Testosterone

We had no rain yesterday.  None last night either.  Right now, the sun's shining and we have a temp of around 71 (F).  According to some forecasts, our high this afternoon will be in the low 80s (F), according to others we'll be in the the high 70s (F).  I don't really care about this afternoon's weather since I'm working.

Yesterday was rather meh.  I did a little cleaning, baked a blueberry thingy by dashing a number of ingredients into a bowl, stirring briskly, and than baking the batter in the oven.  I ended up with something like a cakie cookie that will be going with me to work this afternoon as a snack.  

And sometime yesterday I realized that Friday was the beginning of a holiday weekend.  Some people will have a 3 day holiday, others 4 days.  Being my age and semi-retired I'm on a holiday most of the time, so all this holiday means to me is an extra 4 hours holiday on my check.

I'm also celebrating (not the right word) 18 years with the orange retailer I work for.  That means as of midnight last night, I have 80 hours of paid vacation on the books just waiting to be taken.  Yes, I earn vacation pay.  I'm also still accruing personal time.  I told management I should get a cake for my anniversary.  That ain't gonna happen.  

 Here's a picture of the blueberry thingy.

I see that Kegsbreath Hegseth's mandatory testosterone testing for all military personnel over 30 has been changed to voluntary testing.  Testosterone therapy is also on a voluntary basis.  I'm sure this must aggravate Kegsbreath to no end, since he believes masculinity is defined by screaming testosterone levels.

Keggie's also having senior military personnel take polygraph tests in an attempt to find out who's leaking all the bad news about him.  Leaks like the letter detailing his incompetence signed by a number of high ranking members of our military.  Maybe, instead of a testosterone test, Keggie should just take a competency test.  Of course, you have to remember he was put into his position, not because of his experience as a 2 Bronze Star officer, but because he and the Orange Anus are driving down the same lingo lane in the land of delusion.  Both seem to believe that a loud voice and a good coat of face paint will cover up their ineptitude.

12/20, 6:31 PM

When I woke up, the temperature was in the low 30s (F) and has been steadily increasing.  We'll hit a high in the mid 40s (F) today.  Except for a few dips down into the upper 30s (F), our daily highs have, I suspect, reached their winter plateau.  

In just a few hours, just before I head into work, we will as close to the sun as we're going to get this year.  That's right, the Winter Solstice is at 10:03 AM EST.  From then on, our days will begin to grow longer, at first by a few seconds each day, and then by a few minutes each day as our small blue planet moves farther and farther away from the sun.  And yes, that's right for all of you astronomically uninclined. Even though we are at the closest point our orbit around the sun takes us to that fiery inferno, our axis has the northern hemisphere tilted away, and so we are cold.  

I did work yesterday.  I'm not going to make sales for this week.  I'm not going to hit my measure goal.  I will be having a sale go through on next Saturday.  That sale is large enough to cover my sales goal for next week.  Just in  case you were wondering, sales for the store are down.  They always drop in the winter, though usually after the beginning of the new year when, because of the season, most people do not chose to do home improvements.  Yesterday, a Saturday night just 5 days from Christmas, this is what our main aisle looked like.  For reference, the Paint Desk is just past aisle 4, and Checkout is to the left.  And, again, we are only 5 days from Christmas.

And, again, a few more of the Epstein files were released by the Department of Justice yesterday.  The few references to the Orange Anus that were released on Friday and not redacted were deleted.  According to the AP, 16 separate files, including the printed picture of Orangie known as 468 and found in Epstein's desk drawer was disappeared.  There were more pictures of Bill Clinton, as well as some other celebrities, non of which intimated anything bad was happening.  The DOJ also included several pics, one of Clinton, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross that were part of the public domain and not, per se, pictures that were not in the files.  This is against the law, but when has breaking the law ever stopped Orangie, and the Republican Party. 

Pure Greed

 It's cold outside.  When I woke up the temp was 18 (F).  Tomorrow the temps are predicted to be in the low 50s (F).  I'll take the warmth over the cold any day of the week.  It's not that I don't like the cold, I just don't like the heating bills.  Right now it appears that $$$ might be going into a short supply.

I did work yesterday.  It was fairly slow.  I did get a measure.  Management likes that.  I have a feeling that very soon measures and flooring installations are also going to be in short supply.  Prices are going to go up, this is why I bought a dehydrator.  And those prices that go up?  They're not going to be coming down.  Corporations are not going to be taking a cut in pay just to make your life easier.  

