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.
"Vita brevis, ars longa, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile."
That is the Latin translation of Hippocrate's first sentence in his medical text, "ars" - art - meaning the craft of medicine, is slow to learn given the brevity of life. I think the quote has been often misunderstood and misapplied.
It has always been interesting to me that the etymology of our use of "art" refers to "craft."
English: "Life is short, and (mastering a) craft slow, opportunity fleeting, experimentation perilous, and judgment difficult."
Whenever I read on this topic, I am reminded about how radical and idealistic it all was. Equal rights, the sanctity of property rights, weak government subservient to the citizens, and attempting to take into account all we know about the flaws in human nature while counting on virtue, religion, and self-reliance to keep the nation on a wholesome track.
With all of their opportunities to seek power, those guys tried to set up a system with as limited and contained power as possible. Quite a remarkable, bold, and humble experiment into the unknown and untried.
Even as government power and authority have grown like Topsy over two centuries, the US remains the desired destination for millions on this planet, for better or worse. Sad to say, I think that is more about economics than the ideal of individual freedom. That ideal is not native or natural to most societies and cultures.
Those test levels are quite modest for active people. Everybody can aspire to better, but the doctors have learned to be modest in their expectations of us.
My only objection is to their including BMI on the list, which is a bad index for excess body fat. Is your waist size an ok measure of your body fat? Yes it is. Your waist size is not your belt size or jeans size, especially if you wear them on your hips which most people do these days. Your waist is above your belly button, the narrow space below your rib cage and above your hips (if you have a narrow space there).
How to Measure Your Waist
How do you measure your waist? Sounds simple enough, but it’s not always obvious where your waist is. Posture and other variables can affect the reading, so here are some basic guidelines to follow:
Position a tape measure at the narrowest point between your lower rib and the top of your hip bone, or at the midpoint in between. It should be snug but not compress the skin. If you can’t find the narrowest point (it may be difficult if you’re very overweight), measure just above your belly button.
Stand straight and breathe out normally; don’t suck in your belly.
Measure your waist first thing in the morning, before breakfast.
Though there’s no magic cutoff point, values over 37 inches for men and 32 inches for women indicate increased health risks, according to the World Health Organization; values over 40 for men and 35 for women represent substantially increased risk.
Re travel, Gerard took the wrong cruise. I posted about our most recent cruise, a sailing ship from Lisbon down to Morocco and out to a few of the Canary Islands. We love ships, especially when the stops are in interesting places. And even our sailing ship had a good gym with ocean views. And, in fact, the best lines do not try to overfeed you.
Bulldog's Free Ad for Disneyworld reminded me of Carl Hiassen's book Native Tongue, a dark comedy (as usual, "ruthlessly wicked") about the dark underbelly of the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills.
This may come across as an ad, though it's not meant to be. It's a series of observations made while briefly visiting to Disneyworld this past weekend with my wife and extended family visiting from Ireland.
Despite my belief that Disney couldn't be so special, I learned Disneyworld really is a magical place. The magic, however, does not reside in what Disney does, how it is presented, or what it provides. That is all a manifestation of Disney’s corporate pursuit of perfection, a laudable and wonderful goal which its cast members manage to achieve daily. Before I explain the magic, I'd like to consider a few things Disney is capable of accomplishing each and every day.
Every morning, they restock and restore food and merchandise stocks to accommodate about 53,000 people. When you consider the average US town is about 20,000 residents, Disneyworld is a fairly large town (2 and a half times as large as the average US town). This town is renewed each day with new 'citizens' with a myriad of different tastes and desires. Many, if not all, share the love of Disney products of some kind, but there is no accounting for the plethora of other wants and needs that arrive daily. From the number of chicken fingers needed to the amount of spaghetti required, the slushies and ice cream served to mouse ears sold - Disney has quite a large number of items to prepare for each and every day. Yet Disney manages to fulfill its requirements in a more than adequate fashion. I'd go so far as to say they overachieve their goals each day, based on my experience.
Joplin is said to have written this waltz to the memory of his recently-deceased young wife. It's American music beloved by many Euroland performers like the superb Massimiiano:
American Robin House Wren Cardinal Catbird Carolina Wren Chickadee Blue Jay Tufted Titmouse Screech Owl Song Sparrow Starling Purple Grackle Mourning Dove Downy Woodpecker Catbird No oriole this year - too bad. Love to see and hear them.
Lucky for us, no cats around to kill the songbirds. If I counted a half-mile further, list would be longer.
We live in such strange times that the media ignored the most blatant examples of presidential campaign-cycle collusion in memory, while seeking to invent it where it never existed. Remember, Barack Obama on a hot mic not only got caught reiterating to a Russian leader the conditions of Putin-Obama election-cycle collusion, but he also spelled out the exact quid pro quo: promised Russian quietude abroad during Obama’s reelection campaign was in exchange for “flexibility” (i.e., cancellation) of U.S.-Eastern European missile-defense projects. Should Trump ever be caught making the same “deal” in 2020, he would probably be impeached.
“If freedom makes social progress possible, so social
progress strengthens and enlarges freedom"~ Robert F. Kennedy
I was provided this quote today, and agreed with it at first. Then I realized it is problematic. "Social Progress" is a broad term, and the method of achieving "social progress" is not defined at all.
There is no doubt "social progress" does enlarge freedom. If that progress is achieved naturally, fluidly, organically. As communities and people come to accept new and interesting ideas and people, the scope of their capabilities and imagination for greater things is enlarged and improved.
Where this quote is badly flawed is applying it to law. Social progress does not occur with passing laws that force people to think, or behave, a certain way. Too many people believe that it is possible to nation-build, when virtually all attempts of it have failed. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that it's just as hard to 'community' or 'society' build using laws and regulations. Eventually the laws themselves act as catalysts for behaviors that undermine the original goal.
Scientists seek a single description of reality. But modern physics allows for many different descriptions, many equivalent to one another, connected through a vast landscape of mathematical possibility.
Is it possible that the notion of physical "laws" is anthropomorphizing nature?
Photo: Good travel clothing for men and women, and pickpocket-proof in case you go to Europe with all of their immigrant thieves: Clothing Arts.
Good work clothing for women who want to look feminine but professional: Nora Gardner.com (with a new store opening in Boston's Back Bay this week). All made in the USA.
To my taste, a juicy Ribeye on the stovetop on cast iron, or a New York Strip on the grill with a high-blazing wood fire (no charcoal or gas, please) burnt to a crunchy crisp on the outside and raw on the inside.
Since Sicily, we have eschewed steak sauces for Pistachio Sauce (Pistachio Pesto) - not that a really good Costco steak needs any sauce but it makes it more fun.
It's a shame that I can't find those baby pig slices to grill here in the US, miele juvenal. Damn tasty and juicy. Can't buy piglets at Costco.
HIIT is for cardio conditioning and general fitness. It builds energy and endurance, not strength. Why endurance? Because if you can do sequences of sprints, any cardio stress of lesser intensity becomes easy.
Athletes have used HIIT for decades for cardio conditioning. The Times correctly notes that you hate it while doing it (it burns, it hurts, you are winded, your eyes are blinded by sweat, you want to give up), but after a session you are glad you did it.
HIIT in the form of calisthenics or plain cardio means anaerobic sprints of any sort with max effort from 20-60 seconds interrupted by 30 seconds to 3 minutes of active recovery. Re cardio, we also include one hour of aerobic endurance cardio in our plan as an "active recovery" day from your week's efforts. Even that should not be "slow," though - should be pushing it aerobically.
The now-famous Maggie's General Fitness Program (2 days heavy weights or other strength training, 2 days cardio, 2 days calisthenics) includes HIIT in some of the calisthenics and some of the cardio sessions. Calisthenics with an HIIT format kills two birds with one stone.
As we remind interested readers, the Maggie's 6-7 hr/wk program has to be worked up to gradually for people over 40.
Some examples of HIIT calis and HIIT regular cadio below the fold -
How to Measure Your Waist
Six Facts About D-Day
This may come across as an ad, though it's not meant to be. It's a series of observations made while briefly visiting to Disneyworld this past weekend with my wife and extended family visiting from Ireland.
More frightening
There Are No Laws of Physics. 
Photo: Good travel clothing for men and women, and pickpocket-proof in case you go to Europe with all of their immigrant thieves: