I love my life when I get to do what I want.
For the past two weeks I've been jamming to OK Go's, "Do What You Want" whilst I get ready for work. It really puts me in the mood that no matter what happens I am in control of myself. Things can get crazy sometimes, but I'm good as long as I get to do what I want.
Today I really get to do what I want. I'm on call right now. Meaning I get to sit at home and get paid for it as long as if they call me I can get there within 30 minutes. I thought I was going to work today so the call at 9am was really great. By that point in the morning I'm already ready to go. So I just get to sit around now.
Like I could ever sit around. I finally got to cook up some food for this week. Good thing too, I was running out of frozen dinners! I made up some of these yummy things. As well as some grilled veggie wraps. Now I've got a brown bag full of veggie wraps enough for the next week! Nom nom nom.
While I was cooking I watched some Star Trek TOS. Right now I'm blogging and watching Cosmos. I could listen to Carl Sagan's voice all day.
The morning run was set to The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe. A few weeks behind actually.
The Canadian school system wants to shut down the WIFI. They're claiming that WIFI is making the children sick. They get sick during the weekdays but not on the weekend. It must be the wireless in the schools.
Or maybe the kids don't want to go to school.
More on this later. I'm gonna eat some delicious lemon linguine.
Yum.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Increase the theta waves ensign!
Had a fabulous weekend with
my sister Kelly.
She came for a visit and make my weekend awesome. John had to study the entire time so he really missed out on some fun stuff. We ventured to the Little Rock Museum of Discovery as part of our lifelong goal to visit a science center in every state. There we met Tammy the Owl at the live animal show and made great fools of ourselves. It's a little awkward being 16 years older than the entire audience and still geeking out about owls. We participated with great enthusiasm.
"Does anyone know the differences between birds and mammals?"
"Oh oh! Live birth!
"Lactation! Lactation!"
We did keep it to whispers as not to disturb the children...Ahem.
Kelly seriously freaked out on the brain model though. I think we spent a good 10 minutes identifying structures and function on a giant light up brain. I ranted a bit in the "Health" section on the old science they were displaying. Lies to the children! Update this data! 1993? Seriously?
I've chosen this article in honor of my fabulous (although pretentious) sister.
I want to remember this crazy weekend (especially the sushi) so, the best way to do this would be to line up my neuronal firings with my theta waves.
So, there are beta (Awake) and delta (Asleep) and pretty much every Greek letter of waves that your brain gives off at different intervals depending on the task. Theta waves are the oscillations that you get when doing or looking at something novel. You're neurons also fire impulses in an attempt to lay down a memory. Rutishauser et. al found that the number of impulses didn't effect how well a memory was formed but rather if the impulses lined up with the theta oscillations.
WHAt?
That's just really cool. I think I'll geek about that for a bit. Is this why we have stronger memories if we put things to music? Does that line up our impulses with a beat? Would studying with a metronome help? Probably not since a theta wave oscillates at 10 per second... That'd be a crazy tick. Is there a way to control theta patterns?
I know a lot of people are mapping brain waves and making music out of them. I also know there's a bit of pseudoscience about using music to control delta waves. What can one do to control their theta waves?
Gah. There's so much crazy going on! Theta waves and heart arrhythmias during sleep? Delta waves and schizophrenia?
I have to go to work.
Ps. We also played in the fountain at the park with all the little children. It was fun.
Here she is climbing the rock wall at the River Market
my sister Kelly.
She came for a visit and make my weekend awesome. John had to study the entire time so he really missed out on some fun stuff. We ventured to the Little Rock Museum of Discovery as part of our lifelong goal to visit a science center in every state. There we met Tammy the Owl at the live animal show and made great fools of ourselves. It's a little awkward being 16 years older than the entire audience and still geeking out about owls. We participated with great enthusiasm."Does anyone know the differences between birds and mammals?"
"Oh oh! Live birth!
"Lactation! Lactation!"
We did keep it to whispers as not to disturb the children...Ahem.
Kelly seriously freaked out on the brain model though. I think we spent a good 10 minutes identifying structures and function on a giant light up brain. I ranted a bit in the "Health" section on the old science they were displaying. Lies to the children! Update this data! 1993? Seriously?
I've chosen this article in honor of my fabulous (although pretentious) sister.
I want to remember this crazy weekend (especially the sushi) so, the best way to do this would be to line up my neuronal firings with my theta waves.
So, there are beta (Awake) and delta (Asleep) and pretty much every Greek letter of waves that your brain gives off at different intervals depending on the task. Theta waves are the oscillations that you get when doing or looking at something novel. You're neurons also fire impulses in an attempt to lay down a memory. Rutishauser et. al found that the number of impulses didn't effect how well a memory was formed but rather if the impulses lined up with the theta oscillations.
WHAt?
That's just really cool. I think I'll geek about that for a bit. Is this why we have stronger memories if we put things to music? Does that line up our impulses with a beat? Would studying with a metronome help? Probably not since a theta wave oscillates at 10 per second... That'd be a crazy tick. Is there a way to control theta patterns?
I know a lot of people are mapping brain waves and making music out of them. I also know there's a bit of pseudoscience about using music to control delta waves. What can one do to control their theta waves?
Gah. There's so much crazy going on! Theta waves and heart arrhythmias during sleep? Delta waves and schizophrenia?
I have to go to work.
Ps. We also played in the fountain at the park with all the little children. It was fun.
Here she is climbing the rock wall at the River Market
Monday, September 6, 2010
Fwd:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sam Crowe <bennett101@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 5:10 PM
Subject:
To: bennett101@gmail.com
From: Sam Crowe <bennett101@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 5:10 PM
Subject:
To: bennett101@gmail.com
Ugh.
Another week down. It's been a bit of a while since I blogged, or at least I feel that way. Just working mostly.
I've been running every other day now that the weather is nice. 75 degrees this AM. Wonderful. I didn't run today though I had to get some laundry done...
I'm scanning the reader right now looking for good science news. Racking my brain too.
John and I recently traveled (Last Saturday actually, so much for recent) to a nearby town because they had the closest gamestore. Pretty much the only game store.
Here's the tale.
Bored on a Saturday. Not very good. He's got plenty to do, but occasionally he needs a break from studying and I have been trying to think of things that we can do quickly that will allow him that moment of escape. Movies take too long, eating doesn't need to happen all that often, and you can only play Wii golf so many times.
In the backroom I was assessing our boardgame collection. Pretty sad. We have mostly 4 player games. Eh. That's what they make. The two games we have that are ok with two players are Trivial Pursuit and Trivial Pursuit Star Trek: The Original Series.
Not the best if you're wanting a brain break. So I hopped on the internet and googled "Game Store" with my zip code. Closest store 30 minutes away. So into the car we went.
Good idea.
This was a huge game store. They had sessions running while we were there, the owner greeted us at the door. Called us by name when we left. They had tons of games. It was wonderful. An entire D&D wall. Wow, it was nice. I was very happy we went. Spent a bit more money than we should have and not as much as we wanted to. We picked up Pandemic, a favorite of mine since the first time I ever heard of it and Last Night on Earth. Fabulous games both of them.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
New Month!
Deep breath in and out.
I love the first of a new month.
This month just happens to be my favorite as well.
In my synethesia, September has always been a deep red and denim. I love it. It's a beautiful, crisp delightful time. Autumn is my favorite season. There's nothing like being outside in Autumn.
The first day of a new month always has such possibilities. I think of all the great things I can accomplish in a new month. None of it ever really gets done, but I get to think about it. As a kid I would write and/or draw up these great schematics of what I would teach myself or research or write about and break it down into individual days with different colors and goals. Ah, I was such a little nerd. If I had accomplished all of my little goals I've set for myself since childhood. I could have solved global hunger by now. (and speak Spanish!)
