The Tuesday Take Away (week 2)

Here are my favorite articles from the week! From languages, to the NBA lockout, to an atheist who did AA.

Think you can’t learn a language for free? False. There are a number of sites and resources out there for language learners. My golden rule: ‘No hay verguenza.’ or “There is no shame.” Put yourself out there and practice and you might surprise yourself by how much you can learn. Scroll to the bottom of this post for some helpful links.

Nice guys finish last. Well, not really, they just don’t make as much money.

Long article on the NBA lockout. And a thought provoking paragraph at the end about the psychic benefits of art or ownership.

There are a million ways to fail in online dating. Here are some hilarious ones.

We are becoming more productive, but not being compensated appropriately.

Ignorance is bliss. Until it kills the environment, and you.

The US is the only developed country where citizens are not guaranteed paid vacation time. Check out the graph!

The flash diet. The only diet with no recommendations.

Are cholesterol numbers really that important? One doctor calls them ‘worthless.’

Depressing News is terrible, but depressing international news gets far less attention. Did you hear about the terrorist attack at a Casino in Mexico?

An interesting article written by an Athiest who went through AA. Her quote “I believe that the most important spiritual principle of AA is humility. The recognition that we are flawed, that we can and must change and that our purpose not only in sobriety but in life is to be of service to others.”

Sleep is to our brains as a disk fragmenter is to a computer? Studies are showing that sleep allows us to make synapses more efficiently and create room for more of them.

The Tuesday Take Away

Guess what...It's TUESDAY! Which isn't normally exciting, aside from Taco Tuesdays, but starting every Tuesday, I'll post my favorite articles here with a little side note about them. If you don't love 'em, then you are welcome to leave today and go to Wednesday Walk Aways!

jk I don't know what that is. But here we go.

New websites discovered:

KIBIN: A good business idea? Or a form of literary incompetency? Editing services are becoming easier and easier to find.

Verbling: Language learners should be stoked about this one! Chat Roulette has met Fluent Future. On this site you can talk to a foreign stranger in their language for 5 minutes, then speak in English for 5. You'll get cut off after that, but still allows for more than small talk. I've tried it three times and loved it. Always exciting to see who you will talk to.

Rescue Time: Ever wanted to see how you spend your time online? Rescue time tracks every place you go online and gives you a nice bar graph result revealing just how much time you waste on Facebook (or other sites.) Good for self-tracking and accountability.

Articles worth reading:

Want to eat healthier? Food substitutes provide a solution with little change to your diet.

Also, an article on eating. Ever thought of eating philosophically? Me either. A good 10-15 minute read. Also some interesting research on self-control as a finite resource.

American Liposuction doctor flees to Columbia after being sued for using fat for powering his car. Weird weird story from 2008. I'd love to meet the guy.

The internet CAN help you be more productive. (at least in 10 minute increments.)

Will Smith getting a divorce?! Nope. That's how rumors start.

Decision Fatigue: It's no joke. Making too many decisions can cause you to take shortcuts and make poorer decisions in the future, or no decisions at all. It's part of new studies on ego depletion.

Imagining Obesity (A defense of overweight people)

After traveling in Europe for six weeks, I flew to New York and was ready to take off to the west coast of my beloved country, the USA. I took a seat in the back of the plane and soon a large American woman approached me from the aisle with four overweight children waddling behind her.

“Could we get in please?” the mother asked.
I stood up and let the mother-daughter combo slide in beside me. While the other three sat down behind me.

Loud bickering erupted from behind.

“You got the window seat last time!” One girl exclaims.
“NO, I was here first!” Retorts the other.
“But you can’t steal it from me!” Yells the first child.
“MOM!!” Cries the second.

Mom chimed in to settle the suits and soon the long five hour flight from New York to Phoenix began. Time for TV. The mother quickly slid her credit card for her four kids to gain access to unlimited movies, music and TV. The kids wined about not having headphones and exclaimed their excitement for Dominos Pizza that night. Then, the real kicker came.

Mom pulled out a jumbo-sized, crinkled bag of Mcdonalds. Digging her hand into the bag, an array of five packaged, greasy burgers and fries soon appeared.

