We 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.
Harvey Silverglate is a Maggie's hero despite his lefty tendencies. A founder of FIRE, civil liberties fellow. The book title over-promises, but it's an important topic.
The only good summer fun this state offers is the White Mountain (ie large hill) climbing/hiking. Or the lakes, of course, where they never should have allowed power boats but, freedom. Those mountains are all good hikes with no climbing gear needed except an intrepid spirit, sneakers, and pretty good health - and do not forget to bring your legs. You might need them. Nothing wrong with trail maps either, and some snacks.
NH has 48 4000-footers, and the outdoor people from Boston, New York, CT, etc. with lake or ski places up there tackle each one. That's the main summer outdoor activity up there. Insanely vigorous people try hiking those peaks in winter. I tried that once, in college. Trust me. It is not fun but it is a good test of manhood.
OK, there are some fun trout streams too. Rumor has it that there are some wild Brookies, but I doubt it. Not much else to do there for fun and recreation in warm weather. The winter skiiing is good, though, and in the fall the woodcock and grouse hunting up around Pittsburg, NH, is quite fine. A guide is a good idea for that.
Other than that, Live Free Or Die. Thus lots of meth labs and lowlifes in the woods. Not much cultcha if you go for high cultcha.
Cast iron, 120+ years old. Weigh around 65 lbs apiece. I believe they need dissembling and sand-blasting, then the powder and baking treatment, and then reassembly (they have bolts). Costly procedure.
Some antiques guy told me the set was worth around $8-10,000 but I am skeptical. Junk, or precious antiques? What's your opinion?
For finish coats on refinished or freshly done wood, Sippican recommends this stuff. It's what he used as a finish for his furniture: Deft clear finish.
I always listen to him. As an old-timey Yankee traditionalist, I figgered he'd go for for waxes or oils which I prefer on my gunstocks, but he likes a couple of coats of that Deft stuff, sprayed or brushed. I will not use polyurethane on furniture as my religion forbids it but that's not polyurethane. It's a lacquer.
I am still contemplating how to finish one of our old oak rustic, wide-board family dining tables which I sanded, steel-wooled, and stained. Why do that? Drink and other stains, and 90 years of grime, food, wax, dust, and dead mouse excretions. And rustic enough that I could not screw it up badly. Would never dare touch fine furniture. Maybe I'll use the Dreft Deft.
A friend sent this pic from Colorado yesterday. He was visiting Denver to see family, heard some slopes were open, rented some skis and boots and skied in his jeans. Arapahoe Basin.
Cosmology has been on a long, hot streak, racking up one imaginative and scientific triumph after another. Is it over?
We might be trapped in this snow globe of photons forever. The expansion of the Universe is pulling light away from us at a furious pace. And even if it weren’t, not everything that exists can be observed. There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies. There always will be. Science has limits. One day, we might feel ourselves pressing up against those limits, and at that point, it might be necessary to retreat into the realm of ideas. It might be necessary to ‘dispense with the starry heavens’, as Plato suggested. It might be necessary to settle for untestable theories. But not yet. Not when we have just begun to build telescopes. Not when we have just awakened into this cosmos, as from a dream.
Pvt. Joe Bowers: Every time Metsler says, "Lead, follow, or get out of the way," I get out of the way.
Sgt. Keller: Yeah, when he says that, you're not supposed to choose "get out of the way." It's supposed to embarrass you into leading - or at least following.
A wife comes home late one night, arriving early from being out of town and quietly opens the door to her bedroom. From under the blanket she sees four legs instead of two. She reaches for a baseball bat and starts hitting the blanket as hard as she can.
Once she's done, she goes to the kitchen to have a drink. As she enters, she sees her husband there, reading Maggie's Farm.
"Hi, Darling", he says, "Your parents have come to visit us, so I let them stay in our bedroom."
His story reminds me of Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel. I think I read that book out loud 200 times. Mrs. BD has it memorized, just like Good Night, Moon, Hungry Caterpillar, etc.
Another place where I imagine that I could happily live (were it not for my kids, my work, my church, our friends, our clubs, etc) - Nonquitt, MA
An Indian name, of course, but it's a good name in English too. Gen. Philip Sheridan's summer house was there. It's a waterfront village in the town of Dartmouth, MA.
The key word is pedigree: the array of background traits, including the cultural, social, and educational capital passed from one generation to the next, which EPS candidates bring to the competition for elite jobs. But it’s a closed competition. One must get through the gates first. A candidate’s pedigree determines whether his or her application to an EPS firm is legitimately considered in the competition, or tossed in a slush pile of candidates who have no realistic chance to even compete for such jobs.
Of course, pedigree has always been influential in hiring decisions for first jobs at elite professional service firms. While Rivera acknowledges this, she contends that the rules surrounding pedigree have changed over the generations. Although elite employers have always hired on the basis of pedigree, the mechanism is now far more indirect. Finding young talent to fill society’s most important and highly paid jobs once was based on descent, the handing over of familial economic power from one generation to the next.
Today, elites have modernized the rules of entry. Rather than explicit bloodlines being the determining factor, the outcome biased toward elites is interpreted as just the rational outcome of the “meritocracy” at work. Now, just as elite colleges contend that they admit students on the basis of cognitive talent, elite employers claim their highly competitive hiring practices lead to finding the best and brightest young employees.
But the way elites choose talent is hardly an open competition, Rivera argues. Rather, EPS hiring is a “sponsored contest.” While any college graduate is free to apply for a position, only those who are pre-qualified are actually permitted to compete. The most important pre-qualification is earning a degree from one of two types of schools. Generally, EPS firms maintain two lists of colleges from which they draw the applicant pool. First is small list of so-called “core” schools that have fed firms’ talent requirements for decades. The relationships are historic, steadfast, and habitual. Think Ivy League, especially colleges that are within a few hours drive from power centers of finance, banking and law.
Next is a list of “target” schools that firms have relied on for talent, but to a far lesser extent than core schools. The pivotal difference between a sponsored and an open competition is the behavior of gatekeepers in seeking talent. EPS firms go to great efforts to seek out the kinds of college graduates that fit the firm’s culture. The firms go to the students, spending valuable time and money traveling to the listed campuses and recruiting for their applicant pool.
I think this is far less true today than in the past. However, admission to a highly-elite school demonstrates something of value and speeds up the vetting process. My advice: Save your admissions letters but go somewhere you can afford.
A cafe with some turbinado sugar and a Marlboro menthol or two. A while ago. I cannot spend too much time looking at (very pleasant) pottery and chicks' bespoke Capri sandals (quickly made for your own foot by sandalmen in the back of the shops with decoration of your choice). Better for me to sit and watch the pretty people passing by.
It's not all hoarding - some people just can't let go of their "precious" stuff.
The Economics of Tidying Up: An Economist Reads Marie Kondo. “People are wrong when they think that pair of jeans will ever fit again, Kondo is arguing. Optimistic predictions keep people from getting rid of things they don’t need.”
We adhere to the two-year rule except for jewelry, art, firearms, and heirlooms.
Best socks for casual fun:
For finish coats on refinished or freshly done wood, Sippican recommends this stuff. It's what he used as a finish for his furniture: 
