Cool beans! :D Someone has bought stock on this blog in BlogShares. Not much volume but I'm listed on the exchange! W00t!

The best gift we can give our children is the wonder of science and the clarity of mind that comes with skepticism.

An important article on Recognising Pseudoscience from Confessions of a Quackbuster.

Extracts:

Pseudo-science poses as science but has no solid empirical evidence to substantiate its claims. Millions of U.S. citizens believe in various forms of pseudo-science and often are willing to part with hard-earned cash to receive the purported benefits.

Although many forms of pseudo-science are relatively harmless, they promote careless, mystical thinking that can lead people into poor decision making.

Being willing and able to recognize pseudoscience requires an understanding of scientific methods and related habits of mind. Skepticism is one of the important habits of mind promoted by science and a need for credible evidence is another. When someone makes claims that seem hard to believe we should require that person to provide the evidence upon which the claims rest.

The problem with pseudoscience is it deceives people into believing that for which there is no reliable evidence, using the cloak of science in the process. Simplistic solutions are offered in place of carefully-conducted scientific studies and those who want to believe in these simple solutions are often relieved of their hard-earned money. In spite of the impressive accomplishments of science in understanding our natural world, including ourselves, people remain highly susceptible to claims for which there is little or no evidence.

Pseudoscience not only robs people of their money, it interferes with their chance to become more scientifically literate.

Practical advice from the legend Bruce Campbell on Becoming an Actor or a Screenwriter.

A study on 9/11 babies suggests that children may have inherited stress disorders from mothers during pregnancy. A similar study was conducted in Finland in 1978.

Excerpts from the study:

Previous studies have shown that traumatised mothers are more likely to have children that develop stress disorders themselves. But this has often been blamed on parents recounting their experiences to children.

"Because the babies were about a year old at the time of testing, this suggests the trauma effect transfer may have to do with very early parent-child attachments, cortisol 'programming' in the womb, or shared genetic susceptibility," says Jonathan Seckl, of the University of Edinburgh.

He adds that the reduced cortisol levels were particularly seen in women who were in their third trimester of pregnancy when the attacks occurred. "That seems much more biological than about delivering care," Seckl told New Scientist.

My boss has always wondered why I perpetually listen to one song over and over. It grates his nerves so I wear earphones. He still thinks I'm strange. I find that the mind hack below does work for me, probably has all my life. It helps me focus and enjoy the song at the same time. Kind of like lulling a baby to sleep with a lullaby methinks.

Here goes Matt Doar's hack tip via Mind Hacks.

My hack/tip/thing that makes people look at me oddly, useful for when I'm working on a large piece of software, an activity which involves holding a lot of related abstract information in your head. Here it is:

1. Pick one tune or one album that you like.

2. Listen to it while you develop the code. Over and over, on repeat. Listen to no other music. Headphones are a must for the office!

3. Don't listen to it again until ...

4. You need to work on the same code, then listen to it.

Lots of context returns with the tune and helps to write better code. One colleague suggested using scents too. Other colleagues (and my wife) just stared at me, then shook their heads sadly ;-)

Okay, so why Cryonics?

A couple of years ago, rather concerned over my impending demise (I am a bit of a busy body. I don't want to die. I'd like to stick around to see what happens.) I researched the field of cryonics and began plotting how I'd save US$25,000 (insurance payable to the cryonics institute is usually the easiest). And that was for a full-body freeze, not just the head. After all the argument goes that we kinda need the spine for some lightning-in-a-bottle charges so I thought I'd just freeze the whole package.

Life extension science is real. We're getting there. I expect China will be the world leader in stem cell therapy. Telomere research is heavily underway. I even have a couple hundred shares in Geron, which owns over 100 patents in telomere and other life extension research (the Marvel concept, but that's another story). Plus calorie restriction has been scientifically proven to work.

And hey, we are living longer. My grandmothers are over 90 (and little dizzy) but otherwise in fair health, and my parents are pushing the envelopes of 70 and still chirpy and planning trips around the south of China. Like they say, 30 is the new 20 (and I sure feel that way) and 40 is the new 30 (my sister sure feels that way), and 70 is the new 50 (my mom and aunt feel that way).

I have gone way off topic...

Anyhoo... yeah, freezing my body. A few technical issues.

Transporting my body to a cryo lab upon death is a tricky thing. The closest locale is Australia. Never mind.

Even if we could get it there in time, the local funeral parlors need to be trained to prepare the body (they couldn't even reply my email). It's not as simple as throwing it on ice but it works in cases of emergency. Since resuscitations have not yet been attempted due to our inferior technology in this field, it isn't something worth risking.

Third, the technology of freezing isn't perfected yet. When frozen with current technology our cells are irreversibly damaged. Until they can reverse it, it isn't terribly useful.

And that's the technical issues.

Now come the emotional issues. Waking up 100 years in a completely new world (imagine a person waking up today who was born and lived in 1905 - quite different). That's the fun part.

But then you realise you don't know anyone. All the people you knew and loved are gone. It crushes me to know that if I extend my life drastically, all my loved ones may well not be there (unless it is a worldwide life extension, which is cool) and I'll have to face life without them. That saddens me deeply.

Yes, there will be new families, friends, and new loves, but it won't be the same... and of course, that's what I say now but that is how I feel now. Perhaps if I am there, I would simply rejoice that I'll live through another age, which is cool too.

But honestly, that is the major drawback for me. Not the money, not the thawing (if it works and I don't explode like that senator in X-Men).

Plus we still have to die someday anyway, whether it is tomorrow, in 70 years, or in 700 or 70,000,000 when the Universe either expands forever and we freeze to death (or maybe adapt or get replaced by parts) or crushes into a singularity (ouch get squished). 'Course it'll be funner to stick around for the latter years.

I've attempted to convince everyone I love to get frozen with me but no one's bit. I suppose I could always freeze my cats when they pass on... cat cryo is available. Hmm...

Will our conservatism keep us alive long enough to reap the benefits of the new era of medicine?

In the brilliant article A Dose of the New Medical Reality, Dale Carrico addresses the emerging dilemmas of morphological freedom as medicine changes our lives and limits.

It was absolutely wonderful to see Joanne and Ser Mann again - the old flatmates back together. We reminisced about the good old days and noticed none of us look any difference than when we were back in Melbourne. :p

Jo loved the teddy bear I bought her and the sushi restaurant gave us a lovely table (I told them it was Jo's birthday) and we talked for hours. It was really good to catch up. We hadn't seen SM in 5 years! Time sure flies.

The evening reminded me how important good friends and good memories are. We parted, promising more frequent dinners and a possible dive trip together. It will be a ball to spend days on an island together. Just the three sisters running amok all over again!

Although I had to work yesterday, it has been a relaxing weekend. Lazed around a lot in bed reading and started piling a stack of them beside my bed for easy reading again.

I finished Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon for the zillionth time. I notice as time passes I see the characters in a different light. For the first time, I sympathised with Mary Beth Warner and admired her strength and fortitude.

Started reading a book called The 9 Emotional Lives of Cats (I think) for the second time. Wonderful reading. I dozed off last night though after the first couple of chapters.

Saturday evening I went to Action City to find a gift for Jo and ended up with a small Sylvanian Families dollhouse for my sister-in-law too. Dinner at Mos Burger away from the maddening crowd. Bought some groceries and then headed home.

Took pictures (I was togged up) with all the cats when we returned home last night! It was a rare treat. Even managed to catch Kaku to snap a few shots! :D

Then we watched Without a Paddle (I've loved Seth Green since he played Oz in Buffy) and found it immensely fun and delightful.

Friday night we had dinner near Malay Village after buying cat food at Julia's. She asked if I was interested to have my cats appear on a cat food can and immediately suggested Tuxie! :o We were such flattered parents. Yes! We said and promised to send her his picture over the weekend.