A Meditation on Game Of Thrones

Any of you who have watched HBO’s Game of Thrones has heard the words of one of the principal families, “Winter is coming.”  At first blush this bleak motto of the Starks seems extremely pessimistic.  Hard times will come.  Dangerous situations, lean economic times, fights with a friend or significant other, earthquakes, tornadoes and floods will happen.

The news regales us with tragedy every hour of every day.  At work good news doesn’t go far or fast if it moves at all, but bad news flashes like lightning.

Winter IS coming.  Make no mistake.

So what are our options?  We could eat drink and be merry.  Blow our hard-won cash on toys and other distractions hoping they’ll numb us before the snow falls.  We could rail at the world, the politicians, the immigrants, the other nations, and pretend that our complaining or internet petitions will change our finances, our families or our health.

But that’s not me.  It’s not a lot of other people either, and chances are that if you’re still reading this, it’s not you.

If you’re like me then you know that winter is a season, not an ending.  It has it’s own peculiar perks and dangers, no less than any other time of the year and we need to be prepared.  We need to take action to enjoy the perks, avoid or mitigate the dangers and live, to make the most of living.

That’s what this blog is about.

Bartow County, Resiliency, and The Tough Mudder

Bartow County Georgia is where I live and work and I'd like this to be  a local or even a hyper-local blog so I'll be posting things particular to this county frequently among the general info about Georgia, Northwest GA, permaculture, resiliency, etc...

First off, the Bartow County Extension Office.  Cooperative extension is a partnership between UGA, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and counties in the various participating states.  They do all kinds of neat things from soil testing to certifying safety experts in the food industry (via the ServSafe program).  They also facilitate the Master Gardener program and offer tips and techniques for successful home food production, preparation and storage.  Check them out here.

Speaking of the Extension Office, they've got a Vegetable Gardening Workshop coming up on October 14th.  The details are here.  I plan on being there, so drop by.

Ok, resiliency.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
Around here, like everywhere else, we've got misfortune, adversity and change.  We should add those three to the list beginning with "Death and Taxes".  We've got an aging and obese population, whose educational and job prospects aren't the brightest.  We've got teen pregnancy, stress related illness, and high rates of divorce.  What do we do about it?

We start with ourselves, body, mind and spirit.

Body's pretty easy.  Do you look good, and feel good?  Can you work hard and play hard?  No need for strict definitions, you know the answer to those questions, one way or the other.  What are you doing to get better or maintain your health?  Remember, resiliency is how fast and how well you can recover from the stress and injuries that life throws at us.

For Mind I focus on education and career.  I'm learning more about gardening and permaculture all the time and training in management for a school system's nutrition program.  How well and how quickly can you recover from financial hardship?  What are you learning?  How can you be in the top 10% in your field?  Check out Seth Godin's book Linchpin for ideas.

Spirit is the trickier one.  Rather than debate theology I work on my relationships.  If you're a Christian then asking "WWJD?" is not a bad place to start.  Which relationships bring you down?  Ditch them if you can, work on changing them if you can't.  Who are the people who build you up?  How can you spend more time with them?  How can you act more like them?  What can you change about yourself to be a better friend, spouse, child, parent, significant other?  Goleman's work on Social Intelligence points out all the ways that good relationships enhance our health and the well-being of our community, including reducing crime thus helping both ourselves and our neighbors to bounce back more readily from tragedies.

One of the things I'm doing to work on all three of these areas is the Tough Mudder.  It's an 11 mile, muddy obstacle course designed by a former British Special Forces guy.  While all of the obstacles can be tackled alone, the course is designed to promote teamwork.  I've got about 15 people, old friends and new, joining me in the race.  We've got a facebook page here where we share our training ups and downs and offer encouragement.  So I'm learning new things about myself and physical training, working out consistently and meeting new people while fleshing out some old friendships all at the same time.

If you're looking to change your situation in life, much less the world, start with yourself.  Now is the time.

Soil Testing, Stockbox and Growing Food On Base

I was watching a documentary on the local food movement and was struck by a comment made by one of the farmers “We don’t farm plants, we farm soil.”  Ok, so I know NOTHING about growing things, much less healthy fruits and veggies and I figure this guy seems to be pretty good at it, so I should probably listen to him.  I’m a big proponent of doing research on the web but at some point you need to get out in the world and get messy.  So I went old school and checked a book out of the library.

HomeGrown Harvest by the American Horticultural Society turns out to be a fantastic resource chock full of season by season advice and wisdom.  Definitely work looking into.  Sure enough one of the first things they recommend before starting a new garden is checking out your soil.

I went out to the middle of my site and dug a six inch hole and got a big handful of dirt.

Add a little water and it turns into a slightly sandy ball.  Looks like my yard is on the edge between sandy and silty, which means I need to watch my water drainage and work in a good bit of compost.

Out on the Left Coast they’re still in the vanguard of the local food movement and there are two new innovations that look pretty cool.

First a semi-permanent grocery store made from a recycled shipping container.  Stockbox, watch the video.

And here’s a story from Grist on using former military bases for urban farming. Check it out.

Georgia Urban Farming Links

Crop Mob is a group of young, landless, and wannabe farmers who come together to build and empower communities by working side by side.

Farmer D Organics is an environmentally friendly, socially responsible business that creates farms and products for the earth and its people.

Georgia Organics‘ Urban Agriculture Training Program is committed to cultivating urban farmers and gardeners to build healthy, vibrant local food communities.

Utilizing “Bio-Intensive” growing methods, Georgia Urban Farm Company Specializes in setting up Urban and Suburban food productions systems.

Boortz on The Fair Tax

Now Winter Nights Enlarge

Now Winter Nights Enlarge

by Thomas Campion (1617)

Now winter nights enlarge The number of their hours, And clouds their storms discharge Upon the airy towers. Let now the chimneys blaze, And cups o’erflow with wine; Let well-tuned words amaze With harmony divine. Now yellow waxen lights Shall wait on honey love, While youthful revels, masques, and courtly sights Sleep’s leaden spells remove. This time doth well dispense With lovers’ long discourse; Much speech hath some defence, Though beauty no remorse. All do not all things well; Some measures comely tread, Some knotted riddles tell, Some poems smoothly read. The summer hath his joys And winter his delights; Though love and all his pleasures are but toys, They shorten tedious nights.

Battlefield Acupuncture

Ok, so the Air Force is scheduled to train field doctors to use acupuncture to alleviate pain.  My first response is that this is good news.  The U.S. military is embracing complementary medicine and using it to good effect.  Yay Team!

But then I get an email from a friend of mine saying that he's looked but hasn't come across any peer-reviewed literature that demonstrates the effectiveness of acupuncture.  Boo.

Now the concept of acupuncture makes sense to me.  As a therapist who regularly uses trigger-point therapy, I'm familiar with how imbalance in one point on the body creates pain and dysfunction in another place that seems completely unconnected.  Often trigger-points align with acupressure points so a connection to me seems somewhat likely.  And since acupressure and acupuncture are related the theory and practice of acupuncture seem to be worth a good investigation.

My friend's concern though is valid.  Are there any peer-reviewed studies confirming acupuncture's efficacy out there?  If so, send me a link.

The definitive word on Trigger-Points.  Link

Trigger point self-treatment or Travell and Simons for Dummies.  Link

Link to Wired's Battlefield Acupuncture article.  Link

 

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Creativity, fulfillment and flow

Head Shots

Having been on the receiving end of more than a few head shots during my years as an airline safety trainer, I can attest to their powerful simplicity.  Shut down the brain and the body simply goes limp.  It doesn't even necessarily hurt, you simply feel as if you're standing in place and the floor (or hopefully mat) rises up to slam you in the face.

There are several different types of injuries that can be caused by head shots and fortunately due to the popularity of boxing and prevalance of data on car crashes, we have a lot of information regarding what happens during the assault and afterwards.

A short article on how the brain hurts here.

Video of coup/contra coup injury here.  It shows how the brain literally rocks back and forth inside the skull creating bruising.  Typically this is shown front to back as that's how it happens most often during car accidents but keep in mind that anytime the brain rocks from one side to the other you can get this type of injury.

Compilation of Muay Thai head shot knockouts here.  Notice the reactions of the receiver immediately following contact.

If you watch this video here though, you'll notice that not just any head shot results in a knockout.  That's because the body shuts down when the brain does.  If the blow is absorbed by the skull then no brain trauma and no knockout.

But if you really want to be certain of a knockout, watch this guy here.  Soft hand blows such as a cupped palm or knife hand are significantly safer to use by the attacker and are far more likely to result in a coup/contra coup injury.

Information dealing with after-effects here.

The neuroscience of alien contact

Cortex has  just released a new issue dealing with paranormal experiences.  Inside is an article dealing with the neurology of people claiming to have contact with aliens.  I found this particularly interesting as certain meditative techniques have consistently led me to undergo similar experiences.  A biological underpinning would seem to be logical and it's interesting to read what scientists can find out under more controlled conditions.

You can find the article here.

The page with the main issue and several other studies can be found here.

5 Lessons From A Master Of Old School Eclectic

Around a hundred years ago an engineer by the name of EW Barton-Wright successfully combined Japanese jiu-jutsu, Swiss fencing, French savate and western boxing to create the devestating art of Bartitisu.  The art was so impressive and garnered such a following at the time that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even referred to Sherlock Holmes as a practitioner.

Here are 5 important lessons we can learn from this leader in western eclectic martial arts.

1)  Be Open To New Information

At a time when the Imperial attitudes predominated, Barton-Wright not only accepted that other countries might have something to teach, he actively trained with established foreign masters including Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo.  With the founding of the Bartitsu Academy of Arms and Physical Culture, Barton-Wright continued to promote cross-fertilization of skills and ideas.  He brought together jiu-jutsuka and wrestlers, fencers and boxers to learn from each other.

2)  Be Comfortable In A Variety Of Situations

Like today's mixed martial artists, Barton-Wright encouraged practice in a variety of ranges and with a variety of systems.  While others would focus primarily on using the hands in boxing or grappling, Bartitsu practitioners were comfortable in close quarters, boxing and kicking ranges as well as at a distance using fencing skills with a common walking stick.

3)  Actively Pursue Physical Health

In addition to martial arts instruction, The Bartitsu Academy provided the latest in electro-magnetic health equipment.  While the machines Barton-Wright provided would these days probably be for sale on a late-night infomercial, all of the club members actively pursued the "physical culture" of the times including calisthenics, jump rope and working with Indian clubs.

4)  Make Use Of Everday Items

Gentlemen of the times were never without a walking stick and Bartitsu practitioners knew how to make it particularly useful in defense.  Barton-Wright invited Pierre Vigny, a Swiss master-at-arms to teach his innovative, single-stick fencing method adapted to a gentleman's cane to provide club-members with a simple, yet highly effective weapon.

5)  Focus On The Practical

The Bartitsu Club made its name on the need for defense against the rampant gang activity of the time.  Techniques were pared down to be practical and effective for a man in everyday clothes against a variety of attackers.

For more information about EW Barton-Wright and his continuing legacy of Bartitsu check out the Bartitsu website here.  Bartitsu

DIY Ninja Smokebombs

For informational purposes only.

Steven Barnes

A quote from one of my favorite authors.

"Yoga poses are like putting your car up on a rack at the mechanic's and looking at the suspension and power train. Sports are like running your car on a track, and life is taking that car on the road." - Steven Barnes

A friend of mine wrote me the other day and I thought I'd share my response.

"On the last page (of Instant Chi Power) you mention about chi kung in a self protection capacity. I'd like to learn that. I'm following the Hoshin distance course at the moment."

My response...

I think of chi kung as a wholistic practice so when I speak of self-defense I'm not talking about destroying someone's liver chi by crunching a certain meridian, or at least not JUST that.

The number one key for me is perception or awareness, and not of other people, but of yourself. Everyone engages in self-defeating behavior, negative sefl-talk, less-than-optimum life strategies, etc... Awareness of your faults is a first crucial step because then you can find the tools and techniques to become better. That applies to all bio-spiritual survival & self-actualization processes.

If done right, this leads from an awareness of personal lack to a love of self-improvement. (This is where many chi twinkies get bogged down.)

Once you begin the habit of steady progress towards self-actualization, the reality of direct physical confrontation diminishes accordingly. And if it is still a large risk (for emergency services personnel, police, the military, etc...) then you have greater options for dealing with it. Again, not simply some secret meridian strike, but rather a willingness to do what is appropriate in the situation because you have less ego in the way.

Hope that helps.

You can find the Instant Chi Power E-course at http://www.quantummindscience.com.

