Spent some time answering a question on Quora to start my day creating instead of consuming (recommended by Seth Godin), check it out here.
Quora 1
27 03 2012Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: diet, exercise, fitness, health, quora
Categories : Health
The first rule of stirring
26 03 2012Make sure you scrape the bottom.
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Tags: stirring
Categories : Thoughts
The human brain can’t comprehend infinity
25 03 2012
The other day I was watching “The Big Bang Theory” and Sheldon said something along the lines of:
“If there are an infinite number of alternate universes, there is one in which I don’t believe in alternate universes.”
It only takes a little imagination to see the stupidity in that comment. There would actually an infinite number of universes in which Sheldon didn’t believe in alternate universes. There would also be an infinite number of universes that are exactly the same as this one. And an infinite number different by 1 event, or 1 second, or 1 nano second. Etc.
Anyway, just some weird thoughts of mine.
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Categories : Thoughts
Self Experimentation: Sleeping on the ground
22 03 2012
"You should be sleeping on a wooden board for at least a week!"
I’ve decided to experiment with sleeping on the ground. The idea first came to me, oddly enough, from watching Seinfeld. Kramer realigns Elaine’s spine, she gets hurt again from sleeping on her mattress and Kramer says something like, “you should be sleeping on a wooden board for at least a week! It’s common sense!” After thinking about it a bit, I wondered, why do we need beds anyway? I don’t imagine humans evolved sleeping on beds, I mean imagine following a heard of antelope and lugging around a 50 pound mattress. At best we slept on grass or some kind of mat, at worst the ground. That was my main jumping off point for trying this experiment. After already deciding to try this experiment I did a little reading, such as this article, but for the most part I’m trying it out to sate my own curiosity.
You’re probably thinking, “you’re crazy Russell! Everyone sleeps on a mattress, why even try?” Here are a few of my reasons:
- My bed is extravagant, and I’m striving to be as minimalist as possible.
- Sleeping on the ground takes up a lot less room, and all of my sleeping gear can be folded up and stored if more space is necessary. My room feels much more open without my queen sized bed taking up the bulk of it.
- If I am able to sleep on the ground, I can sleep anywhere in the world and not have to worry about it. I won’t be reliant on my bed for a good night’s rest.
- There may be possible benefits, some outlined in this article. Any benefits, aside from those listed above, would ancillary and are not the main reason for my experiment.
Below is a photo of the setup I’m going to be trying. I have a camping mat, a bed cover, a sheet, a fleece blanket, and a comforter (these two blankets are good enough for southern California). Note: I started on 3-19-12.
Since this is an experiment I should have some kind of hypothesis. Hypothesis: sleeping in this situation will result no negative change, ie back problems, problems sleeping, etc. I will note any differences in my life in future blog posts or on my ongoing experiment page.
Ciao – Russell
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: experiment, ground, seinfeld, self experimentation, sleep
Categories : Body, Health, Lifehacking, Self Experimentation
Get an Alpha Site
20 03 2012The Walking Dead spoiler alert.
I was pissed off while watching the latest episode of “The Walking Dead”. They get overrun by zombies and had ZERO plans. I mean, you have to figure that living, nay surviving, a few months into a freaking zombie apocalypse indicates they have some brains, but no. They are overrun, they have no escape plan, they have no defenses, they have no place to meet up if they get separated. Defenses take time to set up (I think they should have obtained a backhoe and dug a dry moat, since zombies can’t climb), but how long does it take to say to each other, let’s escape through this path if we are overrun and meet up 2 miles down this road? About 5 seconds.
Anyway, the foolishness of “The Walking Dead” aside, I was reminded of a great idea from Stargate which I wanted to share: the Alpha site. The Alpha site is a secondary base that’s separate from one’s main base. It serves many purposes:
- If you are tracked, you will not reveal your main base, but instead your secondary base.
- If you suspect you have been infected with something, you can go into quarantine in your secondary base.
- If your main base is taken out or in some way disabled, you have the infrastructure already installed at your Alpha site to take over command.
- A place to send refugees.
Such a thing is probably not necessary in everyday life, unless you’re the POTUS, but we can learn a few lessons from the idea.
- Typically, you don’t want to sell stuff out of your house on craigslist. Saying something like, “buy my huge TV! You just have to pick it up at 123 Fake Street!” makes you a huge target.
- If you feel you are being followed or stalked, don’t go home, go to a neutral location (ie a friends house or perhaps Denny’s).
- Have copies of your important documents somewhere that isn’t your house. A safety deposit box, a safe at a family member’s house, etc. Some extra cash never hurt anyone either. You probably don’t have to go as far as having a weapons cache a la Burn Notice.
- Have a designated spot to meet up with family in the event of a disaster that destroys your home. Also a good idea to pick such a spot while on a trip, snowboarding, etc.
Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: alpha site, lessons learned, stargate, the walking dead
Categories : Recliner of Rage