Books, books, books

 And here it is Tuesday and the weather outside is cloudy.  Showers are in the forecast until early afternoon.  Temps are supposed to  hover in the upper 60s (F) to lower 70s (S).  Tomorrow, however forecasters are expecting the day to be good, lots of sunshine, lots of warm mid 70s (F) temps, and quite possibly the start of Spring as we expect it to be.

Yesterday was slow.  I spent 8 hours at the flooring desk, well, that's not quite true, at a certain point in time I began walking laps of the building.  I got in over 20,000 steps.  Believe me, that's a lot of laps.  I did manage to get a measure.  That means I'm now an active participant in their measure contest.  Woohoo!

There are noises from the house next door.  I have no idea what they're doing.  Perhaps mudding the walls, or possibly laying the vinyl plank flooring.  For once they are not cutting or hammering anything.

When I did get home from work yesterday there was a box waiting for me on my porch.  My author's copies of The Body Under Ice.  There was a problem in getting them; software issues on Amazon's end kept the order for going through.  The delivery was a surprise since I was not expecting them until Saturday.

A gag order was put on Trump in regard to his rape trial to keep him, or one of his attorneys from posting things about witnesses or evidence.  Will he follow it?  I'm thinking not.  That would me doing something adverse to what for him is normal attack mode.  He will blab and if there are fines he will go to court to keep from paying them, and he'll lose.

Two Republican Representatives in Texas rattled the roof by joining a group of Democrats to push a bill raising the age to 21 for purchasing certain guns.  That was brave of them, but the legislation will fail.  For it to pass, it would mean that Texans Republicans would understand how their total abandonment of gun control is having tragic consequences, it was also mean that Democrats were correct, and they will never let that happen.

In praise of Episodic TV, and other things.

Wednesday!  That's for those who don't have a calendar.  I have one hanging on the wall next to my desk.

Yesterday the temps here hit 95 (F).  We usually get that hot in July, and at times even hotter.  Thanks to all of the rain everything is lush and green.  For those who don't know, green is one of my favorite colors.  I spent a lot of time outside in the heat, mowing the lawn, spraying the hell out of those little bugs I talked about yesterday, and yes, they are spotted lantern fly nymphs.  Rather than go the insecticide route, I went au Naturale, and no, that doesn't mean I was running around naked.  Vinegar kills lantern fly nymphs.  Vinegar is fine, though there was a bit of a back breeze now and then so when I finely came back into the house, I smelt a bit like a fresh garden salad. 

I watched episode 4 of Star Trek, Strange New Worlds last evening.  That show is damn good.  I understand it's a hit, probably because it's episodic. Part of the problem with a series that is dependent upon a story arc is that everything needs to relate.  Minor characters may have mini arcs, but they are never prioritized and too often come across as simple filler to cover a 50-minute time slot.  Being episodic, this show lets writers bang out individualized scripts that do not need to depend upon continuity.  

  I also watched the first 2 episodes of the Obi-Wan series on Disney.  That show is okay.  Where The Mandalorian and a baby Yoda, this series has a little Leia.  In a few weeks, after a few more episodes have aired, I'll probably buy a bottle of wine and catch up.

Knowing that my roses are on the verge of dropping their petals, I snapped a pic to brighten the day.

I saw this article in The Hill yesterday and thought, this is something the Republican party never expected.  You know some of them are scratching their heads wondering how abortion rights and gun control could affect the midterm elections.  You have to remember, for Republicans it is all about the money.  They truly believe that a majority of Americans are more concerned about how thick their wallet is rather than children being slaughtered.  In their minds, women should have no problem being considered vessels, or baby banks, or whatever term they feel is appropriate.  For Republicans, it is now, and will always be about the money.  They will never work to help fix the problem if they see the problem as the means of putting themselves back in power.  Why investigate price gouging by Big Oil when it can help them in the midterms?  Baby formula shortage?  They see that as an asset even if newborns need to suffer.  Financially hurting families is a good thing if it leads to their being able to say, "Shut up, we're in charge."   Their economic ineptitude is the reason we have these problems.  So, the idea that Americans might vote for something other than the economy is downright alien to the GOP.  Will they learn from the midterms?  Absolutely not.  They are just like the moral degenerate the venerated and so will lie and cheat rather than attempt to understand failure.

Lessons

 Well, we are now halfway through the Memorial Day weekend.  The temps here in Central PA are supposed to climb into the mid 80s (F).  The Central Air is on in the house.  We are heading into a mini heatwave with temps predicted to rise into the mid to upper 90s for most of the week.  Since I'm off most of the week, that's fine with me.  My lawn needs to be mowed thanks to all of the rain we've been having.

