HandgunYoga (he/him/his)

Feminist, LGBTQ+ BLM Ally, someday Vegan. DIY Jack of All Trades, Agile Product Owner, Father of 3 Amazing Daughters. Former CCDW Instructor, Volunteer Organ Harvester, and Death Scene Cleanup Tech [coincidence]. Armed Pacifist, student of Nondual Kashmir Shivaism. US Politics Junkie, Obama x2, I heart Dark Brandon. UChicago Econ, New Product Development. Fan of Tufte. Explorer of Consciousness, OOBEs, NDEs, plant medicine. Ex-NRA, ex-GOP, Adult Recovering Asshole, ACE score on request, ha!

About: Gun Owning Democrat
About: Hang the Insurrectionists!

Public Key

npub1aea7e2rmvvccyl0j3gtz95sgmegthqpea7h8fvxxghpu2td266vsfx97tw

NIP-05 Address

handgunyoga_at_mastodon.world@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqswu7lv4pakxvvz0heg593z6gydu59msqu7ltn5krryts799k4ddxgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds3zgerf

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1aea7e2rmvvccyl0j3gtz95sgmegthqpea7h8fvxxghpu2td266vsfx97tw

Show more details

Last Notes

2024-11-28 12:02:38 UTC

- reply

The researchers found that the severity of depression symptoms was strongly associated with changes in functional connectivity. Reduced connectivity within the default mode network and between this network and the attention networks was linked to more severe symptoms. The default mode network is involved in introspection and self-referential thinking, while the attention networks regulate focus on external tasks and redirect attention to important stimuli.

2024-11-28 12:02:38 UTC

Largest brain connectivity study of youth depression reveals key network disruptions
https://www.psypost.org/largest-brain-connectivity-study-of-youth-depression-reveals-key-network-disruptions/

2024-11-26 12:44:47 UTC

How I learned what is funny
by Steve Martin
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/10/29/in-the-bird-cage

2024-11-25 01:17:10 UTC

- reply

those who had mild and resolved COVID-19 showed cognitive decline equivalent to a three-point loss of IQ. In comparison, those with unresolved persistent symptoms, such as people with persistent shortness of breath or fatigue, had a six-point loss in IQ. Those who had been admitted to the intensive care unit for COVID-19 had a nine-point loss in IQ. Reinfection with the virus contributed an additional two-point loss in IQ, as compared with no reinfection.

2024-11-25 01:17:09 UTC

Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including significant drops in IQ scores
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mounting-research-shows-covid-19-155844555.html

2024-11-23 23:28:47 UTC

Chimpanzees Take Turns in Fast-Paced Conversations, Just Like Humans Do
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/chimpanzees-take-turns-in-fast-paced-conversations-just-like-humans-do-180984763/

2024-11-23 15:02:21 UTC

California limits on ‘forever chemicals’ PFAS in products are effective, study says
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/22/pfas-california-prop-65

2024-11-15 20:35:47 UTC

A key Tesla supplier CEO dropped a huge bombshell about Elon Musk
https://www.thestreet.com/electric-vehicles/a-key-tesla-supplier-ceo-dropped-a-huge-bombshell-about-elon-musk

2024-11-14 03:56:32 UTC

DNA testing company vanishes along with its customers’ genetic data
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/11/dna-testing-company-vanishes-along-with-its-customers-genetic-data

2024-11-06 07:47:42 UTC

- reply

“It could be the case that we’re all actually experiencing the exact same apple, we’re just describing it differently.”

2024-11-06 07:47:42 UTC

- reply

They were intrigued. The group designed a few tests — one probing the mind’s ability to hold a visual image, and another measuring sweat and pupil responses to mental pictures — to confirm aphantasia’s existence.
Their results showed that “it’s not just that they’re reporting a difference,” Keogh said. “There seems to be some sort of difference in their experience.”

2024-11-06 07:47:41 UTC

- reply

However, such tests rely on introspection and self-reported experience, which made some neuroscientists doubt that aphantasia was real. Could reported differences in visual imagery be a language disconnect, given the ambiguity in how we describe our inner worlds?

2024-11-06 07:47:41 UTC

- reply

Studying aphantasia wasn’t easy. How do you measure someone else’s inner reality? For years, research “focused on showing that the condition exists,” Shomstein said.
Early studies relied on reports from participants — and they still do. The most famous test is called the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire, created in 1973 to study the strength of mental imagery, long before aphantasia was named.

2024-11-06 07:44:25 UTC

- reply

There’s a subset of people with extremely vivid imaginations who are known as maladaptive daydreamers. Some choose to live in their imagination, rather than in real life, Dijkstra said. “They sit down on the couch, they don’t leave their house, they don’t go to school, they don’t see friends, they don’t go to their work. They just imagine their whole life just the way they want it. Because for them, it feels as real as reality.”

2024-11-06 07:44:25 UTC

- reply

Neither is hyperphantasia. People with hyperphantasia see mental images that seem to them as real as the things they actually see. The images that hyperphantasics see aren’t the same as hallucinations because they know, at the time, that they’re not real. But that doesn’t mean they don’t feel real.

2024-11-06 07:44:24 UTC

What Happens in a Mind That Can’t ‘See’
https://scienceandnonduality.com/article/what-happens-in-a-mind-that-cant-see/

2024-11-06 07:44:24 UTC

- reply

People with aphantasia report a variety of experiences. Some can “hear” in their minds, while others can’t imagine either vision or hearing. Some have excellent autobiographical memory, while many do not. Some have involuntary flashes of mental imagery. Most dream in images, but some cannot. Most are born with aphantasia, although a small minority acquire it after injury. “Aphantasia is not a monolithic phenomenon,” Nanay said.

2024-11-05 11:29:48 UTC

Microplastics are steadily increasing in freshwater environments
https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-are-steadily-increasing-in-freshwater-environments/

2024-11-05 01:34:31 UTC

The Mahābhārata is the longest epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever written.”
Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata?wprov=sfti1#The_dice_game

2024-11-03 16:42:38 UTC

- reply

The smoking guns were small, white chunks of lime that can be found in what seems to be otherwise well-mixed concrete. The presence of these chunks had previously been attributed to poor mixing or materials, but that did not make sense to materials scientist Admir Masic of MIT.
"The idea that the presence of these lime clasts was simply attributed to low quality control always bothered me," Masic said back in January 2023.

2024-11-03 16:42:38 UTC

- reply

Masic and the team, led by MIT civil engineer Linda Seymour, carefully studied 2,000-year-old samples of Roman concrete from the archaeological site of Privernum in Italy. These samples were subjected to large-area scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, and confocal Raman imaging to gain a better understanding of the lime clasts.

2024-11-03 16:40:41 UTC

- reply

The properties of this concrete have generally been attributed to its ingredients: pozzolana, a mix of volcanic ash – named after the Italian city of Pozzuoli, where a significant deposit of it can be found – and lime. When mixed with water, the two materials can react to produce strong concrete.
But that, as it turns out, is not the whole story.

2024-11-03 16:40:41 UTC

- reply

In 2023, an international team of researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that not only are the materials slightly different from what we may have thought, but the techniques used to mix them were also different.

2024-11-03 16:40:41 UTC

We Finally Know Why Ancient Roman Concrete Was Able to Last Thousands of Years
https://www.sciencealert.com/we-finally-know-why-ancient-roman-concrete-was-able-to-last-thousands-of-years

2024-11-03 16:37:44 UTC

Harvard Study Links Popular Plastic Ingredient to DNA Damage
https://scitechdaily.com/harvard-study-links-popular-plastic-ingredient-to-dna-damage/

2024-11-03 14:32:13 UTC

- reply

Okay, let’s suppose you’re right.
A simulation by whom, for what purpose? What is the point of putting people [or whatever we are] into a Sim? It must take energy, effort and attention to create and maintain a Sim - who’s paying for it? Who runs it?
I can agree that this four-dimensional “reality” <waves around> obscures a Higher Reality that’s nearly incomprehensible from our current perspective. But I’m not sure there’s a conspiracy or ancient alien machine elves to blame.

2024-11-03 13:50:22 UTC

- reply

The universe’s behavior can be described by six key numbers, known as cosmological parameters. Using an innovative AI-driven approach, researchers from the Flatiron Institute and their collaborators have uncovered hidden information in the distribution of galaxies to estimate five of these parameters with remarkable precision.

2024-11-03 13:49:15 UTC

AI-Powered Insights Reveal the Universe’s Fundamental Settings
https://scitechdaily.com/ai-powered-insights-reveal-the-universes-fundamental-settings/

2024-11-03 13:49:15 UTC

- reply

Researchers have improved the estimation of cosmological parameters by employing AI to analyze galaxy distributions, promising advancements in understanding dark matter, dark energy, and the universe’s expansion

2024-11-02 23:51:33 UTC

Beehive fences, introduced in 2007 by STE and KWS, in partnership with the University of Oxford, offer an innovative approach. These fences consist of a series of live beehives strung together between posts, creating a physical, auditory, and olfactory deterrent to elephants.
https://phys.org/news/2024-10-beehive-effective-elephant-raids-kenya.html

2024-11-01 23:11:57 UTC

- reply

Women have typically voted for the Democratic candidate at a higher rate than men, but polls have shown an even wider gender gap in this election cycle, with women backing Vice President Kamala Harris by as much as 12% over Trump.
That's a stark contrast to the 46% of men in the YouGov survey who believed that their partners would be voting for Trump, versus the 40% who said the same about Harris.

2024-11-01 23:10:04 UTC

According to a YouGov poll, 1 in 8 women voted differently from their partners in an election without telling them.
That's about the same percentage as men who said they've done so
https://www.salon.com/2024/11/01/yougov-poll-1-in-8-women-say-they-have-voted-differently-than-their-without-telling-them/

2024-10-31 21:57:40 UTC

Spies can eavesdrop on phone calls by sensing vibrations with radar
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2453191-spies-can-eavesdrop-on-phone-calls-by-sensing-vibrations-with-radar/

2024-10-31 13:20:13 UTC

Android Trojan that intercepts voice calls to banks just got more stealthy
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/10/android-trojan-that-intercepts-voice-calls-to-banks-just-got-more-stealthy/

2024-10-30 02:19:35 UTC

Tesla Using 'Full Self-Driving' Hits Deer Without Slowing, Doesn't Stop
https://jalopnik.com/tesla-using-full-self-driving-hits-deer-without-slowing-1851683918

2024-10-28 21:12:36 UTC

Experts uncover stunning side effects of solar farms: 'Introducing structural complexity into the environment'
https://www.yahoo.com/news/experts-uncover-stunning-side-effects-101534494.html

2024-10-27 21:49:09 UTC

Mark Cuban Pours Cold Water on Idea Donald Trump Is a 'Great Businessman'
https://www.newsweek.com/mark-cuban-pours-cold-water-idea-donald-trump-great-businessman-1975395

2024-10-27 21:13:15 UTC

https://www.kalicollective.com/blog/2018/5-ways-to-invoke-the-energy-of-the-goddess-kali?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3FeiLth6Tl4_9HSMivvSe7rFJRZElpiC3B2yjt5LDbA8Z8o1Xe3182aKk_aem_AcrwtrDIIwogG8ot87e0-MSd5UU3YB2SemLH50htX4xKvCfsjyhcyZU4rgAT_prT9UNO2O_uIvMTsJY9T-imGfNT&format=amp https://universeodon.com/@LaNaehForaday/113381226034738113
https://s3.eu-central-2.wasabisys.com/mastodonworld/media_attachments/files/113/381/447/494/211/665/original/48bb71b12566b696.jpeg

2024-10-27 18:33:17 UTC

- reply

Kali Durga Namo Namah!
You reminded me of one of my favorite Sanskrit chants, invoking Black-skinned Kali the Goddess of Destruction. She sprang forth from an enraged Durga, the Goddess of Motherhood and Dharma.
Repeat it with deep feeling and may your election wishes be fulfilled.
“God is a Black Woman”
- Christena Cleveland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali?wprov=sfti1#

2024-10-27 18:16:11 UTC

- reply

The Democrats have been saved by Black women, election after election. It’s been a one-sided deal and about time Black women get something back.

2024-10-27 16:22:51 UTC

- reply

"I cannot believe how hard we have to work to convince people that a qualified woman of color who has dedicated her life to public service and operates with grace, dignity and empathy is a better candidate to lead this country than a man who was a reality television star, is a sexual predator, filed for bankruptcy at least 6 times," Hale wrote.

2024-10-27 16:22:51 UTC

Tim McGraw's Daughter Gracie Issues Bold Political Statement After Dad's Message Divides Fans
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/tim-mcgraws-daughter-gracie-issues-145229742.html

2024-10-22 23:57:03 UTC

A stunning map of the Atlantic Ocean seafloor — and one woman's pioneering quest to publish it
https://www.zmescience.com/other/geopicture/atlantic-ridge-geology-repubz/

2024-10-22 23:48:48 UTC

Scientists discover "glue" that holds memory together in fascinating neuroscience breakthrough
https://www.psypost.org/scientists-discover-glue-that-holds-memory-together-in-fascinating-neuroscience-breakthrough/

2024-10-15 20:43:16 UTC

The impact of childhood adversity on mental health is well-known, but a new study takes it a step further by showing how these experiences can alter the brain’s…
Source: PsyPost - Psychology News
https://search.app/V367nckZaxxUXUKL7

2024-10-15 20:43:16 UTC

- reply

Interestingly, the study found that the relationship between adversity and brain activity varied depending on the age of the participants. Among children in the atypical group, disruptions were most prominent in the parietal regions of the brain, which are involved in processing sensory information and spatial awareness. In adolescents, the disruptions shifted to the frontal regions, which are responsible for executive functions such as planning and impulse control.

2024-10-09 05:25:21 UTC

- reply

Thanks! Glad you like!! [blush]
The article started so slowly thathalfway through I was disappointed and had decided -not- to post it at all. I checked the headline again to see if it overpromised or maybe I’d misread it, and re-committed to reading til the end just in case there was some nugget hidden in it somewhere.
Then I got to the exercises themselves.
Two-minute moving meditations!
So Simple!
and,
Of Course these would work!

2024-10-08 18:33:35 UTC

- reply

Interestingly, the exercises that involved more movement or a higher cognitive load, such as twisting the trunk or balancing on one leg, led to the greatest increases in brain activity. For example, exercises like elbow circles, which required broader movements, and single-leg balance, which required concentration to maintain balance, showed notable increases in blood flow in multiple regions of the prefrontal cortex.

2024-10-08 18:33:34 UTC

- reply

The study revealed that all forms of exercise, except for some static stretches, significantly increased blood flow to the prefrontal cortex compared to the resting state. This increased blood flow is a sign of heightened brain activity, particularly in regions associated with executive functions such as working memory, attention, and decision-making.

2024-10-08 18:33:34 UTC

- reply

“I was surprised that rubbing hands and moving fingers for 10 to 20 seconds increased blood flow to a certain extent in the prefrontal cortex,” Naito told PsyPost. “Since the hands have a strong connection with the brain, I expected the cerebral blood flow to increase slightly; however, the results were better than expected.”

2024-10-08 18:32:34 UTC

- reply

The exercises included movements such as:
Upward Stretch (reaching upward with folded hands)
Shoulder Stretch (stretching one arm across the chest)
Elbow Circles (rotating elbows widely)
Trunk Twist (twisting the upper body)
Washing Hands (rubbing hands together)
Thumb and Pinky (a finger dexterity exercise)
Single-leg Balance (standing on one leg for balance)

2024-10-08 18:31:50 UTC

These surprisingly simple exercises improve cerebral blood flow in children, study shows
https://www.psypost.org/these-surprisingly-simple-exercises-improve-cerebral-blood-flow-in-children-study-shows/

2024-10-08 18:31:50 UTC

- reply

Most of these exercises were performed while seated, except for the balance exercise. The children performed each exercise for either 10 or 20 seconds, and the researchers measured their brain activity during the exercises using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This technology tracks changes in blood flow by measuring concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal cortex.

