Whoopee

 Well, here in Central PA we are halfway through the July 4 holiday weekend.  Whoopee.  Oh, and we had rain last night.  Lots of rain.  While not a deluge, it was steady and sometimes heavy.  More is expected today, with forecasters calling for cloudy skies and thunderstorms.  Last night's rain will insure my lawn gets another mowing this week.  Whoopee.

Business was slow yesterday at the store.  I cut some blinds for a customer.  That was about all the action I saw.  This is not the time of year for flooring.  There will be customers, however, who show up because they need a new grill and need to buy one that's fully assembled and ready to go.  We all know people like this, the ones who wait until the last minute because it never occurs to them that they might want to be a little preemptive when it comes to grilling on the holiday weekend.  They will also complain because we have no grills left in the mid-price range and the only grills sitting out front on our concrete apron and the high end grills, and those that might survive one barbecue.  

Yesterday was also the first stage of the Tour de France!  Whoopee!  I do like watching it live and would love to be there.  This year it starts in Spain.  The opening stage took them through a number of Spanish towns including Guernica.  I was waiting for the announcers to mention Picasso, or the fire bombing of that city... nada.  Even a slight mention would be nice.  I actually got a chance to see that infamous Picasso painting a long time ago.  

And as might be expected, the fallout is still dropping from the Supreme Court decisions.  I like to remind people, that for every action, there is a reaction.  This is how life moves on.  This is also how change happens.  Conservatives, in their desperate attempt to turn back to clock do not understand this, which is why all of their attempts to alter the future will fail.  Without evolution there is death.

As a point of interest, I'd like to point out something I mentioned a while back the AI Jesus showing up on the internet.  I asked 2 people the same thing, "when the AI Jesus answers, could it be God speaking?"  One of them nodded and told I was asking a valid question.  The other, however, said he didn't trust AI, and would rather depend upon the old ways.  Translation:  the 2 individual doesn't really want God to speak, he wants everything that can be said, to have been already said.  God can't do any finetuning because His words might not be what the 2nd individual wants to hear.  No matter how safe the old ways seem to be, they will always fail. Life and religion will move on, leaving them far behind.  Whoopee!

The Long Run

 Well, happy Sunday, slow day.  I don't work today, so it is almost truly going to be a day of rest... hey, who am I kidding.  Later this morning there will be a mowing of the lawn, and the loading of the washer (at least 3 times), and the emptying of the dryer.  I might even get a ride in, if I don't get bogged down.  Sundays are a good day for bogging down, in case you didn't know.

I was planning on watching the last episode of Star Trek's Strange Journeys last evening, but Paramount + needs an update and my TV was not being very receptive.  Instead, I watched the first episode of Moonhaven on AMC +, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Since AMC + is a subscription service, as is Paramount +, after the season finale of Star Trek, I'll probably drop the Paramount and subscribe to AMC.  Then, probably in December, I'll flip back, cancelling the subscription to AMC and resubscribing to Paramount.  There is no reason I should be paying for a service I'm not using.

For those who don't know, the Tour de France is cycling, and sprinting, and climbing through the French countryside.  During previous years I watched as many stages as possible.  This year?  Well, NBC Sports, which carries the race merged with its parent company and is now part of Peacock TV, the NBC subscription service.  Without cable, I can only subscribe to Peacock TV through my Xbox (Microsoft).   Well, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.  I don't want to have 3 different pieces of electronic gear turned on to watch one network.  Life needs to be more simple, less complicated.

As I was taking some garbage out this morning, I saw a black cat staring at me from the top of the hill behind my house.  I had a black cat named Kiki a long time ago.  Could this be her ghost?

There's a lot of chatter going on about Biden's age.  Is he too old?  I think so.  But then I also think Nancy Pelosi is too old, as is Diane Feinstein (way too old), and that moral degenerate Mitch McConnell.  Your brain, like your body, changes through the years.  Older brains are not as resilient.  I say this as someone who is as someone who is aging.  This does not mean I'm less creative, I do, however, think I'm directing my creativity much better than when I was younger.  I am quicker to ponder taking action rather than simply jumping into the fray. This is not a drawback in my personal life, however there is a great difference between managing my life and managing the country.  Older people tend to be more hardened in their ways, less open to compromise.  In case you haven't noticed, I am very opinionated.  Someone needs to tell Uncle Joe there is nothing wrong with being a transitional president.  He will be better accepted and respected in the long run.

