Seduced?

 Heading back to work for 2 days.  I have a new / old Specialty Manager.  New, because this is the first time she's working in my store.  Old, because I worked with her for four years when I was doing HR.  This will be interesting. 

I went to see Free Guy last evening.  The movie is very funny at times, as well as being touching.  Guy is an NPC (non-playable character) in a video game, meaning you can't control what they do, who becomes aware, the equivalent of artificial intelligence.  As someone who plays video games, I have to say, this movie is a hoot.  For those who don't play video games, the movie is a rollicking, joy ride, at least this is what my friends told me.  I mean, can a movie in which Channing Tatum tries to seduce Ryan Reynolds be anything but great?  Does he succeed?  Hahahahaha! (that's my evil laugh, by the way)

I saw some sort of blurty bullshit where Mitch McConnell said he doesn't see any reason to criticize his associates spewing anti-vax, anti-mask misinformation.  Think about that for a second or two.  What he's saying is that he doesn't really care if people listen to that misinformation and die.  What a terrible justification for his silence.  Human lives lost because he sees no point in being honest.  This is pretty standard prattle from a Conservative.

I Kid you not

 Monday.  They never really get me down because more often then not they are a day when I am not scheduled to work.  As in today, and in next Monday, and the Monday after that, all days I'm not working.  

I'm going to get the lawn mower out today and do some mowing.  This is something I'm not looking forward to at all.  This is a chore I have never liked even the slightest bit.  If my lawn were larger, I'd pay to have a landscaper do what I dislike so much.  While it's not the size of a postage stamp, it's not quite big enough to warrant that expense.  Of course, I could always talk to my young friend Justin about it.  He does lawn work.

Regarding my back, mornings are always the worst. Truthfully, during the day I rarely have problems, so I'm beginning to think I want to invest in a new mattress, or maybe begin to sleep sitting up.  One solution is definitely less expensive then the other.

Yesterday, while I was sitting on the sofa in the writing room, Biggie used my left leg as a pillow.  When I tell people his head is as big as a personal watermelon I'm being quite honest.

You can see Lily's 6 foot squeaky snake in the background

I saw where Kid Rock had to cancel a number of his shows after he and his band got Covid.  Dumb ass bragged, and played at Sturgis.  Now, I have to be very honest, there are breakthrough infections, some can be quite serious.  He, however, claims that both he and his band were vaccinated.  Me?  I'm calling bullshit.  If it were true, one of them might have suffered a breakthrough infection, the odds on all of them getting sick from Covid, while statistically not impossible, is rare.  Keep in mind, he does love his MAGA fans and the bucks they spend on his self-promoting paraphernalia. 

Chip This

 Well, my weekend begins and the weather forecast is for cloudy skies with possible rain,... off and on.  Outside the temps are 66 (F), though we're supposed to hit a high of 96 (F).  I'll believe it when I feel it.  Yeah, I know, 'possible' and 'on and off' in the same sentence doesn't make a lot of sense.  All I can do is blame the weather forecasters.  And Ida is on her way.  We should be getting our share of her rain beginning on Thursday.

Tomorrow I'm planning on mowing the field my lawn.  I will have to raise the height on my lawnmower, either that or grab the weed wacker and us that.  Somewhere up in the attic I have a hand scythe, if the rain doesn't stop soon I will need to use that.

Oh, and if I can find a daikon, I'm going to try making some Kimchi.  Tasty stuff.  Good for the gut.  My local Giant doesn't have it, though the Giant Camp Hill might, so I might trip myself in there later this afternoon.  If they don't, I'll have to locate the nearest Korean grocery.

An anonymous commentator dropped a link in here yesterday which I think was to justify the use of Ivermectin in the treatment of Covid.  The results came from a very small group similar to that tiny group from France using Hydroxychloroquine.  Remember that wonder drug touted by Liar #45?  I can only wonder what these dumb shits using a worming agent are going to do when they find out the government has been putting microchips in Ivermectin for years as a way to track free range livestock.  This little ditty should make them feel right at home.

Bigge at the Vet

 Well, Biggie went to the Vet yesterday.  He was so well behaved.   They kept calling him handsome, which no doubt helped.  He's lost 3 pounds, and is down to 114 lbs. and has full mobility in his back legs.  The Vet did give him meds, a mild pain reliever that needs to be used only when necessary.  They also did bloodwork just in case his dosage needs to be increased.  I gave him 2 when we got home because and he slept the rest of the afternoon, except for dinner. 

And I'm back to work today for just one day, and then for one of my Sunday / Monday weekends.  I'm only working 32 hours this week, since I've an eye appointment scheduled for the 2nd.  One of the odd things about going part-time is going to be my reduction in hours.  Part-time hours handily cover all of my living expenses, 

I'm back on my oatmeal breakfast again.  The cholesterol doesn't bother me, but evidently eggs are not one of the best foods around for those of us who have arthritis, at least not the egg yolk.  I guess I could always start eating egg white omelets.

Sitting here, looking at all of the warnings flashing all over the internet telling people to NOT INGEST worming meds to fight Covid, I couldn't help but wonder if people are dumber then I think... or you think... or we think.  So, I did a little search and found this wonderful article in the BBC!  The more inept people are, the smarter they think they are... now tell me, isn't that a very succinct definition of the Republican party?  That's also a perfect description of their leader, Loser #45, who was blustery as hell but set new heights on the Ineptitude Scale.  I suspect this is also a very accurate definition of Conservatives.  They're all mouth.  Any action they do manage to achieve only benefits themselves, and no one else.  Personally, I have no problem with them divesting themselves of parasites on their way to a cozy Covid health crisis.  If they survive, I guess this means they can graze any pasture they want until their next deworming.

 

Red Ink

 So, I'm off today, and I do not doubt it's going to be busy.  In a little over an hour and a half Biggie and I will be heading to the Vet.  I find it interesting that both he and I are having bouts with arthritis.  I can actually look at him and say, "I feel your pain."  And, speaking of the pain, and associate at work recommended Tylenol for my back, he, too, has issues.  So I picked up a bottle on my home, and am pleased to say it has knocked the soreness away.  Now, if only I could get rid of the stiffness when I roll out of bed in the morning.

Yesterday was on and off busy at work.  I got more than enough measures for the week, though I'll be honest, many customers are not happy with my response when they ask how long they'll have to wait until installation.  When I tell them at least four weeks until their installation, they frown.  You see, a lot of people wait until the last minute, and then expect things to be done easily, and on their timetable.

Like in Afghanistan.  A lot of people want to blame the current administration.  Occasionally we managed to stop terrorist attacks, but more often then not innocent people die.  If so many people hadn't waited until the last minute to try and leave the country things would have been easier, but they waited until the last minute.  Blamers in America want to point the finger at this administration.  Many of these same people are unvaccinated, they fight masks claiming it takes away their freedom. Procrastinators will always procrastinate.  The fact we have already evacuated over 70,000 people means nothing to them, because all these people want to do is point a finger.  I can't even imagine how bad things would have been if they were in charge.

Finally, here's more red ink because I didn't really know what else to post.  Another page from the first draft of The body in the Loch.  

Freshly Baked

 Well, this is my Friday, sort of, because I am off tomorrow, and then I'm off Sunday and Monday, in fact Sunday and Monday will be my weekend for the next 3 weeks.  Next week I'm only scheduled for 32 hours.  That's fine with me.  In a few weeks I'll be averaging between 24 and 30 hours a week, and I will be scheduled during my availability.

Yesterday was fairly slow.  The Temps were warm.  Kids are back in school, somewhat.  We always have a number of college kids who work for us during the summer, and their all leaving.  They become unessential during the fall.  Some will be missed, because they're good workers, others will not since they were only putting in hours to get a paycheck.  

And Only Fans is going to let its adult content providers continue providing adult content.  I find it interesting they made headlines when they reversed their decision.  I wouldn't be surprised if those banks that were putting the thumb screws to the site realized just how much money they were going to start losing.  It's a real bitch when you might not make your projected 5% fiscal growth.

Baked another loaf of Italian bread this morning.  

And, as was expected, the Sturgis Motorcycle rally has led to an unprecedented increase in Covid cases.  Over 1000% by most counts, which a local authority tried to play down by saying something like 'the percentage is so high because there are so few of us.'  Don't even try to find the logic in that statement.  One can only wonder how many of those motorcycle revelers have taken the virus home.  Now, isn't that a nice souvenir?  I can see the T-shirts now:  I went to Sturgis, and all I got was Covid.

The No Brainer

 It looks as though the Forecasters were a tad off on their temp predictions for this week.  Today we're only to get up to 93 (F) rather than 98 (F).  Now, I know that's not much, but every degree cooler helps.  Believe it or not, we're over halfway through August.  September is just around the corner.  Next thing you know people will be celebrating pumpkin pie spice season.  In case you wanted to know, I hate pumpkin spice.  Love the pie, hate the spice.  When I was growing up, the only spice used in baking pumpkin pies was cinnamon.  What can I say?  We're a simple people.

The inflammation in my lower back has moved to my right side.  This is an indicator things are improving.  This is how it usually works:  moderate pain with spasms across the lower back, then it moves to just one side, either left or right, and then finally to the other side, and then it goes away.  The entire process takes about 4 weeks.  Thank god for heating pads.

And yesterday was slow at work.  Really slow.  I had an install cancel, no problem.  The customer said he was going to go with Peel & Stick tiles.  You just peel off the paper backing and stick them to the floor.  This means that instead of paying $1100, he's going to be paying $70.  No brainer.  

I made some small bags of my snack mix to take to work.  Yum.

And, of course, Charlie Watts died yesterday.  When I saw that headline I had to pause for a few moments.  I was never a Rolling Stone fan, but they did impact music around the world.  A large part of that impact was because of their drummer, Charlie Watts.  He is  part of a musical heritage my generation understands.  He was a quiet icon.  Without him, the Stones might not have existed.  I know that no one lives forever, but it is always so difficult to say goodbye.

The Best of Plans

 Well, Tuesday has arrived.  Temps are surging up into the mid-90's (F) today and were 3/4 of the way through August.  I don't expect to see any kind of temp drop until mid September, which is pretty much how last summer played out.  summer hung around for a while, and then it got really cold quickly, but then it warmed up again.  And no, the warm-up wasn't Indian Summer.  I don't believe we had an Indian Summer last year.

Yesterday was rough on the back at work... no ibuprofen or naproxen, and boy did I stiffen up.  Every turn was a bit of a lurch.  This morning, however, things are better.  

Our sales rep for Bali blinds was in the store yesterday.  Very nice, but a real talker.  Also an anti-vaxxer who also believes the sore throat she had very early on last year means she's already had Covid.  Never been tested, of course, and more then a smidgen overweight, so when she does contract it, she might have problems.

For those interested, here is the very first page I wrote for The Body in the Loch.  I had no idea there were going to be so many Big Changes ahead.  Writing is a lot like life.  Every day is a first draft, you you wake up, you eat breakfast, and make plans, and then life takes a red (or black) pen and begins editing.  And so we compensate, and adapt, and delay, and eliminate things from our schedule.  I find it amazing that for some people, their only plan is to make it to the end of the day.

I saw where Ronnie DeSantis was flipping out because the media reported that one of his largest donors owned a large amount of stock in the company that makes Regeneron.  This is anti-vax, anti-mask Ronnie, who's pushing a treatment that only works for some of those patients who are the sickest, and even then it's not a cure.  Ronnie says the report is going to cost lives.  Someone should sit Ronnie down and tell him wearing masks and getting vaccinated is going to save many, many more lives then relying on Regeneron.  But he's a conservative, and his priority is not human lives, but in make sure his rich donor is making money.  In case you didn't know it, this is part of Ronnie's plan on getting his ass elected into the presidency.

