What's Good for the Goose

Our outside temp is 30 (F). The forecast is for a high today in the low 60s (F), which would mean a 30 + degree increase in the next 10 hours or so.  That's big.  We're moving into a rather significant warming trend.  By Tuesday our high temps will be in the low 80s (F).  This is rather unusual.  In the past, we've had warming trends in early Spring, but they rarely got this warm.  There are a lot of people out there who are going to jump to conclusions and think that these days of summer-like heat portend to a very hot summer.  Only time will tell.

I worked yesterday and because we are celebrating our Success Sharing (and bonus checks) there was food galore.  Catered by Carraba's Italian Grill, we were served, pasta, pasta, and more pasta, with grilled chicken.  One of the deserts was mini cheesecakes.  Delicious.  I grazed a bit, but not a lot.  I'm still watching what I eat because of the extraction... oh, wait, do you really think a little hole in my gum is going to slow me down.  Today they are serving us breakfast all day, and custom made sundaes for desert.  I'm just hoping I don't break the scale tomorrow morning.  

Retail wise, I sold and install that was set up online, that means I'll get some of the credit.  I got a interior shutter lead, as well as a blind measure.  I should be set for the week.  If not... well, it's not going to bother me too much, after all, we have breakfast all day today.

Of course, yesterday there were No Kings marches all over the country.  In Harrisburg, our local Fox station WPMT 43 was live.  Yes, I said Fox.  Social media was flooded with pictures and videos.  This was not a small gathering of people stomping their feet.  This was big.  One of my Navy buddy's wife, June, was at the march in Ellington, CT, and posted a lot of pics.  I liked this one:

I'm hearing rumblings that many of the idiots Orangie has surrounded himself by are scared that they're going to be put on trial once his administration is over.  I believe these trials will happen much sooner than that.  I also believe these arrests will extend far beyond his cronies and sycophants.  Individuals like James Comer, and Jim Jordan, why even Mikey Johnson will either have to flee, or spend time in the Big House.  I wouldn't be surprised if so many of them run they will create a vacuum that will suck many MAGA cultists with them to some god forsaken land, where they will be treated the same way they love to treat immigrants.  You know what they say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

  

The Conservative "Woe is Me," Act

 Well, didn't yesterday surprise us here in Central PA.  The temps climbed up into the80s (F), in fact the house got so warm the Central Air kicked on.  When it's 76 (F) downstairs, it's much warmer upstairs, so I even used the bedroom ceiling fan last night.  This afternoon, however, temps are once again predicted to climb into the 80s (F) and thunderstorms are expected to move into the area.  No steady soaking rains, just storms that will sweep through the area.

I had some bloodwork yesterday to check my sugar.  My PCP got back to me in late afternoon, everything's okey dokey.  It seems that after a certain age, diabetes runs in my family.  My sister's full blown.  Me?  I've been borderline all of my life.

And that sneezy sinusy head cold thing that gave me a sore throat yesterday morning?  It's all gone today.  I had some slight concern that the congestion might move south into lungs, but that didn't happen.  That sound you might be able to hear is me knocking on wood since I haven't had a chest cold in... maybe decades.

So, after lazing around and wasting time for a few days, I seem to be back on track.  Things are planned for today, like a quick drive over to Dick's to get some whey.  I had planned on stopping in yesterday morning because my bloodwork was done over in Rossmoyne, however the blood draw was finished in a snap and I didn't want to putz around in Dick's parking lot for a half an hour until the store opened.

And here's a pic of Harrisburg taken Tuesday morning at sunrise.  I didn't take it, someone else did and posted in on Facebook.  Nice? huh?  It almost looks European.

And, as usual, yesterday was another shit show with the Orange Anus.  The Epstein survivors had a presser and Orangie arranged for jets to flyover 3 times in an attempt to disrupt the proceedings.  This is because Orangie is all over the files.  Isn't it interesting that he had no problem with being a pedophile until he got his slimy ass elected and now he so desperately wants to keep those sins swept under the rug.

Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, attempted to get legislation passed that would for the administration to release the Epstein files.  It failed because Republicans realized that the contents of those files would prove to the world how terrible a pedophile Orangie was, and the ensuing anger by the American people would kill the party.  They will accept any evil as long as it keeps them in power.  And don't believe it when you see politicians like Nancy Mace and Anna Paulina Luna wringing their hands in a phony "woe is me" act, they will always vote party line because for them, like every Republican, it's all about power.

