Conservative Ineptitude

 We had a rather warm night.  The outside temp is a very mild 57 (F).  That doesn't mean our afternoon temps are going to climb into the upper 70s (F).  Nope.  They're going to be stuck in the 60s (F).  There is a Nor'easter plodding up the eastern seaboard which will keep the temps mild.  Rain showers will continue throughout the day and into to tomorrow.  Predictions are for a total accumulation of about an inch of rain.  We need it.  

I did my morning workout yesterday.  It was fine.  This may surprise some of you, but I'm on a 25 day stretch.  This is a good thing.  I think one of the reasons these sessions work is because the routines are varied, also, the fact that they were designed by someone who knows what he's doing, rather than me sitting at my computer picking and choosing exercises I think will be beneficial.  Even the sequence has turned out to be good.   I used to do 3 sets of one exercise and then move onto the next.  Now I complete the entire routine, and then repeat it two more times.  There are even yoga poses in the after workout stretching.  

I did work yesterday and it was slow.  I talked to one customer about ordering blinds and then he decided to buy out stock blinds instead.  They were a lot cheaper.  I also talked to a gentleman who believes we sold him more carpet than he needed.  The carpet has already been installed.  If he had a problem, he should have brought it up before he paid for the installation.  I told him that if he wanted, we could send a measure tech out to do a remeasure, but he would have to pay $100 for it.  He said he was going to think about it.

And Christmas has arrived.  In the past, our Christmas displays have had a large selection of trees.  There have been way, way too many inflatable lawn ornaments, and quite a few large indoor ornaments as well, like 6 foot tall, talking and singing Santas.  We have no Santas this year.  We have no large singing elves, or carolers.  And the number of artificial trees on display is small.  Most of this stuff we get from China.

And evidently Dementia Don doesn't remember he was president on January 6.

The chaos is never ending, isn't it?  This is why Conservatives need to be kept completely out of power.  They live for the words, "shut up, we're in charge," but whenever they are, they are constantly showing the world their incompetence.  Take those 4000 people Russell, the Idiot Vought, joyously bragged about terminating.  Well, they're hiring many of them back because their jobs are essential.  Conservative ineptitude is astounding, so much so, I'm wondering if they all might have dementia.

  

Accountable

 Hello Friday.  Hello Sunshine.  Hello temps in the 70s (F).  The good news is that this weather is supposed to hang with us for the next week.  The bad news is that all this sunshine will make my grass grow.  Without a good shot of cold air the leaves on the trees are staying green, for the most part.  They are beginning to fall, but there are no brilliant yellows or reds around my neck of the woods.

Yesterday was a somewhat busy day.  I wanted to get the front room tank cleaned.  Well, that was a bust.  I did get in a short ride on the bike.  It wasn't nearly as long as usual because Howie left the room and I got worried he might leave a deedle or drop a doodle  in the house.  That's a big priority right now in getting him house trained.  It is lucky for both of us that the temps are going to be nice, and my hours fairly short at work, to teach him that his business needs to be done outside.

This morning my car gets inspected.  They've changed the way things are done: the work you have done is basically a la carte.  You pick and chose what needs to be done, like an oil change (necessary) or air filters changed (unnecessary).  I'm putting the purchase of new tires off until next year.  I don't drive that much, and the tread is still fairly good.  Everything is so expensive.  Hopefully, this will only take about an hour.  I'm doing what I normally do, taking along a hard copy of my latest book, The Body in History, and working on a rewrite of the first draft.

And, speaking of the weather.  If this is correct, temps will remain warm here again this winter.  This will be the 3rd winter in a row.  For those who don't know.  This is what Global Warming looks like.  If it stays this warm this winter, imagine what the summer is going to be like for those southern states.

And all the details about Trump's involvement leading up to, and including what he did, on January 6 are going to be released for public consumption.  His appeals have been denied.  This is a good thing.  Some are saying that this is the October surprise, though we have to be honest here, there have already been so many ugly surprised for the Republican party this October.  He's tried to get people dancing.  His Univision town hall was a complete failure, as was his town hall with women.  He's cancelling appearances, one of which was with the NRA.  And today details are going to be released to the press of how truly malevolent he was on January 6 when his cultists attempted a coup.  He has been angling for this moment his entire life, and don't, for a second, think he will have any regrets.  It will be his out and out rage at being finally held accountable that will pop his brain.

Trump's Getaway Fund

 Okay, so the outside temp is 76 (F).  It is humid.  There is the possibility of thunderstorms this afternoon, but then we had the same possibility yesterday, and nothing.  No rain.  Tomorrow?  Forecasters are calling for showers.

Yesterday, work was meh.  I did hit my sales goal for the week, but that's all that happened.  Our Halloween display is just about complete.  One thing noticeably missing is the inflatables.  Halloween is supposed to be scary and let's face it, blow-up monsters just aren't scary.

All of my chargers are lined up and ready to be packed, not that I have that many, just my phone and my watch.  I bought myself an adapter that lets me plug in my laptop while letting me charge them at the same time.  This should be easy, peasy.  Also, since I've set myself up for international calling, later this afternoon I'm going to add the calling code to those numbers I'm going to be texting pictures to.  I also want to check out a map of the Philadelphia airport to locate terminals A and F, since I'm going to be traveling between the two both going and coming.

I watched Wicked Little Letters last evening.  It was a fun movie.  You might want to call it a mystery, comedy, drama.  Someone is sending obscene letters to different people in the town.  There's no nudity, but the language?  Obscenely funny.

And is it me, or does it seem like a day doesn't pass during which the Orange Anus manages to get bad press?  Take the Arlington Cemetery incident, for example.  Putting a wreath at the grave of a recently deceased war hero might be seen as decent and honorable, if only Orangie hadn't called those who died fighting for our country, losers and suckers.  He's mocked and derided Gold Star Families, and then he tries to turn their grief into a photo op.  I saw this morning that his team is trying to backtrack on that piece of stupidity.  Someone should tell him, it's already too late.

And then next week Orangie is hosting a gala at Bedminster as a purported fund raiser to pay for legal fees of his January 6 conspirators.  Yeah, I know, Stupidity, thy name is Trump.  Supposedly, he's trying to raise $1 million to help pay for their defense.  Personally, I suspect most of the proceeds will end up going into his "Getaway Fund."  In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if he has quite the nest egg saved up to cover his relocation expenses.

We've Been Waiting A Long Time For This

 Weather was nice yesterday.  Temps were what I consider mild, low 80's (F).  My Central Air rarely runs.  I checked my electric bill and my monthly charges are less than my monthly budget, and summer is the time when I use the most electricity because of the Central Air, so this is a bit of a win / win situation.

I got a lot accomplished yesterday:  dumbbell workout and a 14 mile ride in San Remo.

One of my big angelfish is very sick.  I put him in a smaller tank so the rest of the fish wouldn't pick at him.  Now, he's in a corner of the tank... and he's upside down.  This is not good.

The owner of the house next door took me for a tour yesterday.  I praised what his crews had done, which was difficult for me because I hate to lie.  The workmanship is sloppy, except for the tile in the kitchen, which is nice.  Except for the white trim, everything is in shades of gray.  He asked me what I'd ask for it, so I gave him a low number $165,000, mostly because I know that the 40 + year old roof is still going to need to be replaced, and it only has a partial basement.  He told me he was going to ask $190,000.  There's a good possibility he'll get what he wants.  

Here's another pic of my roses.

And, of course, late yesterday afternoon the sun came out and filled so many American hearts with glowing justice.  I was in the kitchen when the first notification The Guardian came through on my watch, and then another notification, and the vibrations continued, the NYT, the Washington Post, the BBC, Le Monde, Al Jazeera; notifications from newsgroups I wasn't even subscribed to:  Donald Trump had just been indicted for January 6.  So many of us have been waiting for such a very long time for this.  

On an even brighter note, there are 6 more indictments to come.  Many think one of those 6 will Rudy Giuliani, however, if his attorneys are to be believed, he didn't receive a target letter.  That would lead to the inference that he flipped and worked out some sort of plea deal.  

Jack Smith promised a speedy trial, normally that means within 70 days.  The judge assigned is an Obama appointee who has little patience for the nonsense Trump's legal team will try to foist on her. I'm hoping hearings will start in late November, early December.  

I don't know about you, but, as I told a friend last evening, I'm enjoying the Hell out of this.  Judgement is coming not only for Trump, but for the Republican party as well.

Judgement

 My long weekly mini-vaca starts today.  I will not be sitting at the flooring desk until Saturday, when I will once again begin my 3 day stretch.  Next week, however, I be doing the odd 3 day schedule again, working Thursday and off Sunday for a visit to York.  

A thunderstorm passed overhead last night with a lot of rain.  This one actually woke me up... somewhat, I could hear the thunder and for a few moments I was vaguely aware of rain pounding down against the bedroom windows.  The storm didn't really disturb me.  About 2:30 am, however, I did wake up and make did a little research on book number 8.  This is why I have a tablet by the bed.  Needless to say, notes were taken.

Even though retail was slow yesterday, I did manage to get my 2 requisite measures for the week.  I'm set.  I have 9 installs waiting to go, all I need to do is hope those customers decide to "pull the trigger," as they say.  There's a big meeting happing on Friday where, from what I've heard, management is going to start twisting the thumbscrews.  This will effect the full-timers more than it will me.  This is what happens when corporate executives make bad business decisions.

Here's a pic of Lily impatiently waiting to go for her morning walk.  She is getting so gray around her muzzle.

Ronnie DeSantis is doubling down on his racist opinion that slaves benefitted from the enslavement because... well, Meatball Ron believes that backing down would make him look weak.  While this might play well with the MAGA cult, for many in America it's a really bad failure.  I don't know who told him alienating whole voting blocs was a good idea, but, well as far as Democrats are concerned, it's a good way to keep Republicans from voting for him.  Fox News, in their attempt to aid and abet him, some ass named Greg Gutfield actually said that some Jews benefitted from the Holocaust.  

And, as the trucks continue to gather outside the DC Courthouse, the glow of satisfaction is beginning to well up from my heart like a many colored aura filling the air with delight.  We would have missed all of Trump's suffering if he'd been indicted earlier just to satisfy those impatient few who needed to see him in cuffs sooner.  His inane rantings on Truth Social are almost as good as manna in the wilderness as each day we learn one more person has flipped.  Yes, the floodgates have opened.  All of those rats he surrounded himself with are desperately trying to avoid being skinned alive.  If I were very religious, I say Judgement is coming for the Republican Party.

Yesterday

 Holy Crap!  Retail was so terribly slow yesterday.  Not one customer.  These are the slow days we usually have in February.  By March, the stream of lawn and garden customers is beginning to pick up.  That isn't happening.  Most stores in the area aren't making plan.  I don't doubt a lot of it has to do with prices.  It isn't like the orange retail giant I work for isn't making money.  The business just is not earing them the revenue they've budgeted.  In flooring, we're offering a special deal until 3/19, but it's only on the top of the line carpet and pad: 10% off.  I laughed.  Instead of spending $4 per square foot, they want customers to spend $7, and for that they'll take off .70.  That will only fly so far.

Outside, we're under a snow warning.  A band of heavy snow is moving through the area.  But not here.  The skies are overcast, but that's about it... except for the occasional, single flurry that has managed to make a suicide dash from the clouds.

I did skip the treadmill yesterday, but I'll be back on it today.  That means I'll get my steps in.  Yesterday, even without the treadmill, I managed to get 13, 889 steps in, that's because business was so slow and could do lap, after lap, after lap around the store.

Here's a pic of one of my daffodils.

And, for those who haven't heard, yesterday Tucker Carlson relvealed the first edited video of January 6.  His version shows snippets of the rioters quietly walking through the halls of Congress.  He has the number one propaganda show on cable.  Tucker doesn't care if he manages to incites violence.  His boss, Rupert, would probably like that.  However, we do need to keep things in perspective.  Tucker may have his fan base, but on a daily basis CBS evening news. with its 5.3 million viewers nearly doubles Tucker's fan club.  NBC easily doubles Tuck's base with well over 7 million viewers, and Disney owned ABC News almost triples Tuck's base.  Those three networks combined, garner well over 6 times Carlson's base.  This also doesn't take into account those who watch cable news.  However, people talk about Tucker and his antics, whether that makes him more dangerous than not, I don't know.  What does make him more of a threat is the influence he wields among the crazies, the Trumpers, and the MAGA brained who will deny realityforever.

McCarthy = mini-Putin

 I am looking out my window at dense fog.  In time, it will burn off or blow away.  We have a high wind warning for this afternoon.  I have battened down the hatches, so to speak ( the lids are tight upon my garbage cans so they do not blow away).  Since today is garbage day, however, I do not doubt that since most of my neighbors work, their cans and lids will be rolling up and down the street.

I saw that I have an eye appointment on Monday.  I also have an eye appointment.  I will have to call and change my start time and hope they don't dilate my eyes.  Either that, or I'll just have to take a personal day.  I have more than enough hours on the books.

My friend Betsy called me last night.  She has an appointment today to get an passport and she wanted to know if she could use as point of contact in case of an emergency.  Of course, I said yes.  She's going on a cruise to Nassau and the Virgin Islands with some friends.  This will be her a first for her.  She told me she was thinking of taking some of her art supplies along.  I told her just to take pictures with her phone.  I don't think she understands how busy she will be.  The friends she's going with don't like the beach, or the shore; they love the little stores and boutiques.  The tourist traps they're going to go will be like little Meccas to them.

And Biden went to the Ukraine.

This pissed off a lot of Republicans, as well as Trump's blow bro Vlad.  They hate it when he does things presidential.

Vlad is enraged because his 3 day war has taken over a year and Russia is still losing.  That makes both he and his ego look bad.  What he thought were best laid plans have proven to be shit because he was wrong about so many things.  Putin has always been a bumbling idiot who always managed to dress himself with the appearance of power.  Now, metaphorically speaking, he's running around naked.

Kevin McCarthy handed over 40,000 + hours of security footage from January 6 to Tucker Carlson's producers.  This man is pure evil.  He knows that footage will cut, and sliced, and edited to fit the Republican lie that there was no insurrection.  This is his attempt to discredit the January 6 committee.  He doesn't care if his actions incite the MAGA base to violence.  In case you haven't realized it yet, he desperately wants to be a mini-Putin.  If something were to happen to Biden and Harris, he would be next in line for the presidency.  That thought crosses his mind constantly.  This is the truth.

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. 

It's in the Stars

Is everybody excited for the new work week?  I am.  Not because I have to work, which I do, but this morning the January 6 committee has another hearing... and I don't need to be at work until 12, that means I'll get to watch part of it.

Yesterday, as I expected, was another slow day at work.  I had around $2000 in sales, so I hit my goal for the week.  That's nice, it kind of keeps management quiet.  Otherwise, we sat around.  Here's a sample of how poorly things are going: for the same week last year the flooring department had 26 measures, this year we had 5.  Ouch!  To compensate prices are going up because American Capitalism has decreed that in order to satisfy Wall Street, you will need to punish the general population.  This makes things worse, but tell me, do you think corporate America really cares about anything other than their own financial gains?

Right now, I'm using my old laptop stand as a printer table.  I hate it, so I'm replacing it with a small, 2 drawer filing cabinet my mom gave me decades ago.  At present, the cabinet is beige, later this morning it will be painted red to fit in with the rest of the decor.  Pictures to follow.

Since business was so slow yesterday, I got to watch the Xbox / Bethesda showcase on the flooring desk computer.  Not the who 2.5-hour showcase, mind you.  I had the sound playing lowly and now and then would open the window to see which games were being talked about.  There was only one game I was truly interested in, and that was Starfield, Bethesda's first new IP in 29 years.  If you don't own stock in Xbox, now's the time to buy.  I know there are people who think gaming is only shooting things up, but there is so much more, like exploration.  There are over 1000 planets in Starfield to explore.  There is settlement building, where you have to gather the raw materials to build a settlement and then hire people to work there, all done without firing a weapon.  There are millions of gamers who find that fascinating.  Here's the release video with game play.  Oh, and in case you're wondering there is some shooting.

And today is the January 6 committee's 2nd public hearing.  A lot of people are trying to predict just what they're going to do, but let's be honest, without a program, we'll just have to wait and see.  Some of their guest witnesses are intriguing:  the guy who ran Trump's campaign and got fired because losing is not in Trump's vocabulary.

And then there's Georgia.  Even Newsweek is implying the case there will bring us the arrest so many want.  There's so much evidence.  Like stars in the heaven, if you look up, you can't miss them.

 

The Wheels of Justice

 Well, it's Monday morning, it's 17 (F) outside, and I have to work  in the paint department on what had originally been scheduled as a day off.   Being part-time is nice, however, if I hadn't been a paint manager for 4 years they would never have asked me to work.

My air-fryer arrived yesterday.  So far, it's been through the test run, nothing has been cooked yet.  There's a preset for shrimp, that will probably never be used, I like my shrimp steamed with port wine and Old Bay seasoning.  Using port makes it easy to flambé  the little suckers.  Very tasty, let me tell you.

I had thought I'd drive down to That Fish Place to pick up some plants for the aquarium this afternoon, now that's not going to happen.  Maybe tomorrow morning.

And, since The Body in Repose is with my first reader / editor, I've begun to doodle around.  Here are the characters for The Body Under Ice.  The victim is pretty obvious, but which one of them is the killer is anybody's guess.   Well, that's not quite right.  I know who kills Charlie Beechum.

As for The Body in Repose, I asked how the reading was going... in fact, I had to ask twice, and received this 2 word response.  Really good.

Oh, and the Orange Anus gave a speech down in Texas during which he talked about his pending lawsuits.  Well, he didn't really talk about them, just asked his followers for there to be protests if he was 'illegally' charged.  Big Protests, like the one from January 6.  Basically, he just threatened the prosecutors.  This is the sort of thing you'd expect from a criminal, wannabe dictator who feels the wheels of justice are coming to roll over his ugly orange ass.  This man doesn't care how many might die to save his ego.  Remember, in his mind, nothing demonstrates loyalty more than sacrifice.

Counterfeit Election Results

 Well, it's Saturday.  Two days before the big storm, or maybe semi-big, snow possibly turning to freezing rain storm.  We'll just have to wait, won't we?  My question is whether I should buy a bottle of wine on my way home from work this evening just in case.  While a lot of people have Monday, the 17th off as a paid holiday, I don't.  Calling off is not going to cost me any holiday pay... and that would give me another 3 day weekend.

I got another 13.86 mile ride in yesterday - the Ilger Front, in Belgium.  Fun stuff.  I felt it in my legs a bit, but not much.  Today I'm going to get in a walk before I go to work.  In case anyone is wondering, I'm still using the heating pads from time to time.  They keep my lumbar spine loosie goosie and flexible.

I checked in with my cover artist yesterday, she and her husband both have Covid.  She's doing fine, however, her husband was acting like a 'contrary old man.'  Translation: she can't wait to get out of the freaking house, even if it means going back to work.  That's understandable.  

People keep complaining about how the January 6 committee doesn't seem to be doing anything, and what they are doing appears to be happening very slowly.  The face they show to the public tells us nothing about what's happening behind the scenes.  The sudden arrest of 11 Oath Keepers is significant and came out of nowhere.  Then, for those of you who missed it, they revealed that 5 states sent counterfeit election results to Congress, election results claiming the Orange Anus had won the state.  All were signed by Republican election officials.  They were rejected, of course, but the National Archives is releasing them to interested citizens.  This means every one is going to get the chance to see these lying signatures.  Here's the signature page sent in by Pennsylvania Republicans.

Speaking of the Orange Anus, he's speaking today in Arizona, a state where the Republican election committee has certified Biden as president.  This is also the state where Cyber Ninja was paid to find out the Orange Anus actually lost.  I'm sure the January 6 committee is going to be playing close attention to those who show up.

Finally, I see Conservatives are going after Brett Kavanaugh for his decision on vaccines and mask mandates for health care workers.  It's taking Brett a long time to realize these Conservatives believe they've bought and paid for his entire soul.

The Big Lie... again, and again

 Well, it's Friday, a none work day for me.  That's right.  I am unavailable to be scheduled on Fridays.  The same is true for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  At some point, I will add another day in order to have four days off per week. 

Being off today is a good thing since we had snow last night.  Not much, around 4 inches, meaning I'll have to do some shoveling later.  And later, since I have the ingredients, I'll make some chicken soup, they say it's good for the soul.  I don't really think that's true, but it is tasty.

