On Becoming a Billionaire

Well, we're just about at brunch time on the day after Christmas.  A winter advisory will be taking effect very shortly.  Snow, ice, and freezing rain are in our forecast for this afternoon and this evening.  Now, doesn't that sound simply wonderful.  Our temps are sitting just below the 30 (F) degree mark and are not expected to rise much.  This is how it goes.

Yesterday was Christmas and it was nice and quiet... mostly.  My neighbors did pop their volume up for a bit, so filled the same Christmas spirit, I popped mine up, too.  I put on some terrible Christmasy romance on Netflix with voluminous string orchestrations.  And, as expected, they shortly dropped their volume down to an acceptable level.  This was me being the good neighbor and reminding them that I can be just as loud as they are, something they are not too particularly fond of.  

Otherwise, yesterday was fairly quiet.  Howie and I ate ham and scalloped potatoes.  Both were delicious.  I have leftovers will will keep my belly happy for the next week.

I did have breakfast with my brother this morning, the reason this is a mid-morning post rather than morning.  He's fine.  He has a well paying job now.  It's 12 month contract.  He's going to try for an extension, if you getting himself permanently hired.  He hasn't said so, but I suspect he and his wife had accumulated a lot of debt.  He also reminded me he's out of touch with what's been happening with the Orange Anus.  So, I did some enlightening.

And I watched City of Shadows on Neflix.  This is an intense psychological thriller.  And it was good.  Some might find a few of the scenes a bit grisly, burnt cadavers can be disgusting.

As I said early, my brother's a bit out of touch with everything the Orange Anus is doing, and saying.  I think this is quite common, not only with Republican voters, but with Democrats as well.  My brother also said that he only checks the news about once a week.  Ignorance is bliss, isn't it.  Again, I suspect that there are a number of Democratic voters who do the same thing.  When I was growing up, we watched the local news and the national news everyday.  I don't think that happens anymore.  Republicans will watch Fox Entertainment because they like the disinformation the hosts and talking heads spew out.  Sleazebag liberals watch NBC, ABC, CNN, and CBS.  But even we, the sleazebags, are turning away from the sources of Main Stream Media.  There are too many other viably accurate sources.  This is why Larry Ellison, the 81 year-old billionaire who bought CBS is throwing his money away.  Even though he's older, he's a lot like me, in that he, too, watched the local news and the national news when they were still legitimate.  That's changed.  Americans are going to tune into CBS the way Republicans tune into Fox Entertainment, because there already is a Fox Entertainment.  Becoming a billionaire doesn't make one smart, just ruthless.

Conservative Ineptitude

 We had a rather warm night.  The outside temp is a very mild 57 (F).  That doesn't mean our afternoon temps are going to climb into the upper 70s (F).  Nope.  They're going to be stuck in the 60s (F).  There is a Nor'easter plodding up the eastern seaboard which will keep the temps mild.  Rain showers will continue throughout the day and into to tomorrow.  Predictions are for a total accumulation of about an inch of rain.  We need it.  

I did my morning workout yesterday.  It was fine.  This may surprise some of you, but I'm on a 25 day stretch.  This is a good thing.  I think one of the reasons these sessions work is because the routines are varied, also, the fact that they were designed by someone who knows what he's doing, rather than me sitting at my computer picking and choosing exercises I think will be beneficial.  Even the sequence has turned out to be good.   I used to do 3 sets of one exercise and then move onto the next.  Now I complete the entire routine, and then repeat it two more times.  There are even yoga poses in the after workout stretching.  

I did work yesterday and it was slow.  I talked to one customer about ordering blinds and then he decided to buy out stock blinds instead.  They were a lot cheaper.  I also talked to a gentleman who believes we sold him more carpet than he needed.  The carpet has already been installed.  If he had a problem, he should have brought it up before he paid for the installation.  I told him that if he wanted, we could send a measure tech out to do a remeasure, but he would have to pay $100 for it.  He said he was going to think about it.

And Christmas has arrived.  In the past, our Christmas displays have had a large selection of trees.  There have been way, way too many inflatable lawn ornaments, and quite a few large indoor ornaments as well, like 6 foot tall, talking and singing Santas.  We have no Santas this year.  We have no large singing elves, or carolers.  And the number of artificial trees on display is small.  Most of this stuff we get from China.

And evidently Dementia Don doesn't remember he was president on January 6.

The chaos is never ending, isn't it?  This is why Conservatives need to be kept completely out of power.  They live for the words, "shut up, we're in charge," but whenever they are, they are constantly showing the world their incompetence.  Take those 4000 people Russell, the Idiot Vought, joyously bragged about terminating.  Well, they're hiring many of them back because their jobs are essential.  Conservative ineptitude is astounding, so much so, I'm wondering if they all might have dementia.

  

Direct Connection

Outside temps are again in the low 50s (F) and today is predicted to be a replay of yesterday.  The same thing is in store for tomorrow.  Wednesday, however, weather forecasters are calling for rain and a temporary drop in temps.  The cool weather should only last a day or so before daily highs are again predicted to be in the mid to upper 70s (F).  These are rather warm temps for October.  While I'm pleased that I don't have to turn on the heat, I will admit that I'm missing a stronger changing of the seasons.  This doesn't meant that our winter is also going to be warm, except for last year, this is the same weather pattern we'd been experiencing for the past several years.

I did work yesterday.  It was a slow day.  I got my steps in early, and then kept walking.  I'm fairly certain that we didn't make plan last week.  This is how it goes.  This doesn't mean that store associates weren't busy.  A change is coming.  The large area to the left of the front entrance was being cleared out because sometime this week, Christmas is arriving.  Yes, you did read that correctly.  We're getting Christmas in October.  This means that Black Friday is just around the corner.  

And my schedule has been changed for the next 3 weeks.  Normally I work on Mondays, that's not the case today.  I'm off.  However this week I work Thursday.  Then for the next 2 weeks I'm back to my 22 hour a week schedule.  I'm fairly certain that this will revert to the 17 hours I've gotten used to.  Sales simply are there.

I've been buying tile mosaics and bringing them home to see which one my work well with the mirror in the bathroom.  So far, I've returned everyone of them.  I want a glass tile, and we just don't carry them in the store.  Last night, I looked online and found one I like.  I shall order a sample to see what it looks like.

Over course Stevie Miller, aka Voldemort, is flipping out.  Some people call him Nazi Boy.  It doesn't make a difference what you call him, this man embodies pure hatred.

Here's one of his many Tweets on Zitter.

There is no "growing movement of leftwing terrorism," there is the Democratic Party, and a large number of Independent voters.  One of the key tenets of Fascism is to demonize your political opponents, so Democrats and Independents are now leftwing terrorists.  Stevie is doing his damndest to portray everyone who doesn't bow down to his neo-Nazi philosophy is hated.  However, Stevie is failing terribly at growing his cult.  On October 4, he Tweeted a hate message about left wing judges, and how Orangie's cultists need to treat and fight them.  Yesterday, a fire broke out at the home owned by Judge Diane Goldstein in South Carolina.  This judge ruled that the Department of Justice cannot access voting information from the state, a decision that pissed off Orangie's Administration.  They desperately want Democratic voting records.  The fire is under investigation.  Is Stevie and his hate Tweet to blame?  Many believe there is a direct connection between the two.

Happy Wednesday!

 Golly Gee Whiz!  Can you believe it?  Another year has come and gone!  The weather outside is decent for January 1.  The temp is 42 (F).  That's not bad.  The bottom  is going to fall out this coming week and things will freeze over.  That means I'll have to act fast when Howie does his outside business, otherwise it will freeze to the ground until the next thaw.

Yesterday was good, for the most part.  Lots of chores were done around the house.  Several loads of laundry were done.  The living room aquarium was cleaned.  I took Howie for a walk, he loves that.  I made soup out of some sort of mystery broth I had in the freezer, using up both extra ham and turkey.  The neighbors were loud for a bit, but around nine last night they turned the volume down.  I did stay up until midnight, not because I wanted to welcome in the new year, though.  I watched the last 3 episodes of Dr. Who on Disney +.  I'm sure it's why so many conservatives hate Disney, the series is definitely "woke," as they say.  

And it is now my sad duty to inform you that Howie's Christmas present, Bunny Crinkle-Ears has met his tragic demise.  He squeaked his last at 7:37 last evening.  He survived for a week.  Had I known he was much more stuffing than crinkle, I would have passed.

And, of course, last night at a mini pre New Year's Eve presser, the Orange Anus said he was all for bringing more trained H-1B immigrants into the country in order to layoff American laborers whom Corporations deem way to expensive...  I have to admit, that last bit was mine, but it is the reason both he and Elonia are rooting for this incredible increase in H-1B tech workers.  In fact, it's not just tech workers.  As someone else said, everyone of his properties in the US employs cheap immigrant labor rather than Americans.  Selfishness and Greed will destroy the American economy, and these inexpensive, indentured employees are just the beginning.

The More, the Merrier

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

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

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

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

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

It wasn't Coachella

 Well, it's Monday and the new week has begun.  It was 50 (F) when I had Howie out this morning, but the temps are not expected to get much higher.  We're in the beginning of a cool down that's supposed to continue for a few days before we warm up again.  While some of the leaves from the trees around my house have started to fall, they've not yet begun to turn colors.  Even my gingko out front has few leaves that are yellow, of course, being a gingko, it will turn golden one day and the next day all the leaves will fall off.

Work was boring yesterday.  I talked to some people.  That's about it.  Oh, and they paid me to sit at the flooring desk for 8 hours.  Our Christmas decorations are flying out the front door, and believe it or not, several of the trees have been returned because the lights don't work.  Okay, can someone please tell me why you'd be putting up your Christmas tree in October.  I cannot understand why someone would want to clutter up their house for two and a half months before the holiday.  Someone asked me if I decorate and was surprised when I told her "no, I don't decorate for any holidays."  Decorating has never given me a warm fuzzy feeling, besides, I can think of quite a few other things to waste my money on besides decorations.

I made an appointment to have my car inspected on Friday.  Estimated cost: $200.  One of the reasons it so high is because the country I live in requires an emissions test.

And for those who missed it, Trump had a rally a Coachella.  For those who don't know, Coachella has a large music festival that last for several days during the summer.  However, even though his rally stated it was at Coachella, it wasn't on the festival grounds, it was on a nearby farm.  A farm where there was no parking.

All of those people, several thousand, needed to be bused in from the actual parking lot.  20 buses were hired to shuttle them for the 5 mile ride.  It took them quite some time to get those several thousand people to this farm.  Rumor has it that by busing them in, they could begin to leave like so many other people do at his rallies.  And when he was finished bloviating, Donald Trump left, and all of those people who had been bussed in discovered his campaign had only paid for one bus to transport them back to the parking lot.  And there was chaos.  Those cultists failed to believe one of the only truths to come out of Trump's mouth:  he only wants their vote.  He doesn't care about them. They are the people he would fire if they worked for him and got overtime.  I understand quite a few were angry, and as a result, they may not vote for him.  That would be good.  It's about time he learned there is a price for everything.

Christmas in October

 Well, it's Sunday.  I got up around 0515 because I was awake.  It was cool enough in the bedroom that I realized the time had come for me to pull out the rest of the blankets.  Outside, the temp was 49 (F) or almost 9.5 (C).  That's chilly.  Temps are predicted to get warmer, however, things have changed in the forecast.  Originally, it was supposed to stay warm for a few days.  Now, we appear to to be moving back into more seasonable, fall-like weather.  It is autumn, after all, and some people need a reason to drink their pumpkin spice lattes.

I worked yesterday, it was boring.  I did manage to get 2 measures for flooring installations.  That will keep management happy.  My goal was 2 for the week, I've sold 4.  I will probably sell less in the future because I've changed my availability.  There was time when you could be available for 28 hours a week and you'd only be scheduled for 20.  Not any more.  Now they schedule for every hour possible, and the only way to change that is to reduce the number of hours a week that you can work.  A further reduction is in my future.

And Christmas has arrived at the store... the first week of October.  Truthfully, they began the display all the way back in September.  Every year people ask me why, we have 3 months until Christmas?  Well, the ugly answer is the consumer, those people who desperately need Christmas.  Here's an example from last week.  We had a woman and her husband come into the store looking for a specific artificial Christmas tree.  That model was sold out online, however, we had several in the store.  They were, unfortunately, still stored on pallets in the overhead.  Even more unfortunate for us was her demand we get one down so she could buy one, so that's what we did.  We blocked off aisles, got a fork-lift and pulled down the pallet so she could satisfy her selfishness.  As for this display, it was difficult for me to take this picture because of customers buying trees, and wreathes, and... well you name it.  And yes, I take it on October 4, 2024.

The Orange Anus had a rally yesterday in Butler, PA, where supposedly and assassination attempt was made on his life.  Many people are beginning to wonder if it was an elaborate campaign event that cost the deaths of 2 Republicans.  Honestly, I don't think Republicans have a problem sacrificing one of  their own if they feel their new religion calls for it.  Elon Mus was there, too.  At one time I thought he might be intelligent, now I realize he's like Trump, a self-centered rich man who inherited most of his fortune.  His Karma is almost as bad as Trump's.  This is something his ego refuses to let him understand.  He and the woman who needed a specific tree have a lot of things in common.

The Beef

I hope everyone had a happy Christmas!  Mine was nice and quiet.  The temps climbed into the mid 50s (F) here in Central PA.  For the most part, the skies were clear.  All in all, a nice non-snowy Christmas day.  

I check the temp when I got up and according to Accuweather it was 41 (F).  Looking out the window, it's foggy.  Supposedly there's a slight drizzle happening, but not around my house.  Rain is on the way, some today, more tomorrow, like the forecasters are saying 100% chance of rain.

Garbage collection is always a day late after Christmas, for me it will be tomorrow, but that doesn't stop some of my neighbors from putting out their refuse and recycling bins early.  To be honest, I don't think they're aware of this delay.  

And I know there are some out there who think I'm a little cold at times, well, according to the Washington Post, that's normal for me.  For as long as I can remember, every time I've had my temperature taken, that old thermometer has pegged my body temp at 97, or there abouts.  This means that when I was battling through one of my frequent bouts of tonsillitis, when my fever topped off at 104 (F), I was really running a super fever.  One of those times happened during Navy boot camp and I was sent back to the barracks with a rack pass for 3 days.  I later learned that with a fever that high, they should have hospitalized me.  Now, isn't that interesting.

And I did make London Broil yesterday, though I roasted it instead of broiling it and ended up with just the right amount of pink.  But, if I have to be truly honest, while the beef was quite tasty, it was the gravy that won the day.  I have not had beef gravy in years!  I may have to start buying more beef just to get to make the gravy.  And Lily?  She got a big, juicy beef bone with lots of fat, gristle, and cartilage cooked up for her. 

Biden's Christmas message was nice, positive.  The Orange Anus, on the other hand put out an ALL CAP hate fest again.  I don't read his rants, those others do and post their astonished comments on Threads and I will sometimes glance at them.  Honestly, I don't think that old man ever stops shrieking.  He seems to think Presidential Immunity is going to let him get away with anything and everything he wants to do.  He desperately wants to be a dictator.  He will turn American against American to try and get that to happen.  He has become the face of Evil.

Merry Christmas!

 And a Merry Ho Ho Ho Christmas to one and all.... except for Donny, and Ronnie, and Rami, and Nikki.  I think there's a pattern here.  

For those curious:  Our temps are going up into the 50s (F) today.  That's very warm for this time of year.  Great for heating bills, bad for the ski resorts in the area; they're not even trying to make enough man-made snow.

Here's hoping everyone one has a good day.  My roast is in the oven.  

Here's what Central PA will look like in 100 years.

Is John Schneider stupid?

 For those who don't know, today is the shortest day of the year!  Tomorrow will be longer, and slowly we'll get back to those nice long sunny days we like so much, unless you're a vampire.  As with most of the country, there will be no white Christmas here in central PA.  In fact, on December 26 the temps are predicted to climb into the upper 50s (F).  If these temps keep up, my roses will soon be blooming in January.

I was going to stay in today, but as I was getting my breakfast together, I realized I was low on cereal.  The thought did cross my mind that I could cook up some oatmeal instead, however I realized I've become rather spoiled with my morning cereal with fruit and nuts.  So, after I take my morning shower, I'll head on over to my local Giant supermarket before it gets busy.  I'm also thinking about baking sticky buns for Christmas morning, that will mean stocking up on brown sugar.

Both tomorrow and Sunday afternoon I'll be putting in some hours at the store.  Believe me, it's not going to be busy.  I may sneak a book in and read.  Yes, an actual book... one with pages and a cover.  This one to be precise.  It's all about the research, you know?

Being that it's this close to Christmas, there's not a lot happening politically.  We're all going to have to wait on the Supreme Court decision on whether the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, is immune from prosecution for January 6 because he was president.  I'm betting they'll say "nope."  They've made a number of bad decisions, those that favor Conservatives, and as a result have put themselves into a serious bind.  America has become very dissatisfied with the Court, and dissatisfaction often leads to rule changes the Justices may not appreciate.  You can bet they're not going to jeopardize their own positions to benefit Donald Trump; they know all too well the probability of him losing in 2024 is great.

And there is that little flap over John Schneider saying Biden should be hung.  When I saw his comment on Threads, I asked, "is he really this stupid?"  Evidently yes... kind of, though someone must have given him a wack up side his head, since his comment has been deleted.  Too late, of course.  I'm betting he's already been contacted by the Feds regarding his possible threat against a sitting president.  Yes, he is this stupid.

Fluries

 The temps were 30 (F) when I got up and there was snow in the forecast... well, not snow precisely, flurries is what they were predicting.  It's a good thing I don't crave the white stuff; sitting by the window for the past 45 minutes nary a flake has drifted by.  What a shame this winter thing is going to drag itself out until at least March.  Then, warm temps will be upon and they'll race by until once again we're left with the winter dark.

I thought of putting up my Christmas (all season) tree.  That's about as far as it went.  There was a time when I did decorate, but not anymore, and not for any holiday, it's not just Christmas.  Decorations need to be appreciated by many eyes, and, as I told Jon (the PT), I just don't invite people over anymore.  I prefer going out.  The invitations I get are nice and I usually attend, but over the past few years I've decided I really don't want people coming into my house.  Being a host requires extra time and effort that I'm no willing to give up.  Maybe, as I grow older, I'm simply getting selfish with my time.  I figure I may have what?  Possibly 30 years left, and I want to spend it with me.

Still no flurries.

All of the cabinet doors have been hung in my kitchen renovation.  There's a bit more painting that needs to be done, a bit of caulking, some backsplash added to the sink, and then I get to the floor, meaning I'll be spending a lot of time on my knees.

I understand the Orange Anus had some sort of one on one with one of his favorite ass kissers, Sean Hannity.  For those who don't know, Hannity is one of the Moral Degenerates billionaire admirers.  At this point, no one should be surprised what comes out of his mouth, his seething anger is spewing in all directions.  

Evidently the Moms for Liberty hate group has begun to splinter.  That's not a surprise, they're a political branch of the Republican party and look how badly that's cracking apart.  They ugly is oozing out from every possible seam.

And that dolt Tuberville changed his anti-American military plan.  He's now letting promotions take place up to the 3 start level.  No 4 star promotions yet.  I'm suspecting that he might finally be understanding Trump may be the Republican nominee for president, but there's no way he's going to win, meaning there's no way Trump allies can be promoted into powerful military positions.  Many think that was the true reason for Tuberville's plan, not that he was upset by the Armed Forces view on abortion.

Cutting 34 pages

Tuesday.  Again the weather is moderately warm.  The temp was 40 (F), when I left Lily out for her morning pee.  She's back on the bed now.  For those who don't know, 10 year-old dogs sleep quite a bit.  Not that I don't, bit some times it's in spurts.  Some nights I'll get over 7 hours of sleep, other nights just over 5 hours, and I don't take a lot of naps when my sleep is short.  Interesting.

Yesterday was soooo boring at the store.  I did manage to get 2 carpet measures, which should keep management happy.  There is some sort of contest going on where you get a ticket every time you get a measure, however, I don't have as many tickets as I do measures because not every manager gives them out.  Not that I'm concerned.  If I were full time, perhaps, but it isn't, and this week my hours are really short, only 16.  I work again until Sunday, which is fine with me.  

Just think, Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.  A few bones will make Lily a nice present.  Dogs are so easy when it comes to buying presents.  I stopped off at my local Giant supermarket last evening on the way home for a bottle of wine, and the woman behind the counter was using her phone to order presents for her daughter.  We had a nice discussion about how popular online shopping had become.  That's about the only way I shop now-a-days, but then I was never one who enjoyed shopping.  When I did shop, it was always for one specific item.  I hate browsing.  It has absolutely no appeal to me.  

I uploaded another video to YouTube since The Body In Motion is approaching completion.  It's about the editing process, and about the cuts all authors have to make when writing.  No matter how much those words may mean to you, sometimes they just have to go.

I understand Maddie's buying Liz Cheney's book.  I hope she enjoys it.  I disagree with a lot of her opinions, but Liz, but Liz is far more aware of the the evil the Orange Anus and the destruction his re-election would bring to the United States.  A day doesn't go by that he doesn't spew out exactly how he'd use his hatred of Democracy in an attempt to make himself a dictator.  The warning signs are there.  Let's hope that enough Americans see and understand them.

The Joys of Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve!!

I get to go to work for 5 hours.,  I'm hoping they have snackery type morsels and tidbits to graze upon.  Who'll be shopping?  Customers looking for a deal on those hideous holiday ornaments no one would even consider putting on their front lawn.  The big markdowns will happen on Monday.  The same thing goes tools, except in reverse, their price will be marked up and customers will buy because they believe they're getting an after Christmas steal.  Around 3:30 PM they will begin cutting the staff loose.  Not so much because they want associates to have a happy Christmas Eve, rather it's a good time to cut back on your payroll expense.

Weather wise.  It's 5 (F) degrees outside.  I did kick the thermostat up to 72 (F).  That means it's very warm upstairs.  I will turn the heat back down to 70 (F) when the temps warm up.  

As for Christmas, itself.  I wonder if Democrats are beginning to understand that Donald Trump is the greatest grift they could ever receive.  Republican red is not going to hide all the political blood the party is going to spill.  Charlie Kirk is going after Ronna McDaniel (yeeha!).  And all of those glorious texts the January 6 committee has blessed America with?  Who cares if they weren't wrapped with a pretty bow on top.  And Trump's taxes?  Patience is a virtue.  Good things come to those who wait.

For those who don't know, one of my favorite groups right now is a German duo named Milky Chance.  Here they are playing variations of the same song.  The first was recorded in 2020 while they were on the Steven Colbert show.  I like that one, and not just because I own the same Miele vacuum cleaner. The 2nd version is a live version recorded at a concert in Berlin this past summer.  Which is better?  I like both versions.

 

Reality Checks

 Hello happy day before Christmas Eve!  I say that with good hearted jest.  You see, the first thought that went through my head when I woke up this morning was: damn, I have to go to work this afternoon.  Yep, I thought it was Christmas Eve.  It wasn't until I sat down my computer that I saw today was actually Friday, the 23.  I'm in really good spirits, now.

The Vet call last evening.  Biggie is not going on meds.  No hormone blockers.  He does have Cushing's but his symptoms are not severe enough to require medication.  Biggie, as if he had already known this, slept through the night without having to go potty outside.  While I have no problem spending the $$$ for treatment, $400 + every 3 months for bloodwork was mice.

As for the snow we had yesterday morning?  It's practically gone.  We a total accumulation of 3 inches.  I went out and shoveled because a delivery from Chewy was expected.  Then, around 1:30 PM, the rain began, and it's been raining ever since.  Had it been cold enough, this would have been one hellatious snow storm.  The cold doesn't arrive until later this morning, carried in by high winds gusting to 50 + miles per hour.  That's another reason why I'm glad I don't have to go to work this afternoon.

Yesterday there were quite a few individuals got reality checks.  Can you hear me laughing at them?

Matty Gaetz was shooting off angry retorts because many, many people were outraged that he and Bimbo Boebert sat through Zelenskyy's speech.  This is one of many images of the two sitting on their hands, or checking their phones.  Did they think they were making some sort of bizarre statement?

Even the conservative rag, Newsweek, published, with large headlines, the names of the seven congressmen who stayed sitting.

That Putin asset, Tucker Carlson, was gesticulating so wildly I felt certain he was having a conniption as he shrieked about Zelenskyy throwing a foreign flag on the dais.  Fox has a serious problem with Tucker in that he makes news because he rants, not because he makes points.  Ranting people are rarely taken seriously.

And then there's George Santos, a Republican from New York who lied extensively about... well, everything.  Let's see, he's not Jewish.  His grandparents didn't flee Hitler, they were born in Brazil.  He was married to a woman for some time.  He has not been openly gay for 10 years.  He never worked for Goldman-Sachs.  Shit, the list goes on and on.  George is having a serious reality check.  George says he will tell all next week.  Right.

Finally, the January 6 committee has released it's findings.   The Republican party is dealing with a very serious Reality Check, as well they should. 

The Long and Short of it

 Can I get a big 👍for the Winter Solstice?  Shortest day of the year.  For the next 180 days, give or take one, we're going to start stretching the sunlight until it covers more of the day.  For some reason, back when I was a young whipper-snapper, I believed the shortest day of the year always arrived sometime in February.  That was until I learned in elementary school that there such things as solstices, and the word has more to do with the long and the short, though they use fancier words, like declination and excursion.  Doesn't one word sound like it might have something to do with sex, while the other?  I don't know anyone who would willing want a medical excursion.

Biggie is back from his long, long blood test.  He was happy to see me.  Ate like a wolf when he got home.  I made BLTs for lunch yesterday and saved the bacon drippings for both he and Lily's dinner.  

I did watch the last 4 episodes of Wednesday on Netflix.  I enjoyed the series, and am wondering if the Hyde is going to be a recurring character.  

And, of course, this week leading up to Christmas has not been good for Republicans.  The DOJ received referrals for not only the Orange Anus, but many of his cohorts in crime, including one for Mark Meadows.  Yesterday Congress voted to release Trump's Tax Returns.  One foolish Republican complained that if they release Donald's taxes, people might also want to see the Tax Returns for sitting member of the Supreme Court.  The social media response was overwhelming to his comment.  Bring it On!

As for the indictments?  I don't believe we will have to wait long.  I understand the Atlanta Grand July is in its final sessions and their charges should be arriving shortly; probably not before Christmas, though.

The Republican civil war in the house will very shortly turn into what will no doubt be a very long and very brutal battle, and looks to probably consume the full length and breadth of the party.  What a shame they can't wrap it up and give it to us with a bow on top.

Elon's Loss (corrected from this morning).

 Monday - this is going to be an abbreviated work week; I'm scheduled for 2 days, Monday and Saturday.  Today I'll rack up 8 hours, Saturday I work 5 hours.  Today will be boring.  The only departments that will do any business on Friday will be Garden (marked down Holiday decorations) and hardware (that last minute drill for dad).  I did put in for 6 hours of vacation pay even though I've earned 4 hours of holiday pay.  Biggie's expenses are approaching.

The actual new owner of the house next door showed up yesterday for about 10 minutes.  He pulled his black Escalade in front, put on the four way flashers, and proceeded to follow his worker into the house.  He's probably in his mid 30's, had a large gold chain that swung away from his chest when he walked, and I was not impressed.  I suspect the new owner discovered just how much rubbish the previous owner left behind.  Buying a house 'as is' means you're getting it as it is.  It's not going to be cleaned out and ready for painting.  'As is' also means there was no way that house could pass a home inspection.  If a deal is too good to be true, it's almost always too good to be true.

