Miscellaneous Rambling Some fun-read stuff by Mark Steyn on the Oscars [https://www.steynonline.com/8510/inclusion-riders-showbiz-apocalypse]. The point I particularly liked: Hollywood has always been political; the Oscars have always been political. But now, it's just preening and virtue-signaling. It used to take a little bit of

Midweek Rambling Why does Diet X work for some people and not for others? Why does that worker get an occupational disease but his co-worker doesn't? The answer: Genetics. DNA. Now, regular TDE readers know I claim no expertise--or even an average amount of knowledge--when it comes to

More Miscellaneous Rambling Can someone help explain to me the efficacy of group discussions? To me, unless there is an acknowledged group leader with a better grasp of the subject matter than the participants, group discussions are merely the blind leading the blind. I didn't like them in

Miscellaneous Rambling I've started to experiment with the plastic cloches [https://www.maximumgreens.com/products/batawa-protective-plant-bell-10-pack]. I planted bush peas, mache, radicchio, mizuna, kohlrabi, and other cold-hardy crops in containers yesterday, watered, then covered with the cloches. We'll see. I only used old seeds, taken from

> This list of reаsons for аdmission to a lunatic asylum in the 1800s reads like a list of potential metal band names. pic.twitter.com/HFJlr4HTzr [https://t.co/HFJlr4HTzr] > — History Lovers Club (@historylvrsclub) March 4, 2018 [https://twitter.com/historylvrsclub/status/970262837691023361?ref_src=twsrc%

Weekend Rambler The first bed gets planted today or tomorrow: radishes. I plan on planting a bed every week for the next ten weeks. The first three will in cold frames or short low tunnels, at which point, I'll run out of covered space until the first week&

Brews You Can Use Whew, whatta topsy-turvy week. Long hours at the production site Monday and Tuesday, three-hour meeting Wednesday night, drinking social engagements Tuesday and Thursday night. No schedule, no routine, missed rosaries and eucharistic adorations, client work piling up. I need a drink. I, however, found enough time

More notes from the "Zen Lent" Theology on Tap session . . . The three stages along the spiritual road: purgative, illuminative, unitive. I have no doubt that they accurately describe the road. But I guess I've never found them helpful or useful. As I've gotten older,

A student once asked [the Zen master Joshu]: "If I haven't anything in my mind, what shall I do?" Joshu replied: "Throw it out." "But if I haven't anything, how can I throw it out?" continued the questioner. "Well,

Zen is steeped in Buddhism, which means its roots are in pantheistic monism: God is the world and all is one. The same spirit (Brahman) occupies everything. All is Brahman: I'm Brahman, you're Brahman, that chair is Brahman. If you think you perceive a distinction between