Wasn't that a great speech by Biden yesterday?  I was working, so I didn't get the chance to see it in its entirety.  It did piss off a lot of Republicans.  Just as many confederates never got over losing the Civil War, they will never come to terms with Trumps defeat.  Their policies, their beliefs, all were rejected by over 7 million Americans.  And what did Trump do?  Spit out the only thing Republicans can believe in: The Big Lie.  Of course, politicized Evangelicals have believe it, to do otherwise might indicate that God doesn't have Trump's back, and if that were the case... welll... oh.... shit!  Their desperation might have caused them to make a really big mistake.

And I understand Ted Cruz was on Tucker Carlson last evening.  Evidently Carlson dropped his drawers and turned around in order for Cruz to obligingly kiss his ass.  One comment I saw hit the nail of truth right on the head:  Cruz is more concerned about Carlson's opinion then he is the opinions of his constituents.  Cruz doesn't understand the minute he flew to Cancun last year, he wrote his own ticket out of Congress and no amount of kissing Carlson's ass is going to save him.

Mid-Terms are coming up.  Vote Blue to save America.

Anniversary Day

 Hello, Thursday.  

Lily's eye is improving.  Her nictitating membrane is only covering the inner corner of her eye, and depending upon what she's looking at will disappear completely.  The swelling has also started to go down.   This is a good thing since she is not a 'vet friendly' dog, not that she's mean, though she's very picky about who is around me.  She loves my friend Justin, but will bark at my neighbor until he leaves.  Right now, she and Biggie are sleeping in on the bed.

I did bake spice cookies yesterday, though I didn't quite follow the recipe.  They're supposed to be small, around an inch in diameter.  I like my cookies large, so mine are almost 4 times the size.  Believe me, they are tasty!

And, of course, today is the anniversary of the Republican's attempt to overthrow Democracy.  We should have expected their attempted coup.  They've been becoming more desperate ever since Reagan's re-election.  They went through their T-Party stage, where they felt they alone could define Democracy.  With Obama, they became the obstructionists known as the Do Nothing Party, refusing to compromise.  At that point, we should have realized how much they desperately wanted an Authoritarian Government they, themselves could run.  Then, because too many Democrats stayed home thinking Hillary had it in the bag, they pulled off an Electoral College win that put a wannabe dictator in the White House.  He obligingly gave them everything they'd ever dreamt of, except a 2nd term.  And they were angry.  They were going to steal back the election.  Not only did they fail, their failure was televised around the world.  We have only just begun to put them down.  Keeping them out of office is our job.  Vote blue.  Be a true American and vote them into obscurity.

Track this

Well, here it is Wednesday and so far no mid-week crisis.  

There was a bit of concern yesterday with Lily's right eye.  When she woke up her nictitating membrane didn't retract completely.  Crap.  Of course, I jumped on my computer and the first thing that popped up was 'cherry eye.'  However, that usually crops up during the puppy stage, 8-9 months.  In dogs her age, the issue is usually caused by a problem with a gland under her eye, and... yep, she has some swelling below her eye.  I suspect she has a bit of an infection in there since it's not as bad today as it was yesterday.  Right now she's under observation since there are long stretches where the membrane is completely retracted.

I've a busy day planned for today.  Lots of chores to do.  A list has even been made.  We shall see what gets accomplished.  

I was walked 2 miles on the treadmill yesterday and... there was a bit of a problem with my Fenix 6 Pro.  It wasn't tracking correctly.  My distance is logged into the app so after a walk is finished, I can see things like pacing, how many times my feet hit the treadmill.  At 3.2 mph there were obvious gaps where my steps slowed down.  You don't slow down when the belt you're walking on is speeding along a 3.2 miles an hour.  Slowing down, leads to falling.  That didn't happen, in fact my pace was right on.  I've been recording these discrepancies for some time, and will soon contact Garmin.  I'm sure they'll have an excuse.  Large tech companies always do.

I've tried setting it back to factory defaults

And I guess everybody has seen that the spawn of Satan, Trump, has cancelled his little hate fest for tomorrow.  From what I understand there was a lot of horror ratcheting through the Republican part over what he might say.  They know 72% of the American people view the events of January 6, 2021 as an attack on Democracy... and are not happy.  At the same time, they also know they need the votes of those 28% who loyally believe their evil master.  I'm betting the party made another deal with the devil in order to shut him up.  This is how evil works.  Remember, for him it's all about 'the art of the deal.'

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/well/bone-joint-surgery.html

Splish Splash

 Well, it's Monday Morning and my oatmeal has just finished cooking in the microwave, not instant oatmeal, mind you, the real stuff.  Today's flavors are anise and honey, olden tastes.  Yummy.

This morning I get to go chat with the pain management person at UPMC, not that I'm in a lot of pain anymore.  Walking has helped realign my spine, at least that's what I'm thinking.  We won't know unless they do another MRI and I don't if that will be in the works or not.  Since I track my mileage with my Fenix 6 Pro, I can tell you that in the last 30 days I've walked over 41 miles.  Only recently have I begun walking daily, and two days ago I got on my bike for the first time in months.

This afternoon I'll be working on the aquarium again.  Big changes happening there.  I'm so glad the fish haven't been complaining about things being moved around.  I've reduced the lighting, adding in more reds and blues.  Some of the plants didn't survive, others seem to be thriving.  Algae is still a problem, even with frequent water changes so I'm thinking of purchasing a cellular shade for the window that hits the tank with direct sunlight.  There hasn't been a blind or shade in my house for decades, so this is still in the 'thinking' stage.

One of our garden associates is in the hospital because he 'can't breath.'  Big MAGA supporter whom I heard claiming several times that Covid is no worse than the flu because...  well, you don't need to be an Einstein to figure out why.

And what about that ice shelf in Antarctica possibly breaking off within 3 - 5 years?  Splish Splash.  This would raise water levels by 3 - 5 feet.  I work with a Conservative doodle brain who has no problem telling you that because we haven't been keeping climate records long enough, there's no way to tell if we're in climate change or not....  Oh, and in case you didn't know, he's a Republican.

And don't you just love that January 6 Committee?  I do.  They released texts that Hannity, and Ingraham, and even Donny Jr, sent to the Spawn of Satan during the riot.  The wording was only slightly different in their messaging: that the rioters were going to "destroy everything we've built."  And why didn't Loser #45 do anything?  Because he was having too much fun.  He thought his coup was going to be a success and his Orange Anus was going to be made president for life.

The 38 page Power Point

I got my haircut yesterday.  Different barber than last time, so there was no heart to heart with the gent who had been in jail several times.  This time a woman cut my hair.  When she found out I worked for the great Orange Box retailer, she launched into a tale of how her mobile home had caught fire:  her kitchen burned.  I smiled to myself as she told me she went to our store in Shippensburg (we don't have a store even close to Shippensburg), and how the employees permitted her use their discount to buy her appliances (we don't get an employee discount).  Thankfully, she was fast with the clippers which cut her story short.

While I was sitting at my desk yesterday, this little lady came up and sat down beside me.  My, isn't her muzzle getting gray?  And her nose is in need of moisturizing nose butter. Both she and Biggie had dry skin and so need to have 'treatments,' always with a biscuit or two.

For those of you who haven't been following the on again, off again relationship between Mark Meadows and the the January 6 committee, it's off... again.  Maybe.  Kind of.  Apparently, after they had officially broken off talks, Meadows handed over a 38 page Power Point Presentation describing in detail how they could overturn the election.  This document was circulated among the privileged Republicans fully supporting Trump.  And now everybody's talking about what's in the details.  In fact, one speculator went so far as to ask why Meadows would turn over something so incriminating.  Personally, I'm thinking that behind the scenes his team is working with the committee to work out a plea deal where he's going to turn State's Witness.  We should start preparing for the naming of names, I think.

This is an interesting complication for the Evangelicals.

It's just my imagination

After today, actually sometime this evening, I will hit my Hump Moment.  It's not quite a dime, more or less just a few seconds in time.  This is what happens when you work 6 days in a row.  Days at the flooring desk are slow, right now.  Summer doldrums.  They seem especially bad this year, mostly, I suspect, because after a year people are finally getting out and about.  No one wants to sit home and wait for a carpet install.  I have no problem with this.

Rain is supposed to begin this afternoon and drizzle around until sometime Sunday.  Temps are supposed to drop down into the mid 50's (F) for daily highs.  In preparation, I've turned on the heat.  It's not running right now, but the second the temps drop the furnace is going to kick on.

