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.
Germany
fact of the day, will support for immigration collapse? - See more at:
http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2015/08/germany-projection-of-the-day.html#sthash.99uUvG13.dpuf
Molecular
scientists unexpectedly produce new type of glass - See more at:
http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2015/08/13/molecular-scientists-unexpectedly-produce-new-type-glass#sthash.iSthJMGb.dpuf
I keep learning more about exercise physiology. A few thoughts:
- Strength training and cardio go hand-in-hand because without increasing strength, one can't accomplish the effort and apply the power needed for intense cardio. I do resistance 2/wk, mixed cardio-resistance 1/wk, and cardio 3/wk (that's for 2015, not forever).
- Walking, hiking, jogging, recreational biking and swimming, and most sports are not cardio exercise unless you are in cardiac rehab. They are just applications of your fitness. Of course, the whole purpose of a fitness pursuit is to have something to apply vigorously in real life. I think of it like learning math: You internalize this hard thing so you can do that other thing that you really want or need to do. Like hike up Mt. Greylock or Mt. Washington, or ski all day with good control, kayak a few miles, etc.
- Cardio workouts have to be as intense and powerful as possible. It seems that plodding along is not worth the time unless you are in your 80s or 90s. Intervals are best, probably. As the trainer said, if you can talk you aren't working it and if you are not dripping and stumbling you didn't do it.
- If you are not too fit or strong, I think difficult cardio builds some degree of strength along with the endurance and the heart challenge/stress it provides. In other words, "cardio" is not pure cardio at all for most of us ordinary schlubs.
- Around 30 minutes is enough. Many cardiologists say 20 minutes 2-3X/wk is good. I do 3X for now. When up to 30 mins, you just increase the intensity, challenge, and power-required in the same time box. That's efficient, because you have a job and a family. It's not time - it's intensity. I am at 30 mins and working on increasing difficulty, stress, and intensity each week.
- I like to mix up a cardio session to keep it interesting. As long as there are no breaks at all between things, that works to maintain an elevated heart rate and pushes the fatigue envelope to the limit. Gotta jump quick between things. I think my ideal lunatic cardio morning would be 15 mins elliptical intervals, 20 fast heavy ball smashes and 20 fast mini-squats with low-weight mil. lifts done twice, then 15 min intervals on inclined treadmill. Finish up and rest with a one-minute plank of some sort. That will leave me pooped and panting for a while, and ready for the day. I would mix in a row but it inflames my back and hip flexors the same way sit-ups do.
- When I am done, I go home and have a well-salted hard-boiled egg for breakfast. A little protein, just in case. Trainer says to have 2, but one egg is all I want. Plus coffee, an Advil, and a cigar of course. Rewards. And Mrs, BD says "Whoa - lookin' good. How do you feel?" "Tired."
The dominant issue in the West is immigration. The ruling elites are obsessed with filling up our lands with people from other lands. It’s nearly impossible to get members of the elite to discuss the matter, much less explain their reasoning. A politician or party that embraces immigration reform, even mild reform, is treated like a Holocaust denier. Even climate change, which is pretty much a religion at this point, is more open to debate than immigration.
As I mentioned previously, my fitness goal is not body-building per se, just overall fitness for life. No real weight-loss goals. Strength-building is necessarily part of it, but balance, posture, and endurance for stressful activity is more important to me for things like steep hill hiking, 2 hrs of singles tennis, hunting in deep snow with weighty boots, rock-hopping in trout streams, lugging heavy stuff, kayaking, chain-saw juggling, and churning out morning links on Maggie's.
I am now into my 5th month. In middle-age, it takes a while to adapt to intense new demands, to ramp up - and I was in worse shape than I realized. I am developing muscles where I had never had them in my life (eg triceps, lats). I do barbell squats, bench presses, dead lifts, barbell work, and all of it. I have aches and pains where I never had them, too, so my guy has to find ways to accommodate that (damn Piriformis Syndrome, damn old shoulder injuries). My grey Brooks suit is getting tight in the shoulders. As I have reported, it's still 3 days/wk with sadistic trainer, and 3/days/wk doing whatever cardio etc he asks me to do. Since I pay him, I try to do whatever he says.
Mrs. BD is doing a similar program with the same fine fellow, but I head out at quarter to 5 am and she goes at 7. She is supplementing her program with some sort of impossible yoga which she loves (I term Yogurt) 3/wk, in the evening. It's isometric and I could never do it. Holding a headstand for 3 minutes? Two minutes of Down Dogs (is that s sexual pose)? Holding a squat for minutes?
Trainer has advised me to up my carbs a bit due to my workouts, no more wt. loss, but I'd like to eliminate another 4-5# of disgusting mid-body Daddy-lard if possible. Vanity. I am about 12# down in pudge and maybe 4# up in muscle.
My favorite day is Fridays, my day for Total Body Break-down for one hour, combo cardio and resistance, no rest except a few seconds for water. Crossfit-style. Destroy Bird Dog to the point that he can not walk or lift a Dunkin coffee cup without shaking. When you catch your breath 2 or 4 hours later, you feel pretty mellow but are ready for a nap in the sunshine.
Bonus fitness tips:
Core strength and fitness. Do it right with tight butt-cheeks and tight belly, pulling belly-button into your spine. 47 fun plank variations:
Planks are the MacGyver of bodyweight movements: They're super tough and great for almost any situation. The versatile move is best known for working your core, but planks also engage more than 20 muscles, including your shoulders, back, arms, legs, and glutes. Even better, planks allow you to work your core without the risks of back injury and overstressed hip flexors that come with traditional sit-ups.
