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.  

Holy Ouch

 Today was predicted to be warm, low 70s (F) and sunny, well that prediction has changed.  Now our temps are only supposed to climb into the upper 60s (F) and there's a 40% chance of rain.  Tomorrow the forecast is for a return to more warmly seasonable temps.  Notice, I'm saying warmly seasonable.  We're almost halfway into autumn and people are already wondering if we're going to have a very mild winter.  The fact that we're in the warmest year since they began keeping records, I's say that might be a distinct possibility.  

My birthday was relatively quiet.  Lily and I had cake and ice cream.  I fried up some spam for sandwiches for supper (she loves spam, which is interesting since she isn't Hawaiian).

I've been having some problems playing Starfield.  The sound is wonky, and my weapons don't fire.  Unfortunately, there are only 5 active game saves making it impossible for me to go back to a previous save and restart the quest.  So, I've been in contact with Bethesda Game Studios, which is funny since they're located in Bethesda, Maryland, about and hour a way.  For the first time one of their techs suggested that for some reason my game might be corrupted.  Damn.  He gave me a couple of possible fixes which I'm going to try when I finish this entry.

Part of my birthday fun was going to the movies to see Killers of the Flower Moon.  It's long, 3.5 hours.  It's very good... except for Leo.  I've never been a big fan of De Caprio.  Hated him in The Revenant, which I thought was boring as Hell.  He's no better in this movie.  He frowns through almost the entire movie.  He plays Ernest Burkart, not the most intelligent man in town (he has problems reading).  At the other end of the scale is Robert DeNiro, whose presence dominates every scene he's in.  Anyone who's paid any attention whatsoever to the way Native Americans have been and still are treated, will pretty much know how the story of Osage Indians being murdered is going to unfold, and if it weren't for Leo, this would be a damn good movie.

There was another Republican debate last night.  Didn't watch it because I was at the movies.  I wouldn't have watched if I had stayed home.  There's no need to watch those dumbasses bicker among themselves as they try and prove to Trump they should be his running mate (if he's not in jail).

And I find it hilarious that every candidate the Moms For Liberty backed failed miserably.  That's almost a Holy Ouch!  Every single one of their candidates failed.  Not only did they lose, in some school districts the people who are Woke took over completely.  Americans don't really want them banning books from our schools.  Most Americans don't want a Socially Conservative, authoritarian government running the country.  This is bad news for Republicans.  As one of their own pundits said, "Republicans just aren't winning."  Holy Ouch!

Counter This

 First off, I was wrong about the weather.  It's supposed to be chilly willy today and warm, up into the 70s (F) tomorrow.  I can deal with this.  If the long range forecast is correct, our temps will be staying moderate for the foreseeable future.  While this is not good for the gas, electric, and home heating oil companies, it's great for consumers.  Perhaps if they had been more focused on Global Warming and less upon their own greed this pain to their bank accounts might have been avoided.  Good for us in the short term, probably bad for them in the long term.

The new monitor came yesterday.  It's bigger, though I tend to lose my mouse pointer from time to time, so I change it, made it bigger and bright purple.  We'll see if that helps.

Oh, and today is my birthday.  I'm 71 today.  If you listen closely, I'm sure you can hear my sister and brother laughing.  To celebrate, I'm going to make some cauliflower soup, and Lily and I will share some cake and ice cream.  Oh, and I'm probably going to the movies tonight.  And probably a haircut is on the agenda, as well as... gee, it looks like I'm going to be rather busy today.

And my new granite kitchen countertop has been installed.  I got a number of odd looks when I told people I wasn't going to personally pick out my slab, that I was more concerned with colors than pattern.  I wanted colors that coordinated with my pale yellow walls and backsplash, which is glass tiles with shades of pale blue and brown, with shiny copper highlights.  This is what I got.

And this is a good day to be a Democrat, or a Centrist, or an Independent American.  Republicans and staunch conservatives took it on the chin... well, they did win the governorship of Mississippi, but that was almost a done deal.  Not only did Ohio enshrine abortion rights into they constitution, they approved the domestic use of marijuana (private citizens can now own up to 5 plants).  In Kentucky, Democratic Governor Andy Basheer was re-elected by a large margin. That's right those conservatives in Mitch McConnell's state really like it when there's a Democrat in charge.  In Virginia?  Ouch.  Governor Glenn Youngkin's plans to become a presidential candidate ran off the tracks big time.  His conservatives lost control of both the State House and Senate rendering his agenda moot.  

Interestingly enough, I've not heard one of the losers in yesterday's elections cry out election fraud, most likely because Republicans that lost, lost big.  Will Republicans learn a lesson?  Absolutely not.  That would mean they'd made a mistake and were wrong, that they weren't reading the American people.  Honestly, by now you would think that most Americans realize that Republicans have absolutely no desire to read them, or understand them.  The only people Republicans are interested in representing are the very wealthy.

Surprise!

 The weather was nice yesterday.  Sixpence reported that the temps climbed up into the 70s (F) where he lives, well, those temps are hitting Central PA today and tomorrow.  Then, supposedly, we have a dip down into the 50s (F) before the climb back into the 60s (F).  I'm fine with that.

The retail business was slow yesterday.

The Orange Retailer I work for changed their scheduling system, from Kronos, to something else that's more cumbersome, probably to save money.  I used to be able to print off a copy of my schedule and hang it on my refrigerator... not any more.  They want us to use our phones.  I used to copy my schedule over into my Calendar, the one that has all of my appointments so I could see everything at a glance... not any more.  Associates aren't happy.  This reminds me a lot of when Microsoft released Windows 8 (?), an update that was touch screen oriented.  We Windows users all remember what a failure that was.

Rather than on 11/13 my new countertop is getting installed today, 11/7.  Surprise!  Yep.  I got a call, and 2 texts, from them.  One of our Kitchen Designers at my store who used to install countertops told me this happens if it's an easy install, and installations themselves are a bit slow.  So, when I finish this entry, I'm going to go down to the kitchen and disconnect the plumbing. 

And, since my birthday's tomorrow (cards, letters, and gifts are always appreciated) I bought myself a new computer / gaming monitor.  Actually, It's more of a necessity.  My aging Acer monitor has been having issues: random areas that go black for a few seconds and sometimes there's a black grid that covers an area of the screen, but never the same area.  It is 7 and a half years old, so I guess it's time.

And of course this happened yesterday.

Every time I got an update, I chuckled.  The Moral Degenerate was not happy.  His life is a shit show.  It always has been.  All the deceits he built is so-called financial empire are on full display proving he isn't even close to being the savvy billionaire his constant braggadocio led people to believe. 

This leads people to ask how he can be beating Biden in the polls.  Let me remind you, we're a year away from the election, that's important, but more important is the fact that people lie on polls.  This is why every election people scratch their heads and ask, "how could the polls have been wrong?"

The Orange Anus

 Monday!  The weather's supposed to be nice today and tomorrow, at least according to Accuweather.  Temps in the mid 60s (F) with overnight temps dropping into the mid 40s (F).  This is not bad at all for this time of year.  I mean, we're in November and, at least as far as the long range forecasts are concerned, our temps are going to hanging around in the same degree range.  

Retail was okay yesterday, at least in the morning.  Business slumped badly in the after.  We can blame that on football.  The Philadelphia Eagles were playing the Dallas Cowboys.  Not a big fan myself, but a lot of people consider the Eagles their home team even though they're over 2 hours away.  Anyway, by 4 in the afternoon the store was a ghost town, with the only customers being either soccer or cricket fans.  Yes, we do have cricket fans in the area, mostly Indians and Pakistanis.  

One of our kitchen designers used to install countertops for a living, so I've been plying him with questions about what to expect from next Monday.  He told me that I should expect the installation to take about 2 hours.  I had shown him my original design and he'd said "easy, peasy."  I measured well because when the tech came to build the template, his square footage and my square footage matched.  That rarely happens, mostly because most people measure once or twice.  I measured at least 10 times, not because I'm that detail oriented, but because I wanted to know how much it was going to cost up front.  The last thing I wanted was to get an additional charge because my measurements were inaccurate.

And for those of you who don't know, the Orange Anus is taking the stand this week as part of the penalty phase in his trial in New York City.  

