Ron Helwig

OK, I'm on break.

After Otis broke his pelvis chasing the plow guy, we got a week long visit by 10 young Ron Paul supporters. These guys were great, and joined dozens more coming in from all over the country to campaign for Ron Paul. I hope most of them join the Free State Project and move up here soon.

You'd think that getting hit by a truck and breaking your leg in 13 places would teach a dog not to run after cars. No such luck with Otis.

Yesterday while the drive was getting plowed, we heard a yelp. Otis came limping up the drive, and after some checking, we went to the vet.

Today I got my new OLPC "green" laptop. I'm using it to write this blog entry, even.

So far it seems pretty cool, but it does have a few drawbacks. The keyboard, while spill-proof, is a bit small. Also, since it is totally open and free software, it doesn't have Flash. I think it can be installed - I'll have to figure that out later.

Today got off to a good start with some woodsplitting. The weather was excellent for winter outdoor work. Then I took off to Manchester for the LPNH board meeting. That was mercifully short and business-like.

Then I went over to Murphy's Taproom and had an excellent dish of Portabello Parmesan Pasta while getting some good work done on the laptop. Rich Tomasso and I talked a bit about silver, and I got to show him the new sites ShireSilver.com and ShireSilver.org.

Then a group of us got together and held signs at the Obama/Oprah event at the Verizon Wireless Center. There was a good sized group of people who were out standing in the cold trying to combat global warming (idiots!) and some Kookchinich supporters. I got interviewed 5 times by media, including the short scene in the video.

Murphy's Taproom has a new menu. They haven't updated the website yet, but the harcopies are out.

Thanks to Joe and his backhoe, the range is much closer to being finished. There is a lot of dirt needing to be moved, and a little ledge to be broken up, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Today we will be trying out a jackhammer and tomorrow we will be finishing up with the backhoe. If all goes well, there will only be some small amounts of finishing work needing to be done.

My parents asked me yesterday what my take on the current crop of Libertarian Party Presidential candidates is. I started writing a simple email response, but realized that others might find some insight from my observations. So here is my current analysis of the race.

While we were doing a part-time job, a friend of mine said (in a stern yet mocking voice):

You are hereby sentenced to:

• drive through leaf-peeping country and be paid mileage and time for it
• work unsupervised at an hourly rate
• take as long as you need to get the job done
• partake in conversations with like-minded individuals

Wow, things have been really interesting lately:

• Ed and Elaine Brown were finally "brought to injustice"
• Lauren Canario was kidnapped by the Milford Police for not having her "papers"
• Feds raided a house, searching for "persons of interest" - two of whom are members of the press
• I rode my bicycle 4 miles to the Deerfield Fair, and put in some time at the NHLA booth

Free Staters are a helpful and neighborly bunch. I've gotten a crew of my new friends to come over and help me build a safer gun range on my property.