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.
It little profits that an idle king, By this still hearth, among these barren crags, Match'd with an aged wife, I mete and dole Unequal laws unto a savage race, That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.
I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when Through scudding drifts the rainy Hyades Vexed the dim sea: I am become a name; For always roaming with a hungry heart Much have I seen and known; cities of men And manners, climates, councils, governments, Myself not least, but honoured of them all;
And drunk delight of battle with my peers; Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy. I am a part of all that I have met; Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough Gleams that untravelled world, whose margin fades For ever and for ever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnished, not to shine in use! As though to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me Little remains: but every hour is saved From that eternal silence, something more, A bringer of new things; and vile it were For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this grey spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.
This is my son, mine own Telemachus, To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle — Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil This labour, by slow prudence to make mild A rugged people, and through soft degrees Subdue them to the useful and the good. Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere Of common duties, decent not to fail In offices of tenderness, and pay Meet adoration to my household gods, When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.
There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail: There gloom the dark broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toil'd, and wrought, and thought with me — That ever with a frolic welcome took The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed Free hearts, free foreheads — you and I are old; Old age hath yet his honour and his toil; Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.
The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars, until I die. It may be that the gulfs will wash us down: It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, And see the great Achilles, whom we knew
Tho' much is taken, much abides; and though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
"The object of the university is to develop character — to make men. It misses its aim if it produced learned pedants, or simple artisans, or cunning sophists, or pretentious practitioners. Its purport is not so much to impart knowledge to the pupils, as whet the appetite, exhibit methods, develop powers, strengthen judgment, and invigorate the intellectual and moral forces. It should prepare for the service of society a class of students who will be wise, thoughtful, progressive guides in whatever department of work or thought they may be engaged."
Johns Hopkins University President Daniel Coit Gilman, in 1876 (h/t, Askblog)
Kettlebells add good variety to cardio and/or calisthenics workouts. There are plenty of ways to use them, but they seem most often used for swings. Swings are a total body exercise.
With lighter weights, swings are more cardio. Go with heavier weights for total body toughening. 30-60 seconds per set is good.
Gary Sinise travels and performs constantly to raise $30-million a year through the Charity Navigator top-rated Gary Sinise Foundation for disabled veterans.
Your credit score is sort of like a grade in practical life-management. The way life is, one never knows when a little or a lot of credit might come in handy.
A few other tips: Not a great idea to entirely pay off a mortgage. Regular mortgage payments are important, even if you maintain a small balance. Also, never entirely pay off a credit card. Keep a balance, however small, or some wierd algo might decide to cancel your card for no good reason (it happens even to prosperous people when an algo gets tired of you and a zero balance is its chance), and that's a ding. Regular, on-time payments are the best thing for your credit. It's because lenders are in the business of lending, and like borrowers. Never, ever, cancel a credit card. So, for your credit score, use all of your credit cards and never pay them off entirely. But, yes, you can get rid of student loans.
Another detail: Too many checks of your credit harms your credit score. However, you can check your own once in a while, for free online.
Your results may vary. We probably have readers with experience with all of this.
Everybody knows we do not use that term anymore in public. It's been a kerfuffle this past week.
Interestingly, "Mental Retardation" was introduced as a euphemism for uglier terms, as it seemed to imply slower, but not unable. The currect correct term is "intellectual disability".
However, in casual conversation, people still say "I'm retarded" after foolish actions.
It may come as news to the #MeToo generation, but women have sexual power over men. It's so potent that in some societies (Muslims et al.), it is brutally reined in. This sexual power has to be acknowledged and respected, and it is precisely what civilization arose to hold in check. We're not talking about some playful, casual one-off, but rather the volcanic energies surging deep within the human psyche. As with all powerful natural forces, it can engender great beauty in addition to great savagery.
People who analyze and write about higher education generally fall into two camps. One camp consists of those who believe that our system is “the envy of the world” and just needs more public support to do its great work of improving our citizens and strengthening our economy. (For a sense of what that camp is about, read professor Steven Brint’s book Two Cheers for Higher Education, which I reviewed here.)
The other camp consists of people who conclude that our higher education system draws in far too many students, poorly educates most of them, and costs too much. Unlike the first, which has, so far as I am aware, no conservatives or libertarians, in this camp you find people from all over the political spectrum. Former Harvard president Derek Bok, a liberal, has written Our Underperforming Colleges. And arguably the best-known among the critics is professor Richard Vedder, a thorough-going free market advocate.
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Mother Teresa's