Author Archives: RichardB

human-robot interaction

20 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in bbc, Hobbies, Research

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A robot sent out to travel across Canada by hitch-hiking has completed its 6,000km (3,728-mile) trip – apparently in one piece.

HitchBOT reached Canada’s Pacific coast at Victoria, British Columbia nearly three weeks after leaving Halifax in Nova Scotia, far away on the Atlantic coast, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports. “I’m on a boat,” one of HitchBOT’s last tweets says. “Well, a ferry to be exact. Victoria, I’m on my way.” An arrival event is due to be held on Thursday. Read more at the BBC

hitchbot

Seeing-eye dogs help blind dog

19 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in dogs

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On a rough day, Kiaya collapsed on the cold living room floor, unable to make it to her queen-sized dog bed.doggierure

Within minutes, her two “brothers” snuggled up on each side of her.

The sight brought tears to pet owner Jessica VanHusen’s eyes. That’s because life hasn’t been easy for the 10-year-old Akita, who lost both of her eyes to glaucoma over the course of 15 months.

Not only can the 100-pound dog not see, she also has a hard time walking — that is, without help from her “seeing eye dogs.”

The special needs dog didn’t have too much trouble adjusting to her new normal with 8-year-old Cass and 2-year-old Keller by her side. Without any commands, the dogs decided on their own to be her guides.

“The boys both respect her fully,” VanHusen told CBS News. “[They] allow her to eat first, they lean her up against the side of the car when we are traveling to stabilize her.”

Wherever Kiaya is, “middle-child” Cass is not far behind.

The dog has been by Kiaya’s side ever since her first eye was removed in July 2013. He would constantly follow her around in their backyard, standing next to her “blind side.”

“He became more attentive to her needs, leaning on her and cuddling,” VanHusen explained. “He even cleans her ears and face, where her eyes used to be.”

It took Keller a little longer. At less than 2 years old, the dog wasn’t fully attentive at first, VanHusen said, but he’s getting there.

“It’s amazing to watch,” Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners Ophthalmologist Dr. Gwen Sila, who performed Kiaya’s surgeries, said in a news release. “It’s clear the other dogs are trying to protect her. Their sense of loyalty is really remarkable.”

VanHusen said she has never considered training the pair to be service dogs. For now, they’ll just continue to take care of their sister, Kiaya, who turns 11 next month.

“She may be a special needs dog, but to us she’s just special,” VanHusen said. “When we ask her where her eyeballs went, she replies: ‘They’re in the garbage, I didn’t need them anymore.'”

With her brothers stepping in to assist her, that statement couldn’t be more true.

Mindfulness: Reason Mind, Emotion Mind, and Wise Mind

17 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by in Awareness, creative, creative arts therapy, Meditation, Mental Health, mindfulness

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996972_621934824532791_1132991476_nI have been practicing meditation since the mid-70’s and started a mindfulness meditation practice in the mid-90’s. Mindfulness has to do with the quality of awareness that we bring to what we are doing and experiencing, to being in the here and now.  It has to do with learning to focus on being in the present, to focusing our attention on what we are doing and what is happening in the present.

Many of us are distracted by images, thoughts and feelings of the past, perhaps dissociating, worrying about the future, negative moods and anxieties about the present.   It’s hard to put these thing away and concentrate on the task at hand.

I started teaching mindfulness to patients a few years ago and often used the following as a hand out:

Mindfulness has to do with states of mind. Reason Mind, Emotion Mind, and Wise Mind. Reason Mind is your rational, thinking, logical mind. It plans and evaluates things logically. It is your “cool” part. Reasonable Mind can be very beneficial. It is easier to be in Reasonable Mind when you feel good. It is much harder to be in Reasonable Mind when you don’t feel good.

 

You Would Use Your Reasonable Mind To:
Build a bridge
Figure out how to double a recipe
Balance your checkbook
Figure out the fastest way from point “A” to point “B”

 

Emotion Mind describes times when emotions are what influence or control your thinking and behavior. Emotional Mind can also be very beneficial. Emotions are what motivate us to action. Emotions are what keep us attached to others and building relationships.SONY DSC

 

Emotion Mind can be aggravated by:
Illness, Lack Of Sleep, Tiredness, Drugs, Alcohol, Hungry, Overeating, Poor nutrition and/or lack of exercise, Environmental stress and threats, not taking your meds.

Both Emotion and Reasonable Mind Are Equally Important And Valuable

Reasonable mind gives you a way to solve your problems.

Emotion mind gives you a reason (motivation) to want to solve them.

 

Wise Mind is the integration of emotional and reasonable mind. Wise mind is that part of each person that can know and experience truth. It is where the person knows something to be true or valid. It is where the person knows something in a centered (balanced) way. It is almost always quiet and calm in this part of the mind.

Everyone Has A Wise Mind!

Some people have simply never experienced it.

No one is in Wise Mind all of the time.

 

Wise Mind – An Analogy for Wise Mind is like a deep well in the ground. The water is at the bottom of the well. The entire underground is an ocean called Wise Mind. But on the way down, there are often trap doors that stop progress. Sometimes the trap doors are so cleverly built that you actually believe that there is no water at the bottom of the well. The trap door may look like the bottom of the well. Perhaps it is locked and you need a key. Perhaps it is nailed shut and you need a hammer. Perhaps it is glued shut and you need a chisel.

Honesty handout

16 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by in Handout, Honesty, Uncategorized

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This is a handout I use for groups that tend to be dishonest. 
  1. Figure out why you lie and who you lie to. We’ve all lied at one time or another, to different people, to ourselves, and for different reasons. But coming up with a systematic plan for becoming more honest will be difficult unless you try to define those reasons and those people for yourself.Transformation.jpg
    • Lies to make ourselves look better might include exaggerations, embellishments, and flat-out tall-tales we tell to others, and ourselves, to make ourselves feel better about our inadequacies. When you’re unhappy about something, it’s much easier to fill it in with lies than tell the truth.
    • We lie to peers we think are better than us, because we want them to respect us as we respect them. Unfortunately, being dishonest is disrespectful in the long run. Give people more credit for their ability to empathize and understand you on a deeper level.
    • Lies that avoid embarrassment might include lies told to cover up bad behaviors, transgressions, or any activity we’re not proud of. If your mom found a pack of cigarettes in your jacket, you might lie and say that they’re your friend’s to avoid punishment.
    • We lie to authoritative figures to avoid embarrassment and punishment, including ourselves. When we’ve done something we feel guilty about, lies are told to eliminate the guilt, avoid the punishments, and get back to the objectionable behavior we’re forced to lie about. It’s a vicious cycle.
  1. Anticipate behaviors that will make you feel guilty. To break the chain of embarrassment and lying, it’s important to learn to anticipate things that you’ll likely    feel guilty about in the future, and avoid those behaviors. When you lie, you’re covering up some uncomfortable truth that’s more easily couched in a lie. You can either get comfortable with the truth, or abandon the behavior that makes you embarrassed.
    • If you smoke cigarettes, you won’t have to lie if everyone knows it’s true. Own up to it. If a behavior is un-own-upable, it’s probably best to avoid it. It would be humiliating for your wife to find out that you had an inappropriate relationship with a coworker, but you won’t have to lie if you don’t do it.
  1. Avoid situations in which you’ll have to lie for others. Be wary when someone tells you something in confidence that you know that you should share with someone else (e.g., knowledge of a crime, a lie, or a harmful act against another). Hearing such information puts you in a difficult position, especially when the truth eventually emerges and reveals to the affected person that you knew all along.
    • If someone begins a sentence with “Don’t tell so-and-so about this, okay?” be prepared to offer your own disclaimer: “If it’s something that I’d want to know about were I them, then please don’t tell me. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone’s secrets but my own.”

Heroin was a brand name

15 Monday Apr 2019

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Heroin, or diacetylmorphine to give it its scientific name, was first synthesized in 1874 by an English gentleman called C. R. Alder Wright. It wasn’t until 1898 that a man called Heinrich Dreser, head of drug development at German pharmaceutical company Bayer, saw the commercial potential in the drug. poppyplant

Dreser started developing the drug as treatment for respiratory diseases such as bronchitis, asthma and tuberculosis, testing the drug on animals, human test subjects and even himself. Unsurprisingly Dreser and his test subjects liked the drug, saying it made them feel “heroisch” German for heroic. From this the brand name heroin was born.

Heroin was given a big thumbs up from Dreser and the Bayer big bosses. Samples of the drug were given out to doctors who in turn prescribed Heroin to their patients. Bayer was producing Heroin pastels, cough lozengers, tablets, water-soluble Heroin salts and a Heroin elixir.

Suspicion of the drug arose however when doctors started to report patients requesting Heroin cough syrup even though they weren’t showing any respiratory problems.

It turned out that Heroin was extremely addictive and detrimental to a person’s health. Bayer stopped producing and selling Heroin in 1913, deleting any mention of the drug in it’s company history. In 1924 Heroin was made illegal in the USA, even for medical purposes. In Britain, heroin is still used for medical purposes to this day, accounting for 95% of the worlds legal heroin use.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Romley_Alder_Wright

 

Writing is pleasantly fragrant

12 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in discovery

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As a former student I used to spend hours writing, reflecting, discerning and then, more writing. I often come up with foolish, odd, and often bizarrely phrased statements, one of which I share here for you.

Feelings-0040

“When listening I use a combination of skills that loosely falls under the rubric of empathy. I use empathy the way most people use deodorant, everyday and all the time. This maybe a bit of an analogy stretch, but it is oddly accurate and pleasantly fragrant.”