Howie and the Sheep

Well, we have 70 (F) outside and instead of Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze, we have yellow haze.  We are also under an air quality alert.  I feel bad for Gigi who's up north having to deal with an air quality that's a thousand times worse.  Our temps today are going to be in the upper 80s (F) to low 90s (F).  Things are supposed to begin cooling off tomorrow.  Showers and thunderstorms (again) are on their way.  Perhaps they'll wash a bit of the smoke residue down the drain.

Yesterday was not quite a meh day.  No exercise.  Thursday is a free day.  I worked on The Body in the Words in the afternoon, editing chapter's 3 and 4.  I would have liked for there to be a direct flight from Philly to Belfast, but there isn't.  This meant I needed to decide if my guys were going to drive the 2 hours from Dublin to BallySeamus, or take a puddle jumper.  I opted for the latter since it allowed me to keep important dialog in the Greetings chapter.

And yesterday morning I took Howie out to my brother's farm.  He got to meet Bruce, my brother's dog, saw some fall-down goats that stayed standing as he approached, and met a flock of sheep.  For some reason, the sheep develop a particular interest in him.  Howie, however, did not  find them fascinating.  Still, that didn't keep them from following us.

Of course, the Orange Anus held a poorly watched nationwide press conference last evening.  Both ABC and NBC refused to air him live, which he found infuriating.  CBS which started airing it, evidently cut away; they're learning that kissing his ass is costing them ratings, and that's losing them advertisers.  And Fox Entertainment?  This post on Threads tells it all.

That's right, Fox aired a disclaimer.  The last time they treated his lies as truth it cost them dearly.  This is Orangie beginning to sabotage the midterms because he knows the Republicans are going to lose badly. Out of desperation, he and the GOP are playing with fire.

More and more people, like Gavin Newsome, a very loud voice right now in American politics, are calling for him to be removed using the 25th amendment.  For that to work, however, his cabinet needs to vote for his approval and he's filled it with sycophants and henchies.  I don't see him finishing out his term.  The tide is turning so fast against him, he will run like the coward he is.

Aftermath

Outside we  have a humid 72 (F).  Today's forecast:  showers, occasionally steady rain, with the required thunderstorm thrown into the mix to spice things up.  We'll not be seeing the sun until sometime Wednesday or Thursday.  All this rain is going to make my grass grow.

I saw this morning that the storm did rip a medium sized branch from one of the maple trees outback.  I will my saw on a stick trimmer to cut it up on Wednesday or Thursday.  

According to Pennsylvania  Power and Light Company, some people are not expected to get power back until Wednesday, originally they were saying Tuesday around 11 PM.  I sent a text to my brother this  morning to see if they had power yet, the answer was "nope."  He sent me a text yesterday saying that 2 people had been killed by the store near where he lives.

When I got into work yesterday, I discovered that the store was running on our backup generator.  The registers and the phones were working, but all of the computers were down.  This meant that paint, appliances, and flooring, the specialty departments were down as well.  So, I was paid to walk around and answer simple questions.  We had a run on Ryobi battery powered fans and I kept asking myself if these people didn't realize that those batteries were going to need to be charged.  There was a line of people waiting to buy generators.  Most people went home empty handed because we only carry so many in stock.

Because none of the outlets in the store were working, backup generators are only for light and registers, the employee refrigerators and freezers started warming up.  The frozen food for the employees was thawing out, so they started grilling it and employees were allowed to take it home, so I came home with hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken wings.  

I'm scheduled to work, however, I'll give the store a call.  If the power's still down, I'll take a personal day.  Here's a map of the area.  I'm in an orange area, meaning some people have no power, the store is near Shiremanstown, a very red area.

Of course, the soccer world is not pissed at the Orange Anus because he had the status of an American player who'd been red carded (eliminated from future play) changed.  This player can now play.  Basically the asshole did what he always does, cheated.  I'm betting this man has never had an honest thought  in his life.  He is morally bereft.  He shits on everything.  He always has.  He always will.  He has no idea that in the aftermath of his presidency, he and his spawn will be totally destroyed.

Guard This

 According to the weather app we are experiencing light rain.  Nope.  Not happening around my house.  The skies are for the most part clear and we have bountiful sun.  Yesterday, our temps did get up into the low 90s (F), though I'm sure the "real feel" was in the low 100s (F) because you wrap the humidity around you like a soggy duvet.  The threat of thunderstorms is high for both today and tomorrow.  We could use the rain; my lawn has gone brown.

Yesterday was a fairly decent day.  Several loads of laundry were done.  In the afternoon I completed an 11 mile ride in Bavaria.  Words were written and re-written.  I'd started a chapter called The Sounds of Silence (an old Simon and Garfunkel song but with a different relevancy here), however, looking at it again realized it was crap and rewrote it.

