Author Archives: Joel

Wait for it.

Anne McCaffrey is dead at 85. I won’t say she was my very favorite SF writer, it’s been a long time since I read her, because I hate it when they get an idea and then beat it to death … Continue reading →

Hee. They’ve been tweaking the AR design since the mid-sixties, and signs like this are still needed. Kalashnikov got it right in one. Seen here.

Well, the inevitable feline pushback showed up yesterday afternoon. The boys and I came home after shit-shoveling, I opened the door, and Click shot out like a bullet from the barrel of a gun. She hung around the cabin, ignoring … Continue reading →

This is my Leatherman PST II. It’s roughly ten years old. It’s got a lot of wear, but is still fairly functional. I’ve wanted to replace it ever since I had trouble with the pliers back in the Great Tie … Continue reading →

He’s a crotchety, socially maladept hermit who lives alone by choice with dogs and a cat… Boy, you write one little book review…

This problem will eventually go away, but for a while I’m pretty clearly going to have a problem with electrical availability. One or two CFLs will work fine at any time, even after a very overcast day. When the sun … Continue reading →

Ol’ Bugeyes brings out all the ol’ historic lies: Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez was arrested in connection with what prosecutors describe as a drive-by shooting in which a semiautomatic weapon was used to fire nine bullets into the White House’s back … Continue reading →

See, this is why we need government right here. Brussels bureaucrats were ridiculed yesterday after banning drink manufacturers from claiming that water can prevent dehydration. EU officials concluded that, following a three-year investigation, there was no evidence to prove the … Continue reading →

Into each day off-grid some shite must fall. This morning that was literal, though the “off-grid” part wasn’t really to blame. Having stayed up fairly late by my standards, I expected to sleep in somewhat. Instead I heard a dog … Continue reading →

On the rare occasions when I review books here I normally expect they’re already known, if not necessarily read, by TUAK readers. They’ve been around long enough that most people are probably already familiar with the contents, making it unnecessary … Continue reading →

Of course, now that there’s nothing left to talk about, this may be recorded as the date of the internets’ decline… Unless you’re willing to shoot yourself to prove the point, please stop telling me the 9mm/.380/5.56/40/SacredCow sucks. I don’t … Continue reading →

It’s so quick and easy! All you need is one or more of these… …and to be in possession of a legally-registered “silencer.” Seriously. The rationale Spencer uses: A silencer is a firearm per U.S. Code, subject to National Firearms … Continue reading →

Gave her time to explore and settle down, then opened one of my two cans of salmon. (I don’t have any chicken.) Tried to introduce her to the cat ladder through the time-honored device of putting her food there. Loved … Continue reading →

Last couple of nights the boys spent in the Lair while I worked out what logistical problems I’d overlooked. So far, pretty good. While that’s been going on Click’s pretty much been left to her own devices – I give … Continue reading →

I mean that in the nicest possible way. Via Carl, this morning I visited the nauseating LEO Pro Cards site. Like Carl, my first thought would have been that it’s a satire. But it seems as though they’re actually serious, … Continue reading →

or “How can you be in two places at once when you’re not anywhere at all? Right about eight in the AM I got a call from my neighbors D&L. “Have you got a controlled burn going or something?” “No. … Continue reading →

It was about 3am, which lately is about average for the time I wake up. Normally, this time of year, I slide out from the (several) blankets, hop to let Ghost out, hop to the benjo, set the heater on … Continue reading →

Today, after hauling my drinking water from the Lair to the Property for over a year and on the virtual eve of moving into the Lair, I had to haul water to the Lair. I was sick over it. Friday … Continue reading →