Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat. In that book, I review research on the “funding effect,” the strong correlations between who pays for food and nutrition research and its outcome. Industry-funded research tends to produce results favorable to the funder’s interests (otherwise it wouldn’t be funded). But recipients of […]
Source: Food Inflation: The Price Spikes of Beef, Coffee, Eggs, and Dairy – https://wolfstreet.com/2025/10/24/food-inflation-the-price-spikes-of-beef-coffee-eggs-and-dairy/ I decided I would try to collect data online from the largest supermarkets in the country, and I pretty soon realized that the numbers I was getting were two or three times higher than the official numbers for inflation. Alberto Cavallo, […]
Over the study period, 1,131 cases of type 2 diabetes were identified among the 108,723 participants. Compared with people who consumed the lowest levels of preservatives, those with higher intake showed a markedly increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Overall preservative consumption was linked to a 47% higher risk. Non-antioxidant preservatives were associated with […]
garyskitchen.net is a personal WordPress.com blog (also referred to as a “food memoir”) authored by Gary, the same individual who runs lifeunderwriter.net under the handle SupremeCmdr. The site’s tagline/subtitle is: “A food memoir of weight loss, family recipes, digital cookbook and nutrition information for family and friends”. Key aspects include: Overall, it’s a niche, opinionated […]
Thinking about making black eyed peas for good luck? Me too. As 2025 comes to a close I once again searched my blog for the number of Badass versions I have. Badass Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas – Pandemic Version 2021 Vegetarian Badass Black Eyed Peas – 2022 (don’t ask what happened in 2023) and 2024 Badass […]
lifeunderwriter.net 
Stratocasters?
So in how many years do you project retirement at this point ?
Two to four years is my estimate. I’m one of the fortunate few who possess a skill set in current high demand. I enjoy my work. The work provides structure, mental stimulation, and just enough human interaction to maintain my social skills. The economic benefits of a few extra work years is also a good thing. Yes, I have a bunch of Stratocasters. But no desire to bring the band together again for a final farewell tour.
Why the high demand?
Life insurance sales continue to grow since the pandemic. High volumes of insurance applications and a lack of professional underwriters to do the work. The shortage is due to many reasons: downsizing, graduates pursuing other types of work, etc. No one as a kid says when I grow up I want to be an underwriter.
How does one train to be an underwriter? Is it a good job field to go into at this point?
A great specialty to enter at this point in time. I’m a middle boomer and once this generation retires/dies there will be even higher demand for my particular skill set. Some companies train interested employees for this role. Most training is done through insurance companies with industry based training courses.
So if One wanted to be an underwriter, what degree would they pursue before hand? Business or anything in liberal arts?
Great question, but no solid answer. I would suggest any major in the sciences with a minor in business. I majored in Sociology. (yeah)
Stratocaster?
Classic electric guitar design by Fender. I own several and the quip is a reference to discretionary spending. Once on fixed income, no more guitar purchases.