AhDoGa ---- "Pointy Nose"

Poetry -- if you can call it that - A Spider On My Ceiling

2008-07-25T00:02:00.000-07:00

A Spider On My Ceiling

There's a spider on my ceiling now, as I lie in bed awake, twelve thirty-one
and he's yet to spin this web of evening sleep.

From wall to wall he searches long for that place he will call his home.

Frantically, in confusion and haste, he passes over a thousand sites where home could surely be made.

Still he searches on past night till dawn.

From weariness, his pace has slowed and his spirit seems to have faded.

He found his home in time to spin that final web, not to move again.

His body stands for that search that only ends when one escapes.

Daniel M. Hoffman
06/03/92

Handy tip for caring for sick ones.

2008-07-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, my dad is very sick right now. My sisters and I are doing our best to care for him at home, but run into many challenges, for which our health care team had no answers. One such problem was how to let my dad call us when he needs help. They only had a bed alarm that alerts you if the patient tries to get up. After thinking for a while, and trying a couple other unsuccessful ideas, I had a great idea.

I went to my local hardware store and bought a Heath Zenith Wireless Doorbell.
I taped one of the buttons to the safety rails of his bed. Instant hospital call button. It works a little too well.

I will post more later.
ADG

In Memorium

2008-06-20T16:43:00.000-07:00

Brian Black is my Brother in Law. The "in Law" part is just so you understand how our families began their relationship. Brian is a great guy. I use the present tense, because he will never be gone. We just can't see him any more.
----------------
Brian Ross Black
BLACK, Brian Ross (45), died suddenly in an auto accident. Beloved husband of Judy (Hoffman), cherished son of Howard and Natalye Black of Los Angeles and Orange County and adored younger brother of Laurie (Robert Lawrence) and Jeff (Danna Gold), precious grandson of Saul (Anne deceased) Shrager, embraced and loved by his in-law family of Joe and Seline Hoffman and all of their children and grandchildren. Born in Orange County, Brian graduated from Foothill High, involved in choir and wrestling. Early on and throughout his life, Brian was a joyful, loving human being of extraordinary generosity of spirit and a Godly soul. Brian gave of himself with the sweetness of unconditional love. Brian was the "real deal," rejecting shallowness and pretense. He was a "mensch." Brian never veered off his mark or forgot who he was even after his diagnosis as a young adult of severe paranoid-schizophrenia while in college. Prior to the current available medications, Brian suffered terribly for many years with the most severe symptoms of his illness, going from treatment to treatment and hospital to hospital. After a third failed suicide attempt, fortunately, Brian's life changed due to wise and compassionate court-ordered medication and treatment. After years of darkness and pain, arrested growth and development, but with uncommon, extraordinary courage, Brian emerged as the beautiful person he was meant to be. Brian met and married his extraordinary Judy, the love of his life. While modest in size, together they built a grand spiritual home of love, warmth and holiness where all who enter feel welcome, cared for, loved and safe. In the past Brian worked for the Mental Health Association of San Diego, Rescue Mission of SD, as a volunteer. He was awarded the 1996-97 "Volunteer of the Year Award" from the Combined Health Agencies of San Diego. Always acknowledging and grateful for the support and love he received during his darkest days, Brian believed in giving back. He worked along with his parents, Natalye and Howard, and his sister and brother Laurie and Jeff as advocates for the mentally ill. Currently Brian was employed as a patient counselor at Alpine Residential Treatment Center where he was a highly respected staff member for his compassion, kindness, listening and counseling skills and, most important, his own life experiences which brought hope and healing to all who had the good fortune to be touched by him. Brian leaves an extended family who will forever be touched by the beauty and love of his soul. This includes nieces and nephews of the Black, Lawrence and Hoffman families. A Memorial Service is scheduled at University Synagogue, 3400 Michelson, Irvine, Thursday, June 19, 11 a.m. and another memorial service in San Diego next week. Donations may be made in Brian's memory to the Brian Black Memorial Mental Health Fund, c/o University Synagogue of Irvine.
Published in the Los Angeles Times on 6/19/2008.

New Pastry Related Blog.

2008-06-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

OK.... Usually, I meet pastry folks through my better half. But this time, I get to introduce my wife to a new pastry related friend.
Everyone, meet Leilani:
http://leilanilee.blogspot.com/
Leilani is a friend of my friend Dave's and it was a pleasure to finally meet her in person. She really is a kick.
Check out her blog if you are in to pastry.
Thanks for sharing, Leilani!

