Tanked

 Yesterday was nice and sunny, and I did get some dumbbell work in - arms you know, I don't want to keep the strength in them as long as possible.  Age will eventually take its toll, but I've already told it that ain't going to happen tomorrow.

I'd ordered a 2nd Greek statue for the big tank and it arrived.  It looks great, but it's resin, not marble.  I thought I was ordering it from the same Greek company because it was advertised on the same page, not so, this one was made in China, but sold by a Greek owned company in New Jersey.  I'm going to be ordering one more.  I will be certain that one, too, comes from Greece.  

The electrician was here this morning taking notes to give me an estimate on a number of other jobs I need to have done, moving outlets in the kitchen, installing a light in the computer / gym.  I've used him before.  He's a bit pricey, but does good work.  Still, this is going to set me back more than a couple of pennies.  I've set up a low interest home equity loan to cover that expense and the rest of the drywalling and cabinet installation in the kitchen.  I'm also thinking of having the old vinyl flooring removed and new flooring installed.  The stuff that's in there now is crap that I bought when I was rather naïve about flooring.

I talk a lot about the big tank in the dinning room, but not so much about the smaller 30 gallon tank in the living room, so I thought I'd post a picture.  This is looking in from the side.  All the fish are types of Barbs, except for the little yellow guy looking at me from the top of the vase.  He's an algae eater.

Of course, the GOP contenders for the party's nomination for president had their debate last night.  They blustered and blamed Trump for many things.  The only one who seemed to have any sort of Centrist opinions was Nikki Haley, at least that's what I read this morning.  I do believe she said (and this is me paraphrasing) that the party is out of touch with America, and that the National Abortion ban so many of the men talk about is an impossible dream since they will never have the necessary 60 votes in the Senate to pass such legislation.  She's obvious angling for the women's vote, the largest voting bloc in the country.  Unfortunately, because she's a woman, her candidacy has pretty much tanked since so upstanding, white Republican male would ever consider voting for her.

And it looks as though Putin shot down one of his hated enemies.  No surprise there... well, maybe a bit of one in that Prigozhin was stupid enough to get on that plane.

Wagner Strikes Back

 And once again rain is in the forecast.  We had a lot yesterday and, sad to say, my lawn is now a verdant green.  That means next week, in between the raindrops, I'm going to have to mow it.  

I did get more accomplished yesterday than the day before, which is nice.  There are always things to do, I just need to stop ignoring them.  

One of my angelfish is very sick.  I know it's only a matter of time.  Then there will be two.  Right now they're the only things swimming around in the big tank, which is going to see a big change.  Since I have a 5 gallon tank, I'll probably transfer to the 2 survivors to that in order to clean out the big tank completely.  I have black algae, and while it doesn't harm the fish, it will cover everything in the tank.  There are solutions, like using hydrogen peroxide, but that will kill everything, which is why I'm going to need to use the 5 gallon tank.

I was at my local Petsmart last week. They've done a major upgrade to the fish department, so there will be no need to drive down to that Fish Place.  The big tank's going to be pure community.  Probably a lot of live bearers, fish that will tolerate snails, which will eat the algae, since I don't doubt it's going to be a constant in that tank as long as it exists.

And, of course, yesterday this began happening... a bit of a Civil War in Russia.

This took the Putinistas like Tucker Carlson, and Tulsi Gabbard by surprise.  While using the excuse that the Russian military hit their troops with missile fire killing many, the Wagner group left the Ukraine and drove into Russia to take control of the military.  Ouch!  People are humorously wondering if this is what the Orange Anus meant by saying he could stop the war in 24 hours.  I'm certain he's quite upset that his blow bro Vlad is now in some serious shit.  Ouchy!  Whispers are saying this little revolution has been in the planning stages for some time.  Now Russia, who was depending upon the Wagner group mercenaries to help take the Ukraine now has to defend Putin's actions from many angles.  I don't doubt that many of the Oligarchs who are fed up with Putin's War are actively cheering from the sidelines.  And all of those American congressmen who were pro Putin, pro authoritarian government are looking extremely stupid right now.