One thing that was obvious yesterday when I went into work, Home Depot is scrubbing its DEI initiative.  Our boards were stripped.  This doesn't mean they're going to stop DEI hiring, just that they are not going to promote this necessity.  And it is just that.  When I began working for the company 16 years ago, you could count associates of color on one hand, that is not the case today.  It turns out that many of the white people who apply are... well, to put it bluntly, lazy.  We have a higher turnover with our white associates than with our people of color.  This doesn't mean that they both can't be lazy, just that our white associates don't last too long.

This is very important. I don't know how long this administration will allow access to it, so you may want to print it off.

And, of course, the Orange Anus has initiated Trade Wars.  Honestly, this man is as dumb as a fucking brick.  I do not doubt that in his tiny Adderall riddled brain he thinks this is a smart move.  He truly believes everything he does is a smart move.  We have this problem because he has surrounded himself with people who joyously shout "Yo!  Orangie, you're the smartest, most brilliant businessman in the world!"  He is a narcissist who basks in other people's deceitful compliments.  Truthfully, he is, and I'm going to repeat myself here, dumb as a fucking brick.

He also has a super big problem, maybe, as he might put it, the most monumental, super greatest problem in the world with Elonia, another man who is dumb as a fucking brick.  Elonia now has access to the Treasury.  Many think he's going to drain Social Security.  Nope.  As Elonia said some time ago, he wants to turn Zitter into a Financial Banking Service.  As a way of growing his wealth, Social Security payments will need to be process through Shitter, and he's going to charge Americans for this service... say 2%.  That means if you get a monthly Social Security payment of $2000, you're going to need to deduct $40 every month.  Over 71 million people collect Social Security.  That would mean Elonia would be pocketing almost $3 billion a month.  And he's going to do the same thing with your Income Tax refunds.  In fact, every payment the Federal Government makes will need to go through Shitter, and every payment is will need to pay a Service Fee.  Everything this administration does will be focused on Greed.  It's what these billionaires live for.

Consequences

 Fog.  Yes, we have fog here in Central PA.  The temps are in the mid 40s (F), however, we do have fog... and warnings about the fog.  And drizzle.  We have drizzle as well.  The day is not supposed to clear, and tomorrow our forecasters are calling for rain.

Yesterday was slow at work.  I did sell a small job to a customer for a runner on a staircase.  Still, our department was close to making our daily plan.  The store, however?  Well, customers were lacking.  That meant that I got in over 10,000 steps.  

Other wise, the day was meh.  I didn't get a ride in.  I didn't do free weights.  I did work on the final chapter of The Body in History.  I already know there are going to be some changes, but my main goal is to get the first draft done.  The first draft is never the final draft.  Changes happen.  Trying to perfect it as though it were the final draft is a waste of time simply because you'll see all these things that you thought were perfection when you put them on the page suddenly need fixing.

Howie has a vet appointment at 0930 to get some booster shots.  Since his vet is half a mile from the store, he and I will visit.  Many people take their dogs into our store.  It's a great way to socialize them, in fact, a lot of the departments have biscuits to give as treats.  

I posted this on Facebook this morning.  I usually don't get a lot of likes when I post these.  I don't really care.

This will piss off conservatives.  They do hate the truth.  American has always relied on immigrants to get the work done, you know, those menial tasks no one really wants to do.  When you get rid of the immigrants, prices go up because no one wants to pick grapes for minimum wage.  You see, conservatives denigrate types of people to generate anger and hate, and then they use that anger and hate to win elections, unfortunately, their are always consequences, and they never think that far ahead.

Another example relates to the very soon to be folk hero who shot the CEO of United Healthcare.  Instead of realizing how angry America is with the pay for treatment healthcare system they have pushed upon the country, Conservatives are ignoring that problem completely and vilifying the young man, but then Conservatives have always been stupid, they have never considered consequences.  For example, in order to get gun owners to vote for them, they constantly pushed the rights of the 2nd Amendment.  Thanks to that constancy, America is basically armed to the teeth.  Authoritarian governments really don't want their citizens armed to the teeth.  Guns mean trouble if someone disagrees.  Conservatives are about to learn that it is going to take much more than just saying "shut up, we're in charge," and oh, so many of them are as spineless as the Orange Anus they just put into the presidency.

Floored

 Well, it's sunny today.  Yesterday, as almost everybody knows, it was overcast, rainy, and windy.  Overnight, the temps dropped down to the low 30s (F), and today's high is expected to be in the low 40s (F).  So, while it bright and sunny outside, it's a bit on the cool side.  

I had planned on getting in a fast walk on the treadmill, and a couple thousand meters on the rower yesterday.  That didn't happen.  Instead, I spent the entire morning and early afternoon finishing off the kitchen floor.  I like it.  Lily doesn't.  I had path her way to the back door with area rugs.  She'll get used to it. I think it looks great.  White quarter round, and almond colored cove base are the only things left to do, and that shouldn't take long.  Though, it won't happen today.  I need to buy those things first from my local orange home improvement store.

And, speaking of the orange home improvement store that I work at, Corporate has finally come out and said that Americans are no longer interested in large home renovations.  In fact, both orange and blue home improvement have come admitted this publicly.  This is a problem of their own making.  In fact it's a problem for all retailers who failed to grasp the fact that increasing prices in order to hit their profit goal with cost them in the end.  Prices are beginning to come down.  The American consumer is not going to bend blindly to corporate greed.

Here's what my floor looks like.

And like everybody else in the country, I was floored by yesterday's Supreme Court decision.  We now have proof that not only are they corrupt, but they're gutless has Hell.  Common consensus was that a guilty verdict in any of Trump's Federal cases would have killed his chances for getting elected in November.  Now those Federal cases are on hold, probably until 2025.  This is what the Orange Anus wanted.  But it does more.  Had the Court said he wasn't immune, Conservatives would have blamed them, this decision to delay things gets them off the hook, at least in their minds.  Now, if Trump loses in November, it's his fault and his alone.  

And there was some bright stuff yesterday.  Trump tried to play let's make a deal by offering to pay $100 million of his $454 million fine and got rejected.  Mitch McConnell is going to step down at the end of his term, which is in 2027.  I'm betting he doesn't make it.  He'd like to go out on a high note and instead he'll end up proving how big of a failure he is.

Retail Fails

 Well, it's Saturday and we're not in a park, and it's not the Fourth of July... sounds like an old song to me, don't it?

Anyway, today is supposed to be overcast, or as forecasters say "cloudy."  Originally the prediction was for rain, but that's changed to sprinkles and occasional showers.  There is a small warning on the forecast advising us in Central PA that these showers will do nothing to alleviate the dry conditions we've been suffering with for the past... oh, two weeks or so.  When I think back on how frequently it rained in April and thought we were going to have a wet summer; how could I have been so wrong, well, at least for May.  We have no idea what the summer's going to be like.

I do get to go to work today.  I'm not expecting business to be booming.  Home improvement retail has not been good.  The giant orange retailer I work made news when it revised it's forecast down in a big way.  Like certain other businesses and corporations, the pandemic was actually financially lucrative for them, however now that we've moved into reality that's not quite pre-Covid, they're lost.  This is what happens when greed makes you shortsighted.

I watched Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves last evening.  It was quite enjoyable.  If you have Paramount + it's free which only added to the experience.  I have to admit, I did like the fat dragon.

And, of course, the debt ceiling talks are back on after the Republicans sort of walked out because... well, I supposed they thought that would be a dramatic exit which everybody would be talking about.  Didn't happen.  They looked bad.  This is a party that is so out of touch with the electorate and instead of reading the tea leaves, so to speak, they will continue to charge down a path leading to their own destruction.  

Rudy's attorney quit because he wasn't getting paid... business as usual.  

Does anyone know if Laura Ingraham  is still on Fox?  I saw somewhere that she was going to be shitcanned.  If it hasn't happened it will, then she can go work for Tucker.

Happy Easter

 It got cold last night!  32 (F)  Freezing.  At least that was the temp when I checked my phone this AM.  Outside, there was not a hint of frost, so what the actual temps were here in Enola is anybody's guess.  Perhaps I should invest in an outside thermometer. 

Yesterday was slow at work.  Today is going to be even slower.  Except for the non-Christian crowd.  There are quite a number of Asians living in the area and very few of them are part of the Peter, Paul, and Matthew crowd.  Some will undoubtedly show up and ask what's on sale.  

Evidently our blue competitor is closed today.  We have some associates who don't understand they're not treating it as a paid holiday, they're just closed.  These same associates fail to realize that store is closed in order to appeal to a specific group of individuals.  Blue management realizes sales are going to be low and they understand that the Peter, Paul, and Matthew crowd will approve and, hopefully, spend their hard earned dollars there, rather then come to our secular orange store.  Of course, that does mean they will disappoint the large non-Christian Asian crowd who has no problem spending money on Christian holidays.

To be honest, I have some good friends who are deeply religious.  They're good friends because they don't push their beliefs on me, by the same token, I don't push my beliefs upon them.  Because of this we are constantly learning tolerance and understanding from each other.  I think this is how it's supposed to be. 

Anyway, here's a picture of an Easter Bunny.  Happy Easter, y'all.

It is Balloon!

While temps north of us are sub-zero cold, we here in Central PA are relatively warm at, what they must think to be balmy, 13 (F).  Last night was the coldest we're going to get in this vortex, I least I think this is a polar vortex, if not, it's something similar.  Our high today is expected to be in the low 30s (F).  Tomorrow, the forecast is for us to reach back into the mid 40s (F).

New windows are being installed in the house next door.  When I had Andersen replace some of mine, they came to the house and measured.  This is not happening in my neighbor's house.  They shopped at Home Depot and bought windows 'off the rack,' so to speak.  This means they need to cut and reframe every window, which leaves gaps in the siding.  Since the existing siding is yellow aluminum, I suspect that will be the next thing they're going to replace.

I watched Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom last night.  The last time I saw it was in the theater in 1984.  I was only mildly impressed back then, and was even less impressed last evening.  The Indiana Jones character holds up fairly well, but the rest of the movie does a deep dive into some cheesy special effects, bad dialogue, and a third act finale that's uninspiring.  Set as a prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark, had this been the first in the series I have no doubt it would have failed.

And, of course, there is the Chinese weather balloon.  I find the entire situation amusing.  It's almost as if the Chinese put on their thinking caps to decide what it was they could do to screw things up.  Oh, and evidently there's another one cruising above Central America.  And the Republicans in the House are so damn stupid.  The first thing on their agenda is to shoot it down.  Number two on their list is to hold investigative hearings.  They don't see a balloon.  Nope, as far as they're concerned, this is another dead horse they can kick to the gutter.  I thought Adam Kinzinger made a good point when he said that shooting it down would let the Chinese know about our high altitude weapons systems.  We all know that level of intelligence is far above that of your average Republican congressman.

Jimmy Jordan's committee issued it's first subpoenas yesterday.  They actually believe someone in the administration is going to pay attention to them.

Finally, for those who haven't been paying attention, the Orange Anus has been shrieking about how he could end the war in the Ukraine in 24 hours.  While a lot of this is his blustery buffoonery, I wouldn't be surprised this is also a desperate attempt to help his Blow Bro Vlad since things aren't going to well for him and his 3 day war.  Superior weapons systems are arriving in the Ukraine which have the capability of taking out Russian soldiers far behind the front line.  This is not good, especially when conservative casually counts put the Russian dead at around 200,000.  Trump's Blow Bro Vlad is sending his army into a meat grinder.  

Negative

 Well lets say a happy hello to the new work week.  Of course, I perhaps should leave out the 'work' since not everyone is working today, or has a full work week.  I do work today.  4.5 hours.  I have an odd shift: 0930 - 1400.

One of our flooring associates climbed up onto the shelving, a serious violation of safety protocol, to push a rolled up area rug into place and fell, hitting his head on the concrete floor, and knocking himself unconscious.  Big gash on his forehead.  He was out for 10 minutes (concussion), and didn't start to come around the EMTs had him on the gurney and were wheeling him out.  This man was very nice.  I enjoyed talking to him.  The odds of him coming back to work are slim to none.  Major safety violation.  We have rolling staircases we call ladders.  Instead of using one he chose to climb up onto a piece of shelving that was over 3 feet above the concrete floor, using another shelf for support.  OSHA came into investigate.  They looked at the CCTV feeds and watched him fall.  The Orange Home Improvement retailer I work for will use this clip in future safety videos to illustrate what not to do.  The last I had heard, this associate could not remember being at work the day he fell.  As I said, he will not be coming back.

On a brighter note, I had my first cup of coffee since the arrival of the stomach bug.  Interestingly enough, I had no nausea or diarrhea.  My symptoms were:  pain in my upper abdomen and headache.  For a while, I had thought it might be the onset of an ulcer, but ulcers don't give you headaches.  So, I Googled my symptoms and for some individuals, those are symptoms of Covid, so I did one of these:

And it came back negative.  

Now, if you will all excuse me, I have to leave for work.

The 38 page Power Point

I got my haircut yesterday.  Different barber than last time, so there was no heart to heart with the gent who had been in jail several times.  This time a woman cut my hair.  When she found out I worked for the great Orange Box retailer, she launched into a tale of how her mobile home had caught fire:  her kitchen burned.  I smiled to myself as she told me she went to our store in Shippensburg (we don't have a store even close to Shippensburg), and how the employees permitted her use their discount to buy her appliances (we don't get an employee discount).  Thankfully, she was fast with the clippers which cut her story short.

While I was sitting at my desk yesterday, this little lady came up and sat down beside me.  My, isn't her muzzle getting gray?  And her nose is in need of moisturizing nose butter. Both she and Biggie had dry skin and so need to have 'treatments,' always with a biscuit or two.

For those of you who haven't been following the on again, off again relationship between Mark Meadows and the the January 6 committee, it's off... again.  Maybe.  Kind of.  Apparently, after they had officially broken off talks, Meadows handed over a 38 page Power Point Presentation describing in detail how they could overturn the election.  This document was circulated among the privileged Republicans fully supporting Trump.  And now everybody's talking about what's in the details.  In fact, one speculator went so far as to ask why Meadows would turn over something so incriminating.  Personally, I'm thinking that behind the scenes his team is working with the committee to work out a plea deal where he's going to turn State's Witness.  We should start preparing for the naming of names, I think.

This is an interesting complication for the Evangelicals.

The Biggest Loser in the World

 So, I'm back to work for 3 days.  Oh, and it's the 5th of December.  Pre Covid 19 a Kids Workshop would have been scheduled today at the store.  Now there are no sounds of little hammers pounding away 50 feet from the Flooring Desk.  No longer are there tiny smears of paint all over the restrooms.  This is almost peace and quiet.  Interestingly enough, sales have not declined.  Parents can still stop by the Service Desk and pick up a cute little project for their children to build in the Covid free environment of their home.  They don't get the little aprons, though, and quite often I believed that was the biggest draw, getting a teeny weeny Home Depot apron.  And in case you're wondering, mostly it was the parents that built the project.  Still, I do feel sorry that they have to miss this because of bad decisions made by the biggest loser in the world.

And sadly, I have 2 dead fish.  Gouramis.  They're usually very easy to keep.  Mine seem to be having problems.  Everything else is doing well.  My angels are almost 4 inches from top to bottom, which I find amazing since they started out just a little bigger than my thumbnail.

As far as I can tell, Biden's administration is going to be the most diverse in the history of this country.  Many of those filling up the positions worked for the Obama administration which I think is very smart.  He needs to put people in place who have the experience to six all of the problems created by the Idiot Jerk.  Believe me, there are holes and there are problems.  This failed president was far more interested in Loyalty than quality.  If you bowed down in supplication, you were in, no matter how unqualified you might be.  Scott Atlas is a primary example.  He's a loser.  Another one is Jenna Ellis, who it appears is nothing more than a hokey pokey attorney with very little experience under her belt.  Maybe that's why she works so well with Giuliani.

And finally, many are wondering if the Idiot Jerk will put in an appearance at Biden's inauguration.  I wouldn't bet money on it.  He will never concede the election, so how could he possible attend?  Do you honestly think he could sit and watch a man he and his spawn charged with having diminished faculties take the Oath of Office?  To do so would be to acknowledge that he's the biggest loser in the world.

Day after Day

My weekend starts today!!!  I got up around 0515 and am on my 3rd load of laundry.  Wacking my weeds was also on the agenda - that however might have to wait.  Forecasters are calling for showers and thunderstorms.  Golly Jee?  When is a fellow supposed to do his lawn work?
The truth is today is going to be pretty much like yesterday.  The sun will rise and set.  Actually, it doesn't.  The sun doesn't move at all.  We spin around it.  The truth is that the sun will rotate into view, unless, of course, you're a 'flat Earther.'  I have no idea if they think the sun rises and sets or rotates.
And speaking about how one day is pretty much the same as the day before, how about that Nick Sauer?  In case you don't know, he's a conservative Republican from Illinois, and he's just like so many Conservative Republicans.

You know who I'm talking about, the clean cut, go to church guys who find their girlfriends on Tinder (bet he swiped right).  The ones who sing hymns to 'family values' while taking naked pictures of those girlfriends.  And what does porcelain smile Nick to with those photos?  Set up an Instagram account as a fictitious female in order to have lurid, erotic conversations with other men.  They call it 'catfishing.'  Seems like Nicky likes men to talk dirty to him.  Why is it these things crop up so often with Conservative Republicans?  One can only wonder if he was trying to follow in the foot steps of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
Speaking of the Idiot Jerk, did everybody out there get their grocery shopping ID card?  I hope mine is in the mail, otherwise I'm going to starve.
An Navy friend of mine shared this on Facebook - it's nonpolitical, in case you're wondering.  For those who don't know, this is what we deal with on a daily basis.  Sometimes all you can do is just stand there.  On a few occasions, like the customer who wanted a waterproof extension cord to use in his pool, you wonder if you should call the EMT's now... or wait a bit.

The sun has just popped through the clouds so I'm going to quickly go outside and clean up the yard... dogs, you know.  I hate doing it in the rain.

