Be Flat

Can you believe it?  Our outside temp is 64 (F).  Not only is that good sleeping weather, it also means that today's high temp in the low 80s (F) is going to be simply marvelous.   After today, however, that daily high is going to start climbing and by this weekend it will once again be in the low to mid 90s (F).  Honestly, that's fine too.  We do need a break from the afternoon and evening thunderstorms.  We had a mosquito problem over the last couple of years and that issue is continuing this summer.  

Yesterday was a fairly good day.  Some cleaning was done.  Some writing was done.  I completed 6 in The Body in 4/4 Time, it's called B Flat. It's a musical pun on Be Flat.  Our daily lives are filled with ups and downs.  There are moments when we smile and moments when we frown; highs and lows are constant.  While there are some who wish these ups and downs would level out, the truth is that when things are flat there is virtually nothing.  How sad would that be?

I did buy and insect repellent yesterday but I need to use it with caution.  Howie finds the scent interesting.  He tried licking my leg and that simply can't happen.

He and I went on a search for Sven yesterday.  Sven is a gray, hard rubber toy shaped like a hedgehog.  Sven is one of Howie's most favorite toys and Sven decided to go missing.  He was eventually found hiding behind the large aquarium stand in the writing room.  This is Sven.

I saw someone jokingly said that Pammy Jo Bondi was going to open a Department of Justice investigation to find out if the Confederacy did, in fact, lose the Civil War.  This is sadly amusing because of the Orange Anus's name saturates the Epstein files, and he's and his minions are desperately trying to change the subject.  This is the reason Pammy Jo is revisiting, and Orangie, himself, are screeching about a 9 year old election.  Their hopes that this Harpy song will change the course of the conversation away form Epstein will only be justified by their hard core base.  Mikey Johnson's decision to hold off on a House vote for releasing the files until after their summer recess increases the damage Orangie is doing to himself.  They keep digging themselves deeper and deeper.  Their cries demanding things be flat are, in fact, shrieking sharply out of tune with what America wants.

Credit Dilemma

 By the time I left work yesterday the wind had picked up and was busy blowing away the warm weekend weather and leaving space for cooler temps to rush in, and rush they did.  When I got up this morning our temps were hovering in the mid 50s (F) and the skies are overcast.  The temps might make it up to 70 (F) if we're lucky, and the cloudy skies will remain as rain will be moving into the area for the next few days.  If the long range forecast is correct, our temps will not rise above 75 (F) for the next 2 weeks.  So, is summer going to be cool?   We shall have to wait and see.

The flooring department was busy yesterday.  Two big ticket installations were processed, one of which was mine for over $10,000.  Wowza!  My customer put that charge on 2 different credit cards, something I'd never do.   There was an actual sale going on when she was measured which would have reduced this cost by almost $1000, but she chose to wait, possibly because she knew she was going to be putting it on 2 separate cards.  I feel bad when I see people doing things like this since it tells me they're not balancing things well as they go through life.

My new printer arrives today.  I'm excited.  I'm going to be moving some things around in the writing room.

I gave Howie a walnut this morning.  He played with it for a long time but never ate it.  I also took a picture of him out walking by one of my Itoh peonies.  I'm glad he stayed red, I was concerned he might end up a yellow lab.

I watched a clip of Scottie Bessent on some talky show yesterday attempting to blow off America's downgrade by Moody's.  Scottie's not too happy.  The words he was spitting out didn't come close to matching the look on his face.  This downgrade happened on his watch and he knows in the end, unless we get an upgrade shortly, he will be blamed.  He's learning that you can not run the country as if it were a business.  Because of that downgrade the stock market is going to drop today.   This is the Republicans fault.  They are the reason the country is so deep in debt.  In a way, they're like my customer who wants that carpet so bad she's going to put the total cost on 2 credit cards.  Orangie wants a tax break, and so they're going to borrow more money in order to give it to him.

On Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis:  Prostate cancer is one of the most curable forms of cancer.  It is very slow moving.  For his cancer to have reached this stage, metastasizing and into his bones, quite likely he's known about it for quite some time.  In fact, this may be the real reason he dropped out of the presidential race.  It is a sad day.  He's given a lot for this country, and I feel bad that he has to suffer towards the end of his days.

The Supply Chain

 Well, it looks like we have a sunny Sunday in store for Central PA.  Temps to climb up into the mid 80s (F) with nary a cloud in sight, at least for the time being.  Yesterday was quite similar, until the clouds rolled in.  There was a tiny threat of a thunderstorm, but it passed without so much as a single drop falling.

Yesterday was one of those days.  Work was pretty much meh.  We might have made plan, though that's doubtful.  This past week has not been good.  I did learn that during Covid the orange retailer I work for began buying components for the products assembled in the US from a number of countries other than China, though still buy many from China.  This means we shouldn't have supply chain issues with more of our products.  That "most" however does not apply to our holiday merchandise, all of which has one country of origin: China, so Halloween and Christmas, if things continue, are going to be a bit bare.

A young boy came up to me yesterday and asked "does this store sell La Bubus?"  Never having heard of it, I told him no, and then searched to see what a La Bubu was.  It's a small, trendy doll that reminds me of the gnomes they used to sell when I was in high school.

And, when I left work I discovered that the left rear tire on my car was flat.  Well, hell's bells!  Since I haven't changed a tire in what?  50 years?  I had a young friend change it for me.  Back when I had the car inspected, I'd been told that I was going to need new tires if I wanted it to pass inspection again and the plan was to buy 4 new ones in June.  Well, that's been changed.  I'm getting the new tires on Tuesday.

I've started taking lots of pictures of my roses.  Here's one.

So, one of them any questions out there is:  will Walmart cave?  From the indicators I'm seeing, they're going to tell the Orange Anus to sit on it and rotate.  While his cultists might blame Walmart, many more Americans will blame Orangie.  This is a good thing.

Orangie also seems to be hitting the Lava Anger stage with the Supreme Court.  Their decisions are foiling his attempts at being a dictator and that's pisses him off.  I understand that he's threatening to relocate terrorists near their homes.  The John Robert's court is the reason we have this shit show.  They're the ones who granted him immunity last summer.  Some day we might find out what their reasoning was behind that bad decision.

And his threats are also being directed at ABC News; they keep bringing up that Qatari bribe and Orangie wants people to stop talking about it, or at least someone on his staff does.  Every time that plane gets mentioned he looks bad and with his approval rating continuing to sink, looking bad is not an option.

And finally, a lot of people are blaming Biden for Orangie's victory.  People want to put that infamous responsibility on one person and, unfortunately, Biden was the one who chose to run for a second term.  Because of that decision, there were no Democratic primaries.  That fact alone put Harris at a disadvantage.  Primaries are when the candidate goes from state to state introducing himself to the American people.  Without the primaries, Harris had to waste valuable campaign time doing that very thing.  There are a number of reasons why we have what we have today in the United States, but Biden's choosing to not be a caretaker president is a big one.

Molar

 The forecasters lied, the temps did not rise above freezing yesterday.  They didn't say they were wrong, but they are predicting that we will crack the 32 degree mark today.  I'm debating whether I should hold my breath or not.  

Today is the last of my 4 day mini-vacation.  While I enjoyed it, I will also admit to looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.  I'm not one to sit around, however with the temps as cold as they've been, that's how I spent the time.  Sure, I worked on the book, and watched TV, but I get bored quickly.  Besides, it's slow at work and I can get my 7500 daily steps in.

I'm almost halfway through the final draft of The Body in History.  I haven't reached that point where I'm ready to be done with it, but I know that it's approaching.  I know this because I'm already starting to think about the next on.  The title is already set, so I suppose that will give everybody a clue as to what it will probably be about.  I like it.  The Body in 4/4 Time is snazzy, eh?

Yesterday was one of those days where things sort of got accomplished... sort of.  I did get a bike ride in.  I was pleased with that.  I made a Shrimp Lo Mein for dinner and it was tasty.  Otherwise, it was pretty much the same old, same old.  If the weather was warmer, I'd take Howie for a walk.  But 27 (F) is just too cold.  He did lose a tooth in a rather amusing way.  We were playing fetch with a ball and he dropped it on the floor in front of me, look down at it, and then this tooth fell out of his mouth.  It's a molar.

And, of course, the Orange Anus gets sentenced today.  He went to the Supreme Court to try and get it thrown out and they rejected his plea.  I was more interested in the way the justices voted and, as I expected, the decision was close with the Alito, Brown, Kavanaugh, and Gorsuch being the cultists in the group.  If you didn't know they were going to vote this way, I've got some land in Florida you might be interested in buying.  

I was surprised to see that a lot of Americans view Biden's term unfavorably.  He has accomplished a lot, I do believe, however, that it is his age that gets in the way when it comes to people understanding what he's done.  My biggest problem with him is that he refused to accept that he was a caretaker president.  He is old, and unfortunately, his team did an excellent job of hiding his shortcomings.  Had he done like Lyndon B. Johnson and announced that he was not going to try for a second term, I'm fairly certain we would not be in out current situation.  This is a terrible way to learn from his mistake.

Cry Harder

 So, here it is, Tuesday.  I don't work.  I'm happy.  It's a bit on the nippy side, with temps in the mid 20s (F), though they're expected to rise into the mid 40s (F).  For the next three days we are under a snow flurry warning.  That's right, no snow is expected, but flurries can swirl around us at any time.  Wow.

I did work yesterday and it was pretty meh, except for a couple who want a backsplash installed.  Wait, that's wrong, they want us to design a backsplash.  I had talked to them a while back and he had explained to me that they want back splash for two sections of countertop, but behind their stove they want a different type of tile with a special tile border.  I told him we don't do that, we do not design.  So, he went to another associate who told him the same thing, but went ahead a set up a measure because the customer wanted to be measured.  Yesterday this customer showed up with a list of different types of tiles expecting me to put each one into a graphic display so he and his wife could see what they looked like.  Once again, I told him we do not have that capability, that we are not designers.  What he's trying to do is get us to design a backsplash for him on the cheap, rather than pay the $$$ to a designer.  It is not going to happen.  

With all the backlash regarding Biden's pardoning his son, I have to tell you, this is how I'm feeling.

For those who haven't realized it yet, the biggest problem with the American people is that most of them are simply dumb.  The number of anti-vaxers grows because they have not experienced a measles epidemic, have not dealt with the fact that the kid down the street died of measles, or chicken pox, or mumps.  The last time there was a bad outbreak of one of those "childhood diseases" in which children died was back in the late 1940s.  So, of course they don't understand the benefit of vaccines.

Because Americans have never had to deal with an authoritative regime, their patently ignorant.  Too many of them feel they are so far removed, are so caught up in their own tiny little worlds, they do not understand how such a government will easily ruin their lives.  We are a very dumb people.  Too many are enamored with influencers they cannot tell the difference between honesty and deceit. They prefer non-thinking to reasoning, because thinking hurts their brains.

Justin Trudeau flew down to Mar a Lago unexpectedly thinking he might talk to the Orange Anus about tariffs, and how terrible they would be.  He found out Orangey has absolutely no idea how tariffs actually work.  I would have thought that Justin would have realized by now that for Orangey will never admit to ignorance.  He is never wrong.  He's also dumb as a fucking brick. It's my understanding that Trump, as well as those at the the table, thought Justin amusing.  Hopefully, Justin has now realized that the only way to deal with Orangey is to take a page from Claudia Sheinbaum's playbook.

The Innocence of Howie

 In Central PA, the temps are a cool 43 (F).  The sun is shining so brightly in through the windows I had to adjust the curtains.  They're predicting rain tomorrow and we need it.  Right now we're under a fire watch, with an "elevated chance" that wild fires will spread.  This is not a good thing.

Yesterday I celebrated my birthday by doing practically nothing.  Oh, I did clean the aquarium in the front room.  I spent a lot of time outside with Howie since the weather was nice.  No, I didn't eat either cake or ice cream, in fact, I didn't think about it until I was talking to my sister on the phone.  By that time, I had no desire to run out to my local Giant supermarket to buy some.  I'll wait until Howie's bigger and and he can appreciate the treat.

Today is another work day.  It doesn't really bother me, it's only 5 hours, and they pay me well enough that I can now keep Howie in toys.  They are necessary to keep him entertained.  Toys and chew sticks.  

A long time ago, Seig and Lily destroyed most of my lawn in the backyard, dog urine can be so devastating, so I covered a lot of it with pea gravel.  It looks nice and is better than dirt.  Now, however, Howie likes to chew on the small stones.  That's not a good thing.  So, I'm going to go to work a little early today and pick up a couple of bags of top soil.  While Howie still squats, it won't be long before he starts shooting.  Here's a pic where he looks so innocent... just before he attacks.

I find it interesting how Biden could go from the greatest American hero, to the villain in this past election.  Originally, he said he was going to be a one term president, and then he decided to try for a second term.  That was probably a big mistake.  I know a number of people who feel the Democrats would have faired much better had they gone through a series of primaries, a selection process rather than just having Harris thrust upon the party.  Don't get me wrong, I liked Harris and felt that she would have made a great president, however, there were quite a number who felt the administration sort of... well, thwarted Democracy.  Either way, it's too late now.  As the Harris campaign said, "we're not going back."

One thing I did find concerning yesterday was that Musk sat in on Trump's call with Zelensky. Musk donated millions, in one way or another, to the Trump campaign.  It also came out that he and Putin had numerous phone calls.  If it's true, as some suspect, that Putin had dirt of Trump, than I'm positive that dirt has been passed on to Musk, which leads me to wonder if, perhaps, Musk has bought himself a president.  If that's the case, the one year of hardship Musk was warning us about is going to be very hard indeed.  The richest man in the world likes to buy companies (countries?) that are successful, unfortunately he likes to interfere and then things go downhill.  Tesla was good, but now not so successful, and Musk's interference with Zitter has turned the social media website into money losing venture.

Carping From the Sidelines

 Yesterday was a somewhat decent day all around, even though the temps crested in the mid 90s (F).  There was again the possibility of thunderstorms that materialized elsewhere in Central PA, but not over my house.    The same forecast is in effect for today.  And tomorrow.  Sunday?  It seems as if they're calling for more substantial rains.

As I said, yesterday was a good day all around.  I got in an early 3 miles at Adams Ricci before things began to swelter.  All of the dog walkers have switched to earlier times as well.  There was a woman with a Staffie who simply had to sniff every tree and lamppost. 

I also finished all but one load of laundry, that's in the washer now.

Any windows are getting installed today.  I got a text from Aspen telling me that I'd been sent an email, but it never arrived, and it wasn't in my spam, so I don't know exactly when they'll be arriving this morning.  Probably not before 8.  While the installers are here, I'm planning on spending a bit of time on The Body in History.  I didn't write anything yesterday.  Boo.  Hiss.

Isn't it amazing how the Paris Olympics are continuing to garner praise, the oohs and ahhs never seem to stop, and it's not just the venues: beach volley ball in front of the Eiffel Tower, fencing in the Grand Palais, but the Olympians themselves.  I'm so glad to see the French winning so many gold medals.  I find these games simply amazing.  I'm sure the gods would be proud.

And, of course, there was a prisoner swap yesterday.  Big, big news for Democrats.  The Republicans were left to live with videos of Trump saying none of the prisoners would be coming home until after he was elected.  Those did not age well.  And, as the WaPo said, "he was left to carp from the sidelines."  Now isn't that a great statement:  "carp from the sidelines."  I wish I'd have thought of that.  

And, of course, there were the obligatory videos and pics of the prisoners deplaning, and Biden and Harris welcoming them, and all the while you could hear the Republicans carping from the sidelines.  Maybe they're wondering just what they did to piss of God, for this makes them look bad.

Interestingly, the negotiations began a year ago, right after Russia invaded the Ukraine.  I'm wondering if Putin didn't realize back then that this was not going to be a 3 day war.  Quite a number of people are thinking that this swap is a good indicator that he's most likely ready to bring that Russian mistake to a close, probably much sooner than later.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if negotiations began some time ago, when he realized things were not going as planned.  I'm wondering if he hasn't spent the last 2 years basically carping from the sidelines because now he looks bad.

When They Go Low, We Open the Gates of Hell

 The temps began climbing yesterday and today we're supposed to top out in the mid 90s (F).  Tomorrow, however, on my day off, we're supposed to have rain... or showers... or possibly thundershowers.  There's nothing too specific in the forecast, just that we're supposed to have rain.

