We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Our yellow Trumpet Vine on our entryway arbor - a mini- nature preserve - is having a good year.
A Robin is nesting in it right now. Her second batch this season. They get annoyed every time you walk through.
I devoted yesterday afternoon to manual labor because the heat wave passed. Weeding, vine removal, some mid-summer pruning, stacking logs for winter, etc. While taking a little iced-tea and cigar break sitting on my wood pile, I got free entertainment from two Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds fighting over the ownership of the entire vine. "Why not share it?" I thought. "There's enough nectar and tiny bugs for all." Nope.
Nature is not nursery school.
Elsewhere at the Maggie's HQ, I have a red Trumpet Vine. I think they prefer the red, but they seem to find the yellow worth fighting over.
Move
over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database - See more at:
http://rare.us/story/move-over-nsa-here-comes-the-obamacare-big-brother-database/#sthash.SsANaBoZ.dpuf
Move
over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database - See more at:
http://rare.us/story/move-over-nsa-here-comes-the-obamacare-big-brother-database/#sthash.l5A4VaSa.dpuf
Move
over NSA, here comes the Obamacare Big Brother database - See more at:
http://rare.us/story/move-over-nsa-here-comes-the-obamacare-big-brother-database/#sthash.l5A4VaSa.dpuf
It's a dreadful task to break up one's parents' household but, with my Dad's death two weeks ago, we need to get it on the market before Labor Day in order to sell it before the lengthy driveway and parking area need snow-plowing and shoveling, and are covered with ice.
My parents raised most of us kids in this sunny and cheery 6-BR contemporary which my Dad designed, and my parents remained there until they died.
The realtors want the house emptied out, heavy-duty cleaned, and floors waxed, in the next 3 weeks. We 5 kids will draw a number out of a hat, then pick stuff we want in order (jewelry, silver, furniture, chatchkes, art, the Steinway, etc.), then call in Good Will to take whatever they can use. Then comes the dumpster and the cleaning crew. Thus does a home devolve into a house.
I took some photos to help my memory of home when my Alzheimer's arrives.
This is their kitchen with its fireplace with a wood stove insert at the far end of the kitchen area. The only sign that old people lived there, I think, is having things scotch-taped to the cabinets. Plus their refusal to put a/c in the house. That baby picture I was taking home was of me. I don't really want it, but I don't want to throw it away. Everybody has some stuff like that.
I missed one, darn the luck. I thought a bald eagle sounded just like they're always pictured, then it turns out they sound exactly like a cross between a squeaky toy and a seagull. Who knew? The only one I hadn't heard of was that biz about there not being a Nobel prize for mathematics because of his wife's affair. And it's pure coincidence that Barrie's post below on 'Correlation vs. Causation' ties in with the last point.
And it's an important point, and one we see abused every day. Flatbush, Arkansas, just experienced its rainiest June in history? Climate change. Hortence Abernathy's garden in Deepfrost, Maine, produced beautiful geraniums for the first time ever? Climate change. A barbecue at a company picnic in Drycrik, Arizona, caught some nearby weeds on fire and they didn't get it put out until half the field had burned down? Climate change. The entire globe stops warming for 20 years? Climate change.
After all, stopping is a form of change, right? Proof positive that climate change exists.
Ah, there you are, the master dog trainer. Not only have you taught Sparky to sit up, stay and fetch, but now he's learned 'speak'! "Arf-arf!", he responds with pride. What a smart little feller!
Of course, it's possible the two of you still have a ways to go.
The long jumps are especially impressive. With their poor eyesight and lack of stereoscopic vision, when a dog hears "Jump!" from some blurry object fifteen feet away, he's basically wildly leaping into space on nothing but trust.
And then there's the art of shadow dancing.
Without further preamble...
What's particularly striking about this art form are scenes like the jet fighter, where you expect to see them lower a bunch of cardboard props at the next change, yet nothing like that ever appears to happen.
They have a handful of vids on YouTube, and I have a solo artist performing here. When I originally posted it in my art gallery years ago, I hadn't seen anything else like it and called it a "wonderful, if dying, art form." It's nice to see artists like the Attraction Theater Group bringing this beautiful genre back to the fore.
10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.
10:40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."
10:41 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things;
10:42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her."