Sea of Forgotten Melodies

Well, here it is Monday!  My 2nd day off in a row!  How's that for all of you people who whine about having to go back to work on Monday?  And I'm off tomorrow as well!
Anyway, I was scheduled for an eye appointment this AM, got there too early so I decided to grab a cup of coffee at McDonalds.  When I did get to my appointment, I was told by the receptionist that my appointment wasn't for today, but rather for tomorrow instead.  She said, "we left you a voice mail back in November telling you Dr. Kilmore was no longer going to be seeing patients on Mondays and Fridays."  I smiled, and nodded.  They send out voice mails every month reminding patients of upcoming appointments.  That's right, every month I get a voice mail from this practice which means I stopped listening to their messages a long, long time ago.  I did make an appointment for February but I will cancel that.  My VA benefit has been working well for me, so I'm going to set up an appointment with one of their specialists.
Yesterday Anne Marie sent me a link from "Joe, My God," regarding Bernie Marcus... one of the original founders of Home Depot.  He is a true Tumplodyte.  Worth approximately 3.4 billion, he is a member of the 1% club.  He also has nothing to do with running the corporation, having retired a number of years ago.  During the campaign he spouted out some pro Idiot Jerk propaganda and the company was forced to put a lot of distance between his viewpoints and those of the company.  This guy's an old fool.  As a number of comments pointed out, the bonus he was bragging about is a one time only benefit while the tax cut will go on Ad Infinatum. 
So, I did 10 miles on the bike, on the trainer yesterday and I was pleased.  Today I'm planning on some free weighs this afternoon and another ride.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that the Grammy Awards were last night.  Bruno Mars evidently won big.  About 3 years ago I listened to one of his songs - from what I remember every body liked it.  Me?  I thought it was "pop - meh."  There's a lot of that out there.  The most ephemeral of the arts, every year thousands of pop artists, and their tunes, drown in the sea of forgotten melodies.

 Very, very few have had any lasting influence on the genre.  In the scheme of things, it's not what's currently popular that is important, it's what lasts.

Corporate Greed

Well, yesterday those bozo Republicans gave their stamp of approval to a tax overhaul that is vastly unpopular, something gear to show they can actually finish a job even if it means shitting on most Americans.  I watched a bit of video where Paul Ryan was blub, blub, blubbing something about how this will end up being a great benefit to the middle class, notice I said watch, not listen.  You see when you don't listen you can observe better, see that while his lips were mouth words, his eyes were unblinking, little blue ice cubes. There was no connection between what he was saying and what he was feeling.  He is nothing more than calculating, conservative ambition, a man who is committed to his beliefs and to his Party but cares nothing about humanity.  Is it any wonder there are rumors about him retiring?  He wants to move into the corporate environment where his greed can be satiated.
And then the CEO of AT&T said that this Tax Credit was so wonderful AT&T was going to give over 200,000 employees a $1000 bonus.... before Christmas if the Idiot Jerk signs this legislation in time.  At first glance this sounds simply amazing, that AT& is going to $200,000,000 back to its employees.  That's a lot of money.  A lot of people were wowed over - not me, for a couple of reasons:  With support from this Administration, the FCC wants to end Net Neutrality which means AT&T can charge what ever they want, if you want faster Internet speeds it'll cost you.  (Are you getting a bitter taste in your mouth?)  And then there's the bit about AT&T wanting to buy Time/Warner - the Justice Department is saying "hold on there a minute."  Well, anybody with half a brain knows that if you kiss the Idiot Jerk's ass, make him look good, he gives you what you want.  (This is beginning to smell a little shitty, isn't it?)  But the real topper is AT&T's finances from 2016.  Looking at those $ figures I realized this bonus was pretty much the equivalent of AT&T blowing a snotty kiss to their associates.  They have over a $17 Billion positive cash flow.  That's like money in the bank.  And that $200,000,000 is a little over  0.0117647058823529%  When you see these figures you realized that AT&T's gift to their associates is rather putrid... in fact, we should start asking why they don't do this every year.  That answer's simple:  Corporate Greed.  Corporate Greed says that giving your average worker a bonus is a waste of money.

In case you're wondering, I do know a little bit about what I'm talking about.  You see I work for a little, home improvement retailer known as Home Depot.  Home Depot has something called Success Sharing (think bonus program).  Everybody gets a bonus.  The more successful your store, the bigger the bonus.  In 2017 my total bonus package was over $1300 (that's the none manager figure which is higher).  That AT & T bonus?  With all the money they have, it's on the cheap side, don't you think?

