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How to Drink Coffee

Coffee is a constant, almost sacred part of many morning routines, whether you brew a pot of coffee at home or look forward to your daily walk to the neighborhood coffee shop for a latte.

In some ways, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has deepened our relationships (and dependency) on coffee and caffeine. In September, Cinch Home Services spoke to more than 1,000 coffee drinkers in the United States. 34% of respondents reported drinking more caffeinated beverages during the pandemic than ever before, with coffee ranking as their go-to choice.

Remote employees drink more coffee than their in-office colleagues, the report found, consuming an average of 3.1 cups vs. 2.5 cups every day. Starbucks and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf ranked as the most popular brands among coffee aficionados. But some Americans aren’t reaching for their second or third cup for the bitter taste or caffeine jolt — in the report, 28% of respondents said coffee makes them more productive at work.

There are steps you can take to maximize your coffee habit and be more productive while working from home. CNBC Make It spoke with a coffee educator and productivity expert to learn how to get the most out of your morning cup.

Don’t drink coffee as soon as you wake up
The thought of a fresh cup of coffee might be your only motivation to get out of bed some mornings, but drinking coffee right after you wake up can blunt your body’s natural energy levels.

Management and behavioral science expert Daniel Pink has examined the science of timing and how it can affect our productivity. In his book “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,” Pink notes, based on research from several studies, that the best time to have your first cup of coffee is about 60-90 minutes after you wake up. That’s because caffeine interferes with the production of cortisol, the hormone that signals your body to be awake and responsive. According to this research, cortisol levels usually peak around 8:30 a.m.  TO READ MORE ABOUT HOW TO DRINK COFFEE, CLICK HERE...

Rabbit

 

New York's Finger Lakes

One glance at a map shows how New York’s Finger Lakes got their collective name. The 11 long, slender lakes, extending roughly north-to-south, look like outstretched fingers.

On the mystical side, Iroquois tribes believed the lakes were formed by the Great Spirit, reaching down to bless the land and leaving impressions of fingerprints that were filled with clear, fresh water. According to geologists, however, the gorges of water that form the present-day Finger Lakes were carved by moving, melting glaciers two million years ago.

Science and lore aside, there is no arguing the allure of this upstate region rich in history (and herstory) thanks to American roots that run even deeper than those of the Finger Lakes’s bounteous vineyards. Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Mark Twain, Clara Barton, Joseph Smith, and many other heroes and luminaries dwelled in the Finger Lakes region, leaving their own deep imprints on U.S. culture.


Seneca Lake Pier in Watkins Glen Alamy

There’s much to explore: Comprising 14 counties across more than 9,000 square miles, the expansive Finger Lakes region is almost as large as the state of Massachusetts. It’s dotted with charming small towns, each with a unique character that has beguiled travelers for two centuries. Many of them began as villages that grew steadily once the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Today, their legacies endure for visitors seeking everything from abundant nature and recreation to great wine and gastronomy, renowned art, and historic landmarks.

When (and how) to go
All four seasons in the Finger Lakes offer something by way of natural delights. Warmer months invite outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and water sports, particularly in some of the great state parks where you’ll find waterfalls, picturesque trails, and natural swimming holes. 

Winter brings its holiday and lights festivals and snow sports, plus a greater appreciation for cozy spa sessions, and abundant opportunities for tastings—whether you’re thirsty for craft beer, cider, spirits, or wine. The region is especially glorious come autumn, when harvest season brings apples, pumpkins, and grapes, overlapping with mesmerizing fall foliage to make any scenic drive, from Owasco to Canandaigua Lake, ultra colorful.  READ MORE...

Artwork

 

Getting a Lean Body

Whether your main motivator is an attractive physique or simply healthier living in general, there's no wrong reason to pursue improved fitness at any age. In fact, while many middle-aged and older adults make the mistake of assuming exercise is reserved solely for those under the age of 40, the truth is, consistent physical activity is much more important the older we become.

For instance, according to research published in the scientific journal Neurology, a mere 10 minutes per day of exercise in middle age protects the brain against cognitive decline. "Our study suggests that getting at least an hour and 15 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity a week or more during midlife may be important throughout your lifetime for promoting brain health and preserving the actual structure of your brain," says study author Professor Priya Palta, Ph.D., of Columbia University.

