Psychological Placebos – Science-Based Medicine
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/psychological-placebos/
"A thorough understanding of placebo effects is critical to the science of medicine, and to understanding how objectively worthless interventions can become so popular. A recent https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-37945-1 presents a series of experiments that take a look at psychological placebos, where the intervention is not medical, but purely psychological. The results are not surprising, but they are instructive for both practitioners and researchers."
Gum disease may be the cause of Alzheimer's - here's how to avoid it
I can say that my gum health has increased dramatically with daily use of my water flosser:
https://smile.amazon.com/Waterpik-WP-100W-White-Ultra-Flosser/dp/B00CU9VF2Q
Psychedelic drugs and the future of mental health care
“Our current laws sanction various poisons, including booze and cigarettes. These are drugs that destroy lives and feed addictions. And yet one of the most striking things about the recent (limited) psychedelic research is that the drugs do not appear to be addictive or have adverse effects when a guide is involved. Many researchers believe these drugs, when used under the supervision of trained professionals, could revolutionize mental health care.”
The Gift of Presence and the Perils of Advice
http://www.dailygood.org/story/2152/the-gift-of-presence-and-the-perils-of-advice-parker-j-palmer/
“Advice-giving comes naturally to our species, and is mostly done with good intent. But in my experience, the driver behind a lot of advice has as much to do with self-interest as interest in the other’s needs — and some advice can end up doing more harm than good.”
Korg Wavedrum Global Edition Review and Notes
I highly recommend the Korg Wavedrum Global Edition.
- It uses a real drum head for input, and adds/changes that (and, separately, the rim of the Wavedrum) to provide some very good sounds. As a hand drummer who’s been unhappy with every MIDI trigger device I’ve tried, (even the Zendrum), this instrument makes me very happy.
- Playability is limited only by your skills: it’s not a MIDI trigger device, so it can play as fast as you can play, and it is infinite in dynamic range, because it uses the actual drum sound (and the varying degrees in which you strike it) as the sound source. You can also use sticks, brushes, and mallets on it.
- Check out some YouTube videos; they guy with the red plaid shirt has some good demo videos.
- Superb stereo sound for every voice, so much so that I’m trying to reproduce it outside of headphones, with an amp that supports stereo sound with external speakers for stereo imaging (I also can’t speak highly enough about the Simmons DA200S drum amp, which does have external speaker outs for just this purpose; I’m going to try it with a couple small Crate amps, which is fine for this because the external speaker outputs are crossovered so they don’t get the low end).
- I use it on a snare stand.
- The had can be replaced with any 10” drum head. It comes with a drum key and an Allen wrench needed to adjust/change the head.
- It takes several seconds to boot up when powered on, and a second or two to change voices. But it’s worth it.
- The Aux In input (into which you can plug a phone, MP3 player, or any other source that has a headphone jack) is inexplicably set to zero, and therefore doesn’t work. The process for making it not-zero is not included in the manual that comes with the Wavedrum. They also recommend that you leave it set to zero when not using it, I think because it either introduces noise into the mix, or reduces the output volume of the already too-low output, or both. Instructions for enabling Aux In may be found in the Parameter Guide on page 7.
- The instrument list (voice list) is found in the back of the Quick Start Guide, and contains a main list of the presets, and separate lists for the head and rim so you can presumably mix your own in the 200 blanks spots available.
- While all of the sounds are high-quality sounds, some of them are just plain silly, so I’ll be setting up my own favorites when I learn the system.
- This version of the Wavedrum supposedly has much better instrument-level output than the previous models… which really makes me sad for the owners of previous models. It’s still not good, and I’m looking into a pre-amp to use it with my amplifier, and I have to max out the volume to use headphones with it by itself.
- There are some tasty drum loops built into it, but they’re hard to get to, and you can’t alter the tempo, so they’re of reduced value.
- In my opinion this device suffers from having too many functions controlled by too few controllers… I suppose they were trying to keep a nice simple look for the majority of people who would just play it and not get into the deeper functions, but it makes it tough to use.
- Some of the voices have an echo built in… and it adjust to match the basic tempo of what you’re playing! Kudos to whoever thought of that.
Farewell Badger, by Tesa Silvestre
http://www.dailygood.org/story/2114/farewell-badger-tesa-silvestre/
“It tells the story of an old Badger who knows he will be dying soon, and worries about how his friends Mole, Frog, Fox, and Rabbit will cope with his departure after he goes down “the Long Tunnel.” The rest of this beautifully illustrated book revolves around the touching and creative ways in which Badger’s friends end up cherishing his legacy, and working through their loss.”
You've probably been using your can opener the wrong way
I tried this, and ended up with several strips of label inside the can.
Tell the world "I love you"
MyNoise.net is a very interesting site, featuring many customizable noise environments you can use for studying, sleeping, or just relaxing (I suggest the introduction to get you up to speed on how it’s meant to work). The person who provides it is an interesting person who is always thinking of and doing interesting things, and his newest project is a fun one: creating a soundscape of people saying “I love you”. Learn more at https://mynoise.net/loveYou.php, and I urge you to contribute your voice to the mix!
American Psychosis
Pulitzer-prize winning Journalist, Author and Activist Chris Hedges, discusses modern day consumerism, totalitarian corporate power and living in a culture dominated by pervasive illusion.
The knowledge that nothing matters, while accurate, gets you nowhere.
"The knowledge that nothing matters, while accurate, gets you nowhere. The planet is dying. The sun is exploding. The universe is cooling. Nothing's going to matter. The further back you pull, the more that truth will endure. But, when you zoom in on earth, when you zoom in to a family, when you zoom into a human brain and a childhood and experience, you see all these things that matter.
We have this fleeting chance to participate in an illusion called: I love my girlfriend, I love my dog. How is that not better?
Knowing the truth that nothing matters can actually save you in those moments. Once you get through that terrifying threshold of accepting that, then every place is the center of the universe. And every moment is the most important moment. And everything is the meaning of life." – Dan Harmon
The 'Swiss Army knife' legs of a house centipede
https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/house-centipede-legs
A cool bug that helps get rid if not-so-cool bugs in your house.
How to freeze your credit for free
https://www.techsupportalert.com/content/how-freeze-your-credit-free.htm
We need a phone app or web service that lets you do this for all sources from one interface. Get to it, internets.
Dinner For A Few
““Dinner For Few” is a ten minute CG-animated film depicting a sociopolitical allegory of our society. During dinner, "the system" works like a well-oiled machine. It solely feeds the select few who eventually, foolishly consume all the resources while the rest survive on scraps from the table. Inevitably, when the supply is depleted, the struggle for what remains leads to catastrophic change. Sadly, the offspring of this profound transition turn out not to be a sign of hope, but the spitting image of the parents.”
How to File a Chargeback on a Credit Card Purchase (to Get Your Money Back)
https://www.howtogeek.com/362660/how-to-file-a-chargeback-on-a-credit-card-purchase-to-get-your-money-back/
TV Episode Calendar
https://episodecalendar.com/en/pages/features
Create an account on this site and be notified of upcoming new episodes of the shows you watch.
In case you were wondering...
Travel made easy
https://naildrivin5.com/blog/2018/01/25/how-to-travel-to-san-francisco-every-other-month-for-five-years.html
Texas Church Offers 'Free Mom Hugs' At Pride Parade
This is what churches should be doing. Good on them! [link]
Here’s proof that some open office layouts don’t work, and how to fix them
Another article among thousands that talks about open plan layouts and how the cause a decrease in the very collaboration they claim to foster, and some changes that may help.
Resisting the Depersonalization of the Workspace
“No one likes a bare desk, least of all the people who have to sit there.”
Mike's Hammock Modern Home in Nokomis, Florida
https://www.dwell.com/home/mikes-hammock-ac5c62f9
“I built this on my property for my aging father who has some health issues. Handicap accessibility was a factor in design. His dream has always been to try retire to a cabin in the woods. This is what he got.”
More Recycling Won't Solve Plastic Pollution
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/more-recycling-wont-solve-plastic-pollution/
“It’s a lie that wasteful consumers cause the problem and that changing our individual habits can fix it”
The psychology of post-traumatic stress disorder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_n9qegR7C4
“Many of us will experience some kind of trauma during our lifetime. Sometimes, we escape with no long-term effects. But for millions of people, those experiences linger, causing symptoms like flashbacks, nightmares, and negative thoughts that interfere with everyday life.”
What the Heck Happened to My Body During Reiki?
https://www.thecut.com/2017/09/what-the-heck-happened-to-my-body-during-reiki.html
“Most commonly, reiki is used to ease pain, anxiety, fatigue, and depression, but since at its core is the conviction that the body in its natural state can heal any ailment, the applications, theoretically, are endless. However, the few, small studies on the practice have yet to yield much evidence of its efficacy (though the research has also found that it doesn’t appear to be harmful).”
Why We Should Practice Forest Bathing and How to Get the Benefits of ‘Forest Medicine’
"There is something very therapeutic about walking through a quiet forest during the day. In fact, there's a whole medical practice that boasts about the positive mental and physical benefits of spending time in nature."
Why Children Aren't Behaving, And What You Can Do About It
“First: Where, how and how much kids are allowed to play has changed. Second, their access to technology and social media has exploded. Finally, Lewis suggests, children today are too "unemployed." She doesn't simply mean the occasional summer job for a high school teen. The term is a big tent, and she uses it to include household jobs that can help even toddlers build confidence and a sense of community.”