Yesterday I had an issue with one of our managers.  It was the last of a installation promotion we were running and a couple came in to pay for their carpet.  The program has been glitchie in our system since day one, so we've always done markdowns.  This manager, who has never had to deal with this, decided to complicate matters.  He wanted to know where the discount was coming from, and he was talking about calling IT.  All the time he was throwing up roadblocks to providing good customer service, the customers were standing there listening.  When all was said and done, and the customers got their due discount, they came back to the flooring desk and thanked me.  I will say something to the Specialty manager this morning about this problem.

Otherwise yesterday was pretty meh.  I worked on the book a little.

I'm working my way through volume 2 of Three Body Problem, which is almost 500 pages long.  While I write mostly in dialog, with conversation moving the story forward, this is mostly narration that includes a lot of social commentary.  In my mind, that bogs things down.  Why describe it when you can just say it?  And while I'll have 3 and 4 people involved in a conversation, Cixin Liu, the author, rarely has more than 2.  That seems to narrow the perspective so much, or perhaps it might be that I feel more comfortable writing discussions with differing viewpoints.

This is amusing.

Remember when Michelle Obama said "when they go low, we go high?"  Well, I saw something this weekend which makes even more sense to me, in fact I'm surprised no one has ever thought of it before.  "When they go low, we open the gates of Hell."  There, doesn't that sound so much better?  And I don't think it will be that difficult.  I mean, the open mouth of Hell is simply waiting to chomp down on a tasty Republican, or maybe 4 or 5 chewy Christians, they're a bit gooey, so a conservative toothpick might be in order before it gets tossed into the fire.

And Donny Dipshit, as Jeff Tiedrich calls him, posted a single all-cap sentence on his platform of corruption, Truth Social:  I AM NOT WEIRD.    Who is he talking to?  His cultists?  Those weird people who are just like him?

Finally, prepare yourselves, Biden has just announced future plans for the Supreme Court:  18 year term limits, and specific rules to deal with bribery and corruption.  The Federalists hate this, so you will hear a lot of shrieking, and moaning, and gnashing of teeth from Republicans.   He also wants a constitutional amendment to eliminate their immunity ruling.  Crimeny, this will be the conservative death knell. 

Democrats Play the Republicans

 Yesterday, the weathermen lied.  We had a hot one: 98 (F), that's about 10 degrees warmer than they were predicting, and, silly me, I turned off the central air thinking it shouldn't be that warm in the house when I got home from work.  Wrong.  Not that it took that long to cool the place down, it was just such a shock walking through the front door into an oven.

And work was steady, not that a I got any measures.  The customers with the sample issue from Saturday came in, they'd gotten measured and were so pleased with the quote they're upgrading their carpet to something more expensive.  This is how Karma works, you go out of your way a little, and Karma balances that extra step.  They'll probably buy on Wednesday.  That's nice.  It's a $3500 sale.

Other than that my day was pretty much meh... 

Except for one little thing.

I got my first newsflash from The Guardian and the rest of Main Stream Media slowly followed.  As soon as I heard the first announcement a feeling of elation gathered around me like a bouquet of flowers.  I knew this decision was coming, I just didn't know when, just as I knew it was, and is roiling the Republican party to it's very core.  Their problem is that they are now stuck with a 78 year-old felon as their candidate, the oldest candidate in American history.  That problem is compounded by the fact that so many Americans simply can't stomach Donald Trump.  He is the Orange Anus... with hemorrhoids.  

When I had breakfast with my brother, we talked about Biden stepping down and he asked me if I thought this had been in the works since January.  I told him I didn't know.  I do believe that in spite of everything that's been talked about on the news we were never really told the what was actually going on.  The fact that Biden did so poorly at his the debate had me wondering, was that planned?  It was definitely a Kickstarter for what happened yesterday.  Did the Democrats play the Republicans?  I'd like to think so.

And the Republicans are shitting bricks, almost literally.  In their playbook, Biden was going to stay in the race and lose.  Now they're going to be dealing with someone younger, that's already a mark against them.  Trump has already said the next 2 debates are in jeopardy; he clearly doesn't want to go up against someone who might call him out.  I hope the Democrat's candidate is Harris.  I want her to force Trump to debate her, a black woman, and then humiliate him in public.  This is Karma, too.  If you've been paying attention to the Republican party for any length of time, you've realized that they are all voice and no spine.

Main Stream Media

 It's Sunday, the temp is 68 (F) and, again, it's predicted to climb into the mid to upper 80s (F).  The skies are supposed to be partly cloudy, though there is not going to be any hint of rain.  That might show up tomorrow, which is going to be a replay of today, except with more humidity.

I do get to work today.  I worked yesterday.  I have a pair of customers whom might be difficult.  Usually, when a customer sets up a measure they're allowed to order 3 free carpet samples.  Well, they ordered one sample when the paid for their measure and then showed up yesterday to order 2 more free samples. The system wouldn't let me order them.  I got an error saying their measure number had already been used. Not everyone who orders multiple samples makes a quick decision because not everyone is happy with their original choice.  I'm thinking the large, orange home improvement retailer I work for changed the ordering process.   The customers called last evening before I left and were quite upset they hadn't received an email letting them know their samples had been ordered.  He was rather adamant about how they needed these 2 more samples before they could make a decision. I explained the situation.  He was not happy.  So, this morning when I get to work, I'm going to set up a fake measure in order to get a measure number, and order them their other two samples, and then tomorrow, or Thursday, I'll cancel the measure.  

I also got into an argument with a fellow associate that started with his telling me something he'd heard on Fox (notice, I've dropped the News).  My dander went up and I said things... but it's Fox, the joke of Main Stream Media.  The fact that people who are supposed to have brains still watch tabloid entertainment and think that it's news.  Remember this?

And for those who haven't noticed, there seems to be a big problem with Main Stream Media, and it's not that they're putting out fake news, as much as that they're not covering the news the way they used to; these days they're focused on how often their website gets hits.  Instead of reporting the news, they seem to be creating drama especially around Biden.  Though let's be honest, part of my complaint is that the reports of Biden's mental status seem to be constant, and I truly wish that subject wasn't their bread and butter.  However, when the Lincoln Project says that the administration has been deceitful about Uncle Joe's capabilities, you need to wonder.  I do really hope he's not being a stubborn old man.  If that's the case, then the MSM has been doing their job, we just don't like it.

Trump Fakes an Injury

The weather was beautiful yesterday!  Today we're going to have a repeat!  Nice.  Sunny.  Low humidity.  Right now, the outside temp is 66 (F) The temps are predicted to hover in the mid 80s (F).  Now, how's that for a perfect summer day.

I had breakfast with my brother yesterday.  He was recently laid off.  That's not a good thing to happen to you when you're 60, and I don't know if he understand the implications of that yet.  Even though laws have been passed to eliminate age description, I can tell you that unless a company is actively higher upper middle-aged people, they're most likely ignoring the laws, especially if they're a conservative company.

After that heavy, heavy breakfast, I got a 2.4 mile walk in at Adams - Ricci.  I took my camera so I get more familiar with using it, and to see what if felt like hanging around my neck by the strap.  I'm planning on using it for most of the pictures in Greece, though the phone is going to be used for taking selfies.  That's something I'm not really looking forward to; I've never been one to plant my face all over the place.

Later in the afternoon, I also went for a 13 mile bike ride.  

All in all, yesterday was highly productive.  I love days like that.

And, of course, last night the Spawn of Satan accepted the Republican nomination for president wearing a teabag.

Republicans simply do not understand how stupid that looks.  I searched for images of a grazing wound caused by a rifle similar to an AR-15.  The velocity of that bullet even grazing the tip of his ear would have torn off skin and cartilage.  If Trump had been grazed, much of his ear would be gone.  Also keep in mind, this is Trump, had a bullet done physical damage graphic pictures of his injuries would be front page news.  As I said before, he, no doubt under the supervision of Putin, is tea bagging America.  He has never been anything more than a two-bit con artist, a liar from the day he was born.  And from what I've seen, all he did was repeat one of his rally speeches.  

And it does sound a lot like Biden is being convinced to drop out of the race.  I feel bad for the man.  I've been a loyal Democrat for decades.  Still, he needs to do what's best for the country.  He needs to insure that Democracy not only survives, but thrives, and if that means getting out of the race, then that's what he as to do.  Let's be honest, he's done an outstanding job.  He can still be a revered older statesman and still wield a lot of power.  It's better to resign yourself to being a sage, than to go down a loser.

The Ticket

Yesterday was hot, but not as stinkin' hot as it has been.  We did get passing storms, lots of rain for about 5 minutes.  No thunder and lightening.   The temperatures did drop afterwards.  That was nice.  Of course, when I got up this morning around 0515 the low was 73 (F).  This means the day is probably going to be warmer than the forecast.

Work was meh yesterday.  I sold some carpet to a senior woman.  She's putting it in her large bedroom which isn't finished yet.  I said they should probably wait to purchase until the contractor was finished  and that got shot down fast.  She wanted to take advantage of 10% markdown which ended yesterday.  This means the installer is going to have to warehouse her carpet until she's ready for the install.  Of course, for that great, orange home improvement retailer I work for, it's all about making the sale, impositioning the installer should have no bearing on the sale.

Emmy award nominations were announced yesterday.  Shogun got quite a few.  I enjoyed that show, however, all of the acting nominations went to Asians.  While there's nothing wrong with that, I feel bad for Cosmo Jarvis, if it weren't for his British navigator there would be no story.

For those who haven't been paying attention, the RNC is still going on.  Last night JD Vance spoke, tonight will belong to the Moral Degenerate.  The big question will he show up with another tea bag taped to his ear?  That would be par for the course since this entire charade is just another chance for the Republicans to teabag America.

Can we speak about ironies?  Yesterday, while scanning through my phone to waste time at work, I came across an article with the headline "Biden might consider dropping out of race if a medical condition deemed it necessary," or something to that effect.  And then news comes out that he has been diagnosed with a mild case of Covid, a disease that is still a killer.  Then this morning I read that he is apparently more amenable to dropping out of the race... after a chat with Schumer and Jeffries. I feel bad for him.  No one wants to be a one term president, even if he did help the economy and the country begin to heal from the trauma caused by Trump.  In spite of what he wants, I do suspect that he will soon remove his hat from the race.  That would pretty much make Kamala the nominee.  I do believe that a Harris / Buttigieg ticket would be unstoppable. 

Worthless

 So, I stayed up a little later and so slept a little later.  The outside temp was 68 (F) when I woke up.  That's nice.  Today's supposed to be cooler, low to mid 80s (F) and I can deal with that.  Sunday, however, the heat will be returning for a few days.  There's no getting around the fact that it is summer.  Possible rain is also in the forecast.  That would be nice.

When I got to work yesterday, one of my fellow associates told me that one of my measures had sold.  That gives me over $3000 in sales for the week.  However, later on, before I left for the day, I went in to check the order and the wrong product was attached.  It looked to me as the someone from Home Depot Measurement Services went in and changed the product.  Rather than call the customer, I first sent an email to the associate who sold the order, copying one of our Customer Order Specialists to see if the customer had originated this change.  The last thing I wanted to do was call the customer.  If this change was done by one of our associates, it would make us look like big douches.  And if it was a mistake, this might also let us fix it without the customer knowing about it.

