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 Well, it was somewhat sunny yesterday, on and off, mostly off, with drizzles.  We got the edge of the storm that so much rain on New York City.  Today we're supposed to have sunny skies with the temps on the rebound, climbing up into the low 70s (F).  This coming week we're suppose to reach the mid 80s (F) before it's time to snuggle under the wooly blankets as the temps crash down in the the mid 50s (F).

Yesterday much was accomplished, in spite of the naps.  Yes, I said naps.  Both Thursday and Friday I was nappy.  Thing got done around the times I wasted time with fifteen minute naps.  In fact, there were so many naps that I wondered if perhaps I might be coming down with something.  Well, I got my answer around 2 in the morning when I woke up with a runny nose.  I hate that, having to get up in the middle of the night to blow my nose.  And it wasn't just once.  So, I have a cold.  Lucky for me my cold symptoms are just drowsiness and a runny nose.  They usually don't stick around too long, either, ;a day and a half, maybe two.  I don't mind the drowsiness, but I do hate the runny nose.

As happens to all bloggers, occasionally we get comments that are best deleted, like those from the Bombay Hooker's Club.  Yesterday, I received a comment from "Anonymous" on an entry I wrote back in 2017 that evidently the writer thought would provoke me.  It did, and instead of deleting it I responded thus:

And, of course, the country runs out of money today and those horses ass in the House are going to try and push through something that they know the Senate is going to vote against because our Senators know an asswipe when they see one.  Supposedly the ring leader for this is Matty Gaetz, though you can bet he's not the only insurrectionist involved.  You would think that these people would realize that when members of their own party point to their inability to govern, calling it chaotic, they would understand they need a new course of action.  Nope.  These people don't care that a majority of Americans are looking at them and thinking "asswipes," or that this stunt is going to lose them voters in the next election.  These 21 people are not only shitting in their pants, they're sitting down and squishing it around because they want an authoritarian government led by their Lord and Savior Donald Trump.  They are destined to fail... badly, and the longer this continues, the worse their downfall will be.

The Bastard Republican Child

 Friday... and it's raining... again.  There is a steady drizzle falling which is going to keep me from mowing my front lawn this afternoon.  Temps were supposed to shoot up into the low 70s (F), but now I see on my Accuweather app that they're not going to get out of the 60s (F).  Now the sunny days and warm temps are supposed to happen while I'm at work.  Isn't that how it seems to go?  

Yesterday, I feel I got a lot done.  Today hopefully is going to be a repeat.  Some painting needs to be done in the kitchen: cabinets.  The only demo happening will be the removal of the sink cabinet, which will happen first.  Then the drywall will be hung.  After that, the new sink base will be installed (the drywall behind it doesn't need to be finished, and the other 5 cabinets will be installed.  I'm not going to order the new flooring until that's done.  Tuesday, Lindsey is bringing the drywall, which will mean more clutter.

I really do hate clutter.

I made a three bean salad yesterday with just a touch of jalapeño pepper heat and a bit of shredded Swiss cheese.  

I did get a big laugh when I saw Raw Story did a piece on Newt (Just Say No) Gingerich's confusion with the current GOP.  You'll notice that I did include the famous lesson he taught: Just Say No.  Back in the 1990s that was his call to arms.  Hold the Democratic president hostage until he concedes.  Now, it seems as though old Newty wants to disparage the spawn of his political loins.  The fact that he failed to grasp his tutorage would lead to the inevitable breakdown of the GOP, indicates how little time and forethought he gave to this policy and where it would lead.  Now, instead of shrieking "what have I done!" he's looking at the hardliners in the House and whining "what's wrong with you?"  It was he who set the Republican party on this political course, and now that they're about to sail off the edge of the political world he wants to refute the reality that he is the father of this bastard Republican child.

A Haunting in Venice

 The skies are a bit overcast this morning.  They're predicted to be that way most of the day, with a high in the upper 60s (F).  Tomorrow a chance of rain is going to move into the area, but after that our temps are predicted to climb back into the 70s (F).  This is fine.

The electricians were here yesterday and did their thing.  I now have a stove vent / fan combo, and two  outlets have been removed, three added, dedicated wiring for the dishwasher is in, and a ceiling light installed in the cycling / running / computer room.  The light was a bit of a stickler.  Ripping up the plywood floor in the attic, they discovered that the wiring was... antiquated (nice way of putting it), so they shut that off and rewired.   Electrical and Plumbing are the 2 biggest issues when renovating a 118 year old home.

Lily handled them well, barking when necessary, observing them from a distance while they did their work.  Running up and down the stairs tuckered her out and she was up in bed by 6:30 PM.

I went to see A Haunting in Venice last evening, Kenneth Branagh's foray into Agatha Christie.  This one was far better than A Death on the Nile with more interesting characters, a better developed storyline, and a lot less absurdity in the denouement.  This one has a bit of a spooky twist, with Poirot being invited to a seance, and, of course, murder and mayhem follow him.  Michelle Yeoh is good as the all too wise medium, as is Tina Fey, playing drama.  For those Kyle Allen fans out there, I hate to tell you this, but he keeps his shirt on.  This movie was very entertaining.

There was a GOP noise fest last evening while I was at the movies.  I missed nothing.  Well, I did miss Chris Christie calling Trump Donald Duck, what an insult to the duck.  I did watch a short clip this morning of DeSantis saying something, but because he's such an ass I kept the sound off.  Smart move.  Just being able to observe his face with having to listen to his voice made me realize how unintelligent he looks, his eyes are too close, his nose too big, and he resembles a badly drawn cartoon.  From what I've read, not one of them dented the lead Trump has to get the Republican nomination.  The GOP is going to nominate the Orange Anus, no matter how big of a liar, and fraud he is proven to be.  To nominate anyone else would be admitting they the worst possible choice in the world when they voted him president.  Their inability to deal with the truth is going to cost them dearly at the polls, and even then they will not learn their lesson.

Lie to Impress

 Today... let there be sunshine!  And it was so... at least for the time being.  We might end up with overcast skies later in the day, but right now the sun is shining.  Temps are suppose to climb into the upper 60s (F), which is nice.  No rain is in the forecast, that's nice.  We've had so much lately.  To think, one of my retail associates told me that "we need rain."  I suspect she must get her weather information from Fox.

Quite a bit was accomplished yesterday in the kitchen renovation.  Shelves were taking down, the shelf / pot hanger was installed at the window.  And the dishwasher was delivered.  Originally, I had hoped that my contractor's boyfriend was going to install it, but his life is complicated and she told me he might need to bring his young son with to do the job.  So, I've started watching YouTube videos on installing dishwashers.  To my surprise, it's not that complicated at all.  

In 45 minutes, the electrician is supposed to arrive.  Once he's completed his work, the only left to do will be the cabinet / dishwasher install, the flooring, and painting.  Yes, that's right there is a lot of painting: the new wall, the cabinets (ice sculpture white), and the new baseboard.  I'm certain there will also be touch-ups on the previously painted walls.

And wasn't yesterday filled with delightfully bad Trump news?  The fraud case!  For over a decade he's been lying about his wealth because he's always wanted to be far more richer than he actually was.  For those of you have nurtured any doubts, his motto, his creed, his philosophy has always been this:  Lie to Impress.  I found it fascinating to see the ridiculously mundane excuses his legal team was using to try and delay his trial.  Thanks that yesterday, all that remains is sentencing, and hopefully Donnie and his spawn will get raked through the coils.  While his base is going to shriek and moan, this may speed up the exit of non-Republican supporters.

I found this amusing too:  over in the UK, social conservatives are upset with the government because Boris lied to them about Brexit.  The benefits he promised are not flowing in their direction.  Their middle-class lives have not changed for the better.  Keep in mind, Boris stacked his deck with one of Trump's favorite playing cards, the joker.  Boris, too, believed he could lie to impress.

Born Stupid

 Well, it's Tuesday... and it's still raining.  Not the steady soaking rains we had with Ophelia, but showery drizzles that are more of an annoyance than anything else.  They will,  at least according to the forecasters, end today.  Tomorrow things are supposed to brighten up and the temps are supposed to rise.  Today's high is only predicted to reach 60 (F).

As expected, yesterday was terrible for retail.  Again we failed to reach forecast.  In an odd sort of way, we're repeating the way things were prior to the pandemic.  Back then our plan was also high and many stores failed to reach it, but they came close.  Todays numbers don't do that, they are soooo low that our expected sales' goal is unreachable.  This is fine.  This is how corporations learn.  Wall Street will learn that greed has its limitations.

The new dishwasher arrives today.  I'm sort of excited.  I'd be more so if the cabinet was ready and it could be pushed into where it's supposed to go.  That won't happen until sometime next week.  I'm probably going to buy a case or two of water to help make it through the days when I'll be without a sink.  There's a faucet upstairs, but I don't really want to carry Lily's water bowl up and down the stairs.  Cooking is not going to happen since cleaning dirty dishes will be a hassle, unless I want to wash them in the bathroom sink.

And, of course, I do like dropping hints about my next book, and I don't think I've dropped this one so far, and it might be rhetorical, or it my be integral, but how might a stage lift come into play?

So, the question has been asked, what do you do when there are 2 unpopular candidates campaigning for the presidency?  Biden has his age, and Trump?  Well, let's be honest here, he has more baggage than Beyonce has people in her entourage, and believe me, Beyonce travels big.  Logically, you would choose the candidate with the least amount of issues, sadly, there is that group of people out there who will just sit on their thumbs and not vote rather than cast their ballot for the better of the two.  I don't understand that reasoning.  Do these people think that nothing's going to happen if by some horrific chance Trump gets elected?  Perhaps they don't.  You would think they would after Hillary's defeat.  But then, some people were just born stupid. 

Supposedly

 Well, a new work week has arrived.  Accuweather is still predicting rain for today and tomorrow, however a look at the forecast shows us just having showers on and off throughout the next 48 hours.  What that means is that we're not going to see the sun until sometime on Wednesday afternoon.   It also means I'm going to have to mow my lawn before the end of the week.  Temps may be a bit cooler right now, but the azaleas and the dahlias are still bloomin' their pants off.  

As I expected, yesterday was a very slow day at the store.  I sat around.  I talked to associates.  Surprisingly, I did get a lead for a blind installation, as well as a measure for flooring, though the flooring measure was for vinyl planks not carpet.  They really want their carpet measures.  We probably make more on a them.

The new dishwasher arrives tomorrow, the electrician on Wednesday, and Lyndsey should have all of the new drywall up and the cabinets hung the following week.  Some of the plumbing I'm going to do my self, but the dishwasher hook-up is going to be done by a plumber.  After all of that is done, I'm going to put down the new vinyl plank flooring.  I'm waiting for the new countertop until sometime in December.

I did renew Peacock, they offered me a deal.  $1.99 a month for 6 months.  After that, I will probably keep it for a month or two and then cancel the subscription.  Hopefully another deal will come around just before the Tour de France.

So, is the government going to shut down?  There's a good possibility it might happen.  If it does, guess who looks bad to Independent voters?  Not the Democrats.  Nope.  Democrats are just sitting on their hands waiting for it to happen.  They don't even have to point their fingers.  Thank you Main Stream media.  It will be interesting to see how Fox handles it if it happens.  

Oh, and Rupert Murdoch is stepping down.  Supposedly there's so much bad blood in that family.  Conservatives are actually saying that Lachlan Murdoch is actually Woke, whatever the hell that is.  Another supposedly is that Rupert wishes Trump would die.  Now.  I suspect because backing him has cost Fox sooooo much money.  While I can't be certain, I say that, just supposedly, that might be the main reason Rupert is stepping down.  His decision to back the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, has cost the network dearly, and the expenses have not stopped.  There are other lawsuits approaching faster than the $$$ are flying out of the Fox bank account. 

Taller, blonder, and boobier

 It seems as though Ophelia is going to be hanging around until tomorrow sometime.  We're in a band of steady rain, with occasional strong gusts of wind.  According to Accuweather we're in the 2 - 4 inch zone.  As long as my basement doesn't flood, that's fine with me.  The thermostat indicates that the temp on the first floor is 68 (F) so I am tempted to turn on the heat a bit and the forecasters are saying it's not going to get much warmer until Wednesday, when it's supposed to climb up to 69 (F).  If I do, I'll have to change the filter in my furnace.

As expected, retail was slow yesterday.  It will probably be slow again today... and tomorrow.  There will be some customers, but not the sort of big spenders corporate wants to walk through our front doors.  

We're celebrating our "Success Sharing," this weekend, that small bonus corporate pays us.  It's a little big of extra money that I can always spend.  There's also food!  Yesterday we were supposed to be making S'mores on a grill out back but... well, Ophelia put a damper on that, so they order pizza in for everyone.  I'm find with that.  I'd taken lunch, but ate pizza instead.  Today is supposed to be Trail Mix day.  Yep, we're going to be able to mix our own trail mix.  Can you read the excitement in my words.

The house next door has been Sold.  I was talking to the real estate agent, she told me a young couple just starting out bought it.  I've decided that I'm not going to mention any of the problems to them, unless they ask.  This could be a bit of an adventure.

The release of Dune has been delayed until March to the disappointment of many, so, as a sort of balm, I thought I'd post a pic of Lego Dune to help with those sad feelings.

And Bob Menendez was indicted.  This Democratic senator from New Jersey has had run-ins with corruption before.  This time his wife, Nadine, has also been indicted.  She's taller than he is, blonder than he is, and has bigger boobs.  She's also Lebanese by birth and a registered Republican.  Democrats are calling for him to resign and he's refusing.  This is to be expected from a man married to a Republican.  he needs to go.  Sadly, Bob's taking his orders from a woman who is taller, blonder, and bobbier than he is.

Price Increases

 The for this weekend is going to be Soggy.  Ophelia has arrived.  Now, I know that most of you out there think of Shakespeare when you hear that name, as she was the one told to "git theeself to a nunnery," and, of course, before the young thing can go, she ends up drowning.  In current day, however, Ophelia is a tropical storm which may become a baby hurricane for a little bit, and she's churning up the east coast with her final destination being somewhat south and west of us.  Right now the prediction is that we're going to get at least 2 inches of rain, possibly more.  I hope Bob and Carlos have their waders ready because they're probably going to get a few more inches then we do here in Central PA.

The rain is going to drive retail sales down.  For those who need some form of definition: today and tomorrow are going to be slow at the great orange retailer I work for.  This means I'll be sitting quietly at the flooring desk, most likely making notes for the smashing conclusion of The Body in Motion.  

I saw where Amazon Prime is going to begin charging those customers who wish to avoid commercials.  They're saying this is necessary to pay for the extensive entertainment they are providing.  Wrong.  For those of you who aren't paying attention, there's a writer's and an actor's strike going on right now and I don't doubt that studios, including Disney, Netflix, and Amazon, will give those striking much of what they want, but it is you and I who will be footing the bill.  Corporate profit is everything to these entertainment behemoths.  What viewer really need to do is start a boycott to reign in these price increases.  Hah!  That will never happen.  People are too weak.  What would they do if they couldn't watch Peacock, or Paramount +?  Read a book?

Paradoxically, and possibly on a bright note, once the strike is over production is going to begin on Troll 2.

And, as you might expect, the country is turning to the chaos that has overwhelmed the Republican party.  Their Just Say No tactic is backfiring is a very public way, with many media outlets now pointing to the complete collapse of what ever governing skills they might have once had.  Their refusal to compromise may satisfy that vary small minority that makes up the ultra-far right, but the rest of the nation is looking at them and a total failure of the conservative movement.  Of course, they don't get it because that would mean their beliefs are anti-American, keep in mind, however that in their vision, American has a far right, authoritarian government.

  

The Concert

 It grew chilly last night, with the temps dropping down into the upper 40s (F), definitely blanket weather, and believe me, pulling that blanket up to my chinny chin, chin was nice.  The problem with this time of the year is that there is such a desire to just snuggle under the covers in the morning.  Unfortunately, each day brings more things needing to be done.

This week I've been a slacker on the treadmill, the bike, and the dumbbells, not that I'm going to be able to catch up on all 3 today, but I'm going to work to get back into my routine.  On average, I get 300+ minutes of exercise each week, not counting the steps I get in.  This week that ain't gonna happen.  Don't ask me where the time went because I don't know.  Frittered away, here and there.  Chores were completed and things were done, though part of the problem was prioritizing those little things that aren't necessary.

Of course, last night I took my brother to see Yes at the Windy Creek Event Center in Bethlehem.  Our seats were in the 4th row, probably the closest I've been to a concert stage.  Yes has always been one of my favorite bands, this was my 5th concert (possibly 6th).  Steve Howe was excellent.  While they didn't play Close to the Edge, their best song, they did something better: a 20 minute mashup of highlights from Tales from Topographic Oceans, their double album set.  This was music I'd only heard them play once before in San Diego back in 1973 and it was wonderful!  The one odd thing both my brother and I agreed on was that we were so close to the stage it was almost like watching them play in your high school gymnasium.  Here's a picture of us at the front of the stage.  My brother's the one who looks like Moses.

And Chaos?  Thy name is Republican, especially under the inept leadership of Kev McCarthy.  For those who haven't been paying attention, the country is going to reach it's debt ceiling in 8 days and those ill mannered, squabbling Republicans in the House of Representatives cannot get their shit together.  Instead of working together to try and solve the problems they're creating, they went home.  That's right, they're taking the weekend off.  One of the funniest things I saw was a Republican congressman criticizing Kev by saying, "you know, Nancy Pelosi would have whipped those vote together."

Yes

 We're having wonderful weather here in Central PA:  days are in the mid 70s (F) and during the night the temps drop down into the mid to upper 50s (F), which is great sleeping weather.  Nothing is supposed to change until the weekend, when once again we're going to be hit with rain... for the entire 2 days, so if you're one of those people who's workin' for the weekend, you're probably going to be disappointed.

I went to the store yesterday and bought paint for the cabinets and some floor leveling compound for those areas not so much because there are places where my kitchen floor needs leveling, rather I'm going to us it to fill in the cracks of the plywood which might, at some point in the future, create a problem.

My brother and I are going to see Yes this evening up in Bethlehem, PA.  That's a 90 minutes drive up and then back.  I'm hoping we'll be home by midnight.  I had thought I'd seen their last show back when they played in Hershey, before the pandemic.  Looks like I was wrong.  Hopefully they'll play what most people believe to the their greatest song, Close to the Edge.

And Tommy Tuberville, the Louisiana senator who doesn't live in the state he represents got his comeuppance yesterday, and what a joy it was to behold.  You see Tommy's been holding up military promotions because he's a hard line anti-abortionist who doesn't like the Department of Defense's health policies for women.  He's held up over 300 promotions because he thought every Republican senator had his back.  Well, yesterday he discovered otherwise.  In a vote of 83 for and 11 against, the Senate approved a new Joint Chief of Staff, the guy over the Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Marines.  The idea that 32 Republican senators would vote against his blockade was something Tommy never thought would happen.  This was a serious smackdown for the anti-abortion hardliners, and one more example of how much those 11 dissenters, including Tommy, are out of touch with America.  Could it be that some members of the Republican party are realizing that they need to reconnect with America?  I don't know if I'd go that far. 

Newty's Doody

 Well, it's Mittwoch, formerly known as Wondenstag until the 10th century, when people decided that Woden wasn't special enough to have a day named after him.