Intermediate Cane Class

2008-05-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

Presented by Master Dan Hoffman
Starts May 29, 2008 for 6 weeks
Thursdays @ 7:45PM – 9:15PM
Learn and practice how to use the common walking cane as a weapon to compliment your kung fu skills.
Cane 2 will include striking with the cane, take downs with the cane, control moves and intro to cane vs. knife.
Cooperative and semi-cooperative training drills will be used to help improve positioning, angles, distance and flow.

COST:
$55 if pre-register or
$60 at the door

LOCATION:
Valencia Martial Arts
26330 Diamond Place #120
Valencia, CA 91350
www.2kungfu.com
For more information or to pre-register: (661)255-0100

Dan Hoffman holds an 8th Degree Black Belt in Kung Fu San Soo and is also accomplished in Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Boxing

Restaurant to Avoid

2008-04-27T21:20:00.000-07:00

The Burning Bonsai in Burbank CA. was the latest location to be added to my "To Be Avoided" list.
To be fair, we tried this place three times. Each time we received extraordinarily poor service. The waiters just blatantly ignored us as long as they could. When they took our order, not one of the 2 different waiters wrote anything down. Not surprisingly, at least one of our orders was wrong each time. This latest time, he completely forgot one of our dishes and added stuff we did not order, on top of screwing up a couple of things. I ordered a sesame noodles with tofu (vegetarian) and found pieces of chicken in it. They made it with chicken then noticed the mistake in the kitchen and just pulled the big pieces of chicken off the top and put the tofu on.
They served the noodles on a plate so small that the noodles were literally hanging off the side of the plate and dragging on the table as the waiter served it. No shame. My wife was not very happy about that.
My noodles were undercooked and something actually made me puke.
When serving us water, a piece of minced salmon sushi fell off the waiter's hand or sleeve onto the table. He didn't even notice or offer to clean it.
So, my rating for this place, 1-5 with 1 being crappy as hell and 5 being damn good:
Service: 1
Presentation: 2
Cleanliness: 3
Taste: 3.5
Overall Value: 2

You may ask why we went there 3 times. The answer: My 88 year old dad wanted to take us there. But Zoe and I agreed after this last trip, not even a free meal will get us back there again.
Restaurant information:
The Burning Bonsai
4408 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA.

Stop Bringing Me Down!!!

2008-04-04T10:49:00.000-07:00

Some people are blessed with an uncanny ability to overlook the painfully obvious.
-Dan Hoffman 2008/03/17

Have you ever noticed that listening to stupid, illiterate or illogical people speak around you tends to slow your cognitive responses? I have. And I see evidence of this at work as well. I am lucky to sit near intelligent people, but I am forced to deal with the occasional nut-ball and notice the effect when I return to my desk.

A co-worker has made another observation. She claims that sitting in a less intelligent person's chair can affect your ability to think clearly. She tries to avoid sitting in certain co-workers' chairs. I watched her for a week and she seems to have something. I am forming the opinion that it is "QI". In this case, it is "Stupid QI". It can collect and resonate. Inanimate objects can pick up the resonance of a person's Stupid Qi. Stupid Qi can also affect people close to the person emitting the offending Qi. Any thoughts.??

Lead Found In Dental Crown

2008-03-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

"CHICAGO (March 27, 2008)—An Ohio TV station aired a report in late February claiming that a dental crown produced in a Chinese dental lab has tested positive for lead. There is no appropriate use for lead in manufacturing dental prosthetics."
From the ADA Website.

Well, not sure about anyone else, but I would not want a crown or bridge which contained lead. Seeing that lead is known to cause many problems in the human body, it makes you wonder what they were thinking.
Next time I need something like that, I am going to ask the dentist where my crown was manufactured. Besides, using local labs will have the added benefit of supporting local economies.
Cheers,
Dan.

Insane Politicians

2008-03-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

OK.. Seldom do I think a politician is COMPLETELY insane. But, I think we have found a candidate.
Sally Kern Speech.

Introducing Sally Kern, a Republican state senator in Oklahoma.
She gave quite a speech here. She even claims that "Studies show no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted for more than a few decades."
Hmmm.. I would like to see those studies. I mean, what about ancient Greece? Rome? How about Japan during the Shogunate?
Maybe she did an Ann Coulter and just made it up?
If you ever wondered why we still have problems in this great nation, look no further.
Vote smart people.

Voting in Los Angeles

2008-01-25T16:55:00.000-08:00

I was reading about prop. S and became very disturbed when I read the definition of taxable communication services in the Prop. S. Since the tax would apply to many services not currently taxed, it would effectively be a tax hike even though the tax rate lowers to 9%.
Read more:

"Prop S does reduce the tax rate from the invalid 10% rate to a 9% rate. But actually, if the city loses its appeal the rate will be 0%. Prop S also imposes the tax on a host of new electronic communications that were not included before, such as using the internet, DSL, VOIP, PCS and other electronic services"

I don't normally consider myself a "right wing" voter, but I agree with some centrist thinking such as the statement above.
If you don't like to read: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxWoKbGpriE

Idiocracy - the movie

2008-01-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

Have you ever noticed that the higher a person's education, the longer they wait to have children? And have you noticed that more educated people tend to have smaller families than their less educated neighbors?
Well, have you ever wondered how this would affect the evolution of humanity?
If the answer to this last question was "huh?", you might already have too many children. If your answer was "Yes, I have thought about that", then you may want to check out this delightful little comedy which has been compared to futurama by at least one youtube critic.
Seriously, this is a cute, witty, smart comedy that is well worth the price of a rental.
See the IMDB Movie Entry for more information.

Save the world, educate your kids.

GoldMein??

2007-12-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Last night, I went to a little party for former GoldMine employees. It was great. I got to see some folks I had not seen in a long time. Doug, Dexter, John, Angel, Mark, Greg, Wilson, Steven, Jose ..... and our gracious host (who made us fresh baked cookies) Natalie.
It was a lot of fun... I don't have any photos, but I hope Natalie will post some..
Cheers you guys.
Dan.

Taiwan trip - 2007 (part trois) - blooming flowers!

2007-12-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

My mother in law told us several times to go see the flowers blooming in Hsin She. We ignored her for a few days, and I will review something we did instead in my next post. However, we eventually made the trip. Now, the basic setup is that Hsin She is a farming town. While the big seller there is mushrooms, they grow many things and have weekend markets which can get very busy. At this time of year, they grow flowers and make a big show of it to attract people from the city to come spend money. Exploitation of nature is nothing new to humans. And, sometimes, it's actually pretty cool.

The fields in Hsin She were laid out with different

flowers and sections

where roped off for people to walk

through exhibits with placards in both English and Chinese. It was actually pretty cool. And, of course, we left with passion fruit and other fresh fruits and veggies from the market.

Taiwan trip - 2007 (part deux) - the bike ride.

2007-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Bike Ride:

I found out that Zoe's cousin worked for a bike rental place along one of the many scenic bike paths near Feng Yuan.
(Hou Feng)

To the left is Zoe's friend Amanda (about to be married).

I did not know that their were so many well maintained paths, nor that biking was such a popular weekend recreation in that area. Wow. There were literally dozens of rental places along the 30K or so that we road. Weekends can get crowded. And since some places rent electric bikes and do not require the riders to know how to operate the dang things, it can be dangerous. I saw 3 accidents on our ride. If you see a woman in high heels with her feet up on a electric bike, watch out. Amazing.

Most of our route was along a closed railway route and passed byseveral decommissioned stations and stops. Most were well maintained and a couple even had old rail cars and rest area like amenities. We stopped at a few. We stopped to get fresh squeezed sugar cane juice at this one. 0 dan platform!! Yeah baby. Zoe took pics of the juice stand, but I have didn't get a copy yet.
.
We saw a petting zoo type of place with all kinds of birds including peacocks, turkeys and more. Cool.
On the downside, we also saw a gocart track just off the path.
.
We saw some family farms and a couple of old style homes ( 三合院 )
All along the route's we took there was a plethora of stands and cafe's selling all types of snacks and drinks.

Blue Ocean:
One of the more unique rest areas was a lot with some chairs and
table with a pristine classic VW bus refitted to be a coffee/tea stand.
I did not try the coffee, cause I was not in the mood, but it was spotlessly clean and under some shady trees. Looked worth a stop for tea coffee or little snacks.
Note the pooh bear in the passenger seat. I asked about it and the wife (husband wife team) told me he was the security guard.
.
.
.
Here is the back view of the bus. I thought they did a nice job on the coffee bar. The wood work and the storage area looks nice.
Very clean design.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Lunch in the Mountains:
OK. I am not putting this in the food section 'cause it was part of the ride, sort of. Just after the ride, Zoe's friend Amanda (who is getting married soon) wanted to take us for lunch in the mountains near the bike path.
I forgot the name of the place. It was her second choice, actually. The first choice was not open that day. Although Zoe is a strict vegetarian and I am like Samuel Jackson's character in pulp fiction (vegetarian by association), we had a good time at this beautiful yet not overtly vegetarian friendly restaurant. Their specialty is a stewed pork dish with lots of yummy fat on top. We loved the rice, which was packed with sweet potatoes. It was great getting together with Amanda. I am sorry I won't be there for the wedding. But, I am sure she will be happy even without my presence.
Well... That's it for this post. My next post will go over our day viewing the flowers blooming in Hsin She.
ADG

Taiwan trip - 2007

2007-11-25T12:01:00.000-08:00

Well, as many of my friends know, I try to visit Taiwan at least once a year. Once again, I was able to make it.
I started out by going to what was possibly to worst organized martial arts competition ever. I will leave that for the end of this post. I will start with FOOD:
OK.. I have a soft spot for stinky tofu ( 臭豆腐 ). I got to sample a few places this time.
This place was in Da Ya area of Taichung. I thought it was really good and the cabbage was better than most places. Usually, I only like the shredded cucumber. I enjoyed this place but they informed me they were moving soon, so I can't give the address.

Next, I tried a soup I have not tried before. It was called Hong Shao Chou Dou Fu Tang ( 紅燒臭豆腐湯 ). You can get it with noodles, but I was not that hungry at the time. It was similar to beef noodle soup, but vegetarian.

I thought it would be like the Chou Chou Guo ( 臭臭鍋 ) that you see at many stands. But, it was a bit different. Anyway, it was good. Had some veggie chicken and veggie fish ball type thingies. A very nice snack. The owner says he gets his stinky tofu from a famous factory in Taipei.

This shop was in Taichung city near the science museum. It is located on Jian Hsing Lu ( 慈心園健康素食 - 台中市健行路 928-2 號 )

There is a vegetarian alley in Feng Yuan that Zoe's family goes to. It's the road along the railroad tracks a few blocks from the "SOGO" in Feng Yuan. There is a really good veggie restaurant there. I recommend the Hong Shao Mian (Veggie Beef Noodle Soup) or the Ma Jiang Mian. Both are really damn good. Ang their side dishes are really good too. Not photos from my camera, but I will try to get some from Zoe. She might be able to get the address as well.

There is a Chou Do Fu place right next to it which is pretty good too.
Also, when the season is right, there is a bbq corn stand on the corner which is very good and does NOT use pig oil on the corn! It's vegetarian. Many people may not realize that some corn stands use lard (pig oil) on the corn. Now, I am not a strict vegetarian like my wife, but I don't like to eat pork products or shell fish if I can avoid it.
Next on the food tour: Easy House Vegetarian Restaurant.
While a bit on the pricey side, this vegetarian eatery is impeccably clean. Even the bathroom is spotless. The food is not only veggie but healthy as well.

A set meal will cost you around NT$ 400, yet worth it for the occasional "nice meal" we all deserve. I had a Sesame Tofu Hot Pot. Pictured are the smoothie, salad and sides that come with the set meal.

And finally, for the food part of this posting session at least:
Japanese Food at my Aunt Winnie's favorite Japanese restaurant (forgot the name).

We had a very nice selection of grilled fish, steamed egg, bonito flake covered tofu, fried cabbage, Sushi hand rolls and more. It was a nice farewell lunch for me. Thanks to the family for this one.

I will add more about this trip soon. Visit again in a couple days for more.
Dan.

Halloween - revisited.

2007-11-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

OK... I know Halloween is over, but I had to post these pictures of my Dad.
He is 88 years old now and was never very big on holiday festivities other than eating and watching sports.

Anyway, my sister got him a pirate outfit cause he was joking that he would dress up.
Here he is in his costume. Funny as ..... You know.

Melting away

2007-09-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

We recently had a heatwave here in Los Angeles. It made me feel a bit like this statue I saw in Budapest, Hungary.

Bald Dragon, AKA James Lew. On location in Hawaii

2007-09-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from James Lew who is on location in Hawaii working on a top secret movie. What is not top secret is the fact that he had to shave his head for this role. Personally, I like the look. And that's not just 'cause I have no hair.
Anyway, I wanted to share a few pictures he sent me.
I have met James on several occasions and he has always been great. One of the most energetic and upbeat people I have met.
I always enjoy hearing from him.
**For those of you who do not know James, he is an actor, stunt man, fight choreographer and more. He has worked on many films including the great cult classic Big Trouble in Little China. More info on James Lew here.**
Dan.

On location: Kauai.

"It is absolutely stunningly beautiful here in Kauai. We are shooting
in the mountain jungles of Kauai just miles away from "the wettest place
on earth" (this area has more rainfall than anywhere else in the world).

The movie takes place in the deep jungles of Vietnam and we are running a
heroin farming operation. We get dirty and stinky looking everyday and film in
a whole lot of mud, humidity, sun and rain...yes, the glamorous life of the movie
business. "

Looking through my past.

2007-09-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

I was going through some old disks from when I was in college and found some things I wrote back then.
I am going to share some of them and include the dates when possible.
I hope you enjoy.

A Crack In The Pavement

Yesterday I tripped on a crack in the pavement .
It was a small crack and I didn't think much of it.
Today I fell in a hole in the ground that sprang from that crack.
Why didn't someone fix the crack before it became a hole?
Now, from this deep hole, I look up at a spruce whose branches wave sporadically in the wind, with no direction, they're waving at me. In some vain attempt to help, the tree sends down a rain of dried out thistles and barren seeds. They only annoy me as they bounce off my forehead as I plead for help!
There is nothing with me in this hole except some decayed branches and some bills I got in the mail yesterday.
I suppose, if someone would have shown me how, I could build a ladder from these materials, but I've not the education.
There are people walking above, but they do not understand my cries for help.
They just take pictures, then leave.
The only thing I can do is kick the walls with all my might and scream in violent rage!
And I am forced to think if death would be kinder than life in this hole?
Will God welcome me, when my own people will not?
Why did no one fix that crack in the pavement?
Why did I not fix that crack in the pavement?
Before it was a hole.
America
goodbye!

Written by Daniel Hoffman
6/02/92
(in 1992 I left for my 2nd trip to Taiwan)
Daniel Hoffman ©2007

Hidden Treasure

2007-08-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles can feel like it's a million miles from anything having to do with nature. It's rather frustrating at times. But there are little hidden treasures around. Bits of nature that are not over packed with people to the point there is no more room for animals to just be animals.
One such place is tucked away in the hills on the south side of Mullhulland Dr.. Franklin Cyn drive goes along two small lakes with micro-nature reserves along the way.
There are enough shady spots to keep you cool and more water than I would expect in this area. Also, you can find some interesting local inhabitants. Here are some of the locals we met last week on our micro-road trip to the upper lake (large pond) which is pretty close to my home.

The Tuttle family was very nice. They enjoyed sun bathing and eating veggies and insects. They weren't big talkers, though.

The Mallards were a busy lot. They liked to walk and swim and were constantly quacking at each other. Nice bunch, over all.

It was a very relaxing time. I enjoy watching these folks be themselves. Almost like watching the real thing on TV.

Antacid? Think again.

2007-08-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

Copied from Science Daily.
Source: Indiana University
Date: August 3, 2007
More on:
Heartburn, Gastrointestinal Problems, Intelligence, Multiple Sclerosis Research, Dementia, Pharmacology
Cognitive Impairment Link Found In Older Adults Taking Popular Stomach Acid Medications

Science Daily — Long-term use of histamine2 receptor antagonists (H2A), one class of drugs that blocks stomach acid, may be associated with cognitive impairment in older African-American adults. According to an Indiana University School of Medicine and Regenstrief Institute study published in the August issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, the risk for showing signs of cognitive impairment is 2.5 times greater for patients using these medications long-term.

These acid blockers, including ranitidine and famotidine, are among the most popular medications prescribed in the United States. More than 16 million prescriptions were dispensed in 2005 and several of these medications are also available over-the-counter. The drugs are sold under brand names such as Axid, Pepcid, Tagamet and Zantac, and are used to treat ulcers, acid reflux and other gastrointestinal disorders.

The five-year observational study included 1,558 cognitively normal African-Americans aged 65 and older. After controlling for other possible factors, nearly 18 percent of H2A users studied exhibited signs of cognitive impairment.

"Taking these medications continuously appears to put older African-Americans at greater risk for the development of cognitive impairment," said Malaz Boustani, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a Regenstrief research scientist. Dr. Boustani is lead author of the study. "We need to study this further to determine how acid blockers might be causing or creating this effect and if it occurs only in African-Americans."

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Indiana University.

"American Sam", old Taiwan hand and Frog patron saves man's life

2007-07-14T18:58:00.000-07:00

Those of you who lived in Taichung between 1992 and 1994 may remember Sam. He was a fixture at many of the mellower pubs and eateries.

Remsen Man Rescued From Fiery Car Crash
Boucher spoke with NEWSChannel 2. He said he was driving to work when he spotted the wreck. Boucher had forgotten his golf clubs for his league after work and went back home to get them.

He says that is what allowed him to see the wreck. "I pulled right here in the drive way," he said. "It was laying on its passenger side on fire."

Boucher said his instincts then took over. "I saw that there was rocks there, so I grabbed it, smashed the back window out, climed in, and luckily the way it was positioned, I got on the passenger side rear door.

"I was able to push him up reach in and grab the seat belt, I grabbed around him and just wrenched him out of the car."

Boucher says he later found out Robison is his neighbor, and the two had never met before Tuesday.

Full Story and Video

Stacking!!!

2007-07-08T00:48:00.001-07:00

This id really amazing. I have never seen anything like this before.

Name your emotions to let them go. Meditation?

2007-07-02T10:06:00.001-07:00

My friend Steven sent this to me. I thought it was worth posting prior to posting an article I wrote.

------------

Brain Scans Reveal Why Meditation Works
Melinda Wenner
Special to LiveScience
LiveScience.comSat Jun 30, 1:35 PM ET
If you name your emotions, you can tame them, according to new research that suggests why meditation works.

Brain scans show that putting negative emotions into words calms the brain's emotion center. That could explain meditation’s purported emotional benefits, because people who meditate often label their negative emotions in an effort to “let them go.”

Psychologists have long believed that people who talk about their feelings have more control over them, but they don't know why it works.

UCLA psychologist Matthew Lieberman and his colleagues hooked 30 people up to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines, which scan the brain to reveal which parts are active and inactive at any given moment.

They asked the subjects to look at pictures of male or female faces making emotional expressions. Below some of the photos was a choice of words describing the emotion—such as “angry” or “fearful”—or two possible names for the people in the pictures, one male name and one female name.

When presented with these choices, the subjects were asked to pick the most appropriate emotion or gender-appropriate name to fit the face they saw.

When the participants chose labels for the negative emotions, activity in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex region—an area associated with thinking in words about emotional experiences—became more active, whereas activity in the amygdala, a brain region involved in emotional processing, was calmed.

By contrast, when the subjects picked appropriate names for the faces, the brain scans revealed none of these changes—indicating that only emotional labeling makes a difference.

“In the same way you hit the brake when you’re driving when you see a yellow light, when you put feelings into words, you seem to be hitting the brakes on your emotional responses,” Lieberman said of his study, which is detailed in the current issue of Psychological Science.

In a second experiment, 27 of the same subjects completed questionnaires to determine how “mindful” they are.

Meditation and other “mindfulness” techniques are designed to help people pay more attention to their present emotions, thoughts and sensations without reacting strongly to them. Meditators often acknowledge and name their negative emotions in order to “let them go.”

When the team compared brain scans from subjects who had more mindful dispositions to those from subjects who were less mindful, they found a stark difference—the mindful subjects experienced greater activation in the right ventrolateral prefrontral cortex and a greater calming effect in the amygdala after labeling their emotions.

“These findings may help explain the beneficial health effects of mindfulness meditation, and suggest, for the first time, an underlying reason why mindfulness meditation programs improve mood and health,” said David Creswell, a UCLA psychologist who led the second part of the study, which will be detailed in Psychosomatic Medicine.

Video: Here's to Your Brain Top 10 Mysteries of the Mind Using the Mind to Cure the Body
Original Story: Brain Scans Reveal Why Meditation Works
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COSTCO - putting it's money where it's mouth is.

2007-06-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

I am impressed. I was reading the Costco monthly magazine and stumbled upon an interesting story.
Apparently, Costco supports US military and guard personnel in a more meaningful way than putting a yellow ribbon on their door and adverts. According to the article I read, they guarantee reservist's jobs when they return no matter how long they're deployed. On top of that, they continue medical benefits for said employees and family members while they are deployed. Wow... And if that was not enough, they also cover any difference between reservist's pay and their normal Costco salary. Holy mackerel.
If this is really true, then Costco deserves a big salute from all of us. Whether you are for the wars or not, you have to appreciate the dedication to employees that are willing to serve the public.
Costco, you have my thanks.
I will continue to be a Costco member with pride after learning this.
Cheers,
Dan.