Planet ISKCON

There are so many different religions and spiritual systems out there. Which should you choose and why?

In this talk at the Gaura Yoga centre in Wellington, New Zealand I give some criteria by which one can judge how bona fide a spiritual system is. I conclude by explaining how well Krishna consciousness does when judged by these criteria.

Download selection of the presentation slides [24 MB].

Download just the audio of presentation [34 MB]

Download version formatted for iPod/iPhone [153 MB].

Download highest-quality version [262 MB].

There are so many different religions and spiritual systems out there. Which should you choose and why?

In this talk at the Gaura Yoga centre in Wellington, New Zealand I give some criteria by which one can judge how bona fide a spiritual system is. I conclude by explaining how well Krishna consciousness does when judged by these criteria.

Download selection of the presentation slides [24 MB].

Download just the audio of presentation [34 MB]

Download version formatted for iPod/iPhone [153 MB].

Download highest-quality version [262 MB].

Ive been in yoga land where everyone is smiling, good looking, in shape, and eager to chant. No problems here. But i am faced with the reality that I will be leaving here soon and having to get back to work at the colleges. Today I was sent these articles and was just told about this new movie! Two different worlds.

Check Check em out….

-bcd

Hipsters must die!

Adbuster article

http://lostvillagemovie.com/

These are pictures of my altar.

The past few weeks have been filled.

My yoga practice was greatly inspired by a four day workshop with Edward Clark of Tripsichore. Check them out if you have time here. Raghunath Prabhu attended the workshop as well so we had a nice weekend together. Bridgette and the kids also came up on the fourth of July to watch fireworks with us and attend the Tripsichore performance.

Within the yoga teacher training course I have had the opportunity to lead kirtans(believe it or not) and teach about yoga philosophy. Last night we had a wonderful krishna kirtan at the lake front(yes not even one Siva or Ganesh song). It culminated with the entire group dancing wildly and chanting loudly! I felt right at home.

I started my summer novels(Jane Austin and Carlos Castenada) reading as well as my reading of CC and Satyaraj’s new Gita. Ill talk about that book another time as well as a book about Yoga teacher and student relationships by Donna Farhi.

In preparation for another year of college outreach I found a nice article this morning you can read below:

Show me a grown man with a goatee and I’ll show you a major league baseball player. Show me a grown man with a goatee wearing sandals and I’ll show you a youth pastor.

When I was a kid, I remember that the youth pastor at our church was totally different than any other pastor I’d ever seen. He quoted rock bands and wore blue jeans to church. He was cool in a way that the other adults in my life were not. I was proud to invite my friends to church and see their negative stereotypes of Christians get blown up. The youth group thrived and “unchurched” kids were reached. The one thing that distinguished our group from others was that our pastor was cool.

As the youth pastors and youth of the 1990s become the head pastors and congregants of the 2000s, it seems like the phenomenon has only grown. It is now an unexamined assumption in many quarters: the best way to reach people is to be like them. In order to reach our culture, we must embody what the culture defines as acceptable and valuable. We must be as “cool” as we can possibly be while still retaining the gospel. That way, people will see us and not be turned off by us. Maybe they’ll even want to be us.

This shows up in both the private lives of pastors (you missional guys, I’m talking about you and your emo eyeglasses) and in the church’s corporate worship, where we seek to remove everything that might seem foreign to the unchurched visitor.

In some ways, I think being connected to the culture around us is helpful. But there are ways in which a commitment to being cool can ultimately conflict with the call of a pastor. As the resident cool guy on the 9Marks docket (which is roughly like being the ladies’ man at a Star Trek convention—damning with faint praise), here are a few thoughts:

1. Being connected to the culture is a double-edged sword.

In a sense, we all carry a set of unique interests, talents, characteristics, and strengths around with us. These can both serve the proclamation of the gospel and hinder it. So, for example, yesterday the copier repairman stopped by the church which I serve. He is a young guy who is into cage-fighting. We built a connection over that fact (one of the guys in our church also does MMA—mixed martial arts), and he was pleasantly surprised to find that a pastor could be heavily tattooed.* I shared Christ with him, and he asked for a Bible. Score one for enculturation.

But there are other ways that my appearance might be a hindrance to the gospel. I have been sharing Christ with a strict Muslim man that I see in the sauna at the gym once or twice a week. We have built a friendship and talked about spiritual matters quite often. I have little doubt that the fact that I have a large weasel tattooed on my bicep does not make him more attracted to the faith. Score one for not having tattoos. This is why I wear sleeves on Sunday mornings. In one situation my ink serves me well; in another it can make things more difficult.

2. We must always be on guard against pride.

How much of a pastor’s desire to be perceived as cool or connected to the culture is motivated by vanity or pride? Knowing the depth of our depravity and self-deception and pride, we must examine ourselves. Am I motivated to dress a certain way or listen to certain music for good reasons? Or does part of me at least want to avoid being the butt of Ned Flanders jokes? We must beware that our quest for cool doesn’t feed the vanity and pride which we need to be choking to death every day.

In fact, I fear (and here I am speaking from what I see in my own heart) that oftentimes we are at least partially motivated to reach people by pride. How much of our desire to be cool is a desire to reach people, not only for the gospel, but also for our own glory? Here’s a diagnostic question for everyone who is a pastor: if the Lord called you to shepherd sixty uncool saints until they were safely home, with no spectacular revival or ministry explosion, would you consider that beneath you? Would it seem unworthy of your gifts and a waste of your life? If so, you are being motivated by pride.

3. Much pastoral ministry is profoundly uncool.

Don’t sign up to be a pastor if you want to sound reasonable to most people or if you want to affect a cool detachment from people and ideas. The preaching of the cross is foolishness and a stumbling block to your average art community hipster. We must love the Savior more than we love the respect of others.

Also, the ironic detachment that cool requires finds little place in the work of a pastor. At times, you must be embarrassingly earnest and enthusiastic. You must love difficult and extremely mockable people with a real and true love that never seeks a laugh at their expense. You need to cry with people when they suffer unspeakable tragedy. Much of being a pastor is profoundly uncool.

4. We must never despise our brothers and sisters.

There is a real danger in becoming so puffed-up over our freedom in Christ to wear black t-shirts that we begin to look down on the Ned Flanders-style Christians who love the Lord and have served him faithfully for years. In fact, it may be that the Lord is more pleased with their humble walk (though not as sophisticated) than he is with yours. The fact is, love for other Christians is a hallmark of a true believer (1 John 2:10). Even more it must be the mark of a pastor. We have more in common with a believer in Myanmar and a believer in Duluth (even if they don’t know a pilsner from a stout or Operation Ivy from Crimpshine) than we do with the people we’re trying to reach for Christ.

The fact is, we can’t choose who will be in our flock, nor should we try. Should churches go after the “manly man” with gimmicks and mocking disdain for the average wussy church going guy? If I read Ephesians properly, the church should consist of all kinds of people: cool and square, macho and sensitive, punk rock and emo. Frankly, in my experience a sensitive guy who is not trying to be cool is about ten times more likely to fit the biblical profile of a man, even if he doesn’t ride a Harley and watch contact sports on television. Pastor your people, thank God for the diversity in the body, and love people who aren’t like you.

5. With a few exceptions, Christians who try to be cool are terrible at it.

When I was in middle school, a well meaning youth worker attempted to perform what came to be known infamously in Radnor Junior High School lore as “the Jesus rap.” These were the earlier days of hip-hop, and the genre was still trying to find its sound. Well, this youth worker, a slightly pudgy white guy of about 28 years, put the effort back ten years in five excruciating minutes. I later came to find that this well-meaning man hadn’t written this material himself (thank heavens!) but that it was later recorded as part of a song called “Addicted to Love” by a man named Carman.

The point is this: not many Christians can pull it off. A few can, but you probably can’t. Seriously, ask your wife. She’ll tell you the truth. Don’t try to be something that you’re not for the sake of impressing unbelievers. It’s bad theology and it will fool no one. It’s this kind of thinking that has gotten us Christian rock music. Please, stop it. No, really. Now. I insist.

6. Being like the culture can make it hard to see the gospel.

The more we understand the world (and its definition of what is compelling and cool), the less attractive we should find it. In fact, in a society that is increasingly morally and spiritually bankrupt, it may be our incongruity with the culture that serves to highlight the gospel. David Wells says this much better than I could in his book God in the Wasteland:

By this late date, evangelicals should be hungering for a genuine revival of the church, aching to see it once again become a place of seriousness where a vivid otherworldliness is cultivated because the world is understood in deeper and truer ways, where worship is stripped of everything extraneous, where God’s Word is heard afresh, where the desolate and broken can find sanctuary [emphasis mine].

Let’s pray that our churches recover that quality of vivid otherworldliness, even if it is not cool.

The conclusion of the matter is this: be who God made you to be. If you lean hipster, run with it. Be a hipster to the glory of God. If you lean in another direction, that’s great too. But Christ must be central to all who will pursue the calling of a pastor. That means putting to death our pride and scorn for others who are not like us. That means evangelizing across the boundaries of taste and preference. In the long run, it might even mean that we’re not cool.

Michael McKinley is the pastor of Guilford Baptist Church in Sterling, Virginia, and the 9Marks lead writer on church membership.

I have now been in Wellington, New Zealand for exactly one month. It is great!

I have uploaded a photo album of some of the pictures I have taken here over the last month. The images are of the events, activities and prasadam (food) in and around the Gaura Yoga center.

All shots were taken with a Pentax K20d D-SLR. I continue to be amazed at the quality of images this camera produces. Infamous photographer Ken Rockwell preaches that the camera doesn't matter. He argues that just like owning a B??sendorfer piano will not magically make you into a great pianist, similarly owning a good camera does not automatically mean you take great pictures. The folks at the Luminous Landscape respond by saying that the camera does matter. They argue that it is critically important. A good set of tools can turn a okay craftsman into a great one.

I think both viewpoints have some truth to them. A good camera does not automatically result in better pictures, but it does definitely allow one to take pictures in more demanding situations (less light, fast moving subjects, far away subjects, distracting backgrounds, etc.). Even in ideal situations, a good camera and lens combination can turn a good photograph into a great one. However, the best equipment alone will, of course, not magically turn a run-of-a-mill photographer into Annie Leibovitz. Artist's consciousness is ultimately what creates the artwork. The tools are just instruments through which the artist manipulates the world of matter around him or her. A better tool allows for more detailed precise manipulation of matter.

So yes, I like the K20d. Check out the new pictures.

I have now been in Wellington, New Zealand for exactly one month. It is great!

I have uploaded a photo album of some of the pictures I have taken here over the last month. The images are of the events, activities and prasadam (food) in and around the Gaura Yoga center.

All shots were taken with a Pentax K20d D-SLR. I continue to be amazed at the quality of images this camera produces. Infamous photographer Ken Rockwell preaches that the camera doesn't matter. He argues that just like owning a B??sendorfer piano will not magically make you into a great pianist, similarly owning a good camera does not automatically mean you take great pictures. The folks at the Luminous Landscape respond by saying that the camera does matter. They argue that it is critically important. A good set of tools can turn a okay craftsman into a great one.

I think both viewpoints have some truth to them. A good camera does not automatically result in better pictures, but it does definitely allow one to take pictures in more demanding situations (less light, fast moving subjects, far away subjects, distracting backgrounds, etc.). Even in ideal situations, a good camera and lens combination can turn a good photograph into a great one. However, the best equipment alone will, of course, not magically turn a run-of-a-mill photographer into Annie Leibovitz. Artist's consciousness is ultimately what creates the artwork. The tools are just instruments through which the artist manipulates the world of matter around him or her. A better tool allows for more detailed precise manipulation of matter.

So yes, I like the K20d. Check out the new pictures.

“What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.” Bhagavad Gita 2:69

Now that the hullabaloo about the national gas tax holiday has subsided, don’t lose heart. There’s still a few things that you can do to test your metal, have an healthy and entertaining summer, and make a real difference. You don’t need politicians to come up with cheap solutions that are really no solutions at all. Will this November’s election really solve anything? Why wait for someone to do something for us? If enough of us are on the same page it could turn into one big ‘We” with the clout of a high priced lobbyist, pushy senator, out-of-control Supreme Court judge, or an insider presidential advisor. Fact: The bottom line for corporations is where and how We, the People spend our money. That means you can vote with your wallet every day of the week. Here’s four simple things that you can do to help yourself, the planet and the economy. From now until Labor Day try this -

1) Stop buying gas from Exxon – Mobil. This is one company. Out of all the gas companies Exxon - Mobil has the biggest profits. If their gas stations are idle, you’ll see their prices come down quickly. This will set off a price war between gas companies vying for your patronage. Another thing, just because oil companies want to renew off shore drilling doesn’t mean that our gas prices will come down. They will sell to the highest bidder no matter who or where they are. If off shore drilling is increased, will legislators insist that the oil be used for USA consumption?

NOTE: Most people mistake the dark night of material wealth created by greed as the day time of prosperity.

2) This next one is not for the faint hearted. This may almost be impossible – (Forgetabout boycotting the Olympics this August). Stop buying things made in China altogether (a side note - our government doesn’t let us buy stuff made in Cuba. Maybe it should. It would be cheaper than shipping it all the way from China. What’s the difference?). We, ourselves, are to blame for the gas increases. Why? Because we buy foreign made goods. We’re getting items from all over the world (wherever there is cheap labor) of which China is the largest importer to the USA. Because of the tremendous economic growth of China, and also India, their use of cars and demand for oil has increased multifold over the past decade. On top of that, the fact that so much of what we consume has to be shipped from half way around the world is just plain bad for the planet.

NOTE: The self controlled can use natural resources wisely and in moderation without creating an imbalance to the environment.

3) Don’t buy any produce that’s grown outside the country. The regulations for food production in other countries are lax or nonexistent. In general, buy mostly that which is grown or made in your country, or better yet in your state or area. It will be better for you, for your community and for the world So don’t be a lemming. If we don’t voluntarily learn to modify the ways and habits of our consumption, the unfolding waves of circumstances will force drastic change upon us and our children sooner or later.

NOTE: It’s already happening and one must remain undisturbed like an introspective sage.

4) Stop eating meat. Really no big deal, especially when we realize our own health and happiness is what’s at stake. And there are all sorts of unseen costs for growing and transporting beef. The decisive factor is that this simple, revolutionary act of refrain will nourish and expand our compassionate nature and help us to understand our connectedness to all life forms and to the world around us. To act compassionately, free from greed, is one of the basic principles of spirituality, as it is vital in opening the portal to our higher, eternal nature. We must practice living in the awareness that all things are connected.

NOTE: Many people remain in the darkness of night, unaware of the suffering of others.

RECAP: From now until Labor Day 1) stop buying from Exxon-Mobil (at least until their prices come down), 2) stop buying imports from China, 3) stop buying produce grown outside the country, and 4) stop buying meat. Try going for all four. If you can’t do all four totally, at least do any one or two. You’re on your way. Good luck.

And for additional bonus points try these two harrowing experiments until Labor Day:

1) Don’t use your credit card. Stick with debit card or use cash for everything.

2) For at least one day a week, stay off your computer and TV. Get out and talk to the folks in your community.

So stay well, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Be grateful. Pray. Have a healthy sense of humor. Laugh. Find your creative self. Speak up. Be flexible. Get involved! Interact!

FYI - The saying “Wake up and smell the coffee” is said to someone to suggest that they begin to pay attention and try to see the true facts of a situation or event which is relevant to their lives. Recently, a study revealed that the attention of sleep deprived rats was boosted when they were exposed to the aroma of roasted coffee beans. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/science/17objava.html?_r=1&n&oref=slogin

“What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.” Bhagavad Gita 2:69

Now that the hullabaloo about the national gas tax holiday has subsided, don’t lose heart. There’s still a few things that you can do to test your metal, have an healthy and entertaining summer, and make a real difference. You don’t need politicians to come up with cheap solutions that are really no solutions at all. Will this November’s election really solve anything? Why wait for someone to do something for us? If enough of us are on the same page it could turn into one big ‘We” with the clout of a high priced lobbyist, pushy senator, out-of-control Supreme Court judge, or an insider presidential advisor. Fact: The bottom line for corporations is where and how We, the People spend our money. That means you can vote with your wallet every day of the week. Here’s four simple things that you can do to help yourself, the planet and the economy. From now until Labor Day try this -

1) Stop buying gas from Exxon – Mobil. This is one company. Out of all the gas companies Exxon - Mobil has the biggest profits. If their gas stations are idle, you’ll see their prices come down quickly. This will set off a price war between gas companies vying for your patronage. Another thing, just because oil companies want to renew off shore drilling doesn’t mean that our gas prices will come down. They will sell to the highest bidder no matter who or where they are. If off shore drilling is increased, will legislators insist that the oil be used for USA consumption?

NOTE: Most people mistake the dark night of material wealth created by greed as the day time of prosperity.

2) This next one is not for the faint hearted. This may almost be impossible – (Forgetabout boycotting the Olympics this August). Stop buying things made in China altogether (a side note - our government doesn’t let us buy stuff made in Cuba. Maybe it should. It would be cheaper than shipping it all the way from China. What’s the difference?). We, ourselves, are to blame for the gas increases. Why? Because we buy foreign made goods. We’re getting items from all over the world (wherever there is cheap labor) of which China is the largest importer to the USA. Because of the tremendous economic growth of China, and also India, their use of cars and demand for oil has increased multifold over the past decade. On top of that, the fact that so much of what we consume has to be shipped from half way around the world is just plain bad for the planet.

NOTE: The self controlled can use natural resources wisely and in moderation without creating an imbalance to the environment.

3) Don’t buy any produce that’s grown outside the country. The regulations for food production in other countries are lax or nonexistent. In general, buy mostly that which is grown or made in your country, or better yet in your state or area. It will be better for you, for your community and for the world So don’t be a lemming. If we don’t voluntarily learn to modify the ways and habits of our consumption, the unfolding waves of circumstances will force drastic change upon us and our children sooner or later.

NOTE: It’s already happening and one must remain undisturbed like an introspective sage.

4) Stop eating meat. Really no big deal, especially when we realize our own health and happiness is what’s at stake. And there are all sorts of unseen costs for growing and transporting beef. The decisive factor is that this simple, revolutionary act of refrain will nourish and expand our compassionate nature and help us to understand our connectedness to all life forms and to the world around us. To act compassionately, free from greed, is one of the basic principles of spirituality, as it is vital in opening the portal to our higher, eternal nature. We must practice living in the awareness that all things are connected.

NOTE: Many people remain in the darkness of night, unaware of the suffering of others.

RECAP: From now until Labor Day 1) stop buying from Exxon-Mobil (at least until their prices come down), 2) stop buying imports from China, 3) stop buying produce grown outside the country, and 4) stop buying meat. Try going for all four. If you can’t do all four totally, at least do any one or two. You’re on your way. Good luck.

And for additional bonus points try these two harrowing experiments until Labor Day:

1) Don’t use your credit card. Stick with debit card or use cash for everything.

2) For at least one day a week, stay off your computer and TV. Get out and talk to the folks in your community.

So stay well, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Be grateful. Pray. Have a healthy sense of humor. Laugh. Find your creative self. Speak up. Be flexible. Get involved! Interact!

FYI - The saying “Wake up and smell the coffee” is said to someone to suggest that they begin to pay attention and try to see the true facts of a situation or event which is relevant to their lives. Recently, a study revealed that the attention of sleep deprived rats was boosted when they were exposed to the aroma of roasted coffee beans. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/science/17objava.html?_r=1&n&oref=slogin

I have moved from Manchester, United Kingdom to Wellington, New Zealand. Last Sunday I gave the Krishna Fest presentation at the Gaura Yoga center here in Wellington. The topic was the "Science of Happiness" (analyzed using the teachings on the three modes of material nature from the Bhagavad-Gita: As it Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada).

Download and view a higher quality (800x600) version of the video here [124 MB].

I have moved from Manchester, United Kingdom to Wellington, New Zealand. Last Sunday I gave the Krishna Fest presentation at the Gaura Yoga center here in Wellington. The topic was the "Science of Happiness" (analyzed using the teachings on the three modes of material nature from the Bhagavad-Gita: As it Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada).

Download and view a higher quality (800x600) version of the video here [124 MB].

Sri Gopal Nathji(That little Black Boy the Beloved of Vraj) doesn’t know yet but he is having a surprise birthday party this weekend. I wish I could be there but Ill be away. If any of you can be there to celebrate please do so. Our Gopal is turning 25! Bathing ceremony, giant feast, kirtans, and fireworks. What a great way to celebrate our Independence!

Gopalji has always been a dear friend to me. I used to sit and read stories to Him from Krishna book. I would either sit in front of him if it was day and I had time or I would sit on the Vyasasana step next to Prabhupada at night after everyone else would go to sleep. I don’t know if that was offensive but that is the way I could get closer to him. Actually I felt that was where I was supposed to sit and read. It was the only place with a little light. When I first moved to New V there were two beautiful cows on each step. Then the higher ups decided that philosophically, Prabhupada couldn’t have cows next to him so they were removed. Once they moved provided the perfect spot to look up into Prabhupada’s eyes and read to him his favorite pastimes of Gopal and the cowherd boys in Vrindaban.

Once I was in Chowpatty temple and I was trained to do “Gopal Darshans”. Check them out at the Radhagopinath website during Chandan Yatra time. I learned because I wanted to do them with Gopal in New Vrindaban. I have yet to do so. One day I hope….One day….

Here is the letter I received from the organizer of Gopals surprise party which I want to share…

“July 4 2008, doesn’t just commemorate the declaration of independence
of the USA. It also commemorates the Declaration of Dependence to God
for His shelter when the most beautiful deity of Sri Gopal Nathaji
(Krishna, the lifter of Govardhan Hill) was established in New
Vrindaban, WV 25 years ago on this date. The history is that the most
auspicious moment for establishing the deity was 5-7 minutes before
midnight on the 4th, and the big elaborate ceremonies, like the
maha-abhishekam (ritual bath), took place on the morning of the 5th.
This is infact, consistant with Lord Krsna’s pastimes. He was born at
midnight, but his grand birthday celebration took place the next day,
called Nandotsava.

So this coming July 4-5, there’s gonna be a small festival for Nathaji
at the community.

On the 4th, there will be an adhivas ceremony in the evening, where
special items and ghee lamps will be shown to the deity to inaugurate
the festival.

and then the next day..

Sri Nathji will be offered a dress made completely of flowers. There will be a traditional Chappan Bhog offering of 56 special food items offered at noon to Nathji. This is a special rite of the Pushti
Marg Vaishnava sampradaya whose main deity is Srinathji.

At 4pm, there will be another maha-abhishekam for Nathaji, when
the whole deity will be bathed in substances like milk, rose-scented
water, juices, etc

Please give your blessings and prayers for the success of this
festival. If you’re able to come in person, please do so and celebrate
with us. If you cant, then at least offer your prayers to Nathji on
this special day. This is also consistent with Lord Krsna’s pastimes.
While Nanda Maharaj celebrated Krsna’s birthday in Vrindavan with all
those who were present, Lord Krsna’s actual father – Vasudeva,
mentally observed the festival by giving charity to the Brahmanas,
offering special sacrifices, prayers, etc.”

Sri Gopal ki Jaya!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every Spring Quarter the Visual Arts college does a multimedia project called “Soul of Athens”. This year the devotees from Athens were all over it. Many students spent entire days and weeks with us shooting for their projects. Some of them made it others did not. The theme this year was wellness, so naturally the devotees fell right into that category especially with how much they do in that small college town. Check it out at www.soulofathens.com.

My bodily situation forces me to have a vegan diet (and the unhealthiness of the substance formally known as 'milk', as well as the extreme cruelty of the dairy farming industry would probably lead me to be vegan even if I could digest milk). So, some people may ask: "how do you get your calcium and iron?"

The answer is not: "you must eat dairy products!", or "you must take this kind of supplement!".

The dairy industry has long perpetuated the myth that calcium is only available from milk (much like the meat industry has perpetuated the myth that the only way to get protein is by eating lots of meat). It is a testimony to the power of advertising that we believe these seemingly "universally acknowledged truths". Calcium is, in fact, available from a variety of vegetables, in much greater quality and quantity than it is present in milk.

Taking a supplement is also not the answer. The body and different types of foods work as an integrated system, each supporting each other. So, just popping a pill with the necessary mineral simply results in that substance passing through the body, unabsorbed.

You can eat as much calcium as you like, but without doing any exercise it won't be absorbed into your bones. Without exercise calcium goes into your joints instead. The result: stiff joints (arthritis) and weak bones (osteoporosis). Calcium supplements have also been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and kidney stones.

Moreover, Calcium dependents on vitamin D and magnesium to aid its absorption. The best way to get vitamin D is to spend 5 - 10 minutes in sunlight every day (without sunglasses or sunscreen). The best way to get magnesium is to eat seeds, nuts and whole grains. So, calcium, magnesium, exercise and sunlight must be taken together in order for the calcium to be absorbed (as explained in greater detail in these videos). Calcium and protein, however, do not go well together. People who consume too much protein also absorb less calcium, especially if the two are taken together.

Interestingly, however, calcium and dark fruit juices inhibit the absorption of iron in the body. To help the absorption of iron, vitamin C is required. Great sources of vitamin C are lemon or orange juices.

On the other hand, dark fruit juices (like red grape juice) are good for removing toxins in the food. So, when eating food which is unhealthy or full of pesticides (basically anything non-organic), it is a good idea to also take some dark fruit juice with it in order to remove at least some of the toxins.

So, everything works together in a web of interrelation and support. There are no quick fixes. A holistic healthy lifestyle is required.

My bodily situation forces me to have a vegan diet (and the unhealthiness of the substance formally known as 'milk', as well as the extreme cruelty of the dairy farming industry would probably lead me to be vegan even if I could digest milk). So, some people may ask: "how do you get your calcium and iron?"

The answer is not: "you must eat dairy products!", or "you must take this kind of supplement!".

The dairy industry has long perpetuated the myth that calcium is only available from milk (much like the meat industry has perpetuated the myth that the only way to get protein is by eating lots of meat). It is a testimony to the power of advertising that we believe these seemingly "universally acknowledged truths". Calcium is, in fact, available from a variety of vegetables, in much greater quality and quantity than it is present in milk.

