Shame, Shame, Shame

 Holy Crap!  Am I running late today, or what?  Blame it on the great sleeping weather we had last night!  Even at this late hour our outside temp has barely cracked the 60 (F) mark.  We have a slight breeze and much sunshine.  I do believe the time has come to start prepping for autumn.

Yesterday was a good day, though not because Xerox dropped the ball on my new printer, and they really did drop the ball.  

My laptop, my TV, and my Xbox Series X?  They're all connected to the router upstairs.  No problem.  The new printer was connecting, so I started a chat with a Xerox tech who was going by the name Janice, though, going by the dropped words and bad punctuation I suspected she(?) was not an American Janice, or a British Janice, or even a Canadian Janice.  When Janice failed to come up with a solution, she (?) suggested escalating my issue by putting in a ticket for another team to respond.  She asked for, and I gave her, a specific time for them to call.   Well, that never happened.  I do believe one of the big problems with people nowadays is that they desperately feel that someone else needs to solve their problems, that puts the blame on someone else.  Not me.  When I signed up for T-Mobile internet, I got the big router which is up stairs, and a smaller one that I can locate downstairs if I need it.  So, I looked at this little router.  Lo and behold, it has 2 ethernet jacks.  Wow, I can connect my printer to the router with an ethernet cable.  It needs a Cat 5, I have a Cat 6 on hand, because I'm a nerdy, geeky guy.  Serious, 5 minutes later my printer is connected to the internet and I'm printing off the first 13 chapter of The Body in 4/4 Time. If Xerox asks me to review their support they will get a nicely worded reality check.  

And then yesterday this also happened.

This is a landslide win by a Democrat in a very red, Trump Orange Anus district.  Oh, and Susie Collins from Maine is super concerned because she was loudly booed at a ribbon cutting ceremony.  "Shame, Shame, Shame," the crowd chided her and all the while Susie kept on smiling.  That woman will never understand how badly she has sold out her constituents just to be a member of the Republican Party.

And Orangie had a 3 + hour televised cabinet meeting yesterday during which his sycophantic cabinet members constantly debased themselves in order to kiss his ass.  Rolling Stone listed the details of how these sniveling losers groveled before him.  I began to read the article and then stopped, unable to stomach what Rolling Stone called phony praise.

Also, the Secretary of Transportation said the administration is going to take over Union Station.  I'm betting that's because when Just Dancing Vance was booed so badly, even called Couch Fucker, when he walked through it the other day.  That's how this administration works, in case you haven't figure that out by now.

Bombshells

Well we have another warm morning here in Central PA.  The temp was 76 (F) when I rolled out of bed this morning.  If the forecast holds, the high today will be 97 (F), which is one degree less than yesterday, however, that one degree must make a world of difference because we're not under a heat warning today.  There is a chance of thunderstorms this evening, so maybe that's the reason.

Yesterday was rather productive.  I did get another 10.7 mile bike ride in.  And I did get a good, jolly laugh in as well.  As you know, I've been drying my laundry outside on a drying rack, it makes hot, sunny days a way to save on the electric bill.  Yesterday was no exception, except for one thing.  Usually Howie ignores the laundry.  Yesterday he didn't.  For some reason, he pulled a pair of my boxer shorts off and was running around the back yard with them in his mouth.  It took me 2 puppy cookies to get them back.  And it really did make me laugh.

I'm thinking of making some New England clam chowder today.  I have all of the ingredients.  Or, I might make tomato soup with a grilled cheese for dinner.  You'll notice I'm saying grilled, rather than toasted.  I don't know anyone who actually toasts a cheese sandwich.

Christos in Greece got his copy of The Body in History yesterday.

So, now we know why Orangie dropped the F bomb yesterday:  his used of bombs to stop Iran's nuclear turns out to have been rather impotent.  I mean, all his braggadocio and in reality he didn't even hit the pre-ejaculation stage.  The intelligence briefing for Congress was canceled because telling our Representatives that Iran had only been set back a few months was tantamount to admitting failure.  I do think there is a serious chemical imbalance going on in his brain because now he's saying dropping those bombs was like the US nuking Hiroshima.  

And Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor; this is considered a bombshell vote.  Christian Nationalist heads are exploding everywhere.  So are the Old Guard heads of the Democratic Party.  This is fine.  Change is good.  Because of the great de-churching, I do believe that many Americans don't really care about an individual's faith.  This is a growing movement.  We are, after all, a country where there is supposed to be Freedom of Religion.

Arrested!

 Well, we have a chilly start to Monday.  When I got up, our temp was 58 (F).  The forecast is for things to warm up to around 68 (F) this afternoon, with rain.  Yepper, we're are still in that rain cycle.  More is expected tomorrow.  I work this afternoon so I don't care.  Tomorrow I don't work.  That'll be a bummer.

I do have to get some blood drawn tomorrow morning.  This is for an AC1 blood test which will check my sugar for the past several weeks.  My blood sugar has always been borderline, like my cholesterol and blood pressure, so I have been through this before.  After tomorrow's test, I will most likely be scheduled to have another blood test in about 6 weeks.  That gives me some time to lose weight.  In the past, that has always made things closer to borderline.

Since my plans for yesterday afternoon were canceled, I got in a really good workout.  I'm adding new exercises.  I had a total of 40 sets.  I'm planning on getting in a row before I got to work this afternoon.