If that isn't enough motivation to start making your lean body goals a reality, consider this study published in the scientific journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity: Scientists from Iowa State University actually discovered that excess belly fat appears to actively work against older adults' ability to think quickly and react to situations on the fly. That's right, besides a major self-confidence boost, building a leaner physique can also benefit your brain health.

Of course, like so much else in life, attaining that lean, toned look you've always wanted is often easier said than done. One recent survey of middle-aged American men even found that as many as one in three would be willing to give up watching the NFL entirely if it led to a smaller waistline!

Luckily, there are a few secret tricks that can help you get a lean body after 40. Read on to learn more, and next, don't miss these Exercise Tricks for a Slimmer Body After 40, According to Experts.  READ MORE...

Walk This Way

 

Bill Maher Speaks Twice

 

Stealing in Chicago

 

Dems Know How To Spend Money

$1, 750, 000, 000, 000

Staggering Statistics

 

Panda Cooling Off

Defying Newton's Third Law

Newton’s third law tells us that for every action, there’s an equal reaction going the opposite way. It’s been reassuring us for 400 years, explaining why we don’t fall through the floor (the floor pushes up on us too), and why paddling a boat makes it glide through water. 

When a system is in equilibrium, no energy goes in or out and such reciprocity is the rule. Mathematically, these systems are elegantly described with statistical mechanics, the branch of physics that explains how collections of objects behave. This allows researchers to fully model the conditions that give rise to phase transitions in matter, when one state of matter transforms into another, such as when water freezes.

But many systems exist and persist far from equilibrium. Perhaps the most glaring example is life itself. We’re kept out of equilibrium by our metabolism, which converts matter into energy. A human body that settles into equilibrium is a dead body.

In such systems, Newton’s third law becomes moot. Equal-and-opposite falls apart. “Imagine two particles,” said Vincenzo Vitelli, a condensed matter theorist at the University of Chicago, “where A interacts with B in a different way than how B interacts with A.” Such nonreciprocal relationships show up in systems like neuron networks and particles in fluids and even, on a larger scale, in social groups. Predators eat prey, for example, but prey doesn’t eat its predators.

For these unruly systems, statistical mechanics falls short in representing phase transitions. Out of equilibrium, nonreciprocity dominates. Flocking birds show how easily the law is broken: Because they can’t see behind them, individuals change their flight patterns in response to the birds ahead of them. 

So bird A doesn’t interact with bird B in the same way that bird B interacts with bird A; it’s not reciprocal. Cars barreling down a highway or stuck in traffic are similarly nonreciprocal. Engineers and physicists who work with metamaterials — which get their properties from structure, rather than substance — have harnessed nonreciprocal elements to design acoustic, quantum and mechanical devices.  READ MORE...

Movement

 

Gifted People

• Giftedness seems like a blessing but may be a burden.
• Gifted individuals have learning differences, including divergent thinking, quirky humor, and a penchant for complexity, that set them apart.
• Openness to experience is a key personality trait found in association with giftedness.
• Giftedness is not associated with less-social personality traits, dispelling the myth that gifted individuals have innate social problems.

We are fascinated by gifted people, from those with unusual and specific talents who are otherwise ordinary or even challenged, to those who appear almost as mythical beings, able to master many disciplines and get things done to an extraordinary extent.
The pros and cons of giftedness

Misunderstood gifted people face difficult struggles, often only coming into their own later in life, though, increasingly, work on “profoundly gifted” (PG) children is carving out room for them to do well earlier on in traditional educational settings. Gifted kids are often stigmatized, labeled as weird or antisocial, and are more likely to be bullied or excluded.


Because giftedness is poorly understood, educational, social, and professional settings may contribute to social problems by not providing a home for such people. Furthermore, unlike those with traditional learning differences, it is harder to see where giftedness can create challenges when there are so many positives.


According to the Davidson Institute, PG people exhibit the following tendencies: rapid comprehension, intuitive understanding of the basics, a tendency toward complexity, the need for precision, high expectations, divergent interests—and a quirky sense of h  Rumor. They usually show “asynchronous development," being remarkably ahead in some areas while being average or behind in other ways. It’s hard to know where they fit in, and educational settings typically are not designed to accommodate their differences. Especially for younger children, youthful appearance clashes with advanced ability, making it harder for certain teachers to be responsive.

Is there a gifted personality type?

While many things contribute to giftedness, including various types of intelligence, genetic factors, and upbringing, one key area of interest is personality. Do gifted people look different in terms of personality compared to "non-gifted"1 individuals? In the journal High Ability Studies, researchers Ogurlu and Özbey (2021) conduct a meta-analysis of the literature on personality and giftedness to see where the Big 5 personality traits of Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Neuroticism and Agreeableness fit in.  READ MORE...

Robot

 

How to Speak

BY JUSTIN BARISO, AUTHOR, EQ APPLIED
@JUSTINJBARISO
Getty Images



Earlier this year, I came across a lecture by former MIT professor Patrick Winston called "How to Speak." The lecture was posted on YouTube a few months after Winston's death in 2019, and has since been viewed over 4.7 million times.


Winston, who taught at MIT for almost 50 years and was one of the school's most beloved professors, knew how to captivate an audience. His style wasn't flashy, but it was extremely compelling--even more noteworthy when you consider he worked in the technical field of artificial intelligence.


If you watch the full lecture, and I highly recommend you do, you'll learn some invaluable tips that will make you not only a better speaker but a better communicator. However, you'll also discover a priceless gem in the first five minutes of the talk, when Winston describes what he calls the "rule of engagement." It's a simple, non-negotiable policy, and it's only five words long.


Winston's classroom rule? No laptops. No cellphones.


Although simple, this is a rule that almost no one today follows, and that makes it extremely valuable. Winston's rule of engagement is also a perfect example of emotional intelligence in real life: the ability to make emotions work for you, instead of against you.


How the 'Rule of Engagement' makes you a better listener


Winston goes on to explain the reasoning behind his rule of engagement.



"Some people ask why [no laptops, no cellphones] is a rule of engagement," says Winston. "The answer is, we humans only have one language processor. And if your language processor is engaged ... you're distracted. And, worse yet, you distract all of the people around you. Studies have shown that."


He continues, "And worse yet, if I see an open laptop, somewhere back there, or up here, it drives me nuts!"  TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...

Laughing

Going to College

 

Let me just say up front, that not only did I attend college and graduate with a BA degree in English, I continued my education attaining an MBA with a focus in Strategic Planning...  however, that is not to say that college was, in fact, the right move for me as I look back on my life.

My entire family attended college, including my grandfather, so, whether I wanted it or not, my destiny (according to my parents) was for me to attend college as well.

And, as I look back on my education, my English degree was based upon comparing and contrasting different forms of literature as well as writing and analyzing different forms of creative writing.

Building upon what was learned in English classes in high school was not the focus, so I learned nothing new about grammar.  But, like anything else, becoming a good writer is based upon PRACTICE...  not necessarily college.

MY MBA put me in touch with how business people think from the standpoint of managing a company, but for the rest of my career, my MBA did very little other than open doors.

80% of my entire college tuitions was paid for by the GI Bill that I earned by remaining in the active military for 21 months and the military reserves for a total of 6 years...  The other 20% was paid for by the fact that I worked while I was attending college, even though in undergraduate school it was parttime work while in graduate school it was full time employment.

I literally have NO COLLEGE DEBT which made a big difference for me...  and, if I was considering college around 2000 or 2010 or 2020, acquiring college debt would be a big factor in my desire to attend college.

Coast-to-Coast 18 wheel truck drivers can make in excess of $100,000/year.  The average salary of a college graduate is around $55,000/year.  Now, while I would not want to drive a truck for the rest of my life, if you are using college to increase your earnings power, college will not always get you where you want to be.

Sam Walton who founded WalMart, dropped out of school in the 8th grade I've been told.  And, while not everyone has the personality traits of Sam Walton, there is evidence to suggest that going to college will not always get the financial wealth that you seek.

But, going to college will get you financial debt...

Another justification for going to college is that most college graduate have "sit behind a desk" jobs as they are called even though they are not always just sitting behind a desk.  Therefore, there is not the physical abuse leveled on a body like there would be if one were a house builder, a carpenter, a brick layer, an electrician, or a plumber.

However, there is no physical abuse if someone were to sell life insurance, be a salesperson in retail, be a computer technician, or an appliance repair person...  or, even manage a fast food or some other type of restaurant.

And, while many people do not even consider the military because of having to go to war, there are many jobs in the military that will not require you to go to war.

Think seriously before you decide to go to college or if you are a parent and might be expecting your child or children to attend college.

Fireplace