Mocking Bird

I was driving past the south pond this morning and something caught my eye on the far bank. I pulled into the clubhouse parking lot, grabbed the camera (which, for once, actually had a charged battery) and set out across the grounds to get a closer look. Turned out to be this guy: It’s a… Continue reading Mocking Bird

There’s interesting. And there’s REALLY interesting.

They started building a new house across the street from us today. This is a momentous occasion, as it’s the last vacant lot on our cul-de-sac…well, on our entire street, for that matter, although our street is only two blocks long.  We have mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, it will be nice… Continue reading There’s interesting. And there’s REALLY interesting.

Snow Report

We got 3-4″ of heavy, wet snow last night and today. It’s not that unusual to have snow in West Texas, but we usually get the dry variety that stays on the trees and shrubs only as long as it takes for the first gust of wind to blow through. But this was snow of… Continue reading Snow Report

My Excellent Christmas Lights Adventure

First, the lessons. (A) Just because something is labeled doesn’t mean that it’s labeled correctly. And (2) The solution to the problem is probably more simple than you think, if you haven’t pushed all the buttons. I spent three hours yesterday afternoon putting up our Christmas lights. This included twelve strings of lights around the… Continue reading My Excellent Christmas Lights Adventure

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Categorized as Tools & DIY

The Domino’s Muse

I realized tonight that whenever I run short on blogging inspiration, I need only visit a Domino’s Pizza outlet for a few minutes and I’ll come away with plenty of material. I volunteered to pick up a pizza tonight if Debbie would order it, so she did via the Domino’s website. Normally, you can track… Continue reading The Domino’s Muse

TiGr Bike Lock

Update (2/2012): The Tigr Lock website has launched and the locks are now available for purchase. They’re not inexpensive, but they’re also not cheap, if you know what I mean. I took delivery of a new bike lock yesterday. I realize that sounds like dull news, or no news at all, but it’s actually quite… Continue reading TiGr Bike Lock

A Modest Rationale for Ending “Economic Diversification” Efforts

If you live in Midland, you’re familiar with the Midland Development Corporation (MDC), the quasi-governmental agency that uses some of our taxes to bribe entice companies to either locate in Midland County or expand their operations if they’re already here. The special sales tax that funds these efforts has been in place for a decade,… Continue reading A Modest Rationale for Ending “Economic Diversification” Efforts

Laws of Combat

I’m going through my files – physical and computer – and deleting or archiving those that are likely beyond their useful life. This is one of the final steps in unwinding the website business. In the process, I’ve run across a lot of things that I acquired and kept over the years for no apparent… Continue reading Laws of Combat