The 2011 InSanies

The first ever awards to be handed out here at the Asylum.  We'll honor here the most insane goings on in the low carb world in 2011.  These honors are bestowed with lighthearted humor, even if some were earned for actions of a more serious nature.  So, without further delay, in no particular order, I present

The 2011 InSanies

---

Read more »

More From Phoenix (and Sedona)

Freedom Twenty Five Book Review

As you know the Manosphere, Econosphere and Capposphere has many bloggers, an increasing number of which are writing books. Frost over at Freedom Twenty Five is one of those bloggers.

His book "Freedom Twenty Five: The 21st Century Man's Guide to Life" is available on kindle and on paperback. I had the pleasure to read it while flying all over tarnation at various airports and am hereby submitting my review.

In short, the book is mandatory reading for any young man, say 25 or younger. It would save millions of young men billions of hours and billions of dollars in effort, costs, finances and health savings. The book is quite wide in its scope covering finances, health, and courting, the health section I found particularly helpful. However (as with anything in any aspect of life) it may not be terribly beneficial to those over 25 or those who simple developed game and took the red pill of reality early on in their youth. Of course, this is not a criticism because my most recent book is the exact same thing - a book targeted towards youth, not necessarily older people, though older folks would certainly benefit from it.

Now many people will mock or ridicule Frost for writing a book that is merely a synopsis of the great volumes of wisdom in the Manosphere. And while this may be true, understand that young men do not have the time to be sifting through millions of pages in the Manosphere, let alone the hours required to pour through the Tom Leykis archives. If there is a battle-ready rifle to arm a young man with, quickly and efficiently, Frost's book is it.

I could go on about minor grammatical errors or minor punctuation typos, but then I would be a hypocrite. REgardless, if you are a young man without a lot of time on your hands and you need some guidance your single mom couldn't give you or your effeminate father couldn't provide, read Uncle Frost's book. The ounce of price is worth the pounds of prevention.

Weight Loss Advocacy

Should I post the real version of this? 

Let's imagine that Jane Smith has a bit of a weight problem growing up, gets married, has a couple of kids and some acknowledged issues with "emotional eating".   Jane has tried everything and nothing else seemed to work.   Around a decade ago, at 180 lbs, she discovers Weight-B-Gone, just enough different that she decides she might as well give it a try.  Over the next year following the WBG program, Jane loses 45 lbs.  Jane loves the WBG!  Woo hoo!   Jane keeps the weight off for six months but then some life issues arise.  She stops going to the gym regularly and does the diet plan half-assed on and off for several years.  Four years later she finds herself weighing in at 210 lbs. 

Read more »

Return of the Blue Collar

Where have all the good guys gone?

Language warning!

Starch is Paleo?

Tsimblist brought this presentation Dr. Nathaniel Dominy to my attention recently. 

Something commonly raised in favor of a high (animal) fat diet in paleolithic humans is the notion that this was required and/or precipitated the increase in human brain size.  He seems to be saying this is not so much the case as is often cited.  (Around the 9 minute mark).  This is a huge point!!  Dominy does not come across as some vegan shill, that's for sure.  He pretty much comes out and says that meat eating is a no-brainer -- we're not herbivores -- but favors a higher percentage of plant foods likely comprising our ancestral diet.  Worth a watch/listen.

The Low Carb W.O.E.ating Disorders

Believe it or not, this post has been in my draft bin getting retooled and almost published several times over since last March!  But I've always never quite gotten it to publish ready, or whatever sparked the rant died down a bit so it got shelved for another day.  But recently the topic of eating disorders was inadvertently brought to the fore by Jimmy Moore in his Jessica Biel spiel.  So dust off this one I did ...  and still, it sort of languished until something happened the past couple of days over at PaleoHacks.  Someone asked about purging -- as in bulimia -- contemplating inducing vomiting to rid themselves of the holiday indulgences.  There were several, I thought, constructive responses and no nastiness ensued that I was aware of.  Perhaps the initial question was a joke or whatever, but in rather short order the question disappeared entirely!  Not closed, but vaporized.  Which left a bad taste in my mouth.  Not because of anything against the PH people, they are free to run their site by their rules and such, but because there seems to be a pattern I'm seeing in such circles of avoiding the topic of eating disorders altogether.  ED ain't paleo.  Shhhhhhhhh.....

Read more »

Seth Rogens at Lux Central

This is quick because I'm on vacation.

My buddy, who is a liberal, takes me to this coffee shop called "Lux Central" in Phoenix.

It's actually quite a cool joint with lots of rooms, food AND A BAR! Layout is great, LCD projector in the back. Probably one of the top 5 coffee bars I've been to (what few I've attended). Only one problem.

The "Seth Rogen Effect."

The Seth Rogen Effect is where DB millineal males decide it's cool to wear a rats nest beard, crappy hair, and frankly, make a great attempt at looking even worse than my generation's Grunge counter part. If you don't know what I'm talking about precisely, look at Seth Rogen and you'll see precisely what I'm talking about.

Making matters worse is the girls of the same generation all deciding to dress like THelma from Scooby Doo, with the pronounced thick rimmed glasses.

The effect is while they're all trying to "fight the system" or "fight conformity," in the end they all look the same and effectively become the conformists they so hate. It's obvious (like the Grunge generation) they're trying really hard to make sure you know they don't care about how they look. So much so to the point it's almost like they're rubbing it in your face. And thus, I'm relegated to sit in what seems to be a faux hipster ugly people's convention, feeling pity for my millineal counterpart.

Now I don't personally care if the latest generation simply wishes to repeat the puke-inducing fashion fads of the 1970's and the 1990's in modern day form. I just go to a salsa club or a cigar bar and hang out with decent looking people who look like they bathe regularly. But let us take lemons and make lemonade out of it for our young, up and coming millineal economists who have the great misfortunes of growing up with this DB hipster crowd.

The great advantage any of you young, aspiring millineal economists have is that your peers, or more so, your competitors are purposely making it easy for you to score the attention of the opposite sex.

In the olden days, if you wanted the attention of the ladies you had to work out, run, lift weights and wear fancy (and expensive) clothes. It also helped if you drove a very expensive car and spent a lot of money. Now, with this current generation, it seems it's a race to the bottom. To make yourself look disgusting as possible. To make yourself look like a loser. To make it so you are the least attractive person to show just how cool and independent you are.

Thus, the bar has been lowered so much, you don't need to lift weights or spend a ton of money on a fancy car or buy fancy clothes. No!

All you have to do is simply SHAVE.

All you have to do is simply dress SLIGHTLY better than average.

All you have to do is be in AVERAGE shape.

And in doing this basic, simple things, you are already the hottest, sexiest guy in the room.

Ladies, it's the same thing. You don't need to wear an evening dress, work on your abs, doll yourself up, and spend hours at the salon. No!

All you have to do is SHAVE (the arm pits)!

All you have to do is SLIGHLY DOLL UP YOUR FACE!

All you have to do is WEAR CONTACTS!

All you have to do is WEAR A SKIRT OR DRESS AND LOOK FEMININE!

