Bombshells

Well we have another warm morning here in Central PA.  The temp was 76 (F) when I rolled out of bed this morning.  If the forecast holds, the high today will be 97 (F), which is one degree less than yesterday, however, that one degree must make a world of difference because we're not under a heat warning today.  There is a chance of thunderstorms this evening, so maybe that's the reason.

Yesterday was rather productive.  I did get another 10.7 mile bike ride in.  And I did get a good, jolly laugh in as well.  As you know, I've been drying my laundry outside on a drying rack, it makes hot, sunny days a way to save on the electric bill.  Yesterday was no exception, except for one thing.  Usually Howie ignores the laundry.  Yesterday he didn't.  For some reason, he pulled a pair of my boxer shorts off and was running around the back yard with them in his mouth.  It took me 2 puppy cookies to get them back.  And it really did make me laugh.

I'm thinking of making some New England clam chowder today.  I have all of the ingredients.  Or, I might make tomato soup with a grilled cheese for dinner.  You'll notice I'm saying grilled, rather than toasted.  I don't know anyone who actually toasts a cheese sandwich.

Christos in Greece got his copy of The Body in History yesterday.

So, now we know why Orangie dropped the F bomb yesterday:  his used of bombs to stop Iran's nuclear turns out to have been rather impotent.  I mean, all his braggadocio and in reality he didn't even hit the pre-ejaculation stage.  The intelligence briefing for Congress was canceled because telling our Representatives that Iran had only been set back a few months was tantamount to admitting failure.  I do think there is a serious chemical imbalance going on in his brain because now he's saying dropping those bombs was like the US nuking Hiroshima.  

And Mamdani won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor; this is considered a bombshell vote.  Christian Nationalist heads are exploding everywhere.  So are the Old Guard heads of the Democratic Party.  This is fine.  Change is good.  Because of the great de-churching, I do believe that many Americans don't really care about an individual's faith.  This is a growing movement.  We are, after all, a country where there is supposed to be Freedom of Religion.

The Ceasefire is Kaput

 It was 78 (F) this morning at 0600 which means today is going to be a hot one.  We are under a heat warning... however, the forecast no longer has us breaking into triple digits.  Nope.  Our high is now supposed to top off at 98 (F), which is the high temp we had on both Sunday and yesterday.  And it is all downhill from today on.  I can live with 98 (F).  

Yesterday was sort of meh.  I did get in a nice band/dumbbell workout.  I want to get a ride in this afternoon.  I had bought a small window A/C unit for the workout room since there's no Central Air vent in it; my house is over 120 years old and venting was not big in the early 1900s.  It was cheap and worked well for one year, and okay for the 2nd year.  Now, it's basically a big fan.  So, one of these days I'll carry it downstairs and throw it out.  

I did sent an note to Christos in Greece, his copy of The Body in History is out for delivery.

I did start playing a new game:  the remaster of Oblivion.  The remaster looks simply great!  It was the first game I downloaded with the new T-Mobile internet.  For a WiFi download, I was pleased that I had speeds up to 145 MBS.  With the FIOS I was lucky if I got 45 MBS.  That's a big difference.  Anyway, here's the trailer.  It's a Bethesda RPG game.  If it looks familiar, it's part of the Elder Scrolls series.

And for those of you who were worried that ceasefire between Iran and Israel might actually do it's intended purpose of raising Orangie's approval rating, fear not, the deal he said was going to last forever has fallen apart after only 3 hours.  Both sides have violated the terms.  Those grandiose fantasies he has about himself are now nothing more than soiled linen.  And now all of those who so quickly jumped aboard are stained as well because they believed someone who's only successful at being a liar, a cheat, and a con.  Everything Orangie touches dies and when it does he blames Biden.

 

The Sleepers

 Good Morning World!  It's 89 (F) outside.  It's only going to get hotter, so I've decided to take some personal time and not go into work today.  The temp was 99 (F) yesterday when I left work and that was the coolest of the 3 days of this mini-heatwave.  Temps are supposed to be warmer today, though according to Accuweather we should top off at 97 (F), which would actually be cooler than yesterday. I don't think that's going to happen.

Yesterday was very slow in the retail field.  I don't doubt this was because it was so hot.  I did make my sales goal for the week, but that's it.  While the sales will be appreciated by management, the fact that I didn't sell any measures will goad them just the tiniest of bit.  That's fine.  Numbers wise I'm almost as good as the 40 hour a week specialists.

So, what will I do today now that I'm not working?  I will do laundry and hang it out to dry.  In this heat it will dry fast.  I'm planning on getting in a nice workout this afternoon.

This past weekend I finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.  While it is not my favoritest of all games, it is probably number 2 on that short list.  Even though I got to "The End," I actually only covered 50% of the game, so I will go back and actually complete the whole thing at some point.

A bit on the Pirate Ship:  France is going to charge import duties or taxes on a paperback book, Greece, however, will not.  I find this fascinating.  We don't think about how different countries operate.  Of course, these taxes might be due to the fact that we have an idiot in the white house.  For those who haven't seen it, Orangie  has bulldozed away the White House Rose Garden in order to put in a patio similar to the one at Mar a Lago.

So, why did Orange bomb Iran?  I know a lot of people are trying to complicate this question when the answer is quite simple:  his feelings got hurt.  He threw a birthday parade and people laughed.  The word TACO now means something completely different.  He said he'd make a decision in 2 weeks about Iran and people laughed.  All of this hurt made him angry.  He wants the world to see him as powerful and instead it's laughing at him.  So, he retaliated by doing something very stupid.  Orangie is not now, nor has he  ever been smart.  He has 6 bankruptcies to prove this.  What's the proof?  Little Marko saying they had no intelligence that Iran was making a bomb.  Bennie Netanyahu told Orangie they were building one and that's all he needed.  And because Orangie is a one dimensional thinker who believes he can do whatever he wants, he obviously didn't think about retaliation.  More than one source is saying that Iran warned him that they would activate "sleeper cell" terrorists already in the United States.  Ouch.  Prepare yourselves.

The Painful Lesson

 Once again we have sunny skies here in Central PA.  The forecast is for us to have another warm one, with our high temps hitting the mid 90s (F).  That's right toasty in my book.  Tomorrow it will be warmer and by Tuesday we should be topping off at around 103 (F).  That is very hot for June.  These are Tampa, FL temps in the middle of July and we're getting them here in Central PA.  I am hoping this is not a forerunner of what our summer is going to be like.

I did ger a 7 mile ride in yesterday; one of my old favorites in San Remo, Italy.  Tuesday I'll be taking a longer ride, indoors of course, perhaps something with hills.  Even though I hate them, hills are good.

For the time being, this will be the last week that I work Thursdays.  They're cutting hours because it's summer, and while summer business is better than winter business, sales are never robust.

And I'm pleased to say that I'm growing a carrot.  Supposedly, in a week or so, I should be able to plant this outside and in a month or so should have another carrot.  We shall see.

Last night the Orange Anus did something unthinkable to many of us, he let Benni Netanyahu sucker us into a war in the Mid East.  This isn't to say that Orangie wasn't an easy mark.  Everyone in the world laughing at his shitty birthday parade had crushed his ego so badly, he was desperate to prove he was a strong authoritarian.  And Netty?  He's going to sit back and let Americans die.  And Orangie?  He will be so hated by the world.

Americans will be hating him even more.  Some people are pointing out similarities to W's Desert Fart, me?  I'm thinking farther back.  I'm reminded of Vietnam, a truly unpopular war that America lost.  Prepare yourselves for protests.  If Orangie tries to iron fist us, Americans will punch back hard.  The smack back coming to Republicans will be horrendous.

And, of course, none of this is going to play well on Wall Street.  Those billionaires despise chaos and Orangie is rattling the world with his incompetence and indifference to human life.  He epitomizes the "shut up!  I'm in charge!" attitude pervasive in Conservatives.  They are about to learn a painful lesson.

Death of Millions

 Here it is, Tuesday morning and as usual, we have cloudy skies, though our temp is in the upper 60s (F).  Humidity will be high all day, and the clouds will be gathered low and, being substantial, will give us constant shade.  Remember, technically speaking we are still in Spring... at least for another few days.

I worked yesterday.  It was slow.  We did have a customer who is struggling with a carpet decision.  She doesn't want any seams and her room is too big to install carpet without a seam.  There are people out there who believe you can see a seam.  You can't, unless the installer is an imbecile.  Because of the size of rooms today, having wall to wall carpet will always mean seams.  At one point she suggested throwing a throw rug down over the seam, so I said "sure, you can do that."  I don't mind selling foolish people unneeded throw rugs.

I'll be leaving soon to have my blood drawn for the AC1 test.  I'm excited.  So, this will be short.

For those who missed it, the Orange Anus signed an agreement to work on a trade agreement, again under the ruse that it was an actual agreement.  When he went to reveal this latest deceit, he dropped the papers on world wide TV.

He also left the G7 early because?  I think there are several reasons why he's back in DC... or is it Mar a Lago?  Whatever.  Mostly I think it was because he received a rather cool reception.  None of the other members seemed to want to talk to him, or listen to him rant... he does that a lot, making up facts to suit what ever thought is rattling around in his head.  The important thing is that he was not getting the attention he felt he deserved.  This was on top of that shitty parade the world laughed at.  

This asshole needs to be the focal point of every conversation, the subject of every media story flashing over the airwaves.  And so he starts warning Iran, hinting that we're going to attack the country, and voila, his dirty, little heart is getting what it so desperately craves.  He will end up being the cause of death for millions.

No Kings Day

 Well, here we are on Saturday and we have drizzles that are expected to continue on and off all day.  That's fine with me because I have to work.  According to Accuweather, Central PA isn't going to see any change in this pattern until Tuesday.  This is not a very auspicious beginning to the summer season, but by no means can you say that we're going to have a cool, dreary summer.

Even though much was accomplished yesterday, it still feels like one of those meh days.  The backyard was mowed (it looks nice now), laundry was done, and the big aquarium was cleaned.  I also washed the dishes by hand.  Still, I didn't write and I didn't get either a ride, row, or workout in.  I did feel like taking lots of naps, and around 3:30 ish my nose began to run.  The drainage was constant for a few hours, so I'm thinking I probably had a cold.  That is usually the extent of my symptoms when I do get a cold, though yesterday I wanted to take lots of naps as well.  Maybe it's an age thing.

I did finally get a chance to watch some episodes of Mid-Century Modern.  It's very funny.  There is only one problem, it has a laugh track.  Sorry, I don't need canned laughter to tell me something is funny, or to make me laugh.  The show would be so much better if they simply just... canned the fake laughter.

And I did order the T-Mobile internet yesterday morning.  My FIOS will be canceled once it arrives and is set up.

And this is a No Kings Day.

We all know the drill.  The peaceful protests are growing in size and number. And Orangie's approval rating?  It's now negative numbers all around.  The one area where he was at the break even point was immigration, and now that down by 2 points.  Americans don't like what he's doing in Los Angeles.  Americans don't like ICE wearing masks. And while I don't have any solid facts, I'm certain that a large majority of Americans don't like Cosplay Kristi, the puppy killer.  That woman is despicable.

As the Orange Anus continues to fail, the protests will continue to grow.  This is not what either Republicans or Conservatives want.  It makes them very angry, so prepare yourselves, they will strike out.

And, of course Israel and Iran are now at war with each other.  Tucker Carlson, one of Putin's American mouthpieces said this will cause Americans to loose their lives.  This means Vlad's pissed, he's good buddies with Iran.  His puppet, the Orange Anus is falling down on the job.  He, of all people, should have realized how incompetent the Orange Anus truly is.  This growing war in the Middle East is going to further erode Orangie's ratings.  Good.

Mustard

 It's cloudy outside.  Temps are suppose to climb up into the low 80s (F), but sunshine is going to be absent for most of the day.  Tomorrow is predicted to be warmer, and by Thursday we should be simmering in the high 80s (F) to low 90s (F).  While some people have already turned on their air conditioning, I haven't.  It's not like I really need it.  That'll happen when we hit that slow summer broil stage when the temps upstairs are much warmer than those downstairs.

Retail was busy yesterday, but mostly in the morning.  As the day stretched on, customers became few and far between.  I did manage to get quite a few miles doing laps around the building, always avoiding the garden since that is where the customers were congregating, among the shrubs, and bushes, and veggie plants.

And I'm happy to say that I didn't have to download Fotor in order to change the cover art from rectangular to square.  I played around with it in Word, since that has a photo editor, or something that passes for one.  All I have to do is save it as a picture and I should be good to go.

Also, since tomorrow is garbage day, after I finish here, I'm going to begin lugging the remnants of that old doggy sofa out onto the curb.  Free pickup, you can't beat that, now can you? 

 One of the things I did to waste time at work yesterday, was to start looking online for area rugs.  We sell them, but they're crap.  I saw one that's mustard color which I think will go well with the juniper berry color of the walls.  With maybe a peach or watermelon loveseat.  That might look good.  

The president (or whatever they call him) of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash yesterday, and as you might suspect, authorities in that country are saying that we are partially to blame because of our sanctions against them keep them from getting replacement parts for their helicopter fleet.  Well, maybe they should have bought their helicopters from Russia, or China, rather than the US.  Of course, it could be that both of those countries peddle inferior products.

And the spokesperson from Wildwood, New Jersey, is retracting the number of people attending the rally held by the Orange Anus.  Now she's claiming that large number she made up was from her visually seeing lots, and lots of people in bars and at other events on that same day.  Of course, if you're a Republican, any lie will do.

Wilbur Plumbing

 Okay, Wednesday, here we go!  Our temps are supposed to climb into the lower 70s (F) today, how nice is that?  Predictably, however, as in every autumn, the bottom is supposed to fall out and by the end of the week our highs are going to be in the mid to upper 50s (F).  I have turned the heat on, but am keeping it at 70 (F) and so far it hasn't been running... much.

The tech from Wilbur Plumbing was here yesterday.  Honestly, I was expecting him to quote me a price slightly lower than the $1200 Bowman Plumbing wanted to charge.  I almost fell over when he saw what needed to be fixed and quoted me $300.  Wowza!  The repairs took him about 50 minutes and now there are no leaks!  He even connected the water supply line and the drainage for my dishwasher (Bowman was going to charge me $652).  Why such a disparity in prices?  Wilbur is a smaller, family run business, they have a smaller overhead, and they are more interested in fixing your problem, unlike Bowman Plumbing which wants to sell you a "project."  So, if you're in the Central PA region and you need plumbing assistance, I highly recommend Wilbur Plumbing.  (How's that for a plug?)

And yes, my dahlias are still blooming.  Here are the orange ones.

I saw where Trump's blow bro Vlad blamed the United States mid-east policy for Hamas invasion of Israel.  Only Republicans in this country will believe that.  Meanwhile, Washington is investigating Iran's involvement, did they train Hamas' terrorists?  Add to that, the fact that Russia and Iran are good chums (Russia's buying drones from Tehran), and that back in 2016 the Orange Anus provided Israel's security / defense information to the Russians and bragged about it, and it's not difficult to see how Russia's part of this terrorist souffle. 

Here in America, the Republican congressmen are huddling this morning to try and pick a new leader.  They've already been warned to not go to the Right, that a Centrist will have a better chance of working with the Democrats.  Unfortunately, a number of Republicans don't want to reach across the aisle.  Nope.  All they want to do is tell America to "shut up!  We're in charge!"

Walking into Mordor

 Say hello to Monday, the start of a brand new week.  The temps this morning were cool: 41 (F), and they are only expected to climb up into the lower 60s (F).  After today, they're expected to warm up, with temps climbing into the mid to upper 60s (F).  However, it will soon be too cold to take Lily for her morning walks.

Even though business was slow in Flooring yesterday, I did manage to sell one measure.  That's not what management wants.  We didn't meet our sales goal last week and I must say this reminds me of how things were pre-pandemic.  Goals were always higher than what we could earn as a way of encouraging us to sell more, to fill the shopping cart of every customer, whether they needed the merchandise or not because you didn't want the customer having to come back to the store for something they didn't know they were going to need.  I never quite understood the reasoning since today's customers return the things they don't need.  Perhaps corporate believes customers will buy something else after taking care of their returns. 

I drilled the holes for my drainage and supply lines for my dishwasher in the wrong place, so this morning I'm going to redrill before I head into work.  Otherwise, the dishwasher is ready to be hooked up.  I can't wait.

And, if anyone is interested, I saw this sweater I'd like for my birthday  😎😎.  Nifty, huh?

As the world still reels from Hamas' attack on Israel, certain Republicans in this country are trying to blame it on Biden's White House.  While this will resonate with their base, I don't doubt that most Americans are thinking that these losers need to give it a break.  Tuberville is still trying to make himself important by keeping a hold on military promotions.  The majority party (Republicans) has no leader in the House, ;though they're saying they should have one by Wednesday.  Of course, know that they are Republicans, the idea of pulling their heads out of their asses will simply never occur to them.

