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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Saturday, May 27. 2017Owl du Jour: The Barred Owl, with a comment about invasive speciesA friend tried to email an iPhone pic of the Barred Owl snoozing on a branch right off his deck, but the photo didn't come through. Regardless, this is my favorite local owl. While we usually think of the Barred Owl as a species of the lowlands, and the Great Horned as the similar nighttime predator of the uplands (mice and rabbits get no rest in this world), the Barred can be a regular forest bird. A couple of weeks ago, I heard one every early morning in Georgia in the piney woodland. We have had a pair nesting in a thick Hemlock grove on a rocky hillside above a flood plain at the Farm for many years. They use an old crow or hawk nest, not a nest hole. The thing with owls is that it is great fun to see them, but even more fun and weird to hear them. If you are listing birds, hearing is as good as seeing. Speaking of owls, no pair of Screech Owls have chosen my $45 Screech Owl nest box, and I am disappointed because it is perfectly situated. And at the same time I have seen them use Wood Duck boxes on tiny islands in the middle of ponds, which seems stupid and almost guaranteed to drown the chicks. Crazy thing about Barred Owl: The experts want to kill thousands of them in the Pacific Northwest because they are "competing" with Spotted Owl. That is how some environmentalists think: Destroy the village to save it. It's like they want to kill immigrants with a slightly different color. Fact is, the Spotted is a west coast variant of the Barred. They interbreed, thus different races, same species. I am all in favor of trying to destroy invasive species which threaten a stable, precious ecosystem (eg Burmese Python in Everglades, or Australian Pine in Florida and the Bahamas. "Invasive" usually means introduced by man, not critters and plants moving on their own. I can think of one bird species that moved to North America: The Cattle Egret, blown over to the New World by hurricanes from Africa. They found their niche and fit right in. Some man-introduced plants never become invasive in the sense of dominating an existing ecosystem. I am thinking of things like the Norway Maple which shades many urban streets, the Norway Spruce, - and the apple. Nobody complains about the occasional wild apple "escape" growing in a brushy forest edge. Some new species dominate, some just fit in unobtrusively and harmlessly. Killing a Barred Owl is a sin unless you intend to dine on it.
Saturday morning linksNeed a stuffed ostrich? Get one here I prefer plastic Flamingos An American hitchhiker meets a Swiss miss in her hometown. They spend three lovely days together, then part forever — or so they thought. Warren: Vietnam Revisited Jerusalem Day - 50th Anniversary (video) Google now mingles everything you've bought with everywhere you've been - (And everything you've seen) Welcome to 'Closing the Loop' Men Aren't Allowed to Criticize 'Safe Spaces' Sen. Grassley releases report on Wounded Warrior Project spending Evergreen State College biology professor Bret Weinstein is swarmed and cursed and hounded by students who are scarily deluded about their own righteousness. Bullies Interesting: The Only Way To Solve Hotcoldwetdry Is To Solve Inequality “next, let’s sue because the weather was bad for my picnic today” ‘Deja Vu All Over Again’ As Connecticut Unveils Governor Malloy’s Marvel Blue State Blues McCaleb: Public pensions in some ways mirror Madoff’s Ponzi scheme Political Violence From the Left Continues Garnering Zero Condemnation in Leftist Media How Team Obama tried to hack the election
CBO Is Wrong And Its Numbers Shouldn't Deter Needed Reform Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin Why? Manchester Suicide Bomber Used Student Loan And Benefits To Fund Terror Plot I had a friend who used his student loan to buy a Bass Boat THE 240-YEAR EVOLUTION OF THE US ARMY SIDEARMFriday, May 26. 2017Prof. Peterson at Harvard: Postmodernism & the Mask of Compassion
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Friday morning links
Non headline du Jour: Explosive Revelation of Obama Administration Illegal Surveillance of Americans - The NSA intentionally and routinely intercepted communications of American citizens in violation of the Constitution. The "deep State" is an enemy of us Americans The times they are a-litigious: Kyoto University gets billed for using Bob Dylan lyrics in speech Acquittal for Man Who Argued His Impressive Penis Was To Blame For Girlfriend’s Choking Death Woman Sues Candymaker for Its Sugar-Filled Jelly Beans Is preventive medical care worth the cost? The cost to society? No. To me, yes. "Society" doesn't care about you or me. We have to take care of ourselves. Some Black Lives Don’t Matter - Black-on-black homicide is rampant, but professional agitators couldn’t care less. Racism: The Last Refuge of Us All? Student Mob Shrieks at Professor Who Objected to Event That Kicks White People Off Campus for a Day ‘I Might . . . Pull Off a Leg or Two’ - A shocking new undercover video exposes the grisly reality of ripping apart fetuses. Climate Scientist Michael Mann Borrows the Words of a Holocaust Survivor to Express His Personal Angst Thought Leaders: Disgruntled Chelsea Clinton Suggests Republicans are Racist, Islamophobic NY Post: We’ve grown too comfortable with terror, ending teacher tenure & other comments Farmer on trial for plowing his own land Teacher of the Year Commits the Unpardonable Sin: Working at a Charter State Dept. Redacts Big Chunks of $22.8 Mil Contract to Resettle Muslim Refugees Since when do I have to pay to settle immigrants? It is meant to be challenging. Legislative Malpractice: the CBO Scores the American Health Care Act What the CBO’s “Uninsured” Score Really Means THE DEMOCRATS’ SECOND SECESSION & AMERICA’S NEW CIVIL WAR - How to look at the bizarre turn our political life has taken. Simon: Leakers and Journalists Are Destroying Our Republic Trump's Budget to Preserve the Swamp? New at Reason - Republicans dodge another opportunity to rein in spending. Berlin: Obama, Merkel Stage Side-Event, As Trump Meets European Leaders The media are totally trolling Trump on Russia Trump talks terrorism while Europe shouts ‘Climate!’ Desperate Liberals Try To Blame The Manchester Terror Attack On Anyone Other Than Islamic Terrorists What is Terrorism? What do Terrorists Even Want? Terrorism is not an ideology like communism or capitalism When the FBI discovered a network of Bosnian-Americans giving support to terrorists, they also discovered Abdullah Ramo Pazara, a U.S. citizen and a battalion commander in Syria. Losers, as Trump said Goodbye ISIS, Hello Losers Terror potential in Germany's immigrant population quadruples, German feds say Iran says it has built third underground ballistic missile factory James Naismith
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Thursday, May 25. 2017Black SnakesThere are several black-colored snakes in the US. Notably, the Eastern Black Rat Snake, the Western Black Rat Snake, and the Black Racer. Maybe the southern Indigo Snake can sometimes look like a black snake. They are all wonderful, large critters and all can climb, but the Racers less so. They tend not to be wanderers, with home ranges of only around 30 acres so they know their way around. Naturally, they prefer rodent-rich home ranges, but they will always raid bird nests for eggs or babies in the Spring. The Black Rat Snakes seem to prefer a mixed habitat with woodland edges, fields, plenty of brambles, and a pond, stream, or marsh. Is that a frightening photo? Only if you identify with the baby birds instead of with the hungry snake. Or is it strangely sexual? Why are gals so often afraid of snakes while guys find them interesting? Can you ID that snake? And have you seen any cool snakes lately? Thursday morning linksFiery Dolce & Gabbana designer hits back at critics who attacked him for dressing Melania Trump in one of his $2900 blazers She looks great in anything - or nothing. She's a good sport to go along with Trump's crazy Presidential reality TV adventure Trump sells Vatican to Pope Francis for 2.5 million Trump debuts in Europe as Obama returns to stir nostalgia for the old days How do you like Michelle's outfit? She is 53. The real reasons for Marvel Comics' woes Men need frequent ejaculations (h/t Insty of course) Government’s “Dietary fat guidelines have no evidence base” Never did. Fat is good for you. The docs got it wrong too - without evidence. Invention of the Curveball How whales became the largest animals The Suburbs Are Still Where It’s At for raising families Job Security Is Disappearing -- What Does It Mean For You? School-Choice Movement Expects Gains under Trump Administration NYC PR parade sponsors refuse to honor unrepentant terrorist I am for PR independence too, but this guy is a murderer Trump wants to deport MS-13 gang members. El Salvador is dreading their return. Security services find more bomb-making materials in hunt for UK terror network Manchester Bomber’s Father Arrested in Tripoli Europe chose to sacrifice its children to the Islamic Moloch Progressive Fantasy Of The Day: Healthcare As A "Human Right" Let's make health a right HHS REPORT: Average Health Insurance Premiums Doubled Since 2013 Of course. It covers many more things CBO: House-approved health care bill to lower premiums, stabilize marketplace Sanctuary cities lose access to federal grants that require complying with federal immigration law – cue the histrionics Bob Woodward digs at 'smug' media, weighs in on President Trump's odds of finishing first term Joe Concha Trashes the Media in 2017: It ‘Sticks to Your Boots,’ Cites MRC How Foreign Aid Hurts Famine Relief in Somalia The United Nations’ 'Lords of Poverty' - The foreign aid industry is a racket. Leakers who revealed Israel as intelligence source did far more damage than Trump The Islamic State and the End of Lone-Wolf Terrorism Non-Western Immigrants Consume 59% Of Denmark’s Tax Revenue Trump has done what Obama didn’t: Scare NATO into closer tracking of defense spending Wednesday, May 24. 2017Roger Moore, RIP
An episode from The Saint (1965). It's an oldie but goodie - h/t SDA
Wednesday morning links
Subprime 2.0: Lending a $1 Trillion to People With No Proof of Job or Income White-Owned Restaurants Shamed for Serving Ethnic Food: It's Cultural Appropriation Byron York: At this rate, it won't matter if Trump colluded with Russia Twitter Co-Founder: I Thought Free Speech Could Make the World a ‘Better Place’, ‘I Was Wrong’ The European Union Wants to Censor Hate Speech on Social Media Steyn: As I asked around Europe all last year: What's the happy ending here? ABC News Frets Over Potential “Anti-Islamic Backlash” After Manchester Terror Attack… Vanderleun: Learning to hate Islam Syria Has Effectively Ceased to Exist The Palis: There Won’t Be Peace While the Power Is Out Photo below: The suicide bomber's mosque in Manchester
Tuesday, May 23. 2017SublimeThe familiar Rondo from Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4
A cardio/calisthenic ("Conditioning") group class
If you did something like this 4-5X/wk, with nothing else, your cardio fitness and physique would definitely improve after 6 months, but your strength and muscle only slightly. At 6 am, the class was packed (about 40 people) with about half men, half women. Quite a few grey hairs in there, at least a quarter but it's hard to tell with the women because no women seem to go grey around here - it must be the water. I'd say ages 30-75. They say "All levels welcome." My trainer thinks those classes are BS, but I thought it seemed like an excellent and varied workout, high intensity with no lowering of heart rate and blood pressure and only light hand weights. The only rests I saw were on a 15 second count, or planks. There were many sorts of body shapes in there (but no serious fatties, and no muscle-heads) and many levels of fitness but all did their damndest to keep up the pace set by the trainer. Here's what I saw from my jump-roping view: They began with about 5 minutes of stretches, and warm-ups with things like sumos and slow jogging in place. Then most of the routines were about 30 seconds each and some were repeated in a circuit: Air squats, jumping jacks, straight-arm planks, push-ups, high-knee jogging in place, step-ups, calf-raises, mountain climbers, jumping burpees, air squats with overhead press hand weights, sit-ups, supermans, air squats with forward hand weights, heavy ball floor slams, heavy ball throw and catch, fast standing twists with heavy ball, wall sits, lunges with hand weights, kettlebell swings, kettlebell walks and kettlebell shrugs. I thought it was a fine, pretty intense hour of cardio-calis and I think I will find a way to fit that into my schedule, altho 6 am is late for me, because mixing cardio and calis is time-efficient and the group is motivating. Plus the classes are free for gym members. Yes, you could do it all on your own - but probably wouldn't. Nobody walked out of that gym room with a sprightly step - all beaten up good. That's a good sign. If it were easy, that would be bad. I would have been dripping and dragging too. Well, I was anyway after doing my own routine. Good way to begin the day with a good head and a peaceful soul.