I also went to BJs and picked up my membership card.  Of course, they wanted me to not only upgrade but get a second card for a member of my family.  I amusingly told the kid that Howie was not going to be shopping at BJs.  He didn't find it amusing.  I also told him I didn't need to open a BJs credit card, remember, retail wants you to drown in credit.  Then, with my new card in my wallet, I wandered through the store.  Generally, prices were about the same as I paid at my local Giant supermarket.  Fresh produce was more expensive.  I bought 96 ounces of Pompeiian olive oil because it had a nice discount.  And then... I strolled through their wine and beer section.  Holy Crap!  One bottle of the Josh Cellars wine I prefer was a full $6.00 cheaper than what I normally pay.  Three bottles will pay cover the $15 I paid for the membership, and a measly 10 bottles will pay for the yearly subscription, and I do believe I drink more than 10 bottles of wine in a year.

And the National Guard arrived in Washington, DC.  Some of them stood around with tourists to get their pictures took.

While I'm sure Fox Entertainment will dredge up old videos of the Watts Riots to show Orangie's cultists how badly these troops are needed, everyone else in the world is seeing images like this.  Now I'm not saying there isn't crime in DC, it just isn't on the Mall, or around the national monuments.  All these imbecilic photo op moments do is prove how totally unnecessary this deployment is.  

And this E.J. Antoni who Orangie put in charge of Labor and Statistics is going to shut that bureau down, or at least stop releasing reports that show how badly the economy is failing.  He's a conservative, a Heritage Foundation guy, and we all know how much they lie through their teeth.  Having the largest economy in the world, everyone relies on the trustworthiness of our numbers.  When that fails, they will look elsewhere.  I find it interesting that in their own need for greed billionaires may actually be turning themselves into sacrificial lambs.  More power to them.

  

The Painful Lesson

 Once again we have sunny skies here in Central PA.  The forecast is for us to have another warm one, with our high temps hitting the mid 90s (F).  That's right toasty in my book.  Tomorrow it will be warmer and by Tuesday we should be topping off at around 103 (F).  That is very hot for June.  These are Tampa, FL temps in the middle of July and we're getting them here in Central PA.  I am hoping this is not a forerunner of what our summer is going to be like.

I did ger a 7 mile ride in yesterday; one of my old favorites in San Remo, Italy.  Tuesday I'll be taking a longer ride, indoors of course, perhaps something with hills.  Even though I hate them, hills are good.

For the time being, this will be the last week that I work Thursdays.  They're cutting hours because it's summer, and while summer business is better than winter business, sales are never robust.

And I'm pleased to say that I'm growing a carrot.  Supposedly, in a week or so, I should be able to plant this outside and in a month or so should have another carrot.  We shall see.

Last night the Orange Anus did something unthinkable to many of us, he let Benni Netanyahu sucker us into a war in the Mid East.  This isn't to say that Orangie wasn't an easy mark.  Everyone in the world laughing at his shitty birthday parade had crushed his ego so badly, he was desperate to prove he was a strong authoritarian.  And Netty?  He's going to sit back and let Americans die.  And Orangie?  He will be so hated by the world.

Americans will be hating him even more.  Some people are pointing out similarities to W's Desert Fart, me?  I'm thinking farther back.  I'm reminded of Vietnam, a truly unpopular war that America lost.  Prepare yourselves for protests.  If Orangie tries to iron fist us, Americans will punch back hard.  The smack back coming to Republicans will be horrendous.

And, of course, none of this is going to play well on Wall Street.  Those billionaires despise chaos and Orangie is rattling the world with his incompetence and indifference to human life.  He epitomizes the "shut up!  I'm in charge!" attitude pervasive in Conservatives.  They are about to learn a painful lesson.

The Learning Lesson

 And... here we go!  Another week is upon us.  New week and my first load of laundry is already in the washer.  Outside, it is a cold 25 (F), though the temps are predict to rise into the mid 40s (F) today.  They got warm yesterday, though I don't know if the got that high.  Tonight they're supposed to drop back down into the cold zone.

My shift yesterday was different, shorter, earlier.  12-6  I liked it.  I may change my shift on Thursdays to reflect the same hours.  I like getting home earlier than 7:30.  I actually have things I can do in the evening other than watch TV or play games.

I did sell some flooring to a couple.  The large orange retailer I work for has this policy where if you want a product and we don't have a large enough quantity in the store, they tell you to which store you need to go to pick up your purchase.  They used to do store to store transfers, but that stopped about 10 years ago.  Now, if the quantity you want is available is somewhere else, you have to pay to have it shipped to your home.  Example:  if you want 51 cases of flooring and we have 13 in the store, and 40 at another store, you either have to drive to that other store, or you can pay $75 to have all 51 delivered to your front door.  Before, you could have all 51 delivered to the store and pick them up without the charge.  Sucks, don't it?

So, I sent some things to Christos about The Body in History since he has become my Greek advisor, so to speak.  His response:  "I'm on a tour in Vietnam and it is not downloading because the Wi-fi is spotty, will look at it when I get home."  That made me laugh because I've been to Vietnam.  

I asked my friend Jon yesterday if his church was taking donations to send to the fire victims in Los Angeles and he told me nothing had been said, so far.  So, I poked my brother with the question, he said he was going to bring it up at council meeting on Tuesday.  Maybe it's about Christians started showing their compassion.  I told him I had sent donations, there's nothing wrong with teaching them compassion with a little guilt.

