Author Archives: Joel

Zoe gave me a bit of a scare this morning. I went to bed late, and Zoe was doing her usual late-evening spastic ninja routine. Everything was fine. But she didn’t come up to visit me like she usually does, … Continue reading →

I think my time with the chickens is coming to an end. It’s been educational, and I will definitely miss the eggs. The bottom line, from a hassle/benefit standpoint, is that chickens appear to be very low-maintenance livestock. I let … Continue reading →

Okay, I lied about no blog. A little over a week ago I mentioned that that bastard Ian finally finished the coolest toy ever. At the time there was some question about how he’d mounted the gun to the roll … Continue reading →

Woke up this morning to heavy overcast, a day earlier than forecast, after spending the whole evening with the ‘pooter on. So the batteries are low, though not nearly as bad as they were before the upgrade. Lord, how much … Continue reading →

I could look it up to be sure and look all smart, but who cares? Anyway, I woke up to find that the American electorate had just re-upped Bill for-god’s-sake Clinton. And although it’s true the other team had found … Continue reading →

Something there is that doesn’t love a government. I can’t excerpt it and do it a bit of justice. Just go read it.

I’ve got a keyboard gig that kept me indoors all morning. All through it, both cats shared the big chair beside my desk with an appearance of amity – as long as they were both asleep. Click woke up and … Continue reading →

Happy election day, voters.

A Weary Nation Loses Interest in Election UNITED STATES OF AMERICA — Having finally been broken by months of incessant media coverage, the American people no longer really care who wins the presidential election anymore. Although voting day is tomorrow, … Continue reading →

Straightforward intentions, anyway. Can’t say how honest he was. Happy V for Vendetta Day! H/T to Claire. Remember remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason Should ever be forgot…

We should also never forget another pillar of our democracy: The ability of the United States government to transfer power and negotiate legislative differences in a peaceful and orderly fashion (the one notable exception in our history being the bloody … Continue reading →

I’d like to justify myself by claiming it was an act of desperation. But in affluent modern America, this is what constitutes desperation: I was overwhelmed with dirty laundry. Normally I hand-wash my stuff in the sink, which is one … Continue reading →

This made me sad. Today, my husband witnessed a wondrous act of resourcefulness. A man with a horse trailer hitched to his truck was filling up individual 5 gallon jugs of gas in order to transport them back to New … Continue reading →

Hee. This guy’s a hoot. He should be a comedian, or something. Bill Maher Warns Romney Supporters: ‘Black People Know Who You Are and They Will Come After You’ If by “Hope and Change” you mean “I Hope this won’t … Continue reading →

It looks as though I’m actually going to be able to replace my glasses in the next couple of months. That’ll come as a big improvement, I hope. Early next month I’m going to the big town about fifty miles … Continue reading →

There’s big news on the M’s Dome front, and I wanted to show you but I can’t. The software in Claire’s old faithful digital camera seems to have taken a dump. Or maybe there really is something wrong with the … Continue reading →

Brad McElroy’s “The Eight Stages of Voting.” Go and read. Sounds familiar.

Well, it’s coming up on two weeks now and all the chickens are still alive. Productive, too – 2-3 eggs a day. Which means somebody’s letting me down. But that raises a question for the chicken-raisers out there: You’ve got … Continue reading →

A week or so ago I mentioned that I’m working on my very first ebook, titled “A Solar Electric System On the Cheap, On the Fly, and Off the Grid”. Unlike most of my projects this one trotted along just … Continue reading →

How long has it been since that big storm in the northeast? Weeks? Months? Seems like only a few days ago, but it must be longer than that because people can’t possibly have been this unprepared. I refuse to … … Continue reading →