As written by this article. Some great tips to keeping your brain healthy. (I don’t know how many times I wrote “brian” instead of “brain”.

1. Run Up Your Brain Cells

Research suggests that people who get plenty of physical exercise can wind up with better brains. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif., found that adult mice who ran on an exercise wheel whenever they felt like it gained twice as many new cells in the hippocampus, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory, than mice who sat around all day discussing Lord of the Rings in Internet chat rooms. The researchers weren’t sure why the more active rodents’ brains reacted the way they did, but it’s possible that the voluntary nature of the exercise made it less stressful and therefore more beneficial. Which could mean that finding ways to enjoy exercise, rather than just forcing yourself to do it, may make you smarter - and happier, too.

So, play a sport, train for an event such as a marathon, triathlon or “fun run,” or work out with a buddy to help keep things interesting.

2. Exercise Your Mind

It isn’t just physical exercise that gets those brain cells jumping. Just like those head-pumped cabbies and piano jockeys, you can build up various areas of your brain by putting them to work. Duke University neurobiology professor Lawrence C. Katz, Ph.D., co-author of Keep Your Brain Alive, says that finding simple ways to use aspects of your brain that may be lagging could help maintain both nerve cells and dendrites, branches on the cells that receive and process information. Just as a new weightlifting exercise builds up underused muscles, Katz says that novel ways of thinking and viewing the world can improve the functioning of inactive sections of the brain.

Experience new tastes and smells; try to do things with your nondominant hand; find new ways to drive to work; travel to new places; create art; read that Dostoyevsky novel; write a buddy comedy for Ted Kennedy and Rush Limbaugh - basically, do anything you can to force yourself out of your mental ruts.

3. Ask Why

Our brains are wired to be curious. As we grow up and “mature” many of us stifle or deny our natural curiosity. Let yourself be curious! Wonder to yourself about why things are happening. Ask someone in the know. The best way to exercise our curiosity is by asking “Why?” Make it a new habit to ask “why?” at least 10 times a day. Your brain will be happier and you will be amazed at how many opportunities and solutions will show up in your life and work.

4. Laugh

Scientists tell us that laughter is good for our health; that it releases endorphins and other positively powerful chemicals into our system. We don’t really need scientists to tell us that it feels good to laugh. Laughing helps us reduce stress and break old patterns too. So laughter can be like a “quick-charge” for our brain’s batteries. Laugh more, and laugh harder.

5. Be A Fish Head

Omega-3 oils, found in walnuts, flaxseed and especially fish, have long been touted as being healthy for the heart. But recent research suggests they’re a brain booster as well, and not just because they help the circulation system that pumps oxygen to your head. They also seem to improve the function of the membranes that surround brain cells, which may be why people who consume a lot of fish are less likely to suffer depression, dementia, even attention-deficit disorder. Scientists have noted that essential fatty acids are necessary for proper brain development in children, and they’re now being added to baby formulas. It’s possible that your own mental state, and even your intelligence, can be enhanced by consuming enough of these oils.

Eating at least three servings a week of fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel and tuna is a good start.

6. Remember

Get out an old photo album or high school yearbook. Your brain is a memory machine, so give it a chance to work! Spend time with your memories. Let your mind reflect on them and your mind will repay you in positive emotions and new connections from the memories to help you with your current tasks and challenges.

7. Cut The Fat

Can “bad” fats make you dumb? When researchers at the University of Toronto put rats on a 40-percent-fat diet, the rats lost ground in several areas of mental function, including memory, spatial awareness and rule learning. The problems became worse with a diet high in saturated fats, the kind that’s abundant in meat and dairy products. While you may never be called upon to navigate a little maze in search of a cheddar cube, these results could hold true for you as well, for two reasons: Fat can reduce the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your brain, and it may also slow down the metabolism of glucose, the form of sugar the brain utilizes as food.

You can still get up to 30 percent of your daily calories in the form of fat, but most of it should come from the aforementioned fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Whatever you do, stay away from trans fats, the hardened oils that are abundant in crackers and snack foods.

8. Do A Puzzle

Some of us like jigsaw puzzles, some crossword puzzles, some logic puzzles - it really doesn’t matter kind you choose to do. Doing puzzles in your free time is a great way to activate your brain and keep it in good working condition. Do the puzzle for fun, but do it knowing you are exercising your brain.

9. The Mozart Effect

A decade ago Frances Rauscher, a psychologist now at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, and her colleagues made waves with the discovery that listening to Mozart improved people’s mathematical and spatial reasoning. Even rats ran mazes faster and more accurately after hearing Mozart than after white noise or music by the minimalist composer Philip Glass. Last year, Rauscher reported that, for rats at least, a Mozart piano sonata seems to stimulate activity in three genes involved in nerve-cell signalling in the brain.

This sounds like the most harmonious way to tune up your mental faculties. But before you grab the CDs, hear this note of caution. Not everyone who has looked for the Mozart effect has found it. What’s more, even its proponents tend to think that music boosts brain power simply because it makes listeners feel better - relaxed and stimulated at the same time - and that a comparable stimulus might do just as well. In fact, one study found that listening to a story gave a similar performance boost.

10. Improve Your Skill At Things You Already Do

Some repetitive mental stimulation is ok as long as you look to expand your skills and knowledge base. Common activities such as gardening, sewing, playing bridge, reading, painting, and doing crossword puzzles have value, but push yourself to do different gardening techniques, more complex sewing patterns, play bridge against more talented players to increase your skill, read new authors on varied subjects, learn a new painting technique, and work harder crossword puzzles. Pushing your brain to new heights help to keep it healthy.

11. Be A Thinker, Not A Drinker

The idea that alcohol kills brain cells is an old one, but the reality is a bit more complicated. In fact, a study of 3,500 Japanese men found that those who drank moderately (in this case, about one drink per day) had better cognitive functioning when they got older than those who didn’t drink at all. Unfortunately, as soon as you get beyond that “moderate” amount, your memory, reaction time is all likely to decline. In the same study, men who had four or more drinks a day fared worst of all.

Just as bad is the now common practice of “binge drinking,” otherwise known as getting hammered on the weekend. Research on rats found that those who consumed large amounts of alcohol had fewer new cells in their brains’ hippocampus region immediately after the binge, and virtually none a month later. This suggests that the alcohol not only damaged the rats’ brains, but kept them from repairing themselves later on - in human terms, that means you shouldn’t expect to pass the Mensa entrance exam any time soon.

12. Play

Take time to play. Make time to play. Play cards. Play video games. Play board games. Play Ring Around the Rosie. Play tug of war. It doesn’t matter what you play. Just play! It is good for your spirit and good for your brain. It gives your brain a chance to think strategically, and keeps it working.

13. Sleep On It

Previewing key information and then sleeping on it increases retention 20 to 30 percent. You can leave that information next to the bed for easy access, if it is something that won’t keep you awake. If you are kept awake by your thoughts, writing everything down sometimes gets it “out of your mind,” allowing you to sleep (so keep a pen and paper nearby).

14. Concentration

Concentration can increase brainpower. Obvious, perhaps, but the thieves of concentration are not always so obvious. Learn to notice when you are distracted. Often the cause is just below consciousness. If there is a phone call you need to make, for example, it might bother you all morning, sapping your ability to think clearly, even while you are unaware of what is bothering you.

Get in the habit of stopping to ask “What is on my mind right now”. Identify it and deal with it. In the example given, you could make the phone call, or put it on tomorrow’s list, so your mind is comfortable letting it go for now. This leaves you in a more relaxed state where you can think more clearly. Use this technique to increase your brainpower now.

15. Make Love For Your Brain

In a series of studies by Winnifred B. Cutler, PhD and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania and later at Stanford University it was found that regular sexual contact had an important impact on physical and emotional well being of women. Sexual contact with a partner at least once a week led to more fertile, regular menstrual cycles, shorter menses, delayed menopause, increased estrogen levels, and delayed aging. Brain imaging studies at UCLA have shown that decreased estrogen levels are associated with overall decreased brain activity and poor memory. Enhancing estrogen levels for women through regular sexual activity enhances overall brain activity and improves memory.

In Dr. Cutler’s study the occurrence of orgasm was not as important as the fact that sex was with another person. Intimacy and emotional bonding may be the most influential factors in the positive aspects of sex. As a psychiatrist I have seen many people withhold sex as a way to show hurt, anger, or disappointment. Dr. Cutler’s research suggests that this is self-defeating behavior. The more you withhold the worse it may be for you. Appropriate sex is one of the keys to the brain’s fountain of youth.

16. Play With Passion!

You can’t do great work without personal fulfillment. When people are growing through learning and creativity, they are much more fulfilled and give 127% more to their work. Delight yourself and you delight the world. Remember what you loved to do as a child and bring the essence of that activity into your work. This is a clue to your genius; to your natural gifts and talents. da Vinci, Edison, Einstein and Picasso all loved to play and they loved to explore.

17. Cycles Of Consciousness

Your consciousness waxes and wanes throughout the day . For most it seems to go through 90 minute cycles, with 30 minutes of lower consciousness. Watch yourself to recognize this cycle. If you learn to recognize and track your mental state, you can concentrate on important mental tasks when your mind is most “awake”. For creative insight into a problem, do the opposite. Work on it when you are in a drowsy state, when your conscious mind has slowed down.

18. Learn Something New

This one might seem obvious. Yes, we capitalize on our brain’s great potential when we put it to work learning new things. You may have a specific topic for work or leisure that you want to learn more about. That’s great.

Go learn it. If you don’t have a subject in mind right now, try learning a new word each day. There is a strong correlation between working vocabulary and intelligence. When we have new words in our vocabulary, our minds can think in new ways with greater nuances between ideas. Put your mind to work learning. It is one of the best ways to re-energize your brain.

19. Write To Be Read

I am a big proponent of writing in a journal to capture ideas and thoughts. There is certainly great value in writing for yourself. I continue to find that my brain is greatly stimulated by writing to be read. The greatest benefit of writing is what it does to expand your brain’s capacity. Find ways to write to be read – by writing things for your friends to read, by capturing the stories of your childhood, starting your own blog or whatever – just write to be read.

20. Try Aroma Therapy To Activate Your Brain

One day, as I was falling asleep, while listening to endless speeches at a conference, my brain suddenly perked up when I caught a whiff of lemon from someone’s cologne. I immediately felt alert and found it much easier to pay attention to the presenter. I discovered aroma therapy really is useful and I have used it ever since revitalize or to relax.

Energizers include peppermint, cypress and lemon. Relaxants: ylang ylang, geranium and rose. A few drops of essential oils in your bath or in a diffuser will do the trick. You can also put a drop or two in a cotton ball or hanky and inhale. One caveat for the workplace; make sure no-one is allergic to the oils before you use them.

21. Drugs To Increase Brainpower

Coffee and other drinks containing caffeine help students consistently score higher on tests. Since caffeine restricts blood vessels in the brain, it isn’t clear what the longer-term effects may be when it comes to your brainpower. So instead of coffee breaks try gingko biloba and gotu kola herbal teas. Ginkgo biloba has been shown to increase blood flow to the brain, and improve concentration.

22. Build A Brain Trust

Surround yourself with inspiring people from a wide variety of fields who encourage you and stimulate your creativity. Read magazines from a wide variety of fields. Make connections between people, places and things, to discover new opportunities, and to find solutions to your problems.

Remember that no matter what your age or your occupation; your brain needs to be constantly challenged to be at its peak in terms of performance. Whether it’s doing logic puzzles, memorizing lines from Shakespeare, or learning a new skill, keep your brain busy, if you don’t want it to rust away like a car in a junkyard.

One of the sites I frequent, Cybernet News, posted an article recently about how to display folder size in Windows Explorer. This is something I’ve always wanted for Windows XP, because it would reduce extra steps.

I just recently implemented their method, and it works great. It takes a bit to load up all the folders the first time, but after that you should have an accurate reading as to your folder sizes. They also offer step-by-step screenshots (though it really is very simple).

This morning for breakfast, I had two pieces of toast, farm fresh scrambled eggs from our chickens, and 3 strips of bacon. It’s not my normal breakfast, but my dad likes to fix a traditional country breakfast some mornings, mostly for himself.

I’ve grown up on steak and mashed potato’s, fried chicken, and other such Hillbilly American delicacies. It’s part of my family tradition and way of life. Eating less beef and mostly focusing on chicken is easy enough. But what about eating less meat all together? And what about the fact that I like almost -no- vegetables cooked?

This becomes a problem.

I’ve read several articles lately regarding the harm the environment that is caused from mass-produced meat products. I watched the Diet for a New America video, and even posted about 15 foods you shouldn’t live without.

But I am baffled at how I can incorporate a more vegetarian diet into my lifestyle.

I work a 9-5 job that keeps a constant flow of potato chips and chocolate in the office for its programmers. I sit at a desk all day. I come home, tired, with rarely any desire to cook a meal that takes longer than 15 minutes. Which usually resorts in a pasta packet, frozen pizza, or whatever my dad has prepared for dinner for when I came home (usually buffalo burgers, spaghetti etc). Then I’m either doing chores, or working on personal online projects, which takes up the majority of the rest of the night, till I go to bed. Sometimes I’ll be able to fit some exercising in, though I’m trying to move this to the morning, but this is rare.

