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ex_banana-eater

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Everything posted by ex_banana-eater

  1. Well, I know that drug use isn't pursuing values because there is no achievement involved which suits the requirements for man's survival. But I'm having a hard time to see why recreational activities (let's say... skydiving) suit the same need. Aren't they providing enjoyment for their own sake, so you can reward yourself and refresh yourself to tackle productive work again? That's why I brought up drug use, because it could be used to the same thing.
  2. I don't understand this. Is there nothing wrong with hitting a bong with your friends on Friday nights if it's done as some type of part-time recreation? Or using heroin in an occasional method that doesn't harm you physically?
  3. If you're a person who wants to fit many things in their day, or needs to get many things done, how do you maximize your time?
  4. Maybe I was too vague. The training stimulus has heightened satellite cell activity, intramuscular IGF-1, ribosomal activity, and other factors during that period. Growth can occur without training, for example, through increased calorie intake or protein consumption. That's why we need muscle biopsies, not Nautilus North studies to look at whether the effect is the result of training.
  5. Both, and the CNS at different rates depending on type of training. Mechanical load matters with regard to hypertrophy. Assuming the CNS is up for mechanical loads that do not induce the repeated bout effect, then one need not worry about the CNS. Get proof from www.pubmed.com . I have repeatedly seen magazines (if they even care enough to site sources) misrepresent the studies the cite, use strength studies that don't measure muscle growth for hypertrophy routines they design, etc. Focussing on hypertrophy (in contrast to other routines), one needs increased frequency and an increasing mechanical load. This does not mean increased loads. Yes, ligaments and tendons effect one's capacity to lift. I think that's irrelevent to our discussion though unless we are talking about injuries or joints that are unable to support the weights required to train for hypertrophy. I'm talking about taking periods off from exercise to replace the repeated bout effect, decondition one's muscles, lower one's strength capacity, etc., in order to increase mechanical loads while training. No. Reasons I've explained in last post. What do you disagree with? I am not talking about anything you are talking about obviously. I do not disagree with this, but I see no relation to what I had emphasized in my post. I can get increases in growth 50 days after a training session by altering diet. Muscle biopsies show the factors active in creating muscular hypertrophy are reduced from their spike after 36-48 hours. "Growing" after these periods does not "contradict" any of that. We don't know what your circumstances are. What are your goals?
  6. Training puts a tax on the central nervous system (CNS), and nothing to do with other organs. Failure puts an enormous tax on the CNS. Whether or not the CNS has recovered fully does not matter for hypertrophy, infact strategic deconditioning should be employed to reduce the load a muscle is able to lift in order to maintain increasing mechanical loads to avoid the repeated bout effect. lol Infact, you probably shouldn't even mention any of these people, since superphysiological dosages of exogenous androgens activate myogenic stem cell activity without increasing mechanical load, or basically any training principle needed in a hormonally normal athlete. Most athletes do not take over a gram of testosterone per week, with IGF-1 and GH like Ronnie. CNS recovery times will probably vary widely depending on the individual's genetics et al., but not the conditions needed to induce a growth stimulus in their muscles (hypertrophy) in a healthy, trained athlete. P.S. It's generally agreed that we need more government intervention into health care.
  7. It's extremely easy to vandalize, make grafitti, and shoplift too. Legalize them, since the laws against them are "unenforcable". Did you know that car thieves usually get away with stealing at least 20 cars for every one they're caught for? Reality is not "dictating" anything, you are. Anyway, you asked: Yes, a moral code SHOULD effect reality. Man's morality is based on a fundamental FACT of reality: His life is the standard of all of his values. To grasp why one should not steal, you must first understand what rational virtues that promote man's life by FACT and on PRINCIPLE would be violated if you became a thief. To do this, pick up Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, and read the section on the initiation of force.
  8. Greater success is achieved through avoiding neuromuscular failure during exercise, as the study I posted proves in both strength and body composition. Plenty of research also validates training a muscle every 48 hours as the most effective method of obtaining muscular hypertrophy compared to lesser frequencies (a cascade of hormones like IGF-1 are released for 48 hours, satellite cell activity is activated, the nutrient partitioning effect is greater). When training a muscle only once per week, it grows for about 48 hours and then the cells remain in a somewhat neutral nitrogen balance for the remainder of the week. Why not have them grow the whole period?
