Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/09/04 0 comments
I found this one just a few short minutes ago and thought I’d blog about it. It’s one of those wonderful 60-second science things by Scientific American. The article : Freeing The Mind To Forget.
Well I just had to read it, because it’s a fascinating title, I mean wouldn’t that be great if we could just forget the bad things around us?
In the article, it explains the difference between young and old brains and came up with :
They found that in adult brains, a physical net forms around certain cells in the amygdala, a structure associated with emotional memories.
What does that mean? It means that all those things that happen to you that are traumatic or painful, will be almost sculpted into your mind. It means that you can’t let go of the things that cause you any amount of grief or pain depending on the level of the cells that have the net formed around them. Kinda.
Suddenly I’m understanding why my kittens aren’t understanding a swat on the butt to mean ‘No. That’s bad!’, their brain cells are much more flexible and don’t have that coating yet is what I would assume.
And one day in the future…hopefully…we can go get a little bit of stuff dripped onto our cells and we can forget our pain too, but hopefully it only diminishes it so we still remember what we learned from the pain.
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/08/03 1 comment
As per usual, Sunday’s are my wife and I’s night to watch documentaries. So for our selection we watched Murder 9 to 5 : Violence in the Workplace, which is a documentary about people who obviously inflict harm on their old/current coworkers. Here’s a small blurb about what it entails.
Each year almost one million violent crimes are committed in the workplace. Some of them are fatal; many could be prevented. In investigative profiles of several infamous incidents, this program combines chilling footage with interviews of assailants and victims to explore the minds and motives of men and women who commit violence against their fellow workers. Forensic psychiatrist and FBI consultant Dr. Park Dietz interviews Richard Farley, currently on death row for killing seven coworkers, and Wanda Rogers, who is serving a life sentence for attempted murder. At the end of the program, Dr. Dietz provides guidelines for the early detection and prevention of workplace violence. Contains offensive language. Viewer discretion is advised. An HBO Production. (49 minutes)
The topic struck a chord in me, as it more than likely does with many others, since we all happen to see that one disgruntled employee…the one that acts out…the one that resents being told what to do…the one who has an infatuation with another employee and can’t seem to understand the word ‘no…the one that stays to themselves, looking at you like they’re plotting something…the one that you fire and find pictures of guns and swords drawn on their notes. (okay, some of us are just fanatics about Fantasy books and D&D, but we’re talking about people who can’t keep it in a book here).
Anyways, if you get a chance. Find a copy and watch it! Totally worth watching.
For those of you who know anyone that seems a little off kilter, notify your supervisor/boss/higher ups, and if you have to, go to the police. The people in the documentary didn’t take the time to do that and dismissed them. But a year later, one man got shot right between the eyes at his desk at work by a woman he more than likely had set aside. It does happen. Almost 1 million deaths is quite a bit. Let’s leave it to nature to kill us instead, huh?
Let me know how you feel about workplace violence or signs of it?
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/07/13 0 comments
OMER 6, a one-person submarine, achieved a speed of 4.916 knots (5.65 miles per hour), beating the previous 4.642-knot (5.34-mile-per-hour) speed record for subs without a propeller. The two-person OMER 7 sub hit a top speed of 5.133 knots (5.90 miles per hour).
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/06/25 0 comments
A while ago I mentioned in one of my posts a space settlement designed by Eric Yam. googletechtalks on YouTube included the post in the details portion of the page the video was on, so I thought I’d return the courtesy and mention them right back. Have a look at the video.
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/06/22 0 comments
How random, I was just reading an article in which they describe the Great White Shark as sharing similar strategies with Human serial killers! They tend to lurk around out of sight, stalking their victims; they’ll use common routes of transport (reefs, channels, trenches etc), yet remain at a distance to be able to observe their prey and go in for the kill.
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/06/18 1 comment
Okay, so I stumbled on this random bit of news this morning…
So ages and ages ago, soldiers in the field healed faster if they had maggots in their wounds. Not a surprise really… I mean we use leeches even up to this day. Why not a maggot? So now they want to add the Essence of Maggot to bandages and ointments that you put in your wounds so that you can heal faster. Brilliant idea. Bring it on, cause I’d use it.
Today hospitals around the world breed selected fly larvae in sterile environments. These “medical maggots” are applied directly to wounds such as ulcers and burns, which are otherwise difficult to heal.
The secret, according to a new study, is in a fluid secreted by the maggots to help them consume decaying tissue.
In many wounds that are not readily healing, tissue decays and dies, allowing bacteria to thrive. This creates irritation that further prevents proper healing.
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/06/12 0 comments
In the 17th century (close to the time of the Salem Witch Trials), a bottle was placed in the ground filled with urine, fingernail clippings, and some hair in order to draw negative energy to it.
In 17th century England, witchcraft was recognized as having existed and they felt it was a bad thing to require removing the energy from the accused witch. Quite a different world we live in now! Anyways, read the following article below to find out more about the ‘witch bottle’. It’s a fascinating read. Or at least I thought so.
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/06/07 0 comments
A really old brew discovered while examining jars dating back 9,000 years. Dogfish company brings out many ancient types of brews for modern consumption.
Posted by A.R. Van Halleorg on 2009/06/07 0 comments
“Culture, and culture that extends all the way to the government. They recognize at a federal level climate change is a problem. They recognize that renewable energy to replace fossil fired energy is critical. They also recognize that it’s very important for energy security. They get a lot of their energy from Russia, who they’re trying to wean themselves off of. So for a whole lot of reasons that apply to the US as well, they actually understand that renewables will help their overall economy. And while some of their big energy companies fight it, the big energy companies are also figuring out now how to make money off of this. And so they’re transitioned the energy company culture as well.
Finally! The house is completely spotless. Not a grain of anything on the floor...not even cat hair...*cackle*about 12 hours agofrom TweetDeck
Okay, is everyone just practicing/getting a head start or am I completely nuts and NaNoWriMo is not in November this year?about 12 hours agofrom TweetDeck
