Great News!!

Yesterday was nice, sunny, not so humid and an enjoyable day.  That didn't mean we didn't get our daily dose of rain, that happened overnight... and it's going to happen again today.  Weather patterns are so difficult to predict, especially since we're in the beginning stages of Global Warming.  We have no idea how fast or how extreme things will change.  One thing that does seem to be certain is that here in the United States our southern states are going to get very hot.

My visit to That Fish / Pet Place yielded some blue mollies and plants, the main reason for my trek to Landisville.  Later today I'm going to be ordering the last of the naked Greek statues for the big tank.  They're made of marble and safe for the tank.  Some of the plants I put in the living room tank and the fish rooted them up over night, so they'll go in the bigger tank where the fish are not so aggressive.

Yesterday, as I was driving back from Lancaster, I had an odd feeling right after I turned on to 283 West.  It wasn't good, or bad, just that something had changed.  Anyway, when I got home I put the bag of fish in the big tank to adapt to the new water temperature and went upstairs to check my email and found I'd gotten a response from Findaway Book distributors.  The Body Under Ice is now available for purchase at any one of these distributors.  Now, isn't this nice?  I set up promotions on Spotify and Barnes & Noble, though I don't know when they will kick in.  It's also available on Google Books, as well, but not on Audible.  Audible requires you only sell through Audible and royalties are only 30% of the selling price.

And, of course, there were a lot more indictments revealed last night... 13 more for the Orange Anus, though I may be wrong on that count.  In fact, 18 people were indicted, included Giuliani.  The big question right now is how many of them are going to try and strike a plea deal to avoid any jail time.  I can see Mark Meadows doing that.  Jenna Ellis?  Nah, she's too stupid.  She has continued to push the election lie.  Because cameras are allowed in the courtroom, on August 25, if he shows up, the world will get to see Donald Trump scowl, and perhaps bark out an obscenity or two.  And while his cult will slurp his anger up with a spoon, the rest of America will say they've had enough.

Funny note:  The GOP is terrified that if he doesn't get their nomination for president, the Republican party will be dead.  They still don't understand that if the Orange Anus does get the nomination, the Republican party will be dead.  Now how's that for good news!

Spock Sings

Hello, Sunday!  Today's probably going to be quiet.  Temps are supposed to climb into the upper 80s (F) with a 70% chance of rain... that means thunderstorms.  We had no rain at all yesterday, that's a bit unusual since this seems to be the summer of storms.

As one of my friends said yesterday regarding his department in the store, "it's very barren."  I don't know why, but when I think of barren I think of a wasteland.  Flooring was slow, except for an hour when I needed to design blinds for some customers.  At first, they chose a pale gray and white color called Misty for their faux wood blinds, then they saw the cost.  In the end they went with simple, inexpensive white.  The husband told me they'd have gone with the more expensive blinds, but they're closing on their new house on Thursday and the interest rate is 7%.  That's a lot if you're signing up for a $200,000 mortgage.

I was talking to Jon, the PT who's advising me on the The Body in Motion, about Kettlebell exercises.  He suggested I do lunges, and followed that up by saying if I started doing them I was going to end up being ripped.  I'm sure you can still hear me laughing at that one.

Star Trek Strange New World did a musical version this past week.  They ruptured some sort of anomaly that caused the crew to break into song.  At first I thought the episode was going to be terrible.  It wasn't.  In fact it was surprisingly good, tying up several loose ends that happened this past season.  The Klingons even show up briefly as a boy band.  This is the lyric sing-a-long version of the opening number.  I don't doubt that this will become a fan favorite right up there with The Trouble with Tribbles from the original Star Trek

As you might expect, the Republicans I work with are freaking out terribly... it's such fun.  I had a discussion with one yesterday afternoon and I truly had to struggle to keep from laughing at him.  Believe me, I am serious about this.  At one point I turned to another associate and smiled, saying "can you see how much fun I'm having."  

And on Tuesday there's going to be another plate of indictments served, at which point I expect Republicans to start setting their hair on fire and running around shrieking like banshees.  They should have cut their ties with Trump immediately after January 6, but instead they held on since he appeared to be only one who could glue the base together.  Well, they have their base, but it's just a base.  Independents are pealing off left and right because they know, should Trump ever get close to the White House again, America would be torn asunder.

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We've Been Waiting A Long Time For This

 Weather was nice yesterday.  Temps were what I consider mild, low 80's (F).  My Central Air rarely runs.  I checked my electric bill and my monthly charges are less than my monthly budget, and summer is the time when I use the most electricity because of the Central Air, so this is a bit of a win / win situation.

I got a lot accomplished yesterday:  dumbbell workout and a 14 mile ride in San Remo.

One of my big angelfish is very sick.  I put him in a smaller tank so the rest of the fish wouldn't pick at him.  Now, he's in a corner of the tank... and he's upside down.  This is not good.

The owner of the house next door took me for a tour yesterday.  I praised what his crews had done, which was difficult for me because I hate to lie.  The workmanship is sloppy, except for the tile in the kitchen, which is nice.  Except for the white trim, everything is in shades of gray.  He asked me what I'd ask for it, so I gave him a low number $165,000, mostly because I know that the 40 + year old roof is still going to need to be replaced, and it only has a partial basement.  He told me he was going to ask $190,000.  There's a good possibility he'll get what he wants.  

Here's another pic of my roses.

And, of course, late yesterday afternoon the sun came out and filled so many American hearts with glowing justice.  I was in the kitchen when the first notification The Guardian came through on my watch, and then another notification, and the vibrations continued, the NYT, the Washington Post, the BBC, Le Monde, Al Jazeera; notifications from newsgroups I wasn't even subscribed to:  Donald Trump had just been indicted for January 6.  So many of us have been waiting for such a very long time for this.  

On an even brighter note, there are 6 more indictments to come.  Many think one of those 6 will Rudy Giuliani, however, if his attorneys are to be believed, he didn't receive a target letter.  That would lead to the inference that he flipped and worked out some sort of plea deal.  

Jack Smith promised a speedy trial, normally that means within 70 days.  The judge assigned is an Obama appointee who has little patience for the nonsense Trump's legal team will try to foist on her. I'm hoping hearings will start in late November, early December.  

I don't know about you, but, as I told a friend last evening, I'm enjoying the Hell out of this.  Judgement is coming not only for Trump, but for the Republican party as well.

Number 2

 Friday.  The end of the work week has arrived for some of you.  My work weekend is just around the corner.

I don't know if it's the drizzly showers we have right now or not, but the hazy smoke from Canada's fires is no where to be seen.  This is fine with me.  They're predicting we might get a thundershower this afternoon.  That would be fine with me, too.  

For about an hour yesterday, I did some more digging on the roots of that burning bush.  This my be a rather long process.

Biggie's urn arrived.  It's a bit bigger than I expected, though is much more impressive than the one is ashes were in.  It's very shiny!

And, for those of you who haven't heard the news, Trump is going top be officially indicted for a 2nd time on Tuesday.  Miami is probably not going to be very pleasant on Tuesday.  Purportedly part of his indictment has to do with the Espionage Act which might entail him actually being arrested, put in handcuffs, and sent to a jail cell.  While 62% of America would love this, I doubt if it will happen.  One of his attorneys said that he was going to fight this thing through and not run off to Scotland.  Personally, I think that's a very good possibility.  Especially if he gets indicted a 3rd time in Atlanta.

Republicans are in an uproar, at least publicly.  Privately I'm betting many of them are scared.  A majority of Americans can't stand their politics.  We are a Centrist country unfortunately Republicans don't really care.  All they want to do is say "shut up, do as we say, we're in charge."  They hate Democracy.  

Oh, and speaking of Democracy, the Supreme Court released a decision yesterday ripping Alabama's racist redistricting maps.  Ouch for the white Republicans in that state.  Not surprisingly, the angriest dissent came for Clarence Thomas who loves him his white sugar daddy.

Get out your Party Hats

Saturday.  I work 6 hours, standard shift, 12 - 6.  Temps are predicted to climb into the low 50s (F), typical late winter, early spring weather.  No rain is in the forecast.  Yesterday was on and off showery, with 2 or 3 short term soakers.  Funny thing:  one of my co-workers actually said, "we need the rain, it's so dry."  Wrong.

I started watch Foundation last evening on Apple TV.  I figure, since I have the free subscription for 3 months, I might as well use it.  I have Paramount +, which gives me access to Showtime.  Meh.  I surfed their menu last evening and nothing jumped out and said "watch me now."  That's why I ended up watching the first episode of Foundation.  I'd tried to read the trilogy a long time ago.  Asimov could be really boring at times.

My lower back started feeling a bit scrunchy yesterday afternoon.  Maybe I slept the wrong way, or it could possibly the fact that I carried an A/C unit out to the car.  Maneuvering it down the staircase was a bit tricky since I couldn't see where my feet were.  Anyway, I don't doubt it will be naproxen and heating pads for the next couple of days.

