Maggie's Farm

 Gordon Lightfoot, R.I.P. Farewell, Gordon. If you could read my mind, what a tale my thoughts could tell.

 Rabbi Harold Kushner, whose works of practical theology were best-sellers, dies at 88

Warren Buffett eats McDonald's for breakfast, drinks 5 Cokes a day, and devours cookies and ice cream. Here are the investor's 11 best quotes about his iconic diet.

US military Techniques of Marching 

 The Inside Forces Upending Medicine - DEI in our med schools, trauma in psychiatry: two stories explore the sabotage of science.

 Medicine Goes Woke

Gender:  The science says "get 'em while they're young!"

 Next After Transsexualism: Transableism

 Supreme Court may finally end rule of bureaucrats with ‘tragic’ Chevron case

 $100 Million Offer Made to Tucker Carlson for New Broadcast Role

 Interior Secretary Deb Haaland Testifies It’s Better to Get Rid of Jobs in USA, Live in Poverty and Save the Planet – Even if Rest of The World Doesn’t Do It

Yes, Monte Cristo is a small island off the west coast of Italy. Tyrrhenian Sea.

A reader sent the below re the novel. I never put it together - "Dantes" should be a giveaway:

 The novel is much more than an adventure, though, but a story of redemption. Alexandre Dumas structures the tale on the lines of Dante's Divina Commedia. The life of Dantès takes a wrong turn, and he ends up in the Inferno of Chateau d'If, with Abbé Faria playing the part of Virgil. Dantès then enters the Purgatorio of revenge and retribution. Finally cleansed of his hate, Dantès finds the enlightenment of Paradiso.

“Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words, -Wait and hope.” — Alexandre Dumas (père)

Just as a precaution, and because my fitness trainer wants me to, I get one every year or two. They have always been normal and I have never had any heart symptoms.

This year my cardiologist recommended a Nuclear Stress Test. Apparently the regular test is only 60% effective at finding arterial problems, but the nuclear test over 90%. 

Yes, angiography is 100%, but generally needs to be justified by symptoms.

I haven't had blisters from either urban hiking, wilderness hikes, or hunting, for many years. I used to get them mostly from urban hikes, and they ruin the enjoyment. I use liner socks and the right shoes or boots for the purpose.

For the mountain hikes around Sedona, I could have used my Meindls, but did not anticipate the rockiness. 

All about foot blisters. 

 IBM To Stop Hiring For Roles That Can Be Replaced By AI; Nearly 8,000 Workers To Be Replaced By Automation

 Is AI the End of the World? Or the Dawn of a New One? A conversation with Sam Altman, the man behind ChatGPT, about the risks and responsibilities of the artificial intelligence revolution.

 Americans fault news media for dividing nation

 Meat is crucial for human health, scientists warn

 Scientists blast ‘zealots’ pushing plant-based diets, argue meat is crucial for health

 On friendship with self-righteous cowards - Three years in, the bell has rung. No, I don't expect Covidians and vaccine fanatics to apologize.

 A significant subset of people I know believe that the uprising against alphabet ideology is the result of a moral panic.

 INDIANA COUNCILMAN COMES OUT AS WOMAN OF COLOR

MC:"What rural and suburban readers may be missing is an understanding of the extent to which serious and violent crime is concentrated in a handful of quite small areas."

 Ail­ing met­ro­pol­itan centres demand cre­ativ­ity from the pub­lic and private sec­tors

 Chicago Area High School Slammed Over Segregated Math Courses for ‘Black’ and ‘Latinx’ Students Only

 Academia’s twisted reasons for shelving the SAT

 BLM student activist’s lies destroy the life of fellow white student

I've read enough about hiking pacing. Whatever people or experts say, it depends on your fitness, your weight, your natural pacing, somewhat (but hopefully not too much on age) - and the terrain. Especially the altitude change and the amount of rocky or bouldery trail. 

The thing people estimate is 2-3 miles/hour, but it depends on terrain. An hour of 5-600-foot altitude change slows you down, especially with rocky trails. Also, on how much you want to look at birds, take in the landscape, or take a photo.

Since Mrs. BD and I are no longer 20 years old, we always use hiking boots and carry hiking poles. Don't always need the latter, but when needed they are good to have for the tricky, rocky, clambering, steep, slippery parts. Sometimes only for balance, but I grew up with a walking stick broken from the woods. Feels natural to me.

Our hiking pals in Arizona last week are speed demons, no matter how steep or rocky. We can't keep up. We catch up with them waiting happily for us in the shade of a lone juniper drinking water and having a granola bar, but impatient to keep climbing.

Over years as amateurs we have learned a few things about day hiking: Skip breakfast except for coffee, because food saps your energy. Drink water before you want it. Do not stop and rest for long. Keep a rhythm. Keep your eyes on the rocks and roots on the ground, and you'd hate to step on a rattlesnake. Mentally grind it out when needed because you always have miles left in ya even if you feel like you don't. 6-7 miles of rocky hill hiking is plenty for me for a 6 AM morning hike.

Then a 20-minute nap. Plenty of time later in the day for a less strenuous expedition.

 Diamond arbitrage!

Vivek Ramaswamy Debated Gender With Chuck Todd, and It Was Absolutely Bonkers

 Equitable Grading

 UNC Professors: Teaching The Constitution Violates Our “Academic Freedom”

 Mike Pence appearance at UNC causes some to leave campus: ‘scared for their safety’

 Why the whining over work rules for welfare?

 Turns out, regular Germans not so hep on unicorn farts

 New York Rushes to Become First State to Ban Natural Gas Hookups

 California Could Phase Out Diesel Locomotives

 IRS Hiring Hundreds of Armed Agents

Cool 1975 movie. Yes, the Chateau d'If is real.

They go by several other names too (Miniature Watermelons, Mouse Melon), but I never had them until last week in Georgia. They cut them in half and put them in salads at our inn along with the cherry tomatoes, etc. Crunchy, refreshing little cucumber-like things about an inch long. Grow prolifically on vines. Be the first in your neighborhood. I ordered some seeds right away.

Another good thing they grew in their gardens was a tangy peppery green which is new to me, Curly Mustard, or Mustard Mizuna. Use it when the leaves are young.

And lots of Mache, of course. Down there, you must do many sequential plantings of greens, but in summer they must be shaded.

Norwegian Bluegrass: All My Tears

I use Chrome, for no reason. 

What browsers do our readers use? And why?

A 2003 spoof on folk music. Schizophrenia in it too. 

Here's the trailer:

Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd, gradually sank into psychosis during the group's early days. The group wrote this remarkable homage to him (this performed by David Gilmour):

Mr. and Mrs. Bird Dog are taking a few days for relaxation mountain hiking with pals in Arizona. Will bring iCamera.

 Kindness all around us: People help each other every 2 minutes!

 United Nations, Harvard, And Facebook-Google Launch Push For Censorship Worldwide. CENSORSHIP SOUGHT FOR "NEGATIVE COMMENTS ABOUT PUBLIC FIGURES' APPEARANCES"

 The Cancer Industry: Hype Versus Reality

 Employers reveal why Gen Z is the hardest generation to work with

 Media Contagion - Latter-day journalism is helping to realize its own false narratives.

NYU Prof Denounces ‘Venus de Milo’ as White Supremacist. It is made out of white marble so it must be racist.

For what it's worth, the ancient Greek carvings were painted. 

 Biden’s genius is his hidin’ — it could get him another four years

 San Fran Target puts entire inventory on lockdown

I like to grow them in high pots so they can spill over. They want to be vines, not exactly upright plants.

Sure, they are colorful but the main thing is that both their peppery leaves and flowers can be thrown into a salad. 

A conservation success story, to the point that they have a hunting season.

Wonderful birds. A pal and I tried stalking them once but they are too alert. Not sure I'd want to shoot one anyway but I guess they are tasty.

I like it for noodles, or as a salad dressing. I like a little hot pepper sauce in it too, sometimes.

Thanks to the Spanish for spreading the peanut around the world.  

How to make Asian Peanut Sauce 

 Kay S. Hymowitz: The Transgender Children’s Crusade - With its vision of autonomous young people in touch with their innermost desires, gender identity negates all we know about growing up.

 Victor Davis Hanson: Do We Even Know We Are All Socialists Now?

Climate debating is dangerous 

 Dedollarization

" I believe more and more people are starting to feel the way I do..."

Illegal guns 

Tucker Carlson leaving Fox News: Network announces parting of ways with host

That was a surprise 

 We Could See Tucker Carlson's Split With Fox Coming

Hinderaker likes Tucker 

 Body Language Expert Figures out Exactly What Bud Light VP Was Thinking With Her Mulvaney Marketing Mess

 Chicago Mayor Warns That If Local Walmart Locations Close People Will Have Fewer Places To Shoplift

Have you tried any, whether medicinally, recreationally, or for self-medication?

I don't mean during college, but in adulthood. I've tried the 5 mg. gummies for sleep. They seem to work, and do not give you any mental experience. Makes you a bit lazy in the morning, so I don't use them anymore. I haven't smoked any weed since grad school. Not much then, either.

I preferred Bud Lite...