|
Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
Our Recent Essays Behind the Front Page
Categories
QuicksearchLinks
Blog Administration |
Monday, April 24. 2017Annoying Disorder du Jour: Plantar Fasciitis
It's a common affliction of the middle-aged (like Frozen Shoulder), and usually there is never an identifiable cause although weight gain seems to be one. It can be in one foot or both. Sometimes it can be easily fixed with ice and stretching but it can be a chronic problem which eventually will disappear as mysteriously and suddenly as it appeared. The most common symptom is feeling like somebody put thumbtacks in the heel of your shoe. The problem is not your shoe (although arch supports sometimes help it). The problem is inflamed tendons. The differential diagnosis is Achilles Tendonitis. Besides the pain of simple walking around, Plantar pain can lead to other joint or lower back problems because of altering one's gait to minimize the foot pain. Some basics on Plantar Fasciitis More info from the Pain Doctor
The 9-minute strength workout
My opinion: That is not a strength-building workout but it isn't a bad simple calisthenic workout for those who must exercise on their living room floor and have no access to fun calisthenic toys like kettlebells, heavy balls, pull-up bars, jump ropes, floor ladders, step-up boxes, etc. Still, I'd say that that circuit repeated for 45 minutes would be an ok calisthenic workout. 9 minutes is nothing. Calis do not build strength but they certainly help maintain vigor. In other words, 45 minutes of that is a heck of a lot better than sitting on your ass. We stand by our recommendations: Resistance + Calis + Cardio for overall fitness for life. The role of government in a free societyMonday morning links
The United States of Billy Joel - The Piano Man hasn’t released a new pop album since 1993. How does he continue to sell out stadiums? Exercise isn’t the key to weight loss. Still. But food companies want to convince you otherwise. Paris court sends ‘Spiderman’ thief to prison for €109m museum heist Muslims to March on Amazon Over Prayer Breaks ACLU: Force Catholic hospital to aid in 'sex change' Shale's the Wild Horse OPEC Can't Tame Labor is cheap in India which leads to some differences from the United States. Sea ice off Newfoundland thickest ever yet another polar bear comes ashore The Other Poison Gas Killing Syrians: Carbon Dioxide Emissions 'Science' marchers demand their 'right' to the taxpayer teat Cuomo’s war on pipelines is crushing New York’s economy Thomas Jefferson statue at Columbia protested as ‘symbol of violence against black and brown bodies’ The Supreme Court needs diversity, as does the NBA The Two Bills: Clinton And O'Reilly Bill Maher lashes out at Berkeley over Ann Coulter cancellation controversy DEPAUL—THE WORST UNIVERSITY FOR FREE SPEECH? Those ‘Snowflakes’ Have Chilling Effects Even Beyond the Campus - Academic intolerance is the product of ideological aggression, not a psychological disorder. Middlebury's obscene cowardice There are two types of societies, production societies and rationing societies Had the Founders selected direct popular vote as the means for electing a President, the residents of one state (California) would have dictated the choice to the other 49 Poll: 67% Say Democrats More Out Of Touch Than GOP, Trump DNC Chair declares there is no place for pro-life Democrats in today’s party Wash Post poll hides: Trump still beats Clinton, 43%-40% Debt is real Trump budget cruelty Chelsea Clinton: Little Creep Pat Buchanan did presage Trump French elect 2 non-elite outsiders LATEST MUSLIM TERRORIST ALSO MENTALLY ILL... LIKE ALL THE OTHERS Rachel Maddow Airs Headline Linking Venezuelan Protests to Trump, Retracts Online The Horrifying Death Throes of Venezuelan Socialism, Captured in 28 Headlines Sunday, April 23. 2017The evolution of sexual ornamentationThe French, Coming ApartFrom today's Lectionary: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
John 20:19-31
20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20:20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 20:21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 20:24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 20:25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." 20:26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 20:27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." 20:28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 20:29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Saturday, April 22. 2017Saturday free ad for Bob: Angelina
Well, it's always been my nature Not embeddable, but the song is here with lyrics. I thought Pomona College was an elite schoolA comment on a Pomona writing sample:
