Tuesday, March 16, 2021

What is an accountability pod?

I first heard this term over the weekend during a Zoom meeting with my trading academy. You may have seen my Facebook post where I talked about the academy...if not, you can check it out here:

Dear Friends. Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I want to share my story with you in hopes of finding...

Posted by Rick Tompkins on Sunday, March 14, 2021

So, what is an accountability pod? It's like a study group that also has multiple accountability partners. Everyone in the group is accountable to everyone else. This works best if everyone in the pod is at the same place in the learning experience. And since I'm just getting started, now is an excellent time to create an accountability pod.

What is the academy? I talked about it a little in the FB post, but it's the answer for how to diversify my income. Like I said, I don't want to live from Social-Security-check to Social-Security-check when I retire in two years. And even if you're not planning to retire soon, we just lived through a year long demonstration of why you need more than one source of income.

If you want to find out how to trade in the forex market, crypto currency, or even how to set up an e-commerce store, click on this link. I signed up for the Elite Academy so I could have access to all of the training and I'm currently studying in the FRX Academy.

And if you want to get your monthly subscription for free, and possibly make some monthly residual income, sign up as an IBO (Independent Business Operator).

Am I giving up on SendOutCards and Greener Still? No, but I want to have several different sources of income.

If you want to join our private FB group, send me a message and I'll add you to the group.

Interesting days


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Monday, March 15, 2021

7 Things to Know About the Links Between Sleep, Nutrition, and Time

Since today is the srart of Sleep Awareness Week. this article from Dr. Micael Breus seemed appropriate:

We’re all doing our best to eat healthfully and sleep well, to have more energy, increase our focus and performance during the day, and protect our health over the short- and long-term. There are really powerful links between how we sleep and how we eat. Our food choices affect sleep quality and sleep amounts. And the quality and duration of our nightly rest has a big impact on eating habits. Staying rested helps keep weight and metabolism on track, and enhances our ability to make healthful choices about the foods we eat. On the other hand, when we’re tired and sleep-deprived, maintaining a healthful diet (and a healthy weight) gets a lot harder.

There’s another important factor to consider when looking at the relationship between our sleep patterns and our eating habits. And that is TIME. The timing of eating matters—for digestive and metabolic health, for weight control, and for sleep.

Here are 7 important things to know about how sleeping, eating, and time are connected to a healthier, more rested you. 
  1. There’s no one-size-fits all prescription
  2. Nutrition has a big impact on sleep quality and sleep quantity  
  3. Knowing your chronotype is essential to optimizing your eating routine 
  4. Consistency is KEY 
  5. Personality plays a role in chrono-nutrition 
  6. The timing of eating affects gut health 
  7. Short sleepers have distinct eating patterns
The when of sleeping AND of eating is so important to your ability to function and feel at your best. Paying attention to the timing of your daily dietary habits can make it easier to stick to a healthful diet and boost your sleep, too.

Be sure to read the article to find out more about the 7 things mentioned here.

Interesting days


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Saturday, March 13, 2021

Your weekend guide to interesting days - March 13, 2021

Day Of HopeThis week

Sunday - Be Heard Day, Plant Power Day, Crown Roast of Pork Day, Cereal Day and Namesake Day






Week long celebrations:

Mar 1 - Mar 7: Return Borrowed Books Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Read an E-Book Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Schools Social Work Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Dental Assistants Recognition Week 
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Consumer Protection Week
Feb 27 - Mar 7: Jewish Book Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: World Orphan Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Endometriosis Awareness Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Pet Sitters Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Will Eisner Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Write a Letter Appreciation Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Universal Human Beings Week
Mar 1 - Mar 7: British Pie Week
Feb 22 - Mar 7: Fairtrade Fortnight
Mar 1 - Mar 7: Telecommuter Appreciation Week
Mar 7 - Mar 13: No More Week  
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Women in Construction Week
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Procrastination Week

Mar 8 - Mar 14: Feet Week

Next week

Tomorrow - Learn About Butterflies Day, Pi Day, Dry Shampoo Day, White Day, Crowdfunding Day, Science Education Day, Check Your Batteries Day, Moth-er Day, Legal Assistance Day, Potato Chip Day, International Ask a Question Day and Dribble to Work Day

Monday - World Speech Day, World Consumer Rights Day, True Confessions Day, Buzzards Day, Brutus Day and Napping Day

Tuesday - Lips Appreciation Day, St. Urho’s Day, No Selfies Day, Panda Day and Freedom Of Information Day

Next month

April 7 - Beer Day, No Housework Day, Making The First Move Day, Day Of Hope, World Health Day, Bookmobile Day and Beaver Day

April 8 - Zoo Lovers Day, Pygmy Hippo Day and Draw a Picture of a Bird Day 

April 9 - Unicorn Day, ASMR Day, Name Yourself Day, Cherish An Antique Day, Day Of Silence and Winston Churchill Day

April 10 - Golfer’s Day, International Safety Pin Day and Sibling Day

April 11 - Pet Day, Cheese Fondue Day, Barbershop Quartet Day, Submarine Day and World Parkinson’s Disease Day

April 12 - Deskfast Day, Hamster Day, Library Workers Day, Licorice Day, Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and Walk On Your Wild Side Day

April 13 - Scrabble Day, International FND Awareness Day, Equal Pay Day, Thomas Jefferson Day and Be Kind To Lawyers Day


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Friday, March 12, 2021

The week in review - March 12, 2021

Monday - "Don’t Get Caught in Perception Deception" From Harvey Mackay. "It’s so important to give your brain time to consider all the available facts before taking action that is difficult to reverse."

Tuesday - "How to Decide" From The Art of Manliness. "How can we get better at making big choices, and spend less time dithering over the insignificant minutiae that often overwhelms our mental bandwidth?"

Wednesday - "How to Make the Perfect Irish Coffee" The second how-to in a row from AoM. "That drink was then brought to America in the 1950s by a San Fransiscan travel writer who worked to replicate the recipe at the Buena Vista Cafe, in the heart of the Fisherman’s Wharf district."

Thursday - "Happy #NappingDay #TBT" Coming up on Monday! "I'm not commuting anymore, but I still like the extra daylight in the evening!"

Interesting days



Week long celebrations:

Mar 7 - Mar 13: No More Week  
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Women in Construction Week
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Procrastination Week

Mar 8 - Mar 14: Feet Week

Next Friday -  World Sleep Day, Poultry Day, Chocolate Caramel Day, Client’s Day and International Read To Me Day

Week long celebrations:

Mar 14 - Mar 20: Universal Women’s Week
Mar 14 - Mar 20: Sleep Awareness Week
Mar 14 - Mar 20: Groundwater Awareness Week
Mar 15 - Mar 21: Introverts Week
Mar 14 - Mar 21: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week

April 12 - Deskfast Day, Hamster Day, Library Workers Day, Licorice Day, Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day and Walk On Your Wild Side Day

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Thursday, March 11, 2021

Happy #NappingDay #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published two years ago. Napping Day is coming up on Monday, so this will give you some time to prepare 😀

Not only is today Napping Day but it's also Sleep Awareness Week. Both of these are in response to the beginning of Daylight Savings Time yesterday.

Many people don't like DST...however, I do. I like the extra sunlight in the evening. Especially now that I'm not driving in the dark which can be somewhat difficult since I work at night. The extra hour in the evening means I get to leave at what used to be my normal commuting time. Up until now I've had to leave early to get to work before sunset. Although, the staying late an hour later in the morning messes up my morning commute.

I'm not commuting anymore, but I still like the extra daylight in the evening!

From Dr. Michael Breus:
But let’s start out with a more basic fact: While sleeping, just based on the humidity in our breath, we lose about 1 liter of water each night! So, we wake up dehydrated. 
Sleep Doc Tip #1: When you wake up each day, drink 12-16 oz of water first thing in the am (room temp). This helps to replace your water loss immediately. 
Sleep Doc Tip #2: Wait 90 min for your first cup of caffeine. Yes, I know you may have a habit of a caffeinated beverage being the first thing to enter your system, but remember caffeine is a diuretic! It makes you have to urinate, this is counter-productive with a dehydrated body. I recommend a second glass of water and then consider a coffee.
If we get dehydrated from sleeping, maybe we should sleep less?
New research suggests that insufficient sleep can cause dehydration by potentially disrupting the release of a hormone that is key to hydration (Vasopressin). Newer research shows that sleepiness increases the risk of kidney disease, and we know that the kidneys play a significant role in hydration, and of course, drinking more water is good for kidney health.
According to the research:
“More specifically, people who reported that they regularly slept for 6 hours or less each night were 16–59 percent more likely to be dehydrated than those who slept for 8 hours a night. These results applied to both population samples.”
So, if sleep itself dehydrates a person and depriving myself of sleep makes one more dehydrated, what should you do?
Step 1: Determine your chronotype and calculate your bedtime, and stick to your schedule 7 days a week. 
Step 2: Drink Caffeine between 90 min after you wake up and 2 pm, (remember, drink about 16oz of water first) stopping at 2 will eliminate the poor sleep quality effects caffeine may have long after ingestion. 
Step 3: Limit alcohol to 3 hours before bed and have one glass of water for each alcoholic beverage (remember alcohol is a HUGE dehydrator). 
Step 4: Exercise daily, and replace your sweat with WATER! 
Step 5: When you are drinking your morning water, do it in front of the window to get your morning light exposure. This helps turn off the melatonin faucet in your head and remove brain fog. 
Hydration and sleep are interrelated components of a healthy life, be sure to get enough of both this week and every week!
I'm starting to do some of this. I'll be sticking to my sleep cycle 7 days a week, I'm walking at least 10,000 steps a day and drinking 3 liters of water.

I've kinda slipped up on these. I stick to my sleep schedule most days and I've started drinking more water again although I'm not up to 3 liters yet. Need to work on my steps more.

Dr. Breus will have more tips and I'll be sharing them with you all week.

Interesting days


Today - World Plumbing Day, Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day, Wash Your Nose Day and Kidney Day

Week long celebrations:

Mar 7 - Mar 13: No More Week  
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Women in Construction Week
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Procrastination Week

Mar 8 - Mar 14: Feet Week

Next Thursday - Biodiesel Day, Awkward Moments Day, Forgive Mom & Dad Day and Companies That Care Day

Week long celebrations:
Mar 14 - Mar 20: Universal Women’s Week
Mar 14 - Mar 20: Sleep Awareness Week
Mar 14 - Mar 20: Groundwater Awareness Week
Mar 15 - Mar 21: Introverts Week
Mar 14 - Mar 21: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week
April 11 - Pet Day, Cheese Fondue Day, Barbershop Quartet Day, Submarine Day and World Parkinson’s Disease Day

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Wednesday, March 10, 2021

How to Make the Perfect Irish Coffee

This article from The Art of Manliness is too late for Irish Whiskey Day, which was last Wednesday, but just in time for St. Patrick's Day, which is next Wednesday!

When it comes to St. Patty’s Day drinks, you have a few classics to choose from: Guinness beer (which you can also make bread with), whiskey ginger, and of course, Irish coffee.

Whether served morning, afternoon, or evening on March 17th (or any day you’re feeling particularly Irish!), a hot Irish coffee is a delectable cocktail that anyone can make — no shaking needed, no hard-to-find ingredients necessary.

The genesis of Irish coffee — a simple mixture of coffee, sugar, cream, and whiskey — is a little more straightforward than most cocktails. Though coffee and spirits have long been mixed, the Irish coffee took off in the 1940s when a chef at an airport on the west coast of Ireland started adding a nip of whiskey to the coffees of disembarking passengers. Consider that many of those coffees already had cream and sugar, and a famous cocktail was born.

That drink was then brought to America in the 1950s by a San Fransiscan travel writer who worked to replicate the recipe at the Buena Vista Cafe, in the heart of the Fisherman’s Wharf district. After some fiddling, they nailed the formulation and preparation, and have been serving Irish coffees ever since, to the tune of a few thousand per day. It’s the place to go if you want a quintessential Irish coffee (in America, that is). I, in fact, became enamored with the drink after a visit to the cafe back in 2014, after attending an AoM book signing event. The Buena Vista freely gives out their recipe, which I’ve taken the liberty to recreate below.

A Brief Word on the Ingredients & Vessel 

Coffee. Stick with something on the cheap end here, made in either a standard filter coffee pot or even a Keurig. (If you’re worried about caffeine, use decaf in place of full-strength joe.) I used a French press because it’s all I have; though I did use cheap Kroger brand coffee. At the Buena Vista Cafe, they use a middle-of-the-road coffee made in a filter brewer.

Why not use a high-end coffee? Because its complex flavors just don’t mix that well with booze. Both are very strong flavors and compete too much on the palette when combined. Allow the spirit to shine and leave the best coffee for your morning mug. Trust me on this one.

Irish whiskey. Given the name of the drink, it should be obvious that you’re not going to use just any whiskey, but specifically Irish whiskey: Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Proper Twelve, Bushmills, Teeling. All are good — go with whichever you have a preference for. If you’re not familiar with Irish whiskey, Proper Twelve is a great bottle to have in your cupboard and one that I especially enjoy; Buena Vista Cafe uses Tullamore Dew exclusively.

Sugar. The classic recipe uses sugar cubes, but who keeps sugar cubes anymore? There’s just no reason for it, in my opinion. The standard measurement is that one cube = 1 teaspoon sugar. You can use brown sugar as well, or even simple syrup. Vanilla simple syrup works particularly well here.

Whipped Cream. Any whipped cream will do, though the store-bought variety will be a little thicker than intended. It should be a thickened layer on top of the drink rather than a stiff dollop. So if you’re making it fresh at home, whip until just thickened — called “soft peaks” in cooking parlance. You don’t want it to hold its shape.

Vessel. Traditionally, this drink is served in an 8oz glass called an Irish coffee mug. It has a pedestal and a handle, and the glass allows you to see the layers of coffee and cream and makes for a really nice presentation. Just makes you feel fancy. Of course, if you don’t have these mugs, any ol’ coffee mug will do the trick just fine.

The Classic Recipe and Preparation 

Ingredients
  • 2 tsp sugar (white, brown, or simple syrup) 
  • 4 oz coffee 
  • 1.5 oz Irish whiskey 
  • Whipped cream 
Directions 
Start by putting the sugar in the bottom of the Irish coffee mug. Add ~4 ounces of hot coffee and stir it all up to dissolve the sugar. Add 1.5 ounces of Irish whiskey — don’t stir! — and then top with the fresh whipped cream. To make it a nice layer rather than an indelicate flop, carefully spoon the cream on top. It’ll make for a wonderful look in the mug.

Sip the drink through the cream and enjoy!


And here are some interesting variations:
Iced Irish Coffee. Use cold brew coffee instead of hot coffee to turn a cool weather cocktail into a summer patio drink.

Irish Cream Coffee. Use Baileys cream instead of whiskey.

Caribbean Coffee. Use rum instead of whiskey.

Highland Coffee. Use Scotch whisky instead of Irish whiskey.

Russian Coffee. Use vodka instead of whiskey.

Interesting days




Week long celebrations:
Mar 7 - Mar 13: No More Week  
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Women in Construction Week
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Procrastination Week

Mar 8 - Mar 14: Feet Week

Next Wednesday - St. Patrick's Day

Week long celebrations:
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Tuesday, March 9, 2021

How to Decide

Today's blog post is based on a podcast from The Art of Manliness:

We all make many decisions every single day. From little ones like what to eat for breakfast, to big ones like whether to take a new job. Given how regularly we’re deciding, we certainly have a vested interest in getting better at this skill. But how do we do so? How can we get better at making big choices, and spend less time dithering over the insignificant minutiae that often overwhelms our mental bandwidth? And why didn’t anyone teach us how to do this stuff to begin with?

My guest today has written a book that offers an education in a subject matter many of us missed out on. Her name is Annie Duke, she’s a former professional poker player and decision-making expert and strategist, and her latest book is How to Decide: Simple Tools for Making Better Choices. Today on the show, Annie shares many of those practical tools, beginning with how to overcome hindsight bias and “resulting” — our tendency to judge decisions based on their outcomes — by doing something called “knowledge tracking.” We discuss how to figure out the probabilities for things that seem difficult to predict and the importance of embracing an “archer’s mindset.” When then get into when you should make decisions slowly, when you can speed up, how to employ the “only option” test when making a choice, and why when a decision is hard, it’s actually easy.

Here are the highlights from the program:

  • Why don’t we teach decision making to kids and students?
  • What is resulting? How does it get in the way of our making better decisions?
  • How to fight hindsight bias with “knowledge tracking” 
  • Making a decision tree that actually works 
  • How to assign probabilities and make predictions when you have little to no information 
  • Why you need an archer’s mindset — or, why hitting the bull’s eye is overrated 
  • How better decision making can make you more resilient against poor decisions 
  • Applying the “only option” test as a way to choose between choices that don’t fundamentally matter

This was a very interesting topic! I mentioned Annie's previous apperance on AoM in aa earlier blog post.

You may also want to check out yesterday's blog post about improving your perception.

Interesting days




Week long celebrations:
Mar 7 - Mar 13: No More Week  
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Women in Construction Week
Mar 7 - Mar 13: Procrastination Week

Mar 8 - Mar 14: Feet Week

Next Tuesday - Lips Appreciation Day, St. Urho’s Day, No Selfies Day, Panda Day and Freedom Of Information Day

Week long celebrations:
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