• “THE WORLD IS FULL OF TALENTED PEOPLE WHO WILL NEVER FULFILL THEIR DESTINY because of a lack of consistency and/or focus, very often attributable to anxiety arising from pressure or stress… A few simple ‘anchoring’ steps can generally rivet attention to make a positive difference, by creating word/picture impressions in your brain which trigger ‘mindfulness.” Try: (1) Performing any physical gesture (e.g. circling thumb & forefinger) while closing your eyes and ‘relaxing’ by taking a few deep breaths thru the nose; then (2) Inwardly concentrating on how you will perform the upcoming activity, by silently telling yourself things like ‘I will ask appropriate questions/ listen well/ speak with confidence/ close assertively/ handle this matter/ place this golf shot/ etc. while remaining calm and relaxed throughout.” (3) Envision only the positive outcome which will result from your performance. [BARRYEISEN.COM]

 

  • U.S. COMPANIES LOST OVER $650 BILLION LAST YEAR DUE TO CYBER ATTACKS, some 90% attributable to human error stemming from lack of awareness that employees need to know regarding risks & threats. Defensive countermeasures to cybercrime are relatively simple and are critical factors in protecting the company. DCG is participating in a free Lunch & Learn program to meet this challenge, presented by LA Cyberlab and Secure the Village, in downtown Los Angeles on August 28. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/securingthehuman-growing-the-community-august-28-tickets-64264293231

 

  • CRYPTO TRANSACTIONS ARE TAXABLE to the same extent that any property assets – hard, intangible or virtual – are swapped. But blockchain technology offers “anyone with a little technical know-how to open what is effectively the equivalent of an offshore bank account, albeit offshore in cyberspace.”  Beyond tax avoidance, or evasion considerations (never advised by DCG), block chain-based’ privacy coin’ transactions are invisible, leaving no trace of transactions “which allow privacy to donors who wish to keep their political biases away from public scrutiny, and “can help businesses which accept cryptocurrency from unwittingly committing an offense by exposing customer financial details to advertisers, criminals, debt collectors, and divorcing spouses or partners… In this vision of the future, platforms like WeChat, or eventually Facebook, might have a direct window into personal financial data, tracked spending habits can be used as marketing data, and the privilege of being able to pay for things could be revoked in much the same way that social media dissidents can be deplatformed and canceled overnight.” It’s a brave new world.  [IMPACT LAB.NET – 2/2/19]

 

  • “WE’RE GETTING CLOSE TO CROSSING THE FINAL FRONTIER OF PRIVACY, in the absence of any protections whatsoever… Facebook is now working on a ‘brain-computer interface’ designed to let users type by simply thinking words – a world where all knowledge, fun, and utility of today’s smartphones would be instantly accessible and completely hands free.” The process currently in development involves surgically implanted electrodes which could provide information with 60% accuracy by looking at brain signals alone; phase 2 will involve “infrared measurement of blood oxygenation levels allowing a less bulky and far less invasive brain-computer interface.” In collaboration with UC-San Francisco researchers, results to date “demonstrate real-time decoding of speech in an interactive, conversational setting, which has important implications for patients who are unable to communicate.”  [FUTURISM.COM – 7/30/17]

 

  • LATEST CALIFORNIA P.C. LAW:  Effective 1/1/20, ‘grooming policies’ must comply with legislation which makes it unlawful for employers or public schools to discriminate against hairstyle that “disproportionately affect persons of color. Race will now include traits historically associated hair texture and protective hairstyles such as braids, locks & twists.” When will it end?

 

  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:  “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” –Ayn Rand

      Conundrums of current Socialism in America: Half of the population is subsidized, yet they contend that they are ‘victims.’ While their ‘representatives’ run the government, somehow the poor keep getting poorer. They have freedom and things that people in other countries only dream about, yet they protest for America to be more like those other countries. Bizarre & sad.