Conniving Coward

Good Morning from Central PA.  Our outside temp is 71(F) and our afternoon high is expected to be in the low 80s (F).  We only have a 1% chance of rain today, which is nice because things need to be done.  Our next rainy day is not supposed to be until Sunday.  I have plans for Sunday, so that figures.

So, what did I do yesterday?  Not a lot.  Well, that's not completely true.  I did about half an hour of lawn cleanup pulling together branches that need to be run through the wood chipper.  I tried that little handheld chainsaw and it works well.  I'm going to try and get them chipped this afternoon.

My excitement for later this morning will be paying off my school tax.  After that I'll be paying off the credit card I used to purchase the lawn cleanup tools, chainsaws, wood chipper, etc.  I haven't paid interest in years, except for the car loan, and do not intend to start now.  

I'm also going to be pausing my trainer.  There are too many other things going on right now for me to focus properly, yard cleanup for one.  I don't want to pay for something that I'm not using, and I have been looking for reason to skip my training sessions.  I find my thoughts wandering, not absent mindedly, but usually towards one extremely sore subject.  

The chicken toy Howie got for his birthday?  Its lost a leg... er... drumstick.

The Washington Post has a 2+ minute clip on this morning's front page detailing how the Orange Anus swapped planes.  This is a good thing.  For the Washington Post, owned by Orangie supporter Jeff Bezos, to post this video is important because we are probably seeing the beginning of divorce proceedings.  The Wall Street Journal, owned by another Orangie supporter, Rupert Murdoch, yesterday said that Orangie is in a very "precarious position."  Other media outlets are calling him a Conniving Coward.  I don't doubt for a second that these betrayals of their tax break benefactor are one of the reasons Orangie decided all aircraft carriers need to go back to steam based catapults.  I don't doubt that this is also the reason he is once again attempting to put his name on the Kennedy Center.  As Mark Kelly said yesterday, Orangie should have stuck "to what he does best, ballrooms, bullshit, and bankruptcy."  

Speaking of aircraft carriers, the Abraham Lincoln is finally heading back to the states.  I feel so sorry for those sailors.  I was on an aircraft carrier in a warzone, and the longest we were on station was 15 days.  Believe me, that was stressful.  The sailors on the Abraham Lincoln have been at sea for over 250 days.  This shit is Hegseth's fault.  He will be tried for war crimes and I do not doubt he will cry like a little girl.

Murdoch vs Trump

 Our outside temp here is a cool 68 (F), the skies are cloudy, and we have a persistent drip, drip, drip of rain.  A warmup is expected... somewhat, this afternoon, though the humidity is predicted to soar into the uncomfortable zone.  I work this afternoon, so it really doesn't bother me too much.  Tomorrow we're back to our standard highs in the upper 80s (F) with the usual 45% chance of showers and thundershowers.

We are halfway through July and so far our weather patterns are different then what we've had in the past.  Temp wise they're about the same as in past years.  These are the dog days of summer and it's supposed to hot... and dry, and that's where the difference is.  We have, so far, and if the forecasters are to be believed, are in the middle of a rather wet summer.  There is the possibility that the dry spells will begin in August, so we can't rule them out.  Still, unless something changes, there will be no long, hot, sunny days with the cicadas plaintively singing for a mate.

I got a really good upper body workout done yesterday.  Some words were written.  

The firefly left the bottle and found a safe spot on one of the kitchen cabinets.  Last evening I scooped him up and set him free in the outside world.

And I don't know about you, but I'm safe.

I was not surprised yesterday when I saw that the Orange Anus was suing the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, and Rupert Murdoch for $10 billion.  If you weren't expecting this, you must be living on Jupiter.  This is standard operating procedure for Orangie; when he doesn't like something, he sues.  That dollar figure alone is certain to get more people talking about Orangie and Epstein.  There had been communication between Orangie and the Wall Street Journal prior to the bombshell article being published, so you can bet he threatened them with a lawsuit.  After Murdoch's $787 million out of court settlement with Dominion over Fox's lies about the 2016 election, you can bet that's he's learned from his mistake.  The odds are probably quite high that the WSJ has more damaging information regarding the Orangie/Epstein relationship.  While I don't doubt that the Oligarchy is tremendously pleased for the tax cut, I would not be surprised if most of them despise Orangie.  They all know he's a puss bag.  They also know it would suit their purposes better to have someone less reprehensible in the White House.  With all of their billions, I'm surprised that the know so little.

Open Day on Billionaires

 Yesterday was nice and breezy, today is not going to be a carbon copy.  Temps are expected to rise into the 70s (F), but occasional showers will persist, and then overnight temps are predicted to drop.  The next 3 days look like on and off showers, lots of drizzles.  This is a good time to plant some grass seed in those bare patches.

Even though I was busy yesterday, most of my time was spent on disassembling my treadmill.  What seems like hundreds of screws and bolts were removed.  Many pieces were carried downstairs, some were thrown into the trash.  No matter how much you might want to, I can tell you with all honesty that the pieces of one treadmill are too many to fit in the oversized garbage can that I have.  Rather than pay an extra charge for them to pick it up, I get rid of it over 3 consecutive garbage pickup days.  As I type, the only thing left upstairs is the base.  What surprised me the most in the disassembly was that you're actually running on a piece of HDF or High Density Fiberboard.  In case any of you were wondering, I did have help.  This also gives you an idea how big Howie is at 8 months.

As expected, the Orange Anus revealed his tariff plan yesterday.  The Wall Street Journal said it was "buy another yacht day for the swamp."  For those who aren't aware, Rupert Murdoch, the same Rupert who owns Fox Entertainment, owns the Wall Street Journal.  I don't think Rupie's too happy.  Rolling Stone talked about Orangie's disassociation with the American people, focusing on his persistent use of the groceries, something he's probably never bought in his life.  More than one Economist has suggested that he seems to be attempting to turn the clock back to before the great depression of 1929, back to an era when greed ruled the world.

Notifications are flying in as Wall Street and the world reel.  I understand that even the penguins on the Heard and McDonald Islands are stamping their feet.  I do suspect that in the demented mind of the Orange Anus the world will bow down and cave.  That's not going to happen.  In truth, they will reciprocate even as they seek other trading partners to compensate.  Better deals will be struck between China and the world.  I wouldn't be surprised if the masses in America rise up, and, as someone else has said, we might have open day on billionaires.

Toasty

 It's sunny, for the moment.  Later in the morning they're predicting winds, though no storms.  And, of course, beginning Monday, we  will be under the Heat Dome, as will much of the eastern United States.  Texas will be dangerously hot.  I feel sorry for those who understand there is such a thing as Climate Change, but have to suffer because their leadership runs away form science.

Yesterday, I did summerfy my house.  That means the window A/C unit is in the bedroom and the standpipe is in the hallway for my Central Air, in fact I turned it on.  It's always set at 74 (F).  I find that comfortable.  The temp upstairs was 79 (F), which is warm.  And yes, my Central Air relies on a standpipe.  This is because when I had it installed all those years ago, I was naive and thought Zimmerman Plumbing and Heating was doing the right thing.  They didn't.  The put the return vent for the second floor in the floor.  Well, since hot air rises, that doesn't work.  The standpipe basically raises the return vent to 6 feet off the floor.  Small businesses don't always have their customer's best interests at heart.

Anyway, when I went up into the attic to get the standpipe, I was stunned to see sunlight shining in around the front window.  That's right, around the window, as well as through it.  Well, damn.  I'd been putting off having the windows replace, now it looks like that's not going to happen.  So, I went down to the computer and filled in the necessary forms and within seconds I began getting phone calls.  I didn't answer any of them, but now I have their phone numbers and will start calling installers later this morning.   

The Dome.

One thing that I'm glad to see happening is more and more people, even media outlets, are calling out other news outlets, like the New York Times, and the New York Post, and the Wall Street Journal (the last 2 just happen to be owned by Rupert Murdoch) for their deceitful coverage of Biden.  Sinclair Group is another group of faux news stations that have been lying about the president's mental health.  Sinclair grew very upset when it was pointed out that its new stations were repeating almost verbatim from a article in the Wall Street Journal.  These outlets don't like this.  They want to be seen as the voice of conservative authority and, well, the truth hurts.  Isn't ironic that the fake media Trump's been shrieking about for so many years are those conservative networks and news shows?  I think so.

Drumming out the Truth

 Can you believe it?  February is past half over?  Spring is really just around the corner.  Forecasters said I was going to wake up to a crusty coat of icy, sleety, snow.  Maybe in your part of the world.  Outside the temp is a nearly balmy 34 (F).  The remnants of the past few storms are slowly melting away.  This is fine with me.  I don't mind winter, but I do long for a return to the more comfortable temps of spring, days when neither the furnace nor the Central Air need to be turned on.

I had a customer call yesterday about returning pieces of vinyl sheet we had cut for him.  We had some serious server problems, so I told him our system was down.  He hung up before I could tell him we don't take back vinyl that has been cut to size unless there is a manufacturers defect.  When customers hear this, they lie and blame the store, saying the vinyl was cut too short.  There is a certain breed of customer who, when faced with the choice of either paying for the cost of his own mistake, or getting a refund by lying, will always lie.  For those who don't know, we call these people Republicans.

