Weighing in on things

Oh my gosh!  It's Sunday!  and I'm off.  That's right, I'm not scheduled.  This is the first of 3 days in a row!  It's like a mini-vacation, you know?  And just think, I already have a load of laundry in the washer!
I went to see "It, Chapter 2) last evening.  It's good.  However, I have to say I thought the first part was better. The first film was based solely on the 'Losers' as children.  Chapter 2 is more consistent with the way the novel was written:  the children's story and the adult's story are intertwined.  In Chapter 2 both stories are juxtaposed against each other with each adult having a flashback to one specific childhood memory which creates lapses in the tension.  And then there is the Ending.  King tends to have a problem with his endings.  They don't always achieve the climax you are expecting.  A good screenwriter can fix this.  With that being said, Chapter 2's ending is vastly improved over the book, especially when you consider what they were working with.  Acting wise?  The cast does a very good job, though Bill Hader is definitely the standout performance.  His line "oh, there he is" made me laugh loudly.

A couple days back Sixpence blogged about supplements, how there seems to be a lot of erectile dysfunction out there.  I'm not a big believer in supplements since for the most parts there's not a lot of credible evidence on their reliability.  I do, however take two, and not because of any type of dysfunction, rather my reasoning is protein based.  Usually I will drink an 8 oz concoction of whey about fifteen minutes before I ride the bike.  Supposedly the extra protein in my blood will help make the ride easier... I don't really know if it does or not.  Whey is a fast acting protein which goes through your system fast.  For all I know, a healthy bowl of oatmeal might do the same thing... except that would hang around in your stomach for a bit, and that's something I don't want.  Any whey (haha) these are the two that I take:

The one on the right, Legion, is expensive but is said to come from grass fed Irish cows... the ones they have in Ireland...  ....  Don't really know about that.  At some time in the future I will most likely settle on one brand, which I'm thinking is going to be the "Gold Standard."  Over all that one has the best ratings.

War Paint

Well, today is my Friday.  There you have it.  My days will be eternally screwed up.  Everybody else thinks it's Saturday.  I wonder what day it is on Ceti Alpha V...  Does anybody out there know?
I interviewed for the COS position yesterday.  Il y a un petit probleme.  The position does not get consecutive days off.  Shit.  Right now they're looking at Sunday and either Wednesday or Thursday.  You know me and my desire to have consecutive days off.  I told them I would have no problem working Sunday if I could get Wednesday and Thursday off... as a weekend.  Believe me, this is a no-fly zone if they don't agree.
Lily's booboo paw is gone.  Yesterday she was as bouncy as ever.  This has happened from time to time with all of my dogs.  They remind me of small children who turn a minor pain into a major medical situation.  Like so many things in life, the booboo paw will pass.
I'm probably going to drop out of that cycling challenge.  Not because it is excruciatingly difficult, it isn't.  Looking back on my cycling record, four days per week of cycling is my norm.  I get really good cardio with that.  My leg muscles continue to gain strength.  Time gets in the way of 5 days per week.  Usually 1 - 2 days per week I end up staying late at work.  That throws my schedule off.  Sometimes I actually have to come home and... well, do stuff other than cycling.  Household chores, you know?  I've no problem getting in 4 days... but 5 seems really illusive.  As long as I'm getting over 200 miles a month in, I'm happy.
So, the dust from the last debate has just about settled.  Evidently, they're saying Teflon Joe is still the number one seed.  The growing consensus is that the dust-up will be between he and Warren.  Just think about it.  This woman the Idiot Jerk in the White House has denigrated might be the one leading the Democrats and Independents on the War Path.  I don't care if you like her or not.  I have just one thing to say:  Put on your War Paint!!

Ghostly

I guess it's Friday....  Life with a retail schedule is always confusing.

Lilly had a booboo paw yesterday.  She didn't want to put any pressure on her left paw... at first. This morning there seems to be little problem, but yesterday she was in 'needful sympathy' mode. 

This morning I get to interview for that COS position.  I guess I have a good chance at getting it.  Having been in management, I'd say the decision has already been made as to who they're going to move (since for me it wouldn't be a promotion).  If it's not me... well, that's fine.

There was a debate last evening.  I didn't watch any of it.  However, I guess the ratings are beginning to ratchet up.  People are beginning to pay attention.  They waited until the field began shrinking.    They let the process 'winnow the chafe' so to speak.  Evidently Julian Castro was aggressive...  He doesn't understand.  Most of the comments I saw were about the top three.  Did Steyer show up?  If he did, I wonder what he felt like knowing he's at the bottom of the barrel.

And evidently the Idiot Jerk had a rally in Baltimore... I suspect more lies leaked from that shitty mouth of his.  I know he made some sort of comment about Warren... this is to be expected.  He is going to ramp up his attacks as the number of candidates get smaller.  What we need to see, is those no longer in the race slowly begin to unify behind the remaining candidates... oh, and they need to start speaking out about the Idiot Jerk.  He doesn't do well with criticism.  That's right.  They need to begin to criticize. 

And, I've continued doing research while writing The Body in the Well.  Colorado and California lead the nations when it comes to ghost towns.  Did you know that Colorado alone has over 250?  And some of these towns were not small.  One boasted 18 saloons and 2 dance halls.  I find that amazing.  Here's a vid on Colorado ghost towns.  A bit of a disclaimer: this guys Top 10 don't exactly correlate with other Top 10 lists.  In fact there are quite a few which are better known than these 10.

Crazier than Hell

It's Thursday.  Yippee Skipee!  We had a little rain last night with our thunder and lighting... but just a little.  They're forecasting possible thunderstorms until this evening with a real heavy emphasis on the word 'possible.'  These 'possible' storms will keep the temps from hitting the 80's (F) today, but not tomorrow.  I am quite ready for 'cool.'  Yesterday, on the ride home from work, the temp was sitting at a muggy 96 (F).  In my opinion, we should have left those temps behind by now.
Microsoft did an update last evening.  Well, shit.  Normally I have several Windows open, flicking back and forth between them to make comparisons, copy URL's, download pic.  This morning, when I right clicked on the Chrome icon and clicked on 'New Window' I got an error message:  That item is no longer available.  It might have been moved, renamed, or removed.  Microsoft doesn't want you to used Google, or Chrome, they want you to use Bing. I don't like Bing, which is why I've never used it.  So, I just pinned another Google window to my Task Bar.
I was where Tom Steyer is going to be on the Debate Stage.  Idiot.  We really need Congress to outlaw billionaires in the White House.  For some reason, there is a group of voters out there who see that word... billionaire... and honestly believe the best person we can have in the Oval office is a successful businessman.  Nope.  Look what we have now... an asshole from Hell.  Literally.  I saw some sort of nonsense where some Evangelical Crazy Lady has said the White House has been blessed by the Superior Blood of Jesus....   That's the sort of shit his Crazy Christian base love.  It gets them rolling in the aisles and speaking in tongues.  If these people ever truly get in charge we will have a Civil War.  I have no doubts about that.  You see, they would have no problem in creating a Crazy Christian Police State.
Oh, and I saw where some very intelligent Scottish judges has said that Johnson's proroguing of Parliament was illegal.  Smart guys.  They, as well as many others, realize the only reason Boris decided to pull this shit was to Parliament's hands.  They need to lock his Nationalist ass up, or deport him, or do something to shut him up.  Interestingly enough, documents have been released which show a no-deal Brexit would be catastrophic for the UK.  Does Boris care if people get hurt.  Nope.  He will never understand the days of the British Empire are over.  The time has come to transition to a United Europe.  A unified bloc of countries has more power than a single nation. 
As for the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  He's going to get his ass whipped in 2020.  A fitting end is coming to the Moral Degenerate.

Rejection.

Wednesday... and schedules are due to be updated in the system.  I can't wait to see what mine looks like because it's been kind of crappy here lately.
Temps here are supposed to 92 (F), which is stinky winky hot.  And, of course, some moron at work claimed this was Indian Summer....  Sorry.  Indian Summer does not occur until after the first frost of the year.  Oh, and we don't always get one.  And some years we'll get two.  People just don't understand weather lore.  I don't expect them to.
And, of course, the Idiot Jerk in the White House termed his henchie Bolton, who's lucky, if this were North Korea he'd have had his ass fed to the dogs.  The firing was... messy.  You know it's bad when things like this turn into Twitter Affairs.  But then the Idiot Jerk lives for Twitter.  Twitter keeps the spotlight on him.  He needs that.  I found it interesting that, at least from what I heard, two voices kept him from bringing the Taliban to Camp David:  Bolton and Pence.  Now, one of them is gone.  Rejected and ejected by the Idiot Jerk because he just didn't say 'yes' enough.  He'll keep Pence around because he can't afford to alienate his Crazy Christian Base.
I also saw where the North Koreans want to sit down and chat again.  Is another breakfast buffet in the works?  How is this for speculation:  with Bolton out of the picture, the Idiot Jerk can, courtesy Air Force One, fly Kim Dumb Shit to Washington for an "very important morning meeting on the Mall."  Hey, with maybe a stopover in Disneyland so Kim can ride Magic Mountain!  Even though Bolton hated everything that wasn't pure, white, and American, he did wield some control over the Idiot Jerk... now he's gone. Soon to be replace by a 'yes man' extraordinaire.
I began playing Greedfall last night.  This game is from an independent group of game developers named Spiders located in Paris... yeah, that's right, the City of Light.  Right now, if I'm correct, about 22 people are employed by Spiders.  This is amazing when you consider how complicated video games are these days.  Developers like Bethesda employ hundreds of people and have studios all over the United States and Canada.  Because Greedfall is a Role Playing Game, you can have relationships with most of your companions.  So I tried to pick up the first Companion I signed up:  Kurt.  Of course, I got rejected.  He's still suspicious of me.  But, it's a role playing game so that can change.

