Dancing, Sports, Art, Attitude. The common link

I was shown a great story a few days ago, on the subject of complaining, and why it is bad for you. This is of course an interesting subject to me. I have a fascination with the brain, how it works, and what shapes us. (one of my earleist posts, and favorite games to play is "String Button Mind Magic").

I went on a bit of a hunt for information on Neuroplasticity I found some interesting information, and research, including this tidbit from 2010 (an older one, yes), talking about a technological advancement allowing for more precises analysis of brain activity.

I had a couple of thoughts hit me:

I love watching videos of talented people demonstrating their talents. Many of the videos I linked in my r-positive posts were of this sort. Anything really, gymnastics, dancing, skiing, jump rope, soccer, painting, parkour... It is just amazing to watch talented people. Do you know how they become so talented?


Check out this 11 year old dub-stepper, and hear what she has to say.

You see - tying these thoughts together. That amazing ability comes through dedicated, focused practice. What happens when you repeat an action? or even visualize the action repeatedly?

Every time you think about something or due something, neural connections are created in your brain by electro-chemical signals traveling from neuron to another across synapses. When you continually repeat an action or thought, the synapses for those particular neural pathways are reduced, which makes them the easier path in the future, thus, what once required a focused effort on your behalf becomes second nature. an unconscious reaction.

That is what is going on in the brains of these great talents.

Now yes, genetics does play a part in this, perhaps even genetic memory. And upbringing plays a key role - your highest levels of neuroplasticity are in your younger years, up to age six is the highest level of brain growth, after which growth rates decline slowly until roughly age 30-40. After that, growth drops quite dramatically.

Environment plays a role as well, quality of food, quality of water, air... certain types of music have been shown to have effects on brain structure development.

And there are of course a number of diseases which effect the brain, from bacterial to viral, to chemical, including anxiety and depression, schizophrenia, meningitis...

But, While these things may set certain limits, or give certain advantages, it is still key to note that, particularly in our earlier years, it is our thoughts, action and dedication which bring to fruition those amazing skills.

This  idea isn't new of course. When I was a kid there were lots of book by "New age" psychologist on the subject of "think and grow rich", think yourself happy, think yourself successful... (There was an overabundance, in fact).

In early scriptures, prophets taught this idea as well. Proverbs 23:7 says "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he". There are a number of parables on sowing seed which allude to this idea as well. Mosiah 4:30 also warns of the consequences of not watching your "...thoughts, and your words and your deeds.

And now science is building a strong case to support that idea - not soft science, not studies which may or may not be replicable, but hard, physical science.

So then, I have to ask myself, what am I training to become? A world-class gymnast? runner? complainer? friend? victim? helper? jerk? A few videos to ponder...

Asking Why?

So, I'm laying in bed last night, replaying the accident (oh, I was in a car accident yesterday, did I forget to mention that?) , events leading up to it, etc... over and over and over... Can shut my brain off.

It is so easy to find yourself asking "Why?", "Why me?"

This makes 6 automobile accidents for me (only one of which was my fault), one of which was me on a mountain bike vs a car. Why me?

I was diagnosed with meningitis when I was about a year old, I spent a lot of time being very sick as a little child, I remember missing quite a few days of school to abdominal cramping, nausea, etc...

I got sick and had to drop out of college one year from a degree (did finally get back and graduate a decade later).

I spent five years under a misdiagnosis of Crohn's disease.

Right before this accident, my wife had a premonition that I was going to be in an accident? Why didn't I get something?

I almost never turn left on main roads. I will typically drive a mile out of my way to avoid it. Why didn't I do that this time? Why did I miss seeing their care, or misjudge their speed so badly that this accident occurred?

Why?


There are rarely ever any satisfactory answers to that question, I have concluded. It is hard not to ask it, but it is't very productive. The better questions to ask are "What?" and "How?"

Specifically, "What can I learn from this experience?", and "How, can/will/did I react to this experience?"

It interesting to observe how people react in those abrupt, unexpected situations that life throws at us. I still recall with amusement the behavior of the passengers On a plane from Brussells, Belgium to Cramlington, UK, which was diverted to Loughbrough, Scotland (Longer runway), when the flaps failed, forcing an emergency landing, firetrucks racing alongside. As we came finally to a safe stop, the sweet stewardess with a smile on her face announced "Welcome to Loughbrough!". People freaked out! I'm supposed to be in Newcastle!!! I have a meeting!!! Etc... The poor little stewardess, a bit frazzled by everyone yelling at her, mutters under her breath as she passes my seat "Fine! Not welcome to Loughbrough!", My traveling companion looks at the other passengers in disbelief and says (loud enough for me to hear) "You're alive!".

So, how did I do? At the moment of impact... I said a bad word. Not proud of that. I suppose that is a fairly common response, have been exposed to such language to much in my younger days, and int TV, movies, etc... over the years (String Button Mind Magic.).

Then minutes after that, I was asking the other Driver if she was LDS and did anyone need a priesthood blessing. I think mostly I behaved myself in a manner that the Savior would Condone.

What can I learn? Well, I need to be more diligent in policing the media I consume. I also learned what wonderful people I am surrounded by and acquainted with. So many prayers and well wishes from friends new and past. So many people offered aide at the crash site. The police officer was so very kind and compassionate (especially impressive where he was simply too young to have much life experience to draw from!) .

I think I can also learn to be more patient and understanding when I am passing an accident in the future. Yes, I am, one of those people who often feels inconvenienced by an accident.  While waiting to get through the resulting traffic bottleneck, am often silently berating the victims for not being more careful, thous avoiding the accident which is now inconveniencing me for a few minutes. Now, I have experienced the other side of it. I thought I was being careful. I looked both ways, I thought I had a sufficient opening in traffic. Perhaps I will remember this in the future, and be more compassionate, more understanding, less judgmental.

Regrets 6: I regret 'saving a buck'

In my first apartment I purchased a shop vac - The tiniest, least expensive one they make. I was poor and didn't have very much space. It worked well enough, but I often found myself wishing I would have gone just one size larger, to handle larger areas more effectively.

Nearly a decade later I bought the next size up, and experienced the same emotion. A little over a decade ago, I found myself buying a new shop vac, the next size up. Same thing. When I bought it, I really waffled over the size I purchased versus going at least one size larger (which would have put me in the larger nozzle size and the attachment that is long enough to use while standing upright).

Not a month later a neighbor had a pipe burst in their basement. That larger shop vac would have been SO much better for helping with clean-up.

Around that same time, I purchased an air compressor- the smallest one I could find (again, to save money). It was for keeping car and bike tires properly filled. It served (and still serves) that purpose well. But since then I have found myself wishing I would have gone bigger, in order to run a nail gun, staple gun, and paint sprayer, as well as one with sufficient power to use to blow out dirty vacuum filters, air conditioner compressors, etc...

Fortunately a neighbor had an extra one of sufficient size and I was the lucky beneficiary. It has been so nice!

I also bought a cheap reciprocating saw somewhere back then, and I cheap mitre saw. The mitre saw has been very sturdy, and I am very happy with it, however it is small, and I have found myself wishing on many occasions that I had one capable of cutting boards larger than 2x6.

The reciprocating saw, I really didn't expect to use much - I really purchased it for one project. I have since discovered a number of other projects, but having only used it maybe a dozen times, it is already threatening to break. It is extremely difficult to seat and remove blades.

There are two lessons learned:

1. Pay a little extra for better quality on tools, even if you don't think you are going to use it all that much. You will likely save yourself money in the long run.

2. Strongly consider buying tools that are more/bigger than you currently need. You again may save yourself money in the long run, and you may find future projects for yourself, or freinds/neighbors which will benefit.


PS. Note - I am not saying go into debt, I am saying wait a little longer and save up for better (refer to my first "regrets" post).

The one diet that will save your life

I caught a documentary a few night ago. It chronicled a groups' scientific exploration of a specific diet. It reviewed the results of those scientific studies, and presented a number of analogies regarding the diet improving quality of life for those who followed it - there were even testimonials from individuals who had been cured of diabetes and other diseases by faithfully following this diet.

