In this issue:
Brainpower | Finances | Security | Health/Fitness | Factoid | Product Highlight | Thought for the Day
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1. Brainpower tip
One of the barriers of effective thinking is the problem of trying to think of
several things at once. For example, you're working on a document at the
office and also thinking about a problem with your neighbor. And there's
that e-mail you sent to Bob--why hasn't he replied, yet? You wonder if
you'll have time to read that new book after supper, or is that tax issue
going to take all night. As long as your mind is juggling all this, your
brainpower is greatly reduced. It's divided up among those various issues
plus being siphoned off to carry the excess administrative overhead, of
constantly changing focus.
Meditation can help with this. I don't mean sitting around cross-legged
and chanting the same vowel repeatedly (that's a mistaken idea of what
meditation is). Meditation is a purposeful clearing of the mind and a
calming of your thought processes.
When you feel like you are trying to handle many things at once, stop.
Pick one, and refuse to think about the rest. This way, you can properly
address one of the thing well rather than many things poorly. You can focus
either until this task is done (or issue solved) or until a set time has
gone by.
One suggestion is to work in 15 minute increments, occasionally using
several contiguous 15 minute blocks for a single task. During that time,
don't answer the phone and don't answer e-mail. Just work on what needs
doing.
Not only is this approach more effective and productive than the "all at
once and interruptions take priority" approach, it's far less stressful.
People who make a habit of thinking on one thing at a time is great in
itself report that they are often "in the zone" and working at a pace is
incredibly fast but nearly effortless. They don't feel effort, they feel
euphoria. Things just flow. |
2. Finance tip
From Barry Ritholtz: The single best investment — in terms of greatest
return on invested dollars — has been the lobbying efforts of the major
banks and finance firms
They spent $114.2 million dollars in contributions toward the 2008
"election," according to the the nonpartisan Center for Responsive
Politics. The companies that have been awarded taxpayers’ money from
Congress’s bailout bill spent $77 million on lobbying and $37 million on
federal campaign contributions, the Center finds.
These firms political activities have yielded them $295.2 billion
from Recapitalization, TARP and other assorted bailouts.
The return on investment: 258,449 percent. That's astounding. And
it's criminal.
===
We have the best government that criminals can buy. I keep saying that members of CONgress are mere paid employees of the
corporate lobbyists. The money trail shows this is exactly the case.
Follow the money, and what you see is a galling degree of wealth
transfer from your pocket to those of banksters and other criminals.
As long as The Party is in power, this thievery will remain a sad
fact of life. The Party will remain in power as long as people keep
throwing their votes away on its candidates. If you care about crime,
don't vote Demopublican. |
3. Security tip
One of the touted benefits of cell phones is you can use one to
summon help in an emergency. This is mostly true, but in many cases any
help that does come will come too late. One misconception about cell
phones is that talking on one makes you safe. Not so. Talking on a cell
phone makes you distracted. A distracted person is, by definition, not
an aware person. While you're yakking away, oblivious to your
surroundings, a potential mugger or other criminal can track you by your
own voice and wait for the opportune time to strike. Or any of a host of
other dangers can present themselves, surprising you when you could have
been forewarned. If you want to be safe and secure, use your phone
only in a location and manner that is inherently safe and secure. A city
street is not such a location. Commenting about personal safety, my
dad says, "I don't dial 911. I dial 357." |
4. Health tip/Fitness tips
One of the things you will notice about Arnold Schwarzenegger in his
bodybuilding photos is his posture. As large as he was, he looked even
larger because he stood up straight. This is something most people don't
do. And that has ramifications way beyond trying to look big. I
personally don't care for that "roid
look" and sheer size isn't my goal.
But people tend to overestimate my
weight considerably because I look
bigger than I am. When you stand up
straight, you put everything into
its best mechanical position for
strength and also in its best
position for appearance.
An erect posture gives you
"presence" when you walk into a
room. If you are at some kind of
gathering and see a person whom
others are gravitating toward, it's
very likely that person is
consciously using his/her best
posture. Strength and appearance
are nice benefits. The vain among us
may consider those sufficient.
