Author Archives: Joel

Sometimes, in the dark of night, I have to confess I’m really no better than the people I rant against. When I want an event to support my preferred narrative, I’m also prepared to ignore or minimize relevant facts. Yesterday’s … Continue reading →

From here.

…watch her head explode. When Claire lived here I swear you had to confine Ava before you could get anything done with a garden hose. That dog did love to chase a stream of water.

Radley Balko arguing that sending this particular bad shooter cop to prison might not be the right thing to do. Or at least it might not be the most important thing to do. All of that said, watch the video … Continue reading →

Because – and I say this with all the deep respect you deserve – this is not the way to convince people to convert to the ‘religion of pieces.’ I dunno. Maybe they do things differently in Yemen. Almost certainly, … Continue reading →

Ah, the power of positive feedback. For a couple of years now, my old post from the Spring of 2012 on chainsaw maintenance has been getting search engine hits. The more people click on it, the higher its likelihood of … Continue reading →

Most mornings I start out with a pot of coffee and a gentle-to-moderate surf of whatever’s going on out there politically. Sometimes I envy my buddy Ian who’s so outside all things political he refuses to discuss it at any … Continue reading →

Today the object to be repaired is…Joel. Of course in that time styles in prosthetic feet have become substantially less humaniform. And substantially improved. This one was installed in 2008 or 2009 and did marvelous things for my mobility over … Continue reading →

Yesterday I had a phone call from Ian, who was coming up in the evening: “Hey, Joel! I’m standing here in Dillon Precision (because Ian does things like that) and they’ve got .44 bullets. Plus I’ve got your money from … Continue reading →

This is actually pretty good, as NRA videos go. Except may I say that the term “Second amendment right” grates on me a lot. Providing my own self-protection would still be my right if the constitution specifically forbade it. I … Continue reading →

Okay, so Washington D.C. lawmakers stopped kicking and screaming yesterday long enough to pass a concealed carry law. I was amused by the gunbloggers who reported themselves shocked! Shocked! that it was ‘may-issue.’ Seriously, the big news is that a … Continue reading →

Because seriously? ‘Sovereign Citizen’ Terrorist Group May Be Growing in U.S. American law enforcement officials view sovereign citizens as the No. 1 potential terrorist threat in the United States, according to a 2014 study. For those who ask, “Uncle Joel, … Continue reading →

Here’s the world famous woodsman, doing woodsy things to wood. I don’t usually get serious about firewood until sometime in October, but lately it’s been piling up in the yard due to other gigs and needs to be cut and … Continue reading →

I got a phone call from Ian this afternoon. He’s planning to come up Wednesday after his extremely unsatisfactory trip to the Pecos Run & Gun, for which he spent weeks training. “Hey, I’ve got two rather large and extremely … Continue reading →

So there’s been another security breach at the White House. A crazy guy jumped the fence and the highly trained professionals in the Secret Service Security Force forgot to lock the front door, so we must all be punished more. … Continue reading →

“I appreciate your honesty. Not, you know, a lot, but…” Alaskan news reporter files a blatantly biased report, fires herself for it on air, pretty much forecloses any possibility of any future on-air career ever, anywhere, no way, uh uh. … Continue reading →

Roadrunners are relatively rare here, which is why with three quick sightings I think I’ve been seeing the same bird. First it showed up on Landlady’s ridge. Next day in my yard, and then later that afternoon I saw it … Continue reading →

Shamelessly stolen from JDZ… Because dogs would definitely do this. Some dogs, anyway. Ghost would totally do this. In fact he sort of has.

Several years ago when I started baking my own bread, Landlady used to bring in big sacks of flour from Costco. I thought that was really cool, y’know, like a real baker. Then that supply dried up – after a … Continue reading →

…and the winners are often right bastards. Even – maybe especially – when they’re the Good Guys. News of the big vote in Scotland on whether to stay a part of Great Britain was all over the radio and Internet … Continue reading →