Better Under Biden

 Ha!  The forecasters were wrong.  We did not drop below freezing last night.  Nope.  Howie woke up around 4:15 AM heeding the call of bladder nature and I checked the temps while he was outside.  At that time our low was 35 (F), which is still cold, but nothing was freezing.  Now, ain't that nice?  Today we start warming up. I'm fine with that.

Not a lot was done yesterday besides going to work.  I did a little putzing around the house before leaving to put in my 5 hours at the flooring desk, but nothing to mention.  Before heading home, I did pick up another pack of flooring for the workout / computer / music room.  The first pack I put down looked so good, I thought I cover some more of the old hardwood flooring.  

Today is garbage day an a large part of my treadmill is sitting out front in my garbage can.  Once it gets dumped into the garbage truck later this morning, I roll it to the back of the house and put the rest of it in for next Tuesday's pickup.  I did the same thing when I got rid of my elliptical.  I get asked why I didn't try and sell it.  No one wants the buy used treadmills, in fact, for most people, a purchased treadmill ends up being a storage unit.  The number of people who buy these things and then only use them for a week or two is vastly greater than those who use them regularly.  I am in the smaller group, but even I know when it's time to say goodbye.  This is what the updated room looks like so far.

Of course, there was no super crash on Wall Street yesterday, just the constant erosion billions of dollars.  One of my associates told me his wife looked at their retirement account and was surprised by how much it had dropped.  He said they're hoping it comes back up in 4 years, that's when he wants to retire.  I reminded him that there was a good possibility the stock market had not stopped crashing.  He groaned and said something derogatory about the Orange Anus.

Bloomberg has this really great video detailing how his tariff formula is poo poo.  It's my understand that those people in his administration behind the tariffs relied on AI to generate the formula.

It has come to my attention that a number Orangie's billionaire bros are more than a little dissatisfied with his handling of the economy.  They are losing money... lots, and lots, and lots of money.  That's fine with me.  One of the few things I find pleasing these days is the knowledge that many of that 1% who celebrated Orangie's victory by giving him a million $$$ are now finding themselves on the losing end of the stick.  Isn't it nice to know that hidden in amongst all of their frowns and complaints they're muttering, "hell, I was doing much better under Biden?"  This is what we call Karma.

Repeating 1929

 Today started off as cloudy with the temps in the mid 50s (F) with the possibility of rain on an off throughout the day.  Temps are not supposed to vary much.  This is downer weather in my opinion. Sadly, we will be dealing with this soup for the next 2 days.

My lower back is a bit achy this morning, the result, no doubt, of my dragging the treadmill down the staircase in bits and pieces, some of which were on the heavy side.  This is how it always works for me, the aches and pains show up about 2 days later.  The same thing happens with muscle soreness after I workout out too much.

As for computer/workout/music room, one of the old area rugs was rolled up yesterday.  There was quite a bit of sand underneath from the backing breaking down, an the rug itself had become foldable.  It's now rolled and folded and sitting on the back porch.  After garbage day on Tuesday, I'll dump in in the bin with the rest of the treadmill.  Now all I need to do is figure out what to do with the floor, which was never sanded down or refinished.  Here's what it looks like now.  For those interested, the wall is cover with Romeo and Juliet to give the room a little Shakespearean class.

Everybody seems to be talking about the stock market as if its crash over the past 2 days was unexpected. I mean, I don't know about you, but I was expecting it, just not this soon.  I'd figured that steady downhill slide that began when he mentioned tariffs would continue for a few weeks, but then China retaliated.  Something I'd read about the crash of 1929 was that it took about 3 years until it finally stopped, but by then we were heading into the great depression, and the only thing that stopped that was the start of World War II.  Are we going to be repeating ourselves because Republicans never paid attention in history class?  Or is that the believe that if they don't think about the problem they're creating it will just go away?  I'm suspecting the latter.

And, since Trump seems to be spending most of his time golfing, people are beginning to wonder just who is running the country.  Many are beginning to suspect that it's Stevie Miller, another idiot of the first degree.  Oh, and with some input from wingnut Laura Loomer.  This means that the shit is only going to get a lot deeper.

Open Day on Billionaires

 Yesterday was nice and breezy, today is not going to be a carbon copy.  Temps are expected to rise into the 70s (F), but occasional showers will persist, and then overnight temps are predicted to drop.  The next 3 days look like on and off showers, lots of drizzles.  This is a good time to plant some grass seed in those bare patches.

Even though I was busy yesterday, most of my time was spent on disassembling my treadmill.  What seems like hundreds of screws and bolts were removed.  Many pieces were carried downstairs, some were thrown into the trash.  No matter how much you might want to, I can tell you with all honesty that the pieces of one treadmill are too many to fit in the oversized garbage can that I have.  Rather than pay an extra charge for them to pick it up, I get rid of it over 3 consecutive garbage pickup days.  As I type, the only thing left upstairs is the base.  What surprised me the most in the disassembly was that you're actually running on a piece of HDF or High Density Fiberboard.  In case any of you were wondering, I did have help.  This also gives you an idea how big Howie is at 8 months.

