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.
Getting into pretty good condition from ordinary condition (ordinary is somebody over 30 who is not fat, hikes, walks daily, plays some recreational sports) takes about two years of commitment. Longer if pudgy, mostly sedentary, or if complicated by some physical impairment (which almost everybody over 40 is).
Yes, two years - and that means ideally 5-6 days per week. I can witness to that because at 16 months of my program neither I nor my trainer feel I am ready for a maintenance program yet. I had thought that I might have graduated by now but I have a ways to go. Part of what has slowed me down has been an old skiing shoulder injury and some non-arthritic hip pain.
If you feel inspired to take on such a slow but ultimately-rewarding process, I would recommend getting an evaluation from the smartest trainer you can find - not a musclebound musclehead, but one who knows physiology and anatomy, etc - and being taught a recommended program. Unless you were a well-trained lifter in high school or college, you can not walk into a gym and begin lifting weights, or even dumbells. You will do it wrong and injure something.
In fact, without training you will not even do simple things like medicine ball slams or heavy rope slams correctly. Everything has a correct technique designed for minimal damage and maximum benefit.
I have the luxury of a superb trainer 3 days/wk, thanks to Mrs. BD. That seems ideal. At this point, though, I think I can do my "heavy calisthenics" hour on my own. You can always learn more, but I have the basics down and an hour of calisthenics is a hell of a total body workout and you sweat like crazy.
Advantages of supervision by a trainer:
correcting your technique and managing your recovery time the trainer is your spotter. you need that for some weights planning your program to match your strengths and weaknesses pushing you harder than you would yourself making adjustments for aches and pains holding you accountable trainer can give you his advice on what you should do on "off days" the well-educated trainers will give you a nutritional plan too, depending on your needs
A less-expensive alternative is a group conditioning program like Crossfit. Crossfitters have good fun and good group bonding while busting their asses, but the supervision is not as exacting as it with with an individual trainer who watches your every move and corrects you constantly.
For a "boot camp" program like mine, most trainers would recommend something like ours (that of me and Mrs. BD):
Mon: 1 hr upper body weights or push weights Tues: Half hour cardio intervals Weds: 1 hr. lower body wts or pull weights Thurs: Half hour cardio intervals or 40 mins speed walk Fri: 1 hr mixed "heavy calisthenics" Sat: Half hr cardio intervals or speed-walking, plus 1/2 hr calisthenics. Some days just 40 mins speed-walking when it's a beautiful day.
Most likely very few American blacks care about it at all, but there is a noisy group in New Orleans who want to get rid of a statue of Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans. While the entire impulse to erase history seems crazy to me, there is not a single reason to hold anything against Jackson.
His post is grimly amusing, but I think he misses three points: 1)These "rioters" are rent-a-mobs," paid rioters and 2) rioting is fun, especially when you feel you have some sort of legal immunity and 3) I do not know any American blacks who would act like that.
- As we enter flu season, it's a good idea to take the flu vaccine around now. I can possibly save you from a few days of lost work, and if you get it at CVS they will give you a 20% discount card for all the Halloween junk and other junk you buy there that day. Flu shots do not always work, because the viruses mutate so quickly. Still, it is something to do to minimize the risk of the unpleasantness.
- Tetanus? (or Tetanus-Diptheria-Pertussis) vaccine? Adults who have had their booster shot long ago probably do not need to repeat, but people caring for infants usually get an adult booster dose. Most people who have had puncture injuries or sutures in the ER have gotten a tetanus shot on a precautionary basis.
The placebo idea has a long history, back to ancient Greek medicine. However, in my experience the placebo effect, such as it is, seems most powerful in the ignorant and the suggestible. Hence the enduring popularity of quackery like naturopaths and homeopaths.
While it remains true that modern physicians often recommend treatments with marginal effects, those marginal effects are likely not imaginary.
The Pew study shows that the endless repetition about climate, and blaming all bad weather on climate (while never blaming nice weather on climate)as in "Due to climate change, the US has gone 10 years without a hurricane") has had some impact, but people are not really too frightened.
For example, their survey indicates that climate-worriers do no more for "the environment" than anybody else. Of course, most of the cute greeny things people do "for the environment" are meaningless and pointless exercises in virtue-signaling and I have to suppose most people know that. More accurately, virtue-signaling and/or magical thinking.
