Aftermath

Outside we  have a humid 72 (F).  Today's forecast:  showers, occasionally steady rain, with the required thunderstorm thrown into the mix to spice things up.  We'll not be seeing the sun until sometime Wednesday or Thursday.  All this rain is going to make my grass grow.

I saw this morning that the storm did rip a medium sized branch from one of the maple trees outback.  I will my saw on a stick trimmer to cut it up on Wednesday or Thursday.  

According to Pennsylvania  Power and Light Company, some people are not expected to get power back until Wednesday, originally they were saying Tuesday around 11 PM.  I sent a text to my brother this  morning to see if they had power yet, the answer was "nope."  He sent me a text yesterday saying that 2 people had been killed by the store near where he lives.

When I got into work yesterday, I discovered that the store was running on our backup generator.  The registers and the phones were working, but all of the computers were down.  This meant that paint, appliances, and flooring, the specialty departments were down as well.  So, I was paid to walk around and answer simple questions.  We had a run on Ryobi battery powered fans and I kept asking myself if these people didn't realize that those batteries were going to need to be charged.  There was a line of people waiting to buy generators.  Most people went home empty handed because we only carry so many in stock.

Because none of the outlets in the store were working, backup generators are only for light and registers, the employee refrigerators and freezers started warming up.  The frozen food for the employees was thawing out, so they started grilling it and employees were allowed to take it home, so I came home with hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken wings.  

I'm scheduled to work, however, I'll give the store a call.  If the power's still down, I'll take a personal day.  Here's a map of the area.  I'm in an orange area, meaning some people have no power, the store is near Shiremanstown, a very red area.

Of course, the soccer world is not pissed at the Orange Anus because he had the status of an American player who'd been red carded (eliminated from future play) changed.  This player can now play.  Basically the asshole did what he always does, cheated.  I'm betting this man has never had an honest thought  in his life.  He is morally bereft.  He shits on everything.  He always has.  He always will.  He has no idea that in the aftermath of his presidency, he and his spawn will be totally destroyed.

Falling Back

Brrrr.  Our afternoon temps may be climbing into the 60s (F), but over night our temps can still drop down into the 40s (F).  This morning our outside temp was 37 (F).  At least that's the reading I got at 0548.  The high for today is again going to top off somewhere in the low 60s (F).  Tomorrow's high is supposed to be in the upper 60s (F).

And, the first frost has already glazed our windshields and brutalized our tomato plants, I am pleased to say that we are now in Indian Summer!  Now I know people assume that Indian Summer means temps in the mid to upper 70s (F), but that ain't how high they usually get.  Believe me, if our temps had been more normal, with daily highs in the low to mid 50s (F), an afternoon high of 66 (F) would be scorching hot.  This is how climate change happens.

I worked yesterday.  It was taco day, and in case you're wondering, that doesn't mean associates wore TACO costumes for Halloween.  The Orange Retailer I work for wants people to work safely.  To celebrate long stretches of days without an accident, foody perks are provided.  For 270 days without an accident, we get tacos.  I had taken a salad in to work, but since it was taco day, I decided to save it for today, especially since there's probably not going to be too much taco meat leftover.

Today is the end of Daylight Savings Time.  Since my body operates on a circadian rhythm and not a chronometer, I woke up at my normal time.  So much for getting an extra hour sleep.  Believe me, I can fall asleep at the drop of a hat, but that doesn't mean I can lollygag around in bed for an extra hour simply because we've lost an hour.  Today will run an hour longer for me, and will continue to do so until my circadian rhythm adjusts itself.

There are those out there who believe Republicans in both the House of Representatives and the Senate bow down to the Orange Anus because they are terrified of what his base could do to them in an election.  I am not one of those people.  Ever since Reagan, Republicans have dreamt of being the party of power.  Orangie's hold over his cultish base makes that fantasy a reality.  To those Republican Congressmen and Senators, he represents the power they have always craved.  They will ignore his corruption, his moral degeneracy, because if the cast a closely looking eye in Orangie's direction they will see more than warts on this toad of a human.  Even though they are not oblivious to is wanton destruction of Democracy, they will simply ignore it, to do otherwise would cause them to lose that thing they have coveted.

Wobbly

 Our temps are in the upper 50s (F) and it's drizzling.  We did get a whopper of a storm last night.  Hefty winds brought down a number of small branches and... our power went out.  Total Blackness.  For some reason, I woke up just before it went dark.  I was lying in bed looking at the small light on a surge protection when it went off, so I got up and went to the window to see every light in my neighborhood was off.  Things are very dark when there are no streetlights.

This morning, a little after 6, the power came back on.  I did check with PP&L  when I got up an hour earlier to see how large the outage was and it was just in my nook of the world.  What seemed so significant was not the lack of light, rather it was my disconnection from the Internet.  I was glad my phone was charged.  According to my power provider there were1514 homes in my area without power, though we were not an isolated incident.  A bigger map showed many isolated incidents within an 80 mile radius.  Another surprising fact:  storm warnings were not issued.  Usually we get all sorts of warnings: high winds, heavy rains, lightening in you area.  Last night we got nothing.  

Elonia showed up at the Oval Office sporting a black eye yesterday.  He blamed his meat shield.  Only Muskovites are buying that story.  Some few thought maybe Stevie Miller's knuckles gave him a kiss, but Stevie's soon to be ex-wife is apparently cheating with a different Doger.  Many believe he got his shiner from a Ketamine high fall.  Supposedly, he's been using the drug so heavily he has problems peeing straight, which means he's wobbly.

And Orangie said he's going to raise steel tariffs up to 50%.  In other words, the countdown has started to the next order of TACOs.

Orangie is also touting the US Steel/Nippon Steel deal.  For those who need a translation, that means American workers are going to suffer.  You see in his mind, it's all about the look of the deal, the appearance of success, and one or two of his billionaire cronies will reap  the rewards, but the American worker, those people who toil and sweat in the steel mills, (what few there are left)?  Well, they are a minor, necessary loss.

Power vs Democracy

So, today I'm halfway towards my vacation, which is going to be a staycation.  Everyone who hears I'm taking some time off asks "where are you going?"  While they don't frown when I tell them I'm staying home, I can still see their surprise in their eyes, in the way some of them feel the need to force a small smile.  These people all know I have 180 pounds of dogs.  I can't just pack them up and take them with me.  And Kennels?  They're out.  Lil and Seig just wouldn't understand.  When the dogs have moved on, then I will travel.

I baked another loaf of bread, this time without the olive oil, and it's perfect, stays together.  This one will not crumble to pieces when I try and cut it.  I also bought a bamboo bread cutter, now isn't that nice?  it even has a crumb tray!

Here's a new video from The Brothers Osborne which I thought fitting since it's Pride month.  His voice is quite reminiscent of Springsteen.

And I saw where Russia took a giant step towards being a police state yesterday, outlawing opposition parties.  Those in charge over there, Putin and his allies, have no regard for human life what so ever.  For them, power is everything.  They do not understand the world is changing.  They, like the Republican party in America, will only ever see things through old lenses.  Their desperate attempt to turn back time, to return to the infamous days of Stalin and Lenin, will lead to Civil War.  They will never learn until they get the snot beaten out of them.  Power is the most corrupting force in the Universe.  Democracy is the only answer.