The weather was nice yesterday, not that I was outside that much.  While I did clean the living room tank, most of the day was spent on my kitchen floor.  There was a bit of a raging date in my head for about 30 minutes on whether I should take the flooring down to the hardwood or now.  Harwood floors are an asset when it comes to resale, but the floors in my kitchen have suffered greatly during the 118 years they have been tread upon.  Originally, there would have been a large iron coal stove which would have been used for heating as well as cooking.  Yes, this house is that old.  As a result, cinders and hot coals have scared the wood.  Then, when plumbing came in, there was evidently a problem with sinks, not that they leaked, but locating them in the correction place.  Because of this, there are a number of holes about one foot in from the wall around the perimeter.  There are other holes, as well, that were made when the coal stove went out and radiators came in.  After much back and forth in my head, I've decided to leave the floors covered and go with my initial plan of putting down vinyl planks.

Here's a pic of the progress.  The window and all of the holes are going to be covered with drywall.

And, as expected, there is still blowback coming from Republicans about the informal dress code.  Susan Collins began threatening to wear a bikini.  Someone should take her aside and let her know that there's a difference between Fetterman in his hoodies and shorts and her fat ass and her floppy boobies.  Sadly, she feels her absurdity will make a point, and in her own true Susan Collins style she's failing. 

Not surprising, the hard core right wing of the Republican party in the House of Representatives is going to screw over, (are you ready for this?) their own party.  Newt Gingrich has groomed the Just Say No party extremely well.  Kev McCarthy, in an unusual moment, stated that this will hurt the party more than it will the Biden administration.  However, Newty did his doody well and taught them to be extremists; unless you get your demands, Just Say No.  This is like watching a tank of toothless piranhas gnaw each other to death. 

Conservative Fashionistas

 Today begins the first of my weekly 4 days off from work.  I should probably come up with a word for this time period since it's not a weekend and for many that word is synonymous with time spent not working, though in reality most of those people do some form of work on the weekend.  You know what I'm talking about: putting in the pansies, and petunias to give your home curb appeal, mowing the lawn, or for some of the ambitious types out there: painting a room.  For many the weekend does not denote hours spent reclining on a chaise while some dappled lovely feeds you dainties.  Nope!  Today, I'm going to be hard at work tearing up the rest of the floor in my kitchen.  

The weather is supposed to be beautiful!  I'm up for that.  One of the out-of-doorsy things I'm going to be doing is deadheading my flowers.  Does anyone know how easy it is to grow dahlia seeds?  Usually you buy the tuber and plant that, but how difficult is it to start them from seed?  And when do you plant them?

Yesterday was one of those horrifically boring days at work.  This doesn't mean that I didn't have to deal with some customers, but mostly I did not.  Sales are down.  Hours are being cut.  I can easily survive on 20 hours a week, but for some part-timers 14 hours a week can be devastating.  So, why are they cutting hours?  Well, those conservative, billionaire stockholders need to be kept happy.

There was also some confusion yesterday when I mentioned Chuck Schumer's decision to relax the dress code, part of it my fault.  He relaxed the informal dress code, not the formal dress code, which means those of you who live to see a conservative in a navy blue, two piece suit will still be able to satiate your cravings by watching Republican press conferences.  Here's a little piece of happiness for you 😎😎😎

And for those of you who relish your conservative female fashionistas, I give you Marsha!

Ah, I do find myself rather amusing sometimes. 

The Kitchen Floor

 For some of you this Monday and the beginning of the work week, for me it's Monday in name only for in all actuality today is my Friday.  This doesn't mean that the next four days are going to be a vacation, I'm going to be ripping up the rest of my kitchen floor.  Most of the vinyl planks are gone, and now I'm faced with making a decision.  My kitchen floor is actually hardwood that I covered with plywood and Masonite before I put in the planking.  Should I revisit the hardwood?  I'm thinking that's going to be a yes.  So, I guess tomorrow morning I'll begin ripping that stuff up.  I can still cover it back up should I choose to.  

Weather wise?  it rained all day yesterday, very heavy at times, and then a steady drizzle for most of the night.  This means I'm probably going to have to mow the lawn one of the days this week.  If the forecasters are correct, the temps should be nice, however, and again if they are right, we're going to be getting more rain next weekend.  Rainy Saturdays and Sundays are not good always good for retail.  

For those interested in seeing what I what I see when I'm sitting at my writing desk, it's usually Lily sitting on the sofa looking out the window.  Now, isn't this relaxing?

After the Lauren Boebert groping incident, the weekend was rather quiet, except for the Republicans in the House of Representatives who continue to demonstrate their complete inability to lead.  Why is it that the most incompetent feel they are the only ones who can be in charge?  And when they do manage to get themselves into a position of power they reveal themselves to be the unscrupulous face of Chaos.  

One bit of interesting news which caused Republicans to spew ire was Schumer's decision to relax the dress code.  This is a formality which should have been eliminated at the same time when coats and ties were packed away to make room for casual dress in the work place.  I'm old enough to remember those days.  I was one of the lucky ones, I had two coats, however many of the men I worked alongside only had one, and let me tell you that one coat they owned always ended up looking extremely ratty looking.

Bad Editing

 When the alarm went off this morning the temp was 49 (F) outside.  That's the chilliest it's been so far.  The high today is supposed to be in the low 70s (F), with rain in the forecast for tonight.  Tomorrow things are predicted to warm up.

Blogger has evidently gone through some sort of update.  Even though I'm signed in, and am writing today's entry, it still wants me to tell list me as Anonymous.  This is like those updates we have to deal with at work.  They're always a surprise.  No warning, just new screens that work differently, or have disappeared completely.  One of our Customer Order Specialists said we just need to play around with them to see how they work; she likes to think she's authoritatively smart.  She isn't.  Playing around with screens is extremely difficult when you have a customer sitting there waiting to pay for a $5000 blind installation.

One of the things I've been talking to my religious friends about is the Great De-Churching.  Knowing that I need to have my game up, I've done a lot of research and in doing so, I've found this website where mainline Christians are attempt to deal with the transformation, at least that's what they call it.  The size of congregations has dropped drastically over the past 2 decades (what they call the transformation) and they can't get a handle on why this is happening.  I've told my friends this is because Christians are relying on a document that declared divine in 476, and it is badly edited.  It never occurred to them that Christianity my be a work in progress whose ending was eons in the future.  These people don't seem to understand that given the chance, mankind will push his fingers into everything he possibly can.

Here's a picture of Lily on the porch.

For those who didn't see, Ken Paxton, the AG from Texas was acquitted yesterday.  Horseshit.  Corruption in the Republican party has never been this bad.  When I saw the headline, I will admit to being a little surprised, but then I reminded myself that a Republican state Senate was never going to convict a loyal Republican Trumpist.  They have no idea how much damage they are doing to their Brand, which is good for Democrats.

