Showing posts with label Mind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mind. Show all posts

November 29, 2022

Brain Overload

Coffee mug says:

My brain has too many tabs open

How do you shut it off to get some rest? 

Then again, maybe you need a better microprocessor! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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March 14, 2022

Read, Read, Read

The joys of learning.

Sitting and reading.

Mental calisthenics.

It takes discipline. 

Got to work those neurons!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Michelle Blumenthal)


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August 13, 2021

Shabbat Shalom Flower Painting

Wow, what a week! 

So glad for Shabbat tonight. 

Rest, relax, refresh, rejuvenate - soul, mind, and body. 

It's what we work all week long for!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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March 27, 2021

Staying Centered

So important to keep the mind centered.

I tried something new in the pool to tread water using the minimum energy.

At first, my body resisted and I started to flail with my arms and legs.

But then, I centered my mind and started to control my breathing.

My deep focused breaths raised my body above the water almost by itself.

My arms and legs relaxed and just was there for support.

It felt so good to be in a better state of self-control and mindfulness.

Always need to try and keep the mind still, centered, and in control of the body.

Focus, focus, focus!  ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)


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September 8, 2020

Laundry is a Colorful Cleaning Affair

It's great when laundry goes from smelly and dirty to fresh and clean!

Some nice refreshing laundry detergent is just what's needed. 

When the detergent comes in big, bright bottles like here, then it's even a more inviting experience. 

Clean laundry, clean mind, clean mouth way to go! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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May 1, 2020

Shabbat Shalom and Stay Healthy!

Beautiful Shabbat is almost here again. 

A time for rest and rejuvenation. 

Each of us has to take care of and nourish our body, mind, and soul. 

Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom!

Please stay safe and healthy. ;-)

(Credit Graphic: Andy Blumenthal)

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February 14, 2020

Israel 2020: Day 5

Went to the Holon Design Museum (south of Tel Aviv) today. 

They had exhibit called States of Extreme.

I found some really cool exhibits and ideas there.

Sort of felt my mind being expanded by it, which is I suppose one of the purposes of going to this. 

Two of my favorite from today:

1) The chair with people legs and 

2) The Fanuc robotic arm feeding the baby in the crib.


Hope you enjoy these as much as I did. 

And Shabbat Shalom to everyone from the Holy Land!

(Credit Photos: Andy Blumenthal)
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October 18, 2018

Memory Comes In 3's

So it seems like the human mind can fundamentally only remember things in threes.

Whether it's a joke about serving 3 meals: Frozen, Microwave, and Take-out. 

Or Even washing your hair: Wash, Rinse, Repeat. 

How about what to do when there is an:

Active Shooter: Run, Hide, Fight

Fire: Stop, Drop, Roll

Earthquake: Drop, Cover, Hold On

G-d forbid there should be 4 or more steps to do something, and mankind would be beyond his/her mental limitations and at a virtual standstill. 

So read, remember, and use this appropriately--that's the 3 things to do now with this post. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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December 18, 2017

Shower Us With Peace

Oh L-rd, we pray that you shower your people with an abundant and complete peace. 

A peace of mind, spirit, and body.

A peace that permeates every aspect of our being and knows no limits to time and space. 

May You grant us a complete saving and healing. 

As threats loom large on the horizon, we look to the Heavens to ask for your merciful saving grace. 

Enemies rise against us, and only you can reach down and lift us up.

We stand in your presence, naked and humbled.

As the winds blow and clouds gather, only you can protect and save. 

While some men look arrogantly at their own strength and smarts, these are nothing to the Master of the Universe.

G-d uproots the wicked and plants his faithful children in their stead. 

Peace is the ultimate blessing, and only G-d can grant it. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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September 21, 2015

Mindful Treatment Of The Disabled

What great brain at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) came up with the idea to curb access to prosthetics for the disabled?

What is supposedly driving CMS?

It's a half-wit effort to put a dent in fraud for lower-limb prosthetics --estimated at just $43 million relative to CMS's annual budget of close to $1 trillion!

