JerseySmarts.com

Start the Weekend Right Link Series – Volume #4, Edition #2

Joe — Sat, 19 Mar 2016 11:30:25 +0000

Last week’s Start the Weekend Right Link Series featured many articles that I bookmarked way back in 2011. This week, I am posting some links to some more recent articles. In fact, most of these articles are from the last month or two. I hope that you enjoy reading them!

As always, though, before we get to this week’s links I again want to strongly recommend signing up for a free Feedly account. I get absolutely no kickback for promoting Feedly, but I am so appreciative of their product being the best RSS reader on the internet and I encourage everyone to use it. If you are using another RSS aggregator, please consider following JerseySmarts.com at http://www.jerseysmarts.com/feed/. If you are already on Feedly, then you can follow us by clicking here. Thanks!

Hulk Hogan v. Gawker (Marc Randazza Legal Analysis), Danger & Play
One of the biggest stories in media right now is Hulk Hogan’s victory in court against Gawker Media. Gawker has several websites – none of which have a shred of journalistic integrity. These websites do all that they can to destroy and damage people just for the sake of clicks and pageviews. They epitomize everything that is wrong with what people think the media is today. Gawker should not be categorized as a media source – they are barely worth mentioning as a tabloid. This link will take you to a great, quick set of bullet points outlining how badly Hogan beat Gawker in court. In addition, there is a video of the author speaking with a free speech lawyer about the verdict.

Is Rice Healthy For Me? Does White vs Brown Rice Matter?, Nerd Fitness
While the end result of this very astute investigation is, “it depends,” I strongly encourage you to read this article if you are a rice eating person like me. For my part, I have always been one of those people who does not automatically default to the brown version of everything (e.g. selecting whole wheat over white versions of products). This article made me realize that given the frequency with which I eat rice, I really should be eating brown rice instead of white rice. There is a lot of great information in this piece and I think you will enjoy reading it.

When You Find Out a Coworker Makes More Money than You Do, Harvard Business Review
There are some realities that most people have to recognize, face, and accept. One of those realities is that if you work for someone else, then you are not the highest paid person in the company. Period. And while my short example accentuates the differences between bosses and employees, this article provides some strategies on how to approach a different situation. Namely, the situation that occurs when you find out that a coworker (someone who you might consider an equal or even a subordinate) is making more money that you at your company. I am a big believer in not worrying about what other people are making and, instead, focusing on achieving your own success. I am also a believer in working outside jobs and starting your own company (or companies, if you have the time and inclination) to augment your salary. Ideally, that outside work will eventually supersede your salary and allow you to break free from working for someone else.

Coleco Pulls Out Of Faltering Chameleon Console (RetroVGS) Project, Retro Collect
I have always been fascinated at the moving and changing of the video game industry. Watching the ebbs and flows of video game companies, their gambles, and their successes has not only been a fun observation for me, but it also helped me make a few bucks off of those companies when I was more actively involved in the stock market. One of the most intriguing observations that I have about the industry today is the influence that retro gaming is having on the current market. There are a lot of people who are actively seeking a way to reject the big gaming companies and return to a time of cartridge-based gaming. To that end, RetroVGS started a crowd-funding campaign to start such a system. That campaign ultimately failed, but then legacy video game company Coleco came in to take up the mantle of the project… until they pulled out of the entire thing earlier this month.

The Beginner’s Guide to Meditation and Why You Need It, Live Limitless
This is not a short article by any means, but it is packed with information that you might find interesting if you are seeking more knowledge about meditation. Learning more about meditation is a non-priority goal that I have for myself. Specifically, I have been looking for a way to marry the peace that I encounter from my religious beliefs with a full body relaxation technique.

Obesity Changes How People View World: Study, Newsmax
According to the research presented in this article, if you are overweight, then you see the world differently. No, the research does not suggest that you only feel different about the way the world views you, but that you literally see objects as farther away. Interesting stuff.

City’s 1st CO-OP Coming to Asbury Fresh Summer Market, Asbury Park Sun
And in some local news – it looks like there will be a co-op option at the Asbury Park Summer Market this year. Several years ago I joined a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm that was about 15 minutes from my home. The promise of the CSA farm was that if you purchased a share (or, in my case, half a share), then you would be able to go to the farm and pick a certain amount of produce each week. That particular CSA farm worked well during the first year that I was a member, but the next two years were abysmal. Since then, I have been looking for a similar, local option.

The Collapse of Oil IS the Economic Boom, Reason
Another very interesting article about how the pending economic boom that everyone is waiting for is actually here. How is it here, you ask? Well, the precipitous drop in oil prices is something that impacts nearly every American adult. Further, while there have been some layoffs because of the price dropping, there are a lot more people who are experiencing more money in their accounts because they are not paying as much for gas as they were just a few months ago.

How To Make Your Own Rain Barrel Watering System, The Good Human
If I owned the type of home that had a big backyard that I could plant a substantial garden in, I would definitely be into putting something like a rain barrel watering system together. There is no question that I would have several of these barrels in my yard specifically for watering my plants and my garden (which would be packed with tomatoes and basil). Unfortunately, I do not think it is feasible to have something like this on my current backyard patio. Oh well!

Shrinking the White Male—and His Culture, Minding the Campus
As I often mention in these and other posts, young white men are being intellectually attacked on college campuses on a daily basis. This very short article is in that vein, but at a different level of the college campus. In this article, the author looks at language that many of you have seen in job postings about your potential employer embracing diversity and not holding any characteristic against you during the hiring process. The author then applies that language to the reality of the individuals that make up the department to which the job posting refers. The result is interesting, but what really stuck with me was the near-aside that ends the article. That is, that college students are new 60% women and 40% male. Where is the outrage about that inequality?

Have you come across any great articles lately? If so, please share those links in the comments below! And one more time before you go – for those of you who love reading online articles, I strongly recommend considering a free Feedly account. You can follow JerseySmarts.com on Feedly or you can add us to your existing RSS aggregator. Enjoy!

Another Education Topic – 10 Big Ways to Fight Obesity in Your School

Joe — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:30:57 +0000

From time to time I receive e-mails from authors or websites looking to promote something on JerseySmarts.com. Last week, I received an e-mail from the folks at OnlineDegree.net which asked whether or not I would be interested in posting a link to a new article on their website regarding reducing obesity in schools. After reading a little bit of the article, I thought that you folks might really enjoy it. Below is a brief excerpt of the article for your review.

1. It Starts at Home : You are only in school about 30 hours a week and eat only five meals a week there. In reality, diet, activity, and lifestyle are all begun at home usually before a child even enters school. Also what is done for breakfast, dinner, weekends, and vacations are also taking place at home. In this article, two obese children discuss what the battle in daily life is like. If you are an obese or overweight child, discuss with your parents what can be done to address the issue at home before tackling the school.

2. Get Your Parents Involved : Because sometimes grown-ups don’t listen to kids, get your parents involved in the fight against obesity. One of the best ways to do this is to have them attend a PTA (Parent Teacher Association) meeting in your school. Have them visit this site of the national board to find your local one. There are also other resources for joining and running a PTA.

3. Let’s Move : The First Lady established this campaign to address the weight issues effecting today’s children. Visit the site to get tips for getting parents the support they need, providing healthier food in schools, getting kids active, and making healthy food affordable and available. Learn more about the benefits of joining by visiting the site.

Enjoy!

Book Review: The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Joe — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:10:08 +0000

Sometimes I buy a book and it takes me forever to read the thing. Not because it’s a bad book, but rather because I sometimes just don’t have the time to sit down and read! That’s what happened to me with The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. I bought this book in October 2008 and it took me about a year to get through it.

However, do not interpret that last sentence as a criticism of this book! No, in fact this is one of the best sustainable living/organic food books that I’ve ever read. Pollan is a master at bringing out the larger issues in our food system. In this book, he manages to achieve that success by following the food from its humble beginnings in the field (or on the industrial farm, as it may be) all the way through when we eat it. The book is a really fascinating look at what happens to our meat and produce before it gets to our tables.

But those with queasy stomachs beware. While Pollan doesn’t talk too much about the gore associated with creating the food that we eat, he talks about it enough to allow the reader to infer just what is going on. From chickens getting their throats sliced and drained of their blood to cows being shot directly between the eyes to kill them, this book will tell you about exactly how our ground beef and chicken cutlets come into being before they hit our dinner tables.

But it’s not all dying animals and blood. In fact, Pollan spends a great deal of time talking about the industrial food system and how we’ve changed the base of our diets from a variety of original sources hundreds of years ago (and even decades ago) to a base of corn. Yes, that’s right – corn. Pollan talks about the ways in which corn is broken down into a whole collection of different components and how those components are used to construct any number of new products. One of the facts that I read in this book that has stuck with me is how we now feed our livestock a corn-based diet at industrial farms and how that diet has changed the very meat of these animals. It all makes sense though, right? If you change what you feed animals that you intend to eat, then you are essentially changing what you intend to eat. There is some discussion about our change to a corn-based system leading to the increasing obesity epidemic in America, too.

Combining Pollan’s natural wit and his great storytelling ability, this book presents the type of information that our society needs to know about in order to create a mass change in our diets. If you’re interested in the slow food movement, local organic farming, or any sustainable living topic in general, then I think that you’ll enjoy this book. Use the link above to read more reviews from Barnes and Noble!

Another Message to the FDA and USDA on Healthy Food

Joe — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 19:32:22 +0000

Time and time again I post on here about how I am a member of the Food Democracy e-mail list and how they send me some interesting information on healthy food choices, legislation regarding food policy, and regulations regarding the food industry. Well, their latest e-mail is interesting because it deals with these “Smart Choice” labels that you find throughout the supermarket…and in a variety of odd places.

For example, did you know that according the USDA and FDA guidelines, some forms of Keebler’s snack crackers are “Smart Choice” products? How does that even pass the smell test?! Some text from the Food Democracy Now campaign:

The Smart Choices program was dreamed up by giant food conglomerates like ConAgra, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Kraft, PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and Unilever, together with some industry “experts.” They say its purpose is to help consumers make “smarter food and beverage choices,” but you’ll be surprised to see what they define as a “Smart Choice”: things like Froot Loops®, Keebler Cookie Crunch® and Lucky Charms®.

How about the gumption on the folks that decided Lucky Charms are a “Smart Choice” option? Sickening. Through the use of Food Democracy’s online submission form, it took me no time at all to submit a pre-formatted letter to both the USDA and the FDA regarding the use of these “Smart Choice” labels. The text of the message that was sent is listed below. I encourage you to use the link above to send a message that deceptive labeling is unacceptable.

Dear Secretary Sebelius & Secretary Vilsack,

We urge you to investigate a new front of package (FOP) labeling initiative known as the Smart Choices® Program for potential deceptive and misleading claims to American consumers. At a time when our nation’s children are suffering from an epidemic of obesity and type II diabetes, leading food manufacturers should be trying to encourage eating healthier meals and not peddle overly processed foods high in sugar, fat or salt.

Unfortunately, the new program, led by many of our nation’s largest food corporations, has created a set of standards so loose that products like Froot Loops®, Keebler Cookie Crunch® and Lucky Charms® are eligible for the Smart Choices® label.

It’s outrageous that American companies would try to push food products loaded with as much as 44% sugar on parents who are desperately trying to feed their children healthy meals. Please stand up for our nation’s children and only allow healthy, nutritious foods to achieve this type of voluntary labeling. If this administration is serious about children’s health and nutrition they will enforce strict guidelines related to food products geared towards children and will not allow corporations to engage in deceptive or misleading labeling practices.

If you interested in sending a message to the USDA and the FDA (which takes moments to do), then please head over to this link and check it out.