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They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means “The Ultimate Argument of Kings,” and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. “We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it’s about: You’ll do as I say or I’ll send my goons to kill you.”
I thought about that for a long time. If there’s an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I’ve got bullets – he’s got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that’s not going to happen. So if there’s an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain’t bullets.
It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.
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Author Archives: Joel
The desert is blooming…
Nice cool morning for a walkie… The cliff roses are in full bloom. These are the only really aromatic flowers in the Gulch, so right now everything smells like too much perfume. The yucca are just beginning to bloom. In … Continue reading
Beautiful day for a bike ride…
Monday morning water run got cancelled. Don’t know if it’ll be rescheduled for later in the week or no. No problem, I have plenty of drinking water and plenty of groceries but this did provide an excellent excuse to go … Continue reading
Didn’t quite make it. This time.
Every spring I have to get my wind back before I can take long dog-less walkies. Because I hate cold, and mostly cocoon through winters. The dog helps with the conditioning process but he can’t come on real expeditions. When … Continue reading
All good things…
A gift from Ian I’ve been milking for well over a year… Shared a glass with a guest in January, leaving one shot in the bottle. Finally figured what the hell, may as well polish it off. If you fancy … Continue reading
Tobie belatedly gets his bone
Busy day. Did laundry and yard chores till 11:30 when I had to run meet D&L for the long drive to the Palace of Food. Didn’t actually get home to the Lair till 3:30 because I walked a bunch of … Continue reading
“Son of a…”
Tomorrow is Senior Day at the Palace of Food, which has become a monthly ritual with D & L & I with the continuing deterioration of the crappy little food market in the crappy little town nearest where I live. … Continue reading
Getting the Lair into summer mode…
The woodstove has been put to bed for weeks now… …but I left the pilot lit in the bedroom heater for that occasional frosty night. But now it’s May and they’ll become rare enough that I don’t need to spend … Continue reading
Tobie identifies as someone who can tell time.
4:53. Near as makes no difference, it’s time for supper and evening walkie. And you better believe he knows it. Seriously, this dog’s sense of when the important stuff is supposed to happen verges on uncanny.
More signs of Spring…
I don’t buy chicks at the local feed store, having done it once and run into severe quality control issues. But I welcome the sight of new chicks as a sign of Spring. And Phoebe, who’s been hanging around for … Continue reading
The problem with an old man writing an adventure blog…
This is the approach to the Lair from the wash on a pretty extremely typical Spring day… As you see, excitement galore. On the one hand this is exactly the way I like it: People come here and exclaim at … Continue reading
And the great cycle of BDU begins again…
I really prefer BDUs in the summer. But the older I get the more wearing surplus camo at my age seems a little silly. So when I got a chance to send a little non-essential money Amazon’s way I began … Continue reading
Sorry…again…
Once again, nothing much going on here. Weather’s much more mild, befitting late April. Wind is trying to scour the earth bare, also befitting late April. I’m just doing chores and reading books. I’ll try to find something blogworthy.
Signs of Spring…
This is the front of the crappy little food market in the crappy little desert town nearest where I live. In the spring, the front columns are always infested with chickadees. Apparently the columns are constructed of concrete blocks with … Continue reading
“Oh! Okay, then. Good.”
Never have I been so happy to have an appliance fail me. Last December I had a problem with the bedroom heater, which (after over ten years without overnight heat) I love beyond measure. It just wasn’t reliable anymore for … Continue reading
Okay, see, this is why I hate cattle.
Tobie got very excited last night around eight. I was in the bedroom reading chair, the window was open, and I thought he was going to insist on sharing the chair with me to get his nose closer to the … Continue reading
I made a logistical plan and it actually worked!
I had this one propane bottle with an iffy valve. Wasn’t leaking, but the bleedoff screw was nearly impossible to move and sometimes the propane guy gets touchy about that. Also sometimes the bottle doesn’t want to fill with it … Continue reading
Trying to save a favorite knife…
It’s nothing fancy, just a Victorinox kitchen knife I could probably replace from Amazon with ease. But it was a gift from a now deceased friend just before I moved into the boonies and I’ve used it several times a … Continue reading
Sorry about that…
Once again just not a lot going on here at the Secret Lair. And not for lack of trying! Spring has sprung… …but of course in April that’s only sporadically a good thing. Temperature’s all over the place and the … Continue reading
I wonder if this is Peak Redneck?
So several years ago I made a couple of signs for the spot where the “road” officially becomes a driveway. I was quite proud of them. They looked nice when new. And yes, I was aware of the inherent problem … Continue reading
Tired of waiting now…
See, this is why I’m not a huge fan of lots of thermal mass in home construction… We’re in the middle of an unseasonably warm spell here at the Gulch. Started yesterday, peaked today, supposed to be gone by Friday. … Continue reading