough.

And yesterday sort of fit into the pattern of the last few Wednesdays.  I did chores: laundry, dishes, and some yardwork, but mostly I did nothing.  I did spend a lot of time thinking, something I enjoy doing regularly.  Too many people don't think.  They don't like to ponder.  I do think that too many would rather subsist than participate.  They prefer a life filled with the doldrums, where the slightest breezy thought might make them consider something.  Thinking might actually be rapidly becoming a lost art.  The don't like news that upsets them, so what they do watch or read has been candied down into something less substantive than salt water taffy.  Me?  I'll take the peanut butter brittle any day.

I am scheduled to work today, but to celebrate the autumn-like weather, I've decided to stay home and fry up some latkes.  

I took this pic on Tuesday.  As you can see, all of my reds are... well red; the rose in the foreground and Howie in the background.  

Just because yesterday was a slow day doesn't mean that I spent the time scrolling endlessly through social media.  I did do some research on primary elections, and who can and who cannot vote.  In PA, we have a closed primary.  Democrats can only vote for Democrats, and Republicans can only vote for Republicans.  Those registered as Independents can't vote at all. This means that 1.4 million Pennsylvanians can't vote in the primary.

The same is true in Kentucky... somewhat.  Registration is cut off a month before the primary and you can't switch parties.  So, if you're registered as a Republican and you hate what's going on in Washington, you're still going to have to vote Republican.  The 11% who are registered as Independent or nonaffiliated could not vote for Massie.

And Georgia is different from both Pennsylvania and Kentucky.  

So, primary elections are not the bellwethers that some believe them to be.  For example, we'll need to wait until the midterm in Kentucky to see if those 45% who voted for Massie and the 11% who couldn't vote, will vote for Orangie's personal choice.  Primaries provide us with the candidates, they do not give us a hint as to who's going to win in the General Election.

Primary Positive

So, our temps didn't get up to 98 (F) yesterday,  they only hit 95 (F).  This afternoon, they might hit 90 (F) before the storms move in and cool things down.  For those Memorial Day party people, it looks as though we're going to have a drizzly holiday, at least on Sunday.  By Monday, things should be warming up again, though not into the 90s (F).  

Yesterday was sort of good, sort of meh.  Things got done, and some things didn't.  My bicycle ride in the afternoon was delayed because of a Microsoft update on my sporting laptop.  Usually updates take about 2 minutes, this one took almost 5.  After the laptop finally restarted, I had to close the tab that was going to show me all the new and wonderful things the update was giving me.  About those new and wonderful things, I have checked them out in the past and none of them have ever improved my computing experience.  And, of course, I couldn't sign into the Tacx training app.  There was no screen for me to log in.  So, I turned the laptop off, and then back on, and still had the same problem.  There were other issues, as well. When I finally did get to the log in screen, it timed out before the connection could be made.  Over 40 minutes later it got sorted out and I could finally get in my ride.

I've been working on a short video to introduce The Body in 4/4 Time.  YouTube advertises an editor, however it's only available on mobile, which is not what I want.

On my 3nd playthrough of Expedition 33:  I am approaching the end.  Last evening it took me 25 minutes to kill one of the bigger bosses.  It was so great!  I was so pumped!  Still, I do know that very shortly I'm going to need to start looking for another game to play.  This looks interesting:

Yesterday was primary day in a number of states.  I had been hoping that Massie, from Kentucky, might pull a victory from his hat.  Allies for the Orange Anus spent upwards of $30 million to defeat him, and MAGA cultists did what their demigod wanted.  Massie got 45% of the vote, his opponent, Ed Gallrein got 55% of the vote.  Gallrein is a Netanyahu support, in case you were wondering. The cultists are dancing around like this was the 2nd, or 3rd, or 4th coming.  Massie has 7 months left in office, prediction markets are saying that he's going to take a flamethrower to the GOP.  You have to give it to the cultists, they sure do know and embrace their stupidity.  They actually believe that the 45% of voters who supported Massie are actually going to bow their heads and vote Republican in the primary.  That 45% is just as pissed off as Massie is.  Come November, they will either stay home, or vote Democrat.  The way Orangie's approval rating keeps dropping, many of those voters might actually be voting Democrat for the first time in their lives.  The cultists simply do no know how much America hates Donald J. Trump.

