For the few brave (foolish?) souls who wander over from the Reaper Minis forum, here are a few links to really good articles elsewhere on the web.
You know, just so you don't think I'm a completely psychotic libertarian.
http://chestofcolors.com/how-to-make-autumn-bases/
Higher highlights and deeper shadows!
Here's a painting challenge: Strap a palette to your forearm and a parachute on your back.
More base information.
07 September 2012
28 June 2012
I Will Not Comply
Today the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the hideous law that is Obamacare. A government bureaucracy that will decrease medical innovation, increase cost, and decrease access to medicine.
Although the details still need to be worked out (surprise, we have to "pass the law to see what's in it"), one of the methods of enforcement will be via the IRS. Presumably, there will be a little checkbox that says something like "Check here if you have health insurance. If you do not, follow steps 134a-139f." So I'll get to have the joy of experiencing what it is like to not fill out my tax form completely.
And now I'm off to send money to the Romney campaign.
Although the details still need to be worked out (surprise, we have to "pass the law to see what's in it"), one of the methods of enforcement will be via the IRS. Presumably, there will be a little checkbox that says something like "Check here if you have health insurance. If you do not, follow steps 134a-139f." So I'll get to have the joy of experiencing what it is like to not fill out my tax form completely.
And now I'm off to send money to the Romney campaign.
03 June 2012
Rule #4: Take Extreme Care of Whom You Marry
The importance of choosing a spouse cannot be overemphasized. It is likely the most important decision a man makes. Marrying the wrong person will fill your life with chaos, pain, and financial drudgery. Not only can she take your children, but she will likely take a good chunk of your financial world with her as well. Therefore . . . .
Rule #4: Take extreme care of whom you marry.
This rule encompasses learning about women's psychology. They are different from men (despite certain groups who claim otherwise). The world, as I write this, is tilted in favor of women. The role of father and husband is the butt of jokes on television, and in much of our culture. Even the Church is failing men.
The absolute best advice I've seen on this issue is this:
If she balks, you know what type of woman she is.
Further reading can be found at the following NSFW sites:
Dalrock
Roissy (totally NSFW)
University of Man
House of Eratosthenes
Rule #4: Take extreme care of whom you marry.
This rule encompasses learning about women's psychology. They are different from men (despite certain groups who claim otherwise). The world, as I write this, is tilted in favor of women. The role of father and husband is the butt of jokes on television, and in much of our culture. Even the Church is failing men.
The absolute best advice I've seen on this issue is this:
If she balks, you know what type of woman she is.
Further reading can be found at the following NSFW sites:
Dalrock
Roissy (totally NSFW)
University of Man
House of Eratosthenes
23 May 2012
Brett Kimberlin Is A Liar
Brett Kimberlin is also a terrorist, having set bombs to kill innocent people in Speedway, Indiana in 1978. Today, Kimberlin is still a cowardly bastard. If this guy was a Republican, the news media would be all over it. But no, he's a leftist prick, so the media ignores it, and the Maryland State Attorney for Montgomery County is letting him off the hook for his recent criminal actions. Here's a bit of the story.
Here's a little more.
So these cowards (Brett Kimberlin, Ron Brynaert, Neal Rauhauser) can't take criticism, and are working to destroy the lives of their political opponents. Such models of human decency, they are. My two year old behaves better than this, and he's not even out of diapers yet.
How much lower than whale shit do you have to be to threaten a man's family and employer?
Why is it that the sociopathic nutjobs always seem to come out from the left side of the political spectrum?
What has to happen before the Left cleans their house of these crackpots?
As others have said, this isn't about Left vs Right. It's about Liberty vs Tyranny. Remember to never be silenced, and never misplace your spine. Stand for liberty.
22 May 2012
Rule #3: Learn What Money Is, What it Isn't, and What it Does.
I'm not sure if this rule is the third most important rule, but given the importance of money in our lives, I figured I should say something about it. As Zig Ziglar says, "Money isn't everything, but it's reasonably close to oxygen."
Money is not the root of all evil, nor is the Bible correct when it says the love of money is the root of all evil.
Money makes you more of what you are. If you're a giving person, money makes you a bigger giver. If you're a miser, you become a bigger miser. If you're foolish, money makes you more foolish. If you're wise, money makes you wiser.
The exchange of money allows two people with very little in common to exchange the fruits of their labor. A farmer can buy a new suit from a well-fed tailor. That is the magic of money.
The curse of money is that it affects your emotional state. It can change relationships. "The borrower is slave to the lender." Christmas feels different when your brother owes you a few thousand dollars.
