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.
Biden’s Saudi Arabia Visit Was Worse Than an Embarrassment. The president’s 24 hours in Jeddah were dominated by photos of his fist bump with Mohammed bin Salman. Things went downhill from there.
The four corners of deceit are: government, academia, science, and the media. I had a hard time coming to this radical conclusion myself, as I wanted to believe otherwise, was not a conspiracist, and have attained all the laurels on offer from our current system. Just read my memoir, Davos, Aspen & Yale. I have been behind the elite curtain...
18:1 The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.
18:2 He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground.
18:3 He said, "My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant.
18:4 Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
18:5 Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant." So they said, "Do as you have said."
18:6 And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, "Make ready quickly three measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes."
18:7 Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.
18:8 Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
18:9 They said to him, "Where is your wife Sarah?" And he said, "There, in the tent."
18:10a Then one said, "I will surely return to you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son."
The brute reality is that most kids slot themselves into academic ability bands early in life and stay there throughout schooling. We have a certain natural level of performance, gravitate towards it early on, and are likely to remain in that band relative to peers until our education ends. There is some room for wiggle, and in large populations there are always outliers. But in thousands of years of education humanity has discovered no replicable and reliable means of taking kids from one educational percentile and raising them up into another.
"Trauma" is used in all sorts of ways these days. Let's just say that intense resistance exercise is as good for the head as it is for the body: The Healing Power of Strength Training
Do not compare yourself to others, or to what others do.
I admit that it is impossible not to notice others but, like golf, your important comparison is to what your performance and condition were a month or two ago. I know - you start with one chin-up while some 60 year-old lady is doing 10 or 12. Admire what she does if you must, but aim for 1 1/2 or two for next month.
As I mentioned, Mrs BD and I are in "training" for an 7-day hiking trip, 12 miles/day (with a side visit to Edinburgh). It's remarkable to me how endurance can advance by training for it. For serious hikers, our challenge is no big deal even with 50 lb. packs. Not me - I am fine with 12 miles once, but I don't know about daily.
Addendum: I heard on the radio this morning that Edinburgh is the #1 tourist destination in the Western world this year. I've been there. I don't really see the attraction... the appeal of Scotland is the grey dreariness as a contrast to the warm and sunny summers in the US.
While many physicians might like the idea of independence, for most specialties the need for a large back-office staff requires being part of a group practice. Then, sooner or later, somebody buys the group. The buyer could be a hospital, a giant medical business, or even a venture capital fund.
Things have changed. In many ways, sharing some income and being a part of a larger business makes it easier than being an old-fashioned independent physician. It's not the same thing, though.
I think it's a silly article. Obviously, if you are older and in bad shape, you are more likely to be sick and die. But go ahead and try it. For a better test, do it with eyes closed.
I would like to say I'm sorry for disappearing for so long. Not that I'm essential to the inner workings of Maggie's, but I've seen a few people (specifically Doc Mercury, who pulled me in) simply vanish. I'd prefer to not just disappear. But it's been a strange time for me the past 7 months. I'll share more on that at another time. I am writing specifically because I finished the podcast "Revolutions" which, frankly, is worth the time and effort if you have it. I listened on the train every morning and evening - and then at the gym when there was no train. As it turns out the most interesting revolutions were the French and Russian. Which were also the longest portions, by far.
There was a lot to consume, but it did leave me with many thoughts. Not the least of which is that the U.S. is bordering on its own French Revolution, of sorts. The Woke/Cancel/BLM/CRT crowd are aligned in one thing. Eliminating what they view as injustice and privilege - which is, in essence, the elimination of liberty.
Mikhail Bakunin:
"Liberty, without socialism, is privilege and injustice. But socialism without liberty is slavery and brutality."
The founders of Marxist revolutions were acutely aware that Socialism/Marxism was unworkable. Even Bakunin knew it - though he couched his 'reality' by saying it "might" work with liberty.
The problem is, of course, socialism cannot work with liberty. It's unworkable. Once people can do as they please, the system reverts to a mad form of crony capitalism - basically fascism. If you're not doing what the government wants, what's the point? In a weird way, fascism IS socialism "with" liberty...
And there's the rub. While I do not believe liberty is privilege and injustice (far from it, I do believe liberty is whatever you want it to be and if you fall into the realm of permanent victimhood, then so be it. Don't blame the system, blame your world view and yourself), I understand the nature and value of how a system of liberty makes things better for everyone. Even if some privilege and some injustice sneak in. Because the alternatives are, frankly, far, far worse.
So it's always fun to hear someone say "I'm a trained Marxist." Because Marx left no blueprints. Unlike most other economic systems, which follow some basic laws or guidelines, Marxism has none and never did. It was just an ideal propped up by bland sayings which pulled at heartstrings, morality, and a general feeling of what is "fair" and "just". I like to say that "fair" means different things to different people. There is no "fair". "Fair" is what a 5 year old says when it wants what it wants. "It's not fair."
The sad part is, even as Leftists push for "fair" they are the first to invoke "life isn't fair" as they destroy people along the way.
Ironic, and sad. But Eric Hoffer was wise to all that...
10:25 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
10:26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?"
10:27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
10:28 And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."
10:29 But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
10:30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
10:31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
10:32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
10:33 But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity.
10:34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
10:35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, 'Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.'
10:36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?"
10:37 He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Why You Bruise 
8 Things Sleep 
While this link is an advertisement directed towards physicians, it makes clear what is going on in medical practices today: