Archive for the 'blog' Category

A Vegetable Smoothie Experience (with a health note on spinach)

Published
by
Joe
on May 30, 2008
in blog and health
. 1 Comment

A few months ago Wild Oats was bought out by Whole Foods. I have been shopping at what is now Whole Foods for a few years. Over the last year I have really picked up my shopping there, often visiting the nearest location several times a week.

The most frequent item I purchase is a vegetable blend fruit smooth. However, two weeks ago Whole Foods raised the price of a 16 ounce beverage from $4 to $6. This new smoothie price is not nearly as appealing as when it was cheaper, thus it has reduced my intake of these custom made drinks lately. It is still an acceptable price, however.

Of the two Wild Oats/Whole Food locations I have frequented over the years, I have met several store employs who do not eat or buy products from these stores. They just “work” there. One even went so far as to say buying health food was “crazy.” He was a nice person, however.

Well, last week I went to Whole Foods during the early afternoon, which is not my normal shopping time. I mostly shop at night and deal with the second shift crew. Because I visited the store earlier I had to deal with an employee I rarely interact with. She is a nice old woman with many wrinkles who wears a plastic cap over her hair along with a white apron (as the rest of the workers behind the counter do). I ordered a new smoothie this time - one made mostly with juiced spinach and ginger with carrot, papaya and one banana. She found it amusing that I ordered five ounces of spinach juiced with a smile. She asked me why I dont just get vitamin pills because they are cheaper. That statement revealed to me with utmost clarity that she does not buy health food, she is not serious about health, does not eat fruits or vegetables and is ignorant on the subject of nutrition.

The health benefits of eating much leafy greens and fruits is staggering. Furthermore, there are far more chemicals, minerals and nutritional elements to plants and fruits than simply the vitamins they contain.

And so I just smiled at her.

(Notes on spinach: While I do not care much for the taste of spinach, a whopping fist-sized piece of juiced ginger really helps to remove the taste of the icky leafy green. My interest in drinking juiced spinach comes after new research found a muscle-building steroid in it (phytoecdysteroids). [link to study at newscientist.com] Popeye was right all along! Spinach really does build strong muscles! Since I have been working out daily, this fact is of personal interest to me. Human muscle cultures grew 20% faster. Rats fed this spinach steroid chemical were “slightly stronger after a month of injections of this extract. However, about a pound of spinach would have to be eaten daily to obtain the same amount of this steroid. A pound of spinach results in about five ounces of juice. While I do not expect to gain muscle mass from simply drinking this juice once a week if not more, I assume it’s better than not consuming it considering all of the other nutritional qualities of spinach I’ll be receiving.)

Green Tips From Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Published
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Joe
on April 23, 2008
in blog
. 1 Comment

julie louis-dreyfus

Yesterday was Earth Day and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (of Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine fame) was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno to provide five tips for a greener living. This actress has been a green advocate for long time, driving a hybrid car while her husband drives a biodiesel car. Both live inside a “green home” made with sustainable materials with solar panels. So, she walks the talk.

Julia’s 5 tips for a greener living are unarguably beneficial to society in terms of reducing one’s carbon footprint, which is what this is all about. I will reiterate them here with added notes:

  • “Take out all your light bulbs; replace them with compact fluorescent. Now they make them pretty. And they seem to last forever. You should never buy a regular bulb again. Note: more expensive fluorescents cast a nice, bright white light. Look for full-spectrum lights when shopping. You will notice the difference and will be happy you spent the few extra bucks..
  • “Adjust your thermostat by a couple of degrees - two degrees up or down depending on the season.”  Note: exercising this green tip should add a significant savings to your electricity bill.
  • “Unplug your chargers, hair dryers, and shut down your computer instead of putting it on standby. All these things draw energy.” Note: appliances which draw power while in the “off” state such as stoves, dvd players, and TV’s are called “energy vampires.” The often have a red standby light while off. Some draw as much as 40% of their operating power while in the “off” state.
  • “Avoid using plastic bags at the supermarket. … If you have the choice, choose paper over plastic.” Note: The causes less reliance on petroleum (which is not significant compared to automobiles) and less bags in the environment, which do not degrade. I strongly disagree with Julia that using paper over plastic is better — both are poor choices and neither are good. The only real solution is one Julia offers…
  • “Ultimately, if you can, see if you can remember to bring a bag with you. I am bad at this. To get better at this, I’m keeping bags in my car all the time. Or … use bags that roll up into tiny bags and you open them and they get enormous. You can have one or two in your purse.”

