From Animal Bones to Water: Furniture Can Be Fascinating

The concept of furniture first appeared around 30,000 years ago according to archaeological research. 

Our early ancestors used wood, stone, and animal bone to make themselves more comfortable. 

I can just imagine early cave dwellers reclining on bone rocking chairs and comparing kills. Rock tables were all the rage back then.

The first furniture for the masses showed up in ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Chinese homes. The Chinese are currently keeping up the tradition by being the world's largest furniture exporter, accounting for 38% of global furniture production.

The thing I love about furniture is its dual design for comfort and creativity. The wackier, the better.

Can you imagine having a couch inspired by Bigfoot? (Left) It looks menacing to me, but it's probably comfy.

Furniture designers have gotten more creative over the centuries and we're at a point where nothing is impossible to construct if it can be imagined. 

The furniture you choose defines your home's personality. It's important to understand that the color of your furniture can significantly impact your lifestyle.

For instance, those designing workplaces understand that bright colors can inspire creativity and brainstorming. Dark colors, however, can have the opposite effect. 

Furniture in blue and green hues evokes serenity and calm, while orange furniture communicates energy, power, and confidence.

Yellow encourages feelings of happiness and optimism, but too much yellow can cause subconscious anxiety. The time you spend in getting the right combination will be well worth it.

Unusual Furniture Designs

This is what I'm talking about. (Left) Would the teenager in your life love having this bed or what?

When it comes to fresh furniture designs for kids' rooms nothing says wacky like a carrot dresser for their clothes.

If that doesn't tickle your kids fantasy how about this wavy dresser (below) that looks like it was plucked out of a cartoon?

My advice for furniture in your home is simple; let it reflect your personality and you'll be a happy camper. Allow function and creativity to be your guide and you won't go wrong.

As it Stands,

I still remember waterbeds. My wife and I had one in the 70s. 

I don't recommend getting one unless you are prepared to worry about leaks and getting seasick after a big meal!

Do You Listen to Your Inner Voice?

According to most religions and many scholars people have a conscience. 

An inner voice or feeling that guides rightness or wrongness. Kind of like having the Disney character Jiminy Crickett perched on each shoulder. Good Jiminy and bad Jiminy.

"The concept of "conscience" as commonly used in the moral sense, is the inherent ability of every healthy human being to perceive what is right or wrong and, on the strength of this perception, to control, monitor, evaluate and execute their actions," according to a study from the National Institutes of Health.

I discovered that there are three types of conscience. "Certain conscience" is the complete absence of doubt in whether our decision is good or bad. Doubtful conscience limits our ability to make a choice between good or bad. Then there's the Delicate conscience which is very meticulous and careful about our decisions.

Apparently, we aren't born with a conscience which experts say is shaped by our experiences, interactions with others, and reflections on our actions. It's a lifelong process.

The answer to where is your conscience lodged... the brain or the heart will probably surprise you. A 2004 study conducted by McCraty, Atkinson & Bradley determined that the heart receives intuitive information BEFORE the brain. That certainly adds a new dimension to the definition of conscience. It comes straight from the heart. 

So why doesn't everyone have a conscience? 

The simple answer is while we may be capable of knowing right from wrong there are other factors to consider. 

Like greed. It makes people set aside their values to obtain wealth. The lust for power makes even the so-called moral man ignore the warning from his good Jiminy who is jumping up and down frantically on his shoulder.

I've wrestled with my conscience numerous times in the last seven decades. It's been a win-lose situation (like most people I suspect) but I like to think I do have a good heart, and I do know right from wrong. Not everyone is guided by their heart/conscience. I'll bet you know some people like that.

As it Stands, I think a lot of people mistake a short memory for a clear conscience!

Bald and Proud of It!

I can remember a time in America when men went to great lengths to conceal their balding heads. 

Balding men used all sorts of transparently fake means to disguise the fact until several things happened.

