Not in our DNA

 The new week.  Temps are predicted to be nice and warm today.  The should be in the low 50s (F).  Tomorrow they're calling for warm temps, though not as hot, with average temps being in the mid 40s (F).  Hopefully the weather will stay fairly warm as I suspect energy bills are going to go through the roof.

I did work yesterday.  A customer set up a measure.  Two other customers returned a book of roller shade fabric samples, they want to speak to the associate who's exceptional at blinds.  I wanted to say that now might not be a good time to spend a couple thousand dollars on blinds.  We also got word that on February 10, our free carpet installation is going to go away.  We will now charge .49 a square foot.  There was actually a charge for installation, it was in the cost of the carpet pad.  Now they have to pay for the carpet pad and the installation.  I think business is going to slow down greatly.

I canceled my subscriptions to Paramount, Peacock, and Amazon Prime this morning.  The Amazon subscription just renewed in November and they charge by the year, so I will still be getting the benefits for the next 277 days.  There was a time when the channel was worth the money, but now except for the few original movies, everything is rent or buy.  I did keep up my subscriptions to Disney/Hulu and Neflix for the time being.  

I've been trying to take selfies of Howie and myself; this can be quite difficult.  Here's our latest, Selfie #2

And today is going to be... difficult for some people.  There is a good possibility that Wall Street might crash because of Trump's tariffs.  Stock futures are not looking too good.  I do think many Trumpers thought that the shift to an authoritarian government, one that they dictate, would be relatively painless.  They are about to discover how wrong they are.  Sometime today, after Wall Street opens, their 401Ks will begin to suffer as stocks drop in value.  They will take years to recover, if they recover at all.  At some point protests will begin, first in blue states and then in red states as the general population begin to realize that prices are never going to come down.  Conservatives have never understood the American public.  They have always believe that all they needed to do was be in charge, to yell "shut up! we're in charge," and the American people would act like docile lambs and obey.  They simply don't understand that for a vast majority of Americans, that docility is not in our DNA.

Supposedly

 Well, a new work week has arrived.  Accuweather is still predicting rain for today and tomorrow, however a look at the forecast shows us just having showers on and off throughout the next 48 hours.  What that means is that we're not going to see the sun until sometime on Wednesday afternoon.   It also means I'm going to have to mow my lawn before the end of the week.  Temps may be a bit cooler right now, but the azaleas and the dahlias are still bloomin' their pants off.  

As I expected, yesterday was a very slow day at the store.  I sat around.  I talked to associates.  Surprisingly, I did get a lead for a blind installation, as well as a measure for flooring, though the flooring measure was for vinyl planks not carpet.  They really want their carpet measures.  We probably make more on a them.

The new dishwasher arrives tomorrow, the electrician on Wednesday, and Lyndsey should have all of the new drywall up and the cabinets hung the following week.  Some of the plumbing I'm going to do my self, but the dishwasher hook-up is going to be done by a plumber.  After all of that is done, I'm going to put down the new vinyl plank flooring.  I'm waiting for the new countertop until sometime in December.

I did renew Peacock, they offered me a deal.  $1.99 a month for 6 months.  After that, I will probably keep it for a month or two and then cancel the subscription.  Hopefully another deal will come around just before the Tour de France.

So, is the government going to shut down?  There's a good possibility it might happen.  If it does, guess who looks bad to Independent voters?  Not the Democrats.  Nope.  Democrats are just sitting on their hands waiting for it to happen.  They don't even have to point their fingers.  Thank you Main Stream media.  It will be interesting to see how Fox handles it if it happens.  

Oh, and Rupert Murdoch is stepping down.  Supposedly there's so much bad blood in that family.  Conservatives are actually saying that Lachlan Murdoch is actually Woke, whatever the hell that is.  Another supposedly is that Rupert wishes Trump would die.  Now.  I suspect because backing him has cost Fox sooooo much money.  While I can't be certain, I say that, just supposedly, that might be the main reason Rupert is stepping down.  His decision to back the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump, has cost the network dearly, and the expenses have not stopped.  There are other lawsuits approaching faster than the $$$ are flying out of the Fox bank account. 

Price Increases

 The for this weekend is going to be Soggy.  Ophelia has arrived.  Now, I know that most of you out there think of Shakespeare when you hear that name, as she was the one told to "git theeself to a nunnery," and, of course, before the young thing can go, she ends up drowning.  In current day, however, Ophelia is a tropical storm which may become a baby hurricane for a little bit, and she's churning up the east coast with her final destination being somewhat south and west of us.  Right now the prediction is that we're going to get at least 2 inches of rain, possibly more.  I hope Bob and Carlos have their waders ready because they're probably going to get a few more inches then we do here in Central PA.

The rain is going to drive retail sales down.  For those who need some form of definition: today and tomorrow are going to be slow at the great orange retailer I work for.  This means I'll be sitting quietly at the flooring desk, most likely making notes for the smashing conclusion of The Body in Motion.  

I saw where Amazon Prime is going to begin charging those customers who wish to avoid commercials.  They're saying this is necessary to pay for the extensive entertainment they are providing.  Wrong.  For those of you who aren't paying attention, there's a writer's and an actor's strike going on right now and I don't doubt that studios, including Disney, Netflix, and Amazon, will give those striking much of what they want, but it is you and I who will be footing the bill.  Corporate profit is everything to these entertainment behemoths.  What viewer really need to do is start a boycott to reign in these price increases.  Hah!  That will never happen.  People are too weak.  What would they do if they couldn't watch Peacock, or Paramount +?  Read a book?

Paradoxically, and possibly on a bright note, once the strike is over production is going to begin on Troll 2.

And, as you might expect, the country is turning to the chaos that has overwhelmed the Republican party.  Their Just Say No tactic is backfiring is a very public way, with many media outlets now pointing to the complete collapse of what ever governing skills they might have once had.  Their refusal to compromise may satisfy that vary small minority that makes up the ultra-far right, but the rest of the nation is looking at them and a total failure of the conservative movement.  Of course, they don't get it because that would mean their beliefs are anti-American, keep in mind, however that in their vision, American has a far right, authoritarian government.

  

The Long Run

 Well, happy Sunday, slow day.  I don't work today, so it is almost truly going to be a day of rest... hey, who am I kidding.  Later this morning there will be a mowing of the lawn, and the loading of the washer (at least 3 times), and the emptying of the dryer.  I might even get a ride in, if I don't get bogged down.  Sundays are a good day for bogging down, in case you didn't know.

I was planning on watching the last episode of Star Trek's Strange Journeys last evening, but Paramount + needs an update and my TV was not being very receptive.  Instead, I watched the first episode of Moonhaven on AMC +, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  Since AMC + is a subscription service, as is Paramount +, after the season finale of Star Trek, I'll probably drop the Paramount and subscribe to AMC.  Then, probably in December, I'll flip back, cancelling the subscription to AMC and resubscribing to Paramount.  There is no reason I should be paying for a service I'm not using.

For those who don't know, the Tour de France is cycling, and sprinting, and climbing through the French countryside.  During previous years I watched as many stages as possible.  This year?  Well, NBC Sports, which carries the race merged with its parent company and is now part of Peacock TV, the NBC subscription service.  Without cable, I can only subscribe to Peacock TV through my Xbox (Microsoft).   Well, that isn't going to happen anytime soon.  I don't want to have 3 different pieces of electronic gear turned on to watch one network.  Life needs to be more simple, less complicated.

As I was taking some garbage out this morning, I saw a black cat staring at me from the top of the hill behind my house.  I had a black cat named Kiki a long time ago.  Could this be her ghost?

There's a lot of chatter going on about Biden's age.  Is he too old?  I think so.  But then I also think Nancy Pelosi is too old, as is Diane Feinstein (way too old), and that moral degenerate Mitch McConnell.  Your brain, like your body, changes through the years.  Older brains are not as resilient.  I say this as someone who is as someone who is aging.  This does not mean I'm less creative, I do, however, think I'm directing my creativity much better than when I was younger.  I am quicker to ponder taking action rather than simply jumping into the fray. This is not a drawback in my personal life, however there is a great difference between managing my life and managing the country.  Older people tend to be more hardened in their ways, less open to compromise.  In case you haven't noticed, I am very opinionated.  Someone needs to tell Uncle Joe there is nothing wrong with being a transitional president.  He will be better accepted and respected in the long run.

Individuality

 Well, I get to go back to work today... and I have to wait 3.5 weeks until I have another of my Staycations.  How miserable is that?  heavy sigh

Quite a lot was accomplished yesterday, including a mowing of the lawn and a wacking of the weeds.  I will need to wack them more and more often.  There used to be lawn there, too.  The ugly truth is I need to wack to weeds to get the grass to grow.

I harvested peaches, there are still too many on the tree.  And so far, the squirrels have not eaten all of my nectarines.  They are growing much more slowly.

Using my Rouvy app, I road the Applegate route, which is in California wine country.  Lots of nice sized hills - good for the legs.  It took over 55 minutes and that time flew by.  The last time I rode Applegate was in November of 2019 - wow!

And I signed up for Peacock (NBC / Universal's streaming service for... FREE!  I had read there was a $4.99 per month charge and I didn't stick around to see if I had only signed up for a trial week.  

Does anyone ever tell non-binary people they can never be an individual?

Crap!  I have to remember to do my 'health check' before going into work.

I ordered a picture frame from Amazon for a little project I'm working on.  The sucker was supposed to arrive 6/16.  Well, it still hasn't shipped.  Problems, I suspect.  So I went into cancel the order, I used another frame to finish the project, and got an email from Amazon that I couldn't cancel because the vendor was preparing to ship the frame.  Well, it's 6/18 and that sucker still hasn't shipped.  I will return it because it arrived to late.  The project is finished.

For those who haven't realized this yet, I'm am a very decisive individual.  I make up my mind fast, with little deliberation unlike some who are, as I say, always 'dickin' around.  Believe me, I deal with indecisive people, people who need to purchase what's 'popular.'  It's so easy for some to fall into the 'trendy trap.'  This is how life is. Make up your own mind, decide for yourself.

I understand the Republicans held some sort of news conference on Tuesday (I only heard about it this morning).  According to them, the United States is in crisis mode... unfortunately most don't see that.  The real crisis for them is that they no longer control neither the House, nor the Senate, nor the Presidency, and so they are desperately trying to create a number of monument crises.  They are a good example of herd mentality.  I don't believe there's more then 2 or 3 good individuals among them.