Eating Pumpkin Seeds

When people think of pumpkins, most people think of those orange gourds that are fun for picking and carving during the autumn season. Pumpkins are also great for making delicious and flavorful recipes. However, did you know that the pumpkin can also be used for its seeds?

You've heard of eating sunflower seeds, chia seeds, and other various types, but it may be time to add pumpkin seeds to your list if you haven't already. The dietitians on our Medical Expert Board gave us insight into what would happen if you added them to your diet. Read on to see what the effects of pumpkin seeds are. Then, be sure to check out Surprising Side Effects of Eating Flax Seeds, Says Science.

According to Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, LDN, CLEC, CPT, author of The First Time Mom's Pregnancy Cookbook, The 7 Ingredient Healthy Pregnancy Cookbook, and Fueling Male Fertility, pumpkin seeds contain zinc, a nutrient that supports immune health.

"Eating them consistently may help you take in enough of this key mineral and support your immune health," says Manaker.

"Pumpkin seeds are high in fiber which can be a good thing, but practicing portion control is important," says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, author of Finally Full, Finally Slim, and a nutritionist in private practice.

If you do consume too many pumpkin seeds at once, Dr. Young suggests that it may lead to gas and stomach discomfort.  READ MORE...

LEGO Submarine

 

A Leadership Lesson

On Tuesday, Alphabet (Google) CEO Sundar Pichai (above) sent a memo to Google employees to let them know that the company would slow its hiring for the balance of the year and take other cost-cutting measures in response to worsening economic conditions. 

The memo, obtained by The Verge, is a master class in leadership and emotional intelligence and it teaches a lesson every CEO should take to heart.

Needless to say, Google is not the only tech company currently fearing the effects of inflation and a possible recession. Twitter and Netflix, among others, have announced layoffs, and numerous other companies have said that they are freezing or slowing hiring. 

But only Pichai seems to see the current market uncertainty as an opportunity to focus on what's most important, and inspire employees in the process. The memo he sent should be a model for every leader facing uncertain times like these. (You can find the full memo at the end of this piece.)

To begin with, Pichai starts the memo by thanking Google employees. Noting that 2022 is half over, he writes, "It's the right opportunity to thank everyone for the great work so far this year, and to share how my Leads and I are thinking about H2." 

Of course, thanking employees for all their great work is pretty much boilerplate for CEOs these days. Still, the fact that Pichai puts it right at the top of his memo makes it seem slightly more sincere.

Pichai then acknowledges that Google leadership is concerned about the same economic headwinds that are affecting the rest of the economy. 

Noting that Google has already hired about 10,000 people so far in 2022, he explains that the company will slow that trend for the rest of the year, focusing its hiring on what he terms critical roles such as engineering and technical. 

And there's more bad news. Noting that Googlers will need to work with "sharper focus" and "more hunger" than in better economic times, he warns that the company will need to streamline and consolidate some initiatives, and pause others altogether.  READ MORE...

Cannot Stop Now

 

Social Justice

Social justice refers to a political and philosophical theory that focuses on the concept of fairness in relations between individuals in society and equal access to wealth, opportunities, and social privileges.

The five main principles of social justice include: 

• access to resources
• equity
• participation
• diversity
• human rights

SOCIAL JUSTICE implies that American Caucasians are privileged and have always had and will continue to have the advantage over all other minorities because all of the founding father were Caucasian and owned slaves...

Is this correct or incorrect?

Is this truth or not truth?

What I don't understand is the fact that there are many multimillionaires who are BLACK and earned their wealth in professional sports, professional music, professional actors/actresses, business owners, entrepreneurs, politicians, news anchors, college and university professors, and a plethera of publicly elected officials.

We already have social justice here in America, it is just that some BLACK do not have what it takes to be successful and financially wealthy...  the same holds true for caucasians and other minorities...  it is a personality issue not a social justice issue.

Why do so many Americans who are not successful in life commit crime and violence?

Rumors of Wars

There is an economic concept called THE BROKEN GLASS THEORY...  in which the idea is presented that when vandalism breaks the window of a storefront business, it is good for the economy because that shop owner has to hire someone to replace the window...  and, the individual that is hired has to buy gasoline for the vehicle, etc., etc., etc.

Therefore, and on a larger scale WAR IS GOOD FOR A COUNTRY because a company has to be hired to clean up and then rebuild what has been destroyed.  Employees are hired, supplies are purchased, food is eaten, etc., etc., etc.