Boebert's Boobs

 Well, a good Saturday morning to everyone out there!  The temps were a cool 53 (F) when I got out of bed.  Lily stayed back for a while, until I had the coffee brewed, but when I asked her "potty outside?" she hustled.  Why is it that some dogs hold their bladder until the very last minute?

Supposed our temps are to climb all the way up to 80 (F) today, however after that they're going to slide on down into the mid 70s (F).  Autumn is less than a week away, so I've begun pulling out my sweatshirts and pants for the colder temps.  While I do like the shorts and T-shirts of summer, the sweats of Fall are just as comfy, sometimes more so.  I mean, who doesn't like being bundled in cozy and warm to keep away the chillies?

Dinner last evening was roasted root veggies.  I made enough to cover my break at work today, and lunch tomorrow, though tomorrow I'll be lunching on a chicken thigh as well.  I picked up a pack when I was shopping yesterday.  Lily will be getting the skin, as usual.  What a spoiled little old lady she's turning out to be.

So, I suppose every one of you has seen the still shots and videos of Lauren Boebert's adventure at the theater in Denver by now.  I don't doubt that in her mind she's a Christian and that she asks for forgiveness every day.  What hooey.  If you search, you can find them, and watch them if you want.  There's one where her current boyfriend is feeling her up and it's graphic, no subtlety there, nor is there any subtlety when she's rubbing his crotch.  And yes, she did lie about vapping because there's a video of her sitting in her theater seat blowing out a plume of smoke.  The ugly truth is, pathetically, that Republicans in Colorado will vote for her because it's better to have a loser like her in Congress than a Democrat. 

Why are Republicans so Obtuse

 The arrival of the weekend means I'll be working tomorrow.  That's kind of nice since I now have to recoup more than my kitchen redo expenditure.  

We are in the nice days preceding Autumn, days are comfortably warm and overnight temps are cool, what we like to think of as good sleeping weather.  No rain is in the foreseeable forecast, but Lee is heading up the east coast so we might get a few showers as he skirts on by.

I pulled the old door frame off the doorway from the kitchen to the back porch yesterday.  There will still be a door because it's still unheated.  That will be changed, and eventually a powder room will be installed.  That expense will be an asset.  Buyers like when there are 1 and a half baths.

On my agenda for today is work on the big tank.  I'm also going to move the stove and rip up the vinyl plank underneath it.  That will be replace with the new click-lock vinyl flooring I will install myself.  Now, how handy is that?

Last nights dinner was spicy Italian shrimp with rice.  Very tasty.  There's enough left-over to cover my lunch at work tomorrow.

I'll be honest, I really like it when losers like Kevin McCarthy find themselves in a "lose / lose" situation and it's even nicer when I see he's sharing that same ground with the GOP.  Being in their own little obtuse world, Republicans don't understand that what their base loves goes grates against American Democracy.  Because they've sold their souls to the Spawn of Satan, they are forced to have impeachment hearings without evidence.  They're going to try and shut down the government because they need to hurt the Biden administration simply because he's a Democrat.  This is the same party that wants to eliminate Social Security even though seniors use those monthly checks help to drive the economy.  How did they get so out of touch with America?  I don't doubt for a second it started with Reagan's re-election, when they began lying to themselves that America was silently conservative.  Unfortunately, they will never learn.

Heat This

 The weather was nice yesterday, but I didn't really spend much time outside.  I took Lily for her walk, hit the grocery store, and that was about it for my adventures out in the world.

Around 1130 the installers from UGI arrived to take out the old  hot water heater and install the new one.  They were in and out of my house for four and a half hours.  Lily was not happy.  She spent most of that time right by my side.  She has never liked strangers.  She has no problem with my friends, but those she doesn't know either get barks, or snake eyes from the staircase, or she'll stay by my side so I can protect her, and the older she gets, the closer she stays to me.  \

One of my friends said I should have let him set me up with a "lead" at the store (he'd get credit for it) and I reminded him that our installs are exorbitant as hell.  We attempt to rationalize this to our customers by touting warranties that really don't warrant the additional cost.  The sad truth is that too many people hate to shop around.  You have no idea how many people walk through our doors and ask if we do installs without taking 5 minutes to sit at their computer and simple Google "water heater installers."  Of course, too many people want to take the easier route even though it's going to steal more money from their bank account. 

For those of you wondering this is what $3085 looks like.  $1700 for the water heater and $1385 for the installation.  Keep in mind, the installers were working with natural gas, and this one 's shorter than the previous heater.  Still, I did tell my friend Jon he might want to take up plumbing rather than become a Physical Therapist.

And speaking of "will wonders never cease?"  Aileen Cannon, Trump's ace judge in the hole, decided against him, telling him he could not set up a special "confidential area" in Mar a Lago to study and review the classified documents he stole.  That's right!  She rebuffed him!  Where is her loyalty!  Doesn't she know she only has one purpose, to insure he stays out of jail?  My feeling on this:  One of her Federalist cohorts took her aside and said "Tootsie, look how the Orange Anus is destroying the Republican Party!  He will do that to us, unless we unite to stop him."  Poor Donnie, it looks like someone has left his cake out in the rain.

The Do Nothing Republicans

 I woke up this morning to rain.  Showers.  There was a 40% chance, but what we're getting this morning may be it.  According to Accuweather, sunshine will push the showers out of the picture sometime this afternoon.  Temps are predicted to start their slow decline into autumn.

When I took my shower yesterday morning, I noticed that the hot water wasn't nearly as hot as normal, steam clouds were not rising around me.  Rather than being hit with a sense of foreboding, I just said "shit."  Like everything else in this world, hot water heaters have a life span that is always shorter than you are expecting.  Most of them have warranties which expire after six years, there's a reason for this, gas water heaters, like man, have a life expectancy of 8 - 12 years.  My lasted 11.  Now, it might just be a circuit board, but the cost of installing a new one, including labor, is pricey as Hell.  Instead of going that route, I'm having a new one installed this afternoon at a cost of $3000.  I guess I'm going to have to skip my next couple bottles of wine.

Being the daring type, I attempted to bake a peach cobbler in a spring form pan yesterday, it didn't work out well for the cobbler.

Am I the only one laughing at Kev McCarthy's faux impeachment (inquiry?)  This man is a wishy-washy incompetent.  A political failure, he needed to promise the Freedom Caucus he would do whatever they wanted in order to get their votes to become Speaker of the House.  Both Trump and the Freedom Caucus are interested in retaliation, so even though they will never get the votes to impeach they will "investigate."  Nancy Mace gave a funny interview in  which she said that they have no evidence of a crime, but they're hoping this impeachment process will provide them with the details they know do not exist.  This will keep their base happy while American watches the Do Nothing Party, do just that, Nothing.

Wowza!

 Finally, my schedule is back to what I like.  Four days off, and the of the three days that I work, 2 of them are only 6 hour shifts.  20 hours a week.  I had been concerned about those hours back when I went part-time because I do like to spend money and thought that perhaps my expenditures might need to be curtailed somewhat.  That has proven not to be the case.  

The product for my new countertops has changed.  Originally the plan was to go with a man-made hard surface, there would be no need for sealing it yearly, and I'd chosen something called Sand Smoke.  However, when I went into work yesterday, I saw that the price had gone up from $66 per square foot to $88 per square foot.  Wowza!  Can we talk price increase!  A 33% increase is too much.  If I'm going to spend that much, then I'm going to go with a natural stone, even if it does need to be sealed.  So, after wasting far too much time, I've decided to go with marble, something called Fantasy Brown.  Hopefully, all the price increases were processed yesterday and that won't be going up in the next 3 weeks.

Yesterday, the legal team for the Orange Anus filed to dismiss charges against him in Georgia, evidently following a similar tactic by Cheesybro ( I think that's his correct name).  At the same time, they filed to to have Tanya Chutkin recuse herself from his January 6 trial.  I find these attempts rather amusing because his team (if that's what you want to call it) seem to think that they're dealing with amateurs.  Jack, Fani, and Tanya are not country bumpkins, and Donny J has pulled all of these tricks before.  However, Donny J, being the loser that he is, will always go back to his age old playbook time and time again.  Every thing he does is simply a variation of what he's done in the past.  I'd seen one commentary which said that his largest problem was that the selfish, egotist that he is meant that he had to be the one calling the shots.  As a result, he's turning into a rerun fewer and few people are finding interesting.

The Unachievable

 Can you believe a another work week has arrived on our doorsteps?  And it's raining... well, that's not quite right, it's drizzling, but that will pass.  We do have a lot of humidity, the spongey kind that makes everything sticky.  I can do without it.  

Sales were down yesterday, but I did get two measures, one of which is a tile floor.  That is odd.  Here in central PA some people will tile the floor in their kitchen, but it's rare to have the entire first floor tiled, mostly because we do experience winter here and the temps can drop below freezing.  That makes for a cold floor that can easily drain your body heat away even through the thickest pair of socks.

One of the things you need to do when you write is create protagonist (s) that are interesting to the reading public.  Some authors do this by giving them little quirks: Hercule Poirot had his moustache, Adam Dahlgliesh wrote esoteric poetry.  My two guys, Eli and Max, like their wine, in fact they are quite often found with glass in hand.  This being said, I thought I'd do a little video about some affordable wines they might drink.  On occasion they ride their bicycles, but mostly they dink their wine.  As a side note, the music playing in the background is a song I wrote and recorded a long time ago.

And, of course, a new week means more political shenanigans by the Republicans.  Over the weekend, just in case some of you missed it, Marjorie Taylor Dumb Ass has now said that the House might want to slow down their impeachment proceedings against Biden even though he has done nothing impeachable.  Remember, their strategy has always been to be on the offense, even if they need to create fictional crimes. the proverbial dead horse.  The truth is that impeaching Biden for nothing would actually help Biden in his re-election campaign, while heaping additional hurt onto the GOP is beyond their ken.  Their sole intention is to try and make Biden look worse than Trump, a completely unachievable goal. Me?  I'm gleefully hoping they proceed.

I'm up with that

 Sunday... and it's going to rain.  Yep, there's an 80% chance of showers, thundershowers, and possible flash flooding in Central PA.   The temps are barely going to climb into the low 80s (F), but the air is going to be ripe with humidity.  That means sticky.

Yesterday was an odd day at the store.  I was busy but not with a lot of business.  I dealt with customers who didn't really want to buy.  Still, the six hours spent at the flooring desk went by rather fast, which is fine with me.  After today, my schedule for the next couple of weeks seems to be set at 20 hours per week, and the only day I'll be starting before 1:00 PM is on Sunday, like today.  That works for me.

At first, I was a little concerned about being without a kitchen sink for 2 - 3 days, then I realized that I really only need it for water for Lily and for coffee in the morning.  This means meals will most likely be microwaved, or take out, or order out.  That works for me.

Following yesterday's horrific notification of the death of one of my classmates, another woman took matters into her own hands and today there's a photo of Mr. Ruppenthal, as well as a nice write-up.  I didn't check, but the Happy Birthday Death Notice might have been taken down.  

For those who didn't know it, Trump was at a football game in Iowa yesterday and got his Orange Anus booed.  I'm sure he was outraged.  He desperately needs the loyalty of his cult to at least get the GOP nomination.  The longer he and his cult foist his evilness upon the public, the worse it will be for Republicans.  That's enough to make we want to revive Up With People!  I can handle that.

Saw this, too.  Sometimes you don't need a thousand words.

Can we talk about being ducky dandy truthful?

The Happy Birthday Death Notice

 We had rain overnight, how much I don't know.  The pavers on the veranda were wet when Lily went out for her morning wee. (Did I get enough w words in that sentence?)  The temps today are only supposed to get up into the mid 80s (F), a bit of a drop from yesterday.  Showers and storms are also in the forecast.  I'm fine with that, but then I'm also scheduled to work for 6 hours.

I also climbed on board the scale this morning - it's time to cut back on the good stuff.

Everything needed for the kitchen redo has been purchased... except for the labor, and deposit has been put down for that.  The electrical work will be completed first, and the week after that cabinets will be ripped out and installed, as well as the new sink and dishwasher.  I'll probably be without a sink for 2 - 3 days, something I'm going to have to live with.

One of the men in my graduating class passed away and one of the women who runs the class reunions wanted to post his death notice on Facebook, however she doesn't know what she's doing.  Instead of a formal notice, she posted it on a Happy Birthday card, and then rather than delete it and try again, she just apologized for her mistake.  Can you hear me laughing?  

In case ;you didn't hear, Mark Meadows got bad news yesterday.  He' can't take his Georgia racketeering trial to Federal Court in order to use the excuse "I was only doing my job."  Is it just me, or does it seem as though last week was a good one for Democracy?  And then there was this... Kari Lake getting steamrolled by Piers Morgan of all people.

Now wasn't that just jolly!

I am a Sculptor

 Holy Crap! I just realized that Friday is my Friday, though rather than ending my work week it is ending my 4 days off.  Tomorrow I'm going to be back in the store.  Bloomberg had an interesting pieces of retail and violence, and how it's a growing problem.  They come with a number of reasons, but the real problem, which is not customers but the retailers themselves.  It boils down to this:  Retailers are far more concerned about Sales than they are their employees and rather than loose a potential future sale, they unruly customers get away with bad behavior.  We are given training on how to deal with these people which works well on a scripted video, but real life is totally different. especially when customers have been taught that in the end we're going to give them what they want.

