Creativity

 Well, it's Friday.  This is my 5th day off in a row, and I'm off tomorrow as well.  The 2 week are pretty much the same.  Christmas weekend I only work on that Saturday, and then again on Christmas Eve for 5 hours, after that my hours pick up.  

Weather wise, today's supposed to be partly cloudy with highs climbing into the low 50s (F).  I'm ready for the partly sunny, though honestly, sunny would be so much better.  The days are so short this time of year, a bright sunny day is an event to celebrate.

I have about 60 pages of editing left before the final draft of The Body in Motion is complete.  That in itself is exciting, but I will also be excited to get it into the hands of those readers who note, and comment, and suggest changes.  Sharing in the creative process is so much fun.  I find that the reliance on other voices and other opinions is essential.  This is how life is, people working together for a common cause, even if it is something as simple of helping me prepare a manuscript for publication.  Too many people out there don't even try to be creative, perhaps because they're afraid of failing, or possibly it's because they're so accustomed to relying on the creativity of others.  Anyway, I saw quote from Kurt Vonnegut and thought it appropriate.

On the dismal side of things:  Hunter Biden has been indicted again.  By this point, I'm certain most will agree that Hunter is the black sheep of the Biden family.  Republicans love this.  They need a dead horse to kick around and Hunter seems to have spent most of his adult years obliging them.   

I sent this article from the Washington Post to my brother.  It's about the great de-churching going on in America, or as the author says, the serious attrition occurring withing the Christian Church.  Is Evangelicalism killing the church?  Look no farther than Mike Johnson for your answer.  Another good example is Ronnie DeSantis, who claims that if he had been alive during the time of Jesus he could have been an apostle.  American Christianity has never been so overtly vocal about it's selfishness, a direct link to Conservatives whose favorite pronoun has become My.  My money.  My taxes.  My religion.  My God.

Free Cardio!

 We have Snow!  When I got up, the temp outside was 30 (F) and Accuweather was predicting snow, heavy at times, for the next 40 minutes, and as I opened the back door to let Lily to do her morning business several kamikaze snowflakes flew into the house.  Depth wise, it's not much, maybe half an inch but it's nice.  Once again, I remind people that snow = free cardio!

I was surprised I got as much accomplished yesterday as I did, no painting, but the living room tank got cleaned.  I also put in some time on the treadmill, as well as get in a dumbbell workout.  Today I'm hoping to get in an kettlebell workout, as well as some time on the bike.  And maybe paint the window frame in the kitchen.  

This is an odd week for me, I don't work Saturday.  It's all about the hours.  Because the Orange Home Improvement retailer I work for is not hitting their budgeted profit, they're going to be cutting part-time hours.  This doesn't mean they aren't making money, they are, by the billions, they're just not hitting their forecasted figures.  I don't doubt that at sometime, something will cause Wall Street to crash badly, and at that time all those greedy billionaires will have a WTF moment, just before they jump from one of the high floors of their corporate headquarters.

And, did I say we have snow?  This is what it looks like.

And there was a debate last night.  Par for the course, I didn't pay any attention.  And I didn't check the newsfeeds to see who, according to them, won.  I don't care.  Not one of them has a kamikaze snowflake's chance in Hell of getting the nomination, so this is just a waste of time and energy.  Unless they start attacking the Spawn of Satan, not of them has a chance.  And I don't doubt that some of them (I'm talking to you, Ronnie D) even understands that Trump getting the nomination is going to kill the GOP, this means that not one of them has any sort of political future in a dead political party.  And I am deadly serious here because Trump needs to be taken with deadly seriousness.

Fluries

 The temps were 30 (F) when I got up and there was snow in the forecast... well, not snow precisely, flurries is what they were predicting.  It's a good thing I don't crave the white stuff; sitting by the window for the past 45 minutes nary a flake has drifted by.  What a shame this winter thing is going to drag itself out until at least March.  Then, warm temps will be upon and they'll race by until once again we're left with the winter dark.

I thought of putting up my Christmas (all season) tree.  That's about as far as it went.  There was a time when I did decorate, but not anymore, and not for any holiday, it's not just Christmas.  Decorations need to be appreciated by many eyes, and, as I told Jon (the PT), I just don't invite people over anymore.  I prefer going out.  The invitations I get are nice and I usually attend, but over the past few years I've decided I really don't want people coming into my house.  Being a host requires extra time and effort that I'm no willing to give up.  Maybe, as I grow older, I'm simply getting selfish with my time.  I figure I may have what?  Possibly 30 years left, and I want to spend it with me.

Still no flurries.

All of the cabinet doors have been hung in my kitchen renovation.  There's a bit more painting that needs to be done, a bit of caulking, some backsplash added to the sink, and then I get to the floor, meaning I'll be spending a lot of time on my knees.

I understand the Orange Anus had some sort of one on one with one of his favorite ass kissers, Sean Hannity.  For those who don't know, Hannity is one of the Moral Degenerates billionaire admirers.  At this point, no one should be surprised what comes out of his mouth, his seething anger is spewing in all directions.  

Evidently the Moms for Liberty hate group has begun to splinter.  That's not a surprise, they're a political branch of the Republican party and look how badly that's cracking apart.  They ugly is oozing out from every possible seam.

And that dolt Tuberville changed his anti-American military plan.  He's now letting promotions take place up to the 3 start level.  No 4 star promotions yet.  I'm suspecting that he might finally be understanding Trump may be the Republican nominee for president, but there's no way he's going to win, meaning there's no way Trump allies can be promoted into powerful military positions.  Many think that was the true reason for Tuberville's plan, not that he was upset by the Armed Forces view on abortion.

Cutting 34 pages

Tuesday.  Again the weather is moderately warm.  The temp was 40 (F), when I left Lily out for her morning pee.  She's back on the bed now.  For those who don't know, 10 year-old dogs sleep quite a bit.  Not that I don't, bit some times it's in spurts.  Some nights I'll get over 7 hours of sleep, other nights just over 5 hours, and I don't take a lot of naps when my sleep is short.  Interesting.

Yesterday was soooo boring at the store.  I did manage to get 2 carpet measures, which should keep management happy.  There is some sort of contest going on where you get a ticket every time you get a measure, however, I don't have as many tickets as I do measures because not every manager gives them out.  Not that I'm concerned.  If I were full time, perhaps, but it isn't, and this week my hours are really short, only 16.  I work again until Sunday, which is fine with me.  

Just think, Christmas is less than 3 weeks away.  A few bones will make Lily a nice present.  Dogs are so easy when it comes to buying presents.  I stopped off at my local Giant supermarket last evening on the way home for a bottle of wine, and the woman behind the counter was using her phone to order presents for her daughter.  We had a nice discussion about how popular online shopping had become.  That's about the only way I shop now-a-days, but then I was never one who enjoyed shopping.  When I did shop, it was always for one specific item.  I hate browsing.  It has absolutely no appeal to me.  

I uploaded another video to YouTube since The Body In Motion is approaching completion.  It's about the editing process, and about the cuts all authors have to make when writing.  No matter how much those words may mean to you, sometimes they just have to go.

I understand Maddie's buying Liz Cheney's book.  I hope she enjoys it.  I disagree with a lot of her opinions, but Liz, but Liz is far more aware of the the evil the Orange Anus and the destruction his re-election would bring to the United States.  A day doesn't go by that he doesn't spew out exactly how he'd use his hatred of Democracy in an attempt to make himself a dictator.  The warning signs are there.  Let's hope that enough Americans see and understand them.

Fallout

Welcome to the new week!  It was 41 (F)) when I rousted myself from bed this morning.  The forecast is for us to climb another 9 degrees.  That might happen, might not.    

Since I have a humidifier, I thought I'd order some fragrance oil to make the air smell like lavender.  First off, I have to say it is a humidifier and not a diffuser, though when you check on line there really isn't that much of a difference between the two.  Secondly, I have the humidifier running at a rather low setting, since the air is not desert dry.  Thirdly, the only way you can smell the fragrance is if you're about 2 feet away.  Maybe if I ran the thing at full force the room might smell like lavender, but all that humidity wouldn't be good for fabrics, and wall coverings, and anything else on which moisture might accumulate.  

Yesterday was boring at work. There was not a lot of business, at least not in flooring and decor.  This was probably because we had rain on and off throughout the day, and some of those on times were substantial downpours.  I did hear a customer up at the service desk sounding surprised as he said that he'd thought there would be more people in the store since it was raining.  He evidently didn't realize that a lot of people don't like to get wet, and so when it rains they stay home watching sports, or a movie on TV.

And those of you with Amazon Prime, put April 12 on your calendar.  This is going to be great.

And I don't know about you, but it seems to me that with the expulsion of George Santos from the House of Representatives things are turning... well, bleaker, shall I say.  All of last week was not a winning week for them, to be honest.  The faux debate between Newsome and Ronnie D totally failed to pop Ronnie D's numbers.  Not good.  Hunter Biden volunteered to testify before Congress as long as it was an open session, not behind closed doors, and the Republicans shit a brick.  That's the last thing they want.  Bridget and Christian Ziegler began to answer the question of what happens to a socially conservative couple when their menage a trois goes awry.  I'm betting Christian does time in the big house.  And in a speech he was giving, Trump told the crowd he had 3 children... until and aid reminded him about Baroon.  

Destined for Failure

 Outside there is a constant drizzle.  It's a rainy Sunday, so I slept in a bit longer than usual.  This happens sometimes.  The weather is not supposed to improve until sometime later this afternoon.  I work, so that'll happen when I'm sitting at the flooring desk.  

I worked yesterday.  That's when the drizzles began.  When I got to the store at 1 PM, the store was relatively busy and thought, "gee, this is what the day's going to be like," and it was for about an hour.  My first customer was difficult.  A man in his late 40s, possibly early 50s, who was replacing the carpet in his bedroom with cheap vinyl planks.  He'd been in last Sunday and dealt with one of my fellow associates.  The reason he was replacing the carpet?  His girlfriend was angry that he spilled wax on the bedroom carpet.  I heard that line last week, and I heard it again yesterday.  Right.  He felt it was important for me to know that the carpet was in his bedroom, and that he'd spilled candle wax on it (doesn't come out), and that he was doing this for the "girlfriend."  He asked many of the questions he'd asked last week.  Wanted to know why the installation might take 2 weeks (his transition piece needed to be ordered), and why we no longer stored everything in massive warehouses.  Every explanation I gave him got the same response, "well, I just don't understand why it's not done this way," or "that doesn't make sense to me."  In the end he purchased, and since his installation was small, one room, I had him take most of the product he needed when he left.  Except for the transition piece, so I told him to call Tuesday, when I wasn't working, so we could give him an ETA on that piece.

Every now and then my fish do things that are interesting.  Here's my algae eater doing his job on the thermometer in my tank.

So, will America end up having a religious war?  There are times when I feel both the Conservatives and the Christian Nationalists want one.  In a weird way, both of them seem to think they have God behind them, and that's got me to thinking.  Have Christians ever actually won a war for Christianity?  All you need to do is look at the Middle East today to see that the Crusades were a terrible failure.  And it doesn't take a push coming to shove for them to fight other Christians, look at Northern Ireland.  Maybe someone should just sit them down and tell them to cool it because no matter how hard they believe, they're destined for failure.

Whiners and Losers

 Well, a happy Saturday to all you weekend readers!  The temps outside are a near balmy 42 (F) and they're predicted to hit 60 (F) by this afternoon.  Yeah, keep in mind that this is still Autumn, or Fall, depending upon which noun you prefer.  Accuweather has issued a Fog Watch until 1130, though when I look out the window there's not much for me to watch.

Yesterday was productive.  Only 2 cabinet doors remain to be hung, not because I didn't want to hang them, but because I'm waiting for new hinges.  The previous hinges were brown metal, which would stand out terribly against the white cabinets so white hinges were ordered.  They should be hear Monday.  Some of the cabinets got their 3rd coat of paint, and some of the trim was finished as well.  This coming week there will be more painting, in fact, that's all that's left to do... oh, and of course, the floor.  That's going to be a real pain in the knees and hips.

Here's a bit of a funny from the UK:  Jimmy Dyson, you know?  Dyson vacuums?  He filed a libel suit against the Daily Mirror claiming they said terrible things about him that weren't true.  Hhhmmm, what sort of terrible things?  That he was a great supporter of Brexit, and that it if the voters of the UK passed it, it would be boon to the economy... except, once Brexit passed Jimmy decided it would be better financially if he moved his business headquarters and everything associated with that headquarters somewhere else... other than Britain, someplace like Singapore.  Jimmy didn't like it when the Daily Mail called him out on it, saying he was a phony, so he tried to punish them by suing them.  And...  the courts decided that the Daily Mail hadn't libeled Jimmy by reporting the truth, basically telling Jimmy that his whining really sucks.

This is what 23 (F) did to my roses.

Of course, yesterday was George Santos' last day as a Congressman.  The vote to get him out is considered a landslide:  311 voted to oust the phony, that includes both Republicans and Democrats.  Some whiners complained that it sets a bad precedent because he was convicted of any crimes, 20 of those whiners were Democrats, the rest were Republicans.  That's amusing.  Now the Republican majority is one seat short.  There's going to be a special election in February to replace Georgie.  Some are thinking it might be a highly contested race.  Not me.  Santos flipped the seat, it wasn't always Republican.  Now, thanks to all of the slimy shenanigans taking place on the GOP side of the House of Representatives, it's going to flip back.  

Moms for Liberty menage a trois

 Well, we had a really red sky this morning, that means we should be ready to hunker down because of bad weather.  We shall see.  The temps didn't drop below freezing; the warmer they are the better for my heating bill.  Speaking of heating, I got an email yesterday from UGI, my natural gas provider, that a big price drop is coming in December.  How much?  My bill should drop around $10 a month.  That's good.  Every penny saved is a penny spent on paying off the kitchen.

Because it's supposed to be a cool, rainy day, I've decided I'm going to be making New England Calm Chowder.  For about 2 minutes I was torn, thinking I might make Manhattan Clam Chowder instead (I like both), but the New England is more a cool, drizzly weather kind of dish while the Manhattan is fine for cool summer nights.

I'm also going to be hanging 2 more cabinet doors in the kitchen today.  Two more hinges need to be order for me to hang them all.  The baseboard, at least some of it, will also get a painting today.  The final coat is going on some of the cabinets, too.  The time is approaching when I'll have to spend hours on my hands and knees putting in the new floor.

And of course, a lot of people are talking about this:

That's Christian and Bridgett Ziegler.  He's the GOP Chairman in Florida and she's a co-founder of the Moms for Liberty.  Apparently they've been in a consensual menage a trois (threesome, for those who don't know French) with another woman for some time.  Evidently, this 3rd party has accused Christian of rape (and other things), and the shit is about to hit the fan.  The Moms for Liberty had released a statement supporting Bridgett, but later retracted.  Of course, being devout Christians (not a pun), Chris and Bridgett believe all they have to do is ask God to forgive them and things will be hunky dory.  Wrong.

There was also a debate last evening.  I didn't watch.  While I like Gavin Newsome, it was on Fox Entertainment Channel.  It was also hosted by that billionaire conservative Sean Hannity.  Need I say anything more?  I haven't looked at the rating, but they probably were low.  I'm sure Ronnie was hoping this would boost his campaign... from what I've seen, it didn't.  

Finally, is today the day that George Santos gets expelled?  Conservatives like for news to happen late on Fridays, hoping that nobody talks about it over the weekend, so there is a distinct possibility Georgie will be fired... and then possibly arrested.

The Consequences of Public Opinion

 This Thursday morning the temp was 23 (F) when I jumped out of bed.  To celebrate our drop into the lower to mid 20s (F), I pulled out my wool blanket.  Now, I know a lot of you think wool is scratchy, but this wool is soft and supple.  Here's an interesting bit most of you don't know.  Tuxedoes are made from wool.  Yep, 100%, at least the good ones are.  They also started off as a variation of a military uniform, beginning with the peak lapel tailcoat.  

Yesterday was one of those ho-hum days.  I took care of some chores, but mostly putzed around doing dishes and laundry.  I did get some quality treadmill time in and am hoping to get more in today.  

I'm also halfway through the final edit of The Body in Motion.  One thing that's changed about the process is that the changes are mostly being done in Word.  I used to sit down, read the manuscript making manual changes.  While I still like to do that, it turns out that I usually end up ignoring my notes and the changes that are being made are more spontaneous.  This doesn't mean I'm skipping the read through from a hard copy, just that I'm not relying on those notes for changes and rewrites.

I saw this bike being advertised this morning while reading through the Washington Post!  Wow.  Believe me, if I weren't paying for the kitchen, this baby would be ordered!  I did print off a screen shot and will probably wait until sometime in the spring.

Henry Kissinger died yesterday.  He was 100.  Very Old.  He was not a very good man, still quite a number of presidents turned to him for advice.  He was a good negotiator, but didn't really give a shit about humanity.  Fame and ego were everything to him; people were not.

And the funny of the day come from Elon Musk.  For someone who loved being praised for being a great businessman and innovator, his death spiral couldn't be anymore entertaining.  He bought Twitter (notice, I don't say X, formally known as Twitter) saying it was going to become a platform of Free Speech.  For Elon, however, Free Speech put a lot of focus on conspiracy theories, fascist groups, and hate speech.  He simply didn't realize that Free Speech, itself, has some limitations.  You can not say anything you want without having to deal with the consequences of public opinion, and that's something he just does not understand, probably because in his small mind, his is the only opinion that counts.  Anyway, his jumping onboard an antisemitic conspiracy theory seems to have been the straw that broke the advertising camel's back, because advertisers are heading to safer grounds; they don't want their ads airing next to pro-Nazi bullshit, among many other things.  So, in a pique of anger Elon lashed out yesterday, telling advertisers that if they didn't like what was on Twitter they can "go fuck yourselves."  Ouch!  Can you hear me laughing?

This is Spinal Tap

 Well, this morning it was cold: 21 (F).  I'm betting that's going to kill off the rest of my roses.  As long as my furnace is working, I've no problem with the cold.  The temp in the house is set at 70 (F), and I find that comfortable.  However, if we end up with an extended period of cold weather I usually crank that up a few degrees because there is absolutely no insulation in the walls.

I stayed up late watching TV.  The final 2 episodes of Only Murders in the Building took up over an hour.  I signed up for the cheap Hulu / Disney package.  That means there are commercials.  Added together, there are about 5 minutes worth in each 36 minute episode.  In shows like that I find it acceptable, however, when I watch a movie I don't want to deal with interruptions.  We shall have to see how that goes.  Most of the movies I watch are on Netflix and Prime Video, with an occasional foray into Paramount / Showtime.

And, speaking of movies, probably the one sequel that I was pleased to see being made is for This is Spinal Tap.  Since it was first released, I've probably watched it 5 or 6 times, possibly more.  I mean, what's not to like about a mockumentary about an inept heavy metal band.  Here's the trailer for the first film.  The second has some musical luminaries lined up... like Paul McCartney, and Elton John.

So, did everyone get a chuckle out of Hunter Biden offering to take the witness stand, but only if the hearing is public?  I did.  Of course the GOP, which sees him only as a political tool, another one of those dead horses they like to kick in public since they feel the best way to help their cause is to make up lies about the other guy, has objections.  They want his testimony to be done in private, that makes it easier to manipulate.

And all the living First Ladies gathered yesterday to celebrate Rosalynn Carter's life.  All were in stylish black, except for Melanoma who showed up in a gray tweed.  Some said she was never a team player when the Orange Anus was president, and isn't going to be one now.  For the most part, that's true.  But let's be honest here, that was also her way of saying screw you America, making her truly despicable.

Zooming in on the Wall

 Can we all say hello to a brisk Tuesday morning?  Temps outside my window are a cool 31 (F), which is borderline cold.  We had snow flurries earlier.  They surprised me by blowing in my face as I opened the back door to let Lily out.  She did her did her morning pee and was back in the house in a snap.  This is what happens when the temperatures drop this low.  Our high today will be in the mid 30s, though tomorrow we're supposed to start a warming trend.

Yesterday was slow in the flooring department, in fact there were only 3 busy departments: Hardware, always a seasonal favorite since every dad wants a Tool; Appliances, this is the best time of the  year to buy that new refrigerator you want; and, of course, Garden.  Artificial trees have been more popular than real trees for some time, and that's true again this year.  I've always like the natural look, but let's be honest, unless you're setting the tree up on a tile or hardwood floor, needle cleanup, when you take it down, is a real bitch, and those decorative skirts you put around the base don't seem to do the job well.

Also, in case you didn't hear me, I climbed onto the scale yesterday morning to see how much damage I could blame on Thanksgiving... Holy Crap!  The time has come to start burning off calories, at least until Christmas, which is a few short weeks away.

Don't know if I told anyone or not, but I signed up for TikTok and amazingly everyday some new sex worker lovely, young woman starts following me, even though I haven't posted anything.  As a result, I've decided to post short videos of my books.  You never know, maybe one or two of those sex workers lovely, young women might have a hidden urge to read.  Maybe, for the first one, I'll zoom in for a closeup of the wall.

Quite a few people will be attending a memorial service for Rosalynn Carter today, including Melanoma Trump.  I was truly surprised to see her name on the list of living first ladies who will be there.  Because of who she is, I suspect there's some sort of grift involved, possibly BOGO pics of her standing next to Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton.

I saw where that antisemite Elon Musk flew to Israel in the hopes of doing some damage control after spouting off in favor of a racist, antisemite conspiracy theory that was debunked decades ago.  True, he'll garner a headline, but nothing else.  It's too late for him to repackage his identity, especially after his debacle with Twitter (notice, I'm not us the X name).  I haven't deleted the app from my phone yet, but I suspect that will happen soon, mostly because I get emails from them saying "this is interesting," and it's all hate mongering.  Twitter used to be entertaining, now it's a shit show overrun by conspiracy theorists, and hate mongers.

Rotation

 Monday has arrived, and so we begin another week.  For some, this means the end of a 4 day weekend as you head back to toils and tribulations for a 40 hour work week, where your schedule is set by your employer, whose rules and regulations might temper your outlook with chagrin.  Patience.  Someday you, too, will be semi-retired and will only have to contend with a few measly days of work, probably in a job that lets you practice your social skills, like mine.  That's sort of a windy way of me saying that I work today.

Outside, it's dark.  The temps is 37 (F), and we might be getting some snow showers tomorrow.  That's be nice.  I don't work.  

I worked yesterday though, and a surprising thing happened.  They were playing rock & roll as the music du jour.  No Christmas music... notice I say music rather than carols since much of what we're forced to listen to in this season of joy are songs that pop artists wrote for this season of joy because every time one of their holiday ditties gets played, they hear the Ca-Ching of cold-hard cash clattering into their bank account.  Creativity and greed do not always go hand in hand.  Now, I know there are some out there who claim to love Christmas music, but they usually don't have to listen to the same song rotation over, and over, and over again.

Digging into the archives:  here's a picture I took in a Buddhist temple while I was in Japan a long time ago.

And, just like a bad song rotation, so starts another week of the Orange Anus desperately trying to make headlines in order to keep his base faithful.  It does grow exhausting, having to listen to his, and his attorneys, constant lies.  I realize that a lot of media groups see his name as a cash cow when it come to advertising, that more people will watch CNN, or NBC, or ABC and I wonder if they even realize just how much of a cash cow they'd have if they'd take off the gloves and begin to treat him as the criminal he is and call this canker sore of a human being exactly what it is, a canker sore.  If they treated him the way he should be treated, the way he treats others, their ratings would go through the roof.

Loudly Boiling Over

 Welcome to Funday Sunday!  Is it going to be fun?  Heck if I know.  Lily went out for her morning pee in 30 (F) temps, so I suppose it steamed a bit.  Our afternoon temps are supposed to be in the mid to upper 40s (F), which is probably right for this time of year, we are, after all, less than a month away from winter.  One good thing to keep in mind is that immediately after our winter solstice the days begin to get longer.  

The store was busy yesterday morning and early afternoon, but around 3ish the crowd began to thin out.  I did get a measure, so that should keep mgmt. happy.  Sales were so, so in flooring.  Our appliance show room is hopping.  I always tell people that if you're going to need to buy a washer, or dryer, or refrigerator, this is the time of year to make your purchase.

I got over 7 hours sleep last night.  The same thing happened the night before.  Normally, I'm up a lot earlier.  All this sleep?  I hope it doesn't mean I'm coming down with something.  There's always the possibility I'm doing more than I used to do during the day and making myself super tired, though I haven't change my regime, so that's probably not the reason.  Maybe I'm just more tired than I used to be.

And, probably thanks to Climate Change and Global Warming, my yard is filled with winter roses.  I took this yesterday before work.

And, here in Central PA, there are a number of people talking about ousting Scott Perry from Congress.  A former newscaster for from the local NBC affiliate, Janelle Stelson, has already thrown her hat into the ring.  There's even talk of Republicans backing a Democratic candidate depending upon how Republican opposition to Perry looks.  Over and over again, you're hearing that he does not represent his constituents.  For those who don't know, Perry is a Trumper, and is still clinging to the election fraud lie.  The DOJ is in a fierce legal battle to access contents of his cellphone during the time leading up to January 6, and the days after, leading many to believe Perry is dirty.

And Trump was seriously booed in South Carolina yesterday when he attended The Palmetto (?) Bowl.  There are a number of videos out there of the long incident, and it was pointed out that his handlers are good when it comes to arranging for small crowds, however, once he gets out in the open, the hatred for him loudly boils over.

Rake This

 Well, it was cold enough outside this morning to chilly your willy off, a crispy cream 28 (F) cold, should you be foolish enough to have him face that freeze.  On the flip side, our temps are heading back up to 50 (F).  There's not a lot of rain in the long range forecast, however, and we sure could use some.  That soaker we had last week help a little but not a lot; one of those every week for the next 5 weeks would be fine.

I accomplished a lot yesterday, including the annual raking of the gingko leaves.  While some rake theirs out onto the road for the street cleaner to vacuum up, my get gathered around the base of my gingko tree because during the winter they break down and become mulch (sort of).

I do have to work this afternoon.  Mostly it will be to chat with my work friends, talk about Thanksgiving, and the approaching Holiday Party.  It's in January, so there are the usual whiners who are complaining because it's not a Christmas Party...  duh.  We're retail.  Our holidays, supposedly our busy season doesn't end until both holidays (Christmas and New Years) are over and it celebrates both holidays (Christmas and New Years).  But then some people have small minds, just like the Cracker Jack Crazies who put the retailer I work for on the shit list because  we use the word Holiday.  

Anyway, here's the ring of leaves.

And before I raked leaves, I took a picture of two of my roses still blooming:

And I saw that one of Derek Chauvin's fellow prisoners stabbed him.  While I don't wish for anybody to be stabbed (except possibly the Orange Anus, though for him I suspect I'd rather enjoy to see him pilloried better) this is Derek's Karma.  Killing a fellow human being by kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes is terrible thing to do, the fact that Derek though he was justified in doing this makes it all the worse.  They've reported that his injuries were serious but not life threatening, that's a good thing, I wouldn't want him to die, but I do believe there's nothing wrong with a serious scar to remind him of the evil of his ways.

At the Rainbow Bridge

 Well, if it's Black Friday and you're sitting here reading this, then Christmas shopping is probably not high on your list of things to do today.  Me?  I might buy a pair of slippers later; it's an image I'm trying to groom: old man wearing a cardigan sweater and slippers.

The weather's supposed to be nice today.  Temps are predicted to be in the mid 50s (F).  There's also a bit of yardwork in the forecast.  I need to rake my gingko leaves around the base of the tree.  Over the winter they decompose and I'm left with a nice, free, circle of mulch.  There's also an aquarium clean on my chore list, as well as laundry.  The first load has just finished.  My, aren't I the expeditious one!

Thanksgiving dinner was at my brother's farm.  Noah, his youngest, is in his late 20s, his oldest is nearly 40.  When they were younger, we didn't talk, I'm simply not good with kiddie-speak.  Now we talk.  We have discussions.  My one nephew is head union rep where he works, not something my brother's too pleased with, being the conservative that he is.  I was a little concerned about driving home at night and it turned out to be a non-problem.  In fact, I don't mind driving at all.  

Yesterday turned out to be pretty good, except for the notice I got from Bethesda telling me there was no way they could give me back my 28 levels of game play.  They sent me a survey.  I replied honestly.  I was hoping they'd be able to give me a magic bullet that would restore my character both his strength and prowess.  They can't.  So, very politely I told them I was extremely disappointed.

Breakfast this morning is spice cake with cream cheese icing.  

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the Republican circus is about to begin again.  Well, I'm a bit wrong on that since it never did actually stop.  Take Wednesday for example:  there was a fiery car crash up by the Canadian border and a number of Republicans (Ted Cruz perhaps the most prominent) began shrieking that there was Terrorist Attack at the Rainbow Bridge of all places.  Of course, these yokels were getting their info from Fox.  Many of them began backtracking after it was learned that there was no terrorist.  The driver of the car was a rather wealthy man, from an upscale community, driving a $300,000 car, who was a mite upset because the Kiss concert he had tickets for was cancelled, and so he and his companion decided to go to a Canadian casino instead.  Everybody quietly updated... except Cruz, who still has his terror post online.  It figures.

How to Carve a Turkey

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Isn't it nice we made it to another one with only the expected, and rather major incompetency's from the majority members of Congress?

Today the temps are supposed to climb into the mid 50s (F).  That's a plus.  I'm having Thanksgiving dinner at my brothers.  My friend Betsy reminded me that I will be driving back at night.  That's fine.  I drove from Allentown back to Harrisburg at 11 PM a little over a month ago and had no problems.  

I'm taking a spice cake with cream cheese icing for desert.  It's in a large cake pan, that way I can bring back the leftovers.  The icing is tasty!  I haven't tasted the cake yet since that would mean cutting it.

You all have an enjoyable Thanksgiving.  Eat a little too much, just for tradition's sake.

Don't drink and drive.

And for those of you carving up the bird, here's a little video tutorial on how to carve a turkey.

Enjoy!

Deflated

 Yes, this entry is late, not because I slept over, rather it was that time of year to have my car to have it's state inspection.  And, of course, it passed, but it does take some time,  That means it's also time of my dealer to try and fill my shopping cart, so to speak, because they make their money from all of the goodies they try to get you to buy.  Mine as more expensive than usual, the added expense being the cost to change out the old battery for a new one.  That added $210.00 onto my bill.  Having the tires rotated added another charge, and oh, let's not forget about the rear window wiper.  But, look on the good side, now the battery is good for at least another 5 years, and the tire rotation will ensure the wear on my tires is balanced.

Anyway, it's the day before Thanksgiving.  I'm not working, but then I never work on Wednesdays. I'm also off on Black Friday.  I am now, and will possibly be until my last day with the orange retailer, available to work on any Friday, be it Good, or Black, or what ever.

I did roast a turkey breast yesterday, in fact I just had a turkey sandwich for lunch.  Tasty.

For the 2.5 hours I sat waiting at the dealership for them to do inspect my car and do the required emissions test, I worked on The Body in Motion, writing little notes, and crossing out phrases, and sometimes whole paragraphs got the big question mark as to whether they are essential, or, and even more important, whether they could be improved.  Believe me, there's always room for improvement.  That's a problem with some writers, they sit back and in a very self-presumptuous tone, congratulate themselves on writing a book.  This is why editors and readers are important.  Good ones will be standing at the ready, pin in hand, waiting to deflate.

And, speaking of books, I saw where Marjorie Taylor Green just published one, some sort of lie filled expose' on her life.  I know this because so many people had clipped the page from Amazon showing that her $27 book was garnering quite a number of One Star reviews.  Let's be honest, the idea that someone might be stupid enough to by a copy of her book is frightening.  This might be one of the defining moments for MAGA cultism.

Millennial Me

 Now I know there are those of you who'd like to cancel Tuesday because of the approaching rain, me, however, I'm looking forward to it, hanging around the house in my sweats while the rest of the leaves finally fall from the trees.  At least I'm hoping they'll fall.  Then I'll be able to rake into piles where they can spend the winter decomposing peacefully.

The temps are supposed to hover in the mid 40s (F) all day, and there is no reason for me to leave the house.

I stopped off on my way home from work and picked up a generic brand of allergy medicine with an antihistamine.  Beside the frequent post nasal drip (every morning), there is also the drip, drip, dribble requiring me to constantly have a tissue near by.  I took one before I went to bed last night and woke up to the familiar post nasal drip, however the dribble has ceased.  This probably means I have some sort of crappy sinus infection that won't go away.

Yesterday was slow at work.  In previous years this was usually caused by customer anticipation of the Black Friday sales we offer, however, most of our sales are now active and those that will happen on Black Friday will seem pretty meager.  

Just because I'm not planning on going anywhere, that doesn't mean I'm doing nothing.  Vegging out is rarely in my playbook.

For starters, I took this interesting test the Washington Post sent me.  I suppose I should be pleased that even though I'm in the Boomer age category, my responses scored zero (0) for identifying me as a boomer.  49% of my responses say I'm a Millennial; 29% of them put me in the Gen X category, and the last 25% make me Gen Z, of course maybe all this means is that I'm a progressive thinker.

I did see an interesting article in Newsweek (for the vast majority of time, they're pages are still fodder for the outhouse), which said Republicans might impeach Biden just to satisfy their base.  Desperate times call for desperate measures. For them, it's always been about their base, meaning it doesn't occur to them that many voters would see this as terribly detrimental to their winning elections in 2024.  Their scatter shot approach has helped them win elections in the past, but that was pre-Orange Anus.  The more they lose, the more extreme they become without understanding that by doing so they move themselves farther and farther away from America's core values.

The Sin of Presumptuousness

 Monday.  The skies are clear.  Temps are cool but not cold.  According to Accuweather, we're getting rain tomorrow, my first of  4 days off.  We need it.  Everything is dry, the leaves cracking and crunchy beneath your feet.  Usually, I mow them in the back yard, this year since the only ones going there are Lily and myself, I'm going to let them decompose, putting their nutrients back into the soil.

The specialty department was busy enough yesterday for me to get 2 measures and a lead.  When I was asked if I had signed anyone up for a credit card and replied "nope," however, I got disappointment.  There is this belief in retail that most people who sign up for a credit card are going to spend more, and while that might be true in some cases, people are much more savvy than that.  Not that there aren't those people with multiple credit cards with balances on every one of them, but most of the people I talk to already have a preferred card, and many of them keep the balance very low because they realize that the interest will gauge out their bank accounts faster than you can blink an eye.  The current rate on the card we offer is 24%.  Ouch.

And Roselyn Carter died yesterday.  I was sitting in our training room when that news flashed and I needed to take a few moments of silence.  She was a very good woman.

And since this Thanksgiving week, and the Cracker Jack Crazy Republicans have gone home to nurse their greed for power, I thought I'd like to talk about something else.

We all know Christians, some are very good people who keep their religion to themselves, and then there are the others, those who see it as a way to control as many people as they possibly can, politicians, to name just one group.  What do they all have in common?  They have what I call the Sin of Presumptuousness.  They presume that because they believe, or at least claim to believe, their own personal understanding of Christianity (and the same thing goes for the other monotheisms), is correct, that they, themselves, are an expert in the religion.  I don't know what it is, perhaps something to do with their serotonin levels, but these people have absolutely no problem with inflicting pain and suffering on those who they've judged to be wrong.  These people will start wars in order to push their own religious bias onto those around them.  They are the reason Christianity, as well as other religions, has begun to splinter and fall apart.  Yep, that's right, they are a big factor in The Great Dechurching, and believe me, they are not going to stop until the last one of them has died.

Safety Net

 Okay, so it's Sunday. Temps are going to soar into the mid 60s (F).  There is absolutely no precipitation in the forecast for the next a2 weeks.  That can change.  We all know how wishy-washy the weather can be.  

Yesterday was extremely slow at the store.  Not that there weren't the occasional customer, they just weren't interested.  I had to talk to a manager from another store because the major software update the orange retailer rolled has lots of bugs that are need of being fixed.  There is also the problem that this new software system was thrust upon thousands of specialists who received no training.  

And, of course, this week is Black Friday.  Our aisles are jammed packed with clutter, a mish-mash of name brand (Milwaukee, Ryobi, DeWalt) tools that are usually not available for sale because they are made for one day only... Black Friday.  This doesn't mean that because they're cheap they're not going to last, but that possibility does exist.

The one bright spot yesterday was I gave away my old TV!  One of our student associates is home for the holiday and when I mentioned that I was getting rid of my Sony Bravada, his eyes lit up.  Because I had planned on dropping it off at the recycling center on Wednesday and didn't, it was in the back of my car.  He's happy, and it saved me the $40 I was going to have to pay at the recycling center, getting rid of flat screen TVs is not that easy.

Back when I was in the Navy, during down times when we weren't launching jets, the flight deck was most ours to do with what we wanted.  Some men worked on their tans.  Not me.  There was no way you'd have gotten me out into one of the wire safety nets.

This week's going to be slow politically.  The Republicans of the House chose to all go home rather than do anything constructive, a word they really don't understand.

Of course, some idiot judge took off Trump's gag order, and the Spawn of Satan began spewing out loathsome hate, towards the judge and his law clerk in the New York Trial.  From what people are saying, Trump does this in hopes of inciting the judge to say something the legal team for the Orange Anus can use to shriek for a mistrial.  I doubt very much if that's going to happen.  Erogan, and his clerk, are just going to sit back and when the time comes, drop Trump's ass into a deep fryer that will cook away all of his assets in seconds.

 

Republican Tools

 Saturday morning is cloudy, breezy, and cooler.  We did have rain over night, basically showers.  We haven't had a good soaker in some time and while I haven't heard anything about a fire watch, I wouldn't be surprised if that happens, what with all of these leaves blowing around.

A lot was accomplished yesterday.  Painting, (just about finished), cleaning the smaller tank, putting the garden hose down in the basement, making beef stew, and, of course working on The Body in Motion.  There were also 2 loads of laundry and Lily's daily walk.  

I'll be spending sometime at the orange home improvement retailer this afternoon.  Fun stuff.  I'm wondering if it will be any busier than it's been in the past.

I did hear back from Bethesda game studios, and while the response was nice, they are still recommending fixes that are simply unavailable at that point in the game.  I sent them a nice response, asking them to do what I think they might say is impossible.  We shall wait and see.  Until then, I've bought 2 other new games, something called Immortals, and the latest in the Assassin's Creed franchise, Mirage.  I find the idea of being a hunky assassin in Baghdad interesting.

So, are Republican finally beginning to show they might actually have some sort of backbone?  Will they actually expel George Santos so he can stand trial and go to jail?  The answer is... possibly.  The lust for power is strong in them and he will vote alongside the far right crazies to give them what they want as long as they protect him.  This being said, I do believe many, many of us realize that Santos has always been Tool, and that Republicans will embrace corruption if it gives them the votes they need to foist their craziness on America.  But then so is Elise Stefanik, who, it seems added to her complaint against the Judge in Trump's New York corruption trial.  She endorsed Santos.  We shall see what kind of Tool she is when it comes to voting on his future in the House of Representatives.  I'm betting one Tool is going to vote to save the ass of the other Tool.

 

Santos, not your run of the mill Pathological Liar

 Happy Friday morning!  The sunrise was on fire, which means sailors need to take warning.  According to Accuweather, we have a 25% chance of rain today.  After they pass through temps are going to drop a bit, but not a lot, back down into the 50s (F) for daytime highs.  And yes, we are just a little over a month away from winter.

I worked yesterday and let me tell you, retail was slow.  I did manage to get a bit sale, but are few and far between.  How bad are they?  On the schedule that was just written, which covers the week past Thanksgiving, I'm only working 2 days, 16 hours.  Payroll is always the expense that gets cut first because it's the biggest liability a company faces, and in retail, that's the part-timers.  Unlike me, many part-timers, especially seniors, are working to supplement their income, so losing hours is going to hurt them.  This is why Trickle Down Economics fails, because those corporations that received Tax Cuts are still getting them, however American Capitalism dictates that they also need to have 5% growth and they have no problem cutting hours to achieve that goal.

So, in spite of the fact that they're cutting hours, the great orange retailer did see fit to give me a cap for Veteran's Day.  This is why I don't wear hats.

And, of course, hilarity upon hilarity ensued yesterday when the Ethics Committee released their report on George (I can spend you campaign contributions any way I want) Santos.  I'm certain most of us thought he was just your ordinary, run of the mill pathological liar.  Ouch.  Wait, you ask, is he really a pathological liar?  Oh, my yes, I'd put him in the same league as Trump, capable of lying about everything without understanding that saying it doesn't make it true.  The difference between the two?  Trump lies in order to prove to himself that he's a god, Santos lies in order to watch the gay porn on Only Fans.  Did anyone hear me laughing when I read that little gem?  And how about the Botox injections?  I wonder how Elise Stefanik feels knowing that the world now knows the man whose candidacy she endorsed was spending his campaign dollars on floppy lips and sex workers, not necessarily in that order.

The Punch and Judy Show

 Well, it's Thursday and that means I have to go in to work this morning.  Can you see the excitement in my words?  Actually, it's not that bad since for the foreseeable future I'll be back on my regular shift with Tuesday through Friday off.  

Weather wise, our afternoon temps are going to be zooming up into the upper 60s (F) today and tomorrow, and for those keeping track, this would be our 2nd Indian Summer since our first frost.  While our summer was fairly wet, the rain seems to have trickled away with us not getting occasional showers.  That's not a good thing for this time of year, when a gazillion leaves have fallen from the forests of Central PA.  

I talked to Amazon about the delivery situation for my TV, the fact that it was just left on my porch, and their customer service seems to think I clicked the wrong box when placing my order.  I've revisited that screen several times to see if they're correct, and to be honest, it might have been my fault.  I had done most of my research at work (yes, I do that when it's slow), so, when I was click, click, clicking to make my purchase, I may have clicked the button above the one ordering the free deluxe delivery.  Still, they were nide about the whole thing, giving me a $50 credit.

An interesting aspect of this new TV is that I can now control my washer and drying from my living room, should I ever have the desire to do so.

So both the House and the Senate have approved a stopgap measure to keep paying the country's bills.  I find it fascinating that Speaker Johnson did the same thing that McCarthy did, put forth legislation that moderate Republicans and Democrats approved of without getting fired.  Could the Ultra-Right have learned that firing the Speaker of the House makes them look bad?  I doubt it.  That would mean they've learned a lesson, and we all know that's an impossibility for Conservatives.

And Chip Roy, a Texas Republican in the House, and member of the Far Right Freedom Caucus, went had a hizzy fit on the House floor yesterday when he shrieked about Republican Congressmen not doing anything he can take back to his constituents.  This is funny because being a member of Freedom Caucus he is against Social Security and Medicare.  Yep, his idea of taking something back to his constituents means telling them those two things away, or that they're pushing a law to ban all abortions after 6 weeks.  Both of those things would kill his candidacy, so maybe he should be grateful their only seeing the Republican version of the Punch and Judy Show.

The Sucker Elbow and other tales of Fisticuffs

 So, is everybody ready for Wednesday?  And it is Wednesday, I checked on my calendar.  Temps are predicted to hit the low 60s (F).  That's amazing when you consider we're only a month (and a few days) away from Winter.  The long range forecast, if it's even close to being correct, is more of the same.

Yesterday was one of those odd days because I kept thinking it was already Wednesday.  I have got to stop taking off Mondays since when I do, I'm a day ahead for the rest of the week.

The milkweed seeds arrived.  They're going to get planted today.  And my gingko leaves are going to get their first raking.  I'm not expecting it to take very long, even though there are literally hundreds of leaves, I'm a fast raker.  Some painting also needs to be done, though when it comes to painting the kitchen I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

And my new TV was delivered yesterday... evening.  Originally it was supposed to arrive in the afternoon, that got pushed back to late afternoon and early evening, finally set at sometime between 4 pm and 7 pm.  One of the reasons I bought it was because included with the delivery was set-up and haul away of the packaging.  Well the delivery guy rang the doorbell, I answered and signed for the TV.  Then I turned and made sure Lily was on the staircase.  When I got back to the open door, I watched as the delivery men drove away, leaving my new, fairly expensive TV on my front porch.  So, it was I who actually carried my new 65 inch TV, into the house, and I who unpacked it, and I who assembled it and put it on my great aunt's Hope Chest.

And the Republican Clown Car got all fisticuffs and elbowy yesterday, didn't they.  Now, I've heard of a sucker punch, but evidently sore loser Kev McCarthy sucker elbowed one of the hardline conservatives who voted him out of power, and in a hallway, no less, and, from what I've heard there was a bit of chase afterwards, but speedy Kev managed to elude his victim.  (Can you hear me laughing?)  And then Bernie Sanders, no less, had to step in to stop a potential fight between Republican Congressman Markwayne (nice name) Mullin and Sean O'Brien, the president of the Teamster's Union.  You see Markwayne (yes, that's his actual name) was upset because Sean Tweeted some snide comments his way, including a picture of Markwayne standing on a box so he appeared much taller than his actual 5 feet, seven inch height.  Yelp, that's right, Markwayne is just a tad taller than tiny Jimmy Jordan, and obviously both of them are assholes.

Laughable

 So, here it is Tuesday, though I thought it was Wednesday until I looked at my work calendar on the refrigerator.  This week is out of sync because I didn't work Monday, so in my mind Sunday would have been my Monday.  It seems as though it's not the days of the week I remember as much as the days days that I either work or don't work.

There's a steady breeze shaking the branches of the river birch outside my window, and you'd think the leaves would be ripping themselves off since we've had some cold mornings, but nope.  Temps are predicted to climb up into the mid to upper 50s (F) again today.  While our overnight temps can drop down into the low 30s (F), our daily highs are always in the mid 50s (F).  This is a nice autumn.

The cabinet doors got their first coat of paint yesterday.  One more before they get hung, and then a 3rd around the top and on the front just to add a bit of toughness.  Remember, paint is a finish and needs to be treated like one.  The more coats, the more durable it is.  That's a problem with those "one coat" paints people use because they're too lazy to do 2 coats.  One coat is easier to scratch off.  

Nestled in among the leaves, here's another rose from my garden.

And yesterday something laughable happened; the Supreme Court decided they were going to follow a code of ethics followed by lower courts.  While many applauded this, there is one tiny little fly in the ointment:  they're going to police themselves.  We know how well that's gone so far, what with Clarence Thomas accepting every bribe tax free donation and grift gift his Sugar Daddy teases him with, only a fool would think he's going to stop or even try to change.  I'm not alone in thinking that this Band-Aid is going to be ripped off the first time Clarence gets an offer. 

It's also rather laughable that the news media is attempting to make something newsworthy about Halley and DeSantis are probably going to be the last 2 candidates standing, other than the Spawn of Satan, Donald Trump.  I really do with they'd begin putting Democracy first, rather than clicks on the internet.  I also find it laughable that they're treating the Orange Anus as a legitimate candidate.  You'd think they'd realize that by doing so enables his cult.

Good Riddance

 Hello Monday!  It was cold this morning.  According to Accuweather the temp was 29 (F) outside, that'll Definity put frost on the pumpkins.  Afternoon temps, however, are again predicted to climb up into the mid 50s (F).  One of these days I'll have to check out UGI (my natural gas company) to see how much money these warm temps are saving me.  You won't find me complaining, as long as hot temps during the summer don't offset my winter's savings.  This past summer we missed much of the heat and it did wonders for my electric bill.

The retail world was slow yesterday.  

I'm off today.  Usually Mondays are work days, but I requested off, firstly for a physical, but then that got cancelled because my countertop was scheduled to be installed today, but then they installed it a week earlier because...?  Maybe because it wasn't a difficult installation?  The installers were only here for bit over an hour.  One thing they did that I truly appreciated was take the old countertop away.  There was supposed to be a charge for that, but I was told not to worry about it as one of the men carried it out of the front door.

Another expense was added to my debt, a new TV.  My old Sonia Bravia was over 7 years old (really 8 because it was a 2015 model I bouth 10/23/2016).  Turning it on it meant a 2 minute wait just to load all of the tiles on the main screen.  Two years ago, my Disney subscription needed to do an upgrade the TV could barely handle (I had to clean out the cache, and 2 other files).  It happened again last week with Paramount +, it wouldn't download and upgrade.  So, tomorrow, a new LG C3 arrives.  It seems as though everything I have is beginning to break down due to old age.  Rats!

I'm going to be planting milkweed!  It's a great plant for pollinators and Monarch butterflies! It's going to be replacing the Burning Bush that was in front of my porch.

And for those who haven't seen the news, Timmy Scott is ending his campaign to be president.  Tim should have looked around at the other candidates.  He's the wrong color.  Republicans only want white men for candidates.  That's why Haley and Ramaswamy will also, eventually, drop out.  

And here's a bit to make you laugh.  Ronna McDaniel, head of the RNC, has said that even if Trump is found guilty, Republicans will stand behind him.  That's right, Republicans would rather commit political suicide than offend a single member of the Trump Cult.  Yep, they would rather drink the Kool-Aid than admit he is pure evil.  These people will never look the truth in the eye, that would mean admitting they'd sold their souls years ago for the promise of money and power.  Good Riddance, Republicans.

Gingko Gender

 Sunday's weather is a repeat of yesterday's weather, and it will carry on for the rest of the week and maybe into the following week.  I'm reading that the current weather patterns are the result of El Nino, that could be.  With climate change, El Nino may become more of a presence, rather than showing up every few years to bring warm weather to the east coast.

Retail was slow yesterday.  When sales are down on a weekend management wants to blame sports.  Yesterday Penn State played, so everybody stayed home, however the pattern of lower sales doesn't only happen during football season.  During the summer they blamed it on Phillies baseball.  The truth is that they're trying to look for a rational explanation.  The fact that some retailers might have priced themselves out of competition in their desperate search for that 5% growth is never going to occur to them, mostly because upper management is conservative... and, how could conservatives ever be wrong?

I do get to work today.  I will let you know if it's slow or not.

This morning, I went out and took a pic looking up through my gingko.  The leaves are turning yellow fast.  Soon they'll fall, all at once.  Seriously.  It takes an hour or so, but they all fall at one time. It's as though it's shrugging off a summer coat that's no longer stylish.  Oh, and actually, this gingko is a female.  How do I know?  Male gingkoes have balls.

And since it's Sunday, I thought I'd muse about religion just the slightest bit.  Right now, among certain groups, Christian Nationalism is strong, but only certain groups.  Individuals like Mike Johnson, the newly elected Speaker of the House is a Christian Nationalist.  These people desperately want to force the United States into a theocracy, and I don't doubt that if they feel they need to go to war to do this, then that will be their choice.  Unfortunately, there are a number of problems with this chain of thought, the foremost in my mind is that Christians going to war to push Christianity never really win.  Don't believe me?  Lets look Christianity's biggest and baddest attempt to push the religion, the Holy Crusades.  They were going to drive the Muslims, the Moors, the infidels, the heretics, in fact they were going to drive everyone who wasn't a Christian out of the Middle East.  Well, all you have to do is look at the Middle East to see how unsuccessful that was.  Of course, the fact that they've always been losers when it comes to war is never, ever going to occur to them, because that would mean they're wrong, and their faith will not let that happen.

The Very Good Thing

 Let the Weekend Begin!  Well, I suppose that for some people the weekend began at some point yesterday afternoon, but not me.  But then I always work on those days people like to designate as the weekend, which means that this afternoon I'll be going to work.  Yippee! (Well, maybe not so much yip as EE).  The weather's supposed to be nice, with temps reaching the mid 50s (F) with full on sunshine.  In fact every day for the rest of the week, the forecast is the same, no changes.  

Now that the birthday is over, it's time to start working out again.  I don't know, but for some reason, last week I was... well, rather lethargic.  Perhaps that was the result of some undisclosed depression about being another year older... or, and more likely, I was just feeling very lazy.  That happens, more often than not.  

I made cream of cauliflower soup yesterday since the temps were on the chilly side.  It's quite tasty.  It's one of the recipes that came with that Mediterranean Diet thing I signed up for that turned out to be a bit of a scam as their focus was to basically sell you as many supplementals as possible.  Believe me, I have no problem taking well researched supplementals, however the vast majority of them are crapola.  If you do choose to supplement you diet, keep in mind this will be a long term regime, at least 3 - 4 months before they even start to do what they're supposed to do.  They are not magic bullets!

And here's another picture of my white roses that I took yesterday.  With this warm weather, I have no idea how long they're going to be lasting.

And what about those yak head Republicans in Ohio?  Wait, I probably shouldn't say that, it's insulting to yaks, and as far as I know they're quite friendly beasts, so maybe I should just call them scumbag Republicans.  For those who don't know, this past election the citizens of Ohio overwhelmingly voted to enshrine abortion protections in their state constitution.  Republicans in the state, however, have come out and said they're are not going to abide with this decision.  That's right.  They don't give a shit about what the majority of people think.  This is what authoritarianism look like.  Thanks to this election, however, they cannot enact and restrictive legislation without it going to the Supreme Court who, thanks to Alito, said this is the state's responsibility.  This is a lose, lose situation for Ohio Republicans because if they try anything they're going to be voted out of office.  That would be a very good thing.

Enrichment

 Friday has arrived and the forecast is for cloudy skies with the possibility of showers.  Temps should climb into the low 50s (F), which isn't bad if you're trying to save money on your heating bill.  I'm on the UGI budget plan and I'm heading into December with a credit on my account because the days have been so warm.  No heavy heating so far this year.

Yesterday Lily and I finished off the cake and ice cream.  That little old lady loves ice cream, French Vanilla.  Her Chewy food order will be delivered today.  Besides the canned food she loves, her Cosequin is also in the order; a supplement that helps with her joints.  She's been getting 2 every day for years.  I don't know if it helps or not, but she looks forward to those 2 faux chocolate treats every morning.

Supposedly my "ticket" has been escalated in regards to Starfield.  At this point, I don't know what they can do to help.  With only 5 save slots, and with no way off the ship, I'm pretty much screwed.  Losing 28 Levels and over 70+ hours of gameplay because one of my files got corrupted sucks.  Normally using Quicksave is a way to help you get through difficult situations, however for me it seems to have turned out to be a curse.

And here it is, November 10, and I still have roses here in Central PA.

Yesterday Joe Manchin notified the world that he was not going to run for re-election.  For those who don't know, Manchin is a 76 year old, faux Democrat from West Virginia.  Rumors are that he wants to run against Biden for the Democrat nomination.  He claims to be a Centrist, though votes Conservative most of the time, and... did I mention that he's 76 years old.  Crimeny!  He evidently doesn't pay attention to current complaints about old, and older candidates.  Some think he's going to run to ensure Trump wins the election and Republicans take control of the government again.  That would suit Manchin because he's wealthy and we all know that greed is at the heart of all Conservative politics.  Their agenda is always geared around enriching themselves.