That alone was pretty compelling stuff. They continued form there to document their efforts to implement legislation to correct certain misconceptions in current government nutritional guidelines. They discussed how legislators were quite enthusiastic after hearing their findings, and in some instances trying out the diet personally and seeing the difference it made for them. Then various agricultural lobbyists became involved, and things suddenly cooled. The implication of course was that money changed hands, or that political pressure was brought to bear by the lobbyists, whose industries wold be hurt by this dietary information. While that may cause the tin-foil hat alarm to ring, the history of the tobacco lobby suggests this conspiracy is not nearly so implausible.

In the same vein, they discussed modern medicine's failure to educate individuals, pointing out that healthcare workers aren't properly educated around correct diet principles, and that the economy associated with modern pharmaceuticals gives no incentive to apply principle which would lessen their need.

They also spent some time analyzing several currently popular diets which they deemed "dangerous fads". Again, they provided plenty of evidence to back their claims, in the form of studies, anecdote and basic logical analysis and interpretation of current medical and biological data.

I imagine some of you are annoyed with me right now, for being so vague about this amazing diet. I didn't want to prejudice you right at the outset, because the really interesting thing to me wasn't the diet itself, nor was it precisely the information they provided.

The diet presented in this case was the whole-foods, plant-based diet (essentially vegetarian). And the 'fad diets' they targeted for debunking were several meat-based diets, including the Atkinson diet and the Paleo diet. I point that out specifically because as I was watching the program, I found myself recalling a a body of documentation I had read quite a few year ago promoting the Paleo diet, and what struck me as interesting is that this program and those documents were nearly identical in content. Both presented the scientific journey of a group to find the ideal diet for humans, both referenced scientific studies and analogies demonstrating the effectiveness of the diet in improving health and preventing or even curing some modern ailments (Plant based focused on heart, Paleo focused on gut, both claimed wins with diabetes).

Both cited lobby interference and pharmaceutical economy as reasons the "truth" was not more widely know and accepted. Both made sound, rational cases against the alternative diet based on scientific evidence and  analysis and interpretation of current medical and biological data.

Of course, I have also seen rebuttal's by each side claiming the other side's science is junk science;  flawed at best, or dishonest at worst.

But it lead to me to couple of thoughts.

Perhaps most success stories on these diets are really success stories for the placebo effect; people are convinced that it will work, and therefore dedicate themselves to it. Consequently they also are making other changes (exercise, etc...) which - combined with their belief - is what really made the difference.

So, if you can't trust "science" (or at least not the people presenting it), you can't trust the governments, you can't trust the testimonials, who can you trust?

It is interesting to note that while both claim the other is unhealthy, and both have significant points of conflict, they do have some commonalities (eliminate processed foods, processed oils, alcohol, coffee...), so, given that they all agree on those, perhaps those are the real culprits that need to be eliminated.

I am still inclined to stick to my theory that since different people have different biologies, it is more likely that different people derive better health from different diets. Perhaps some day in the not-so-distant future, there will be a genetic test which will allow you to correctly identify which foods are most beneficial, and which are most risky for your specific biology.

In the Old Testament, God gave some specific dietary guidelines to the children of Israel, In our day, Latter Day Saints believe that God provided an updated version of these guidelines (for some portions the idea that it is updated make sense. Pork for instance was a no-no for the Jews, but not restricted by the Latter Day Saint "Word of Wisdom". Pork is a much less risky option nowadays, given better food prep. technology. Of course the Word of Wisdom was written in 1833. Technology has come a long way since then - refrigeration, freezers, better food preservation technologies, we are are even starting to print food. It would be interesting to see what an current update from God would look like.

Re-Thinking apple - oh yeah, one more thing...

A follow-up to my last post...

The recent news regarding apple is another thing for me to seriously consider (i.e. the government is trying to get them to break into a dead terrorists encrypted phone and they are refusing).

Once upon a time I had this dream, of a single card you could carry in your pocket, which could serve as your cash, your debit cards, all your credit cards, your insurance card, your drivers license, your passport. one card that would do it all, no more bulky wallets nor more hunting through piles of membership/rewards cards...

The smart phone is hovering near the edges of that dream. You can handle credit card pay through your phone now, some membership programs now send their special offers/rewards coupons directly to mobile phones....

Our phones are holding an increasing amount of extremely sensitive data: Financial data, health data. Friends' data...

