Author Archives: Joel

W, bless his fat wallet, purchased four new 200-watt solar panels in anticipation of the big upgrade which is due today. With the snow and uncertainty about road conditions, we’ll have to see if it actually happens today.The four panels … Continue reading →

Hoyer, speaking to reporters at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, was asked by CNSNews.com where in the Constitution was Congress granted the power to mandate that a person must by a health insurance policy. Hoyer said that, in providing … Continue reading →

Terrorists are everywhere, comrades. Be afraid! Your neighbor, your grocer, that greasy punk that screwed up your wheel alignment, that swarthy guy over there! Anybody could be a terrorist! Think of the power of being able to inform on them! … Continue reading →

…and in fact don’t care anything about Obama at all and am not a big fan of the Army. But this (Forwarded to Mike Vanderboegh by “someone in the Army”) is just some kinda funny, right here. If I were … Continue reading →

They grow so fast. One day you look up and your tiny baby is rivaling the mutant Shepherd for size, chewing your boots to tiny shreds, chewing your neighbor’s boots to tiny shreds, stealing entire garbage cans… Yeah. Why am … Continue reading →

M’s front wall is progressing slowly, but it’s progressing. We ran into a bit of a problem mounting the door frame today; it’s not exactly made for block walls and needs a bit more finessing than we anticipated, but it’ll … Continue reading →

Heh…they didn’t really say that. They didn’t say that Al Gore is full of shit, either. Without mentioning any names, they just implied it really really hard. (click to get it to fit) Global cooling by 0.71 deg C from … Continue reading →

M, W and I headed for the pistol range in the wash today, really for the first time since they got here. M and I had popped some caps together, but what with one thing or another it seems like … Continue reading →

It’s time to play that time-honored children’s game, “One of These Things is Not Like the Others.” In this case we’re going to examine three case histories of people accused of a supposed offense called “tax evasion.”

The gun club in the little town near where I live has been holding an annual gun show for the past few years, and for the past few years it has been a pretty pathetic affair. They haven’t been able … Continue reading →

…how much I hate dealing with Tracfone. A few weeks ago a friend gave me a very nice gift: A reconditioned Tracfone camera phone. This one (supposedly) has the advantage of double minutes, which would be a big help since … Continue reading →

Uncle Joel has a freelance gig. Uncle Joel hasn’t done any technical writing for years, and this gig is reminding him why. Would you like to know all about the ionization of copper and silver in swimming pool water, boys … Continue reading →

I’ve occasionally said I want to add an ankle-biter to the pack, just because I have the perfect name – “CoyoteShit.” Not really – I’d never want one of those yappy little abominations around me. But this one is kinda … Continue reading →

Well, the clown collar has been off for a couple of days. I told Fritz he was on probation: First time I saw him scratching at that ear it went right back on, but I guess the healing has progressed … Continue reading →

Once upon a midnight drearyWhile I pondered, weak and wearyOver many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,While I nodded in the hushingSuddenly there came a rushingAs of someone slowly flushingWater ‘cross my chamber floorOnly this and nothing more. … Continue reading →

Chapter One, In Which Uncle Joel Carries Heavy Objects and Does Scary Things With Electricity. The real heavy lifting has already been done by W, who signed a contract with a solar electric company and wrote a check with more … Continue reading →

This reminds me – Because most things do – of a line from Firefly: Well, I appreciate your honesty. Not, you know, a lot, but… The fact that Robert Reich is speaking at all used to scare me – now … Continue reading →

Aren’t you glad you moved out of California? Don’t you wish everybody (except the sort of people who think things like this are a good idea) did? New California law tracks ammunition sales California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a … Continue reading →

Okay, I admit it. When I heard the news yesterday morning my thought was the same as everyone else’s: Barack Obama? Current U.S. prez? The guy in charge of two pointless wars and countless armed interventions? Leader of the biggest … Continue reading →

Our solar system was – to put it kindly – poorly designed. We’re retrofitting it now, but for five years an inadequate solar array has tried manfully to fill a grossly oversized battery bank and consistently failed. The wonder is … Continue reading →