Never Smart

Another late entry!  I set my alarm for 0500, it went off, I turned it off, and went back to bed.  Woke up a little after 0700.  This is how it goes.
The Devil's Food cake will be baked this morning.  Yum.  I'm also going to be making eggrolls for dinner.  I'll make a bunch and freeze some for later.
I also printed off my W-2.   All I need now is the one I get from Social Security.  Hopefully this year will be like last year and I'll get bunches of cash back.  We also get the first of our 2 yearly bonus checks in late March.  Right now we are the #1 store in the district.  If that holds, that check will be almost as tasty as the cake I'm baking.  If the $$$ stars align, I might invest in a Fenix 6.
Oscar nominations are out.  For some reason I thought they were going to be announced tomorrow.  I was wrong.  There had been a time when I felt I had to request the day off, they were that important.  Not nearly so much anymore.  I saw "Joker" leads the pack with 11 nominations.  I really didn't like that movie.  However, because of those 11 nominations viewership of this year's Oscars will be up.  A lot of people went to see "Joker" and liked it... let me paraphrase myself... I thought it stank.  I had no sympathy for the main character what so ever.
I am going to see "1917" tomorrow night.  It got 10 nominations, including one for director Sam Mendes, he won for "American Beauty."  I didn't like that movie either.  Depressing as hell is what it was.  A funny thing about "1917," is that it didn't get an editing nomination...  That's because it was filmed without edits.

Remember how the Idiot Jerk was going to save coal mining jobs.  Well, he lied to all of those coal miners.  What else is new? Coal fueled power plants are shutting down fast.  What does that mean for miners?  Job loss.  He has lied to so many people and Republicans just can't believe they, themselves, are integral in keeping his lies alive.  No one ever said they were smart, selfish and greedy as hell, but never smart.

Blowing in the wind

Well, here it is, Thursday.  This is my first of 2 days off in a row.  I'm happy with that.
And for those of you who haven't heard... the Idiot Jerk in the White House has decided that windmills cause cancer....   ....   (stunned silence) ...  Now why you know he's the Idiot Jerk, though I'm sure most of you knew already.  What he really meant to say was "windmills take jobs from coal miners."  I have yet to see anyone from the Administration even attempting to qualify this inanity.  Maybe they think people won't notice since so much of what comes out of his mouth simply defies common sense.  If it's not because of the coal industry, then it has to be because of his hair.  Yeah, now that makes sense, too.

Oh, and Mitch and Co. went nuclear yesterday.  They want to get as many conservative judgeships as possible.  This is how they plan on forcing the country down a narrow minded path which only a minority of people want.  These Republicans are so damn stupid.  I mean, they are really dumb.  They do these changes without even thinking about what's going to happen when the Democrats take over.  Look at the House of Representatives.  When they had the majority they were constantly tweeking the rules and regulations to give themselves more power to investigate, to subpoena, and to challenge the White House.  Now the Democrats have the majority and those powers to investigate, to subpoena, and to challenge are now in their hands.  One can only wonder if Trey Gowdy is looking over his shoulder saying "oh... shit."
Anyway, I managed to get a couple of pictures of the dogs playing in the writing room (formerly the dining room). 

They do make me laugh.

Coal for Everybody!

I guess there are a number of you who are sleeping in this morning because the day just happens to be named Sunday.  Not me.  For me, the days of the week are only identifiers for when I have to work, like I work on Sunday, but am off on Monday and Tuesday.  They might as well be colors for all their value.  I get to work on Orange, but than I'm off Red on Yellow.  Imagine how colorful our calendars would be if we substituted red, and yellow, and orange, and blue, and green instead of day names.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House would hate a calendar with colors rather than day names.  Can't you hear him "why is every day black?  Why is every day Black!?"
Yesterday was a slow day at the store...  It took a long time, but the great orange home retailer I work for finally realized we are not a Christmas store.  We do sell the obligatory tools husbands, and brothers, and sons, and fathers use, but most of these gifts fail to kick in that gleeful rush of adrenaline when they are unwrapped.  Finding a shop vac nestled under the tree creates a lot less excitement then say... oh, a ring, or tickets to Hawaii, or maybe even a puppy or a kitty cat.
Speaking of presents, some of the dog toys Big Seig and Lily are getting for Christmas arrived yesterday.  The bestest is a 6 foot green and yellow snake with 12 squeakers.

Just call me crazy.
Oh, and John Kelly is leaving the Administration and some guy name Nick Ayers is taking his place. Ayers is evidently a Pence lackey who lacks organizational skills.  Of course, he isn't there to keep things in order, he's there to suck up as much dirt on the Idiot Jerk as possible.  Pence is going to need as much ammunition as possible when he runs for president in 2020.  He doesn't seem to understand that when the Idiot Jerk goes, he goes too.
And in case you're wondering, there is a bright spot.  The West Virginia coal industry is going to make a killing this year thanks to the Republican  party.  No 6 foot green and yellow snakes with squeakers for the Idiot Jerk in the White House, just lumps of coal.  In fact, he's probably going to start using that at his rallies.  "Coal for Everybody!  Coal for Everybody!"

Daily Chores

Okay, so it's Tuesday.  I'm scheduled off today - that doesn't mean I'm not going to do things.  Basically, this is a clean, clean, do laundry day.  These are the chores I do on my day off.  While I will do the dishes everyday, the big stuff is put on hold till I'm off.  Not that it takes that much longer.  These are just the things I enjoy the least.
They are forecasting cloudy skies which I can deal with.  The temp is comfortable outside, though humid.  Central air is off, and the ceiling fans are still on.  If I get the chance, I might even do my nails 🙄.
So, we had another stupid customer at the paint desk:  she owns a 'rental unit,' her term for a townhouse with tenants.  One set is moving out and another is moving in.  There were stains on the bedroom carpets and she wanted to replace them.  She picked the cheapest carpet we install, and the cheapest padding and made her purchase, a carpet which is guaranteed to get installed in 3 days.  A day after putting this install on her credit card... she changed her mind.  She decided the stained carpet in one of the bedrooms weren't that bad, and her new tenants could just live with them.  She also complained about the last tenants, how they left the place a mess... now you know why.  Anyway, she called too late.  The carpet had already shipped.  If she didn't want to go through with the install on one of the rooms, she'd have to pay a 20% restocking fee (the carpet was already cut).  We had to deal with her complaining about fairness, and how the customer was always right, and how she was going to go to our competitor.  In the end, she chose not to pay the restocking fee.  The install is going through.  Her new tenants are going to get new carpet in both bedrooms.  These are the chores we deal with at work.

Funny thing, as I was looking for clip art for today's post, I came across a chore list that included 'morning prayers.'  I'm sorry, but if you consider your daily devotions a chore, you should probably re-evaluate your faith.
And finally, one of my daily chores is checking out my news feeds.  Sometimes they make me laugh, sometimes they piss me off.  This AM I saw in the WSJ a report on tariffs on car imports is being delayed (Ha Ha).  We have a lot of car dealers selling imports... ouch!  And in a desperate attempt to keep the Coal Industry alive in West Virginia, the EPA is permitting states to set their own emissions standards (this is shit).  Power plants are running away from coal as fast as possible, however this administration's 1950's viewpoint doesn't see that.

Hannity, HUD, and the Thimblehead

 Okay, so it's Monday and some of you had to go to work today... I didn't.  My weekend started last evening around 7 PM.  Two days off.  Then I get to back and work for a day before having another day off.
This doesn't mean, however, that my next 48 hours are going to be leisurely.  Not in the least.  There are all sorts of chores and jobs planned.  I always over plan, and over schedule.  Usually I end up surprising myself when I realize just how much I have accomplished.
The Guardian did a revealing story about Sean Hannity and his Real Estate holdings.  Seems as though he owns a number of properties in areas specifically classified as being 'Low Income,' and 'Poverty Areas.'  This pretty much means he's a Slum Lord.  Now is anyone really surprised?  I wasn't.  Some of these properties also appear to be getting assistance from HUD, and we all know who the dupe is running HUD... our very own Crazy Christian Ben Carson.  Now, ain't that spicey?  No wonder the Slum Lord isn't happy.  People are starting to wonder just how deep his hand is in Ben Carson's pants... maybe I mean pockets... how far down does his hand go in Ben Carson's pockets.  Right... as though a little bit of fabric is going to make any difference.
I haven't heard from World Cup Cycle and Ski about my new Giros, they said it would take about a week.  If they call today, I'll probably make an appointment to get them on Thursday since I have take the bike in.  They will put the new pedals on and then I'll have to clip the shoes on and off a couple of times to make sure everything is hunky dory.
There was also this funny story about how the coal industry is continuing to flounder; another coal reliant power plant is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy.  One such group wants the Idiot Jerk to declare a power grid emergency in order to get a government hand out.  The Idiot Jerk in the White House is going to thank all of those coal miners who voted for him a plate of shit.  Ooops.  This is just one more example of how he's nothing more than a thimblehead.

Anyway, the time has come for me to start tackling my list.