Mindconnection eNL, 2006-09-03

Past issues

In this issue:

1. Product Highlights
2. Brainpower tip
3. Time tip
4. Finance tip

5. Security tip
6. Health tip/Fitness tip
7. Miscellany
8. Thought for the day

How much harder can you train?

Normally, I keep each sets to 2 to 6 reps, reducing the weight as the muscle gets weaker and weaker through the exercise. With Amino Armor, I found I wasn't dropping off in strength after each set. In a workout of proper intensity, though, this is what should happen. Amino Armor changes the intensity picture, so you can work each muscle harder.

https://www.mindconnection.com/product/NTR-NITRO-AMINOARMOR.html

[Note: I am not a "Bush basher." I am just calling things as I see them, and the President happens to be quite wrong on this issue].

Yes, I'm opposed to the gov't's stupidity enhancement programs. I believe the No Child Gets Ahead is the most effective stupidity enhancement program ever put into place.

The program in Texas used, like all other gov't programs, falsified, cheated upon, and irrelevant statistics to show how "successful" it was. In fact, like the typical gov't program, it was a total failure (in terms of accomplishing its alleged mission).

This failure was 100% predictable--and not just because it was run by a gov't agency. Even if competent people had been in charge, this program had no hope of producing a positive outcome.

We have seen this same "you get what you measure and pay for" played out to devastating results in the corporate world for a very long time. You simply cannot force a narrow set of metrics onto a large set of variables and expect anything other than bad results.

What the Texas program actually did was force teachers to teach to a test. This means rote memorization and learning test-taking skills, instead of developing a joy of learning and forming those crucial neural networks that are the foundation of high IQs. I won't get into the subject of IQ here, either, because that is also laden with test inaccuracies. Nor will I go into the massive cheating that the No Child Gets Ahead program has fostered. It's all BS, and it has replaced education. When gov't officials now talk about "fertile" minds, they are referring to all the BS that they have generated.

Idiotic educational policies produce idiots, and we have seen this truism pan out ever since the adoption of the "Look See" method of teaching "reading." Any child who can actually think after being subjected to 12 years of public "education" can do that in spite of, not because of, such policies as No Child Gets Ahead. Congratulations to the parents of such a child--you are special people.

Anyone wishing to develop, rather than damage, the brain of any child must abandon the stupidity enhancement method that is currently all the rage. That method involves:

• Staying up late studying, so as to engender brain-weakening sleep deprivation.
• Rote memorization, which bores the student and dulls the mind.
• High-stress expectations for grades, test scores, and other meaningless measurements--which all dehumanize the student into just a set of measurements.
• Too much emphasis on structured activities, which squeezes out room for random play. Random play is essential for proper intellectual and social development.

What today's "learning" methods do is very similar to what most "exercise equipment" does. Both the fancy machines at the gym and the "over-achiever" methods of today's "education" system produce underdevelopment. Neither makes use of the natural exercise needed by the human being subjected to these methods.

At this point, I could go into what to do instead of the current nonsense. But I think we all already know the answer to that one. If I have to tell you, you won't understand. If the answer doesn't pop into your head, then just think for a moment of some experience in which you really enjoyed learning and why that was.

Memorization is not learning. Computers can do our memorization for us, and limiting ourselves to that function demeans us as humans. We enhance both our intelligence and our humanity when we engage in learning.

Of course, drinking sodas is just plain stupid. Unless, of course, you have a passion for osteoporosis and esophageal cancer. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm partial to my bones and my esophagus. So I don't consume sodas. To each his own.

A better way to address the physical side of low attention span is to fix the causes. Merely addressing the symptoms is not a sustainable strategy. So, what are the causes?

1. Sleep deprivation is the #1 cause of low attention span. See Mindconnection's sleep course to address this. When you are 20% sleep-deprived, you have the mental acuity of a person who is drunk. The typical American is actually below that level, and doesn't even realize there's a problem. Get your rest, and you can ditch the Ritalin.
    
2. Poor diet means a poorly performing brain. See the free diet information at www.supplecity.com.
    
3. A disruptive environment ruins concentration. If you need to focus, get make your environment as quiet as possible. If you can't get away from noisy people, then wear earplugs.
    
4. Lack of practice is another major cause. If you're not doing things that require concentration, you lose your ability to concentrate. Use it or lose it. Most people, in today's sound bite world, have chosen to lose it.
    

There are other physical and non-physical causes of poor attention span (including thinking about problems rather than compartmentalizing so you can be in the moment). To identify all of the thing that interfere with your concentration, keep a notepad handy. When something disturbs you, make a note of it. As time permits, work on this list.

Because this issue is appearing in "mainstream" misinformation sources, it's important to present real information in "alternative" sources of actual information. Such as this eNL. Part Six might be straining your attention, if you generally don't care about this issue. Sorry about that. I hope the accuracy and (IMO good) writing make up for that.