On occasion, I do try and take selfies with Howie.  Yesterday's attempt got me a side eye.

As Rex in DC said, Orangie is vindictive as Hell.  Now, I don't know if it's because everyone in the world laughed at his stupid parade, but at some point yesterday he decided that ICE was going to focus on cities run by Democrats.  Though I think most will agree with me that this is mostly Stevie Miller's doing than Orangie's.  After his short speech at the end of his birthday parade yesterday Orangie just stood on stage and had to be told it was time to leave.  I found it amusing that Melanoma gives him a quick Howie side eye.  

And, of course, that Christian Nationalist assassin has been captured.  This is good.  Even better, he's being charged by the state rather than the Federal Government.  This means that if he is proven guilty the Orange Anus cannot pardon him.  Honestly, that was the first thing that went through my head when I heard that the police had made an arrest.  Also, honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the DOJ attempts to take this case over for that very purpose.  Orangie needs to keep his wack job Christian base happy.

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

 Well, good morning to you all.  The outside temps are cool, in the mid 30s, (F) though they're predicted to climb up into the mid 60s (F) this afternoon.

And first off, I need to apologize to Chris Platt for confusing him with that other Chris.  He does not work in film, but with The Harmony Project, a group that puts sustainability and nature at the heart of learning.

Chris Platt

About a week ago, I nicked my knuckle at work, of course being  the knuckle of the forefinger of my right hand, there was an immediate challenge to healing.  As a result, it's a little infected.  So, this morning, while I'm not licensed to practice in Central PA, I played doctor.  

And I did work yesterday.  Retail is slow.  Without giving away the bank, I can say that we are well below our sales plan for the year.  There was some excitement, however!  While one of our fork lift operators was pulling a pallet of water softner salt from a top rack, the weight shifted and around 800 lbs. came crashing down into the Paint Department smashing the display.  No one was injured, but it was very loud.  There was lots of expensive damage.

And one of the headlines I found so uplifting this morning concerns Chucky Schumer, who is "in the worst fight for his political career."  Good.  One of the Democrats biggest problems is Michelle Obamas comment about taking the "high road."  Taking the "high road" does not mean you cannot be aggressive, yet Schumer and other high ranking Democrats seemed to have redefined "the high road," as being complacent.  Complacency is not an option.  When I read his comment that he was voting for the CR because the Orange anus was going to do shit anyway, I thought: this is like being diagnosed with cancer and deciding not to go through chemo because you'll probably die anyway.  I don't think he understands that he crapped on his own legacy, perhaps that thought never crossed his mind, perhaps he was more interested in getting on with his book tour.  

Rolling Stone asks if Democrats are tired of surrendering?  Damn right.  There are way more Democrats in this country than there are Republicans.  There are far more people in America that hate the Orange Anus than like him.  We need to do more than just put our foot down.  The time has come for us to Shake, Rattle, and Roll!

Chaos is Coming

 It's Friday.  It's going to be overcast most of the day, and temps may climb up into the mid 50s (F).  We have started a warming trend that should see our daily temps in the mid to upper 60s (F) by Monday, though thunderstorms are also in the forecast.  I honestly don't mind Spring weather.

For the record, I also like Daylight Savings Time.  Even though I'm a morning person, there are not a lot of things other than reading through the news, paying bills, and writing this blog done in the morning, so there's no need for an early sunrise.  However, there are things that are done in either the afternoon or evening, like dog walks, or working outside, when evening sunshine is appreciated.  If I had my druthers, we would stay in permanent Daylight Savings Time.

I got a nice upper body workout in before heading into to work to discover retail was very slow yesterday.  The store was barely making plan, however when I left last evening at 7 were were still around $60 thousand under, so there was no way were going to hit that goal. I did talk to an older woman (60 ish) about having vinyl sheet installed in the family bathroom.  She told me this long story of how she and her husband had installed a new medicine cabinet that came with "terrible" installation instructions, and even though they followed them thoroughly, the cabinet fell out of the wall and damaged their flooring. (sigh)  She wasn't happy that there's a charge to replace an existing toilet with a new one, and complained that one of our competitors didn't charge.  I politely told her that was nice, but we charge.  Then!  a customer walked by with a golden retriever on a leash and she complained.  I nodded, and smiled, and pointed out that we have dog treats at our desk, as does every other department; PetSmart is at the end of our parking lot and a lot of people will bring their dogs into the store.  She frowned and said, "I can see this flooring job isn't going to work with your store," as she stood up.  I apologized to her back as she walked away.  She evidently doesn't understand that the customer isn't always right.

As I go through the edits of The Body in History, I'm trying to decide just what should go on the back cover.  I'm leaning a lot towards this one of me in Greece.

