If you look very closely, you can see that there is a lovely mixture of sleet/rain/snow coming down today. I’d just like to point out that it’s May 22nd.
Mmmmm…
Mind Over Matter
“The idea that I can make my body do anything I really want it to do, such as making the pain go away completely, is a form of the myth of control, a childish belief in the omnipotence of what I want…”
….
In reality, there are limits to how the mind can influence pain, with mental distractions and emotional cues sometimes working temporarily, but not able to endure over long periods of time. The truth is that distraction and emotion can help relieve any problem in the short term, not just pain. A soldier on the front lines can temporarily forget about his divorce or financial problems or gonorrhea – at least while a hand grenade is being lobbed in his direction.
From All in My Head
I have often been told to meditate to learn to control my pain. It doesn’t help.
Another dentist appointment
I went to get yet another cavity filled yesterday. My housemate, Jane, had an appointment just before mine, so we rode the bus there together. I know riding the bus is a mundane experience for most people, but I really enjoy it. I always feel like I’m setting off on some adventure. This distracts me from the terrible fact that I’m usually going to the dentist.
The day before yesterday I again failed at taking a picture. But I have no problems cheating. I’ll just post two from yesterday!
My dentist isn’t friendly, but he’s really quick and doesn’t skimp on the numbing. Also, he’s cheap. While half my face was paralyzed for a few hours, I didn’t feel a thing while my tooth was getting filled.
And this is a picture that was supposed to be of the moon behind some clouds, but is instead mostly a picture of the lights at Thorpe Park.
the power of self destructive acts
We have been taught that self-destruction is an awful thing. “it is bad,” we’ve been told by therapists, psychologists, and those who do not understand its seduction. I would like to edit that. Instead of “it is bad,” I would like for it to read, “It is.” It is what we do naturally. We smoke too much, we drink too muc, we drive sobbing in the rain. Our hearts break and we do not eat. At times we drink to forget, and at times we forget for years.
These are our imperfections. They are not who we are, they are simply the things that form us.
…
[It] is the deppest thing, the worst thing, and it could possibly be the thing that destroys you. But it could be possibly be the thing that makes you as well.
From Live Through This
Flagstaff to Phoenix (and back again)
I drove down to Phoenix yesterday with a friend. The landscape is otherworldly most of the way – I’m still not used to living in a volcanic region. Even more interesting though, are the changes caused by the elevation drop – Phoenix is 6000 feet lower than Flagstaff. The flora changes dramatically. We started in ponderosa pine and aspen, dropped into the pinyon-juniper woodlands, and ended up in desert scrub.
While the elevation change induced a much worse migraine than normal, the trip was worth it. Not only did I get to see the cool flora changes, I got to see someone I’ve been missing, which was very wonderful.
Breaking old habits: fossil fuels
Several people have told me that solar and/or windpower are useless because the amount of energy necessary to manufacture them is less than the energy they can output over the entire life of the device. That’s uninformed nonsense.
And don’t try the “it’s too expensive” argument either because now solar is actually cheaper than coal. Which is a very very good thing considering that if we don’t get CO2 levels down to around 350 ppm real fast, we’re in real trouble.
Wind and solar aren’t the be all and end all of clean energy either. My city uses poop to generate power at the waste treatment plant.