The $1.776 Billion Dollar Theft

Our outside temp here in Central PA is 72 (F).  Last evening, on my drive home from work, the temp was 94 (F).  Today was supposed to just as hot, but now, maybe not so much.  The forecast is for temps to be just shy of 95  (F), which is just a mite cooler than yesterday.  Tomorrow, we should be topping off in the mid 80s (F).  Then we're heading back down to more seasonable temps.

Before going to work yesterday, and after my workout, I did begin to seasonize my house for summer.  The little window A/C unit is now in the training room.  It's a Media which gets good ratings, however, I need to run it on high for it to work well.  Why put a window unit in the workout/computer room?  Because that room has a shared vent with the big bedroom.  Because of the way my vents are set up, the Central Air in my house is super great downstairs, not so great upstairs.  I blame the installer who was more interested in selling an install then in upgrading the venting.  My return vent on the second floor is on the floor.  That does absolutely nothing when it comes to circulating the air.

Flooring was slow yesterday.  After 1:30 PM, I was the only sales specialist at the flooring desk.  There was also an aisle associate, but when I left at 7, it was just him, and him alone.  Needless to say, sales were not good, so the staffing was not needed.  We did do good business in window A/C units, however.  

And yesterday this happened.

It happened just before I went to work, before it became a raging inferno of anger.  This morning, all I could do as I scanned through burning headlines, and scrolled down through the searing comments on social media, I could only wonder at the overwhelming stupidity... and greed, of this president.  And if the theft of tax payer dollars wasn't bad enough, nestled in this agreement is a statement saying that neither this president, nor any member of his family, nor his companies, can ever be audited again.  If this is allowed, he and his children will be allowed to steal and grift for all of eternity.  To say this is not sitting well with the American people would be an understatement.   Some think he's going to use this money to set up his own private army, not me.  That would mean spend money.  He only spends other people's money, never his own.  I think he and his advisors know the midterms are going to be brutal, that he's going to be impeached a third time.  I suspect that this $1.776 billion will be moved someplace safe.  After the Republicans lose badly with the midterms, I think he's going to create as much chaos as possible, and then take the money and run.  This is what he's done in the past, with his bankruptcies.

Bombing Moscow

Yesterday the temp got up to 89 (F).  I consider that warm.  Today and tomorrow the forecasters are saying that our high temps are going to hit 98 (F).  That's hot.  That's mid July weather, not middle of the month of May weather.  Thursday a cooling trend is predicted to start with high temps for the rest of the week hovering in the mid to upper 70s (F).  Start prepping for the heat waves now.

I had lunch with my friend Betsy yesterday.  We always do Chinese buffet for the meal and Dairy Queen for the dessert.  This is our routine.  Conversation is always good.  Sometimes if revolves around age, since both of us are getting older; there ain't no stopping that.   She rents and I feel bad about that for her.  But then at some point, all of us seniors will end up paying some form of rent, either to a landlord or to a senior living facility.  American capitalism dictates that unless we are wealthy, we will always owe.  At least I will have a financial cushion when I sell my house.  That's something many will not have.

The thought had occurred to me to take the day off using the warm temps as an excuse, but I probably won't. It's not as though I have any plans to occupy my time.  So, I suppose I'll be punching for my normal Monday shift.

And here's a real old pic of me from high school.  While this isn't dated, I think it's from 1969, the year I graduated.  This was long before I could grow a moustache.  Don't those lapels rock!

One of the things that came up in my conversation with Betsy yesterday was, as you might expect, the Orange Anus.  She had a very dim view of our future, believing the Republicans are going to destroy everything.  I did my best to convince her otherwise, whether I was successful or not is anybody's guess.  It did brighten her day when I showed her the pics and videos of Moscow being hit by drones and missiles.  It's my understand that internet coverage was shut down in large swaths of the country.  A spokesperson for Orangei's blow bro Vlad shrieked that Ukraine had stooped to terrorism, and the world laughed at him.  Vlad's in a bit of a stinky mood.  He had to cut short his VE parade.  The Russia economy is in the shitter.  He's relying on North Korean solders to help on the battlefield.  And now Moscow being bombed.  I'm wondering how long it will be before he slips, trips, and falls out of a wndow.

And finally, the blasphemers gathered on the Washington Mall yesterday in an attempt to spread their heresy.  Like everything associated with the Orange Anus and his regime, the fools our going to fail badly.  Everything he touches dies.

