Thomas Jefferson Said ....

"I have the consolation of having added nothing to my private fortune during my public service, and of retiring with hands clean as they are empty."

"Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state."

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs."

"An honest man can feel no pleasure in the exercise of power over his fellow citizens."

From - The Quotations Page

Gratuitous Picture -

Interesting Reading Material for a Cold Wet Day....
Obama’s Radical Appointees Piling Up

Nice background on just what type of people, The Messiah is surrounding himself with.

To Govern Over You.
Not Serve You.
Govern.

Just so there's no misunderstanding.

Dow Currently at 7101......

So, that begs the question - Is This the Bottom?

Follow the link for your answer.

And a Gratuitous Goofy Picture -

Viagra, Two Chicks and a Bet To Die For.....

Via - Ace of Spades cums this story of a man who died trying.

Viagra orgy man collapses

"A SEX-MAD Russian died after guzzling a bottle of Viagra pills to keep him going for a 12-hour orgy with two women pals.

The women had bet mechanic Sergey Tuganov £3,000 that he wouldn’t be able to satisfy them both non-stop for the half-day sex marathon.

But minutes after winning the wager, the randy 28-year-old dropped dead with a heart attack, revealed Moscow police."

Yes, The women bet HIM. Hell of a way to go, but it's Hard to feel sorry for him.

I noticed this related article on the same page -

"Buying Viagra online could kill"
"As fake Viagra floods the internet report warns that men risk Organ Damage."

"Organ Damage". Well, DUH!

I can hear it now, "I tell ya. I damn near wore that thing down to a Nubbin & clean knocked the bottom out that Ol' Girl".

Ok, enough goofy shit for one day. Gratuitous Goofy Picture Follows. Click pic to embiggen -

Clean Up Your Mess, Bitch!!!!!

This is friggin precious.

Couple make burglar clean their home at gunpoint -

"An American couple turned the tables on a burglar they caught ransacking their home by dispensing their own summary justice.

Without waiting for the law to arrive, the pair doled out their own punishment to the surprised criminal - they made him clean up the house at gunpoint!"

That was well played, Folks.
Hat tip to Roger, The Real King of France

And now for something completely different -
ROUNDHOUSE KICK!!!!!!!!!

Very Interesting Reading on the Economy .....

From Wired Magazine - Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street
This is a very good article and it explains some of what happened to the economy. Very readable and you will benefit from it if you take a few minutes and read it. It explains a lot of things I didn't know.

Hat tip to - The Mad Rocket Scientist who references parts of the article and shows you why your kids need to know mathematics.

And now for no reason, just because these friggin people are strange -

Something To Think About .......

My anger this morning has dissipated somewhat with a little work out in the garage.
But it got me thinking of something I read awhile back by Mike Vanderboegh - The Window War.

Take a few minutes and read this story.

Something to think about for you, maybe?

Three News Items Representative of the "Change" in Washington?????
Better get busy, Folks. Lots of "Hope and Change" legislation being pushed through - "For The Children".

As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly. - Proverbs 26:11

Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
"The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today....

"Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.

"I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum."

Remember,just a few months back he said - "I'm not going to take your guns away from you". Don't worry, It's for the Mexican Children. Really.
Via David Codrea of Gun Rights Examiner

Wait, it get's better.

From Western Rifle Shooters comes this - Sneaky Back Door Gun Grab in Obama Budget?

"A potential legislative gun rights battle looms today in Washington, D.C.," says Washington senior rights activist John M. Snyder.

"When President Obama submits his budget blueprint this week, reports indicate the proposal may include language designed specifically to repeal the Tiahrt Amendment," says Snyder, named the senior rights activist in Washington by Shotgun News.

"This repeal is an objective long sought by gun-grabbing politicians, the anti-gun Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and other extremist groups," he added".

Yep, they just can't help themselves, I guess.

These, Rotten Bastards, are not wasting any time in consolidating the American Government into a Politburo.

And if this doesn't upset you - and it should - here's ANOTHER great, "Change We Can Believe In".

From The American Motorcyclist Association comes this -
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act threatens sale of youth model OHVs

"The sport of off-highway recreation is seriously threatened by recent legislation that imposes strict lead content guidelines on children's everyday toys. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) has effectively banned the sale of youth off-highway vehicles (OHVs). The AMA is calling for action now to help reverse the potentially devastating effect this could have on the sport of OHV recreation....

According to section 101(a) of the enacted legislation, all youth products containing lead must have less than 600 parts per million (ppm) by weight. The CPSC has interpreted the law to apply to various components of youth OHVs including the engine, brakes, suspension, battery and other mechanical parts. Even though the lead levels in these parts are small, they are still above the minimum threshold...."

Yep, they want to ban Kids from riding Dirt Bikes. BECAUSE THEY MAY EAT THEIR FUCKING MOTORCYCLES AND GET LEAD POISONING!

Yes, that's heavy on the Caps Lock, I know. Can't help it this morning. This is stupid even by Washington, DC standards.

When was the last time you saw a kid chewing on the kick starter or the fender of his Motorcycle?

I've been aware of this CPSIA item for a couple of weeks and remiss in not mentioning it.
My riding buddy, MrT - AKA Retodd, called me last night and reminded me of this one. I've already let my representatives know what I think of this.

How About You? Now seems like a good time to get on the phone and call your Representatives.

Please excuse the grammar and syntax here. I'm Pissed. I'll edit it later.

I Have Been Way Ahead of Things ....
As of late.

Today I got my Happy Ass up and off to work. Only to find that I'd looked at NEXT MONTHS schedule.

I did the same thing last month when I was making sure I had the Wifes' birthday covered.

Sheesh, 30 years with this woman and I can't keep my shit together.
The good news? I have a card already!
New flowers will be required as the other ones are looking a bit dingy.

Oh well, it was a beautiful day and I came home and worked some more on the Hoophouse. Looks like rain tomorrow. We'll see.

Chaps my ass that I could have gotten a good day of work in around here. At least I got a partial day in. Could be worse.

I'm gonna go start some more seed.

Gratuitous Motorcycle picture taken on my Barber Motorsports Museum trip a while back. Do those Friggin Italians know how to make pretty shit or what? -

Taking it Right Out of the Park........
Dogbert takes a high, hard one and launches it into the cheap seats today -



Damn, but I love that.

Here's Something Funny ....
I was looking through the SiteMeter stats this morning just to see where folks come from.

You get some weird search terms sometimes.
As an example, this one comes from Istanbul, Turkey -






Search terms?

"uncle and 18 year girls porn"

Yeah, YerUnk wishes he HAD some pics in that genre.

Well, life's just full of disappointment.

I gotta go to the ER now and save lives and do battle with, The Zombie Drug Seekers.

Garden Plans. It's Getting to be Time ......
I'm gonna have to do some planning this year.

Starting a garden up again after a few years requires a bit of thought.

I've got a lot more space now and using it properly calls for a bit more thinking.

I can see a potential problem here with the whole "Thinking" thing though. Well, nothing new there.
Oh well. It's pretty hard to screw up to badly. It may not be as efficient as it could be, but there's gonna be a shitload of good things to eat.

Getting the seeds started now. I misplaced the Tomato seed I ordered, so I'm a bit late getting them started. Yeah, I'm a dork.

I've got an incredible amount of seed and could have just planted something else, but I'm a Stubborn Dork and wanted those particular ones.

"Hi, I'm Unk and I'm a Tomato Snob."
"Hi, Unk".

Yes, there probably is a 12 step program for Tomato people. Or there should be.

The HoopHouse should be up and running next week.
Wall O' Water inside the house will make it downright cozy for the Tomatoes and Peppers.

Those Wall-o-water are incredible. I've had snow and freezing weather and Tomatoes did ok without a HoopHouse. Should really get things jump started well.





I'm not sure where this picture came from. But it gives you a good idea of what I'm talking about when I talk about, Wall-o-Water's.
Ass kick product and it gets the "Unk, Seal of Approval".

OK, hope your day was good.
And because I'm thinking Spring a gratuitous Motorcycle picture -

Xavier's 10 Commandments for Dogs .....

This is a great reminder for us people who have dogs - A Dog's 10 Commandments

I read this site most everyday and figured I should add him to the links.
This guy is a Nurse and a Shooter. Very interesting and knowledgeable and a good writer. And he helped me with a question I had about my 1911 Colt, when I needed it.

Seems like an all around good guy and a good read.
So there you go.

Not Sure What This Means .....
I was standing at the front door a few moments ago and there are 2 Robins out in the yard.

I don't know if that REALLY means that Spring is just around the corner or not.

But I'll take it.

Monday morning at the Bunker ......






TherapyBoy was here when I got home from work last night.


He brought his new Pal with him. Rescued from a puppy mill. The poor thing couldn't even walk from being stuck in a cage for so long, but is doing well now.

Is that a cute looking Dog or what?

She made herself right at home and jumped up on the furniture. That's the official, Dog Chair she's in. 24-7 there's a dog in that chair and it's a great competition between my 4 Mutts to get "The Chair". I'm not sure how his dog managed to find it open.

The ER was as goofy as ever this weekend. A regular, Zombie Fest. Ughhhhhhhhh My disdain for mankind grows with every day I work with the public.

OK, I need coffee now.

OK. I Know I Shouldn't Laugh About This ......
But damn if I didn't -

PHOTO IN THE NEWS: "Extinct" Bird Seen, Eaten -
A rare quail from the Philippines was photographed for the first time before being sold as food at a poultry market, experts say.

Found only on the island of Luzon, Worcester's buttonquail was known solely through drawings based on dated museum specimens collected several decades ago.

Scientists had suspected the species—listed as "data deficient" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's 2008 Red List—was extinct.

Forgive me for laughing about this. The irony of this is just a bit ..... overwhelming.
I had a telephone message the other day from.... Bob White. Calling from "The Other Side".

I deleted the message. Damn. Hey! The whole message was him repeating his name, over and over. What did you expect me to do?

Well here's a picture of the late Mr. White -

Domestic Tranquility .....
Other than the visit to the Dentist this morning. That makes a Doctor visit everyday this week. That's wrong. And expensive as hell.

Anyway .........
Keeping with my new mantra, "Go Outside", I got my ass outside again today. Amazing.

The official HoopHouse sheathing came today. Now I really have to get with the program.
I got a bunch of the framing figured out and done. Still have a days worth of that left, but have to work the usual Weekend shift.

With any luck I should be ready for plastic early next week. Lets hope the weather is nice starting Monday.

I'm starting to get pretty torqued about this thing.

This is totally new territory for me. The possibilities and potential opportunities for me to screw things up here are damn near endless!

Just the way I like it.

Here's where we are now -



Almost there!

Yep. It doesn't take a hell of lot to make me happy these days.

You're Gonna Do What????
Now here's an interesting exercise -
Guardsmen to conduct urban training at Arcadia in April

The Carroll National Guard unit will train on urban military operations by holding a four-day exercise at Arcadia.

The purpose of the April 2-5 drill will be to gather intelligence, then search for and apprehend a suspected weapons dealer, according to Sgt. Mike Kots, readiness NCO for Alpha Company.

Citizens, law enforcement, media and other supporters will participate.

Troops will spend Thursday, April 2, staging at a forward operations base at Carroll. The next day company leaders will conduct reconnaissance and begin patrolling the streets of Arcadia to identify possible locations of the weapons dealer.

The primary phase will be done Saturday, April 4, when convoys will be deployed from Carroll to Arcadia. Pictures of the arms dealer will be shown in Arcadia, and soldiers will go door to door asking if residents have seen the suspect.

Soldiers will knock only at households that have agreed to participate in the drill, Kots noted.

"Once credible intelligence has been gathered," said Kots, "portions of the town will be road-blocked and more in-depth searches of homes and vehicles will be conducted in accordance with the residents' wishes.

Now just why in the hell is the Iowa National Guard practicing on finding a weapons dealer? Local, State and Federal Agencies aren't enough?

This seriously smells bad. It wasn't that many years ago when, YerUnk was in the uniform and it was forbidden to do this kinda thing domestically.

Nope, nothing good can come from this shit.

There are US Army Urban Training Centers all over the country. Shit, there's 2 of them within 60 miles of here.

Last week they were talking about ATF Agents training in Iraq and now Soldiers are training for domestic crime interdiction in Iowa.

This is not good, folks.
Via - The War on Guns

"Will Work for Food".......
Saw a guy today with one of those signs.
First time in awhile.

I've seen this particular Zombie in my ER before & my guess is that his definition of food equals, Hydrocodone. (That's a Narcotic pain med, BTW)

I've always thought that doing the sign thing to panhandle was a pretty good way to go about panhandling and it seemed to work pretty well for a few years.

Word got around after awhile that most of these sign folks were not really interested in working to much and it sorta dried up after a few years.

The only time I ever panhandled was to take my guitar into a bar and play for drinks and tips. That worked pretty well, BTW. Just not a real good career choice.

I've been thinking a lot about the sign guy today. Could be he was really sincere. Not likely, as I said, I've dealt with him before. But I figure that pretty soon, we're gonna be seeing guys with signs that really are looking to work. People are being laid off at an alarming rate around here. Reminds me of the Carter years when my Wife and I were young.

I don't like thinking about other folks going through that kind of hard times. But I believe Hard Times are indeed coming.

I started my Garden rejuvenation last Summer blissfully unaware that the bottom was gonna fall out of the economy. I just wanted to get back into growing more of my own food.

I'm damn glad I got started when I did. If you've never really tried to grow, process and put up your own food, you have no idea how much work it is. It's a lot of work just to get a good garden up and running.

Upkeep requires you to be out there everyday doing something. When crops start coming in, it's a full time job keeping up with canning, drying and other things such as making jelly, pickles, etc.

It's a good kinda busy and we do it because we like to. It's very rewarding to look in the pantry and see all those jars of beans, corn, tomatoes, etc, lined up and looking pretty. Better than money in the bank.

It's also good practice. I say this because I know that, even if times get good again tomorrow, I won't have enough retirement income to live the lifestyle where I can just go and buy anything and everything I need or want.

I know that I'm gonna have to suck it up and provide as much as I can through being self sufficient and preserve what disposable income I have for other things.

That was before my retirement investments took it in the ass over the last year, too. That was also before the government started on this spending spree it's been on for the last 6 months.

Social Security wasn't solvent 5 years ago. What are the odds that it'll be worth a shit when I get ready to retire in 12-13 years, now that they've spent Trillions on buying off bankers, political friends and lowlifes?

What are the odds that my employers retirement benefit investments are doing any better than mine?

Yeah, not to good.

That's why we have been practicing now. Planting fruit and nut trees. Getting proficient and making our mistakes over the last 8-9 years. So we'll have that shit out of the way and be able to expend what energy we do have more productively when the day comes.
Hopefully we will be able to produce enough to sell and market too. At least that was the plan to generate some cash income.

"Will Work for Food".

One way or another that's pretty much what we all do every time we get up to go to our job.

If you have one.

That's what, Sign Guy got me thinking about today.

We here have been working at lessening our dependency and raising our self sufficiency because we want to. Lots of people are gonna HAVE to figure out ways to do the same.

And they're gonna get a crash course in it.

I've been telling people to start getting themselves reoriented towards doing for themselves. Shit happens and we're seeing it happen now.

As I've said before, I don't know what the hell is gonna happen with this whole economic mess we're in right now. But it doesn't look like it's gonna get any better anytime soon.

And that's why I'm glad I got the garden up and sorta ready when I did.
I could see having my kids back here if things continue to go to shit like they are. That would take a bit of adjustment, but it's not that big a deal really. That's what Family is about.

If they had to come back here they wouldn't need a sign. They know that they'd be expected to "Work for Food".
And frankly, I'd be glad to have that help if times really get that bad.

Will things continue to go bad? Damn if I know, Skippy.

Barring a complete societal breakdown or a world wide Nuke exchange, things will get better eventually, because people always strive to better themselves. That's Human nature. It took about 15 years the last time we had anything with this much, "Oh Shit" potential happen though. And none of the experts seem to be saying things are gonna get better in a hurry. But so far, The Experts have mostly gotten this shit all wrong anyway. So maybe it will get back on track. Who knows?

I'm not totally "Dooming" out here today. Just sharing this bit of what's going through my head lately. Your mileage may vary on all this and I guess that's ok.

I'm personally looking for ways to lower my spending and dependency, while raising my sustainability and self sufficiency.

That's been, "The Plan" for a long time. Hopefully it doesn't become a necessity. But if it does, I'll be light years ahead. I never would have thought that I'd be thinking this shit.

"Will Work for Food".

My gut tells me that we'll all have to work harder for that food pretty soon.

My advice? Start getting your shit together and start thinking about your situation and what you can do to get yourself a bit more prepared against hard times. Or how you can help others. Friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc. Network with those same people.

Getting your shit together is not equivalent to being a Kook or a crazy bastard either.
You do have smoke alarms in your house, right? Spare tire for the car? Insurance on the house and vehicles?

OK then, you already see the sense in having your shit together for unforeseen emergencies.

Give it some thought. Make your own sign -

"Work Now and Have Food Later".

Enough serious shit for tonight -

Cleaned up the Links a Bit......
Did it in kind of a hurry. So if I nuked you off the sidebar links by mistake let me know.

Added a few new ones too -
The Dysfunctional Nephew. Mentioned yesterday. Sorta like family.

Pedro VonPetrol Cool site and he links here.

Self Sustained Living Like the name says, this chick is the total package. Even raises her own coffee and tobacco. When it comes to the preparedness things I've been talking about recently, she's what I'm talking about.

UPDATE - Added a couple more folks under the "Gun Blogs and Whatnot" heading on the lower right.

These are folks you should be keeping up with on a regular basis to be on top of the news as it relates to Firearms, Freedom and the like.

Western Rifle Shooters Association A daily stop for me.

Gun Rights Examiner This David Codrea's syndicated site. I've been a big reader of his The War on Guns Blog for a while now. He is all over gun news and if you're not paying attention, you ought to be.

Mike Vanderboegh's - Sipsey Street Irregulars. Mike is the center of the "3%'ers" people. Controversial to some people. Prophet to others. You have to make that decision yourself.

What's a 3%'er, you ask? Just look on the right side of his site at the top of the column. Like I said, you decide.

He's a hell of a knowledgeable guy and can tell a tale. He is currently working on finishing up a novel so not a lot getting posted right now.
But if you go to his site you can read several chapters of that book. I have and I recommend it. Good stuff. Look for the "ABSOLVED CHAPTERS" Link on the right as you scroll down.

OK, that should be it.
And remember -

Hoophouse & Beer ......

Worked on the Hoophouse a bit more today. The temperature is about 25 degrees colder than yesterday, but at least it was Sunny.

Got the basic frame up before I started getting cold and wimped out -




I think it'll be ok when I get it framed all the way in.

I'll probably end up changing some things yet. I'm not real happy with the supports that are running horizontally there on the sides. Not a big deal, just have to reconsider how the framing will all go together. I discovered I do need a few treated 2x4's yet. I'm basically winging it anyway. If I were building a piano or some such I might put a bit more thought into this.

You can get an idea of the basic layout of the garden though -



It's come along pretty well. Big difference from where it started last Summer -



Damn, look at how green things are. I'm seriously needing some Spring weather.

Right now? Time for a cold one.
Uummm Beer.

A New Blog ......

A former Coworker and Loyal Minion has started a blog. So let me introduce you to The Dysfunctional Nephew.

Yep, part of the Family as it were.

Go forth and give 'em a look see.

Welcome aboard, Shithead! If I ever get around to cleaning up the links on the sidebar I'll hook ya up. Since you know me I'm sure you won't be holding yer breath for that to happen.

He's an intelligent guy so if you need something that'll raise yer IQ back up to normal after reading here, go and read him.

Yeah and here's a kiss for ya -

Interesting Wednesday .....
Greetings Minions.

Lots happening out there in the world.
The Weird and the Wonderful.

Uncle reminds me of a story I saw a week or so ago that you may find interesting -
Gangs Blamed for 80 Percent of U.S. Crimes

He notes this interesting stat - "So, 0.3125% of the population is responsible for 80% of crimes?" Makes you wonder why they need all those gun laws regulating the law abiding.

Tam says to watch out for ""Face eating Monkeys

Ol' Remus Quotes our first President -

"When a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security."

And notes - "No wonder George Washington reproaches us with his steady, accusatory stare, in his day this was the prevailing opinion at the very top". Good stuff.

David Codrea has some scary rumors on an Import Ammo Ban. This would piss me off bad. Let's hope it's just a rumor.

Today around the Shack here .. Saw the Doc again this morning. Bah, I'm getting tired of dealing with Doctors.

Started gathering all the materials for the Hoop House into the garden area today. The weather is not to nice so I didn't get a hell of a lot done.
Here's a nice picture of what I'm talking about when I say, Hoop house -



This picture is from somebody called One Straw. Pretty well sums up what I have in mind. I plan on 2 large vents and a door at each end But that gives you the basic idea.

I drew up some nice sketches & plans and immediately scrapped them and started winging it today. Didn't get much dome as the rain drove me inside and here I am. Wish me luck. These projects can take on a life of their own.

And just because I needed some cool here today -

The Stimulus Bill is Signed and the Dow Tanked.......
in about 25 minutes the Dow dropped 250 points. Please don't tell me that the Wizards in Washington could be wrong about this?

OK, I'm being a wise ass. The latest Stimulus Bill isn't going to change anything at all in the economy short term. It's gonna pound us in the ass long term.

It really wasn't about the economy anyway. It will change a shitload of things in the long run, but the shitstorm that's our economy right now? Not much.

So I would again suggest that you start stocking up on basic necessities, plant a garden and learn how to process and store what you grow in that garden. I'm afraid that things are gonna get a lot worse before they get better.
Do I believe that things will get better? Yes.
When? Who the hell knows?
Are things likely to get worse? Yep. Maybe a lot worse.

I have no idea where all this is headed. Anyone who tells they do know is most likely full of shit.

I've been thinking a lot about this stuff lately and my gut instincts tell me that things are gonna be rough for awhile and to get prepped. I've learned to trust my instincts and act accordingly. Besides, how can you go wrong by having some extra food on hand?

Like I said the other day, I'll be posting a bit more on this topic as time goes on. Not to harp or to be a "Doomer", it just makes sense to be prepared for things.

This is not something I've mentioned here until lately, but it's something we've been doing for quite some time. Not because I think the worlds gonna end tomorrow either.

I've just been remembering a lot of things my Parents and Grandparents told me about today and felt the need to pass this on in hopes that it will help someone.

Think about it and assess your situation. And maybe look back historically for a different perspective.

Tuesday Afternoon ......
Went to the Eye Doctor this morning for the check up. He said the pressure in my eye was to high. Then he pulled a 23gauge needle out of a drawer and I said, Shit!

He laughed and says, "Not to worry, I'm not using the pointy end."

He was right. He basically used the shaft to push some fluid out of the incision site and that was all there was to it.

My vision has improved tremendously in the couple of hours since. Good job, Doc!
Still have a bit of discomfort, but that's really minimal and hasn't been a big deal at all other than sunlight.

OK. No more whining.

Started gathering stuff for the latest garden project. I'm going to make a hoop house or grow tunnel. Not exactly a Green house, as I don't plan to add heat and use it through the Winter.
Basically, a real simple frame with real greenhouse plastic over it and the ends framed up with doors and vents.




Kinda like this.

I have almost all the framing parts on hand already. I had made a portable chicken coop framed like that, that I'd used for several years, till the Tornado kicked it's ass 2 years ago. Just picture that with closed ends and plastic. Being the scrounger that I am, I have 2 doors and a bunch of scrap framing lumber and plywood already. I'll have to fabricate a pair of window type vents on each end for when it gets hot so it doesn't get to warm in there.

Mostly gonna be to extend the seasons a bit. Earlier in the Spring and later in the Fall. I like these kinds of projects and it'll be a learning experience for me. I had a couple of small hotboxes and grow tunnels years ago that worked real well, but I've never tried anything quite this large before. We'll see how it goes. I plan on building right around a couple of the raised beds I built last Summer.

I picked up most of the hardware this morning and found good quality, 6 mil sheathing that has a 4 year guarantee online this morning. About $75 bucks for enough sheathing to do 10' x 14' and the ends. Not to shabby. Maybe $100 bucks total since I already have the framing and got 5 years out of it.

If this works out ok, I may build another later. But that's later. Can't get to carried away.

I have a butt load of work ahead of me this Spring. Feel free to volunteer. Pay sucks, but the tips are good.
Sorta like working at a circumcision clinic.

