Mindconnection eNL, 2016-04-24

Home

In this issue:
Good News | Product Highlight | Brainpower | Finances | Security | Health/Fitness | Factoid | Thought 4 the Day

Item 1. Over the past decade, manufacturing in the USA has been growing. That's the good news.

But it has not been "surging" as reported. If you remove from the data such nonsense as including sandwich preparation as "manufacturing" you get a very different picture from the government-reported statistics. One benchmark I use is the quarterly reporting on new factory construction; it's been good news for quite some time, and not just assembly plants. But still, plants close all the time. So in net, where is manufacturing? Well, over the past 15 years we've racked up $8.7 trillion (that's twelve zeroes) in trade deficits. So while manufacturing in the USA is far from dead, it's not the boom that the disinformation media would have you to believe.

Always remember that good news doesn't mean all is well. It is often just the proverbial silver lining.

Item 2. Some help may be on the way for the dying coral reefs around the world. Read the full story here:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601244/the-race-to-save-coral-reefs

Item 3. A development in turbine design could lead to a "better than batteries" way of storing wind and solar generated power. Read the full story here:
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601218/desk-size-turbine-could-power-a-town

Item 4. Bet you thought you wouldn't see graphene mentioned here, yet again. Well, it is! To read more about this amazing substance, go here:

http://spectrum.ieee.org/nanoclast/semiconductors/materials/crumpling-graphene-repeatedly-adds-a-new-wrinkle

Item 5. At long last, the FDA is going to test GMO foods for glyphosate. That's the good news. Then there's the other side of this coin.

According to the article in the 19MAR2016 issue of Science News, the focus is on the idea that glyphosate may be a carcinogen. You can see where this is going. We know from government laboratories in Europe that glyphosate persists in the food chain. This testing will confirm that fact, for sure. But with the focus being on the carcinogen end of things, what the criminals will report back is the level is way below the danger line. What they will ignore, of course, is that glyphosate is a powerful neuorotoxin and the levels are way above the danger line.

Call my a cynic, but I've seen this kind of ruse before. To protect yourself, do not eat wheat, meat, corn, or soy; all are contaminated with glyphosate unless they come from certified organic sources. You can also protect yourself by talking with your neighbors and your local utilities about the dangers of RoundUp (tm) and ask them to not ever use it again. Home Depot sells this brain killer; visit their Website and explain why it is socially irresponsible for them to do so and ask them to stop.

Item 6. Airplanes are getting lighter. I'll bet you thought it was because of graphene, but maybe later. The hero in this story is the increased use of 3D printed parts. Read the full story here:

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601268/airplanes-are-getting-lighter-thanks-to-3-d-printed-parts

Now, keep this in perspective. This may not translate into any fuel savings in the real world of flying today. It may only mean less extra fuel usage. When passengers often weigh twice what they should weigh, that can really add up. The next time you are seated next to some Doritos munching 300 pounder, just remember this person's food dysfunction isn't just making your flight less comfortable for you. It's also making your flight more costly. More jet fuel used, seats replaced more often, carpet worn out sooner, etc.

You talk, it translates in 31 languages (no Internet connection needed; additional 50+ languages with connection). Click on the image to be taken to the page with the demo video.

The iTRAVL2 translator can receive FREE calls in over 160 countries, translate anything you say or see, and access many useful travel tools.

Everything is preloaded on your iTRAVL, no need to worry about difficult setups or downloads. Easy to use and reliable; this rugged smartphone and voice translator will act as your own personal language assistant.

• Extreme durability: Completely waterproof, shock proof, and dustproof.

• Free incoming calls in over 160 Countries. No contract.
  Voice translator: Translates anything you say.

• Photo translator: Snap a photo of almost anything and have it translated to your language.

• Travel guide: Packed with reviews, info, and images of international locations.

• Massive battery: Lasts for five days between charges. That's right, five days.

Perfect for military use, security specialists, tradesmen, hikers, linesmen, farmers, Emergency Service Personnel, mountaineers, cross-country skiers, or anyone traveling in remote areas; also for those on or around water; perfect for fishing boats, use in the rain, or surf.

You know you want it. Buy from us and save!
 

You can buy from us with confidence, we've been making online customers happy since 1997.

Leaping to a conclusion from a limited set of facts is one way this is done. The conclusion might follow from the limited facts you do have, but you still get to a false conclusion. For example, a woman with two legs is a ballerina. Well, maybe she is. All ballerinas are women and they all have two legs. But you'd need more than these two facts to convince me she's a ballerina.

Many people who reflexively do not think take this even lower on the intelligence scale by leaping to a conclusion that does not even follow from the limited facts they do have. So whatever conclusion they have come to probably conflicts with reality. For example, when Barry Soetoro was participating in the "election" farce in 2008 he was charismatic. People in totally brain-off mode concluded from this that he would solve the nation's problems.

But charisma and competence are seldom present in the same person; the former is often there to make up for the absence of the latter. Soetoro was, in fact, the worst possible choice and this was very clear from his Senate voting record. A record that no Obama supporter bothered to look at.

Leaping to conclusions is a way to make quick decisions. But not every quick decision is an act of stupidity. Throughout the day, we must make quick decisions. You can't stop to think out every situation. But many situations are badly served when you don't stop to think things out. How can you tell when to think and when not to?

Here are some clues:

• The situation isn't urgent but is of at least minor significance. If you don't need an immediate decision and the outcome matters at least a little, it's probably best to think about it before deciding. That doesn't mean procrastinate.
• The decision, conclusion, or situation is important. Many people fail to consider magnitude of what's being decided. They will make flippant decisions about major life issues, but agonize over relatively petty choices.
• Big money is at stake. If you're buying a car, do your research. It's a big expenditure for you, unless you're obscenely wealthy. If you're buying a gas can for your lawnmower, it's a pretty simple decision.
• You're participating in a presumably intelligent discussion. Don't waste the other person's time by stating conclusions you quickly arrived at.

A problem arises when we try to turn off that quick decision machinery: it stays on. So you're looking at cars and the styling on one model causes your brain to repeat, "That's the one for you." But if you took your time to research the care you'd find several things wrong:

• Your insurer charges you an unsafe care penalty, so insurance is more.
• The model has a high theft rate.
• It's really not all that comfortable to sit in.
• The gas mileage means you'll be paying $50 a month more to drive this than the one you're replacing now.
• The previous few years of this model have had high repair rates and low consumer satisfaction.
• The complaints are mostly about ergonomics in the car. You can't store things easily, the overhead light stinks, the visibility out the back window is poor. And there's wind noise.

However, you just "know" this is the car for you. So instead of thinking this out and making an intelligent decision, you agree to pay $28,000 for five years of headaches and higher costs.

Now, look at that list of bullet points again. You can turn all of these into questions:

• Would this car be likely to get a safe model discount with my insurance?
• This car looks really cool, so what does that mean in terms of how likely it is to be stolen for parts?
• How comfortable is this to drive? Over a distance? On bumpy city roads?
• Is the gas mileage really acceptable? How does that translate into dollars per month?
• What are the repair rates like, and why?
• What does JD Power say about consumer satisfaction?
• Is there a convenient place for the items I normally carry to the car? The items I store in the car, such as an emergency kit?
• How easy is this car to safely maneuver in a crowded parking lot? To back up? In the dark?

Where do these questions come from? They are actually inverse conclusions that you can leap to. Just put your conclusion leaping mechanism in gear, and restate the output as questions. Then you have the basis for some research you can do so that you can think things through.

Maybe the sporty look told you the car was a gas hog and insurance risk. This is what I thought about the first Ford Probe I bought. But I liked the car and got it anyhow. It turned out that the car was very fuel-efficient and was not on the high risk list with my insurer. It had a smallish 4 cylinder engine, thus explaining both facts.

I also thought it was capable of powering past one of those interstate on-ramp blockers so I could safely merge despite the psychopath in front of me who was happy to make semi tractor trailers jackknife as he pulled out in front of them at 35MPH. To my horror, that turned out not to be the case. That same smallish 4 cylinder engine. (An aside, here: I wish that anyone driving well below merging speed near the end of one of those ramps would face a minimum 30 year prison sentence with no hope of parole). Yes, I've done my share of conclusion-jumping. So I know the egg on the face problem personally.

When you're tempted to jump to conclusions, jump to questions instead. Have you ever noticed that when someone comes back at you with questions instead of challenges, you feel like you're being listened to and understood? That person might totally disagree with you, but instead of jumping to the conclusion that your statement was wrong that person is engaging you in a conversation by asking questions.

It's a difficult habit to get into, if you've spent your life leaping to conclusions. But start practicing it, and eventually you'll be getting at the truth of the matter rather than jumping to a falsehood and not even knowing you did.

This Act is illegal in many ways, and some of its components are egregiously that way. The individual mandate is a good example of this. The "logic" behind it makes no sense, but many people repeat it as if it does. Setting that aside for now, the penalty (in the form of an illegal tax) for not being able to afford today's outrageously high medical care premiums is going from 2% of household income to 2.5%. That's yet another tax on top of the many other taxes we pay.

If a family or individual is already struggling with the high costs of everything, having to pay those with deeply debauched dollars, the additional cost means going without something. Something, like, for example, health care. One reason many people don't pay for medical care insurance is they are investing in health care.

This way, they are not the freeloaders that UCA propagandists make them out to be. The freeloaders are the disease nuts who stock up on colas and eat nary a vegetable. Those are the people who are, if anyone, driving up medical care costs. It's just stupid to say that people who practice health care and thus don't need medical care are driving up the costs of medical care but that's the official line from Cartoonland.

Then there's the insanity of the employer mandate. This adds not insult, but injury to injury. According to Obama Economic Theory, all employers have infinite resources and do not have to make choices to keep costs down. Those of us with an IQ higher than 3 disagree with this position, but what do we know right?

The cost is "merely" an average of $12,592 per employee for family coverage. An employer who chooses to keep people on its payroll rather than pay this faces extremely high penalties. So the obvious choice is they are going to lay off full-time employees and make sure that as many employees as possible work 30 hours a week or less.

Employers already went through the "convert full-timers to part-timers" in many industries, back when Barry Soetoro illegally signed this illegal law into law. That was the initial response, and they've had time to think about the impending costs of the looming mandate. This time, they will not only eliminate full-time jobs but continue eliminating the need for people with investments in automation and technology. There's no UCA making automation tools hugely more expensive this year. The UCA does that only to people. And so people must go. Probably millions of them.

Of course, doing this during the economic Depression we're in fits perfectly with Barry's other "badly hurt America" schemes and behavior. Anyone not yet convinced that this narcissist is a psychopath has issues with grasping reality.

The UCA is unlikely to be repealed this year. And if the criminals who run our fake elections install Hillary as Barry's successor, the pain will continue during her eight year term (we don't do four year terms anymore, have you noticed?).

What can you do in the face of this kind of financial disaster? Clipping discount coupons isn't going to be enough.

Well, if you lose your job then you're going to have to find 2 or 3 part-time jobs and somehow manage traveling between them. Or maybe you have the skills that qualify you for a job you can do from home. Maybe as a contractor. On that note, always approach your ex-employer about working for them as a contractor, consultant, freelancer, or whatever they want to call someone who's on a 1099. If you were good at what you do and also tried to make your boss' life easier, you've already got a very good chance of getting the gig.

Folks who keep their full-time jobs will find their work situation to be much more difficult. They will be tasked with more responsibility. But it is not likely to be for more pay; they will probably have to take a pay cut, if anything. If you're salaried, this means more hours also. Probably too many to permit you to start a business or do anything on the side.

What else can you do? Pretty much what you've been doing. That is, economize. But put a new twist on it.

The twist is this. Think hard about your health care. In our culture/society, health care is a low-priority concern. Just look around at all the fat people, and this becomes obvious. I don't mean people with a few extra pounds, I mean people who are disgustingly fat. They are everywhere.

Two days before I wrote this, I visited a Staples. Standing in checkout, I looked in all directions and every person I saw was significantly too fat.  The day I wrote this, I visited a pet store. Every person I saw, and there were many, was either morbidly obese or well on the way to being morbidly obese. From the checkout clerk with his bloated face to the "doubled body weight" person in front of me to the big bellied people behind me, it was not a pretty sight. Other stores today, a similar thing but there were a few folks here and there who did not look like a candidate for Overeaters Anonymous.

Of course, bad eating decisions aren't the only unhealthy behavior the health-averse engage in. But it is probably the most iconic. It is readily apparent, often in a disgusting way (for example, the 300 pound females who think they look cute in a thong and stretch pants).

The people who have disdain for health care are finding that when they inevitably get medical care, several problems arise, such as:

• Their high-priced insurance with the big deductibles and many loopholes for the insurer leaves them with staggering bills.
• The care they receive, if they even get it, is terrible. Medical care in the USA is generally poor quality and is getting worse as the financial companies dictate more and more "worst practices" in the interests of maximizing revenue and profits.
• The sleep-deprived doctors who see them are nearly always careless, clueless, and inobservant. Sometimes a doctor isn't a zombie getting by on stimulants and doing things by rote but that is the exception and not the rule.
• They look bad and feel bad, no matter how much medical care they get. What they don't understand is their bodies are rotting from the inside. Medical care can't stop the cause of that, which is poor health care.

It is true that a person with excellent health care might end up needing medical care. But it is a certainty that a person with poor health care (a level that is much better than what Americans typically practice) will need medical care. And a person with excellent health care will respond far better to medical care than the typical health-averse person who's made bad health choices for a lifetime.

Unfortunately many people face a choice between investing in good health care so that they don't get sick, or buying crappy medical care insurance. The rational choice is to invest in good health care.

Losing your health just so you have the resources to pay for medical care is irrational. OK, it's stupid.

Keep shopping in the produce department (and/or the frozen goods equivalent), even though real food costs more than poison that can fill your belly. Keep buying your spices and your dental floss and your non-toxic soaps and all the other stuff that you need to be healthy. Exercise, practice good hygiene, wear good shoes, etc. If you can't do all this AND pay for your mandated insurance, then make the rational choice.

Remember, Barry Soetoro doesn't care about you. If you let your health go so that you can "afford" his illegal requirements, do you think he's going to come visit you or help you in any way? Not a chance. Your health is your greatest possession. Once you lose it, you really have nothing.

There's your first clue. Microsoft doesn't give a sh** about its customers. We know this because of the way they botched up Windows 95 (which should never have been released), Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.5, and Windows 10. Yes, that list does exclude a few versions. But generally Microsoft's products show a disconcertingly cavalier attitude toward its customers. Nobody from Microsoft is going to call to help you.

The scammer will say something like they found problems on your computer (never mind how, I suppose) or they found that your computer is infected. They will fix that for free. The tech just needs you to log into some sort of sharing program so he can have access to your computer. That's when he installs the malware.

The malware is often something much more powerful than a mere key logger (it may key log as well). It may monitor your access to banking sites or other passworded sites and capture your credentials. And since security "experts" all seem to believe that a password is no good unless it's so complex you have to store it as a plain text file on your computer so you can copy and past as needed, the malware will also seek out files with certain text strings such as PWD or password.

Because the 1040 is not only counterproductive to government revenue but also insanely complex, those of us who don't have $600 to pay an accountant to use tax software on his computer (which is probably not very secure) have to use tax software on our own computers. So guess what else the malware looks for?

When you get a call like this, don't argue or ask them to take you off their list. Better options include:

• Keep a police whistle near your phone. When one of these jokers calls, see if you can blow out an eardrum. This actually works well with all telemarketers.
• Simply hang up.
• Press the 9 key and hold it for 20 seconds. Then hang up.
• Let out a primordial scream into the phone. This is not advised if you get such a call at your workplace.
• Belch loudly into the phone.
• Say, "I'm dying from cancer. Why do you people keep calling me?"
• Start pitching some product. For example, "Say, your English sounds sh***y. I'm taking new students this week, and it's only $99 a month. I do take credit cards."
• Say something over and over. "I'm autistic. I'm autistic. I'm autistic."

You can take this up a notch, by asking questions like these:

• Do you still have sex with your mother?
• When did you first realize that you are a pervert?
• Am I repeating myself? (Keep asking this).
• Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?
• Did you say your name was Ima Buttsniffer?
• Why does your hair look like that?

If you really want to mess with the caller:

• You say you are Sunil from Tech Support? I got a call this morning and they said you'd call. They also said you have really bad body odor. Why do you stink so much that your coworkers call to tell me that?
• Bill Gates is a personal friend of mine. What did you say your name was?
• Sunil (or whatever his name is), I need your employee clock number and your personal cell phone number before we can continue. I'll call you back on that phone.
• The FBI is tapping my phone. Are you sure you want to call me pitching this scam?
• I can't take calls at this phone. Please call me back at [Give them the number of your local police department, which if you don't already have handy you should!].

Does this sound familiar?

"I went off my diet over the holidays, and thought I'd be back on it right with the start of the new year. But it's almost spring time and every attempt to get back on track has been derailed. It's always something. A meeting for work, a family event, or just a stressful day. Can you advise me what to do so I can get my beautiful body back?"

Let's start by defining "diet." Here is what the bodybuilding magazines, the ones with the drug-taking models, say:

• Breakfast. One bowl of oatmeal, plain. One boiled egg.

• Midmorning. Milk-based protein shake.

• Lunch. One dry chicken breast. Some broccoli. A small potato.

• Mid-afternoon. An apple and a milk-based protein shake.

• Supper. More dry chicken, or maybe some turkey. Same broccoli as before. One boiled egg.

• Mid-evening. Milk-based protein shake.

Good grief! What boredom. What starvation and malnutrition, too. What sane person would not revolt at this kind of diet?

"Weight loss" experts like to say you should eat to live, not live to eat. But does that really make sense?

The key is variety. But let me say a few things about what is wrong with the list above:

• Oats are great (unless instantized). But a breakfast made of oatmeal is high in carbs and low in protein. An egg gives you 7g of protein. Have a big breakfast that provides at least 30g of protein. Bake something ahead of time (I bake special "cookies" that I have for breakfast, a week's worth at a time and always vary the recipe). Or make something that will get your day off to a proper start. It doesn't take long to make scrambled eggs or an omelet; hot sauce in those eggs is a waker-upper. Have some fruit and/or some oats, too.
• Milk-based shakes are typically whey protein. Your body can absorb about 20g (maybe less); it has to dispose of anything over that. And whey has other issues, as does dairy in general. Make an omelet or use a vegetarian protein shake or eat peanut butter on apple slices or have something that is worth having.
• Dry chicken breast is unappetizing. But also consider that, unless it's organic chicken, it has been dipped in chlorine and then had artificial chicken flavoring injected into it. This just isn't healthy. Broccoli is good, but why make that your "vegetable" instead of eating a variety of vegetables with that meal?
• Boiled eggs are good, but one egg is only 7g and if you are getting your eggs from factory farm sources you are eating health problems not healthy food.

Be thoughtful about your meal-making. If you are inept in the kitchen, visit a local organic foods store and ask them where you can learn how to make nutritious, delicious meals with a minimum of skill and fuss. The investment in your health is well-worth it, and you will never again have to worry about getting back your beautiful body because you won't lose it in the first place.

Would it help if your meals also look good? of course it would, which is why every skilled chef considers presentation to be important. Yet the lame, bland meals above defy any effort at good presentation. Learn how to put a meal together! That is critical if you want to get your act together on the fitness front.

If you are making and eating attractive meals that provide variety, astounding flavor, and high nutrient-density, you won't even be tempted to "go off diet" in most instances where such temptation was previously too much.

If you're trying to get back on track, don't focus on getting rid of the fat as quickly as possible (that would entail eating tiny meals, something else that's hard to stick with). Focus on getting rid of bad habits and bad food choices as soon as possible.

Those bland diets recommended by the magazines are just not doable. So people fail. Why do those magazines publish this stuff if it doesn't work? Because then the reader will falsely conclude that good nutrition isn't the answer and will fork over serious money for fat loss supplements of dubious quality and even worse effectiveness. It's a racket, and it works for those running it. The racket just doesn't work for you.

And don't forget that many spices have amazing medicinal and health benefits. Not to mention they are essential to making delicious meals. Even with the same ingredients, simply changing the spices can make a very different-tasting meal. Learn how to use your spices!

If you don't have a spice collection, start building one. Tip: The first time you buy a spice, get it in the biggest glass jar available. You may need to scout the grocery stores in your area to find such a jar, rather than the tiny plastic or cardboard containers. Using a kitchen funnel (or if you don't have one and can't find it where you shop, an unused small engine funnel), refill the container from bulk plastic bags of the same spice. You will save money this way.

• The best workouts are short and intense.
• A good diet contains far more flavors and satisfaction than the typical American diet.

A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands. One phone call from the IRS can activate all of them in less than 10 seconds.

Do you take time to think, or do you just react to stuff all day long?