And in doing these basic, simple things, you are already the hottest, sexiest girl in the room.

Trust me for I speak from experience. The grunge fad went away quite quickly when the ladies started noticing that instead of having to settle for DouchebagMcGee grunger boy with his acoustic guitar, long hair and 7 year bachelor's degree in poetry, they could have a guy in a double-breasted suit, twirling them on the dance floor with a martini in hand with the swing dance craze. Instead of a Kirk Cobain pothead living in the dorm room with nylons on his arms, they could have the guy who could actually afford to take them to the newly-opened sushi restuarant in town. And instead of the sensitive 90's boy who would ask her permission to kiss her, she could get the jazz lounge connoisseur who would take her to underground jazz clubs, sip away at his martini, only to nibble on her shoulder without her express permission while taking in some Frank Sinatra.

In short, your generation has become so obsessed with proving to itself that it is beyond "materialism" or beyond "human nature" that any dumb average schmoe can simply adhere to the rudimentary basics of human nature and be the most sought after person in the room.

Oh sure, the "English" majoring hotty hiding behind the amish-length skirt and Thelma glasses, reading her worthless poetry book will put up a front. But if you show up in a motorcycle jacket on a motorcycle and say, "get on" she'll drop the faux intellectual front real quick (just look at how many "independent" liberal arts-majoring chicks are now with money-making surgeons and engineers. They didn't marry Kurt Cobain wanna be's).

And ladies, if you see a handsome man behind the Seth Rogen Wannabe facade if he'd just shave and wear a decent pair of jeans and a shirt, you could easily steal him from his Women's Studies majoring shebeast if you just put on a nice pair of heels and (gasp!) look feminine!

Already I have wasted too much of my vacation time helping you youth, so do not make it in vain. Go out and start plucking away at the diamonds in the Seth Rogen DB Hipster rough.

Fat Tissue Regulation ~ Part VII: Changes in Fat Cells with Weight Loss

I came across this one a while back and found it fascinating.

The Physiologic Effects of Caloric Restriction Are Reflected in the in Vivo Adipocyte-Enriched Proteome of Overweight/Obese Subjects

In this study, 8 overweight/obese individuals (4M/4F, 30-60 y.o.a., BMI ≥ 27, otherwise healthy) were treated with a very low calorie diet (500 cal/day shakes + unlimited veggies) for 5 weeks followed by a weight stabilizing diet for 3 weeks.  Abdominal subcutaneous fat biopsies were taken before and after the 8 week intervention.  

There's a lot more here than what I'll address in this post.  I hope to return to this at some future date, but in keeping with this series, I want to focus on the fat storage portions of the study.  I have quite a bit in the pike regarding fatty acid transport and storage in various cell types.  While fatty acids can be transported into (and out of) cells by passive means, it became apparent to me a while ago that the relatively rapid clearance of fatty acids into fat cells after a meal likely involved some active transport mechanism.  As it turns out, uptake of fatty acids by adipocytes is facilitated  by a fatty acid binding protein, FABP4.  Triglycerides are stored in adipocytes (and other cells) in what are called lipid droplets, LD.  Although the name implies something like a glob of fat, the lipid droplet is "coming of age" of sorts being recognized as a metabolically active organelle within the cell in much the same way as fat tissue has long since come to be recognized as so much more than just some passive depot for caloric excesses.  This study looked at a protein known as vimentin which is possibly associated with lipid droplet formation/organization.  More on this in a bit.

The table below summarizes the metabolic markers which were assessed in Week 6 immediately following the 5 week VLCD.  

So the subjects lost an average of 9.5 kg or just over 20 lbs body weight, 7.1 kg (almost 16 lbs) of which was fat.  Now I'm sure we'll get the usual "well, the diet was so low in calories it was effectively low carb" spiel as to why this diet worked, but such shake diets often do contain more carbs than some low carbers eat in a month.  In any case, let's focus on that dastardly hormone insulin.  Imposing a significant energy deficit on the adipocytes resulted in a more than 25% decrease in fasting insulin levels (the p-value of > 0.05 would not be statistically significant) and a 7% decrease in fasting blood glucose (the p-value of about 0.01 is statistically significant).    Check out those NEFA/FFA!!    Circulating free fatty acids were almost dropped in half!!  You see, when the 8 subjects were weight stable at approximately 20 lbs heavier weights, their blood was swimming with free fatty acids -- you know, those NEFA the low carb shills claim are being locked away in your fat cells by your carb-induced insulin baths.  

Here's what else they found:

... the uptake of fatty acids seems improved because on average there is a 40% increase in the abundance of FABP4 after the intervention. ... this provides evidence that weight reduction, in particular loss of fat mass, stimulates the basal function of triglyceride storage by adipocytes.

Note the adipocyte proteins were assessed after the full 8 weeks (3 weeks energy balance) so that the effect of an energy deficit was eliminated (or at least mitigated).  From a formerly obese point of view, this is somewhat depressing news as always.   At first glance, it seems that losing weight only primes the fat cells to gain it back.  But let's pan back a bit and look at this whole picture of the purpose of our fat cells:  to store energy for when we need it and keep excessive levels from circulation.  So this is actually good news!  Just 5 weeks and adipose tissue is dramatically transformed from overfilled and dysfunctional to doing it's thang protecting your non-adipose tissue from metabolic damage!

But here we see yet another contradiction in the woefully misguided TWICHOO.  Yes, folks, what happens when you lower insulin, as was done in this study?  The fat cells seem to have established a more fat-accumulation friendly environment upregulating FABP4.  But something else also happens, what is described as "a reduced intracellular scaffolding of GLUT4"  Hmmmm.  So fewer glucose transporters but more fatty acid transporters.  Remind me again what we store in our fat cells?   Perhaps some comedians should stick to their day jobs rather than formulating garbage theories about how our fat mass expands to accomodate glucose.  Sigh.  But to sum up:

• Before:  Higher insulin, higher GLUT4 scaffolding (to support glucose transport), lower FABP4 (to facilitate fatty acid uptake), elevated circulating NEFA.
• After:  Lower insulin, lower GLUT4 scaffolding, higher FABP4, lower circulating NEFA.

Fat cells don't go wild accumulating fatty acids, rather they're fed up and just can't take it anymore!  OK, sarcasm aside, this is yet another study that shows some rather dramatic changes in metabolic health with relatively minor changes in weight.  I believe the findings here are important with respect to hormones and circulating metabolites.  Although not statistically significant (probably due more to the small sample size and variation in levels than anything), the observed drop in fasting insulin levels of 25% is physiologically significant, and yet this was accompanied by an only 7% reduction in fasting glucose.  What, yet again, seems to have changed the most?  Those NEFA.  

