The Cone of Silence

 It's the weekend for some people, not me.  There was a time decades ago when I, too, worked a Monday thru Friday job, but, as I've said, that was decades ago.  So many people plan their lives around a 5 day, 40 hour work week, in fact, our economy depends upon it; that's when people spend most of their money.  Not me.  I can spend my hard earned pennies whenever I want to, the day of the week matters not to me.

We're supposed to have showers this afternoon.  That's fine.  We've been going through fire watches because the showers we're getting simply aren't soakers, they're basically a superficial wetting.  If Accuweather is right, we should be getting rain next week.

I did work yesterday.  One of my fellow specialists was fuming, he'd been called on the carpet about his frequent call-offs.  He's one of those individuals who desperately believes he should get his weekends off, so when his schedule says otherwise, he call out.  He was so angry, he began the process of transferring to another store.  That's fine.  Back when I was in HR I told many people that "if you don't like your job, get another," basically hoping they're go some where else and make people miserable.

When Howie was a puppy, the Vet recommend Purina Pro Plan for big dogs, and though a bit pricy, I took her advice.  Well, now that he's almost 8 months old, I decided to move him to Beneful, the dog food all of my other dogs ate.  Well, he does eat it, but it has to be on a plate instead of his food dish.  I think he's a bit spoiled.

I understand that Waltz wasn't the only one on that super secret Houthi text with an open Venmo account, there were three others.  Can we talk about amateurs?  Since Conservatives are trying to turn back the clock, I recommend begin holding their super secret talks the Smart way.  Orangie needs to force them all to utilize The Cone of Silence!

Quite a few people found the Orange Anus's decision to withdraw Elise Stefanik's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations telling.  Actually, that announcement made quite a number of us smile:  he's scared.  Republicans have a razor think majority in the House and it seems they believe that in a special election to replace her, the Democrats would win.  Stefanik's district is very red, in fact Orangie won it by 24%.  So, it looks like Elise sold her soul and got a Mar a Lago face for nothing.

Elonia gave some sort of interview and, as most egocentric narcissists frequently do, he doesn't understand why he is so... hated disliked by so many people.  He doesn't understand the protests.  He only wants as much as he can steal from America to make America great.  He's only thinking about his bank account Americans, and all of the different ways he can steal from help them.  And to prove this, he's giving 2 $1million prizes to 2 lucky individuals who vote Republican in Wisconsin next week.  For those of you who don't remember, he pulled this same shit in the National election, only it turned out that the drawings were rigged, and the winners weren't really winners, but people who worked on Orangie's campaign.  He's going to be sorely angry when he learns that the only ones who can be bought are losers. 

Accountability

 And, of course, it's another cold, windy day here in Central PA.  When I let Howie out to do his morning business, the temp was 18 (F).  That's cold.  An hour and a half later, the temp has climbed up one measly degree.  Forecasters are saying that our high today will be in the mid 30s (F), and tomorrow it's predicted to be a tad bit warmer, however, tad is such a generalization, isn't it?

I was pleased with how many chores were accomplished yesterday.  Laundry is up to date.  Cardio was finished.  The Greek lessons were reviewed.  Oh, and 2 more chapters in the final draft of The Body in History were completed.  Today, more will be accomplished (hopefully).  I need to clean the first floor, or, I guess, as just about everybody in every other country of the world say ground floor, though it's actually about 3 feet above the ground.

According to Garmin, I got over 7 hours sleep last night, which is odd, because for the longest time I though I was awake.  So, I guess I was having one of those waking dreams.  Still, they gave me the "Sleep Savant" medal, whatever that is.

And I thought we all could use a brief respite from what's going on, and there's a lot going on.

Of course everyone now knows that Justice Alito accepted a call from the Orange Anus a short time before Orangey asked the Supreme Court to stop his sentencing for his election interference.  Of course, Alito lied and said the subject didn't come up  but then you have to remember it's easy for him to lie, he's a Christian.  A Catholic.  All he needs to do is confess his sins to the priest in his pocket and everything will be forgiven.  That's one of the biggest problems with the religion, it allows for simply horrific people to get away with... well, murder, as long as they believe and ask for forgiveness.  That's a big gripe of mine, that you have this major religion which allows you to pray away your guilt.  Wouldn't it be nice if there were some serious rules that withheld Forgiveness?  I would simply love it if Alito stepped into the confessional to ask for forgiveness and the priest said, "good luck with that, Sammy."  Sorry, for Christianity to hope to survive it needs to bring back accountability in a big way.  It's a shit show as long as Sammy can do whatever he wants and get away with saying a few Hail Mary's.

Financially Comfortable

 So, yesterday turned out to be sort of a day of accomplishments, and sort of not.  Chores were finished, however, my morning was pretty much wasted.  Usually, I go to my local VA clinic for my Covid and flu shot, however this year, because of scheduling (theirs is odd) that didn't happen, so I drove down to the Lebanon VA facility since they take walk-ins.  Unbeknownst to me, they ended their walk-in policy on Friday and you now needed to make an appointment.  This meant I needed to go to my Veteran's group (Liberty) on the 3rd floor, make an appointment, and wait 45 minutes.  What I was expecting to take 90 minutes ended up taking 3 hours.  Because of that waste of time, I had to re-evaluate, are adjust the chores I wanted to get done accordingly.  Some will now get done this morning.  

Oh, and my left shoulder is sore.

Temps are predicted to climb into the 50s (F), but then the bottom will dropping out off the thermometer and we will descend into very cold temps after an onslaught of rain and snow.  Right now, our total accumulation, if the weather forecasters are correct, is going to be around 3/4 inch, of course, they are weather forecasters and known for their inaccuracies.

I was going to go to the movies this week with my movie buddy, but we've pretty much put that on hold because of the holiday.  Too many children our on break from school, and that means lots of kids running around the movie theater.  Most are fine and realize they're paying there money to sit in a seat and watch a movie, but then there are those who completely fail to grasp the concept of "going to the movies."  They think they're at home, in their living room, who will go to the concession stand, and then 20 minutes go to the restroom, and then go out into the hallway to check their text messages.  So, we're going to wait until next week.

And, because it's Wednesday, here is the obligatory of Howie.  This one is called Howie in the leaves; Essential Action Photo.

And an old Navy buddy of my posted his version of FAFO on Facebook regarding the increased prices we're all going to be paying thanks to the American Voter.  I'm still in the process of increasing the size of my pantry, which looks like it might be called a larder because it's mostly my back porch which is unheated.  He got a complaint from a woman about his "throwing the fact that he was financially comfortable."  I chuckled.  Doesn't everyone want to be financially comfortable?  Isn't that why we work most of our lives?  

Numbers

 It's 38 (F) and windy.  Temps are predicted to go up into the low 50s (F) today.  Tomorrow forecasters are saying temps will be a little warmer.  And that winter warning we had yesterday?  Well, there was the occasional snow flurry, but mostly we had steady rain falling throughout most of the day.  It was cold, with temps in the mid 30s (F), but no snow.

Yesterday, I returned that 2nd watch Amazon sent me.  I told a few friend who said she would have kept it, but in my mind that would have been theft, even if it was a screw up by an Amazon driver.  As for the new watch, it's working perfectly.  It has a touch screen, so that's something I need to get used to.

I also stopped by Howie's vet.  He has round worms, a common intestinal parasite.  He was already wormed, so I asked how he could get infected a 2nd time and was told that they're quite common.  He had his first treatment yesterday.  He'll get a 2nd in 2 weeks, and then another fecal test.  He also gets a booster shot on December 10.  

I have to work today, tomorrow, and then Monday.  After that I'm off for 4 days, though I'll get 4 hours pay for the Thanksgiving holiday.  I'm actually looking forward to that.

And though he may look innocent, Howie is actually a puppy shark.

Being of a certain age, I have certain memories from decades back that many Americans do not, but then so many Americans suffer from long term memory loss.  For most, one thing will stand out and they use that singular thing they feel represents a long stretch of time.  Many do not know that Reagan was the first Republican president to pass a Trickle Down Economic Bill, though he called it Reaganomics.  And again, most people don't know that it, like all other trickle down bills, was quite successful at first, but then, as has always been the case with Trickle Down Economics, it began to fall apart.  Not too many people alive today know that Reagan went on TV, asking American's to "stay the course."  Sadly, very few remember how Reaganomics failed, or how W. Bush's Trickle Down failed, or Trump's, however they do tend to remember those initial 6 months when the economy flourished.  W's monumental failure is remembered, Trump's failure, however, is tied to Covid, and lockdowns, so his failure is largely forgotten. 

Online Only

 I cannot believe it's Friday, nor can I believe that they're calling for possible showers this afternoon.  I don't work today, and I want it to be sunny.  I need to mow my lawn.  At least we've had a few dry days for the grass to dry out, though after all of this rain I'll be wearing sweat pants rather than shorts to keep the gnats from turning my legs into a smorgasbord.  Temperature wise it will be fine, in the mid 70s (F).  

As expected, work was truly boring yesterday.  No measures.  I made a few phone calls.  Talked to some customers and answered the same stupid questions.  What stupid questions?  Well, we sell quite a lot of vinyl plank flooring, much of which we carry in the store.  We also have a selection that is "Online Only."  This selection is clearly marked in bold letters, "Online Only."  Yet a day never passes when a some customer who can't read asks, "does this mean you don't have any in stock?"  There are times when the smartass in me wants to raise his smug, little head and say, "if we had it in stock, it wouldn't say online only," but I don't.  Nor do I point out that the in stock product is clearly marked "in stock."  Why is it that some people never think and have to be told everything.  "Online Only," is fairly self-explanatory.

I went to see Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola's new film.  It's about creativity; how an artist, whether he be a musician, a painter, or a writer, can stop time.  It's a fable set in New Rome, so there are a lot of old Rome names, like Caesar, and Claudio.  Too many people, like the ones who ask about "online only," are not impressed because it doesn't fill in the lines they need it to fill:  the CGI is a bit off, the dialogue is a bit too creative.  It's a fable.  It is flexible, not rigid.  Statues move.  I thought it was great.  There were moments when time stopped.  

Of course, things did happen in the political circus yesterday, one of most amusing being that the Dockworkers are no longer on strike.  The Republicans had thought they could turn this into an October surprise which would hurt the Democrats.  Ooops, not going to happen.  Even funnier are all of those people who ran out and ordered, or bought thousands of rolls of toilet paper because the of this non-strike.  Will they learn from this panic buying?  Absolutely not.

And the Orange Anus had a rally in Saginaw, Michigan yesterday and only filled 1/3 of a high school gymnasium.  For those who don't understand this, let me explain.  This small group represents the number of people who will actually vote for him.  He will refuse to accept this.  He will either try and start something, or he will run away when the results become clear.  Reagan started the lie, Donald Trump will end it.

Jimmy Carter

 October 1's and it's raining... still.  It hasn't stopped for 3 days.  I think everyone in PA is relieved that we're not getting the drenching rains North Carolina had to deal with.  I feel bad for those people down there.  Once again, temps are going to hover in the lower to mid 60s (F).  Tomorrow, our temps will attempt to climb up into the low 70s (F).  That's fine with me.  Turning on the heat is not one of my priorities, so the longer I can wait to do so, the better.  

Speaking of heat, climate change kept the temps here in Central PA fairly warm last winter, and as a result I used less Natural Gas to heat my house.  Because of this, rather than have to make a payment gas bill in September, I had a $63.55 credit.  No payment necessary.  Since I'm on the payment plan, I'm hoping this will drop my monthly charge down to around $70 a month.

I set the trap for the mouse last night and no bites.  

Pete Rose died yesterday.  No loss.  Never liked him.  Charlie Hustle was all about ego.  This is why he had no problem betting either for, or against, the team he was managing.

And Jimmy Carter is 100 today.  He is the oldest living president.  I'm pleased to say that I voted for him.  He has always been resolute in his faith, and in his compassion for his fellow man.  He has become a legend.

America is going to hear quite a lot about Carter today.  There will accolades galore.  He has become synonymous with Habitat for Humanity.  He is a man who came from the obscurity of being a peanut farmer to become president.  His unbridled decency after leaving the presidency is unmatched.  He has set his mark in history that is indelible.  Believe him when he says he's going to live to not only vote for Harris, but see her win the presidency.  

Who will not praise him?  Republicans.  Carter stands for ethics, and values, and morals, all of which Republicans have sold off in their search for greed and power.  One great thing about today?  It will be a flaming dagger into the heart of Donald Trump, because in his dirty heart, he knows America will never, ever talk about him the same as they do Jimmy Carter.

The Countdown Begins

 So, it's 58 (F) outside and the temps are predicted to climb into the mid 80s (F).  By Wednesday, the forecast is temps in the mid to upper 90s (F).  See?  I told you summer wasn't over.

Retailers, however, don't have a very good handle on the seasons, mostly because their focus is on selling shit merchandise, and for them seasonal translates to holiday sales.  This means that all of fans and A/C units are being bundled up and stored in the overhead racking in order to make room for the Halloween display, which will be set-up at the beginning of the week.  And, in case you're wondering, people will start buying that Halloween shit merchandise the instant it's on display.  Last year we had some guy loudly pissing and moaning complaining because our website advertised this ragged, little dwarf  skeleton and our display team hadn't unpacked it yet.  Seriously, he was very loud, shrieking about false advertising.  And then he stood glowering, and whining about how long it was taking to find the box so we could unpack it and sell him his ragged, little dwarf skeleton.  The only thing he was missing was a MAGA hat.

Much was accomplished yesterday:  the lawn mowed, 2 loads of laundry washed and hung out to dry, a 3.25 mile walk in the park.  Nothing was packed, though I did spend a few seconds looking at my suitcase.  The pack I bought has many little pouches, so today I will probably store my extra charges in one of them.  I did download an app from a link Explore.com sent me regarding my itinerary.  It's quite informative, with lots of juicy information, including the weather in Greece.  Currently, they're temps are about about the same as those here in Central PA,  During the height of the summer, their temps are closer to those in Tampa, FL.

The 7 day countdown begins today.

And I don't think there's anything that can quite compare to the stupidity of Republicans.  James Comer, in an attempt to disparage Walz, said that "Minnesota is not your normal state...they have a huge population of residents who come from other countries and have very different ideologies that don't really respect capitalism."  That's right, Jimmy Comer just insulted the entire voting population of Minnesota.  You cannot make this shit stuff up.  Or, perhaps what he was trying to say is that Minnesotans do not embrace the Republican values of selfishness and greed.

For those who didn't know, RFK jr now supports Trump.  This is because Trump promised him he could run the Environmental Protection Agency.  It's illegal to promise someone an position in order to get their support.  Orangie tried to create a big "to do" about Kennedy switching his allegiance from the Democrats to the Republicans.  Mostly, the Democrats either yawned or made jokes about Kennedy's brain worm.  Orangie didn't mention that the entire Kennedy clan has come out in support of Harris, or that Kennedy's supporters were Republicans, not Democrats.  Ouch.  

Rally in Wilkes Barre

 Holy Crap!  We're under a Flood Watch again.  More rain is in the forecast.  The clouds from yesterday are still hanging around overhead.  Temps got warmer yesterday then expected.  The approaching rain is going to drive them down.  I checked out the weather in Greece, and right now it's 94 (F).  It might cool off a few degrees by the time I arrive in 2 weeks, but not much.  But that will be better than walking around the ruins of Spart with the temps blazing in the low 100s (F).

Retail yesterday was boring.  I got a measure.  I talked to some people.  Mostly, I wasted time.  I did have a nice conversation with the store manager, about gaming, and people.  Later I was chatting with Cori, she's the artist who does my book covers and who has known him for as long as I, and we decided how nice it was having a manager whom we've both known for years.  There is a level of comfort many people will never understand.  Not that he's going to let us slide, he wouldn't be store manager if he allowed that to happen.

I ordered a lock for my suitcase.  Not a combination lock, either.  It's not that I have problems with remembering the combinations, it's just that they're so time consuming, having to line the right numbers up.  Honestly, I'd just rather turn a key.  That probably tells you something about how my mind works.  I'd have no problem with a fingerprint lock; just touch it and it opens.  The pack I bought has a combination lock.  The combination is 202, just in case any of you want to break into my pack. 😎😎😎

Orangie had a rally in Wilkes Barre.  For those of you who don't know, it's pronounced Wilks Barry.  The venue seats 9000, some said it was full, others said it was half full.  Most agree that about halfway through his standup routine people begin leaving.  Some say it's because they're expecting something fresh and new and get the same old, same old.  It must be disappointing as hell to see the rah, rah, rah of happiness and joy of a Harris rally, and then have to sit through Orangie's whining, doom and gloom bullshit.  Other's say it's because a large number are paid to be there, but only for so long, and once their payment hits their bank accounts they leave.  Anyway, The Guardian was not so nice to the former liar and thief.  I don't really think it makes much of a difference to this guy.

Melting Down

 And so Friday is upon us.  Weather wise, it's supposed to be another really nice day with temps in the mid-80s (F) and plenty of sunshine.  The weekend however?  Well, forecasters are saying we're going to have overcast skies, it's going to be humid, and there will be showers and thunderstorms.  That's okay with me.  I work weekends.

If those weather predictions hold out, the store will be slow.  That's normal for this time of year.  We always get the "back to school doldrums," because families usually set aside these weeks for vacation.  Those that don't go on vacation are usually busy buying back to school clothing for their children.  Even the great, orange, home improvement retailer I work for has "back to school" specials; needing to compete with Walmart and Target is the only way to grow market share.

So, I've joined the Vizsla club on Facebook.  The time has come to start the puppy search.  Someone said I should have begun looking a few weeks back, but I don't need to pick one up the first day I get back from Greece.  I've waited this long, I can wait for another few weeks.  

Much was accomplished yesterday, including a 3 mile walk at Adams Ricci, and an 8 mile bike ride.  The rose bushes out front were trimmed back, as were the peony bushes.  My dahlias are coming in nice.  Tammy, from across the street, gave me some earlier in the summer, but they're small, no more than 8 inches high.  The ones I plant from bulbs usually grow to around 2 feet with large blooms.  Here's are tiny, and they look more like zinnias.

Yesterday, the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, threw a party in an attempt to get media attention that his petty little ego craves.  MSNBC didn't carry it, in fact they criticized his futile attempt to spread his lies and deceit.  CNN started to carry it live, and then cut away.  Only Fox Entertainment stayed for the duration.  There were supposed to be a few softball questions after his rambling ended but tell me, does anybody care?  Some people did torture themselves by watching in order to report on his dementia.   He complained that he had every right to verbally attack Kamala Harris because, among other things, she called him weird.  You have to admit, complaining about being called weird is... well, pretty weird.  Most mature people would simply brush it off, however, his skin is so incredibly skin, his festering ego so fragile, calling him weird is like throwing water on the wicked witch of the West.  By calling him weird, those who want to, get to see him public melting down.  

Pounded and Trounced

 The forecast for today is bountiful sunshine!  Their words, not mind.  Temps are supposed to climb into the high 80s (F), though yesterday they hit the low 90s (F), with little to no clouds in the sky.  This is a good thing.  I've some yardwork planned for this afternoon.  The front rosebushes need a drastic trimming.

I did get a 2.5 mile walk in yesterday, my only problem being dog people.  A lot of people like to walk their dogs at Adams Ricci, many by themselves, but there are dog groups.  I ran into one yesterday, and as I approached one of the women reigned in her dog saying, "come here, some people don't like dogs."  Of course, that couldn't be farther from the truth, however I don't like it when a group of 5 people with big dogs block the path.  And, just like me, there are a lot of people either walking or running in the park who were inconvenienced.  True, it's a public park, but consideration needs to be shown by all.  The second time I approached them, knowing they were going to continue blocking the path, I changed my route, as did other people.

And work yesterday was me getting paid to sit at the flooring desk.  I did have a brief discussion with a fellow associate about an article I'd read in Forbes (he'd read a similar article in another periodical) on how the large, orange home improvement retailer was reducing their forecast because.  They're still using that tired excuse that because so many people made home improvements during Covid, they're not interested in making them now.  That's not true.  People are just tired of retail price gauging.  What's sadly amusing about this, is that customers know this is going on, no matter how much retailers try, there's no pulling the wool over shopper's eyes.  People around the world are really fed up with corporate greed.

And then there's this:

Here's the source if you want a more accurate breakdown.  Ouchy, ouchy, ouchy!  Over 303,000 Democrats voted, with over 94% voting for Amy Klobuchar, while only 74,656 Republicans voted.  The Republicans had 2 ballot initiatives aimed at making it more difficult to vote and both were trounced.

The Orange Anus had some sort of teeny, weeny, not quite a rally, definitely not a town hall, hug-in last night for around 2400 people in Ashville, NC.  It was supposed to be about his economic policies, you know?  Like, it's time for another tax break for the rich?  Except, as is now always the case, it devolved into personal attacks.  That's how it's being reported by a number of media outlets, but not all.  I don't know what the NYT said, but as a news outlet, they've become irrelevant.  The only thing Donnie Dementia didn't do after yesterday's bitch session was brag about his crowd size.  That alone must hurt him like Hell.

And 2 complaints have been filed in regard to the Trump/Musk chatfest the other night.  One is that because Musk gave Trump airtime and chatted about the election, he broke campaign finance rules since that expensive conversation is considered a campaign donation.  Not that either of them gives a shit.

The Sucking Power of Tornadoes

 It's warm, but not hot, and according to the forecast today's will climb into the mid 90s (F), but then... Debbie does the east coast.  Temps on Wednesday are predicted to drop into the 70s (F), where they will stay for entire week.  Lots of rain coming our way.  That means things are going to become green again, and lawn mowing will once again commence.

I was looking at my peach tree yesterday morning and woe of woes, there's only 1 peach hanging from it.  Blame the squirrels.  I was talking to Tammy across the street and she had the same complaint.  Squirrels are eating all of her green peaches.  They've left be one, which I know will never be eaten because it's way to green to be picked.  The thought has crossed my mind that I might just cut the thing down.  We shall have to wait and see.

We get a new store manager today.  He's not really new to me since he and I began working together 15 years ago, and we worked with each other on and off at different stores during that time.  He had the ambition.  This will be interesting.

Oh, and I went to see Twisters.  Overall, I'd say it was okay.  Glenn Powell was good in what I understand is now his trademark character, someone who starts off being somewhat unscrupulous or bad, who becomes the hero.  Actors who endure usually take on a variety of rolls.  Daisy Edgar Jones however?  She looks like she 16 and has a mealy kind of character who becomes a heroine... sort of.  Where you can see the different stages of Powell's transition, hers is... kind of mealy... if you know what I mean.  I was surprised by how little chemistry was between the two leads.  On the plus side, there is Glenn Powell in a white T-shirt, the special effects are spectacular, and the sucking power of tornadoes is always amazing.

Within the next 48 hours, Kamala Harris will announce her choice for Vice President.  So, who will it be?  Right now, supposedly, it's between 3 individuals, Tim Walz, Mark Kelly, and Josh Shapiro, and right now everyone is looking for an oracle to divine the truth.  If this is true, then my feeling that she'd go with Andy Bashear, the Democrat Governor from Kentucky is wrong.  Of course, I don't think too many actually believed that Trump would go with Vance, a man whose political strength seems to be ass kissing, so until the announcement is made we're all left guessing.

And there's a lot of chatter out there about how the Trump campaign is flailing, and how in-fighting is taking it's toll.  Good.  A number of billionaires are unhappy.  Good.  Panic mode is upon them.  Musk's Zit filled social network is under investigation up in Michigan for illegally gathering voter information in an attempt to help Trump.  One of the fake electors in Arizona has flipped; might this be another election interreference charge for Trump?  Basically, he's out playing golf in a storm and is too blinded by his own ego to see the vortex approaching.  I don't doubt that very soon, Donald Trump, the Orange Anus, is going to learn first hand about the sucking power of tornadoes.

Democrats Play the Republicans

 Yesterday, the weathermen lied.  We had a hot one: 98 (F), that's about 10 degrees warmer than they were predicting, and, silly me, I turned off the central air thinking it shouldn't be that warm in the house when I got home from work.  Wrong.  Not that it took that long to cool the place down, it was just such a shock walking through the front door into an oven.

And work was steady, not that a I got any measures.  The customers with the sample issue from Saturday came in, they'd gotten measured and were so pleased with the quote they're upgrading their carpet to something more expensive.  This is how Karma works, you go out of your way a little, and Karma balances that extra step.  They'll probably buy on Wednesday.  That's nice.  It's a $3500 sale.

Other than that my day was pretty much meh... 

Except for one little thing.

I got my first newsflash from The Guardian and the rest of Main Stream Media slowly followed.  As soon as I heard the first announcement a feeling of elation gathered around me like a bouquet of flowers.  I knew this decision was coming, I just didn't know when, just as I knew it was, and is roiling the Republican party to it's very core.  Their problem is that they are now stuck with a 78 year-old felon as their candidate, the oldest candidate in American history.  That problem is compounded by the fact that so many Americans simply can't stomach Donald Trump.  He is the Orange Anus... with hemorrhoids.  

When I had breakfast with my brother, we talked about Biden stepping down and he asked me if I thought this had been in the works since January.  I told him I didn't know.  I do believe that in spite of everything that's been talked about on the news we were never really told the what was actually going on.  The fact that Biden did so poorly at his the debate had me wondering, was that planned?  It was definitely a Kickstarter for what happened yesterday.  Did the Democrats play the Republicans?  I'd like to think so.

And the Republicans are shitting bricks, almost literally.  In their playbook, Biden was going to stay in the race and lose.  Now they're going to be dealing with someone younger, that's already a mark against them.  Trump has already said the next 2 debates are in jeopardy; he clearly doesn't want to go up against someone who might call him out.  I hope the Democrat's candidate is Harris.  I want her to force Trump to debate her, a black woman, and then humiliate him in public.  This is Karma, too.  If you've been paying attention to the Republican party for any length of time, you've realized that they are all voice and no spine.

America's Sleeping Giant

 Our temps hit 100 (F) yesterday, for the first time in a long time.  We didn't break any records, so it's a pretty good guess that we've gotten that high before.  I went outside on a couple of occasions.  Believe me, it was a great day to dry clothing outside.  Two loads!  My savings from not running the dryer went to paying the Central Air expense, which seemed to be running constantly.

I got a text from Tammy, the neighbor living across the street, asking me why I didn't go to Eileen's Memorial Service on Saturday.  A month and a half ago she had told me part of the service was to be done at the A-Frame Eileen and her husband had built, and then the group was going to move to a spot near the river for spreading her ashes.  Her and her deceased husband's wedding bands were then supposed to be floated down the river on a tiny boat, and after all of that, people were supposed to meet at Dukes (a restaurant on the river).  I had told her I had no idea where the A-Frame was and she told me not to worry.  On Saturday, Tammy left early without saying anything, and I thought it would be rude of me to miss the service and just show up at Dukes for the food.  It's a lot like skipping the wedding and going to the reception, if you know what I mean.  When I reminded her of this she texted back, "oh, I should have told, there was a change of plans, everybody just met at Dukes, the service was done later."  Holy Crap.  Not that I was really upset.  Eileen was a good neighbor.  She took care of my animals when I went to France, and my decision to go to the service was just a nice gesture.  Still, there seems to have been a lot lacking in organizational skills.

And, as one might have expected, quite a few people are mocking Trump's bandaged ear, especially since this was the first time anyone has seen it.  The joke in this picture is that cultists will wear fake bandages to honor the Spawn of Satan.  Sadly, this turns out to be more than a joke.  They are selling fake mini-bandages at the convention that you can buy for just $5 a pop, bandages you can fold around the top of your ear.  This is what cultists do.

So far, there is still not medical report to prove the bullet actually winged his ear.  I'm betting that's never going to be forthcoming.  

The unity he called for disappeared completely on the second night of the Republican convention as people shouted, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

However, the decisions made by this conservative Supreme Court have cursed the GOP.  Flipping Roe v Wade is sending millions of women to the polls and they're not voting Republican.  Their decision on presidential immunity, to completely remove accountability has pissed quite a few people off.  There's a saying, waking up the sleeping giant will make the whole world tremble.  That used to refer to China.  But there's a sleeping giant in this country made up of women, centrists, and every kind of minority you can think of.  Republicans simply do not understand this.  They have convinced themselves that all they need to say is "shut up, we're in charge," and the nation will bend at the knee.  They are going to learn what happens when America's sleeping giant awakens, and then Republicans will be gone.

Toasty

 It's sunny, for the moment.  Later in the morning they're predicting winds, though no storms.  And, of course, beginning Monday, we  will be under the Heat Dome, as will much of the eastern United States.  Texas will be dangerously hot.  I feel sorry for those who understand there is such a thing as Climate Change, but have to suffer because their leadership runs away form science.

Yesterday, I did summerfy my house.  That means the window A/C unit is in the bedroom and the standpipe is in the hallway for my Central Air, in fact I turned it on.  It's always set at 74 (F).  I find that comfortable.  The temp upstairs was 79 (F), which is warm.  And yes, my Central Air relies on a standpipe.  This is because when I had it installed all those years ago, I was naive and thought Zimmerman Plumbing and Heating was doing the right thing.  They didn't.  The put the return vent for the second floor in the floor.  Well, since hot air rises, that doesn't work.  The standpipe basically raises the return vent to 6 feet off the floor.  Small businesses don't always have their customer's best interests at heart.

Anyway, when I went up into the attic to get the standpipe, I was stunned to see sunlight shining in around the front window.  That's right, around the window, as well as through it.  Well, damn.  I'd been putting off having the windows replace, now it looks like that's not going to happen.  So, I went down to the computer and filled in the necessary forms and within seconds I began getting phone calls.  I didn't answer any of them, but now I have their phone numbers and will start calling installers later this morning.   

The Dome.

One thing that I'm glad to see happening is more and more people, even media outlets, are calling out other news outlets, like the New York Times, and the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal (the last 2 just happen to be owned by Rupert Murdoch) for their deceitful coverage of Biden.  Sinclair Group is another group of faux news stations that have been lying about the president's mental health.  Sinclair grew very upset when it was pointed out that its new stations were repeating almost verbatim from a article in the Wall Street Journal.  These outlets don't like this.  They want to be seen as the voice of conservative authority and, well, the truth hurts.  Isn't ironic that the fake media Trump's been shrieking about for so many years are those conservative networks and news shows?  I think so.

"Take a Felon to Work" day

Holy Moly, the temp was 70 (F) when I got up this morning.  According to the forecasters, we've got one of them heat domes heading our way.  For the past 2 years they've been missing us, moving either to the north or south, but not this week.  I'm not doubting Mother Nature had this entire thing planned, since it's arriving right when summer begins.  

This means window air conditioning units will be a hot commodity.  Sorry, I just had to do that.

 Actually, our temps are only suppose to clime into the mind 90s (F), with the real feel being around 100 (F).  Still, it means I'm going to have to turn on the A/C if I want the upstairs to be comfortable.

And, speaking of the weather, how about Florida?  All that rain?  All that heat?  If those people down there thought insurance rates were high before this summer, I'm betting they're going to be flipping out by the time hurricane season ends.

And I did work yesterday, and, as expected business was slow.  However, when I checked my sales somehow I managed to rack up over $11,000.  Wow!  I also got to work in paint for a bit, which is fun.  

I also changed my availability, knocking off one of the mid-week days.  As of 7/12, I'll no longer be working on Thursdays.  When I get back from Greece, I'm going to change it again so I'll only be working weekends and Monday.  Three days on and four days off.  Sounds good to me.

The writing room is beginning to come together.  I've decided to hide the file cabinet and printer behind the victrola.

And for those who didn't know it, yesterday was take your felon to work day.  How do I know?  Because the Orange Anus was back in Washington speaking to the Republicans of Congress.  One of those present in that closed session said it was like listening to your drunken uncle.  Afterwards, he spit out a short word salad speech and then left, which was rather unusual for him.  

As expected, the Senate voted against in vitro fertilization.  Someone asked why, if these people claim to be pro-life, they can be against IVF.  Well, a lot of it has to do with their Cracker Jack Crazy religious beliefs.  They believe babies should be made the natural way, and not rely on science.  Yep, that's right.  Science is the big bugaboo here.  In order for there to be science, people would need to ask questions, and questions are verboten. For them, it's all about belief.  Sort of like the dark ages, you know?  

Republicans: Economic Failures

 Well, today's already started out better than yesterday.  The sun is out.  Yesterday we had clouds throughout most of the day.  The sun didn't make an appearance until late in the afternoon.  On cloudy days I'm rather a meh person, not really wanting to do anything.  Of course, I had to zip off down to Lebanon shortly after the crack of dawn and that screwed up my scheduling as well.

I did get some writing done yesterday, but mostly I just wanted to nap, and read.  

There were 3 areas of my floor that I patched with plastic wood and tried staining with one of those stain pens.  Well, it didn't work at all.  The patched areas looked dirty, and the polyurethane finish didn't help, so I sanded them down and bought some real stain.  Pricey, but it looks much better.  

When I was down at the VA yesterday, one of the nurses told me about Phoenix Animal Rescue, telling me a number of breeders who have puppies that don't sell send them there.  So, when I got home, I checked out their website.  There were a number of puppies there, but there was also an 8 year-old female Boxer, and I suddenly felt so sad.  That's a terrible age to be rescued.  For Boxers, that's the age the medical problems start showing up.  I feel terrible that has to happen to that little lady.

And for those who have long term memory failure, Republican presidents always leave the economy in a mess.  Which of the 3 Republican presidents on this list passed Trickle Down Economic packages that failed?

I'll give you a hint.  George H. Bush was not one of them, though he inherited an economy that was a shambles because Trickle Down was failing so badly.  Giving tax breaks to wealthy individuals and corporations will never be successful at stabilizing the economy because those people and groups are only interested in their own bottom line.  At the first sign of a problem they beginning cutting their expenses (mostly payroll expense) to save their bottom line.  Of course, they're still getting those tax breaks.  The only president on this list who actually took away those breaks away from corporations was George H. Bush and it cost him his bid for re-election.  At a campaign rally while running for his first term, he infamously made the comment, "read my lips, no new taxes."  Of course, the economy left to him by Ronald Reagan was in such a shambles, Bush desperately tried everything.  The bottom line?  Never trust a Republican with the economy.

Greed is Stupid

 The forecast was for possible... occasional thundershowers yesterday and what we got was steady rain for much of the late afternoon into the evening.  We had heavy rain over night, and rain again this morning.  Our forecast today is for... again, occasional thunderstorms with the temps zooming up into the upper 80s (F).  Translation:  humidity hell.  Tomorrow, they're expecting cooler temps, in the low to mid 70s (F).

Work was boring yesterday.  I did manage to get a measure from a gent who asked if he could get a refund if they didn't like the quote they built for him after he'd been measured.  I told him "no."  He then asked if he'd get the square footage, and I told him "yes."  He is one of those people who will pay to get measured and then go to an outside contractor who will charge him must less than we do for the installation.  This is one of the reasons why our sales are not what Wall Street wants.  Vinyl plank installations cost almost as much as the flooring itself.  Why pay us to do the install when you can find a private contractor who will do it at half the price?

I'm still working on my writing room floor.  After I finish this, I'll do a little sanding, and a little staining on the few last spots I patched with wood filler.  Then, before going to work this afternoon, I roll on a little polyurethane.  I'm thinking that by next week I might be able to roll out the area rug.  I have a couple of people who've volunteered to move the desk.  I can slide it across the floor, but it's too heavy for me to lift on my own.  For those who don't know, this is the desk.  Soon, it will once again be sitting on an area rug.

And what about the Republicans voting against a law intended to keep contraception legal in all states?  Of course, one of the reasons Democrats brought this bill to the floor was political, it's an election year, and millions of Americans rely on birth control to keep the size of their families small.  Republicans, on the other hand, especially in those Cracker Jack Crazy states down south, want humans to be breeders.  That may sound a bit harsh, but that's exactly what they want.  It doesn't make a difference if parents can afford the children or not.  However, you can also bet your bottom dollar that those people wanting to curtail the use of contraception will never have large families.  As for the babies themselves?  Corporations see them as a way to keep their profits growing, however they don't understand that the more babies there are, the less purchasing power the family dollars are going to have, so profits will continue to shrink.  Greed is so stupid.

Godzilla Minus One

 A nice day has been forecasted and I'm going to enjoy those mid 80s (F) temps.  If the long range forecast is accurate, our summer's going to be not too hot, and not too cold, pretty much like the porridge Goldilocks liked that was just right.

Yesterday work was bothersome.  I had partially completed their design when I was called over to mix paint so the supervisor could get a lunch break, so I turned it over to an associate who's much better with designing blinds then I am.  He was not exactly happy with this, since he's isn't going to get credit for the sale.  For that matter, neither am I.  There used to be a time when changing a design would net you some of the sales.  Not any more.  Well, this couple went home, and then returned 20 minutes before I was scheduled to leave, and since there's no way I was going to stay past my scheduled time, I turned them over to him again.  This like this are irritating.  I felt bad for him, since he was going to end up spending hours with them.

I watched Godzilla Minus One last evening, it's on Netflix, and was pleasantly surprised.  I'd heard it was good, and I've always liked Godzilla movies.  Then, to be perfectly honest, I've always like monster movies, but the directors took a different approach with this one.  It's focused on just a few individuals, rather than the destruction of Tokyo.  It was the first Godzilla film to win an Academy Award.  

I saw that Elon Musk has had the policies changed on Zitter (if that's how it's pronounced) clearing the way for porn.  While pornophiles may be cheering, keep in mind that it once used to be a legitimate platform of news, with porn on the side.  Now legitimate news has fled to other platforms, including Threads, and Elon's got to make money some way.  Unfortunately, I suspect this will end up being bad for porn, because Zitter seems to have mounting problems just like his other businesses, and like other flailing billionaires, Musk will have to put the blame somewhere, rather than admit to his own incompetence. 

And Hunter Biden's jury was selected yesterday.  My personal feeling is that he 's going to be found guilty.  He did something stupid, and while he's going to try and blame it on his problem with drugs, that can't be used for an excuse. This is how it is.  

Shitzinpantz

 Well a good Friday morning to all of you out there in the world.  It's a nice day here in Central PA.  The outside temp is in the low 60s (F), though if the forecast is correct clouds will come rolling in later this afternoon.  That's okay.  We might warm up another 15 degrees if the weather forecasters are correct, that is not always the case.  Yesterday, on my ride home from the store, the temp was 92 (F) which should have broke a record, though that might have been the official temp.  Officially, temps in the air around my car are rarely taken into consideration.

My 2nd load of laundry is already in the washer.  I've taken to dry certain things, like T-shirts, and towels, and... well, just about everything except pants, outside on the drying rack, at least on warm days.  I'll use less electricity.  The dryer is nice for pants, that way there no need to iron out the wrinkles.  Iron?  Does anybody still iron anything?

I'll also be going to my neighborhood Giant supermarket later this morning.  They've gotten cheap with their bonus points, which is irritating.  You earn bonus points by spending $$$.  They would also run lots of specials where you could earn more points by buying, oh, say $35 in meat.  Beginning last week, those deals disappeared.  You can still earn bonus points, but the good deals are gone.  Now you can earn 30 points by buying 4 pounds of bananas.  That's a lot of bananas.

I thought this was cute.

I was going to post a picture of Von Shitzinpantz, but thought them all to be too crass, I do have my limitations.  For those who don't know, that was Michael Cohen's nickname for his boss, the Orange Anus himself, Donald Trump.  That came out yesterday at his election interference trial.  Now, I don't know about you, but it has been my experience that nicknames are usually based on some sort of fact, act, or occurrence, and while talking about bodily functions is the fodder of four year-old humor, it wouldn't surprise me in the least that Donald Trump shits in his pants... regularly, and is, no doubt, the reason he wears Depends.  Let's be honest here, we all know that Donald Trump is now, and has always been, full of shit.

The Secret Meeting

 And so we move on into another week.  This morning's temp outside was 59 (F) which is warm for this time of year.  Yesterday afternoon high was in the upper 80s (F) and people, including associates, were walking in through our front doors complaining about the heat.  We have a replay on tap for both today and tomorrow.  That means lawn work on my day off.  Good, I'm hoping to get some sun.  I don't want to go to Greece pale as a fish's belly.

Since it was warm yesterday, people were buying portable air conditioning units for their windows.  We sold quite a few.  At least this year some people seem to be a bit more pro-active. rather than waiting until we're cooking away in the dog days of summer.  

The new narrator is already working on the The Body on the Lawn.  He's asked for a character breakdown, which is something I didn't get with the previous narrator.  He's estimating this project should be completed in between 4 and 6 weeks.  That's fine with me.  For the last book, it took about a week and half; I'm in no rush.  I'm fairly certain this book is going to be longer.  Listening time for The Body Under Ice was 5 hours, I've been checking, that's short.  Most audiobooks run about 8 hours.  Does this mean the first narrator rushed to get the job finished?  I'd say there is a likelihood of that being possible.  For those who don't remember, here's the cover art.  It's good deal right now if you want to buy the paperback.

Kristi Noem was no longer trending yesterday, well, at least she wasn't trendy to the extent she had been on Saturday.  People are questing her judgement at including that story in her book; what audience was she actually trying to reach?  

There was also a not so secret meeting between the Orange Anus and Ronnie DeSantis at Mar a Lago this weekend.  Somehow I don't think they got together to share secret documents the way some people share recipes. But then, both of them so desperately want to be America's first dictator.  That'll never happen.

Trump's election interference trial starts again today.  Everyday is a surprise.  I'm guessing that Sarah  Sanders Huckabee is not one of the witnesses.  You have to admit, that would be really funny, getting to see her pouty, angry face glaring from the witness box.