I read with interest an article about the seven most common myths about the brain. In their latest ASAP Science video, Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown explain why they aren't true. I’ll just summarize the article. The myths are:
1. A bigger brain is better (smarter). Not true.
2. Alcohol kills brain cells. Not true, thank goodness.
3. Drugs create "holes" in your brain. Not true. Again, thank goodness.
4. The brain has 100 billion cells. Not true. The brain has only 86 billion brain cells. I get light headed thinking about it.
5. People use only 10% of your brain. Not true (unless you’re a politician).
6. People are either "left-brained" or "right-brained." Not true.
7. People have only five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. Also, not true. People also have a sense of balance, temperature, time, pain and proprioception (the body awareness that helps us not walk into things all the time). Makes sense to me.

I believe that Moffit and Brown missed a few myths. As a public services, I will present them here:

1. A “No Brainer.” Not true. If someone is a no brainer, meaning they have no brain, then they are a zombie. At least, I don’t think zombies have brains.

2. “Blow your mind” or be “mind blowing.” Again, not true. If something blows your mind, once again, you become a zombie.

3. “Mind altering” or “mind expanding.” Not true. You brain is what it is. Once you become an adult, it is fully grown. It may shrink as you grow old but won’t expand. “Mime” altering is something else entirely.

4. Eating cold ice cream will make your “brain freeze”. Not true. Frostbite, maybe. Opening the top of your head on a cold day will freeze your brain. This shouldn’t be confused with being “cool headed”.

5. Your brain can get a “brain cramp” or a “brain fart” “Not true. Muscles cramp, not brains. Brains can’t fart either. The correct term should be “senior moment’ which can occur at any age.

6. Some people have only “half a brain”. Okay, this one might be true, especially if you are a politician. This phenomenon can be observed on the news all the time.

7. “A penny for your thoughts.” Due to inflation, the true cost is 26.5 cents for a thought. People who work for a penny a thought are under paid. This is especially true for writers and bloggers like me.

​8. Someone can get “inside your head” or “mess with your head.” Not true, unless they’re a surgeon. Alcohol can get into your head and mess with your head but not people. If you really want to mess with someone’s head just ask, “You’re not going to wear that, are you?”
 
9. “Shit for brains”. Not true. There has never been a record of anyone having do-do for brains. Sometimes though, you have to wonder.
 
10. “Bird brained” Also not true. Birds have their own brains and they are smaller than human brains. People who eat like a bird still have normal or semi-normal brains.
 
11. “Brain dump” This is a real thing. I used this in college. When I studied for a test and crammed my head full of data, it would crowd out other useful knowledge. After the test, I would do a “brain dump” and immediately make room for more information. To this day, I can’t remember what I learned.
 
12. “Changing your mind”. I wish but not true. You keep the brain you were born with until you die. Hopefully, sometime in the future, we might be able to trade our minds for a better one, or at least upgrade. 

13. “Pick your brain”. No can do. Your brain isn’t like your nose or belly button. You can’t pick it.   

14. “Your mind’s eye”. Not true. The brain has no eyes separate from the ones in the front of your head. 

15. “Laughing your head off”. Once again, there’s no record of anyone laughing their head off. 

​I hope this public service has helped to dispel some of the myths surrounding the brain.

Anyone watching the news is aware of the problems of law enforcement agencies; police being ambushed, police shooting civilians who may not be armed and lack of community outreach. I have a few tongue-in-cheek ideas and thoughts on the subject.

Law enforcement agencies need more research and development (R&D) for non-lethal weapons. It seems to me that there hasn’t been a great deal of improvement in technology for law enforcement equipment in recent years. More money should be invested in R&D to find better ways to subdue suspects without harming them, or “less lethal” methods.

The use of sonic weapons shows promise. These weapons could be made in the form of hand guns, grenades or cannons using a beam of focused sound or ultrasound. A handheld device with a selector switch for various intensities would be great. Extremely high-power sound waves attack the eardrums to cause severe pain or disorientation. Less powerful sound waves can cause nausea or discomfort. It may be possible for such a device to cause vibration of the eyeballs to distort vision. I can hear an officer shouting, “Set your weapons on stun.”

