Howie and the Sheep

Well, we have 70 (F) outside and instead of Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze, we have yellow haze.  We are also under an air quality alert.  I feel bad for Gigi who's up north having to deal with an air quality that's a thousand times worse.  Our temps today are going to be in the upper 80s (F) to low 90s (F).  Things are supposed to begin cooling off tomorrow.  Showers and thunderstorms (again) are on their way.  Perhaps they'll wash a bit of the smoke residue down the drain.

Yesterday was not quite a meh day.  No exercise.  Thursday is a free day.  I worked on The Body in the Words in the afternoon, editing chapter's 3 and 4.  I would have liked for there to be a direct flight from Philly to Belfast, but there isn't.  This meant I needed to decide if my guys were going to drive the 2 hours from Dublin to BallySeamus, or take a puddle jumper.  I opted for the latter since it allowed me to keep important dialog in the Greetings chapter.

And yesterday morning I took Howie out to my brother's farm.  He got to meet Bruce, my brother's dog, saw some fall-down goats that stayed standing as he approached, and met a flock of sheep.  For some reason, the sheep develop a particular interest in him.  Howie, however, did not  find them fascinating.  Still, that didn't keep them from following us.

Of course, the Orange Anus held a poorly watched nationwide press conference last evening.  Both ABC and NBC refused to air him live, which he found infuriating.  CBS which started airing it, evidently cut away; they're learning that kissing his ass is costing them ratings, and that's losing them advertisers.  And Fox Entertainment?  This post on Threads tells it all.

That's right, Fox aired a disclaimer.  The last time they treated his lies as truth it cost them dearly.  This is Orangie beginning to sabotage the midterms because he knows the Republicans are going to lose badly. Out of desperation, he and the GOP are playing with fire.

More and more people, like Gavin Newsome, a very loud voice right now in American politics, are calling for him to be removed using the 25th amendment.  For that to work, however, his cabinet needs to vote for his approval and he's filled it with sycophants and henchies.  I don't see him finishing out his term.  The tide is turning so fast against him, he will run like the coward he is.

Trump: The Footnote in History

 It's Friday.  The last of my 4 days off in a row, and the weather is going to be putzy. The clouds are not going to be clearing and this afternoon spotty showers are in the forecast.  Temps in the mid 60s (F).  This is not the recipe for joy.

Yesterday was a day of accomplishments: another walk in Adams - Ricci, a ride on the bike, and a dumbbell / band session.  Some writing was done.  And, according to Garmin, I had an excellent night's sleep, over 7 hours.  If it weren't cloudy outside, I be feeling quite refreshed.

About a month ago I tried baking some cream cheesy, peachy thing in my oven, my own recipe, and the spring form pan leaked.  It was one of those things I should have cleaned up but put off because I use the air fryer more than the oven.  Well, last evening, part of my dinner was roasted asparagus, so I fired up the oven and smoke came billowing up.  Burnt sugar smoke.  Now my house smells like burnt sugar, not the most attractive scent around.  This morning, when I go to my neighborhood Giant supermarket, I'll be picking up some over cleaner, and maybe a couple of dozen scented candles.

Here's another picture I took while walking through Adams - Ricci on a sunny day.

And, of course, there are only 7 more alternative jurors to go in Trump's campaign interference trial... or is it 6?  Either way, jury selection should be completed by the end of today.  I find it interesting that those people who've been eliminated have said, after seeing him sitting in the courtroom, is that he looks like an old, orange man.  He might look more sympathetic to the jury if he got rid of the make-up and took the blond dye out of his hair.  Juries do tend to empathize with seniors.  However, that would present a terrible problem for him.  His cult wouldn't recognize him.  They'd wonder just who is this stranger?

I find it interesting that more and more news services are showing him approaching and leaving the courtroom without any sound.  I've seen 3 so far, and the on-air reporter always mentions that we've heard it all before, and that he isn't saying anything new.  Old news.  Stale news.  Been there, done that, and it's time to move on.  That's one of Trump's many problems.  Like the GOP he now runs, he is unable to stop kicking that dead horse.  Except for his cult, who have turned his whines into a mantra, America is ready to move on.  This trial will guarantee he is only a footnote in history.

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.

Any Day Now

 Yesterday was quiet.  The weather was cool, only climbing into the the low 70s (F), and we had a steady breeze coming down from the north.   They're calling for the same weather pattern today.  Tomorrow rain is again in the forecast.  We have an 80% chance of getting wet.  I'm looking forward to it.  Hopefully it will wash some of the smokey haze away.

Speaking of the smokey haze, I understand today is supposed to be our worst.  It is, at times, like fog.  Unlike New York, where it's orange, ours is mostly gray.

I was talking to one of the men working on the house next door.  He's told me it's almost time for it to be painted, inside and out.  Gray.  I hate gray.  

The audiobook of The Body Under Ice is being uploaded by chapter.  That's nice because most of the chapters are short, so time wise each is about 6 minutes long.  That's probably also great for people who listen to audiobooks.  Having to stop listening at the end of a chapter is great.

And of course, there's this:

Any day now.  Possibly even sometime this afternoon.  He's broken the Espionage Act, as if we didn't know.  Remember, he's always believed he was above the law and could do whatever he liked.  

I found it interesting that the House of Representatives has adjourned for the week because of internal Republican chaos.  I wouldn't be surprised if some of that had to do with the impending indictment (s).  One of Jack Smith's investigations has to do with the Jan 6 insurrection, and mealy mouthed Mark Meadows has flipped for that Grand Jury as well.  I'm sure he's already turned in texts to and from an array of people, like Jimmy Jordan, Scott Perry, and that ever popular Ginni Thomas.

And, speaking of the Thomases, I see where Clarence has has for an extension on filling his financial statement for the past year.  He must be finding it difficult to make bribery sound legit.

Now, ain't that the icing on the cake?

Well, it's Monday.  This is my 2nd day off in a row.  I'm living the dream!!!
Yesterday I had to go to the store to buy some wood filler.  I'm painting trim and there were two small holes that needed filling.  While there, I told HR to take my name out of consideration for the COS position.  You see, if I were to get that position I would never, ever again have a three day weekend.  When I'm at work I walk quite a bit, 11 to 12 thousand steps a day going up and down aisles talking to customers.  The position I had applied for is a sitting position.  I have some serious arthritis in my lower back so sitting 8 hours a day is probably not the best for me.  Oh, and it would also be a lateral move for me... no pay increase. 
Gas prices are going to go up!  Saudi Arabia suffered a drone attack.  A couple of interesting points about that.  Even though the Houthis are jumping up and down, claiming responsibility, the Idiot Jerk's administration wants to blame Iran.  Even though we export millions of barrels a year, we import most of our oil from Saudi Arabia.  This is how the GOP wants to make America Great.  Their creed is 'Tis better to make money then to take care of your own.'
You'd think they'd understand higher prices at the pump are going to hurt the Idiot Jerk's approval rating.  Higher gas prices are going to have a detrimental effect on the economy.  That is not a good thing when when you consider the Idiot Jerk's handling of the economy is the only thing that gives his approval rating any kind of boost.  But that's changing as more and more people realize the only thing the Idiot Jerk is good at is blowing smoke up your ass.  Of course, Republicans have been doing that for years... and years... and years.  Think of them as vaping with their rectums.
And speaking of supporters, we had one on Saturday in the flooring department.  A middle-aged white man who loudly said he 'loved the Idiot Jerk.'  He went on to say that ICE had raided the place where "I get my cakes.  I couldn't buy cakes for a while, but now everything back the way it was."...  ... Believe me, I had no idea what this moron was talking about.  I even took the time to Google it.  Cakes... Immigration... illegal aliens.  The only thing I could find was a 2010 raid on a San Diego bakery.  As far as Central Pennsylvania, there was a raid in 2018, but that was at pizza shops in Lebanon and Palmyra, and those individuals were arrested for expired visas.  I know ICE had a big raid down in Mississippi.  Does anyone know if that included a Twinkie factory?  Or maybe Little Debbies?  Personally, I do believe someone's been blowing some rather decorated smoke up this guy's ass... and he likes.