The Dark Ages, (part 2)

 Here it is, Sunday morning, and it's cold.  Temps are in the 20s (F), and today's high, like yesterday is only predicted to top off in the mid 30s (F).  Don't forget, winter is still a week away.  Will it be a cold one, or warm like the last two.  So far our weather pattern is repeating itself.  Only time will tell.

For those interested, the barley for breakfast is going well.  I boil up one cup of barley in 2.5 cups of water, that's gives me 3 cups barley which I then refrigerate.  It's a grain, so it has a very mild nutty/wheaty flavor.  Cost wise, it's about .35 a breakfast, or if it were boxed, like Grape Nuts, it would cost about $2.10 a box.  That's something you can take to the bank.  On top of that, there are absolutely no preservatives, meaning I'm not ingesting chemicals whenever I eat it.

Yesterday was one of those, I'm not doing anything days.  It was cold, I stayed home.  I wrote.  I had thought about working out with dumbbells, but that came to naught, as did the desire to put in some time on the treadmill.  I did spend some time examining my bands, but beyond the examination nothing happened.  

I played some Dragon Age.  I'm at the point where the final Boss fight is just around the corner, unfortunately, the game itself doesn't feel complete, and sadly, I am ready for it to be over.  That says more about the writing than anything else.  Most of the companion stories just are interesting enough, that's because their quests tended to be lame.  I'll probably finish it over the next few days and then download the new Indiana Jones game.  It's from Bethesda, and everybody I talked to loves it.

For dinner last evening I cooked some of my homemade pasta.  The pasta was good, the meat sauce, however, left a little to be desired.

And, of course, a large part of the reason yesterday was one of "those" days were the thoughts I had about our incoming president, and how bad things are going to get.  When I tell people that the shooting of the United Healthcare CEO was just the tip of the iceberg, I know many don't understand.  Conservatives expect Americans to just sit there and eat every spoonful of the shit they want to hand out and that isn't going to happen.  Both Canada and Mexico are going to tell Trump to go to Hell (you can bet they're talking to each other as we speak) and that will begin the Chaos that Wall Street hates.  The Orange Anus is going to put out a slew of Executive Orders on day one, and though many will have to work to work their way through the court system, they too will rock the country.  His cultists have no idea of the evil they have potentially unleashed.  Is the world heading into another Dark Ages?  That's possible.  Things that will not survive if we are:  Conservativism, Christianity, Wall Street, Billionaires.

Musk: The First Lady

 Tuesday.  The outside temp is around 48 (F), the skies are clear, and it is quite breezy.  We are almost halfway through Autumn and weatherwise we are anything but seasonal.  According to the long range forecast, predictions are that we should be getting more rain.  That would be a very good thing.  

So, I went to work yesterday and discovered that I didn't have to work.  Damn!  I always work Mondays.  For the most part, I have a fixed schedule, except yesterday, for some reason I was scheduled off.  I ended up being on the clock for around 10 minutes, long enough for them to give me presents for being in the military.  It was a nice gesture, a cup, a combo flashlight pen, and a Memorial Coin celebrating the Orange Retailer's association with Veterans.  I will never use the cup, it's too small, but the combo flashlight and pen will get used.  As for the coin?  The Orange Retailer wants to create what they call "orange blood loyalty."  I'm sorry.  My blood runs red.

As I've said, I started playing the new Dragon Age game, and it's fun.  Initial reviews were very good, but then a few not so nice comments started getting made, one being that it was too "woke" for some of the people playing it.  Well, it's a role playing game, and that means there are a world of possibilities for your character.  I will admit to being a little surprised when I opened a dialogue box and discovered that my ginger bearded character was "happy to be Trans."  It didn't really phase me.  Bioware, the game's developer, rocked the boat back in their Mass Effect series when the main character could have same sex relationships.  I actually find it funny that there are gamers out there who, choosing to build a female main  character, and, if they select the same dialogue box I did, discover that at one time their chick had a... penis.  In case you've forgotten, this is my main character, named Rook, as in the chess piece.

I canceled my Twitter account a long time ago, soon after it was purchased by Musk, and moved to Threads.  Since the election, I've been spending less time scrolling through the comments.  While, like many, I believe Main Stream Media played a big part in Harris' lost, I'm not going to dwell on it.  We have a difficult road ahead of us.  Still, I do go to threads, because there are certain people I follow who aren't political.  Yesterday, however, I did enjoy a moment of political delightness.  Evidently Stephen King has been permanently banned from Twitter because he called Elon Musk The First Lady.  In fact, quite a few people found that hysterically funny.  The fact that Musky Dew is sitting in on most of the policy decision and Cabinet choices shows us that he has done what Rupert Murdoch only dreamed of doing.  He has bought himself a president.  This means he is more than The First Lady.  So, now we have the bullseye of our target.  Shall we start firing away?

I am a Hottie

 Today's my birthday, and I'm pleased to say it's going to be sunny here in Central PA.  I'm 72.  There was a time, when I was younger, that I thought people in there 70s were old.  I talk about this with my friends because I feel bad because quite often I didn't give them the respect they deserved.  But then those were different times.  Back then people were forced to retire when they hit 65, and they weren't allowed to work a part-time job, so, unless they were financially fine, they just sat around waiting to die.  Things have changed a lot since then.  Today older people do things.  They get part-time jobs.  They travel.  They enjoy life, I know, I do.

Yesterday was busy.  I mowed my leaves, went for a bike ride (6 miles), played with Howie (he goes outside a lot since the weather is still so fine), wrote (I'm up 60,000 words in the new book), and played my new video game Dragon Age:  Veilguard.  It's a role playing game, and as with most, it has extensive character creation.  That mean you design how you look.  As always, I play as a male (you can play as either male or female).  And, as usual I made myself into a hottie.  And yes, I am a ginger with a beard.

And as the reality of the 2024 election sets in, I, like a lot of people wonder how in the Hell so many Democrats could choose not to vote.  There are many explanations, but one that occurred to me last night was how important social media shaped opinions.  Take the way each candidate's rallies were portrayed.  Harris had big ones, filled with dancing, and singing, and great speeches.  Trump's, on the other hand, were poorly attended and people walked out.  I can't tell you how many pictures and videos were posted of his rallies, but they were a constant.  I don't doubt that many out there seeing these pictures and videos assumed that on election day, his performance among voters would match his rallies.  They made a bad assumption that his cultists would stay home.  Well, they were wrong.  As one of my main protagonists says frequently in my books, "assume nothing."  They jumped to the very bad conclusion that he was going to lose badly, based solely on those pictures and videos, and chose to stay home; he was going to lose badly.  The thought never entered their minds that Republicans would vote for Trump simply because they hated Harris, and now we're screwed.

The Waiting Game

 So them temp outside is a balmy 52 (F).  Temps are predicted to climb up into the 80s (F) today with a lot of sunshine.  Being that is Halloween, that means there are going to be a lot of Trick or Treaters out this evening.  I'm not excited.  My drapes will be drawn and my front porched light turned off.  I did the candy thing once, about 28 years ago.  Once was enough.  I think I had 12 trick or treaters.  I ate most of the candy, and ended up shutting the door, grabbing a beer, and turning on the television.  I am not a big one for playing dress-up.

I did work yesterday.  Five hours.  My new availability has not been activated.  I no longer work mornings, only afternoons, four days a week.  I cannot be scheduled for more than 24 hours, so far it looks like I'm getting around 20.  That's fine with me.  

