Jeff Davidson's Blog, page 43

Raising Kids

...raising children is the most civilizing exercise in life, for the parent, in transmitting values to the young, must examine his beliefs and attitudes again, as if for the first time
Lance Morrow, Essay, “Fathers and Sons,” Civilization, Jan/Feb 1996

Cultural A.D.D.

We've reached the point where a typical person in our society now has Attention Deficit Disorder, culturally induced. The rising decibel level in public spaces, as documented over the last 20 years, all but confirms that our society has embraced a perpetually higher level of noise. Added to that, the number of messages that each of us is bombarded with on a daily basis has no end.



From billboards, to bus panels, to ads over urinals, at all times, in all places, someone is vying for our attention.

E-mail and the Internet have exacerbated the problem, but even those who are not online and not wired are subject to cultural Attention Deficit Disorder. Why? Because the general level of message bombardment in our society is exceedingly high.



Retrieve a person from a primitive society, someone who has never been exposed to television or telephones, or, if you could, retrieve someone from 1909, and today’s information bombardment would have immediate impact: I would be surprised if such visitors to our culture did not have near-instant nervous breakdown.

Travel a Little Lighter

Ask for an aisle seat at the front of the plane so that you can to stand up with greater ease, stroll in the aisles, or simply stretch. It's easier to get the attention of flight attendants for in-flight amenities from the front. Aisle seats are best for shorter flights, where you don't anticipate going to sleep.

Arrive light and rested; don't travel with heavy packages. Mail them to your destination via UPS 2nd-day air or, if you have a week, UPS ground tracking. This is an economical and reliable way to know your packages await you. Mark your packages profusely with your name and the words, "Hold for arrival of guest YOUR NAME arriving on DATE." Wrap your packages as if an orangutan will be handling them.

Travel with carry on bags only. Buy the roll-on carts to avoid toting your bags from the airport parking lot to the plane. Most tote systems are made to fit the airline aisles, the overhead seat com-partments, or under the seats.

Pilot Texting: Deadly

Some news stories require no further commentary:
"Pilot texting a factor in deadly copter crash."

Distractions are Costly

Writer Marta Vogel tells us that early man examined his food to ensure it 1) was dead and 2) had no insects. 21st century man barely looks at his food; he's fixated on the package. Corporate giants figured out that consumers could become thoroughly hooked on "package literature."

Recognizing our craving for information, advertisers offer alluring product packaging. The average cereal box contains about 2,000 words, equal to eight pages of a book. Generic products, at the same basic quality as mid-level brands, were once sold by vendors who knew that people might not buy "wordless" cardboard and risk incurring "package deprivation."

Package deprivation? It's no surprise today that most of our population -- not just kids -- wears clothes or accessories with slogans and messages on them. Attraction to labeling and package copy robs you of breathing space. Minute bits of extraneous data have a cumulative impact.

Other symptoms of information overload abound. Do you attempt to think, converse, study, or even make love with distractions? Do you go through the motions of attempting to concentrate with office noise? Do you attempt to converse while on the Web or watching TV? Do you "need" to wind down before bed in front of a screen? You deserve a break today. Eat healthy food, with people in message-free clothing, and no reading material or screens in sight.

Fliers are Fed Up!

CNBC reports: "The annual Airline Quality Rankings survey show carriers bumping more passengers from oversold flights and delivering service that often leaves customers frustrated."

Telepathic Communication: for Real

From New Scientist: 





THE world's first brain-to-brain link has given rats and monkeys the power to communicate by thought alone. "Many people thought it could never
happen," says Miguel Nicolelis at Duke University in Durham, North
Carolina. Although monkeys have used brain-to-machine interfaces to
control robots, Nicolelis's team has created the first direct connection
between two brains.

















Researchers contacted by New Scientist
were cautiously impressed. Some suggested that the work could
eventually lead to insects being controlled by the brain signals of
humans, or the ability to transmit abstract thoughts between people.




What this means is that extra sensory perception and telepathic communication between human beings is not far off.




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Tossing and Turning

"It is estimated that 50 to 70 million Americans chronically suffer from a
disorder of sleep and wakefulness, hindering daily functioning and
adversely affecting their health and longevity.



The cumulative effects
of sleep loss and sleep disorders represent an under-recognized public
health problem and have been associated with a wide range of health
consequences including an increased risk of hypertension diabetes,
obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.



* Almost 20 percent of all
serious car crash injuries in the general population are associated with
driver sleepiness.



* Hundreds of billions of dollars a year are spent on
direct medical costs related to sleep disorders such as doctor visits,
hospital services, prescriptions, and over-the-counter medications.



Yikes!



Here are a few ideas for getting good sleep every night:

    * Avoid working out too hard before retiring; it may keep you too keyed up.

    * Say no to caffeine at least six hours before retiring and alcohol altogether if you’re interested in having good sleep that night. Alcohol, in particular, is sleep disrupting. Yes, you’ll fall asleep quickly, but invariably you’ll arise too early. Then, you’ll likely have trouble getting back to sleep.

    * If the spirit moves you, drink a glass of milk before you sleep. It can help.

    * Go to sleep when you’re tired, not because the clock happens to say a particular time.

    * Let others around you know when you want quiet because you are going to sleep!






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