Bands

 We ended up getting a fairly large amount of rain from Henri, but not nearly what they received up in Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and New York. We got a lot of drizzle, wizzle soakers, and they got a long downpour.  Over the next 4 days things are supposed to warm up.  With all the moisture in the ground, that's going to translate into hot and humid days.  I am not excited.

I've started a core routine to my work out.  It's pretty much the same stuff I had when I was in PT for my back 6 years ago.  Breaking out the power bands I'd bought back then,  the 'light strength' green band  snapped the minute I gave it a trial stretch.  Everything ages.  Nothing lasts forever.  As we get older, weakening core muscles become a problem.  In 15 years I don't want to be walking around nearly stooped in half.  The older we get, the more we need to do to fight the aging process.

I had to take my car to the dealership because of recalls and for some reason they gave me 3 free months of Sirius XM.  I don't have a subscription. and thought this is a nice change to listening to the music I've bought and downloaded.  I might consider getting a subscription if they'd offer an Alternative Music channel without the DJ.  Having to listen to a babbling bubbled headed DJ is not what I want to listen to when driving my car.   Why anyone needs to have a radio personality chitter chattering away is beyond me, yet there are those listeners who practically live for their DJ.

I understand Loser #45 had a rally in Alabama over the weekend.  Before he launched into his medley of falsehoods leading up to his rendition of The Big Lie, he mutter something about getting vaccinated, and the MAGAs in the crowd booed.  Not that this bothered him, for 2 seconds later the crowd was cheering as the deceits began rolling from his lips.

Henri's here

 Well, this is another day off for me.  I had been planning on driving down to York to have lunch with my friend Betsy, however Henri has chosen to dump a shitload of rain on Central Pennsylvania.  While I like to believe I'm a cautious driver and have no problem driving in rainy conditions, you and I both know there are terrible drivers out there who are more focused on the important things in their lives like diddling with their radio, or talking on their phones, or reading texts, rather then focus on safe driving in inclimate weather.  So, in a bit, I'll give her a phone call and postpone.  I'm off for the next 3 Sundays, so getting together will not be  a problem.

And what will I end up doing on my day off?  If you read me only occasionally, that should be a no-brainer.  Laundry.  I don't know why, but there's always a load of laundry to do.

Outside, the steady rain has not stopped.  This is what is usually called a 'soaker,' which is not what we need.  As I've said before, this has been a very wet summer here in Central PA.  As a result, the dogs no longer try and hold there business until the rain stops.  I guess they both decided to put on their big puppy panties.  Now, unless we're having a torrential downpour, they have no problem going outside in the rain to do their business.

I saw where Phil Valentine died from Covid.  He was a Conservative, anti-vaxxer radio host who changed his tune about vaccines after he was hospitalized.  This is just another case where 'better late then never' simply does not apply.  The frequency with which these cases are happening is, well, almost amazing.  A day doesn't go by in which some GOP pundit, some GOP elected official, or his spouse, has died.  This means, and excuse my bluntness, but everyday there is one less Republican voter in America.  Who ever would have thought so many would end up voluntarily sacrificing their lives for The Big Lie?

 

Just a Blip

 Well, it's the weekend.  I'm scheduled to go back to work today... for just one day, being off again tomorrow.  The temptation is so great to pick up my phone and place that little phone call letting them know I won't be coming in.  That would give me 8 days off.  Wow!  Of course, when I look at the little I managed to accomplish during the past 6 days... ouchy, ouchy, ouchy.  True, my back has been acting up, but there are things I should have been doing to help strengthen my core and didn't.  I will probably wait to stop working completely until???  Part-time is fine, unless I want to turn into a complete slouch.

And what about the news for Only Fans?  Some of you might know what that website is, others, I do suspect, may know about it intimately.  Only Fans has come to represent porn by the common man, for the common man... or woman.  There are a lot of other content providers on Only Fans besides those who focus on porn, but the ones who are complaining are the sex workers.  For the most part, their content was simple porn... however, there are always bad apples who ruin things.  You see the BBC did an investigative report (heavily dramatic music) and discovered some of the content providers has used fake ID's to get certified... yep, they were underage.  Not good.  And other things cropped up in that report, like bestiality, and incest, and  evidently when some of the content providers offered personalized videos for a fee, they meant very up close and very intimately personalized.  So the porn is leaving Only Fans.  Their excuse is that credit card processors are tightening their grip.  My feeling is that management is far more concerned about the legal ramifications regarding underage porn, and puppy porn, and... well, you know what I mean.  Ah, but don't worry your little heads, there are many, many other platforms out there doing exactly what Only Fans did so well, so this shocking turn of events is nothing more than a blip on porn's radar screen.

And finally, even though southern, cracker jack crazy Republican states are pushing the monoclonal treatment, there aren't a lot of takers.  That's right.  If these anti-vaxxers aren't going to get themselves vaccinated, they sure as hell aren't going to go for an hour long transfusion.   At least these fools can pronounce the word vaccine, monoclonal is way too formal for them, and, of course, it does have the word clone imbedded among the sylables.

Thank you Andrew!

Can you believe it?  Today is my Friday in more ways then one.  Firstly, it is 'that' day of the calendar week, and 2ndly, it's the last day of my Staycation.  Interestingly enough, I go back to work for a single day and then have another day off.  The temptation is there to take a personal day tomorrow, that would give me 8 days off in a row, but honestly, I don't mind going back for one day.

Lily loved her birthday cake!  She supervised the cutting, making sure Biggie got the smaller piece.  I'm going to slice up and freeze the leftovers for later.

And I had to order a new pair of glasses from Zenni.  The ear piece snapped off the pair I was wearing regularly.  For an entire 2 seconds I contemplated taping it back in place, but the idea of repeating the 'taped glasses' look I had when I was 12 was too much.  This means I'm back to wearing the old D&G frames again. 

And I printed off a NOLA map yesterday, it helps to know where the bodies are buried.  You can even see the location of the Amon-Ra nightclub.

Some of you are probably asking yourselves how, if I've never been to New Orleans I know so much about the city.  The answer is Andrew.  He has a YouTube series of walking tours.  The ones on New Orleans, where he lives, are quite informative.  For those of you interested, take a look at Andy in action. And here's a link to his website for those interested.

 Finally, for the Friday funny bit, did you know devoutly religious people do not believe in extra-terrestrial life?  Especially the intelligent type?  Except for the Hindu religion in which Vishnu (?) claims to be the 'destroyer of worlds,' no mention is made of life other than here on earth.  This is to be expected since those wizened old fools who created these theologies were only concerned about their own selfish power grab.  Nothing can exist outside the 'me' sphere of their consciousness.

The Change

Crap, I slept in again today.  The alarm went off, I got out of bed and walked across the room to turn it off, and then climbed back into bed.  I guess this means I'm going through the change... or, well, at least one change, which is quite different then going through 'the change,' since that change is rather impossible for someone of my gender. 

Lily's cake is baked, and I'm sure it's going to be tasty.  I even took the time to buy some decorating icing and put her name on it.  No laughing.  Decorating is not one of my hidden talents.  I realized after I brought the tube of pre-made red icing home that I was also supposed to by a special tip.  Believe me, Lily is never going to know what this looks like.

And Alabama no longer has any ICU beds available.  I feel sorry for those people down there.  Today Lily's going to get cake and ice cream while those people down there are still being fed the same lie, and right now it's a little too late to change.  I understand more have been getting vaccinated, however it's too late.  They should have started the vaccination process 8 weeks ago.  Getting your first shot today is not going to keep you from getting Covid, it's not going to keep you from being hospitalized.  Antibodies need to time to grow, they don't just suddenly happen.

And there was a lot of patter on Social Media yesterday about Governor Abbott jumping on the Regeneron train.  One of the doctors who approved his treatment Tweeted that even though Abbott was asymptomatic, he was terrified he was going to get Covid.  You would think that by this time, the man who claims to be a Christian would have realized he's damned to the fires of Hell.  This is what happens to phonies, and believe me, it's too late for him to change.

On Death and Dying

 Yesterday was the Hump Day of my Staycation, could you tell?  I couldn't.  

We had rain throughout much of the night, thanks to Fred, the Tropical Storm.  The original forecast was for 2 - 4 inches, that's been changed, though we're still under a flood warning.  Fred chose to take a route north that's farther to our west.  Pittsburgh's getting the heavy rain, not us.

Biggie has an appointment with the vet for next Friday.  He's a little stiff at times, so I suspect he and I are both suffering from arthritis.  Thanks to advances in canine medicine, his treatment will be much like mine, occasional meds.  He's going to be 7 years old in December, and large dogs are considered senior when they hit 6.

And, speaking of age in dogs, someone has a birthday tomorrow.  Miss Lillian D'Aubert is going to be 8 years old.  Rather then buy her a cake, I'm going to be baking her one, though I'll still be buying the ice cream.  Maybe I'll do a peanut butter frosting.  She loves peanut butter.  And yes, in case you're wondering, at 56 pounds, she's considered a large dog, though she is anything but senior.  That little lady is always running around with a squeaky toy in her mouth.

For those who might be interested, I'm almost finished with Chapter 12.

Wasn't it a shock to see that Abbott, loser governor of Texas, has tested positive for Covid?  They say he was vaccinated, and that it's a virus breakthrough.  I have to tell you, there is so much incongruity here: he doesn't advocate masks (they're a reminder Texas has a serious health issue), he doesn't advocate vaccinations, but he does advocate Regeneron's Monoclonal antibody treatment.  He has no symptoms, according to his spokesman, so why did the lying governor get treatment, the same treatment Loser #45 received at Bethesda, and a treatment that is very expensive?  I understand several clinics providing this very expensive treatment have suddenly sprung up in both Texas and Florida.  Leave it to damn Republican greed to make a buck out of death and dying.

Not Lost at All

 Well, I slept in again this morning and I didn't stay up late.  Over 7 hours of sleep which is rare for me.  I did go for a ride yesterday, so I'm going to use that as an excuse.  I did wake up to another fresh loaf of Italian bread.  One loaf lasts me about a week.

I am going to make an appointment to have my back checked out, not that it bothers me that much, but it's been about 6 years since I last saw my specialist.  And, as with all medical things, I'm going to transition to the VA.  Medicare covers some of the expense, and the VA covers just about everything else.  For example, when I had my hernia surgery my total out of pocket was $50.  That's way less expensive then the $2500 other people on Medicare have to pay.

And they're now calling for boosters shots to help with the fight against Covid.  Don't worry, I'm basically already in line.  The Delta variant is a lot like the chicken pox, if you're not vaccinated, you're going to be infected sooner or later, for most, infection will happen sooner. This doesn't bother me.  To be honest, I'm rather anticipating the infection of certain anti-vaxxers suspecting this is the only way to actually shut them up.

And wasn't that a shit show from Kabul yesterday?  This is what it reminded me of:

Everybody started pointing fingers.  Everybody started jumping to conclusions.  We were going to be leaving all those thousands of people behind to be slaughtered by the Taliban.  However, this morning the picture has changed.  Normal evacuation flights have resumed.  We are flying those who have helped us to safety.  In fact, I understand little Stevie Miller is throwing a hissy fit because the Biden Administration is going to be bring 22,000 to 30,000 Afghan immigrants to our shores.  We know how much Stevie hates brown skinned immigrants.  I'll bet he threw what my grandmother would have called a conniption when the census numbers began rolling out.  

Movies, Music, and Mandates

Oh My Gosh, it's Monday!  The weather forecast is looking a bit damp, with showers and thunderstorms supposedly in the offing.  Figures, don't it?  I'm off and rain comes into the picture.

Speaking of pictures, I went to see Suicide Squad last evening.  The theater was nearly empty.  I don't know if that's because the movie isn't that popular, or Covid.  I'm suspecting a little of the first but more of the latter.  The movie was quite enjoyable, a lot of very dark humor...yes, characters die.  There's also a fair amount of 'in your face' parody of  superhero movies.  Viola Davis gives a standout performance as the 'official' who practices her golf putts while the dying is happening.  But honestly, every one in the cast is spot on in their performances, over the top but not cartoonish.  And in case you're wondering, it is very funny.  

