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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Thursday, October 26. 2017Thursday morning linksFBI Documents Reveal Adam Lanza Was Obsessed With Mass Shootings (And Police Were Warned) Is Marriage Obsolete? 4 Essential Reads Daimler One-Ups Elon Again; Reveals Electric Semi-Truck Weeks Before Tesla Progressive, “Fair Wage” Pizza Shop Closing Its Doors Too small for a bailout The big myth about dirty jobs, minimum wage, and illegal immigration Kent State mulls whether telling someone ‘You need Jesus’ is hate speech A Catholic university considers sanctioning Catholic doctrine The Global Warming Thought Police Want Climate Skeptics In ‘Jail’ What is America's civic religion today? Bill Clinton Ditched Secret Service Protective Detail Multiple Times to Take the Lolita Express to Pedo Isle FEC complaint accuses Clinton campaign, DNC of violating campaign finance law with dossier payments Former Clinton Spox: Hillary ‘May Have Known’ About Dossier Funding The Russia Dossier Story: A Perfect Storm of Clinton Deception, Media Irresponsibility, and Democratic Moral Blindness ELITES MOVE TO SACRIFICE CLINTONS JUST LIKE WEINSTEIN Poll: Voters see President Trump as 'reckless' and 'not honest' Wednesday, October 25. 2017VDH on California's futureHe is always intelligent and interesting. And he is a multigenerational California farmer and prof.
Last day of the 100 Push-up ChallengeI got 100 in on most days but I was not perfect. I do my best physical work in the gym, not home. Got my 100 today, sets of 15, 20 and 25. There is no doubt that your chest and shoulder muscles respond to this sort of From now on, I am probably going to plan on the 100 mostly on my Calisthenic Days, not daily. These weeks were a good start for my push-ups, for sure. I find the first set the hardest. I will now do a set of 15 as a warm-up set, then they get easier. I had planned the next 4 weeks to be a 100-Burpee/day Challenge, but I can't do it. It just kills my injured shoulder to the point that I can't sleep on my right side. Maybe 100 Mountain Climbers? Or is that too easy? With Mountain Climbers, it's all about the speed. Mountain Climbers are HIIT Cardio/Calisthenics, not strength-building but definitely fitness-building.
Wednesday morning linksMale icons, then and now, via SDA Men Take Classes To 'Unlearn' Toxic Masculinity - "Rethink Masculinity" Related, some adult men play video games Study: Men Are Getting Weaker Sorry, Cosmopolitan. Dressing As Moana For Halloween Isn't Offensive. Hoax du Jour: Another Graffiti “Hate Crime” Is Solved University of Wisconsin-Madison Students Protest Abraham Lincoln Statue Because ‘He Owned Slaves’ Illegals jump over border fence — as MSNBC reports on Trump wall! Good Drugetaposition Anthropology: Former NPR CEO Spends Time With Republicans, Changes His Mind Anthropology: On Safari in Trump's America - The country’s elites are desperate to figure out what they got wrong in 2016. But can they handle the truth? Paul Joseph Watson SAVAGES Leftists Plan To ‘Scream Helplessly At Sky On Anniversary’ Of Trump’s Election Great idea. Keep it up Hillary says the Clinton Foundation-Russia-uranium-deal story is just a right-wing distraction from the Trump-Russia story House Intel Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) announced an “inquiry” into the Russian-Uranium One scandal Tuesday from Capitol Hill. BREAKING: DNC, Hillary Campaign Paid To Compile Trump-Russia Dossier, Clinton Lawyer Allegedly Lied About It A Blueprint for Minimizing Iran's Influence in the Middle East Tuesday, October 24. 2017Angel FallsIn Venezuela
