In 2006, claude, a contractor and self-described “grumpy old man” who specializes in adobe construction, decided that Daily Kos needed an expert’s corner for do-it-yourselfers. He started the Saturday Morning Home Repair Group; the first installment, eponymously titled “Saturday Morning Home Repair blogging,” offered a lesson on how to change a light bulb. It was, as claude observed, a topic that, “might not elect Democrats in the fall, [but] might help the at-home lives of those who WILL work for and elect Democrats in the fall.”
For the past 15 years, every Saturday morning, the regulars—experts and amateurs—have been meeting to share projects and offer advice to anyone who needs a hand with home repair.
Glen The Plumber got started in the Group by sharing a project he designed and built for his daughter in “Building an experience”—the experience being a play structure. He also took the opportunity to dispense some of his trademark wisdom: “Builders and parents make mistakes, but if you catch the problem early, you can usually get the project back on track.”
I write this introduction to the Home Repair crew with great affection, since I’m a member who is consistently amazed at the resourcefulness and wealth of knowledge in this corner of the Daily Kos Community. Over the last few years, elsaf has recounted her adventures in home renovation on a budget, while exlrrp has rebuilt his own house and taken his skills to Chile and back. Glen is the guiding mentor, and I was welcomed when I decided to share my own adventures in restoring our 1780s brick manor house, with more than a little emphasis on how not to fix brickwork. In between, a host of other writers have chronicled their projects, large and small.
Eeff writes accurately that, whatever your question “the people who post their ideas offer another idea you might not be aware of.” If you ask how to do a repair, you’ll usually get a range of answers and techniques, tricks from experts, discussions about budgets, ideas about good places to find unusual or vintage items (essential when fixing older houses), and at least a couple of dad jokes. The party starts at 9:30 AM ET, but continues through the day, and often into the next week. So if you need advice on how to glaze a window, unstop a sink, repair a barstool, or fix a router, know that the experts assemble on Saturday mornings.
The Rescue Rangers read every Community story published and reblog to our Group blog those that are well done, but not getting enough attention. You can also have them placed in your personal stream by clicking on “Follow Group” on Community Spotlight’s profile page.
Good news: You don’t have to search to find our rescued stories! The nightly News Roundup, an Open Thread published six days a week at 7:30 PM PDT, includes links to each day’s rescued stories.
Reminder: The numbers in parentheses after each author’s name indicate the year they joined Daily Kos, how many stories they’ve published, and how many we’ve rescued.
A new warning from India on the delta variant by Irontortoise (2020-392-?)
India's suffering through the delta variant surge of COVID-19 holds lessons for other countries. While more citizens have been exposed to the virus, the delta strain is far more contagious than previously suspected, and India's uneven approach to record-keeping may have further skewed the exposure and mortality statistics.
LGBT Literature: Nonbinary ways of being by Clio2 (2006-195-?)
Through four anthologies by nonbinary writers, Clio2 finds common threads among them, noting "the sheer, intense, grinding labor to which the narratives testify. Despite grousing by critics who claim nonbinary gender is a fashionable delusion, these authors testify to lengthy sieges of discomfort, uncertainty, and intense self-questioning before each person arrived, step by experimental step, at a nonbinary self-identification."
Bothsidesism and false equivalency infect a teenage mind by GrafZepplin127 (2009-286-49)
The purpose of a shovel forms the center of GrafZeppelin127's conversation with a teenaged Republican who sees no difference between using a shovel to plant a tree and using one to bash in someone's head. It's all about the shovel, the teenager's refusal to see any difference between a good act and a bad one, and the implications of that refusal.
Just bear it for now by PetulantFraggle (2021-1-1)
First-time writer PetulantFraggle crafts a parable contrasting the Haves and Have-Nots, promising an inevitable conclusion … because "injustice only lasts as long as the endurance of those made to bear it."
Contemporary Fiction Views: A novel as sweeping in scope as Australia’s backcountry by bookgirl (2008-274-100)
Human yearning is the theme of Trent Dalton's World War II Australian novel, All Our Shimmering Skies, centered on the dreams of 13-year-old gravedigger, Molly Hook, and the quest she undertakes to achieve them.
On judging the impetus of the Jan. 6 Capitol assault by grobertson (2019-52-4)
In a court of law, lawyers argue points of law, not truth. A courtroom is not the place for finding truth, especially when considering what drove the insurrectionists in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. But where will we find the truth?
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s finest hour by Nebraska Democrat (2020-147-?)
Franklin D. Roosevelt is beloved for lifting the nation out of the Great Depression and leading the country through a world war, but his finest hour came when this president, who famously hid his paralysis from the public, insisted on meeting wounded and disabled soldiers recovering in Hawaii in his wheelchair, showing them how they, too, could overcome the pain and shame of their injuries.
The ‘why’ of the self-con by Sollace (2021-2-2)
Sollace recounts their journey to figure out why self-described conservatives became Trump supporters. The answer isn't “because they've been conned,” but “because they want to be conned.”
For the past 15 years, every Saturday morning, the regulars—experts and amateurs—have been meeting to share projects and offer advice to anyone who needs a hand with home repair.
Glen The Plumber got started in the Group by sharing a project he designed and built for his daughter in “Building an experience”—the experience being a play structure. He also took the opportunity to dispense some of his trademark wisdom: “Builders and parents make mistakes, but if you catch the problem early, you can usually get the project back on track.”
I write this introduction to the Home Repair crew with great affection, since I’m a member who is consistently amazed at the resourcefulness and wealth of knowledge in this corner of the Daily Kos Community. Over the last few years, elsaf has recounted her adventures in home renovation on a budget, while exlrrp has rebuilt his own house and taken his skills to Chile and back. Glen is the guiding mentor, and I was welcomed when I decided to share my own adventures in restoring our 1780s brick manor house, with more than a little emphasis on how not to fix brickwork. In between, a host of other writers have chronicled their projects, large and small.
Eeff writes accurately that, whatever your question “the people who post their ideas offer another idea you might not be aware of.” If you ask how to do a repair, you’ll usually get a range of answers and techniques, tricks from experts, discussions about budgets, ideas about good places to find unusual or vintage items (essential when fixing older houses), and at least a couple of dad jokes. The party starts at 9:30 AM ET, but continues through the day, and often into the next week. So if you need advice on how to glaze a window, unstop a sink, repair a barstool, or fix a router, know that the experts assemble on Saturday mornings.
EIGHT STORIES RESCUED FROM 1 PM PDT FRIDAY, JULY 23, TO 1 PM PDT FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2021
The Rescue Rangers read every Community story published and reblog to our Group blog those that are well done, but not getting enough attention. You can also have them placed in your personal stream by clicking on “Follow Group” on Community Spotlight’s profile page.
Good news: You don’t have to search to find our rescued stories! The nightly News Roundup, an Open Thread published six days a week at 7:30 PM PDT, includes links to each day’s rescued stories.
Reminder: The numbers in parentheses after each author’s name indicate the year they joined Daily Kos, how many stories they’ve published, and how many we’ve rescued.
A new warning from India on the delta variant by Irontortoise (2020-392-?)
India's suffering through the delta variant surge of COVID-19 holds lessons for other countries. While more citizens have been exposed to the virus, the delta strain is far more contagious than previously suspected, and India's uneven approach to record-keeping may have further skewed the exposure and mortality statistics.
LGBT Literature: Nonbinary ways of being by Clio2 (2006-195-?)
Through four anthologies by nonbinary writers, Clio2 finds common threads among them, noting "the sheer, intense, grinding labor to which the narratives testify. Despite grousing by critics who claim nonbinary gender is a fashionable delusion, these authors testify to lengthy sieges of discomfort, uncertainty, and intense self-questioning before each person arrived, step by experimental step, at a nonbinary self-identification."
Bothsidesism and false equivalency infect a teenage mind by GrafZepplin127 (2009-286-49)
The purpose of a shovel forms the center of GrafZeppelin127's conversation with a teenaged Republican who sees no difference between using a shovel to plant a tree and using one to bash in someone's head. It's all about the shovel, the teenager's refusal to see any difference between a good act and a bad one, and the implications of that refusal.
Just bear it for now by PetulantFraggle (2021-1-1)
First-time writer PetulantFraggle crafts a parable contrasting the Haves and Have-Nots, promising an inevitable conclusion … because "injustice only lasts as long as the endurance of those made to bear it."
Contemporary Fiction Views: A novel as sweeping in scope as Australia’s backcountry by bookgirl (2008-274-100)
Human yearning is the theme of Trent Dalton's World War II Australian novel, All Our Shimmering Skies, centered on the dreams of 13-year-old gravedigger, Molly Hook, and the quest she undertakes to achieve them.
On judging the impetus of the Jan. 6 Capitol assault by grobertson (2019-52-4)
In a court of law, lawyers argue points of law, not truth. A courtroom is not the place for finding truth, especially when considering what drove the insurrectionists in the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol. But where will we find the truth?
Franklin D. Roosevelt’s finest hour by Nebraska Democrat (2020-147-?)
Franklin D. Roosevelt is beloved for lifting the nation out of the Great Depression and leading the country through a world war, but his finest hour came when this president, who famously hid his paralysis from the public, insisted on meeting wounded and disabled soldiers recovering in Hawaii in his wheelchair, showing them how they, too, could overcome the pain and shame of their injuries.
The ‘why’ of the self-con by Sollace (2021-2-2)
Sollace recounts their journey to figure out why self-described conservatives became Trump supporters. The answer isn't “because they've been conned,” but “because they want to be conned.”
| COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT is dedicated to finding great writing by community members that isn’t getting the visibility it deserves.
An edition of our rescue roundup publishes every Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) to the Recent Community Stories section and to the front page at 9:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT). |