This is what sleepy looks like.

Evidently Newty Gingrich is tell people that Orangey's immigration will fail if he follows through with them.  Of course, Newty doesn't have the pull he used to have with his party.  He's been replaced with Elonia, the white supremacist who grew in South Africa when apartheid was still going strong.  I did like that Newty said that if Orangey's plans include the separation of children from their mothers there will be blow back the OA will not be able to withstand.  The same is true with everyone of his cabinet choices.  They are all extremists and, or, billionaires, or both, who relish their hatred of America.  They are that whiny bunch that have always said, "if I ran the country, it would be different."  What these people have never understood is that nobody wants people like them running the country.  The next 2 years will be a terrible learning lesson for them, a lesson they are all going to fail.

The Secret Meeting

 And so we move on into another week.  This morning's temp outside was 59 (F) which is warm for this time of year.  Yesterday afternoon high was in the upper 80s (F) and people, including associates, were walking in through our front doors complaining about the heat.  We have a replay on tap for both today and tomorrow.  That means lawn work on my day off.  Good, I'm hoping to get some sun.  I don't want to go to Greece pale as a fish's belly.

Since it was warm yesterday, people were buying portable air conditioning units for their windows.  We sold quite a few.  At least this year some people seem to be a bit more pro-active. rather than waiting until we're cooking away in the dog days of summer.  

The new narrator is already working on the The Body on the Lawn.  He's asked for a character breakdown, which is something I didn't get with the previous narrator.  He's estimating this project should be completed in between 4 and 6 weeks.  That's fine with me.  For the last book, it took about a week and half; I'm in no rush.  I'm fairly certain this book is going to be longer.  Listening time for The Body Under Ice was 5 hours, I've been checking, that's short.  Most audiobooks run about 8 hours.  Does this mean the first narrator rushed to get the job finished?  I'd say there is a likelihood of that being possible.  For those who don't remember, here's the cover art.  It's good deal right now if you want to buy the paperback.

Kristi Noem was no longer trending yesterday, well, at least she wasn't trendy to the extent she had been on Saturday.  People are questing her judgement at including that story in her book; what audience was she actually trying to reach?  

There was also a not so secret meeting between the Orange Anus and Ronnie DeSantis at Mar a Lago this weekend.  Somehow I don't think they got together to share secret documents the way some people share recipes. But then, both of them so desperately want to be America's first dictator.  That'll never happen.

Trump's election interference trial starts again today.  Everyday is a surprise.  I'm guessing that Sarah  Sanders Huckabee is not one of the witnesses.  You have to admit, that would be really funny, getting to see her pouty, angry face glaring from the witness box.

Court Room Edition

 Monday.  I have to work a full 8 hours.  Outside, the weather is cool but not cold.  Overnight temps dropped down to 40 (F), which was better than what they had been predicting.  Yesterday afternoon I received a text telling me we were under a freeze watch... of course, a watch is better than a warning.

I paid off my trip to Greece this morning.  That's one less bill I need to be concerned with.  Now, all I need to do is save up the money I spent so my checking account is nice and plump again.

With The Body on the Lawn, I've decided that I'm going to deal just with Audible and Itunes.  This means I'm not going to go with Findaway.  While that was a good learning experience, it was just that.  And I'm still learning.  I've been watching educational videos at ACX University.  ACX is the publishing part of Audible.  They cover everything from pre-production to publication of the audio book.  Findaway made it easy, however there were glitches along the way, like The Body Under Ice only getting submitted to certain retailers, rather than all I had selected.  Findaway is now owned by Spotify, which is moving into the audiobook business.  

After listening to soooo many auditions, I've finally settled on a narrator.  An actor named Dermot, who's an Irishmen living in Madrid.  While I was happy with the work the previous narrator did, he was not open to suggestions.  He also managed to get cast in an Indie film and communications with him seemed less important, something he could get away with putting on the back burner.  Anyway, I'm thinking the audio version of The Body on the Lawn should now be out on Audible around the first week in August. 

And I saw this yesterday and thought it rather appropriate.

Today will be the actual first day of the Moral Degenerate's trial.  Opening arguments will be heard.  Donnie will have to try and stay awake.  You may not find this surprising, but I'm not the only person to have doubts about his not napping his way through the 4 years of his presidency. Maybe that was why conversations with him needed to be peppered with praise.  This is also probably the reason he doesn't read; after the first sentence he's out like a light.

Also, his rally in North Carolina was canceled because of rain.  I'm betting it wasn't because he was worried about his cultists, either.  Most likely he was worried his make-up might run

Mr. Grumpy goes to Court

 Forecasters are saying we're going to have a bright and sunny day here in Central PA, and I will openly admit that I'm up for it.  Tis the season of yardwork.  Now that I'm in a short hiatus between beasties (dogs), I'm going to reseed the area of lawn inside the fence.  So, today I'm going to take my weed wacker out and decimate a large section.  Our temps are predicted to climb into the mid 70s (F), which is just fine and dandy with me.  

I did work yesterday.  It was sooooo slow.  Last week's sales figures are equal to what they were prior to the Covid lockdown.  Of course, Wall Street is demanding that we force 5% growth, so corporate is trying to squeeze water from a stone.  To my surprise, yesterday was the first time I heard one of the most conservative associates in my department complain about pricing. OSB (particle board) is selling for over $33 a sheet.  He knows it's terribly overpriced, and complained that with such high prices we're never going to hit our planned sales.  This is something Wall Street is eventually going to have to come to grips with, 5% growth year after year is unsustainable.

Anyway, I'm thinking of g3etting rid of the dog sofa in the writing room.  It's old, been used by 3 dogs, and no matter how much you clean it, the stains are never going to come completely out.  If I call Waste Management, they will pick it up with the garbage, I've just got to get some strong arms to help me get it out of the house.  Maybe I'll replace it with a small dining room set.

And then yesterday Mr. Grumpy went to court.

I was working, so I had to rely on social media for most of my trial updates, and even those were amusing.  Some people began calling him Don Snoreleone because he fell asleep, though there's no evidence that he actually started snoring.  He will try to turn the next coming days into a constant campaign stop the same way he did his daily Covid briefings.  And the speeches he's going to make?  A broken record of complaints, skipping back over and over again in an endless whine of repeat, repeat, and repeat.  I had to laugh when I heard he wanted to stand next to the judge while potential jurors were being questioned.  He so desperately needs to be seen as a person of authority.  And it was also reported that he had some terse moments with his attorney.  He wants to play armchair attorney, which will help to incriminate him even faster.  And I also had a big hoot when I saw the list of witness.  Giuliani.  Steve Bannon.  This is more like a league of liars than anything else.  I'm not that familiar with what they can and can't do in a Federal trial, but if they can claim the 5th, they will.  Of course, that never sits well with the jury. 

More and More

 Well, here it is Monday, April 1, and no foolin' we got a really big storm heading our way.  According to my Accuweather app, the temp is 48(F) outside, and we have rain.  I took some recycling out to my bin and I can attest to the rain, my skin's not sensitive enough to recognize specific degrees of temperature.  Now, these showers will hang with us into the afternoon, then we will experience a pause.  Tomorrow?  That's another soggy story.

As expected, Easter Sunday at the store was not a revenue breaker.  We did not make our plan.  No surprise there.  Back when I started working for the great Orange Home Improvement retailer the store manager was required to keep a diary that tracked events which effected sales, like weather and holidays.  This was supposed to help in the forecasting of sales' plans and provide reasons from year to year as to why sales on one particular day were either super good, or super bad.  Not anymore.  Now they look at sales by the week, and if you have a bad day, you just have to grow your sales during the rest of the week to make your plan.  However, if you have a really good day, it will affect your sales plan for next year, usually by increasing it.  This is how corporate greed works.

Anyway, they did bring food in, something they don't usually do on Easter.  There were more customers then I expected.  More and more, Christianity is losing it's grip on the general populace.  

And luckily, even though it was Easter, this bunny from Hell did not come hip, hip, hoppity down any bunny trails near me.

One of the things you still keep hearing is that the country is deeply divided between Trump and Biden.  I don't believe that for an instant.  However, media outlets need to create tension.  They want to sell advertising, and the only way they can do that if they get clicks.  Another however, however, more and more people are know what they're doing, except for the Cultists, who so desperately want to believe this rubbish.  Their dark hearts need to be constantly reinforced that Trump is dominating the 2024 election, but then they love their lies.  He bellows that his poll numbers have never been higher, that they're the highest poll numbers in history, and his cultists do backflips with joy.  Though, more and more you're hearing the creeping dread in their voices, like Charlie Kirk saying Republicans were out gunned, and out numbered.  And the Moral Degenerate is getting worse by the day.  Inevitability is approaching.  

A Little Greek

 Today will be sunny and cool.  Outside, the temperature is sitting at a brisk 30 (F). The high is expected to be in the upper 40s (F).  In fact, right now there isn't a cloud in the sky.  I am starting to yearn for spring.  My daffodils are in full bloom.  Tulips are be sprouting every where out front.  All the rose buses are in full bud.  

I ordered a new backpack for my trip to Greece.  This one is bigger than the one I already own, large enough to carry one of my laptops.  Yes, I'm taking one along with me.  My current pack is a "laptop" pack, unfortunately I bought it 15 years ago and laptops have gotten bigger since then.  Well, at least my laptops have gotten bigger.  I was going to order a battery to go with it, but instead opted for a plug adapter with 2 USB ports.  Since my old pack is practically brand new, I'll give it away.

Retail was slow yesterday.  I did manage to get a measure in, that will please management somewhat, but nothing is every going to make them completely happy.  I realized this a long time ago.  That is one of the reasons I got out.  Telling people who are doing well that the need to push a little harder is not for me.  Give credit where credit is due no longer seems to be a valid motto.  As a result, when I do hit my goals for the week I will inform management, and then say, "since I've hit my goals you should let me go home."  No one will ever meet their expectations because greed is good for corporate America.

I pulled this out of the Greek file in my desk.  Maybe I can pick up a few words before August.  You will notice that I didn't say I wanted to pick up a little Greek.

And tomorrow's a big day for the Orange Anus.  If he doesn't shell out the half billion he owes in fines, his properties will begin to be taken.  I understand that "vacate the premises" letters have already been sent to several properties.  I should check, since I don't know, but do these evictions also pertain to his two spawn, Donnie the cokehead, and Eric the dumb, since they, too, were part of the Trump crime family.  Or are these properties that were held by the Trump organization?  I find this somewhat interesting, that someone would have their company own their home.  I guess, if you desperately feel the need to leverage the value of the real estate that might make sense.  Of course, the Orange Anus didn't leverage, he lied.  I saw where he'd valued that little shack of his in upstate New York at $290 million, and it's actual appraised value is only $30 million.  This is probably the main reason he's not an actual billionaire.

Squeaky Clean

 Yesterday we got up to the upper 70s (F), the thermometer in the car listed the temp as being 77 (F).  Today we're back in the mid t0 upper 60s (F) and if the long range forecast is correct, we're definitely going to be seeing closer to normal early spring temps.  That doesn't mean everything that has started to bud and bloom is going to stop.  It's too late for that to happen.  Today, showers are expected.  

I was watching Death is in the Details on Hulu on and off for a while.  Last night I watched the last episode and was disappointed.  The reveal of who the villain was intended to be a shocker, I thought it was a cheat.  There was nothing clever about it.  I read that the producers were optimistic about a 2nd season, let's hope they're wrong.

The invalid old lady downstairs is doing fine, by that I mean Lily.  I suspect her biggest problem is the boobly cyst on her wrist, which is swollen, and pains her to walk.  Other wise she's alert, watching me constantly when I'm at my writing desk, and eating.  She has a good appetite, and drinks, and goes outside to do her business, but then it's back onto the sofa in the writing room where she perches herself on pillows to rule the world.  An email (with pics) has been sent to the mobile vet who's on vacation until Monday.  What I find surprising is there's only one in the area.  I'm definitely not living in a "All Creatures Great and Small" area.

Thanks to the warm temps and the rain, things are budding and blooming.  The peach tree I cut back wioll soon be filled with blossoms.  The nectarine?  Dead as a doornail.   Here's a pic that I took.

And I just got a news flash, probably the same one a lot of you just received.  Fanni Willis can stay on the case down in Georgia, but she's going to have to dump the Chief Prosecutor.  She's a smart cookie, so I'm sure she and her team were prepared for all possibilities.  That being said, I also have to admit that she wasn't smart enough to manage her hormonal urges.  Honestly, I did believe someone in her position would have realized that when dealing with any Trump related case even the slightest appearance of impropriety could be catastrophic.  You would have though she'd have realized that with these trials being so high profile, squeaky clean was the only way to go.

Also, Trump's porno suit has been delayed for 30 days, too.  Whispers say that a bit of evidence has been unearthed proving Cohen to be totally unreliable.  Again, that wouldn't surprise me.  Even though he's been telling anyone and everyone that he's cleaned up his act, let's face it, he worked for Trump, doing his dirty work, for years.  He will never be squeaky clean.

Run Away! Run Away!

 Snow Watch!  Looks like we might be getting some February weather... maybe.  And while some might be sitting at the window staring out in anticipation of that first snow flake, I will not.  Temps are predicted to drop into the upper 20s (F) tonight while the snow is falling, but they're going to be warming up into the 40s (F) tomorrow afternoon.  I don't doubt that what we do get will need to be shoveled, but how much shoveling is in question since one forecast says 1 - 3 inches, and another says 2 - 6 inches, and that's a big difference.  

Retail yesterday was, as expected, slow.  Even still, I managed to get 2 measures and and sell $2000 in vinyl plank flooring.  My 5 measures last week and $10,000 sales are keeping management happy; I'm receiving a 2 gift cards today.  When I punched out yesterday, there were possibly 5 customers in the store, and the parking lot was very empty.  So, I spent a lot of time scrolling through my phone, talking to fellow associates who didn't call off (there were a number of those), and getting my steps in.  Over 11,000 steps!  meaning I traversed the store a number of times.

And I did see this, which I found funny.

For those who don't get the reference, here's the video explaining the bunny.  Run away!  Run away!

And, of course, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl.  Not surprising, the Moral Degenerate, Trump posted some sort of congratulatory BS on Truth Social.  No doubt one of his minions had told him that Taylor Swift has much more appeal to women voters than Kid Rock.  There is a rising fear among the conservatives that Taylor might endorse Biden, and I don't doubt some of them are desperately praying for a Holy Hand Grenade.  Well, it isn't going to come.  They're delusional dreams of a socially conservative America are dying faster than Monty Python's knights.  They haven't gotten to the point where they're going to start shrieking "run away,! run away!" but it's close at hand.

The Go-To Whine

 We're getting rain today... well, showers, on and off with not much accumulation.  For some reason, whenever rain, or snow for that matter, people envision torrential downpours.  That is rarely the case.  Even the steady rains we get are slow to accumulate.  Rain is predicted for tomorrow as well.  Altogether we'll probably get about .75 of an inch, not enough to cause flood warnings.  On the temp side, ours will be hovering in the mid 40s (F) all day.  By this evening, most of the snow we received will be gone.

And I do have to briefly mention the Oscar snubs among other notes.  I was surprised Greta Gerwig didn't get one, but but Barbie is a comedy and the directors (directors nominate directors) love them their drama.  On Margot Robbie?  I never thought she'd get a nomination; comedic performance.  On Leonardo DiCaprio?  Never thought he'd get one; he played stupid well, but his character was barely 2 dimensional.

On Oppenheimer's 13 nominations?  They won't win all of them.  Adapted Screenplay is going to Gerwig, and production design is going to Barbie.  Costume design will probably go to Napoleon, the voters love period costumes.

Because Ryan Gosling is nominated, as well as his song, there's a good possibility we'll get to see him cavorting half-dressed across the stage singing "I'm Just Ken."  He'll probably lose to Robert Downey Jr, who's black and white malevolence in Oppenheimer was so well played.  

Anyway, this was a really good year for movies, in fact, I might compare it to 1939 when Gone with the Wind was up against The Wizard of Oz for best picture.  Of course, that was also the year before war broke out across Europe.

I baked some Italian bread yesterday, and then made a BLT for dinner.  Scrumptious.

And, of course, the New Hampshire primaries were yesterday and Trump won, as expected, how ever, he only received 54% of the votes.  Looking at the numbers, the only Republicans voting for him are the hard core conservatives, moderates, centrists, and Independent voters turn away.  He needs the Independents if he thinks he even has a chance to win the election.  He's not going to get them, which means he's going to rally as many losing Republicans around him by shrieking Election Fraud.  For a brief moment that was a rally cry, now, however, more and more people are seeing it as nothing more than a rally whine.  Conservatives will never admit their political views don't jive with a majority of Americans, meaning they will need to blame something else for their loss and election fraud is their main go-to whine.

Shake hands with the Devil

 Our Friday snow began sometime after midnight.  Yep, after 2 years of getting hardly any snow, this year it's accumulating... two inches here, two inches there.  The predictions is for 3 to 6 inches, the deeper snow being found on hilltops, and since I'm on one of the highest hills around I suppose that means I'm going to end up closer to the 6 inch range.  

Later this morning I'm going to be going to my local Giant supermarket, so that should be an indicator on how hard the snow is falling.  While Subarus aren't specifically made for snow, they do quite a lot better than your average Ford or Chevy.  And later, possibly this evening when the snow begins to die off, I'll go out and shovel.  Free Cardio.

And, speaking of cardio, Garmin has out an updated Beta version of their app and I signed up for it.  One of the things the new app does is compare your physical age with your actual age.  I've got work to do.  According to the app, I'm physically 2 years old than my physical age.  I'm not doubting for a second that has to do with the weight.  I'm not too concerned.  Since the holidays are over, my schedule is fixed and I began the necessary weight loss workout a few weeks back.  Results are showing up daily.  I'm working to get the physical age lower than my actual age.  We'll see if I can do it.

For those interested, this is what it looked like from my front door 15 minutes ago.

And, of course, quite a few people were speculating about the sores on Trump's hand.  What sores, you ask?  These sores.

Some were speculating that they might a secondary symptom of Syphilis.  Nope.  Personally, I think the most obvious answer is that this is what happens when you shake hands with the devil, since there has to be some physical manifestation of selling him your soul.

Political Hell

 Well, Thursday has arrived.  I slept in until past 7.  Even at that late hour, the temp was 13 (F) when I finally tossed back the sheets and got out of bed.  We're supposed to get above freezing today, but just by a little.  According to the Accuweather forecasters, more snow should start falling Friday night, though how much seems to be rather elusive.  On my phone, the prediction is for between 1 and 4 inches, yet on the email weather update I received from Accuweather, the total was between 2 and 6 inches.  So, to be on the safe side, I'm betting we're going to be getting between 1 and 6 inches of snow.  

I cancelled the auto-ship from Chew.com for Lily's Beneful dry food.  She's been turning up her nose at it, the same way she does treats she doesn't like.  She has always been picky about what she eats, but as she gets older, she's becoming even more so.  Though she has no problem making her way to the kitchen when I'm cutting up vegetables and chicken; tomatoes are one of her favs.  And at 10.5 years of age, she's decided she's going to spend most of her day sleeping on the bed.  That's right, no more sofas for her.  Of course, the windows in the bedroom give her a much better vantage on the world.  

The bill for my homeowner's insurance arrived yesterday.  It went up $60, and the first thing I thought of was that I used it to help pay for the repairs in my ceiling.  I mean, isn't that how insurance work?  You pay a certain amount in, and when you use it, they charge you more to help compensate the insurer?  I could rationalize it by telling myself they paid around $1500 in damages, but then there is the fact that I've been paying the same insurer for 30 years.  For those who don't remember, here a pic of the hole in my ceiling, so... maybe it's worth the increase.

