Members get a daily Covid-19 topic focused on Covid in Tennessee.
Supporters are part of a self-improvement sub-group where value is dispensed daily on personal growth in all aspects of life, informed by many sources. New members welcome!
Today is the day we set aside to honor our fallen military members killed in service to our country.
Thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines gave their lives over the history of the United States. Regardless of one's opinion of the wars they fought, their lost lives were and are missed by those who will never hold their hand again. The holes their loss leaves in their families are to be recognized today.
I am deeply thankful for those who have given their lives in order to preserve and defend the Republic that we have inherited.
This holiday is traditionally considered the kickoff of the Summer season. By now, your gardens should be growing. Thanks to, among other things, the impact of the pandemic, supplies of food preservation supplies may be hard to acquire by the time we start harvesting. Now is a good time to check what you have for canning jars and lids, freezer bags, and any other supplies you expect to need.
When planning for supply interruptions, most people cannot plan to just grow more food and meet their nutritional needs. Long-term storage of bulk foods such as dry beans, dry rice, dried meats, etc, must not be ignored. It is advised by our own government to have supplies on hand in the event of an emergency.
The government website https://www.ready.gov is a good basic reference for household disaster preparedness. I and many others, however, consider these recommendations to be the bare minima.
When planning your own household disaster response strategies, it is wise to have your neighbors in mind, also. If you can afford it, being a source of supplies and assistance for your neighbors will have social benefits in the event of a severe disaster, and is just the right thing to do.
One of the unpleasant effects of creating money from nothing is that your savings is gutted. The value of each dollar you may have in savings shrinks as the supply of money expands, and so the buying power of your money shrinks accordingly. Buying real items (assets) now when the dollar is stronger than it will be in the future is one strategy to mitigate the effects of inflation. Of course, we're seeing this happening before our eyes with the current insane housing market. I cannot give specific advice on this, but I do invite you to read read up on the topic from other, more knowledgable, sources.
Tomorrow, the topics here will include physical fitness.
Stay healthy!
I'm on a weekend night call schedule this weekend, which always leaves me feeling under-rested and generally icky.
But I wanted to remind you that outdoor exercise without screens is really good for your mental health.
Go outdoors, preferably into the woods.
Get in tune with those surroundings, the sights, the sounds, the smells, even the movement of air and the varying temperatures as you walk.
We were made to be outdoors.
We were definitely not made to work in cubicles.
One Degree!
What you want from your body will dictate what you need to set as goals, and the goals will determine what you'll end up having to change to attain them.
I've spoken many times about systems being better than goals, and my position has not changed.
But goals are easier to discuss and to understand, so for this week, we'll be very specific about goals.
Do you want more muscle mass?
Do you want to be stronger?
Do you want to run faster?
Do you want to gain weight?
Do you want to lose weight?
Do you want to improve general fitness?
Do you want longevity?
Do you want strong bones?
Do you want to earn a Black Belt?
Understanding the benefits and costs of each particular goal may help you decide what you want.
For example, if you want to compete in body-building competitions, you'll not be doing the same thing as if you were focused on longevity. Same with strength competitions.
But general fitness and longevity go fairly well together.
Running is great but will increase the likelihood of needing knee or hip ...
I'll make this one short and to the point.
Spring time change is hard on all of us. Having to get up an hour early doesn't make going to bed an hour earlier much easier.
Yes, it's nice to have more productive time in the evening.
But it's at the cost of forcing us out of be an hour earlier, as we all know.
Our challenge is to adjust our circadian rhythm to match the world's expectations around us.
My main strategy is supplementing with a dose of melatonin about a half hour before I need to be asleep. It helps most people fall asleep more readily.
If you need a nap during your day, take it between mid-morning and early afternoon. Limit it to 20 minutes.
Taking a longer or later nap may make it even harder to get off to sleep in time.
All of the other normal advice applies even moreso:
- Take a 20-minute walk after supper.
- No screen time for the last hour before bed.
- Listen to calm music after supper.
- Don't eat for 2 hours before bed.
- Don't have conflict-laden conversations ...