By the mid-sixties bald heads became a staple of ridicule by stand-up comedians. 

We had a generation that revolted against all things fake.

Finally, TV ads began appearing with solutions for baldness. Bald was not cool. Long flowing locks were in. Before this happened, most men wore dress hats, and it was impossible to tell if they were going bald.

Then a hatless President Kennedy changed all of that and men began shedding their dress hats. 

They also sought more ways to conceal their shiny domes, like combovers and snake doctor cures which came in pills and ointments. Many actors just wore toupees.

Today a shaved head is very much in fashion. Two of my three sons shave their heads rather than deal with pattern baldness. All of those old rock stars with long hair are now electing to go bald while they try to extend their careers into another generation.

Caution. Not all men have a head that looks good bald. (Photo of Marc Andreessen) 

In Army bootcamp they shaved all of our heads. That's when I discovered my head looked like an egg!

Pointed heads (think Saturday Night Live's Coneheads) need to have hair. Lots of hair. But these day's actors like that bad boy bald image.  

Take Vin Diesel (right) for example. He's famous for his shiny head and sunglasses.

There was one actor back in the day who managed to pull off going bald before it was popular. 

Yul Brynner, a Russian-born actor, director, and author became a Hollywood icon with his live performances of the King and I. 

He's also remembered for his many movie appearances like Future World, Westworld, Anna and the King, Adios, Sabata, Death Rage, The Serpent, Catlow, Fuzz, and The Light at the Edge of the World.

It's interesting that Yul Brynner was brave enough to carve out a look in Hollywood when men were busy concealing their baldness.

As it Stands, I would prefer to shave my head these days, but my wife won't have any of it because I still have a full head of hair. Maybe she's right. My dome isn't a pretty sight!

Anti-Science Advocates Are a Worldwide Problem

In my lifetime I've watched science slide into a new dark age where societies are plagued with ignorance and lack of understanding about basic facts.

In particular I've watched America sink into an anti-intellectual wasteland where social influences are more important than reality. We have a block of the population that discounts or avoids information that contradicts their beliefs. They don't understand the scientific method which requires proof before beliefs. Facts before fiction.

The United States isn't alone in this assault on science as nearly every other country in the world is contending with misinformation and downright stupidity seeping into their societies via politics and right-wing groups. 

Disinformation campaigns are so sophisticated they can fool just about anyone into believing that the moon is made of Swiss cheese.

Science has always clashed with religions, but in today's world a broad swath of the population questions science - like facts aren't enough to convince them they are wrong if they don't fall into their belief system.

Willful ignorance is common and harmful, with 40% of people choosing "not to know" the consequences of their actions to free themselves of guilt while maximizing their own gains.

Are We, the Human Race, Regressing with No Hope?

No. There's always hope.

There's a growing body of research that shows that the best way to bridge the gulf with science deniers is to engage their values. 

This may involve finding common ground between the scientists' values and the skeptics.

Here's Some Ways to Deal with Ignorance

1. Take a deep breath and remain calm

2. Ignore the comments entirely

3. Allow humor to diffuse the situation

4. Respond with short answers

5. Use this moment to inform or teach

As it Stands,

it's important to understand that attitudes can be changed with the right approach. Respect of another's feelings is important in having fruitful conversations with positive results.

The Power of Olfaction is Awesome

The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the most powerful sense of them all for both humans and animals. It enriches your experience of the world around you. Different scents can change your mood, transport you back to a distant memory, and may even help you bond with loved ones.

Scents go straight to the brain's smell center, known as the olfactory bulb. The sense of smell has many functions, including detecting desirable foods, hazards, and pheromones, and plays a role in taste.

Interesting Facts About the Sense of Smell

* Researchers from Macquarie University in Australia found that people with psychopathic tendencies have a poor sense of smell.

* Hyperosmia is an overwhelming sensitivity to smells.

* Some people naturally have a more agreeable scent due to their unique body chemistry influenced by genes.

* Multiple hormones can affect your sense of smell, including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, leptin, and ghrelin.

A True Story About the Power of Smell

Meet Joy Milne, a Scottish woman with a rare condition called hyperosmia that gives her an exceptional sense of smell. 

She can detect Parkinson's disease, tuberculous, Alzheimer's disease, and cancer by smell. 

Can you imagine? It proves some humans do have the ability to detect diseases with their sense of smell. 

I recently posted a story about rats in Southeast Asia who can detect tuberculous faster than lab technicians. Thus far I've discovered that there's numerous animals with extrasensory smells that can detect a host of sicknesses.

For decades individuals and businesses have explored ways to harness the evocative power of smell. When I was growing up in the 1950s, we had AromaRama or Smell-O-Vision, in walk-in theaters. They infused the theaters with appropriate odors in an attempt to pull viewers deeper into the story.

People do tend to lose their sense of smell as they age. But don't worry. Your nose is like a muscle in the body that can be strengthened by giving it a daily workout, not with weights, but with sniffs. The more you use your nose, the stronger it gets according to a Harvard study titled, "What the Nose Knows." 

In praise of smell Helen Keller once said, "Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived."

As it Stands, I found out how to stop a skunk from smelling. Are you ready? Hold its nose.

No Brainer: AI is the Biggest Threat to Journalism Today

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the worst thing to hit journalism in a lifetime.

We're already seeing the effects of AI where it generates inaccurate or misleading information in newsrooms across the nation. Public trust in the news is sinking faster than the Titanic when it hit an iceberg. It's already obvious that AI can potentially replace some aspects of a journalist's work with automated content creation. The quality and ethics of AI raises many concerns.

Last year experts warned Congress that AI poses a grave threat to journalism. Media executives and academic experts testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law about how AI is contributing to the big tech-fueled decline of journalism.

Those experts explained that the rise of big tech has been directly responsible for the decline in local news. "First Meta, Google and OpenAI are using the hard work of newspapers and authors to train their AI models without compensation or even crediting the source," said Senator Richard Blumenthal during the hearing.

The result? Using these models to compete with newspapers and broadcasters has cannibalized readership and revenue from the journalistic institutions that generate the content in the first place.

Since the rise of the digital platforms a decade ago the tech companies and the news industry have been in conflict, which has resulted in tech platforms profiting as many news organizations have gone out of business. Researchers at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University found that America has lost almost a third of its newspapers and almost two-thirds of its newspaper journalists since 2005.

Fighting Back

Countries around the world are starting to take action to force big tech to support their local journalism industries. I like what Canada did in 2023 when they passed a law requiring tech companies to pay news outlets for any content featured on their platforms. Australia led the way with a similar law in 2021.

Here in the United States, there have been numerous lawsuits between big tech and the news industry. The New York Times vs OpenAI last year has been the highest profile case yet. 

Billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages have been charged against OpenAI who responded by claiming it actually helped support a healthy news ecosystem. The case is ongoing.

The news industry has borne the brunt of having to vet content in order to determine whether AI stories are genuine and accurate. One example; following the Oct. 7, 2024, terrorist attacks on Israel, fake photos and videos reached an unprecedented level in social media in a matter of minutes! Of the 1000s of videos that one broadcast network sifted through to report on the attacks, only 10% of them were authentic and usable.

While Congress dilly-dallies around this AI threat it continues to expand like a cancer in all of the communication platforms. It's no wonder that the American public is losing faith in newspapers and broadcasters. There's never been a greater threat to our democracy than what AI poses today.

As it Stands, democracy does die in the darkness. The Washington Post is a good example because AI tech and a right-wing publisher have turned off the lights.

Why Would Anyone Go on a Cruise Ship?

I just don't get it. Why would anyone pay to be confined on a ship in the middle of the ocean and risk getting a stomach virus, or worse, falling overboard? 