That's on the advice of our NYC theatrical daughter, who thought Hamilton was a typical,schlocky, over-hyped pseudo-historical Broadway spectacle. We are generally off-Broadway if not off-off-Broadway people, but that daughter is discerning so I guess we ought to listen to her. Other daughter loved Hamilton.
This live recording is as close as I can find to the album version, which I feel is superb. Lyrics from this tune have been coming back to me for years.
Why bust your rear end when the government immediately will take at least 39.6 percent (actually more when you consider Medicare taxes, state taxes, and double taxation of interest, dividends, and capital gains) of your income, and then another 40 percent of what you’ve saved and invested when you kick the bucket?
Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton doesn’t seem to care about such matters. She actually just decided to double down on her destructive tax agenda by endorsing an even bigger increase in the death tax.
Kimball: One of the most conspicuous strategies to limit free speech on campuses
in the United States these last few years has been via the weaponization
of victimhood.
James Miller interviews Gregory Cochran, MIT Physicist, anthropologist, and geneticist. Polymath Cochran discusses everything from politics to racial genetics to medieval Chinese war strategy and pretty much any random topic.
It is a delight to be in on a chat with a true Smart Guy. A long Podcast, Meaty.
Demonstrating her devotion to purposeful, tactical race-baiting, Berry in 2010 endorsed the practice of gratuitously smearing conservative Tea Party political activists as racists. “Tainting the Tea Party movement with the charge of racism is proving to be an effective strategy for Democrats,” she said. “There is no evidence that Tea Party adherents are any more racist than other Republicans, and indeed many other Americans. But getting them to spend their time purging their ranks and having candidates distance themselves should help Democrats win in November. Having one’s opponent rebut charges of racism is far better than discussing joblessness.”
Those most likely to be receptive of Trump are those who believe America is in the midst of a great crisis in terms of its economy, its chaotic civil society, its political corruption, and the inability to defend any kind of tradition—or way of life derived from that tradition—because of the transformation of its culture by the intellectual elites. This sweeping cultural transformation occurred almost completely outside the political process of mobilizing public opinion and political majorities. The American people themselves did not participate or consent to the wholesale undermining of their way of life, which government and the bureaucracy helped to facilitate by undermining those institutions of civil society that were dependent upon a public defense of the old morality.
As a psychotherapist, I can tell you that it’s not unusual for the creator of the universe to come up in sessions around the High Holidays. This time of year, God puts a lot of pressure on Jews everywhere—even those who don’t believe in him. Few will ever come upon a burning bush, but whispers, hints, or even simple thoughts about God will often arise during the Days of Awe between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
Letter To My Son (on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, 1831):
To my beloved son, Isaac, may his light shine;
May the Almighty strengthen your heart and move you on the great and fearful day of Rosh Hashanah which is appraching, that you may make it your purpose henceforth to renew yourself each day for good. Do not lose a day without a period of solitary meditation, during which you will contemplate your ultimate purpose. Snatch each day as much study of Torah, prayer and good deeds as you will be able to steal from this passing shade, this vanity of vanities, this evanescent cloud. Remember well that all our days are nothing. Every man can snatch in them some piece of eternity on some level.
In the Talmud is written: "In the place where repentant sinners stand perfect saints cannot stand." The estate of the repentant sinner is even higher than that of the perfect saint. The repentant sinner had to struggle more fiercely to subdue their evil inclination.
Bird Dog alerted me to this delightful video. Among all the seriousness, we still find ways to have fun. Fun often transmits messages just as well.
A note about understanding "Shana Tovah", the traditional Jewish New Year's greeting: Literally, it means a good new year. Many, however, offer it as a happy new year. But, happiness is not an accurate measure of goodness. Further, "shana" as a verb can mean change. What we work for is to change for the better.
It turns out that the future is not “a boot stamping on a human face – forever.” The future is a conference call on which a cheery 30-something says things like “progressively coordinate functional strategic theme areas” – forever.
Getting into pretty good condition from ordinary condition (ordinary is somebody over 30 who is not fat, hikes, walks daily, plays some recreational sports) takes about two years of commitment. Longer if pudgy, mostly sedentary, or if complicated by some physical impairment (which almost everybody over 40 is).
Here’s how likely you are to crash into a deer
Greek
Pic: Bragging pal sent photo of his tomato vine in California growing onto his roof. I bet he waters it illegally...