Trump's Bloody Nose

Good Morning, People!  Here in the outer fringes our current temp is 40 (F).  Fringes, you ask?  Why yes, we are on the almost extreme fringe of the possible, and even probably Nor'easter that will be blanketing the easter seaboard with slushy snow. While accumulations down around Philly(Philadelphia for those of you who don't know Pennsylvania) are predicted to be anywhere between 8 and 15 inches, here in central PA there's a 28% chance we'll get 2-4 inches.  There's also a 22% chance we'll get between 1 and 2 inches, and a 19% chance we'll get barely an inch.  Our temps are fairly warm here, so how ever much we get will be slushy.

And yesterday was kind of crap.  I had an appointment yesterday morning to have my furnace checked out by a tech from Bowman HVAC.  Back when I was doing my kitchen redo, a different tech from Bowman came in to give me a plumbing estimate.  That quote was through the roof and I ended up going with Wilbur Plumbing and Heating.   My furnace is over almost 13.5 years old, my basement is damp (120 year old stone foundation) and the tech gave me a doom and gloom report.  He also told me their new heating/cooling systems run between$13,000 and $17,000.  They're sales person asked if I was in a rush and I said "no," so he's going to email me quotes.  I also have 3 other HVAC people coming in next week, one of whom is from Wilbur.  I'm thinking maybe in August or September I'll have the new equipment installed.  

And of course yesterday the Supreme Court ruled against the Orange Anus on his tariffs.  The Guardian said it gave him a bloody nose, so to speak.  Gorsuch implied that the Court treated Orangie different then Biden.  If you saw any of the clips on TV you know how pissed off the bitter, old man was and still is.

He gave the world, besides the 10% Global Duties he now wants the US to charge on every import, so many soundbites, from "I don't have to work with Congress," to "I can destroy any country," that can be used against him.  And if you thought he was bad yesterday, you ain't seen nothin' yet!  His State of the Union speech is coming up on Sunday evening.  Let me tell you, his training wheels are off.  The scab has been ripped off.  Prepare for the most unhinged hour and a half that has ever been televised from the Halls of Congress, unless he's medicated from here to Hell and back.  Oh, and lies.  Get ready for a constant stream of lies.  One funny thing is that Fox Entertainment has worked very hard to make the Cultists glorious as normal as possible.  Now, he's  going to take them down as fast as he takes down the Republican party.  What a joyous moment that will be. 

Buried Alive

 Surprisingly, our morning temp is above freezing.  That's right, so I'll take 34 (F) for the win.  This afternoon we will see temps in the 40s (F).  Of course, beginning Saturday afternoon they're going to crater.  I've looking at a number of forecasts for the upcoming storm and while Central PA is going to be getting snow, apparently the heaviest is going to be falling to the south of us.  We might get a total of 8 inches till the whole thing ends late Sunday night.  The kid inside me wishes that we'd get 18.

Yesterday was productive.  I got a nice workout in.  Cleaned the aquariums.  Worked on my foreign language skills.  Fun stuff.  

I finished the Tick, Tock, Pop intermezzo chapter in the book.  That's the last one that deals with the events happening in 1983.  I've got three more chapters to go.  Right now I'm working on a chapter called Lullaby, and for those who've read any of my books, this is the chapter when the dots come together.  That sounds mysterious, but if you know, you know.

My nephew's wife was whining on Facebook yesterday about how much their insurance premiums have suddenly gone up.  She has a Crohn's disease, a pre-existing condition.  When the Republicans let the ACA expire (Obama Care), they eliminated the restriction keeping insurance companies from raising the premiums on individuals with pre-existing conditions.  She's a Republican.  She voted for Trump.  When I read her complaints, I laughed.  

Here's a pic of this morning's sunrise.

Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral argument regarding Orangie's ability to fire Linda Cook from the Fed. They did not seem to impressed with Orangie's attorneys.  This is a good thing.  However, they have still not released their opinion on his ability to set tariffs.  I'm reminded of how much they delayed when it came to releasing their opinion on presidential immunity.  They ended up giving him basically unlimited power.  I have this sinking feeling that they're going to do the same thing with tariffs, not so much because he was in the wrong, but because the country would go through horrendous financial chaos should the government have to pay those tariffs back.  This entire shit show belongs to the Republicans.  They have dug themselves into a terribly deep hole, and they just keep digging.  They know that if they stop digging the walls are going to cave in on them.  Unfortunately, they can only dig so deep before the walls cave in.  Either way, they are going to be buried alive.

Winter Wonderland

We have a bit of a winter wonderland outside.  About 2 inches of snow fell overnight.  Our temps are sitting just around freezing, so I don't think the stuff will be hanging around too long.  Our afternoon temps are supposed to climb into the mid 30s (F) and that's in the melting zone. The streets have already melted clear. 

People ask how Howie is in the snow expecting me to tell them he becomes Mr. Excitement.  He does not.  After answering the call of nature in 2 or 3 spots, he spends most of his time looking for sticks buried under the snow.  He doesn't dash around exuberantly.  

Knowing how foreign languages exercise the brain, I've also started a thing on Duolingo for Norwegian.  Supposedly this is one of the easiest languages to learn, mostly because there are so many ties to English.  It doesn't hurt to give it a shot.

Work was relatively slow yesterday.  I did get a measure.   That will make management happy.  And I do work this afternoon.  This is a short Sunday for me.  Noon until 6 PM.  And I'm back on the schedule for tomorrow.

Here's a pic of our winter wonderland.

And for those not paying attention, the tariffs continue.  Well, not only are they continuing, they're growing.  The Orange Asshole just increased them to the 8 European countries who are sending troops to Greenland.  There are times when I need to just clasp my head in my hands just to make sure the old gourd doesn't explode.  We have a 79 year-old man with dementia running this country who has surrounded himself with kiss ass enablers who are never, ever going to stop him.  Doing so would put an end to their own personal grift.  And these enablers are so stupid, I don't doubt many of them think they will be able to hold onto their ill gotten gains after he is gone.

Also, for those who haven't heard, the Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on Orangie's ability to set tariffs.  If they rule against him, these tariffs will turn into a maelstrom of shit.  And, if they rule for him?  Well, either way there is a good possibility our economy is doomed.  That, in itself, is going to doom the Republican party.

 

Blue Balls

Rain is coming.  Yepper.  The temps wee above freezing this morning.  Things are going to stay warm until this front passes.  That's means we will be getting rain and not snow.  We need the precipitation, so it doesn't matter to me if it's white and wet, or simply wet.  Snow does provide free cardio to hose of you so inclined to take advantage.

Yesterday was things were done, not just as many as I'd wanted.  The aquariums were cleaned.  Laundry was done.  Many words were written.  Still, it does seem as though I slacked off for most of the day.  I don't doubt some of this has to do with the chaos going through our country right now.

Today's my last day off for the week. To be rather frank, I'm not too wild about having 5 days off in a row.  One of the things that quickly became obvious is that I don't think about the days of the week; there's no difference between Tuesday and Wednesday.  I remember talking to a gent at the store and he tole me he loves that, not knowing or caring which day of the week it is.  Well, shit.  I like things better organized.  This is why I maintain a workout schedule, and a laundry schedule.  I have all sorts of little schedules.  On certain days I start writing at 2 in the afternoon, on other days I start writing at 4 PM.  Regularity in one's life is a good thing.

I had a subscription to Nuts.com for dried blueberries.  I canceled it this morning.  They reduced the bag size from 16 oz to 13 oz.  They also reduced the cost, however the per ounce price actually went up.  This is called a price increase.

And here's a pic of Howie with his blue ball.  I posted 2 different pics on social media and called them "blue balls."  It's a joke.

Within a few hours, the Supreme Court is going to release their decision on Orangie's tariffs.  Does he, like the despot he wants to be, have the authority to put them into effect outside of Congress.  Our constitution says that he doesn't.  If the court rules that he doesn't, this is going to be a cluster fuck on the grandest scale this country has ever seen.  How Wall Street will act is anybody's guess.  If the court rules against Orangie, do not expect our prices to go down much.  Corporations have already made adjustments to their fiscal plans to include the extra revenue they're getting by passing these tariffs onto customers.

And as expected, the administration swung into full lie mode regarding the murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis.  The only ones believe Orangie's side of the story are the hard core cultists who would, if directed by Orangie, eat shit sandwiches.

This should come as no surprise, but Big Oil is saying "now wait a minute," on sending their people to Venezuela.  They say the country is an unsafe environment.  But then, what's safety to Orangie, he's not going to work there, and he has no problem sending young Americans to go die there.  And Marcado offering to give Orangie her Peace Prize?  That woman is delusional and has absolutely no idea who she's dealing with.

Going Down

Well, here we are at the start of a new week.  Temps were 37 (F) this morning when I rolled out of bed.  They're going to fall.  This afternoon a blustery cold front is going to blow into the area.  Tomorrow's high is expected to be in the low 30s (F), but only for a day.  Things are going to warm up, though our highs will not be in the 40s (F).

Yesterday was spent at the store.  I got a measure.  As a Christmas present, a customer is having carpet installed installed in her daughter's house.  This is a very nice gesture.  The install is happening at a slow time of year, which will make management happy.

Otherwise the day was slow.  I got my steps in.  Made some notes on the book.  I tend to do that a lot when there are no customers in the store.  Details of the plot advance.  Lines of dialog get written.  Bobby Tussel, the ex- Baltimore police officer with the bullet in his brain, has a number of unfiltered lines.  He still guzzles beer, but since Anchor beer went out of business, he now brews his own at his very own micro-brewery.  His most popular brew is none other than Hunky Donkey Draft, so named because when runs on a treadmill at his local gym, things tend to go flippy floppy in a big way.

And since I don't want to post an proprietary information on the retail market, I'll use our competitor.  This is what Orangie's economy is doing to the home improvement industry.

That's right, many people are not considering home improvements at this time, though if you commit to one right now you might be getting a deal since prices are only going to go up.  I share some info with my brother and he asked what I thought was causing this, my response was the tariffs.  Prices go up, purchasing comes down.  Our store did beat plan when Biden was in office, but beginning in January last year the bottom began to fall out.  People are very wary right now.

Lowes usually employs around 300,000 but recent reports indicate that number has dropped to 270,000, that's a lot of people losing jobs, and that figure doesn't include the number of hours that are being taken away from part-time associates.  Orangie's tariffs are having a snowball effect on the economy and things are not going to improve any time soon.  

Best Buy is hitting their sales plan, but those people purchasing new electronics, laptops and tablets, appear to be replacing items they purchased during the pandemic.  Translation:  that stability and minor growth is temporary.  These people are not going to go out and buy another new laptop or tablet next year.  In fact, as hours continue to get cut, they are going to hold on to the one they have, at least until the economy begins to improve.

And So It Begins

 They said that the temps were going to drop over night and they were right.  Our temp is sitting at a very cold 10 (F).  That is cold  Everything outside is frozen.  We are going to stay below 32 (F) or 0 (C) until sometime after midnight.  There's another front coming through which should be warming things up... a bit.  And a reminder, we're still in autumn.  Winter doesn't start for another 2 weeks or so.  One bright thing to keep in mind, once we hit the winter solstice, days will begin getting longer again.  Just a few seconds at first, but by the time we get into February we will have an extra minute or two of sunlight every day.

I worked yesterday.  The first thing I do every Monday is check my sales figures.  I made hit both sales and measure goals, however there was a change between Sunday and Monday.  On Sunday I needed one measure to hit my goal, I got 3 last week.  Yesterday, that goal had some how miraculously increased to 2.  I still hit my goal, however no one else in the department did.  We also received a communication letting us know that carpet prices were being "standardized."  Prices were changed to reflect the density of carpet pile.  According to the communication, 40% of our carpets went down in price.  The other 60%?  Well, their prices increased.  The communications regarding price increases are all worded in such a way as to make it sound as though customers will be getting a better deal.  They are not.

On top of that, I eat dried blueberries with breakfast, either in my oatmeal or my cooked barley.  I get them from a company called Nuts.com.  I got an email from them telling me that the one pound bags I buy are now going to be 13 ounce bags.  But rest assured, the prices have been adjust accordingly.  This means that the price per ounce has gone up by 2 cents.  And so it begins.

This doesn't mean that prices haven't been going up for some time now, just that the increases are going to be coming at us faster with more ferocity.  Fasten your seat belts, for I suspect the crash that's coming is going to rock and roll them billionaires who have no idea how thin the ice is they're standing on.

And, in case you missed it, Orangie signed some sort of Executive Order to bail out the farmers his tariffs have been killing.  How much of our tax dollars are going to be spent to salvage their lives?  Between $11 and $12 billion.  As expected, Orangie lied and said that these monies are going to be coming from the tariffs Americans foreign companies have been paying.  In some sort of odd way this is almost like being taxed twice, isn't it?  Not that the billionaires care.  Nope.  I don't doubt that Orangie views billionaires as gods of business and commerce, and since he's fascinated by gods, and dictators, and authoritarians, he's going to give them everything their dirty little hearts desire.  Billionaires really do need to start studying the French Revolution, and just what it was that led up to all of that bloodshed.

The Price Dam is About to Break

Apparently our outside temp of 28 (F) is very close to being our daily high.  Overnight, our low is expected to be in the upper teens.  This means it's wooly blanket time.  And maybe a cup of hot tea while I'm killing aliens and scrappers in Outer Worlds 2.  Things will be warming up.  After this pinch of cold, temps are expected to begin warming up.  That's fine with me.  I don't mind the cold.  But moderate temps are better for my heating bill.

Being that yesterday was Sunday, no workout or rides were planned.  I did work however, and surprisingly managed to sell 2 installs.  That should keep management happy.  I also had to deal with a customer who wanted to pay for a carpet measure and wanted us to give him the measurements.  That's a no.  Room dimensions and square footage are considered proprietary until the customer actually purchases the measure.  I am being paid to sell installations, not the measurements.  There are people, if given the measure documents, who will seek out a cheaper contractor for the installation.  This customer was one of those people and, as a result, he was sorely disappointed.

I had already decided on a picture to post in today's blog and then this popped up in my Facebook feed.  A long time ago, in a land oh... about 30 miles away, I spent some time involved in theater.  Yes, at one point in my life I was a song and dance man.  Thinking about those days makes me laugh, they were a lot of fun.  Anyway, here I am center stage in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Being that we did have a weekend, political news was a bit lite.  Rumors are circulating that a number of Republicans from safe are not going to be running for re-election.  While this might seem to imply something, keep in mind that these are so-called Safe Districts, meaning no matter which Republican runs, he or she is most like going to be elected.  Now, if the districts were considered Purple, where a swing either way could happen, then I'd say this is big news.

A rumor also went through social media the John Fetterman was going to be quitting.  Again, this is just a rumor.  Evidently big John wrote a book in which, in one sentence, he said something to the effect that if he'd known what the stroke was going to to do his brain he'd have quit.  Of course, desperate people will always take things out of context.  This is something that the Republicans count on.

And finally, the WaPo had a headline this morning about how Orangie was heading into Biden territory when it came public dissatisfaction with the economy.  Adding to that was another one of their headlines telling people that tariff price increases were about to come home to roost.  This is because leading up to Orangie's tariff war, many retailers bought extra thinking that by this time our trading partners would be ready to throw in the towel.  Well, that isn't happening.  I suspect that a number of them want to break us in two.  Others, like China, have only seen their trade improve greatly.  Get ready for the price dam to break.

On the Pulse of a Morning

 Well, it does seem as if the Arctic Blast has hit us... sort of.  When I woke up this morning our outside temp was 30 (F) and that's cold.  Oddly enough, areas to our geographic south were much colder, so maybe the Susquehanna Valley is in a bit of a bubble of warmness.  Tonight is not supposed to be as cold, with the low sitting around 31 (F).  Yeah, I know, like 1 degree makes that much of a difference.

The cold temps also mean the beginning of oatmeal season.  I usually cook up barley for breakfast, but once the chilly willy mornings begin I switch to oatmeal with peanut butter and honey.  I almost always use honey as a sweetener. It's not that I don't like using refined and processed sugar, which I do think about, but because I like the flavor.  The best honey I've had came from Greece.  Seriously, that was so yummy.

My brother sent me a video on Facebook of Fred Rogers playing a screamin' guitar.  I pointed out the name Soros at the top and let him know that it was AI generated.  I really do dislike AI.  In my mind, AI is for lazy people who are creatively barren.  Self publishers are supposed to notify their readers if they use AI, but you know there's a lot of wannabe pseudo authors that don't.  They have no idea with being a fraudulent human being.

I popped 6 pork loins into the freezer a bit ago.  I'm going to be dehydrating them and nearly frozen pork makes for easier slicing.

And here are 2 more pics of my history.  They are from Bill Clinton's first inauguration.  Yes was there.  I, along with a million other people got to hear Maya Angelou recite On the Pulse of a Morning.  My words of advice to people:  If you ever get the chance to participate in history, do so, those moments will stay with you forever.

And I saw that Orangie is in the process of striking up some sort of deal with Syria.  He began by lifting sanctions, and I seem to remember one of his minions mumbling about some sort of framework being discuss for another Orangie Tower, or Resort.  The funds being funneled into his pockets are no doubt coming from Saudi Arabia as the work to spread Islam.  You can do this when you're one of the wealthiest countries in the world.  

Also, this morning I saw that Orangie is shrieking about the possibility of the Supreme Court overturning his tariffs, ie his personal grift machine.  It seems that all of these trillions of $$$s he's been bragging about seem to... have... well, possibly disappeared?  Or... it does appear that he saying there's no way they can pay them back to the companies individuals who paid higher prices.  Well, Damn!  Isn't this a big blow to our economic pulse and this cold, autumn morning?

Oh, Canada!

 We're chilly this morning.  According to Accuweather, our outside temp was 39 (F) when I rolled out of bed.  We might hit 55 (F) today.  That's fine.  I don't mind Autumn.  In fact, I enjoy all of our 4 seasons.  Let's be honest, who doesn't mind snuggling under warm blankets in the dead of winter, maybe it's because so many of us enjoy that wombish feeling.  And summer, it's just as nice to strip off those blankets because in our hearts we all really enjoy... stripping?

My back is a little stiff this morning, so I must have turned the wrong way in my sleep.  Being someone who's had to deal with some serious back issues, I am well versed in what needs to be done.  Besides my morning meds of Lisinopril, Atorvastatin, and Omeprazole ('ve a tiny hiatal hernia), I took two Naproxen.  Most backaches are caused by inflammation.  For me, 2 things work:  Naproxen and walking.  I'm driving down to the Lebanon VA to get my annual flu shot and Covid vaccine.  That place is big, so I'll be getting a lot walking in.  This afternoon, I'll be getting another bike ride in, maybe I'll be somewhere in Spain.

I did work yesterday.  It was so slow.  Our Halloween decorations are almost sold out.  Here's a hint for those of you who like outdoor Halloween decorations:  wait until the reduced tags make an appearance.  Right now our decorations are all 50% off.  Oh, and in case you're wondering, we're still making a profit on those markdowns.

And the Orange Anus is lava angry with Canada because they ran an anti-tariff ad quoting the Republican Demi God Ronald Reagan.

Holy Crap!  Thank you Ontario for setting fire to his Depends.  For those who haven't heard Reagan's message calling for Free Trade, he talks about how tariffs lead to retaliation, and how retaliation leads to terrible economic woes.  So, what does the Orange pedophile in what's left of the White House do?  He retaliates.  You can bet Ontario expected this.  You see the world is so over Orangie.  By now, most countries know how to play him, and play him they do.  They are moving past the United States and finding other more reliable trading partners.  In a world economy, isolationism is not a good thing.  Because of corporate greed, most manufacturing jobs have moved over seas.  Those jobs are not going to come back unless a majority of Americans decided to take a very large pay cut.  Believe me, the American people will stomp the shit out of the conservative movement before that happens. 

Face Off

 We have a chilly start to the day, that's if you think 67 (F) is chilly.  I don't.  We also have quite a bit of a breeze, the leftovers from a cold front that moved through the area late yesterday afternoon.  We did get rain, heavy torrential rain that fell in sheets across the highway as I was driving home from work.  And this wasn't like one of those quickie thunderstorms that's a flash, bam, thank you mam kind of storms.  We had heavy rain for over half an hour, heavy enough that I had to drive through waves.  What an adventure!  Today our high temp will only rise into the mid 70s (F).  That's fine.

Yesterday work was steady for the first three hours, but  then it died off.  The store did not hit plan last week.  This is going to continue.  I did set up a measure, but other than that the afternoon dragged on and on.  I had planned on stopping off at my neighborhood Giant supermarket on the way home, but by the time I got out of our parking lot the rain had started, and shortly after that drivers were slowing down and putting on their four-way flashers.

I did make Ukrainian Borscht yesterday morning before heading off to work.  One of the big differences between Ukrainian and Russian is that the Ruskies eat their borscht chilled, while the Hungarians eat theirs warm.  The recipe made a lot, so I'll have meals for the next 2 or 3 days.  

And, of course, Volodymyr Zelensky is going to be meeting with the Orange Anus sometime today, possibly this morning, maybe this afternoon.  Orangie has already attempted to lay the groundwork, the Ukraine needs to give up Crimea and not join NATO.  Zelensky has already told him to pound sand.  Some things everybody needs to remember are that Orangie is weak and caves under pressure, that's why they call him TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).  At the same time we need to keep in mind that he's been given order by his idol, Vlad.  His shoe leather heart has been crushed and he's desperate to make things kissy, kissy again.  I don't think that's going to happen.  Vlad never wanted to be kissy, kissy with him in the first place, but Orangie did make a convenient tool for Vlad to use... and abuse.  Like a bad poker player, Vlad has played his hand too soon, probably because he's already lost a million Russian lives in this failed war.  Vlad is a tiny tyrant who wants his tiny feet to fit into much bigger shoes and that's not going to happen.  So, what will happen?  I don't know.  I wouldn't be surprised if Orangie raises the tariffs on Europe to 75% because being the terrible businessman he is, that's the only card he can think of playing. 

Price Increase in aisle 1... 2... 3.......

 Good Morning World!

On this sunny Friday morning, the outside temp is sitting a comfy 64 (F).  The forecast for today is: mostly sunny and our chance of precipitation is 1%, now, that's pretty damn low.  We all know what that means, don't we?  My first load of laundry is in the washer.  The drying rack awaits.

