Author Archives: Joel

Yes, that’s the tractor on the side of the road. It ran so very well yesterday. I HATE INTERMITTENT FAULTS! The one thing I know for sure is that fuel is entering the injector pump very enthusiastically, leaving it not … Continue reading →

H/T to NJT.

I built the Lair with a failed electrical system in mind – it was one of the few things I got right from the start. An off-grid solar power system is like a boat in one sense: It is a … Continue reading →

Been a while since I started ol’ Gulchy up. Engine’s fine, but the battery seems to have died. I have an old marine battery I use for such occasions, it seems pretty much immortal. But it’s too tall and the … Continue reading →

Neighbor J has conned me – against my outspoken better judgment – into helping him move a 20′ cargo container (tare weight just north of 5000 pounds) by dragging it with Ian’s tractor, the mighty and geriatric Gulchendiggensmoothen. This will … Continue reading →

…of the eggs coming from the chickens in the Big Chickenhouse and also the Fortress of Attitude. And I have noticed – and commented to Landlady – that the count from her chickens was dropping. Now I know why, of … Continue reading →

When the eggs started arriving, they showed up all over the place. So I looked all over the place. Then the ladies settled down and started using the nesting boxes exclusively…or so it seemed. And so I foolishly relaxed. Y’know … Continue reading →

So how’s Obamacare doing these days? I don’t hear much about it since the furor over that dumb website died down. Not so hot, it seems. And certainly not because of those nefarious republicans. As February draws near, things don’t … Continue reading →

I have one 230 A/h battery sitting on the floor of the powershed, and the original plan was to go ahead and connect it to my one remaining sorta-good 186 A/h battery. That battery is deteriorating so quickly I’m glad … Continue reading →

Heh. H/T to Unc. ETA: Click here if you don’t get the joke…

Sometimes Uncle Joel has a bad day. You know the sort of day I mean, you probably have them too. Nothing goes quite right, then something goes wrong, then something goes worse, and your mood gets darker and darker, and … Continue reading →

A couple of years ago a friend sold me two good used six-volt deep-cycle marine batteries for a price so low it was virtually charity, and they have done me good service since the big electrical system rebuild of 2012. … Continue reading →

You know how people spend a few days in the boonies and can’t wait to get back to civilization? There’s nothing to do, it’s too quiet, their cell reception sucks, there’s a thousand good reasons. That’s how you know they’re … Continue reading →

What exactly does a “smart toilet” do better than a dumb one? In California I knew a guy in the movie biz who had networked his whole house. First time I ever saw a connected toaster, first time I ever … Continue reading →

Hanging around the phone this morning, waiting for word on the Jeep. Shop owner has promised an extensive list of other ways in which the poor thing has been neglected, none of which are likely to come as a surprise. … Continue reading →

In fairness, Ghost is not actually a wimp. He’s not as young as he used to be, not as fast, not as prone to think picking a fight with a wildcat or enraging a Mexican long-horned cow with a calf … Continue reading →

Conversations in the little town nearest where I live can be startling. My neighbor Geiger Counter Guy followed me in his Toyota as I limped Landlady’s Jeep over roads it hasn’t visited since T died almost six years ago to … Continue reading →

…and that’s all I have to say about that. Jeep’s spending its first night in a shop since I met it.