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.
Photo of our elegant dormitories at the school. $60/night - not bad for a living room with a chart table, kitchenette, and nice bedroom plus a spare bunk in the hall.
First thing, we can recommend them for all levels of seamanship education, from beginner to commercial Captain. Half of our classes were military guys and gals, and were from all over the US and Europe too.
The best thing about their classes is that half the time is spent in classroom, half on the water practicing with whatever size and type boat you want to master. They have the dormitory right at their own marina on Manatee Pocket, which was perfect. Classes are from 8 am to about 4 pm. You need to study for an hour or two after you go out somewhere fun for a seafood dinner.
Wish I had a pic of that lovely narrow lagoon, but I was usually too busy with boat handling to take a pic.
Yes, there are tricky paper exams but the practical water components are useful. Lots of boat traffic to deal with down on the intracoastal waterway in Florida.
A few observations about food, masks, etc below the fold, with a couple of pics.
I am back on that topic, which is always a fun and semi-controversial one here at Maggie's. Our list, from the past, includes everything from dining manners to weights to firearms, but we'll try the topic again sometime.
How many knots should a 16 year-old American know how to tie?
A good winter activity with kids, besides Monopoly, checkers, and Chess, is practicing the basic knots with eyes closed. Bowline knot is essential, among the others. What are parents for except for things like these?
Voted greatest mystery novel of all time by the Crime Writers’ Association in 1990, Josephine Tey recreates one of history’s most famous—and vicious—crimes in her classic bestselling novel, a must read for connoisseurs of fiction. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, recuperating from a broken leg, becomes fascinated with a contemporary portrait of Richard III that bears no resemblance to the Wicked Uncle of history. Could such a sensitive, noble face actually belong to one of the world’s most heinous villains—a venomous hunchback who may have killed his brother’s children to make his crown secure? Or could Richard have been the victim, turned into a monster by the usurpers of England’s throne? Grant determines to find out once and for all, with the help of the British Museum and an American scholar, what kind of man Richard Plantagenet really was and who killed the Little Princes in the Tower. The Daughter of Time is an ingeniously plotted, beautifully written, and suspenseful tale, a supreme achievement from one of mystery writing’s most gifted masters.
You do not need to enter the ocean to find rough water. I have been boating in some nasty seas in my life, and I do not like it unless I am on a large ship - like an ocean liner. It's good practice, though. I am now a fair-weather boater. I used to take my boat out after storms for practice. There's no other way to get the feel of it.
These cheerful twins are offshore (which to me means ocean - not coastal) in Florida, not in rough water, but it is a good instructional video.
Mrs. BD and I have a disagreement about boats. Maybe readers can offer us some marital help.
She wants a Great Loop boat, a trawler with a couple of staterooms, galley, head, shower, etc. She prefers these Beneteau Swift Trawlers to the Grand Banks trawlers. She wants to do the Great Loop (in bits) but I'd rather do the Appalachian Trail (in pieces, of course) as an adventure, since travel is sort-of out this year. Those big trawlers, I feel, are just too much boat for my comfort and skill (even with bow and stern thrusters). I could learn for sure, but do I want to? In fact, I am more comfortable with sail than power even though most sail has accessory power too.
I've had boats much of my life, and thought I was done with them. Less things to worry about makes me happy. Kayaks are great fun and good exercise, and zero worries. But when it comes to real boats, my preference is for jaunty Downeast-style boats. I can handle them just fine. They are ok for overnights, but not for lengthy cruises.
Of course we will attend a Bobby Burns Birthday Party here in NYC with pipers, kilties - and the Chieftain o' the pudding race - Haggis. And whiskey to make the haggis edible.
I emailed our host that my kilt got lost at the dry cleaners, but will attend anyway.
Unless you want to spend the money on custom shoes (London and Italy seem to be the places to go for that), if your feet have different sizes, as mine do, it can be a problem for dressier shoes.
Being lazy with dressing, I tend to prefer loafers to tie shoes although tie shoes are a better look. With many people getting back to regular work now, it is an issue.
For ordinary casual or outdoor shoes and boots, no issue. You manage that with socks.
Do any of our readers have this issue? I'd actually imagine that it's more of a problem for women than for men, but I don't know.
I have posted several times about my Food Bank work. I'm not doing this to say "Hey look at me aren't I so giving?" After all, I'd barely done any work over the years with them, aside from donations and occasional assistance at the pantry.
I'm a firm believer in giving back in some form, and doing it quietly. In the Bible, Jesus made it clear you shouldn't promote your good works in order to promote yourself, and I believe that. My grandfather also felt this way, his donations always came from "A Friend" and no other ID was provided. I tend to do this, as well. Anonymity (or some degree of it) here helps reduce the impact of me promoting myself via 'good works'.
On the other hand, drawing attention to needs, and providing useful information about charitable works is not easily done without a reasonable voice. To a degree, I give some celebrities a pass when they promote their 'good works'. A lot depends on just how they are doing that work. If they make it about themselves and what they are doing (Ed Begley, Jr. and his incessant BS about how 'green' he is would be an example - he's wealthy, so it's easy to be 'green' and it's a means by which he can draw attention to his declining celebrity status), then I tend find their points less credible.
Anthropomorphising is always an issue when humans think about animals, but from observation I know that no bunny rabbit is indifferent to being grabbed by a Red-Tailed Hawk.
My only critical response to this good essay, Is Everything Broken?, is to use an historical perspective: When were things perfect? Or when was life better?
Life in the Western world, right now, is better than it has ever been in history anywhere. We live in a Golden Age. Complaining is easy and fun but gratefulness is not as fulfilling...or is it?
The vast majority of Americans are not ideologues. They are people who wish to live in a free country and get along with their neighbors while engaging in profitable work, getting married, raising families, being entertained, and fulfilling their American right to adventure and self-invention. They are also the consumer base for movies, TV, books, and other cultural products. Every time Americans are given the option to ratify progressive dictates through their consumer choices, they vote in the opposite direction. When HBO removed Gone with the Wind from its on-demand library last year, it became the #1 bestselling movie on Amazon. Meanwhile, endless numbers of Hollywood right-think movies and supposed literary masterworks about oppression are dismal failures for studios and publishing houses that would rather sink into debt than face a social-justice firing squad on Twitter.
Mrs. Bulldog and I went into the city to meet our boys for brunch and decided to visit the "new" Penn Station which is formerly the US Post Office (across the street from the "old" Penn Station and Madison Square Garden). It is designed to handle what were very crowded spaces in Penn (ugh...some nights were unbelievable, especially when trains broke down) and provide a bit of a 'link' to the past as the old Post Office's architecture and interior were somewhat similar to the original Penn Station, which was destroyed (tragically) years ago.
I have included 2 pictures. I am not impressed. The open interior, with glass ceiling that lets a ton of light in, is excellent. What was formerly an interior parking area is now the main part of the terminal. Beyond that, as Mrs. Bulldog said, "The great train halls of Europe need not worry of competition."
It is antiseptic, utilitarian and lacks a soul. Clean (though new), bright, cheery - these are all positives, but in terms of originality and whimsy, there is none. I found nothing interesting or inspiring. Where Grand Central has all kinds of angles and views to catch your eye and keep you interested, Moynihan Train Hall has none. It's boring and uninspired.
But maybe it's not supposed to be inspiring. Millions will pass through there on the average week, mostly commuters to Long Island and New Jersey. Who needs to be distracted?
Hopefully calm will be restored as the nation moves back toward some semblance of whatever it is we consider 'normal' for the last 9 months. I hope things continue to improve as we move out of the Covid scare and fear mongering (yes, Covid is real, I had it as have many friends, but no it's not so bad for 95% of the people who get it). If we can move past all this, my job opportunities may improve.
Then again, who knows? I know few of you are on Facebook, but I am (or was). It allowed me to reconnect with friends and family and it's a useful tool. I've also shared Maggie's articles there with my friends, and met many other people who I share interests with. I am well aware of the privacy issues, but I know how to navigate them (part of my everyday job) and manage them effectively. There is, however, one thing I can't manage. It's the real problem we're facing today. It's the reason I deactivated my Facebook recently (after letting people know how they can reach me if they want/need to).
I am aware of many HR Departments doing sweeps of social media to find things out about people. I have heard several stories of pro-Trump people losing job offers. This doesn't surprise me at all in NYC today. The shift here has been significant from not just hating Trump to full-fledged belief that anyone who supports him is a deranged psychopath. I have never been a Trump supporter, but that doesn't mean anything because I've never hated him, either. It's best to hate him with the passion of a thousand suns in order to win approval with many organizations today.
I haven't loved him, haven't hated him, I've merely tolerated him, and realized his persona was a massive problem but that he was accomplishing some good things. I was for honesty and balance of thought and reason. Today, you can't be that way. You have to be a true believer, or at least not come across as a believer of "the other side". In other words, it is almost a requirement to be Progressive to be "acceptable". Such is the nature of modern definitions of Diversity - be like us or you're not acceptable. I'm all for Diversity. Diversity of thought, and respect for other views, without accepting the enforcement of those views on others by law, social shame, or other means of behavioral modification (brainwashing via education, for example).
I took a survey today about working, and first jobs. One question asked the age of your first job:
Prior to 15 15-16 16-18 18-20 20+ I imagine most of our readers are in the prior to 15 group, but I'd figure I'd ask. Just so you understand 'the rules' - any job counts. My first jobs were cutting grass and babysitting when I was 13. My first real job occurred when a friend broke his ankle and I took over washing dishes at a local resort (minimimum wage was $2.30/hour, but we got meals, too, since we worked in the kitchen).
Once I started working, I never stopped. I had a job every summer, sometimes during school, always on breaks or holidays (ski resorts needed lift operator assistants during these periods) afterward. I'd sometimes offer to work off the books and under minimum wage if it meant I could get the work. I know I got most of the tax money back since I was a student, but that never bothered me. Money in the pocket beats waiting for it after April.