I'm going to save my analysis of Keith Frayn's latest review paper for the new year, but the findings here dovetail nicely with Frayn's more recent thinkings on fatty acids.  Specifically, that adipocyte IR on the release side (inefficient suppression of  HSL )  may be less important in the etiology of metabolic syndrome and diabetes, but rather that the defect occurs at the uptake side of the equation.  This leads to inappropriately elevated basal circulating free fatty acids as well as inappropriately elevated postprandial NEFA with the composition of said fatty acids being potentially troublesome.   Both lead to too much fatty acid storage in inappropriate places.   Metabolically healthy lean individuals would have highly responsive fat tissue, presumably with sufficient FABP levels to whisk fat out of the bloodstream when called upon.  That the obese have less fat accumulating proteins than their leaner selves is also in contrast to TWICHOO.  The leaner "after" folks here had a more fat-trapping milieu than their "before" situations.  The lean generally trap fat very  efficiently (though some with insufficient adipose tissue do not).  Clearly, the individual components of what drives fat uptake/esterification and lipolysis/release, do not regulate the NET accumulation of fat.   This study adds to the evidence in support of this statement.

Before I go ... speaking of Frayn ... If you're relatively new to the Asylum, you may hear his name bantied about here often, but I've not blogged all that much on his work of late.  If you don't know what I was talking about just now, may I suggest the following older blog posts (in reverse chronological order):  Fatty Acid Trafficking , Adipose tissue as a buffer for daily lipid flux ~ Keith Frayn 2002 , Non-esterified fatty acid metabolism and postprandial lipaemia , Insulin Resistance ~ Taubes v. Frayn.

Captain Capitalism's Great Arizona Adventure

Howdy Cappy Cappites!

Currently in Phoenix, AZ enjoying the lack of contributing to GDP. Climbed a "mountain" today because Woolsey peak was inaccessible to my rental car. This is the mountain, which was not terribly high, but did have some technical climbs involved (and now i await the fun-poking criticisms from our regular mountaineer reader)

It was however fun, plus nearby this mountain is a petroglyph area (see pics below).

Angry Aging Grandma Protester

Continuing on with my fascination with old hippies who are still protesting and their faces when captured by photograhy, I remembered this picture from my capitalism/socialism seminar I did a couple years back.

This one is even more rewarding in that you can just see the results on what happens when naive children, WITHOUT RICH PARENTS TO BAIL THEM OUT, decide they're going to go and avoid the real world and become "professional protesters" or, more simply, dedicate their lives to a socialist cause. ie-what today's modern day OWS protester will become 40 years from now.



Just look at that.

Again, I ask those of you from the hippie generation, was it worth it? Are you happy you wasted your lives like you did? That lady could have had grandchildren right now. Could have had a normal life, a loving husband, loving family. Trips to Yellowstone, memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas (though duly noted this is Britain). Dancing the night away with her husband all dressed up in a nice evening dress. NIghts of cocktailing and martini's at jazz clubs. Watching black and white flicks until late into the evening. "Rocking chair time" as her and her husband lived out their last days on the porch. Heck, she could have also become an accountant or a doctor with a rewarding and PRODUCTIVE career.

Sadly, all I see is somebody who isn't really angry with society, as much as she is herself for being so stupid to piss her youth away. Now her brain faces a paradox:

Does she admit she was wrong this entire time and salvage what little of her life remains?

or

Does she continue down the path she set out for her self back in 1968 because her ego refuses to swallow its pride, thereby guaranteeing the remaining 10-20 years of her life are pissed away like the previous 50?

I don't credit these people with the intellectual honesty and fortitude to admit they were wrong. They just can't handle it, at least while they're alive. And so they will continue to piss away what little life they have left until they're on their death bed. And at that moment in time, the truth will fight its ugly way up through their gut to the frontal lobes of the brain where these people will be forced to realize and accept a conscious, crystalized thought;

"Oh my god. I wasted my life, and I have only myself to blame."

I will of course be sitting there, popcorn in hand, shot of Rumpie in the other, enjoying every minute of it as I enjoy the decline.

The Comments are Priceless!

Greetings Cappy Cappites across the fruited plain!

For some holiday cheer, I suggest reading the comments from Cafe Mom about worthless degrees!

Silly Rabbit, Worthless degrees are for kids!

It Would Be the Greatest Christmas EVER

Please bring back Firefly.

Please bring back Firefly.

Please bring back Firefly.

For those Cappy Cappites of the Capposphere that haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you watch the series Firefly.

Cpt. Malcolm Reynolds was actually fashioned after yours truly (and now wait for the roaring accusations of blasphemy)

Ripping on Poindexter

Heh heh. I don't think society will ever get rid of the trait of assailing, if not, killing anybody who steps outside of the box and tries to create something to help society.

ht

Also, a pretty good read from The Spearhead. I would only ad that society, through progressive regulations and attacks on success and profits, has effectively killed most young men's incentives to go out, work hard and create. Much more rewarding to move back in with their parents and play video games, because, "why should I go and try to cure cancer, let alone be a responsible father and husband?" This apathy I have not only witnessed in myself, but other men as well. It could be anecdotal, but I doubt it. Young men are becoming more apathetic to society's goals because the support structure there to cheer men on to go out and kick ass and take names that was around in the 1940's has been turned into a political and educational machine against them.

Though I salivate at the prospects of watching today's current political ideologists of feminism, socialism, diversity, and equal-outcome-at-all-costs advance society to something better than those "old patriarchical fogies" managed with Western Civilization.

Merry Christmas!!

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you who celebrates the birth of Our Savior a very Merry Christmas!  May you stay safe, warm and healthy at this joyous time.   

While many bloggers will probably be scarce until after the New Year, yours truly will likely be blogging up a storm as my day job is on hiatus for a month.  Hope to "see" you around, but if not, that's OK too ... I'll see you in 2011.  This afternoon I'm cooking up traditional Christmas Eve fare of my husband's ethnic tradition.  Perhaps I'll have some pics to post over in the Culinary Concoctions blog.  

Thanks for reading and contributing here, it means a lot to me.

From Our Canadian Man in the Field

I get a lot of e-mail from geologists and other folk employed in the mining/drilling sectors. Found this e-mail as I was cleaning up a bit, and decided like our SSMITF, I should share this with you:

Just wanted to say that your website is a great break in my day. I have to say that just about everything you say about people in my generation is true. I am a 27 year old petroleum geologist working in Alberta. The oil industry here has a major labor shortage in all sectors, that does not look like it is going to be getting better any time soon. If you have a bachelors degree in geology you can get a job in the field paying 150K a year for about 140 days work. If you have a MSC you can pick up right out of school a 120k a year job in the office with benefits and a healthy bonus structure along with loads of training and work place education. Engineering, accounting and finance jobs are all about the same in terms of pay and benefits etc. I am willing to be that students in University are not told by their counselors etc that these career paths even exist.

However the industry can not find enough qualified graduates to fill these roles. While in school, of about 15 of us in the department only about 3 work in the oil and gas industry. This is despite the oil companies offering internships paying 30$/hr, sending students all around the world on paid field trips. The attitude is that young people don't want to get into the industry having been told for years that working in Universities, for the government, or for environmental companies is a more noble way to contribute to society.

I am starting to run out of sympathy for people out of work in Canada and the USA when I see jobs advertised for unskilled labor in northern Alberta for 75-100k per year. It scares me to think what will happen when the 80% of the people of my generation realize how much wealth the motivated 20% has created for them selves, and decide to try and spread that wealth around.