Yesterday was pretty doggone good.  I vacuumed up all the Howie hair upstairs, and there is a lot.  Got lots of words written.  A fairly decent upper body workout was done, 239 calories were burned off.  Enough pulled pork was cooked to last for the next few days.  And I did 20 minutes on walking pad.  I like it.  It is really a mini-treadmill, except it folds up.  It will stay down in the writing room.  Yesterday I set it up in front of the desk, on the area rug.  That I didn't like, so I'm going to relocate it behind the desk onto the hardwood floor.

A BJ's Wholesale Club opened up about half a mile from where I work.  It's one of those membership clubs that sell discounted products.  Right now a promotion 1 years membership cost $15 and I'm thinking of joining, what with the cost of everything going up.  My neighborhood Giant supermarket offers points for every dollar you spend, so $100 = .10 off a gallon of gas.  However, they also offer promotional items where, for example, if you buy a 4 ounce bottle of Pom you get 40 points. There have been times when I've gotten up to a $1.00 off the price of a gallon of gasoline.  That's nice.  With food prices set to go through the roof, the points might be better than the discount card... that is unless my neighborhood Giant decides to change the way their point system works.  The higher prices would let you rack up the points faster.  

And prices are going up.  I took this picture on Wednesday, the day the tariffs went into effect.  The new "low" prices are now higher than the old "high" prices.  Every aisle is filled with these price mark-ups.

And, speaking of the Orange Anus, did everyone get a chance to see him announce how the job numbers released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics were wrong?  He used a chart with a graph pointing upwards and said the numbers were great.  Oh, and he said that they used numbers that hadn't been available before.  Social media went wild since apparently someone gave him access to a large piece of poster board and a sharpie.

And finally, evidently Kristi Noem, aka Ice Barbie has a real cranky hair up her butt because of how she was physically portrayed on South Park.  She's not complaining that in the episode she shot a puppy every 8 or 9 seconds, or about how ICE brutally kidnaps people, or about her violent recruitment video.  In fact, she's saying they ignore those terrible things about her... they didn't.  Nope, ICE Barbie's upset because after all of facial work she's had done, hair extensions, and cheek implants, they made fun of how she looks.  And the Orange Anus put this loser in charge of Homeland Security.

The Big Reveal

 Good morning!  Our temps today are once again predicted to climb into the low to mid 80s (F).  Yesterday?  Well the forecast was kind of off, we had mucho grande clouds.  We even had drizzles in the afternoon and early evening.  Today, supposedly, cloudiness is predicted to be at a minimum, there is bright sunshine outside at present. 

So I actually used the walking pad yesterday.  I like it, however, there is one teeny problem.  Where as the treadmill had all of the controls in front of you, the walking pad has an app.  They want you to download it into your phone.  Not me.  I'm a bit funny about which apps are in my phone: nothing financial, no apps with Chinese above the English wording.  You know, those apps that might provide access to the slim amount of personal data I already have in my phone.  So, I put the app on a tablet.  The max speed on this pad is 6 miles per hour, that's a jog not a walk.  I hate jogging, so that will never happen.  Those with max speeds of 4 mph are less expensive, take that into consideration if you're thinking of investing in one.

I did file a complaint yesterday about the probably fake account I was direct messaging, not that I think it will do any good.  The account has "no content available," which means it was either deleted or Threads shut it down for breaking community rules.  I did send a message to the person, however since he doesn't follow me on Instagram, it went into his "message request" folder where it will sit for 3-4 weeks unless his PA either reads it or deletes it.  He is not known for his social media presence.  And, since this is turning into a nothingburger, I've decided to post the first part of a conversation that went on for almost week, one that was totally focused on Eli and Max.

So, I saw this morning where the Orange Anus wants to have another census in order for Republicans to cheat better.  This is a timely process and if it does happen in say, oh... 11 or 12 months a majority of Americans will know the numbers have been fudged.  The biggest problem for conservatives is that they simply don't realized that in a country that is armed to the teeth they need to have a majority of the people behind them.  Right now Orangie's approval rating sits at 38%, that's every Republican.  About 10% of that number is stupid people.  And now his tariffs are upon us.  Higher prices will continually erode his approval rating.  Any moment now he's going to say "let them eat cake," and we know what happened the last time those words were spoken.

Fox Entertainment

 So, we're in the middle of mini heat wave.  Temps are going to be in the high 90s (F) both today and tomorrow.  Right now our outside temp is 74 (F) with a "real feel" of 85 (F).  I did a search to find out how "real feel" is calculated and it's a combination of heat, humidity, wind, and.... get this... solar intensity.  Solar intensity is measured in watts per square meter.  In reality, I don't doubt that someone stands outside for a few minutes and, upon coming back into air conditioned comfort and, ignoring the reading on the thermometer, says "wow!  that feels like 85 (F)."

I did work yesterday and it was slow.  Only myself and an aisle associate were scheduled.  I did talk to a few people, but mostly chatty conversations about old houses, and which floor leveler was best for a wood floor.  Usually I take something for dinner when I'm working that shift, yesterday I didn't thinking there would something left over from the weekend and there was:  yogurt.  

Since this is my first day off, my first load of laundry is in the washer.  Rather than use the dryer, it will be hung out to dry on the rack, however because we're supposed to have high humidity, it may take a long time to dry.  This means it might be the only load for the day

The picture of Max the cat which was posted yesterday was actually scheduled for today's post.  A bit on Max.  I got him when he was 8 weeks old and he lived to be 21 years old.  He's the only pet I've had who's buried here.  He was a good cat, and is the namesake for Maxwell Sullivan, one of the main protagonists in my books.

So today, instead of Max, you're going to get a picture of Harrisburg.  This was taken from a drone looking east.  My house is located to the left and behind the camera.  The island in the middle of the picture is City Island.  A long time ago, before they built the baseball stadium, they used to have concerts there.  I saw, among other groups, The Grateful Dead there... twice.

Isn't it fascinating how even without the Orange Anus's tariffs kicking in, prices are still going up.  Many people don't know that a lot of them are on hold because TACO.  Supposedly, according  to that horse's ass Howard Lutnick (notice I didn't say Nutlick) they're officially starting on August 1st.  This is interesting because Chinese sources are saying that an extension  has already been agreed to because TACO.  

And I read that Orangie wants Rupert Murdoch to be deposed within the next 2 weeks because Orangie is worried Murdoch, who's 94, might die.  Orangie better hope that Rupert lives as long as possible because when he dies control of Fox entertainment goes to all of his children.  Except for Lachlin Murdoch, all of Rupert's children hate Fox Entertainment. so with his death great changes may happen there.  Changes not to Orangie's liking.

Scottie the Billionaire

 Okay, so it's hot here.  Our outside temp is 75 (F).  If the forecast is correct, will top off at 95 (F).  That is warm.  We are beginning a mini heatwave.  Tomorrow and Wednesday our temps will climb into the upper 90s (F).  Keep in mind we are much farther north than most of the country, so those down south will be suffering through a scorcher.  Thursday showers and thunderstorms will be moving into the area and temps will dive back into the high 70s (F) and low 80s (F).  The extended forecast for August looks to be on the cool side, but we all know how fickle forecasts are.

I did work yesterday.  They were providing breakfast all day again, so I didn't take a lunch.  Unfortunately, it was a grab and go breakfast, inexpensive individually wrapped pastries with a high fat content, and Nutra-grain bars.  Boo!  Hiss!  Oh, and there were day old pancakes, so make that a double hiss.  I ended up stopping off on my way home and picking up a frozen pizza.  Yesterday was not a healthy diet day.

Retail sales for the past week were good, though as a head cashier pointed out to me, footsteps in the store were low.  This means that the buckos going into our bank account are being put there by customers doing large projects.  In flooring, a hardwood installation worth $17,000 went through.  

There are several games that Howie and I play:  Trade the stone for a cookie; Chase me for the sticks in my mouth; and that ever popular Sock Race.  Sometimes he gets quite excited by these games.

Again, the Orange Anus is bragging about a trade deal, this time with the European Union.  Again, this is just the framework for a trade deal, the deal itself has not been signed into law.  If and when it is signed we can expect costs for wine, cars, and a host of other things we buy from Europe to go up by 15%.  While Orangie screams that exporters will be paying these tariffs, you need to keep in mind that he's a pathological liar.  People like Scottie Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury, know and lie about this. Keep in mind that every company in which Scottie owns stock will be raising prices and that will increase their revenue, and that revenue will be taxed less because of Orangie's Big Beautiful Pile of Shit Bill.  So Scottie, the billionaire Secretary of the Treasury, will get even richer while you, and everyone who voted for Orangie, will get even poorer.

Where's the Beef?

 We're under a heat advisory for today.  Right now our outside temp is 76 (F) and it is only going to get hotter.  Now that doesn't mean the mercury in our thermometers will be climbing into the triple digits.  Nope.  The forecast is for our temp to hit 95 (F), it's the "real feel" of 104 (F) that's the reason for the advisory.  Thunderstorms this weekend will knock our temps back down into the upper 70s (F) to mid 80s (F).

Yesterday was definitely a meh day when it came to getting things accomplished.  I was scheduled to work and that put a damper on my enthusiasm to do anything else.  I did get some words written, but just a few.  I also got a mini-upper body workout in, but even that was lame.  Certain muscles need more than 48 hours to recover, that's why the week gets broken up in to specific days, such as leg day, and back day, and arm day.  Muscle growth is slow to achieve.

Work, itself, we pretty meh, too.  My supervisors needed to help me cut vinyl.  She doesn't know what she's doing so it ended up all flippy floppy.  The roll should have been firm and it was saggy.  She's a dip.  In her middle 60s, she wants to move up into management and so she's focusing mostly on numbers.  She's taking the wrong tact.  She spends much of her time sitting at a computer and ignoring the fact that even our store manager is out in the aisles packing down product, filling holes in the shelves.  She doesn't understand that the position she wants is a labor intensive 50 hour a week job.  They're not going to promote someone who just wants to supervise.

For those who are counting pennies, the cost for a pound of ground beef is $6.19 here in Central PA.  That beats the national high of $6.12

For those who didn't see, Volkswagen missed their plan by $1.6 billion.  They are the 2nd car company in less than 2 weeks that missed by over a billion.  This is because they're eating the tariffs.  Wall Street is not going to let this continue.  Those car tariffs are going to be coming our way and the cost of a new car is going to go through the roof.

There is chatter that a trade deal with Japan might actually get signed, which is terrible.  The new tariff is supposedly 15%, the old tariff was 2%.  Those added costs are going to be passed on to the consumer, and the added revenue will be paid to billionaires.

Jerome Powell publicly disagreed with the Orange Anus yesterday on live TV.  Orangie's butt was already burning from South Park mockery.  His ego can not deal with this public ridicule.  And he's leaving for Scotland where everybody hates him.  There are going to be protests.  Good.

New approval ratings were released and Orangie's overall approval rating is 37%.  What's truly devastating about that number is that is approval rating among Independent voters is down to 27%.  That number is simply horrific since neither party can do anything without the Independent voters, and right now less than one third of them approve of Orangie and his administration.

Intros & Narrators

 Our morning mid-week temps here in Central PA are still in the mid-60s (F).  Daily highs tomorrow will start climbing back up into the 90s (F).  That's find.  We are in summer, as season where nights are hot and days are hotter.  Friday's high temp should be in the mid-90s (F),but then the cool off begins as we head back down into the 80s (F).  The risk of afternoon and evening thunderstorms seems to be waning a bit.  These are the dog days of summer.

