Whiners and Losers

 Well, a happy Saturday to all you weekend readers!  The temps outside are a near balmy 42 (F) and they're predicted to hit 60 (F) by this afternoon.  Yeah, keep in mind that this is still Autumn, or Fall, depending upon which noun you prefer.  Accuweather has issued a Fog Watch until 1130, though when I look out the window there's not much for me to watch.

Yesterday was productive.  Only 2 cabinet doors remain to be hung, not because I didn't want to hang them, but because I'm waiting for new hinges.  The previous hinges were brown metal, which would stand out terribly against the white cabinets so white hinges were ordered.  They should be hear Monday.  Some of the cabinets got their 3rd coat of paint, and some of the trim was finished as well.  This coming week there will be more painting, in fact, that's all that's left to do... oh, and of course, the floor.  That's going to be a real pain in the knees and hips.

Here's a bit of a funny from the UK:  Jimmy Dyson, you know?  Dyson vacuums?  He filed a libel suit against the Daily Mirror claiming they said terrible things about him that weren't true.  Hhhmmm, what sort of terrible things?  That he was a great supporter of Brexit, and that it if the voters of the UK passed it, it would be boon to the economy... except, once Brexit passed Jimmy decided it would be better financially if he moved his business headquarters and everything associated with that headquarters somewhere else... other than Britain, someplace like Singapore.  Jimmy didn't like it when the Daily Mail called him out on it, saying he was a phony, so he tried to punish them by suing them.  And...  the courts decided that the Daily Mail hadn't libeled Jimmy by reporting the truth, basically telling Jimmy that his whining really sucks.

This is what 23 (F) did to my roses.

Of course, yesterday was George Santos' last day as a Congressman.  The vote to get him out is considered a landslide:  311 voted to oust the phony, that includes both Republicans and Democrats.  Some whiners complained that it sets a bad precedent because he was convicted of any crimes, 20 of those whiners were Democrats, the rest were Republicans.  That's amusing.  Now the Republican majority is one seat short.  There's going to be a special election in February to replace Georgie.  Some are thinking it might be a highly contested race.  Not me.  Santos flipped the seat, it wasn't always Republican.  Now, thanks to all of the slimy shenanigans taking place on the GOP side of the House of Representatives, it's going to flip back.  

Loaded with Cash

Well, here it is Monday, the start of a new work week and it just so happens to be my Friday... and I have half a weekend coming up.  That's right, I have off one day (Dental appointment) and then I get to work for another 4.  Yippee!
Some people were really surprised by the Dyson lady... well, retailers themselves are to blame.  We, like many other retailers, have very, very generous Return Policies.  This is because we're terrified that if we refuse a Return you will take your future dollars somewhere else.  Yepper.  The fear of you buying your next box of nails from Lowe's is the root of this evil.  This is also why Retailers push credit cards with expensive interest.  It's not the consumer they are concerned about, it's their purchases.  Let me load your cart up!  Buy more!  It's not their fault if you can't manage your credit.
And I was pleased to find out yesterday that I'm "loaded up with money."  That is what the Idiot Jerk in the White House said, in case you weren't paying attention to the farts he spews from his mouth.  Actually, this is his direct quote:

 "Our consumers are rich," he added. "I did a tax cut. They're loaded up with money."

Okay, now even I have to admit that was really funny.  Loaded up with cash... hahahaha, hohohoho.  He doesn't even talk about us as being...'people.'  Nope.  We're Consumers, and we're rich because 'he' did a tax cut.  The truth is he, and his minions and sycophants, are truly worried about a recession.  Here's a link for those who want to see the Republican Party doing what it does best... Lie.   The Big Guns came out.  Don't worry, the world is going into a recession, but we're not... because they're in charge.  When it was pointed out to Larry Kudlow that he had also poured water on the recession talk back in 2007, he farted out something about "being optimistic."  That's right, there's nothing wrong with being optimistic.  That's a pretty shallow way of reassuring the masses, isn't it?  At least he didn't say "well, let's look on the bright side, I got a really super great tax cut." 

Simply Amazing

Sunday, and since I work it's a not so restful day of rest.
The temps are forecast to go up into the mid-90's today... tomorrow even warmer.  People forget we're only halfway through summer.  That's right.  It doesn't end until September.  I guess a good way to describe this season so far is to say it's been sweltering.
I had some Crazy Christians buy vinyl sheeting yesterday.  Five kids around the cart and a 6th on the way.  The father was wearing a biblical T-shirt with verses on both the front and back.  They don't understand that "be fruitful and multiply" is a nice way of telling them they're nothing more than breeders. 
There was also this woman who bought a Dyson vacuum cleaner.  She asked me what our return policy was, so I told her usually 30 days.  She asked, "so, I can bring it back in 30 days?"  I told her most people bring things back much sooner if there's a problem.  "But if I don't like it, I can bring it back in 30 days?" she asked, again.  Could she have been any more obvious?  "We call that rent for free and really frown upon that type of behavior," I replied.  She looked at me and said "well, everybody does it." She did purchase the vacuum.  On the way to the register, she asked the Front End Supervisor the same question.  And, while paying for it at the register, she asked the cashier the same thing.  We all know that in about 29 days that Dyson's going to be returned. 
For those interested, I rode a little over 57 + miles this week.  The shortest ride was 7.66 miles, the longest 14.78.  My heart rate averages around 124 BPM, that includes the hills when it goes up.  I need to complete two 16+ rides to get to the next level, one of which is all up hill.  Shit.
I have over 31,000 words done on the next book and our heroes are just getting the first of the snakey parts.  rattle rattle, rattle rattle.
And I guess manufacturing is in decline.  This is not good for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  This is also to be expected because this man is a blowhard.  He is stupid.  His own history, with 6 bankruptcies, proves he is hapless as hell.  What his adoring throngs fail to realize is that this is how he runs his business.  It's all fucked up.
For those who read my books, you know I have a recurring character named Bobby Tussel.  A police officer from Baltimore, he is on permanent disability, the result of brain trauma: he has a bullet in his brain.  He drinks wine straight from the bottle, likes warm six-packs of Anchor Beer, runs a semi-pornographic website where he's known as the Hunky Donkey, all of which are a result of his injuries.  But the one thing he does that leaves people in awe is dance.  A combination of ballet and gymnastics, people who see him dance are truly amazed.  He's going to do a little dance in The Body in the Well.  As always, I like to pick a song to play over and over again as I write these sequences.  This time I chose wonderful little tune by Owen Pallet which I think exemplifies the art of Bobby's dance.

Sit on this

Sunday morning.  This is the last day of my work week.  Tomorrow I start my Jury Duty.  I'm so excited... well, that may not be precisely the exact work.  I've never actually sat on a jury though I have endured the selection process.  A very tedious time was had by all.  Evidently there are classes for attorneys which help them profile potential jurors.  I learned last time that frowning at the prosecuting attorney pretty much sets your course towards rejection, of course, the opposite is also true.  As cynical as I am, I will no doubt grimace several times.  This is what happens when you work in retail and constantly deal with customers who just out and out lie.
And I do know about customers.  Yesterday I rather robust woman stopped by the flooring desk.  She was looking for a specific Dyson, a $700 Dyson, and while we carry that particular vacuum online, it is not in the store.  That was not what she wanted to hear.  She gave me a salty little sneer and said "Well, I guess I'm going to have to go to Lowes."  She thought she was jamming a nasty little barb into my retail heart, having to go to a competitor.  She failed.  Customers regularly use this threat when they we don't carry what they're looking for... like a purple toilet seat.  We usually smile and say "go right ahead."

Not in our store

Now I'm sure the Idiot Jerk in the White House has something like this... though probably in gold.  Can't you just picture something all sparkling under his ass?

We may get an inkling or two from the Mueller investigation today.  I know some were a little peeved that there were no more forthcoming indictments.  Let's be honest here, you can't indict someone for being a dumb fuck, which is the perfect description of not only the Idiot Jerk, but of his spawn as well.  They're loud, and they're vulgar, and all of them have an IQ on par with being a cretin.  As either Donnie Jr, or Eric a question and their first response is a vacant stare.

The first reader is going to get "The Body in the Tower" today.  She will also get a highlighter and an ink pen.  Her job is to look for things that don't quite jive in the continuity of the story line, to ensure I haven't strayed into some strange little literary tangent having nothing to do with subject, or where the exposition becomes overtly flowery.