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.
Now, Ivy League colleges like Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania have decided to stop publishing the Dean’s List – a recognition of those students who worked hard to achieve academic excellence – to reduce “stress and competition.”
20:2 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
20:3 you shall have no other gods before me.
20:4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
20:5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,
20:6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
20:7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
20:8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.
20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work.
20:10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work--you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.
20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.
20:12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
20:13 You shall not murder.
20:14 You shall not commit adultery.
20:15 You shall not steal.
20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
20:17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
We like our inboard Yanmar diesel, but outboards have become the thing these days. Multiple outboards, in fact. Three or four 200 hp outboards cost a lot more than a diesel engine.
I kinda like the diesel rumble, like a commercial fishing boat, but it is loud. Unlike a commercial boat, we are improving the engine sound insulation on ours right now.
More Evidence That COVID School Closures Wrecked Student Performance. California's poorly served public school students need more than a few more dollars diverted to tutoring programs. They need an escape hatch.
I’m a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog, and lone; I’m a rough dog, a tough dog, hunting on my own; I’m a bad dog, a mad dog, teasing silly sheep; I love to sit and bay the moon, to keep fat souls from sleep.
I’ll never be a lap dog, licking dirty feet, A sleek dog, a meek dog, cringing for my meat, Not for me the fireside, the well-filled plate, But shut door, and sharp stone, and cuff and kick, and hate.
Not for me the other dogs, running by my side, Some have run a short while, but none of them would bide. O mine is still the lone trail, the hard trail, the best, Wide wind, and wild stars, and hunger of the quest!”
Scott Adams claims that there is no reality accessible to humans. It's all narrative.
OK, it is hyperbole but I am sympathetic to his point, being a pathological skeptic. Scott also likes to imagine that we live in a simulation, which is an interesting narrative.
My closest encounter with a B-52 was during a hike in Montana. That airplane was doing a low-altitude run right over our heads. As I recall, we were near a cliff where the Indians ran bison off. Sheesh. Why a low-altitude run?
It's complicated. "Scampi" means a large prawn-thing in Italian, so the American menu item "Shrimp Scampi" sort of means "Shrimp Shrimp."
I've had scampi in Italy. They are not really a large shrimp, but more like a crayfish. They will put one on top of a seafood risotto as a garnish. You only eat the little tail but it is almost impossible to get it out so I tend to give up on that.
Shrimp Scampi is an American menu item, not Italian. It means Shrimp cooked the way Italians cook their crayfish-things - butter, oil, garlic, alone on a plate with parsley on top. In the US, it's typically served made with American shrimp on a pile of pasta as a main course. I know that I am annoying about these things, but that ain't Italian. Not too bad though. Italians do not make pasta as a main course. Italians tend to be skinny.
Yeah, their lunch is our dinner. Their evening meal is spartan, like some soup. True, they often nap after their midday meal and close up shop for a couple of hours.
The best real Italian meals I've had were in Volterra. We have not been to Bologna yet, though. The big tourist places tend to make stuff that Americans and Asians think is Italian - like red sauce. Wrong.
And, because of my mood today, I'll be more annoying: Pizza in Italy is awful. For good pizza, go to NYC or New Haven. Yeah, it's junk food but fun with beer. I have a favorite pizza + beer joint in NYC, near the High Line in Chelsea. It's called Artichoke.
Department of Incorrections - Rather than inform its readers about the potential pitfalls of the city’s proposed open-ended debit-card program for migrants, the New York Times prefers to attack my reporting.
How to Cook Salmon So It Always Comes Out Perfectly - 
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It's complicated. "Scampi" means a large prawn-thing in Italian, so the American menu item "Shrimp Scampi" sort of means "Shrimp Shrimp."