I'll be taking a selfie for the back cover of my next book this morning.  I'll probably share it with you Monday or Tuesday.  In the meantime, here's a picture of Biggie I took last night.  Sometimes he'll hot dog it when the camera is out, last night, not so much.  It was past his bedtime.

If you were paying attention to the news yesterday, then you know that the New York City district attorney will be meeting with various sectors of law enforcement on how to handle demonstrations when Trump gets indicted.  The operative word in that sentence, for those you don't know, is indicted.  And it's just a matter of days.  And it's the first indictment, other's will follow.  

One of the Moral Degenerate's attorneys has said Trump will go peacefully, in fact, having pictures of him being handcuffed and fingerprinted will galvanize his base..  I'm betting that Ronnie D. doesn't want this to happen.  Trump, the martyr, will steal the votes Ronnie so desperately wants.  In fact, Trump's getting arrested is the worst thing that can happen to Republicans.  Get out your party hats, and make sure you stand way back for the bloodbath is about to begin.

 

Tis the season of indictments

 So, when I checked the weather on my phone this morning there was a notification that "snow will stop in 20 minutes."  Looking out the window I saw no snow.   Curious, I checked the regional map and sure enough, Central PA was covered by a light blue cloud of snow.  Still, we were flakeless.  Honestly, it would be nice to have a little, just enough to use my snow shovel at least one time.

Those who read my books will know that one of my protagonists, Max Sullivan, started out as a nurse working for the #1 heart team in Old Towne.  Not knowing anything about cardiologists and heart teams, in the 3rd book I had him change careers, becoming a Physical Therapist (I've had PT) and actually got a scathing review telling me no cardiologist would ever do such a thing, even though I'd never said he was one.  For 3 books there's been only passing mentions of his new career.  That may change.  Max may become more 3 dimensional.  One of our new associates is not only a physical therapist, he attending a local university to get his doctorate.  I'm planning on having a conversation with him to see if he'll let me pick his brain.

I have this unusual feeling that this Sunday's Oscar ceremony may be one of the most watched in a long time.  Not because a lot of blockbusters have been nominated.  I suspect people will be tuning in because the nominations this year are filled with diversity.  I know I'll be watching for a number of reasons, one of which is I want to see them do Naatu Naatu live!  Just thinking about it makes me laugh.  What a great song!

For some odd reason, Twitter seems to have decide to add the crazy voices of Elise Stefanik, and Kev McCarthy, Tim Scott, and Casey DeSanits to my feed.  Even though some of them have been muted, they still show up regularly.  I don't doubt this is the result of a billionaire decision.  Rather than waste time calling these people out for their lies, so many others are already doing that, I'm simply muting them again.  The fewer people who see their Tweets, the weaker they become.

And it looks like we might finally be heading into indictment season, someone noted that it usually runs from March to June.  As I've noted before, once they begin to fall, Trump's base is going to unite around him.  They will become more aggressive.  Their lies will not only increase, but become more outlandish.  They will begin to attack every Republican who doesn't bow down to him.  They will become uglier and possibly violent.  While they do this, more and more Americans are going to see them for the evil they represent.  The death of the Republican party is not going to be quiet.

 

The Long and Short of it

 Can I get a big 👍for the Winter Solstice?  Shortest day of the year.  For the next 180 days, give or take one, we're going to start stretching the sunlight until it covers more of the day.  For some reason, back when I was a young whipper-snapper, I believed the shortest day of the year always arrived sometime in February.  That was until I learned in elementary school that there such things as solstices, and the word has more to do with the long and the short, though they use fancier words, like declination and excursion.  Doesn't one word sound like it might have something to do with sex, while the other?  I don't know anyone who would willing want a medical excursion.

Biggie is back from his long, long blood test.  He was happy to see me.  Ate like a wolf when he got home.  I made BLTs for lunch yesterday and saved the bacon drippings for both he and Lily's dinner.  

I did watch the last 4 episodes of Wednesday on Netflix.  I enjoyed the series, and am wondering if the Hyde is going to be a recurring character.  

And, of course, this week leading up to Christmas has not been good for Republicans.  The DOJ received referrals for not only the Orange Anus, but many of his cohorts in crime, including one for Mark Meadows.  Yesterday Congress voted to release Trump's Tax Returns.  One foolish Republican complained that if they release Donald's taxes, people might also want to see the Tax Returns for sitting member of the Supreme Court.  The social media response was overwhelming to his comment.  Bring it On!

