Mindconnection eNL, 2018-09-16

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

Item 1. The Fed upgraded its measure of Q2 economic growth to 4.2%. If Q3 comes in at 3.98%, growth for the year to that point will be 3%. The good news is the Fed estimates 4.1% growth for Q3 based on data through the end of August (2/3 through Q3).

Item 2. There's been a trend of citizens organizing to challenge the corrupt shadow governments of their municipalities. The criminals don't know what to make of this. With today's communication technology (including, ironically "anti" social media), concerned citizens can quickly reach a large group to distribute information and organize efforts. The prospect of honest, lawful local government is good news indeed. Let's hold them accountable!

Item 3. States are also fighting back against corruption. A federal judge in Texas is weighing a request by 20 states to suspend the illegal and costly (un)Affordable Care Act, a move that would help move us along the path to lawful government and affordable medical care.

The states filed a lawsuit in February to have the illegal act declared unconstitutional, which of course it is on multiple grounds. In arguments held last Wednesday, lawyers for these states held firm to their request for a preliminary injunction suspending the entire law.

Congress and the President should have taken care of this business on Trump's first day in office. Congress utterly failed in its responsibility (and promise) to repeal this harmful, illegal legacy of our first illegal immigrant President. So now 40% of the individual states are seeking remedy through the federal court system.

The only dark spot here is this may yet be another of those greed-motivated moves by the corporations that basically run what is supposed to be government. We need to dig deeper to see if they are actually trying to repeal this abomination or if they just want to get rid of the part that prohibits playing games with "pre-existing conditions".

The states in the lawsuit are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Contact your representative and senators for details, if you are in one of these states.
 

Item 4. California has a path to affordable 100% non-fossil grid electricity by 2045. According to MIT Tech Review, "A new paper by MIT researchers concludes that building out a substantial level of resources like nuclear power or natural-gas plants that capture carbon dioxide—rather than relying exclusively on renewable resources backed up with batteries—could cut electricity costs by as much as 62 percent."

Item 5. U.S. Chamber Chief Economist J.D. Foster said on Labor Day 2018 that we are seeing job growth "in excess of 200,000 jobs a month." These aren't just burger-flipping jobs or manual labor jobs, either. The vast majority of the new jobs have decent pay because of the skill level involved. Unfortunately, a huge chunk of the labor pool is unskilled, semi-literate, innumerate, and unprepared for entry level training. This has caused a shortage that industry itself has been addressing through remedial education and other solutions.

Item 6. Congressman Yoder wrote in early September, "Our economy's hot streak is continuing: the recent August Jobs Report showed that we added 201,000 new jobs last month. Even more exciting, average wages rose by 2.9%, the best wage growth since 2009!"

Item 7. With Trump Derangement Syndrome so prevalent among the "journalists" who spew the fake news, there is confusion as to whether the economy is bad and declining as they say or is it booming and getting better as it appears to be doing and as many non-legacy media sources say it is.

So how do you know whom to believe? Former POTUS Barry Soetoro (aka, Obama, not his real legal name) would certainly jump on the TDS bandwagon to blame Trump if the economy went well, correct? But what is he doing, instead? Remember when Soetoro personally took credit for killing Osama Bin Laden? And all the other times he took credit for what other people did? In a recent speech, Soetoro took credit for the booming economy despite the fact that it happened only because Trump rolled back many of Soetoro's economy-killing Executive Orders and because Congress passed the historic 2017 Tax Reform Act (which Trump signed).

Thanks for confirming what we already know, Barry. The economy, free from your predations, is back on its feet and starting to walk again. And that is really good news.

Item 8. Target (pronounced Frenchly as "Tar-Jhay" by many) is planning to hire 12,000 seasonal workers. Read the full story here: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2018/09/13/target-plans-to-hire-120000-seasonal-workers

Ectaco 900Pro Galaxy Pocket Translator

You talk, it translates. Now you can communicate in 31 languages, any place you go. No Internet connection needed.

Everything is preloaded on your 900 Pro, no need to worry about difficult setups or downloads. Easy to use and reliable; this voice translator will act as your own personal language assistant.

This is a hugely popular item. Once you have yours, you will understand why!

This palm-size gadget represents the latest generation of talking electronic translators. Just speak into it and hear the translation; no Internet connection required. And if you want to learn another language, it contains one of the best language learning systems on the market with language learning, language studies, and foreign language communication. This is the most advanced unit ever created yet it maintains a user-friendly interface, touchscreen, and a full QWERTY convertible keyboard. 5-inch touchscreen and weighs only 9.6 oz.

• You speak, it translates.
• Translates offline, no connection rq'd.
• Speak, type, write, or take a picture to translate.
• Translates anything its camera can see (Wi-Fi connection required).
• Includes 183-language translation dictionary (words and phrases).
• Wi-Fi, browser, Skype.
• Easy to use, built on Android OS.
• Fits in your pocket.
• 6 x 3.5 x 0.7 inches.
• Text Translation. Type in any text you want and have it translated right away. Have it pronounced for you with just the push of a button.

Among the many cool features of the Ectaco 900 Pro are:

• Speech-based sentence translation.
• Voice activated audio phrasebook with 14,000 entries.
• English talking electronic dictionary.
• Talking translation dictionary.
• Picture dictionary with 31 languages.
• Language learning program.
• Camera.
• Wi-Fi.
• Voice activated audio phrasebook with 14,000 entries.
• English talking electronic dictionary.
• Talking translation dictionary.
• Universal Translator - a 183 language word translator.
• Massive English dictionary.
• Language translation dictionary.
• Language learning games.
• Access to tons of extra programs via the application store.

Buy it today
 

However, it's not much better to divide tasks into tiny slices of time and switch from one to another frequently.

Let's say that, instead of checking your e-mail inbox or chatting on the phone while trying to write an important paper, you work on that paper for 10 minutes, then check e-mail, then work for 10 minutes, then make that call, then work another 10 minutes. Yes, you are tasking sequentially. But not long enough or well enough to account for what researchers call "residual attention." You never get a deep focus, and thus never fully engage your cerebral cortex in working that one issue or project or problem.

So you're working on that paper, and part of your mind is wondering what new e-mails have come in. This means you're distracted while working on that paper. So you check e-mail and while answering them, part of your mind is mulling over that paper you were working on. Again, you're distracted.

A better approach is this:

Set aside a full half hour to work on that paper. Shut your cell phone off, close your e-mail client, and put your full attention on that paper. When you come to a good stopping point as you're approaching the 30 minute limit, then make a note or two about where you left off and what you were thinking of doing next in this work. By a good stopping point, I mean something like you finished the first draft. It's good to break here, so that you come back to it with "fresh eyes" for the editing.

Now with that paper completely off your mind, open your e-mail client. Handle what's there. If something is especially complicated and you don't have time to deal with it right now, drag and drop it from your In box to your To Do folder. Ensure your In box is empty. Then, if time permits, go to your To Do folder and see what one item you can tackle right now. Tackle it.

Do you see the pattern? To turbocharge your effective IQ, focus on one task at a time. That does not mean do it while thinking of all the other unfinished tasks. It means shutting out all thought of any other task but the one you are on.

It may take you 15 or 20 minutes to get fully into that groove, so allow for the transition. Once you make this your standard approach, you'll notice your "get in the groove" time dropping. I've worked this way since childhood (yes, I was an "early adopter" before the term became fashionable), and as nearly as I can tell my "get in the groove" time has been about instant for several decades now. But I still don't do the fast-switching thing; I believe that would start increasing my "get in the groove" time.

It also helps that I chose two "extreme sports" in which on-demand total focus is required for excelling. Those are martial arts (several styles) and climbing (top roping and bouldering).

During weight training, I'm also very focused; making that mind-muscle connection is critical for good results. If I can't "find" the muscle and "talk" with it, my training suffers. If you talk to any successful athlete, including competitive body builders, you will hear this same thing.

It's not just sports. Talk with any accomplished musician, and that person will tell you this total focus is critical. Remember Captain Sullenberger? How focused do you think he was when he brought that plane down in the Hudson? Or what about Neil Armstrong when took over the controls manually to land on the moon? Armstrong was freakish in his ability to concentrate, even when compared to astronauts and fighter pilots. Sully is also "out there" in the ability to focus. Their examples are applicable to all of us, nonetheless.

"But," you say, "I don't have time to focus. I am overloaded with things that all demand my attention." The solution there is to take the time to focus. Why?

You are overloaded because you are not focusing so that you can do one task efficiently and well before moving on to the next. And it's not things that "demand" your attention, but your distractedness gives you that impression. Pick something to do first, then do it while not giving any thought to anything else. When it's done, turn your attention to another thing. This is how you end the stress of an ever-increasing pile of overwhelming issues to address. Instead of overload, you just have work load.

So here's the breakdown:

• Multi-tasking: You suck at everything.
• Tiny-slicing: You are mediocre in many things.
• Focusing: You excel at what is important.

Most people are totally unaware of these tips when I bring them up, so perhaps they will help you.

• If you have an automatic transmission, put the car in neutral when at a light rather than leaving it in drive with the brakes on. Why: The torque converter is still putting a load on your engine, reducing its RPM and thus the airflow through the intake system. This means fuel will drop out of suspension, washing the oil off your piston rings and contaminating the oil in your crankcase. I changed oil at 5,000 miles the day I wrote this, and my "old" oil still smelled good and was barely darker than the new oil.
   
• If you run the air conditioner while driving, turn it off when you're a couple of minutes from your destination. Why: Ever notice those water puddles your car leaves? That's air conditioner condensation. But it's not just under your car. There's also condensation in your ductwork, and that means mold. Many people drive around with mold blowing at them all summer. The solution is to turn the AC off as you approach your destination, and rely on the residual cooling. Even a couple of minutes will help eliminate mold. You can leave the vent closed for comfort, but be sure to open the vent at least 30 seconds before you pull in. Always leave the vent open when parking (multiple reasons for this).
   
• Once a year or so, add a container of fuel injector cleaner. Why: Fuel injectors get dirty from things like idling your engine, or using "cheap" fuel. I use Shell gasoline, normally.
   
• Avoid idling your engine. Why: This causes the fuel to drop out of suspension; see the first tip above. Engine damage may not be noticeable, but it's there. And it adds up, while your engine's power and efficiency go down.
   
• In winter, don't start the engine and leave it idle to warm up the car. Why: Your battery does not charge when the car is on idle, and you're in winter. Get it? And there's that fuel falling out of suspension problem again. Many people do the winter idle thing, because they run the defrosters and then use their wipers to clear the windshield. this is hard on the wipers, also. Instead, scrape your windows clear and then start the car. If you want a 20 second warm-up, gently rev the engine so it's just off idle. About 1500 RPM will do just fine. Then proceed slowly.
   
• Always use synthetic oil. Why: Not just because of better fuel economy and more engine power, but cold weather starting. The paraffin-based (that would be all engine oils other than synthetic) oils do not lubricate when you first start your engine because the paraffin has to melt for that oil to circulate. Synthetic, by contrast, is ready immediately and goes to work immediately. Think of the implications for winter.
  
  And a synthetic blend does not count. Not only does it contain paraffin, but it defeats a key characteristic that makes synthetic such an efficiency-boosting oil. The molecules of synthetic oil are all the same size and shape, and this minimizes friction within the lubricant. Other oils, by contrast, have molecules of many different sizes and shapes. Use the word "contaminate" instead of "blend" to be accurate.
   
• Avoid ethanol. Why: Not only is this fuel an ecological disaster, it harms your engine. Yes, the propaganda is that later model cars are designed to handle ethanol. But that is not true. They are designed to better withstand it, for example with a harder valve seat and a different shape on the valve edges. But the valves are made from the same material and they still get hot and they will still burn at the edges. Also, the fuel system components in later model vehicles are just as easily damaged by ethanol as the fuel system components in earlier model cars.
  
  Ethanol also lowers your MPG, your horsepower, and your torque. What is there to like about it? Absolutely nothing. It is a fraud conducted upon the American people (and those of Brazil) by greedy, immoral psychopaths. In the state of Iowa, the state government has unlawfully and immorally mandated ethanol and they are very proud of that. This poses another danger to the motorist. If Iowa's crooks can get away with that, what is stopping other states? Speak out against ethanol in your state. And if you travel through Iowa, write a letter to their tourism bureau and leave an anti-ethanol comment at a visitor's center.

When confronted by the police and they make a reasonable request, just do as you're asked. Here's what can happen if you don't:
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/949109023688634368/pu/vid/1280x720/04WCi3g3_pmAtBgk.mp4

I have a lot of respect for the bodybuilding world and its "BOK" (body of knowledge). What's in the BOK appears to have been proven, but appearances can be deceiving in specific instances.

I'll take some beliefs and practices in no particular order. The one filter I will apply is they are beliefs and practices that non-bodybuilders may adopt but should not adopt.

Belief: You need a completed protein, so vegetable sources are no good.

Reality: A protein, by definition, is complete. There's no such thing as an "incomplete" protein. What is meant here is an amino acid profile that is low in one or more amino acids. The solution is to eat a variety of vegetable sources (by "vegetable" here, we mean sources other than mean and dairy).

If you supplement with vegetarian protein powders, just get a blend.

This belief exists because of two bad practices, which we will look at next.

