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.
The article begins by discussing the transformation of NYC's Fresh Kills landfill (dump) back to a sort-of natural wetland. However, the author takes the opportunity to discuss modern ecological theory.
6:14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him."
6:15 But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."
6:16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."
6:17 For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her.
6:18 For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
6:19 And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,
6:20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.
6:21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.
6:22 When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it."
6:23 And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom."
6:24 She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer."
6:25 Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."
6:26 The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her.
6:27 Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,
6:28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.
6:29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.
No reason not to set high, but realistic and not grandiose goals in fitness as in everything else.The ideal goal is just to be better than you were 2 weeks ago, whether in strength, agility, cardio endurance or cardio intensity. Or body weight adjustment. But it's difficult for humans not to set specific goals in life to which to aspire.
As I have confessed, I am a small-boned (now 5'11", once 6', 165 lb) late-middle aged guy who imagines he is still 25, without the genes for a mighty physique, with the genes for a dad bod - ie sloppy gut tendency effectively-resisted, but blessed with the genes or temperament for perseverance. I'll share my fitness goals for the next 5-6 months:
- Dead around 275-300 one rep - Run a 7 minute mile (that's about 8.5 mph) - Squat 200 one rep - 10 pullups or chin ups - 50 pushups non-stop - no bench press goals, just reps, due to bum shoulder - Lose another 4 lbs of fat and gain 2 lbs of muscle (my trainer can tell by looking). Like to get to 15% body fat, but beer. - Survive the most challenging cardio/athletic class at my gym without taking any 45-60 second breaks - Getting hit on more often by young blonde chicks in the gym Mrs. BD
For some, those might be modest goals, but not for me.
" Some have suggested that Strzok's reaction was "Duper's delight" - a hidden smirk that slips out at an inappropriate moment when a liar celebrates a successful manipulation. "
It's meadow mowing season in New England. Haying season too.
Mowing
There was never a sound beside the wood but one, And that was my long scythe whispering to the ground. What was it it whispered? I knew not well myself; Perhaps it was something about the heat of the sun, Something, perhaps, about the lack of sound-- And that was why it whispered and did not speak. It was no dream of the gift of idle hours, Or easy gold at the hand of fay or elf: Anything more than the truth would have seemed too weak To the earnest love that laid the swale in rows, Not without feeble-pointed spikes of flowers (Pale orchises), and scared a bright green snake. The fact is the sweetest dream that labour knows. My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make.
When you take a walk on the High Line, at the northern end you can watch the construction of what is, in effect, a new city in itself. It's a sight to behold, a boom town. It will even have its own schools, parks, everything.
Will the 60,000 new apartments lower Manhattan rents? I'd guess no. And Brooklyn is a boom town too. However you may feel about NYC, a lot of people want to live there and I don't blame them because it's a high-energy place.
They still got a few shots in, because they do have their sheep to tend to. But at least on the main point, they admit he not only is doing what Obama tried to do, but also signed an agreement critical of Russia. Because that's what Russian agents do.
Laws against homosexual practice or marriage are clearly a freedom issue. Abortion, of course, is an impossible issue. I would prefer that people talk about freedom rather than rights. Laws are mostly made to restrict freedom but a rare few are made to assert freedom. For me, when in doubt, freedom is the default position. Courts do not "invent" rights but, when necessary, they should reveal freedoms when laws attempt to obscure them. Our Bill of Rights was forced to make this explicit:
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
In 1971, during one of his retirements, my father went to Mexico City for six months and loved it. My father could pass for Mexican, about 5'5", pudgy, dark complexion, black hair, did not speak Spanish but smiled and said Si to everything. Ever since, Mexico City has been on my bucket list. Last week, my sons away, I went. Literally, everything and every moment was a great favorable surprise.
There is a darn good reason why people avoid heavy lifting, whether they are cardio fitness nuts or just people looking for work. Heavy lifting is stressful, unpleasant - other than facing the challenge.
Many people avoid stress, some to the point of avoiding life itself. The thing is, painful stress, whether emotional, physical, or intellectual, is what builds strength and effectiveness for life.
If you lift enough, at some point that 60 lb. bag of cement mix will feel light as a feather. Same goes for all other stressors.
What are (or have been) your favorite places to get frisky au pleine air? It's the best fun, is it not?
- on a boat - in a wildflower meadow - in a sleeping bag by a campfire - in a pool or other body of water - on a beach - in the woods standing against a tree - Urban rooftop or balcony - Other
This is a Scientific Survey for purely research purposes so your responses matter. Please no facetiousness - this is Serious Science.
World Cup balls are designed anew for each World Cup. Adidas makes them. They vary especially in pattern, and number and size of the seams.
Pro balls are inflated to rock-hard levels, unlike recreational balls. That's one reason people are concerned about brain injury from heading in pro soccer despite the fact that more concussions in soccer are from collisions on the field.
What sorts of speeds are attained by balls in the highest levels of soccer? Obviously it depends on the purpose of the pass or kick, but most are in the 20-80 mph range. Free kicks and penalty kicks can reach 90-100 mph. The fastest recorded penalty kick was 131 mph. Those balls can bang up a goalie pretty bad.
Does the white Appalachian coal miner in West Virginia really have an innate leg up on the Punjabi immigrant exec in Silicon Valley on the basis of his appearance? Yet somewhere along the line in a supposed racist America, being a white male in Fayette County, W. Va., did not innately trump being a techie immigrant from Mumbai in Menlo Park. Does multibillionaire Oprah Winfrey have less privilege and opportunity than a white cook in Provo, Utah?
Does the recently arrived undocumented immigrant who has lived his entire life in the Mexican state of Oaxaca become eligible for career and job enhancement because he does not superficially look like the out-of-work lathe worker in southern Ohio? Is the theory that the minute the immigrant crosses the border to the U.S. from his formerly racist society, his children will become eligible for federally mandated advantages on the reasoning that from now on, they will face racism as a non-white in the country to which he fled in order to avoid racism in the country of his birth?
Paul Manafort is rotting away in solitary confinement on the flimsiest of specious nothingness while murderers, rapists, pedophiles and other scum of the earth post bail and are out in a heartbeat before the ink on their fingerprints are dry. That is also an abject travesty. It's political terrorism just as bad in its own way as that suffered by Steve Scalise at the hands of a Dick Durbin-linked would-be assassin. The President can put a stop to all of this right now by firing Mueller, ending the kangaroo court and just flat out pardoning Paul Manafort, but the politics of that is dangerous to play with.
After 5,300 years, the last meal of an ancient Iceman has been revealed —
It's meadow mowing season in New England. Haying season too.
What are (or have been) your favorite places to get frisky au pleine air? It's the best fun, is it not?
World Cup balls are