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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Wednesday, November 21. 2018The future of work in the USThe very smart and thoughtful Oren Cass discusses his new book, The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America. It's a podcast and a transcript. Cass is mostly concerned about the majority of Americans who do not attend college. He believes the policy emphasis on higher ed is misplaced. So do I.
Posted by The Barrister
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14:46
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Saturday, November 17. 2018Another Peterson interview"So a man who feels he is a woman is biologically-determined, but when a woman feels like a woman, it is socially-constructed." Good fun.
Posted by The Barrister
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14:21
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Thursday, November 15. 2018Grim, practical adviceI suggest that everybody have a plan in mind, or on paper, for what to do with money and life if your spouse drops dead, or becomes disabled or unemployed today. I guess that's assuming the spouse has an income, income-producing assets, or plain assets, or that the spouse manages some or all of the family finances. Things happen out of the blue as I have recently seen, even to the healthiest people. Well, it's guaranteed that they will, sooner or later. It's a very good idea to have a plan, and to not pretend that things will go on like the present forever. It is impossible to make a plan in the midst of personal and financial chaos. I suppose this is more relevant to gals, because guys begin dropping like flies after age 50 or 60, with accelerating pace each year thereafter. Gals need to know what the assets are, where they are, what the life insurance is, what the social security is, what the bills are, and need to have some idea of what they will do when sudden widowhood strikes. The odds are that it will.
Posted by Bird Dog
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14:43
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Tuesday, November 13. 2018What is a human being's scarcest and most valuable resource?How do we waste ours? Getting and spending? Obsessing about ephemeral politics?
Posted by The Barrister
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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13:31
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Saturday, November 10. 2018The Methodist paradise in New Jersey: Ocean Grove
Posted by The Barrister
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14:03
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Friday, November 9. 2018Bob's Biathlon: An American Life
Sometimes it was a Triathlon with biking, but most often just a Biathlon, 7-10 mile run race and a one mile swim race across and back Long Pond in Wellfleet. Last time I did that I almost drowned trying to keep up with my brother, who is a Master Swimmer, a world competitor. We have Bookish-Athletes in my family. And Good Olde Cape Cod. Bob loved it. Heaven for him. We always angled our morning runs through the ancient graveyards... Continue reading "Bob's Biathlon: An American Life"
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:05
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Thursday, November 8. 2018Scientific Survey: Cost of unskilled labor where you live, for odd jobsI'd like to do a Maggie's Scientific Survey of the cost of unskilled labor where y'all live. I mean jobs like lugging and hauling and lifting indoors and outdoors, barn and garage clean-up, and jobs like paper-filing, house-cleaning, and junk-removal. Around here, these jobs cost 20-30/hour. They will ask for pay in cash. Apparently high school kids no longer are willing to do this work. It's too hard for their delicate selves. I would like to think that in Ohio or Missouri American youth would jump at a couple of hours' work for gas money.
Posted by The Barrister
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16:07
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Monday, November 5. 2018Got a good Task Rabbit
Best thing about this kid: I said after an hour and half of shlepping that it was time for a ten-minute break. Want a coffee? Bustelo? He said "Yes, please. And may I try your piano during our break? I have never played a Steinway." Sure, I said. Self-taught, played his own sort of Keith Jarrett-like jazz. A delight, a gentle touch. Told him he had God's gift of some talent, and should stick with it. He said he played around with a cheap keyboard. Great at getting rid of household cluttered stuff. Moving fast with me as a second body. $30/hr is a bargain, and with piano, it feels free. I thought he was inspired by Jarrett, but he had never heard of Keith Jarrett. I have always loved Keith so I turned him on to Keith. Here's Keith:
Posted by Bird Dog
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16:23
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Sunday, November 4. 2018Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Enjoyable discussion of Robert Louis Stevenson's book at Great Books
Posted by The Barrister
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12:09
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Wednesday, October 31. 2018Haunted houseRecently read (or re-read, I forget) Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. It's a good olde Yankee ghost tale, a long short story really. Or novelette.
Posted by Bird Dog
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11:23
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Sunday, October 28. 2018Reading between the lines
Right now, I am going through the Patrick O'Brian naval series. Delicious reading and you learn a bit about running a serious sailing warship. Guys never listen to anybody, but we have some amateur decorators around here who have all sorts of ideas about how to make my work space and living space brighter, less cluttered, and lighter. I am going along with it, because I know nothing. My current plan for the entire HQ in general is to get rid of stuff and lighten everything. One of my daughters is ordering a Task Rabbit for me. They are known to be miraculous helpers for moving stuff around and throwing stuff out. One just has to be brave and get rid of stuff, however sentimental. And we have had dumpsters here since July. Dumpsters' gaping maws beg to be filled with stuff.
Posted by Bird Dog
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12:05
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Wednesday, October 24. 2018Hands
While making my rounds today, watched a master backhoe operator using that shovel as easily and delicately as his own hand. Just wonderful grace and expertise. Later, watched a squirrel burying a nut with his hands, digging and then replacing the soil and patting it down.
Posted by The Barrister
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16:42
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Sunday, October 21. 2018The Coddling of the American Mind: Haidt/LukianoffA lengthy interview with many good moments. Listen while cleaning a closet or something. It will save you the trouble of reading their book. Peterson does the interview but he properly keeps himself out of it and lets them talk.
Posted by The Barrister
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15:20
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Friday, October 19. 2018Famous hikeFriends would like us to join them for the Milford Trek next year, but I am not inclined to travel that far for a good hike.
Posted by The Barrister
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14:52
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Thursday, October 18. 2018Why you should never say "Bagel Street" or "Susquehanna Hat Company"
Posted by Bird Dog
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17:35
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AugustineWednesday, October 17. 2018The meaning of things is the most real thing to peopleThere is some brilliance in this presentation at Oxford. If you only have a few minutes, try minutes 29-50. However, the whole thing is intellectually exciting.
Posted by Bird Dog
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14:47
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Netflix MathToday there was a brief article on Netflix which claims that it's a kind of Ponzi scheme. This is based on a concept which I found interesting, but misguided. Netflix gained 7mm subscribers, but spent $7bb on programming. The next question was "were these 7mm people spending $1,000 a quarter?" That's the wrong question. The nice thing about programming is it's evergreen. Once you have it - you have it forever. So it has value over time, value that is increasing, since revenue can be generated forever, in theory. $7bb in programming didn't generate 7mm subscribers, but the range and quality of programming on Netflix did. Assuming each subscriber wants to watch every program on Netflix, that could take some time, especially if Netflix continues to add programs, which they will. Since each subscriber pays $11 a month, the cost of new programming is amortized over about 7 1/2 years, assuming subscribers stay that long. It seems, right now, that the average subscription is about 13 years or more (my parents have had it in some form since it started in 1997). Continue reading "Netflix Math"
Posted by Bulldog
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12:57
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Tuesday, October 16. 2018Beauty and cosmetics in the RenaissanceWomen put themselves through more then than they do now Today, the only hard thing women do to look good is to work out.
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:00
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I lost all my friends in the culture war.Those were not friends.
Monday, October 15. 2018The Curse of Creativity
Posted by The News Junkie
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16:48
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Sunday, October 14. 2018Hiking gear
I am not talking about either hiking/walking on well-built trails where sneakers are fine or, the other extreme, technical climbing. The great in-between is what we enjoy taking on. Rugged hikes with steeps and some scrambling requiring fitness and hands and knees at times. Some people claim Tuckerman's to the top of Mt. Washington is a great example of that sort of thing. Most outdoor people in New England have taken it on at least once. Hiking is an all-weather sport. Our favorite hiking gear: Pants: Prana and Montane
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:34
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Hiking vs. Scrambling/bouldering
Pic is part of the Giant's Playground/Arching Rocks bouldering route at Mohonk In Yankeeland we are in prime hiking season. No bugs, no heat. I am finding rock scrambling to be more interesting than regular hiking or even hill hiking. Demands agility, judgement, full-body conditioning, and a bit of stress-tolerance. I have no interest in technical climbing, though, although it is fun to watch people do it in places like The Gunks. One item that might help me a bit with scrambling is some knee pads. I have bony knees which do not enjoy too much time on rocks. Scrambling means a fair bit of hands and knees, high step-ups, and steeply-angled boulders. In other words, fun with just a whiff of danger. A few cool scrambling trails in the Northeast that we are familiar with: Breakneck Ridge (Hudson Highlands) Giant Stairs Trail (Palisades Park, NY and NJ) Labyrinth and Giant's Playground at Mohonk Mountain, NY Flume Slide Trail (Franconia, NH) Alander Mountain (Ancram, NY) Tuckerman's Ravine (Mt. Washington, NH) Also, New Hampshire's White Mountains have some of the best mountain day hikes in the US. My sis has done 'em all. What do people do to be in shape for this type of "hiking"? Stair-climbers, 2 steps at a time - and sideways stair-climbers. Rule of thumb for rock hikers: almost never go down the way you came up. Down is rarely safe. Got any favorites? Let us know.
Posted by Bird Dog
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15:23
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Barbour jacket season
Barbour waxed-cotton jackets are made for cool weather and cool drizzle, not for temperatures below 25 degrees (F). They are tough though, and can take a beating. Their appeal is to tradition and style nowadays, while Gore-tex is more practical and cheaper, and take no breaking-in time. Here is On Barbour Jackets: Bedale vs. Beaufort vs. Border Here is How to re-wax your Barbour jacket - Barbour's step-by-step guide (with good music) And remember how to clean waxed cotton? With a hose!
Posted by Dr. Joy Bliss
in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation
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15:14
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Great sea and naval storiesI have always loved them. I love ships and boats, and even canoes and kayaks. Some of my life-long favorites off the top of my head: Moby Dick I learned from O'Brian that the original use of the term "skyscraper" applied to topgallant masts which reached up to catch the highest breezes. What is a mast and what is a spar? You can figure it out yourself. Whether true stories of fiction, the sea is a dramatic setting for tales. What are your favorite sea stories?
Posted by The Barrister
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14:09
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