Monday, August 12. 2019
 Has the world's deadliest sport become safer? It's complicated. As wingsuit BASE jumping turns 20, some pilots are rethinking the risk.
From summer camp to stardom, his friendship with Bob Dylan spanned 50 years
Famines have all but disappeared outside of war zones. How Humanity Won the War on Famine
New York's Best Old-Time Neighborhood--And Food--Is An Easy Must-See
New York’s Hot New Tour Is Visiting Ultra Orthodox Jews. “To many, the Hasidic world is shrouded in mystery and secrecy—well, not anymore.”
How Government Prolonged the Lobotomy
MAHON: Mamet Speaks Bitter Truth In New Play, And Leftist Critics Aren’t Happy About It. Mamet’s exposure of the liberal-left doctrine as morally contradictory at its core has hit a nerve.
The death of a local newspaper rocks America to its core
The unintended consequences of more potent pot
The link between pot and mass shootings may be closer than we think
Spare Me Your Moralizing, David Brooks
Why Google Poses a Serious Threat to Democracy, and How to End That Threat
Former MCC Inmate Says Epstein Suicide Was 'Impossible'
Identity Politics Violence is Tearing America Apart
KLAVAN: To Defeat The Outrage Mobs, We Must Stand Up To Them
Democrats have demonized every Trump voter as a ‘deplorable’
Trump just beat Democrats on guns
Lindsey Graham Politely Explains to Idiot Reporters Why He needs an AR-15
Dan Gainor: Media go far beyond Trump Derangement Syndrome in attacking president
Elizabeth Warren Defends Calling Trump a White Supremacist, Repeats Charlottesville Hoax
State Dept. updates ‘anti-Semitism’ definition following Omar’s anti-Israel resolution
Germany's Pro-Iran, Anti-Israel Foreign Policy
Russia tells Google not to advertise 'illegal' events after election protests
Google's decision to work with China, not US, 'unprecedented': Peter Thiel
50,000 protest banning of opposition candidates from Moscow elections
Losing the War in Forgotten Afghanistan
Sunday, August 11. 2019
Luke 12:32-40
12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
12:35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;
12:36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.
12:38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
12:39 "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
12:40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
Saturday, August 10. 2019
That conservation plate might be even less popular than a Trump-Pence sticker, and that's saying a lot up there. Several beaches closed this week on Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard due to White Sharks near shore. There are human risks to conservation - in this case, seal conservation. Now Massachusetts has become one of the world's largest White Shark congregations.
Cape Cod White Shark map
Photo via MC's "climate humor." That's a diesel generator charging a Virtue Car
Slowest start to Atlantic Hurricane season since 2004
I blame climate change
Statistics confirm bleak prospects for local print newspapers, an irreplaceable cultural foundation for cities and towns.
It is a loss
The church of chicken: The inside story of how Chick-fil-A used Christian values and a 'clone army' to build a booming business that's defying the retail apocalypse and taking over America
Civil rights probe opened into transgender athlete policy
Record 4.4M Britons waiting for non-urgent surgery, gov't figures show
It's called rationing
How asylum is abused every day
Border Patrol Protection Boat On Rio Grande Fired On By Men In Mexico With Automatic Weapons, Hitting The Vessel 50 Times
THE OPIOID CRISIS AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: GEOGRAPHIC AND ECONOMIC TRENDS
I Immigrated to the US to Pursue the American Dream, Not to Pay for Your College Degree
There were no 'safe spaces' or 'trigger warnings' for young people fighting in the Warsaw Uprising
Bayer Offers $8 Billion to Settle Roundup Cancer Claims
More proof that facts don't matter
" A trip through Europe has convinced me that freedom is overrated."