Thyme It's a Mediterranean plant (Thymus vulgaris) but the Romans spread it around and it can now be found growing wild in the US. At the Farm, it grows wild in dry, nutrition-deprived meadows and makes a soft and fragrant footing as long as you avoid the bees. Wild Thyme and garden Thyme are the same things. Around here, there is Creeping Thyme (good for between flagstones) and regular Thyme. It's evergreen, and has no problem with rough winters. All Thyme wants is bad soil. There is no need to harvest Thyme except when you need some. Even in winter, it stays fresh and fragrant under the snow. I usually use whole twigs in a recipe, not leaves. You can pull the twigs out later. This year I am growing more herbs amongst the perennial flowers as they do in Spain. I have figgered out how to help Sage survive feet of snow. QQQ"I believe in political equality. But there are two opposite reasons for being a democrat. You may think all men so good that they deserve a share in the government of the commonwealth, and so wise that the commonwealth needs their advice. That is, in my opinion, the false, romantic doctrine of democracy. On the other hand, you may believe fallen men to be so wicked that not one of them can be trusted with any irresponsible power over his fellows. That I believe to be the true ground of democracy. I do not believe that God created an egalitarian world." C.S.Lewis. via AVI's Egalitarianism Saturday morning links Women burdened by birth control responsibility What’s So Wrong with Melania Trump Dressing Like a Lady? In public, women try to dress like ladies and men like gents. It's a civic duty. Even Caitlin Jenner dresses like a lady. A very cool couple What happens if you smoke marijuana every day? Idiots try to rob a gun store Love it Harvard tells students gender identity can change ‘day to day’: Report Or hour by hour? Sometimes I feel like a nut... Another teacher who Left the Left SCOTUS Case Could Allow Use of Vouchers at Religious Schools Ann Coulter: Liberal Protesters are “Beta Males” – Engaging in “Rodney King” Riots Over My Speech Alpha Gal throws down gauntlet Berkeley Mayor Is Member of Antifa Facebook Group that Organized Riots The Montana Republican running in the special election doesn't believe in retirement because Noah was still working when he was 600 Sheesh PLEASE, GOD, STOP CHELSEA CLINTON FROM WHATEVER SHE IS DOING She wants to be a "thing," like Paris Hilton, famous for being famous. No gratitude for not being aborted: Chelsea Clinton: I Left the Church When I Was 6 Because It Opposed Abortion "White House officials said Mr. Trump took a personal interest in her case.... 'He just said, "Let’s bring her home."'" "We’re told by many wise and well-meaning people that it is a huge and even fatal mistake for liberals (and for constitutional conservatives) to respond negatively to every Trump initiative, every Trump policy, and every Trump idea." Friday, April 21. 2017Stereotyping Trump voters
Megan McArdle has a half-decent piece, Trump Voters Want Respect. Here’s How to Give It to Them, but it falls into the same stereotyping: sophisticated, educated elites vs. ignorant, feckless plebs referred to as "them." It is condescending and inaccurate. If Megan wishes to contact me, I would be happy to introduce her to a goodly number of sophisticated, highly educated New York elites who were Trump voters - some enthused, some in the (political) closet, and some holding their noses but ok with it given the alternative.
Posted by The News Junkie
in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects
at
16:20
| Comments (13)
| Trackbacks (0)
Get Up, Stand Up
More on flawed biomedical studiesVigorous Exercise: Calis DayA summary below of the hour of calisthenic circuits we did this morning (it's different every Friday) while we had the classical music station on pretty loud. The workout contained intense cardio bursts, explosive movements, agility work, and overall athleticism while igniting pretty much every muscle at some point. The endurance part comes in because for an hour your heart never has a chance to drop to a walking rate and you never stop moving hard except for the 1-minute breathing opportunities. Trainer uses a stopwatch to limit that. A quick reminder that calis, like sports, are not really for strength-building, and strength is just one component of fitness. As fun as it sounds, after an hour you are ready for a nap. Such are the crazy burdens of having a white collar job in the First World. A 3 min elliptical warm-up, then 4 band walks also as warm-up, then...
Continue reading "Vigorous Exercise: Calis Day" Friday morning links Where does the poop go?: The hidden machines of cruise ships Yahoo’s Demise Is a Death Knell for Digital News Orgs Michael Wolff: It's James Murdoch's Fox News Now Bill McKibben: Everyone Should Take Fossil Fueled Trips To Protest In Climate March MS-13 gang: The story behind one of the world's most brutal street gangs Mitchell: Your Socialism Is Bad and You Should Feel Bad A Z-man podcast interview Trump effect: Continuing Jobless Claims Collapse To Lowest Since Right Before DotCom Crash Began California Watch - Rewarding Public Employees With New Tax Hikes on the Private Sector What is a "pension"? Oregon's new approach to investing PARIS TERRORIST HAD BEEN JAILED FOR TRYING TO KILL COPS Iran accused of manipulating the Palestinian cause while hiding its colonialism against Ahwazi Arabs What's the most dangerous country in the world to be female? I know firsthand Palestinians: Hunger Strike or Smokescreen? Australia unveils major changes to citizenship process Makes good sense Thursday, April 20. 2017Professor Jean Yarbrough: ‘How I Became a Conservative’IQ and The Job Market
These were not issues when 90% of people lived on family farms. In a complex post-industrial society, it's pretty clear that low IQ and character weaknesses can be limiting but there is still plenty of work to be done out there. As I have mentioned many times, character traits can be more important in advancing one's life goals than IQ. Also mentioned many times, not everybody's life goal is wealth. Wealth is just a default goal for people without other more interesting goals. That said, money is darn useful and I like it.
Good strength guidelines for powerliftingFrom The Ultimate Guide to Sets and Reps for Strength Training, I think these are pretty good common-sense guidelines for the powerlifts, based on your goals. For powerlifts, however, I would not ever go over 10 reps per set. Instead, up the weight or the sets. Too many muscle twinges can happen with higher rep powerlifts, I believe. Higher reps for small or isolated muscles are fine, eg tricep push-downs, calf lifts, curls. Exercisers need to know their max, approximately, for their powerlifts. For example, if I can deadlift 300 lbs for one or two reps, my 80% intensity is 240 lbs. What I do with powerlifts (not saying it's the best thing to do) is a warm-up set of 10 at 50%, then 4 working sets which gradually work up to about 80%. Just for fun, about once a month I will see if I can increase my max for 1 or 2 reps but I don't count that as a working set.
Thursday morning links
The Transgender Madness Has Got to Stop Boys Punching Girls: Feminism's Big Win Berkeley: TODAY’S UNIVERSITY EPIC FAIL Since the downfall of the Gestapo, nobody has treasured the verb “interrogate” as much as postmodern academics.:
California Governor Brown acknowledges other states aren’t buying his climate hype… Fox News moves Tucker Carlson up to O’Reilly time slot Tucker is fine, but not a big personality like O'Reilly. By the way, O'Reilly was not a conservative. I don't know Carlson's politics. Here’s why Rush survived pressure on advertisers while O’Reilly didn’t Simon: The Republican Congress Must Get Its Act Together NOW Confirmed: John Brennan Colluded With Foreign Spies to Defeat Trump A new book reveals that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was way more dysfunctional than we realized. Krauthammer’s Take: Devastated Democratic Party Has Lost an ‘Ideological Center’ Are parties about ideology? I don't think so Venezuelan president to arm nearly half a million “militia” members Wednesday, April 19. 2017INNOVATE, OBSERVE and EXPLOIT. INNOVATEPossibly an interesting new book: Darwin's Unfinished Symphony: How Culture Made the Human Mind Arnold Kling mentioned it here. It seems to be about how people adapt to change, or fail to. Rules of the game change. Life can be like Calvinball. Winners adapt, losers fail to adapt. One must be quick on one's feet in life, like a hunter.
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:25
| Comment (1)
| Trackbacks (0)
Charles Murray on social class in the USA
Ultimately, though, he is talking about character traits and American civic culture. Worthy character traits support civic culture, and vice versa. Think Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Interesting quote: "The upper middle class is keeping its effective values to itself." Also, his point about "churn" seems important, because in the US lineages go up and down socioeconomically and socioculturally over time. No fixed classes as in most societies and it's not mainly about wealth either. I posted on this topic previously: Class, Social Capital, and Character Traits His wonderful speech from 2011 video here. I think it anticipates Trump. The Q&A at the end is good.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
at
16:08
| Comments (2)
| Trackbacks (0)
NYC Fun
Two random fun examples this weekend: The Fifth Annual NYC Hot Sauce Expo (this weekend). It's a big party.
Wednesday morning links
A Cosmic Burst Repeats, Deepening a Mystery - After a surprise discovery, astrophysicists are racing to understand superenergetic flashes of radio waves that sometimes beep out from distant galaxies. Your teen's brain on pot Battling Turkish intimidation, Armenian genocide epic set for big screen Universities Seek to Defend Endowments From Republican Tax Plan "The students ... characterize truth as a “myth” and a white supremacist concept." They blame the Enlightenment WHERE FREE SPEECH GOES TO LIVE: The University of Chicago has issued another warning to snowflakes.
Supreme Court rejects appeal for Latin American refugees seeking U.S. asylum Asylum is not for economic migrants but they all provide a sob story The Sad Cancer Of Third Party Pay Medical Care Man With Two Homes And A Lake House Whines About People Being Too Rich… Here’s One Reason Why the Dems Still Love Hillary Elizabeth Warren's new book, "This Fight is Our Fight", says that ordinary folk can do better economically if we only had more government control and less individual freedom. Williamson: Surprise: The New York Democrat is a New York Democrat. Photo scandal not what Marines are made of If a shooting war comes, the US Air Force is not ready ‘Germany Is a Nation of Immigrants’: Employers’ Unions Demand Open Borders British Olympian: North Korea has really got a “handle on obesity” French Election: Le Pen Vows to Quit the EU, End Mass-Migration She is a left-wing nutjob, regardless of her nationalism Allies knew of Holocaust in 1942, 2 years before previously assumed, UN documents prove Bashar al-Assad still has 'hundreds of tonnes' of chemicals stockpiled, former Syrian weapons research chief claims
« previous page
(Page 430 of 1531, totaling 38264 entries)
» next page
|