11 April 2024

Check out this review of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on Google Maps
https://goo.gl/maps/gqZtzbrT964jsVc29

I have not visited every library in New York City yet, but this is definitely my favorite so far. It has an excellent selection of books, and other media, on many subjects/topics that include a wide variety of perspectives. They have an excellent selection of newspapers and magazines (periodicals) as well.

Their hours are fantastic, and I so appreciate that they open early and stay open until 2100 most nights. It allows for workers and students who don't work "Bankers hours" or "traditional factory hours" to utilize this amazing public facility.

It's very spacious and has many levels. There are lots of outlets to use and charge laptops and phones, and lots of different areas and spaces for people to work and study. There is free public wi-fi available, courtesy of the NYPL, and there's public washrooms available on all levels—including wheelchair accessible ones and "gender-neutral" or non-shared washrooms facilities for those who may want more privacy while they do their business, such as while they deal with their children's dirty diapers.

This is a nice, spacious environment that is well-lit and has lots of windows. They do have a lot of security guards, and I actually find it to be quite the overkill of guards walking around. It's a public library, not a maximum security prison, eh? And to be totally honest, it makes it feel less of a safe and welcoming environment when there's so many of them around, slowly pacing the floors. They also tend to pick at dumb things like how you have to sit while reading your book and how you can't sit on the floor in the corner and how you can't eat some friggin' pre-cut pineapple with a plastic fork quietly while you read.

Anyhow, all that said, I have a suggestion for you Americans🫶

The libraries where I was born (Victoria, BC, Canada), and the surrounding areas I have traveled in within BC, allow you to eat and drink while you read. (We are allowed to eat and drink on public transit too, btw) How long do you expect students and adults to be able to study and focus without eating and drinking? As long as people are respectful and don't leave big gross messes, what's the big deal? Most people are pretty considerate about this in public libraries, from my experience (and I have spent a lot of my life hanging out at libraries). Even the library I went to as a child/teen didn't have an issue with me or others eating/drinking. We are humans, not robots, remember?

Also, we do have security guards at our facilities too, but way less than you do at yours (also, we have less crime, weird eh?). Also, they don't wander around picking at nonsense and acting all "intimidating" to people who are just sitting down and reading. Last time I checked, reading was not a crime so what's the big idea, eh? Are we prepping the citizens for the communist takeover? Seriously!

Sharia light, here we come!

Are you ready for the next COVID strain? Don't worry, the good people of the WHO, Anthony Gaudí, and his friends are here to support everyone as we oversanitize our surroundings and further compromise our immune systems, which will create more superbugs that will easily infect our weakened immune systems. Stay isolated, sanitized, and afraid. And for God's sake, don't exhale! Not only will you spread germs by doing that, but you are contributing to the destruction of our atmosphere with all that CO2 that comes out in every expiratory breath!

More from my OneNote:

I wish there was a store that sold hot cocoa without sugar. I love cocoa, but it tastes better with just cream and no sweetener or sugar. As I so rarely eat processed sugar, I could feel the sugar from the hot chocolates I had yesterday. I have a bit of a headache, but that's just the "sugar hangover". It's not bad and being outside in the fresh air will help. Also, I am having another giant cup of mostly sugar with cocoa flavoring now. I love the taste of chocolate and am craving it now, but I would prefer to have the real cocoa. Like the dark chocolate woth 70-80% cocoa mass. It is very tasty and actually has some health benefits. It's good for your heart and cocoa has healthy fibre to aid in digestion, among other benefits to your overall health. And even to one's weight. Sugar is what packs on the weight, especially in the midsection, for most people. Highly active people are unlikely to gain much from some added sugar as they will likely burn it off before it is transformed by the liver to glycogen to be used as fuel later, and ultimately, unused sugar will become fat.

Some intramuscular fat is necessary and is the last to be shed from people's body compositions. When you lose those particular fat stores, your body starts having to adjust how it uses available sources for nutrition. Protein breakdown for energy is not exactly a good thing because that is the most important component for our endocrine system to function and continue to regulate homeostasis via hormones

Furthermore, I should note that once people become accustomed to listening to their body and stop restricting food based on what advertisers or other people tell you to eat, your metabolism does level out and your hunger/fullness signals will function appropriately again. I have had this happen to me twice. Once when I was in my early 20s and I had been anorexic for years
.. and one other time when I was being a bit overly-restrictive with "clean eating" and exercising a lot—especially lots of bicycling and weight training/pushups—sometimes "training" for 5 hours or so a day.

Anyhow, on both occasions once I started eating, my body couldn't regulate much of anything. My metabolism was way out of whack and I had no concept of when I was full or when I was hungry. I ended up getting bad edema in my legs and all sorts of other funky things happened with my body. People who do those body muscle competitions (bodybuilders) will understand exactly what I mean as you go so low body fat and high muscle for those competitions, once you reintroduce more food and stop the really intense exercise (but still exercise regularly, just pace it more "moderate") your body goes through a challenging phase, and if you don't know what's going on, it can be hard to regulate yourself and manage things without a doctors supervision. I managed this stuff by myself, though I recommend others have supervision with this stuff. I was able to figure it out by reading and listening to others who have experience and knowledge. And, as I said before, I did reach out for help with doctors in Canada when I was struggling in my 20s, but was told my problems were not "serious enough" to receive medical attention; thus, I had to figure shit out on my own. All good, I made it through. I survived.

Anyhow, you can't stay at a super low fat level for months and months or years because it isn't healthy. Even athletes have to have an "off-season" where they allow themselves to not be so restrictive with their eating habits and gain a bit of extra body fat. Women athletes especially need to do this as being too low of a body fat percentage means you will cease having a normal regular menstrual cycle. If you do this for too long, you can end up with many adverse health effects, some may be reversible, but some may not. You can end up with bone density issues and long-term metabolic issues. It can even affect your integumentary system, which means your skin and hair can be affected as well. For example, you can have end up with very fine and thin hair on your scalp, and you can also end up having more hair on your body, but as a thin, fine "downy" layer or "peach fuzz". This may or may not dissipate over time.

Anyhow, once your body is allowed to do its own thing and it understands that it isn’t going to be starved or restricted food again, your metabolism will level out and regulate itself. This is also something that I am certain that many POWs, survivors of the Holocaust, the Holodomor, the Gulag, and communist/socialist regimes—such as those that lived through, or are still living under brutal authoritarian regimes will understand. Those that lived/are living in countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Romania, Guatemala, El Salvador, Cuba, Venezuela, Sudan, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mao's China (and many more under the current CCP China rule), and other "socialist" countries around the world.

Anyhow, you will eventually lose your cravings for "off-limits" foods such as sugary things like Donuts. You may still once in awhile crave and eat those things, but they will lose their "attraction" once you don't label them as "prohibitive". It all sounds counter-intuitive, but it actually works. This is from my experience, and I know there are many other women, and men, who understand how this works as well. Many health professionals, such as nutritionists, nurses, and doctors—especially those involved with sports medicine, understand this "method" of how the mind/body/spirit connection works and functions as a whole to maintain appropriate normal and healthy functioning.