Resources for a Teenager – YouTube

The sixth in a series of posts detailing those resources I’m finding useful on my own particular (life) journey.

This date of publication is particularly pertinent, which is why I’m publishing today.

Meta

Thankfully, I haven’t had a TV since 2009. I don’t watch TV shows via Netflix, Amazon Prime etc., and I don’t want to.

However, with an internet connection, I am fortunate to be able to watch-free-to-view content (albeit advertiser supported).

The List

The rationale

1. Listening to Shame: Brené Brown closes out the main TED conference, which (I believe) is the top slot. And she nails it! #goBrené This talk has 8m views on TED.com, and a further 2m on YouTube.
2. The power of vulnerability: this is probably the first talk I watch of Brené. It’s had 33m views on TED.com, and 7m on YouTube. I think these watch numbers means that her work resonates deeply and widely. Her work has given us a great gift, a way to reframe vulnerability and consider it as a superpower [cf IN-Q below].
3. Oscar & Clark: I love this playful scat singing by Clark Terry, which seems to be the best example I can find of his
4. Bach’s Blues: the piece which I can still remember Oscar playing and the first one which ‘broke through for me (and one which still brings tingles)
5. Kendra: Kendra is / was the scrum-half for the Black Ferns team which won the rugby World Cup.
6. Lt Gen Silveria: in amongst all the posturing and double-speak, a leader truly stands up for right action and makes clear the vital importance of treating each other with dignity and respect.
7. TryLife Jacob: a resonant clip which is a trailer for TryLife’s interactive movie. I have had one go at this, which actually was difficult / challenging to experience [probably as it should be]. I need to find time to go again. A fantastic creative endeavour.
8. Huygens’s descent: it’s awe-inspiring that we can send machines to other planets and then watch as they land. Footage like this helps challenge our delusions of grandeur, and reframe how we consider ourselves.
9. Holocaust denial: the Nazis truly are ‘a warning from history’. We can re-learn the lessons through these materials
10. Antisemitism Today: one of my best friends happens to be Jewish. By standing up for him, I believe I am standing up for all of us
11. Building a psychologically safe workplace: the idea of feeling safe enough hardly seems revolutionary, but sadly it is. Amy Edmondson’s work is brilliant and vital.
12. Over the wall: one of my favourite movies. One of my favourite scenes. Articulates CG Jung’s concept of ‘The Middle Passage’ en route to our 'Second Adulthood’, and reminds me of Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey” [h/t Parker Palmer].
13. Haka Documentary: I’m fascinating by the sentiments articulated in this piece, which shows Maori culture as being deeply rooted to the land, to nature, and to one ancestors. A powerful groundedness.
14. Legacy: this book is on my wishlist. The video briefly summarises the key points, and the importance of humility in the lore and culture of the All Blacks rugby team [aka the male version of the Black Ferns; the name for the work they do with children is called ‘Small Blacks’…!]
15. Healthy Romantic Relationships: a work in progress for me…
16. オスカー・ピーターソン リユニオン・ブルース: oops, this just sneaked in [couldn’t resist]. Classic line-up (I think) of Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen.
17. The Incredibles: I love Violet’s forcefield (although I love Brené reframe of the need-for-armour more…)
18. Deactivating HAL: how do we do this for ourselves and reach our second adulthood. You may be discerning a pattern here… ;)
19. Living from the Inside: Parker is epic. And he’s speaking at Naropa University. It’s all good.
20. The Growth Mindset: Carol’s work is so important for us all as humans, and as role models for each other and younger generations which we nurture.
21. Life is Good Superpowers: “we have superpowers too”. IN-Q’s poetry is brilliant. This poem is important and suggests we need to rethink our own abilities.
22. Saying yes: clearly I’m projecting with all these clips #whatevs
23. Excited for now: what soulwork do we need to do so we can be fully present?
24. The Navigators: starting with an obituary in The Economist, I became intrigued by the connection of Papa Mau with nature and the ocean in all its forms. I think there is an authenticity which comes from being connected to the land and ocean. All this still lives on in the Polynesian Voyaging Society

The Task

When folk we say we live in challenging times, or change is a constant, IMHO it was ever thus.

Therefore, how do we discern our path? How do we find courage to voyage alone and with no guidance? How do we self-actualise, when (as ever) all about us are encouraging us to conform.

Here are some clues. It’s like a vision quest. We must journey alone, and create a path – the pathless path – and one which is only discernible once we’ve made it.

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments below. Thank you!

Resources for a Teenager – 'Natural Sciences'

The fifth in a series of posts detailing those resources I’m finding useful on my own particular (life) journey.

Meta

I did Biology A Level, back in the mists of time.

To much of how science is presented seems to be a fait accompli. I prefer to create my own understanding from the evidence that’s out there, and how it evolves over time.

The List

The rationale

1. Chaos – I remember reading this and being inspired, daunted, and made tearful with frustration. Top notch popular science.
2. Genius – Dick Feynman’s life combined tragedy, playfulness, profound insightful and periods when he lost his way. Another powerful account of leaders willing  to speak truth to power (i.e. the final chapter).
3. Emergence – seemingly a ‘parallel’ track to Chaos. Another breakthrough and disruptive discipline in the Sciences. You might be spotting a theme here…
4. The Fractalist – part autobiography, part inspirational story of survival, part the midwifery of a new branch of science / maths. Inspirational exposition of success in the face of huge challenges, combining a gentleness of manner with first-class determination and courage.
5. You are the Placebo – important insights into the way we create our identity from within. The challenge is doing something about this, though
6. Mycelium Running – a powerful story of how fungi

To read:

At Home in the Universe – I’ve started reading, but got side-tracked. More insights, this time from complexity theory (cf Emergence above)     

Gut – having a dairy  intolerance, I have an interest in things relating to my gut, the microbiome, and all things relating

Learning from the Octopus – I must get beyond the initial chapters. It’s about how we can learn from the natural world

Soft-Wired – there are too many determinists out there. Our brains alter according to how we use them.

The Arrow of Time – I need to read this to understand why time only goes one way

Relativity – I started this, but got stuck with time going faster and slower depending on where you are #drat

Quantum Theory – I want to understand more about entanglement et al.

Systems View of Life – how to bring things together as a whole

The Storytelling Animal – humans as narrative making and seekers

    

The Task

The Scientific Method offers powerful ways to understand ourselves and the Cosmos.

However, scientists are humans – after all – so IMHO we should take responsibility for our own synthesis of whatever insights we have gleaned so far from the natural world, and beyond.

Actually, my immediate task is to read more of these books – both on my Kindle, and from my bookshelf... #oops

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments below. Thank you!

Goodreads

I endeavour to record what I’m reading via my profile on Goodreads.

Join us for the North East Premiere of 'HAPPY' on World HAPPY Day

Background

You may be aware that I’ve been working at happiest Limited since last June. I feel very fortunate to have learnt a great deal, and discover a treasure trove of resources around the practice of happiness. I.e. that one’s level of happiness and well-being is something that one can grown, through regular practice and habitual behaviour.
This post provides the context to a happiness-related event I’m involved in organising in Newcastle upon Tyne, and invites you to attend and bring your friends!

Happiness at Work event

I was thrilled to attend the recent Happiness at Work event, organised by Codeworks:

This month we’re taking a different approach to our Think and a Drink event with the topic of Positive Psychology and its effects in the workplace.  We’ve got speakers and discussions and even a chance of taking part in some of the very first research studies on the subject with our friends at Northumbria University.  Here’s a little taster of what you can expect.
Positive Psychology is a new branch of Psychology which focuses on enabling people to grow and fulfil themselves. Professor Martin Seligman, who is generally credited with igniting the interest in positive psychology when he was appointed President of the American Psychological Association in 1998, describes it as enabling people to ‘flourish’. A positive psychological state in which we feel positive emotions, engagement, achievement, positive relationships and a sense of meaning in our lives.
Research also demonstrates that a positive psychological state seems to protect against illness and prolong longevity. It also enhances resilience, very important given the challenging and unpredictable economic climate we are experiencing.

At that event, the seeds of local action were sown, so please read on for details of the event in February.

We’re showing a movie, and you’re invited!

We’re showing a movie on 11th February in Newcastle upon Tyne. Once in the afternoon, and for the second time in the evening. Please use these links to book online.
The following is the descriptive blurb:

Happy People = Happy World

On World HAPPY Day, February 11, 2012, thousands of people will join together in communities across the globe to watch the film HAPPY and begin their journeys toward healthier, and happier lives. We want everyone in the North East and Cumbria to be part of this amazing, worldwide event so we are screening the film twice, at 2.00pm and 6.30pm, at The Centre for Life in Newcastle.

World HAPPY Day inspires action for increasing happiness in our own lives and in the world. Research suggests that happy people are healthier and live longer, they are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often and are more optimistic and creative. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways – it is a goal worth sharing.
Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award® nominated “Genghis Blues” now brings us HAPPY, a film that takes us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa to explore the secrets behind our most valued emotion.

---

Screening Programme

Afternoon

2.00pm ‘Happy Networking’ – an opportunity to relax over a drink, catch up with friends and meet lots of new, like minded people
3.00pm ‘HAPPY’ – be one of the first in the North to experience the inspiring new film by Roko Belic
4.30pm ‘Happy talk’ – share your feelings about the film, learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.
5.30pm Event draws to a close

« Click here to book the matinee »

Evening

6.30pm ‘Happy Networking’ – an opportunity to relax over a drink, catch up with friends and meet lots of new, like minded people
7.30pm ‘HAPPY’ – be one of the first in the North to experience the inspiring new film by Roko Belic
9.00pm ‘Happy talk’ – share your feelings about the film, learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.
10.00pm Event draws to a close

« Click here to book the evening showing »

The Film

Happy - A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Films on Vimeo.
For more information about ‘HAPPY’ go to - http://www.thehappymovie.com

How you can get involved

Please come and join us – the links again: afternoon and evening. Come to both if you like ;-). Key activities:

• share your feelings about the film,
• learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and
• find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.

Crowdsourcing Mycological Response Teams to help with the Gulf #oilspill?

Introduction

In my previous post on this subject, I recapped my personal take on the overall situation.

Having drafted this posted a couple of days ago, I now learn that:

Almost three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico has been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces, the US government has said.

A government report says only a quarter of the oil from the BP well remains and that it is "degrading quickly".

The majority had been captured, burned off or evaporated, it states. But more clean-up is necessary officials warn.

The report was released after BP announced its "static kill" procedure to seal the leak was working.

So I thought I’d better post in case something else major happened. Doh!

Challenges

I’m guessing that despite the good news re the oilspill, that there will remain a challenge to clean up that oil which hit the Gulf coast.

Having pinged an e-mail to Paul Stamets’ team, their response pointed me to a page with the following quote:

The Petroleum Problem

Thank you for visiting fungi.com, and for your interest in the BP oil spill disaster and the potential for mycoremediation.

We are being inundated with requests and cannot individually address all of the questions we have received. We are in direct dialogue with the EPA at the highest levels, and are teaming to implement solutions to this huge disaster. Since we are such a small company, we are stretched to our limits. Your support allows us to dedicate as many of our resources as possible, and for this we thank you. Again, please accept our apologies if we cannot individually address your concerns. Our statement at below will be updated periodically as we gather more information.

[my hyperlink for mycoremediation btw]

I am assuming that Paul Stamets and his team are the primary resource in this domain – i.e. to use fungi to break down pollutants in an ‘eco-friendly’ way. What seems clear is that there are problems with scaling, getting the idea to a wider audience and gaining a following & critical mass.

The article continues:

How can we help?

Knowing that the extent of this disaster eclipses our mycological resources should not be a reason to not act.

