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.
Hundreds of pages of previously undisclosed FBI emails and memos show that the Democrat opposition research firm Fusion GPS, through former British spy Christopher Steele, worked closely with the FBI, and DOJ official Bruce Ohr, to take down Donald Trump before, during, and after the 2016 presidential election.
From a bunch of articulate Dylan-appreciators at NR. "Following our trip through the music of The Beatles, we decide to tackle an artist who is just as important and influential, but with a discography roughly four times as long. What could go wrong? In this part one of three, we tackle Dylan’s career from Bob Dylan (1961) through John Wesley Harding (1967), one of the most prolific and successful periods of any artist in history."
The point of "finishers" at the end of your hour of cardio, calis, or weights is to ensure that you finish having exhausted your strength and energy completely. These two finishers are total body exertions.
- Since we aren't musclemen, we use kettlebells for Farmer's Walks, as heavy as possible. Chest up, shoulders set back, and walk around with them. Squeeze the handles hard. Grip is the weak link with this so they are forearm exercises - but everything else too. Often, a quick reset permits going further. I am up to 28 kilo kettlebells now, which is nothing great but better than a year ago for one-minute walks.
- Around 3 sets of Kettlebell Swings are on our list of biweekly calisthenics. Correct form is essential for benefit. The swing is exerted by a hip thrust of your "power zone." Arms should do no lifting - they are just hooks for the weight. After one or beginning swings, get the bell up to near eye level, with the weight trying to pull you forward a bit. Never lean back - let the weight try to pull you forward.
High-rep, light-weight swings (one-minute sets like in a cardio class) are aerobic cardio/calis. Medium-weight, lower-rep kettlebells (like 20 reps/set) are more for power and tend to go anaerobic. High-weight, lower-rep (eg 10) kettlebell swings are pure power-builders. Do them all, mix and match. About Kettlebell Swings.
She took this Spitfire ride on her 100th birthday. She died last month. By seeming chance, today was my Mom's b'day, and she could fly single-engine airplanes. She quit flying when she had us kids, same way I quit motorcycles when I had kids.
Who do we have working on ye olde Maggie's HQ these weeks? it will take 6-8 weeks total, I think, depending on rain.
1 Project Manager - The Boss. Made the Plan, designed the solutions to problems, coordinates everything, pays everybody, checks their work. It is a high-end job. Everybody kowtows to him, because he will be the source of their next job if they please him. It's how the world works. 1 Contractor who is here each morning til noon. 1 Roofer boss, 2 assistant roofers, and a few roofer helpers. Good guys, work their asses off. 1 Master Carpenter and 2 journeyman carpenters. Lots of bad wood, windows, etc to replace. Lots of Azec and new cedar. Good guys, but only work 6 hrs if temp above 90. ...and soon, 1 Master Painter with assistants and helpers. They will powerwash, sand, prime and double prime/paint where needed, paint everything with the most expensive paint that exists. Flat on the clapboard, marine semigloss on trim etc. I asked them to add lead to it. I believe in lead paint. Guaranteed 15 years but I want a 30-year paint job or I'll be eating dog kibbles when I am 80.
Somebody has to keep the Trump economy booming. Why not us?
Ya know, I love seeing how they do their jobs and how meticulous they are. Also, their apprenticeship system. The journeymen carpenters are obviously experts, but they keep learning new tricks from the Master. And trust me, this place has some tricky things to deal with.
Most people have one of these "survival tools" in their backpack, hunting jacket, or glove compartment. Do not accidentally put one in your carry-on, though. Those Homeland guys, over the years, have taken from me my precious Spyder knife, a large jar of peanut butter, and a dangerous jar of Amish mustard. Also, a small Ducks Unlimited pocket knife.
Really, a Leatherman is an extra-sturdy Swiss Army deal with pliers.
My extensive botanical and scriptural research indicates that there is no reason to believe that the hyssop in this psalm has anything to do with the plants we call hyssop today.
Psalm 51:1-12
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
5:2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
51:4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.
51:5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.
51:6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
51:9 Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
51:11 Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.
51:12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Wouldn't you rather be in Wellfleet right now? I would. "Impeach Trump" bumper stickers don't bother me much, because I figger all the cars without rageful bumper stickers are probably people like me.
Since our physical fitness posts here are oriented towards building and maintaining general functional fitness and athleticism, we tend not to get into the weeds of strength-building.
For general conditioning, we view strength (weights) as about a third of the program. 2 days/week, with heavy powerlifts etc. However, the strength component is crucial even if 2 hrs/week will not produce an Arnold physique.