Try to incorporate these five tips into your home and daily life. Doing so will help you live a more socially conscious manor by reducing your carbon footprint. A sustainable future is on the horizon for all of us. Cheers to green living!

Virtual World & Subjective Reality

Published
by
Joe
on April 12, 2008
in awareness and blog
. 0 Comments

Matrix-like virtual worlds “a few years away”

from newscientist:
“Are supercomputers on the verge of creating Matrix-style simulated realities? Michael McGuigan at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York, thinks so. He says that virtual worlds realistic enough to be mistaken for the real thing are just a few years away.”
Research available on the arXiv preprint server (pdf)

The increasing power of computer technology capable of rendering life-like virtual reality is coming tantalizingly close.

What is real?

Once immersive virtual worlds are as realistic as this world, boundaries between what is real and what is not will become significantly blurred. Let’s ask ourselves: how do we currently define what is real? By our senses? Do you define a book as real because you can ascertain it’s qualities using all five senses? Then are the words on this webpage less real than the words in a physical book? One can only obtain a web pages qualities via one sense - sight. So does that make this web page any less real than a book? If yes, then I recommend you read Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. If no, then what is the process you go through to determine this website is as real as a physical book when only sense of perception is used? To take this future, how do you know I, the writer am as real as a physical book when you cannot even see me? .. or China? or Christ? What exactly is real? And how exactly do we define what is real?

shadow play platos cave
photo by girlreporter

What this city is built on

The floor beneath us is far from solid. In material reality the floor is not what is appears to be. It consists of mostly empty space, sparsely filled with little atom balls which electrons whirl around at great speeds. Stepping on the floor is like stepping onto a swarm of ants. The solid quality of the surface is relayed from our feet and eyes to our brain via the electricity in the nervous system, of which minute electron particles make up.

A floor in a matrix-style virtual world is far from solid, even though it provides support for our virtual bodies. In reality, that virtual floor is not what is appears. It consists of mostly empty space, where the substance is substantiated by little electrons whirling about at great speeds. The solid quality of the virtual floor is relayed to our brain via electrons, likely emitted from a special helmet that sends electrical waves through our skull.

Is the virtual world an illusion?

A virtual world is made from the same electron particle that makes up this world, this webpage, and even you and I. We perceive and interact with the virtual world in the same manor as we perceive and interact with this world. If the virtual world is an illusion, then this world is also an illusion for both are made of the same substance and perceived via the same senses. The objects which particles build and the reality in which they inhabit are the illusions. The chair is not real. Instead, what is real is the function the chair provides, not the object itself. Similarly, the word “love” is not real. What matters is the connection the word implies.

Personally, I find this subjective viewpoint of reality where form is unreal yet function is real very empowering. This belief must be attached to the knowledge that I am real, as in my consciousness is real for this awareness raising potential of this viewpoint to be realized. This realization allows me to be the active agent in the creation of my own subjective reality. This allows me to decide what is good and bad, what I want in my life and what I don’t, along with the will power to fulfill these choices. I have met many people who had the courage to realize their potential and define their own personal reality for success and empowerment. Maybe this is this is the mental process they followed. Whether they know how the blooming of their mind and life occurred is largely irrelevant. The fact that they “made it” is what’s acknowledged. But I find the path, process and method equally as important.

May you realize your vision and power for action as well.

Free Will and Determinism — The Truth Will Set You Free

Published
by
Joe
on April 9, 2008
in blog
. 0 Comments

Synopsis

I will explore why we are slaves to causality rather than free willed agents. Then I will posit the power of saying “no” is what breaks the metaphorical chains of causality we are enslaved with. It is this power of negation that is the truth which will set you and I free. The former and later positions and topics will be broken into separate segments.

The Magical Power of Free Will

The philosophical definition of free will is a human (agent) as self-causing. A person with free will does not react to, or has actions caused by external sources. Rather , this person is caused from their own internal will power. Furthermore, this will is a product or aspect of their own consciousness and is not a result or is caused from an external source. One who believes in free will logically disbelieves they are caused by God, fate, supernatural powers, and material or natural forces. Expounding upon this, free will is the single cause of their existence and reality. While the rest of the universe follows the natural laws of cause and effect, those believing in free will assert that human behavior, choice and consciousness is special and lies outside natural physical laws. The agent is the sole cause, not God or physical laws. On the other spectrum, those denying the existence of free will either espouse a material or immaterial (God) source for causality, and ultimately their existence. I believe the truth lies in a combination of both concepts, but with a twist. The first part of this essay will provide details why humans do not have free will and the second part will explain in what manor humans do have free will. In doing so I will recontextualize the notion of free will by using a term “free to negate” or “conditional free will.” The type of free will we employ is powerful, but the way it operates is counterintuitive to the traditional definition of free will. But I first must explore why we live in and are active parts of a universe of causality.

