Author Archives: Joel

There are a few things I miss from ze old days as Mr. Suburban Man. Not many. But high on the list is monte cristo sandwiches. It’s a ham and cheese sandwich fried in egg batter and served with raspberry … Continue reading →

Ian’s selling his Willys. The Jeep needs a little starter work, I’m told. The 1919 is converted to be a crank-operated semiautomatic, so there are no imperial entanglements. C’mon, you know you always wanted a belt-fed. I can testify it … Continue reading →

I’m not going anywhere with that title, it’s just something Landlady said last weekend and I had to look it up because I don’t remember ever having heard it. I do, in fact, chop wood and carry water these days. … Continue reading →

Alert Reader MR sent me a link to something called foodrising.org, which appears to be pushing a simple and small-scale hydroponic gardening system that looks like it would be very interesting if only one were willing to subscribe, give the … Continue reading →

Yesterday was windy – knock you on your ass and roll you across the yard windy – and that generally means the weather is gonna change. So it snowed overnight and most of this morning, but never got very cold. … Continue reading →

Regular readers know I’ve had some harsh things to say over the years about David Grossman and his “Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs” metaphor. People won’t listen to me – go figure – and the ‘sheepdog’ thing keeps popping up as … Continue reading →

Mature adults carry their weapons. Because why would you deliberately choose to be helpless?

What next? You going to let school children point fingers and say “pew pew?” Chaos! Anarchy! Foods sold at school fundraisers no longer have to comply with federal smart snack requirements, eliminating what Arizona schools chief Diane Douglas calls “overreach … Continue reading →

Finished up the fenceposts for D&L’s riding arena this morning. All treated 4X6s, most of them planted 3 feet down. I assumed they were planning a fence to protect any horses who happened to be training in there from the … Continue reading →

I get those mixed up sometimes. And I’m just voiding myself in terror at the sight of these earnestly elite jihadis whom I’ve been assured are coming to kill me, or forbid me to eat bacon, or whatever… Seriously…I’ve seen … Continue reading →

He’s been in the news the past couple of days for saying something uncomplimentary about Obama, so everybody loves him. Which in turn reminds me of the day he left my Christmas card list forever… We look upon authority too … Continue reading →

I watch that, glance over at Little Bear, and just sort of sigh. LB and I have a game called “Go around” in which Little Bear, having wrapped his cable around a tree or the sawjack or a tiny clump … Continue reading →

So I’m getting the day running this morning by loading Little Bear into the Jeep, and Ghost is nowhere to be seen. He does this sometimes, nothing personal, he’s just off chasing something at a bad time. I call and … Continue reading →

You mean a few that are worse than the regular rotten bunch, right, deputy? In an otherwise rather mundane article about routine police corruption, witness this unintentionally ironic exchange. Jeffery Schultz: You mentioned specifically “implicating a black person.” Does your … Continue reading →

Though things have slowed down a bit. Every evening I rebait the traps that need it, and set two under the Jeep’s hood… Two traps, no waiting. I’ve only caught two rats under the hood during the whole Campaign of … Continue reading →

“…And the fewer who don’t even care.” Miscellany on an undeservedly beautiful day. I moved the laundry operation back outdoors this morning. Didn’t even have to heat the water to get it…well, not warm precisely but not at all numbing. … Continue reading →

I just wonder how many have $1500? Courtesy of Unc, I give you the Taurus First 24 kit! Because in the first 24 hours of any emergency, all you’ll need is a dumb little suitcase full of poorly-chosen weapons. At … Continue reading →

I’m agnostic on the subject of vaccines in general, but lately have been annoyed by one “conservative” after another declaring them utterly safe and absolutely essential to the working of civilized society. People skeptical of vaccination, in their view, are … Continue reading →

…is not the easiest thing to accomplish.That’s Neighbor D. Last year we put in their round pen, but L also wants an arena. Took several days to clear out some junipers and months, off and on, to get the land … Continue reading →