There is a lot of tension right now on whether the Democrats should help fund the government for another 6 months.  Anger is high among Democrats and this seems to be the perfect time to punch the Orange Anus squarely in the face.  Chuck Schumer is getting horrific flack because he wants to pass the funding measure, saying shutting it down would give Orangie the option of deciding which departments stayed open and which ones were closed.  First of all, I think people need to understand that we are not dealing with Orangie at all.  Any sane person who listens to him speak for more than 2 minutes realizes much of his brain is missing spatial connection.  So, who is in charge?  Elonia?  He bought the presidency, so that's a very good possibility.  Putin?  He definitely has a lot of leverage.  Both of them, probably.  All Orangie wants to do is play golf and stay out of jail... oh, and continue his reality TV show:  Live... From the White House."  To be honest, I don't think it matters if the government is shut down or not; both Elonia and Putin want to set the stage for calling Martial Law.  Whether it's shut down on not, serious protests are on the horizon.  Giving the Republicans the opportunity to shut down Medicare would work against them, and though the GOP believes it's prepared for protests, they are totally in over their heads and have no idea what an angry America is going to do to their party.  In spite of all the anger at Schumer, it doesn't really make a difference, chaos is coming.

Ain't No Yellow Brick Road

 It's cold outside with the temp sitting in the upper 20s (F).  If the forecasters are correct, however, when I leave work the temp should be in the low 50s (F).  Tomorrow, the daily high is supposed to hover in the low 60s (F), and by Tuesday we should be cracking the 70 (F) degree mark.  Of course, and isn't there always an "of course," temps are predicting fall back into their normal range.

Yesterday was not bad, I did get an upper body workout in before work; burned 158 calories in the process, though my back felt a little sore last evening.  Work was slow.  I mean really slow.  This is the time of year when people usually begin picking up their "curb appeal" mulch, and grass seed.  So far, that's not happening.  I have no measures and no sales in the foreseeable future.  I'm also working 8 hours today.  If this were a normal day there wouldn't be much of a problem, but this isn't a normal day.  We shifted to Daylight Saving Time, so I'm running, for all intents and purposes, and hour behind.  I am feeling a bit rushed.  And, even though the weather today is supposed to be nice, I don't expect us to be very busy.  People gussy up their lawns and patios on the weekends, not during the week, so our big sales days are always on Saturdays.  

Looky, looky, George Bush has grown a spine.

I find it interesting how Republicans are stepping up to the plate, putting the heat on the Orange Anus' administration, whereas too many Democrats seem to treating Orangie's wannabe dictatorship like the year is 1950.  Too many of them are suffering from "Susan Collins Concerned Syndrome."  Too many of them are still grabbing their pearls as though the media is going to treat this as any sort of attempt at a serious opposition.  The problem is Democrats do not know how to mount and sort of offense.  They are too used to taking the high road.  Let me paraphrase myself here:  Y"ou can take the high road, or you can take the road, just keep in mind their ain't no yellow brick road."

Crudité

Tuesday.  The skies are overcast.  Temps are in the mid 40s (F), and they're predicted to get warmer.  Supposedly the sun is going to be coming out later this afternoon.  I am waiting.

I got almost 2 miles in on the treadmill yesterday.  I was pleased, but I didn't come close to getting in over 15,000 I walked on Sunday. 

Today feels like a low energy day.  There are things that need to be done, like laundry, and cleaning the aquarium in the living room, and I know I'll get them completed, but it's going to take a bit of oomph.  Is it the lack of sunshine?  Perhaps I should put special lighting throughout the house so it looks summer.  In less than a week we will have passed the shortest day of the year.  I can not wait, then days will start to lengthen and, hopefully, there will be more sunshine.

Yesterday was fairly meh at work.  Time passed slowly.  Left over appetizers from the previous night's store party were in the refrigerator, including salamis, bolognas, and cheeses, so I snacked away a lot of the time.  You'll notice I said appetizers.  That was the popular word when I was young.  For a number of years people would add cut up veggies so they changed the name to crudité.  Now they call it charcuterie, which is just another name for appetizer.  No one wants to call them hors d'oeuvres any more, though at one time that, too, was the stylish lingo.  The first time I saw hors d'oeuvres I pronounced it whores divorce, and was asked why a whore would want a divorce.  Here's a pic of... well, you can call it whatever you like.

And I saw that another Democrat judge has unretired.  Of course, this flips out the Republicans.  There's no way they can force their authoritarian government upon America if Democrats refuse to retire.

Also, the Orange Anus gave some sort of rambling press conference... yesterday?  The press is still sane-washing whatever he says, even though it makes no sense.  He talked about the drones over New Jersey; now isn't that a great title for a super hero movie?  And he talked about his beloved tariffs.  And there were other things mentioned that simply don't need to be mentioned because his ramblings are simply that, totally lacking substance.

Up in Canada, Trudeau got a smack in the face as his finance minister suddenly resigned.  From what I understand, she was furious that he went to Mar a Lago so unprepared to deal with the Orange Anus.  I might have quit, too, if I were her.  The only thing Orangey understands is power, so, when the first word out of Trudeau's mouth was "hey," Orangey and everyone else at the table treated him like a fool.  I'm not doubting that Trudeau thought he was going to be treated to charcuterie, and what he got was crudité. 

Sunrise

 So this morning the temp was 38 (F) when I got up.  Supposedly, we're supposed to get some sort of rain today.  If we do get any, it's not going to be much, barely 1/4 of an inch.  What we need is a long soaker, and that simply isn't in the forecast.  Next week, the forecasters are calling for almost half an inch.  I'll believe it when I see it.