And when I heard that the terrorists had taken hostages, the first thing to cross my mind was Jimmy Carter and the Iran hostage crisis, and I'm thinking that was their main objective.  Killing and creating chaos was a big part of the attack, but the taking of hostages was evidently their main priority.  These losers want a bargaining chip.  Soon, they will threaten to begin executing them, one by one, in a very public way.  For all the world knows, these hostages may no longer be in Gaza, but may have already been moved to multitude of safer locations making rescue that more difficult.  We are watching the dark side of Islam, one that may eventually destroy the religion.

The people over there

 Yesterday was slow in the store.  I spent most of the day fixing problems:  an expensive Coolaroo blind needed to be remade, the measurements were wrong, build a quote for 2 bathrooms that hadn't been included when a job was sold... same old shit... crap... stuff.

One funny thing happened when I got to my locker.  One of our associates was standing waiting for me.  I know this because he said, "I've been waiting for you."  I told him I had been on vacation, and he shrugged.  Swinging open his locker door he said, "I bought your books, can you sign them for me?"  Of course, what's an author to do?  Later, when I found out he was planning on selling them on Ebay, I laughed.  My signature is worth about 2 cents.  On the bright side, he did buy for books!

When I got home from work, I discovered some sort of vague imprints on the outside of that little 5 gallon tank I set up for the Goldies.  It's sitting on top of the record cabinet, so I'm figuring Biggie stuck his nose against the glass while checking out the new fish.  Later in the evening, I found him sitting in front of the tank just watching them swim back and forth, and I'm sure his little doggie brain was thinking "simply fascinating."

This morning, I'm going to do one the rides I like on Tacx.  San Remo, possibly.  San Remo is 24 k railroad line that has been converted into a bike trail, though a lot of people walk rather then ride.  It is very scenic.  I usually ride 14 miles.

So, Iran had an election and a hardline conservative won... by a landslide, not because he was popular, rather many, many people chose to boycott and not vote.  Ouch.  While we over here didn't have voters boycott the 2016 election, a large proportion of the voting public stayed home... and look what we got, and Orange Anus, a loser extraordinaire.  That over here.  Over there?  Iranians may have something worse to deal with... a hardline conservative who sees no middle ground.  I'm sure it will not be long before the people begin to realize they've made a mistake.

The Truth

Yippee Skippy!  I get to go back to work today!  Such a joy! ...  ...  well, maybe not quite.
I did check for Pennsylvania rides yesterday, for a hilly state, we don't really have that many.  I suspect because most of our population is in the eastern quarter of the state... oh, and there are Pittsburgh and Erie along the boarder in the western part.  The center of the state has a scattering of small towns, but nothing  large.  We have a lot of bear living there.  Bear you say?  Oh, hell yeah, and I'm not talking about heavy set men with bushy beards.
Anyway, I did find a ride in Highspire which is about 7 miles from where I live.  There's a local ride on Rouvy!  I find that a bit amazing. This means anybody in the world can ride through, or around, or past Highspire.  It's a short one.  Only 4.6 miles, and I'm thinking it may run along the river.  I'll ride it this evening when I get home from work.
Evidently the Idiot Jerk's administration gave some sort of briefing yesterday that was full of yadda, yadda, yadda.  Not a lot of factual information, but then there isn't a lot.  As I said before, this whole thing was political... to get his base twittering with the rah, rah, rahs.  It worked.  But then they've always been defensive of their tin foil dictator.  And then he lied about Iran standing down.  Was anybody expecting them to tell the truth?  Honestly, the info they had on the imminent threat was sketchy at best, the idea his henchies know what that country is planning is sketchy at worst.  Unfortunately for us, his propaganda machine is working overtime to spin this in his direction and his base is buying it.
And, finally, for those of you who have read "The Body on the Lawn," you might remember a short section where Eli sings "heavy metal broke my... heart," as he and the seven Von Trapp Family boxers do a little dance up a staircase.  I thought you might like to hear the song in its entirety.

