The Tool

 The weekend has arrived and it's bringing with it some early morning sunshine that will disappear behind dour clouds sometime this afternoon.  More rain is approaching.  The prediction is for it to be heavy at times, like last week, and... like last week, it's supposed to hang around until sometime on Monday.  Now, don't that make you wish you were part duck?

I do have to work today.  I'm not expecting the flooring and decor departments to be busy.  Hardware and Garden are where all the buckos are going to be spent, with possibly some in paint as a few people think a new coat of paint in necessary to impress the friends and relatives.  There was a time when it used to be flooring people wanted to make those impressions and we were forced to stick to a specific calendar in order to insure installation in time for Christmas.  Not anymore.  This doesn't mean that some uniformed soul isn't going to walk into the department believing we can put in a new floor within the next 7 days.

Because I can afford it, and because I simply despise commercials, I upgraded my Disney and Hulu to commercial free.  I did try watching the channels with commercial breaks and realized that my brain required continuity.  Maybe it was because all of the advertising was for products I have zero interest in purchasing.

Back when I had Pronto plumbing install the water water hookups on the second floor for my laundry, one of the workmen informed me that I'd been given some sort of filter that I probably didn't know I needed.  Chances are if you don't know you need it, you probably don't, and the only thing it's doing is adding another charge onto your bill.  Well, the filter they were talking about was in the bathroom faucet.  What it did do was drastically reduce the water pressure from the tap. At first, I though the drop in pressure was because of the washer, but then I realized the true source, this stupid filter, and immediately began trying to remove the damn thing.  I ended up buying a tool, and this past week managed to break part of the filter out.  Water pressure is back to normal.  This is the little devil that was causing the problem and the tool that took it out.

And what about Rudy's million dollar settlement?  Wowza!  I found it interesting that one of his attorneys said Giuliani's drinking was major part of his problem.  I remember when the January 6 hearings were taking place and witnesses were saying that there times when you could smell the alcohol on his breath.  So, basically, Rudy Giuliani is not just a liar, he's drunkard as well.  Why does this not surprise me.  

And The Hill came put out an article this morning purporting that current polls show Trump easily winning the GOP nomination in swing states, and... possibly, those states if the election were to happen today.  First things first: polls lie.  I only know one person who answers random phone calls and he does it to harass the callers, and if it were a pollster?  He'd lie because he'd think it was fun.  Second up is that members of Gen Z might look at a text, but they don't answer phone calls unless it's one of their friends.  Oh, wait, that's actually part of "first things first."  In order for any poll to have even the slightest bit of veracity, they need to begin listing the total number of calls they made in order to reach the1400 voters their poll required.  Honestly, I don't know a single pollster that does this.  So, ignore all polls.

 

When is a Holiday not a Holiday?

 Maybe we here in Central PA should all start singing Stormy Weather since yesterday was a replay of the day before, in fact, our weather patterns seem to be stuck in reruns.  The same pattern is predicted to happen today: a rise in humidity followed by storms, some of which are accompanied by thunder and lightning.  Keep in mind, we are getting lots of much needed rain.  My lawn is green!

I had to deal with a customer yesterday who is... was not too wise.  She has dogs who pee on the floor, so she had her carpet removed and had cheap laminate installed.  How cheap, just a smidgen above the crap we won't install because it's simply too cheap.  The product she chose is so cheap our measurement service refused to build a quote, so I had them build a quote with one product and then substituted the correct product.  She sat by the flooring desk and played games on her phone while I rebuilt her quote.  She can afford better, but she's one of those people who thinks cost doesn't matter, that the same quality is there no matter how inexpensive the product.  Within a year, because her dogs will be peeing on that flooring, it will warp and soak in the dog pee, and it will start to stink, and she'll have to replace it.  She is going to get what she paid for.

So, today is a holiday that isn't a holiday.  For some, this will be the official paid holiday, for others it will be tomorrow.  Some business will be closed today so their employees can have 3 or 4 day weekends, others will not.  Today they will be grilling hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken at the store, tomorrow they will not... at least nothing's in the plans so far for tomorrow.  Since I work today, I won't have to take a lunch.  Since I'm off tomorrow, I don't really care.  So, if you're scheduled off today and get holiday pay, have a Happy Fourth (Pt 1).

And because this is a holiday weekend, the political news has been rather quiet, possibly because all Hell is going to be let loose.  There are rumors swirling that the Orange Turds attorneys have received notification of more indictments coming from Atlanta.  There are also whispers about additional indictments coming from the Mar a Lago document case.  People are asking if Rudy G. is going to voluntarily flip...  that shouldn't even be a question.  For all the loyalty Trump demands, he never, ever gives any in return.  Then he gets pissed when people turn on him.  Those fools who stay loyal to him will never get a holiday, unless they're like Rudy and flip to save their own selfish ass.

Martha Stewart

 Hello Tuesday!  Today's forecast is sunshine with the temps climbing up into the low 80s (F).  I can live with this.  And, of course, since this is Tuesday I am not scheduled to work.  In fact, for the next few weeks I'm only working weekends and Mondays.  

I did work yesterday and it was slow.  Very slow.  The orange retailer I work for is initiating a new policy regarding specialist, we need to make our measure goal and sales or we take the risk of being written up.  Yep, that's right, if you don't reach your goals you're going to be put on notice.  This is because sales are... not what they want.  They ignore the fact that you can't get measures if customers are not walking into the specialty departments.  I suspect what they want to do is turn us into the flooring version of a used car salesman.

I did look at Twitter yesterday, but not much.  It has changed so much.  Some of the people I followed have moved on to other social media platforms.  Others either don't seem to post as much, or are being blocked.  At one time, I posted regularly, now that rarely happens.  One thing, however did seem to trend for a bit and that was the discussion of Martha Stewart appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated' s swimsuit edition.  She's 81.  Some people were very upset.  Here's the cover pic, evidently heavily airbrushed, and there's no telling how much makeup they lathered on her face for her to look like this.

I saw that Dunham's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election has been put to bed.  The GOP is upset because it makes them look like incompetents, as they are.

And Giuliani's being sued... big time.  Selling pardons for $2 million each.  Now tell me, is anybody surprised?  I'm not.  A day doesn't pass by when it doesn't seem as though more corruption bubbles to the surface.

Put up or Shut up

 Hello Wednesday.  Midwoch for some, and the weather outside is lovely.  Skies are a clear, cool blue, though them temps are suppose to climb into the mid 80s (F) this afternoon.  In the early hours of tomorrow morning Autumn will come knocking.  I hope everybody's ready, I know I am.

One of the lights in my refrigerator burned out.  I need to pick up milk later, so I'll see if they have one at my local, neighborhood Giant supermarket.  If not, I'll pick one up when I go to work tomorrow.  

Speaking of the store, our bonus checks are being disbursed on Friday.  This will be the first I've gotten since going part-time.  While being a benefit, part-timers have never real gotten anything substantial.  Of course, I'm not a regular part-timer... I have mgmt. history, so I was pleased to see that this little deposit will handily pay for the flooring I just bought.

And I went to the movies last evening to see the comedy, mystery See How They Run.  It was quite enjoyable.  Split screens were used effectively, especially in one pivotal scene where something has happened and the cast members are all rushing to discover... something.  The movie begins on the 100th anniversary of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.  The cast, including Dickie Attenborough, is celebrating, and of course murder and mayhem ensue.

Judge Dearie, the Special Master that Donald Trump so desperately wanted, basically told Trump's legal team to "put up, or shut up," yesterday.  He wants a list of the classified documents Trump claims to have declassified and the proof the declassification was done.  Ouch!  This was a gamble by the Orange Anus and, if one takes a look at his previous wagers, (the steaks, the ties, the wine, and the university) you'll see he loses far more often than he wins.  Being the pathological narcissist that he is, however, in his mind there are no losses, only successes.  

There's a good possibility Trump's bad week will be continuing this week.  Fani Willis, the Fulton County AG, is going to make a big announcement today.  While a lot of people are praying she's going to indict Trump, I'm betting it will be Rudy Giuliani who makes the Perp Walk.  Though, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't be disappointed if it was Lindsey Graham.  Though I think Rudy will flip faster than Graham, who will never leave his concrete closet.  

UPDATE:  my apologies it seems it was Letitia who had the big announcement, not Fani.

I'll drink to that

 My weekend is begging with a thunderstorm, not too much thunder, but rain... again.  Lucky for me I got the dogs out before it started, neither likes to get showered upon.  On the bright side, even though outside the skies are overcast, I already have the first load of laundry in the washer.

Yesterday was slow at the store.  My measure goal for this week is 1.  Last week I managed to get 2 measures, my goal was 3.  For me, I think 1 is doable. 

I was talking to our HR rep yesterday and she let me know that the old woman whom I'd told to shut up is being transferred to the front end.  She's going to be a cashier, a position she had originally been hired to do.  When the realized she had problems with understanding that job, they made her a Greeter, and then they had her taking returns to departments for a while, and finally they made her an aisle associate in my department.  I'm suspecting they know she's going to fail, providing them with a valid reason to let her go.  I should feel bad because she's a senior citizen, she might need the income, however, we have a number of seniors citizens working for us now.  Many of our day cashiers are now older men and women.  The difference between them and this woman?  They know how to filter their opinions when dealing with customers, and other associates.  Perhaps if she weren't a Holy MAGA this woman might understand.

