The Body in 4/4 Time - the video

Good morning!  We have 67 (F) outside and fog for miles and miles.  The sun is attempt to shine through and I don't doubt that very soon it will.  We have a lot of humidity.  No showers are in our forecast, just higher temps.  By Thursday we should be able to cook an egg on the sidewalk, unless you have a dog named Howie who will eat that sucker up before it has a chance to sizzle.

Work was slow yesterday.  Our store did not make plan for last week.  The dreaded lead table was not set up.  Maybe they realized, as Treaders suggested, no one was really going to sign up for a $10,000 home improvement project just to get a hot dog.  I'll be interested in whether or not they decide to set it up for next weekend.  It's a holiday.  Historically, traffic is not heavy on the Fourth of July.  Too many people are having cook-outs and barbeques.  Besides, the temperature is going to be around 102 (F).  The only ones showing up are gong to be those believing we're going to be running special holiday sales.  We do run specials, but they tend to be at the end of fiscal months, fiscal quarters, and halves, and at year end.

So, I've been toying around with making a short video introducing The Body in 4/4 Time, and the results are... okay.  If I had spent more time, I might have been able to emphasize a downbeat, or played around with the subtitles, which are gone in the blink of an eye.  Still, the beat is there, though I guess for some the question will be "is this 4/4 time?"  After all, it is really all about the beat.

And Orangie's great Freedom America fair continues to fail.  This is like his failed military parade.  He so desperately wanted it to be like his Blo Bro Vlads, whose parade this year was extensively toned down because he was afraid the Ukraine would blow it up. Things are so bad in Russia, that this past week when Vlad addressed the Russian congress and told that that the country had difficult times ahead.  He's losing the war.  It turns out that the great authoritarian government he bragged about to the world was nothing more than propaganda.  All of those authoritarian conservatives, like Jim Jordan and the rest of his ilk who dreamt of creating an American version are now finding out that they fell in love with smoke and mirrors.  It seems as though the Ukraine has all of the cards, while Vlad doesn't even have enough talent to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

The US Supreme Court is set to release 8 decisions today. That's right.  Today we learn if Alito, and Thomas, and Roberts cement their positions as the worst, most despicable, anti-democracy members of the court in the history of this country.  I'm betting they do.

We're going to be cookin'

The skies are overcast here in Central PA.  We had a lot of drizzles yesterday, but nothing even coming close to a steady, soaking rain.  The  clouds are supposed to clear this afternoon.  Temps are supposed to begin warming up.  Boy, are they supposed to begin warming up.  By the end of this week our temps are going to be stinkin' hot.  When I looked at the long range forecast, I had to take a moment.  Trying to remember, I don't think I've ever seen a forecast with highs this... high.  We've already had a heat wave with temps grazing around the 100 (F).  These temps are going to be even hotter.

I got a decent workout in yesterday.  I also finished the first chapter of The Body in the Words.  Style-wise, more changes are going to be happening with this book.  

I also worked yesterday.  They've started doing what they call a "lead table" again.  Yesterday they were trying to bribe customers with a hot dog.  If they sign up to have someone talk to them about having a major home improvement done, they got a free hot dog.  Basically, you're wasting an hour of your time standing there talking to no one.  Still, someone in corporate thinks this is a good idea.

And for those wondering, here's our long range forecast.

And one of the things I find particularly sad is that conservatives, so desperate to force a conservative authoritarian government on America saw Russia as a good example of how they should do it.  And now Russia is falling apart.  Imagine, believing Putin's line of propaganda for 26 years only to find out that it was nothing more than horseshit.  What are conservatives going to now?  Why, fail of course.  They've always been failures as human beings, and now they're going to do it in a spectacular fashion on the world stage.

To end on an amusing note.  A lot of people are beginning to believe that Mitch McConnel has died and they're keeping a lid on that fact.  If it were made public, Andy Bashear, the governor of Kentucky, might replace him with a Democrat.  Ouch!

Stay Tuned

 Good morning world!  Here in Central PA we've got thick clouds overhead.  The humidity is even thicker.  Rain is on the way.  Our daily high will only be in the mid 70s (F)  One good thing about this weather is that I'll not have to water my raised garden.

Speaking of the garden, I've got lots of tomatoes on the vine and even tiny cucumber or two.  So far there are no peppers.  I will be disappointed if I don't get at least one Poblano.  The eggplant has lots of leaves, but so for no blooms.

My movie buddy Patty used to be a dental assistant, so she and I spent a lot of time texting after yesterday's dental fiasco.  It turns out that the dental work they billed me for is the work that's supposed to be done in November.  I paid for work the invoice lists as being done on quadrants 3 and 30 and those are on the left side of my mouth.  There was a serious communication breakdown.  Because this was their mistake my visit in November will be free.  If they try and charge me, I'm going to have to raise my voice.

Otherwise yesterday was fine.  I was in Bavaria for a nice, if hilly bike ride.  Then I putzed around for a bit before playing Balder's Gate 3.

Since the next book is taking place near the town of Ballymoney, County Antrim, in Northern Ireland, I thought it fitting that I should be listening to Irish folk music.  Right now, this is playing.  And no, there are no Irish dancers in the book... yet.  Maybe when they get to the Iris pub.

Of course, the American State Fair is off to a rocky start.  Honestly, who in their right mind would even think that anything done by the Orange Anus would be a success.  Ten states are not involved, and those that did send something?  Let's see... Alaska sent an area rug.  Illinois sent a small display about corn.  Basically they have a Ferris wheel, boring booths, and no funnel cakes.... Wait!  They're having a state fair with out funnel cakes?  Looking at the pictures reinforces the fact that everything Orangie touches dies.