Our new store manager arrives today.  In fact, she's probably already walking the aisles of the store.  Some of our newly promoted assistant managers may have problems.  They will have to go through a learning period.  They may have a rough time of it.  I have no problem with that.

A bit on Troll:  it is the most popular non-English film in Netflix history, people have watched over 128 million hours as of last week.  Could Mads have anything to do with that?  Some people like it, others don't, but overwhelmingly people are sympathizing with the troll.  Now, isn't that interesting?

 

For those who haven't been paying attention, Elon had a poll.  Should he stay as CEO of Twitter, or leave.  Elon lost.  Now the questions is will he actually resign.  He has been very quiet.  I'm suspecting he thought his bots would pull of a victory for him.  While this is the current sturm and drang on Twitter, some saying this chaos is what his backers want, I'm seeing elsewhere that they are very unhappy with the man / baby.  While they may have wanted him to move the direction of Twitter to the Right, they had not anticipated he would bring such mayhem.  For many, the total disorganization is unbelievable.  As for the poll?  Well, Elon, as with most billionaires, has very thin skin; he finds it almost impossible to admit he's wrong, that he made a mistake.  Tesla stock is tanking; other electric vehicle makers have less problems and are more reliable.  Investors are upset.  We shall have to wait and see if he publicly admits that he's a loser.  I'm betting he'll install a puppet CEO, so he can quietly, behind the scenes, continue to drive Twitter deep into the ground.

Mike Lee's Quality Jail Time

 It's a bright sunny Sunday outside.  Cold, the temps are not supposed to climb out of the 30s (F).  This morning, when downstairs to let out the dogs and start the brew the temp in the writing room was 69 (F) just before the heat kicked on.  Christmas is supposed to be bitterly cold, with highs in the mid 20s (F), so I'll probably kick the heat up a notch or two.  

I don't doubt that this year it will be more expensive to heat my house since no one is living next door, and at this point, I don't imagine the new owner doing any work to get it ready for rental.  In fact, as far as I know, it is still overflowing with all of the crap the previous owner left behind.  Workers were stopped by yesterday to drop of boxes of vinyl plank flooring bought from my store.  The associate who sold it to them said the guy who bought it was a slum lord.  How well he manages the property will have a direct bearing on how many $$$ I put into my property.  

We have a new store manager starting tomorrow.  This will be fun.  You see, 14.25 years ago, when she was only a supervisor, she offered me a part-time job as a cashier.  Then, when I moved into an HR position, I worked with her for 4 years at the Carlisle store.  I don't doubt for an instant she will be managing my store when I go into full retirement.  This is how circles work.

So, and what about Mike Lee?  Here he is cozying up to the Orange Anus.

He has introduced a bill to ban pornography from the Internet.  Well, it's a little more than pornography he wants taken away, nudity in general is a bad thing.  You see, Mike Lee is one of those terrible individuals who believe a theology that was crimped together by men who not only believed the Earth was flat, but that it was the center of the universe as well.  For Mike to believe otherwise would mean he'd need to question.  Questions are bad for religion; answers not being might you want to hear.  Of course, Mike also knows that his beliefs are a great way to control the masses.  These rules have been divinely inspired, of course, they don't always apply to Mike, or to pastors, or to priests, or preachers.  And Mike? Because of his close affiliation with the Orange Anus during the insurrection, might find that he'll be spending some quality time in jail.  He will, of course, believe he is being punished for his beliefs.

Just 7 more Shopping Days until Christmas

 Well, we are a week out from Christmas.  This should be a busy day for shoppers, so there's a very good possibility the store will be full of customers.  At least that's one possibility.  We have not been heavily shopped so far this year.  Holiday decorations?  Yes, and there is that occasional individual looking for a saber saw, but mostly our sales have been flat.  We had 2 good years during the pandemic when people used their government dollars to upgrade their homes.  Many took advantage of that.  Lower sales volume is the price we pay for that.

Speaking of pricing, and costs, my water bill dropped $6 dollars.  I'm suspecting it's the new front load washer, which only takes around 12 gallons (45 liters) per load, as to my old washer which required at least 50 gallons (189 liters) for both wash and rinse cyclers per load.  Can we talk about a washer actually paying for itself?  I did buy this to take care of the monthly cleaning.

For the 2nd night in a row, Biggie did not have to go potty outside.  This is a very good thing.  Wednesday he goes for his 8 hour test and by Friday I should know what dosage his new med will be.  From what I understand, it will slowly destroy the cells that are producing his extra cortisol.

