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.
Robert Conquest's three laws of politics (reminded by AVI regarding the Girl Scouts):
1) Everyone is conservative about what he knows best. 2) Any organization not explicitly right-wing sooner or later becomes left-wing. 3) The simplest way to explain the behavior of any bureaucratic organization is to assume that it is controlled by a cabal of its enemies.
Aside from being one of my favorite films, A Clockwork Orange is a lesson on society, management of society, and freedom. The book, more than the film, drives this home. The film, however, does outline some important aspects of choice and what happens when you reduce or limit the choices available to society and/or the individual.
Alex DeLarge suggests the man who chooses to be bad may be better than the one forced to be good, since at least a choice was made. This concept completely underlines my opposition to Socialism - because most people will choose to be good, while very few choose to be bad, if left to their own devices. In fact, the free market literally relies on good behavior, or it would fail on the whole. Without trust, the market is useless. The net result of the incentives provided by choice is increased productivity and value for all humanity. Alex lived in a Socialist world....and in being forced to be good, willingly chose to be evil, as it was the only choice he had available in a non-free society.
“By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only perform good or only perform evil, then he is a clockwork orange - meaning that he has the appearance of an organism lovely with colour and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil or (since this is increasingly replacing both) the Almighty State. It is as inhuman to be totally good as it is to be totally evil. The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by the grinding opposition of moral entities. This is what the television news is all about. Unfortunately there is so much original sin in us all that we find evil rather attractive. To devastate is easier and more spectacular than to create.”~Alex DeLarge
Alex was a creator, a creator of chaos within the order which was forced upon him. He, like most people, loved the process of creation. His form of creation, within the limits of the society he was raised, happened to be highly destructive.
You can be age 15, age 37, age 58, or age 72. And any gender you what to be. One day, you wake up and confess that you are a lazy-ass, or even a lard-ass, unfit person, and hate yourself for it. Or maybe something triggers the reaction, like feeling tired from activity. Dragging. Pudgy. Invisible muscles. Etc.
So you decide to be the best you can, and you want the energy, mental and physical vigor you might have once had.
How to start? First, you need to agree that most of a fitness program is mental, not physical. Besides going to the dentist, a serious workout program is a rare thing where it can cost money to subject yourself to pain. What are the first steps?
1. Confess that you are in lousy condition. Then commit to the long-term (life-long) project.
2. If fat, construct a nutrition plan to lose 2 lbs/week. Now is the time to do that. That will help. If scrawny or underweight, don't worry about it yet.
3. Begin a gradually-advancing program of not-intense cardio and calisthenics for 4 weeks, total 4-6 days/week. 2-3 days of light calisthenics, 2 of light cardio. This will tell your body and mind that you might be beginning to make some demands on it. However, it is best to begin conditioning gently to avoid injury.
By light cardio, I mean working up to 45-50 minutes of fast walking, inclined walking, elliptical, rowing, stair machine, etc. Maybe swimming laps. Mix it up to avoid boredom.
By light calisthenics, I mean beginner calisthenics like this 2-3X weekly (just put up with her annoying enthusiasm because it's a very good way to get moving and not as effortless as it looks. Good stretching at the end):
Step 2 for beginners in another post once you have 16-20 sessions under your belt.
It is an invasion. Free ticket to entry is "I need asylum." From Mexico? At Town Hall:
Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security released new numbers showing 76,000 illegal aliens crossed the southern border into the United States in February, a significant increase from the 58,000 individuals who crossed in January.
Today Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham is holding a hearing about the problem...
Multi-dimensional problems can’t be reduced to a single variable like CO2 People don’t understand math and physics, they’re being bamboozled CO2 doubled already, temp should be up 4 degrees, per models The models are NOT supported by the data Actual temperature increase has only been half degree Scientists are keeping quiet about climate change model problems Climate change is BS, the data confirming BS is overwhelming Grant money ONLY exists for those who believe and promote the climate change hoax
[T]he most politically intolerant county in America appears to be Suffolk County, Massachusetts, which includes the city of Boston. In this part of the country, nine out of every 10 couples appear to share the same partisan leaning, according to the voter-file data. Eight out of every 10 neighborhoods are politically homogeneous. This means that people in Boston may have fewer "cross-cutting relationships," as researchers put it. It is a very urban county with a relatively high education level. All these things tend to correlate with partisan prejudice.
Most cultures in the world have some form of fried dough treat.
In the US, you have to know where to go to get a fresh deep-fat-fried donut with a hard crust. I am no fan of Dunkin Donuts' donuts because they seem like cake donuts to me. No crunch, no grease, no good. OK for a quick sugar fix.
I can't figure out whether any Dunkin Donuts are fat-fried or not. There was a time when they were made on premises by Fred, but no longer. They are made off-site and delivered early. And yes, their bagels are frozen. I've seen them delivered at 4:30 AM. Toasted, tho, they aren't terrible bagels.
I go for their bad coffee.
The cool food court under the Plaza Hotel has a kiosk that fries mini-donuts to order. The real deal. Great. A place in Wellfleet used to do it, but it's gone now.
We've all had it. It only lasts about 24 hours, but it is miserable and not treatable.
It's not treatable because the Staph bacterium (Staphlococcus aureus) produces a toxin which causes the physical reaction. The toxin is the problem, not the Staph. Staph is everywhere.
Food poisoning is avoidable by proper food management. Specifically, don't leave susceptible foods out of refrigeration for more than 2-3 hours. Yes, I know, we all do sometimes but it's not "best practices."
My last food poisoning incident was from a shrimp dish.
The topic came up with friends the other day. Consider the speed at which some species fly (ducks over 50 mph, for example), not to mention the speeds of diving predators.
Last week it took 4 guys with trucks, saws, ropes, and a cherry picker to take down my giant dying Beech tree in 4 days. Not to mention a lot of $.
Last night, a damp heavy snowstorm took down a White Pine in an instant, around 4 AM. The quick way to down a tree. The boom woke me up. The main trunk missed my shed by 3' and missed my car by less than a foot, and somehow missed my flag. I uttered a Thanks to the Snow Goddess. It did knock down my fence, though.
White Pine is a fast-growing, brittle tree. It's best kept far from things that matter. Terrible landscape trees. This was about an 18" diameter main trunk, which snapped around 10' above the ground. Photo is (was) the top of the tree.
Many people dislike or disapprove of Trump's personality style, or disapprove of the way he lives and speaks. Or his tendency for hyperbole (to put it kindly).
Scott Adams likes to talk about his idea of personal "talent stacks" which can lead to success in individual life goals. If one's talent stack is not aligned with one's goals, success is possible but much less likely. Scott is not, politically, a Trump fan or voter, but admires his skills - his "talent stack".
Talent stacks of course include more than math talent, or rhetorical talent, or IQ, or musical ability. It includes drive and energy, adventurousness, adaptability, sense of humor, integrity (rare in politicians and criminals), charm, temperament, likability, interpersonal warmth and connectivity, neuroticism or lack thereof, toughness, generosity of spirit or the opposite, etc. etc.
Only one in a million have a single talent on which to build a world-class reputation without a stack (think Glenn Gould). And it's best to focus on one's talent stack instead on one's shortcomings - but those shortcomings sure can mess up your life goals. Reality's a bitch of a grader.
But to get back to my point (that should be a Maggie's trademarked phrase), Trump gave a 2-hour speech at CPAC which sounds like some combination of entertainment, reality/political TV, and hypomanic explosion. Yes, Trump is crude, impulsive, slippery, etc but he has instincts and has been doing his best for the country. At this moment in time, I doubt anybody could do better.
9:28 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray.
9:29 And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white.
9:30 Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.
9:31 They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
9:32 Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him.
9:33 Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.
9:34 While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.
9:35 Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"
9:36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
9:37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him.
9:38 Just then a man from the crowd shouted, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child.
9:39 Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him.
9:40 I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."
9:41 Jesus answered, "You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.
9:42 While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
9:43a And all were astounded at the greatness of God.
I didn't know that 
College group recommends 
Most cultures in the world have some form of fried dough treat.
Did you miss 