If you think about it for a while, you have to wonder whether this might require a $5 million government grant to understand the deeper processes at work here. h/t Carpe Diem
I love cucumbers from my garden in the summertime. I harvested my first few this weekend.
Is anything more refreshing than a hot cucumber fresh off the vine?
I guess I prefer them as a dominant component, and not as a minor ingredient. Mixing tomato with cucumber is an insult to Mr. Cucumber - except in a Greek tomato, cucumber and feta cheese salad - which is hardly a salad. More like a fine simple plate of food, with olive oil drizzled over it.
Cucumber sandwich: 2 or three 1/4 to 1/2 inch-thick lengthwise slices of peeled cucumber - try to minimize the seeds. Sprinkle a little salt. Put on bread with some mayo. This version is definitely not a lady's tea sandwich.
Cucumber and onion salad: My Granny made this all the time in the summer. Sometimes with shrimp in it as a light lunch, but I like it plain. I don't think she used the oil, but maybe she did. I make it without oil and with the clear-colored vinegar, sugar to taste, and definitely let it sit in the icebox an hour or so to absorb the flavor.
Yet another cucumber slaw: A favorite. Peel and seed them. Shred in Cuisinart. Always drain shredded cukes in a colander with a bit of salt and some weight on top for 20 minutes before making slaw or it gets too watery. Shred some carrots too. Toss together in a vinaigrette with a little salt and pepper. Really nice with lobster and fish, but also terrific with barbecue.
Cucumber and Dill Salad. A classic, and the only reason to bother growing dill in the garden.
I Among twenty snowy mountains, The only moving thing Was the eye of the blackbird.
II I was of three minds, Like a tree In which there are three blackbirds.
III The blackbird whirled in the autumn winds. It was a small part of the pantomime.
IV A man and a woman Are one. A man and a woman and a blackbird Are one.
V I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling Or just after.
VI Icicles filled the long window With barbaric glass. The shadow of the blackbird Crossed it, to and fro. The mood Traced in the shadow An indecipherable cause.
VII O thin men of Haddam, Why do you imagine golden birds? Do you not see how the blackbird Walks around the feet Of the women about you?
VIII I know noble accents And lucid, inescapable rhythms; But I know, too, That the blackbird is involved In what I know.
IX When the blackbird flew out of sight, It marked the edge Of one of many circles.
X At the sight of blackbirds Flying in a green light, Even the bawds of euphony Would cry out sharply.
XI He rode over Connecticut In a glass coach. Once, a fear pierced him, In that he mistook The shadow of his equipage For blackbirds.
XII The river is moving. The blackbird must be flying.
XIII It was evening all afternoon. It was snowing And it was going to snow. The blackbird sat In the cedar-limbs.
The crisis of globalistical warmening this July must be good for beer sales.
This pic from the Spital Brewery's biergarten in Regensberg a couple of years ago, on the Danube riverbank adjacent to the brewery. It's just a pleasant walk over the 1135 bridge. I like that "Since 1226." It's true.
That Bock was mine. A mistake. At least 10%. Tasty, though. My lad had the dark one.
A dear old pal who lives in NYC sent me a box of very nice seegars to comfort me after the sudden death of my Mom in February.
Even though he is getting married (finally) this weekend in California to some sexy young babe, he took the time to do the same to comfort me for my Dad's death (he knew my Dad) last week. Pleiades and Avo Classics.
When you're too old to suck your thumb, and find yourself a sudden orphan, an Avo helps. Thanks, and Mazel Tov, old pal.
An immigrant is puzzled about why American blacks seem to be so susceptible to the grievance industry when it makes all the sense in the world to be grateful to be here instead of Uganda or Somalia or God knows where.
I guess everybody loves a freebie. Bowl of lentils.
Bird Dog posted a link to an interesting article about Amazon.com yesterday, and while it was a fun story, I thought the first paragraph deserved a response. So I'm reposting this puppy.
The article begins:
What do you usually expect to pay for a book on Amazon? Perhaps $7-$10, if you're scouting for a paperback? Around $20 or so if you're looking to score a hardcover?
Well, not exactly.
Like I suppose many people, I thought Amazon.com only sold new things. Not so!
