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Personal Update 201810 | 1 Oct 2018 | Monday

Greetings,

I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for taking a moment to read my October update.

NEW SCHEDULE

Starting with this month I plan to begin sending out my updates at the beginning of the month rather than the end of the month. For the recap of September you can read the end-of-month update I sent out yesterday.

DEMOCRACY

For most of my adult life I’ve been interested in civics, governance, and politics. If you do a Google search for “a government of the people” you’ll see of the 10 million results the top site is AGovernmentOfThePeople.com which I created about five years ago. The site has had about 30,000 visits since then. It’s designed to be a reference site for materials related to democracy — what helps democracies thrive and what causes them to fail.

The site also looks at other governance models for an honest comparison and reference point. Countries with communist foundations like China, or monarchies like Jordan, also seem to thrive and function fairly well. So, the question is how can we make our fairly young democracy function well and thrive to produce equally desirable outcomes.

According to Social Progress Imperative, we are currently in position #25, lagging behind Slovenia, among countries graded on their positive impact in the world. The Good Country Index also has us at position #25. By just about any measure, we’re unfortunately not leading the world. This suggests that our Democracy needs tweaking.

Some European and Scandinavian countries offer us examples of successful democracies, but every country has unique challenges and opportunities and we have ours.

This summer from May through July, I assisted with the publishing format and layout of a book called “Columns of Democracy” by Nicholas Johnson (my dad). Through a collection of recent writings, the book examines the core institutions that support our democracy: media, education, judiciary, voting, and libraries.

I’ll share an excerpt from the introduction to the book (page 15):

It is said that as Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention he was approached by a man who asked, “Well, Mr. Franklin, what kind of a government did you give us? A Republic or a Monarchy?” To which Franklin replied, “A Republic – if you can keep it.”

For 230 years we did keep it. American democracy confronted challenges along the way, but none succeeded in abolishing democracy. From the time I first thought about such matters at the age of seven (December 7, 1941) the possibility we would not keep it never entered my mind.

Then my father was able to reassure me that America’s democracy would survive a traditional World War II. Today’s attacks on the columns of democracy are in many ways more invisible, invidious and destructive than those from Japanese fighter planes and bombs in 1941. Can we give our children and grandchildren a reassurance similar to what my father provided me 77 years ago – reassurance that American democracy will survive?

Not now.

What the future holds is up to us.

That’s an ominous warning, yet true. Keeping a garden, owning a car, or maintaining anything of value takes skill, commitment, and sometimes hare work. Democracy is no different.

However, like a car that has been neglected, and increasingly takes more time and money to operate, our democracy has recently been having more and more problems. It’s become more costly, stressful, and time consuming to manage. I find I’m spending several hours a week or more to keep up with current news. This last week I spent about 12 hours watching the Supreme Court nomination hearing and related news.

I’m embarrassed to converse with my friends from other countries. “Hey Greg, how’s that fancy sporty democracy doing?” they ask. My reply is often, “Oh, it’s back in the shop again for more repairs. It was getting really poor fuel efficiency and making a lot of noise.”

Our civic duty is more than just voting in elections. We need to stay engaged, be informed, and participate to help determine what initiatives and candidates will be on the ballot. Participation on election day is important, but it’s like participating in a football game in the final minutes of the game, rushing on the field and hoping we can impact the outcome of the game. That’s just not how democracy works. We need to be involved along the way.

“Columns of Democracy” is a great field guide for those who want to have an informed and effective positive impact. If you’re someone who is civically involved, or want to be inspired to become so, I’d suggest getting a copy of the book. It’s available on Amazon, and locally in Iowa City at Prairie Lights.

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

__________

Want More News? For additional news and updates you can subscribe to the Resources For Life Newsletter by sending an email to resourcesforlifenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 18 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and activism. This is based on the life map presented on the Resources For Life website.

 

Personal Update 201809 | 30 Sep 2018 | Sunday

Greetings,

I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for taking a moment to read my September update.

Health and Wellness

During the month of September I continued my normal strength training workout, lifting over 234,000 pounds which is up from last month. Toward the end of the month I’ve been emphasizing fresh raw vegetables, nuts, grains, fruits, and salads in my diet while working to reduce some of the unnecessary sugar, carbs and snack foods.

Consulting

My consulting work continues to be a mix of tech support and web design. The tech support is a good mix of business and residential, Windows and Mac, mobile and desktop, Android devices as well as Apple iOS. I like the diversity of support issues that arise. With the convergence, connectedness and integration of technology, I’m sometimes helping people with their home stereo and home theater technology.

Photography

I’m carrying a DSLR camera around these days and favoring that over my iPhone or point and shoot camera. I find the image quality is much better, and I’m adjusting to having an extra bag with me. The photo at the top of this newsletter is a photo from 27 Sep 2018 that I thought would make a nice background image.

The Department of Defense Read My Article

Sometimes after writing an article, I’ll check to see if there’s been any interest by looking at the page visitor stats. An article I recently wrote was almost immediately flagged by the Department of Defense and visited by a bot or person from the DOD Network Information Center. The article “U.S. Southern Command Uses Most Powerful ‘Weapon’ in History” explores a little known operation being conducted by the military.

In Defense of Nice People

I never thought I’d need to write an article defending nice people, but apparently nice people are now being criticized and there’s a national call for all ‘nice people’ to be removed from public office to be replaced by ‘street fighters.’ Learn more in my article LEADERSHIP: National Religious Leader Calls for Fewer Nice Guys – Asks for street fighters at every level of government. (29 Sep 2018)

A Special Message from Charles Koch

I try to seek out information from various sources with diverse viewpoints. So, recently I was curious to learn more about the views of conservative Republican billionaire Charles Koch. I was surprised to learn that he shares a lot of views with Bernie Sanders. Learn more in my article DEMOCRACY – Charles Koch Speaks Out Against Corporate Welfare and Crony Capitalism (25 Sep 2018)

Topics and Writings

In September I shared and wrote about a several topics of interest including: energy readiness, health, democracy, leadership, governance, diversity, technology, and more. A few are mentioned above, here’s a more complete list.

• LEADERSHIP: National Religious Leader Calls for Fewer Nice Guys – Asks for street fighters at every level of government. (29 Sep 2018)
• “Head Above Water” by Avril Lavigne – Music Video About Rising Up, Breaking Through, and Moving Forward (27 Sep 2018)
• DEMOCRACY – Charles Koch Speaks Out Against Corporate Welfare and Crony Capitalism (25 Sep 2018)
• HEALTH – Building an Alzheimer’s-Resistant Brain (23 Sep 2018)
• TECHNOLOGY – Features and Enhancements in Apple iOS 12 for iPad and iPhone (21 Sep 2018)
• ENERGY READINESS – General McDew Discusses Renewal Energy for National Security (21 Sep 2018)
• TECHNOLOGY – Guided Tour of iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR – Video (21 Sep 2018
• GOVERNANCE – How Dark Money in Politics is an Attack on Democracy (20 Sep 2018)
• DIVERSITY – McDonald’s Pranksters Get Hired for Company’s Advertising Campaign – The Ellen DeGeneres Show (18 Sep 2018)
• EDUCATION – Ellen DeGeneres Meets With High School Guidance Counselor Shelly Fitzgerald (17 Sep 2018)
• EDUCATION – Ellen Meets Extraordinary New Jersey Principal Akbar Cook (14 Sep 2018)
• U.S. Southern Command Uses Most Powerful ‘Weapon’ in History (14 Sep 2018)
• Homes for Haiti – Sukup Safe T Home – Iowa Football Service Project (13 Sep 2018)
• Conflict Resolution Mapping: Israel and Palestine (13 Sep 2018)
• EDUCATION – Here’s why 18 teachers in Oklahoma are quitting their jobs (11 Sep 2018)
• Koolulam – Inspiring, Transformational, and Impactful Music Events (11 Sep 2018)
• JUSTICE REFORM – 8 Women Run The Entire Justice System in South Fulton, Georgia (11 Sep 2018)
• “Machi” by Peia Luzzi from Four Great Winds (11 Sep 2018)
• Women Wage Peace – “Prayer of the Mothers” by Yael Deckelbaum (11 Sep 2018)
• 3,000 People Sing “One Day” by Matisyahu in Arabic, English, and Hebrew (10 Sep 2018)
• Inspiring Commercial from Principal – “Renovation” (7 Sep 2018)

As you’ll notice in the list above, I’m starting to use all caps for an initial topic descriptive word to make the titles easier for people to skim through and identify on social media.

If I’m writing a commentary about some past event or video, I’ll assign the current date to my post. If I’m simply posting a video without substantive commentary, the original release date of the video is assigned to that post. For example, I recently posted over a dozen videos about education that date back to 2015. These are mostly of the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

__________

Want More News? For additional news and updates you can subscribe to the Resources For Life Newsletter by sending an email to resourcesforlifenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 18 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and activism. This is based on the life map presented on the Resources For Life website.

 

Personal Update 201808 | 31 Aug 2018 | Friday

Greetings,

I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for taking a moment to read my August update. I’m sending this newsletter a few weeks late and plan to send the September update out a little later this month. Although I’m writing this on Sep 21, I have dated the post as 31 Aug for the publish date.

HEALTH

For those of us working on weight loss, there are periods of success when we count how much weight we’ve lost, and other periods where we gain it back — usually in much less time than it took to lose it. So, it can be difficult to effectively track our net progress. That’s why I track my progress based on my highest weight. I’ve lost about 10 pounds since my highest weight, and about 7 pounds since last month.

For some people, weight isn’t an issue — losing it and keeping it off is easy. For other people, it’s easy to gain weight and hard to lose it — requiring more effort to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Some people who are overweight may be so because the live a sedentary life and make poor food choices. The lack of exercise and poor nutrition perhaps more than the weight itself produces life shortening conditions. Those with an ideal body weight who don’t exercise or eat right can be at greater risk than those who may be overweight but exercise and make good food choices. Of course, the combination of a healthy weight, diet, and lifestyle are the ideal.

I use a nutrition app on my smartphone to keep track of my calories and nutrition goals. In addition to tracking calories, I also track sugar and carbs because they can stimulate fat storage in the body — causing more weight gain than other foods of equal calories. If certain foods stimulate fat storage and slow down metabolism, then the net impact of those foods is similar to them having more calories. Also, foods that result in an eventual energy crash down (like sweets or caffein) can result in a desire to eat more to gain energy. So, the end result in more consumption. I tend to eat when I’m tired so I try to avoid foods that make me tired. My daily diet is usually a salad and veggie protein patties for breakfast and dinner, with a variable lunch meal — trying to keep everything around 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day. The lower the better, but it’s easy to have an off day.

I’m very committed to regular exercise — not to burn calories, but to give me more energy during the day, reduce my appetite, build strength, increase stamina, avoid injuries, and give me better sleep. During the month of August I lifted about 196,000 pounds. That’s a 30,000 pound increase over my July strength training total. I also have a cardio exercise routine that includes walking, elliptical, and bike riding.

The small number of calories burned during exercise are inconsequential. A single bagel without cream cheese can wipe out the caloric benefit of a 3.5mph 1-hour walk. (source) There are some indulgences and restaurant meals that would require you to run a marathon to burn the calories off. In other words, skipping some food excesses has an equivalent caloric benefit as running a marathon every day.

If I lift about 200,000 pounds per month, get a cardio workout every day, watch what I eat, practice intermittent fasting, and consistently get the quality and quantity of sleep I need, I can lose about 1-2 pounds per week as long as I don’t slip up. So, the program takes discipline, self control, and consistency. It’s easy to get side tracked by other things that in the moment seem pressing.