Saturday morning, while I was sitting on the sofa in the writing room editing, Biggie decided to join me.  There are times when I think I post more pictures of Lilly and Seig, so, grabbing my phone, I took one of Biggie.  Keep in mind, his head is about the size of a small watermelon.  Here he is:

He's ready for his close-up, Mr. DeMille

On yesterday's entry, Maddie commented about her feelings regarding the Republicans failure to vote guilty on the failed presidents 2nd impeachment.  Keep in mind, 7 chose to side with the Democrats.  That's amazing.  Everybody knows that had there been a secret vote, he would have been found guilty. Still there are concerns regarding his acquittal.  While at lunch, I saw this article in The Guardian illuminating an article in the Wall Street Journal, owned by the Conservative Rupert Murdoch.  The numbers are fascinating.  58% of Americans feel the failed president is guilty of fueling the January 6 insurrection.  That number is not Democrats.  Nope.  That total represents over 330 million Americans.  57% of Republicans say the Loser should run again.  The article goes at great length to emphasize that number equates to the minority party.  On a good day, Republicans make up 30% of all voters.  Basically, 57% of that 30% ( on a good day) want him to run again.  One sentence that is repeated a number of times in the article is 'Democrats will win.'  This is what happens if the lying sack of shit runs, or back a loyalist, or simply back a Republican.  'Democrats will win.'  Americans are furious.  As a result, Republican voices will get louder and louder as they struggle to drum out the truth.

See how It Gloats

It's Friday.  Will it be a good one or a bad one?  For me it's probably going to be an 'in house' day.  Stay at Home, you know?  Believe me, I have plenty of things to do around here.
I went to my neighborhood Giant yesterday and they had both toilet paper and paper towels in stock, not vast quantities mind you, but there was product on their shelves.  Very shortly, the sales of those two items are going to seriously decline.  Let's be honest here, if you have a freaking closet full of toilet paper you're not going to need to buy it for a long, long, long time.
There are a lot of people out there who feel Wall Street represents the American economy... yesterday shows how wrong those beliefs are.  6.6 million more Americans filed for unemployment last week, they're estimating the actual total of Americans filing for unemployment over the last 3 weeks to be around 18 million... and the Dow Jones went up.  That's right.  States do not have enough money to pay the bill.  They're going to go into debt.  So, why did the markets go up?  The Fed is buying some sort of bonds and those billionaires who own 84% of the American stock market jumped for joy.  The stock market has always been a reflection of greed, rather than the American economy.
Evidently some of the Idiot Jerk's allies wish he'd cut back on his daily briefings, especially since a majority of Americans are beginning to look at how shitty his response was at the beginning.  One anonymous voice said he should stay away from the podium and just let the science guys talk.  Perhaps this is because a number of stations are cutting away before he's finished, or they're only telecasting the bits where Brix and Fauci speak.  My opinion?  Let him continue, every time he opens his mouth he hurts himself more and more.  And I really do think he should continue his stupid Tweets.  Yesterday, he Tweeted an objection to an Op Ed in the Wall Street Journal saying they were ignoring the fact that his ratings were higher than Monday Night Football and the Bachelor's Final Episode.  Try and think about that without laughing.  Really?  There is a pandemic sweeping the globe.  As of yesterday, almost 17,000 Americans have died from it.  And he's pleased his ratings are beating the Bachelors Final Episode.
Finally, since there are some out there who believe this is going to be a good Friday, I  thought I'd post this picture of the Idiot Jerk.  This is what evil looks like.

See how It gloats as It sucks their souls from them, or maybe it's because the woman in pink has her left hand on his ass.

Compensate this

So, Sunday was the last day of our fiscal half - our store was #3.  Our Success Sharing (bonus) has always been calculated on fiscal halves - we get 2 per year.  That is changing, however.  Now they're are calculating it on the quarter.  Our store was #1 for the quarter.  We're are going to get a big bonus... maybe.  From what I've heard this is just going to be for the quarter, not the half... so, what happened to the first quarter of 2018?  A 3 month bonus is going to be less than a 6 month bonus.  Oh, and we're going to be getting this 4 times a year, as long as the store makes plan (forecast, or budget, use the word of your choice). 
While some are dancing around like they were wearing their very expensive glee sneakers, I'm scratching my head.  You see, I read financials.  There's a growing trend  among corporations to treat frequent bonuses as part of an associates yearly compensation package, rather than as a 'bonus.'  This turns it into a payroll expense which, in turn, effects your yearly increase.  By using these 'bonuses,' companies will, in reality, reduce that expense.  It works like this:  Say your yearly increase amounts to $2000 and (if your store performs up to par) your bonus is $800.  They take that $800 and deduct it from the $2000 leaving you with an actual increase of $1200.  This is legitimized, in their minds, by saying it is now your responsibility for your store's sales.  Wall Street likes this approach.  Some stores will make out well, others will not.  What it really means is that a lot of people will get lower raises.
Oh, and in case you didn't hear me yesterday, I suddenly burst into loud, almost hysterical laughter.  Why?  A headline in the WSJ.  I was sitting next to our Customer Service Rep when my phone buzzed.  It does that with breaking news flashes.  To my amazement, I saw that Bob, in posting his Sunday Funnies, had revealed one of the cartoonists to be a Gypsy Fortune Teller.  This one right here:

Holy Shit!  The Idiot Jerk in the White House wants to have a 'sit down' with Iran.  Doesn't he remind you of the lowest form of life possible?  Anything for attention, for a chance to get his name in the headlines, to feed his ego.  My money says he'd eat a scumbag if he thought it would garner him headlines.  Like a washed up actor, he'll perform in anything for any price.