Tuesday morning links5 Tips On Learning To Carry Your Grief Birth Rates are at Historic Lows and Here's a Major Reason Not to mention birth control Whole Foods Would Look a Lot Different If It Were Science-Based Dumb article, slightly correct The median grade at Harvard College is an A-, and the most frequently awarded mark is an A. PRINCETON CHOSE MINORITY STUDENTS BASED ON AMOUNT OF "CULTURAL FLAVOR" GOOD NEWS: Arctic Doom Pushed Off Till 2040 I can wait, but then it will be pushed off to the year 2100 and I do not have that much patience Coyote: Your labor regulation of the day Farm Handouts Are Out of Control. Here Are 5 Reasons to Target Them in the Budget. Corporate welfare California’s single-payer plan costs $400 billion — twice the state’s entire budget A reader asked Arnold Kling: In light of everything that has happened in the last few years, have you changed your mind on anything? Elizabeth Warren Challenged By Real Indians To Prove She Has Indian Ancestry Challenged by both Dot and Feather Indians Appeals Ct to Consider Fate of Elizabeth Warren’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Codevilla's The Cold Civil War: It's called "freedom" The Media Spreads Fake News About Ivanka Trump MSM Began To Mention Trump’s Impeachment During His First Week In Office Schlicter: His not being Hillary Clinton was and remains my sole expectation of Donald Trump’s presidency Ditto. Monday, May 22. 2017Today's bit of the sublime
Va Pensiero, from Verdi's Nabucco. The singers are Hebrew slaves in Babylon. Lyrics (Italian and English) here.
Monday morning links
Toon above via Powerline SHEER LUNACY ON CAMPUS - When kindergarten meets totalitarianism. THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF HIGHER EDUCATION Via Dinocrat:
Against Free Speech: Merkel, May (and Macron) WaPo: Across America, whites are biased and they don’t even know it Interracial marriages: Study Finds Massive Shift in US Marriages Crushing on Crushers - Why do intellectuals fall in love with dictators and totalitarians? Unemployment Claims At Lowest Level In 28 Years CA Dem Chair: ‘All Together Now: F*ck Donald Trump!’ as Crowd Holds Up Two Middle Fingers The Underreported Success of the Trump Presidency President Trump gives masterful speech Leaking of Trump’s slip made it worse Trump aides had ‘intervention’ to curb his tweeting: report Harvard agrees: Trump press coverage sets ‘new standard for negativity’ A Coup Attempt, Not a Constitutional Crisis Continetti: 'Paranoia, Hysteria' Enveloping Trump's Washington Ruddy to ABC's Stephanopoulos: Trump Suffers from Media 'Barrage' Dems are gunning for Trump — here’s how he can survive Sunday, May 21. 2017Tomato growing temperaturesIn New England, with our relatively brief growing season, it is difficult to have a crop of tropical and subtropical fruits like tomatoes for more than several weeks - mainly August-mid-September. Unless you are on the coast, it is hardly worth bothering to grow tomatoes (other than cherry tomatoes which ripen quickly) from mid- Massachusetts, north. Some people, with more drive than I have, construct polyurethane tents, like greenhouses, to give their tomatoes a head start on the season. It is of minimal effectiveness. Why? Because tomato plants do not like to grow until nighttime temperatures are consistently above 60 degrees F. They might make an effort, but without vigor. Raise the night temperature and they grow like weeds. That's why putting them in early doesn't make sense unless it's your only chance to get them in at all. Experienced gardeners around here aim for putting them in around Memorial Day and their crops are generally more productive than those who try to jump the season. The domestic tomato was bred, probably by Aztecs in Central America, into a useful food (as they did with the tomatillo). A brief History of Tomatoes. The wild version of tomato seems to be the Currant Tomato, a perennial vine with berry-like green fruit. By now, that plant has so widely cross-bred with man-made tomato that the wild type may be extinct. All of the modern colors, including bright red, are relatively recent genetic inventions. Every tomato today (including "heritage") is a testament to GMO - the slow kind achieved by the Aztecs up through the 20th century. Grey hairIt's a mystery to me why, since I began a serious exercise program almost exactly two years ago, grey hairs are growing out brown, and my hair is thicker. So testifies my Sicilian barber of 20 years. My body has changed in many desirable ways - less fat, more muscle, cut abdomen (somewhat), better posture, tougher all over - but I do not exercise my hair at all and use no Rogaine, no hair dye. Could it just be diet? I have tried to up my protein intake and go very easy on carbs except maybe in restaurants. I love mashed taters. Or potato chips which I also love. I tend to avoid vegetables unless in a Thai concoction, or unless cooked in garlic and oil. Or in bacon. Tomato is not a vegetable. I also tend to avoid fruit unless in a banana or strawberry protein smoothie because I do not like sweet things very much and, when I want some, it is never satisfying and makes me feel uncomfortable. I have always preferred savory to sweet. Generally-speaking, my program has lowered my appetite quite a bit so I focus on protein because I am told to. I do like a steak sandwich. One case is just an anecdote, so it means nothing. I do wonder, though. Hair is mostly genetic but this change is odd. From today's Lectionary: In Him we live...Acts 17:22-31 17:22 Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 17:23 For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things. 17:26 From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 17:27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him--though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 17:28 For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.' 17:29 Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 17:30 While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 17:31 because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." Frederick Law Olmstead
She emailed a pic from his garden
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Saturday, May 20. 2017Saturday free ad for BobMr. Vanderleun found this excellent recording of the haunting anthem Not Dark Yet from Dylan's 1997 Time Out of Mind album. Was it that long ago? Sheesh, the time is runnin' away. A commenter on Youtube:
There is only one French salad dressingThere is only one French salad dressing - mustard vinaigrette with shallots. This guy learned how to make it. No reason to ever use anything else other than laziness (I can be lazy and I like to put Ken's Steak House salad dressing from Costco on tomato slices). The only French variation is to add tarragon or to use tarragon vinegar. I don't care much for tarragon flavor although it grows vigorously in my garden. Tarragon Chicken is a classic, but I don't care for it. Isn't it strange that commercial "French Dressing" and "Russian Dressing" are American inventions? So is commercial "Italian dressing." Well, they all taste ok. Russian is great on a roast beef sammich. What is a genuine Italian salad dressing? Salt, olive oil, vinegar (3 parts oil to one part vinegar). Toss it extensively - 30 times seems to be an Italian standard. You can add a few drops of Balsamic to that if you want, or use lemon juice (very Sicilian) instead of vinegar. Without salt, salad is not edible. It's barely edible anyway because it is rodent food and minimally-digestible by humans. I figure if you want to eat greens, eat a herbivore instead because they have the tools to break down and digest cellulose and thus the contents of greens. We do not. Saturday morning links: We got "content" today!
A new shade of blue More on that dinosaur fossil What Changed The Green Sahara Into A Desert? Fossil fuels? Graphic Novels Are Trending in English Departments "Graphic novels" is an academic term for comic books. Next, coloring books. Re "graphic novels," I did read Maus. I recommend it, but not as literature. Same with Ros Chast's Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?: A Memoir Swallow a single balloon, lose 34 pounds Cool Tampons in Men’s Rooms? It’s Just a Small Part of ‘Menstrual Equity’ Not cool. I mean like totally uncool. Sheesh. Condoms might make sense. Hava Nagila’s Long, Strange Trip - The unlikely history of a Hasidic melody. UK Government Moves Aggressively To Censor & Control The Internet Extremely creepy. 1984. Survey: 60% of Millennials Don't Believe in Right and Wrong Chabad: The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin Connecticut, the wealthiest U.S. state, may be tapped out on taxing the rich Canada: Some guy in trouble for advocating cultural appropriation Chanel's $1,325 boomerang condemned as 'cultural appropriation' I am completely in favor of cultural appropriation - including boomerangs. Also, hot peppers (stolen from Mexico)
A stubborn oil glut despite OPEC cuts The NYT: LOOMING FLOODS, THREATENED CITIES Scared yet? If so, stop driving and stop heating your house. California Governor Brown imposing massive regulations for meaningless climate goals Authoritarian Moonbattery in Action: Cuomo’s Closing of Indian Point "Evil Eyes" Cuomo destroying his state one step at a time Harvard Study Reveals Huge Extent of Anti-Trump Media Bias Trump Officials: ‘He Looks More and More Like a Complete Moron’ McArdle: Trump unfit for office As Leaks Pile Up, It’s Evident Trump Is Under Attack From His Own Staff From Legal Insurrection:
Friday, May 19. 2017The Palais GarnierA friend emailed pics from a performance of the Paris Opera Ballet this week:
Venezuela, Socialist Peoples' ParadiseI noticed Why the Left Refuses to Talk About Venezuela Then I noticed Francis Menton, who begins:
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