Photo taken about one week before 40th High School Class Reunion

Food isn't just fuel or a source of disease-preventing nutrition. A healthy diet is good for your mental health, too. Being able to enjoy the bounty of colors, flavors, smells, and textures that nature provides (and that you can find in your produce department, the beans aisle, the coffee aisle, etc.) is hugely beneficial in many ways. If you eat dull, boring meals how can you be motivated? How many days are you wasting in which life just doesn't seem appealing six times a day?

Practice: Neatly dividing foods into the macro categories of carbs, proteins, and fats. The problem here is foods are complex. Take a pile of kale, sitting on someone's plate. According to the bodybuilding BOK, kale is a carb. But kale is 40% protein (yes, complete protein, ha, ha) and contains essential fats. Body builders consider beans a carb, also. Beans are excellent sources of protein. Rice, same thing.

Rather than play games with macro definitions that aren't real, focus on eating nutrient-dense foods. I don't think much about macros, and can't have a discussion with body builders about food for this reason. Yes, body builders eliminate the poisons that constitute 90% of the typical American diet, but they fixate too much on something that doesn't really help.

You do need to get enough protein. For people not involved in extreme sports, hard training, etc., and that's about 95% of the population, you can go totally vegan and get more than enough protein from vegetables (by eating a variety of them and focusing on the "super foods"). If your situation puts you in the other 5%, you can add supplemental protein and you really won't need much.

Now, the carb, protein, and fats thing can be useful. For example, if you realize you aren't getting enough carbs because you run out of steam during an athletic performance (or, say, mowing the lawn) or training, you can add (or increase) oats to your diet. Oats are a protein source, but are more carb than protein. Or consider eating more fruit, a type of food that comes much closer to a pure carb than most other types of foods. Running low on fats? Eat an avocado (a type of fruit, so you will get carbs also).

Just don't think you need to be precise about eating X amount of carbs, X amount of fats, and X amount of protein foods every day. Because foods don't fit neatly into just one of those categories.

Belief: You have to overeat to gain muscle. A lot.

Reality: You have to eat enough to permit muscle growth. Any excess is turned to fat, which results in lower testosterone and thus reduced muscle building. If there is too much fat, you also raise your risk for adult onset diabetes, prostate cancer (men), and many other diseases. Plus, you have to restrict calories to lose that fat, and that restriction will also cause you to lose muscle.

It's impossible to determine exactly how many calories you need before you have too many. So if your goal is to build muscle, it's best to err in overeating a little. That is very different from pigging out, and then yo-yo dieting.

Many bodybuilders take this more intelligent approach, keeping their body fat level "reasonable" and not worrying about definition, cuts, etc., during their peak training time. Then as a show or photo shoot approaches, they shift to more emphasis on fat loss and less on muscle building. During their peak training time, they still "eat clean" and don't try to use "I'm bulking up" as an excuse for poor eating decisions.

This belief is popular because so many body builders are stuck on that monotonous diet mentioned earlier. Just to get some relief from it, they trot out this overeating belief and enjoy their meals for a while.

Belief: You have to starve yourself to have a low level of body fat.

Reality: You should never starve yourself. And that includes the presently popular, but totally misguided, practice of "intermittent fasting." You should be making a regular practice of observing how you look and how you fit into your clothes. If you've gained more fat than you should have gained, just make a minor adjustment in your diet for a while. For example, if you've been having 3-egg omelets every day, have 2-egg omelets for a week and see if that puts you back on track. Maybe cut your sweet potatoes in half, so you eat less of that particular "carb" (here we go again on the macro thin).

But let's suppose you want to get really lean, not just maintain where you are. Don't you starve for that purpose? What about the bodybuilders who go on 600 calories a day for two weeks? Nope, don't do that. If you want to accelerate your fat loss so you can hit a particular goal, then you still need to use a moderate approach rather than something crazy. Else, you will have a rebound effect and other complications.

Here is one way to go about it:

• Consume L-Carnitine throughout the day, and be sure to take it before bed (it will function as a night time fat burner).
• Consume green coffee bean extract early in the morning and again late in the morning.
• Take one workout, and look at how to make it more stimulative of the adaptive response. For example, add another set of upright rows to your shoulder workout.
• Avoid getting snagged into something counterproductive, such as "cardio".
• Reduce your intake of supplemental proteins, or replace it entirely with an amino complex strategy (protein without the calories).
• Reduce the size of each meal, just a little. If you cut 100 calories from each meal, that's 600 calories per day.
• Avoid stress.
• Get your sleep.
• Don't skip meals.

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

You can increase your car's gas mileage simply by using synthetic oil (but not a blend).