Best2021
1.Break-action Air Rifles. My Crossman .22 single-shot kills rabbits, is legal to use inside city limits, and isn't as noisy as a "real" rifle.
2. Goofspiel and Spoons. Goofspiel, invented by game theorist Merrill Flood in the 1950s, is simple but profound. You bid for cards, one at a time, using one suit as prizes and the others for currency. https://www.rasmusen.org/rasmapedia/index.php?title=The_Goofspiel_Card_Game. Spoons is a hilarious pay-attention card-passing game similar to Pit, good for a large group. https://www.wikihow.com/Play-Spoons-(Card-Game)
3. Plastic kayaks. Only $150 for a one-person kayak. A minivan can carry two inside. For fishing or fun.
4. Death in Paradise (2011-present) and Psych (2006-2014), (skipping season 1), comedy detective mystery TV shows. Intricate plotting, great characters, great acting.
5. The Land of Smiles, a 1929 operetta by Franz Lehar. Video from 1961, and 1930, with Fritz Tauber but a bad Mi. Score in German score and lyrics in English (by Jerry Hadley).
6 .The World Crisis,(1923-1931) Churchill's five-volume World War I history. Much better than his more famous World War II history. Wits said, "Winston has written an enormous book about himself, and called it The World Crisis."
7. Retirement, and Teaching 7th grade math. If you can afford it, you can be just as busy and more productive and happy when retired. 7th grade math is much more satisfying than bus econ. See https://www.rasmusen.org/rasmapedia/index.php?title=Cedars_Math.
8. The Romanovs: The Final Chapter (2012) by Robert Massie. About 1918-1995, not 1905-1918--- the bones and the pretenders. Gripping suspense, politics, and science.
9. Krogman's Persimmon whisky and Corncrackers Bourbon.
10. NatCon II, The National Conservatism Conference in Orlando. Amazing from an intellectual viewpoint, friendly, well-organized, good food, nice people, easy to meet celebrities, Helen liked it too.
11. Hen of the Woods, Boletes, Honey Mushrooms, and Lion's Mane fungus. Good eating, and the first time for us this Fall with its amazing proliferation. What a triumph to find Lion's Mane, which tastes like scallops!
12. The annual article list to turn the ephemeral into the permanent. A dozen good articles, with links. See https://www.rasmusen.org/rasmapedia/index.php?title=Best_Articles_2021.
Also-rans: Maraschino liqueur. CourtListener.com, an archive of court data including opinions and briefs. Internet Archive library for free book borrowing. Rex Stout, The Rubber Band, a detective novel with Nero Wolfe. Hett, historian of Nazi Germany. The MathPix program to convert pdf to Latex.
