http://www.newsweek.com/id/57368
You see! I knew that it was a good idea for me to be a slob. It keeps my family healthy and more resistant to disease. Hooray! So much for the ultrasanitized lifestyle. Germs are good.
This was a very interesting article that described the relationship between bacteria and other microbes and our bodies, and the importance of that relationsip. Being overly clean and sanitary, especially while children are young, can actually have a negative effect because we are not colonized by certain helpful types of microbes, and can become more susceptible to certain types of diseases, including autoimmune diseases and even cancer. An interesting read, and some interesting research going on right now.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Spelunking in REM
I have several recurring dreams that revolve around caves. There are three that come to mind.
The first involves a trip to a hole in the ground, from which I descend, with several others, none of whom I know (though at least one person, a man, is always there), into a vast cavern. Once you reach the bottom, there is much to explore, though the details of any exploring escape my memory. Mostly I remember that I get to the hole, go down, wander around a bit, and come back up. This one is quite tame.
The second involves a cave which I have also visited many times, sometimes with others, such as my family, sometimes with strangers, and sometimes alone. I don't remember much about the mouth of the cave, most of what I remember from these dreams is that the cave is huge, and is a lost/abandoned city. I remember taking trips to grocery stores where anything you want can be taken from the shelves. I remember visting the house of a really creepy, mysterious, old lady who still lived in the cave. I remember there being dangerous paths and crossings, and various determinations to find things of importance.
The third repeated itself again last night. In this dream, I remember clearly the hike to the mouth of the cave. Last night, I was the first to get there. When I got there, I realized that I had nothing to drink. In my dream, I remembered that the last time that I had been there (in reality the last time I had dreamed that I had been there), I had had a backpack with a water bottle. Fortunately, there is a convenience store at the top of the mountain where the cave mouth is. I went in, and was considering a gatorade, but they were quickly snatched up by other shoppers. Fortunately, I found a nice water bottle on a shelf and purchased it. In this dream, I remember the mouth of the cave, I remember my drinking needs, and then I am all of the sudden in the cave, on my back, fighting off lunging tigers or leopards or something, which are trying to get at the food that is covering me. I don't know what kind of food, or where it came from, only that I can get them off of me by grabbing their heads, and using my legs to heave them off of a cliff. Last night, I fended off dozens of animals, and remembered that last time I had been in the cave (or the last time that I dreamed it), that I had been pleasantly surprised that I had only had to fight off one tiger/leopard/creature.
Gotta love dreams.
On a completely unrelated cave note, did anyone see this?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleries/giant-crystals-cave/index.html
The first involves a trip to a hole in the ground, from which I descend, with several others, none of whom I know (though at least one person, a man, is always there), into a vast cavern. Once you reach the bottom, there is much to explore, though the details of any exploring escape my memory. Mostly I remember that I get to the hole, go down, wander around a bit, and come back up. This one is quite tame.
The second involves a cave which I have also visited many times, sometimes with others, such as my family, sometimes with strangers, and sometimes alone. I don't remember much about the mouth of the cave, most of what I remember from these dreams is that the cave is huge, and is a lost/abandoned city. I remember taking trips to grocery stores where anything you want can be taken from the shelves. I remember visting the house of a really creepy, mysterious, old lady who still lived in the cave. I remember there being dangerous paths and crossings, and various determinations to find things of importance.
The third repeated itself again last night. In this dream, I remember clearly the hike to the mouth of the cave. Last night, I was the first to get there. When I got there, I realized that I had nothing to drink. In my dream, I remembered that the last time that I had been there (in reality the last time I had dreamed that I had been there), I had had a backpack with a water bottle. Fortunately, there is a convenience store at the top of the mountain where the cave mouth is. I went in, and was considering a gatorade, but they were quickly snatched up by other shoppers. Fortunately, I found a nice water bottle on a shelf and purchased it. In this dream, I remember the mouth of the cave, I remember my drinking needs, and then I am all of the sudden in the cave, on my back, fighting off lunging tigers or leopards or something, which are trying to get at the food that is covering me. I don't know what kind of food, or where it came from, only that I can get them off of me by grabbing their heads, and using my legs to heave them off of a cliff. Last night, I fended off dozens of animals, and remembered that last time I had been in the cave (or the last time that I dreamed it), that I had been pleasantly surprised that I had only had to fight off one tiger/leopard/creature.
Gotta love dreams.
On a completely unrelated cave note, did anyone see this?
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/04/photogalleries/giant-crystals-cave/index.html
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