As expected, the Orange Anus revealed his tariff plan yesterday.  The Wall Street Journal said it was "buy another yacht day for the swamp."  For those who aren't aware, Rupert Murdoch, the same Rupert who owns Fox Entertainment, owns the Wall Street Journal.  I don't think Rupie's too happy.  Rolling Stone talked about Orangie's disassociation with the American people, focusing on his persistent use of the groceries, something he's probably never bought in his life.  More than one Economist has suggested that he seems to be attempting to turn the clock back to before the great depression of 1929, back to an era when greed ruled the world.

Notifications are flying in as Wall Street and the world reel.  I understand that even the penguins on the Heard and McDonald Islands are stamping their feet.  I do suspect that in the demented mind of the Orange Anus the world will bow down and cave.  That's not going to happen.  In truth, they will reciprocate even as they seek other trading partners to compensate.  Better deals will be struck between China and the world.  I wouldn't be surprised if the masses in America rise up, and, as someone else has said, we might have open day on billionaires.

Would You Care for a Little Whine with that Cheese

 The temp was 36 (F) when I got up this morning.  The forecasters are saying we should climb another 20 degrees, but clouds are going to move in bringing showers with them.  Tomorrow, of course, temps are supposed to climb up into the 70s (F), but only for a day.  Then they are going to come crashing down.  We have a cold front moving through, and by next Wednesday our overnight low will be in the high 20s (F).

Tuesdays are usually meh days for me, a time for me to relax after working the weekend.  Not yesterday.  Much was accomplished.  Besides cleaning the big aquarium, I began dismantling the treadmill.  A friend asked why I didn't try and sell it.  The answer is simple.  No one wants to buy a used treadmill, and because they're heavy, they are quite difficult to move.  It's easier to just take it apart and throw it out into the trash.  And while everything is getting moved around, I'm going to replace the area rugs in that room.  They're both old, one of them went through Gertie's puppyhood, that was15 years ago.

My Amazon music was also cancelled.  I'm now using Spotify.  This is all part of my shift away from everything Bezos has a finger in, including changing the credit card which gave me points for shopping on Amazon.  The new card has a lower interest rate, not that I ever have to pay interest, so I guess the higher interest on the old Amazon card was actually paying for those Amazon points I thought I was earning.

And, of course, last evening this happened.

Can you imagine how mortifying it must be to spend over $20+ million on an election to lose by 11 points?  And this was after Cory Booker's record breaking 24+ hour speech.  And in Florida, even though the Republican candidates won, neither came close to the 30 point victory claimed by the Orange anus.  In Illinois, a MAGA cultist lost to her Democratic opponent in a mayoral contest.  In fact, it was a good day for Democrats.  The Republicans?  Not good at all.  

On top of all that was going down, Mikey Johnson dismissed the House of Representatives for the rest of the week because he lost on proxy voting by mothers who'd just given birth.  I wonder what they're going to be doing on this mini-vacation.  

And today Orangie's tariffs are supposed to kick in.  Will he cave... again?  If he does, I don't think it will be by much.  His caving would cause people to think he did so because of the elections yesterday.  That would make him look weak.  It would tell the world that he really hasn't mastered the art of the deal.

Boogering with America

 Yesterday we had snow.  Today we have rain.  The clouds are supposed to be a passing thing, at least that's what forecasters are saying.  They're claiming that this afternoon a little sunlight is going to leak through before the winds arrive.  Yes, we're going to get windy.  And the temps are supposed to drop again.

Yesterday I got my butt on the treadmill again.  It's been a month.  I hit my step goal and reviewed the Greek language.  I also managed to get in a bit of ho-hum time, of course that's somewhat misleading.  I have Howie to entertain, and like a 4 year-old child he does need to be entertained.  He's a Labrador Retriever.   We play fetch at least 4 or 5 times a day, and I don't mean for few minutes.  Our fetch sessions run between 20 and 30 minutes.  I throw one of his toys and he retrieves.  He loves it.  

Yesterday I discovered I was making a big financial mistake.  I bought a high-efficiency, front load washer last year.  One of the settings is Quick Wash.  It only takes 25 minutes for a load of laundry.  However, and this is a big however, when you use Quick Wash, none of the sensors are used.  It doesn't measure the weight of the clothing.  As a result it just dumps a lot of water into the tub, not as much as my top loader did, but then that tub was bigger.  No matter how much clothing is being washed, it still dumps in gallons, and because the tub is smaller I'm washing a lot more loads of laundry.  And then yesterday I got my water bill.  All those quick loads added about $20 to my bill.  So, I'm back to doing normal loads.

And I did attempt a chicken souvlaki in the crock pot yesterday.  It was terrible.  I'm calling it a learning experience.

And of course, the entire world is laughing at this.

Honestly, it is still beyond me that this... extremely surreal press conference even took place.  I can't look at this without laughing.  This was like watching some terribly bad 80s sitcom without the laugh track.  I know that everyone in the world laughing at Orangie pissed him the hell off.  He had only one recourse, to put himself in charge of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  This means we can say "hello," to month performances by Kid Rock and the Village Person...oh, and probably the occasional dramatic reading by Kevin Sorbo.

