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Well, I found a rental staff person and asked about renting a rowing boat. Nope.

Why not? I asked. All the paddles were broken. (Arrgh! They are oars, not paddles--but then, not a native English...

I asked (while she was loading the boat and getting ready) if the boat was a SOF design, and if she had built the boat herself. Yep, from plans from "an Oregon designer"--Dave Gentry? I asked. Yep....

Well, I had an interesting neighborhood encounter last weekend--might as well fritter some time away describing it here. As some may know, I don't have a boat here with me in Poland. This is the...

Nope--I didn't miss the point. I sidestepped it to make another point.

Right-wing authoritarian populist politics is a dangerous thing, and I'm not liking what I see here in that direction. One...

Yes. I've totally lost my freedom.

I'm no longer free to commute for 40 miles in a car I pay to maintain, insure, and fill with fuel.
I'm no longer free to wait for weeks for a medical...

Great to see you back--it has been too long. Best thoughts for your improvement to continue.

Tom

You have a precious gift in a wife who enjoys boats (well, some boats). I think you're wise to prioritize the need for a boat that will appeal to both of you. The Rangeley Lake boat sounds great too....

Also, if you do go with the "hook the sheet on the gunwale" rigging as in the French misainier rig, I find it's better to use a rigid ring (metal) for the sheet--this can be more easily hooked over...

The sail is boomless, correct?

In that case, it looks to me as if your sheeting point as drawn is a little too far forward--I think the sheet should more or less follow the line that bisects the...

Very true. My interpretation is consistent with reality.

Tom

If you really want to discuss this, it's a usage issue, not a grammar one. Probably TMI around here, though.

Tom

We didn't have those in my childhood home, but there were built-in iceboxes in the duplex my wife and I lived in for 20 years before moving to Poland. We did not, however, use them for ice. They did...

The liberal tendency to think of rural voters who support Republicans as stupid uneducated rednecks is a big part of what made Trump a success.

And read your post aloud, Mr. IQ. "Setting a IQ...

On the other hand, it's mildly annoying--and amusing--when people claim to be commenting on someone else's posts, but then begin with all kinds of unwarranted assumptions about what was "claimed,"...

It might seem "wrong" to you, but then, a law against drunk driving might seem "wrong" to someone who wants the freedom to drink and drive. Having spent the past 10 months living in a society that...

What I want to know is, will your week of Scientology training take you far enough so that you learn that you are actually a space alien engaged in a long process of self-actualization during your...

Almost always has mixed feelings, I'd say. It's complicated, and I agree the opinions and desires of the disadvantaged group take precedence over their allies. But most of all, timing matters....

Hmm... Would I, because I like laws against physical assault and drunk driving, force them upon others? Sure. Absolutely I would force those laws on others. Because they promote the general welfare....

^^^ I agree index funds are probably best for non-motivated investors like me. That said, while my S&P 500 index fund account is up 10.13% this year so far, it still hasn't come back to its January...

Aren't you fancy! We used the hand crank. Only a small dairy herd (can a single Holstein be "a herd"?), so not so bad.

I don't think ours was a Delaval, but I think the one in the photo I posted...

One of these lived in our basement, next to the "cooler" (a full-size insulated room where we kept root veggies and canned veggies and canned salsa--then every spring we'd chop up the last of the
...

A big advantage of cheap little lightweight boats! (And that's with a little 2-door 4-cyliner car doing the towing).

Probably leaves me with enough money left over--relative to the big foiler--to...

Almost 3 boats ago, if you count ketch Hornpipe and yawl Hornpipe as different boats. :)

As far as still being the oldest of the bunch, that's a good thing. There's only one way you could manage...

John,

I have to say, Wrocław has laws that close almost all businesses on Sundays. All the supermarkets, shops, malls, etc. And I think it is a very good thing for the culture and society. A day...

Kevin,

you are engaged in some highly motivated--and logically ridiculous--"reasoning" about all this. Choice is ALWAYS limited. What if you don't have the means to relocate your business? What if...

Well, I don't know: I think ANY organizational structure or set of rules will fail if the people who are supposed to follow its rules and ethics simply stop doing so.

Why has this happened in the...

^^^ Yes, that got lots of attention in the comments. But perfectly understandable, I think.

Tom

Every system is broken if people (i.e. Republicans) consistently act in bad faith and ignoring the rule of law. Adding more laws won't solve the problem of people choosing to ignore the law. It's a...

Yep. But, that kind of coercion is not allowed unless there is a legitimate secular purpose behind the law. I agree, a law requiring shops to close could meet that requirement.

But over and over,...

Another new video from Roger!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8bJ4qQDoLA

Some gnarly wind-against-tide sailing in this one...

More like "condemned by his own actions," I'd say.

Tom

Expanding the court now would eliminate a conservative super-majority, and prevent corrupt decisions that would affect the nation for generations to come. But would it solve the broken system? No....

Just like, if someone pulls a gun on you and demands your wallet, you are "making a choice" to give it to them to avoid being shot. Do you see that? Your arguments that "no one is being forced" are...

I agree. I wasn't talking about legal authority--just, if anyone besides the woman herself is involved, it's her partner. So I could see partners perhaps wanting to decide together. I wouldn't want a...

Fair enough--"shouted" wasn't the right word at all; "disagreed" or "argued against" would be accurate. I don't even remember who disagreed, or if you were one of them or not. And I understand that...

I advocated for that long ago and got shouted down by incrementalists. You're playing with fire.

Tom

I'm not so sure. How many points can you get for "kovfefe" if the K is on a triple letter score? And you'd get the 7-tile bonus, too.

Tom

Pfft... My little sail and oar boat routinely makes 580+ miles (statute miles) in under 12 hours on my Canadian cruises, with a quick stop for lunch at Subway. Beat that, cats and foilers.

Tom

Actually, a strong argument can be made that NO grading system contributes anything to anyone's learning--in fact, persuasive research indicates that students learn more from work that is NOT graded...

Another thought: our grade 8 students just took their Polish exams (all academic disciplines taught in Polish schools, not just Polish language classes). My understanding is that for students wanting...

Interesting. The students who were most upset at not being sorted into a bell-like curve (they didn't use that language but that's what they meant, as you pointed out) were Polish students. They feel...

I have some sympathy for this argument--saving human lives is a legitimate secular purpose for sure. So even if anti-abortion laws are motivated by religious belief, they are not necessarily...

Except, I disagree. First, there's no "finally"--I've acknowledged good and bad all along. So it seems that we have some common ground--there is good and bad to religion.

Also, some ongoing...

I didn't pay attention to recent child sexual abuse cases involving Mormons. But such cases happen in Christian sects too. And with teachers, scout leaders, secular organizations, etc. University...

Hmm. Francis is a force for good, I think. For sure. I do wonder if the new pope will be elected as a reactionary backlash back to a more conservative brand of Catholocism--that's a worry for me.
...

My wife and I, once each. Vaxxed and boosted at the time--and once was enough.

Was sick recently, but tests said no COVID. Bad flu or cold. So, I guess we've only had it once so far. I think I've...

Students have learned exactly what our society has taught them. They understand what our society wants them to understand. Grades matter. In particular, COMPARING your grades to your peers' grades...

Yep. It sure is, Lee.

Tom

With that, you are also suggesting that every teacher now be required to decode barely legible handwriting produced by a generation of students who have not been taught cursive because, with the...

Wow. You went all the way back to page 29 to look at what I posted, and didn't bother to paraphrase accurately. Here's what I posted in #1005:



Note the "and"--that's a conjunction clearly...