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Naturally Nocturnal

The Black Iris — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:06:23 GMT

9/23/11 Friday

I also have evidence to support my nocturnal circadian rhythm. And even if there wasn't scientific evidence, it's still about the schedule which makes me feel, perform, and think better, not a choice I make to be cool, or Goth, or dark, or whatever nonsense judgmental idiots come up with. Also there's evidence to suggest that we night owls are more intelligent. But nevertheless those of us who lie on the extreme end of eveningness are considered to have a Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder. I find it rather amusing that it's considered a disorder because my body clock tells me to go to sleep between the hours of 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. and wake between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Those are the hours which make me feel at my best and with which I can perform at my peak. Sleep isn't just a matter of how much, but also the quality of the sleep and when it is obtained. Those of who are naturally nocturnal would often rather be diurnal because it would definitely be easier to fit in and be a part of the normal world. So many people think that those who are different choose to be. We don't. If anything it'd be so much easier to be normal and fit in and prefer khaki and so-called "normal" things. Some preferences are a matter of choosing whether to express them (i.e. fishnet shirts or conservative blouse), but some things are simply biological. Check out the Truth About Nocturnal People.

I have also done an experiment, if you will, on myself using one of those full-spectrum light bulbs. After about 20 minutes to half an hour of having the warm sun like glow of the lamp on, I become very relaxed and somnolent. I came to the conclusion that if I have any chores or important tasks to do, I can not have that lamp turned on. I only use it now, to see my nail polish or to meditate: things which don't require it to be on for extended periods of time. If our circadian rhythms were all diurnal as many claim then full-spectrum light would make me feel energized, not sleepy wouldn't it?

I've worked in the 9-5 world. I went to bed at 11 p.m. (ideally) and woke to the sound of the alarm at 7 a.m. It was, simply put, miserable. I adjusted to this schedule, but was never acclimated to it in the way that extremely diurnal people tend to be. I have been described as grumpy, grouchy, cranky, even evil in the morning. It is such that I adopted a rule long ago where I refuse to say the words "good morning" at all. My natural reply is "What's so good about it?!" while grumpily trying to navigate my way into a wakeful state. I have learned not to say this bitter anti-morning response out loud for fear of a plethora of admonitions that the morning is to be celebrated because I'm alive, as well as the always joyful reminder that God woke me up and I should be grateful, etc. etc… So I learned to keep my mouth shut when encountering the super-chipper-wish-I-could-choke-them morning person. They don't understand how the very sound of their voice affects us. I can actually have a conversation with a night owl in the morning, but not with an extreme diurnal type. There's something too cheerful, sunny, bright, and obnoxious about their disposition which I find off-putting and irritating, further bringing forth my cranky anti-morning irritability.

So to all you morning larks out there, when you encounter the irritable, cranky person in the morning, just be quiet and leave us alone until we're ready to join the wakeful world.

The Severity of Sleep

The Black Iris — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:05:15 GMT

9/23/11 Friday

It really annoys me when I encounter people who claim that you can "condition" yourself to "need" less sleep. And some of them are even a bit judgmental towards those of us who need more sleep because they look at us like we're simply choosing to sleep more. There are those who are genetically predisposed to require less sleep and those individuals are the ones for whom this so-called "conditioning" works. But the average adult needs 6-9 hours of sleep per night.

According to physorg.com you cannot "train" your body to adapt to less sleep. An individual who requires more sleep will not adapt but will simply suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. Sleep. Those of us who require more sleep incur a sleep debt which must be paid inevitably. Sleep always wins in the end. But even repaying that debt isn't always enough. Adequate sleep is crucial to everyone. So to all of you people purporting to be able to "condition" yourselves to need less sleep. It is simply an ability that you have, not something that can be "learned". You're all genetically predisposed to be able to get by on less sleep than average and need to stop judging all of us others for being lazy and/or sleeping our lives away.

*Note: All the above reference information was acquired from or through PHYSORG

Accepting Acidity

The Black Iris — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:04:16 GMT

9/23/11 Friday

I have finally come across the information that I've been looking for. I have heard much erroneous information regarding acid-forming foods from the raw-food community and the dogmatic myths that they've touted as being absolute truth and the key to health, wellness, etc. There was this myth that vinegar even raw apple cider vinegar is acid-forming and that our bodies should be all alkaline. But that is in fact not the case. As apple cider vinegar is listed here as a low alkaline forming food. Because of bodily processes which are very scientific, it ends up becoming alkaline in our liver. So this in fact dispels the myth. Also our lives should be balanced. We need some acid, we need to digest our food, and that's a very acidic process. So having vinegar in your salad isn't going to ruin your health or throw off your body's entire Ph balance.

Another rule which I feel strong opposition toward is the rule of avoiding cold beverages. According to Eastern medicine, cold beverages shock our body and digestive system. I couldn't find any good sources to refute this claim other than the blog posts claiming that it's pseudoscience. So I am simply relying on reason; how much "shock" does our body actually experience? I mean our bodies warm up any cold substances in a matter of minutes. It's not as if cold beverages are liquid nitrogen. I wouldn't want to spend my day consuming ice cold beverages nor would I want to spend my day consuming all hot beverages. I believe in balance and "everything in moderation". So I don't really care if icy beverages "shock" my body, I will consume them when and if I feel like having them. I will continue to use ice in a smoothie and I will have ice water if I'm feeling in the mood.

Since I'm somewhat lizard-like, I tend to feel the temperature of the atmosphere around me. I will usually opt for room temperature water in cooler temperatures as I will feel cold if I consume cold water during cold weather times. But as everyone's body is different, I think it's also up to the individual. I know many people who are always hot. I call them hot potatoes and consuming warm or room temperature water would be very unappetizing for them.

This site beyondveg.com is great at dispelling most of the raw food/vegan/vegetarian dogmatic myths which are touted by the raw food and veg. community. I am an informed, conscientious, and rational vegetarian. And I encourage others to be the same.

Values Verified

The Black Iris — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:03:05 GMT

9/4/11 Sunday

Values are intrinsic to your paradigm. They are basically the things that you think are important and desirable in society and in life. At your core what do you think of as important, leaving out all the basic needs like food, shelter, clothing, etc.? People from both sides of the political fence are throwing this term around a lot. And that's an understatement. You hear the term family values and how some people with certain lifestyles are threatening the family values way of life. If you think that marriage is an intrinsically important part of life, then that is something that you value. If it is important to you to be free to speak your mind, then that is also a value. I believe the idea that something or someone can encroach upon that is erroneous thinking. For those who have "family values", they have an ideal nuclear family picture which they want to remain constant. There's a strict edict underlying their philosophy that purports to hold married heterosexual couples with children in the highest regard. And for some reason those of us who feel differently about this, make them feel threatened. But I don't think that their values can truly be threatened. If my preferences and ideals are different than yours, then it doesn't actually change yours or have any impact on you whatsoever. The problem is not that their values are threatened so much as that they want everyone to share their values. And that is simply unreasonable. If I don't want to have children at all as I am child-free by choice then I am automatically not sharing their values. I value my right to make my own procreative decisions.

I valued marriage long ago, but no longer do. It is something that we as human beings have created. We made it up. It is a legal process and nothing more. The pomp and circumstance, religious ritual, and bond between the people involved is what makes it sacred, not the actual legal act. It's no more sacred than filing a court document for any other purpose. Since so many things are more than the sum of their parts, marriage being no different, people and society have made it into something larger than life. It is so great and so enormous as to have totally eclipsed itself in our society. It has become a fixation. It has taken on an almost mythical power for us. It is built up beyond what its intentions are or ever were. With people thinking about it, looking for it, seeking it as an ultimate goal, it's not any wonder that marriages don't work out. Not only are people getting married to those who aren't right for them, but many times perhaps the people aren't right for marriage in the first place.

Your values aren't something that someone can change, you are usually forming them throughout your life and often changing them throughout your life. They aren't going to be changed by the right wing or the left wing. They aren't going to be changed any more than your preferred food, or your favorite color. We don't choose our preferences, they simply are. And values are like preferences. They are usually simply rooted in ethical and moral considerations in our psyches. I don't believe that any organization should seek to try to change anyone else's values. We should simply respect one another's choices. If you value the nuclear family and think that marriage between a man and a woman (only) are ultra important then that's fine. But I don't. I am not saying that I wouldn't get married again. Nor am I saying that marriage is a waste of time. But I am saying that it may not be as important as it once was. And I don't think it threatens marriage in general to feel that way or to have that opinion.

It is not always the lack of something that creates the harm, but the way in which society looks at it. I believe if our society was more accepting of out of certain taboos in society, then they would not have the stigma or negative impact that many studies supposedly suggest. I seriously cannot fathom how children can be happier with parents who stay together for them or get married because of them, than they would be with single, happy, free, and unencumbered parents who are separate and not making each other miserable. But perhaps there is also the consideration of how miserable they are and how much the children see and experience. People are often so dismissive of children, disregarding their feelings and invalidating their emotions as less than human. So many people forget or fail to realize that our emotional range and capacity are intrinsic in us. The only thing that changes is puberty and hormonal responses. But my emotional capacity is no different now than it was at 15 or at 10. My capacity for frustration, anger, happiness, sadness, joy are still the same. I'm simply grown up now, so people actually take me more seriously. I also have more language skills and am better able to articulate how and what I'm feeling.

I feel that one of my goals is to spread the message or idea that your values, the things that for you have ethical, moral standards of intrinsic worth are not threatened by me or anyone else who has a different set of criteria for basic tenets of intrinsic worth in their life. Gay marriage doesn't threaten straight marriage. Single parents don't threaten married parents. A woman choosing to have an abortion, use birth control, or dispense with procreating altogether doesn't threaten the family values paradigm. It is simply a different choice. It is ultimately dogma and rigidity that damage society and threaten our ways of life, whatever they may be.

Publishing Progress

The Black Iris — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:35:47 GMT

8/2/11 Tuesday

I finally published most of my completed works using Smashwords. They'll distribute to other retailers if the work qualifies. It's only a matter of formatting and technical stuff. I think my formatting is pretty good. I got no alerts after I published. I published my poetry chapbook, my short story Drops of Blood, which is a precursor to the soon to come novel Blood Bride, and my Sci-Fi short story Mission II. They even assign an ISBN number for free. So now they officially have ISBNs! I am working on preliminary book covers for my other works-in-progress.

There's a little e-book on marketing which I will read soon. I am really on a roll with getting all of my completed work out there for the world to see. Once it has all been published in as many formats, arenas, and with as many options as possible, I will work on completed works that are unfinished, like my novel, Memoirs of Mother, and other short stories which were begun and never finished. I feel really good about my writing. Better than I've ever felt.

Writing and Waiting

The Black Iris — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 01:35:33 GMT

8/1/11 Monday

I have actually made money from sale of my book! I had my eBook Goth Chick's Guide to NYC & Beyond on sale for Kindle and various other sites around the web for more than 2 years. And finally I got an e-mail from Amazon payments telling me that I made money. I was so shocked. I had given up on actually selling my non-fiction stuff. But this gives me new hope and vigor for the coming weeks, months, etc. I have written and began so many great short stories. I am going to make sure that the rest of my writing energies are spent completing and editing all of my work so that I have enough stuff to put together. I can make money with my writing. A couple of my short shorts are finished, but Amazon has an option for a book cover, which I didn’t even think about for a short story. I only thought of images for the books. But this is a digital age and I have to think in terms of covers, art, illustrations for everything now. I am working on covers for the short stories.

I will be relying on clip art since I have neither the time, skill, or patience for illustration. But it will suffice. I know people like to see images, not just the generic place holder images, but an actual personalized image. So that’s something I’ll be working on over the next few days.

I hope that people offer me helpful advice and feedback. I feel rather apprehensive about the feedback as we all know, people on the internet can be very cruel. I just hope I can get some criticism that is constructive. I know I tend to miss things with my ADD brain.

I just joined Amazon’s Author Central. It’s for writers who have stuff for sale on Amazon. I only have digital stuff for now. I am mostly interested in digital stuff until my novel is finished and then I want that to be an actual book in print. But I don’t wish to have it be available in hardcover first the way most books are; I would rather have it available in trade paperback and then pocket size, or straight to pocket paperback. Hardcover books are so large, heavy, and awkward.

The New Paradigm

The Black Iris — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:40:26 GMT

7/27/11 Wednesday

I am more hopeful and optimistic now that I’ve discovered a new EFT tapping technique to rid myself of hindering money blocks that my consciousness has put up. I am more inspired to make money doing what I love than ever. I am building a new paradigm for money and success.

I am working on a new Goth Chick’s Guide. It will be better than ever w/more photos. Photos of a thin new me! I am thinking of having some of the photos professionally done. As it will add a definite note of class to my project.

My wine guide is still a work in progress. I am thinking of aiming it natural food eaters. There aren’t really a lot of books out there that address wine & booze and natural/health food. I think there should be. I mean who among us hasn’t wondered what wine goes w/tofu steak? Or what wine would go w/that Tofurkey? I know I have. So that is the key. Of course as always my non-fiction will no longer be for sale as my income focus will be primarily on my fiction and the development of said fiction for printing, publishing, fame, & wealth purposes. I don’t just want to be a writer, but an author. There’s a difference. Writers write, authors get book advances.

New Findings

The Black Iris — Sun, 22 May 2011 20:47:09 GMT

4/22/11 Friday

Today is Earth Day and there’s a special Google design. But it’s not the sort which allows you to save the pic. It’s a link to a video or something. I haven’t checked it out, only saw it while looking up stuff. It is very pretty, even has animation.

I recently purchased a lapdesk for my laptop as well as a cooling fan to set it on while I’m doing a marathon of various activities on the computer. The cooling fan works about as well when it isn’t even connected as when it is. When it’s connected it blows and makes a noise, also has these pretty lights that make stuff glow. But the sound has made it difficult to hear videos that I’ve been watching online. These videos that are a bit on the low side and require you to turn the volume all the way up are further impeded by the noise of said cooling fan. So I turned it off/disconnected it, as it has a simple little USB cord. It (the laptop) seems to ventilate just as well resting on the cooling fan while it's off. Also the tiny fan blades tended to get caught up easily. It was only $4, so the plastic is a bit flimsy and works best on a hard, non-flexible surface. So the lapdesk being quite flexible isn’t an ideal setting for this cute little device.

I realized recently that the only way that I’ll be able to sit at my desk/work area for extended periods of time (at least 4 hours) is if I get an office chair. An office chair provides back support, can be raised and lowered and has armrests. Those are the things I need to make it as comfortable as possible. I never became fatigued back when I worked in an office b/c my chair was perfect once I adjusted it for myself.

Home Work

The Black Iris — Sun, 22 May 2011 20:42:38 GMT

4/18/2011

With my Ticket to Work, courtesy of the SSA, I have this GoToTraining class to complete. It is 3 days, 4 hours each. They gave us a choice of times. There was morning, out of the question. Then there was 2-6 or 8-12. That’s quite a jump. I was hoping there’d be more of an in-between. I chose the 2-6 slot. I completed it and passed. I received an e-mail stating that I am now NTI certified to be a Work at Home (WAH) customer service agent.

The instructor assigned to the class, Stacy Luchs, sounds almost exactly like the woman who played Marianne on True Blood’s 2^nd season. It’s quite uncanny. She (the character) vacillated so much between cool & creepy, that at times it can be off-putting. But mostly it’s cool. Then unfortunately the instructor became sick and lost her voice so she had to have a couple of different people sub for her.

