The Innocence of Howie

 In Central PA, the temps are a cool 43 (F).  The sun is shining so brightly in through the windows I had to adjust the curtains.  They're predicting rain tomorrow and we need it.  Right now we're under a fire watch, with an "elevated chance" that wild fires will spread.  This is not a good thing.

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday by doing practically nothing.  Oh, I did clean the aquarium in the front room.  I spent a lot of time outside with Howie since the weather was nice.  No, I didn't eat either cake or ice cream, in fact, I didn't think about it until I was talking to my sister on the phone.  By that time, I had no desire to run out to my local Giant supermarket to buy some.  I'll wait until Howie's bigger and and he can appreciate the treat.

Today is another work day.  It doesn't really bother me, it's only 5 hours, and they pay me well enough that I can now keep Howie in toys.  They are necessary to keep him entertained.  Toys and chew sticks.  

A long time ago, Seig and Lily destroyed most of my lawn in the backyard, dog urine can be so devastating, so I covered a lot of it with pea gravel.  It looks nice and is better than dirt.  Now, however, Howie likes to chew on the small stones.  That's not a good thing.  So, I'm going to go to work a little early today and pick up a couple of bags of top soil.  While Howie still squats, it won't be long before he starts shooting.  Here's a pic where he looks so innocent... just before he attacks.

I find it interesting how Biden could go from the greatest American hero, to the villain in this past election.  Originally, he said he was going to be a one term president, and then he decided to try for a second term.  That was probably a big mistake.  I know a number of people who feel the Democrats would have faired much better had they gone through a series of primaries, a selection process rather than just having Harris thrust upon the party.  Don't get me wrong, I liked Harris and felt that she would have made a great president, however, there were quite a number who felt the administration sort of... well, thwarted Democracy.  Either way, it's too late now.  As the Harris campaign said, "we're not going back."

One thing I did find concerning yesterday was that Musk sat in on Trump's call with Zelensky. Musk donated millions, in one way or another, to the Trump campaign.  It also came out that he and Putin had numerous phone calls.  If it's true, as some suspect, that Putin had dirt of Trump, than I'm positive that dirt has been passed on to Musk, which leads me to wonder if, perhaps, Musk has bought himself a president.  If that's the case, the one year of hardship Musk was warning us about is going to be very hard indeed.  The richest man in the world likes to buy companies (countries?) that are successful, unfortunately he likes to interfere and then things go downhill.  Tesla was good, but now not so successful, and Musk's interference with Zitter has turned the social media website into money losing venture.

We Are Not Going Back

 Okay, so it's November 5, Election Day, and this morning when I took Howie out for his morning pee and doodle, the temp was 46 (F).  That's warm.  Temps are supposed to climb up into the mid 70s (F) today, and right now there's not a cloud in the sky.  Tomorrow our high temp is predicted to be in the upper 70s (F), that's practically a heat wave.

I worked yesterday and managed to get a measure.  I vaguely remember the customer, I've set him up before and he never went through with the installation.  I got to know him as an acquaintance a long time ago, when I work with his sister at Marriott, she was a sales manager.  A few years back she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and, as is the case with too many cancer patients, she died.  So, I told him I remembered him, and that I worked with her over 40 years ago.  He was surprised and happy, and talked a bit about his sister.  I don't think he'll go through with the carpet installation.  

Harris had a rally on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art last evening.  The crowd was large.  I find this picture very impressive.

Today is the big day.  One of the things everybody needs to remember is that is some states, the early returns might go in Trump's favor, this is because small, rural communities, where the population is rather small, will get their votes counted first.  These rural towns tend to go conservative.  This happened in Pennsylvania in 2020, and the Orange Anus was in the lead... until precincts in Allentown, and Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia began posting their numbers and the bottom dropped out of Trump's lead.  This is also where his lie of 40,000 stolen votes came from, a lie that was easily disproved in court.

And, once again, do not believe the polls.  No matter how much they try and fine tune the algorithms, there's no way pollsters can account for how angry women are about Roe v Wade being overturned.  It's also extremely difficult for them to calculate how many Republican voters are putting country over party.  Right now they think it is between 10% and 15%, however, there are a lot of angry Reagan Republicans out there.  The end is coming for Donald Trump.  His Karma is horrific.  He is going to lose to a Black Woman.  We are not going back.

America's Sleeping Giant

 So, how do we start this new week?  With 38 (F) temps and a clear, sunny sky.  While I do like the fact that the sun now peeks its smiling face above the clouds earlier, I hate the fact that if I have to work until 7 PM I'm going to be driving home in the dark.  Last night, I realized just how black the night sky can be without a moon in the sky.  Sometimes I try and imagine what life must have been light 2000 years ago, when there were no streetlights, torches only burn for so long.  Oil lamps only provide so much light, and the smell of burning oil would have been everywhere.  I think we need to think about things like this more often.  

Yesterday was very boring at work.  I did get in over 10,000 steps.  That was nice.  When I opened the door, Howie galloped to me as fast as his little legs could carry him.  He surprised me.  I was gone for over 8 hours and he only left me 2 presents.  Not bad for an almost 11 week old puppy.  He no longer needs a very early morning potty break.  He also, less and less often, sees me as a walking chew toy, that is so nice.

