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.
If
you aren’t terrified yet, wait until they start applying these lunatic
principles to surgeons and airline pilots. - See more at:
http://moonbattery.com/?p=59338#sthash.xsRYZDnX.dpuf
Being of limited means while I have two young men attending university, my vacations tend to be rather short or local. Four days to Florida or Bermuda, maybe bring the wife along on a business trip if it's somewhere nice such as Palm Springs, or perhaps just a staycation. Our last big vacation was Ireland in 2007, with the boys, for two weeks. During the intervening period, the wife and I both read City of Falling Angels by John Berendt, a true story of his stay in Venice shortly after the fire which destroyed La Fenice, the opera house. He detailed the story of Venice, how the city operates, and all the good and bad which goes along with it. We determined Venice was to be our next big vacation, or at least part of it. 2015 was the year when our frequent flier and hotel points had reached a point we could do this rather inexpensively, so we took advantage.
We are a week returned from two weeks in Italy, during which we visited Rome, took an overnight train to Venice, rented a car and drove to Verona, then Rappallo, stopped in the Cinque Terre, stayed at a Tuscan resort in Barga, spent a day in Lucca, spent an hour in Pisa (which is all you really need, in my opinion) and then finished up with three days in Florence. On our final drive down to Rome, we spent 3 hours in Siena, then took a 30 minute side trip to Lake Trasimeno (being a history buff, I had to see the battlefield where Hannibal decisively defeated the Romans, losing only 1 man to every 10 of the Romans).
When I returned to the office, the first question most people had was "Which city was your favorite?" Florence and Venice, obviously, were amazing. But I'd opt for the Cinque Terre.
While not technically a city, it was far and away the most beautiful and wonderful place we saw.
Re the Monty Python "Call me Loretta" posted below, I want to change my body too. I want to be 3" taller, I want 25 lbs. of truly disgusting daddy-fat gone, I want perfect teeth, I want 3" in length and 1" in girth added to my pepperoni, I want to be able to bench 200 lbs. And I want to be 20 years younger and handsomer too with a powerful chin and a bigger nose. (Secret fantasy: I really want to be black and to be an NBA star, but I do not want to over-ask.)
So is that too much to ask for? Am I mentally-disordered? Is it Body Integrity Disorder? Do I need government to fix me? Or is the only thing that is ok now for guys to desire is to be castrated into eunuchs?
What do you readers want to make yourself feel just right?
Connecticut has already been driving business and employers away for years, but government greed never ends until they kill the golden goose which CT has historically had. Until after WW2, Bridgeport, Hartford, Waterbury were wealthy industrial powerhouses. Today, remarkably, even New York is a better tax deal for business.
One by one, my prosperous friends who are among the 5-10,000 people in CT who pay the bulk of the state income taxes are establishing residence in Florida. It's not that they want to. It's because they feel it's stupid not to. They come back home for the summer.
Now even the huge employer, GE, is considering leaving CT and another big one, Sikorsky Aircraft, is cutting back local jobs.
For the first time ever a computer has managed to develop a new scientific theory using only its artificial intelligence, and with no help from human beings.
For
the first time ever a computer has managed to develop a new scientific
theory using only its artificial intelligence, and with no help from
human beings. - See more at:
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/06/ai-darwin.html#sthash.lhV1gdVX.dpuf
Boat out from Fernandina, Florida to the island, along St Mary's River, up to Georgia. A famous place, but not too easy to visit so I'll give you a little tour.
3:8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
3:9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
3:10 He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
3:11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
3:12 The man said, "The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate."
3:13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."
3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel."
Mountains are gorgeous! Not used to Spring greenery out here in the Sierras. Some rain, which is blessing - the Pacific currents re now favoring us!
The photo is the largest clump we have seen in many decades of the rare Snow Plant (Sarcodes sanguinea) which grows in the thick humus of coniferous forests between 4,000-8,000 feet after the snow melts. We saw these at 7,100 feet on the road to our cabin. It is a root parasite, fleshy and nonphotosynthetic!
“Few plants attract the attention of visitors as much as the fabled snow plant does. Can anyone with a camera resist taking a photo? This root parasite has specialized roots that invade other species through associated mycorrhizal fungi and obtains its nutrients from them.” - Wildflowers of California
The Nature Conservancy's Pine Butte Ranch. Hiking, riding, fishing, swimming, nature-watching, fossil-finding. It's sort of a Grizzly Bear preserve but you'd be lucky to see one - at a comfortable distance. Grizzlies do not like mountains - they like river bottoms and damp meadows best,
Even in summer, you can find snow and ice on the high hikes. June best for the wildflower bloom. That is like Eden. It's real America and, yes, there are firearms around. Europeans come there to experience the American West. My lad once got trapped in the outhouse by a Black Bear. Fire a couple of magnum rounds in the air and the bears run away.
The ranch lands abut the 1 million-acre Bob Marshall Wilderness. We all own that. They will give you a day-long trip to Glacier National Park too, if you want. Another astonishing wild place which we Americans own.
The art of losing isn't hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster,
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster of lost door keys, the hour badly spent. The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster: places, and names, and where it was you meant to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or next-to-last, of three loved houses went. The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster, some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent. I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident the art of losing's not too hard to master though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
I will have my Cumberland Island travelogue photos ready soon, but somebody mentioned Little Saint Simons Island to me at a big social event last night, so I thought it might be time for a plug for them. Not that they need it. I posted my own pics etc, previously. LSS does have skeeters, sometimes to an unpleasant extent but not as bad as the Everglades. Bugs there are insane.
You may have heard the recent news that the owners of Little St. Simons Island donated a conservation easement to The Nature Conservancy on the entire 11,000 + acre island. For you, our longtime guests and supporters, we're happy to report that you will be unlikely to notice any changes, but we hope you'll celebrate with us knowing that one of the most significant natural areas on the southeastern coast has been preserved for perpetuity.
Yes, that would be the prosperous Mr. Paulson who just gave a half-billion to Harvard. It's my kind of rustic place with Southern food. These two pics are their own photos.
Image via 
Re the Monty Python "Call me Loretta" posted below, I want to change my body too. I want to be 3" taller, I want 25 lbs. of truly disgusting daddy-fat gone, I want perfect teeth, I want 3" in length and 1" in girth added to my pepperoni, I want to be able to bench 200 lbs. And I want to be 20 years younger and handsomer too with a powerful chin and a bigger nose. (Secret fantasy: I really want to be black and to be an NBA star, but I do not want to over-ask.)
Review:
Getting King John 
5 Things You