My new printer has now become part of the decor in my writing room.  Originally, it was sitting on a rolling laptop desk, which I hated.  So, I took a very old, two drawer beige filing cabinet and painted it to coordinate with the area rug.  Voila.

I painted the handles Sea Foam Blue

The January 6 committee was in fine form yesterday.  The only issue I had was with Billy Barr.  When he said that Trump did not have a grasp on reality, I wondered whether he was setting up some sort of insanity plea should the DOJ indict.  Later, I saw I was not the only to take a long 'hmmm' moment to question what Billy was actually doing.  The $250 million raised for an election fund raised the ominous specter of wire fraud.  Jail time there, if he's still in this country by then.  

A bit I saw in the NYT that I found interesting, helmet-haired Betsy DeVos, upon finding out how arduous the process would be to remove Trump using the 25th amendment resigned.  That fit her selfish profile.

And finally, one of the funny things I saw on social media was this:  every time the name Rudy Giuliani comes up in the hearings you need to take a drink, alcohol of course, since witness after witness has somehow managed to say, "you could tell he'd been drinking."

Yum's the word

We had nice temps yesterday shame I had to work.  The thermometer is supposed to rise into the mid 80's (F) today.  Shame I have to work.

Flooring was a bit on the slow side yesterday.  I suspect today might be the same.  I'm only expected to get 2 measures this week.  The truth is we're heading into Memorial Day.  People are more concerned with what their house looks on the outside then getting new flooring.  Barbecues are being planned.  Covid will spread among the unprotected.  This is how life goes.  At this point, after a year of wearing a mask, I don't really have a problem with that since this is how evolution works.  If you're given the opportunity to protect yourself and you chose not to, well that's your responsibility, isn't it?  The constitution was not written to make you stay healthy, just don't expect a lot of sympathy from us 'smart' ones.

That wheat bread was so tasty, I'm going to bake another loaf tomorrow.  Yum's the word.

My third reader returned his copy of The Body in the Loch yesterday.  Certain sentences earned little smiley faces, like this one:  'The countryside was beautiful, forests planting their feet all the way to the craggy hills with garlands of rocks.'  I can only believe he thinks this is what Scotland looks like.

And while I'm still jotting down notes, lots and lots of notes, on The Body in Repose, I can tell you this little ditty will play a part in the story.

I understand the Republicans are going after Liz Cheney.  They don't understand she represents their Centrist wing.  Oh, and they booed Mitt Romney.  This is a party that has grown delusional.  So far out of touch with America.  They will never understand a majority of Americans view Loser #45 as a used car salesman pushing shitty, little lies.

Oh, and I guess the question 'de jour' is whether Rudy Kazoody is going to flip.  I've heard he's already 'cooperating' with the Justice Department.  I also understand that Ronnie Johnson is in the same boat.  I can 'tell all' books in both of their futures.  We'll just have to wait to see which one uses the title "I Was a Dupe for the Russkies."  Now, won't that be a tasty morsel.  Yum!

 

Political Humor

I get to go back to work today.  This is going to be one of those odd weeks.  Rain today, and tomorrow.  The temps are supposed to be warm, but few go out buying their garden supplies in a constant drizzle.  This is also the week of our success sharing bonus - I understand the theme is Circus, Circus, Circus.  We used to have big events where the entire store gathered together to celebrate.  Now we have safely distanced smaller events with more food.  I prefer the new ones over the old.  I'm not a big event, celebratory kind of guy.  Going to a big party is not my idea of fun.

Yesterday much yard work was accomplished, the dogs were walked around the block, and a played Valhalla.  Oh, and I went for a bike ride somewhere in Germany.  The rides are fun, though in a survey Tacx sent me, I noted more rides in America would be nice.  Right now there are 7, and they're GPS rides, meaning there is no real video, just a GPS map your icon moves across.

Polls indicate LGBT individuals are finding more and more acceptance in America.  You know this is driving the Cracker Jack Crazies... well, crazy.  I don't know if you've seen or heard about any of the Rants from Tony Perkins, but according to him America is teetering on the edge of a quick slide down into hell.  His real problem is that those accepting his mythological basis for hate are in the decline.  This has always been a problem with mythologies, time always reveals how much they're based on fiction. 

And now for a smidgen of political humor.  Sydney Powell has filed paperwork in her defense against Dominion's lawsuit stating no 'responsible' person would have believed her claims of election fraud.

This means Tucker Carlson is... has no sense of reason.  Neither does Rudy the 'G,' or Loser #45.  In fact, now Sydney is claiming that the entire Republican party, a group of individual who back her crackpot lies because it suited their purpose has no sense of reason.  I'm wondering if Rudy the 'G' is going to crack as well, and if he does, who's he going to blame.