Author Archives: Joel

I’ll say right off that I was reminded of this subject, and in particular this very annoying analogy, by this excellent William Grigg essay on the Lew Rockwell site, which I was re-reading this morning. Grigg is writing specifically about … Continue reading →

…What’s wrong with this picture? H/T to William Grigg @ Lew Rockwell

Went out this morning to do a few tweaks on the Lair’s floor lumber before it rained. Yesterday. I finished the drawings for the wall frames; I hope to go get them expertly reality-checked this after the rain (M just … Continue reading →

I think maybe monsoon is getting under way. Yesterday the wash ran a bit, even though it hardly rained at all where we were. Which means it rained like hell further up the canyon. This has been a weird year … Continue reading →

And it ain’t pretty. The 87,492 page bill — official designated as the American Patriotic Renewal Act of 2009 for Carbon Reduction, Energy Independence, Heathy Climate, Sustainable Job Growth, Adorable Puppies, and Earthly Paradise — is a keystone in President … Continue reading →

The local cops had a bit of excitement today. Three burglars were caught breaking into a house a few miles away: Two were stopped but one got away and by all accounts he’s a baddie. So cops were having fun … Continue reading →

Via Reason.com: Unfortunate, But Birds Pay No Taxes. Heh. What is it about city councilcreatures, anyway? They’re like homeowner association board members, but without the intelligence, charm and benevolent intent.

I have the OSB surface but won’t put it down until I’m ready to frame, because that would guarantee the onset of monsoon. So the next visible change to the structure will take a while. But we got the whole … Continue reading →

Well, M called the company that made his well pump, to see if he could get the anti-flowback valve specified in the manual for deep wells. The fellow on the phone said, “No, that’s old information. You don’t need anything … Continue reading →

FROM: Admissions Department, Hell TO: United States of America, North American Continent, Earth RE: Recent Admissions Application While in the past it has been our policy to accept your evil dead for processing and karmic justice without regard to the … Continue reading →

M: “If we cut these forms straight up, we could tape them up and re-use them!” ME: (wantonly tearing forms apart) “You’re a maniac. You know that?”

Well, we’re a little stalled on installing the pump in M’s water well, because the small print says you want an extra valve in the system if you’re pumping more than 100 feet to keep from bleeding the water back … Continue reading →

The wellhouse is complete except for paint. There’s talk of finding a London Underground sign. Next step: Electrical and plumbing, lower the pump into the casing, and see if we can pump it clear. Dunno how much of that we’re … Continue reading →

ME: “Do you have any .45 ACP… COUNTERMAN: Face falls. ME: “…snake shot?” COUNTERMAN: Face lights up. “Yes, we do!”

Well, I was gonna save all this for one post, but it’s becoming a bit time-consuming. M got back the water analysis, and except for all the sediment it looks like we punched a hole in an aquifer with the … Continue reading →

As I mentioned earlier, two gulch stakeholders have come to the property on at least a semi-permanent basis. While M waits for the building permit for HIS secret lair, he and W have helped build a fire under my ass … Continue reading →

An interesting article here about Ron Paul’s heavily-cosponsored but completely doomed HR1207, calling for an audit of the Fed: But, a big spike in both Democrat and Republican co-sponsors came in response to the Fed’s announcement that they were hiring … Continue reading →

Hooya! On budget and on schedule, we poured the foundation piers for Joel’s Secret Lair this morning. The three big floor joists are very square and level, and assuming nothing collapses before the concrete sets up we’re good to go! … Continue reading →