Multiple Orgasms Through Science

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1027541/Ive-G-shot--YES-YES-YES-sex-life-better.html

By Natasha Courtenay-Smith Last updated at 1:14 PM on 19th June 2008

Satisfied: Caroline Cushworth says her sex life is now unbelievable

Three months ago, Caroline Cushworth sat her partner Christopher down and asked him a simple question.

If, she said, I could be guaranteed an orgasm every time we had sex, what would be your reaction?

Not that surprisingly, her partner Christopher, 27, a plasterer, replied that he'd be delighted.

'So I told him I wanted to have a brand-new treatment which would enable me to do just that - and also make my orgasms much more intense than normal,' says Caroline.

'His jaw literally hit the floor and he said, "Sounds good to me."

'And so a fortnight ago, Caroline became the first British woman to have the 'G-shot', also known as the 'orgasm jab' - an £800 non-surgical treatment that enhances a woman's sexual experience by boosting the G-spot, the ultra-sensitive area of tissue that can hold the key to happy love-making...

More of this article here...

Militia

Saved by the Militia
Arming an army against terrorism.

By Randy E. Barnett is the Austin B. Fletcher Professor at Boston University and the author of The Structure of Liberty: Justice and the Rule of Law.

September 18, 2001 11:30 a.m.

well-regulated militia being essential to the security of a free state. . .

" The next time someone tells you that the militia referred to in the Second Amendment has been "superceded" by the National Guard, ask them who it was that prevented United Airlines Flight 93 from reaching its target. The National Guard? The regular Army? The D.C. Police Department? None of these had a presence on Flight 93 because, in a free society, professional law-enforcement and military personnel cannot be everywhere. Terrorists and criminals are well aware of this — indeed, they count on it. Who is everywhere? The people the Founders referred to as the "general militia." Cell-phone calls from the plane have now revealed that it was members of the general militia, not organized law enforcement, who successfully prevented Flight 93 from reaching its intended target at the cost of their own lives.

The characterization of these heroes as members of the militia is not just the opinion of one law professor. It is clearly stated in Federal statutes.

Perhaps you will not believe me unless I quote Section 311 of US Code Title 10, entitled, "Militia: composition and classes" in its entirety (with emphases added):

"(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

(b) The classes of the militia are —

(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and

(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.

This is not to score political points at a moment of great tragedy, though had the murderers on these four airplanes been armed with guns rather than knives, reminders of this fact would never end. Rather, that it was militia members who saved whatever was the terrorists' target — whether the White House or the Capitol — at the cost of their lives points in the direction of practical steps — in some cases the only practical steps — to reduce the damage cause by any future attacks.

An excellent beginning was provided by Dave Kopel and David Petteys in their NRO column "Making the Air Safe for Terror." Whether or not their specific recommendations are correct, they are too important to be ignored and they are not the only persons to reach similar conclusions about the need for effective self-defense. Refusing to discuss what measures really worked, what really failed, and what is likely to really work in future attacks — on airplanes and in other public spaces — for reasons of political correctness would be unconscionable. And we need to place this discussion in its larger constitutional context.

Asking all of us if we packed our own bags did not stop this attack. X-rays of all carry-on baggage did not stop this attack (though it may well have confined the attackers to using knives). And preventing us from using e-tickets or checking our bags at the street (for how long?) would neither have stopped this nor any future attack. All these new "security" proposals will merely inconvenience millions of citizens driving them away from air travel and seriously harming our economy and our freedom. As others have noted, it would be a victory for these murderers rather than an effective way to stop them in the future. A way around them will always be open to determined mass murderers. More importantly, none bear any relation to the attack that actually occurred on September 11th.

Ask yourself every time you hear a proposal for increased "security": Would have in any way have averted the disaster that actually happened? Will it avert a future suicide attack on the public by other new and different means? Any realistic response to what happened and is likely to happen in the future must acknowledge that, when the next moment of truth arrives in whatever form, calling 911 will not work. Training our youth to be helpless in the face of an attack, avoiding violence at all costs will not work. There will always be foreign and domestic wolves to prey on the sheep we raise. And the next attack is unlikely to take the same form as the ones we just experienced. We must adopt measures that promise some relief in circumstances we cannot now imagine.

Here is the cold hard fact of the matter that will be evaded and denied but which must never be forgotten in these discussions: Often — whether on an airplane, subway, cruise ship, or in a high school — only self defense by the "unorganized militia" will be available when domestic or foreign terrorists chose their next moment of murder. And here is the public-policy implication of this fact: It would be better if the militia were more prepared to act when it is needed.