Uh, doesn't CMS have anything better to do then pick on disabled people missing one or more legs?

The profound dumbness of the proposed CMS new rules would limit amputees from possible reimbursement for artificial limbs for example, "if they use assistive devices such as canes or crutches."

But isn't that precisely what someone who can't walk and is missing a limb would use???

Here's the next doozy...CMS would limit advanced prosthetics "if the device doesn't enable them to walk with the appearance of a natural gait."

OMG, this is too much!

People with disabilities who require help need it precisely because they are not "natural" in their mobility functions--that is what we are seeking to help them with. 

You're going to penalize someone from getting artificial limbs because they still can't walk completely normal with fake limbs like with real ones?

Moreover, if the Veteran's Administration adopts these rules, this will also affect our wounded warfighters. 

G-d (and the Secretary of HHS) needs to put some sense back in the minds of the people who, in this case, instead of helping the disabled are misguidedly working against them. ;-)

(Source Photo: Dannielle Blumenthal)

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October 24, 2014

Psychotherapy, In The Beginning

Wow, I love this early photo of psychotherapy.

The girl is lying on some pillows on 2 chairs. 

The Freudian doctor leans over the girl and is yanking on his goatee listening intently...and analyzing!

A man, that I assume is the girls dad is in the background, hovering protectively and hoping she is feeling better soon. 

The mind, like the body, unfortunately can get sick. 

And we need to take care of ourselves and seek help to get better. 

Fear not the competent doctor who really cares and sincerely wants to help (and is not just in it as a pure business).

Pray that G-d guides him to heal you and give you strength in body and peace of mind. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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July 1, 2014

Robot Man

Don't know exactly what it is about this little robot guy, but I really liked it. 

The simplicity of the body and limbs joined by the connector joints and the head as just a clear crown on the rest.


To me, it looked relatively realistic as how robots of the future might actually look.


Humanoid, but so sleek that they are us but in many ways a step up from our aging selves. 


Perhaps, someday the brains of humans and the bodies of machines will really come together in a better alternative to ourselves.


Living (indefinitely) longer and even pain free in bodies that carry mind and soul into the future. 


(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

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July 15, 2013

Those Are Some Prosthetics


Wow, prosthetics have come a long way--these are tough!

This video from Biodapt shows their high-performance Moto Knee being used in a variety of action sports including snowmobiling, motor biking, mountain biking, horseback riding, water skiing, snow boarding, and jet skiing. 

Bloomberg BusinessWeek (11 July 2013) explains how the Moto Knee has hydraulic components that provide "tension and range of motion for intense physical activity."

They cost around $6,000 and don't replace the regular walking version, but Mike Schultz, the developer understands the need for these advanced prosthetics having lost a leg himself in a 2008 competitive snowmobiling accident. 

I think it's wonderful that these high-tech devices are being made available for disabled people to be able to do a wide range of exciting activities. 

My hope is that as the technology continues to advance that we can have--like a person's legs--one prosthetic device that is adaptive for use in every day use as well as more intense activities and sports. 

It is hard to imagine people voluntarily trading their body parts for mechanical implants--but one day, in the not too distant future, these mechanical limbs will not only be a substitute for repair of real body parts, but will actually provide some superior capabilities--they will be used for body augmentation--and thus even be desirable by those who haven't lost limbs. 

What gives a leg up to prosthetics, as Hugh Herr in the Wall Street Journal (12 July 2013) put it is "that the designed parts of the body can improve in time, whereas the normal body, the biological body, degrades in time."

With regenerative medicine and replacement parts by design, more than ever our physical bodies will be just the transient vessel that houses our heart, mind and soul--that which really makes us, us. ;-)
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June 10, 2012

A Technologist's Personal Rorschach Test

So I gave myself a little Rorschach test. 

This was from a outdoor mural at school that I really liked. 

I let my mind freely associate and had some fun too. 

I could've gone on with this, but wanted to keep it clean. 

Hope you like the mural and creativity. 

If you had to do this exercise, I'd be curious to see what you came up with.
 
Have a good week!

Andy

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