Author Archives: Joel

Good News! I’ve got (almost) everything I need to tile the Secret Lair’s floor! Turns out I still need about $50 worth of waterproofing, but why stick at that when I’ve already sold myself into indentured servitude to D&L to … Continue reading →

(The satellite modem is working this morning. I don’t know why, but assume it’s planning to make me look bad in front of the service guy. “Who, me? I’ve been working all along! He just doesn’t know how to use … Continue reading →

I have a rooster. I’m just saying. Seems like lately, on those rare occasions when I can write on my own goddam blog, all I want to write about is the damned chickens. That’s because lately my relationship with the … Continue reading →

…there are places where you shouldn’t scrimp if you don’t have to. I use this sink for everything. I take baths in it, wash clothes in it, butcher chickens in it. Sometimes I even wash dishes in it. And every … Continue reading →

Hey, look! It’s connected again! Funny story time. I’m always looking for edibles I can scrounge to keep the chicken feed costs down. I’ve tried the bald ladies on every sort of grass that grew during this very fecund Monsoon. … Continue reading →

I just booted up the modem out of nostalgia or something, and to my shock it actually connected. It’s six in the AM and I’m just getting my first coffee down so I don’t actually have anything to say except … Continue reading →

My weekender neighbors S&L have one of these: And they lent it to me over the weekend, and it’s just the slickest thing I’ve seen since my first glimpse at a wireless laptop. I’ve never really seen one before. Landlady … Continue reading →

No, I’m not really back. I’m just playing with my neighbor’s hotspot which is very cool in a Magic Elf Box* kinda way, sort of works, and is v-e-r-r-r-y s-l-l-o-o-o-w. Hey, kids! Do you know what happens when you drop … Continue reading →

As first-world problems go, this one isn’t quite in the class of a cholera outbreak. After all I lived quite happily without this “Internet” thing until I was well over 30 years old. On the other hand it isn’t like … Continue reading →

Sorry, guys. I figured a few folks might speculate, but until I got a call from Claire yesterday it didn’t occur to me that anybody might actually worry. That pesky ratio of hermits to people skills is showing its ugly … Continue reading →

Monsoon has a usual pattern. Sun in the morning, apocalyptic storm in the afternoon, breeze in the evening. There are variations, sure, because nothing is ever sure or completely to be depended on. But that’s the usual. But now it’s … Continue reading →

Gotta go get my eyes checked and my glaucoma meds renewed. Here’s something I saw on reddit, apropos the earlier discussion about cops and gunz…

Ian (and some other guy) at Forgotten Weapons… Bloody hell!

Landlady and Ian came up yesterday, and among other things we needed to discuss what to do with the male pullets. They’re about four and a half months old now, and the cockerels are clearly marked from the hens, and … Continue reading →

Just in case you didn’t know. And I don’t feel like sitting in front of a ‘pooter. I’ve other stuff to do before the rain, which looks inevitable. During the rain, of course, the modem won’t work. I’m afraid I’m … Continue reading →

I was out doing some chores, listening to the radio in the Jeep. And it’s either talk radio or country music, so don’t hate me, but I did hear something I never expected to hear ever. Sean Hannity has found … Continue reading →

A little over a year ago TUAK moved from its old location to the current one. Haven’t regretted it for a second, but I still go to the old blog daily because that one’s blogroll is set up for my … Continue reading →

Drove Gulchendiggensmoothen down to the wash below Ian’s place, scooped up a bucket of sand. Drove it to J’s. Dumped it. Went to the wash below his place for more. The water in the wash that runs by our place … Continue reading →

Seems like all I’ve done lately is dig ditches. And re-dig ditches. The past couple of days have been nicer, and other chores have been impatiently tapping their toes. Ian’s tractor, for example. Its engine gave me some scary stumbles … Continue reading →

(link) Yes, it makes for cool video. But the volume of greenhouse gases released is simply unacceptable. Please consider composting instead.