Grey Tones

Yesterday was nice and sunny.  The temps were just right.  Then last evening the clouds rolled in and we had rain.  More is in the forecast for today.  Then, things are going to dry out. 

I also work today, but only for 6 hours and I don't need to be there until 12.  This is fine.  I've put together some Kettlebell exercises which I'll do after Lily's walk.  

The house next door is finally on the market.  He's asking $185,000.  He had his first showing yesterday.  My neighbor from across the street asked if it was a couple or a single person, since I went down to York to visit my friend Betsy, I don't know.  She'd sent me the link to Zillow, but I'd already looked.  So many bad things here, like finishing the attic, but there's no heat and probably no insulation in the walls, for one.  Here are some pictures, and yes, as you can see, it's all grey.

Living Room / Dining Room

Not a singe wall outlet to be found in the attic

And will there be another indictment tomorrow?  Hhhmm, could be.  Even though the Orange Anus seems to think these charges will help him in his desperate attempt to gain the nomination, and the presidency, in order to avoid jail time, he's wrong.  Conservatives have always been wrong.  They've always assumed the country to be conservative at its heart, it isn't.  America is Centrist.  And while polls at this time of year are misleading as far as who's going to vote for who, this one just looks at what America thinks.  Yes, a majority of Americans think these indictments are probably politically motivated, and yes, a majority of Americans have no problem with that.  In spite of what Republicans have been telling themselves for years, that they know America, and America would love to have a socially conservative, authoritarian government, Americans would rather have a Democracy.  That's more than a kick in the shin to the GOP.  They didn't just stub their toe when they decided to become MAGA cultists, they shot of both of their feet and now it's almost impossible for them to run.  You see, they've convinced themselves that everything was black and white, well, it isn't  America is filled with grey tones.

Lying To Tim Scott

 So, is anybody going through a mid-week crisis?  It is Wednesday after all, or as some like to call it Hump Day.  Let's be honest here, there are days when a a humpy day might not be the best thing in the world since most humps might also be designated bumps, and going over the hump might mean you're heading downhill into a dip.

Anyway, the temps here are glorious.  Mid 70s (F) yesterday.  They'll be in the low 80s  (F) today, and warmer tomorrow.  Friday we might possibly pop into the 90s (F), which is a bit too warm for this time of year, though since we had a warm winter this just might be a preview into the summer.

Lots of yardwork was done yesterday.  No branches were cut, but the stone wall is clear.  I bought a weed killer for the English ivy, though instead of spraying directly on it, I've been shoving the ivy into an old garbage can and spraying it there.  I want to kills as much of it as possibly withy contaminating the ground.  I also mowed my lawn yesterday.  It was great to be outside.

I stepped outside this morning and snapped a picture of my tulips.  I'll probably do the same thing this afternoon since many should be blooming by then.

And now for the funny, ha ha moment of the day.  Tim Scott, a black Republican, has announced his candidacy for president in 2024.  Let me know when you stop laughing.  I mean, does has this man not listened to Trump?  Has he not seen what's been happening in Tennessee?  Does he not know what the MAGA mind wants in their leaders?  Perhaps he's just dumb as a brick.  Or, perhaps he doesn't know the word 'token' has many definitions, one of which is an adjective that describes what many white Republicans know him to be.  Keep in mind, Scott has surrounded himself with people who constantly tell him that he represents diversity in the Republican party.  What Scott doesn't understand is that they're lying to him.

Wrong Color?

Well, it's Tuesday and my first load of laundry is in the dryer.  My 2nd, sweatpants, will be going into the washer shortly.  Moving both washer and dryer to to the 2nd floor was a smart move, since the big PC is up here.  The only thing I don't like is the vinyl floor - it's faux marble, has a lot of white which shows up dog hair.  Holy Crap!  I had no idea there was so much dog hair floating in the air around me.  

We had a big carpet carpet install returned.  There are 7 rolls of  shrink wrapped carpet sitting back in receiving, each with the dimensions of a room written on the wrap.  Beaucoup Bucks $$$$.  The customer claimed it was the wrong color.  Well, that's a lie.  I can remember 2 times when the wrong color carpet was sold.  Both times, the installation was stopped before the installers cut a single piece of carpet.  I'm betting that in this case, wrong color means the customer didn't like the carpet after it was installed.  I don't doubt this happen more and more frequently because carpets are expensive now.  Two years ago, the same carpet would have run $3.25 a square foot, today it costs $5.37 a square foot.  American capitalism is destroying itself.

Back when the electrical work was being done for the laundry move, I used a small piece of plywood to keep Biggie at bay in the kitchen.  Believe me, he so desperately wanted to go hang around with the electricians.

You know, it doesn't seem a day doesn't go by without Ronnie DeSantis doesn't do something that heralds his turn to the far right.  Black people are furious about his attempt to whitewash their history.  Ronnie doesn't understand.  He desperately wants Florida to become the white Mecca.

The voters in George Santos' district are furious with him.  I would be, too, if he represented my district.  While Democrat and Independent voters want him gone, some Republicans, though still claiming to be angry, would rather he stay.  They don't want to lose his vote and they're worried that they'll do that if there's a special election.  They are totally clueless as to how badly this hurts them with the voters.

Republicans are also suffering from multiple identity crises.  A outstanding example of this is in Butler county, in western PA, where not two, but three different groups are claiming to be the true Republican party.   These problems are only going to multiply for the party of Trump.  I find this hysterical because this is happening to the Republican party across the entire country.  They are using their "shut up, I'm in charge" tactics upon themselves.

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/24/us/politics/republicans-trump-pennsylvania.html

The Good Thing

 Oops, I did it again... slept in, that is.  To be honest, it wasn't as though I went to bed last night at 11 PM and slept the entire night away.  For some reason, I've been waking up around 0200.  Most nights I just wait to fall back to sleep.  Last night I put that time to good use.  I made notes on The Body Under Ice.  I'm finishing off the final chapter and, as always, there are points that have to be explained.  Sometimes those changes are no more than adding a simple sentence earlier in the book.  You know, simple things say so much.

And the screw in the title refers to one of he several securing the control panel of my treadmill.  Repairs are complete!  It's be lubricated and the belt has been centered.  The only thing missing is that one little screw.  It fell into the space below the motor and the only way to get it out is by turning the treadmill onto its side.  Well, that ain't gonna happen.  There are 4 other screws holding the control panel in place, so I'm not too worried about it coming lose.

Here's a bit of a funny.  Yesterday, Madonna announced her Celebration Tour.  While she does have her loyal fans her are overjoyed, most of what I've been seeing on Social Media has not been kind.  There are comments about the standard 2 hour delay before her show starts, could this be how she proves to herself that her fans will wait an eternity to see her show, to comments about carbon dating to ensure it's the true Madonna.  One fan, desperate to prove his loyalty Tweeted out "sure, she looks weird, but it's still Madonna."   Honestly, I think she's looking pretty good for an aging Asian woman.😎😎😎

Of course, Americans concerned about Democracy are unhappy with the House committee assignments.  People are wondering how George Santos could be put on 2 committees.  Well, you have to remember that Republicans don't give a shit about America.  They are selfish and self-centered.  They also know many of their campaign contributions come from corporations who also don't give a shit about America.    Republicans don't understand that for every action, there is a reaction.  They truly believe that they can act and everyone will accept what they do.  They barely scrape by with a majority in the House during the midterms and they are treating it as though they have a mandate.  They will never learn.  They do not consider what the consequences will be, only that they need to say "shut up, we're in charge."  They are going to fail horribly.  That's a good thing.  

The Dirty Silver Lining

 Okay, so it's Tuesday and slept in again, and not because I stayed up late.  I wake up several times during the night.  I also have a headache, so maybe I have a little bug.  I don't get headaches that often.  

Every few days I go in and check the usage on my utilities.  My natural gas usage has gone up. The average temp for this time last year was 41 (F) and this year it's 37 (F), so that makes sense.  Electricity's lower, as is water.  Unfortunately, it seems as if every utility has had a rate increase, so while I'm saving $$$ I'm also spending more.

I've also ordered a Himalayan salt lamp for downstairs to serve as a night light since Biggie's sleeping down on the sofa now.  I know dogs eyes are better adapted to seeing in the dark than humans, still, it's pretty damn dark down there at night. 

Corporate is changing the software relating to our quote system.  Our measurement service has already been updated, we're not totally effected until Jan. 16.  The means our glitches have already begun.  One of my customer's quotes has disappeared completely in the new system.  In order for him to pay for his install, the IT desk had to build a new quote in the updated system.  The process ended up being rather time consuming, not a good thing when your customer is sitting next to waiting to pay.

When it comes to admitting I've been wrong, I have always been one of the first to accept the blame, and certain things I have been wrong.

It was wrong of me to believe that when it came to voting for the House rules and regulations package that at least 6 or possibly 7 Republicans would vote it down.  How naïve of me to think that large number of Republicans would have at lest a smidgen of values.  Wrong.  Only one Republican voted with the Democrats.  One of the dirty, silver lining for this is that McCarthy has shit himself into a corner.  The entire Republican party is now completely aligned with Trump, attached at the hip so to speak.

Another dirty silver lining is that any legislation they pass needs to be passed by the Senate, which is in the hands of the Democrats.  Because of this, so many things are untouchable for them.  Like the 87,000 IRS agents they despise; that change requires passage in both the House and the Senate.  

The fact that they ignored subpoena for the past 2 years is another dirty, silver lining.  Those dumb asses set a precedent.  And, when their legislations and their subpoenas fail, they will turn on McCarthy, vote him out, and their shit show will repeat itself.

Finally, I watched portions of McCarthy's acceptance speech and was seriously unimpressed.  Am I the only one who thought he sounded like a demented Mr. Rogers talking to a crowd of severely autistic children?

Two Unarmed Gay Men

 The holidays have arrived, or, at least they will in relatively few days.  First up will be the crassly commercialized Thanksgiving with its football, followed by that ever popular Black Friday.  Is it me, or does it seem like corporate retailers no longer have dominion over the American Household?  Not that there still aren't enough wack jobs out there who fail to realized those great deals are nothing more than corporate manipulation.  

Anyway, I am scheduled to work today.  I'm supposed to be an appliance salesman.  They do this every year.  Usually, it doesn't happen.  I almost always hang around the flooring desk.  Today, will probably be the same.  You see, I'm scheduled to start at 0930, and the temps are cold.  Not quite bone chilling, but a very brisk 22 (F), outside.  Customers might venture out this afternoon.  And there are a lot of wack jobs out there who still think the best deals are only on Black Friday.  

I worked yesterday and it was oh, so slow.  

Tomorrow, the electrician comes to install my dryer hookup.  He will also be installing 2 outlets, one in the kitchen, and another upstairs for the washer.  These are dedicated lines.  Nice.

A lot of America is talking about what happened at Club Q.  Another tragedy.  One thing that I read yesterday stands out above all else: two unarmed gay men did what the heavily armed police force in Uvalde couldn't do.  Take a few minutes and let that thought sink.  They took the shooters handgun away from him and hit him with it.  I hope they hit him in the face, maybe broke his nose, and all in self-defense.  Two minutes after the police arrived, this 22 year-old loser named Aldrich was in custody.  Five poor souls died, but the actions of two unarmed gay men saved countless of others.  America saw a sense of strength in Colorado Springs they were not expecting.

I saw where Elon Musk quietly reinstated Kanye West on Twitter, and the exodus continues.  For those worried that Trump might actually return, I understand he has some sort of financial commitment to Truth Social.  Money is the golden calf he prays to.  West's anti-Semitic Tweets will appeal to a certain crowd, a group whose numbers do not nearly compensate for numbers of people who are leaving.  I'm actually wondering if Twitter does go under, if he can somehow claim his $44 billion investment a loss, and use it as a tax write-off.

And finally a funny.  I read that what corporate American wants most from the Republican controlled house is a $183 billion tax cut.  Corporations donate a lot of money to Republican Super Pacs, and that's what's important to Republicans, not the American people.