Author Archives: Joel

Lookin’ good. Now for the part I really don’t like. I’ve got some puttying to do on knotholes and such, sanding sealer, and sanding. Paint. I hate paint, but sometimes it’s inevitable. Probably hang them before I actually paint them, … Continue reading →

I’m hoping to get a coat of stucco on The Secret Lair before winter, which means I need to order its sign. Every secret lair has a sign. Doesn’t yours? I’ve been carrying around this card from this company that … Continue reading →

Got a call from my neighbor H this morning: “Are you coming over to shovel stalls today?” Well, yeah, guess I’d better do that if I want to keep the gig. Which I definitely do, because GC Guy told me … Continue reading →

Not sure why, but it’s true. I know I’ve always felt the lack. Daughter tries on a friend’s (ill-fitting, for her) armor. All home-made. People do the damndest things, but some of them are cool.

We gather up all the militant “Your imaginary friend is stupid” atheists and all the off-their-meds “rape the unbeliever” “Christians.” We get them all together in one spot. With me so far? Okay, here’s the good part. We put them … Continue reading →

Coming along nicely. This main part is ready to hang. Tomorrow, the smaller cabinet over the stub counter. That should go together pretty quickly, because almost everything’s already cut out and routed. Then we hang them and mount the counter … Continue reading →

This is good. That this was a gang-involved murder is indisputable. With all proper respect to Ron Thomas, however, the grieving father is desperately wrong about one detail: The murderers were not “rogue officers.” Once the gang assault on Kelly … Continue reading →

I know – I’ve got readers who always complain that they can’t download videos. Go someplace where you can and watch this. Do not take a mouthful of coffee before you hit Play. NSFW, BTW. I’m still chortling – and … Continue reading →

Sorry about the crappy photo, I forgot my camera. This is the bones for the main part of the overhead cabinets. I’ve got everything cut out except the 1X2s, but they’ll only take a moment. This bit goes over the … Continue reading →

From Cory Doctorow: Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee voted 19-10 for H.R. 1981, a data-retention bill that will require your ISP to spy on everything you do online and save records of it for 12 months. California Rep Zoe Lofgren, … Continue reading →

Wait. No, on second thought I don’t. When I was a kid they called that armed robbery. Now it’s called “police work.” “Any money seized … is subject to forfeiture,” said John Gill, special counsel to Nichols . “If we … Continue reading →

Sink under the window. The corner cabinet will have one big door on a piano hinge, so I can get at the electrical when I need to. Stove to the right of the stub counter. There won’t be a fridge, … Continue reading →

They’ve been stuccoing. For. Months. Seven days a week. Granted that it’s a big house, but still… They make their own stucco, from native clay and sand mixed with chopped straw. Experimented till they got a mix that wouldn’t wash … Continue reading →

I followed this link from Robb Allen’s blog, and between that and having just visited with a local lady I know, it got me to wondering. When that happens near a keyboard, it often leads to ill-considered posting. It’s not … Continue reading →

Tomorrow, fitting it to the cabin. After that, overhead cabinets! Right now it looks like I might be going with a tiled countertop, which would be more work than I’d planned but look kinda nice across from the identically-tiled stove … Continue reading →

About sixty microseconds after my earlier whining post, the sun came out. An hour later I was at D&L’s cutting lumber. No pix, because around 3:30 the clouds were rolling in fast and I needed to run home and let … Continue reading →

Man sentenced for pamphleteering “It is prohibited for any person or group to engage in any type of First Amendment activities within the main Orange County courthouse complex grounds, unless the First Amendment activities occur within a designated Exempt Zone…” … Continue reading →

Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg: Anonymity Online ‘Has To Go Away’ It’s for the children, of course. Or something. Randi Zuckerberg, Facebook’s marketing director, has a fix for cyberbullying: stop people from doing anything online without their names attached. From what I’ve … Continue reading →

I’m supposed to cut up the wood for my Lair’s kitchen today. I’ve been supposed to do it since Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday were supposed to be geiger counters. GC Guy pushed it back to Tuesday and Wednesday, so there … Continue reading →