Yesterday was a day of massive accomplishments!

I talked to my friend Justin about the holly bush out front; he had just gotten off working the night shift and was in no condition to do any trimming.  So I pulled on my big boy britches and went out and trimmed the bush myself.  An hour later the bush was trimmed back to a normal sized and cleanup was complete.  That was in the  morning. 

In the afternoon I went for a 10.87 mile ride in Corsica, a ride with some decent hills.  During that 50+ minute ride I maintained an average heartrate of 128 beats per minute.  I was very pleased.

As some of you know I will, on occasion, listen to music when I write.  When I do so it's usually just one specific artist that manages to hit one specific note in the theme of the book.  This process is serendipitous.  While writing The Body Under Ice I listened to quite a bit of Spanish guitar music.  For The Body in the Tower it was Fallout Boy.  For The Body in 4/4 Time, what I'm calling a musical mystery, it seems as though I've settled on Bastille.  Here's a song called Intros & Narrators that might help you understand what I'm talking about.

No one should be surprised that Mikey Johnson shut down the House of Representatives a day early, his only other choice would have been to let Congress vote on releasing the Epstein files and that was a vote Republicans would have lost terribly.  A lot of people believe that Republicans are protecting a Pedophile, and they are, but most importantly they are protecting their slim hold on power.  Except for his personal polls, most polling shows his approval rating sitting in the very low 40s.  That number is going to keep on eroding.  Tariffs are kicking in and Americans are going to be paying more, much more for certain products.  And don't doubt that Americans will be paying the difference.  General Motors missed plan by $1 billion and Wall Street will put a stop to that loss very fast.

I saw some clips on Threads last evening where the Orange Anus was speaking at some meeting.  He was talking about cavities in the earth that had oil, and that we had drained, and that we had filled up again.  Total nonsense.  And I'm frightened that it is the likes of Pammy Jo Bondi, and Stevie Miller, and Noem the puppy killer who are actually running the country.  Having Orangie in charge is bad enough, but having losers like this acting as co-dictators is a recipe for total disaster.

The Truth about Woke

 Weather wise in Central PA, today is going to be a repeat of yesterday: high in the upper 80s (F) with middlin' humidity. We're under the same 40% chance of thundershowers, though none moved through the area yesterday, or if they did, they were far enough away no one knew they were happening.

And things were accomplished yesterday morning, however I made the mistake of picking up Lo Mein for lunch at my neighborhood Giant supermarket and things went downhill from there.  All those carbs sitting in my belly amplified the feeling that I would really serve myself better by taking a nap rather than going for a ride on the bike.  Unfortunately, the nap won out.  

During the morning, however, much was accomplished.  I'd gotten a $50 gift card from Firestone for buying my tires from them.  I spent most of it yesterday morning at Dicks buying a 50 lb band and a pair of house shorts.  For those who don't know, house shorts have a draw string, as opposed to requiring a belt.  They are casual wear designed for the privacy of your home.  They are the summer version of sweatpants.  I find it amusing that the same men who wear house shorts in public, like when they feel the need to pick up a claw hammer at the big orange retailer I work for, are the same men who will wear sweatpants out for the same reason.  Perhaps if they looked like they'd just come from the gym, but believe me, that never happens.  And it's just as true with the ladies, though theirs tend to have designs, like pink pussy cats or brown puppy dogs.

Here's a picture of the band.

And Orangie's tariffs on again, off again tariffs are on again.  There is a difference this time.  As Justin Wolfer says back in April, Orangie's tariff announcement rocked the world, yesterday a moose in Canada sighed.  Last evening, after the announcement of a 50% tariff on Brazil, that country announced and enormous trade deal with China.  Nobody gives a shit about Orangie's tariffs anymore, they've all gone elsewhere and all we are going to get is higher prices.

I don't know if many of you have realized it yet, but when cultists shriek and moan about something being woke, what they're really doing is complaining about compassion.  They are an inconsiderate crowd who prefer selfishness to selflessness.  Their mantra has become "what's in it for me." Kindness is something they may dole out to their family, and possibly a few friends, they prefer being kind to themselves. Evangelicals are only kind when they can proselytize.  Many are anti-woke simply because woke people have no restrictions on their compassion.  Woke people give compassion to those in need without any thoughts of compensation.  I'm wondering if American Capitalism has taught some of us to be so selfish.

 

Another "Once in 100 years" flash flood

 And so, a new week begins.  Our outside temp is 75 (F) which is warm for so early in the morning (0719).  Our forecast high for today is 90, we shall probably go a bit higher until the thunderstorms pass through late this afternoon and evening.  When I left work yesterday at 6 M the temp outside was 92 (F), and that was warm.  After today's and tomorrow's storms our afternoon high should be hovering in the mid 80s (F).

And I did work yesterday.  A full shift.  Well, almost a full shift.  I was supposed to start work at 10:30 and left the house around 10:25.  Honestly, I had no real desire to go sit at the flooring desk.  There isn't a doubt in my mind that this is because of all the shit happening in the country. I am preparing myself for it to get worse before it gets better.

I went outside this morning wearing my shorts and gnats swarmed my legs.  For some reason they're bad here, possible because I'm so close to the river.  When my neighbor Eileen still lived next door, she always wore sweat pants and a thin long sleeve shirt outside to do lawn work.  I may have to go to Community Aid and pick up some cheap old shirts.   

The 2nd, and probably last season of Sandman started on July 2 (there's been a problem with Neil Gaiman).  Instead of watching any of the episodes when I got home from work last evening, I died a number of times playing Oblivion.  This one of the things about gaming, you are always forced to learn from your mistakes otherwise you will never stop dying.

