We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
The wealthy, the influential, the intelligentsia, and the cultural elite all broadcast their virtues — usually at a cut-rate rhetorical price — to offset their own sense of sin (as defined by feelings of guilt), or in fear that their own lives are antithetical to the ideologies they espouse, or sometimes simply as a wise career move. Sin these days is mostly defined as race/class/gender thought crimes. Wearing a mask of virtue is done not to save one’s soul for eternity but to still feel good about enjoying privilege.
Greenfield: American presidents were meant to retire. They were never supposed to use taxpayer money to set up cabals. It was unthinkable for them to solicit foreign rulers in a bid to return to power.
Mexico has zero tolerance for illegal immigrants who seek to work inside Mexico, happen to break Mexican law or go on public assistance -- or any citizens who aid them.
In Mexico, legal immigration is aimed at privileging lawful arrivals with skill sets that aid the Mexican economy and, according to the country's immigration law, who have the "necessary funds for their sustenance" -- while denying entry to those who are not healthy or would upset the "equilibrium of the national demographics." Translated, that idea of demographic equilibrium apparently means that Mexico tries to withhold citizen status from those who do not look like Mexicans or have little skills to make money.
If the United States were to treat Mexican nationals in the same way that Mexico treats Central American nationals, there would be humanitarian outrage.
I want one. I used to think they were silly, but now I realize that they are nothing but a permanent campfire. People love to assemble around them, the smoke keeps bugs away, and they are great for burning marshmallows.
And if you go pagan, you can put burnt offerings on it too. It won't hold an ox, but perhaps a goat or unblemished lamb.
I am planning to double the size of our cramped bluestone patio and already know where I want the fire.
This excellent specialty lumber place on Cape Cod, Stonewood, will deliver the cut stone on a pallet with the insert, ready for simple assembly. No mortar.
The Yankee State (CT) was once one of the most prosperous places on the planet, and until 1991 it had no income tax. Its other key attribute was its proximity to high-tax, anti-business New York. But over the last 25 years, Connecticut has been in a free-fall as it has raised its income tax four times, leading to towering deficits.
The joke now in Connecticut is: Will the last person in the state please turn out the lights? As Connecticut depopulates, there may come a time when one super-rich person is left living in a Greenwich mansion who is highly educated and with three patents to his name, and the Times can say: Look how prosperous and highly educated Connecticut is.
By the way, a 2014 poll found that 49% of Connecticut residents say they want to leave the state — second only to Illinois at 50%. The exodus is on: 156,057 people have left Connecticut since 1992, taking $9.5 billion in income with them. As people in Fort Lauderdale and Naples, Fla., will tell you, it seems like every third person here is from Connecticut.
Our view is that the best measure of where the future is happening is to look at where people and businesses are moving to and where they are leaving — voting with their feet. In the day, East Germans fled to West Germany, not the other way around. This rapid migration, more than any distorted statistic that the USSR could cook up, was evidence that free-market capitalism was superior to communism.
Rutenberg recycles one of the progressive media’s most cherished self-justifying myths, that there really is an “objective” journalism they supposedly practice. Such a notion has seldom existed in American history, and has especially been scarce since the 1960s, when activist journalism came out of the closet with its ideological coverage of Vietnam and then Watergate, all perfumed with the spurious claim to journalistic integrity and public service.
The truth is, journalism has been a form of political activism long before Jim Rutenberg noticed. Orville Schell, dean of the prestigious UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism from 1996-2006, was not shy about embracing this role for journalism: “In a democracy,” Schell wrote over a decade ago, “indeed in any intelligent society, the media and politicians have to lead. The media should be introducing us to new things, interesting things, things we don’t already know about; helping us change our minds or make up our minds, not just pandering to lowest-denominator wisdom.”
For overseas travel, we tend to travel heavy. If we're on ships and boats, or renting a car, it's pretty easy to travel heavy except when banging around airports.
We travel heavy because we do so many different things, from dressed-up to rough hiking, and everything in-between. We are partial to staying in tenutas in the countryside, and boutique hotels in town where they have overnight laundry service. Never really tried traveling light since our youth.
For our upcoming trip, we decided it made more sense to forget the Costco International car rental (which we highly recommend) and just to train it between cities even though I enjoy driving in Europe and getting lost usually leads to interesting adventures.
Traveling light means some form of carry-on-sized luggage, and an additional bag of stuff to hand-carry for which I usually use a large LL Bean tote bag containing reading stuff, a smaller day bag or briefcase that I stuff in there, camera, etc. Airlines never seem to mind that bag. I don't bother with laptop for recreation travel.
So my airplane plan is to wear the blazer and tie (which I like to wear traveling anyway because you get treated better if you look good), my largest hiking shoes, maybe a light jacket, wear the hat, etc. and to put other stuff in a carry-on.
But what sort? Gotta figure on needing a couple of dress shirts, nice shoes, polo shirts, toiletries, a few pairs of trousers, etc. No rain gear or sweater needed on this trip.
14:25 Now large crowds were traveling with him; and he turned and said to them,
14:26 "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.
14:27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?
14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him,
14:30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'
14:31 Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?
14:32 If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace.
14:33 So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
"The American Fotoplayer is a type of instrument that was specially designed to make music and sound effects for silent films. Here, Joe Rinaudo shows off all the (literal) bells and whistles that make this such an impressive piece of machinery."
The full-body fitness exercise category, combining some resistance with cardio, contains my favorite Friday tortures. They do not build strength so much as build functional fitness and endurance. Best of all, you feel great when it's done. Well, maybe an hour later.
