MedWorm Tags: great

Explaining Aircraft Carriers

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:22:51 +0100

By Justin LoganYesterday, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland made the following comment regarding China’s maiden voyage in the old Varyag carcass it has been tinkering with for over a decade: We would welcome any kind of explanation that China would like to give for needing this kind of equipment. This echoes Donald Rumsfeld’s remarks at the 2005 Shangri-La Dialogue in which he puzzled in quintessentially Rumsfeldian fashion: Since no nation threatens China, one must wonder: * Why this growing investment? * Why these continuing large and expanding arms purchases? * Why these continuing robust deployments? Maybe, like me, the Chinese are reading Aaron Friedberg’s new book on U.S.-China security competition (Friedberg worked on Asia for Vice President Cheney). Perhaps high-ra...

Make a PLAN and Make It Great (video)

Phil Gerbyshak — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 13:50:58 +0100

This is one of my most requested presentations, and though the audio quality isn’t perfect on this, it’s a good sample what I can do in a webinar. It’s especially cool that my friends at ThoughtRock exported this and create a video that I can share with you. I hope you enjoy the video. Recession Proof Your Life: Make a PLAN and Make It Great! from Thought Rock on Vimeo. Driven to bring results to your business, Phil has developed an enlightening and stimulating PLAN for business people and entrepreneurs looking to watch their dreams take off. This distinctive method of pushing beyond your barriers has helped countless people live their lives with passion and focus. Phil has a charming and delightful personality, which brings warmth and personal interaction with his audie...

15 Must Read Lessons from Aristotle

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:52:14 +0100

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. He is one of the most important founding figures in Western philosophy. Aristotle’s writings were the first to create a comprehensive system of Western philosophy, encompassing morality and aesthetics, logic and science, politics and metaphysics. Fifteen lessons from Aristotle: 1. The wise man does not expose himself needlessly to danger, since there are few things for which he cares sufficiently; but he is willing, in great crises, to give even his life – knowing that under certain conditions it is not worthwhile to liv...

ADHD The Great Debate

Life With ADHD — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:00:00 +0100

Medical professionals and parents have debated for years whether this condition actually exists. Parents of hyperactive children are in no doubt this is a very real condition however some medical professionals remain firmly on the fence. The symptoms of the condition known as ADHD are the following; a short attention span, unable to concentrate, forgetful, careless, easily distracted, unable to sit still, excessive talking and impulsive behaviour. Whilst this list is by no means complete, it does sum up the main behavioural aspects of the condition. And therein lies the problem. These are behavioural traits. Some medical professionals believe that because ADHD children do not exhibit an easily treatable symptom then the condition is not a real condition and could be managed anoth...

Andrew Sullivan Has No Idea What He’s Talking about, but I Agree with His Conclusion

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 15:07:17 +0100

Conclusion is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty)

Magna Carta Day

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:05:12 +0100

By Roger PilonThe liberties we Americans enjoy were hard-won over the centuries. Today we mark a major event in that struggle, the day in 1215 when English barons presented King John with a written list of rights they demanded he recognize. Known ultimately as Magna Carta, the Great Charter, it was a compact between the barons and their king, a political effort by subjects to secure their liberty by placing their ruler under the rule of law, thus limiting arbitrary power. The charter has gone through several iterations, but it drew in part from the common law rights, especially rights of property, that judges in the king’s courts had been finding from reason and custom as they decided controversies the king’s subjects brought before them. What Magna Carta did was bring those same right...

On Government Spending and Job Creation

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:35:37 +0100

By Mark A. CalabriaThe standard Keynesian policy proposal for a weak economy is to have the government spend more money, and run deficits to do so. Clearly much of current government spending is being financed by borrowing. So current conditions are not subject to the New Deal critique that it was mostly paid for by taxes, as during the Great Depression. Current federal expenditures have increased about 41% since the housing market peaked in 2006. Has all this government spending generated many jobs? While keeping in mind that correlation is not the same as causality, it is interesting that the trend in government spending and total non-farm employees mirror one another, but not in the way you’d like. The more the government has spent, the more people have lost their jobs...

How To Do Great Work — and A Giveaway!

World of Psychology — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:15:12 +0100

When you’re on the job, you might feel like the last thing you’re doing is meaningful work. Like you’re stuck in a rut and just going through the motions. Email? Check. Phone calls? Check. Data entry? Check. Meeting? Check. Lunch? Check. More email. More calls. Home. Whether or not your days feel this mundane, you still might not be involved in exhilarating, engaging work that makes you happy. In Do More Great Work, Canadian coach Michael Bungay Stanier — founder of the company Box of Crayons — helps readers “stop the busywork, and start the work that matters.” Specifically, the book features a variety of exercises, which Stanier calls maps, and thought-provoking questions that help readers figure out what their own meaningful work is and how to do more of it. (It...

Ben Bernanke: Central Planner

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 24 May 2011 19:15:18 +0100

By Mark A. CalabriaThere’s a great piece in the spring issue of The Independent Review on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke by San Jose State Professor Jeffrey Rogers Hummel. Although a bit long, its well worth the read for anyone wanting to understand both Bernanke’s thinking and his actions during and since the financial crisis. First, Prof. Hummel discusses the differences between Bernanke’s and Milton Friedman’s explanations for the Great Depression. Those that debate whether Bernanke’s actions, especially the quantitative easings, would be approved of by Friedman will get a lot out of this discussion. From this comparison, you get the point that Friedman was concerned about overall credit conditions and liquidity, whereas Bernanke is less focuse...

Extensor Hallucis Longus

Inside Surgery — Tue, 24 May 2011 06:00:16 +0100

The extensor hallucis longus is one of the muscles in the anterior leg that is used to extend the great toe. The proximal attachment (origin) is the fibula and interosseus membrane. The distal attachment (insertion) is the distal phalanx of the great toe. The nerve supply to the muscle is the deep fibular nerve. (Source: Inside Surgery)

Let Europe Be—and Defend—Europe

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 23 May 2011 14:10:00 +0100

By Doug BandowIn the midst of difficult domestic political battles, Barack Obama begins a lengthy European trip today. He should encourage the continent to increase its defense capabilities and take on greater regional security responsibilities. Presidential visits typically result in little of substance. President Obama’s latest trip will be no different if he reinforces the status quo. His policy mantra once was “change.” No where is “change” more necessary than in America’s foreign policy, especially towards Europe. Despite obvious differences spanning the Atlantic, the U.S. and European relationship remains extraordinarily important. The administration should press for increased economic integration, with lower trade barriers and streamlined regulations to encoura...

5 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic

World of Psychology — Sun, 22 May 2011 10:35:44 +0100

A few years back, Health Journal columnist Melinda Beck penned an amazingly accurate and helpful article in the Wall Street Journal about the self-criticism that so often accompanies depression and anxiety. Not only was I delighted that she approached such a difficult and complicated aspect of our illness with compassion and insight, but I was ecstatic to see myself as one of the “experts” mentioned with suggestions on how to silent the annoying voice that says we are incapable, weak, and worthless. Depression and self-criticism, of course, are great companions. Beck writes: Unrelenting self-criticism often goes hand in hand with depression and anxiety, and it may even predict depression. In a study of 107 patients in the latest issue of Comprehensive Psychiatry, David M. Dunkl...

Make your Bucket List – then do 1

Phil Gerbyshak — Fri, 20 May 2011 11:27:40 +0100

One of my favorite movies of all time is The Bucket List starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. The gist, if you haven’t seen it, is figuring out exactly what you want to do before you die. At least that’s the gist most people actually do. Making your bucket list. But really, who cares if you just make a list? That’s not inspiring, and that doesn’t do anything for your life. What does something for your life is simple: Do something! Watch the video Now think about your bucket list. What do you want to do, what do you want to be known for, before you die? What are you waiting for? Go do 1 thing right now. Pick 1 thing, and schedule it NOW! Book that trip. Volunteer. Start your business. Write your book. Do something NOW! Make your Bucket List – Then do 1 t...

Celebrating ‘World Trade Week’ by Remembering Smoot-Hawley

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:39:29 +0100

By Daniel GriswoldCarrying on an annual tradition dating back to President Franklin Roosevelt, President Obama issued a proclamation on Friday declaring this third week in May “World Trade Week.” Of course, every week is world trade week at the Cato Institute’s Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, but in order to do our part as good citizens, we’ve organized a book forum this Tuesday, May 17, at 4 p.m. on a new book by Dartmouth College economist Douglas Irwin, titled, Peddling Protectionism: Smoot-Hawley and the Great Depression. The Smoot-Hawley tariff bill is a fitting subject for any World Trade Week. As we note in the invitation: More than 80 years after its passage, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 still resonates in today’s debate over trade policy. A...

8 Reasons Why Twitter Can Make You Happy

World of Psychology — Sat, 14 May 2011 16:30:58 +0100

I’m a huge fan of Twitter, and I’ve tried to persuade several people to give it a try. (My greatest triumph: convincing my sister to use it. Seeing my sister in my Twitter feed — that makes me very happy.) We’ve all seen how Twitter can play an unprecedented role in world events and in news communication. But on a very personal, routine level, there are several (other) ways in which Twitter can boost your happiness. After all, is it just a coincidence that a blue bird is both the symbol for happiness and the symbol for Twitter? Probably yes, I know, but still, it’s a happy coincidence. 1. Twitter allows you to pursue your passion — even if only in your imagination. A key to a happier life is to have fun – people who regularly have fun are twenty times ...

Stop Waiting, Start Doing

Phil Gerbyshak — Fri, 06 May 2011 13:00:55 +0100

Bad news: The best time to do whatever you’re thinking about doing was yesterday. Good news: The next best time is right now! Of course, there are so many excuses why you can’t do something. You might have… No training No time No energy No resources But there are so many reasons to stop waiting, and start doing: Are you: Doing it for a friend For your spouse/significant other For YOU!!! Because YOU’RE worth it! What’s your excuse? Go ahead…get all your excuses out of your system. Then… Shut up! Do it anyway! For me. For your family. For your customers. For YOU! Because YOU’RE worth it! STOP MAKING EXCUSES! Just do it now. You know where you’re headed. Get started. NOW!! Stop Waiting. Start Doing. Right NOW! (Source: Phil Gerbyshak)

Honoring Your Mom When Your Relationship is Thorny

World of Psychology — Tue, 03 May 2011 11:40:43 +0100

Mother-daughter relationships come in many different stripes. But all have one thing in common: They involve a complicated bond. Nothing brings this to light more than the holidays — especially if your relationship has been strained and shaky. On Mother’s Day, in particular, it can be “hard to figure out a way to honor a mom that has been difficult,” said Linda Mintle, Ph.D, marriage and family therapist and author of I Love My Mother, But…Practical Help to Get the Most Out of Your Relationship. I spoke with Mintle for my article on mother-daughter relationships. (Stay tuned!) And I wanted to share her straightforward and wise advice. So how do you honor your mother when your relationship is thorny? Let’s be honest, most Mother’s Day cards are mushy, nauseatingly so. (My...

Tina Brown and the Economics of Recession

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 21:29:32 +0100

By David BoazTalking about royal weddings on NPR, Tina Brown says that there’s high unemployment in Britain, as there was in 1981, because of Conservative governments’ budget cuts (transcript edited to match broadcast): Of course, the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana occurred three decades ago, but Brown points out that there are plenty of similarities between the two eras. “2.5 million are out of work right now with the budget slashes and all the economic austerity that’s happening in England,” Brown says. “There were actually the same amount of people exactly out of work at the time of Charles and Diana, when Mrs. Thatcher came in and began her draconian moves.” I know that Tina Brown is a journalist, not an economist, but surely she’s h...

Is Libertarianism Selfishness?

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:34:52 +0100

By David BoazThat’s what Michael Gerson, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, writes in the Washington Post. I take a different view in my new column at the Encyclopedia Britannica Blog: Libertarians want to live in what Adam Smith called the Great Society, the complex and productive society made possible by social interaction. We agree with George Soros that “cooperation is as much a part of the system as competition.” In fact, we consider cooperation so essential to human flourishing that we don’t just want to talk about it; we want to create social institutions that make it possible. That is what property rights, limited government, and the rule of law are all about…. The American, and libertarian, belief in freedom is not a “mania,” nor is it “sel...

5 Reasons I’m Excited to Be Joining Turning Minds

Phil Gerbyshak — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:00:00 +0100

As of 8 AM on April 19th, 2011, I am officially part of the team at Turning Minds, and I will serve as the Marketing Technology Strategist, doing many of the same things I’ve done on my own for much of the past 6 years. Don’t worry, I’m not giving up my dream of being an entrepreneur. I’ve simply decided I can help my clients achieve more by working with a small nimble team, and there are TONS of reasons I’m excited to work with the team at Turning Minds. Here are a mere 5 reasons I’m excited to be joining Turning Minds 1) Working with a team – One of the things I enjoyed about corporate America was working on a team of like-minded individuals. I worked by myself for much of the last 11 months since I left corporate America full-time, and there were times I got lonely. That...

11 Motivational Quotes for 2011

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 06:34:35 +0100

Do you know that 25 percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions after one week, and 60 percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolution within six months? According to Tony Schwartz, the average person makes the same New Year’s resolution ten separate times without success. So today I want to give you 11 motivational quotes to keep you motivated in 2011, and help inspire you to achieve your goals. 11 Motivational Quotes for 2011: “There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” –Henry Ford “Men’s best successes come after their disappointments.” –Henry Ward Beecher “Men do less than they ought, unless they do all they can.” –Thomas Carlyle “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot;...

How Abraham Lincoln Used Faith to Overcome Depression

World of Psychology — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:09:22 +0100

Abraham Lincoln is a powerful mental health hero for me. Whenever I doubt that I can do anything meaningful in this life with a defective brain (and entire nervous system, actually, as well as the hormonal one), I simply pull out Joshua Wolf Shenk’s classic, “Lincoln’s Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness.” Or I read the CliffsNotes version: the poignant essay, “Lincoln’s Great Depression” that appeared in The Atlantic in October of 2005. Every time I pick up pages from either the article or the book, I come away with new insights. This time I was intrigued by Lincoln’s faith — and how he read the Book of Job when he needed redirection. I’ve excerpted the paragraphs below from the article on ...

Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and The Great Mystery

Cancer, life, and me — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:36 +0100

I’ll try my best to keep this simple: According to current physics, the empty space we see in outer space is not actually empty. Scientists have figured, through charting stars and galaxy clusters, that the universe is expanding. Space itself is widening and getting larger and larger. This goes against the expectation, which would be that the Continue reading Dark Energy, Dark Matter, and The Great Mystery (Source: Cancer, life, and me)

An unexpected awakening

Cancer, life, and me — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:00:35 +0100

Okay, the last post was definitely a needed rant/venting. Felt good to get it out and return to honesty. BUT… it was more representative of how I felt months ago. Recently, I have begun a real shift in my perception of life, and suffering. I’m what you might call an armchair cosmologist. I absolutely love and am Continue reading An unexpected awakening (Source: Cancer, life, and me)

How can I help you?

Phil Gerbyshak — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:00:46 +0100

Been thinking a lot about direction for this blog, and for my company. Thought I’d better ask the people who read my work what they want to read more about, instead of just thinking about things myself. If you have 15 seconds, take my poll and let me know what you think. Your help will not go unnoticed and will be VERY appreciated by yours truly. I’ll leave the poll open until February 15th, 2011 just in case you want to think about it and then come back and answer. You may select more than 1 answer. Thank you in advance. You may need to click in to my website to get the poll. POLL STARTS BELOW Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll. (Source: Phil Gerbyshak)

10 Quotes to Inspire Creativity

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 06:48:46 +0100

GETTING yourself stuck in a creative rut can completely halt your productivity and hold you back. In my day-to-day, it’s difficult to write about things like credit cards and debt in an engaging way without at least a little creativity. When you find yourself struggling to think of something new and innovative, consider these words from 10 great thinkers. 1. “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” - Scott Adams (American cartoonist) Allowing yourself to make mistakes, without fear of failure, can be liberating for your creativity. This kind of anxiety keeps you from expressing your opinions and ideas, so get rid of it. 2. “Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is ...

Healthcare Spending: Slowest Growth Since The Great Depression

Better Health — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:00:00 +0100

Healthcare spending grew in 2009 at its slowest rate since 1938, according to a report published in Health Affairs. The last time America saw such a slow growth rate on health spending it was still emerging from the Great Depression and hadn’t yet entered World War II. The most recent recession is also the cause for the health spending figures, according to the annual report, released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The report shows that the recession left a deeper impact than previous ones. Healthcare spending grew 4 percent to $2.5 trillion, outpacing the rest of the still recovering economy. Authors wrote that the recession contributed to slower growth in private health insurance spending and out-of-pocket spending by consumers, as well as a reduction in capita...

Banks Are Lending, but to Whom?

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:14:31 +0100

By Mark A. CalabriaA recurring concern we have heard since the financial crisis erupted is that banks are simply not lending, and that this is holding back economic activity. If only banks would lend, the economy would grow. As usual, the truth is a little more complex. Unlike in the Great Depression, and despite about 300 bank failures, the balance sheets and deposits of insured commercial banks and thrifts has been steady, if slowly, expanding throughout the financial crisis and recess. Banks have continued lending during this time; however, they have changed who they are lending to. Over the last two years we have witnessed a massive shift from lending to the private sector to lending to the public. The chart below shows banking business lending and bank holdings of U.S. gover...

Journal of the American Medical Association 2010 (Vol. 304 No. 21)

Fade Library — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:14:42 +0100

Contents Page Fade Fave: Toward an Outcomes-Based Health Care System: A View From the United Kingdom Fade Skinny: In a comprehensive, publicly funded system like the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) there is an overriding imperative to deliver maximum health benefit per pound spent. Quality, effectiveness, and efficiency are the goals. Following a decade of above-inflation increases in NHS funding, the urgent need to reduce the United Kingdom’s national debt means the NHS is entering a sustained period of flat or declining funding, while demand for services continues to increase (from technological progress, an aging population, increasing expectations, and population growth). Striving for value therefore becomes an ethical imp...

How to Come Up With Great Ideas – All the Time

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 06:19:52 +0100

Whatever your career, and whatever your goals in life, ideas are going to matter to you. One great idea could give you that million-dollar business you’ve dreamt of. One great idea could raise thousands of dollars for a charity that you support One great idea could be the perfect present for someone you love. One great idea could change your life. The thing is, you probably don’t have as many great ideas as you’d like. Perhaps you feel unimaginative and unoriginal. You keep hoping that a really good idea will just pop into your head, but that never seems to happen. The good news? Ideas aren’t magic dust sprinkled by the Muses. There’s an awful lot you can do to generate ideas any time you want. Set Aside Quality Time to Think This is the most crucial step. You...

Alone for Thanksgiving, Alone for Christmas

World of Psychology — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:47:12 +0100

The holidays are upon us once again, and for many, it’s a time of the year they spend alone. There are many reasons this occurs, whether it be because we can’t afford to go home, or we have no “home” to travel to. Sometimes we just find ourselves alone for the holidays. I’ve been alone for Thanksgiving, and I’ve been alone for Christmas. Sure, it’s easy to fall into a funk and begin to feel sorry for yourself and your situation. Sometimes it was by choice, and other times it wasn’t. In any case, when I was alone for Thanksgiving, I found a way to make the most of my situation and looked at it with from a very short-term perspective — I may be alone this year, but who knows what will happen by next year. It’s also a great time to d...

Be Extraordinary

Phil Gerbyshak — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:56:22 +0100

I saw this card recently and thought it was just what you needed to PLAY FULL OUT today! I love little reminders like this. What little reminders have popped into your life lately? Are you paying attention or rushing past them? Share yours in the comments. Might be just what someone else needs to. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. (Source: Phil Gerbyshak)

You’re Making Yourself Fat, Not Happy: Here’s How to Dump Your Artificial Lover

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 16:09:35 +0100

Do you know what’s best about a salty bowl of chips, queso and a yummy margarita? They never tell you no, they won’t leave you and, honestly, they don’t care if you’re fat. But what do THEY do for YOU? Do you rise the next morning patting yourself on the back, celebrating your great decision to signal the waitress for the 3rd time you are running low on chips? I doubt it. And if you do, this post probably isn’t for you. But, if you’ve ever eaten any food and thought, “This is better than sex,” I’m talking directly to you. If you want to love yourself more than you love your next French fry, start treating your physical self the way you would treat a Ferrari. Your body is a gift, no matter how big or how small, and it’s yours to have for as long as you take care...

7 Amazing Life Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 06:12:40 +0100

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American philosopher, lecturer, essayist, and poet. He’s probably most known for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. His work has influenced nearly every generation of thinker, writer and poet since his time. So without further adieu, today I want to talk about some of the profound life-lessons we can learn from Emerson. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. 7 Amazing Life Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson: Lesson 1: Aim Above The Mark “We aim above the mark to hit the mark.” To hit the mark, it’s necessary to aim above the mark. If you want to do $100,000 in sales next year, create a plan that allows you to do $150,000. To hit the mark you have to aim higher! Do you aim high when setting your goals? Things seldom go exactly as y...

Great Customer Service

Success Begins Today — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 13:41:25 +0100

It’s Friday and I would like to give a shout out about great customer service and give you a chance to relate your customer service stories in the comments. My wife and I moved to North County San Diego about a year ago. In the process we had to find new restaurants, stores, and other businesses. It’s always hard to give up the great experiences you had in your last location. You just hope to find something similar in the new. One Saturday my wife and I headed out to the town of Vista to look for breakfast and I looked up local restaurants on Yelp. Yelp is a popular web site where people leave reviews of restaurants and other local businesses. A few good ones popped up, but one stood out with great five star reviews so we decided to head on over to discover the Sunrise Café. We were ...

He Just Kept Going

Phil Gerbyshak — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 10:08:00 +0100

The below video is 15 minutes long. It’s worth every second. There’s gold throughout. Thanks to Scott Stratten for being bold enough to stop and for sharing your message. It’s a great reminder for me right now to stop looking at what’s next and to focus on the right now…and ENJOY it! Stop right now…invest 15 minutes, and watch the video! No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. (Source: Phil Gerbyshak)

10 Amazing Success Lessons from Michael Jordan

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 05:37:35 +0100

Michael Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active businessman, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, National Basketball Association (NBA) team. Jordan was extremely instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. His biography on the NBA website states, “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.” It takes a very special person to become the greatest basketball player of all time, so today I want to talk about 10 success lessons from Michael Jordan. 10 Amazing Success Lessons from Michael Jordan: 1. Make It Happen “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” In order to succeed you’re going to have to kick down the door and make it happen on ...

How Herbert Hoover Didn’t End the Depression

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:25:54 +0100

By David BoazJoshua Green writes in the Atlantic, after discussing the Austrian economists’ views in 1929 on what to do about the not-yet-great depression: Herbert Hoover’s Treasury secretary, Andrew Mellon, offered similar counsel, famously urging Hoover to “liquidate” and “purge the rottenness out of the system.” But this failed to stop the catastrophe. That’s true. And you know, here’s a general rule: Absolutely nothing that a treasury secretary says to a president will affect the real economy if the president ignores his advice and does something else. Hoover didn’t cut federal spending, he doubled it. He established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. He propped up wages and prices. Indeed, he launched the New Deal. And Green is right: In the fac...

Meltzer on Looming Inflation

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:41:34 +0100

By David BoazAllan H. Meltzer, a frequent participant in Cato’s annual monetary conferences, warns in the Wall Street Journal that the Federal Reserve may be about to lay the groundwork for another Great Inflation like we saw in the 1970s: The Federal Reserve seems determined to make mistakes. First it started rumors that it would resume Treasury bond purchases, with the amount as high as $1 trillion. It seems all but certain this will happen once the midterm election passes. Then the press reported rumors about plans to raise the inflation target to 4% or higher, from 2%. This is a major change from the Fed’s quick rejection of a higher target when the International Monetary Fund suggested it a few months ago. Anyone can make a mistake, but wise people don’t repeat the s...

Deirdre McCloskey at Cato Unbound

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 14:56:22 +0100

By Jason KuznickiThis month’s Cato Unbound features a lead essay by economist and polymath Deirdre McCloskey. Though she’s been professionally associated with the Chicago School, her ideas are anything but predictable, and she’s been one of the strongest critics of the mainstream of her discipline. Economic activity, she argues, is driven primarily by forces outside of conventional economic theory. Sure, there’s supply and demand, and we all know the story, and there’s nothing terribly wrong with it, at least as far as it goes. Elaborations on the model aren’t wrong either — externalities, transaction costs, asymmetrical information, problems of coordination and public goods — these too are fine, as far as they go. Where she disagrees is in ...

8 Must Read Success Lessons from Dr. Seuss

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 06:01:36 +0100

Theodor Seuss Geisel was a cartoonist and writer. He’s most popular for his children’s books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo. LeSieg and once he wrote under the name Rosetta Stone. Theodor published over 60 children’s books. These books were often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of trisyllabic meter. His most famous books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Eleven television specials, three feature films, and a Broadway musical have been created from adaptations of Theodor’s work. Without further a due, here are 8 lessons from Dr. Seuss. 8 Must Read Success Lessons from Dr. Seuss: 1. Be Who You Are “Be...

When Your Husband Isn’t Like a Wall — He Is a Wall

World of Psychology — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:12:48 +0100

“The Great Wall of China’s attractive, but he’s too thick – my husband is sexier.” – Eija-Riitta Eklöf-Berliner-Mauer, The woman who married the Berlin Wall Do objects have souls? A few weeks ago my laptop’s battery was in trouble and I had to bring it in for a checkup. While the computer was being fixed my Blackberry simply stopped operating. I was frantic. I felt betrayed by the objects I rely on, ‘love’ and care for. “Why is this happening to me?” was my new mantra. One of my friends suggested that Mercury was in retrograde; another asked if I had done something to offend my favorite objects. We laughed, recalling a Woody Allen routine where his appliances are on the fritz and he hits them, and when he goes into the elevator the elevator asks if he...

7 Ways To Get What You Want According to Napoleon

PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 07:56:43 +0100

Napoleon Bonaparte needs no introduction. Widely regarded as the greatest general who ever lived, his exploits are almost the stuff of legend. Like many great people, he is a controversial figure, and some historians regard him as having set back the Economic progress of Europe by a generation, though others dispute this. Clearly, Napoleon was a driven man who aggressively sought power and had a great sense of his own personal ability. Whatever we might think about Napoleon and his legacy, however, he enjoyed enormous success as he built his empire, and much of his thinking has application for us today as we go about the business of building our own lives. ‘A throne is only a bench covered with velvet.’ There is an old fable about an expert archer who could hit the bull’s-eye every t...

Did Layoffs Help Hassan And Weldon Prosper?

Pharmalot — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:01:48 +0100

Eliminating jobs is never easy, but some CEOs suffer less than others when it comes time to living with the consequences. For instance, did you know that the CEOs of the 50 companies that trimmed the most jobs since the latest recession began took home 42 percent more pay than their peers at S&P 500 firms? Who were the layoff leaders? Topping the list was Fred Hassan, the former Schering-Plough ceo, according to a report by the Institute for Policy Studies. Hassan received a $33 million golden parachute when the drugmaker was bought by Merck last year. Meanwhile, 16,000 jobs are being eliminated (background). Hassan’s total 2009 pay of nearly $50 million could cover the average cost of these workers’ jobless benefits for more than 10 weeks. Next up is the king of recalls, ...

The Psychology Of Survival

Better Health — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:00:00 +0100

By ClinkShrink I read this BBC story recently about the Chilean miners trapped for 17 days, who now face months of waiting underground while a rescue tunnel is dug. Although they are all physically well and expected to survive, they face the psychological challenge of waiting for rescue from the cave. This story resonated with me because lately I’ve been hearing a lot about a new book, No Way Down, which was featured on NPR along with some other mountain disaster books. No Way Down covered the story of several teams of mountain climbers who were stranded on K2 when an icefall cut their ropes. Most of the climbers died although a few managed to pick their way back to base camp. Survival stories have always been popular. Entire television series now feature teams of people pitted again...

Get Back on the Bull

Phil Gerbyshak — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:30:00 +0100

Sometimes I fall down. Like a few weeks ago. I fell down, and I hurt my back. It still hurts. A LOT! Life must go on however. There are still things I must do. Pushing through the pain is one of them. Yes, I’ve been to see someone. Nothing is broken. Yes, it’ll heal with time. Most things do. But I had to make the conscious decision to get back up, get back on the bull, and go out into the world every day. I get to choose whether I get up or not. And so do you. Yep, some days are easier than others to choose to get up. And yet still, it’s worth it. It’s worth getting up each day, because of the new possibilities, of the new hope that the next day might be the best day. Because if you don’t look back, usually the very next day IS the very best day, of the rest of your l...

Introducing Guideposts to Happiness

World of Psychology — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 10:05:14 +0100

I’m pleased to introduce Guideposts to Happiness, our new blog about helping you find tidbits of wisdom and happiness in your life, with Will Meecham. Will Meecham, MD, MA comes to us by way of his blogging for the excellent Tom Wootton at Bipolar Advantage. He was a surgeon that suffered the loss of his career at age 42. This forced him to explore the popular and technical literature surrounding mood disorders and trauma. Combining his study with professional help, he gradually gained ground against these difficulties. We’re happy to welcome him to his own blog here at Psych Central, to help people understand how to navigate through their own mood concerns and unexpected traumas that life throws at us. He hopes to offer his own ideas, reflections and advice about how to find t...

Alec Baldwin To Narrate National Geographic Series: One More Reason To Love This Man

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:10:22 +0100

We love Tina Fey, but Alec Baldwin plays near equal part in getting us to sit down for our weekly dose of 30 Rock. (OK, maybe sometimes more than weekly.) The actor will also lend his suave voice to the National Geographic channel for their upcoming series, “Great Migrations”, a seven-part series shot over the course of three years that follows the journey for survival of millions of species. We can’t wait to hear Baldwin’s voice, and either can National Geographic Channel Executive Producer Char Serwa, who says, ” ‘Great Migrations’ is more than stunning imagery; it presents incredible stories about survival, family and life, and I can’t think of a better voice to take viewers along on these journeys than Alec Baldwin,” said . “His skill at ...

Best of Our Blogs: July 30, 2010

World of Psychology — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:29:46 +0100

Boy where did July go? It’s hard to believe there’s just one more month left in summer. Being that we’re more than half way through 2010, it’s a great time to reflect. Have you thought about your New Year’s resolutions and life goals lately? I have. In fact, it’s all I have been thinking about recently. I’ve been wrestling with the battle between accepting the present while working on improving myself for the future. What stirred up this sudden focus on self-reflection? I’m enrolled in an online writing course and something the instructor said really hit home. She said that our unconscious drives our behavior and this includes how we treat others, ourselves and even how we write. In fact, if we are not aware of it, it can sabotage our life. T...

Attributional Divide – Top 10

The Situationist — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:01:43 +0100

This article, the first of a multipart series, argues that a major rift runs across many of our major policy debates based on our attributional tendencies: the less accurate dispositionist approach, which explains outcomes and behavior with reference to people’s dispositions (i.e., personalities, preferences, and the like), and the more accurate situationist approach, which bases attributions of causation and responsibility on unseen influences within us and around us. Given that situationism offers a truer picture of our world than the alternative, and given that attributional tendencies are largely the result of elements in our situations, identifying the relevant elements should be a major priority of legal scholars. With such information, legal academics could predict which indiv...

Behind Every Great EMT…

The EMT Spot — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:35:38 +0100

Call it a curiosity. I wanted to know how the EMT Spot readers would finish the sentence, “Behind every great EMT…” So I asked. I asked on twitter. I asked on Facebook. I even asked right here at the blog. And the answers poured in. Your responses represented the full spectrum of personalities that inhabit our workplace. Their were poignant responses, cynical responses and a bunch of funny ones. The responses made me smile and frown and think. Within this list of answers you’ll find feedback from 30+ year EMS veterans and newbies just getting their EMS feet wet. Everyone is represented. And the responses are telling. I’m rather proud of how this little experiment turned out. I hope you find these responses as enjoyable and thought provoking as I did. Thanks fo...

Eleanor Roosevelt on Gossip

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:00:08 +0100

Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. – Eleanor Roosevelt Post from: BlissTree Eleanor Roosevelt on Gossip (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3)

The Doorbell is Dead

Phil Gerbyshak — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 11:52:34 +0100

What follows is a great guest post from Ed Muzio, Author of Make Work Great: Supercharge Your Team, Reinvent the Culture, and Gain Influence — One Person at a Time Literally, my doorbell is dead. It’s one of those battery operated wireless ones. I think it got some water in it, and it doesn’t work. Plus, my front door is fifteen feet behind a locked gate, so there’s no way to knock. Conventional wisdom says, if you drop by my house unannounced, you’re not getting in. It’s been this way for over a year and it has yet to be a problem. I should perhaps be embarrassed by this, but I recently realized why it really doesn’t matter, while giving a friend a ride across town. When my car stopped in front of our destination — a relative’s house ...

Paul Bunyan and His Babe: Photo of the Day

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:00:12 +0100

June 27 or 28 was Paul Bunyan Day (the date varies regionally). While the fictional lumberjack isn’t usually known as the most eco-friendly hero, his myths include more than just chopping down forests. Legend has it that Bunyan created the Grand Canyon, the Great Lakes, and Mount Hood. Photo from Flicker user get directly down Post from: BlissTree Paul Bunyan and His Babe: Photo of the Day (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3)

Goodbye – Hello

Phil Gerbyshak — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:05:06 +0100

Today is my last official day as an associate in corporate America. I spent almost 9 years as a vice president of information technology at a financial services company, leading the IT Help Desk for 10 direct reports in support of 2500 associates and however many clients we have using our online products. While I was never the most technical guy, I was the person who made sure our customers were happy. Every day I was at work, I gave things 100% of what I had, no matter what else was going on in my life. I’m going in today, my last day, to take care of business…again. My job was simple: To help our IT organization increase employee & customer engagement. To be unafraid to screw their computer up, because they knew our IT department could fix just about anything they did to their c...

Patient Follow-Up: What Doctors Can Learn From Dentists

Better Health — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:33:07 +0100

I have to give my dentist credit. He and his staff know when I am due for a cleaning and call me to schedule an appointment without fail. They also call to remind me the day before an appointment. Many dentists, I understand, do similar kinds of things for their patients. As a patient, I like being reminded — it’s a great service. I also like the fact that someone’s looking out for me. From a business perspective it makes a lot of sense as well. Fewer “no shows,” more cleanings, more billings, and so on. It’s too bad that more physicians don’t routinely follow up with their patients, particularly when it really counts. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap* (Source: Better Health)

5 Business Lessons I Learned from Karaoke with Chris Brogan, David Armano and Jeremy Wright

Phil Gerbyshak — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:11:00 +0100

I just got back from a fantastic weekend at Business School for Bloggers and other social media types in Chicago, Illinois. While the keynotes were dynamite, the panel discussions lively, and the mastermind groups extremely helpful, I’m not writing about any of those today. I’m writing instead of what happened Saturday night at the Blue Frog in downtown Chicago. I’m writing about Karaoke! For those unfamiliar with karaoke, it’s where someone gets up to sing the words to a song by a famous artist. It’s popular in lots of places, and I learned Saturday it is WAY popular in social media circles. Now I know why. What follows are the lessons I learned Saturday, and the way I’ll be applying them to my business. If you use them, they’ll help you too! Get your friends involve...

You Know You're Unwell If … The "Garbage Patch" Doesn't Make You Want to Reduce Your Plastic Waste

Genetics and Health — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:03:39 +0100

The “Great Garbage Patch” – a floating island of garbage (or “garbage swill”) the size of Texas – is an accumulation of plastic in the Pacific ocean, where the ratio of plastic to sea life is 6:1. If you’re not already reconsidering your waste habits for Earth Week, this may make you rethink your plastic bag, soda bottle, or styrofoam cup: Post from: BlissTree You Know You're Unwell If … The "Garbage Patch" Doesn't Make You Want to Reduce Your Plastic Waste (Source: Genetics and Health)

Felony Charges for Recording a Plainclothes Officer

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:23:42 +0100

By David RittgersYesterday I wrote about the University of Maryland student beaten by police and falsely charged with assault during a post-game celebration. I concluded with a warning that a law barring citizens from taking photos or videos of law enforcement officers (such as those in force in Great Britain) would have prevented the false charges and beating from coming to light. I did not know that Maryland was already heading that direction. Video: // < ![CDATA[ // < ![CDATA[ DayPortPlayer.newPlayer({articleID:"22384",accSite:"WMAR",accPos:"CCTVI.NEWS.LOCAL",categoryID:"14",rootCategory:"",domain:"wmar.web.entriq.net",playerInstanceID:"24FAD9E0-DC70-2532-414F-7E6F051C4C2F",videoAdConDefID:"2",videoAdObjectID:"4",bannerAdObjectID:"5"}); // ]]> Anthony Graber was riding his motorcycle...

Cutting Government Spending in a Recession

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:23:03 +0100

By Tad DeHavenOne of the topics Chris Edwards will be discussing with Glenn Beck this evening (5:00 EST, Fox) is the “Not-So-Great Depression” of 1920-21. Cato Senior Fellow Jim Powell notes that President Warren G. Harding inherited from his predecessor Woodrow Wilson “a post–World War I depression that was almost as severe, from peak to trough, as the Great Contraction from 1929 to 1933 that FDR would later inherit.” However, instead of calling for bigger government to right the economy, as President Obama did upon inheriting George Bush’s mess, Harding pushed for spending and tax cuts. The result? With Harding’s tax and spending cuts and relatively non-interventionist economic policy, GNP rebounded to $74.1 billion in 1922. The number of unemployed fell to 2.8 million�...

Mental Illness Cured

World of Psychology — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:55:36 +0100

After working on these issues for the past 150 years, Psych Central is pleased to announce a final, simple cure for mental illness. “Yes, it’s been a long-time in the making, but we finally figured out how to cure mental illness,” said Founder and CEO of Psych Central, Dr. John Grohol. “The final push came 6 months ago, when we realized we had not only discovered the single mental illness gene, but how to deactivate it with simple products found in most people’s homes.” The cure comes on the heels of over 150 years of mental illness being recognized as something needing treatment. Serious mental disorders — things such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety and panic, ADHD — have long had a significant, negative impact in peo...

When Banks Go Bad

Donna Trussell — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:16:06 +0100

New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. When Banks Go Bad. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, economy, great depression, political cartoon, recession, wall street (Source: Donna Trussell)

Oh, by the Way, Dr. Obama, CODE BLUE

Donna Trussell — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:55:09 +0100

New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Oh, by the Way, Dr. Obama, CODE BLUE. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, economy, great depression II, health care reform, obama, political cartoon, unemployment (Source: Donna Trussell)

Foreplay before Play

Recovery Is Sexy.com — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:14:00 +0100

This article may help stir desires for pleasures foregone or forgotten. This is true for straights, gays and lesbians. Preparation is key, so be prepared. That’s a good lesson for life in general and a vital lesson for sex. Great sex isn’t just penetration – the build-up is a very important part. In fact most women can’t reach orgasm without it. Foreplay makes the whole thing last much longer and, to be frank, is really rather good. If just the thought of sex is enough to get you raring, slow down a bit – your partner may want to take a little more time. Women generally take longer to become sexually aroused than men; the fire needs to be stoked. Try and keep foreplay going until you both just can’t wait for penetration. Foreplay will increase the chances of org...

The New Populism

Donna Trussell — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:04:55 +0100

New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. The New Populism. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: great recession, jobless, obama, recession, unemployment (Source: Donna Trussell)

Get Going – Get Growing

Phil Gerbyshak — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:39:00 +0100

I received this e-mail and photo from Kirk Weisler a few weeks ago. It reminds me why I keep writing and doing what I’m doing, even when I don’t feel like. Some young men approached me with a request on how to get started on the road to leadership excellence and success in life. Of course, your “10 Ways to Make it Great!” book was the perfect primer. It helped to facilitate discussion around goals and goal writing, identifying and using your strengths, leadership readership, the 80/20 rule and more. They all left with a copy and commitment to get going…and get growing! Thanks Phil (Source: Phil Gerbyshak)

7 Tips for Making the Most of Online Support Groups

World of Psychology — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:01:20 +0100

Online support groups can be a great source of emotional support and valuable health information you won’t find on any website from the National Institute of Mental Health or others. Some people are a little leery of joining an online support group, however. Others don’t quite understand what benefit they may gain from joining one. Still others understand a support group’s benefits, but feel like they still don’t gain as much from joining one as they had hoped. Your experience in an online support group will inevitably vary. But these tips may help you get the most from your experience, and keep your expectations in check. 1. Take what you need, leave the rest. Many people come into an online support group with their story, asking a specific question about treatment...

The 70s certainly weren’t ALL bad. R.I.P. Lindsay Cullen.

My journey with AIDS — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:10:34 +0100

Yesterday I learned of the death, on New Year’s Eve, of one of my favourite high school teachers. A reporter from The Gleaner, the local small-town newspaper, contacted me when she saw that I had written a letter which mentioned Lindsay Cullen a while back. I was a student of his from approximately 1972 to [...] (Source: My journey with AIDS)

Global Markets Keep U.S. Economy Afloat

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 19:02:52 +0100

By Daniel GriswoldThree items in the news this week remind us why we should be glad we live in a more global economy. While American consumers remain cautious, American companies and workers are finding increasing opportunities in markets abroad: Sales of General Motors vehicles continue to slump in the United States, but they are surging in China. The company announced this week that sales in China of GM-branded cars and trucks were up 67 percent in 2009, to 1.8 million vehicles. If current trends continue, within a year or two GM will be selling more vehicles in China than in the United States. James Cameron’s 3-D movie spectacular “Avatar” just surpassed $1 billion in global box-office sales. Two-thirds of its revenue has come from abroad, with France, Germany, and Russia the lea...

Addicted Lawyers & Recovery

Recovery Is Sexy.com — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:38:40 +0100

Addicted lawyers can overcome barriers to recovery Robert started drinking at age 18 and was an alcoholic by the time he entered law school. “I managed to get my degree and go to work for a Wall Street firm. After that I changed jobs every two years or less. I just couldn’t hang on to one. Nobody ever mentioned drinking to me. But I’m sure that with every job I lost, drinking was the main reason.” Images of hard-headed, hard-drinking lawyers abound in popular culture. These images make a point: The professional status granted by a law degree offers no immunity from addiction. The same can be said for people in other prominent professions, such as physicians, pilots and politicians. In fact, the rate of addiction for attorneys may exceed that for the general population. In 2...

Heckuva Jobs Summit, Obama

Donna Trussell — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:50:09 +0100

New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Heckuva Jobs Summit, Obama. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, great recession, jobless, jobs summit, obama, political cartoon, unemployment (Source: Donna Trussell)

Cost Overruns: It’s the Same in Britain

Cato-at-liberty — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:25:20 +0100

The Taxpayers’ Alliance has published a new study examining a sample of 240 government capital projects in Britain, including weapons systems, highway projects, computer upgrades, health care spending, and other items. The results mirror the serious cost overrun problems we have in the U.S. federal government. The Alliance study found that 32 percent of projects sampled had cost overruns, while 24 percent came in under budget, but that the projects with overruns were generally much larger. As a result, the average net cost overrun on all the projects was 38 percent. Thus, when the government says that a new project will cost taxpayers 1 billion UK pounds, on average it will actually cost them 1.38 billion. The study also explores the reasons why UK government projects run into troub...

Off to See the Job Fairy

Donna Trussell — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:50:03 +0100

New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on AOL’s Politics Daily. Off to See the Job Fairy. Posted in Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, great recession, job fair, jobless recovery, obama job summit, political cartoon, unemployment (Source: Donna Trussell)

Make a PLAN and Make It Great – CA style

Phil Gerbyshak — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:26:00 +0100

Recently I spent a week in California speaking to 5 HDI chapters to share points from my book 10 Ways to Make It Great! Every time I do the presentation, I mix it up, re-do parts of my PowerPoint slides, and think about things a little differently. What follows is the presentation for those who wanted to see it. It’s meant to be delivered, not to stand alone, but I think you’ll get the big points. Recession Proof Your Life – Make a PLAN and Make It Great (CA version) View more presentations from Phil Gerbyshak. A few things I’ve learned from giving presentations that may be helpful if you use PowerPoint to do presentations. Less is more – By less, I mean less TEXT. Don’t stuff slides full of text, just add a point and a photo and talk to the photo. It makes sure people pay...

Fed Opposed by Left and Right

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:28:21 +0100

On its front page today, the Washington Times reports that expanded powers for the Federal Reserve are being opposed by “odd allies.” The Fed’s imperial over-reach for additional regulatory powers is being opposed by Democrats and Republicans, and liberals and conservatives alike. As well it should be. As Senator Shelby observed, “Anointing the Fed as the systemic-risk regulator will make what has proven to be a bad bank regulator even worse.” The regulation of financial services failed conspicuously to prevent the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The Fed failed most conspicuously as it was charged with oversight of all the major banks, including notably Citigroup and Bank of America. Bank regulation now functions to insulate banks f...

Our medical care is great

Dr. Needles Medical Blogs — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:14:00 +0100

Is there anything good about the American healthcare system? In a mad dash to fix our ailing health-care system, we are destroying parts of our health system that has worked very well.As a medical physician for over 51 years, I strive to give you the best medical information on controversial medical subjects, and help your read betwwen the lines. You must come to your own conclusions. I have no ties to any organization, pharmaceutical, or lobby group. As an practicing medical acupuncturist since 1982, I find western medicine and medical acupuncture are very complimentary. This results in astounding healing in pain management, addictions to cigarettes and food, and a host of other maladies. Visit drneedles is blogging" at the end of each blog for a complete alphabetical list of all my blogs...

Weekend Links

Cato-at-liberty — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:48:46 +0100

Cato v. Heritage on the Patriot Act, Round II. Today’s topic: “Where are the demonstrated examples of abuses of liberties because of the Patriot Act? Are there any provisions of the law that civil libertarians would find acceptable?” Comparing the Great Depression to the current recession: Did we not learn anything? Re-examining the U.S. alliance with Japan: “The current relationship remains trapped in a world that no longer exists.” The human cost of delayed economic reform in India: “With earlier reform, 14.5 million more children would have survived, 261 million more Indians would have become literate, and 109 million more people would have risen above the poverty line.” How the free market can save health care. Podcast: What we shou...

Wednesday Links

Cato-at-liberty — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:33:57 +0100

Why there’s no way to enforce a ban on texting while driving. How onerous financial rules will only delay economic recovery and dampen long-term growth. It’s time to start over on health care reform: “If you’re going the wrong way down a road, the answer isn’t to step on the gas, but to turn around.” Is the current recession the worst since the Great Depression? You might be surprised… When “history” dials the wrong number. Podcast: Will the GOP of 2010 Be led by ideas? (Source: Cato-at-liberty)

The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:31:56 +0100

The new book Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding by Marianne Neifert, M.D., is a wonderful resource for pregnant women and women who are currently breastfeeding. It contains comprehensive, up-to-date information in an easy to read format. It’s refreshing to see evidence- and practice-based breastfeeding recommendations from a doctor. While most physicians receive very little education in breastfeeding, Dr. Neifert has many years of experience practicing breastfeeding medicine as a pediatrician, co-founder of one of the very first breastfeeding centers in the United States, and co-founder of the Denver Mothers’ Milk Bank (among a long list of credentials, not the least of which is having breastfed her own five children!) The book strikes the perfect balanc...

Breastfeeding Late-Preterm Infants

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:07:21 +0100

Today’s guest post comes from Marianne Neifert, M.D., author of the new book Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding. Just a Few Weeks Early Breastfeeding Challenges in Late-Preterm Infants Marianne Neifert, M.D. Until recently, babies born a few weeks early — between 34 and 36 weeks gestation — were referred to as near term infants. However, the designation, near term, implies that an infant is almost term or almost fully mature, and the misnomer has often caused health professionals and parents to underestimate the medical risks in this large, vulnerable population of infants. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that infants born at 34, 35, or 36 weeks gestation be referred to as late-preterm infants to emphasize that these babi...

Learning from Trade Wars Past

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:53:47 +0100

David Rockefeller, the former chairman and CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank, makes a compelling historical case in today’s New York Times for pursing free trade policies. Rockefeller has been around long enough to remember the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill of 1930 and the Great Depression that followed. In an op-ed piece titled, “Present at the Trade Wars,” he writes: I lived through the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression that followed it, and I saw that there was no direct cause and effect relationship. Rather, there were specific governmental actions and equally important failures to act, often driven by political expediency, that brought on the Depression and determined its severity and longevity. One critical mistake was America’s retreat from international trade. This n...

Borlaug the Great

Cato-at-liberty — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 21:38:05 +0100

Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution, has died at 95. Ron Bailey calls him “the man who saved more human lives than anyone else in history.” In an as-yet-unpublished letter to the New York Times, Don Boudreaux reflects: By saving millions of people from starvation, green-revolution father Norman Borlaug arguably has done more for humanity than has any other human being of the past century (”Norman Borlaug, 95, Dies; Led Green Revolution,” Sept. 13). Yet unlike Sen. Kennedy’s, his death will go relatively unnoticed. He’ll certainly not be canonized in the popular mind. Alas, in our world, melodramatic loud-mouths thunder to and fro in the foreground, doing little of any value while stealing most of the credit for civilization. Meanwhile, in ...

How to Write a Eulogy

Phil Gerbyshak — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:31:00 +0100

One of the chapters of my book 10 Ways to Make It Great is “begin with the end in mind” where I discuss thinking about your last days on earth, and where I encourage folks in my speaking engagements to write their eulogy. I don’t get very descriptive about how, so when I got this article to share with you, I thought it would be be helpful in thinking about this. How to Write a Eulogy Guest article by Roberta Temes Ph.D., Author of Solace: Finding Your Way Through Grief and Learning to Live Again Are you preparing a eulogy? Here’s some help: It is an honor to commemorate the life of a person who has recently died. The eulogy serves many purposes for those in the audience: It fulfills the human need for ceremony to mark an occasion; the death should not go unrecognized. It co...

Win The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding 1-2-3 — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:08:59 +0100

Now is your chance to win a copy of the new breastfeeding book Great Expectations: The Essential Guide to Breastfeeding which has come out just in time to celebrate National Breastfeeding Awareness Month. Author Marianne Neifert, MD, is well qualified to write a breastfeeding guide in light of her experience as a pediatrician, co-founder of the Denver Mothers’ Milk Bank, founding member of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Breastfeeding. In an easy-to-read format packed with helpful information, the book addresses everything a nursing mother needs to know, including getting ready for breastfeeding, the first weeks, breastfeeding problems, adjusting to parenthood, and working and breastfeeding. How to Enter to Win a Cop...

APA: Website Design Tips Circa 1997

World of Psychology — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:32:50 +0100

Since I decided not to attend this year’s annual convention of American psychologists (held, ironically, in Toronto this year), I’ve been following their blog. This is the first year the APA has done a blog about the convention, 10 years after blogs become popular. I guess better late than never is the theme. And I can’t help but think that’s the theme for some of the approved talks, like this cutting-edge talk about Enhancing Your Web Site. I’m sorry, but really? I don’t mean to be critical, but this is the kind of advice I’d expect to see (and that I think I actually gave to a previous convention) circa 1997. Not 2009. You could’ve saved yourself the 50 minute talk with it being boiled down to: Website design is like any other professional...

Bernanke’s Part in the Housing Bubble

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:19:43 +0100

Recent weeks have seen a swirl of speculation over whether President Obama will or will not re-appoint Ben Bernanke to the Chairmanship of the Federal Reserve Board, when his current term as Chair expires in January 2010. Almost all of the debate has centered on his actions as Chairman. This narrow focus misses an important piece: his actions, and words, as a Fed governor during the build-up of the housing bubble. What should have been Bernanke’s greatest strength as a Fed governor and later chair, his understanding of monetary theory and his knowledge of the Great Depression, has ended up being a weakness. While correct in his analysis of the role of “debt deflation” — where the deflation increases the real burden of debts and correspondingly weakens the balance s...

Smoke or $h!t gets in your eye!

Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:46:00 +0100

This study interested me for several reasons, the first of these was that it involved a hotly debated environmental detoxification gene which has been tested for by numerous nutrigenetics companies for years now. The second reason it interested me is because it dealt with a population who knows that there family can get cancer when exposed to smoking. I have always wondered for years why there are these families out there who have multiple members with lung cancer, yet everyone in the family seems to keep on puffing. Are these families full of ignorant people who can't put 2 and 2 together despite years of public health campaigns? Are the genetically or environmentally predisposed to smoking? Does the family have some weird death wish set of genes?I have always wondered why they do what th...

The Age of Innocence

World of Psychology — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:10:56 +0100

You know, I can still remember being very young and how much fun it was. Or at least I think I remember it being fun. I felt safe, lacking stress or pressure, and was interested in what the great outdoors had to reveal. Now, you have to know that I lived in a pretty nice neighborhood, where the family ate dinner together, we all went to church on Sunday, and where it was OK to play in the street, ride your bicycle, climb trees and build forts. If you skinned your knee, the neighbor called your mom, and by the time you got home she had the bandage and tincture of iodine ready. I did my homework, the dishes, and played. Period. Oh, yeah, I had my sports (I rode horses), played golf, figure-skated, bowled, played badminton and croquet, and was on the rifle team. But did I run from activity t...

You're missing out on ontologies and museums by staying here...

Systems Biology & Bioinformatics — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:09:50 +0100

Just another gentle reminder that I'm no longer blogging about science, ontologies, data integration, etc on Vox. I've moved back to The Mind Wobbles at Wordpress. If you're still here, and not there, then you're missing posts covering the latest... Read and post comments | Send to a friend (Source: Systems Biology & Bioinformatics)

Echoes of Smoot-Hawley

Cato-at-liberty — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:30:54 +0100

President Barack Obama appears to have learned something compared to candidate Obama: protectionism isn’t to America’s advantage. Unfortunately, it is not clear that Congress has learned the same lesson. Three free trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration remain in limbo, while no one is pushing to reinstate the president’s so-called fast track negotiating authority. And past protectionist actions are now bearing ill fruit. The “stimulus” bill required that construction money be spent in the U.S. Although the provision was amended in response to foreign criticism, some Canadian firms have been adversely affected. So Canadian cities have begun boycotting American products. Reports Reuters: Canadian municipal leaders threatened to retali...

Review: You Don't Have to Be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook

Diabetes Daily — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:00:00 +0100

When David told me that we were getting a diabetes cookbook in the mail to review, I was hesitant. I was expecting a cookbook full of sugar-substitutes and philosophies in cooking very different than my own. When it arrived, David plopped it down in front of me and said to have at it. The book is called "You Don't Have to Be Diabetic to Love This Cookbook" by Andrew Friedman... (Source: Diabetes Daily)

Chilling warning to parents from top neuroscientist

badscience — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:49:18 +0100

Edit midday Saturday: I’ve just read the Guardian version and it’s been cut a bit, whole chunks missing, and bits rewritten. This is the best reason to have a blog. Anyway, if Baroness Greenfield responds - and naturally I hope she will, as there is a great deal more to say on this topic - [...] (Source: badscience)

Recession? Mental Health Use Has Doubled

World of Psychology — Thu, 14 May 2009 18:00:14 +0100

While a recession has been bad for health products and services in general, it’s been a boon for mental health industry. Data comes from a survey of 3,307 adults surveyed once in January and again in April 2009. The survey found that people actually spending and using various health services and products — primarily the use of prescription drugs, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, physician services, dental services, and health/personal care goods — fell during that time period. During the same time period, demand for psychiatric and mental health services nearly doubled — from 4 percent in January to 7 percent in April. Job loss, loss of your home, and lack of discretionary income likely drives more people to seek out help for feeling depressed, anxious or other em...

How Protectionism Crashed the World Economy…and How to Stop It This Time Around

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:41:00 +0100

A coalition of more than 70 groups around the world, from Canada to Brazil to Kyrgyzstan to Germany to China to Japan to Kenya, has joined together to stop the dangerous stirrings of protectionism. The FreedomToTrade.org coalition (coordinated internationally by the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and the International Policy Network) has circulated a petition (signed by over 1,000 economists and thousands of others) and is now producing documentaries to alert the public to the dangers posed by protectionism. This one is on the role the Smoot-Hawley Tariff played in turning a serious recession into the Great Depression. The mini-documentary is also being made available in 12 other languages. The Spanish version will be available on Cato’s Spanish-language project, ElCato.or...

Winners of Smile Essential Package

A Hearty Life — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 17:23:13 +0100

Congratulations to juedy, Amanda, and Lorri S! They are the winners of our Smile Essential Package from Arm & Hammer. What a great prize this is. I was just reading today that dental work and a great smile can aid in a person’s self esteem. Isn’t that the truth? If you feel confident in your smile, you will be more confident in how your interact with other people. If you’re always worried about your teeth, then it will reflect in how your talk, laugh, and engage in the world around you. Image: sxc.hu. (Source: A Hearty Life)

Congress Aims To Combat ‘Nature-Deficit Disorder’

World of Psychology — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 14:56:52 +0100

Midweek Mental Greening Despite my thoughts about how some technological advances can help boost your mental health, ideally I think it’s best for people to spend as much time outdoors as possible. New friend requests, message alerts, and the hum of a computer can’t hold a candle to fresh air, sunlight, and the smell of newly cut grass. Is this why, after it won in the House but failed to pass overall last year, the “No Child Left Inside Act” is getting ready to be reintroduced to the House and Senate? Perhaps. That, and the idea (or fact, depending on who you’re talking to) that America’s children are becoming increasingly detached from the outside (i.e. natural) world – they’re coming close to or already suffering from “Nature-Deficit Disorder” – according to a rec...

Chuck Schumer Endorses Hoover Plan

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 23:56:40 +0100

On Meet the Press last Sunday, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Those on the hard right say, “Cut government spending, let’s go back to the old Reagan days.” Well, the last president who did this when we were in this type of situation was Herbert Hoover. Herbert Hoover said the government should do nothing when we were in a recession, not a depression. We did nothing and it related [sic] to a depression. Reality check: Did President Hoover cut federal spending during the recession that became a depression? Not by a long shot. Source: OMB Federal spending was $3.1 billion (those were the days!) in 1929, the year Hoover took office and the stock market crashed. It rose modestly for two years, then shot up in 1932. It dropped a bit in nominal terms in 1933, though def...

The Great Obama Straddle: Oxymoronic Stem Cell Speech

Secondhand Smoke — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 02:41:00 +0100

I'm finally getting around to reading President Obama's stem cell speech. It contains the usual bromides about how we are in danger of falling behind in science, yadda, yadda, yadda. But it also seems oddly oxymoronic to me. First he said: I can also promise that we will never undertake this research lightly. We will support it only when it is both scientifically worthy and responsibly conducted. We will develop strict guidelines, which we will rigorously enforce, because we cannot ever tolerate misuse or abuse. And we will ensure that our government never opens the door to the use of cloning for human reproduction. It is dangerous, profoundly wrong, and has no place in our society, or any societyBut then in the very next paragraph, he said: This Order is an important step in advancing the...

The Valentines Date

AspieWeb.net — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:37:29 +0100

So last night Kate and I had our valentines day a bit early, and kind of unplanned - but it was awesome, and it included some support from friends to deal with the overwhelming crowd - without them knowing they were supporting us. Kate and I have been going to church together for quite some time, [...] This is an excerpt from an article on AspieWeb.net, A blog writen by an Autistic Blogger. (Source: AspieWeb.net)

What Did the New Deal Do?

Cato-at-liberty — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:12:20 +0100

There has been much recent debate about whether or not President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies increased the nation’s economic pain during the Great Depression or led to its end. In today’s Cato Daily Podcast, Regulation Magazine managing editor Thomas A. Firey reveals why erroneous stories about the effects of the New Deal survive despite decades of economic research that tell a different, more nuanced story: Listening to the fight today among commentators on the left and the right talking about the New Deal and making various claims about it, as far as a stimulus—they’re almost all wrong, and what’s most disturbing to me as an economic historian is this is actually pretty well-plowed ground, so I don’t know how they can be wrong and how no one’s calli...

Making the Switch to Web-based Medical Practice Management

EMR and HIPAA — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 08:01:55 +0100

I recently invited the President and Owner of Great Acclaim LLC to do a guest post for this blog talking about the benefits of switching to a web based medical practice management. The hope was to illustrate the increased reimbursement that can be achieved by using a well managed practice management software (or SAAS - Software as a Service). This blog has focused a lot on EMR and EHR, but hasn’t focused enough on the benefits of an electronic practice management service. The following guest post from Dan Williams will hopefully shed some more light on the benefits of a web based medical practice management implementation. Guest Post by Dan Williams Physicians face an array of options linked with the decision to switch to Web-based practice management solutions. Like EMR implementati...

Did the New Deal ‘Help’?

Cato-at-liberty — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:09:25 +0100

While Barack Obama’s economics team hammers out its $800 billion fiscal stimulus plan, the commentariat is battling over the effectiveness of what some consider the prototype stimulus package, the New Deal.* The suppressed (and problematic) conclusion to all this punditry seems to be: Because government spending under the New Deal helped/didn’t help to end the Great Depression, the Obama stimulus plan will/won’t help to end the current recession. One of the opening salvos was this exchange between George Will (anti-New Deal) and Paul Krugman (pro). More recently, New York Times editorial board member Adam Cohen (pro) wrote this column, responding to an op-ed by former Business Week bureau chief Andrew Wilson (anti) in The Wall Street Journal. So who’s right? Did...

Paradise Island Caretaker Wanted. No Experience Needed.

Healthbolt — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:02:37 +0100

I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve just found my dream job - getting paid to live on an beautiful island in a luxurious villa for six months. The money’s really good, the climate is perfect, and all I’ll have to do is wander around the local area, exploring all it has to offer and report back weekly via blogs, photo diaries, video updates and media interviews. I’d all have to collect the mail, feed the fish, and clean the pool. No, I’m not making this up. It’s ‘fair dinkum’ as the Aussies would say, aimed to promote Queensland, and in particular the Great Barrier Reef and Hamilton Island to the world. I could do that. I want to do that. But there’s a small problem. It’s no secret and everyone, and I mean everyone, ...

When Having Less Is More Than More

Autism Vox — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 07:01:32 +0100

Things small and familiar were the gifts that Charlie most liked: A pale blue Mugen Pop Pop, a new copy of a DVD he already has (and that’s gotten so scratched up and smudged that it skips and gets stuck), a case for his Leapster (which we should have gotten a while ago, as Charlie’s dropped his a couple of times). We’d be happy to get him some more elaborate gifts, and have over the years. Iused to spend quite a bit of time choosing toys and then even more time teaching Charlie to play with them (some of the toys are still in closets in our house and in my parents’, shiny and wrapped in plastic to protect them from the dust). Charlie pretty much seems to lack consumer consciousness. He likes what he likes. And so, while experiencing the sort of quavering feeling ma...

Alcohol and sex

Dr. Needles Medical Blogs — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:31:00 +0100

ALCOHOL AND SEX The pattern on the American scene is changing with more young people drinking, and more alcohol consumed, especially among women. The more affluent our society the more we can afford hard drinks, which is very destructive. A large amount of alcohol is a deterrent on sexual performance and is the major cause of impotence in middle-aged men. We are not talking necessarily about being an alcoholic, but just an excessive use of alcohol by anyone. DRINKING IN MARRIAGE Drinking increases, marital situations deteriorate. One of the spouses is repelled by the other’s drinking, cease to enjoy sex, and tries to avoid sex as much as possible. This also may block the husband’s agility to maintain or get an erection. Both parties feel a lack of esteem at losing their m...

New Edition of What it Means to be Human: Great Ape Project and Spain

Secondhand Smoke — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:18:00 +0100

New editions of my regular podcast, "What It Means to be Human," come out each Tuesday. I tend to wait for a slow news day before linking them here, and with all the assisted suicides going on, and televised depictions thereof, not to mention a judge ludicrously turning the advocacy slogan "death with dignity" into a "fundamental constitutional right" in Montana, well it has been anything but slow here at SHS. Alas.In any event, if you want to hear them as they appear, you can subscribe at the WIMTBH site. Otherwise, I will link them at SHS as time and events dictate. This edition is about Spain's impending passage of The Great Ape Project.Thank you for your attention. (Source: Secondhand Smoke)

Now It's Real: "Nature Rights" Finally Makes New York Times Print Coverage (in the Magazine)

Secondhand Smoke — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:16:00 +0100

The Gray Lady has now officially noticed in print the radical attacks on human exceptionalism represented by Ecuador's granting rights to nature and Spain on the verge of passing the Great Ape Project. No, of course it doesn't frame it that way! Indeed, the story is rather matter-of-fact: The precise scope of nature's rights is unclear. Referring to Pachamama, an indigenous deity whose name roughly translates as "Mother Universe," the text puts less emphasis on defending specific species than on the rights of ecosystems writ large. And it is uncertain how, exactly, a country as poor as Ecuador can protect those rights--though observers expect to see a raft of new lawsuits against oil and gas companies.Even so, it is a milestone for environmental organizations that seek to rewrite our treat...

Back to the good old days

NHS Blog Doctor — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:09:00 +0100

It seems that Gordon is going to increase the top rate of tax by 5p in the pound for those earning over £150,000 a year. If he does, it’s another broken promise, another abandonment of self-determined principals. Mind you, it is difficult to be angry about the prospect of those earning this level of salary paying a little more tax if that will help us out of the economic crisis.Tory boy Matthew Elliot, of the right wing Taxpayers’ Alliance, is not happy but then he wouldn't be, would he? His organisation is run for and supported by a wide array of British fatcattery.The Taxpayers' Alliance described the move as "a totally backward step".Its chief executive Matthew Elliott said: "To recover from the recession, Britain needs to be a low tax, competitive economy, not one that punishes ...

Want to Know What Will Happen to Your Body if You Stopped Smoking Right Now?

Healthbolt — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:32:00 +0100

Today is the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout, an annual event that has been held for the last three decades. with the aim of encouraging smokers to quit by providing information, support, and resources. An ex-smoker myself, I know how very, very difficult it is to give it up. But I also know the up side of giving up the smokes and I’d encourage anyone who has been thinking about giving up cigarrettes to stop thinking and act. You’ll thank yourself in the end. Healthbolt already has a fairly active support system going on at the comment section of a post - What Happens to Your body if you stop smoking Right now? - that was written by the Wade Meredith, the original Healthbolter. Here’s the highlights of that post… In 20 minutes your blood pressure w...

Smoking and Oral Health

Bibby Library News and Tips — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:10:40 +0100

Great American Smokeout Day is Thursday, November 20 For more than 32 years on the third Thursday of November, the American Cancer Society has helped and inspired Americans to quit smoking. Below is a list of resources to share with your patients, friends and family, to better understand the dangers of smoking and oral [...] (Source: Bibby Library News and Tips)

Only Yesterday

Donna Trussell — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:09:05 +0100

: An Informal History of the 1920s is an excellent book by former editor of Harper’s magazine. Author Frederick Lewis Allen shows such insight into this era you’d think it was published decades later instead of in 1931. The website contains the whole book for you to read — free! (I bought a used book, but it’s so old it’s literally crumbling.) Chapters: 1. Prelude: May, 1919. 2. Back to Normalcy 3. The Big Red Scare 4. America Convalescent 5. The Revolution in Manners and Morals 6. Harding and the Scandals 7. Coolidge Prosperity 8. The Ballyhoo Years 9. The Revolt of the Highbrows 10. Alcohol and Al Capone 11. Home, Sweet Florida 12. The Big Bull Market 13. Crash! 14. Aftermath: 1930-31 Excerpt from the chapter on Florida land speculation of the mid-1920s: T...

Johnny Knoxville Interviews a Wrestler

Shawn's HIV Blog — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:03:57 +0100

You may remember the Great Khali, I suggested him as a potential debate substitute for Sarah Palin- who held her own- last week. Well, good thing that the McCain camp isn't taking my advice... because recently, Johnny Knoxville interviewed The Great Khali, and things went worse then when I interviewed Ric Flair on the telephone earlier this year. Apparently, wrestlers don't like being asked about their penises. Positively Yours, Shawn (Source: Shawn's HIV Blog)

Designer disorders - Or - More Stupid Ideas in MH

Mental Nurse — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:10:43 +0100

You know the one’s I mean - neurotic depression; ADHD - the one’s that take situations that substantially and genuinely disaffect less than 3% of a population - and they contort it to make it affect 30% or more people, then medicalise it; all about the same time as they declare - “Oh, wow. We just happen to have a pill/treatment here that will help you with that. Aren’t you lucky!” It’s impossible to tell now - are the diseases and disorders we ‘discover’ ever real anymore? Are they simply new ways for psychobabblists and Big Pharma to create personal wealth? Are they reflections of our socially demoralised, desicrated disparate or disposable society in which we still live? Or do they represent some real underlying and problematic issue that ...

Plurk Name Switch, WTF?!?!

Prudence and Madness — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:45:19 +0100

I left Plurk a bit early last night to spend some time with my new books. I put down the last book at around 3:30 a.m. today and decided to take a peek at what’s happening in Plurk. Guess what I saw? The GarGar is MrsBadBunny? Was that approved by the BigBadBunny? Is Bakla an atheist now or is Atheista gay? Dementia’s got a BF na?!?! Yeah, I know how he feels… Welcome to the Great Plurk Name Switch! If that doesn’t give you headache, I don’t know what else will. And like AJ, I’m also wondering what the Day Plurkers will say once they logged into their accounts later this morning. LOL! (Source: Prudence and Madness)

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Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects... — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 05:35:00 +0100

You are a Social Conservative (38% permissive)and an... Economic Conservative (63% permissive)You are best described as a: Centrist Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also : The OkCupid Dating Persona Test Kudos to MattG for finding this. (Source: Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects...)

I Am Not a Chimp--And Neither Are You

Secondhand Smoke — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:21:00 +0100

As promised, I have a more extended piece up at the Weekly Standard Website demonstrating that the case for granting equal rights to chimpanzees with humans is not justified scientifically. First, I describe the ideological agenda behind the effort to reduce humans to the status of apes. From my column:THERE IS A CONCERTED advocacy campaign underway across several disciplines aimed at knocking human beings off our pedestal of moral exceptionalism and redefining us as merely another animal in the forest. Toward this end, elements of the natural world are being personalized by public intellectuals, even as they seek to strip personhood from some people. The point of this ideological drive is to degrade our perceived self-worth so much that we will readily sacrifice human prosperity and welfa...

Poll

Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects... — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:57:00 +0100

Go do the poll over at The Happy Hospitalist's place. Should he keep the mullet? Perm it? Go blonde? You decide.Happy, you are tha man! (Source: Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects...)

Humans Are Not 98% Genetically Identical to Chimpanzees

Secondhand Smoke — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:21:00 +0100

I have been researching the purported genetic near-identity between humans and chimps-- asserted as the "scientific" basis for the Great Ape Project--and found (unsurprisingly) that the entire advocacy line that "humans and chimps share 98% of our genes" is plain false. This gets a little complicated, so stick with me.First, the 98% figure is probably overstated. An article in Science puts the actual figure at 94%. (Jon Cohen, "Relative Differences: The Myth of 1%, June 29, 2007). But even these figures are only measuring about 2% of our total genetic makeup--that is, those genes that code for proteins, the building blocks of our physical bodies and functions.The vast majority of our DNA, known as "non-coding DNA"--sometimes called "junk DNA" because it was once thought not to have functio...

Sorry

Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects... — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:49:00 +0100

I missed your party.Great blog. Some dude(ette?) gets on Flicker and finds funny as shit pictures from parties and sticks them on her blog.Very funny. (Source: Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects...)

Thanks Xavier

Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects... — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 20:30:00 +0100

Concealed Carry on Campus in Texas (Source: Backboards and Bandaids, Papers and Projects...)

"Chimps Not Chumps"

Secondhand Smoke — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:14:00 +0100

I was on a radio show today and told about an op/ed piece in the NY Times by Steve Ross, who is involved with cognitive research of primates with the Lincoln Zoo, that, the host implied, seemed to go along with the ethics of the Great Ape Project. I hadn't read it, so I thought I should check it out.Happily, at first it seemed not to be so. From the column:A survey that I and several colleagues conducted in 2005 found that one in three visitors to the Lincoln Park Zoo assumed that chimpanzees are not endangered. Yet more than 90 percent of these same visitors understood that gorillas and orangutans face serious threats to their survival. And many of those who imagined chimpanzees to be safe reported that they based their thinking on the prevalence of chimps in advertisements, on television...

Spain Apes the Declaration of Independence

Secondhand Smoke — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 22:06:00 +0100

I have written about Spain's plan to pass the Great Ape Project (GAP) here at SHS previously. Now, I have a more extended piece on the issue in the current Weekly Standard on. From the article:But why grant apes rights? After all, if the Spanish parliament deems these animals insufficiently protected, it can enact more stringent protections, as other countries have. But improving the treatment of apes--of which there are few in Spain--is not really the game that is afoot. Rather, as Pozas chortled after the environment committee of the Spanish parliament passed the resolutions committing Spain to the Great Ape Project, this precedent will be the "spear point" that breaks the "species barrier."And why break the species barrier? Why, to destroy the unique status of man and thus initiate a wh...

Dr Neil Bacon (2)

NHS Blog Doctor — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:18:00 +0100

Dr Julia Webster is one of the senior partners at the Sleaford Medical Group. She and I overlapped at medical school, though I don’t recognise her name. Julia has just been “named and shamed” by Baconshit. It seems that she was a bit “short” with a patient who wanted to be treated by a homeopathist, or some such wibble merchant. For that “offence” she is castigated on “I want great care” Has she been consulted in advance before this defamatory material was published? I think not. Has she been given the chance to put her side of the story? I think not. One patient was upset because Julia was not prepared to discuss medical wibble, ergo Julia is not a very good doctor. What about the other 2000 patients she sees?click to enlargeOn that basis, Ben Goldacre is the worst docto...

Dr Neil Bacon

NHS Blog Doctor — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 11:29:00 +0100

RaptorsI have always been uneasy about Doctors.net.uk. I do not visit it often and I rarely read the forums. NHS BLOG DOCTOR articles are sometimes mentioned in the chat rooms and whilst, like any blogger, I am grateful for the increased traffic, I don't usually follow up any comments. It’s a bit ostrich-like, I know. And it means that sometimes I miss the start of important medical stories.There is nothing like a good bitch over a good pint about matters medical and that is what goes on in the Doctors.net.uk forums. Trouble is, the forums are not as private as members think. I know a lot of medical journalists and, believe me, it is not difficult to get into Doctors.net.uk despite the apparent professional security.Bitching over a pint is one thing. But some of the serious issues that c...

Saletan on the GAP

Secondhand Smoke — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:57:00 +0100

Slate's Will Saletan has weighed in on the Spanish plan to pass the GAP. As usual, his take comes at the reader from different and unexpected angles that acknowledge the arguments of the opposing sides of the debate. (And he is kind enough to give a tip of the hat to yours truly.) But I think he misses the bigger picture of the deleterious impact the GAP will have on human rights. Saletan writes:If the idea of treating chimps like people freaks you out, join the club. Creationists have been fighting this battle for a long time. They realized long ago that evolution threatened humanity's special status. Maybe you thought all this evolution stuff was just about the past. Surprise! Once you've admitted chimps are your relatives, you have to think about treating them that way. That's why, when...

Great Ape Project Poll

Secondhand Smoke — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:45:00 +0100

The pending success of the GAP has freaked me out. I have done radio and have articles to come. You know what I think, now it is time to find out what you think. Please take the following poll: Should Apes be Granted "Human" Type Rights? ( surveys) (Source: Secondhand Smoke)

T’was the night before Christmas..

Mental Nurse — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:25:42 +0100

Monday 30th June is the date for Darzi’s final report on proposed NHS reforms; the eve of the NHS 60th anniversary. My Gosh! The ann…… tii….. cciiiiiiiiiii …………………………. ……… pation! Personally, I’m so excited I was awake hours ago while everyone was still sleeping … but then it’s GMT +9hours in Oz and I had a lie-in. Then I got bored waiting and read some comments on the Telegraph online page… like this one… Sir - You report (January 30) that the University of California, Berkeley, has discovered that the male Anna’s hummingbird produces various noises with its tail and that a student suggests that this is “a new mechanism for sound production in bir...

