Crypto Whales

 Golly, gee whiz!  Here we are starting off the Memorial Day weekend, one of the biggest weekends for some retailers, and our outside temp is 51 (F).  The sun is out, though, so I guess that counts for something.  Don't worry, though, showers are in the forecast for later today.

I switched out the Dell keyboard I was using for an older Logi model this morning.  The Logi had been gathering dust upstairs, and the Dell?  Well, it had gotten very sticky.  Some times you needed to hit the space bar twice.  The mouse is still good; it's now attached to my sporting laptop.  The keyboard is in the trash.  However, if something happens to this Logi keyboard I'm going to have to buy another.

Yesterday was a busy, not busy and sometimes nappy type of day.  I did a load of laundry and put it out on the drying rack since the day started off sunny.  However, a few hours later, that load was brought in and thrown into the dryer because rain began falling.  A lot of cleaning was done.  It used to be my practice that when I was working on a book, I'd have a framed photo sitting on my desk, for example, I had an 8 x 10 glossy of the Tholos of Athena when I was writing The Body in History.  Honestly, it just added to the clutter on the desk, so that practice has stopped.

I baked a nice loaf of cinnamon raisin bread.  Delish.  I like to eat it toasted, with lots of butter and sugar on top.  Did I tell you it was delish?

So the Orange Anus had a crypto dinner and Northern Virginia golf club yesterday.  Honestly, this pic doesn't make it look like the classy event he bragged it up to be, does it?

Rolling Stone implied this was just another one of his cash grabs in which investors overpaid and got nothing in return.  Here's a bit from their article.

 But while the 25 biggest $TRUMP whales were treated to a more exclusive reception with the president, it seems the rest forked over that cash for little more than one another’s company, a reportedly sub-par meal, and generic remarks from Trump, who didn’t even stick around to meet anyone before catching a golf cart back to his helicopter.

I had to chuckle that they used the word "whale."  For those of you who don't know what a whale is, and I'm not talking about the sea dwelling mammal, a whale is someone who owns a large amount of Crypto who can move the crypto market significantly by either selling or buying large amounts of crypto.  Since crypto is a scam, these are wealthy scam artists who have no problem stealing investors money.  I find the fact that Orangie scammed those people who have invested heavily in his $Trump scam rather amusing.  They deserve everything they didn't get.

Fly Away

 Well, the weekend has arrived and it's a bit muggy outside.  The last time I checked, the temp was 73 (F) which might indicate this afternoon's temps might be in the mid 90s (F), however they're forecasted to be in the low to mid 80s (F).  We shall see.

I do work today.  Halloween displays should be dropping into the store on Monday, but they've already have boxed 6 foot skeletons in the main aisle.  

So, I signed up for Hulu to watch Only Murders in the Building.  The first season was okay.  I figured out "who dunnit" the instant the character appeared.  Logic, you know.  Who is the most logical person to commit a murder, not the most suspicious, though I do like playing around with suspiciousness.  Last evening I began Season 2 and got a really pleasant surprise: one of the guest starts turned out to be 89 year-old Shirley MacLaine.  What a joy to see her still acting, and being funny! 

The clam in the big tank isn't working for me.  It doesn't open until it fills with air and then the top lifts and these large bubbles escape.  I prefer the smaller bubbles of an air stone, so I will probably replace it with something I like.  The 2nd statue is in place and the live plants are beginning to spread across the gravel, and yes, the statues are all Greek gods, and they're all naked.

And I don't know if anyone else saw this blurb in all the trashy Trump talk, but on August 4 he transferred ownership of Mar a Lago to a company owned by Donny Jr.  I soon as I saw that I went "woah, this is serious."  Anybody else out there know why?  Since not everybody nodded, I'll tell you.  Should the Orange Anus choose to run, (fly-away Donny, fly away), the government could go after his assets (I'm betting Jack Smith would love that).  Now, Mar a Lago is no longer an asset for the Orange Anus.  I know that the Trump hotel in Washington is no longer one of his assets.  In fact, he's been divesting himself of properties since 2020, though his organization still manages some of them.  He is considered a flight risk.  Flying away to Moscow, or where ever, would through all of his fellow indictees under the bus, so to speak, since only a guilty man runs.  Would he be alone?  Somehow I doubt that.  Those that can't afford to go will end up in jail.

Naked!

 Thursday has arrived.  I get to work today, but for only 6 hours.  Yesterday was very showery, with rain falling on and off through most of the day.  Lots of rain.  What they call a soaker.  And, in spite of that, I got quite a lot done.  Of course, I didn't stay up late the night before binging on TV series that fill time without substance. I find that a lot of the series that air on streaming services tend to dilly dally around the plot rather than get to the point.  They present us with a host of side stories featuring peripheral characters that only vaguely touch upon the main storyline.

I took a walk through the Louvre yesterday while I was on my treadmill.  Lots of commercials.  And it was packed with people.  A word to the wise:  if you're in Paris and want to go to one of the greatest museums in the world, go early.  It opens at 0900.  Be there at 0901.  As a result, there were only 8 or 9 other people standing in front of the Mona Lisa, rather than the 200 or 300 packing the room later in the day.

And I know there are several readers who desperately wish I'd show a little skin, well, here you are, the real me in all of my naked glory reclining in the tub.  Enjoy.

Steve the scumbag Bannon, is turning himself into authorities today. It's my understanding that he's a little concerned about this indictment.  If found guilty, this one would bring him real jail time and possibly ruination.  Now, doesn't that make you feel good, the idea of Steve Bannon being ruined?  Let's be honest here, he's too old, and fat, and scabby to be very popular in prison.  Besides, I don't doubt that most inmates will see through his bullshit.

And Mitch McConnell was giving some sort of Republican presser yesterday and for the most part those journalists asking questions were playing softball, but then...  a reporter asked him about the top-secret documents Trump had a Mar a Lago.  Suddenly the presser ends, though not before Mitch informs the reporters that this investigation is all anybody has been talking about for the past month.  The words are barely out of his mouth, before he and the other Republicans make a quick exit.  Heading into the midterms, the Republicans have lost control of the conversation.  Here's a vid from Forbes.  The question is towards the end.  I found it amusing that he didn't even say 'good afternoon.'  They all just turn and high tail it out of the room.  It's almost as though a picture of Steve Bannon naked flashed in front of their eyes.

Expectations

 Well, will wonders never cease!  Well, it's actually not really a wonder, more of an error on my part, but that doesn't make it any less of a wonder.  You see, I misread my schedule.  Or, probably to be more precise, I made an assumption.  Never make an assumption.  You see, I roasted a chicken with rosemary yesterday assuming I'd take a half-breast along to work for lunch.  Wonder just when my lunch was scheduled, I checked my calendar and... Well, son of a bitch!  I'm not scheduled to work today!  Unless I request off, I always work Saturdays.  It's a given.  Except for today.  This is like a present.  I now have an extra day to fill with chores!

Last Tuesday, Biggie's vet changed up his gabapentin dosage.  She didn't increase it but said he could have another capsule in the middle of the day.  Yesterday was the first time since we've started this new regime that I saw a noticeable improvement.  without his normal aches and pains, he had much more energy yesterday, and no problems sitting down.

And since we are heading into autumn, my late summer roses are blooming.

And while common knowledge tells us to assume nothing, there are times when we can't help but assume, especially knowing the nature of certain things.  Like those 43 empty file folders the FBI recovered from Mar a Lago.  The reality is that Trump's ego mandates he prove his superiority any and every way he can, and so solidifies our assumptions he would eagerly give those documents to anyone he was trying to impress.  None of us have any problem picturing him preening as he hands over documents saying, "oh, it's nothing, just some nuclear secrets I've had lying around."  On the other hand, many thought he there was at least one thing he would do that was presidential.  That was a bad assumption.

Truly, the word assumption is a bad word in regard to Trump.  Do not assume he will do the worst, expect him to do the worst.  He's going to be at a rally up in Wilkes-Barre with the assumption being that he's going to help the foundering campaigns of Mastriano and Oz.  Instead, the reality is that this being his first rally since Mar a Lago he will spend most of his time complain about the FBI, spitting out lie, after lie, after lie.  Expect nothing less.

That's not how this works

 So, today is my 6th consecutive day of working.  Since I have a lot to say about my scheduling, this will the last time I work so many days in a row.  This week has been so out of sync.  My laundry schedule is off.  So is my cleaning schedule.  After today, I will have 3 days off.  I'll work Monday and then have another 4 days off.  That's a schedule I can live with.

While I've gotten well over 10,000 steps in each day, I haven't been on either the treadmill or the bike in over a week.  Another casualty of my schedule.  Damn.  

