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, February 19. 2017Michael Novak, RIPFrom today's LectionaryLeviticus 19:1-2, 9-18
Crested ButteFrom a friend skiing at Crested Butte yesterday. I have skied Telluride, which is up the road a piece, but not Crested. More dramatic views than New England, but all ski views are wonderful.
Saturday, February 18. 2017Correcting my mistake
I regret any times I have linked those sorts of things because everybody's starting point is different and natural strength and body type vary enormously across people. For example, shorter guys with shorter arms can lift much better than taller guys. While I feel it is essential to have exercise goals to avoid going through the motions, the only reasonable short-term goals are to be stronger and fitter than you were a month ago. I think it is fun to make 4-month fitness goals, but they should be based on where you are, and not somebody else's (except your trainer's, if you use one). Look, nobody reading Maggie's (I think) is a Lifter-lifter. They are fitness lifters like me. This is reasonable: How Strong Should I Be For My Age, Size, Height, Weight & Gender?
Saturday morning linksPhotos of the week Everything We Know So Far About the Howards End TV Show Every vehicle in the presidential motorcade, explained How Often Do Airplanes Hit Deer? Cartwheeling Substitute Teacher Exposed Self To High School Choir Class It's educational Do as I say, not as I do - Chicago Public Schools From California, a Progressive Cry for State’s Rights - The birthplace of the modern conservative movement is now the leader of a Trump resistance founded on federalism. FRACKERS HAVE DONE MORE THAN THE SIERRA CLUB EVER DID The rebellion at the EPA is far from over Do agencies run this country? Note to the Left: Four Years Ago, Conservatives Were Just as Depressed Washington Post: We Aren’t Biased! With One Tweet, Chuck Todd Reveals The Truth About the Mainstream Media The NY Times Is Pretty Upset Over Trump’s Press Conference Associated Press Runs #FakeNews Story About Planned Roundup Of Illegals By National Guard A Sign That Obamacare Exchanges Are Failing Killing ObamaCare the Cloward-Piven Way Betsy DeVos: I'd be 'fine' if we could ditch the Education Department Same here.Not a job for the Feds No 'strongman,' Trump is besieged by institutions Black Trump Supporter Blasts Sanctuary Cities: “All the Jobs Are Going to Illegals!” "When my people do a crime, they get three strikes, your people do a crime, they get amnesty" Trump Declares CNN, NYT, CBS, ABC And NBC Are "The Enemy of The American People" Epstein: My Biggest Post-Trump Fear: A Progressive Revival The Anti-Trump ‘Resistance’ in Red States - “This isn’t a fad, it’s not going away, and there’s nothing coastal or elite about it.” France's Le Pen faces new challenges from EU Parliament, UN "Far right wing"? No she is not Ordinary bird du jour: Tufted Titmouse Sounds like a fine nickname for a beloved female. Not to mention that this bird's loud springtime call is "Peter,Peter,Peter." These chickadee-like non-migratory birds of the eastern US are mostly invisible most of the year except around winter bird-feeders when they welcome handouts of sunflower seeds. Friday, February 17. 2017Friday morning linksThe Ultimate Pursuit in Hunting: Bighorn Sheep Every Picture Tells - The art world is now a province of politics, alas. Use By' Date on Your Milk May Start to Actually Mean Something Soon What's the Reno Cure for Valentines Gone Wrong? D-I-V-O-R-C-E. South Carolina Boeing workers reject unionization bid Obama Stimulus Funds Went to California Dam in ‘Good Shape,’ But Not Oroville A Climate Scientist Is Smeared for Blowing the Whistle on ‘Corrected’ Data FAKE SCIENCE GETS SMOKED—AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Race and Rising Violent Crime New York Educrats Figure Out How to Boost Graduation Rates Illegal aliens too terrified to apply for welfare Nearly 2 million non-citizen Hispanics illegally registered to vote - Survey bolsters analysis by professors Jewish virtue-signalling about Muslim immigration is suicidal Olympic Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad Joins the Hate Hoax List And yet another: Another Fake Hate Crime Exposed 60% of Refugee Arrivals Since Judge Halted Trump’s Order Come From 5 Terror-Prone Countries U.S. Economy Hits All-Time Low in Freedom Index Trump's new strategy: Hulk smash Trump’s in trouble. Is it Christie time already? Welcome Back to the Medical Underwriting Circle of Hell Another insurer threatens to pull out of ObamaCare Sorry media — this press conference played very different with Trump’s supporters The Media Bulls Have Met Their Matador in Trump In Fiery, "Surreal" Press Conference, Trump Launches War On The Media They declared war on him months ago For Your “Trump Is Hitler!” Relatives, a Dose of Reality A Renaissance for Small Aircraft Carriers? Thursday, February 16. 2017Why the Fitness For Life Triad for adults? Strength + Calisthenics + Cardio = A balanced diet of exercise for all ages We need strength training (weight training) to prevent muscle atrophy, to build muscle and bone, to maintain our best functionality, and so we can do Calisthenics and play sports with force. Also, to look good. Looking good does matter in life. We need Calisthenics (which includes sports) to make full use of all of our muscles, to maintain athleticism, endurance, sexuality, general vigor, and mental happiness We need some high-intensity Cardio to build or maintain endurance and heart strength - A person can be very strong but have terrible cardio endurance and terrible agility; runners can have great aerobic cardio endurance but be weak in bone and muscle and unable to handle an hour of intense calis because they have mistakenly aerobically-trained exclusively. The aerobic cardio fitness fad of recent decades was/is greatly overrated. It was over-sold and it damaged a lot of joints. Anyway, the three components are interdependent and overlap to varying degrees: lunges are strength + calis, jump rope and jumping jacks are calis+ cardio, all weight training provides brief but intense cardio stress, etc. - As a footnote, but not a trivial one, I usually add proper nutrition because a demanding fitness program requires it. The 5-hr/wk program we espouse for general Fitness For Life (approx 2 hrs of weights, approx 1 hr of Calis, and approx 1 hr of cardio (2 half-hr sessions of cardio intervals) demands more protein and maybe more carbs than the ordinary sedentary person needs to survive. If your fitness requires weight gain for bone and muscle development, obviously more protein, fats, and carbs. If your fitness requires fat loss, obviously less carbs. Hard exercise can never eliminate excess fat but it can inspire nutritional sanity. Thursday morning links
Photo from Bus Stories (lots of photos) Women over 40 used to let themselves go and look like frumpy old grandmas, over the hill. Cultural change. Win An Epic New York Food & Music Experience! California Today: Why Does It Cost So Much to Live in California? This Robot Could Be the Future of Home Farming Study: Older Children Are Smarter Than Younger Siblings Surprise: NY Times Links Oroville Dam To Hotcoldwetdry California Governor Spends $25 Billion Per Year On Illegals, Officials Warned Dam Failing 12 Years Ago
CA schools cut protein cuz global warming "Without Us, Your Country Is Paralyzed" - Undocumented Workers Plan Boycott "Day Without Immigrants" H-1B reduced computer programmer employment by up to 11%, study finds
That word "systemic" Minneapolis Establishes Transgender Equity Council Court OKs Federal Officials Taking Control Of Private Lands To Save Endangered Frogs That Don’t Live There Dying From a Terrorist Attack Is Different than Slipping in Your Bathtub OBAMA’S SECRET COMMUNICATIONS WITH MULLAHS UNDERMINED AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY Hispanic Voters Support Punishing ‘Sanctuary Cities,’ Deporting Criminal Illegal Immigrants SPY GAMES: Sensitive intelligence reportedly withheld from Trump Surprise: At the End, Obama Administration Gave NSA Broad New Powers These are police state powers Two health insurance company mega-mergers collapsed today (Update: Humana out of Obamacare) Obamacare is in the ICU IRS Says They Won’t Really Enforce The Obamacare Mandate President Trump takes first steps to change Obamacare The White House: Can't Anybody Here Play This Game? They are amateurs House committee launches investigation into Donald Trump's security breaches at Mar-a-Lago Stupid, and amateurs New Video Shows Two Boys Talking About Being Suicide Bombers For ISIS Before Blowing Themselves Up NATO Responds to Trump Getting Innovative: Catapult Seized at U.S.-Mexico Border Wednesday, February 15. 2017Strength StandardsStrength standards for men and women, by age and body weight. Good goals for me would be just to get from the Novice to the Int. level for my age. That should be more than sufficient for general fitness but 10 pull-ups is pie in the sky for me now so maybe fully Novice is good enough. I had no idea of how weak I had become when I began my exercise program, because I was fully-functional and never challenged. Anyway, I will never be a serious lifter. Just a middle-aged general fitness lifter. Glad I got ahead of the downward curve. Well, not ahead of it but at least before it became hopeless. I did nail 2 reps of my personal record deadlift this morning, and feel proud about that. (Hey, make sure you poop well before lifting or you could have a little problem.) I made trainer feel good about himself, too. Loves to see his clients persist and succeed. Onward and upward. Mental Toughness
