Bookmark and Share
Subscriptions
Past issues

Mindconnection eNL, 2007-10-14

Home
 

In this issue:

  1. Product highlight
  2. Brainpower tip
  3. Time tip
  4. Finance tip
  1. Security tip
  2. Health tip/Fitness tip
  3. Miscellany
  4. Thought for the day
 

1. Product Highlight

Lingo Voyager 3
One of the latest offerings from Lingo, the Voyager 3 is essentially the Voyager 2 with 20 languages instead of just 12.

The 20-Language Talking Dictionary: Lingo Voyager Three translates words in all directions for the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovakian, Spanish, and Turkish. It also has foreign language characters and shows you phonetically how to pronounce them in your own language. You can have the unit pronounce them for you at the touch of a button.

 
 

Replaced by Voyager 7.

 

This unit has voice in all languages. It has 20,000 words and 2,000 phrases per language. Please note that this is a tourist-level device.


2. Brainpower tip

In our last issue, we looked at how desire plays a great role in brainpower. In this issue, we look at how fear does that.

Fear plays a great role in brainpower.

Example 1. A person has a lump and fears it might be cancer so doesn't get medical assistance. Everyone knows that the earlier you address such a problem, the easier it is to do so. Yet, people wait. This applies to persistent coughs, headaches, and other symptoms. By a twisted sense of logic, they pretend the problem isn't there--in hopes it won't be.

Example 2. We all know crime is a fact of life. Always has been, always will be. But people fear being a victim. By a twisted sense of logic, they pretend the problem isn't there--in hopes it won't be. So, they don't take common sense precautions: install deadbolt locks, work with neighbors and police to create a security-conscious neighborhood, obtain the correct home defense hardware and learn to use it effectively, rehearse a home invasion, determine exit routes, etc.

Of course in the first example the real solution (99.999% of the time) is to eat right and exercise. But once the symptoms are there, ignoring them doesn't solve the problem.

IMO, the second problem can be greatly ameliorated by reducing the size and power of the federal government. Its policies over the last 50 years or so have done enormous damage and the pace accelerated over the last 20.

Just look at the so-called "free trade" as an example. This pits American companies against companies that don't have the costs of complying with American laws, without the offsetting tariff to balance things out. The predictable result is the loss of hundreds of thousands of American jobs. New jobs spring up, but not fast enough. Even so, why should we need new jobs when there was nothing wrong with the old ones other than extremely bad public policy?

Yes, it's true that the incessant brainwashing lulls people into a stupor of inaction. But haven't we learned from September 11, Hurricane Katrina, and other examples that the government doesn't protect us? Haven't we learned from Ruby Ridge, Oklahoma City, Waco, and every April 15th that the government is quite willing and able to do the exact opposite of protecting us?

Transferring our fear into a misplaced sense of trust--relying on the fox to guard us chickens--isn't a solution sane folks should adopt.

In the Mindconnection eNL, I've talked about virtual lobotomies that shuttle all information processing to the amygdala. But I have overlooked something. That shuttling reduces our brainpower to the level that a reptile has. But reptiles defend themselves.

Let's drop down the brain scale all the way to a wasp. Here's a creature in which an amygdala would be a major brain upgrade. Aha--you just thought, "The same can be said for my CONgressman!"  :)

A wasp knows to sense danger and take action to overcome it. Attack a wasp's nest, and you realize they fight back.

So, how in the heck do we develop liberals? I am speaking not of classic liberals but of people who label themselves as liberals and are actually statists--they look to the government to solve all problems. Their idea of government is "the bigger the better." Lest any registered Democrats get too upset, by this definition Bob Dole is a liberal.

These are creatures whose brains are so disabled that they have less sense than a wasp. Or even a housefly. A classic liberal would never suggest that rolling out the red carpet for violent criminals is a good idea. Today's "liberal" not only suggests this but can see no other choice. While a wasp believes it has a natural right to defend itself and its hive (its family) from aggression or even death, a liberal believes that humans do not have that right. The liberal insists that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, this job falls to the government. Thus, in this era of school violence, "we"--at the behest of liberals--tell teachers they are not allowed to protect themselves or their students while on school property.