Money, being a tool, means that people can use it as they wish. Just as a firearm in the hands of a criminal can be used for evil, the same weapon in the hands of a mother defending her children can be used for good. Free will (and thus sin) is the root of all evil. Free will is also the root of all good. Money can be used for both. It can be used to bribe police to ignore crimes, or it can be used to set up endowments for the arts.
Remember that blaming your problems on money (your lack of, or someone else's abundance of) runs afoul Rule #2.
Learn what money is, what it isn't, and what it does.
Money is a tool that acts as a neutral medium of exchange. It also is a personality amplifier.
Money is not the root of all evil, nor is the Bible correct when it says the love of money is the root of all evil.
Money makes you more of what you are. If you're a giving person, money makes you a bigger giver. If you're a miser, you become a bigger miser. If you're foolish, money makes you more foolish. If you're wise, money makes you wiser.
The exchange of money allows two people with very little in common to exchange the fruits of their labor. A farmer can buy a new suit from a well-fed tailor. That is the magic of money.
The curse of money is that it affects your emotional state. It can change relationships. "The borrower is slave to the lender." Christmas feels different when your brother owes you a few thousand dollars.
Money, being a tool, means that people can use it as they wish. Just as a firearm in the hands of a criminal can be used for evil, the same weapon in the hands of a mother defending her children can be used for good. Free will (and thus sin) is the root of all evil. Free will is also the root of all good. Money can be used for both. It can be used to bribe police to ignore crimes, or it can be used to set up endowments for the arts.
Remember that blaming your problems on money (your lack of, or someone else's abundance of) runs afoul Rule #2.
21 May 2012
Rule #2: The Problem With Your Life is You.
Yep, you heard that right.
It's not the rich man's fault you made bad decisions and paid $67,000 for a college degree in Aramaic Studies.
It's not the government's fault you can't find a job (although they want you to believe they can fix your life).
It's not the pro athlete's fault he makes $3 million a year and you're making minimum wage.
It's not your girlfriend's fault you stuck with her despite her continual cheating.
It's your fault.
It's your fault you thought Aramaic Studies was something worth going into debt for.
It's your fault you aren't out offering to mow lawns and babysit and clean houses.
It's your fault you decided to stick with a job making minimum wage instead of bettering yourself and asking for a raise, or moving on to a higher-paying job.
It's your fault you fell for her rationalizations and excuses.
This is a big rule, because it means that YOU are responsible for YOUR LIFE. Scary thought, I know. And you'll find a majority of people don't believe this particular rule. Doesn't matter, it still holds true.
Rule 1 and Rule 2 are closely linked, but while Rule 1 focuses on the external, Rule 2 emphasizes the importance of personal action to better yourself. Waiting for someone else to fix your life is a long wait. There are people who have been waiting generations for someone else to fix their lives, and if their children's children don't come to learn this rule, those children will still be waiting when the sun goes nova. Most politicians want you to believe that everything wrong with your life is someone else's fault, and they'll help you make it right. Just vote them into power, and they'll take care of all the heavy lifting. Marketers want you to believe that you can purchase that "thing" that's missing from your life to make it right. Just buy their newest gadget, and you too can have that rock-star lifestyle.
Here's the truth: If you want your life changed, it is up to you to make it happen. You have control of your life, so you are the one who gets to do all the hard work to make your life better.
The problem with your life is you.
It's not the rich man's fault you made bad decisions and paid $67,000 for a college degree in Aramaic Studies.
It's not the government's fault you can't find a job (although they want you to believe they can fix your life).
It's not the pro athlete's fault he makes $3 million a year and you're making minimum wage.
It's not your girlfriend's fault you stuck with her despite her continual cheating.
It's your fault.
It's your fault you thought Aramaic Studies was something worth going into debt for.
It's your fault you aren't out offering to mow lawns and babysit and clean houses.
It's your fault you decided to stick with a job making minimum wage instead of bettering yourself and asking for a raise, or moving on to a higher-paying job.
It's your fault you fell for her rationalizations and excuses.
This is a big rule, because it means that YOU are responsible for YOUR LIFE. Scary thought, I know. And you'll find a majority of people don't believe this particular rule. Doesn't matter, it still holds true.
Rule 1 and Rule 2 are closely linked, but while Rule 1 focuses on the external, Rule 2 emphasizes the importance of personal action to better yourself. Waiting for someone else to fix your life is a long wait. There are people who have been waiting generations for someone else to fix their lives, and if their children's children don't come to learn this rule, those children will still be waiting when the sun goes nova. Most politicians want you to believe that everything wrong with your life is someone else's fault, and they'll help you make it right. Just vote them into power, and they'll take care of all the heavy lifting. Marketers want you to believe that you can purchase that "thing" that's missing from your life to make it right. Just buy their newest gadget, and you too can have that rock-star lifestyle.
Here's the truth: If you want your life changed, it is up to you to make it happen. You have control of your life, so you are the one who gets to do all the hard work to make your life better.
Rule 1: Never Expect Life to be Fair
I've decided to try and condense Workshop's Rules of Life so I can point my sons to them in the future and say "See why that didn't work? You violated Rule 1." The biggest problem I've had is ordering them. But, this is probably the best and most important Rule, so deciding it was #1 was easy.
There's always going to be someone smarter/faster/stronger/richer/etc. than you. That's okay, because there are going to be times when you are smarter/faster/stronger/richer/etc. than someone else.
But if you expect life to be fair, you'll fall prey to the people who say they can make it fair. Which they can only do by being decidedly UNFAIR to someone else. If you accept the proposition that Life Should Be Fair, what you're really admitting is "Life should be fair to me and unfair to someone else." Don't do that, because there are a lot more "someone elses" who will love to make life unfair for you.
That's not to say you shouldn't treat people fairly. You should, and it is a great insight to another's character when you watch him act fair or unfair to others. There is room for the Golden Rule ("Treat others as you would have them treat you in their place."), and most ethical dilemmas can be solved quickly by applying that rule. . Good business and common sense dictate that you should deal fairly with people, because that is the best way to keep customers and friends returning. You can change the unlevel playing field with your preparations and skills and a good soil pulverizer.
But sometimes a driver is distracted and causes a traffic accident that makes you late for work, and you get in trouble for being late. Not much you can do about it. A coworker might steal your great idea. That tells you what type of person he is, so avoid interacting with him in the future, because he's a backstabber. A politician might promise to cure your financial ailments by taxing "the rich" more. Which is a straight-out promise that the politician will treat the rich man less fairly than he says he'll treat you. Don't worry, because the moment your vote doesn't matter, he'll sell you out to another group of people.
Never expect life to be fair.
There's always going to be someone smarter/faster/stronger/richer/etc. than you. That's okay, because there are going to be times when you are smarter/faster/stronger/richer/etc. than someone else.
But if you expect life to be fair, you'll fall prey to the people who say they can make it fair. Which they can only do by being decidedly UNFAIR to someone else. If you accept the proposition that Life Should Be Fair, what you're really admitting is "Life should be fair to me and unfair to someone else." Don't do that, because there are a lot more "someone elses" who will love to make life unfair for you.
That's not to say you shouldn't treat people fairly. You should, and it is a great insight to another's character when you watch him act fair or unfair to others. There is room for the Golden Rule ("Treat others as you would have them treat you in their place."), and most ethical dilemmas can be solved quickly by applying that rule. . Good business and common sense dictate that you should deal fairly with people, because that is the best way to keep customers and friends returning. You can change the unlevel playing field with your preparations and skills and a good soil pulverizer.
But sometimes a driver is distracted and causes a traffic accident that makes you late for work, and you get in trouble for being late. Not much you can do about it. A coworker might steal your great idea. That tells you what type of person he is, so avoid interacting with him in the future, because he's a backstabber. A politician might promise to cure your financial ailments by taxing "the rich" more. Which is a straight-out promise that the politician will treat the rich man less fairly than he says he'll treat you. Don't worry, because the moment your vote doesn't matter, he'll sell you out to another group of people.
08 May 2012
From the "DLTDHYOTWO" Files
Senator Lugar has lost his primary.
Good riddance.
Lugar hasn't endorsed his primary opponent in Mourdock's future run against Joe Donnely in November. Might have something to do with the fact that Lugar couldn't vote for himself, since he's lived in Washington DC for so long.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
Good riddance.
Lugar hasn't endorsed his primary opponent in Mourdock's future run against Joe Donnely in November. Might have something to do with the fact that Lugar couldn't vote for himself, since he's lived in Washington DC for so long.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out.
03 May 2012
Yep, called it.
So Chen Guangcheng was pretty much abandoned by US officials, leaving him at the mercy of Chinese authorities.
You cannot negotiate from a position of strength when you have to bow to your master.
The State Department and Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of themselves. But they won't be.
You cannot negotiate from a position of strength when you have to bow to your master.
The State Department and Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of themselves. But they won't be.
