Da Vinci Method – Do I need drugs ?

Recently, I started taking the drug Adderall to medicate my A.D.D. In addition, I began looking into books on the subject to try and get a better understanding of what it is. My understanding to this point had been — I have a short attention span. But, I guess I was pretty much undereducated on the subject based on all the research I have been doing.

There is a whole host of negatives in dealing with A.D.D., and that’s why I decided to try Adderall. I ran across this book call The Da Vinci Method that basically seems to indicate that adult A.D.D. is actually a product of repressing natural traits/attributes. It says that only 10% of people have this “Da Vinci” trait. At first I thought the book might be a big pile of crap because it’s very title seems to be about telling you that you are a “Da Vinci”.. an “artist” and makes me thinking that it’s capitalizing on the Da Vinci Code hype. It states that the “artist” can become the “neurotic” if they repress the way their brain works and try to conform to how other people’s brains work. (that 90%). The “neurotic” in the author’s belief is ADD, so be believes it’s the result of repression, not a disorder.  A good way through the book, I realized it was describing every little detail about what I hate about myself and I consider weaknesses when talking about the neurotic.

So it’s worth a try to figure out what this guy is saying and see if it helps me. I’ve read a good deal of the book, but I am not done yet. Even if you don’t have A.D.D., it’s a good read. But I also think it is kind of condescending in some ways to people who aren’t what they define as the “Da Vinci” type, as it almost makes the other 90% sound like drones. It gives a big list of successful people who fit this definition who are brilliant, so it kind of paints it as they are like “heroes” of the world. It also notes that if you have this trait, but you don’t utilize it and work on fulfilling your needs as a Da Vinci, you will basically become “neurotic”. I can’t attest to being that brilliant guy at the moment, but I can definitely identify with feeling neurotic as of late!!

So the book basically says that the stimulants such as Adderall actually change my brain waves and slow me down, but it also represses the way my brain best functions. So… I’m gonna have to think about it. Cause the adderall is providing a even keel for a good part of the day and I am getting to sleep easier. But there is a part that I can’t really describe in words that feels odd. Maybe it’s just relief in that I don’t have to be constantly analyzing things. And it’s no surprise to me that I am writing this before taking my pill this morning!! The pill is actually kind of sweet if you taste it, unlike most pills that are bland/chalky tasting. — in case you are wondering.

Well, whether or not the whole shebang is truth or not, it’s definitely got alot of truth in it, and I’ve already begun utilizing some of the techniques in the book such as submitting questions to your mind in search of solutions. Sounds silly to some maybe, but it worked last night. I submitted a question regarding clarity about a situation, and my dreams were very much along the lines of the question. Upon waking up I analyzed my dreams and actually looked at the situation in a completely different light than I had before. I came to a conclusion that I believe can be a catalyst to change —a motivation. So… I guess I’ll be trying this some more to see if it’s not just a freak occurrence.

Well, either way I don’t think I’ll be painting anytime soon. But the other day I became very interested in inventing a true universal remote that would render all other remotes useless and expand with your system. For all of about 15 minutes. Hit me up if you want the details, I probably won’t move on it anytime soon.

myADD American Idol Picks

 

Now that it’s down to the final 6 contestants, I think the contest is going to be a little bit more about showmanship, personality and individuality. It’s obvious that all of them can sing quite well.

The bottom 2 will be Phil and Lakisha. Lakisha should stay in my opinion, but I kind of feel like it’s going to be her exit this week based on their performances this week. I will say that there is a chance that Phil will leave this week, and I wouldn’t be disappointed in the least.

70% chance of leaving

Lakisha Jones – She’s really got alot of talent and she might be the most impressive to me in some ways because she was a bank teller before this. That voice was working as a bank teller… just amazing. I think her best performances were when the song was aggressive and powerful in terms of vocals. In one of her first performances — “You’re gonna love me” — she hit the essence of what could make her American Idol. In my opinion she really hasn’t hit that chord quite as solidly since. If she makes it to next week, she needs to be looking for a song that allows for that essence to show itself again. I don’t think she could win this contest, but if she gets back to where she started, she could be in the top 3.

 30% chance of leaving

Phil Stacey – In my opinion he’s got the least personality out of the remaining group and in general he’s kind of plain and even boring. It never feels like the songs he sings mean too much to him. His voice sounds good, but there’s a difference between sounding good and bringing out emotion in the way you sing a song. Tonight with Bono performing, he should pay close attention as he could probably learn quite a bit from him in this area. Unfortunatey, I don’t think there’s a chance he might be going home and might never get to put anything he learns into action. I think his vocals on his last performance have nudged him ahead of Lakisha. No chance at winning this contest though.

 

Chris Richardson – I think he has absolutely no chance at winning American Idol. But I believe his last performance – Change the World – will keep him around another week. We don’t need a Justin Timberlake wannabe, he seems like that’s what he is. The nasally thing really doesn’t appeal to me either. Let’s face it, he’s probably got 2 more performances tops to show some kind of real individuality.  

Blake Lewis – I really like Blake, I just don’t think he can make the audience feel the way Melinda and Jordin can. He’s really not all that original in my opinion, he’s just more cutting edge than the typical American Idol contestant. But I think that’s definitely enough to get him into the top 3 if Lakisha fades away. Phil and Chris couldn’t possibly match up to him.

Jordin Sparks – I think right now she’s literally on the brink of stealing this whole contest away from Melinda Doolittle. There’s no way she isn’t in the top 2, and if she is able to improve even more in the next few weeks, she could take it all. I really can’t say exactly what she could change to help her beat Melinda, other than maybe song choice. Oh.. maybe if there was some way to make her look slimmer or shorter… She really does make Ryan look like a hobbit. She’s getting talent votes, she could probably get more “attractive” votes if she picked the right outfit and did some toning. Don’t get me wrong, she’s pretty already. But she could accentuate her body a bit more and get more votes. Remember Antonella ?? I know.. I know.. she’s only 17.. But, how old was Britney when she was came onto the scene ? Did her look have anything to do with her success ? I think we all know the answer to that.

Melinda Doolittle – This is definitley her contest to lose at this point. I think similar to Jordan, I think her “look” could really play a part now that we are down to details. Not saying she needs a makeover or anything, but honestly I think her wardrobe could win her votes. It sounds so silly, but what she was wearing this past week, actually had me thinking “what is she wearing” for the first 10-15 seconds of the performance. So.. dress for success is I guess what I am saying.

Lukey’s 3rd Birthday at Chuck E Cheeses

This was Luke’s first Birthday where he actually comprehended that it was a special day for him, and maybe even understood what it meant. When we woke up in the morning, I was making a big deal out of it being his Birthday and he exclaimed “I’m a kid!!”. So I think he understood on some level that it was a new beginning of some sort. I’m hoping that new beginning involves some potty training successes rather rapidly.

The Chuck E Cheeses that we went to seemed to be alot smaller than the last one I was at a year or two back. This one seemed a bit smaller, and lacked the larger scale attractions of the other establishment. This one had the videogames, ski-ball and some smaller rides — Bob the Builder, Barney, Chuck E Cheese, etc. They basically assume that the child wants to ride with these characters. I think one display of maturity from Luke was that he kind of seemed to not want Bob or Barney riding with him, and he wouldn’t even get in the car with Chuck E Cheese.  It was like he actually ignored Barney and Bob. I saw another kid riding with Barney and actually had his hand on Barney’s knee throughout the whole ride.

Luke’s favorite ride was the big monster truck that moved for all of like 1 minute when you put a token in. It just puzzles me why they do this. a quarter for 1 minute ??? We are eating the crappiest pizza known to man at an inflated price and we get 1 minute ?? Ok, I got 20 tokens free, so I was able to get past that and enjoy the party.

I was amazed by all these kids running around spending .25 cent tokens to collect tickets that are worth 1/50th of what the value that token . But since they have no inkling of any kind of currency exchange they seem okay with the fact that a .10 cent tootsie roll might have cost them $2. Believe me, while standing there looking at things to buy with our tickets, I was ready to talk with a manager before I caught myself. I was outraged.  I think Luke’s complete disinterest in the whole tickets situation was what sucked me in to caring about those tickets. I was the keeper of the tickets, and as they amassed in my pocket I was getting a little excited about what we might be able to get him when we were done. But… in the end, anything in our ticket range was complete and utter crap. Toys made out of the crappiest plastic you could find and in many cases very vaguely representing the intended animal or object.

 But, it was Luke’s day, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. He explored every inch of the place in 30 second increments. Something tells me that he’s got my ADD, cause everything was the grandest thing ever for that whole 30 seconds and then the next 30 seconds it was yesterday’s news to him.

Is myADD in danger ?

Last night I went to the doctor and got prescribed a medication called Adderall for my ADD. I embrace my ADD, but there are some things about it that can be pretty tough on your life. My mind is constantly taking detours and analyzing things way beyond any useful need in most cases. This makes it pretty hard for me to get to sleep, cause my mind tends to race at night making it impossible to fall asleep at night.

So, I’ll be taking the first pill this morning and I might actually function like a normal person today. The doc said that Adderall is a stimulant, which would seem to be exactly what I don’t need, but should slow my brain down and help me focus (and get to sleep easier). Maybe it works by speeding your brain up and tiring it out. I haven’t really read up on it, I got distracted by too many things last night. Maybe I can find some time to research it today when it starts working.

There are more than a few medications out there for ADD, but for some reason I am somewhat comforted by going with one that has ADD in the name of the medication. My most pressing question is regarding why it says b 972 on the back of every pill. 1/0 on the front for some reason doesn’t bother me in the least, it’s binay, therefore it has to be logical. (I’m assuming that it’s the front of the pilll…. but how does one really know)

If anyone out there has taken Adderall, I’d love to hear about your experience with this drug — like side effects or super powers it might include in it’s arsenal. Telekenesis would be a welcome side effect, but it’s more likely along the lines of some really bad diarrhea.

Heroes – Is this getting good or what ?

I was completely floored by last nights episode of Heroes, it’s now officially my favorite show. That’s saying quite a bit with the Sopranos and Entourage back in full swing. Don’t you just love these full cast pictures ?

My only question is why Mohinder didn’t kill Sylar after he knocked him out just after he killed Peter. But I guess you might be a little gushy after being plastered to the ceiling for a little while and coming face to face with death. But, then again he did shove the big board into him, so why not finish the job ?? Why stop there ?But, I am more than willing to overlook that part because Sylar is probably one of the best villains ever. You gotta admit he’s pretty resourceful, using all that glass as daggers with his telekenesis was genius. I think Peter is a good guy, but he seems to be a much slower learner than sylar. I think invisibility matched with telekenesis should pretty much trump anything Sylar has at this point. Peter just went invisible and based on the fact he was turned away when he got hit by the shard that went into his brain… he was in “flee” mode.

Unlike Lost, this episode changed alot of things and really didn’t wipe the table clean of all the mysteries you’d been exploring — with no explaination at all. This episode actually opened up a whole new set of mysteries and maintained consistency. You can tell that this story was incredibly well thought out, and they aren’t just thinking things up on the fly like what the writers for Lost seem to be doing these days.

Lady Sovereign – Those were the days ??

Is it just me or is it odd for a 19 year old to rap about last week like it was decades ago ?

I found this video on YouTube, and it’s reminiscent in some ways to Ice Cube’s “It was a good day”…similar…

Disneyland technology to fight war in Iraq ?

It seems like one consistency with the war in Iraq is the use of people with bombs strapped to their bodies walking into a well populated area. It made me think “What kind of defense can you have for that ?”. How do you protect yourself from a seemingly nice pregnant woman walking your way, who just might have enough explosives strapped to her to blow up a building ?

I think you have to get creative in solving problems like these. I told myself there has to be some creative ways to lessen the bloodshed in such a war. And last night, I pondered — Animatronics.

We have an enemy that’s strategy is depleting our forces in multiples — 1 nice pregnant woman can blow up 15 soldiers. Basically, it’s all a numbers game. So, if we could create more “targets”, you reduce the amount of actual bloodshed.

So if we start mixing in animatronic soldiers with real soldiers, we can reduce the death toll as well as give the impression of a larger troop presence. Do you think these people with bombs strapped on their bodies are really going to be that careful about figuring out if their targets are animatronic or not ? I think when you get talked/threatened into strapping a bomb to your body, I think you are pretty much looking to get it over with as quick as possible. I think you probably still get your virgins in heaven, cause it’s the thought that counts, right ?

It sounds silly… doesn’t it ? But, it’s really a similar concept to a dummy in a cop car parked on the side of the road, or even a scarecrow in a corn field.

Yeah… I’d codename the project “scarecrow”.

3 Gold-Diggers and a baby

Wouldn’t it be great to have a reality show with these three living together trying to raise a baby ??

 All three of them daily trying to win the affections of the Golden Egg that Anna Nicole Smith laid.This kid is in for a rough life being as it’s likely that these three characters are going to be commonplace for her over the next 18 years or so.

Baldwin and Basinger squealing like vile little pigs

     Even though Baldwin’s remarks were just totally unacceptable, I get the feeling that momma Basinger is no little angel in all of this. It takes 2 to raise a vile little pig. Well, I can’t really say that the young girl is a vile little pig or not, but if she is… I’m sure that both of them have contributed to that in some way or another.

I am thinking that this is more about Kim and Alec than about their child. Both of them are acting like vile little pigs and are doing whatever they can to villify the other. The way Alec spoke about Kim — mother of his daughter — in that message is just as disturbing as calling his daughter a vile little pig. 

As much as I didn’t care at first about this whole debacle, at the moment I would definitely love to have a reality TV show based on this family. Isn’t the real viewing entertainment after the breakup occurs ? Nick and Jessica were the Newlyweds, isn’t it time for a nice reality show about a child custody battle between two Hollywood stars ? They have to live in the same house until the custody battle is completed. Could it really get any better than that ? Maybe the finale is the child voting one of the parents out of the house ??

Hooked on Brain Age

I recently got Brain Age for my son Jake’s Nintendo DS, and now I am hooked on it. The game tests your brain with various exercises, and then gives you a “Brain Age” based on how well you did. The optimum Brain Age is 20 according to the Doc.

So far my best score has been 22, which is quite an improvement over my initial 70 I got the first time I played.  Actually, in my opinion, my handwriting was that of a 70 year old, and my brain was probably closer to 40. Some of the exercises rely on you drawing out numbers or letters with the little stylus pen, and that can sometimes lead to making you look really dumb if your handwriting sucks.

There are also some exercises that rely on voice recognition which is kind of impressive for a little game like this. It also tracks your progress with little graphs that you can compare to other people’s data. I have been playing it with a few people in the office, so it’s fun to see ho you compare against co-workers.

Sometimes the doc also has you draw picturs of things like a firetruck, kangaroo, and even Mona Lisa. Then he’ll show you other people’s drawings as compared to yours. Thankfully he doesn’t grade you on your artistic ability, cause my pictures are pretty bad.