Scott Adams on Trump and Reality in general

Scott Adams was an early viewer of Trump as a Master Persuader; this book gives details up through early 2017:

I read this in one sitting ... I've always been a fan of Dilbert, but I especially was interested in Adams' view of Trump as a Master Persuader ...

His story of Hillary supporters' threats during the campaign was also compelling; he also discusses hypnosis and the alternate versions of reality that we all inhabit.

Finally, he's a fan of Robert Cialdini, who apparently was advising Bernie Sanders and then Hillary (too little too late), and I've been a Cialdini fan since I read his first book decades ago:

Adams also has a "blog" which he's relaxed into a sloppy-sounding podcast and is begging for nickels on Patreon ... I would think he could self-fund this as he says in the book he has "fuck you money" and can therefore maintain his independent voice ...

I think both of these books would be of interest to any politician or sales person ...

How I control A-fib

I have a heart condition called Afib that's been there my whole life but only became a problem as I aged.

I found it getting "stuck" for hours and identified the difference in my day the day before: I walked around in the heat without getting as much to drink as I would have normally.

For a while I treated the condition with iced tea and potato chips. (I speculated that this was pretty much Gatorade.) This worked until it didn't ...

I found references to magnesium online and started taking a multi-supplement:

This worked for a while then I added potassium and gradually have been upping the amounts as necessary. I added another multi-factor supplement on advice of this alternative health provider in Issaquah, Mary Jane Mack:

This one has a long list of ingredients also ... I don't know why but this one was helpful in controlling the laxative effect that magnesium can have. It may be something to do with the combination of other ingredients or the particular form of magnesium it contains; I'm not sure.

The manufacturer of this one is making retailers pledge to only sell to people who've come in for an appointment once per year ... but of course, one can order from Amazon without that restriction ...

In general, magnesium citrate and magnesium lactate seem best for not getting my guts too excited.

My current morming regimen:

• 2 Tri-Boron Plus
• 2 99mg Potassium 
• 2 Biocardiozyme forte
• 1 250mg Magnesium

In the evening I take:   

• 2 Tri-Boron Plus
• 2 99mg Potassium
• 2 Biocardiozyme Forte
• 1 133mg Magnesium
• 1 1000mg Vitamin C
• 1 1000iu Vitamin D
• 1 200mcg Selenium

And late evening:

• 1 more 99mg Potassium

I hope this is helpful; post a question in the comments if you want to know anything else.

A self-driving car built from the ground up. Are Tesla and Uber F*cked?

This article in Bloomberg Businessweek on Friday piqued my interest: it's on Zoox, a self-driving car startup that designed and built its car from the ground up to be autonomous, without just bolting on hardware to a standard car.

It's designed without a steering wheel and to look the same from either end so it can go into a parking space one way and out the other way.

The review in the article is effusive on the smoothness of the ride ... the Zoox car prototype even "glided to a stop" ...

The prototypes are named VH1, VH2, etc. ... VH standing for "vaporware horseshit" in a nod to critics of the company.

Interesting times we live in!

Two recent amazing books

I recently finished two books I enjoyed well beyond my expectations. First:

This is the story of Louis Zamperini, a prodigy in track who was likely on track to be the first to break the 4-minute mile until World War II intervened.

The story of the war's influence on Zamperini's life and his survival through unbelievable hardship is a story I'll never forget.

Then I tried one that I've been seeing on the shelf for years but never tried:

This one was published in 1990 and is still on hold at our local library.

I experienced it as an audiobook and it's leapt up to the top of my favorites. I greatly enjoyed Neil Gaiman's American Gods and appreciated the one of Terry Pratchett's that I've tried so far: Raising Steam. 

But this one has everything:

• An angel and a demon as protagonists
• A plot involving the Antichrist
• Fumbling of this plot by a bunch of Satanist nuns that are supposed to be helping it
• A 17th century witch who's left prophecies about the present day

... and much, much more including interesting references (for me) to 1990-era computers ...

Money back if not completely satisfied with this one!

Why Amazon wins

I went last weekend looking for a "powerline internet" thing:

I could have used it that evening so instead of just ordering online (as I typically do) I instead went out to a local retailer:

Not only didn't they have any such item in stock, the young sales guy ("I've only been here 3 months") had never even heard of them.

I tried another retailer that was in the same complex: Fred Meyer. They didn't have it either but tried to be helpful: "Try Target" they said.

I did ... no dice. So I ordered from Amazon, along with several other things I needed ...

No wonder their stock is at $1600 or so ...

An alternative view of insomnia from a non-standard sleep doctor

I've never had much trouble sleeping, but others in my family struggle with insomnia. A friend recommended this book:

I enjoyed it thoroughly! One recommendation of his I'm taking is to try getting up at the same time, 7 days a week. I've been doing this and it seems to have helped my adjustment back to working an office job 5 days a week after a couple of years of working at home (and getting an after-lunch nap most days).

But his main focus is the large group that appears in his office saying "I don't sleep!" Everyone sleeps, he says, and proves it (IMHO).

Get a copy for your insomniac friend or loved one today!

Roast beef now comes with (*bleah* caramel coloring)

I recently went to buy some deli roast beef and was surprised that a lot of it in packages on the rack said "Caramel color added." I passed on all this and got what I had previously been buying: Safeway's "Primo Taglio" roast beef.

Much to my surprise, Safeway (or its supplier) has joined the caramel color bandwagon, making roast beef

 look like corned beef:

Bleah! I'm not buying any more of this stuff; I'll stick with making my own  or buying at PCC.