I proposed in 1994 that we have Mycological Response Teams (MRTs) in place to react to catastrophic events, from hurricanes to oil spills. We need to preposition composting and mycoremediation centers adjacent to population centers. We should set MRTs into motion, centralized in communities, which are actively involved in recycling, composting and permaculture—utilizing debris from natural or man-made calamities to generate enzymes and rebuild healthy local soils.

I see the urgent need to set up webinar-like, Internet-based modules of education to disseminate methods for mycoremediation training so people throughout the world can benefit from the knowledge we have gained through the past decade of research. Such hubs of learning could cross-educate others and build a body of knowledge that would be further perfected over time, benefiting from the successes and failures of those in different bioregions. The cumulative knowledge gained from a centralized data hub could emerge as a robust yet flexible platform that could help generations to come. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens would be empowered with practical mycoremediation tools for addressing environmental disasters.

Going social

My argument here is that a social approach, akin to the PeopleFinder wiki created in response to Hurricane Katrina, might help MRTs self-organise and conduct operations under a loose ‘umbrella’.

A similar tool might already have been implemented by Deepwater Horizon Response website – but apologies – I’ve not had time to check it out (or the follow-up site RestoreTheGulf.gov).

Tooling

I’m going to kick speculation about what tools to use into touch for now, as my priority is to post – and update this or post separately as appropriate. However, potential requirements could be:

• Repository of successful mycoremediation techniques
• Communications tools
• Team-based areas where teams can get themselves sorted and manage their activities
• Connections with mainstream social media tools

Staci Stoller

I wanted to tip my (Stetson hat) to Staci Stoller, a former colleague of mine in London, who has offered to help in getting the message out in Texas. Thanks, Stace! :-)

The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE?

I saw an item on the BBC news site, which took me through to the main page on this, which explained thus:

It is a $1.4 Million competition designed to inspire a new generation of innovative solutions that will speed the pace of cleaning up seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from ocean platforms, tankers, and other sources.

This X CHALLENGE, announced on July 29, 2010, is a one-year competition that begins on August 1, 2010 and culminates in the summer of 2011, with head-to-head competitive demonstrations taking place at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility (OHMSETT) in Leonardo, New Jersey, USA (www.ohmsett.com).

A $1 Million Prize will be awarded to the team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the sea surface at the highest oil recovery rate (ORR) and the highest Recovery Efficiency (RE).

So, my initial excitement about something fungi-related winning the prize was tempered by the focus on “cleaning up seawater surface oil”. However, on the ‘competition details’ page I also noticed:

X PRIZE will be finalizing the details over the next 30 days, and will post final rules in September.  We encourage you to PRE_REGISTER as a team and we will keep you informed of any changes and when the detailed rules are posted.

So maybe the scope of the compo could be widened to include prizes for on-shore cleanup efforts?

Paul Stamets @ TED on fungi; also re how they can help clean up Gulf oil spill

Introduction

I first discovered Paul Stamets when reading this article on my Palm III via AvantGo (a forerunner of RSS) – waaay back in 2002.

I was particularly struck by the effect of fungi in cleaning up soil contaminated with diesel – as told in this Wikipedia article about Mycoremediation.

Eventually, as per this previous post – I bought some wooden dowels, innoculated by fungi from Paul’s company, and set up a large log with them in. Rather embarrassingly, I never moved the stump from one house when Caroline and I moved – it got left my the wayside as it was too heavy / I was too embarrassed to ask the movers… :$

I also bought a copy of Paul’s book Mycelium Running: A Guide to Healing the Planet through Gardening with Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms but that’s also still on the to-do pile. Ho hum!

Rediscovering Mr Stamets

*Anyway*, I was reading The Whuffie Factor: Using the Power of Social Networks to Build Your Business by Tara Hunt last week, and she mentioned being introduced to Paul when she was at TED. So I googled Paul’s talk and found it – see below (I think he really nailed it, although there was a cheesy joke at the beginning lol).

The citation from the TED website reads:

Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of Stamets' research is the Northwest's native fungal genome, mycelium, but along the way he has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies, including pesticidal fungi that trick insects into eating them, and mushrooms that can break down the neurotoxins used in nerve gas.

 

Video

He’s obviously a rocket scientist, but what he says is compelling!

Paul Stamets’ statement on Mycoremediation and its applications to oil spills

So, having found Paul’s talk, it got me thinking that his expertise might be helpful in mitigating the effects of the Gulf oil spill. I then got in touch with his company, and they forwarded the statement below:

Paul Stamets statement on Gulf oil spill

What Paul is saying is that fungi could provide a natural remedy to break down the oil and mitigate its long-term effects, but there would need to be an army of people on the ground to make it work in practice…

I think most people would put this in the “it’s so crazy, it just might work” category – but I’m putting this out there in the hope that it might get some legs. In fact, I might well send the link to the Deepwater Horizon team…

Thoughts?

Gastroscopy

I’m posting this bunch of bullet points as is, otherwise this ain’t going to get posted at all… :-s

I’ve got a photo of my duodenum, but need to find it and scan it…

Cast

• Pam, the super efficient ward sister with the excellent bedside manner
• Lesley, the lady with the scanner (radiographer??)
• The good Doctor
• Caroline – who took me
• My Mum, who picked me up

Chronology

1. Admittance into Gastro-enterology
2. Own cubicle, cubicle’s own hand wash
3. Explanation of choice between
   1. Throat spray
   2. Sedation
4. Explanation of procedure
5. Chose throat spray
6. Doctor arrives, I sign disclaimer
7. Go into ‘operating room’
8. I marvel at the gastroscopy equipment
   1. Looks like something out The Matrix 
9. Doctor gives me throat spray
10. Bed, turn on my left hand side
11. ‘Bit’ to go between my teeth – aargh!
1. It’s a plastic thing with a hole big enough to have the ‘camera’ put through it, and so you don’t damage the equipment by biting on it - yeeuch
12. Gizmo fed into my mouth
13. Deep breathing, steady breathing
14. Suction thing like dentists
15. Swallow
16. Swallow again
17. Gizmo into my stomach
18. Further down, into duodenum for a look around
    1. Makes me feel a bit sick
19. Air being pumped in makes me burp a lot
20. Gizmo used to take samples – duodenum
21. Back into stomach for a look see
22. Concern because of saliva & breathing
23. Back out again
24. Thanks heavens!
25. Lesley gives me photo
26. Recuperation
27. 45 minutes after spray
28. Mum comes to collect
29. Rather tired last night
30. Have a sore throat today – unsurprisingly. Rather like a ‘sore throat’ caused by illness.

Initial test results

The biopsy taken from my duodenum was put into some ‘agar jelly’ containing lactose, along with a colour indicator. Apparently those with lactose intolerances normally turn the indicator a sky blue colour. I managed to turn it navy blue, which means a severe lactose intolerance.

The good Doctor also mentioned I have mild gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (apparently). Although looking at the symptoms, I don’t seem to suffer from this…

Results of blood test? Need to recall / check documentation

Reflections

• Would have been good to have some kind of hand signals to communicate
• Lack of control
• Anxiety over pipe in mouth, & breathing
• Throat spray vs. sedation

Deep joy – not.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license.

Deadwater MTB trail - Kielder Forest

A post to commemorate taking the afternoon off last Thursday, and taking my bike up to Kielder. As per my tweet:

First piece of Leave this year - taking the pm off, & the MTB up to Kielder

Named after Deadwater Fell, part of Kielder Forest, and more about which is here. Most of the trail has been built by Kielder Trail Reavers, supported by The Bike Place.

Learning points

The trail is bearing up well, but has become quite uneven, with lots of stones, where the surface has been worn away.

• My fantastic Marzocchi Bomber fork needs pumping up – it was slightly hairy going off large rocks / bumps and the forks compressing more than I’d have liked. Where is that shock pump?! Gah
• My skills & stamina definitely need a big improvement!
• Also, my brakes needs sorting / bleeding & new brake pads installed

btw, if you double-click on the photo of my bike and the associated gear, you will open a browser window at Flickr, as I have annotated the photo (and the next couple…).

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license.

Where we live

I wanted to write a brief paean to where we live, as we have enjoyed it so much.
Unfortunately we are moving when our lease expires in July because of circumstances beyond our control. So I thought I’d post whilst the going was good.
You’ll find a fair few photos of the countryside around where we live via my Flickr account.

My home office

We used to live in North Shields, so to move out into the lovely Northumbrian countryside has been a literal and metaphorical / metaphysical breath of fresh air. :-D
Other plus points is that where we live:

• It’s not too far from Newcastle upon Tyne: about 30 mins from the Metrocentre & central Newcastle
• It’s good for mountain biking
  
  • I can hit the country roads and green lanes from straight out the back door
  • It’s closer to Kielder forest, where there is all manner of cross country mayhem courtesy of Kielder Trail Reavers
• There’s a brewery half a mile away, which we can drink at the the Black Bull
• It’s nice and quiet and it gets pretty dark in the evenings (if the light from Newcastle & Gateshead doesn’t reflect off the clouds)
• Towards the North West, the sky at night is very clear and it’s possible to see some amazing stars (and a few shooting ones)
• There is a varied slew of wildlife out and about, including:
  
  • Deer
  • Bats
  • Cows / Sheep
  • Kestrel
  • Badgers
  • Foxes
  • Mice
  • Song birds
  • Toads
  • Sundry insects
  • Rats
  • Feral cats
  • All manner of birds
  • There’s a few horses knocking about, too

Jarvis, our dog, loves it as he chases the pheasants, partridges etc. that lurk in the cover around and about. We get to walk him in various places, which keeps us fit, too.
There *are* downsides:

• Winter can lasts for 4-5 months, can we windy, wet & snowy; it can be expensive to run an oil-fired central heating system
• Broadband is pretty hopeless – we’re at the end of a 9km line, at the limit of usability really
• The pigs being reared next door can get a bit smelly!

So that’s it. We’re hoping to move down the road, so watch this space.
UPDATE: This is new house [ok, so it’s the garden at the top-left corner, but you get the drift ;-)]

Technorati Tags: northumberland,north east england,nice,wildlife,broadband,home

Lion's Mane here we come! Probably

Folks

You may recall that I bought some products from www.fungi.com just before Christmas. One of these was a little packet of wooden dowels, which have corkscrew channels cut in them. Into these channels, Fungi.com have innoculated Lion's Mane mushroom spore.

My challenge has been to drill holes in a geet big log of Poplar, which I bought from our friendly firewood supplier, Mark Ridley from Birtley (near Hexham). I then had to tap the dowels into the holes, and seal them with beeswax - according to the instructions.

It was going to be straightforward, but I borrowed the wrong sized drill bit from my Cousin, and therefore got a bit fed up when I couldn't get the dowels into the holes. Happily, Mark was happy to swap the 8mm for a 9mm drill bit, so I got cracking again.

Also, upon re-reading the instructions, I found I'd over-specced the size, so the log I've used is probably twice the diameter required. :-s

The beeswax seal keep any bugs out from munching the evolving muchroom / mycelia, I think.

For the beeswax, I ordered some beeswax candles from eBay: although I have to say I'm not impressed with the parcel service from Royal Mail. This is the second item I've had to had re-sent by an eBay seller as RM have "lost" my goods*. :-(

I will be uploading some "before" photos, so I can compare in, say, six months.

On a related note, my Parents kindly helped Caroline dig some pig muck (from the porkers next door to us) into the flower beds at the front.

I'd put my back out lifting some garden furniture [that's a convenient excuse... - Ed.] so it fell to Dad to plant the seed potatoes kindly donated by Tom next door (ok, over the fields). Dad sprinkled some Mycogrow for Vegetables in the trench, before putting the spuds in.

* Apparently, Ian Fleming's Auric Goldfinger said that "Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action." I wait with dread for the next thing to disappear in the mail, as then I'll be forced to complain, and endure the hell that is the RM's customer complaint process (judging by the description on their website).