Artiste

 

Improving Yourself Takes Minutes Daily

Micro-habits are the antidote to a chaotic world, offering a pathway to sustainable change.

We live in a time of hyperconnectivity, complexity and fragmented attention.

For entertainment, humans used to watch stage performances that lasted several hours. Then came modern audiovisual films that run for 90 minutes. 

A decade ago, we welcomed YouTube, where the average video lasts 11.7 minutes. Even this proved too long for distracted minds, and social media found a sweet spot in 15-second TikTok clips, curated — on autoplay — by an algorithm that knows us better than we know ourselves.

We see this tendency in education. Degrees used to take three or more years. Then came diplomas and certificates. Now people engage in microlearning and proudly share their nano-badge or micro-credential, earned in a few weeks, days or hours.

Books became blinks, letters turned into tweets and hostility downsized into microaggressions. How can future leaders navigate a world of habituated busyness and micronized attention? 

Sustained focus is difficult. Left untethered, our minds seek out novelty and relief. Quick video clips, for example, require minimal commitment with the promise of a dopamine hit.

Is order crumbling into chaos? Can we ever again enjoy slow travel, deep work or a lengthy novel?  READ MORE...

Media Engines

 

Space Telescope Finds Supernova

ASTRONOMERS spotted something unusual happening in a distant galaxy in recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope — something that wasn’t there when Hubble last looked at the same galaxy.

"We suspect it's a supernova," astronomer Mike Engesser of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) tells Inverse. Finding short-lived cosmic events like supernovae isn’t what Webb was designed to do, but the newly-operational space telescope seems to be full of surprises. 

And this one could open the door for looking for the death throes of the universe's first generations of massive stars.  WHAT’S NEW – Engesser and his colleagues say the bright object is probably the first supernova spotted by the Webb Telescope. 

It's extremely bright compared to the rest of the galaxy, for one thing. And Webb observed the galaxy, called SDSS.J141930.11+5251593, twice, five days apart; the object dimmed, just slightly, over those five days — classic supernova behavior.

"We would need more time series data to make a determination, but the data we do have does match that of a supernova, so it's a very good candidate," says Engesser.  READ MORE...

Surfer Sally

 

Personal Finance

 Why don't we talk a little bit about inflation...

Inflation is the increase in the price of goods and services over time. Inflation causes your buying power to erode, meaning that the same dollar today buys less in the future.


1. Demand-pull inflation
Demand-pull inflation happens when the demand for certain goods and services is greater than the economy's ability to meet those demands. When this demand outpaces supply, there's an upward pressure on prices — causing inflation.

2. Cost-push inflation
Cost-push inflation is the increase of prices when the cost of wages and materials goes up. These costs are often passed down to consumers in the form of higher prices for those goods and services.

3. Increased money supply
Increased money supply is defined as the total amount of money in circulation, which includes cash, coins, and balances and bank accounts according to the Federal Reserve. If the money supply increases faster than the rate of production, this could result in inflation.

4. Devaluation
Devaluation is downward adjustment in a country's exchange rate, resulting in lower values for a country's currency.

5. Rising wages
Rising wages is exactly what it sounds like — an increase in what's being paid to workers. "Wages are a cost of production," adds Baker. "If wages rise a large amount, businesses will either have to pass the cost on, or live with lower margins. The exception is if they can offset wage growth with higher productivity."

6. Policies and regulations
Certain policies can also result in either a cost-push or demand-pull inflation. When the government issues tax subsidies for certain products, it can increase demand. If that demand is higher than supply, costs could rise.

What is currently happening in our country?

• Covid has caused less production
• People not working has caused less production
• Stimulus money has created more demand
• We have rising wages with less production
• We have increased costs from less production
• We have stopped producing the oil that we need, creating a shortage of supply

There are only a couple of ways to stop inflation...

ONE - take money out of the marketplace by increasing the interest rates and increasing individual taxes

TWO - increase production by hiring more workers...  but, if the workers don't want to work that is a problem.  Also, production increases must be greater than wage increases.

