Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Sunday, July 29. 2018Fun New England idea for September: The Big E
Info and tix here.
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NYC funThe best places to admire NYC’s incredible comeback A friend had a birthday dinner at Danny Meyer's new place, Manhatta, recently. Loved it. Loved the views, too. Bird du Jour: Loaves, and MacDonald's BirdsThat's what our pal Roger's wife terms them. English Sparrow, aka House Sparrow, aka Dumpster Birds, were imported from England in the early 1800s to help clean the NYC streets of horse manure and other detritus. Their population spread rapidly. They are not sparrows, they are a sort of european finch. Like rats, they are highly adapted to live amongst civilization, and can never be found in woods or meadows but they like working barns. This morning, I ripped up a large loaf of stale bread and tossed it in the driveway to do my version of Loaves and Fishes, without the fish. Within 15 minutes, the MacDonalds birds arrived. Their activity attracted a bunch of Grackles (native to North America), and then a handful of hungry Red Wing Blackbirds. A few chipmunks came out for breakfast, and finally a couple of Blue Jays. A Mourning Dove stopped by to have a taste. I fed multitudes. In 2 hours, it was all cleaned up. Photo is a female. You can see that they have a finch bill, not a sparrow's. From today's Lectionary: Loaves and fishesJohn 6:1-21
6:1 After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. 6:2 A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. 6:3 Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. 6:4 Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. 6:5 When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" 6:6 He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. 6:7 Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." 6:8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, 6:9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" 6:10 Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. 6:11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. 6:12 When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." 6:13 So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. 6:14 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, "This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world." 6:15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself. 6:16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea, 6:17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 6:18 The sea became rough because a strong wind was blowing. 6:19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. 6:20 But he said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid." 6:21 Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land toward which they were going. Saturday, July 28. 2018Female sex music: FeverBird du Jour: The flying cigarIt's not uncommon to see small family groups of Chimney Swifts overhead during the summer months. Wonderful fliers, catching bugs on the wing. I've seen parents pass a bug to a child, both on the wing. Cute. Their numbers have declined drastically over the past 40 years, for unclear reasons. Maybe more chimney caps, or steel flues. They need masonry flues to get a grip. My best Chimney Swift story is about the day one accidentally came down our old church's chimney and started flying around the church - on Pentecost! I finally was able to snatch it when it was banging against the window, and somebody opened the window and off it went like the Holy Spirit. There are a couple of other species of Swifts in the western US. If anybody can distinguish a Vaux from a Chimney Swift, good for you. Swifts spend the cooler months in the Amazon basin. Saturday morning linksFun: PT Barnum's Museum Barnum commuted by train from Bridgeport to NYC daily Annoying people in the grocery store Breaking news: “Men Are Programmed To Be Less Satisfied With One Sexual Partner” San Francisco Straw Update:
Will the Trend of Low Birth Rates Be Reversed? The Remaining Obstacle To President Trump's Plan For U.S. Energy Dominance How Social Science Might Be Misunderstanding Conservatives Economic growth hits 4.1 percent for second quarter Unmaking Affirmative Action How much does George Will hate Trump? Dershowitz: Who Leaked The Trump Tape? We should know who President Trump is financially beholden to — a lawsuit might make that happen Friday, July 27. 2018Friday morning linksThere’s water on Mars! Signs of buried lake tantalize scientists What is Transgenderism? It's a fad, like hula hoops and tattoos Chautauqua Institution’s Destruction. Chautauqua Institution was once a fine place to visit, many years ago. The long march through the institutions - it has worked VDH: The Strange Career of White Privilege Portland, Ore., to clean up 'disgusting' Occupy ICE camp, calling it biohazard Having Solved All Its Other Problems, San Francisco Looks To Ban Free Lunches Jane Fonda and Her Friendly North Vietnamese Intelligence Officer Liberal enclaves embrace noncitizen voting: 'I think this is another good step forward' Guy on the radio said that if Trump personally cured cancer, CNN would have on people saying "Trump doesn't care about people with heart disease." 78% Hillary Clinton, 12% Donald Trump... that's where I am on the "Extremely Detailed Map of the 2016 Election." Religious Conservative: I Didn't Vote for Trump to Be 'My Sunday School Teacher' More Americans than ever find Democrats out of the mainstream The American Left's Selective Outrage One becomes numb to constant outrage Mueller Digging Through Trump's Tweets To Make Obstruction Case Justice or vengeance? Obama Administration Knowingly Funded a Designated al-Qaeda Affiliate HUNDREDS of African Migrants Storm Border with Spain – Attack Guards with Sticks and Flame Throwers Trump, Iran and the New Guns of August - A serious conflict in the Strait of Hormuz is more likely, and closer, than people think. Thursday, July 26. 2018QQQ on deathLook, I really don’t want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you’re alive, you got to flap your arms and legs, you got to jump around a lot, you got to make a lot of noise, because life is the very opposite of death. And therefore, as I see it, if you’re quiet, you’re not living. I mean you’re just slowly drifting into death. So you’ve got to be noisy, or at least your thoughts should be noisy and colorful and lively. My liveliness is based on an incredible fear of death. In order to keep death at bay, I do a lot of “Yah! Yah! Yah!” And death says, “All right. He’s too noisy and busy. I’ll wait for someone who’s sitting quietly, half asleep. I’ll nail him. Why should I bother with this guy? I’ll have a lot of trouble getting him out the door.” There’s a little door they gotta get you through. “This will be a fight,” death says. “I ain’t got time.” Mel Brooks, 1975 interview Thursday morning links
Commenting function here was screwed up yesterday. Should be ok now. Photo: An Ohio bar got in trouble for that This guy got screwed by The Mob They are the Red Guard. It does have an intimidating effect. Jail Time For Handing Out Plastic Straws? Parking Has Eaten American Cities. A new study documents the huge amount of space taken up by parking, and the astronomical costs it represents, in five U.S. cities. Boot: Without The Russians, Trump Wouldn’t Have Won No doubt. The Russians got me to vote for Trump Trump Secures Concessions From Europeans To Avoid Trade War Bravo Nets Refuse to Declare Trump Victorious as E.U. Buckles on Trade In Trump-Cohen flap, Left and Right trade places from Clinton years Palestinian Authority Silences Students Israeli farmers scorched by latest attacks, coping with ecological disaster Craziest part of it is that Israel gives Gaza wheat China's Aggression Is Starting to Backfire Wednesday, July 25. 2018Is there any need to do accessory weight work?For general fitness/conditioning, probably not necessary and especially not if you do 2 hours of calis or calis classes weekly along with your 2-3 hrs/wk of mostly powerlift work. What are typical accessory weight exercises? Things like curls, calf raises, cable pulls and pushes of all sorts, leg press, lateral raises, leg curls, and many gym machine activities which target specific muscle groups. Typical compound-movement powerlift work (deadlift, rows, pullups, barbell squat, military press, bench press, maybe dumbbell lunges) strengthen pretty much all skeletal muscles - and your core too- and are more functional than isolated muscle exercises. (Most people do not do Olympic lifts but if you want to try them, go for it. With a coach, please.). There are a few exceptions. 1.Beginners often need accessory exercises for a few months before moving forward 2. Some accessory exercises can help ramp up your powerlifts. For example, I work on overhand curls and kettlebell Farmer's walks for my grip strength because that can be a limiting factor for my deadlifts. I have weak forearms. 3. Another exception is for bodybuilders who choose to focus on developing good-looking specific muscles. (That's not really about functional fitness, though - more about looking great naked.) We stand by our Fitness For Life recommendations for women and men of any age: 2-3 hours of mostly heavy weights, 2-3 hrs of calisthenics without heavy weights, about two half-hours of HIIT cardio, 1 hr of endurance cardio (replaceable with a 5-6 hr hike, bike ride, etc). Not counting hikes, a total of 6-7 hrs/week is sufficient - but no less than 2 hrs of real lifts with some accessories if needed to complete the hour) Wednesday morning linksGet the L Out: Lesbians Secede from LBGT Movement There’s A New Privilege In Town: ‘Thin Privilege’ The latest global warming scare might make you want to kill yourself PUERTO RICO HAS NO MONEY FOR ANYTHING EXCEPT GOVERNOR'S $245K LIMO US farmers group rejects Washington aid New Details Indicate Toronto Shooter May Have Expressed Support For ISIS Jihad Denial in Toronto: Hussain Was a Known Wolf Is Carter Page Really a Russian Agent? FUSION GPS DOUBTED THE CREDIBILITY OF A MAJOR DOSSIER SOURCE None Dared Call It Treason . . . When It Was a Democrat WaPo's Richard Cohen seems to be asking the right question, according to the headline, "Why people like Trump." I don't think people "like" Trump personally, but he is the peoples' weapon and they like what he does (not always) Bret Baier says Trump loves messing with biased reporters: 'He wants heads to explode' He trolls and controls France: Bring your own condoms Destructive international organizations and a second-best choice Tuesday, July 24. 2018Disney for Adults?
From what I hear, it's popular with midwesterners and vets. The Villages Retirement Community: 'Disney World for Adults' - The largest retirement community in the nation allows the elderly to stay young at heart. This guy, who lives there, offers a clear-eyed view of the place, along with a thoughtful discussion of retirement options in general.
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Tuesday morning linksThe Vindication of Cheese, Butter, and Full-Fat Milk - A new study exonerates dairy fats as a cause of early death, even as low-fat products continue to be misperceived as healthier. Most in US think cannabis has health benefits, despite lack of data Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man: Mel Brooks in His 90s. The comic has stormed though 75 years of show business; he remains prodigal in expression, memory, and imagination. The Rise And Rise Of The UK’s Student Sugar Babies Prof Boudreaux hates economic nationalism The problem, Prof, is that all countries practice it Despite getting no respect, US manufacturing is alive and well with record output at falling prices What liberals (still) get wrong about Trump's support - After each outrage, progressives believe supporters will drain away. On the contrary: he is giving them what they want It's been nearly two years since Hillary lost. Let's look on Twitter to see how her supporters are handling the loss. VDH: Just How Far Will the Left Go? Sanctuary for felons: WHAT DO VOTERS CARE ABOUT? ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, FOR ONE THING Trump Didn’t Betray America. He Wants To Restore The Old U.S.-Russia Alliance. ALL THE PRESIDENT’S HACKS: MEDIA FAKE NEWS FUELED OBAMA’S WATERGATE FISA application shows how the media allowed Obama to eavesdrop on Republicans. Yes, There Could Be Serious Legal Problems if Obama Admin Involved in Illegal Surveillance Monday, July 23. 2018Monet by Manet
Place was jammed with foreign tourists. I don't blame them. We had to walk through the deplorable and creepy "Heavenly Bodies" show (Fashion and Catholicism) to get to the Public Parks, Private Gardens- Paris to Provence - show before it closes. A good historical view of the invention of public outdoor spaces with dynamite pictures. Coolest thing in the exhibit? A video of Monet painting in Giverny in old age, rapid painting, the cigarette in his mouth threatening to ignite his bushy Santa Claus beard. I took just one snap: Manet's picture of Monet puttering in his garden, with his family. 1873. The label said that, later in that day, Monet did a picture of Manet painting a garden picture.
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Monday morning linksWhat Is the Christian Idea of 'Heaven'? 5 Modern Myths People Need to Stop Believing Elon Musk is a total fraud The "indigenous man in the hole" — the last survivor of an uncontacted Amazon tribe — who has lived alone for at least 22 years. Thank-you notes matter David Warren on settling for dependency Vanderleun's "bad thoughts" about the University District Janus is only the beginning The NEA Is A Racist and Evil Organization Z-man: The truth of life is that politics is about power. First you seize power and then vae victis. MSNBC WORRIED AMERICANS MIGHT THINK CAPITALISM ‘IS WORKING FOR THEM’ Texas to pass Iraq and Iran as world's No. 3 oil powerhouse REFUGEES FROM WAR-TORN SYRIA NOW FLEEING NEW JERSEY BECAUSE OF HIGH TAXES AND VIOLENCE Report: How Noncitizens Vote in Allegheny County, PA Scott Walker is a Russian spy Gregg Jarrett Calls Out Liar Comey After Carter Page FISA Warrant Docs Confirm FBI Misled Courts For Democrats the Problem Is Their Message, Not the System THE LEFT'S EMBARRASSING PLEA FOR OPEN BORDERS Trump May Be Absolutely Right To Pursue This New Bromance With Putin Why do Democrats want another Cold War? FISA warrant application supports Nunes memo THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LIES ABOUT THE FISA APPLICATION In letter to Trump, Mexican president-elect vows improvements to deter migration WaPo Basically Admits That Mexico Is A S***Hole Country Sunday, July 22. 2018Gal impressed meProbably 50 years old, petite but not skinny, cute face, tight body. Perhaps a bit of facial youtherizing. Out of the corner of my eye while I was going through my jump-rope routines I watched her place a high box under the bar, jump up onto the bar and proceed to perform 12 chin-ups. I thought she would never finish. After a rest and some water, two more times. She is doing fitness-maintenance. No visible muscles, just toned. Watching her proved several things to me that I knew anyway: Regular non-athlete women can develop good upper-body strength, people can be very strong and fit without notable muscle, and I suck at pull-ups as I do at many life challenges. Watching three skinny wiry guys, my roofers these 2 weeks, carrying two packages of 80 lb. shingles (each) on their shoulders up high ladders. That is not just strength, it is balance and agility too. In other words, athleticism. Worthy of admiration and envy. If nothing else, God and nature and life teaches humility every day. Like it's their job. Maybe it is. Sometimes I wonder whether humility is a psycho-vitamin which, like Vit D from sunshine, we obtain from investing in life challenges. On the other hand, no rewards, however modest, from our efforts are dispiriting instead of healthily humbling. That is a drag for sure. From today's LectionaryPsalm 23 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 23:3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name's sake. 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff-- they comfort me. 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD my whole life long. Saturday, July 21. 2018Saturday morning linksSelf Control: The Overlooked Key to Wealth and Health Texas Dad Delivers His Own Daughter In A Chick-Fil-A Bathroom That's a real guy. Catching a baby is not rocket science, but they come out as slippery and squirmy as a trout. Ireland Could Be Visited By Great White Sharks Due To ‘Climate Change’ Or Something Guess what? Great Whites live everywhere Trudeau's tough climate polices face a mounting backlash Baltimore Restaurants Banned From Including Sodas, Sugary Drinks On Kids’ Menus No fruit juices either, I hope NYC's war against Air B&B Dozens of fake charities scammed donations for veterans then pocketed the cash: FTC TED Speaker: ‘Pedophilia is an Unchangeable Sexual Orientation, Just Like… Heterosexuality’ That could be true Higher Ed: Murray Sperber’s Beer and Circus — As Relevant as Ever after 18 Years The next phase in America’s War on Poverty Is the “Mainstream” Media the Enemy of the People? Dershowitz: Trump Critics 'Going Over the Top' With Treason Cries Rosenstein unleashed the most awesome powers of a special counsel to investigate an allegation that the key FBI officials, driving the investigation for 10 months beforehand, did not think was “there.” Your tax dollars at work: Manhattan Madam Subpoenaed by Robert Mueller John Brennan, Obama's CIA director, admits egging on the FBI's probe of Trump and Russia Good Scott Adams podcast: How the White House is Executing a Brutally Effective High Ground Persuasion Play Trump embarrasses Hillary on Russia with video tweet What Are Democrats Running On? KEITH ELLISON DEMANDS AMAZON CENSOR THE DAVID HOROWITZ FREEDOM CENTER Hungary Quits UN Migration Pact, Calls it a ‘Threat to the World’ Get Over It—Israel Is the Jewish State US report finds only 20,000 Palestinian refugees in the world Sierra NevadasFrom our pal Gwynnie's summer place: " 88’ at 4:30pm and smoke from a wildfire 200 miles away has nearly obscured the mountains and ridge surrounding our valley. However, mountain weather dictates that it will be 67’ by 9pm and 46’ by 6am just as it was 49’ this morning."