A device with that much of my information NEEDS to be impregnable.

And the simple fact is - if the government has a back door, so does everybody else. So, I am watching this case to see whether technology will take a step forward, or backward. I am encouraged that Apple has said no, they won't decrypt it. I would feel much better if they said no, they CAN'T decrypt it.

But that being said, how this all shakes out could have a significant influence on my views on apple, in spite of my dislike for the 'cult of apple' and for the personal restrictions...

Re-thinking Apple.

So,just over a year after making this post about Why I don't own anything apple sells, I found myself the unwilling owner of an iPhone, forced upon me by my company. Then a few months later, company policy changed, and Android phones, and some Microsoft phones were added to the list of allowed devices. I was of course stuck with the iPhone for two years, and I was eagerly awaiting the day when I could switch the thing out and be done with it.

That time is fast approaching, and now I find myself second guessing.

From a technical perspective, my views haven't changed much, I still find them fairly equal. For me, apple is frustratingly restrictive. I am constantly annoyed by the seemingly simple things I can't just easily do on the apple device because, I am apparently not doing it the way apple thinks everyone should do it.

My chief example of this is alarm clocks. I don't think I am asking for that much. I want the ability to assign a playlist as my wake-up   alarm and I want the clock to randomly select a song from that list (nothing ruins a favorite song more quickly than using that one song as your wake-up alarm every day. I want it to start softly and slowly fade in, so as to gently wake me, rather than jar me awake.

It was easy to get this working on Android. Not so on apple. first it was not easy to find an app that had this feature set. And then none of them actually work reliably. If you forget to leave the app running on the fore ground before you go to bed the alarm won't work at all. And I can't let the alarm clock override the Do not disturb function. If I set the alarm, I do in fact want it to 'disturb' me.

I still don't like Apple's business practices. I still find them to be innovation killers. And I still disapprove of their practices in China.

However. I have been gaining some new political education on the subject of  "conflict minerals". You see much of the fundamental minerals used in the creation of electronic devices comes from conflict areas in Africa. In a number of cases, mines have been taken over by guerrilla forces, who then implement genuine slave labor from the locals to extract these minerals for profit to warlords. Apple's behavior in China is downright civilized in comparison to this.

I haven't been able to find any numbers more recent than 2012. But for 2102 company progress at eliminating conflict minerals, Android companies aren't making much of a showing. Motorola is the one exception. Microsoft is Neck and Neck with apple, and Nokia is right in close. So Apple or Microsoft gain a strong lead for me, in spite of my general preference for the Android ecosystem.

So which of those two? I like Cortana better than Siri, she's much more personable. And in my experience she seems to work more reliably. But, then I also like Speakto it Assistant, and that one is cross-platform.

I like the Microsoft ecosystem, I like the convenience factor of my phone and laptop all speaking the same language. That is likely to lead to better integration and cooperation. I really like the efforts Microsoft if making int he area of family safety. I like the controls they offer to monitor and manage children's devices.

On the other hand, Microsoft is still struggling in the phone space. The current round of Lumias aren't performing well, and rumors are they are going to drop that line. There are rumors that they might pick up with a new phone based on the Microsoft surface platform, but for now, that it vaporware.

What to do, what to do?

Health update: peeling back the layers

I keep putting this off, holding my breath, waiting to see if I am really where I think I am. Which is silly, as the main reason I started posting about my health was to document the process, and information as it was gathered. oh well.

So, a quick recap. 5 years ago, I began experiencing severe abdominal pain, and spasms. A number of tests and procedures later, and I was given a diagnosis of Crohn's. I lived under that for four years. I learned a great deal about Crohn's in that time, as well as a modest amount about various treatments, with their various drawbacks. I also experienced the pain of a change in healthcare policy, which increased the cost of treatment by a few orders of magnitude.

I was still experiencing some symptoms, but sporadically, and not as intense. My life was certainly not what it once was. My wife mentioned a few weeks ago how hard it was to see me wasting away.

Then last march, the abdominal pain and spasms returned with a vengeance. I went to a third Gastroenterology specialist, and switched to a new Family Dr. A number of tests later, and it was concluded that either the Crohn's had gone into remission, or more likely, I had never had Crohn's.

Many more fruitless tests later, and my new Dr. decided to call it IBS instead, then after trying a few unsuccessful, direct treatments for IBS, we did a little out of the Box thinking.

Many years before all this, I had been diagnosed with a mild social anxiety disorder. Where it was mild, and where I was not eager to go the pharmaceutical route with its various side effects, I utilized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as treatment.At that point, It seemed to be working well, and I thought I had the problem licked.

My Dr. and I decided to include that in the list of possibles, And as it was one of the easier, less expensive ones to explore, she prescribed an anti-anxiety medication. For me to try for a few months.

The first two weeks were horrible! Horrific nausea, a drastic increase in insomnia - that was already a problem for me... I couldn't function! She switched me to a similar alternative medication, and the The symptoms were... lessened... at least to a level where I could mostly function. After about a month, the nausea had passed, and the insomnia was ... well... better...

The spasms were also fading away. Less and less with each passing week. My wife observed that my temperament was much more even as well. I was more patient, less stressed. So we stuck with it. Within a few months, the spasm were gone. I was still experiencing occasional abdominal pain, but now, with the other problem under control, this problem was predictable, and we were finally able to link it to lactose. (A big think you to the person/s who invented lactose free milk and butter!). Years before, I had experimented with that, but could  make no link, due to the other issue masking it.

So a few lessons learned:

Patience - I'm not going to say positivity, is necessary, though I suspect it helps, but stoicism is crucial. Sometimes it just takes time to find the right person or place to start peeling back the layers.

Persistence - Don't be afraid to talk to more doctors. The other Dr's weren't necessarily bad. They just missed a crucial piece of information, or made the diagnosis based on their experiences. They did the best they could with what they had. Sometimes a different pair of eyes can understand the information in a different light...

Compassion - My problem - as it turns out - was all (mostly) in my head :). But that doesn't make it any less real. There are many people in this world who are dealing with real health issues which you, me, even they likely don't understand. Their pain is real. Be patient with them.

Science - The scientific process is crucial, examine the evidence, and see where it leads. It is so easy in situations like this to latch onto any idea that offers a cure. And there are so many theories, with compelling sounding defenses, and an abundance of anecdotes. Note, lactose is now a problem for me (along with roughly 50% of the human population). But that doesn't mean that I believe Milk (or Grain, or Meat, or ....) is bad for humans. I can point to just as many anecdotes of people who have thrived on diets of most every sort. It just proves that we are all different. I can imagine a day in the future, when they will be able to perform a genetic test and tell each individual which foods they uniquely should avoid, and which foods they specifically should seek out and make a regular part of their diet, and when that will change as they age.

Faith and Fellowship - There are times when personal stoicism and positivity aren't sufficient. There are times when it is more than you can personally bear. I frequently found myself there. And at those times, I relied upon  my Friends, my family, and my Faith in Jesus Christ. I am blessed to be surrounded by wonderful neighbors, and to have many friends around the world who were willing to offer me an ear and a shoulder. I am blessed to have family - also throughout the world who offered both comfort and service in my moments of need. I am fortunate to have had so many people praying on my behalf. Just knowing that gave me hope. And I am fortunate also to have my Savior to turn to. There are many times when I felt like giving up that I would start singing to myself "Fear not, I am with you, oh be ye not dismayed, for I am thy God, and will still give thee aid, I'll strengthen thee help the and cause thee to stand. Upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand."

"In every condition, in sickness and health. In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth. At home or abroad, on the land or the sea. As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be."

Inevitably as I sang that song, I would feel peace. And I would feel comforted. And I would know that I was being watched over by a loving, caring Father in Heaven. That while pain and sorrow and suffering are sadly a part of this life experience, they are not the end, they are a small part of the grand plan. And even in difficult times, we can experience peace, and joy.

So, now life is slowly returning to something more closely resembling normal. Of course, now I am beginning to experience some effect of growing older, so I am not likely to return to the vigor I had before all this started, but there is now hope again that I might keep one of my long term goals regarding a 5k run at a certain speed after the age of 50 (which my wife was so kind as to smirkily point out was just around the corner. Thanks sweetie).

Onward, ever onward.