Official LegendaryLife.com Blog

Maybe a few thousand years ago the fact that somebody got to a certain age meant something but these days, the odds are, you can sit on your ass, doing little with your life to achieve these milestones. As such, what value do birthdays really have?

My own views about my birthday

I celebrated my 31st birthday a few months ago, to be frank, my own birthday had no real value to me. To me, a birthday marks a milestone of achieving one more year on Earth 6ft above ground. I use my birth date every year to review what I did during the previous year and make modifications based on a few days of reflection. This year, I was camping on a remote beach, maybe next year at the top of a mountain, who knows.

What happened to our Species?

I see the rampant over-glorification of birthdays all over the place, from million dollar mega parties for sweet sixteens (????) to people hitting the bar to get as piss drunk as possible in celebration. I just do not get it, I know somebodies birthday is today and I am questioning myself as to how to not take away from their perceived excitement yet still be true to myself. I don’t force my views on anybody else but I don’t hide my views neither.

In my case, if I was living out in the jungle (or Savannah) for 31 years, I would be a grandfather by now with more then my fair share of bruises and broken bones from daily hunting excursions. I would have vivid stories to tell of when I spent an entire day with elephant crap all over my body after being told by my brother Click-Clack that it was mud. I would be able to point to my legs with gashes a few inches long and say how a bear almost ripped off my leg but I stabbed him in the heart right on time or how a horny bat wouldn’t leave me alone while out hunting one day. THERE WOULD BE STORIES TO TELL! I would have beaten the odds that would be stacked against me from the very day of my birth. I would be lucky to see the age of 40 years old! I would be considered an upcoming elder who has managed to help the tribe achieve some important milestones such as an infant mortality rate of only 20% in the first 5 years of life, providing meat for my 20+ kids and be so sun baked that I would physically look like I was 60 years old. Wow… 31 is HUGE, too bad I missed out due to me living in this modernized mono-culture we call civilized life. Of course, I could have also been one of those unlucky 20% of kids and never seen the age of five, life goes both ways.

Life is too easy

I was reading an article on CNN in which antidepressants, medication used by people to treat depression, are the most prescribed drug category in the United States. What is even more depression (pun intended) is these rates are skyrocketing. Why? I believe our modern life has gotten far too easy and predictable to the point that people are unable to cope with change or worse, unable to cope with the life they have lead to this point. They need their medication simply to get through another day!

Going back to birthdays, imagine being showered with gifts for doing something that unless you where very unlucky in life or just plane dumb, was a given. Am I the only one who thinks this is a rather empty celebration?

Alternatives: Celebrate Achievements, Not Birthdays

Yes, that’s right, if you graduate university, that is an achievement, by all means, have a small celebration. Your great uncle reached the age of 90 years old and is hoping around town chasing girls half his age… yes, that deserves a pint of beer at the local bar. One of your nephews businesses have achieved a million dollars in sales… again, party time. Do you see what I am coming at? We should get rid of this whole birthday celebration stuff and instead celebrate real achievements in our modern society. Birthdays are meaningless while achievements, big and small, are something really worth celebrating. These will be remembered and a highlight of a life when we are all on our death beds taking in our last breath.

To me, the things I look back upon so far in my short life are about both the great successes and tremendous failures I have achieved so far, each with their lessons. I can honestly look back and say, so far, I have a very good track record of LIVING MY LIFE. Birthdays, well, I cannot remember any gifts I received but I do remember the people.

Exceptions

Of course, people who have had very difficult lives deserve great birthdays, especially those who are unfortunate to suffer from medical or mental conditions. It can help lighten the mood and put their lives back in focus.

The Bottom Line

This is worth repeating, celebrate achievements, not birthdays.

Reference
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/07/09/antidepressants/index.html

When ever you have enough people wanting anything, there is a market niche created which others will choose to exploit (not necessarily in a bad way). Well, with all the online dating sites, people who now suffer from HIV Disease (AIDS), Herpes or other incurable but treatable sexually transmitted diseases can now find like partners to share their lives with. This solves one problem at the expense of creating another.

Sobering STDs Facts

I do remember reading while back that there is a 50% chance of being infected with at least one STD throughout our lifetime, some are treatable, some are not. Before we delve into the world of dating with STDs, let’s review a few key facts thanks to the Center for Disease Control:

• condoms do not ELIMINATE the risk of acquiring an STD but they are an effective method towards reducing risk
• abstinence is not 100% effective but the best method of STD prevention
• pregnancy provides NO protection against STDs and may be harmful to the child while passing thought the birth canal
• one in every 250 people living in the United States has HIV Disease (2/3 don’t know it)
• most STD carriers show no symptoms, hence most don’t know they got them
• STDs are common across all age, race, sexual orientation, social and economic backgrounds
• acquiring STDs don’t just happen “down there”, for instance, Gonorrhea can also infect the eye and live in our mouths while HIV Disease can be acquired by sharing bodily fluids (ei: blood transfusion)
• acquiring one STD increases the risk of acquiring more
• herpes infection in the USA are 25% for woman, 20% for men!

