Advice for Teenage Girls
Attention
Baruch Spinoza
Bike Share Cities
Conflict
Cornel West Speech
Corruption
Diet
Emotional Intelligence
Healthy Heart
Human Needs
Innovation
Lincoln
Miscellaneous
Morning Timing
Murdoch Misinformation
Presentation Strategies
Russian Government Strategies
Skull Boat Rides
Sleep
Stress

Advice for teenage girls from Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt (Miki read it in 2024)

a. Don't get too bogged down in things that don't count or things you cannot influence

i. and specifically don't worry too much about making sure others know you're in the right, because it so easily gets in the way of what you want and need
b. Become an expert at shrugging most of life off and free yourself for what really interests you
c. Hone your focus
d. Don't bother with cleaning or tidiness beyond basic hygiene
e. Don't make your appearance your primary concern, It will zap all your creativity
f. Be as self-sufficient as you dare
g. Sometimes you hold more strength when people don't know what you think or feel, so be very careful whom you confide in

i. People can run with your difficulties when you least expect it, distort them, relish them even, and before you know it they're not yours any more
h. Respect your privacy
i. Earn your own money or you'll lack power
j. Take good care of your friendships, nurture them and they'll strengthen you
k. Don't turn frowning at the defects of other people into a hobby, delicious though it may be; it poisons you
l. Read every day - it is a practice that dignifies humans
m. Become a great reader of books and it will help you with reality, you'll more easily grasp the truth of things and that will set you up for life
n. Don't expose your brain to low-quality art forms because there will be a certain measure of pollution

Attention

a. Attention management

i. Be here now
ii. Where do you want to place your attention
iii. Formation of wise attention
b. Screen time vs. individuality

i. Screen time has increased as a % of personal time
c. The economy is based on keeping your attention
d. Dopamine is released when you engage in online activity

i. Dopamine numbs you
ii. Facebook counts on Dopamine, they are exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology
e. Know your triggers: notification, response expectations, boredom
f. Distraction is an epidemic
g. Google has a "Persuasion Lab"
h. Technology undermines human weakness
i. Get news from a few trusted sources rather than jumping around
j. Positive work/life balance is important for your mental health
k. Don't send out of hours emails
l. Remove cellphone from bedroom

i. Choose when you're going to go on your cellphone
m. Meditation

i. Focus your attention
ii. Focus on your breath
iii. When your mind wanders bring your focus back to your breath
iv. It's the antidote to distraction
v. Meditate once a day for 5 minutes
n. During calls, 65% of participants do other work
o. Continuous partial attention
p. Screen free breaks
q. Less emails and more calls
r. An urge is just an urge

i. What feeds an urge is when you act on it
ii. Wait 10 minutes and see if you still have the urge

Baruch Spinoza

a. Spinoza was dedicated to freedom of thought
b. Ian Buruma, a Spinoza biographer says, "Liberal thinking is being challenged from many sides where ideologies are increasingly entrenched, by bigoted reactionaries as well as by progressives who believe there can be no deviation from their chosen paths to justice."
c. "Democracy is, of all forms of government the most natural, and the most consonant with individual liberty," and that the best antidote to superstition is the study of science, "since the less men know of nature the more easily can they coin fictitious ideas"
d. He argues that the highest happiness of which human beings are capable is seeing the universe "under the aspect of eternity," which means understanding that everything is as it must be
e. It is because Spinoza sees true understanding as the key to happiness that he insists on freedom of thought
f. The basis and aim of a democracy is to avoid the desires as irrational, and to bring men as far as possible under the control of reason, so that they may live in peace and harmony
g. His experiences with religion and politics left him with no illusions about the wisdom of the crowd
h. Spinoza knew that bigotry and fanaticism weren't just imposed on the people; they were also imposed by the people
i. I would rather that they should utterly neglect it, than that they should misinterpret it after their wont
j. Leo Straus, a Spinoza biographer says, "the repression and censorship then reigning in totalitarian Europe (WWII) represented a return to the historical norm"

Bike Share Rides by City

a. New York
b. Boston
c. Philadelphia
d. Washington DC
e. Atlanta
f. Cleveland
g. Las Vegas
h. Montreal
i. Toronto
j. Copenhagen
k. Madrid
l. Paris
m. Chattanooga
n. Seattle

Conflict

Miki and I attended a lecture at the Carriage Barn at Waveny. It was a presented by Kevin Buterbaugh, a professer of political science at Southern Connecticut State University and an author who specializes in conflict. The only people in attendance besides us were Jen Hladick (Carriage Barn employee), Dede Bartlett (philanthropist), Alice Laurenson (photographer who had her show hanging in the Carriage Barn at the time), Mrs. Buterbaugh (the professor's wife).

a. The longer a country is not in civil war, the lower the probability that it will enter into civil war
b. Factors that increase the likelihood of civil war

i. Weak Institutions - if institutions are not providing the services they ought to be providing then the general population becomes more critical of the government
ii. Corruption - government officials enriching themselves rather than providing essential services (like infrastructure projects) to the general population
iii. Low trust - If people don't trust strangers and don't trust the government, it creates obstacles for improvements and progress
iv. Religion - If a government imposes a religion on the country then people who are not part of that religion are more likely to rise up against that government
v. Rugged Terrain - rebels can easily find places to hide in mountainous geography
vi. Colonization - countries that colonized other countries encouraged indigenous groups to fight amongst themselves so that they would be less likely to fight the colonizers, so they did things like create national boundaries that were straight lines that would divide groups of people into two different countries

c. Conflict is contagious - it can spread through a region (Sudan destabilizes the Sahel region)

i. If you have rebels fighting the Afghan government and they hide in Pakistan, then that destabilizes Pakistan
ii. Civil wars often result in a massive exodus of people, those refugees enter other countries and destabilize them
iii. During the Syrian civil war of 2015, tens of thousands Syrian refugees entered Europe which resulted in a rise in right-wing populist political parties in Germany, Spain, France, England, Italy because these political parties preached xenophobia and their messages resonated with the voters of those countries
d. Countries in the region can help other countries at risk of civil war by providing their institutions with more capacity (this process is not straightforward, but it has been known to positively impact a country's institutions)

Cornel West Speech

a. 11th commandment: thou shalt not get caught
b. The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak
c. Profound desire for justice, we're not anti American, we're anti injustice
d. Worst thing you can tell your kids: be successful
e. Forces that will wreck the US: militarism, poverty, racism, materialism
f. How do we strengthen the culture of democracy? The answer is the same as the answers to the following questions (from the Ordeal of Mansart written by W.E.B Dubois)

i. How do we maintain integrity in the face of oppression
ii. How do we maintain honesty in the face of deception
iii. How do we maintain decency in the face of insults
iv. How do we maintain courage in the face of brute force

Corruption

a. 3% of people on unemployment assistance intentionally cheat the system ($1.2B)
b. Fraud in welfare and other entitlement programs is 3% ($2.0B)
c. Medicare and Medicaid fraud, 10% of total payments ($100B)
d. Fraud by American Defense Contractors is estimated at $100B per year
e. Fraud in the insurance industry ($100B-$300B)
f. In the financial industry in the US, corporate fraud cases-insider trading, kickbacks and bribes, false accounting ($1.8T)

Diet

a. Fiber rich slow release carbohydrates are good such as oats, seeds, lentils, chick peas
b. Oatmeal has serotonin
c. Sweet potato, quinoa, salmon, kale
d. Eliminate trans fats
e. Eat the rainbow (foods of different colors)
f. Eat magnesium rich foods to help you sleep better
g. Avoid white flour
h. Moderate alcohol - no more than 3 drinks per day

Emotional Intelligence

a. It takes 90 seconds for a feeling to go through your body, so if you wait to act until after the feeling passes through, you can avoid the negative impact of an emotional response
b. Look at a situation from the perspective of:

i. Self
ii. Other person
iii. Observer who isn't involved in the situation
c. Deaths of despair are rising in white American males, these are suicides, drug overdoses and alcohol abuse

Healthy Heart

a. Reduce salt

i. 6 grams of salt (one teaspoon) is the upper limit
ii. Reduce processed foods and eating at restaurants
iii. Use herbs and spices instead of salt

Our human needs (that often go unmet)

a. The need to express one's gifts and do meaningful work
b. The need to love and be loved
c. The need to be truly seen and heard and to see and hear other people
d. The need for connection to nature
e. The need to play, explore and have adventures
f. The need for emotional intimacy
g. The need to serve something larger than oneself
h. The need to occasionally do absolutely nothing and just be

Innovation

The innovation commitment - the ability to develop, deliver and scale new products, services processes and business models rapidly

a. Aspire - set cascaded targets
b. Choose - invest in time-risk balanced initiatives
c. Discover - differentiated insights that translate into winning value propositions
d. Evolve - business models with scalable profit sources
e. Accelerate - Develop and launch quickly and effectively
f. Scale - launch innovations at the right scale
g. Extend - create and capitalize on external networks
h. Mobilize - ensure people are motivated and rewarded
i. Green box

i. The value the company generates from innovation (breakthrough or incremental)
ii. Over a finite planning period (5 years)
iii. Quantified using metrics: net new revenue, earnings growth, # of new subscribers
j. When we innovate

i. We move from engaged to empowered
ii. We become problem solvers
iii. We grow more empathetic
iv. We grow more curious
v. We work collaboratively
vi. We value iteration
vii. We develop resilience
viii. We become creative risk takers
k. Embrace new technology in FP&A
i. advanced analytics, data visualization, process automation, data warehousing, data mining

Abraham Lincoln

a. 1858 Lincoln Douglas Debates - 7 debates 3 hours each, Lincoln lost the election
b. 1860 Lincoln elected President
c. 1861 Fort Sumpter
d. 1863 Emancipation Proclamation (executive order)
e. March 4, 1865 2nd Inaugural address

i. Douglass raised his voice insisting someone inform the President, "Fredrick Douglass is detained by officers at the door" that get's him into the party
ii. When Lincoln sees him, he says, "Here comes my friend Douglass"
iii. Lincoln said he had seen Frederick Douglass in the crowd and was eager to know his reaction to the address, Frederick Douglass demurred (hesitated)
iv. Lincoln insisted saying, "There is no man in the country whose opinion I value more than yours"
v. Frederick Douglass replied, "Mr. Lincoln, that was a sacred effort"
f. April 15, 1865 Lincoln's assassination at Fords Theater

Miscellaneous

A. Blooms
B. Corporate Success
C. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
D. MLK Speech - 3 Evils of Society
E. Questing
F. Quote - Moderation - Aristotle
G. Quote - For Evil to Flourish - Edmund Burke
H. Quote - Wealth Defined - Charles Eisenstein
I. Quote - Sleeping Under Bridges - Anatole France
J. Quote - Government Intervention in the Economy - John Maynard Keynes
K. Quote - Affordable Housing - Yvonne Klien
L. Quote - Ignorance - Plato
M. Quote - Love People and Use Things - Fulton J. Sheen
N. Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)

A. Blooms

i. Mountain Laural - Mid June
ii. Azalias - May 15th
iii. Chantarelle season is the beginning of July near Sasha Gurke (Vestal)


B. Corporate Success

i. Relationships you build
ii. The skills you develop
iii. The value you bring to the organization


C. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) forces companies that make plastic packaging to pay for the environmental mess caused by that packaging

D. MLK Speech "The 3 Evils of Society" 8/31/67 Chicago (Racism, Poverty, Militarism/Materialism)

E. Questing after a life that is good for ourselves and good for the people around us

F. Moderation Quote by Aristotle: "The path to a life well lived runs through moderation. Courage lies somewhere between cowardice and recklessness, generosity between stinginess and extravagance. It is best to rise from life as from a banquet, neither thristy nor drunken."

G. For Evil to Flourish Quote by Edmund Burke: "For evil to flourish, it's only necessary for good men to do nothing."

H. Wealth Defined Quote by Charles Eisenstein: "Wealth is the ease and freedom to be generous."

I. Sleeping Under Bridges Quote by Anatole France: "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges."

J. Government Intervention in the Economy Quote by John Maynard Keynes: "Keynesian economics is in favor of greater government intervention in the economy."

K. Affordable Housing Quote by Yvonne Klien: "When children leave an area of low opportunity and move into an area of high opportunity, we are investing in their future and in our future."

L. Ignorance Quote by Plato: "Ignorance is the root and stem of all evil."

M. Love People and Use Things Quote by Fulton J. Sheen: "You must remember to Love People and Use Things rather than to love things and use people."

N. Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF)

i. Fights renewable energy by lobbying/writing new laws in Texas to roll back subsidies
ii. Bankrolled by Charles Koch
iii. Involved in a lawsuit against Vineyard Wind saying wind turbines in the ocean kill whales


Morning Timing (1 hour 7 minutes total)

a. Daily Ablution in minutes 42

i. Brush Teeth 6
ii. Floss 3
iii. Denticator 6
iv. Proxa Brush 2
v. Shave 4
vi. Defecate 3
vii. Shower 15
viii. Dress 3
b. Breakfast 25

i. Prepare Oatmeal 12
ii. Eat Oatmeal 8
iii. Dishes/Counter 5
c. Dog 13

i. Walk 10
ii. Feed 3
d. Cut hair and beard 15

Murdoch Misinformation
After Roger Ailes was removed from Fox News, in 2016 over sexual-harassment allegations, Lachlan Murdoch cut the brake lines of what was already a speeding train of misinformation, pushing American journalism further into alternative reality than even his father and his lieutenants had dared. However trashy they may have been, the British tabloids were occasionally funny, but Lachlan's operation became something darker--a purveyor of apocalyptic doom-mongering, the sort that courses through Donald Trump's mind, where America is a place of perpetual rape, murder, conspiracy, and terror...Lachlan now takes for granted his father's core business insight: that great fortunes can be made from audiences who prefer their reality falsified. We needn't dwell on Lachlan's failed internet ventures, his company's promotion of climate-change denial, his protection of divisive propaganda as free speech, or his consistent support for profitable discord over journalistic integrity. What we know for certain is that Fox News refused to broadcast the January 6th congressional hearings in prime time, eschewing careful evidence in favor of in-studio opinion, lies, and provocation. The network continued to give airtime to Trump's rigged-voting-machine fantasies even after legal challenges, a strategy that cost the company nearly $800m in damages. According to Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, News Corp. now operates "like a political party...just as in the United States, Fox News' relationship with Trump and the GOP was 'like that of the state-owned media of an authoritarian government.'" From the New Yorker magazine 2/9/26 "The Murdoch Method" written by Andrew O'Hagan

