Well…another thing that trump gets involved in crashes and burns…just today, after trump boasted about his “greatest deal” to get Russia and Saudi Arabia to cut oil production, oil prices crashed to their lowest point in almost 30 years….trading as low as a dollar a barrel this afternoon with the prospect of oil companies having to pay people to get them to take their oil….I know that not all of this is trump’s fault, but much is since this crash is related to coronavirus pandemic that is burning through this country as trump fiddled away all of the early warning time he was given to golf and hold rallies. One thing that has been puzzling me from the start of the oil crash is whey the hell was trump trying to raise prices in the first place? Well…we know the why is that his cronies in the oil business have been pushing him to do something to get their profits back up, but doesn’t trump realize that every dollar a barrel means a hundred million dollars in “tax” on the American consumer? Cripes we know the answer to that one, too…he just doesn’t care as long as he can take care of his cronies….he never gave a damn about anyone but himself for his whole life so why would now be different? My big bitch about the whole thing is that with not being able to drive, I can’t take advantage of the cheap gas prices that may go under a buck a gallon soon…
April 20th
Well…cripes, I’m running late this morning and didn’t get up until it was light….but that didn’t help with my energy levels and I just want to go back to bed I feel so worn out….and I overheated the coffee so I have to wait for a while to have any…and I think it’s going to be a french press morning since there is just not enough coffee to get me started today…I did take both ibuprofen and allergy medicine last night since I was hurting and miserable and just needed some relief but I don’t think it carried over to this morning since my back is still stiff from the double ride yesterday and my head is plugged up, too…oh, well…didn’t get a lot done yesterday but I am going to get to the garden plot today and at least start to lay it out and get the sod cut out so I can plant in the next couple of weeks…I think I’m going to plant the flower seeds in the front of the house this week since they take almost two months to flower and I want some color out there as soon as possible….not sure how much cold they can take but I’m willing to take the risk….can always buy some to put in if things open up in a month or so….not much to do today….just going to ease into it with how I feel right now…need to pay some bills but the mail pickup doesn’t come til late in the day so I have time for that….more later….
The new earbuds are growing on me…
Well….yep, I guess you get from the title of this one that there isn’t going to be one on politics today…and that’s okay since it is depressing anyway and I just don’t want to be depressed….I did get out for two rides today and don’t feel like I did too much damage but that will probably show up later…I did take an ibuprofen last night and could really feel the difference so that will be the plan for later…I did see the bald eagle again today sitting in his tree next to the trail and I think I saw a female across the lake from where he was so we just may get to see some little eaglets later in the summer….oh, the earbuds…the more I listen to the new earbuds the more that I like them…and I think the bass is okay after I made an adjustment to the equalizer but the best thing is how some sounds that were buried on the previous ones come out with this set….and it is so damn clear that I forget that I have earbuds in at times….so, so far so good….and for 15 bucks they were worth it for sure….and they look pretty cool, too…very modern so I’m happy if they last a while….
April 19th
Well…it’s about 7 on a Sunday morning….this used to be one of my favorite times of the week…getting up, making coffee, and getting the big Sunday paper to read and then making it last the whole day by reading it in an order that I have developed over the years…but, like everything these days, the paper has changed and there is not much to it anymore…especially the ads which I think have gone away as part of the stay at home order….so, it’s 7 am and I’m already done with it and have started the short trek to boredom that seems to be my normal state of mind lately….slept okay last night but was up around 6…I guess that’s better than 4 so I shouldn’t bitch too much…I did get a few things done yesterday even though I wasn’t really trying to…I found the downspout that is missing from the driveway side of the house buried behind the garage and started to clean that up and find anchors to put the straps that hold it back on….it’s going to take some work but that kind of noodling around is really not work to me…I’m not sure if that on is copper or not….it looks like it is galvanized so I am going to just paint that one and put it back up…I may have enough of the trim paint left to cover it but then I won’t have enough to do some of the trim that needs it too….so I guess that will wait until I can buy more….I am going to start a list so I can plan on what needs to be done and what materials and tools I need…it looks like I only have a few weeks of work outside once I get started so maybe I will have the summer off and get a little chance to relax some around here….not much to do today….just the bike ride and some fooling around but right now I need more coffee and to read what little news is on my phone….more later….
Busy day for a Saturday….
Well….cripes…it’s been a busy day for a Saturday and I’m sure I don’t like it….started out with building the smallest backyard barbecue out of some spare pavers I had back there and cooked some chicken thighs…I know I’m going to get hate mail for this but I really don’t like cooking with charcoal any more…don’t like the process or the taste of charcoal on the food….so I’m not sure how many more times I’m going to do it before I buy a gas grille….and I smell like smoke and will probably have to take another shower to get rid of it….I did get a nice bike ride in and the bald eagle was back sitting right next to the trail and that was cool but there was already too many damn people out there and I could barely get into any rhythm…..oh, and I got the new earbuds today instead of tomorrow and I like them…very clear and lots of range…could use just a little more bass but I can probably dial that in with the equalizer….the rubber tips that they sent just didn’t fit well, though, so I took the ones off the skull candy ones that quit and they fit just fine….and I got a new electric toothbrush that came just in time since my old one has been giving me fits and I have to bang it on the sink to get it to work….and I got it for half price…only 4.50 so that was cool, too…I was going to go out for a second ride today but the wind is up to over 20 so that’s not going to happen….I need to hit the couch and take it easy for the rest of the day….
It’s another DeVos scam…
Well….cripes they are at it again…if you were under any delusion that the “protests” that hit only blue states were a grass roots movement, just take a look who is organizing them….someone who works for the DeVos family which includes our crappy sec of education. Have you seen one of the “protests” in a red state? Nope, and the amoral DeVos family is trying to use this pandemic to damage as many dem governors as they can…and hiding their role behind an “organic” protest lie…if they are organic, why none in Florida, or Texas, or Oklahoma? This isn’t the first time that the DeVos family has used their money to try to ruin an institution here in Michigan….they were the one who bankrolled the whole for profit charter school scam here to make sure their cronies could suck the education system dry and use tax dollars to promote religious schools and their extreme right wing ideology while they indoctrinate vulnerable children. If there is a better reason to tax the hell out of these people so they don’t have the money to try to subvert the results of elections here in Michigan, I haven’t seen it. At least this time the media is digging into who is bankrolling these “protests” and are doing a little better in not buying the propaganda coming out of the DeVos machine….
April 18th
Well….running a little late this morning with going to bed late and getting up late…and my allergies have come back after a few days of being able to tolerate them so I may have to take something for them today…and the no ibuprofen trial is not going well, either with pain everywhere…I was going to list where it hurts but it would be easier to note where I don’t…but 6 days off is enough to rest the liver so I may take something before I get on the bike this morning…or afternoon…not sure yet but I’d like to get out in medium thermasuit today with no winter hat and it’s only 31 out there right now so I guess it will wait awhile….I let the new bread set overnight and it didn’t rise at all…well…a little but it’s so cold in here that I put it in the oven and turned the heat on for a minute to give it a jump start…but, as I said, if it doesn’t work I’m only out 30 cents or so….didn’t get a lot done yesterday and today will probably be the same….just can’t get motivated right now and that’s not too unusual….I think it has to do with there not being any spring to speak of yet and it’s getting to the end of April….and there is still no good weather in the forecast with highs in the 40′s and 50′s for the rest of the month….oh, well…I didn’t get to 900 miles on the bike before the 16 of the month, which is when I got the bike off the trainer last year…I did get to over 850 miles so I got close and would have made it if I hadn’t taken a few days off for the wind….not much to do today…just going to ease into the day for a while and have more coffee….more later….
More bread….
Well….didn’t get to watch the Pink Floyd concert today since my computer freaked out and I didn’t know how to fix it…the HDMI port turned itself off and I had to text my son to figure out how to turn it back on…but, I got it and he fixed the damn activate windows error that has been on my screen for two years….so that was cool…I did get out to put the locking lugs back on the car and then loosen the other lugs so I can get them off if I get a flat…not sure how many ft lbs they torqued them to but damn, I had to put a cheater bar on my 3/8 breaker bar to get them loose….they just don’t need to be that tight…I do like the way the new tires look…they are a little wider than the last ones and that looks cool….oh, the bread….I’m getting a little weird with recipes I see on the internet….only had two packets of yeast left and, with the yeast shortage, using only an 8th teaspoon of yeast instead of a whole packet intrigued me….so I just mixed some up using both white and wheat flour and now it sits at room temp until noon tomorrow…about 18 hours to give the yeast time to multiply and the dough time to rise….the article said that using this method, you can get 18 loaves out of one packet of yeast…and I’m a little bored and time is free so I thought I’d give it a try…and you don’t have to knead this bread either….no matter what, I’ve got about 20 cents into it so if it doesn’t work, no big deal….oh, one thing that made me laugh about the tires is that they have “outside” molded into the side of the tires that is supposed to go out…not sure if I’ve ever seen that before…….
Now the idiot is calling for civil war…
Well….after the embarrassing pushback from dem governors on the idiot trump’s ranting that he controls the states and when they come out of quarantine, he now has a new rant going on…and it is a coded message to his followers to “liberate” all of the states that are run by duly elected dem governors…essentially calling for civil war and violence against these elected officials. So, hey repubs…especially you, Susan Collins, is this the changed trump you just “knew” was going to appear after your rigged trial in the senate? This is the treasonous criminal you let off the hook just to give more money to the rich and to pack the courts with unqualified judges who will ignore the law and vote for the repubs political advantage…and now he is calling for murder of his political opponents…and it is a call for murder…it’s not just “trump being trump” as you folks on the right excuse all of his shredding of our constitution and criminality…and now what the hell are you going to do about this? Okay, I knew I could get you laughing with that one…they are going to do not…one…damn….thing. They are going to open up their red states and murder more than the 60,000 Americans trump’s incompetence has already killed….and it goes on and on and on….November, please get here fast…
April 17th
Well…I wonder if it’s kind of weird that something as quiet as a coffee maker turning on can wake me up? Fell asleep sitting up on the couch again last night and there isn’t any reason for it…I really didn’t do much yesterday but have the new tires put on the car and get a bike ride in….so to be that tired is strange…I did get to 5 days without ibuprofen or allergy meds and I now remember why I was taking the ibuprofen…it hurt like crazy on the bike yesterday and then the rest of the day and I survived it but it wasn’t fun….and my legs have a low grade throb today that I don’t want to have on the bike…it was damn cold yesterday and it is going to be today too, was in full thermasuit like mid winter and that will be the plan today….but that’s the only thing I have to do today and it feels good to have a whole day to do whatever I want…I do need to put the locking lugs back on the car but that is about it…I think part of my tiredness from yesterday is that I feel the depression coming back and I was near the edge of the cliff all night last night….haven’t felt that way in a while and I’m not sure if there was a trigger for it or not…there doesn’t need to be as anyone who goes through it knows but I still look for them just in case…feel better this morning so maybe I can avoid it this time….Pink Floyd is putting their concerts on youtube starting today at noon with “Pulse”, the concert they did in support of the “Division Bell” so that may give me something to do for a while today….still haven’t gotten my stimulus money yet but I think it’s not supposed to be deposited until next week so no big deal…I did get notice that my new earbuds are going to be here Sunday and that is cool….and that order includes my new electric toothbrush and a spare tube for the bike that will come in handy….haven’t had a flat on the new bike yet but it will happen….more later….