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.
1:1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
1:2 but their delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law they meditate day and night.
1:3 They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper.
1:4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
1:5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
1:6 for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Another place where I imagine that I could happily live (were it not for my kids, my work, my church, our friends, our clubs, etc) - Nonquitt, MA
An Indian name, of course, but it's a good name in English too. Gen. Philip Sheridan's summer house was there. It's a waterfront village in the town of Dartmouth, MA.
The key word is pedigree: the array of background traits, including the cultural, social, and educational capital passed from one generation to the next, which EPS candidates bring to the competition for elite jobs. But it’s a closed competition. One must get through the gates first. A candidate’s pedigree determines whether his or her application to an EPS firm is legitimately considered in the competition, or tossed in a slush pile of candidates who have no realistic chance to even compete for such jobs.
Of course, pedigree has always been influential in hiring decisions for first jobs at elite professional service firms. While Rivera acknowledges this, she contends that the rules surrounding pedigree have changed over the generations. Although elite employers have always hired on the basis of pedigree, the mechanism is now far more indirect. Finding young talent to fill society’s most important and highly paid jobs once was based on descent, the handing over of familial economic power from one generation to the next.
Today, elites have modernized the rules of entry. Rather than explicit bloodlines being the determining factor, the outcome biased toward elites is interpreted as just the rational outcome of the “meritocracy” at work. Now, just as elite colleges contend that they admit students on the basis of cognitive talent, elite employers claim their highly competitive hiring practices lead to finding the best and brightest young employees.
But the way elites choose talent is hardly an open competition, Rivera argues. Rather, EPS hiring is a “sponsored contest.” While any college graduate is free to apply for a position, only those who are pre-qualified are actually permitted to compete. The most important pre-qualification is earning a degree from one of two types of schools. Generally, EPS firms maintain two lists of colleges from which they draw the applicant pool. First is small list of so-called “core” schools that have fed firms’ talent requirements for decades. The relationships are historic, steadfast, and habitual. Think Ivy League, especially colleges that are within a few hours drive from power centers of finance, banking and law.
Next is a list of “target” schools that firms have relied on for talent, but to a far lesser extent than core schools. The pivotal difference between a sponsored and an open competition is the behavior of gatekeepers in seeking talent. EPS firms go to great efforts to seek out the kinds of college graduates that fit the firm’s culture. The firms go to the students, spending valuable time and money traveling to the listed campuses and recruiting for their applicant pool.
I think this is far less true today than in the past. However, admission to a highly-elite school demonstrates something of value and speeds up the vetting process. My advice: Save your admissions letters but go somewhere you can afford.
The Italian Coastal Dinner, May 18, at The Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center. That delicious-looking Italian menu is below the fold, but it's neither on my workout nor my wallet menu although it's cheaper than flying to Italy for a good supper.
I sometimes fear the younger generation will be deprived of the pleasures of hoeing; there is no knowing how many souls have been formed by this simple exercise.
The dry earth like a great scab breaks, revealing moist-dark loam— the pea-root's home, a fertile wound perpetually healing.
How neatly the green weeds go under! The blade chops the earth new. Ignorant the wise boy who has never rendered thus the world fecunder.
A cafe with some turbinado sugar and a Marlboro menthol or two. A while ago. I cannot spend too much time looking at (very pleasant) pottery and chicks' bespoke Capri sandals (quickly made for your own foot by sandalmen in the back of the shops with decoration of your choice). Better for me to sit and watch the pretty people passing by.
In the materialist world of today, the utopians always fall on the side of trying to perfect life on earth. That means anything that can be done should be done. Eugenics, after all, was about “fixing” the mistakes of nature by eliminating from the breeding stock those people deemed unfit. This lack of a limiting principle means anything goes. The only check is the long hangover from the Christian era.
That’s what makes the very idea of bioethics laughable to me. From what authority do these people derive their authority? They can’t point to science as their authority for obvious reasons. God is dead so he has nothing to say on these matters. Ultimately, bioethics is just the opinion of men and the loudest voices will prevail.
I like mass transit, and I love railroads. Most mass transit seems to require government subsidies. I don't know why, but it's the case. NYC subways are subsidized by taxes, so New Jersey Transit, Boston transit, DC transit, and so is Amtrak. Most rail and buses. Even the Staten Island Ferry system. So are airports to varying degrees, and of course roads, bridges, and tunnels are all government costs.
These things keep people and goods moving, and keep the economy going. (Freight railroads make money.)
I like Amtrak. You can ride from Boston to New Orleans, from NYC to Chicago and to California, or from NY to Montreal. Good stuff. And their high-speed Acela is very busy on the Boston-NYC-Philly-Baltimore-Wilmington-DC route. Very pleasant too, and easier than air. Their labor contracts are, of course, insane.
An occasional accident is not statistically meaningful, in contrast to automobile fatalities and injuries. Ten thousand car accidents are not big news. A train wreck or a plane crash is news because they are so rare.
A few years earlier, he recalled, an M.C. in an elegant Chicago club had introduced him thus: 'O.K., folks, time to pull out your chitlins and your collard greens, your pigs’ feet and your watermelons, because here is B. B. King.'... When he saw 'long-haired white people' lining up outside the Fillmore, he said, he told his road manager, 'I think they booked us in the wrong place.'
Howard
Dean: Jesus Probably to Left of Democratic Party - See more at:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/mark-finkelstein/2015/05/14/howard-dean-jesus-probably-left-democratic-party#sthash.9ypOX5kS.dpuf
The official US commemoration of those who served and fought in Vietnam is under threat of subversion by the aged radicals who undermined support at home and launched vile attacks upon our nation's and our veteran's honor. Working with a group of other aging Vietnam veterans, some of whom I've known since then, others leading scholars on the war, we formed the Vietnam Veterans for Factual History. We have launched a petition to be delivered to the General at the Pentagon who is charged with coordinating the commemoration.
Please click this link to the petition and sign on to help keep the faith with our Vietnam veterans and their families.
It's not all hoarding - some people just can't let go of their "precious" stuff.
The Economics of Tidying Up: An Economist Reads Marie Kondo. “People are wrong when they think that pair of jeans will ever fit again, Kondo is arguing. Optimistic predictions keep people from getting rid of things they don’t need.”
We adhere to the two-year rule except for jewelry, art, firearms, and heirlooms.
The “Bias Incident Reporting” effort aims to “address the impact of demeaning and hurtful statements as well as acts of intolerance directed towards protected classes,” CU Boulder’s website states.
Cool song. The cold eyes of those crims, though - sheesh. They do not look like they like anybody. Johnny had one foot in jail and one in Jesusland. A holy man, of sorts.
Narcissistic patterns, to use an analogy, may have similar phenotypes but different genotypes. For some, it is a manifestation of a hollow or even sociopathic core and, on the other end of a spectrum, it can be a defensive style. Either way, they tend to use people for their own purposes.
You can't really go there. Some people want to make it a park. Why not? Or a nature preserve?
The guy who made Harlem black once tried to make a black amusement park there. Over 800,000 people are buried there: New York City's Island of the Dead
I'd recommend burning the mystery dead in the future, destroying the buildings, restoring the marshes, and making this unique spot a nature preserve like Jamaica Bay, as part of the Gateway National Park system. The guys from Rikers can do that work for us, as it seems to be their favorite work assignment (and rightly so).
I would be happy to plan it all, for free. I am sure the mayor checks Maggie's on a daily basis for our advice and guidance.
I do not mean to disparage real boot camp - that is just what the trainers here named this program for middle-aged people, but they also modify it for young athletes and older folks. No comparison of course with real USMC or US Army boot camp which is full-time and not for those over 40.
