Heat This

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

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

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

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

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

Barbie's Adventure!

 And the weekend is upon us!  I get to work (notice the lack of an exclamation mark).  It does pay for my movie going experience, as well as a lot of other things, so I suppose I really shouldn't complain.  And it's only 3 days a week.

Yesterday was warm, again in the low 90s (F), and there was the threat of a possible thunderstorm, which we got, but while there wasn't a lot of thunder and lightening, when it came to the rain this storm was on steroids.  The warnings went out for small stream flooding because we received 2 inches of rain in 45 minutes.  Yes, it was deluge time in Central PA.  Those raindrops were immense.

I drove over to PetSmart yesterday morning and picked up 3 snails.  Now that there are only angelfish in the big tank, I don't have to worry about them being eaten, and hopefully they'll work on eliminating a lot of the algae.  So far they seem to be quite at home gorging themselves until their little snail bellies are full, then they'll rest a bit, and then gorge some more.

And, of course, there was a major political controversy yesterday: Vietnam banned the Barbie movie! (notice the exclamation point!).  Seeing the potential of another dead horse to kick around, a number of Republicans, Ted Cruz included, jumped aboard the band wagon.  What's the to do all about?  Well, there's this small dotted line off the cost of Asia, notice that on the map is says Asia, not China, and evidently China has used 9 dots to indicate where their territorial waters end.  There are, if you'll count, only 8 dots here but, and I do hate repeating myself, Republicans, including Ted Cruz, need a dead horse to kick.  Isn't it sad how Republicans will do anything to waste America's tax dollars.

Finally, Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, gave Trump's legal team until July 13 to get the security clearances in place for his legal team to defend him over his theft of top secret documents.  This will cause delays, of course, all part of the plan, and all the while making it look like she's doing her job.  I can't wait until that Orange Anus is locked up.

Document This

 So, is Tuesday going to be drier than Monday?  I ask this because we had a whopper of a storm, almost 1.5 inches of rain at my house.  Not a lot of thunder and booming, but basically a torrential downpour that lasted for at least an hour.  My lawn will soon be a jungle.  

I have a survey scheduled for 1100 related to the CT scan I just had done on my lungs.  From what I was told when they called to set up the appointment, this might actually be the last thing I have to do since my lungs are clear.  Supposedly it's only going to take 15 minutes.  I will see if I can wrap it up in 5.

The owner of the house next door stopped by the flooring desk yesterday.  He was bragging that he paid $75K for the house next door and was going to sell it for $170.  I'm betting he gets a bit less than that.  Since he bought just about everything from the great Orange Retailer I work at, I pretty much know how much $$$ he put into the rehab.  How much?  He went cheap, cut corners.  They put down very inexpensive vinyl planks over flooring that's old enough to have been made with asbestos.  If hew gets that much, I'm going to feel bad for the new owners.

And I saw this on Twitter yesterday and had to laugh.

How appropriate.

I saw where the bimbo judge in charge of the Mar a Lago document case is doing her best to create havoc in her attempt to save Trump's orange ass.  She doesn't see why they need 84 witnesses, and she thinks their names should be released to the press, and... well, she is doing what Trump wants her to do.  The DOJ went over her head before and you can be sure they'll do it again.  One thing that stands out about Jack Smith, he is not naïve.   The DOJ knew full well she was probably going to be getting this case when they chose to indict the Orange Anus in Florida.  You can be they took into consideration how both dumb and loyal Aileen Cannon is to her benefactor.  Anyone who doesn't understand how prepared Smith is has got to be either stupid, or a Republican, or, more than likely, both.

The very petty Elon Musk

 Around here, Tuesday is garbage day.  This is also the day I put out my recycling.  All of those Chewy boxes are put out on the curb.  Because I live alone, I put my garbage and recycling out every 2 - 3 weeks.  Sadly, that does not drop my quarterly garbage and sewage bill.  When I moved here, that bill was $65 ever 3 months, now it 3 times that amount.  Families who line the curb with 3 or 4 garbage cans weekly are supposed to pay more.

The replacement part for my bar cart arrived yesterday.  Assembly will be completed this morning.  That means the laundry room will be one step closer to being completed.  I'm going to hold of installing the 2 folding doors until after Biggie's test expenses have been paid off.  I'm also going to be buying an area rug to put in front of the washer and dryer.  The vinyl click / lock floor I put down is nice, but static electricity on the surface has turned it into a horrendous dust magnate. 

Nine days until the shortest day of the year.  I cannot wait until the winter solstice has passed.

For those who are interested, I am on Twitter, mostly because I find it amusing.