One of the pieces of advice they gave us as disabled people was to make what’s called a functional resume. It’s a resume that focuses more on skills/achievements/education rather than work history. This focus will draw attention away from the gaps in our work history or the long time since we’ve worked as the case may be.

The Spam Stops Here!

The Black Iris — Sun, 22 May 2011 20:36:00 GMT

5/22/11 Sunday

To all of you, you know who you are, STOP posting nonsensical, inarticulate, waste-of-my-time gobbledygook that doesn't relate to or apply to the post it was written as comment for. STOP posting the same nonsensical comment for multiple postings; they are all marked as spam and then deleted. STOP commenting on my blog if you didn't understand it, didn't actually read it, or are simply trying to get me to go to some site that is corrupted with malware! I will disable comments for all of my posts both past and future if this doesn't cease and desist. I had no idea that so many morons would make repeated rubbish, asinine comments on my 2 blogs. I have posted this on the GothCeltGirl blog as well.

A New Year!

The Black Iris — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:40:00 GMT

1/11/11 Tuesday

It is a new year and I here at BIP have decided to focus my efforts solely on my fiction writing. I will no longer be offering my non-fiction e-Book for sale. If you’d like a copy of The Goth Chick’s Guide to NYC and Beyond just e-mail me and I’ll send you a copy. I’ll keep your info for when I write the follow-up sequel to the book. It may be a long time coming as it is not a primary focus at this time. All of my non-fiction is now free of charge! So simply e-mail me if you’d like something that is offered as a sale item. And I will update and make those changes as soon as I can.

Atkins Advocate

The Black Iris — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 21:00:00 GMT

12/31/10 Friday

I want to officially proclaim my support of Atkins and other low-carb diets. For many people that is the last and best resort. For people who are disabled or have limited mobility and are overweight, it can be the best option. There is very little exercise required for weight loss and maintenance. Not that I’m advocating being sedentary. I believe we should get adequate exercise and be as active as possible. But there is a large percentage of people for whom this is not possible. No one is happy being overweight, regardless of what they say.

Paranoia Press

The Black Iris — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:59:00 GMT

Monday, October 11, 2010

The last thing we need right now: another reason for people to think that Gothic subculture people are insane. Vampires stab housemate

Harnessing Health

The Black Iris — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:57:00 GMT

3/23/10 Tuesday

This issue of Healthcare reform being used to pay for abortions is a big concern for many anti-choice people. Because they do not want their tax money paying for something that they do not agree with. But have they forgotten that tax money already pays for abortions? Has everyone forgotten that Medicaid exists? When I, as a pregnant teen, had no money for an abortion, they gave me temporary Medicaid which paid for all of my needs. Tax money already pays for abortions. All of these arguments are moot points and more ways in which to fight the proposals of universal healthcare.

Pouring it On

The Black Iris — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:06:00 GMT

3/14/10 Sunday

High fructose corn syrup is the new debated health topic recently. As health concerns seem to be the new it thing, many people have demanded that it be curtailed. But with the recent ads proclaiming corn syrup as healthy in reasonable quantities, it can leave consumers confused as to all of the hype. Dr. Nancy Appleton, Ph.D. has discovered many items of note regarding the use of fructose as a sweetener. According to a Washington Post as well as a WebMD article, corn syrup tested contained mercury. But as opposing viewpoints abound you must be the judge and examine the evidence as well as think critically about the sources and information that you peruse.

Conversely PRNewswire has an article refuting, if not all, some of the aforementioned claims. They state that it is no different, nutritionally, than table sugar and that it doesn’t contribute to obesity any more than any other sugar type substance.

Given the demand for food that lasts longer and the fact that corn syrup aids in that process it seems a bit suspicious that organizations such as the ADA and the AMA who are contributed to largely by the pharmaceutical industry would draw such conclusions.