As I posted before, my program is designed for my expressed goals - overall conditioning and endurance/fitness first, strength maintenance and improvement second, and fat loss third. I am not overweight despite a little pudge I do not need and which, honestly, does not look like my old self that I know and liked despite never having been muscular but slim and plenty athletic. My trainer is very attentive to my limits - and seems to sense when I can go further than I think. I like to push to muscle failure on my third sets to teach me humility and because I like to feel the burn. OK, OK, I am a weakling!
'He wants to leave me feeling like a wet noodle.
2 days/week focus on strength with "active recovery" (30 second rest or a 2-minute "rest" on bike), and one day/week is full-body exertion which he terms "functional" (eg medicine balls, steps, etc). It's a killer. As I say, aerobic is intrinsic to the constant exertion with minimal rests.
I have just been promoted to being required to add 18 minutes of high-resistance elliptical, rower, bike, or fast treadmill, as tolerated, for my off-days. Mix and match, just a few intense minutes of each. Until now, I really did need a full day off to recover from the high-pressure stuff. They call it "waking up your body," and it takes a month or so of high demand. When he thinks I am ready, he will add a bit more to off-day demands but not too much. I can do it - I am always up at 4:30 AM so I have time.
His food program is 3-4 quite small high-protein meals/day with one fruit snack. I won't do that fruit. He says we American eat far more than we need and I agree. He wants to get rid of fat and build muscle - not big muscle, just useful muscle. By a meal, he means like 1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs, or 2 slices of meat with some vegs, or a cup of yoghurt with fresh fruit on top, or a few a few slices of cheese with salsa or Greek olives, and so forth. It is spartan but high-protein, and not for the long-term. I have stuck with it with rare exceptions. If you are paying for advice and direction, take it or quit it. Mrs. BD is on the same program.
After 4 weeks, how do I feel? Good. Tired. The good kind of tired. Losing 6 lbs. per month and do not have much more fat left to lose. My posture is much better. My stride is more vigorous. I get less out of breath during exertion. My heart gets a good workout. My appetite is way down, and I only want smaller amounts of tasty things. Not to sound new-agey, but I sort-of feel "in my body" more than before. I feel muscle and bones moving when I am moving and I mostly always ignored feeling their activities. That's cool.After another month of this, I hope for another ramp-up of that interesting feeling of physical connection and energy.Most of my life, I have been more in my head with body as a necessary accessory which only came in handy for fun sports and etc.
We recently linked Surber on Col. John Gunby. A history buff pal emailed this comment:
Saw your post about the colonel. Cowpens indeed was an interesting battle and a first class case study in the power of effective leadership and using an opponent's aggressive tendencies against him (mental jiu jitsu). The real hero there was Brigadier General Dan Morgan. He was a veteran of French and Indian War (shot through the neck, the bullet knocking out two teeth and exiting through his cheek), present at the disastrous siege of Quebec (where he served with honor and took the responsibility of surrendering when his commander was killed). He led a corps of riflemen at Saratoga (as a colonel) and then, sick and not promoted by Congress, went home to Winchester, Virginia, where his home, named Saratoga, still stands. He came out of retirement to defend the rebellion again during the calamitous situation in the South in 1780 and came up with the strategy that won at Cowpens. Among the British regiments that surrendered there was Fraser's Highlanders, the 1st battalion of the 71st regiment of foot. I own one of the 200+ Second Model Brown Bess muskets issued to that battalion, used as a foraging gun after the war.
Last week, B. and I walked the Cowpens battlefield alone with the chief park ranger on a beautiful sunny day (very unlike the January day the battle actually occurred). It was very evocative, as was the reality that practically no one visits the site anymore (history, what is history?).
The best book on the battle from a detailed perspective is A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. If you would like to read it I will deliver it to your door.
Ninety Six, North Carolina, where Morgan later conducted a siege that failed through a lack of supplies, also is quite interesting. His engineer for that siege that that bridge guy: Thadeusz Kosciuszko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadeusz_Ko%C5%9Bciuszko).
Morgan's superior at Quebec, Benedict Arnold, was wounded not killed.
The Wedding Sting - How a police department
Discovered a disease? 