Presentation strategies

a. Simplify talk track, for each powerpoint slide:

i. Headline, point 1, point 2, point 3
ii. Avoid "trap slides" with too many bullets
b. Strategy

i. We are going to grow by doing XY&Z
ii. Shape of the business
iii. Explain prior year flat growth
iv. Build vs. Buy
c. Storytelling
d. Emotion builds memory - good presentations speak to your emotions
e. Presentation is for audience, not you
f. Voice: Pause, pace, modulation, tone

i. For emphasis, change tone from strong to soft
g. Practice and rehearse, eye contact, movements and gestures

i. If you're presenting as a team, rehearse with the team
ii. 93% of communication is non-verbal (55% + 38%)

1. 55% is how you look
2. 38% is how you sound
3. 7% is what you say
h. Tell a simple story

i. Tell it in a way that connects with your audience
i. Define your objective

i. What do you want your audience to think, feel, do
ii. Strong objective: convince, prove, persuade, influence, reassure
iii. Weak objective: update, inform
j. Audience insight - audience's issues, needs, challenges, concerns
k. Three components

i. Opening

1. Introductory remarks
2. Creative opening, ask a question, add a story
3. Subject (hook)
4. Agenda - keep to 3 items or less
ii. Content: 3 agenda items

1. Call to action
2. What convinces is conviction
iii. Close

1. Summarize 3 agenda items
2. Q&A, how do you answer questions effectively? Prepare for questions
3. Closing remarks
l. Powerpoint presentations with teams showing presentation notes

i. Join Teams meeting
ii. Go into slide show
iii. Show Presenter View
iv. Hit windows/tab and select Teams Meeting
v. Share Slide Show screen
vi. Hit Windows/tab and select Presenter view




Russian Government Strategies

The head of the German spy service (BND), Martin Jaeger, told lawmakers on 10/20/25 that Russia was determined to expand its "sphere of influence further westward into Europe, and Germany was its number one target in Europe given that it was the largest EU economy and played a leading role in supporting Ukraine."

He said, "We are already under fire today...The means Moscow uses are well known: attempted manipulation of elections and public opinion, propaganda, provocations, disinformation, espionage, sabotage, airspace violations by drones and fighter jets, contract killings, persecution of opposition figures living abroad."

Skull Boat Rides

This is the list of destinations that I have rowed to from Birch Island in the skull boat

a. Around Stonedam Island and through Sally's Gut
b. Around Long Island and through The Graveyard and The Hole in the Wall
c. Around Bear Island
d. Around Timber Island and through The Witches
e. Around Hermit Island and to the location of the pontoon party in Braun Bay
f. Camp Island and the Forties
g. Between Mark and Mink Islands
h. Under the Birch Island Bridge
i. Becky's Garden
j. Black Cat Bridge
k. Salmon Meadow Cove
l. I still might try to do:

i. The Basin at Tuftonboro Neck and the Middle Ground Shoal
ii. Melvin Village

Sleep

a. Homeopathic aids: valerian root
b. Tryptophan rich foods: turkey, oats, eggs, fish, nuts, seeds
c. Avoid blue light, blue light stops melatonin, you need melatonin to sleep
d. Read a novel
e. Meditate
f. Black out curtains
g. Alarm clock instead of cellphone
h. Device curfew
i. 60 to 68 degrees is optimal
j. Eat magnesium rich foods to help you sleep better

i. Almonds
ii. Cashews
iii. Peanuts
iv. Black Beans
v. Quinoa
vi. Spinach
vii. Collard Greens
viii. Avocados
ix. Bananas

Stress

a. Two kinds, psychological and physiological
b. Reduce physiological stress by reducing sugar, refined carbohydrates and caffeine
c. Reduce stress with workouts, meditation
d. Method to reduce stress - Positive stress (eustress), negative stress (distress)

i. Recognize worry for what it is

1. Worry is a temporary feeling that is accompanied with tension in the body (heart racing)
2. Witness your stress
ii. Then, reframe stress

1. Adjust your mindset to positive (rather than negative)
2. "Broaden and build" thinking which allows you to process more possibilities
iii. Focus on what you can control

1. Ignore the things you can't control
2. Choose a single concrete action for the things you can control
iv. Create a network of support - someone to turn to
v. Get some stress handling experience

1. Set up experiments in which you feel stress but can manage it (public speaking)