We had storms yesterday afternoon and evening, mostly wind, with thunder and light FX thrown in for good measure, but little in the way of rain.  The temps dropped.  Today our high is barely supposed to touch the 90 (F) mark.

As expected, Starfield arrived yesterday.  At first, I couldn't get it to install on my Series X because the console tried to update the game before it was even installed.  That was soon remedied and installation ran smoothly.  Usually during the character creation stage I end up bald, but this time I took an alternative route.  I went Ginger.  I'm going to call this my Max Sullivan look because Max is a ginger with a goatee.  I'm also going to be playing as a Sculptor, who happens to be an extroverted empath with just a dash of alien DNA to make me interesting.

I find it fascinating that the GOP is... well, trying to figure out what to do with their Pro-Life agenda.  For decades they told themselves, and convinced themselves that being anti-abortion was a winning ticket, but now it causes them to lose elections.  Voters are telling them to stay out of their lives.  Just what are they to do?  Their war on culture satisfies their base and no one else.  The truth is that most people don't mind being aware.  They don't see drag queens as an evil plight upon the land the same way social conservatives do.  A large majority of Americans don't see gay people as a threat, the Gen Z group especially, most of whom simply don't have an issue with gender.  Conservatives are anti-vax.  I've said it before, I have no problem with them dying because they refused to get a shot.  The truth is that Conservatives have by tying their own noose for decades without understanding how out of touch they were with America, and now they're panicking because the floor is beginning to drop our from under their tiny little feet.

Sink

 So, I slept in this morning.  Not because I stayed up binging some series, either.  I went to bed fairly early, woke up several times during the night, and when the alarm went off at 0530 I shut it off, rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour and a half.

Temps are only supposed to climb into the low 90s (F) today, that is until the storms arrive.  For the next 4 days we're supposed to be getting rain, which means I need to mow my front lawn sooner rather than later.  Temps are also supposed to chill, meaning they will only climb into the low 80s (F)

Yesterday was odd.  I was expecting several deliveries and that crimped any plans for a decent workout, the last thing I wanted to do was stand in the doorway signing for a cabinet, or a sink, dripping with sweat.  And since not everybody rings the doorbell, riding the bike on the second floor was not really a good option.  Hopefully, I'll make up for it today.

And, of the things I signed for yesterday was this.

And yesterday a judge ruled that 2 of the Georgia 19... (it is nineteen, isn't it?  or is it 18?) cannot sever their trials.  That's right, Powell and Chesebro are going to be tried with the rest of the defendants.  This is not good news for those wanting to separate themselves.  Also, for those really interested, you could watch the proceedings live on YouTube.  Since neither Syd nor Jimmy were in the courtroom, I didn't really pay it too much attention.  

A good laugh was had by all this morning over the Orange Anus's comment about taking the witness stand during the trial.  That will never happen because that would mean he'd have to answer questions, and using the 5th on televised TV would make him look like the loser he truly is.  Prepare yourselves, he's going to sink even lower.

Finally, I saw that DeSantis' supporters are beginning to see the writing on the wall.  Did they really believe America was going to accept a shrill, little man who doesn't have a problem with Nazis?  I wonder if Social Conservatives realize that Nazis believe in the Arian Nation and Jesus is not going to get an invitation to that party.

Qualifications

The hot temps are here!  My central air conditioning is running, though not constantly, on and off throughout the day.  They'll be gone after tomorrow, as rain brings in cooler weather as we head into the end of summer.  I'm ready for autumn.

The final estimate came in on the kitchen redo.  The contractor will take 3 days, meaning I will be without a kitchen sink for at least 2 of them.  Crappo.  The only other sink in the house is in the bathroom, so I guess that means I'll be eating out of paper bowls and off paper plates unless I want to do the dishes when I shower... just kidding.  She also want to start in 2 weeks, which is too early for me.  I don't want her to begin until after the electrician is finished, so I'm sending her an email to let her know the first week in October would be so much better.

My Hulu runs out on September 8.  I had thought I might be able to watch the entire season of Only Murders in the Building, but that isn't going to happen.  While certain parts of the show are very funny, when it gets dramatic it tends to get bogged down.  Quite often I feel that the backstories are being used mostly as filler, not really necessary, and insure that the season lasts a full 10 episodes.

My sink arrives today!  The dishwasher not until the 26th.  I went with an LG.  Also, I went with white since all of the colors in the kitchen are going to be white and off-whites.  I don't like the industrial look of stainless steel.

I saw where Enrique Torres, leader of the Proud Boys was sentenced to 22 years in jail yesterday.  I understand at his sentencing hearing, he said that he now understood that Trump not only lied, but lost.  The truth was Enrique and his group of thugs were just looking for a reason and the Orange Anus handed them one on a silver platter.  He'll be hitting his senior years by the time he gets out of prison.  Don't feel sorry for him though, with his rep he'll probably do just fine behind bars.

There have been several articles here lately on Biden and why he's so unpopular.  Here's my take:  mostly it's his age.  People may piss and moan about a number of other things, but let's face it, he's 80. I, for one, will tell you that he's too old.  I'm getting older, and while I still consider myself to still be sharp as a tack, I have noticed certain small limitations that come with encroaching seniorhood.  To be old, is to be wise does not mean I'm still proficient at making snap judgments.  I don't doubt he'll win re-election, but it will be because the other guy is so much worse, not because of his qualifications.

Weenies

 Well the long weekend is over and it's back to work for many, but not me.  I will never be scheduled to work on a Tuesday because I'm simply not available to be scheduled.  The same goes for Wednesday.  Ain't it nice?  

The weather forecast for today is hot again, with our expected high to be around 96 (F).  That's toasty, not nearly as warm as some of the temperatures many of you have been experiencing this summer, so you all have my condolences.  I have to admit I do find it rather amusing that this late in the Summer, or perhaps I should say this close to Fall, we are dealing with our warmest temps so far this year.  My A/C is finally doing what in previous years it did throughout late June, July, and August.

Business was slow yesterday, at least around the Flooring desk, other departments in the store were busy, but we weren't.  There were weaners and hamburgers from the grill, and chicken, too, but I stuck with the burgers and weaners.  And I didn't graze.  I'm rather pleased about that since I need to take off a few pounds before November arrives.  