Special

Okay, so here it is Sunday morning and I've got a load of white wash in the washer.  Biggie is standing beside me pesting to have his head scratched.  In a few seconds, he will lay down and guard the door to the computer room from that evil Lily.
There's a lot of concern that John Bolton, one of the Idiot Jerk's favorite henchies, is spoiling for a war with Iran.  If one comes, it will be interesting to see how the Evangelicals handle it.  I mean, they're the ones who keep telling themselves he was sent by God to give them what they want, and if that's the case such a war would be a Holy issue.  I'm wondering how many of those phony devotees of Evangelicalism will send their children off to fight.  My money's saying those volunteers are going to be few and far between because in their little, black hearts they are gutless. They don't want to go and possibly get themselves killed for their beliefs.  No way.  They're going to leave that job to someone else, someone who's not as special, which is why they are so much worse than a cowardly embarrassment.
So, I'm probably going to go see John Wick 3 on either Monday or Tuesday.  It's getting good reviews.  Now hows that for a stunner.  This is a movie filled with over the top, comic book violence.  Still, I have to admit, it's far more believable than one of Tony Perkins' spawn volunteering to go to war for this country.  That will never happen because they're just too.... special.
Oh, my the evil Lily has entered the room... and Biggie's laying snoring on the floor.
I have turned on my ceiling fans.  They will run for the rest of the spring and summer season.  Eventually, when the daily temps hover in the upper 80's I'll turn on the Central Air, too.  In the winter I like to be warm, and in the summer I like to be cool. 
I thought I'd end today's entry with a shot of one of my peonies.  One of the things I'm planning on doing tomorrow (my day off) is to tie up the bush out front.  The blooms get very top-heavy and I don't want them laying on the sidewalk.

Dazzling, eh?

Leaning

Okay, I felt tired so I went to bed at a little after 8 last evening.  I've been a bit ill, you know?  On Christmas Eve I hit the sack around the same time and slept for over 10 hours.  That didn't happen last night.  About 0245 this morning I woke up.  Going back to sleep?  Wasn't going to happen.  That's a pretty clear indicator I am on the mend.  I may try for a little catnap before heading in this morning, but otherwise I'd say I'm up for the duration.
I saw the Idiot Jerk went to Iran yesterday.  They were calling it a trip to a war zone.  They must be right.  He took Melanoma along as a shield.  Of course, his base was delighted.  How quickly they've forgotten Veteran's Day.  Short term memory loss... what else can you expect from the nearly brain dead?
And the stock market went up, too.  No doubt one last flight before it finally crashes.
As I said, I do get to work today.  In fact, I work for the next three... and then I'm off for 3.  I think I'm going to paint the staircase.  I'd bought the paint back in July, some sort of minty thingy color which should go well with the Juniper Berry gray / green / blue of my dining room.
Okay, and there's a section in the new book which revolves around a marble statue in the Louvre.  One of the things I've been doing during my viral infection is scouring their statuary, trying to find the one perfect piece.  I've narrowed it down to two:

The Wounded Galatian

or...

The Borghese Gladiator

The Gladiator is actually a 'warrior' who's missing his sword and shield (broken off centuries ago).  I'm leaning toward the Galatian.  Curly hair, you know?

Compensate this

So, Sunday was the last day of our fiscal half - our store was #3.  Our Success Sharing (bonus) has always been calculated on fiscal halves - we get 2 per year.  That is changing, however.  Now they're are calculating it on the quarter.  Our store was #1 for the quarter.  We're are going to get a big bonus... maybe.  From what I've heard this is just going to be for the quarter, not the half... so, what happened to the first quarter of 2018?  A 3 month bonus is going to be less than a 6 month bonus.  Oh, and we're going to be getting this 4 times a year, as long as the store makes plan (forecast, or budget, use the word of your choice). 
While some are dancing around like they were wearing their very expensive glee sneakers, I'm scratching my head.  You see, I read financials.  There's a growing trend  among corporations to treat frequent bonuses as part of an associates yearly compensation package, rather than as a 'bonus.'  This turns it into a payroll expense which, in turn, effects your yearly increase.  By using these 'bonuses,' companies will, in reality, reduce that expense.  It works like this:  Say your yearly increase amounts to $2000 and (if your store performs up to par) your bonus is $800.  They take that $800 and deduct it from the $2000 leaving you with an actual increase of $1200.  This is legitimized, in their minds, by saying it is now your responsibility for your store's sales.  Wall Street likes this approach.  Some stores will make out well, others will not.  What it really means is that a lot of people will get lower raises.
Oh, and in case you didn't hear me yesterday, I suddenly burst into loud, almost hysterical laughter.  Why?  A headline in the WSJ.  I was sitting next to our Customer Service Rep when my phone buzzed.  It does that with breaking news flashes.  To my amazement, I saw that Bob, in posting his Sunday Funnies, had revealed one of the cartoonists to be a Gypsy Fortune Teller.  This one right here:

Holy Shit!  The Idiot Jerk in the White House wants to have a 'sit down' with Iran.  Doesn't he remind you of the lowest form of life possible?  Anything for attention, for a chance to get his name in the headlines, to feed his ego.  My money says he'd eat a scumbag if he thought it would garner him headlines.  Like a washed up actor, he'll perform in anything for any price.

