For a Good Time

 So, here it is January 3 and forecasters are calling for some snow this afternoon, about an inch.  I don't mind.  Unless it's a wet snow, that will blow away in the slightest of breezes.  Sunday in to Monday, however, we might get as much as 4 inches.  If we get that much I'll probably take the day off at work.  I'm smart enough to realize that as I get older, my reflexes are slowing down.  I'd rather be safe and warm at home than stuck in a ditch alongside the road.  As for the snow?  That'll be nice.  Free cardio, but barely.  You need a good 8 or 9 inches of snow to really get the old ticker going as you shovel.

Yesterday was an odd day at work.  Customers streamed by the flooring desk regularly.  Sales, however, were scant.  I did manage to get a backsplash measure, and sold some flooring to customer.  That should keep management happy.  

The neighbors had another fight last evening.  This past summer she had complained to me how when he yells he can be "so hurtful."  You can call me cold if you like, but I had a problem with that.  Since I'd already heard them arguing loudly, I knew she could be just as hurtful as he was, so her playing the victim just wasn't going to work.  At some point, I don't doubt that they will move.  I think they will find that easier than doing any of the work the house needs done.

I would rather poke my eyes out than watch one of the far right news services, but last evening Matt Gaetz, who has his own show on OAN, premiered his new face.

I suppose he's trying to make himself more desirable to prepubescent girls, or maybe he's trying to make himself look like the 14 year-old boy he never was, since older pictures of him show he was on the homely side.

This afternoon the House of Representatives will be voting for their next leader.  Will Mike Johnson, the phony Christian who bows to the Orange Anus be re-elected?  Probably, but not on the first vote, maybe not on the second either.  Orangey needs a Speaker of the House in order to be certified, though most of us already know he is certifiable.  

Isn't it interesting that a growing number of Cultist are beginning to complain about Orangey?  No matter how often they were stupid and gullible to believe the Orange Anus, they did anyway.  Their Find Out stage, while it will be bad for all of us, is going to be horrific for them.  They will be wounded terribly bad, and what they deserve more than anything else is for us to rub salt into that wound, and we should try to have a good time while doing so.

Raw Milk

 We had rain overnight.  It was good, especially since there was only supposed to be a 60% chance of rain yesterday.  Any and every rain drop is welcome.  Today, our temps are expected to climb up into the mid 50s (F).  While that's not unusual for this time of year, what is unusual is that we've only had one day in which temps have dropped below freezing.  Over the past few years, we've been heading into the end of November with a really nice cold snap.  Thanks to Climate Change, that may not happen this year.

Much was accomplished yesterday.  I am pleased.  Hopefully, today will be just as good.  There are only 2 mandatory chores that need to be done.

Things that were done yesterday included a trip to the Orange retailer to pick up 6 more bags of topsoil and some bricks.  Howie seems like digging at one area of the fence, the bricks will put an end to it.  I had him out leash training, that went well.  I picked up 2 new pair of work pants from Community Aid.  The cuffs will need to be hemmed because, as I've said before, I have little legs.  Some weight training was done.  Some cleaning.  I have about 12,000 pages left in the first draft to finish; I'm pleased with that.

The leaves on my gingko are still in the process of turning yellow.  This morning, as I went to take a picture of it through the bedroom window, I noticed that high up in the branches was a bird's nest.  Can you see it?

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As expected, the Orange Anus continued to shock the world yesterday with his continuing nomination of completely unqualified people for cabinet positions.  Hopefully, some of the Republican Senators who handle the confirmation process will grow a pair and keep people like Gaetz, and Kennedy out of the administration.  One of Kennedy's pet projects is to bring back raw milk.  For those who don't know, milk is pasteurized to kill all those nasty little microbes in it that will make you sick with silly little things like dysentery.  Just because it doesn't make cows sick, doesn't mean your belly is going to handle those bacteria.  He will also be in charge of Medicare and Medicaid, unlike in Europe and most of the rest of the world where Health Care is free, Americans should expect their costs to go up and benefits to go down.  Oh, and he is an anti-vaxer.  This means there will probably be a rather entertaining war between him and Big Pharma.

As for Gaetz?  Well, I guess we'll all get to see if Trump gets to put a pedophile in his cabinet.  

Expensive

 Well, I woke up to a chilly 34 (F) this morning.  There is supposedly the threat of rain this afternoon, but evidently only the threat.  Our high temp is only supposed reach 50, and that's cool.  Tomorrow temps are supposed to warm up.  I saw that, according to the national weather service, we shouldn't be expecting much snow this winter.  Hopefully, that doesn't mean we're not going to get rain.  Drought conditions create fire hazards.  Of course, who know what we're going to be getting thanks to Climate Change.

Yesterday was boring at work.  I did get a measure, but no sales.  It was a long 5 hours, so I did laps and got my steps in.  One of the things I did take notice to was price increases.  We sell transition strips that go in doorways between different types of flooring, say vinyl plank to carpet.  When I worked on Sunday, they were $32.97, yesterday they cost $39.97, that's a $7 increase.  For all of you foolish people out there, this is not inflation.  This is corporate greed.  It's going to be everywhere and no one is going to do anything to slow it down or stop it.

The new watch is working well. The other new watch is arriving later today.  On Tuesday, I'll be returning it to Amazon and notifying them so they don't give me a credit.  The last thing I want out of their driver's incompetence is a free watch.  I went with charcoal gray rather than black because it was cheaper.

Yesterday, while talking to a fellow associate, I mention that it wasn't just going to be our prices that were going to be rising, but food prices as well, once the Orange Anus begins deporting all those migrant workers who've picked fruit and vegetables for years.  His response?  "Oh, no, no, no, it's only going to be the violent gangs, everybody else is going to be safe."  Rather than argue, I let my disagreement lie on the floor and walked away.  This means that when food prices start going up, I'll be able to walk over and have a "told you so" conversation with him.  These people believe his every lie, and they will only learn after he burns the Hell out of them, and the rest of the country.

And, of course, everybody was talking about the Matt Gaetz and Tulsi Gabbard nominations.  Let us pray that Gaetz never makes it to Attorney General.  I was reading that the main reason Trump chose him is because he has promised to cut off "fucking heads."

Prepare yourselves, life is going to get very expensive.

Trump's Trial Turns Musical

 Well, let's say hello to Friday, and my day off, and, as you might expect we have a 95% chance of cloud cover.  That 5% of sunshine, that happened around 6 AM.  No rain is in the forecast, though, that's supposed to arrive tomorrow.  That's not going to be good for our garden department.  No one wants to wandering around looking at shrubberies in the rain.

Speaking of shrubberies, I'm thinking of buy some sort of hemlock to put in front of my porch, one that does well in shade since it will sit in the shadow of the gingko tree.\

And I learned a thing yesterday.  My desk is big, and heavy, and impossible for me to lift by myself with all of the drawers inside.  However, I can push the thing, so I've begun pushing it around the writing room in order to get the area rugs out from under it.  One of the rugs was rolled up and taped yesterday, and is now sitting on my back porch waiting to go out in the garbage.  The second one will be gone later this morning.  One thing that surprised me, was how much of a doggie odor they have.  It's a good thing none of my friends never decided to have a lay down my floor.\

There were some interesting entries on social media yesterday, things that out and out made me laugh, one of which was when they tried to get Bo Bo Boebert to sign a Beetlejuice program.  I understand that when she went to speak she was nearly droned out by people chanting that name over and over again.

And then there were the Bootlickers.  Evidently, Matty Gaetz has decided to form a new faux rock band that really does nothing more than play air guitar and lip sync badly.

As for the trial, from all reports Trump's attorney, some guy named Blanche (I try a name change if I were him) lost his temper on more than one occasion.  Was his temper tantrum successful at doing anything other than showing his weaknesses?  Only the jury knows.

Reality Checks

 Hello happy day before Christmas Eve!  I say that with good hearted jest.  You see, the first thought that went through my head when I woke up this morning was: damn, I have to go to work this afternoon.  Yep, I thought it was Christmas Eve.  It wasn't until I sat down my computer that I saw today was actually Friday, the 23.  I'm in really good spirits, now.

The Vet call last evening.  Biggie is not going on meds.  No hormone blockers.  He does have Cushing's but his symptoms are not severe enough to require medication.  Biggie, as if he had already known this, slept through the night without having to go potty outside.  While I have no problem spending the $$$ for treatment, $400 + every 3 months for bloodwork was mice.

As for the snow we had yesterday morning?  It's practically gone.  We a total accumulation of 3 inches.  I went out and shoveled because a delivery from Chewy was expected.  Then, around 1:30 PM, the rain began, and it's been raining ever since.  Had it been cold enough, this would have been one hellatious snow storm.  The cold doesn't arrive until later this morning, carried in by high winds gusting to 50 + miles per hour.  That's another reason why I'm glad I don't have to go to work this afternoon.

Yesterday there were quite a few individuals got reality checks.  Can you hear me laughing at them?

Matty Gaetz was shooting off angry retorts because many, many people were outraged that he and Bimbo Boebert sat through Zelenskyy's speech.  This is one of many images of the two sitting on their hands, or checking their phones.  Did they think they were making some sort of bizarre statement?

Even the conservative rag, Newsweek, published, with large headlines, the names of the seven congressmen who stayed sitting.

That Putin asset, Tucker Carlson, was gesticulating so wildly I felt certain he was having a conniption as he shrieked about Zelenskyy throwing a foreign flag on the dais.  Fox has a serious problem with Tucker in that he makes news because he rants, not because he makes points.  Ranting people are rarely taken seriously.

And then there's George Santos, a Republican from New York who lied extensively about... well, everything.  Let's see, he's not Jewish.  His grandparents didn't flee Hitler, they were born in Brazil.  He was married to a woman for some time.  He has not been openly gay for 10 years.  He never worked for Goldman-Sachs.  Shit, the list goes on and on.  George is having a serious reality check.  George says he will tell all next week.  Right.

Finally, the January 6 committee has released it's findings.   The Republican party is dealing with a very serious Reality Check, as well they should. 

In a heart beat

 Yesterday was fun.  Lunch with a friend in York.  Good Conversation.  Okay food at the Imperial Chinese Buffet topped off with a chocolate chip cookie dough Blizzard at Dairy Queen.  So many fat-filled calories.  People like to ask which one of my lead characters I'm most like, the truth is neither, they're fictional.  While I do tend to eat healthy, like Max, I have no fear of 'Fluffy Foods' as he does and will suck down a Blizzard rather than consider some thinly sliced kiwi.

Weather wise, the temps did not hit the predicted 99 (F) yesterday, 95 (F) was the highest they went.  Today, we're not supposed to get out of the high 80's (F), though there is a 95% chance of rain.  Outside, the skies are overcast and it's humid, though so far, the rain appears to be moving north of us.

The heart rate monitor arrived last evening. I haven't sync'd it yet with my phone, my watch, or my bike, but that will happen very, very soon... wait a second... there, it's done.  Now, wasn't that easy.  I snapped a shot of it, and no, in case any of you are wondering, I didn't order it because it's a Pro version of the one I used to own, or because it's chartreuse.

There was some sort of Cracker Jack Crazy event down in Florida this past weekend which took the GOP up to a new level of Crazy.  If you were hungry for extremist rhetoric, the speakers served up a cornucopia of fascism and hate.  An example:  paraphrasing Matt Gaetz: the only women pushing for abortion rights are fat, and ugly, and will never get pregnant and so will never need one.  The crowd cheered at his repugnancy.  Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed we are a Christian Nationalist nation, (or maybe it was Nationalist Christian, not that it matters), and she, too was cheered.  Outside the venue, there was at least one Nazi flag, and Confederate flags and Ronnie DeSantis said nothing, though there are a lot of comments on social media how, when he was speaking, he kept shifting his stance from one foot to the other.  Maybe we should all begin calling him Shifty DeSantis.

Anyway, the fact that by way of their extremist rhetoric these speakers might in fact be encouraging violence is disturbing.  Don't for a second think they care about this, they don't.  America isn't being wowed by them, rather America is stepping back in disgust.  These Crazies do not care.  They don't understand that whatever happens will be on them, and history will not be kind to them.

Chipping Away

 Well, I'm getting a little frustrated with my personal care provider at the VA.  She's new.  I've never met her.  That may never happen.  I've been trying to make an appointment to get my shoulder checked out and all I get is her assistant's voice mail.  Her assistant returns my calls but... I'm working.  Her message is the same:  provide explicit details so a decision will be made whether I need to have X-rays taken before I can set up an appointment for a consultation.  Rather then make an appointment to actually talk to someone, it seems to me as though they want to diagnose me through voice mail.  My new doctor may be one of those doctors who never actually sees a patient.  I do believe a complaint might be in order.

I had purchased a Surface tablet a few years back... Microsoft.   I was not impressed.  I like their apps, their internet?  Bing, or what ever it's called is never used in my house.  Clunky.  That being said, I used it for research on my first book.  Right now it's downstairs updating, since I'm thinking of using for a similar purpose on the next.  I paid for it.  I might as well put it to good use.  We'll see.

And it's raining outside.  I did check at the store on veggie plants... we have a meager supply.  They are not shipping in on a timely manner.  Last year, during the pandemic, all we got were tomato plants and herbs.   Lots of herbs and cherry tomato plants.  Not much of anything else.  I'm suspecting this year might be a replay of last year.  Perhaps their trying to grow computer chips rather veggies in those greenhouses.

I haven't been paying attention to the Mattie Gaetz story recently, but I vaguely recall hearing yesterday that Loser #45 said something in his defense.  If that's true... well, can you hear me laughing?  Oh, and his associate is going to strike a plea bargain.  Just think, if Mattie goes to jail, he might have to shave his head.  Can't wait for those pictures.
 

 

In November

 So, I'm sitting typing this while I eat my breakfast.  For those who don't know, breakfast is almost always the same thing:  Oatmeal.  Well, not just oatmeal, I mix in dried cherries, almonds, walnuts and honey to make a tasty treat.

This is my Thursday, and I'll be honest, my attitude is beginning to suffer.  I will have had one day off in an 11 day stretch.  Work.  We can't live without it, at least not in the way most of us want.  Being comfortable is nice, without having to worry about bills.  Being able to purchase things we desire without having to put ourselves in debt for months at a time.  We have some seniors working part-time because they want to, the hours at the store get them out of the house.  We also have some who work because they need to, mostly to help them pay for their meds.  I'm not concerned about being in the latter group.  And I've also been thinking about going part - time.  Last night, Biggie woke me up a little after 0100 for a potty call, and as I was walking down the stairs to take him out I decided I was going to celebrate my next birthday by going part - time.  Then I realized that was 8 months away.  Shit.

One of the great things about writing fiction is that it's fiction.  This means I can create a swanky Egyptian nightclub, name it The Amen-Ra, and stick it in the heart of the French Quarter.

And isn't that Matty Gaetz growing slimier by the day?  I'm surprised those around him aren't wearing hazmat suits.

And Tony Perkins is on the verge of out psychoing  the actor Tony Perkins (who was much more attractive).  Evidently he's flipping out because Crack Head Pompeo's rules and regulations are being flushed down the toilet.  You see, his intumescent fantasies of making the United States into a bloated Evangelical bastion are shattering before his eyes.  Tough shit, Tony.  This is how life works.  Your little mythology doesn't have strong enough legs to keep it from falling down, and you anger and hatred is unequivocally weak.  The truth is you were born to fail.

Carpet This

 Wednesday, March 31 - will the month go out like a lion or a lamb?  Well, rain is in the forecast, but not storms.  No hail or high winds are supposed to strike.  Do they even say things like that anymore?  Or is that is something we used to say back in my childhood? 

Yesterday was fine at work.  Hours were sketchy, but this is always the case here lately.  Spring hiring in in full force.  There will be lots of new faces.  Many of them will not be here two months from now.  Most of those who will leave will not be 'let go' because they were hired as temps.  Nope, a lot of them will simply stop showing up.  I should add that while many of the them are students, many of them are not. And neither race nor gender defines who is in this group.  They have never developed a work ethic and simply don't know any better.  These are the people who used to spend their lives working factory jobs, however, since there are so few factories now, they have moved to retail.  This is the way of the world.

I also had a customer ask me if we sold Camo Carpet...  Think about it for a second.  The answer is 'no.'  However, if you can buy if you are so inclined to camo your house.

The only thing missing is a MAGA hat stand

And what about Matty Gaetz and his 17 year old girlfriend?  He's claiming it's extortion, however the investigation was started over a year ago by the Justice Department.  And a GOP operative who flaunted his connections with Matty has already been charged with sex trafficking.  Ouchy!  And Matty's claiming he and the girl were just friends.  Of course, we all know Matty's an honorary member of the MAGA Hat Society.  Hhhhmm... I wonder what kind of carpet he has in his bedroom.

The Power of Cake!

Yesterday was some sort of appreciation day at work, one of those things in which cake and donuts are brought in to thank us for working well with the team which does our price increases.  Let me make this perfectly clear, I am a walking carb catastrophe.  When there is a spread of cakes and donuts spread out before me I graze.  Of course, this morning when I stepped onto the scale I saw I had gained half a pound.  Damn those maple glazed donuts!  Not that I'm really worried.  Those pounds will be gone soon enough.
I saw a picture of fat Gaetz from Florida yesterday, smiling from ear to ear, and thought 'this guy's a freaking moron.'  You can tell by his jowls he's taken cake grazing to a whole new level.Then I had to laugh.  He believes himself to be one of the best his party has to offer.  He is so out of touch with the real world.
There was an article in Reuters this morning on how the US continues to fail in what they describe as 'soft power.'  What they're talking about is the scale of respect the rest of the world has for us, and it's sinking fast.  We are no longer seen as a world leader but rather a world greeder (I just made up that word, I know because spell check tells me it doesn't exist).  I guess I should say the world's greediest.  This is all because of the Moral Degenerate in the White House.  Selfishly self-interested, that's what people are beginning to think when the United States comes up in conversation.  Where as before we used to freely offer our cake, now we hoard it, sometimes going so far as to steal it from the mouths of immigrant babes.
And just think, in a little over a year we'll be heading for the polls.  When I told my brother that when the Idiot Jerk loses he will relocate to Moscow.  Of  course my brother made a face.  In his mind, that could never happen.  You see, he likes the cake the Idiot Jerk promises.  He craves that cake, moistly delicious so much so, he overlooks the problems, the lies, and makes excuses.  He can't come to terms with the fact that the Idiot Jerk loves only himself, that he will promise anything to his base in order to be re-elected.  When he loses, they will learn how stale and moldy the cakes he was sell really are... and it will be late, because they've already eaten most of them.

Feathers

So, I've been playing "Ghost Recon: Breakpoint" and have been wondering where my teammates are at... there are usually 3 or 4 and you can maneuver them into different positions.  They provide some assistance combat.  However, with 14 hours into the game and there are no teammates.  I checked with Ubisoft, the game's publisher and... sorry, teammates are supposed to be added supposed to be added sometime during the the 1st year of release.  Son of a bitch.  They want you to play cosplay.  Cosplay is when you play with your "friends," or "friends" the match you with.  Playing cosplay is an incentive to purchase, with real money, cosmetic items: uniforms, hats, weapon colors, so you can show off to your "friends."  I play solo.  I don't need to buy a hat with a feather on on it.  So, I sent Ubisoft a protest note, not that they'll pay attention.  Their goal is to have as many games as possible generate a billion $$ in revenue... any way they can.

Anyway, my copy of the "The Outer Worlds" should be arriving Monday.

For those who didn't know, about 20 GOP members of the House stormed a secure meeting room in order in an attempt to derail a deposition... sort of... kind of....  They were led by Gaetz from Florida, the one who's had some serious white supremacist issues, among other moments of striking stupidity.  Even though no one is reporting it, I'm betting they all had feathers in their hands.  Not the kind you wear in your hats, but rather those used to... well... tickle... like this:

You can bet they weren't planning on using them on the Democrats.  No way.  They shrieked and moaned in their squeaky, right wing voices that these depositions are unfair to the Moral Degenerate in the White House.  After delaying the proceedings for about an hour, these mini-degenerates headed to the Oval Office so they could tickle the Idiot Jerk's ass.  He likes this sort of demonstration.  This is how they prove their loyalty to him.  Prepare for more of these desperate antics.

And, speaking feathers, his attorney's actually argued yesterday that he could shoot somebody on Fifth Avenue and get away with it as long as he's a sitting president.  Have you ever heard of anything so fucking stupid?  That the president of the United States can commit a murder and not have to worry about it.  Their feathers were teasing and toying like hell yesterday... the 3 judges listening to their argument found them anything but erotic.  Nope.  They saw how shit-stained those feathers were, just like everything else associated with this Administration.

Riding through

Okay so it's Wednesday and I get to go back to work today (boo!  hiss!)  What makes this even more dastardly is that I have to work for 5 days and only get 1 (one) day off before working another 5 days.  That's enough to make you say "shit."  Am I right?
I rode over 5 miles yesterday.  North Applegate... it's in Oregon.

This is what I see on my TV

This is one of my favorite rides.  It wasn't until after Rouvy augmented the rides that I got to see the beautiful scenery.  Of course, you're not sitting there looking at a still picture, it moves.  The faster you ride, the faster you pass by the scenery.  With this kind of augmentation I can ride any stage in the Tour de France!  Ain't that pretty amazing!

Some evil Republican ass named Gaetz threatened to release personal information about Cohen and now he's apologizing.  Too late.  This guy is an attorney... and he threatened a witness... and now a number of people are working to get him disbarred.  Ooopsy.  But then this is typical behavior of one who supports the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  In fact, I'm sure this is a tactic the Idiot approves of, one he's had his henchmen use time and time again.

And, of course, today is the day Cohen opens the floodgates.  I saw somewhere that Republicans are concerned his testimony might upstage the summit between a dirty dictator and a wannabe dictator. Uh, someone should tell them 'upstage' is not the correct word.  Cohen is going to be on TV.  Every news feed I get is going to be broadcasting his testimony, and don't forget some milquetoast the Republicans can badger about.  He has teeth, and he's going to use them.  Every time they bite him, he will bite them back.  Not only is he going to avenge his soul, single-handedly he is going to attempt to take down the most corrupting force in the Republican party.