I became a big fan of Robert B. Parker and his 'Spencer' detective novels. I had about ten of them out of the thirty or so that are out there. Having a few bucks on hand, I decided to blow the wad and complete my collection. I headed over to Amazon.com, dug up the first book I wanted, then noticed an odd "used" link down near the bottom of the ad. I clicked on it and discovered a whole different side to Amazon.com.
Want to guess how much these used books were going for? Five bucks? Two bucks? One?
"A quarter?"
Nope. Not even close. Gee, you're not very good at this 'guessing' stuff, are you?
How about a penny?
The deal is, these are all third-party used book merchants, and they charge $3.95 per book for shipping, so apparently they'd rather make a buck off the shipping — plus one penny — rather than just let the thing sit there rotting on the shelf. The ol' better-something-than-nothing approach.
It's to note that only the fairly old books go for a penny. Slightly newer ones actually cost a whole quarter or more, so be prepared to spend some big, big money.
I ordered 20 books. Granted, I paid $79 in shipping, but compare that to spending two days traveling to every used book store in the tri-county area and paying three to five bucks apiece for them. Nor, most likely, would I have been able to nail down all 20 books missing from my collection.
For what it's worth, one book didn't show up. I emailed the vendor, nothing back. Emailed again, nothing back. I emailed Amazon, gave them the invoice number, told them what I'd done, and my credit card account was reimbursed within the day. Ordered the book from a different vendor and out it came.
It's to note that there are also 'used' links for things like DVD movies, audio CDs, and a bunch of other things. I'm not so sure I'd go for a used rectal thermometer, but most used items are probably fine, and the 3rd-party items fall into little sub-categories such as "Like New", "Very Good", "Acceptable", "Seriously Trashed", etc, along with a brief description, so you'll have a clue as to what you're getting.
National Journal asks Do Women Make Better Senators Than Men?
Given those doing the asking, I’m pretty sure that the question really
means “better at responding to emotion-driven appeals from the left”.
And the answer is yes.
I haven't believed the employment figures the BLS puts out. Not for about 12 years. They've been poked, prodded and altered in so many ways, they barely pass as reliable. But now the former head of the BLS is stepping up and confirming what most of us, including Jack Welch and Donald Trump, have known for some time. The numbers aren't what they seem, the non-recovery isn't adding jobs significantly, and the employment rate is probably closer to the ShadowStats figure.
Keith Hall believes the US economy is a lot sicker than the 7.6 percent unemployment rate would lead you to believe. And he should know. Hall was, from 2008 until last year, the guy in charge of Washington’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that compiles that rate. “Right now [it’s] misleadingly low,” says Hall, who believes a truer reading of those now wanting a job but without one to be more than 10 percent.
First off, since this is science we're talking about, let's make sure we're all on the same page.
Pic: scientific proof that CO² exists in the atmosphere
As we discussed last time, the most wonderful aspect of the climate debate at this moment in time, and a point simply no one could contend, is how many choices we now have:
— If you believe the science, then it's obvious that Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) is the villain.
— On the other hand, if you believe the science, then there's no question that Natural Global Cooling (NGC) is the true menace.
— However, if you believe the science, then it's quite apparent that Anthropogenic Chlorofluorocarbonic Warming (ACW) is the real threat.
— And, for those who believe the science, it's crystal-clear that Natural Global Warming (NGW) is what's really goin' on.
Again, it's all about the science, folks, and the wonderful options it provides. And that's not to mention the unity it brings to the community as we can all now agree that science is ultimately the answer to this imposing problem.
Unfortunately, as in any contest where there are multiple participants, scores are being kept and tallies are being tabbed. Since I'm on the NGW team, it's my duty to mock, scorn and degrade the other three contestants at every opportunity. They constantly do the same to my team, so no hard feelings. As they say, all's fair in love and global thermonuclear war.
"Savvy travelers have come to depend on Karen Brown's recommendations."
Yes, indeed. Over the years, Karen Brown has never recommended a dud to us. For the past few years, Mrs. BD has relied entirely on her travel and inn recommendations. She's not about Hiltons, The Four Seasons, Sheratons. She's not about discount places either, or mass market. She's about boutique charm and local flavor.
Video: Honda presents t
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Like I suppose many people, I thought Amazon.com only sold new things. Not so!
First off, since this is science we're talking about, let's make sure we're all on the same page.