The truth about the stock market that Never Trumpers can’t accept
'Do Something' Is a Dangerous Demand to Make of Politicians
Democrats give cold shoulder to Warren wealth tax
NYC Businesses Struggling After $15 Minimum Wage Results In Layoffs, Understaffing
As we always say, the real minimum wage is zero
A book by Andy McCarthy: Ball of Collusion: The Plot to Rig an Election and Destroy a Presidency
Wow, AFL-CIO Union Comes Out in Support of Illegal Alien Workers Taking U.S. Jobs…
Trump Can Do No Right
The Media Crossed A Line This Week And There’s No Going Back
As Insty frequently quips, "Just consider the MSM as Dem activists with bylines and it makes sense."
SJWs Now Spiraling Over Spin Class
Democrats Join Joe Biden In Lying About Charlottesville
United Nations Gets Serious About Taking Our Food
Only NPR takes this seriously
GERMANS REBEL AGAINST TAX ON MEAT
Would Canadians Tolerate Endless Illegal Border Crossing?
CONRAD BLACK: Trump Plays Long Game On China.
And vice-versa
Killing Free Speech In France, Germany, And On The Internet
Freedom is mostly an American thing
Spend more on defence or we move troops to Poland, U.S. envoy tells Germany
Europe Poised to Put Warning Labels on Jewish-Made Products
Sheesh. What about Palestinian products? Almost forgot, there are none except rockets and fire balloons
Palestinians: In Need of a Mirror?
Meet Janna Jihad, Palestine’s new pin-up. Call it the Walt Disney school of foreign policy
Friday, August 9. 2019
“Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else. Everything.”
Actor Danny Trejo. Story at Am digest
Ain't that the truth?
The Eastern and Central US has the Rough Green Snake (New Jersey and south) and the Smooth Green Snake, in the Northeast. These skinny bug-eaters are often referred to as "Grass Snakes," although both like to climb in vegetation.
They are so well-camouflaged that they are rarely seen, and they tend to freeze when disturbed. I think I once saw a Rough in a bush in southern CT, but I can't swear it was a Rough because it moved too quickly for me to grab it to check it's ID.
I love seeing snakes in New England. We don't have enough of them except for the regular Garter Snakes that always startle you when they are curled up in a Zucchini plant and the gigantic Black Snakes on stone walls and in the sand on Cape Cod. Did I ever mention the time my Mom killed a Milk Snake with a hoe (mistaking it for a Copperhead) while we batch of kids were playing in the grass? A mythical moment.
Rough Green Snake hunting in a Blackberry patch:
Wednesday, August 7. 2019
I have been switching my phrasing from "strength" to "sturdiness" lately because I think it's a better way of thinking about muscle fitness under the broader umbrella of General Fitness - what we call Fitness For Life.
For example, I'd like to deadlift 300 lbs, but it's not overly important to me. Doing 5 reps of 175-200 will be enough to indicate that I am not frail, not fragile.
The problem I'm sure our fitness readers have with strength training (resistance training, or sturdiness training) is time. If we aim for 6-7 hours weekly for fitness, with 2 of those HIIT and endurance cardio and 2 of them calisthenics, how can we fit in all of the strength building or strength maintenance?
Maybe by condensing resistance things and mixing them up. For example, there are several basic back exercises. Three of them are fundamental (ie, must be done at least once weekly): deadlifts (a total body exertion - The King of Exercises), rows, and pullups/chinups or pull-downs.
Each of those can take 15-20 minutes of your time with 6 sets, with 90-120 sec. rest between sets. So you can schedule, say, deads once weekly, pullups/chinups/pull-downs once weekly, and some type of row once or twice weekly (eg inverted row, seated row, dumbell bent-over row). Mix them up week to week). And because those make good arm demands too, there is less need for pure arm exercises.
Other than the deads, the key to back exertions is to clench your scapulae. Squeeze them. Make the back do them bulk of the work, not your arms. With chinups and pullups, you thrust your elbows down to power the movement.
Some ideas below the fold -
Continue reading "General fitness: Sturdy backs, etc."
 I guess we remain an eclectic boutique website - but a fairly strong one in that humble category. Not mass market, so we can't get rich from it. We are grateful for donated web services (thanks, buddy - you are a prince) and for the pittance ($250,000/year from our friends at Dunkin Donuts. Just kidding about the latter.)
We are happy hobbyists.
In the past 12 months, 4,000,000 page views, 2,000,000 sessions, 385,000 users, 376,000 new users, bounce rate 54% (excellent), and around 5000 regular daily users. Thousands more of regular but non-daily readers who come to just catch up every few days.
Since readership is our only reward, whatever y'all can do to help us expand it is highly appreciated even though we do not get paid for it. Stupid, right?
Samuel Pepys: Honest to a Fault
Good fun reading him in small doses,like Boswell's writings
Raoul Wallenberg — remembering a hero on his 107th birthday. To save tens of thousands of Jews, Swedish diplomat bribed, cajoled, persuaded and even threatened German and Hungarian officials; what happened to him remains unclear
"David Whitlock has not showered or bathed for 15 years, yet he does not have body odour."
What about "odor"?
NPR Discovers the ‘Nature Rights’ Movement
Professor wins settlement blocking forced union due
Think Google Controls The News? It’s Worse Than You Think, Experts Say
On Monday Barack Obama criticized President Trump and racism for the mass shootings over the weekend.
Here's What A Criminology Professor Learned By Studying Every Mass Shooting Since 1966
Most bitter, alienated people don't kill
Ex-Girlfriend Says Dayton Shooter Heard Voices, Talked About “Dark, Evil Things”
Chicago Mass Shooting This Morning. Where Is The Democrat Outcry?
Obama: 24 Mass Shootings. Trump: 4 Mass Shootings
Facts don't matter. Orange man bad.
Reporters Dismiss Dayton Shooter’s Politics - A new journalistic standard.
After Trump Condemns White Supremacy, Biden Compares Him To KKK
MSNBC Host: Trump Is ‘Talking About Exterminating Latinos’
NBC News Contributor Claims Trump May Have Ordered Flags Flown At Half-Staff To Honor Adolf Hitler
Hinderaker: The Democratic Party has descended into a maelstrom of hate. I’ve been around for a while, and I have never seen anything like it. Whenever you think they can’t sink lower, they do.
The Guardian view on the China-US trade wars: the global economy is at risk
It is way past time for the trade battle. Better now than later. Who wants the US economy held hostage by the giant China? Trump kicks ass.
French politicians want to add an ag-gag rule to the country's sweeping online hate speech proposal
When "hate speech" laws begin, there is no end to them.
NY Times: Europe Limits Free Speech, You Know
Monday, August 5. 2019
A work of art, as seen in my driveway yesterday. Make and model, please. Doubt year can be guessed.
Democratic-Socialist dinosaurs hype climate change debate
Berkeley Somehow Bans Natural Gas
Why not ban gasoline?
Advice to the College-Bound from the Old, White Professor
THE DECLINING PRESTIGE OF HIGHER EDUCATION
Bad Grammar Makes You Sound Stupid
The regression of America’s big progressive cities.
Nothing the modern Left has to offer is going fix places like Baltimore
WILLIAMS: Being A Racist Is Easy Today
Harvard Law Prof. Calls For Trump’s Impeachment After Shootings, Says He Supports ‘Terrorism’
A bad case of TDS
Trump To Address Nation Monday Over Mass Shootings, Says More Gun Control May Be Needed
If Trump's To Blame For El Paso Shooting, Is Warren To Blame For Dayton?
I blame the evil in the human soul. Wrong moment to say it when we feel terrible for the victims and families, but mass shootings in the US have been declining for decades.
What If Man Is a Killer Ape Beset by Original Sin?
Mass Shooter Connor Betts a Liz Warren Supporter, Hated Trump, Twitter profile included: “he/him / anime fan / metalhead / leftist / i’m going to hell and i’m not coming back.”
The 2nd Amendment Is Inviolate: But Is There Anything To Be Done About These Random (And Rare) Mass Shootings?
AOC's Just-Resigned Chief Of Staff Under Federal Investigation
Harris Campaign Blames Russia for Humiliation by Gabbard
Even Liberal WaPo says Warren and Sanders proposals don’t “meet a baseline degree of factual plausibility”
Just pandering
HOTS ON FOR NOWHERE: Bill Maher: ‘I’ve Been Hoping for a Recession’ to Get Rid of Trump.
More TDS. Hates Trump more than he cares about people
Starting to Unravel the Mystery of Joseph Mifsud
What mystery? He's an obvious intel asset
Sunday, August 4. 2019
Rave reviews from our friends who report that it is luxurious: Cairo & The Oberoi Philae Nile Cruise
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
1:12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem,
1:13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.
1:14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.
2:18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to those who come after me
2:19 --and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
2:20 So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors under the sun,
2:21 because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.
2:22 What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?
2:23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
Saturday, August 3. 2019
They are not crazy, MC, in my view. Just trying to turn on their base, the primary voters. That what pols do. Boob bait.
It's all calculated, a game. All parties do it. Figger this: 50% of voting age have below average IQs, and they are reading neither Maggie's nor MC.
The real recipe. Peaches or blueberries are ok too. (recipe link corrected)
Image: That's a John Grillo. I have a minor collection of his stuff, including that one of his wife at the nude beach in Truro.
Rolling Stones concert review: Mick Jagger proves time is still on his side
The Sahara buried this ancient Roman city—preserving it for centuries. Once a thriving North African military outpost, Thamugadi was forgotten under desert sands, until a Scottish explorer went looking for it centuries later.
Scientists say a blood test can detect signs of Alzheimer's 20 years before onset of symptoms
There is no treatment, but it's fun to know how you might end up
Unreal: McDonald's Employee Fired After Refusing To Serve Paramedics
Why Pre-College Service Is Good For Everyone
Prince Harry Would Have To Plant Hundreds Of Trees To Offset Carbon Footprint He Left Attending Posh Climate Change Summit
Royals not known for IQ. Good manners, though.
Euronews Wonders If Traveling To Google’s ‘Climate Change’ Conference By Private Jet Is Hypocritical Or Something
Naw, it's not. It's virtue-signaling. It's the current fashion.
Why Democrats Lose - Jonathan Rodden explores the urban-rural electoral divide.
The Fasting Cure Is No Fad - New research is showing the profound benefits—for weight, longevity and fighting disease—of eating only during limited hours
California Removes Arrest Records From Kamala Harris' Time as Prosecutor from Public Records
After Dems Praise Al Sharpton, WaPo Publishes Devastating Piece Detailing His Ugly Past
Biden Inc. Over his decades in office, ‘Middle-Class Joe’s’ family fortunes have closely tracked his political career.
That's what they do
Trump is delivering for African-Americans. Dems need to work with him to benefit Baltimore
CNN Host Don Lemon Demonizes Black Pastor Who Won't Call Trump Racist
A Dem approach is to scare African-Americans. Every election. It won't work with Trump, though.
Democrats warn of Trump trap
Trump sets modern record for meeting his promises
Covington Catholic High School students file lawsuits against dozens of public figures including Elizabeth Warren, CNN, New York Times reporters and Kathy Griffin, claiming their comments after That encounter were defamatory.
United Nations Singles Out Israel for Violating ‘Women’s Rights’
Why nationalism is required for political success
UK "Up To Its Neck" In RussiaGate Affair, Secret Texts Reveal British Role In Trump Coup Effort
Hezbollah Turning Syria Villages on Israel Border Into Fortresses
Young Palestinians are leaving Gaza in droves. With few jobs and no hope, there is little reason for them to stay
Unless your life mission is to kill Jews, I'd get out of there too.
Friday, August 2. 2019
 Simple
Either an Antipasto or a Primi.
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We’ve been warned by an asteroid.