  9. http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/politics...ontent=n012631A Harper is showing a bit of his foreign policy. I think Martin would have accepted and cooperated with a Hamas government.
  10. More studies being published proving HIT/Mentzer as unscientific and bunk. Another nail in the coffin for this group, who continue to burry their heads in the sand at this evidence: From the full text article:
  11. You can get a ship's captain or airline pilot too! I'm not sure if an airline pilot can do it anymore though. I always figured that if a helicopter pilot could do it, I would get married on the top of one of those great rolling hills in New Zealand.
  12. Andrew, I was considering a career in health care before. It seems that all of the nurse's unions and other unions are chanting the loudest for more nationalization, government funding, and regulation in BC. They are working hard to prevent an "American-style" system 'where the quality of your health care is determined by your wallet.' Do you know of any groups in Canada that I can support that directly work toward privatized health care? Deaths, undue stress and prolonged sickness in my family and within myself could have been saved with even a semi-private system.
  13. ex_banana-eater

    Abortion

    I'd say the brain has completed most of its axonic and dendritic growth by age 40. Enormous increases in "grey matter" in the brain happen up until age 12. Still, cerebral bloodflow imaging and MRI's have shown changes in structures and increased capacity in areas of the brain even in senior citizens when they begin treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy. So, it's pretty much okay to abort until 65. Leonard Peikoff has an audio on http://www.abortionisprolife.com/ on the right hand side of the index there. He discusses the philosophical position on abortion, and what a human being actually is and when it has rights.
  14. I may be wrong about Kyoto, but the health care issue you brought up just seems insane to me. They're going to be throwing billions more at it, even more than Martin has promised. By insane, I mean politically insane, in that it would lose them an election. Nobody will touch that sacred cow.
  15. Canadians are marching toward the voting booths soon, and it looks as if they will bring in the Conservative Party of Canada this time. Child care seems to be the big issue this election: For Americans here, I would give a gross estimate to say as the CPC are about as liberal as the most extreme Democrats in the US. They believe in universal health care and are committing billions more to it in their platform, however they are the economic conservatives in Canada. They want to provide tax credits to parents with children under 6, and the money will be able to be spent on anything. The Liberals have criticized this idea because it does not set up a government program ensuring the money will be spent on children. The Liberal Party of Canada are the current ruling party and have been in power for 12 years. Their agenda is slightly more liberal and it includes setting up a national daycare program for children this term. They are also campaigning for a nationwide handgun ban. The Libs were involved in a corruption scandal where they used taxpayer money to fund their political campaigns which has cost them their popularity. The trailing New Democrat Party (NDP) usually take third place. I think they will take alot of votes from the Liberals this election because of the scandal. The NDP is running on the complete nationalization of child care, I believe--which is a ban on private daycare or at least what I imagine to be much stricter regulation of it. From what I know if this market though, it mostly operates "under the table." I had a wonderful young neighbour who took care of some children to support herself and her son and she was paid in cash. The NDP often campaigns on environmental issues and was rated as having a better environmentalist policy than the Green Party (which will garner about 1 million votes). With regard to finances, many people are afraid of bringing the Conservatives to power. The Liberals claim the CPC will create government deficits, and the Liberals often cite their own record of government surpluses as proof that they will handle the economy well. As someone with basic knowledge of economics, I am somewhat puzzled on this type of argument, but it works for most Canadians. To me, it is simple to see that a surplus is just the result of taking more taxes in than they are spending on social programs. The Liberals promise an income tax reduction, and the Conservatives offer a reduction in the GST (a federal sales tax) from 7% to 5%. Both are committed to the Kyoto protocol on climate change, which is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. I am voting for the CPC this election. The race is between the CPC and NDP in my riding anyway, and I do not like the socialists. Edit: I would like to add that the NDP get third place out of the strictly national parties. The separatist Bloc Quebecois will probably have third place overall. They have over 50% of the support in Quebec, the province with 1/3 of Canada's population.
  16. I will reply with answers to some of the questions you posed to me soon. I have been rather busy, and haven't even been able to continue my self-cognitive therapy at the moment. Thanks for all of your responses. The eye contact thing reminds me of what I've read PUA's (pick-up artists) tend to use to create a sense of chemistry with a person initially. I've noticed that sometimes just the initial looking in a woman's eyes is very spiritual.
  17. I haven't thought of a clear definition yet, but what I had in mind was the way Roark acts when he is in the company of others. I know that independence, strictly speaking, is relying on the use of one's own mind and own conclusions. What I am more interested in is how this will manifest itself in a person's psychology. I am not familiar with the scientific term used in the field of psychology. Maybe if I am too unclear for anyone to answer my questions, I will think about what I mean and then reply to this thread in a couple of days. Note that my interest stems primarily from the fact that I am utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy to improve my psychology to something that more clearly reflects my conscious convictions.
  18. I am a teenager and just graduated high school, planning to attend university next year. My view, from my short experience, is that it is fairly easy to earn a decent living for oneself as an entry-level employee. Not only that, but it is easy for me to save money at the same time. I began work at a large entry level call center this summer, knowing I had 1 year to save for university. I earn 2000 Canadian dollars per month when I include my overtime and bonuses. Minimum wage is 8/h here, but I earn slightly over that because I chose to take the graveyard shifts, work overtime, and make bonuses based on my effort. I've also been sent on all expenses paid business trips to the US based on my productivity, and it was very nice living in a Hilton. With some effort I am able to accomplish saving for university and taking correspondence courses for my education. Shared accomodation can be had as low as $400/month here, including internet access, heat, water, and some furnishings. Room and board for as low as $600 per month. Even as a socialist when I was younger, I always wondered why people were "going hungry" when 10lbs of rice can be had for an hour and a half of work. The reason, with the exception of the mentally retarded or those with medical problems, is because they are there by choice.
  19. What is psychological independence and how does it primarily manifest itself? Is there any non-fiction reading you can recommend on this topic? Does a psychologically independent person experience social anxiety? How does a person like this act in a romantic relationship or friendship, in contrast with someone who is the opposite--"needy"? Thanks very much
  20. I most commonly visit the forum by checking my "Live Bookmarks" in Firefox. I am subscribed to the forum via RSS. I open up the bookmark and click on an active thread that interests me in the bookmark folder. After I read that thread, I usually hit "View New Posts" at the top of the forum. This method is streamlined and efficient for my purposes.
  21. Sorry for being vague, let me clarify my terms: What I mean by "intellectual" is shown in "FTNI" pb. 27. The term I should have used is "The professional intellectual." In my case, my goal is to be a bioethicist. I agree, integrity is extremely important. I feel it would be dishonest not to have integrity to your ideas if you were a professional intellectual, so I excluded that item from my list thinking it wasn't necessary to point out.
  22. If one aspires to become an Objectivist intellectual, what skills are likely necessary to spread their ideas? (Apart from excellent knowledge of philosophy and culture in general) I am starting a list. If you can think of anything else, please reply. --Oratory skills for lectures --Effective essay and book writing ability --The ability to debate orally --Clear communication in general (?)
  23. I use nootropics to boost my cognitive abilities. In studies they improve memory, recall speed, psychomotor tasks, and "concentration." Since I feel the benefits outweigh the costs of purchasing them, this is a wholy moral activity, as it objectively benefits my life and happiness in the context of my own values.
  24. I think a definition of "environment" is in order. Here is a start, "The totality of external physical conditions surrounding man." If one thinks of the environment that way, then our transformations of it are overwhelmingly positive. For example, clearing a forested, mountainous habitat to create strip mines that will provide metal for automobiles and electronics benefits our environment greatly. Human conditions have correspondingly been made more positive due to those actions.
  25. You continue to focus on what is needed, rather than what is optimal. If we are talking about humans who are not sedentary, then avoiding post-agricultural grains, soy, and other lentils is positive--as these carbohydrates have been implicated in syndrome X. Please see: Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century1,2 Loren Cordain, S Boyd Eaton, Anthony Sebastian, Neil Mann, Staffan Lindeberg, Bruce A Watkins, James H O’Keefe and Janette Brand-Miller
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