Compatipility

This is my Friday, for those of you who keep track of my changing calendar.  Tomorrow begins a 3 day weekend.  I have a sneaking suspicion more fish will be joining the angels in the tank.  What will they be?  I have no idea.  Something safe.  Community tank oriented.  It's all about Compatibility, you know?

Like people, not all fish get along.  In fish, however, compatibility depends upon species.  Angelfish get along with Mollies and Barbs, but will nibble at the fins of guppies.  An Oscar will kill and eat your Angelfish faster than you can say 'oh.'  The babies of live bearers are always on the menu.

Tropical fish are a lot like political parties, and while you might want to believe Republicans eat babies they don't.  They will, however, disown if certain liberal behavior patterns begin to manifest.  If fact, there is a host of therapies, conversion tactics, and brainwashing techniques they have no problem applying to their progeny in order to force them into the tiny minded Conservative mold.  God forbid they should have a child who is a free thinker.

They are also the ultimate segregationists, and I'm not just talking about race.  You need to be a member of the right religion for them to even acknowledge you.  That's a throwback to their Crusader days.  They quietly look for heretics and phony Christians so they can be labeled.  They have no problem shunning their next door neighbor if he or she doesn't fit the mold.

Most of them support the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  In their minds he is 'the Chosen one,' in fact they gone so far as to tell him so.  Unwittingly, they've contributed to his insanity.  Not that they care, of course.  Both their minds and his are compatible.  Like the voracious Oscar, they will attack and eat anything, even their own kind and then gloat.  They love what is happening up in tiny, little Portland.  They think is shows their superiority when in truth it demonstrates their need to overwhelm and control anything they view as being incompatible.  

They are a minority group who needs to be segregated from the rest of the community.  Maybe, after they lose the election this November, they will all voluntarily decide to move up to North Dakota. Now, wouldn't that be nice?

Timeliness

My weekend begins.  It's going to get hot, they're forecasting 91 (F)  Not much is planned for outdoor activities.  No mowing of the grass.  No wacking of the weeds.

Indoor activities are planned.  The staircase needs painting.  I'm putting the new tank there, where the piano sat for years and years.  I have a Korg keyboard there now.  I play occasionally, but not frequently enough for it to take up the space.  The tank, itself, is due to arrive tomorrow.  One of my plans this morning is to pick up the substrate, probably at Pet Smart.  Fish and Plants will be purchased from That Fish Place down near Lancaster.  You all know how to pronounce Lancaster now, don't you?

And I was the only Specialist at the Flooring Desk yesterday... again.  And I only had one moron customer who presented issues.  A man stopped by the desk and told me he wanted to order his blinds.  I asked if they had been designed and he said "no, but I know what I want."  No problem, except I couldn't find his measurements in the system.  I checked under his name, his wife's name, both phone numbers... nothing.  In fact, he wasn't in our system for ever having purchased anything from us, so I figured he must be confusing us with Lowe's (this happens more frequently then you might think).  Before suggesting he was making that mistake, I went into our purged order's system.  Son of a Bitch!  His name popped up.  He and his wife had made one purchase from us... a measure for blinds... in January... of 2019.  That's right, a year and a half ago.  I told him measurements only stay in the system for a year... and he grew irate.  He said, "no one told him that."  We do.  It's part of our spiel, "measurements are only good for a year."  I told him that.  I also said, "you waited a year and a half, no one waits a year and a half to decided to buy blinds," with enough insinuation in my voice to let him know I was calling him a fool.  I ended up setting him up for our Kirsch rep (very expensive blinds) to go out to his house.  Timeliness is everything.  

As for the Idiot Jerk in the White House... well, there was his 'White Power' Tweet that someone, probably not him, took down.  He doesn't understand America is not as ugly racist as his white Supremacist base.  And, of course, there's the bit about the bounties the Russkies put on American soldiers.  That's going to hurt him with the military.  How's that for bad timing.

Finally, on the music and the writing.  On occasion a song, a guitar riff, a lyric, or a melody line will create a backdrop in my head for what I'm writing about.  Here's one that's helping me create imagery for The Body in the Loch.  Picture this:  nighttime, flashlights zigzagging through the fog, baying dogs in hot pursuit of who... or what... as our heroes race to the ruined Abbey of Dun Adair.  You know, I do need to get my little action bits in.