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.
For carving beef or lamb, maybe pork, it's hard to control the thickness or thinness without a pique.
Old-fashioned carving sets used to include one, but usually not long enough and the knives with them were not top-notch. I like a slightly-serrated meat knife so I can go as thin as I want. The Pique gives good control.
Amazon, of course, has good stainless ones. Once a hot meat has rested a few minutes, use that thing and get exactly the clean slices you want.
I don't really know why you would care, since an apple is just a sugary dessert with minimal food value. However, market apples can be up to one year old. It doesn't matter.
They are stored in a high-tech versions of the olde root cellar, cool and dark until needed.
The first post on this website years ago, an utterly unknown site at the time (and still not too well-known) was my pics of Christo's Gates in NYC's Central Park.
Art? Don't ask me. Fun and interesting for sure. An attraction for sure too. A gay spectacle that you moved through.
I hate sunscreen. I at least should use it on my nose when I expect to be outdoors for hours, but I often forget to.
In recent years, Americans have become so heliophobic that they become Vit D deprived, raising the risk for many diseases. My dermatologist told me that many American kids are now Vit D-deprived due to excessive sunblock use. Oral Vit D is an unreliable source. Your skin produces sufficient Vit D via exposure to the UV rays in natural sunlight for about an hour per week (assuming your body is not mostly covered up).
Nobody wants skin cancer, but the scary one is the rare but dangerous Melanoma. It seems to be associated with sunburn. Do dark-skinned people get Melanoma? Yes.
Can you get sunburned on cloudy days? I did an experiment on myself last week. After 4 hours of kayaking on a hazy day with thin clouds, I got semi- scorched. Can You Still Get A Sunburn When It’s Cloudy Out?
I think it makes sense to get some time in unprotected sun but if you are going to be outside all day nude or in a bathing suit, spray the stuff on after that and use a hat. It can't hurt.
Pic above: A di Lampedusa sitting room in the family palazzo in Palermo
Il Gattopardo -The Leopard (1956) - was the only novel the Sicilian aristocrat Giuseppe di Lampedusa wrote. It is a world masterpiece, but he did not live to see it published.
Let's just assume you want to raise your own eggs. Not as a farmer, just for your own use, like a 4-H project or like almost everybody did during the war.
I know two people who do backyard chickens. They keep the gardens weeded and eat all the bugs. A Red-Tail occasionally gets one. They scamper back into the coop at evening feed time, which keeps them safe from owls, fox, coons, and coyotes. That's the real "Free-range." Do you have to quickly teach your hunting dog to leave them alone? You betcha. Shock collar. What about Blacksnakes? Big fat Blacksnakes can't fit through narrow gauge chicken wire.
Duck eggs are bigger and tastier and ducks are less prone to disease and other problems.
A great project to do with kids, who should be responsible for it all. Does growing your own anything make sense in terms of time and cost? Of course not. It's for fun.
A Pull-up is with overhand grip. The challenge is mostly to your upper back. You pull with your back while your arms mostly just hang on.
A Chin-up is with underhand grip. The challenge is primarily to arms and secondarily to upper back.
I shamefully still can not do enough reps of either to make for a worthwhile exercise, so I am practicing with jumping pull-ups, pull-ups with the band, and holds. Also, the pull-up machine sometimes.
If pull-ups and chin-ups are too easy for you, widen your grip or put on a weight vest.
My goal is 10 reps of each, but I may never get there. When I was in high school you had to do 10 or they put you in remedial phys ed which was basically an excellent sort of boot camp for 2 hrs/day. In fact, it was a lot like Crossfit with medicine balls, sprints, jumps, push-ups, 1-mile races, etc.
12:49 "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
12:50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!
12:51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
12:52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three;
12:53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
12:54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens.
12:55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens.
12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
At the Maggie's HQ we are partial to giving experiences as presents. This means things like theater or concert tix with fancy dinners, surprise trips, a spa trip, or especially special outings which you might not prefer but which the other loves.
We all are done with trinkets and toys and gadgets, and just want more life in our lives. US Open tix for her this year. She loves that. A good surprise for her.
What sorts of things do you like to give your spouse for presents, but especially birthday presents?
Actually, at the Maggie's HQ we are fortunate to have several Personal Chefs. Among them, Thai take-out, Costco rotisserie chicken, Subway, etc. Nobody has time to cook at home more than once or twice a week these days. In olden times, at-home Moms and wives used to plan and cook dinner every night. Not so many at-home Moms these days.
My Mom used to. And she always had a cocktail ready for Dad when he got home. Usually a Gin and Tonic. After supper, we kids would do the clean up and Dad would go outside to gaze at the stars and ponder man and God and law with a beer and a smoke.
Times have changed, but not for the better. I do the cooking at least once a week, specializing in red meat and general outdoor grilling. I can also make a heck of an omelette, and lots of other things. Nevertheless, home-cookin is a form of love
Our trainer suggests first-thing-in-the-morning (after coffee) daily calisthenics when away from regular training. That is in addition to all other physical activity (eg hiking, swimming, running, biking, yoga, garden work, etc) which he assumes active people do on weekends or on vacation. In fact, he recommends morning calisthenics for everybody of every age and condition whether they work out or not.
Readers know that calisthenics do not build strength. They build endurance and athleticism, help maintain strength by putting all muscles to use, and involve bursts of intense cardio. Very little equipment needed for this program: heavy ball, jump rope, 10 lb dumbells. Lots of core in this.
But first, a stretch/warm up of a short distance of lunges, sumos, side stretches, and toe-touching walking. All outdoors is best regardless of weather. Great fun. I think we'll have a good bunch for this each morning at 630. For a bunch of them, it will just be a warm-up before their 15-mile run and one-mile swim, but they are nuts. In damn good shape, tho.
Then 3 sets of each 3-exercise circuit:
Squats with 10 lb overhead press, 15 reps 1 minute jumping jacks or jump rope Heavy ball floor slam, 15 reps 30-sec side shuffle returning to squats
30-60 second rest after completing that circuit 3 X
Jumping squats, 15 reps 30 second side-shuffle Shoulder-slap arm planks, 15 pairs 30-secside shuffle back to jumpers
30-60 second rest after completing that circuit 3X
Mountain climbers, 15 pairs 30-second sprint or jog Burpees, 10 Sprint or jog back to climbers
30-60 second rest after completing that circuit 3X
Sideways heavy ball throws (game of catch), 10 each side Arm plank 1 minute 30-seconds of lunges with 10 lbs in hand then back to throws
Time up before finishing the last circuit? Then alternate the circuits on different days and just do 3 instead of all 4 routines. Still have a little time left? Can finish up with some elbow planks and/or light-weight arm exercises: high-rep curls, side lifts, forward straight-arm lifts with the 10 lb dumbbell.
It sounds easy, doesn't it? A good way to begin the day. Try it, and get it all in under 60 minutes. If this is too easy, you are pretty fit. It leaves me like a limp rag for an hour.
Classic Sicilian antipasto: grilled vegetables, done this way. Has to have sliced eggplant, but anything else: halved potato, halved artichoke, leek, peppers - you name it. Best grilled on wood.
Yiannopoulos’ appearance at UC Irvine actually went on without a glitch after members of the school’s College Republicans chapter passed out pacifiers to would-be protesters.
A friend told me yesterday the amusing story of the Ring-Neck Snakes which have been invading their house in upstate New York. His Mrs. is so uneasy about snakes that she has been stuffing towels under her bedroom door.
They can't find their entry point. My friend smashed one with a book. The guy knows nothing about snakes. I advised him that Ring-Necks are pleasant harmless critters and you should just pick them up and put them in the woods out back. They won't even snap at you.
Snakes rarely enter buildings except for Yellow Rat Snakes which like barns with rats and mice. However, I googled Ring-Necked Snake + houses and found a professional snake remover who seems to deal with that fairly often.
I suspect they just like to explore tight spaces, and then find themselves in your living room with no way out.
By early August the Yellow Legs and the Sanderlings have left their northern breeding grounds and are migrating south, towards home which is often as far as South America.
Both species are fairly common along the coast during migration, Yellow Legs in marshes mostly, and Sanderlings on sandy shores. Lots of both on Cape Cod and the Islands.
For carving beef or lamb, maybe pork, it's hard to control the thickness or thinness without a pique.
The stuff from the can tastes and smells like dog food.
The first post on this website years ago, an utterly unknown site at the time (and still not too well-known) was my pics of Christo's Gates in NYC's Central Park. 
Greenland Sharks Live 400 Years or More, 
Pic is caponata
Photo: 
A friend told me yesterday the amusing story of the 
By early August the