Tom Watson withdrew his putty knife and spackled:



Well, you must be a Republican, because if'n you was a Democrat you
would be a Liberal, by definition, and therefore you would embrace a
world without fences

Well, I are a registurd Demlocrat. While I'm concerned about
isolationism, jingoism and Ringoism (the condition whereby a
rock-n-roll fan is unaware of the fifth Beatle), I believe a good
fence makes for good neighbors mostly on account of it compells me to
be less of a lazy ass and ackshully go 'round to their front door if'n
I want to axe them if they'd like to come out to our backyard for some
chips/salsa (pronounced sahl-sah, not sahl-zuh) and varied
refreshments - the flammability of those refreshments increasing as
the weekend approaches. I also have a shop dawg that is part wolf and
therefore is wont to stay put; the pop-psychologists of the day might
say she has some boundary issues in that she has none, plus it's good
for a dog to know where their home is and it lessens the chances of
them getting hit by a car (dog's amazingly smart in some arenas and
just plain dumb as a box of hair when it comes to calculating
automobile/canine vectors, intersections 'n ****) or eating some
garbage (dawg's can have pretty touchy stomachs and you wouldn't
believe the mess a dog with diarrhea can cause or maybe you can and
you just don't want to think about it) and so therefore a fence and
the accompanying life-building experience.

What went right in the process was:
- Scribing a line and then taking about 1/4" off of a 3' two-buh-four
with a #40 (that'd be a scrub plane, Jeff) and a 1950's era Stanley
jack plane (type 19 #5, Keeter) in just a couple minutes - the side
benefit being some excellent kindling for our cheapy portable outdoor
firepit.

- Despite oodles of run-out, getting some good use out of the
newly-acquired DeWalt RAS, including developing a healthy respect and
careful operating routine for said machine.

- Taking advantage of my mixed dominance (left-eyed, right handed) and
hammering some crucial nails left-handed without much trouble or drama
(a necessity when part of the workpiece is your house and the
alternative is to hang upside down while hammering).

- Watching the cats nimbly scale the 42" fence, while it easily turned
away the neighborhood skunks.

- Installing two garden gates that swung easily with no gaps.

- Successfully straightening-out a HSS drill bit just enough to make
that last hole in some 1/8" steel.

- Discovering the speed and utility of "Tapcons," and that drilling
small holes in concrete/stucco with a 1/2" hammer drill is no big deal
at all.

- Using a Millers Falls Parsons brace (the bosso one with the red
permaloid handles) to drive stubborn screws with authority
unimaginable with a cordless drill/driver.

- Smacking my thumb twice and not crying either time... especially the
second time.

- Getting only one small, easily removed redwood splinter.

- The smile on SWIATAABOC's face as our shop dawg romped around the
yard for the first time (the smile on the dawg's face wasn't bad
either).

- Putting the tools away, psyching up for the next project.

- Hitting reload on JibJab all day.

Humbly Submitted,
O'Deen