Day after Day

My weekend starts today!!!  I got up around 0515 and am on my 3rd load of laundry.  Wacking my weeds was also on the agenda - that however might have to wait.  Forecasters are calling for showers and thunderstorms.  Golly Jee?  When is a fellow supposed to do his lawn work?
The truth is today is going to be pretty much like yesterday.  The sun will rise and set.  Actually, it doesn't.  The sun doesn't move at all.  We spin around it.  The truth is that the sun will rotate into view, unless, of course, you're a 'flat Earther.'  I have no idea if they think the sun rises and sets or rotates.
And speaking about how one day is pretty much the same as the day before, how about that Nick Sauer?  In case you don't know, he's a conservative Republican from Illinois, and he's just like so many Conservative Republicans.

You know who I'm talking about, the clean cut, go to church guys who find their girlfriends on Tinder (bet he swiped right).  The ones who sing hymns to 'family values' while taking naked pictures of those girlfriends.  And what does porcelain smile Nick to with those photos?  Set up an Instagram account as a fictitious female in order to have lurid, erotic conversations with other men.  They call it 'catfishing.'  Seems like Nicky likes men to talk dirty to him.  Why is it these things crop up so often with Conservative Republicans?  One can only wonder if he was trying to follow in the foot steps of the Idiot Jerk in the White House.
Speaking of the Idiot Jerk, did everybody out there get their grocery shopping ID card?  I hope mine is in the mail, otherwise I'm going to starve.
An Navy friend of mine shared this on Facebook - it's nonpolitical, in case you're wondering.  For those who don't know, this is what we deal with on a daily basis.  Sometimes all you can do is just stand there.  On a few occasions, like the customer who wanted a waterproof extension cord to use in his pool, you wonder if you should call the EMT's now... or wait a bit.

The sun has just popped through the clouds so I'm going to quickly go outside and clean up the yard... dogs, you know.  I hate doing it in the rain.

Schmutz in the White House

For years I wore contacts rather than glasses.  They were okay.  The issues with my eyes precluded my using lenses I could pop in and forget.  Nope, for me it was a daily chore - until about 5 years ago when I decided wearing glasses was just not that bad.  Now, the only problem I have is dog schmutz.  You see, dogs don't really know what glasses are.  They will push their noses against them, lick them, paw them off your face... all sorts of things, all of which disrupt my field of vision.  The schmutz is a problem since I like to see clearly.  End result: I clean my glasses several times daily.
Of course, being able to see clearly can sometimes lead to frightening realizations.  Take the Idiot Jerk, for example.  While I can't say that he scares the shit out of me on a daily basis, thought it's close.  And the frequency of his actions seems to be on the increase.  This is to be expected in one who is so severely unbalanced.  His is an ego tottering along a thin line between sanity and insanity.  There are times when he doesn't concern himself with appropriateness, he just jumps into the crazy.
A possible meeting with Rouhani is nothing more than an ego snack.
Collusion is not a crime... well, no.  However when you aid and abet a foreign power trying to throw an election in your favor?  That's called treason.  Lock him up.
Allowing Jeff Sessions to begin building an army of Evangelical zealots?  He's going to give that phony Christian base anything they want.  If he loses them, he'll be in the clink in no time.
Saying the Koch brother (s) are dumb shits.  Well, they didn't bow down and kiss his ass.  In fact, they sort of sat out the 2016 election, fools that they are.  Now, they're talking about helping Democrats. 
Now, these moments happen regularly... maybe not daily... but with enough frequency to make sane Americans start to wonder if they, too, need to wipe the schmutz from their glasses.

"Dirt" in German 

Schumtzieg is "dirty" 

Often used in replace of "dirtbag" 

Compensate this

So, Sunday was the last day of our fiscal half - our store was #3.  Our Success Sharing (bonus) has always been calculated on fiscal halves - we get 2 per year.  That is changing, however.  Now they're are calculating it on the quarter.  Our store was #1 for the quarter.  We're are going to get a big bonus... maybe.  From what I've heard this is just going to be for the quarter, not the half... so, what happened to the first quarter of 2018?  A 3 month bonus is going to be less than a 6 month bonus.  Oh, and we're going to be getting this 4 times a year, as long as the store makes plan (forecast, or budget, use the word of your choice). 
While some are dancing around like they were wearing their very expensive glee sneakers, I'm scratching my head.  You see, I read financials.  There's a growing trend  among corporations to treat frequent bonuses as part of an associates yearly compensation package, rather than as a 'bonus.'  This turns it into a payroll expense which, in turn, effects your yearly increase.  By using these 'bonuses,' companies will, in reality, reduce that expense.  It works like this:  Say your yearly increase amounts to $2000 and (if your store performs up to par) your bonus is $800.  They take that $800 and deduct it from the $2000 leaving you with an actual increase of $1200.  This is legitimized, in their minds, by saying it is now your responsibility for your store's sales.  Wall Street likes this approach.  Some stores will make out well, others will not.  What it really means is that a lot of people will get lower raises.
Oh, and in case you didn't hear me yesterday, I suddenly burst into loud, almost hysterical laughter.  Why?  A headline in the WSJ.  I was sitting next to our Customer Service Rep when my phone buzzed.  It does that with breaking news flashes.  To my amazement, I saw that Bob, in posting his Sunday Funnies, had revealed one of the cartoonists to be a Gypsy Fortune Teller.  This one right here:

Holy Shit!  The Idiot Jerk in the White House wants to have a 'sit down' with Iran.  Doesn't he remind you of the lowest form of life possible?  Anything for attention, for a chance to get his name in the headlines, to feed his ego.  My money says he'd eat a scumbag if he thought it would garner him headlines.  Like a washed up actor, he'll perform in anything for any price.

Heroes and shitheads

Well, when I got home from work last night I did a free weight workout - upper body.  The end result was Bojangles arms, you know?  Rubbery.  If I was from Pittsburgh, I'd say I had gum band arms.
And the Tour de France ended yesterday.  The winner:  Geraint Thomas was the winner from Team Sky, UK.  I'm glad he won.  I'm also glad this year's tour is over.  It as definitely not one of the best.  Right from the start there were issues.  Chris Froome should have withdrawn right from the start.  You see Chris tested positive for having twice the legal limit of an asthma medication in his blood.  Does Chris have asthma?  Let's just the Team Sky doctor gives him the prescription.  Protesters following him through out the entire race.  The wave signs.  The yelled angry words at him.  They spat on him.  If he and Team Sky thought he'd win a 4th Tour they were mistaken.  Did he possibly end his career?  Maybe.
There were serious crashes right from day one.  Oh, and Cannondale showed up in their hideously pink kits.  I like pink.  It's an aggressive color.  But no one should be riding in the Tour wearing Spandex from the Barbie cycling collection.
And then there were the farmers.  Evidently there is some way Brexit is going to effect the subsidies they receive.    In their minds the best way to bring attention to their plight, their most opportune method for gaining sympathy, would be to roll bales of hay onto the route in Stage 16 and stop the race.  What they actually accomplished, on the world stage, was to shit in their pants.  No one said... "oh, those poor farmers."  What they ended up with was a mini-riot... with tear gas.  Ils ont les tetes de merde.  Oh, and it seems they are now under investigation.
And yesterday, sometime in the morning I think, the Idiot Jerk in the White House tweeted out another threat to shut down the government if he didn't get his wall.  Holy Crap!  Didn't he sing this song before?  And fail?  Of course this isn't about building the wall.  Nope, his dimwitted base loves this shit.  And this shut down is supposed to occur in September, just before the mid-terms.  Whether you know it or not, this is 'the art of the deal.'  Oh... my... let's be scared.  He caved before, he'll cave again.  Empty threats.
I'll end with a pic of Lawson Craddock - from the Cannodale Team.  He crashed on stage one and broke his scapula.  And came in last place on the stage. 

A lot of cyclist would have dropped out.  He didn't.  He is a certified Lanterne Rouge - last place finisher.  He also did something wonderful along the way.  Lawson pledged $100, for every stage he finished, to help rebuild the velodrome in Houston he had rode in as a junior.  A little storm called Hurricane Harvey did a lot of damage.  So he rode, and finished every stage.  And along the way people started taking notice... and started donating to help his pledge.  By the time he rolled across the finish line in Paris yesterday, in last place, he had raised almost $200,000.  Can we talk about heroes?

Black or English

Sunday morning.  Some of you are sleeping late, since that's what a lot of people do on their day of rest.  Not me.  Up at 0430.  No problem in rising early.  There is so much I want to get done.
The replacement gaming chair arrived Friday.  Opened the box when I got home from work yesterday, pulled out the transmitter, and plugged that sucker in.  I have sound... and vibration.  I suspected all along that might be the problem.  What a shame Amazon needed to send me a replacement chair just to replace the transmitter.  This is what happens when companies sell products designed and assembled in China without considering the need for replacement parts.  I have no doubt this is why their customer is so shitty.  There is nothing they can do when issues crop up.
My brother sent me a text.  Walnuts are starting to drop from their trees.  I told him I'd be up with a container, and most likely the dogs, on the 8th or 9th.  I'm also ordering a walnut huller from Amazon.  Odds are that they are going to be Black Walnuts, rather the English, which means they are going to have a lower calorie content and a higher Omega 3 content.  Health food.  Believe me when I tell you "nuts are great.!"