Chew on this

So, yesterday was my day off and, for the most part, it rained: showers and thunderstorms; which means a lot of what I had planned to to outside just did not get done.
I went to visit my Mom and while we were talking about my nephew and his girlfriend (they're having a baby) she said, "oh, but they're so young, but then I was young when I had David, and he turned out all right," at which point I said "Mom, I'm David," and she looked at me and said "oh."  My sister and I laughed about it later, at least I know she thinks I turned out all right.
And I had my teeth cleaned yesterday, unfortunately by Dr. Marinak, he's old, and fat, and retired, and die hard Republican who loves the Idiot in the White House.  Dr. Marinak is also an Idiot, and that' is only the 2nd time in the 12 years I've been going there that he's actually checked my teeth, usually it's Dr. Glossnar who's very good and, wisely enough, non-political.  To show you how much of an Idiot Dr. Marinak is, he asked "so, how much Home Depot stock do you have in your portfolio, it's doing really well?"  Responding that I didn't have any Home Depot stock in my 'portfolio' he burst out with "why not, I have it in mine."  See what I mean, Idiot.
And I also heard the news from Carrier yesterday, you know, the furnace and air conditioning company the Idiot bragged about?  Remember?  Keeping jobs in the USA?  Well, the layoffs there are starting on July 20.  That's right, Carrier is not keeping jobs and hiring for new jobs, they're laying off workers and sending jobs to Mexico where the minimum wage is $3.99 an hour. Boy, I'll bet you're glad that you don't work for Carrier, or Ford, or GM, since they all seem to be preparing to lay off workers.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, the Senate has released their Health Care plan.  They're cutting a lot, and (surprise, surprise) also giving a tax cut to the wealthy.  Oh, and it's not like they really believe in 'trickle down economics,' the tax cuts are more of a 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' campaign funding issue.  You know?  If you give a rich guy a tax break the odds are quite high he's going to contribute quite a bit to your re-election campaign.  He wants to keep you in office, and in return, you're going to have to give him another tax break.  I'm sure Dr. Marinak is a very good example.  He's not satisfied with having Home Depot stock in his portfolio, he wants his taxes to be as Republican low as possible.  It is his money, you know.  He should be able to decide how his taxes are spent.  People should be able to use his tax dollars in order to get decent health care.

Tooling towards Black Friday

My Black Friday schedule was posted yesterday.  Actually, it's not that bad - all morning shifts, except for Wednesday when I have this odd 4 PM till 10 PM shift.  Of course, that doesn't mean I won't be at the store until 11 or 12.  I had the same shift last year and didn't get out until after 11 PM.  After the store closes on Wednesday is when we go around pulling off all of the black plastic which has been swathed around the "surprise" deals and make sure the signage is correct.

One thing that is different this year is my start time on Black Friday.  Last year I was in at 4 AM because I was in charge of the coffee and donuts.  I put a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood on a drywall cart, loaded it up with hot coffee and donuts and patrolled up and down the line of people waiting to get into the store.  That's right, we get a line.  Last year it was over 150 people long.  Of course, we don't get the same type of crowd Walmart or Target get because we're a home improvement store.  This means every one is well behaved and orderly, no eye gouging or knife pulling at our store.  No one has ever been trampled to death on Black Friday at a Home Depot, or a Lowe's.

And why do we get such a crowd?  For a long, long time wives and children had no idea what to get Dad for Christmas, so he either got a tie or cologne.  Now he gets a DeWalt drill, or a Ryobi impact hammer.  He may only use his new tools once or twice, but at least they'll add to the clutter he calls a work bench.

Painting by the numbers

This is my first day off since last week and so far I've been enjoying it.  For a change the weather has been rather nice and as a result the paint desk has been busy.  These are the times that go fast, unlike the doldrums of winter when no one paints anything.  Of course this means we also get to deal with many more issues, some customers get irate, some demonstrate an ignorance of color, and others fail to grasp the concept of light.  There are those customers who let you explain and then there are those who feel that they need to explain to you, especially when there is a problem.

Now we don't make a lot of money off of the paint we sell, we make money from the attachments, like the roller covers and brushes and drop clothes, etc.  This is why "tinted paint" is non-returnable, we lose money when we take it back.  A good paint associate will qualify the customer in attempt to avoid complaints.  Still, they happen.  Take the couple who showed up at the paint desk on Saturday.  She looked like she'd had some work done in an attempt to maintain her youthful presence, however her work was no long working.  He, in his blue stripped button down shirt, looked as though he'd come straight from the office.  They were returning paint because the color did not co-ordinate with the Honey Brown color of the home's exterior.  One of my very good tenured associates worked with them.  They didn't want him to work with the paint they had already purchased, that just wouldn't do for them.  He could, however, spend 20 minutes going over the numerous colors we can tint in order to find that one, perfect color which would "pop" next to their Honey Gold exterior.  They left the paint desk pleased as punch, with a brand new gallon of paint.  The next day I found it in the Returns Cart. We took a hit because they made a mistake, and of course they didn't really care.  To them it's part of their prerogative; if you don't like it you return it.

Buying paint is not like buying shoes, but a lot of people don't understand that, in fact it's not like buying most things.  When you buy paint the product is changed in order to meet the customer's preference.  When was the last time you bought a shirt and they put on different buttons because you wanted something else?  Or changed the heel on a pair of shoes because you want to be a little taller?  Have you ever bought a pair of pants, and then went back and asked the clerk to lighten them because they were too dark?  The problem is that people don't want to take responsibility for the decisions they make.  The couple who were trying to co-ordinate to a Honey Gold?  No one held a gun to their head and forced them to pick the color they chose.  In fact, they could have taken paint chips home, or even bought a tester, had they wanted.  That would have been the smart thing to do.  Instead they ended up returning 2 gallons of paint.  I wasn't there when they returned the second, but I wonder if he was wearing a button down, long sleeve shirt.  I don't have to worry about her, there's no way on earth she's going to get rid of her Phantom of the Opera nostrils.

  

Rough Shoulders Ahead for Fox News?

Even though I don't watch Fox News, I get them.  They want to be the conservative mouthpiece of America, which for them means ratings.  Honestly, that is all they are concerned about, nothing else.  News is business.  To be successful your business needs to target a certain type of consumer.  This is why Best Buy doesn't sell clothing and Home Depot doesn't have a dairy section.  Fox wants every conservative in the United States to watch them, and only them.  This is where they run into trouble.  In order for them to maintain their image as the conservative mouthpiece, they need to brand every other media outlet as 'liberal' or 'progressive.'  Unfortunately for them, Independent voters are growing, and you can't count on every one registered as Republican or Democrat to stringently vote the party line.  In other words, if the United States was a two lane highway, in most cases, about 60% of Americans would hang around the yellow line.  True, they may veer a little to the left to pass on some issues and on others a little to the right but over all they go right down the center.  For Fox News to be the conservative mouthpiece. they need to push that yellow line as far to the left as possible in order to call it liberal.  As a result, Fox news seems to be spending a majority of it's time bouncing around on the shoulder and losing clout with those riding down the center line.

Are there rough shoulders ahead for Fox News?

This does not mean they will completely lose their audience, they can always count on that 25% to 27% the blood of the far right flowing through their veins.  Those people will only ever watch Fox so that part of the market is safe.  Others, however started dabbling a while back.  They will not only watch Fox News, but will also watch a little MSNBC and even a couple minutes a week of CNN.  A interesting statistic I ran across was that during the 2012 Presidential Debates more Americans turned into MSNBC.   Hhhmmm.  Were they more liberal, or more centrist.  Could it have been because that news network doesn't preach or pass judgement?  Or that they have both Republicans and Democrats on their staff?  Who knows.  I think we'll just have to tune in and see.  

Back from Vacation - Thibaut Pinot AC from Rite Aid

Just in case anyone was wondering, I was on vacation, went on early morning walks with Gert to avoid the incredible afternoon heat, and relaxed, oh, and played Skyrim.

Does this guy look happy, he should!  This is Thibaut Pinot.

Who is Thibaut Pinot?  A 21 year old French cyclist.  This is his first Tour de France and today he won the Stage 8.  Was it a fluke, only time will tell.  I will tell you, I felt really good for him.

Five years ago I made a momentous decision, I had Central Air Conditioning installed in my 110 year old home.  I can not tell you how many times I've said to myself, "this is a very good thing," especially during the recent heat wave.  Yesterday it hit 101.  That's hot.  My neighbors do not have air conditioning, not even a window unit.  Well, they didn't until yesterday.  She works from home and felt she needed to condition the air in her "office."  So, did they go to a Home Depot to purchase their unit?  Or to a Sears?  No, they went to Rite Aid.  Rite Aid is a pharmacy.  They used to fill Max (the cat's) insulin prescription.  For the life of me, I cannot figure out why you would even think of going to a pharmacy to pick of an A/C Unit.  I do not understand their logic.

American Water Resources - Pennsylvania

Everybody knows what an EPS is, even if the acronym has different letters, it might be EPA (Extra Protection Agreement) or something else.  What ever you want to call them, for 99% of the time they are a waste of money.  Yesterday I received a letter from American Water Resources which offered one of these phony insurance policies.  For only $3.99 per month, I could join their "in home plumbing emergency program."  What horse shit!  They want me to spend almost $48 per year just incase I have a "backed up bathtub drain," or a "blocked or overflowing toilet."  I've lived in my house for over 19 years and have only had a plumber here 4 times and never for repairs: I've moved my washer and dryer down to the basement, bought a refrigerator with water in the door, put in a garbage disposal... and, oh yes, did a bathroom redo.  Now, maybe you're a Paranoid Penny who is constantly worried you might have to deal with a clogged bathroom sink.  I've never had one, but, if I did, I'd most likely go to Home Depot and buy a plunger.  If you're not careful, these people will paranoid you to death and bleed your finances dry in the process.