I feel like I go back to my synesthesia more than any other topic on my blog. It's just such a big part of who I am. I often wonder how other people remember things or categorize since they don't see the world the same way I do.
Of course, that goes for a lot of things.
*Ahem*
I'm so glad it's cooled off a bit. I've got to enjoy running a lot more now. Outside! Whee!! I did discover that I live on a beast of a hill though. Gah. It's about 30minutes down and back up. It's a good morning run. I do need to do a bit of shopping around and find some more podcasts. I don't really like running to music anymore. I'm too used to it. I need to engage the brainz!
Any suggestions would be great. Here's what I already have. The Nature Podcast, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, Persiflager's Infectious Disease Puscast, and EscapePod.
Something approx 30 minutes, science/healthcare related. That sort of bit.
I'm adding Point of Inquiry and Scientific American (Although I prefer their RSS feed.)
Today I learned about australopithecus africanus (yes, I had to google the spelling) using tools to kill, FDA regulations on inhome genetic testing, and the inheritance of anxious temperament in monkeys from the Nature Podcast of Aug 19. I'm a bit behind. The cat chewed through my connector cable, so it's a bit more difficult to upload my pods. :,(
As far as the science is concerned today. I've got to do dishes so... sorry all. No sciencing...
Oh, today we get a host of new doctors. Yesterday was the last day for all of the current docs at St. Vincent's ER. Hm... This will be an interesting day.
I love the first of a new month.
This month just happens to be my favorite as well.
In my synethesia, September has always been a deep red and denim. I love it. It's a beautiful, crisp delightful time. Autumn is my favorite season. There's nothing like being outside in Autumn.
The first day of a new month always has such possibilities. I think of all the great things I can accomplish in a new month. None of it ever really gets done, but I get to think about it. As a kid I would write and/or draw up these great schematics of what I would teach myself or research or write about and break it down into individual days with different colors and goals. Ah, I was such a little nerd. If I had accomplished all of my little goals I've set for myself since childhood. I could have solved global hunger by now. (and speak Spanish!)
I feel like I go back to my synesthesia more than any other topic on my blog. It's just such a big part of who I am. I often wonder how other people remember things or categorize since they don't see the world the same way I do.
Of course, that goes for a lot of things.
*Ahem*
I'm so glad it's cooled off a bit. I've got to enjoy running a lot more now. Outside! Whee!! I did discover that I live on a beast of a hill though. Gah. It's about 30minutes down and back up. It's a good morning run. I do need to do a bit of shopping around and find some more podcasts. I don't really like running to music anymore. I'm too used to it. I need to engage the brainz!
Any suggestions would be great. Here's what I already have. The Nature Podcast, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, Persiflager's Infectious Disease Puscast, and EscapePod.
Something approx 30 minutes, science/healthcare related. That sort of bit.
I'm adding Point of Inquiry and Scientific American (Although I prefer their RSS feed.)
Today I learned about australopithecus africanus (yes, I had to google the spelling) using tools to kill, FDA regulations on inhome genetic testing, and the inheritance of anxious temperament in monkeys from the Nature Podcast of Aug 19. I'm a bit behind. The cat chewed through my connector cable, so it's a bit more difficult to upload my pods. :,(
As far as the science is concerned today. I've got to do dishes so... sorry all. No sciencing...
Oh, today we get a host of new doctors. Yesterday was the last day for all of the current docs at St. Vincent's ER. Hm... This will be an interesting day.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
The real reason why Health Care Professionals wash their hands.
Here it is!!
Brought to you from The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Clean hands=cold heart.
Turns out the cleaner you are the more likely you are to pass harsher judgment.
Augh. If I get blocked once more because I don't have the $35 to buy journal access...