I finished watching Lockwood and Co. on Netflix last night.  It was... not bad, a little too predictable in the last 2 episodes.  Perhaps if what they were looking for was the most evil thing ever created I might have enjoyed it better.  The minute an older character befriended a younger character I said to myself, well, I know where this is going.  And I was right.  The first 2/3 are really good, it's just in the last third that the stereotypical ending takes over.  When I copied the trailer link, I saw that the series was canceled after only 1 season because viewership declined.  I don't doubt for a second that it was the last 2 episodes that killed this series.

For those who haven't heard, AT&T was hacked in 2022... and we're just finding out about it now.  Personally, I believe they should lose that great tax break given to them by the Orange Anus.

And Biden gave a one hour press conference last evening.  I actually watched a snippet, the bit were he said Vice President Trump, then I turned it off.  There is no denying he is an old man.  Will he withdraw from the race?  Probably not.  Will he be getting my vote?  Of course.  I want to be able to complain like hell if he loses, which I don't think will happen.  Voting also gives me the right piss and moan if, during his second term, he does something I don't like.  If I don't vote, then my opinion is mute.  Back when I first started working as a Flooring Specialist, I worked with a bald gent who had very strong liberal opinions.  One day, while were cutting carpet for a customer, he told me he and his wife never voted, they just didn't see any point in it.  Being the outspoken person I am, I immediately told him that since he didn't vote, his opinions were worthless, that they had no merit.  America doesn't need armchair voters, those constant complainers who fail to see the need for participation.  Their loud voices too often have little or no value.

Furniture

 The heat dome has cracked... at least for a few days.  The prediction today is for our temps to only climb into the mid 80s (F), which will be nice.  By next week, we're supposed to be in the slow cooker.  One thing I have noticed, and this is probably because I am getting older, is that I don't seem to be minding the heat.  The Central Air is set at 74 and there are times when I'm downstairs playing a game, or writing when I think that's a bit cool.  And the truth is that I am getting older.

Yesterday was one of those sleepy days, not that I spent the entire day napping.  I got in an 11 mile ride on the bike and tossed around my dumbbells for a bit.  The kitchen floor was swept and mopped, and the kitchen cabinets got a good cleaning.  In fact, I spent a lot less time on Threads than I usually do.  My Twitter account was shut down a while back.  

My new kitchen scale arrived.  It just weighs the food.  I'm not nearly anal enough to buy one that provides nutritional value as well.  

I also placed the order for my chair.  It's costing a pretty penny, as they say, though I doubt very much if anybody still uses pennies.  It should be arriving in 10 - 12 weeks, or week or two after I get back from Greece.  Interior Define is the company making it.  Furniture makers; I never thought I'd be using them so frequently.  Anyway, here's what it should look like, though hopefully, the color will be less green and more brown.  The swatch is a dark tan.

And Democrats are in a bit of a bind; our presumed presidential candidate is 81 years old and quite a few people think that's too old to be president.  Does it matter?  For someone who's been advocating age limits for members of Congress, the answer is yes.  You can go to old wise men for advice, but I don't think one of them should be running the country.  Even though I'd hoped he would have realized that he was a one term, caretaker president after the Orange Anus left office, I also always suspected he run for a 2nd term.  I do believe he and his advisors thought it would be a much smoother ride.  I also think the plan was, after he was sworn in for a 2nd term, he'd resign and the country would have almost 4 years of Kamal, setting her up to run for re-election.  He has a live interview with Lester Holt on Monday.  No matter how well he does, the Republicans are going to hammer him on his age, not that this is really going to matter. People's minds have already been made up.  They are either going to vote for good or evil, Democracy or dictatorship.  We already know that turn-out for the Republicans has already been damaged by the Anti-Trumpers, this means Democrats need to show up at the polls in force.  As Bob says, "Vote Blue."

Main Stream Media's Failure

 The temp was 76 (F) this morning when I woke up.  When I checked out the forecast for today there was one word:  Toasty!  That being said, the drapes are pulled in my upstairs windows.  Remember, my upstairs windows are very old, quite possibly the original windows installed when the house was built in 1905.  This means that when the sun hits them, they turn into magnifying heat rays raising the temps upstairs into the mid 90s (F).  The central air helps, but it can do little to combat  the problem with the windows.  In about 6 weeks this problem will be solved.

I'm also preparing to order the new chair for the writing room.  I'd have ordered it earlier, but I didn't want it arriving while I was in Greece.  

Since it's so hot, I'm not planning on going for a walk in Adams-Ricci today, or possibly tomorrow.  Temps should be dropping on Thursday thanks to the rains we're supposed to be getting from Beryl.  That might turn my lawn back to green.  No one in the neighborhood has mowed their brown grass lately.  

I planted 2 grape vines, one is growing nicely, the other?  I water both daily and I discovered that one not growing had been snapped off at the base.  I don't know how that happened, but suspect that means that it's a goner.  Of course, that happened to one of my Itoh peonies and it took 3 years before it began to sprout.  I don't know anything about grapes, so maybe the same thing will happen.  Here's a pic of the one that's growing, ignore the bird poop, I wasn't going to clean it off for the picture.

Evidently, the Orange Anus had not been seen in public in 10, no make that 11 days.  Biden, on the other hand, has make 18 appearances, and at not one did he appear feeble.  Apparently Trump is supposed to have some sort of rally today in Florida, where the temp are supposed to be in what?  the low 100s (F).  It's very close to one of his Florida properties, and he gets chauffeured to every location.  So, if it takes place, he'll probably show up.  We shall have to wait and see.