And, no doubt, sometime in between the kid picking a booger and his saying "you're not the president, you don't belong here," Orangie and Elonia etched out a deal for the Federal Government to buy $400,000,000 in armored Tesla cars.  So, I'm wondering why DOGE isn't on that wasteful bit of spending?   

Inflation went up.  Prepare yourselves, it's going to go higher.  Unemployment is going to go up.  All of those people Elonia is firing will need to find jobs in the private sector (can you hear me laughing?)  Who in their right mind believes that corporations are going to increase their payroll expense?  And all of these cuts in expenses?  They're not going to benefit you.  They're going to go to giving the !% another Tax Break.  I do believe we're at an inflection point.  

A Pox on both your Houses

 So, here it is Saturday, and it was 20 (F) this morning when I got up.  For those using Celsius, that's below 0 and that's cold.  Temps are predicted to climb up into the mid 30s today, that's nice.  I'll be able to go outside and clean up the frozen poop.

And, what's really surprising about today is that I am not scheduled to work.  I will work tomorrow, however, and then Monday.  I'm only scheduled for 15 hours this week, and next week, that's fine with me.  After that it appears that I'm going to be back on my 20 hour a week schedule. I just got a small award for being the top salesperson in the department, so I will probably not get my hours cut like the other part-timers, or, if I do, the cut will not be as drastic as theirs.

I did get 30 minutes in on the treadmill yesterday.  It's a great place to work on the Greek language course I signed up for with Pimsleur. I also made some homemade pasta, some of which will be dinner this evening.  The only bad thing about making pasta is that eggs are used in the process, and that means it needs to be either refrigerated or frozen.  My Pa Dutch grandma used to make eggless pasta.  I'll have to see if I can dig up that recipe, that way I'll be able to make it, dry it, and store it for future use.  Here's a pic.

One of the most laughable things I've seen today, and let's be honest, absurdist events and statements will be the meat and potatoes of this incoming administration, was CNN stating that most Americans are satisfied with their Health Care.  I have to be honest, I actually saw this in a Rolling Stone Commentary.

That's because CNN's website is filled with ludicrosities.  That's not an actual word, but it should be, the plural of ludicrosity: a piece of stupidity so unrealistic only a MAGA cultist would believe it.

And for those who didn't see it, RFK wants to get rid of the polio vaccine.  When I was looking at that ludicrosity I saw that some individual was wondering if Elon Musk had bought an iron lung factory.  This is pathetic.  I suppose the only thing that will change people's minds about vaccines is when their children start dying of measles again.  Or chicken pox.  Perhaps people need to understand how terrible the curse "a pox on both your houses" is.

Dense Fog

 We are under a dense fog warning!  Good thing the sun has risen, otherwise we'd be stuck in one of those good, old pea soup fogs, the type where you can't see the pavement beneath your feet.  I'm not planning on going anywhere, so my car will be one less that's not on the road.

Yesterday was fairly quiet around here.  There are two more small places sections of tile in the kitchen that still need to be grouted, one of them was done yesterday.  This morning I want to seal everything that's been done so far.  The curtain rod over the sink needs to be hung, that shouldn't take long.  I have to order the valance that's going to get hung there.  Really, these are nothing more than the finishing touches.  I like the end result.  It's a new kitchen, most of which I did myself.  As I tell people in the store, save money and do it yourself if possible.  Not only will you be rewarded with the buckos you didn't spend, but also the pride of you accomplishment.

I hit the treadmill yesterday.  1.67 miles.  Today I'll either be rowing or riding.  

The big fish tank was also cleaned yesterday, and the new Greek statuary added.  This is what it looks like now.  Oh, and there is sad note, the last of those Koi angel fish passed.  I really liked those angels.

And our 2024 presidential election is going to be a rematch between Joe Biden and the Spawn of Satan.  I don't know about you, but I find that rather amusing.  Personally, I think both candidates are too old to sit in the white house, unfortunately that is now a moot point.  There is not going to be a sudden entry in either party that going to dazzle America.  I'm not worried about the election, though I am concerned about what might happen after Trump loses a 2nd time; he's a terrible spoilsport and is a complete failure when it comes to handling losses.  Believe me, he would have no problem attempting to start a civil war just to save his orange ass.  In fact, one of the things we can count on is him growing more erratic as time passes.  You see in his addled brain the key to success is extremism, that's what his cult loves.  Unfortunately for Trump, America is very Centrist and his extremist shrieks and shouts will hurt him.  As someone said, he was extremely lucky back in 2016, people still believed polls.  In 2020, his cult was a full force and he lost.  Heading into 2024 he's lost about 30% of the Republican vote (something he desperately needs) because of the Insurrection, and because of his activist Supreme Court (think Roe v Wade).  Independent voters are not going to make up that difference, in fact that last point, Roe v Wade still has American women seething.  All Trump is going to end up doing is wander around in a dense fog of his own creation as his mind slowly slips away.

Are you Kenough?

