.
In a world where great things are discovered or created ...
New Antibiotic that attacks MRSA
Why Habitat for Humanity's newest homeowners might never pay an electricity bill.
There are still people who think like this...
Saving money by simply giving people less for their money!
and treat their fellow American like this ...
80 percent of Americans near poverty
Home-care workers press administration for minimum wage
And then there are the weird and terrible things which know no bounds ...
Rules of English spelling revealed by British linguist And, I had always said English was a language which evolved and nobody would have created from scratch. I was sooo wrong.
Not to beat up on the British, but there is also 15-tonne ball of congealed fat removed from London sewer
At least there are some timeless good things we can lean on ...
I can see clearly now by Jimmy Cliff (via Youtube.com)
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
How We Think -- I've Been Reading...
.
This is a simple relatively short list of ideas culled from a handful of books on how we can and should think. It comes from books about logic & intuition and left-brain & right-brain and problem-solving.
Sleep well before and after an intense mental workout.
Breathe deeply and slowly to calm the reptilian brain. [ This is the only conscious way to affect it. ]
Let the mind wander a bit. [ This is its default mode effortless mode. It's important not to overwork our self-control focus 'muscle'. ]
Decide and silently state your goal. [ This pushes selective attention into effect. It automatically filters out things not relevant to the object of focus, the goal. ]
[ Separate the crucial from the incidental information. Avoid early decision-making or free-association thinking as that leads to premature conclusions. ]
Silently state the situation to clarify things.
Freely imagine many paths to the goal and if you need to step back from conscious effort and change your focus to something else (a stroll in the woods or your magic pen or what's for dinner).
Deduce a solution which best fits the situation & goal -- the clean elegant solution.
Blunder-check to get the most precise effective linear variation/sequence-of-actions.
That's it. There is more which a person might do, but this list seems like the crux of the matter. It's still too big for efficient fast chess play, but it's getting there. It covers ways to use and to avoid problems with the reptilian brain, the mammalian (memory & image) brain and some primate brain issues. It shows how to use left & right brain to get full use of your toy and it is all based on real science which shows this works in reality. At least pieces of it do. Whether one could learn this entire list and really do this in some rigorous way is beyond me. I can easily see parts being practiced and done regularly. Anyone wanting to think better and get results could start here and it would probably be a good improvement on what we're already doing. At least that's what the book cover blurbs say.
Enjoy!
This is a simple relatively short list of ideas culled from a handful of books on how we can and should think. It comes from books about logic & intuition and left-brain & right-brain and problem-solving.
Sleep well before and after an intense mental workout.
Breathe deeply and slowly to calm the reptilian brain. [ This is the only conscious way to affect it. ]
Let the mind wander a bit. [ This is its default mode effortless mode. It's important not to overwork our self-control focus 'muscle'. ]
Decide and silently state your goal. [ This pushes selective attention into effect. It automatically filters out things not relevant to the object of focus, the goal. ]
[ Separate the crucial from the incidental information. Avoid early decision-making or free-association thinking as that leads to premature conclusions. ]
Silently state the situation to clarify things.
Freely imagine many paths to the goal and if you need to step back from conscious effort and change your focus to something else (a stroll in the woods or your magic pen or what's for dinner).
Deduce a solution which best fits the situation & goal -- the clean elegant solution.
Blunder-check to get the most precise effective linear variation/sequence-of-actions.
That's it. There is more which a person might do, but this list seems like the crux of the matter. It's still too big for efficient fast chess play, but it's getting there. It covers ways to use and to avoid problems with the reptilian brain, the mammalian (memory & image) brain and some primate brain issues. It shows how to use left & right brain to get full use of your toy and it is all based on real science which shows this works in reality. At least pieces of it do. Whether one could learn this entire list and really do this in some rigorous way is beyond me. I can easily see parts being practiced and done regularly. Anyone wanting to think better and get results could start here and it would probably be a good improvement on what we're already doing. At least that's what the book cover blurbs say.
Enjoy!
Friday, July 26, 2013
Science Has Many Things to Say...Some Contradictory, Some Breakthroughs !
.
The bees are disappearing, no wait, they're making a comeback. Well, which is it?
Scientists discover what's killing the bees and it's worse than you thought
Reemergence of the bumblebee delights and perplexes scientists
Maybe it depends on the kind of bee in question.