The computer / weight training / cycling room floor is about half painted.  The color is sort of a swimming pool green / blue.  Weird thing is that when I walk into the room, I stepped over the freshly painted floor.  I wonder if that's because of the color.  Once the hole thing is finished, I'll post pictures.
Was it me, or was the Idiot Jerk fairly quiet yesterday?  I found it interesting he was bragging about the economy.  Of course, he didn't mention that the last time it was this good was in 2014 - oops.  And even though the country appears to be doing well financially, his party is showing signs of concern.  His approval rating refuses to go up.  Just goes to show the stupidity of Republicans.  They believe that if the country is doing well, the American people will let any asswipe sit in the Oval Office.  How wrong they are. 

Mission Accomplished

Yesterday was a day for getting things done!  Mowed the lawn - early, since they were calling for possible showers and thundershowers.  We got some showers late in the day, but nothing else.
Two loads of laundry washed and folded.  Dishes hand washed.  I have a dishwasher, but unless I'm cooking something big, usually resort to Palmolive.
Got the grocery shopping done.  Time for another BIG bag of Beneful. 
Half the floor in the computer / gym / cycling room got 3 coats of paint.  Only half because I move everything from one side of the room to the other side.  It looks nice.  Color is called Breeze Way..., sort of a swimming pool color.  The dogs only walked on the wet paint once!
It's nice when you accomplish more than you plan.
Earlier in the week Facebook took a shit in Mark Zuckerberg's pants.  Was it enough to wipe that smug little smile from his face?  Probably not.  What I thought surprising was people being... shocked.  Excuse me, people.  The lifespan of a social media network is evidently not that long.  Remember My Space.  Everybody wanted to be a part of My Space.  I think some are still on it.  I bring up Facebook because yesterday Twitter took a dive.  Oops.  People just don't seem to be signing in as often.  That's hurts advertising.  What is happening to all of the followers?  Well, duh, you don't need to sign in any more.  Look at the Idiot Jerk in the White House.  His every Tweet gets reposted almost immediately.  Before he began dominating the Twitterverse, you might read something and say, "gee, that's interesting."  But the Idiot Jerk?  Everybody knows he lies, and Twitter is the easy forum he has for spreading those lies.  If his main goal was to kill Twitter, he should get a "Mission Accomplished" medal.  He could wear it like all those phony medals dictators seem to enjoy wearing.
In case you missed it, yesterday he took credit for the economy in a Tweet.  Of course, he forgot to mention that the last time the economy was this good was in 2014 - when Barack Obama was president.  Ooops.

I just lost $15 billion dollars

So, what target is the Idiot jerk aiming for next?  My money says Instagram, which means he'll be able to do it with pictures.

You Fool

Friday.  I don't work today.  This is nice.  I will have to work for 5 days in a row starting tomorrow, but that's okay.  The sun came out this AM.
Yesterday was a good day.  The sun came out yesterday as well.  My basement floor is mostly dry so I can do laundry.  Not that I fear running out of skimpies, I'm fairly well stocked when it comes to under attirements.  What made yesterday good, besides the sun?  I got up at 0430, and worked, and when I got home I got in 25 minutes of cardio.  The new routine is, after almost 3 weeks, beginning to fit me comfortably.  This is what my life was like 10 years ago, before International Paper decided to outsource my job to Krakow, Poland.  Isn't it amazing what can happen to a person in a mere decade.
The dogs are much happier today as well.  They're not too wild about dashing between the raindrops.  With the sun out, they can poop and pee to their heart's content without having to worry about getting wet. 
Yesterday a customer came up to the flooring desk and asked a couple of laminate questions.  I asked him how the weather was and he frowned.  "It's hot.  Too hot."  I really had to bite my tongue to keep from saying "You fool."  Some areas of the state are still under flood warnings.  A lot of people have seen their lives get washed away because of the torrential rains, and this middle-aged, white man is complaining about the heat. 
The same thought flashed through my head when I heard Jim Jordan wants to run for Paul Ryan's seat.  'You fool!  You sat with stoppered ears, while students were being sexually assaulted because you saw no benefit in complaining!"  He did tack on a caveat regarding the need for Republican control of the House.  Doesn't he realize that when the House turns blue ethics investigations into his past, immoral behavior will be started?  It's enough to make you laugh.  "You fool!"
Then there's Jeff Sessions...  A lot of people are looking at him now and shouting "You fool."  He and his high school chanters, his racist 'zero tolerance' towards Latinos.  Even his church denounced his false piety.  Doesn't he think he's special?
Oh, and Michael Cohen has flipped!  That news is almost enough to send Democrats and Centrists into hysterics. 

Right now, Michael is pointing his finger at the Idiot Jerk in the White House and laughing, "You fool!"