The rain stayed away yesterday.  We had sunshine and low humidity, the temps never broke above 90 (F) and in case anyone is wondering, these temps are saving me a bunch of $$$ on my electric bill.  Today is supposed to be more of the same - that's fine by me.  Tomorrow, on the the other hand is iffy, there's a 40% chance of rain.  Hopefully it will hold off until I get my lawn mowed.

I did almost 2 miles on the treadmill yesterday, that's the first time I've done anything physical since I did that little twitchy thing to my back with the kettlebell.  By Monday I should be back on my regular regime.  It's all part of my goal to live to be 100.  I told a friend that and he said if I live that long I'll be decrepit, so now I have 2 goals.  He's younger than me, so not only am I going to live to be that old, but I'm going to prove him wrong by still being fit.  Oh, and I'm still going to be doing the kettlebell exercises, however I've learned to do with with a little less oomph.

So, Barbie's grossed over $1.2 billion at the box office and I suppose that overly patriarchal conservatives are on the verge of going in conniptions. Remember, their 1950s based egos are rather fragile.  Anyway, I got a bit laugh this morning when I read in the Washington Post that Ryan Gosling's song "I'm Just Ken" is a surprise hit.   In spite of all the A List musicians who contributed songs to the film, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the one that gets the Oscar nod.  I can easily picture it being performed, live on Oscar night.

And what about those dipshit MAGA cultists publishing the names and addresses of the members of the Atlanta Grand Jury which indicted Trump.  In case you're wondering, this is what hatred looks like.  These nimrods are provoking thoughtless violence.  They simply do not understand that if anything happens to a single one of those jurors they will alienate themselves even more from the rest of America.  But then the cult has never really understood anything, and it is virtually impossible for them to learn.

A recent AP/IPSOS poll shows that Independent voters are moving away from Trump.  Actually, that movement is fairly rapid, increasing by 3%, from 54% to 57% in a little over three months.  This trend is fatal for the GOP since they are the minority party and rely heavily on Independent voters to win elections. 

The big question is will that 36% -37% of voters who believe Trump did nothing wrong show up to vote for him if he gets the nomination?  I don't know, they might... or they might jump ship like the rats they are.

Eat Mor Peepol

Well, it's Saturday.  The weather's nice, not too humid and not too hot. Over night the temps drop down into the mid 60s (F) and there's nothing wrong with that, it's good sleeping weather.  My central air only runs occasionally during the day.  That's fine with me, it helps keep my electric bill low since this is the time of year when it usually skyrockets.  

I got some treadmill time in yesterday, as well as the dumbbell routine for my arms.  The only issue I had was the old Samsung TV which I use for the treadmill has begun to have issues.  The HDMI ports don't seem to be working anymore, so I needed to run a line from the TV to my modem to connect to YouTube.  As I said, it is old, at least 15 years old, meaning time is slowly breaking it down.

I saw an interesting tidbit about relationships between children and their parents.  Apparently about 25% of all children are estranged from at least one of their parents.  This doesn't surprise me.  I don't think it's as much as not respecting your parents, as it is parents are not all perfect.  They get divorced and when that happens their children usually pick sides.  The world is changing and change requires new rules.  Some have a very difficult time understanding this.  Their viewpoint is unsustainable.  Change is inevitable.

I'm borrowing this pic from Fearsome because I do suspect there are those out there who believe this to be true.

This is obviously true among white people in the red conservative states, like Alabama where the Supreme Court told them they needed to fix their gerrymandered map and give black voters 2 congressional districts, and the white Republicans refused, drawing up on one district.  Their white Republican governor, Kay Ivey signed off on this.  Giving black voters 2 districts would give them more power, and those white crackers down in Alabama simply refuse to do that.  They don't understand that minorities, not just black people, but all people of color are making more babies than then white people.  It is only a matter of time until that boot is going to be on the other foot, and that boot is going to stomp, at which point that sign will read Eat Mor White Peepol.  

Yesterday

 Holy Crap!  Retail was so terribly slow yesterday.  Not one customer.  These are the slow days we usually have in February.  By March, the stream of lawn and garden customers is beginning to pick up.  That isn't happening.  Most stores in the area aren't making plan.  I don't doubt a lot of it has to do with prices.  It isn't like the orange retail giant I work for isn't making money.  The business just is not earing them the revenue they've budgeted.  In flooring, we're offering a special deal until 3/19, but it's only on the top of the line carpet and pad: 10% off.  I laughed.  Instead of spending $4 per square foot, they want customers to spend $7, and for that they'll take off .70.  That will only fly so far.

Outside, we're under a snow warning.  A band of heavy snow is moving through the area.  But not here.  The skies are overcast, but that's about it... except for the occasional, single flurry that has managed to make a suicide dash from the clouds.

I did skip the treadmill yesterday, but I'll be back on it today.  That means I'll get my steps in.  Yesterday, even without the treadmill, I managed to get 13, 889 steps in, that's because business was so slow and could do lap, after lap, after lap around the store.

Here's a pic of one of my daffodils.