Something for AARP to Ponder

If any of this is true (which it is), I fear for AARP members when they rely on the youth they brainwashed to take care of them when they're old. Methinks there will just be a lot of really cheap tent-city nursing homes if any at all.

Freedom Twenty-Five: A 21st-Century Man’s Guide To Life

Frost, as some of you know, is out gallivanting about, living the life every 20 something male should in Asian right now. However, for such a young fellow, he also managed to compile a book which is no small feat for the average 20 something American male.

I have yet to read it, and thus review it, but don't let that stop you from taking a look at it. It's available on

Kindle

or

Paperback

You may read reviews here.

I believe it is (much like my book) targeted towards youth to make it so their futures are easier than ours. It is a "game" themed book that, for all the writing and blogging in the manosphere, I'm not sure there are too many of.

Regardless, visit young Frost and if you need something to read at the airport, download the Kindle version.

The Poor Chillllldwreeeennnnn

Yet another reason why I don't care about the "chillllldrreeeennn" or baby mamas. They are so spoiled by a public sector father (financed by us of course) that this constitutes a crisis of some kind.

ht

Captain 5 Years Ahead of Fed Economists

From Aug of 2011.

From (originally) September of 2006. (if you don't believe me, look at when the charts end).

Ahhhh, if I only learned to kiss ass instead of kick ass, I could be employed as a government economist today.

Vintage X-Mas Cappy Cap

For those of you who don't have the greatest budget for this Christmas, consider the gift all guys want from other guys!

Nothing!

Give the Gift of Super-Awesome Economic Genius!

Dear Fellow Beloved Junior, Deputy, Aspiring, Official or Otherwise Economists,

Thank you very much for your purchases of my new book, not to mention many of you have just outright donated cash to the ole Captain. The Captain likes cash!

However, as I know, not everybody has the money to make donations or purchase my books. Not to mention, many of you either already know about the housing crisis or have already attended college and have no real interest in reading about it more. However, there is only one request I have of my readers and that would be to merely forward a link to a friend or another web site that might help boost my sales.

We have a lot in inventory at the Cappy Cap Store, just click on any one of the numerous side bar advertisements to grab the link and forward it to anybody you think might be receptive. About the only thing that isn't already linked in the side bars is the Kindle version of Worthless, which you can find here.

In the meantime, hopefully you or somebody will be able to read a little bit of the Super Awesome Economic Genius on their holiday travels and the Captain can keep you company as you sit in the airport waiting for your flight.

A Feminist Christmas

I was going to throw this in with the rest of the links, but then it dawned on me it deserves its own ridicule.

I link to the Spearhead and not the Youtube video, for the video does not deserve the hits. But you should read the article (short), but more importantly watch the video.

Honest to the Patron Saint's Name of Frick. Are feminists even capable of being happy? How sad do you have to be to go and take innocent little Christmas songs and purposely find something wrong with them? I know the strategy is to take innocent things, create or identify false "problems" with them, claim victim status, and then demand government funds for compensation, but geez, you just look like, well, a bunch of pissed off feminists.

Additionally, while the girl in the video claims there are some really "creepy" things in these Christmas songs, what's really creep is something that hearkens back from my parochial school days. At this veritable brainwash camp I attended in my youth, we would be allowed to listen to records. But the teachers were always, constantly and PURPOSELY trying to find things wrong with the lyrics so they could scold us for listening to the song. Half the time the lyrics were so intelligible, we just liked the beat and the music itself. But no, they said (just like Msssssss. Bahumbug did),

"But do you really listen to the lyrics and the hidden messages?"

As if to ply a guilt trip on you for daring to sing "Baby It's Cold Outside" and imply some kind of sin by association.

So to all you feminists who want to make everybody as miserable as you are during Christmas, perhaps this would be a better song:



Merry Christmas...that's if you're capable of it.

Update - seems the ratings and comments section of this video have been disabled. Probably because it didn't jive with the author's ideological desires of foisting misery and solitude upon all women. Apparently all the women who want real men and desire to be happy didn't like the video, not to mention, if any statistical evidence showed just how unpopular "feminism" is in the US, it would cost all those precious little feminists the rationale for their existence.

Don't worry girls, keep on crusading. A lonely, male-free nursing home, replete with cats and abusive government paid union socialist orderlies awaits you where you can convince yourself you didn't purposely shoot yourself in the foot by criminalizing what ironically could have been the best thing for you.

Oh, and merry CHRISTmas.

Linking Far and Away

You can just tell without even having to read the figures.

"Math is hard." Tough sh!t kid. Unemployment is harder. Learn the damn math.

Why I wish I had a "Baseball Bat of Enlightenment" when I hear naive 19 year old college students espouse socialism.

Schroeder had game because he ignored Lucy. Schultz knew this.

You enjoy your career, we'll enjoy watching you decline and fail at bringing up what are 100% guaran-freaking-teed to be screwed up kids.

Economics is a Worthless Degree

A lot of people ask me if I find economics to be a worthless degree and I say, "Yes, yes it is."

The discipline has been corrupted by Keynesians and professional bureaucrats as a means to rationalize wealth transfers and any private sector employment is minimal due to the private sector being about as dumb and intellectually crippled as the labor pool it pulls it's leaders from.

Thankfully I majored in finance so I have some modicum of accounting skill to fake like I know what I'm doing. Regardless, I would strongly advise AGAINST majoring or pursuing a career in economics because you will simply, once again, be giving Big Education academians your money to be:

1. Lied to
2. Taught nothing
3. With no tangible skill that any employer wants
4. Unless you already have an uncle in the Bulge Bracket or government who can land you a job

However, I do believe, like writing, it is a skill you should develop or learn on your own in that it will serve you better in other areas of your life. Not just because it's intellectually rewarding and stimulating, but studying reality-based economics (ie-Austrian) will help you understand where to invest, how society will evolve (or in our case collapse) and in general predict the economy much better than Krugmanites.

Insulin: A-to-Z and More

Well folks, as 2011 draws to a close, it seems the reason for the Asylum's very existence has all but evaporated into thin air.  What?  You didn't know?  Yes indeed!  Apparently my work here is done as nobody really believes that carbs cause insulin cause fat accumulation stuff anymore.  But I'm hopelessly mired in debunk mode so, of course, I just happen to glance at the insulin levels in studies when I read them, and so it was when I revisited the Dansinger diet study recently.   And so, just in case there's even a single person out there who still believes that their low carb diet is working by lowering their insulin levels, I thought I'd start this first ever compilation post here.

OK, I'll knock off the sarcasm now.  Yes, I know most of my readers will find this post repetitive of what I've already presented ample evidence for here.  But since part of the purpose of this blog in the first place was for me to organize information I gather, I thought having a post like this, that I will update with data from any studies providing relevant information, would be just that sort of thing.  Depending on how often I add to this, I may bump it each time I update, or just periodically (I have no intent of this post cluttering feed readers out there every few days!).  So, without further ado ...

Read more »

Just for the fun of it ...

From the comments on PaleoOD, something Kurt Harris said prompted this t-shirt slogan idea by bentleyj74:

"I'm wrong with all the right people"

Which got me thinking ... would you rather be:

• Wrong with all the right people ... or
• Right with all the wrong people??

Of course, I'm always right so ...

Just kidding ... If this generates some discussion I'll chime in on the comments with my own thoughts.

Random(ized) Thoughts on Replication and Control

I had started this post as a follow-up to my A Matter of Control post before Chris Masterjohn posted the following over on his Daily Lipid blog:  When Standing At the Brink of the Abyss, Staring Into the Great Unknown, We Randomize.  

I think Chris highlights some of the reasons why randomization is important in studies, but in my opinion, he does overreach some as to the power and purpose of randomization. I'll address those concerns towards the end of this post.  Still, his post is spot on regarding two of the important reasons why randomizing is important in studies:

1. Selection (self or assigned by investigator) bias, and 
2. Unknown confounders

Read more »

Please Lie to Me

I say "the numbers tell us" because I've become very sensitive to the impact this kind of statement has on people. When I warned about the impending bankruptcy of General Motors in 2006 and 2007, readers actually blamed me for the company's problems – as if my warnings to the public were the real problem, rather than GM's $400 billion in debt.

The claim was absurd. But the resentment my work engendered was real.

So please... before you read this issue, which makes several arresting claims about the future of our country... understand I am only writing about the facts as I find them today. I am only drawing conclusions based on the situation as it stands. I am not saying that these conditions can't improve. Or that they won't improve.

Foolish man, doesn't he know the way to get ahead is to tell the aging gray hairs what they want to hear?

Poindexter's Revenge

Mandatory listening for all 14 year old boys, as well as their grown up male counterparts.

So Wronwrey

Looks like some people aren't missing a meal in the DPNK.

"Booming" Housing Market

"Booming" which is like calling Roseanne Bar "hot."

I've updated the St. Louis Fed's chart to show that "booming" increase to 680,000 annualized units. You just can't miss the huge BOOM because it's so obvious, plus I made it red.



See the boom!? Do you see it?!! How can't you see it!!! It's SO OBVIOUS!

Not to mention it's all "multi-family" construction which means more renters and less owners!

Recovery, here we come!!!!

America is Running Out of Bubbles

It was 1997.

I was working for this DB investment "firm" in Chicago. They all were pursuing their CFA's and MBA's and they all graduated from some top notch Ivy League school or another.

We were sitting around and the topic of conversation came up about the valuation of the stock market at the time.

One Northwestern graduate said, "It should be trading at 10,000."

Another U of Chicago graduate said, "It should be trading where it is."

I said, "It should be trading at 7,000."

They all laughed at me and thought I was nuts. But since I went to a public school and had to put myself through college, I knew I was right. The DJIA should have been trading at 7,000. Not the 9,000 it was trading at, at that time, let alone the 11,000 the moron from Skokie said it should be trading at.

It would only be another short year before the Asian currency crisis took the DJIA back to the level it should have been trading at and proved all my DB ivy league contemporaries wrong.

Of course, my victory would be short lived. The reason why is that within another short year a new phenomenon hit the market. The "Dotcom craze!"

I was no computer engineering major, but I had a hard time trying to understand why the DJIA went up to 11,000 because we sold pet food online. I was told I was a fool and didn't understand the "complexities" with the internet and how B2B, B2C and C2C marketing worked. I was a moron for not seeing how this would result in a mere tripling of our GDP.

Again. I said it wouldn't last, the earnings weren't there, blabbity blah blah blah.

And sure enough, the DJIA dropped back to 7,500 when all those MIT and Ivy league graduates couldn't get it economically up and produce the GD profits required to rationalize their valuations.

You would think this time, the Ole Captain would be proven correct. That sanity had finally placed itself at the helm of the pscyhology of the market. But no, there was a new bubble.

The housing bubble.

I don't have to go into detail about the insanity that occurred there, because I already wrote the freaking book on it. But it was the same damn thing.

"Yea!!! Asset prices are increasing! Why???? Uh...umm....I don't know, but they are...YEA!!!!! Let's borrow more than we can afford out of it!!!! I want an SUV honey even though I have a degree in philosophy and work as a nanny!"

Of course nobody listened to my super awesome economic genius and, consequently, the economy went into it's worst recession since 1929 and ONCE AGAIN the DJIA DROPPED TO 7,000.

The solution, of course, advocated by our dear beloved leaders today is "education." Let's throw a trillion dollars a year into education. But, oh no. Not education where genuine economic production takes place like engineering or computers or physics. Oh, mercy me oh my no. No, let's all major in philosophy or education or sociology or whatever "hobby degree" the trillions of dollars the naive Chinese have lent us to piss away pursuing these worthless degrees.

And jee shucks whillikers howdy.

Where do you think the DJIA is going to end up this time?

I've been saying it for a long time. The DJIA - in short, the prevailing market price or numerical representation of the total economic productive capacity of the United States - should be at 7,000.

And what's great, what is supremely delicious, is that as far as I can tell, Americans have just plain ran out of bubbles to bail them out. How, oh how, are you going to keep that precious DJIA perpetually going upward so you can all afford to "magically" retire at 62?

Understand, my arrogance and bravado aside, I was genuinely the best damn finance and economics major at the U of MN. I put myself through college, I worked full time and went to school full time. I knew the 4 people who graduated with GPA's better than me, and they all had mommy and daddy paying their way and they took 5 years to graduate compared to my 3.5. They didn't even come close to me in terms of intelligence, let alone my intricate and intuitive understanding of economics, finance and accounting, let alone pure drive and determination.

So when every time it looked like FINALLY the economic realities of the global economy would come to roost and deliver a dose of reality to the US economy, and I would be proven right, NO, the Americans were always creative and resourceful in finding new bubbles to constantly bail them out.

First it was the booming 90's, felled by the Asian currency crisis.

Then it was Dotcom Mania, felled by DB Gen X'ers who never had any intention of making genuine economic production.

Then it was a housing bubble, felled by the ineptitude of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers to make their mortgage payments

only to sadly and futilely be bailed out by the (pfa!!!! You ready!??? You sitting down?? This is going to be hilarious!)

The education bubble as worthless Millineals (don't care how it's spelled) pursue their degrees in "Puppetry" and Sociology and whatever worthless touchy feel good crap the preceding generations told them to go and major in.

In short, for the past 2 decades, America has been relying on bubbles to hide the underlying deterioration (ie-read laziness) in its ability to produce genuine economic production. We rely on asset price increases to pay for our retirements, to boost consumer confidence, to boost consumer spending, all while producing nothing of economic value to rationalize these price increases, resulting in not just bubbles and trade deficits, but unfathomable peace-time debts and deficits.

So, I'm just curious, fellow Americans. What faux bubble are we going to pursue now to hopefully fake out the rest of the world that we are a serious country to give us favorable lending terms so we can continue to piss away our creditors' monies?

A "Green Bubble" like the highly successful Solyndra.

A "Grrrrrrrl Power Bubble" like all you girls with your masters in social work and elementary education? Yeah, that'll close the trade gap with China and bring us back to a booming economy.

The "Baby Boomer 401k Bubble." Oh, that's right, you all pissed away:

1. The money you inherited from the WWII generation
2. The little money you worked up during your presupposed "productive years"
and
3. The money you mortgaged from your children in the form of SS and Medicare.

I'm sure, with the WONDERFUL employment opportunities you've left future generations we'll be able to just keep on contributing to the stock market via our own 401k's plans to keep stock prices artificially high so you can slowly switch out of equities into bonds.

The sad truth is that America has run out of options.

There are going to be no more magic tricks. There is no asset class remaining that hasn't been artificially inflated. There is no government where "Barack and His Magical Keynesian Unicorns" that are going to come to your rescue.

The time is VERY NEAR where the harsh, mean, cold realities of economics are going to beat the ever living crap out of naive, idealistic, lazy, socialist people, and I am here watching with my cigar lit, my Rumpleminze poured, fully intending to savor every second of it. It's already happening.

I love watching Detroit collapse.

I love watching employers cut jobs in socialist states like California and Minnesota.

I love watching OWS protesters with degrees in "peace studies" bitch about not finding jobs.

I absolutely savor the increasing number of stories where the Baby Boomers are so woefully prepared for retirement they have to "GASP" WORK PAST 65!!!!!

All these morons have just plan ran out of scams and charades to postpone the inevitable. You all are relying upon that so precious DJIA to keep going up at the historic 12.8% it has since 1881. Your 401k plans, your 403b plans, your pensions, your retirements, your TIAA CREF's, your teacher unions' pension funds. All of it dependent on stock prices going up, while you so damn ignorantly want to punish and tax the "evil corporations."

No bubble can save you now.

No miracle can overcome your ignorance.

I'm just waiting, at the edge of my seat, to see which new cockamamie bubble you're going to concoct now to bail your pathetic asses out.

Please, humor me.

Because the only thing that will genuinely bail you out is going to be legitimate economic growth. Something no American has the patience or work ethic for.

PaleOD

I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but is anyone else suffering Paleo Fatigue Syndrome?  Over dosing on just hearing the term "paleo" these days?   

I am.  

I've spent some stretches hanging out over on Paleo Hacks, and I keep my eye on various blogs and such low carb, which, these days, seems to be all the rage paleo.  My blog feed is even included at PaleoBuzz.com.

But, does anyone else find it strange when Mister Livin la Vida Low Carb himself now promotes "XX new blogs posts" with the word Paleo BEFORE low carb?  (Not to mention some paleo speakers on the 2012 cruise are decidedly not low carb dogmatists!)  I don't think Jimmy reviews his latest and greatest lists too well (hee hee, I made one I think sometime summer 2010 back when he only listed like 25 at a pop).  It wouldn't surprise me if along with some blogs that haven't been updated in months you might just find a carbivore paleo or three.  But I digress ...

Read more »

I Solved the "Giggle Complex"

Men in the ballroom dance community will know what I'm talking about and will appreciate the great advancement I've just made.

The "Giggle Complex" is when you go to a table of girls at a dance hall, and in order to not seem like you're a stalker or targeting any one girl, you say,

"Would any of you like to dance?"

Without fail, what reliably ensues is giggling. This is then followed up by the different girls at the table pointing at each other,

"No, you dance with him."

giggglelgiglglegiggle

"No, YOU dance with him!"

giggleglgiggleigiggleggiel

"Tee hee, I don't know how to dance, you should dance with him!"

giggilgeiglggigglggilgglegiggle

You stand there like an idiot for about a solid minute that seems to last an eternity as they unknowingly mock you in front of many people (I however immediately do an about face once they giggling and pointing and "no you" BS begins, and have seen women continue pointing at each other not realizing I've left). If you have confidence, you actually take it in stride and perhaps even revel in the irony of how these girls are no doubt the ones complaining about where "all the good guys are," while there stands before them the salsa-dancing, motorcycle riding, fighter-pilot, surgeon, alphamale they all dream of having, but loathe the concept of dancing with.

Regardless, this presents a problem to men in the dance community, because while this strategy is still one of the best approaches to notch up some dances, it is draining, not terribly successful and is insulting.

Introduce a little Alphamaleness.

Was at the local dance club in town. Not a lot of dancers here, but there is a dance hall and it gets reasonably packed on the weekend. Fed up with the past 3 weekends of getting shot down and by none-too-pretty ladies I might add, my attitude was not a patient one. I saw a girl that was in shape, went up to her and her group of friends at the table and said,

"Hey, let's dance."

The giggling and pointing was about to start, and she said,

"You should dance with my friend she..."

I cut her off. I said,

"I didn't ask her to dance. I asked you to dance."

The initial giggling immediately stopped.

Their eyes went wide.

No childish finger pointing or mocking ensued.

She got up off of her seat, walked to the dance floor with me and danced. When I got back to the table, I pointed at the next one and said,

"You're next."

Ended up dancing with the whole table.

I officially believe this is the way now to approach all women when you are asking them to dance, especially when they're securely huddled within the "herd." You single the hottest one out, go right up to her, borderline tell her she's dancing with you, and before the cackling can begin you deliver the silver bullet,

"I didn't ask her to dance, I asked you to dance."

Has not failed me yet.

The only other method I've had that has been more successful is to bring a ringer in. This is where you bring a dance partner who is outstanding. You dance so everybody can see how good you are, essentially advertising to the women,

"Yes, I know how to dance. And yes, you too could be the center of attention just like this woman I'm dancing with now."

Whether they know how to dance or not, they won't care. They want to become that woman on the center of the floor and have all the attention of all the men in the joint.

Christmas Gifts for Teenagers

Well, you could always buy them some wisdom that will prove more helpful than college itself.

Or the cheaper Kindle version thereof.

And it will be a lot less likely they'll came back to live with their parents when they're 30 years old.

Worthless Available on Kindle

Greetings Cappy Cappites from across the fruited plain!

Good news! "Worthless" is now available on Kindle! For $5, you can have the super-awesome economic genius and knowledge of the book. That's less than a hefty pour of Rumpie at your favorite bar. No need to sit at the airport, bored, unamused during your holiday travels! Cuddle up with the Captain and read the anti-communist goodness within! Actually, if you're a guy, perhaps just a handshake and you can read the anti-communist goodness within. But if you're one of the ladies, yes, then pour yourself a nice shot of Rumpie, fire up the fire and cuddle with the Captain vicariously via the Kindle.

However, I do want to note something. The formatting required to get this thing loaded up into Kindle is HORRENDOUS! I managed to get the text to work well, but the charts do kind of throw off the layout and format a bit. I do apologize in advance.

Regardless, go forth and buy now! Worthless makes a great gift for the holidays!

Woe Upon Those That Throw Away the Christmas Gift Bags

Men,

Lend me your ears!

Do you want your Christmas to be marred with insufferable pain?

