Fortunately, "We the People" have a contract that created the federal government and strictly limits the power of the President. This contract is the US Constitution. Unfortunately, very little is taught about this contract in public schools and if "We the People" don't enforce the provisions of the contract, then a President could very well become a dictator.
President Obama (who is a lawyer by profession) has said that he considers the Constitution to be a living document. That is like the builder you contracted with to build your house, saying that your contract should be interpreted according to current events, e.g. the economy drops so now he is going to leave off the 2 car garage you wanted and charge you the same amount.
That's very interesting, thanks for the info. Just one nitpick tho, you say the future is likely in "not trying to add artificial antioxidants". I'm not sure what you consider adding artificial antioxidants to be, but there are many vegetables and fruits and berries which are naturally high in antioxidants. I believe it's been shown that diets high in fruits and vegetables correlate to lower incidence of cancers due to the antioxidants and other nutrients in them. I'd rather increase the fruits and vegetables in my diet rather than take a pharmaceutical drug to increase my body's production of bilirubin unless there is some very compelling evidence of the benefits of such a drug. The benefit of a nutritionally diverse diet is that there are many other nutritional components in fruits and vegetables which have either proven or suspected health benefits.
According to a recent study, the long held belief that antioxidant supplementation during chemotherapy will make the cancer worse is not the case. Not only were antioxidants and other nutrients found not to interfere with the treatments, but in 47 of the studies supplements were associated with protection of normal tissue and a reduction of side effects. Increased survival rates were found in 15 of the studies.
You're right that there is probably not any easy way to determine the highest quality vitamin study without a background in nutritional science and a lot of investigation. It's also true that Usana vitamins are more expensive than the vitamins typically found in grocery stores in the US. I have done personal experimentation with vitamins and have noticed significant differences in my own health when I take the Usana Essentials compared to when I have taken other multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplements.
Every person is unique physiologically, so I can't say that everyone will notice the same dramatic difference that I did. It could be that my body genetically needs more pantothenic acid, or some other vitamin, than the average individual to remain healthy. This leads me to believe that the best way the average consumer can get exactly what his body needs is to get a general nutritionally complete supplement. Here is where the debate begins. What is a "nutritionally complete supplement"? To that I don't have an answer, but there have been some good publications on the topic.
I really like the writings of Roger J. Williams who was a biochemist at the University of Texas and who named folic acid and discovered pantothenic acid. In particular, I like his book "Nutrition Against Disease". There is also a commercial publication created by a Lyle MacWilliam from Canada called "Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements" that is also interesting.
One disappointing difference between vitamin/mineral supplements in the US and many other countries is that the FDA classifies nutritional supplements as Food which has much lower standards of manufacturing, quality control, and bio-availability than pharmaceuticals. A pharmaceutical product has to dissolve in your stomach within a certain time-frame (I think it's between 18 and 30 minutes). There is no such requirement for food grade products, although many supplement companies voluntarily comply with the more strict manufacturing standards.
Still, you are greatly over generalizing saying that all MLMs are poison. The perception that most people have from MLMs stems from deceitful Amway reps with stars in their eyes about getting rich quick (Amway encourages both the deceit and the unrealistic expectations of wealth). Not all products sold by MLMs are "no better or cheaper" than from a store. Usana, for example, manufactures arguably the highest quality vitamin supplements on the market. Reputable MLM companies don't pay any commissions for recruiting others, compensate their distributors on product sales, and encourage respectful honesty in their distributors.
I'm the type of person that fixes the key problem whatever it may be. I've learned many new technologies because we were "weak" in those areas. Gradually others learn them and I move on to other problem areas. The situation that you have described, having clueless project managers, unfortunately seems fairly common in this industry.
I started studying Project Management and found a great resource at http://www.pmi.org. PMI is an international professional organization dedicated to the advancement of Project Management as a profession. I would highly recommend their Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and related material from their bookstore.
I have certified as a PMP and it has greatly helped our organization. PMI has a pretty general focus, but they do have a IS Special Interest Group that you would probably find more helpful.
Slashdot Mirror
Fortunately, "We the People" have a contract that created the federal government and strictly limits the power of the President. This contract is the US Constitution. Unfortunately, very little is taught about this contract in public schools and if "We the People" don't enforce the provisions of the contract, then a President could very well become a dictator. President Obama (who is a lawyer by profession) has said that he considers the Constitution to be a living document. That is like the builder you contracted with to build your house, saying that your contract should be interpreted according to current events, e.g. the economy drops so now he is going to leave off the 2 car garage you wanted and charge you the same amount.
Don't forget Ron Paul (http://www.ronpaul2008.com/). He is the only presidential candidate who has a 100% constitutional voting record.
That's very interesting, thanks for the info. Just one nitpick tho, you say the future is likely in "not trying to add artificial antioxidants". I'm not sure what you consider adding artificial antioxidants to be, but there are many vegetables and fruits and berries which are naturally high in antioxidants. I believe it's been shown that diets high in fruits and vegetables correlate to lower incidence of cancers due to the antioxidants and other nutrients in them. I'd rather increase the fruits and vegetables in my diet rather than take a pharmaceutical drug to increase my body's production of bilirubin unless there is some very compelling evidence of the benefits of such a drug. The benefit of a nutritionally diverse diet is that there are many other nutritional components in fruits and vegetables which have either proven or suspected health benefits.
According to a recent study, the long held belief that antioxidant supplementation during chemotherapy will make the cancer worse is not the case. Not only were antioxidants and other nutrients found not to interfere with the treatments, but in 47 of the studies supplements were associated with protection of normal tissue and a reduction of side effects. Increased survival rates were found in 15 of the studies.
= Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=Citation&list_uids=1728373 8
See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
Altern Ther Health Med. 2007 Jan-Feb;13(1):22-8.
Altern Ther Health Med. 2007 Mar-Apr;13(2):40-7.
You're right that there is probably not any easy way to determine the highest quality vitamin study without a background in nutritional science and a lot of investigation. It's also true that Usana vitamins are more expensive than the vitamins typically found in grocery stores in the US. I have done personal experimentation with vitamins and have noticed significant differences in my own health when I take the Usana Essentials compared to when I have taken other multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplements.
Every person is unique physiologically, so I can't say that everyone will notice the same dramatic difference that I did. It could be that my body genetically needs more pantothenic acid, or some other vitamin, than the average individual to remain healthy. This leads me to believe that the best way the average consumer can get exactly what his body needs is to get a general nutritionally complete supplement. Here is where the debate begins. What is a "nutritionally complete supplement"? To that I don't have an answer, but there have been some good publications on the topic.
I really like the writings of Roger J. Williams who was a biochemist at the University of Texas and who named folic acid and discovered pantothenic acid. In particular, I like his book "Nutrition Against Disease". There is also a commercial publication created by a Lyle MacWilliam from Canada called "Comparative Guide to Nutritional Supplements" that is also interesting.One disappointing difference between vitamin/mineral supplements in the US and many other countries is that the FDA classifies nutritional supplements as Food which has much lower standards of manufacturing, quality control, and bio-availability than pharmaceuticals. A pharmaceutical product has to dissolve in your stomach within a certain time-frame (I think it's between 18 and 30 minutes). There is no such requirement for food grade products, although many supplement companies voluntarily comply with the more strict manufacturing standards.
If you're interested in the contents of Usana's Essentials, here are their labels: Mega Antioxidant and Chelated Minerals
Still, you are greatly over generalizing saying that all MLMs are poison. The perception that most people have from MLMs stems from deceitful Amway reps with stars in their eyes about getting rich quick (Amway encourages both the deceit and the unrealistic expectations of wealth). Not all products sold by MLMs are "no better or cheaper" than from a store. Usana, for example, manufactures arguably the highest quality vitamin supplements on the market. Reputable MLM companies don't pay any commissions for recruiting others, compensate their distributors on product sales, and encourage respectful honesty in their distributors.
I'm the type of person that fixes the key problem whatever it may be. I've learned many new technologies because we were "weak" in those areas. Gradually others learn them and I move on to other problem areas. The situation that you have described, having clueless project managers, unfortunately seems fairly common in this industry.
I started studying Project Management and found a great resource at http://www.pmi.org. PMI is an international professional organization dedicated to the advancement of Project Management as a profession. I would highly recommend their Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and related material from their bookstore.
I have certified as a PMP and it has greatly helped our organization. PMI has a pretty general focus, but they do have a IS Special Interest Group that you would probably find more helpful.
HTH.