My Practicalism

In writing this post, my aim is to give myself a mental compass that guides my shopping and my food choices. My personal trainer taught me a simple principle: every meal should contain four food groups: A fiber-rich food (fruits or vegetables)  A starch (e.g., potato, sweet potato, or whole grains) A protein (legumes, tofu, seitan, or other plant proteins) A healthy fat (e.g., avocado, olive oil, walnut, flaxseed, or chocolate) I love this advice because it is simple and practical. Below is a list of some of the healthiest foods in each category, along with their typical seasons when applicable. What are the healthiest fruits? Goji berries (year-round) Strawberries (spring and early summer) Wild blueberries (summer; frozen year-round) Blackberries (summer) Raspberries (summer to early fall; frozen year-round) Pomegranates (fall) Frozen berries are excellent alternatives when fresh berries are out of season. What about the healthiest vegetables? Cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccol...

Left wingism is defined as the endorsement of political equality. Right wingism is defined as the rejection of political equality. Left wingers include but are not limited to: communists (of many kinds), socialists, democratic socialists, social democrat, neo-liberals, left-libertarians, and Eastern mysticists: Communists want a moneyless, classless, stateless society that proportions a person's quality of life relative to their behavior; Socialists are similar to communists, but they are satisfied with a society having some sort of monetary system, class, or state. The USSR was a state of Socialism that was trying to achieve a state of Communism; Democratic Socialists (DemSocs) want socialism through voting; Social Democrats (SocDems) want capitalism with welfare; Neo-liberals want democracy, but they also want to correct for the lingering echoes of historical oppression against minorities; Left-libertarians are socially left winged people that want property ownership, small gover...

If you are just starting out in chess, focus on playing many enjoyable games and developing your board vision. Otherwise, read on! Most players waste time studying things that rarely decide their games. The goal of training is simple: work on the things that affect, or are expected to affect, your results. How do you know what those things are?  Review your games. They can be slow games or blitz games. Personal game review is the foundation of a chess education. In fact, chess improvement largely comes down to playing games and reviewing them. If a recurring weakness appears, train for that weakness specifically. In this sense, your games write your training program. How should you review your games?  By following  GM Noël Studer's 3x3 method . First, use a chess engine (e.g., Stockfish) to identify up to three of your own game-changing mistakes. Then—for each mistake, ask yourself three questions: What was my idea? Why is my idea wrong? How is the alternative better? Onc...