Do you want your ear drums popped by the screeches and howls of women?

If not, HEED MY WORDS!

Taketh not the Christmas gift bag, in all of its pretty shinnyness, and throw it away in the garbage.

Nay.

Reuse the shinny bag for presenting gifts to more people.

The reason not beith so that thee may reuse and recycle.

Nay.

It is to avoid the blood-curdling screams from the women when they see you threw away a gift bag and the ensuing 2 hour lecture about how you're supposed to use those pretty bags over and over.

Fasting Insulin & Diet ~ Time for some Cognitive Dissonance?

Reader Josh brings this study to our attention:

High saturated fat and low starch and fibre are associated with hyperinsulinaemia in a non-diabetic population

Huh?  They compared dietary intake (24 hour recall) for 1069 non-diabetics (assessed by administering a glucose tolerance test) with fasting insulin levels.  

Subjects were seen for up to three visits from 1984 to 1992. A 24-h diet recall and fasting insulin concentrations were collected at all visits....

... High total and saturated fat intake were associated with higher fasting insulin concentrations after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index, waist circumference, total energy intake and physical activity. Dietary fibre and starch intake were inversely associated with fasting insulin concentrations....

... Associations were similar in men and women and for active and inactive subjects, though associations of fibre and starch intake with insulin concentrations were strongest in lean subjects. 

Read more »

An Example of Alphaness

"No, I'm done listening to your mindless cackling and your replacement of logic with emotion. I don't give a damn how you "feel." I only care about the truth. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore."

This is very important for the 14 year old boys out there to notice. Look at the women's faces. They're arguing against this guy, but they don't look angry or upset. Matter of fact they actually look somewhat intrigued and turned on.

Stand your ground, show some strength (physical and mental) and that will do more to impress chicks than trying to compromise or placate them.

Safe v. Non-Toxic

I've been listening and reading about the web, and the "buzz" over so-called "safe starches" continues.  One of the sentiments that goes with this is the idea that somehow Paul Jaminet is being irresponsible by promoting starch consumption.  The rationale is that because some minority of the population is intolerant to certain starchy foods, at best we should be labeling foods like potatoes and white rice "non-toxic" starches.  I disagree.  Firstly, in their book and on the blog, the Jaminets' reason for designating certain starches as safe couldn't be much more clear.   Secondly, I don't like the word toxic associated with a substance found in natural foods that has sustained billions of human lives throughout many millenia.  

There are a certain number of people who are wildly allergic to peanuts.  Should every book or nutritionist that allows peanuts, or even encourages peanut butter as a good choice for snacks tag them semi-toxic?  In my opinion, the fact that there are some folks with celiac does not justify the demonization of wheat consumption for all people.  Then we have nightshades.  Should we start talking about "non-toxic" fruits and veggies because some seem sensitive to these foods?  

Read more »

Liberal Lies Must Taste Better Than Rumpleminze

Inevitably economics comes to a crossroads with human psychology.

And the question I ask is how blacks (represented by the blue line) and youth (represented by the green line) can still blindly believe, year after year, time after time the same damn tired outright lies they are told about how the real world economy works by the left.

The read line is the civilian unemployment rate. The gap is unacceptable. But frankly, I learned about 5-6 years ago, I can't do anything to fight ignorance, heck, most of the time you're eviscerated for doing so. Ergo, all I can do is shake my head and pitifully say,

"Enjoy the decline."

Recession Medicine - Family Dog 3

Couldn't remember if I loaded this final one up:

Worthless Degrees Helping the Sex Trade

Well that degree may not be handy, but I'm sure some of the prettier sociology majors can find some employment.

Fathers, do your daughters a favor. Man up and buy her Worthless.

Today's Linkage

Again, when government spending as a percent of GDP drops below 10% and the percentage of the federal budget that goes to income transfers drops below 10%, then I will donate to charity. Until that time, your money is simply going to employ people to run a charity which is already being served by government largess.

Not another Baby Boomer drama. God, nobody cares. As one poster said, "I can't wait to see drama shows or sitcoms based on nursing homes."

Wow, who knew she would have had a worthless degree! Prevent your children from becoming this, buy "Worthless!" now!

Until the right decides to separate religion from politics, you can expect the religious right to be an anchor attached to the F-18 Superhornet that could destroy socialism once and for all.

Sheeple will kill you because their desire to not be proven wrong overrides any desire they have to hunt down and discover the truth. Bonus points for the Fall Out 3 theme.

Why I don't support Newt, I still support Herman Cain, and why Ron Paul is the next best option.

14 year old boys, lend me your ears, so that you may not suffer the hell your fore-bearers did before you.

Toronto's women must be very sexually frustrated. But, they voted for it.

An aspect of "Hopey Changey" I didn't think of. I hope the unions aren't invested too much in GM stock...oops!

Will it be the same for black kids? I ask because none of them are familiar with slavery or the underground railroad today either. So glad I don't pay taxes any more for that BS.

Correct

The Debt Fuel Fizzled

A report by the Fed in St. Louis tiptoeing around the possible causes of the collapse in growth and standards of living.

Of course I know the answer - debt is no longer a way to grow a country out of economic malaise because the funds are never put to their best use. Not to mention when you have so much of it, it scares away investment because it increases the chance of collapsing the system. There's also the psycho-sociological havoc that's been wreaked upon the productive people in this country, sending them into an economic coma as we champion the losers of this country (single baby mama's, the poor, the "oppressed", etc.) at the expense of the true champions and heroes.

Until there is a future (and by future, I mean profit and freedom not to be taken away by the government to give away as bribe money to the losers of this country), you can expect the decline to continue.

Because no matter how much you may hate to admit it, it is the productive people, the "champions" that move society forward.

Not the ill.

Not the poor.

Not the "oppressed."

Not the connected.

Not the nepotists.

Not the rent seekers.

Not the old or infirm.

It's the Tony Starks.

The Howard Hughes.

The Bill Gates.

The Vanderbilts.

The Carnigies.

And those that just plain work for a living and support themselves.

The revolutionaries and industrialists that piss off all the right people because they constantly threaten the status quo because they found a better way to do things. Not the "single mom at the WIC office" or some AARP protester begging for more Medicare we're all so obsessed about championing these days.

Of course, we can continue to spend nearly 75% of the federal budget on these people via income transfers and hope somehow magically the economy turns around, or, we can put the producers and innovators back in charge, let them do their thing and help out everybody.

But something tells me people would rather force everybody to make $17,000 a year, rather than have a few people making $500,000 a year, another group $200,000 a year and the poorest only $50,000 a year. Because for socialists being "equal" is more important than being successful.

"Worthless" NOW AVAILABLE!

Happy Day, Junior, Deputy, Aspiring, Official and Otherwise Economists!

"Worthless" is now officially available.


The Kindle version will come later, but if you're looking for a great book for any youth in your life about to attend, or already attending college, this is THE Christmas gift you want to get them. Also, if you just plain want to read an outstanding evisceration of "Big Education" and have warm Cappy Cap fuzzies in your stomach, pour yourself a Rumpie, fire up a fire and read the charty goodness within.

