Author Archives: Joel

…it hadn’t occurred to me to wonder what the 2008 “recession” did to it. The linked article is ostensibly about Amazon exploiting an unorthodox resource in filling its need for seasonal workers (apparently robots don’t do quite as big a … Continue reading →

LB can’t be fooled or forced into swallowing pills. It’s like his superpower or something. So I have to crush them and serve the powder with canned dog food. He’ll snarf that down without question or pause. So he’s gonna … Continue reading →

Me: I buried my dog two weeks ago. Vet: (long pause) Oh. I’ve actually had that conversation. Word for word. It sort of stuck in my memory. And I’m not saying the vet was responsible for that particular dog’s death, … Continue reading →

Except for one growth on a paw that went away on its own, LB has never apparently had a moment of ill health in his life. He’s pushing nine years old, though, and I think we’ve found one. On the … Continue reading →

Or you could visit Venezuela and do it the Socialist way. Not as peaceful, probably, but you’ll starve just as surely. Maduro Drops All Pretense, Vows to Become a Dictator to Ensure “Economic Peace” in Venezuela “I want to do … Continue reading →

…since first I learned to love it. Winter must be coming; the phone rang and people wanted me to haul off pallets and junk wood. Last winter I didn’t use half my cut firewood, so this autumn will be an … Continue reading →

Dig this: After months of anticipation and leaked excerpts, virtually every minute of which has been filled with negative criticism, Hillary’s big book What Happened Is That It’s Totally Not My Fault has been released. To…exclusively five-star reviews on Amazon? … Continue reading →

There’s probably a book about this somewhere. Oh, hell. Who am I kidding? There’s probably a whole literary genre about this. People like to mock selfies, and I’ve joined in even though – just like probably 98% of the other … Continue reading →

In Surprise Vote, House Passes Amendment to Restrict Asset Forfeiture Civil asset forfeiture is a practice by which law enforcement can take assets from a person who is suspected of a crime, even without a charge or conviction. Sessions revived … Continue reading →

I never badmouth a gift. I got two high-dollar inverters for free, okay? The idea of two of them was that my benefactor had the notion he could wire their outputs together and that didn’t work out. Which means I’ve … Continue reading →

Last year somebody published a book by that title, a polemical rant about the “Progressive” agenda and how hostile it is toward religion (except Islam, of course, because it’s much safer to oppress Episcopalians) and those evil tools of the … Continue reading →

British girl finds sword in legendary pool A young British girl swimming at a lake in the United Kingdom believed to hold the legendary King Arthur’s famous sword happened upon a shiny sword herself. Matilda Jones, 7, was swimming with … Continue reading →

Since changing email addresses there’s been a (small, so far) downside I was too clueless to anticipate: I’ve re-entered the world of email spam. And since the new address is technically or at least sounds like a business address, it’s … Continue reading →

I really must be becoming an old hand because once this would really have freaked me out. You know what a tarantula hawk is? It’s an enormous wasp with bright red wings, very distinctive, and it’s said to have the … Continue reading →

Not a lot going on today. I’ve got Ghost duty, so I need to be at S&L’s several times today. Just finished baking bread and it’s cooling on the counter. Kind of nodding off in the reading chair whenBEEEPbuzzzBLEEEPbuzzzBLEEEPbuzzzBLEEEP Wha! … Continue reading →

Did you evacuate your chickens?

I got some good news this morning. You might recall my brother and sister-in-law bugged out a few days ago from their lifelong home which happened, through no fault of its own, to be right smack dab in the frickin’ … Continue reading →

I’ve been officially done wiring the addition several times now. Always turns out there’s another tweak I should have thought of. Earlier in the week I laid out the bedroom furniture for my guests to ooh and ah over… …and … Continue reading →

It occurred to me last evening, as I was settling in with a book before bed, that I’ve created a rather pleasant thing. I’ve got to haul all this furniture out of here now so I can clear-coat the floor … Continue reading →

First of all, apologies for no post yesterday; (don’t tell anybody but) I overindulged a bit the evening before at a get-together at Landlady’s house, and woke feeling a bit, er, wretched. Just wasn’t feeling the urge to tickle the … Continue reading →