Taking a supplement is also not the answer. The body and different types of foods work as an integrated system, each supporting each other. So, just popping a pill with the necessary mineral simply results in that substance passing through the body, unabsorbed.

You can eat as much calcium as you like, but without doing any exercise it won't be absorbed into your bones. Without exercise calcium goes into your joints instead. The result: stiff joints (arthritis) and weak bones (osteoporosis). Calcium supplements have also been shown to increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and kidney stones.

Moreover, Calcium dependents on vitamin D and magnesium to aid its absorption. The best way to get vitamin D is to spend 5 - 10 minutes in sunlight every day (without sunglasses or sunscreen). The best way to get magnesium is to eat seeds, nuts and whole grains. So, calcium, magnesium, exercise and sunlight must be taken together in order for the calcium to be absorbed (as explained in greater detail in these videos). Calcium and protein, however, do not go well together. People who consume too much protein also absorb less calcium, especially if the two are taken together.

Interestingly, however, calcium and dark fruit juices inhibit the absorption of iron in the body. To help the absorption of iron, vitamin C is required. Great sources of vitamin C are lemon or orange juices.

On the other hand, dark fruit juices (like red grape juice) are good for removing toxins in the food. So, when eating food which is unhealthy or full of pesticides (basically anything non-organic), it is a good idea to also take some dark fruit juice with it in order to remove at least some of the toxins.

So, everything works together in a web of interrelation and support. There are no quick fixes. A holistic healthy lifestyle is required.

I would firstly like to thank everyone for helping me find the lecture series I was looking for by Ravindra Svarupa. I'm looking forward to my upcoming retreat so that I can spend a few days studying them.

Due to the resounding success I had in finding these lectures, Mahanila Prabhu has asked if I can help him find some special photo's of the Nrsimha-deva deity from Mayapur. He is trying to find some high quality photos where Nrsimha-deva has His metal teeth which go right around His mouth(ear to ear), like in the picture below:






Thank you!

And I apologise for using my blog to get favours from the devotees. I swear that I will one day actually post a blog on here that is worth reading...

I would firstly like to thank everyone for helping me find the lecture series I was looking for by Ravindra Svarupa. I'm looking forward to my upcoming retreat so that I can spend a few days studying them.

Due to the resounding success I had in finding these lectures, Mahanila Prabhu has asked if I can help him find some special photo's of the Nrsimha-deva deity from Mayapur. He is trying to find some high quality photos where Nrsimha-deva has His metal teeth which go right around His mouth(ear to ear), like in the picture below:






Thank you!

And I apologise for using my blog to get favours from the devotees. I swear that I will one day actually post a blog on here that is worth reading...

I've installed a new picture gallery software on this website. The old coppermine gallery was nice, but kind of clunky and didn't integrate well with my desktop applications. So, out it went. In its place it put a gallery called (simply) Gallery.

Take a look at the new gallery. You will find an archive of all the photos from the old gallery and a brand new picture album. The pictures in the new album were taken with a new Pentax K20d DSLR camera. I think you will notice these pictures are of significantly higher quality than all the previous images (shot with an old Minolta A1). If, for some reason, you want to look at the old coppermine gallery, that is still online here.

I've installed a new picture gallery software on this website. The old coppermine gallery was nice, but kind of clunky and didn't integrate well with my desktop applications. So, out it went. In its place it put a gallery called (simply) Gallery.

Take a look at the new gallery. You will find an archive of all the photos from the old gallery and a brand new picture album. The pictures in the new album were taken with a new Pentax K20d DSLR camera. I think you will notice these pictures are of significantly higher quality than all the previous images (shot with an old Minolta A1). If, for some reason, you want to look at the old coppermine gallery, that is still online here.

In February last year, 2007, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu apparently gave a seminar series on Vedic cosmology, based on the 5th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, in Mayapur. At least, that's what I read on the Mayapur website when I was looking at the various lecture series that were going to take place that year.

I'm wondering if anyone has a copy of those lectures on mp3. Being a nerd, I often get asked questions about Vedic cosmology, and I'm trying to increase my understanding of it, to some degree, just so that I can deal with my own doubts and the doubts of others. I already have the Vedic cosmology dvd, from the Danavira Maharaja, and I have also read some of Sadaputa Prabhu's books on the issue.

If you have these lectures, or know where to get a copy of them, please send me an e-mail at my @gmail.com account - vidyapatidas@etc

Thank you!

In February last year, 2007, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu apparently gave a seminar series on Vedic cosmology, based on the 5th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam, in Mayapur. At least, that's what I read on the Mayapur website when I was looking at the various lecture series that were going to take place that year.

I'm wondering if anyone has a copy of those lectures on mp3. Being a nerd, I often get asked questions about Vedic cosmology, and I'm trying to increase my understanding of it, to some degree, just so that I can deal with my own doubts and the doubts of others. I already have the Vedic cosmology dvd, from the Danavira Maharaja, and I have also read some of Sadaputa Prabhu's books on the issue.

If you have these lectures, or know where to get a copy of them, please send me an e-mail at my @gmail.com account - vidyapatidas@etc

Thank you!

I have my moments. They are extremely rare but they are there, and they exist as a touch of Krsna's mercy. Reality as opposed to ignorance is divine, transported from a realm that can only be perceived if one is humble and ready to accept one's fate and wrongdoings. In my case, reality is perceived sporadically, like patches of a blue sky through a fog. And when I catch a glimpse I see an eternity of deeds opposed to self-realization – a mentality that is selfish, irrational, and hungry for name, fame, adoration. Obsequious and unashamed, I mount an eternal struggle for something that is detrimental to well-being, and, as a result, live in a fog while occasionally – out of Krsna's sheer unequivocal mercy upon me – I catch glimpses of the eternal - instead of relishing it's continual presence (something that I would not be unable to do had I the desire for it). It is like this for me.

I have my moments. They are extremely rare but they are there, and they exist as a touch of Krsna's mercy. Reality as opposed to ignorance is divine, transported from a realm that can only be perceived if one is humble and ready to accept one's fate and wrongdoings. In my case, reality is perceived sporadically, like patches of a blue sky through a fog. And when I catch a glimpse I see an eternity of deeds opposed to self-realization – a mentality that is selfish, irrational, and hungry for name, fame, adoration. Obsequious and unashamed, I mount an eternal struggle for something that is detrimental to well-being, and, as a result, live in a fog while occasionally – out of Krsna's sheer unequivocal mercy upon me – I catch glimpses of the eternal - instead of relishing it's continual presence (something that I would not be unable to do had I the desire for it). It is like this for me.