Finally, Florida is going to eliminate mandatory vaccinations for schools.  This is turning the clocks back 150 years.  Not only will childhood disease come roaring back, they will turn Disney World and Universal Studios into plague zones.

Power to the People

 So, it's Easter Sunday, an important religious day for many that is not a national holiday.  Our blue competitor is closed today.  Outside, the weather is comfortably breezy... well, actually it's windy.  The temps are in the low 60s (F) and will get a bit warmer.  Afternoon highs are predicted to be in the low 70s (F), tomorrow, the high temps will be in the mid 60s (F), but then we start to warm up again.  Spring is now definitely in the air.

My legs are a bit sore today because I did a leg workout yesterday.  The stiffness is only noticeable coming down the stairs.  My quads are isolated as they stretch during my descent.  This means the squats I did were worthwhile.

I do work today, though I'm not expecting the store to be busy.  Not only do some people got to sunrise services, many more will gather for family dinners.  Easter buffets are big around here.  I'm taking lunch today because it's quite doubtful food is going to be provided.  Remember, today's not a national holiday.  What they will probably do is set out tons of candy for us grazers to consume.  Calories do not get counted today.

And even though I did work yesterday, friends sent me pictures from peaceful protests in downtown Harrisburg.  From State Street down to Walnut Street, 5 city blocks, thousands gathered to protest Trump.  And, as I sit here typing this, I'm reminded of a phrase that was chanted in the 60s:  Power to the People.

Evidently the US Supreme Court came down with another late night decision forcing the Orange Anus to stop deporting Venezuelans, and while this is only a temporary halt, it's important.  I'm suspecting there is a lot of turmoil in the court as both the liberals and the conservatives try to reign in the 2 fascists, Alito and Thomas.  On their last decision, Alito was not allowed to publish his dissent, saying he would be publishing at some future date.  This is a sucker punch to his face.  This is good.  He needs to be smacked both back and down frequently.

The Party of Selfishness and Greed

 It's cold here in Central PA.  17 (F).  And it's not going to get much warmer.  The temps are only expected to rise another 11 degrees.  After today, however, things are expected to begin warming up.  If this year is anything like the last 2, winter should now begin to warm up.  I'm expecting this since the weather pattern over the last few weeks has matched that of previous years.  Of course, I could always be wrong.

And I did work yesterday.  Boring.  And sadly, they decided to bring in food from Olive Garden for the cashiers.  Since I am a backup cashier, I got to graze most of the afternoon on spaghetti, and linguini.  The chicken alfredo was fine for fast food.  That's one thing you always need to consider when eating at Olive Garden, or Red Lobster, or Chipotle, all of the food is packaged pre-cook.  The scrumptious, garlic bread sticks are all made in a food factory.  All the cooks at Olive Garden do is pop them in the oven for twenty minutes.  Nothing is ever cooked from scratch, and because it's fast food it's always high in fat and sodium... tons of sodium.

Howie broke the sheets!  Well, the bottom sheet.  His nails are sharp, and a few weeks ago they caused a small tear which I fixed with an iron on patch.  That patched bothered him.  It was underneath, so he could see the outline, but not the patch itself.  This morning, he dug up what he thought was buried treasure and put a foot long tear in the sheet.  It wasn't.  Later this morning that sheet will be replaced with another.  I'd thought momentarily about cutting it up for rags, then realized I still had rags left over from the last bottom sheet one of my dogs broke, so it will go into the trash.

Here's a pic I took of Harrisburg this morning.  If you look between the branches, you can see the capital building.

I don't know how many of you saw, but Lara Trump has taken her name out of consideration for the Senate seat of Marco Rubio.  As everyone on Social Media knows, this is a good indicator that Ronnie DeSantis was not going to pick her.  Was it because she would be, as everyone seems to think, a total incompetent at the job?  Or could it be a quiet swipe at the phony bastion of power the Orange 
Anus thinks he holds?  Perhaps she's not being chosen because Ronnie's pissed that Orangey has been taking so many of  loyal, DeSantis Republicans.  

