Here We Go

 Well, here we go!  There is a definite chill in the air.  Currently it's 39 (F) an today's high will not climb out of the 40s (F) and the overnight low will be hovering down around freezing.  Tomorrow is supposed to be worse, with the overnight low dropping down into the high 20s (F).  This is why you shouldn't plant you garden in April.

With my new work schedule, I'll be working most of the day on Sunday, so there's not much time for anything but meh.  The other days I'm schedule to only work 5 hours.  That's doable.  I have no problem working 22 hours a week, mostly because it isn't really like working.  For me, it's kind of a meet and greet social hour since I always manage to get into a conversation with customers.  

Because I was spending time at the flooring desk, I had zippo time for any sort of exercise, and when I got home I played Avowed.  While I do spend sometime on social media when I'm home, I don't spend a lot.  Mostly because it's a lot of the same stuff over and over again.  To be honest, I tend to spend more time on it when I'm working and there are no customers to talk to.

I bought some foamy tiles for the gym floor yesterday.  I'll spread them out when I finish this entry.  I'm debating if I want to buy another pack and surround the bike with them.  They're cushy under foot.

Here's a interesting bit:  You know how car manufacturers brand their cars with a very specific logo/symbol?  Honda has an H on the front, Ford says Ford, an Subaru has their oval starfield?  Walking to my car yesterday, I saw vehicle with a very odd brand, so I went to see what it was.  Lo and behold, it was a Tesla, however the owner had take black electrical tape and made an X across the T.  So, was he worried his car my be vandalize, or just upset that he owned a car from a company owned by a neo-Nazi?  They're expensive, so not everybody can run out and trade their in.

In case anyone was wondering about Republican presidents and recessions:

I understand that Wall Street is crashing again.  The Orange Anus is doubling down on his tariffs because to do otherwise would be to admit he was wrong.  That will never happen.  He will go to his grave always blaming someone else.  It will always be the other guy's fault.  It's not his fault that the EU has chosen to set retaliatory tariffs, it's their fault because they didn't cave to his demands.  Every time they retaliate, it's a sucker punch to his ego.  It infuriates him.  They are laughing at his phony authoritarianism.  Orangie will initiate a "nuclear trade war," as billionaire Bill Ackman has said, rather than concede.

There will be 2 fronts in this war: international trade, and the Domestic Home Front.  Over 5 million people standing up to him in the Hands Off protests is not a one-off.  The next one will be so much larger.  Republicans are not used to dealing with their constituents pushing back, and because they love their jobs so much, it is they who will begin to cave.  So, we all need to hold on to our hats because Here We Go.

Remaking the World

 Well, the crappy thing about today is that I have to go to work.  After that, I'm off for 4 - so I guess in the long run things even out.

There was a bit of a shit show yesterday with Biggie's meds.  His carprofen is supposed to be auto ship every 2 weeks.  Yesterday was 2 weeks since it was last delivered.  So, I went in the Chewy and discovered the autoship date was 3/24, which was 3 weeks.  I contacted them to have it fixed and... they contacted my vet to get authorization. However, my Vet had gone for the day, so some smart person in the office sent it to another Vet who decided that before he approved it, Biggie needed to have $145 blood work completed.  This didn't include a $60 visit charge.  I got very... testy.  The only reason it was sent for approval was because it went from a flavored tablet to a chewable tablet.  He has 2 refills left on his prescription.  I called Chewy & they fixed their... mistake meaning no authorization was needed.  His meds shipped this morning.  Oh, and the Veterinary Practice I take my dogs to has a much clearer picture of my and my expectations.

Here's a pic of Lily preparing to fall asleep on the futon.

The BBC has an interesting read on how Putin is redrawing the world, though not the way he had planned.  Two points I found fascinating were: Brexit had turned the EU into and dysfunctional entity, and Trump's presidency had created enough chaos in the US to make it fundamentally useless.  Of course, nearly a month into a war the world understand how badly Putin shit in his pants.  As a result, he will continue to slaughter innocent people; the only way for him to save face, he thinks.  Every waking hour he proves himself to be a bigger loser than anyone ever thought he could be.  Thanks to him, the United States is not running this show, rather we are participating with our European Allies.  NATO is proving itself to be a force to be reckoned with, something Putin has always feared.  He prefers small, independent countries he can isolate.  That is not the case.  He is remaking the world, and it's got going to benefit him one single bit.

