As It Stands blog: Scientists say Cavemen liked to get high!

              Good Day World!

If you’ve ever wondered about how long ago man first “goting stoned” …wonder no more. Apparently cavemen got creative when doing psychedelics which doesn’t surprise me in the least.

“There's something undeniably surreal about early cave paintings, something otherworldly or even psychedelic. And according to a team of international scientists, that's because the cave painters were doing mind-bending drugs while painting them.

Researchers Tom Froese, Alexander Woodward and Takashi Ikegami from Tokyo recently published a comprehensive study of over 40,000 years worth of cave paintings and found some pretty telling patterns. The spiral-like and labyrinthian designs that pop up in paintings from locations that are thousands of miles away from each other didn't just pop up by coincidence. Since these patterns are consistent with those that many humans see after taking hallucinogenic drugs, the scientists think that ancient cavemen had more in common than previously thought. They all loved to get high.”

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

As It Stands: Women listen up! Start accepting compliments from each other

By Dave Stancliff/For The Times-Standard

Compliments can trigger an unusual response when they come from one women to another.

  Rejection.

  That’s a sweeping statement but consider this; women these days receive mixed messages about which behaviors are desirable or accepted, according to Renee Engeln, a psychology professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

“We’re told love yourself, but not too much. Be confident but practice a style of humility this culture doesn’t require of men. Less than we thought we were going to be. Less than what we could have been. This is a big issue with women,” said Engeln in a recent interview.

Engeln also explained that women are taught to believe in themselves, but not to admit it, lest they make other women who don’t feel good about themselves feel  uncomfortable. These observations fit my experience in observing women interact.

In 39 years of research (aka marriage) I’ve watched this behavior first hand. My wife, a very intelligent person, will describe herself as a scatterbrain or some other negative description depending upon the company she’s in. She lives in fear of offending people.

I may sleep out on the front porch for a couple of nights after she reads this column, but I like to share from experience. You know, that little bit of insider knowledge that keeps you from being a clueless clown even though you don’t have a degree in psychology.

I’ve had a lifetime of observing women from my mother and sisters to my girlfriends. My wife has been my master’s degree on women and why they do the things they do. The whole concept has been foreign to me from the start. Experts say men just don’t worry about the same things. I’ll go along with that.

 I can’t remember the last time I went to a sporting event with my guy friends and had one of them tell me my outfit looked cute! I don’t recall any men I know ever admiring one another’s t-shirt or slim-cut pants when we got together. Perhaps I’ve lived a sheltered life.

 Men just aren’t that nice. Women often worry about hurting each other’s feelings. Men are busy bruising egos and boasting of their exploits to all who’ll listen. I’d wager if you checked out our DNA you’d find that most men are missing some nice traits. Not all, mind you.

I think women are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to showing they feel confident without offending each other. I’ve personally witnessed a woman arrive at a party and get immediately complimented on her dress. She responded by saying she bought it at a Salvation Army Thrift Store! Even though it wasn’t true.

I ran across a viral video created by Amy Schumer of Comedy Central that every woman should watch. It shows a bunch of young women busy deflecting compliments from other young women. If you have a moment check it out at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzlvDV3mpZw
Women are often considered unfeminine if they’re assertive in their careers. Men are thought of as “bold” or some equally positive description when they’re assertive.

That kind of thinking needs to recede into the past where it belongs. I think it’s up to women to break the double-standard. They can start by accepting compliments from one another. It’s okay to be praised for something. No matter what it is.

Women don’t have to be complete jerks like men tend to be socially, but they should loosen up and not be afraid to say they’re good at what they do.
We’re not responsible for what other people feel. You can be proud of what you do without being a heel. This change won’t come about overnight, but it’s time for more talk about the topic.

 I’ve watched my wife grow emotionally and intellectually for nearly four decades now. She’s still learning how to take a compliment. I’m not sure if this attitude is hardwired in women or a cultural phenomena.

 I remember reading “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” by John Gray, a relationship counselor and American author, and thinking …“This guy’s hit it on the head!” If you’ve never read the book give it a shot. It’s a good read.