German news Heute.de is reporting a story in Nature magazine about the recent discovery of the oldest mammal named Materpiscis attenboroughi (a type of Placodermi). Researchers from Australia found a fossil of this fish containing several embryos connected to their mother by an umbilical cord, making it the earliest known mammal. The fossil is estimated to be 380 million years old. This is older than the dinosaurs (which existed roughly 230 million to 65 million years ago).

This discovery suggests that mammals existed far earlier than it was previously thought. The earliest mammal previous to this new discovery was a small mouse-like creature known as Hadrocodium Wui discovered in China by Zhe-Xi Luo, Alfred W. Crompton and Ai-Lin Sun. This creature lived roughly 195 million years ago.

Lead research John Long of the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia says that this new discovery means that the current models of evolution need to be adjusted significantly.

German news Heute.de is reporting a story in Nature magazine about the recent discovery of the oldest mammal named Materpiscis attenboroughi (a type of Placodermi). Researchers from Australia found a fossil of this fish containing several embryos connected to their mother by an umbilical cord, making it the earliest known mammal. The fossil is estimated to be 380 million years old. This is older than the dinosaurs (which existed roughly 230 million to 65 million years ago).

This discovery suggests that mammals existed far earlier than it was previously thought. The earliest mammal previous to this new discovery was a small mouse-like creature known as Hadrocodium Wui discovered in China by Zhe-Xi Luo, Alfred W. Crompton and Ai-Lin Sun. This creature lived roughly 195 million years ago.

Lead research John Long of the Museum Victoria in Melbourne, Australia says that this new discovery means that the current models of evolution need to be adjusted significantly.

(picture credit: cow, nuke)

The cow killing that is going on today is like a nuclear bomb. It is the new holocaust, threatening to destroy us all.

In the United States alone every year 10 billion animals are killed for food. If you lined them all up that they would reach to the moon and back five times! With that many living entities being killed there is simply no way that they can be treated ethically. Doing so also results in second highest contribution to global warming in the world (after energy production, but ahead of transportation and residences).

In this excellent presentation at the TED conference Mark Bittman reenforces much of what I talked about in the King Corn post. It is a really compelling presentation on the importance of local food (Locavore = person who only eats local food; is the new word of year), importance of eating organic food (although it isn't a cure-all) and the importance of eating less meat, less junk and more plants (eating plants is what makes us healthy).

He also talks a bit about the history of food. About how we got into the sorry state of far too much meat-eating we are in today.

Here is the video of the talk (much recommended!)

(picture credit: cow, nuke)

The cow killing that is going on today is like a nuclear bomb. It is the new holocaust, threatening to destroy us all.

In the United States alone every year 10 billion animals are killed for food. If you lined them all up that they would reach to the moon and back five times! With that many living entities being killed there is simply no way that they can be treated ethically. Doing so also results in second highest contribution to global warming in the world (after energy production, but ahead of transportation and residences).

In this excellent presentation at the TED conference Mark Bittman reenforces much of what I talked about in the King Corn post. It is a really compelling presentation on the importance of local food (Locavore = person who only eats local food; is the new word of year), importance of eating organic food (although it isn't a cure-all) and the importance of eating less meat, less junk and more plants (eating plants is what makes us healthy).

He also talks a bit about the history of food. About how we got into the sorry state of far too much meat-eating we are in today.

Here is the video of the talk (much recommended!)

I saw a documentary called King Corn today. It is about two guys from Boston who decide to grow an acre of corn in Iowa to learn more about this strange grain that is seemingly in everything we eat.

(picture credit)

Tilling and planting one acre of corn (31000 seeds) with a modern tractor takes only about 18 minutes. So, a single farmer can farm many thousands of acres of corn. What used to be a major undertaking, requiring lots of manpower, now can be done with relative ease by just a few hard-working farmers (using lots of machines, chemicals and GMOs).

Once the corn starts growing it is sprayed with liberty weed-killer. This herbicide is non-selective, meaning it kills any and all plants. The corn, however, is genetically modified Liberty-Link corn that can resist the herbicide.

Ammonia fertilizer is used to increase yields. It quadruples the farm's yield and eliminates the need to rotate crops, like the Romans used to do. So, a monoculture of corn can be grown everywhere, year-after-year. However, as farmers are only now discovering, ammonia gradually destroys soil quality.

The harvested corn is used mainly for either animal feed or high-fructose corn syrup production.

Instead of letting cattle eat grass off fields, the fields are used to grow corn. This corn is then fed to the cows in a feed lot. The benefit is that since cows are not allowed to move, they fatten up more quickly. Corn is also a much richer diet than grass, so the cows gain weight even more quickly and less overall space is required. A cow is usually slaughters within 60 - 120 days of entering the feed lot.

Why 120 days? Because after 120 days on a corn diet a cow starts getting really sick. Its digestion system can't handle eating corn for so long. It develops a condition called acidosis, which will quickly kill the animal (humans can also develop acidosis, but usually only as a side effect of certain pharmaceutical drugs). Antibiotics are mixed in with the corn feed to keep the cattle alive for a bit longer, so they gain enough weight for slaughter.

Modern corn cannot be eaten by humans. It is optimized to produce maximum starch. You don't get something for nothing. So, the price of more starch is lower protein in the corn. The result: corn that tastes like chalk, has almost no nutritional value and is perfect for high-fructose corn syrup production.

One in eight people in New York have diabetes (although most don't know it) largely because of eating (and especially drinking) too much high-fructose corn syrup. Drinking one soda per day doubles one's chance of developing diabetes as opposed to someone who only occasionally drinks a soda. And the main ingredient in sugar water is ... high-fructose corn syrup.

Also, a typical McDonald's meal is basically all corn: The burger is made from corn feed cows, half the calories in french-fries come from the corn oil it is fried in, and the drink is, of course, mostly high-fructose corn syrup. We are what we eat, and what we are eating is primarily corn.

Government subsidies rewards the overproduction of cheap corn. Otherwise, it wouldn't be economically viable to grow so much corn. However, largely as a result of those subsidies, in the USA only 16% of people's income is spent on food. That's half the amount that people spent on food a generation ago. People like it when their food is cheap. More money to spend on other, more important things in life, right? The unfortunate side-effect is that low quality food makes people sick. Life expectation is actually going down in the USA. People are dying younger and it's because of what they eat.

The Bhagavad-Gita affirms all this. In it Krishna declares that wretched persons ingest only suffering when they cook for their selfish motives (BG3.13). (alternative translation credit: Garuda das)

I saw a documentary called King Corn today. It is about two guys from Boston who decide to grow an acre of corn in Iowa to learn more about this strange grain that is seemingly in everything we eat.

(picture credit)

Tilling and planting one acre of corn (31000 seeds) with a modern tractor takes only about 18 minutes. So, a single farmer can farm many thousands of acres of corn. What used to be a major undertaking, requiring lots of manpower, now can be done with relative ease by just a few hard-working farmers (using lots of machines, chemicals and GMOs).

Once the corn starts growing it is sprayed with liberty weed-killer. This herbicide is non-selective, meaning it kills any and all plants. The corn, however, is genetically modified Liberty-Link corn that can resist the herbicide.

Ammonia fertilizer is used to increase yields. It quadruples the farm's yield and eliminates the need to rotate crops, like the Romans used to do. So, a monoculture of corn can be grown everywhere, year-after-year. However, as farmers are only now discovering, ammonia gradually destroys soil quality.

The harvested corn is used mainly for either animal feed or high-fructose corn syrup production.

Instead of letting cattle eat grass off fields, the fields are used to grow corn. This corn is then fed to the cows in a feed lot. The benefit is that since cows are not allowed to move, they fatten up more quickly. Corn is also a much richer diet than grass, so the cows gain weight even more quickly and less overall space is required. A cow is usually slaughters within 60 - 120 days of entering the feed lot.

Why 120 days? Because after 120 days on a corn diet a cow starts getting really sick. Its digestion system can't handle eating corn for so long. It develops a condition called acidosis, which will quickly kill the animal (humans can also develop acidosis, but usually only as a side effect of certain pharmaceutical drugs). Antibiotics are mixed in with the corn feed to keep the cattle alive for a bit longer, so they gain enough weight for slaughter.

Modern corn cannot be eaten by humans. It is optimized to produce maximum starch. You don't get something for nothing. So, the price of more starch is lower protein in the corn. The result: corn that tastes like chalk, has almost no nutritional value and is perfect for high-fructose corn syrup production.

One in eight people in New York have diabetes (although most don't know it) largely because of eating (and especially drinking) too much high-fructose corn syrup. Drinking one soda per day doubles one's chance of developing diabetes as opposed to someone who only occasionally drinks a soda. And the main ingredient in sugar water is ... high-fructose corn syrup.

Also, a typical McDonald's meal is basically all corn: The burger is made from corn feed cows, half the calories in french-fries come from the corn oil it is fried in, and the drink is, of course, mostly high-fructose corn syrup. We are what we eat, and what we are eating is primarily corn.

Government subsidies rewards the overproduction of cheap corn. Otherwise, it wouldn't be economically viable to grow so much corn. However, largely as a result of those subsidies, in the USA only 16% of people's income is spent on food. That's half the amount that people spent on food a generation ago. People like it when their food is cheap. More money to spend on other, more important things in life, right? The unfortunate side-effect is that low quality food makes people sick. Life expectation is actually going down in the USA. People are dying younger and it's because of what they eat.

The Bhagavad-Gita affirms all this. In it Krishna declares that wretched persons ingest only suffering when they cook for their selfish motives (BG3.13). (alternative translation credit: Garuda das)

Why is KC so simple and yet so hard? Minds are quite a handful are they not? To conquer the mind is to conquer the senses, and that would be quite an achievement. I find myself thinking back to distributing Prabhupada's books. I had the same mind, the same senses, the same three gunas, and yet somehow at that time, amidst all the same chaos and turbulence, there was an obvious trail back to Godhead and a means to traverse it. Leave the books alone for a few months and the path starts to become overgrown. Leave it too long and i'll have to wrestle with my mind to decide which way to walk is best.

Why is KC so simple and yet so hard? Minds are quite a handful are they not? To conquer the mind is to conquer the senses, and that would be quite an achievement. I find myself thinking back to distributing Prabhupada's books. I had the same mind, the same senses, the same three gunas, and yet somehow at that time, amidst all the same chaos and turbulence, there was an obvious trail back to Godhead and a means to traverse it. Leave the books alone for a few months and the path starts to become overgrown. Leave it too long and i'll have to wrestle with my mind to decide which way to walk is best.

"Forgetting You,
I came into this world,"
Says Bhaktivinoda.

He said it for me.
Forgetting You... How could we?
And for what?
To come into this maze
Of ignorance.
Struggling to be master
But failing
Again and again.
"Why is everyone against me?" we think.
"What did I do to deserve this?"

Every criminal thinks he's innocent.

"Forgetting You,
I came into this world,"
Says Bhaktivinoda.

He said it for me.
Forgetting You... How could we?
And for what?
To come into this maze
Of ignorance.
Struggling to be master
But failing
Again and again.
"Why is everyone against me?" we think.
"What did I do to deserve this?"

Every criminal thinks he's innocent.

See through the dark clouds covering your being. The storm blinds you, dizzy, floating, falling. But catch yourself and stride over the turbulent waves. Adjust but don't change positions. I swim and notice I'm far from my starting point. I wish I knew where I was. I wish I knew.

From the beginning we were trained to be great, to help and one day save the world in its darkest hour. The future hope. Long years of practice and study in that secluded monastery. "Why are we here?" we would ask. "Why not with our families and friends playing, like normal children?"

"For you are not normal. You have a great mission which only you can fulfill."

And we continued.

See through the dark clouds covering your being. The storm blinds you, dizzy, floating, falling. But catch yourself and stride over the turbulent waves. Adjust but don't change positions. I swim and notice I'm far from my starting point. I wish I knew where I was. I wish I knew.

From the beginning we were trained to be great, to help and one day save the world in its darkest hour. The future hope. Long years of practice and study in that secluded monastery. "Why are we here?" we would ask. "Why not with our families and friends playing, like normal children?"

"For you are not normal. You have a great mission which only you can fulfill."

And we continued.

Every living entity on the planet (and beyond) needs to sleep. Rats, die if they are deprived of sleep for 5 days (they also die if they are deprived of food for 5 days). Why this is, no one knows. It is one of the great unsolved mysteries of science. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have to waste so much time with sleeping?

Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita (BG6.16):

There is no possibility of one's becoming a yog?«, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

The general trend nowadays (in the mode of passion) is to sleep too little. I was listening to this 60 minutes feature on sleep. They presented all the latest research on the subject. Some surprising and alarming results:

• Sleep enhances memory: a study showed that students memorizing a list of words could recall them with 40% better accuracy after a night's sleep than they could before going to bed. So, pulling an all-nighter to revise for an exam will actually harm one's changes of remembering the material.
• Insufficient sleep is cumulative: the negative effects of sleeping only 4-6 hours night-after-night build upon one another. The less sleep you get, the worse your state of body and mind becomes.
• The effects of not sleeping are similar to intoxication: sleeping for only 4-6 hours has a similar effect on your mental awareness as drinking alcohol. So, for example, your ability to drive a car is severely impaired, your emotional mind takes over and can no longer be controlled by one's rational/logical mind. In fact, the MRI brain image of someone who hasn't had enough sleep is very similar to that of someone will a severe mental disorder. Caffeine can offset these effects for one or two days, but after three days insufficient sleep no amount of coffee can mask the intoxicating effect.
• 2-second micro-sleeps occur after insufficient rest: if you have had insufficient sleep, then you will, most likely, not realize just how tired you actually are. Your body will fall asleep for 2 second, even with open eyes, without you realizing. Needless to say, this can be very dangerous when driving a car.
• Many disasters are caused by insufficient sleep: lack of sleep played a factor in many accidents. For example: in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown and the Staten Island ferry crash the staff responsible all had had inadequate sleep.
• Lack of sleep causes obesity: not sleeping enough causes a drop of the leptin hormone, which regulates hunger. So, not sleeping enough will make you feel hungry, even if you've had plenty to eat. It produces an uncontrollable desire to eat. The result: not sleeping makes you fat.
• Lack of sleep causes diabetes: studies have shown that if someone is restricted to sleeping just four hours per night, they start developing symptoms of type-2 diabetes (symptoms include: weakness/fatigue, tingling/numbness in hands and feet, blurred vision, dry/itchy skin, unquenchable thirst, extreme hunger, weight loss, irritability, frequent urination, slow healing of wounds). It seems not getting enough sleep disturbs the body's ability to metabolize sugar. Indeed, type-2 diabetes, which used to only occur in elderly people, is becoming more and more common; even children are getting it (children need 9 - 10 hours sleep, yet frequently get less than 7 hours of sleep). Lack of sleep also increases one's risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

Most people need 7.5 - 8 hours of sleep per night, yet the median amount of sleep people in the USA get today is just 6.7 hours. Sleeping is just as important as eating. Not sleeping is really dangerous. So, if you are not getting enough sleep, then what are you waiting for? Get to bed!

Every living entity on the planet (and beyond) needs to sleep. Rats, die if they are deprived of sleep for 5 days (they also die if they are deprived of food for 5 days). Why this is, no one knows. It is one of the great unsolved mysteries of science. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have to waste so much time with sleeping?

Krishna says in the Bhagavad-Gita (BG6.16):

There is no possibility of one's becoming a yog?«, O Arjuna, if one eats too much or eats too little, sleeps too much or does not sleep enough.

The general trend nowadays (in the mode of passion) is to sleep too little. I was listening to this 60 minutes feature on sleep. They presented all the latest research on the subject. Some surprising and alarming results:

• Sleep enhances memory: a study showed that students memorizing a list of words could recall them with 40% better accuracy after a night's sleep than they could before going to bed. So, pulling an all-nighter to revise for an exam will actually harm one's changes of remembering the material.
• Insufficient sleep is cumulative: the negative effects of sleeping only 4-6 hours night-after-night build upon one another. The less sleep you get, the worse your state of body and mind becomes.
• The effects of not sleeping are similar to intoxication: sleeping for only 4-6 hours has a similar effect on your mental awareness as drinking alcohol. So, for example, your ability to drive a car is severely impaired, your emotional mind takes over and can no longer be controlled by one's rational/logical mind. In fact, the MRI brain image of someone who hasn't had enough sleep is very similar to that of someone will a severe mental disorder. Caffeine can offset these effects for one or two days, but after three days insufficient sleep no amount of coffee can mask the intoxicating effect.
• 2-second micro-sleeps occur after insufficient rest: if you have had insufficient sleep, then you will, most likely, not realize just how tired you actually are. Your body will fall asleep for 2 second, even with open eyes, without you realizing. Needless to say, this can be very dangerous when driving a car.
• Many disasters are caused by insufficient sleep: lack of sleep played a factor in many accidents. For example: in the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown, the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown and the Staten Island ferry crash the staff responsible all had had inadequate sleep.
• Lack of sleep causes obesity: not sleeping enough causes a drop of the leptin hormone, which regulates hunger. So, not sleeping enough will make you feel hungry, even if you've had plenty to eat. It produces an uncontrollable desire to eat. The result: not sleeping makes you fat.
• Lack of sleep causes diabetes: studies have shown that if someone is restricted to sleeping just four hours per night, they start developing symptoms of type-2 diabetes (symptoms include: weakness/fatigue, tingling/numbness in hands and feet, blurred vision, dry/itchy skin, unquenchable thirst, extreme hunger, weight loss, irritability, frequent urination, slow healing of wounds). It seems not getting enough sleep disturbs the body's ability to metabolize sugar. Indeed, type-2 diabetes, which used to only occur in elderly people, is becoming more and more common; even children are getting it (children need 9 - 10 hours sleep, yet frequently get less than 7 hours of sleep). Lack of sleep also increases one's risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.

Most people need 7.5 - 8 hours of sleep per night, yet the median amount of sleep people in the USA get today is just 6.7 hours. Sleeping is just as important as eating. Not sleeping is really dangerous. So, if you are not getting enough sleep, then what are you waiting for? Get to bed!

I had my PhD viva (final oral exam) a few weeks ago. After an incredibly grueling 4:40 hours the result is: "major corrections without the need for another examination".

The examiners were happy with my performance in the viva, but they thought that the thesis had some major shortcoming which needed to be corrected before awarding me the title. They estimate about two months more work is necessary to make the corrections. Then I have to re-submit the thesis, pay a ?£250 "admin fee" and the corrected thesis gets sent to both examiners for review and approval.

This is somewhat of a disappointment, but it could have been a lot worse. At least I (kind of) passed the exam. Still, the grind goes on...

I had my PhD viva (final oral exam) a few weeks ago. After an incredibly grueling 4:40 hours the result is: "major corrections without the need for another examination".

The examiners were happy with my performance in the viva, but they thought that the thesis had some major shortcoming which needed to be corrected before awarding me the title. They estimate about two months more work is necessary to make the corrections. Then I have to re-submit the thesis, pay a ?£250 "admin fee" and the corrected thesis gets sent to both examiners for review and approval.

This is somewhat of a disappointment, but it could have been a lot worse. At least I (kind of) passed the exam. Still, the grind goes on...

I've managed to fixed a few long-running bugs in with the display of this blog.

• Some browsers used to put an unnecessary white space under the search box. That is now fixed.
• The pictures section now no longer has a right-hand sidebar. That makes more space for the pictures.

Unfortunately, however, the lastest WordPress update has broken the integration with Coppermine Gallery. This means the random picture display that used to be in the bottom-right corner of the front-page no longer works. Sorry.

I'm contemplating abandoning Coppermine as my gallery software. There just aren't enough plug-ins and extensions available for it. Does anyone have any suggestions for a suitable replacement gallery software (preferably something I can install on my own server and easily integrate into WordPress) (and please don't say Gallery - I don't like that one very much)?