In the Dark

 Yesterday, as I was preparing to leave work, we got smacked by a thunderstorm.  On the Accuweather map, we were covered by a bright, hot pink spot.  Red spots are bad, bright, hot pink spots equal strong winds and torrential downpours with lightening zig-zagging in every direction, and loud crashing thunder shaking the very air molecules you're breathing.  It was stupendous!  I do like storms and like watching them from a safe place.  Of course, there are those non-thinkers who have no problem standing in glass vestibules watching shopping carts fly through the air.

Of course, the temps here yesterday afternoon were stuck in the 98 (F) doldrums with nary a breeze for comfort.  When I was young, the few places to actually have air-conditioning were movie theaters, so people when to the movies to get cool.  Nowadays, most retailers have 'air.'  Our, however, is managed by corporate.  This means our lights will dim for a while to compensate for the electric costs used for the 'air.'  Believe, some departments get really dark for short periods of time.  

And yesterday Bill Cosby was set free on what they say is a technicality.  He was in jail for 2 years of what was probably going to be a 3 year sentence.  As for the technicality?  Evidently he gave protected testimony as part of a plea deal to one District Attorney, and then another District Attorney used that testimony to convict him.  This is quite non-kosher, and so Bill's a free man today.  This is what happens when you fail to line up all of your ducks in a row.

Oh, and the woman who caused the crash at the Tour de France has been arrested.  Good.  That's something I will never have to worry about.  For those of you who've never seen it, here's my cycling set up.

Finally, for those stuck in the dark, they have begun to file charges against the Trump Organization.  This is just the beginning.  There is a growing surge of whispers that Weisselberg is going to flip on his boss.  He's an old man who doesn't want to spend the rest of his days in jail to protect a loser.  I don't doubt he will see the light and strike a plea deal, just like Cosby, simply to save his old ass.

Taking the temps

 And so today I reach the end of my 4 day work week as many of you begin yours.  Ain't life odd sometimes?  My lunch / dinner is cooking in a small crockpot: chicken, with olives, tomatoes and basil.  I threw in a handful of white grapes to give it a bit of pizazz.  And yes, if you're wondering, I cook my lunch everyday, and always with fresh vegetables.  

Today the mercury is supposed to climb up to 94 (F).  I don't know if anyone says that anymore, but that used to be a rather common phrase.  There was a time when people used mercury in thermometers, even the ones in stuck beneath your tongue to take your temperature.  Once, when I wasn't feeling well at school, I bit one and broke it; the school nurse was not pleased and had me spit out the pieces.  Now, just sit back and imagine that, me, with mercury in my mouth and having to spit it out.  For those who don't know, mercury is poisonous.  And we used it in thermometers.

For those who don't know, the Tour de France in now racing it's way through France.  Interestingly, I learned about the big crash on Day 1 from people at work coming up to the Flooring Desk and asking if I had heard about it.  Two associates gathered around as I pulled up the videos on my PC.  Until I began talking about the race, and watching it, they wouldn't have given the Tour a wit of thought.  The crash everyone was talking about was caused by a fan, shoving a sign bearing the name of her town out into the peloton.  her stupidity raise the temps of  the Tour's racing officials and now they're going to sue her ass.  More power to them.

And a Republican committee in Michigan rebuked The Other Guy and his Big Lie.   That's right, they found no fraud, saying he lost fair and square, not that the truth is going to sit easy with his base, or that they'll even consider it.  Nope.  Their hatred is hot.  The truth is Republicans have always been rotten losers.  Always.  This is why 'voter fraud' has been their favorite whine for years.  It's easier for them to believe that then the fact that Americans really don't like either them, or their politcs.

On a Scale of Evil

 Monday.  My Friday.  After working 6 days in a row, I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  My list of chores is growing.  I'm already on my 2nd load of laundry.  I want to purchase my new storm door when I leave work today and tomorrow I may begin the installation process.

The one remaining 16 cent goldfish looks a bit odd.  His dorsal fin is down, not a good sign.  If he take the southern current, I'm thinking of replacing him with a Beta.  They're solitary, not at all social.  They like to pick fights.  They are both pretty... and pretty aggressive.  That teeny tank is small, so it would only be him.  Hhhm, something to think about.

This year the Tour was won by Primoz Roglic, a Slovenian who started off as a ski jumper.  Go figure.  Here's a nice snap as they head up the Champs Elysees. 

For those who don't know, the Democrats crushed fund raising records in the 28 hours after the death of RBG, 91 million.  And don't forget, the Idiot Jerk is running out of money.  I believe his war chest is down to around 300 million while Joe's is approaching 500 million.  Ouch!

And while Evangelicals are dancing with delight because he might nominate a Cracker Jack Crazy Christian, they are forgetting the one thing most important in his mind.  Getting re-elected.  Since they've already sold him their souls, their votes are a sure thing.  They're not even going to care if he betrays them.  It's the Latinos from Florida he desperately wants to rope in... which is why Barbara Lagoa seems to be in the ascendency.  While she is Cracker Jack Crazy, her heart isn't as full of religious hatred as some of the other women he's considering, she seems to hate on other levels.  On a scale of evil, with 10 being the worst and 1 being the best, Lagoa is about 7.5.

A majority of Americans say filling the vacancy at the Supreme Court should be done after the election, since when does that minority group, the Republicans, care about what the majority think, or say.  Remember, their credo is "Shut Up!  We're in Charge."  Well, that's going to change. 

Incentive to Vote

 Yesterday was slow at work, at least in the flooring department.  Christmas merchandise started arriving back in Receiving.  Yes, it's that time of year.  

The transition of my old / new laptop into my fitness tracking computer is complete.  It gets its first run through tonight. I need to do a medium sized ride since I am not about 15 miles behind the pace needed to hit my 2500 miles.

Treaders mentions the constant whirring of helicopter blades overhead at the Tour de France.  There are at three sometimes four helicopters in the air televising the race, the French feed as well as other network / sports feeds.  There are also feeds for cameras on motorcycles (quite a number of those) focusing on different sections of the peloton.  Breakaways get their own camera man.  There is a lot of volume for a bicycle race.  I write about this in The Body in the Tower (notice how I'm tastefully plugging one of my own books?).

And last evening, while I was working on The Body in the Loch, I got the news flash about Ruth Bader-Ginsburg.  Everything in my head just stopped.  One of the greatest voices of America has been silenced.

 Of course, McConnell said there the Senate was going to vote on a replacement.  Believe me, he doesn't give a shit if you call him a hypocrite.  This is about power, the ability to dictate and control.  This is the wet dream of every Conservative out there, being able to name 3 Supreme Court justices, to force the country down a Conservative path that only satiates the animal hunger of a minority group.

This is the greatest incentive to go out and vote Blue in the annuls of American History.  I doubt very much if the Senate will be able to confirm before the election... too many Republican senators are at risk of getting fired because of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  But then they're stupid, and they're power hungry, so who knows.

Keep in mind, Congress has the ability to change the number of sitting Supreme Court justices.   A lot of people don't know this.  Roosevelt tried to pack the court in 1937 with one new seat for every justice over the age of 70.  That didn't work.  However, a Democratic House and Senate, along with a Democratic president would have no problem adding two more seats the bench in order to keep the court Centrist.  Congress can also reduce the number of justices to do the same thing.  They could reduce the number of justices down to 7 and get rid of two of the Conservatives.  Also, keep in mind, justices can also be impeached.    

Our upper most Blue priority must be to insure this never happens again,

Danger Zone

 Okay, so I went in and changed my scheduled work hours yesterday.  On October 12 I will be back working the shift I originally had when I stepped down from management, starting at 1030.  This will give me about 4 hours in the morning to get to the gym (something that hasn't happened in a while), get in a bike ride, walk the dogs and get the blog written.  I thought I could easily shift things to an earlier time slot when I switched to the 0800 time slot... that didn't happen.

A really big Shout Out to Treaders who got experience the wonder and joy of the Tour de France!  She also got to experience first hand how in France everything shuts down the day the Tour arrives in town.  If you're a tourist in Paris only a few of the attractions will be open so you might as well head to Champs Elysees like everybody else.

I saw this in the NYT trying to explain how the Cracker Jack Christians have become a cult surrounding the Idiot Jerk in the White House and how they have quite a lot in common with a nasty conspiracy theory about his being under siege.  I can see where the verse from Corinthians has the potential of turning them into domestic terrorists.  Believe me, they will get worse if the Idiot Jerk manages to stay in power.  He's just as screwed up in the head as they are.  The last thing we want is the Evangelical version of the Taliban running our country.

A funny thing was mentioned to me the other day about the Idiot Jerk's taxes, a very viable reason why he's so desperately trying to keep them secret (other then the fact that there are some really big Russian buck keeping him afloat).  That reason:  once they are release, a swarm of forensic accountants will start stripping away the phoniness.  The end result will be that the Idiot Jerk is charge with Tax Evasion.  Add that to the charges of Bank Fraud and Insurance Fraud and you get 'jail time.'  This is why, when Biden is declared the victor, the Idiot Jerk will begin transitioning to Russia, the only country that will offer him safety and he will avoid at all costs any roads that take him back to the Danger Zone.

Just call me Simple

 For many Americans, today's a holiday.  Labor Day.  They don't have to work, either from home or at the office.  To be honest, I didn't even realize today was a holiday.  I don't have to work either, though that's because this is the only day I have off in a string of 11 days   There's tons of shit I need to get done around the house.  Nope, no real holiday for me.  No relaxing.  The lawn needs mowing, new trim needs to be put around the new / old back door, my supermarket shopping needs to be done, and I want to get a ride in, right now I'm 18 miles ahead in my goal of riding 2500 miles this year.  Oh, and the Tour de France needs to be watched on TV.  Oh... and there's laundry.

I went to the movies last night.  Everything was super safe.  You needed to keep a mask on unless you were eating a snack or drinking a beverage.  Every other row was closed off.  There was hand sanitizer everywhere.  As we were leaving there were 2 associates waiting with a sprayer to go in and disinfect.  Personally, I felt far safer there then I do going to the store everyday where hundreds of strangers walk through the front door daily, no small number without masks... and touch everything.

And what film did I go see?  "Tenet."  Think time inversion.  The kid at the concession stand said "there are times when you really need to think."  That was an understatement.  A number of words are.. taped together to form a semi-cohesive thesis revolving around entropy.  Since most people know nothing about entropy, you might just was well say the film is about throwing cooked spaghetti against the wall and seeing how long it sticks.  As with Christopher Nolan's other 2 mind bending films, "Memento" and "Inception,"  the audience is there for the eye candy and the special effects.  No one is buying a ticket for a lesson in physics, it's a screenplay, remember?  Me?  Even though I liked it, I found parts confusing.  Of course, the only reason I bought my ticket was for a chance to go to the movies... and the special effects... and the eye candy.  Just call me simple.

From the Land of Dark Shadows

We had on and off drizzles yesterday, the temps were fairly comfortable, but there was humidity.  The forecast is the same for today.  The only difference?  I go back to work.

Here's a little irony.  I pay around $65 a year for NBC Sports Gold to watch cycling.  Yesterday, about 2 hours into the Stage 4 of the Tour de France, my TV went black.  Son of a bitch.  The TV was working, no problem there, so I went back into NBC Sports and got the following message:  "You have an update to this App."  Fifteen minutes.  I skipped the update since I had that option.

I put in a new threshold yesterday at the back door.  Easy Peasy.  Took me about 15 minutes.  Shame they couldn't have sent the notice about the update earlier.

Today's the first day I am required to do a Health Check before I can punch in to go to work.  I take my temp and fill out a survey while I'm at home.  Then, upon entering the store, I need to stand in front of a camera which will take my temperature.  If I have a fever of 100.4 (F) they send me home.  This doesn't bother me, though I'm fairly certain there are those Republicans in the building whom it will infuriate.  Good.

In spite of all the Idiot Jerk's machinations against mail in voting, his campaign is targeting his supporters, encouraging them to do just that.  Now the White House is saying it's only Universal mail in voting, where the states send out ballots to everybody, that's a problem.  He has no problem if his supporters vote by mail.  Excuse me, but didn't he just shit in his pants?

And what about the interview with Laura Ingraham?  Wasn't that a shit show?  I do believe the Idiot Jerk even surprised Laura with his decent in to Crazy Land.  Even she questioned his comparing the shooting of a man in the back by a police officer to choking on a putt in golf.  That was before she quickly cut to a commercial break in order to change the subject.  Maybe he was subconsciously vocalizing his belief that a putt is really nothing more than a mini-stroke.  Ouch.

And what about the Dark Shadows?  I sent my brother a text asking if, when the Idiot Jerk was talking about a plane full of thugs, (and now fascists), he was really talking about Barnabas.  Oh, dear Lord save us!  Was that unknown city Collinsport?  Was Roger Collins piloting?  Heaven help us if Angelique was one of the flight attendants!

Or, is he really dealing with dementia brought on by a series of Mini-Strokes?

 

Damned Liar

Hello September!

Yesterday the temps stayed on the cool side, we had drizzles on and off.  I spent a lot of my time working on the new / old back door, modifying the frame.  In a 115 year old house nothing is square, so I need to add to the trim.  No big deal.

And, of course, I had to make time for Stage 3 of the Tour de France.  When they crossed the Finish Line those Sprinters were pedaling at 62 kmh (38.5 mph).  Can we talk about having legs of steel?  Because of Covid, the cyclists are in a bubble, a very, very big bubble.  Everyone around them is wearing masks and social distancing.  While cycling, they themselves are not.  A vast majority of the fans are masked, and there are a lot of fans.  It's rather amazing.

For some time, the Idiot Jerk in the White House has been chiding Biden for staying in his basement.  Yesterday, he came out. He gave a speech in Pittsburgh.  That man is sharp as a tack, much sharper than the Idiot Jerk who's been known to shuffle from thought to thought.  As I was watching, I realized Biden is looking forward to the debates.  He's going to call the Idiot Jerk a Damn Liar on National TV.  We all know how poorly that's going to go over.  We may actually get to see 'lava level' anger.  My money says the more often Joe makes public appearances, the more resilient he shows his mind to be, the more the Idiot Jerk's advisors will begin to dread the debates.  Good.

For those who are voting by mail, make sure your ballot gets posted early!   And be prepared.  In some states they begin the verification process before the election, not so in Pennsylvania.  In this state, that process will not even begin until November 3.  There are a few states that don't even start to verify signatures until after the polls close.  In PA, they're trying to get that changed so votes can be counted more expediently.  However, we do know that the Republicans will do everything they possibly can to squash a fair election so I'm doubting if any kind of resolution will be passed. 

Finally, it's rose time again.  Here's one of my peachy roses.

As Expected

 Starting a 3 day miniva (new word.  mini + vacation... this will probably show up on the test).  So, I stayed up late watching "BioHackers."

I'll be honest, I thought this was going to be rather forgettable and I was wrong.  The cast is interesting and their problems and secrets help build the suspense.  The episodes are short, I think the longest is only 46 minutes.  There's not a lot of what I think of as character building fodder used by a lot of series to bring you hour-long episodes.

And, of course, the greatest cycling race in the world started yesterday in Nice, France.  I will be honest, it did bring a tear to my eye watching all those riders in the Peloton.  Lots of crashes ( a bad thing), but there are always crashes.  Here's a highlight clip.

Finally, as expected, the Idiot Jerk in the White House Tweeted some sort of inanity about his convention having lower ratings than the DNC.  His Ego Extravaganza was supposed to reboot his campaign.  Biden's approval rating when up after the Democrat's Convention.  The Idiot Jerk's... well, it stayed the same.  He does have his base who will stick with him like flies on shit.  To paraphrase CNN, 'a loud minority support him, not a silent majority.'

Christmas in July

 Okay, so it's Saturday.  This is the end of my work week, not the end of what I consider my 7 day week, that's tomorrow, Sunday.  Believe me, tomorrow is not going to be a day of rest.  I've things planned, not necessarily fun things either.  Chores, you know?  

I have a new set of cycling shorts coming today.  The foam padding in an older pair came loose and flip flopped while being washed.  Both pads always ended up under my left butt making my ass lopsided.   You have no idea how uncomfortable that is... having a lopsided ass.

I saw Chadwick Boseman lost his battle with cancer.  Such a terrible loss.  While he starred in a number of films, he will always be remembered for "The Black Panther."  Disney had no idea how well a superhero film with a mostly black cast was going to do; they expected moderate success.  "The Black Panther" swept around the world breaking box office records wherever it played.  It is a good legacy. 

Viewer ratings are in for the RNC.... oh, dear, I'm sure the Idiot Jerk must be fuming.  I'm surprised they haven't started shrieking fake new!  Fake News!  They got beaten quite handily by the Democratic Convention.  I read in BBC America how even his base said the convention was geared specifically for them.  This was not meant to be a 'growing' event.  Nope, I suspect this was more of a tourniquet procedure.  Where ever the virus goes, he loses support.

And this past week was horrendously bad for White Evangelicals.  Jerry Jr stepped down... albeit with a nice chunk of change.  The man, and his wife, are moral degenerates on par with the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  For years this man, and his wife, have been using their cherry picked scriptures to pass judgement on so many others while they, themselves, were living a sordid, little lie.  And the revelations continue to fall like turds.  Now, it turns out, the wife performed oral sex on one of their son's friends.  Maybe she was trying to show him how to correctly blow his horn.

And finally:

The Tour de France starts today!!!!

What with the stinky RNC tv ratings, and the Falwell fallout, this is almost like Christmas in July August.

The Gloves Are Off

 Since I have today off, and to celebrate the arrival of Jules Laurant at Dun Adair, I stopped off on my way home from work yesterday to pick up a bottle of his favorite beverage: Port.  Tasty stuff.  I actually like it better than Sherry.  Port is very good for sipping.  

And lots of good stuff is planned for today:  return the broken track lighting, install the new track lighting, go for a ride on the bike.