An Agent of the System

Agent Smith (talking to Neo): “As you well know, appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason why we’re here. We’re not here because we’re free, we’re here because we’re not free. There’s no escaping reason, no denying purpose - because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist.”
” It is purpose that created us,”
” Purpose that connects us,”
” Purpose that pulls us,”
” That guides us,”
” That drives us,”
” It is purpose that defines,”
” Purpose that binds us.”

Agent Smith is a symbolic representation of an agent operating in complete and total causality, through in and throughout. He is unable to comprehend choice. This is clearly revealed in the final scene with Neo in the Matrix Revolutions. (This implies Neo has free will, but actually it is conditional free will or the ability to negate that he possesses.) The impact of this inhibits Agent Smith from willing himself out of the system, from making his own choices and living his own life. Even though he was freed from the system by an external factor - Neo, Smith still feels the overwhelming burden of purpose and causality. It is rather amusing tongue-in-cheek humor that his name is Smith - a rather common, everyday name. Living autonomously causality prohibits, but I digress. Let me build up the case why we cannot escape this natural “system” of cause and effect. It is a requirement to explain how our free will works. So I will speak from the viewpoint of an agent of the system.

There is no such thing as free will. Free will is an illusion created by our mind due to a lack of information and or mental computational ability. Or, free will is an illusion that emerges from a complex neural network, much in the same manor that democracy and stock markets emerge from complex social systems. They are illusions under the guise of reality, like time and temperature. They are manifestations of an intellect creating averages and approximations of systems due to the feeble mind being unable to count the trees in the forest. They are symbols and abstracts which we confused and mislabel as reality. They just aren’t real. Due to this, the concept of free will is has become misunderstood as an agent having total control without the influences of external, or even internal biological causes. This is not the case. Experiencing true freedom, or true free will as per the philosophical definition is an impossibility in a universe bound by cause and effect. Since everything, including you and I, are within and part of a universe governed by time, space and causality, experiencing freedom or liberation from that which this universe is bound too cannot naturally occur.

Moreover, one cannot be self-causing, and thus free willed in the strict sense of the term. Every action and every thought has a prior cause. And to be free willed, one would have to be separate from all causes which would include the brains own electrical and chemical reactions that initiate consciousness and thoughts in the first place. The notion of this is absurd. The outcome is obvious.

But it’s not all downhill from here. While a deterministic universe spells doom for the notion of free will, on the contrary, being a part of causality is an empowering feature of living. Building a personal history of life events gives us in theory a limited ability to envision and control the course of our future. Paradoxically, this suggests free will. If it exists in this fashion as an ability to avoid misfortune by choosing a new road, in which I believe it does, it exists in an extremely diluted form represented by a negation power. This will be discussed later.

Note: It’s entirely possible that because I want to feel I have control, however small, over causality, I will be inherently biased towards freedom creating arguments for it existence even though it may not exist at all.

Let me now focus on proof as to why free will does not exist in the magical power as it is commonly understood.

The Particle

All physical systems that have been studied are universally conceded to be either deterministic or random. On the quantum level, the smallest known scale of reality, particle systems are popularly known as mysterious, random and strange. However, there is a growing trend that believed Quantum Theory only appears to be mysterious, random and strange. The new ideas are implying these features are an illusion. There are several theories and ideas that explain away these illusionary characteristics, namely the nature of randomness that occurs at the universes fundamental level. The first of these propositions, one by Einstein himself, proposed that a new, unknown theory underlines Quantum Theory. All these ideas raise a red flag over whether free will exists. These ideas and theories point to determinism as the mechanism for a foundation and the subsequent nature of reality. And all are parallel with the current evidence in neurological science explaining free will as an artifact of consciousness.

