Fallout

Welcome to the new week!  It was 41 (F)) when I rousted myself from bed this morning.  The forecast is for us to climb another 9 degrees.  That might happen, might not.    

Since I have a humidifier, I thought I'd order some fragrance oil to make the air smell like lavender.  First off, I have to say it is a humidifier and not a diffuser, though when you check on line there really isn't that much of a difference between the two.  Secondly, I have the humidifier running at a rather low setting, since the air is not desert dry.  Thirdly, the only way you can smell the fragrance is if you're about 2 feet away.  Maybe if I ran the thing at full force the room might smell like lavender, but all that humidity wouldn't be good for fabrics, and wall coverings, and anything else on which moisture might accumulate.  

Yesterday was boring at work. There was not a lot of business, at least not in flooring and decor.  This was probably because we had rain on and off throughout the day, and some of those on times were substantial downpours.  I did hear a customer up at the service desk sounding surprised as he said that he'd thought there would be more people in the store since it was raining.  He evidently didn't realize that a lot of people don't like to get wet, and so when it rains they stay home watching sports, or a movie on TV.

And those of you with Amazon Prime, put April 12 on your calendar.  This is going to be great.

And I don't know about you, but it seems to me that with the expulsion of George Santos from the House of Representatives things are turning... well, bleaker, shall I say.  All of last week was not a winning week for them, to be honest.  The faux debate between Newsome and Ronnie D totally failed to pop Ronnie D's numbers.  Not good.  Hunter Biden volunteered to testify before Congress as long as it was an open session, not behind closed doors, and the Republicans shit a brick.  That's the last thing they want.  Bridget and Christian Ziegler began to answer the question of what happens to a socially conservative couple when their menage a trois goes awry.  I'm betting Christian does time in the big house.  And in a speech he was giving, Trump told the crowd he had 3 children... until and aid reminded him about Baroon.  

Santos, not your run of the mill Pathological Liar

 Happy Friday morning!  The sunrise was on fire, which means sailors need to take warning.  According to Accuweather, we have a 25% chance of rain today.  After they pass through temps are going to drop a bit, but not a lot, back down into the 50s (F) for daytime highs.  And yes, we are just a little over a month away from winter.

I worked yesterday and let me tell you, retail was slow.  I did manage to get a bit sale, but are few and far between.  How bad are they?  On the schedule that was just written, which covers the week past Thanksgiving, I'm only working 2 days, 16 hours.  Payroll is always the expense that gets cut first because it's the biggest liability a company faces, and in retail, that's the part-timers.  Unlike me, many part-timers, especially seniors, are working to supplement their income, so losing hours is going to hurt them.  This is why Trickle Down Economics fails, because those corporations that received Tax Cuts are still getting them, however American Capitalism dictates that they also need to have 5% growth and they have no problem cutting hours to achieve that goal.

So, in spite of the fact that they're cutting hours, the great orange retailer did see fit to give me a cap for Veteran's Day.  This is why I don't wear hats.

And, of course, hilarity upon hilarity ensued yesterday when the Ethics Committee released their report on George (I can spend you campaign contributions any way I want) Santos.  I'm certain most of us thought he was just your ordinary, run of the mill pathological liar.  Ouch.  Wait, you ask, is he really a pathological liar?  Oh, my yes, I'd put him in the same league as Trump, capable of lying about everything without understanding that saying it doesn't make it true.  The difference between the two?  Trump lies in order to prove to himself that he's a god, Santos lies in order to watch the gay porn on Only Fans.  Did anyone hear me laughing when I read that little gem?  And how about the Botox injections?  I wonder how Elise Stefanik feels knowing that the world now knows the man whose candidacy she endorsed was spending his campaign dollars on floppy lips and sex workers, not necessarily in that order.

Volume 3

 Yesterday was a rush day.  The weather was nice, but I seemed to spend the entire day rushing from one place to another.  First down to Lebanon for my bi-annual physical, and yes, I've reached the age where they are done twice a year.  Then I zipped over to the orange retailer I work for because I broke a window and wanted a piece of plexiglass to fix it, then to the UPS Store for some disappointing news,

I also got an 11 mile ride in on the bike where I had some time to let my mind relax.

The broken window:  When it's breezy out, a light wind will pull my back door shut, prior to that happening, the sliding door between my kitchen and the enclosed back porch will close.  This happened on Tuesday, however the sliding door jammed on a throw rug and there was no way to open it.  I ended up forcing it open, which, unbeknownst to me, broke the base pin locking it in place.  Later, when I went to let the dogs out, I went to pull it open and it fell straight back crashing into one of the windows on the back porch.  Shit.  The glass is being replaced with plexiglass since that's cheaper than having someone cut a new pane of glass to fit the hole.

I went to see Guardian's of the Galaxy Vol 3 last evening.  Some parts were very good, others?  No spoilers here.  The Rocket backstory was amazing, the section where they land on Counter Earth no so amazing.  Every Guardian gets a moment so shine.  Chriss Pratt gets to drop the F Bomb, a first for a Marvel Movie.  The movie was very entertaining, but I have to say that I'm glad the series is coming to an end, at least for the foreseeable future.  

So, Trump had his little CNN Town Hall last evening and was as evil as everybody was expecting.  I'm sure CNN's ratings popped for a change, since that's the only reason the Town Hall was held. 

Oh, and George Santos was indicted yesterday.  He denied every charge.  What's so surprising about the entire thing was that Kevin McCarthy came out and said there was no way he could support George for re-election.  How's that for a stunning announcement.  Could it be that one of his advisors let him know that George was not an asset to the already failing Republican Party?  That's quite possible.

The White Trash Republican Party

 Well, it's Friday and the temp outside is 51 (F).  According to the forecast, we'll get a few degrees warmer.  We are in February.  Normally this past week would have been called a 'winter thaw,' but we've been too warm for anything to really freeze.  When the temps are cold, we count down the days until Spring, this year I suspect we will simply slide into our next season.

Yesterday, I used my drying rack for the first time.  The only thing I didn't like was the sock clips, though they're not really clips, so I just laid them out on the middle rack.  It worked well.  In fact, I was surprised at how quickly everything dried.  

I had to laugh when I heard that James Carville said that the Republican party is White Trash.  I don't know about you, but I realized that a long time ago.   The trashing of the party began with the Tea Party, and Newt Gingrich scooted it into the fast track.  Prior to that the party catered to intelligence, but then they realized there was an untapped source of votes in those who barely finished high school.  Power to the people, the party yelled and those people turned out to be easily manipulated.  They preferred red meat and didn't care if it had been rotting in the sun for quite some time.  And then John McCain chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate.  It's been downhill for the party ever since.

Of course, George Santos is being investigated by the Ethics committee the Republicans gutted.  This is a waste of time.  McCarthy needs Santos' vote, so he will stay.  Even though Santos makes the party look desperate, he will stay.  Santos is trash, and he is the face of the Republican party.

The same is true of Marjorie Taylor Greene.  If you watch her face as she's calling Biden a liar during his State of the Union speech, it's obvious she's having a grand old time.  She was enjoying herself.  White trash doesn't understand there is a time and place.  White trash simply doesn't care. 

Epitomizing Republicans

 This Wednesday is starting off with clear, sunny skies.  The cold temps coming eastward are predicted to begin funneling northward before they reach Central Pa.  Not that we're not going to get cold, we are.  Our low on Saturday is expected to be around 9 (F), however, after that the Fahrenheit is going to rise.  Our daily highs should be in the mid 40s (F) by Sunday.

I've switched my electric supplier to Clear Sky Energy.  My supplier used to be PPL (Pennsylvania Power and Light), however they just got too expensive.  Some of their customers are getting a letter, I received an email yesterday apologizing for both their billing issues and their price increase.  They included a graph.  According to them, my bill is going $30 a month.  No, you didn't read the wrong.  In two years their 'price to compare' went from $0.092 to $0.14612.  I don't doubt that price increase has more to do with stock holders wanting higher dividends then anything else.

So far, the most disappointing thing about my new dryer is that you can download a 'gym clothes' mode.  I thought this was going to be a good thing, since my running shorts, and shirts, and my cycling shorts should be dried at low heat.  Unfortunately, the dryer shuts off while my shorts, and shirts, and socks are still damp.  To be honest, they're not supposed to be put into a dryer, air drying is preferred.  Rather than string clothes line around my new laundry room, I'm looking at getting one of those folding drying stands, something that can be put away when it's not being used.  Something like this:

I learned yesterday that imminent, in political jargon, means between 2 and 3 weeks.  I know I, like a lot of people, thought that when Fani Willis said indictments were imminent was thinking 2 - 3 days.  Perhaps this is why the Orange Anus is shrieking so wildly on Truth Social.  His ALL CAP posts shriek of the sweet torture he's going through.

People were pleased when George Santos chose to step down from his committee assignments.  Let me remind you, his ex has stated that George told him the only reason he was running was to get both the lifetime medical insurance and the pension.  Being on committees would mean he'd actually have to work.  He is, truly, the epitome of every Republican out there.

Pins and Needles

 Well, it's Thursday and I get to work 8 hours.  Yep, that's right a full shift.  And no, this is not an endurance test for me.  That'll happen in 3 weeks when I'm scheduled to work 25.5 hours.  Holy Banana Peels!  I can't remember the last time I worked that many hours.

We did have snow yesterday, about 2 inches.  White and fluffy, the dogs went out several times though I don't know if that's because they like the snow, or just really liked being toweled off when they come back in the house.  With Biggie?  I'm certain it's a biscuit thing.  For him, biscuits will always rule the day.  

Bethesda had a big showcase yesterday showing off some of their upcoming games.  No Starfield information.  That's the game the world is waiting for, and I do mean world.  It's supposed to drop in the first half of 2023, though the release date is complicated.  They don't want to compete with themselves, and a little thing called Redfall has a release date of May 2.  That means Starfield will probably drop probably in late June.  I guess the big question is not when it actually releases, but if it's going to sell over 35 million copies on day one.  At $69 a copy, that's a lot of moolah moolah.  Here's a bit about Redfall.  It's free on Gamepass, so I'm not planning on purchasing this one.

Of course, a lot of people are on pins and needles as they wait for the first indictment to drop.  I'm not, but then I can be very patient.  Justice is Karma.  It doesn't happen at the snap of your fingers.  The longer it takes, the more brutal it can be.  Let's be honest.  We don't only want to see Trump pay the price.  There are others we want to see incarcerated.  Like Roger Stone.  I would definitely like to see that shitty smile of his legally wiped off his face... for the rest of his life.  And Jimmy Jordan.  Knowing that he's spending the rest of his days having to use a group shower with men who see him as just another piece of meat?  With his history of ignoring student predators, would that just be simply delightful.  These people do not understand that they are not special.  They have not been chosen.  Justice is going to teach them this lesson.

I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to chortle, chortle, chortle at Kev McCarthy's frustrations.  Did everybody hear he flipped out when an NPR correspondent asked about George Santos?  Kev made so little sense that for a few moments, I thought he was speaking in tongues..

And finally, there will be protests when the first Trump indictment is revealed.  Now, I know some of you will want to let your own frustrations out, well, don't.  America is watching.  I would not be surprised if we see a reenactment of January 6, but worse, in several cities as stupid MAGAs take to the streets.  The Republican party is dying.  These protests will be their death knell. 

Wrong Color?

Well, it's Tuesday and my first load of laundry is in the dryer.  My 2nd, sweatpants, will be going into the washer shortly.  Moving both washer and dryer to to the 2nd floor was a smart move, since the big PC is up here.  The only thing I don't like is the vinyl floor - it's faux marble, has a lot of white which shows up dog hair.  Holy Crap!  I had no idea there was so much dog hair floating in the air around me.  

We had a big carpet carpet install returned.  There are 7 rolls of  shrink wrapped carpet sitting back in receiving, each with the dimensions of a room written on the wrap.  Beaucoup Bucks $$$$.  The customer claimed it was the wrong color.  Well, that's a lie.  I can remember 2 times when the wrong color carpet was sold.  Both times, the installation was stopped before the installers cut a single piece of carpet.  I'm betting that in this case, wrong color means the customer didn't like the carpet after it was installed.  I don't doubt this happen more and more frequently because carpets are expensive now.  Two years ago, the same carpet would have run $3.25 a square foot, today it costs $5.37 a square foot.  American capitalism is destroying itself.

Back when the electrical work was being done for the laundry move, I used a small piece of plywood to keep Biggie at bay in the kitchen.  Believe me, he so desperately wanted to go hang around with the electricians.

You know, it doesn't seem a day doesn't go by without Ronnie DeSantis doesn't do something that heralds his turn to the far right.  Black people are furious about his attempt to whitewash their history.  Ronnie doesn't understand.  He desperately wants Florida to become the white Mecca.

The voters in George Santos' district are furious with him.  I would be, too, if he represented my district.  While Democrat and Independent voters want him gone, some Republicans, though still claiming to be angry, would rather he stay.  They don't want to lose his vote and they're worried that they'll do that if there's a special election.  They are totally clueless as to how badly this hurts them with the voters.

Republicans are also suffering from multiple identity crises.  A outstanding example of this is in Butler county, in western PA, where not two, but three different groups are claiming to be the true Republican party.   These problems are only going to multiply for the party of Trump.  I find this hysterical because this is happening to the Republican party across the entire country.  They are using their "shut up, I'm in charge" tactics upon themselves.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/us/politics/republicans-trump-pennsylvania.html

It's all in the Numbers

 Hello Saturday.  The temps outside are a cool 36 (F), and there is snow in the forecast for tomorrow.  The prediction is for about 2.5 inches.  That will be fine.  An easy shovel.  The long range forecast for for temps to stay around the same.  That's fine with me.  

My TV is fixed.  Not in a mechanical way, there was nothing wrong with the hardware.  Thinking there might have been an update that I didn't get, I spent some time on the internet yesterday morning researching why it was only connecting for Netflix.  On the Sony website, I clicked on Chat and shortly there after was talking to Steve.  He asked if he could remotely access my 7 year old TV and I told him he could.  About 10 minutes later the problem was corrected.  I watched what he did, so now, should this ever happen again, I know how to fix it.

I ordered a dog bed for Biggie since he no longer seems to like sleeping on the big bed.  It arrives today.  We shall see if it was worth it.

I saw this and had to laugh.  If you're praying to your deity for assistance in getting Kevin McCarthy elected as Speaker of the House, and it still takes 6 more votes, you're getting an obvious message from your deity, and it's not one that you probably want to hear.

And what about Kev McCarthy finally nabbing victory on the 15th vote?  I watched a short video, sound off.  I'm giving him 7, possibly 8 months.  All it takes is 1 member of the House to object to his performance.  At one point is was 5 members, then he made a concession and dropped it to 4, but in the end, his desperation forced him to accept 1.  Nothing will be accomplished, except for a number investigations into Hunter Biden's laptop.

George Santos was sworn in.  I'm giving him 2 to 3 months before he's arrested, or extradited.  Republicans are already discussing who they want to fill his seat once it's vacated.  I'm betting that since there's a Democratic governor, and the district Santos represents has for quite some time been Democratic, he will be replaced his Democratic challenger, the one who barely lost the election.

