A Dream Interpretation: Tuneups for the Brain

As someone who has made sporadic attempts at lucid dreaming, I find the idea of dreams as a 'warmup cycle' for the brain prior to waking to be interesting. Does this mean that if I successfully enter a lucid state and direct my own dream, I am essentially finding a use for an otherwise idling engine?

(Incidentally, I am not a big fan of dream interpretation. Not only because so much of it seems arbitrary and reductionist, it robs the dream of its essential mystery and appeal.)

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I've got a few Dreamwidth beta account activation codes, in case there's anyone still out there who wants one. First come, first serve, either in comments or to swede at novitious dot com.

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Pinched from flemco...

Revealed! My formerly secret Kenyan birth certificate.

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Domestic robots with a taste for flesh.

Ahll be bach... vith condiments!

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An interesting report on how climate change is affecting us right here and right now: New US climate report dire, but offers hope

But, chances are, if you haven't already been moved by the 'some nastiness comin' down, pay attention, dammit' approach, that won't reach you, either. This, however, may be more appealing to you: "Lazy Environmentalist" says don't feel bad

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Scribd starts an 'online document store' where authors get 80% of the cut.

Not saying this is where The Novel's gonna show up (I'm still actively soliciting publisher slush piles and literary agents), but I've got some other work that this might be perfect for.

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• 14:28 Emu, it is not for thee to emulsify baconshins. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I now have a DreamWidth account, so here I go in testing the crossposting feature. Avaunt, and thanks to Peg for the invite!

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Five futurist visionaries and what they got right.

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I seek the invite. I shall owe (legal and affordable beverage of choice) to she or he who gives, should we ever meet. And stuff.

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Bionic penguins take to the water -- and the skies.

Why is it my guidance counselor never mentioned 'building flying robot penguins' as a career option?

I especially am looking forward to when the bionic penguins take on their clear nemesis, the bionic octopus.

And if that wasn't enough:

13 things that do not make sense.

I bet the bionic jellyfish will solve these.

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Mind-reading device sends Twitter messages.

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You Are a Snow Leopard

You have learned that you must rely on yourself, and yourself alone, to live a happy life. You are understand the world better than most people you know. You are very perceptive and intuitive. You need lots of space to think. If you don't get the space you need, you're likely to bite someone's head off. Because you are so thoughtful and solitary, people find you to be intense and mysterious. You're even seen as intimidating.

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In case anyone has a LinkedIn account, I am now (as of yesterday) on there. If you're on there, feel free to add me to your network. If not, don't worry about it -- it's pretty much all businessy over there. Which has its place, sure... I'm just sayin'.

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How now brown cow? Run for it!

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Tactile illusions: seven ways to fool your sense of touch

I especially want to try the body swap one someday...

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Maggots no wonder cure for festering wounds

Next they'll be telling us that leeches are no good for curing the scurvy...

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New brochure promoting 'climate change literacy.'

Covers the basics of climate change and its consequences in an easy-to-understand way. Recommended to anyone genuinely curious about the worsening climate situation and how it got that way, with a minimum of ten-dollar words.

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I am: Alfred Bester A pyrotechnic talent who put only a small portion of his energy into writing.

Which science fiction writer are you?

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Antarctic glaciers melting faster than thought

So the good news is that scientists were wrong about global climate change. The bad news is... um... everything else.

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