Mocking Trump

 We're off to a cool Wednesday with temps down into the upper 50s (F).  This is what they call good sleeping weather.  Our high today may be 74 (F), and I do mean maybe.  Yesterday forecasters had predicted a high in the low 70s (F) and that never happened.  Could it be that autumn weather is approaching us so soon?  Don't count on it.  

Honestly, I have to admit I cannot believe there are only 10 more days left in August.  I want to ask where has the summer gone?  So far it hasn't been a bad summer.  We've only had about a week or so of hot temps, though I do think it's been drier than the past 3 summers.  My lawn was brown, but Debby did my lawn and now it's green.  I'll give the verge another trim tomorrow.

As expected, I did very little yesterday, other than 3 loads of laundry.  

In The Body in History, the Eli and Max have just met Hermann Trigga in a chapter that's titled, appropriately enough, The Trigga Effect.  He is a real estate entrepreneur and his wife is a yoga instructor with her own YouTube channel.  They are a power couple who like to talk without saying much.  We all know people like this, who are so ever happy to talk and never seem to shut up.  They appear to be nice, perhaps a little to focused on their own endeavors, but appearances can be deceiving.  Could one of them be a cold blooded killer? 

One of the things I like about character creation is the way in which they evolve.  I start with a name, and as the story progresses personality traits develop.  They start thinking about the words they say, and how they appear.  Hermann is business casual.  He likes his slacks to have freshly pressed creases, a style he feels defines how sharp he is.

Of course, last night was the 2nd night of the Democratic Convention.  One word describes it best:  Wowza!

What wasn't there to love?  The musical roll call done to the beat of a DJ was rockin!  Even John McCain's bitter daughter posted how everybody in the arena was "having a blast."  Each state had it's own song!  You had Republicans on stage telling America why they were voting for Harris!  You had Michelle Obama, who some say gave a better speech than Barack. And, of course you had Barack himself.  I actually had the joy of seeing him speak live.  He is a dynamo!  One of the things he brought up was Trump's fixation on crowd size. That moment was special for 2 reasons, one being his hand gesture.  The other was that stunning moment when the screens in the arena simulcast a Harris rally happening at the same time in Milwaukee.   

That's right, 2 different arenas were filled to capacity, the one in Chicago where the convention is being held, and the other in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where another 15,000 were gathered to hear Kamala Harris.  That's 34,000 people simultaneously.  And it was done on purpose because the Orange Anus has problems filling up small arenas.  They publicly mocked Trump.  And it was wonderful, because Orangie, even in his wildest dreams, could never pull off something like that.

Joe Biden's 5 minutes

 The temps outside are a cool 63 (F), and so far the day is breeze with clouds scuttling across the sky.  The sun will popping out every now and then, which will be nice, so, weather wise the days should be fairly nice.

The first load of laundry is in the washer and will be hung out to dry shortly.

Yesterday, as expected, work was boring.  I did get a measure and sold one of my installations, but mostly I just sat around. Management was quite happy with my sales for last week and rewarded me with a $10 gift card to use in the store.  I could have gotten a card to use for fast food, but I don't eat it.  

And I'm planning on today being pretty much of a lazy day.  I do need to run to my neighborhood Giant supermarket to make a few purchases, and the gas tank of my car needs filled, but otherwise I'm not planning on doing to much, except possibly a bike ride this afternoon, and working on the new book.

Looking at my sneakers, I'm probably going to buy a new pair for Greece.  I own two pair, one being white, not a good color for trudging through archeological site, and the other navy blue, those being my work shoes.  They would be find, however, there is a tear on the right sneaker next to my small toe and it seems to grow larger every time I wear them, and my thought is that it would be rather amusing if that toe should pop out while trekking through Mycenae... well, maybe not.

I did watch the first night of the Democratic convention.

It was quite enjoyable.  I understand there was some whining because Biden didn't speak until late, that he should have been on during prime time.  Gee, I hate to tell those whiners, but he was on in primetime for the Central Time zone, and also Mountain Time, and primetime was just getting started in California.  We're a big country and his appearance was scheduled to maximize his exposure in all 48 states.

For those who missed it, Joe Biden received an almost 5 minutes standing ovation when he walked out onto the stage.

Orangie's already complaining.  He started a day ago, lying about his ratings, that his convention of Doom and Gloom had the greatest ratings ever.  The Democrats are going to send more cracks to splinter his fragile ego, concussing his neurons, trashing his transmitters, causing a serious seepage of unfettered lies to try and foil, and fail, as he flails in his attacks.  In other words, his meltdowns are now going to be accompanied with the percussive sounds of stomping feet.

One pundit noted that the Democrats have left behind "when they go low, we go high."  Not anymore, baby.  When Republicans go low, we're going to continue to slap them silly.

 

The Good Week

 Oh, my, Sunday has arrived.  What a week we have experienced.  There were a number of highs:  a co-worker has left the building... for good.  Our schedules for the next couple of weeks are chaotic, but the wasn't that much of a help when he was there.  The Democrats had their Convention.  That was really big.   But probably the biggest thing was how everything coalesced, and as a united majority we came out swinging.  And we landed punches.  And the world now knows we are America, not the crazies on the Right with their petty, tinfoil dictator wannabe.

By the way, did anybody listen to some of the recordings by the Idiot Jerk's sister?  I listened to the one where she said he has 'no principles.'  We've known that for quite some time.

The Republicans are having their convention this week.  Once again it is being called another attempt to reboot the Idiot Jerk's campaign.  This is what?  The third or fourth time it's been rebooted.  They're in reboot Hell.  Not surprisingly, he's scheduling himself to speak every night.  This shouldn't be a surprise.  To add to the entertainment value, I understand they've brought in 2 producers who worked on The Apprentice.  That's right, those poor suckers watching are going to get to watch a reboot of his reality show.  I wonder if he's going to say "you're fired."

And now for something completely different.  While working Thursday, I found a butterfly in aisle 9.  Not knowing how it got so far into the store, I took it outside.  Yesterday I found another one back by the restrooms.  The Kitchen Designer was kind enough to take pictures.  Here I am holding the little guy / girl.

And here's a close-up.

I took him out to our garden area.  It was the oddest feeling when he flew from my fingers to a small branch.  Last week was a very good week.

The Paradox of Numbers

 Life is a blast.  There are also disappointments to consider.  We all have those to contend with.  How we deal with them demonstrates our character.  I always say "they help build broad shoulders."  Believe me, I have nothing against a set of broad shoulders.  During my vacation, I gained some weight.  Every time I step on my scale I see a number I really don't like.  It irks me.  How could all those goodies I ate translate into a number I dislike?  Well, the truth is that if you don't do anything my caloric intake will always provide me with a number I don't like.

Of course, some high numbers are better than others.  At work, even though my sales numbers are not the highest, I'm number one flooring specialist in the store because the number of leads for future jobs I get is good.  People don't need to buy those jobs if they don't want.  It's the number of leads I generate that compensates for my lack of sales.

A number that was higher than most which is important is 24.6 million.  That's the number of viewer who turned in the last night of the Democratic Convention.  That's a good number.  We will have to wait until the Republican Convention to see how well they fare.  One thing (another number) you can count on is that if fewer people watch, (a lower number, which is good) the Idiot Jerk in the White House will lie.  The numbers he spouts, though, have always been the subject of hilarity... I mean reality.  But then he's not known for having very large shoulders, a gut yes, but not shoulder.

Here's another numerical paradox for you.  The Idiot Jerk's approval rating has actually gone up... slightly, I believe it now sits with 40.5 % of the country approving his performance.  However, that increase has not diminished Biden's chances of winning the election, in fact, they are continuing to edge upwards.  The truth is that they could hold the election today.  There are very few voters sitting on the fence at this point.  This doesn't mean you can sit home and skip voting this year.  Nope.  Our numbers need to be crushing.

Go Biden, Go!

 It's Friday.  I don't work.  I will be working 5 consecutive days before I have another day off.  That will be fine, since today is the last day of nobody's favorite specialist.  He's headed down to the Wilmington, NC store.  I asked him if it was high volume, lots of customers.  He told me there were 2 stores in Wilmington and his new store was the one to the north, so evidently he doesn't know.  One of the first things people ask is when they transfer is "how busy is the store?"  You want to gauge what your workdays will be like.  He doesn't know.

Anyway, I slept in this morning because I stayed up last night to watch the final night of the Convention.  What about Brayden Harrington, the 13 year old overcoming his stutter, a disability?  Didn't that bring a tear to your eye?   That was an amazing moment.  There were several moments like that.

And of course Joe's speech.  I watched the NYT stream, with running commentary.  The comments from the NYT political writers have been concise throughout the convention.  One of them was monitoring Twitter to provide the Social Media input, another was watching Fox News to get their biased opinions.  Me?  I was impressed.  Biden was clear and concise.  I couldn't help but think how Republicans have been trying to paint him as... well, a bit feeble.  That man is sharp as a tack.  They think the Idiot Jerk is going to run rings around him during the debates, but then Republicans have never been too damn smart.  Biden is going to call their president a liar to his face, he may even call him a 'damn liar,' and America will get to see the Idiot Jerk seething with rage.  Won't that be nice?

 For those who missed it, here Joe's speech:

I understand the Idiot Jerk wasn't impressed.  He really is a joke of a human being.

The Gloves Are Off

 Since I have today off, and to celebrate the arrival of Jules Laurant at Dun Adair, I stopped off on my way home from work yesterday to pick up a bottle of his favorite beverage: Port.  Tasty stuff.  I actually like it better than Sherry.  Port is very good for sipping.  

And lots of good stuff is planned for today:  return the broken track lighting, install the new track lighting, go for a ride on the bike.

And did anybody watch the opening night of the convention?  I did.  On my computer.  Since I have a subscription with the NYT, I watched it in its entirety... without commercials.  There was commentary scrolling down the side I could read rather than watch advertising.  I have no idea how the ratings were, though I suspect since the entire event was virtual, many may have turned in just out of curiosity.  One of the commentators noted that normally viewership is between 11 and 15 million.  However, because of the format, you can watch the entire thing in bits and pieces on YouTube. Being a virtual convention, it did not run late... well, I think 5 minutes.  The only thing that didn't work for me were the shots of average Americans applauding in their living room.  This might work for sporting events, but came across as rather surrealistic.  Now I will admit to occasionally standing up while watching the final sprint to the finish line during the Tour de France, I don't usually do that for speeches.  

As for the verbal attacks on the Idiot Jerk in the White House?  I found them invigorating.  We all hold a lot of anger towards this man.  It was good to see so many others demonstrating the same emotion.  The Gloves are Off.  The time has come to pummel this administration and the Republican Party until they're senseless...  Oh, hell, that's right... they're already pretty damn witless.

    

Work & Politics - 8 days a week

Eight Days a Week is an old Beatles song, one Paul McCartney, it is also the length of my work week... and I'm in the middle of it... and it's only going to get worse.  Tomorrow I get to open which means a 0330 wake-up call.  Wednesday and Thursday I get to stay up all night.  I can remember, when I was younger, staying up all night was not a big thing.  Now I hate it.  Oh, I do get Friday off, but after working a couple of overnights the day is pretty much a waste.  Besides, on Saturday I have to open the store again which means another 0330 wake-up call.
The following week I have someone named Stephen schedule in the department.  Since nobody knows who Stephen is, I asked the scheduler who flippantly said, "oh, don't worry, I'm just hiding him there, his hours are going to Admin, not you."  That's right, she's hiding somebody's hours in my department and charging them to another department.  They hired a guy a while back to work evening freight but I understand he now wants to work days so maybe she's trying to fudge his hours which, accounting wise, is not kosher.
The Democratic National Convention begins this evening.... I don't watch conventions.  Anyway, Hillary will get a big bump in the polls.  This always happens.  Poll watchers know this.  If you're not a poll watcher and read this blog... well, now you do.  Three weeks from now polls might show a little more relevance, but not now.
I think it's funny, the Ruskies seem to like Trump.  Way back when the DNC computers got hacked?  That's the first thing I thought of, you know?  Putin and Trump - soul mates.

The home improvement retail giant I work for does a 'healthy challenge' every summer.  This is a 6 week challenge in which associates are supposed to work on creating a more healthy lifestyle for themselves and their families.  If you want to continue getting a discount on your health insurance, you need to participate.  This year, unfortunately, they are showing participation by state.  Pennsylvania has a little over 10% participating, which is just another way of spelling 'failure.'  And you can bet, 99.9% of that 10% are only doing it for that discount.  If they want to promote healthy living, they need to link it to something other than the discount because I can tell you, most of the people from my store who are participating cheat.  This is how it goes.