Speaking of physiques, we are genetically programmed for a body type (even if we cover that up with layers of fat). Certain body types were built for running, some for lifting up dead mastodons and elephants, etc. One aspect of that is our muscle cells. We are born with a life-long number of them, and a predetermined distribution of Type 1 And Type ll muscle cells which in part determine where our athletic potentials might be. Strength-building can build up the fibers inside those cells when subjected to serious demand. At the same time, a significant part of muscle bulk is blood supply.
But getting to the point, the rapid improvement in strength during the first 6-10 months of lifting is attributable to neuromuscular development and efficiency. That's the first step in strength conditioning, and when progress is most gratifying.
After that initial phase, progress slows and that is when the real slogging begins.
A reader sent in this technical essay on neuromuscular training: Neuromuscular Efficiency (NME). A little basic Bio helps.
It's not either-or. Low-rep (1-5) high weight is for strength. High-rep (8-12) with lower weight is for muscle endurance, but we would never suggest more than 10 reps for any powerlift set.
A typical powerlift sequence is a warm up set with very light weight, then 4-5 working sets advancing to your day's target. For example, lately I have been doing, say, with deadlift (most important exercise, I feel), warm-up set of 5 at about 100, 5 reps at 155, 5 reps at about 180, 1 rep at 200 and another rep around 225. Like I say, I am not a big strong guy. Everybody is different. My one-rep max is probably 245, but I don;t know for sure. My goal is 300.
Many fitness people do a week of high rep every month or two. "Lower weight" is around 60-70% of your one rep max. "Higher weight" is around 80-90% of your one rep max.
As always, there are exceptions, mainly for accessory exercises. For example, for curls or tricep cable push-downs, 10-20 is fine to keep those things "toned".
My take on heavy weights: Pull-ups are heavy weight. Push-ups are just calisthenics. If you can do 20 pullups bravo to you and put some weights on you to be more efficient. I won't do barbell bench or barbell squats without trainer or partner. Without those, I'll do dumbbell bench and kettlebell lunges or squats instead. If no weight station is free, I'll do kettlebell deadlifts or trap bar instead of regular. It's all good as long as it is HARD and makes you want to cry or spout 4-letter words.
Since I only do half of my powerlifts one day, and half of them another day (not ideal for strength but ok for fitness), I fill in my weights hours with accessory lifts to get a full workout. But to be more precise, I also do pullups twice/wk and one day of dumbell bench and another day barbell bench because I want to focus on those right now. There's only so much time to fit in weights, calis, and plain cardio. If a week had 8 days, I'd do another day of weights. It doesn't fatigue you like calis, but it kicks your ass and kicks your mind.
Just got an email from a second old friend (ie, elderly - 60s) who has produced a third kid under age 7. I wonder what it's like to be a dad in your 60s.
It would not work for me. Maybe it keeps them young, but who has the patience for little kids? For that matter, what guy ever did?
Its political leaders and a credulous national media present California as the “woke” state, creating an economically just, post-racial reality. Yet in terms of opportunity, California is evolving into something more like apartheid South Africa or the pre-civil rights South.
It's our summer for roofing, painting, and repairs. Maintenance on the HQ. Mostly outside, some inside too. Maintenance sucks, because it entails no improvement and is just a holding war against entropy. We are fortunate to have a remarkable team of workers thanks to our genius project manager. Perfectionists. Replaced with all new flashing because the old was second rate, especially for the crickets. New copper gutters, but we do not have many gutters. Let the rain fall off the roof. No problem. All bad wood replaced with Azek "wood".
Good thing about their max-size dumpster? Old brown furniture, broken lawn stuff, old clothing and crap that is just no longer needed or wanted. In it goes. Empty closets to bare essentials. And do you know what old brown mahogany furniture is worth? Zero. You have to pay people to get rid of it. I am tempted to toss our 1800s lovely dining room table and chairs in there because nobody in the world wants this old brown stuff - and never will.
Wish you had a giant dumpster in your driveway? A great chance to unload all the crap that your kids will have to toss in a dumpster when you croak. Do them a favor.
Richard Jarecki, 
The point of "finishers" at the end of your hour of cardio, calis, or weights is to ensure that you finish having exhausted your strength and energy completely. These two finishers are total body exertions.
The real story 
I thought that dust mites were mythical beings. They are not.
Summertime. You need an ice cream machine. Th
My extensive botanical and scriptural research indicates that there is no reason to believe that the hyssop in this psalm has anything to do with the plants we call hyssop today.
Not drinking alcohol in middle age
Why is it called "science"? To make it sound more serious? The distribution of power is serious enough.
The Enlightened
It's not either-or. Low-rep (1-5) high weight is for strength. High-rep (8-12) with lower weight is for muscle endurance, but we would never suggest more than 10 reps for any powerlift set.
Toon via 
