To tease, or not to tease?

 Well, here it is, New Year's Eve and so far the neighbors are quiet, of course, they bought themselves a new TV for Christmas so who knows, it is New Year's Eve.  If they get too loud, I'll just reconnect my soundbar.

Outside, the temps are cool.  According to many weather sources, and Arctic Blast is heading our way.  Will there be snow?  It all depends upon where you live.  Here in Central PA the forecast is for a little over an inch, that's barely even enough to shovel.  I guess the big question is: should I get the snow shovel's out of the basement or not?

It is garbage day.  Both of my cans, the garbage and the recycle, are sitting out front.  Neither is full, but East Pennsboro and Waste Management decided everyone needed ginormous garbage cans.  Because both are so large, taking my garbage to the curb only happens every 2 to 3 weeks, and then they are usually half empty.

I did work yesterday.  There were customers in the store, though mostly I spent time talking to associates.  My friend Jon, the Physical Therapist, was working.  He and his fiancé are going to some sort of murder mystery party this evening.  He's very religious, so I told him that if he's the killer, he's going to need to pray with his victims before he kills them.  He thought my comment was... amusing.

Some might be questioning if I'm planning on staying up tonight to see in the New Year.  Absolutely not.  Anyone who thinks 2025 is going to be a good year is sadly mistaken.  We have a Moral Degenerate who's going to be inaugurated on January 20, and a vast number of his supporters are going to be in the "Find Out," stage of their stupidity.  Most of his base was already virtually cracked, now the real cracks are beginning to show as they realized the Orange Anus they voted for not only abhors them, but now sees them as completely useless.  He no longer needs them.  They are finding out he's not going to give them a single thing he promised.  They will continue to find out that the only people Orangey likes are his billionaire buddies and dictators; he will give them their deepest heart's desires.

Finally, people are beginning to understand how deeply involved Elonia is with China, and I'm wondering if he might be partly responsible for the recent hacking of the Treasury by the Chinese government.  You see, Elonia, who's evidently a ketamine crackhead, thinks only of himself and his multiple alter egos. 

With these tidings heading our way, let's all try and think positive thoughts for the coming new year.  With this is mind, you might be wondering if this is a tease or not.

The First Sybil of Billionaires

 When I woke up this morning the outside temp was 50 (F), it is now 47 (F), so I guess that might be an indicator of how the day may be going.  According to the forecasters, temps are going to continue to drop throughout the week.  Next week, we're supposed to be getting some actually... well possibly, temps that will... maybe be close to frigid.  The low temp is already beginning to rise.

I worked yesterday.  Boredom reigned.  I did do design a roller shade for a customer, who was disappointed the same fabric couldn't be used in a Roman Shade.  I showed her the fabrics she could use for Roman Shades and she was unimpressed.  She also balked at the $400 price tag for one blind, so I told her to wait for a sale, they run sales weekly.  Most people who are buying blinds or shades now are usually waiting for the sale pricing.  Keep in mind that even with sale pricing those companies selling them are still making boodles of money.  There is no such thing as a deal.  Most people don't understand this.

Howie destroyed another one of those sofa pillows that I've given him as toys.  It's a lot cheaper than buying him stuffed toys to shred.  In fact, the only difference is that the pillows don't have squeakers.

And, sadly, Jimmy Carter passed away yesterday.  The outpouring of sympathy from both Democrats and Republicans, as well as world leaders is amazing.  He was a man of honor, who, in his final mortal act, has done something remarkable.  All American flags need to be set at half-mast for a full 30 days after a president dies as the nation mourns its loss.  So, on January 20, when the Orange Anus is sworn into office, flags will be at half-mast and the nation will be mourning.

And while the tributes for Carter come in from all corners of the world, Elonia has been spending a lot of time on Twitter complimenting himself as Adrian Dittman.  That's right, there's more than one Elonia in the world, though Adrian is a figment of imagination, perhaps the invisible childhood friend who was never left behind.  Adrian is not an alter-ego, in case you're thinking that.  Nope.  In Elonia's mind he's real.  I honestly don't doubt that eventually Elonia is going to be diagnosed as the first Sybil of Billionaires.  

Not a flip-flop

 We have steady rain, this Sunday morning.  The temps are in the mid 40s (F) and should be climbing up into the high 50s (F), possibly reaching 60 (F), which is ridiculous for this time of year.  We are in winter, after all.  Looking ahead, however, the long range forecast has our temps dropping down into what might be consider frigid temps by next week.  That means highs in the low 20s (F).  We shall have to wait and see.

Work was slow yesterday; five hours of meh.  Being Sunday, I don't expect it to be any busier.  I had my "one on one" with my supervisor yesterday.  These little meetings are like mini-reviews we need to sit through every month.  They're supposed to help me set my goals for the next month.  My goal for this coming month, and in case you're wondering, it's the same goal every month, is to get more people to sign up for credit cards.  They actually want me to sign up 2 (two) customers a week for credit cards.  The interest rate is something like 27 %. I simply can't do that just to feed the orange retailer's need for greed.  This means that I will always fail my goal.  So what?

Plans for today?  Work again.  I'm usually scheduled every Sunday unless I request off.  I want to get a couple of miles in on the treadmill.  And, as usual, work on the final draft of The Body in History.  I was talking to my artist yesterday about the cover art.  I keep switching things around in my head. First I want the Tholos of Athena, then I want to see something with the actual Temple of Apollo.  I'm also thinking of doing some AI generated pictures as an intro when it's finally ready to sell.

If you ask Republicans why they like Trump, many will tell you he did some good things during his first term.  They never, ever talk about his failures.

Many of them also though he'd come out against his new blow Bro Elon in the Republican Civil War over the H-1B controversy.  Many people on social media claimed that there was going to be a terrible divorce between the two, mostly because of the Orange Anus's ego.  Well, that didn't happen.  In fact, Orangey has cozied up to Elonia on the H-1B issue.  What most people don't understand is that Orangey lives for his dictators and super duper billionaires, Elonia, being the richest man in the world, pretty much has those two bases covered in an odd way.  Orangey now likes H-1B immigrants.  He's been hiring them for years, though not in tech jobs like Elonia.  Nope.  Orangey uses them to get cheap labor to work in his hotels.  Orangey campaigned against the H-1B visas in 2016, and again in 2020.  Did he suddenly flip-flop to join ranks with Elonia?  Nope.  For the first time in his life, Orangey told the truth.  Why?  He no longer needs cultists to vote for him.

Sit Back and Watch

 We have a rainy Saturday ahead of us here in Central PA.  Temps are predicted to climb up into the 50s (F) today and into the 60s (F) tomorrow.  This is unseasonably warm.  Long range forecasts had the temps dropping back into the 30s (F), but now it looks as though we'll have to settle for the mid 40s (F) on most days.

I got a lot done yesterday. The aquarium in the living room was cleaned again.  I have a black algae problem in it that I'm trying to eliminate, that means frequent cleanings and water changes.  Besides that, I got in over 2 miles on the treadmill, and made bean soup, enough for 4 servings. I work for the next 3 days, so that means I'll be having soup for lunch everyday.  

The Body in History was worked on as well.  I'm up to page 45 on the hard copy.  Hopefully, I'll have it finished by the end of January and will be able to start sending copies out of my readers and editors.  Once again, I'm looking for someone to read an advance copy and comment.  I like getting the feedback. The last time I asked for a reader the slot was filled fast, so don't dawdle.  Here's my email.  Send me a note.  drsnyderwriter@gmail.com

And here is a pic of the scrumptious bean soup I made yesterday.

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And the Civil War in the Republican party is continuing today, and, in my own way, I am aiding and abetting it's growth.  The fact that MAGA cultists are realizing that their Fearless Leader (and there are people who call the Orange Anus Fearless Leader) doesn't really give a shit about them.  Honestly, when I hear or read those two words, Fearless Leader, I think of the old cartoon show Rocky and Bullwinkle.  I don't doubt that any day now the cult is going to begin calling Elonia, Boris Badenuff.  If they had only paid attention during the campaign, they wouldn't be drowning in their anger.  Now, they've not only screwed themselves, they've screwed America as well.  I don't doubt that at some point, fearing for their own safety, the leaders of the MAGA movement will try taking away guns from the cultists.  Hilarity will not ensue.  As for me?  I'm going to sit back and watch.

Worthless

 Friday has arrived!  This is one of my regularly scheduled days off.  The temps are supposed to climb up into the mid 40s (F), which will be nice.  Rain is on the way, though, and so I'm anticipating showers and occasional steady rains for the next three days.  It's not that rain is preferable to snow, neither really matters to me.  Mostly, I dislike the constant cloud cover.  I do like the sunshine.

I did work yesterday and it was very slow... except for those coming in and buying the super reduced Christmas decorations we still had available.  There are decent amount of tree decorations and lights, everything else is too ugly for people to want.  As far as sales go, it's going to be a dry few week.  This is normally not the season for flooring installations.  I only have one open quote and that customer is not going to buy.  She wanted us to price match our competition.  Their quote was $3000, ours was $3800.  For us to price match, she'd need to bring in a printed copy of their quote showing that their carpet was equivalent or better than the one she chose from us.  She's not going to do that.  She's selling her house and wanted the carpet installed before she listed it on the market; the home was listed last week.

When I did get home from work my neighbors were very silent.  They were silent all evening.  The sound of a church mouse would have sounded like a roar.  This is a good thing.  If I haven't mentioned it before, she seems to be the one who needs the volume.  She's also a 51 year-old trying to be 19, however, I suspect her maturity level is around 14.

Of course, yesterday, open warfare between MAGA cultists and pseudo-president Musk erupted.  You see, Elonia had the affrontery to say that he preferred hiring immigrant workers to Americans because Americans were either poorly trained or untrainable.  This is what started the fight.

There were other Tweets stating that Americans were unmotivated and lazy because of poor parenting.  As expected, the Cultist's anger exploded, and as a result many, including that crackpot Laura Loomer, have been banned from Zitter.  Do you think Donnie the Orange Anus is really going to care what happens to his cultists?  Not on your life.  There are those saying that this blow-up signals the divorce between he and Elonia.  I doubt that.  Orangey wants to be buddy, buddy close to the richest asshole on the planet.  Orangey also likes the fact that all these massive tech companies have been greasing his palm with $1million donations.  The reality is he's going to be buckeroos what they want.  Those cultists, the ones who voted for him?  They no longer have any worth.

The More, the Merrier

 Happy day after Christmas!  It's cold here in  Central PA, but not cold, cold.  That means the temp is below freezing (F), but it's not down in the 20s (F) or teens (F).  In fact, this afternoon our temp should be up in the lower to mid 40s (F).  Oh... and rain is on the way.  Looks Saturday, Sunday, and Monday we'll be in Rain Land, with a total accumulation of about 1 inch

Yesterday was... a day just like another here.  Well, almost.  My new neighbors had 2 shouting arguments in the morning.  Part of at least one, maybe both, maybe have been because of me.  You see, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve she decided to blare her music while she cleaned.  2.5 hours of rumbling bass.  We share a connecting wall.  My TV is on my side.  They put the sofa against their side and complained that they could hear my TV.  Out of consideration, I either used headphones or kept the volume low.  On Christmas Eve?  I did neither.  My TV has been against that wall for the 32 years I've lived in this house, so this is not my problem.

Dinner was ham.  It was tasty.  I talked to my sister for a while, though had to send a text to my brother to get a Merry Christmas.  Being a devout Christian, he used to be a huge Trump supporter.  For some reason, I don't think he's to appreciative of Orangey's move into the position of Vice President.  Of course, this might have something to do with it, too.  Social Conservatives desperately want a socially conservative authoritarian government, the one Orangey is setting up is perhaps not what they had in mind.  But then, you do have to remember that the Republican party is focused totally on Selfishness and Greed.

Of course, there's always the possibility he's not too pleased with the fact that Orangey's charging $100,000 to join him in a prayer service.  If this isn't what social conservatives were expecting, then it's their fault for not paying more attention.  The guy's been grifting off Jesus for a long time and that hasn't bothered them.  

It seems as though world emperor wannabe Elonia Musk is upset social media is not giving him the respect he's convinced himself he deserves.  His bot makers are releasing many, many bots on Threads and Bluesky.  If you make a snarky comment about Elonia, one of them is bound to pay you a visit.  I've gotten 3 visits so far.  They all have some variation of his first name underscore and his last name with the message that he wants to talk to me personally and a link.  They all have zero followers.  They all get blocked immediately.  I don't doubt that this is the reason I'm seeing so many snarky comments about Elonia.  The more, the merrier, and the sooner his brain falls apart.

Further Developments

 Here's hoping you all have a happy, healthy Christmas!  

Stay tuned for further developments.

Almost Christmas Eve

 It's Christmas Eve... morning, so it's not really Christmas Eve yet.  Give it 12 hours, than, legitimately, it'll be Christmas Eve.  The forecast said we might have snow... and didn't.  The temps did warm up from yesterday, though, instead of being 12 (F), it's 27 (F).  That's a good thing when you have a puppy who doesn't really know what cold is and wants to stay outside.

I did work yesterday.  The store was fairly dead until around 6 PM, then customers began trickling in.  Luckily, none of them wandered over to the Flooring Department, not that I expected any to do so.  This close to Christmas, most people are looking for that cheap tool to get Dad because social standards say that all Dads want power tools.  They were also looking for Christmas decorations and artificial tree; they're all marked down and if you want a deal, now's the time.

Today is pretty well planned out.  I'm staying home.  There's nothing I need at the supermarket.  Right now I've got a loaf of bread in the machine.  Later I'll be baking another coconut pie and some corn pudding.  Christmas is going to be just like Thanksgiving.  Quiet.  My sister called yesterday and I was busy, so it went into voice mail.  I haven't heard from my brother.  He's been awfully quiet.  I was going to give him a poke about president Musk today, but, seeing that it's almost a Christian holiday, I'll just send him well wishes.  I was going to send him this, but instead, I'll just post it on Facebook.  

Congress did give America a Christmas present yesterday!  They released the Matt Gaezt report.  Wowza!  $90,000 to women who were not necessarily sex workers, but who had no problem getting paid to sleep with him.  Oh, and he also made 2 Statutory Rape payments of $400 each.  Having to pay for sex tells you a lot about Matt Gaetz.  I read some of the text messages that went back and forth between he and "the ladies."  They were pure business.  Do you party?  What's the going rate?  Is $400 enough?  In the real world, I suspect he is truly repulsive.

And then, of course, is the fact that the Merrick Garland had this report and did nothing is important, As is the fact that the majority Republican party in Congress knew what was in this report and were prepared to let the Orange Anus make him the Attorney General is down right horrific.  I don't doubt for a second that this is exactly what all of those Christians were voting for.

Cherry Picking

 A cold night was had by all in Central PA.  When I checked out the temp this morning, it was a very chilly 10 (F).  That's cold.  The good news is that beginning today, temps are predicted to rise over the next few days, and by Christmas we should be sitting in the mid to upper 40s range.  

Yesterday was eventful in a non-eventful way.  I had made plans to drive down to York and visit my friend Betsy, we were going to do lunch and then go see Wicked (my 2nd time).  Things did not go as planned.  She called to let me know she was feeling more than a little "under the weather," with a chest cold, so those plans were scrapped.  Instead, I stayed home and worked on The Body in History.  I also did a lot of laundry; one thing I won't need to do during Christmas week.

Two bunches of cilantro were run through the dehydrator.  Two bunches of Fresh cost $4, a bottle of dry is $5.29.  My supermarket doesn't offer a generic brand, and you know that price is going to go up.

I also went online to see what sheets cost at Target:  $50 for 400 thread count.  That's about $2 more than what they cost on Amazon, for sheets of the same quality and I can afford the difference.  Target delivers for free, too, which is fine by me.  I am not now, nor have I ever been a shopper.  Perhaps that's because I work in retail.  Or, perhaps it's because I think people who browse through shirts and pants are a bit on the pretentious side. Or, it could be that my tastes are so unrefined that I simply don't care.  For me, spending an afternoon shopping is like crapping away 3 or 4 hours of my life, hours that I will never get back.  

For those who haven't heard, Amazon workers are on strike, and Bezos, arrogant ass that he is, is getting married to his side slut in Aspen next weekend in a $600 million wedding.  Let the boycotts begin.

And I found this funny.

I posted it on Facebook.  Normally, when I do things like this I get 7 to 10 likes.  My friends who don't?  Well, they know the shit that's going on and I just like to rub their noses in it.  Those of us who are sane, who love Democracy?  This is an attitude we all need to display.  Those people who voted for the Moral Degenerate need to be constantly reminded that they own everything that happens from January 20 on.  

One thing I find amusing is that soooo many Evangelicals voted for the Orange Anus because they thought he'd been sent by God to give them what they want, and now they're stuck with Elonia running the show.  Does that mean that God has abandoned Orangey?  Or was it that he wasn't sent by God?  Is everything they were believing just another lie in Orangey's con?  For those who haven't realized it yet, religion makes people stupid.  They rail against wokeness because those who are woke ask questions, and questions scare the Hell out of the Zealots.  They might get answers their own Faith is too weak to deal with, so it's better to stay stupid and cherry pick the Bible for things to hate.

The Party of Selfishness and Greed

 It's cold here in Central PA.  17 (F).  And it's not going to get much warmer.  The temps are only expected to rise another 11 degrees.  After today, however, things are expected to begin warming up.  If this year is anything like the last 2, winter should now begin to warm up.  I'm expecting this since the weather pattern over the last few weeks has matched that of previous years.  Of course, I could always be wrong.

And I did work yesterday.  Boring.  And sadly, they decided to bring in food from Olive Garden for the cashiers.  Since I am a backup cashier, I got to graze most of the afternoon on spaghetti, and linguini.  The chicken alfredo was fine for fast food.  That's one thing you always need to consider when eating at Olive Garden, or Red Lobster, or Chipotle, all of the food is packaged pre-cook.  The scrumptious, garlic bread sticks are all made in a food factory.  All the cooks at Olive Garden do is pop them in the oven for twenty minutes.  Nothing is ever cooked from scratch, and because it's fast food it's always high in fat and sodium... tons of sodium.

Howie broke the sheets!  Well, the bottom sheet.  His nails are sharp, and a few weeks ago they caused a small tear which I fixed with an iron on patch.  That patched bothered him.  It was underneath, so he could see the outline, but not the patch itself.  This morning, he dug up what he thought was buried treasure and put a foot long tear in the sheet.  It wasn't.  Later this morning that sheet will be replaced with another.  I'd thought momentarily about cutting it up for rags, then realized I still had rags left over from the last bottom sheet one of my dogs broke, so it will go into the trash.

Here's a pic I took of Harrisburg this morning.  If you look between the branches, you can see the capital building.

I don't know how many of you saw, but Lara Trump has taken her name out of consideration for the Senate seat of Marco Rubio.  As everyone on Social Media knows, this is a good indicator that Ronnie DeSantis was not going to pick her.  Was it because she would be, as everyone seems to think, a total incompetent at the job?  Or could it be a quiet swipe at the phony bastion of power the Orange 
Anus thinks he holds?  Perhaps she's not being chosen because Ronnie's pissed that Orangey has been taking so many of  loyal, DeSantis Republicans.  

And even Main Stream Media seems to be somewhat pleased that the Elonia / Orangey alliance appears to have run into a brick wall.  Small majorities are not a mandate.  The fact that Republicans removed funding for Pediatric Cancer Research touched a sore spot with so many Americans.  Someone said that Republicans need to learn to stop saying "no."  That might be impossible since they are the part of selfishness and greed.

Horrific Blunder

 Saturday, the shortest day of the year is here.  It's still dark outside, and the temp is around 32 (F), that 0 for those of you, which is the rest of the world, using Celsius.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be a tad colder, but not much, and then the warm-up begins.  Our temps are expected to zoom back up into the mid 40s (F).  Now, won't that be nice.

Yesterday was.. well... I ate a frozen pizza, so I'd guess you have to say it was one of those days. I also managed to get a number of other things accomplished, including cleaning the tank in the living room.  While I didn't dehydrate anything, I did buy cilantro that I'll pop into the dehydrator while I'm at work.

Last evening, after I told her about my dehydrating food stuffs and buying bulk quantities of rice, she said "you really are taking this seriously."  Well, of course I am.  It never hurts to be prepared.  The food isn't going to go bad anytime soon, so I can eat it anytime, even if prices don't go through the roof.

I'm also spent a bit of time working on the final draft of The Body in History.  I did some changes to chapter one, read through the changes, and then changed them back to the original version.  The arrival at Delphi needed to be changed because I'd written before actually being in Delphi, and Delphi is different from other cities.

Of course, extending the budget has been in the news a lot, and because of it, America has realized that Elon Musk own the Orange Anus.  Supposedly this hasn't been photoshopped, however.... let's be honest, we all know that Elon Musk has a big head, but I doubt very much if it's this big.  

Musk's biggest problem is that he expects everyone else to bow down in front of him.  As I said, he wants to be Emperor of the World.  What he needs more than anything else is to have his ass taxed to the max.  When you read that he, and Bezos had dinner with Trump you need to understand that Orangey is only the tool they believe will help them leverage their power in the United States.  Trump has command of the military, something neither of them have.  This is why he wants to put Hegseth in charge of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Hegseth is the nut job they need.  And if you're concerned that I left out Zuck, don't be, he's as much a part of this as the other billionaires Orangey wants installed in his cabinet.  The only way this will work, however, is if Americans stay complacent as the Billionaires Club starts stripping them of their rights. Being rich doesn't keep them from being stupid.  The arrogance of their own wealth has taken them so far from reality, they can not conceive of the horrific blunder they are stumbling towards.  

Oddly Impressive

 Here it is, Friday, the temps are below freezing and forecasters are calling for snow.  Not a lot.  Maybe an inch?  I would like maybe three or four inches so he could have fun running around and discover snow fun, though I doubt that will happen.  After this weekend, long range forecasts are calling for temps to warm up, and rain is in the forecast, not snow.

And I did work yesterday.  Jon, the PT who's been giving me advice for the PT aspects of Max's character in the books is back from his unpaid internship.  I was surprised that he had to pay for 4 months of training.  You'd think he'd at least get a stipend, but nope, his diagnosis and labor was free.  I think that's sucks.  He's looking forward to meeting Howie.  

I did sell some blinds to one of my customers and I sold a flooring measure.  My supervisors stopped by and told me that the store was really hurting on leads and signing people up for credit cards.  As just about everyone in the known universe knows, if a customer brings up the credit card application, I will sign them up, otherwise I'm silent.  As for getting a lead on an installation?  This is not the season for leads.  No one wants to deal with construction in the winter.  Besides, I do believe many people are growing leery about making large ticket purchases with the Elonia Musk, and his puppet, the Orange Anus, taking control of the country in 3 weeks.

And, speaking of Elonia and Orangey, I think this is appropriate.

Of course, the incompetent Republican party is going to shut down the government 5 days before Christmas because Elonia Musk didn't like the budget.  You have to remember, Elonia was born wealthy, and raised wealthy, and as such has no concept of a reality other than that of a spoiled twelve-year-old child who doesn't need to stamp his foot to get what he wants.  No Democrats voted for Plan B, and now Plan C is in the work.  Part of the problem is that Republicans hold the most miniscule of majorities in the house and so believe they can exclude Democrats budget creation process.  Another big problem is that Elonia and his broken marionette of man Orangey, want the Debt Ceiling gone in order for them to give themselves another big tax break. And, as Chip Roy, a Right Wing Extremist, railed against it yesterday shouting loudly that doing so was going to add another $5 trillion to the deficit in 2 years.  

And there was a bit of humor yesterday.  Just about everybody, except Republicans, new this new administration was going to be a shit show, however, as Rachel Vindman put it, "to have it start so early is oddly impressive."

The Donny and Elonia Show

 It's Thursday.  Outside temps are in the mid 30s (F), and they're predicted to rise in to the lower to mid 40s (F).  Tomorrow night they're calling for snow.   Not much, a bit, possibly half an inch.  A little more than we had last time.  Some people are all excited.  Honestly, it doesn't phase me one way or the other.  I don't mind shoveling snow, for those of you who don't know, snow Nature's way of giving us all free cardio!

Yesterday was a fairly good day.  I moved onto the second Greek lesson while I putting in almost 2 miles on the treadmill.  Since this was the first time for this chapter, most of it went over my head.  I'm going to need to go in and do the flashcard that are part of the course.  I usually write them down, since the written word is very important.

I also had lunch with 2 friends I haven't seen in about 10 years.  Our conversation was lively; we share a keen interest on a number of subjects.  Conversing has always been one of the joys of my life... probably because I'm a "talker."  Being able to converse with intelligent people who can opine without opinionating is simply wonderful.

Oh, and I finished The Body in History last evening.  This morning I want to print off those chapters not already printed and begin the rewrite.  Do I always work off of a hard copy?  The answers are yes and no.  I like the ability to pick up the manuscript and make notes, but I also enjoy the convenience of sitting at my writing laptop recreating my original vision.  The final draft is always a combination of both.

For those living under a rock, Elonia shot down the government spending package that was designed to insure our men in the military would continue to get paychecks, at least until March.  Sorry, Elonia is not First Lady yet, and needs to be put in her place.  Main Stream Media is reporting that Trump shot it down at the urging of his allies.  I wonder if they're afraid of putting blame where it belongs.  One of the reasons it was shot down was because Elonia wants another tax break, that's the only reason he Trump wants the debt ceiling raised.  For those dense Conservatives out there, the government has not paid for Elonia's last tax break.  And it's not as though Elonia cares, none of the billionaires the Orange Anus wants in his cabinet care.  America is growing more and more angry, except for that minority group who desperately want to worship Orangey, not that either he or Elonia understand that.  They are of the mind, like every Conservative out there, that all they have to do is yell "shut up!  I'm in Charge!" and America will just roll over.  Sorry guys, it ain't gonna happen.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

 Yesterday turned out to be nice.  The sun did come out in the afternoon and temps warmed up, so the forecast wasn't far off.  Today, however, clouds are supposed to be moving back into the picture and, again, this afternoon we're supposed to have shower.  Temps will be cooling down until Sunday, when they'll be stuck in the 20s (F) all day before they zoom back up into the high 40s (F) and low 50s (F).

Even though the day did nicen up, yesterday was still a bit of a meh day.  Howie and I went for a walk.  I worked on the book.  This denouement chapter is going to be long, maybe the longest I've ever written.  How well it will go over remains to be seen.  I have shared the first chapter with some people (it's very different).  Their reactions were pleasantly surprising.

I also bought and downloaded the new Indiana Jones and the Great Circle game.  It's a Machine Works game, and they are owned by Bethesda.  Every game has a tutorial section in the beginning where you learn which buttons do what, since every game is different.  For this game, the tutorial section is the opening sequence from Raiders of the Lost Ark, you know the one I'm talking about, the one with the big ball that nearly crushes him.  I got crushed once.  Having seen the movie many times, I thought it was a lot of fun!  The tutorial, however, is just a flashback, and the story jumps ahead a year to the time after the Ark incident.  And yes, if you're interested, you do need to use the whip.

So, if you live in America, how are your food prices?  Mine are going up.  Eggs are 8 cents higher.  Here in Central Pa, a dozen large eggs is going to set you back $4.07, they're going to blame it on Bird Flu.  Roma tomatoes?  2 months ago they were $1.99 a lb., now they cost $2.49 a lb., and it ain't because of the Bird Flu.  I went grocery shopping yesterday and mostly what I did was look at people's faces.  No one was happy.  There were a lot of seniors in the supermarket and I felt really bad for them, many live month to month on their Social Security, and God knows how many Christian Conservatives hate Social Security.  These people are going to have a rough time ahead, especially if our morally degenerated president succeeds in privatizing Medicare.  People who don't have to pay for insurance, should never be in charge of creating legislation that forces others to pay for the same benefit.  I have to admit that I do find it more than a little satisfying that health care stocks across the board are experiencing a down turn.  What a joy for so many rich people to lose money.

Crudité

Tuesday.  The skies are overcast.  Temps are in the mid 40s (F), and they're predicted to get warmer.  Supposedly the sun is going to be coming out later this afternoon.  I am waiting.

I got almost 2 miles in on the treadmill yesterday.  I was pleased, but I didn't come close to getting in over 15,000 I walked on Sunday. 