2024-10-04 13:50:38 UTC

Texas border cities remained safer from violent crime than other cities for at least the second consecutive year.
https://fox2now.com/news/border-report/texas-border-communities-again-safer-from-violent-crimes-new-fbi-data-shows/

2024-10-01 23:54:31 UTC

Insurance, income, internet linked to lower suicide rates in new analysis
https://wapo.st/4dvRcL8

2024-10-01 23:54:31 UTC

- reply

counties with the most health insurance had a 26 percent lower suicide rate than counties with the lowest levels of three community factors.

2024-09-29 23:50:22 UTC

Scientists Asked People To Do 1 Thing Differently While Taking A Walk. The Results Were Astounding.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/awe-walk-wonder-dacher-keltner-2_l_66f84f7ce4b027bd4385f324

2024-09-29 23:50:22 UTC

- reply

Awe activates our vagus nerve. That’s “the big bundle of nerves starting in the top of your spinal cord that helps you look at people and vocalize,” Keltner explained, and it also “slows our heart rate, helps with digestion and opens up our bodies to things bigger than us.”
“Awe also cools down the inflammation process,” Keltner said his studies have shown. “It’s part of your immune system that attacks diseases, and we want it to be cooler and not always hot.”

2024-09-20 17:50:23 UTC

Is this blue or green to you? Viral test created by a neuroscientist reveals your color perception
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/blue-green-viral-test-created-161031668.html

2024-09-16 00:17:57 UTC

- reply

“We cannot afford to fail,” Routh continued. “The world is counting on us to show the way.”
This is similar to language that Harris continues to use on the campaign trail. On Aug. 29, she said at a rally in Savannah, Ga., “We are fighting for our democracy.”
On July 31, she said at an event in Houston that “our fundamental freedoms are on the ballot and so is our democracy” — after using identical wording at a sorority event the same day.

2024-09-16 00:17:57 UTC

- reply

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative legal group Judicial Watch, told The Post: “It is no coincidence that Routh repeated Kamala’s and Joe’s extremist rhetoric against Trump. At this point it is inexcusable incitement.”

2024-09-16 00:15:32 UTC

- reply

tweeted at Trump in June 2020 that while he supported the Republican in 2016, he was left disappointed by his tenure in the Oval Office.
“I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving; are you retarded; I will be glad when you gone,” he wrote.

2024-09-16 00:15:31 UTC

Would-be Trump assassin ID’d as Ryan Routh, 58, of Hawaii: sources
https://nypost.com/2024/09/15/us-news/would-be-trump-assassin-idd-as-ryan-routh-58-of-hawaii-sources/

2024-09-15 23:58:26 UTC

Animals only see in black and white and 5 other color myths
https://www.popsci.com/science/color-myths/

2024-09-11 16:32:06 UTC

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/10/us/inmate-wife-strip-search-settlement-california.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb&ngrp=mnp&pvid=900BD723-1158-4A2B-A99F-AD3EB9F6EC43

2024-09-11 16:32:06 UTC

- reply

Not only was Ms. Cardenas subjected to a cavity search, a doctor conducting it sexually violated her during the process, forcefully penetrating her vagina and anus with his hand, Ms. Allred said.
Ms. Cardenas said in the interview, “I was very clear and vocal when they told me that they were going to do the search, that I was not OK with the male probing my body.”

