These are the times

that try men's souls.  
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us- that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
What we obtain to cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. 

- T. Paine 1776

First, Build a Moat

There have been a number of Romney/Ryan signs 're-appropriated' around here; here's  someone's novel approach to guard against the possibility of losing their sign:

I hope the beavers are republicans...

"I'm Going Home Now"

That was clinging-to-the-edge-of-your-seat stuff, right there.

And I though I used to be an edge-dweller...



Congratulations Felix!

Surprising Behavior?

Here's the article:

Vandals damage campaign signs in Candia

And here's the money quote:

"The only apparent pattern is that the signs seem to be exclusively for Republican candidates. I can’t even think of any reports of any Democratic signs,” (Police Chief Mike) McGillen said."

Here's my shocked face:

It's More Difficult,

I know, to post comments with the 'captcha' on, but the spam is clogging up my inbox.
Personally, I hate it when commenting on other blogs; the 'word' is sometimes so cryptic it takes me four or five tries to get it right.  Love those 'improvements'.

So, it's back on.
Sorry 'bout that.

PS- Are there any alternatives?

2016: Obama's America

For those who have yet to see this, here's the link.

Make popcorn.

UPDATE:  Never mind- source has been removed.

UPDATE II: Link works again!

Rioting Christians?

So, that "piss Christ" abomination is about to go on display again in NYC.


Shall we go blow the place up?

Behead the "artist"?

At least, set fire to everything in the general location?

Nah, didn't think so.

Eleven Years, Already...

"Does breath alone endow a soul?"

Go read V-Man.

What's Wrong with This Picture?

This picture is from an ad for an automotive mechanic training school:

Guesses?

AC & Og would know, but I wonder if my five four readers will figger it out.

Every time I see it it bugs me... must be a crappy school.

(Update tomorrow if nobody gets it.) 

UPDATE: We have a winnah!  (see comments)  

Someone's Gonna Get Decked-

In this case, it was the family camp.

14 x 14', took two of us about 20 hours from the ground up.
All 2x6 PT construction.

Looks good, if I do say so my own self.


ADDENDUM: Stair railing, of course.

 

Sine on the Rode

I'll bet they're very tasdy.

Just Desserts

After Mass, split wood all afternoon, then tended the gardens.
The reward?

Grillled Chorizo, 'taters, onions, & garden peppers all cooked in the summer kitchen.

AND, this:

 Fresh-picked strawberries sqarshed into sauce, home-made shortcakes,  & fresh (real) whipped cream.

I'm gonna go lie on the floor for a while.

She's a keeper...

W.T.F.??!?

Words fail me.

"Ammunition SO Powerful..."

OMG!!11!

They're at it again:


Run Away!

We're All Badgers on This Bus

Congrats to Wisconsin!

"Walker survives"... heh- looks like 16 points right now.  That's some good survivin' going on right there.

Y'know, maybe we CAN vote ourselves out of this...

Second, Third, Thoughts

A young guy I know knew swallowed a 9mm yesterday, by his own accord.
I could almost see it coming, but I did nothing, not knowing what to do.

Wish I had done something.

Getting Honest About It

 

This explains things a bit.

H/T Drudge

Garagineer, explained

Nope, not a harpoon tip for the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Seems all five of my readers have been confounded by the contraption I cobbled up the other day- here’s the whatzzit.

I do my own felling of firewood here on the ranch, & occasionally it is necessary to connect a “twitch” line to a tree to maneuver the tree around obstacles that will prevent a good fall. In the past, this was accomplished by cutting a 20’ or so sapling, limbing it, & using said pole to push the cable noose up to a point on the tree where winching and/or pulling on it will do some good (IOW, up high to get leverage).
Of course, a pole that long is going to weigh a few pounds, in that the maker of trees has figgered out that a long taper growth pattern gives stability. So the push-pole is a pain to make, heavy, & only lasts a year or so until the tip gets rotted & breaks off, rendering the whole thing unusable.

Now, each year this whole process becomes a tad more difficult as my timeline gets longer, so I pondered on a replacement.

*ponder, ponder*

“Eureka!” , says I. The roof snow rake we use has four, 5’ long interlocking sections, & is all nice & light. Into my junk heap, err, materials depot I dive to find a suitable piece of tubing to fit the end of the aluminum rake handle. Whilst there, I found an old fireplace poker which already had the kind of terminal geometry I had in mind.

Cut off a short section of the poker, heated it with the torch, slapped it on the anvil, & hammered the end of it flat. Drilled a detent hole in the tubing for the handle interlock, drilled the flat part of the poker & the tube for rivets, & assembled.

Now, the whole unit weighs about 6 pounds, instead of the 30 or so of the sapling counterpart. The hook part is a bonus, as it allows me to grab an already choked noose up high for repositioning.

I love my junk pile, err, materials depot.

The Garagineer Strikes Again

I should've thought to invent this years ago... 

Beats cutting down a heavy 20' sapling every year.

Ain't it a beauty?

Happy Easter

"So by our baptism into his death we were buried with Him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's glorious power, we too should begin living a new life." Romans 6:4

Nail, meet Hammer

ASM826 wins QOTD with this:

"They’re totem poles to a belief system."

GO read.

Gonna Sit it Out in November?

You need to watch this:




"Not to decide, is to decide". If you don't participate, you are voting for the status quo.

Cal-i-fornya- here- I- come...

..right back to where... I never wanted to go in the first place.

BUT, the boy & his lovely bride have decided that is where they will be married.

Plane tickets, check (thanks Jersey Girl!).
Hotel reservations, check. (as above).

Now- anyone know of the carry laws out there? I'm not taking boomsticks here; I believe that is right out.
How about cutlery? Anyone have any FIRST HAND knowledge they could share? Can I carry my 4" AFCK there? Or does it have to be a teeny tiny Gerber folder?

I did an intraweb search, but I've become a tad leery of accepting crap I find there.

I mean, I saw it on the web, it MUST be true, right?

Help me Obi-Wantertubes...

Magic

Arthur Clark postulated, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".

You know how it goes- show up at an Indian encampment in 1712 with a Zippo & you'd pretty much be a god (or at least a guy to be really good friends with).

I've been fortunate enough to witness a crap-load of technological advances in my lifetime (can you say "internet"?), but some advances, being enhancements of known technology, just floor me.

See the magic:

This is a Streamlight Microstream, & it's pretty cool. But this particular model is not the subject here, it's the WOW factor that flashlights have achieved.

When I was a young-un, a flashlight was a two "D" incandescent contraption that might, on a good day, get about 20 minutes of usable light before devolving into a yellow glow emitter that was not much good except for finding the flashlight if you had left it on. And that only lasted another 20 minutes & you were then, officially, SOL.

Now, look at that picture- that light is 3.5" long, 9/16" in diameter, & weighs just over 1 ounce, with the AAA battery. It puts out 28 lumens (I'm told), but I can light up the barn over 100' away. And, it will do so for over 2 hours on one silly little AAA.

Magic.

I recently bought a Fenix "tactical" light that puts out 180 lumens on 2 AA batteries. Word is it will do that for 2 hours as well (longer on lower settings).

Stunning useable technology...all within my lifetime.

Now I gotta go research upgrades for the LED headlamps, themselves magic in their own right.



My name is DT, & I'm a flashaholic...

Oldie, but Timely

Deteriorata

Go placidly amid the noise and waste and remember what comfort
there may be in owning a piece thereof.
Avoid quiet and passive persons unless you are in need of sleep.
Rotate your tires.
Speak glowingly of those greater than yourself and heed well their advice, even though they be turkeys; know what to kiss and when.
Consider that two wrongs never make a right but that three do.
Wherever possible, put people on hold. Be comforted that in the face of all aridity and disillusionment and despite the changing fortunes of time, there is always a big future in computer
maintenance ...
Be assured that a walk through the ocean of most souls
would scarcely get your feet wet.
Fall not in love therefore; it will stick to your face ...
Reflect that whatever misfortune may be your lot, it could only be worse in Milwaukee.
You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here, and whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back.
Therefore make peace with your God whatever you conceive him to be--
Hairy Thunderer or Cosmic Muffin.
With all its hopes, dreams, promises, and urban renewal, the world continues to deteriorate.
Give up.

-Tony Hendra

From My Cold, Dead, Hands...

OK, yeah, now...

(Stolen from FB)

Tomorrow's Festivities: A Hint-

I'm not sure how it will all come out, but I know I'll "get it" in the end.

There are Zombies-

and there are ZOMBIES.

Who woulda thought the revelation would come from Bob Hope?

Lights Out

Not that anyone will notice, but it's the spirit of the thing, y'see.