If the general militia is now "unorganized" and neutered — if it is not well-regulated — whose fault is it? Article I of the Constitution gives Congress full power "to provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia." The Second Amendment was included in the Bill of Rights in large part because many feared that Congress would neglect the militia (as it has) and, Congress could not be forced by any constitutional provision to preserve the militia, the only practical means of ensuring its continued existed was to protect the right of individual militia members to keep and bear their own private arms. Nevertheless, it remains the responsibility of Congress to see to it that the general militia is "well-regulated.

A well-regulated militia does not require a draft or any compulsory training. Nor, as Alexander Hamilton recognized, need training be universal. "To attempt such a thing which would abridge the mass of labor and industry to so considerable extent, would be unwise," he wrote in Federalist 29, "and the experiment, if made, could not succeed, because it would not long be endured." But Congress has the constitutional power to create training programs in effective self-defense including training in small arms — marksmanship, tactics, and gun safety — for any American citizen who volunteers.

Any guess how many millions would take weapons training at government expense or even for a modest fee if generally offered?

Rather than provide for training and encouraging persons to be able to defend themselves — and to exercise their training responsibly — powerful lobbying groups have and will continue to advocate passivity and disarmament. The vociferous anti-self-defense, anti-gun crusaders of the past decades will not give up now. Instead they will shift our focus to restrictions on American liberties that will be ineffective against future attacks. Friday on Fox, Democratic Minority Leader Dick Gephart was asked whether additional means we have previously eschewed should be employed to capture and combat foreign terrorists. His reply was appalling. Now was the time, he replied, to consider adopting a national identity card and that we would have to consider how much information such "smart" cards would contain.

Rather than make war on the American people and their liberties, however, Congress should be looking for ways to empower them to protect themselves when warranted. The Founders knew — and put in the form of a written guarantee — the proposition that the individual right to keep and bear arms was the principal means of preserving a militia that was "essential," in a free state, to provide personal and collective self-defense against criminals of all stripes, both domestic and foreign.

A renewed commitment to a well-regulated militia would not be a panacea for crime and terrorism, but neither will any other course of action now being recommended or adopted. We have long been told that, in a modern world, the militia is obsolete. Put aside the fact that the importance of the militia to a "the security of a free state" is hardwired into the text of the Constitution. The events of this week have shown that the militia is far from obsolete in a world where war is waged by cells as well as states. It is long past time we heeded the words of the Founders and end the systematic effort to disarm Americans. Now is also the time to consider what it would take in practical terms to well-regulate the now-unorganized militia, so no criminal will feel completely secure when confronting one or more of its members.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/141984?from=rss

THE SPECTRUM

Dean Ornish M.D.

Changing Your Lifestyle Can Change Your Genes

Here's some very good news: your genes are not your destiny. Earlier this week, my colleagues and I published the first study showing that improved nutrition, stress management techniques, walking, and psychosocial support actually changed the expression of over 500 genes in men with early-stage prostate cancer. This study was conducted at the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute and the University of California, San Francisco in collaboration with Dr. Peter Carroll, Dr. Mark Magbanua, Dr. Chris Haqq, and others.

In this study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we studied gene expression in biopsies from 30 men who were diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer. These men had decided not to undergo conventional treatments such as surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy for reasons unrelated to the study. They had early, small-volume prostate cancer with stable prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels and Gleason scores of six or less, meaning that their tumors were not aggressive.

We biopsied their prostates at the beginning of the study and again three months later, after making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Since these patients did not have conventional treatments during this time, it enabled us to assess the effects of the lifestyle changes on gene expression without confounding interventions such as surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy.

The changes included a plant-based diet (predominant fruits, vegetables, legumes, soy products, and whole grains low in refined carbohydrates), moderate exercise (walking 30 minutes per day), stress management techniques (yoga-based stretching, breathing techniques, meditation, and guided imagery for one hour per day), and participating in a weekly one-hour support group. The diet was supplemented with soy, fish oil (three grams/day), vitamin E (100 units/day), selenium (200 mg/day), and vitamin C (2 grams/day). These lifestyle changes are described more fully in my book, The Spectrum.

After three months, we repeated the biopsy and looked at changes in normal tissue within the prostate. We found that many disease-promoting genes (including those associated with cancer, heart disease, and inflammation) were down-regulated or "turned off," whereas protective, disease-preventing genes were up-regulated or "turned on." For example, a set of cancer-promoting oncogenes called RAS was down-regulated in these men. The Selectin E gene (which promotes inflammation and is elevated in breast cancer) was down-regulated. Another gene that suppresses tumor formation called SFRP was up-regulated, thereby reducing the risk of cancer. These genes are the target of many new drugs that are being developed. Clearly, changing lifestyle is less expensive, and the only side-effects are good ones. Dr. Craig Venter's pioneering research is showing that one way to change your genes is to synthesize new ones. Another may be to change your lifestyle.

The figure here provides a graphic representation of some of these changes in gene expression. Each line represents one of 31 genes that regulate "intracellular protein traffic" which affects how cells communicate with each other. The green color represents genes that are downregulated ("turned off") and the red color represents genes that are upregulated ("turned on"). As you can see, there are a lot more green (turned off) genes on the right side of the figure than on the left side.

For the past 31 years, I have directed a series of research studies showing that changes in lifestyle can make a powerful difference in our health and well-being, and how quickly these changes may occur. We showed that comprehensive lifestyle changes may stop or reverse the progression of coronary heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolemia, and other chronic conditions.

Two years ago, along with Dr. Carroll (Chair of Urology, UCSF) and others who also collaborated on the new gene expression study, we published the first randomized controlled trial showing that these lifestyle changes may slow, stop, or even reverse the progression of prostate cancer, which may affect breast cancer as well. When we published our earlier studies, we didn't understand many of the mechanisms by which these changes may have occurred. Now, our new study is beginning to provide some insight into what some of these genetic mechanisms may be.

Because we looked at normal tissue within the prostate (rather than the prostate tumor cells), it is likely that our findings may be generalized beyond men with prostate cancer. Also, people who are otherwise healthy may not need to make such intensive changes and have a spectrum of choices. We are still trying to understand the full significance of these findings--we've raised more questions than we've answered, and we need larger, longer-term studies--but it's already clear that you may be able to alter, at least to some degree, how your genes are expressed simply by changing your diet and lifestyle.

I find this to be a profoundly hopeful message. Often, I hear people say, "Oh, I've got bad genes, there's nothing I can do about it"--displaying what I call genetic nihilism. Our findings (the first to show the effect of lifestyle changes on any kind of cancer genes) can be an antidote to genetic nihilism and, I hope, motivate people to begin making their own changes. In most cases, our genes are only a predisposition; they are not written in stone. And if we have a strong family history for diseases such as prostate cancer, breast cancer, or heart disease-- "bad genes"-- then we may need to make bigger changes in lifestyle in order to help prevent or even reverse chronic diseases. In the centuries-old debate about nature vs. nurture, we are learning that nurture affects nature as much as nature affects nurture. It's not all in our genes.

Just Do It

http://countykerrylogic.blogspot.com/2008/06/just-do-it.html

A post from my good friend Kyoshi Bill Trumpler.

Bikini Effect

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/080610-bikini-effect.html

The Bikini Effect Makes Men Impulsive

By Robin Nixon, Special to LiveScience

Bikinis and other sexy stimuli can make men more prone to seek immediate gratification — leading to blown diets, budgets and bank accounts, new research suggests.

In the study, detailed in the Journal of Consumer Research, men alternately fondled t-shirts and bras (which were not being worn during the test). After touching the bras, men valued the future less and the present more, said lead researcher Bram Van Den Bergh of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium. Viewing ads with women in bikinis had the same effect.

It wasn't that the men were simply distracted by their sexual arousal, which caused them to choose more impulsively. On the contrary, they exhibited improved cognition and creativity after exposure to sexy stimuli.

The researchers conclude that there is one common appetite system in the brain monitoring our desire for a host of pleasures from sweets to pretty faces, alcohol to lotto winnings. When it is stimulated by, say, a sexy picture or the smell of baked goods, we experience a general craving for anything pleasant. "Basically, you just want to be rewarded," explained Barbara Briers, a researcher at HEC Paris School of Management. Briers, who has conducted related research, was not involved with this study.

Baby Boy

Officially announcing the birth of Evan Llewellen Cox at 3:30pm today 06/07/08. 8lbs 15oz and 22 inches long (but he'll grow into it) ;)