I would love to look at the details of this study as to ascertain how they calculated their data... Here's what I do know. 58 undergrads (half were asked to wash their hands) ranked societal issues such as littering and pornography. Those with clean hands had harsher judgments. This was followed up by two similar studies with larger sample sizes. Both were primed with texts like. 'My hair feels clean and light. My breath is fresh ...' or My hair feels oily and heavy. My breath stinks ...' then in one study they ranked 16 societal issues while in the second study they ranked themselves against their peers.
The "clean ones" passed harsher judgment.
So maybe it's all this foaming hand-sanitizer that makes me think the girl in 305 is drug seeking.
Then again. Maybe not.
Brought to you from The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
Clean hands=cold heart.
Turns out the cleaner you are the more likely you are to pass harsher judgment.
Augh. If I get blocked once more because I don't have the $35 to buy journal access...
I would love to look at the details of this study as to ascertain how they calculated their data... Here's what I do know. 58 undergrads (half were asked to wash their hands) ranked societal issues such as littering and pornography. Those with clean hands had harsher judgments. This was followed up by two similar studies with larger sample sizes. Both were primed with texts like. 'My hair feels clean and light. My breath is fresh ...' or My hair feels oily and heavy. My breath stinks ...' then in one study they ranked 16 societal issues while in the second study they ranked themselves against their peers.
The "clean ones" passed harsher judgment.
So maybe it's all this foaming hand-sanitizer that makes me think the girl in 305 is drug seeking.
Then again. Maybe not.
To the ScienceMobile!
Ha ha ha,
Just watched a new Futurama.where evolution is debated. Too bad this clip doesn't have the best part.
Farnsworth is debating Dr. Banjo (an orangutan) about the truth of evolution. They go through the "missing link" debate with quite a bit of humor.
"Yes, but what about the link between A and C?"
"That would be B."
"Ha! Then you've proven my point there's no link between A and B!"
This goes on at quite a bit of length. Reminds me of an interview Dawkins' had once...
Anyway. I'm getting dangerously close to getting in trouble at this point.
Reason being I found this journal in my reader this morning.
The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
I didn't even know this existed. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Actually, I'm kinda glad. I think everything deserves to be observed through a critical method of observation and validation. *Ahem*
This comes about from this 60 second psych per SciAm.
Turns out GenX is more loyal to religious ideologies than the baby boomers.
I wish I could get access to this journal. I'd love to read some of these.
I'm sure JT would might like a subscription for his birthday. ;)
Here's another I have direct interest in.
Alternative schooling strategies and the religious lives of American adolescents.
I guess being homeschooled really has no greater impact on your church attendance vs. public schooling.
I guess that's all the news for now, my computer is shutting down against my will and I'm hungry for breakfast.
Chew on this for a while and I'll be back, sometime....
Just watched a new Futurama.where evolution is debated. Too bad this clip doesn't have the best part.
Farnsworth is debating Dr. Banjo (an orangutan) about the truth of evolution. They go through the "missing link" debate with quite a bit of humor.
"Yes, but what about the link between A and C?"
"That would be B."
"Ha! Then you've proven my point there's no link between A and B!"
This goes on at quite a bit of length. Reminds me of an interview Dawkins' had once...
Anyway. I'm getting dangerously close to getting in trouble at this point.
Reason being I found this journal in my reader this morning.
The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
I didn't even know this existed. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Actually, I'm kinda glad. I think everything deserves to be observed through a critical method of observation and validation. *Ahem*
This comes about from this 60 second psych per SciAm.
Turns out GenX is more loyal to religious ideologies than the baby boomers.
I wish I could get access to this journal. I'd love to read some of these.
I'm sure JT would might like a subscription for his birthday. ;)
Here's another I have direct interest in.
Alternative schooling strategies and the religious lives of American adolescents.
I guess being homeschooled really has no greater impact on your church attendance vs. public schooling.
I guess that's all the news for now, my computer is shutting down against my will and I'm hungry for breakfast.
Chew on this for a while and I'll be back, sometime....
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Science + Marriage = Happy
Better marriage you say?
Septmeber's SciAm reviews a book in which science reviews good marriages.
I'm all for science and equations and formulas, but using science in relationships??
HELL YEAH.
(If you honestly thought I would say otherwise you may have confused me with someone else. Please check your browser and try again.)
I think people can learn a lot simply by listening to statistics and accepting the fact that in no way is their relationship special. If you meet the criteria for a high-risk marriage. You're going to get a divorce. Sorry. Look at the data. If you're having trouble communicating do some research, figure out why your communication skills are non-functional.
I'm pretty cut and dry when I communicate. I don't do this, "say one thing and hope you get my meaning." When I want something I'll use this algorithm.
"Will you please do A, while I do B? Later we can do C together."
Or
"I really appreciate how you always do A for me, can you do B as well? I just can't right now."
Being both ENTJ and a geek makes social interactions imperative and difficult! I love being around people its how I re-energize, but missing those social cues can make it awkward. I love to talk, but not really about the weekend. Maybe if we were discussing something like this. I'd listen better.
Wow, off topic a bit.
Back to marriage.
Before John and I hitched it we were very rational about things. I'm talking in high school. I was 15 and we had known each other 3 months when things started getting a little... well, several notes were written back and forth. I sat him down and told him I don't date stupid. The truth was I didn't date at all. I had never had a boyfriend (whats the point pre-16?) and didn't really want a long list. I wanted to know if he was ok marrying me because that was the end result of dating. Why put forth the effort if that wasn't your goal?
Turns out it was.
I feel like we were really married about year 3 in our dating. We were a bit older, less infatuated, and more logical with our decisions. We knew we were going to get married, we just weren't old enough.
Before we legally were married. We took some personality tests. I love personality tests. I always try to pinpoint people's Myers-Briggs so I know how to interact with them. I especially like when they know what the hell I'm talking about when I ask for it. Geek cred +2 at least.
John and I took the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Profile.
This one scales 9 personality traits.
Nervous-composed,
depressive-light-hearted
active-quiet
expressive-inhibited
sympathetic-indifferent
subjective-objective
dominate-submissive
hostile-tolerant
self-disciplined-impulsive
We did them for ourselves and then guessed at the others.
In overlapping the two here's what we had.
The red ink is John's self-assessment and the black is my assessment of John.
In this one the black is my self-assessment and the red is John's assessment of me.
Pretty good for two 20 year old kids. (I might have even been 19...)
It felt good to know that we knew each other pretty well. We try to communicate and identify why we have breakdowns in communication. Most of the time it's because we're hungry, so we eat and try again. Amazing how well this can solve a conflict. I always try to think of what my overall goal is. Is it more important to get my way or to stay happy?
Also I don't think of myself as John's Wife. That's a possessive statement. I don't think of him as MY husband. He's his own person. Instead I think of myself as his companion and he mine. I'm around to help him through his life. Neither one of us own the other. (This is my biggest issue with the "legalities" of marriage. It's techinically property ownership.) I will help him to the best of my ability, but it's all out of my will to do so, not because I have to.
Also, we're both very tolerant of each other. In fact I encourage him to talk about other women he finds attractive. I mean, lets be real people. Other people exist. Other people are pretty. We don't have to hide this fact from each other. I don't get mad when he looks at other girls or likes them. I like to talk about it. Find out why. What do you see about that person you like? What in talking with that girl do you enjoy? It helps me know more about him. I believe people need multiple companions to get through life. They can be anyone. In fact, I encouraged him to get a "school wife" in medschool. He needs someone he can talk to that knows EXACTLY what he's going through. I didn't care if this person was male or female, but I'm glad he's got a girl who can be just empathetic enough to deal with him. (You know who you are and you have my eternal gratitude. I cannot always be there for him and I am so glad you're sharing weight!)
So in all this rambling mess I mean to say.
Use science, use logic, but understand that people are crazy.
Septmeber's SciAm reviews a book in which science reviews good marriages.
I'm all for science and equations and formulas, but using science in relationships??
HELL YEAH.
(If you honestly thought I would say otherwise you may have confused me with someone else. Please check your browser and try again.)
I think people can learn a lot simply by listening to statistics and accepting the fact that in no way is their relationship special. If you meet the criteria for a high-risk marriage. You're going to get a divorce. Sorry. Look at the data. If you're having trouble communicating do some research, figure out why your communication skills are non-functional.
I'm pretty cut and dry when I communicate. I don't do this, "say one thing and hope you get my meaning." When I want something I'll use this algorithm.
"Will you please do A, while I do B? Later we can do C together."
Or
"I really appreciate how you always do A for me, can you do B as well? I just can't right now."
Being both ENTJ and a geek makes social interactions imperative and difficult! I love being around people its how I re-energize, but missing those social cues can make it awkward. I love to talk, but not really about the weekend. Maybe if we were discussing something like this. I'd listen better.
Wow, off topic a bit.
Back to marriage.
Before John and I hitched it we were very rational about things. I'm talking in high school. I was 15 and we had known each other 3 months when things started getting a little... well, several notes were written back and forth. I sat him down and told him I don't date stupid. The truth was I didn't date at all. I had never had a boyfriend (whats the point pre-16?) and didn't really want a long list. I wanted to know if he was ok marrying me because that was the end result of dating. Why put forth the effort if that wasn't your goal?
Turns out it was.
I feel like we were really married about year 3 in our dating. We were a bit older, less infatuated, and more logical with our decisions. We knew we were going to get married, we just weren't old enough.
Before we legally were married. We took some personality tests. I love personality tests. I always try to pinpoint people's Myers-Briggs so I know how to interact with them. I especially like when they know what the hell I'm talking about when I ask for it. Geek cred +2 at least.
John and I took the Taylor-Johnson Temperament Profile.
This one scales 9 personality traits.
Nervous-composed,
depressive-light-hearted
active-quiet
expressive-inhibited
sympathetic-indifferent
subjective-objective
dominate-submissive
hostile-tolerant
self-disciplined-impulsive
We did them for ourselves and then guessed at the others.
In overlapping the two here's what we had.
The red ink is John's self-assessment and the black is my assessment of John.
In this one the black is my self-assessment and the red is John's assessment of me.
Pretty good for two 20 year old kids. (I might have even been 19...)
It felt good to know that we knew each other pretty well. We try to communicate and identify why we have breakdowns in communication. Most of the time it's because we're hungry, so we eat and try again. Amazing how well this can solve a conflict. I always try to think of what my overall goal is. Is it more important to get my way or to stay happy?
Also I don't think of myself as John's Wife. That's a possessive statement. I don't think of him as MY husband. He's his own person. Instead I think of myself as his companion and he mine. I'm around to help him through his life. Neither one of us own the other. (This is my biggest issue with the "legalities" of marriage. It's techinically property ownership.) I will help him to the best of my ability, but it's all out of my will to do so, not because I have to.
Also, we're both very tolerant of each other. In fact I encourage him to talk about other women he finds attractive. I mean, lets be real people. Other people exist. Other people are pretty. We don't have to hide this fact from each other. I don't get mad when he looks at other girls or likes them. I like to talk about it. Find out why. What do you see about that person you like? What in talking with that girl do you enjoy? It helps me know more about him. I believe people need multiple companions to get through life. They can be anyone. In fact, I encouraged him to get a "school wife" in medschool. He needs someone he can talk to that knows EXACTLY what he's going through. I didn't care if this person was male or female, but I'm glad he's got a girl who can be just empathetic enough to deal with him. (You know who you are and you have my eternal gratitude. I cannot always be there for him and I am so glad you're sharing weight!)
So in all this rambling mess I mean to say.
Use science, use logic, but understand that people are crazy.
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