Settle Down And Intelligence Quotient Goes Down

How does a person know he or she is losing intelligence? Self-evaluating I.Q. can be difficult. It can be hard to be honest with oneself. Maybe a trusted family member calling out the person getting dumber? Maybe a trusted friend calling out the person getting dumber? Maybe a third-party person calling out the person getting dumber? Maybe an event acts as a wake-up call the person is getting dumber? "What the heck is going on with me?" is an example of a question the person asks himself or herself something wrong.

I witness people who settled down for years they're losing intelligence. I notice their I.Q.s are dropping. Never settle. Minimize the television shows, video games, and social medias. Slow down to minimize stress. Take a breath. Continue learning. Use the brain or lose the brain. Read books. Continue physical fitness. Use the knees and elbows or lose the knees and elbows. Always seek new adventures. Experience new experiences indefinitely. Maintain sharp senses eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to touch, nose to smell, and tongue to taste; for example, try new foods. Never stop innovating--innovate infinitely.

The late Steve Jobs on don't settle: Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

Top Ten My Last Minute Choices Were Correct

The late Steve Jobs said, "You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever." I connected the dots for the following last minute choice moments. The choices were correct. Here are the top ten my last minute choices were correct.

10. Gilroy Gardens (Jul 23, 2022). My brother's family had two extra tickets to visit the small amusement park in Gilroy, CA. My dad and I went. I did my best to social distance. I initiated social distancing when I walked around the park. I wore my mask except eating. I felt relaxed. It was a good life break.

9. 1998 (Various Dates 1998). Honestly speaking, the opportunities appeared in front of me without effort. I was given no brainer choices.

*Emergency Dentist Filling (Jan 1998). My dentist at the time created an opening for a filling to charge my insurance as a procedure for the 1997 calendar year.
*Celine Dion (Jan). I purchased my first used CD Celine Dion-Celine Dion at a used media store.
*Fanime Con 1998 (Feb 15). I purchased three anime CDs from a dealer who wanted to sell as much inventory before leaving. I was short on cash. He accepted my amount. I didn't pay taxes.
*Cal Poly Open House (May). A friend invited me to visit him during the Cal Poly Open House weekend. The weekend vacation was my first solo vacation.
*Japantown-San Francisco (Jul or Aug). The same Cal Poly friend called me up for a last-minute trip to escape the record heat in San Jose, CA.
*Santa Barbara, CA Weekend Trip (Aug). My mom and I picked up my grandfather driving the Mercury Sable 1997 station wagon. It was the first time the car drove long distance. We listened to music on my portable CD player connected to the radio's cassette deck for the first time. We delivered a cage of birds to one of my aunts.

8. Coraline (Mar 14, 2009). I felt bad at a cosplay gathering in the Japanese garden Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, CA. I wanted to go home quickly. I contacted two friends to watch Coraline with me when I arrived home. Also, another friend organized a 3/14 pie dinner gathering. The three of us ate dinner at the pie dinner gathering. We watched the last showing of Coraline after dinner. I purchased the tickets on a friend's app because I feared the showing was sold out. The theater was dead. It was the first time and last time I purchased movie tickets outside the movie theater.

7. Anime Expo (AX) 2009 (Jul 2-5, 2009). I had no plans to attend AX due to the Great Recession. I changed my mind after Fanime Con 2009 in May 2009. I hung out with my friends. I called my friends. My friends called me. I met new people. I visited Japantown in Los Angeles for the first time afterwards.

6. Ranma 1/2 Season 1 On VHS (Dec 1996). A comic book store was going out of business. The owner sold five of the six VHS tapes in stock for $5 each. The retail price is $30 each. I was short on money at the time.

5. Fanime Con 2004 Midnight Marathon (May 30, 2004). I watched 17 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist during the Midnight Marathon. I initially planned to watch four episodes. I stayed awake during the entire marathon. I said, "I'm going to cosplay Edward Elric" after episode 8. Fullmetal Alchemist saved me from quitting anime.

4. Washington Canada 2008 (Nov 15-20, 2008). The last minute timing was perfect to visit my friend. My contract at Cisco was terminated. I was lost. I was confused. I didn't know what to do with my life. I needed a break to refocus and reset. We visited Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; Hurricane Ridge; the Rock 'n Roll museum; gambled in a casino; visited Downtown Seattle; and shopped in used bookstores. We watched movies. We played board games. The trip saved me from years of therapy.

3. Shopped For Gym Equipment (Mar 16, 2020). CA Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state shut down on Mar 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. I shopped the entire afternoon buying gym equipment for my home mini gym. I purchased a 45-pound plate and a 25-pound plate at a specialty fitness store. I purchased the exercise mat at Sports Basement. I continue my strength training at home. My cardio workout is jogging around the neighborhood.

2. Zion National Park Walking Stick (Oct 3-4, 2015). I went backpacking for the first time. The party and I received information The Narrows Top Down backpacking trail is strenuous. I rented a walking stick which saved my ass walking in the river and navigating the rocks. I purchased a pair of trekking poles afterwards.

1. O'Connor Hospital Emergency Room (Apr 2-6, 2017). I thought I had the stomach flu. The pains were sharp like pins pinning my stomach. I went to the emergency room. I was diagnosed with Acute Gallstone Pancreatitis. I required two surgeries for the first time. The first surgery was Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography which removed gallstones. The second surgery was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy which removed my gallbladder. I was a hospital in-patient for the first time.

Update On A Past Blog

I mentioned Fanime Con 2009 and AX 2009. Fanime Con 2009 is my all-time favorite anime conventions from the blog Top Ten Favorite Anime Conventions written on Oct 25, 2012. AX 2009 should be on the list because the last minute choice to attend was a good choice. AX 2009 is ranked fifth after Fanime Con 2009, Fanime Con 2010, AX 2006, and Fanime Con 2005.

My Second Boss Was Fired

I experienced a manager was fired for the first time in Sep 2002. She was my second manager overall. It happened at my second company after I graduated at San Jose State University. She was hired in Sep 1999 to replace my first manager who hired me at my first company and my second company. I warned the office manager the replacement was a poor choice. The office manager ignored my warnings like many office managers disregarding worker concerns.

My intuition told me the managing partner needed to layoff staff due to the dot-com recession and the brokers complained about my manager's performance. The managing partner told the office manager to fire my manager. The office manager came to the Research Dept for an impromptu meeting to acquire justification. The meeting lasted ten minutes. The final question was, "Is Research going to be affected if she leaves?" The co-worker and I said the answer "no" immediately.

The office email stated she found another job. I received inside information from a broker's assistant my manager was informed her firing beforehand. The office fired her after she found another job. The broker's assistant also told me my manager's salary was "very high."

I learned a life lesson from my manager firing: have nothing, do nothing, get nothing, be nothing, and people treat you like nothing. Never be a nobody.

Afterwards

The next 4.5 years another office manager was the Research Dept's manager. The previous office manager admitted her mistake to me in 2003. My co-worker maintained the database. I ran the operations. The managing partner wrote the quarterly newsletters. All was peaceful. Why? Everybody was winners. Each year were record setting revenues. Each year brokers surpassed their previous year's sales targets.

Staff members began to leave the partnership and my office starting in late 2006. I worked at Cisco in Mar 2007. My co-worker worked at another commercial real estate company in Jul 2007. Winning hides weaknesses. Winning ignores problems hoping they go away. Problems were clear and present starting in late 2006.

Shelter In-Place COVID-19 Blog August 2024

California issued shelter in-place orders on Tue Mar 17, 2020. I have been logging the highlights and lowlights. The summer surge continued. The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics was completed. I see a tiny increase in people wearing masks. August was the fastest month of the year.

Tue Aug 6. Nassau County in New York passed the Mask Transparency Act into law. The act makes wearing a mask or face covering a crime. The misdemeanor offense is punishable by up to one year in jail or a $1,000 fine. Supporters say the law helps combat crime during protests and combat potential felons only. Opponents say the law gives police the legal authority to stop and question people wearing a mask when no crime is being committed.

Thur Aug 8. American sprinter Noah Lyles tested positive two days before he won a bronze medal for the 200 meter race. Lyles quarantined at a nearby hotel. He took Paxlovid. Trainers and medical staff attended Lyles who laid down on his back after the race. He was taken off the track on a wheelchair.

The Center For Disease Control (CDC) said the US overall death rate dropped to 6% in 2023. Heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injury including drug overdose were the leading causes of death. COVID-19 fell from 4th place in 2022 with 245,000 deaths to 10th place in 2023 with 76,000 deaths. Stroke is 4th place in 2023 with 750 deaths per 100,000 people. 799 deaths per 100,000 people due to stroke in 2022.

Sat Aug 10. Watched the fourth quarter of the Men's Olympic Gold Medal Round France vs. USA.

Sun Aug 11. Attended my first social event outside my residence or another family's house.

Mon Aug 12. The CDC said 27 states reported very high levels and 17 states reported high levels of wastewater data measuring COVID-19 activity. The western region was the highest levels. Emergency room COVID-19 cases increased. Death rates were unchanged at low rates.

The Food And Drug Administration (FDA) recommended the vaccine is based on the KP.2 strain for the updated vaccines available in the fall.

Wed Aug 21. The JAMA Psychiatry journal published a study people with a severe case of COVID-19 their chances of mental illnesses increased. They include depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorder, suicide, and bipolar disorder. Unvaccinated people who experience a mental illness are more severe than vaccinated people. In addition, unvaccinated people who are older aged and male their mental illness is more severe.

The study looked into long COVID-19 for children. The results indicated debilitating and long-term side effects which make children difficult to live their childhood lives in and out of their residences. The symptoms include headaches, loss of memory, trouble sleeping, and stomach pain. Teenagers with long COVID-19 experience children symptoms plus fatigue, dizziness, gastrointestinal problems, heart palpitations, and body pain.

Tur Aug 22. I went to an industrial company to drop off shoes for recycling. Nobody was available to receive the shoes. I went to Costco and Safeway afterwards. More people wore masks.

The FDA approved emergency authorization for the updated COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine targets the KP.2 strain. The authorization applies to Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. The vaccines are available in the coming weeks. People who got the COVID-19 vaccine recently should wait three months.

The CDC recommends people age 6 months and older receive the latest vaccine.

Fri Aug 23. The Federal Government restarted its free home COVID-19 tests program in Sep. The exact date next month is unknown. It's the 7th time in the President Joe Biden administration each household receives up to four free tests.

Thur Aug 29. Shopped at Target first thing in the morning.

Fri Aug 30. The FDA approved emergency authorization for the updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. The Novavax vaccine targets the JN.1 strain. People age 12 years and older may get the traditional protein-based updated vaccine.

The KP.3.1.1 strain dominated with a 42.2% of cases.

Sat Aug 31. Went to Sports Basement, Books, Inc., Chevron for gas, and Safeway.