Disturbances

 So, when I checked the weather this morning I saw what I consider an odd forecast.  Today the temps are supposed to be up in the low to mid 50s (F).  Instead of saying things are going to be warming up, or warmer, the forecast was "not as cool."  I kid you not.  "Not as cool," implies temps are still going to be low, but 52 (F) is much warmer than 34 (F), so I think there description is a bit off.

I did work yesterday, and it was slow.  We're not going to hit plan this week.  This will continue the trend that started when Trump was inaugurated.  I'm not thinking that things are going to be changing anytime soon.  One thing that does appear to be changing is my schedule.  I'm down to between 16 and 17 hours, so I suspect they believe sales are not going to be rebounding anytime soon.  Payroll is the easiest expense to cut.  

Things are so much different with Howie than with my other dogs.  He is much more active.  Where as I used to make coffee and then sit down and peruse the headlines, now I make coffee and play with Howie for a least a half hour.  We play fetch, and he loves to wrestle, and, lucky for me, he's learned to faux bite.  This means he acts like he's biting me, but doesn't really... at least most of the time.  He loves that.  From time to time I attempt a joint selfie, Howie and I.  This is the latest.  And for those curious few, that's a Christmas ornament dangling from a window lock and not some ghosty demon dancing over my head.

My Social Security check gets deposited on the 2nd Wednesday of every month and usually I can see that deposit on Friday of the week before.  I just checked and so far there's not deposit.  This doesn't mean that Orangie and and his toady Elonia are not going to pay it, just that they may have gummed up the gears.  That is something we all need to be certain of, their screwing things up.  As part of the 1%, they have no concept of everyday life; none of the wealthy do.  Take Larry Kudlow, a man of little vision and pure greed.  He said on Fox Entertainment that there is a -2.81 decline expected in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) which indicates a downturn in America's economic health in the first quarter of 2025.  He said "there will be disturbances," or in layman's terms, things are going to be getting more expensive for the common man.  Unless there is a complete crash of the Stock Market, Kudlow will never know of difficult and "disturbance" can be for you and I.  Truthfully, we all know he doesn't care how bad Americans suffer.  

And, of course, the on again, off again, some are still on tariff wars are still... well, right now they're on, and off, and Canada's keeping their retaliatory tariffs on... for now.  Right now the Dow is up around 84 points and they're calling it a rebound.  Sorry, that's not a rebound.

Tape this

Well, here it Saturday and I get to go to work.  I'll be off for the next 3 days so I supposed I'll be able to endure.
Yesterday I went down to the Lebanon VA for a consultation.  I have been pressured for years to have a colonoscopy performed.  Well, now one is scheduled for... (are you ready for this?) Valentine's Day.  On that most romantic of days something alien is going to be inserted....  Let me tell you, my amazing ass is more sacred than any Indian Burial Grounds - nothing goes near it without my approval.  Now I know there are people who say this is a necessary evil, however if you start looking at the ratios of people who have the procedure performed vs the number of precancerous polyps discovered those numbers are staggeringly low, like 1.6%.  I'm not saying it isn't a worthwhile procedure for certain people, if you have a family history of colo-rectal cancer, or cancer in general, or there are some other health reasons, but for the vast majority it is unnecessary.  Someone, somewhere is making a lot of money.
Another thing I did yesterday was to work on cleaning out the attic.  I brought down a box of old VHS video tapes which are now waiting to go out into the trash.

I no longer have a VHS player.  As I looked through the titles I nodded to myself, remembering how much I had enjoyed certain films, and how many times I'd watched several.  I also realized there was no way I would want to watch these things again.  I would rather throw them out instead of someone else,  In fact, at some point, after the dogs are gone, I will sell the house and for that to happen the attic will need to be clear.
There was some amusing news regarding our economy yesterday.  We imported much more than we exported, in fact, the last time the country imported this much stuff was 2008.  Because American workers make much more than foreign workers, our American products are more expensive, and those who run around shrieking "buy American" don't want to spend the dollars.  They'd rather cheap it out and buy something similar made in China, or Thailand, or Mexico.