  The modern nucleon-nucleon interaction of Myers and Swiatecki, adjusted to
the properties of finite nuclei, the parameters of the mass formula, and the
behavior of the optical potential is used to calculate the properties of
$\beta$--equilibrated neutron star matter, and to study the impact of this
equation of state on the properties of (rapidly rotating) neutron stars and
their cooling behavior. The results are in excellent agreement with the outcome
of calculations performed for a broad collection of sophisticated
nonrelativistic as well as relativistic models for the equation of state.
