Postmodern Vacation Graph

Posted by Johnny Cat in Cartoon & Comic on September 30, 2009 at 6:16 pm

We go on vacation to unwind, and relieve stress.  Well, at least that used to be the case.  I hear and see this phenomenon more and more often, although I’m relatively good at avoiding it.  PHD Comics has a great assortment of funnies, for the cubicle minded.

Link via Digg

 
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Neatorama Shop » Toy & Games » Science Toys

BuckyBalls Magnetic Toys are 216 rare earth magnet balls that can be shaped and molded into virtually any shape.

Tear 'em apart and snap 'em back together in unlimited ways for hours of fun! Watch the video for a quick demo of what BuckyBalls can do.

Remember to get two for twice the fun! Link
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Meditations Can Build a Bigger Brain

Posted by Queuebot in Science & Tech on July 4, 2009 at 4:43 pm

Many people who meditate regularly have better focus and control over their emotions, reduced levels of stress, and
bolstered immune systems, but does meditation do anything to the brain structure itself?

Eileen Luders and colleagues at UCLA used MRI to scan the brains of people who meditate to find out. They examined 44 people (22 control subjects and 22 who had practiced
various forms of meditation) who had practiced an average of 24 years. Meditators showed significantly larger volumes in regions known for regulating emotions.

The researchers found significantly larger cerebral measurements in meditators compared with controls, including larger volumes of the right hippocampus and increased gray matter in the right orbito-frontal cortex, the right thalamus and the left inferior temporal lobe. There were no regions where controls had significantly larger volumes or more gray matter than meditators.

Because these areas of the brain are closely linked to emotion, Luders said, “these might be the neuronal underpinnings that give meditators’ the outstanding ability to regulate their emotions and allow for well-adjusted responses to whatever life throws their way.”

Link – via holeinthedonut

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by baweibel.

 
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When You Just Want to Break Things...

Posted by Queuebot in Odd News on February 2, 2009 at 6:12 pm

We all have our days, the ones where the slightest thing can light our fuse and set us off. Maybe it was a horrible day at the office, trench warfare with a significant other, the swerving idiot at the
intersection, economic woes or you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Sometimes the only way to feel better is to vent that frustration. Before you go berserk in public and get yourself arrested maybe it’s time to pay a visit to Sarah’s Smash Shack.

The Smash Shack offers a variety of plates, glasses, vases and other smashable items for patrons to choose from, or they can bring their own. All smashing is performed in soundproof Break Rooms where patrons, clad in boots, gloves, coveralls and a protective mask, hurl objects at a stainless steel wall. Call it a form of artistic self-expression.

Link

From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by whitespace.

 
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