Mindconnection eNL, 2016-05-22

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

Item 1. The emergence of a two-party political system for electing our President may not occur within the next decade or two, but the prospects of it are shining brighter every four years. You can con people only so much, and this latest installment of "Fake Election Farce" went too far with the stupidity.

The Libertarian Party recently released a letter that summarized input from many sources. In essence, it said thousands of Libertarians hold elected office (across all levels of government) and the number grows with each round. It also said many Democrats have said they simply will not vote for Hillary and many Republicans say the same about Donald. These people are, the LP honchos hope, going to stop playing the pointless D/R game and vote in the affirmative for law and order instead. That "awakening" on such a large scale is really good news.

Item 2. Surprise, surprise, graphene didn't provide us with a good news item in this issue. That's not good news, but I'm just saying....

Item 3. On a personal note, my kitty escaped after being locked up somewhere (for four days) against her will and came home. This is a cat who waits on the neighbor's porch while I'm inside and who greets me at the door when I return from a car trip (such as to the store). This is not a cat who takes off for hours at a time, much less days. In a future issue, I will share what I learned about locating a missing pet. If you follow the tips I provide, you can turn an ordeal into your own personal good news. Or perhaps you can help a friend do the same.

Mindconnection, LLC sells in the major marketplaces. We have a Top Seller Plus rating on eBay, so in this issue we'll point you toward one of offerings there. Same as we did in the previous issue, for the same reason. But it's a different product.

The Zapco ST-5X amplifier has:

• RCA and speaker-level inputs.
• Auto-on with speaker level inputs.
• Variable input gain control.
• Variable electronic crossover.
• Variable bass boost control.
• Channel separation over 60dB.
• Frequency response 15Hz to 30KHz.
• Compact chassis: 6.3 x 2 x 15.4.

The Studio-X line of Amplifiers from Zapco was designed specifically for today's car audio market. The ST-X amplifiers are the smaller lighter amps you need for today's smaller lighter cars. But with the Zapco ST-X amps, smaller doesn't mean weaker or softer.

With the ST-S amps you get all the power and sound quality you expect from Zapco. The Studio-X compact chassis makes it an easy fit in any car and even in motorcycle fairings. The square, low profile chassis also means it will be easy to trim out for a great looking installation so your system will look as awesome as it sounds.
 

Zapco ST-5X
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We have this statistic for Alzheimer's patients and not everyone else mostly likely because the cognitive condition of Alzheimer's patients is monitored and recorded while people without the disease do not get this monitoring. So from this statistic for Alzheimer's patients, we can logically conclude that cognitive decline for those with unhealthy gums (but not with Alzheimer's) occurs at an accelerated rate.

To test this, think of the people you have known for several years but who have bad breath (bad breath is nearly always a sign of gum disease). You'll probably find they don't sound nearly as smart as they did a few years ago.

People with gum disease typically try to cover up the problem by using mouthwash, which temporarily covers it up but exacerbates it by killing the friendly bacteria and making it easier for the unfriendly bacteria to colonize. This accelerates the periodontal disease while also creating a breeding ground for bacteria that cause other diseases.

This same article stated that 50% of US adults over age 30 have periodontal disease. That's a staggering statistic, especially when you consider that periodontal disease is 100% preventable. Now think of the implications for the stupidity epidemic. A lack of proper hygiene, combined with an atrocious diet, is making half the population prematurely and terminally stupid. We also know that over half of "voters" re "elected" Barry Soetoro in 2012, an act of mass stupidity that is astounding. So dental hygiene and proper diet are extremely important to brain power.

Since half of American adults get this wrong, you, dear reader, are statistically in need of the information that will help you get this right. It's very simple.

First, on diet. That's been covered many times in this eNL. To sum up, don't eat processed grain products (including the sweeteners found in sodas, which you should not be drinking anyhow). These totally jack with your endocrine system, wreak havoc with your mouth and gut fauna, have little nutritional value, and are usually full of toxins (including neurotoxins). So no bread, for example. Replace grain with green. Eat nutrient-dense foods, with an emphasis on the brassicas. Get most of your carbs from fruit, instead of from grains.

What about dental care? Well, many people non-think that if they squirt some abrasive, chemical-laden goop onto a toothbrush and scrub their teeth a little after supper they have what dentists call "good home care." Totally wrong. Here's what you do instead:

• After each of your six meals a day, brush (soft bristle brush) with baking soda (it neutralizes the acid that would otherwise attack tooth enamel). Work to massage your gums, more than to "clean" your teeth. Brushing doesn't actually clean your teeth due to the asperity difference (the bristle tips are larger than many features on the tooth surface).
• After brushing, floss. Don't run the floss between your teeth. Run it along the side of a tooth into the gumline and then up with a scooping motion away from the tooth. Repeat for the other side of that space, running down the side of the other other tooth. For the backs of molars, you obviously can't do this but you can wrap the floss around the back of the molar to slide down along the tooth then scoop out away from it on the way up.
• Use a dental irrigator. This can be done just a couple of times a day with great results, but nothing stops you from doing it after every meal.

If you don't have access to any teeth-cleaning gear, then improvise. Of course, if you're eating right then you won't have junk on your teeth to begin with. The goal of this home care is to keep the gums healthy.

Most people have bad technique with all three of these tools. When scheduling your next dental appointment, let the office know you want extra time so a dental hygienist can go over home care techniques with you. Yeah, yeah, you already know how to brush your teeth. That's what everybody says, but typically what people think they know about the subject is wrong. Set aside your pride and make sure you get the right information.

I want to emphasize diet again. Humans eat mostly soft foods. Eating fruit such as an apple and eating some raw vegetables will help scrub your teeth. Combine that with proper home care, and you should never have any plaque.

The week I wrote this column, I took my feline companion to her doctor for her annual checkup and examination. As usual, he commented, "I see you are still feeding her hard kibble, and not the corn-based stuff." Why would he say this? Because while most pets brought into the veterinarian today have dental problems, my little girl has clean teeth and healthy gums. Her breath is sweet, not foul as is the case with most cats and dogs today.

Taking care of your teeth and gums is good for your appearance and it's good for how you smell. The fact that taking care of your teeth and gums also has a big effect on your brain power should be a powerful motivator for anyone who doesn't want to be prematurely stupid to follow the advice in this article.

"Brace yourselves: Not because winter is coming, but because ObamaCare premium hikes definitely are: Health insurance companies are laying the groundwork for substantial increases in ObamaCare premiums, opening up a line of attack for Republicans in a presidential election year.

Many insurers have been losing money on the ObamaCare marketplaces, in part because they set their premiums too low when the plans started in 2014. The companies are now expected to seek substantial price increases. As you have probably heard, those losses have been so substantial as to drive UnitedHealth, the nation's largest health insurer, out of ObamaCare exchanges in nearly two dozen states.

This is a significant blow to ObamaCare, and it is having, and will continue to have, a big impact on people who need health insurance. How big could these premium hikes be?

To give you an idea, one insurer in New Hampshire is already requesting a 45.2% increase for 2017. Is this really what President Obama calls "bending the cost curve down?"

Given the financial disaster that the Unaffordable Care Act has (predictably) turned out to be, what can you do to protect yourself? Well, we the people have already told CONgress we want this illegal scam repealed. They have not listened. So any hope of help from the "government" is pretty dim. But let's keep the pressure up on that front.

For most people, the UCA has converted their medical insurance into major medical insurance with such high deductibles and other costs to the policy holder that the insurance is basically worthless. If you do have this insurance now, how much does it cost you each month? Probably less than the illegal "UCA rejection tax" for the whole year.

For most people, the sensible option is to forego the worthless insurance and just pay the illegal tax.

But what if something happens? As noted, the insurance doesn't really protect you anyhow. Your best protection is to practice health care, something the vast majority of Americans absolutely reject. There's a stupidity epidemic and a strong cultural bias toward the disease lifestyle, but the disease-obtaining decisions of other people do not confer upon you the duty to join them in their folly. Take care of your health, and your odds of ever needing medical care go from 100% to somewhere below 1%.