I envision another weapon like a paint ball gun. It could fire a variety of balls:
Paint. Okay, this is a regular paint ball. It could help to identify the perps when they’re rounded up later.
CS or Tear Gas. This bullet would contain enough CS or tear gas to incapacitate one person.
Dye. This bullet would contain a dye that can’t be removed from the skin, also an aid in identifying the perps.
Smoke. This bullet contains a chemical that causes clothing to smoke – not burn. The trail of smoke could be followed. No need to shoot an escaping perp.
Skunk Oil. This bullet contains thiol, an organic Sulphur compound that is very pungent, causing a burning or stinging sensation. Of course, when used, the officers may decide not to press charges.
Super Balls. Those high-energy rubber balls that seem to bounce forever.

I also think that some type of silly string might be useful. Silly String (generically known as aerosol string) creates a long plastic string as it’s propelled under pressure. If technology can develop a stronger string that can’t break easily but loses its strength after several minutes, it might be useful to subdue a suspect.

Then there’s the ever popular drone. During traffic stops and other confrontations, a drone might be released to hover overhead or nearby. Another officer in a remote location (police station) would control the drone. It could record the incident and if needed employ varies less-lethal weapons such as aerial sprays of pepper spray, silly string, water, dye or skunk oil. Maybe the drone could deploy a net on the perp. The drone could even follow a fleeing perp.

Police definitely need a device with software that can rapidly identify suspects using face recognition. The device would use three-dimensional face recognition technology coupled with thermal cameras and skin texture analysis. Other aids might include hand held devices that rapidly search fingerprint data bases and DNA data bases. While these aren’t weapons, it would be useful if they could be used at distance of 10 – 25 feet. Okay, creating a national data base with fingerprints, DNA and faces is a topic for another time.

Robots are used more and more by law enforcement. Mainly they’re used for bomb disposal but have been used in other situations to reduce the risk for officers. Why not create a robot that can apprehend a perp; even one with a lethal weapon? The robot could be programed to act on voice commands much like a dog. It could use all the less-lethal weapons: paint balls, sonic, silly string and/or nets. Ideally, it would approach a perp and latch on to him to restrain him until the officer can cuff him. “Good robot.”

​I don’t know what the police need most, but they do need an alternative to killing a perp, even one that is armed or running.

I read with interest an article from Business Insider, 9 Signs You're a Problem Employee and Don't Even Know It, written by Richard Feloni, Aine Cain and Shana Lebowitz. They pointed out the following indicators: You're not punctual, You constantly make excuses, You do the bare minimum, You love to gossip, You're convinced you're smarter than everyone else, You're noticeably less productive than your colleagues, You don’t believe in your company’s mission or values, You don't get along with anyone and You’re always looking for a way out.
 
As usual, this list only scratches the surface. As a public service I provide more signs that you’re a problem employee:
 
You don’t have a key to the employee’s bathroom.
All your co-workers have restraining orders against you.
Your boss won’t let you cook meth in the breakroom.
All your co-workers hide their pens from you.
Your favorite food is no longer served in the company cafeteria.
Your co-workers unfriend you on the company internet and block you on the interoffice email system.
Your boss now calls you “Stupid.”
You’re the only employee without a designated parking space.
 
If you see these subtle signs, take the hint and straighten up.

​I read with interest an article from Prevention written by Korin Miller (12/31/2018), Relationship Therapists Say There Are 12 Signs You've Found Your Perfect Partner. The article mentioned that deep down that they’re right for you, the timing is right, you feel incredibly comfortable together. It went on to talk about emotions, happiness, respect, havinga lot to say to each other, love and value.

​As usual, this list only scratches the surface. As a public service I provide more signs that you’ve found your perfect partner:
Your partner starts listening to love songs.
Your partner friends you on Face Book and Twitter.
Your partner deletes his/her profile on Tinder.
Your partner changes her/her relationship to “committed.”
Your partner likes the same illegal drugs that you like.
Your partner’s willing to provide an alibi when questioned by the police.
Your partner remembers your safe word.
Your partner tells you all his/her passwords.
Your partner like to wear your underwear.
 
These are sure sign that this one is a keeper.

I read with interest an article from littlezotz.com (First Edition Design Publishing) about how writers sometime sabotage their own writing. The article included: Not preparing an outline, getting deadlines wrong, trying to do everything in the first draft and celebrating too early.

On reflection, I decided there’re many more ways writers sabotage their writing careers. As a public service to all writers I list some of them here:

All your work is obviously plagiarized.
You call your agent an ass-**le.

You refuse to write on any day of the week that has a D in it.

You write in a language that you invented.

You firmly believe that rules are meant to be broken; especially grammar, punctuation and spelling.

You’re using invisible ink.

Readers must use a decoder ring to read your writing.

You’re using Snapchat to publish your writing.

​I hope by identifying these self-destructive habits I have helped writers everywhere.

In what has become a trend, Jennifer #Lopez has a new species of water mite named in her honor. The new specie was discovered near Puerto Rico. She joins a list of famous people that have critters named after them: Mick #Jagger has a trilobite named after him, Bono has a spider and Bob #Marley has a marine parasite (ouch!)
​
I can think of some other possibilities and I am sure you can too. Here are my recommendations:
1. Justin #Bieber could have a new species of cuckoo bird named after him. His name would replace the temporary name Dumbae Rockastarus.
2. Senator Bernie #Sanders could have a new species of fish named after him. The new name would be Flipper Flopper.
3. This is my personal favorite. A new butterfly could be named after Miley #Cyrus, replacing the name, Goofus Celebritius.
4. Kim #Kardashian could have a new species of hippopotamus named after her, replacing the current name of Humongous Derrierae.
5. A new species of blood sucking leech might be named after Donald #Trump. The temporary name is Bigotus Billionairae.
6.A new species of snake might be named after Lawyer Michael #Avenatti. The new name would be Ring-necked grass snake.
7. Another nominee for having a snake named after him is Kim Jong #Un. The new name might be Dicatorae Back-biting snake.

Let’s hear your recommendations.

Obesity in the US is another problem that can be solved with a very simple, but difficult solution. The solution is intuitively obvious to the casual observer (as we used to say in plebe math), but we are oblivious to it (the gorilla in the room).

Here are some facts about obesity:
1. According to the most recent (September 2018) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, adult obesity rates now exceed 35% in seven states, 30% in 29 states and 25% in 48 states.

2. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.

3. The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.4. The annual nationwide productive costs of obesity-related absenteeism range between $3.38 billion ($79 per obese individual) and $6.38 billion ($132 per obese individual)

After a careful study, I have reached the conclusion that obese people are simply too fat (I resemble that remark so don’t go all PC on me). Let’s face it, fatty foods taste great. It’s the fat in food (butter, etc.) that gives food that zing. Healthy food seldom tastes good. A lot of fatty food is also cheap. People who can’t afford a gym membership can still afford a hamburger.

I recommend these two simple solutions:
1. Price food based on calories; to hell with supply and demand. We need the government to mandate pricing on food according to the number of calories. (I don’t want to get into the calories verses carbohydrates debate. Use whatever makes you skinny.) If you want a 1000 calorie burger, that’ll cost you $65.00. You want fries with that? Add another $50. Carrot sticks and celery sticks would be 1 cent a piece. You want peanut butter with your celery? Add $15 (hey, it’s protein)

2. Make foods that are high in calories taste bad. We need a law that says high calorie food must taste bad. They must be injected with broccoli juice or Brussel sprouts juice and served on kale. That way even if people can afford fattening foods, they won’t enjoy them. The healthier the food, the better the taste; that would be the law.

Go enjoy your costly, bad tasting, and unhealthy burger. I’m going to barbeque some carrots and celery.

Tax Day is coming up fast. Taxation is one of those things that everyone talks about, but nothing really changes—the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is another problem that begs for a solution. I think the solution is simple.

