Maggie's Farm

Lyrics here.

Another myth demolished, finally:  Feds preparing to drop warnings on cholesterol

Dietary cholesterol has minimal to no medical significance. Expect no apologies for messing up so many people's food habits for decades.

Z-man's 2017 predictions

2016: The Year the Left Broke

Obama’s final weekly address of 2016: You’re welcome, America

Fake news:  Russian Hackers Said To "Penetrate US Electricity Grid" Using Outdated Ukrainian Malware

The Fable of Edward Snowden

From A German: Americans Are Too Timid In Confronting Hate

He never saw American hatred for Germans

Italian Priest Puts Mary in Burka for Christmas so Muslims Won’t Be Offended

Should he kill himself so as not to offend?

How do you protect decent Jewish philanthropic women from aligning with groups who would be quite happy to hurt them in many ways?

Policing in America: Understanding Public Attitudes Toward the Police. Results from a National Survey

Civil Discourse Didn’t Die, It Was Murdered By The Left

Government controls your morning shower

The Culture:  Apparently, no issue was too trivial for the administrative state and its armies of bureaucrats. It was not just a hint and a nudge. It was an imposition.

Wisconsin Takes a Step Toward Sanity Regarding Global Warming Hoax

Gov.  Kasich Sides with Environmentalists on Ohio Energy Bill

Trump Versus the Blue Wall in Washington

A Resolution for 2017: Keep Reminding Trump That He Has No Mandate

DC Court of Appeals global warming decision threatens First Amendment

Italy to seek to track down and deport migrants with no right to stay

Looks like Angela Merkel may be starting to get it.

Afghan Teens Convicted of Gang Rape in Sweden Won’t Be Deported, Because It’s ‘Too Dangerous’

France's Hollande warns against nationalism in New Year address

Doesn't he work for France?

The new world order, 2017

I tend to be birding, if only casually, anytime I am outdoors. For those purposes, I do not need binocs because I have learned the gestalt of common bird shape, behavior, sound, and flight patterns. I am far from expert, but better than most casual amateurs.  For example, my birding friends can readily ID a flying Cooper's from a flying Sharpie, but I can not. Nor am I any use at all with fall warblers or rarities - I tend to guess for the regulars to be safe.

I have been doing an inventory of my binoculars this weekend. No reason, really. Closet-cleaning. Also because planning a cool birding trip to South Carolina barrier islands this Spring. Turned out I have 13, from handy-dandy minis through mid-range birding binocs to marine very long-distance binocs which I have also used for hawk-spotting (bad idea - it's impossible to find the spot in the sky and the wobble is a problem).

I have to give some of them away.

What I usually have on hand when outdoors for any length of time is one of my minis, but if I intend to do some serious looking my go-to is my Minox 8X32. It's waterproof. They make an 8X33 now, but I don't need that. I bought a binoc harness from Cabelas.

Experts can and do ID pretty much anything with bare eye or with the inexpensive Nikon mini in their pocket, but when you are looking for the one Glaucous Gull in a flock of 2000 gulls, you need more. If you sport a Swarovski you had better be at pro level or you're a poseur.  Firearms, cameras, binocs - an amateur like me does not need the best because it's just for fun. I have also observed, over time, that the best talents never need the best kit. I rarely use my good birding scope anymore because of the hassle.

What do you use for birding? (Some wise guy will comment "12 gauge". In a duck blind, I tend to have binocs and a 12 ga.)

Thanks for this, Gerard, and HNY to you and yours - and to all readers. Lots of people can use this today (listen to both performances if you have a minute):  Fight Song

And then we have this:  How dieth the wise man? As the fool:

The first scuff on a nice new pair of shoes, or the first scratch in the paint of a new car, is a disappointment. You knew it was coming, but the first one hurts. But there are other scuffs and scratches soon enough. Every new pair of wingtips is destined to be a scuffed-up pair of old shoes, every new car is destined for the junk pile. But years are different: The first lost year hurts the least. Then they hurt more. Sometime around 30 or so we approach one New Year’s Eve and, meditating on the year that is past, think: “Well, didn’t make much of that.” We resolve to amend our ways...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

3:1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

3:2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

3:3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

3:4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

3:5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

3:6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

3:7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

3:8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

3:9 What gain have the workers from their toil?

3:10 I have seen the business that God has given to everyone to be busy with.

3:11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

3:12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live;

3:13 moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil.