20 Thursday Feb 2020
Posted in discovery
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Tired of smart watches, cell phones and digital assistants listening in? Now a wearable microphone jammer that is capable of disabling microphones in its user’s surroundings, including hidden microphones. Our device is based on a recent exploit that leverages the fact that when exposed to ultrasonic noise, commodity microphones will leak the noise into the audible range. By making it wearable, our jammer outperforms existing approaches with an improved coverage and less blind spots.
19 Wednesday Feb 2020
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Opioid prescriptions have increased three-fold over the past two decades, and we have seen how this skyrocketing availability of medications has helped create a new drug abusing population, some of whom suffer severe health consequences. More deaths now occur as a result of overdosing on prescription opioids than from all other drug overdoses combined, including heroin and cocaine. The opioid epidemic is tied closely to another epidemic in our country, that of chronic pain—although the ties are very complex. Read More HERE
19 Wednesday Feb 2020
Posted in art, creative, Meditation
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Certain meditation techniques can promote creative thinking, even if you have never meditated before. This is the outcome of a study by cognitive psychologist Lorenza Colzato and Dominique Lippelt at Leiden University, published in Mindfulness.
Long-lasting influence
The study is a clear indication that you don’t need to be an experienced meditator to profit more from meditation. The findings support the belief that meditation can have a long-lasting influence on human cognition, including how we conceive new ideas. Besides experienced meditators, also novices may profit from meditation.
Different techniques, different effects
But the results demonstrate that not all forms of meditation have the same effect on creativity. Test persons performed better in divergent thinking (= thinking up as many possible solutions for a given problem) after Open Monitoring meditation (= being receptive to every thought and sensation). The researchers did not see this effect on divergent thinking after Focused Attention meditation (=focusing on a particular thought or object.)
Setup of the study
40 individuals participated in this study, who had to meditate for 25 minutes before doing their thinking tasks. There were both experienced mediators and people who never meditated before. The study investigated the influences of different types of meditative techniques on the two main ingredients of creativity:
Lorenza S. Colzato, Ayca Szapora, Dominique Lippelt, Bernhard Hommel. Prior Meditation Practice Modulates Performance and Strategy Use in Convergent- and Divergent-Thinking Problems. Mindfulness, 2014
18 Tuesday Feb 2020
Posted in challenge, Uncategorized
≈ Comments Off on Joseph Campbell the Art of Living
“Nietzsche was the one who did the job for me. At a certain moment in his life, the idea came to him of what he called ‘the love of your fate.’ Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, ‘This is what I need.’ It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment—not discouragement—you will find the strength is there. Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life. What a privilege! This is when the spontaneity of your own nature will have a chance to flow.
“Then, when looking back at your life, you will see that the moments which seemed to be great failures followed by wreckage were the incidents that shaped the life you have now. You’ll see that this is really true. Nothing can happen to you that is not positive. Even though it looks and feels at the moment like a negative crisis, it is not. The crisis throws you back, and when you are required to exhibit strength, it comes.”
Joseph Campbell, A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living.
17 Monday Feb 2020
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” ~ Leo Tolstoy
17 Monday Feb 2020
Top Songs I listened to in 2019: Mereba: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
mer•e•ba
[mer-ee-buh]
noun: mereba | person | oracle
1. Artist 2. Singer 3. Rapper 4. Songwriter 5. Producer 6. Musician 7. Guitarist 8. Actor 9. Rolling Stoner
Mereba is a multifaceted artist with the life story of a rolling stone. Her unique blend of r&b, folk, and hip hop makes space for a new voice found in this wise young storyteller.
I have a 16,000 plus digital audio collection and I use Media Monkey to manage my files. One feature of Media Monkey is you can sort your collection based on the number of times played. This playlist is based on the top music and/or music video files I played/listened/streamed from my server in 2019. Complete Playlist HERE
16 Sunday Feb 2020
15 Saturday Feb 2020
Posted by RichardB | Filed under Japanese Textile Designs
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15 Saturday Feb 2020
Posted by RichardB | Filed under Coloring Pages
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14 Friday Feb 2020
Posted in Meditation, quote
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Dedicating some time to meditation is a meaningful expression of caring for yourself that can help you move through the mire of feeling unworthy of recovery. As your mind grows quieter and more spacious, you can begin to see self-defeating thought patterns for what they are, and open up to other, more positive options. Sharon Salzberg
14 Friday Feb 2020
13 Thursday Feb 2020
Posted in Pets
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NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia (Reuters) – Ryzhik, a scruffy red tabby cat, was found on the streets of the Siberian city of Tomsk in the blistering cold, his four paws completely frozen.
He would have been the latest victim of Siberia’s unforgiving winter had he not be found by animal protection volunteers and brought to Russian veterinarian Sergei Gorshkov in Novosibirsk, some 200 kilometres (130 miles) away.
Two years later Ryzhik leads a normal life at Gorshkov’s clinic, hobbling around on four prosthetic limbs. They were implanted using a technique similar to one used for dental implants for people. Go HEREto Reuters to see the entire article.
13 Thursday Feb 2020
12 Wednesday Feb 2020
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”And the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles, no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful, by which we arrive at the ground at our feet, and learn to be at home.” Wendell Berry
12 Wednesday Feb 2020
Posted in mental health, Psychoeducation, research, youtube
≈ Comments Off on Stanford Medicine: Mood Disorders Across the Lifespan
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Dr. Katherine Williams, Director of Stanford’s Women’s Wellness Clinic, addresses Women’s Health Forum attendees on mood disorders in women.
11 Tuesday Feb 2020
Posted in carbon dioxide, Humans, Research
≈ Comments Off on Plants are adapting
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New analysis of molecular signatures suggests plants are adapting the higher rates of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Previous research has suggested rising CO2 levels would encourage accelerated plant growth in the short term, and indeed, greening has been documented across much of the globe.
But as Gail Taylor, a professor of biological sciences at the University of Southampton, recently pointed out: “[Few studies have] given us any insight into the long-term impacts of rising CO2 over multiple generations, and none have been undertaken on the molecular signature underpinning such adaptation.”
Specimens of the plant species Plantago lanceolata, found near high carbon dioxide springs, possessed hundreds of differently expressed genes. Photo by University of Southampton. More
10 Monday Feb 2020
Posted in Depression, TedTalks, YouTube
≈ Comments Off on Why We Need to Talk About Depression | Kevin Breel | TED Talks
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10 Monday Feb 2020
I have a 16,000 plus digital audio collection and I use Media Monkey to manage my files. One feature of Media Monkey is you can sort your collection based on the number of times played. This playlist is based on the top music and/or music video files I played/listened/streamed from my server in 2019.
Top Songs I listened to in 2019: La Música de Abril – Romper el Hielo. Duck Sessions (Live)
Top Songs I listened to in 2019: I have a 16,000 plus digital audio collection and I use Media Monkey to manage my files. One feature of Media Monkey is you can sort your collection based on the number of times played. This playlist is based on the top music and/or music video files I played/listened/streamed from my server in 2019. Complete Playlist HERE
09 Sunday Feb 2020
09 Sunday Feb 2020
Interesting news item from National Public Radio: Birds of a feather flock together. The age-old adage now carries scientific weight. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests genes may influence how people pick their friends. James Fowler, professor of medical genetics and political science at the University of California, San Diego, is the author of the study and he tells host Guy Raz there’s biology in social chemistry. Read or listen more here.
RichardbBrunner 