Author Archives: Joel

So late this morning, after it had warmed up a bit, the boys and I took a nice walky and then headed down to the Lair for some nice pebble-sifting. This wasn’t my best idea ever. Three hours later I’d … Continue reading →

I’m not saying this video perfectly reflects my views on the topic – it is possible to dump a rucksack faster and less comically than this guy does. But I do sometimes wonder about the efficacy of carrying around all … Continue reading →

Back three winters ago during my Year of Solitude, I learned the hard way that the only way to convert money into nourishment and warmth is to spend it first. Food and fuel will get you through times of no … Continue reading →

I don’t suppose I should be too surprised. Looking back I see that last year’s final snow was also in May – though almost three weeks earlier than this one. But I really did wake this morning to wet, patchy … Continue reading →

…who can easily guess what his delighted announcement in the wake of that idiotic Indiana Supreme Court decision will do to property values as potential immigrants decide they don’t want to live anywhere near him… CROWN POINT, Ind. – According … Continue reading →

Seen over at Unc’s. Some newsies are asking for unwelcome attention from the Blue Boys’ Gang. Don’t they know that the money must be proceeds from nefarious activities? How else could anybody have it? If a person’s still got large … Continue reading →

Well, it’s silly season again. It’s inescapable. And over at The Smallest Minority, I encountered the kind of insulting statement that never fails to get my ruff to stand on end: I’m not worried about the 1/5 of America that … Continue reading →

Neither is Mr. District Attorney, thousands of Law & Order episodes to the contrary notwithstanding. Also, there are times when open carry is dumb. Unless you’re trying to be a cause célèbre, in which case knock yourself out… This incident … Continue reading →

I have this on very convinced authority. Yesterday, before Landlady and M headed back to the big city, we went to the little town nearby for some restaurant lunch. There we were accosted by the owner, who basically told us … Continue reading →

Nobody seems to know what that means. For some Greeks, like Nikos Galanos, a 20-year-old chain-smoking in an Exarchia cafe, the anarchist movement has become an outlet for anger. Last year, during a wave of government cutbacks, Galanos’s mother lost … Continue reading →

The cinders I scavenged a couple of days ago didn’t go nearly as far in the leach trench as I hoped, which means I’m quickly down to Plan B – sift pebbles. By wildest luck the dirt I dug out … Continue reading →

Busy day yesterday – sorry about the no post thing. M and I spent most of the day schlepping blocks, mortar and concrete for his endless, and yet oddly short, curved wall. I’m told it nears completion, but I’ll believe … Continue reading →

I’ll admit I haven’t paid a lot of attention to the OBL Assassination Post-Game Analysis. But even I have noticed the story has gone through several iterations, often quite contradictory, each the government’s very last word on the matter. The … Continue reading →

Blogger went away, as you probably noticed elsewhere. I’ve been blogging like crazy, with posts that would have changed your life forever busy elsewhere and almost didn’t notice. Yeah, got a call last night from GC Guy, who got 300 … Continue reading →

Or at least entertained. At least this time they didn’t kill anybody. But I don’t get this… “We found out that the ATF was setting some bombs off to do some checking and seeing what they need to do for … Continue reading →

If you must do this, please don’t suggest it to us. I have faith in my friends’ marksmanship, and Mama Joel did raise a fool or two. But at least in this particular, I’m not one of them. H/T to … Continue reading →

Woke up preternaturally late, with actual sunlight streaming in through the one window I left unshaded. Yesterday afternoon I actually had the propane heater going because I just could not get warm, and that scared me because what I really … Continue reading →

Sometimes I wake up feeling kinda weird. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s happened for years and years. I don’t feel bad exactly, just weird. And I can’t focus my eyes to read – in fact I can barely … Continue reading →

When I first started looking at storing food long-term, I noticed that everybody talked about storing food but nobody talked about eating it. And some of the food items people stored – or talked about storing – aren’t what most … Continue reading →