I wonder what everyone is going to do tomorrow. I think some people are going to make the journey to Ground zero to take part in the opening or the memorial. I think some people are going to watch the memorial on television and pay their respects to all those lost.

I think there will be some people will need to think about the day for a moment then they will move on without another though, mostly becaus they don’t want to think about it or the day did not affect them as much as other people. Then I think there will be those people who will not even know that the day had anything special going on. I just wonder what people will end up doing.

As for me, I spent some time writing a poem about a little rabbit who experienced the destruction of the two towers. I intend to spend my day making sure as many people as possible can go visit my poem and comment about how that poem made them feel. Please take a moment to visit and read A “9 11 Rabbit“

So for the next 100 days i will be writing down, and then typing it out every day!

stay tuned!

   The first thing you need to do is to get a notebook and a pen and put them right next to your bed,along with an alarm clock.You should set the alarm to beep 2.30 hours after you go asleep,and 2.30 hours after that.Each time you wake up you should record the dream in your journal.After a few days your dreams would start coming in greater and greater details.Just keep doing it.

   Next thing you should do is reality checking.You can do that by closing your nostrils and trying to breathe,which is possible when you’re dreaming,checking a written thing twice-I suggest you look at your watch twice when you check your time,and I guess you can pinch yourself too.You should do this all the time.There’s a pretty big chance that the habbit will consist in the dreams,thus giving you lucidity when it goes wrong.

   After you’ve recorded a couple of dreams you should look for dream signs.Those are things that always consist in your dreams.Mine’s a special type of guitar and the Necronomicon.Find out what yours are and explore them.Spend a few moments thinking about them,and naturally do a reality check everytime you see them.

   The last thing you should do after a week or something is set your alarm to wake you up 6 hours after you’ve went to sleep.You should get up,spend 80 minutes doing something else,spend 10 minutes going to sleep,and in the moment you go to sleep you’ll be in a lucid dream.Enjoy!

  Those few things should get you in a circle of non-stop lucid dreaming.But if afterwards you’re still not getting there you could use a few more things:

    Vitamins-There are some herbs that help you enter a lucid dream.A pack of multivitamins should do the job for you.I’ve heard that mixing vodka with valerian and giniseng and kava-kava could get you in one,but the herb that really does the job is Calea Zachatechi.It’s the herb aztecs used to speak to their gods.You can find a local supplier or order some off the internet.

   WILD-Wake Induced Lucid Dream.Generally you go to bed,breathe heavily,you don’t move and wait for the moment when you paralyze.The problem is that you should stay calm,and that’s kinda hard.20-30 minutes should get you in a lucid dream.

Take care and enjoy your dreaming,Ncite

1. Every night, just before going to bed, try to recall all the activities that you did that day in the same order of happening-easy.

2. Try to stay concious of what you are doing, i.e. do things knowingly-intermediate.

3. Meditate for some time by following your breathing pattern. You’ll, at a point, forget yourself but this does not last long and all your wavering thoughts come back. As your concentration level increases, you’ll be able to stay without any thought for longer but it’ll still feel short to you as you now have higher mental power-hard. 

Please read my other articles at http://adf.ly/4OjN or http://hpgarticles.blogspot.com/

Image via http://images.stanzapub.com/readers/2009/09/06/questionmark_1.jpg

When you know something and forget it, your sub-conscience will continue looking for their name, information, etc. It may take it a few hours, days or even months, buy it will find it. You may not really remember why you just thought of a name like John, but your brain will find out who the person is.

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When you are in an exam or test, and you forget an answer that you knew in the morning, don’t panic and start thinking over and over for the word! If you do, it will take you longer to find the answer! You say to yourself, “Ok, I can get this, I will remember this.” Then continue to the next question. If you do that, your sub-conscience will get the answer faster.

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Hope this useful to you,

Cheers!

• Numbers – Break long numbers down into meaningful chunks. For instance, a checking account number 1048630 is easier to remember if you think of it as 10:48 (time for midmorning snack) and 6:30 (dinner time).

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• Shopping Lists – Visualize your house with a giant version of each item in various rooms; a huge egg in the kitchen, a big loaf of bread in the bedroom, etc. When shopping, mentally scan your house to recall your list.

• Household Chores and Errands – Don’t try to remember that you must mail a letter. Instead, place the letter near the door so you will see it as you leave.

• Mnemonics and Acronyms – Make up a verse or phrase to remember facts. For example, “On March 15, 1521, the Philippines was (re)discovered by Magellan.” A well known acronym is ROY G. BIV. They stand for the colors of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).

• Visualize – A mental image is a picture you make up that includes the information you want to remember. Making up images is a very good way to learn and to recall. For instance, if you park your car in spot 4B, think of 4 bananas.

• Write it Down – In a survey of memory experts, their top technique for not forgetting was the simplest – makes notes. Writing forces you to focus your attention and also provides a backup in case your memory fails. Some people recall the appearance of the note, and then they remember the items on it.

1. Pay attention. Most people with poor memories suffer from a lack of attention rather than poor retention. Focus on what is being said. Use the PEN technique demonstrated today.
2. Visualize what you want to remember. Snap a photo of the new person you met alongside an image of what they discussed.
3. Exaggerate what you want to remember. Make outlandish associations, devise funny reminders, use rhymes, etc.
4. Practice using the person’s name silently as you listen. Ask questions. Practice makes permanent, if not perfect.
5. End the conversation by tagging on the person’s name, “Have a good trip, Mr. Smith.”
6. Pair the name with a vivid picture that the name suggests. See Mr. Baker with a loaf of bread, Mr. Carpenter with a saw; also link the name: Jack Frost, Mary Poppins, Fred Flint stone, etc.
7. Remember the SUAVE system: Say, Use, Ask, Visualize, and End
8. Train yourself to be more observant when meeting a new person. Try to reduce clutter in your life.
9. Write things down. Keep lists, calendars, diaries.
10. Learn to forget! “May you never forget what is worth remembering and may you never remember what is best forgotten.”

We probably all remember some useful acronyms from our school years, useful for remembering groups names for places, historical events, etc. One of easiest and most useful acronyms is for remembering the names of the five Great Lakes that border between the U.S. and Canada. The names of The Great Lakes are of course “Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior” and the acronym is of course, H.O.M.E.S. The above is a good example of an acronym. A “mnemonic” (a short phrase) is also especially helpful for lengthy lists or tasks that need to be remember in a correct order.

Remembering the animal classification order from Biology was pretty difficult (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species) but a mnemonic sentence makes it easy. Just think “King Phillip Can Only Find His Green Shoes” and you just nailed it! The classification for human beings adds another mnemonic; “Anthropology Can Make People Hate Helping (the) Sick” for “Anamalia, Cordata, Mamalis, Primate, Hominidae, Homo Sapiens.”

Acronyms that Became Common Words

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SCUBA, Although now considered to be a word of its own right, the acronym “Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus” is what this acronym originally stood for. The idea of an atmospheric rebreather was conceived by Alexander Lodygin but it was the open-circuit units developed jointly by Emile Gagnan and Jacques-Yves Cousteau that brought this device to teh familiar commercial success. “S.C.U.B.A.” was the term that the military gave to this device when it was being used by U.S. combat frogmen for underwater warfare during the Second World War. It takes government oversight on a project or product to produce a suitably complicated name, eh?

LASER is another acronym that became a word of its own standing. Originally the acronym “L.A.S.E.R.” meant “Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” –This one definitely sounds like a government project to me.

JEEP: Originally, the military vehicle with the designation “G.P.” (General Purpose) was given, but shortened to the phonetisized and easier to say/easier to remember “Jeep.” While not really an acronym, it was born of one.

SNAFU: Yet another military expression which allegedly stood for “Situation Normal, All (****’d) Up” Okaaaay… And it is true even to this very day.

BYOB: Bring Your Own Beer. I think everyone has heard of this one but we needed to lighten the mood a bit.  

Music Related Acronyms

Musical notation upon a 5-lined horizontal staff entails where notes are written is generally called “sheet music.” Being able to read the notes on the line is a start; the notes which are “E-G-B-D-F” are memorable with the short verse “Every Good Boy Does Fine.”

Tuning a 6-string guitar is fairly easy and knowing the open-plucked notes of “E-A-D-G-B-E” and it is memorable if you believe that “Elephants And Donkeys Grow Big Ears.”  

Commercial Acronyms, Company Trademarks and Names

IKEA One often hears that “IKEA” is Swedish for “common sense.” This comes from an old television commercial and it is not what this acronym really means. This Swedish home furnishing retail store chain derives it name from the first/last initials of its founder, and the initials of the farm and of the village where he grew up. The founder’s name is “Ingnar Kamprad and the farm is Elmtaryd (now spelled “Älmtaryd”) and the village is Agunnaryd.

