Heavy breathing keeps your brain alive …

Mens sana in corpore sanae, again. A study shows that cardiovascular exercise, like running,swimming and cycling,  in your 20s helps retain your mental agility in middle age.  Activities that maintain cardio fitness led to better thinking skills and memory 20 years on, even after adjusting for factors such as smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol. The …
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The list you don’t want to be on.

Capital punishment is a sign of failure. Failure is a part of learning and improvement, but if you continue to fail in the same endeavour, there is a problem indicating that the system needs to change.  So, capital punishment should have long been expunged from a system that is “civilised”, “advanced”, “modern”,  “space age”, “rich”, …
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Whoops! A big picture story.

A story about the search for truth, the meaning of life and the answer to everything.  Finally an edition that is readable.  It might have a few typos which will be removed as we find them, but the important bits read well enough. Enjoy free chapters on-line: The Meaning of Life Clarifying the Big Picture …
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Being angry can kill you.

Well, I’m an angry man, and so this comes from the heart. Anger is stressful and that stress can kill you.  It killed my friend Gerry.  He was trying to help, trying to do the right thing, but someone wouldn’t listen.  Again and again.  Then after a morning of stubbornness from those he was helping, …
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Sad but true: Violence against females is pervasive.

A broad based survey indicates that 1/3 of women in the EU are affected by violence.   That should surprise you, but if you’re female, maybe it doesn’t. Clearly unfair prejudices still dominate modern, rich cultures.  For example, it is saddening to still see and hear behaviour which puts down women.  Clearly there are economic differences …
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There’s nothing wrong with hard work, unless …

Working hard is fine, and many people have to work hard just to get by, but whether it’s by choice or necessity when it makes you sick, stressed, stupid, off-balance and disengaged, the balance is wrong. The Washington Post offers 5 reasons why you shouldn’t work too hard, at least from an American perspective. What …
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Open management.

Being an advocate of open management systems, an article by Inc. Magazine: Why You Should Let Your Employees Do Whatever They Want, drew attention. Caution, however, was raised by the tag line: “Focus and discipline are relics of 20th century business. Here’s what’s taking their place in the virtual, open source era”.  No, sadly, that …
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Show love! Philanthropy doesn’t match wealth growth.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy notes that “Gifts surge from US donors“.  That’s good, especially in difficult times.  But BloombergBusinessWeek read between the lines and saw that “Billionaires’ Wealth Is Skyrocketing. Their Philanthropy Is Not“.  Sadly. It is unfortunate because this is another sign of a widening wealth gap between the top and everyone else, between …
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A minimum wage stimulates the economy?

I’ve always been against the hand of the state in private decisions and forcing a minimum wage is one of those interferences which has always grated.  However, in a world where technology is raising productivity and reducing the demand for labour there ought to be a popular desire for everyone to have the ability to …
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Farming in the city.

It’s a cute idea and seems to have much merit.  Put a fish farm in a shipping container, plonk a hydroponic greenhouse on top and “hey presto” you have a self-contained, eco-efficient food production system that can sit in a small garden or yard behind your house or urban industrial/commercial building. ECF Farmsystems Containerfarm claims: …
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