Mindconnection eNL, 2017-10-01

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Item 1. Huge advances in technology plus the increasing acknowledgement that we must break our fossil fuel addiction have boosted renewable energy enormously. Here is one of the many articles I've recently read about this:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/renewables/100-percent-renewable-energy-for-139-countries-by-2050

Item 2. Helping to reduce energy consumption in the first place is this development for air conditioning:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/solar/efficient-airconditioning-by-beaming-heat-into-space

Item 3. Evaporation engines could create more power than coal. According to research published in Nature Communications, machines based on that trick could create 325 gigawatts of electricity-generating capacity, which is more than coal currently provides. But there are some tricky details to work out; read about them here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608949/evaporation-engines-could-produce-more-power-than-coal-with-a-huge-caveat

Item 4. Barry Soetoro still has not provided proof he's an American citizen, yet there is plenty of circumstantial (or better) evidence to the contrary. So there is still hope for his deportation to Indonesia and the revocation of his undeserved, ill-gotten $205,700 annual pension plus perhaps another half million dollars a year in retirement benefits. The money he currently steals via retirement could comfortably support half a dozen poor families for the next 30 years.

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Why

• Thinking is a metabolically intense activity. The brain is predisposed to avoid it. Thinking can be bypassed by any number of means, rendering a solution or non-solution that appears to be good.
• Thinking is a process, and it takes time. There's no gratification during this time. But leaping to conclusions or taking some other non-thinking quick trip to a solution/non-solution to a problem or question means you get that gratification quickly.
• Thinking is deliberate, not automatic, which means you have to make choices and decisions.
• Thinking is hard work. We tend to prefer the easy way out.
• When you think through something, you might not like what you come up with. It's often preferable to simply go with a comfortable delusion and this is the default mode for the vast majority of people.

Given these drawbacks to thinking, especially the last one, it's amazing that any of us think at all. Turning cognition off is thus the default mode for most everybody. Yet, many people decide to think anyhow. The advantages of doing so are compelling. If you think about it, you'll identify those advantages.

How

Here are some tips for getting your cognition going.

• Have the right mindset. Decide that you will think things through, no matter what your first impressions or conclusions are. When you can prove yourself wrong, it means you learn. Learning makes you mentally stronger.
• Relax. One reason people don't think is they are in the wrong emotional state. Take a deep breath, and shift to a positive mindset whereby the joy of thinking brings you peace and power at the same time.
• Slow down. One reason people don't think is they are in a hurry to get to the solution. They actually take longer to get to the solution, and often in their hurry fail altogether because they grasp the wrong solution.
• Be methodical. Use one of the standard thinking processes (there are many taught and in use). Nearly all of these start with clearly defining the problem. If you're working on the wrong problem, you will have the wrong solution.
• Check the facts. Nearly all of the standard thinking processes include a fact-checking step. This doesn't mean going to a biased Website like Snopes to check a rumor. This whole area is a discipline unto itself, but you can start with considering the source. For example: Is the source authoritative, and if so why do you characterize it as such?
• Apply logic. Yet another area that is a discipline unto itself, logic is the key to correctly using facts. The vast majority of people are logic-deficient, which means their conclusion are irrational (rather than rational, which means by dint of logic).
• Compare to bad sources. One way libtards are useful is their conclusions are almost certainly wrong in every case. If you reach a conclusion and find it reiterated in the libtard world, suspect strongly that you erred somehow. Re-examine your sources and your logic.

One this last point, an additional comment. In my early 20s, I figured out a quick way to determine which side of a political issue was correct. After examining several dozen positions taken by Ted Kennedy, it became obvious to me I could make quick work of any political issue by finding out what Ted's position was. Since his position was always based on fiction and illogic, taking the opposite position usually put me in the right. However, I also found that the question itself might not lead to this dichotomy. Many political questions are akin to "Did you walk to school or carry your lunch" by which I mean you have two false choices.

We are seeing this played out in the long-overdue repeal of the Unaffordable Care Act. The corporate employees who misrepresent us in Congress keep presenting unacceptable alternatives. Senator Rand Paul (KY) has been proposing an excellent alternative plan for many years now. The flaw in his plan is it doesn't funnel vast sums of money from the poor and middle class to a handful of corporations. So the "choice" will continue to be morons versus idiots.

Our fake federal "elections are this way, also. If the Dems present a terrible candidate, it does not follow that the Republican candidate is the one to pick. This "Crips versus Bloods" (gangsta gang one versus gangsta gang two) non-choice does not lend itself to an A/B dichotomy with an acceptable outcome. So always be alert to the "idiots on both sides" problem, which is the norm when politics is involved.

Your credit score is used for things other than obtaining a loan. For example, part of the pre-employment screening process involves looking at a person's credit score to help gage how responsible and reliable that person is. Many employers also use it as a factor when deciding who gets promoted and who gets laid off. The list of benefits is actually quite long.

Most people are passive about their credit score, so the one they have isn't what it could be. Here are some tips on how to be proactive and get that score up higher than it otherwise would be.

• Golden rule: Pay off the balance each month on each card. If you cannot do this, then you are spending too much. Cut back.

• Platinum rule: Pay the outstanding balance every two weeks. Use Outlook or another calendar system to remind you to do this.

• Use your oldest credit card enough that the card issuer doesn't cancel it. That card helps anchor your credit portfolio. One factor is the average time you've had all of your credit cards, and another (more heavily weighted) is how old your oldest card is.

• If you do not have at least six credit cards, try to obtain a new credit card once a year until you reach that number. Why so many cards? Because each card raises your total purchasing ability. When you pay off your cards each month, you show a low utilization factor which is good. Suppose your credit limit is $4,000 and you have only one card. Your average balance is $400 and you pay it off each month. That's 10% utilization. Get more cards until your credit limit is $20,000 and now that $400 a month is only 2% utilization. More than six cards, and you start having card management issues. With six, you can rotate them out every other month or so to keep them active.

• Notice, one card per year. You don't want to suddenly acquire a bunch of cards, that makes you look risky. Nor do you want to trigger a bunch of credit inquiries.

• Avoid expensive loans, such as the typical car loan. If you do get a car loan, go for a shorter term. If the car costs so much that you can't comfortably pay it off in four years then it is too much car for you. There's no law requiring you to stupidly overspend on a car, so don't do it.

• Put your utilities on autopay. This prevents several problems, including a ding to your credit score. Bonus: if permitted, pay with a rewards card so these routine expenses pay you back a bit.

• Put your mortgage or rent on autopay. See previous point.

• Avoid all contact with the Institute of Reprobates and Sociopaths. Always go through a tax attorney, no matter how trivial the matter seems. This terrorist organization is all about hurting people. If they can get their foot in the door because you answer what seems like a harmless question, you are on the path to a financial disaster.

• Always pay taxes from a special checking account at a bank you use for no other purpose. This way, the IRS can't just raid your "pay my bills" checking account and disable you from paying your bills. They will have to get your checking information from you, and of course you never divulge that information no matter what sort of threats or promises they spew.

• You don't breathe in their exhaust.
• You're not boxed in by potential car jackers, if you have a clear lane or shoulder on one side or the other.
• You are more able to see what's going on in front and behind, plus the additional distance gives you more time to reach for your pig-sticker or pistol. Or to get out of the car and negotiate (code for sneak a nasty kick to the shin, then drop the guy).
• If an inattentive driver behind you plows into your car, you have much less impact when striking the car in front (the accordion effect is reduced).
• Some drivers get confused and put their car in reverse. You have enough space for an "oops" to hit the other driver without that driver hitting you.
• If the car in front of you has an Obama or Hillary sticker on the bumper, you are alerted that an irrational person is at the wheel.

Then he said, "I wish I had time to work out." So I asked him how much time he thought he needed and what he meant by working out.

"Well, you know, driving to and from the gym is 20 minutes. Going through all the machines takes at least an hour, but there's half an hour on the treadmill before that."

I sometimes forget that this ineffective approach is what many people consider "working out." No wonder they give up. This really does take too much time, and it doesn't produce very good results.

If you want to train at a gym, fine. But you can train at home with minimal equipment if the round trip to the gym takes too much time.

And you don't need lots of equipment, either. When Arnold was filming for Predator, he didn't have any equipment.

When my grandpa started me on training, he gave me one piece of equipment: the rolling wheel. If you have just this, you can still produce a strong, beautiful physique.

If you are tight on both money and space but want to lift weights, get three pairs of dumbbells at different weights. For example:

• 5lbs.
• 10 lbs.
• 25 lbs.

You can do a vast array of exercises with these, for a total training program. Just stack them in a bedroom corner when they aren't in use.

A bench is nice,  but not a "must have." To many people, a workout doesn't count unless you spend time bench pressing. The bench press is an exercise Arnold shunned; he built his massive chest doing flyes.

The half hour treadmill thing before a workout is a bad idea for two reasons:

1. It depletes energy you need for an effective weight training session.
2. It elevates your cortisol and depresses your testosterone.

That energy aspect is so critical, bodybuilders use what's called a split routine. It involves designating specific muscle groups and training them on separate days. This approach also allows for adequate recovery.

Top photo taken 16SEP2016, just days before 56th birthday; bottom photo taken 3 days after 56th birthday

You might set up your training program as follows:

• Monday. Rest day.
• Tuesday AM. Back and biceps. 20 minutes.
• Wednesday AM. Squats one week, calves the next week. 15 minutes.
• Thursday AM. Core work, consisting of planks and hanging leg raises. 10 minutes.
• Friday AM. Rest day.
• Saturday AM. Chest and triceps. 20 minutes.
• Sunday AM. Shoulders. 15 minutes.

Total training time for the whole week is 80 minutes, far less than my neighbor believed one session should take. It's all done before work, so it's out of the way for the day. Some people will swear they don't have time to train before going to work. That's ridiculous; just go to be half an hour sooner and the necessary time magically appears.

Notice how short the sessions are. The training sessions are short because each rep is slow and controlled, and you are keeping tension in the target muscles. You don't do very many reps per set.

Now, this schedule could be changed to permit volume training (which produces bigger muscles) without taking time out of work days. Notice there are three upper body workouts. Rotate them in succession on four upper body days. If an upper body day falls on a weekend, do it with volume training (more reps per set, so you need to reduce the weight being used.

It could look like this:

• Monday AM. Core work, consisting of planks and hanging leg raises. 15 minutes.
• Tuesday AM. Upper body. 20 minutes.
• Wednesday AM. Squats one week, calves the next week. 15 minutes.
• Thursday AM. Upper body, 20 minutes.
• Friday. Rest day.
• Saturday AM. Upper body, 40 minutes.
• Sunday AM. Upper body, 40 minutes.

Where it says "Upper body," you put in one of your three upper body workouts that day. Always do them in the same sequence. Notice you have four upper body days and only three upper body workouts. That means if you do back and biceps this Tuesday, then next Tuesday you'll be doing chest and triceps.

Total time for the week is now 150 minutes, or 2.5 hours. But you're adding a workout day, increasing the core workout time, and doing volume workouts on the weekends. And you're still below the 210+ minutes my neighbor believed a single session should consume. This second schedule is a more aggressive program than the 80 minute version, and the way your body looks will show that after being on it for a while. Either version will give you vastly better results than the unstructured, time-consuming approach that is so typical.

Obviously, it's also important to do the correct exercises for a specific workout, and to do those exercises correctly. Bad technique is ubiquitous, and so are the injuries resulting from it. If you walk into a typical gym, you will be lucky if you spot one person training correctly. That's because people are thinking about moving weight rather than challenging the muscle, and so they make the exercises easier instead of harder, use too much weight, involve too many joints in an exercise, and use joint-damaging momentum.

 You want to focus on challenging the muscle, not on seeing how much weight you can throw around. If you need instruction, find someone who understand physiology and can teach you from that perspective. Do it right, and enjoy the benefits.

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

Whether consciously or not, people still notice footwear when getting a first impression. Enter an establishment wearing properly shined shoes and you will be treated better than someone else similarly attired except that person is wearing flip-flops. Keep that in mind when applying for a loan, a job, or a club membership.

If you own flip-flops, also consider what they are doing to your gait, feet, spine, and neck; tossing them in the trash is your best option. And that is a fact.