Hunter's Pics

While most of yesterday was sunny and moderate temps, we did have heavy rain again last night.  I don't know how long it lasted, but the sidewalk out back was still wet this morning when I left Lily out.  Normally, Julys are dry and hot, not so this year.  The heat is staying to our south, or moving quickly past us up north.

Both Texas and Florida appear to be on the broiler.  Ah, well, that's how Climate Change goes.  You never know how the cards are going to go until you get a chance to look at the hand you've been dealt.

Yesterday was a sleepy kind of day.  I ate, and lay around, my normal Tuesday behavior pattern, though I did manage to get a couple hours in writing.  I should probably do a video on my writing techniques in case anybody is interested.

Oh, because of a craving, I did drive down to Dairy Queen and buy myself a Turtle Blizzard.  It's a curse, you know, not the craving of the Turtle Blizzards, but that Dairy Queen is less than 3/4 of a mile away.  Holy Moly, I should have walked, that way I'd have burned off some of the calories I was filling myself up with.\

And I guess everybody knows I was in the Navy and on an Aircraft Carrier. though I don't think many understand the size of the ship involved.  So, this is what the Constellation looked like moored in San Diego harbor.  The pic was supposedly taken in 1974, which would have been the year before we sailed up to Bremerton, WA to go into drydock.

And, of course, yesterday Jimmy Jordan threw a party in the House of Representatives and, as expected, all the Republicans showed up as clowns.  There were whistleblowers who weren't exactly tooting their horns.  Their facts turned out to biased conjecture.  These losers are so desperate to implicate the Bidens in some sort of horrible crime family scheme and the Democrats are quickly pointing out that a Trump appointed Attorney General, as well as a Trump appointed lawyer found no chargeable offenses against either Hunter or Joe Biden.  What they're really trying to do is draw media attention away from the impending indictments of Trump.  And they're getting desperate.  How desperate?  Yesterday Marjorie Taylor (I'm dumber than shit) Green showed Hunter's dick pics on the House floor, and then later when on to email them out to her constituents.  The GOP is so lost.

1962

The sun is out, the outside temp is 65 (F) and the temps today are predicted to only climb into the mid-80s (F), oh, and the humidity is supposed to be tolerable.  Oh, and it's one of my none work days.  Just about everyday that is a non-workday is good.  Not that I dislike work, mind you, but with business being so abysmal it does get boring.

I did get a phone measure yesterday from a woman who wants to have a carpet installation.  She let me know that she put the same carpet in her condo on Florida, a cheap pattern with a 5 year warranty.  She's also selling the condo in Florida, in fact she and her husband are going to be going down for the closing next week.  There's a fly in the ointment, though.  We're running a special that expires on July 30, and they drive down, and this Friday she's out of town for a business meeting, and they're leaving on Monday.  I know that's a lot of "ands," and unfortunately there is one more: and the first measure date available in July 17, when they're in Florida.  Measure services has been contacted and they will update her if an earlier date becomes available.

Here's a great article from the WaPo basically saying that HGTV is make you depressed.  It turns out that all of those pretentious people pushing neutral color palates in order to be trendy are bad for your psyche.  Stark Whites and bland neutrals with zippo for contrast are not good for you heads.  Of course, I've been saying this for years.  Color is good unless you want to live your life as a drone.

And I saw this picture of my ship taken in 1962.  Newly built, and leaving the shipyards, it's on it's way to the Atlantic.  I was 10 years old then and had no idea I'd live 3 years of my life beneath its flight deck.  The mast is canted to its port side rather than straight up to fit beneath the Brooklyn Bridge

There are rumors that Jack Smith wants January the 6 indictments of Trump and his evil cohorts to be done before Fannie's in Atlanta.  Sounds good to me.  I'm sure his team and Fannie's team are having some really sweet conversations.

It also looks like Sweden's going to be joining NATO.  I find it nearly hilarious that the one thing Vlad the stupid didn't want is happening because his greed for power is making him look overwhelmingly stupid.  He wanted his blow bro Trump to dismantle the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and instead the organization is growing larger, and stronger.  I'm fine with this!

49 years ago

No work today, not scheduled, but rain is... again.  After today, we're supposed to dry out.  We need a little time for the grass to grow.  Temperature wise, we're forecast to top off at 50 (F).  This is definitely sweatshirt weather.  

Yesterday:  Boring.  People were walking around in the store wearing coats and, of course, I was sitting here is a short sleeve shirt.  One of the really bad things about this 'remodel' taking place in the flooring department is that customers will ask for a product that has been moved to some unknown location.  We have lots of empty racking.  And how long is this disruption going to last?  Right now they're planning on being finished the week before Black Friday, which is what?  7 weeks away?

The plumber is coming today for my water hook-up.  That sounds a bit kinky, doesn't it.  The last time the plumber was here it cost me $1700, this expense will be much cheaper.  The electrician is going to costlier, ;but then, once he's done, I'll be set.  I'm estimating the new washer and dryer should be hear before Christmas.  I will be buying them from the store.  I tell people, if you need a new appliance, wait until the Black Friday sales.  Those are the best sales of the year.

One thing I've noticed in the transferal of my slides to jpegs is that the photos stand up a lot better than those printed on paper.  Take this picture of me standing on the bow of the USS Albert David, a destroyer.  It could have been taken yesterday, rather than 49 years ago.  I spent some time on the Albert David in order to experience life on a destroyer.  The aircraft carrier behind me?  That's my ship.  The Connie.  If you blow up the picture, you can see a helicopter taking off from the flight deck.

Any guesses as to how long Liz Truss will remain Prime Minister?  I'm suspecting not too long.  She's a conservative, that means in her mind the only way to fix a failing economy is by giving the wealthy a tax break, which she did.  Holy Freaking Ouch!  Boy, did the British economic elevator drop.  And, sadly for Liz, because she's a conservative, the tax break card is the only one she has to play.

Oh, and Donald J. is suing CNN for defamation of character.  Stop Laughing!  Now.  I understand he's also planning on suing the January 6 committed for the same thing.  There are other groups on his list, too, though I won't mention them because... well, the absurdity is amazing.  His base will eat this shit up, providing his ego with a boost.  This is really just an attempt by him to change the facts, to say CNN has lied about everything.  This will fail.  Remember, everything he touches dies.

Finally, news broke that Hershel Walker paid for one of his girlfriend's to get an abortion.  Prepare yourselves for a word salad from hell... with absolutely no dressing.

A good thing for America

 So, happy Saturday.  After my 7 hour stint at work this afternoon, I'm not scheduled until next Thursday.  I can live with that.  Four days off.  It's anybody's guess at how busy the store is going to be today.  This used to be a transitional period.  Since the holidays are approaching, people begin to think of installing new flooring, especially carpet.  However, we're competing with college football.  I was told that Penn State has won every game so far this season.  Living in Central PA, that is an important factor.  A lot of people want to hear those Nittany Lions roar.

For our Success Sharing weekend, today is ice cream and Blizzard day.  I don't know if that means a Dairy Queen truck is going to be parked in back of the building, or if we're going to be served some sort of knockoff.

My slides are all in my computer, or at least the ones that I'm keeping have been saved.  Most of the 100 + pictures I took of animals at the San Diego zoo are in the trash.  If you want to see a peacock just Google peacock.  What did I save?  Pictures like this.  In 1973, I spent a few weeks working in the radar department of our destroyer escort.  I was flown there by a helicopter (I really don't like helicopters).  here's one of the pictures I took when I flew back to the Constellation.  This is what it looks like from above as you're preparing to land.  And yes, those are jet planes parked on the flight deck.

Yesterday, Kevin McCarthy (he wants to be High Priest in the Trump cult) and several other prominent Republicans released the GOP plan for heading into the midterms.  They did not mention their intentions of a nationwide ban on abortion, or their plan to eliminate Social Security.  What they did was release vague statements in a video which some are saying included scenes from Mother Russia and statement from Lehman Brothers that they attributed to Lincoln.  Some smart individual took their Commiotment and added some of the details the Republicans forgot to include.

I understand that Sydney Powell is considered on the lam because she failed to show up for a court appearance.  This was to be expected.

An Arizona judge reinstated an anti-abortion law from before Arizona became a state.  This is how you unite the women of Arizona.

And finally, there is evidently growing concern among Republicans in regard to Trump's legal issues.  That, I believe is an understatement.  You see, many Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy, saw the MAGA base as a slice of heaven; a guaranteed voting bloc they could rely upon.  However, that bloc is a minority group that includes another minority voting bloc, the Evangelicals.  They are not 2 distinct groups.  The QAnon crazies?  They, too, are in the MAGA group.  They are in trouble, and they know it.  Trump is killing their party, which is a good thing for America.

Connie's Ass

 Welcome to September.  Three more weeks of summer.  Since today's Thursday, I'm going to have to go to work for 8 hours.  Fun stuff.  This is also my anniversary week, for 14 years I've been working the large, orange, home improvement retailer.  That's the longest I've ever been with one employer.  Keep in mind I'm one of those rare individuals who's been laid off twice:  first when Woolworth went into bankruptcy, and then again when International Paper decided to move most of their accounting positions to Krakow, Poland.  I'm also one of those rare individuals who managed to use those 2 times to climb into a higher paygrade.  Sometimes I look back on my life and think that for some reason I have pretty good Karma.

Saturday is yard waste pickup day.  I can't wait.  The trimmings from my ivy shrub are in biodegradable bags on my front porch.  Saturday they will be picked up and taken to the East Pennsboro lawn waste recycling center where they will be mulched.

I know there are probably a number of people out there who would like to see what the ass end of my ship, the Constellation, hence forward to be known as the Connie (that's what we called her), looked like when we were at sea.  So, without further ado, here's the Connie's ass.

Sometimes size is very important

And yesterday was remarkable for several reasons.  First off, Mary Peltola defeated that loudmouth Sarah Palin to become Alaska's first female Native American, and first Democrat to come to Washington.  Of course, some Republicans are crying foul because Alaska uses a weighted election.  It works this way:  when you vote, you select your first choice as well as your second choice.  If no candidate gets 50%, the second-choice votes for candidate who gets the least number of votes get divvied up.  This put Mary over the top.  This means more voters had her as their 2nd choice rather than Palin.  I Tweeted a congrats to Mary from central PA.

2nd on the list of remarkable things is that both Arizona and Pennsylvania are now listed as leaning Democrat during the midterms.  This is great news not only for the Senate races, but for the House races as well.  All we have to do is keep the momentum going.

And finally.  The Orange Anus, Donald J. Trump, blurted out something on his Truth Social account which many see as an admission of guilt.  Paraphrasing him, he said that the FBI took all of those Confidential, Secret, and Top-Secret files from a well-organized carton and scattered them across the floor.  Of course, we all know that Trump would never organize anything, he'd leave that job to an underling.  Most important is his statement that they were in cartons, meaning he knew they were there.  Damn!  That old man ain't too smart, is he?

Fiery Brandon

 I don't know about you, but I'm grew up thinking the week actually ended on Sunday.  You know?  Having to work for 6 days before reaching that 7th day of rest.  Think about that for a second.  We were never supposed to have 2 days off in a row.  Never.  Only 1.  And even then, Sunday was never supposed to be anything like Funday.  

Anyway, Lily had to go potty outside around 0100 because she doesn't go before climbing the stairs and jumping on the bed.  As she was outside doing her late-night business, I checked the traps.  Success.  One mouse down.

Yesterday, work was meh.  I had a young couple who'd had a measure done for laminate flooring.  The estimate came back much higher than they were expecting, mostly because they didn't have proper dimensions, so the estimate was off.  They will some of the last customers to get an estimate.  We are using a new procedure called SAM that no longer gives an estimate.  Believe me.  Estimates are almost always off.  Sometimes big time.  

One of the main reasons I'm on Facebook is the USS Constellation page.  Pictures get posted which help people understand what life was like on an aircraft carrier.  Here's a berthing compartment similar to the one for Division 90, CIC (Radar), the only difference being we had a green floor and green curtains.  This was taken when we were in port.  At sea, the overhead lighting was red.

And here's the hanger bay.  It was very large.  It's the 01 level.  CIC was on the 03 level.  To get there, you went up a staircase below the AIMD sign, turned right and down the hallway past Communications, and up another staircase to the 03 level.  We were located directly below the flight deck.  Click to embiggen.

With less than 3 months until the midterms, things are really starting to pop across the country.  Biden gave a speech yesterday in which he said pretty much heading into fascism.  Some want to call this version of him Dark Brandon, I, however like Fiery Brandon.  

I was quite pleased to see the White House starting to call out those Republicans shrieking about the student debt relief.  Mike Kelly from PA, almost a million $ in PPP written off.  Republicans weren't expecting this.  They thought there was no way the Democrats were going to kick them in the nuts.  Wow!  Guess who's regretting now wearing a cup?  Dumb asses.

And, of course, there is the Roe v Wade issue.  In their attempt to lock in the Cracker Jack Crazy Christian vote, legislators in the very red states passed extreme laws against abortion, and now their 'oh shit,' moment is happening.  Who do these stringent hurt the most?  The working classes.  Paraphrasing Ruth Bader Ginsberg, "any woman with means, will always find a way to get an abortion."  Now tell me, why would the very male Republican party think about women at all.

It's in the stars

 And the weekend has arrived.  Today's weather?  Sunny, little if any chance of rain, and I get to go work.

Yesterday I had been going to mow the lawn.  Didn't happen.  Drizzles all day.  Every time the dogs came back into the house, they were raindrop fresh.  They don't mind going outside if it's only showers.  Steady rain, however?  Nope.  Ain't gonna happen.

Lady GaGa is bringing her Chromatica tour to Hershey, 13 miles away.  I will admit to having a little morbid curiosity, and so asked a couple of friends if there was any interest.  Nope.  Ticket pricing is high, starting at $290 for seats on the side in the Hershey Stadium.  Yes, Hershey has a stadium.  That's where I saw Paul McCartney.  U2 played there.  It's big.  Anyway, I watched some videos of her tour on YouTube and it's not so much of a concert tour as it is Performance Art.  She sings Bad Romance packed into something which looks like a cocoon with only her arms sticking out.  Definitely not for me.

As many of you know, I was in the US Navy a long time ago, stationed on the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, CVA 64 (at one point the changed the designation to CV 64).  Aircraft carriers are large; think of them as small cities.  Most people can't even conceive of something this big.  When we were on a WestPac cruise, it was not unusual for there to be over 4000 sailors on board.  Here's a picture of the flight deck.  You can tell we were not involved in flight ops because the planes are parked and there some dude walking across the deck wearing a pair of skimpy, white shorts.  

And, of course, the Republicans keeps rubbing themselves in shit because they believe it makes them more attractive to voters.  Take their voting against PACT, the legislation meant to provide medical help to Veterans.  While the vote was still ongoing, several Republican senators gathered and, knowing they'd screwed over Veterans, congratulated each other.  Ted Cruz even fist-bumped another senator. which is pretty much the same thing as giving him a 'high-five.'

This video has over 1 million views on social media.  Rubbing yourself in shit is not going to win you votes in November.

On Christmas

Well, it's Christmas Day.  Ho Ho Ho.  I hope everybody out there is having a wonderful, relaxing day.  Remember, don't sweat the small stuff.  This is a holiday.  Enjoy.
The dogs have not, I repeat not, been given all of their presents yet because... they're dogs.  Their toys will be divvied out during the day.  They will look at them and decide if they're going to be 'forever toys' or 'forgettable toys.'  Children are the same way, they either love their toys or they don't.
As a lot of you know, I was stationed on the USS Constellation while in the Navy.  One of my buddies posted this picture of the flight deck this morning.  This gives you an idea of how big an aircraft carrier is:

Touch football on the flight deck

I'm planning a ride, maybe in Turin, for this afternoon... after I eat some ham.  I will give the dogs the fat, part of their Christmas day celebration.  This is supposed to be a day of celebration, you know... after the harvests are in.   This is the time we prepare to cozy ourselves into our warm houses during the sleepy time of winter.

One of the many bright spots in my own little abode this season is my Christmas cactus.  It's blooming:

Now, ain't that nice?

And I've just given the dogs their first toys.  Lily is almost in rapture over her green, squeaky inchworm, and Biggie is laying on his orange, squeaky squirrel... that way Lily can't play with it.  Ah, the joy of dogs.

For those interested

A lot of you know I was in the Navy a long, long time ago.  I'm a member of several groups on Facebook, one being The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club.  Another one was set up by one of my friends for members of OI Division on the USS Constellation.  I know people in both groups.  However, the OI division group posts pictures of us... some 40 odd years ago.  This one was posted yesterday.  I know a lot of you are wondering which one of these handsome young men is me.  I'll give you a hint.  I am the oldest one in the picture.  A fact I am reminded of every time my birthday is announced on Facebook.

While those were serious times, cruising up and down the Tonkin Gulf as we launched air strikes, we had the easy jobs.  Those guys on the ground?  They were fighting to stay alive.  This is apparently something a lot of crazy conservatives seem to have forgotten.

And what about the 'anonymous op-ed' in the NYT.  I guess the Idiot Jerk in the White House is going ballistic.  For years his legal teams have been smacking the shit out of anybody who cried foul, who tried to get a fair deal.  The Idiot Jerk had no compunction when it came to ruining people's lives.  He believed, and still does, their value is severely limited.  Now he is learning people have very little compunction when it comes to his life.  They mock and deride his every Tweet.  His supporters are seen as human failures, desperately grasping for as much power as their brittle, little fingers can clench.  No matter which way they turn, they find themselves mocked as much as their president.  If, perhaps, they managed to demonstrate just a smidgen of accountability, but we all know they shit that away years ago.  So, what did they think was going to happen?  

Anyway, for those interested, I'm the one wearing the green Adidas T-shirt.  And, what I find funny as hell, everybody in that pictures is younger than me.  That's right, I'm the old man.

Origins and Idiocies

Okay, so here it is Tuesday, my first legal day off in a 5 day stretch, and it's hot outside.  Some have been saying we've been having a heat wave, but they're wrong, this is nothing but a warm spell - a heat wave is when the temperature is in the mid to upper 90's (F) and runs for 7 or more days.  Tomorrow the temperature is going to be lower and I can get at the yard work which needs to be done.
The big news yesterday was at E3.  UbiSoft announced "Assassin's Creed - Origins."  The setting is ancient Egypt - think pristine pyramids, date palms for days, and hungry crocodiles. And, of course, I did put a pre-order in, which means I'm going to have to take off on 10-27-17.

A bit of irony from yesterday was that Dave, a friend from my Navy Days sent out an email about 15 minutes after I did my post announcing that the USS Constellation, which was decommissioned a while back, has been almost completely dismantled for scrap iron.  Recycled.  Everything ends up getting recycled - that's why we have history. 

And yesterday, the Idiot in the White House gathered his cabinet around him and said  "Never has there been a president, with few exceptions - case of FDR, he had a major depression to handle - who has passed more legislation and who has done more things than what we've done."  Yeah, that's right.  He said that.  My Mom has Vascular Dementia and she's not nearly as delusional as he is.  Perhaps the time has come to prepare for the GOP wake because this Idiot has staked it through the heart.

In the Navy

Well, I'm sitting here waiting for my phone to arrive - it wasn't supposed to be here until Wednesday but then yesterday afternoon I got an email telling me it had been upgraded to "3 day shipping," so I called work and told them I'd be late.  However, if I wait too long, I'm going to call off completely.  I've got the time on the books.
A few years ago, because I was in the Navy, on an air craft carrier (USS Constellation), and in Vietnam, I joined something on Facebook called The Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club.  This is where other sailors with the same history as I post pics from those days long gone by.  This morning one my 'shipmates' posted a pic looking out into the hanger bay towards the aft end of the ship and I thought I'd post it here since most people have absolutely no idea just how big an air craft carrier is (so huge it would make the Idiot's head spin).

That's right, there's a van parked in the hanger bay - it was used by the Shore Patrol when we were in Subic Bay.  And, of course, you can see planes there because that's where the Airdales performed maintenance.  On the left hand side, about half way back, you can see a fire wall.  A long, long time ago, I lost a hard contact lens just forward of that fire wall, never to be found again.

And this is what it looked like when they were taking aircraft from the hanger bay up to the flight deck.  The above picture is from the USS Ticonderoga, which was rather small compared to the USS Constellation, which was the largest, non-nuclear air craft carrier ever built.

This is my ship pulling into San Diego after a 10 month tour of WestPac.

Now ain't that grand!  Can you see me up on the flight deck in my dress whites waving?

Memorial Day, but not for me

Even though we've been having a Memorial Day sale for some time now, today is the actual start of the Memorial Day Weekend... and I'm working.  Monday, the day we actually celebrate Memorial Day, I'm working.  My next day off is on Wednesday, June 1st.  As with most National Holidays, the retail industry has hijacked a time which is supposed to be dedicated to the remembrance of our Veterans, for what they have sacrificed for this country, and turned it into a time of special deals, and discounts, and extraordinary sales.  Sure, there will be news coverage of some parades, and some services as military cemeteries, but far more people are going to be interested in how cheap they can get a new Weber Grill, or a new patio set.  While most people will be having Monday off, I'll be working.  Oh, sure, I'll be getting holiday pay, and they'll be cooking hot dogs and hamburgers on a big grill behind the store, but I'll still be working.  Why gripe?  Because I'm a Veteran.  And not just any Veteran, I'm a Vietnam Vet.  That's right, I served on the USS Constellation, OI division (radar) while they were cruising up and down the Tonkin Gulf launching air strikes against the Vietnamese.  When I tell people, they will thank me for serving my country, and sometimes shake my hand.  What I would really like is to have off on Memorial Day.  And I'm not alone.  There are 3 other Vietnam Vets working in my store... and we all work Memorial Day.

I'd like to be scheduled off on Veteran's Day, too, but that never happens.

We all have copies of our DD214 's.  I think corporations should actually recognized their associates who served in a war zone.  This holiday is supposed to be for us, and because we spend it working for them, there is nothing special about it.  At least they gave me a mid-shift on Monday, 9:30 - 6:00.  Yippie Skippy.