BUT...  are all wars good?

What about the war between the whites and the blacks in this country because of slavery that was stopped over 200 years ago???

How will this help our economy?

What about the war between the wealthy and the poor which really has not gotten into full swing yet but it will eventually and the poor will be relentless as the fight the wealthy who will be hiding behind their protective walls and gated communities?

How will this help our economy?

What about the war that will soon be waged against all the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS who have broken the law to enter this country and who do not speak English and cannot find employment nor do they have any place to sleep at night except on the street?

What about the sex trafficking and drugs that these illegal immigrants bring into this country?

Do you think these illegal immigrants will sleep in the country or in the big cities?

How will this help our economy? 

Not the kind of wars you were expecting???  Well, it is doubtful that those wars will ever enter the USA...   as the USA will send soldiers overseas but after 9/11, it is doubtful anybody will be able to penetrate our borders and do that kind of damage.

Besides, our enemy is CHINA...  and, it is doubtful that China wants to finance a war...  What China wants to do is finance an ECONOMIC TAKEOVER of the USA...  as we move towards a green economy, that transition is destined to weaken us economically and will provide CHINA with the economic leverage it needs to gain the upper hand...   China will loan us more money to keep us afloat and will buy our businesses to keep them from failing...

NOT A BULLET WILL BE FIRED...

We have no fear from Russia militarily as they cannot even defeat the weaker Ukraine...

China will not let North Korea or Iran use nuclear weapons as that would screw up their game plan...  China will control the world economically...  no soldiers...  no weapons...  no bombs of anykind...

Yes...  there are rumors of wars on the horizon.

Make It In The USA Instead...

 American Products NOT MADE in America

1. Ray Ban
2. Hush Puppies
3. Arrow Shirts
4. Woolrich
5. Gillette
6. Barbie
7. Huffy Bicyles
8. Fisher-Price
9. Converse
10. Nike
11. Levi's
12. Schwinn
13. Radio Flyer
14. Rawlings
15. Etch A Sketch
16. Samsonite
17. Brach's
18. Fender Stratocaster
19. Dell Computer
20. G. I. Joe
21. Monopoly
22. Black & Decker
23. Craftsman
24. Ford
25. Chevrolet
26. American Girl
27. Gerber
28. Under Armour
29. Sardines
30. Donald J. Trump Collection

WHY?

Cost of Labor...

So...  if you want companies to bring their products back to the USA, you must understand that if you do so, it will raise the price of those items desired...

Labor costs are much cheaper in South America, Russia, China and the Asian countries than in Europe, Canada, and the US...

What is really interesting here is that the USA ranks 17th in having a low minimum wage...  most European countries have a much higher minimum wage...  BUT, American Manufacturers pay out the ass for skilled labor...

WHY?

The USA has a very high cost of living index especially in the larger cities...

Country Living Revisited

 

Don't get me wrong...  when I talk about country living, I don't mean living on a farm or living on a ranch...  I just mean outside of the city...  so, we could be talking about the suburbs...  or, perhaps even farther out where you don't have many neighbors but you are still not living on a farm or even close to a farm...  You are just living in a area of wide open spaces totally devoted to whatever mother nature wants it to be...  like the above photo...

The above photo is taken from the East Tennessee Valley...  in the back ground, you can see the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains where the fishing and hunting are excellent and where some of the best marijuana in the country is grown...  that area is also the home to some of the best moonshine in the country as well...  although that distinction is also shared with western North Carolina...

Living in the country is not associated with living with rednecks nor is it associated with inbreeding although there is a standing northern sentiment that most all southerners are inbread...  of course, most all southerners feel that New Yorkers are arrogant assholes whose only saving grace is that they are rude to everyone because they cannot distinguish between individuals...

Personally, I don't think either opinion is valid or accurate...  that is until someone proves it to be accurate and valid...  and, I am sure that happens all the time.

People who live in the country pretty much like to have space around them.  They like to feel the sun and not have it blocked by buildings.  They like to feel safe and secure.  They want their children to feel safe and secure.  They want privacy sometimes and they want to feel like they are part of a community...

Faith is a big part of country living and while one's faith is strong, country dwellers are tolerant of other people's views towards faith and respectful if it does not agree with theirs.

Of course, there is always the exception...  but, they say that the exception proves the rule...  I don't know about that...  but what I do know is that I like living in the country...

Let's Be Clear Here...

 

Just Deleting a Text on Your Phone

When you save or send photos, videos, texts and other digital messages on your devices,

that data is extremely difficult to remove, even if you delete it from your phone or computer.  

Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

Texts and other electronic messages from the U.S. Secret Service have become a point a controversy after the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general told Congress that those records were deleted after his office had requested them. But can a text or other digital messages ever truly be erased from existence?

People delete text messages and other electronic messages for many reasons: to free up room on their device; to break contact after a sour conversation; and, from time to time, to wipe out a conversation, for one reason or another.

But deleting a digital correspondence isn't as easy as you might think. For starters, depending on the program you're using, the recipient still has a copy of the message you sent them. And that data might live on in cloud storage.

Alfred Demirjian, founder and CEO of TechFusion, has spent the past 35 years in digital forensics and data recovery in Boston. He said that once you hit send, that information will likely exist forever, especially if the government wants whatever you've sent.  READ MORE...

Horse & Rider in Water

 

NASA Releases Images

We might not be able to travel to space, but as of last week, we at least have the most high-definition images of the universe ever taken. The images shared by NASA were rendered with the new James Webb Space Telescope (JBST). 

JBST began its science operations six months ago when launched into space at the end of December 2021. However, its first batch of images are among the most stunning and clear celestial pictures we have of space so far. 

The images reveled five neighboring galaxies called Stephan’s Quintet and the Carina Nebula.  The JWST is considered the most powerful telescope ever built revealing that not all galaxies are invisible. 

During the NASA press conference held on Tuesday, Eric Smith, the program scientist for the JWST mission, said JWST’s first photos are “especially phenomenal because they were technically nothing more than practice runs.”

The first image rendered showed the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723– as it appeared 4.6 billion years ago, with many more galaxies in front of, and behind the cluster.  READ MORE...

The Pond

 

Native American Medicine Effective

Researchers have found that several traditional medicines commonly used in South Asia 

are effective in maintaining blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Several traditional medicines commonly used in South Asia, are effective in maintaining blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, according to a new study led by experts at the University of Nottingham.

Many South Asian countries, including India and Nepal, have been using the Ayurvedic natural medical system for thousands of years. Some of the herbs included in this traditional medical system are also used in other parts of the world including Iran, China, and Mexico – to name a few.

It features a multi-pronged and individualized approach to managing health conditions that can include lifestyle modification (including diet), Ayurvedic detoxifying and purifying therapies (e.g. Panchakarma), and Ayurvedic medicines (containing plant, animal, or mineral-origin ingredients – single or in combination).


In this new study, published recently in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, experts conducted an in-depth review to show that these medicines are effective in blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. Other beneficial effects were also demonstrated in the research, including improvements in body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, and other diabetes-related parameters.

According to the scientists, it is the first comprehensive systematic review of any traditional medicine (including Ayurveda), which included a wide range of Ayurvedic medicines. The research was led by Dr. Kaushik Chattopadhyay, Associate Professor in Evidence Based Healthcare in the School of Medicine and the Nottingham Center for Evidence Based Healthcare (A JBI Center of Excellence) at the University. The team members have expertise in Ayurveda, diabetes, and this type of research, and are based in top institutes in the UK, India, and Nepal.  READ MORE...

Antartic Penquins

 

Vanilla Cappuccinos

Back in the late 1990s when my dad was in the hospital at the Norfolk Naval Hospital, my brother introduced me to Starbuck's Vanilla Cappuccinos...  there was an immediate desire to have another and then another...  the barista made all of the coffees perfectly.

It was not until a Starbuck's Kiosk moved into West Town Mall in Knoxville that I decided to have another one several years later...  and, while it was substantially more expensive than the ones I purchased in Norfolk, it was still worth the price.   

My wife noticed my interest in Starbucks and began giving me gift cards for my birthday and Christmas and suggested that same gift for other members of our family and soon I had over $100 in Starbuck's gift cards, stored in the car to be used.

Not too long ago, a Starbuck's kiosk opened up at a Food City grocery store about 7-10 miles from the house and recently I discovered that the Vanilla Cappuccinos were just as good there as in Knoxville for about $1 less in price.  The Starbuck's in Knoxville is about 40 miles from the house.

A NO BRAINER is what a decision of this kind is called...

Sunday Morning Valley Thougts

 

I enjoy living in the East Tennessee Valley and have been doing so since 1990 (32 years) so one might ascertain that I understand (at least somewhat) what life is like in the Valley...

July in the Valley is hot and muggy and is a time for either staying inside with the airconditioner on or staying outside in a pool of water either in-ground or above ground...  since being in the water is the key...

My pool water temp is 84 degrees which makes lowering myself into the pool is rather easy and relatively comfortable, especially since I am more sensitive to the cold.

We are receiving cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and bell peppers from our garden...  most of which are cooked and eaten as they are harvested while some, but very few, are frozen for later.

Cooking these veges in a frying pan with olive oil, black pepper, and soy sauce is a delicacy and a daily treat.

My comfort zone surrounds my retired life with the knowledge that I have been debt free for over 15 years, but that I have saved enough money the handle this bullshit inflation through which we are currently living.  I don't spend money needless but I have everything I need...  

I AM NOT WEALTHY...  I WOULD CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS...  and, want for nothing...  mainly because I planned for my retirement and so I knew what I was getting myself into and made all the necessary preparations to live like I wanted to live...

I live simply and don't spend money foolishly...  It is safe and secure in the Valley...  We buy in bulk whenever we can...  We don't overeat and we exercise daily...  We don't buy anything we don't need...  we save coupons...  we buy when there are discounts...  we vacation in the off season...   we vacation during the week avoiding the high priced weekends...

PLEASE DON'T MOVE TO THE VALLEY AND SCREW THIS UP FOR ME...

Politicians and their Agendas

We basically have two different types of politicians:  those that work for the State and those that work for the Federal Government...  and of the two, those that work for the Federal Government and by far the worst kind of individual as they lie, cheat, steal, withhold the truth and don't give a rat's ass about the general public, except when they are trying to get re-elected.

Why do I feel this way?

The problems that we were trying to solve in the 1960s and the same frigging problems we are trying to solve in 2020s...  Are we simply not smart enough to figure this shit out...  are we so smart that we don't want to figure this shit out?  Either way, it does not look good for these Federal Government politicians.

The other issue with these "good for nothing" politicians is that they are more interested in what the party wants than they are interested in doing what is good for the general public.

Here's a good example of what I mean...

The Democrats were so set on getting Trump out of office that they elected a man who does not know his ass from a hole in the ground.  On the first day of office, he killed the Keystone Pipeline and then use his influence to pass one stimulus package after the other...

Results:

• Worst inflation in 40 years
• Worst Illegal Immigration EVER
• Afghanistan Withdrawal - a global embarrassment
• Perpetuating racism through BLM & CRT
• Mainstream media censoring the news
• ran on the idea he would unite the nation

IRONICALLY, only a little over 50% voted for him which mean only a little under 50% did not vote for him...  THEREFORE, he had no mandate to do what he did...  he let the party rather than the people influence him...

THIS IS POLITICS AT ITS BEST/WORST...

His policies caused INFLATION which has now caused a RECESSION...  there is no telling how many years it will take us to climb out of this recession...

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES...

CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD FOR ME???

Country Living

Many people associate country living with the SOUTHEASTERN US...  but that is as misleading as President Biden announcing that our economy is healthy and growing...

Country living is life in an area...  any area of the US...  that is not considered in the city...  in other words, country living can take place in any state...  and, it is also safe to say, that those folks living in the country will always be different than those folks living in the city...

WHY?

• Less congestion
• Less traffic
• Less crime & violence
• Less polution
• Less waiting time
• Less stress and anxiety
• More friendly
• Help each other

It is the people living in the city who are a pain in the ass to live around and who would just as shoot you as they would smile at you...

Country living folks can walk around their communities just about anytime of the day or night that they want to.

Country living folks can have vege gardens in their back yards if they want to.

Country living folks can have pools in their back yards if they want to.

Country living folks can cook food on a grill in their back yards anytime they want to.

Country living folks can play outside in their yards with their children anytime they want to.

Country living folks can ask their neighbors for help without concern they will be charged a fee or robbed.

During my 74 years of life, except for the first 2-3 years, I have always lived outside of the city and have never once wanted to move into the city because I thought it might be a better place to live.  I have always had an acre of land or more on which I could do anything I damn well pleased.  I always shared my vegetable garden with my neighbors.

Maintaining the outside yard as one gets older becomes a tad more difficult but it gets you outside and being outside is better than staying inside...

Country living is not living off the grid...

Under Water