Good Riddance

 Hello Monday!  It was cold this morning.  According to Accuweather the temp was 29 (F) outside, that'll Definity put frost on the pumpkins.  Afternoon temps, however, are again predicted to climb up into the mid 50s (F).  One of these days I'll have to check out UGI (my natural gas company) to see how much money these warm temps are saving me.  You won't find me complaining, as long as hot temps during the summer don't offset my winter's savings.  This past summer we missed much of the heat and it did wonders for my electric bill.

The retail world was slow yesterday.  

I'm off today.  Usually Mondays are work days, but I requested off, firstly for a physical, but then that got cancelled because my countertop was scheduled to be installed today, but then they installed it a week earlier because...?  Maybe because it wasn't a difficult installation?  The installers were only here for bit over an hour.  One thing they did that I truly appreciated was take the old countertop away.  There was supposed to be a charge for that, but I was told not to worry about it as one of the men carried it out of the front door.

Another expense was added to my debt, a new TV.  My old Sonia Bravia was over 7 years old (really 8 because it was a 2015 model I bouth 10/23/2016).  Turning it on it meant a 2 minute wait just to load all of the tiles on the main screen.  Two years ago, my Disney subscription needed to do an upgrade the TV could barely handle (I had to clean out the cache, and 2 other files).  It happened again last week with Paramount +, it wouldn't download and upgrade.  So, tomorrow, a new LG C3 arrives.  It seems as though everything I have is beginning to break down due to old age.  Rats!

I'm going to be planting milkweed!  It's a great plant for pollinators and Monarch butterflies! It's going to be replacing the Burning Bush that was in front of my porch.

And for those who haven't seen the news, Timmy Scott is ending his campaign to be president.  Tim should have looked around at the other candidates.  He's the wrong color.  Republicans only want white men for candidates.  That's why Haley and Ramaswamy will also, eventually, drop out.  

And here's a bit to make you laugh.  Ronna McDaniel, head of the RNC, has said that even if Trump is found guilty, Republicans will stand behind him.  That's right, Republicans would rather commit political suicide than offend a single member of the Trump Cult.  Yep, they would rather drink the Kool-Aid than admit he is pure evil.  These people will never look the truth in the eye, that would mean admitting they'd sold their souls years ago for the promise of money and power.  Good Riddance, Republicans.

This is Them

 Okay, so I've started my weekly, week day weekend..  Nice.  Outside, the temp is 29 (F), which is cold.  The rest of the leaves should fall of my trees now.  Surprisingly, half of the gingko tree still has leaves.  The right half.  All the leaves on the left side fell off.  Odd.

I purchased my washer and dryer yesterday.  Ouch.  I upgraded to sensor dry, or dry-a-matic, or what ever it's called.  If this feature really works, the dryer will shut off once its sensors detect no moisture.  Electric dryers are one of the mail culprits in high electric bills, they and refrigerators make that little wheel on your meter spin nearly at the speed of sound.  We shall see if the extra expense saves money in the long run.

Both appliances are going to be delivered on 11/30.  Also purchased was a stacking kit $39.  I also need to buy the hoses for the water hookup and the power cord for the dryer.  Now tell me, wouldn't you think that buying an electric dryer, the power cord should be included in the price?  Another thing, steam cleaning is included with the washer.  Never steam your fabrics!  Steam is good for cleaning caked grease off your engine block, not your favorite, puffy pink, 100% cotton chemise.  This is them.

So, the results are nearly all in for the 2022 midterms.  This was an historic election for Democrats.  We grew our governorships.  We didn't lose horrifically in the House.  In the Senate, depending upon how the Georgia runoff goes, it's possible we will have 51 seat majority.  Now, wouldn't that be nice.  More importantly, the Republican party is approaching clusterfuck status.  Donald J. fucking Trump did not come through for them.  In fact, he was a drag.  So was abortion.  In Pennsylvania, 57% of the women voted for Fetterman, that alone was enough to get him across the winner's line.  

One of the many things this election did was the GOP, the party that loves to say "shut up, we're in charge," is that a majority of Americans do not want them in charge.  Their candidates stayed mum on the abortion issue because that thing they thought a majority of Americans would cherish, pissed Americans off instead.  They need to keep their socially conservative beliefs, like their religion, to themselves.  Lucky for America, the party is continuing to descend into chaos. The small question is will they learn from this.  Probably not.  The Orange Anus is probably going to announce his candidacy this evening and a majority of MAGA males will enjoy a premature ejaculation.  While attrition will slowly decrease their numbers, that group of losers will not go away any time soon.  

Prepping

 I'm always delighted to say "yesterday was a day of accomplishment."  That isn't because I don't normally accomplish much, mostly I think I do.  It just means that the specific goals I've set for myself, have been reached.  Yesterday the ugly, white PVC drain for my new washer was primed.  If it were in my basement, I wouldn't have given it a second thought, but since the new laundry room may at some point in the future again be used as a walk-in closet painting is necessary.  

Today, I want to get the first coat of paint on the window.  By this time next week, the trim as well as the walls, will have all been painted.  A decorative film, UV protective of course, will be on the lower window.  The top window will have a valance.  The color palette and the film are all about making the room larger than it is.  The bathroom will be repainted in the same color.

I've decided which washer and drying I'm going to purchase.  They're LG (Life's Good) appliances with a 10 years warranty.  Ten years is a long time.  Who knows where I'll be a decade from now.  The house is paid for, that means it's rent free, of the main benefits of home ownership.  It may end up being home port to which I can always return.

My dahlias are still blooming, as are my roses.  Next week the temps are supposed to climb into the mid-70s.  Even though I haven't had a frost yet, this is Indian Summer.   Maybe.

So, Oprah has endorsed John Fetterman.  Not a big Oprah fan, myself, though I will admit she does wield a lot of power.  She has many, many fans.  The fact that she's not endorsing Oz, a quack who was on her show for many years, should not be dismissed lightly.  

Five days from the midterms and both parties believe they'll be victorious.  Will there be chaos on November 8?  Do not disregard in the least the anger of election deniers if their party loses.  For them, The Big Lie is everything.  Segments of the Christian population are devolving.  They have become a cult that will have no problem doing what ever Trump asks of them.  January 6 may have only been foreshadowing.  His pundits, Ingraham, Carlson, Hannity, on Fox, have no problem in both inciting and justifying violence.  They do not understand that America will fight back.  People might die.  And for Donald Trump, a MAGAs death demonstrates the greatest loyalty he could ever wish for.

Kiss My Ass

 Mid-week, long weekend.  I started a 4 day stretch yesterday afternoon when I left work.  This is nice.  I have the same schedule next week.  A regular schedule is nice.  Being a morning person, I accomplish more before going to work than I do at the end of the work day, so the mid-week, long weekend will be nice.

One of my associates had one of "those" customers yesterday; a gentleman who had a quote and then left it expire.  As a result, the charge for disassembling a bed went from $75 per bed to $100 per bed.  He came in and began complaining that this increase had not been pointed out to him when he paid for the installation.  We had no problem adjusting that charge back, but what he really wanted was for us to adjust the charge off completely.  His arguments were small and insignificant and were never going to get him what he wanted, so he played his trump card.  He said "so, let's just cancel the 2nd floor installation completely, that way I won't have to worry about the charges."  So, we played our trump card, "sure you can cancel, but because your flooring has already shipped, there will be a $1000 restocking fee."  The customer was unhappy.  I have no problem with that.  We deal with people like him on a daily basis.

I have settled on which washer and dryer I'm going to purchase.  Whirlpool makes the best appliances, however their stackable washer and drying are too wide and too tall.  That left their competitors.  Samsung has the longest lifespan, but I can tell you from past experience if there's a warranty issue you will lose.  It looks like LG is going to get my business. 

And, of course, there was a debate in Ohio last evening, JD Vance vs Tim Ryan.  I didn't watch, but kept seeing little blurbs come through on my news feeds.  In a smart move by Ryan, he brought up Trump's appearance in Ohio, zeroing in on Trumps comment that Vance "likes to kiss my ass."  Kiss my ass was brought up a number of times.  To be honest, back when Trump said that at Vance's rally, I was stunned.  He likes to kiss my ass.  Think about it.  The truth is Vance was truly kissing Trump's ass just to get him on that stage. Now, we know that all MAGAs want to kiss Trump's ass, but Independent voters?  Not so much.  Independent voters out number MAGAs/  I'm suspecting they don't really want an ass kisser representing Ohio in the Senate.

New phone

So, I'm getting a new phone.  Nine months ago I was also in the market for a new phone, looking for a replacement for my aging S4.  Back then I looked at a lot of reviews for many different makes, a minor adventure in pointlessness; no matter who was publishing the review, it was most likely written by a fanboy (or girl).  There is no neutrality.  The negatives are always minor since no one wants to actually dissuade from avoiding one specific phone.  I ended up choosing an LG which turned out to not be a very good fit, which is why, 9 moths later, I'm getting a new phone.  One my biggest complaints was not being able to adjust the screen sensitivity.  You have no idea how many apps I accidentally turned on while putting the phone back into my pocket.  Talk about draining your battery fast.
And in case anybody is wondering, iphones don't even enter the picture.  I have never been what I call and 'applehead,' an individual infatuated with Apple.  Now, I don't discriminate, in fact I have several friends who are 'appleheads.'  Brandon, for example, talks to Siri all of the time.  He's always asking his phone questions, mostly, I think, because the first time Siri answered back he experienced some sort of mini-rapture.  Another example is the HR woman in my store who switched from an iphone to a Galaxy for... oh, 4 days, and then went back to an iphone.  When I asked her why she said, "oh, it was just too complicated."
Anyway, I ordered an S8 - it should be here on Wednesday.  Orchid Gray.  You see, I like things that are complicated, well, that's not exactly true, I don't find Samsung phones complicated.
Also, certain other phones weren't even in consideration.  Anything related to, or using Microsoft was out of the picture; not android compatible.

Well, I'm off today and I've got a ton of outside chores to get done before the temps creak in the low 90's.  

The Ugly Truth about Extended Warranties

I have worked in retail for many years, some as a part-time associate and some as a full time associate, so I am quite familiar with those extended warranties retailers so desperately want you to purchase.  They love that little add on since a vast majority of the time, it's money in their bank.  Let me explain.  If you were an appliance manufacturer, like Whirlpool, would you want to build, say a dishwasher, which breaks down after three years?  The idea is to create a brand saturated with consumer loyalty.  Whirlpool is not going to grow that loyalty if their products are shoddy and need repairs after three or even four years.  This means they are going to build something which is going to survive longer then an extended warranty.  When it does finally break down, they want you to buy another Whirlpool product, not go with Samsung or LG.  Retailers don't give a shit about how long a product lasts, they just want you to buy the extended warranty since they put a lot of money in their bank account.  This is not to say there are not a few consumers out there who have not purchased and used these warranties, but they are a rare breed.

I did some research to find out who exactly buys these extended warranties and was surprised to find out low income people, those that are the least financially fortunate, tend to purchase them.  Of course major retailers don't really care about how much money you make they just want you to buy them: out of poor pockets into theirs.  Doesn't that seem a little unethical?  The largest group, how  ever, are those who don't want to worry about their appliances breaking down.  Now I don't know about you, but I tend to put some time into research before I go out and buy any large ticket item.  I look at online reviews, Consumer Reports, check out how many stars the product gets at Amazon; there are a vast number of resources out there.  When I make a purchase I want to make sure I'm getting the best bang for my buck.  I sleep well at night.  Unfortunately there are a lot of pudding heads out there who do not do that.  No, they will go from appliance showroom to appliance showroom who will always end up extolling the wonders of their own brand of extended warranty.  Holy Shit, when are people going to get smart and do the research, it doesn't really take that much time.  It's also feels great to walk into a showroom and say "I'll take this refrigerator in white," and when they move into extended warranty territory say "actually, this refrigerator has a lifetime expectancy of around thirteen years, so you can take that $400 extended warranty you want me to buy and use it to wipe your butt."