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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Financial Health: • My chair (Dr. Dan Danzl) is impressively knowledgeable about finances. He recommends to subscribe to Money magazine and read every issue. Over decades, this one behavior will impart a huge amount of knowledge. Take home point is that you must read something regularly, whether it is a book, auditing a course, meeting with and…
Freedom: • Today we celebrate freedom, which can mean different things. So called negative freedom refers to “freedom from” interference with your liberties. The Bill of Rights (first 10 amendments to the constitution) are all essentially about this freedom. But with the Civil War and the preposterous institution of slavery, it was necessary to incorporate…
Stay Fit for Life: • Written in the 80s, the book Fit for Life is full of accurate information about diet. Authors Harvey and Marilyn Diamond were far ahead of their time in describing many concepts. They emphasize eating whole, non-processed foods. They recommend avoiding most food prior to noon (“[only] fruit before noon”). They focus on circadian nutrition, highlighting…
The Best Medicine: • Hopefully you have all seen the movie Patch Adams. This was an accurate account of the physician Patch Adams, who continues to practice medicine.• My amazing wife was able to get us tickets to see him at the Omni last week. What a fearless healer Patch continues to be. Now in his…
