September 19, 2018

Parenting:• I don’t read enough parenting books, partly because like nutrition, it doesn’t seem like there is a right answer on how to raise children. Staying afloat is sometimes the best you can do. One book that seems very balanced and wise is this book by Jon Kabat-Zinn, who basically invented mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR).  • One…

September 12, 2018

Summer is fattening. Don’t do it in winter:• There is a natural rhythm of the body regarding daily nutrition. The simplest way to stay synchronized is to eat only when the sun is out. This takes care of the day to day, but what about seasons of the year? • Start with this post from Bill Lagakos, PhD, author, researcher,…

September 5, 2018

Psychology of Money:• This long piece by Morgan Housel is absolutely full of wisdom on behavioral finance, personal wealth accumulation, and life in general. The beginning recounts stories of Grace Groner and Richard Fuscone. Grace was a secretary who ended up donating $7 million to charity when she died. Richard was a Ivy League educated investment banker…

August 29, 2018

Practice: • Some of the feedback on these emails is how far people feel they are from the ideal, from what we are promoting. The intention of the newsletter is not to make anyone feel behind. The goal is for personal wellness to be a priority. To encourage everyone to do one thing every day that…

August 22, 2018

TR:  • Graham Allison has a new and very important book, Destined for War, about US-China relations. Will cover some of the meat of it in a future newsletter.• But let’s start with now insane Teddy Roosevelt was! In a chapter imagining if China were like the US at the beginning of the 20th Century, Allison points…

August 15, 2018

Light: • Ok, more news on light. First, it appears that on a sub cellular level, blue light is toxic to retinal cells. This storyattempts to translate the original article from Nature. The study used cell cultures, and applied “445–594 nm laser light depending on the experiment” to the cells. Tough to necessarily translate to real life. But…

August 8, 2018

Move: • Ok not the most optimistic data. But The Atlantic reports on a study from JAMA Internal Medicine showing counties in the US where the life expectancy is declining. Eight of the top 10 counties are in Kentucky. The article explains how some of this trend can be explained by opioid overdose deaths. But this similar Atlantic story shows…

August 1, 2018

Wake up: • Stumbled upon this ketogenic coffee drink at Walmart while on vacation. Very cheap way to keep some ketone enhancing substrate around the office or home. They even put a little bit of sea salt in it. Best to mix in blender but works with a spoon. • Sure it is instant coffee with powdered…

July 25, 2018

True Believer: • This book by Eric Hoffer was published in 1951 and concerns mass movements. The narrative itself is quite interesting, covering Nazi methods fresh after WWII, then detailing real-time Soviet practices during the early Cold War. • This is one of those books that is so distilled that every page has several profound quotes,…

July 18, 2018

Eye strain: • “Digital related eye strain.” Check out this NPR article about this problem and what we can do to combat it. Easiest to implement is the 20/20/20 rule. Also, some research suggests that black font on a white or cream computer screen is the healthiest / least-straining way to read.• So this newsletter is using the template…