In case anyone is wondering, all the lyrics have been chosen for The Body in Repose.  And, of course, Imagine Dragons dropped this little gem.  Perhaps I can use a line or two in the next book.

And, as might have been expected, the Texas Supreme Court sided with Abbott on his refusal to mandate masks.  This is almost as ridiculous as those dumb shits who are having prayer vigils when their dearly beloved find themselves intubated.  Sometimes stupidity has no bounds.  They simply don't understand the world is watching, and what they are seeing is a slow motion Judgement upon those whose daily lives revolve around Republican Selfishness.  Let them die, for those who live will not care.

 

Paying the Price

 Well, the Staycation has begun.  Nothing is really planned for the next 6 days.  This means I'm wondering if I'll end up taking a personal day next Saturday.  Now why would I do that?  I'm scheduled  off on Sunday, and that would give me 8 days in a row.  The temptation is there, believe me.

I watched the Disney / Pixar film Coco last evening.  It was entertaining.  I was surprised, I thought it was going to be a musical.  The song at the end, the one that won the Oscar?  I thought it was nice, but evidently didn't find it as emotional as some did.

And there's now a movie on tap for tonight.  

Biggie's laying on the floor looking at me. I didn't have my regular breakfast, which has changed from the oatmeal.  Now it's an egg over easy and a slice of homemade Italian bread.  Usually, he and Lilly get a lick at the bowl, but this morning I had cottage cheese with blueberries and walnuts so that didn't happen today, and now brown eyes are damning me to hell.  

And yesterday The Guardian published an article blatantly points out what many of us have known for months, that Republicans are killing their own voters with Covid.  For them, the comparison of Republican Governors is to Nero, who's now seen as a psychotic.  You know?  Letting Rome burn while he fiddled away on some hill.  And, evidently that ass Abbott went to some loon festival celebrating no masks and no vaccines and played his fiddle.  I think it's funny, they call themselves Patriots and I call them suicidal.  Truthfully, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the picture has been vaccinated.  You know how Republican minds work.  It's always the little guys who pay the price.

Cover this

 After today I don't have to work for 6 full days, now isn't that nice.  I am sooooo happy for that.  And just what will I be doing on my Staycation, probably not as much as I did on the one I took about 3 weeks ago.  But then, isn't this how life is supposed to be as we get older.  Do less while we do more?  This means I'm not going to laze around, though the temptation will be great.  There is a difference between doing, and accomplishing, one is a process and the other a completion.

Yesterday was really slow I work.  I had an appointment scheduled for 5:15 PM and the customer showed up 10 minutes before I was going to leave, over an hour late.  This was for a blind design.  Some customers will spend a lot of money on blinds, thousands of dollars.  Yes, you read that right, they will fork out thousands of dollars.  The associate I handed them off to is very meticulous with his designs.  Customers love him for that.  He will spend 2 hours making sure the design is correct.  Me?  I'll spend 10 minutes.  Yesterday's late customer will probably be much happier with him.

Here's a bit of something you might find interesting, concept art for the next book cover.  As I said, it was a fairly slow day at work yesterday.

I saw where Dum Dum DeSantis rolled out treatment for Covid: monoclonal antibodies.  Treatments are intravenous and take over an hour, and help patients with mild to moderate symptoms.  This is some of the same shit they shot into Trump when he had Covid.  This is doing nothing to stop the spread.  Wouldn't it be smarter to get people vaccinated, rather then wait until they were moderately ill to do something?  Not if your a MAGA.

Oh, and speaking of Loser #45.  Yesterday was supposed to be reinstatement day for him.  Stop...Laughing!  Stop...Laughing!

The Brick

 Good Morning!  Today I am half way through my work week, and that makes me happy.  After tomorrow another of my Staycations will begin.  I do like them.  A week off here, a week off there, and in a few weeks I'll be going part-time.

Yesterday was very slow at work.  Blame it on the heat which topped off at 99 (F).  The forecast for today has changed.  We're no longer going to hit 100 (F).  Nope, we're going to graze close by the 3 digit mark, only getting up to 97(F) ... with thunderstorms.  We've had storms almost every evening this week, nothing bad, gusty with 15 minutes of rain, nothing more.

And I had a recurrent customer before I left last evening.  I've talked to her several times, always about some form of hard surface going into her den: vinyl, laminates, or hardwoods.  She has 8 quotes in the system for different products.  Of course, she showed up around 20 minutes before I was scheduled to leave... and she finally signed up to have the room measured.  She's a very nice woman, though very indecisive.

What about that voter mess out in Colorado?  Oiy!  Tina Peters!  What have you done? (Can you hear me laughing?)

Evidently evidently this bottled blond surreptitiously signed into a voting computer to show how easily it could be done (?) using her own password (which she didn't redact).  Oh, and she sent the information to a Right Wing nut job who posted everything, including her unredacted password.  This was done before she went to that loser Pillow Guy's cybersecurity lie festival.  That's right, she a MAGA.  And now she's under criminal investigation.  Pardon my French, but this woman is dumb as a fucking brick.

Simply Tasty

Well, I head back to work today.  Now, isn't that thrilling news?  Dealing with customers?  One thing that will keep foot traffic down will be the high temps.  We're supposed to crest the 100 (F) wave today... and tomorrow.  In fact, tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter then today.  And if you decide to shop my store, don't expect the A/C to cool you off the moment you walk through the door.  Nope.  It's going to be roasty toasty because we have so many large doors that allow in the smothering heat.  For example, one of our roll-up doors in the back of the building is  twenty feet wide, and it's open most of the day to accept deliveries.

Of course, this is a mini work week.  In 4 days I'll begin another 6 day vacation and shortly after that I'll have another 3 weeks vacation on the books.

I made one of my favorite dishes yesterday for dinner, Shrimp Lo Mein.  Simply tasty.