“Here you go girls.” She exclaimed while handing out each meal.

My thoughts were then confirmed: we MUST be in America now.

Obesity might be the greatest killer in the United States. It contributes heavily to the top three leading causes of death in the US (Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, respectively) and to Diabetes as well (#7 leading cause of death) (1). Our nation is now crumbling beneath the weight of the problem (get it?), by the deaths of people and our finances.

It is estimated that healthier diets might prevent $71 billion per year in medical
costs, lost productivity, and the value of premature deaths associated
with these conditions (1).

34% of US citizens are now obese (up from 15% in the early 80s) (2).

One third of white children and one half of Latinos born in the 2000s will develop Diabetes in their lifetimes (and 80% of those with type II Diabetes are overweight). (3)

But what is it that’s making us so fat? And why can’t fat people start making good choices?

One of my old friends used to mention how he didn’t feel bad for overweight people because it was their fault. I find that the general sentiment from people who have their weight under control goes something like this:
“Fat people don’t HAVE to go eat fast food all of the time.”
“Fat people COULD exercise if they really cared about their bodies.”
“It’s THEIR fault for being fat.”

But for a second, imagine being one of these children on the plane. You’ve been surrounded your entire life by TV and quickly prepared and artificially preserved food. You have developed a strong desire for fats, sugars and salty treats that is reinforced multiple times a day by the food you are given. Mom works hard to raise you, but does not have the time to cook. You are overweight, but so is mom and so are your sisters. They are your support group and they don’t seem to mind at all.

At some point in your life, maybe Jr. High or High School, someone will probably laugh at you for being overweight. And someone else might offer suggestions for what you should do. But not only were you not raised to see it as a problem, you were never told to value anyone's opinions for body improvement or their recommendations for other health options. Your eating habits are so constrained by your family that you do not even have the leverage to change your eating habits. So you bounce off negative comments about your weight and lifestyle and find refuge in other peers who are like you: overweight.

You are obese, but is it your fault?

Or is it your mother’s fault?

Your grandmother’s?

The fast food corporation's?

The economy's?

Later in life, after much deliberation and listening to your well meaning friends, you might begin to want to lose weight. But how? What should you eat? How should you exercise? How do you maintain motivation for all of this when your family has none?

Your upbringing in this area has been somewhat of a stroll through a valley that has now reached a crux at a rocky mountain pass. Some of us were guided through the mountains and not permitted to stay idle in the valley. We find the upward climb to be at times difficult, but manageable. We think there must be a level playing field for everyone.

But we never grew up like you did. We were given low risk genes, positive life examples, ample money, and caretakers that made us be active (4). We grew up in families that did not smoke, and were encouraged to pursue education (I'm lucky to say this was my case).

We already endured trials that we had no idea were trials. And today our childhood serves as a template for our own healthy living and a hindering roadblock for our understanding of others.

Sources.
1. USDA data.
2. USA Today Article
3. Understanding Obesity (Obesityinamerica.org)
4. Obesity Risk Factors

Conversation Starting: The Rule of the Third

It might happen to you more than once in a day. You are at the grocery store to grab some produce and you find an attractive girl standing there thinking about snatching an item off of the shelf. Not knowing what to say, you point your cart toward the meat section, looking to counterbalance your lack of cajones. Later, you are in line to buy that food, and you see another beautiful girl standing there waiting with you staring at her watch. You glance again. It's that girl you've seen on facebook who's friends with two of your friends. They say she is a quality girl. Unfortunately, you aren't supposed to know that you know her friends. Ahh, if only you had an introduction, or a clever line to make a connection.

This is where the Rule of the Third comes into play. What is the rule of the third? It is a principle for conversation starting, with anyone really, but here we will look specifically guy-girl interaction.  The rule of the third goes like this:

"when starting a conversation, it is better to begin with something other than You (first) or her (second)."

Have you ever seen a group of people surrounding a statue pointing and making conversation? Or how about the crowd of folks talking at a party while watching a beer pong game? Or that boy and girl who swerve their heads and later make smiling conversation at the sight of a midget passing them on a bicycle? (I saw it happen yesterday). These scenarios tell us that there are, in fact, times when it is socially acceptable to talk to strangers. And secondly, that conversations are easier when it's about something outside of ourselves.

The other day, I was in a similar situation. I was in the back of the line for food when I saw a cute girl reading a billboard of announcements while waiting to pick up some food. I walked up to the billboard as if I were interested in it, glanced around for the most interesting posting, and came across a flyer with a picture of a cat who was listed at $30. It was mixed in with offers by businesses and job offers. And making sure not to stall too long, I said.

Me: "That's weird. I wonder how many people come up here looking for an animal."
Her: "haha I know right?  I saw that add and couldn't figure out why it was there."
We then briefly talked about who might buy the cat before I introduced myself and pretty soon we had a 10 minute conversation and lunch later.  Cha-ching!

    Why is this principle so effective?  I'll offer two suggestions.  1.  It allows you to talk without invading her comfort zone.  Not only will you be initially talking about something more interesting than your names and what she is doing there, you won't be infringing on her personal space.  Starting questions like "what's your name?" and "why are you here?" could send off an overly aggressive and invasive vibe. Not to mention those are standard, boring questions to begin with. 2.  It allows you to see if she's interested in having a conversation.  It's your way of throwing out a bbq chicken wing and seeing if she'll bite on it.  And who can resist a bbq wing?  Anyway, her first reaction should clue you as to how interested she is in talking with you.  There are some who won't talk back, and that's ok.  It's their loss for missing out such a magnificent lion as yourself.  But in most cases, they will talk back, and you if you stick with it, you will have a full on conversation.

Success is a few comments and questions away. Oh look! Did you see the newest post?  

Airports and Girls

My friend once told me “Airports are on my list of places to never meet a girl. It’s bound to be long distance.” Although I concur, I also believe that not taking advantage of your opportunities to do some quality flirtage will leave your game a long distance away from you. Thus, when a conflict in principles occurs, it's better to spit game.

While I was standing in line to board the airplane, my internal-attractive-female-radar went off. I glanced behind me to find a pretty brunette girl modeling a flowing flower skirt. Mamacita! I quickly thought of a decent rule of the third conversation starter about our luggage that was visible outside our window. Soon we started talking about her sorority and my ol’ college days, and then arrived at a daunting fork in the airplane aisle we were about to walk onto.

You see, I came on the plane first which meant I could decide where to sit. I could also choose to make the bold statement of “let’s sit here.” Or just keep walking and give the flowered beauty the freedom to choose where to sit. And on this independence weekend, I gave her liberty.

After searching for two side by side open seats, I found my airplane love couch in aisle 10. I looked back for my princess and suddenly, time went into slow motion. I watched as my sparkling airport damsel lifted her backpack above her head and into the overhead bin above aisle four. I had lost.

Well, really she had lost on one of the greatest opportunities of her life by choosing not to sit by me. But, however you look at it, it was sad. At least now I know why airports are called “terminals.” Relationships end there just as quickly as they start.

This situation highlights a classic controversial question in the game of hustlin. How authoritative should the man be when pursuing a woman? There is little doubt in my mind that if I had asked “where shall we sit?,” the girl would have been with me the entire trip. Yet, clearly, she chose the more desolate option because I never guided her with a more direct question.

The answer to the age old question might vary from guy to guy. From my experience, if the girl seems worth getting to know and you might be good together, it is better to confidently suggest an option. The girl may not like the options you have given her and begrudgingly say yes, but this is often out of her fear of unfamiliarity. She may also have dated a lower-tier dude who left a douchy taste in her mouth and thus have her palate temporarily shut. Few girls would want to say anything but yes knew what delightful buffet of manliness you are. So if you know what you want, be bold, confident, and direct. This is the best way to ensure she will be flying with you.

Be Prepared!

It started out like any other hot summer day. My friend from high school and I were looking for something ridiculous to do, and cold refreshments were on our minds. There was only one thing to do....Have a lemonade stand. And so, as 17 year old boys with gotees, we set up our stand on a busy street corner. I remembered it to be a lucrative business, at least when I was cute seven-year-old blond boy with a sad “why won’t you buy my lemonade from me? ” look. Yet after waiting for an hour, nobody stopped. Not even the strangers who initiated a rotten orange driveby ambush pulled over (our sign finally came in handy). 