Tuesday morning linksInternet is a big deal. Must be government-regulated Governments hate freedom, even in the USA. Freedom's just another word... Re the New York Times: Who was Lenin? NFL Teams Play Before Empty Stadiums As Fan Backlash Spreads Too much exercise can kill you - especially if you're a white man: Study finds 7.5 hours a week of fitness DOUBLES your risk of heart disease My doc is highly skeptical Neo-neo wonders what the rules are for sexuality these days Harvey Sweinstein and Hollywood's Hos Actually, it looks to me like Harvey is a crim COLLEGE ADMINISTRATOR COMES UP SHORT IN ANALYSIS OF SHOUT-DOWN CRISIS Men without chests McKibben really hates oil I love oil and gas Most Countries Who Love The Paris Climate Agreement Aren’t Actually Implementing It Polar Bears Lay Siege to Russian Village Now we worry about too many Polar Bears DC Swamp denizens strike back on biodiesel It's a scam So what was John Podesta's now-collapsed Russian green energy scheme really all about? No, Really, Gun Bans Work: Crime Stats Show London Now More Dangerous Than New York City… Bad comparison. NYC is a very safe and semi-friendly city Trump’s latest big interview is both funny and terrifying. POTUS swings and misses at the softest softballs. To be charitable, can we say that policy detail is not his forte? Face it, Germany plays America for a fool. We are its military. GERMANY: TERROR CASES QUADRUPLE TO 900
Monday, October 23. 2017Monday morning linksImage borrowed from Ace How Sure Are We That The Universe Is 13.8 Billion Years Old? Scientists’ Letter to EPA Calling for Immediate Reopening of its GHG Endangerment Finding Forgetfulness: the dangers of a modern culture that wages war on its own past - Francis O’Gorman believes the systematic devaluation of the past began in earnest in the 19th century. "Speech codes are written by and for the privileged. They are written by the oppressor to shut up the oppressed." Free speech: Andrew Sullivan Gets One Right Diapers, bubbles offend at anti-safe space event White, male student under fire for defending diversity of thought: ‘punchable, drag him, expel him’ A Warped Mirror - Omissions and distortions mar Ken Burns’s Vietnam War, a missed opportunity to provide an historically honest look at the conflict. A LIBERAL VISITS SOUTH DAKOTA AND FREAKS OUT AT THE SIGHT OF GUNS The NFL managed to pi$$ off their core audience by nearly 40 points in the last three weeks. U.K. Government Blasts U.N. Because Treaty Says ´Pregnant Women´ Instead Of´Pregnant People´ The New York Times Is Not Hitler But... 93-Year-Old President Carter: Russians Didn't Alter Election, Obama Didn't Deliver, We Didn't Vote For Hillary Not only the Clintons are implicated in a uranium deal with the Russians that compromised national-security interests. Russia-Obsessed Media Shocked To Discover Facts About Russia Stories That Discredit Their Narrative Czech Donald Trump wins Report: Chinese-North Korea Relationship At End, ‘Another Missile Test Will Mean War’ By The Chinese Against North Korea Sunday, October 22. 2017For home defenceConsider the Brooks 24-pounder. Brand new and ready for firing. The bore is too small for tennis balls, so I am not sure what you can shoot out of it. Moving to Trump Country
Lloyd Marcus (who is a black guy) moved to West Virginia.
From today's LectionaryMatthew 22:15-22 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 22:16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 22:17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" 22:18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 22:19 Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. 22:20 Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" 22:21 They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." 22:22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. Saturday, October 21. 2017Pasta Rules, with a comment on Cultural AppropriationThis is about warm pasta dishes, not cold. Room temperature pasta dishes like Nicoise are nice - but that is from Nice, not Italy. I do not care for a pasta dish as a meal. It makes me feel full and lazy. I don't mind the way the Italians do it - and the way it was intended - which is as a small plate tasty treat as a Primo. Maybe 4-6 forks' worth. That's a meal's carbs, because the Secondi usually doesn't have any. Just meat, with some vegetables in oil on the side. Southern Italians eat pasta, but they don't eat much of it when they do. Maybe the equivalent volume of a potato. Lasagna (which is Southern Italian) is served as a small Primo. - a little 3-or 4-inch square. Sicily is not big on pasta. They make a few classics, like with sardines or clams, but do more rice and couscous as primi. On the mainland, the further north you go the less pasta there is. They do more rice (esp. risotto), gnocchi, and polenta for their primi. Anyway, an Italian meal with a primo and secondo - and wine or beer - is lunchtime, not supper. (Italian breakfast is typically just an espresso or a latte - cappuccino - with a biscotti. Suppers are light, like a soup and lunch leftovers.) Italians tend not be be fat and even the elderly women mostly tend to look pretty spry except for the ones who stay home all day cooking for their relatives because they taste things all day long. I married into a family with some roots in Caserta (lots of ziti and spaghetti pasta down there) and I know the rules: - When pasta is cooked al dente, you take it out of the pot with pasta-grabbers and dump it directly into the saucepan with the sauce. Then you mix it with the sauce with the heat on. You don't drain pasta. - Depending on the volume of sauce you have made, you dump a cup or half-cup of the pasta water into the pasta-sauce mix, and slop it all together with the pasta-grabber (with the heat on). Enough pasta water to be right. Heat is on. The pasta water binds it all together and helps the sauce coat the pasta completely. My favorite pasta primo is Tagliatelle con Funghi (Fresh Porcini, ideally) My second favorite is Aglio e Olio (as in photo) What is the ultimate pasta Primo? The festive Timballo. I have never had a slice of one, and probably never will have the chance because it's not a restaurant item. Tomato sauces? Yuk. Cristoforo Columbo and his pals, in my view, wrecked Italian cooking by bringing the tomato back from Central America. Not to mention the Cultural Appropriation sin of putting the Mayan tomato in Italian food. But wait - the Italians stole pizza from the Greeks? And pasta from China. Is there anything that college kitchens will be able to feed the brats now? I mean, like, ice cream is Egyptian and yoghurt is Turkish. Let them eat gluten-free cake. What pastas do you like to make?
Saturday morning linksBig crosses not allowed How The Government Created American Suburbia
Professor Evil Calls for the End of Humanity MELTDOWN AT MIDDLEBURY:
Scotland the unbrave: Shakespeare Now Comes With Trigger Warning Harvey claims he´s cured! Weinstein completes sex addict rehab in one week then blasts accuser Lupita Nyong´o as a liar for her claims he forced her to massage him Wow. That's quite a therapy place he went to Williamson's polemic: ‘Acting white’ for white people A world without hate speech A celebration of Charles Blow, the first pundit ever to compare the two figures (Trump and Hitler) That is Hate Speech "Narcissistic Altruism" - is it real? Sure it is. So is virtue-signaling Trump’s General Is Right: Soldiering Is Not a Normal Job Migration: The Straw That’s Breaking Europe’s Back Friday, October 20. 2017The Dangers of Unconscious Bias TestingToday's enjoyable bit on the above topic. I am pleased that Peterson's talks are getting around:
Friday morning linksShould Inclusive Restrooms Really Include Bears? 5 Things to Stop Doing in Your 20s I'd put video games at the top The Bids Are In: Amazon Offered Up To $7 Billion In Tax Breaks ($140k Per Employee) For Second U.S. HQ THE HUNT FOR THE BRAIN-EATING AMOEBAS OF YELLOWSTONE Cops arrested a very nice fellow: Florida Man Awarded $37,500 After Cops Mistake Glazed Doughnut Crumbs For Meth Marijuana devastated Colorado, don’t legalize it nationally I’LL BELIEVE GLOBAL WARMING IS A CRISIS WHEN THE PEOPLE WHO TELL ME IT’S A CRISIS START TO ACT LIKE IT’S A CRISIS Trump’s Struggle With The Ethanol Lobby Is Just Beginning Ethanol is a terrible scam, should be a scandal College Professor Under Siege for Challenging Transgender Orthodoxy - A petition is circulating at Boise State University to to have tenured professor Scott Yenor fired. A Failure to Discern: Burns & Novick’s “The Vietnam War” is Bad History - A Review (Part II)* In a market economy, every job is at risk of being destroyed. “How can we Democrats appeal to those Jesus-loving, racist idiots who hate science and don’t live on the coast like everyone we know?” More Honesty from the Left: The Goal Is Big Tax Increases for the Middle Class Bernie To Americans: "Sure, You'll All Pay More Taxes... But You'll Get More Free Stuff" The United States Again Fails to Make the Top 10 Freest Countries Shameful. Incomprehensible, really The Census Is Worth More Than a Big Mac Now we know about the Russia deals Silverglate: How Robert Mueller Tried To Entrap Me Judging by Mueller's staffing choices, he may not be very interested in justice Nearly 800 mental health professionals have joined a coalition asserting that they are so alarmed by Trump’s mental health that they feel a duty to warn the public. Thursday, October 19. 2017Fitness Review: Bodybuilding, Athletic Conditioning, Cardio/ Endurance Training, Powerlifting, etc.,
You can be fat and very strong, but unable to hike a mountain vigorously for 6 hours. You can be a fast runner or swimmer but unfit in most ways other than cardio endurance. To participate to the maximum in all that life offers or demands, we preach a doctrine of "Fitness for Life." This is not training for a specific purpose (ie a specific sport, pure strength, or aesthetics), but just to maintain or, preferably, improve fitness after age 30 or 40 or 50 or whatever for people with relatively sedentary (less than 5 hrs/wk of physically-challenging or strenuous effort - not walking). Balanced, general functional fitness for strength, endurance, and athleticism builds energy, attractiveness and sexuality, effectiveness - and the mental toughness that comes from the discipline of physical training. First, some terms: Conditioning, or Athletic Conditioning, usually refers to your overall athletic preparedness. "Conditioning" can focus on retrieving or building your speed, agility, endurance, muscle fitness, body composition, and the like. General conditioning-specific activities, like calisthenics, often just use body weight and some light weights with very high reps (20+), and no rest. Burpees, lunges, box jumps, ball slams, roll-ups, and step-ups are classic conditioning exercises but there are tons of them. Cardio/endurance training is one compnent of the above. An hour of intense, no-rest calisthenics is powerful and exhausting cardio/endurance training, as is HIIT cardio. If you aren't short of breath, it's not "cardio." (It's not "exercise" either. "Exercise" refers to exertion.) For naturalistic HIIT, a tough tennis lesson where coach runs you ragged, or a basketball game. Bodybuilding is an approach to balanced muscle improvement. It entails about 5 sets of semi-high reps (8-12) of 50-70% of your max weights, with only a minute rest between sets. Contrary to the sound of it, it's not primarily meant to look good at the beach (but nobody wants to look nasty with lots or all of their clothes off). Powerlifting is an approach designed to improve brute strength and power. This entails lower reps with higher weights, and more rest between sets. Often, out of shape newbies need a good period of powerlifting before shifting to bodybuilding. Experienced people often alternate between the body-building approach and the powerlift approach every few months to maintain muscle function.
All of the above play a role in general fitness. I'll review our recommendations for people in half-decent health below the fold. Feel free to offer comments or critiques.