And it appears that Orangie's blow bro Vlad is having a rough day in Russia.  His military is not happy with him because he took a large part of their air defense away from them so it could be used to protect those military targets the Ukraine keeps blowing up.  Their running low on gas thanks to Ukrainian drones.  Skyrocketing inflation is pissing off the people. And Vlad?  Any change in his plans would mean his calculations were wrong, that he made a horrible mistake. Will there be a coup?  Lots of whispers are swirling.  If there is, will Russia go through a civil war?  Stay tuned.

The Memorial Weekend Begins

So, here we are on Saturday morning, the first day of a three day weekend, a holiday weekend, and our outside temp is 49 (F), and we have a steady rain.  Folks, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, but here in Central PA, it ain't gonna get much better.  Our high temp might be in the low 60s (F).  I'm not talking about a patch of rain, nor a swath of rain, I'm talking about an enormous sheet of rain covering almost the entire northeast of the country.  The skies are not going to start clearing up until sometime on Monday.   Tuesday's going to be nice.  That's a good thing.  I don't work on Tuesdays and I am definitely going to have to mow the lawn.

Yesterday was sort of busy.  I didn't cook anything special.  Dinner was ham salad.  That was the last of the Easter ham.  I did some grocery shopping.  I bought a ham hock so perhaps on Tuesday I'll make bean soup.  I have tons of dried beans, some wrinkly old potatoes, so I'll probably stop off at the supermarket on my way home from work tomorrow and pick up a carrot or two.  

I am scheduled to work this afternoon.  I'm not expecting it to be busy.  It is the holiday weekend.  Those who do show up will only be doing so because they're looking for the Memorial Day sales.  In the flooring department, we're doing a free install on specialty carpet.  Up until about 8 months ago, all of our carpet installs were free.  Then they began charging so could see an install charge on their quote, however, to offset this they lowered all of the carpet prices.  Then, 3 months ago, they repriced carpet according to density and... if you guessed that 70% of our carpets went up in price you'd be right.  And that increase was more than the amount they deducted to offset the install charge.  Remember, it's all about insuring that the customer pays as much as possible. It's all about greed.

And here's another picture of some of my roses.

What about Tulsi Gabbard quitting?  She's always been seen as a Russian asset, so I'm suspecting Putin has more important issues for her to attend.  I'm suspecting that perhaps her resignation was a mutual decision by both her and Orangie.  In his mind women are good for one thing, and one thing only, and diplomacy is not that one thing.  I also suspect that Orangie's blow bro Vlad is not too happy with Orangie's performance.  One of his main objectives, after all, was to insure that Ukraine capitulated.  Now that Ukraine is kicking Vlad's booty boy ass in so many Russian cities, it must be obvious to Vlad that Orangie is too untethered to be any use at all to him.  Even the real estate goons, Witkoff and Kushner seem to have disappeared form the negotiating stage, and both had some serious ties to Vlad.  I'm suspecting that Orangie's abysmal approval ratings have turned him into the biggest political anchor the world has ever seen.

Bombing Moscow

Yesterday the temp got up to 89 (F).  I consider that warm.  Today and tomorrow the forecasters are saying that our high temps are going to hit 98 (F).  That's hot.  That's mid July weather, not middle of the month of May weather.  Thursday a cooling trend is predicted to start with high temps for the rest of the week hovering in the mid to upper 70s (F).  Start prepping for the heat waves now.

I had lunch with my friend Betsy yesterday.  We always do Chinese buffet for the meal and Dairy Queen for the dessert.  This is our routine.  Conversation is always good.  Sometimes if revolves around age, since both of us are getting older; there ain't no stopping that.   She rents and I feel bad about that for her.  But then at some point, all of us seniors will end up paying some form of rent, either to a landlord or to a senior living facility.  American capitalism dictates that unless we are wealthy, we will always owe.  At least I will have a financial cushion when I sell my house.  That's something many will not have.

The thought had occurred to me to take the day off using the warm temps as an excuse, but I probably won't. It's not as though I have any plans to occupy my time.  So, I suppose I'll be punching for my normal Monday shift.

And here's a real old pic of me from high school.  While this isn't dated, I think it's from 1969, the year I graduated.  This was long before I could grow a moustache.  Don't those lapels rock!

One of the things that came up in my conversation with Betsy yesterday was, as you might expect, the Orange Anus.  She had a very dim view of our future, believing the Republicans are going to destroy everything.  I did my best to convince her otherwise, whether I was successful or not is anybody's guess.  It did brighten her day when I showed her the pics and videos of Moscow being hit by drones and missiles.  It's my understand that internet coverage was shut down in large swaths of the country.  A spokesperson for Orangei's blow bro Vlad shrieked that Ukraine had stooped to terrorism, and the world laughed at him.  Vlad's in a bit of a stinky mood.  He had to cut short his VE parade.  The Russia economy is in the shitter.  He's relying on North Korean solders to help on the battlefield.  And now Moscow being bombed.  I'm wondering how long it will be before he slips, trips, and falls out of a wndow.

And finally, the blasphemers gathered on the Washington Mall yesterday in an attempt to spread their heresy.  Like everything associated with the Orange Anus and his regime, the fools our going to fail badly.  Everything he touches dies.

Vlad's Teeny, Tiny Party

So, it's Sunday, a day of rest, and I'm going to work all day.  My rest days are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.  Hopefully the weather will be warmer on those days. That doesn't mean it's not going to get warm today.  This afternoon's temp is going to be in the low 70s (F).  Tomorrow, however, the daily highs are will start a run of afternoon highs in the upper 60s (F).  Believe me, those are not bad temps.  There are very few of us who want to jump into the hot, hot days of summer.