Friday, July 20. 2018Friday morning linksBurberry destroyed $38 million worth of clothing and cosmetics — and people are really upset Entitled students demand #RegradeSAT Is Aging A Disease? Good News: Meat And Dairy Companies Are Worse Than Fossil Fuel Companies Let them eat cake Obama Trashes the Rich: “There’s Only So Big a House You Can Have” …After Obamas Just Bought $8.1 Million House U.S. weekly jobless claims hit more than 48-and-a-half-year low Interesting to see how many people are suddenly cured from their disabilities Another Joke From The Mueller Gang Gallup Shows How Much Americans Really Care About The "Situation With Russia" Reminder: The Russians Targeted Republicans, GOP, and Trump Himself In Their Spearfishing and Hacking Schemes, Too Mukasey: What was Putin up to? Spies gotta spy. It's their job UK Newspaper Whitewashes Religious Affiliation of Rotherham Muslim Grooming Gang SAVED FROM SOCIALISM: U.S. Saves Baby Oliver After U.K. Doctors Said His Heart Couldn’t Be Fixed Governments ration medical care. Is that news? Siege of Vienna: Why Poland Won’t Submit to Muslim Colonization Thursday, July 19. 2018New England Real Estate: Dublin, NHThis nice summer cottage is for sale, with 20 acres. Dublin (year-round population 800 really nice people, summer pop 1400, also nice outdoorsy people), no drugs, no crime, no poachers - has plenty of lower-maintenance and less expensive places for sale. I learned, over the years, that with houses (as with boats) you buy not what you can afford, but what you can afford to maintain.
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Balanced fitness: Strong legs with power and good enduranceCan you crack a coconut between your thighs? It makes sense to divide conditioning efforts into anatomical categories like Lower Body: Legs/Lower back; Upper body: Chest/Upper Back/Arms; and Core, even though most exercises use some of everything. It is obvious that legs with strength and endurance provide and maintain basic functionality for men and women regardless of age, so let's use Legs/Lower body as an example for applying the Maggie's 3-category fitness model (resistance, calis, and cardio). What can we do, in each of our exercise categories, to push our lower bodies towards further strength and endurance? Basic lower body-related routines are below. Rule #1: IF IT ISN'T HARD, IT ISN'T EXERCISE. Our deplorable inner lazy-ass quitter is our enemy in life. Heavy resistance for lower body strength: Deadlifts Lower body-oriented Calisthenics for muscle application and agility (many or most of these are included in typical cardio/calis gym classes) High Step-ups (with or without kettlebell) Mostly lower-body Cardio and HIIT Cardio for endurance: Longer Jogs and short sprints. Nothing long enough to promote arthritis. 20-30 minutes with jogs + sprints is enough. It's the sprints that build endurance anyway. There are many other things and variations to do but we try to keep it simple.
Thursday morning links“In Two Worlds” by Ido Kedar — living with non-verbal autism I don't know what to make of that Global warming hiatus for ~2 more decades? ‘Climate Change’ Will Kill Your Internet In 15 Years Or Something K-12: An Insidious Inside Job Citizenship No Longer Required to Vote in School Board Elections in San Francisco Obama: “Men Have Been Getting on My Nerves Lately”… Democrats' 'Sudden' Hard-Left Turn Has Been Years In The Making Keith Ellison Claims Having National Borders Is An 'Injustice' Comey: Anyone Voting Republican This Fall Is Un-American The ADL Chooses Anti-Trump over Anti-Semitism Intel Chair: FBI, DOJ Obstructing Trump Probe in Hope of Dem Takeover in Congress Also, “After seven or eight months of stonewalling, we realized they [the FBI and DOJ] had no intelligence in the opening of that [counterintelligence] investigation.” For Those Insistent That We Must Fight a Hypothetical Future War on Behalf of Montenegro, Because American Honor Demands It: You Know, It's Not Too Late to Declare War on Russia for the Ukraine The question Americans should be asking, Carlson says, is whether NATO is still “serving America’s interests or is it imperilling them.” Once Again, President Trump Is Magnificently Right—This Time About Russia Trump’s fawning performance in Helsinki has only lent credence to the worst theories about him THE LEFT’S TRUMP-PUTIN MELTDOWN - Just another nail in the coffin of the Leftist establishment’s credibility. "The reaction by most of the media, by the Democrats, by the anti-Trump people is like mob violence. I've never seen anything like it in my life." The outrage machine 24/7 MSNBC Exposes Russia-Linked Twitter Account… Not Knowing It’s a Parody Account It’s Undeniable: Trump Is Blessed With Really Stupid Enemies
Iranian militias test Israel with advance on Golan Heights Trump is winning the trade war because China has more to lose Wednesday, July 18. 2018Dublin, NHMrs. BD spent a couple of days in Dublin. Quaint tiny picturesque village in southern NH within view of Mt. Monadnock. As her pic shows, it's the home of Yankee Magazine (and of The Olde Farmer's Almanac).
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