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.
18:21 Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?"
18:22 Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
18:23 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
18:24 When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him;
18:25 and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made.
18:26 So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'
18:27 And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt.
18:28 But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, 'Pay what you owe.'
18:29 Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'
18:30 But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt.
18:31 When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place.
18:32 Then his lord summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
18:33 Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?'
18:34 And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt.
18:35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart."
I buy most of my outdoor and work-out gear from them. Socks too. Do I care whether I have this year'sNike crossfitsneakersor New Balance running sneakers, or last year's model? And do I really care what color my sweat-wicking workout shirts are? Nope. I'll gladly take the leftovers, ugly or not. If it's 1/3 retail, I'm happy.
Why do I buy crossfit-style sneakers from Nike? Because for weights, and most other exercise things, you don't want a heel and you want a thin sole. As close to barefoot as possible. For road running, which I believe is a bad idea, running sneakers. I use running sneakers as summer outdoor easy work shoes. I wear them out fast. In summertime, I only use serious work boots when chain-sawing or similar things.
Most of America has had a rough time since the 2008 economic crisis. New York City isn’t most of America. The city is doing strikingly well, repeatedly breaking its own records for job creation, tourism, and tax revenues. But New York also keeps eclipsing another record: spending. When Mayor Bill de Blasio took office in January 2014, New York was halfway through a fiscal year in which it would spend $76.2 billion; during the current fiscal year, which started July 1, 2017, the city will spend about $87.3 billion—an $11.1 billion increase. Thus, Mayor de Blasio’s inaugural term has seen a 14.6 percent rise in annual spending. (All numbers are in today’s dollars.)
New York’s seemingly unshakable economy has given de Blasio the luxury of never having to make any real choices, across four annual budgets.
Nature likes wildfires.Wildfire is natural, and many species benefit from it. It was great for the Indians - more deer, more elk, more bears, more buffalo, more beavers, more grouse. In fact, they liked to set fires themselves so there would be more game.
A so-called "climax forest" is just a forest waiting for the next disruption. In Ecology, it's termed "succession." In economics, it's called creative destruction.
Lots of Americans try to stay fit to extend the energetic, functional, productive and profitable part of their life span for as long as they can. It takes work but, as I say, only 5 1/2-6 hours of unpleasant work/week before or after work, and rational nutritional habits so you aren't over- or under- weight.
Mrs. BD and I tried a new fitness class early Sat. morning. We might be naturally lazy, but will not put up with that deplorable character flaw. Like my sister preaches about life, "Ignore how you feel. Always Go Do It."
More below the fold, with two calisthenics I can barely do -
What Americans do. That's not government. It's not entirely selfless: it feels good to be useful, and when you are known to help others, others help you. American Citizenship 101.
18:15 "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one.
18:16 But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
18:17 If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
18:18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
18:19 Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."
Photo is from my pal on vacation in the Dominican Republic. I guess they mostly missed damage from the big breeze, because it looks intact this morning.
"Cardio" is sort-of a misnomer because all exertion raises heart rate. However, it is a shorthand that people use for forms of exercise which do not use heavy weights.
Let's keep it simple. To put an activity in the cardio category, you have to be continuously sweaty and short of breath (but not out of breath - that is anaerobic HIIT exercise) for about an hour. I ignore heart rate, but many people keep track of it. Thus walking, hiking, comfortable swimming, biking to the beach, are not exertion in any sense. They are just "living life" - the rewards of fitness. You know it's exertion (aka "exercise", as opposed to recreation) if you'd rather avoid it, if it sucks to be doing it, and if you want a nap after.
1. So-called "fat burning" cardio. Another misnomer because this doesn't burn fat worth a darn (nor does any form of one-hour exercise). This refers to around 60 minutes of aerobic exercise at a pace short of sprinting but withthe maximum pace you can maintain for an hour. This is endurance exercise which does not stress the heart very much but puts it to good use. Running, elliptical, stairmaster, speedy biking, treadmill, speedy swimming are all typical "fat-burner" exercises. I mix them up without breaks to avoid boredom.
2. HIIT cardio. This is true cardiac fitness training. Often, it refers to exercise with 10-60-second wind sprints (or even more for some people) of maximum anaerobiceffort relieved by slower but comparably-lengthed intervals. If you can do those intervals for 10 minutes without a full break before the next round, I am mighty impressed. I can't. I can only do about 3 reps of intervals without needing a minute break to lean on something while trying not to barf. HIIT cardio might help you survive your first heart attack because it increases heart vasculature. Regular bouts of HIIT will raise your level of performance on the "fat-burners" too. For HIIT, I use speed rope, combat bike, sometimes Stair machine or ski machine. Could just do running sprints outdoors.
3. Calisthenics. An hour of mixed calisthenics with no rest breaks is "general conditioning." It combines aerobic cardio, some bursts of anaerobic cardio, some explosive movements, and full-body muscle use (but not strength building). Typical cali routines include burpees, step-ups, pushups, running in place, planks, dips, ball slams, box jumps, mountain climbers, kettlebell swings, squats with light weights, lunges, roll-ups, heavy ropes, band walks, jumping jacks. Some activities like martial arts or playing sports contain calisthenic-like mixes. However, bear in mind that athletes use calisthenics to train to perform their best in the sports themselves. Sports are fun, not physical training.
Realized I had two hurricane-related pals. This morning I emailed our good pals who recently moved to Florida (Miami), knowing they were not there now. Got an email back saying that the weather in Egypt was perfect and pleasantly hot, and that they had got their help to put up the hurricane shutters at their place in Miami, so they had no worries. I rarely get an email from Aswan.
Another buddy is on a two-week vacation in the Dominican Republic. Sampling cigars and drinking Pina Coladas in the sun seems to be the main activity. If you can call that activity. Says they are all excited about the big breeze and had no interest in leaving. Good attitude.
For getting outdoors in the highlands and the islands, we recommend Wilderness Scotland.Scottish history is not very interesting (Norwegian invaders, battles with Romans, clan squabbles, battles with Brits) until the Scottish Enlightenment; the land itself isn't very interesting (lots of barren hills and high hills with sheep) unless you love golf, and their food is unappetizing - but it's worth going once. I've been there twice.
The grouse and Red Deer hunting can be good. Now, the Scots themselves are quite amusing, cranky people and worth meeting and talking to. This only occurs in pubs or while smoking in front of pubs. If America runs on Dunkin, Scotland runs on whisky and tobacco.
The Highlands are rugged, but not too wild really because the Clearance Laws entailed cutting down all the trees (Scotch Pine, of which there are probably more in the US than in Scotland now). One good result of the clearances was the emigration of Scots to the US and to Oz.
Bob Dylan recently bought a castle and estate in the Highlands. Interesting song, Highlands. Goes between real life in Boston and dreams of the Highlands. Lyrics here. In our family, we often say "You look like you want a hard-boiled egg."
I am happy that the rich get money. Bill Gates, Derek Jeter, Roger Federer, Yo-Yo Ma, Bob Dylan, have enriched my life. I happily gave them all some of my money.
"... it would be easier to take if our elite showed a similar concern for hurting American citizens and there are many of those. Like the one in four of working age who don’t have jobs right now, or the 14 million on disability, the one in six on antidepressants, the more than 50,000 who died of drug ODs just in the last year. That’s almost as many as were killed during the entire decade of the Vietnam war. You hear about those people occasionally here in Washington. You hear about those poor DACA kids a lot more and that tells you everything.”
Who Can Afford
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See Inside David Rockefeller's Westchester Country House - 
EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT ISLAM
Photo is from my pal on vacation in the Dominican Republic. I guess they mostly missed damage from the big breeze, because it looks intact this morning.
"Cardio" is sort-of a misnomer because all exertion raises heart rate. However, it is a shorthand that people use for forms of exercise which do not use heavy weights.
Pic: Dressed for Opening Day. Somebody will need to volunteer to check her for ticks