Old Age remedies 2

From an article on Yahoo!: “New research reveals that two of the most boring-sounding personality traits can actually help you live a healthier, happier and longer life. It turns out that people who are ambitious and disciplined live up to four years longer than more impulsive folks. A study from the University of California at Riverside found that conscientious types--the kind of people who have their nose to the grindstone and always pay their bills right on time (or early!)--are more likely to have stable relationships and are less tempted by health-dampening drugs, alcohol and other risky behaviors. People who were less conscientious were 50 percent more likely to die at any given age, on average, than those who were highly conscientious. Order and achievement were the top two traits associated with having a long life, but that doesn't mean that you have to be a snooze to reach the ripe old age of 100. "Conscientious does not mean boring or humorless," said lead study author Howard Friedman. Want to boost your conscientiousness? Surround yourself with friends who are good influences and consider investing in a day planner or an online calendar to stay organized.” How about people who take Yahoo! articles seriously? This woman looks like she’ll live to be 99.

Lilli Ewing 3

Working out is hard to do - especially if you don't make a habit of it. Bobby Fischer (the late chess player) used to prepare himself for grueling chess matches by working out in the pool - swimming dozens of laps - and drinking lots of orange juice. One cannot be in good mental shape unless one is in great physical shape. A sound mind in a sound body, remember? If you find yourself in an obesity rut, do what Lilli Ewing does - work out and make it part of your routine. Would you like it if someone gave you a ten pound sack of potatoes and forced you to lug it around for no reason? If you are over your sensible weight, that's exactly what you're doing - burdening your body and your precious heart. Acai berries might help, too. I shouldn't be talking - I'm four pounds overweight. In case you are wondering - that's Lilli Ewing on the left - she lives in Seattle - champion bodybuilder.

Discipline

Discipline is a wonderful thing. You can tell by the fruit you reap from exercising a little discipline, whether it's for your professional work life, or your social life, or your student life, or your spending habits, or your health. It pays to harness the power of discipline. Lilli Ewing is a champion bodybuilder thanks to her disciplined workouts. See what discipline has done for her and follow her example. She lives in Seattle - lucky Seattle!!!!

Bankruptcy Prediction

From a popular investor newsletter: "This Friday, Dec. 12th, the next stage of the financial crisis will begin. That's when one of America's biggest businesses (they operate in 44 states), will undoubtedly declare bankruptcy. How can I be so sure it will happen on Friday, December 12th? Two words: Un-payable debt. You see, the company I'm talking about, which is the 2nd biggest in its industry, and is headquartered in Chicago, has until Friday, December 12th at midnight to pay back a $900 MILLION loan. In the current market, this amount of debt is lethal. The company is currently paying over $1 billion per year in interest expenses to finance their debt—that's MORE THAN THEIR OPERATING INCOME. (That's like having a mortgage payment that's bigger than your entire paycheck.) There is absolutely no way the company can make this $900 million payment or raise this kind of money." Unfortunately, we are never told who it is although I remember reading a financial report a few days ago regarding this company, I don't remember who it was. It deals in commodities. In honor of black Friday, a black violin.

Hank Paulson interview

Before we start, I must give you a little background (what little I know) about Hank Paulson. He socializes very little, he is an environment enthusiast, he has many, many, many friends in high places in China, and he is obsessed with snakes. The lady in the red wig has nothing to do with Paulson, I just put her there because I wanted to. She looks as if she has no clue where she's going but I bet she does. The wig is probably from the dollar store. As always, any similarity between the person being interviewed and/or any current events is strictly coincidental.

TR: Good afternoon. Are you Hank Paulson?
HP: Yes sir, and you must be Mr. Quan?
TR: No, I’m with the Coffee Club Newsletter.
HP: Where’s Mr. Quan?
TR: I don’t know.
HP: So, why are you here in his place?
TR: I’m not taking his place – I’m here to do an interview with you.
HP: Oh, you’re that other guy. Do you care at all about global warming?
TR: May I come in?
HP: Only if you promise we’ll discuss climate change and the environment.
TR: We can discuss whatever you want to discuss.
HP: Step right this way.
TR: Wow, this looks like a greenhouse.
HP: It is.
TR: I’ve never seen so many indoor plants before.
HP: Wait ‘til you see the snakes.
TR: Snakes? How many snakes?
HP: Twenty six, but they are not all here – some we keep in the bedrooms.
TR: Oh.
HP: I know them all by name.
TR: One for each letter of the alphabet.
HP: How did you guess?
TR: I’m just good at guessing. How do you tell them apart?
HP: They’ve been in the family a number of years – after a while you just recognize them. It’s like telling your dollar bills apart. They’re all the same but they’re all different. There comes Chrimata now from under that fern.
TR: Chrimata?
HP: It’s the Greek word for “money.”
TR: I should have guessed.
HP: And Fiduciary is right behind her. Isn’t he cute?
TR: To me, they’re just snakes.
HP: You have a lot to learn. Let’s sit down in my study.
TR: Can I have a Corona Light?
HP: Sure. That’s my favorite beer - another lucky guess?
TR: No. I just like the way it tastes. I’m glad you have it in the house – even Buckingham Palace doesn’t stock it.
HP: You’ve been there?
TR: I interviewed the Queen.
HP: Sure you did.
TR: I don’t tell lies.
HP: You must be the only one on the planet.
TR: No, my father too.
HP: Really? And where might he be from?
TR: Austria, but he’s in the Himalayas right now.
HP: …doing?
TR: Collecting bark from an old tree.
HP: Is he a researcher, an environmental scientist?
TR: No, he needs it to stay alive.
HP: Is he ill?
TR: Not at all. He’s just really old. He will soon be 2000.
HP: 2000 years old?
TR: Yes.
HP: You know, I’ve been around a lot of bankers and finance people and business people almost all my life…
TR: Yes, I know.
HP: …I have learned to read them pretty well – perfectly, in fact. Even by the slightest inflection in their speech – I can tell when they’re trying to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge. Your story sounds very convincing – you’re either the world’s best liar or you’re telling me the absolute truth.
TR: Well, to me, it doesn’t matter at all what you think about me.
HP: You must not need any tips on the stock market.
TR: I just do interviews and take pictures whenever my camera is working.
HP: I can see you’re a simple man. You’re good for the environment.
TR: May I ask you about the financial collapse?
HP: Being that you’re a true environmentalist, you may ask me whatever you like.
TR: Thank you. My readers would like to know if the bailout money will really work to turn the economy around.
HP: No, of course it won’t. I had to find a way to protect my Asian friends from any defaults. That’s what that was about, not anything else. I know I’ve been criticized for being close to Wall Street, but everyone is close to something, no?
TR: Weren’t you partly responsible for the elimination of the net capital rule in 2004 - the thing that led to the credit crisis?
HP: Sure, sure, but let me tell you what that was about. When I was in the private sector, I lobbied hard against being overly regulated by the government. That’s all true. My mistake was in thinking that everybody in the investment business, when granted more freedom by the Feds, would act responsibly. Instead, they acted like thugs. They really let me down. I was in charge at Goldman Sachs and we stayed clear of the greediness and all those sham securities. That’s why it’s the only firm that survived. All those people who are now criticizing me don’t have a clue.
TR: May I print that?
HP: No, not all of it.
TR: Ok. What about John Ehrlichman?
HP: Who is he?
TR: He used to be your boss under Nixon?
HP: Oh, yes, I forgot. Some things just never go away, do they?
TR: You were almost caught up in Watergate.
HP: That was in 1972 – almost four decades ago. I was just a kid. John Dean cautioned me to keep away from the whole mess and I resented him for it because I wanted to get in on the action. He was a real snake.
TR: But, he saved your reputation.
HP: Without meaning to.
TR: Didn’t you later give him a job as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs?
HP: No. I simply suggested to him that he go into banking – it was a perfect fit. The industry is full of weasels and snitches, you know.
TR: Maybe you’ve had too much beer?
HP: Don’t you want another Corona?
TR: I’m beginning to hear noises in my ears.
HP: Oh, don’t worry. They’re coming from my playroom next door. I have a collection of over a hundred ticker tape machines in there – the kind that every stock broker used to have. At precisely the same time every day, they start whirring away. I love those old machines. They were the internet of the old, old days.
TR: I remember them, of course. You know them all by name?
HP: No.
TR: When did you become concerned about the environment?
HP: When I learned that we were about to run out of oil. The next big money makers will be wind power generation and solar energy.
TR: What do you think is the ultimate power source?
HP: Washington politics.
TR: What about the people?
HP: If I’ve learned anything in the last fifty years, it’s that if you give people something to eat and something to talk about, they’re happy. 98 percent of them don’t even know who I am.
TR: But what about unemployment?
HP: Well, that won’t really become a problem unless it hits 50 percent. We may see a couple of riots here and there but I have set aside 997 billion for that worst-case scenario. Be that as it may, my private jet is on standby to take me and my family to Brazil on a moment’s notice.
TR: Do you have another residence there?
HP: Well, I really doubt that the Coffee Club would be interested in that but, for the record; we’ll just be doing a little environmental research near Rio. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find a new species. I’m going to grab another beer and lie down, if you don’t mind.
TR: Thank you Mr. Paulson.
HP: Thank you, Mr. Quan.

