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.
As you know, Eton College is not a university. It's a private (what they term "public" in the UK) prep school. High school. Eton is right to keep girls out of there. Girls are a fatal distraction to lads during the intense learning years, and vice-versa.
Basically, they are looking for IQ, curiosity, and capacity for the life of the mind because they will want to push you beyond your limits if they accept you.
The humane treatment of the mentally ill was a major civilizational advance. At a time when there were really no effective treatments for the major disabling mental illnesses (ie Schizophrenias and Bipolar Disorder), providing these patients asylum from the rigors of real life was better than Bedlam or locking Aunt Jane in the attic.
Today, our treatments for Bipolar Disorder (aka Manic-Depression) are pretty good. Our treatments for the group of Schizophrenias are not very good. We can often remove acute symptoms but can not help people function at a normal level. They are mis-wired.
Efforts to help the seriously-ill, in hospitals, hospices, was termed "Moral Treatment." The asylum approach was largely undone with the deinstitutionalization movement under JFK. Thus bag ladies.
Here's a summary: A New Moral Treatment - Humane institutionalization can help the mentally ill and protect society. He might be right. I am not sure.
Gather 'round, friends, and let me tell you of the most wonderful, relaxing three months I've ever spent in my life.
It was at beautiful Camp Elmwood.
It doesn't take much to set the scene (see accompanying photo). A few acres way on the outside of the S.F. Bay Area with a rolling terrain of paths and camp buildings with lush green lawn everywhere you looked, all safely fenced off to keep the vagabonds and ruffians at bay. The weather was splendid (I was there in the Spring) with crisp mornings and warm afternoons. The atmosphere of the camp was invigorating. It was fresh. It was alive.
And just why am I telling you about beautiful Camp Elmwood?
Under what circumstances is, or should underage sex be illegal? It's a complicated topic. We all know how much underage sexual activity takes place these days. How does one distinguish a sexual predator from a hormone-intoxicated person? And what does age have to do with it?
"Right-of-center ridicule hasn’t stopped numerous white-privilege activists, professional and amateur, from continuing to bang the breast-beating drum. One of the most prominent these days is Tim Wise, 44, part Jewish, part Southern Scotch-Irish, who has devoted nearly all of his postcollege years to what might be described as white-privilege careerism, traveling from campus to campus—and also from corporate headquarters to corporate headquarters as a paid speaker—lecturing his fellow whites on the dastardly implications of their skin color. Wise’s extensive bibliography includes such books as White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son (2004) and Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority (2012)."
I thought the American campi were pushing hard for abundant and indiscriminate sexual experimentation and promiscuity. How can that animalistic utopia (aka "zoo", aka "monkey cage") come to pass if the Feds are trying to make every potentially-romantic encounter a crime?
Here are the new campus rules: Rape is illegal, a felony. That's a non-issue and a non-campus issue. But if she or he likes you, and wants to come to your dorm room for sexual fun, it's not harassment. It she or he doesn't like you, it's harassment. If he or she wants you at first, while half-drunk, but changes her mind, you're in big trouble. It's always safest to keep romance "50 miles from the flagpole," as they used to say. However, the primal urges of the young can not be suppressed, even by campus Thought Police and the Federal government.
After getting poked and prodded for six hours at the hospital a few weeks ago, they came up with squat. For you new readers, I had an intestinal operation last summer to remove a growth before it became cancerous, then was healing quite nicely until around last November when I just kind of stalled out at around 80% better. I was still in debt to the hospital, though, so it took a few months to get that cleared up enough that I could start a new 'tab' with them. I had (what felt like) about a gallon of blood drained from me (I made a comment about 'bloodletting' and how "I feel better already!'), an EKG, some skin samples for the lab, and a "nonintrusive ultrasound test" where they tested the blood flow throughout my body.
Then it turned out my blood pressure is through the roof. I've never paid much attention to it, and the previous time I was at the hospital for an operation follow-up, about three months ago, nobody said anything so I guess it was fine.
It was 165 over something when I was there the other day. I think the nurse actually gasped when she read the meter. Normal is 120 or below. Since nothing else has changed in my life (diet, living quarters, lack of exercise, etc), I gather most of it is just stress, worrying about rent and food, and exacerbated by the fact that I never know how much work I'm going to get from the one main company I webmaster for. So, the wonderful discovery that I could stroke out any minute added another two hours to my visit.
I've had better days.
And, as noted, they came up with zip in the blood test. Now I have to decide when or even IF I'll be able to afford to take the next round of tests and whether or not I should dump my (cough!) $120/mo Internet service. After rent, that's my biggest expense. If you didn't catch the story, I moved behind the local cellphone tower about a year ago which, as it turns out, are very directional and neither my Verizon Wireless nor a Sprint unit would work. I finally found a company that specializes in rural hook-ups and sitting on top of my tower is a 4" x 6" box with a 3' antenna sitting on top of it. It works fine, but it's nasty expensive.
Anyway, that's where things currently stand. Or sit, in my case. If you'd like to help with my get-well fund, it would be sorely appreciated.
Also, I mentioned this a few months ago, but if anyone has any viable (note key word) ideas on how to make money online, I'm all ears. I've read a number of "5 Ways To Make Money On The Internet" articles and haven't seen anything viable yet. I'd grab a regular 9-to-5 job in a minute if I could find one, but these are all tourist-geared villages down here and if you don't have any experience in the restaurant, motel or scuba diving biz, you needn't bother to apply.