As we all know, disease care costs are rising in the USA. This is due primarily to three factors:

1. Fostering disease is a cultural problem in the USA. If you aren't a "disease-nut," you are an oddball. Thus, more Americans are sick both percentage-wise and in raw numbers than ever before.
2. Outside of the Veterans Administration, there is no healthcare system of any size anywhere in the USA. The VA switched over from a disease-care to healthcare mode only in the past few years.
3. The bureaucratic "solutions" to disease care costs continue to magnify those costs.

People are also living longer, due to symptom-alleviating drugs and treatments. Many Americans mistakenly think they have longer lifespans than people in other countries. As I recall, we aren't even in the top ten. But this metric is a very obtuse one that gives a distorted picture. What matters to the individual is the number of useful years in which you can enjoy living. Not how long people in your age group can be kept breathing on life support systems.

That said, I want to clarify what long term care (LTC) is. I have two friends who are very much up in years. They have led stellar lives, and accomplished much. Today, with their various age-related ailments, they find it hard to get out much. They are getting very near the time they will need to hire help for such things as flipping their mattress, pulling major appliances out and cleaning behind them, taking care of the yard, and those kinds of things we seldom think about. They'll need help with things they easily did when they were 20 years younger.

LTC insurance covers the costs of paying for a broad range of personal services--things that are best left to younger, stronger people. LTC also pays for some medical things.

The operative word here is "disability." The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) defines disability, but I won't give you the definition here because some policy makers accept that definition and others have their own. The ADA definition is not what's relevant; the policy maker's definition is. Essentially, whatever services the policy covers will define what that policy maker considers disabilities.

In some cases, they pay for those disabilities indefinitely. In other cases, there's a time limit. Most of the time, there is a time limit because this coverage is intended to "bridge" recovery time from medical intervention. Be sure to note which covered items have time limits and which do not.

Interestingly, LTC is considered health insurance--just as disease care insurance is. This misuse of language probably has a reason that goes back to the marketing department. Where LTC differs from disease care insurance is it pays for "care" rather than "treatment." Sometimes, the line is a little blurry, depending on the policy.

Many people consider LTC a relatively new product. But a much older form of this does exist: It's called "friends and family." While you may still want an LTC policy, invest now in friends and family if you are still able-bodied. People may be the best investment you can make. This doesn't mean you need to keep some kind of ledger, and it doesn't mean you need to spend every moment doing things for other people. But treat people with some respect and invest some time in them and in relationships with them, and you'll see dividends for as long as you live.

See http://www.supplecity.com for free articles on taking care of your body so it can, in turn, take care of you and your finances in the long-term.

Do you remember how the Department of Homeland Stupidity sent out all their various colored alerts? The whacko instructions to duct tape your windows and whatever else they were jabbering about? I often wonder if they did this to amuse Osama Bin Laden or if they were actually stupid enough to think they were doing something useful. One can never tell.

Not being chained to the television/radio/newspaper brainwashing system, I found it very easy to completely ignore the DHS announcements. Consequently, it didn't bother me in the slightest. In fact, because I ignore the "mainstream" misinformation sources, I didn't know about the alert du jour until it had already passed. I still find it incredible that people went out and bought tons of duct tape in response to those "warnings." Somebody made a killing in duct tape stocks, and that may have been the whole point of something so obviously useless to the citizens allegedly "helped" by this stupidity.

I grew up (well, pretended to) during the Cold War. Remember that? The game of Russian roulette with nuclear missiles? What does some kid in Vladivostok have against some kid in a small Midwestern, unincorporated area that wasn't even a formal city? Nothing. Yet, there we were. The "Kill a Commie for Mommie" posters, atomic bomb drills, and other constant reminders that the world wasn't a very safe or secure place. What a message to send a child. Your tax dollars at work....

During the entire Cold War, not one American died from Russian nuclear missiles. But millions of Americans were attacked by agencies of the US Federal Government (which managed to rack up quite the body count).

Now we have an actual federal agency in charge of undermining our sense of security, mainly by engaging in high-level stupidity--goofball announcements, bureaucratic delays in response (remember Katrina?), and hiring more of the same braindead people we find at other agencies. The Department of Homeland Stupidity is yet another expensive, useless federal agency.

How can you protect your sense of security? Assess your personal situation, take the appropriate measures, and then fuggedabout it. You can't protect against everything, so don't even try. You should relax and enjoy life, if you have adequately addressed the real security issues. If you haven't done so, take time to do that now.

1. By weight, the sun is 70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 1.5% carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, and 0.5% all other elements. Congress, on the other hand, is all hot air (another way Congress differs from the sun is that the sun is bright)..
    
2. Help U.S. Marines: http://www.mypersonalfitnesscoach.com/supportourmarines.html .
    

3. See: https://www.mindconnection.com/main/specialoffers.htm. It has some great offers that are worth following up on--such asgasoline offers. I especially like this one: Free special offer for people who are tired of not sleeping. Visit QualityHealth to get your free special offer and get the sleep you need.
    

4. We don't run ads in our newsletter. We do get inquiries from advertisers, all the time. To keep this eNL coming, go to www.mindconnection.com and do your shopping from there (as appropriate).
    

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Each morning takes all night to arrive. Don't waste it when it comes.