EASIYO and Lilli Ewing

Now hear this: "The food we eat, the life we lead, illness and the ageing process can all disrupt our internal balance. Eating freshly-made EASIYO yogurt every day could really help. EASIYO is Nutrient-dense. For relatively few calories, freshly-made EASIYO yogurt is full of protein, calcium and essential vitamins and minerals to help provide the elements for growth and a good constitution." I got this from their own advertisement. I had never heard of this yogurt brand since I buy mine at Wal-Mart - it looks mighty interesting. Look Lilli Ewing up on MySpace and get yourself motivated to exercise, too. You will be very glad you did. A good diet and lots of exercise - what more do you need? Money?

YOGURT

I had never heard of this product though it's been on the market for about eighty years. I guess it takes time for news to travel this far. After all, it took Columbus three months to cross the Atlantic. If you research this brand name yogurt and like it, let me know - I might buy it, depending on the price. I have a hunch it's probably expensive. This quote is from its website: "With its fuller, richer taste and ridiculously thick texture, FAGE Total yogurt has been incredibly successful in the U.S. That’s why the company has invested nearly 85 million dollars in an all-new, state-of-the-art production facility in Johnstown, NY, about 200 miles northwest of New York City. " Maybe we'll all end up as slender as the girl next door.

Lilli Ewing 2

I used to think bodybuilding was an odd thing to do but not anymore. Look at Lilli Ewing - champion bodybuilder. If all young people (and older people for that matter) followed her example, this country would not have an obesity problem. It would also not have so many health issues. We would feel spectacularly well. It's not necessary to develop your body to the extent Lilli Ewing has - she does it because she is a professional trainer and a competitor (Like Arnold, the Governor of California) - but we can all benefit greatly by taking exercise more seriously. And the discipline that working out develops will help us tremendously as well. See for yourself - http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/LilliMarlene/

Hemlines and the Economy 2

As I have said before - if you want to know what the economy is up to, look at hemlines. This woman and her husband are taking a nice stroll - they are not worried about deflation and neither should you. Here is an article (which I condensed) taken from an investor advisory newsletter. I'm posting it because I agree with what it says, although most economists don't. By Martin Hutchinson: "The U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) both fell in October. Those declines – combined with sharp downward spirals in worldwide stock and commodity prices – have caused many analysts, and even central bankers, to worry that we are on the brink of deflation.
Such concerns may be warranted in the short-term. But in the long run, deflation won’t be the challenge we face.
Thanks to an overly aggressive central bank, and more than $1.5 trillion in U.S. Treasury Department bailout programs – as well as other factors related to the ongoing global financial crisis – inflation will be the problem that ultimately bedevils us.
As long as oil and commodity prices drop, the PPI and CPI indices, which include oil and commodity prices, also will fall. Such a decline, however, does not constitute deflation; it is simply a one-time price adjustment. This is particularly true if most of the commodity-price declines are simply a reversal of excessive increases that had occurred over the previous year. That’s essentially what we’ve been seeing here. However, the deflation believers currently have an additional argument: With output in the United States plunging, and the stock market down around 50% from its October 2007 peak, there are very few pressures pushing prices upward. ... this, however, will not turn into deflation, unless the recession is exceptionally prolonged. Currently, output and employment are dropping very sharply, as is the stock market. This cannot continue for more than a few months – the latest being perhaps late spring of the New Year. As output declines, forces pushing it towards recovery will become stronger and equilibrium will appear." If you can buy 100,000 shares of any safe, conservative stock, do so, while the price is still low.

Lilli Ewing

Lilli Ewing is a champion bodybuilder and a trainer. Bodybuilders are like other athletes - they must put in hours of daily exercise to get in shape. Like swimmers and pole vaulters and boxers and wrestlers and sprinters and gymnasts - they compete against other athletes in the same physical discipline. They create a living sculpture out of their bodies - which amazes me. The human body is an unrivaled piece of machinery. No two sports are the same so the body must be trained and developed according to the particular sport.

Your body

This is Lilli Ewing - she is a bodybuilder. I have no idea how a woman can be such a great bodybuilder and still be as feminine as she is. I don't need to know. All I can say is that it is possible. I admire Lilli Ewing's dedication to her chosen field. She is a great athlete. She is one of my friends on MySpace and (of course) she has her own terrific website and videos on YouTube (http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/LilliMarlene/). With just half her motivation I would really be something.