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.
The birds that live on Earth today have all descended from dinosaurs, the creatures who dominated the planet for a couple of hundred million years, before an asteroid impact caused their extinction. It turns out birds at the time, better called avian dinosaurs, nearly got plucked too, with only those species that lived on the ground surviving the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) mass extinction event...
I saw a poster that spoke to me: We do not remember days, we remember moments.
On Memorial Day, just take a moment to remember that special moment with a loved one, that kid down the block, that young soldier or Marine you saw in an airport or on a train, and either give thanks that any one of them might not have survived but did or respect that he didn't in a good cause and brotherhood with comrades.
The other night I went to a high school Seniors Award Ceremony. In honor of classmates lost in Vietnam a group from the class of 1966 handed out awards to some of the 18-year olds in the senior graduating class. Heck, I thought, most of their parents weren't even alive or much out of diapers during the Vietnam War, and probably have absorbed the defeatist excuses pushed by leftist academics. Heck with that, I thought again, maybe the awardees will take some time to learn something about the cause, the facts, in the deceased's name they received an award for the promise of their future, a future gained by others' loss.
Classic Italian-American Sunday supper. Yes, they term tomato sauce "gravy." Some people like this style of southern Italian food, but I find it unpleasant. Not to mention the heartburn. Call me a food snob if you want.
Sure, we've all had experiences when the voice on the GPS thing directed us poorly. Mrs. BD and I have especially had those experiences in Europe. It can waste a lot of time, but sometimes can be serendipitously interesting anyway.
One time, in Sicily, we were directed through miles of dirt roads in lemon groves because the Euroland thing was set for "most direct route". Yeah, it was an "as the crow flies" route to some obscure place we wanted to hike with the Christian tombs carved into the cliffs.
I like maps for the big picture, and the driving tech for the details. Just last weekend, driving home from a fishing trip, I kept wondering "What town are we in?" I felt like "Where the heck are we, on a map? Where are we, on the planet?" We didn't have a clue, but WAZE got us home.
I think a combination of a map and a GPS voice are a handy combination - one for the practical and one for curiosity.
My lad claims Clothes Line Rag was a parody of Ode to Billy Joe. That is astute. Lay Down Your Weary Tune is a lovely hymn. Listen to that cover. How many masterpieces has Dylan produced?
Bonus below: Lou Reed covering Foot of Pride. It's about pride and Jesus. Pride is the greatest sin, is it not? The foot of pride will getcha sooner or later and, once it comes down, your life is screwed without proper repentence and rebirth.
3:1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
3:2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God."
3:3 Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above."
3:4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?"
3:5 Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
3:6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
3:7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.'
3:8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."
3:9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?"
3:10 Jesus answered him, "Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
3:11 "Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
3:12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
3:13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
Bulldog and I are planning a bouldering day for the near future. Well, full-day rough hiking with enough challenging bouldering and rock scrambling to keep everybody on our local hiking team happy, challenged, and entertained.
Friends and family. No ropes required but a positive, can-do attitude is required. I am planning the routes and want to make it as fatiguing and stressful as possible.
To keep the wives happy, we'll throw in a brunch at Mohonk. One hour, only, is what we guys will permit because we want to move, not sit and eat oysters, filet, halibut, Kobe beef, Nantucket scallops, fine wines, and a hundred other decadent delights.
Why get in shape if you don't use it to the max? Rock scrambling is great fun, and sometimes scary and that is what builds character. Or so my Dad said. "Face all of your fears. That's how you become a man." Like his beloved Shakespeare, he viewed fearfulness as a kind of death.
He was in two wars but he never spoke of it. Never once. US Army.
“His advantage is he’s unencumbered by values and unencumbered by a conscience. It’s an enormous advantage when you’re willing to make the end justify the means always. He’s willing to do anything as we know including lie repeatedly. It’s very disarming literally If you’re up against that- it’s very hard for people because they’re scared of his emotion. They’re frightened by his emotion. They don’t recognize that he’s throwing them off their game. They don’t necessarily recognize that he’s pushing them into their own emotion as opposed to the capacity to think more reflectively and as a result they’re not coming forward with their best.”
"Back when Trump came down the escalator and started talking like Pat Buchanan, I recall thinking, “I can’t imagine a scenario where I vote for him, but I never imagined anyone saying these things again either.” Trump is turning out to be the most consequential president in our lifetime, which is not something any sane person could have imagined two years ago. I think we have to withhold judgement on him until these great events of this age unfold."
Trump is the Honey Badger. That's why he was elected. He was not elected to be a role model:
Are there any wild Brookies (aka Speckled Trout) left in their homeland of eastern, mainly northeastern, North America? I mean by that is whether there are any wild-bred Brookies left.
I expect some arguments, but my guess is that, if there are any, they are very few and very local. Brookies are sensitive and delicate fish with exacting habitat requirements. They want cool or cold, well-oygenated water. If you want to fly fish for wild Brookies, Patagonia is the place to go. The transplants there have naturalized and done well.
Interesting facts about Brook Trout (beside the fast that they are actually Char, not trout) is that they do not normally inhabit "brooks." They are river (or lake) fish which only migrate to small brooks and streams in the fall to breed. And while adult Brookies will eat anything that moves or falls into the water, their preferred foods are minnows and crustaceans rather than bugs and flies.
In the northeast, adult wild Brookies lived in large, deep streams and smaller rivers like the upper Connecticut, the Housatonic, the upper Hudson, the Androscoggin, the Penobscot, the Saco, the Merrimack, the Delaware, etc. and in lakes like Champlain, Winnipesaukee, the Rangeley Lakes, the Finger Lakes, the Adirondack lakes, and even the eastern Great Lakes. Smaller, shallower waters get too warm for trout health. In fall, as the waters cooled and waters rose, they migrated up the drainages to breed - thus "Brook" Trout. (Natural History of the Brook Trout)
Overfishing, pollution, and dams pretty much destroyed the Brookie life cycle.
The result is that trout fishermen (meaning fly-fishermen) east of the Mississippi basically rely on stocked fish for recreation (as they do in most of the US). These are raised in hatcheries and typically released in early Spring into habitat in which they are likely to survive at least for a few months until the water temperatures warm and the health of the fish deteriorates. They may have better luck in larger waters but will have no homing instincts.
Even in the famous trout "streams" in Pennsylvania, you are catching hatchery fish, usually a mix of species including the Brown (originally from Europe) and Rainbow (native to the Western US). This spring, Pennsylvania stocked 3.5 million hatchery trout of mixed varieties to keep the anglers happy.
Fishing licenses pay for those fish. Adult hatchery trout can cost between $2-4 apiece depending on fish size and volume of the order, not including delivery.
"Most people today believe that “law” and “legislation” are synonyms for each other, and that the phenomena to which each refers are commands issued by the state – commands issued to determine the behaviors of individuals most of whom are either inert blobs or self-destructive fools, and the rest of whom are predators. The fact that regularly observed rules of behavior – laws – emerge spontaneously among individuals going about their daily affairs is unknown to most people. The common but incorrect notion today is that society is engineered by the state through the “laws” that it issues. The uncommon but correct understanding is that the state is incapable of making laws; it can make only legislation. And whatever you think of the state’s record of legislating, you fall into error if you believe that the state makes law."
One continues to wonder why, if they wanted to "protect" Trump, they didn't offer him a "defensive briefing," as it's called, to alert him to suspicions about believed bad actors infiltrating his campaign.
They actually decided not to brief a presidential candidate that their were people possibly compromised by Russia at or around his campaign, choosing instead to... spy on him.
Yes, that is some "protection" they were offering.
I honestly don't know if I'll boycott Netflix, which I watch since I cut the cable two years ago. But, I will be looking for alternatives. Meanwhile, over my transom comes this prospective lineup of Obama Netflix Shows.
Obama Netflix Shows
So You Think You Can Keep Your Doctor
The spy who loved himself
No country for Anatomic Males
At Some Point Youve Made Enough Money... Except For Me.
Yes We Can-Can
The Beta Bunch
You Didn't Build That: a documentary series. In each episode, Obama instructs individual business owners as to how they did not build their businesses.
Snakes on a Plane: The Loretta Lynch and Bill Clinton Story
I Killed Osama Bin Laden: office comedy where incompetent executive is constantly causing disasters and doing illegal things, but always gets let off the hook when he says 'Remember, I killed Osama Bin Laden!'
Step Brothers sequel: The Great Rotondo. Plot: A 30-year-old stay-at-home son heroically fights for the tenancy rights of other adult children.
Shovel Ready: a DIY show about companies that get huge government tax grants and then go bankrupt.
