Maggie's FarmWe 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. |
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Friday, December 11. 2020Encyclopedic Museums go progressiveImage: Opening reception for NYC's Metropolitan Museum in 1872. From Unmaking the Met by James Panero. On the past, present, and future of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:02
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Wednesday, December 9. 2020The DakotaA New Look Inside the Most Extravagant Apartment Building in NYC. How the Dakota has stayed at the top of Manhattan real estate for more than a century. The funny thing is that it was built for the middle class. I've been in there. Kitchens as large as my entire first place in NY.
Posted by The News Junkie
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18:05
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Sunday, December 6. 2020Proof that your Maggie's Editor is a minor genius, of sortsOur Christmas Tree is a museum of sentiment. Essentially no store-bought stuff except things we found on our travels that stick on a tree, and all of my small bird ornaments. We have our kids' rattles, things they made in kindergarten, things like that. It's all personal. The BD genius was to store them all in a living room bureau. 4 steps to take 'em out, 4 steps to throw them back in. No boxes, no wrapping ornaments, no fuss, almost no hassle. Bureau is a lovely 1500s hunk of wood. If some old things break, it's ok. Nothing material lasts but Christmas lasts. We're planning a few small get-togethers, and we are signed up for Christmas Eve service (outdoors, I think). When grandkids, will ask them each to pick one ornament to take home for their own tree.
Posted by Bird Dog
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16:57
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Tipping and gratuities, repostedOur post on tipping the other day raised the issue. As Christmas season is quickly approaching, I reviewed in my mind all the people to whom I give gratuities (ie material Thank Yous) at Christmastime, and throughout the year. - our two garbagemen - $50 each before Christmas - horrible job, hard work, I believe that I am pretty much in the mainstream on this. I am missing a few on that list, can't remember them all. What do you do? .
Posted by The Barrister
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13:15
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Monday, November 30. 2020'Sistine Chapel of the ancients' rock art discovered in remote Amazon forestAt the time, that was savannah, not rain forest as it is now.
Posted by The Barrister
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18:33
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Thursday, November 19. 2020Life in America: New furnace (actually, boiler)
I don't know what our readers have, but we have 4 zones. It would be better to have 6, but whatever. We didn't get into that. A new high-efficiency gas furnace is not cheap. And it is tiny. 48 hours with just fireplaces was a good reminder about how people lived in the past. A reminder of how good we have it. The wonderful installers asked me whether I wanted a new programmable thermostat for my work space. Nope. The antique one is great. Just turn the dial up, down, or off. I can do that.
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:53
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Tuesday, November 17. 2020How Fishele Died, and other vignettesFriday, November 6. 2020What is Machine Learning?Monday, November 2. 2020House MiceWith the Superbowl of politics coming up, let's address real daily life. So many people seem hyper about the election. Relax. Life is good, except for House Mice. Mus musculus was a native to northern India but is now worldwide, spread by shipping. They are clever enough to realize that living in houses and barns are a good deal. They are annoying but cute pests for sure. Cats, in fact, were introduced to Europe from Egypt to control house mice on farms. Even today, you do not know how much House Mouse poop is in your flour. Native wild mice of all varieties do not tend to invade homes or barns. Hardly ever, just the highest IQ ones. Got mice in your place? We do.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:23
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Sunday, November 1. 2020Sean Connery, RIPWhat a life he led, from poverty to fame and fortune. He had the luck to be born handsome with an animal masculinity which, in some ways, limited his range. No matter what role he played, I always saw him through the role. Sure, he defined James Bond, but if you never saw Hunt for Red October, watch it.
Posted by The Barrister
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13:45
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The Making of John MiltonWednesday, October 28. 2020Beds
Posted by The Barrister
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14:16
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Saturday, October 24. 2020Gears and Transmissions, from 1936
Posted by Bird Dog
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14:30
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Tuesday, October 20. 2020The Story of O
The author of the piece at Quillette says the book is not about sexual fantasies (male and female), but it is.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
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13:52
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Friday, October 16. 2020More on job interviewsThis from the CEO of Microsoft:
Posted by The Barrister
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16:14
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Wednesday, October 14. 2020How to interview an engineer (or anybody else)Good general principles on interviewing in general. From How to interview an engineer:
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13:08
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Tuesday, October 13. 2020Goya was a happy family guy
Yes, he had political opinions but, despite many of his dark paintings, he seems to have been a happy family guy. A review of He Painted It Black. Goya: A Portrait of the Artist
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15:17
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Sunday, October 11. 2020Annual re-post: Never talk to the police. Both guys are amusing
Posted by The Barrister
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14:58
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Saturday, October 10. 2020Joshua SlocumHis book is a must-read for anybody. It is a maritime classic. This is fun - who knew that the Brooklyn Bridge blocked tall ships? Melville changed his life, it seems.
Posted by The News Junkie
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14:55
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Tuesday, October 6. 2020Fun with mapsA Harvard cartographer loves maps and their histories. Great fun, and the prof moves fast:
Posted by The Barrister
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14:05
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Sunday, October 4. 2020The Campaign Against Journalistic Objectivity
Historically, journalistic integrity was rare. It still is. Sometimes it is just propaganda, other times it's just not reporting things they don't like. Example: Huge Trump rally in DC yesterday. Friday, September 18. 2020Huxley's Utopian DystopiaThe story of Brave New World preceded 1984 and other dystopian totalitarian/collective novels. It also provides a counterpoint - the idea that there might be a way to accomplish the collective through positive interaction and genuine agreement. Huxley realized this was a seductive approach, but one fraught with problems, all of which eventually bubble up over time. Collectives require some form of force, or provision to derive agreement, to survive over longer periods of time. Widespread collective agreement, even on a small scale, can only be temporary. Huxley saw the value of propaganda, drugs, and psychological manipulation...as well as genetic engineering...to help achieve that "provision to derive agreement" and achieve a means to a presumed end. There is, of course, no end that is always utopian and happy. That's the farce of our 'science-based' leaders and protesters out there - believing society can be, somehow, manipulated (or forced) into happiness and perfection. Huxley knew that. The critical flaw in Brave New World is the technological advancement and wealth this 'collective' creates. As we know, that is literally impossible. None has ever achieved it, none ever will. Despite that, Brave New World provides a cautionary tale on falling for seductive ideas that run against human nature. And, oddly enough, it aligns very well with the 'science' of the current covid political management...the willingness of people to fall in line to 'save' society.
Posted by Bulldog
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11:41
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Wednesday, September 16. 2020Program RecommendationReally two recommendations. Having completed Yellowstone, I'd recommend it if you have the time and inclination. I doubt some of the mafioso tactics employed actually take place, but in today's world, who knows? That said, if you enjoy westerns, the great outdoors, and some intrigue it's worth your time. If you want a bit of nostalgia, mixed with some humor and good common sense, I'll toss Cobra Kai out there. Anyone who enjoyed The Karate Kid will get a kick out of this update. It makes fun of itself while teaching some worthwhile lessons about perspective and life. Johnny Lawrence, the antagonist in the original, is the star. His life hasn't quite gone the way he'd expected. So he returns to his roots, and once again Daniel LaRusso is his competition. An updated story, relying heavily on the original for perspective on how Johnny became who he was, and how Daniel seems to have dogged him the rest of his life. Johnny provides good real-world advice to his new students in his dojo, a bit over the top for comic relief, but his students understand how he is lifting them up. It's a rough approach, not 'acceptable' commentary in modern society, but focuses not on how we want the world to be, but how it really is. Even Daniel, with his 'perfect' life, has to face some of his own failings. At its heart, it is a comedic look at the original. It's got real world lessons in it, too. Some that would be worth having kids learn today.
Posted by Bulldog
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12:01
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Sunday, September 13. 2020Three-card MonteHere's a pro
Posted by Bird Dog
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14:27
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The Age of The MaskDystopian science fiction writers must be laughing right now. There is a reason political functionaries are being assholes about wearing masks - and it isn't about keeping you 'safe' (a common lie used to expand power). Don't get me wrong, masks can play a role in reducing the likelihood of catching the virus, but it's just a delaying tactic. It's not preventive. There is a larger political play here...even if some of us are not capable of understanding it. Most science fiction dystopias are based on reducing the individual into a collective hive. The Borg on Star Trek, Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut, 1984 by Orwell - all of these (and many others) found ways to subjugate the individual to the will of the state or hive. Humans differ from other animals in a few key ways, which in aggregate make us rather special. The opposable thumb, the ability to analyze situations and prepare plans, the sense of self and free will (self-actualization). Where animals that reject individualism have a level of success in groups or hives - what people who overemphasize these fail to note is that humans exceeded the limitations of groups by emphasizing the individual initiative. Hives have their place, they can be useful even for humans. Collectives can work, temporarily and in small groupings, if they are VOLUNTARY. But the problem with modern people is they fail to recognize that capitalism and free markets allow for voluntary collectives to form, disband, and form again. Think corporations are powerful? Name 10 that have lasted more than 100 years. The few that have managed to survive that long only did so one way - by playing political games, or gaining some form of monopoly power guaranteed by the state itself. Natural monopolies can exist over short periods of time, but fall apart without state protection. That is why socialism can only fail, over time. It is an unnatural state monopoly formation. Even fascism, which is a form of socialism, fails because it is still the state dictating the means of production. While competition can exist, it's limited and reduced, innovation is stifled and winners are chosen by political functionaries. Individualism, in socialism and fascism, is reduced to whatever the state says is acceptable and limited.
Posted by Bulldog
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13:33
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