experience more: good^unnecessary^dangerous

In the modern world, half the marketing propaganda resolves around a central message “Life is short. Experience more!”

Buddhist teaching —  Seeking stimulation (刺激) is unnecessary, and sometimes extremely dangerous, for kids or adults, man or women.

–eg: try different careers
There’s a ‘social value’ element + self-realization element.

There is human potential in each individual, and it’s a good thing to uncover and realize that potential provided there’s some value.
–eg: try different dances, musical instruments,
In this endeavor, there’s creativity, self-expression. It is an endeavor, not pleasure-seeking
–eg: healthy cooking as a recreation
–eg: travel to or work in various countries
–eg: extreme sports
–eg: change mobile phones every year. Change hairstyle and shoes
–eg: fancy foods/drinks, drugs
I do acknowledge that variety can be a good thing in my diet, but basically I try to stick to my restricted menu of healthy stable foods.

Fancy drinks have invariably failed to impress me.
–eg: e-gaming

## acceptable foods during standard fast #fiber,starch

• fiber? I think starchy foods are not, but fibrous fruits/veg are fine
• carb? Frowned upon but I would say foods with hidden carb is fine, like green peas, carrot and sweet fruits.
• starch? For me, staying away from starch for more than a day is tough, so I wouldn’t force myself to zero-starch. Low-starch is very good already.
• lean protein is singled out as acceptable by the inventor of the 5-2 diet
• veg and fruits, low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt — the mainstay
• fats? no no

rescue fund: U.S.public system ineffective,again

— https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/coronavirus-covid-19-businesses-second-time-charm-emergency-12685464

• over-complicated (reminds me of the tax, H1b and medical billing systems) — Many small companies found they had better luck working with local banks, which sometimes did a better job of guiding them through the shifting rules and requirements,
  • One business owner said she thought she had taken all the right steps. Her bank, First Midwest Bancorp Inc, directed her to apply through a third-party portal – a common practice among banks that were scrambling to feed loans into the SBA. “By the time I heard anything, the money was gone,” said Wellman, who was seeking just under US$200,000.
• one out of every five companies that qualified and applied for the loans in the first round were unable to secure them. hundreds of thousands of the smallest firms failed to snare funds, even when they were fully qualified and had applications sitting with banks.

— https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/millions-americans-unemployment-system-survey-coronavirus-12684764

• over-complicated — 26.5 million people have applied for unemployment benefits since mid-March, but EPI’s survey indicates that an additional 8.9 million to 13.9 million people have been shut out of the system. This study validates the anecdotes and news reports about people having trouble filing for benefits they need and deserve. Idled workers say they have encountered downed websites and clogged phone lines
• too slow — Many Americans who managed to file claims have yet to receive payments weeks after they lost their jobs.

Q:what I want boy2gain{this crazy SG math edu

Q: specifically, what do I want dabao to gain from this crazy Singapore math education?

• word problem-solving techniques? No. Too contrived and not needed in u.s. high school(?) or in adult life
• arithmetic proficiency. Note ratios and decimal point shift don’t need calculator
• absorbency and perseverance to applying his mind and recall what he learned before?
• not giving up? I doubt he can learn this skill better in the SG system than in U.S.
• self-discipline and perseverance? I doubt it.

##blockbuster surprises in cal numbers

Let’s not spend too much time. This list is not exhaustive. It’s put together as reminder of the recent findings, so no need to elaborate on the already-memorable discoveries

• === The blockbusters
• my un-shelled peanuts are many times heavier than my nonfat ice cream and cottage cheese.
• cottage cheese — has a fifth of the calories of regular cheese .. ridiculous. Even cottage cheese with fat is lighter than nonfat American/Swiss/Cheddar !
• heated carrot (and other raw veg) — tastes starchy, much better than feared, but much lower calorie than starches
• === unsorted
• satisfying@low-cal — is not contradictory and impossible. We have extremely poor intuition for “low-cal” until we compare calorie numbers across a few dozen foods and build our “intuition”
• radish: #1 bargain among raw veg
• rice pudding: bargain dessert@111 cal/100g, less than half that of cheesecake
• last meal — can be a low-calorie dinner
• frozen green peas — (see lighter starch) beat sweet potato, edamame, rice, bread, even banana ! … on many aspects
• light ice cream — can be as low as 100cal/100g.. see separate blog
  • nonfat ice cream — can taste good
• cold cut cal — no unknowable hidden fat
  • ham — can hit as low as 90 cal/100g, lighter than many starch foods
• hot milo — lighter than regular milk
  • almond milk — lighter than nonfat milk, and can tastes good if heated
• edamame, sweet-potato, green peas — satisfying but not high-fat or high-calorie
• calorie ] white rice ~ half of wheat bread, presumably due to water
• === now some of the nasty surprises
• 90% of the “OK” foods discussed online are calorie-dense and should be taken in moderation. Below are some prime examples:
• my unshelled peanut — (and most other nuts) are 15 times heavier than my fruits and vegetables .. excerpt from peanuts: calorie-dense, Extremely
• cheese — almost as fatty as butter. Cheese has a positive reputation online and traditionally
• avocado — one of the heaviest fruits

beating up myself over fuck`ROTI

long-term ROTI=rare

green peas: #1 starch # 80 cal

• 🙂 high protein — “Green peas are one of the best plant-based sources of protein” [1]
• 🙂 high fiber
• 🙂 … surprisingly filling in my experience
• 🙂 relatively low calorie among starchy foods — ## low-cal foods
• 🙂 🙂 often premixed with low-cal frozen veg, enhancing fiber and calorie
• 🙂 cheap; easy to buy, store (frozen), microwave and serve with no seasoning required 🙂
• 🙂 starchy and satisfying on its own, better than rice/bread/biscuits. I can eat this regularly and in quantity.
• 14g carb out of 100g [2]
• 😦 over-eating may give you too much starch
• 🙂 compared to banana — slight less calorie, 5 times higher protein, more fiber, less sugar
• see the nutritional comparison with other starchy foods in ## lighter starch

[1] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/green-peas-are-healthy

[2] https://www.nutrition-and-you.com/green-peas.html has USDA data

exam: #1 strategic subject #Ma^renzi

— Chinese — because in the U.S. there’s no learning environment.

English? No. he may grow up an untrained writer but he will be proficient in English as an everyday language. Grammar, vocab will be fine.

— Math — he needs foundation skills. I feel his foundation is sound so far, though his don’t-care attitude is indistinguishable from a weak foundation.

Note math is a top priority in U.S. schools as well as Singapore schools.

See growing gap behind those academic kids ] math. Beware the difference between contrived problem solving vs practical skills including

• foundation skills
• logical reasoning
• everyday numerical skills

BMI: wife’s negative remarks

Every now and then, I feel resentful for my wife’s (and to a lesser extent my mother’s) remarks that she thinks I look unhealthy.

I work very hard to reduce my calorie intake but her words weaken the precious resolve I have built for my diet.

I feel her words have the potential to derail my entire effort.

I feel scared — Once I lose this precious resolve, I would put on, say, 5kg and hate myself (and her). What scares me most is my bitter hatred.

The frustration doesn’t help my effort, but is there a way to turn her words into a positive force? Sometimes I want to demonstrate to my wife that I’m better than those individuals she considers healthier, but I am afraid of setting myself a target that creates more self-hate.

The control and responsibility belongs to me. I take full ownership. However, I feel vulnerable, weak and unstable, so much so that I notice a tendency to blame the environment and other people. I have practiced this blame game for years.

I wish I was stronger, able to withstand the adversities hitting me from every direction.

— reflection after the chat with Bindi
trust that you have the resolve and the strength to restore your current weight after a 5kg relapse. I have the image of the aging Batman.

I tend to feel the current extraordinary BMI level is a blessing, not effort. In the cool light of day, I see it’s at least 70% by my effort.

Q: what if my wife says that again? Am scared.
A: try to stay calm and tell her that her words aren’t helping. Then swiftly disengage. Ideally leave the scene. Am so lucky that office is steps away

4 types@carbs #fruit sugar

See also my multiple blogposts on resistant starch.

I think the western weight-loss industry targets all forms of carbs almost indiscriminately. Many commentators exclude fiber. Some exclude fruit sugar. My view is kinda mainstream in my focus on table sugar and starch.

1. table sugar and derivatives are universally condemned and should be taken in moderation. Table sugar can affect heart and diabetes.
   • Many juice products have tons of added sugar
2. fruit sugar — is widely considered similar to table sugar but I seriously doubt it. No evidence suggests fruit sugar cause weight gain. In my case, when I eat lots of sweet fruits, my weight doesn’t increase. Note fruit is a major source of sugar since my daily intake is 5 times higher than average
3. starch — I find it quite fattening, but I believe the calorie density is below half of fat. Most people tend to eat many many grams of starch so it is probably responsible for weight gain.
4. dietary fiber — there’s plenty of research showing these carbs are not absorbed, but still most calorie numbers treat it same as table sugar !