The Worst People in the World

Our high today is predicted to be in the low 90s (F) with the sun blasting down from a cloudless sky.  Since I work, I don't really care, but I know there are plenty of sun bunnies out there who will be celebrating.  If the long range forecast is correct, our daily highs for the next 2 weeks will cruising along in the high 80s (F) to low 90s (F).  This is fine with me.  Our transition into summer is almost complete.

Yesterday was another day in which many things were accomplished.  Most importantly, I cut the dead branches out of the river birch tree at the side of my house.  Every time we have a windy day a number of them fall down.  Howie loves this.  He'll run around the yard with a 4 foot stick in his mouth.  I don't want him chewing them up, so now they're gone.  I don't think he'll be very unhappy.  He's a dog.  His retention span is on par with that of a 2 year-old.  

As I said, work is on my schedule for this afternoon.  Will it be busy?  I have no idea.  We are heading into vacation weather, so I guess we shall see.

When I go to the movies, it's always at the AMC in Camp Hill.  It's a 12 minute drive.  Occasionally AMC will send me surveys to fill out and, as a token of gratitude, they give me a coupon for free popcorn.  The last time I filled one out there was no coupon.  I was emailed a link for a survey because I went to see Backrooms.  When I clicked on it, I was informed that I'd already filled out that survey.  I guess the cost of popcorn must have, like every other price we're dealing with, gone up.

Since I was busy most of yesterday, did I mention I did finally get my haircut? I didn't have much time for looking at social media.  However, on one of the times I did take a little scroll this popped up in my feed.

As someone said, Orangie needed to make a mandatory appearance to prove that he was still alive and he wasted everybody's time by showing how big the reflecting pool would be if it was stood on end.  Oh, my God, what simpleton would be impressed to find out that the pool, if standing vertically, would be taller than the tallest skyscraper.  Pardon my language, but Holy Shit!  What yaya brain thought this was a good way to get him in front of the cameras?  I listened to a snippet and as many others pointed out, he sounded hoarse and tired.  And as someone else pointed out, he sat through the entire Q&A feeding speculation that he has problems standing.

You have to wonder whether what's going on is actually coming from him, or from the allies he's surrounded himself with, like Stevie Miller, and Todd Blanche?  He has surrounded himself with soulless people who celebrate their own evil.  They are truly the worst people in the world.

The Long Run

 Well, happy Sunday, slow day.  I don't work today, so it is almost truly going to be a day of rest... hey, who am I kidding.  Later this morning there will be a mowing of the lawn, and the loading of the washer (at least 3 times), and the emptying of the dryer.  I might even get a ride in, if I don't get bogged down.  Sundays are a good day for bogging down, in case you didn't know.

I was planning on watching the last episode of Star Trek's Strange Journeys last evening, but Paramount + needs an update and my TV was not being very receptive.  Instead, I watched the first episode of Moonhaven on AMC +, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Since AMC + is a subscription service, as is Paramount +, after the season finale of Star Trek, I'll probably drop the Paramount and subscribe to AMC.  Then, probably in December, I'll flip back, cancelling the subscription to AMC and resubscribing to Paramount.  There is no reason I should be paying for a service I'm not using.

For those who don't know, the Tour de France is cycling, and sprinting, and climbing through the French countryside.  During previous years I watched as many stages as possible.  This year?  Well, NBC Sports, which carries the race merged with its parent company and is now part of Peacock TV, the NBC subscription service.  Without cable, I can only subscribe to Peacock TV through my Xbox (Microsoft).   Well, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.  I don't want to have 3 different pieces of electronic gear turned on to watch one network.  Life needs to be more simple, less complicated.

As I was taking some garbage out this morning, I saw a black cat staring at me from the top of the hill behind my house.  I had a black cat named Kiki a long time ago.  Could this be her ghost?

There's a lot of chatter going on about Biden's age.  Is he too old?  I think so.  But then I also think Nancy Pelosi is too old, as is Diane Feinstein (way too old), and that moral degenerate Mitch McConnell.  Your brain, like your body, changes through the years.  Older brains are not as resilient.  I say this as someone who is as someone who is aging.  This does not mean I'm less creative, I do, however, think I'm directing my creativity much better than when I was younger.  I am quicker to ponder taking action rather than simply jumping into the fray. This is not a drawback in my personal life, however there is a great difference between managing my life and managing the country.  Older people tend to be more hardened in their ways, less open to compromise.  In case you haven't noticed, I am very opinionated.  Someone needs to tell Uncle Joe there is nothing wrong with being a transitional president.  He will be better accepted and respected in the long run.

Subtitle This

 So, I received my 2nd shingles vaccination yesterday.  My shoulder was a little stiff.  I also pulled the blankets tight around me while sleeping because I was cold.  And this morning?  I'm a bit tired, feeling like I should lay down and take a nap.  I may do that after this gets posted.

I use my Garmin Fenix Pro 6 to track my sleep.  This morning it said I had a fairly decent night's sleep.  It evidently missed the part at 0105 when the dogs needed to go potty.  We had a slow drizzle as I opened the door to let them out, but no sooner were they halfway across the veranda when the heavens opened.  Hell.  In 2 seconds it went from a light drizzle to a heavy downpour.  They were not happy.  While they love the drying off process, they detest getting rained on.  And I had to dry them thoroughly, the last thing I wanted was we dog on the bed.

There's a movie in store for tonight, however we're going to a different theater.  For some reason, AMC has started showing some of their movies with English subtitles.  Now, I don't mind subtitles when I'm watching a foreign film, but they are totally unnecessary when I speak the language.  AMC is doing this because of the tens of millions of deaf people who don't go to the movies because they can't hear well enough.  Translation: they're trying to get more ticket buyers in their seats.  What it will do is send people to the theaters where the open caption films aren't playing.  Tell me, how many people want to be distracted by subtitles during the latest Spiderman movie.  If you're not hearing impaired, do you really want to sit through this?

I follow Adam Kitzinger on Twitter, mostly because he understands that most conservatives are dumbasses, but also, now and then Adam is bit of a smartass, which is fine with me.  Take yesterday when he corrected an angry Trumper by telling him "It's Rino, not Rhino, there's no H."

Bitter Brained

 Another late sleep-in day because I'm off.   Not that I'm planning on lazing away the day, there's too many chores to get done.  Thunderstorms are forecast, which might alter the outside chores, but that's okay.  I don't have to go to work, which is great.

Yesterday, sales were slow.  My supervisor gave me my monthly report as well as my bi-annual review, which pretty much ended up being a half an hour chat with him telling me several times to "keep doing what you're doing."  He did ask about my future plans.  I had no problem telling him I was planning on going part-time, I just didn't give him a date.  They don't need to know that quite yet.

Here in Central PA, movies will be open fully on June 11.  I am so glad.  For the longest time, they have only been open on weekends and an extra day or two over holidays.  You know?  The days I always work.  We usually never go on weekends because of the crowds.  I suspect  AMC is going to make a killing at the Box Office.  People were wondering if the pandemic was going to completely alter attendance.  Nah.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it's up.  People are ready to get out.  Those who like movies are desperate to be sitting in front of a movie screen.  

And I've been riding the bike more.  Practically every day for 10 - 12 miles before going to work.  It is good.  

One of the funny things Liar #45 said during his speech to the North Carolina Republicans on Saturday referred to his previous speech at the West Point Graduation, the one where he walked feebly down the ramp.  On Saturday he said the ramp was 'like an ice skating rink,' and that he was worried it might be 'booby trapped.'  This shows how insipidly simply minded he really is, how badly the comments on social media really burned his ass.  He is bitter brained from here to Hell and back.  As if this is something we didn't already know.

Game This

 Even though I was scheduled to work in the paint department yesterday, I did end spending most of my time in flooring.  That's fine,  Business has slowed down somewhat, though not to the level where we see occasional customers.  I'm beginning to think this is because so many are now working from home.  When one of my neighbors worked from home, it was not unusual to see her out working in her garden wearing her little headset.  Most people tend to decorate their offices  or cubes, so why not redecorate their house?  The problem with that rationale is that it ignores the fact that home improvement costs can be rather prohibitive.  The simple answer for many is to simply charge it.

Anyway, in case of you haven't noticed both Gamestop and AMC have been turning Wall Street on its head.  These two organizations are not considered serious investments by a small percentage of wealthy investors.  However, many of these investors desperately want to get on board when a company's stock begins to rise.  With these two company's though, heavy investors will end up losing more then they earn since stock prices are fickle, going up and down almost by whimsy.  I do not doubt for a second that these day traders pushing these stocks are giving the 1% ulcers.  Good.

And, speaking of games, I did finally get around to undressing my Viking lad Eivor.  As you can see, he's blonde with a bit of scruffy beard.  Is it any wonder gaming is a multi-billion dollar industry?

I heard an associate at work yesterday complaining about all the Republicans who were changing their party affiliation.  You know there's some serious concern when your basic, average Republican begins to worry aloud.  Isn't it funny how the party's reaction is to wrap themselves even tighter around their beliefs.  They don't understand these are moderate Republicans who are fed up with the Idiot Jerk and his bullshit.  Some people will never learn.

And for those who think The Body in the Loch is only about murder:

Just call me Simple

 For many Americans, today's a holiday.  Labor Day.  They don't have to work, either from home or at the office.  To be honest, I didn't even realize today was a holiday.  I don't have to work either, though that's because this is the only day I have off in a string of 11 days   There's tons of shit I need to get done around the house.  Nope, no real holiday for me.  No relaxing.  The lawn needs mowing, new trim needs to be put around the new / old back door, my supermarket shopping needs to be done, and I want to get a ride in, right now I'm 18 miles ahead in my goal of riding 2500 miles this year.  Oh, and the Tour de France needs to be watched on TV.  Oh... and there's laundry.

I went to the movies last night.  Everything was super safe.  You needed to keep a mask on unless you were eating a snack or drinking a beverage.  Every other row was closed off.  There was hand sanitizer everywhere.  As we were leaving there were 2 associates waiting with a sprayer to go in and disinfect.  Personally, I felt far safer there then I do going to the store everyday where hundreds of strangers walk through the front door daily, no small number without masks... and touch everything.

And what film did I go see?  "Tenet."  Think time inversion.  The kid at the concession stand said "there are times when you really need to think."  That was an understatement.  A number of words are.. taped together to form a semi-cohesive thesis revolving around entropy.  Since most people know nothing about entropy, you might just was well say the film is about throwing cooked spaghetti against the wall and seeing how long it sticks.  As with Christopher Nolan's other 2 mind bending films, "Memento" and "Inception,"  the audience is there for the eye candy and the special effects.  No one is buying a ticket for a lesson in physics, it's a screenplay, remember?  Me?  Even though I liked it, I found parts confusing.  Of course, the only reason I bought my ticket was for a chance to go to the movies... and the special effects... and the eye candy.  Just call me simple.

Dispose this

Well, here it is... Thursday.  The sun is out.  The temp is supposed to get up to 33 (F) today and get up into the 40's tomorrow.  In fact, for the rest of the month temps are supposed to range in the upper 30's to mid 40's.  Could it be that winter is nearly over?  Did I just curse North America?  We shall see.
For those who don't know, there was another surprise Democratic win on Tuesday night.  Republicans are... stunned, to say the least.  I keep wondering how can anybody be as dense as the GOP.  But then, thinking back, I realize that they have always been dumb shits, every since Reagan's landslide re-election.  Anyway, from what I hear, they're on the verge of rolling their eyes in panic, still totally incapable of understanding that the vast majority of Americans don't like either them, or their policies.
And how's this for shits and giggles?  Movie theater owners are concerned about shrinking ticket sales.  That's right, fewer people went to the movies last year... in spite of an increase in ticket costs.  Am I like the only one in the world to see a correlation there?  Cost goes up, attendance goes down?  And it's not just the cost of admission - refreshment prices are through the roof.  My friend Patty no longer hits the concession stand, refusing to pay $10 for a small popcorn and beverage.  Pricing in outrageous, especially when you consider the actual cost of the popcorn was... oh, say 20 cents... maybe it's the bag that makes it sooooo expensive.
But then everything is going to get more expensive, thanks to that great Tax Overhaul.  We're all going to have a lot more disposable income... right?  Everybody and their brother has plans to tap into that new wealth, how little it may be.  If you don't believe that every retailer in this great USA wasn't busy calculating how much this tax break would allow them to raise there costs... well, then you're probably a Republican.  That's one of the reasons the stock market is going through the roof.  Every one is anticipating how much more money they can get you to spend.  Once prices go up, they are not going to go back down.  This is American Capitalism.
I, myself, am thinking of getting a new laptop.  The Samsung I have is at least 5 years old.  The key's pop off and the left CTRL key is missing.  I'm trying to convince myself it would make a nice, downstairs computer.  True, the disposable income this stinko tax bill is going to give me will not pay for a new laptop.  So, the question is:  should I buy it now or wait until everything goes up in price?