And even Main Stream Media seems to be somewhat pleased that the Elonia / Orangey alliance appears to have run into a brick wall.  Small majorities are not a mandate.  The fact that Republicans removed funding for Pediatric Cancer Research touched a sore spot with so many Americans.  Someone said that Republicans need to learn to stop saying "no."  That might be impossible since they are the part of selfishness and greed.

My Pig Costune

 We had storms yesterday.  Harrisburg got hit, but that's on the East Shore and I'm on the West Shore (shore designating one side of the Susquehanna from the other) and we got nada in the rain department.  There was some thunder and lightening, but none overhead.  Dry we were and dry we will remain, unless some rain happens to accidently fall on us in the next few days.

Even though I did manage to get a measure, work was slow.  During the four days I was off work, I reached my sales goal, in fact I had over $10,000 in sales.  That should keep management happy.  The only thing I'm falling behind on is signing people up for credit.  Well, we all know how I feel about that. 

Jon, the PT I turn to for advice on my character Max's job as a physical therapy, told me yesterday "you're out on the Internet."  Of all things, he stumbled across me in my pig costume.  This picture here, and it's 25 years old.  Damn, I'm going to have to start updating myself.  

Evidently Ronnie D has a bad problem of saying "woke."  It's so bad, every time he speaks in public people count the number of times he says it.  He uses that term quite frequently, most likely because he believes most Americans fear "woke."  Sadly for Ronnie D, he's wrong.  It seems as though on 38% of Americans find being "woke" to be a problem, or, in other words, the Republican part as well as small percentage of unregistered members of the MAGA cult.  Don't tell Ronnie D, but America is not falling for this.  But then, being the socially incompetent fool he is, he will never understand.

Riding through the holiday

 While yesterday was the actual day for celebrating our Independence, today, the 5th of July, is when many people will celebrate... well, that's not completely accurate.  Today, I suspect, a number of Americans will be dealing with hangovers.  Not me.  I went to bed at my usual time last evening, the sounds of fireworks in nearby Harrisburg booming in my ears.  Sometimes I can sleep through anything.

 

Today, I'll go to work and I suspect business will be slow, except for those looking to take advantage of 'sale' prices.  Not in flooring.  They will, most likely, bring in some sort of food for us.  I know yesterday they brought in Jersey Mike's subs... or maybe Jersey Mike sells barbecue.  Which ever one the franchise sells is the one they served up for the employees.  Either way, I'm taking my lunch.  Meatloaf.  That's right.  One of the ways I celebrated the 4th was to make a large meatloaf.  Yummy.

A bicycle ride was also booked.  Cow Creek.  I rode half of the 17 mile ride, only need a few miles to complete the 55 miles per week for completely my goal.  This morning, I will ride some other route.

For those of you who don't work today, have a good day off.  For those like me, may your eight hours pass fast.  Tomorrow, I'm scheduled off again.  Of course, the temps here are forecasted to reach 100 (F) so what ever gets done outside will be done in the morning.

Gender Issue

 My weekend began last evening.

I finished yesterday at work by rebuilding 2 orders, one for blinds and one for flooring because of mistakes.  One was done by our measurement service, the other by a flooring associate.  This is what happens when you become the senior associate in the department; people believe you know how to do everything.  Being truthful, a lot of the time I just wing it.

Last night I watched "Love and Monsters."  It was quite entertaining.  A good movie to start my weekend.

My friend Betsy, who was supposed to visit for Thanksgiving, called and cancelled last evening as well.  Actually, I was fairly certain yesterday afternoon this was going to happen.  I don't blame her.  She works with mentally handicapped individuals, many of whom take of their masks, and they touch things.  Several of their group homes have had to go into quarantine.  The infection rate in York County, where she lives and works, is rising rapidly.  Lots of stupid Republicans live there.

Speaking of stupid, half of all Republicans believe the Idiot Jerk when he says the Democrats are stealing the election.  Believe me, that is a minority group.  Of course, everybody is asking why so many did vote for him.  I've been thinking about this a lot.  There are a lot of conflicting ideas floating around out there.  Here's mine: Safety.  We are a patriarchal society, and for many the idea of having a woman as a Vice President was frightening.  This was a change many were afraid to accept.  They found it safer to stay with the demon they knew, far more safer then dealing with the possibility that is something happens to Biden they were going to have a Madam President.  Really, what this election boils down to is one thing.  Gender.  Change is difficult.  Most conservatives never change, they merely die off.

