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.
The Eagle chicks I have been watching grow quickly. At this point, each chick eats about two fish daily. The parent drops the fish on the nest and the youth feed themselves. They seem to digest bones, fins, everything.
It is interesting to try to identify the species of fish. Some of the Catfish must be stolen from a fish farm.
Also interesting is that eagles are larger, when fledged, than mature adults. As they mature, their feathers shorten and the bird becomes thinner, sleeker.
What does their future hold? About half of eagles do not survive their first year. By maturity (about 5 years), only 1 out of 10 make it. It looks like a nice life, but it is hard.
While cleaning out some piles of paper, I found a menu from a nice place where we had lunch a couple of years ago in Modica, Sicily. Go there sometime. I know two couples who have done biking tours of Sicily but, for me, a nice car.
I had their Gorgonzola pizza (gorgonzola, pears, and honey), but I like the look of this one with sliced eggs, pancetta, and olives:
Zelenskyy’s request was expected. Ukrainians and pro-Ukraine think tanks and activists have been relentless in their calls for a no-fly zone over the Ukrainian skies. One can sympathize with the Ukrainians. For some reason, they expected NATO cavalry to arrive over the gray hills. Ukrainians have also been misled for decades about their chances of joining NATO. Zelenskyy has been exemplary and brave in his stoic leadership, heralding a return to the Great Man Theory of history and drawing comparisons to Winston Churchill.
If there is one glaring similarity between Zelenskyy and Churchill, it is that Zelenskyy understands as much as Churchill that dragging the United States into a potential world war—even a nuclear war—is in the interest of his country. Whether it is in the interest of the United States is a different question altogether.
13:1 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
13:2 He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?
13:3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did.
13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem?
13:5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."
13:6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none.
13:7 So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?'
13:8 He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.
13:9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"
The National Archives in Washington, D.C., today places warning labels on the Constitution, because reading it may induce unpleasant sensations in some identity groups. Universities like Princeton now publish “antiracist toolkits” to instruct the faithful on how to “move beyond diversity” and into identity heaven. Nike, which makes sneakers, demands of its customers: “Don’t pretend there’s not a problem with America. Don’t turn your back on racism.” The Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins, two time-honored sports franchises, for their identity sins have had their names stripped away. I could extend the list unto boredom—it would range from prestigious media institutions like the New York Times to local bodies like the San Francisco school board.
Basically, I feel that individuals and organizations feel frightened about being mobbed, canceled, losing a job. McCarthy-like tactics, magnified.
Three things about this nonsense bother me most: People losing jobs for innocent reasons; people self-censoring their opinions; academic institutions abandoning core principles; and the PC mob mentality.
Final point: "I/we deeply apologize for the hurt and harm I/we have caused by ____. " The apologies are baloney, and nobody was hurt. It's just an opportunity to take a scalp. I hope the scalp image does not get me in trouble.
In his science fiction novel Nemesis, Isaac Asimov describes a female character as possessing the "unloveable virtues": Serious, Practical, Responsible, Dutiful.
When I googled the concept, I found this: "Stan Asimov used to say that his brother Isaac had "all the unlovable virtues". Then, while describing a character in Nemesis, Isaac wrote "she possesses what someone once described to me as all the unlovable virtues"."
Life is easier now. Right before washing machines there were washtubs and washboards. In the US, I think this was women's work, good for toning the arms and burning calories.
A good place for loners. I believe they have excellent fishing, and the birding is good. Land is cheap. Chilly winters though, and no nearby malls or shopping: Attu
Readers know that we view deadlifts as the single best way to build or to maintain physical sturdiness.
In my current program, I only do deads once weekly and barbell squats once weekly. Plus all of the other strength stuff of course.
It's not advice, but for my deads I do a 15-rep warm-up and then 5 sets increasing weight and lowering reps to 4. It is feeling more to me like maintenance.
The status quo bias is one type of cognitive bias that involves people preferring that things stay as they are or that the current state of affairs remains the same. This bias can have an effect on human behavior, but it is also a topic of interest in other fields, including sociology, politics, and economics.
By being aware of how the status quo bias influences your decisions and behaviors, you can look for ways to reduce the bias in the choices you make each and every day.
It is an anti-change bias, or an anti-risk bias. Surely it has some costs (and I do not mean financial). I know people who love change. It must be a bell curve of personality tendencies.
My bias is to resist change. It is a personality trait (perhaps not an ideal one), but maybe partly because I tend to be sanguine about my own life. I use the Serenity Prayer for additional support when needed.
On the global scale? World "stability" will never happen. Climates? Change will always occur over time. Re the latter, some change might be good but almost nobody discusses that.
A video posted by an Eastern European media organization—which has been seen more than 1 million times—purports to show how a “#Ukrainian pilot shoots down #Russian attack aircraft near #Kharkov.” In reality, it’s a scene from the video game Arma 3.
UK BATTLE 
Enjoying your Russian civil war