Political Constipation

It's Tuesday... I get to go back to work after my one day off... for another 5 days.  Of, course, then I do have three off in a row so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.
My neighbors bought a new car.  For years they had a small Jeep SUV, now they own a small Mitsubishi SUV....  I researched Mitsubishi SUV's several times in the past which is why, when I decided to buy I purchased a Subaru.  Their new car has 4 Wheel Drive, mine has All Wheel Drive.  In this part of the country, where we can get a moderate snow depth in winter, All Wheel Drive is better.  He and his wife were excited that now they can drive on the beach when they visit their daughter, who lives in Maryland.  Hhhhmm.
An update on The Body in the Well.  I'm moving in Chapter 18, tentatively titled 'Special Delivery.'  Total word count is 40700 (actually at little higher), and it is now legally considered a novella.
I do have an Instagram account and have been attempting to post more often.  Yesterday I add the cover of The Body in the Tower with the tag line "care for a little murder with your Tour de France?"
There's a special election down in North Carolina today.  The Idiot Jerk campaigned there last evening.  The morally corrupt GOP desperately need to win this.  The Idiot Jerk won there by 12% during his campaign of lies.  And this special election is close... too close to call, which is why the Idiot Jerk was there.  The GOP are scared shitless.  Too close to call in a district the Moral Degenerate swept is their nightmare coming true.  I don't know if the Democrats will win, I'd like them to, but let's be honest, coming within 1% of victory will constipate the GOP for months.
I wasn't going to ride yesterday... but of course I did.  8.5 miles on that ride that's supposed to take me to the Blue Lagoon.  You know, the Blue Lagoon in Iceland?  Anyway, I did that in 30 minutes.  Since I'm in this cycling challenge to ride 5 days a week for 4 weeks, I've decided to focus on my leg strength rather than distance, though I'm still planning on a couple of rides that have some mileage.  I've improved since the last time I rode this route.  Then it took me an hour to do 12 miles.  Hills are good.
As for Boris?  I understand he's just order a case of Dulcolax.

Swifty gets Tooled

Well, it's Monday.  I have the day off.  Plans were in the works to go see "It, Chapter 2" this evening... I've asked for a postponement until next weekend.  I have so much crap to do today.  Blame goes to the split days off.  I hate them.  Catching up, not only on my household chores, but also my 'to do' list, is virtually impossible.
I see where the Idiot Jerk's planned Koffee Klatch with the Taliban crashed and very publicly burned badly.  In case you didn't realize it, this was part of his re-election strategy.  You know?  On 9/11 announce that a 'peace accord' had been reached with the Taliban... the guys who shielded Bin Laden for all those years.  His base, his adoring fan club, would have heralded this enormous breakthrough causing a lot of voters to see him as a 'peacemaker.'  They don't realize it's all done for PR.  They're trying to make this Idiot Jerk look pretty.  They were hoping for another 'North Korean' breakthrough... except that one is rapidly falling apart.  Kim Dumb Junk got exactly what he wanted, acceptance as the legitimate ruler of a ruthless dictatorship.  Remember when the Idiot Jerk said that Kim "had to make some difficult decisions?"  The only thing the Idiot Jerk is any good at is blowing smoke up the asses of his believers.
And this 2nd bit is for Bob.  If he hasn't heard this, it may actually make him squeal with delight.  The rabid fan base of his least favorite pop start Taylor Swift, (Swifty, as he calls her) evidently have burning diarrhea of the mouth.  For those who don't know, she's the one with CGI lyrics who sells millions of $$$ in music to pop fans who love floundering around in the shallow depths of her emotion.  Yeah, you know what I mean... she's the white version of Beyonce.  But then, that's why they're Pop Stars... they go Pop!
Anyway, Taylor released an album called "Lover," (I think that's what it's called) about a week ago and it shrieked to the number one position in the charts.  She loves being in number one.  However, one week later a Rock & Roll group named Tool (don't you just love that name?) released an album called Fear Inoculum.  Holy Shit!  Sales are great!  In fact, they're so great Tool has knocked Taylor's ass out of the number one spot... after only one week.  That's right, she was only number one for one week.  I like Tool.  I have a number of their albums.  Isn't it great when Rock & Roll puts Pop in the shallow end of the pool?  For those who've never heard them, here's the title track of their new album, the one that kicked Swifty into the gutter.