Here's another shot from Love and Monsters.

Hello! It's me!

So it's Tuesday and I started my weekend last evening by doing 3 loads of laundry.  Very nice.  There are supposedly very heavy storms headed our way this afternoon... will have to wait and see just how heavy.  The last time storms were forecast we had a 15 minute squall line with occasional spotty deluge.  Nothing to write home about, if you know what I mean.
There were protests in Harrisburg yesterday.  I didn't see any of it since I don't watch cable.  Maddie saw some images on CNN.  The less attention these yocals get the better it is for the country.  I find it interesting that a number of these protests are being supported by the De Vos family.  That right, that Cracker Jack Christian Betsy De Vos, she with the helmet hair, has no problem sending people out to get infected.  This should come as no surprise since the family made it's money from the king of all Pyramid Schemes known as Amway.
I saw this morning the tinfoil dictator wanna be is going to is one his Executive Orders to stop all immigration.  This is because the virus is spreading in high interest destination points for immigrants... like Nebraska.  Is that right?  Of course not, he's just throwing a bone to his xenophobic base.  Immigrants are just one more target on his Spinning Wheel Blame Game. 
Southern states are dropping their restrictions and starting to send people back to work even though the experts say it is way to soon.  This shouldn't surprise you since there are a lot of minorities in Georgia, and Tennessee, and South Carolina.  Covid - 19 is tough on minorities, however it's also true in likes Crackers.  The Idiot Jerk's bib is covered with Cracker Crumbs.  You see, he doesn't care who lives or dies.  Believe me when I tell you he is more concerned about our crumbling economy than human life.
Yesterday was the first day we had to wear a mask or face covering at some time while working.  I suspect this will become the norm until they develop either a cure or a vaccine.  I wore my cute little tube bandanna.  I received a lot of compliments.  So much so, I ordered three more, in different colors and patterns of course. Just because you need to wear a face covering doesn't mean you can't be stylish.  And what makes these tube bandannas far superior to the standard N95 mask is they let you go completely incognito!  No one will know who you are.

Taking it home to Granny

It's Monday morning and I get to go to work and wear a mask... face mask, that is.  Mine is a tubular piece of synthetic fabric, a lot like a baggy nylon stocking.  We are supposed to wear them up over our mouth and nose constantly.  That's not going to happen, not until I get used to wearing it.  An amusing side note: I can pull it up over my entire head.  I have no idea what I look like, but people laugh when I do it, so maybe I'll bring it along home this afternoon and take a picture.
There were no protesters yesterday, and the day turned out to be nice and sunny.  The line to get into the store was fairly long.  I am impressed by the patience of people in this time of crisis.  I need to amend that to say most people.  There is that minority group out there who hate being told what they can and cannot do.  Isn't it interesting they, themselves, want dictate to us what we can and cannot do.   Hhhmm.  Many of them don't understand what's going on.  They don't care about anything but their own selfish wants.  In America, this is the new definition of Conservatism.
On a lighter side, I rode 64.9 miles last week.  Five days in a row I was on the bicycle, three of them in San Remo (through the magic of Tacx).  Yesterday, however, I was in France riding stage 2 of Liege-Bastogene-Liege.  One of the hills has a 17% grade.  Interestingly enough, it was filmed on race day so I was riding with actual cycling teams.  Let me tell you, the feeling was rather surreal seeing the Lotto cyclists riding towards me.
There's supposed to be a big protest in Harrisburg today, which is in Dauphin County... which has a fairly high infection rate.  15% of those tested have been positive.  Ouch.  Governor Wolf said "if they want to come and protest, let them come and protest."  Of course, they might end up taking something back home to Granny, but that's okay.
And now even that idiot Pence is saying the "cure might be worse then the disease," which is his way of justifying the loss of life.  He's always been a failed human.
Finally, I took another picture of my tulips, this through one of my rose bushes.  For those interested, I've marked Glen.  He.... she.... It seems to be doing find.  I suspect that might change as he becomes conflicted over his... her... It's inability to bloom.

Interpretation Fallacies

Okay, so the Idiot from the White House was in Harrisburg last night.  He started to speak just as I was getting home from work.  I understand there were a lot of protesters there, or at least that's what a Conservative I work with was saying, and that "rioters should be locked up for 10 years."  When I told him protesting was one of our Constitutional Rights he just glowered at me.  Conservatives are high and mighty when it comes to the Constitution, as long as their interpretation is seen as the only possible interpretation.  They're as phony as the Evangelical Christians who see a Deity at work in everything that goes their way, but when things don't?  Well, there's evil in this world.  And they. alone, can decide what's good and evil, what's right and wrong, and their decisions are all based on their own interpretation.

Just looking at the picture above might lead one to interpret that there was quite a crowd, until you understand that at capacity, the New Holland Arena only holds 7318, or the local population.  The population of Harrisburg (the city) is around 80,000.  The population of Enola, the suburb I live in, which is 7 minutes from the New Holland Area, is around 6100 (as of 2010).  The population of Mechanicsburg, about 10 minutes from the Arena, is around 10,000.  In fact, once you start adding things up, the population within a 30 minute drive to the Arena is nearly 2 million.

And from all of those people, the Idiot in the White House managed to draw... how many, 5000?  Of course, we all know that their interpretation has always consisted of more lie than truth.  In fact, it's almost all lie.  I cannot even fathom the screwily twisted logic that goes in the Idiot's brain for him to him consider himself to be even remotely successful.

Snow, Weis, & Andromeda

Here in Harrisburg we got between 18" and 20" of snow which will, because we're zooming into spring, be gone shortly.  Today the temp is supposed to go up to 36 (F) and tomorrow hit the mid 40's with drizzling rain.  Tammy, the UPS driver who lives across the street, let me use her snow blower.  Because the snow was so deep and wet, however, ended up being more work than simply shoveling it; the wheels spun uselessly and you had to keep lifting it up and pulling it back in order to get traction.  Call it a lesson learned in futility.  Call me odd, but I don't mind shoveling snow.  I'm in shape.  I tell people it's free cardio and they look at me strangely.
I sent an email complaint to the Corporate Offices of our new Weis Market - their point system doesn't work for me.  You only get gas points if your purchase total is $50 or greater.  That only happens when I buy the big bags of dog food.  Because I eat a lot fresh fruits and vegetables which don't have a long shelf life, I usually shop twice a week.  And I'm not alone.  A lot of seniors use a trip to the grocery store to get out of the house, my Mom did that, and they never spend $50.  Or, if you stop off on your way home from work to buy dinner... no points are earned.  So, I sent them a complaint.  If there's something you don't like, complain, silence gets you nothing.

And next Tuesday, Mass Effect Andromeda will be arriving in my mail box.  I had originally request off but, as luck would have it, that's our inventory day.  However, instead of working my standard shift, I'm scheduled 7 - 4 so I can run reports, which means I won't be able to pop it into my X-Box Slim until around 4:30... but that's okay.  I'm off on Wednesday.  Ain't life grand!

A tale of 2 Indians

We have a large Indian population in Harrisburg and for the most part, they are very nice people.  In the evening there are usually more Indians in our store then any other minority.  I have an Indian associate working for me named Ved, he's a good kid.  A lot of times they will stop by the paint desk and ask us questions like: "how do you fix a broken rung on a futon?", or "can you help me fix a leaking water heater?"  We always get them to the correct departments since none of my people can solve those special issues.
On Tuesday we had two Indian gentlemen come to the paint desk with 3 gallons of paint, one of which was old, the other two newly tinted.  They were upset because they'd been to one of our other Harrisburg stores and had gotten what they felt was really bad customer service.  Their problem (and let me tell you they were really upset)?  The paint in the old can, which had been color matched in 2009, no longer matched the color on their walls.  Hey, sunlight will fade the paint on your walls, if you don't clean you walls the color may change, most people don't know this, but it happens.  Because the original can had been mixed in 2009 neither the colorants nor the formula were valid.  Things change.  And the associate at the other store didn't do a color match, the logical solution.  Nope, that person, who ever he/she was, tried to take the old formula and convert it into something which would work.  It didn't.

The original color, tinted in 2009, was a mustard yellow, the 2 gallons of new paint were a purplish taupe.  Not even close.  And these two gentlemen left that store in a very agitated state and brought their ire to my paint desk and we had to solve their problem.  We ended up giving them a credit for the two gallons.  We also color matched the original 2009 paint and mixed 2 new gallons, one of which was complimentary.  Because an associate at another store did a shitty job, I ended up writing off 3 gallons of paint.  If someone is willing to spend money in your store, make sure you give them their money's worth.

Trump hits Harrisburg

Well, Donald Trump was in Harrisburg last evening for a rally.  That's right, he was about 2.5 miles away speaking at what we here in the mid-state call the Farm Show Arena.  Yesterday morning I had breakfast with my brother and he was a little concerned.  His son and daughter in law had sent him a text asking if he wanted to join them in protesting.  We all know sometimes protesters don't fair too well at Trump rallies.  I told them he ought to go, and if he didn't he should at least tell them to have fun.  You know, it's not just everyday you get to protest an idiot like Trump.

And this morning I was reading some of the comments by those Trumplodites in attendance, and, of course, they loved him.  However, there were some complaining about his security.  It seems as though they didn't let individuals carry their firearms inside, and that upset some of those who feel naked with out a loaded weapon.  In fact, one went so far as to wonder where the NRA was and that organization wasn't fixing this atrocity. 

Anyway, they only arrested one protester, and it wasn't either my nephew or his wife.  Evidently local law enforcement knows just how much distance they need to keep between those who know Trump is an asshole, and those who can't wait for him to bend over so they can pucker up.

Mountains of snow

For those who've been wondering where I've been, well, we've had mountains of snow here in Central Pennsylvania.

In Harrisburg, we got about 30 inches (+ or -) a couple of tenths depending where you lived.  And because I work for a major home retailer that makes mucho grande buckos from selling snow blowers and shovels and salt, I had to work.  Every day, that is, except Saturday because they didn't want me driving in 'white out conditions.'  Anyway, I did start to shovel myself out late Saturday afternoon so I could make it to work on Sunday, and that was a good thing, not because I could get to work, but because all of my neighbors used my cleared driveway as a parking spot while they dug out their driveways.  This is what the house across the street looks like on Monday morning, before I went to work.

Anyway, the dogs liked it until the 'white outs' started, then it was like "hey, I ain't going out in that shit."

Healthiest Cities horse crap

I saw this article on the Healthiest Cities for men in the US and had to chuckle.  Do you live in one of these cities?  I don't.  Like most of these studies, there really is not a lot of concrete evidence given to validate the assertions.  Research has not been carried on for years and years and, obviously, there weren't any blind studies completed.  All you have is opinion, and we know what that's worth.  I've never been to Boise so I don't know how good the cycling is there, I do know two things,  it's a conservative state and they get a lot of snow.  Oh, and a third thing, which may be more of an assumption, they have a lot of guns out there (that can't be too healthy).

Since I've always felt runners were outstanding candidates for knee replacement surgery in their older years I ride bike.  From what they say, there is a lot of cycling going on in Boise.  Geographically, I would suspect it to be rather hilly as well, which makes the cycling even better.  As for the snow, I always tell people it's free cardio, get off your ass and go out and shovel.  Every time I see some lazy ass out pushing a snow blower I can't help but think, 'hey, you dumb shit, if you shoveled that snow you'd have more muscle mass and your life expectancy would probably be a little longer.'

Hills are good.

Harrisburg, how healthy is it?

I live in Enola, a suburb of Harrisburg, PA which, itself, lies in the heart of the Susquehanna Valley.  What this means is you have flat land on one side of the east shore for about 1.5 miles and hills on the west shore starting about 500 feet back for the shore line.  I'm on the west shore, and I have hills.  This is the place to live if you don't like climbing.  We do get snow, six inches yesterday.  My dog loved it, so did I.  So, what I have going for me is probably the same as the guys out in Boise, except for the guns, though I suspect we have a lot more in Central Pennsylvania then I might want to believe.  This means Harrisburg is probably a fairly healthy place if you cycle (or run) and like to shovel snow.  I don't believe it was even considered when the Healthiest city list was being put together.  This is kind of sad.  If you're putting together a list you should include all cities.