Hack Reading

Some people, myself included, have learned the skill of speed reading. I prefer to simply hack the whole process.

If it's on the internet in digital format and can be copied, put it into here: http://spreeder.com/app.php?intro=1
Sit comfortably, relax, don't attempt to read inside your head and simply let the words flash in front of you at a word per minute pace that makes the inner monologue impossible. After a small adjustment period you will become an accomplished digital speed reader.


For hard copy reading:

1. Use a finger or even better pen to eliminate back-skipping and keep your eyes from fixating to long
2. Begin three words in from the line rather than the beginning, use your whole line of vision
3. Let yourself practice without overly concerning with comprehension at first, most people need a little time to adjust.
4. Use basic variables (i.e time yourself, later test your comprehension) to insure you're making improvements

Working Less

How much of our lives do we sacrifice to pay bills and buy more stuff? For most of us, work means sacrificing our freedom to take orders from someone else, stress, boredom, monotony, and in many cases risks to our physical and psychological well-being.

Once we realize that it’s not a few bad products or a few egregious companies responsible for the social and ecological abuses in our world but rather the entire system we are working in, we begin to realize that, as workers, we are cogs in a machine of violence, death, exploitation, and destruction. Is the retail clerk who rings up a cut of veal any less responsible for the cruelty of factory farming than the farm worker? What about the ad designer who finds ways to make the product palatable? How about the accountant who does the grocery books and allows it to stay in business? Or the worker in the factory that manufacturers refrigerator cases? And, of course, the high level managers of the corporations bear the greatest responsibility of all for they make the decisions which causes the destruction and waste. You don’t have to own stock in a corporation or own a factory or chemical plant to be held to blame.

By accounting for the basic necessities of food, clothing, housing, furniture, and transportation without spending a dime, freegans are able to greatly reduce or altogether eliminate the need to constantly be employed. We can instead devote our time to caring for our families, volunteering in our communities, and joining activist groups to fight the practices of the corporations who would otherwise be bossing us around at work. For some, total unemployment isn’t an option it’s far harder to find free dental surgery than a free bookcase on the curb but by limiting our financial needs, even those of us who need to work can place conscious limits on how much we work, take control of our lives, and escape the constant pressure to make ends meet. But even if we must work, we need not cede total control to the bosses. The freegan spirit of cooperative empowerment can be extended into the workplace as part of worker-led unions like the Industrial Workers of the World.

Public Domain Freegan.info All Human, Animal, and Earth Right Reserved.

Alpha Brain vs Multivitamin vs Palcebo

Recently started experimenting with Alpha Brain which is a nootropic. I have been taking a men's multivitamin for a while now (Opti-Men) which I enjoy because it also has trace amino acids and flavonoids along with the usual vitamins and minerals. There are a couple complaints I have with my multivitamin, such as folic acid in it which is what I consider an anti-nutrient, but it's quantifiably effective and about 10c per pill. Alpha Brain is about $1 a pill if not using any discounts so I'm going to run some tests before I make the dive into a $30-$90 a month commitment for a pill and even more importantly I want to see if it's effective at all, period.

 Game Plan:

Spreading the experiments out through several days to add validity. Obviously since the test group is one person (me) it won't have the weight of a double blind controlled scientific study, I am aware of that. Will take measures that are in my power to control my diet and environment during these next couple days.

Quantifying Resources:

Heart Rate

General Mood State

Brain Work Shop Dual N-Back

Brain and Body Observations

Alpha Brain and Multivitamin:

Average Heart Rate: 64

General Mood State: Good, Relaxed, Slight knee joint ache may affect focus in a small way.

Dual N-Back:
D3B 50%
D3B 66%

D3B 50%

Observations: Can sense more eagerness to communicate and ease of sentence formation which I will attribute to Alpha Brain. Feel energized which I attribute to the amino acids in the multivitamin. Fasted for breakfast to not skew the effects with many other chemicals.

Alpha Brain:

Average Heart Rate: 60

General Mood State: Good. Alert.

Dual N-Back:
D3B60%

D3B72%
D3B73%

Observations: There is an apparent increase on the mental side, even versus the Alpha Brain + multivitamin which would need to be ran through further experiments before I would actually say the multivitamin hurts mental function.

Multivitamin:

Average Heart Rate: 53

General Mood State: Good, Relaxed, Slightly hungry body has been in ketosis.

Dual N-Back:
D3B44%
D3B53%
D3B42%

Observations: Once again fasted. Believe the fact that I performed worse with the multivitamin than the placebo is less that the multivitamin actually makes me worse and more variation.

Placebo (aka nothing, maybe I'll take some vitamin C and tell my brain It's the best ha):

Average Heart Rate: 57

General Mood State: Not bad, but can tell I'm not as...alert and lucid, you could say.

Dual N-Back:
D3B50%
D3B55%
D3b46%

Observations: No extreme observations. Not overly tired or dull or anything. Feel slightly less driven.

Homemade Mayo Upgraded

I love mayonnaise. Thing is I dislike, borderline hate, soy, canola and vegetable oil. They won't make you better unless you're starving to death. I've heard on the forums and such people talking about making their own but never saw an actual recipe with amounts so here it is:

• 1 Avocado (1/2 if you don't enjoy avocado taste, used for thickening)
• 3 Whole Eggs (or with 2 of them just yolks depending on how thick you like it) Preferably cage-free and organic.
• 2 Tbsps Apple Cider Vinegar
• 3 Tbsps MCT Oil

Blend it or whip it until its creamy and make small adjustments until it's the viscosity you enjoy.

MCT/Coconut Oil and Why it Can Make You Better

Can honestly say without feeling like I am over exaggerating that good quality MCT oil is quite possibly not just the healthiest oil but one of the healthiest foods on this planet. MCT oil is generally concentrated coconut oil, it can also be made from palm oil (seems good) and canola oil (avoid canola for many reasons). MCT stands for Medium Chain Triglycerides also known as fatty acids. The majority of foods are either short or long chain.

Although you can find what seems like endless anecdotal evidence of benefits, especially on coconut oil, the scientific studies are spotty at best. I will list many of the possible and individual benefits then go over my own personal benefits:

• Weight loss
• Muslce/mass gain
• Belly fat "spare tire" reduced
• Increased energy
• Improved mood
• Improved brain function
• Alzheimer's prevention/cure
• Cancer prevention/cure
• Skin care
• Scar treatment
• Assisting in putting the body in ketosis (explain more on ketones late)
• Bone and dental health
• Diabetes prevention/cure
• Improving allergies
• Improving immune system
• Pneumonia cure
• Improved cholesterol levels

I know, right? That's a lot.

My personal results:

• Improved skin
• Bone and dental health
• Improving allergies
• Improving immune system
• Improved mood/energy
• Belly fat reduced
• Muscle/mass gain
• Improved brain function
• Quicker entry into ketosis

Those are the benefits I was able to quantify using things like a journal, brain exercises, physical exercises, fasting, and a Elimination diet to add validity to it being the coconut and MCT oil rather than something else I was ingesting. Also though it's flu season I have not been sick in about half a year although I work in public areas and travel semi frequently.

Dosage I was using is 2-4 tbsp daily. Using two with coffee then with dinner. Only side effect I've heard of from upping the dosage specifically on an empty stomach is GI issues such as diarrhea. I never had this issue, but I wasn't trying to cure cancer or Alzheimers. 

There's lots of ways to get MCTs. I'd recommend staying away from the cheap processed stuff and get either organic extra virgin coconut oil or good quality MCT oils derived coconut and (but not only) palm oil if you can afford it to get all the benefits.