Studying late at night for a Chem exam, resisting a donut, keeping climbing when your legs say "No," doing one more bench rep when your arms say "I can't", saying "Hi" to a pretty girl who is too good for you, giving your exasperating guitar practice one more half hour, bucking up for one more damn intimidating job interview, getting through a pile of paperwork. A doctor once told me that the toughest person he knew was a agoraphobic and social phobic who by sheer willpower forced herself to leave her house and re-enter society despite her terror. Everybody wants to fight against his own limitations, fears, flaws, and weaknesses, and nobody wants to feel mentally or physically weak. When I consider mental toughness I think of warriors facing a wall of spears or machine guns, but in our (or my) pampered and decadent American life we often have to go out of our way to seek out character tests and character challenges. We can easily avoid most of them if we wish to, but our life is diminished by it. I think shame, self-disgust, and self-disappointment are some of the unpleasant consequences of confronting some of our weaknesses and limitations. It is failure, and we know it. My genius trainer and I were discussing the topic a while ago. I told him that part of his added value to me was lending his mental strength to me. When my arms say "No," and he says "Two more - you can do it" - I do it. Alone, I "couldn't." That's my mental weakness. So we can gain strength from relationship. That's part of why marriage is so valuable. Friends, too. He said that group exercise training works well not so much because of the competition but because of the combined spirit of effort, the esprit de corps. Of course, that group effect is an essential part of military training too. He says the reason most people fail in fitness programs is for lack of spirit and determination, not muscle. I suppose good habits of toughness and perseverance can be nurtured from within from practice and from without with support and cheerleading. My mental toughness is not good enough to make me happy with myself, and probably never will be. Here's a Grit Quiz. Not sure if such personality traits are measurable really, or whether they are even traits. Sometimes I have plenty of grit, sometimes very little. Related: The Personality Secret to Successful Weight Loss What's your view on the subject? Wednesday morning linksFlorida wants to register canoes and kayaks Insane government Writing music for TV Finding love on the subway How many times have we all seen someone in a public space towards whom we intuited an instant attraction and compatibility? And did nothing? Kate Shaidle's tolerable marriage That is honest Marriage and Money Univ. of Chicago goes kinky: Sex Week filled with flogging, petplay, rope bondage Sounds like good clean wholesome fun, but what it has to do with higher ed escapes me The Cohabitation Lie Playing house is not marriage It’s Time To Topple The Patriarchy With Revolutionary Love Or Something Slavery and rape aren’t wrong when Muslims do it. It's their culture Boudreaux schools a Luddite Superbowl ads are a reflection of the smug, arrogant pricks who made them. DeVos: Everything They Said about Her Is False Re Yale: Rename everything Politics offers a terrible spiritual danger VDH: The Deplorables Shout Back
The Democratic Party Goes into Therapy Trump Cabinet Science-Denial or Scientific Skepticism? JUST AS PREDICTED: The Political Assassination of Michael Flynn It's a war. Yes, The Empire Strikes Back America's spies anonymously took down Michael Flynn. That is deeply worrying. The Target on Steve Bannon's Back Polls: Majority Thinks Trump is a "Strong and Decisive Leader" Who "Keeps His Promises;" Public Supports Ending Sanctuary Cities and Deporting Criminals -- Including Hispanics Democrats Are Losing Their War With Trump Now the left is going nuts again over Trump’s nonexistent storm troopers Harsanyi: Why The Resistance Is The Best Thing That’s Happened To Donald Trump Illegals: A stunning display of dishonesty from the left
Early morning at the Maggie's HQTuesday, February 14. 2017Happy 150th Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder
"It is easy to forget that the memoirs of a little girl who watched Native Americans on horseback and saw herds of buffalo on the plains happened within living memory of my elders when I was born."