Take A Bow: a travel show where Obama visits foreign countries and spends hours bowing to anyone in power.
It's Always Sunny in Guantanamo Bay
How I Met Your Mullah
Guess Who's Coming to Jail...
Who Wants to Win a Pallet of Cash?
I Married a Wookie.
Are You Smarter Than the Ayatollah?
Bath House Diaries.
I Spy
How I Droned Your Mother...& Grandmother.
Fast & Furious: Narcos
Misery...loves company.
Epstein's Island
Barry and Michael: The Early Years
Happy Gays
Honey, I Shrunk the Middle Class
An Idiot Abroad
13 Treasons Why
Some like it acid washed
The Birth of a Police State...
Barry and the Legion of Choom
Pretty Little Lies
The Amazing Race Card
And She Still Couldn't Win!
How the Middle East Was not Won
It's Americas Fault
Cooking the Family Dog.
Tiny Dancer: The Rahm Emanuel Story, starring Peter Dinklage.
"Conditioning" is the process of forcing your body (including brain and central nervous system) to adapt to new or greater physical demands. The other term, "training", typically refers to working towards a more specific goal (eg sprinting, tennis, or body-building).
Everybody knows what "good condition" looks like: looking good, moving well, trim physique, decent muscle-development, high energy and vitality, good athleticism and agility, good posture, cheerful eagerness to take on any sort of physical challenges, etc. But what is it made of?
When we posted about Fitness for Newbies, we tried to emphasize the gradual nature of advancing a fitness program. The body responds positively to good, graduated stresses at any age, but adaptation is slow so if you get over your skis it will be counterproductive in all sorts of ways. Worse, adaptation is slower at 40 than at 20.
The reason it is slow is because it is so complex on the cellular, anatomical, and biochemical level (not to mention the psychological level which is often the most formidable hurdle). The sort of program we endorse demands adaptation - change - at multiple levels: neuromuscular connections, cellular energy production and other aspects of metabolism, endocrine, muscle and tendon construction, bone strengthening, cardio-pulmonary from capillary construction to increasing cardiac output, perhaps fat loss, and so on. To learn about it is an education in basic physiology. Very interesting to me. There's a section in the textbook.
Another reason it's complicated is because each form of exercise (resistance, calisthenics, plyometrics, anaerobic cardio, and aerobic cardio) has a different and sometimes conflicting effect on the conditioning processes in the paragraph above. For one example, conditioning for endurance (aerobic) cardio conflicts with strength-building processes. This is why training for specific athletic activities/sports varies so much from sport to sport (at the higher levels, anyway). Our Maggie's program is for Fitness for Life and recreational activities in general - and might be wrong forspecialized athletes (until they retire). Thus we aim to override any conflicts and just include every component of fitness and athleticism.
Four other points about Conditioning:
- Consistency is essential in a conditioning program. That's why we say 6 days/wk of workouts is ideal. Physical condition decays much more rapidly than it accumulates. You can't put it in the bank.
- Gradually stepping up the variety and intensity of challenges is essential. When upping the challenges stops, conditioning processes stop. Conditioning processes do no more than is demanded of them. For example, jogging 3 miles every day will do nothing more for you than to maintain your ability to jog 3 miles/day. That is one-dimensional fitness just as only lifting is one-dimensional.
- The right nutrition matters. Has to be right for your goals. We have discussed this ad nauseum.
- Decent rest is essential for physical recovery from high exertion. That means sleep - and one day/wk without high-intensity exertion (hiking and recreational sports are fine). The exertion stimulates the conditioning processes but the rest times are when those good growth and repair processes occur. Every several months, a week off from exertion seems to be fine or even good but in my case a week away from hard exertion feels terrible mentally and physically so I hate it. However, a day off, say, with just a hike or light cardio, seems to leave me full of beans the next day and ready to kill my deadlifts.
Basic tests for physical conditioning for ordinary people below the fold -
Reboot 
Sure, we've all had experiences when the voice on the GPS thing directed us poorly. Mrs. BD and I have especially had those experiences in Europe. It can waste a lot of time, but sometimes can be serendipitously interesting anyway. 
I guess it was yesterday. 
Bulldog and I are planning a bouldering day for the near future. Well, full-day rough hiking with enough challenging bouldering and rock scrambling to keep everybody on our local hiking 
3.5 Billion-Year-Old Fossils
Are there any wild 
Giant Flatworms