Hudson & Randall

 

Senseless Helplessness

There is something inside all of us that has the ability to motivate us or demotivate us...  whatever that actually means...  however, we are all aware of how some people are successful and some people are not so successful no matter how hard they try...  this is not an indication of good or bad it is just an indication of how it is, will be, and has been.

At the age of 74, I look back at my life and wonder about my accomplishment and while what I have done falls short of what others have done, I realize that others have fallen short of me...  so, what does all this mean?

In 2015, I retired after working 45 years and while I managed to reach retirement, my career was not all that terrific as I was "laid-off" or "fired" 10 times...  which translates into losing my job every 4.5 years...  that was not only difficult mentally on me but it was difficult on my spouse as well...  in fact, it severely reduced the trust and respect that she had for me...  this is manifested in how we interrelate with each other during our retirement.

Throughout my life, my personality has been displayed in such a way that when I retired in 2015, I retired with:

• no friends
• no family, in that, neither my brother, my sister, my daughter, and my wife really had no desire to have anything to do with me...

My current situation is completely a result of my own actions and comments over the last 67-74 years, therefore my fault is clear and undisputed...  however, that acceptance does not offset the fact, that it has resulted or manifested itself inside a deep coffin of depression.

This depression is further magnified by the fact that in 2015, I started writing novels and to date have completed 5 and I am 2-3 weeks away from completing number 6, and when I submitted one of those to a local published writers group, was told it was not up to their standards of writing and my membership was rejected.

So, what does this response mean for me as I know what it means for them?

It means: what's the point of me continuing my writing?

Of course, I could take a free novel writing course at COURSERA and see if that improves my writing and reapply...

But, I am 74 years old and by the time I reapply, I will be 75...

So, is that too old to start over and build writing skills?

OR...  what else do I do?

I have no desire to do anything else...  I have no interest in doing anything else...  although, I do have these blogs and I will continue posting here...  and, could expand what I post here...  but, is that enough for me?

OR...  I could continue writing my amateur novels, knowing that the odds are against me ever-evolving into becoming a professional writer...

Now, that's a goal to try and achieve...

So, what is it inside human beings that causes some of them to be successful while others are not successful at all?

And, is this lack of success when these individuals want to be successful that causes depression?

Do people need a network of support to keep from being depressed?

If they do not have a network of support what happens to them and/or what do they do to pull themselves out of depression?

It is an interesting journey that I have taken and continue to take and will only end with my death...  and, I wonder what the point of my life has been?  I have had no meaning or purpose all my life...  I've just existed and gone to work...  I've just done my job and looked for other jobs...  there has been no direction...  my life has just flowed from one year to the next, oblivious to what has been or what will be...  Along the way, I saw no reason for anyone to get to know me better, although we had credible work relationships as we worked together and got things done.

It was a senseless and meaningless existence and I was so busy doing what needed to be done, I had no time to look inside and understand myself...  now, I am left HOLLOW, EMPTY of that which makes us who we are...  consequently, I am retired, unfulfilled, want nothing to do, have no interests, and am alone...  it's not sad...  it's just the way it is for me...

Living to LIVE

What is Life?
Life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.

So, is that how we want to view our lives as just growth, reproduction, working, playing, changing, and dying?

I don't think so because there's so much more like:

• how we work
• at what do we work
• how we play
• what we own
• helping our children grow
• teaching our children
• our religious faith
• how we express our faith
• our neighbors
• our friends
• our photographs
• our memories

and, I am sure that the list is much, much longer...

Different perspectives cause us to live our lives differently, like:

• being a child
• being a teenager
• being an adult
• playing sports
• being a veteran
• being disabled
• being sick with cancer
• being sick with other diseases
• being wealthy/poor
• being uneducated/educated
• living in the south/north/east/west/middle
• living with animals
• living with children

Another aspect of life is PURPOSE...  do we have a PURPOSE?  and, if so, what is our PURPOSE?  Do our PURPOSES change over time and/or are they different?

Do our PURPOSES have any kind of MEANING?

Does it make sense that we only live 80-100 years and then DIE FOREVER?

Does it make sense that earth is the only planet in our entire universe that has a human being form of life?

Is life perceived differently when one is dying?

Do we not worry about life until we are dying?

