Ice Cream, Basketball, and Parking: Components of a Diet

Barnes & Noble has shelves which carry approximately three dozen varieties of diet programs, none of which are sustainable. It does not yet have a copy of the ICBP book which provides the detail behind this unique diet.

It’s probably only a rumor that Amazon is so annoyed at not having ICBP on its shopping list that it has sent spies to every relevant place in the country. As is its common business practice, it then would copy the dietary approach and offer it under the Amazon label. Jeff needs the money.

While there is no special logic behind the different components of this diet, here are guidelines in various categories for the prospective weight-loser to consider.

Note it is incumbent on the individual to expand the entries next to each descriptor.

Never:                                                  bacon, French fries, soft drinks

Not available at home:                 cakes, pies, cookies

Almost never:                                   bread, beer (Friday/Saturday night exemptions) pancakes, rice

Okay away from home:                wine, especially on special occasions

50-50 situations (you know, a touch of discipline): dark chocolate bars, chicken, crackers, peanut butter, nuts, cottage cheese, beef, coffee

Always:                                                fruits, vegetables, plain yogurt, granola (not the sugary kind), salmon, water, green (or some other color) tea

**

I know the suspense is killing you! You want a bit of elucidation about the ground rules, the logic behind ICBP, or at least the operative reasoning, or at least the detail. After all, adhering to ICBP in a three-month period resulted in the loss of five pounds, accomplished without any use of drugs.

The ice cream is consumed before 6pm; the quantity is three teaspoons, no more. Pile on any variety of fruits and nuts to make it even more delicious and nutritious. Why the ice cream – it brings fun and a change of mouth feel to what can be a dullish eating regimen, assuming you follow the above menu that is.

The basketball commitment is a weekly dictate: two mornings per week, two hours each. It is good for the soul, for the body, for an outlook on life – and it makes you more likely to follow a diet: you want to be ready for that next run with the guys.

Distant parking will irritate everybody in your car, so be ready for some bitching and moaning when you pass up numerous open spots to ensure yourself of a lengthy walk to your destination. Check the obesity rate in Europe, where walking is a more normal activity, engaged in on a regular basis.

**

Ah yes, there is an analytical question: which factor on the ICBP menu is a cause of something happening and which is simply a correlation. I have no idea, which means still another subject to be left to high-priced experts, whether they be trim or possessing of a soft belly.

When your doctor lights up a cigarette or that heart organization representative orders a cheeseburger and soft drink for lunch or your dinner guest proclaims his allegiance to a diet while munching on his French fries, what’s a layman to think!

Might as well try the ICBP diet. P.S. it’s free, as least until it goes viral.

SUMMARY OF RESPONSES
Data are the percentage of responses in each quartile.

From left to right, the quartiles are 0-25%, 26-50%, 51-75%, and over 75%.

Comments are by the survey’s author, Bob.

What % believe that if any person works hard, they can move ahead in life? 0 30 35 35
Comment: Responses were more optimistic than other polls.
What % of billionaires would fund non-profit, healthy food market in public housing project? 70 25 0 5
Comment: Responses were appropriately cynical.
What % of people will buy the newest iPhone? 10 35 45 10
Comment: The name and the product are hard to resist.
If Trump is elected, what are the chances that there is an increase in violent deaths? 30 40 20 10
Comment: Responses mirror widespread nervousness compared with a normal election.
If zoning laws okay, what % of homeowners would invite homeless to build tiny house there? 95 5 0 0
Comment: An appropriate recognition of hypocrisy.
In a gated community, what % of residents would vote in favor of greater ethnic diversity? 70 25 0 5
Comment: Self-selection in the polling group might be at work here.
What % of contributors to environmental groups are owners of multiple residences and cars? 15 15 50 20
Comment: An appropriate recognition of hypocrisy.
What % think that racial tensions are declining? 60 35 5 0
Comment: Major changes in society are needed.
What % of people are upset about income equality? 10 30 35 25
Comment: Appropriate recognition that this is a real issue.
What % of NY Times Board would invite border crosser to live in their home until legal? 95 0 5 0
Comment: Appropriate recognition of hypocrisy.
If Biden is elected, what are the chances that there is an increase in violent deaths? 50 25 15 10
Comment: Slightly less fear than if Trump is elected, but still apparent nervousness.
What % of music executives would reject a song full of obscenities? 75 15 0 10
Comment: The drive for profits beats other considerations.
What % of adults are comfortable talking about mental health issues? 50 40 5 5
Comment: Surprised at the distribution; trend seems more in the direction of open discussion.
What % of voters believe the upcoming Presidential election is the worst match-up ever? 5 10 35 50
Comment: Maybe only historians believe it should be the right hand boxl
What % of Hollywood exes would reject a violent movie because they favor of gun reform? 95 5 0 0
Comment: The drive for profits beats other considerations.
What % of people change their minds after learning more about the facts of a subject? 35 55 10 0
Comment: The responses seem accurate, and they are quite disturbing.
What % or college graduates are in jobs consistent with their degree/major? 30 65 5 0
Comment: This brings additional fuel to the debate about higher education.
What % of adults believe the American medical system must be drastically changed? 15 35 20 30
Comment: Surprised at the distribution; the trend is toward a belief that change is mandatory.
What % of parents of school-age children would advocate for higher teacher salaries? 15 30 35 20
Comment: This should be a box four, with the proviso that teachers be held accountable.
What % of adults believe the planet will look completely different in 50 years? 15 35 15 35
Comment: Reading the standard futuristic book would suggest too much optimism in this distribution.

