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.
100 classic French recipes. Every chef owns a copy of this. Lots of photos. Try the mussels in cream sauce. The Techniques section at the end is clear, with photos.
Here are a couple of easy immigration questions -- answerable with a simple "yes" or "no" -- we might ask any American of any political stripe: Does everyone in the world have a right to live in the U.S.? Do the American people have a right, through their elected representatives, to decide who has the right to immigrate to their country and under what conditions? I believe that most Americans, even today's open-borders people, would answer "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second.
Your internist might give you a Cardiac Stress Test every few years to check your cardiopulmonary function, but other than that never a physical fitness evaluation beyond, maybe, a body fat composition. A very thorough physical exam might include an SF-36. This is not used often enough. (It is used in $5-10,000 "Executive Physicals," but that is often because companies take insurance on the functioning of their essential execs.)
The reason doctors don't do it is because your physical fitness at any age is your problem, not his or hers. OK, they will advise "exercise," but they know you won't do much of it, or "watch your diet" but they know you will do no more watching than looking at what is on your plate.
Serious fitness evaluations are done by the military, police, fire departments, etc. For us civilians, the only people who will give us a serious fitness evaluation are skilled fitness trainers. Trainers tell me that 3/4 of their new clients are in terrible shape. That's why they are there. About 1/4 are in decent condition, but want to get to a higher level of fitness.
Fitness evaluations include basic measures of cardio function, endurance, strength, agility, and balance. The Mayo Clinic offers this do-it-at-home fitness evaluation.
Regardless of age or level of condition when you decide to get serious about conditioning, The Maggie's program of HIIT cardio, endurance cardio, calisthenics, and weights (plus proper nutrition for a svelte physique) addresses all of the areas of fitness.
The truth is, that the modern world of totalitarianism and material advance, is genuinely popular. It answers to that part of human nature which corresponds to animal nature. We want food, sex, indolence and sleep, and the less we must work for it, the better.
The term has expanded in its use from the original idea of one person making another person doubt their sanity.
In current usage, it refers to any relationship abuse that seeks to distort reality to include things as far as, I think, major deceptions or major lying which puts a partner in another reality. Of course, in any given situation, either one or both people might actually be crazy or half-crazy but that is not about gaslighting.
Regardless of the extent of the sadism, narcissism, or destructiveness involved, it's a real thing and it is evil: Gaslighting.
He only scratches the surface of the Enlightenment ideas of individualism and individual freedom which, I have been led to believe, are Western Christian and/or Judeo-Christian notions. I don't know.
We're planning two group hikes for this Spring. One will be a Bob Memorial Hike for Friends Of Bob only (challenging or hazardous bouldering mainly, I think - maybe at Mohonk), and the other will be the 2019 Maggie's NYC Urban Hike to which everybody is welcome. Always a jolly crew from all over the country and some noted bloggers too.
Is this our 4th one? They have all been quite interesting but it's my turn to plan. No date set quite yet but it is always regardless of weather. We're tough.
I propose hiking Broadway from Columbus Circle or Lincoln Center up to The Cloisters. That's 8 miles without diversions - but Bulldog will doubtless find interesting historical diversions to add a mile or two. That takes us up the Upper West Side, past Riverside Church and Columbia Univ, through Harlem, through Washington Heights and its great Dominican restaurants, to Fort Tryon Park (maybe stop and see Hamilton's farmhouse up there. Yes, he commuted to his downtown law practice).
How does that sound, for starters? Broadway Line and another subway back to midtown or Times Square. Easy.
If we do this route, we definitely have to see the Palace Theater, Rev. Ike's old church. Amazing place with lots of 20th C history. My lad and I saw Dylan there one time. I wonder whether it's open for tourists. Maybe a C-note might work to get us in for a few minutes, because the whole place is a wonder to behold.
Apple's Tax Tactics Deserve Defending, Not Shaming. Is it moral to pay higher taxes, even if that hurts employees, consumers, and shareholders? David Brooks seems to thinks so.
Avoid sunburn, especially in youth. Problem is, youth don't avoid sunburn.
In any event, getting some unfiltered sunshine is healthy, about 20-30 minutes/day, and a nice tan seems fine if you have the right skin for it. One view: Is sunscreen the new margarine?
Pediatricians these days are complaining that the kids are sun-deprived, due to sun-phobia of parents.
Keto-style nutrition (ketogenic) is only for people whose habits and life-styles tend towards excess fat deposits. There is no reason to fuss with your nutritional habits if you are in good shape and good conditioning. Food is not medicine - but if you lift heavy 2-3 times weekly, keep the protein up for muscle repair.
All "keto" means is that you are burning fat. Burning fat is difficult, because your body wants to hang on to it and exercise does very little for that at ordinary intensities and durations.
An interesting side effect of ketosis is that appetite tends to be reduced and energy increased. For people who are serious about it, you can buy Keto-strips to check your urine. That will instantly tell you whether you are burning fat or not.
If overweight, you probably have some degree of insulin insensitivity, sometimes termed "pre-diabetic" at some point. A keto nutritional habit can correct that, but remember that if you have ever been fat, your body will want to restore it back to where you set your highest weight. Fat cells are as greedy as governments and they never forget.
The great Odetta's version of the delta blues song. Johnny Cash did it from the heart, but Odetta did everything from the soul. Masterpiece. h/t reader. The lyrics she uses here/
Had drinks and dinner with a long-time pal and colleague the other night. The kind of pal with whom you could happily sip whiskies, maybe enjoy a ceegar, and shoot the breeze on every sort of topic all night, from the philosophical to football.
Now this guy is in his 80s. Works at his career every day. Has more sports that he plays, and more hobbies and volunteer activities than he can handle. And his Mrs. (his age) has begun a second career after retiring. I'm lucky to get him for a supper out every quarter (which is my minimum target for close pals).
I did ask him how he dealt with awareness of his aging. "Whenever it crosses my mind, I push the thought away."
I want to become like that dude if or when it comes to pass.
The Land of Abundance. Yesterday was early work-out day (Saturday heavy weights), two hours of work to make a living, then museum day, Apple Store day, and Costco Day late. A productive and pleasant day with a giant ribeye at the end. Tomorrow is early church, woodsy hiking, and later Mother-in-Law Birthday day. Yeah, we got her a big balloon and roses at Costco. And a birthday cake.
The Met Museum and Costco have one thing in common: You can hear every language in the world in each. But Costco wins in the socio-cultural diversity race. Colleges would drool over Costco diversity. Not many black Americans, though, and I have no idea why. Just the women working the registers.
But about Costco, where we go about 3 times/year to stock up on treats and staples (clothes soap, dish soap, t paper, paper towels, lots of their amazing ribeyes and lucious pork loin chops for the freezer, ketchup, steak sauce, olive oil (the best), cheese (goat cheese and Kerry Gold), butter, workout socks, etc etc. Got a box of navel oranges - it's the prime time for those unhealthy but tasty sugar bombs. No Spam. I had enuf of it as a kid, fried with eggs for breakfast.
We never had chocolate sugar bombs for breakfast but they were selling like hotcakes to immigrant-seeming people - Poles, Russians, Hispanics, Slovenians, etc. I don't think the people with their expensive Mercedes SUVs with the Harvard window stickers were buying them, but they sure were there at Costco on a Saturday late afternoon amongst the throngs of people stocking up. Probably buying kale and the wild salmon.
Neither Trump, Pelosi, nor Schumer ever go to Costco. They should, in disguise. Well, nobody would recognize Schumer or Peolosi, so no disguise needed. But Trump would need a serious disguise to pick up his supply of Spam. Maybe he sends Melania for his Spam and Cocoa Sugar Bombs. Who would notice her?
100 classic French recipes. Every chef owns a copy of this. Lots of photos. Try the mussels in cream sauce. The Techniques section at the end is clear, with photos.
John Bogle,
We're planning two group hikes for this Spring. One will be a Bob Memorial Hike for Friends Of Bob only (challenging or hazardous bouldering mainly, I think - maybe at Mohonk), and the other will be the 2019 Maggie's NYC Urban Hike to which everybody is welcome. Always a jolly crew from all over the country and some noted bloggers too.
Keto-style nutrition (ketogenic) is only for people whose habits and life-styles tend towards excess fat deposits. There is no reason to fuss with your nutritional habits if you are in good shape and good conditioning. Food is not medicine - but if you lift heavy 2-3 times weekly, keep the protein up for muscle repair.
