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The Mind-Altering Role of Incense in Religion

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:20:25 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Under the influence of a good snoot full of incense, mice in scary situations, such as being put in a swimming pool, remain calm, anxiety-free. At the alter, too, people feel the same sense of peace that comes from either the comforting words of the clergy, or from the intoxicating, brain altering, smell of incense.

In an age of endless anxiety, no wonder religion works; it is both cultural and biological.

Karl Marx claimed that organized religion was the "opiate of the people," meaning it dulls us into complacency, but that might not be such a bad thing.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Growing up as a Catholic, I spent much of my youth kneeling at the front of a church, inhaling incense. At every mass, the priest would grab the brass incense burner from the alter boy and wave it at the congregation as a benediction, spewing smoke in my direction. Little did I, or my parents, know that the priest was also sending a mind-altering drug wafting in my direction.

Incense might be symbolic in religious ceremonies, but it has also, perhaps not so coincidentally, played a role in gathering the faithful into the fold. A team of international neuroscientists has just announced that a component of the resin made from Boswellia trees, more commonly called Frankincense (yes, the same stuff brought to baby Jesus by the Three Kings), biochemically relieves anxiety in mice, and presumably people.

Although religion is usually considered a purely cultural construction, it might also have deep psychotropic roots.

Tags: incense, mind, relax, anxiety

New Survivalists Prepare for End of Oil

Mon, 26 May 2008 09:48:27 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

BUSKIRK, N.Y. (AP) — A few years ago, Kathleen Breault was just another suburban grandma, driving countless hours every week, stopping for lunch at McDonald's, buying clothes at the mall, watching TV in the evenings.

That was before Breault heard an author talk about the bleak future of the world's oil supply. Now, she's preparing for the world as we know it to disappear.

Breault cut her driving time in half. She switched to a diet of locally grown foods near her upstate New York home and lost 70 pounds. She sliced up her credit cards, banished her television and swore off plane travel. She began relying on a wood-burning stove.

Convinced the planet's oil supply is dwindling and the world's economies are heading for a crash, some people around the country are moving onto homesteads, learning to live off their land, conserving fuel and, in some cases, stocking up on guns they expect to use to defend themselves and their supplies from desperate crowds of people who didn't prepare.

Tags: survivalism, oil, end

China makes one-child policy exception for quake families

Mon, 26 May 2008 12:24:41 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

China announced on Monday it's making exceptions to its one-child policy for some families affected by the devastating earthquake two weeks ago

The Chengdu Population and Family Planning Committee in the capital of hard-hit Sichuan province announced that families whose child was killed, severely injured or disabled in the quake could get a certificate allowing them to have another child

It addresses the common problem of couples illegally having more than one child

If a child born illegally was killed in the quake, the parents will no longer have to pay fines for that child - but the previously paid fines won't be refunded, the committee said

If a couple's legally born child was killed and the couple is left with an illegally born child under the age of 18, that child can be registered as the legal child

there are no limits on the number of earthquake orphans a family can adopt

A couple that adopts won't be penalized if they later have their own biological child

Tags: china, earthquake, victims, children, parents, policy, change, orphans

Shoes for the Soul...

Mon, 26 May 2008 07:46:14 GMT

clipped by: Fast T friend
clipper's remarks: And lot's more

Clip Source: www.trendhunter.com

Obviously, girls love shoes, but our interest doesn’t stop at the ones we wear. We envy those of our friends, we’re fascinated by the Manolos in stores and Choos in magazines, we ogle the pumps on celebrity toes, and we drool over the Louboutins being strut around in at parties.

Eccentric

Statement Shoes

Art for the Sole

Spikey Stilettos

Sculptures for the Sole

Folding Flat-Pack Footwear

Heals Made of Wire

Virtual Shoe Museum

Architectural Mega Heels

Tags: fashion, shoe, fetish

How Well People Think Depends On Working Memory

Mon, 26 May 2008 10:29:34 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: So in conclusion, it seems that working memory capacity can be increased by training and that such training can even raise IQ, at least in young children.

go read the article

Clip Source: www.sharpbrains.com

Cognitive training is showing a tremendous potential to expand working memory, a capacity once thought limited and untrainable.

If you have enough working memory to both be processing this information and developing your own thoughts, you may be thinking now, a) what exactly is Working Memory?, and b) why do we even care?. Well, Dr. Bill Klemm answers those questions, and more, below. Please enjoy one of the most insightful articles on the subject we have seen in a long while, which we are proud to bring to SharpBrains readers.

How Well People Think Depends On Working Memory

- By Dr. Bill Klemm

Conscious thought involves moving a succession of items through what seems like a virtual scratch-pad. Think of it like streaming audio/video, where “thought bites” move on to the scratch pad where they are fed into a thought process and then moved off the scratch pad to make room for the next thought bite.

Unconscious Thinking

What about unconscious thought ...

Tags: mind, brain, memory, working, processing

A Test of the Copernican Principle

Sun, 25 May 2008 17:54:17 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Disproving the Copernican Principle would amount to a a Copernican revolution on its own account Also, certain aspects of general relativity would need a profound review. Fortunately it seems Copernicus was right after all. Or was he?

Clip Source: www.physorg.com

The Copernican principle states that the Earth is not the center of the universe, and that, as observers, we don’t occupy a special place. First stated by Copernicus in the 16th century, today the idea is wholly accepted by scientists, and is an assumed concept in many astronomical theories.

However, as physicists Robert Caldwell of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Albert Stebbins of Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois, point out, the Copernican principle has never been confirmed as a whole.

In a recent paper published in Physical Review Letters called “A Test of the Copernican Principle,” the two researchers set out to prove the 500-year-old principle using observations of the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

Then, by analyzing data for the CMB spectrum, they were able to rule out nearly all of these non-Copernican Hubble bubble void universes – meaning the Copernican principle passed this first test.

Tags: astronomy, astrophysics

Husband battles croc for wife

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:34:24 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead

Clip Source: www.thesun.co.uk

A BRAVE husband saved his missus from a crocodile’s jaws – by jumping on its back and poking its eyes.

Norm Moreen, 39, leapt into action after the 6½ft beast grabbed screaming Wendy Pethrick.

First he battered the croc – then sensing it was about to submerge her in a “death roll” he rammed his fingers into its eyes.

The monster dropped Wendy and swam off, leaving the couple to struggle to the bank.

He bandaged her wounds and they drove for help.

Last night Wendy, 36, said from her hospital bed: “I’m lucky to be alive – thanks to Norm. I was standing on the bank splashing water on my face when the crocodile grabbed my leg and dragged me in.

“I called out for Norm. Next minute he jumped in the water and on the croc’s head.

“It was dragging me under.

Hero Norm said: “I knew it was a croc and I just jumped in. I didn’t think twice. I just did it. When you need to save someone you love, you do it.

The mum of three suffered eight deep puncture wounds

Tags: animals, hero, nature

Will "Dirt Energy" Power the Future of Africa?

Sun, 25 May 2008 20:46:14 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: An anode and a cathode are then linked to a circuit board and presto; you’ve got power. Once all of the components are put into a solid container the owner has his or her own soil-based power generator.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Ironically, dirt might be the new clean. What started as a simple student design to light up a display at the London Olympics, “dirt energy” will soon be powering 10 households in Tanzania.

If the pilot program succeeds, dirt energy tech will be distributed across the country.

A team from Harvard led by Hugo Van Vuuren was among the winners of the recent World Bank’s Lighting Africa 2008 Development Competition. They are developing a series of dirt-based fuel cells that are capable of lighting high efficiency LED lamps. Their goal is simple: Light up Africa. But eventually this “dirty” technology could help clean up the whole world.

Dirt based microbial fuel cells can power electricity conducting polymers, or PLEDs.

Microbial fuel cells (developed originally by Peter Girguis) tap the energy that microbes generate as they break down organic matter.

All you have to do is dig a hole in the ground, then fill it with animal and plant waste.

Tags: energy, clean energy, africa

A SuperHighway To Bliss

Mon, 26 May 2008 11:58:22 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: "She also receives more than 100 e-mail messages a day from fans. Some are brain scientists, who are fascinated that one of their own has had a stroke and can now come back and translate the experience in terms they can use. Some are stroke victims or their caregivers who want to share their stories and thank her for her openness."

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

JILL BOLTE TAYLOR was a neuroscientist working at Harvard’s brain research center when she experienced nirvana.

But she did it by having a stroke.

On Dec. 10, 1996, Dr. Taylor, then 37, woke up in her apartment near Boston with a piercing pain behind her eye. A blood vessel in her brain had popped. Within minutes, her left lobe — the source of ego, analysis, judgment and context — began to fail her. Oddly, it felt great.

The incessant chatter that normally filled her mind disappeared. Her everyday worries — about a brother with schizophrenia and her high-powered job — untethered themselves from her and slid away.

After experiencing intense pain, she said, her body disconnected from her mind. “I felt like a genie liberated from its bottle,” she wrote in her book. “The energy of my spirit seemed to flow like a great whale gliding through a sea of silent euphoria.”