True, sit-ups, crunches, and crunch machines can hurt your back and hip flexors. Planks can't. Take it from one who knows - me. I will never do those again. Just plank varieties.
To you exercise-doubters: I am with you, sort-of. Fitness does not extend life, is sort-of narcissistic, and all that. All that I can say is that it's a cool and highly-demanding adventure for somebody like me who is trapped in his head and lacks enough outlets or time for productive, difficult physical labor. First World issues. You feel stronger and good to be in fighting shape.
New book: Thoughts on ‘The Devil’s Pleasure Palace’ - Subversion is Michael Walsh’s primary focus and the battle he describes is nothing less than a battle between good and evil
From
the UNEXPECTEDLY!!! Files: In the Wake of Proposition 47, California
Sees a Crime Wave - See more at:
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=57497#sthash.XI1BP41p.dpuf
Used Uber twice today in NYC. One time, driver took 3 minutes to show up. Second time, one minute. It's like having your own black car. Cars spotless, new, a/c blasting. Drivers polite. Cheap too.
And speaking of cultural interests and highbrow, lowbrow, and all that, I should mention how packed the Metropolitan Museum of Art was today. You even had to stand in a line to leave.
Rambling here, but, speaking of the Met, last time we went was to see the Sargent show. Went to look at something else today. However, our NYC friend has a link up about Carmencita who Sargent did a stunning portrait of. A Spanish dancer captivates 1890s New York.
Watch her dance. Good grief. I can't dance a lick, but I can dance better than she could.
I photo-reported on our 5 days of hiking in the Dolomites, really the southern Alps, 2 years ago. Here's a good piece on the topic: In Italy, Hiking and Haute Cuisine in the Dolomites - "In summer, when room rates are lower and tables accessible, hiking trails through forests and flower-filled meadows beckon, and enticing meals are never far away."
In winter, the region is a big, fashionable skiing area. In summer, just hikers and bikers. The food is more Austrian than Italian, and the languages are mixed - German, Italian, and Ladin.
That's not very good but, then again, we are Centrist, not Conservative. Do us a favor and let your friends know about us. They might enjoy our eclectic site.
When you visit Vienna, pick out, in advance according to Bird Dog's Museum Rules, what you want to see in a museum in one hour - and then leave and go to a cafe for a vino or a Vienna caffe, and walk around.
Last time we went, we just saw the Peter Breugel rooms in the Kunsthistorishes Museum. Worth the trip to Vienna and the climbs up the marble stairs. The wealthy Viennese loved those Dutch painters. Me, Mrs. BD, and lad. Another day, a daughter and I did the Belvedere while others did other things. We two had a fine day together, as she had figured out the train system in minutes and is loads of fun to explore with. Adventurous. We even visited Freud's apartments. Nice.
(My wife and kids are so adventurous, I just tie my sneakers and follow them. I love their company, but I think I am naturally more of a lazy cafe person. I rely on them all to enrich my life.)
Now they have a show of their 16th C tapestries. Faden der Macht. I'd like to see it but Vienna again is not on our 2-year Master Plan. We need to plan one or two more total-family parental trips before we grow old. Cape Cod, Tuscany, Provence.
Will never forget the first time I heard this tune. As it happened, we were reading City of God in college at the time. Sheesh. Whole record is wonderful, spare, unadorned, and mystical sort-of. That Bob only did a year of college, but he has never quit reading the Western canon.
Mrs. BD and I have birthdays only days apart. Leos. I gave her a pair of Le Chameau that she wanted for fall and winter, and she gave me a set of Harry's shaving equipment. German blades. I can never find the right shaving stuff, so, good. I'll try not to look homeless altho I don't really care too much. Hope I do not slice my jugular or cut my head off.
Then I took her out for dinner to her favorite place. Heck, I like Northern Italian, Mezzican, Indian, Thai, Jap, Chinese, BBQ, etc. etc, but for Occasions it has to be fine French. And it has to be damn good, because for spiritual and dietary reasons we are abstaining from vino at present - but fine Frog food sucks without vino and, furthermore, I do not enjoy recreational eating anymore anyway. It's not about the food on the table; it's about the people on the chairs.
We had:
- Their amuse bouche du jour was a little slice of mallard-scallion spring roll with a gibier reduction in droplets - She had a yellowfin tuna tartare salad with mango chutney; I had the crispy sweetbreads (creamy as cream inside) on a fresh pea sauce - She had their softshell crabs (tasted them, maybe best I ever tasted and I am an expert in SSCs); I had the crispy Mallard breast. Dynamite. - For dessert, they made us a mascarpone tart to share, with a fresh cherry compote and homemade ice cream on top. And wrote Happy Birthday in chocolate around it.
Memorable supper. Happy wife, happy life. Funny detail: Turned out that we each had made reservations there for the same night at the same time as a treat for each other.
Molecular scientists unexpectedly 
6 Things You Should Know About
Used Uber twice today in NYC. One time, driver took 3 minutes to show up. Second time, one minute. It's like having your own black car. Cars spotless, new, a/c blasting. Drivers polite. Cheap too.
When you visit Vienna, pick out, in advance according to Bird Dog's Museum Rules, what you want to see in a museum in one hour - and then leave and go to a cafe for a vino or a Vienna caffe, and walk around.
Mrs. BD and I have birthdays only days apart. Leos. I gave her a pair of 