The Brain

Free will is probably located in the pre-frontal cortex, and we may even be able to narrow it down to the ventromedial pre-frontal cortex. –Stephen Pinker, How the Mind Works

Determinism is a system governed by cause and effect who’s histories, past and future can be predicted with certainty. The opposite of this is randomness, or chaos. Look around you. There is no chaos. Everything, from the largest structures to the tiniest of organisms are ordered, driven and with purpose. All is predictable. Human beings and our brains, made of physical matter are also deterministic. Our consciousness is not somehow magically separated from this reality. Studies over and over show the same circuit of neurons firing before a subject makes a choice. Based on this proven fact, the latest study was able to predict the choice the subject would make before they made it (which was to lift or not lift a finger). Again, before the person made a choice, that choice was already determined and known by a computer that measured that subjects brain activity in a certain neural circuit before the subject was conscientiously aware of making a choice. Since free will is about consciously making choices, this study throws the existence free will into question since choices can be predetermined through the measuring of brain electrical activity.

The Probability Illusion

God does not play dice. — Albert Einstein

There is a warming trend that particle behavior at the most fundamental level of reality only appears random because of a lack of information. This lack of information creates probability and chance. The less information that is known about a system, the greater the probability of outcomes. Therefore if all information about a system is known, which includes information about the observer measuring the system, then all outcomes, going forward or backwards in time are also known. Let’s use a coin flip to demonstrate: if all information is known about a coin flip, which includes the coin, tosser and present environment (other systems that may have an impact on the system being measured), then the outcome of the coin toss can be determined with 100% accuracy. The same holds true with the universe, now matter the size of scale. Probability, chance and the belief in free will are artifacts created from a lack of information.

This is why it is of utmost importance to know thyself. Once we understand ourselves our purpose in this universe becomes clear - just like a coin flip. And we all want to know why we exist, don’t we? Just look backwards, all the way back to your birth and look at the pattern of causality that led you here to the present moment. There are clues left in the past that reveal your purpose. Since our parents are a cause of our existence, clues for our purpose can be found within their life as well.

Belief if free will springs from a belief in an ego. Both are false and the former is an artifact of the latter. Our ego wants to believe it is in control. We all understand causality: when we are hungry we eat food. But when causality in our personal existence becomes so vast and so minute, our brain cannot compute and generates the illusion of free will to exercise a false sense of control over this vast sea of causality. Or, viewed from the opposite way, as our brains become complex, free will, hand-in-hand with the ego emerges as a tool for protecting and conserving our individual existence. With a self-identity and belief in control over causality we become powerful acting agents in the flesh.

The power of negation

We grow, we move on, and we all want to make the “right” choice. Everything we think and due is a reaction to a prior circumstance. There is no escaping causality. It surrounds us, it envelopes us. But then how do we grow? How do we say “no”? All thoughts, whether to walk or talk are generated from the subconscious mind of causality. After thoughts are created, they are passed to our conscious mind. Here is our chance to say no and negate a thought. That is our only exercise of free will. However watered down it seems, it is an extremely powerful tool. With this negation power we can improve our lives. We can escape the cycle of bad relationships. We can say no to drugs. We can say stop working the job we hate, stand up and say “No, I quit!” The secret to improving out lives is to say “no” to a bad behavior, cycle or pattern. Make the choice to say no and move forward to a better life. Exercise your power of negation in this universe of causality.

I will continue with part two that covers our conditional free will as a power of negation — of saying no. I would like to use it as an opportunity to show it’s power for self empowerment and improvement, as a tool to expand conscious by becoming an autonomous, free thinking individual who is capable of living a responsible, moral lifestyle. Till then — accept or say no.

What Turns Egg Yolk Green?

Published
by
Joe
on April 8, 2008
in blog and health
. 1 Comment

Since I have been eating many of hardboiled eggs lately, it would be an inevitable occurrence for me to leave eggs boiling for too long on the stove top. That happened last week. After turning the flame off and letting the eggs sit for several hours, I later observed that those eggs turned out just fine with only a small yellow spot just below the shell where the bottom of the egg met the hot pot surface. This yellow section formed from overheating. These areas tend to be a bit more hard than normal from the hard boiled egg white (albumen). The rest of the hard boiled egg is fine.

Here is where it gets interesting…

I left one of those hard boiled eggs on top of the stove for three days at room temperature. After the first bite I saw that most of the yolk was green except a small section of the inner core. There was no foul smell or taste. In fact, it tasted quite normal and as expected. So I completed eating the rest of the egg wondering why the yolk was or became dark green.

Apparently, the green color in the egg yolk is the result of overheating eggs (and can also be caused from high iron content in the tap water used to boil the eggs). Heat causes the hydrogen and sulfur inside the yolk to react and form hydrogen sulfide gas (which stinks and is the source of the rotten egg smell). The hydrogen sulfide gas then reacts with iron, also present in egg yolk, to form ferrous sulfide, a gray-green compound on the yolk where it meets the egg white. It didn’t look pretty but was completely edible and safe.

