John Boyd Thacher State Park, is situated along the Helderberg Escarpment, one of the richest fossil-bearing formations in the world. Even as it safeguards six miles of limestone cliff-face, rock-strewn slopes, woodland and open fields, the park provides a marvelous panorama of the Hudson-Mohawk Valleys and the Adirondack and Green Mountains. The park has volleyball courts, playgrounds, ball fields and numerous picnic areas with nine reservable shelters. Interpretive programs are offered year-round, including guided tours of the famous Indian Ladder Trail. There are over 25 additional miles of trails for summer hiking and mountain biking, and winter cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, and snowmobiling.
While I get there is a lot of profit to be made by the media by covering sad looking victims, juxtaposed against strong military men dressed up as police officers in armor, the truth is such coverage is terribly unhealthy for society. Enhanced corporate profits and creation of additional patronage jobs in local police departments is not a public good, instead it’s harmful. While the television stations may love all the automobiles and laundry soap the are selling on backs of victims, and police departments love being flush with cash to buy fun-looking toys and weapons – along with the ability to hire their high-school drop out uncle billy to their force – it’s so incredibly harmful to society.
What’s the alternative? I don’t know, I always worry about the government getting too much into the censorship business. If government tells newspapers and televisions that they can’t glorify murder and violence on their airwaves, the next step is the politicians cracking down on negative reporting about themselves. A ban of glorifying violence could easily be used to prosecute those who report on corruption or publicly support positions other then the official state party line. Likewise, restrictions on police and authorities talking to the media could foster corruption, as any law that limits disclosure by the police allows government corruption to flourish.
I don’t know what the answer is. Maybe more disclosure and easier opt-outs could be a partial solution. For example, many television sets have the ability to block violent content if so rated. Certain news stories could be blocked out unless people requested such content. Likewise, parental controls could be added to web browsers to provide a similar form of blocking. Such blocking could be seamless – rather then blanking out screens, alternative content also able to sell advertising could be part of the answer. Likewise, disclaimer requirements could be imposed on the media – for example if they are going to promote mass-shootings on airwaves, they’d be required to provide information on mental health hotlines, and actively encourage people who are thinking of engaging in violent activities to seek help. Local police departments, who are flush with cash from existing the excessive taxation placed on individuals and businesses, could fund such mental health programs, so they are free to those interested in participating.
You know, I continue to really enjoy grapefruit. Maybe because I know it’s a special treat, denied to many Americans, especially older ones on statins. It’s something that I can have and enjoy when others can not have it. It’s not just a way to brag, but also a goal to maintain good health so once can continue to enjoy it unlike so many others. The fruit is tangy and not as sweet as oranges, it is a bit bitter – a taste that too often is missing from our diets these days.
As a child, the idea of liking Grapefruit seems hard on the imagination. I remember tasting it as a child, thinking this awful bitter and why would anybody want to eat it. Of course with all the health benefits of this red citrus fruit, and it’s rich variety of flavor notes including that often missing bitterness, it’s hard to imagine having to give it up. My parents always used to get a big box of it and enjoy it every morning until it molded up and the rest of it either out in compost pile or to the chickens.
Honestly, though I just used to think of grapefruit as something gross that adults, especially my grandmother from Florida ate. Something best mixed in with the chicken manure and compost, not something that you actually would pay for to at the store. But how times change as one gets older. Maybe I’m just becoming the person my parents were before they had to give it up! Just thinking that makes me feel so old!
Black flies — there really is only one solution to them: don’t be hanging out until they are gone for the night. That means waiting for darkness to come over the land. Then the party can get started.
Black flies aren’t out all night. So that’s the best time to up and own doing things. Like cooking dinner, drinking beer, and hanging out by the campfire. There is nothing wrong with staying up all night during black fly season, because the days really aren’t that wonderful, if you don’t like getting eaten alive.
Granted, in the darkness, you are somewhat restricted in what you can do. But bring a flashlight, and hell, maybe a bunch of Christmas lights, party lights, and big bright 100-watt equivalent florescent lights, and pretend it’s day light. It’s also cooler, and generally much nicer in then in the day time.
During black fly season, the whole purpose of the day is to be sleeping, and recovering from the hang overs of the previous night.
If there was one feature I hate about Facebook is it’s comments. I wish you could turn them off, and people could simply just like or share posts on your normal Facebook Wall. Too often Facebook discussions get political and heated, when a post is only intended to provoke ideas and get people thinking. Too often the Internet causes people to reject unfamiliar or new ideas outright, without considering their merit. And we all feel the need to come up with a clever response to somebody’s post that we disagree with.
Over the years, I’ve been on and off about having comments on my personal blog. Because it’s slightly more difficult to comment on a blog then Facebook, I find the comments on my blog are a lot nicer and more thoughtful. I think people see personal blogs as more of a personal space, so they are more respectful, compared to the Facebook pages of individuals. At least that’s my take on it.
I am not particularly concerned about the wealth gap between the rich and the poor. The problem is not wealth, its income and the ability to save rather than consume. Too much promotion is put on consumption, too little is put on savings and investments.
People are bombarded with advertising constantly, asking them to go out and buy more stuff that they subsequently have to pay to get rid of at the landfill. Stuff that could instead be turned into investment and future gain – both in economic growth and personal savings.
Most poor people today have fancy, enormous color televisions and cable TV that blasts in advertising and violence to one’s home 24-7. They get caught up in upsetting news stories and think they need fancy things to live the good life. They pay enormously for high speed internet service and keep their homes toasty all winter with fossil fuel heat and frigid all some with coal powered air conditioning.
To be sure, I wish primary schools would invest more in financial education and budgeting. Education should emphasize frugality not consumption. People should be educated about the evils of debt, encouraged to invest rather than borrow.
I understand poor people live with very tight budgets due to limited income. But budgets can be stretched, savings can be prioritized over spending and borrowing. Wealth can be grown, even in the most megar of budgets.