Last year was the worst year in a decade for gastrointestinal illnesses on cruise ships, primarily caused by norovirus. Concerns about hygiene and sanitation are well placed. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that inspections highlighted the cleanliness problems on cruise liners.

A few days ago, seventy-nine passengers and nine crew members were sickened with norovirus on a cruise ship that left from Florida, according to CDC's Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program. This is the second example of norovirus sweeping through a cruise ship in the last month.

Somethings never change. People are pigs and when you have a group of about 3,000 pigs (a typical number) eating from the same trough you can expect a disease to spread rapidly. 

The joys of going on a cruise are quickly watered down when it comes to other incidents that occur on board. Carnival Cruise Line has had the most incidents, including overboard accidents, crimes, and accidents, compared to other cruise lines last year.

The fact is things aren't improving when it comes to bacterial and virus outbreaks on cruise ships despite what billionaire CEOs claim. Throw in "horrendous smells" and plumbing issues that plagued cruise ships in 2024 and you begin to get a picture of anything but a good time for thousands of adventurers who risked a ride on the open seas crammed in like sardines. 

I just read a 2025 report by Forbes that said cruise outbreaks are at a 12-year high which proves my point that things aren't getting better.

Cruise ship activities - such as water and air pollution, overcrowding and increased stress on local communities and ecosystems - have led to questions about cruise industry practices at destinations. 

When a ship does make port passengers have a limited time to visit the local sites and sometime destinations are abruptly cancelled because of weather or politics. This is one of the joys of going on a cruise - standing in long lines and paying a fortune for food and souvenirs in some exotic port where the locals probably hate you.

On a typical two-week voyage, a large cruise ship (with 3,000 passengers and crew) is estimated to generate 210,000 US gallons of sewage; 1 million gallons of graywater (from sinks, showers, and laundries); more than 130 US gallons of hazardous wastes; and 8 tons of solid waste.

Over the past 100 years, there have been 24 full-sized cruise ships that have sunk. A good record I suppose, except if you were on one of them. 

The most recent example is the Costa Concordia a ship that set out on a Mediterranean cruise on January 13, 2012, with about 3,299 people onboard that veered off-course and hit large rocks that caused severe damage to its hull. Everyone on board had to be evacuated, and 32 people died.

Not everyone is suited to go on a cruise. You have to be prepared to stand in endless lines at ports or when you belly up to the food line during the day. 

You have to be able to ignore the drunken idiots stumbling from one deck to the next - or just plain idiots who hang around the pool areas making a display of themselves like a pod of whales in skimpy bathing suits. Caution: avoid pool areas because they can leave unwanted memories burned into your brain forever. No. Cruises are not for everyone. Period. End of story. 

As it Stands, I'll keep my cruising to cars!

Do Rats Deserve Their Bad Reputation?

Rats and mankind have warred over the centuries, locked in an eternal combat for survival.

Rats are disease carriers and are often associated with garbage, sewers, filth, etc. But is that all there is to know about rats? No. It's more complicated than that.

I discovered that views on rats' worthiness vary from the Western world to the Asian world. Westerners generally hate rats. Asians on the other hand have a more positive view of rats. For example, many Hindus regard them as semi-sacred, because the mount of the god Ganesh is a rat. Asian cultures see rats as playful, affectionate, intelligent and personally very clean, and consider them a popular pet.

Then there's the cuteness factor. If you look at a squirrel - which is in the same rodent family as a rat - it's bushy tail and the fact that they're not associated with filth automatically gives them points in the grading system people go by when judging cuteness. Squirrels are seen outdoors in trees in the sunlight while the lowly rats are huddled up somewhere in a dank hiding place. But admit it, squirrels are just like tree rats. They just hang out in different neighborhoods!

It's clear from the English language that rats have a bad reputation in Western culture...

"You dirty rat!"

"I smell like a rat."

"Like a rat deserting a sinking ship..."

Maybe it's time to re-examine how we look at rats.

There's been a recent discovery about rats that will probably shock you. A study, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science says the rats WERE NOT to blame for the spread of the plague during the Black Death.

Frankly, I was surprised because rats are disease carriers, but researchers have cleared them by concluding that the Black Death, "can be largely ascribed to human fleas and body lice." I highly recommend checking this study out. It may not change your opinion of rats, but it'll clear up the myth that their actions resulted in the loss of over 25 million lives.

Rats have been getting a more positive reputation in recent decades. 

As a matter of fact, there's parts of Africa today where rats are helping save lives and fight disease.

The charity Apopo, working with the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, trains rats (photo right) to react to the scent of explosives, enabling them to detect landmines in countries like Tanzania, Mozambique and Cambodia.

The detection of landmines is usually an expensive business, and countries often lack the resources to carry-out the time consuming and complicated work. Rats are cheaper than dogs and they are also light enough that they don't set off the landmine. There's no telling how many lives they've saved thus far.

But there's more.

Rats can also smell out the odor specific to tuberculosis. Every year, three million people infected by TB go undiagnosed and therefore do not receive the care they need.

Rats to the rescue! Apopo say that their trained rats can screen 100 samples in 20 minutes - a task that would take a lab technician four days.

Finally, owners say rats make good pets and point out that rats are clean animals and spend more time grooming themselves than cats.

As far as farmers go rats will always be a nuisance. And they can be pests of the worst kind. I get that. But perhaps it's time to separate the good, bad, and the ugly ones in all fairness.

As it Stands, I hate rats for personal reasons, but they deserve to have their whole story told.

They Say Anger Can Be Good

Because I have PTSD anger is one of the challenges I have had to cope with even after years of counseling. 

Anger management classes armed me with methods to control my anger. 

Nevertheless, anger hasn't entirely disappeared from my emotional responses and - as a matter of fact - I still embrace moderate anger to this day.

Let me explain. Anger is not just aggressive action. It often provides us with information that allows us to better engage with the world around us (as well as ourselves). 

If we see anger as something that makes us more informed, we can adapt our response accordingly to better our position according to researchers. 

To this end, here is a list of benefits anger can provide when the appropriate level of the emotion is attained.

(List published by GoodTherapy.org)

1. Anger is designed to promote survival. Our fight response, which evolved so we could defend ourselves from an enemy or danger, stems from anger.

2. Anger's discharge is calming. Anger helps you cope with stress by first discharging the tension in your body, and by doing so it calms your "nerves."

3. Anger provides a sense of self control.

4. Anger energizes us,

5. Anger motivates us to solve problems.

6. Anger makes us aware of injustice.

7. Anger drives us toward our goals.

8. Anger injects optimism.

9. Anger protects our values and beliefs.

10. Anger is a bargaining tool.

11. Anger increases cooperation by making you stand up for yourself.

12. Anger improves negotiating positions.

13.Anger covers painful feelings.

14. Anger pushes us to reach a deeper self.

15. Anger can lead to self-improvement.

16. Feeling anger enhances emotional intelligence.

Despite an unfavorable reputation, the concept of constructive anger (who knew?) is gaining more empirical support from researchers and can have a beneficial role in our lives. 

As it Stands, Needless to say, it's nice to know that I can still get angry sometimes without feeling guilty.

Yawn! A Primer of the Lazy Lifestyles of Some Humans

Before we explore the burning questions about who was - and is - the laziest person on the planet I want to say up front, it isn't me, regardless of what my wife says.

Let's warm up with some historically idle contestants starting with an Englishman named Jeemiah Crlton, an heir to a large fortune at 19 years old.

In his exceedingly short bio, it says that he took to his bed and stayed there for the next 70 years, just because he wanted to. He had more than 40 servants who took care of all his needs and bathed him until he died at 89.

Then we have the case of the 19th century prime minister Lord Melbourne as a candidate for the laziest man in history. Somehow, history fails to explain how he became the Prime Minister by accident and then slept his way through seven years of British history. In his long life he proudly failed to do pretty much anything.

Now that we have had a little history of lethargic legends let's take a look at current sluggish candidates and information on how to join Montenegro's Laziest Citizen contest. 

The Guinness World Book of Records doesn't keep track of records for laziness because it's not possible to objectively measure this quality.

However, you can still see a new annual slothfulness record set at the annual Lazy Citizen Competition in the Montenegrin village of Brezna in August. 

The lack of action centers on contestants remaining in bed in hope of winning a 1,000-euro prize for the one who remains horizontal for the longest time.

While some people may appear "naturally lazy" there's no credible evidence to suggest that anyone is inherently born lazy; instead, differences in motivation and energy levels, along with environmental factors, likely contribute to varying levels of effort people put into tasks, making it seem like some are naturally inclined towards laziness.

Top 5 Countries with the most sedentary lifestyles

(according to a Stanford University Study)

1. Indonesia tops the chart of most inactive countries with the lowest average daily steps, clocking in just 3,513 average steps per day.

2. Saudi Arabia is on the list with 3,807 average steps per day.

3. Malaysia comes in third with 3,963 steps because of urbanization and their preference for motorized transport is the key reason behind this trend.

4. The Philippines marks 4,008 steps per day.

5. South Africa ranks 5th with an average of 4,105 daily steps.

As it Stands, I'm giving Bernard Williams the last word on laziness; "I like the word indolence. It makes my laziness seem classy."

Three Cheers for Cheerleaders!

I lusted after cheerleaders in high school like millions of other "hormone raging" young men back in the 1960s.

 I even dated a cheerleader/song leader off and on during my junior and senior years. There's just something magic about cheerleaders I can't fully define - beyond the obvious lust factor. Their cheerful faces and exuberant personalities make them stars in any setting. 

But it wasn't until after I got out of the Army in 1971 that I got a cheerleader for life on August 31st, 1974. 

I married Shirley Ann Holloway (photo right) who just happened to be a cheerleader at Buena Park high school in Orange County, California. She's been my biggest booster ever since.

Cheerleading runs in the family as our granddaughter Carissa is a cheerleader (has been since she was a freshman) and is getting ready to graduate this June. Her cheerleading squad came in 2nd Place in the Oregon Cheerleading State Finals, recently, an achievement that hasn't happened since 1994 at her high school. 

Did you know that cheerleading originated as an all-male activity in the United States? 

As early as 1877, Princeton University had a "Princeton Cheer" according to The Daily Princetonian. The very first cheerleader was University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell (photo left) in1898. 

Campbell directed the crowd with this cheer, "Rah, Rah, Rah, Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!"  

Women didn't get in on the fun until 1923, when the University of Minnesota allowed women to participate in cheerleading. It took other schools' years before they gave women the green light to be cheerleaders. 

Author Kieran Scott wrote in his book Ultimate Cheerleading: "Girls really took over {cheerleading} for the first time in the forties when collegiate men were drafted for World War II, creating an opportunity for more women to make their way onto sporting event sidelines." 

The first cheerleading camp was created by Lawrence Herkimer, a former cheerleader at Southern Methodist University and inventor of the Herkie jump, in 1951. 

It was held in Huntsville, Texas and there were 52 girls in attendance. It was so popular Herkimer was asked to hold a second, where 350 young women were in attendance. Oh yeah! Herkimer also patented the pop-pom.

Herkimer also created the National Cheerleading Association to help grow the activity and provide cheerleading education to schools around the country in 1951 around the time professional cheerleading began.

Today professional cheerleaders and dancers cheer for sports such as Football, Basketball, Baseball, and Hockey. There are only a handful of professional cheerleading leagues around the world. 

As it Stands, "a good cheerleader is not measured by the height of her jump but by the span of her spirit." - Anonymous