From a financial perspective, then, it's definitely worth adopting a sensible lifestyle. And you can't put a price tag on feeling good and looking good.

Yes, you could still get any of a number of diseases even if you eat right, get plenty of rest, etc. But a sensible lifestyle so lowers the odds of that happening that it's the only, er, sensible choice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PzT8vEvYPg&feature=share
 

Lies That Trainers Tell

There's nothing wrong with being a personal trainer. Unless you really don't know what you're talking about. Which is the case with most personal trainers.

To distinguish themselves from the competition, they may take steroids so that their size makes it appear that they know how to help you reach your goals. Or they may just come up with crazy stuff and yak it up as the real deal that will kick your program up a few notches. Here are some examples:

• Don't eat fruit. Truth: You need to eat fruit; you need the carbs to fuel your workouts, and the nutrients are amazing. For some people who are preparing in the last couple of weeks before a photoshoot or a contest, skipping fruit during that time seems to help them. But doing this won't magically make you "lose weight". You didn't get fat from eating too many apples.

• Train in high volume. Lots of low-weight reps, 'cuz this will get you "toned" while maximizing calorie burn. Truth: There's no such thing as "toned" and lots of low-weight reps do little for your fitness. A training session geared toward generating the adaptive response maximizes calorie burn, because that burn continues for days after the workout.

• Eat 50g of whey after a workout. Truth: It's not a great form of protein, but you want to consume it limit that to 20g at a time.

• Warm up with cardio for 30 minutes before lifting. Truth: This is a really bad idea. It depletes your body of the energy you need to do an intense workout. Warm up briefly with some light weights, not enough to really exert yourself.
   
• Stretch before lifting. Truth: Do this only if you enjoy muscle tears and joint problems. When you lift weights, you are contracting the muscles. Why would you lengthen them just prior? Most stretches are going to temporarily weaken stabilizer muscles, thus making injuries inevitable.
   
• Do squats twice a week. Truth: If you are doing this exercise correctly, you've got probably a 10-day cycle (or longer) built in due to the need to rest between squats workouts. And that's if you're in great shape with good genetics and a great diet. Many professional athletes do them once a month. It's a great exercise, but don't overdo it.

There are many more "Lies That Trainers Tell." They may not be deliberately lying, they may actually believe what they are saying. Maybe they watched an online video or another trainer told them, or, worst of all, they read it in a muscle magazine.

When a trainer tells you something, say that sounds great and that it would help you to have an explanation as to why that is a good practice. If the explanation seems to defy logic, it's probably one of those back-fit theories made up to support a lie. It's not worth getting into an argument about. But it may be worth thinking about, if thinking in an analytical way. And always look for the potential harm. What can be bad about this practice, or what can go wrong?

For example, consider the training speed "controversy". It has three speeds: momentum, fast, and slow. Some trainers like to push momentum training on their clients because the poundages go up and there's the illusion of getting stronger.

• I adamantly oppose momentum lifting. What's the potential harm versus fast lifting? That your risk of injury is so greatly increased that it's inevitable. You will injure joints and tendons, while doing almost nothing to build muscle or burn fat.
   
• I don't see why people bother with fast lifting. It's a notch better than momentum lifting, but it still produces poor results. What's the potential harm, here? Not so much injury but the fact that it fails to stimulate an adaptive response. Sure, you can lift more weight if you lift faster. But that's because you don't deplete any particular muscle fibers. They just aren't under tension long enough and are mostly at rest throughout the rep. So the real risk is you will train and train yet remain the same.
   
• I'm a big proponent of slow lifting. What's the downside versus fast lifting? That your risk of injury is greatly reduced? That you'll deplete muscle fibers, signaling your body to make them stronger and/or larger?

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

The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades. One letter from the IRS can triple the amount of acid produced.

What will be your legacy? Will people remember you at all? Why should they? Let these questions guide you as you decide how to spend your time.