What is odd is that the chemical reaction only seemed to happened with the one egg  I left out for several days. So, if this is hydrogen sulfide gas is formed from overheating the water when making hard boiled eggs, then an extended time frame is another requirement for the chemical reaction between the gas and iron in the egg yolk to take place. From my past experience with Easter eggs, this may explain why the hard boiled yolks tended to be dark gray or green.
To eliminate the green ring around the egg yolk, cool the hard boiled eggs as quickly as possible by using cold tap waler or even ice cubes. Then refrigerate the eggs. Refrigerated eggs are good for up to one week.

Clairification on Blog Entry: “Wide Awake: Veganism Open Eyes”

Published
by
Joe
on March 20, 2008
in awareness and blog
. 0 Comments

After posting the blog “Wide Awake: Veganism Open Eyes,” I received backlash regarding it’s content. The negative reaction seemed to be based on a misunderstanding that I suggested or proclaimed plants feel pain. This is ridiculous. I did not that state plants feel pain, or have any nervous system capable of feeling emotions. I was not anthropomorphizing plants. Instead, I expressed two concepts on how to view plants. The first being plants have a will to live. Secondly, compassion toward all living creatures is a necessity and requirement for a humanistic state of being.

To pervert both of these two key concepts into a statement that plants scream in pain and horror when eaten us categorically untrue, misleading and absurd. when I say a plant has a will to live I am not saying it is conscious. When I say plants should be treated cruelty-free, I do not mean plants feel pain.

Plants have a will to live. By will I mean it in the most primordial sense. Plants are interactive with their environment. They evolve, change, attack and defend themselves for the preservation of their life. Will goes hand in hand with life. Life, in all it’s grand splendor and varying forms, wills to live. Basically, what I am saying is simply this: since a plant is alive it needs respect. That is all. Life deserves respect regardless of form.

The second topic I discussed - cruelty towards plants - suggests a way of life, attitude or perception towards plants and all living life forms. Because a plant lacks a brain or nervous system does not justify a disrespectful or violent actions towards plants. Likewise, because plants do not experience emotions does not justify violent actions toward plants.

I understand that this concept may seem very strange. Therefore, a better angle for me to take would be to focus and stress on living a life of nonviolence.

One should live a life of nonviolence with an acceptance and respect towards all things living. That is all. Simply saying “thank you” to a salad is all the respect needed and is the point I am making, although in a much expanded form. :)

Notes for future blogs:

There are other factors and issues I would love to address at some point in the future. How to identify and remove Speciesism from our thoughts and actions. Is Jainism a rational philosophy? Another, are defenseless plants (lettuce) inherently sacrificial? What is the nature and purpose of a fruit? Assuming we had a way of perceiving the intent, if an organism such as a beef cow intentionally sacrifices itself for us, would that action make it morally justifiable to then kill and eat the beef cow?

blogging about my diet

Published
by
Joe
on March 10, 2008
in blog
. 1 Comment

My vegan diet ended four days ago. I made it through the month-long trial experiment feeling well, but at the beginning of the following month (this month - March), physical problems manifested. The air seemed cooler on my skin. Every object seemed twice as heavy as it should be. I experienced difficulties lifting weights as if I had no strength. From what I understand, these are signs of low dietary iron - a reduction of oxygen in my blood stream. Yet, I thought I have been consuming adequate amounts of that metal. After several days of living with this new issue I decided it was time to try some of the foods I abstained from during my vegetarian and vegan diet. First up, scrambled eggs!

It has been five months or so since I have had eggs of any kind, so my frying skills were a little rusty. I forgot to use oil on the pan so the eggs stuck to the metal. I did not cook the two scrabbled eggs long enough so they were a little wet. These factors, plus having not eating any animal products minus milk for nearly two months cause this culinary experience to be poor. The eggs were rich, dense, wet, stinky, pasty, and gross. Every bite and chew made my mouth frown. After I finished eating I was burping eggs. Revisiting the unsatisfactory meal with every burp only made matters worse. However, about twenty minutes later I felt a boost of energy, a feeling of physical empowerment. Curious, I noted the feeling and went on with my night.