29 April 2012
Cubicle Village
This is a bit late, but I'm pretty sure it's time to tell the tale of the Cubicle Village. The story behind the village is this: As I began
building more and more things, I wanted to put them in a place where
they would be relatively safe from the predations of my son. So, I
initially started putting the buildings in my cubicle. My coworkers
liked it, with one in particular even being disappointed when I didn't
add to the collection regularly.
Due to a variety of reasons, we also had some empty cubicles in our area. Well, I decided that squatter's rights ruled, so I created street tiles and began building a village, complete with cardstock inhabitants.
This went well for several months, until a director walked through doing a safety inspection. The village caught her eye, but not in a bad way. She began bringing other members of the site lead team to view the village, amazed that someone could create an entire scaled village. Even the site HR rep got in on the act, taking a photograph and displaying it as part of the lead team's safety presentation (from what I hear, it was placed in a powerpoint presentation at the end, as a lighthearted moment for a fairly successful safety audit).
The best part was my boss's boss didn't know I had commandeered a neighboring cubicle. He thought all the stuff was in my cubicle, so when he was asked "did you know about this?" he replied "Well, yeah, of course." Now, I don't know what conversations went on after that. However, just before GenCon 2011 my leader told me that due to incoming employees, my village would have to be relocated. You may notice in one of the pictures that the Imperfect Rioters have placards decrying eminent domain abuse . . . . Strangely enough, it is only recently that this particular cubicle has become inhabited by someone who isn't 2-dimensional (nor afraid of paper shredders).
Building models include Dave Graffam's models, and Fat Dragon Games. Citizenry is courtesy of Imperfect People, by Dryw the Harper.
Due to a variety of reasons, we also had some empty cubicles in our area. Well, I decided that squatter's rights ruled, so I created street tiles and began building a village, complete with cardstock inhabitants.
This went well for several months, until a director walked through doing a safety inspection. The village caught her eye, but not in a bad way. She began bringing other members of the site lead team to view the village, amazed that someone could create an entire scaled village. Even the site HR rep got in on the act, taking a photograph and displaying it as part of the lead team's safety presentation (from what I hear, it was placed in a powerpoint presentation at the end, as a lighthearted moment for a fairly successful safety audit).
The best part was my boss's boss didn't know I had commandeered a neighboring cubicle. He thought all the stuff was in my cubicle, so when he was asked "did you know about this?" he replied "Well, yeah, of course." Now, I don't know what conversations went on after that. However, just before GenCon 2011 my leader told me that due to incoming employees, my village would have to be relocated. You may notice in one of the pictures that the Imperfect Rioters have placards decrying eminent domain abuse . . . . Strangely enough, it is only recently that this particular cubicle has become inhabited by someone who isn't 2-dimensional (nor afraid of paper shredders).
Building models include Dave Graffam's models, and Fat Dragon Games. Citizenry is courtesy of Imperfect People, by Dryw the Harper.
Dude, you asked for asylum at the wrong embassy
So a Chinese dissident escaped from his handlers and reportedly fled to the US embassy in Beijing. The dissident in question, Chen Guangcheng (who happens to be blind), has helped show the world the atrocities of China's government. Namely, forced abortions and sterilizations.
Think about that for a minute. In China, the government has that much power.
Of course, he ran to the embassy of a country who's current leader wants the government to have that kind of power. And now there are talks and debates about how to "balance" human rights versus diplomacy. To parse the language, the administration is asking "How can we keep the people who own a lot of our debt happy while maintaining the illusion that we support the right to dissent?"
See, this is why being in debt is a bad thing. "The borrower is slave to the lender." The US cannot negotiate from a position of strength here. We will end up being conciliatory in order to have the Chinese government continue to buy our debt. Which pretty much sucks for Chen's family.
23 April 2012
The Irony of Government
The U.S. Government has been fighting illegal drugs for decades. LSD, marijuana, heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine. And yet, surprisingly, none of these have been able to be eradicated. In fact, the cost of cocaine is decreasing.
Why? Well, like any business, the drug lords are making gains in efficiency of production, with economies of scale and new technology allowing the drug lords to lower the price of the product while maintaining or increasing their profits.
So the government has been trying (in vain) to eliminate the scourge of illegal drugs (as well as perfectly legal ones, like oxycodone and pseudoephedrine), during which we've seen the price of these drugs drop. Meanwhile, the government's been pushing mortgages and college like . . . well, a drug dealer. One might ask what the effect has been.
