LucidDreamer

I think it's often impossible to separate the physical from the psychological; they are too interconnected. The feelings and physiological symptoms of jealousy, like any other psychological response, result from a myriad of hormones, neurotransmitters, specific stimuli, and memories. Jealousy is a normal mammalian response and is in no way abnormal, and although it may be "primative" it is something that has always been part of the human condition and will always be part of the make-up of homo Sapiens. Snail, you mentioned that you think it's strange that you are felling jealous when things are going so well for you with your new business and music, but I wouldn't think that would make much of a difference. If you really want to get over a girl, the best thing to do is find another girl or few. Feelings tend to linger for ex's when you don't have someone else to take their place. Take a page from Miss Haversham and throw away the cake.

I don't think there will be as much physical cybernetics as people think. Why make permanent mechanical legs that can leap tall buildings when you can simply make a machine that you can operate that leaps tall buildings, and another that swims like a dolphin, and another that can lift heavy machinery? I believe that the cybernetics of the future will be enhancements that allow people to connect efficiently with an electronic interface that will allow them to more efficiently access information, download skills and abilities quickly into their minds, access electrically based applications like calculators and databases search functions, control mechanical and electrical devices remotely and efficiently through the interface, and use a multi-layered and versatile communications application. I believe any form of natural evolution of the human species will be inconsequential compared to the amount of genetic engineering going on. I believe that the genetic engineering will be mostly about improving our connections to the electrical interfaces, enhancing our creativity and problem solving abilities, and prolonging the human life span.

It's probably not good for your skin but I doubt your going to fall over dead in the shower any time soon.

6 safe and effective ways to increase the efficiency of your immune system: 1) Vitamin C 2) Exercise 3) Quality sleep 4) Stress reduction 5) A diet rich in vegetables and fruits 6) Hydration A lifestyle that included all of these elements would probably beat any herbal out there. An overactive immune system is a double-edged sword. If you were to really somehow double the activity of your immune system you would end up very sick instead of healthier. There are a million and one kinds of diseases that result from an overactive immune system. Of course, I don't know your situation, so you may benefit from an immune system boost.

There are a couple different ways of genetically modifying an organism. The most common way is through genetic recombination, which involves combining the DNA from two different organisms. Say for instance, you wanted a bacteria, yeast cell, or mouse to express a certain kind of gene that was normally found in a different organism. 1) You would first isolate the gene, using various genetics and biochemistry methodologies and procedures. You might also amplify your gene, which simply means that you make lots of the gene that you are interested in. You could do this with a method called PCR. 2) You would then create a vector. A vector is a virus, a circular piece of DNA called a plasmid, or a yeast chromosome that is used to transport and insert your gene of interest into the host. The host is the organism that you want to modify by changing its DNA. You accomplish this by using restriction enzymes, which cuts the vector DNA and the ends of the gene you want to express. These strands then recombine with the gene of interest inserted into the vector DNA with the help of an enzyme called ligase. 3) The vector is then inserted into the host's DNA. Which method you use to insert the vector into the host DNA depends on the circumstance. For instance, if you wanted a bacterial cell to express your gene's product then you could use a virus that already infects that bacterium as a vector. If you wanted a mouse to express a human gene you would need to transfer your vector containing your human gene to a mouse egg cell or stem cell. You would need to use a mouse egg cell or stem cell instead of a mature cell because a) you want more than one cell to express your gene and b) its easier to insert DNA into growing cells and there are other reasons as well. You can insert the DNA by using a retrovirus as a vector. You could also insert your DNA using endocytosis. Plasmids aren’t usually used to transfer DNA to mammalian cells. Yeast artificial chromosomes (YAC) are also often used for mammalian recombination. YACs are useful as vectors because they are Eukaryotic, like mammalian cells. YACs are transferred into mammalian host egg cells through microinjection. The egg is then transferred into a female, which will birth the transgenic (genetically modified) animal.

Let me just post a quote that I got strait off of the http://www.IRC.org homepage: Creationism has nothing to do with science, despite all of the pretense. It's about dispareging evolution because they believe it compromises their belief system. After all, when was the last time you saw a biblical quote in a scientific journal?

I would think that not only is it not harmful to this, but it's probably quite beneficial and necessary.

When you first had this dream there was probably something important that your subconscious wanted your conscious mind to acknowledge. The method it chose, a scary man standing over your bedside giving ominous warnings, was a bit overwhelming. The thought of some important, yet overlooked, or somehow repressed memory or information that might be essential to your well-being surfacing to demand your attention is a powerful concept that has made an impact on you. The fear, or perhaps just awe-inspiring interest, of this concept has made a long-lasting imprint on your mind, beyond the specific idea that the original dream involved. This fear or interest has fueled the dream's reoccurrence. In order to prevent the future reoccurrence of this dream you need to diminish the association between this dream and the fear or interest that it has spawned. Do not attempt to flee from this dream or engage in a hostile confrontation with the dream or the entity in the dream. By doing this you only add fuel to the fear that drives it. You should meet the dream head on, but not in a confrontational manner. The next time you have this dream you should do something completely absurd. Offer the man a piece of blackberry pie while singing "Puff the magic dragon." Give the man a hug and tell him you want to meet him at Bugger King to do some flower arrangement. Visualize whatever absurd scenario you choose in detail and have it ready for the next time you have the dream. Just visualizing this may prevent this dream from ever reoccurring. If not then by the second or third time that you put a top hat on him and start dancing the running man the dream will loose all of its significance and you will probably never have it again. This method is similar to the method used to alleviate stage fright by imagining everyone in the audience just wearing their underwear.

First of all, thanks for all the good replies guys. It is a user password. Can you still get around the security by going into safe mode with the XP operating system?

My grandfather bought a used tablet PC at an auction but he is unable to use it because the operating system is password protected. He did not receive any software with his purchase. The operating system is windows xp, the tablet pc edition. Does anyone know how he can get around this? He has no desire to get any of the previous owner’s information off of the pc, only to use it.

Interesting. It is interesting when you look at it from a scientific viewpoint. I know that chimpanzees have only a few "purely" instinctual behaviors, compared to the bulk of animals, and two of them are the fear of water and of snakes. Perhaps there are deep patterns in the mind of man that lead to certain ideas and beliefs rather than a blank slate. Maybe it’s not only culture and environment that results in certain common themes of mankind. Then again I think we were talking about collective "consciousness," which is like a group ESP.

People have been predicting the end of the world for at least two thousand years, though its probably much longer. I’m in my mid-twenties and I have lived through dozens of predicted ends. Each and every single end of the world prediction, or we might call them a natural conspiracy theories, comes with all sorts of "evidence." There always seems to be an increase in natural disasters along with the prediction from some psychic. When I was in grade school people were talking about how Nostrodamas predicted the end of the world was coming that year. When I was eighteen people were claiming that Nostrodamas had predicted the end of the world that year. It's simply not interesting to talk about all of the thousands of failed predictions with all of their supposed evidence. It’s much more interesting to shape somebody’s prediction to an actual historic event and claim they have psychic abilities. It's much more interesting to talk about the new prediction for the end of the world that hasn’t already come and gone. The truth is that this end of the world prediction scenario is just a broken record that keeps playing over and over and over. After 2012 rolls by it will to continue to play over and over and over. The only thing its good for is a laugh.

That’s not what I usually think about when I hear the term collective consciousness. If a group of people were to begin mourning an individual without hearing about his death through traditional media or through word of mouth then that would be evidence for what I think of as collective consciousness. Usually the term collective consciousness is related to ESP. All the examples that you gave would be examples of similar emotional states of many individuals that have scientific explanations.

Another excellent post mokele. You are a reptile and dinosaur god. "Even the modern world has a huge range of thermal systems in animals, so why should we expect less of the dinos." That's basically my line of thinking.

Excellent post Mokele. I agree with alot of what you said but I always find this argument a little strange. People seem to be arguing as to whether the dinosaurs had the same metabolism, body temperature regulation systems, and circulation systems of mammals or reptiles. As we all know the dinosaurs split off from the reptiles and mammals millions and millions of years ago. We also know that there are not really two distinct groups of ectotherms with slow metabolisms and endotherms with high metabolisms, but rather a range with all sorts of hybrid systems. The dinosaurs probably did not have the same metabolisms, body temperature regulation systems, and circulatory systems as reptiles or mammals. Their closest living relatives are birds but it’s difficult to derive much information from them either because there was 65 million years of evolution and adaptation to flight. I am fairly confident that the dinosaurs had circulatory systems and metabolisms greater than reptiles. Can you imagine a reptile the size of a brontosaurs roaming the countryside? You already pointed out that they would not require much heat production because of their size and that in fact they would have problems with heat reduction but what about circulation and respiration. A strong circulatory system would have been just as benificial to cooling as it is to heating an animal. An animal that size would require an enormous amount of oxygen and an incredible circulatory system. Its possible that they developed some other means to help with their 3 chambered heart, but aves are the dinosaur's closest living relatives and they have 4-chambored hearts. A bird's circulatory system and its extremely efficient respiratory system would have been a great advantage to dinosaurs. Also, the dinosaurs were small to enormous animals that roamed the earth. The larger ones spent alot of time in fairly open areas without an immediate place to hide. This means that they either had to fight predators or run away. It would have been incredibly beneficial to be able to run for a moderate amount of time. A reptile can sprint very well but it would run out of steam before it got halfway across the field. There is some indication from the fossil evidence that some dinosaurs were migratory. Migration requires enormous amounts of endurance that reptiles don't have. There are probably some counter examples to this but as a general principle it holds up that migration would require a high metabolism with a highly developed circulatory and respiratory system. Most of the points that I mentioned only indicate a high metabolism, which could be independent of endothermy. After all endothermy is usually just a bunch of fat tissue producing excess heat, at least in mammals. Endothermy requires a great deal of energy so you would have to conclude that any animal that lived in a cold climate but maintained a high body temperature would require a high metabolism. However, it doesn’t seem to me that a high metabolism would require Endothermy if the animal lived in a constantly warm environment. However there is one thing I can think of that indicates that dinosaurs had some endothermic regulation. Some dinosaur fossils have been found in areas that are thought to have been quite cold. This is very strong evidence that some dinosaurs were endothermic.

Don't worry. We are forming our own in the spirit of imperialism. We will let you live vicariously through us and we will throw you a few scraps here and there. Because we can, The United States

How come every time I check these puzzles somebody has already solved it? You people are too smart.

My prediction is that nanotechnology will go heavy on the organics but I believe that some things might be done better with nanobots.

Might be possible, but that's a long way off. There is no one drug that will completely regenerate all of your organs. My guess is that the only way this could be done is through genetic engineering and biological/mechanical enhancement. The hominid that accomplishes this will no longer be homo Sapiens.

I believe that the contents of the box exists. 1) It has properties: the contents of the box are so and so big, and its located at so and so. It is a vacum. It is dark. Etc, etc. 2) It has a definition. All of its properties combine to make up a certain unit of something that we can easily identify and talk about. We can even give it a name. How about Fred? 3) It has the attribute of being. We have already defined what it is and talked about its properties. We have been told to assume that Fred exists inside this box and then we are asked whether Fred exists. Fred definitely exists because if Fred did not really exist then we should have been told that there was no such thing as Fred and that we should assume that there was no Fred in the box. If Fred didn't exist anywhere in the universe then he would not exist but as long as he exists in the box then he must exist.

I say the ball is more blue, basically for reasons already stated. When you say something is more blue or spherical or you are given any question where the object is to determine how close something's attributes are to a certain characteristic or value then it is most appropriate to define a particular number if possible. In the case of blue the natural value assigned to the state of being blue is the 420-490nm. Once something falls within 420-490nm it has become blue and it is no longer approaching blue. In the case of being spherical the natural value assigned is a perfect sphere. Of course the dictionaries definition of something that is spherical is something that is approximately a sphere or relating to a sphere, but the only way to determine this is to compare it to a perfect sphere. There is no defined range that something is approximating or relating to that of a sphere; something’s relation or approximation is always in comparison to a perfect sphere. So because we are assuming that the blue ball actually falls within the blue value of 420-490nm it has reached the pinnacle of blueness. It cannot be more blue if it wanted to. However its sphericalness is still something it can work on. It can continue to be more and more spherical without ever reaching a perfect sphere. So therefore the ball cannot be more blue but it can be more spherical and so the ball is more blue because it has reached the height of blueness.