I understand the figures from the last census get released today and there's fear the Republicans are going to use them to gerrymander the country to hell in order to stay in power.  This is... rather amusing.  Why?  Well one of the pre-release tidbits that came out yesterday is that the country is rapidly diversifying.  Translation?  White people simply aren't making enough babies.  All I have to do is look at my nieces and nephews to see the truth in that.  And the Republican Party is the party of the white voter, a party that is in deep denial about the changes happening in America.  They don't seem to understand that at some point their grandchildren are going to begin paying the price for this denial.

Ah, well, this is how it goes.

 

The Hard Way

 So, I slept in again.  I suppose this comes with maturity, or maybe I just stayed up a little too late last evening.  That's a bad habit I don't want to get into: staying up late and then sleeping until noon.  We have a customer like that, doesn't get out of bed until one or two in the afternoon.  This means she shows up at the store around 9PM needing to talk to the specialists who have left four hours earlier.

The gas company dug up the street in front of my house yesterday.   Of course, there was a parked car blocking them and it too was in front of my house.  When I told the job foremen it belonged to the couple who were having the new gas line installed, his glance back over his shoulder at their house was almost priceless.

The dogs were in and out of the house throughout most of the morning and into early afternoon.  Last evening Biggie's right rear hip was paining him, so I'll make an appointment to take him to the Vet next week.  He's going to be 7 in December, and he's a big dog, and that means he's got a bit of arthritis back there.

And I gathered my fruits together yesterday to make my snack mix.  I'm tossing in some dried mango this time.  My dried blueberries are running low.  Dried cherries used to be my choice, but they tend to get sticky, so I'll get some more blues.

Down in Texas they've issued arrest warrants for those Democrats who chose to leave the state rather then vote on that racist voting rights act, 52 of them, I believe.  The state almost flipped blue during the last election.  Now, thanks to the incompetence of Abbott dealing with Covid and Climate Change as he tries to appease the dying Republican base, the possibility of the state staying red is getting tossed to the wayside.  

Oh, and Cuomo resigned yesterday.  Good.  He learned the hard way that he's not special.  This is something we need to take the Republican Party.  We need to teach them they're virtually useless, and we're going to need to do it the hard way.

A Quiet Day

 And so my weekend begins... with UGI digging up the street in front of my house.  Neighbors on the other side of the street are switching to Natural Gas, much less expensive in Central PA than oil.  I can still get out of my driveway should I need to, though garbage collection is going to be set back a day.

Since I have Disney + thanks to my new xbox Series S, I watched Hamilton last evening.  I was surprised by how dynamic the show was.  Seeing the cast perform live must be a truly emotional experience.  We tend to lionize our fore fathers to a point where we forget they were very human, and their lives were quite often far from perfect.

And so what am I going to do on my first day off?  Laundry, of course,  I have five piles lining the hallway, each waiting to head into the wash cycle.  And after working for 6 days straight, I no doubt will also take a nap.  Naps are good.  With the dogs of course.  As we get older, naps become welcome friends.

There's also the new game on my Series S console.  Using the Force is really a lot of fun.  In fact, the more you train with the force, the stronger you get.  If you're really good with the Force, you don't really need anything else.  I know there are some of you who have no interest in games, but here's the release trailer just to give you an idea of how far video games have come.

And as far as the Covid Crisis goes, well, one of the headlines I've seen this morning is that as of this morning, Arkansas only has 8 ICU beds available.  There was also some sort of horseshit about the Governor of Louisiana asking people to pray.  Someone needs to tell that sucker people have been praying to deities year after year, century after century, to no avail.  And then there was this bit about that Losing Governor Abbott of Texas wanting to hire in help from out of state.  Oh, and one hospital in Houston is erecting tents for overflow Covid patients.  Oh, well, I guess this is the price you're going to have to pay when you sell your soul to Loser #45.

Friday!!

 That's right!  After 5 complete days, my Friday has finally arrived.  I cannot wait this work day is over, especially since I know every day I have to work at the store is one less day until I go part-time. 

My brother sent me a text yesterday telling me he wanted to have a little family get-together over the labor Day weekend.  He had mentioned this over breakfast a while back and I had told him I work every holiday.  I reminded him of what I had said.  I did put in a request, but I know it's going to be denied.  He suggested Sunday, September 12 if Labor Day doesn't work, which is 4 weeks away.  He, like so many other people, does not understand there are over 200 associates working in my store, and many of them want weekends off, and they can begin requesting for those weekends 90 days in advance.  This is why a majority of my Fridays begin on Tuesday, or Wednesday.

So, I got a notification from my running pod that the battery needed to be replaced.  It turned out to be not so easy peasy because the sucker's tiny.  Now it doesn't work and I'm tempted to throw it in the garbage.  My watch does the same thing, except it doesn't provide all of the details, and I'm wondering if maybe for me, the details aren't as important as they are for someone who needs to track their runs.

And I saw where they're predicting the climate is going to get worser quicker, at least that's what a UN report is stating.  Of course, you know it's going to run into the brick wall that is Conservativism.  Their focus is on making money, and greed.  What's actually happening is that the planet is getting warmer, and that warmth is hastening evolutionary changes in many, if not all species.  These are two truths Conservatives will never believe.  To do so, they would need to admit that everything they believe, or at least most of everything they believe, is an utter lie.  And like Liar #45, the truth is nearly impossible to find in their minds.  But don't worry, as part of the evolutionary process, they will die off.

Bulk Buy

 Well, yesterday at work was slow.  I was going to stretch the letters out so you might get some idea but decided against it.  Sometimes a simple, brief sentence says everything.  Boring is also a good word to describe yesterday.  This is how it goes.  

Two days left before my weekend.  The temps are going to be climbing into the upper 90's (F).  No rain is in the forecast.  We're finally hitting our normal August and I'm beginning to wonder if our seasons have some how been delayed by Climate Change.  The truth is, we have no idea how things are going to go.  This is all brand new to us and so many are completely unprepared.  At some point, we can expect those living in the areas effected most to move away, to migrate to cooler, safer climes, or the coastal flooding will get so bad they'll migrate inland as the coastline slowly changes.  This is what happens when a large group of individuals favor mythology over science.