I do get to work his afternoon, but only for 5 hours.  That makes me happy.  I only have one more 8 hour shift, a Sunday, to work through.  From then on my mornings will be free.  That makes me happy, too.  

One of the characters in The Body in History was named Fred.  His middle name is Chopin because his mother likes composers.  I never really gave him a last name until this morning.  His last name is now Fragkiada (a nice Greek name), and he will be called Frag instead of Fred.  As soon as I did the change, I knew it was a good one.

And in Philly:

Preparations are underway for another large Harris rally.  For those who don't know, it was up that staircase that Sylvester Stallone ran in a pivotal scene from the movie Rocky.  I've been there. I've climbed those stairs.  Do they lead to victory?  Many think so.  Will there be a massive crowd gathered there to listen to Kamala Harris?  Damn right.  Will most of Main Stream Media be carrying that speech?  I'd be willing to bet Bob's ass on it (thank for the use of your ass, Bob 😎😎😎).  Why?  Because in less than 100 days the Harris campaign has grown to be the Harris movement.  While the Orange Anus struggles to pull in a few thousand supporters, Harris draws 10s of thousands.  Will the rally in Philly top the 75,000 she drew in Washington?  Possibly.  As you can see from the picture, that area is massive.

There is a silent majority in America, and it's not conservatives.  America's sleeping giant has awakened.

Tuesday

 We gained an extra hour of sleep this morning, for those of you desperately feeling the need for an extra hour.  It really is just a transitory hour, since we will lose it in the spring.  The temp was 38 (F) when Howie went out for his morning pee.  The day's supposed to be cool, with a high in the low 60s (F).  It will be warming up. No rain is in the forecast.  That's not a good thing.  We're very dry here, and I don't doubt there will soon be daily warnings about starting fires outside.

I bought a child gate yesterday to keep Howie from going upstairs while I was at work because he could up the steps but couldn't come down the stairs.  As I should have expected, no sooner did I have the gate set up, when he climbed the stairs, and then promptly came down... without falling.  No problem.  I can use it to keep his inquiring nose away from so many other places in the house.  For him, everything is a chew toy.  

Yesterday work was slow.  The next two months are going to be chaotic for our closing specialist.  The aisle associate who works that shift, who covers his lunch, and has a lift equipment license to bring down pallets of flooring, is having one of his knees replaced.  There is no temporary associate assigned to replace him.  And, when he does return in about 2 months, kneeling is not going to be much of an option.

And on Tuesday, we will be electing a new president.  Everyone is on edge.  They know about 70 million people have already voted, but they don't know who they've voted for, and so there is so much speculation about gender, and age.  Polls are constantly being adjusted.  Main Stream Media is desperately trying to create a horse race.  And everybody is throwing their opinion around like it actually has some sort of merit.  Well, last evening all our questions were answered.  Here, for you purveyors of polls, is the most accurate one I could find.

And, even though there are hints of positivity regarding the Harris campaign, and they might be true, now is not the time for us to take our foot off the gas.  The last time we did that we ended up with a moral degenerate as president.  And after he lost to Biden, we had to deal with another four years of unadulterated bullshit.  Out job is not to simply win the presidency.  Nope.  Our job is to annihilate the Republican party.  The only way they will learn is to put through the meat grinder of reality.  A slap on their hands will never been enough.  They've been slapped before, and it has never worked.  They need a severe kick to the nuts, and then when they're down they need to be stomped until every little Jim Jordan, and Scott Perry, and Rick Scott are nothing more than smears of the pavement of a bad memory.  Trump needs to be humiliated so badly he becomes not only an embarrassment to the GOP, he needs to become the laughing stock of the world.  His Karma approaches.

At the Ellipse

 Day two of the current heat wave.  Yes, that's what I'm going to call it.  Today our temps are predicted to climb into the mid to upper 70s (F).  That warm for this close to November.  Tomorrow, our thermometers are supposed to top off well into the 80s (F).  Tomorrow is also Trick or Trich night in my neck of the woods.  That means I'll have the porch light turned off and the curtains closed at a very early hour.  I don't work tomorrow, so there should be no problem with that.

So, I had my plumbing issue fixed yesterday.  It was pricey, but that's how things are these days.  The plumbing group I use is less expensive than Pronto, who I used to use.  The plumber was a bit on the creepy side, very soft spoken, think of a white Michael Jackson.  He was only here for an hour, but I was glad when he drove his truck away from my curb.  Because it was nice and sunny, Howie and I spent most of that time out working in the yard.  As a result, he was a very sleepy puppy last evening.  

As soon as the leak was finished, I began doing laundry.  

I had a bit of a cranky belly last night, so I suspect that fluey thing is still not completely out of my body.  What a pain this has been.

And Kamala had a rally on the Ellipse last evening.  Wowza!

Here's a pic of the overflow crowd at the Washington Monument.

I'm betting MAGA world is worried.  Over 75,000 for a closing rally!  So, do you think they're worried?  Yeah.  Laura Loomer, who was no doubt much happier being Orangie Anus's side piece, was shrieking that people were bussed in.  Duh.  Any even in DC that draws that many people will rely on buses to a certain extent.  What terrifies MAGA world is that these people were bussed in from Maryland, and Virginia, and Pennsylvania.  Over 75,000 voters is a lot of voters, and that's just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.  This makes me happy.  You can bet your bottom bazooka that Donnie's team is worried, too, and that makes me smile. 

It would not surprise me in the least is when the polls start coming in on November 5, if Donnie J tried to make a beeline towards an awaiting plane.  If that happens, I'm hoping the Feds are waiting for him.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he has several waiting in different locations.  He'll be in Mar a Lago, however, and that does limit his access to air travel somewhat.  

On a side note, as of yesterday afternoon over 350,000 subscribers had cancelled their subscriptions to the Washington Post.  Jeff Bezos condescending letter evidently failed miserably.  The time has come to make billionaires accountable.

The Super Nova of all Meltdowns

 The cold is upon us.  Well, maybe not cold, but chillier than it had been.  Our high today is supposed to reach way up into the 60s (F).  In fact, this will be the normal high for the next few days.  It is Autumn, after all.  These temps are to be expected.  I'm fine with them.

Yesterday did not go as planned.  During the morning, I realized that a nasty little bacteria had taken up residence in my lower gastro intestinal track, so I ended up calling off work.  That damn little bug made my life miserable through out the afternoon and over night.  There were times when I will admit to thinking I might have been infected with a Xenomorph. I am pleased to say, however, that damn nuisance has now been eliminated.  

As it was, I did do some laundry yesterday, but mostly what I did was nap.  I am napped out.  What will I do today?  Well, Howie no longer needs to be constantly watched to make sure he doesn't chew on something rather expensive, so I'm thinking I might get a short bike ride in.  

I have to drive to my neighborhood Giant supermarket to pick up a jar of non-chunky peanut butter.  Howie's getting a Kong today.  For those who don't know, a Kong is a hard rubber toy that you can fill with peanut butter.  It keeps puppies busy for hours.

And no matter how often I tell people there were lots of cats in Greece, they simply don't believe me.  When our group leader posted a picture of cats on Facebook, I thought, wow, this is perfect.  I can finally show people.  Now, this picture was taken on one of the islands, but it is not unusual to see cats every where.  At Delphi, our tour guide paused to take a bag of cat food out of her satchel and pour it into a feeding bowl as we walked to the front entrance.

Last night on CNN, Harris said she believed Trump was a fascist.  Of course, he flipped out.  That's fine.  When he melts down he says the most ludicrous things.  The words coming out of his mouth don't even justify being called a word salad.  When he melts down, he talks about Arnold Palmer's dick.  Or he dances.  His closing argument heading into the final days of the campaign is not about policy.  Nope, he's in pure attack mode.  He will be as racist as he can possibly be.  His vulgarities will embarrass swing voters.  Centrist and left leaning Republicans will either stay home, or vote for Harris just to punish him.  The references to Hitler?  You know it's bad when Republicans are trying to defend the most evil man the world has ever know.  And if he loses super bad?  Prepare for the super nova of all melt downs.

It's all Greek to Me

 Here in Central PA, the temp hit 82 (F) yesterday.  I turned on the ceiling fan in the bedroom.  This toastiness is quite unusual for this time of the year.  We're going to have a repeat today.  Then, sometime tonight, the temps are going to drop like rocks and tomorrow's high is predicted to be around 62 (F).  For mid October, that's considered seasonal.

Because it was so warm outside yesterday, Howie was out quite a bit.  Having the yard fenced in is simply marvelous.  All I need to do is open the back door and out he goes.  The only problem I've been having so far is that sometimes he doesn't want to come back into the house.  That is quickly remedied with a shake of the treat bag.

And I did get some things done yesterday, like the big tank in the living room got a good cleaning.  I also started working on my Greek again, this time with Rosetta Stone.  I'm not that fond of their language learning software, but it does get the best overall ratings.  What I'm going to need to do is start writing down the words so I can learn the alphabet.

I had breakfast with my brother yesterday and it was devoid of politics, except for the goodbyes said in the parking log.  He told me that who ever wins in November he'll pray for that person.  My comment was, "well, we already know one of them's going to Hell."  He thought that was funny.  I don't doubt that he'll vote for Trump.  Voting for a woman, especially one that is black, completely goes against his devotion to the patriarchy.  

With less than 2 weeks until the election, we voters for freedom need to prepare ourselves for an onslaught or Republican propaganda and lies.  It will be everywhere.  It will have many shapes.  There will be polls that lie.  There will be reports of early voting trends.  Do not believe them.  Do not click on any report on a news website, not matter how appealing.  It's only purpose is to get you to click.  If you are worried, pick up a good book and read it slowly for the next 2 weeks.  One thing you may want to do is pay attention to where the candidates are campaigning.  The campaigns have internal polls which are far more accurate than what you see on Main Stream Media.  If Harris is campaigning in Huston, you can surmise that her internals are very good.  If the Orange Anus is campaigning in North Carolina, a red state, you can surmise that his internals are not the best for that state.  Also look at who's campaigning for both Harris and Trump.  Harris has some heavy hitters out on the campaign trail, Trump has Arnie's dick.

The Ocotpus

 Hello Thursday.  This is my day off!  I'm excited.  The outside temps are a bit cool, the high is only going to climb into the low 60s (F).  Tomorrow, however, we'll be hitting the 70s (F) with warm, sunny days in our forecast.  I know it will eventually cool off since it's the season for cooling off.  

