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.
We had three squalls pass over the boat today. Some with thunder and some visible lightning, and some without. I find such storms majestic, dramatic, and exciting. Plus the rain is refreshing.
When I raced sailboats as a lad, I remember times when 20 or 30 boats capsized in a row with their spinnakers up. Drama.
Here's one of the squalls today, on its way out of otherwise blue skies with fluffy clouds:
12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
12:35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;
12:36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.
12:38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
12:39 "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
12:40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
However shocking it may sound, Child of God is not only among McCarthy’s best novels, it is one of his most poetically concise and beautiful ones as well. I do not think it farfetched to imagine that McCarthy means to suggest the ability of art to conquer insanity and evil by raising them to a higher level, or power.
Light-weight sneaker-style footwear seems to be the thing these days. Makes sense to me.
Also, I do not want waterproof. It does not work.
Also, I am never hiking with a 40+ lb. backpack.
I do enjoy bouldering and that sort of rocky thing where the old-style heavy leather boots work well, grip like ticks, but I see kids around me bounding like Mountain Goats on boulders in sneakers from Target. Probably not necessary.
(Yes, Mrs. BD and I are preparing for a 9-day hiking trip - no steeps but plenty of rain probably. A hilly 9-12 miles/day, but nights in Scottish-style "luxury".)
"Flounder, flounder, in the sea..." It's the classic Grimm's tale about the discontented wife: The Fisherman and His Wife
We have two almost identical flounder species on the East Coast (not including the delicious Halibut which is an ocean species). On a menu, they are "Sole". They are odd-looking bottom feeders, camouflaged on the bottom and darting up to catch smaller fish - or your bait or lure.
Around here, we call them Fluke, and keepers must be 19" or over. For truly large Fluke, you need to head out to the Nantucket Shoals, or off Montauk. Or your fish market. If you think fresh Sole is expensive, try buying a boat and fishing yourself. Great fun, though, with a pal or two and some beer.
These boys are not catching "giant Fluke" but it's all relative. Push your catch closer to the camera and they look bigger. Bottom fishing in Long Island Sound:
Creatine appears to be a useful supplement for strength training. It seems to work by helping muscle produce ATP, which can improve intensity of resistance training.
It is the stress and mild damage (and repair) of muscle that builds strength, it is not a bad idea to assist intensity. Without high intensity there is little gain.
"Victoria Johnson's American Eden is the kind of history I love: deeply researched, evocative of its time, and fascinating at every turn. It follows the life of David Hosack, early American doctor, botanist, New Yorker, and bon vivant, whose life touched the famous on both sides of the Atlantic. Hosack was there when Alexander Hamilton took a bullet; Hosack greeted the Marquis de Lafayette on his triumphal return in 1824; Hosack founded North America's first botanic garden on the land where Rockefeller Center now stands in midtown Manhattan. Where others saw real estate and power, Hosack saw the landscape as a pharmocopeia able to bring medicine into the modern age."
― Eric W. Sanderson, author of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City
My Mom called me The Little Lemon-eater. I still like to eat lemons, whether slices or quarters, skin and all. Apparently some people like to put some salt on the pieces too. I need to try that.
The best lemons I have ever had were in Sicily, just off the tree. Larger than supermarket lemons, but thinner pith.
After they have been cooked with something they are good too, maybe even better. With some fish of course, roast chicken, and also veal scallopini or, back to Sicilian food, roast piglet. Piglet + lemon is a good combo. Try it sometime if you have a spare piglet around.
My theory is that it is best to tip people, always.
Barber, delivery guy, food service person, lawn guys, garbage guys. And the Dunkin Donuts staff. It makes everybody feel good.
That applies to the US. It's different in Europe, where they often apply a service fee. Who knows who gets that money? In Europe, tip like a miser even if you feel otherwise.
The Sublime Danielle Steel: 
American Eden: David Hosack, Botany, and Medicine in the Garden of the Early Republic 
My Mom called me The Little Lemon-eater. I still like to eat lemons, whether slices or quarters, skin and all. Apparently some people like to put some salt on the pieces too. I need to try that.