The next day I recalled the air did not seem cold the previous night or in this present moment. During the current evening it came time for a tofu dinner, but I felt a strong repulsion towards tofu and conversely felt a strong pull towards eggs. So I skipped the tofu and had more eggs. Again, I felt a boost of energy after eating eggs. Later that day I was able to lift weights without the resistance I experienced beforehand.

Come the third day I once again was craving eggs. I have never in my life craved eggs. Nor in my life have I ever ate so many eggs back to back like this. Also, the thought of eating a tofu dinner manifested a sicking feeling in my gut - a feeling of feeling of vomit and death and repulsion. I made myself a tofu dinner anyway and consequently had a difficult time eating it all. A few hours later a made myself two scrabbled eggs, ate them and felt fantastic afterwards. However, the eggs still stunk and tasted strange, weird and foreign to me.

On the fourth day I choose to expand my food menu to what I previously had been consuming before my veggie and vegan diet. I bought some smoked salmon and drinkable yogurt. In the past, salmon was like candy to me. This time, eating salmon lox’s (moist smoked salmon strips) was disgusting. In fact, it was so gross I only ate half and gave the rest to my cats. Afterwards, I ate a banana which was by far a more enjoyable experience. Then I ate some more eggs.

Finally came the yogurt. It tasted awfully dirty. It’s hard to explain, but it tasted dirty much like how a low grade hamburger from some take out joint tastes dirty. About an hour later I became abnormally tired, as if I was under the influence of a sleep drug. I slept in about two hours longer than normal the following day. When I woke I had a minor congested sinus cavity. I have read that sleep and mucus problems can be symptoms of diary ingestion, but beforehand I never was aware of any sinus pain. However, a chiropractor two years ago noted that I have inflammation as if under an allergy atack, even though grass is not common in the desert in comparison to other areas of the United States. Moreover, this was during the winter, the season grass does not bloom. I speculated that the inflammation was due to living with cats, but now with a clogged sinus cavity after drinking yogurt I wonder if that inflammation has to do with consuming diary.

It is quite fascinating how removing certain foods from my diet can change how the food itself tastes and how my body works and reacts to that food upon reintroduction. With first hand experience, my veggie and vegan diet has made me appreciate fruits and vegetables as sustainable food sources more than ever before. But even though I was getting at least forty grams of mostly soy protein daily, it seems that form of protein is not what my body needs or wants. I will soon try some other high protein sources such as almond butter and see if it abates my egg craving. Moreover, I will have some raw fish soon since it will be clean, firm with no order. Because those qualities are opposite from loxs, it may be more agreeable to my palette. I am looking forward to my continue exploration of food and diet.

Cosmo the Turk — A Tramatic Injury

Published
by
Joe
on March 4, 2008
in blog
. 2 Comments

he is alive. he is in the feline version of icu right now.

cosmo the turkish cat, white, small

why am i guilty about this?
this is a cat that needs to be look and watched after. he does not fear things or people. he is not one who could “make it” on his own out on the streets or forests, unlike most other cats. he is a show cat and acts that way. it is my job to watch him and take care of him. and, most importantly he is aware of this and looks up to me. he is dependent on me — not independent like other cats. and i let him down.

i trained him to wait for me under a taras truck. when i come by he comes out to greet me. for weeks i have been leashing him up under taras truck. he would camp out under the truck next to the wheel. well, he got out off the leash. i suspect he waited for me under someone else’s truck wheel across the street or next door.

someone went into their vehicle cosmo was under. cosmo did not move.
they started their vehicle. cosmo did not move.
they backed up and crushed cosmo under the wheel.

sound strange? well, thats cosmo.
(every other cat I’ve known would have ran away when unknown variables entered the unsecured local space (people walking nearby when outside) or the local environment changes unexpectedly (starting an engine))

truly, he is bad shape with broken ribs and organ damage as you would expect BUT is still alive and stable after 24hrs. thats GREAT. now we need to get him past the next 48 hours to determine the severity of organ damage.

update (3am): i just learned his condition has deteriorated. he has begun bleeding internally. blood is slowly filling his gut. this has reduced is blood volume. although this is expected with blunt trauma, our eyes are placed on alert again. in an hour or two i will learn more about this loss of blood, whether it is increasing, remaining the same or has stopped. he is doped up on morphine. his behavior and appearance is still stable, alert and good. maybe the blood loss is occurring from a broken rib bone cutting flesh. maybe not. we’ll see. and so i stay wake waiting on a call.

tara and i visited him several hours ago. the morphine is making him act all goofy, loving and affectionate.

update (5am): cosmo lost a little more blood into his gut. however, he is still active and functional showing no clinical signs of blood loss. there are signs of blood being absorbed back into the bloodstream. His brother, Nachos, has been acting unusual. we where outside playing with rocks waiting for the vet to call. when i brought nachos inside, he circled the living room sniffing everything, went into the garage and howled, came directly back walking right toward me. he looked up at me and made a strange meow that i have never heard before . based on these actions, i gather he is looking for his brother and when he could not locate him, asked me where he is — in the only way he can.

update (2pm): still largely stable with noted improvements. assuming he stays this way we will bring him home tonight then bring him back to the vet tomorrow for blood tests and verification of stability.