As for the indictments?  I don't believe we will have to wait long.  I understand the Atlanta Grand July is in its final sessions and their charges should be arriving shortly; probably not before Christmas, though.

The Republican civil war in the house will very shortly turn into what will no doubt be a very long and very brutal battle, and looks to probably consume the full length and breadth of the party.  What a shame they can't wrap it up and give it to us with a bow on top.

Santa's on his way

Good Morning!  Biggie's at the Vet.  I was telling everybody his appointment was for Wednesday - well, I was wrong.  This is why I put everything in my calendar.  Sometimes things stick in our minds of which we are so very certain and turn out to be incorrect.  Why did Wednesday stick in my head?  Was I thinking of the Netflix series (which is pretty good), or was the first date the Vet suggested Wednesday, tomorrow?  I'm thinking that's probably the case.  Of course, there I go thinking again.

Work was very slow yesterday.  We're down in measures and sales.  Seriously, when I look at sales for the district, the numbers are almost spot on with our sales pre-pandemic.  That's a reality many corporations don't want to deal with.

The garbage men took my old garbage can.  I had just gotten home from dropping Biggie off, when they drove my my house.  No problem.  It was very old.  The bottom had large holes in it.  One of the wheels had fallen off so it no longer rolled.  I got my money's worth out of that purchase, since it survived over 14 years.

There's big storm a brewing!  It's supposed to begin on Thursday in the Midwest and move east.  This little map looks bad.  According to this I should hit the liquor store prior to getting screwed.  Accuweather says we're going to be getting mixed precipitation on Thursday, snow to rain on Friday, and then the temperature is predicted to crash on Christmas eve, with the high only reaching up into the mid 20s (F).  I think I'll play it safe and pick up a bottle of wine. 

For those who don't Tweet:  Elon lost his poll and decided to change the rules.  If you want to vote in one of his Twitter polls now, you need to purchase and $8 monthly subscription.  Some will pay, I will not.  I'm on Post, signing up for Mastodon, and already on Tribal.  Of the 3, I suspect Post will become the most popular, except for MAGA bots.

And, of course the celebrating has just begun.  As everyone knows by now, the January 6 committee has recommended the DOJ indict the Orange Anus on 4 different charges.  The BBC has a nice take on the matter, but then so does everyone else.  It will be interesting to see how the effect the Republican party, especially in the House of Representatives where the American Freedom Caucus worships the shit beneath his feet.  Social Conservatives who believed they were going to declare holy war on America are now embattled in war with each other.  And as for the Evangelicals, their holy grail has sprung a leak.  What will the DOJ do?  Indictments will follow more rapid than eagles, and as leaves that before the wild hurricane fly when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky. Santa's on his way.

 

From the Teat of Republican Hatred

Thursday.  Outside the temp is 31 (F) and we have freezing rain.  Supposedly, this is not going to amount to much.  A glaze, perhaps.  Looking out onto the veranda, there's a lot of shine, but it seems more wet than slick.  I'm not about to go out to see how slippery things are.  I am scheduled to work today.  If around10 ish the roads seem slick, I'll take a personal day.

I went to the dentist yesterday morning to have a filling replace; it was old and had started to leak around the edge making the tooth sensitive to hot and cold.  Well, that's fixed now, however, he wants to put a crown on the tooth.  Well, that's not going to happen.  He didn't like the fact that I'm switching to Blue Cross dental insurance, "they don't pay so we dropped them," he said, "and I'd hate to see you go to another dentist."  Maybe if he didn't charge so much that people need to rely on insurance, there might be no problem.  A really bad fiscal policy is to charge as much as insurance companies will pay.

I found this nifty! The sound of a wind devil on Mars.  This is what it looked like.  Someday we will be walking on this planet.

The Orange Anus is going to make some sort of big announcement today.  There notified the world of this big announcement with an animated video:  him ripping open his shirt to reveal large T (like Superman) while lasers shot out of his eyes.  I'm not posting it.  Very amateurish, possibly hoping to suck Marvel fans into the MAGA cult, some think he's going to announce that Kari Lake is his running mate.  Others believe he might be announcing his intention to run for Speaker of the House.  Still, others think he's going to re-announce his candidacy, since the first announcement floated like a turd in a public swimming pool.  Or, perhaps, he just needs a boost to his ego since recent polls shown DeSantis leading him among the Cracker Jack Crazies.

