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.
A young Arab boy asks his father “What is that strange hat you are wearing?” The father said: "Why, my son, it is a 'chechia.' In the desert it protects our heads from the intense heat of the sun.” "And what is the long flowing robe you are wearing?” asked the boy. “Oh, my son!” exclaimed the father “It is very simple. This is a 'djbellah.' As I have told you, in the desert it is not only very hot, but the sand is always blowing. My djbellah protects the entire body,” The son then asked: "But Father, what about those ugly shoes you have on yourfeet?” "These are 'babouches' my son,” the father replied. You must understand that although the desert sands are very beautiful, they are also extremely hot. These babouches' keep us from burning our feet.” "So tell me then," added the boy. "Yes, my son…” "Why are you living in Minnesota and still wearing all this shit?
Adult males rarely want much for Christmas other than the company of family and friends and a glass or two of eggnog, but one material thing they always welcome are fun socks. It takes a serious male to wear fun socks. Trust me. Black socks are to make you appear serious. They do not make you serious.
The reason for black socks is No Sock Sorting. But that is just laziness. Black socks are for mens' job interviews.
OK, let's discuss socks. In our house, we have work-out socks, tennis socks, skiing socks, hiking socks, dress socks (male), yard-work socks, etc. So do you, probably.
Nowadays, fun socks are always great for gals, and for guys they signal that you are confident enough to show some sense of fun.
2:1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2:2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
2:3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
2:4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
2:5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
2:6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
2:7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.
2:8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
2:9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
2:10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
2:11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
I did not plan my workout well this morning. Disappointed myself by lack of planning and just winging it.
It was my second time for my new "mostly-weights" Saturday morning (which will now be my third mostly weights day in a week for a while in an effort to reach a new strength plateau to settle into). I had the list in my pocket, but it wasn't planned or timed properly so I didn't complete it in an hour and did not plan the weights correctly - too light. Sheesh, there were a lot of hulks/hunks there this morning, along with the regulars, the elderly, and the fit gals...
“A mob of angry children is suddenly in charge of the country,” he said. “These aren’t people seeking a revolution. They’re fighting for the status quo to protect their own status. They are drunk on power and they are looking for new people to hurt. Someday, we are going to look back on this moment with shame and horror.”
A solidly above-average IQ is handy for complex and especially abstract tasks. Also for difficult academic tasks. AVI muses on the topic here.
But let's leave aside things like SATs and IQ for a minute and consider the highly-adaptive, or maladaptive, character traits which can support or interfere with the pursuit of life goals regardless of IQ. That's where Psychology's Big 5 enter the picture. Briefly, they are:
- Openness to new experience (curiosity, adventurousness, risk-taking, inventiveness) - Conscientiousness (dutifulness, energy, self-discipline, etc) - Extraversion (taking some pleasure in others) - Agreeableness (playing nice with others, making yourself welcome company) - Neuroticism (being odd, difficult, etc. rarely helps unless a genius)
Is it true that "character is destiny"? Jordan Peterson always emphasizes something he terms "competence," along with some physical attributes to his list of advantages in life pursuits along with IQ and the above considerations, like attractiveness, fitness, and social skills.
Back to IQ, here Prof. Peterson discusses IQ and "the Jewish question" (yes, Ashkenazi Jews average one standard deviation above other Europeans. That's a lot.)
Does manual labor boost happiness? 
Adult males rarely want much for Christmas other than the company of family and friends and a glass or two of eggnog, but one material thing they always welcome are fun socks. It takes a serious male to wear fun socks. Trust me. Black socks are to make you appear serious. They do not make you serious.
Matthew 2:1-12
Photo: Too bad I much prefer Scotch to bourbon 
Most people give up New Year's Resolutions