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QQQBoswell to Dr. Johnson: My friend, Lord So And So from Edinburgh, has studied too deeply and aberrantly, has become a drinker, and has turned unfaithful (to the church). Dr. Johnson: If he has drunk his way out of faith, he will in time drink his way back into it. Gotta love James Boswell. Tuesday morning linksSix Plants and Animals Threatened by Pseudoscience Why Americans Refrigerate Eggs John Waters update NFL Threatens to Deny Texas Super Bowl if Boys Are Not Allowed in Girls’ Bathrooms Stepford School: Princeton students forced to abandon individuality, freshman says Signs of Terminal Illness - From forced marriage to alcoholic excess, Britain’s airports display the symptoms of cultural rot. Is the USA an Idea or a Nation? Both, of course Trump and Andrew Jackson Cool. A quote:
No, Those Aren’t Swastikas On Your Sidewalk. Americans have often moved to find a better life. It’s part of the American way. Washington Post demonstrates importance of voter ID laws From Andy McCarthy's Populism, VI: Populism versus populism:
Clinton reminds us why we’re lucky she lost the election With One Simple Order, Trump Could Reduce the Healthcare Costs of the Uninsured by 90% Don’t Block the Education Secretary, End the Department of Education Liberals Threaten to Homeschool Kids After DeVos Confirmed as Education Secretary The Democrats' Immigration Problem(s) LIBERALS BEMOAN THE DEMISE OF LAST-MINUTE OBAMA REGS For the Media, the Only Jihad Is Against Trump Muslim-American Olympiad Detained By Customs Agents Before Trump Became President, Media Still Blames Trump! Klavan: Yes, CNN IS Fake News Sweden Builds Camel Park To Help Integrate Muslim Migrants Hamas elects convicted murderer Yahya Sinwar as Gaza chief Monday, February 13. 2017Monday morning linksHow the Anti-Vaxxers Are Winning "The child is a sort of vicious, innately cruel dwarf." Latin Jazz Is Booming. Look Beyond the Grammys to Find It. Bucknell prof: If you invite Milo Y. to campus you should pay a ‘steep and lasting price’ Climate change made the modern horse, of course Marijuana Sales Top $1 Billion in Colorado, Washington Combined Ben Shapiro Uses Age To Counter Transgender Argument — ‘Why Aren’t You 60?’ Shapiro is the straight Milo Tom Brady Under Fire for Sharing ‘Racist’ Poem By Rudyard Kipling A Global Economy in Health Care Services? Good! Automation can replace government bureaucrats and save taxpayers money Lawmakers and Regulators Act Like They Hate Farmers Markets Black Lives Matter Toronto Cofounder Yusra Khogali Explains Why Whites Are Subhuman Rioters indicted Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four Describes the Authoritarian Left Better Than It Does Trump We Are Already Struggling to Keep Outrage Alive in the Age of Trump Yes, CNN IS Fake News No Republicans need apply: Totalitarianism in the classified ads How Obama is scheming to sabotage Trump’s presidency Al-Shabaab Magazine: 'We'll Keep Marching Till We Reach the State of Maine' Maine? They'll love Maine. Shoving Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals Right Back in the Left’s Face Conservativism Is Now the Counterculture The Intelligentsia Versus the Rest of America " I do suspect, however, that if Harry Reid had cut off Ted Cruz’s microphone in 2013, the Nevada Democrat would have been hailed as a hero and genius." The second civil war is coming There’s An Alt-Left, And It’s Trying To Make America Ungovernable How Canada is trying to capitalize on Trump’s immigration executive order Asylum seekers fleeing US for Canada brave snow, extreme cold If We Don't Let in Muslims to America, They'll Kill Us France and its refugees Instapundit Learns that Le Pen's Front National Is Actually Left-Wing Ireland Has Already Started Banning Immigrants From Trump’s Travel Ban List It’s come to this: Merkel now offering cash for migrants to leave the country Trump's Right - NATO Is Obsolete For The US Europeans Back Trump’s German Grievances Zimbabwe 2.0: South Africa's President Vows To Redistribute White-Owned Land And Businesses Sunday, February 12. 2017Maple Syrup and Maple Sugarin' season - An annual re-postMaple sap begins to flow when there are sufficient daily temperature swings between below and above freezing. That tends to be towards late February-early March in New England, depending on latitude and the weather. Curiously, Sugar Maple sap does not just flow up from the roots - it flows both downwards from the branches and up the trunk, depending on the time of day and the whim of the tree. Our Vermont friends have been busy getting ready for sugarin', so it's time for some info. We tend to think of Vermont maple syrup, but Canada is the major producer. We consume it abundantly in New England and do not approve of the cheap substitute goop in the supermarkets. We buy the real stuff by the gallon when we can, especially the Grades below Light Amber. You can buy the rather intense Grade B here, but I think I prefer the third level of Grade A - Dark Amber. This place sells all of the grades.
- Put it on oatmeal like the Pilgrims did. From today's LectionaryPsalm 119:1-8
Saturday, February 11. 2017Autentico
Mrs. BD is a fan of Alessi foods, especially their risottos and gnocchi. They have an online mail order store. Try it. Amused they label their bean and pasta soup "Pasta Fazool." Saturday music: Philip GlassProbably his best-known piece. Love it or hate it. 40 minutes long.
Saturday morning links
Toons on top via Orwellian Happenings: Twitter Censors Trump, Suspends New Comic Strip For Lampooning Liberal Stupidity Doll based on transgender teen to debut at New York Toy Fair San Francisco schools: Gender-inclusive language Ancient Israel's National Anthem - The great song marking the Israelites’ safe crossing of the Sea of Reeds is the Hebrew Bible’s only full-length poem recited collectively by the people as a whole. What is it really about? There's one big reason Macy's may not dump Ivanka Trump Getting Out of Debt: Make That New Year’s Resolution Work Want Your Husband to Step Up? Try Getting Out of His Way Another global warming catastrophe: the Sahara Desert is getting greener People of Color Can't Be Racist Says New College Guide The Unhinging of the Academic Left: History, Hate, and Hysteria A Conservative Case for Climate Action Fossil fuel divestment crashes and burns in Vermont Old Guard Republicans and Business Allies Push Carbon Tax The hidden agendas of sustainability illusions HATE MACHINE: How Liberals Became the Very Fascists They Always Warned Us About She voted illegally five times. She claims now that she has a "learning disability" and didn't know that non-citizens could not vote. NY Times Seems Pretty Upset Over An Illegal Alien Felon Being Deported 'We're going to see more': Sanctuary cities cave in face of Trump's funding threats Most states still have jobless rates above prerecession levels Reports of the Demise of Obamacare Repeal and Replace Are Greatly Exaggerated Why Is It so Hard for Republicans to Replace Obamacare? Judge backs health insurer in ACA payment suit - Risk corridors program fight takes a new turn The Pension Monster that Devoured Education How school choice can benefit teachers Politico: ‘Data-Driven’ Campaigns Are Killing the Democratic Party - Over four straight cycles, Democrats have suffered historic losses. Why? Because they learned all the wrong lessons from Obama’s success. Democrats Are in Worse Shape than Even They Think HATE MACHINE: How Liberals Became the Very Fascists They Always Warned Us About Different Republican Nominee, Same Democratic Dance Quotation of the day on ‘Trump Trauma’ POTUS TRUMP THUMPS NY TIMES on Latest #FakeNews Groups want Trump to close loophole allowing illegal immigrants to abuse tax credits Venezuela may have given passports to people with ties to terrorism Iran’s missile tests reveal weaknesses of UN Security Council Resolution Majority of Europeans in favor of a Trump-style Muslim ban, poll shows Cash No Longer King: Europe Accelerates Move To Begin Elimination Of Paper Money Evil Hungary’s Orban renews attack on influence of George Soros Germany’s Merkel announces plans to speed up deportations