Continue reading "Fitness Review: Bodybuilding, Athletic Conditioning, Cardio/ Endurance Training, Powerlifting, etc.," Thursday morning linksHow to Survive a Bear Attack in America Why More Men Are Becoming Nurses - There's more demand, yes, but as more men have finished high school, more have moved into nursing, a new paper finds Great Moments In Single-Payer: NHS Proposes Refusal Of Surgeries To Smokers, Overweight Boom in American natural gas changes world markets Mission Failure: The Burns & Novick “The Vietnam War” Misses its Target
MADNESS AT REED COLLEGE "Bias response teams" are literally Thought Police Leonard Pitts Jr.: Democrats need to move left Out-of-touch kneeling NFL players are starting to ruin emotional attachment to football The Clinton cover-up, brought to you by the same guys who are investigating Trump FBI Informant Working on Russian Nuclear Bribery Scheme Was THREATENED by the Obama Administration Kimball: Donald Trump: An American Patriot of the Same Stripe as Ronald Reagan Wednesday, October 18. 2017The Maggie's Push-up ChallengeWe have one week to go with this thing. At this point, it's no problem to do 4 sets of 25, but there is no hope of my getting to sets of 50. Sets of 30 seem like a more realistic goal for me. How is it going for you? Wednesday morning linksShe jumped off the train to Auschwitz Does exercise worsen heart disease? Sheesh What's Actually in a Jar of Nutella? Deliciousness. In Italy, they have Nutella Pizza UF Prez ‘surprised’ and ‘shocked’ that UF must allow free speech JUST HOW “AFRAID” ARE MUSLIMS AT AMHERST COLLEGE? Crybullies Conservatives Strike Back Against ‘Ideological Tidal Wave’ in School District Your Moral And Intellectual Superiors at the New York Times CELEBRITIES MAKE IT OFFICIAL: Pick Trump or Us. TO APPEASE KNEELERS, NFL BACKS LENIENCY FOR FELONS Brilliant move The real Russia scandal: Collusion: FBI Uncovered Russian Bribery Plot Involving Clinton Fdn But Obama Admin Approved Controversial Nuclear Deal With Moscow Anyway BOMBSHELL REVELATIONS ABOUT RUSSIA AND OBAMA’S DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FBI Uncovered Russian Bribery Plot Before Obama Approved Uranium One Deal, Netting Clintons Millions
Clinton Corruption Update for October 17, 2017. There’s a bushel of news on Hillary Clinton scandals, both old (uranium!) and new (Harvey Weinstein!) Hollywood Screenwriter: Everybody Knew About Harvey Weinstein’s ‘Appetite’ Duh TYRANNO-SOROS REX: George Soros has transferred $18 billion – the bulk of his fortune, it seems – to his Open Society Foundation. Economist Says Eliminating State and Local Tax Deduction Helps Lower Taxes by $1 Trillion. 100 state legislators sign letter to Congress to urge them to eliminate the deduction and pass tax reform Tuesday, October 17. 2017Tuesday morning links'A New Rosetta Stone for Astronomy' - For the first time, astronomers have detected visible light and gravitational waves from the same source, ushering in a new era in our attempt to understand the cosmos. Kayak Fisherman Battles Hammerhead Shark Bigger boat? Having A Great White Shark Attack Your Boat Is Not A Fun Time Seven Quick Facts on Vocational Education UNC Avoids Athletic Sanctions By Arguing their African-American Studies Dept. Had Staggeringly Low Academic Standards What a surprise Yale men are bad at sex Collective historical guilt trips Bergdahl Guilty Comrade Rubashov was unavailable for comment. Humor not permitted in the revolution EPA harnessed: Pruitt Issues Directive to End EPA “Sue & Settle” Practice Good. That was a conspiracy. The EPA was colluding with the plaintiffs. Deporting Illegal Aliens Is Persecution Or Something Harvey Weinstein can't wash away Hollywood's sins: Glenn Reynolds Juanita Broaddrick Trolls Hillary Clinton Over Her Broken Toe Story 'I was running downstairs in heels with a cup of coffee and fell backwards!' FBI Admits Comey Drafted Statement Ending Clinton Email Investigation Months in Advance Raqqa: Isis completely driven out of Syria 'capital' by US-backed forces Dunnottar Castle, plus Dylan
Reader sent this pic from travels. Not too much is left of the original castle or of the later palace. People were always renovating and modernizing these things, or else knocking them down. Dunnottar has been rebuilt to some extent for tourists. Lots of crazy Scottish history in it. An old image of the castle below the fold, with some Dylan Scotland trivia too -
Continue reading "Dunnottar Castle, plus Dylan" Monday, October 16. 2017The Collins AxeA note from a reader: Dear Bird Dog, Well, as you know I love Maggie's Farm. I want to give back somehow. Consequently, I bring to your attention Collinsville, Connecticut. Formerly the home of the Collins Company, axe makers non pareil, it is a company town frozen in time right beside the Farmington river. Very picturesque, particularly at this time of year, and full of decent restaurants. And there is a museum there, full of Collins products. Heavenly. I just bought three very old Collins axes on Ebay (not expensive) and will be restoring them into working instruments, Very satisfying! For a history of the company, see here: http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears%20Tools/Collins%20Pt.%201.html http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears%20Tools/Collins%20Pt.%202.html For a rundown on Collinsville itself, see here: World-renowned Maker of Axes: The Collins Company of Canton | ConnecticutHistory.org
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Monday morning linksA new novel by one of our favorites, Mark Helprin: Paris in the Present Tense If you haven't read his Soldier of the Great War, read it. A Tolstoyan masterpiece. NYT: For your brain's sake, exercise vigorously Well, exercise has done a lot for my body but my brain is hopeless No surprises there. My advice: Tell spouse what you are going to do first. You lose the thrill of secrecy but gain in lack of guilt, shame, and self-hatred. "Anyone who controls a precious resource is likely to become a son-of-a-bitch." CA Gov. Brown Bans Pet Shop Sales Of Non-Rescue Cats, Dogs And Rabbits Powerline: THE KEN BURNS VERSION, CONT’D
Related: Justifying Betrayal of Vietnam Emerges as the Raison d’être Of Ken Burns’ Film on the War Print Prophets of the Free Market - The Wall Street Journal’s editorial pages have maintained fundamental principles—and remarkable influence. Dino: Unparalleled wealth, health, ease and longevity breed madness COLUMBIA U TO PAY HILLARY LOTS OF MONEY FOR NOTHING Clinton: We made a person who committed sexual assault president Next Up to Tear Down: Stephen Foster The Red Guard is on the move AP Lingo Police: Use ´Gender Confirmation´ Surgery for Sex Change, Avoid ´Born a Boy or Girl´ School District Bans ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ Over ‘Uncomfortable Language’ Hollywood's Masculinity Deficit EXCLUSIVE: We won’t give back a cent of Harvey Weinstein’s tainted $250,000 says the Clinton Foundation - we’ve spent accused rapist’s every cent claims group run by Bill and Chelsea Weinstein Paid for Bill Clinton’s Legal Fees During His Sex Abuse Scandal
Via Am Thinker:
Puerto Rico Delegate: Everything That We've Asked For, Trump Has Provided Trump wants to kill the walruses George Lopez booed off stage after Trump jokes flop at gala Trump-hating is getting old Byron York: What's behind Trump's new executive actions NO WONDER DEMOCRATS ARE SO UPSET: Behind Trump’s latest moves: A return to constitutional government. Trump Has Charted A Perilous Course On Iran Or Something
Sunday, October 15. 2017Gorgonzola Risotto
It's a classic northern Italian primi, tasty as heck. You can make it with or without the walnuts. I find the nuts annoying. Serve with sliced pear on top as in photo, or, even better, with some red wine reduction drizzled on top. Remember, a primi is a small plate.
Her conversion storyIn her first presentation at our 2015 Eucharistic Convention Leah Libresco spoke to her subject matter "Falling in Love with Math, Morality and Mercy - My Conversion Story. It's a witness, not a sermon. I went through a deontology phase too. She's an obsessionally morally-interested joyful and charming mathematician whose intellectual adventures lead to Christ. Cool, but I wonder what she would say about cultural transmission of moralities and values. h/t AVI
Saturday, October 14. 2017UCF Professor Richard Quinn accuses class of cheatingI don't know what to make of this guy. Why does he give exams from a test bank? Is this for real? What's your view?
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