Thought for the Day (an Invocation)

The message of today’s Sunday Sermonette is that you don’t need to take guff from children. That goes double for prophets like Elisha:

2 Kings 23-24 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tear forty and two children of them.

My take away from this is that those children were metaphorical antecedents of the students that we see protesting about nothing on college campuses today – or that occupy Wall Street. Note to self: We need more bears. 



May Day (tomorrow)

What are you doing tomorrow for May Day? There are the myriad of pagan rituals involving may poles and other events designed to spur human reproduction. If one is going to spend the day frivolously, it’s important to find the right sort of gathering. And if you are going to engage in reproductive activities or even to practice for the event, today is your day!
It’s also International Worker’s Day, celebrating the few communist hell holes that still exist here and there around the world, vast gulags for the various unfortunate, starving, populations. (In the late 19th century, May Day was chosen as the date for International Workers’ Day by communists)

Perhaps the best way to celebrate International Worker’s Day is sell what you have, buy an airplane ticket to North Korea and join in the struggle with the locals there. There just aren’t that many communist dictatorships left in the world. I’m sure that they can find something for you to do, even though you’ll be suspected of being a spy. If nothing else, you’ll be shot and they’ll use your body for fertilizer…your own little contribution to the advancement world communism.

100 Days In

One hundred days into President Trump’s administration, it is becoming evident that when considering his base, the president has been more successful than many would like to give him credit for.
As those of you who read this blog know, I have been a supporter of the president from the beginning. He has a lot going for him that his detractors are uncomfortable with:
  • He actually owned a successful business and knows what it’s like to get raped by taxes and to have to meet a payroll.
  • Negotiations don’t mean giving up your bottom line or your game plan.
  • You hire the right people (such as SECSTATE Tillerson and SECDEF Mattis) and let them do what you hired them to do with minimal interference. The Trump cabinet is not made up of political hacks who made their reputations by sucking up.
  • He takes campaign promises seriously, but understands that conditions change and you must be flexible to win – and President Trump likes to win.
President Trump ran on the promise that if elected, he would appoint federal judges who uphold the constitution and support the Second Amendment. The nomination and appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch has accomplished just that, and will be one of President Trump’s lasting successes from his first 100 days. 

White Wolf Mine Update

Some of you are following my progress in building a house high on the Mogollon Rim, above the City of Payson, AZ, which calls itself “rim country” but is sited at least 1,500 feet and ten miles below the rim. 

Plans call for a window here and a window there. I have had an education in how many companies and options available for each window, window types and the doo-dads and thingywhaps. 
I’m into the granularity phase of ordering specific ‘components’ of the custom-built shack. Some of those options are expensive. The glass wall that accordions back on itself to give you the indoor/out-door experience between the great room and the out-door covered deck (same size as the great room). Even the people at Pella Windows have suggested that La Cantina is the company to go for if you’re in search of that solution.
It needs a more potent header than other types of glass door solutions because there is no load bearing support at all. It’s not as secure as other options, but has the benefit of allowing you to treat the great outdoors as part of the house (the deck is about 15′ above ground level).
I don’t think that they will be much use during the winter. The problem with these doors is the lack of screen options…
Then there are the triple paned windows with shutter/blinds built inside of them. They’re cool, but you know that if the grandkids get to the controls, they’ll play with them until they break. It’s what children do. Thus the guest wing of the hovel will have slightly more traditional windows that just open, close and have a regular blind or curtains.
However, let me assure you that the companies that offer these solutions are VERY PROUD of those doors and are thrilled to charge you accordingly. These window showrooms are located in Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Scottsdale and in San Diego’s Gas Lamp District. I know who pays for the address.

Parting Thought (a benediction for the sermonette)

20 COMMENTS

  1. Well, wow on the hovel! I can appreciate it, but I don't think I could live in it.
    I am sure you will enjoy it.

  2. Yep! Looks like the White Wolf Abode will end up being a pretty respectable place. Why not? Enjoy the autumn and winter your your years… spend all the kids enhancement cause you can't take it with you. Just kidding, I KNOW you will take care of yours. As for the curtain-less folding windows, some of the sci-fi moves have computer operated windows that use scenes as curtains. I suggest the Hugh Hefner mode. Just keep the grandkids at bay.

  3. The grandsons will do what grandsons do. My biggest concern is that they'll get out in the pine forrest and become lost. In my youth, I carried a hatched and blazed pines to mark my passage. However with 8 grandkids, they'd carve off all of the bark given a few years blazing.

  4. It's 5500 square feet, so there's elbow room inside the shack. Same with the surrounding acreage – elbow room, and accommodations for guests, for trucks, motorcycles, quads and the canoe.

    At the moment there are thousands of decisions on what to do with this or that part of it.

  5. Tomorrow is not only May Day, but also the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker. To foster deep devotion to Saint Joseph among Catholics, and in response to the “May Day” celebrations for workers sponsored by Communists, Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955.

    I'm headed up the Silver Valley to purchase my tomato plants. I consider that a very "green" thing to do.

    I love those folding doors. Nice touch.

    I'm stealing The Lion.

  6. By planting your tomato plants in straw/hay bales tomorrow, you are 'working'. I love tomatoes. I think that they're my favorite vegetable – even though aren't they technically a fruit? Anyway, what did the Italians do before Columbus brought tomatoes back from the New World?

  7. Windows are fine for views. If it is light you want, skylights are better by a factor of ten in some cases.

  8. Hmmm- Those doors strike me as aimed at the Malibu climate. How often are you going to use them in rim Arizona? Heat loss, cool loss, leaves, bugs, birds, rodents and rattlesnakes all pose questions. Another question, outside of bug screening, is drapes or blinds- some don't mind, but it gives me the willies to be in a lit room at night with no window coverings.
    Regarding security, some window companies offer storm spec windows and doors – I think it is a Florida hurricane code or something of that nature. We put some Israeli made security film on ours but obviously not as good as a factory made product. Still, it will stop a brick for a few throws and keep the broken glass off the floor in a quake.
    One other option for wide open door expanses are sliders rather than accordion fold. Most of the concerns remain, but they may be more structurally resilient. Of course there will be one door width obstructed on each end of the opening.

  9. What about windows that roll up, like garage doors? I've seen those on a couple of local restaurants.

  10. It's a metal roof, designed not to leak and to ward off snow and hail. I took a pass on skylights, but your point is well taken.

  11. Those windows open onto a very large covered deck (40'x20') that is over 15 feet above ground level, so I'm not concerned about snakes. Rodents are always an issue. The better thing about sliding doors is that you can close the screen door and let light in while keeping bugs and pests out. The weather is very clement there. Monsoon in August cuts whatever heat there is and drops an average 8 inches of rain. Because of that, there are far fewer bugs than you might expect.

  12. I've seen those too, but never considered them for the house until you mentioned it. I'll look into the option.

  13. I'd rather have shutters made of Krell metal that close wham-wham-wham-wham-wham-wham-wham!

    But the glass ideas you have shore do look purdy!

  14. YES! Elijah and the Bears. Possibly one of the best texts in sacred writ. "Old bald head, old bald head," taunt the children and get promptly savaged by bears.

    Here's another good text, "Wait here with the ass, while I go yonder," but that's a different, if complimentary, sermon.

    And nice infovideo. Thanks.

  15. I'm doing my best at sermonizing. Far from professional quality – just bear baiting with progs.

  16. Make sure your window screens are gnaw proof. I had squirrels chew big gaping holes in four of mine. The WWM sounds fantastic!

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