If the forecasters are correct, our temps are supposed to drop, with highs in the mid to upper 70s (F).  I can live with that, too.  Even though this has not been a hot summer, I will admit to looking forward to the crisp cool days of autumn.  The only bad thing is that days get shorter.  I do like long, sunny days.

My elephant ear plant is getting bigger.  What a disappointment that it took so long to start growing.  They bulbs do not winter, so I will have to check and see what'll happen if I dig it up in the fall.

Word is going around that there's a mole in Mar a Lago, that someone told the FBI exactly what they needed to look for, and where they needed to look.  Personally, if I was going to steal classified documents from the Federal Government, I wouldn't hide them in a storage unit in my basement.  Of course, this might not occur to a man who's so used to having his ego do the thinking.

After yesterday's deposition, by his own definition Trump can now officially be called a Mob Boss.  Yep, that video clip of him saying that only Mob Bosses use the 5th amendment has been playing in sooooo many places.  And that duffer didn't just use it once.  Nope.  Over 400 times he said, "same as before."  For 4 hours, those are the only three words he said, "same as before."  This will never change.

Oh, and not surprisingly, Doug Mastriano, the Republican candidate for governor in Pennsylvania had his deposition with the January 6 committee, and a rather short deposition it was, indeed.  Fifteen minutes.  You see, the first thing out of Doug's legal team's mouths was, "we have some questions."  They were told, "that's not how this works."  To which Doug's lawyers replied, "but we have some questions."  The January 6 committee responded by saying, "that's not how this works, we ask the questions, you provide the answers."  At this point, Doug and his lawyers walked out of the deposition rather rapidly.  Do you think Doug has learned how things work?  No way.  He's a spineless MAGA.

The Price of Loyalty

 Wednesday, and it's the last day that I volunteered to cover for the associate who fell off a roof.   Only 5 hours.  Yesterday's shift was slow.  I cut some carpet.  The rehab, refit, redo of the flooring department has been delayed until November.  However, we do have customers coming and checking out the rolled carpet since most of it is now on clearance.  Once it's gone, it's gone.  That is something we are all looking forward to.  

Last evening, being cheap night at the local AMC, I went to the movies.  Bullet Train.  Probably the best way to describe Bullet Train is to call it an over the top, action, thriller, comedy which deserves its R rating (violence and language).  There is no high drama here.  I liked it.  Not just because two of the characters were brothers, one named Tangerine and the other Lemon, or because one was black and the other white, or because one of them was played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson.  Brad Pitt is in the movie, too.  He plays a hired thief who replaces another hired thief who called off sick.  Every bit of dialogue is important, so you need to pay attention.  Oh, and there too many cameos to name.  

And, of course, Trump gets deposed today.  Make sure you read that correctly, I said deposed, not disposed.  There are so many lawsuits spinning around that moral degenerate I'm sure he must pay someone just to keep track of them all.  And, of course, for those who didn't know, the FBI didn't break into his safe (as he inferred) but rather cut the lock off of a storage unit in the basement of Mar a Lago.  'Breaking into my safe,' however, is so much more inflammatory.  Without his cultist's anger, he is nothing.  For Trump, the measure of a man is not what they can accomplish, but in how many people they can incite.  Angry people prove their loyalty.  However, if they die proving that loyalty, they become losers.

Bold

 Well, can we get a cheery hello to Tuesday?  Storms are predicted for this afternoon.  After they pass through our temps are supposed to drop, not that they've been super high - 2 or 3 days in the upper 90s (F).  I did have to water my little garden this morning; everything is baking.

Work was slow yesterday.  The associate who fell off the roof wasn't injured as terribly bad as I was led to believe.  I saw pictures of him yesterday.  I'd been told his nose had almost been ripped off, wrong.  He has four stiches on his left nostril.  Had I not been told he'd fallen; I'd have thought he'd been involved in a rockum sockum bar fight.  His shoulder is broken badly enough for them to put in a lot of pins, which means he'll be sitting at the flooring desk when he's not in physical therapy for the next few months.

An acquaintance emailed me a picture of a room he'd decorated all in white. While I didn't gag, a wave of somber disappointment washed over me.  White has no personality. It's a blank canvas anxiously waiting to be painted.  So, I sent back this picture saying bold is the way to go.  And dogs help.

Of course, everybody is chattering about the 'Raid on Mar a Lago."  Be honest, doesn't that sound like the title of a bad B movie?  Something that might star an aging, overweight actor who managed to get a starring role in a moving all the critics panned?  The search warrant was obtained because in all likelihood a crime has been committed.  His fan club is fuming.  These people, who had no problem dragging a wagon carrying a jailcell with Hillary Clinton inside around an arena at one of his rallies, all the while shouting, "lock her up!" are upset.  Boo Hoo.  Of course, those not wringing their brokenhearted hands are wondering what documents the moral degenerate stole.  Classified information.  Something he thought he could sell, no doubt, either to the Saudis or his blow bro Vlad Putin.  And people are seriously wondering if Trump will be indicted before the midterms.  That would be a rather bold move.

And, finally, there are primaries today in several states, one of them being Wisconsin. Ronnie Johnson?  One of the senators from Wisconsin?  He's in a bit of a snit.  You see Ronnie made some statements about Social Security, about changing it in order to slowly get rid of it.  For those who don't know, Republicans hate Social Security.  To them it represents Socialism.  Anyway, Ronnie thought he was being bold when in reality he was being brash, but then Ronnie's never been a smart guy.

Fools, Young and Old

 Today is the first day of Spring.  Don't that give you a warm fuzzy feeling?  The temps are supposed to top off in the upper 50's (F) this afternoon.  Tomorrow is forecast to be nice as well.  Monday and Tuesday the temps will reach up into the mid 60's (F), and I'm off those 2 days.  This means our garden department will be hopping.  Times goes faster when you busy, but busy also equates to more issues with orders.

Here's an odd customer story:  I sold a measure to a customer who's father works for the store way back when.  Back on January 7, after the riot is Washington, his father was sitting in the lunchroom complaining the whole thing had been staged by antifa, so I told him he was an Old Fool.  That's right.  I used those words.  And I repeated them.  He sat there whispering under his breath, "I'm not an old fool."  Well, his son put the carpet installation on hold until a month ago, and then he purchased through another specialist.  Now the son is saying the carpet is sticky.  Yep,  He's claiming the carpet sticks to his socks when he walks over it.  That's right, the Old Fool has a Young Fool son.  Sonny brought in a piece of the supposedly 'sticky' carpet, several people have walked on it in their stocking feet.  It's not sticky.  They're sending it to the manufacturer for testing.  My money says they find that it's not sticky.  We're speculating that the Young Fool is just as Cracker Jack Crazy as the Old Fool.

Speaking of fools, I read somewhere that foolish Marjorie from Georgia had her Twitter account shut down... by accident.  Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if it were a not so subtle warning for her to shut down her decisive foolishness.

Oh, and what about Mar a Lago being shut down because of a Covid outbreak.  Does anyone know if Loser #45 has returned from his legal problems in NY?  I wouldn't put it past that Old Fool to start another super spreader event just to get his name in the headlines.

 

In the Pink

 Being the ever vigilant person I am, the first thing I did this morning, after letting the dogs out and brewing a pot of coffee, was check the weather map.  Here it comes, somewhere between 3 and 8 inches.  That's during the day.  Because weather forecasting is always a gamble, there is no precision.   Tonight they're calling for an additional 10 to 18 inches.  About the only thing they're fairly certain about is that our precipitation is going to be in the form of snow.  No one has the temps topping 32 (F)  My shovels are anticipating a decent workout when the snow finally arrives, sometime between 10 and noon.

I received a voicemail from Estes regarding the delivery of my treadmill.  They said delivery was going to be delayed because of the snow.  I sent them and email:  how do you know it's going to be delayed when you haven't even set up a delivery date yet?  Still waiting for a response.

And I saw that the residents of Palm Beach  don't want the Idiot Jerk to make Mar A Lago his permanent home.  Their attorneys (yes, they have attorneys) have said that since he turned it into a private club it can no longer be used as a residence.  They listed a lot of complaints about his living there, though no mention of his stench.  They don't understand all of his encroaching legal problems will most likely keep him abroad.

Everyone is wondering if there will be any rhyme or reason to his last 30 some days in residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Don't count on it.  His dearest blow bro Vlad congratulated Biden.  I'm betting that had the Idiot Jerk sobbing into his pillow, "he hates me!  he hates me!"  One thing you can count on, he will be disruptive and destructive, but then his intention was never to leave the country in the pink.  Rather, he intended to dictate and dominate, and those plans have been thwarted.  Now we have to work on eliminating the rest of the Republican swine from public office.  Our work has just begun.