What was selling was our Halloween decorations.  Oh, my, my, my, were they flying out of the store.  I snapped a few pics to give you all an idea of what that set-up looks like.  The Jack Skellington is 18 feet high, something almost overwhelming when you're standing right next to him.

I find it fascinating that the crowd at Burning Man is finally beginning to disperse, though the mud is still deep.  Why fascinating?  Because conservatives jumped all over that festival blaming the torrential rains on everything conservatives hate, while the attendees, themselves, are saying the experience was amazing.  Sure, there may be one or two gripers, the ones whose cars will be stuck in the mud because they tried to leave early.  For many of those people this will be their Woodstock, with the great music, of course.  Let's face it, right now Republicans are looking for dead horses to kick in their attempt to take media attention away from the Spawn of Satan.  What they really need to do is sit back and enjoy an good weenie... well, we know that will never happen.

Labor (Labour) Day

 Well, I've got a paid holiday today: Labor Day, and I will be laboring, with food, of course.  I might possibly go grazing before I leave work this afternoon, and yes, I'll be leaving the store around 3:30 ish.  They temps are suppose climb into the high 90s (F) this afternoon, tomorrow, Wednesday, but they they drop back to what we've been experiencing for most of the summer.

The store was busier yesterday than I had been expecting, at least early in the day, by the time dinner rolled around it was clearing out.  As expected, almost everyone walking in the door was expecting to find every thing with a reduced sale price, that never happens.  There is a "buy more, save more" sale going on in appliances, and it's an okay say if you feel the need to buy more than one appliance.  My refrigerator is fine, so's my stove, so taking that much debt to replace them would be dumb at this time.

 

Nazis paraded in Florida and fuckhead Ronnie DeSantis said nothing.  Ronnie is so unbelievably out of touch with America.  I cannot believe someone who graduated from Yale is this damn stupid.

The Spawn

 Well, we are halfway through the Labor Day Weekend.  The temps are supposed to be quite warm, meaning in the mid 90s (F) and that means my Central Air might actually have to work.  That's fine.  I don't mind if we have a few warm days.  

Business was fairly slow yesterday, and it will be even slower today.  Tomorrow? it's anybody's guess simply because there is this mindset out there that holidays equate to big sales for everything.  For appliances?  Yes.  For flooring? No.  Now that doesn't mean online products might be reduced, corporate does that sometimes, they just don't drop them in the stores.  As you might expect, with the kitchen redo coming up, tomorrow I'm going to be purchase my sink and dishwasher, though I'll have to check.  Sometimes you can't get your military discount if there's a big sale going on, corporate sees that as double dipping.

For dinner last evening I had a 3 bean salad with Romano cheese.  Tasty!

And there was a bit of a rumble yesterday as Donald, the Orange Anus, Trump threw his son Eric, the dumb, under the bus.  I do believe the infighting in the Trump family is going to be horrendous.  Anyway, during deposition for his New York trial, the OA said that Eric was the one who  had "ultimate decision-making authority" with the Trump Organization's business decisions because the OA was far too busy doing other things. This makes Eric the front man and the one totally responsible for all of the lies and deceit.  So, will Eric fight back?  There is a possibility since he is the spawn of the spawn of Satan.

The Blame Game

 The weekend has arrived and it's supposed to be glorious... and, as usual, I'm working.  And not only is it The Weekend... it's Labor Day weekend.  This means I'll be getting some holiday pay, and there's nothing wrong with that, especially since I'm moving forward with this kitchen renovation.

Lindsey was here yesterday.  She's going to do the construction, drywall, tearing out the sink cabinet and install the new one and the sink, and her boyfriend's going to be doing the plumbing.  I started ripping out the old grip-strip vinyl flooring.  Back when I bought it, twelve or so years ago, my decision was based mostly on looks rather than quality.  Today I know much better.  While we do sell the stuff, we don't install it because it's not waterproof, one of the few vinyl floors that isn't; I learned the hard way.  The wear layer is only 4 mils, meaning it's terrible for pets, my dogs proved that by scratching it all up.  The new stuff is going to be much better.

I baked a spanakopita for dinner last evening, a full pan, so I'll be eating Greek spinach pie for the next couple of days.

One of the most amusing things about the Atlanta indictments is how many of the indictees are wanting to sever themselves from the rest of the bunch.  I saw where Navarro wants to make sure his trial is severed from Powell's, you know?  Sydney?  The woman who's trying to pull a Trumpism by saying she had nothing to do with the fake electors because she had hardly anything to do with the rest of the gang?  And I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want his trial to go first, since I'm sure he, like the rest of them, knows that blame is going to be flying like shit pies once the trials begin.  There will be a blame game extraordinaire.

Living to 100

 Friday has arrived with some much cooler temps.  Right now it's 53 (F) outside, but fear not for a warming trend is going to start tomorrow that will take our temps up into the middle 90s (F).  Right now the weathermen are forecasting a high of 97 (F) on Tuesday, so prepare yourselves because now that we're in September, every ying yang out there is going to begin shrieking Indian Summer. 

Much was accomplished yesterday:  weight training, as well as a bike ride.  I have a goal of 300 minutes of serious activity to hit each week; eighty minutes was done yesterday.  More will be done today.  I did have a bit of a scare after the kettlebell workout since my lower spine wasn't used to flexing in all the directions in which I needed to move.  Now that my schedule has been normalized again, I'm back to my old regime.  Also, now that school has started, I'm thinking of activating my membership at Planet Fitness.

The New York Times has done a big write-up on Starfield, not a review, but an expose on the game's development.  Other reviews are coming in and I haven't seen a bad on yet.

I did watch The Blue Zones, a documentary on Netflix and found some of it rather fascinating, especially since I've decided to live to be 100.  While there are quite a few things we can do to enrich and extend our lives, there are things we cannot change, one of the most important is our DNA.  It does help to have long lived individuals in your family.  That's something Dan Buettner fails to mention, not a word is mentioned about living siblings, or how old they were when they died.

Lots of people are talking about Zombie Mitch, and how he loses total focus at times when he's speaking.  While we've seen 2 episodes while he's speaking, but who knows how many episodes happen daily when the he's not in the public's eye.  I'm betting 2 might be just the tip of the iceberg.  One of these days he's going to have one big stroke rather than the minis we're seeing, and even then I doubt if he'd resign.

Funny thing about Trump's Georgia indictments is that every one of the defendants is trying to sever themselves, rather than have one huge trial.  Trump wanted to delay his, stupidly thinking he's going to be re-elected, while Sidney Powell, and others, are pushing for a speedy trial.  A speedy trial means a lot of the information is put into the public eye, which means Trump's going to claim he can't get a fair trial because people will have already made up their minds.  Isn't it nice to know he's in a no win situation?