Rural and small-town living – Page 15

Tuesday links

Published January 31, 2017 10:19 am by Claire

Seemed time for another “lite” links collection. I closed all my bad-news tabs. To hell with them. Today I bring you mostly good news and puppies. Oh, and a moose.

California may be vying for the role of Worst Anti-Gun Suckery. But even there you’ll find some good news: more schools are allowing teachers and parents to carry firearms (Rural California isn’t that California.)
Three stages of failure in life and work — and how to fix them. Offers a way of evaluating when you’ve had a “seriously, man, give it up” failure or a “re-trench, re-think, and try again” failure.
Ooooh. There’ve been some savage tweet-offs over the years. But when zoos around the country get into a cute animal competition, things really get brutal.
Continue readingTuesday links

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Only in a place like this

Published January 24, 2017 3:26 pm by Claire

It was a gorgeous afternoon. Blue, blue, blue sky and 50 degrees. I decided to drive Ava into the hills to an off-the-beaten-path place where all the trees have been clearcut in the last five years and we’d have that glorious sunshine beaming on us for the entire walk. About two miles up the main road I spotted an ATV off to the side and a young man standing behind the trailer that was hitched to it. That was a little unusual, so I stopped and rolled down my window to ask, “You okay? You broken down or anything?” He…

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The pussy rally and other reasons to run and hide from the Internet

Published January 22, 2017 10:22 am by Claire

Had to take a few days off from the ‘Net. Too many angry people, too many crazy people, too many “interesting” people. You know how you get those spates of them sometimes. Then you return and everyone’s peaceful and sane for a couple of months. I hope. I’m spending my break basking in reality. That is, not only mostly offline, but not in places that artificially pass for real. That is among other things, not in Washington, DC, where Jim Bovard took these very NSFW photos yesterday (and swears he didn’t deliberately go looking for the grossest signs). I played…

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Ahhhh, spring!

Published January 15, 2017 3:05 pm by Claire

Okay, okay. I know two blazing afternoons — afternoons soaring all the way to 45 degrees — do not a change of seasons make. I know we’re not yet a month into winter. I know — with many sighs — that in the part of the world we don’t expect consistently friendly weather until mid-July. But damn! This weekend’s been a blessed relief from what some wag called the Northwest’s Mini-Ice Age. Freezing at night, as per our usual lately, but with blessedly benign afternoons. Spring? Alas, no. But a fine substitute. Besides, a girl can dream, can’t she? And…

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Monday links

Published January 9, 2017 11:19 am by Claire

LOL, Joel the grammar nazi.

But at least when Joel had his leg amputated he didn’t take it home with him. I’m not sure how much of a thing this is. But I suppose a leg could make a good lamp base.

How many bombs did Mr. Nobel Peace Prize order dropped on how many countries in 2016? Bigger questions (how many did they kill, how necessary were any of them?) aren’t being asked.

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Weekend links #2

Published January 8, 2017 8:02 am by Claire

Women marrying themselves. No, it’s not from The Onion.

Somehow not surprising: Minimum wages were originally intended to ensure that jobs stayed with WASP men and not go to women, minorities, or other “undesirables.”

The latest in government school bullying. Teacher humiliates a nine-year-old girl because the child had her first successful hunt.

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Weekend links

Published January 6, 2017 5:23 pm by Claire

Merry Christmas! Really.

One Dem makes one last-ditch effort to stop Trump. (Note the Freudian slip that this newly elected D-WA congressthing is identified as “D-Seattle.” People in rural Washington know all too well the truth in that little goofsie.)

Perhaps not for thee or me, but one family’s thriving in its pretty cob house. Inside a geodesic dome. Within the Arctic Circle. (H/T MtK for this very impressive story)

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Friday links

Published December 30, 2016 10:50 am by Claire

Diagnose 17 diseases with a single blow into a breathalyzer? I doubt it’s that elegant and easy (especially with only 86% accuracy). But an interesting potential development.

Prepare to be shocked: the DEA pays millions to informants with somewhat less accountability than your local library uses to keep track of paperback books.

And if that wasn’t enough of a shock, I know you’ll just faint dead away to know that the Department of (Achtung!) Homeland Security is riddled with bribery and corruption. (I’m truly sorry to deliver all this bad news to you; I know how much you trusted and admired your federal government.)

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Flabbergasted

Published December 29, 2016 3:02 pm by Claire

A few years ago, two of the many kind readers of this blog sent a substantial donation specifically for buying a generator. The money they sent was enough to purchase an inexpensive generator — or make a good start on saving for the compact Honda or Yamaha they knew was on my wish list. They gave me that option. My choice. I decided to stash the donation and keep on saving for the Dream Generator. While it made me nervous not to have backup power, I figured that — not being particularly a Ms Fixit — I needed the reliability,…

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Just an artsy-snowy picture

Just an artsy-snowy picture

Published December 19, 2016 2:13 pm by Claire

One day last week we were expecting an ice storm. Never did get it, but we received a pretty little snow dusting. I took this photo, which I just remembered while going through the camera card for last post’s Boy Scout image. Taken through a window with melting snow droplets on it. Artsy on purpose, seriously. Not just a bad photo because I was too cozy and warm to want to venture outside. Truth.

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Category: Rural and small-town living