(We forgot to include isometrics in our categories. That's more for Yogurt Yoga, but Planks are isometric)
An example of my Friday mega-set would be something like this, with no break between exercises:
3-minute Elliptical warm-up to start 1 set of high-rep bench press to failure for secondary warm-up
Burpees, 10-20 Heavy ball smashes, 10-20 Lunges with heavy hands, 2 walks Jumping Jacks or Jump Rope Squats with and without light military lifts, 20 Dips High step ups, lots Heavy Ropes Farmer's Walk, 4 walks Calf lifts, 50 with weights Mountain Climber Planks or any other type of plank, 1-2 minutes each Ball wall slams 30-second Sprints
Rinse and repeat italicized 3-4X as time permits.
Then 5 minutes stair machine to finish up, to painfully drain the last drop of energy from your body
I think I have more power, endurance, and general fitness than I have had since I was 18. A body will respond to demand, slowly. That is useful and feels alive. I do one day of mostly upper body resistance, one day of mostly back and lower resistance, one day of mostly total-body calisthenic destruction, and 2 or 3 days of intense cardio for just an efficient and exhausting 1/2 hr. I do all of it at 5 am. My trainer is a sadistic Nazi monster Ohio farm boy. A real knowledgeable pro, cheerful and demanding, precise about form and technique.
Here are some tough, fun, medicine ball calisthenics:
We eat supper out a fair bit. One marital date nite per week, one or two social nights out, and a fair amount of take-out because it is easy, tasty, healthy, and cheap. A couple of times each month I'll do a guy's nite out or a guy's breakfast out with a friend or two. Mrs. BD only wants to cook for guests or holidays after cooking for the family for many years, and I only cook when inspired and for guests.
Towards the beach at Duck Harbor, on Cape Cod Bay. I do love it out there in Wellfleet and Truro with the sand and the salty breeze that prevents biting bugs and the piney smell and the miles of protected and undevelopable land. Also, the multi-mile-long beaches with nobody on them except you and the seals.
Wellfleeters know that Duck Harbor used to be a harbor. Currents and storms closed it off with these low dunes, and now the old harbor is a gnarly, impenetrable (I know) fresh-water wetland, full of wildlife and highbush blueberries.
Many of our posts here are simply topics we research a bit, and then share the info with you. The assumption is that whatever we feel curious about is something somebody else might too.
Fall is the best planting season for shrubs and trees, hence this post on exposure. (Generally, I would never advise planting anything without an overall plan. I have learned from many landscape errors and I wish I had the money back from all of them. Learning is expensive.)
Plants do not thrive without a climate (of course), a soil they prefer, an exposure they prefer, the duration of sunlight they prefer, or the amount of moisture they prefer.
"Exposure" means the amount and direction of direct sunlight, or the lack thereof, on a given spot during growing season. Only a plant in the middle of a large field or large lawn has no limiting exposure. That is known as "Full Sun," 7+ hours of direct sunlight. Full sun is what is needed for vegetable gardens, hayfields and other farm crops, most trees, and many perennial plantings.
In most of the US, trees and buildings determine the exposure of a planting site. Before you plant anything or put in a garden, you need to determine the exposure and the hours of direct sun the spot gets. For example, an Eastern Exposure location gets direct morning sun for maybe 4-5 hrs. That is known as "Partial Sun" aka "Partial Shade." Many plants love that eastern exposure such as Dogwoods, Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons. Such plants hate the afternoon intensity of a Western Exposure so their Partial Sun needs to be morning.
OK. Before planting something, we need to determine the exposure and the amount of direct sunlight. There's another sun consideration too, though. As this site notes:
Remember that the sun changes position in the sky throughout the year, so an area that is mostly shade in spring and fall may get more intense sun during the summer when the sun is high. This could lead to your sensitive shade plants being burned by the sun in July and August. You don’t want that so be sure to take this into consideration when planning a garden area.
As you move towards more northern latitudes, the angle of sun varies seasonally, expanding and contracting exposure. A couple of my Western Exposure rhododendrons only get afternoon sun for several weeks in midsummer, and even that is too much for them. They survive but do not thrive. If they had afternoon "Dappled Shade," they would be fine. Which brings us to Dappled Shade and other definitions. Some good definitions from here:
This has been a great year for rodents in Yankeeland. I've never seen so many bunnies (Cottontail Rabbits) or Chipmunks around. Maybe somebody shot the Coyotes?
Like other ground squirrels, these cheerful little fellows don't climb often, and live in tunnels.
Mine have some burrows under my garden shed, and some live in a rock pile. They are rather tame, but the dog doesn't seem to be able to catch them. They like the free lunch of seed that falls off my bird feeder tray, so I can watch them poking around two feet from my window.
At Mohonk Mountain House in the Catskills (short video of that wonderful place here), they have always had a number of little Victorian-style chipmunk houses around the place. Like doll houses, but sturdy and shingled. They seem to like those houses.
When I was a kid I caught one in a Havahart trap and tried to tame it, but that plan did not work and I finally let it go. Sharp teeth, and loves freedom and independence.
Cats are bird killers. 
I want one. I used to think they were silly, but now I realize that they are nothing but a permanent campfire. People love to assemble around them, the smoke keeps bugs away, and they are great for burning marshmallows.
A salute to Labor
Government Workers Now 
How people died 100+ years ago, 
Many of our posts here are simply topics we research a bit, and then share the info with you. The assumption is that whatever we feel curious about is something somebody else might too.
This has been a great year for rodents in Yankeeland. I've never seen so many bunnies (Cottontail Rabbits) or Chipmunks around. Maybe somebody shot the Coyotes?
This one is for AVI: