Mindconnection eNL, 2014-10-19

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

A legal heavyweight filed for the deportation of the most destructive scam artist of our time. Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/klayman-files-for-deportation-of-barack-obama/#xrgYy94MypT8UxIt.99

Note also that the criminal in question is genetically Arabic, NOT black (for those who harbor this ludicrous notion of "black" Obama, get reality here: http://pamelageller.com/2008/02/obama-arab-amer-2.html/

Item 2

As of last week, over 100 lawsuits have been filed against the Unaffordable Care Act, commonly known as "Obummercare." Of the 78 cases that have been decided, Obummercare lost 71 of them. That's 91%. This gives us more than a mere glimmer of hope that this scam will be ended.

Even the Supreme Court's ruling contains a poison pill for this mislegislation. What's a mystery is how they could give lip service to any idea that it's even remotely legal, but at least the "tax element" discussion in the decision makes this farce a criminal endeavor because it contains a tax and it did not originate in the House. Under the principle of "no taxation without representation" the Constitution explicitly requires all taxes to originate in the House of Representatives. The bill that was passed was actually written in the Senate, despite having an HR designation.

The UCA isn't merely immoral. It's unconstitutional and it's illegal in several other ways. That's why it keeps failing in other courts; no judge can rule for it without being grossly fraudulent. You can coerce 9 Justices if you have sufficient funding, but this kind of thing simply does not scale to 78 judges.

Item 3

The Evil Empire of the Internet is facing fierce resistance. In the USA, it has devastated thousands of small businesses and used its monopoly power in ways that take "ethically challenged" to a whole new level.

In Europe, things are different for the Evil Empire. European policy makers have seen what Google has done to small businesses (the drivers of economic prosperity) in the USA, and they don't want that same kind of problem in their countries. So they've been taking an increasingly harder stance against Google's misconduct. Google also faces many vocal critics, well-organized opposition, and regulatory pressure.

Perhaps these challenges will cause the creeps who run Google to consider taking a less destructive, less greedy view of how to conduct business. And that would be good news. Unfortunately, it's too late for many small business owners whom Google rendered homeless and debt-ridden.

One solution is in the USA is for people to just try real search engines. Those who do almost never go back to Google. But many people are conditioned by language abuse (such as saying "google it") and don't think for themselves. The lexiconic advantage that Google has so abused is showing signs of wear. But the zombie class still "googles" for things instead of using a real search engine.

Item 4

A great development in aircraft design could bring big fuel savings:

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/531781/shape-shifting-carbon-composites-could-save-fuel

Of course, this savings won't be reflected in the price of a ticket. But it's a comforting thought all the same.

One of those is engineering, something that stands out when looking at the e-mail addresses (many are for the domain of an engineering firm).

For that reason, I decided in this issue to cater our product highlight to that demographic.

We sell wide-frame scanners.

While many of our readers have bought some industrial-grade or professional products for home use (for example, the i800 scanner), they aren't typically laying out a whole lot more than if they bought the cheap consumer-grade stuff.

Different story with these scanners. This one retails for about six grand, though we have a factory promo going right now that can get it into the hands of your favorite engineer for under five. That's like giving someone a thousand dollars.

This network scanner is a table model that fits on any office desk. Scan documents ranging from A1 to D-size. Using simple one-touch buttons you can scan directly over the network to your desk or anywhere you desire.

• 1200 dpi, optical.
• Unlimited scan length.
• Can scan 14 in./sec.
• Easy to use.
• Energy-efficient.
• We have it on sale now.

Of course, we have many other products that don't require this kind of outlay and that are appropriate for consumers rather than businesses. But this one will delight a large segment of our readership.

Beware of ostentatious erudition. That is, alarms should sound when someone uses big words rather than direct, plain English.

Of course, there are times when the correct word choice is a "big word." Insert "needlessly" between "someone" and "uses" above.

Often, cheap is the most expensive. Here are some examples that illustrate the point:

• People buy cheap crap furniture. In addition to poisoning you with formaldehyde fumes, it looks tacky and you have to keep buying it. Total cost of ownership is less with real furniture.
• People shop at Wal-Mart, willfully ignorant of how very costly it is to get those low prices. In addition to offering inferior merchandise, Wal-Mart is a cancer on the local economy of wherever it's located. If not for federal subsidies, Wal-Mart could not survive.
• Cheap "food" at the burger joints is costly in terms of health. People who subsist on that garbage have are so diseased, they have an odor I find offensive.
• Cheap appliances, cheap speakers, cheap clothes, cheap carpet--all come with steep hidden costs.
• Cheap whores, too--most members of CONgress being an example, and the cost to us is in the trillions of dollars.

The so-called "managers" in many corporations save money at great cost. This is a well-known idiocratic practice in manufacturing and process plants, where "cost savings" involves arbitrary cuts in maintenance. I worked at one plant where the company saved $10 on chemicals for the process cooling system piping, only to pay for a $15,000 repair job three weeks later. Brilliant.

