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 literally read all the comments, which came to 76 (not counting my own, and a few other, comments which were not specifically about work).
Everyone had very different specific circumstances and jobs, or 'jobs' as the case may be, but what interested me is that few seemed to be mentioned in a grudging or unsatisfied/disappointed manner. My own comment to Mrs. Bulldog was that I remember my first job fondly because of the odd circumstances which led to me getting it, but also because I remember little else about that summer, and the work itself only lasted the month of August. But we had our own room at the resort if we wanted to spend the night, and we could use the pool as long as we didn't annoy guests and were respectful.
It was also the first summer where I really learned about music and girls, which had previously never been primary interests. Girls and music do seem to go together pretty well. The girls at the resort were impressed that we had money, and that we worked. The parents still couldn't know we were interested in them, though.
Commenters mentioned roofing (something I did on a few holidays), picking fruit or vegetables (which I had to do in my mom's garden), babysitting (which I did, too), paper routes, flipping burgers, and a variety of other things which I have less experience in.
It's my view that if people let their work define them, it becomes a limiting factor. If our work is just part of who we are, we control our outcomes. We can choose to be what we want and who we want. I see a lot of that in our comments. We've all done many things and each seems to have mostly good memories of what has been done. I can only think that the young people today who complain, protest and make demands simply have not worked hard enough to know that you're happier when you produce rather than when you demand things.
I took a survey today about working, and first jobs. One question asked the age of your first job:
Prior to 15 15-16 16-18 18-20 20+ I imagine most of our readers are in the prior to 15 group, but I'd figure I'd ask. Just so you understand 'the rules' - any job counts. My first jobs were cutting grass and babysitting when I was 13. My first real job occurred when a friend broke his ankle and I took over washing dishes at a local resort (minimimum wage was $2.30/hour, but we got meals, too, since we worked in the kitchen).
Once I started working, I never stopped. I had a job every summer, sometimes during school, always on breaks or holidays (ski resorts needed lift operator assistants during these periods) afterward. I'd sometimes offer to work off the books and under minimum wage if it meant I could get the work. I know I got most of the tax money back since I was a student, but that never bothered me. Money in the pocket beats waiting for it after April.
Digging for microcode. As the catastrophic state of California’s finances finally begins to set in among politicians, anti-tech media personalities, and far left cultural influencers, the narrative on California’s techxodus — that is, the migration of California’s technology industry out of the state — has shifted from mockery, and “we’ll be better off without you,” to a far more sober, and increasingly-desperate “leaving California is immoral.”
I contracted Covid back in March. 2 weeks of coughing and headaches, no fever, and a general haziness for about 2 months afterward. I'm fine now, no long-term issues to speak of. I am heading in for some medical checkups since my insurance is ending soon. If you're over 50 and understand the prep process, you know what I'm talking about. At any rate, the doctors had me take a Covid test last week as a precautionary measure. It's a smart move, and of course I came up negative.
Thing is, I was visiting friends last night, and a few other people stopped in. We wound up spending a few hours together. This morning, one sent us a text telling us he'd awakened with a fever. Later he texted that he'd been tested and came up positive.
Most of the people there last night already had Covid, so we're fairly confident we should be in good shape. We'd all been tested and had the antibodies. There are no guarantees, but I'm fairly confident most of us will be fine. There wasn't a ton of interaction, touching and no coughing. But we were indoors, and Mrs. Bulldog has not had Covid yet. So she will go get tested in a few days. Meanwhile, we will quarantine for a few days...
Except I have that procedure on Tuesday morning. So I shot them a note to let them know, and will follow whatever measures they ask me to engage.
This is how things should be handled. Rather than locking down, we can take steps to manage ourselves properly. Lockdowns haven't stopped the spread, they've merely created a false impression that viral outbreaks can be 'stopped' or 'prevented' with policy. Except the policies haven't stopped anything, and often have only led to worse overall situations.
2:22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
2:23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord"),
2:24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons."
2:25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
2:26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
2:27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
2:28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
2:29 "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
2:30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
2:31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
2:32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
2:33 And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, "This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed
2:35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed--and a sword will pierce your own soul too."
2:36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
2:37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.
2:38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
2:39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
2:40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.
Got vaccinated at 7 this morning at my local hosp. The deal is that, once they open a frozen pack, they have to use them up within 12 hours so they will take all comers if their sched is not filled. No reason to throw away unused vaccines.
Supposedly your doc or employer has to ok it, but it seems they just want to get all of the vaccines put out into the community and let none go to waste.
I did it not because I am a fearful type, but for the comfort of people I encounter. You get a CDC certificate and a sticker to wear if you want to. In 30 days, you can get the booster shot but you are immuzined until then. That's a precaution.
There appears to be no shortage around here. Around here, CVS (good for them) is all set up for delivering to all of the nursing homes and old folk's homes today. Front-line people have already had the chance over the past week, but I saw a few late nurses in our line-up. They were coming cuz of their 5 days off. RNs have strange schedules.
Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? My son says no. I say yes. My brother says yes, the director John McTiernan says yes, and a host of others say no.
Others play Solomon and split the baby. It's not a movie with a Christmas theme, but does include the element of Christmas. So, "no, but..."
Another way of looking at this is to ask if there was a message regarding "the system" in Die Hard. It was based on a book which was clearly anti-capitalist in nature, and McTiernan states it was supposed to be anti-capitalist. Frankly, I think he lost on that score. The proletarian nods don't really add up well. Capitalism had been so successful in providing more for all that by the time the movie was made some of the items he felt delineated 'wealth and privilege' from 'working class' were no longer meaningful. They are even less so today (assuming our economy had not been locked down, which has only exacerbated some of the divisions of wealth which were barely noticeable before).
That said, the most noticiable delineations of class today are not wealth-related, but power related as our "leaders" lock us down and lecture us on how to behave, only to go do the exact opposite things which they suggest we do. The real 'class warfare' today is power vs. the lack of it, not whether one has more money than someone else. Of course, that was always the nature of 'class warfare', but Leftists love to obscure that fact with a veneer of basic economic BS that only people with common sense can see through. McTiernan, therefore, fails miserably in his goal of making a legitimate anti-capitalist story. Mainly because there is no legitimate anti-capitalist story to be made. Unless you are a "trained Marxist" and know how to create one out of whole cloth. (For what it's worth, the term "trained Marxist" always made me laugh. I studied Economics at The New School, which tried very hard to push the Marxist agenda, and I read quite a bit of Marx, Hobsbawm, Gordon and a host of other Marxist garbage. So I'm a "trained Marxist" and one of the things every single Marxist professor said was "Marx left no blueprint, only an idea with no path forward and no clear goal except revolution." That's why Marxism and Leftist thought is such utter BS. Unlike Classical, Neo-Classical, Monetarist or even Austrian schools of thought, Marxism is just an idea and not a fully-formed one, but full of childish and misleading binary concepts. Though I will credit Marx with completely shifting the study of History in a very meaningful and useful fashion.)
At any rate, to me Die Hard is very much a Christmas movie and very much a pro-capitalist one. After all, Hans Gruber himself, like so many Marxists before him, only cared about the power he was managing (his gang) and the money he was trying to collect, and was utilizing a facade to perpetrate his crime...you know, like BLM and Antifa today. These movements are cargo cults, full of images that seem to 'make sense' but cannot ever effectively achieve the goals they have set for themselves because they are inclined only toward one thing. Perpetual Revolution.
We had a memorable Christmas Eve service from the porch of our church last night in the wind and rain with about 200 of us singing carols, doing the readings, with those fake battery candles.
That was Tiny Tim on Christmas Day. We got into a chat today at brunch with a Brit friend about Christmas Pudding.
Whether you like it or not (it's like Fruitcake), it is a necessary Brit tradition.
How to make it is below (recipe and video). Ideally served with flaming brandy, then something creamy on top. Funny thing about Christmas Pudding is that you can make it months in advance.
Even a year or two in advance. Just put it on a shelf. Even mice won't bother it.
Merry Christmas to all! As a contributor thank you all for the kind wishes of a Merry Christmas (it was - I got 2 bottles of whiskey, a book on bourbon, some honey roasted macadamia nuts, a gift card for a massage and a flying lesson) that you left on on BD's card.
But the real gifts are those I've seen here - the caring and love which I believe are natural gifts of our audience. Despite claims by some in our nation that our 'system encourages' greed, hatred, selfishness and a host of other issues, I mainly see kindness, love and charity from all of you. It may not disprove the claims of those who want to undermine our system and way of life - but I know all of us will continue to speak out for truth and fight for what is right and what is ours.
I'd like to personally thank Bird Dog for inviting me to start writing years ago. My first "post" was on Sept 22, 2011 - actually it was an essay that Bird Dog posted on one of my favorite topics, Economics. So this will be my 10th year writing for Maggie's. I'd also like to thank Dr. Mercury, who has come and gone a few times over the years, and I hope he is well - out there somewhere. He encouraged me to write after I'd posted some comments to a few of his posts, gave me writing advice, and made the intro to Bird Dog, for which I am eternally grateful.
Without Maggie's, I wonder if Mrs. Bulldog and I would be doing as much hiking as we are now. That all stemmed from our Urban Hikes - sadly missed in 2020 - which I have come to look forward to every year. I love meeting our readers and sharing time with them, getting to know them. Hope we meet more this year (hopefully we can begin hike planning soon).
What I like most is that our readers are inquisitive, interesting, and independent. We don't always agree on everything, and that's OK. Who wants to be the same as everyone else?
I'll share an email I sent to a large number of former co-workers who I respect and will miss going into the new year. I think it's a nice mix of realism and optimism. Hopefully you will share these thoughts, too. Mrs. Bulldog and I wish you only glad tidings:
Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Boxing Day, Festivus or nothing at all, it is the holiday season and I hope you have an enjoyable time with your friends or, more likely given the times, your family...more to the point, your nuclear family. It's been a strange and wild year in many respects but the prospects for the new year are always good. We entered 2020 with bright eyes and bushy tails and soon found the tails singed and eyes blinded a bit, but we've worked our way through it all and it's time to latch on to new cliches for 2021.
No lights at the end of a tunnel, no dawning of a new day. Just optimism that we can leave 2020 behind and take the best parts of it forward with us.
Clement Moore was a real New Yorker. His lifetime of scholarship is long forgotten, but his doggerel is a gem. His family farm was named "Chelsea", and it is still Chelsea. Moore's family church still stands, St. Peter's. Been there, amazing old woodwork inside.
Moore is buried uptown. We almost got to that cemetary on our last urban hike.
The German Christmas tree — a rootless and lifeless corpse — was never worthy of the day, and no one can say how far the spirit of rationalism which begins with the denial of Santa Claus, the supernatural filler of stockings, and ends with the denial of all things supernatural, has been fostered by the German Christmas trees, which have been adopted so widely in this country. … The Christmas tree, dropping melted wax upon the carpet, filling all nervous people with a dread of fire; banishing the juvenile delight of opening the well-filled stocking in the dim morning light, and diffusing the poison of rationalism thinly disguised as the perfume of hemlock, should have no place in our beloved land.
Goodbye to 2020, 
Why Roman concrete is stronger than it ever was, 
That was Tiny Tim on Christmas Day. We got into a chat today at brunch with a Brit friend about Christmas Pudding. 
Merry Christmas to all! As a contributor thank you all for the kind wishes of a Merry Christmas (it was - I got 2 bottles of whiskey, a book on bourbon, some honey roasted macadamia nuts, a gift card for a massage and a flying lesson) that you left on on