I have no workouts scheduled on Saturdays, so yesterday was a rather easy day for me.  I did do things in the morning.  This doesn't mean that anything was actually done.  Drizzle started in the morning and ended fall throughout Central PA until mid afternoon.  Eventually the sun came out, so when I left work everything was nice.

Retail was interesting.  I sold my tile floor job.  I got a measure.  Management should be happy.  I'm going to miss my sales goal for the week, but then sales are down.  Biggly.  How do I know?  I can see all of the sales figures for every flooring specialist in our district.  Of the over 25 flooring specialists, only a handful have positive numbers. That tile job I sold was for $902.  People are beginning to cheap it out.

Here's a pic of the purply flowers I bought.  They'll be planted tomorrow morning.

So, Orangie's blow bro Vlad threw a party for Victory Day and nobody came... well, that's not quite right.  There was a small crowd.  I believe the fact that there was a internet blackout over all of Moscow probably had something to do with that.  Also, the fact that there was a threat of a Ukrainian attack might have effected the turnout as well.  The North Koreans were there.  I didn't see an exact count, but it may have been that there were more North Koreans marching in the parade than Russians, perhaps because so many Russians have died in Putin's useless war.  He's becoming a very unpopular person in Russia, and this is good.

And the fallout continues to grow for Orangie's golden statue.  You know it's bad when is televangelist friend and crackpot Mark Burns is running around shrieking "it's not a golden calf!"  No, it isn't.  It's a 22 foot golden statue of Orangie swathed in a flowing robe, and he prayed over it and blessed it.  Mark Burns must not believe in the 2nd commandment.

Finally, Secretary of Transportation is getting a lot of grief because he and his family recorded a reality TV show of them traveling across the country.  Maybe if he were doing his job, a man wouldn't have been hit and killed by a Frontier plane taking off yesterday.  That's right, a man was hit by a plane.

The Serpent with the Golden Tongue

 Okay, so last night was a little cold.  This morning our temp was 41 (F).  Oddly enough, they were calling for a frost warning.  I didn't see the warning which ended a short time ago, but with overnight lows in the 40s (F) there's no way we're going to have frost.  Today we start warming up again.  By Wednesday we should be in the upper 70s(F), but only for a day.  Another cold front is expected to move through the region and daily highs will drop back into the upper 60s (F).

Retail was hopping in our garden department yesterday.  There was a bit of a breeze and the temps were in the mid 50s (F), but it was so very sunny.  Today's going to be a repeat.  My flooring customer called and said she had been called in to work and so she'd be showing up today to purchase.  I also received a call from one of my carpet installs, he, too, will be showing up today.  This means I should be processing 2 sales today.  Management will like that.

I've almost reached level 80 on Expedition 33.  On my first play through, as soon as the Paintress was dispatched, I moved directly onto the endgame without even attempting some of the areas on the map, those that were far more difficult.  This time I'm effecting the challenge.  And even though the boss fights are extremely brutal, they're still a lot of fun.  I'm also learning so much more about the war between the writer's and the painters, and how it was the older daughter, Clea's jealousy and anger reached malevolent proportions.  Tonight I'm going to the Isle of Eyes.

Overnight, the Orange Anus said the Cuba was going to be next.  If you didn't expect this, you haven't been paying attention, or else you're not getting your information from the right sources.

In recent days leakers from the administration at first told us that Orangie wanted to be classified in the same group of powerful people as Alexander the Great, and Napoleon.  However, his mental deterioration has continued and we're now hearing the believes himself to be the most powerful man to ever have lived.  It's his ego, you know?  And with him talking with Putin so frequently, you know his blow Bro, Vlad, is encouraging his dementiated state.  There are some who think Vlad has extreme dirt on Orangie, I know, I used to think that.  However, more and more, as Orangie  attempts world domination, I'm think that he's being encouraged by Vlad, the serpent with the golden tongue.  Remember, in Orangie's mind Vlad is one of the greatest dictators in the world, andpraise from him is more than enough incentive to do the worst things in the world.

Blasphemy

Temps are warming up here in Central PA quite a bit.  By Thursday, we should be in the lower 90s (F).  I'm sorry, but we're still in April.  That's way too hot for this time of the year.  We will cool off a bit, with one forecasted day of temps in the mid 50s (F), but most days our afternoon highs will be in the upper 60s (F) to mid 70s (F).  I'm betting we start selling window A/C units like they're going out of style.

I did work yesterday.  Flooring was slow.  Our garden department was kicking.  I got my laps.  Our garden associates were sweating their little patooties off. I know this for a fact because on my trek through the store I saw a patootie lying on the floor in Aisle 55, next the the garden fertilizer, and it was definitely wearing what was left of an orange apron.  Here's a word to the wise, if you're shopping for curb appeal, looking for garden supplies, or feel the urge to peruse the petunias, do it on a weekday.  While there are those who still believe weekends were made for Michelob, there are many more who don't understand that visiting a home improvement garden center on a weekend means long lines and short tempers.

On the bright side, I did manage to sell 2 install measures.  

Otherwise yesterday was same old, same old, and might have been about as quiet a day as we get with this administration, and then this happened.  True, it is AI, but it gives you a good idea of what's going on in Orangie's head.

He posted this after attacking Pope Leo for being weak.  The truth is that Orangie knows that Pope Leo is a very popular religious leader, and Orangie, in his demented state, needs his cult to see him as a very popular religious leader.  Or maybe he felt he needed to do something to change the subject of Vik Orban's landslide loss to some other subject, something more authoritarian, something more blasphemous.  If that was his intention, he somewhat succeeded, at least in America.  People keep asking how can he be even more outrageous, well, they simply need to stop asking because he will undoubtedly find away.

And Vik Orban did lose badly in Hungary.  Tisza party needed a super majority of seats to take total control and then ended up with 138.  Orbie Baby lost so badly he had no choice but to concede.  Keep in mind Orbie still has allies in the government who will try to stall and hinder Hungary from moving to full Democracy.  But his loss was a sucker punch to Putin.  I'm betting Vlad is more than a little miffed.  His war with the Ukraine is now in it's 5th year and his budso Vik just got the shit kicked out of him in a general election.  

Fashion This

We have 65 (F) outside and light rain, in fact Howie got drizzled on because I didn't know the morning showers had started.  Thunderstorms are expected this afternoon.  Once the pass, we will have more seasonal temps with daily highs climbing into the mid to upper 50s (F).  Warmer days are on the way.

Yesterday was a good day.  In the morning, both my furnace and central air conditioner were serviced by Berkheimer HVAC.  This will now be a yearly occurrence.  Both units are fine.  The tech asked about bees since there were wood bees hovering around the front porch.  He's allergic.  I asked him if he had a pen with him, and he told me it was in his truck. I told him I get wood bees every year.  I spray, and then they're gone.  Howie was very good.  I used a tiny gate to keep him in the kitchen, and he just sits there and quietly watches.

I also got a 9.4 mile bike ride in on Achill Island, Ireland.  It was very nice.  I've ridden this route before, so I made it one of my favorites.  

Some time was also spent watching a Blender tutorial.  Blender is animation software that I can run on my laptop.  

And something truly odd is happening.  Back in January I went to check the mail and found a Wine Spectator magazine in my mailbox.  I can see by the label that someone must have signed me up for a subscription, since it expires in 12/26.  Yesterday I found a print copy of GQ in my mailbox.  At the top of the mailing label it says "Welcome to GQ."  If someone is gifting me subscriptions, they evidently don't know me to well.  While I will page through the Wine Spectator before putting it in the recycle bin, but GQ?  Fashion?  I don't even have enough curiosity to page through it once.

As many expected, the Orange Anus signed an Executive Order attempting to limit voting by mail, even though he votes by mail.  The administration wants a list of all registered voters so they can decide who exactly is eligible to vote.  This morning the Washington Post said it's "probably unconstitutional."  They used the word probably because Orangie gave Bezos that super tax break.  Orangie said he will defund the states that don't give him every voter's name.  Hhhm, makes one wonder what he's going to do if the states stop paying the Federal Government taxes.  

In fact, Orangie had a very bad day yesterday.  His ballroom was canceled, at least until Congress votes to build it.  As the judge said, Orangie "is the caretaker, not the owner."  Another judge said Orangie can't defund NPR and PBS.  And more European countries have said that the United States fly over their airspace to bomb Iran.  This pissed him off royally.  No matter how much he shrieks, they are not going to kiss his ass.

Just one more bit.  Because there is some serious dissatisfaction in Russia over so many things, Putin has decided to start shutting down sections of the Internet.  He's also actively shutting down VPNs because apparently many Russians use them to get around his propaganda machine.  Someone should tell him that's only going to exacerbate the situation.

 

With Friends Like These

We had rain all day yesterday, that continued into the night.  The temps stayed rather warm, which is good.  Even though Spring is only 2 weeks away, we are still in winter,  That means temp swings can happen at a moment's notice.  I understand one is approaching us, but won't be here until next weekend.  This coming week our daily highs will be in the mid to upper 60s (f), and possibly, for a day or two, in the low 70s (F).  Now, isn't that fine?

And yesterday, because of the rain, turned into one of those nappy days.  I baked bread in the morning, got my haircut, and did some shopping, but then I whittled away the afternoon working on the edit and taking naps.  To me it seemed as though I took lots of naps, though a lot of The Body in 4:$ time got edited as well. 

Howie, who usually has no problem going out when it rains, wasn't too happy.  Most of my backyard was a shallow pond and while he doesn't mind getting rained on, he seems to developed a dislike to wading.  

I did get my haircut.  I was in the shop for about 7 minutes.  My stylist was not chatty, a good thing.  However, shortly after I sat down in the chair another customer entered and he was.  It took him and his stylist about 30 seconds to blow a simple hello into a full fledged BFF gossip session.  I laughed, even though I kept telling myself that he might be enjoying the only bit of socializing he gets.  What a shame that would be if it were true.

And Kristi Noem was... demoted yesterday.  

People are saying she was fired, and that brings a lot of joy to many Americans, but in all actuality this was a lateral move to another position the Orange Anus created just for her.  That's right, she's still on the payroll and you tax dollars are still paying for hair extensions.  Some are saying that she wasn't happy, yet I suppose it was either move to the new job or try experimenting with defenestration.  Her replacement, Markwayne Mullins isn't any better.  They share the same IQ and, like Noem, will have absolutely no problem following Stevie Miller's orders.

And here's a bit of breaking news:  it seems as though the Ruskies are providing Iran with the coordinates for our ships, and planes, and automobiles.  Well, maybe not the cars.  Troop locations, when Orangie and Kegbreath send in ground forces, will also be duly noted on Iranian maps.  If you weren't expecting this, then you certainly haven't been paying attention to world politics over the past decade or so.  Surprise, Russia and Iran are BFF!

Tiny Little Putin

We're above freezing and our high this afternoon is expected to be in the low 60s (F).  Tomorrow night another cool front is going to be moving through Central PA.  The original forecast had us receiving about 2 inches of snow.  That has now been changed to rain, with smattering of ice late Monday night into Tuesday morning.  After that, temps are going to zoom upwards.  There are actually a few days in which we're expecting to breach the 60 (F) barrier.

And yesterday was one of those, hhhmm, lets get this done sort of of days.  I set up the dehumidifier in the basement.  Thinking that my basement was rife with humidity, I set it up to run nonstop.  This morning, I reset it, taking it off nonstop and setting the humidity lever at 45%.  I also did some research online.  Most of my humidity problems will happen during the spring and summer, not the fall and winter.  This means the new dehumidifier will probably be sitting in standby mode until April or May.  That's fine.  

I also managed to get a little workout in using the new piece of gym equipment.  Tomorrow I'm going to activate Trainwell for another 3 months.  I need to.  I've gained weight.  My trainer and I will have to re-evaluate my workouts since I've changed my hours.  This means I will have to put the rowing machine back together.  I may rearrange the workout room while I'm at it, or maybe not.  

One of the things I did yesterday was back a chocolate olive oil cake... from scratch.  Most recipes are for vanilla or lemon flavored cakes but I was craving deep, dark chocolate, so that's what I made.  With a peanut butter drizzle frosting.  Yum.

So, I guess everyone knows that the Orange Anus, in conjunction with Israel, has started a war with Iran.  This is not a good thing.  It's also the ultimate distraction from the Epstein files, especially after they realized questioning the Clintons was a non-starter.  You can only kick a dead horse so many times before the village idiots begin to lose interest.  That's one of the many things the GOP has never learned.  Keep in mind, Iran and Russia are Best Friends Forever.  It's my understanding that Iran supplies many of the drones to Russia for their war with the Ukraine.  Vlad thought his puppet Orangie would play by Vlad's rules, however Orangie doesn't want the Epstein files to come out because it would be catastrophic for the family business.  If you want to look for a source for all of the shit going down in the world, you need look no further than Vlad Putin, a failing dictator who no matter how grand he sees himself in his head, is really nothing more than a tiny little man, at least this is how history will portray him.

Spain

 Well, we were down near freezing again this morning.  The temps will warm up.  They did yesterday.  We reached a high of 55 (F).  Of course, I was working, but believe me, so many people came in and talked about the weather and the warm temps.  Their most common comment was "this is so... unnatural."  A week short of December and we're experience early to mid autumn temps.  Next week we're supposed to cool off.  I'll believe it when it happens.

During my workout yesterday morning, I kneed my weight bench and a 20 pound dumbbell fell on the floor.  Wowza!  It did make a loud noise.  I usually set my dumbbells on the floor when I'm not using them, yesterday, I didn't.  A lesson has been learned.

And I did work yesterday.  Right now I'm leading the department in sales.  I work a  shift today, however, the weather's not supposed to be too nice, so management will just have to be satisfied with what I have.

Every now and then, out of curiosity. I will check to see where my readers are located in the world.  I'm always impressed that there are people in Indonesia, and the Philippines who read what I write.  Thank you very much!  A number of people in England sit down and look at my blog.  France, too, and it's nice to see you number in the hundreds.  Germany?  Many, many thanks to my German readers!  You rock!  There is one country, however, that doesn't have a single reader, and that's Spain.  People of Spain I adore you!  I love your movies!  I love your TV series!   Right now I'm watching The Crystal Cuckoo! Catalonia is the greatest!  I wake up dreaming I'm in Barcelona! (do you think I'm getting my point across?)

And now for a poetry break.

And something with worsted gold sat among the natty leaves

And everyone was flipping out about the so-called peace plan Orangie's administration was trying to shove down Ukraine's throat because it gave his blow bro Vlad everything he wanted, that was until word broke that it was nothing more than Vlad's wish list.  As expected, Orangie's not happy.  Vlad's not happy.  It's my understanding that there's been some rearranging and now the Ukraine, the Europeans, and the US are sitting down in Geneva to start working on another peace plan.  It appears that Vlad's not sending anyone because he's an asshole.  

And Orangie flipped out again because his wannabe dictator authority is still being questioned.  What the GOP fails to understand is that every time he pulls carp like this it hurts him.  They still cling to that belief that a majority of quiet Americans love and adore Orangie, and that they will bow down to his every whim.  They are totally out of touch with America, and it's killing them off.

Wednesday

We have an almost balmy 57 (F) outside.  There's not a lot of sunshine and, if the forecast is correct, we're not going to see much today.  Our high is again predicted to be in the mid 70s (F), however that is supposed to be changing.  We've got a mini-heatwave moving into the region.  Tomorrow's highs are supposed to be in the low 80s (F)...  well, I did say it was a mini-heatwave.

Usually Tuesdays are slow for me, being that they are the first days off after working the weekend.  However, that wasn't the case yesterday since I had that nasally, sore throaty thing going on for the past week, and didn't work Saturday.  As a result I got more accomplished than I expected, including several loads of laundry, a nice dumbbell workout, words getting written, and New England Clam Chowder being made for dinner.

One of the things I've never been able to judge about myself is body temperature.  There have been times when I thought I was running a fever only to discover I was not, and at other times I've felt what I consider normal only to discover my temperature is hovering in the low 100s (F).  The only indicator I ever get that I was (past tense) running a fever is a cold sore or two.  Well, I have one.  That means at some point last week I had a fever.  Well, that's news to me.

Last night I watched the last episode of Wednesday.  This second season was much better than the first, which was much darker with a lot less humor.  This time around the entire Addams clan got involved and it was funny.  There were a lot of high points, including Thing's back story.  I don't think Tim Burton's been this creative in years.  I was glad for those who survived, and those that didn't?  Well, who's to say if their part in the story has truly died.