One thing a couple of people mentioned last time was putting Amazon links in the posts, like Glenn does over at Istapundit. The hitch here — besides being tacky — is that these things only work with big reader numbers. You're basically waiting for that 1-in-3,000 person who's currently in the market for a new set of steak knives or band saw or the boxed set of all three 'Men In Black' movies. And Maggie's just doesn't have those kinds of numbers.
My thought was to only link to Rolls Royce dealerships, realtors for large estates and high-quality diamond necklace merchants. If it only makes one sale a year, I'll be set!
Anyways, just thought I'd toss out a quick update. Got some interesting posts coming up this week, starting with...
Many people will boycott a movie with a certain actor or actress in it who's spouted off on some goofy liberal cause, one that really touched a nerve.
I'm not one of those.
Similarly, I could give a hoot about a company's politics, as long as it has the program or web page or info I'm looking for.
Google is a perfect example of this. Politically, it's firmly in the liberal camp, but some of its programs are so good there's not even a second place.
Update: One of Google's main liberal offenses, not displaying a custom 'doodle' on their page on Memorial Day, has finally been resolved (see 'This day in history' post, below) and when a company displays such a magnificent tribute to our fallen soldiers as they did yesterday, well, I'd say all is forgiven.
Given that there are currently something like 18.7 billion web sites out there, there are a handful of tricks you can employ to narrow down the search:
— Putting the searched-for item in quotes tells Google to only display pages with that exact phrase.
— Putting a plus sign directly in front of a word (no space between) tells Google that the word has to actually be on the web page, not just part of some 10,000-word keyword file.
— Putting a minus sign directly in front of a keyword will not display any page with that word on it. This is a particularly effective trick as you 'minus out' all of the web sites popping up with a different theme or subject than the one you're interested in.
— If you know which site the item you're looking for is on, use this format:
"As part of its tireless commitment to being All Gay All the Time, the New York Time discusses the burning issue of: For propaganda purposes, who would be the ideal athlete to come out of the closet?"
It is impossible to understand the Muslim riots and terror in Sweden, France, or Britain without first appreciating that the Muslim immigrants aren’t fighting to become like the gelded natives. On the contrary, they are fighting to be different. It’s not multiculturalism they want, but their own culture. This impulse used to be normal once — like marriage. And the wonder is that it no longer is.
Across some of our farm fields. After a cold, rainy day the clouds began to clear out, leaving fresh snow on top of the Berkshire hills and a frost on the grass. That's our Climate Change. We had spent the afternoon providing a much-needed, if late, pruning to the apple trees (not in photo). I like a fruit tree to have plenty of air and light in the middle, remove crossing branches, but the darn suckers take most of your time.
Also put up 6 new Bluebird houses. On Sunday morning, one had already been claimed. Birds are not stupid. They pay attention.
Tree on the left? Black Willow, on the riverbank. Looks like we're going to have a herd of yearling Black Angus in that field this summer. Very handy, because they can go down to the river to drink and will need no care other than fence maintenance (which is obviously needed). Plenty of grass. Barbed wire.
Our farm boasts the lack of several modern amenities: no shower, just old bathtubs; no TV; no cable; no internet; and you have to get on the tractor and drive up a hill to find a cell phone connection. Peaceful. The only radio we get is NPR from Albany. They are crazy, but have good music. The wallpaper is 70 years old but my Mom liked it. There is more to life than materialism and conveniences and comfort, and my Mom understood that, deeply. We did break down and install propane heat 2 years ago. Decadent, but welcome after a cold rainy day when you come in soaked.
We're 20 minutes from Tanglewood. That's a good thing. Civilized. Cold lobster and champagne on the lawn.
I imagine you've seen some pretty splashy 'doodles' in place of the 'Google' name when there's an important event to honor, like the birthday of some Italian painter from the 17th century. Lesser events, like the Junior League's Summer Cotillion or the Annual Cornhuskers County Fair, don't get any doodle at all.
Or Memorial Day.
After all, to the sensitive leftists who run Google, that would be glorifying war.
And we can't have any of that.
Now, I could be wrong and maybe they did this last year and I just didn't notice, but I went to Google just now and my jaw nearly hit the floor.
At dinner Friday night I was chatting with a lady about all of the farm stands that were here in Connecticut when I was growing up. Every truck farm had one: a rickety structure on the roadside with a little dusty space to pull up on, with baskets of eggs, tomatoes, corn, eggplant, red and green peppers, cut flowers, potatoes, apples. melon, raspberries, blackberries, turnips, bundles of fresh herbs, honey, dried strawflowers, giant Sunflowers, squash, pumpkins, corn stalks for fall decorations - whatever was ready that day.
Business, if steady, was never sufficient to justify manning these roadside booths. They usually had the prices written on pieces of cardboard, and one of those large mason jars to leave your money in.
The nice lady told me that Holbrook Farm in Redding, CT still uses the honor system, but not during the height of the season when things are too busy. Hearing that cheered me very much.
No spy cameras either - just good old-fashioned American country-style trust in one's neighbor. I do not think I would like to live in a place where a shop could't have an honor system, but I guess credit cards and sales tax collection complicate things these days.
Get Ready, Suckers… 
Gather 'round, friends, and let me tell you of the most wonderful, relaxing three months I've ever spent in my life.
Sounds like 
Well, rat farts.
Many people will boycott a movie with a certain actor or actress in it who's spouted off on some goofy liberal cause, one that really touched a nerve.