Data on Respondents: Age Under 30: 25% 30-50: 35% Over 50: 40%
Highest education degree attained: Associates: 5% Bachelor’s: 65% Master’s: 20% PhD: 10%
Married? Yes: 50% No: 50% Children? Yes: 45% No: 55%

A SUCCINCT GUIDE? TO UNDERSTANDING? THE CAMPUS PROTESTS

To stay sane (it’s a relative concept), I needed to write something. So I slipped on my sarcasm shirt (given me by a friend) and let loose.

To say that I am thoroughly depressed  — by the absence of civil debate, by the boisterous few (another relative description) spurred on, but only in part, by outsiders to college campuses who were trained in professional activism – is an understatement.

But no kvetching about a coddled generation ignorant of history and gleaning their thimble full of news from TikTok. Nothing about affluent young people wrought with anxiety about the economic system which brought them their unearned comfortability, their inbred sense of entitlement that shields them against any negative consequences from throwing into the air (without their names attached) words devoid of any serious thought.

Moving right along, here is the guide:

*It is always appropriate for those with less to be against those with more. This is true even if you actually have more; it’s the identification that counts.

*It is always acceptable for representative non-white leaders and their followers to be against whites. Cancel culture: chapter one, paragraph one, sentence one.

*For a couple thousand years, being against Jews has been common. Nothing new there. Those urging the destruction of all Jews are protected under the principles of free speech.

*As a slight digression, stimulated by that free speech comment, only bona fide African Americans can use the n-word with impunity. Anyone else muttering this word has committed a hate crime.

*Mob psychology has not changed: people act in a way they would not if solo.

*If “hostility is just its own waving flag of wanting to be seen,” mission accomplished. After much dithering, Biden finally spoke, tapping protestors on the wrist and, more or less simultaneously, cancelling another bunch of student debt and proving his bona fides as a friend of the young by endorsing marijuana. Jeez, in the old days, you simply bought votes with cash and jobs; now politicians have to make policy statements.

Speaking of Biden, It would be fascinating to hear him address the parents of young people for whom getting to college was not a given, where their education has been, shall we say, tampered with, whose graduation from a brand name school (in the past anyway) has been sullied.

**

Reconstructionists of the left want to re-do American society along racial and economic redistribution lines. Campus protests come straight out of the playbook in this regard. The fact that certain ethnicities do not have standing in this re-do is of no consequence.

Reconstructionists of the right have no forward thought process, no cohesive plan, no practicality or substance to their policy proclamations. Basically they want to roll back the clock to their fantasy of yesteryear, when nobody questioned the superiority of white males. Guess they missed the memo about changing dynamics and demographics.

**

Sooooooooooooooooo — how can there not be aggressive conflict and conduct.

Can it be comforting that on average, each of us owns a gun.

Will the civil war unfolding in the United States be fought with an AR-15 or will the combatants leave their weaponry at home and convene for strenuous debate, agreeing that violence in the political process (haven’t there already been multiple court cases emanating from the insurrection) is the nuclear threat, the third rail, not to be employed or touched.

What does this have to do with the protests? Everything I think.