The Beauty of Roses

 Outside the temp is 63 (F) and inside the house it's 71 (F), and it's going to get warmer both inside and out.  Our expected high for this afternoon is 87 (F).  The actual heat doesn't arrive until tomorrow and Tuesday when our daily highs will be in the upper 90s(F).  While my ground floor will stay comfortable in this type of heat, my second floor, which is usually about 8 - 10 degrees warmer, will be cooking.  I don't doubt that at some point in the next 2 days I'll be turning on the Central Air.  Beginning Wednesday, the temps are going to fall back down to what's considered more seasonable.

I worked yesterday.  It was slow.  Our garden department was still hopping.  Memorial Day is next week and customers are still dipping deep into their credit to enhance the curb appeal.  Patio sets are flying off the floor.  Unless I had mucho grande cash to burn, I'd never invest in one.  I don't spend that much time sitting out on the veranda, so I wouldn't get much use out of it.  

Since temps are going to be so warm tomorrow, I'm thinking that I might take a personal day.  I do need to have at least one reason to use that personal time.  And there are outside chores that need to get done.  I don't really mind the heat.  Can you tell I'm trying to convince myself that taking off is a good idea.

While Howie was out this morning, I took a pick of one of my rose bushes.  

I like roses.  So do the Chinese.  They also know how to insult with panache.  Putting Orangie on a lower chair so he'd have to look up to Xi was cute.  Having him walk up a super long staircase so he'd have to pause to catch his breath?  Priceless, especially for someone who likes to brag about how fit he is.  I do believe, however, their best insult was to give him rose seeds as a parting gift.  The White House rose garden was formally established in 1913.  A place of beauty, the garden was renowned for it's roses.  Orange dug it up and put in a patio.  Orangie also put in patio sets, chairs and round tables with umbrellas leaving no space to plant rose seeds.  And that's all Xi gave Orangie, no deals to grift from, no commitments for... well, anything.  All Xi offered were insults on the world stage and the words that the world sees America as a country in decline.

Howie's got a new toy!

 Well, we got a warm day in store for us here n Central PA.  Our high this afternoon is predicted to cross that 80 (F) border.  Over the next few days, temps are expected to climb into the 90s (F).  That will mean good business on window A/C units.  I have a small one I put in my workout room since there is no working vent in that room (old, old house), so it may be installed tomorrow.

Yesterday was sort of a meh day.  I did chores, but only the essential ones, like loading the dishwasher.  Of course, there are those who might not classify that as an essential chore, letting the dishes pile up in the sink.  I had a friend named Jack who did that, waiting until all of his dishes were dirty before cleaning them.  That was until one evening, while several of us were gathered around the kitchen table chatting, a mouse ran out from the pile of dishes and dashed across his kitchen counter.  I do believe he was a bit mortified.  

Otherwise yesterday was quiet.  I did do 2 of my Norwegian lessons last evening.  I should put more time into it.

Oh, and Howie got a brand new toy yesterday.  It's a 2 foot long fuzzy ferret with squeakers at both ends.  He loves it so much he took it to bed last night.

And not only was Orangie's business trip to China a failure, something being noted by so very many news outlets, he's doubling down on his comment of not caring about American citizen's finances.  He's now saying it was a "perfect statement."  Because in his mind he never makes a mistake, he will never, ever admit his comment was terrible.  The CEO is always right.  I would not be surprised if the administration, at some point, doesn't begin blaming the media, saying that they misquoted him, even though it's on video.  

We will be a nation in decline as long as Republicans and conservatives are running the country.  They have proved time and time again that they simply do not know how to govern.  The policies that satisfy a few will affect a majority in so horribly on so many different levels.  And, proving that they have no souls, Republicans and conservatives could care less.

Pillion

Our afternoon high might hit 70 (F).  That would be nice.  There is some yardwork that needs to be done.  By next week, we're going to be steamy, at least for a few days.  I'm wondering if I should put the window A/C unit in the workout room, for those days when I'm sweating my but off.

And the lack of listing updates for blogs is... weird.  According to Blogger's stats, I've had over 75,000 hits during the past 7 days, so someone, somewhere, is reading what I write.

I watched Pillion last evening.  It's been called a Rom/Com but even though there were moments of romance and definitely moments of good comedy, I think it was more of a character study of 2 individuals looking for love.  One breaks down the barriers standing in the way, the other either cannot or will not.  The key and the ring hanging around Alexander Skarsgard's neck are important.  The key may be to his motorcycle, or it may be the key to his heart, something he needs to keep safely locked up.  I liked the movie, though probably not for the reasons so many other people did.  By the way, for those who don't know, a pillion is the back passenger seat on a motorcycle.

Oh, and I worked yesterday.  I had a vinyl plank flooring sale, not an install, just a sale to a rather interesting couple.  They were older and whiter.  He asked about getting his military discount and I told him not to worry.  I asked what branch of service, he said Air Force, and went on to tell me that he'd been in Vietnam for only 21 days.  The only 21 days was important to him.  I told them I'd been in the Navy and had spent two cruises in the Western Pacific, most of that time being spent in Vietnam.  One cruise was 8 months long, the other 9 months long.  That impressed them.  She leaned forward and asked what I thought of our current president and the war in Iran.  I told her I thought he was doing a very bad job.  She was surprised.  She said, "don't you know?  He's keeping back the Muslim hoards."  I stayed silent.  Nothing was going to change their minds.  They have no idea how many Muslims work in my store, or how many Hindis.  This couple represents the ignorance of Orangie's base.  They honestly have no idea how the world works.

The Biker Bar

Well, today has started off a a chilly willy one.  We had a moderately cold 45 (F) outside when I clambered out of bed.   Ah, but don't worry, the thermometer will continue to slowly rise starting right now!  By next Thursday we should be in the mid 90s (F).  Yepper, we're going to be getting some nice July temps in May.  Let us all hope this is not meteorological foreshadowing.

Yesterday was for the most part a decent day.  After writing the blog, I got in a good workout.  I've increased the weight on the dumbbell thruster and hammer curls to 20 pounds.  As people age, they tend to go with lighter weights, I'm continuing to go heavier.  Muscle building is important.  I do not want to enter the age of atrophy until much later in life.

Using the last of a loaf of bread I baked last week, yesterday morning, I baked a nice bread pudding. It's delicious.  In the afternoon, I made moussaka.  It's tasty, but definitely not the best to come out of my oven.  I substituted fresh crushed tomatoes instead of canned, and there was a difference.  In fact, I ended up using many variations of the ingredients, including soy sauce.  As I said, it's tasty, but definitely not Greek.

In Expedition 33, I'm at the point where I'm just fighting boss, after boss, after boss.  Some of the fights take 20 minutes or so, and as long as I win without dying, I don't care.  There is more than a little exhilaration when defeating a much more powerful enemy.  And the reward is always... well, quite rewarding.  

And since we are in May and Memorial Day is approaching, I thought I'd post of pic of myself at a Memorial Day party in 1995.  Those red sweat pants?  I wore those into a biker bar once.  I was only there to pick up a 6-pack (beer).  If I'm remembering correctly, even the jukebox stopped playing.  I have to laugh about that now.  And don't I look pretty tiny for being 6 feet tall.  Must have been a really big chair.

So, Orangie, with a gaggle of oligarchs, is in China.  Some of his cabinet 1 percenters are with him.  As someone pointed out this looks more like a business trip rather than one concerned with politics.  Elonia is with him.  In fact, the 2 of them walked side by side down the red carpet.  Elonia is evidently substituting for Melanoma, who must have had better things to do.  His son Eric is along the for the wheeling and dealing.  I did tell you this was a business trip.  I doubt if anything productive will come of it that will help any of the middleclass in America.  Those on the lower financial levels can be totally guaranteed to get nothing of value.

The petition to recall Governor Landry in  Louisiana easily got the required number of signatures and has been filed.  He's the governor who shut down an election after votes had been cast in order to gerrymander.  Pardon my French, but this man is dumb as a fucking brick. He's done far worse than put on a pair of red sweat pants and saunter into a biker bar.

The Devil Wears Prada 2

Out outside temp is 57 (F), but cooler temps are on their way.  Later this morning clouds are supposed to roll into the area bringing with them showers and possibly a thunderstorm.  The cooler temps will last for a few days, until a heatwave moves into the area.  Will it get hot enough to turn on the Central Air?  We'll have to wait and see.

And this is a Blogger Alert.  I always check to see if you're daily writings have updated in the "blogs I read," side bar.  Yesterday, it appeared as though no one was writing.  I checked in the late afternoon and the blogs hadn't been updated from the day before.  Last evening, when I got home, I began clicking on the links and discovered even though everyone had posted something, nothing had updated.  Maddie said that my post didn't show up until quite late.  This is irritating.

Otherwise, yesterday was a good day.  Grocery shopping in the morning.  The bluish plants I bought were planted.  I had a decent ride on the bicycle, once again on the Majorca ride.  Quite a few loads of laundry were done.  And then it was off to the movies.

I went to see The Devil Wears Prada 2.  It was enjoyable.  In an audience of around 50, there were 3 other men besides myself.  That is is the golden definition of a chick flick.  Streep was good.  Tucci was good.  Hathaway was... bland.  Lady Gaga shows up and I flinched since the only reason she was in the film was to sing a song (and it wasn't one of her best).  Even though the dialog was fine, the movie is old time Hollywood formulaic: forty minutes of intro, forty minutes of drama, and then forty minutes of resolution.  At one point Hathaway tells Emily Blunt she's iconic and I laughed out loud.  I was the only to do so, but then I'm not a chick and fashion is not my strong suite.

The Orange Anus is in China trying to whip up some personal deals so he and his billionaire buddies make more money while America goes broke.  Remember when we used to have presidents that actually put the country first, rather than greedily licking their chops as they salivated about all the personal deals they were going to broker for themselves?  Wouldn't it be nice if we had a political party in charge that wasn't totally about "what's in it for me?"  The sad truth is that Republicans have been so desperate for years, they don't care how evil he is as long as they're in charge.

Before the left, Orangie was asked about what he was going to do about helping Americans financially and his response was:

A Few Winks in the Oval Office

 It's 41 (F) outside.  That's chilly.  Well, I might even go so far as to say that it's cool.  Temps will be warming up for this afternoon.  We will again be in the mid to upper 60s (F).  For those dreaming of the hot days of summer, don't fret.  Next Wednesday we should sitting in the low 90s (F).  That's right, we'll be sultry, but only for a few days.

Yesterday morning's workout went well.  I'm doing alternating bench presses with 25 pound dumbbells.  Of course, at some point I'll be upping that to 30 pounds.  Monday is also the day for alternating leg extensions.  We'd adjust that down to 20 pounds after the pull on my quad.  Well, that was a pretty useless weight, so I upped it to 30 pounds.  Next week it might be back up to 50 pounds.

Retail was so damn boring.  I easily got my steps in.  And whether we wanted to or not, corporate has moved us into the new the Specialty Project Tool.  In some ways it's complicated.  Using it will entail have a lot of windows open.  Floor plans are on one screen, pictures are on another.  I worked on a quote that had some issues with the first time the customer had been measured, so a second measure was done yesterday morning.  None of the previous notes transferred over to the new system and we don't have the ability to see earlier comments by the measure tech, or changes that we did to the quote.  I suspect this will only be a problem with the older quotes.  I suspect there won't be a problem with the newer quotes.

For those of you interested, here's a picture of me on a cold January morning in 1993 at Bill Clinton's first inauguration.  I had a lot more hair back then.

Did you all get a chance to look at the video of the Orange Anus sleeping yesterday?  For those who missed it, I took a screen print.  If you get a chance, look up the video, it's quite amusing to watch the people behind him as they realized he's zonked out to the world.  Dr. Oz, in particular, gets an "oh, shit," look on his face. 

So, how desperate are the Republicans about the midterms?  Very.  That's why their involved in so much illegal gerrymandering.  The idea of losing both the House of Representatives and the Senate simply terrifies them.  It also terrifies the Supreme Court as well.  Accountability is something they dread in every cell of their bodies.  They're also terrified that all they're doing to stay in power will proved to he useless.  Except for billionaires and cultists, no one is happy with the job that they are doing.  But then, this should be a known fact by now:  Republicans simply have no idea how to govern.  They want to dictate.  They don't care how badly they ruin things, just as long as they're in charge.  That's going to change, and they're terrified.  Good.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Good Monday morning!  We are starting the new week with temps in the mid 40s (F).  Things are supposed to heat up a bit and by this afternoon we should be in the mid 60s (F).  That's not bad for this time of year.  There is a heat wave that's going to be moving east that's threatening to ratchet up the temps quite a bit, but that's not until next week, and how high they'll go is anybody's guess.

Since yesterday was Sunday, it was a full work day for me.  Boy was it slow.  We did have a customer come in wanting to pay for an install, but he also wanted us to give him a $700 credit from a promotion that expired a week ago.  I told him no, he would need to come back and talk to the associate who, he claimed, told him we would give him the discount.  That was wrong of me.  I should have called management and let them give him the bad news.  You have no idea how often these incidents happen.  They are a constant.  This customer will come back in on Wednesday when the associate is working, and they'll give him the expired promotion.  Last week we had a customer who had an $8000 install and he told us that he'd pay for it then and there, but only if we gave him $700.  There was no promotion going on.  I told him "no," and he insisted on talking to management.  The manager gave him $200 off.  These people are breaking the system and management is going to let them break it in order to get the reduced sale.

I watched Remarkably Bright Creatures last evening.  It's on Netflix.  I liked it a lot.  Sally Field, who going to be 80 (something) does a remarkably good job portraying a mother still coming to terms with tragedy.  Lewis Pullman does a good job a portraying a man realizing that not all dreams come true, and why EELS are important.  It's quite touching at times.  And, of course, there is Marcellus, the octopus.

And there was a very good opinion piece in the Guardian this morning on the Republican party.  Sydney Blumenthal makes some very good points about why the GOP refuses to stand up to him.  My opinion is that in their heart of hearts, every Republican Senator and Congressman is as cowardly as the Orange Anus.  They are both loud and spineless as they bend their knees to the power they've always wanted.  They will parrot and amplify every lie because it's so easy to do.  The truth is that they simply don't care about either America, or it's people.  Like Orangie, it's all about themselves.

Does anyone know if the ceasefire with Iran is on?  Or is it off?  Because it's Monday, I suppose that it is still on.  TACO doesn't happen until Tuesday.  Either way, gas prices are going to go higher.  This is a given.  Not that anyone in the GOP objects, that would mean opposing their glorious leader.  In the meantime, Iran is going to continue to troll the hell out of him.

Vlad's Teeny, Tiny Party

So, it's Sunday, a day of rest, and I'm going to work all day.  My rest days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Hopefully the weather will be warmer on those days. That doesn't mean it's not going to get warm today.  This afternoon's temp is going to be in the low 70s (F).  Tomorrow, however, the daily highs are will start a run of afternoon highs in the upper 60s (F).  Believe me, those are not bad temps.  There are very few of us who want to jump into the hot, hot days of summer.

I have no workouts scheduled on Saturdays, so yesterday was a rather easy day for me.  I did do things in the morning.  This doesn't mean that anything was actually done.  Drizzle started in the morning and ended fall throughout Central PA until mid afternoon.  Eventually the sun came out, so when I left work everything was nice.

Retail was interesting.  I sold my tile floor job.  I got a measure.  Management should be happy.  I'm going to miss my sales goal for the week, but then sales are down.  Biggly.  How do I know?  I can see all of the sales figures for every flooring specialist in our district.  Of the over 25 flooring specialists, only a handful have positive numbers. That tile job I sold was for $902.  People are beginning to cheap it out.

Here's a pic of the purply flowers I bought.  They'll be planted tomorrow morning.

So, Orangie's blow bro Vlad threw a party for Victory Day and nobody came... well, that's not quite right.  There was a small crowd.  I believe the fact that there was a internet blackout over all of Moscow probably had something to do with that.  Also, the fact that there was a threat of a Ukrainian attack might have effected the turnout as well.  The North Koreans were there.  I didn't see an exact count, but it may have been that there were more North Koreans marching in the parade than Russians, perhaps because so many Russians have died in Putin's useless war.  He's becoming a very unpopular person in Russia, and this is good.

And the fallout continues to grow for Orangie's golden statue.  You know it's bad when is televangelist friend and crackpot Mark Burns is running around shrieking "it's not a golden calf!"  No, it isn't.  It's a 22 foot golden statue of Orangie swathed in a flowing robe, and he prayed over it and blessed it.  Mark Burns must not believe in the 2nd commandment.

Finally, Secretary of Transportation is getting a lot of grief because he and his family recorded a reality TV show of them traveling across the country.  Maybe if he were doing his job, a man wouldn't have been hit and killed by a Frontier plane taking off yesterday.  That's right, a man was hit by a plane.

