Is Being Wakeful in the Middle of the Night Part of Our Caveman-evolved Genetic Predisposition?

I found myself wakeful in the middle of the other night, restless and unable to relax.  I had too much energy to stay in bed, but the bed was warm, the house was cold, and I reminded myself that it was the middle of the night and I should be sleeping.

Then I started using the pair of statements I’d just learned from Dr. Dain Heer.  (www.drdainheer.com)  What an interesting opinion.  I hold that opinion.  It’s a great way to investigate what you think and ultimately why you think it:

It’s late.  I should be asleep.  What an interesting opinion.  I hold that opinion.  I thought back to where I acquired that opinion.  After all, babies – us in our most natural, uneducated state – do not sleep through the night.  One of the first things parents try to teach babies is "to sleep through the night!"  One of the questions most often asked of new parents is “Is the baby sleeping through the night yet?”  We justify it by saying that babies wake in the night because their stomachs are too small to hold enough food to keep them “full” for 5 or 6 or 8 hours.

But what if that’s not true?  During caveman times, keeping a fire stoked all night protected the tribe against predators and kept them all warm.  Even now in perilous times and locations, a group will post lookouts who take turns watching so the others can sleep.

So, what if babies were the caveman’s alarm system to remind someone:  “Get up here.  The fire’s dwindling and I’m getting cold!”  Those clans whose members were sound sleepers probably died out earlier than those with wakeful members where there was always someone willing to get up, add wood to the fire, check the perimeters, and, incidentally feed the baby.

So, next time you can’t sleep, thank your caveman ancestors and note:  What an interesting opinion.  I hold that opinion.  See where it takes you.

Global Warming: Myth, Truth, or Just Plain Stupidity?

As it gets colder in the northern hemisphere, people are constantly trotting out the question of global warming.  So let’s take a look at the idea.  There are all sorts of statistics available for those of you who crave such things, so I am not going to bother citing any of them here.  My issue on this question is more in the form of asking why people are so concerned about it when it is clear from geological evidence that the earth goes through cycles of warming and cooling.  We also go through cycles of “good” weather and “bad” weather which are tied to sunspot cycles…  None of these things have been mediated by humans.

But if we assume, for the sake of argument, that humans are responsible for the current changes in climate, let us look at one of the main culprits, in my own humble opinion:  the clothes dryer!  To get wet clothes dry, you need to add the heat of evaporation (or in winter, perhaps the heat of sublimation) to the clothes.  Clothes dryers typically heat the clothes way more than is necessary just to take the moisture out of them.  That’s why things are hot when they come out of the dryer and why you tend to burn yourself on the rivets in your jeans.  So clothes dryers use more energy than is needed to get the job done, which is a waste.

Now, electrical transmission lines are notoriously lossy systems.  This means that about 10 times the amount of energy needs to be generated just to get enough to you to do the job.  So on top of the extra energy that the dryer uses, the distribution system is using/wasting a bunch, too.  It’s pretty much the same thing with gas dryers.  The energy loss there is not in the transmission so much as in the fact that it takes a lot of energy to get the gas to a refinery, to refine it, and to get it to the individual consumer.

But consider the original solar- and wind-powered dryer:  a clothes line.  The sun and wind provide very little more energy to the clothes than is needed to dry them.  The clothes might heat a little more than necessary on a clothes line, but not enough to feel “hot.”  The kinetic energy lost when the wind stops blowing is probably negligible…  In addition, the use of the solar energy to evaporate or sublimate the moisture is using energy that would otherwise go into making the earth hotter – i.e., global warming.  So using a clothes line would theoretically contribute to global cooling more than warming.  So, if a person truly wanted to live a “green” lifestyle, why would they use a gas or electric clothes dryer in place of the original solar and wind-powered dryer:  a clothes line?  (Aside from the question of why pay to do something that you can get done for free.)

The only reason I can see is that we seem to be concerned that if we hang our clothes out on a line, the neighbors will see our underclothes which is embarrassing.  Now, people dried clothes outside for centuries with no one being embarrassed.  We dried clothes on clothes lines when you couldn’t show a bra on a human model unless it was worn outside the clothes – maybe you are old enough to remember the original “cross your heart” bras that were modeled by women wearing sweaters under the bras.  We hung clothes out on lines when it was considered unseemly for a bra strap or slip to show.  (If you saw a woman’s slip, you took her aside and quietly pointed it out to her in the same way you might tell a man that his fly was open.  She would then go to the ladies room to fix the problem.)

