Within a few weeks of moving to the mountain in June of 2013 Mrs. Cog and I found ourselves in the one and only bank within 10 miles of our new place opening a checking account in order to conduct (local) financial business as needed. The manager, a pleasant woman married to the realtor who sold us our place, helpfully informed us the locals were all on ‘Mountain Time’, meaning things got done when they got done and not necessarily when we thought they should get done.
I was familiar with the term, or more accurately the concept, since several decades earlier I had been married (briefly I might add) to a young woman who had spent most of her formative years on a Caribbean island. Yes, my ex-wife operated on ‘Island Time’, which for her meant if it was going to get done it would eventually get done, though not necessarily by her. It was her one redeeming quality. Continue reading Four Score and Seven Beards Ago→
My thinking on a variety of subjects has changed over time and I expect my understanding will continue to evolve as new information, knowledge and propaganda enters my orbit. Contrary to popular belief this is a good thing because it means my mindset is not as static and rigid as some, though it is most certainly worse than others.
One of the great questions of the ages is why we, and by ‘we’ I mean anyone other than ‘they/them’, tolerate the abuse we receive from the hand of our masters. While the mistreatment is most often handed down on an individual basis, “We the Abused” outnumber the abusers by at least 10 to 1. And I count among that ‘1’ all those who enable, support and carry out the abuse. So why do we tolerate something we can clearly stop if we so wish? Continue reading A Kept Culture→
Did you know the explosive force of one gallon of gasoline is equivalent to several sticks of dynamite? While it is admittedly difficult to create that explosion without rapidly spraying the fuel into the air before igniting it (for example Hollywood special effects) gasoline does burn vigorously once ignited and it is an extremely aggressive accelerant for nearly any combustible object it touches. In short gasoline is an extremely dangerous liquid and should not be treated casually.
If you are a homeowner most likely you have a few gallons of gasoline hanging around in the garage (or some other outhouse) for use in your lawn mower, tiller, string trimmer or generator. In fact you might have more than ‘just’ a few gallons on hand. Based upon what I see now and then while filling up at gas stations, people tend to keep one or more five gallon container of fuel on hand at all times.
While safe gasoline storage and handling has always been on my mind since I had a lengthy conversation many years ago with a volunteer fireman about burning buildings with containers (as well as power equipment) full of gas, my concern reached the acute stage last year when Mrs. Cog and I moved into our new-to-us homestead up here on the mountain. Our cabin, plus the detached garage and a third outbuilding, are all constructed of logs. Needless to say we live and work in a more combustible environment than most and must always be mindful of fire safety. Continue reading Proper Prepping – Safe(r) Gasoline Storage→