Today feels like a low energy day.  There are things that need to be done, like laundry, and cleaning the aquarium in the living room, and I know I'll get them completed, but it's going to take a bit of oomph.  Is it the lack of sunshine?  Perhaps I should put special lighting throughout the house so it looks summer.  In less than a week we will have passed the shortest day of the year.  I can not wait, then days will start to lengthen and, hopefully, there will be more sunshine.

Yesterday was fairly meh at work.  Time passed slowly.  Left over appetizers from the previous night's store party were in the refrigerator, including salamis, bolognas, and cheeses, so I snacked away a lot of the time.  You'll notice I said appetizers.  That was the popular word when I was young.  For a number of years people would add cut up veggies so they changed the name to crudité.  Now they call it charcuterie, which is just another name for appetizer.  No one wants to call them hors d'oeuvres any more, though at one time that, too, was the stylish lingo.  The first time I saw hors d'oeuvres I pronounced it whores divorce, and was asked why a whore would want a divorce.  Here's a pic of... well, you can call it whatever you like.

And I saw that another Democrat judge has unretired.  Of course, this flips out the Republicans.  There's no way they can force their authoritarian government upon America if Democrats refuse to retire.

Also, the Orange Anus gave some sort of rambling press conference... yesterday?  The press is still sane-washing whatever he says, even though it makes no sense.  He talked about the drones over New Jersey; now isn't that a great title for a super hero movie?  And he talked about his beloved tariffs.  And there were other things mentioned that simply don't need to be mentioned because his ramblings are simply that, totally lacking substance.

Up in Canada, Trudeau got a smack in the face as his finance minister suddenly resigned.  From what I understand, she was furious that he went to Mar a Lago so unprepared to deal with the Orange Anus.  I might have quit, too, if I were her.  The only thing Orangey understands is power, so, when the first word out of Trudeau's mouth was "hey," Orangey and everyone else at the table treated him like a fool.  I'm not doubting that Trudeau thought he was going to be treated to charcuterie, and what he got was crudité. 

Yellow Snow

 Good Morning World!  We had snow most of the day yesterday!  Most of it melted because the temps were just not cold enough.  It was a dreary day, so it was a good thing that I worked.

Yesterday was a little more productive than the past 2.  I got 30 minutes in on the treadmill and, thanks to laps at work, I managed to get in over 15,000 steps!  Wowza.  

We had our store holiday party last evening.  There were about 40 people there.  For the amount of time I was there, it was enjoyable, but then I only go for the food.  They had  a DJ who did a fine job, he was a store employee with somewhat eclectic tastes in music, which turned out to be fine.  The main reason I had for not staying any longer was the fact that I have a 4 and a half month old puppy who desperately needed to go potty outside.  I was so proud of him!  He left no presents waiting for me when I got home, and that was after leaving him alone for over 7 hours!

Here he is tinting first yellow snow.  Here's picture of that momentous occasion!  And this morning?  He made some more!

One of the things people need to keep in mind is that for a $1 million for a billionaire is "chump change," so when these billionaire give the Orange Anus $1 million, they're not bending the knee, that's just a token to him for letting them participate in turning America into an Oligarchy.  A good crash on Wall Street will send them all reeling.  The last time we had a good crash, millionaires jumped out of windows when they realized they were now worthless individuals.  The American economy depends totally on American's buying power, reducing or stopping Social Security reduces that buying power of senior citizens.  Privatizing Medicare and raising rates for health care will limit that buying power.  Of course, conservates have always been stupid.  There's an old adage that says "give them enough rope, and they'll hang themselves."  Because they believe their stupidity makes them smarter than everyone else, they feel that adages no longer apply.  They will ignore the sage advice "do not eat yellow snow."  I don't think Zuck, or Elonia, or Bezos will jump out of a window when they find themselves broke, but they will eat the yellow snow.

The Dark Ages, (part 2)

 Here it is, Sunday morning, and it's cold.  Temps are in the 20s (F), and today's high, like yesterday is only predicted to top off in the mid 30s (F).  Don't forget, winter is still a week away.  Will it be a cold one, or warm like the last two.  So far our weather pattern is repeating itself.  Only time will tell.

For those interested, the barley for breakfast is going well.  I boil up one cup of barley in 2.5 cups of water, that's gives me 3 cups barley which I then refrigerate.  It's a grain, so it has a very mild nutty/wheaty flavor.  Cost wise, it's about .35 a breakfast, or if it were boxed, like Grape Nuts, it would cost about $2.10 a box.  That's something you can take to the bank.  On top of that, there are absolutely no preservatives, meaning I'm not ingesting chemicals whenever I eat it.

Yesterday was one of those, I'm not doing anything days.  It was cold, I stayed home.  I wrote.  I had thought about working out with dumbbells, but that came to naught, as did the desire to put in some time on the treadmill.  I did spend some time examining my bands, but beyond the examination nothing happened.  

I played some Dragon Age.  I'm at the point where the final Boss fight is just around the corner, unfortunately, the game itself doesn't feel complete, and sadly, I am ready for it to be over.  That says more about the writing than anything else.  Most of the companion stories just are interesting enough, that's because their quests tended to be lame.  I'll probably finish it over the next few days and then download the new Indiana Jones game.  It's from Bethesda, and everybody I talked to loves it.

For dinner last evening I cooked some of my homemade pasta.  The pasta was good, the meat sauce, however, left a little to be desired.

And, of course, a large part of the reason yesterday was one of "those" days were the thoughts I had about our incoming president, and how bad things are going to get.  When I tell people that the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO was just the tip of the iceberg, I know many don't understand.  Conservatives expect Americans to just sit there and eat every spoonful of the shit they want to hand out and that isn't going to happen.  Both Canada and Mexico are going to tell Trump to go to Hell (you can bet they're talking to each other as we speak) and that will begin the Chaos that Wall Street hates.  The Orange Anus is going to put out a slew of Executive Orders on day one, and though many will have to work to work their way through the court system, they too will rock the country.  His cultists have no idea of the evil they have potentially unleashed.  Is the world heading into another Dark Ages?  That's possible.  Things that will not survive if we are:  Conservativism, Christianity, Wall Street, Billionaires.

A Pox on both your Houses

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

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

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

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

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

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

Power and Money

 Wow, we got a cold one outside!  23 (F).  Yikes.  In fact, we've got a few days of coldieness ahead of us, but then this is to be expected, we are only 9 days for winter.  I'm interested to see if this year continues the trend of cold Decembers and early Januarys and then a warm-up into much more moderate temperatures. 

Yesterday was sort of a meh day, and yet it wasn't.  A bag of tomatoes and a half bag of onions went through the dehydrator.  My house smelt like a tomato salad.  It wasn't bad.  I did some writing.  A leg workout was done, though now my quads are a bit on the sore side.  Rather than ride today, I'm going to be putting some time on the treadmill.  

I also worked.  It was fine.  Slow.  No departments are making plan this week.  I'm don't work until Sunday.  That's right, this is one of my 15 hour weeks.  I have one next week as well.  However, Christmas week I'm back to my regular 20 hours.  This is a good thing because Howie's initial visits to the Vet are $$$.  After this round of shots is over, they'll become less expensive.  Sadly, they are already trying to get me to buy treatments he doesn't need, such as a very expensive heartworm  med, that needs to be administered monthly and costs $180 for 3 months.  Heartworm is a serious issue down south.  Up here in Central PA, not so much because this parasite is passed to the dog through a mosquito bite, and where I live, mosquitos are a season issue.