The gap between the haves and have not’s, the 1 percent and the 99 percent seems to be getting greater all the time. “Have not” sounds so negative and isn’t really true. Maybe we need to change the name to the “Have very little.” The “haves” would then become the “Have too much.” The middle class might become the “Have some.” Most taxes like income tax and sales tax impact the have very little and have some more than they do the have too much. We need to set a limit on how rich people can be. A person can spend only so much money, drive so many cars and live in so many homes. Beyond that amount, excess money is just wasted. Research will determine what the limit should be, but for the sake of argument, I suggest we set the limit a person can keep to $250 million. Any earning and assets above that must go to the government. I propose that every year people calculate their wealth: income, investments, savings, personal property, etc. Then everything above $250 million goes to the government. It’s not a tax, it’s a forfeiture. If you want to call it a tax, then it is a 100% tax. We would also cap inheritance at $250 million as well lottery winnings and civil law suits. Everything above $250 million would go to the government.

If rich people want to benefit from the excess over the cap, they can share the wealth. By that I mean hire more employees, give out pay raises and bonuses, donate to charities and invest in research and development.

Just to give you an idea of what that would mean, here are the forfeitures for some selected have too much:
1. Bill Gates - $71.7 billion
2. Warren Buffet - $58.2 billion
3. Charles Koch - $35.7 billion
4. David Kock - $35.7 billion
5. Jim Walton - $33 billion

A nice sum for the US budget. (This was based on 2014 figures—sorry)

​It seems that the US has just one problem after another and crisis following crisis.  All these problems cry out for solutions. Usually the solution is counter-intuitive, simple but difficult, or oblivious (the gorilla in the room). Ethics in politics seems to be a major issue. Upon closer examination, I find the solutions for ethics in politics are obvious. Here are my recommendations:

1. I’m a firm believer that we should provide all elected leaders with concubines (professional mistresses). If the public would acknowledge that people in power attract people of the oppose sex and may succumb to temptation, then this solution makes sense. This would eliminate the rumors, sneaking around (like to South America), the embarrassment, the excessive costs, the spending of tax payers’ money and campaign contributions and the resignations of otherwise perfectly good politicians. These concubines would be on the payroll and paid according to the level of office. If an official doesn’t want a concubine, he or she must take a vow of celibacy.

2. Politicians should not speak directly to reporters, voters or the public. They should wear a mask like Darth Vader of #Star Wars. A picture of their face on the mask is optional. Their speech would have a built-in five second delay. When they talk, a panel of censers would have five seconds to intervene. Each censer would have a button like on #America’s Got Talent. One censer would focus on sexist remarks and women’s issues. Another would focus on racist remarks and civil rights. The third censor would concentrate on homophobic remarks and gay rights. The forth censor would focus on stupid remarks. The last censer would be a fact checker. Checking facts takes more than five seconds, so the censer must approve all facts before the politician speaks. If the politician attempts to quote a fact not approved earlier, this censor would intervene. If any of the censors hits their mute button, the intended remarks are replaced with the words, “No comment.” If three censors hit their buttons, the remarks are replaced with, “I’ll get back to you on that issue.” If all five censers hit their buttons, the remarks are replaced with, “Sun Tzu says, ‘You can’t make a snake straight by pushing it through a pipe.’” Since no one knows what the hell that means, the speech will end without further questions.

3. Prior to the Primary election, all candidates should pose nude. This’ll prevent future problem with selfies, etc. Voters can say, “Okay, now that we have seen you, keep it in your pants.”

4. Bribes shouldn’t be secret. A new law would state that bribes are okay but must be public. Bribes would not go to the individual but must go to his or her campaign or, if in office, to the budget. The bribe must cover all the costs associated with the action desired at no increase in budget, taxes or cost to the people. For example, if someone wants a bridge to nowhere, the bribe must cover all the associated costs of installing and operating the bridge.

5. Prior to the Primary election, candidates must submit to a drug test by an independent lab. The oath of office should include a vow of sobriety. Once in office, officials would be subject to random drug tests twice per month. Come on! We do this in other professions. Let’s get serious.

6. Elected officials must attend rehab prior to taking the oath of office. This will prevent their absence while in office. While we are at it, this should also take sensitivity training.

​These recommendations will bring back ethics to politics. Make politics ethical again!