Oh, dear, I hope that image was too graphic for those who are faint of heart, but let's face it, the time has come to call and anus and anus.  It might be today, golly, I hope so.  I understand there's some concern (understatement) from his allies that he might just explode when he begins to be squeezed because the truth is that he is anything but seedless, (that was just another one of his lies).  As a result, people in the courtroom will probably be juiced.

Or is it Ivanka that's going to be testifying today.  Ooops.  Let's be honest, she will have no problem stabbing Daddy, or her brothers in the back.  He groomed her well. 

They want to burn it down

 So, did everybody say goodbye to Daylight Savings Time?  I know I kind of did...'nt.  I have three clocks in my house that need to jump forward and, as of right now, they have yet to jump.  The electronic clocks, my phone, my tablet, the computers?  They've already moved into the future.  Did it really effect me that much?  Not really, other than the fact that it's going to get darker an hour earlier.  I hate that.  But, being semi-retired and home for most days, I don't think that's going to bother me.  This morning, after my alarm went off, I slept in for an additional 30 minutes, so you could say that I'm half way there.

The store was busy when I got there yesterday, but then it slowed down.  I managed to get a measure.  That should keep management happy.  I hit my sales goal for the week.  Interesting little fact.  My sales are on $10K shy of one of the full time specialists, so either I'm really good, or he's really bad.  I'll let you decided.

While I'm working through the final draft of The Body in Motion, I've already taken numerous notes on the next book, tentatively called The Body in History (I think Dave suggested that title).  I can tell you that it's going to be set in Greece (History), and it's looking like it's probably going to be dealing with identity theft, of course how I have no idea how that's going to play out.  For those who don't know, this is how it works:  know your ending and then build backwards.  Never lay your foundation without knowing what the building is going to look like when it's finished.

So, when I told people it was the colors in my new granite countertop than it was the pattern, some of them gave me an odd look; surely you want a beautiful pattern.  Nope.  Who cares about the pattern if the colors don't coordinate with the backsplash.  I think these colors go well.

I did get a hearty chuckle about the gag orders that are being placed and paused on the Orange Anus, and an even bigger laugh when Elise Stefanik jumped into the fray, bad mouthing Engoron's clerk.  It's not that they don't think about the damage they're doing, the truth is they just don't care.  They just need to be in charge.  As someone said, they don't care if they burn down the house even if they don't have a plan to rebuild.  It's not about rebuilding.  To them, it's all about burning it down. 

Day Light Savings Time

 Can we all say hello to Saturday?  Right now it's dark outside, but tomorrow this time the sun will be popping his head above the horizon because Daylight Savings Time comes to an end this evening.  For morning people this is great.  For night people, not so much so.  There was actually an article in the NYT advising people what to do with their evenings now that they're going to be darker earlier.  I find that amusing since right now the sun is setting at 6:02 PM.  That means it's dark by 6:30 PM, so if your evening activities depend upon sunlight they've already been curtailed.

Lily's been favoring her back left paw.  That might be the onset of arthritis in her back hip, or possibly one her her boo boo paws.  She gets them now and then and usually they're here one day and gone the next.  I can tell you it doesn't stop her from bouncing around in the living room when she knows she's going for a walk.

Yesterday was rather odd.  It was the second day in a row in which I had plans in the morning.  Thursday it was breakfast with my brother, and yesterday I went and got vaccinated; flu and Covid.  I can't recall ever having the flu, and don't want it.  The same goes for Covid.  My brother told me he had it for the 3rd time last month.  One of these times he's going to get it and it's going to be serious.  Needless to say, both of my shoulders are sore this morning.

And I saw where Robert F. Kennedy Jr gave some sort speech yesterday as part of his campaign as an Independent candidate for president.  One of the things I find amusing is that Republicans thought he would syphon votes away from Biden.  Well, that's not happening.  In fact what we're seeing is the reverse, that it's Trump voters that are turning to Bobby Jr.  Anyway, as part of his speech he said that as president he would end the research of infectious diseases, like measles, and focus mainly on diabetes and cancer.  That's right, he said measles.  Perhaps he doesn't know that measles was one of the number causes of childhood mortality, of course we don't see a lot of it these days thanks to vaccinations.  But don't worry, it'll come roaring back if Bobby Jr gets elected. 

Now and Then

 Another late entry, not because I slept in, rather I rose and shone at the same hour, it's just that this morning I drove down to the Lebanon VA to get vaccinated, both Flu and Covid.  Some people have reactions, occasionally my arm has gotten sore, but normally my white cells do their job quietly.  That doesn't mean I'm not going to take a nap this afternoon.  

During my ride down I discovered that Lebanon is colder than Harrisburg by a few degrees.  When I left the temp outside was 31 (F), however, as I was driving down 934 between the cornfields waiting to be harvested in Lebanon Country, the temp was 29 (F).  There was actual frost on the fields, not just some glaze on my windshield.  That means that the frost is finally on the pumpkin.

What's on the chore menu for today?  Well, as if you needed to ask, painting the cabinet frames.  I also want to clean and paint the cabinet doors.  New, white hinges are arriving today to go with the white cabinets.  Once the doors are cleaned and primed I can rehang them on the freshly painted cabinets.

I'm also going to sign up for my dental insurance so I can get my teeth cleaned.  I don't really need any dental work done other than a good cleaning, but my dentist is picky about the insurance he takes.  And in case you were wondering, dental is the one thing that I know of that the VA doesn't cover.  Because of this, I've decided to alternate: one year I'll get insurance and have my teeth professionally cleaned, and then I'll skip a year.  

And for those of you who didn't get a chance to listen to the new Beatles song, here it is.  I warned my sister to grab her hanky.

And that daffy Mikey Johnson sent a budget to the Senate that was dead on arrival.  Either he's not a quick learner, or he and his hardline conservative buddies in the House will force a government shutdown in an attempt to force their agenda.  They don't seem to understand that at the polling booth that is going to hurt them more than it helps them, but then no one ever said Conservatives were smart.  Selfish?  Yes.  Smart?  No.  

There's also some sort of odd stuff flying around that he doesn't claim any income and that he doesn't appear to have a bank account.  Ouch.  If that's true, there's something seriously wrong since as a congressman, he needs to have an account in order to get paid.  No paper checks for Mikey.

 

Lily on the Bed

 Good morning!  A little later than usual, but I had breakfast with my brother and we both arrived a little late.  I, because he sent me a text telling me he was going to be late and I wasn't expecting the traffic, he, because he was busy feeding his farm animals and... there was frost on his windshield.  That's right, the temps dropped down to 31 (F).  We finally had our first (late) frost of the year.  For those of you whose hands have been sweaty with anticipation, we can no have Indian Summer.

And, of course, I had to listen to the new Beatles song Now and Then.  Having lived through Beatlemania, I found it quite touching.  I'm sure many who lived through the Beatles will be reaching for a tissue.

Yesterday afternoon I went over to my new neighbors to ask her to turn down her music, when I can hear the vocals through the wall it's too loud, and instead of apologizing, the first thing she asked was "do you like the song?"  Dear me.  We're on very friendly terms, so the conversation was nice, however she told me she misses her mom, that they used to get together every day and now her mom lives an hour away.  Her husband works for US Postal Service down in Lancaster and he doesn't want to transfer up to Harrisburg, so he commutes an hour every day; that will get old fast.  This is actually the first home they've ever purchased, mostly, I suspect, because it was painted gray and had new appliances.  Other than that, I don't think they put a lot of thought into it.  I wouldn't be surprised if it's not back on the market in a few years.

When I went up to bed last evening, as is now the case, she was already there.

So, what's going to happen with the Republican held congress?  Not much.  At least not for the next year and a half.  They are going to stamp their feet and shriek "no, no, no," until they're red in the face, notice I didn't say blue in the face, that's something that will never happen to a hardline cult member.  And when the more reasonable Democrats take back control of the House of Representatives, the Republican cultists will dig themselves in even deeper, unless, of course they get primaried out or simply voted out.  When that happens you can rest assured they'll cry Voter Fraud since that lie is now part of their DNA.

Interesting bit from Arizona:  Kristen Sinema is polling behind both the Democrat and Republican candidates because she, too, is stupid.  She thought she'd splinter people off from both parties and win as an Independent.  She doesn't understand that her constituents, most Democrats, see her as a failure.

And, joy of joys, more polls are coming out showing that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is siphoning voters away from Trump, not Biden, as the cultists thought.  This is because Republicans are stupid.