Author Archives: Joel

There’s not much in the way of time or energy for blogging just now. Making progress, though! Really! I’ve got lumber enough for the floor and about two walls for the new powerhouse/storage shed. Floor’s completely in now (And that’s … Continue reading →

I’ve got two projects going on, it’s hot, my leg is killing me, I’m in a foul mood, and the ‘pooter is still being run by a partially-sulfated 115 amp-hour battery so I can’t spend hours looking for blog fodder. … Continue reading →

It seems there’s this columnist named David Brooks. I don’t know much about him. What I glean from his writing makes it unlikely he’ll be invited to the Gulch very soon. A couple of days ago there was published a … Continue reading →

Me neither. 🙂 I’ve “killed” him dozens, maybe scores of times and the question never once occurred to me. Turns out there’s a bit of a story behind him, though. Huh. I did not wake up this morning expecting to … Continue reading →

(warning: Picture of excrement ahead) Six months full-time, anyway, since we moved into the Lair in mid-November. The septic system’s been on-line for nearly a year. I confess I decided on the old standard 55-gallon drum thing with a lot … Continue reading →

If you look at the barrel, you will see the emerging muzzle flash. The bullet is immediately behind it, and is about to come spiraling out… fly across 100 meters of sand, and tear into the ribcage of a man … Continue reading →

In response to last week’s bitchfest about a local clean-up gig, I got an email from M saying, in effect, “You’re dumping that stuff in the boonies? Are you nuts? Bring it to my place and dump it next to … Continue reading →

Note to self: Stop readying the comments on stories like this. You know they only make you crazy. Okay. So there’s this lady. She was a singer in a band I never heard of, and she made a lot of … Continue reading →

I’ve complained numerous times that my cat is broken. It may be that these reports were exaggerated. It may be that mistakes, as they say in government, were made. Every evening without fail, Click goes outside at dusk and stays … Continue reading →

That’s the sound of the Secret Lair’s inverter not squealing like a little girl under the dreadful, unsupportable weight of my laptop ‘pooter. And the reason is… Yeah. Which sort of bolsters my all-along contention that efforts to rehab those … Continue reading →

But it would probably poison me. See, this is why I live in the desert with dogs and guns. Right here. The confusion, the incoherence, the contradictions are rife. But the intent comes through loud and clear. I read a … Continue reading →

Wendy McElroy gives what seems to me a pretty good breakdown of the difference between “Going Galt” and “Gulching” and explains why she prefers that first thing. Me, I’m more of a gulcher. Though the word is obviously derived from … Continue reading →

A couple of days ago, just as a lark, I looked up an image of a seventies-era motorcycle helmet. I did this just once. I am now inundated with images of motorcycle helmets every time I open a tab. I … Continue reading →

Yes! More parasites! Very good, class! “We’ve got a couple of sectors in our economy that is still weak. Overall, the private sector has been doing a good job of creating jobs,” Obama said. “The big challenge we have in … Continue reading →

I do. It was a long time ago.

“Different” doesn’t always mean “dependable,” duh. Indeed, in my experience it rarely does.  The percentage of “different” people I meet these days could certainly be described as rather high, and I’ve been very fortunate in that the ones around me … Continue reading →

Okay, so my current (local) paying gig involves a rake. After last year’s fire scare, people are giving thought to the amount of really, profoundly flammable stuff that tends to collect around fencelines and now they want it gone. That’s … Continue reading →

Violent Attack in Scott, Man Accused of Biting Off Chunk of Victim’s Face Okay, I admit it. I said “Yeah, yeah,” and blew it off. Somebody explain again why shotguns are a poor choice against zombies. Um…quickly, please… ETA: Yes, … Continue reading →

…steer clear of all political content, unless we think it’s funny. Or angering. Or when we’re just stuck for something to post. There was always something better to write about or link to than a dumbass recall election in Wisconsin, … Continue reading →

I’m pretty sure there’s still a law against this, and for once I agree with it. Shotgun’s way too much gun. Shamelessly stolen from New Jovian Thunderbolt.