Make Them Riot. Do It.

The clouds are clearing!  We do have a decent amount of fog rolling around the hills, but that's expected to burn off by around 10 AM and then we'll have some sunshine.  Daily temps are predicted to hang around in the mid 70s (F) until Tuesday, then they are supposed to drop back into the 60s (F).  I can deal with that.

Yesterday was one of those days when I felt the need to nap... on and off all day.  I honestly believe it was because we had what?  7 days of rain?  I did get a nice rowing session in.  I'm rowing more and more meters.  Today I want to go for a bike ride before I head off to work.  

I called about getting a puppy yesterday morning and got no return call.  That's not a good thing.  Customer Service is everything.  If someone can't do the courteous thing and call back, even if it's to tell me that there are no longer puppies available, well, that's simply unprofessional as hell.  

And, of course, the chair I ordered was delivered yesterday.  It had been drizzling, then it stopped when the truck arrived, and right after the chair was ensconced (that's your word of the day... ensconced) in my writing room, it began to rain again.  So, I sat in the chair for a bit, and decided I wanted to take a little nap.  Anyway, here's the new chair.

Yesterday the beginning of the October Surprise began falling into place.  In filings released by Judge Chutkin, we now know that on January 6, as an angry mob stormed the Capital, Trump said, "Make them riot.  Do it."  A quick reminder, this is only the beginning of the October Surprise.  Another reminder, we're only hearing about this in October because the Orange Anus and his legal team threw up so many roadblocks in their attempts to shut this down, it wasn't released earlier.  This also means that his meltdowns will accelerate.  Also remember, that he is not so much scared as he is enraged.  I honestly don't think he knows what fear is, just anger, and hatred.

Another also, all of the negativity surrounding Trump is having a positive effect.  Two supporters that I know personally, who have voted straight Republican every day of their lives, have told me they don't think they're going to vote this year.  Both said, in these exact words, "neither one is fit."  Rather than be bold and vote for Harris, they're going to sit home.  And they are not alone.  Many, many Republicans, as the evil of Trump becomes more readily know, will choose to just sit home this election cycle.  They will wait until 2028 before casting another vote.  This is how it was meant to be.  It's why Trump was elected in the first place.

Knock, Knock, Knocking

 It's Wednesday and most of the rains have passed.  We may get a shower this afternoon, but the steady, soaking rains have moved on.  Temps are still predicted to be cool, in the mid 60s (F).  Tomorrow they're supposed to warm up into the 70s (F), now won't that be nice?  I did turn on my heat and set it at 70 (F).  This is what I did last year at this time and let it sit at the temp until spring arrived.  

As I said, the rain as stopped for the most part, now all we need is for these cloudy skies to move away.

I put out a mousetrap last night and got nary a bite.  Maybe he moved on.   I doubt it.  Mice don't suddenly move on.  They make nests and raise mousy families. 

My new chair arrives today.  According to the tracking app they sent me it should be here between 10:30 and 11:30.  That will be one less thing to think about.  I'm interested in seeing how well it fits into the design of the writing room.  Don't worry, there will be pictures tomorrow.

There was a debate last evening and, as usual, I didn't watch it.  I was too busy playing the DLC (Down Loaded Content) for Bethesda's game Starfield.  The recommended level is 35, I'm only at 23, but this is my 3rd playthrough, so even though I'm at a lower level, I'm pretty much immortal.  The intro was pretty intense.  I liked it.  For most of it you're in Zero-G  in a Va'Ruun space station.  Playing a FP (First Person) shooter while weightless is pretty freaking awesome!  I will get to find out if everyone in the settled systems does, in fact, worship The Great Serpent.

And, of course, there was a debate last evening.  Every review I've seen has said it was civilized, with only tempers flaring on one or two occasions.  A number of Main Stream Media outlets note that they turned off Vance's mic at one point when the subject of Springfield, Ohio, came up.  I understand that got his dander up and he voiced his disapproval noting that he'd been told there wasn't going to be any fact checking.  Rolling Stone was the only outlet I saw where they said that both Vance's and Walz's mics were turned off on at least one occasion.  Was Vance close enough to the center to save Trump's flailing campaign?   At this point, I don't think there's too much anyone can do to save it.

There are some saying that the Longshoreman's strike is the October Surprise.  Nope.  That's Republican wishful thinking.  Revelations from Jack Smith's indictment will be the real spoilers for Donald Trump, and his very public meltdown will horrify the American people.  Karma is knock, knock, knocking on his front door.

Instincts

 Well, we have a rainy Saturday ahead of us.  Showers and drizzles with a high in the mid 70s (F).  I am watching the thermometer.  This is the time of year when you try and wait as long as possible before turning on the heat.  Will I make it into October?  With only 2 days to go, that's an affirmative.  The house is a little cool, outside temp in the upper 60s (F), but I'm still in a T-shirt and shorts, though donning a sweatshirt would make things a bit cozier.

And I do get to work today.  Normally, Saturday's are one of the busiest days of the week.  With this weather, however, that's probably not going to be the case.  I work yesterday, and while customers were beginning to come into the store when I was leaving at 7, shoppers were few and far between.  As for today, there are only 2 specialists scheduled, a man who loves 3 day weekends (he's already scheduled off Sunday and Monday), and myself, so I'm fairly confident it will be me, myself, and I at the Decor desk.

At bit about Maggie Smith:  I do hope she realized how much of an impact she had on people's lives.  It's good when greatness is achieved through quality and talent rather than mere popularity.  Honestly, she was the only reason I watched Downton Abbey.

I do believe I will need to be buying a fitness watch, my Fenix 6 Pro is slowly dying.  It connects and disconnects with my phone constantly.  Charging that little Lithium battery can take hours and the charge just isn't holding.  The next watch is going to be less expensive.  I don't need all the goodies that came packed in this one:  Golf maps?  Give me a break.  I'm thinking maybe this one will do, it's an Instinct 2X.  Snazzy, huh?  I'll have to do a little research before I make my decision.

And it's always sometime in the next 2 weeks that that the presidential race get's it's October Surprise.  As far as I can see, the Republicans don't really have anything... I mean, they've already surprised America with their eating of dogs, and cats, and pets in Springfield, what could be more surprising than that?  The Democrats, on the other hand, have Jack Smith's 180 page brief detailing Trump's crimes on leading up to and on January 6, and I understand that some of those details can be released as soon as next week.  These are crimes the immunity given to him by the Supreme Court doesn't cover.  His legal team has been given a copy of it, which many are thinking is the reason his rally speeches have become so demented.  What joy!

Happy Festivus

 Well, yesterday, for the most part, was overcast.  Hhmm.  I prefer sunny days.  Maybe I should move to Arizona for the winter.  Our forecasters are calling for cloudy skies up until Tuesday, then a few rays of sunshine might light up the region.  And then?  Rain.  We need the rain.  I prefer the rain when our days are short and I'm not planning any outside activities.  

Yesterday was good  as far as getting things done.  All the trim in the kitchen has now been primed.  This means all the painting should be done by the end of next week.  I might even get the tiling done.  There really isn't that much, just bits and pieces here, however there are portions on all 4 walls that need to be tiled.  

I got 2 miles in on the treadmill.  I've kept the speed the same, but cut back on the elevation, so I'm no longer going up hill.  I've noticed a difference in my legs; my quads are getting worked much more than my glutes.  If I was 40 years younger and was concerned with a shapely but that might be a problem, but it isn't.

And, of course, the Supreme Court gave the Spawn of Satan a minor win yesterday by not speeding up the Department of Justice's request for a speedy trial.  This should not have come as too much of a surprise.  To give Jack Smith a win would have meant having to deal with the wrath of Trump.  Do not think for an instant that this had nothing to do with their decision; a decision with out a single dissent and without a single comment.  Believe me, he would rage at them.  He would beat his petty little drum of lies and remind every one of his cult that he was responsible for sitting three of the Justices.  They would have to deal with death threats, and more protests outside their homes, this time by a group of individuals who weren't just objecting to their decision.  Nope.  These protestors would want to injure them, as well as members of their families.  And you can bet both Alito and Thomas are as spineless as they come, cowardly to their selfish core.