Living life is different for each of us for a variety of reasons...  some of which make sense while others do not...  some of these reasons are based or predicated upon our purpose, our meaning, our faith, our values, our health, our family/friends, and our experiences that change over time which is part of our original definition.  Many of us don't even worry about this until we are confronted with a traumatic experience(s).  Maybe we would have a better life or at least a different life if we thought about it now.

Dancing

 

Easing Stress

MBG HEALTH

March 8, 2022 — 17:36 PM

These past two years have piled unexpected stressors on top of our already hectic lives. I don't know about you, but I have had to be more intentional about finding ways to reduce stress and foster calm daily. For me, these things include consuming a nutrient-dense diet, power walking, praying, prioritizing sleep, and doing things that bring me joy (time with family and friends, playing piano, singing, dancing, good food, etc.). I've recently incorporated a new strategy to stress less: mindbodygreen's calm+.

The science behind mindbodygreen's most relaxing supplement.

I lead the mindbodygreen science team, where we keep close tabs on the latest clinical research and carefully vet ingredients to bring you one-of-a-kind supplements. I don't recommend products I haven't critically analyzed and tried myself. That's why I can fully vouch for calm+.

The supplement's hero ingredient is USDA and EU organic certified full-spectrum European hemp oil. This heritage hemp is 100% CO2 extracted, eco-farmed, DNA-tested, and phytocannabinoid-rich, delivering 20 milligrams of CBD per serving. This cream-of-the-crop hemp oil is strategically complemented by two other plants: the world's most bioactive Shoden® ashwagandha extract (boasting 35% glycowithanolide content), and steam-distilled lavender oil from flowers that are high in linalool, a terpene known to elicit calm.*

For a little bit of insider background, we landed on this trio of botanicals because they can nourish and support multiple dimensions of our stress management physiology simultaneously.* Cannabinoids from hemp oil and terpenes from lavender interact with our intrinsic "balancer," the endocannabinoid system, to relax us.* 

Furthermore, ashwagandha is a nootropic herb that works via our hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis to bolster our resilience to stress.* And not in a vague sense, either: Clinical trial evidence shows Shoden® ashwagandha's ability to reduce cortisol and DHEA-S, actual hormonal biomarkers of stress, at 240 mg (the dose in calm+).*

Mind you, this premium botanical trio is delivered in one convenient gelcap (no tincture mess nor gummy sugars to worry about here, folks). I should also point out that calm+ is GMO-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and major food allergen-free.  READ MORE...

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

Listening Versus Reading

Would you prefer to read a book or listen to the audio version? Your answer may depend on several variables, such as convenience or availability. The debate about the differences between reading and listening comprehension has taken center stage once again.

Besides a preference for one over the other, the most crucial question is; which of the two helps us retain vital information, improve our comprehension, and make us more efficient?

Well, it depends.

There are numerous studies and articles on the topic, most of which evaluate both methods’ effectiveness. Individual preferences and even learning disabilities can play a role.

However, there are differences in comprehension, depending on how we consume information. One example is transcribers. They must develop excellent listening skills to transfer audio conversations into a text format. Poor listening habits won’t help someone transcribe a significant legal deposition or law enforcement interview efficiently.

It’s also important to point out that there are differences between reading or listening for pleasure versus learning. Below are some examples:

Audiobooks vs. Physical Books
Do we comprehend more information if we physically read a book compared to listening to the same material?

Remember when audiobooks hit the market years ago? Futurist suggested listening would eclipse reading as our preferred learning method. It looks like books are still with us and will be for the foreseeable future.

Having access to one version gives us options when the other isn’t convenient or available. Reading a book or magazine while walking in the park or on a treadmill is often challenging. That’s when using our earbuds to listen to audiobooks or podcasts is a better method.  READ MORE...

Dog Cage

 

Women Initiate Divorce

Divorce is common. For instance, in 2019, one million American women divorced.

Though divorce is financially costly, particularly for women, the percentage of divorces initiated by women is higher than men-initiated divorces. Furthermore, a surprisingly large number of women report post-divorce life satisfaction. For an explanation of this paradox and reasons why women divorce, we turn to a recent paper by Parker and collaborators, published in the February 2022 issue of Current Opinion in Psychology.

The authors argue, using the evolutionary theory, that various mismatches between the sexes increase the likelihood of divorce. These mismatches are detailed below. (Note, most of what follows applies to divorces initiated by women in heterosexual relationships in Western countries.)

Good genes, deep pockets, and other mismatches in mate preference
When it comes to mate selection, women value characteristics such as masculinity, facial symmetry, attractiveness, and social dominance. Quite a few of these characteristics signal good genes. For example, they correlate with health and physical strength, which are attributes that increase survival and reproductive success.

Why might a desire for genetically superior men result in mate preference mismatch? Because men with good genes are usually more interested in short-term relationships and do not make the best long-term partners (e.g., are less resourceful). So, women, especially those able to financially support themselves, may not feel motivated to stay in a relationship with such men.

Another mismatch concerns financial resources: Not only do women desire physically healthy and attractive romantic partners, but they also often desire resourceful mates (i.e. rich and successful men).

Mating preferences concerning money and resources might have an evolutionary explanation—e.g., women’s need to rely on men capable of providing for them during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which are periods of high energy expenditure and low mobility.

Though these mating preferences have not changed, society has changed drastically. Fewer women need to depend on men; indeed, an increasing number of women outearn their husbands.  READ MORE...

Glasses

 

Greed

Off My Rocker

Most of us here is East TN and probably throughout a majority of the entire state of TN, think and believe, not just perceive, that our President and his advising staff are OFF THEIR FRIGGING ROCKERS...

The debacle in Afghanistan was mainly seen as incompetence but how President Biden is handling the turmoil in the United States has surpassed the level of incompetence and gone straight into STUPIDITY and I am including the VP in this as well, especially since she traveled down to South America to discover the ROOT CAUSE of illegal immigration into the USA and nothing has changed...  perhaps she is still looking for the root cause...  who frigging knows at this point-in-time.

But, here we are in the United States of America experiencing the worst economic inflation in our nation's recent history of 50 years, mainly brought on by all the government spending, yet blamed on COVID when in reality, the issue boils down to the fact that Biden overturned or stopped everything that his predecessor put into action, the least of which was the flow of petroleum crude oil.

Now that we have a gasoline crisis on our hands, our administration in their infinite wisdom buy oil from Russia which allows him to continue to wage war on Ukraine...

Is Biden incompetent or stupid here?

So, there is pressure on Biden and his administration to stop buying oil from Russia, so what does our illustrious President do next...  he decides to buy oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela,,,  however, this decision is not necessarily going to reduce the price of gasoline because we are still buying it from somewhere else.

WHY NOT OPEN UP THE FLOW OF OIL IN OUR OWN FRIGGING COUNTRY???

WHY YOU ASK...

Because it would mean that President Biden would have to reinstate some of the policies of the TRUMP ADMINISTRATION...  and, that would be a mortal sin to the Democrats and Socialists...

Biden would rather screw the American public that admit Trump was right...

NOW...  is this incompetence or STUPIDITY...  and, don't let the all caps influence your decision.
 

CAUCASIAN BORN -- Debut

 

Ringside

 

A Pacific NATO

Bloomberg News
China warned the U.S. against trying to build what it called a Pacific version of NATO, while declaring that security disputes over Taiwan and Ukraine were “not comparable at all.”

Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his annual news briefing Monday that the “real goal” of the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy was to form Asia’s answer to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. China has often accused the U.S. of trying to form blocs to suppress its growth, a complaint that’s likely to attract greater attention after President Vladimir Putin cited similar grievances before his invasion of Ukraine.

“The perverse actions run counter to the common aspiration of the region for peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcomes,” Wang added. “They are doomed to fail.”

Complaints about U.S. efforts to strengthen its alliance network in Asia were among several points of contention raised by Wang in the almost two-hour briefing on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing. The senior diplomat repeatedly alluded to the U.S. as the source of problems with countries around the globe and issued some of China’s most pointed warnings yet against calls to expand U.S. ties with Taiwan.

“This would not only push Taiwan into a precarious situation, but will also bring unbearable consequences for the U.S. side,” Wang said on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, later adding: “Taiwan will eventually return to the embrace of the motherland.”  READ MORE...

Geometry

 

Our Curious Experiencs

Imagine you are walking on warm sand, on a sunny summer’s day, holding hands with your partner. While perceiving this environment, your brain receives and needs to integrate a cascade of sensory information coming from both outside and inside your body: the warmth of the sand, the brightness of the sunlight, the salty smell of the air, the sound of your heart pounding in your chest, the warmth of your partner’s skin touching your hand.

We usually experience a ‘real me’ that is linked to the body and which lies at the core of all of our sensory experiences, emotions, memories, and thoughts. This ‘I’ or ‘me’ is somehow always there, even if only in the background – transparently, so to speak; and it is felt as being distinct from the world and other people (the sand and your partner, let’s say).

This sense of being a ‘real me’ connected with a real world ‘out there’ makes us feel present and immersed in the flow of our daily lives. But how exactly does this work?

In a seminal paper entitled ‘Whatever next? Predictive brains, situated agents, and the future of cognitive science’, Andy Clark1 proposed that the brain’s job is to predict whatever information is coming next based on the information perceived before. 

Instead of being a passive sponge receiving information from inside and outside our bodies, the brain actively anticipates the world through the lens of past experiences. Whatever we have perceived and experienced before leaves traces, so to speak, in our nervous and perceptual systems. The brain uses these ‘traces’ prevailingly to spot danger. 

This is why it’s so difficult to forget negative events: the brain wants to keep us out of trouble. Harmless information, like the colour of the doorknob at my hotel, will likely be treated as boring and erased from memory. However, the colour of the jacket on the thief that attacked me on the street stays with me. This is an important insight stressed by Clark and other researchers like Karl Friston2 and Jakob Hohwy.  READ MORE...

Sleeting

 

China's Westworld

A museum in China has taken a page out of science fiction and is creating lifelike robots with veins in their legs and goosebumps on their skin.

The EX Future and Science Museum in the Chinese city of Dalian shows off advanced forms of robotic technology aimed at making robots as customizable and lifelike as possible.

According to a tour of the museum's research and design center published by the Chinese state-linked media channel CGTN, the technicians at the museum can scan features and limbs to create dynamic 3D robots.

In a clip posted on YouTube, a journalist has her facial features scanned to "customize an android of her own." Parts of her body are then 3D printed. The video shows her controlling the movements of a 3D printed robotic limb via a wearable glove.

"The skin is made of medical-grade bionic silicone, and the goosebumps on the skin, the veins on the feet, and the palm lines — they're all very realistic," the museum's vice president, Yang Jianguo, told CGTN.  READ MORE...

Happy Female

An Overview of it All

It seems like to me that the Russian war in Ukraine is what is dominating the news cycles these days...  and second to the war is gas prices and inflation...  we have forgotten all about our illegal immigration problem and our drug problem...

Our media seem somewhat fickled in this area...  only putting forth the news that is going to increase their ratings...  and overlooking the news that is not going to do that...

Here in the Tennessee Valley we are getting ready for a blast of snow that truly demonstrates how March is a transition month between winter and spring.  Curiously, while the snow will fall and may cover the roads and landscapes...  it will not stay long because the temps are going to rise into the high 40's the next day.

Is that going to take my focus off of the other issues that are going on in the USA and around the world?  NO...

While we are paying over $4/gallon for gas, it will not stop us from doing what we want or need to do...  what will happen is that we will simply reduce money in other areas of our budget.  It is annoying to have to do that, but it is what we have to do...

The wealthy people who control our society will not get hurt at all with inflation other than the value of their stock might reduce, lowing their net wealth...  but, overall, they are never impacted like the general public.

In order to have economic growth that benefits the general public, we have to accept the fact that there will be an enormous amount of wealthy people...  this is the tradeoff that we have been accepting for decades here in the USA - or at least since the end of WWII.

We all know that US Presidents come and go and that some of them are good and some are bad but none of them stay more than 8 years.  The US Congress can help or stand against these Presidents as they pass laws and approve budgets.  Our two parties have different views on how this country should be governed.  Presently, the US is divided 50/50 between these two parties...  so neither party currently has a mandate for governance.

Retirees will live about 20 years before they die for a variety of reasons...  their retirement is either good or bad depending upon how much money they have saved and how much receive from their company's retirement package.  Some retirees still have to work even if it is part-time.

WE MUST accept who we are or are not, what we have or don't have, and once that acceptance is accomplished we simply move on and live life as best as we can rather than bitching about what we don't have.