 I have hope for women however. My six year-old granddaughter has no problem accepting compliments from her Nana and me, to complete strangers of either gender! She gives a disarmingly sweet smile (minus one front tooth purchased by the tooth fairy) to anyone who compliments her.
As It Stands, you go girl!

As It Stands blog: ‘Hummers’ going crazy over mysterious sound

 Good Day World!

 No Ho-hum Saturday today!

Did you know there are folks who are called “Hummers,” not because they drive the vehicle, but because they hear a sound no one else hears? As much as I like pulling people’s legs now and then, this little tidbit is straight up:

“It creeps in slowly in the dark of night, and once inside, it almost never goes away.

It's known as the Hum, a steady, droning sound that's heard in places as disparate as Taos, N.M.; Bristol, England; and Largs, Scotland.

But what causes the Hum, and why it only affects a small percentage of the population in certain areas, remain a mystery, despite a number of scientific investigations. [The Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena]

Reports started trickling in during the 1950s from people who had never heard anything unusual before; suddenly, they were bedeviled by an annoying, low-frequency humming, throbbing or rumbling sound.

The cases seem to have several factors in common: Generally, the Hum is only heard indoors, and it's louder at night than during the day. It's also more common in rural or suburban environments; reports of a hum are rare in urban areas, probably because of the steady background noise in crowded cities. Read the whole story

[Video: Listen to 6 Spooky Sounds] [The Top 10 Spooky Sleep Disorders]

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands blog: Bad Bosses Blow! TGIF!

     Good Day World!

I’ve had a couple of bosses in my lifetime that I was sure were the worst people in the world! I couldn’t believe a thing either of them said. While general manager of a small weekly newspaper I often found myself on the losing end of commissions each month.

My boss had a bad habit of pushing the bar up just enough to avoid paying what we’d agreed to and I never seemed to hit the goals he set. How could I? It was like doing the limbo, but no matter how low I did go…he found a reason not to give me the agreed upon increase each month. Newspaper ads were a tough sell even back in the 1980s, and I worked hard to sign local businessmen up to ad contracts.

The biggest asshole I ever worked for was when I was the publisher of three newspapers on the California north coast. As owner, he was always trying to impress me with his power over people. He owned several other businesses included a cable magazine and liked me to go with him when he visited them.

He’d stop and start badgering a worker in a cubicle doing phone sales. Sometimes he fired them on the spot to show how tough he was. I simply couldn’t stand the man. I had to walk away one day or I would have hospitalized him and then spent the rest of my life in prison!

Today, I have an interesting article on the subject that I thought you might enjoy:

“The bully, the narcissist, the know-it-all, even the psychopath.

We may not like them, or want our children to be like them. But chances are, almost everyone who has worked long enough has a horror story about a superior who generally behaved like Homer Simpson’s boss, Mr. Charles Montgomery "Monty" Burns.

VIEW SLIDE SHOW HERE

A growing number of researchers are looking into what makes a real-life Mr. Burns, and what they are finding isn’t always pretty.

“There are whole climates and cultures of abuse in the workplace,” said Darren Treadway, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo School of Management. His recent research looks at why bullies are able to persist, and sometimes even thrive, at work.” (Read the whole story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands blog: The senseless war on marijuana continues…

      Good Day World!

The senseless war on Marijuana continues…

The latest outrage was against the voters of Washington state who legalized marijuana last year, but are being harassed by the Federal government in Gestapo-like raids where agents dressed like swat teams burst into legitimate marijuana collectives and seize everything.

“Casey Lee thought his marijuana collective was getting robbed again when he saw seven vehicles speeding into his parking lot Wednesday morning. But when he saw the badges, he knew it was another raid.
Lee said Drug Enforcement Agents raided his clinic, Bayview Gardens, and at least two others in the Puget Sound region Wednesday.”

It was just a matter of time before the feds got bored busting voter-approved marijuana dispensaries and collectives in California. During the lull here in the Golden State they went north into Washington state like a scourge of human-cicadas bent on devouring every collective in sight!

What is the matter with people? There should be a national war on Meth, not Marijuana. Meth kills. It’s everywhere. The spread of it has to be stopped before anymore zombies walk our streets in speed-induced world’s of their own.

“A new report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sheds some light on many of the underlying dirty truths of cannabis prohibition: money is wasted and law enforcement resources are diverted from battling serious crime on a war that disproportionately harms African Americans.  While most of the data isn’t earth-shattering for experienced marijuana law reform activists, the ACLU’s study demonstrates how far we still have to go, despite so much success in recent years.  It is fantastic that we now have 20 medical marijuana states (if you include our nation’s capitol as a state), 15 states that have decriminalized cannabis and two states that have legalized marijuana possession altogether.  However, facts don’t lie and the ACLU’s report, “The War on Marijuana in Black and White“, illustrates many disturbing facts that are still plaguing our nation.”

There’s numerous arguments for the feds to back off their crusade against marijuana, but the following one was new to me. I figure it sounds pretty reasonable actually:

“A Gary, Ind., pastor speaking out against what he believes is the country's unjust war on drugs not only says drugs should be decriminalized, but also believes that "God is not that petty" to care if Christians, or anyone else, smokes marijuana.”

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands blog: Why Weiner will win…he has balls!

           Good Day World!

You have to hand it to the “Weiner,” the guy has balls! You can’t keep a creep down, or something like that.

Voters are getting a taste of the New Weiner and have supported him thus far.

New York City mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, who resigned from Congress in 2011 amid a sexting scandal, admitted Tuesday to more sexually charged Internet shenanigans.Two months after he announced his return from political exile to run for his hometown's biggest job, he was near or at the top in several polls — despite a barrage of pun-filled front-page headlines focusing on his salacious history.

It’s too early to see what kind of impact this latest revelation will have on the wonderful world of Weiner, but I suspect his fans won’t castigate/castrate him because…well, because they think it’s cool to have a pervert politician who peers down his underwear!

Let’s face it…voters know what they’ll get if they elect the “Weiner.” No one will be shocked when he’s caught wiggling his weiner at some woman other than his wife.

Right now the “Weiner” is enjoying his second coming!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands blog: Say it ain’t so…another star ballplayer on steroids

     Good Day World!

Baseball. America’s game.

It’s Ground Hog Day in baseball as history keeps repeating itself. Apparently ball players feel they have to take illegal drugs to compete in spite of nearly a wasted generation of players that won’t make it to the Hall of Fame because they cheated.

MLB announced that Ryan Braun has been suspended for the remainder of the season for “violations of the Basic Agreement and its Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.” In other words, the former MVP got caught juicing!

With the baseball world still reeling from the news of Ryan Braun‘s suspension for his connection to Biogenesis, many are naturally wondering what is in store for Alex Rodriguez.

Well, if what ESPN’s T.J. Quinn is hearing is accurate, it doesn’t bode well for him.The case against Rodriguez includes the possibility that he interfered with the investigation, so MLB is expected to go after him harder than they did Braun.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands blog: Droning on Monday: bounty on drones considered in Colorado

  Good Day World!

Drone on…

We’ve all heard stories of drones hunting down the bad guys overseas in the war against terrorism and anyone who defies us. Unmanned drones are becoming increasingly popular and they come in all shapes and sizes.

As you read this there are hobbyists flying drones throughout the USA. There are small unmanned surveillance drones that are used by some police departments to track speeders and bad guys.

Americans have indicated in recent polls that they don’t mind the use of drones on our enemies. But the line gets drawn when it comes to using drones to spy on us…for whatever reasons.

Most Americans are still stunned after hearing about PRISM, the spying apparatus used on all Americans and not just terrorist suspects. Right about now some folks are showing what they think about little unmanned drones that don’t identify themselves.

Take this story: 

“The farming and ranching town of Deer Trail, Colorado, which boasts that it held the world's first rodeo in 1869, is now considering starting a 21st century tradition - paying bounties to anyone who shoots down an unmanned drone.

Next month, trustees of the town of 600 that lies on the high plains 55 miles east of Denver will debate an ordinance that would allow residents to purchase a $25 hunting license to shoot down "unmanned aerial vehicles."

Similar to the bounties governments once paid to hunters who killed animals that preyed on livestock, but only after they produced the ears, the town would pay $100 to anyone who can produce the fuselage and tail of a downed drone.

"Either the nose or tail may be damaged, but not both," the proposal notes.” (Read the full story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

As It Stands: 3 good reasons why most people don’t trust politicians

By Dave Stancliff/For The Times-Standard

 What?

 Just three reasons not to trust politicians! I realize there are myriad reasons to point out but space forces me to only consider three.

 I’ll start off with my favorite reason and the easiest to  defend; politicians lie. Politicians lie about things substantive and trivial.

 Two quick examples: Anthony Wiener’s denials of his physically self-adoring tweets, and Paul Ryan’s physically self-adoring claims of having run a sub-three-hour marathon.

Most politicians are liars and narcissists. It isn’t too big a stretch to see the connection. Narcissists are arrogant, self-important, see themselves as special, require excessive admiration, have a sense of entitlement, and are exploitative.

 Politicians count on followers believing their lies, even in the face of irrefutable evidence to the contrary. They basically live in an echo chamber in which everyone watches the same news channel, listens to the same talk radio, reads the same newspapers and web sites, and hangs out with like-minded people.

 Like politicians in past generations, today’s politicians believe if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes truth. It’s a simple but effective approach that has worked for politicians since they started courting voters in ancient times.

 What it all comes down to is politicians lie when it’s in their favor. They consider the cost/benefit ratio and lie like carpets if it helps! It’s a calculated tactic used when they create or shift a narrative, attack an opponent, or respond to indefensible claims against them.

 The second reason is politicians are puppets. They dance to the tune of their backers. I don’t care if they’re Democrat or Republican, politicians need money to campaign. It’s the source of the money that creates puppet-masters and puppets.

 Since the beginning of the Industrial Age in America, corporations have played an enormous part in politics. With their backing presidents, senators, and governors have been elected. This is common knowledge, but worth remembering.

 For most Americans the biggest challenge today is to find a politician who represents them and not their party brand and corporate backers.

 Billionaires tried to buy the last presidency, the final step in the progress of the corporation takeover in America. It didn’t happen, but the threat remains that our next president won’t even have to campaign, he/she will simply buy the office.

 Our political system is designed for puppets, supposedly elected by the people for the people, but in fact human Howdy Dowdys! Their cords are carefully manipulated by the likes of the Koch brothers and other rich power mongers.

 I don’t have anything against puppets as such ( I think Sesame Street is great) but when it comes to representing me in Congress (or elsewhere) I’ll pass on them. Granted it’s hard to see the strings pulling some political puppets, but trust me…they’re there!

 The third reason for not trusting politicians is they’re bigger phonies than actors. How can you ever believe what they say? They can look you in the eye and lie without blinking. Look at Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.

 In the greater scheme of things politicians are actors (my apologies to actors). They follow a script and put on a good show.

They convince you they’re sincere and compassionate by kissing babies and appearing at charity events. As we know, some actors have become politicians completing the loop.

 Ronald Reagan for example. He was a natural. Remember how grand he sounded when he told Gorbachev to “Tear down this wall” referring to the Berlin Wall?

 Good theatre. Good politics. I just keep in mind that both are staged. Productions as it were. It always bothers me to see how phony politicians can be. How can I, or you, trust them?

Trustworthiness is left on the doorstep when politicians pander for causes supported by corporations or wealthy individuals.The way I look at it, phonies have things to hide.

 They don’t want you to know they once smoked marijuana while they attack medical marijuana patients. A certain president comes to mind.

  By now you probably wonder if I think we could do without politicians. I can’t deny they’re part of our government and we need a government - even one as dysfunctional as the current Congress. 
 As It Stands, that doesn’t mean I have to like politicians!