One thing about writers, there is always a future story running through our heads.   The editing for The Body in the Loch is almost wrapped up.  Even though work on it is not 'officially' over, words for the next one have already been put down on paper.  I have lots of notes.  I have a title:  The Body in Repose.  A locale:  New Orleans.  A killer and a killer ending, you don't think I'm going to let those out of the bag, do you?  And, of course, there is the music.  Old, yes, but thanks to an manager who likes 80's music, this song played at work.  The lyric fits in with a setting that is right now called 'the PF at Pomfrete.'  Let your imaginations rove!

And what about McConnell begging Republicans not to vote for a January 6 commission?  The reality is if they vote for the commission, the Party's over.  If they vote against it, the Party's over.  He's clinging to the hope that if they vote against they'll be able to hold onto enough voters to survive.  In some parts of the country that may be true, but not a majority of the country.  A large portion of Republicans are going to sit on their hands in 2022.  Yesterday was the first time I saw an article where mention was made of how Republicans are hoping to hold onto the seats they already control in Congress, and how many are beginning to dread the road trips by the Orange Anus.  They do want his attempt coup to be forgotten, yet he's going to use his rallies to drill the Big Lie.  He is going to be a constant reminder they could have done something and didn't.

 

Waiting for the Death Knell

 Ah, my weekend begins.  I'm going to enjoy it thoroughly.  Going back to the store on Wednesday, I will be heading into a 6 day work week.  We all know how much I enjoy 6 consecutive days at work.

As is becoming a usual habit for me, I stayed up late watching a series on TV.  Originally, I had planned on watching Army of the Dead.  Zombies can be really exciting.  However, when I signed into Neflix, the trailer for Jupiter's Legacy caught my eye.  Or, perhaps I should say Josh Duhamel with long hair and a beard caught my eye.  Aging super heroes with kid problems.  The storyline unfolds on 2 timelines, with the stock market crash of 1929, and in the present.  The first episode introduced the kid problems, as well as a dated code of super hero ethics.  Yeah, ethics do come into play here.  Anyway, I do not doubt it is much better then Army of the Dead, which was directed by Zack Snyder, whose movies have a reputation for letting the audience down in the end.

Yesterday was a slow day for flooring sales.  I didn't mind.  Sometimes, on slow days, the next story evolves in my head.  I like that.

Politically, Adam Kinzinger had a very good day.  Republicans really should start listening to him.  Trump Republicans will not.  He knows January 6 is going to have a humongous effect of the 2022 elections, and not in a good way for Republicans.  They, on the other hand, believe 2 things:  that the losing party in a presidential election always gains seats in the House and Senate in an off year election, and that those 74 million who voted the Loser #45 are going to cast their ballots Republicans.  These are falsehoods.  The party has a reputation for falsehoods.  A large majority of Americans want a commission to investigate that insurrection.  Were that to happen, the death knell for MAGAs would start tolling.  However, preventing a commission from forming is going to start the death knell for MAGAs.  This is what happens when you sell your soul to an Orange Anus.

For the Record

Well, I did get pretty much accomplished yesterday:  bread baked, a bit of lawn work, laundry, worked on fixing the treadmill, which is going to take longer then I thought.  Horizon has yet to respond to my emails.  Looking through the assembly manual that was provided, I'm not fairly certain any and repairs are going to have to be provided by me.  Now, ain't that just wonderful?

Both the new turntable and the speakers arrived yesterday.  All my vinyl (remember we used to call them records?) has been moved downstairs.  Even though, over the years, I've given many albums away, I held on to around 150 (+) records...  shit, I said records, I mean vinyl.  Let me tell you, some of these babies are classics.  Those records... (damn!) vinyl people are buying now, I already own.  And, after decades of waiting to be played, I knew I had to chose one special album to be the first played after all of those years.  It didn't really take me long to make my choice.  Sorry if the video cuts out rather abruptly, I'm not known for my videography techniques.

Speaking of records, yesterday when I warned you about the Witch Hunt (pt 2), well not more than 2 hours later I understand Loser #45 uttered those very words.  You can bet that's shivering the timbers of the GOP.  And, of course, the House passed a bill to create a commission to investigate January 6.  I believe 35 Republicans voted with the Democrats.  It now moves to the Senate, where there's concern a Republican filibuster might kill it.  We'll have to wait and see if we can get enough Republican senators to break ranks.  Just for the record, I wouldn't be surprised if it squeaked through the Senate.  Not all Republicans are in lock step with Loser #45.