While I can scroll through the comments on my PC, more often than not, I'm on my phone.  By now, everyone knows that the richest second richest man in the world purchased the social media platform for around $44 billion dollars.  As a result, chaos has erupted.  While Elon wants the world to think he's... well, possibly a genius, he's really on smart at certain things, like listening to his advisors.  Electric cars?  He was smart about that.  Going to Mars?  Well, he's done a lot of the space program.  With his purchase of Twitter, however, he's revealed his pettiness.  His release of the Twitter file?  Well, all of those boring little emails are not shaking the Twitterverse.  Only a handful crazy conservatives seem to care.  With every misstep he makes, his pettiness lashes out.  He wants recognition and a majority of Twitter users are calling him a dumbass.  Most are actually calling him worse.  

A little over 24 hours ago Dave Chappelle invited him up on stage and Musk was booed.  Loudly.  For almost ten minutes.  There are videos all over YouTube.  Those posted to Twitter were deleted.  Those posting the videos had their accounts shut down.  Petty Elon was pissed at his public humiliation.  Now only links are posted, no videos.  Of course, petty Elon was not finished.  Yesterday, Musk disbanded the Truth and Safety council.  Believe me, he will get worse as more and more people mock him.  Me?  I have accounts set up on both Tribal, and Mastodon, and am waiting my approval from POST.  In the meantime, whenever I pick up my phone and go on Twitter, I'm blocking advertisers.  If you're on Twitter do the same thing.  That hurts Elon more than anything.

And finally, a bit of a ho ho ho.  The Trump legal team appealed to judge Aileen Cannon on some sort of horseshit regarding the FBI and Mar a Lago and she declined to hear the argument saying it was out of her jurisdiction.  No doubt Cannon has been advised that her legal career might be expiring soon.

Newt Gingrich's Lament

 Well hello, Friday, my day off.  It's sunny here in Central PA, though cool, almost cold.  The temp when I first checked was a very chilly 25 (F).  There was frost on the car windows.  Winter is only 3 weeks away.  How cold will this year be?  It's anybody's guess.  Of course, the Climate Change nay sayers will call it hokum if the temps go really low.  They will never understand, mostly, I suspect because it's too complicated.

My little laundry room cart arrives today.  Truthfully, it's actually a bar cart.  Tall, almost 34 inches high, with a shelf made for bottles of booze detergents, dryer sheets, and sundry cleaning supplies.  It will have to be assembled; I don't mind.  My first load of the day (bed sheets) has just been moved from the washer to the dryer.  The washer uses between 12 and 14 gallons (roughly 48 litres), which is a big drop from the 25 + gallons my old washer used for each cycle.

Judge Aileen Cannon, the Trump appointee, got her comeuppance yesterday by the 11th Circuit when they said her ruling for a special master was shit.  Well, they didn't quite say it was shit, but their wording implied their total dismay with her for even making such a decision.  Could her impeachment be in the works?  There's a possibility.

Kanye, the dotard, has been kicked off of Twitter.  I haven't checked this morning to see how the Cracker Jack Crazies are taking it, but I suspect not too well.  You see, when their definition of freedom of speech means they can go hardline hate and incite violence without any repercussions.  I'm certain they're quite disappointed Elon has limits.

And Newt Gingrich has, as certain people say, the sadz.  He's lamenting... wait, that word's a bit weak, Newtie is whining that Joe Bide is far more successful than Republicans thought he'd be.  In an out turn of phrase, he compares Biden to both Eisenhower and Reagan. HOLY SHIT!  Newtie is upset because the tactics he developed to attack both Clinton and Obama are not working.  Biden is getting things accomplished, and he's doing so because Republicans are crossing the line.  Uncle Joe's agenda is popular with Americans, and when Republicans vote against it they look terrible.  Take yesterday, with the vote to avoid a rail strike Republicans did something good, but then they shit in their pants by voting to not give railroad workers sick pay.  They gave all of those MAGA railroad workers what they Republicans think they deserve: nothing.  And so Newt's lamenting.  He says they need to change their tactics, of course, that would mean they'd need to come up with an agenda to help the average American, not big business.  That ain't gonna happen any time soon.

Size 20 +

The end of September.  The month has past quickly, I think.  Time does seem to move faster as you grow older, but the past 4 weeks were gone in what seemed to be a finger snap.

Yesterday was interesting at work.  The renovation of the flooring department is... major.  So far, I'm not impressed.  Our desk is tiny.  There is no way one associate can design blinds for customers, while another keys in a flooring measure.  The desk was still in the process of being located into its final position.  Pictures tomorrow.

I started watching Andor last night on Disney.  It's okay.  Characters actually said 'bastard' and 'shit.'   There were 3 short episodes which were basically a introductory starter pack.  I will watch future episodes, though this isn't something that has be hanging on the edge of my seat.  Instead of watching each new episode weekly, I'll wait a couple of weeks.

Ian is going to hit South Carolina this afternoon.  For those of you in his path, persevere, his rains will pass.  He will be raining on Central PA tomorrow and Sunday.  With college football on TV on Saturday and Pro football teams playing Sunday, the store will most likely be slow.

Ginni testified before the Jan 6 committee yesterday.

For those of you who don't remember, she was going to set the record straight.  Well, it turns out that Ginni told the committee that she still believes the election was stolen.  She will never change her story.  She also told them she never discussed her political belief with Clarence.  Well, we all know that's horseshit, but then we all need to remember that Ginni's universe is, while seeming large, at least a size 20 +, in reality it is very small.

In fact, her universe is approximately the same size as that of Sammy Alito.  He just spoke his mind in a mini-tirade about the so-called integrity of the Supreme Court.  Sammy is upset that so many people are questioning the legitimacy of the court.  This is because in Sammy's mind, God is behind everything, including McConnell's decision sit on Merrick Garland's nomination, as well his his decision to throw out the filibuster in order to seat Amy Cony Bony.  In Sammy's universe, 1864 was a very good year.

And finally, for those who missed it, Judge Ailleen Cannon has decided that the Special Master her client, Donald Trump, wanted needs to be reigned in.  You see she thought Dearie was going to cozy in with her and the Trump defense team, and he didn't.  Since he didn't, she took matters into her own hands to create a delay.  She also decided that it wasn't really necessary for Trump to prove that the FBI planted the documents he claims to have declassified.  She is the essence of corruption.

Tasty

 Now, isn't this exciting, the weekend has arrived with all of its coolness, ie the temp outside was 52 (F) when I got up this morning.  In fact, looking at the long-range forecast, most nights the mercury will be dropping.  For those of you who don't know, that's a reference to when they used mercury in thermometers to tell the temperature.  Even those thermometers you put in your mouth.  That's right, before digital thermometers, we had to put thin, glass tubes into our mouths to see if we were running a fever, and, a long, long time ago, when I was a child, those thermometers had mercury inside them.  You know what I'm talking about, the heavy metal, shiny, very poisonous mercury.  Those were the dark ages of modern medicine.  During the time of Covid, the great orange retailer I work for gave all associates a digital thermometer.  I have no idea what I did with mine, probably threw it away.  Taking my temperature so many times a day was truly a pain.

I made homemade ice cream on Wednesday.  French Vanilla.  Or, as some say, Custard, since it's lots of eggs, sugar, and cream.  Believe me when I tell you, this stuff goes straight to your arteries.  Of course, if you've ever had homemade French Vanilla (Custard) ice cream, warnings are useless as it is tasty as Hell.

Of course, Ronnie DeSantis was trafficking in humans yesterday because he's a smart ass.  He sent them top Martha's Vinyard.  Ronnie is trying to make points with the MAGA base.  He was rewarded by seeing them shriek with joy.  They saw this as an attack on the liberals, especially those who live on Martha's Vinyard, like Alan Dershowitz.  Remember Al?  He's the screaming liberal who defended Trump during his 2nd impeachment.  And Al's not alone.  What those foolish MAGA brains fail to understand that Martha's Vinyard represents wealth more so than it does Liberalism.  But then Ronnie's more interested in making points with the MAGA base rather than making points with wealthy, conservative donors.

And Trump's personal judge Cannon appointed a Special Master.  By now, most Americans with a brain understand she's been bought and paid for by Trump.  While certain % of Republicans are happy with her decisions, many also realize she's doing more to damage their midterm chances.

 

This will not save Trump's ass

 What can I say, the weekend has finally arrived.  Today is supposed to be gloriously sunny (I work this afternoon), however tomorrow there is a 90% chance of rain (I work then, too).  They're forecasting the rain to continue into Tuesday, the first day of my mid-week weekend.  Next week I only work 3 days, that's fine with me.  This past week it was 4.  That's almost too much time to spend at the store.

I've been chatting with my brother about the house next door, advising him to disincline himself to purchase.  I get bad vibes.  Too many issues.  The new roof will cost between $20 to $25 thousand.  The big bugaboo is water damage.  Any time you have water involved; it is not a good thing.  Without ripping out the walls there is no telling where the leak might be.  Because water is involved, mold might also be part of the picture.  Mold remediation is very expensive.

And King Chuck has been formally announced.  I think I'll call him Chuck until he proves he's got the DNA of a Charles.  His mother was Elizabeth, never a Liz or a Beth.  Chuck, however, needs to earn his name.  Almost every article I've read has noted that he is not nearly as popular as his mom.  At 74 years of age, he has definitely had enough time to prove that he is not a 'people person.'  His sons are both much more popular, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people have started the timer, counting down the days until he passes, and William is crowned King.

I was walking through Petra yesterday:  2.70 miles averaging around 3.6 miles per hour.  It is so much bigger than people think.  Of course, most only know it from movies.  Believe it or not, this too is Petra.

Sometime, either before or after Bannon was indicted, he evidently said that "I have never laundered anything."  Looking at his pictures on the Internet, many find his comment not too surprising.

Oh, and speaking of Stevies, Steven Miller has been subpoenaed.  I believe he has already sat with the January 6 committee at least once, now, however; he'll have the chance to use the 5th amendment.  In fact, it seems as though both Stevies have had a very bad week.

And both the DOJ and Trump's turned in their lists of Special Masters.  One of the items Trump's team wants is for the Special Master to look at every single document.  This is how you define the intention to delay.  Trump believes that the Republicans will take back the house in November.  They won't.  He thinks that's going to save his ass.  It won't.  What will be interesting is this will help define how deep the collusion runs between Judge Cannon and Trump.

Yesterday

 Yesterday was a day for the history books.  I worked, of course, and there's nothing historical about that.  I dealt with a number of customers, and for many the passing of the Queen weighed little on their consideration.  Some Americans have a fascination with royalty, others do not. I, myself, will admit to getting a bit teary eyed when I saw the news flash.

While I was sorrowful, I must admit that my mind turned away from the passing of a great Head of State to her son, Charles, the new king of England, a man, to my mind, who has never been that popular.  His first wife, Princess Diana, was loved by multitudes and Charles was the one blamed for their divorce.  Cheating with Camilla, if I remember correctly.  And now, at 73, he has become the king.  Sadly, I do not doubt that the monarchy is in for some troubling times.

I thought this might be appropriate.

Of course, yesterday was also historic in that America had the chance to watch Stevie Bannon do the perp walk, in handcuffs, no less.  Honestly, I was a bit surprised when I saw how much money he had stolen from the Fund the Wall grift.  $15 million.  I actually laughed out loud when I heard him yell as they were taking him away, "you will never shut me up."  We'll have to wait and see what his fellow inmates say about that.

And the DOJ appealed judge Cannon's fumbled attempt to try and delay Trump's judgement.  Because she is way over her head and listening to Trump's attorneys, there is a good possibility she will deny this.  I suspect most arguments will be useless on her.  In the end, all she will have done is ruin whatever career she might have thought she had.

Max at 20

 So, the Labor Day weekend has ended.  In the 5 hours I worked, the store was had some very busy moments interspersed with nearly empty aisles.  Business trended higher when it was raining, and in case anyone is wondering, we did get rain.  At times torrential downpours made it difficult to see.  This morning I looked out my front window and saw that my lawn had turned from brown to green.

I watched the last 2 episodes of Locke and Key, season 1, last evening and thought the ending was a bit anticlimactic.  I then watched the premier episode of season 2.  Meh.  Most of the 49 minutes was used to explain the ending of season 1.  I've watched other series and this going back to rehash the previous season in order to set up the next season is not good.  The writers seemed to be stretching in the wrong directions to find continuity.  Maybe that's why this is the 3rd and final season.  Or it could be that a minor character in season 1 is now a villain, oh, and she apparently lost about 25 pounds during the filming hiatus and looks completely different.  Or it could be the uncle in season 1, turns out to be gay and is suddenly engaged to a black man who just so happens to be leaving the country to study in Japan.  Or it could be that main villain in season 1 is still around, but in a new face and body.  Oh, shit.

Anyway, I found 2 more pictures of Max Sullivan, the cat.  He lived to be 21, and I took these about a year before he died.  He shrank as he got older and reminded me so much of an old man.

And, of course, yesterday Ailleen Cannon sort of granted Trump's request for a Special Master.  The Dallas Morning News reported that she had said to one of her department attorney's that she didn't see any harm in it.  While not coming as a total surprise to the legal community, many were surprised she chose to take this path.  She is, as one Tristan Snell put it on Twitter, in way over her head, and that she put party over country.  Personally, I don't think she has an idea how doing this is putting fuel on the fire.  No one is suddenly going to feel sorry for Trump.  Quite the opposite.  Anger is continuing to grow at the MAGA claim of a stolen election, at Trump's lies, of his possible use of confidential documents for personal profit and power.  Everyday more people are finding themselves fed up with the Republican Party.  Will judge Cannon's decision do anything other than delay the inevitable?  Absolutely not.  There are too many other ongoing investigations.  No matter how hard they try, they will not be able to stop the clock.  How do I know this?  My brother, a devout Evangelical has quietly told my sister that if Trump were to somehow get nominated again, there is no way he would be able to vote for him.