Nowadays, however, showing a bra strap is “no big deal” and may even be a fashion statement!  In fact, showing the whole bra on a body is no big deal.  So why is it a big deal to show it on a clothes line?  I just don’t get it and would love to hear your comments on the subject.

Have you ever wondered why people can’t make decisions?

So many of us were taught from a very early age – and very subtly, too – that what we wanted was “not right.”  Perhaps what you wanted was not considered appropriate for someone of your class, or status, or social standing.  Or perhaps what you wanted was not appropriate for the class, status, or social standing to which your parents aspired.  So you were made to feel wrong or inferior for wanting what it is you wanted.  “We don’t do that!”

But I think it happened even earlier than that.  Dad says “Johnnie, it’s time for your nap.  Don’t you want to take a nap?”  Well, of course you don’t want to take a nap.  You’re out playing in the sunshine, maybe swinging on your swing, maybe just running around with the older kids.  You want to keep doing it.  You say “No, I don’t want to take a nap!”  And Dad says, “Yes, you do.”  In that one little sentence, Dad has told you that you don’t know your own mind.  Or that what you want does not count.

Or Mom says “What do you want to wear today?”  Mary says “My pretty pink party dress and brand new patent leather shoes!”  But Mom knows you’re going to be playing outside and says “How about your blue jeans and a sweatshirt instead?”  Again, you are told that what you want is inappropriate, or wrong, or just plain doesn’t matter!

It would be so much more empowering to say “Which shirt would you prefer to wear with your jeans today?  This one or this one?”  That way, the child learns to make appropriate choices and gets to have those choices validated.  Now, you still might say, “I don’t want to wear jeans, I want to wear my new dress!”  At which point Mom or Dad can say, “Yeah, I know you want to wear that dress, but we have to keep it clean for our Sunday visit to grandma.  You can wear it then!”  Again, that validates that the child has an opinion and is entitled to it, but that it’s just not going to be honored today.

The really sad thing about this is that the damage is unintentional but very real!  How many of us think that what we want, as adults, does not matter?  Or worse, how many of us got beaten down so much as children that we no longer know what it is that we want or even how to figure out what we “should” want?  What a different place our world would be if we each knew what we wanted and felt empowered to go out to achieve it!  How many of us would blossom creatively, instead of being stuck in the place our parents convinced us was “best for us?”

Dare to dream!  And then go out and make those dreams a reality!  Show your own children, by your own example, that life is to be enjoyed not endured!

With the holiday travel season starting, you might find some of these travel tips useful.

One thing many people don't know is that medically necessary devices do not count as “luggage.”  For example, when we needed to bring a C-Pap machine to breathe at night, we had to carry it on the plane to make sure it didn’t get lost or damaged.  That was not included as either a carry-on or as a personal item.  They are also not allowed to charge a luggage charge to ship scooters and wheelchairs.  You can use them to get around in the airport, and then “gate-check” them after riding it down the jetway.

Carrying copies of your prescriptions including for glasses is also a good idea.  If you are carrying prescription drugs out of the country, it is easier to explain them if you have a copy of the actual prescription.  You might be able to get a copy from your pharmacy.  Eyeglass prescriptions are also handy in case you break yours and need to replace them.  It saves trying to find an optometrist.

If you have replacement parts made of metal – pins or rods in bones, older joint replacements – a note from your doctor can get you through security faster.  You will still set off the alarm and they will still wand you, but you can direct them to the appropriate place with the note.

It’s tempting to take new shoes – especially if you’ve bought them for the trip.  Sometimes a bad idea.  But if you do start to develop a blister, covering it with adhesive tape is better than a band-aid.  The band-aid can rub, where the adhesive tape does not – although the adhesive tape can pull the surface off the blister when you remove it...

Before my Peru trip, they recommended that we take, starting a week before the trip, echinacea and goldenseal to prevent infections.  You would continue to take them while you travel.  You also might want to take ginger for stomach issues.  Both can be bought in capsule form – again, take the whole bottle with you so it is clear what you are taking.  Taking pro-biotics before you go should also load up your intestines with “good”/“friendly” bacteria making you more resistant to weird local strains.