One of the ironies of this election is that in 2016 and 2020, the Republicans shrieked against polls and the Main Stream Media, this time, with they're not, in fact, they seem to be getting quite cuddly with the same groups they disparaged terribly in the previous 2 elections.  One thing Democrats have learned, is that polls lie, and that the main stream media will is more favorable to a candidate who's promising to give them tax breaks.  They simply don't understand that their advertising would go to shit if an authoritarian government ever gets elected because they'd all have to report the same shit, and any media group that didn't follow policy would be shut down.  You'd think these dummies would look at how things are really done in Russia, or China, or North Korea. 

What A Stinker!

 Our temps are predicted to stay in the mid 90s (F) again today.  If you went outside yesterday, you realized what a sweaty, stinker it was. If humidity had a value, yesterday was rich, and the same is predicted for today. For the last 2 years, we lucked out, our summers were cool and comfortable, this year that trend is broken.  The temp in the training, cycling, upstairs computer room was 78 (F), and as the day progress it is only going to get warmer.  Since that's the room where I ride, and walk, and row, and throw around my dumbbells, that locker room bouquet does tend to fragrance the air.

I did hit the nature trail at Adams-Ricci yesterday, in spite of the heat.  My only issue was a mother with 4 young children, each with a brightly colored, plastic butterfly net hit the trail before me, so I revised my route.  They were probably disappointed, because there are no butterflies fluttering about in the rocky shadows of that path.

For some reason, I have a problem with touch screens, especially cellphones.  Even with the sensitivity set low, it's not necessary for me to actually touch the screen to activate an app and so it's not unusual for me to put my phone in my pocket with Garmin Connect, or Accuweather burning up my battery.  Because of this, I always use a wallet phone case.  My old one has gone ratty, and my new one should be arriving Monday.  

I think this is important.

So, Joe Biden gave his long awaited interview on ABC News yesterday.  I didn't watch it, not even a snippet on YouTube.  He's an old man who desperately want a 2nd term to add to his legitimacy.  I'll admit that our choices this election cycle are not the best, but one is far superior.  This November Americans will get to choose the path this nation walks, one of Democracy, or one of Authoritarianism.  One guy wants to be president, the other a dictator modeled after his blow bro Vlad Putin.  Biden represents a group that is far thinking, while Trump heads up a group that simply want to shriek "shut up!  We're in Charge!"  The problem with the "shut up, we're in charge" group is that they don't understand America.  They don't want to.  Understanding is something they don't want to reckon with, yet it will reckon with them should they win.  All you need do is look at the Abortion Ballet Measures to see this is true.  It will not be pretty for them, and when the dust settles the Republican Party will be shattered, and those red states lying broken in the dust.

Quietude

 Well, we've arrived at Wednesday, or Hump Day, as those who work Monday thru Friday.  While I do have to work today, it isn't my Hump Day.  I don't really have those, and haven't for the past 15 years.  The weather forecasters are calling for temps in the mid 80s (F) and middling humidity.  I do work, but a short shift, from 2-7.  I'm sure I'll be able to handle 5 hours.  The customers we see will be asking what our July 4th sale is... and, as usual, I'll tell them to go to appliances if they want to get a bargain.

Yesterday was a quiet day.  Really.  I went for a 2.5 mile walk in Adams-Ricci.  I'd like to get a little sun before I head out to Greece since this is an explore tour and I'll be spending a lot of time walking.  Yesterday, I did not run into any handsome turtles or take pictures of any odd looking trees, but there were two young women who were always within ear shot of me, and their constant jabber was almost deafening.  So much so, I picked up my pace to put some distance between them and I.

The quietude followed me to the movies last night when I went to se A Quiet Place, Day One.  What a good movie.  This is a two character drama masquerading rather well as a suspense thriller, with a couple of jump scares mixed in to keep the tension level high.  Oh, and there's an overly curious cat, and you know what they about curiosity and cats.  Brief synopsis:  terminally ill cancer patient tries to go to the pizza shop where her dad played jazz piano and runs into hungry aliens.  On the way, she meets and joins up with an English attorney who's lost in the city and can do magic tricks.  I see many nominations with this one.

The repercussions are still falling about Biden's bad debate performance.  I haven't watched any of it.  Still, if it was half as bad as so many are saying, then I will admit to being more than a little miffed because it's quite possible some of his critics might have been correct.  The message Democrats are putting out needs to pivot tightly to Democracy, itself.  I was hoping that the election wouldn't be as close as some are predicting, in fact I do think Trump will lose by a greater margin than Republicans are even considering.  I do think the Nikki Haley voters are protest voters, that rather than show loyalty to Trump, they will simply sit this election out, thinking that four more years of what they see as a failed Biden presidency will make 2028 so much more attractive for a Republican candidate.  The administration needs to take the anger many feel towards the Supreme Court and run with it.  Overturning Roe pissed off a lot of people, giving presidents immunity pissed off even more.  This Supreme Court has given the Democrats a gift, and Democrats need to exploit it everyway they can.  This is not the time for quietude.

Of Course

 Another nice day is on tap for those of us living in Central PA.  Temps in the mid 80s (F), low humidity, and a sky full of sunshine.  I'll be doing laundry and hanging it outside to dry.  How cool is that? 

Work was... ah, so boring yesterday.  I talked to a couple of potential customers, but no measures.  Oh, and there was one large man with droppage (that's when your big belly drops below the hem of your T-shirt) complained that we didn't sell Lifeproof stairnoses.  "You can get them through a 3rd party online," he complained, so I looked.  He was correct, searching did reveal a matching Lifeproof stairnose, however I didn't click on the link because frequently you can Google something, and you'll get several hits, but when you click on them they take you to our website and the product you're looking for is nowhere to be found.

And, of course, we talked about the Supreme Court's decision to create an imperial presidency. 

I am extremely disappointed, as, I suspect, most of you.  In an odd way, I can see where they're coming from when they say there are certain things that a president should be able to do without having to worry about repercussions.  For example, the decision to drop the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  Japanese honor would never have allowed Japan to surrender without those two horrific events, the war would have continued, and more Americans would have died, so they were considered official acts.  January 6 was not an official act stopping a war, it was a riot started by a bitter man who refused to accept the fact that he was a loser.  To try and think that these 2 acts are similar is pure stupidity, yet this decision by the Court fails to define what is official.  

There are those who fail to see the importance of voting in November.  They don't understand we're not voting for one person, but for Democracy.  The Republicans want an authoritarian government.  Authoritarian governments create rules and regulations to control the people, and those rules and regulations will be continually tightened because these governments don't care about people, they just want to dictate.  This authoritarianism will not happen here.  Conservatives do not understand that Americans are armed to the teeth.  Centrists and liberals will fight back.  We may end up with armed conflict which would not only crash our economy, but quite possibly the world's economy.  Of course, maybe this is all supposed to happen.  

Percentage Points

 The weather today is supposed to be great, temps in the low to mid 80s (F), slightly breezy, lotsa sunshine, and... of course... I'm scheduled to work.  Ah, well, I'm sure I'll survive.  This isn't the first nice day we have this summer, and it's not going to be the last.

And I did work yesterday, and yes, it was very slow.  I did briefly talk to an older couple about having carpet installed.  They were rather unhappy that we weren't running a 4th of July sale.  This is a serious problem with retail.  It's bad when you've trained your customer to only buy when there's a sale.  Take Bali and Levelor blinds and shades, both top of the line brands.  They both frequently run sales.  When I started designing blinds their average sale markdown was 25%, occasionally they'd do a big sale and offer 30%.  Over the years prices have gone up, but so have the sale markdowns.  Now it's not unusual for them to run a sale with 40% to 45% off, and a few weeks ago they offered 50%.  However, even at that high a percentage, customers are not getting a deal.  Yet, they see that % and jump at the deal that isn't really a deal.

 When I first made reservations to go to Greece, 3 months ago, people thought I was really excited.  Honestly, at that time it didn't even faze me.  In spite of what some of you might think, I'm not a very excitable person.  However, as my departure date draws closer, enthusiasm is beginning to build.  It's now less than 2 months away and anticipation is beginning to build.  

Of course, since the debate, there has been a small, loud minority yelling that Biden needs to drop out of the race.  While I'm not a big believer in polls, this is the first one I've seen since the CNN  fiasco, and it's surprising.

This same poll had Biden up by 1%.  While the legitimacy and accuracy of polls is debatable, I do think this one possibly underscores what most Americans think:  Trump is unfit to be president.  Nothing drove that point home more than his constantly lying during the debate.  While Biden may have stumbled, the Orange Anus spit out continuous lies and not once had to deal fact checking.  Americans don't want a liar and chief.  

Another aspect of the debate not too many are talking about is that viewership was down quite a lot.  So, who watched it?  Those same cultists who travel from rally to rally and pundits who think that their opinions are important to Americans.  Sad new for them, people may get angry at what they say, but truthfully no one cares what they think.  While the New York Times may want to use Biden's bad performance as a game changer, it isn't.  They don't understand it's not about whether he stumbles, it's about Democracy.  What will be a game changer is the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's immunity.  Republicans will be happy as pigs in shit if they give him even the slightest bit, but America will harden against him.  We do not want a king.  We do not want a Republican authoritarian government.

The Handsome Gentleman

 Well, where has the week gone?  It's Saturday, and we have storms in the forecast; spotty thunderstorms this morning and heavy thunderstorms this afternoon.  Temps are predicted to be warm, but not hot, mid to upper 80s (F).  But the humidity?  According to forecasters, that's expected to soar.  It looks like we're going to have a sticky day ahead of us.

And I do work today.  It's the weekend.  I always work on the weekends.  Those are the guaranteed days that I will have to sit at the flooring desk, unless I ask for one of them off.  Oddly enough, I have next Saturday off.  I may use 8 hours of vacation pay to cover the weekend day off I didn't ask for, or maybe not.  I have 8 hours vacation I need to use before Sept. 4, that's my anniversary date.  That's when the orange retailer I work for gives me the 80 hours of vacation I worked for and earned.

I got a nice 2 mile walk at Adams-Ricci yesterday, and while going up a hill on the nature trail ran into this handsome gentleman.  His glaring eyes told me he viewed me as a threat, so I simply nodded to him as I took his picture and then left him to continue his journey.

There was a lot of fallout from the presidential debate yesterday.  Conservatives were cheering their liar and liberals were wondering about Joe.  CNN is still receiving a lot of flack because there was no fact-checking.  I don't doubt for a second that was one of the conditions for Trump to appear.  He wants to lie at will without having to deal with the consequences, and CNN gave him every opportunity he wanted.  The New York Times editorial board said Biden should get out of the race.  They so desperately want to be a voice of authority, it's one of the main reasons I ended my subscription.  There was a time when American turned to them, and even, on occasion listened.  Those times are past.

Does the debate really matter?  Nope.  Is it going to change the hearts of voters?  Absolutely not.  People understand that the alternative to Biden is a convicted felon, a pathological liar, a traitor and a treasoner.  Those Nikki Haley protest voters?  They're sit this one out.  That's about 1/3 of the Republican party.  In a little less than 2 weeks Trump is going to be sentenced, and if he gets jail time, that's going to solidify the votes against him.  This man is not now, nor has he ever been a sympathetic character.  Joe Biden is reliable.  Reliability is something you can count on.