Only 1%

 

A Mediterranean Lifestyle

Having a Mediterranean lifestyle — even if you don't live in the Mediterranean — could reduce your chances of dying, including from cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a new study.

The Mediterranean diet has long been lauded as the "gold standard" of healthy eating. It emphasizes vegetables, fruit, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and legumes, as well as wine in moderation, and minimal amounts of red meat, highly processed and fried foods, refined grains, sugar, and saturated fat.

A Mediterranean lifestyle is more than just the diet, though. It involves eating with loved ones and taking the time to savor food, resting and sleeping enough, maintaining strong social connections, and exercising regularly, according to the authors of the study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Researchers found that adults in the UK who lived a Mediterranean lifestyle had a 29% lower risk of dying from any cause, and a 28% lower risk of dying from cancer, than those who didn't. People who adhered to the lifestyle's emphasis on rest, exercise, and socializing with friends in particular had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.     READ MORE...

Trump Troubles

 

COVID and Beyond

 COVID hit the USA about 2018, two years into President Trump term of office.  He lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, mainly because of COVID.

COVID turn the USA and the rest of the world upside down, shutting down the economies of many countries to keep the virus from spreading.  We later found out that shutting the economy down did not really stop the spread of the virus, but that knowledge was too late.

Because of COVID, the USA experienced supply chain problems, people wanting to work problems, and increased prices because of all the cleaning that had to be done to make sure the virus did not spread.

The COVID relief packages that were spent by the Trump and Biden administrations increased the supply of money in the economy but did not increase the supply of goods and services creating a huge surge in inflation.  When Biden closed down the pipeline trying to get away from fossil fuels and move towards green energy, further strain on the economy was created.

Today, we are left with higher prices than expected due to the inflation, higher gasoline prices because we have to buy oil from OPEC, supply chain problems still exist, and because many people do not want to work, there is a labor shortage in almost every industry.

COVID is no longer directly responsible for these problems but it is indirectly responsible because many retailers are using COVID as an excuse for higher prices.

1. Food at restaurants are higher
2. Services provided are higher
3. Poor customer service is rampant
4. Shelves are empty at some stores
5. Wages have not increased
6. Job vacancies are increasing

We, as a nation, are still using COVID as an excuse for not getting better.   There are reports that COVID is becoming a national problem again as people stopped maintaining social distance and stopped washing their hands.

The illegal immigrants coming across the border from Mexico ARE NOT CHECKED FOR COVID or for any other disease for that matter.  There is no telling what they are, unintentionally, bringing into the USA.

Can the USA stand another COVID like virus?

Let It Be

 

Enamel Regeneration

Scientists have developed organoids from stem cells capable of producing dental enamel proteins. The research aims to use these advancements for dental treatments, including repairing damaged teeth or entirely regenerating lost ones.

This advance is viewed as a pivotal initial step toward innovative therapies for the repair and regeneration of teeth.

Stem cells have been used to produce organoids that release the proteins responsible for forming dental enamel, a substance that shields teeth from harm and decay. This initiative was led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle.

“This is a critical first step to our long-term goal to develop stem cell-based treatments to repair damaged teeth and regenerate those that are lost,” said Hai Zhang, professor of restorative dentistry at the UW School of Dentistry and one of the co–authors of the paper describing the research.

The findings are published today in the journal Developmental Cell. Ammar Alghadeer, a graduate student in Hannele Ruohola-Baker’s laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry at the UW School of Medicine was the lead author on the paper. The lab is affiliated with the UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine.

The researchers explained that tooth enamel protects teeth from the mechanical stresses incurred by chewing and helps them resist decay. It is the hardest tissue in the human body.

Enamel is made during tooth formation by specialized cells called ameloblasts. When tooth formation is complete, these cells die off. Consequently, the body has no way to repair or regenerate damaged enamel, and teeth can become prone to fractures or be subject to loss.     READ MORE...

The Dentist

 

SOS Again in the News

The morning news was, in my opinion, SOS...  just as it always is...

1. Fires and destruction in Hawaii
2. Rain and destruction in California
3. Something or other and destruction in Europe
4. Ukranians continue to defend themselves against Russia
5. China declares they will take over the world
6. North Korea and Iran want nuclear weapons
7. BRICS continues to push hating the USA
8. The Liberals want Trump in prison
9. Joe Biden and his family are corrupt
10. The DOJ and FBI have been weaponized by the DEMS
11. Trump leads the GOP as a candidate but is unelectable over Joe Biden
12. America's status globally is declining rapidly
13. American education is declining rapidly
14. AI/Robots will displace 80% of American workers
15. Illegal Immigrants discover the USA is not what they expected to find
16. Inflation continues to destroy the Middle Class

As an American, born in this country 75 years ago, I have silently watched as she has changed.  I was part of that change in the 1960s but only a witness in the decades following.

Am I glad I was born in the USA?

YES!!!

Do I like what I am now seeing?

NO!!!

Can I do anything about it?

NO...

Why not?

The liberals, progressives, and the Democratic Party has the mainstream media behind them, the large tech companies behind them, and at least 50% of Americans want the Federal Government to take care of them, regardless of the cost.

What about the Billionaires?

Most of the millionaires and billionaires are behind this direction as long as the money does not come out of their pockets.  They are looking to expand their wealth in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

 

New Home - Same Mornings

We moved around the corner from our old house, about 8 houses away...  similar to a dogleg in golf.  We are closer to our neighbors but both are friendly.  We have not met the ones across the street.

We are off a main side street, so there is not much traffic at all.  While our new home is 200 square feet larger, it is on one floor and better laid out.  Our yard can be mowed, trimmed, and weed eaten in about an hour or so.

Our back deck is smaller but sufficient for our needs...  as a matter of fact, I am out on the deck right now.

Up at 8:30 am, took a thyroid pill, visited the bathroom, made coffee, then watched  FOX News for a couple of hours.  Ate the other half of my Perkin's Restaurant everything omelet and 1/2 of an Hawaiian muffin with pineapple.  My wife ate the other half.

Sitting on my back porch is not a privilege but a luxury that is only provided to those who live in the suburbs of a city.  There are not many intentional back porches in the country as they are landowners more than homeowners.

It is nearing noon, so the humidity has started to increase, so drinking my second cup of coffee is now heating me up more than I had intended.  My second cup of coffee does not sound like much, but I use a large YETI cup which actually holds 2 cups of coffee, so I am finishing my fourth cup of coffee.  Typically, this will be all that I have until the evening.  NO...  coffee does not keep me from sleeping.

On my back porch it is eerily quiet.  No sounds of traffic or lawn mowers.  I hear crickets and birds and the gentle breeze blowing through trees and bushes.  These bushes will need to be trimmed soon, I tell myself...  but not today...  perhaps in 6 weeks when it is cooler.

Our three cats were out here with me but it got too hot for them so they went back inside.  My umbrella blocks the sun but not the humidity.  I also have a couple of large trees in the backyard that act as umbrellas as well.  The grass was mowed a few days ago, but I am thinking of mowing it again later today before it gets too tall.

It is not supposed to rain for several days but if I had a roof over the back deck, I could sit out here when it was raining; instead, I will be sitting in the sunroom which is right beside me.  The sunroom is cool until about 10 am and then it starts to heat up.  We are looking at a portable heating/ac unit to put in there.

Yesterday, we visited Lowes and Home Depot to see one of those units and ask questions, but they do not carry them in the store any longer...  the only way to get them is online.   Sometimes, it is difficult to buy online when you cannot get your questions answered.  It seems like online is where we will be doing all our purchasing soon as brick and mortar buildings are costly to maintain along with the cost of labor.

Peace and quiet in East TN...  just like it has been for the last 33 years...  just a different day, a different home with different neighbors, but the morning always remain the same...

 

My Love Affair with Poetry Writing

Myrtle Beach Fall 2016 Vacation Series #9

Reassurances
clouds have replaced the sun
dark blues and grays
beach chairs and umbrellas
highlighted spots on the sand
from the sixteenth floor;
seagulls fly at eye level
down drafts of wind
pushed to the ground rebound
far beneath my balcony
seen through an open door;
Astill waters like a lake move
steadily towards an unseen shore
anchored boats roll gently over waves
as do three jet ski buoys
and the horizon draws ever closer;
darkened days delight the sunburned
while fees are paid for the week,
we continue with our plans to
lounge in chairs on the beach
reading what we can while there;.
clouds have replaced the sun
but we all know it is still there
and inside this light of each day
we find many sound reassurances.
27Sept16

As I recall, I wrote my first poem in high school using green ink.  I had a refillable cartridge ink pen and could only find green ink.  The poem was inspired by the song TIRED OF WAITING by the Kinks.

When I graduated and went to college, I did not write at all.  After 3 years, I dropped out, got married, joined the military for 2 years, and returned to college in 1972.  It was then that I began writing poems every day.

I would got to McDonalds or Hardees and buy a large cup of coffee (free refills) and write for an hour before going to class.  I went to classes in the mornings and worked in the afternoons.  When I graduated from college, I continued to write each morning for an hour before going to work.

This practice of writing early in the morning continued from 1972 until 1990 when I relocated from NC to TN...  I got a divorce in 1993, married a second time in 1998.  While I did not continue to write each day, I found time to write several times a week.

My second wife and I liked to got to Myrtle Beach, SC each summer for a week and while we sat under the umbrellas and watched the Atlantic Ocean, she would read and I would write.

The above poem is from one of those Myrtle Beach visits and was more than likely published on my blog Reflectionsinthoughts.blogspot.com.

I created that blog to publish all the poems that I have written over the years...  since I am still in possession of all of them.  However, instead of going back into my files, finding the poems, and then typing them up on the blog, I have found it much easier to think up an idea every other day or so.

Usually, I will write two poems at one time...  wait a couple of days, then write two more.  I have no idea if the poems are any good or not, but the thoughts just seem to pop into my head.  Sometimes, they make sense and sometimes they don't.

I was looking though my files today (for some reason) and found the above poem from 2016 and decided to post it on my JOURNAL blog along with a short explanation of my poetry writing history.

YOUR THOUGHTS ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED...

Two Justice Systems in America

Here is an interesting situation.  Donald Trump has been indicted 4 times and faces 91 felony charges, most of which are simply bullshit and an attempt to keep him out of the 2024 election.  However, the more he is indicted, the stronger his candidacy becomes...

This is not what the DEMS expected!  However, it is what they are getting.

The Georgia charges are federal charges and revolve around the RICO statute which cannot be erased by a Presidential pardon.  These charges are the ones that might send the former President to a federal prison for about 5 years or more.

Now, here's the ODD PART.  Because he is a former USA President the Secret Service MUST protect him, EVEN IN PRISON.

Think about this?

Trump goes to prison and so does his Secret Service Detail.

• They must guard him during the day
• They must guard him at night
• They must guard him when taking a shower
• They must guard him when eating

Guess who pays for this secret service detail for Trump?

You the tax payer...

Now, here's the real FUNNY PART.

President Biden via his son Hunter has been receiving bribes from Ukraine and China and the Department of Justice and the FBI have been looking the other way...  and, sometimes covering up what is going on so the general public will never find out about it.

What is this called?

TWO KINDS OF JUSTICE

We already know that there is a different justice system for the wealthy than there is for the middle class or poor.

Now, we are finding out that there is a different justice system for the Democrats than there is for the Republicans.

And, to make matters worse, the mainstream media is also being used and told not to write or publish anything on Hunter and the Bidens...

Is this the kind of Democracy under which you would like to live?

 

Hold Fast to Your Beliefs

We have always been told by our parents, peers, teachers, and leaders that marriage should only be between a male and a female.

Does this mean this norm cannot be changed?

No...  it does not...  but, when is changed, society as a whole is not ready to accept that change.

What I find interesting is that ever since this country was created in 1776 and no doubt long before,  there has been same sex relationships all of which were known but kept hidden.

So, what does it matter that these same sex couples cannot or should not be allowed to marry?

Personally, I don't think it matters.

If the truth be known, most of today's male/female marriages have experience same sex relationships either before they were married or after they were married, but kept it secret.

Regardless of how strict society tries to be, there will always be those who want to not just bend the rules but break the rules to see what that experience is all about.

Is there a benefit from same sex marriages?

There can be...  I would think.

• Less babies being born for one.
• An increase in babies being adopted.

Just because our religious leaders preach that same sex relationships and marriages are not accepted does not mean THAT IT IS WRONG...  it just means that most religious groups do not accept it.

Most religious groups don't accept drinking alcohol or partaking in the use of marijuana even though in some states it is entirely legal to do so for recreational purposes.

Is the state more or less correct than religion?

Religions don't like males and females living together and not getting married but over the years that has come to be entirely acceptable.

What is interesting here is that neither God nor Jesus are human beings like we are...  they are extraterrestrials who came to this planet.  Jesus is often quoted as saying (from the Bible):  ...MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD...

If it is not of this world then where is it?

I would think outer space somewhere...  wouldn't you?

The point here is that religions have their rules and countries have their rules...

Which rule is the correct rule to follow?

You follow that rule which best suits your lifestyle and beliefs.  And, if you truly believe then you will not change your beliefs because someone else wants you to.

Georgia DA Speaks

 

AI Chip That Works Like a Human Brain

Tech corporation IBM has unveiled a new "prototype" of an analog AI chip that works like a human brain and performs complex computations in various deep neural networks (DNN) tasks.

The chip promises more. IBM says the state-of-the-art chip can make artificial intelligence remarkably efficient and less battery-draining for computers and smartphones.

Introducing the chip in a paper published by IBM Research, the company said: “The fully integrated chip features 64 AIMC cores interconnected via an on-chip communication network. It also implements the digital activation functions and additional processing involved in individual convolutional layers and long short-term memory units.”

Reinventing ways in which AI is computed
The new AI chip is developed in IBM’s Albany NanoTech Complex and comprises 64 analog in-memory compute cores. By borrowing key features of how neural networks run in biological brains, IBM explains that it has embedded the chip with compact, time-based analog-to-digital converters in each tile or core to transition between the analog and digital worlds.

Each tile (or core) is also integrated with lightweight digital processing units that perform simple nonlinear neuronal activation functions and scaling operations, explained IBM in a blog published on August 10.

A replacement for current digital chips?
In the future, IBM's prototype chip could replace the current chips powering heavy AI applications in computers and phones. “A global digital processing unit is integrated into the middle of the chip that implements more complex operations that are critical for the execution of certain types of neural networks,” further said the blog.  READ MORE...

How I Operate

 

A Belief in Country and Wealth

 I served in the US Navy from 1969 through 1975...  a six year commitment...  but was only on active duty for 2 years...

I believe in a strong military presence but I DON'T BELIEVE IN WAR...  and, I don't believe in fighting someone else's war simply because we want the rest of the world to be like us...  in terms of a democracy.

I don't give a rat's rearend if the rest of the world embraces our democracy or not...  that is their choice just like our democracy was our choice.

With that said, if someone slaps me in the face, then I am going to slap them back twice a hard, just to keep them from doing it again.  If a country wants to fight the USA, then we will defend our right to be free and pound them into the ground...  providing they strike first.

On the other side of the coin, I don't own a firearm and will never own a firearm.  I strongly believe that the SECOND AMENDMENT has been misinterpreted as it was only meant to be temporary.  However, it is part of the Constitution so I will support it.

Unlike the Republicans, I support a woman's right to have an abortion.  It is her body and she has the right to do with it as she pleases.  I DON'T THINK THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD FUND ABORTIONS...  or decide if a female has the right to have an abortion...

I don't believe the government should pay for college education.  Education is a privilege not a right, even when education is needed to pursue happiness.

Our EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM SUCKS and does not know how to educate students other than have them memorize for the tests and exams and NOT RETAIN the KNOWLEDGE.  Educators should teach students how to retain, not memorize.

TAXES should be as low as possible in order to finance the basic obligations of government which is protection, the rule of law, and negotiate treaties.

Governments should not be responsible for:

1. public education
2. public transportation
3. unemployment insurance
4. social security
5. medicare
6. parks and recreation
7. housing
8. food stamps

 

These items above and others should be funded by States and/or local governments, Churches, Businesses, Families, or the individuals themselves.

AND...

in order to ensure that this happens, K-12 education should teach students how to invest and grow their finances, how to budget, set goals, and develop retirement plans...  so that they can be responsible for and take care of themselves.

REALIZING that we will always have wealthy people in the US of A and that there will always be super wealthy people in the US of A, we should allow them to have more access to their money (less taxes) so that they can invest in technology, non-profits, or in social programs that will benefit those who are not wealthy.

I believe that too many people want the government to take care of them and that is not the responsibility of the government...  and, when the government finally realizes that and actually does something about that, our economy will continue to struggle.

I believe that as the wealthy get wealthier and the poor get poorer, the poor people will have less and less money to buy the items that made the wealthy people wealthy in the first place.  Wealthy is always stratified, so there will be those who can purchase but more and more will be less able to purchase.

In this case, the wealthy individuals in the US of A will start to develop markets overseas and get those poor people to buy their items...   this new group of buyers will make them even more wealthy than before.