How to get 300,000 quid for not doing your job

Mental Nurse — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:21:42 +0100

This is the sort of egocentric selfish inane inequity that gets on my tits. A psychiatrist who released a mental patient who then stabbed a retired banker to death is suing for compensation. Consultant Gill Mezey wants more than £300,000 from her employer for damage to her career. Why did they suspend her? Dr Mezey, 50, decided to let paranoid schizophrenic John Barrett out of hospital for an hour’s leave without even seeing him, in September 2004. Barrett, then 43, immediately absconded, armed himself with kitchen knives and the following day attacked Denis Finnegan, 50, as he cycled through Richmond Park in South West London. Of course, I don’t know the full story of what came to pass, but it does seem that Dr Gill authorised this patient to leave hospital the same day he w...

"Ape Rights:" Not Taking it Seriously is Precisely the Wrong Approach

Secondhand Smoke — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:22:00 +0100

Begin rant: The animal rights crowd has many allies in their fight to elevate animals to the moral equivalents of human life. One is the media, that almost always misses the big point and treats their advocacy as merely about being "nicer to animals." Another are all those folk in the media and out who hear about stories such as this and rather than really focusing on what it all means, instead roll their eyes and go about their business with a chuckle, dismissing the matter as just another example about how ridiculous some things have become. The latter approach was taken by the NY Post, reporting the story under "Weird but True." From the story: In Spain, all men and simians are created equal. The country's parliament approved a resolution extending the right to life and freedom to gr...

"Ape Rights" in Spain: Merely "the Point of the Spear"

Secondhand Smoke — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:59:00 +0100

More reportage on Spain about to grant great apes "human" type rights--and a little candor from the revolutionaries. I have been saying that the GAP is not the goal but the initial means to attaining the goal, the catapault that first breaches the wall (to use another metaphor), that aims in the end to obliterate the sanctity/equality of human life ethic based simply on our being human. Exactly the point, says the head GAP advocate in Spain the the Times of London. From the story: Some critics questioned why Spain should afford legal protection from death or torture to great apes but not bulls. But Mr Pozas said that the vote would set a precedent, establishing legal rights for animals that could be extended to other species. “We are seeking to break the species barrier--we are just th...

More on Ape Rights

Secondhand Smoke — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:12:00 +0100

We are all apes now, as the Spanish Parliament will soon be granting "human" rights to apes, which is actually to say that human rights are being demoted into mere temporary protections. This story deserves greater coverage, and I intend to do something about that in the next few weeks. But for now, here's an excerpt from the Guardian's story:Using apes in circuses, television commercials or filming will also be banned and while housing apes in Spanish zoos, of which there are currently 315, will remain legal, supporters of the bill have said the conditions in which most of them live will need to improve substantiallyOf course the purpose of this isn't to merely improve the treatment of great apes--which could be accomplished as it already has been in some places via normal animal welfare ...

Spain About to Grant Human-Type Rights to Apes

Secondhand Smoke — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 23:54:00 +0100

Spain is on the verge of fully passing the Great Ape Project. Conceived by Peter Singer and an Italian philosopher, that which was unthinkable in 1993 when it began, has come to pass in a mere fifteen years.Singer's overarching goal is to obliterate Judeo/Christianity as the reigning philosophy of society. And this is why the GAP is supported by people like Richard Dawkins. Now, we are merely one great ape among several others, each with minimum rights based on individual capacities rather than due to being members of the human species. Of course, only we will have the duty to honor these "rights"--but one-way streets are designed to push traffic in specified directions.The GAP grants apes, chimpanzees, orangutans, and bonobos the rights to life, the right to be free from "torture," and to...

Great Blog Off at b5media - a 24-hour Blogathon

Alzheimer's Notes — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:18:30 +0100

AlzheimersNotes.com The Great Blog Off at b5media celebrates the June 20th summer solstice. Most participating blogs from the Lifestyles, Business, and Entertainment channels will post content once per hour for each hour of the day. However, some like Quilting and Patchwork , will be posting periodically. At Home Biz Notes, another of my b5media blogs, we’ll be posting more frequently. Eliza at Babylune summarizes what’s going on in the Lifestyles Channel. Kelly Erb, CE at the Business Channel provides a roundup of the entire Great Blog Off picture, b5media Bloggers Hit the Keys for Charity. Great Blog Coincides With First Day of Summer This is the first time since 1975 that the summer solstice hasn’t occurred on June 21. On this day, the daytime hours are at a maximum in...

Another caregiver role: Recording family histories

Caregiver Notes — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 01:14:27 +0100

Over the years, my 91-year-old father has recounted quite a few interesting stories of family history and his life. I thought they were worth preserving, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to remember and recount them accurately – so about 10 years ago, with the help of my daughter Amanda, I set about recording them. I bought Pops a little cassette recorder, showed him how to use it, and then told him to just sit down and talk into the tape recorder whenever the mood struck him. With Pops, the best stories have always rolled off his tongue without prompting. An interviewer is extraneous, unnecessary and a positive hindrance. Every week or so, I would get the full cassette from him and give him another blank one. Amanda helped by transcribing the tapes on the computer. Eventually we had an a...

Blogging, Brains, and Business Mix

BrainBasedBusiness — Wed, 28 May 2008 02:54:02 +0100

Bloggers find surprising new inroads into dividends that open first and faster to an online community. The human brain benefits from the sheer art of writing into topics from a human perspective. Business takes off when bloggers deep dive into new ideas … with innovation in mind.What do these three claims have in common? A reciprocal synergy takes place when bloggers share business expertise in ways that add brainpower for solutions.Today – for instance - I discovered:1. Why blogging is good for you.2. How bloggers ratchet up more talents.3. Visionary blogging that gains more traffic.4. An $80,00 farming opportunity in Kansas5. Transparency tricks successful leaders use.6. Bids for media experts to fund cancer research.7. How to throw a zesty online BBQ fest8. ...

The Great British TaxPayer Rip-Off

NHS Blog Doctor — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:56:00 +0100

full report hereIt is a shame that the Taxpayers' Alliance, led by the well-travelled Matthew Elliott, so often resorts to gutter journalism to attract cheap headlines. Their egregious attacks on anyone who has the misfortune to work in the public sector cause offence to many who would otherwise be amongst their supporters. When they concentrate on what they do best, however, they hit the nail on the head. "The Great British TaxPayer Rip-Off" does just that. Mike Denham, a former economist at the Treasury who authored the report, reflected that “the government has used every trick in the book to drive up the tax burden. Ordinary families are paying a heavy price,” he said. “People are increasingly beset by record levels of taxation and growing service charges, but there has been no...

Naïve Cynicism in Election 2008: Dispositionism v. Situationism?

The Situationist — Tue, 06 May 2008 02:00:10 +0100

This post was originally published on April 23rd. Because the “elitism” card continues to played, we thought it worthwhile to republish this post for those who might have missed it the last time. * * * In case you missed it, the last week and a half have been a bit rough for the golden boy from Chicago. To boil down hundreds of hours of cable news commentary, political punditry, and radio talk-showery: Obama called certain working-class Midwesterners bitter, and everyone else called Obama elitist. The conventional wisdom is that Hillary’s success in Pennsylvania last night was at least partially the result of Obama’s remarks. The storm began when, speaking to a private group in San Francisco, Obama offered this take on the effects of economic stagnation in certain p...

Great stupid ideas in Mental Health (2): More on No-Harm Contracts

Mental Nurse — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 22:54:28 +0100

An e-mail received from a reader, quoted here with permission: I enjoyed reading the post on Great Stupid Ideas in Mental Health: The No-Harm Contract. Today I was asked by my psychiatrist to agree to something even more stupid, if that were even possible. (Source: Mental Nurse)

Support Soliders to Rewire for Work after War

BrainBasedBusiness — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:19:06 +0100

When troops return from war ... fellow workers can often help them to readjust … far more than many realize. It’s rarely easy ... as violence literally changes a soldier’s brain … yet armed with a few brain based tactics … a colleague’s care goes a long way. Peers can help vets to rewire their brains beyond battlefields ... and settle back into their workplace routines ... in 5 key areas:1. Invite soldiers into small project gatherings where friendship is extended with new people and help them to wire for trusting strangers again. War likely taught returning soldiers to distrust most everybody new they encountered ... and interactive gatherings will rejuvenate interpersonal intelligence … and help restore a h...

Last-Minute Positive Psych Gifts

World of Psychology — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 01:32:58 +0100

Holiday shopping season is now reaching its climax. Instead of being stressed at the mall, though, here are some gifts you can buy online that also benefit mental health for the recipient, using concepts from positive psychology. Kathryn Britton wrote a great article on giving gifts to enhance mental health. She describes three key areas: “The Pleasant Life — savoring and basking, The Engaged Life — intense involvement in worthwhile activities, and The Meaningful Life — living in service of something larger than ourselves.” Here are some you can still buy with time to spare. Pleasure doesn’t need to involve material things like chocolate (which may end up causing stress with weight gain anyway). Consider tickets to a play, sports game, concert or just the movies. ...

Mental preparation for days to come

monash medical student — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:03:39 +0100

I was browsing the StudentDoctor forums and caught sight of this and thought it might be good to share with some of my classmates who have been newly promoted to year 3. Yay! I don’t think i’m going to dedicate one post to this yet. Below are the average length of the common general surgeries, [...] (Source: monash medical student)

Winners of the Great American Smokeout Video Contest

Cancer Commentary — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 16:01:01 +0100

Remember the Great American Smokeout Video Contest by the American Cancer Society? Well, I was told that the response was nice and would like to share with you the said contest’s winners. Click here for the complete list of winners. [Thansk to Paul McGee for the update!) Share This (Source: Cancer Commentary)

QuitWinLive - The Great American Smokeout

Highlight HEALTH — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:32:55 +0100

This article was published on Highlight HEALTH. (Source: Highlight HEALTH)

American Cancer Society's Smokeout Video Contest

Straightfromthedoc — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:09:33 +0100

Since I started smoking when I was 18, I cannot count how many times I tried to quit and failed. Every time I did, I always counted the day that I was nicotine-free. The last time I tried and didn't put that day on the calendar was when quitting finally worked. Finally, I can already tell that I have successfully kicked that nasty habit of smoking. The American Cancer Society, in its effort to read everyone, including teens, launched its anti-smoking campaign called Great American Smokeout. To make the campaign on its toe they also have a Great American Smokeout Video Contest where anyone can join by making a video telling in a minute or less why one shouldn't smoke. You join the contest by uploading your video on You Tube. First prize is an iPhone, second prize is an iPod n...

New Sites Around The Science And Health Channel At b5media

A Hearty Life — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 04:00:59 +0100

The science and health channel here at b5media has launched some new blogs over the last few weeks. We have an eating disorder called Breaking the Mirror. We have a new fertility site called Fertility Notes and a great new pediatric blog, Kids Health Notes. Grace at Kids Health Notes is a veteran b5′er and has some great things to offer. One of her posts last week was right up our alley here at A Hearty Life. She reminded us that chest pains among children and teens should be taken seriously and worked up just as carefully as an adult would be. Go check out her post and see what else she has to say. Have a great weekend all! Share This (Source: A Hearty Life)