A selfless song

My family has gone on a Disney movie spree and when we got the "Hunchback of Notre Dame," I was curious to see the difference between it and the play. It was obvious the ending was going to result in the death of just the bad guy, but I did not expect the songs to have such deep meanings.

Reiki Music and Pedialyte

I found an interesting combination yesterday.

I spent the whole day fighting a cold. When I am sick, I usually experience spikes of random emotions. This time around, I only one episode (which was caused when someone was trying to help me with my computer and kept clicking really hard on the mouse pad). Thinking about yesterday, I could only find two differences from the typical way I handle sick days.

The first is the type of music I was listening to. I recently discovered some YouTube channels that posted hours of music to help people sleep and heal by balancing their chakras. By playing these songs at night, I have found I can sleep deeper and wake up more refreshed. Yesterday, I kept playing the videos of reiki music throughout the day. Growing up in a Buddhist family means that I have gone through various meditation sessions and tried to improve my well-being by cleaning my internal energy and absorbing the natural energy around me. It may have just been a placebo effect from what I have been taught, but I am really sure this helped prevent my sickly mood swings.

The second, more 'scientific' method is Pedialyte. This is water containing electrolytes that is meant to help babies maintain a healthy level of minerals in their body since they cannot eat yet. My non-existent appetite was making it difficult to eat good food, so my family had me drink cups of Pedialyte every few hours. I noticed that after each cup, I had a bit more energy and could stay awake for longer periods of time. I have a bit more confidence that this drink helped keep my emotions in check since the trace minerals probably kept my hormones more balanced.

Well, these are my thoughts on the efforts to get out of a cold quickly. While I shake off the grogginess created by the Nyquil that helped me sleep through the night, I ask you who stumbled here, "Do these methods seem like a viable way to aid the sick? Or do you believe something else would be more effective?"

Blue Lava!!

I found this article called "Indonesian Volcano Erupts Electric-Blue Lava" by Robin Andrews. This is color is created when the lava burns the surrounding sulfur. The images shown are very cool! I wish I could visit these places.

Plastic Skin Sensors

I just finished reading "'Digital skin' activates brain cells" by Jonathan Webb. This article is about a polymer that contains sensors. When the sensors detect pressure, they send electrical signals. The researchers connected these sensors to a sliver of rat brain and were able to observe a different rate of pulses when applying various pressures. The idea is to develop this technology enough that it can be added to prosthetic limbs. The material is already thin enough that it can bend easily to act as a skin covering.

As I read the article, my mind kept flashing back to the scene in Star Wars where Luke's artificial hand is pricked and we can see a flinching reaction. I'm glad people are working in these areas. Every step of progress means more help for people who lost a limb or are born without one.

Tokyo Ghoul: Volume 1, Chapters 1-9

I finally got a chance to read the first volume of Tokyo Ghoul by Sui Ishida. This volume contains Chapter 1 - 9.

Warning: This review may contain spoilers. If you have read these chapters or do not mind getting extra information, feel free to keep on reading my super informal review.

El Nino's effect on winter

Well, phooey! According to this article "NOAA: Thanks to El Nino, the US Looks Pretty Wet This Winter" by the Associated Press, there might not be as much snow as I was hoping for this year.

I love the snow. Its beautiful to see it untouched in the morning. Another reason is because I need it to go skiing. Last year, there was dismal amount that came really late in the season. I only had a chance to go twice and both times the open areas were crowded with people also trying to enjoy the snow before it melted away (in just 2 weeks!).

This fall, there has been a lot of rain so I was hoping the wind will continue to bring the storms as the climate got colder. My fingers are crossed that this prediction does not come true. Maybe I should search for some snow dances...

Sleep: Desired vs. Actual vs. Recommended

There are numerous articles about how much sleep we should get, the right temperature, what is the optimal time to go to bed, and so on. Personally, I like the idea of segmented/bimodal sleep.

Aspie Quiz

I am not completely sure how I stumbled upon the Aspie Quiz, but I did and decided to go through it. The experience was a bit bizarre since I could easily tell which answer would result in a "neurotypical" or "neurodiverse" diagnosis. Therefore, I had to spend a few minutes on each question to make sure I was as honest as possible. To you who stumbled upon this, continue on if you are curious enough to see what I am classified as.

Am I Driving Safely? signs

During today's morning commute, I saw a bumper sticker that had a variation of the "Am I Driving Safely?" message. As I read the unique ID for that particular truck, I realized that I have never seen any of these vehicles drive erratically. It makes me wonder: do the signs act as a deterrent for the drivers to practice defensive driving or do they act as assurance for the rest of the people on the road? Hmm.....

The Last Knight: Chapter 1

My thoughts chapter 1 of The Last Knight by Hilari Bell.
This book is the first in the Knight and Rogue Series.

WARNING: This post contains spoilers. Proceed with caution if you have not read this.

Knight and Rogue Series

The Knight and Rogue series is written by Hilari Bell. I cannot compete with the official summary of this series, but here is my description:

The series tells the stories of two young adults. One attempts to do good deeds as a knight and the other attempts to keep his companion alive. They come from different walks of life, thus their views on the situation and the people around them provide a wonderful source of entertainment as they try to argue their point. In hindsight, the layout is almost like Don Quixote except easier to understand and funnier. The plot of each book can almost stand on its own, only requiring a bit of knowledge acquired from the previous. 

I read the first two books years ago and thoroughly enjoyed them. It was rather disappointing when I realized that there were only two and eventually I forgot about them. After a while, I became curious as to whether or not Hilari Bell has written any more books and I discovered that more has been added to the series!!

So now, here I am back at the beginning since I have forgotten the details of the first two books. To you who discovered this post, I hope you will enjoy my thoughts on the Knight and Rogue series.

The Last Knight
Chapter 1

Rogue's Home

Player's Ruse

Thief's War

Scholar's Plot

Lady's Pursuit