Evidently every one of the Orange Anus trading cards sold.  He made something like $4.5 million.  How's that for a money laundering venture?  I wonder how he's going to lie about that income on his taxes.

Elon reinstated the journalists he didn't like, the ones he claimed were doxing him when in reality all they were doing was reporting on his own actions.  The damage is already done.  Many of these journalists have now set up other accounts on other platforms and they are letting their supporters know.

The January 6 committee is recommending that the DOJ charge the OA with 3 crimes relating to the insurrection.  I suspect he's not going to be having a jolly holiday with Mary.

As for Ronnie DeSantis?  He continues to tact farther and farther to the right.  His heart yearns heavily for his future of being an authoritarian dictator.  He needs to understand that polls showing him more popular with Trump and Conservatives have absolutely nothing to do with the American people.  

Beating Elon Musk

 Well, as expected, yesterday was oh, so slow at the store.  I did manage to sign up a woman who wants someone to go to her house with display books and take to her about curtains and draperies.  Those Leads usually never sell; the cost is to exorbitant.  

Being that it was slow, I spent sometime putting together details for the denouement of The Body Under Ice.

I understand our Fun Committee is planning on a Holiday Party this year.  Don't tell certain religious organizations that, the packaging on some of our holiday decorations uses the word Christmas and that makes them swoony with joy.  It says a lot about such organizations when they're happy merchandisers are using the word Christmas without understanding its sole purpose is to target their wallets, pocket books, and credit cards.  They are so easily bought.  

At 0930 this morning, the electrician will arrive to install my dryer hookup.  I'm excited.  He's also installing a 2nd outlet in the kitchen.  I asked if the work could be done in a single day, the answer was yes.  The more I think about it, I'm certain he'll only be here for a few hours.  If that's the case, I may actually start painting the new laundry room.

I saw Musk has permitted Margie Taylor back on Twitter.  While he claims he's reinstating people because of free speech, more and more it looks like this is his way of say "screw you, I'm rich enough to do what I want."  At this point, while many say they are staying on the platform, many are moving to a more regulated platform.  Hate speech is not free speech.  What am I seeing?  Lots of MAGA hatred.  Many comments about how the extremist left is going to destroy America.  They get lost of responses, mostly calling these haters out.  I rarely respond since the Stevie Millers, and the Margie Greenes never look at the comments.  Their main goal is to Tweet something so reprehensible it begins to trend.  When no one replies, they fail.  Seeing one of Stevie's Tweets only garnering 40 responses after 6 or 7 hours brings joy to my heart.  Don't take their bait.  This is how you beat both them and Elon Musk.

About the Lies

 Sunday.  Hhhmm.  Sundays tend to be the only day of the week that I put in 8 hours at the store.  I don't mind.  Business heats up a little bit when we get the after church crowd.  Right now, almost all of our Halloween decorations are on clearance. Christmas decorations have been up for the last 2 weeks; lots of very expensive fake Christmas trees.  I, myself, don't decorate, though I do have my all season skinny tree.  If I do get into the mood, I could always through some Christmas balls on that.  Oh, yes, and that's right, when I was little we decorated our Christmas trees Christmas balls, and stars, and tinsel.  Here's an old, faded shot of what Christmas looked like in my house when I was a teenager.

That picture's from the house on 21st Street.  We moved there when I was 13.  The kids in the neighborhood I hung out with all had bikes, I didn't.  Hope upon hope, I wished for one for Christmas.  At that time, I was old enough to know there was no such thing as Santa, so one day I asked my dad if I was getting a bike for Christmas.  He shrugged and said "no."  Of course, I was terribly disappointed, but there really wasn't anything I could.  On Christmas morning, standing next the tree was a shiny, black road bike.  I was in heaven!  It was what I'd been praying for.  A few days later, my mom pulled me aside and chastised me.  She told me I should never have asked my dad if I was getting a bike, and that by doing so I had put him into a terrible spot.  He had been forced to lie to me.  I had made him feel guilty for having to lie and I was bad for having done that.  After 56 years, I still remember that day.  How screwed up her head must have been to feel the need to ruin what should have been a good moment.  

Trump had a rally in Texas yesterday where he spewed hatred.  I didn't bother to check for pictures of the crowd size, his group has been using smaller venues in order to make his crowds seem larger.  Smaller crowds do not mean smaller Cracker Jack Crazy turnout at the polls on November 8, keep that in mind.  As his rallies continue, his lies get worse.  Let's face it, nobody lies like Donald Trump, but then he has always embraced deceit as if it was his next of kin.  Another thing his rallies are embracing is the Q version of Christianity.  I don't know if any of you have seen this pic, but a number of Qs find it transcending.  What most of them don't realize, is that the face of Jesus is actually a pic of Charlie Manson.  So many of them will not understand how bad that lie is.