As usual, they're providing snacky things over the weekend, today it's 'make your own sundae' and there's freshly popped popcorn.   There's a cookout scheduled for tomorrow: standard hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on a grill behind the store.  Covid ended the cookouts, now they're back.

Business at the flooring desk was slow yesterday.  We were fully staffed and most of us ended up pretty much pissing the time away.  Not that our specialty manager did show up from time to time urging us to find some busy work.  He wants us to be aggressive salespeople, so he looks good.  We gently ignore.  The decision was made to give free measures this weekend, they usually cost $35, but that's deducted when you purchase your install.  People weren't buying it, even for free.

Here's an old picture of Lily.  Ain't she just the cutest little lady?

A few days back I mentioned how the Republicans were again hinting that they might be open to some form of gun control, and that it was as fake as it ever was.  This morning, the Washington Post said the same thing, however they put the blame on McConnell.  The terrible truth is the Republicans have a base that will always vote Red as long as the GOP stops gun control in its tracks.  Those voters are a sure thing.  There's no way they are ever going to do anything to lose those votes.  That group alone, however, is not nearly enough to get Republicans elected to office.  The time has come to teach them a lesson.

Crib notes from Hell

Yesterday the temperature hit 82 (F) around here - hot, humid, muggy as hell, and then showers moved in making it cooler, but still humid and muggy as hell.  Today the temps are forecast to be a more seasonal 46 (F), though right now it's still fairly humid.  Today is also a dumbbell morning... and also my last day of work - 2 days off, then 2 days on, then 2 days off.
The dogs are outside right now, but because of the on again, off again showers, their paws are getting muddy.  This is life.  We all have to deal with a little mud now and then.
Mud is okay, shit is a lot worse.  Like yesterday.  There was a lot of shit happening yesterday.  I understand Marco Rubio was at a Town Hall and things didn't go well for him.  You know who I'm talking about?  The Latino, Republican from Florida who sold his soul to the NRA for Campaign Cash?   Evidently he got booed... not a good thing, and jeered... people yelled things at him... and then when asked if he'd stop taking contributions from the NRA?  Well, he avoided that question.  They're saying he was grilled.  I wonder if he understand that those teenagers, some of whom are already 18, and many who will be turning 18 this year, want gun control and they are going to vote for the person who gives them what they want.  They are not members of that minority group, the NRA, but rather individuals who are learning that their votes count, and they will use them.
And then there was the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  When I heard he had actually suggested to a group of grieving parents and student survivors from Parkland that they were considering arming teachers and administrators in order to keep students safe, I wanted to hit him upside his head with a brick.  This is America.  We should not have to arm teachers and administrators because a minority group, the NRA, has twisted the 2nd Amendment so crazily to the right it now holds sanity contemptible.  Making this ignoble insult even worse, the Idiot Jerk in the White House sat there among these grieving parents, beside these students who had seen their friends shot to death, holding crib notes.

This turd of a human can't even think of appropriate questions to ask.  He needs them written down, no doubt by John Kelly, who most likely said "don't forget to ask these questions, they'll make you look sympathetic."  The time has come to flush this turd.

Of guns and biscuits

Well, here it is Monday, my 6th day of work.  I have tomorrow and Wednesday off, Wednesday since I requested it off - it's my birthday.  I've taken November 8th off ever since I stepped into retail eight years ago, not that I do anything special, I just want to treat it like the holiday it is.
Yesterday there was another tragic shooting - this one in Texas.  That's the 2nd mass killing in a southern, gun happy state in what?  Two months?  Once again the Idiot Jerk in the White House said that it was a "mental health issue."  Excuse me, but if it's a mental health issue, then you need to pass laws to keep the mentally ill from buying guns.  NRA lackeys don't like that, they always come back with "if you want a gun bad enough, you'll get a gun and laws aren't going to make any difference."  Dumb shits.  Will these shooting continue?  Of course they will.
And the Idiot Jerk in the White House read a prepared statement regarding the shooting.  That's right, a prepared statement.  I watched the video, volume turned down of course; he didn't look into the camera one, single time.  Nope.  He was focused on reading the words someone else had written down.  I commented about this on Facebook and some dolt actually replied that "all presidents use speechwriters."  Ponder that statement a few seconds.  Let it sink in.  Some moron opens fire in a church using an automatic weapon killing 26 people, including children, and the Idiot jerk depends upon a speechwriter to convey his 'heartfelt' grief.... and some other moron thinks that's standard operating procedure.  Talk about a mental health issue.  Can you even imagine George W. Bush standing atop the ruins of the World Trade Center reading a statement.  True, Obama did have a prepared statement after Sandy Hook, but it was over 4 minutes long and he cried through it.  The Idiot Jerk's comments were 22 seconds long, and he read them verbatim.
On a lighter note, I've decided to put Big Seig on a biscuit diet.  That doesn't mean he's going to be eating biscuits all the time... he wants to do that now.  They used to be a reward when he went potty outside, now, however, he thinks he deserves one every time he goes outside.  Not happening.