And did anybody watch the opening night of the convention?  I did.  On my computer.  Since I have a subscription with the NYT, I watched it in its entirety... without commercials.  There was commentary scrolling down the side I could read rather than watch advertising.  I have no idea how the ratings were, though I suspect since the entire event was virtual, many may have turned in just out of curiosity.  One of the commentators noted that normally viewership is between 11 and 15 million.  However, because of the format, you can watch the entire thing in bits and pieces on YouTube. Being a virtual convention, it did not run late... well, I think 5 minutes.  The only thing that didn't work for me were the shots of average Americans applauding in their living room.  This might work for sporting events, but came across as rather surrealistic.  Now I will admit to occasionally standing up while watching the final sprint to the finish line during the Tour de France, I don't usually do that for speeches.  

As for the verbal attacks on the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  I found them invigorating.  We all hold a lot of anger towards this man.  It was good to see so many others demonstrating the same emotion.  The Gloves are Off.  The time has come to pummel this administration and the Republican Party until they're senseless...  Oh, hell, that's right... they're already pretty damn witless.

    

Back to Work

So, I'm sitting here eating my oatmeal trying not to think about the fact that in a little over an hour and a half I'll be heading off to work.  Can you feel the excitement?  On a Saturday?
For those who don't know, Stage 19 of the Tour de France was halted yesterday because of...

snow and ice storm.  They day before the temps were hovering near 100 (F) in the Alps.  Today's stage has been shortened because of... snow and ice. 
Oh, and the Supreme Court said the Idiot Jerk in the White House can pilfer $2.5 billion from the Pentagon's budget for his wall.  You know, he has to give the white racists in his basis their precious little foible.  This is why he tried loading the Supreme Court with Conservatives, so that horrid, little minority group can get what ever they want.
I put a mattress platform on my bed yesterday and moved the box spring out into the hallway.  I need to get it downstairs and out front by garbage day.  My bed is lower, by almost a foot.  I didn't know how I was going to sleep... well, I was out like a light.  The mattress is firm and I had no idea how much bouncy, bouncy the box spring had - that's what happens when you have 180 lbs of dogs jumping around on it thinking it's a toy.  The notion had cross my mind to buy a new mattress if this didn't work out, but now I'm fairly certain that will not be the case.
A workbook is arriving today to help with the Greek.  Learning the alphabet is the tricky part, teaching your mind that a 'v' now sounds like an 'n' is not as easy as you might think, and there's a letter that can sound like either a 'y' or a 'w'.  This is what's called exercising your brain.
Another thing arriving today is whey.  Legion whey.

Why whey, you say? (or ask, but that doesn't rhyme).  Protein, pure and simple.  I already use a chocolate cake batter flavor, this one is strawberry banana.  When do I drink it?  Before I ride my bike.  Before I ride, I make a shake of 4 oz whey, 6 oz whole milk, and 6 oz water and chug that sucker.  Protein helps you build muscle, that thing we tend to lose as we get older... and I'm riding more and more hills.  They're a pain in the ass... or, well, legs, and they're work.  Even though I will tell myself I'm not going to ride this evening, I know I'm probably going to climb on the bike after work... to work.

And... the heat is on

It's Saturday and the temp is supposed to hit 98 (F) today.  It was 99 (F) when I left work yesterday, and last evening, after things had cooled down to a sweltering 95 (F) my mowed his lawn... with a push mower.
I have 15 more miles to go before I complete my Trek Challenge - a lot of those will be done today.  Inside on my trainer, of course, since riding around outside today might be considered grounds for committing me to the nearest cycling asylum.
Interestingly enough, I least I think so, in The Body in the Tower Eli and Max fly down to Pau, France, for the mountains stages in the Pyrenees and yesterday this year's tour was actually in Pau.

 I did see, as I copied that link, Amazon has the paperback version on sale for Prime members.
So, besides riding what am I going to be doing today?  Well, lotsa laundry.  My, doesn't that sound fun.  Remember, it's going to be at least 98 (F) outside.
And, of course, even though the Idiot Jerk tried to distance himself at first from the racist chanters at his rally, now he's defending those white supremacists.  That should be no surprise.  He wants to turn himself into a god for his base, a group of aging white people committed to the denial of science.  They are desperately clinging to the dark ages of the 1950's as though they are the last life preserver from the Titanic.  They don't know the smart people, the ones who used their noggins, are the ones who got in a lifeboat, or jury-rigged a raft.  There is no salvation for them... literally.  The heat is on and instead of understanding they need to work to save the ship they're jumping overboard.
Finally, I started watching "Dark" last night on Netflix.  It's a bit of a scifi supernatural thriller and it is... good.  Here's the trailer.