As we all should have expected, just about everyone in the world is talking about Epstein's birthday book.  Nothing is going to make this Republican nightmare go away any time soon.  I wonder if Orangie's saying that the birthday book is a "dead issue," might not be Karma busy giving us a little foreshadowing.  The fact that he has everyone in his administration lying, saying the signature is not his when he, himself, chose to sign everything simply Donald is ludicrous.  Back in 2003 he worked to set himself apart from all the other Donalds in the world by attaching The to his name.  He was The Donald.  His ego designed his signature and he used it everywhere.  His own ego is screwing him over.

And his blow bro Vlad flew drones over Poland last night and 5 countries from NATO scrambled to get jets into the air.  The drones were shot down.  Putin most likely decided to fly a test balloon to see what Europe reacted.  If this was a balloon, the answer he got was not at all satisfying.  A unified, angry Europe is not something he wants to deal with because NATO will end his war for him in no time flat.

Besties No Moe

 Well, it looks as though we're in for a repeat of yesterday:  a nice warm afternoon, a fairly cloudless sky, and a nice, warm day over all.  Sometimes the weather in Central PA is marvelous.  Tomorrow, however, they are calling for rain showers in the afternoon.  That's fine.  We need the precipitation.  We've beendry for too long.

And, since yesterday day was my first day off after working 3, I ended up not doing too much, other than laundry.  Napping seemed to be in the forefront of my mind.  Around mid-afternoon I began sneezing, and soon after that realized some sort of nasally, sinusy thing was going on, and before long I had a teeny weeny sore throat.  Nothing to write home about, but an inconvenience all the same.  If I was prone to allergies, I'd put the blame on them.  Thinking today might be similar to yesterday, I took a sinus pill this morning hoping it will keep my nasal passages nice and dry.

My neighbor has started doing something odd.  Whenever she goes anywhere during the day, she places a small, wooden child's chair on their front porch blocking the front door.  I searched, thinking this might be some obscure tradition in an attempt to keep evil spirits away and found nothing.  Does anyone know if this has any relevant meaning, or is my neighbor just nuts?

And Orangie's a bit down in the dumps because Xi threw a military parade that made Orangie's look like moose squat.

Making matters worse for Orangie,  was the fact that Vlad and Xi were actually pictured holding hands. I kid you not!  As someone who has a little travel experience, men who are friends to hold hands in other countries, it's mostly only here in Christian America that it's considered gay.  Anyway, Orangie's feelings are terribly hurt.  He wasn't invited to the party, and Xi's parade made Orangies look like... well, we all know it looked like moose squat.  So did everyone else in the world.  

And Orangie's presser yesterday?  He showed up with bad makeup and even worse hair and rambled.  The Space Force is being moved from Colorado to Alabama because Colorado has mail-in voting.

Finally, for those of you who read The Body in History, spyware by the name of Pegasus made an appearance.  Well, it seems that, Paragon Solutions, the company that developed Pegasus has out done themselves, developing spyware they call Graphite, which can hack into any cellphone.  Orangie's administration has bought Graphite and is planning on putting it in the hands of ICE.  This is not a good thing.  

Soft Taco

 And we are having another chilly morning here in Central PA with the temp being a cool 61 (F) when I crawled out of bed.  Once again our temps are predicted to only climb into the mid 702 (F),though the skies are predicted to be seriously overcast for much of the day.  No rain, but cloudiness galore.  We have the same forecast for the rest of the week.  I'm not wild about the cloudy days, but there are things that do need to get done around the house.

I worked yesterday and it was boring.  Since there was no business, I caught myself up on all of my training, which was tedious to say the least.  I have to take refresher classes on bias, security in the workplace, proprietary information, and cyber security, you know/  Phishing, smishing, and vishing?  These classes are not that bad the first time you work through them, however I have to take these refresher course every 6 months or so which is horrifically boring.  And, unfortunately, you can not test out.  I also know that not everybody has to take them.  So, maybe I'm cursed because of my former position in HR.

My new printer arrives tomorrow.  I was going to put it by my desk, but because it's going to be bigger than the laser printer that is now in the garbage, I'm going to relocate it to another part of the writing room. 

One of my Navy friends posted this on Facebook.  For some reason or other we all had nicknames.  No one ever called me Dave, occasionally I'd get a Snyder, but usually I was called Oz.  Now you know one of my deep dark secrets.  When we were at sea there were 3 shifts working either 8 hours on and 16 off, or 6 on and 12 off.  We had an artistic guy in my shift who drew up this group caricature of my team.  Honestly, I don't remember being quite that tall.

And instead of having a hard shell TACO yesterday, we got one of those soft, floppy ones, and the entire world was watching.  Orangie's blow bro Vlad thought this between his pet and Zelensky was going to be a dunk and score, but then Europe decided to show up.  And Vlad got zippo.  Well, that's not exactly right, halfway through this meeting Orangie had to excuse himself and go call Vlad for advice.  Holy Crap!  You see, Orangie is not a skilled negotiator.  That ability is not in his extremely limited skill set.  And while Orangie was just on Fox Entertainment saying he didn't tell the European Leaders about his phone call because it would have been disrespectful to Vlad, the entire world knows all about the call.    Basically, the European leaders depantsed hm in front on live television.  Wait!  Stop! Do not think about that!  I don't want you going through your day visualizing Orangie being depantsed... even though, verbally, that's what happened.  Yep, yesterday we got the soft taco shell, and all Vlad got out of this was a more unified Europe... make that world.  As of this morning 30 countries from around the world had signed onto security measures for the Ukraine.

Face Off

 We have a chilly start to the day, that's if you think 67 (F) is chilly.  I don't.  We also have quite a bit of a breeze, the leftovers from a cold front that moved through the area late yesterday afternoon.  We did get rain, heavy torrential rain that fell in sheets across the highway as I was driving home from work.  And this wasn't like one of those quickie thunderstorms that's a flash, bam, thank you mam kind of storms.  We had heavy rain for over half an hour, heavy enough that I had to drive through waves.  What an adventure!  Today our high temp will only rise into the mid 70s (F).  That's fine.

