The Lonely Libertarian: March 2017

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

There has never been a truer meme

Just in case you were wondering

I'm still mostly alive, mostly sane, mostly focused. Last week, spouse was home on vacation which meant I wasn't. This week I'm prepping for the comprehensive final exam that counts for 40% of my grade. There might not be much posting this week; then again, there might not be much left of me next week.

Monday, March 20, 2017

Vodka tends to do that

I'm fluent in silence

Monday's Inspirational Shit

h/t Jesse in DC

When you're invited to wirecutter's for a cookout

Seriously, aren't those the most wirecutterish things you've ever seen?

Just in case you want to send him one for his birthday:

YOU CAN BUY THEM HERE

Friday, March 17, 2017

It's a Jameson past Guinness O'Clock

Just a wee Irish lass with something to slake your thirst.

You're welcome.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Test #4 on Punctuation finished and turned in for grading. (Did you know the only two names in the English language that end with an s and take an 's for possessive form are Jesus and Moses? Jesus's and Moses's, but never Les's.) I have no confidence in my ability to punctuate, so here's some funnies to take our minds off my imminent failure.

And from Jesse in DC who claims to know this is true:

Thursday, March 16, 2017

The power of a kickass beard

Not all charities are equal

Beer Run, circa 1974

Why do I have a feeling this is one of y'all?

Max's Magnificent Spring Break

Post-bath dry grass roll

Pretty good camouflage, huh?

After a good roll, he came in, shook off,

pulled a pillow off the couch and crashed for a morning nap.

And after an ice cream from Sonic,

and afternoon nap.

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Cooking with Wirecutter

I renamed my wifi "Wiretap"

And on a related note

When police forces across the country were getting their hands on military tanks and armored personnel carriers, our little counties were going, "WTF are we going to do with a tank?! What else ya got?"

What they had were all-terrain fuel trucks, easily retrofitted to carry hundreds of gallons of water and high pressure hoses into brush that regular fire trucks can't access. So far, ten Texas Panhandle counties have the Beasts. Kind of funny to watch the fire trucks screaming towards a grass fire and the Beast lagging behind like a winded rhino at the back of a stampede. But it gets there, and it does an amazing job getting into the breaks and draws where mesquite and buffalo grass offer ample fuel.

Meet the Panhandle Volunteer Fire Department's Beast. Credited for helping to quickly contain last week's brush fire.

March 6, 2017

Hemphill County, March 6, 2017

It started around noon with an emergency alert of a small grassfire in northeast Potter county and southwest Carson. By 4 pm, 8 city and volunteer fire departments plus the emergency response team of Pantex were battling the blaze that would eventually consume several tens of thousands of acres. And it was the smallest of the three fires that burned the Panhandle and three other states.

Looking west from Panhandle High School

March 6, 2017

A second grassfire broke out between Pampa and Lefors. That one burned about 135,000 acres and took the lives of three young people who were trying to save their horses and cattle from the racing flames. Couple Cody Crockett and Sydney Wallace and rancher Sloan Everett were overcome by the flames around 10 pm; Sydney died of smoke inhalation on scene and the men died of burns en route to the hospital.

Cody and Sydney

Sloan Everett

A third grassfire, and the largest by far, consumed almost 300,000 acres in three states. Starting around Miami Texas and rushing north and east into the Oklahoma Panhandle and southeast Kansas, it claimed the life of young father-to-be Cade Koch who was rushing home to help evacuate his pregnant wife. He didn't outrun the fire.

Cade and Sierra Koch

Four people under the age of thirty, gone in an instant. But wait, there's more. The loss of wildlife and domestic cattle is mindboggling. This is calving season in the Panhandle; the cows who had already calved were lost along with their babies. And the cows who were still pregnant? Two lives lost. Ranchers are staggering under the losses, of both cattle and grassland. All of the land that would feed the remaining cattle was burned.

This scene is repeated over and over in the counties burned.

But this is when country folk shine brightest. Hay and fencing donations have been steadily pouring into the affected areas, starting almost immediately. I think the first deliveries arrived within 48 hours and haven't stopped.

Hay donations, Canadian TX

The wildfire season is just beginning, and most of us are on high alert. If you're traveling through our part of the country, please be careful with cigarettes and other fire starters. It only takes a spark to snuff out so much life.