And last evening I had to deal with a bit of an issue with Amazon.  I ordered the new Dragon Age game from Amazon, it's released worldwide today.  I was expecting the game to arrive today.  When I got home from work I checked the delivery status.  At 4:26 PM yesterday, the game had arrived at the shipper, in Kent, Washington.  I immediately realized there was going to be a problem.  Not surprisingly, a few minutes later I got an email from Amazon apologizing, and letting me know the delivery was going to be delayed and should be arriving by Monday.  Of course, I was on the computer to Amazon who again apologized and changed the delivery status to 24 hours, meaning the game should be arriving today.  Adding insult to this issue, I get a promotional set of armor for purchasing the game early, however, the game needs to be loaded into my Series X and I can't do that until the game arrives.

Here's a bit of a palate cleanser.

Counting today, there are only 6 more days until the election. I don't know anyone who wants it to be longer, everyone I've talked to is that they want it to be over today.  The media coverage has been relentless.  Just about every group with a vowel in their name is publishing a poll and those polls represent nothing but their own interests.  The media wants you to click on their websites, so they publish clickbait headlines that deal in assumption rather than fact, assumptions rather than details.  The media wants a horserace, and so Biden says something and Harris is held accountable.  The observant American will notice that JD Vance seems to have been muted since his presence was an obvious liability.  On the other hand, Elon Musk's dipshit energy is spewing out negative vibes; his mental immaturity is growing more apparent as the seconds tip by.

The only thing we do know is that in early voting and mail in ballots, turn-out is Democrat heavy.  There is an indicator that the turn-out among women is higher than average, the turn-out of younger voters, the Gen-Z ers, is higher than normal.  We're in a waiting game, and Tuesday can't come fast enough.

Torching Republicans

 It's 57 (F) outside and I'm wearing a sweat shirt and sweatpants.  Autumn wear.  Temps will be warming back up to more summer-like ranges, highs in the mid to upper 80s (F) as the week continues.  Right now, however, it was so cool I put another blanket on the bed.

I got some sad news yesterday, Joe Radle, the electrician I've been using for the past couple of years was killed in an auto accident.  One of the reasons I used him was because he advertised he was "pet friendly," and every time he was here, my dogs seemed more important than me.  He will be missed.

Work was boring.  No measures.  I did sell a pallet of porcelain tile.  Really, what I'm doing right now is counting the days until Greece.

I pre-ordered the new Assassin's Creed and the new Dragon Age games.  They won't be out until late October.  Assassin's Creed is set in Japan and you get to play as either a Samurai or some other character that's female.  I'll be the samurai.  That should be fun.

Of course, last night was Day 3 of the Democratic convention.  Have I been watching it?  Yes, but I watch it my way.  Around 10:30 PM, I turn it off, then the next morning I watch the important speeches on YouTube.  

While I like Bill Clinton, last night I thought he talked for too long.  And Nancy Pelosi?  I was scanning social media on my phone while she spoke.  Bill was important.  Nancy?  This will probably be her last public, official appearance.

Stevie Wonder was great!  

And during a rally yesterday in an attempt to steal away some of the convention's thunder, Orangie Anus, upon seeing a woman suffering a medical emergency, left the safety of his bulletproof glass booth and went to help.  Can you hear me laughing now?  Two weeks ago Tim Walz did something similar, handing out bottles of water to a woman who was showing signs of heat exhaustion.  Orangie must be very desperate to stoop to such phony theatrics.  Did his team truly think this was  going to make headlines?

Orangie's not the only one worried.  After a series of texts from a conservative friend, I can tell you that Conservatives are furious.  Running against Biden and his age was going to be a winning ticket for them.  They believe this election was going to be a cakewalk, and now those beliefs have been shattered.  Harris is filling up venues and Orangie is struggling.  His dearly beloved Project 2025 has gone through several name changes and is still getting roasted multiple times a day.  

The DNC is rocking the ratings!  The first night it beat the Republican convention by 21%.  Night 2 the DNC whipped the RNC by 55%.  Wowza!  Saying Republicans are furious might be a bit of an understatement.  This is a good thing.  The angrier they get, the more frequently their candidate will make mistakes.  Any day now, Orangie's switch will flip and his public meltdown will torch the Republican party for good.