Author Archives: Joel

It’s so simple I don’t understand why they didn’t think of it before. Far cheaper and more direct than all that TSA harassment. On Sunday, a United Airlines passenger was pulled from his plane seat and dragged off the aircraft … Continue reading →

The Iron Law of Cui Bono: Who did what to whom in Syria, and why? The attack against Shayrat Air Base, the first U.S. military action against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in six years of civil war, was allegedly retaliation for … Continue reading →

One of Big Brother’s latest care packages contained a toy for Little Bear. I keep meaning to see if there’s a website with ideas for how to get the best use out of it. I drop a few of his … Continue reading →

Before Landlady got the latest generation of hens, the local dollar store dropped the price of eggs to .99 a dozen. That’s not great encouragement to keep raising chickens. Once they finally get their growth the appetite of laying hens … Continue reading →

So I understand that at some point in the recent past, Trump ordered a cruise missile strike on some person/people/thing in Syria. Because the Syrian guy used chemical weapons on some person/people/thing – if it seems I haven’t exhaustively studied … Continue reading →

Because the laundry is moving outdoors! Yay! The air is at shirtsleeve temperature by the middle of the morning but the water in the tank is still kind of cold. Neighbor L is still laundering my winter clothes because my … Continue reading →

I’ve been fussing about in the yard, where the woodshed and the burning barrels used to be. The new woodshed will be located just in front of where the barrels were, and it will be constructed of more permanent materials … Continue reading →

So this morning after walkies I hustled the boys right into the Jeep for chicken chores, because today’s supposed to be a lot nicer than yesterday and I wanted to get back home and get started on yard cleanup. The … Continue reading →

A change of weather is frequently heralded by a windstorm. Last night we got one that made me very happy I don’t live on a ridgetop. The wind roared through, right up the wash channel, slamming into the Lair enough … Continue reading →

24 T-105s, charging from 12 200-watt panels. Not that they have to charge very much, since the inverter and support equipment are the only loads these particular batteries ever see. By comparison, I just recently installed 4 older T-105s and … Continue reading →

I mean, I had a good night’s sleep. But…

This to announce that, for the repeated infraction of injuring hens of the current generation for no apparent reason, Principal Seymour Skinner has been referred for a separation counseling conference with the Gulch’s personnel director for avian affairs, Chicken Jesus. … Continue reading →

Ghost is visiting the Lair through Thursday while S&L are in the city. And what happened to my svelte young man? He’s been with S&L almost exactly a year now, and he’s taking this ‘prosperous retirement’ thing far too seriously. … Continue reading →

Here is an incredible time sink with hundreds of photos in proof of the thesis. Please take it away before I use up my whole month’s bandwidth allotment. h/t

First, the gelsock final report… And the very fine final count is … Which is a number 50% higher than my fondest, most unrealistic hope. I nursed 10 or 12 of these along for over two years. Since I plan … Continue reading →

I have to run, it’s my last chance to make a fuel run and I’m down to my last few molecules of gasoline. But I just wanted to briefly say… The gelsocks have arrived! 🙂

“Periods of sun and clouds,” they said. “Possible afternoon shower,” they said. It’s snowing like there was a big sale at the snow store.

He sent me an email titled “F*cking awesome!” Which is the first time I recall him ever using that word. Not saying it’s the first time he ever did use it. The context was this… SpaceX, the first company ever … Continue reading →

D&L wanted to go to the dump, of which fact they informed me while I was sleeping in this morning. So suddenly things got busy; I had to go to S&L’s and drop something off, tend chickens, walk dog, hitch … Continue reading →

Students Confess Their Sins At ‘Masculinity Confession Booth’ A university will be hosting a “Masculinity Confession Booth” along with a number of other workshops and screenings to combat “hypermasculinity.” “We have all reinforced hypermasculinity one way or another regardless of … Continue reading →