The Governor of Kentucky Speaks

 

Protecting One's Memory

Try these simple ways to improve your memory.
By Mayo Clinic Staff


Can't find your car keys? Forget your grocery list? Can't remember the name of the personal trainer you liked at the gym? You're not alone. Everyone forgets things occasionally. Still, memory loss is nothing to take lightly.

Although there are no guarantees when it comes to preventing memory loss or dementia, certain activities might help. Consider seven simple ways to sharpen your memory — and know when to seek help for memory loss.

1. Include physical activity in your daily routine
Physical activity increases blood flow to your whole body, including your brain. This might help keep your memory sharp.

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, such as jogging — preferably spread throughout the week. If you don't have time for a full workout, squeeze in a few 10-minute walks throughout the day.

2. Stay mentally active
Just as physical activity helps keep your body in shape, mentally stimulating activities help keep your brain in shape — and might keep memory loss at bay. Do crossword puzzles. Play bridge. Take alternate routes when driving. Learn to play a musical instrument. Volunteer at a local school or community organization.

3. Socialize regularly
Social interaction helps ward off depression and stress, both of which can contribute to memory loss. Look for opportunities to get together with loved ones, friends and others — especially if you live alone.

4. Get organized
You're more likely to forget things if your home is cluttered and your notes are in disarray. Jot down tasks, appointments and other events in a special notebook, calendar or electronic planner.

You might even repeat each entry out loud as you jot it down to help cement it in your memory. Keep to-do lists current and check off items you've completed. Set aside a place for your wallet, keys, glasses and other essentials.

Limit distractions and don't do too many things at once. If you focus on the information that you're trying to retain, you're more likely to recall it later. It might also help to connect what you're trying to retain to a favorite song or another familiar concept.

5. Sleep well
Sleep plays an important role in helping you consolidate your memories, so you can recall them down the road. Make getting enough sleep a priority. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep a day.

6. Eat a healthy diet
A healthy diet might be as good for your brain as it is for your heart. Eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Choose low-fat protein sources, such as fish, beans and skinless poultry. What you drink counts, too. Too much alcohol can lead to confusion and memory loss. So can drug use.

7. Manage chronic conditions
Follow your doctor's treatment recommendations for medical conditions, such as depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and hearing loss. The better you take care of yourself, the better your memory is likely to be. In addition, review your medications with your doctor regularly. Various medications can affect memory.

Dancing With Lights

 

Global Garlic

Calling all garlic lovers! How well do you really know your garlic? Although there are many varieties, Hello Homestead explains that garlic usually falls into one of two groups: hard neck (robust with a woody center stalk) and soft neck (mild without a stalk). 

Whether used raw to add a pungent kick or cooked to an earthy sweetness, garlic has become a pantry staple across the globe, and there's one country in particular to thank for its mass production.

Primarily used as a food source, garlic was also embraced throughout history because it was thought to have healing properties. 

Those ideas turned out to be pretty accurate as Oregon State University shares that a compound called allicin is responsible for garlic's antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and even anticancer properties. Interestingly, allicin is also what gives garlic its strong aroma!

Also referred to by its scientific name, allium sativum, the University of Missouri reports that garlic dates back over 7,000 years ago to parts of central Asia. 

While the passage of time has made the crop accessible globally, garlic continues to be produced primarily in Asia, specifically in the east.  READ MORE...

Getting Into Jar

 

Crime

Experience Daylight Together

At any given moment, one side of the Earth is facing the sun and the other is in the dark — it's simple geometry. Intuitively then, it makes sense that roughly half the planet's population is in the dark at any given time; this is the only way Santa Claus' December gift delivery schedule makes any sense, right?

But the geography and distribution of people across our world is actually a little more complicated than that. So much so that almost every human will experience some form of direct (or indirect sunlight) at the same moment on July 8.

Every year around now, reports start to circulate that 99 percent of Earthlings will experience daylight at the same time, specifically at 4:15 a.m. PT.

This year Timeanddate.com decided to fact check this claim and found it to be "technically true" with the caveat that at least three percent of the world's population might not be able to really perceive the limited amount of late-night or early-morning photons crashing into their eyeballs.  READ MORE...

Crashing Wave

 

I Walk Alone

 

I am no Buddhist Monk yet like a monk I continue to walk through life virtually alone...  even though I am married and live in a rural community...  

My brother, sister, and daughter want to have nothing to do with me (their choice but never shared) but that has nothing to do with my walking alone...

I have no friends after the two that were my friends died...  however, I still communicate with a classmate from high school but that has nothing to do with my walking alone...

My wife and I have different interests and therefore spend most of our time during the day in separate rooms exploring those interests but that has nothing to do with my walking alone...

Why I have been walking alone and will continue walking alone is the simple fact that it is my personality that puts me into that situation.

MBTI has me identified with a personality of INTJ...  and while I know that this designation is valid for me is because I have had the questionnaire professionally administered to me 4 times and there was a 10 year interval between each one and each time, my results were absolutely the same...  the results were always in the middle of the range.

INTJ (introverted, intuitive, thinking, and judging) is one of the 16 personality types identified by a personality assessment called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Sometimes referred to as the "Architect" or the "Strategist," people with INTJ personalities are highly analytical, creative, and logical.  According to psychologist David Keirsey, developer of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, approximately 1 to 4% of the population has an INTJ personality type.  INTJs are introverted and prefer to work alone.

It was strange to finally find out about yourself after wondering for several years why it was so difficult to make friends and if friends were made, then it was difficult to keep them.

If you add this personality type with the fact that I am probably BIPOLAR, then one has created the perfect storm of issues that make it difficult for me to find and keep friends...  especially once they get to know me.

My Siamese cat, Piper, does not care about my personality nor does he care about any medical issues that I may be encountering...  aside from his own weird personality, he seeks me out during the day for friendship and likes to lay on my lap whether I rub him or not.

Because of the way I see life, I will constantly be alone with my thoughts and feelings as no one really understands why I feel the way that I do so there is no empathy from them to receive.  I must give myself empathy just as I must give myself motivation and determination to accomplish that which I want to accomplish.

I no longer resent myself for having this type of personality even though I totally understand that I had nothing to do with it as it was just given to me through the combined DNA of both my parents.

Like everyone else, I am searching for my purpose and like everyone else I am not sure what I am supposed to accomplish.  However, unlike everyone else, I know that I am supposed to accomplish something and that this is why I am still alive...

Attacking Bird

 

Jobs Lost Due To Automation

In 2021, approximately 3 million robots roam around our factories, doing the heavy-lifting for us.

From an efficiency perspective, that’s no doubt a good thing.

But the image of a never-tired and always precise machine doing everything much faster does raise a question in our minds:

Will My Job Be Automated?

You’re right to wonder if that applies to you if you hold a clerical job. Or if you work on a production line, repetitively doing essentially the same simple task.

It’s time to dive into the jobs lost to robots statistics.

Fascinating Stats and Facts on Jobs Lost To Automation

• As many as 30% of jobs will be replaced by automation, especially the boring and repetitive ones.
• 1.5 million people in England are at high risk of losing their jobs to automation, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
• We’re at risk of losing 375 million jobs worldwide by 2030.
• 14 to 80 million U.S. jobs are at risk of being automated.
• The Brookings Institution estimated that 36 million workers will lose their jobs because of AI.
• World Economic Forum says machines will create 58 million new jobs.

Let’s look closely at the numbers first, and then decide if you need to be considering options.

Eye-Opening Jobs Lost to Automation Statistics for 2022
Those working in the food preparation sector should worry. Or so the automation statistics for 2022 tell us.

Wanna know more?

Read on...

Orca

 

Wake Up America

 Illegal Immigration UP

Inflation UP

Lies UP

Fake News UP

Biased News Reporting UP

Employment DOWN

Taxes UP

Prices UP

Morale DOWN

Racism UP

Division UP

Global Respect DOWN

Terrorism UP

Confidence in leadership DOWN

Economy DOWN

Government Control UP

Mandates UP

Freedoms DOWN

Robots Taking Our Jobs

ATLANTA — The “Great Resignation” is speeding up the development and implementation of technology in the workplace — from trash pickups to restaurants, even poultry processing.

