I have a load of photos, but for some reason this new version of the Blogger editor is balking at uploading them. I hate it. I wish I could go back to the old editor.

Update, ok photo uploading seems to work ok from my "work computer".  Feh!

 Shake it, kitties!

Labels: blogger hell

If I wait until it is "complete" (whatever that means), I may never launch it. I've talked about it now and then and some of you probably think I've given up on it. No, no I haven't. I just haven't taken the time lately to do more with it.

The Men's Room is a blog dedicated to the topic of Game, with a specific emphasis on LTR Game, together with other side topics of interest to men. A couple months ago the topic of "long-term relationship (LTR) game" in the context of a Christian marriage was hotly debated on a number of sites in the Voxosphere. While debates of this nature can be interesting and informative in their own right, the contentious atmosphere makes it virtually impossible to discuss the actual details and nuances of how such a concept could or should be applied. In response, this blog was conceived as a private blog, a location for the like-minded to discuss topics of interest without interference from gamma males and women. As an example, one John Quincy Public is a continual thorn in the side of people attempting to have a rational conversation on the topic.

To clarify, by "gamma male" I refer to Vox's schema. A gamma male might otherwise be referred to as a "white knight" or more simply a "clueless beta". If you have yet to take the red pill, if you are convinced women are better than men and generally deserve to be placed on a pedestal and treated as princesses, then there is no need for you to apply. If on the other hand you understand that women, all women, are at least as flawed and fallen as men, and you want to peruse links full of helpful information and join an ongoing conversation on how to improve your relationships with them, then click and send your application.

Right now the content is limited to a handful of posts, and the Game Resources links consist of a single entry. I will add more as time permits and interest is manifest. I'll also drop a note here whenever I add something new.

UPDATE: Ok I thought there was a way to request access at the link.  Apparently not.  If you want in, please drop me an e-mail at desertcat10@desertcat.net with the email address you normally use to log in to leave comments on blogger.com weblogs.  I will add it to the members list within a day or so.

Labels: blogospheric navel-gazing, women

Let Tom C. tell you:
Why a Practice Garden?, by Tom C. - SurvivalBlog.com

I'm sorry to keep harping on this, but Tom's experience will be more typical than not. And if the extent of your preparation is a can of seeds and starry-eyed hope, you will starve.

Grow an experimental garden, build your soil, learn what grows and how, learn what it takes to build the soil in your area and then stockpile what it takes to build the soil in a larger garden if you simply do not have the time to devote to it right now.

After your short and intermediate (1 yr) term preps are in order, having a productive garden or one that you can ramp up in short order is the next most essential area to address. If it turns out your area and your soil are conducive to easy gardening, then count yourself blessed. But you won't know until you try.

This is cool. I first saw this comic years and years ago. Something triggered its recollection yesterday, and sure enough here it is on the internet.

Labels: art appreciation, felicity and jocularity

The Great Recession is over!! Strike up the band! Sell your survival supplies! Ditch your retreat! Whip out the credit cards! Let's go SHOPPING!!!

Happy days are here again!

Analysis: Are S&P 500 gains a true breakout? | Reuters

(don't hold your breath...)

Update: Just so you know, all that the statisticians at NBER have said is that we stopped plummeting like a wingless rock in June '09. That is, we stopped "recessing", by certain narrow definitions thereof. This speaks nothing to the continued loss of jobs that occurred subsequently, the continued slide in housing prices and housing sales, and the continued weakness in every other sector of the economy not directly pumped up by government stimulus. Heck a quick look at GDP (which includes government stimulus spending) shows the same thing. What the did not say, and what they did not mean is that we have subsequently returned to a "normal" economic growth situation. All this recent talk by economists and analysts of "double-dip" recession, (which many of us scorned, because there was no real recovery in between) is still valid.

There is one reason and one reason alone for this announcement: the reelection of Democrats in November.

See it for what it is and disregard accordingly.

Labels: financial ponderings, liberal stupidity

Kinda sucks, yeah.

I have photos but they are in my camera sitting on my counter, and I didn't bring the camera with me. Just "redneck white trash trailer trash" photos, stuff that is "to do" for the Suzy Homemaker list. My weekend consisted of continued rearranging, changing, cleaning, consolidating and essentially "moving in" activities. I shredded another couple bags of paper and finished removing boxes from the living room floor. I have my art stuff set up in the corner of the living room for when/if I need to take time out for such.

It is looking good for next weekend to restart "progress" as I define it. I bought some additional shelf material for the kitchen cabinet I put up. I am still partway through the 120v solar power outlets project. I have to get started on the 12/24v side of the distribution system. And of course the solar tower now that the weather is headed into better territory. There is still the bathroom project staring at me. Kind of pointless with no "Trailer Park Princess" to occupy it, but it's also pointless to leave it where it was left forever. I could use that space for other purposes.

And then there is the garden. Cooler weather is High Time for turning it over for winter cover crops. I ordered the gas tank for the tiller a week ago, and it only shipped this weekend. If it arrives this week, installing it is high on the list.

So I look forward rather than back. Although I'll probably still post my White Trash Montage when I get to my camera again.

Labels: San Pedro homestead

Because it's worth the reminder...


h/t to BearB

Labels: art appreciation

All night, all day.
Angels watching over me, my Lord.
All night, all day.
Angels watching over me.

Labels: earworm, spiritual

Daisycat, for your perusal and use when arguing with know-it-all coworkers:
Rosenberg: Here Are 13 Signs That We're Actually In A Depression Right Now

Bug-out theme song:

Labels: morning mood

That is what I was called last weekend by my "dear" esposa, shortly before she fled for the city vowing to never set foot on my farm again.

Redneck. White trash. Trailer trash.

It's a wonder I didn't bust her on the spot.

Redneck, fine. There is sufficient evidence that I could be called a redneck, although personally I think of myself more as a redneck sympathizer than an actual dyed-in-the-wool redneck.

But white trash? Trailer trash?

That is so incredibly far from reality, so ludicrously off the mark, and really speaks *so much* to the raw, senseless ignorance of the one making the outlandish accusation, that it becomes laughable and beneath me to work up an outrage over it. Methinks *someone* ought to look into what is really meant by those terms before she ever again goes around hurling such ludicrous epithets at one to whom they so manifestly do not apply.

What got her into her insensate lather was not, in fact, evidence of the moral and character failings characteristic of white trash, but a matter of priorities driven by a sense of great urgency regarding preparation for significant economic and social upheaval just ahead.

So the grounds and the house look a bit unkempt. In part this is because the woman-half of this partnership has been so rarely around to "kemp" while I "build", and has been completely unwilling to do any "kemping" while here. For three years I have been focused on the building because the time is short. This is not to say I neglect housekeeping entirely. No indeed! In fact I busted butt that Friday, spending the entire day deep cleaning in anticipation of her arrival. The entire friggin day! Moved everything in the living room to vacuum. Thoroughly cleaned the bathroom for the first time in months. Made the kitchen spotless. Washed all the bedding.  Did it matter? No. Should I have even *had* to spent such effort, given that I am the builder half and she is the "kemper" half?  You know the answer.

So she will never come out here again. My priorities must therefore change accordingly. I don't have to waste any more time on "princess projects". I can focus on the stuff that really matters.  OR on stuff that matters to me.  When I do get to painting and decorating, it will be my color schemes I use, not hers. (*If* I ever get to that point--with the way the economy is accelerating into the "double-dip", it may all fall apart before then.)  And her non-TEOTWAWKI related crap stored in ceiling-high piles, and much of it a direct cause of the "clutter" in evidence, will go back to her in the city for her to keep or discard at her option.

Still, her harsh, untrue and unkind words continue to sting. This weekend (and the remainder of last weekend) was devoted to sprucing, rearranging and cleaning. As one born under the sun sign of Cancer, one of our characteristic behaviors when we are emotionally upset is nesting (cleaning closets is the cliche), and I was at it with a vengeance.

 My desk area is now relocated and redecorated.  And yes, *sigh*.  The chair has a torn back.  Does that make me "white trash"?

I spent a good part of the weekend on yard work, primarily in my meditation garden.  I raked paths, trimmed branches, gathered piles of branches from all around the fenced enclosure and burned a big heap.
There was a tangle of burro weed just downhill from the goldfish pond.  I grubbed out the burro weed and then excavated a shallow overflow pond.  A couple of large frogs have moved into the goldfish pond, and I have seen a lot of interest in the pond area by dragonflies.  The overflow pond will encourage both of these visitors to take up permanent residence.
It is just a start, but since this is such a central location in my meditation garden, I'm happy to see it looking better than a tangle of weeds finally.

Fairy and her suitor near the edge of the new pond:

Elsewhere, my vegetable garden is a glorious chaos!  Gaillardias everywhere, and a smattering of black-eyed susans and other flowers amidst the cover crops and vegetables!
I have done nothing out there since the weather turned hot and sticky--just let it do its thing.  Which is okay since my main mission is still green manuring.

Some interesting data is accruing however.  The peanuts were a dismal failure, at least in these beds and this year.
The plants are puny and chlorotic, despite the soil sulfur added in the spring and the successful winter cover crop turned in prior to planting.  But it may be the year, because Momcat had decent luck with peanuts last year and hers are doing nothing this year also.  So they get tilled under soon, but I'm thinking about other sources of vegetable oils, such as sunflower or maybe olives.  Dietary oil is important and I have to get this solved before TSHTF.

Blackeye peas, on the other hand, are robust and trouble-free.  I planted these primarily for green manure but Momcat has harvested a couple quarts of dried beans off these plants so far, and there are still more coming.
I have taken some tepary beans off my plants to save for seed next year, and my Tohono O'odham corn is doing well too--much better than last year when it barely struggled along in the unimproved soil.  In the background is my solar tower, just as I left it when the weather turned hot.
The weather is right on the cusp of getting nice again.  Friday was quite nice although Saturday and Sunday heated up and got humid again.  Very soon it will be time to spend whole weekends out in this garden preparing for fall.  To that end, I ordered a new gas tank for my tiller, as the original has a leak I haven't been able to patch.

I did do one "progress" type thing this weekend.  I put up the cabinets salvaged from the Tucson house in order to reclaim the counter space they were occupying.

And one leftover photo that was in my camera from a few weeks ago:
I bought a NightStar shake flashlight.  Someone (I think Bear?) said shake flashlights are all junk.  Most are.  But you might want to give this one a try before you give up completely.  This is the only one I've been able to find that is actually built to last.  Now I would prefer a machined aircraft aluminum body, but this one seems darn sturdy for a plastic flashlight.  It is commensurately more expensive than the cheapo throwaways, but you get what you pay for, and I need something I never need to worry about being dead when I need it most.  Into my day bag it goes for now.  If it comes out it will only be to go into my B.O.B.

Labels: San Pedro homestead

8.4 Million New Yorkers Suddenly Realize New York City A Horrible Place To Live | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Well Pretty Lady got out of the city a little over a year ago. Looks like the rest have finally wised up.

Hat tip to Vox.

Labels: felicity and jocularity

Sorry. Been rearrangin'. Changin'. Like David Bowie sang:
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
I said that time may change me
But I can't trace time

I probably put on a couple pounds of muscle mass over the last couple weekends moving stuff around, and I probably added a few dozen gray hairs playing host to my Drama Queen last weekend after she flew off in a Huff and Puff of absurd Declarations of Intent and maunderings about the Futility of Life and all of it's numerous Sisyphean Tasks.

Well.

Sisyphus was doomed to roll that rock for all of eternity. WE only have to push rocks uphill for the duration of this lifetime, then WE get to rest for eternity.

Rest will come soon enough love. Today we are commanded to occupy until He comes.

Labels: life on the border, San Pedro homestead, women

Obama to Propose Tax Write-Off for Capital Investments - NYTimes.com

Hey Obamunists! Isn't your boy supposed to be busy soaking the rich? Whassup wit dis? Giving fat, happy tax breaks to capitalists?

Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out
Got a good reason, for taking the easy way out, now

She was a day..... tripper, one way ticket, yeah!
It took me so..... long to find out, and I found out

She's a big teaser, she took me half the way there
She's a big teaser, she took me half the way there, now

She was a day.... tripper, one way ticket, yeah!
It took me so.... long to find out, and I found out

Tried to please her, she only played one night stands
Tried to please her, she only played one night stands, now

She was a day.... tripper, Sunday driver, yeah!
It took me so.... long to find out, and I found out

Day tripper
Day tripper, yeah!

Day tripper
Day tripper, yeah!

Labels: misanthropy, morning mood, women

Yo!

Labels: misanthropy

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Labels: cats, felicity and jocularity, women

Iraq: An End or an Escalation? by Rep. Ron Paul

Amid much fanfare last week, the last supposed “combat” troops left Iraq as the administration touted the beginning of the end of the Iraq War and a change in the role of the United States in that country. Considering the continued public frustration with the war effort and with the growing laundry list of broken promises, this was merely another one of the administration’s operations in political maneuvering and semantics in order to convince an increasingly war-weary public that the Iraq War is at last ending. However, military officials confirm that we are committed to intervention in that country for years to come, and our operations have, in fact, changed minimally, if really at all.
...
50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq, and they are still receiving combat pay. One soldier was killed in Basra just last Sunday, after the supposed end of combat operations, and the same day 5,000 men and women of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood were deployed to Iraq. Their mission will be anything but desk duty. Among other things, they will accompany the Iraqi military on dangerous patrols, continue to be involved in the hunt for terrorists, and provide air support for the Iraqi military. They should be receiving combat pay, because they will be serving a combat role!

Of course, the number of private contractors – who perform many of the same roles as troops, but for a lot more money – is expected to double. So this is a funny way of ending combat operations in Iraq.

Liar! Liar! Do you think even your base will be fooled by this?

Obamunists: How's that "Hope and Change" working out for you?

Labels: liberal stupidity, The Failed Obama Presidency

Top economists: The second Great Depression has arrived

Daisycat said yesterday that my blog has become boring with no new posts. So I told her I'd write about her to get her all riled up.

If Daisycat were to write her own blog (and I have encouraged her in the past), you'd not see the level of tinfoil hat on her blog that you see on mine. No, in addition to reading what I have to say, she ventures on a regular basis to that bastion of objective reporting, Infowars.com, the home of the illustrious reporter Alex Jones. Topping that, she follows several sites that track every cough and sneeze and whisper going on in Israel, hoping to find something with which to froth their readership into a lather. Her blog, if she wrote it, would require mandatory tinfoil helmet attire.

But instead of writing a blog, she loves to discuss this kind of stuff with her co-workers, many of whom are convinced of...things about her. Nevertheless I am supposed to provide her with backup material when the scoffing gets too intense. One "economic expert" coworker insists that we cannot be in a depression because of some textbook definitions he learned in a college class.

To that end I link the article above, noting several prominent economic analysts who assert we are indeed heading into a depression.

"Take THAT, you ignorant coworker, you!"

Labels: financial ponderings, watching the skies