How can you say 'no' to this face?

The time has come to break his biscuit habit.

Crazy guns in Texas

Of course I had to write something about those idiots and Texas relaxing even farther their already relaxed gun laws.  Dummies.  I don't know who the idiot was who first said you'd be safer if you carry a gun and probably will never know since he's probably already dead, shot in the back, no doubt.  When I brought up the subject at work and said that openly carrying a weapon is going to make you a walking target I found myself drummed with the disbelief that quite the opposite, carrying a gun is going to make you safer.  Bullshit.  When I pointed out that I suspect most shooters who enter rooms are going to first aim for the guy with the gun, one person actually said, "well, what if they're all carrying guns."  I'm quite serious.  Somebody actually said that to me.  Hhhmm.
Anyway, I pointed out that there was some serious gun control going on in the old, wild west and, of course, no one believed me, so I emailed a couple of them a copy of this.  Did it change their minds?  Even a smidgen?  Nope  They think it's liberal propaganda.  In fact, one went to far as to send me a graphic of dubious origin which proved that gun deaths have gone down since more people are now carrying weapons.
Now, this isn't everybody, not by a long shot, only those who like to consider themselves conservatives.  Oops, wait a minute, conservatives are totally for liberal gun control?
Anyway, I suspect things will slowly begin to change.

When gun violence doesn't drop and more and more people get shot to death, some not-so-brilliant politician is going to jump up on his little soap box and say, "we need to put a stop to this," and, most likely, it will be some moronic Republican, totally unaware that it was his / her party that got us into this mess in the first place.

Run, Run, he's got a gun!

This past week training loaded all associates are supposed to take regarding 'active shooters in the building,' or as I call it "Run, run, he's got a gun."  This is a sad statement for our times that corporations should feel it necessary their associates understand they might actually have to deal with this type of situation.  What I found interesting was that the whole thing, lasting only 2.5 minutes, was all about concealment, about either getting out of the building or finding a safe place to hide, and what to do when law enforcement arrived - leave the building with your hands in the air and fingers spread wide open.  There was not one mention of what you should do in this type of situation if you happened to be one of those individuals who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon, most likely, I suspect, because by the time you got your weapon out of your coat pocket, took off the safety, and started aiming at a moving target you would probably have already been shot.  You see active shooters don't usually carry single fire weapons, they carry assault weapons that fire a lot of bullets in a few seconds; they don't really need to aim, they just point and pull the trigger.

Interestingly enough, with all the shootings we've had, I've never heard one word from one survivor lamenting the fact that if he/ she had had their gun with them they'd have been able to save lives.  No doubt because in intense moments like shootings, panic sets in and your basic instinct is to save your ass.  That's why this training session had nothing to do with putting a bead on the shooter's head and everything to do with running away or finding a safe hiding place.  This concept is quite alien to a number of gun fanciers simply because they just don't understand how severely limited they are. 

NRA & Crowd Control

A couple thoughts on the shootings out in Oregon:

When these things happens the NRA goes into Crowd Control Mode on a vast scale, because ammunition manufactures tell them this is what they need to do, and Lord knows we do need more bullets.  One of their most popular sayings is " guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Whenever I hear this I say, "which means not everybody should have access to guns."  They don't like that.

The media provides us with a shit load of info about the shooters, but are they card carrying members of the NRA?  You never find that out.

Adam Lanza, the wacko kid responsible for Sandy Hook, was he a member?  Was his mother a member?  I think the public needs to know.  Did a card carrying member of the NRA give her wacko son access to automatic weapons?

Was this crazy out in Oregon a member?  He owned a number of guns, all purchased legally, so I think the public has a right to know.  Did he pay his dues to the NRA?

And James Holmes out in Colorado?  He tried to practice shooting at a gun club?  Was he a member?  Had he applied?

Every time something terrible like this happens the public has a right to know as much as possible.

It seems to me that the NRA thinks everyone should be able to own a gun.  But they don't seem to police their members, do they?  If they did, the bullet makers might not sell as many bullets.  Wouldn't that be a shame?