The Ultimate Answer to Kings: Dig We Must...

They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means "The Ultimate Argument of Kings," and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. "We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it's about: You'll do as I say or I'll send my goons to kill you."

I thought about that for a long time. If there's an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I've got bullets - he's got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that's not going to happen. So if there's an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain't bullets.

It finally came to me - and that's when I left the city, abandoned a goodly percentage of my goods, and gave all that was behind me a good, stiff Randian Shrug.

The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Dig We Must...

Bother. I'm going to end up digging out more of the hill beside M's Dome.

I've been industriously filling up the trench around the Dome, finally making perceptible progress. In fact as I approached the tight turn behind the Dome, I was making really good progress. Until I found myself with the bucket hitting the vertical face of the hill going in, and reeeeally wanting to scrape the dome itself coming back out. Hm.

Between the bucket and the backhoe, Ol' Gulchendiggensmoothen is actually rather long. Now I'm thinking it doesn't want to make that turn at all.

Guess we'll work it out. I'll push more of the hill into the hole if I have to, but I truly don't want to have to.