TOPICS AND WRITINGS

In August I shared and wrote about a few topics of interest including:

• A new phone service from Google
• An inspiring advertisement from Volvo from Feb 2017 that I only recently discovered called “Live Fully Now” as well as some other videos from Volvo
• John McCain’s farewell letter to America
• An amazing duo of women called Salmon Sisters who have their own fishing business in Alaska and also sell apparel 

MUSIC VIDEO

I created a music video in August using a song with permission from the artist and some stock video footage. I thought the song and the visuals went together well. I hope you enjoy it.

 

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

__________

Want More News? For additional news and updates you can subscribe to the Resources For Life Newsletter by sending an email to resourcesforlifenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 18 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and activism. This is based on the life map presented on the Resources For Life website.

 

Personal Update 201807 | 31 Jul 2018 | Tuesday

Greetings,

I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for taking a moment to read my latest update.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I’ve been using a new camera lately and it seems to be performing well. I’ve posted some photos from a recent hike on the Squire Point trail. I hope to get more photos uploaded soon.

LAKE TAHOE

During the 4th of July week, we were able to visit Lake Tahoe. At the top of this page is a sunset photo from July 5. I hope to upload more Lake Tahoe photos soon. This month I created two Lake Tahoe websites: TahoeSupport.com offers remote tech support to people visiting the area, and BestLakeTahoe.com offers information about local attractions.

DOGS

This month I had a customer wanting help with creating a website for selling a specific breed of versatile hunting dog. Something I do when creating a website for someone is to create companion magnet sites (typically at no cost to them) that help draw in and direct additional traffic for their site. So, I created VersatileHuntingDog.com as an online guide to hunting dogs and other dog breeds. One of the nice features of the site is that as dog breeds are featured, high quality identification photos are included on the information page for each breed.

MUNICIPAL WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT

Periodically, cities are pressured by residents to address deer and other wildlife populations that find their way into residential and urban settings. Deer tend to eat flowers and other landscaping which upsets people. When people are upset, they want to grab high powered rifles and start shooting deer. Yet, more effective non-lethal long-term solutions exist. Because Iowa City is currently considering paying sharpshooters to kill deer, I’ve written an article to address the topic: “Effective and Economical Municipal Wildlife Management.”

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

__________

Want More News? For additional news and updates you can subscribe to the Resources For Life Newsletter by sending an email to resourcesforlifenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 18 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and activism. This is based on the life map presented on the Resources For Life website.

 

Personal Update 201806 | 29 Jun 2018 | Friday

Greetings,

I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for taking a moment to read my latest update. This month’s newsletter will be shorter than usual.

PHOTOGRAPHY

I mentioned last month that I had finished a deep dive examining DSLR cameras. I’ve shared a few photos through social media, but plan to share more here on my website in July. The header photo is of a sunrise here in Iowa City.  I’m looking forward to using more photography with websites and print media.

WELLNESS

This month I lifted over 257,000 pounds. That’s a higher total than previous months because I’ve increased some weight and reps. For those perplexed by such a high number (a quarter of a million pounds) I’ll explain that the way this is calculated is to take the weight being lifted multiplied by the number of times it is lifted. So, a tricep exercise with 30 pounds, when lifted 96 times becomes 2,880. Finding the right balance between weight and reps is key. If I keep going at this rate, I’ll lift over 3 million pounds in a year. I plan to write more about this topic and produce some videos soon.

THANKS

Many thanks to all of you who keep in touch and provide support for the work I do.

__________

Want More News? For additional news and updates you can subscribe to the Resources For Life Newsletter by sending an email to resourcesforlifenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Origins. For those of you who are new to these monthly personal updates, they began about 18 years ago out of a desire to share from my personal life about topics of lifeways (faith), health, career, finances, relationships, effective living, and activism. This is based on the life map presented on the Resources For Life website.