They will literally forget about selling in the US of A as they simply no longer need them to buy...

Courage

 

Defining Our Physical Universe

On the smallest of physical scales, we have the fundamental, elementary particles, which build up to assemble nuclei, atoms, molecules, and even larger structures. 

On larger scales, we have planets, stars, stellar systems, galaxies, clusters of galaxies, and vast voids between them, all contributing to the enormous cosmic web.

Overall, there are many different scales to view the Universe on. Here's the grand cosmic tour, from the extremely tiny to the unfathomably large.



Our Universe spans from subatomic to cosmic scales.
The journey from macroscopic scales down to subatomic ones spans many orders of magnitude, but going down in small steps can make each new one more accessible from the previous one. Humans are made of organs, cells, organelles, molecules, atoms, then electrons and nuclei, then protons and neutrons, and then quarks and gluons inside of them. This is the limit to how far we’ve ever probed nature.Credit: Magdalena Kowalska/CERN/ISOLDE team

All told, 13 different scales are presently known.
On the right, the gauge bosons, which mediate the three fundamental quantum forces of our Universe, are illustrated. There is only one photon to mediate the electromagnetic force, there are three bosons mediating the weak force, and eight mediating the strong force. This suggests that the Standard Model is a combination of three groups: U(1), SU(2), and SU(3), whose interactions and particles combine to make up everything known in existence. With gravity thrown into the mix, there are a total of 26 fundamental constants required to explain our Universe, with four big questions still awaiting explanation.Credit: Daniel Domingues/CERN

1.) Fundamental, elementary particles. Down to 10-19 meters, these quanta have never been divided.
When two protons, each one made of three quarks held together by gluons, overlap, it’s possible that they can fuse together into a composite state dependent on their properties. The most common, stable possibility is to produce a deuteron, made of a proton and a neutron, which requires the emission of a neutrino, a positron, and possibly a photon as well.Credit: Keiko Murano

2.) Nuclear scales. On femtometer (~10-15 m) scales, individual nucleons, composed of quarks and gluons, bind together.
Although you yourself are made of atoms, what you experience as “touch” doesn’t necessarily require another, external atom to come in actual overlapping contact with the atoms in your body. Simply getting close enough to exert a force is not only enough, it’s what most commonly occurs.        READ MORE...

Amazing Place

 

What Does the Federal Government Do?

Only the federal government can regulate interstate and foreign commerce, declare war and set taxing, spending and other national policies.

These actions often start with legislation from Congress, made up of the 435-member House of Representatives and the 100-member U.S. Senate. Each of the 50 states receives two senators regardless of its population size. The number of representatives each state receives depends on the state’s population. Bills that Congress approves then go to the president to sign into law or reject with a veto.

The executive branch is responsible for enforcing the laws Congress makes. It is made up of the president and his or her advisers, as well as multiple departments and agencies. The departments are each headed by a secretary, whom the president appoints with the advice and consent of the Senate. The U.S. has more than a dozen departments, and they each take on a specific set of duties. The Treasury Department’s duties, for example, include printing and regulating money.

The president also serves as commander­-in-­chief of the United States Armed Forces. That means the president directs how military weapons will be used, where to deploy troops and where ships are sent. The military’s generals and admirals take their direction from the president.

This graphic summarizes the kinds of entities in each branch of government.(State Dept./ J. Maruszewski)

The Supreme Court is the highest federal court in the U.S. and assures the American people of equal justice under law. The court’s nine justices — one chief judge and eight associate judges — interpret the law, in a fair and impartial manner, when disagreements arise on the legality of a law that Congress approves, a regulation that a federal agency implements or other matters.

The Constitution empowers the president, who is elected by the entire nation, to nominate justices. These justices require Senate confirmation to uphold the checks and balances among the branches of government.

“The Founders separated power because they knew it was the best way to protect our citizens and keep our Constitution secure,” President Trump said at the 2017 swearing-in of Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom the president nominated to the Supreme Court.

Landmark decisions from the Supreme Court shape American life, and their ramifications are still felt today. They include the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools.

The three branches of the federal government get together at the U.S. Capitol when the president delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. That speech represents an opportunity for the president to lay out an agenda for the coming year. These addresses are traditionally held in January or February after the new session of Congress convenes. President Trump’s third State of the Union address took place on February 4.