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.
I've done reading on the topic of daypacks. I have always used my antique Osprey daypack (made in Dolores, CO) which is about 20-liters. With a replacement waist belt which my shoe repair guy fixed up for me for $10, it sits right and holds anything I might need for an ordinary day hike. (I think any pack without a waist belt is a terrible idea. I have also found that a proper fit and tweaking the adjustments makes a big difference. It has to sit on your butt.)
I bought my Osprey pack in Telluride on a ski trip with the kids. Needed a place for them to put spare winter clothing in as the temperatures went up and down and as snow came and went during the day.
Mrs. BD took the liberty of buying me a 40-Liter REI daypack for our recent Hebrides hiking trip. It fits well, but holds far more stuff than I am ever likely to need other than for lengthy winter hikes.
In fact, it could function as a smallish airplane carry-on. These days, half the people on international flights carry backpacks. They have become standard tourist items, but who needs a backpack or daypack to walk around Florence all day?
Let's say the usual day hike off the beaten track is from 4 to 8 hours. What do you need in the pack? Some liquids, snacks, maybe a sandwich or two, some rain pants and waterproof jacket, a trail map or travel guide, a first aid kit and some blister packs, a wallet, binoculars, a little camera or iphone, perhaps a 2-way radio if remote, maybe a place for hiking poles - and empty space to stuff layers that you might not want as the day warms. A box of ammo if hunting in the wilderness.
Shouldn't a 20-L pack be able to handle that, and more? Unless it's warm weather and you are carrying several liters of water, or unless you are playing sherpa and carrying stuff for other people.
We're about to plan our next wilderness hiking trip (day hikes only, thank you, with fluffy towels and hot water at night), so I will decide for sure whether 40 L is overkill.
If you are a regular day hiker, what size do you use, how do you use it, and what do you put in it? And if you would want a 40-L pack, why?
It's not a "diet." It's an exercise and fitness plan with a simple weight-loss component. It can't hurt to try it, if you need it. Lean and fit is better than fat and unfit.
Kinsley: "Yes, it’s true that Hillary Clinton got more votes, but he got the votes of more than 62 million people — and I am pretty sure I don’t know any of them."
... most have never seen such an immediate and no holds-barred battle between the Washington power structure and a new administration, because there has never been one, and want to see which way it moves before getting aboard one battle wagon or the other.
The Monomoy Islands are where the the ocean longshore currents are taking the land of "lower" Cape Cod (ie, the upper part), at an average of 3' of shoreline per year. This is post-glacial shaping. Cape Cod, like Long Island, is a glacial construction - a moraine. Like all land, a permanent work in progress.
Just south of Chatham on the elbow of the Cape, reaching south towards Nantucket, the Monomoy islands are a National Wildlife Refuge. They are full of seals, nesting shorebirds, and are a busy migration resting place. Also, the fishing there is wonderful. You can even do flats-style fishing for Stripers.
You can visit these (relatively) new islands by boat from Chatham. Nice little trip. You can stay at the Chatham Bars Inn which, I admit, has gotten fancier over the years. There are plenty of B&Bs. Chatham is pleasant.
Alas, not a record-breaking hiking climb, but highly exciting with the cliff edges. July 9, 2017.
"Travis Pastrana crushed the Mt. Washington Hillclimb record reaching the 6288’ summit in a stunning 5:44.72. The #199 WRX STI with a specially fitted 600hp engine actually beat the record two times, running a 5:46.28 on the first attempt up the twisty 7.4 mile race course. This is just shy of a twenty-five second gain on the old record of 6:09.09 held by Subaru Rally Team USA teammate, David Higgins, from 2014."
Kevin is amusingly prickly, but misses the point. Trump was not elected for his IQ, breadth of knowledge, refinement, morals, wisdom, or policy savvy. He did not run on those qualities. He was elected because he was an outsider, to disconnect the cables and overturn the tables. He is trying.
A reckless non-careerist is what was wanted. You don't have to like the obnoxious SOB to appreciate some of the things he has done. If you dislike his personalty, then don't invite him to your next dinner party.
13:31 He put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field;
13:32 it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches."
13:33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened."
13:44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
13:45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls;
13:46 on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
13:47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind;
13:48 when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.
13:49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous
13:50 and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
13:51 "Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes."
13:52 And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."
That is no biggie for his company. The story got me looking into the game of Baccarat. I have never played it. It's a card game, a game of chance with some more complicated versions like Chemin de Fer which I believe is what James Bond enjoyed. Punto banco is the common version of the game.
Is any skill involved in the betting component? I am not clear on that but it mainly seems to be about the adrenaline.
Photo above is Tranby Croft, site of the famous Royal Baccarat Scandal of 1890. A great story.
As you probably know, a total solar eclipse is due in the U.S. on August 21. For now, I want to mention two things.
1. If possible, you definitely want to catch it. It is — by definition alone — a rare and spectacular event. I saw the one in 1979 and it remains on my "Three most amazing things I've ever seen" list. It'll be worth the driving time, even spending the night in a motel. So start making plans now. This is the last total eclipse we'll see for seven years, and that one will only cross the eastern U.S. After that, it'll be a wait of twenty-one years.
2. If you're going to watch it, you'll definitely need some special eyeglasses. An Amazon link is here. Just make sure you get the "ISO certified" type, not just "ISO tested". I'm mentioning this simply because time is running short and the glasses you order might be backlogged or the company might get swamped with last-minute orders.
The best map I've seen of the path of totality is here. Use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or the plus and minus keys. Head for the center line, as that's where the full eclipse will last the longest. Click on a specific area for a pop-up box with the peak times. They'll be in UT time, so to convert it to your time zone, click here.
Six months into the Trump presidency, it seems safe to say that America has never had a political experience like the one he has brought to the White House...
Not one more night, not one more kiss, Not this time babe, no more of this, Takes too much skill, takes too much will, It's too revealing.
You came, you saw, just like the law You married young, just like your ma, You tried and tried, you made me slide You left me reelin' with this feelin'.
They had the chance to do something good. Could have gotten rid of mandate, allowed a wide variety of plans, and allowed cross-state plan sales. For starters.
He’s a once in a century political force who will be judged more on what he destroys than on what he creates. He is the destroyer of worlds, because the world of Washington needs destroying.
The Closing of the American Mind turned 30 this year. The fact that every five years now there is a retrospective is a testimony to its staying power, though it may also say something about the number of middle-aged writers on the right who cut their teeth on the book in their salad days. I count myself a member of that motley crew, having read and superficially understood it as a college junior and then periodically gone back to it many times over the years with gradually increasing background knowledge.
Superb essay by Victor Hansen: Brawn in an age of brains. Hansen realizes that, even in an age of laziness, many brain workers feel the innate need to stress their bodies daily for a while.
Hansen himself has always done farm work and brain work. Just one of many quotable paragraphs:
Sometime in the 1970s and 1980s, millions of Americans—far more than just those constituting an economic elite—decided that a key to the good life was to be free from, say, the need to cook, watch children, mow the lawn, or rake leaves. Illegal immigration promised cheap help for the upper middle classes that had once been the exclusive domain of the aristocracy. In theory, skipping the gym for four hours a week would provide more than enough time to mow the lawn, prune the bushes, or vacuum the floor. Yet sweaty and studied exercise is often deemed preferable to rote labor, given that it is more scientifically calibrated to making one look and feel better. Repetitive muscular work is not seen as commensurately valuable, whether for the exercise it provides or for its psychic benefits. Yet for all one’s degrees and income, a person can still retain some sense of autonomy and an ability to master the surrounding material landscape, if only for a few hours each week, and to appreciate how the other half lives that does such physical labor for wages. It is a choice...
Does anyone doubt that the New York Times has already prepared the title for the editorial on terminating the Trump presidency. Perhaps it reads: "Now, Finally, He Must Go!
Photo is the REI 40-L daypack.
Start-ups: 
As you probably know, a total solar eclipse is due in the U.S. on August 21. For now, I want to mention two things.
Reasons Your Creative Type Has Broken Up with You
