"Murphy was an optimist!"
CRS disease related to 20-30 years of stress October 22, 2010 1:02 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Mental, Of Interest, Science, TechnologyStress hurts memory. And my memory is undeniably in a less than adequate state. The memories are there. The recollection is poor. After feeding me a few clues, the memories surface. Clues can be reminding me of your name or where we last bumped into each other etc.
An experimental drug developed by researchers at the University of Edinburgh reverses age-related memory decline in mice, returning their brains to a more youthful state of cognitive function. The compound is designed to dampen the production of glucocorticoids, stress hormones that are thought to damage the brain’s learning and memory centers over time. [Source, Technology Review, Experimental Drug Preserves Memory in Rodents]
"What’s most surprising is that even short-term inhibition was able to reverse memory loss in old mice. I don’t think people had realized this was so reversible. It takes [the animals] back to being relatively young." Sign me up! I hereby declare my readiness to be a human subject in this testing of this drug!
h/t Kurzweilai.net
1 comment so farWaist Fluctuations October 21, 2010 8:59 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Exercise, Food, HealthSince I’ve become hyperaware of my blood pressure and have the strong desire to live, I’ve begun eating healthier. I once thought I’d go by John Derek’s words of "live fast, die young and leave a beautiful corpse" (n.b. written by Willard Motely in 1947 for the book "Knock on Any Door", turned into a screen play in 1949 and spoken by John Derek playing the character of Romano, and often incorrectly attributed to James Dean.) However, since I lived past 35 and have a wonderful family, I’m quite motivated to extend my years as long as possible so I’ve begun eating more organic foods, reduced my red meat intake dramatically, and have begun leaning toward more vegetarian meals. I also am taking smaller portions and I stop eating when I’m full rather than when the plate is empty. The result is that of the 5 notches on my belt (roughly an inch apart), I’ve moved from the 3rd to the 4th. Last week I was actually on the 5th. This week the 4th is a little too loose and the 5th is too tight. Now what would happen if I actually started exercising?
add a commentState of Me October 20, 2010 9:25 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Health, MentalSo stressed my vision is blurry.
add a commentOf Grasshoppers October 16, 2010 1:21 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Of Grasshoppers, PhilosophyStudent: I have never lived.
Master: Begin today!
The Glowing Body – Breath and Meditation Class (sign up today) October 11, 2010 2:57 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Health, Mental, PhilosophyThis month’s class is short on participants. If you have ever wanted an intro to breathing and meditation practices, today, Monday, now, is the time to sign up!
add a commentBreath & Meditation Series with Kim – Tuesdays, 10/12-11/02/2010, 7:45-9:00pm
If you have ever wondered what it means to have a breathing or meditation practice, this course will provide your first insights into what these practices entail. The series will be structured in a progressive manner, and will be a safe atmosphere for asking questions, discussing experiences and exploring your own patterns. The weeks will be structured as follows:
1 – Body Preparation, Ways to Sit & Breath Awareness
2 – Guiding the Breath
3 – Meditation: Roots & Branches
4 – Development of Your PracticeThroughout the course, you will receive references to outside materials and descriptive handouts, and experiential assignments will be available relating to each week.
$50 for 4 weeks
(No drop-ins accepted!)
[Source, The Glowing Body, Workshops & Series]
Weekend PRoject – Day 19 October 10, 2010 4:08 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, House, Of Being DadCorner molding done. Step 14 of 27 complete on The Little Miss.
Soldering iron or hot air rework station? October 7, 2010 10:16 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Hardware, TechnologyI need advice from my friends into building electronics. I have grown frustrated with years of using $8 soldering irons from Radio Shack and want to get into a Weller or Aoyue soldering station. My quandary is deciding between just a soldering station or a hotair rework station. My next two projects will be 1) replacing some bad caps on a circuit board and 2) resoldering some bad joints on another board.
I’m currently looking at the Aoyue 937+ Digital Soldering Station
From the mouths of babes October 7, 2010 8:02 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babesEvan, 5 years old: "Amy! You know that girl on the bus who sits by herself and never talks and stares at me? She…talked…to…me! She really did. She talked to me. Me!"
3commentsWeekend Project – Day 18 October 4, 2010 8:06 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Evan, Family, Holiday, Noah, Of Being DadThe corner trim work has begun!
Weekend Project – Day 17 October 3, 2010 10:15 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, Of Being DadTable saws. Very dangerous. Very fun!
Natural doesn’t mean waist high October 1, 2010 11:52 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, House, Of Being DadIn the Spring of my freshman and sophomore years in high school, I sold flowers at an Amish market in New Jersey. Had nothing to do with the Amish market itself, that’s just where I was stationed by the teacher who made ends meet by shipping flowers to New Jersey from South America and paying teenagers minimum wage to stand in front of stores pushing the flowers and plants. I enjoyed it because the flowers came wrapped in newspapers printed in Spanish so I’d practice my Spanish by reading the comics and news. I felt I was pretty knowledgeable about plants at the time. This proved to be wrong when I became a homeowner.
I bought my house in the Fall of 1997. The previous owner kept the yard immaculate. With each season surprises of color and fragrances would pop from the ground and vines on the trees. But I was running a business…rather my business was running me. And in an effort to keep the business alive, I neglected everything. By the time, the business died, so had the yard and its landscaping. Nature reclaimed it. Wild honeysuckle and privet sprung up everywhere and grew 8 feet or higher with thick, viney trunks. I had lots of animals. Birds. Raccoon. Possum. Snakes. Chipmunks. Hawks. And so much more. Keeping part of the yard "wild" for habitat was an attractive proposition. But wild does not mean unkempt and, unfortunately, that’s exactly what became of my yard.
In any other neighborhood, inspectors would have been called upon me for codes violations. Neighborhood associations would have fined me. Neighbors would have posted nasty notes on my door. Mine were forgiving to an extreme and I was a lousy neighbor.
This week Cathy had enough and demanded I pay someone to knock down our waist high weeds. Every lawn mower I bring on the property dies so doing it myself was not an option. I called a friend with a landscaping business. He must have worked his tail off! The yard looks better than it has since 1997! I feel I can use the yard, something I haven’t experienced in a decade. I am flabbergasted! My wife is thrilled! And my neighbors are ecstatic!
add a commentAnd I pray that I make it to the end of the day September 30, 2010 2:46 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Of Being DadToday I am wearing a pair of pants which has declare this to be the last day they will ever be worn. This clothing article is in the process of having multiple simultaneous structural failures, none of which have resulted in embarrassment…yet. Think of it like one of your expensive electronic devices whose warranty expires and one day later it quits working. Well, the warranty on these pants must have run out just after I got in the Jeep to drive to my client’s office today.
add a commentWeekend Project – Day 16 September 27, 2010 1:16 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, Of Being Dad
After many weekends dedicated to work and bad weather, we’ve resumed construction on Amy’s birthday present, the playhouse. Last weekend the overcuts on the roof sheeting were corrected and the roof sheeting completely secured. This weekend, the porch railing was added making Amy very excited as it gave a more finished look to the playhouse. We’ve completed 12 ½ steps out of 27 but at this point each step will have an significant outward impact on the appearance and a feeling of nearness to the end of the project.
Now I just need to buy a table saw.
add a commentPostcards from the Pledge September 24, 2010 7:56 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Politics, Touchy Subjects, United StatesAs the Republicans prepare for a battle to reclaim some power in Congress, they have announced a pledge discussing what the Republican party will do for this country. Jon Stewart with the Daily Show covers this very artfully! This is a must watch.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Postcards From the Pledge | ||||
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Random Memory September 23, 2010 9:27 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : History, KennerAs I drove home a vivid memory from my early teen years struck me. I lived 2 miles from the New Orleans airport. I used to ride my bike down to the westmost runway that ended at the swamp and lay down on the levee at the end of the runway to watch jets landing just over my head. There was a white box with a tinted window in the top right at the end of the runway I’d put my head over and imagine the controllers in the tower would see strange imagery on their screens. That may explain my Swiss cheese memory.
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