And, for those who haven't heard, yesterday Tucker Carlson relvealed the first edited video of January 6.  His version shows snippets of the rioters quietly walking through the halls of Congress.  He has the number one propaganda show on cable.  Tucker doesn't care if he manages to incites violence.  His boss, Rupert, would probably like that.  However, we do need to keep things in perspective.  Tucker may have his fan base, but on a daily basis CBS evening news. with its 5.3 million viewers nearly doubles Tucker's fan club.  NBC easily doubles Tuck's base with well over 7 million viewers, and Disney owned ABC News almost triples Tuck's base.  Those three networks combined, garner well over 6 times Carlson's base.  This also doesn't take into account those who watch cable news.  However, people talk about Tucker and his antics, whether that makes him more dangerous than not, I don't know.  What does make him more of a threat is the influence he wields among the crazies, the Trumpers, and the MAGA brained who will deny realityforever.

Living in a Haze

The skies are overcast and we have light rain showers outside.  Temps are predicted to climb up into the low to mid 60s (F) today.  That will be nice.  Tomorrow, however, they're going to tank, though the definition of tanking is relative when you take into account how warm it's been this winter.  For us, the mid 40s (F) means our temps are tanking.

Rather than riding the bike, I've been spending a lot of time on the treadmill.  Usually I keep the speed at a fast walk, between 3.6 and 3.8 mph, but I've been increasing the incline to over 5% so I'm walking fast up a continual hill.  Believe me, you don't need to run to get a good cardio workout.  An interesting side effect is that my Garmin Fenix 6 tracks that incline as a staircase, so a 2.5 mile walk will show me going up 45 flights of stairs.

Milky Chance released their first song of their next album.  That will be available in June.  Here's the song, Living in a Haze.  Can we talk about versatility?  They go from singing about smoking pot in Colorado to wanting to be a disco boy in this song.  Enjoy.

For those who didn't see it, and I'm one of those, Merrick Garland was testifying yesterday in front of some Republican hack committee trying to prove one of their conspiracy theories.  I did watch a clip where that buffoon Ted Cruz accused the DOJ of leaks regarding to photos from the Mar a Lago raid.  When Garland pointed out that the photos Cruz was using as a reference hadn't been leak, rather they had been part of a press release, the buffoon quickly played his 'no further questions,' card.

Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to Rupert Murdoch asking that Fox not air their re-edit clips of the January 6 attack on the the capital in order to avoid further violence.  I don't doubt that Rupert is not in a happy place right now.  With that letter being publicized, should Fox go ahead and air anything that incites violence, they will be to blame.  They may shriek Freedom of Speech, buy any and all public disorder will be laid upon their doorstep.  And, of course, there is the Dominion law suit.  You can that's going to play into old Rupert's decision, he's already on record as saying Fox out and out lied about the election.  I hope he's enjoying this haze he's put himself into and wonder if all he really wants to do right now is be a disco boy.

 

The Decent Thing

 It's Saturday.  The temps are supposed to climb into the low 50s (F).  And I have a short shift.  4 hours.  

Yesterday was good.  Accomplishments were... well, achieved.

The angelfish tank was cleaned.  They seem happy.  One of these days I'll have to make a fish run down to That Fish Place in Lancaster to pick up more Mollies.  Two years ago there were 4, now there's 1, a solitary female.  I don't know if fish get lonely, but I feel bad that she's by herself.

I got a 2 mile fast walk in while watching a mini-marathon run up a snowy Swiss Alp.  If you, too, want to run in Switzerland, here's the link.  The only problem I have with it, is that the videos are mostly focused on one woman running, so the guy with the GoPro is always behind her.  Now and then he will leave her behind, but usually her long hair is bouncing around ahead of you.  

And the polishing goes on with The Body Under Ice.  I've switched ink colors, from purple to red.  This is the time when I add little things, like Lexi Bowerman's housedress now has a pattern of small, pink petaled flowers.  Nothing really changes.

Since Biggie no longer comes upstairs to sleep on the bed, I bought him one of his own.  He spends hours on it during the day.  At night, however, he sleeps on the sofa in the writing room.

So, the Republicans elected Ronna McDaniel as Chair of the RNC.  She's been an abject failure for the past 3 elections.  When you consider her competition, you can understand the vote.  Mike Lindell apparently got 4 votes.  You also need to keep in mind the Republican mindset.  Voting her out would be admitting they were wrong right from the very start.  Republicans are never wrong.  Were they to even consider admitting something like that their little universe would start to collapse.

No, I didn't watch the Tyre videos.  I understand that Tucker Carlson spewed virulent, racist bullshit.  If you were expecting anything else from him, you are more than a little naïve.  I don't doubt that Tucker's a terribly bitter man who will never be able to deal with change.  Luckily for us, Tucker will pass, just as Fox News will pass.  Both will go the way of Newsmax, and history will not be kind.  History will do the decent thing. 

 

The Good Thing

 Oops, I did it again... slept in, that is.  To be honest, it wasn't as though I went to bed last night at 11 PM and slept the entire night away.  For some reason, I've been waking up around 0200.  Most nights I just wait to fall back to sleep.  Last night I put that time to good use.  I made notes on The Body Under Ice.  I'm finishing off the final chapter and, as always, there are points that have to be explained.  Sometimes those changes are no more than adding a simple sentence earlier in the book.  You know, simple things say so much.

And the screw in the title refers to one of he several securing the control panel of my treadmill.  Repairs are complete!  It's be lubricated and the belt has been centered.  The only thing missing is that one little screw.  It fell into the space below the motor and the only way to get it out is by turning the treadmill onto its side.  Well, that ain't gonna happen.  There are 4 other screws holding the control panel in place, so I'm not too worried about it coming lose.

Here's a bit of a funny.  Yesterday, Madonna announced her Celebration Tour.  While she does have her loyal fans her are overjoyed, most of what I've been seeing on Social Media has not been kind.  There are comments about the standard 2 hour delay before her show starts, could this be how she proves to herself that her fans will wait an eternity to see her show, to comments about carbon dating to ensure it's the true Madonna.  One fan, desperate to prove his loyalty Tweeted out "sure, she looks weird, but it's still Madonna."   Honestly, I think she's looking pretty good for an aging Asian woman.😎😎😎

Of course, Americans concerned about Democracy are unhappy with the House committee assignments.  People are wondering how George Santos could be put on 2 committees.  Well, you have to remember that Republicans don't give a shit about America.  They are selfish and self-centered.  They also know many of their campaign contributions come from corporations who also don't give a shit about America.    Republicans don't understand that for every action, there is a reaction.  They truly believe that they can act and everyone will accept what they do.  They barely scrape by with a majority in the House during the midterms and they are treating it as though they have a mandate.  They will never learn.  They do not consider what the consequences will be, only that they need to say "shut up, we're in charge."  They are going to fail horribly.  That's a good thing.  

Short Circuit

Well, it's Tuesday.  I slept late again this morning, possibly because I'd slept so poorly the night before.  Ingesting so much pasta after 8 PM is definitely not conducive to my getting a good night's sleep.  Note to myself:  don't do it again.

Because attendance had been so low at the party (which wasn't really a party), there was lots of food left over, mainly pasta.  I worked for 4 hours yesterday, which means I had a bowl.  Not a big one.  It had red sauce.  meh.  Since I make my own at home, I'm a bit of a stickler about sauces, and I can tell you this one tasted like it had been poured right from the can.

The indoor dryer exhaust I bought requires a filter pad which needs to be changed.  Individually, they last about 1.5 months.  Sadly, they also cost $16 for two.  Being the creative person I am, I'm going to improvise, using chair batting (very inexpensive) rather than the filters, which I think are pricey.  I should be able to get 24 filters pads for $12.

And I started replacing the circuit boards on my treadmill yesterday.  I was a bit leery at first since I've never done anything like this before.  It turns out to be rather easy peasy.  Taking a picture insure you plug everything back correctly, pictures like this.  Oh, and wear gloves since the oils on your fingertips are not kind to circuit boards.  Oh, and if you have a color printer, it doesn't hurt to print the pic off.

George Takei runs a small media outlet called SecondNexus. They posted a survey from Civiqs showing Republicans are growing very unpopular.  That should surprise no one.  Remember, Republicans are only concerned about their own self-interests.  While they like to call themselves conservative, the America they work for has roots in authoritarianism.  Civiqs leans left, it's surveys are open to just about anyone, which means it can be stacked by either liberals or conservatives, so, let's say it's fairly accurate.  Even if it's only fairly accurate, and not quite 64% of Americans don't like the Republican party, there's still a good chunk of Americans who believe they're leading us down the wrong path.  This is not good.  The longer they are in charge, the more they hurt themselves.  Telling Americans it makes sense to raise the age for Social Security because people want to work longer does not put them in a win / win situation.  But then most of us know their brains started to short circuit a long time ago.

Kevin's Living Hell

 Well, it's Friday, I don't work, and my first load of laundry is in the washer: towels.  Outside, the sky is overcast and a breeze is rustling the branches of the river birch just outside my window.  The clouds are supposed to clear.  The temp is predicted to rise into the upper 40s (F).  Overall, this should be a good day.

Update on the treadmill.  The service tech I talked to on the phone asked if the speed gauge increased to 12 mph, and when I told her it did, she actually said "there's probably some sort of communication error."  She's sending me a new part.  What part, I don't really know. Parts are still under warranty, so it's free.  That's nice, though I have to admit I was not in the least bit impressed.  What if it's the wrong part?

Lisa Marie Presley died suddenly.  That's a shame.  In spite of her name, and her money, I don't think she had a very good life.  People expected her to be a singer, and she wasn't.  Her private life was  public fodder.  In most of the pictures of her being posted, she's not smiling, in many of them she looks like she's ready to punch you in the face.  I hope life is easier for her kids.

And, when I got home from work yesterday evening there was this big green dumpster sitting in front of my neighbor's house.  With her flashlight in hand, my neighbor from across the street was over picking through the trash.  She was surprised when I told her I wasn't over talking to the workmen, and seemed somewhat shocked when I told her I had absolutely no interest in anything that was in that house.  I've been in her house, it's a cluttered mess, and last night she was accumulating more garbage because it was free. 

And what about those documents they found in Biden's garage?  Conspiracy theories are already shooting like lightening across social media.  One of the funniest claims these classified papers were planted in order to keep him running for re-election in 2024.  Others are shrieking about the speed in which Garland named a special counsel.  Kids, I hate to tell you, but this was probably done to placate the Republican whiners.  The special counsel takes away a very large chunk of red meat they desperately want to feed to their base.

And now for something funny.  One of the rules Kev McCarthy accepted, stipulates that any single member of the House can file to have him removed.  This includes both parties.  There are vicious little rumors spreading that the Democrats are going to do this... probably more than once.  Honestly, I don't think the small minded Republican majority even considered this.  I do believe they saw this as a tool they alone could use to manipulate Kevin.  If it wasn't before, I do suspect that very shortly Kev's life is going to turn into a living hell. 

Run, Donald, Run

 Hello Thursday.  I don't know what the temps are like where you live, but here in Central PA they're supposed to climb into the mid 50s (F), which is toasty for late December.  Wednesday of next week, we're supposed to top off at around 60 (F).   I'm fine with warm weather, as long as it saves me money on my heating bill.

Yesterday was good.  I rearranged some furniture, not doubt part of my DNA, did 2.6 miles on the treadmill, and worked on the book.  

Re: the treadmill.  I don't like running, but I don't mind walking very fast, my average speed being 3.6 - 3.9 mph, once I hit 4 mph I'm actually in a slow jog.  To increase my heart rate, I make the incline steeper, so I'm walking fast up hill.  The videos I watch are either Pro-Walk Tours (great for the stay at home tourist) or The Average Runner (he runs around New York City).  I avoid content providers who are into wilderness trail running.  When I try to explain what these videos are like, people say "interesting," but I can tell they don't really understand, so here's one from The Average Runner running down the entire west side of Manhattan.

One of the headlines that caught my attention this morning was about police in Michigan finding the body of a doctor under pond ice.  There is a huge difference between a pond, and Lake Huron, but I did find the similarity between the headline and the title of my next book interesting.

As we all might have expected, the Feds are now investigating George Santos.  Allegedly, he used $700,000 from his business (?) to fund his campaign.  That's against the law.  Santos is, truly a man after Trump's own heart, a pathological liar.  It seems that barely a second goes by without another revelation.  I have to stop reading and simply laugh at times.  He started a GoFundMe for himself, and used a fictitious name.  He's becoming more and more preposterous and, of course, the Republicans are ignoring his lies because they need his vote.

And finally, everybody's least favorite moral degenerate, Donald Trump, supposedly said yesterday that if the Republicans don't give him the nomination, he'll run as an Independent.  That might just be the final nail in the GOP's coffin.  I read that and surprised the hell out of myself by shouting Run, Donald, Run!  

Bibi's good, Sinema's bad

 Hello Saturday!  We're having another sunny day that's going to be on the coolish side.  Temps are predicted to rise into the low to mid 40s (F), which is fine with me.  I do get to work today.  1 PM to 7 PM.  This is the shift I worked during the pandemic and I liked it.  Being a morning person, everything is pretty much done before noon, so being paid very well to sit at a flooring desk for 6 hours is not bad.

Biggie's appointment has been made for his BIG blood test.  He's scheduled for December 20, and will be there for a full 8 hours.  The last time he was at the Vet that long was when he had his little man jewels removed.  The cost to definitely prove he has Cushing's Disease is $469.  How's that for a bite out of the pocketbook?  Not only will the test give him an idea of which glands have the little tumors, but also indicate what his med dosage will be.  That dog's going to be on more meds than me.

I had chosen a ride through Arcadia, Maine, for my treadmill jaunt yesterday.  It looked like it might be relaxing.  Well, 3.5 minutes into it YouTube popped in commercials that I skipped, and then 4 minutes later there were more commercials I needed to skip through, and again, 3.5 minutes after that there were more commercials.  I shut down the video after 16 minutes because by then there had been 4 sets of commercial breaks.  The problem is some content providers want to monetize their videos and so they allow commercials, and Youtube wants you to pay for a subscription to get out of commercials.  Sorry, but I'm not on Youtube long enough to justify a monthly payment, and there are plenty of content providers who aren't really interested making a pittance from their videos.

This being said, there are a number of people I do follow on YouTube, content providers whose originality stands out, like Dylan Bibi.  He's French, speaks very fast, tends to drink a lot of beer, and is both funny and original.

Evidently Kari Lake has filed a lawsuit against Maricopa county claiming election fraud.  This was to be expected.  Like her lord and savior, Donald Trump, her shrieks and lawsuits will only benefit the Democrats of Arizona.

And, speaking of Arizona, there is still quite a bit of fallout regarding Kristen Sinema.  Most people have come to the conclusion she made the only move she could knowing Democrats were going to primary her out in the next election cycle.  Some think she will not run for re-election, I'm betting that's not going to happen.  Even if she received every independent vote, she'd still need either Republican or Democrat voters to win, and both parties hate her.  There is a theory, however, that I do find attractive and it goes like this:  wanting that 51st seat in the Senate, Biden will offer her an nice ambassadorship, which Sinema will accept.  That would allow Katie Hobbs to replace her with strong minded Democrat.  Sinema is not stupid, but she is totally self-serving.  She will do whatever will benefit her the most.