So, I decided to buy my walnuts in bulk.  I could by the same brand of walnuts on Amazon as I buy at my neighborhood Giant, but there wasn't really that much of a savings, so I switched to Kirkland.  I'll find out how good they are later this morning.

And I saw that 2 of Loser #45's minions were doing their best to slow down the infrastructure bill.  One of them is from Tennessee, a poor state that could sorely use this bill.  Of course, they're not going to succeed, and more then a few Republicans will tout this bill when it comes time for re-election.  And the fact that this bill will be popular in Tennessee is going to hurt the minions when there names once again appear on the ballot.  And when this bill passes Loser #45 is going to throw a shit fit.  The only legislation he got through was a tax break for the wealthy.

Stay the Course

 And we're racing through another slow weekend.  This is always the case.

Today is lawn waste pick-up day, and I have no waste.  Tuesday or Wednesday, when I have off, I will wack my weeds. pick up a few small branches that have fallen, and that's about it.  

So far I've harvested 5 cucumbers, several banana peppers, and there's a 3rd eggplant waiting to be plucked.  The tomatoes and the cantaloupes failed.  Maybe I should plant them in the front yard next year where they will get full sun.  Because of the trees surrounding my house, in the backyard they only get about 5 or 6 hours.

I had some customers yesterday who are selling their house and wanted a refresh of carpet to make it more attractive to potential buyers.  They have 195.67 square yards, or 160.60 square meters for all of my metric readers.  That's a lot of rug.  Even with the dirt cheap carpet their tally came to over $4300.  And they balked at the price.  He asked if they could skip the padding.  Carpet without padding is like raw pasta... hard.  Welcome to the real world.  As I handed the printed final quote to them, he laid his phone on the desk and I could see he was already checking out our competitor.  Fine with me.

And isn't it interesting how sounds from the past can sometimes be a source of creative inspiration?  Like this.

And doesn't that Ronnie DeSantis have one hell of a Covid problem?  Abbott from Texas?  He, too, is in a bad way.  They both remind me of Ronnie Reagan in that neither has the ability to see other options.  Back when Ronnie got his Reagonamics passed, the economy was in a sorry state.  It took a while for the Conservative legislation to kick in, so almost daily Ronnie would say we need to 'stay the course.'  And for a while, it seemed to work, but the rich never spend as much as they need to for the economy to grow, so it began dying.  So it goes with Covid.  And both DeSantis and Abbot are going to 'stay the course.'  Because of that, every day there are fewer Republican voters in the country.

Changes

 Well, it's Friday, or I guess I could call today my almost middle of the week Hump Day since I will still have 3 days to go when I clock out this evening.  After that, I'll have 2 days off, 3 days on, and then 6 days off.  I really wouldn't having a 3 day work week.  

Yesterday, I gave management the day I will go part-time.  October 11.  I even handed in a tentative schedule.  Of course my availability will change.  I just wanted to give them something to go on.  Amusingly, when my manager asked why, I replied honestly.  "I can afford it."  Believe me, those are four very nice words to be able to say.  For those who are interested, here it is.  And it is subject to change.

I was checking out the news from the Mediterranean.  Hot temps over there.  Greece is having scorching heat 107 (F)  The hottest it's been in 30 years.  That means at one point the temperature cranked even higher.  Here in Central PA, we're heading into some higher temps, but nothing that high.  For us, last summer was hotter, but so far this summer has been wetter.

Climate change is upon us and you can bet the Cracker Jacks will be going crazy.  You see, they don't believe Climate Change.  They don't believe in Evolution either, yet homosapiens have been changing.  We are getting browner by the day.  These two challenges, Climate Change and Evolution are creating horrific challenges for the Cracker Jacks because their belief system does not allow for either.  Unfortunately for them, there is nothing they can do to stop the changes.  We might be able to slow the climate down, perhaps burnt the severity, but nothing is going to stop it.  The same is true about evolution.  They don't understand the changes will make us stronger.  Creativity explodes during stressful times like these.  The future is:  the ice in Antarctica will melt and Florida will be underwater, for the most part, so you can say goodbye to The Villages.

Warranty

Can't remember if I mentioned this, but I got my treadmill up and running (see what I did there?) and actually spent some time on it yesterday.  First there was a problem with the belt, and then it began making a 'clicking' sound.  End result, while I'm not an expert in treadmill repair, I now have experience.  This is the new definition of warranty:  fix it yourself.

Up and Running (see, I did it again)

Yesterday at work, my supervisors actually said, "and here's another interesting factoid."  I truly didn't think anyone really used the word.  I suspect he needs to be listed as 'old school' trendy.

And Masks are now being worn again.  While I hate the suckers, they do help to hide the profanity which slips from my mouth when dealing with idiots and customers.  This can happen quite frequently.

We did have one associate abandon his job when he saw the notice.  I wasn't there, but evidently he turned around and without so much as a single word to management walked back out the store.  He will not be missed.  When I say he's a rabid member of a certain party that loves where red hats, I am not making an understatement.  Desperately trying to be an authority, he was... unliked by many, and again I'm being kind.  Not even the so called Conservatives had a friendly word for him.  Good riddance.

I understand the Orange Anus spit out some sort of foolishness about the recent Texas election where the candidate he backed... lost.  He blamed the loss on Democrats voting against him.  Now, just take a few seconds and let that sink in.  Obviously, his 2 little gray cells made an attempt to communicate and failed because the warranty expired on them a long time ago.

Snack on this

 Crap!  I've got to say this past 2 days, my retail weekend, I did more slacking than I have in the past... oh, couple of years.  Nothing.  I did nothing.  Well, not quite.  My front lawn was mowed yesterday, and I ordered some walnuts.  Oh, and I also got over 2000 words written.  But yesterday, mostly what I did was play a Star Wars game on my Xbox Series S in between loads of laundry.  Crap!  I hate being so unproductive.

As I said, I ordered walnuts.  I've started making my own snack to take to work.  Up until a few weeks ago I used to chow down on really high sodium content combo of Doritos and Fritos I bought from one of the machines in the lunchroom.  No More.  I used to get my ration of daily nuts in my breakfast, but that has changed, too, so now I make a snack.  Walnuts, almonds, banana chips, and berries.  Right now I'm using dried blueberries.  When I get low, I'll order some dried cherries.  Believe me, this is quite tasty and much healthier.

I also began organizing things better on my PC, deleting scores of old pics I've used in this blog.  The ones I saved are now in organized files which are now stored up in One Cloud as well as that new external storage I purchased a while back.  I want to be ready just in case something happens to this aging computer.  I don't want to chance losing anything.

And what about Cuomo?  He should resign. He's a Democrat, not a Republican.  We usually handle things in the proper way.  I'd be really pissed if he trots his wife out onstage and she says she forgives him.  We've seen that so many times from Conservatives who rely on foisting that "my marriage vows are sacred" routine in order to avoid judgment by their base.

Finally, I was glad Biden called out Florida and Texas on their failing Covid strategy.  I will never understand these people who feel it's better to sacrifice human life in order to keep save your economy.   Because of these beliefs, the economies in these to states are going to suffer drastically.

Bread

 If it's Tuesday... then this must be my Sunday.  That means I get to go back to work tomorrow for a 6 day stretch.  Of course, after that, I have 2 off, then 3 on, and then 6 off as I head into another Staycation.  On September 4, my vacation gets reset with another 3 weeks.  And, of course, I'm going to be going full part-time.  That date has been set.  I tried informing HR and was told I needed to tell my manager (????).  I used to be in HR, and that's odd.  I got the distinct impression she didn't want to get involved.  (????)

And this morning I did wake up to the heavenly scent of baking bread.  I went back to that trustworthy Italian recipe I've been using.  No problems.  When I cleaned out the bread pan after the 'accident', I found baked bread around the top but gooey batter in the bottom.  Very sticky.

Am I like the only one wondering if Lindsey Graham is actually suffering from a breakthrough of the variant?  Supposedly, he has flu-like symptoms.  But we all know how much of  a liar he is.  And, if this is true, how many other Congressmen might he have infected.  As far as I know, there are only 2 who haven't been vaccinated.  I'm betting they're Republicans.  Good.  Maybe they'll get sick.

The Covid headlines coming from the deep south are not good, especially if you happen to be a Social Conservative.  I understand Tony Perkins blurted out some sort of inanity that natural immunity is better then the vaccine.  This means the only numbers he looks at are those in his bank account, otherwise he'd understand that many of those who have already died are Christian, some very devout.  History will define this man as a total failure.

The Baking Accident

 Good Morning, people.  My weekend has begun with a somewhat cindery moment.  Last evening I watched the last episodes of "Loki."  It's okay, not great, though they do say Eli's favorite word (shit) every now and then.  I got the coffee ready for this morning, ( I always do that the night before, so I just have to turn on the coffee maker).  And popped the ingredients into the bread maker so I could wake up to freshly baked bread.  However, this time I decided to go with a standard white bread, rather then Italian.  Big mistake.  Around 3 in the morning, I woke up smelling smoke (insert Eli's favorite word).  Going downstairs, I found smoke pouring from the top of the bread maker (you know the word you need to insert).  During its final rise, the loaf had increased in size so much the dough cascaded down the sides of the baking pan, onto the heating elements.  There was no fire, I don't even think there was a chance of one start, but that burnt bread was stinking up the house badly and I was worried the smoke alarm was going to go off.  Damn!

And after my weekend is over, when I go back to work on Wednesday, things will have changed.  We're going back to wearing masks.  People are not happy.  When one of the associates in my department began complaining, I shot back at him, "well you know who's to blame?  Those dumb, fucking Republicans who aren't getting vaccinated."  In case you are wondering?  He's one of those Republicans.  That's right.  He believes The Big Lie, but nothing about Covid.  He's one of those who believes he's immune.  What he really needs is a 2 week vacation in ICU.

Learning the Greek Alphabet

 Friday, at last!  Well, not for some of you.  Tomorrow will not be just another day for many of you.  Your work week will begin tomorrow.  Wow.  Ain't it interesting how life works sometimes?  Some people get to sit down at a desk, either at home or in an office, and I get to do laundry and mow my lawn.  Simply fascinating.

Yesterday was not a very busy day at work.  We sold flooring jobs, but the measures they want us to get are not happening as frequently as mgmt. would like.  However, we are heading into August.  Traditionally, in this area of the country, this is the time of year when most people take vacations.  Also, Delta is surging.  More contagious then the chicken pox, they say.  I guess that means chicken pox spreads easily.  I had that when I was a wee toddler, in fact I had what most call 'childhood diseases' when I was young.  Maybe Covid is going to turn into another one of those childhood diseases.

Evidently, in states where Covid is rapidly rising, vaccinations are also on the rise.  The big question is how many will get inoculated before they catch it.  The number of people getting the shot in Florida is on the increase, but people are getting infected much faster.  And Delta is not the same Covid we first met.  For younger people, the prospect of a simple dalliance with the disease has faded.

Finding out that as a fully vaccinated individual my viral load can be as high as an infected none vaccinated individual should be alarming to the unvaccinated.  This means the Delta will spread among the unprotected even faster.  

I saw where the Orange Anus has raised quite a tidy bit of money since January and evidently is spending any of it.  Nope.  Saving it for a rainy day, is he?  Or for a run in 2024?  You can bribe a lot of people with that kind of money, which, I don't doubt is one of his standard operating practices.  Or, maybe he'll use it to pay off fines?  Nah, not his modus operandi.  Of course, we saw how much money Bloomberg spent and he got himself nowhere.  I wouldn't be surprised if when things get sticky, and they will get sticky, he's going to take the money and run.