Author Archives: Joel

Why, when I was your age we said “while.” And we liked it that way. This has to do with a possible (recurring!) paying gig I’m rather anxious to land. Apparently people in the Commonwealth say whilst a lot. What’s … Continue reading →

Glorious – if rather cold – morning. Yesterday was a complete mess. Sun never once came out, heavy overcast with lots of wind, snow started at dusk, lots more wind and a little snow overnight. But this morning is one … Continue reading →

Winter has arrived at the Gulch. Cold, wind, and our first sprinkling of snow… This already-melting dusting wouldn’t be worth any action if it were on the panels on my roof. In fact it’s worse on the panels on my … Continue reading →

Various police-stroking organizations hope they’ll have better luck with Trump than they ever did with Obama. Unfortunately they probably will. Clutching to his breast that ol’ false dichotomy, Obama’s condemnation of police abuses far too often took the form of … Continue reading →

…when rats discovered the delicious, delicious taste of extension cords. And the trouble with that is that Landlady’s continued water supply in winter requires a heat tape on the cistern’s outlet pipe. Which is about 35 feet from the nearest … Continue reading →

…from wherever they’ve been. I stopped seeing deer sign well over a year ago when the cattlemen fixed the watering station and drove a bunch of cattle into my part of the desert, far from the county road. Last summer … Continue reading →

From the wise gray solons at NYT… My brother-in-law is a police officer. He carries a gun, even off duty. He comes to visit us once a year. I told my sister I do not feel comfortable having a gun … Continue reading →

Black Lives Matter Plans To Block White-Owned Businesses On Black Friday Black Lives Matter and other groups plan to block white-owned Chicago stores on Black Friday to bring awareness about police shootings, economic issues and alleged racism. Tell me which … Continue reading →

Let’s be careful out there.

It missed last weekend’s pickup apparently by hours, but came up today by an unusual channel. And I don’t know who to thank for this by name, there’s a name on the return address but it doesn’t connect in my … Continue reading →

Via Uncle. My first thought was “The derp, it burns.” But then I thought of situations in California, where I sometimes went without a gun because I feared the cops more than any other possible danger I might encounter, but … Continue reading →

…but thanks to all that rain we got on Monday we’ve had our first heavy frost. Everything is coated in ice, which will be gone the moment it feels the touch of sun or the temp climbs ten degrees. The … Continue reading →

Here’s an actual headline I did not make up… SAFE Act seems to fail at keeping guns from criminals You guys remember the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013, right? It was going to make New … Continue reading →

I actually purchased a book on Amazon. A book I’ve wanted to buy for nearly a year… …the second volume of the Heinlein biography. Got the first one through a generous reader a year ago, but it only goes through … Continue reading →

Last month at the local gun show I encountered a neighbor I don’t spend much time with. He had a table displaying his home-made knives and some of them looked pretty sweet. I told him if I had any money … Continue reading →

…people who properly think ahead don’t have problems like this. 🙂 A month ago when I hurt my shoulder and couldn’t climb the ladder to the loft, I faced the question “well then where will I sleep?” Finally remembered that … Continue reading →

Before this morning I totally did not know this was a thing. Not completely sure I’m happier knowing that it is. Little Bear can find his way around a bush. With a lot of coaching.

The rise in selfie deaths and how to stop them In India, there are more selfie deaths related to trains, which Hemank and his team said are due to “the belief that posing on or next to train tracks with … Continue reading →