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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Thursday, July 22. 2021Thursday Dylan: 2005An outtake. Was a final version ever produced? Some darn lyrics:
Life Competencies vs. Talent Stacks
I am good enough, but not the best, at my day job. I tend to be interested in general life competencies which have less relation to profitable pursuits. Long-time readers know my list of life competencies. Nobody needs to excel at them, but the more of these you can sort-of handle, the richer life can be: Friendships - most important of all Swimming, snorkeling, and, best, diving Doing some religion Handling firearms Handling horses Fishing of any or all sorts Sports - the more, the better Physical training and weight training Handiman skills - the more, the better Gardening Handling canoe, kayaks, sailboats, powerboats Developing an art skill whether musical or other Financial management - not rocket science. Just an estate guy and Vanguard funds. Hiking, camping, basic climbing, and orienting abilities Dog-handling and training Natural history - knowing the trees, plants, bugs, birds, geography, geology, etc. makes being outdoors much more interesting What would you add or delete, in comments?
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Thursday morning linksVDH: The American Descent into Madness. America went from the freest country in the world in December 2019 to a repressive and frightening place by July 2021. How did that happen? An assistant professor at Appalachian State University recently argued that enforcing behavioural standards in public high schools is rooted in racism Critical Race Weary Yes, Critical Race Theory Is Real, And It Is Poisonous The economic data are surprising. For one, immigrant Africans do better than native whites. “Patriot” Is Hate Speech: MSNBC Warns Viewers to Be on the Lookout for Online Groups That Use the Word “Patriot” Pentagon Flags Phrase ‘Truth About BLM’ As Possible Extremist Identifier… About hate speech in Canada Good to see that David Warren is back at it Althouse on Rand Paul, Fauci, and Scott Adams Covid: Top Health Officer Orders Australians: "Don't Have A Conversation" With Each Other China Rejects Proposed WHO Probe Into COVID-19 Origins Former DC Council Candidate Proposes Creating “African Only” Zones Of Washington DC… Taliban and ISIS already attacking the green zone in Kabul Response to Cuban Unrest Unmasks the Left Wednesday, July 21. 2021Mr. Potato ToesSilliest new potato I've seen, from a friend's garden this week.
Walking speedsIs walking a part of your fitness routine? If so, be aware that ordinary walking is not valuable "cardio" except for the elderly and the infirm. However, walking and hiking can be perfect for a day of active recovery from a week of exercise. Assuming a person in decent health, an ordinary street walking speed for men and women is around 3 mph (3.2-3.4 for New Yorkers, which is why you get jostled). Below that is a stroll. This applies to more or less level ground. 3 mph walking is not "cardio" because the heart rate is not sufficiently elevated to challenge or strengthen the heart - or to build lower body endurance. Deliberate hikers like to move at around 3-4 mph on level ground. I can barely hike at 4 mph (15-min/mile), especially when it's beginning to get dark and I want to get back somewhere. It's a difficult pace for me, though, because my legs want to break into a slow jog at over 4 mph instead of maintaining a vigorous walk. Some fit and experienced hikers hike at 5 mph with a backpack but at 5 I am definitely jogging, not walking, and I break into a run between after that. Fitness level and body architecture play into this. If curious about this, your phone can give you your average speed of progress during walks and hikes unless you like to pause to look at birds and wildflowers and snakes and toads. After all, exercise is so you can enjoy life so not every hike needs to be a death march. Maybe most of them, but not all. Best ways to improve your walking and hill-hiking efficiency? Stair machine, elliptical at the higher resistances, and fast-walking or even jogging on a good incline on a treadmill (say whatever incline you can handle if fast-walking). An hour of that is a good "active recovery" from other exercises, or good for beginners. * In the US, normal military march is 3.4 mph (17 mins/mile), but for Army Rangers it's 4 mph. Also, walking and jogging are not for weight loss. They are for maintaining functioning and for having fun.
Wednesday morning linksThe Sriracha guy Tasty stuff Losing battle for NYC streets: Goodwin Lockdown hysteria did more harm than COVID-19 Senator Rand Paul Confronts a Very Nervous and Lying Dr. Anthony Fauci Washington Post Columnist: ‘Rand Paul Was Right and Fauci Was Wrong’ Who gave the FBI access to Twitter? AOC: Selling merchandise isn't capitalism, you know Culture Warrior. Catherine Lhamon is poised to resume her efforts against due process and school discipline. Manchin Goes Rogue
HOW CRT LED TO KENDI ‘Pure Orwell’: WH comms director Kate Bedingfield reveals that the Biden admin has their eyes on conservative outlets’ ‘irresponsible content’ on social media Now They Are Saying That The Republican Party Is The #1 "National Security Threat To The United States Of America" Axios: Anyone else notice Dems running away from their party? Shades of Clinton: Joe Biden used private email to send government information to Hunter " I am quickly learning why the New York Times and the left (but I repeat myself) are so spun up about Hungary" Tuesday, July 20. 2021QQQWe asked my father-in-law how his 96 year-old buddy was doing. Reply: "He's beginning to show his age." Basics of hull shapes, with spelling and grammatical issues
Planning is always good, but a boat can't do that. The fact that they are Brits is no excuse. Tuesday morning linksHow Bourbon Rose From a Humble Grain to Embody American Exceptionalism The German Experiment That Placed Foster Children with Pedophiles The Overdose Wave. America’s drug crisis saw its worst year ever—again. Jeff Bezos’ flight is an ego trip, yes, but it sets the stage for so much more A world protected by windmills? In 1717 Christmas Floods in Germany killed 14,000 Joe Biden's Fears Are Expressed and They Show How Far Gone He Is The Incoherence of the White House's COVID Messaging Reaches Code Red Levels Another Manhattanite Mugged By Reality: The Case Of Maud Maron Surprise! 1619 Project Creator Professed Her Love For Free & ‘Equal’ Communist Cuba Just How Desperate Is CNN? It's Not Pretty... Bookworm Beat — the life in Biden’s America 'Your evil revolution': How a reggaeton anthem inspired Cuba protests Monday, July 19. 2021Monday morning linksBoredom’s link to mental illnesses, brain injuries and dysfunctional behaviors The Panic Pandemic - Fearmongering from journalists, scientists, and politicians did more harm than the virus. Asian Carp Now Being Renamed Because It's Racist Parents Canceled by Their Own Children NYC’s top schools seek next generation of woke educators Philadelphia's electric bus fleet has disappeared IS MASS TRANSIT DEAD? Update on Lockdowns The only reason the media tries to cancel Joe Rogan: He terrifies them The Language of Totalitarian Dehumanization The Biden Regime Has Made Us All Enemies of the State Marjorie Taylor Greene Blasts “Communist Democrat Party” at City Hall Rally After Anaheim City Officials Cancel Her Indoor Event with Matt Gaetz U.S.-Backed Tech Restores Internet To More Than 1 Million Cubans Amid Uprisings Against Gov't After jumpers and hygge, ‘cosy racism’ may be Denmark’s next big export. Asylum requests have fallen dramatically thanks to policies that belie the country’s liberal image. No wonder Priti Patel is watching closely Sunday, July 18. 2021Beowulf is one heck of a sailboatJust two people (not young either), sailing her (how can a her be a Beofwulf?). Lots of good tech, with lots of redundancy. Make me a sammichWhat's your favorite cold summer sandwich? (I say cold to eliminate things like burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, and meatball grinders.) I'll include roll-ups as sandwiches, just to be kind to roll-up-eaters. My go-to summer sandwich is a Turkey Club on white toast with extra mayo, and chips on the side. At this point in life, I'll take a "Junior Club," which is just one layer of the stuff. What are your favorites?
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From today's LectionaryPsalm 23 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 23:3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me. 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Saturday, July 17. 2021Complex pop songBrilliantFrom 2018, Peterson interviewed by Helen Lewis:
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Saturday morning linksNautically correct Australian officials to rebrand shark 'attacks' as 'negative encounters' Out: Climate change. In: Moon wobble Now is the Time to Get Serious About Nuclear Energy Providence Teachers Union Confirms Affinity Group Segregation, Historical Books Destroyed, Holocaust Education Ended Big Tech "Acting Like Arms Of The Government" - Senator Hawley Warns "It's Scary Stuff" WaPo complains that Tucker didn't cry NUNES: The Durham Report Is Still Coming; Some Obama Officials Will Go to Prison Doubt it INVASION: Almost 190,000 Illegals Crossed the Border in June, Highest of any Month; Now Over 1 MILLION for the Year AOC breaks silence on Cuba protests, calls for end to "cruel" embargo Cuba trades (with what little Cuba has to offer these days) with every place in the world except the US Students confused to see 'controversial' American flag flown by Cuban protesters Friday, July 16. 2021InsultsThe best peopleThe best people I have met are the men and women of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. As serious boaters, they know water vessels, but they volunteer their time for boat checks and boating skills. Even if you pass their checks, they have lots of useful info. Never refuse their offers.
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Trannie WeightliftingFriday morning linksThe beavers returning to the desert Beavers used to be there. They grow their own food (mostly willow and grasses). But why does BBC make everything about climate change? Heathrow Passenger Numbers Remain Almost 90% Down From Pre-Pandemic Levels Is Patha Bhat gourmet food? Nancy and Paul Pelosi Making Millions in Stock Trades in Companies She Actively Regulates. The Speaker, already one of the richest members in Congress, has become far richer through investment maneuvers in Big Tech, as she privately chats with their CEOs. Yes, it is legal for them MINISTRY OF TRUTH COMING SOON Interview with Jackie: How the Combination of Living in Spain and Covid-19 Turned a Liberal Into a Libertarian Don’t Even Think About Calling the Cops. For New York City progressives, not even violent crime warrants police intervention. How the Left Weaponized Race in Its War on the West In the U.S., "Cuba Libre" means a rum and Coke. In Cuba itself, it means something far more intoxicating: freedom. We are seeing that cry for freedom now in the streets of Havana.
Thursday, July 15. 2021JP Sears is TranspoliticalOur immune clockThursday morning linksAfter 37 years as a cable TV customer, I finally did it. I cancelled! Elvis Presley was Jewish? A Grave Marker Locked Away for 4 Decades Confirms It Trans “Man” Gives Birth; Trans “Woman” Tries to Nurse Baby Richard Lindzen on the Climate. Professor of Meteorology Richard Lindzen was formerly head of the climate science lab at MIT. CALIFORNIA LEGALIZED THEFT. PORCH PIRACY SOARED. ‘The Steele Dossier Was a Case Study in How Reporters Get Manipulated’ 41% of Baltimore high schoolers have a GPA below 1.0 Sensitivity Versus Education Critical race theory lesson compares ‘average’ black and white students to show white privilege Critical Race Theory has no idea what to do with Asian-Americans Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomes UN probe of ‘racism’ in US The Essence Of Socialism Is Declining Productivity FBI Calls for People to Rat Out Friends and Family BIDEN TURNS ENTIRE GOVERNMENT INTO A DEMOCRAT VOTER MACHINE Is Afghanistan a Failed Mission? The Real Cuba Isn't a Potemkin Airbnb. Antonio García Martínez on what people taking to the streets are protesting. Wednesday, July 14. 2021How Exercise Reprograms the Brain, repostedAs researchers unravel the molecular machinery that links exercise and cognition, working out is emerging as a promising neurotherapy.
Rubio on CubaToday Marco Rubio made a statement on Cuba that is both timely for the citizens of that nation and for those of us here in the US. "We don’t just condemn this tyranny. We condemn this communist, this Marxist, this socialist tyranny.” Rubio then demanded that America make “clear about whose side we’re on.” “The first lesson we need to take away from it is that Marxism, socialism, doesn’t work." Rubio continued, “The way socialism, the way Marxism has always worked, the way it’s always empowered itself, is it goes to the people and immediately divides them. It says there is an oppressor class and that there is this victim class and these evil oppressors, capitalists, in the case of socialism or traditional Marxism, they oppress the victims.” I visited Cuba several years ago, when I had the opportunity. I felt it was a good chance to see Communism in action, and to see a nation that is (rather literally) stuck in the late 50's and early 60's (and earlier, based on some of the cars I rode in). I was clear that the people, as we are seeing now, want freedom. Many know that Castro hoodwinked them, but once in, there was little they could do to get him out. Castro was good at convincing many, whose families at one time had little or nothing, that his way was 'better'. Over the years, most have learned this is simply not true. Cubans are now aware of the reality of the world, mainly because of (in spite of the government's restrictions) the internet. They lack many modern conveniences and opportunities. But they are not lacking in skill or entrepreneurialism. A nation that can survive, and thrive, in the face of communist limitations says more about its people than it does about its government or system. I wish the Cuban people well and hope they can somehow manage to toss off their yoke of oppression. If they do, Venezuela's tyrants may not last for long, as Cuba is their last reasonably-sized supporter in this hemisphere. Cuba still has a lot to offer, and we can hope the people find a path forward in spite of Biden's insistence to avoid the obvious. I notice Bernie and AOC, both believers that Cuba is somehow special and different and 'better' than the US, have been silent. Rubio hit the nail on the head, though, and within his statements, he was taking a swipe at BLM, Antifa, and the other leftists in the Democratic Party.
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