I decided to call my friends to bail us out. Scrolling all of the way through the four contacts in my directory, I found my friend Maria from Spanish Class. After laughing for a few minutes, she said she would be there right away with some friends. Success! “Finally we’ll get a sale!” said my friend. But he was ready for more than that. 

She pulled up next to us, stepped out and popped the trunk. Two more girls unraveled themselves from fetal position and hopped out (remember the 6 months rule?). We made our first sale then, but we also showcased some high quality high-school flirting. Lemonade was splashed back and forth and the sharpie for our sign soon became a weapon. All in all, it was a fruitful sale, and directly after, my friend asked me for Maria’s number. I gave it to him, although I didn’t think he would actually call it. I was wrong. And seven years later, they are married. Now that’s what I call a successful lemonade stand!

My point in writing this article is twofold. One is to always be yourself and don’t hold back from doing new and possibly unconventional things. If that means setting up a lemonade stand on the sidewalk, trying out a new style of clothing, or checking out a new place in San Diego, go for it! These experiences help us to illustrate ourselves, and become more interesting people. As well as make our lives a little more exciting, and give us more interactions with others. 

My second point is to always be mentally prepared. There’s a reason why the because you never know when you will have the opportunity to meet the girl who’s right for you. The convenient moment might come at anytime and anyplace, and if you are ready, your life could be changed forever. ATT can back me up on this.

So next time, you feel like it’s any ordinary day of work and errands, take a moment to acknowledge that this could be the day you meet that girl. In line at the bank, walking down the street, or just casually working on your bow-hunting skills, she could be there. And when you have potentially found her, don’t be afraid to talk. You might not have time to come up with something that abides by the rule of the third, but be relaxed, confident and give it your best. And always, Be Prepared!

How to save $$$ while traveling in Europe

–I’ve heard of some clever ways to save money while traveling. One guy had hitched hiked from Estonia to Barcelona. Another trio was performing music on the street for tourists to make money while traveling. Here are some other ways to keep your costs low so you can keep traveling.

1. Pack a large jar of peanut butter from the US. Potential savings ($300/month)

Peanut Butter hardly exists outside of the US. If you do find it, you are almost guaranteed to discover small jars that are imported and fairly expensive. Peanut Butter provides a good source of vitamins, proteins, and good mono unsaturated fats. When combining it with celery, apples or bread and jelly, it serves as a great snack or even a meal. In Europe, grocery stores are plentiful and all of them have bread and jelly and most have celery also. I took a 2.5lb jar of peanut butter that cost me $3.24 at Target for a six week trip in Europe. Although it made up 10% of my traveling weight, it saved me at least $500 throughout the trip.

How the savings was calculated: Let’s say your average meal in Europe is generously estimated at around 7-8 Euro. This could be more for dinner time and potentially less for breakfast. Go to any supermarket and buy some whole wheat bread with a can of Jelly. It should come to around two Euros in total and should be enough for eight sandwiches. If you can replace that one seven to eight Euro meal with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches valued at 50 cents and a few pieces of fruit and vegetables from the supermarket for another 50 cents, you can be saving around 6-7 euros or $10 a day. ($10 x 30=$300) Plus, fruits, vegetables, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will make up a meal that is probably more healthy than the meal you would have eaten at a restaurant. For fruits try apples, bananas, nectarines, and plums. For vegetables, if you don’t mind eating carrots and red, green and yellow peppers raw, then go with those!

2. Use a water bottle. Potential Savings: ($250/month)

You will never appreciate free tap water at restaurants until you head to Europe. If you want to drink anything, you will need to pay. Often times it costs a euro or two for a soda or water and over an entire day this can get expensive. Water is potable in all of western Europe and a lot of Eastern Europe too you just need a container to be able to use it. Many times there are built in faucets in sidewalks to fill up at. If not, just find any faucet to fill up at. If you are ok with just drinking water or only occasionally buying other drinks, you’ll save around $8-10 a day. Interestingly, only Americans tend to bring water bottles and take advantage of this opportunity in Europe.

