High Hopes: Lasting Happiness Found With Hallucinogen Use?

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine studying psilocybin, the mind-altering chemical in “magic mushrooms,” found that the chemical may actually alter people’s personalities for a long period of time, ABC News is reporting.

The study involved one high dose of psilocybin administered to 51 adult study participants and found that 30 of them underwent measurable personality changes lasting more than a year. The aspect of personality that changed is known as openness.

Openness, the authors wrote, “encompasses aesthetic appreciation and sensitivity, imagination and fantasy, and broad-minded tolerance of others’ viewpoints and values.” Measured on a widely used and scientifically validated personality inventory, changes in openness were larger in magnitude than changes typically observed in healthy adults over decades of life experiences, the scientists say.

The research, approved by Johns Hopkins’ Institutional Review Board, was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.  article source

Artist agrees to only paint nude models after dark, Ron Paul’s ‘eyebrow toupee,’ and cleanup of OWS site is postponed

          Good Morning Humboldt County!

It’s O Dark Hundred and the sun hasn’t risen yet, but the coffees on and you’re invited to stay and have a cup with me. This mornings selection of stories run from whimsical to serious. Enjoy:

 

Artist can paint nude models only after dark

An artist arrested for applying body paint to a nude model in New York's Times Square will have charges against him dropped if his models strip naked only after dark, according to a court agreement reached on Thursday.

Police arrested Andy Golub, 45, in July and charged him with violating public exposure and lewdness laws. He has been painting nude models for about three years. Golub's lawyer, Ronald Kuby, argued that New York laws do not prohibit public nudity in the name of art, and a compromise was reached that was the basis of the court ruling.

Under the agreement, "he is permitted to paint bare breasts any time, anywhere, but the G-strings have to stay on until daylight goes out," Kuby said after a hearing in Manhattan criminal court.

Ron Paul’s ‘eyebrow toupee’? Droop at debate prompts suspicion

Has Ron Paul been wearing fake eyebrows? That's what the New York Times wonders, pointing to an incident at Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate in which the candidate's right eyebrow appeared to droop a bit under the hot lights:

Seen on television, Mr. Paul appeared to have a second, thinner brow under the one headed south, creating a delicate X over his right eye. Jesse Benton, a campaign spokesman, insisted that Mr. Paul had been the victim of the elements, namely a heavy pollen season in New Hampshire, and called accusations that he'd been artificially enhancing "stupid" and "insulting."

"Dr. Paul's allergies acted up a touch," Mr. Benton said in an explanation that might raise some, you know, questions.

Cleanup of Occupy Wall St. protest site is postponed

Anti-greed protesters were elated early Friday morning by the postponement of a cleanup of the park where they have been gathering for almost a month.

As day broke over Zuccotti Park, the cheering died down, but police on scooters positioned themselves in the streets around the park as an impromptu march began up Broadway in lower Manhattan.

Time to walk on down the road…

UPDATE:

Clashes broke out between bottle-throwing demonstrators and police on horses and scooters as Occupy Wall Street protesters marched on the Stock Exchange on Friday, NBC News reported.

At least 10 people were arrested amid what was initially described as a celebratory march, which began when it was revealed the owners of Zuccotti Park — where the protesters had set up camp — had ditched cleanup plans that some claimed were a pretext to evict them.

NBC News reported that police used the scooters to try to force protesters off of the street at several locations on Wall Street and Broadway. In some cases, police rode scooters directly at people who stopped traffic and refused to move away. WNBC reported that at least 10 people had been arrested as police tried to stop about 500 people, with brooms raised in the air, from marching on Wall Street.

NBC News said that one person who had been arrested was injured and bleeding and was taken to the 7th precinct for treatment. NYPD was extending shifts for some officers across the city in response to the situation. Despite the police's efforts, protesters were gathering at the Stock Exchange, NBC News said.

Tomorrow is deadline for OWS protestors to leave Zuccotti Park

Notice has been served to the Occupy Wall Street protestors at Zuccotti Park to clear out tomorrow.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. The police said they will make arrests if the park’s owners request them to.

The company that owns the private park where the demonstrators have camped out said it has become trashed and unsanitary. Brookfield Office Properties planned to begin a section-by-section power-washing of Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street, at 7 a.m.

"They're going to use the cleanup to get us out of here," said Justin Wedes, a 25-year-old part-time public high school science teacher from Brooklyn who was one of about 400 people in the park Thursday night. "It's a de facto eviction notice."

photo source

Protesters say the only way they will leave is by force. Organizers sent out a mass email asking supporters to "defend the occupation from eviction." "We are doubling up on our determination to stay here as a result of this," said 26-year-old Sophie Mascia, a Queens resident who has been living in Zuccotti Park for three weeks and intends to sleep there Friday night. "I think this is only going to strengthen our movement."

Let’s see what tomorrow brings…                                                     

Linguists say humans once sounded like Yodi from Star Wars

I’m not really sure what makes these experts think we sounded like Yoda, but I know one thing…we sure didn’t look like him!

“Many linguists believe all human languages derived from a single tongue spoken in East Africa around 50,000 years ago. They've found clues scattered throughout the vocabularies and grammars of the world as to how that original "proto-human language" might have sounded. New research suggests that it sounded somewhat like the speech of Yoda, the tiny green Jedi from "Star Wars."

By the way, did you notice the tats on Daddy caveman?                                    Story here

Surfer stands on Great White Shark, apple allergies, and report asks where Pentagon money is going

  Good Morning Humboldt County!

What a great day! Are you ready for a cup of coffee and a few stories to get your day going? Grab a chair and stay awhile:

Oregon surfer tells of standing on Great White

Doug Niblack was trying to catch another wave before going to work, when his longboard hit something hard as rock off the Oregon Coast and he suddenly found himself standing on the back of a thrashing great white shark.

Looking down, he could see a dorsal fin in front of his feet as he stood on what he described as 10 feet of back as wide as his surfboard and as black as his own Neoprene wetsuit. A tail thrashed back and forth and the water churned around him like a depth charge went off. "It was pretty terrifying just seeing the shape emerge out of nothing and just being under me," he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "And the fin coming out of the water. It was just like the movies."

When an apple allergy suddenly appears

Imagine this: You take a bite of a crisp fall apple and notice your lips feel a little itchy. An odd sensation, but you ignore it and take another bite. Now your tongue is itchy too. After another bite, the itch spreads to your throat. As you swallow the apple, your throat starts to swell. The weird thing is, you're not allergic to apples; you've eaten them all your life. So what's up?

“I like to call oral allergy syndrome 'the cocktail party allergy,” says Dr. Chris Webber, an allergy/immunology specialist based in Denver, Colorado. “It is surprisingly common among people who have seasonal allergies, but (the sufferers) think there's something strange about (themselves) and never bring it up to doctors or friends. But if you bring it up at a social event, you find it is very, very common.”

Report: Pentagon doesn't know where the money is going

The Defense Department, which has promised to publish a reliable account of how it spends its money by 2017, has discovered that its financial ledgers are in worse shape than expected and that it will have to spend billions of dollars in the coming years to make its financial accounting credible, the Center for Public Integrity reported Thursday.

Photo - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday. He was joined by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen.

Time to walk on down the road…

Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace

For more mind-blowing photographs like this one go here.                             quote by Eugene O'Neill

Can you name any place in the world where someone can get two pensions for the same job?

There are many factors contributing to our Depression (screw that recession crap!) but when I see excesses like this labor leader is up to in Chicago (He’s expected to receive pension payments of nearly $500,000 a year) I gotta shake my head in wonder and disgust.

The Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV, which obtained information about union pension benefits during a joint investigation, said at least eight union officials in Chicago were eligible for what were described as inflated city pensions on top of union pensions for the same period of employment.

To rub salt into this corrupt little tale, Chicago and Illinois are facing financial trouble, in part due to pension shortfalls. I guess we know why now. Pigs can pop up anywhere.

Blackberry outages, Booty Bus impounded, and Navajos seek exemption for Grand Canyon flights

         Good Morning Humboldt County

I really love Autumn, and today’s another beautiful Autumn day here. C’mon in and grab a cup of coffee. Make yourself comfortable while checking out this trio of stories selected for your reading edification.

BlackBerry outages spread to North America

Sporadic outages of BlackBerry messaging and email service spread to the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday, as problems stretched into the third day for Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. U.S. Twitter users were reporting that their BlackBerrys weren't getting email on Wednesday morning. In Canada, spokesman Mark Langton of the carrier Bell confirmed that some of its BlackBerry subscribers were experiencing problems.

"A minority of BlackBerry users at all Canadian carriers are affected," he said in an email. "We understand the issue will be corrected this morning." The widespread problems added to the woes of Research In Motion Ltd., the Canadian company that makes the phones. It's struggling with slowing sales and a tablet that's been a dud. Its shares are approaching a five-year low.

On Tuesday, RIM said a crucial link in its infrastructure had failed, and a backup didn't work either. It said it was now working to get through a backlog of traffic. "The resolution of this service issue is our Number One priority right now and we are working night and day to restore all BlackBerry services to normal levels," the company said Wednesday. More here.

Detroit police impound 'Booty' bus strip club

Detroit police have impounded a party bus they say operated as a strip club for reveling football fans at a popular tailgating spot. The Detroit News and WDIV-TV report that the "Booty Lounge" bus was parked Monday near Ford Field, where the Lions played the Chicago Bears.

Police say it was cited for not having a state safety inspection and because the driver didn't have a commercial license. The bus was parked earlier Monday outside a bar in the Eastern Market area. Bus operator Joe Parsons agreed to move it at the request of police and said he planned to park out of town.

But it was discovered later by police on a city street near Ford Field. Parsons said Detroit has no ordinance against "mobile entertainment clubs."

Navajos seek exemption for Grand Canyon flights

An American Indian tribe whose reservation borders the Grand Canyon wants to boost its economy by giving tourists an aerial view of the massive gorge.

Nearly 5 million people visit the Grand Canyon each year, and some undoubtedly take a highway that runs through Navajo Nation communities.

Navajo lawmaker Walter Phelps sees potential in that number. He has sponsored legislation in the Tribal Council that asks the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Park Service to exempt air tour operators flying to or from the reservation from having to use valuable allocations required for commercial air tours at the Grand Canyon, similar to what the Hualapai Tribe has.

Time to walk on down the road…

American companies hitting it out of the ball park on profitability

Watching the baseball world series – even if it’s not your team – is fun. There’s something exciting about watching a home run.

For two straight years American companies have been hitting it out of the ball park on profitability even as the economy has struggled to grow and create jobs faster. Profits being reported for the three months ended Sept. 31 (according to Standard & Poor’s index) are expected to show another home run: double digit earnings growth.

That’s hard to reconcile when I look around this country and watch the 99%ers growing protest against Wall Street and banks greed. Like baseball, there’s two teams: the Have’s and the Have Nots.

As I watch the Rangers and the Tigers go at it in Game 3 tonight, I’m going to be wondering about how those other teams series is going to end. Play ball!

Shades of ‘Rocky,’ NBA cancels first 2 weeks of season, and vision problems follow 'stealth recall' of contact lenses

                    Good Morning Humboldt County!

Help yourself to a cup of steaming coffee and pull up a chair and relax for a bit. I’ve got an eclectic mix of stories for your viewing pleasure today. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Exonerated of murder, boxer makes his debut at 52

The television crew had him up at dawn doing the Rocky fandango, dashing up the 72 stone steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and dancing around in triumph like another over-the-hill, underdog pugilist who had made it big.

Cliché or not, it is hard not to imagine the familiar trumpet score along with the thwock, thwock, thwock of fists on punching bags as Dewey Bozella trains for one of the least likely boxing matches in history.

After 26 years in New York State prisons, and two years after he was exonerated of murder, Mr. Bozella will make his professional boxing debut on Saturday in Los Angeles, at age 52, on the undercard of the light-heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins. (A mere 46 himself, Mr. Hopkins became the oldest fighter to win a major world championship this May.)

Some very good games lost to lockout. Thanks a lot, guys.

With the cancellation of the first two weeks of the season, 100 NBA games went down the drain.

Hang an asterisk on this season — these are games commissioner David Stern said are gone. He said there is no chance of making them up. But what games are we now going to miss?

How about a great opening-night doubleheader — the Chicago Bulls heading into Dallas on the night the Mavericks raised the banner. Then a battle of generations as the Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers’ second game was to have Chris Paul come in and test Kobe Bryant. Not any more. How about the Miami Heat vs. the New York Knicks? Gone. The Orlando Magic taking on the Heat? Gone.The Bulls start their annual circus trip Nov. 13 — when the circus comes to the United Center and the Bulls are kicked out of the arena for weeks. Which means that if the owners and players figure this out in the next couple weeks and the season starts Nov. 15, the Bulls will be on the road for the first chunk of it.

The more likely scenario is that more games will get canceled and the entire trip will get wiped out. The league is going to do it in two-week increments — it’s more painful for fans that way. And this is going to be a lot more painful before it ends. - Kurt Helin Oct 11, 2011, 9:23 AM EDT.

Torn corneas, vision problems follow 'stealth recall' of contact lenses

Amid growing reports of eye problems ranging from blurry vision to torn corneas, federal health officials are threatening to issue a public warning about recalled contact lenses manufactured by CooperVision Inc. and sold widely at stores such as Costco, Wal-Mart and LensCrafters.

The Fairport, N.Y., firm has yet to heed a request from the federal Food and Drug Administration to broaden notification of problems with certain lots of its Avaira Toric contact lenses, which were recalled quietly in August because of unidentified “residue.” “Absent prompt and adequate communication by CooperVision, the FDA may independently share its concerns about Avaira Toric contact lenses,” FDA spokeswoman Morgan Liscinsky said in an e-mail.

But for at least a dozen consumers who indicated to msnbc.com they have suffered impaired vision, excruciating pain or landed in emergency rooms after wearing the contacts launched in April and recalled in August, such notice is long overdue. “It is very frustrating that they’re not more vocal about it and that the FDA hasn’t warned more people,” said Mellisa Cotton, 40, of Atlanta, who said she suffered two corneal abrasions this summer after wearing Avaira Toric contact lenses.

Time to walk on down the road…