And this bit about Nebraska is fairly true, though back in June Pellen said he saw the budget as a challenge, it may be more challenging than he thought.

One of Nebraska's state senators had said that the budget was only "sleight of hand," to make it appear balanced when in actuality it was not.  Keep in mind that Nebraska is a Republican red state and even in the depths of fiscal crisis will never admit to have making a mistake.

II see that the Orange Anus' tariff deadline has been extended to August 1.  This is because no country, except for Vietnam, has responded.  I guess there may be frameworks, or possible the concept of frameworks for trade deals, but as of yesterday nothing had been carved in stone.  Bessent, the idiot, said yesterday on State of the Union that "no countries got back to us."  Someone should tell Orangie that if he's trying to work a trade deal and his demands are being ignored, than he's not the great deal maker he's been claiming to have been for years.

A final note on the flooding in Texas.  It is true that the NWS was understaffed by a number of positions, though they did send out warnings.  One of the problems is that when I get a ping on my phone in the middle of the night telling there is a flash flood warning I sleep through it, and these floods happened during the early morning hours.  What no one seems to be talking about is that in September 2024 we had what they call a "100 year," flash flood in North Carolina that killed 107, and now, 9 months later and half way across the country, we have a 2nd "once in 100 years," flash flood.  So, how long will it be before we have a 3rd "once in 100 years," flash flood.

Buy now, Save later

 Wow!  the sun is shining brightly, that's nice, however the temp is a crispy cool 48 (F).  Clouds are going to be rolling in later this afternoon.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get my little lawnmower out and hit the front yard, otherwise the grass will be growing for another week before it gets a trim.

I found a dead mouse floating Howie's water bowl this morning.  This is the second time I've found one and for the life of me I don't know how they can climb up the sides of a shiny, porcelain bowl to take their final swim.

Work was interesting yesterday.  Mondays are usually a slow day, and we had steady foot traffic in the flooring department.  I got a measure, a credit card, and had over $5000 in sales, and I was not alone.  I have no idea why so many are having things done.  Perhaps it's because things are going to be getting more expensive.

In a way, I'm doing the same thing by buying a new printer.  Prices are going to go up and I don't want to pay a higher price.  Later this morning I'm going to be having 4 new tires put on my car.  I believe that May, 2025 prices will hurt my bank account less that July or August prices.  Since I'm going to need new tires for my car to pass inspection, I'm buying them now.  It's those stupid tariffs, you know?  The ones where the American consumer is going to be screwed over so the wealthiest people in the country can get a tax break.  And, in case you're wondering how many trade agreements have been signed since the tariffs were announced, I have a small graphic which will explain everything.

Of course, they do have concepts of deals, and concepts of frameworks for deals, but when it comes to the signed, sealed, and delivered, signature on the binding document deals there is zilch.  Nada.  Not a single deal.    At first Orangie was spinning the lie that countries would pay for the tariffs, but, after Walmart told the world they were passing those tariffs onto the consumer, he started shrieking how corporations, not countries, were going to have to swallow those extra charges.  Those prices should be apparent to his cultists by the end of the month, a short 11 days away.

Orangie's also going to push for the cuts in Medicaid because the 1% need a tax break.  Their belief is that because they employee so many others who are paying taxes, they, themselves should not have to.  I'm starting to see articles shouting out the warning that these cuts will be suicidal to the Republicans.  Instead of understand, however, they're hell bent on giving the 1% whatever they want.  Remember, the Republican party is the party of Selfishness and Greed.

Selfie #4

 It looks like there is another nice day in store for Central PA with temps in the upper 70s and clear sunny skies, and of course I do have to work today.  I am off tomorrow and the forecast is for overcast skies and rain.  In fact, the next few days rain is expected daily.  I suppose this has something to do with that rainy weather pattern that's going to be soaking the southeast moving north as it moves out over the Atlantic Ocean.

And I did work yesterday.  It was slow.  I did, however, get a measure.  An older woman's middle-aged son brought her in for a measure.  They picked out an nice middle of the road carpet for the master bedroom, and a cheap carpet of the rest of the bedrooms.  Now, when I say cheap, I mean cheap; $9.90 a square yard.  In fact, this carpet was so cheap we don't install it.  This led to a dilemma, with him telling her that it taken her so long to pick out the carpet.  When he went to pick out another carpet that was of similar color, she turned to me and said, "he can be suck a prick."  My personal opinion is that he's a bit frothy in the brain.

Even though I did work yesterday, it was a short day.  Usually I work 7.5 hours, but yesterday I was only scheduled for 6.  That hour and a half difference is so nice, I might have to change my availability, at lest for the summer.

I'm playing a French game right now, Clair Obscur; Expedition 33 and last night one of the main characters died.  I have never played a game in which this has happened, companions have died, but never one of the main characters.  Complicating things even more, a new character was introduced, an individual who was part of the first expedition, Expedition 0, 67 years earlier, and this character hasn't aged.  You also find out that there are other members of that first expedition alive, some who will let everyone else die in order to remain young.  This may go down as one of my all time favorite games!

And, from time to time I attempt to take a selfie with Howie.  Here's selfie #4.

So, I see the Orange Anus caved on the tariffs again.  Main stream media isn't putting it that way, though, they're saying that there appears to be a mutual agreement between the China and the United States.  Did anyone of them say that on the first day, the Chinese walked out after about 15 minutes?  I don't think so.  Well, they did.  I heard that they went into the talks and asked for 2 things:  respect, and a pause in the tariffs while negotiations were in progress and Orangie's team said no.  So they walked.  Realizing that this was going to make Bessent and his team look like the biggest douchebags in history, yesterday Scottie and his team caved.  The Chinese are respected and the tariffs are paused for another 90 day.  One really needs to check to see which Republicans snapped up stocks on Friday, because now Wall Street is doing firecrackers!