How the savings was calculated: On average, people probably spend around six to seven euro for drinks throughout one day. If you are able to just drink water, this will save you about $8-9 a day. ($8.5 x 30 = $255).

3. Take the metro in big cities and walk in smaller ones. Potential savings ($275/month)

Many people pay for 20 to 25 Euro tour busses and expensive taxis when a metro stop is nearby. If you are traveling to any large European city (Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, London), they are guaranteed to have a metro system. Free maps are given out and usually a trip costs somewhere between 1 and 1.75 Euros. In smaller cities, you should be able to see everything on foot.

How the savings was calculated: If you travel to 5 big cities in one month and take bus tours in all of them that could come to 25 x 5 = 125 Euros. Plus, if you take around eight to nine taxis, this could cost you on average around ten Euros a piece for a total of 80-90 Euro. 215 Euros—15 Euro (for metro tickets) is around 200 Euro in one month or $275/month. This estimate would of course be less if you are traveling in a large group.

4. Don’t pay money for a nice hotel. Potential Savings ($850/month)

If you are a younger traveler, you should definitely think about staying in hostels. These are essentially hotel rooms with multiple bunk beds. They are cheaper since everyone shares the cost of the room. They tend to attract a younger crowd from late teens to mid twenties though so if you are not comfortable with that then perhaps sharing a lower starred hotel would be better. The beauty of staying in a hostel is that you get to meet people from all over the world. It’s like a cultural buffet. I’ve definitely had people from over seven nations and multiple continents staying in the same room as me. It’s a unique experience. If you do choose hostels, go to hostelbookers.com, read reviews and look at percentage ratings. Book at least a week or so in advance so as to ensure a lower priced, higher quality hostel.

If you are traveling in a group, then you can share a hotel and essentially make your own hostel amongst yourselves. Another option for travelers in pairs is couchsurfing.com. Some genuinely nice people will often open up their homes for travelers to sleep on their couches. Although it seems sketchy, I’ve only heard great things and there is a built in validation system and reviews from prior couch surfers so you can be pretty sure the person isn’t a creep.

How the savings were calculated: If you are able to get a hostel for an average of around 15 Euro a night instead of thirty to forty Euros a night you will save 15-25 Euro each day. 15-25 x 30 = a rough 600 Euros or about $850/month.

5. Book your flight in advance on an off day or off season. Potential Savings: ($500/trip)

I use Kayak.com for most of my plane booking needs mainly because it will give you access to a database of hundreds of airline companies and show you the cheapest prices on each day. Usually, the cheapest days to book a flight are generally Tuesday-Friday and buying round trip tickets will also save you money. In addition, try checking cheap airlines in Europe like ryanair.com, EasyJet.com and Wizzair.com which all occasionally offer super cheap 10 Euro flights from various unusual cities. I knew people who only used cheap airlines like these and saved hundreds of dollars.

Additionally, you may find even cheaper deals if you clear the cookies on your web browser. A little known trick of airline companies is that incrementally raise prices the more times you look at their pages.

Summer time is of course the most convenient time for most people to travel so prices will be higher. My round trip ticket to Barcelona from June to August cost me just under $1200. This could be at least 25% less in a down time of the season. For example, my round trip ticket to Bangkok cost me less than $950 because I went in late April to May

One of the advantages of round trip tickets with multiple flights is stopping in a country you want to visit and later traveling to your departure country. In my Europe trip, one of my flights stopped in Frankfurt, Germany, and I was able to get off there and travel to Eastern Europe before eventually make it back to Barcelona for my flight out.

How the savings was calculated: By using Kayak to get a cheaper round trip ticket, I probably saved around $300-$400 over checking other airlines. By using cheaper airlines instead of the railroad system, you could save at least $100-$200.
All in all, just following those guidelines you should save over $2,100  a one month stay in Europe. This only compounds the longer you travel. Europe is an expensive place so making a few cuts here and there will save you big. At the same time, it’s important to never go overboard with the saving. In my opinion, trying local foods, doing tours, and seeing what the city has to offer are essentials for traveling so pay for them and live them up.

Bon Voyage!