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Mindconnection eNL, 2009-12-20

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

1. Brainpower tip

If you pick 100 stories at random from the mainstream media, it's likely that all 100 will contain the following:
  • Statements contrary to fact
  • Deliberate omissions of critical facts
  • Leaps of logic
  • Manipulation

Usually, the most critical points will be misrepresented or omitted altogether.

The mudstream media do not report the news, but distort the news. They do this not to inform you, but to control you.

Most people are aghast when I tell them, "I don't do news." They question how I can know what's going on. I have them pick a fairly recent event that has been covered by respectable sources, and then walk through it with them. Invariably, they didn't know what was going on but I did. They had only disinformation, and on the basis of falsehoods were forming their world view and opinions.

I let them come to that conclusion, though, rather than hit them over the head with it. My hope is that the mudstream media will feel enough pain from lack of audience that they will start providing actual journalism.

In the walk-through, I explain how the facts go together and what some of the sources are. Often, I will tap into their existing areas of expertise (everybody has some expertise in something) and use that as a basis for examining the "facts" presented by the mudstream media. This technique is something everybody should do and that everybody can do. Why people don't do it is beyond me. It's a basic brainpower exercise.

On a positive note, many people are increasingly doing this. Consequently, the mudstream media has seen a drastic drop in their audiences. They blame the Internet or something else external. They don't blame their own insulting product. People who think even just a little bit are so insulted by the manipulation, lies, and stupidity that they are tuning out. The decline in newspaper readership has nothing to do with the Internet and everything to do with being sick of being treated like you don't have a mind of your own.

Getting your "information" from the mudstream media is akin to jumping out of a plane with a known defective parachute. While technically you have a parachute, you are much better off not jumping out of the plane to begin with.

Nothing is gained by subjecting yourself to the mudstream media, unless you enjoy sharing myths and lies with other people similarly brainwashed. But if you respect your own brain and want it to function on the basis of fact rather than fiction, you need to vet your sources.

2. Finance tip

This page has several ways of looking at your total tax load*: http://www.usdebtclock.org/

How can a nation of 300 million people, with all of the resources here, be so deeply in debt? It's called "crime."

You can find out who the criminals are by looking at their spending records here: www.ntu.org. BTW, our current president had the worst spending record possible (voted against you every time), which is why The Party put him where he is today. Ron Paul had an entirely different approach, and his votes were on your side every time. The mudstream media made Obama out to be sane and Paul to be a crockpot, instead of the other way around.

*If we can agree that money does not grow on trees, then govt spending = tax load. The money has to come from somewhere. It comes from you and me.

3. Security tip

Don't overdo the computer security.

A long-term friend contacted me recently for help with his computer. It hangs up all the time and runs very slowly. He thought he had a virus and was going to buy an anti-virus program.

He already had three such programs installed, and therein was his problem. If you choose to run this kind of software (and I personally think that's not a smart choice), pick only one. Otherwise, you have two or more programs battling each other. As they do that, you get strange things happening in the Windows Registry and with other key files.

Some reasons I don't like these programs:

  • My experience has been that a virus actually has less effect on your machine's performance than a program designed to "protect" against viruses. This may not be true in all cases.
  • The excessive read/write operations cause premature hard drive failure, mostly due to overheating.
  • When you uninstall one from an existing machine, the difference is like 5 steps up in processor power.
  • They don't prevent everything anyhow.
  • They intrude in various ways that makes "annoying" an understatement.

These programs are like chemotherapy for cancer. It's better not to overeat and smoke so you don't get the cancer in the first place, than to undergo chemo just in case you might have it.

What this means in computer terms is basically:

  • Don't visit spammy sites. If you really "need" that free p*rn or really want to do online gambling, pick up a used computer just for that purpose. When it goes belly-up, format the hard drive, reinstall Windows, and you're ready to go again.
  • Don't open spammy e-mails. Nobody is going to give you something for nothing. If it sounds like it might be a come-on, it's a come-on.
  • Don't open attachments that look suspicious.
  • Don't trust attachments just because they are from someone you know. They might be sent via "spoof" or that person might be forwarding something out of ignorance.
  • Be religious about your Windows updates.
  • Always have two physical drives on your computer. One is for data, the other is for your OS and program files. A single hard drive configuration is slower (Windows can read both drives simultaneously) and more vulnerable (if you lose your OS or get a data infection, you lose your data) than a two-drive one.

These steps are not any great imposition. Practice them, and you can avoid costly over-security mistakes. Even if you do decide to install an antivirus program, follow these steps anyhow. The program itself cannot and will not protect your data, nor can it ensure you will have a worm-free or virus-free computing experience.

4. Health tip/Fitness tips

Jack LaLanne is an icon of fitness. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, he was the face of fitness before fitness became "cool."

I remember as a kid, watching his television show. Mr. LaLanne's example still motivates me today. He's around 90 years old now, and at last report he leaves "physically fit" 30-somethings in his dust.

When asked about his "diet," Mr. LaLanne states his simple philosophy: "If it's made by man, I don't eat it."

The highly processed grains that make up a big part of the American diet also make up a big part of why medical care is such a big part of our budget.

The fact that it's not a felony to contaminate food with corn syrup or hydrogenated oil is amazing. These two toxins kill more Americans each year than plane crashes and automobile wrecks combined. I suspect the problem is almost as bad in other countries where food is replaced by manufactured garbage and people actually eat it.

Fitness supplements for bodybuilders

Here's an article that explains more about the topic: http://www.supplecity.com/articles/processedfoods.htm

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...

 

5. Factoid

All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill. That same bill is worth only $2.50 compared to its value 10 years ago.


6. Product Highlight

Inexpensive tourist translator

This is one of our hottest-selling products. If you want just a dictionary and phrasebook for very light translation needs on a budget, consider this device.

The 20-Language Lingo 2000 translates words in all directions for: Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese. It has foreign language characters and phonetics. No voice output. 400,000 words (20,000 words per language), 40,000 phrases.

Discontinued. Update made 2014-07-28.  

https://www.mindconnection.com/category/LANG-003LINGO.html

 

If you need more power, step up to the amazing iTravl pocket translator. It's also hugely popular. And vastly more powerful than the Lingo 2000.

Instead of 20,000 words of Spanish, you get over 1 million. You also can type in your own random sentences and the Spanish-speaking person can do the same.

Check it out by clicking the photo and then selecting a language. You can quickly get accurate information about its language learning program, translation tools, and other features.

Discontinued, early 2015.

https://www.mindconnection.com/category/LANG-003ECTACOiTravl.html

 

 

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.



7. Thought for the Day

Politicians and diapers both need to be changed regularly, and for the same reason.

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.

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