Watching the news each morning slants our views of life as it relates to us...  and not necessarily to others...  we regret what others may be going through and some of us might give money but that's it...  our main focus is on OURSELVES...

My Biased Views

Not much has changed since 2000, when the U.S. scored along the OECD average in every subject: This year, the U.S. scores below average in math and ranks 17th among the 34 OECD countries. It scores close to the OECD average in science and reading and ranks 21st in science and 17th in reading. Source: TheAtlantic.com

Pretty dismal ratings if you ask me which of course you did not ask...  but, if you really care about this country, the people who live inside this country, and the future of this country then this should not just bother you but it should PISS YOU OFF BIG TIME...

How did something like this happen?

Our educators have decided to teach to the tests rather than teach to learn and retain knowledge.  Therefore, our students score high on certain tests because they have, in essence, memorized the answers but have not learned anything nor have they retained anything.

When they get into college with their high grades, they continue to memorize for the exams and continue to fail to learn or retain the knowledge that they need to...

Our once #! educational system is now just simply mediocre.

When I was teaching business students in college, I discovered quite unexpectedly that:

• Most students read at a 10th grade level
• Most students wrote at a 10th grade level
• Most students had no critical thinking skills
• Most students had no desire to drill down on subjects
• Most students had no teamworking skills
• Most students wanted to be told exactly what to know
• Most students wrote 1-2 sentence answers to essay questions that should have required a minimum of 100-150 words to demonstrate competent understanding of the concept
• Most students presentations skills were at a 10th grade level

What bothered me the most was that when students had to turn in a project or a written assignment they had no idea nor did they want to research it on their own, how to submit the docment as if they were submitting it to their employers.  These papers were not typed.  There was no title page.  They did not know how to submit it in a MEMO format.  There were spelling errors.  Inappropriate sentence construction.

To make matters worse, these classes were composed of 3rd and 4th year students.

Granted...  I wasn't teaching at an Ivy League University but I doubt Ivy League University graduates are going to come down to East TN to work...  so, most of our employers will be relying on locally educated employees.

Transitions

 

Global Concerns of Women at Davos - WEF

At the World Economic Forum’s virtual Davos Agenda Week back in January, some of the world’s highest-profile women leaders shared their thoughts on the biggest challenges facing us today – and how to tackle them.

As these thoughts came before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they don't reflect the new reality of the world's geopolitical challenges and all that they involve. You can read more about this on Agenda.

1. Rebuilding trust
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, “This year, like never before, trust is the most valuable currency when we speak about the state of the world. Trust in science and vaccines can make a difference between life and death. 

Trust among countries can tilt the balance of international affairs towards cooperation instead of conflict. Trust in functioning societies based on the rule of law channels higher levels of long-term private investment, giving these societies an edge over competitors – and this trust is also essential to all of Europe’s main ambitions.”  READ MORE...

The Fish

 

Amazon Selling "Z" T-shirts

Online retail giant Amazon has provoked outrage after advertising Russian military-style 'Z' symbol clothing on its website.

Long-sleeved tops, phone accessories and military green T-shirts bearing the controversial symbol, which some have nicknamed 'Putin's swastika', were selling for prices ranging from £10 to £15.99.

The sign - a white Z inside a square box - is being used to signal support for Vladimir Putin's war and has been visible on Russian tanks rolling into Ukraine.

Russia's defence ministry posted on Instagram late last week that the symbol came from the Russian За победу, which begins with a "Z" sound and means "for the victory".

The ads were swiftly removed on Tuesday morning and the Mirror has contacted Amazon for comment. It's not clear which manufacturer was selling the items, but Amazon had allowed the company a platform.

Labour has said businesses like billionaire Jeff Bezos' mega-retailer must "act responsibly" as the conflict tears apart lives in Europe.

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, said: “These items are highly inappropriate and should never have been available in the first place.

"Amazon cannot on one hand decry the invasion of Ukraine and then profit from the misery the Russian army is inflicting on the other.

" Labour is resolute in our support for Ukraine and we encourage firms to act responsibly and do all they can do to support the Ukrainian people."

Russian gymnast Ivan Kuliak will be investigated by the sport's governing body after he wore the 'Z' symbol after finishing third in the parallel bars at a competition in Qatar over the weekend. READ MORE...

Lanturn in Room