Don't chase the lowest price. Consider price as one metric of many. And never be cheap with someone who does good work for you; that's very costly in the long run.

In past issues, I've talked about the squat in glowing terms. This exercise provides tremendous benefits, if you do it correctly. Note that I do not recommend back squats. But other variations will help you burn fat and pack on muscle better than any other exercise.

As I have said many times, you can take two dudes who want bigger arms. Have one of them do nothing but biceps curls for three months. Have the other do nothing but squats for three months.

At the end of the three months, the one who did the squats will show the greatest gain in arm size. He will also be leaner than the other dude, assuming their diets are both good.

It amazes me how many gym rats don't get this, despite the overwhelming evidence. The guys and gals with the best looking bodies always do squats or deadlifts.

Eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney said in a 2013 interview, "You've got to do your squats."

Please note that machine exercises such as leg presses cannot substitute for squats. They are isolation exercises, while squats work nearly everything. 

The squat stimulates the strongest possible adaptive response, including a huge, long-lasting (several days) spike in testosterone. This hormone is what tells your body to store calcium in your bones, burn body fat, and build muscle. Those are three very important goals for anyone concerned about health, fitness, or bodybuilding.

In fact, you will burn more fat from squatting than from running. It's all because of the adaptive response. And running does not give you that big testosterone boost, but it does give you the opposite--a big cortisol boost. An exception is sprinting (done in, for example, interval training), which really has more in common with weight training than with treadmill running or jogging.

Deep vs. shallow

Good form is essential. A primary characteristic is you keep your knee from going over your toe. That prevents injury. Some people believe that not going deep also prevents injury. The reality is the opposite. Shallow squatting is akin to climbing stairs. Decent exercise, but only in a limited range of motion.

The concept of "range of motion" is fundamental to injury prevention. In the case of squats, going deep recruits the hamstrings, thus building a balanced leg. Muscle imbalance is a common cause of injury. You need to keep those knees back, but also squat deeply.

Olympic squatters nearly touch their butts to the floor. That's how deep they go. The idea that squatting until your thigh is almost parallel to the floor is good enough has no basis in physiology. It sacrifices much of the benefit the squat should be providing.

One reason people squat only partially is they are using too much weight and have to cheat to complete the exercise. In many cases, they are playing the mindless game of counting plates, then counting reps and sets. They also go fast, which is another cheating method. Their time under tension (for the muscles) is so minimal, it almost doesn't count.

Check your ego at the door. If you cannot squat all the way down, stop.

Try the following exercise, but don't use any weights. Support yourself with one hand on a door frame or squat rack support or similar sturdy item. Then slowly squat down, checking your form the whole way. What do I mean by slowly? Try for 15 seconds. If you can't do it, try 10 seconds. Hold for 2 seconds at the bottom, while taking a breath, then exhale on the way up.

Rest 30 seconds, then repeat.

Don't count reps or sets. When you can't do it right (and slowly), just stop.

Once you develop enough strength to do this in good form (maybe after a few weeks), then you can move to the next level. The change is very simple. You consciously flex everything during the exercise, especially your abs as you breathe out coming up.

Now you can count reps and sets. Keep a low number of reps per set; 5 is probably about the max. This keeps you from pacing yourself.

You're getting closer to doing good squats. The next step is to explode out of the bottom position. You should be able to feel individual muscle fibers coming into play.

This explosion part is a "finishing" move. Do it on the last two reps of each set. Remember, you are doing it from a very deep position. When it comes to squats, always go deep because that's what maximizes the adaptive response. In other words, going deep builds muscle.

You might wonder how a 250lb NFL player can leap 3 and a half feet straight up. The answer is that he trains with deep squats. No professional football coach is going to give the OK to shallow squats. Deep squats build power. And if you do that explosion finishing move, you will find your own vertical leap to be quite impressive.

For any sport--running, climbing, cycling, martial arts, and on and on--the stronger posterior and anterior chains you get from proper squatting give you a huge edge. And of course, a leaner, more muscular physique means you look better while doing that sport.

So when can you use weights, and how much can you use? If doing front squats, start off with just the bar. Repeat the whole sequence of form learning, etc., outlined above. Combine front squats with sissy squats, and you get an extremely good squats workout (maybe 5 sets of 5 for each).

If you're doing squats correctly, you are stimulating the maximum adaptive response. Give this time to do its thing. That means you aren't going to be doing squats every week. Every two weeks maybe, if you are in peak condition and not doing other work that loads your legs.

Many professional athletes do one squats session per month. It's a killer session, but so should yours be. If you aren't satisfied with a once a month frequency, do a mid-month session also but cut in half the number of sets. What you don't want to cut is the intensity of the exercise. 

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

The banana cannot reproduce itself. It can be propagated only by the hand of man. I was going to make a comment about members of CONgress, but you were probably thinking the same thing already....

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.