Saturday verse: Tennyson on old age. "I cannot rest..."Thanks to Vanderleun. Somehow, I never knew this Tennyson poem. We all have regretful knowledge lacunae but we fight them daily. In sophomore (required) Public Speaking, part of that course was to memorize and recite a poem, an epic fragment (choice of Milton, Homer, Chaucer, Virgil, Hesiod, or Dante), or a Shakespeare soliloquy, each month. I have a few Shakespeare sonnets permanently in my hippocampus. Wish I had found this Tennyson then. The Sparks Notes re Ulysses. Ulysses It little profits that an idle king, Friday, February 10. 2017My physical exam, 2 years out
He couldn't find any problems with me. He said my body fat was down to "athlete," that my fitness and endurance were far above average for my age and markedly improved from 2 years ago, that my heart was perfect, that my physique looked excellent for my age (Daddy Belly totally gone), that I should try to gain 5 more lbs by eating more (same thing my trainer keeps bugging me about but I don't like to eat much - I like to consume just enough to stop feeling hungry). Other than that, it was "Keep doing whatever you are doing." He had me cut my BP meds in half. He wanted me to stay on the lipitor because my triglycerides had improved dramtically even though I was on the lipitor before, and were now perfect (I don't believe in that triglyceride stuff, but I want him to be happy). He went over the details of my exercise program and told me that it was similar to his with a balance of weights, calis, and a little cardio, about 5hrs/wk total. He is fit as hell, 55 but looks like a powerful and athletic 40. However, he has been doing his program for many years. We estimate that I lost around 8 lbs. of pudge and gained about 10 lbs. of lean muscle in 2 years. So it's been good for me from the medical angle, but that is not why I do it. I do it to maintain Fitness for Life. Any medical bonus is welcome. (Also, he has some interesting ideas about the traumatic arthritis in my right shoulder. Wants me to see his pal at HSS if I feel like it. Just for fun, I got a tetanus booster, a Shingles vaccine, and a Pneumonia vaccine.) This might be inspiring - I hope so. Have readers had a similar experience? Friday morning linksA reason to avoid relationships with crazy people The Next Big Blue-Collar Job Is Coding Twitter Crashes On Revenue Miss, Terrible Guidance, Declining US Sales, Flat US Users From Culture to Cupcakes - The once-great University of California at Berkeley continues its descent into victimology. Ultra-elite College suspends classes for events on privilege, 'sports culture' VDH: California Goes Confederate Berkeley Students: Milo Had It Coming GERMANY’S ENERGIEWENDE - A disaster in the making If Anthropogenic Global Warming Is Real, Why Do Scientists Keep Cheating? Why Do We Have a Department of Education? Show trials and Stalin's children "When Everyone's a Racist, then No One Will Be" Americans Trust Trump Administration More Than News Media in New Poll Three Muslim Brothers, IT Professionals Fired from Capitol Hill for Spying – Funneled House Data to External Server Gad Saad On Hysteria And 'Collective Munchausen' Around Donald Trump Evidence Shows ISIS May Be Forging Passports Actually, Trump has a duty to ban dangerous immigrants 77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries Drudge:
Linda Sarsour Rekindles the Left’s Love Affair with Radical Extremism Democrats Are Losing Their War With Trump Slate: Five Things Americans Can Do to Beat Trump Scarborough to Trump on Judges: 'Presidents Don't Speak This Way' Harsanyi: Authoritarianism Is Not Confined To One Political Party - The shared governing philosophy of contemporary liberalism and Trumpism Education tyranny: What the opposition to DeVos says about liberals
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