Humiliating as Hell

 Okay, so is everybody ready to begin a brand new week?  I am.  Up and raring to go at a little before 0500.  Now, I know some of you will think of that as way too early.  Remember, I would rather be doing something than wasting time in a semi-somnambulist state.  That's my way of saying last night's sleep was more wakeful than most.

This is a work day for me.  A full work day, not one of my partial, show-up and put in 3 or 4 hours day.  Today might be somewhat busy.  Yesterday was a really sloooow Sunday after that bit of a shit show snow storm.  

I saw where Tom Brady is coming out of a retirement.  Pardon my English, but what a greedy dick.  At 45, he will end up injuring himself, probably badly, and regret his actions for the rest of his life.

The lyrics for this song might be used for karaoke night in the Body Under Ice.  Karaoke night, you ask?  I thought you knew, every murder mystery deservers a good song and dance act.

And now, can we talk about this bit of humiliating news?  It seems as though big bad Vlad's preparations for his invasion of the Ukraine weren't as thorough as he thought.  Or, maybe his people just lied to him because... well, he has been known to go horseback riding shirtless.  Anyway, it seems as Vlad has gone begging the Chinese for help, groveling for both military and financial aid.  Now, isn't that humiliating as hell.  Looks like this little invasion of his has cost Russia to lose it's shirt.  Vlad has become a putz in the eyes of the world.  As for China, they're staying mum on the situation.  You see, they were hoping Vlad's little invasion would go well, that this would be and easy peasy war.  Well, that didn't happen.  The EU, which Vald wrongly believed would roll over, has turned into a Super Power, and they are very tired of Vlad's shit.  The EU has the second largest, possibly even the largest, trading block in the world.  And Russia is really nothing more than a 3rd world country... thanks to Vlad.  That truth is humiliating as hell.

This will not save your life

And on the first day of my mini-vaca I slept in... until 0800.  Well, that's not quite right, I did get up at my usual time to let the dogs out, but then I went back to bed.  But now I'm up, and as always there are chores to do.  I think for dinner I'll do Coq au Vin, or at least my version of it which pretty much consists of wine, chicken legs, onions, and mushrooms.  Hopefully it will be yum.
For those of you who haven't been paying attention, Brexit is now official.  I don't believe many of those who voted for the separation understand that now they are still going to be dealing with the EU, or that as a small, independent nation they are not going to have the power they might think they have.  The EU will leave them behind.  This is how it goes.
Here in the states, the Senate will be voting on acquitting the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  Nobody should be surprised.  The Republican held Senate will let him get away with whatever he wants.  As Alexander Hamilton said, to convict him would be to convict themselves.  Moscow Mitch knows this, hence no witnesses.  While some of those with faulty brain pans believe Biden and his son are the key, Moscow Mitch knows the truth.  Witnesses would have been a bullet to the head.  Rather than do that, they chose to inflict some serious political damage upon themselves.  In order for them to survive in November the economy needs to be simply stellar... oh, did any of you see what happened to the stock market yesterday?  The fallout from the Coronavirus is just starting.
Oh, my, fear is stalking the planet.  The flu is worse in terms of mortality, but the Coronavirus is easier to catch.  And I read this morning, they believe it survives the big drop into the toilet.  Yep, it's in your feces.  Shit!  I also think they believe the baby viruses use an airborne delivery system as well.  With that being said, this will not save your life.

Yepper, those virus babies are much smaller than the dust particulate this was made to keep out of your lungs.  Wearing one may ease your fears, but it will not keep you from getting sick.  Nor will this flimsy, little mask keep the Coronavirus from effecting Wall Street.  I saw where Apple is closing it's stores in mainland China.  It's already too late.  This virus has a 14 day incubation period, a time when you are contagious but have yet to exhibit symptoms.  Son of a bitch!  What we may actually be seeing is an Act of God... which is terrible for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.

Breaking America

Yesterday work was... odd, seeming more like a Sunday morning rather than a Monday.  Financially we did really well last week, one of only 2 stores to hit their forecast.  Some missed largely because of... well, probably online sales.  The main focus for us now until Christmas is to condense.  That's a word which will ring constantly.  Condense.  All the crap that didn't sell gets moved into smaller and smaller areas.  Oh... and prices start to drop on it because it's... crap.  If you thought you were getting a deal on it on Black Friday, wait 2 weeks.
Here in Central Pennsylvania we were all waiting for snow yesterday and... some received a dusting.  I got nothing.  Most of the white stuff fell on the mountain tops surrounding the Susquehanna Valley.

Now, I know there are some who will say "that's isn't a mountain."  You're wrong.  It's part of the Appalachian Mountain range, a very old and distinguished mountain range.  Back when Europe was still anchored to our Eastern Seaboard, the Appalachians were higher than either the Rockies or the Alps.  Now in their senior years, they deserve our respect.  Besides, you ought to try riding a bicycle up one... then you'll know it's a mountain.
I saw where the Idiot Jerk in the White House is slapping new tariffs on Brazil and Argentina because... they're selling boatloads of soybeans to China.  All of those boatloads our American framers used to sell?  Well, the Chinese have found another source.  This is what's called a Free Market Economy.  Our American farmers are having an 'oh Shit!' moment.  They believed they were the only ones in the world selling soybeans.  And the fact that these tariffs might tighten the bonds between Brazil, Argentina and China totally eludes the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  This is how you break America.
And new tariffs are threatened against France and the European Union.  That's right.  They passed new laws which will financially hurt American Tech Companies - the result, tariffs against them.  The problem is that France and the EU are saying "bring it on, Asswipe."  Ooops.  This is the wrong reaction.  They're supposed to cower and bow down at American Greed.  Wrong.  They're going to give us the finger.  This is just one more example of how the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to break America.
Oh, and this just in:  The Idiot Jerk says it might be better to wait until after the 2020 to try and get a deal from China.  Oh, Shit!  And how many Americans went deeply into debt over Black Friday?  This is how you break America.

The Hardliners are killing us

Monday, the 2nd of 3 days off in a row.  Almost a mini vacation.  I'm going to go pay my real estate taxes today - now ain't that gonna be fun?  That means stopping by Member's First to get a cashier's check.  Last year I paid with a regular check and had to wait almost 3 weeks for the money to come out of the account.  No Way.  I worked in accounting for 35 years so when it comes to $$ I'm very precise.  I don't understand people who dick around with shit like this.
My syn got put back on the trainer yesterday.  I only managed to ride about 3.5 miles.  I'd had the X6 on until I got my crank fixed.  Switch back meant recalibrating... necessary when using a smart trainer.  Getting the traction right between the rear tire and the roller can be a time consuming process:  too much and you feel like you're climbing hills constantly, too little and you tire will slip.  We deal with these little things in life.
Oh, and I saw where the Idiot Jerk  said in an interview that the EU is our foe.  Dumb Fuck.  He's going to give the farm to his Blow Buddy Vlad.  And two of the Idiot Jerk's appointed dicks, Mnunchin and Pompeo, have told pretty much everybody that if they trade with Iran there will be no tariff waivers.  These hardliners are killing the country.  So, is the same thing going to hold true for Russia?  Or is he going to give his Blow Buddy Vlad a free pass?  Do I really need to ask.  The Idiot Jerk is so desperate to have a dictator call him a 'Strong Leader,' he'll do back flips if necessary.  And those allies whom we've counted on for years?  They'll move closer to China.  We will be left with no one.  This is what Putin has wanted all along, to isolate us from the rest of the world.  That isolation makes us more vulnerable.  His plan is to topple us out of Number One.  With his power over the Idiot Jerk, he will succeed.
On to a lighter note.  I tend to have luck with roses.  Here's a pic I snapped yesterday of some. 

They don't have much of a scent, but boy are they pretty!