October 25 2010 by Darrin.

I built the workshop back in 1999/2000.  At the time, I didn’t think I’d need a slab out front.  (Five years prior, I didn’t think I’d need a shop, so go figure.)  Over the first few years, it became obvious that my initial logic was flawed, with my feet always muddy from trips to and fro.  I also spent countless hours building little railroad-style tracks for heavy projects to roll outside on, after meticulously shimming them in the dirt out front, on pieces of lumber and steel.  Here’s an old shot of what the site looked like previously…

It was just Mulie season here.  Gary, a friend and annual deer hunter from Wisconsin, was debating whether or not to come out this year.  He makes his living in construction back there, so I suggested he consider pouring this slab for me if he came out.  He got here hoping to go hunting, but the season was shorter than normal and the weather was not in his favor.  He rearranged his plans and we did some preliminary work Tuesday, he and a hand from South Dakota excavated and set up Wednesday, and they poured Thursday and Friday to just beat some impending unexpected rain (and now snow).

Things could have been smoother, but Murphy’s always around to mess with you.  Tuesday night, we tried to bust out some “extra” concrete that had been placed in front of my walk door years ago.  It was poured solid around a frost-free hydrant, and wasn’t the 4″ expected, but a whopping 13″.  Too make a long story short, the hydrant broke and I had to replace it - 5′ down, 24″ hole, and virtually impossible to work in there to repair it…

Thursday, the first load of mud came - 4000 psi with fibermesh, to be poured 6″ thick…

By Friday, it was all in place…

And that damned hydrant?  Here’s the new one installed, properly protected from moving with the slab.  Notice that the concrete is scored in a 3′ square, and ready to break out with a hammer if needed.  It’s 4″ thick there, instead of 6″, and should come out okay IF I need to dig it up again.

Monday morning now, Gary’s heading home and he just made it out of here.  I guess our long-lasting summer has finally come to an end…

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July 28 2010 by Darrin.

I’ve tried really hard to keep the politics off my blog.  There are enough idiots out there commenting in the “sphere” and I just don’t need to participate in it.  That said, here goes my two cents on something that’s really been bothering me lately.  I’m a politics/news junkie, and what I’m seeing is driving me nuts - yes, even from my trusted source, Fox News.

I don’t understand why the anchors and guests keep saying that “the Bush tax cuts for the rich” will expire December 31st.  These cuts were NOT just for the rich.  If the cuts are allowed to expire, the LOWEST BRACKET at 10% will go up to 15%.  For a person or family making $40K in taxable income, their taxes will go from $4K to $6K.  That’s not a 5% increase (as I heard yesterday), it’s a 50% increase.  On the LOWEST BRACKET!!! (Read this article from Investors Business Daily if this is “news” to you.)

Sure the top bracket goes up too - from 35% to 39.6%, but that’s only an 11.6% increase.   Yes, it’s a lot of actual dollars for those rich folk, BUT the percentage is what you feel - and the lowest income earners WILL feel the most pain where it hurts.

To “the rich” with that 11.6% tax increase, they’ll forgo additional investments and savings, or a new Lexus, or maybe a few spa days - but not the staples of life.

To that family making a taxable $40K, the lost $2k in additional income tax will amount to Christmas, or vacation, or groceries, or IRA/401(k) retirement savings when they really need to be saving it.  It’s really going to hurt them, while the high-earners will simply complain about needing a fresh coat of bottom paint on the yacht. (I’m not knockin’ the wealthy - just putting it in perspective.)

Why doesn’t anyone talk about that?  Maybe it’s because just a few years ago, over half of our high school students failed to correctly answer the following question…  “Is 50% of 10:  a) more than 10, b) less than 10, c) equal to 10, or d) you can’t tell from the question?”

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