They also push pet insurance, and this meme is so very appropriate.

The same thing applies to pet insurance.  In fact, it applies to all forms of insurance, and it isn't just United Health Care.  There was a time when insurance was a good idea, when it was affordable, when it actually paid for claims, whether they be health, home, or vehicle related.  At some point, though, their value began to decline for those being insured.  In most states, car insurance is required if you own a car.  When I hear what young people have to pay for car insurance, I am flabbergasted.  That's corporate greed.  Health insurance is even worse.  When I was fulltime, I was paying $165 a month and that was for bare bones coverage for a single individual.  I stopped paying that when I retired (7 years ago).  That cost has gone up.  Family coverage is far more expensive.  And, if you do need to file a claim, there is that inevitable deductible that needs to be paid first, and then you find out your insurance is only going to pay a percentage of your bill.  Is it any wonder Americans are upset? 

And for all you stupid cultists out there:  The Orange Anus said that there's good possibility that prices are going to go up.  I wonder how long it will take them to realize he doesn't give a shit about them.  The only things he cares about are power and money.

Funny Things

 So, what all happened yesterday?  Well, it rained.  All day it rained.  Over an inch of rain fell as a cold front moved into the area.  Today it is going to be cold, with out high temperatures only climbing into the mid 30s (F).  That same thing is going to be true for tomorrow, and Sunday.  On Monday we're supposed to be warming up again.

Where as Biggie and Lily hated the rain, Howie has no problem with it.  He has no problem with puddles either, and, if the puddle is located in the right place, he soon turns it into a mud puddle.  He thinks digging in a puddle of water is a really fun game.  And when he comes in we play "Let's try and dry off the wet puppy!"  I did end up laughing because the game is fun.

I finished dehydrating the bag of potatoes yesterday.  Tomorrow, I'm going to do tomatoes and possibly onions at the same time.  I'm sure the house will smell wonderful.  Otherwise, I did nothing yesterday except work on The Body in History.  I had no desire to really do anything, no doubt the result of the cloudy skies and constant rain.  I do like sunny days.  We need more of them.  Wouldn't it be nice if it only rained at night, while we are sleeping?

And now for a bit of dark humor:

The funny thing about that was if there were a lethal strain of Covid killing off Americans, soooo many of those anti-vaxers would suddenly start whistling a different tune.  I honestly believe that the biggest problem we had with the last strain of Covid was that Trump got it and lived.  Had he died, so many things would have been different.  Christians want to believe God kept him alive to give them what they want.  They evidently don't know that Evil works the same way, unfortunately so many of them are presumptuous enough to believe they know the will of God.  Can you hear me laughing?

As if Orangey's packing Guilfoyle off to Greece wasn't amusing enough, he's going to put Kari Lake in charge of Voice of America.  According to their website, they claim to reach 354 million people around the world.  To put that into perspective, there are over 8 Billion people in the world, so Voice of America is reaching .00000004% of the world's population.  I'm hoping that she realizes how big this insult is after spending so much time in Mar a Lago, probably doing abhorrent sexual things with the Orange Anus.  

Finally, no one should be surprised that there are hitlists springing up online and posters being spread with the names and pictures of Healthcare CEOs.  As I said, the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO was just the tip of the iceberg and no one is going to fix the problem with the American health care system.

Gladiator II

 Hello, people!  We have rain.  Lots of rain is coming our way.  In fact, it started last night and has been steadily raining since around midnight.  The temps are warm, in the 50s (F), though they're predicted to drop and by later this afternoon and evening it's supposed to be cold enough to snow... a tad bit; basically flurries will arrive and depart.

My shower was installed about 17 years ago, it's fairly spacious and has a seat which I used when I was experiencing back issues.  About a year ago, I noticed that the door was beginning to stick at the bottom.  No problem, I just had to lift the handle a little and the door easily opened, until 2 days ago when lifting no longer worked.  So, I had to give it a push, and the metal frame along the bottom of the door came loose.  Kneeling to examine it, I realized that the screw that was supposed to hold the frame in place was missing, so 17 years ago the door was installed improperly.  Damn.  Since this late in the game there was no way of fixing it, I took the door off and put in a shower curtain on a tension rod.  It looks better than the door, and is just as functional and is a lot less expensive then spending $7 or $8 thousand on a new shower.  The old, glass door will go out in the trash next week.

I went to see Gladiator II last evening.  It was very good, though, thanks to improvements in CGI, much more violent.  What Ridley Scott has given us is far more realistic to the blood sports which used to take place in the coliseum.  And, even though everyone is talking about the hotness of Paul Mescal, it was Denzel Washington who easily stole the movie.  I can see a supporting actor nomination heading his way.

And I have to say, I feel so terrible for the people of Greece now that Kim Guilfoyle has been named ambassador to that great country.  This woman is dumb as a brick.  She's an embarrassment. Her clown face is befitting the clown circus the Orange Anus is building.  The more I see things like this happening, the more I see the fall of the Republican party.  You can see the signs in all of the cracks that are appearing.  In the shooting death of the United Healthcare CEO, in Elon Musk's ascendancy as the evil emperor of Earth, and in the election of the Orange Anus himself.  You can see it in the desperation of Christians who have embraced Orangey.  There is no benevolence in this party, only greed and selfishness.  The Republican party thought the NRA and the 2nd amendment would arm their party, what they've done instead is arm the American population, and at some point, out of fear for their own lives, Republicans will attempt to take those guns from the hands of Americans.  I suspect their fall will be swift, and probably painful.

   

Consequences

 Fog.  Yes, we have fog here in Central PA.  The temps are in the mid 40s (F), however, we do have fog... and warnings about the fog.  And drizzle.  We have drizzle as well.  The day is not supposed to clear, and tomorrow our forecasters are calling for rain.

Yesterday was slow at work.  I did sell a small job to a customer for a runner on a staircase.  Still, our department was close to making our daily plan.  The store, however?  Well, customers were lacking.  That meant that I got in over 10,000 steps.  

Other wise, the day was meh.  I didn't get a ride in.  I didn't do free weights.  I did work on the final chapter of The Body in History.  I already know there are going to be some changes, but my main goal is to get the first draft done.  The first draft is never the final draft.  Changes happen.  Trying to perfect it as though it were the final draft is a waste of time simply because you'll see all these things that you thought were perfection when you put them on the page suddenly need fixing.

Howie has a vet appointment at 0930 to get some booster shots.  Since his vet is half a mile from the store, he and I will visit.  Many people take their dogs into our store.  It's a great way to socialize them, in fact, a lot of the departments have biscuits to give as treats.  

I posted this on Facebook this morning.  I usually don't get a lot of likes when I post these.  I don't really care.

This will piss off conservatives.  They do hate the truth.  American has always relied on immigrants to get the work done, you know, those menial tasks no one really wants to do.  When you get rid of the immigrants, prices go up because no one wants to pick grapes for minimum wage.  You see, conservatives denigrate types of people to generate anger and hate, and then they use that anger and hate to win elections, unfortunately, their are always consequences, and they never think that far ahead.

Another example relates to the very soon to be folk hero who shot the CEO of United Healthcare.  Instead of realizing how angry America is with the pay for treatment healthcare system they have pushed upon the country, Conservatives are ignoring that problem completely and vilifying the young man, but then Conservatives have always been stupid, they have never considered consequences.  For example, in order to get gun owners to vote for them, they constantly pushed the rights of the 2nd Amendment.  Thanks to that constancy, America is basically armed to the teeth.  Authoritarian governments really don't want their citizens armed to the teeth.  Guns mean trouble if someone disagrees.  Conservatives are about to learn that it is going to take much more than just saying "shut up, we're in charge," and oh, so many of them are as spineless as the Orange Anus they just put into the presidency.

Empress of Earth

 Here it is, Monday, the temp is 39 (F) outside and the skies are overcast.  Rain is on the way.  Not much.  Still, autumn is usually a rainy season.  For those looking for a white Christmas, odds are rapidly stacking up against it happening, but then in this part of the country they are almost as rare as hen's teeth.  

Yesterday, the weather was wonderful, it was a terrible shame that I had to go to work.  The temps got up to 60 (F).  Howie and and I played frisbee before I had to leave, and for a moment, I thought I might call off.  But I didn't.  As a result, I wasted a super nice Sunday afternoon by sitting at the flooring desk.  On top of that, management cursed us by bringing in soft pretzel bite.  For those who don't know, a soft pretzel is a big doughy pretzel, and a soft pretzel bite looks like a little loaf of bread that's about as long as your forefinger.  In fact, a Lebanese who works in my department asked why they were serving us little loaves of bread.  Being a carb addict, I over consumes, so there's no stepping on the scale for me this morning.

My back is achy, so I took two Advil.  I was vaccinated for the flu, but there are several variations, so I'm hoping I'm not coming down with one of those that's not covered.  Of course, it could also be that I picked up Howie yesterday and I'm estimating he's up to around 40 pounds.  I'll find out tomorrow.  He needs to go back to the Vet for some booster shots.

One of the people I read is Stephen Beschloss, and this morning he was talking about how Cultists may have thought they were voting for a president, but in reality were voting for an oligarchy.  Cultists are not known for their intelligence.  Anyway, he used this picture, and while there isn't a caption, if there was one it would certainly be The Walking Dead meets the Terminator.

Elonia has definitely had quite a bit of work done.  At one time in his life he used to look like a balding doofus, now the scar tissue runs deep, and I wouldn't doubt that he's having the same procedures Michael Jackson used to make himself look... special.  As for the Orange Anus?  He's only going to grow more and more decrepit.  

Orangey was on Meet the Press yesterday, and... well... he did what he does so well:  Lie.  Though, there were those slim glimmers of honesty, like when he said he never promised to reduce prices.  All of those fools who voted for him because of this are in for one terrible surprise that is going to hit his them in the pocketbook super hard.  They're going to learn that he doesn't care if they starve.  Elonia doesn't care either.  I suspect that all Elonia wants is to be Empress of Earth.

Bashar Assad

Holy Moly!  Today's temps are predicted to go up into the low 50s (F).  That's exceedingly warm for this time of year.  They will, however, be dropping down into what is considered unseasonably warm for the rest of the week.  In this case, unseasonably warm means temps in the mid to upper 40s (F).  

I got a nice, 9 mile ride in on the bike yesterday.  I felt good afterward.  Today, rather than ride, I'm going to be doing my dumbbells and bands.  Upper body.  

Work was okay yesterday.  I sold a measure to a woman who is never going to purchase an install.  After living in their home for 9 years, they're moving and she's going to be in the cheapest carpet possible.  She'd been to our blue competitor and received a quote which she said was too high.  So, after picking out the cheapest carpet we install, and the cheapest padding, I did a quick manual estimate:  $3800.  She paid for the measure, then told me our competitor had been less expensive.  She showed me their quote: $3082 and then tapped our brochure where we claimed we would match prices.  So, I tapped the sentence under that stating the price matching would be for any comparable carpet.  The carpet she chose from us was $1.89 a square foot, and it's crap, plus the cheapest pad possible, .84 for a total of $2.78 a square foot.  The quote she showed me was $2.24 a square foot, padding a carpet combined, which means it's worse than crap.

This also happened yesterday.  Our fire sprinkler system developed a leak and we had to evacuate the building for about half an hour.  It was cold standing outside, and while interesting, not exciting.  This is evidently not the first time leaks have happened.

Bashar Assad has left the building.  Or, if you're to believe Russian media, he has left Syria.  Or, if you're to believe Adam Kinzinger, there is a very good likelihood that he was killed last night.  This is a serious blow to the Orange Anus' blow bro Vlad, since he's been backing Bashar (I hope he doesn't mind that I call him Bashar) with a military presence in Syria for over 7 years.  In fact, the Russian military has also left the building.  No doubt, they're on their way to the Ukraine where they will sacrifice themselves on the alter of Vlad Putin's ego.

In case you haven't noticed it, the Blow Bro Vlad is having problems all over the world.  His puppet regimes are falling apart everywhere.  Romania has annulled an election that would have bound their ties with Vlad because of Russian influence.  He's having to use North Korean troops in the Ukraine in attempt to keep the Russian death toll from reaching 1 million.  Wow!  His authoritarian government is getting flushed down the shitter fast.

 

The Tip of the Iceberg

 Well, is everybody having a happy Saturday morning?  Right now our skies are overcast here in Central PA, and the temp is either 30, 31, or 32 (all F) depending upon which weather app you're using.  Nice consistency, eh?  If you can't be specific, provide a range from which to choose.

Yesterday was a good day.  Much was accomplished.  Half a bag of potatoes was dried.  I cooked up a cup of barley, and while that doesn't sound like much, barley expands when you simmer it for 25 minutes, so that one cup easily turns into 2.5 cups.  That's easily enough for 4 breakfasts.  The aquarium in the living room had a thorough cleaning; filters need to be ordered since I'm on my last. I got a nice ride in a nice ride on the bike.  And I've started the last chapter of The Body in History, except for that teeny, little wrap up chapter I always end my books with.  It's the 45th chapter in the book, and it's called The Song of Apollo.  Now, ain't that nice.

Otherwise, the only notable thing to happen yesterday was Howie ripping off the small tail of his Crackle Chicken toy.  For some reason, that delighted him to no end, and he ran around the house with that little bit of fabric hanging out the corner of his mouth as if it was the greatest toy on earth.

And wasn't it interesting to find out how obtuse the health insurers are when it comes to how poorly the common man in the United States thinks of them.  If it isn't already there, this books is probably going to hit the #1 best seller list.

The police recovered 3 bullet casings after the United Healthcare CEO was shot to death, and written on each was a single word:  Delay.  Defend.  Depose.  The fact that so many people sent his family Republican Thoughts and Prayers says a lot, much more than the health insurance industry wanted to hear.  You see, for them, this is just a job.  Human pain and suffering do not enter the equation.  To get a good review in this industry, I'd be willing to bet that these Executives need to proved a total of $$$ they have saved the company by denying claims.  They do not go to the funerals for those who believe their insurance was going to help them survive.  And evidently United Healthcare was using a AI algorithm they knew was seriously flawed, that it was denying 90% of all claims.  I do not doubt their Executives were not concerned one wit about all the pain and suffering they were causing, rather I'm sure they were bantering among each as to how much money they were saving the company, and that the stockholders were going to be overjoyed.  Someone said that this shooting might well be the tip of the iceberg.  That may well be. 

Ugly

 Well, it's still cold out and we're still under a wind advisory.  Looking from my window, however, the branches of the river birch in my yard are barely moving.  Today the temps are not expected to make it out of the 30s (F), but starting tomorrow they are going to rise.  If the long range forecast is even close to being correct, we'll be warming up into the mid and upper 40s (F) by Sunday.  Rain, rather than snow, is also supposed to be on the way.

I did get a small leg workout in before going to work, this is new.  Before my bike was always my go to for legs, but I've added some dumbbell squats and lunges.  At my age, it's all about maintenance. \

Work was boring yesterday.  One customer showed up who wanted needed blinds designed.  There was a time when I would have enjoyed that, however about a year ago the large home improvement retailer I work for decided to change the software.  Prior to the change, if someone else sold a measure for blinds and you designed them, you'd get credit.  No more.  Now, an associate can spend 5 minutes with a customer and sell them a measure, and you can spend 2 hours designing their blinds, the associate who sold the measure gets all of the credit.  There is no longer any incentive to design blinds another specialist's customer.

Evidently associates were also told that according to corporate part-time hours were going to cut.  This usually happen after the New Years, never in December.  The store is actually making a lot of money.  On Black Friday we did almost half a million $$$.  So, this is really nothing more than corporate greed.  Prices are going to go up and hours are going to go down in all companies.  I suspect that pay increases will be lower to this year.  

And I think America is finally waking up to the fact that this man is a real problem.

He bought Trump for at least $250 million, not that Trump unwillingly sold himself into indentured servitude.  Orangey will have no problem kowtowing to the richest man in the world as long as he gets to stand besides him in pictures.  I've said this before, and I'll be saying it again, and again, and again.  Billionaires are not beneficent, in spite of what Conservatives want to believe.  Their own personal bottom line is the only one they are interested in, you and I do not exist.  Musk is false.  Even his face has been artificially constructed and built into the image above.  Where as Trump is a genius at the Con, Musk is not.  He was smart enough to purchase Tesla, a company built by other much smarter men, and has slowly been driving it into the ground.  I do not doubt that he bought Twitter in order to show the world his profundity and has, instead, proven that all his plastic surgery did was mask the fact that he's a selfish, incompetent brat with no integrity.  This man is Ugly, and he is going to attempt to assert his ugliness not only upon America, but upon the world as well.

Deny. Defend. Depose.

 It's snowing!  Sort of...    I guess I should say that snow is falling, however the temps are in the mid 30s (F) so it's melting on sidewalks, and streets, and all of those pavers in my backyard that I call my veranda.  Basically, we have a dusting.  That's it.  We're also under a high wind warning because there's a front moving through; today and tomorrow will be cold, but then temps will be warming up with highs in the high 40s (F) and low 50s (F).  

Yesterday turned out to be pretty meh.  I don't know if it was because the skies were overcast all day or not.  I finished off this weeks laundry and sliced up a bag of green peppers and put them in the dehydrator.  My house smelt greeny for most of the day.  I'm off tomorrow and I have a bag of potatoes, so I will probably slice those up and dry them for future use.  When the potatoes are done, I'm thinking of buying chicken and drying that.  Also, the 25 pound bag of barley arrived.  I work today, so while at the store, I'm going to pick up a 5 gallon food safe bucket and lid for storing it.  I suppose, in a way, you could say that I'm becoming a prepper of sorts.  Better safer than sorry.

And I went to see Wicked last night.  It is, as everybody is saying, very good, probably better than the stage show since the camera gives the audience close-ups.  There are some very touching moments in it.  Some people live for reviews, I don't, and knowing this was probably going to be a BIG movie purposely avoided anything and everything about it.  It was very good, and so apropos for our current times.  One of the few things I did see, was a comment by someone who said that it took him over 28 years after first seeing the Wizard of Oz to realize who the real villain was in the story.

And the United Healthcare CEO was shot to death yesterday in New York City.  The gun casings found at the scene had three words written on them:  Deny.  Defend.  Depose.  So, the shooter planned on shooting 3 times, a Holy number.  The CEO was shot in the back, which many may see as being symbolic of the way Healthcare in this country treats a majority of patients; their denial of a claim or procedure is just like shooting the patient in the back.  Shortly afterwards, the United Healthcare website removed the names of every one of its board members.  Right now, United Healthcare denies about 1/3 of all claims (32 %).  They are not going to change their policies because the company is focused on its own greed.  Conservatives are not going to do anything to try and change the way healthcare works in America, they, too, are totally focused on greed.  One can only wonder if Americans are waking up to the fact that billionaires are not now, nor have they every been, beneficent.  They have only been interested in making more money, not matter what the cost in human suffering.

The Grand Stupidity

 And we're starting off today with an outside temp of 23 (F) and, unfortunately, it's not supposed to get too much warmer, with a high barely climbing up into the mid 30s (F).  Drat!  Next week, however, if the forecast is correct, we should be in the mid 50s (F) for a day or two before we cool off.  Then, and again if the forecast is correct, our afternoon highs should be in the mid 40s (F).  Not warm, but getting there.

Yesterday was sort of a day of accomplishments.  I spent too much time rearranging the small appliances in the kitchen to make room for the dehydrator only to realize I was going to be using it periodically best.  There are certain foods I want to dry and store, but many I'll continue to buy, unless they go up in price too much.  So, after an initial period of use, it's going to be stored away.

I did have a cranky moment with Rosetta Stone.  Since I am anticipating going back to Greece, I've been learning the language slowly.  At one point, you could buy the full language course from Rosetta Stone, but that has changed and it's now a subscription service.  My 3 month subscription renewed a little over a month ago.  Well, yesterday when I went to sign in all I got was a spinning dial.  Their server was evidently down.  Irritated, I searched for "best online learning app for language," and found out that Rosetta had dropped from the number 1 service to number 3.  Ouch.  So I signed up with Pimsleur, it's less expensive, and when the Rosetta site becomes available, I will cancel my subscription.

Guess who's big enough to get up on the bed?  Shame he had to leave his pink octopus on the floor.

As the Orange Anus' second term approaches, holes are beginning to appear, as if we didn't know that was going to happen.  Even though those of us who are smart are preparing for the chaos to come, there are many who don't, and the sad laughs will be on them. Do not despair completely, there will be levity along the way, like Kash Patel being hacked by Iran.  This guy's a joke, and now Iran has all the dirty on him.  Blackmail him much?  Then there is the drunken wife and girlfriend beater Pete Hegseth.  You know it's bad when your own mother publicly calls you a scumbag, however, this is the sort of character reference the Orange Anus looks for in a candidate.  Gaetz and some other dude who's name is totally forgettable have already removed their names from consideration.  

There is this grand stupidity about the Republican party that will never change.  They will never overcome their inability to understand that they cannot bend reality to their will.  When I think of them, I quite often think of the Jeff Goldblum line from Jurassic Park:  "no  matter what mankind does, nature always finds a way."  No matter what the Orange Anus does, he will always lose.