The brain fitness workout: brain training puzzles to improve your memory, concentration, decision-making skills, and mental flexibility/ Philip Carter

Features IQ test and also a speed IQ test. Also exercises to work the “keenness of mind”, mental speed, numerical abilities, verbal abilities, brain teasers and “3D thinking”.

Answers are provided but not the explanations of why. Didn’t find it useful. Also, on the ebook there are no page numbers, so when part of the book said “go to page 80″, it stumped me.

Was it part of the IQ test?

Jia: a story of North Korea/ Hyejin Kim

When are they going to make this into a full fledged Korean drama serial?

It had the right stuff, I thought.

At the end of the novel, i read that the author won the Korean Novelist Association award for best Korean Drama Scenario. Very engaging read.

Outcasts.
A lost soldier.
To Pyongyang.
Rejection.
Into the orphanage. Picked as a dancer.
Scandal in the hotel. Betrayal, extortion.
Famine.
Desperation. Capture. Torture.
Abandonment.
Escapees.
Pint-sized unexpected help.
Life in the cave.
Almost caught (yet again)!
Neither here nor there.
Betrayal. Abduction.
Enslavement.
A rescue of sorts.
Caught and bailed.
A new identity.
The spy.
The end. Or a new beginning?

“Selling flowers” as a euphemism for prostitution.

Humans are humans. Ideology remain as ideology.
People still fall in love. Love is not rational.
Stomachs still go hungry. Ideology alone cannot feed people’s minds, body and soul.

“I was breathing every moment but I wasn’t alive” – Jia, the protagonist.

Mental floss: genius instruction manual

Came across like a highly condensed Trivia Pursuit but in a self-depreciating/ irreverent way. Though I didn’t find the humour particularly funny, it’s a quick read of known and lesser-known facts.

Topics covered include events, personalities, concepts/ theories etc from various disciplines, E.g. Physics (Theory of relativity, wormholes, explained in a concise way), economics, technology, business, religion (patron saints).

I liked the chapter covering the greatest literary works (in the Western world) and why they were considered important. The one liner on Hemmingway’s For Whom The Bell Tolls was the one thing that I laughed, for some reason (“because it rolls for thee, man”).

Core strength for dummies, pocketbook edition/ LaReine Chabut

Exercises and stretches to develop core strength. Identifying core strength areas. Presented via the “dummies guide” format. With pictures to reinforce the descriptions.

Includes using day-to-day items like a chair or stairs to help in exercises. Also using weights.

Nine best ways to train core:
- Sit on an exercise ball (balance)
- crunches with exercise ball between knees
- 60 mins of cardio, 3 times a week to maintain low body fat. Jump rope for 5 to 10 mins at a time
- walking, 30 mins, 5 times a week
- cycling
- plank
- exercises that lengthen (stretch) the core
- suck in the stomach
- exercises that require twisting of upper core (golf, baseball)

Strength for life: the fitness plan for the rest of your life/ Shawn Philips

I tried this and found that it has sensible advice on exercise, nutrition, and strength training.

Book advocates core strength training (starts with “base camp training”; having enough test, core physical strength, nutritional plan, mental well being and approach (reflection, setting goals and targets).

Author is convinced strength training and muscle maintenance is the foundation to longevity, or at least having the physical strength to do things in the older years.

Strength training is in the later chapters.

He also articulates the stages and steps, almost breath-by-breath. From describing his breathing while getting ready to lift the dumb bells, to his thoughts as he contracts the muscles and what was in his mind as he went through each gesture and stage, including recovery.

“train strong, not long” (recurring theme: intensity and focus during the exercises rather than low intensity reps or going for reaching number of reps only)

It is the focus that drives intensity and directs attention to the weights. Says typical approach tends to be the other way around, where ppl focus on the weights and hence activity is intense. Advises not to aim to have heavier and heavier weights But about mental focus on the muscle part being trained. “more strength, not weights”.

Re: maintenance upon reaching one’s peak. Suggests there are “seasons to fitness” and one has only try to reach one’s peak each year, and will be fit for life.

“Touch training” as a way to focus.

A 12,week program, starting with a 12-day base camp routine. Says to restart if any part of base camp training is missed.

A large part then talks about food intake; strategies to find a balance between food craving and proper eating (not dieting).

Diet: essential fats, lean meats (center of each meal), fiber.

Book ends with a FAQ section, covering practicalities, e.g. What if we miss a training day; what if I travel often; can I use bands rather than weights.

Base camp training; prep training 12 days – Mon, wed, fri
(later in chpt 11 he talks about the focus during the exercise; intensity and form rather than what exercise or number of reps)

Mon
Cardio – 30 min
Pushups – 3 sets, 15-20 per set

Wed

Cardio – 30 min

Squat/ lunges – 3 sets, 15-20 per set

Fri
Cardio – 30 min
Ab crunch – 3 sets, 12- 15 per set

Cites examples of people, to reinforce the application of both exercise regiment and affirmation of goals. Recommends a daily ritual involving affirmation and reflection.

Each chapter brings the reader towards starting the 12-week program (at chapter 9).

Nutritional Awareness: right foods, right time, right portions, right balance.

Discourages dieting. Recommends being conscious of food and nutrition. When eating out, he orders from same menu as others. He goes for lean proteins and builds his meals from there, adding carbohydrates and fibers. Talks about seeing food as a way to stoke internal engine, rather than just consuming without thought just to stop being hungry.

Suggests estimating meals by portions (one portion fits into palm of our hand) rather than calories. Has a diagram showing pie chart, with about same amount of protein and carbs. Smaller slices of essential fats and larger slice vegetables (but smaller than the protein segment). Suggests lean protein at every meal.

Eat early and often (smaller meal portions). Suggests a 3 + 2 plan. “3 meals by 3 pm; 5 meals by 9pm).

Says the 2 additional in-between meals can be nutritional shakes. (then talks about the shake he helped launched, which somehow comes across as inserted advertorial to me).

A “7th day” strategy; a nutritional day off where it’s ok to eat whatever we want. For our mental well being. He does suggest fixing that day-off rather than ad hoc float day, and reviewing a food journal.

Planning what to eat a day ahead, with backup plan.

“If you bite it, write it”. Says keeping a journal, during the 12 weeks, of what has been eaten/ consumed is to be recorded with the times, portions and reflect any effects or feelings (e.g. Energy levels) I think this forces us to be conscious about the food we eat.

Says to eat after training. If not we are elevating our body’s ability to store fats.

Reclaiming the kitchen; remove junk foods and stock with nutritional ones.

How skiing breakfast is a nutritional mistake. Breakfast should have same balance of lean protein, carbs, fiber and essential fats. Avoid simple refined carbs.

Training intensity, rather than quantity, influences lean muscle development more. It is nor merely lifting heavier weights either.

7-day regiment:
- upper body push
- abs
- lower body/ legs
- abs
- upper body pull
- circuit training/ cardio
- rest day

Set 1 = 12 continuous reps
Set 2 = 10 reps
Set 3 = 8 reps
Set 4 = 8+ reps (the plus is to do more if possible; challenge to train to momentary fatigue where muscle is unable to perform for that moment but still keep proper form).

Advocates High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) than low intensity cardio workout. Alternating high and low intensity sets.

Abs – slow intense contractions, not speed.

Appendices show the poses and describes the exercises, tips and dos/ don’ts. The stretches are similar to the basic (asana?) yoga poses.

Work’s intimacy/ Melissa Greg

9780745650289
Based on the author’s 3-year Australian-based post doc research.

“This book shows the extent to which new media technology encourages and exacerbates a much olde tendency among salaried professionals to put work at the heart of daily concerns, often at the expense of all other sources of intimacy and fulfillment.” p.xi.

Set in the context of Australia going through the global economic crisis, 2007 – 2009.

Research was based on interviews with 26 people from 4 organizations.

It can be read as a prelude for us to think about how work and life-outside-work has changed, and what employees and employers should be conscious of.

One takeaway was that new media technology does not necessarily reduce the amount of work, if work processes fundamentally do not change.

That one reason for social Media’s attractiveness is that they are viable distractions from the mundane of work.

There is a recurring theme of the interviewees accepting that work crept into their off-work lives, some acknowledging that they border on being obsessed about keeping in touch with work and wanting to be on top of things (in control).

One “mobile worker” recounted how if she was in the office, no one expected her to be constantly checking her email or at her desk. Yet in a home office setting, she was expected to be constantly and instantly contactable.

About contract careers: how the employee on contract essentially gave in more hours than what was contracted, yet without the benefits given to full time employers. Yet this was not a sinister hidden policy by the organization, but something that arose as a choice made by the employee being interviewed. (there is also the implied scarcity of work)

Part II, on “online culture and the rise of social networking”.

A chapter on differing understanding of the function and meaning of CC in emails. One interviewee recounted an informal email guideline on use of CC, I.e. cc means kept in the loop but action not required. If people need to know and need to take action, include in the To field. P79

P85 social bonds at work contributes to making overtime work seem courteous and common sense (or it would be rude to ignore).

Chpt 5 on Facebook Friends. P 87
Likens Facebook to a security blanket for “workers conscious of the need to remain flexible, available, and likable in a dynamic employment market”. I.e. both socialization and self-marketing/ increasing personal employability.

Suggests Facebook friends provided a sense of continuity, in a fast paced higher staff turnover work environment. It helps mobile workers cushion the impact of unfamiliar surroundings. It appeals highest to the “knowledge class”.

P. 89 “Facebook offers a reliable locus for affection for the growing number of workers for whom traditional forms of community seem lacking.”

P91. The nature and structure of the profile page shows social networking sites’s roles as “markers of class position”. Communicating that users belong to a particular group. Entering tastes, likes, affiliations readily provides a repository available for others to appreciate the user.

One interviewee (academic) remarked that with his global connections, he found Facebook more and more significant as a way to influence others. Slanted towards announcing his serious research on Facebook than publishing it in a journal.

P99. “in the context of office cultures that require conviviality and teamwork in all online dealings, Facebook acts as the necessary safety valve for workers needing a place to vent the many negative affects accompanying office life.

What should I do with the rest of my life? True stories of finding success, passion and new meaning in the second half of life/ Bruce Frankel

9781101185964

Very readable. I enjoyed this a lot, and inspired too.

2010 publication.

“Profiles of people who have succeeded after sixty”. Ordinary working-class/ homemakers who, still living at the time of writing, achieved significant success only after turning 60.

Observes they also tend to maintain healthy diets, exercise regularly, challenge themselves, try new things and experiences, and have varied social connections. Tend to be more spiritual than religious.

“goal setting, challenge, and follow-through are fundamental to well-being and success”.

Author’s mother also had a story to tell.

Quotes Henry David Thoreau: “I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success in an uncommon hour.”

Margie Stoll, 68; took up competitive running at 60 and wins regularly at Senior Games. Breast cancer survivor. Competitive streak; had talent but never developed when young. Enlisted a coach 10 years her junior; trained hard.

Harry Bernstein, 93; faced decades of rejections for his writings. 80 years between his first publication and his first financially successful novel, The Invisible Wall. He worked in some writing-related job and pursuing writing interests in his spare time. decided to take up writing again at age 93 after his wife died (his daughter urged him to do something to get out of the depression). he wrote what he knew, which was his childhood and life in poverty through the depression. Found he was good at fictionalising from his own experiences. Finally found acclaim for his prestigious awards. Credits his late wife for her unstinting support. Harry said it took him a long time to realise what it means to “write what he knows”; (I thought it’s also time and timing).
Christopher Award; Christopher Credo: “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness”.

