Author Archives: Joel

I sold myself into indentured servitude for the Lair’s flooring, and today D&L called in the first installment. Pray for us sinners as I unload and stack a ton of pellets for their new stoves. Also it’s shit-shoveling day. Also … Continue reading →

I said I’d meet winter with a full woodshed, and it looks like for once I’ll keep a work-related promise. Got a good start on the final tier today. Cut some roadkill juniper this morning, then split and stacked it … Continue reading →

Heh. Given enough time, maybe Americans can remember their roots and go back to being the bunch of ungovernable hooligans they’re supposed to be. In my perfect world, “law-abiding citizen” would be at least a mild insult.

But my first reaction on reading this was, “If they see this and still believe there’s any future in trusting the government…” What? Finish the sentence, Joel. You’ll what? Lose all faith in them? The bus stopped along a road … Continue reading →

Last time I assumed that position was on a very unpleasant occasion. I don’t want to see your dumb game quite that badly. H/T to Codrea.

I worked for a company once, when that company shut down. The company shut down because it spent more money than it took in. It was spending money on things like me, while I was producing a product not enough … Continue reading →

I carried a Leatherman PST II from sometime in 2000 until late 2011. I loved that tool, used it daily. It finally got worn enough that I went looking for a replacement. Bought a SOG Powerlock and instantly found reason … Continue reading →

Honestly, I’m not sure how I got that impression. Maybe it’s because over the years I’ve had some unimpressive results from shooting critters with pistols, and I just don’t trust any of them. Maybe it’s because I used to compete … Continue reading →

Make an appointment with a service technician. Tell him he should park his van at a particular cattle gate, remote from anywhere, where he’ll be met by a guy in a Jeep. Have him follow the Jeep for miles and … Continue reading →

To my shock, I got a call from a service technician who then actually showed up. I hardly knew how to behave, it only took them six tries. Turns out there was nothing wrong with the equipment. As some commenters … Continue reading →

Remember the good old days when wondering if the Government was spying on your phone meant you were paranoid instead of correct? The Adaptive Curmudgeon is one of the best things on the Interblogs today. Read his serialized adventures and … Continue reading →

Scattered here and there in the desert are some very bad ideas. Some are honest but ill-advised efforts at doing something unconventional. Some might have worked out well with better funding. And some just seem put there to make me … Continue reading →

Yeah, I know Landlady still calls him “Stripey.” But seriously, who names anything Stripey? Anyway, he seems to have gotten the impression from somewhere that roosters are supposed to be absurdly, irrationally aggressive. He didn’t read far enough into that … Continue reading →

I don’t know what I could have changed in my life to prevent things like Nancy Pelosi, but somehow the sight of her saying things like this with a straight face still makes me feel a little guilty. I’m really … Continue reading →

Monsoon ended abruptly, and my satellite modem is coming back into service far less abruptly. Whatever the rain, or atmospheric conditions, or whatever, killed is slowly rising from the grave. Last night I had a weak connection from sundown till … Continue reading →

For the moment, the weather has turned seasonal: pleasantly cool and sunny with crisp mornings that never go near freezing. But we had frost in September, which tells me I need to be using this interlude to button the place … Continue reading →

With the weather improving, I’ve been getting brief, fitful moments when the modem is working – but only in early morning. Can’t count on it, can’t upload pics, must post fast before it fades away. Wildblue tech canceled again, now … Continue reading →

In this fleeting moment of apparent connectivity I’ll tell you that there’s yet another Wildblue service call supposedly scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. This will be the fourth such scheduled visit, and of course even if Service Guy deigns to show … Continue reading →