Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Wednesday, June 30. 2021Sumertime BluesBaby, it's warm outsideThis is about cold
Wednesday morning linksDriscoll: I’m already on (at least) my fourth apocalypse Putting Climate Models On Trial With Its Power Grid Under Pressure, California Asks Residents to Avoid Charging Electric Vehicles Rand Paul Blows Up Another Fauci Claim, This Time on the Delta Variant The Left Is Now Scaremongering The COVID ‘Delta Variant’ Attempting To Silence Your Opponents Is A Sign You Are Losing The Debate US just finished dead last among 46 countries in media trust — here's why Why Fake News Flourishes: Emitting Mere Information Is Easy, But Creating Actual Knowledge Is Hard University Allows Deadline Extensions for Nonwhite Students With Self-Reported 'Racial Trauma' Shocker: Cutting Federal Unemployment Benefits Is Getting People Back to Work The left’s dangerous push to hook the middle class on government ‘help’ Homicides Have Skyrocketed in These 6 Democratic Cities. Black People Are Disproportionately the Victims, Data Shows. Is The Entire Democratic Party Compromised By China? Tuesday, June 29. 2021E. O. Wilson and Consilience
In Scientific American, a comment on Wilson, Pinker, and others, by John Horgan: Science Should Not Try to Absorb Religion and Other Ways of Knowing It begins:
Posted by The Barrister
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14:44
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500,000 illegalsMore Than 500K Illegal Immigrants Crossed Southern Border Since Kamala Harris Named ‘Border Czar’ I am in favor of any legal immigration which fits American interests.
Posted by The News Junkie
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14:06
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Tuesday morning linksComputational Origami Rome's Colosseum opens its underground for the first time in its history Bryan Caplan's Profound Understanding of Human Nature Romney Blames Climate Change For Severe Weather…. Climate Anxiety Is Bad For Solving Climate Crisis Officials Denounce National Archives Rotunda as Racist Nike chief executive says brand is ‘of China and for China’ WHEN CITY OFFICIALS ARE PRO-CRIME USA Today: To Fight Toxic Polarization, We Need All Sorts Of National Service GEN. MILLEY FEARS “WHITE RAGE” OF GRANDMOTHERS Brandeis U takes woke language policing to new depths of stupidity Democrats Get Some Really Bad News as Normal Americans Wake Up Here’s a Look at the Shocking White Privilege, Gender Equity Lesson Plans Used To Indoctrinate Your Kids Is Your School Hiding Its Critical Race Theory Teaching? Here Are 5 Things to Ask About The Left Is in Panic Mode Over Losing Voters of Color Leftists Discover They May Be The White Supremacists They're Looking For “This is Bull Sh*t” – Iowa Teacher Fumes She Can’t Teach Marxist CRT in Her Classroom, ‘We Need to Tear the Systems Down’ WaPo Shoots Down Biden's Cannon Misfire Democrats Are Considering a $6 Trillion Infrastructure Plan That Has Little to Do With Infrastructure The US Military’s Perilous Experiment Biden's Lawless Bombing of Iraq and Syria Only Serves the Weapons Industry Funding Both Parties Monday, June 28. 2021Glenn Loury speaksAn important essay at Quillette by Glenn Lowry: The Bias Narrative versus the Development Narrative: Thinking About Persistent Racial Inequality in the United States. He says "systemic racism" is a political narrative:
It's a lengthy piece so I'm sure he could not include every factoid, but I find it interesting, when considering these things, that the bourgeois black family in the US was stronger in the 1950s than today. I don't think "urban black dysfunction" existed then. Correct me if I am wrong.
Fun Stuff
At this point, I should note that in the 5 months I've been laid off, I've now spent 5 hours on the phone with NY State Unemployment trying to solve problems with my account. The idea is to get me back to work - and those are 5 hours I could have spent productively elsewhere...even searching for a job or replying to other inquiries I'd engaged. One may be inclined to say "would you rather have the 5 hours back or solve the problem?" I'm inclined to reply I would prefer to not have had the problem and not wasted the 5 hours - which were not my fault, but due to a bureaucratic error on the part of some unknown official somewhere who hit the wrong processing button. Errors happen. They happened even in private business, I remember enough that I had to fix at my old job. But the point is private business is far more accountable and I am willing to believe that there is a fraction of the errors or problems that I've experienced with government work, in private industry. Unaccountable and faceless bureaucrats, or as my father-in-law likes to say "Assholes with a clipboard" cause more problems than they solve. If they didn't, the Soviet Union would still be around. Monday morning linksThe Solution To California’s Water Crisis Lies Off Its Coast The NYT worries about the politics of crime Higher ed: Has The “Victim Bias” Bubble Burst? A Fascinating Interview with the Composer Whose Career Was Canceled About the Indiana Grandmother Forced to "Confess" to Her Wrong-Think at Sentencing for Her January 6 Actions Dealing with the Pandemic — An Authoritarian Precedent New York Has No Idea Whatsoever How To "Decarbonize" Its Electric Grid Some 'root causes' for Kamala to hunt down at border: Venezuela's migrant surge snowballs Sunday, June 27. 2021The Blockchain and Why It MattersI know many who follow Maggie's may be unfamiliar, at best, or skeptical, at worst, of Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency. But there is a lot of promise in the technology, and the tokens (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) are modern versions of 'value transmission' which are not unlike money. They represent the value of the technology. So, to understand why cryptocurrencies are important, it may help to understand the technology. Here is a brief video which explains the tech behind the currencies. Not all blockchains are the same, that's an important thing to remember. Improvements are made almost every day on all the different kinds of blockchains, and their uses. It's my personal opinion that the next 'big' one may be Cardano, as it has solved many issues behind the concept of 'smart contracts'. For what it's worth, if you've heard of NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) and still aren't clear what they are, the best way to think of them is that an NFT is a representation of a contract of ownership for a product. Let's say I take a digital photo and I create it as an NFT, and you purchase that NFT. This is like purchasing any other work of art, but instead of getting a certificate which says you own it, you get the NFT. If anyone uses a representation of that NFT, you receive a payment for it. In a way, NFTs are a means by which trademarks and copyrights may be enforced more effectively (there are still issues with this, but they are being overcome). So while NFTs are not cryptocurrencies, they operate within the cryptocurrency 'system' because they utilize the blockchain (and many utilize cryptocurrencies as a means of payment). While a currency is fungible - that is, it can be exchanged or used for a variety of different things - many things of value are not fungible (or at least easily fungible). You can use a currency to buy a loaf of bread, or instead of bread you can use it for soup, or a pack of gum. It's fungible because it can be used to purchase any substitutable product or service. A work of art is non-fungible because, well, you're not paying for a cup of coffee with that Degas print you purchased.
Posted by Bulldog
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14:07
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From today's LectionaryPsalm 130 130:1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD. 130:2 Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications! 130:3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? 130:4 But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered. 130:5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 130:6 my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. 130:7 O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is great power to redeem. 130:8 It is he who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities. Saturday, June 26. 2021Fun with sawsSaturday morning links1910: The Summer of Our Content Trudeau government unable to define the term 'woman' Hungary Told To Repeal Law Banning LGBT Promotion To Children "Or Else Leave EU" Simon Campbell Calls Out Pennsbury School Board During Public Comment Asian Enrollment Slashed at Top Virginia High School After Admissions Changes Subject Of Lawsuit The Morning Briefing: Humorless Democrat Marxists Are Terrified of the Babylon Bee Calling Out the Propaganda Media Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee, which is the body that has jurisdiction over antitrust law, wrote and voted on legislation to break up big tech firms Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Glenn Loury talks to Charles Murray about the "shift away from racism as a moral issue to accusations of racism as a kind of attack on [white people] as people." What is Behind Gen. Mark Milley's Righteous Race Sermon? Look to the New Domestic War on Terror. Kamala Blames Trump for Biden Border Crisis, Lashes Out at Trump for Kids in Cages — Something They’ve Quadrupled! Friday, June 25. 2021Why is this song great?Are there Youtube people who do this sort of thing for adult music?
"We'll see."
Posted by The News Junkie
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13:16
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Best Jewish jokesFavorites of comedians. One sample: A priest, a minister and a rabbi are playing golf. It is the looooongest front nine holes they’ve ever played. Maybe three hours long. They go into the pro shop to complain, and the pro says, “Oh, didn’t you know? The foursome ahead of you are all blind.” The priest says, “Forgive me Father, for I know not whereof I speak.” The minister says, “Forgive me Father, there but for the grace of God go I.” And the rabbi says, “What? They couldn’t play at night?”
Friday morning linksYour Fault: Crushing Climate Impacts Sooner Than Feared Spotify Bans Song For Having Lyrics Critical of BLM… Homicides Have Skyrocketed in These Six Democratic Cities; Black People Are Disproportionately the Victims, Data Shows Standing Up to the Gender Ideologues: a Quillette Editorial
Green New Deal Illinois Style: Unions Battle Greens Over How To Screw Taxpayers The Republic Is Preserved – But The Democrats Will Try Insurrection Again US has lowest levels of public trust in media among 46 countries: Reuters survey Attack Damages Iran’s Nuclear Centrifuge Manufacturing Facility Thursday, June 24. 2021Breaking news: There are lots of bad people out thereRepublicans Are Not Responsible for the Democratic Party’s Crime Problem Big surprise that there is a significant portion of the population whose behavior is deterred by serious policing and rough justice. Whenever I think about the topic, I realize it's why I keep it straight with my taxes. Avoiding criminal behavior has worked out well for me. Speeding is my main issue. Not reckless, just driving fast when I can.
Posted by The News Junkie
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18:46
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VikingsThe vikings had better luck going east and south rather than west. Oh yes, they had slaves too. White ones. "Slavs" often, which is the origin of the word.
Scott's Levels of World AwarenessFrom here: Episode 1414 Scott Adams: Find Out What Level of Awareness You Are at I think I have reached the Skeptic level.
Thursday morning links
Secret Room Holds 'Lost' Michelangelo Artwork. These rarely seen drawings on the chamber walls may have been created when the famed artist took refuge from the Medici family in 1530. First Clear View of a Boiling Cauldron Where Stars are Born - UMD-led team used NASA’s SOFIA telescope to capture high-resolution details of a star nursery in the Milky Way Climate Today: Guardian Pushes Nuclear Power eBay Bans Dr. Seuss, Allows Hezbollah Suspending Reading and Math Requirements for Oregon Students U. of Oklahoma Instructors Receive Training on How to Censor, Indoctrinate Students MacDonald: Down a Black Hole - Even the hard sciences are no longer immune to the ongoing racial hysteria. Fat Liberation Joe Rogan Explains Why Hollywood is So Liberal ‘Huge Win for Democracy’: GOP Blocks Federal Election Takeover Who won the NYC mayoral primary? Nobody knows Joe Biden’s policy puts America last: Goodwin Biden Administration Undermines Women’s Equality Under Title IX The Russian Navy Loves Drones (And For Good Reason)
ColoradoFrom our friend in Colorado, yesterday
Wednesday, June 23. 2021Squats, repostedImage shows two things: the difference between half squat and full squat, and terrible form in the second image Squats (and deadlifts) are the two most functional muscular exercises. The former is getting up, and the latter is picking up stuff. Squats are known as "The King of Exercises" because so many muscle groups are stressed. They are also said to be beneficial for knee joints. Squats come in many forms: the basic barbell back squat (a power lift), and calisthenics like body-weight squats, squat-and press, side squats, squat jumps, heavy ball wall throws, etc. I have been thinking about how to deepen my barbell squats. With body-weight or hand weights, I can do full squats easily, but with heavier weight I do not go below 45 degrees. It's partly confidence and partly weakness. To do full squats with barbell weights (instead of half-squats, 90 degrees) I think I need to reset my barbell squat program with the plain bar (45 lbs) or light weights and to try to work up quickly from there. I'm convinced that the full squat is the real deal. Also, Squats Are Safe, But You’re Probably Doing Them Wrong
What about you? Below the fold, image depicting all of the muscles engaged in a full squat. She's using dumbells, but it is not as if gals cannot do barbell squats. They sure can, and using the bar makes it more reliable to keep a chest-up posture. On the other hand, dumbell squats get you low if you touch the dumbells to the ground...but on the third hand, barbell back squats let you squat with more weight than your grip is strong. Continue reading "Squats, reposted" Ball bearings
Posted by The Barrister
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13:31
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Wednesday morning linksWith Its Power Grid On The Verge Of Failure, California Begs Residents To Change Their EV Charging Routines Senate Republicans and Democrats Agree To Double Amtrak's Funding. A bill approved by the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation would give the money-losing rail company $19 billion over 5 years. "I'm Not Going Back To Work": Indiana Residents Sue After Governor Nixes Unemployment Benefits Ikea Atlanta Juneteenth menu changed after blowback over plans to serve fried chicken, watermelon WHO Stealth Edits Page Warning Against Vaccinating Children University Lab Finds 11 Dangerous Pathogens on Children’s Face Masks Democrats' voter ID debacle Black parents furious with Critical Race Theory Woke, Inc: Why I’m blowing whistle on how corporate America is poisoning society Cal State professor worries Victorian literature studies promote ‘white feminism’ A Court Ruled Rachel Maddow's Viewers Know She Offers Exaggeration and Opinion, Not Facts Gen Mattis on law, lawyers, law school, and the commanders’ role in military justice
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