I think in life, we are obsessed with arrival. I rarely meet the person who is content with the moment they are living now. We press on, make goals, dream big, drive forward with purpose – all in pursuit of something we cannot even really define.
Yesterday, I felt a growing discontent. Today, I find that I can be content knowing that the whole story is not written, my journey is not over, my song is unfinished but surely i know, i can write those words that has been left unsaid!
Everything in life is connected somehow. You may have to dig deep to find it but its there. Everything is the same even though its different. Somehow everything connects back with your life. The faces in certain places may be different, but the situation is the same. Irony is a hidden factor that creeps around us in life, letting its presence felt only after it has left. Picture back to a year ago and the situation you were in. Look at how things are different yet somehow everything it still in someway cognate. Everything connects together to form the balance of life, to maintain structure. Change is and always will be inevitable, but everything is relative, and all the moments and times in your life will come back around again, you just might find yourself on the other side of the coin. Things are always changing, as fast as everything stays the same.
You may wonder, ‘How can I leave it all behind if I am just coming back to it? How can I make a new beginning if I simply return to the old?’ The answer lies in the return. You will not come back to the ’same old thing.’ What you return to has changed because you have changed. Your perceptions will be altered. You will not incorporate into the same body, status, or world you left behind. The river has been flowing while you were gone. Now it does not look like the same river.

Photographed by Laurent SJ

Testing the Nikkor PC-E 24mm on the D300 around Lugano Lake, Italy-Switzerland

– License

To all HC users:

I 'cleaned up' the boards by removing old threads that were no longer relevant, threads that I felt didn't belong on the forums (some of them were mine), merged threads into more relevant topics, removed slight grammatical errors, and deleted unnecessary HikiCulture-related links at the bottom of the main page.

The only HikiCulture-related links I kept are the following:

HikiCulture Blog (Posterous)
HikiCulture FaceBook Group
HikiCulture Last.FM Group
PsychForums Asperger's Board
Wikipedia Hikikomori Page

I'm glad to have spent the past while 'cleaning' the boards up; everything is now fine and dandy.

Posted via email from HikiCulture – A Forum For Reclusive People (and Hikikomori) {HikiCulture.Com Site Blog}

Orice drum începe cu un pas, orice drum sfârșește cu un pas. Drumul e la alegerea noastră. Care este calea ta?

Old Room

I took this photo during a “photo lesson” weekend back in June. It was before I bought my camera, I borrowed someone’s Nikon D300 (it’s an amazing camera by the way).

Actually I was going to make an HDR photo out of this but mistakenly had the wrong settings on the camera so it became a regular photo.

It was a room in St Feyre castle, an old tattered room that was falling apart. I loved the blackened walls from the chimeney smoke and the single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, it was connected to an old switch that was probably a security hazard. But those are the risks of photography

Details:  Aperture: f/4  –  Exposure: 1/15 sec  -  Focal lengths: 12mm  -  Iso: 250

Photographed by robertbonnin

negatives plates 9×12
This photo is part of my collection of negatives on glass plates between 1890 and 1930 all your information will be welcome!

cette photo fait partie de ma collection de negatifs sur plaques de verres entre 1890 et 1930 toutes vos informations seront les bienvenues !

– License

What is it about the old and young??? The young hate the old because they are evil and smell then the old don’t like the young because they are evil and smell.

There are a lot of pre-conceptions and discrimation around in the world today, but the generation divide seems to be getting wider.

I was on the bus yesterday and this old lady was looking around, clocked me, and gave me the dirtiest look. I clearly looked like ‘one of them young’uns that will knife you when your back is turned’. Then she started getting up at my bus-stop. I thought this is it! A chance to show her i was a yob, i will get up and stop before her seat and let her out first. That will show her i’m actually nice. This was to no avail as she got up before i had a chance to. Damn.

Then the most incredible thing happened: we both got off and started putting our umberellas up. Then she said: ‘I don’t think it’s actually raining’ to which i replied: ‘No, I don’t think it is’  Then we both LAUGHED!

I’m aware this story is not that exciting, but I think it shows the pickle us young and old find us in. Was she really giving me dirty looks? I guess i’ll never know.

But i think there was an important moral to this story- young and old are not all that different, and maybe sometimes we do have a negative view of each other. Not all young people are yobs that are a threat to society and not all old people are busy-bodies that will push you out the way because they think they are superior to everyone else ‘because they lived through the war you know’

 Now i’m not painting everyone with the same brush. I just think the next time you start thinking about how annoying that old/young person is i want you to think that they have been/will be the same age as you one day so they are not all that different.

Jeg var til læge i dag, og fik at vide, at jeg skal til psykolog.

Og nu vil jeg bare sove.

Godnat.

I took these photos in the town of Franschhoek, near Cape Town.

Enlarge the Tub and Printed Circuit radio. See more of my gallery here.

Radio from around 1950s

Your Memory Chip™ – EXERCISE          by Lori La Bey

No matter when, where or how you hear someone important to you has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, do yourself and them a favor.  Go some place quiet where you can be alone with your thoughts.  Bring some index cards or some paper with you, or go to the tools and products section at Http://www.AlzheimersSpeaks.com  to get a form emailed to you.  Don’t forget a pen.

Now as you sit quietly, think of the most important thing you want the person with Alzheimer’s to remember when they think of you.   Remember, just one thing.  Keep it simple.  Don’t rattle on.  Short, sweet, and to the point is best for this exercise.  Now write it down in your very best handwriting.  Read it to yourself and then read it out loud.  How does it feel?  Is this what you want them to know?  If not try again.  You will know when it is correct.  For me it was simple.  “The most important thing I want MOM to know  is – I LOVE HER.” 

Next, I want you to think hard and fill in the next question.  “Things I need to focus on are______,_______,_______.

What I found to be my most important things on this statement were my “to do list” items. After losing my Dad I realized these were not important at all.  It was at this time, I found myself wishing I had more quality time with him, just doing things.  Just being with him.  Yes, I still needed to do laundry, go grocery shopping, and medications… but I also found I was not engaged with him because I was “doing things.” 

I let myself get frustrated when things weren’t the way I thought they should be.  So I have learned with my Mother to make sure my focus is on what matters.  The true, basic, simple things, which make life wonderful.  For me I focus on three things.  No more.  No less.  They are is Mom, “SAFE, HAPPY, AND PAIN FREE.”

The last section is for you to list things you want to remember about the person.  What are some of the best memories you have of, or with them? Write them down.  These memories will make you smile and help reduce your fear of losing the person you knew before Alzheimer’s took hold of them.  Don’t forget to add a favorite photo!

Once you have completed all three questions, I want you to promise yourself and them one thing.  I want you to read out loud the following, “I promise to look at my Memory Chip™ and read it to myself before every contact be it in person, on the phone, by email, or video…”   

You might ask why this is so important.  There are a couple of reasons, but first, you must decide if you are going to share your statement with the person who has Alzheimer’s. 

Some people are not comfortable stating their feelings to one another and that is fine, but I want you to know the possible advantage of doing so.  Keep in mind you can share your statements on Your Memory Chip™ with a person in any stage of the Alzheimer’s.  If you are lucky to have the disease diagnosed early, it can be an added benefit.  You can use this statement as a tool to help trigger their memory as later stages take hold.  It will also help you stay focused on what is truly important.  You won’t be likely to get distracted when things are not perfect or as you thought they should be.

I am not saying this is a miracle card or tool.  I am not saying they will remember your name and engage you in conversation throughout the disease. 

What I am saying, is schedules, consistencies, and patterns can be one of your most valuable tools as the disease progresses. 

If for example, your statement is like mine, “Mom I love you, and you want you to be safe, happy, and pain-free” and if you choose to share your statement with them, in the same manner, tone, and timing of each visit or conversation; you are now setting a pattern.  If you add eye contact and touch at the same time you’ve embedded your pattern into more of their senses.  If you wear the same cologne, you have added another sensory trigger.  Patterns and sensory recall are great tools; don’t forget they are your friend.

On the other hand, if you choose not to tell them what is most important to you, that is fine too.  You can still do things to create a trigger pattern, by engaging the senses through touch, aroma, sight…  May you read their favorite author, put on their favorite music, wear their favorite perfume or cologne, or dab them with their favorite fragrance.  The options are endless but powerful.

Okay, I know this is Martha Stewart-ish. But, I can’t be the only one wondering how to use up those little slivers. Well, there’s a vid about it, so obviously not. Yay, YouTube!

One tip I’ll mention in addition to this vid is something I read online: to grate the soap beforehand. I believe it ensures a smoother end product.

Find the original YouTube vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m69EiNy77s

I was born in 1942, a time when bombs were falling, and men, women and children were dying all across the world. Britain and her Commonwealth Countries had stood against the might of Adolf Hitler and his strutting Nazi ‘Ubermenschen’ who stormed across Europe. The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbour eleven months before, bringing the United States into the war.

When I came into the world, the first Allied Invasion of occupied territory, Operation Torch, took place in North Africa where Rommel was close to defeat at the hands of The Eigth Army under General Montgomery. At the time no-one knew how important the allied invasion on the 6th of June 1944 would be, and that it would spell the ‘beginning of the end’ for Hitler and his cronies.

During the war years life in Britain was hard. Mothers got used to seeing their beloved sons head for the front-line as they became old enough for conscription. Their husbands had long since joined the fight. Many a young wife said a tearful goodbye to new husbands, never knowing if they would ever see them again.

The dreaded telegram would be receieved by many, informing them their husband or son had been killed in action, bringing with it grief and despair.

Everything was rationed; food, petrol, even clothes due to the shortages caused by the ceasless dirty war in the Atlantic between the British Merchant Fleet, The Royal Navy and the German U-Boats. The British people took it all with their usual stoicism, determined not to let ‘Herr Hitler’ have his way.

It was to be another 3 years before peace came to the world after the final defeat of Germany and Japan. At the time I knew nothing of this for I was but a baby.

In the aftermath of World War Two, Britain like many other nations started to rebuild. The houses and factories destroyed by german bombs were rebuilt, and families got used to the empty chair at the dining table. As always, life went on. Women became a more common sight in the factories and mills as they replaced the ‘missing’ men in the work force. During the war years they had become accustomed to doing what was then men’s work, because the men were all away fighting.

The post-war years also saw the beginning of the breakup of the British Empire starting with India gaining full independance in 1947. Not that I cared at the age of five.

In June 1950, when I was only seven years old, North Korea invaded the South after the failure of unification talks. Once more England sent troops to fight in a war, but this time under the auspices of the United Nations.

This one, unlike the last, was not felt in England as it was far away on the other side of the world. The main priority at home was rebuilding the economy.

People did not travel far to go on holiday in them days, it was long before the arrival of package holidays to Spain. Just like all the other folks of the period, our family summer holidays were spent on day trips, or if we were lucky a week, to the coast.

I have memories of a great holiday at Butlins Holiday Camp in Filey on Englands east coast. It was I believe the first of a new kind of holiday centre where people lived in chalets on the site and took part in organized activities during the day.

During my school days life was hard, and the national curriculum was tough and extremely varied. Among the standard subjects, I had classes on religion, history and geography which have since all been dropped by the Ministry of Education as being ‘unnecessary’. Religion taught me right from wrong and morality, history taught me about the fine history and traditions of my country, and geography gave me knowledge of the world.

It is sad that today religion and history are no longer taught because it might upset the immigrants, and geography is no longer considered relevant. It is not surprising that young children today have no morals, no patriotism, or any idea of the rich history of our past, and couldn’t even tell you the capitol of Turkey!

Life was so much different then compared with today. If you went shopping for breakfast cereal shall we say, you went to the local shop and had the choice of perhaps weetabix, cornflakes and porridge oats.

Today in every supermarket you see people standing in front of a row of shelves 150ft long with four levels, containing perhaps 60 or 70 different cereals, many with different brands, trying to make up their mind which to buy. Why do we need ten different types of cornflakes?

When the supermarkets hit town, the first casualties were the pleasant local shops where you were always guaranteed friendly personal service. Many stayed open until 10 o’clock in the evening as a service to their customers. You were always guaranteed a warm welcome and many would, if you were a good customer, allow you things ‘on tick’, i.e. until your wages came in at the end of the week. It was common for the children to receive a free sweet or lollipop when they went in.

In those days people always appeared smart in public. No baggy jeans with holes in them, no england football shirts and trainers. All men wore a suit and tie when they went out. Some of the more ridiculous sights I see occasionally today is men going out in a suit and tie with trainers on their feet. Somehow it just doesn’t look right.

Family life is also something that has ceased to exist in modern times. When I was a child the whole family would sit around the table for the evening meal.  I have one brother and three sisters so naturally we needed a large table.

I remember my grandmother on my step-fathers side telling me they never locked their doors, even when they went away on holiday. Burglary, so prevelant today, was practically unheard of in the days after the war. People lived with bigger financial problems than they do today, but to steal from someone else was taboo. I believe this was due to people having more respect for each other, and knowing right from wrong.

In part this could be attributed to everyone being much more religious than they are today. The churches were full on Sundays, and many preachers could be likened to fire breathing dragons as they pumped out ‘The Message’.

I remember going to church with the family on Sunday during my early youth. As I got older we went less often, and eventually only for marriages and christenings. Such was the decline of the church. But I do not believe it is necessary to go the church every Sunday to be a good christian. Now of course, many churches have been closed and congregations are small, made up for the most part by old folks who are daily getting nearer to their God.

When I was a kid, to own a car was to be someone. You could buy a brand new car for £250, but few could afford this extravagance. Once we could afford a car, weekends were always spent together going on a trip to somewhere or other. Another item that entered homes slowly was the television. To have the first television in the street meant playing host to everyone.

There were no computers and Playstations in those far off days. We children made our own fun playing games with the other kids in the street. The boys often played played cowboys and indians while the girls enjoyed themselves with a skipping rope.

Before the arrival of the television it was normal for most folks to listen to the BBC on the radio. Dance-band music, classical concerts and the like were popular. The BBC also had many good serials like “The Archers’ which was faithfully followed by all, and discussed later in the pub over a pint.

In those far off days, crime rates were miniscule compared to today’s rampant figures. Justice was also seen to be done, and criminals got sentences that fitted the crime. Anyone who had been in prison did not offend again for fear of ending up back ‘inside’. Today prisons are more like 5 star hotels.

I witnessed the Cuban Crisis, the assasination of President Kennedy, the killing of his brother, and the first venture by man into space. I remember well the excitement surrounding the launch of Soyuz 1 by the Russians, and the American consternation that they had got so far ahead in ‘The Space Race’. It didn’t take long for the USA to catch up and surpass the Russian ‘first’ by sending men to the moon.

One of the great calamities of the last century must surely be the splitting of Europe after the Second World War by the Communist ‘Iron Curtain’. It cut off all of Eastern Europe from the West, and the people behind it were subjected to communist rule from Moscow. Secret police, spies, jails and gulags were the communist answer to western capitolism. Thankfully all that is behind us.

We live now in a utopia compared to life back then. Everyone has a TV and all the youth have computers, i-pods, mobiles and the like. There are often three or four cars to a family, and we all travel the world during our summer holidays. The question remains however; are people happier today than they were in my time? I think not. Life for us back then was simple and uncomplicated, and ‘stress’ was an unknown word.

There is a plentiful of everything to the extent we have become a ‘Throw Away’ society. The words ‘Quality’ and ‘Sale’ no longer have their original meaning. The majority of goods produced today are shoddy by yesterdays standards because back then things were made to last. That is sadly no longer true. Shops have permanent ‘sales’, where if the word ‘discount’ were to be believed they would go out of business. But I guess thats progress, for me however it doesn’t compare with the old times. I guess I must be getting old!

May your tomorrows be better than your yesterdays.

Roy

Everyone knows what floppy disks are. They mark the real beginning of the evolution of data storage, which meant smaller space and more capacity.

Yet, now they remain useless, as they only hold 1.44MB. I can’t even put a song onto that much.

But after you think about it, you can see that floppy disks are very versatile – in the same way as duct tape.

In fact, you could almost definitely make a floppy disk wallet.

But the thing that I really want to show you is a floppy disk NOTEPAD!

Floppy Notepad!

I must say, making it was simple.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 2 Floppy drives with lock switches (more on that later)
• A small stack of the paper of your choice
• Scissors
• A hole punch (preferably 3 hole)
• A Pencil
• Zip ties

First things first- Your floppy disk needs to have a lock/unlock switch. This is so 2 holes on the same side are exposed to put the zip tie through, as shown below:

Two Holes!

After, trace the outline of a floppy disk on a stack of no more than 4 sheets of your preferred paper (I used graph paper). Next, cut about 1/4 cm. inside from the lines you traced and cut out the square. After cutting out one stack, you can make another outline and do the same thing somewhere else on the paper(s).

Cutting...

After you should have a nice stack of papers.Split the stack into shorter stacks that can be done by a hole puncher. On the top paper of each stack put your floppy on it and trace the inside of the litle holes that are on the floppy disk.

Tracing the holes...

Next, go at the stacks with the hole puncher. Punch as close as you can to exactly centered to the tracings you made from the holes on the floppy (exactly centered might have you cutting through the edge of the paper). After, line all of the stacks and floppies up (one floppy on top, the stacks, then one floppy on the bottom). put the zip ties through the holes on the floppies, then the holes in the stac, then the other floppy. loop it around and tighten until it is VERY LOOSE!! You don’t want it tight or else it won’t be able to open or close! You should be able to have the two floppies open side by side with a little space in between, as shown below.

You need space between the disks!

Now you’re done! Trust me, everybody will be JEALOUS of how awesome it is.

Now go off and write…well…whatever needs to be written!

Go write... well...whatever needs to be written!

***I hope you enjoyed this special how-to, with “special” images. I’ll do something special for most of the major holidays in the future.***

Research is currently being performed with artificial limbs that would allow individuals not only to control those limbs but also to receive accurate feedback, sensations, from the prosthetic limb by utilizing lasers as a transmitter to individual nerves.

It is the year 2023. Hundreds of elderly people have undergone elective surgery in order to replace non functional or weak limbs with superior mechanical ones. However these same individuals are facing hard times as society begins to exponentially increase health and life expectancy. The elderly are perceived as unneeded group, leftovers from centuries past. The majority is simply waiting for the last of them to pass so that the age of endless youth can begin.

Tensions build as two retirement homes are attacked by young white males eager to find some remaining group against which to commit hate crimes and prove whatever if it is they hope to prove to one another. The government does little to compensate or protect those retired communities which are at greatest risk. In fact retirement as we know it is expected to be legislated out over the next two years.

The elderly are forced to take up action on their own. They alter their artificial limbs into powerful weapons. The old people cyborg uprising is begun.

25 nov 2009.

Wake up this morning feeling that 2010 is coming real soon. I don’t know what’s wrong with me that I suddenly feel I’m getting older without me realising it. I’ll be 25 next year. Gosh, is time travelling too fast for me? I seems to be bumping around and having fun without having any goal in my life!

Saw signs of aging on my face. That’s terrible. Skin condition is not as good as before. Recently I keep complaining to KG that I have sagging neck!!!!! My jaw line is not as define. Think its time to come out with anti aging regime before 30 appears unknowingly !!!!!!

I know people having been telling me it’s ok. Apparently I don’t look 24. But hey friends, take a close-up look on my face. You definitely sees various signs of aging like enlarged and clogged pores, pigmentation, some oil seeds,uneven skin tone etc.  Or maybe some wrinkles!!!!!!

24 Nov 2009

Had my second paper ,Thin film. I’m 2/3 done with my exam for this semester but I’m already having  holiday mood. Ya, I know it’s not time to slacken down. Afterall I’m into my final year. If anything *touch wood* happens, it’s definitely STUPID!!!!!!!

Oh ya…..I didnt know MOF has an outlet at AMK hub. I’m like so outdated. Only came to know when KG says wanna meet and I start to google places for a drink. Not really that bad though online reviews were saying that their service at AMK hub is poor.

So I had my matcha ice cream (I’m falling in love with matcha ice cream) with red beans and “tang yuan” .

It looks like this:

Source taken from : http://www.ministryoffood.com.sg/desserts.aspx?ID=mof_imosoftserve

Not too bad. Just that the red bean abit too sweet but well I’m lov’in it!!!! Bleah.

Suddenly I have a craving for Ikea meatballs!!!!!!!!! My all-time favourite! Yeah, I know I do sound RANDOM here. 

Bailey Island, ME. June 20, 2009.

Scar

Across the earth across
my hands
open, old, and deep
a forgotten time

once there were fresh buds bursting forth
once this wound was not a wound,
but a beginning
a birth and becoming

and now the pebbles scatter, freckles across
boulders shaken to the core
can I break through their dark solidness?
through the scar?

beneath,
where I dare not go
where the rawness remains
anxiety, newness

the opening of eyes, rimmed with phlegm and trickling tears
an infant
the child of the universe
was this me? it wasn’t, was it?

because here I am, kneeling in dust, fingers curled over the edge
of the earth
peering into depths so dark
my eyes fail

to open this past, I need to feel,
to reach my hands down and in,
and touch the warmth
the magma singeing the center

still I hover at the edge
of the scar

This is another poem from Leslea Newman’s workshop at the Write Angles conference.

I was dressed nice for work today with high black boots on, nice pants, scarf, the works….I pass a bunch of old trucks….I HAVE to get out of my car.  I look at this line of tired, dirty old trucks and I find a sense of peace…(perhaps I compare them to the patients I treat throughout the day…I don’t know)

You see, there is this magical thing that happens…called erosion….and I think it’s pretty. 

In fact, I look for it, I’m like an obsessesed fan of “rust”….

Headed home (boots dirty, pants dusty, and my scarf blowing in the wind)….content.

Browsing through the files on my external hard-drive looking for some Bright Eyes records, I stumble upon a whole map stuffed with old drawings. I never knew I’ve drawn this much. The best thing is  it contains all the original scans and illustrator files. Like this one:

Dimanche 22 Novembre 2009 avait lieu à Quelneuc une partie d’airsoft (loisir semblable au paintball).  La journée avait pour thème le post-apocalyptique.

–> (définition du post-apocalyptique dans wikipédia).

Afin de plonger les joueurs dans cet univers, j’ai réalisé divers éléments :

- Un livret leur rappelant les règles de jeu et les différents aspects de la journée.

- Divers objets utilisés pour le jeu (râtelier, stimpaks…)

- Un décors de BAR style post-apocalyptique.

- Des retouches sur les photos de la journée.

During this session, we discussed the need for the patient to spend time within the wilderness. He is an avid hiker. As a nature adventurer, he recalls many stories that appear both natural and supernatural to us.

” I remember one particular moment within nature. I was in my canoe. During the entire day I had been travelling using my canoe against a very large, reckless and merciless river. Sometimes it was so hard to go through it that I would get out of my canoe, walking on the rocks that were standing out of the water, trying to move my boat using all the strengths that I had. Sometimes I would unload the canoe on the shore and walk on the borders of the lake in order to skip a very difficult part of the river. It was extremely hard physically. I wanted to go to a lake that my grandfather’s old friend had told me about. He showed me an old map of the area. He pointed a large, long lake shaped like the tail of a fox.

” If you get there, Rusty… Kid… You will find yourself. You will know who you are. ” he said.

I knew something was up, heh. That old indian never told us about his secret places. I thought he was joking and that map was fake. I had never heard about this lake and it seemed so large that I couldn’t believe no one had told me about it until then.

When I finally arrived at the lake, I searched for something. I did not know what it was exactly, but since I was told I would find myself, I was expecting something very special. Maybe something belonging to his old, almost forgotten tribe? Or maybe it was just some prank? Still, the lake was there… He wasn’t lying about that part…

I spent about forty-five minutes canoeing on the fox’s tail. After going to the limits of the lake, I turned around and prepared to go home. Then it struck me. When I came back, I saw it. I saw everything. The sun was setting and the lake was reflecting a golden honey light. The trees were green, strong, tall, massive. The water was completely calm. A mirror. That’s when I realized what he meant. That old indian was wiser than I had thought. He knew it would take me a complete day to get there. He knew I would go to the edge of the lake. He knew I would come back. He knew that when I would turn around, the time would be right for a sunset. And he knew, just like I knew at that moment, that you find yourself by turning around, going back to where you’ve been. I found myself. I found out that I was strong. Strong in my arms, yes, but also strong in my will to go to the end of things. I worked hard to get there. The river had been against me. This time, as I would go back, I would flow with it.

For I knew who I was. ”

620 // November 24, 2009

Estes Park, Colorado.