Saturday, January 8. 2011
 I discovered something pretty neat at Office Depot a while back. .3 millimeter doesn't sound like much, maybe the width of a hair, but, in my case, it actually made a real, tangible difference when it comes to the ease of shopping trips.
First off, if you aren't hip to gel pens yet, you are just squaresville, baby. The main reason 'razor point' pens came into popularity years ago is because, unlike cheap ballpoints, the ink starts flowing immediately. Gel pens do likewise, but they don't have that scratchy feel that razor points have.
To note is that almost every pen out there, regardless of type, lays down a line .7 millimeters wide. Somebody once decided that's the standard and there she be. Then the other day I was looking over gel pens at Office Depot and way over to one side I noticed a package that said "1.0" for the line width. A star was born.
What's interesting is that the line doesn't necessarily look 'fatter' as much as 'darker'. I'm speaking of black ink in this case, and that .3 millimeter made all the difference as to whether or not I had to haul out my stoopit reading glasses every time I wanted to glance at my shopping list. That .3 millimeter crossed some delicate boundary in my eyes' field of focus.
The pen I grabbed is here. Most of the larger pen companies have a 1.0 gel stashed somewhere.
Coincidentally, the next day I was giving some info to my mom over the phone and got the old "Darn, hold on a sec — this pen doesn't work." Naturally, I immediately made a beeline for the Office Depot site and sent her a box of 12 just in time for Christmas.
I'd like to report that it was her favorite present, but that would be the elephant Chia Pet I gave her. The pens came in second. She was, however, so thrilled at having discovered (1) gel pens to begin with, and (2) 1.0 gels pens at that, that she promptly doubled the amount of the Xmas check she sent me.
A victory for .3 millimeters, everywhere.
Friday, January 7. 2011
I happen to know two people who are venturing to Haiti next week, one acquaintance and one friend, to do good works, mostly of a medical nature. They do not know eachother.
Haiti is in a state of anarchy. It was anarchy before the earthquake, which is why it could not deal with an ordinary catastrophe. They tried socialism, but how do you do socialism without producers to take money from? There have been hundreds of NGOs in Haiti, and billions of dollars given, and it all goes into a black hole. Nothing happens. God knows where the money ends up. Switzerland or the Caymans, probably.
Haiti is the sort of disastrous place that draws people who want to do good works. As the whole world grows more prosperous, there are fewer and fewer outlets for such folks. For non-profit types, going to work in Haiti is analogous to getting your combat medals.
In my view, Haiti's problem is the culture - not earthquakes or cholera or the endemic rape or Voodoo or hurricanes. The Dominican Rep, next door on the same island, is flourishing, lovely, and generally civilized and safe despite their rural poverty.
- How do you transplant a new culture to a population of 10 million poor people?
- How do you persuade businesses to invest in a totally corrupt and violent place?
- How do you create an honest and well-intentioned government in an anarchic place where flagrant corruption and violence are the rule?
- And who asked you to do that, anyway?
I advised these folks to read Graham Greene's classic The Comedians, but they had done that already.
So I advised them to watch Masked and Anonymous.
 A reader suggested that I stop by Lepcis Magna (aka Leptis Magna, aka Neapolis) while visiting North Africa.
Not a bad idea, but I have seen tons of Roman ruins from England to Pompeii to North Africa, and they're all about the same: an arena, a forum, a bath, a few monuments and lots of columns, etc. The ones in Carthage were cool.
I prefer seeing Greek things, and it seems like it would be a shame to go through life without seeing ancient Egyptian things in situ.
Where I want to poke around, from the Romans, is Ostia.
We posted on a visit to Ostia a few years ago.
Via Steven Taylor's post, When Heroin was Legal.
If you don't mainline it, and when it's legal and cheaply available, it doesn't seem so terrible from a societal standpoint. Why should I care if you want to live on a cloud? No skin off my back.
Doctors and druggists especially seemed to enjoy it in the old days. It reminds me of how much Freud enjoyed his recreational cocaine (as did Sherlock Holmes), Dr. Leary his LSD, and Coleridge his opium.
All prohibition does is to raise the prices and to raise the societal cost. My view is to let every person struggle with his own soul and destiny.
 At Washington Times:
What was most remarkable about this was the almost hysterical opposition from congressional Democrats and left-wing commentators. In what should have been a united celebration of the nation's foundation document in a period of partisan rancor, liberals instead reinforced the view that they are profoundly uncomfortable with the essential truths underlying American freedom.
I hate to say it, but it appears to be so. If it is so, I say it's a big deal. The Constitution is our secular Bible, and designed to protect us citizens from State power. It was - and remains - radical and revolutionary.
Statists and elitists hate it, and prefer to forget why it was written. They think they know how I should arrange my life and feel somehow anointed to do it for me. I resent their attitude immensely.
Thursday, January 6. 2011
 Women like their men to be brave in the face of what life presents. Women appreciate men who will take it on, and not hide, retreat, or run from the things in life. Furthermore, they appreciate men who will get out there and take things on, new things, challenges, and mix it up with life. Not in a sociopathic way, but boldly.
However, many or most men are full of secret fears and timid in some ways about the risks in life. In many ways, more so than the average female (but that is another post). Fears of being hurt, killed, lost, confused, vulnerable, humiliated, ego-damaged, etc. Especially ego-damaged.
An important part of being and feeling manly is confronting fear, uneasiness, and discomfort, and overcoming the fear. Vitality entails risk. I suppose those are cliches, but true. Males are supposed to put on a game face when they are nervous or afraid. Life isn't meant to be easy, and males are meant to exit the comfort zone and to enter the jungle. The women of America are sick of pussified, metrosexual males who are afraid of splinters, rock-climbing, snowstorms, rough water, and strong women.
Two things brought this ancient topic to mind:
Banning Bravery: From Yale to the NFL
Are Americans Wusses or Just Fond of Trash Talk?
Wednesday, January 5. 2011
 *for a whole two hours!
I think I'll be a sociologist in my next lifetime. I've always been intrigued by cultural conditioning and changing perspectives. Even more so when I'm the subject of the aforementioned changing perspectives.
Following are two posts on the subject. The first was made a few years ago, when I bought my 40' liveaboard boat. And, as if that wasn't enough of a perspective change, what happened the other day actually put me in the greenie class.
The topic is wind power. Like you, I've mocked, scorned and belittled it for years. What a fraud! Without fat government subsidies, it'd be as dead as geothermal energy and ocean wave power. Just another greenie notion without a lick of sense.
Until.
Continue reading "Doc goes green*"
Tuesday, January 4. 2011
I see Oil price ‘threat to recovery’.
Crude oil pricing is fascinating to me, but I know little about it. I do know that OPEC controls the big spigot, and thus controls global supply and global pricing. (Pricing is global, not local, and I do know that it is determined, in the final details, by global commodities exchanges.) But, in an interesting and rather cool feedback loop, if oil is too high, it can begin to strangle economies, reducing demand and thus reducing the prices the oil producers can get.
I also know that the American oil companies are, sadly, rather small players on the world scene, nowadays:
We probably have readers who can explain the vicissitudes of crude oil pricing, from the producers to the pump. If you can, please do. In 100 words or less (or is it "fewer"?).
At Smithsonian. Always wondered how they filled that space with water for the mock sea battles.
This January, the BD family is devoting itself to enjoyable DVD series from Santa. That Ken Burns Jazz series is one (the old photos, film footage, and the music are well-worth it).
And, as part of our planned summer trip, we are alternating the Jazz with Great Ancient Civilizations of Asia Minor and the History of Ancient Egypt.
The Teaching Company has some good sales on right now. You can really pick any random course and find it interesting and life-expanding. Plus, unlike college, you get the best teachers, collected from all over the world. Home schoolers should use these courses. Lots of libraries have them now. Each one comes with a study guide.
We love these courses. Some are fine on audio, but some require the DVDs.
The trip (cruise, that is) for which we are preparing is below (we are only doing the Rome to Athens leg of the voyage, due to time and $ constraints). I have been eager to get back to Turkey.
Do I need a better camera?
Monday, January 3. 2011
 Had a chance this weekend to watch the first CD in this nice Christmas gift. It's an absorbing Ken Burns series (2001), although it can be criticized on several levels.
I like it. I learned that Jazz was first called "Jass music," maybe after the Jasmine perfume the whores wore in the whorehouses in with this music was typically played.
Sunday, January 2. 2011
Doyle McManus at the Los Angeles Times sums up the best that liberals can come up with for reducing income inequality: better education for the poor, to reduce The Upward Mobility Gap. He correctly points out that this goal is one of the few that Democrats and Republicans can agree upon. And, then he stops.
The goal is fine but how to get there is the question.
McManus says, “Opportunity in America isn't what it used to be.” Liberal nostrums fail to mention the biggest barrier to reducing income inequality – if considered needing reduction -- is government, whether one advocates more or less government programs.
To now, more government programs actually create more government workers, their pay and benefits unaffordable while diminishing basic public services. Less government programs tend toward wholesale cuts in unaffordable welfare and government worker benefits, while failing to refocus funding on productive education and related infrastructure.
As well, McManus passes over the “moral” or lifestyle elements that are necessary to taking advantage of educational and employment opportunities as being difficult to measure. Yet, these are crucial.
Three of the ways that the poor found rungs on the ladder of upward mobility, manufacturing jobs and small businesses, are under continuing pressure, while illegal immigrants reduce even sustenance jobs for citizens. US manufacturing employment has shrunk for repetitive tasks while requirements for technical education and skills has increased, overall production holding its own. Lesser costly environmental and workplace regulations, along with lower wages, has drawn much lower skilled manufacturing abroad. More government regulations and greater competition due to reduced transport costs and increased imports of staples has made small business less able to survive or thrive. Illegal immigrants – mostly uneducated -- mostly impact manual labor opportunities for the poorest American citizens, while consuming much government funding that could otherwise, maybe, hopefully, be redirected toward support and education foundations for poor American citizens.
Government programs that focus on useful job skills are un- or underfunded, in favor of expensive contemporary elite culture curriculums, especially victimology humanities. Legal immigrants – thankfully -- fill our sciences. Government programs that sustain or increase welfare dependency, and regulations that discourage risk taking, perpetuate a permanent lower income class. The virtues of stark choices may be overrated, but elimination of such choices is less virtuous. Corruption and self-dealing, either financial or ethical, is unacceptable. Fish stink from the head. The same standards must apply to chieftains of government as to of business. Lack of performance must not be tolerated in government any more than it is in private enterprise.
Two examples of the difference culture makes, my father and my son. The common thread, across the generations, is work habits, learned young, family emphasis on useful education, and behavioral skills and focus.
My father, born 1920 in Detroit, from a large poor immigrant family, dropped out of high school, did manual labor and worked for local retailers, then went to trade school to become a tool & die maker (others in the family had similar life-stories), thereafter earning a decent worker’s income. His choices were stark, the path up clear.
My son, born 2000 in California, from a middle-class family, is an A student. The caliber of primary education in his school district is high, the primary differences among schools and their scores being the lesser parental involvement at the schools in the poorer areas. My wife and I are pretty demanding and involved. There are almost no manufacturing jobs locally, the few being highly technical. There are few local stores, and laws forbid he being hired for anything. Anyway, what retail jobs there are go to otherwise unemployed humanities college graduates! New Years eve he watched MTV’s Jersey Shore revelry, before getting bored and going to sleep. Last night, he watched Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in The Pride of the Yankees. After the movie, he said to me that people used to act nicer. On one side of my house are the two, contemporary culture, lazy 20s boys taking four years to complete two-year AA degrees, their courses being weak humanities type. Their father had gotten them manual labor construction jobs and, though they are big and strong, the illegal immigrants outworked them. On the other side is a former Eagle Scout, majoring in a technical field at a top college.
Today’s choices are no less stark than they once were. The only real difference is between those who recognize that and those who avoid the choices or enrich themselves by sheltering those who would otherwise benefit from starker choices.
Saturday, January 1. 2011
I meant to re-post this in December. Is it too late?
 Red-neck Yankees wear lined overshirts (like the one in the photo, from Moose Creek) much of the year. Few things are more comfortable, and you don't care what happens to them. They keep you cozy at 50 degrees and at 20 degrees - and lower if you are working hard and moving around.
These things are made for outdoor work. You often need to buy them one size up for layering underneath, depending on your personal size range. They look better and feel softer with some dirt and grease on them, and a small tear or two.
If you want to go a bit upscale from that sort of thing, these are always acceptable (even though they are from LL Bean). They are also made with quilted linings like this for colder weather.
Variants on the theme of overshirts and "shirt-jacs" is this Woolrich wool classic:
Filson's Wool Cape Coat:
A zippered, Windstopper-lined LL Bean Maine Guide wool jacket:
Carhartt's basic canvas, flannel-lined work shirt:
Lined flannel from Woolrich:
Lastly, Caribou Creek quilt-lined, at Cabelas:
Disclosure: Four dump trucks of wool and cotton overshirts were dumped in our Maggie's Farm driveway, blocking all tractor traffic and causing all sorts of problems with the hogs, in exchange for the above post. Please, everybody - Stop giving us free stuff and money! We don't want it! We have enough money and stuff, and it costs money, time, and effort to get rid of excess stuff. Ever try to take a Filson wool cape shirt off a dirty ole 800 lb. hawg who wants to put on airs? Dang.
A re-post - not snowing here today.
 Cold, snowy day up here. It makes you want mashed potatoes and meat and stuff.
I have some nice big white onions left over from making my onion pies this weekend. Some onion fritters would be good with last night's left-over roast. It's really sort of like a spidery mess of onion rings.
I never bother with the deep oil frying, though, for fritters. I just fry them in some canola oil, and it works fine. Best if you sautee the onions lightly first (with some chopped garlic) before mixing the onions with the batter. That way, they are certain to be sweet.
It's nice to have a little dipping sauce for them. A chili-garlic-soy sort of thing with chopped chives is good. Lime, as pictured, is interesting too.
Lots of folks I know spend their spare time sitting in Deer stands, with bow or shotgun at hand. Here's the conversation from earlier this season:
How did it go this morning?
Nothing. No buck. A waste of time.
See anything at all?
Saw the sun come up.
Anything else?
A small doe, didn't want to take her.
See anything else?
A Sharp Shinned Hawk buzzed past my head.
Anything else?
Flock of Wild Turkeys walked by.
Anything else?
A Bobcat. No, two Bobcats.
Anything else?
A Box Turtle walking through the leaves.
What are we waiting for? I don't think I need to explain my parable...
Friday, December 31. 2010
These two NOLA piano-men did a few duets at the festive event I went to a couple of weeks ago. Yes, including Iko Iko and Let The Good Times Roll. Good to see Dr. John - hadn't seen him perform in many years, but I always enjoyed that cranky SOB. Found this duet on Youtube:
Thursday, December 30. 2010
Also performing at the cool event I attended: Davell Crawford, with the Davell Crawford Singers (a 25-person NOLA gospel group). I had a nice chat with Davell afterwards. His grandpa wrote Iko Iko.
This is the only bit I could find on YouTube.
Wednesday, December 29. 2010
Another NOLA performer I saw over the holidays was this dude Trombone Shorty, with his band, Orleans Avenue:
I always thought America was about some sort of social equality where all had equal rights and human dignity. Equality of wealth and income is another whole kettle of fish. A good piece by Kaus in Newsweek:
There are two big questions to ask liberal opponents of income inequality. 1) What, exactly, is it about greater economic inequality that's so bad? and 2) What you gonna do about it?
It's worth reading. One of the constants I find in Lefty writings (not in Kaus) is the assumption that wealth and income is zero-sum, like slices of a pie. That is, that there is a set total amount of income and/or wealth in the world. Whether they write that way to fool the ignorant, or really believe it, I do not know.
I suspect the former.
From the Chimney Safety Institute of America.
Even if you rarely use it, have it checked regularly. Birds, animals, or leaves could make an obstruction up there, leading to a fire.
Tuesday, December 28. 2010
Attended an event recently where Buddy Guy was performing (along with some other NOLA folks I'll mention later). Sweet guy, heavenly-sweet music. He played this set, same band.
You Can Have the Placebo Effect, Even If You Know It's a Placebo.
Placebos are strangely effective medicines. Thus it's no wonder that people feel better when they eat organic, or buy into nutritional schemes and health food store products. It's called "hope" and "self-deception" and all of that "mind-body" stuff.
Monday, December 27. 2010
We've had only 15-18" thus far, I think, but the drifts are the real problem. It's been blowy and blustery, with gusts up to 60 knots. See NYT: “Bundle Up, It’s Global Warming”. Ya gotta laugh - unless it's intended as satire.
I'll try to get some links up when I can, but shoveling and getting things plowed comes first. In the meantime, catch up on our recent posts.
This is early this morning. I love it:
I took the pup for a walk in the snowy dark, strolling - no, trudging - down the middle of the roads, after my excursion to Dunkin. The old Explorer plowed thru the drifts, with some difficulty. This blacksmith's storefront looked pretty in the snow. He'll make custom stuff, and shoes for your horses too. Anything iron -
Dunkin, this morning. Their 2 am Donut delivery couldn't get through, but the nice Mezzican gals were there making coffee. Dunkin is one of those things in life that you can count on.
Sunday, December 26. 2010
 Sad but true, at Slate. We would be ten years behind, with the rent-seekers and the power-seekers in control of it all.
The intertunnels are a lesson in what a truly free market and a free world can do. Watch all governments try to f- it up for their own purposes.
But don't worry. They care deeply about the common good. I have never met Mr./Mrs. Common Good, but I'm sure he, she, or it, is a very fine human being and deserving of special government attention and care.
Government, and government's client and business allies, are "special interests."
Heck, all I really want is some good free porn anyway. The world is full of Lonelyhearts and sometimes I am one of them. So sue me.
Friday, December 24. 2010
 Just had to say that Rush is so kind and good and understanding with his Lib callers. He has a bigger heart than any angry or chronically-depressed Lib, and is full of encouragement for those who want to do things in life instead of sitting on their butts with excuses and complaints, on ye olde pity pot. He is positive and cheerful, the way proud, free Americans, with their heritage of amazing opportunity, ought to be.
He's on 770 on AM radio up here. He is a genius at handling hostile calls with grace, good humor, and even affection. He needs more of those callers. (Call me a fool, but I am wrapping and listening, like the ignorant clinger that I am, and preparing for cocktail hour. Christmas music then.)
A Merry Christmas to good old Rush! He keeps me amused and encouraged whenever I need it.
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