Leave the World Behind

 Tuesday.  The day has started out bright and sunny, though cool.  The temps outside are a brisk 28 (F).  I find it funny that so many people regard this temperature as frigid, it isn't.  Frigid is when we -5 (F).  That's cold.  We might get those temps once a year, or at least we used to, the last few years we've been trending towards much milder winters.  Because this is happening slowly, many view these weather patterns as normal.  In the grand scale of things, they indicate that in this part of the country things are warming up.  Part of the problem is that people do not have very strong long term memories.  These people are fine as long as they can go to a computer and look up last year's weather, but memory wise, when asked, they'll say the weather was warm without remembering any of the specifics.  They don't remember if the temperature went below 0 (F).  It didn't, at least not in my neck of the woods.

Retail yesterday was slow.  I did manage to hit my goal of 2 measures for the week.  A retired Registered Nurse is getting measure for both vinyl planks and blinds.  She wasn't concerned about the cost.  She didn't bat an eye when I told her the cost of one blind was going to be close to a thousand $$$.  When she found out I had been in the Navy, she asked how my feet were.  She specializes on veterans who suffer from foot neuropathy, mostly soldiers who served in Vietnam while the US was using Agent Orange.  One of the multitude of problems that defoliant causes is nerve damage in the feet.  I really feel bad for these seniors who served their country and now have problems simply walking.

I watched Leave the World Behind last evening, a new film playing on Netflix with Julia Roberts and Mahershala Ali.  It's a thriller about things going wrong, about people becoming allies, and a young girl's addiction to the TV show Friends.  Some parts were very good, other parts were meant to make you ask questions, sometimes the latter work, and sometimes they don't.  Here, I don't think they did, otherwise there wouldn't be people explaining the ending on YouTube.

Okay, so Jack Smith went straight to the Supreme Court about the Moral Degenerate's immunity claims, and they're going to rush it, meaning a decision probably by December 20.  Trump's legal team is pissed, they wanted this to work its way up toe the Court slowly, taking a lot of time and creating those delays the Orange Anus loves so much.  Now that's not going to happen.  The true irony here is that if the Supreme Court decides in Trump's favor, it means that Joe Biden, our current president is immune as well, so he can do anything he wants.  This is why many believe the Court is going to side with Jack Smith.  

Down in Texas the state's Supreme Court sided with Ken Paxton, the Attorney General, in refusing to allow Kate Cox an abortion.  The fetus has been diagnosed with a fatal syndrome, so it will either be born dead, or will die shortly after birth.  Carrying the child to term also creates many health risks for the mother.  And the state Court told this woman she can't get an abortion, she needs to carry a baby for nine months that will be born dead or die shortly after birth.  Do these Conservatives even stop to consider the terrible message they are sending to American women?  Or is it that they hold women so low on the ladder they just don't care?

Price Drop

 For those who missed the news, we had bad thunderstorms and torrential downpours yesterday afternoon.  In DC, the Federal Government said it was fine for people to leave work early.  That didn't happen for us.  Then again we weren't in DC.  We had a few minutes of gusty wind, a bit of thunder, and then steady rain for about an hour and a half.  Everything was done by the time I got home from work.

I did 14 sets of Kettlebell exercises yesterday and my L1 - L5 rather impolitely reminded me that they're slowly fusing together.  Naproxen does wonders.  So does a heating pad.  This means I will have to work the exercises in slowly, possibly into other workouts.  Maybe a set or two when I do arms, and a set or two when I do chest.

Twenty-four hours after the house next door was listed, there was a price drop from $185,000 to $179,900.  This was after one showing, so obviously it didn't go as well as the owner thought it was going to go.  I've talked to him several times, he thinks he's a shrewd businessman and that all potential buyers are stupid.  They aren't.  Not with the prices of homes today.  They do their research.

Remember my cutting back my peach tree?  Well, this is what it looks like today, not at all like the nectarine tree which is pretty much dead to the world.

Because today's Tuesday, and down in Atlanta the Grand Jury usually meets on Tuesdays, there's a good possibility more indictments are going to be handed out.  Trump's indictment dance card must just about be filled by now, so I guess he will need to flip it over and start listing them on the back.  

For those not paying attention to the details, yesterday his attorneys whined that they had needed more time to come up with a delaying tactic that would sound good to Republicans as a response to his stupid comment, "you come for me, I'm coming for you."  They claimed first amendment rights, that he was allowed his freedom of speech.  Jack Smith shot that down, saying his comments had nothing to do with freedom of speech.  Ouch.  The DOJ is having none of his bullshit, which means he must be going through cases of ketchup.  People are not only saying "no" to him, they're spicing it up with a silent "screw you, loser."

Growing Evil

 The weekend has arrived, a time for rest and relaxation for those of you still enslaved to the working world.  Today's temps are predicted to be the same as yesterdays, as well as tomorrow's.  The chance of thunderstorms is declining, though we did have a whopper yesterday afternoon; buckets of rain fell with a dusting of thunder and lightening.

Yesterday was, for the most part slow and boring.  I did ride for 16 miles in Corsica.  I do like that ride; there are a number of medium sized hills that are somewhat challenging.  The entire ride is 58 miles long.  To complete that would be an accomplishment.

I'm working more hours this coming week then I've worked in quite some time. Two of the Specialists are going on vacation, as a result I've been scheduled to work for 29 hours.  Wowza!  I'm not really excited about it, in case you're wondering.

I bought a smoked herring to use as a prop in an upcoming video for my channel.  It's bigger than I thought it was going to be.  Also, for some reason I thought it was going to be dried.  It's really more like a big sardine in mustard sauce... a very big sardine.  I can't wait to find out how tasty it is.

I also signed up for French TV.  If you don't use it, you lose it, and that means listening to it being spoken as well.  The "learn French" will probably be an instant fail for most people since it provides subtitles.  Believe, subtitles in do way reflect what is actually being spoken, so I've turned them off as they would only be a distraction.

And the Orange Anus made a threat on Truth Social Friday night, something like, "if you come for me, I'm coming for you."  He's evidently pissed people off whit that comment.  I understand Jack Smith has filed a legal complaint because the angry, old man who's been crapping on people for most of his adult life can't deal with the fact that he's a loser.  In fact the number of ways he's a loser is growing almost exponentially.  While these indictments may endear him to his cult, a larger majority of Americans have had their fill of his horseshit, and it's only going to get worse for him.  Social Conservatives are in as terrible bind, and I find that delightful.  They desperately want to believe he was sent by God to give them what they have prayed for and now not a day goes by that Trump's evil becomes more profound.  You'd think that they would have realized that Evil works the same way God does, and will do and say anything in order to grow.

We've Been Waiting A Long Time For This

 Weather was nice yesterday.  Temps were what I consider mild, low 80's (F).  My Central Air rarely runs.  I checked my electric bill and my monthly charges are less than my monthly budget, and summer is the time when I use the most electricity because of the Central Air, so this is a bit of a win / win situation.

I got a lot accomplished yesterday:  dumbbell workout and a 14 mile ride in San Remo.

One of my big angelfish is very sick.  I put him in a smaller tank so the rest of the fish wouldn't pick at him.  Now, he's in a corner of the tank... and he's upside down.  This is not good.

The owner of the house next door took me for a tour yesterday.  I praised what his crews had done, which was difficult for me because I hate to lie.  The workmanship is sloppy, except for the tile in the kitchen, which is nice.  Except for the white trim, everything is in shades of gray.  He asked me what I'd ask for it, so I gave him a low number $165,000, mostly because I know that the 40 + year old roof is still going to need to be replaced, and it only has a partial basement.  He told me he was going to ask $190,000.  There's a good possibility he'll get what he wants.  

Here's another pic of my roses.

And, of course, late yesterday afternoon the sun came out and filled so many American hearts with glowing justice.  I was in the kitchen when the first notification The Guardian came through on my watch, and then another notification, and the vibrations continued, the NYT, the Washington Post, the BBC, Le Monde, Al Jazeera; notifications from newsgroups I wasn't even subscribed to:  Donald Trump had just been indicted for January 6.  So many of us have been waiting for such a very long time for this.  

On an even brighter note, there are 6 more indictments to come.  Many think one of those 6 will Rudy Giuliani, however, if his attorneys are to be believed, he didn't receive a target letter.  That would lead to the inference that he flipped and worked out some sort of plea deal.  

Jack Smith promised a speedy trial, normally that means within 70 days.  The judge assigned is an Obama appointee who has little patience for the nonsense Trump's legal team will try to foist on her. I'm hoping hearings will start in late November, early December.  

I don't know about you, but, as I told a friend last evening, I'm enjoying the Hell out of this.  Judgement is coming not only for Trump, but for the Republican party as well.

Judgement

 My long weekly mini-vaca starts today.  I will not be sitting at the flooring desk until Saturday, when I will once again begin my 3 day stretch.  Next week, however, I be doing the odd 3 day schedule again, working Thursday and off Sunday for a visit to York.  

A thunderstorm passed overhead last night with a lot of rain.  This one actually woke me up... somewhat, I could hear the thunder and for a few moments I was vaguely aware of rain pounding down against the bedroom windows.  The storm didn't really disturb me.  About 2:30 am, however, I did wake up and make did a little research on book number 8.  This is why I have a tablet by the bed.  Needless to say, notes were taken.

Even though retail was slow yesterday, I did manage to get my 2 requisite measures for the week.  I'm set.  I have 9 installs waiting to go, all I need to do is hope those customers decide to "pull the trigger," as they say.  There's a big meeting happing on Friday where, from what I've heard, management is going to start twisting the thumbscrews.  This will effect the full-timers more than it will me.  This is what happens when corporate executives make bad business decisions.

Here's a pic of Lily impatiently waiting to go for her morning walk.  She is getting so gray around her muzzle.

Ronnie DeSantis is doubling down on his racist opinion that slaves benefitted from the enslavement because... well, Meatball Ron believes that backing down would make him look weak.  While this might play well with the MAGA cult, for many in America it's a really bad failure.  I don't know who told him alienating whole voting blocs was a good idea, but, well as far as Democrats are concerned, it's a good way to keep Republicans from voting for him.  Fox News, in their attempt to aid and abet him, some ass named Greg Gutfield actually said that some Jews benefitted from the Holocaust.  

And, as the trucks continue to gather outside the DC Courthouse, the glow of satisfaction is beginning to well up from my heart like a many colored aura filling the air with delight.  We would have missed all of Trump's suffering if he'd been indicted earlier just to satisfy those impatient few who needed to see him in cuffs sooner.  His inane rantings on Truth Social are almost as good as manna in the wilderness as each day we learn one more person has flipped.  Yes, the floodgates have opened.  All of those rats he surrounded himself with are desperately trying to avoid being skinned alive.  If I were very religious, I say Judgement is coming for the Republican Party.

1962

The sun is out, the outside temp is 65 (F) and the temps today are predicted to only climb into the mid-80s (F), oh, and the humidity is supposed to be tolerable.  Oh, and it's one of my none work days.  Just about everyday that is a non-workday is good.  Not that I dislike work, mind you, but with business being so abysmal it does get boring.

I did get a phone measure yesterday from a woman who wants to have a carpet installation.  She let me know that she put the same carpet in her condo on Florida, a cheap pattern with a 5 year warranty.  She's also selling the condo in Florida, in fact she and her husband are going to be going down for the closing next week.  There's a fly in the ointment, though.  We're running a special that expires on July 30, and they drive down, and this Friday she's out of town for a business meeting, and they're leaving on Monday.  I know that's a lot of "ands," and unfortunately there is one more: and the first measure date available in July 17, when they're in Florida.  Measure services has been contacted and they will update her if an earlier date becomes available.

Here's a great article from the WaPo basically saying that HGTV is make you depressed.  It turns out that all of those pretentious people pushing neutral color palates in order to be trendy are bad for your psyche.  Stark Whites and bland neutrals with zippo for contrast are not good for you heads.  Of course, I've been saying this for years.  Color is good unless you want to live your life as a drone.

And I saw this picture of my ship taken in 1962.  Newly built, and leaving the shipyards, it's on it's way to the Atlantic.  I was 10 years old then and had no idea I'd live 3 years of my life beneath its flight deck.  The mast is canted to its port side rather than straight up to fit beneath the Brooklyn Bridge

There are rumors that Jack Smith wants January the 6 indictments of Trump and his evil cohorts to be done before Fannie's in Atlanta.  Sounds good to me.  I'm sure his team and Fannie's team are having some really sweet conversations.

It also looks like Sweden's going to be joining NATO.  I find it nearly hilarious that the one thing Vlad the stupid didn't want is happening because his greed for power is making him look overwhelmingly stupid.  He wanted his blow bro Trump to dismantle the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and instead the organization is growing larger, and stronger.  I'm fine with this!

Remember Riunite on Ice?

 We had spotty showers yesterday.  The same thing is predicted for today as well.  We're still not supposed to hit that 60 (F) degree mark.  I'd like to say I can't wait for summer, but that means the heat and we never know about that.  Luckily, those 100 (F) degree days have missed us here in Central Pa.  At some point our luck is going to give out and then people are going to complain.

I had my blood draw yesterday for the physical I have scheduled for next week.  They only took 3 vials, and of course the standard cup of coffee scented pee.  Usually I have milk in my coffee, but on blood draw mornings I forgo the milk because of... fasting.

And yesterday was also fitness day.  Around 10 am I drove over to Planet Fitness for the first time since the pandemic.  I have dumbbells but I can be very lax when it comes to using them regularly.  It turns out that 10 am is the perfect time, the gym was fairly empty except for older people, so there were no waiting times to use any of the equipment.  

Adding to the fitness fun, later in the afternoon I rode 14 miles in Italy.  That was good, too.  I averaged around 16 miles per hour.

There's a section in the new book were the team orders Chinese food and, of course, they need to pair their dinner with the perfect wine.  Well, it turns out that you should drink Lambrusco with Sweet and Sour Chicken, and since I can't ever remember drinking Lambrusco I thought I should at least give it a try.  Well, my local store only carried Riunite and besides having a twisty cap, it's very cheap.  I do think quality is reflected in cost, so rather than buy something inexpensive, I ordered a more expensive bottle, not so expensive that if I find it not to my liking I'll have problems pouring it away. 

And yesterday the Russians said they thwarted an assassination attempt on Putin by taking down two drones that had been sent to kill him.  Nobody believes them.  Nobody believes the Russians anymore except those who want to ally themselves with an authoritarian government.  The Russkies also told the world the drones had been sent by the Ukraine.  Nobody believes that either.  If there were drones, they were most likely sent by anti-Putin forces in Russia.  His 3 day war with the Ukraine has been going for quite some time now and many of Russians are becoming dissatisfied with what they are seeing as his failure.  There is the possibility that they're going to use this as an excuse for more intensive rocket attacks against Kiev.   Who knows with the Russians.

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And evidently Jack Smith sat in on Mikey Pence's testimony before the Grand Jury.  Interesting.  They even talked afterwards.  While this does not make them bosom buddies I'd say it probably doesn't bode well for the Orange Despot wannabe.

 

Release Day

 Yesterday was nice and sunny, and by that I mean the temps topped 70 (F).  There was a bit of a breeze in the air, but nothing to complain about.  Temps are supposed to coast back down into the more seasonal range.  I can deal with that.  We've basically got a month and a couple of days until we are officially in spring.  Then we'll be able to say "what a strangely warm winter we've had."

I had lunch with my cousin Robin and her husband yesterday. I'm the baby of the bunch by 3 months.  Being the baby can be good when you're as old as we are.  Afterwards, I stopped in to see my Aunt Lois.  She reminded me she's 88.  The Snyder side of the family has always been long lived.  We laughed at our old memories... and they are old.  Both of my sets of grandparents were from a small town named Pine Grove and, unlike the rest of my cousins, I spent much of my summer off from school with them.  It was a good visit.

Editor number 2 has The Body Under Ice.  Later this morning, after my treadmill time, I want to do another little video for YouTube.  They're fun, too,.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute released an 86 minute video of the Titanic.  There is no narration, but there music, just the footage that was shot the first time they sent a camera down in 1986.  The ship is continually falling apart, and will not be a long term memorial for those who died.  I think that's what people though was going to happen.  There are frequent trips down to see the wreckage and apparently souvenirs are being taken.  Honestly, I have no problem with that.

Today is Release Day.  In other words, some of the Grand Jury report on Trump's Atlanta interference is going to be released to the public, i.e. the prologue and the conclusion.  Oh, and there's a bit about the liars.  You know?  Those people who swore to tell the truth and then lied.  I do believe the reason the judge decided to have Release Day was an incentive for Fani to speed up the action, another way to tell her it's time to either indict or get off the pot, so to speak.

And evidently a 3rd Trump attorney has been forced to testify in Jack Smith's investigation.  These attorney's are basically being treated as hostile witnesses.  If they get caught lying, they can be prosecuted.  We all know that by working for Trump, lying is second nature to them.  

Three Times a Loser

 We have fog.  Dense.  Not the sort of thing you want to have to drive through in the dark of night.  Accu-weather sent our warnings.  Sadly, the sun will begin to burn it off... just before the rain arrives.  Yep.  More rain is on the way.  The temps are supposed to climb into the low 60s (F), quite unusual for January.  After today, temps are supposed to cool down and become more seasonal.  For us here in Central PA, that's usually in the mid 40 (F) range.

Yesterday was fairly quiet here.  I worked on the 50 gallon tank for a bit.  Worked on the new book.  Not surprisingly, I decided to throw-out half of a chapter and do a rewrite.  That's how it goes.  Last week I edited out a section where Eli and Bobby have a discussion about the shape of Black Holes.  It was interesting, but had nothing to do with the story.  For those interested, Black Holes are not flat, nor are they convex on concave.  Most of us think of them as being similar to whirlpools, with a spinning edge that sucks everything in.  They're actually sort of pill shaped.

They're working on the house next door.  This is the first time workers have been there during the day, usually it's late afternoon.

And for today's picture, I chose this one, of Kev McCarthy after his 3rd loss.

I don't if any else saw, but Ted Lieu took a bag of popcorn.  Me?  I kept laughing.  Vote after vote, after vote.  The Republican implosion is really beginning to take off.  Part of the problem is the American Freedom Caucus, which the party has let run rampant in the House for years.  Many of them are still aligned with Trump, and are still election deniers.  The fact that he diminishes them is something they will never understand.  Had the Red Wave happened, McCarthy wouldn't have had to deal with them.  Even when the Republicans do manage to elect a speaker, don't expect much to happen.

Jack Smith, who had been waylaid in Europe because of surgery, he'd had a serious biking accident, has quietly returned to the United States.  Prepare for indictments to follow.  With each indictment, the Republican party, and the American Freedom Caucus in particular, is going to implode.  Self-destruction is eminent.  

And, finally, George Santos wandered around inside the capital yesterday.  The first thing that went through my mind when I saw him walking the halls was that he was wearing a sweater.  (Did you hear me laughing?).  The second, and most obvious thing I realized was that no one was talking to him.  He was completely ignored, and I could only wonder what he thought was going to happen.  After all of his lies, did he believe lying Republicans were going to meet him with open arms?

 

Sing

 The temps outside are a cool 26 (F).  There was some snow in the forecast yesterday, but we're too far from the lakes for them to effect us.  Not so for Buffalo.  They've had 5 feet  (1.52 meters), with more on the way.  Of course the climate deniers will be pointing at this and ask how can be global warming when this happens.  Believe me, many have tried, there's no fixing stupid.

Yesterday was busy.  Just because I chose to sleep in doesn't mean I didn't get much accomplished.  I did.  

This afternoon, I have a Zoom call with my Navy buddies.  That should be interesting.  These calls have turned into an annual event.  It is interesting to see how age is effecting us.  Some are handling the years gracefully, others, unfortunately, are having difficulties.  By the same token, some of us have been more successful than others.  That alone is very interesting.  

Final prep work for painting the new laundry room will be finished by the time I sit down for in front of the camera.

So, I'm into the final chapter of The Body Under Ice, tentatively titled:  Karaoke.  Tell me, do you think somebody is going to sing?  While this picture has nothing to do with the book, I'm surprised no one has made this into a movie yet.

And Merrick Garland has assigned a Special Council to multiple Trump cases; he and his supporters are flipping out.  Badly.  The move was done to take away any implications that what is going to come, and it is going to come for those waiting in anticipation, is not politically motivated.  Jack Smith is now, and has always been registered as an Independent voter.  He has a reputation for bringing his investigations to a rapid conclusion.  He wins.  Knowing how meticulous Garland is, a man whom also wins, this decision was made some time ago.  I wouldn't doubt if Smith has already been hard at work.  Indictments are coming.  Notice I'm using the plural form.  I wouldn't be surprised if multiple people find themselves on the wrong end of the law.  And some of those other people are frightened.  The tenor of fear in their voices says so much (also notice, I didn't say sing, that's too bad of a pun).