Mr. Kamprad is according to Forbes Magazine the wealthiest name in Europe, worth over US$22 Billion Dollars. This also makes him the 5th wealthiest person in the world accordingly to sources. The retail chain IKEA offers affordable, simple and innovative home furnishings. Their company mantra is one of frugality and enthusiasm. Hmm, -it really sounds like common sense to me.

IBM

International Business Machines, of course. We all know that one. In the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, a malfunctioning sentient computer that operated everything (including life support systems) on the deep space craft DISCOVERY begins to malfunction and one by one, kills the occupant astronauts through a series of obtuse ‘accidents.’ This psychotic and malfunctioning computer’s name was “H.A.L.”

Arthur C. Clarke supposedly created a genuine meaning for the name but the letters “H-A-L” are just one letter different from the sequence “I-B-M.” It has always been rumored that this was the implied intention. Whenever my computer ‘freezes’ and nothing responds anymore, I have been known to scream “Open the pod door, HAL” in the general direction of the computer screen or, “IBM!” Yes, -“I Blame Microsoft!”

Some Humorous Automotive Industry Acronyms

• GM/GMC: Grinding Metal/ Gotta Mechanic Coming?
• Chevy (CHEVROLET): Can Hear Every Valve Rattling On Long Extended Trips
• Olds (OLDSMOBILE): Old Lady Driving Slow Makes Others Behind Irrevocably Late Everyday.
• FORD: Fast Only Rolling Downhill
• and notably, the Ford PINTO: Put In New Transmission Often
• TOYOTA: The One You Ought To Avoid

And I’m sure there are dozens more.

Mnemonics From the World of LINUX

I despise Microsoft and what it stands for and have been slowly moving towards ‘open source’ alternatives. Anything non-M$, I say. Linux operating systems have caught my attention and I dabble with different distros from time to time. It is not that a Linux Operating Systems never ‘hangs’ or ‘freezes’ (it can happen) but when it does a mnemonic comes to mind that involves a series of ordered hotkeys used in combination with the seldom used “SysRq” key (the key above your computer’s “insert” key) can rescue your system. The Mnemonic is:

Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring

or the more obligatory;

Reboot Even If System Utterly Broken

The purpose here is to recover from a ‘lock’ or ‘frozen’ state, cumulating in a reboot of the computer in an ordered fashion so that it does not corrupt the file system. This mnemonic for the user tells the series of sequential hotkey-commands to be carried out in this order to repair the system.

• Alt + SysRq + R – takes the keyboard out of raw mode
• Alt + SysRq + E – terminates all processes (except init)
• Alt + SysRq + I – kills all processes (except init)
• Alt + SysRq + S – synchronizes the disk
• Alt + SysRq + U – remounts all  file systems read-only
• Alt + SysRq + B – reboots the machine

What is the “SysRq” key for? Most people never get to use this one.

“SysRq” stands for “System request” and is an invocation for a special BIOS routine that was designed to not interfere with any resident/running software. Unlike most other computer keys when pressed, “SysRq” input is not stored in the keyboard buffer when pressed and released. A ‘do no harm’ key was the intent.

In the Linux “R.E.I.S.U.B” invocation, one CAN swap the order of “disk synchronization” (Alt + SysRq + S) with the previous one “kill all processes” (Alt + SysRq + I) with no ill effects. Either way this recovery from a frozen state using these hotkey combinations should be carried out slowly, allowing the system to complete each step fully before advancing to the next required step. Utterly boring indeed …unless your Linux system is ’frozen’ or otherwise non-responsive.

At any rate believe me it still beats pressing the WinKey or WINDOWS key (located next to either “Alt” key on most modern keyboards) plus another ‘hotkey’ waiting for some worthless shortcut or event to occur. I loathe the WinKey addition that M$ has forced upon keyboard manufacturers since their creation of Windows_95.

Most of the time I would accidentally tap the WinKey and totally mess-up whatever it was I was working on, often losing the document completely. I removed both of my WinKeys and busted their respective ‘tails’ off so that they cannot ‘touch’ the dip switch beneath them, and using adhesive glue, reinserted them solid to the keyboard chassis. They are both non-functioning decorative-only keys now and I love it that way!

Back to the Linux acronym primer, a shorter alternative to “R.E.I.S.U.B.” can be done using just two triads of hotkeys; the “Alt+SysRq+R” and allow the function to take the keyboard out of run-mode, followed by “Ctrl+Alt+Del.” This method actually may take longer to perform, and not all Linux systems support this shortened 2-part sequence so it is probably good to know both methods.

But in fairness to Microsoft, they are trying to improve their operating system and software and it is widely believed that [sic] later this summer they will throw massive time and effort into writing yet another Service Pack solution, this time to ward against that pesky Y2K bug that they have heard rumors about.

I hope you have enjoyed this short missive on acronyms and mnemonics as much as I have enjoyed educating you lower life forms. My linear designation is “Trained Heavily for Exploitation, Seriously Transformed Individual Calibrated for Killing, Mayhem And Nullification” but you may simply call me “thestickman.”

One of the most important things in any relationship is communication. Let’s face guys, women just don’t understand grunts and one syllable utterances like other guys do, so therefore it is important for us to learn how to speak complete sentences when we are talking to our significant other. If your significant other asks you about your day, “fine,” “good,” or “crappy” are not good answers unless they are followed up by a more expanded explanation of why it was like that. Remember, they aren’t asking because they want to be ignored or that you might randomly spout out the winning numbers for the lottery, they are asking because they want to know about your day. Ya know, so you can bond and get closer as a couple. Isn’t that why are you in a relationship in the first place?

Another important part of a relationship is don’t fart on your significant other. I know, it got a whole bunch of laughs from the other guys, but let’s face it, they stink. Research has proven that although women are turned on by the smell of a sweaty man, they are not turned on by a stinky man. Maybe if it is a rare thing and done in a joking manner it will slide by with no significant impact, but make a daily ritual and you can say goodbye to her faster than a monkey on fire*. Surprisingly, it took me a few months to find this out on my own. At first it was just a comfort thing that I did out of habit. Then one day she mentioned that they were gross. This goes back to the communication thing. You will never be done learning about your significant other, so when you learn something new about them, commit it to memory forever! I know that I am asking a lot on this point, but trust me, if you can remember even half of the things about her, it will be well worth it in the long run.

Which brings me to the next important thing in a relationship. Remember as much as you can about your significant other, but most importantly the important things. Things like birthdays, anniversaries, what she is deathly allergic to. These things may seem small to you, but to her they are more important than anything you hold dear…like your Xbox 360 (or PS3, car, 57′ DLP flat screen TV, etc.). Have a hard time remembering these facts? Write it down, put it in your phone, have someone scream them at you, whatever you need to do to remember these things! For one thing, this proves to her that you don’t think of her as just some person that spends a crap ton of time with you. For another, it shows her that you have allocated a section of your memory that usually stores sports scores, Halo 3 stats, or how to rebuild a tank engine (you never know when that will come in handy). These are things that you may think are beneath your notice, but are really important to her. Also remember that any small part of your relationship that has happened, been said, or noticed at all by her will be remembered and brought back to haunt you at any random time and usually in the middle of a fight. Which makes me wonder…

How in the f@(! do you women remember some of this s#!7! I know that my wife has dropped, in casual conversation, things that I said in passing months ago that I forgot 10 seconds after I said it. Hell, I’d forget what was on the grocery list for Walmart if the only thing on it was underwear! So how do you expect me to remember what I compared your eyes to the first night that we met? Or even 10 minutes ago?! Unless something like winning the lottery happened right before I said it or it was something easy like, “Your eyes are like squishy eyeballs.” don’t expect us men to remember anything more than we have met before and that we seem to be still be getting along since you are still talking to us. Anything more than that and you are expecting a lot, which means that if we do remember it, we had better get laid that night!

Everything that I have mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg, so expect more tips as I learn them and pass them on to you.

*(no monkeys were harmed in the writing and research of this blog)

(Mnemonic glyphs from Giordano Bruno’s Ars Memoriae (The Art of Memory) 1582)

Back through the mists of time, we suddenly find ourselves 500 years B.C. in ancient Greece where philosophy and wisdom first took root. This impressive society is also the first to form the concept of civilization and culture, and first to form a nation. Here the first trappings of science can be found.

South lies Athens where wise thinkers spend their time contemplating the nature of the universe. Their thoughts are kindled by what they can see. There is so little light pollution that the stars and the milky way shine bright in the sky. The delicate embroidery of the stars can be seen in humbling detail. Constellations jump out at the awestruck stargazers.

Across the street a man stands at the entrance to the banqueting hall, clearly enjoying the crisp night time air, speaking with a messenger, taking a break from the festivities inside. You recognize the man as Simonides, famous poet, but you do not recognize the messenger who is a stranger to the city. With terrifying suddenness thunder echoes through the streets. Disaster strikes, and the building behind Simonides collapses. A stunned silence permeates the streets as those few who happened to be close by pause and watch, helpless in those moments of incomprehension. Simonides himself stands aghast at the sight of the collapsed hall. He had been inside it only moments ago.

People rush to the scene, and pull the rubble from the collapsed building. They struggle through the night searching for survivors but to no avail. The diners lie crushed under the rubble, unrecognizable. Simonides is the only person to survive the banquet.

Now all that remains to be done is to offer the unfortunate diners proper funeral rites, but this presents a problem. Each is crushed beyond recognition and yet no family wishes to perform the rites for a stranger. If they cannot recognize their loved ones, then no rites can take place. Why should such expensive rites be for the benefit a stranger?

Simonides finds that by mentally imagining the banquet hall the way it was, and taking a walk around this imagined scene in his head, he is able to remember perfectly the position of each of them. Astounded by his own feat of memory, and wondering if he could employ it in other uses, Simonides tries to understand the techniques behind it. In doing so, the ancient and fascinating art of mnemonics is born. What happened next is best told by Cicero;

“He inferred that persons desiring to train this faculty must select places and form mental images of the things they wish to remember and store those images in the places, so that the order of the places will preserve the order of the things, and the images of the things will denote the things themselves, and we shall employ the places and images respectively as a wax writing-tablet and the letters written on it. (Cicero, De Oratore, II, lxxxvi – translation: Sutton & Rackham, 1942).”

In the ancient world such mnemonics became popular, until everyone could remember torrents of information as easily as our computers do today. Unfortunately such techniques died out gradually until at last, during the middle ages, only the scholarly monks such as the Jesuit missionaries were aware of them.

One such missionary was a man called Matteo Ricci, who in 1578 departed from Lisbon in Portugal on a journey to far off lands. He arrived in Goa which was at that time a Portuguese Colony, in September of 1578, where he remained for 4 years. In 1582 Ricci was dispatched to China.

Using the techniques his teachers at the Jessuit college had taught him he learned the Chinese language and became one of the few western scholars to master the very difficult Chinese classical script. Indeed, he was able to read a Chinese book, and then read it forwards or backwards word for word, such was his power of memory thanks to the art of mnemonics. Added to this his own appreciation and respect for indigenous Chinese culture, and one need not wonder why Chinese leaders and scholars were so impressed by him. The powerful Chinese families, noting Ricci’s remarkable feats of memory, all sent their sons to study with him so that they would not be at a dissadvantage. In the course of these lessons Ricci was able to influence them towards Christianity. It has been said that Matteo Ricci was the most successful Missionary ever, in terms of the sheer number of people he converted. He achieved this thanks in part to the ancient art of mnemonics, and the amazing feats of memory that gave him such high standing in Chinese culture as a great Scholar and teacher.

Meanwhile Giordano Bruno, then staying in Paris, published several works on mnemonics, including De umbris idearum (On The Shadows of Ideas, 1582), Ars Memoriae (The Art of Memory, 1582), and Cantus Circaeus (Circe’s Song, 1582). All of which were based on his models of organised mnemonics for knowledge and experience. Thus it was Bruno who finally pinned down Mnemonics, ensuring its survival into the modern age.

It remained a little known, though effectively utilised art, which filted down through circles of learned scholars until finally being popularized, first by British historian Frances A. Yates’s 1966 book ‘The Art of Memory’, and then again by the psychologist, educational consultant (and proponent of mental literacy) Tony Buzan, in a 1970s tv series for the BBC and then dozens of books.

Mnemonics, no longer a dry academic discipline taught by monks, is now popular among children and students, colleges and universities. Amazingly it is possible to teach anyone how to use mnemonics to remember any amount of information, and so it has become another welcome technique to help people learn all the information thrown at them in the course of their studies, and gain excellent results by the end of them.