Vegan blog

Published
by
Joe
on March 1, 2008
in blog
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My monthly trial of a Vegan diet is drawing to a close. During this time I experienced very little resistance toward this lifestyle which means I am capable of continuing it into the future. The resistance I did experience consisting of four things.  During the beginning of the experiment, I found it difficult to adjust to a lack of chocolate milk at night. Chocolate milk had been a daily staple of my life for years. Switching to hemp milk or rice milk proved to be a poor substitute but never less ended up as a replacement beverage for milk.  Secondly, toward the end of the month of I began craving yogurt. I’m not sure why. Throughout the month the sight of an egg carton in the refrigerator caused a third arm, ghostly in nature, to spring forth from my chest toward the eggs resting on the cold shelf. The hand, incorporeal, pass through the egg carton, though the intention was clear: I desired eggs. Since I am practicing a vegan diet I cannot eat them, therefore, I closed the fridge and walked away.

I do not care for the taste of eggs very much. However, I feel good after eggs are consumed as long as there was an extended period of time after the last intake of eggs. See, I begin to feel sick if I eat more than four eggs in a week, and in the rare instances when I do eat more than four in a week, if often need several weeks without eggs to reset my state back to zero. I know I am back to zero when I begin to crave eggs again. The last time I had an egg was back in December and it was hardboiled. This issue of my dislike in egg taste centers on the yolk. The reason why I become pulled to eat eggs is unclear. It could be the protein, the sulfer or something else. Come March first I will eat a hardboiled egg. I am eagerly awaiting this moment and I think about it every day. I am curious to know how it will taste and how it will make me feel. I predict that the egg will smell very stinky and will possibly turn me off. On the other end I expect my body to react favorably to an egg inside my stomach. We will see what happens come March 1st.

The last experience of my former diet that lingered into my vegan diet was the smell of barbaques. This smell invoked pleasurable memories and feelings inside me of smoked meat, beer and friends. While I had no desire to eat the fired and smoked meat, I greatly wanted to taste it and smell it and feel it inside my mouth. This is a clear contrast to eggs (and possibly yogurt). I desire the burnt yet moist meat in my mouth without the desire to actually eat it.

During the month of march I expect to eat an egg. There is a remote possiblity that I will eat yogurt, fish or steak as well. The point of this is to see how my body has changed from my vegan experience. I predict I will dislike steak and yogurt, but will enjoy fish and eggs. I want to continue my vegan diet. So, to help me realize this future of a plant diet I will have a vegan alternative physically next to each of the non-vegan food items I expect to eat.

I will eat those food itmes only at the time I feel like I need them (wanting to eat an egg has been a daily feeling for me all month. So that’s going down very soon!).

Wide Awake: Veganism Open Eyes

Published
by
Joe
on February 25, 2008
in awareness and blog
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What I have learned as a Vegan, And What You Can Too.

While I may have been able to learn all of the following by reading, doing so would have kept the ideas in the abstract. Experiencing the ideas, however, results in intimate understanding. Therefore, applying ideas to real life turns them into powerful and real vehicles of transformation.

Summery and Reflections

I have learned more about topics in which I previously new little or nothing about. I have learned about factory farming, free-range farming, sustainable farming, husbandry, protein nutrition, moralism, Jainism and green living.

All life is equal. Plants are equal to animals. All life desires to preserve it’s life; living is what life does.

If you wish to eat cruelty free, then I ask you eat only what Nature freely gives you. Ripping a carrot from the Earth is hardly a giving act. It is taking with force a life from Nature. Instead eat the fruits fallen from trees and the seeds scattered by the wind. Eat what Nature gives you freely, not what it protects with rocks, soils and emotions.

Killing any life, however small, is cruelty in the abstract.

