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Friday, December 31, 2021
Thursday, December 30, 2021
A snapshot of South American leftism
After hearing from several Venezuelans that they arrived in the U.S. after living in Argentina for a while, I finally asked why they chose to leave Argentina.
The answer returned, "Because Argentina is getting the same as Venezuela."
A quick search produced several relevant articles, including several opinion pieces, with emphasis on current Chinese involvement, the history of centralized influence from Russia via Cuba, and the future of the U.S., how a collapsed socialist dictatorship recovers, and how thriving countries with strong social programs are rooted in free markets.
How Venezuela is currently coping with it's collapse:
Excerpt: "Saddled with hundreds of failed state companies in an economy barreling over a cliff, the Venezuelan government is abandoning socialist doctrine by offloading key enterprises to private investors, offering profit in exchange for a share of revenue or products."
How Argentina is working with China
The article discusses how Argentina is approaching China's Belt Road Initiative (BRI) and using Chinese investment to overhaul it's infrastructure with an emphasis on renewable energy.
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Venezuela's influence from Cuba
https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-fatal-embrace-of-cuba-11639152017
A brief history of South American leftist regimes:
https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/opinion-the-left-returns-to-latin-america-439400
A brief history of Argentina's economy
South American Populist tyranny and the future of the U.S.
A look at 'successful' socialist states concludes they are actually market economies
https://www.cato.org/blog/dont-cry-me-democratic-socialists
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Covid global death rates by country, questions and implications
Looking for deaths per 100k, the highest death rates are in Peru & Eastern Europe.
...followed second by the U.S. and S. America.
...followed third by Western Europe, Russia, Iran and South Africa.
...and. followed notably least by China, almost the entirety of Africa, India, Australia, Indonesia, and Venezuela is an outlier in S. America.
Interesting that Africa's death rates are comparatively low, whereas African Americans are particularly susceptible.
What accounts for the areas having the lowest and highest death rates?
Race, diet, climate, distribution of vaccines, quality of healthcare, having some prior exposure / immunity, or relations with China?
Diet would seem to be the primary factor for susceptibility.
Maps & Stats
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51235105
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_by_country
https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-maps-and-cases/
Other questions
1. If covid is a man-made, biological weapon:
a) Who does covid target? i.e. who are the targets of the Chinese government? Was it created for eugenic purposes to affect people in China? Or specifically the U.S. to leverage the vulnerability of the American diet? Or is it that western diets are more susceptible, particularly in the U.S., which makes sense that unhealthy people are more vulnerable to illness.
b) Is there a human-devised mutation strategy unfolding and if so, is it coordinated to coincide with events, such as elections, political and economic power movements. If so, can we observe the coincidence with future events?
Clearly, the mutations that are occurring are being tracked and the trajectory anticipated, some predictions leaving open the possibility of it getting weaker, and some warning that it will get stronger.
More certainly, we will observe future events coinciding with the viral activity as the circumstances are taken advantage of and reacted to by various entities.
The original COVID was actually rolled out during SARs in 2009, followed by original-strength covid as we know it in 2019, then weakened delta and now far weakest but most transmissible omicron. Will the new variants be more transmissible AND stronger?
The first of articles below states most clearly that 'we don't know' about the future of covid. No shit. Notable that European articles tend to predict things getting worse and call for tightening of restrictions:
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/22586816/next-coronavirus-variant-delta-covid-19
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03619-8
https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/5-things-to-know-delta-variant-covid
2. Vaccines:
Trump claims responsibility for producing the vaccines, yet there is much distrust and conspiracy from what would seem to be all / opposing sides, including his own supporters with the idea that the vaccines are being mandated by the Left for political control, that the vaccines are being used for microchipping perhaps to serve an authoritarian power, and that WHO and Bill Gates are profiting from the vaccines.
Again, here we have the U.S. military testing a new kind of vaccine - effective against all variants - on the way. Will it be effective against future variants?
African Americans are also often reluctant to take vaccines, and BLM specifically opposes vaccine mandates. So, the idea of BLM being a global tool of the Left and part of leftist totalitarianism doesn't align on this particular point.
Further, big pharma such as Pfizer sponsoring mainstream news seems an interesting pairing, just as big tech and corporations have sponsored BLM - again, counter to Trump's having produced vaccines - yet, we don't know the breakdown of these vaccine origins relative to political alliances - WHO and Bill Gates - and how those relationships reconcile, cross over, etc. And, where do countries like Russia and China fit into all of this?
The more I observe, the more I conclude that various entities will certainly react to chaotic circumstances to capitalize and serve their own agendas, and that the likelihood of successfully executing an overall, well-coordinated plan is less plausible. Not that they aren't trying, just that there's a lot of inconsistency worth noting.
To be continued...
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID, SARS Variants
Reposted on slashdot:
Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect to announce that they have developed a vaccine that is effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, even Omicron, as well as previous SARS-origin viruses that have killed millions of people worldwide. Walter Reed's Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle COVID-19 vaccine, or SpFN, completed animal trials earlier this year with positive results. Phase 1 of human trials, which tested the vaccine against Omicron and the other variants, wrapped up this month, again with positive results that are undergoing final review, Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of Walter Reed's infectious diseases branch, said in an exclusive interview with Defense One. The new vaccine will still need to undergo phase 2 and phase 3 trials.
Unlike existing vaccines, Walter Reed's SpFN uses a soccer ball-shaped protein with 24 faces for its vaccine, which allows scientists to attach the spikes of multiple coronavirus strains on different faces of the protein. The vaccine's human trials took longer than expected, he said, because the lab needed to test the vaccine on subjects who had neither been vaccinated nor previously infected with COVID. The next step is seeing how the new pan-coronavirus vaccine interacts with people who were previously vaccinated or previously sick. The next step is seeing how the new pan-coronavirus vaccine interacts with people who were previously vaccinated or previously sick. Walter Reed is working with a yet-to-be-named industry partner for that wider rollout.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Conscious to subconscious process article
This 10-Minute Routine Will Increase Your Clarity And Creativity
“Your subconscious mind works continuously, while you are awake, and while you sleep.” — Napoleon Hill
Your subconscious never rests and is always on duty because it controls your heartbeat, blood circulation, and digestion. It controls all the vital processes and functions of your body and knows the answers to all your problems.
What happens on your subconscious level influences what happens on your conscious level. In other words, what goes on internally, even unconsciously, eventually becomes your reality. As Hill further states, “The subconscious mind will translate into its physical equivalent, by the most direct and practical method available.”
Consequently, your goal is to direct your subconscious mind to create the outcomes you seek. Additionally, you want to tap into your subconscious mind to unlock connections and solutions to your problems and projects.
Here’s a simple routine to get started:
Ten minutes before going to sleep:
“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” — Thomas Edison
It’s common practice for many of the world’s most successful people to intentionally direct the workings of their subconscious mind while they’re sleeping.
How?
Take a few moments before you go to bed to meditate on and write down the things you’re trying to accomplish.
Ask yourself loads of questions related to that thing. In Edison’s words, make some “requests.” Write those questions and thoughts down on paper. The more specific the questions, the more clear will be your answers.
While you’re sleeping, your subconscious mind will get to work on those things.
Ten minutes after waking up:
Research confirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active and readily creative immediately following sleep. Your subconscious mind has been loosely mind-wandering while you slept, making contextual and temporal connections. Creativity, after all, is making connections between different parts of the brain.
In a recent interview with Tim Ferriss, Josh Waitzkin, former chess prodigy and tai chi world champion, explains his morning routine to tap into the subconscious breakthroughs and connections experienced while he was sleeping.
Unlike 80 percent of people between the ages of 18–44 who check their smartphones within 15 minutes of waking up, Waitzkin goes to a quiet place, does some meditation, and grabs his journal.
In his journal, he thought-dumps for several minutes. Thus, rather than focusing on input like most people who check their notifications, Waitzkin’s focus is on output. This is how he taps into his higher realms of clarity, learning, and creativity — what he calls, “crystallized intelligence.”
If you’re not an experienced journal writer, the idea of “thought-dumping” may be hard to implement. In my experience, it’s good to loosely direct your thought-dumping toward your goals.
Consider the “requests” you made of your subconscious just before going to bed. You asked yourself loads of questions. You thought about and wrote down the things you’re trying to accomplish.
Now, first thing in the morning, when your creative brain is most attuned, after its subconscious workout while you slept, start writing down whatever comes to mind about those things.
I often get ideas for articles I’m going to write while doing these thought-dumps. I get ideas about how I can be a better husband and father to my three foster children. I get clarity about the goals I believe I should be pursuing. I get insights about people I need to connect with, or how I can improve my current relationships.
To be sure, you’ll need to practice this skill. It may take several attempts before you become proficient. But with consistency, you can become fluent and automatic at achieving creative and intuitive bursts.
Conclusion:
“A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.” — James Allen
Mental creation always precedes physical creation. Before a building is physically constructed, there’s a blueprint.
Your thoughts are the blueprint of the life you are building one day at a time. When you learn to channel your thinking — both consciously and subconsciously — you create the conditions that make the achievement of your goals inevitable.
You are the designer of your destiny. This simple routine will help you crystallize where you want to go, and how you will get there.
Ready to Upgrade?
Thursday, December 23, 2021
Fiber
I know I've hit 50 when I'm taking notes on fiber supplements.
Apparently, it's good to use two types of fiber together - soluble and insoluble- i.e. the kind that gets clumpy, and the kind that dissolves.
My thought is that the dissolving kind may help soften and relieve the kind that clumps up, and it's probably good to use both, and drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
I've recently begun taking Konsyl (1 teaspoon, 2x daily) with Optifiber (2 teaspoons, 2x daily) . Most of what I eat is already reasonably soft food, so I thought I should consider a fiber supplement.
Two questions I have are whether taking fiber with a meal could push out the food before it's been digested and absorbed, and whether fiber interferes with intermittent fasting - i.e. triggers insulin.
What I found suggests that it should be taken with food, but the emphasis is on using it to prevent hunger, and using it often - which doesn't exactly answer my question.
I also found that fiber doesn't trigger insulin provided it doesn't contain maltodextrin (Konsyl actually does).
Konsyl also makes a 1500mg capsule, which would require four caps to keep up with one serving of the powder, and it also explains why the powder is so expensive. Not sure about the cost comparison.
At this point, I'm somewhat inconclusive about exactly whether I can have my fiber with my morning tea, but if I want to be an absolute intermittent fasting purist and maintain my 8-hour feeding window, I suppose I should avoid it early and have with lunch and dinner only, and hope it doesn't cause me to blow out my meal before it has time to get into my system. On the contrary, soluble fiber apparently slows digestion, so it may be a moot point.
Here's a breakdown of fiber types:
Soluble fiber (Psyllium husk, e.g. Konsyl, metamucil): Builds bulk to push food through, forms a gel to slow digestion, improves blood sugar.
Insoluble fiber (wheat dextrin, e.g. Benefiber, Optifiber): Stool softener - pulls water from the intestine to form softer, bulkier stools.
Laxative: Miralax is not fiber, but it may be used in conjunction with the other products to clear the lower colon.
Conclusion:
I take both fibers daily in the morning with my vitamins, no food. 2 teaspoons Optifiber, 1 teaspoon Konsyl - into a shaker cup - add half a bottle of water, shake, gulp, add the other half bottle, swirl and have my vitamins. Yay!
Sunday, December 19, 2021
SEO CONTENT CREATION AND MARKETING AI TOOLS
JasperAI: Trains on and aggregates from top ranking search results having AI-trained on 10% of the web to compose content without plagiarism and makes it SEO-worthy. Create your outline and let Jarvis create the content. Ask it questions and let it create answers.
Surfer SEO: This tool scores your content and compares with competition
AHREFS: and this tool to bolster SEO key words specifically
Grammarly - More than an editor, Grammarly improves readability and grammar, improves actual compositional structure and can serve to provide QA
Descript: Uses AI to transcribe video/audio to text, allows for video editing via changes to the script, and cuts out gaps in the audio (ummm, etc.). Can also train on and emulate anyone's voice.
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Media tools & resources
Storyblocks: - Royalty-free music, photos, video, templates and video editor.
Zencastr: - Without media production, we will lkely begin to rely more on webcams for capturing video, especially from leadership. Zencaster captures webcam video to the presenter's local machine, then sends podcast and video. Use Zencaster with USB webcam video + USB lapel mic to ensure audio quality.
$18 USB lapel mic
metahumans real-time face capture
Metahuman Creator
Requires a fast machine, but allows for facial capture via camera and customization of characters. Works with unreal engine (free).
sizzle reel
customization demo
Facial capture
Use with iClone for body animation
Ziva real-time face trainer
...and this tool
Thursday, December 16, 2021
what's bugging me about Jussie Smollette
Every commentary I see about the Smollett case emphasizes and isolates how he staged a hoax to further his career by jumping on the race victim band wagon.
Jussie played a small part in an ongoing saga, far beyond just thinking about himself. Maybe he was thinking about himself, but that's not what matters most. There's a much bigger problem, and what makes it particularly annoying is how frequently we have to contend with this kind of thing, how little is expected of us to buy it, and most of all, that it gets minimized to the silly shenanigans of one guy, as though we're clever for having caught on to his blatant, poorly constructed antics.
By the time we have cities being burned to the ground, suppression of the police and violent crime going through the roof, we need to get serious about recognizing the playbook for what it is, and that it's been getting a pass for a very long time.
How many of these incidents have to occur before we can address it for what it is as a society. Why limit his sentence to just Jussie? Why not extend this instance to the scaffolding that supports it? The left likes to talk about systemic racism, but what about systemic bullshit? We enable this formulaic, unconvincing abuse because it is rewarded constantly.
It's so predictable and repetitive, it's just one more tale of the wolf who cried boy.
Run the playbook, then broadcast in the media, turn on the outrage, disprove and forget. Rinse and repeat.
It's part of a long series of what used to be called "publicity stunts", but when it crosses over into politics (small P) it's propaganda and when the political goal is a takeover (big P), it's called a psyop. Unfortunately, what qualifies as a true conspiracy often gets dismissed and then handled on a case-by-case basis. Sweep it all under the rug, which just happens to be a very long red carpet.
So, it bugs me that Smollette is dismissed as an isolated case of criminal self-interest. Much the same way the media identifies Muslim mass attacks as being isolated cases of mental illness. Or that Kaepernick is dismissed as merely a sore loser. Who cares about Smollett or Kaepernick?
What about the responsibility of the media to vet stories before spreading them?
What if the media is responsible for creating these stories?
When will the media be punished?
These useful idiots have massive sponsorship and a chorus of supporting notable voices tantamount to accomplices - yet, just out of reach of proof. And, they just happen to fit very neatly into what is a very clear agenda. Spearhead with the baby-shield of racial accusations, overthrow authority, grant immunity to criminals and let the lootings and shootings begin.
Investigating Smollette's motive is therefore critical to consider whether it may be part of a bigger conspiracy. There, I said it. And, I'll venture further to say, it's rather obvious.
There have been many other similar hoaxes including Bubba Wallace, and staged attacks on other less-than-famous minority groups. Or those that have legitimately occurred have been spun into more. "Stop the Asian Hate" drove me up a wall after the brothel shooting in Atlanta that included several hispanics and a religious sex addict. Now, that probably qualified as an isolated incident, but the Left happily painted it as 'Asian hate' with a a broad stroke brush.
What constitutes a worthy conspiracy is all relative. In context, the goal posts on what is considered 'liberal' and 'conservative' have been moved beyond recognition. Context is key to meaning, and blurring or outright removing context is yet another known facet of the playbook.
As a result, what used to be considered moderate and even common sense is now demonized as far-right and conspiratorial.
What was once considered liberal - open-minded and peace-loving - is now a squirming, swirling cult of social media wanna-be's and gleeful cheaters, parading as revolutionaries, embrancing Malcolm X's "By any means necessary" mantra...raising their Black Power fists in the air, and sporting Che Guevara swag. It must be exhilarating, jousting against the silhouettes of long-since abandoned windmills, and then getting a flurry of thumbs up on social media.
So, where will this all go with Don Lemon and CNN, the Cuomos,..
...and on to Pelosi, BLM, from Treyvon to George Floyd, Fauci and the origins of covid, the White House 'siege', the 'election' of Biden and the sudden blue swing in Georgia, Hillary and Benghazi, Epstein, climate change, that transgender women are in fact women, and of course, the ever-infamous George Soros.
For the minions of the left and center-left to take notice and question themselves or their sources, they have to hear it from an influencer of their own ilk because they are over-committed, and/or heavily reliant upon their instincts to follow, and/or they have such shit for brains that their own critical thinking skills are limited to "pants first, then shoes". No, it's not stupidity, it's vanity. As much as they rave about empathy, kindness and emotional intelligence, this blindspot of desperation for attention is the eye of their storm of emotional errors.
Unfortunately, those who are losing patience with woke society are willing to make concessions in order for them to get a clue from would-be leftish-leaning independent influencers like Joe Rogan, Trevor Noah, Jon Stewart, Russell Brand, and others. You know, those who hate Trump for his ego because in him they see themselves, yet still have enough of their own power to call bullshit on the obvious, especially when it threatens their independence and livelihood.
Much the same way that Dave Chapelle gets recognized as a hero for denying the legitimacy of trans women in "The Closer" and for hilariously calling out Jussie while never being criticized for endorsing the violent riots of BLM in "8:46"...a concession too many conservative talking heads are willing to make in order for the sheeple to tune in and know it's okay to unlock their cheeks from the teet of the tweets from the twits and the twats. Jussie's hoax was obvious, so Dave revels in shaming him for getting caught. But for a mind like Chapelle's, so obvious is the hoax that is BLM, and most importantly for endorsing the bigger agenda it serves. Shame on Dave for being seduced by his ego.
But, it also takes patience waiting for the big picture to fully unravel before our eyes. And it's beginning to look like any day now, ugly Mothra will emerge from this fetid cocoon. And we're all wondering if there's a Godzilla big enough to roll up all of this corruption into the massive span of fuzzy, floppy spotted wings and smoke it. Who will it be? Elon Musk? Ron Desantis? Candace Owens? A 78 year-old Trump? Or will it end up being all of us uniting desperately at the last moment against a Chinese invasion? Is it The Rapture? Aliens? Or is it all just a bad dream? Oh Auntie Em!
I'm pretty sure there are a lot of would-be libs getting rattled at this point, reeling with buyer's regret.
Wow, everything is so expensive, where's a cop when you need one? What's China and Russian up to?
If there are no atheists in a foxhole, we may all be heading towards an ultimate come-to-Jesus moment, one way or another.
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Yusaku Maezawa - 3d body scan suit
This is the suit Yusaku Maezawa's company designed to allow for accurate 3D body scans using a smartphone for online clothing sales. They also have one for measuring feet for shoes.
I proposed an idea for offering 3d body scanning as a service in AT&T retail stores and partnering with major brands to facilitate online clothing sales when I was at AT&T around this same time - 2018. I called it 'body keys'.
About
He was drummer in this band below in '93, skipped college, spun up some businesses and now 46, divorced with one kid. Creating museums of contemporary art.
And now he's going to outerspace
Monday, December 6, 2021
Friday, December 3, 2021
Wednesday, December 1, 2021
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