Yo... look... here comes November

There was no surprise yesterday when the Idiot Jerk in the White House pulled out of the Iran Nuclear Treaty.  This was the expected step from the egocentric douche a minority of Americans managed to get elected.  White Republicans have removed another of Obama's, our first black president, achievements.  They will tell you racism has nothing to do with it, but it does.  They will also tell you that the Idiot Jerk, in spite of 4 bankruptcies and who knows how many failed deals, is a deal maker.  That is really a major part of the Idiot Jerk's problem.  He loves to sell himself as being shrewd.  Just like he loves to sell himself as being very, very rich.  And the GOP does love their phonies.  This is their mindset.  They are so terribly wrong.
Every Republican president since Eisenhower has left the economy either shattered or in tatters.  And every Republican failure has been blamed on someone or something else.  That's how their disinformation works.  Someone else is always at fault.  The truth is Reagan's Trickle Down Economics was a bandage program at best and why it began failing halfway through his 2nd term.  No matter how bad things get they refuse to admit their policies are subpar.
Get ready, gas prices are going to go up.  The $$$ you spend are the pump are going to increase... dramatically.  That's another fact.  Every time there's a Republican in the White House gas becomes expensive.  That's because the oil we pump out of Texas and Oklahoma and Kansas and Alaska gets sold overseas.  Oil companies make more money exporting than they do selling to Americans.  That's a rather sad statement, but clearly defines American Capitalism.  It's all about the buckos.  Oops, there goes that great tax cut.
On a lighter note - I rode 13.7 miles yesterday.  Sorry, no sweaty photos.  This morning was going to be free weights but that didn't happen.  I also get to go to work today.  And then I'm off tomorrow.  Of course, then I will have to work for 5 days in a row.  That' sucks.  Then it will be 2 days off and then... are you ready for this?.. I'll get to work 6 days without a day off. 
We are approaching our Memorial Day weekend which is... our busiest weekend in the year.  And you though that was the Black Friday weekend.  Nope.  Gas grills and mulch fly out of the store.  People by $1000 patio sets.  Everybody wants a freaking bamboo blind... we don't sell them in the store, sorry.  This means I'm going to be putting in pretty many hours, but then we head into June and things begin to slow down.  That's when I'll move back to 32 hour work weeks.
After yesterday's sour announcement by the Idiot Jerk in the White House... remember, November is approaching much faster than the GOP wants.  They already know they're going to lose the House.  The time has come to take back the damn Senate and cook their asses.

Vote Blue and watch the Idiot Jerk cry.

Run with this

Yesterday I cleaned the downstairs, today I'll do the same to the 2nd floor.  Were I living in France, yesterday I would have cleaned the ground floor and today I will clean the 1st floor.  Isn't my life a joy.
Today I also want to get my hair cut.  Another joy, having my hair short.  My neighbor left his hair grow and now looks like a haggard, old woman.
While going to Giant yesterday morning, I passed a young man, probably in his mid-twenties.  He was running up a hill on the Wertzville Road.  Shirtless.  He obviously spends quite a lot of time working out... lifting weights... and running.  All of his muscles were moving.  His arms synchronized with his gait.  And I thought to myself, that's rather amazing.  You know?  Seeing a Greek God running up the Wertzville Road?

He looked a lot like this... but this is somebody else, the guy I saw had not tats

Oh, and there are primary elections today... prepping the country for the midterms.  Both Indiana and West Virginia have Republican candidates running for Congress who make the GOP nervous... very nervous.  You see some of these candidates act quite a lot like the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  And  the GOP is very concerned that these 'wanna be Idiot Jerks' will cost them seats.  They're terrified of losing their majority.  Even the Idiot Jerk is so worried he told the voters of West Virginia to vote for the more moderate Republicans.  Now, isn't that rich?

Oh, and the Idiot Jerk is going to announce sometime today whether he's going to pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal.  You can bet, his final decision will be solely derived not from thoughtful contributions by those surrounding him.  Nope, he is going to run with the 'yea' or 'nay' that chases down the most press.  He doesn't really care about nuclear proliferation.  His every decision is based on what will get the most people talking about him.  His ego needs to feed it's addiction.