Author Archives: Raymond Alexander Kukkee

About Raymond Alexander Kukkee

A published author and freelance writing professional, Raymond lives and writes in Northwestern Ontario.

Issues: Plea for Anarchy

©2015 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee   [caption id="attachment_3118" align="aligncenter" width="388"]The Liberty Bell Cracks The Liberty Bell is Cracked....[/caption]

Status Quo, A plea for Anarchy?

Scenario:  With the current brutality and lunacy of ISIS (ISIL) in Afghanistan and Iraq, civil war in Iraq, and rebellions and outright war  in Syria, Ukraine, and in Africa,  it is not too difficult to imagine, understand,  and agree that  lawlessness, brutality, and unprecedented events and mayhem can easily occur. Let us hypothesize and imagine ultra-right fanaticism has spread like systemic rot across the United States of America. "Oh, but it's not the same thing. "  You may be tempted to object strenuously, and with conviction. You may even be right, but so what? Notice we did not say taken over by ISIL,  or ISIS, religious control freaks, or camouflage-toque-sporting Canadians with hunting rifles,  taco-bearing Mexicans, or flocks  of mobilized, angry infidels did I ? the concerned?   Neither did we suggest  illegals in rusty buses, highly-feared boogey-man socialists,  spiffy antique-car driving cigar-smoking communists newly arrived from Cuba, pip-pipping  Brits wistfully wishing to reclaim  the glory of the British Empire, or disenfranchised but  well-educated  Buick-owning Baby-Boomers from Miss Putzley's  senior home economics class of 1957. Notably missing also are finger-wagging miscellaneous religious fundamentalists,  do-gooders and the feared tsunami of Asians in all shades of yellow.  There is no need for a plea for anarchy yet, is there?. Let  us imagine they are simple, ultra-right fanatics.  Again, we are reminded,  not  sun-glassed hippies at every intersection who want to wash your windshield for a buck, panhandle with bad guitar-playing in the subway,  or those pesky rabid zombies that amble along so beautifully, but bite.  They don't sneak across the border bearing backpacks, unexpectedly knocking  at  Aunt Lily's  door at midnight smoking pot, or offer free car washes by Joey's   so they can swipe your cell phone and hijack the car too. Not exactly a poignant plea for Anarchy, is it? Let us imagine instead the anarchists involved already own the show in North America including the popcorn stand.  Why invade when you can buy and control everything including political souls? They are the insatiable, unethical, secret, hardened Uber rich. Let's not bother with statistics of the distribution of wealth;  the 1% factor is already shocking enough. Anarchists live well in ivory and gold towers.  Well, okay, in walled, exclusive multi-million dollar estates. They call the shots for all political parties,  buy national and local lawmakers,  lobby for corporate-friendly laws that arrogantly justify and benefit the cultivation of corporate welfare, and equally, encourage public outrage at  health care unless they can profit from it,  the food stamps programs, child care, and welfare assistance for the poor and homeless. blah blah. You get the idea. If you don't get it, the alarm clock just rang, or was it the busted Liberty bell? Anarchists exploit precious resources at any cost to the environment, again, as long as it is profitable, and discourage the development of clean energy because they own the infrastructure for dirty, profitable fossil fuels,  lock, stock and barrel. Shutting down North American manufacturing is high on the agenda, cheap third world labour is hired so increasingly trashier goods can be imported ever more profitably. Outrage is expressed if asked to pay fair wages for the remaining North American hamburger-burning jobs while CEO's reward themselves multi-million dollar bonuses for "profitable operations" and profits are secreted off-shore to avoid paying taxes.  The high cost of corporate-run medical care and over-priced education are outrageous, maintained as such to groom customers for big Pharma and maintain the population as  common serfs, working poor,  flocks of ill, ignorant toiling slaves;  uninformed sheeple. The pot boils. The bell tries to ring... Armaments industries owned by anarchists  demand a foreign policy of  constant warfare to ensure they remain rich. War against the unwilling, you ask?  No problem, there are equally greedy arms manufacturing corporations in the lands of foreign hostiles.  If not, North Americans cooperate and sell bombs and other armaments to the enemy too. Why not?  Terrorism, fear, and war are all happily used to generate fear. Populations afraid are easier to control . Where are we going? Is it time to plea for anarchy, is it time to ask the rest of  potential anarchists  to reclaim North America?  What do you think? The unthinkable? Surprise, the 1%  Uber-rich and ultra-right are already anarchists living by their own rules in the #corporateaucracy  (that would be defined as governance by the rich owning and controlling the political talking bobble-heads )  —a carelessly pre-calculated State of Self-Entitlement and insatiable greed in which they claim everything as their own. Since logic determines and history demonstrates that abuse of,  and corruption within any ideological /political system ultimately causes the demise of those systems, it seems the inevitable must be  residual anarchy,  the uprising of all;  the elderly with their canes,  the homeless and disenfranchised vets with sick, hungry children, the  working poor, the so-called 'middle class' and students with big dreams but a lifetime of debt incurred for a useless ticket to ride on the uber-rich anarchist bus headed for destruction. Wait. Wait for the ultimate lunacy and brutality that accompanies such events. Somehow, though, it seems that in North America, the richest lands in the world, ordinary, hard-working people somehow deserve better. A plea for anarchy?  It is not even necessary to ask.  Wait until the old guys that built this country by honest, hard pick-and-shovel work get mad. There's nothing quite as scary as P.O'd  angry seniors with long memories, and justice-seeking people with sticks —who have just discovered the Great Deceivers. Hold your breath and think...can we hear the Liberty bell ringing?   # Is that Incoming I hear?      
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Build with Rafter and Ridgeboard

© 2014 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee   [caption id="attachment_3081" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Build a Chalet Style shed with Rafter&Ridgeboard Chalet Style shed under construction  with Rafter&Ridgeboard[/caption]  

Carpentry Retro: Build with Rafter and Ridgeboard!

Do you know what rafter&ridgeboard construction is? Most trained carpenters are familiar with rafter and ridgeboard construction  because most homes in the past were built with this essential, reliable, strong construction technique. This timeless, and relatively simple construction method has fallen out of favour because of the convenience and availability of trusses.

The Modern Truss:  Alternative to Rafter and Ridgeboard Stick Framing

A discussion of rafter and ridgeboard stick frame construction would not  be complete without an explanation why the use of trusses has become more popular. The modern home builder today is more likely to use pre-manufactured trusses which incorporate ceiling joists, rafters and engineered web designs into single units which are incredibly strong. Individual rafters, ceiling joists and other web components are all computer-designed and  assembled with steel gussets into a ‘truss’ structure.  The gussets are gang-nailed together, or today, more likely press-assembled  with specially-designed steel gusset plates at the time of manufacture.   An engineered truss  offers rapid installation of the exterior  roof framing  and interior ceiling framing of a home simultaneously.  With trusses, wide spans can be achieved without central load-bearing walls, posts or beams. Much time can be saved in construction by using trusses on large projects. Trusses for a small building such as a shed , play house, or doghouse are not necessary. Even for a modest full-sized home, rafter and ridgeboard construction is fast and efficient and can be achieved by competent carpenters and moderately-skilled DIYers.  Your closest long- established neighbourhood in any city has many homes that demonstrate the method is reliable and strong enough to last for centuries. Building with Rafters and Ridgeboard Rafters are established in opposing matched pairs to form the roof, with each rafter leaning against,  and fastened to a pre-installed ridgeboard at a calculated height with another rafter immediately opposite.  The length of the rafter is calculated using the simple Pythagorean geometry of a right-angled triangle. The chalet style shed in our photo  has a  12:12 pitch slope (45°) and a wide overhang. The pitch of the roof must be decided prior to making any rafter cuts. [caption id="attachment_3084" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Stick framing showing rafters and ridgeboard Stick framing showing rafters and ridgeboard[/caption] The  rafter, after calculating carefully for length, is cut short at the peak to allow for half of the thickness of the chosen ridgeboard which may be a 1x6" or 2"x6 dimensioned lumber. The length of the rafter is calculated from the actual peak to the vertical cut for the bird's mouth notch which is made in the underside of the rafter at the top of the supporting wall. An allowance for the overhang of the rafter is added to the rafter length calculation.  The top end of the rafter is cut vertically to accept the fascia board. The fascia boards  and ridge boards are both measured long enough to extend past the end walls, again to allow for overhang as desired and carry the ends of the ‘fly rafters’ on either end of the building . An  overhanging ‘ladder’  assembly may be built to resting on the  end wall,  or simple ‘lookouts’ may be used  to fasten the fly rafter . *Hint:  Cut one matching pair of rafters (opposing) and try them. If they fit perfectly, use them as patterns for the remaining rafters. In typical stick-framing, (don’t you just love that old carpenter term?)   'horizontal ‘collar ties' would be nailed onto the opposing rafters  close to the apex of the roof for added load-carrying strength. Additional collar ties to and from matching opposing rafters may also be added at the mid-point of the rafter. Doing so substantially improves the strength by creating what is in fact a simple truss.  A diagonal support brace from the wall plate to the peak of the underside of the roof may be installed and fastened to each of the rafters to  establish spacing and  dimensional stability prior to roof sheeting. Following the installation of the rafters, ceiling joists may also be installed if desired. [caption id="attachment_3082" align="aligncenter" width="640"]Symmetry of Rafters Symmetry of Rafters is Elegant Geometry[/caption] See the photos!  The beautiful  symmetry of rafters carefully installed in stick-framing has a certain elegance... Here's an over-simplified diagram. [caption id="attachment_3085" align="aligncenter" width="881"]Rafter and Ridgeboard Construction showing Collar tie Rafter and Ridgeboard Construction showing Collar tie[/caption] Simple, isn’t it? Now you can build that dog house or play house with a storage space. Or a chicken-coop for the egg-laying chooks. Or a whimsical peaked roof for a wishing-well. Or a protective porch over that back door.   The application is endless.   After a small project is complete,  try a larger garden shed too. Apply  the rafter and ridgeboard construction technique to your next building project and you’ll have discovered the joy of genuine stick-framing .  Happy Building!   Is that Incoming I hear?   *Photo credits and diagram © 2013 rakukkee  All rights reserved.    
Posted in Home & Hearth, Home&How To, How To... | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments