Vistit to Acadia National Park 10/27/09

Picking a nice day to go off-season was like having the whole park to ones self. Maine also has a couple of great classical music radio stations, which make for a perfect soundtrack. I must purchase a better camera.

Acadia National Park

Ken Burns The National Parks, America's Best Idea

Civility can be Worth the Effort

Recently there has been much chatter about the good manners and the respect one should share with both the opposition and the home team. My posts sometimes have a snarky (blogger dictionary does not recognize the word) quality despite the fact I genuinely wish to keep to an "accentuate the positive" and "eliminate the negative" frame of mind.

Some that criticize the public for becoming too snarky or angry do not recommend an antidote for the ailment. The same critics are also known for being snarky when they speak of the irascible behavior of public figures or the public at large. Others blame the Internet and blogs for creating a culture of disrespect. Posts in a flash deliver knife wielding, hurtful words with a quick click that is preceded by an accurate spell check, of course.

I don't have a solution either. An idea I do have. Positive actions and work is the ideal way to keep from being reduced to a rude blob by cable news and inhuman capitalists. A careful plan for action may include the following: be a careful listener, offer a thoughtful critique, act without rabid zeal if the other party chooses to dis you. Humor is also a good remedy and it does not have to be snarky to make a powerful point. Now, let's see if I can follow these suggestions and make things a bit more warm and fuzzy. Johnny Mercer also suggested "latch on to the affirmative."

I was not 100% certain of the definition of the words bellow. Enjoy recalling the days when one had to look up definitions in a big red bound book.

Merriam- Webster

Snarky / Pronunciation: \ˈsnär-kē\
Function: adjective
Etymology: dialect snark to annoy, perhaps alteration of nark to irritate
Date: 1906
1 : crotchety, snappish
2 : sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner

Irascible / Pronunciation: \i-ˈra-sə-bəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French, from Late Latin irascibilis, from Latin irasci to become angry, be angry, from ira
Date: circa 1530
: marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger

Don't Think Your Way to Stress

Clever illustration from Times article uses a combination of an Ugly Doll and vintage glass teddy bear eyes to document stressed-out humans.

Basics

Vicious Stress Loop

Brain Is a Co-Conspirator in a Vicious Stress Loop
By NATALIE ANGIER
Published: August 18, 2009 / NY TIMES
Chronic stress changes the brain, but relaxation can change it back.

A few notable highlights from article:

"In humans, though, the brain can think too much, extracting phantom threats from every staff meeting or high school dance, and over time the constant hyperactivation of the stress response can unbalance the entire feedback loop. Reactions that are desirable in limited, targeted quantities become hazardous in promiscuous excess. You need a spike in blood pressure if you’re going to run, to speedily deliver oxygen to your muscles. But chronically elevated blood pressure is a source of multiple medical miseries."

"Yet habits can become ruts, and as the novelist Ellen Glasgow observed, 'The only difference between a rut and a grave are the dimensions.'"

A new source for information on human stress:

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky