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.
While attempting to return my refreshed work space to some simulacrum of order (with books back on shelves, minus 1000 of them) and somewhat different pictures on the walls to lighten things up, I came across a book I read about ten years ago and want to re-read. I read lots of books, but never remember enough of what I read. Not demented yet, but it reminds me of the joke about Alzheimer's patients being able to hide their own Easter eggs.
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.
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.
A 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.
Today 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).
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 Medium-duty hiking boots: Meindl and Vasque Light, layerable packable all-weather jackets: Many choices, but Patagonia way too expensive. Daypacks: Osprey Knee pads: Any cheap ones on Amazon. If you have bony knees, they are handy on rocks. Hiking poles: Glorified walking-sticks. Not needed for well-build trails but handy for rough hill hiking and useless on rocks. In Euroland, everybody uses them. On our Dolomites hikes we could have used them on scree slopes - everybody else did and they would have spared Mrs. BD some knee damage on the steep downhills. Ordinary LL Bean poles are fine. When there is scrambling, just stick them on your daypack. Most daypacks have pole-holders.
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:
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.
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.
I 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 Two Years Before the Mast Slocum's Sailing Alone Around the World The Patrick O'Brian series Carry On, Mr. Bowditch Perfect Storm The Nagle Journal Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America
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?
Give this a listen. It covers child-rearing, victim identities, reflexive empathy, care for the elderly, and the importance of responsibility for meaning in life. Of course, life is difficult and painful. The youth know nothing. Of course life is unfair. You are not all you could be. Everybody is a victim. You have rights so you can meet your responsibilities. Feeling sorry for someone is not a moral virtue. "I don't care about you. I care about who you can be." Be more than you are. Treat yourself like somebody who wants to help you. The consciousness of time. The evil in taking revenge against God for the structure of reality. Etc.
I had never heard of them. They are evaporative cooling systems which are efficient in low-humidity areas. Deserts, for example. In the desert southwest of the US, they are often roof-mounted. A lot cheaper than a/c, but won't work in most of the US.
Mao began his Cultural Revolution after the failure of the Great Leap Forward. The Democrats are now enforcing their version of Cultural Revolution now that their economic policies have failed to yield their Utopian Vision.
We've seen the revolution begin at leading digital firms, which release people like James Damore, who provide well-written and well-documented critique of hiring practices, while offering better alternatives which don't happen to fit the political agenda. It's called a "gender memo" and he is a pariah. The claim is he 'got the science wrong', but while it's not 100% spot-on, some scientists said it's pretty good and certainly not a rant or screed. Nevermind. It doesn't meet the level of agenda-setting which Silicon Valley is pursuing. Fire him. More importantly, find ways to limit the speech of employees and online users.
Now, with Kavanaugh, you can keep your job if you commit slander, but try to provide some semblance of balance and you're going to have to go.
For now, the Cultural Revolution will seek to take away reputations and livelihoods. I worry that it's on the verge of getting violent and taking lives. As the anger and outrage of the Left continues to grow - and if the much-ballyhooed "Blue Wave" does not appear in November (I, for one, do not think it will) - you can be sure it will get increasingly more violent. Reputations and jobs won't be enough.
I did manage yesterday get rid of my quota of 1000 books, with the help of two energetic Philipino helpers. (I do not mind stereotyping: I love all Philipinos. Just the best brand of people in the world.) Some to the book exchange, lots to dumpster, but I saved many old friends to replenish my shelves when repainting and floor-refinishing of my work space/library is done. Because they mean the most to me. Difficult choices for sure.Why keep a book if nobody ever intends to read it again? Books are not decor - they are friends, worlds. A painful chore, purging a home of excess.
Amongst it all, I found my journal of my first trip to Europe at age 10. I did not recognize the author - so detailed, so serious. Details about a pet store in Edinburgh. The Zermatt hike to the foot of Matterhorn, worrying about my baby brother on the cliffs. Whenever we traveled, Mom made us keep daily journals. Even then it was clear I loved traveling on ships. Unless the Navy tired you of blue water, nothing is more exciting and North Atlantic weather can be a real kick.
Also found my copy of L'etranger in French from high school, with my penciled notes. Stuff like that. My first copy of Peterson's Bird Guide, with my notes from childhood, falling apart. I noticed my excited notes on my first Bobolink. I took a deep breath and tossed it.
I am all about books, hate TV and movies, generally. My problem is that I forget too much of what I read. Born that way I guess. Mrs. BD reads less than I do, but remembers everything. Quiz her on opera plots or play plots sometime if you see her. You will get an earful.
A reader made a point about job vs. vocation on Thursday's retirement post. I sort-of get that, and sort-of do not. All productive work is ennobling, I believe, whether for family, friends, customers, community, nation, or world. Job vs Vocation might be just a state of mind, an attitude. Whether killing or harvesting for food, or working in a cubicle, we all need to work profitably unless we and our family are fixed for life. Even then, many of us seek ways of being valuable.
People love this one. It's clever the way he replaced "life" with "light," as he was going blind when he wrote this sonnet. The "talent" refers to the parable of the talents - double meaning. But what does he mean by "wait"? When I was in high school, I imagined waiting on tables: waiting on table is surely valuable.
When I consider how my light is spent
When I consider how my light is spent, Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest He returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?” I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies, “God doth not need Either man’s work or His own gifts. Who best Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest; They also serve who only stand and wait.”
A reader made a point about job vs. vocation on Thursday's retirement post. I sort-of get that, and sort-of do not. All productive work is ennobling, I believe, whether for family, friends, customers, community, nation, or world. Job vs Vocation might be just a state of mind, an attitude. Whether killing or harvesting for food, or working in a cubicle, we all need to work profitably unless we and our family are fixed for life. Even then, many of us seek ways of being valuable.