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.
Last time we checked (I do not know how we did it), our readership was 60/40% men/women. Also, but not relevant to the topic, our average age of readership was 45. I have no idea about how to get such stats now and it doesn't matter.
Let's say you are a guy, and you know your wife "needs" a Prada bag. Get her one. She can exchange it if she doesn't like it. Ha - reader reminds me that they are free in San Francisco. Cool.
Readers know from past postings that we prefer tickets and trips for presents (with the very rare exceptions of my birthday car and her birthday boat - no more of that is likely cuz her new bedroom fireplace is last on that list). Opening presents is mainly for kids except for diamonds and gold.
One thing anybody might like as a present is a hiking trip. Montana is great, so is Sedona or the Dolomites. Or just the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Backroads has tons of good hiking or biking tours ($), but we really got a kick out of our Wilderness Scotland Outer Hebrides trip. Small (10) group from all over the world, energetic people but not kids, superb Scots guide, semi-rustic places to stay. Kippers and Haggis for breakfast. Bring rain gear.
A reader mentioned the great Jacques Barzun. Years ago I had a friend who took a semester from Stanford only to take Barzun's famous cultural history and philosophy course at Columbia. It wasn't a course you could "take." You had to be approved for it and had to commit to it. Sometimes he would interview students to make sure they were up to it.
It was 3 books to read/week, and you had to stand and deliver in class. High standards for an undergrad (and grad) class. Barzun also never gave an A. He told the kids that nobody could digest all of this to his expectations. It was an academic humanities boot camp.
My pal, who had far more IQs than me, went on to a brilliant academic career and has always praised Prof. Barzun for it.
Do you aspire to climb Ben Nevis in winter? Or, God forbid, Mount Washington?
Autumn is the time for serious hiking in whatever the weather serves up. Adventure.
We feel the best stuff is made by Montane. It's a Euroland company so it has an Alpine feel.
LL Bean is fine, but not for winter climbing. Patagonia has the brand, but check out Montane. Bear in mind that they use Euroland sizing, which is different.
Inverness has several shops which sell waxed jackets. They sell models that are more for working purposes rather than the more style-oriented ones available in the US. If any place in the world is right for a Barbour or similar brands, it is Scotland.
Gore-tex made waxed clothing obsolete, more or less, but people still like it. What is not widely-known is that Gore-Tex, over time, loses its waterproofing effect and you have to replace the item. Waxed cotton and waxed canvas can be re-proofed. I have waxed canvas Filson hunting pants, waxed canvas hunting brush chaps, a Barbour, maybe something else too. Damn things are heavy to wear compared to Gore Tex.
If these things get too dirty or muddy on the outside, you just brush then off or hose it off with cold water. But what about when the lining gets sweaty and smelly? Ideally it won't because of the other stuff you are wearing, but if you want to clean it out, how?
I read up on the topic. The only way to do it that protects the wax is to hose down the lining with cold water. No soap, etc - just cold water. Let it soak, then hose it again and let it air-dry. That's all you can do until the jacket needs re-proofing, at which time the company cleans the lining too.
The miles-wide asteroid that struck Earth 66 million years ago wiped out nearly all the dinosaurs and roughly three-quarters of the planet’s plant and animal species.
But some creatures survived, including certain rat-sized mammals that would later diversify into the more than 6,000 mammal species that exist today, including humans...
Today I received a note from a friend about the Christmas "risk" and it gave me pause. After all, we humans tend to think so linearly at times, we tend to miss the bigger picture. I'd never actually fallen for the 'Christmas is at risk' story, though for reasons entirely different than what I'm about to share. Her note is as follows:
"The latest fear tactic is saying that "Christmas may be at risk" due to supply chain issues. Christmas is not at risk. The ability to buy a bunch of crap no one needs or knew they wanted may be at risk, but Christmas is not at risk. Let's not allow these fear-mongers to screw with our joy, please. The joy of Christmas isn't stuff, it's family and tradition and celebrating love. And, if you're religious, it is about Jesus' birth. Not STUFF. Christmas is not at risk. Christmas will go on. Maybe in a different way for now, but... Christmas and the way we celebrate it is not dependent upon material things.
Just sayin'...
And this is the last time I will mention Christmas until after Thanksgiving."
I realized, as real as supply chain issues are, the story circulating is just another bit of Leftist FUD. After all, good Leftists don't believe in God and certainly do not support consumerism. As a result, the 'risk' is designed to craft a narrative which simply increases the concept of class warfare among those they seek to oppose.
The real story of Christmas won't be the TV we couldn't get on time, or the doll your daughter didn't get. It's going to be the time we spend together with friends and family and enjoy each others company. That isn't at risk, though Fauci is trying very hard to push it, and we should continue to look forward positively and set aside most of the fear-mongering that the Democrats and Democrat-oriented media push our way.
Her note has altered how I was thinking about the upcoming holidays in a very positive way, and I am 100% in agreement with this point of view.
Mrs. BD always wants new adventures, but in many ways I hate traveling. It's the process - airplanes, airports, rental cars, luggage, etc. I am always glad I did it after getting through the guards at JFK and headed back to my own place.
Mrs. is the travel planner, and she is darn good at it. She uses Karen Brown a lot, and knows how to use miles for first class. For me, long-distance air travel is torture regardless of the class. I try Ambien and hope not to wake up.
Scott Adams wonders whether it's a female thing, at just past the 23 minute mark: Podcast
Bored with their lives, maybe? Happy wife, happy life. I think mine is a good influence on me, but I never feel bored with life.
Unlike real seamen, I do not trust anchors in bigger water other than daytime lunch hooks. There are too many things that can disrupt an anchor, such as wind shifts, big waves, condition of the bottom, etc. It is not unusual for recreational boaters to dive down and check the bottom situation of their anchor. Commercial fishermen use 2 anchors, but the olde time Cape Cod fishermen would often prefer to run up on a beach than sleep on anchor on a bad night when they could not reach harbor.
For large vessels, there are now global positioning systems which will keep you precisely in place without anchor or mooring.
Our 6 1/2 hour stroll around the East and West Village(s?), with a bit of the Lower East side, was delightful as always.
I am told that midtown is about 50% of normal people traffic, but where we went the streets were packed (mostly attractive young people), pubs and restaurants packed, and a mask was rarely to be seen anywhere. It felt like a party.
We stopped into McSorley's at around 1:30 for some (a few pitchers) ales and hot dogs. We were lucky to get a big outdoor table, but the inside was jammed. Nobody seemed to be checking vacc. proofs.
Funny thing about McSorley's is they only have ales, and only two kinds - light or dark. They still make their own. Their rest room seems unchanged since 1860, and there is only one.
So, at least in these neighborhoods, it feels and looks wonderful.
We have a new record - 2 Maggie's Farmers arrived to join us from Los Angeles, which represents a new long-distance visit. Always pleased when our readers travel to join us.
Originally, I was worried nobody would make it. As it turns out, we had a hardy group of 10 people and we had a great day. Thank you to everyone who joined us, each of whom had a little bit extra to add to the commentary as we wound our way from Chelsea, through Greenwich Village, the East Village and down into the Lower East Side. MacDougal Street allowed us to work through a Beatnik/Rock and Roll section, which was followed by a series of Stanford White buildings, among a variety of other interesting and fun items like Edna St. Vincent Millay's townhouse, Commodore Vanderbilt's first Manhattan home (replaced by a more modern building), Triangle Shirtwaist Fire building, the Turkish and Russian Baths, and many other locations.
We had a great lunch and a few beers at McSorley's. As I was mapping and herding, I didn't take too many pictures. Bird Dog was, and I'm sure he will share them.
Thanks to our good friend, the Manhattan Contrarian, for purchasing some delicious muffins at Magnolia Bakery, which we all shared.
We missed many of our regulars, and hope you will join us in the Spring when do this again in 2022.
If you have been on ships at sea, you know how interesting it is to watch pilots embark or disembark sometimes miles from land, in all weather. The pilot takes over a ship, more or less, when approaching land.
Pilot boats are the toughest small vessels, with master handlers. Sometimes pilots have doors to enter a ship. but often ladders as in this photo. In bad seas, they jump.
Do you aspire to climb Ben Nevis in winter? Or, God forbid, Mount Washington?
Inverness has several shops which sell waxed jackets. They sell models that are more for working purposes rather than the more style-oriented ones available in the US. If any place in the world is right for a Barbour or similar brands, it is Scotland.