 

A Wining Vote in the House

Crap!  I slept later than I wanted this morning.  And I was in bed by 11 PM.  It must be the heat.  Or maybe the long treadmill session yesterday.  It was a run up along the shore of Lake Superior.  There was supposed to be a 200-foot waterfall which never put in appearance.  

Even though I can list quite a number of chores I completed yesterday, there is an overwhelming consensus between me, myself, and I that not much was accomplished.  

I'm almost at 32,000 words in the next book, The Body Under Ice.  I'm pleased.  I guess the big question right now is will Eli and Max find anything when they put a camera down through a hole in the ice?  Will there be something at the bottom of Lake Huron?  You should know by now, I'll never tell.

I designed a new controller for my Xbox Series X and ordered it.  You can click the link to see it or wait until I take a picture after it arrives in about a month.

Steve Bannon's trial continues today.  He's going to go to jail because he's an asshole.  He's in a lose, lose situation because he thought his loudmouth gave him the authority to do whatever he wanted.  I think he should look on the positive side:  2 years in jail might be the perfect diet he needs to lose some of his blubber.

Oh, and can we talk about the wonderful surprise yesterday?  The one about marriage?  The bill that passed in the House of Representative with some serious Republican support?  47 of them voted Yeah.  You know what I'm talking about.  The bill about marriage equality.  Now you have to remember that this bill protects not only same sex marriage, but interracial marriages as well.  This was because of Oreo Thomas, and his published opinion regarding Roe v Wade.  Will this bill make it to the Senate?  No one knows.  But remember, this is one more reason why it is imperative that Blue wins in the midterms.   We save the country by outvoting those who want an authoritative theocracy running America.

The skies are overcast

 Saturday: the skies are overcast, and we've got a 65% chance of rain.  woohoo.  The Accuweather map doesn't show a single drizzle in the area, though rain is coming east from Pittsburgh.  Showers will probably arrive locally about the time I'm ready to head off to work.

And, how busy will work be?  The busy side of the season is past.  Not that people won't be stopping by the flooring department, though for the most part all we probably see will be a Lookie Lou every now and then.  

I didn't get as much done yesterday as I had planned, and still, my accomplishments were not few.  The only thing that wasn't completed was a fast walk on the treadmill.  I did start, but the quads in my right leg got very achy.  Perhaps I should have started at a slower speed.  Or maybe it was my route.  For some reason I thought Saint Tropez was going to be different.

Am I like the only who's suspecting the Donald, or one of his spawn, had something to do with Ivanka's fall down the stairs?  There are a number of other investigations going on.  

I saw where a federal judge has rule against Mark Meadows.  He'd been fighting the January 6 subpoena and had countersued Pelosi.  Of course, many are whispering that he's just going to be another sacrifice, or, to put it more colloquially, Meadow's is going to get thrown under the bus.  

And someone pointed out that with the discovery of the Secret Service's missing texts from January 5 and 6, perhaps Mike Pence was being very smart when he refused to get in their car and take him for a ride.

Crashing Through

 Well, we have freezing rain outside.  Ice melt has been strewn across the veranda, or the patio, or what ever you want to call the area of pavers outside the back door.  We don't want the dogs slipping and sliding.  Dogs over 8 years old should not have to deal with icy walkways.

I spent a long time yesterday with  customers who had wanted to put vinyl plank in their basement. Their floor is not level enough, in fact the installer advised them to bring in a contractor to level it for them.  This is a job that should not have been sold... at all.  Who ever sold it, ignored all the warnings on the quote and now we look bad.

Today the furniture in the computer room / exercise room is getting moved. There needs to be a better allocation of space.  Right now the treadmill is at the far end of the room, next to the window, and that's a little close.  While it would probably never happen, the possibility exists for me to trip, and perhaps fall to the right, and maybe do a lot of damage to both myself and the window.  The last thing I want to do at  my age is to go crashing through.  So, the bike is going to be moved a 1.5 feet to the left, and the treadmill is going to be slipped in beside it.  

And the Russian army has entered Kiev.  Putin believes the government will capitulate soon.  That may well happen.  Of course, that doesn't mean there isn't going to be an insurgency.  There will be resistance cells constantly picking away.  And it will spread.  This will piss off the Russian citizens who will bear the financial brunt of Putin's bonehead move.

Finally, let me talk about Lauren Witzke.  She gives bottled blondes a bad name.  Lauren is one of those Cracker Jack Crazies who crashed through the window of reality.  She campaigned to be a senator from Delaware in 2020... and lost because...  She has gone on record praising Putin and his Nationalist Christian Party.  That's right, she called Putin's fan base Nationalist Christians.  Evidently no one has ever told her about the Russian Orthodox Church.  Let me be honest here, the first words that flashed through my head when I saw that were Holy Fuck.