And I saw that rumors are flying that Elise Stefanik is in the running Trump's vice president.  This is what she's been dreaming of for quite some time.  She's dumb as a brick.  She's put no consideration what so ever into what hoops Trump will make her jump through should he give her the nod.  Nope.  She's just thinking of the title, and the power her dark, little heart beats for.  You do have to admit that for Trump World, she is more than qualified, being the one member of Congress to endorse George Santos.  You all remember George, don't you?  The 6th member of Congress to be expelled because of corruption.  Elise and Donny would truly be a match made in political Hell.

Snow

 Well, for those of you out west where the temps are colder, if you want warmer weather, take a jaunt to the east where we're sitting comfortably in the mid 20s (F).  Tonight our temps are predicted to drop down into the mid teens; believe me, my blankets are at the ready.  Presently, it is still snowing, but only for a short time.  In about an hour, we'll be finished with the frozen precipitation until Friday, when once again we should be expecting 1 - 3 inches.  As I've said before, I have my thermostat set at 69 (F) and my neighbor's heating system is giving me that little boost.

I think I'm pretty much finished with playing Starfield, total time, including the first shot that ended with the game crashing, is about 140 hours.  There are a couple hundred star systems that I haven't gotten to yet, but I'll save them for later.  Either tonight or tomorrow night I'll finish the main storyline and then put it to bed for a while.  The game has a lot of replay value.  It maybe difficult to believe, but I know some people who have over 300 hours of gameplay under their belt.

Yesterday, retail was slow.  As expected.  

For some reason, I woke up early, so, when I finish this entry, I'm going to back to bed and take a nap.  Here's a pic of the snow from my front door.  I took it at around 0500, but my nifty phone camera makes it look a lighter than it truly was.

Oh, and the Iowa caucuses were last evening, and, as expected the Spawn of Satan won.  I was surprised to see that Ronnie D nosed out Nikki H, but I should have realized that if push came to shove, Republicans would never vote for a woman.  Being the anti-abortion crowd, this is something they'd never be able to do, since in their minds women are simply vessels that need to be tolerated, even if they have an opinion.

Carnivores

 Well, the rain has come and gone.  The sun is shining.  The temps are going to hover around in the mid 40s (F) all day.  You'll not find me complaining about that.  The same thing's going to be true for tomorrow.  Nice.  I feel like doing more when the sun is out.  As for the rain... how much did we get?  A lot.  All of Central PA is under flood warnings.  Small streams are above flood stage.  And sitting here, typing this, I can look out my side window and see the sun glinting off of the Susquehanna river.  Yep, it's only 3/4 of a mile away.

Yesterday I started on the tile work in my kitchen.  Just a small section was tiled, but more is on the way.  Today, I want to paint another 1/3, which would just leave the space behind the refrigerator needing to be painted.  Also, I want to do do more sections of tile.  I'm going to wait to grout until all of the tiling has been completed.  I suspect most of this will be done by the end of this week, which means next week I'll be moving onto the floor.  I will be glad when that's finished.

And one of the things I've noticed this winter is that not all of the robins have flown south.  For those who don't know, robins are carnivorous and will stick around as long as there are insects, and worms, and meatier things for them to eat.  To me, this says a lot about Global Warming.  I took this picture of a robin yesterday.  Earlier in the day, he was flipping leaves over looking for dinner.

I saw that the National Review is telling Republicans that they should not, and cannot nominate Trump.  This is truly amusing.  They can see Republican self-destruction looming in front of them and they are powerless to stop it, of course, you have to remember, once he was elected in 2016 they had no problem with him, as long as he gave conservatives what their dirty hearts were praying for.  They were as pleased as punch to say, "shut up, we're in charge," so much so, that they ignored all of the ugliness shitting away just below his orange skin.  Instead of trying to tamp down his hate rhetoric, they chose to allow him to do what he wanted, and say what wanted, without a single though to the damage he was doing.  Now they're suffering through the court cases, and the indictments, and the far right looking crazier, and crazier by the day.  Conservatives have always had a problem with thinking things through.  Now they've screwed themselves.  The National Review is recommending the GOP nominate either Haley or DeSantis, neither of which, they're telling themselves, will be nearly as bad for Conservatives as Trump is, and will be if he happens to get the nomination.

Glynis Johns

 Well, supposedly this is the day before our first snowfall, at least a snowfall that's supposed to amount to more than a dusting.  As you might expect, I am supposed to be working tomorrow when the heaviest snow bands are dumping their most.  We shall see.  If I feel the roads look too slippery, I just take the day off.  The store's going to be empty anyway.

Outside right now, we have bold sunlight.  The temps might make it up to 40 (F).  Tomorrow they're not supposed to climb out of the mid 30s (F).  

And I do have plans for this weekend: a trip to York on Sunday for lunch, and then our Holiday Party in the evening (it starts at 7).  The only reason I go is for the free food.  They have a DJ who never plays the music I like, which is always pop / dance.  I really don't care for trendy music that's been processed more than most foods you for sale in your local supermarket.  I will be so glad once Monday rolls around and I finally revert back to my fixed schedule. 