I don’t have -time- to prepare fancy vegetarian dishes. I don’t. My father does most of the grocery shopping, and I doubt he could find all of the weird foreign ingredients for these dishes anyway.

It almost feels like a lost cause for me, but I’m determined to figure out -something-. My goal is to find something that is quick to prepare, and not just a bunch of gross cooked veggies. Switching to Soy Milk, some weird vegetarian cheese, more salads, etc, are all fine. But this does not a diet make.

I’m fine with experimentation, but if I have to smell cooked broccoli, I’ll vomit and then go kill a chicken and eat it for dinner.

Everyone spoils my dog.

Which is cool with me, he’s a prince, he -should- be spoiled. My neighbors give him a treat at 9am every morning, and he knows it, because he’ll whine until he gets it. Then he does his exercise routine, running around the yard like a damned idiot for a few hours, barking like crazy.

They encourage it, talk to him, make funny noises at him, call him “Streak” because he looks naked when he runs.

This is all very cute and fine with me.

Now my neighbors are my dads cousins, which would make them my second cousins, or whatever. Their son would be my third cousin, he’s about early 30’s (still living at home, but rich as a mother fucker).

He’s a bit more grumpy. Rich people are like that sometimes. When he goes outside, my dog gets excited too, since he loves people, so he barks at him.

Well UNBEKNOWEST to me, he’s been shooting an air rifle at him to get him to shut up when he does his routine. It’s just air, so it’s not hitting him (if he ever shot my dog, I’d beat the living shit out of him), but yesterday apparently my dog growled at him.

And he never growls. We’ve raised Bastian to be a very friendly pittbull, and he’s never snapped at anyone or growled at anyone or anything. The only time he’s growled is late at night when he hears something outside he doesn’t like, which is what we -want- him to do.

But if my neighbor is going to provoke him into doing something mean, and he -can- jump the fence if he wanted to, then I’m afraid I’m going to have to start some shit. My dad is planning on saying something today, but if he doesn’t stop, is there some sort of ASPCA or something that I can call?

The challenge: How would you intelligently and sustainably power a city block? Think big ideas. Think small environmental impact.

I’d been posting these on my MUD forum, but forgot to here, so they’re all in one batch..

A road trip through Siberia
Heavy Machinery Acrobatics
Huge fucking cranes
Guy catches an anaconda with his bare hands
Need a good painter?
Awesome fishtank
Pencil Art

Work had a holiday part last night at Dutch’s Daughter in Frederick last night. Talk about your fancy restaurant, this place was amazing. I’m talking big wooden doors, fireplaces with large mantles carved with lions. I felt entirely out of place, but it was a nice new experience. As soon as I walked in I had a server come up to me and offer a drink, and they kept my drinks full the rest of the night.

I mingled a bit, mostly sticking with the few that I can carry on a conversation with. I actually had a good time with a lot of laughs, which is surprising only because I don’t really spend time outside of work with any co-workers. The one who I was close with, Scott, showed up towards the end somewhat unexpectedly. I’m glad he did though, because I missed him.

We did toasts to our bosses, followed by gifts, because they both truly are awesome, and I am so lucky to be involved in such an inspiring company with such talented folks. Then there was a fun and gags gift exchange, before we all left to go over a co-workers house for after dinner drinks.

She hosts a very warm and inviting home, filled with tons of candles and a lot of culture from her foreign husband (I believe german). They brought out this large glass bowl filled with a brew of alcohol that had been steeped with various spices for many hours. Apparently it’s an old german custom to place a piece of metal made specifically to sit over the bowl, and a large tongue of sugar, which is then drizzled with alcohol and lit on fire. It then melts slowly into the bowl, and each flaming drop lights the surface of the brew on fire. It was very entertaining and tasted fantastic (I’ll have to get the recipe).

I spoke with my one boss, Eric, most of the night, and listened to stories about France, and another co-worker whose wife is from Brazil. I left around 12:30 or so, and got home around 1am. On the way, Scott called and said he wanted to hang out some more, but I was already on the way home, and didn’t want to get lost again. But he’s taking me to lunch on Monday, apparently.

I’ve installed some new plugins concerning comments. Brian’s Threaded Comments allows my comments to be threaded, rather than all over the place in replies.

Folks can now subscribe to comments if the particular topic interests them and they want to know what other people have to say.

And I’m also going to start displaying top commenters for the month on the left (to be tweaked I’m sure), which will never be very big because no one ever comments Which is fine, I use this as a tool for myself more than anything. It’s like my daily organizer and reminder.