I did work yesterday.  It was very slow.  As a result, I sat at the Flooring desk and caught up on my training.  There was a long recertification class on security and equality, that includes what to do if there is an active shooter in the building.  I don't see the problem of mass shootings ending anytime soon.  The only bright spot was that both Saturday and Sunday are Sundae days.  They give us these little perks if we go so many days with out a reportable accident.  Right now we're at 95 days accident free.  Unfortunately, the perks do not change the mindset that allows people to make stupid mistakes, and, not surprisingly, it tends to be the same group demonstrating their stupidity over and over again.  

Howie's house training is going well.  He still has accidents, but he's also doing a lot of his dirty work outside.  The less I have to clean up, the better things are.  I'm going to order him a number of toys for Christmas.  This is because he's a puppy, and puppies chew.  They also get bored with whatever they're chewing on and move on to something else.  The more they have to chew, the less you have to worry about damaged furniture.  

I took this from the exercise room this morning.

There's a lot of finger pointing going around after the Democrat's devasting loss in this past election.  People need someone to blame.  Someone other than themselves.  Many are asking why didn't more Republicans vote for Harris?  Surprise!  They are never going to vote for the other guy.  A lot of voters thought Republicans would stay home from the polls, when it was millions of Democrats that stayed home instead.  This past election was Hillary 2016 2.0.  We got stuck with Trump back then because of voter apathy, and now we're stuck with the Orange Anus again.  This time it's going to be worse.

The only dimly shining light is that in 2 years there will be midterm elections, and even though it is going to be dim, let's hope that sunrise is brighter than the one we have today. 

Breaking out of the rut

 Well, we've got overcast skies here again this morning.  Temps are supposed hit the low 90s (F).which means our cooling off period is over.  The heat index is suppose to be maxing out Monday and Tuesday as the heat Mr. Shife has been dealing with moves over us.  If the forecast holds, Tuesday we should hit 101 (F).  It hasn't been that stinky hot in years.

Tuesday I'm scheduled to meet my cousin and her husband for lunch.  We've turned this into a 3 month ritual and it's a lot of fun.  We do reminisce, but we also talk about what's going on in our lives.  One of their grand kids is a good enough swimmer to get a scholarship and dreams of going to the Olympics someday.  I find that fascinating.  When I was growing up, the focus was on getting a job, getting married, and having a family.  Competitive sports for a large majority of my class ended with graduation, and that was a nearly impossible rut to get out of, and while I didn't break out completely by joining the Navy, I did by going to college when I was discharged.

I'm going to a memorial service today for my neighbor Eileen.  She's the one whose will I signed and then later made ink changes to it, a legal no no.  I'm really neutral about the entire thing.

Just took a picture of my peaches.  This is what they look like.  There is not going to be an abundant crop, and they're growing much slower than they did in the past.  Two years ago I was harvesting them by now.

There are days when I feel comfortable about the approaching election and days when I don't.  We do have a lot of dumbasses in this country who, because of their lack of education, believe that an authoritarian government would work in their favor, that an authoritarian leader like Trump would sow benefits upon them.  Can you hear me laughing?  In the history of mankind, that has never, ever happened.  It's is those bumpkins who end up suffering the most, and their suffering goes hand in hand with their whining about how bad things are.  These are the same people who will get a job and will deride it constantly, but never take the initiative to go out and find a better job.  These are the voters Trump and the Republicans depend upon.  It's why they campaign against wokeness.  A dumb voter is always easier to manipulate.  They will never break out of the rut, that would take too much effort.

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."

What Americans Think

 We have heat warnings again for today with temps expected to be in the mid to upper 90s (F).  The same warnings are in effect for tomorrow.  Wednesday, it looks like we're going to be getting some rain, though I suspect they will be spotty at best.  We're in the dry days of July and August, when rain is usually a tough commodity to come by, so unless we get the remnants of a tropical storm or hurricane we can't expect much in the way of precipitation.

Work was boring yesterday.  Not a lot of customers.  This is normally a slow time of year.  People plan and go on vacations.  Kids are home from school.  Most importantly, when it's as hot as it's been, people don't want installers keeping door open and letting the expensive cooled air out.  Spring and fall are our best times for installation.  Corporate understands this, that's why are measure quota drops.  At least they understand one thing about the economy.

I've bought a couple of pair of walking shorts in anticipation for my trip to Greece.  Some are new, some I picked up at Community Aid.  I've never been a clothes horse.  This means I don't need to dress up, just look presentable.  

And this is one of my short weeks at work: today, Thursday, and Sunday.  I took Saturday off because I have a memorial service to attend in the afternoon.  It's one of those outside affairs where the deceased's ashes, per her wishes, are going to be floated down a stream... I'd say I was going to take pictures, but that might be too tacky... or then again, maybe not.  We shall have to wait and see.

Well, I guess it's time I started working on this.

One of the things that bites my ass is Democrats suddenly asking Biden to step down.  Mostly, I think, they're doing it because they don't think he's going to get the votes in November.  Believe me, if he's nominated, he going to get the votes.  At the same time, should he step down, I don't think it really matters who the Democratic nominee for president is, he (or she) is going to get the votes.  This is not a beauty pageant.  Voters are not that stupid.  They're not going to vote on what the New York Times says, or NBC news, they're going to vote on the issues.  While some might see the words Status Quo as being too normal, that is what American wants,  Status Quo is balanced, unchanging, something that you can count on.  America wants reliability.  Americans don't want an authoritarian government telling them how to live their lives.  That's what they see when the look at the Republican party.  They look at the Supreme Court's ruling on Roe v Wade, and at court's recent immunity decision, and they don't like what they see.  They don't like Project 2025.  People are very pissed off about that, and Republicans, in their own tiny minds don't care what a majority of Americans think.  Republicans just want to say "shut up!  we're in charge!"

Toot Your Own Horn

 When I climbed out of bed this morning the sun was shining.  Much has changed.  The clouds have come rolling in, and later this afternoon, or at least so I've read, showers are going to move into the area.  Temps will be in the low 70s (F) and that won't be bad, but these constant showers are making it difficult to mow my lawn.

Looking at my chore list for today, it looks like it's chock full of things that need to be done, however, the time involved for each chore isn't heavy on the minutes.  The longest is mowing the lawn, if the clouds don't decide to bless me with drizzles, and even that's only about 20 minutes.  I mow fast, though the height of the grass may slow me down, so maybe that should be 25.  None of the tanks need to be cleaned, but I need to run to the post office, and then to my local Giant supermarket.  That errand will consume the most time.

The area rug I bought for the living room arrives today.  I'd like to get that laid, but there are other things I need to do to prep for it.  I'm going to need assistance in moving the desk, unless I take all of the drawers out, then I think ;I can move it, but that's going to be a chore in itself, so I'm planning on getting that done next week.

Yesterday, retail was oh, so slow.  Believe me, it was a long 8 hours.  I did manage to get a small sale, and that's fine.  How good are my sales?  The other part-time associate has racked up $46,000 in the last 6 months, while I just topped $180.000, and I'm only $26,000 behind the full time specialists.  Believe me, I do let management know that, too.  Many years ago, I had an Human Resources manager tell me that you need to "toot your own horn," because no one else will.

And Michael Cohen was tooting his horn yesterday.

Evidently there was some concern that he was going to come across as a jerk, since most people view fixers as the underbelly of the beast.  Let's face it, working for the Orange Anus, Cohen has truly slithered his way through mountains shit.  Evidently, nobody likes him, except possibly his family.  He is not the loving Father Knows Best kind of guy.  But, to the prosecution's relief he was pleasant and well prepared.  he brought the receipts.  Cohen knows where the bodies are buried, and he dug up a few yesterday.  

I'm also seeing a lot of consternation from people who are looking at the polls and seeing Biden behind in many.  I find it fascinating that in many of these reports the cite how Trump over performed the polls in 2016, and how Democrats over performed in 2018, 2020, and really over performed in 2022.  Remember 2022?  When Republicans were predicted to smash whatever strength the Democrats had because, traditionally, the party that loses the presidency gains seats in both the congress and the senate in the next election.  Ooops.  Tradition was upended, so were the polls.  The truth is that polls will never recover the accuracy they once had, but news sources are desperate to create drama in order to generate the number of clicks advertisers want to see.  I hate to say this, but they are generating fake news, but it's not just Main Stream media, it's everybody.  This is what happens when you abandon truth for advertising dollars.  

Of a Certain Age

 Well, hello sunny Saturday!  If you're in central PA, you want to enjoy it while you can since the clouds are already rolling in.  Temps are going to climb into the low 60s (F).  Drizzle will dampen us this afternoon, and temps will begin a slow, but consistent drop, like the rain that will be falling later in the day.  Right now, however, the sun is blasting brightness in through the workout room window.

I do get to go work this afternoon.  So, I'll be sitting at the flooring desk when our spring-like weather declines.  Will I be busy?  Hhhmm, probably not.  We're in the middle of the February doldrums, when cold weather and the idea of having your doors open for an extended period of time, dissuades many from paying for any sort of installation or renovation.  Not every body.  There are those who might still consider have blinds hung.

We're also beginning to sell custom-made area rugs again.  Can you hear the excitement in my voice?

And I started installing my kitchen floor yesterday.  Rather than spending time on my knees, my biggest issue (and not problem) is making all the cuts to the tiles.  Supposedly, you can use an exacta-knife, or some other sharp blade to make the cuts on the tiles and then break them.  That don't work for me.  My straight edge keeps sliding so the cut is never... straight.  Instead, I'm using a miter saw to cut them.  I find it amusing that after the instructions spend several sentences telling you how to cut tiles for the installation, there's this throwaway tag line letting you know that if the knife doesn't work, you should use a jig saw or a miter saw.  Duh. If they know the blade isn't going to cut deep enough, why talk about it?  Here's what about 36 square feet looks like.  I will do the rest next week.

And, of course, Democrats are still flipping out over Hur's (the special counsel looking at Biden's document issue) comments about his mental acuity.  No matter how much they want to point their fingers and shout he was appointed by Trump, and is a loyalist to Trump, they should have been expecting this.  Biden's age is the Democratic elephant in the room.  They should have been prepared for something like this, and they weren't.  Now there are Republicans claiming he should be removed using the 25th amendment because of this.  Democrats should have known this was a card the Republicans were going to play, and while both parties can play dirty politics, Republicans are masters at that game.

My personal opinion:  Biden should have seen himself as a caretaker president and laid the groundwork for someone younger, say a Newsome, instead of convincing himself that his age was not going to be a problem.