Dana Dakin; investment analysis. As she turned 60 she starting a micro finance scheme in a village in Ghana. “I became determined to greet the youth of old age by giving back”.

Robert Iadeluca; 89. Lost his PR comms job in 1972, at age 52, during economic crisis. Enrolled in grad sch; obtained PhD at 59, began new career as a research psychologist. At 69 he volunteered to be a hospital intern; obtained certification to treat alcoholism and substance abuse; full-time therapist at age 72. Computer-literate. Manages an online group at SeniorLearn.com. His philosophy is that he expects to live to 100 so he treats his body accordingly. Suggests therapeutic talk and learning stimulates and influences brain chemistry. (reading his story, I realised his various learning and career decisions had a certain logical and circumstantial flow to it. While he may not have predicted his future, he had a knack of sticking to a decision and seeing it through).

Linda Brown/ Alidra Solday. Psychotherapist turned filmmaker. Sat in film classes while working full time; progressed to short courses on related activities. Finally inspired by Stephen Levon’s book “A year to live: how to live this year as if it were your last”. Near 60′ she decided to embark on making a documentary about Doris Hadock, “Granny D goes to Washington”, which won awards and acclaim, after much personal risks and tribulations (this account would be a great discussion piece).

Thomas Dwyer. Sought something to do after his retirement. Was about to start a private investigation business when he was inspired, thanks to his elder brother of 62, to join a dance troop for seniors (Dancers of the Third Age). No dance background but worked hard enough to be accepted into a modern dance troop.

Lorette Thayer, 76. Wife of a diary farmer. At nearly 70, she decided to risk her savings and started a neighbourhood diner to sell homemade pies. Sustained for years and doing well by her standards in spite of the depressed economy.

Naomi Wilzig. Wife of a banker. Started a museum of erotic art at 70, after spending 15 years collecting them. Managed to establish herself as authority on sexual art.

Theodore Ludwiczak. Retired contact lens grinder. Started rock carving by chance, at 61. Still at it at 82. Has a reputation as a folk artist. He decided to crave another after the first one because the single one looked “lonely”. Which led to one more, and yet one more. People stopped to ask and were genuinely curious. He was encouraged by their positive reception that he continued and became better at it. He lived through the Nazi invasion ofPoland in his childhood.

Nancy Gagliano, 68. Her dream was to teach. But wasn’t able to attend college as her parents thought it unnecessary then. She married; had kids, took on jobs. She went back to college at age 45. Suffered chronic fatigue at one point; terminated from her job because of it. Eventually obtained a degree at 50. Finally, when opportunity presented itself, she took on substitute teaching roles. Partly due to financial circumstances, she decided to ask for a permanent teaching position at age 66. She knew it would take her another few more years to obtain full accreditation.

Myrna Hoffman. Single mom. Struggled to put her creatIve toy-idea to market (took 20 plus years eventually). Award winning toy (anamorphic) but stymied by a licensee. Then at 58, with her daughter an adult, she sought help and learned at a women’s business centre (business planning, using Excel, figuring the sums). Entered a business plan contest organized by Oprah Oxygen Network; selected as one of the winners. Acknowledges she may not be successful, by relative standards yet, but is upbeat of the journey. She says has a viable business rather than worrying about market forces (financial crisis) that she cannot control.

Ira & Barbara Smith, 79. Ira retired at 60 (suffered work-related depression for years). They first allowed their garage to be used as a distribution point for used furniture and household appliances, to be picked up by new immigrants/ recovering addicts/ homeless. Later they took initiative to collect and deliver used items for free, with only the two of them — at 60 plus — doing the moving. They were able to move heavy items by thinking rather than just brute strength. They reached a stage that they decided to start a fund raising organization.

Betty Reid Soskin, 87, social activist.Spoke up against racial segregation in her younger years. Series of activist roles to improve welfare of neighbourhood. Hired as a political aide when she was 78. Blogs at cbreaux.blogspot.com