However, those benefits are minor
compared to what good posture really
does for you. Experts from martial
arts masters to health-oriented
physicians (notice the qualifier,
there) make a big deal out of proper
posture. And so should you. |
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Here's an article that explains more about the topic:
http://www.supplecity.com/articles/posture.htm
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As regular readers know, I was 48 years old in the picture (above,
right), taken in December 02 2008. I don't diet down for summer. I don't have
good genes for maintaining a lean
body, either. I really have to be
conscientious and disciplined about
it. That doesn't mean I suffer, eat
bland foods, or starve myself.
At
www.supplecity.com, you'll find plenty of informative, authoritative articles on maintaining a lean, strong physique. It has nothing to do with long workouts or impossible to maintain diets. In fact:
- The best workouts are short
and intense.
- A good diet contains far more flavors and satisfaction than the typical American diet.
Nor does it mean being hungry all
the time (you are less hungry on six
small meals a day than three large
ones), being weak from hunger (on a
proper dietary regimen, you will
have much more energy than
otherwise), or "giving up pleasures"
(I have no idea where this concept
comes from, unless a person
considers being sick a "pleasure.")
Holiday tip:
Check out the recipe section on
www.supplecity.com. That Fit
Pumpkin Pie is great...
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5. Factoid
Almonds are a member of the peach family. Members of CONgress behave as
though they are members of the Gambino Family. |
6. Product Highlight
New Full Page Mobile
Scanner |
This latest offering from PLANon is a mobile, pen-sized full page
scanner that does both color and monochrome scans of text and images.
Scans an entire page in 2 seconds.
Comes with software for processing
scans after transfer to PC.
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Discontinued, 2013 |
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Planon’s DocuPen Xtreme X Series
takes portable scanning power to a whole new level of productivity and portable performance. The Xtreme-series of scanners:
- Provides higher quality images, improved efficiency, and
greater functionality over previous generations.
- Has maintained the small pen-sized profile but now packs
in a lot more with 200MHZ computer processor, 64 MB of
fast SD Ram, and microSD expansion slot.
- Includes Bluetooth for easy
sending to your Blackberry,
Windows Mobile device (Pocket PC
or smart phone), laptop, and
other devices.
- Provides Image quality up to 600 DPI, utilizing Planon’s
Crystal Line Contact technology.
- Provides extremely accurate imaging that far exceeds cameras and other portable scanners for professional reproductions of contracts, receipts, invoices, and color pictures.
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We don't run ads in our newsletter, despite getting
inquiries from advertisers all the time. This eNL is supported by sales from
www.mindconnection.com.
Please shop there, as appropriate.
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7. Thought for the Day
Do you think mostly about things you don't like or about things you want
to see happen? |
Please forward this eNL to others.
Authorship
The views expressed in this e-newsletter are generally not shared by criminals, zombies, or brainwashed individuals.
Except where noted, this e-newsletter is entirely the work of Mark Lamendola. Anything presented as fact can be independently verified. Often, sources are given; but where not given, they are readily available to anyone who makes the effort.
Mark provides information from either research or his own areas of established expertise. Sometimes, what appears to be a personal opinion is the only possibility when applying sound logic--reason it out before judging! (That said, some personal opinions do appear on occasion).
The purpose of this publication is to inform and empower its readers (and save you money!).
Personal note from Mark: I value each and every one of you, and I hope that shows in the diligent effort I put into writing this e-newsletter. Thank you for being a faithful reader.
Wishing you the best,
Mark Lamendola
Mindconnection, LLC
Authorship
The views expressed in this e-newsletter are generally not shared by criminals, zombies, or brainwashed individuals.
Except where noted, this e-newsletter is entirely the work of Mark Lamendola. Anything presented as fact can be independently verified. Often, sources are given; but where not given, they are readily available to anyone who makes the effort.
Mark provides information from either research or his own areas of established expertise. Sometimes, what appears to be a personal opinion is the only possibility when applying sound logic--reason it out before judging! (That said, some personal opinions do appear on occasion).
The purpose of this publication is to inform and empower its readers (and save you money!).
Personal note from Mark: I value each and every one of you, and I hope that shows in the diligent effort I put into writing this e-newsletter. Thank you for being a faithful reader.
To subscribe, change your e-mail address, offer your own tidbit, tell
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