The book is only 175 pages, and a small book at that. So it is easily consumable in an afternoon. It is meant to be a guide, so it is succinct and to the point. Not a Ayn-Randian tome that goes on forever. Regardless, there is something for everybody in "Worthless," so I sincerely doubt you will be let down.

So go forth and buy now! More to come!

Friendly Policy Reminder from the Captain

Greetings all.

What I regret more than not choosing petroleum engineering as a major back in my youth is when I see a brilliant comment or post made by a reader, but it is either full of cursing or just even too crass for my sake.

I am therefore requesting that those of you who are making posts or comments of the intelligent nature not ruin it with cursing or swearing or just off color commentary.

I, as much as the next man, appreciate the appropriately placed "damn" or "god-damned" to emphasize a point. However we can't have "filth and foul, foul filth, and effing b$#%tches, and foul and filth."

So please make your points somewhat clean. I'm not running an Emily Post blog here, but neither a submarine.

Thank you,

Cpt.

Another 1500 Calorie Lesson in Reality

The apparent ineffectiveness of "conventional diets" for weight loss was somewhat lost in the excitement of the recent intermittent LC study.  Well, maybe not lost entirely ... there's always lots of "see, counting calories is useless" to go around.  But it struck me, yet again, that part of the problem with such traditional weight loss diets is that they are simply too high in calories to produce significant losses.  

Harvie's group has done a number of studies (I hope to discuss some when I get time and if I can get the full text of some) in pre-to-post menopausal age women with a focus on breast cancer risk.  Her group's "standard diet" seems to be a 1500 cal/day diet.  In the study presented at the San Antonio conference, the control group followed a 1500 cal/day Mediterranean style diet, and lost a piddly 4 pounds over 4 months.  See?  They don't work!!  Perhaps the reason why they don't work, however, is because that is simply not a weight loss level of calories for most women.  Now, this is a tough pill for many of us to swallow, but swallow it we must or we'll tear our hair out wondering over our metabolic derangements and hormonal dysfunction (or is that metabolic dysfunction and hormonal derangements ... or does it matter? ...).

Read more »

Why the World's Greatest Economists Are Black

Women, as I've said before, I believe make better accountants. They are more detail oriented and are in perpetual training to audit their future husbands so they may lord anal retentive inconsistencies over them (HAR HAR HAR!!!). But, no, seriously, you want a woman tax accountant, just as you would a woman editor of books because they are more detailed and precise than men.

I will also stand here before you today and claim blacks make better economists. The reason why is below.



We can test my theory by seeing what kind of upbringing Paul Krugman had. I predict it was very cushy, thereby resulting in the utterly craptastic economist he is today. Anybody know?

Bleeping Horses

English teacher with $174,000 per year pension, now running a horse farm.

Bleeping golden parachute for teaching a language everybody is already fluent in.

Lingering Flavors ... Emulsifiers & Stabilizers

You can file this one in the random thoughts file ;-)

Think about foods you tend to overeat once you have some.  Nuts come to mind.  They are usually salted, and something about the yummy nut flavor mixed with the salt seems to stay on the tongue longer.  It lingers.  I know that if I'm having cashews (yes, I know, not technically a nut) I want more and more and more if there is a ready supply of more.  So I tend to grab nuts, when I do, in single serve packets or on the way out the door.  If I have them in the house, I take a handful or whatever from the kitchen and go eat in another room.  But when that handful is done, while that flavor persists in my mouth, I always want more, and it's not hunger or craving or any desire to binge.  It seems to be the lingering flavor.  (Brushing one's teeth helps with this big time!)

Read more »

From Our Spanish-Speaking Man in the FIeld

Our SSMITF sent this to me and tendered the following theory:

Conservatives are more happy than liberals because they recognize that people are not perfect, the world can never be perfect, and that choices involve trade-offs. At first blush, that might have a pessimistic twinge to it, but it's a matter of realism. Liberals get frustrated when they can't create their socialist utopia where we all live in fraternal harmony and sing kumbaya, cease all wars, while saving the planet, the whales, and every aboriginal language on the face of the planet. Conservatives are more modest in what they think they can accomplish, and so are much happier with their lives even if things don't go perfectly.

I will tender a simpler theory (though not disagreeing with what he said):

The Truth Principle.

When you don't abide by the truth or live in the real world, whatever actions you take are going to be fruitless or fail. This ultimately results in no success and no genuine progress in you life.

Liberals, and especially OWS protesters, become progressively more angry that life "just isn't doing what it's supposed to," and as they age, become progressively more fearful that they may have been wrong their entire lives.

Worse still, they realize, deep down inside they simply wasted their youth, AND their "ideological dream" will never be realized.

Convervatives on the other hand, don't even need success to necessarily be happy. The fact they understand what is going on and why will make them happier than the average liberal because they're not delusional. Though, they may never achieve the wealth or progress they were capable of because of corruption, nepotism, parasitic liberals and the commensurate tax price tag that comes with it, they at least understand and do what they can within the scope of the real world.

For example:

Do I like the way the country is going?

No.

Did the US ever provide the opportunities I could avail myself of, work hard, and achieve my best as we were told in school?

No.

Will I ever be able to achieve what I dreamed?

No.

But, at least I know why. And in knowing why, I now know to no longer try to become the world's greatest economist. I merely go out and maximize the fun I have on this planet. I buy motorcycles, I live out west, I hike, I play video games, I sleep in, I hang out with you schmoes, and do what I CAN to maximize my happiness. And that also includes watching people suffer from their own choices - OWS protesters get angry that there isn't limitless funds, or aging Gen X women who constantly ask "where are all the good men," liberals bringing children into the world and having the sudden horror about what kind of world they're bringing their children into, etc. etc. It's the epitome of enjoying the decline.

Liberals constantly TRY to do what they CAN'T, which is why they fail at being as happy as conservatives. They major in worthless subjects, indebt themselves, and then get pissed off when the labor market doesn't just "poof" make them a job. Feminists try to ignore an entire half of the population's psychology, and then get pissed off when there aren't any real strong men any more, and they are relegated to cats. And union members, get enraged at the economic realities of the taxpayer's money no longer being there and no foreign countries willing to lend the US money to pay for their bloated and unnecessary salaries.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, but does the average life long, professional protester, when sitting on their death bed, ever come to the realization that all they managed to do in their life was piss it away? That in protesting against reality and effectively being poor their entire lives, but "oooh goodie! They helped enact some legislation to save the whales!," they may rue the one shot they had at life?

I don't know about you, but if that was me, I'd be pretty angry too. And the only person I'd have to be angry at would be myself.

Whatever the case, don't be one of those people. Live in reality. Otherwise you can be as happy as an OWS, feminist, spinster, professional protester. Which does not paint a happy picture at all.

So wheat gives the dudes moobs ...

... but the ladies will go from deflated flatter chested pears, to round and perky Barbies if they just lose the wheat.  Yeah, that's how it's always worked for me!  WheatBelly is a JOKE.  Odd none of the LC ladies will call this guy on this crap ...