Fundamentals of Fertility

The Black Iris — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:04:00 GMT

3/14/10 Sunday

There needs to be more conscious and deliberate decision-making when it comes to people bearing children. They need to think of the consequences as well as the fact that they are going to have a cute little baby. Because, it isn’t just a baby, but a human being, a separate entity that is apart from you. Many parents think that their children will be clones or extensions of themselves. They are shocked and often disappointed to find out that this child grows into an individual and has different viewpoints and opinions than the parents. They may reject their child as being rebellious or contrary. They do not know how to foster a healthy relationship with the child once he/she become of an age where she/he can make their own decisions. They criticize their child for things going wrong in his/her life because the parents feels that if the child were more like them then he/she would do better, have a better life, etc.

In the case of fundamentalist parents they blame the world and secular evil for their child going astray. They make the child feel like a deviant for every opinion or viewpoint that they have that doesn’t fit into their safe world of what is considered holy and right thinking/living.

Fundamentalist parents often have mental illnesses that go untreated and undiagnosed, which can lead to a very unhappy childhood for the unknowing child. They are plunged into a world that is at first fascinating until they reach an age where they are surrounded by more rational people, such as at school etc. That is if they aren’t one of the ones that are home schooled. They’re lucky enough to be able to escape the clutches of the fundamentalist parents for a period of time and be exposed to other new ideas. These ideas are very threatening for the fundamentalist parent. They feel very uncomfortable with ideas that don’t fit into their tight fundamentalist bubble. Children’s worlds expand quickly as they grow up. Their mother’s are the center of their world and whatever siblings or grandparents may be present at first. Then their world expands when they are sent to school or daycare or something. They soon see that the world extends beyond the confines of their family and home.

Once a child reaches their adolescent years it can be even more of a challenge. As these children grow to adulthood and see that the world isn’t as black and white as the fundamentalist parent would have them believe they are met with more rigidity from the parents who are afraid of losing their grip on the son/daughter who they see as pulling away from the church and God. Some children think about and analyze the religious dogma and decide to reject it. These children often end up having a big wedge put between the parents and themselves. Especially if they embrace a life that is vastly different from that which they were raised to adhere to.

Cool Stuff

The Black Iris — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:00:00 GMT

3/15/10
I have discovered a wonderful site that allows you to personalize a variety of things such as postage, t-shirts, etc. You can even make a whole line of products with your own original artwork on it and then sell it to make royalties. The choices for merchandise are endless. There are so many wonderful designs to choose from with thousands of designs in many categories. Go to www.zazzle.com and look at all they have to offer.

Stem Cell Advancement

The Black Iris — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:16:00 GMT

Modified adult stem cells may be helpful in spinal cord injury

Researchers at UTHealth have demonstrated in rats that transplanting genetically modified adult stem cells into an injured spinal cord can help restore the electrical pathways associated with movement. The results are published in the Feb. 24 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

This is an interesting albeit technical article about new progress in stem cells.

Kitty Widdums Clubhouse

The Black Iris — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:20:00 GMT

I will be devoting my energy to this endeavor for a while. It is a product idea that I've been knocking around in my head. I have to build a prototype, find investors, come up with a business plan, and other various details. No problem whatsoever. I've got this. Stay tuned for the photos of the prototype of my Kitty Widdums Clubhouse.

Working on the Bugs

The Black Iris — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:28:00 GMT

I have just updated my site again, very small changes that only those of you who check it regularly may notice. I have added a favicon. That is the little icon next to the URL in your favorites and in your browser address line. Unfortunately I have not been able to figure out how to make it appear in IE which is, as most know, the most popular browser. It does however work in Firefox, so that is good, I suppose.

I have learned a lot about computers since first purchasing one almost 3 years ago. Now I have 2, a laptop and a desktop. I use my laptop primarily for business purposes. But of late I have also been forced to use it for entertainment as well. My laptop's computer hard drive space is extremely vast and it is faster with much better start up and shut down times. I hope to one day update the desktop to be faster as well as have a much larger hard drive with much more space.