• “Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three decades has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good… It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong…where nobody is responsible for what they did, but we are all responsible for what somebody else did… Too much of what is called ‘education’ is little more than an expensive isolation from reality… Ours may become the first civilization destroyed, not by the power of our enemies, but by the ignorance of our teachers and the dangerous nonsense they are teaching our children –  that people who have contributed nothing to society feel society owes them something (Entitlements) apparently just for being nice enough to grace us with their presence… What exactly is someone’s ‘fair share’ of what ‘someone else has worked for?… No society ever thrived because it had a large and growing class of parasites living off those who produce… The welfare state is the oldest con game in the world: First you take people’s money away quietly and then you give some of it back to them flamboyantly… One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain”   – THOMAS SOWELL
  •  “ALL EFFECTIVE GROUP ACTION IS ROOTED IN DIALOGUE – engaging in discussion after listening and considering/ reflecting other points of view, versus reloading response based on existing opinions & conclusions… With the advent of social media, what passes as ‘engagement’ today is actually more like cross-talk or monologue, versus exploration of issues, with openness to the fact that initial perceptions may be colored by  cultural leanings or past experiences, and that existing points of view are not the only thing that matters… Reality is that while we spend a sizeable amount of time each day ‘communicating’ with others, engagement often feels robotic, superficial and mechanical, as if we are talking past or at each other… Good leaders unlock human potential by guidance in how teams can actually think together.” Call DCG for optimal strategic support in 2022.  [ROOTINC – 12/15/21]
  •  BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY IS INCREASINGLY “REINING IN BIG TECH COMPANIES with ‘Web 3’ services that radically alter  economics of the internet, redistributing control from tech giants back to users, developers and small firms… Modern blockchains are fully programmable, like a PC or smartphone, but also program code that can enable controls and commitments that establish trust in the currency, along with automation of traditional financing functions such as lending or trading, and with protocols owned & operated by decentralized communities instead of centralized companies… Beyond money and crypto, the technology has allowed ‘non-fungible tokens’ (NFTs) – tradeable units of data that uniquely represent items of digital media (including art/ videos/ music/ games/ text/ code) with documentation of their history & origin, which ensure that the original creator receives royalties from secondary sales… The best way to rein in big tech companies is through competition, not regulation.”  [ECONOMIST – WORLD IN 2022]
  •  CHINESE TECHNOLOGY “WILL OVERTAKE THE U.S. IN THE NEXT DECADE” says a Harvard Kennedy School publication this month. In artificial intelligence, 5G semiconductors, biotechnology, quantum computing, green energy and weapons systems, Communist China is “on the cutting edge of technology, and it may well only be a matter of time before Beijing completely dominates the tech world.” A  brilliant work of fiction illuminates the most dire of warnings; for a readable, plausible, scary scenario, co-authored by a 4-star Navy Admiral who also served as Allied Commander at NATO, we recommend the book 2034.  [FUTURISM – 12/13/21]
  •  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:  “Sometimes to get ahead, you have to leave stuff behind.”-Mr. Tinicki   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c-P0bsb3rE   

               Some 300,000 Americans spend more than half their time ‘sitting’ (at a desk working, commuting, air flights, especially), when   reduced blood flow to the legs causes clots that break loose & flow to the lungs causing pulmonary embolism. Risk is greatest after age 40, with symptoms being shortness of breath or chest pain which is fatal in up to 10% of cases. [LIFE EXTENSION – Jan 22]    

Xmas season holidays for most Americans is snow-time. For some easy & practical winter tips: https://biggeekdad.com/2020/11/10-winter-life-hacks/     And, for those lucky enough to spend winters in warm climate, it’s “better on sand”:  https://youtu.be/cUNPCK9pg-g