This stupidity doesn't come from a shift to the amygdala. It comes from "government is the answer" brainwashing.

Now, I'm not suggesting that government is the source of all evil and we need to abolish it. Government is much like hot sauce. A little bit is good. Too much, and you have an unpleasant experience. Overdo it beyond a certain point, and even your your a-- gets burned. We are way, way, way beyond that point.

But back to the brainpower issue. Fear makes us seek a solution. The "government is the answer" brainwashing works because it provides an easy answer. You don't have to do anything but trust an alphabet soup of incompetent agencies. If you can buy into that, you can allay your fears instantly. The problem, of course, is that proposition is entirely false.

What do to in the face of fear

Rather than be paralyzed into inaction as in Example 1 or conned into it as in Example 2, use fear to increase your brainpower.

  1. Let the fear roll over you. Understand that fear is natural. Don't treat it as something to be avoided. Treat it as a call to action. Your action.
     
  2. Analyze the fear. When in an emotional state, analysis isn't easy. So, we're not looking to do anything complex here. Ask two simple questions: "Why do I have this fear? What are the possible dangers that are triggering it?"
     
  3. Identify the danger. From the previous step, you have a list of possibilities. Look at each one. Decide which of those are real. You may need to take a deep breath and calm down, or you may need to make a computer-like instant judgment, depending on the situation. None of this is a "deep thought" process.
     
  4. Identify a course of action. Do you simply remove yourself from the danger (flight), or do you act to neutralize the danger (fight)? Very simple decision.
     
  5. Take the action.

Dealing with danger

Dangers come in a variety of styles and colors! One point of differentiation is the immediacy.

Example 1. Joe has a vague fear of a terrorist attack. What can he do about this? He can talk to people about the Fair Tax, www.fairtax.org, in an effort to eliminate the top terrorist group in the world. He can make a point of being vigilant and reporting suspect activities to law enforcement. He can do a lot of things, other than simply trust the government to take care of it. The government didn't do much to reduce the terror of an innocent family on Ruby Ridge, and it has failed in countless other ways. So taking positive action not only helps allay the fear but it helps reduce the underlying cause.

Example 2. A noise awakens Joe in the dead of the night. Someone is in his home. Now he's really afraid. What are his options? He can call 911 and wait 20 minutes, or he can transfer his fear he into the invading criminal via use of a firearm.

Example 3. Someone stops you and says, "Your money or your life." That's pretty frightening. What do you do? Odds are, you'll lose your life anyway. So swallow your fear and attack. Law enforcement people consistently tell us to comply, but actual case histories show that is the worst possible response. If you have an RTC, use your weapon. If you are unarmed, use what's available. If there is no weapon, become one. Your response will transfer your fear into the mind of your attacker.

Example 4. Anna fears she will lose her job. She has coworkers with this same fear. She notices many people talk about who's getting laid off next. They are hoping their "big brother" employer won't cast them aside. Anna decides to identify which things make an employee more likely to be laid off and less likely to be laid off. She develops a plan to greatly reduce her odds of being cut, and she puts that plan into action.

Example 5. Jennifer's pulse races as she commutes to work. She frequently has close encounters and driving in traffic is an exercise in sheer terror for her. Worse, the effects make her unable to focus for the first couple of hours at work and she fears this will damage not only her immediate employment but her long-term career prospects. She decides to do two things. The first is to take a defensive driving course, to reduce her vulnerability while exposed during the dangerous trip. The second is to reduce her exposure by telecommuting two days a week, which she proposes to her employer after preparing a compelling case advantageous to her employer.

Proper programming

When you program yourself to always respond to fear in a manner that addresses the cause of the fear, your brain operates from a position of calm. This means your cortex can kick in. For immediate dangers, this isn't as useful. But for situations that are drawn out or chronic, it can make all the difference. As in that last example.

It's a useful exercise to keep a diary of fears for one week. Just write down what you feel. For example, "fear of getting front fender clipped on interstate," "fear I might have bad breath," etc.

After that week has passed, pick the top 3 fears from that list. That is, which items cause you to be most fearful. There is no right answer--just pick 3. If it's hard to decide, don't agonize. It's not so important that you get the exact 3 as that you come up with a list of 3 important fears. What you don't want to do is work on minor fears or try to fix everything at once. The number 3 is a good limit, for reasons that will become apparent as you work on this.

Next, think about each of those 3 fears. Try to determine the cause(s) of each. Then, make a list of potential fixes or counteractions for each one. Develop a plan and follow it. Once you are able to cross off a fear from your list, pick out another one.

By doing this, you will find fear stops interfering with your brainpower. You will also find yourself immune to brainwashing, because you are in the mode of taking action to solve your problems rather than relying on the empty promises of a pharmaceutical ad, government propaganda, political campaign ad, or some other nonsense.

3. Time Tip

Make a list of time-wasting activities. Just sit down and start writing as they come to mind. After you get about 10 of these, stop. Now, identify 3 of them that you'd like to do something about.

Chances are good that someone you know has already solved one of these problems. Maybe not optimally, but better than your current situation. So, rather than talk about the weather, raise the issue in your conversations.

Example:

"Have you ever had to wait in the grocery line?"

"Yes, I absolutely hate that. Which is why I...."

  • Carry whatever book I'm reading.
  • Shop at a different time from everyone else.
  • Avoid the large chains.
  • Raise a garden. In addition to the enjoying the activity itself, I rely less on the store.
  • Take my daughter with me. We use that time to talk about whatever's on her mind.
  • Go with a friend. If we wind up in different lines, we chat on our cell phones. That grocery line wait is the only time we really have together, some months.
  • Take my husband. There are no distractions, and he actually listens to me.

You may notice that some of these ideas address the problem of the wait itself and seek to reduce it, while others are interesting and useful ways to make use of the wait. People have different ways of dealing with things, and you may be surprised at the great ideas you can discover by just talking with other people.

4. Finance tip

I recently reviewed a book that blows some wealth-reducing myths out of the water. See that review here:

http://mindconnection.com/books/mobsmessiahsmarkets.htm

5. Security tip

Part of the fallout from September 11 is a reduction of personal security for airline passengers. This has taken form in many ways. For example:
  • Extensive weapons ban. I used to carry a modified folding Buck knife when flying. The modification was I shortened the blade so it was under the 3.5" maximum. My reason for carrying this was the Entebbe hijacking. Ramming a knife like that into the thigh of a hijacker would definitely disable him. Jamming it into his femoral artery would be lethal. And it's an easy strike! But now, you are limited to rolled up magazines (used as batons) and electronic gadgets. Yes, you can kill a hijacker with a laptop and it does make a good knife shield, but why should I have to smash up a $1500 item?
     
  • End of discretion. At one time, you could carry cash in a concealed manner. Ditto for jewelry, electronic gadgets, or other high-theft items. Now, you are required to lay all that stuff out so that muggers know exactly which people to target.
     
  • Enforced clumsiness. Prior to September 11, you could pack all of your stuff quite nicely and keep at least one hand free. Today, you have to repeatedly pull out your driver's license, ticket, and itinerary. You need three hands, and that's before you handle your luggage or go through the whole pointless shoes on / shoes off thing. Businessmen have the additional hassle of taking off their sport coats and wadding them up, then putting them back on again while trying to get the cell phone, PDA, laptop, and other gear put away and shoes back on. Lovely.
     
  • Enforced infection. Now you have to put your clean stocking feet into an area walked on by people who have whatever fungus growing on theirs. Why don't we exchange underpants while we're at it, and see how many infections one person can spread to thousands of others?
     
  • Enforced dehydration. I used to carry a Nike bottle for bikes, filled with water. Now I have to wait on a hot tarmac for an hour and then wait another 20 minutes for someone to hand me a dinky bottle of water. All while on a plane in which the air is far too dry. This dries out the sinuses so that they can't protect you from the hugely concentrated pathogens brought on by the other sardines, er, I mean people, jammed into that aluminum tube. And forcibly thickening your blood while mechanically cutting the blood flow to your legs is never a good idea.

The government answer to any problem is nearly always colossally counterproductive. Here's what should have happened:

  • Unarmed flight crews grounded until armed. Why: No hijacker has ever overcome an armed flight crew. Ever. The first attempted hijacking in history ended when the pilot shot the hijacker.
     
  • People who already have a concealed carry permit are issued rubber bullets and paid a discount to fly. Why: That much more protection for the passengers.
     
  • Stronger doors and latches installed on crew cabins. Why: So the flight crew can't be caught off guard.
     
  • Bomb sniffers installed at airports. Why: Instead of wasting money on catching non-threats and hassling passengers, we should work on actual threats. Does anybody really think it's now possible to hijack an American airliner? The passengers will not hesitate to kill anyone trying that stunt again. So why are we screening out hijackers? To protect them?
     

It's probably too late to replace the colossally counterproductive measures now in place with ones that actually make sense. Too many people are making too much money off the stupidity, and the lobbyists are going to keep the good times rolling. So what can you do about this "de-activate brain, enact policy" approach that has compromised your safety?

The airlines won't like this, but one answer is to simply reduce travel. We have the Internet, today. We can:

  • Phone anywhere for free or just pennies.
  • Send e-mails.
  • FTP large files.
  • Use Web conferencing.

Sometimes, we "must" have a meeting so we can "talk things out." Isn't talking what we do over the phone? Is it really necessary to pay $500 and burn a day traveling, just so you can what--feel somebody else? Hmm.

Maybe we need to think about what we say and write and how we work, so that meetings become less necessary.

What about presenting a gizmo or demonstrating a product? Answer: You can send packages via FedEx from any Walgreen's or Kinkos. See www.fedex.com for locations. UPS is almost as ubiquitous. See www.ups.com, and you'll be surprised just how many UPS centers are near you.

Now, there is another factor to consider. Even though your personal safety is now compromised to "make you safer" (such logic--but, that's government "thinking" for you!), you aren't in nearly as much danger as the regulation-spewing politicians would like you to think. In fact, you are statically 100 more times as likely to die in a car than in a terrorist attack (excluding the IRS, FBI, and BATF, which are quite good at such attacks as Janet Reno demonstrated ).

And, not all travel is for business. Sometimes you really do want to travel so you can feel someone--for example, hugging a friend or relative. Or you want to travel to see sights unique to another area, or enjoy a different culture. There are many situations where you just have to be there.

Maybe the best advice on post-September 11 safety is to look at the real problem: politicians. Don't vote for the status quo. If you vote Demopublican you change nothing, but you do give them a "mandate" to keep right on doing the very things they should not be doing.

That's one reason why I'm voting for Ron Paul in 2008, even though Hillary 99.99% guaranteed to be our next President. Why would I vote for Ron Paul if I am so sure he won't be elected? Because I would totally waste my vote if I use it just to rubber stamp the failed policies, rampant overspending, and unacceptable behavior of the same old gang of idiots and thieves--the Demopublicans.

These people aren't a threat to your security--they have already proven they do much more than merely threaten. Even if voting against them doesn't result in their losing their office, at least you are sending a message other than, "Make us unsafe and keep stealing from generations not even born yet, I don't mind."

6. Health tip/Fitness tips

Diabetes is now at epidemic proportions in the USA. Here is what you need to know:

http://www.supplecity.com/articles/diabetes.htm

7. Miscellany

  1. The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma. Remember this, the next time another tax increase bleeds you dry.
     
  2. 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).
     

  3. Please forward this eNL to others.

8. Thought for the Day

If left to fester, that exactly what problems do.

 

Wishing you the best,

Mark Lamendola
Mindconnection

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 us how much you love this eNL, ask how to put us in your will <grin> or to (gasp) unsubscribe, write to comments @ mindconnection.com (paste that into your e-mail client, and remove the spaces).

Let other potential readers know what you think of this e-zine, by rating it at the Cumuli Ezine Finder: http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra22225.rate

Articles | Book Reviews | Free eNL | Products

Contact Us | Home

This material, copyright Mindconnection. Don't make all of your communication electronic. Hug somebody!