(The Great Hall at Refuge Farm. Respite for a Refugee. Photo Socotra.) I don’t call it Refuge Farm lightly. The little place nestled between the two creeks has pretty much what you would need to get by in a pinch, and a pinch is what we were in. I was horizontal, looking up, skin dewy […]

(Unhappy pick-up truck on George Mason Drive next to Big Pink on Friday night after the Derecho event. Photo Sara-1). It was hot. My back hurt and the leg ached dully. My skin was sticky. I wanted to be in the pool, but there are still raw openings in the incision and you know what […]

  There is a lot to address this morning, and only some of it is appropriate to the morning story.   The news was electrifying. I was mulling it over all morning and into the afternoon. My physical recovery is continuing, and I can hobble around without the crutches when I forget to pick them […]

(As a shut-in, I have been collecting funny pictures of animals. This Super Groundhog is courtesy of the nice people at Polite Dissent, copyright 2006. It is a fine line between a hobby and madness, as Mr. Barry notes.)   I hate snipers, IEDs and fire in about that order. Floods are acts of the […]

I can’t do irony this morning, or try to highlight some particular aspect of the stupidity of Life in These United States.   I am listening to the press conference at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs. The Fire and Police chiefs are there, and the incident commander and the Forest Service and the Mayor. […]

(Vigilant Chinese monitor PRC claims in the South China Sea. Image by artist Sun Ying.) I got up, marveling that I could stand briefly unassisted and make the bed. The start to Day 32 of recuperation seems like a good one. What did you think about Arizona and the Supreme Court? It seems like a […]

There is an air of unreality here in Washington. It is muggy, people are looking forward to the holiday next week, and the moist cold-and-hot cycle in the weather continues. It may have something to do with the pattern of the jet stream, which is influenced by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation or the effect of […]

(All-electric Tesla S sedan. Slick car for only $105,000. Photo NY Times).   I am at an intersection this morning, metaphorically, anyway, and in keeping with that line of thought, am hobbling across it on my mental crutches and trying to deal with a minor case of gas.   It took a placid day yesterday […]

I am sure there is something to be outraged about this morning. I can’t rev up the energy to get too upset about the coming increase in the rate of interest charge to Pell Loans. I listened to some earnest pundits talking about it. The President made it a big deal, like the Bad Congress […]

(Amazon.com’s version of the Showermatic Support System, a revolutionary support system for stinky shut-ins. Photo Amazon.) The Taliban is having a great day, if you have not heard. They hit a lakeside resort yesterday and murdered around fourteen people- guests and security people- and there is something else in the Kabul metro area that has […]