2024-09-08 23:31:43 UTC

On Tuesday, Judge Thomas Thrash Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia, issued an injunction blocking further use of the song "Hold On, I'm Coming," co-written by the late Isaac Hayes, without proper license.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-music-beyonce-abba-isaac-hayes-campaign-rallies-copyright-1949129

2024-09-08 13:44:39 UTC

"The Great Wave" returns to display for a few months at the Art Institute of Chicago
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/the-great-wave-returns-art-institute-of-chicago/

2024-09-01 17:38:41 UTC

- reply

In this bouncing cosmology, the universe contracted to a size about 50 orders of magnitude smaller than it is today. After the rebound, photons and other particles were born, marking the Big Bang. Near the rebound, the matter density was so high that small black holes formed from quantum fluctuations in the matter’s density, making them viable candidates for dark matter.

2024-09-01 17:38:40 UTC

The universe had a secret life before the Big Bang, new study hints
https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics/dark-matter/the-universe-had-a-secret-life-before-the-big-bang-new-study-hints

2024-08-24 14:07:28 UTC

- reply

I had few friends or friendships. I preserved/deepened my own empathy as a childhood act of rebellion against my hyper-rational parents who argued my feelings were “wrong,” “not important,” and “nobody cares what you feel.”
I did not see empathy modeled at home and not often at school.

2024-08-24 00:35:23 UTC

- reply

Friendships in the teen years may then give children a chance to practice and hone the empathy skills that they learned from their parents in childhood. Researchers describe these friendships as a “training ground” for learning about empathy. In other words, when children get the chance to practice skills like validating emotions and providing comfort to other people in their teenage friendships, these skills become stronger and more effective.

2024-08-24 00:35:23 UTC

How is empathy “passed down” in this way? When parents respond to children’s distress in a supportive, empathetic way, it gives children a model for how to respond to the distress of others.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/parenting-translator/202408/new-research-on-raising-empathetic-children

2024-08-16 10:46:16 UTC

Evolution of snakes takes surprise twist — cobras didn't come from where we thought they did
https://www.livescience.com/animals/snakes/cobras-and-their-relatives-evolved-in-asia

2024-08-14 12:03:40 UTC

Opinion: As a rural Ohioan, I see J.D. Vance for who he is
https://cardinalpine.com/opinion/opinion-as-a-rural-ohioan-i-see-j-d-vance-for-who-he-is/

2024-08-14 12:03:40 UTC

- reply

Donald Trump might think that rural voters, Appalachian voters or Midwestern voters will look at J.D. Vance and see ourselves. We don’t. We see the mine owner who poisons the air and water; we see the factory owner who leaves town to make a higher profit overseas; we see the Big Ag executives who make it near impossible for family farms to thrive—and we see the empty suit politicians who sell us out to please their billionaire donors.

2024-07-08 11:12:40 UTC

- reply

The stones are estimated to be around 9,000 years old, predating Stonehenge by about 4,000 years. This period follows the end of the Ice Age and the formation of Grand Traverse Bay, when the lake bed had not yet been submerged.
Charting Grand Traverse Bay
Stretching 32 miles in length and 12 miles in width, Grand Traverse Bay is nestled in the northeastern arm of Lake Michigan, bordered by Michigan's lower peninsula.

2024-07-08 11:11:47 UTC

The submerged stones, although smaller than those at Stonehenge, appear to be meticulously arranged. These stones, varying in size from basketballs to compact cars, form a meandering line over a mile long. Among them, a particularly notable rock stands out. It measures three and a half to four feet tall and five feet wide, and features a carving of a mastodon
https://search.app/2pSWwV7w3jyvf5Cr7

2024-07-08 11:07:53 UTC

The Hittite view of the gods of another region is also confirmed by this text: they included the gods of the conquered region into their system and worshipped them. In this way, they tried to bind those regions to themselves. These texts were written in this language so that they could pay their respects to the god they brought from Kalašma in a language they could understand. According to Hittite logic, that god would not understand the Hittite language.”
https://search.app/Vs8FWALGmAhQapXf8

2024-07-06 11:41:42 UTC

American Rounds offers vending machines, powered by artificial intelligence, that are selling ammo for guns at grocery stores in Alabama and Oklahoma.
https://search.app/MC828JSqf1y3ZybU7