Meanwhile, the North Pole is now a lake. Picture of the pole is a sad sight.
Here's another sad sight -- people earning ONLY $ 4.99 million / year must be sooo depressed.
The rich feel poor if they make less than 5 million. The poor darlings must so depressed when they can't get to the $ 5 mil mark. Well, there's hope for them in the next article.
Protein receptor crf1 identified as depression molecule. Maybe they'll have a great cure for poverty depression real soon.
Meanwhile, the rest of the 99% who really are poor will just have to do with food stamps (SNAP) if the Republicans don't eliminate it to cut the deficit. Sigh.
The bees are disappearing, no wait, they're making a comeback. Well, which is it?
Scientists discover what's killing the bees and it's worse than you thought
Reemergence of the bumblebee delights and perplexes scientists
Maybe it depends on the kind of bee in question.
Meanwhile, the North Pole is now a lake. Picture of the pole is a sad sight.
Here's another sad sight -- people earning ONLY $ 4.99 million / year must be sooo depressed.
The rich feel poor if they make less than 5 million. The poor darlings must so depressed when they can't get to the $ 5 mil mark. Well, there's hope for them in the next article.
Protein receptor crf1 identified as depression molecule. Maybe they'll have a great cure for poverty depression real soon.
Meanwhile, the rest of the 99% who really are poor will just have to do with food stamps (SNAP) if the Republicans don't eliminate it to cut the deficit. Sigh.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Wealth Disparity - Fair is Fair
.
Richest 300 persons on earth have more money than poorest 3 billion
As corporate profits reach record levels their effective tax rates decrease
The Right and many pundits say when the economy works right everyone benefits and it's natural for some who are particularly useful in the economy to grow richer and richer and richer. Now there are individuals and corporations who/which are extremely wealthy, yet the rules are rigged to help them by lowering their tax rates. Why would that be? Are they employing all the unemployed and under-employed? Are they using some of their tremendous revenues to pay workers more for their greater productivity?
Low-wage workers on federal contracts keep up pressure with third strike
Why would the government pay so little?
Economy of the squeegee carwasheros organizing across the country
Is our economy only working right when the tip-earners and car washeros are making starvation wages?
Speaker of the House John Boehner on his legacy fair to all protected
If John Boehner wants to be fair he could let Democrats participate by bringing up bills which have support from a majority of the House, including Democrats. Then maybe we could (at least) get the Republicans on the record about important issues to America, like wage levels.
How can Boehner be Speaker of the (whole) House when he won't let Dems bring up bills until the Republican caucus agrees?
How can anyone say the economy is working when so many are earning so little? Is that fair?
Richest 300 persons on earth have more money than poorest 3 billion
As corporate profits reach record levels their effective tax rates decrease
The Right and many pundits say when the economy works right everyone benefits and it's natural for some who are particularly useful in the economy to grow richer and richer and richer. Now there are individuals and corporations who/which are extremely wealthy, yet the rules are rigged to help them by lowering their tax rates. Why would that be? Are they employing all the unemployed and under-employed? Are they using some of their tremendous revenues to pay workers more for their greater productivity?
Low-wage workers on federal contracts keep up pressure with third strike
Why would the government pay so little?
Economy of the squeegee carwasheros organizing across the country
Is our economy only working right when the tip-earners and car washeros are making starvation wages?
Speaker of the House John Boehner on his legacy fair to all protected
If John Boehner wants to be fair he could let Democrats participate by bringing up bills which have support from a majority of the House, including Democrats. Then maybe we could (at least) get the Republicans on the record about important issues to America, like wage levels.
How can Boehner be Speaker of the (whole) House when he won't let Dems bring up bills until the Republican caucus agrees?
How can anyone say the economy is working when so many are earning so little? Is that fair?
Friday, July 19, 2013
How We Think and Gun Violence Legislation
.
One of the things we often do in a chess game, and I presume other things, is seize upon an idea and continue with it even when conditions have changed and we should reassess things.
I think something similar has often happened in the political world and it caused great frustration. When you have the English and Irish at loggerheads for hundreds of years there's a lack of creativity to find a peaceful solution. The same seems to exist in the Middle East where Israel is usually at a stand-off with its neighbors.
Recently, here in America, there has been far too much gun violence and the discussion about how to solve it has involved expansion of the background checks for gun purchases. Well, I continue to see news stories about children killing one another and eventually the sheer numbers of these hit me on the head like a 2" x 4" -- it's kids who don't know the dangers, not just the mentally challenged or criminals using guns.
The reassessment leads quickly to an obvious call for the required use of gun locks to prevent kids from playing bang bang.
9-year-old Mississippi boy shot by another child, parents in the next room
One of the things we often do in a chess game, and I presume other things, is seize upon an idea and continue with it even when conditions have changed and we should reassess things.
I think something similar has often happened in the political world and it caused great frustration. When you have the English and Irish at loggerheads for hundreds of years there's a lack of creativity to find a peaceful solution. The same seems to exist in the Middle East where Israel is usually at a stand-off with its neighbors.
Recently, here in America, there has been far too much gun violence and the discussion about how to solve it has involved expansion of the background checks for gun purchases. Well, I continue to see news stories about children killing one another and eventually the sheer numbers of these hit me on the head like a 2" x 4" -- it's kids who don't know the dangers, not just the mentally challenged or criminals using guns.
The reassessment leads quickly to an obvious call for the required use of gun locks to prevent kids from playing bang bang.
9-year-old Mississippi boy shot by another child, parents in the next room
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Some Good, Some Bizarre & Stupid
.
Some Good
Medical knowledge and technology and techniques continue to improve.
A new Cancer Knife to detect cancer as it goes!
Gene therapy promises to wipe-out rare childhood diseases!
Scientists switch-off chromosome that causes Downs Syndrome!
Some Bizarre & Stupid
We've all heard or watched or read about the Zimmerman murder trial, but did the news organizations tell us about this Florida woman gets 20 years for warning shot that hit nobody. I guess the Stand-Your-Ground law only applies to other folks. Zimmerman's defense lawyer said that if Trayvon Martin had fired the gun he wouldn't have been charged. I find it hard to believe.
Some Good
Medical knowledge and technology and techniques continue to improve.
A new Cancer Knife to detect cancer as it goes!
Gene therapy promises to wipe-out rare childhood diseases!
Scientists switch-off chromosome that causes Downs Syndrome!
Some Bizarre & Stupid
We've all heard or watched or read about the Zimmerman murder trial, but did the news organizations tell us about this Florida woman gets 20 years for warning shot that hit nobody. I guess the Stand-Your-Ground law only applies to other folks. Zimmerman's defense lawyer said that if Trayvon Martin had fired the gun he wouldn't have been charged. I find it hard to believe.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Immigration Reform
.
Many Republicans say immigration reform needs to be done, but there are a few components of it with which they have a problem. Well, the president has said for quite a long time that when there's differences we shouldn't let that stop us from agreeing to what we agree to and move forward on that. So, the Republicans in the House should simply look at the parts of the Senate bill they want and go from there. If there's more than that they want to do they should write something and see if Democrats will agree with any of it in conference.
If border security is something they want to spend a lot of money on they can always go home and campaign on that for the next elections. Maybe their constituents will be happy to pay the taxes for more and more and more. After all, they don't want to raise taxes and it will obviously have to come from the rich. Somehow I don't suspect that would go over too well with their campaign donors.
The big concession they need to make for their slothfulness is to let Democrats add an amendment to tax reform which will raise rates on somebody to pay down whatever debt the country has (while sunsetting that when the debt is at some sufficiently low level).
It's not really all that hard if you really want to get something done.
Many Republicans say immigration reform needs to be done, but there are a few components of it with which they have a problem. Well, the president has said for quite a long time that when there's differences we shouldn't let that stop us from agreeing to what we agree to and move forward on that. So, the Republicans in the House should simply look at the parts of the Senate bill they want and go from there. If there's more than that they want to do they should write something and see if Democrats will agree with any of it in conference.
If border security is something they want to spend a lot of money on they can always go home and campaign on that for the next elections. Maybe their constituents will be happy to pay the taxes for more and more and more. After all, they don't want to raise taxes and it will obviously have to come from the rich. Somehow I don't suspect that would go over too well with their campaign donors.
The big concession they need to make for their slothfulness is to let Democrats add an amendment to tax reform which will raise rates on somebody to pay down whatever debt the country has (while sunsetting that when the debt is at some sufficiently low level).
It's not really all that hard if you really want to get something done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)