Rest Day

Today is Tuesday.  This is the first of 2 rest days in the Tour de France.  Those cyclists deserve it, they've ridden over 1300 miles in 10 days (give or take a mile).  They will relax and eat pasta and build up their strength for the stages in the Pyrenees which come next.  Eli and Max spent the first rest day up in Montmartre.

That evening found us having dinner with Walker Beresford and her fiancé Henri d’Eauville at Le Poisson Blanc, a basement café in Montmartre.  The long dead souls of Beat poets filled the air around us while people wearing berets smoked cigarettes in long, eloquent holders.  This was a shadowland of past and present, where shiny cell phones lay on tables next to wine glasses and ashtrays filled with unfiltered cigarette butts, where some conversed and others listened to the pale, smoothly flowing sounds of a jazz flautist.  A transfixed moment from a Romantic age now only chronicled in books and on film.

Here in the United States we have a Moral Degenerate, and Idiot Jerk in the White House who is proving he will stoop to any level in order to get himself re-elected.  He is justifying his racism by call those voices unifying against him as unpatriotic... un-American..  Four of those voices are women of color.  He is trying to rip a page from McCarthy's playbook.  For those who don't know, McCarthy was a Republican politician who saw Commie, Pinko Sympathizers every where.  He got Congress to hold hearings on Un-American behavior.  The Idiot Jerk wants to do the same thing, except his targets are minorities.  It's the 'old, white thing' you know?
One of the opinions I saw this morning on NBC News claimed he'd flipped the race card on Pelosi, tying the entire Democratic Party to the far Left.  That might be true if we already hadn't seen 2 years of the Idiot Jerk.  He is inept.  He has henchies like Stevie Miller telling him what he needs to do to hold on to his base.  This is what he is desperately trying to do, make sure they go to the polls in 2020 and cast their votes for racism.  If you weren't prepared for this, you should have been; he will pull every dirty trick in the book.  He is a desperate, angry man who represents an aging white America that steadfastly refuses to even try to understand evolution.  We are changing... and it's worldwide.  The dominant gene is brown, not white.
There will be no rest day in politics until the Idiot Jerk and his minions are voted out of office.  Vote Blue. 

Grade This

My weekend begins today!  What's in store?  Yard work, of course.  And most likely a ride on the bike.
I hit the 60 mile marker yesterday on my 100 mile challenge.  I rode and completed the CBTT (Charlie Baker Time Trial) in Concord, Mass.  I was pleased because this ride has some hills.  Hills are good, they build strength and grow muscle in your legs.  The higher the grade of the hill the more power you expend.  What is grade, you ask... well, if you have 1000 feet of road and the end point is 90 feet higher than start point, you have 9% grade.  In "The Body on the Lawn," Eli remarks how the grade up to Margaret Stanley's estate is a 9% grade.  When the Tour de France goes through the Alps or the Pyrenees the grades are as high as 24%... that's almost like riding up a ladder.  The steepest hill I had yesterday riding the CBTT was 6.5%.  I took a snap of that ride when I was finished so I could show you what those hills look like.

The hills are the green bit

And, of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House Tweeted out his ugly racism yesterday.  Approximately 89% of the Republican Party agree with his handling of the immigration crisis.  They are a slowly shrinking minority group, a fact to which they completely oblivious.  They are white, aging men and white rural communities with a small minority presence.  They are the white class of Americans who feel entitled:  they want to buy as much shit as they possibly can with low payment, interest free loans.

And now an amusing customer story.  He had bought three vinyl mini-blinds and was attempting to adjust the length.  We will cut the width down, but length?  That the customer's responsibility.  It's a timely process.  Well this customer was having problems.  He didn't understand you need to take the extra string and thread it through the holes in the bottom rail, tie them together, cut off the excess, and replace the plastic plug.  "I have all this extra string," he kept saying.  So, I repeated the process.  His response?  "If I can't figure this out, do you have a support team you can send out?"...   ...   ...  He must have thought we had a blind Geek Squad... or, well, a Geek Squad for blinds.  We don't.  I apologized and told we don't provide that kind of service and recommended he call the 800 number on the instruction sheet.

Lily in the Yard

Well, here it is... Thursday, and I have the day off, then I go back and work for 3 days and have another 2 days off.  I've said this a million times, I hate having single days off.  For some reason the scheduler has chosen to only give me 32 hours a week... I don't really have a problem with that.
How's this for the funny, crazy Christian, daft Republican story of the day?  Evidently there is a Republican candidate for Governor who has decreed women reporters following his campaign need to be joined by a male.  Not figuratively, of course, that would be sinful.  He says it's because he doesn't want people thinking he's having sex with them...  Personally, I think it's because he sees all women as the blackest of temptations and he knows he will succumb to their wanton ways.  In other words, he's pretty much of a loser.
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, the Tour de France is playing on the big screen TV downstairs... Live.  I don't sit and watch every second of every stage... but I can hear it.  Today's stage is about 100 miles long... with hills, which means it will be a 4.5 hour ride.

I guess the Idiot Jerk is going to makes some sort of Executive Announcement today about the Citizenship question racist Republicans want on the 2020 census.  These are desperate old white people grasping at their last straws of control.  They are completely unprepared for the evolution taking place.  Blame their narrow minded religion.

Anyway, while I was doing yard work on Tuesday, Lily spent much of the time watching me.  Seig likes to sleep inside in air conditioned comfort... she, on the other hand, loves to be outside.  So, here's a picture of the lovely Lady Lillian.

It's hard to believe this little dog weighs 60 lbs.

Surprise!

Well, it's Monday, I work, and I'm less cranky then yesterday... though I did wake up to a torrential downpour this morning.  The dogs will sit on the back porch and look out at heavy rain, glancing at me occasionally just to let me know they're not going out.  They don't like the rain.  Once it subsides they'll go out and do their business.
I missed yesterday's Team Time Trial.  Education First came in 6th, here's their team.  They leve Belgium for today's stage, which takes the riders from Binche to Epernay, a mere 214 kilometers, and hilly.  In fact, while I'm typing this, they are riding across the French countryside.

As for my own little cycling challenge, I rode 8.65 miles yesterday.  All I need is another 80 miles to hit the goal of 100 miles.  That should be no problem.
I guess the Brits are going to apologize to Ivanka Danka for the leaked cables describing her old man's administration in some not so flattering terms.  I personally liked the "uniquely dysfunctional" bit.  Do you think the Idiot Jerk in the White House will realize this is how most foreign governments view his administration? Absolutely not.  Interestingly enough, the British government as labeled the leaker as 'mischievous.'  That shows you just how seriously they take the Idiot Jerk.  Sadly, for them, because the Idiot Jerk is nothing more than a petty, tyrant wannabe he's going to make them pay through the nose.  There will be no fair trade deals with the US if, or when, Brexit goes through.  Of course, that should come as no surprise.  This administration is totally one sided in every deal it tries to strike, phony to the end.  So, all you Brexiteers who think you're going to be able to rely on the Moral Degenerate in the White House to help you... Surprise!

Dumb Bitch

Well, it's Sunday and after a not so thrilling day off I get to go back to work for 2 days.  Well, let me clarify that.  Saturday had it's good points.  Mike Teunissen, a Dutchman, won the first stage of the Tour de France.

Not a sport for the safety conscious

He wasn't even considered as a contender but there were crashes... 2 of them, and at the last minute he pedaled his ass off... well, he still has it, he just rode like hell.  Good for him!

So, I was in a good mood.  I did chores, no laundry for a change, and decided to put in some mileage on the bike.  Everything was going well until Votis showed up.  Who's Votis you ask?  I have no idea.  What I do know is that someone, somewhere was riding the same route I was riding and he was less than 2 miles away.  That's right, the training application I use lets you see other riders, no matter where they live, riding on the same route.  Until yesterday, this has never bothered me... but for some reason yesterday I found Votis an aggravation.  He was slowly falling behind, and was soon going to disappear from my screen... yet I couldn't stop looking at that little blue balloon named Votis.  So, after 3 miles, I got off the bike and went downstairs and completed 35 minutes of cardio on the elliptical.
I did climb on the scale this morning.... Holy Shit.
Anyway, late yesterday afternoon I did something I rarely do... I looked at the sales reports of my books.  Now, I know my writing is never going to make me rich, which is why I rarely check my stats.  But there was one sale I was looking for...  I think I've already told you about my Navy buddy's wife who posted a list of books on Facebook she was planning on reading during the summer.  I jokingly asked "where's my book?"  Well, she shot back this little challenge, "have you bought mine?"  Her's is a slim, paperback volume of black and white photos... and poetry.  I had no problem buying her book.  I can gift it to my friend Betsy, she might like it.  So, I told this friend's wife I'd purchased her paperback volume (no inexpensive Kindle version was available) and she responded by saying she'd purchased The Body on the Lawn... the Kindle version.  Well, that was over a month ago and I got curious.  You guessed it.  No purchase from around that time.  Basically, she lied.  This is irritating, you know?  She knows I can see my stats, so why tell me she bought the book when she didn't?  Dumb Bitch.  This makes her look really, really bad.