And then there's this:  Deep controversies in the Republican party are causing serious rifts.  Usually, after a stunning defeat in the midterms, a political party re-evaluates their positions, they pinpoint mistakes which need to be corrected, they understand the need for softening their rhetoric in order to appeal to more centrist voters.  This is not so for a majority of Republicans in the House.  Instead, they are gathering as many dead horses around them as possible:  Hunter Biden's laptop, Fauci's wisdom, disagreeable election results, and they are going to continue kicking them as hard as they can.  For them, this is survival mode; hold onto the base by giving them what they want.  Expect nothing less from the party which has suckled supporters on the teat of Republican hatred for years.  After Trump is indicted, these same people will be desperately searching among the ruins for survivors.

Splitting

 Well, if today hasn't started out lazy.  Sunshine is pouring in through the windows.  The temps are supposed to climb into the mid 40s (F).  A nice, quiet day is in store.  I had made plans to drive down to York to have lunch with my friend Betsy, but we've postponed that until next Sunday.  That leaves today open for me and, shock of shocks, there are no loads of laundry waiting to be washed!

The company that manufactured the bar cart I'm using in my laundry room sent me an email.  They said they would replace the part that split and asked for a photo of the split and the part number.  Honestly, their response seem on the up and up, however, looking at their reviews, fulfillment doesn't seem to be a priority.  In the mean time, I've done a search on how to fix the 'split,' and may take the matter into my own hands.

Yesterday was slow at work, at least in Flooring.  Garden was busy; lotsa people were buying trees, real and artificial.  And Christmas decorations were being sold, secular lawn ornaments were flying out of the store.  We don't sell a lot creches.  You can have your choice of either a black or white audio animatronic Santas., but just try and fine even one of the Three Wise Men.  So tell me, how's this for crass commercialism?

And, speaking of splitting, I saw where Lara Trump is exiting Fox News.  She evidently got the gig because of her last name and Fox wanted to both capitalize and commercialize on it.  She was a contributor, at least that's what they called her.  Of course, since I never watch Fox, I have no idea if she was ever anything more than a mouthpiece of the Orange Anus.

Her father-in-law did post a demented rant yesterday on Truth Social calling for the termination of the election laws in the constitution in order so the bad election of 2020 could be thrown out and he could be put back in power.  A day doesn't go by when he doesn't publicly post his desperation.  He knows that his Christmas stocking will undoubtedly be filled with indictments, which are far worse than simple coal.

Finally, the Republican party is the minority political party in the United States with about 30 million people voting for what they claim to be a socially conservative agenda.  About 20 million of those have sworn fealty to Trump.  When the indictments come, and they will be coming, this group will split away from the group considered traditional Republicans.  They may, in fact. form a new party, not that they will have any political sway.  This is a no win situation for the party.  The second the first protests starts after the first indictment, the GOP will launch itself into a death spiral.  Splitting and splintering into a thousand pieces.

Rats in a Cage

Well, it's Saturday.  I had thought of taking the day off since I'm not scheduled to work for the next 3 days, but no, I'll be good and go to work.
Adjusting to the new schedule is... odd.  I'm a morning person.  I like to get all of my household chores done before I go to work.  When I get home from work, the last thing I want to have to do is laundry, or mow the lawn, or vacuum.  I do most of my writing in the morning, unless I have off, then I'll sit down at the computer around 2 ish.  In an attempt to coordinate what I want to get done in the time I have, the dogs have chosen to set my alarm for 0430.  This seems, so far, to suit us all.  There are a number of positives to being an early riser.
And, in case anybody missed it, the Justice department handed out a couple of indictments yesterday... to Russians... in their version of the Secret Service.  If you haven't read any of the documentation, you should.  It's a real delight!  I did have to give a hearty 'ho ho ho' when I read how the Russkies started hacking the DNC within a few hours after the Idiot Jerk in the White House asked for their assistance publicly... in a speech.  GOP bowels are still erupting.  Great splatters of shit are now marking their precise locations at the very moment they heard about these indictments.  Many of them synchronized their watches as they realized the "impeachment clock" sped up its countdown.  There will be a concerted rush as they try and force as much of their conservative agenda down the gullet of America while they still have time.  If you want to know how a rat in a cage feels, just ask one of them.

Mitch McConnell hears of the indictments (hidden camera)

Finally, the Idiot Jerk evidently made another faux pas - literally.  I understand that when reviewing the guard with the Queen, he walked in front of her....  Wrong, but then to let her lead the way would have just been common courtesy... and when has this asswipe ever been considerate?