Bluntness

I've also been told I have little tact, so if this offends you simply ride on.

Friday, April 3, 2026

The Not So Happy Reels

So, we have an overcast sky overhead, and drizzles are in the air.  Our temp is a chilly 42 (F).  We will be warming up today, with our afternoon temp reaching into the low to mid 70s (F).  Tomorrow will be warmer, but then the temps on the old thermometer are going to be dropping again.  In anticipation of the warmer temps to come, I've taken the woolen blanket off the bed and packed it away for next year.  

I di work yesterday.  Those 5 hours were bothersome.  Our store is hosting a Store Manager meeting to day for the manages of several districts.  That meant every one was supposed to be working to make the store look spiffy diffy for today.  While these managers will walk around, they will be much too busy talking on their phones to actually scrutinize our store.  The few breaks that they get will be spent dealing with the constant issues each store manager handles daily.

There was good news.  Our supervisor, who was not not too good at supervising, is being moved to another department starting Monday.  People are joking that the associates in her new department will soon be asking for transfers.  I'm sure she's disappointed since she's done all of the necessary training to get herself promoted.  That will never happen.  Her problem is that her idea of leadership involves constant criticism.  This is a big problem for a lot of wannabe managers and is why many of them get stuck on a lower rung of the ladder of success.

And, of course, yesterday Pam Bondi was removed from her post as Attorney General.  She will always be remembered for refusing to acknowledge some of a Epstein's victims.



Todd Blanche, the Assistant Attorney General is now the acting Attorney General.  Orangie will keep him as acting AG to avoid having him go through the nominating process.  The hard core cultists are upset.  They believe him to bee a RHINO.  

Other names are also supposedly on the chopping block including Nutlick Lutnick because he's jut not scum sucking cruel enough.  Even though he's a rotten apple, he's just not wormy enough for Orangie.

And Hegseth has gotten rid of so many high ranking military officials control of our military is on the point of foundering.  I understand this started off with his refusing to promote women and people of color.  This drunkard needs to go before he causes the deaths of thousands of young men and women in our military.

Finally, word is leaking out, as it always does, that some of Orangie's staunchest allies are seriously concerned about his only being shown the happy reels of his war with Iran.  These sycophants need to understand he only wants to see the happy reels and refuses to watch anything that proves he's made the worst mistake of his sorry life.








 ColumnPhilip Kennicott

Thursday, April 2, 2026

Tanks

There's a chilly day in store for Central PA.  Our outside temp is sitting at a moderate 51 (F) and if the forecasters are correct, we will only get around 5 degrees warmer.  Tomorrow, however, we return to summer... in April.  Highs for Friday and Saturday are expected to be in the mid80s (F).  That's too hot for this time of year.  The grass is growing, the trees are budding, and more than daffodils are in bloom.  Late June temps in very early April is not a good indicator for the approaching summer.

Much was done yesterday.  I feel good.  A decent workout was done in the morning and some cleaning.  The biggest accomplishment, or perhaps I should say partial accomplishment, was the the aquariums.  The bad tempered tiger barb has passed, so began the elimination of the large 50 gallon aquarium in the writing room.  All of the fish from the bigger tank have been moved.  The smaller 30 gallon tank got a better light.  About 20 gallons has been removed from the larger tank.  Draining it will take a bit.  I used a hose to fill it, but I will need to empty the water using a pitcher.  Then the gravel will have to be removed.  I'm going to spread that around the back yard.  The tank, itself, is made of  plexiglass; it weighs less than regular gas, but cost much more.  It will be recycled.

Here's what the smaller tank looks like so far.


One the big things that happened yesterday was the launching of the Artemis rocket.  Man is again going into space.  This time farther than we have ever gone before.  I'm truly excited about this!  There is a new space race on.  Will the Chinese land men on the moon before we do?  The only bad thing about it was that it happened under the current administration.  What is almost as amazing as the launch was that Orangie spit out a bunch of lies on TV last night and didn't take credit.  Everyone knows that his mind is slipping.  There was supposed to be some big announcement.  That never happened.  He just stood in front of the camera and lied.  Oh, wait, he did say that because of the war the country can not afford Medicare.  Oh, and I do understand that because of his speech S&P Futures on oil dropped as the cost of Brent Crude oil went up.  

I did see an interest note from CNN this morning, that in spite of main stream medias attempt to sane wash the Orange Anus, he is still one of the most despised humans in America.  

Finally, the GOP caved on funding DHS, though no money for ICE and the CBP.  Their are dying.


Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Fashion This

We have 65 (F) outside and light rain, in fact Howie got drizzled on because I didn't know the morning showers had started.  Thunderstorms are expected this afternoon.  Once the pass, we will have more seasonal temps with daily highs climbing into the mid to upper 50s (F).  Warmer days are on the way.

Yesterday was a good day.  In the morning, both my furnace and central air conditioner were serviced by Berkheimer HVAC.  This will now be a yearly occurrence.  Both units are fine.  The tech asked about bees since there were wood bees hovering around the front porch.  He's allergic.  I asked him if he had a pen with him, and he told me it was in his truck. I told him I get wood bees every year.  I spray, and then they're gone.  Howie was very good.  I used a tiny gate to keep him in the kitchen, and he just sits there and quietly watches.

I also got a 9.4 mile bike ride in on Achill Island, Ireland.  It was very nice.  I've ridden this route before, so I made it one of my favorites.  

Some time was also spent watching a Blender tutorial.  Blender is animation software that I can run on my laptop.  

And something truly odd is happening.  Back in January I went to check the mail and found a Wine Spectator magazine in my mailbox.  I can see by the label that someone must have signed me up for a subscription, since it expires in 12/26.  Yesterday I found a print copy of GQ in my mailbox.  At the top of the mailing label it says "Welcome to GQ."  If someone is gifting me subscriptions, they evidently don't know me to well.  While I will page through the Wine Spectator before putting it in the recycle bin, but GQ?  Fashion?  I don't even have enough curiosity to page through it once.


As many expected, the Orange Anus signed an Executive Order attempting to limit voting by mail, even though he votes by mail.  The administration wants a list of all registered voters so they can decide who exactly is eligible to vote.  This morning the Washington Post said it's "probably unconstitutional."  They used the word probably because Orangie gave Bezos that super tax break.  Orangie said he will defund the states that don't give him every voter's name.  Hhhm, makes one wonder what he's going to do if the states stop paying the Federal Government taxes.  

In fact, Orangie had a very bad day yesterday.  His ballroom was canceled, at least until Congress votes to build it.  As the judge said, Orangie "is the caretaker, not the owner."  Another judge said Orangie can't defund NPR and PBS.  And more European countries have said that the United States fly over their airspace to bomb Iran.  This pissed him off royally.  No matter how much he shrieks, they are not going to kiss his ass.

Just one more bit.  Because there is some serious dissatisfaction in Russia over so many things, Putin has decided to start shutting down sections of the Internet.  He's also actively shutting down VPNs because apparently many Russians use them to get around his propaganda machine.  Someone should tell him that's only going to exacerbate the situation.