The Forbes Technology Council believes at least 15 industries will be automated in the next decade. They include restaurants, grocery stores and manufacturing.

While many people are concerned about robots taking over jobs, in some cases, technology is making conditions safer and easier for workers.

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Channel 2 Action News saw a research project that aims to take poultry workers off the processing production line.

The machine can pick up a chicken of any size or weight and carry out a task while being guided by a human on a VR headset.

The headset will connect anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection, keeping the human worker out of smelly, dangerous and cold conditions.

Across the hallway on Georgia Tech’s campus, there is another mission to automate space. Researchers are working with NASA to program a robot that can carry out a task without human intervention.

Georgia Tech’s lab, along with other research institutes across the country, received a grant to figure out how a space station could go long periods of time without humans living on board.

They need robots to function and troubleshoot mechanical obstacles in the event of an emergency.

Stephen Balakirsky is the principal research scientist at Georgia Tech’s Research Institute. He told Channel 2 Action News that technology like what the institute is working on for NASA would be applicable on Earth for situations that are too dangerous or risky for humans.  READ MORE...

Underwater Turtle

 

Robots Are On The Horizon

The U.S. market for robotics and artificial intelligence career openings is exploding based on early 2022 trends from job postings on Robots.Jobs, the marketplace specifically for robotics and AI companies looking for talent and for jobseekers looking for the latest industry opportunities. 

In the last 90 days, open positions on Robots.Jobs have increased by more than 500 percent. Newly featured job-posters include autonomous drone hardware and sensors company GreenSight and Intrinsic AI, making industrial robotics accessible and usable for businesses.

"Robotics, IoT and AI careers are in high demand across almost all industries, including industrial, healthcare, biotech, logistics, consumer and more," said Ann P. Walsh, CEO & cofounder, Robots.Jobs. 

"In this competitive job market, talent recruitment requires skill, targeting and focus to attract the most qualified employees. For robotics and artificial intelligence, we are just at the beginning of demand for talent."

Geographies for job growth
Boston, Massachusetts maintains its stronghold on the largest volume of robotics and AI job searches with 25 percent of open positions posted on the Robots. Jobs job board. This growth is in part due to the number of biotech companies actively using robotics and artificial intelligence technologies within their organizations. 

Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado are also seeing fast growth, with many new innovation centers increasing recruiting efforts for engineering talent. The industry is growing in these states due to lifestyle advantages, a lower cost of doing business, and tax incentives to build a younger, more diverse workforce.  READ MORE...

Things...

 

Why I Write

 

It all started in high school and was prompted by the song TIRED OF WAITING by the Kinks...  I was attending Cairo American College (high school) in Cairo, Egypt when I heard that song played on Voice of America one of the few radio stations we could receive.  The year was 1965.

The poem went on for 3 pages and was written in green ink...  it was about my love for a female classmate that I did not have the courage to tell because both of us were involved with other people.

In 1966, I graduated and in the fall I was enrolled in college as a student with an undeclared major.  During those first and half years, I would go to the student union before class began, and after getting coffee and finding a place to sit, I began poems in a small notebook just to have something to do while drinking my coffee.

After two and half years, I dropped out and enlisted in the Navy and after BootCamp would continue to write poetry in that little notebook whenever I had free time and was by myself.

I got married and after leaving the military, I returned to college but would stop by McDonalds for coffee before class instead of the student union.  This desire to write poetry has followed me my entire life.

When I was 40, I stopped smoking and began writing short stories in addition to my poetry that I shared with a Writers Club for several years.  My short stories were not well written and I knew that because I had concentrated on writing the short verses of poetry.

I did not think about why I was writing, I was just writing because I had something to say.

I wrote poems to my wife for her birthdays, other holidays and our anniversary because I thought my words were better than the words on a card that could be purchased.

As I got older, I began writing opinion articles that I published on social media forums like Facebook and LinkedIn and before I quit both of those outlets, I had written well over 1,200 of them...  mainly to share thoughts and to stir up controversy by getting people to think...  although few actually wanted to do that.

When I retired, I started writing novels and not with the idea of having any of them published but just to see if I had the patience and the ability to write a 300 page novel.

After writing 5 novels, one of which was lost due to my computer crashing, I decided to save them in the cloud.  I also decided that I would look into KDP publishing through Amazon...

But, why do I write?

I am not sure why...   I just feel compelled to put my thoughts down on paper.  I am not even sure if my poems are any good or not, although after writing over 42,000 of them, there must be a few that are worth reading.

But, my novels are more of a challenge than they are a simple desire to write.

I have two blogs now...  One is for the publishing of my poetry and one is for the publishing of my opinion articles...  My novels are being edited by me and will one day be ready to submit to KDP...  I have no idea if anyone will want to read them and I am not sure if I care...  if anything, I would rather not know if anyone wants to read them or not.

I have no support for my writing at all other than myself and a high school classmate from Canada - we have re-acquainted ourselves after over 20 years of no communication at all.

I cannot imagine a day going by without writing or if for some reason I cannot write, I think about what I want to write when I can continue writing.  This happened to me recently when I was in the hospital for a couple of days due to back surgery.

I don't know if this answers the title of this post or not but I have tried to explain it in the only way that I know how...  I write because I am compelled to write and there is something missing in my day, if I don't write.

WHY ASK WHY?

WHY ISN'T ABC, NBC, CBS, AND CNN COVERING THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AT THE BORDER?

DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY ILLEGALS ARE COMING INTO THIS COUNTRY?

DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE CRIMINALS THAT ARE COMING INTO THIS COUNTRY?

DON'T YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE ILLEGAL DRUGS THAT ARE COMING INTO THIS COUNTRY?

YOU MUST NOT HAVE ANY CHILDREN...

From the Back Porch

 It has rained for several days here in the East Tennessee Valley and while it has cooled down the humidity, it has only been temporary...  most of the folks in these here parts stay inside on the days like today, but I venture outside because of necessity...

A little over 4 weeks ago, I had 5 lower back disks fused together and for the next 3 months, I begin the slow process of learning how to walk again, unaided and without a limp...  or some might say that I walk like a penguin or a duck.  One month has passed and my progress, in my opinion, has been slow.

A week ago, I discovered that if I walked around the inside perimeter of our above-ground pool I could walk unaided...  as opposed to using the handrail when I walk around the track at the Community Center.  So, on days like today, I walk around the pool.

My new normal routine is to walk 10 laps at the Community Center in the morning and then walk around the pool for 40 minutes in the afternoon...  all total, I am walking right at a mile each day...  or at least 6 out of 7 days.

After 3 months from the day of surgery, I can see a physical therapist if my doctor writes a prescription for me...  He has never mentioned physical therapy...  just walking.  The literature I have read indicated that it could take up to 18 months before I return to normal although I may never return to the normal that I was before.

Still, I can spend my days in relative comfort cooking in the kitchen, exercising, and working on my blogs...  I was writing novels before, but I have yet to return to them and I am not sure why...

As I look out the window to the back of our house, a black cloud has been slowly approaching our location which means no doubt that rain is on the way.  On Friday when it rained, I had just finished mowing the lawn in the back;  ordinarily, this is not a difficult task with a riding lawn mower, but my lower did not appreciate all the up and down movements and when I finished an hour later and dismounted, it was difficult to stand straight for a minute.

This afternoon, I am cooking cream of mushroom soup (made from a starter kit) and have added to it chicken and angel hair noodles.  I am hoping that I did not make over 2 servings as I am getting tired of having to eat the same thing for 5-6 days.  I am not one to throw food away unless I absolutely have to.

Daniel is a friend of mine and lives two doors down in our community.  He is a Mexican American in case you are wondering and spent his entire life building houses with his crew.  Once he finishes this last house for himself, we will be getting together to play chess... neither one of us claims to be any good.  More about our escapades to follow...

Keeping the faith...