Yes, I am thinking about warmer weather today.

Update: All in Favor, Say Eye ....

Back home from the surgery center. It went well. The whole system is run like an assembly line and they have obviously worked the kinks out of it long ago. Very efficient and professional.

While not exactly pain free, it wasn't to bad overall. I don't like people dicking around with my eyes anytime even a little bit, so this was a stretch for my tolerance.

But the good news is that I have 1 down and 1 to go. My vision is still all screwed up at this point and probably will be till tomorrow, so I can't really judge how well this is gonna be in the long term. But I couldn't see a damn thing out of that eye this morning and now I can see some stuff, even if it is blurry right now. I think it'll be good tomorrow.

I'm gonna be having the other one fixed next month. That's the one that I'm more concerned with as that's my dominate eye and does 90% of my veiwing. We'll see how it goes.

Here's a picture of the surgeon and his team.







They also did a CAT Scan today and here's what they got

The Eyes Have It ......
Cataracts that is.

Going to the surgery center this afternoon and have the first one fixed. Probably schedule the next one then, too.

Bah! As a CELF, (Cross Eyed Little Fucktard) I never wanted to have anyone messing with my eyes again. But you can't always get what you want in life and that's just how it goes.

This will put a dent in the bank account of course. The insurance company will pay 100% (or close to it) if I elected to go with the cheaper basic lens, but to fix the major, bad ass astigmatism I have, I need a special lens that will be $950 out of pocket for me. Ouch and thank you very much.
The funny thing is, by not using the special lens, the insurance company would continue to pay for glasses every year. With this lens, I won't need prescription glasses, only reading glasses I can buy off the shelf at WalMart. Seems like it would be cheaper for them to spring for the more expensive lens now and not pay for glasses later. Especially, since that eye requires a special type, very expensive prescription.

Oh well. I'm gonna go ahead and get the super dooper lens and pay for it myself. These are my eyes and I gotta live with 'em.

The lens for the other eye is gonna be $1950.00 out of pocket for me. Double ouch.

I'm gonna have to pick up a shitload of overtime or rob a liquor store or two I guess.
Again, I gotta live with 'em so I'm gonna foot the extra money.

Somehow.

It'll all work out in the end I'm sure.
Or there are other options to consider I suppose.

Gratuitous Valentines Day Post ....
I'm working tomorrow, so you get your Valentine love here first. Only 'cause I love ya.

Since the Wife is out of town the urgency to go and buy some dumbass card, etc is not quite as high as normal. "Holidays" like this one get old the older I get. I have to wonder how many trees give it up every year for this one. Not that I mind killing trees.

If you're making a baseball bat or furniture out of it, that is.

Anyway, here's my Valentines to y'all.

About Last Night ......

Do you have any idea what happens when a big ass Boxer dog decides to eat 5+ lbs of birdseed?

Messy.
Not a little messy.
Humongous Messy.
I really should have taken a picture messy.
Messy like, You could bury a cat in it, messy.

The wife is out of town & that always presents a problem for the poor dogs when I have to work.
Basically, if I'm gonna be gone for 12 hours I just don't feed them their regular amount before I go. Just a handful to keep em from starving. They do ok and get an extra big feeding when I get home.

Trust me. I've learned the hard way on this. If you feed them before work? You WILL come home to turds on the floor.

It's not their fault. I do feel bad about leaving them with an empty belly all day.

That's not really true. I feel bad if I feed them and after working 12 hours, come home to dog turds all over the house. That makes me feel bad.

Somehow, The Big Guy knows when I'm gonna be working. I get up and let them do their Doggie thing, 3-4 times before I head off.
Yesterday, every time I let them all out, Big Guy ends up in the garage. I didn't think much of it.

I should have been paying attention.

It seems he's decided that he likes Bird Seed and didn't tell me.
So he was sneaking around and chowing down on the bird seed every time I let them out.

Knowing he wasn't gonna get his normal breakfast, the Shithead decided to fend for himself.

It's hard to be angry about that kinda forward thinking. But Holy Shit, was there a friggin' mess to clean up.

But, being the even tempered guy that I am I grabbed my pistol and chased him through the house blasting 45 caliber holes in walls, floors and furniture till the magazine was empty.

Relax. I'm lying, I only pulled the pistol out and thought about shooting his ass. I fed him and everything. Before starting the cleanup even.

He can't help it. The poor bastard's fixated on food. The rotten Sonzabitch who had him originally starved his ass. He's about 110 lbs now. He was 70lbs when he was rescued from, Rotten Sonzabitch last year. No wonder he's food crazy.

So I'll have to not leave a bag of bird food out where he can get at it anymore.

Did I mention how messy that was?

But Hey, they love us. Here's a dog that loves his owner.

Just Another Day in Paradise .....

Greetings and Salutations, Loyal Minions! Friday the 13th and so far all is well. As long as you're not watching any of the Political News that is.
Quite enough of that already here this week and it doesn't matter what I say about it. So we'll just mosey on to other mundane things.

Puxatony Phil may have predicted 6 more weeks of Winter the other day, but I saw a huge flock of Sandhill Cranes today in a field near my place. Hmmm. Who to believe? I'm gonna go with Phil, because his counterpart in New York, Charles G. Hogg had the opportunity and the good sense to bite a chunk out of the hand of, Gigantic Asshole Supreme and Mayor of The Big Apple, Michael Bloomberg.

Let's hear it for Chuck! Score one for Rodent on Rodent violence.
Yeah, that did make me laugh. To bad Chuck isn't Rabid.

Anyway, seeing all those Cranes and hearing flocks flying around all afternoon makes me wonder if Spring is closer than I thought. One can hope.

Growing up a Cubs Fan makes this delusional behavior much easier for me than it is for some of you.

Went to the Dentist this morning. Swell time. I still have a few teeth in my head. Trouble is they're all going to shit. Good times ahead. Fuck it. I LIKE applesauce.

Pruned the fruit trees this afternoon and started cleaning things up around the garden. Muddy as shit out there. I have a huge pile of wood chips the tree trimmers gave me just sitting out there waiting for me to spread around the garden beds.
Still waiting.

Feel free to volunteer for that job anytime.

Speaking of fruit trees. The tree order I made and was to be delivered at the end of March or the beginning of April came today. This doesn't really make me happy. I'm not at all prepared for them yet and I'm kinda wondering if they'll be ok till I am prepared.

Shit. Guess I'll find out.
We're not talking a small order here either. Around 24 trees and a couple dozen Berries and Grapes.

All that wind I mentioned the other day? Tore the shit out of the neighbors greenhouses. He has a business and hes 4-5 BIG greenhouses. Two of them got the shit tore out of them. I saw him out there working on them and stopped and asked him a few questions and did an up close eyeball on how those things are put together and generally annoyed him for a few minutes.
I'm planning on building a small grow tunnel in the garden and needed a bit of info. He was very nice and it took him almost 10 minutes before he told me to "Fuck off and get lost". Nice guy.

My people skills rock.

The Wife is out of town and it's just me an the dogs here. Other than the problems which come from the Grilled Cheese, Gummy Bears and Beer diet, everything is good.

Ok, that's a lie. I could'a killed the one Mutt when I got home from work last night. Long story. Long enough for it's own post. Maybe later tonight. It's not like I got something going on or anything. Faith Hill called and canceled. And I lost Shania's number.
Shit. Sucks to be me I guess.

But the floors are all nice and clean after the cleanup last night and this morning.

Anyway. Here's my idea for making some money this Fall. Tell me what you think.

Crazy Weather Here Today .....

Things are pretty weird here today. Thankfully not as weird as in Oklahoma or Indonesia yesterday. Just weird by local standards.

It's been quite warm, raining and blowing off and on all day. Just a little while ago we had a squall blow through with hail. Most of it was pretty small, but an occasional chunk as big around as a 25 cent piece would hit the house with a resounding crash. The wind was blowing like crazy making me warily eye the trees behind the house. And all the while the Sun was shining!

Very strange indeed. I went out into the garage to check it out and across the road there was a beautiful twin rainbow. Yeah, not one but two rainbows. By the time I got the camera and got back out, most it was gone. Bummer.

Here's what I did get -








You can just see the faint outline of the second one to the right of the mailbox. Too bad I had to put fresh batteries in the camera and miss the good picture. Oh well.

Very unstable weather out there. The lights flickered a few times and quite frankly, I'm surprised that we have power now.

The local power company has had a crew out cleaning up the trees along the lines in the area for about 3-4 months. Looks like that's paying off for me.

The good news is that I have backup if things go down. I have a generator and 2 small space heaters, propane heater and lantern. Oil lamps, candles and a small propane cookstove.

Fuel for the generator would only last 3-5 days, maybe longer given the moderate temperatures right now, but not much longer.

Considering there are folks in Kentucky that still don't have power since the storm in January........ Well, I'm better off than most.

I've been thinking a lot lately, along with doing quite a bit, as far as preparedness goes over the last few months. We always have been semi-prepared, just because we live out in the sticks and the power used to go off if a dog pissed on a powerpole or the wind gusted more than 10-15 mph. It's come in handy more than once.

Being prepared for unforeseen occurrences just makes good sense.

It makes even more sense on days like this.

With the way the Economy is going, having a bit pit aside makes sense too.

I'll be posting more on this subject as time goes by, but I'd urge you all to start getting a stash together. It will be a much better investment of your money than buying stocks or bonds. My investments have taken it in the ass & Food prices continue to to go up. I know that I can and will eat that food anyway so that's better than money in the bank.

The wind continues to blow like hell out there and the lights continue to flicker. I'm gonna go get the lantern and have it ready.

More, "Change We Can Believe In"....

Via Bloomberg News - Ruin Your Health With the Obama Stimulus Plan: Betsy McCaughey

"Republican Senators are questioning whether President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill contains the right mix of tax breaks and cash infusions to jump-start the economy. Tragically, no one from either party is objecting to the health provisions slipped in without discussion. These provisions reflect the handiwork of Tom Daschle, until recently the nominee to head the Health and Human Services Department...."

Read it all.

Hey, I had "Hope" about things "Changing", too. I kept my trap shut throughout the campaign and the election. "Hoping" that "The Change" would be ok. Or at least something less than a full court press towards State-ism.

Oh well. Not like it was much of a surprise.

"Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard." - H. L. Mencken

Another, just because picture. The kid looks like my Nephew did many years ago. Which makes it funnier.

"We Are All Socialists Now" .......
That's the cover story on the current issue of Newsweek.

But I'd have to disagree and add the qualifier - "Because you Fuckers won't stop."

Because I'm a fair minded guy, I include most Republicans in the, "Fuckers" group.

Here's the cover art -












Hot Damn, Skippy! Now that's, "Change we can believe in."

Brought to my attention via, Mike Vanderboegh at - Sipsey Street Irregulars

He further directs to another of my favorites - Western Rifle Shooters Association, where .... Oh Hell. Just start reading and following the links provided.

If you have any appreciation for your 2nd Amendment, you should be reading these 2 guys and, as I mentioned the other day, David Codrea at, The War on Guns. Start reading Codreas' syndicated Gun Rights Examiner column, too.

Daily reading of these folks will make you smarter, brighter and the life of the party.

As I've said in the past, there is a Un-civil War in the making here. That asshole, John Edwards was correct with his bullshit, "Two Americas", campaign slogan. He just didn't have the 2 parts figured out correctly. It's not, as Edwards said, about economics and the haves and have nots.

It's about choosing between Freedom and Serfdom. I'm afraid that we will be forced to choose if things continue as they are going.
And yes, I wish to hell that the Socialists and Leftists would just leave us the hell alone, too.

Ain't gonna happen though.

Here's a picture I swiped from Vanderboegh that sums it up well for me -

The Sun May Rise in the West Tomorrow ....
UPDATE TO THE SCHOOL TEACHER STORY BELOW:

I can hardly believe this, but it seems that The Friggin' ACLU has taken up the case of Beaver Dam Middle School teacher, Betsy Ramsdale.

"From the ACLU of Wisconsin: ACLU of Wisconsin: School should allow teacher to pose with rifle on Facebook"

Holy Shit!! I'm getting a case of The Vapors here.

The American Commie Lawyers Association is gonna back someone who has gotten hosed on a firearm related topic?
As Fred Sanford used to say, "It's the big one, Elizabeth!" I'm in shock.

As much as it pains me to say this to the ACLU - Good job.
Via Say Uncle.

Gratuitous picture of Frank. Just because.

Nice Motorcycle Ride Today !!!!
Took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather today and got out for a nice ride on the BigBluePlasticMotorcycle.

The roads are covered with all kinds of shit and grit left over from the recent snowstorm, but that was ok. Just paid attention and rode responsibly.

It was great.

As my friend, Jerry always says, "Life is good. All ya gotta do is live it." Hard to argue with that.

It was a bit chilly till about 1pm. It stayed nice, high 50's to low 60's till around 5pm and started dropping from there. I started getting cold again on the way home, about 30 minutes ago, with the Sun about down.

About 150 miles or so was all. Made a bunch of stops so MrT could look for some items. He didn't have much luck, but I picked up a 2 volume boxed set of John Steinbeck at a used book store.
Brand new, hard back with high end bindings. Nice. Cheap too.

Yer Unk is happy with that.

No clue what this is about. Just thought it looked cool.

Okie Dokie .........

Well, since I've been kicking around the idea of restarting this crap, I suppose I should just get with it and see how it plays out.

Nothing like a little, Pants Shitting Hysteria to start the day.

Via, David Codrea at the always wonderful, War on Guns website, comes this -

"A Wisconsin middle school teacher has been suspended. Her grave offense against acceptable norms? [S]chool officials discovered a photo of her with a gun on Facebook."

Over a friggin' photograph. OK, I know you're wondering what the photo looks like. Near as I can tell, this is the one that set off the alarms and caused the panties to be soiled -





Yeah, not good as far as safety rules and all that. But seriously, do you feel threatened looking at that? GMAFB.

Well, being that I am a 10th Level, Master of GoogleFu. I looked up the contact info for her school district, which you can find HERE. Your welcome.

Here is the short message I sent -

Dear Mr Childs,

Allow me to congratulate you on the fine job you're doing. Your treatment of Ms. Ramsdale, will most certainly qualify you and your school district as finalists for this years, "Asshole of the year" award.

Hopefully, it also qualifies you for litigation involving, "Hostile work environment". Treatment such as this, over a photo, definitely qualifies as hostile.

I hope she "Lawyers up" and takes the whole lot of you to the cleaners.

Respectfully yours,
Howie Feltersnatch

On sending that, I felt better immediately.

These are the type of folks that need an Angry, Rabid Badger, stuffed into their shorts.

Knock Knock .......

Anyone home? Yer Unk has been working on the idea of restarting the blog. Details to follow - maybe.












Anyway, Happy Birthday today to the Eldest Son, TherapyBoy.