Author Archives: Joel

When Tam passed by. Seriously, every time she does this it’s like the Angel of Pageview passed over the Lair.

Light clouds blew off early, leaving temperatures just a touch below freezing but warming fast. It’s supposed to scrape the bottom side of sixty today and stay clear. Which sets us up for the next two days, which promise cold, … Continue reading →

If, at the conclusion of a night of existential angst, the best inspiration you can come up with is Buck Owens (and “Monster’s Holiday” at that), consider the possibility that you’ve severely misspent a good portion of your intellectual life. … Continue reading →

Yeah, so as you might imagine I spent last night thoughtfully. Damn near sleeplessly, in fact. I thought about many things last night. You could say my life passed before my eyes, and the story didn’t exactly fill me with … Continue reading →

So today I went to the big town to get a lens prescription for new specs. That was all I had in mind. And the optometrist does a bunch of tests, and her eyes get kind of big. And she … Continue reading →

To get my eyes examined. See y’all later.

I’ve tracked down the updating problem some folks have mentioned to the host site, forgottenweapons.com. If you arrive here at the Gulch and can’t see any update, just hit reload. Hopefully the problem will be fixed soon, but there’s nothing … Continue reading →

Had a little incident last night. This morning, actually. Scared the crap out of me, even though I was pretty sure even at the time that there was nothing to be afraid of. Long-time readers will recall that last winter … Continue reading →

This morning the long johns came out of the drawer. I hate long johns. If nothing else, they greatly complicate the matter of wearing a prosthetic leg. This winter I’ll probably give in to the temptation of cutting off a … Continue reading →

While looking around for something else, I came upon this, um, artistic homage to the old Conan movie. Y’know, now that I think about it, Robert E. Howard and Wagner probably would have understood one another.

I’d heard all sorts of stories about these simple, standard boxwood stoves getting so hot they glowed red. Mine seemed in absolutely no danger of doing any such thing, no matter if I stoked it like a locomotive. For the … Continue reading →

H/T to Claire.

Government slams Sandy victims with “failure to maintain property” citations Would that be before or after they were forbidden to approach the properties by all those armed men? This story would have gone into my “Yeah? What’s new?” memory hole … Continue reading →

How I wished I had a camera this morning. Must be four times I shooed Zoe off the stove, where she was determined to stay. The last time I found her very delicately perched on top of my teapot. Damndest … Continue reading →

The first evening and morning with the new stove were a definite improvement. Unlike the old one, this one will produce an actual draft. The paint smell wasn’t as bad as I feared; there was no reason to heat it … Continue reading →

Yesterday I was forced into a brief explanation with a neighbor about one of my more peculiar financial arrangements – specifically, that I don’t have or want any bank account. For those few matters that require plastic, I prefer debit … Continue reading →

…before we expand it. Yes, the beloved, heroic republicans. Standing athwart the rising cost of government and shouting, “Me too!” Tom Coburn, a leading deficit hawk, said Wednesday he would support higher tax rates on wealthier Americans as part of … Continue reading →

Where supermarket Santas come from. But beware – the trade in these exotic creatures is not without its dangers. (go to the second video.)

Sort of. Sorry about pic quality. Of course I made a mistake. Should have left it outdoors while I heated it up to cure the paint. Now I’ll have to stink the place up a few times. ETA: The paint … Continue reading →

“Your stove’s in.” You guys have a nice morning. I’m on my way to town.