THREE - decrease government spending so that overall demand will decrease.

THE QUESTION THAT YOU MUST ASK YOURSELF IS WHAT IS THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION DOING?

1.  They are increasing the corporate tax rate to 15% which will cause businesses to hire fewer people and fewer products will be created.

2.  They are increasing spending by investing money into our GREEN ENERGY FUTURE...  this will increase demand for goods and services causing them to cost more.

THIS IS NOT THE SMART THING TO DO...

Lumbar Fusion Progress

 

Yesterday, marked 8 weeks since I had surgery to fuse together L2-L3-L4-L5-S1 but instead of meeting with the surgeon, I met with one of his NPs who has been well schooled and well instructed on what to do with patients like me.

My left hip pain was of some concern, so I am being sent to a therapist for 1 session to analyze the current parameters of my left hip and to instruct me in exercises that should eliminate that discomfort.

I was told not to mow the lawn anymore with the riding lawn mower even though I have already mowed it twice.  I was instructed not to bend over at the waist a lot but I could put on socks and shoes and tie the shoes.  I was also told not to lift anything more than 20 pounds.

While the NP would not confirm or deny that I would be sent to physical therapy sometime after my 12th week, the NP did say that by the end of the 12th week I should be walking 3 miles a day...  I am currently walking about 1.3 to 1.5 a day...  so I have until the end of this month to increase that.

All in all, my progress, including my ability to walk without assistance is in line with the progress I should have made by this time...  so I am neither ahead nor behind but right on the money...  as they say...

I am to come back at the end of September for another looksee either by the NP or by the surgeon depending upon who is available.  They will take more x-rays to make sure that all the metal in my body is still in the exact location that it should be in...

I suppose I am pleased and I am...  it is just that I was hoping that I would be farther along than I am...  but I am not supposed to be farther along than am I which is depressing because of all the current limitations.  It looks like their end result goal is 6 months from surgery and I should be back to normal with some minimal movement restrictions.

That 6-month goal for me would be end of November.

Walking By

 

What Not to Order at a Steakhouse

From superior fast-food chains to the merits of margarine, there's plenty to debate about in the wide world of food—but perhaps nothing is as rousing as the doneness of a steak.

Aside from the sheer science of whether certain cuts of steak are healthier than others (or…not), the doneness scale is a matter of personal preference that diners tend to adhere to—and rigorously defend against naysayers. While customers are technically always right, and opinions relating to steak doneness are a personal matter, there are still some hard facts that shouldn't be ignored.

From rare to well-done, there's a wide scale of cooking options for steaks of all cuts, and each temperature preference comes with its own pros and cons. The fact of the matter is that even if you're dining at one of the best steakhouses in the country, doneness makes a huge difference in the final product.

Simply put, the more cooking that is done to a steak, even if it's a top-tier cut of meat from a high-quality steakhouse chain, the more the integrity of the product is going to be hindered or masked. Spoiler alert: well-done steak is something you should never order at a steakhouse.

At Rare Steakhouse at Encore Boston Harbor, this is a tenet to live by. The swanky steakhouse, which takes its meat quality so seriously that doneness is literally cooked into its "rare" name, is all about "redefined creative classics and exceptional cuts."  READ MORE...

Simulation

 

Why Pancakes Taste Better At A Diner

Pancakes may be a breakfast staple, but making them — especially well — can be a tricky and time-consuming experience. If you've tried attempted pancakes before, you've likely experienced batches that were too thin, too lumpy, or too flavorless. 

Yet every time you order them at a restaurant or diner, you get fat, flavorful, fluffy stacks of flapjacks. What gives?

Insider claims that pancakes are just one of those foods that you're better off ordering at a restaurant or diner than trying to make at home, explaining that amateur chefs may not have access to the tools or ingredients that make restaurant pancakes so good. 

Plus, professional chefs and restaurant chains have perfected the ingredients ratios through trial and error. But if you were to make restaurant-quality pancakes at home, how would you do it?

Fortunately, it is possible to make restaurant-quality pancakes at home — but it might mean tweaking your recipes and technique a bit. 

In 2015, Marie Grimm, the vice president of culinary innovation at IHOP, told Delish a few of the chain's secrets, which can help you perfect your own pancake process.  READ MORE...

Crow Sings

 

Separating the Bravest From the Rest

Warren Buffett is not any stranger to fear. In truth, he was once terribly afraid of public talking. That is until he took a Dale Carnegie course to improve this crucial business talent. Since overcoming his worry of speaking, he is turn out to be one of the regularly quoted audio system in the world.

Now Buffett gives his followers a priceless lesson on braveness, acknowledged in 4 powerful phrases: face down your fears.

Buffett advises younger and old to not permit fear to restrict them from carrying out the issues they need to do to turn out to be profitable. And yet, fear paralyzes so many for various reasons.

No matter how expert you may be, fear is the one factor that can crush you and cease you from realizing your desires. It’s time to stop. Here are three things you should perceive to assist prepare your brain to overcome your fear:

​1. Your fear is not an actual threat
​President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously quipped, “The only factor we’ve to concern is concern itself.” Think again to what felt like an inconceivable feat you had been in a position to accomplish regardless of big obstacles in the means in which. Did concern hold you back? I wager. And but you were capable of overcome it and pull it off. The point is, that training your brain to simply accept that there isn’t any risk concerned will help you to modify off the concern response when the subsequent essential challenge comes your way.

2. Your worry is just drama and not based on reality
Most of us hijacked by worry fail to achieve perspective into our scenario and separate reality from fantasy. We need to understand that life will go on, and you are not going to die from a mortal wound when you get rejected when pitching your product in entrance of a bunch of traders.  READ MORE...

Moose

 

Marketing Works... BUT...

 

For the last 4/5 decades, it has proven with data collected that when a company advertisers, regardless of the economic environment, that the consumer will continue to buy and buy that specific product that is being advertised.

However, for me, it spells out something different which is that that company's product is not selling and that has prompted the increase in adertising.

Two particular products come to misnd:

• My Pillow (my slippers)
• Balance of Nature

I don't have anything against these product or the companies, but too much advertising signals a problem.  For me, it means that the product is not selling and they are trying to turn over their inventory.

My Pillow may be made in the USA but My Slippers are made overseas so right away one questions the quality.

With Balance of Nature, the advertising makes the assertion that 10 servings of fruits and veges are required daily...  that is simply NOT TRUE.

• RDA for Veges is 3 daily servings
• RDA for Fruits is 2 daily servings

Once I find that an advertiser is promoting false information, it makes me question the entire advertising ascertion.

In an era where there is so much misinformation in the media and when even Congress promotes a NON TRUTH and is will to impeach a President over a NON TRUTH, it makes me pay attention to what the hell is going on in society.

One day we will pay the price for all this misinformation but until then it is up to the general public to think smart and investigate all they hear...   and maybe then buy....

Suggestion:

• Look up the pros/cons of solar panels
• Look up the pros/cons of electric vehicles
• Look up Hunter Biden's connection to China

Did you know that the buildings that are being used to make solar panels ARE NOT USING SOLAR ENERGY???

The celebrities that are against the SECOND AMENDMENT have hired private security that are carrying guns because of the second amendment...

China, Russia, India have no intentions of spending billions of dollars going GREEN...  Won't that undermine our efforts?

The Last of Summer

 When I was a young lad growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, circa 1950 to 1962, we were out of school June, July, August, returning after Labor Day in September...  We basically had from Memorial Day to Labor Day as our summer vacation.  So, when August rolled around, we knew we had just one month left.

Every day in August had to count for something otherwise we had wasted a day...  so we did not want to go on vacations, and we did not want to go to any doctors, and we did not want to visit any relatives, or go on any day trips like to Hersey, Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, my dad was in the Navy Reserves and had to attend two weeks of active duty in the summer and it usually took place in August, sometimes July.

Oftentimes, he would combine his two weeks with the Navy and take an additional 2 weeks off from his employer and we would be gone for an entire month.

Being a non-voting member of the family there was really nothing I do do about it other than enjoy myself on vacation for a month.  And, if I ever thought this meant I would miss 4 Sundays from going to church, I was dead wrong...  we attended church while we were on vacation...  the only thing I could miss was Sunday School and going out for ice cream after church.

It did not take many years for me to realize that if I wanted to play around with my neighbors in the summer that it had to be done during the months of June and July.

Unfortunately, before playing around with my friends, I had chores and those chores usually took me all morning...  not because they actually took that long but because I procrastinated because I had to do chores.  Smart move on my part...  right?

As I got older, I was allowed to cut the neighbor's grass to earn some spending money as well as grow vegetables that I would sell door-to-door.  I had tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, squash, and zucchini.  I sold most of it and typically only had to eat the tomatoes and cucumbers.

Now that I am retired, I can have any summer months that I want to have and go on vacation any time I want to including in the winter, if I am willing to drive 10-12 hours south.

With COVID it does not matter what my choices are...

Underwater

 

A 170 km Long Horizontal Skyscraper Mirror Line

The skyscraper will be called Mirror Line. It will consist of two parts with a height of 488 m. For comparison, the height of the Empire State Building is 381 m. 

The Mirror Line will be in the top 15 tallest buildings in the world and take 13th place if nothing taller is built by then. And there is time. 

The Mirror Line is expected to take 50 years to build, although Prince wants the project completed by 2030.

The two parts of the skyscraper will run through the desert, coast and mountains parallel to each other. Architects will take the curvature of the Earth into account when designing the building. 

Mirror Line will have a separate underground high-speed train line, a stadium at a height of 304 m and a pier for ships.

Experts in environmental planning do not approve of the Crown Prince's idea. 

Experts believe the Mirror Line's length and mirrored glazing could affect the migration of animals and migratory birds.

Bird Bath

 

Cancer Drug Kills Cancer Cells

Although interleukin-12 caused adverse side effects, researchers have long hypothesized that it 

would be a potent cancer treatment. A new form of the molecule has been created by Pritzker 

Molecular Engineering researchers that does not activate until it enters a tumor, 

where it kills cancer cells.

Numerous cancer treatments are notoriously harsh on the body; they assault healthy cells simultaneously with tumor cells and result in a wide range of side effects. 

The Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago has now developed a strategy to prevent one potential cancer drug from causing such damage. Interleukin-12 has been modified by scientists into a new, “masked” form that is only activated when it comes into contact with a tumor. 

The study on the molecule, also known as IL-12, was published in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

“Our research shows that this masked version of IL-12 is much safer for the body, but it possesses the same anti-tumor efficacy as the original,” said Aslan Mansurov, a postdoctoral research fellow and first author of the new paper. 

He carried out the IL-12 engineering work with Jeffrey Hubbell, the Eugene Bell Professor in Tissue Engineering, who co-leads PME’s Immunoengineering research theme with professor Melody Swartz.

Researchers have discovered that IL-12 strongly activates lymphocytes, which are immune cells with the ability to kill tumor cells. Early IL-12 clinical studies, however, were stopped in the 1990s due to the patients’ harsh, toxic side effects. 

The same immune activation that set off a series of events that killed the cancer cells also caused significant inflammation throughout the body. The study of IL-12 was discontinued, at least in its natural form.


However, Mansurov, Hubbell, Swartz, and others came up with a plan to revive the potential of IL-12. What if the medication could pass through the body without triggering the immune system? T

They created a “masked” molecule with a cap covering the region of IL-12 that typically binds immune cells. Only tumor-associated proteases, a collection of molecular scissors located close to tumors to aid them in destroying the good tissue around them, can cut off the cap. 

The IL-12 becomes active and is then able to activate an immune response against the tumor when the proteases remove the cap.  READ MORE...