Thanks to the government's push towards loans with minimal down payments (at least before 2008!), PMI was added to those borrowers who didn't have enough to put down. Of course, the banks realized that people didn't want to pay PMI, and so offered 80% down traditional mortgages and 20% HELOCs. Or they allowed buyers to refinance 120% Loan to value. Or they encouraged people to cash out the equity in their homes in order to pay off credit cards or buy new cars. Because, you know, financing things that drop in value is so smart. And now, if you buy a house with less than 75% LTV, you get to pay for Obama's mortgage bailout with a 1/4 point fee.
And the costs of a college education . . . well, a picture's worth a thousand words.
Let's recap, shall we? Government tries to stop something by declaring it "illegal," cost goes down. Government subsidizes the cost of something, it goes up. The lesson should be "STOP HELPING!" But instead, we get politicians who insist that they know better than us mere mortals.
h/t Radley Balko
Why? Well, like any business, the drug lords are making gains in efficiency of production, with economies of scale and new technology allowing the drug lords to lower the price of the product while maintaining or increasing their profits.
So the government has been trying (in vain) to eliminate the scourge of illegal drugs (as well as perfectly legal ones, like oxycodone and pseudoephedrine), during which we've seen the price of these drugs drop. Meanwhile, the government's been pushing mortgages and college like . . . well, a drug dealer. One might ask what the effect has been.
Thanks to the government's push towards loans with minimal down payments (at least before 2008!), PMI was added to those borrowers who didn't have enough to put down. Of course, the banks realized that people didn't want to pay PMI, and so offered 80% down traditional mortgages and 20% HELOCs. Or they allowed buyers to refinance 120% Loan to value. Or they encouraged people to cash out the equity in their homes in order to pay off credit cards or buy new cars. Because, you know, financing things that drop in value is so smart. And now, if you buy a house with less than 75% LTV, you get to pay for Obama's mortgage bailout with a 1/4 point fee.
And the costs of a college education . . . well, a picture's worth a thousand words.
Let's recap, shall we? Government tries to stop something by declaring it "illegal," cost goes down. Government subsidizes the cost of something, it goes up. The lesson should be "STOP HELPING!" But instead, we get politicians who insist that they know better than us mere mortals.
h/t Radley Balko
06 April 2012
Fungi!
Mowing the lawn isn't a chore for me. Well, it is a little bit, but mostly it's relaxing. It helps that I have a decent mower.
However, tonight I was zipping around a tree, looking down, and what did I see?! A mushroom! And not just any mushroom, a morel. These are prized fungi. People go out into the woods looking for the, hunting them in the spring, because they're TASTY.
I hopped off the Chopper and called Mrs. Workshop over. I'm not a mushroom hunter, so I figured I'd ask her if she knew what a morel looked like. No luck there, but a neighbor did help me out. Yep, it was a morel. And Mrs. Workshop indicated where I had already run over three others. Dangit!
Still, I grabbed one that hadn't been destroyed by the mower and proceeded to slice and saute it up. It's too bad that Mrs. Workshop had to go off to a friend's house. That mushroom was darned tasty. Sauteed in butter, a little salt and pepper . . . wow!
Granted, I've never eaten mushrooms out of my yard before. There were too many horror stories when I was growing up about deadly mushrooms that looked just like edible ones. So I figured if I was going to die a horrid, gut-wrenching death, I didn't want my wife around. Still, when she got back and I told her about it, she didn't seem all that enthusiastic about trying one for herself. "That's okay," I told her. "I will happily eat them without you."
01 April 2012
See You, John.
I can't be in Colorado today, I figured I'd break out the blog and post. Not much to say, except this picture pretty much shows how I'll remember him.
2012 Annual Tax Day Post
This year, thanks to Mrs. Workshop working less, we were able to substantially decrease the amount of money we sent to our favorite corrupt and dysfunctional government. Unfortunately, with the amount of the green energy boondoggle (Solyndra, et.al.), and the upcoming cuts to the national defense budget, it doesn't look like my money went to anything decent.
Dear IRS,
I hope you enjoy the $11,000+ I sent you in 2011. I could have used it to fund Little Workshop's college fund, or retirement. Or I could have blown it on hookers and weed, which would have no doubt been a better use of it than sending it to you guys. I would have preferred burning it in my backyard, because then I'd at least have the satisfaction of watching enviroweenies complain about my rabid disregard for Mother Earth.
Dear IRS,
I hope you enjoy the $11,000+ I sent you in 2011. I could have used it to fund Little Workshop's college fund, or retirement. Or I could have blown it on hookers and weed, which would have no doubt been a better use of it than sending it to you guys. I would have preferred burning it in my backyard, because then I'd at least have the satisfaction of watching enviroweenies complain about my rabid disregard for Mother Earth.
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