Friday, June 20. 2008
Good grammar doesn't reveal your IQ, but it does reveal the quality of your reading and your education - or your absorption therof. So, to refresh my grammar, I shall review "will" and "shall", and you shall listen to me. The important verb "will" has two conjugations: for plain future, it's "(I or we) shall..." and (You or they) will...". For commands, promises, and assertions, it's the reverse. Simple.
This is the Fin-Duck Sauna Cruising Boat. It's probably a bit large to function as a decoy: 
Wednesday, June 18. 2008
Leonard Bernstein's acclaimed 1973 lecture series at Harvard, The Unanswered Question, was directed towards a general audience rather than towards musicians. You can buy the DVD at Amazon, or ask your library to buy them. Here's a sample:
An official distinction between formal and informal essays. We mostly do the informal, here.
 The Gulf Stream (as compared to the related North Atlantic Drift) is of as much interest to blue-water sailors as it is to fishermen.
Many years ago, I regularly fished for tuna with friends off Montauk on Long Island. We would usually leave at night, steam East, and hit the edge of the Stream by morning. There seemed to be a water color change, but the tell was the water temperature change. I did not know that Ponce de Leon was the first to take advantage of its 2.5 knot current, or that Ben Franklin mapped it in detail. In any event, the Gulf Stream is particularly relevant to yachtsmen in the New York Yacht Club's annual Newport-Bermuda Race (aka The Bermuda Race), because their southeastern route tends to buck the current, and because the Stream is a "weather breeder." The Stream is not static: it wiggles and throws off arms and segments. UConn Oceanographer W. Frank Bohlen has been providing updated Gulf Stream tutorials to the Bermuda Race race committee for years, for the use of the sailors. Here's a sample of his reports, this from his June 2, 2008 report on the Gulf Stream. Image is borrowed from Theo.
This is an old re-post: I stumbled onto this old Auster review on the View from the Right yesterday. He reviewed Brookhiser's The Way of the Wasp, (which I read when it came out in 1991, with the hope that I might understand myself a little better). America has been historically a WASP culture, in the best sense of the term, and that is why it is such a fine country. Does anyone doubt this? It's the culture that dares to interrogate itself. One quote from Auster's piece: In his account of the degeneration of this pattern of useful virtues into an opposite set of vices, Brookhiser illuminates our current disorder. Conscience, the monitor of the self, has given way to the untrammeled self, along with the attendant liberationisms; lower-class welfare mothers and upper-class S&L con artists are equally products of a culture that has thrown away the constraints of conscience. Instead of industry rewarded by success, we have ambition striving for gratification. Civic-mindedness has been displaced by the group-mindedness that now dominates our politics, while the objective test of use (which implies a moral standard derived from nature) has given way to diffidence: "[Things] are, therefore we defer to them"--a neat characterization of America's timorous response to every minority demand.
Consider reading the book, or at least Auster's review, whether WASP or not. It's the story of America's strength and freedom and traditions and manners, all based on stern Protestant moral codes of modesty, duty, sacrifice, self-sufficiency, courage, self-denial, integrity, work, respect, honor, and emotional restraint. With a strong, monitoring, rather punitive conscience to watch over it all. It is impossible to be a nation or a community without shared behavioral codes, and these are still the core of our culture, despite endless assaults upon them from a variety of directions. It's just too damn bad if these codes aren't always fun or instantly gratifying or ego-enhancing: They are for the grown-ups.
 St. Johnsbury, VT is about 40 miles south of the Canadian border, and with a population around 7000 it is the main town in Vermont's rural Northeast Kingdom. Calvin Coolidge went to school there and Dr. Bob of AA fame grew up there.
You drive through St. Johnsbury on the way to somewhere else, such as grouse hunting in NH or Maine. It's a sad, run-down old town today, with plenty of poverty and few jobs, and it gives you the feeling that those with the inner resources to leave, do so. Except for the farmers, the logging truck drivers and the Maple sugar bottlers, it's lots of folks on Vermont welfare who would have much better lives if they took a deep American breath and left the squalor behind by taking a bus to Atlanta, Alabama, or Arizona to find a new life and a real job where they could be of use. This 1900 fixer-upper pictured can be had for $89,000. I wouldn't take it if you gave me $89,000, unless it was wintertime and I was desperate for shelter. No amount of money could make this house charming or homey, but shelter is shelter and, in VT in the winter, ya gotta have some and to hell with charm.
Why are New Yorkers the way that they are? Joan Acocella in Smithsonian. And an annoyed response by the Chicagoan Huston.
This 1866 Currier and Ives print depicts the "miniature ship" Red White and Blue. Details as listed on the print: Length 26 Feet. Breadth of Beam 6 Feet 1 Inch. Depth of Hold 2 Ft. 8 In. 2 33/100 Tons Register. On her Voyage from New York to London, August 1866 with Capts Hudson & Fitch & dog Fanny. Sailed from New York July 9th arrived at Margate, August 16th 1866 
Tuesday, June 17. 2008
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car."
-Author Unknown Advice for the day: If you have a lot of tension and you get a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: "Take two aspirin" and "Keep away from children."
-Author Unknown "Oh, you hate your job? Why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called EVERYBODY, and they meet at the bar."
-Drew Carey "The problem with the designated driver program, it's not a desirable job, but if you ever get sucked into doing it, have fun with it. At the end of the night, drop them off at the wrong house."
-Jeff Foxworthy "If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base."
-Dave Barry
"Relationships are hard. It's like a full time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks' notice. There should be severance pay, and the day before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp."
-Bob Ettinger" A study in the Washington Post says that women have better verbal skills than men. I just want to say to the authors of that study: "Duh."
-Conan O'Brien "Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant?? I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my God...I could be eating a slow learner."
-Lynda Montgomery "I think that's how Chicago got started. Bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go west.'"
-Richard Jeni "If life were fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead."
-Johnny Carson "Sometimes I think war is God's way of teaching us geography."
-Paul Rodriguez "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned sixty and that's the law."
-Jerry Seinfeld "Remember in elementary school, you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file line from smallest to tallest. What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?"
-Warren Hutcherson "Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same."
-Oscar Wilde "Our bombs are smarter than the average high school student. At least they can find Afghanistan "
-A. Whitney Brown "You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!'"
-Dave Barry Do you know why they call it "PMS"? Because "Mad Cow Disease" was taken.
- Unknown, presumed deceased "Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer."
-W. C. Fields
This is an elegant 2003 70' Hinckley. Hinckley builds sailboats to order, but it makes sense to buy a used one. Her details here. They are asking $3,400,000., and worth every penny. 
Monday, June 16. 2008
Something I stumbled on: My worst date ever. A fairly bad date, but if that's his worst, I won't worry about him too much. My best first date was a blind date. (Future) hubbie picks me up and takes me sledding at night in New Hampshire. 12 degrees (F). Had his toboggan tied to the roof of his old wreck of a Jeep, and a six-pack of beer on the back seat. You just had to like the guy. Tall, dark and handsome too, with plenty of interesting quirks. I guess it was a test of my gumption, but, to his credit, the toboggan on the steep hill made me end up holding on tight to him - a total stranger (well, with the introduction by a close family friend). But it did feel pretty good. Only the beer was wrong. For nightime sledding, brandy is the thing, but he was a poor student at HBS at the time.
Today is Bloom's Day. Did I like the book? You bet.
Before the Renaissance, artists (like composers and songwriters) were artisans and did not sign their work, similar to illustrators and jingle-composers today. The "Master of St. Cecilia" decorated churches in Assisi and in Florence from around 1300-1320. This fresco is from his Legends of St. Francis, #27 (A heretic confessing) in the Upper Church, San Francesco, Assisi (1300) 
Sunday, June 15. 2008
Nike's relatively new line of Dri-Fit polo shirts, trousers, etc, is worth knowing about, especially in summertime. This stuff is extremely comfortable for golf, light as a feather, and never gets sweaty. The polo shirts are good for tennis, and do not get heavy with sweat. Polyester, but nothing like what one thinks of as polyester. Their Tour Pleat Golf Pants are also the most comfortable travel pants I have ever worn.
Friday, June 13. 2008
 Leaving this morning to Lombardy and Piedmont for a week or so. As it happens, we will be a bit short-handed on the Farm next week (and I just learned that Gwynnie will also be in Lombardy at the same time, for a wedding. It must be travel season.) However, some of us will remain on the farm to milk the chickens, feed the cows, let in the mouse and to kick the dog - and we have also pre-posted and re-posted some good stuff to keep things interesting here. So stay tuned! We will be based in Stresa. Will bring camera and my usual pitiful photo skills. The best part is that, unlike Florence, Rome, or Milan (we are bypassing Milan), there is not much to buy up there. No shopping to speak of. And internets? I won't even bother to try. Or maybe I will try to post some photos if I can. Photo: The Grand Hotel Majestic, in Stresa on Lago Maggiore.
Thursday, June 12. 2008
A guy once told me that he left his only copy of a (typewritten) book manuscript in a NYC taxicab. Never saw it again. He was in a hurry, on his way to copying it before delivering it to a publisher. It was a novel. He tried to rewrite it, but finally said the hell with it. Now he just writes essays. Brit secret security documents left on train.
DO NOT accidentally carry your very favorite Spyder penknife in your pocket when on your way to a flight. It ends up in the garbage can. Happened to me last time. The garbagemen must have fun finding goodies in those airport cans. That was a $55 pocket knife. I remember also getting hassled at Canadian Customs a couple of years ago as they rummaged through my luggage. "Any knives?" they asked. "Well, my Swiss Army Knife is in there." This was a hunting trip. Big lecture about bringing knives into Canada, and they took it away from me. Good grief. But it was a rusty old one, and the essential beer bottle-top opener was rusted into the case. It's a good thing they didn't find the sharpened grapefruit spoon I always travel with, in case I encounter a good grapefruit.
Wednesday, June 11. 2008
 In commercial societies, everybody wants you to buy their stuff.
Even though retailers lose a bit of their profit in their credit card fees, credit cards make it so easy to spend money painlessly and impulsively that, overall, they are a boon to retail commerce. The average American received 15 credit card mail solicitations last year, so they're making plenty of money on this too. Good for them. Spending discipline, thrift, saving, and "making do" are traditional American virtues, but, like so many valuable traditional virtues, they seem to be gradually going by the wayside in the face of our prosperity and growth. As David Brooks discusses, Seduction of borrowed money is making U.S. a nation of debtors. The Frontal Cortex has a piece on Credit Cards and the Brain. Predictably, spending cash and spending via plastic have different impacts on the brain. Financial suicide is painless. My rule is that all of my credit cards must be paid in full each month.
This is Heade's Newbury Marshes (c. 1871) from the John Wilmerding Collection. Newburyport, MA lies on the coast 40 miles north of Boston, at the mouth of the Merrimack River. In those days, salt marshes were used for cattle grazing, and salt hay was harvested for winter fodder. Over the past 100 years, the once-vast Atlantic coast salt marshes have been devastated by fill, development, and by channelization in the early 1900s in an effort to reduce mosquitoes (Malaria was a big problem in New England at the turn of the century.) In one of the coastal New England towns I grew up in, the salt marsh acreage dropped from 1000 acres to 30 acres, mostly since 1940. I think the subject of Salt Marshes will need to be a future post. 
Tuesday, June 10. 2008
 Our post on Race in the Race a few weeks ago reminded me of the several posts we have done over recent years about tribalism and trust, making the rather obvious point that people tend towards "affinity groups" because they are more likely to know where the others are coming from. When there are enough socio-cultural affinities between people, we call it a "tribe." (I have often heard Jews refer to fellow Jews as "the tribe.")
Tribes share, among other things, social signals and cues - the most important being "trust cues." (I was amused and pleased to see that our 2006 bit on Trust Cues and Tribalism was the top of Google when you search "Trust Cues." Very cool.) I more or less know what to expect from a fellow white middle-aged heterosexual New England Protestant somewhat over-educated professional person who dresses sort-of like I do. I do not know exactly what to expect, but approximately and statistically. And if they like to study wildlife, to garden, to hunt, to mess with boats, and to talk about politics, then even more so. The odds are that we will know each other's rules, codes, signals, cues, language, manners, sense of humor, personal boundaries - even tastes. (Not necessarily their politics, though. My "tribe" has enormous political diversity.) The further we move from our own tribe into the realm of "the other," the less effective we become at reading the signals and cues. I can use as simple an example as attending a Roman Catholic Mass: I feel awkward because I don't know when to stand or sit, or whether they want me to join in Communion or not. All people, I think, have a comfort bias and a trust bias in favor of their own tribes, and I do not feel that that is a bad thing: it's rational. "Birds of a feather..." I believe that much of what is termed "racism" has little to do with race. Mitt Romney's Mormonism is a case in point. I think it was a real issue. People don't know what the Mormon view of the world is, what they are taught, how they raise their kids, what they think about, etc. - and are not interested enough in the subject to learn about it. All we know is "It seems kinda strange" - and "strange" = "a stranger." Thus are our "stranger," tribal instincts ignited. It's not about skin color at all. Some of us are fascinated by "the other," some are a little bit curious, some are hostile, but most folks just don't care to be bothered very much with other cultures. The "multiculturalism" movement of the last decade sought to suppress that Stranger Instinct (for some good reasons, and some bad) - but it cannot be done because it is anchored in reason as well as in biology. All the multicult fascists and nannies managed to do was to silence people while, unfortunately, heightening our everyday consciousness of our differences. So I finally arrive at the Rev. Wright subject. The Rev. Wright preaches a Black Liberation "theology" which, as best I can tell, seems to have only a superficial relationship to any Christianity I have seen (and which is an ideology that seems to have racial hatred built into its core). However, they seem to be dedicated to doing some good and charitable works in Chicago. But my point is that when Wright preaches "God damn America" I instantly know that I am dealing with another tribe. I cannot tell whether his is hyperbolically throwing red meat to work up the crowd, or whether he means it. I cannot read the signals at all, and that makes me uneasy and distrustful. Rightly so, in my view: I feel like I have wandered into the wrong pew. That's all a long-winded way of getting around to linking some of our past posts on the general subject: Scared by his own research on multiculturalism The Diversity Cult Signaling Theory Trust Cues and Tribalism Masquerades and Clothing Signaling Photo: Alaskan Eskimos exist in a culture which is totally alien to me.
An interview with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the "prophet of doom and gloom." With a good video, too, of his ten rules for life at Times Online. One quote: "Don't mess with complex systems."
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