Husted's Ass

Our temps are supposed to be breaking the 70 (F) degree mark both  today and tomorrow, and after the morning clouds disappear, there should be plenty of sunshine.  The forecast for the next 10 days is looking very moderate.  I can live with that.  The longer the heating days of winter stay away, the better it is for my bank account.

Yesterday was sort of meh in a way, but not quite.  I did get things accomplished.  There were 3 large, potted spider plants on a shelf above my kitchen window, and they got broken apart into 8 smaller plants which are now scattered about the house.  I always forgot to water because they up high.  If you know anything about spider plants, you know they have babies.  One of the plants that was broken apart had 8 babies.  Did I tell you they were large?  They have now been replaced by colorful bowls which do not need to be watered.

I saw an article in The Guardian this morning about publishing scams.  I've been targeted twice by these scammers and, after about 5 minutes of research, realized how bad they are.  The first tier price was $35 and for that they "advertise" you book.  The 2nd tier price is $70 and that gets you a review on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  They don't specifically say if it's going to be a good review or not, but there are people who find that an big enough incentive to fork over the cash.  Me?  I'm cynical by nature.  It turns out both Amazon and Barnes & Noble run reviews through an algorithm before they can be published.  I suspect these reviews have certain word patterns, especially if they've been written with AI, and the reviews are flagged, and then your book is removed.  So, here's my word of warning, do not give into the temptation.

We now have a coffee bar at work.  Not everyone is excited.

And Sixpence said he was going to Google John Husted's ass, well, I did it for him, and to be perfectly honest, I'm not  that impressed.  Of course, I'm not an 80 year-old pedophile with dementia, either.

And Republicans are ripping their hair out by the roots over the Peltola's team looking for a 2nd Dan Sullivan.  Hats off to Aaron Parnas who's reminding us that in 2022 the Republicans ran a ghost candidate in the Miami election, a candidate who syphoned votes away from the Democratic candidate in order for the Republican to win.  

Another and:  The big question about Flavio Bolsonaro's arrival in Miami should not be about America taking a turn at safe harboring criminals.  Nope.  The big question should ask how much $$$ Flavio had to for over for those visas.  This administration is transactional, meaning there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Bye Bye to Discover credit card pigs

Yesterday was a big day for me, I paid off my Discover Card.  Why was this a big day?  Because I truly despise this credit card and the company which runs it.  About three years ago I received my monthly statement and, to my chagrin, found a late charge which was odd since the card was always paid on the same day of every month.  When I call them up to question the charge, I was told my due date had been changed, it had been moved up, enabling Discover to collect 13 monthly payments from me that year.  Complaining works, the customer service rep removed the late fee and reverted my account to the original due date.  Everything was hunky dory until about a year ago when my interest rate went up not because I was a bad risk, or had missed payments, but because Discover card was allowed to charge me more.  So, I closed the account.  The reaction from Discover?  Talk about a frigid bitch on the end of the line, she went into robot mode as soon as she learned my intentions.

Discover credit card pigs

You see the problem is Discover, like all credit card companies whether they be Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, are in the credit business to make a profit.  My interest charge went from 15.5% to 18.8% and that increase made me furious because my credit rating is excellent.  That's a hell of a chunk of change so I said "no" to Discover (actually, I told them to screw themselves).  There is no such thing as inexpensive credit anymore.  Too many Americans are greedy.  Since they think they "need it" now, they have no problem buying that 56" 3D Flat Screen TV for as much as 26% interest on their credit card.  They don't do the math.  They don't understand that for every $500 on their card they're paying approximately $130 a year in interest.  In spite of all their catchy commercials, credit card companies offer no deal to the American consumer.