Conceptually, cruelty need not have any physical manifestation for it to be as real as any other thought, like love. We tend to forget that thoughts, lingering in the abstract, are the foundations of reality. All acts are preceded by a thought inasmuch as a hug is with love. To destroy a divine creation for survival is physical necessity, but to do it without love and respect is abhorrent.

Life that sacrifices itself for continuation of your life needs to be respected, regardless of the shape, size and function of that life.

Ten years ago I attended a three-day Reiki training seminar. Of the many things I learned, one was to preform a simple Reiki technique on my food to imbue it with positive energy. At the time, I had no idea why one would need to. The reasoning, which I have largely forgotten was not explained in a manor that I could understood. But now I am beginning to understand that it was a form of respect toward that die for me to live.

Cores Concepts

Veganism is a lifestyle, way of life, and philosophy. Veganism is a social artifact created in response to a culture of consumerism that yields unsustainable ecological practices, poor dietary habits, and lack of conscientious thinking and behavior.

Diet: Veganism, when practiced properly, is likely healthier than the standard American diet. Other diets could be just as healthy, if not, more so. Diet and health are complex to understand containing a massive amount of variables. A diet that works for one does not mean it will work for another. It recommend trying a variety of diets to learn what your body response best to.

Biology: Veganism and vegetarianism as a diet are obviously possible. However, it is a biologically unnatural way of sustaining a human. In fact, extreme diets such as veganism and vegetarianism are extremely rare in the natural world. Nearly all higher-order species consume a mix of plant and animal matter with only a few exceptions.

A vegan and vegetarian lifestyles are diets, social constructs and philosophies created by humans. Misunderstood science is used as a tool to support an otherwise sound social movement and philosophy. This is similar to how Fundamental Christians twist science to give power to support their religious reality.

Humans are dietary adaptable organisms, not niched diet species like the panda or flamingo. We can sustain ourselves on a revolving diet depending on food availability, as has been the case over the last 350 million years with our ancestors.

Spirituality: I made a mistake in believing Vegetarianism leads to Spirituality. I have learned Veganism and Vegetarianism are not spiritual, but are lifestyles that can be practiced by those who are spiritual.

Inspected alone, Veganism fosters and promotes a biasness toward lifeforms which posses either emotions, intelligence and/or consciousness. These qualities, intrinsic but not limited to avians and mammals, are argued as a requirement for the experience of pain and suffering. This drawing of a line separating lifeforms based on mental faculties is a perception as false as separating humans based on skin color and IQ. Emotions and conciseness are manifestations of a physical nature in the same manor as feathers and chlorophyll are. One is not inherently superior to another. Despite this, I believe Vegans, proved by the adoption of the vegan diet, are conscientious people possessing well defined ethical values. However, Veganism and Vegetarianism cannot leads to spiritual awareness when it in itself is blind to life in other forms, naively promoting inequality by falsely believing one physical manifestation is more important than another. It is ironic that Vegans advocating animal rights reveal themselves as disrespectful and ambivalent to the other forms life takes. With a little juggling, Veganism can be auxiliary to a spiritual or religious belief system, but is not spiritual in and of itself. It is a social artifact created to solve a perceived social and cultural problem.

Environment: Currently, of all actions a single person can take to “save” the world (strictly environmental), eliminating meat intake would serve the greatest results. We we soon be facing a resource crunch. Eliminating meat consumption frees up resources.

Philosophy: A Vegan is one who practices a lifestyle that abstains from using animals for any purpose (even riding a horse?). A vegans goal is living cruelty-free. Thus a vegan strongly opposes factory farms and other processes which ignore animal rights.

Intention: Being a dietary vegan has instilled energy in my existence. I feel like I am thinking about something which matters.

Perspective: One can easily lose perspective as a Vegan. The primary goal for a Vegan is to sustain themselves without the use of animals. Abstaining from creature meat, dairy and animal products does a great deal towards supporting that purpose. Abstaining from products and food that contain or made from animal by-products is becoming detailed in fulfilling the goal. Determining whether or not sugar was whiten with bone char even though the sugar itself contains none becomes a questionable use of mental energy. For if one ceases meat consumption, then less bones will be available for secondary industries.

Thus focusing on reducing the primary industries output will have a cascading effect. A passionate and lifelong figure skater, in my opinion, lost focus on the overall goal of veganism when she became upset that the only good, high quality skates are made with leather. She loves to skate and her vegan lifestyle is already doing so much for the environment. Why is she worrying about a small detail? A pair of skates that will last five years. She should do her best as a Vegan while not giving up her love of skating. We all need to keep perspective.

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