Yesterday work was... as expected, slow.  I did sell a carpet installation.  The Flooring department is doing exceedingly well.  By the time I'd left last evening we'd racked up over $22,000 in sales for the day.  Believe me when I tell you management is very happy.  Sadly, all of these sales will increase our sales plan for next year because American capitalism demands at least a 4% increase in sales every year and, as every one knows, that means increased pricing.  Greed's hunger is never satisfied.

Because Howie's bladder is still puppy sized, I usually get up in the wee hours of the morning to take him outside.  This morning, as his puppy legs trotted him over to what's becoming his favorite pee spot, I heard a noise from outside of the fence.  Looking up, I saw a large possum, or as some would like to say, opossum, going into an old groundhog hole on the hill behind the house.  However, instead of going down the hole completely, he sat in the entrance and watched Howie, and then turned in looked at me.  Possums are good!  They eat small rodents.

And Howie got an octopus.  He loves it.

Here's an interesting bit:  Remember Kristen Sinema?  Well, she's not running for reelection, however she does have a bit of a campaign nest egg, so she's spending it on herself with trips to Paris and other places.  After her performance in the Senate, where she seemed much more Republican than Democrat, this should not be a surprise.

And the Orange Anus had a women's meet and greet yesterday that was arranged by Fox, filled with an audience of female cultists.  They laughed when a joke was made about Amber Thurman.  Social media was not happy.  As one woman said, "I'd crawl across broken glass to vote against Trump and for Harris."  For those who don't know, Amber Thurman died of an infection after she was refused a life-saving, medically required abortion.  This meet and greet was the GOP's idea of fixing the problem Trump has with women.

And Harris did an interview on Fox yesterday.  She hit a homerun.  This was not what Fox was expecting, so they cut the interview short after 25 minutes.  Harris was verbally pummeling the hell out of Brett Bair.  And the ending was abrupt, one of those "oh, look, they're telling me our time is up," and it was over.  Ouch.

Milton

 And it looks as though we are going to have another sunny day in store for us here in Central PA.  It's cool, with the temps in the high 40s (F), though today and tomorrow forecasters are predicting that we're going to top off in the 70s (F).  I can live with that.

Two things from work yesterday:  

1)  I had an older woman who set up a blind measure for one window.  She used her brother's email address because she doesn't have email and the system defaulted to his phone number.  he lives in New Jersey.  I've dealt with her before.  She need to uncomplicate her life.

2)  I had a Distance Learning class on Selling, where they tried to turn me into a Used Car Salesperson.  I wasted the hour and a half by scanning through the social media apps on my phone.  One of the low points was when I was told that to overcome objections I should tell the customer, "You may never have the opportunity to get these prices ever again."  I could never saying anything like this to a customer and still have a clear conscience. 

And what about Milton?  Wowza!  He went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in a few hours.  Now, I understand he's been downgraded to a Cat 4.  Personally, that's 4 and probably 5 good reasons not to move to Florida.  Honestly, you have to admit that it does seem as if God is punishing that anti-woke state.  Ronnie DeSantis is getting shorter and shorter by the minute.  He deserves everything he gets.

And Kamala Harris was on 60 Minutes.  I didn't see it.  In fact, they may have recorded it for this Sunday since, if my memory serves me correctly, the show aired every Sunday evening.  Evidently they also included a segment on the Orange Anus, and how he refused to participate, and, when that information was released, demanded an apology from them for releasing the information.  He is such an ass.

And while the floodgates haven't collapsed, it is far more than a trickle, every day more and more Republicans are endorsing Harris.  As I've said, a solid majority will vote against him.  Those Republicans who do not vote for Harris will sit on their hands believing that they will have a better chance in 2028 to win the presidency.  That is not going to be enough time for the party to recover from all of the damage he is doing to it.  They will be so diminished.  This is a very good thing.  And those that do not learn, will either die off, or move to Russia.

Hello, Autumn!

 Sunday.  The temp outside is 67 (F) and the skies are overcast.  We had some serious thunderstorms last night.  I check the rain bucket on my back porch when I got down for my 2nd cup of coffee to see how much we received.  For the next week or so, it looks as though daily highs will hover in the mid 70s (F).  I'm fine with that.  I can get the wool blankets down and prepare to layer them on the bed.  Honestly, one of things I like about winter is being able to snuggle under a thick layer of warmth throughout the night.

This is the weekend for our bonus sharing party at work.  I like the added money to my bank account and usually the food is good, but yesterday?  But yesterday?  Ugh.  They served prime rib which must have been cheap since it was 30% meat and 70% fat, and disgusting as it sounds, the meat itself was a bit chewy.  I suffered through some of the meat, than filled up with cookies, and snack foods with a very high sodium content.  Crap.  Today we're getting more sweets.  I'm going to take moussaka for lunch.  

Even though it was slow, I did manage to get 2 measures for blind installations.  Hopefully someone else will design the blinds, since I'm attempting to put my blind designing days behind me.  I prefer the slow times because that gives me time to... are you ready for this?  Work on The Body in History.  And no, I don't work on the actual manuscript, there are firewalls keeping me from signing into Microsoft, but there's what I call a mini-Word app which lets me write notes.  So, when there are no customers, I sit at my desk writing sections of the book.  I print them off, and when I get home, all I have to do is rewrite them into the book.  If I wanted, I could email them to myself and save the paper, but sometimes I also scribble notes on the paper, too.  The first draft is half finished!

And, since I talked about rain earlier, and in previous entries about rain in Greece, I thought I'd expose you all to a rarity.  On our drive from Olympia to Delphi there was a lot of rain around us, and looking out the bus window I saw an amazing thing, my first Greek rainbow.  Now, how cool was that?

And, of course, there will not be another debate.  Harris accepted CNN's offer, but spineless Trump said no.  He said, "She's already wiped the floor with my dumb ass once and I'm not that deep in dementia to let her do it again I've already done 2 debates, that's enough.  It's too late."  Sadly, his cultists will nod and agree with him.  Everybody else can read what's underneath the strikethrough.

He had another rally yesterday and once again, people started leaving early.  Even the NYT had a video on their website of people walking away after just 28 minutes.  If you see it, you'll notice that those leaving are not cultists, no Trump gear or paraphernalia, so they must all be foolish people who don't realize just how bad his rallies are.  These are Republicans who most likely will not vote for Harris, but there's a good possibility they won't vote for him either.  They will join the crowd who will let this election cycle pass them by, which is one of the reasons while he's going to lose.

Olympia

 Today we hit the archeological site of Olympia, home of the first Olympic games.  When we left Pylos it was raining, and right from the beginning people were wondering what the weather was going to be like in Olympia.  Will it be raining? they asked.  We stopped for coffee and cookies (I bought 3.  They were delicious.) and someone asked, "what time does the rain start in Olympia?" And I said, it's not going to rain.  The weather was nice and sunny.  After touring the museum, our tour guide walked us through Olympia, itself, she glanced at a cloud in the sky and said, "you may want to hurry before it starts to rain," and I said, "it's not going to rain."  Later, I reminded Christos, our tour leader that I'd told him it wasn't going to rain.  😎😎😎

I learned so much today:  gym, as in gymnasium and gymnastics comes from the Greek word meaning naked.  Doesn't that add a spin to what that pommel horse guy did in this past summer's Olympics?  Stadium comes from Greek word meaning "to stand."  The stadium in Olympia could hold 45,000 men (no women) standing.  Just imagine that many men standing there, watching sports for the entire day, I'm betting whoever had the wine bar concession made out like bandits.

Seriously, seeing the statuary in the museum was enough to make me tear up.  The only words I could say were "Oh, my Gosh!"

Let's start off with Hermes, whose sculptor used leather and fine grit to give him his sheen.

And then we have the statues lining the top and front of Zeus's temple, the largest in all of Greece with just the columns 13 meters high (and yes, I did use meters, since that's what the rest of the world uses).

And this is Apollo, we'll get to meet him in Delphi.

And this is what the entire thing looks like.

There was a debate last night and evidently Kamala Harris wiped up the floor with Don. While I didn't watch any of it, from what I've read, Donnie boy did not do well with getting fact checked, but then liars never do.  

Even better, while Donnie's singing "Don't nobody bring me no bad news," Taylor Swift endorsed Harris.  Now, I now know some of you don't like Taylor, but let's be honest 30 million Swifties going to the ballot box is something the Republican party never, ever dreamed of.  Trump's Karma is comin' at him full speed ahead.

Does Anybody Know What These Big Balls are for?

 So, this is Friday.  I think I screwed up my posts... posting Wednesday on Thursday.  I set up my phone for international calling, so I have both local time and home time on the screen, and I don't always pay attention to which time is current.  The weather has been sunny and hot.  My melanin has kicked in and, I kid you not, were I to be running around in a skimpy swimsuit I'd be brown as a toasted almond in no time.

Here's a shot I took last night walking back to our hotel in Gythio.

This morning, we left for Monemvasia where there was another hill to climb.  On the way, we stopped to take some pics of a shipwreck.  Sixty years ago, cigarette smugglers ran their ship aground trying escape from the police.  

At Monemvasia, there was another hill to climb, not as difficult as the one at Palamidi.  Actually, this one was fairly easy, with a great view, and a church with an olive tree at top.  Can you count the olives?

The church picture was taken by one of my fellow Explorers, Di M.

I only have one question after today's adventure, can anyone tell me just what these big balls were/are used for?

As for back in the states?  Wowza!  YouTube shuts down Tenet Media because some of their biggest stars, Dave Rubin and Tim Poole to name some, are Russian Assets, getting paid more than $100,000 per week.  Two Trump associates have been arrested, again because they're Russian Assets, and Trump's campaign has gone into "black out" mode with people being threatened with termination if they talk.  Oh, and Orangie had a word salad Q & A in which he claimed that tariffs were going to pay for childcare.  The debate, if it actually takes place, might be one of the funniest things to ever happen on the political stage.  It would be hilarious to hear Harris ask the moderator if he can get her opponent to speak in complete sentences.

The Honeymoon is not going away

 Morning Temp? 65 (F).  The summer left-overs have arrived, at least until Wednesday.  Each day is going to be a tad warmer until we top off at 98 (F), then our daily highs are going to drop back into the mid to upper 70s (F).  Humidity is also on the rise, so this morning's a bit clammy, though clams are usually wet, not sticky.

I went into work yesterday and was surprised to see that I had racked up over $15,000 in sales during the 2 days I was off.  Since I didn't have any installs even close to that amount, I checked my sales details.  Shutters.  About 2 weeks ago I'd set up an appointment between a customer and our Rockwell Shutter expert.  The customer bought $10,000 worth of interior shutters.  Wowza!

The sneakers I ordered arrived yesterday.  The soles are baby blue. Aahhh!  I'm not really a baby blue person, though I don't think I'll have much of a problem since I'll be walking on the blue.  Of course, the soles going to look quite crappy once they get dirty.

My new neighbor's son left for college yesterday, he's going to Temple University in Philadelphia, not a bad school.  Their daughter, in her early teens, just started junior high.  So, I was surprised when my neighbor told me this meant she was going to be an empty nester.  I'm fairly certain she doesn't know what an empty nester is.  Just like the time she told me that she needed to take power naps.  She's a stay-at-home mom whose only job is housework, though I guess with one teenager at home and the other in college, that can be exhausting.

Today is Sunday, that means it's going to be a slow day for news, though there was this during the past week.

Carville's kind of been a bit wishy washy here of late, especially with Harris getting the nomination, though this statement hits the nail right on the head.  Since Harris's announcement, her campaign has raised almost half a billion dollars.  Over 200,000 people have volunteered to help fight the MAGA cultists.  The defection of Kennedy to Trump's campaign had zero effect; voters did not follow his lead.  You can see the Republican energy levels dropping.  Project 2025 has been renamed a third time to something like The 180 Day Plan.  Success for Trump, while once thought to be guaranteed, might now be a lost cause.  This means they will cheat, any and everyway they can.  The Republican inability to understand America is matched by their inability to understand the Biden government.  They rely on a stupidity similar to that of their MAGA cultists.  The cheaters will be caught and prosecuted.  Trump will lose because he, like the GOP, are thinking like it's still the 1950s.  Many Republicans believe he'll win because a majority of Americans will vote for the male candidate, rather than the one most qualified.  Will he lose by a landslide?  That possibility is beginning to look more and more like a reality.

Isn't that Nice?

 When I got up this morning, the outside temp was 54 (F).  Nice sleeping weather.  In fact, the forecast is full sunshine ahead of the next week and a half, not that I trust long range forecasts.  They're rarely correct.

Yesterday I got some things done around the house.  Several loads of laundry were done, a little work on the kitchen floor, some writing.  I did get in a 11 mile ride on the bike, but no walk.  The walk will happen this morning.

For those interested, I did begin packing... sort of.  I stored about 40 lens cleaners in a little pouch in my pack.  I also shoved my newly purchased rain poncho into one of the side pouches, but decided against that after seeing how bulky it made the pack.  It will go in the one piece of luggage I have, leaving the pack (as intended) mostly for souvenirs.  That's what I did when I went to Paris, took a bag with clothing and another for souvenirs.

And this happened last evening.

According the Washington Post, the Democratic National Convention was a ratings powerhouse!  That alone must have pissed the hell out of Orangie the asshole.  They also said she has put him into a box he's struggling to get out of.  Now, isn't that nice?  He has always been terrible at Defense.  He has always been on the offense.  He had a serious meltdown last night, at one point posting the single comment:  "Where is Hunter?"  Yes, I know, that makes no sense at all.  At one point, he called into Fox Entertainment, and, after giving him a polite amount of time, they cut him off, forcing him to call Newsmax.  He knows the Democrat's convention knocked the socks off the ratings dial.  Now, isn't that nice?

There was a lot of buzz about a secret guest showing up, and rumors flew thick and heavy that it was going to be Beyonce.  I don't doubt that those rumors got people to turn in, though let's be honest, Beyonce would have stolen some of last night's fire.  The special guest was Leon Ponetta, who came down hard on Trump.

Adam Kinzinger, one of many Republicans speaking at the convention, gave a strong speech about patriotism and democracy.  While many thought he was there to convince Republicans to vote for Harris, I don't doubt that his presence was a flaming arrow into the heart of Trump, and those Republicans who've sold him their souls.  

And Harris's speech?  It was amazing (yes, I stayed up and watched it).  She had some great lines, including one in which she told America why tyrants and dictators wanted Trump to win:  "they know how easy he is to manipulate." There.  Now isn't that nice?

Trump Believes Screwing Over America is a Win

 Outside, the temperature is a comfy 69 (F).  The sky is clear.  Our high today will only be in the low 80s (F), which is doable.  Humidity is supposed to be down.  And, right outside my window a squirrel is climbing up the river birch.  His peaceful existence is going to be shattered when I get the puppy.

We are still under a "boil your water," emergency, but my water pressure is back up to where it had been.  The reason for the drop?  A very large water main began leaking.  Intensifying the problem was the fact that PA American Water didn't know where the leak was, so they shut down the entire system, which effected 42,000 people.  Once they determined the leak wasn't in your area, they turned the water back on, so I came home to full water pressure.  And things get better!  When the water in my basement went down, the LED on my water heater was flashing an error message: there was a problem with the pilot light system, perhaps because it had been under water.  Well, it's back to normal.  I have hot water!  So I guess all it needed to do was dry out.

Work was... okay.  I got a measure for blind and a lead for interior shutters.  I also hit my sales goal for the week.  Management should be very happy!

I did have to leave a note for HR.  They scheduled me to work on the day I leave for Greece.  Now, how silly is that.

And last night this happened:

Another packed rally, this one in Las Vegas!  I watched Walz's speech.  That man was fired up, and hitting all of the right buttons. 

One of the things the Harris/Walz campaign is doing is working with America's union groups.  That hasn't happened in a long time, at least not to this extent!  If you didn't know it, that burns the hell out of self-serving conservatives who are focused on one thing, their own greed.  

I saw that Trump has no rallies scheduled for the next 2 weeks.  Someone said it's because they have no money.  No money?  Oh, that's right, many of the dollars given to his campaign have be repurposed to pay his legal debts.  At least that's one of the reasons they're being siphoned off.  I'm better another is to line his pockets.  The whole family is in on the theft, and the grift.  

People are also talking about how quietly odd his campaign seems to be.  Is it because of some serious cognitive decline, they wonder?  Or does he feel he really doesn't have to campaign because he thinks he's going to steal the election?  That I don't think is true.  The Orange Anus is really not that smart.  His history of suing everyone who objects to him, or whom he thinks is standing in his way proves, he has no idea how to use blunt force trauma.  He is not a sly old fox.  He does, however, get great satisfaction in believing he's screwed you over.  Let's be honest, we have no idea how many secret documents he may have copied and sold.  We have no idea how many countries, like Egypt, sent him $10 million dollars.  In Trump's mind, everyone of those shitty deals is a win.  For his ego, it has always been about "The Art of the Deal."  He's never been loyal to America, and like all of those bankruptcies in his past, his demented mind may have already decided that screwing over the country is more satisfying than winning the election.  Besides, he's more concerned about getting sentenced to jail in September.

The Truth Sinks In

 The outside temp is 67 (F) and there isn't a single cloud in the sky.  We're supposed to warm up today, into the mid to upper 80s (F), but, if the forecast is correct, daily highs will drop back into the low 80s (F) and no rain.  That will be nice.

We did get a lot of rain yesterday.  How much?  I have no idea, but it was a lot.  Debby went right over Central PA before soaking her way through New Jersey and New York.  Twenty-one counties have been declared disaster areas because roads have been washed out.  Yes, we had that much rain.  A water main broke somewhere in Mechanicsburg and we're under a "boil water" order until further notice.  While I have water, the pressure is low.  Showering will be difficult, so I may end up taking a sponge bath before I go to work.  

I ended up with around 8 inches of water in my basement.  As I've said before, when it does flood, it drains fast, so the floor is already beginning to dry.  My new water heater took a hit though.  I reset it, but the light is flashing 5 times followed by a 3 second pause.  That indicates a pilot light issue.  It's a Bradford White Defender, and since cold showers don't bother me, later this morning I'll contact them and arrange for a repairman to come, hopefully on Tuesday.  

Yesterday I made sure my credit card was good to go in Greece.  I also arranged for international calling for my T-Mobile account.  It's an extra $50 for one month.  I'll have to restart the phone when I get there, but after that I can call (should I want to) and send texts without having to rely on wi-fi.  

And then yesterday this also happened.

Twenty thousand people went to rally with Kamala Harris.  Just let that truth sink in.

The Orange Anus held a rally yesterday as well, in Bozeman, Montana, in an arena that holds a little less than 9000.  It was half full.  For those who don't know, Montana is a deeply red Republican state, and the arena was half full.  Of course, several of the Main Stream Media outlets streamed his rally live.  They simply don't understand.  A very large portion of America is fed up with their insistent coverage of Trump.  No one wants to see close-ups of the Orange Anus.  No one wants to listen to his cognitive decline.  Yet, they continue to show these things because the Moral Degenerate has people clicking on their websites.  And, in a very odd way, they are furthering the demise of his campaign by constantly airing Trump's tired, old bullshit.  What criticisms they have of the Orange Anus are not in bold print by any means.  This morning the WaPo, in a very minor headline, stated that the GOP's new worry was that the Idiot can't drive a coherent message.  Duh  Just let that truth sink in.

Karma and the Supreme Court

 The temps are in the mid 60s (F) and only predicted to climb into the upper 70s (F), so the A/C and the ceiling fans are turned off.  However, the cloudy, drizzle of yesterday meant using the dryer rather than hanging my 2 loads of laundry out to dry, so while it was a savings on my electrical bill, it wasn't a great savings, more of a trade-off.  And even though the temperature is not cooking, it's still humid.

I put a timer on the light for the aquarium in the the living room.  My neighbor from across the street will be feeding my fish while I'm gone, but I don't want her having to come over to turn the lights off, and then come back over to turn them off.  I'm not wild about having people in my house when I'm not home, so the fewer times she's inside, the better.  

Feeling there was a need for a break between the backsplash and the counter, I put a tile border in yesterday putting a line between the two.  It's tan, and dresses up the counter / backsplash.

And I finally went to see Deadpool and Wolverine last evening.  There is a reason why it's the number 1 movie in the country, earing over $420 million in just 13 days.  It's funny.  It's violent.  It's also touching at times.  It has the ugliest dog in the world.  And most important!  There is chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.  It's a buddy film in which the buddies don't really like each other, and sometimes hate each other, and frequently try and kill each other, a difficult thing to do since they both regenerate.  I enjoyed this immensely!

Here's something to think about:  many were upset when the Supreme Court decided that presidents have immunity for almost everything they do when they're in office.  Of course, the majority of conservatives reached this decision when they believe the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, was easily going to win this election because he was running against Joe Biden.  They were giving the Orange Anus the power to do whatever he wanted in order to force the country down an ultra conservative path.  Now, however, the game has changed.  Trump is running against Kamala Harris and flailing.  The "Sure Thing" the Supreme Court was counting on has now become a millstone around their necks.  This is why Gorsuch whined about Democrats changing the courts.  The fact that they believe themselves to be kingmakers is not lost a a large majority of Americans.  Their Karma is approaching.  When it comes, do not be overjoyed at their suffering.  Nope.  Just enjoy the feeling of satisfaction that the world is now a better place.

Moving Back to Normal

 Well, we had rain... lots of rain.  Torrential downpours.  Our current temp is 69 (F).  The prediction is for it to hit the mid 80s (F), and it's possible that we may get more showers.  Same old, same old for tomorrow.  In fact, I stepped outside and it's drizzling now.  And on Friday, Debby's supposed to arrive.  The predictions so far are for about 2 inches of rain.  After that, everything will be green again and mowing will once again commence.

I checked in the basement this morning and there was no water.  Not only did we have heavy rain, we had wind.  I lost a branch from my gingko tree.  It looked odd, whipping back and forth in the wind. 

And for those interested, I have begun the puppy search.  Living here in Central PA, as Maddie will tell you, we're very close to Lancaster country where there innumerable numbers of puppy mills.  I bought Lily from one of them that seemed rather reputable, and she had problems with socialization.  They're all located on farms, and the owners are breeding a number of different breeds. They're less expensive, and they're AKC registered, but there's so much inbreeding it's ridiculous.  So, this time I'm probably going to be driving a couple of hours.  We are moving back to normal.

Last night this happened!

I saw snippets and pieces.  What joy!  As someone pointed out, there wasn't a silly hat, no weird costumes, and no vulgar signs.  It's my understanding that the Main Stream Media news shows (except possibly Fox Entertainment) aired the entire 80 minute celebration in its entirety.  There was no "wanna be a billionaire" ego on stage, just two people who came from the middle-class.  When they say that in America, anyone can grow up to be president, this is what they mean.  

My brother told me he thinks millions will vote for Trump because they're so opposed to a Madam President.  I told him he's wrong.  Republicans totally underestimate how much the Spawn of Satan is hated in this country.  Those who don't want a Madam President will sit this one out, believing that in four years they'll be able to put a man back in the White House.  The Orange Anus is a cancer, and only the stupid will infect themselves with cancer.

Carping From the Sidelines

 Yesterday was a somewhat decent day all around, even though the temps crested in the mid 90s (F).  There was again the possibility of thunderstorms that materialized elsewhere in Central PA, but not over my house.    The same forecast is in effect for today.  And tomorrow.  Sunday?  It seems as if they're calling for more substantial rains.

As I said, yesterday was a good day all around.  I got in an early 3 miles at Adams Ricci before things began to swelter.  All of the dog walkers have switched to earlier times as well.  There was a woman with a Staffie who simply had to sniff every tree and lamppost. 

I also finished all but one load of laundry, that's in the washer now.

Any windows are getting installed today.  I got a text from Aspen telling me that I'd been sent an email, but it never arrived, and it wasn't in my spam, so I don't know exactly when they'll be arriving this morning.  Probably not before 8.  While the installers are here, I'm planning on spending a bit of time on The Body in History.  I didn't write anything yesterday.  Boo.  Hiss.

Isn't it amazing how the Paris Olympics are continuing to garner praise, the oohs and ahhs never seem to stop, and it's not just the venues: beach volley ball in front of the Eiffel Tower, fencing in the Grand Palais, but the Olympians themselves.  I'm so glad to see the French winning so many gold medals.  I find these games simply amazing.  I'm sure the gods would be proud.

And, of course, there was a prisoner swap yesterday.  Big, big news for Democrats.  The Republicans were left to live with videos of Trump saying none of the prisoners would be coming home until after he was elected.  Those did not age well.  And, as the WaPo said, "he was left to carp from the sidelines."  Now isn't that a great statement:  "carp from the sidelines."  I wish I'd have thought of that.  

And, of course, there were the obligatory videos and pics of the prisoners deplaning, and Biden and Harris welcoming them, and all the while you could hear the Republicans carping from the sidelines.  Maybe they're wondering just what they did to piss of God, for this makes them look bad.

Interestingly, the negotiations began a year ago, right after Russia invaded the Ukraine.  I'm wondering if Putin didn't realize back then that this was not going to be a 3 day war.  Quite a number of people are thinking that this swap is a good indicator that he's most likely ready to bring that Russian mistake to a close, probably much sooner than later.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if negotiations began some time ago, when he realized things were not going as planned.  I'm wondering if he hasn't spent the last 2 years basically carping from the sidelines because now he looks bad.

Something in the Air

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

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

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

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

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

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