What you see is how you drive

Sun, 25 May 2008 13:45:06 GMT

clipped by: Beholder

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

Built-in cameras are now standard issue with cell phones. Could they someday become a common feature in your car? Automakers are starting to offer, for instance, backup cameras to augment or maybe even replace rearview mirrors. Toyota, meanwhile, is experimenting with placing a camera on the steering column--as a safety feature--to track the driver's eyes and face so that the onboard computer can sound an alarm if it thinks the driver isn't paying attention to obstacles in the road.

Along those latter lines comes the eye-tracking system EMR-9, pictured here, from Japan's Nac Image Technology. It's just a research tool for now, helping automakers suss out how a driver watches the road (or not) as they work on ways to prevent accidents. One can only speculate whether we might at some future date don similar goggles every time we get behind the wheel, just as we all now buckle our seatbelts. (You do buckle up, right?)

Tags: driving, safety, gadgets

can a man survive when crossing the sound barrier?”

Sun, 25 May 2008 16:13:05 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

20-Year Journey for 15-Minute Fall

Depending on the weather, Fournier, a 64-year-old retired French army officer, will attempt what he is calling Le Grand Saut (The Great Leap) on Sunday from the plains of northern Saskatchewan.

He intends to climb into the pressurized gondola of the 650-foot balloon, which resembles a giant jellyfish, and make a two-hour journey to 130,000 feet. At that altitude, almost 25 miles up, Fournier will see both the blackness of space and the curvature of the earth.

“It’s not a question of the world records,” Fournier wrote

“What is important are what the results from the jump will bring to the safety of the conquest of space. However, the main question that is being asked today by all scientists is, can a man survive when crossing the sound barrier?”

Bad (and funny) domain names on the net

Sun, 25 May 2008 20:48:47 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: humour.200ok.com.au

Who Represents is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is

www.whorepresents.com/

Experts Exchange is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange Advice and views at

www.expertsexchange.com/

Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at

www.penisland.net/

Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at

www.therapistfinder.com/

There's the Italian Power Generator company,

www.powergenitalia.com/

And don't forget the Mole Station Native Nursery in New South Wales,

www.molestationnursery.com/

If you're looking for IP computer software, there?s always

www.ipanywhere.com/

The First Cumming Methodist Church Web site is

www.cummingfirst.com/

And the designers at Speed of Art await you at their wacky Web site,
www.speedofart.com/

Tags: internet

New MP3 Revolutionizes Way You Listen to Music

Sun, 25 May 2008 16:21:24 GMT

clipped by: einbar

Clip Source: www.koreatimes.co.kr

New MP3 Revolutionizes Way You Listen to Music

If you are a serious guitar-master wannabe and you want to focus on the tune of Brian May's guitar and don't want to hear Freddie Mercury's voice and Roger Tailor drumming in Queen songs, then this may be what you have been looking for.

Korean computer engineers are introducing a new digital music format that has separate controls on the sound volume for each musical instrument, such as guitar, drum, base and voice -- an ideal tool for music lovers of different tastes as well as karaoke fans.

The new format, which has a file extension format of MT9 and a commercial title of Music 2.0, is poised to replace the popular MP3 file format as the de facto standard of the digital music source, its inventors say

We made presentations to the participants and they were all surprised to see it. They immediately voted to make it a candidate for the digital music standard,'' said

Shoes - part II

Mon, 26 May 2008 07:54:53 GMT

clipped by: Fast T friend
clipper's remarks: check out the Shoe Rolodex at the bottom, who can resist it?

Clip Source: www.trendhunter.com

This Super Gallery showcases shoes that are more than just fashions statements. While some may still look stylish, each has a purpose beyond protecting the foot and looking chic. Some have high tech functionality, others are socially conscious and some are even used to spread messages. The cluster finishes off with special shoes intended to enhance health and athletic ability.

High-Heeled Shoes with GPS for Prostitutes

Glowing Heels

Wi-Fi Sneakers - A Step in the Right Direction

These “Aphrodite” platform heels actually have an alarm system built in, which emits a piercing noise to scare attackers and they are also equiped with a GPS receiver.

The kicks are high tech sneakers that use two air balloons and a computer to automatically the adjust cushioning based on the activity of the wearer

Transformer Shoe

Satellite Monitoring

Eco Shoes Dryer - Battery-Powered Sweat Eliminator

Drinking Shoes - Walk With Your Vodka

Statement Footwear - Jesus Loves You Sandals

Shoe Made of Garbage

Clip Source: www.trendhunter.com

Tags: shoes, fashion, technology