Counter This

 First off, I was wrong about the weather.  It's supposed to be chilly willy today and warm, up into the 70s (F) tomorrow.  I can deal with this.  If the long range forecast is correct, our temps will be staying moderate for the foreseeable future.  While this is not good for the gas, electric, and home heating oil companies, it's great for consumers.  Perhaps if they had been more focused on Global Warming and less upon their own greed this pain to their bank accounts might have been avoided.  Good for us in the short term, probably bad for them in the long term.

The new monitor came yesterday.  It's bigger, though I tend to lose my mouse pointer from time to time, so I change it, made it bigger and bright purple.  We'll see if that helps.

Oh, and today is my birthday.  I'm 71 today.  If you listen closely, I'm sure you can hear my sister and brother laughing.  To celebrate, I'm going to make some cauliflower soup, and Lily and I will share some cake and ice cream.  Oh, and I'm probably going to the movies tonight.  And probably a haircut is on the agenda, as well as... gee, it looks like I'm going to be rather busy today.

And my new granite kitchen countertop has been installed.  I got a number of odd looks when I told people I wasn't going to personally pick out my slab, that I was more concerned with colors than pattern.  I wanted colors that coordinated with my pale yellow walls and backsplash, which is glass tiles with shades of pale blue and brown, with shiny copper highlights.  This is what I got.

And this is a good day to be a Democrat, or a Centrist, or an Independent American.  Republicans and staunch conservatives took it on the chin... well, they did win the governorship of Mississippi, but that was almost a done deal.  Not only did Ohio enshrine abortion rights into they constitution, they approved the domestic use of marijuana (private citizens can now own up to 5 plants).  In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Basheer was re-elected by a large margin. That's right those conservatives in Mitch McConnell's state really like it when there's a Democrat in charge.  In Virginia?  Ouch.  Governor Glenn Youngkin's plans to become a presidential candidate ran off the tracks big time.  His conservatives lost control of both the State House and Senate rendering his agenda moot.  

Interestingly enough, I've not heard one of the losers in yesterday's elections cry out election fraud, most likely because Republicans that lost, lost big.  Will Republicans learn a lesson?  Absolutely not.  That would mean they'd made a mistake and were wrong, that they weren't reading the American people.  Honestly, by now you would think that most Americans realize that Republicans have absolutely no desire to read them, or understand them.  The only people Republicans are interested in representing are the very wealthy.

Matty's problem

 And it's Monday, and the temps are suppose to be climbing up into the mid 80s (F).  That means I might have to turn on one the ceiling fan in the bedroom.  Sun is supposed to shine all day, meaning my lawn is going to grow, grow, grow.  No rain is in the forecast, but mowing is.  Probably take care of that chore on Wednesday.  I've too many other things that need to be done tomorrow... like turn off the water to the kitchen sink and cut the pipes.

Yesterday was slow at work... mostly.  I did get asked a few questions, and managed to get in a measure, and processed a sale, but mostly I sat at the flooring desk.  I did watch a YouTube video on installing an LG dishwasher.  It looks to be easy peasy.  If you're thinking of undertaking a home project, and this is something I recommend to the customers I talk to, watch YouTube videos, just keep in mind that so many people are posting there, you're going to get good videos and bad videos.  Don't just watch one and think you're an expert... you might be watching one of those that isn't that accurate.  

I have a friend who's been touring Italy (she arrives in Paris this morning) and most of the pictures she's been sending are of food.  Here's one of them:

And, of course, the country's debt ceiling is safe for another 45 days.  I found it fascinating that some Republicans are furious that both Republican Senators and Congressmen voted with Democrats to get this agenda passed, which says a lot about them.  There are certain members of the GOP who refuse to vote on any bill that Democrats are involved with.  This is what we've come to expect from the party that so desperately wants to say "shut up, we're in charge."  For them, compromise is dead, murdered by Newty Gingrich.

Probably the other funny thing, funnier than Taylor Swift pissing off Conservatives, is that there appears to be a plan to expel Matt Gaetz from Congress, mostly because his dating habits, teenage girls seem to be part of his agenda.  Now you have to admit, isn't it both hilarious and telling as hell that nobody likes him?  Remember that video clip back when McCarthy was trying to get the speakership and someone pulled Matty aside to give him a word of advice?  Matty was frowning so badly afterwards, but he voted for McCarthy.  Well, he seems to have flushed that advice down the drain.  The fact that people are saying this is a good possibility, that Matty will get kicked out before George Sanchez, is quite titillating.  I'm sure his daddy's none too happy, especially after it cost him so much money to get Matty elected.

Bibi's good, Sinema's bad

 Hello Saturday!  We're having another sunny day that's going to be on the coolish side.  Temps are predicted to rise into the low to mid 40s (F), which is fine with me.  I do get to work today.  1 PM to 7 PM.  This is the shift I worked during the pandemic and I liked it.  Being a morning person, everything is pretty much done before noon, so being paid very well to sit at a flooring desk for 6 hours is not bad.

Biggie's appointment has been made for his BIG blood test.  He's scheduled for December 20, and will be there for a full 8 hours.  The last time he was at the Vet that long was when he had his little man jewels removed.  The cost to definitely prove he has Cushing's Disease is $469.  How's that for a bite out of the pocketbook?  Not only will the test give him an idea of which glands have the little tumors, but also indicate what his med dosage will be.  That dog's going to be on more meds than me.

I had chosen a ride through Arcadia, Maine, for my treadmill jaunt yesterday.  It looked like it might be relaxing.  Well, 3.5 minutes into it YouTube popped in commercials that I skipped, and then 4 minutes later there were more commercials I needed to skip through, and again, 3.5 minutes after that there were more commercials.  I shut down the video after 16 minutes because by then there had been 4 sets of commercial breaks.  The problem is some content providers want to monetize their videos and so they allow commercials, and Youtube wants you to pay for a subscription to get out of commercials.  Sorry, but I'm not on Youtube long enough to justify a monthly payment, and there are plenty of content providers who aren't really interested making a pittance from their videos.

This being said, there are a number of people I do follow on YouTube, content providers whose originality stands out, like Dylan Bibi.  He's French, speaks very fast, tends to drink a lot of beer, and is both funny and original.

Evidently Kari Lake has filed a lawsuit against Maricopa county claiming election fraud.  This was to be expected.  Like her lord and savior, Donald Trump, her shrieks and lawsuits will only benefit the Democrats of Arizona.

And, speaking of Arizona, there is still quite a bit of fallout regarding Kristen Sinema.  Most people have come to the conclusion she made the only move she could knowing Democrats were going to primary her out in the next election cycle.  Some think she will not run for re-election, I'm betting that's not going to happen.  Even if she received every independent vote, she'd still need either Republican or Democrat voters to win, and both parties hate her.  There is a theory, however, that I do find attractive and it goes like this:  wanting that 51st seat in the Senate, Biden will offer her an nice ambassadorship, which Sinema will accept.  That would allow Katie Hobbs to replace her with strong minded Democrat.  Sinema is not stupid, but she is totally self-serving.  She will do whatever will benefit her the most.

 

The Future

 Well, it's Thursday, and I'm a little disappointed.  I work today, and for some reason I thought I had a short shift.  Well, wouldn't you know that while I was grabbing the milk from the fridge for my coffee, I glanced at my schedule (posted on the fridge door) and saw I'm at the store for a full, 8 hour shift.  Son of a bitch.  And here I had planned the entire day joyously running loads of laundry through my brand new washer and dryer.

They did arrive yesterday, in the rain, a bit earlier than I had expected.  There was supposed to be a call 1/2 hour before the delivery men / installers arrived.  That didn't happen.  They were here for about 50 minutes.  My ventless dryer kit arrived early, around 5:30 last evening.  I quickly attached that and ran my first load, towels, through washer and dryer.  

The front load washer uses a lot less water than my old washer.  It spins in both directions, clockwise and counter clockwise, and a load of laundry takes longer.  The dryer, with the sensor-dry, takes less time.  I have not downloaded the Wi-Fi settings yet, maybe later, before I go to work.  Here's a pic.  The shelves on the back wall are still going to be used for storage; I'm keeping some of the walk-in closet's functionality.

Yesterday, the Democrats quietly transition power to a younger generation.  This pleases me greatly.  Young and diverse, this is the future of America.  Say "hello" to Hakeem Jeffries, Kathrine Clark, and Pete Aguilar; not an old, white guy among them.

The taxes for the old Orange Anus arrived in Congress yesterday.  Will they be leaked.  I'd say there's a possibility, though not until after he's indicted.  

And, speaking of indictments, I've been hearing a lot of hush hush regarding those members of the House who had requested pardons from Trump, the idea being that no one requests a pardon unless they did something wrong.  The word is that certain names, Perry, Gohmert, Biggs, Brooks and Green, are very big blips on the insurrectionist's radar.  Gaetz requested one, too, but his seems to have been more geared towards his sexual proclivities than anything else.  This is important because the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is, shall we say, rather tenuous.

October Surprise

 Yesterday was good, mostly.  Many chores accomplished.  While the nectarine tree is still standing (operative word being still), my peach tree was cut way back in order for it to grow straighter.  Odd choice of words, perhaps, but it's better not to have your trees growing into the side of your house.

The only issue was my neighbor from across the street, she decided to come over and... forcibly chat might be a nice way of looking at it.  Closing on the house next to me is scheduled for this afternoon, and she had one last chance to wonder through and pick out things she might want.  Once it was locked up, she decided there were things she might have liked to have grabbed, like a crockpot, and a dust buster, and I got to be on the receiving end of her complaints.  She actually tried to find a way inside even though at this point it would be breaking and entering.

Can we have a moment of silence for the passing of Angela Lansbury?  I saw her in Sweeny Todd on Broadway.  She was simply amazing.

Last evening I went to see Amsterdam.  It was thoroughly enjoyable.  It's a comedy... sort of, and a drama, but not quite.  Oh, and it's also a mystery.  Set in the early 1930s, between World Wars 1 & 2, I was surprised at how currently relevant the political dialogue was, as well as it's commentary on racism and antisemitism.  Oh, and Bob will be pleased to know that his most favoritesat entertainer of all time, Taylor Swift is in it briefly.