Yesterday work was steady for the first three hours, but  then it died off.  The store did not hit plan last week.  This is going to continue.  I did set up a measure, but other than that the afternoon dragged on and on.  I had planned on stopping off at my neighborhood Giant supermarket on the way home, but by the time I got out of our parking lot the rain had started, and shortly after that drivers were slowing down and putting on their four-way flashers.

I did make Ukrainian Borscht yesterday morning before heading off to work.  One of the big differences between Ukrainian and Russian is that the Ruskies eat their borscht chilled, while the Hungarians eat theirs warm.  The recipe made a lot, so I'll have meals for the next 2 or 3 days.  

And, of course, Volodymyr Zelensky is going to be meeting with the Orange Anus sometime today, possibly this morning, maybe this afternoon.  Orangie has already attempted to lay the groundwork, the Ukraine needs to give up Crimea and not join NATO.  Zelensky has already told him to pound sand.  Some things everybody needs to remember are that Orangie is weak and caves under pressure, that's why they call him TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).  At the same time we need to keep in mind that he's been given order by his idol, Vlad.  His shoe leather heart has been crushed and he's desperate to make things kissy, kissy again.  I don't think that's going to happen.  Vlad never wanted to be kissy, kissy with him in the first place, but Orangie did make a convenient tool for Vlad to use... and abuse.  Like a bad poker player, Vlad has played his hand too soon, probably because he's already lost a million Russian lives in this failed war.  Vlad is a tiny tyrant who wants his tiny feet to fit into much bigger shoes and that's not going to happen.  So, what will happen?  I don't know.  I wouldn't be surprised if Orangie raises the tariffs on Europe to 75% because being the terrible businessman he is, that's the only card he can think of playing. 

The Bromance Breakup

 Today is Sunday, a day of work.  This is also a day when our afternoon high temp is predicted to be in the mid 90s (F), that is until the storms arrive... if they do.  If the weather forecasters are correct, this should be the last 90 (F) degree day we have for a while.  Erin's is going to be crawling up the eastern seaboard and the cloud cover she is brining will keep our skies overcast for the next week.  That will cool things off.

I did work yesterday, otherwise I didn't really do much of anything.  Howie got his Frontline for the upcoming month.  He doesn't care.  

The coffee maker I have grinds and brews, but here lately the grinding seems to be a bit off, the coffee is not as strong as I like.  I have a coffee grinder that decades old and still works, so I've started grinding them myself.  The coffee is so much better.

And, as should be expected, the world is still talking about Orangie's and his blow bro Vlad's date, if that's what you want to call it.  Certain things didn't happen.  The fancy luncheon?  Nixed.  The golden desk statue, and American eagle?  That was never given.  There is truth in the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words.  Take a look at this one.  You'd almost think that Orangie and Vlads bromance is over.

Notice how Vlad has a chirpy little smile on his face, while Orangie is looking more than a little disgruntled.  Someone should tell him he needs to take that frown and turn it upside down.  What makes him such a gloomy Gus?  I'm betting Vlad teased him with the promise of a possible ceasefire in the Ukraine.  However, Orangie's face tells me Vald said, "sorry, babe, that card ain't on the table."  You know, I'm suspecting Orangie has just realized he's holding none of the cards.

When I heard that Zelensky was scheduled to meet with Orangie tomorrow, I will admit I was a little concerned.  So many reporters from around the world noted how everyone from Orangie's team was ashen faced when they entered that press conference.  It was almost as if they knew something really bad was going to happen, and I'm not just talking about Putin taking charge of the press conference.  So, I will admit to being relieved to discover Zelensky is being escorted by the Prime Ministers of Germany, France, Italy, and the UK.  All four will be sitting in that room beside him.  And you know they're all going to tell Orangie to pound sand, at which point Vlad will probably start dropping the dirt he has on Orangie since he is now a useless tool.

Not a Good Day for America

 We're starting out a bit warm here in Central Pa with our outside temp sitting at 75 (F).  Mugginess abounds.  I haven't checked what the dewpoint is, but I'm betting it's fairly high.  Will we have rain this afternoon?  I work, so I don't really care.  

I will also be working 4 days next week.  That's unusual, so someone must be on vacation.  I don't mind.  Extra hours mean a little extra money and after yesterday I'm going to need a little extra.

And yesterday?  Things began well but then pivoted sharply into "well, that sucks" territory.  It all started with the loaf of bread I was baking.  I use olive oil instead of butter and usually I measure in the required 2 tablespoons.  Yesterday I just poured in what I thought should be 2 tablespoons.  I was wrong, so I ended up so I ended up with a bread cake, rather than a loaf of bread.

Then I tried to print something off.  My laser printer, which is probably abut 3 books old, sat there doing nothing.  My print screen said it was ready, however, my system said it was offline, and when I checked the printer settings in HP Smart, it said it was sleeping.  Well, nothing I did seemed to wake it up.  I then tried printing to my color laser jet and got a print head failure.  I contacted Hewlett Packard and the tech told me my laser printer was gone.  Unfortunately, my ticket was for the laser printer, not the color laser jet and I would need to begin the process again.  Since I'm going to need a new printer, I went to the Staples website and ordered one.  Ten minutes later I get an email from Staples telling me the printer I ordered is unavailable and that they will be crediting my account.  Someone else might have gotten frustrated.  Not me.  flexibility in the face of adversity has always been the key.  I'd had enough of Hewlett Packard, so I went to the Xerox website, checked out their laser printers, looked at some online reviews, and made my purchase:  a color laser printer.  Because it was my first time purchasing from Xerox I got a 15% off, which made this printer less expensive than the one I had tried to buy from Staples.  Here's the new printer:

And, as you might expect, I spent a bit of time yesterday watching the Orange Anus getting steamrolled by his blo bro Vlad.  By the way, that was a reporter on Fox who said Orangie was steamrolled.  Here's Brian Tayler Cohen on what Fox had to initially say.

I don't know about you, but I was embarrassed as hell watching Orangie standing there on the red carpet, as giddy as some school getting to meet K-Pop, waiting for Vlad to arrive.  I hope that I wasn't the only one to see Vlad give Orangie the double thumbs up as he hurried towards him.  Vlad played Trump like a two bit whore.  Vlad sang the golden oldies that Orangie cherishes, like the 2020 election was stolen, or that mail in voting is crooked.  Later on in the evening Sean Hanity threw him some powder puff questions.  He didn't ask him why Karoline Leavitt and Witkoff, and everyone else on Team Orangie, walked into that press conference looking ashen faced; this was universally reported.  Something was off.  Witkoff left the room before Putin began speaking.  Even Orangie looked soggy jowled.  And, of course, there are those videos of his slow, lumbering climb up into Air Force One after his treasonous meeting with Putin was over.  This was not a good day for America. 

Trolling Trump

 Well hello World!  Here in Central PA we did break into the low 90s (F) yesterday.  Not a drop of rain fell, even though there was a 55% chance.  Today's high will chill out in the upper 80s (F).  Again, there is that stubborn 55% chance of precipitation.  I'm thinking it's not going to happen.  The long range forecast has us cooling down, with highs in the low to mid 80s (F).  Again, we shall see.  We're 2/3 of the way through summer, so that might be a possibility.

Yesterday was one of those days when I did get pretty much accomplished, including a decent upper body workout, and yet I have this vague feeling that I should have done more.  That may not be the best way to describe it.  Perhaps a better way of putting it is that when I look back on what was accomplished, I wonder why they seemed to take so much more time than usual.

Ah, well.  Today may or may not end up the same.  I've already got a loaf of bread in the bread machine.  Howie's not wild about the noise it makes when kneading the loaves.

And I did get what will no doubt be be the first of many letters from Sky Protection.  They are one of the millions of companies who provide independent "service agreements" for your vehicle.  And yes, this is for the new Outback that I just bought.  Amusingly enough, on Tuesday I received a letter from Subaru detailing the extensive service agreement that came with my purchase of the vehicle.

Here's another release from Governor Newsom's press office.  I'm betting that each and every one of these is like razor blades under Orangie's fingernails.  Being taunted is not something either he or his administration is good at dealing with.  Orangie wants bow down respect, and it ain't happening.  For those of you who haven't noticed, these mocking attacks are picking up speed.  His team is having problems with responding to the memes that are rapidly growing in number.  He has become a very large, stupid target.

As for Orangie's meeting with his blow bro Vlad today, expect nothing but another fawning session, with Orangie shooting furtive glances at his idol.  Will he get a private pat on the head?  I'm betting it's the only thing he ever prays for.  I'm betting that most world leaders are prepared to see him shit in his diaper; they know how easily praise, no matter how phony, will have him groveling.  

Finally, did everybody see that Orangie apparently placed an unexpected call to Norway to ask them to give him the Nobel Peace Prize.  This is so far above audacious.  The fact that there are a number of people out there who believe his lies and think this is normal is disappointing as hell.

 

Take it to the Limit

 This morning's Central PA temp was 60 (F), that's almost as cool as cucumber!  Temps will be rising though, both today and for the beginning of the week.  By Wednesday we should be topping off with a high around 93 (F) with high humidity.  Thunderstorms are supposed to be hanging around the area, but the chance of us getting a storm is 55%, so I'd say that's iffy.

Yesterday was a good day as far as writing goes.  No workouts were done.  No walking done. But as long as the words are going into the laptop things are good.  One thing that is making this easy is the dealing with the time when Eli's mother was still alive.  I'm old enough to remember what things were like around 40 years ago.  You know?  What songs were playing on the radio.  Here's a bit that may or may not be important to the plot.  One of the biggest hits back then was by a band called The Eagles.  One of their many hits was a song called Take it to the Limit.  Where as an enormous number of pop and rock songs are written in 4/4 time, Take it to the Limit is written in 3/4 time, also known as Waltz Time.  Does Waltz Time come into play in a mystery titled The Body in 4/4 Time?  Stay tuned.  Here's a live version of that song from 1977.

I did work yesterday and actually got 2 measures, neither is going to break the bank for the customers.  One is a small bathroom that'll probably cost around $800, and the other is a single bedroom.  The house is for sale, however there's ink on the bedroom floor and no one is making an offer.  this is a good example of how many people try to get their asking price without fixing anything up before the house goes on the market. The carpet is not going to match the rest of the carpeting in the house.  The seller, himself, wouldn't make an offer, so he's putting in the cheapest carpet we have to try and get his asking price.  I'm hoping he doesn't get it and has to reduce his asking price.

I'm betting Orangie's having wet dreams over his meeting with his Blo Bro Vlad.  This meeting is not a good thing.  Orangie will give away the bank in order to give old Vlad a cuddle or two.  

One thing I do find amazing is that MAGA cultists are truly ignorant of the hate Orangie is generating towards them and their party.  These people are in their own little world, totally clueless.  True, some are beginning to scratch their heads with the Epstein scandal, but many of them are still delusional.  Nothing is going to change that, unless they do manage to start a war and America starts hanging their treasonous asses.