Trump Idolatry

Well, we have 53 (F) outside with rain on the way.  Possibly lots of rain.  And high winds, along with hail.  Today's high will only climb a few degrees.  Things are predicted to start warming up tomorrow.  I find that amusing when I think back to the daily highs of 15 (F) we were having back in February.    What a difference a few months make.

Yesterday was a good day.  Laundry was done.  Shopping was done.  I got a nice bicycle ride in on Majorca.  It's called the monastery ride because you cycle past a number of monasteries, however you're on a bike and you cycle past them so fast you're driving by monasteries.  I also bought 2 purpley flowers to plant next to my raised bed garden.  Flower draw buzzy bees that are necessary in pollination, which is essential for the growth of fruit and vegetables.

I thought Six's comment  yesterday on seeing a coconut that was older than many of the people he knows was amusing. I'd never actually thought of that.  In fact, I rarely think about being older or younger than people around me.  For some, this seems to be an issue with the aging process, the fact that they want to try and fit into a younger world.  Me?  I really don't care.  I talk to everyone. 

And yesterday this happened in Mar a Lago.  A group of MAGA Evangelical leaders gathered there to bless and pray for a golden statue of the Orange Anus.  There's something wrong with incorporating Old Testament idolatry into the Federal Government.  

One thing I've been seeing more frequently on the internet and social media is the idea that America might now be in the last stage of American Capitalism.  The association of capitalism to cancer is... intriguing.  This isn't to say that capitalism in in itself is bad, but that American capitalism is; we seem to be a country focused on selfishness and greed.  The last stage is in reference to stage 4 cancer, in which death is ready to start knocking on the door.  When members of Orangie's administration publicly state that it's a good thing for Americans to use credit to pay for their essentials, their food and their meds, that's last stage American capitalism.  We are in a state of financial feudalism.  At some point a break is going to happen.  Then billionaires will move into their compounds as the world's economy crashes around them.

Ain't That A Shame

Good morning, World.  Here in Central PA our temps are a chilly 52 (F).  The day was nice and sunnier when I sat down at my laptop,  but there is some serious cloudiness going on outside.  Drizzling showers are in the forecast.  The temps, however, will continue to rise in to the mid to upper 60s (F).  Our weather pattern is not going to change until Sunday, when our days will begin, once again, to get warmer.

Yesterday was fine.  I got a nice workout in before going to work.  Retail, however, was boring.  There was an unexpected and rather unwanted surprise, however, when I sat down at the flooring desk.  We've switched to a new software called Specialty Projects Tool, or SPT for short.  There were rumors this was going to happen, but no specific date was given, just as no specific training was assigned to any of the specialists.  Surprise!  Our kitchen designers have had this software for some time and they hate it.  When setting up a carpet measure we're now required to asked questions like, "What is the total budget for your project?  What 3 carpet styles are you interested in?  Which carpet style do you really love?  List them in preferred order, 1, 2, and 3."  All the questions are qualifying, the idea being that once the quote is finished the customer will automatically pull the trigger.  It doesn't work like this.  Most people don't want to give you their total budget.  Most people don't want to make a snap decision on purchasing an install.  Most people like to think about spending $4000 for new carpet.  This new software seeks to eliminate the thinking process.  Pushing this process through will, at least as far as I'm concerned, will lead to much buyer's remorse.  People who suffer from buyer's remorse are not return shoppers.

Anyway, I mentioned the fact that after I was born my grandparents, with my Aunt Lois in tow, traveled from Pine Grove, PA, down to Biloxi, MS.  I believe I mentioned that when the returned, they brought with them a coconut one of the picked up on the beach.  I still have it.  Here it is, my 73 year old coconut.  I put a coat of varnish on it to help preserve it.

I saw where the Department of Justice, with Orangie's personal attorney, Todd Blanche is going to be investigating Orangie's illegal habit of selling pardons.  The rumored understanding is that a pardon will cost you between $1 million and $6 million dollars.  Of course, with Blanche involved, this investigation is going to go nowhere.  Still, it will give the impression to those MAGA cultists sitting on the fence about whether or not to jump ship, that everything about Orangie is above board.  

And I understand that Orangie's blow bro Vlad is worried about the Victory Day parade that's to be held in Moscow.  Drones could be a real downer if they crash into it.  Vlad also has some serious concern about possibly being assassinated because... well, his little excursion in the Ukraine has taken a lot longer than 3 days.  And then there's the fact that Orbin, his henchie in Hungary is no longer in power.  In fact, so much seems to be going wrong for Vlad these days.  In fact, it seems as though Vlad's ready to throw himself a pity party.  Now, ain't that a shame.

Max Sullivan

At 50 (F), our outside temp is on the cool side.  The forecast is for the afternoon sun to warm us up to at least 60 (F), plus maybe a few extra degrees.  There are warmer days in the forecast, but not until Monday.  We'll have sunshine today and tomorrow, but then clouds are going to roll in for the week with a serious likelihood of rain over the weekend.  Rain is good, at least until I hose to replace the one I threw away.

Yesterday was a decent day.  I didn't go anywhere, but I did get a really good workout in; the issues with my left knee appear to have worked themselves out.  Bread was also baked, and several loads of laundry done.  

After my aunt's funeral, my cousin gave a number of pictures of the Snyder family to us surviving members, pictures with our parents when they were younger.  My brother got those with my dad, I got one with both my parents.  It did however inspire me to go through one of my own boxes of pictures.  Quite a number of them ended up in the trash because they were duplicates, or pastoral scenes from places that I barely remember.  Of those I saved, I thought I'd start posting them here to give you all a better idea of my past.  There's not going to be any sort of chronological order, I'm just going to reach into the box and pull out and scan it.  Today you're going to meet Max, full name Maxwell Sullivan, my ginger cat who lived to be 21 years old.  Max Sullivan, in my books, is named after Max the cat.  Here he is sitting on the newel post of my staircase.  I stripped all the many layers of old paint off only to discover that the wood was is such bad shape it needed to be repainted.

My neighbor's son is home from college, he's going to Temple University.  He's much smarter than his parents.  This leads to friction between all of them.  Last night they had a loud, screaming argument.

In case you haven't realized it, Orangie's ballroom is all about stealing from the American taxpayer.  As a result, it's very unpopular and has little support from Americans.  How low is that support?  More people support the belief in ghosts than want this stupid ballroom to be built.

And it appears that Orangie's Project Freedom, his plan to use the US military to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz was shut down by the Saudis.  The US is no longer allowed to use any of the military airports or the airspace.  The Saudis have also cancelled the LIV golf tournament.  Hhhmm, makes one wonder if they no longer need Orangie.  Like a 2 bit whore, he prostituted America to them in exchange for real estate deals.  I wouldn't be surprised if they've already shut down his dreams of having a Trump Tower in Riyadh.

Drizzles

We have drizzles here in Central PA.  Our temp is going to be very static today, neither rising nor falling, but hovering at 65 (F).  That's not a bad temp for Spring.  Our skies are seriously clouded over and, as I said, we have drizzles.  If they'll develop into soaking rains is anybody's guess, though that possibility certainly exists.  At this time of year, rain is nice.

Much was accomplished yesterday.  Two more veggie plants were purchased and planted.  I'd been hoping to find an eggplant, that hope was smashed when I walked down row after row of seedlings and found mostly tomato and pepper plants.  I stood and counted, there were 17 zucchini plants and 9 cucumber plants.  Since I've already planted 6 tomato plants, I went with 1 green pepper and 1 cucumber.  I also bought a pink thing.  The idea is to surround the raised garden with flowering plants to make the veggie flowers interesting to all the flying insects, bees included, in my back yard.  Here's the pink thing, it's supposed to get about a foot wide.

Howie got a hold of one of the small, disposable plastic containers and brought it into the house where, using a slice of ham, I bribed him into giving it to me.  This morning I threw it away.  As I walked down the back steps, I told him "this is trash," and after throwing it into the recycle bin I turned to see my neighbors heading back into their house.  I did what I always do when I see them, I said a cheery "morning," and was ignored.  They had a loud argument either very late last night or very early this morning.  This is the new normal I got ever since they moved in.

And oil prices are dropping again this morning.  There was a TACO yesterday, and evidently a memo regarding the Strait of Hormuz.  I'd seen a while back that Orangie was looking for a way to get out of the war he started with Iran.  He wants to walk away and claim victory, in order for gas prices to go down.  He needs that to happen to in order for the Republicans to not totally lose out during the midterms.

Oh, and by the way, that little ballroom he wants to build?  It's now going to cost the tax payers $1 billion.  That's going to be a terrible burden for everyone young.  Their futures are going to be crippled because of the GOP.