Finally, I have to touch on Matty Schlapp and his wandering hands, no doubt he just wanted to reach out for a lost member... of his flock.  I actually listened to the sound bite of the complaint.  Matty had been drinking.  So, is this devout Christian going to say he was drunk?  His victim is trying to sound traumatized, even though he chose to not say "no."  If he was truly unhappy about the unwanted advances, he should have just slapped Schlapp, instead he chose to make a public complaint.  I suspect this story might have legs.

Three Times a Loser

 We have fog.  Dense.  Not the sort of thing you want to have to drive through in the dark of night.  Accu-weather sent our warnings.  Sadly, the sun will begin to burn it off... just before the rain arrives.  Yep.  More rain is on the way.  The temps are supposed to climb into the low 60s (F), quite unusual for January.  After today, temps are supposed to cool down and become more seasonal.  For us here in Central PA, that's usually in the mid 40 (F) range.

Yesterday was fairly quiet here.  I worked on the 50 gallon tank for a bit.  Worked on the new book.  Not surprisingly, I decided to throw-out half of a chapter and do a rewrite.  That's how it goes.  Last week I edited out a section where Eli and Bobby have a discussion about the shape of Black Holes.  It was interesting, but had nothing to do with the story.  For those interested, Black Holes are not flat, nor are they convex on concave.  Most of us think of them as being similar to whirlpools, with a spinning edge that sucks everything in.  They're actually sort of pill shaped.

They're working on the house next door.  This is the first time workers have been there during the day, usually it's late afternoon.

And for today's picture, I chose this one, of Kev McCarthy after his 3rd loss.

I don't if any else saw, but Ted Lieu took a bag of popcorn.  Me?  I kept laughing.  Vote after vote, after vote.  The Republican implosion is really beginning to take off.  Part of the problem is the American Freedom Caucus, which the party has let run rampant in the House for years.  Many of them are still aligned with Trump, and are still election deniers.  The fact that he diminishes them is something they will never understand.  Had the Red Wave happened, McCarthy wouldn't have had to deal with them.  Even when the Republicans do manage to elect a speaker, don't expect much to happen.

Jack Smith, who had been waylaid in Europe because of surgery, he'd had a serious biking accident, has quietly returned to the United States.  Prepare for indictments to follow.  With each indictment, the Republican party, and the American Freedom Caucus in particular, is going to implode.  Self-destruction is eminent.  

And, finally, George Santos wandered around inside the capital yesterday.  The first thing that went through my mind when I saw him walking the halls was that he was wearing a sweater.  (Did you hear me laughing?).  The second, and most obvious thing I realized was that no one was talking to him.  He was completely ignored, and I could only wonder what he thought was going to happen.  After all of his lies, did he believe lying Republicans were going to meet him with open arms?

 

2023 - The Year the Republican Party goes Super Nova

Hello 2023.

My first load of laundry, sweat pants, is on spin dry in the new washer.  Nothing really changes, except for the last digit of the year.  Out with the 2 and in with the 3.  

Nothing changes.  Well, one thing did.  Because my neighbor died, I didn't have to listen to him shrieking Woo Hoo! as he set of a firework every 3 - 4 minutes.  Let me tell you, that gets annoying fast.  The neighborhood was quiet last night.  

There will be no traditional PA Dutch pork and sauerkraut today.  I work.  There is a pork loin in the crock pot just in case.  Normally they provide some sort of meal for those working, but we have new assistant managers and so far they've been dropping the ball.  This doesn't mean they're not going to order in pizza with ham and pineapple, I just want to be prepared.

And what's in store for 2023?  Sunshine and shadows.

Luckily, many of us are going to be on the bright side of the light.  Siding with Brian Tyler-Cohen, the Right side has already begun to implode.  Their Super Nova will begin after they seat George Santos, because he's going to be arrested.  Not only will fingers be pointed and threats will be made.  And then the indictments will begin to fall.  The MAGA cult will take to the streets in protest.  The only thing missing, at first, will be Kristi Noem and her flamethrower.  Don't worry, she and every other self-serving Republican in Congress will try and torch anything and everything connecting them to The Former Guy.

Sometimes, I almost think this whole thing has been pre-ordained, so sit back and enjoy the entertainment.  

The Seriously Red Sky

 Well, it's Friday, the end of the work for those who don't work in retail, or law enforcement, or unless you're a bartender, or a waitress, or a sous chef.  At this point in time, I would not be surprised if a decent majority of Americans work at least one day of the weekend.  So much so, I do believe they should rewrite that old song, you know the song I'm talking about:

Everybody's working on the weekend

Everybody needs to pay the bills

I talked to HR yesterday.  I like to work 20 hours a week and I was scheduled for 16 hours, two weeks in a row.  We added 4 hours to each week.  I'll be covering evening meals.  That's fine.  I'm a morning person.  Everything around the house gets done before noon, so I don't mind heading into the store at 3 PM for a few hours.

There's a new trailer out for Picard, season 3.  I honestly don't know if I'll watch it.  Season 2 was horrifically terribly.  The show took all of the lore that the franchise has spent decades building upon and crapped all over it.  Season 3 looks to be nothing more than a Star Trek, The Next Generation redux.  Damn!

We had a seriously red sky this morning.  Bad weather must be coming.

The view from my computer chair

And what about Andy Tate?  I had no idea who he was until Twitter erupted with Greta Thunberg clapped him back over some sort of crack he'd made about his cars and pollution.  Now he and his brother Tristian are sitting in a Romanian prison charged with sex trafficking.  Andy had been one of Tucker Carlson's special guests who complained about being persecuted because Tucker loves his misogynist underdogs. 

George Santos is set to be sworn in on Tuesday proving without a doubt Republicans have no integrity.  I find it fascinating that here lately a day doesn't pass without one of them saying the quiet part out loud as they either try and defend him, or simply remain silent.  I look out my window and see a fiery dawn, for them, the seriously red skies are soon going to be eternal.

The Hardy Boys

 Hello Tuesday!  Temps here are supposed to climb into the upper 30s (F).  Tomorrow into the 40s (F).  And by Thursday will be in the 50s (F).  Now, how's that for a rebound from the Cyclone Bomb?

Plans were to go see Babylon this evening.  They've changed.  It opened poorly.  That doesn't usually phase me, what does is that it has a 3 hour + running time.  Another thing:  the film was advertised more as a comedy with dramatic moments and that's wrong.  It's an all out drama, little comedy, about the problems Hollywood dealt with in the switch from silent films to talkies.  I'm thinking someone should have told Damian Chazelle there's already been a really super movie made about that time.  It's a little thing called "Singin' in the Rain."

 The NYT has a good list of people who died during 2022, that includes many you wouldn't know about.  One of those mentioned was Tim Considine, who played Frank Hardy, of the Hardy Boys on Disney's Micky Mouse Club, a long, long, time ago.  I was 6 years old at the time, and yes, I did love the Hardy Boys.  Joe Hardy was played by Tommy Kirk, a Disney regular until they found out he was gay and kicked him out.

And what about the George Santos fiasco?  His resume is thick with lies:  never graduated from college, never worked for Goldman Sachs, he's not Jewish, though he explains that by saying he said he was Jew-ish, with a silent hyphen.  Oh, and George says that he's not going to resign.  He's going to go to Congress.  Kev McCarthy has been silent; if he's going to become Speaker of the House, he's going to need every vote he can get which means he's going to seat him.  Hell, what's another liar among Republicans?  From what I understand, his financing is going to bring him down.  He claims to own a company called Devolder, which has very little revenue, yet he supposedly pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money into his campaign.  Santos epitomizes the Republican party.