October 4, 2019

Saw a Cardiologist yesterday. Seems my EKG was off. An Echo-cardiogram showed a good reading. Left with a prescription for high BP. Scary stuff when the first analysis is to see a cardiologist.



Staring at me from my bookcase was Citizen Cohn by Nicholas Van Hoffman.. Ok, I'll read it.



Also reading Behave by Robert Sapolsky. Dense at times but fascinating. After the science gets mind-numbing, I go to Roy Cohn for easier reading.



Right next to Citizen Cohn was Stephen King's Different Seasons. I had just again watched The Shawshank Redemption in a hotel room in London. There it was: Hope Springs Eternal: "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption." Also in the Four novellas: Fall From Innocence: The Body which was the basis for the movie Stand by Me.

September 28, 2019

$22 win!



I happened to come across a 2010 video, on The Big Picture, of my favorite Neurobiologist's Stanford course Introduction to Human Behavioral Biology. Someone on Youtube had a link to all 25 lectures.

August 9, 2017

Wall art at 42nd Street train station, Bryant Park. Gutta cavat lapidem [non vi sed saepe cadendo]: "A water drop hollows a stone [not by force, but by falling often]" - Ovid.

I was on the way to NYPL to pick up a card. I am now set to view the Criterion collection. Wikipedia has the complete list. Stagecoach will be streamed shortly.



Love in Venice exhibit at NYPL was interesting. Included, as pictured above, are flap books showing the undergarments of Venetian prostitutes



Lots of art.



Just a beautiful setting.



Downloaded Donald Barthelme's short story The School from the Subway Library to read on the train. Amusing and insightful.



Robert Sapolsky on free will. Have to read his new one Behave soon.

May 13, 2017

A new book by my favorite biologist Robert Sapolsky.



Starting today: Madison Square Eats.



JULIUS CAESAR is the first play in the Shakespeare in the Park season. The borough distribution is:

Wednesday, May 24
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
145 Brooklyn Ave
Brooklyn 11213

Thursday, May 25
Snug Harbor
1000 Richmond Terrace
Staten Island 10301

Friday, May 26
The Point
940 Garrison Ave
Bronx 10474

Saturday, May 27
NY Hall of Science
47-01 111th St
Corona 11368

Thursday, June 15
DreamYard
1085 Washington Ave
Bronx 10456



No Ed Mitchell this year.Just ordered my fast pass.

July 15, 2011

A new Baboon Study on Stress. Of course, Robert Sapolsky is quoted.

May 29, 2011

Cooking on the terrace with the George Foreman Grill. Sausages, Hot Dogs and BBQ Chicken - Boneless Thighs and Breasts (both Skinless.) The Sticky Fingers BBQ Sauce is great, although I doctored it up a bit. Burgers I will cook in a Cast Iron Skillet, the Foreman Grill is not the best for Burgers, they turn out steamed. Not bad mind you, but the taste is better on a Cast Iron Skillet.



I am always being consulted at work or at home about Technical issues. My office even has a Computer Help Desk but most people are embarrassed or have trouble articulating the problem. If I can't solve it, at least I will point them to a probable solution. Instant solution #1: Reboot. I use trial and error, the scientific method and research the issue. Latest problem, how to turn off Shuffle from an I-Pod Nano playlist. Once used, it can't be stopped. Many don't want Shuffle, just the list as set-up. It is a glitch. Lots of answers out there, this one works: while a song from the list is playing, press center button four times. This will give you a Shuffle prompt, press off.



Depression as explained by my favorite Biologist Robert Sapolsky.

November 15, 2009

I've read a lot by Mr. Sapolsky. The Big Picture financial
blog posted this on their Weekend slot. Fascinating stuff.
Mr. Sapolsky doesn't start until 5:19.

The following are in my library:
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
The Trouble with Testosterone: And Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament
A Primate's Memoir
Monkeyluv : And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals

February 17,2009

Real interesting cover story on Good Stress in Newsweek. Many quotes from Robert Sapolsky from his Baboon studies. From Stanford Magazine:

"To measure the effects of social stress, Sapolsky observes the baboons’ interactions, then takes blood samples to record how stress-hormone levels correlate with various behaviors. Tranquilizing the baboons to draw blood is more difficult than it sounds. Sapolsky uses a blowgun—a metal and plastic tube that he loads with an anesthetic dart, aims and blows through—because, he says, it is more mechanically reliable than an air rifle. Its range is about 30 feet, barring wind, so he has to get quite close to the selected target. (Sapolsky darts only males, because females are most often pregnant or caring for their young.) The darting must take place at the same time each day to allow for daily cycles in stress hormones, and the subject mustn’t know what’s coming because that in itself would raise stress levels. "