Glynis Johns died yesterday at 100, a very fine age, I'll have you know.  While some of you only remember her from Mary Poppins, she won a Tony Award for singing this little ditty from A Little Night Music.

And it appears that both Nikki Haley and Ronnie DeSantis have decided to... well, kind of take off their gloves when it comes to dealing with the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump.  Their appearances on back to back Townhalls on CNN were... I understand, a little less kind then they've been in the past.  Unfortunately, neither of them realize having the MAGA Cult behind you is not going to help you win an election. , though I do think Nikki muttered something to the effect of "a vote for Trump is a vote for Biden," though that may just be a bad paraphrase.  One thing you can count on, if Trump feels either of them has become a threat, he will go after them like a rabid skunk, foaming at the mouth and spewing as much stench as possible.

Oh, and did everyone hear that while in office, the Moral Degenerate made over $7 million, thanks to gifts and presents from foreign governments?  That is the very thing those dolts in the House of Representatives are trying to prove that Biden did.  Their IQs seem to be falling.

Density

 The sun is shining in Central PA!  After so many days of overcast skies, it's nice to actually rise and see it shine.  The temps are in the mid 40s (F) and... believe it or not, the days are starting to get longer.  Not by much, mind you, only a few seconds, it won't be until next Monday that the days begin increasing in length by the minute.  This is something to look forward to.

Retail was oh... so, not very busy yesterday.  I do have an example of customer density... yes, that's a nice way of putting it.  I have this customer, let's call her Pam, who owes for a small vinyl job, a little over $900, and yesterday I gave her a curtesy call.  She wanted to pay, however payment screen failed to load.  I called IT support and talked to a very nice technician who couldn't figure out why this was happening.  After a few minutes of investigation, he told me the problem was that she had already paid for the installation back on December 12, her payment, however, had never shown up on my side of the transaction register.  Yes, you read that correctly, Pam paid on December 12... and was ready to pay again 16 days later.  Now, I don't know about you, but had I been Pam, I'd have said "this was already paid for," but nope, she was ready to give me her credit card number over the phone... a second time.  Ouch.

And, as I said, here a pic of the Shepherd's Pie, and I have to admit that I have eaten the entire thing.  The pan is waiting in the sink to be scrubbed clean.

 

And, I'm sure most of you have already seen that Maine has decided to remove the Orange Anus from the primary ballot.  Yep, as it stands right now, MAGAs in Maine will need to write his name in if they want to vote for him to get the Republican nominations for President.  Of course, his cult erupted in anger; that was to be expected.  The GOP has a terrible problem, and they're refusing to even look at it, let alone attempt to deal with it.  The Republicans have believed, ever since Reagan, that there is a Silent Majority of Conservatives waiting to vote the right presidential nominee.  In a way, they're right, there is this majority quietly sitting in their living rooms, or looking at their phones, or scrolling through articles on their computers, however they're not Conservatives, their Anti-Trumpers, and Centrists, and Liberals.  The Republican party doesn't understand that when this silent majority votes, it is the Republican party that is going to be paying the piper.  They will not take it well.  Most cults don't.

Sound

Dull and drab.  Those are two good words that come to mind when I look out the window.  A steady drizzle is falling through a whist of mist, soaking everything, and this is our forecast for the next 3 days.  I work tomorrow, which was originally supposed to be sunny, however that's changed.  

One of the most interesting articles I've read regarding Christmas sales is that they picked up this year.  Both the New York Times and the Washington Post had articles detailing how Americans spent more this year then had been expected.  I guess the economy ain't that bad.  Of course, those sales pertain to Christmas presents, not flooring installations, or new doors, or windows.  Our paint department has been hopping, but that that's a cheap redo, and even paint is becoming expensive.  You see Corporate is going to grab their Market Share anyway they can. by charging more for a gallon of paint, or a quart of premixed grout.

My neighbor stopped over last evening around 8 PM and asked me to turn down the volume of my TV, her daughter was going to bed.  I was playing a video game, and there were times when it was loud, and I know that there is zippo sound proofing in the walls.  My solution, I'll use my headphones when I'm playing a game.  She told me, as she has several times already, that she knows her family is loud, so there will be a catch, they, too, will have to tone down the volume.  She's going to need to keep her music down when she's jig-jigging around cleaning her house.

So, what are my plans for today?  Clean the small aquarium, work with words, and make a Shepherd's Pie with the left over London Broil.  Believe me, you can only eat so many roast beef sandwiches.  Hopefully, this is what it will look like.  I will let you know.

And, finally, one of the most amusing things I've seen, and one that says a lot, is that our ex moral degenerate president's popularity on his Truth Social Network is falling.  This rating is measured by the number of likes that his comments get, and that number is dropping.  This is important because it's indicates that the size of his cult is beginning to shrink.  They are no longer glorifying every ALL CAPS word he spits out.  It's also important because he's obsessed with being number one, an any indicator that proves this not to be the case is bad.  His ego requires a cult of millions.  This might be a better indicator of his popularity than any poll getting published these days.