The midterms are racing towards us, and one thing I am very glad of is that I don't watch cable TV.  From what I've seen, the campaign ads are negative as hell, from both sides.  The Republicans are all about authoritarianism, the Democrats democracy.  The Republicans have convinced themselves that all they need to do is be in charge.  They think the country will be cowed and accept everything they want.  They believe that because they are pro 2nd amendment, they are the only ones with guns.  They weren't always so stupid.  There was a time when they knew how to compromise.  If there is a party that will lead this country into civil war, it is them.

And finally, Tulsi Gabbard has left the Democratic Party.  Now, isn't that a relief?  She will no longer need to lie about being a Russian Asset.  I don't know if any of you heard me chortling, but I do suspect that in her tiny mind she believed her announcement was going to be the October Surprise.  She tried to get the Democratic nomination for president and, except for a few strident followers, no one signed on to her message.  That must be why she signed on for a gig at Fox News, she realized she could be more damaging there.  If there is an October Surprise, I don't doubt it will make Tulsi's announcement sound like a fart.

Yesterday

 I woke up this morning to the scent of skunk.  What a way to begin Monday, a work week in which I'll be spending over 32 hours at the store. 

Update on the associate whose hours I'm covering (slightly).  He didn't fall through a roof; he fell off the roof of a ranch house (his son said 9 feet).  His nose was cut (left side) and stitched, and he broke his shoulder.  He'll most likely be back at work next week, but he won't be hoisting any cases of tile for the next few months.

Update on my neighbor's wife:  she came home yesterday afternoon.  I didn't run over and talk to her.  We were never that close.  She wants to sell the house, but I've been seen how fully the dining room is packed with... stuff.  Unless she pays someone to come in and haul it away, it's not something that's going to happen in the next week or so.

I worked 8 hours yesterday, and believe me, they were a very long hour.  I talked to a couple about blinds.  I did get 2 measurements and a lead on a curtain installation.  No, we don't install curtains or drapes.  We sign people up for a consultation with Kirsch, a company that handles 'window dressings.'  

My late summer roses are beginning to bloom.

And yesterday was a good day for Democracy.  Major legislation was passed.  The Republicans hate it.  This bristles them down to the core of their gill slits, not that Republicans actually have gill slits... but then they just might.  Isn't this what happens when a species gives up mouth breathing for bottom feeding?  

Of course, the Republicans voted down a cap on insulin.  They blamed it on a technicality.  The cap couldn't be included with the regular package and so, rather than do something good for diabetic Americans, they offered them as a sacrifice to big Pharma.  They prefer to have people suffer than give the Democrats anything that might be considered a win.

And finally... A Cracker Jack Crazy church in Dallas is in some serious legal trouble by not only performing an unauthorized performance of Hamilton, but they're also under fire making other changes in the script.  For example, Hamilton is 'saved' and becomes a Christian before his death.  They also did a number of other changes to the script making the show anti-LGBTQ.  They also added a sermon at the end.  Oh, and not surprisingly, most of the cast is white.

On the Run

Well, this should come as no surprise to anyone.  It's raining.  Again.  Yesterday, which was supposed to be warm and humid, you'll notice I'm saying warm, not hot, since the temps were only supposed to go into the low 90s (F), we got rain.  We had a lot of rain.  Downpours, and they turned into on again, off again showers.  If things dry out enough, I'm mowing my lawn tomorrow.

I'm having Brussel sprouts for breakfast because they're chunky with Vitamin C and because I opened the refrigerator door and thought, 'damn, I'd better eat those before they go bad.'  Keep in mind, your stomach has no idea what time it is.

Business was slow at the store yesterday, though I did manage to get 2 measures.  One is for a tile job.  Tile is an expensive installation.  Tile is considered an asset to the value of your home, though it doesn't nearly increase the value as hardwood.  Most of us know the true value of hard wood.

With all the depressing horse shit going on, I figured I'd post a little video of Sir Paul McCartney, at 79 years of age, performing Band on the Run.  Let me repeat his age for those of you who know nothing about aging, he's 79.  I love this song.  I'm so glad I was able to see him perform this live when he played in Hershey, PA.

I saw that there were protests yesterday, mostly peaceful.  There were some gunshots fired at Pride events in both San Francisco and in New York, I believe, and there's not loud indication that bias was pulling the triggers.  A number of Pride events became anti-abortion quietly controlled anti-abortion protests.  The Cracker Jack Crazies Christians, and their enablers on Fox News had been broadcasting about the approaching violence from liberal extremists.  Instead, there was quietude.  Intelligent conservatives have begun to mutter this lack of an intense outburst portends to something far worse, the worst trouncing they've ever received at the ballot box.

American will never rid itself of conservatives, so they need to be marginalized, constantly on the run.  This begins with local elections.  Electing enough Democrat senators to codify Roe v Wade, same sex marriage, and the right to contraceptives will never be enough as long as Clarence Thomas continues to try and prove that he is the strongest, whitest, conservative on the Supreme Court.  Red states need to be turned blue.  Laws will need to be passed to protect our rights.  This needs to be started now, this November.  Since the court has said this is up to the states, we need to take back control of the states.  We also need to keep a majority in both the House and Senate in order to begin fixing this radically, extremist court that Trump built.  Right now, whether the GOP realizes it or not, they're standing still.  The time has come for us to light a fire under their asses so we can see how fast and how far they run away.