Today, my horoscope said that I should eat kiwis. Reading that made me hungry for kiwis, and I had some in the kitchen, so I guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Weekend Kumquats
Did you ever have a weekend where EVERYTHING BREAKS AT THE SAME TIME? That was my weekend. I guess it was just 2 things- my iPad charger and the power cord to my laptop, but still extremely annoying. Why is the cheapest power cord $50? Seriously. It's a cord, not a laptop.
I was cheered up somewhat by kumquats. I have been endeavoring to replace all my normal snackies with fruit, and I'm getting a little tired of just the staples (apples, oranges, bananas), so I have branched out into blueberries and strawberries and the like. Recently, I found kumquats on sale at the store. Given the chance to have the funniest fruit in the English language, how could I not get them? Despite their hilarious name, kumquats are nice little fruits. They look like tiny orange rugby balls and they taste like sweettarts, so pretty good for snacking. And then I get to laugh at them because they are called "kumquats." Also, there is a dancing kumquat on the box label, which is just silly.
Hee hee. Kumquats.
I was cheered up somewhat by kumquats. I have been endeavoring to replace all my normal snackies with fruit, and I'm getting a little tired of just the staples (apples, oranges, bananas), so I have branched out into blueberries and strawberries and the like. Recently, I found kumquats on sale at the store. Given the chance to have the funniest fruit in the English language, how could I not get them? Despite their hilarious name, kumquats are nice little fruits. They look like tiny orange rugby balls and they taste like sweettarts, so pretty good for snacking. And then I get to laugh at them because they are called "kumquats." Also, there is a dancing kumquat on the box label, which is just silly.
Hee hee. Kumquats.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Snakes and sweaters
I would like to dedicate this post to Yig. Yig is a snake god from the Lovecraftian mythos. Although he is scary in the stories, he isn't in my meditations. Yig is happy when his followers exercise and eat food that is healthy for them. Yig is especially fond of dancers, and likes music with a strong beat. Those who follow Yig aspire to the lean form and grace of a snake. All snakes are his children and he cares for them.
Snakes appear as part of the caduceus, the symbol of Aesclepius, the Greek god of Healing. Also, snakes can be "milked" for their venom, which can then be studied and turned into medicine.
I have been meditating on Yig since about September of last year. It makes me feel encouraged to make better choices and more inspired in my dancing. When a make a nice crock pot meal, I feel good about the nutrition it gives me, and I can also imagine Yig using it as a heat rock (after all, he IS a snake!), which is kind of silly.
So, enjoy a night of dancing, and eat a few green things and lean meats.
On another note, I recently went to the Armani store in the mall, and saw a very pretty $400 sweater. The stitches are very simple, so I will be making a version of the sweater with some yarn I have already. One difference is that while the store sweater is white and silver, the one I plan to make will be off-white and gold. I think it will work better with my coloring, and I would have to buy extra yarn to make an exact copy. I intend to return to the store soon to study the construction of the collar. Pics when it's done!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Emergence
As I was driving back to my apartment from my parents' house after New Year's, I was listening to biology lectures from the Teaching Company. The man on the tape was talking about the idea of emergence.
Emergence is the idea that something can be greater then the sum of its parts. For example, a neuron by itself, or even a bunch of cultured neurons is not a brain. By studying the neuron alone, one can never fully understand the brain. This is true to some degree for every level of complexity, from atoms to molecules to polymers to cells to organs to the organism, but the organism is not the highest level of complexity. We all live in our immediate environment which is part of a planet, a solar system, a galaxy, a universe.
This morning, I went to yin yoga and we picked cards from the Goddess Oracle, and used them as part of our meditation. On the way back, I was thinking about oracles in general, and emergence. The idea of all divination tools, especially cards and runes, is that the universe has a pattern, and when a random element is introduced, it will naturally follow that universal pattern.
We use these oracles to attempt to understand the pattern of the universe as it applies to us: our future or our relationship to the forces we perceive as gods. So, the question is "What does a neuron know of the thoughts of the brain? What can it know?"
Emergence is the idea that something can be greater then the sum of its parts. For example, a neuron by itself, or even a bunch of cultured neurons is not a brain. By studying the neuron alone, one can never fully understand the brain. This is true to some degree for every level of complexity, from atoms to molecules to polymers to cells to organs to the organism, but the organism is not the highest level of complexity. We all live in our immediate environment which is part of a planet, a solar system, a galaxy, a universe.
This morning, I went to yin yoga and we picked cards from the Goddess Oracle, and used them as part of our meditation. On the way back, I was thinking about oracles in general, and emergence. The idea of all divination tools, especially cards and runes, is that the universe has a pattern, and when a random element is introduced, it will naturally follow that universal pattern.
We use these oracles to attempt to understand the pattern of the universe as it applies to us: our future or our relationship to the forces we perceive as gods. So, the question is "What does a neuron know of the thoughts of the brain? What can it know?"
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