If you are sending post cards home:  DON'T LICK THE STAMPS!  I got a major cold after licking the stamps for my Easter Island post cards.  It’s such an easy thing to do automatically that I didn’t think anything of it until a day or so later when I was massively congested.

Speaking of postcards, sometimes I make address labels for the people I want to send cards to.  Saves you having to take your address book and saves writing time.  Plus if you print them they are easier for foreign post offices to read.  (Don’t forget to add your country to the address after the postal code.)

If you are taking electronics and chargers, keep the chargers with the electronics.  No point in having your cell phone in your pocket if your luggage gets lost and the charger is in there.  If you are taking a laptop, offload your pictures from your camera every night.  That way if your camera disappears, you still have the photos to date.  I lost my camera in Naples and had not downloaded any pictures after India.  So lost Egypt, Greece, Suez Canal, and a couple of islands in the Mediterranean.  Sigh.  (So I'll just have to go back...)

If you do get asked questions by officials, answer the question they ask.  Not the question you think they asked or (worse) the question you think they should have asked.  Then stop talking until they ask another question.  Don’t babble.

Don’t take or wear your good jewelry.  You don’t need to impress anyone while you are traveling, least of all thieves and pick-pockets.  Keep enough money in your wallet to be convincing, but don’t keep all your money there.  Keep copies of the information page from your passport in your suitcases and any other places you can think of.  Make a list of telephone numbers for any credit cards you are carrying.  Note that the 800 numbers used in the US may not be the ones you need to copy down if you are traveling abroad.  Most cards have another number that they tell you to call collect if you need to contact them when you are out of the country.  Check expiration dates.  Had friends whose card expired while they were on a trip and they couldn’t use it for the last half of the trip.

Try not to do any on-line banking in wireless environments like McDonalds.  Too easy for the information to be intercepted.

I don’t recommend the Scotvest.  I got one and sent it back.  You look like the Michelin man when it is loaded and it is heavy.  Those models they use to sell it have no fat and probably no bones, either...

Many countries will not allow fresh produce to be brought in – including the US!  So plan your snacks accordingly.  I like Zone bars.  They are a balanced meal in a nutrition bar and won’t spike your blood sugar.  Getting overtired or having low blood sugar makes you less alert and an easier target for thieves and pick-pockets.  Also beware of attention getting displays in airports – like people fighting over a suitcase – it’s mine/no, it’s mine, including yelling, gesticulating, and profanity.  While everyone is looking at the arguers, their companions are circulating at the back of the crowd taking wallets and handbags.

Since you can’t lock your suitcases, you run the risk of zippered cases opening in transit and strewing your belongings along all sorts of conveyors in the bowels of the airports.  Tie wraps like you use to wrap wire bundles are really good for hooking the zippers shut.  The inspectors can easily cut them if they want to search your stuff, but otherwise they should stay in place.  You can get a bag of 3- or 4-inch ones for a couple of bucks at Home Depot.  If you choose to use them:  1) don't snug them so tight that you can’t get scissors into the loop to cut it open.  2) don’t pack your scissors in the bag and then tie-wrap it shut.  (Although if you do that, usually you can get scissors at your hotel once you arrive there.  But you can’t open the bag until you get there.)  Actually, scissors small enough to be placed in your carry-on are probably not strong enough to cut a tie-wrap, but nail clippers are both strong enough and allowed.

Also, although back packs are great for keeping your hands free, they are by definition behind you, giving someone on an escalator to the bowels of the airport plenty of time to sift through your stuff.  If you are carrying anything more important than water, snacks, and your spare jacket in your backpack, you might want to invest in a cheap lightweight lock.  It's not going to deter a determined thief – they’d just use a knife to slit the bag – but it will keep out the casually inquisitive.

Save your ready-to-throw-out toothbrush to take on the trip with you.  You can pack it dry for departure and then throw it away before you return home, so you don’t have to bring a wet toothbrush home with you.  Also, taking undies and socks with holes allows you to jettison stuff along the way.  (Don't worry about what your Mom said about not being caught with holes in your underwear.  If you’re in an accident such that you can’t undress yourself, chances are they’re going to cut your clothes off of you anyway.)