Dating with STDs

People with STDs often feel alone and once over the initial shock of diagnosis, find it hard to find new partners. STDs become a huge barrier to dating the general public hence why dating sites catering to those suffering from an STD are booming online.

Giving hope where there is little

Some STDs are curable, so for those people, regular dating sites are fine but if you suffer from Herpes, Syphilis or a host of other diseases, these sites give hope to those who may have a tough time otherwise.

If you got HIV Disease for instance, I think it would be far better to live out the rest of your 10 - 15 years sharing the experience with a lover instead of sitting next to a window waiting for the Grim Reaper to make an appearance. I think these sites are also a fantastic ice breaker as well, you don’t have to deal with “when do I tell my partner I have XYZ” as you both have the condition on a site specializing in it.

STD Dating Sites

Unlike most online dating sites that cater finding your equal, many of these sites also serve a dual purpose of sharing and community. One thing that irks me is why few of these sites have any “about us” page, if you suffer from a disease as personal as an STD, wouldn’t you want to know a bit about the background before revealing yourself to the online world?

hivpassions.com
A 100% FREE online dating & social networking site for HIV Positive Singles. Being HIV+ doesn’t mean the end to dating, or making new friends. Sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards and email.

herpespassions.com
A 100% FREE online dating & social networking site specifically for singles who have herpes. 1 out of every 5 women in the U.S. have herpes, and 1 out of every 4 men…so there are plenty of people dealing with this issue. Herpes Passions is here to help singles with either HSV-1, HSV-2, or both, meet one another. Based on statistics, you’re pretty likely to meet people with herpes on any dating site you join, but on this one, people know about it ahead of time.

mpwh.com
Meet People with Herpes is a huge online community of people where fantastic friendships are made. Although set up as a dating and social website, it has become a caring community of thousands of people. Participation can be as anonymous as you want, and membership is free, although there is a fee for upgraded services.

PositiveSingles.com
This is an exclusive community for singles and friends with STDs. Here you can get on with your life and meet new friends, partners or potential spouses. If you just need to find someone to talk to or give them help or advice, this is the best place. Never feel lonely again!

positivespot.com
Welcome To PositiveSpot the premier Online community specifically designed for men and women living with STD’s. Standard Membership is free and no credit card required. Instantly create your own personal profile with photos, video and audio.. Find a date, a lasting friendship or soul mate.

PozCity.com
Providing a community for those with HIV/AIDS. Join Now and meet others make new friends, or meet your soulmate.

PozGroup
PozGroup.com is a place where you can find friendship, support, and even love with STD. HPV dating, STD dating, Herpes dating, STD singles, Herpes picture, STD relationship, STD match, STD marriage.

stdmatch.net
We understand at times it is difficult especially in the beginning stages of learning about herpes or if you have been rejected in the past. That is why we created STD Match! Find others in your area today who have herpes and share your outlook on dating. It is free to join and you can start communicating right away in our forums! Then sign up for direct anonymous communicating and more features. Sign up today FREE!

stdpassions.com
A free online dating & social networking site where singles with STD’s can meet. Having a sexually transmitted disease does not mean the end of loving relationships. Sign up now to enjoy free chat, message boards and email.

The Bottom Line

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Reference
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/conditions/02/27/std.internet/index.html
http://www.cdc.gov/std/

Of course, the cheapest way clean anything is to simply not clean it at all but that isn’t an option unless your a dorm room student. The second easiest and effective cleaning method is to use steam, which is what I think no home should be without but the third is to mix common household chemicals when a liter of gas with a match simply won’t do.

Acid: Vinegar

Look in your kitchen, I am sure you have something acidic like, say, vinegar. Now, mix this vinegar with equal parts water (ratio 1:1) in a spray bottle… all done! Acids are great at dissolving tough stains and especially against mineral buildups, I use to use a liter of pure vinegar in my water distillation machine and it would work better on its own then all the scrubbing in the world. The additional benefit of using a common household acid like vinegar is that it’s cheap, easy to find anywhere in the world and you can eat off it right afterwards without fear of being poisoned.

Oxidizer: Hydrogen Peroxide

Say you have a stain that simply won’t go away, be it on carpet or marble on a counter top where leaving vinegar on there for an extended period of time will do more harm then good. Well, this is where Hydrogen Peroxide comes in, although H2O2 is a weak acid, it’s a fantastic oxidizer, antiseptic and anti-bacterial agent. Throw a bit of this onto the vinegar:water solution you made up and this will speed up the chemical process significantly.

Base: Baking Soda

Let’s say you go a little crazy with the vinegar around the house and start to see some discoloration or things start to feel a little funny, don’t throw water on it, throw a base such as baking soda. This will neutralize any chemical reactions going on, including those enhanced with the power of Hydrogen Peroxide. You can also use baking soda as a scouring agent, vinegar is great for most applications when diluted with water but it doesn’t provide the grit needed for really tough stains like in bathtubs. Baking soda also has additional properties that make it great for around the house, it’s an incredibly effective deodorizer (especially on carpets), tarnish remover (just mix it with warm water), fabric softener, incredibly effective poison ivy rash treater and you can even mix it with cocaine to make crack! How is that for diversity!

Ultimate Weapon: Alcohol

I am not asking you to pour Jack Daniels on your stains but if you are really having a tough time with some stains, diluted alcohol works great, especially on hard surfaces. Unlike Hydrogen Peroxide, which is also an oxidizer, alcohol has the added benefit of dehydration in addition to being a very strong base. Put another way, if a mixture of water + vinegar + hydrogen perodixde doesn’t to the job, try it again using alcohol, you can also throw in a bit of baking soda as well.

Summary

Well, I have now provided you with the power of knowledge, you no longer need to buy ANY store cleaners for the rest of your life, this will save you a small fortune, protect the environment and get your house just as clean without any ill effects of touching or breathing in harmful fumes. I personally prefer to use a steam cleaner myself, but these compounds are just as effective.

Do be careful though, just because these items are easily bought and relatively safe, these same compounds can make for a very explosive situation, so work your way up to higher concentrations on those pesky stains. Remember those elementary school science projects showcasing the power of volcano using baking soda and vinegar, well, this is what your are playing with.

The Bottom Line

Knowledge is a very powerful weapon in the face of consumer mass marketing of household cleaning products.

On June 9th, I decided to go visit the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, it was an interesting experience being able to swim with the fishes and see a lot of corals but what I wasn’t expecting was a severe bout of Seasickness on the way back. This proves my own personal theory that I am not a descendant of any great maritime explorers, I was at ocean for only 8 hours on a 30ft catamaran with 25 knot winds… I can only imagine how it would feel like immigrating to North America via wooden boat in the ocean for months!

What is Seasickness?

Also known as Mal de Mer, seasickness is basically motion sickness, it affects people not only in boats, you can get it in the car, plane and even on trips to the International Space Station! What drove me crazy is that others on the boat where having a great time, sipping champaign and eating really good food while I felt like I got hit by a Mac Truck. It also hit me fast, one minute I was fine, the next I was finding out how much food was left to be digested in my stomach.

What does Seasickness feel like?

We are now July 10th and I still feel a little bit under the weather, the only thing I can compare it to is a wicked hangover. The only difference is that instead of the “spinning” effect getting drunk on alcohol provides, an equally nauseating “rolling” wave action is felt when you lie down. The nice thing about seasickness is that once you remove the cause, the symptom almost disappear right away. In my case, I was happy to be on dry land again, but the effects of throwing up a few times tied in with a few hours of snorkeling under the hot sun probably lead me to becoming dehydrated. As a result, I was wiped out physically, I slept great but still have some effects today.

Does Motion Sickness only affect wimps?

I wouldn’t think so but who knows, the weaker your body, the more prone you are to motion sickness, the fact that up to 50% of astronauts use some medication to prevent motion sickness can be interpreted either way.

What causes Seasickness?

Seasickness, as with motion sickness, is caused by brain confusion. Your eyes, inner ear and body are all giving different signals to the brain, as a result, it doesn’t know what the hell to do but turn you into an instant bulimic. You would have thought a natural response would be to sleep but the brain works in wonderful ways sometimes.

How to cause Seasickness

Stick yourself in a situation where you are surrounded by items that are not moving while you are moving, great place to start is below deck on a very small boat. The more enclosed the area without views of the horizon, the better… be sure to throw in a few jolts here and there, again, while neither you nor your direct environment show any signs of movement. Now you know how to prevent it! There are medications out there such as Gravol that work towards preventing motion sickness, in hind sight, that is what I should have taken before my trip out to the Great Barrier Reef!

The Bottom Line

Seasickness is easy to avoid, just don’t go out at Sea!

Reference
http://seasickness.co.uk

The only difference between success and failure, happiness and depression is perception. Perception paints our lives in colors of our choosing, perception lies in the heart of every action and most importantly, perception is what molds us to be who we are and how we show ourselves to the world.

Perception is defined

Put a glass of water in front of you but only fill it half way. Is the glass half full or half empty? I figure the odds of somebody saying either statement is the same as a coin toss. This is a classic case of how the same thing is uniquely perceived in two different ways, based on the background, knowledge and experiences of an individual. What I find even more interesting is that those who may perceive the glass to be half empty may see this in a positive light while another person negative. In the end, it doesn’t matter how you define things, it only matters how you perceive things.

What does perception got to do with me?

Both everything and nothing. Take into consideration that EVERYTHING you see, smell or taste goes straight into brain the same way as everybody else but the interpretation is uniquely yours. What might smell great to you might make another person nauseas. Taken a little further, your entire character, lifestyle or predicament in life is heavily influenced by your own perception of the situation. That 9-5 job you toil away on a daily basis, this may be your greatest source of success or dread in life, depending on your perception but also the perceptions of those around you. Perception you see, can be influenced rather easily by others around you if you are weak of mind. Marketing is a classic example of what can happen, you never had a need then you see an ad a few times, by the end the day, deep inside, you feel left out if you don’t purchase xyz item.

Ambiguity of Perceptions

I hope that you can now see how un-black-and-white the whole idea of perception is, now tack onto this the fact that we spend our entire lives pushed and pulled by perception. What is reality but a host of perceptions characterized by the environment we live in, the people we socialize with and our own internal feelings. We tend to see perception in a very limited way while actually, it defines our ENTIRE LIVES. If you saw The Matrix (movie), everything that “sleeping” people see is based off computer algorithms, well, perception is the same way except that it’s completely self-defined. Perception is so self-defined in fact, that separating thoughts from perception is just about impossible.

Perpetual Happiness?

Evolutionarily speaking, mother nature doesn’t care if we are happy or not, only that we reproduce “thrive” in the environment we find ourselves in. Sometimes those who are the most depressed have the most children, their only source of joy is having offspring while sometimes the opposite holds true. What I am trying to say is that no matter what you do or, more importantly, perceive things to be, nobody cares, not even mother nature. We all have ulterior motives behind each action we do, sometimes they are pure altruism while other times the cost doesn’t come to bear until time has elapsed a little more.

Quick Summary

Now that we have undefined perception and happiness, we can delve into why people DON’T do things. You see, not doing things is easy, doing them is hard as it is a predicator of additional work having to be done. For instance, your brain perceives that in three months you will not be able to pay the mortgage. There are two courses of action, one is to be depressed and do nothing while the other is to actively find a solution before the deadline hits. Doing nothing is easy but it will hit you with a tonne of bricks a few months from now, doing something beyond buying lottery tickets, is hard, as it may mean you put your house for sale, get a new job or make additional sacrifices.

I hope that you have come to the realization that your internal feelings are simply a perception as well. If you are sad, it’s because you perceive yourself as so while if you are happy, again, perception is defining this for you as well. As such, you can always modify your perception at a drop of a hat to be what you find most efficient in any particular case. Sometimes being depressed is a good thing, other times, detrimental… but this is always under YOUR control.

Why Not?

Alright, I hope the above has sunk in at least a little because now we deal with the question I ask myself before I do anything kinda crazy… Why Not? This is a very dangerous question as it can lead to spectacular changes in your life which don’t always work out the way you want. You see, the onus is on why NOT to do something which indirectly states you have already made a decision to DO something and are trying to talk yourself out of it. The way most people lead their lives, they try to convince themselves why to do something as indirectly, they have made a decision not to do it. I hope this makes sense. The next time you have a major decision, ask your self… Why Not?

The Bottom Line

Why not do something drastic today?

Being the eldest child, I find it interesting that a study by the Norway National Institute of Occupational Health along with the Norwegian Armed Forces Medical Services have reached a conclusion that I knew all along. First born children have a higher IQ then their siblings
Military Statistics

Based off over 240 thousand Norwegian men drafted in the arms forces during roughly a decade at about 18-19 years of age here is what they found.

• IQ of first born male was 103.2
• IQ of second born male was 101.2 (102.9 if first born brother died)
• IQ of third born male was 100 (103 if first two brothers died)

Why this makes sense

As this study proves my own bias, I am not going to be balanced. I believe this makes logical sense because the first born gets more attention then the subsequent siblings. I was the first to talk, the first to eat, the first to comb my hair and walk. By the time the second child comes along, the newness of this has faded slightly and so forth. What this means is that I, as a first born, got more attention (directly or indirectly) then the next ones in line. This extra attention lead to increases in intellectual stimulation, allowing me to develop quicker. In nature, this also makes sense as the first born may have to take care of the siblings in case the parents got eaten by a Saber Tooth Tiger. Higher IQ would allow me to outsmart the siblings and take care of them better to help pass on our collective genes. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, but as this doesn’t prove my biased case, it will be ignored I am sure the same holds true to first born daughters as well.

The Bottom Line

First born are smarter… now we finally have proof!

References
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3302770