Too much but still too little

Hello again,

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways,but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We ' ve learned how to make a living, but not a life. We ' ve added years to life not life to years. We ' ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor! We conquered outer space but not inner space.

We ' ve done larger things, but not better things. We ' ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We ' ve conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We ' ve learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time wh! en there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this thought to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just ignore... Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn ' t cost a cent. Remember, to say, ' I love you ' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it.

A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

What if I were an egg….

Sometimes…I wonder what would have happened if I were born in a poultry. Would I have been a human or a chick? What if I had been a chick…not the ‘pretty-chick’ kind of chick…but the egg-laying kind.

Guess, I would have just decorated the wire cage in a chicken stall until it was my time to decorate Sunday’s lunch plate.

But what if I were left to be an egg…perhaps…to decorate a Monday morning breakfast plate. Would my brothers worry about me when I became an omelet? Maybe. Maybe not.

Here is a visual on what might happen if I were born a chick and left to be an egg….:O :)

Listen up !!

When I heard the speech the first time, I didn't hear any threats against any particular community. How is it when I hear the different news media, the story keeps changes. For example one media says he is 28 year old and he used inflammatory word to describe Muslims, other says he 30 year old, and he threatened to cut off hands but did not mention any inflammatory word, other just quote what he says. Honestly, if I go by the first time and the quote, I really don't see where the communal hatred is. Maybe Varun is a little hot headed and upset, but I thought India has freedom of speech. So if Varun is charged with all this incitation of hatred, what about all the mullahs, muftis, and malaunas I hear in the damm streets cursing Hindus,Sikhs,Buddhists,Jains,Christians, or whomever is the hot topic of the day and claiming Islam is the only way, and some going to extent of killing non-Muslims. How come they don't get charged for their hate speeches? When did India start obey Sharia law?

Following is a verse which explicitly commands Muslims to chop off the disbelievers heads: Sura (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them"

The Quran is loaded with these hate-filled violent verses.

My question to my dear Islamic convert brothers of Hindu ancestry is: Do only Muslims have the exclusive, god-given right to cut off unbelievers heads whenever they think that the unbelievers are attacking them? What was Varun Gandhi saying? That if Hindus are attacked then kill the attackers. This is exactly the same thing that one finds in the Qu'ran about ALL unbelievers, not just Hindus, but atheists, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs even Jews and Christians.

Again, if you condemn Varun Gandhi then condemn equally Muhammad, the Quran and this supposed god Allah who talks EXACTLY like Varun Gandhi. Why cling to this religion and then selectively condemn the same hatred that it preaches, when you see it in others? We are living in times where you have the freedom to change your religion. Unlike other "peaceful" Islamic countries where the peaceful Islamic law murders ex-Muslims for renouncing Islam, you have the great good fortune of living in a modern, progressive and tolerant Hindu country. You can become Buddhist or Jain, which are REAL religions of peace.

What if there were no women in the World..hmmmm

Some say that Adam got bored and asked God to give him a companion. Some say, God wanted Adam to sacrifice his one leg and one hand at the altar, if he wanted a companion. And when Adam requested God to give him somebody for whom he will only have to sacrifice a rib, God sent a woman. None of this can be believed.

Here is the truth: God made man and finding himself in good form…came up with a better creation – the woman. (Did I just hear the ladies clap?)

Anyways….I was wondering what would have happened if God didn’t make woman for man. Thus, all men were left to fend for themselves. Scary shit. Think about it….:)

How will you become fathers? Who will tell you the good news that you are about to become fathers? For whom will you sit outside a gynecologist’s and imagine a conspiracy theory being hatched against you? With whom will you walk in the evenings? Whenever you pass by a bakery, whom will you stop for? For whom will you shop? And the questions go on.

Now for the real Male Chauvinistic Pig part. Who will make tea in the morning and wake you up with a sweet smile? Who will scold you for taking the newspaper inside the washroom? Who will nag at you to take bath early? Who will call up the office when you are down with fever? Who will iron your clothes when you are in a hurry? Who will wave at you when you race your bike/car towards the office? Who will be ready with piping hot coffee when you go back home? Who will help you with the washing machine? Who will make that tasty coconut chutney you like with your samosa?[ well not in my case]

Needless to say, with no woman in this World, life wouldn’t be the same. Imagine living with another man in your house. Scary! You all would be gays…and wonder how the human race will propagate. Perhaps…we would have found out a way to make test tube babies…but even then where would be egg come from? Gorillas? :P Wouldn’t that make the Human race huge and hairy?

On Saturday nights…the pubs and clubs would be full of men trying to woo each other. The only advantage as I see would be…you wouldn’t have to buy mock-tails, ice-cream and pop-corn to impress! just think about it and be greatful the we[woman] are here to shine your life so bright ..!!

A very rough guide to highlights of 2008:

A not very thorough list of my personal 2008 highlights in mind and brain news, dredged from my memory and reproduced for your reading pleasure:

Funniest (unintentional)
USA Today publishing an alarmist story about 'digital drugs' that can, according to the article, mimic the effects of alcohol, marijuana, LSD, crack, heroin, sex, heaven and hell. Sadly not true, although hilarious to read.

Funniest (intentional)
The Web Therapy web series staring Lisa Kudrow as an incompetent psychologist. Wonderfully produced, cleverly satirical and very funny to boot.

Best film
The English Surgeon. A profoundly beautiful documentary about the work of London-based neurosurgeon Henry Marsh and his colleague Igor Kurilets in the Ukraine. Do not miss it. Possibly a working torrent here.

Best podcast / radio episode
RadioLab's delicious programme on Orson Well's War of the Worlds broadcast and its subsequent psychological impact. Just pure audio delightfulness.

Best video lecture
A gripping lecture at the University of California by historian Prof Alfred McCoy on the 'psychological torture: a CIA history'.

Most interesting new concept
Brain-computer interfaces to weapons systems pose problems for the definition of a 'war crime' if they're triggered preconsciously, according to an interesting analysis by lawyer Stephen White.

Most interesting interview
A tie between sociologist Harry Collins discussing his work on the social interactions of physicists and what this tells us about what we have to do to be considered an expert and what types of expertise there are, and an Neurophilosophy interview with Heather Perry who trepanned herself and is remarkably reflective about the experience.

Most useful academic article
Nikos Logothetis' article in Nature about what fMRI is really measuring and what we can and can't infer about the mind and brain from neuroimaging experiment.

Best example of neurobabble
The cover article on neuroscience-based management in an issue of HR Magazine which has to be read to be believed. Or maybe that's just your basal ganglia talking.

Most tangential post
I start off talking about blond girls in t-shirts and end up talking about philosophy of mind. Actually, usually happens the other way round in real life.

Best cognitive science art project
Artificially intelligence punk rock pogo robots. Enough said.

Best random clip of TV documentary
A TV presenter is intravenously injected with differing mixtures of the active ingredients of cannabis as part of the BBC documentary Should I Smoke Dope?.

Most overdue decision
The American Psychological Association banning participation in torture. Did it really need all the fuss?

To the bunkers! Most likely to hasten the coming robot war
Pentagon requests robot packs to hunt humans. Uh huh.

The Truth About Diet Soda !

We talk a lot about ''watching what we eat,'' but if you never gave a thought to what you ate and instead watched only what you drank, you could probably cut 450 calories a day out of your life. (Yes, nearly a pound of fat loss a week!) That's what a study from the University of North Carolina found. Americans today drink about 192 gallons of liquid a year—or about 2 liters a day. To put it into perspective, this is nearly twice as many calories as we did 30 years ago.

When confronted with the growing tide of calories from sweetened beverages, the first response is, “Why not just drink diet soda?” Well, for a few reasons:

Just because diet soda is low in calories doesn't mean it can't lead to weight gain.

It may have only 5 or fewer calories per serving, but emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages--even if they're artificially sweetened--may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert--everything.

Guzzling these drinks all day long forces out the healthy beverages you need.

Diet soda is 100 percent nutrition-free, and again, it's just as important to actively drink the good stuff as it is to avoid that bad stuff. So one diet soda a day is fine, but if you're downing five or six cans, that means you're limiting your intake of healthful beverages, particularly water and tea.

There remain some concerns over aspartame, the low-calorie chemical used to give diet sodas their flavor.

Aspartame is 180 times sweeter than sugar, and some animal research has linked consumption of high amounts of the sweetener to brain tumors and lymphoma in rodents. The FDA maintains that the sweetener is safe, but reported side effects include dizziness, headaches, diarrhea, memory loss, and mood changes. Bottom line: Diet soda does you no good, and it might just be doing you wrong.

The best way to hydrate is by drinking low-calorie, high-nutrient fluids—and avoiding belt-busting beverages like the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America.

Now that you have a hold on your liquid assets, upgrade the rest of your grocery list by avoiding the 13 Worst "Healthy" Foods in the Supermarket. With so many items to choose from, it's easier to fall victim to packaged food lies than you think.

7 Alzheimer's Warning Signs

The purpose of this list is to alert the public to the early warning signs of one of the most devastating disorders affecting older people — Alzheimer's disease. If someone has several or even most of these symptoms, it does not mean they definitely have the disease. It does mean they should be thoroughly examined by a medical specialist trained in evaluating memory disorders, such as a neurologist or a psychiatrist, or by a comprehensive memory disorder clinic, with an entire team of expert knowledge about memory problems.
The seven warning signs of Alzheimer's disease are:
1. Asking the same question over and over again.
2. Repeating the same story, word for word, again and again.
3. Forgetting how to cook, or how to make repairs, or how to play cards — activities that were previously done with ease and regularity.
4. Losing one's ability to pay bills or balance one's checkbook.
5. Getting lost in familiar surroundings, or misplacing household objects.
6. Neglecting to bathe, or wearing the same clothes over and over again, while insisting that they have taken a bath or that their clothes are still clean.
7. Relying on someone else, such as a spouse, to make decisions or answer questions they previously would have handled themselves.