LegendaryLife Blog

May
23
2010

2847A.D. Published… and science catches up to my research!

It has been a LONG road from start to finish but I’m proud to say that you can now purchase a digital copy of 2847AD, the science fiction book I wrote and researched for extensively and physical form of 2847 A.D.: Solar Horizons from Amazon! YAHOO!!! This has been a major accomplishment for me, I never knew publishing a science fiction novel could be so much work but now that it’s done, it feels wonderful to have achieved this major goal of mine.

If you wish to follow the journey pretty much from start to finish, I have chronicled it on my blog. I mention this in several other postings but these are the major ones.

What made the book especially challenging is that I tried to integrate almost everything I knew about science and then some, at the time. There is so much information out there, it’s really astounding and trying to condense it into a readable form, not only for me but for the general public takes a lot of effort.

I wanted to write a book that was scientifically accurate while at the same time, within the realm of possibility AND readable by somebody who has little to no scientific knowledge.

I believe I have accomplished this goal. I already started on a second volume of this book but had to put it on the back burner for several reasons, including but not limited to the amount of work I’ve been putting into my WoodMarvels.com company. I love design so much… it’s a true passion, as is writing but I think a long break is necessary to get most of the ideas fleshed-out. The further you jump into the future, the more difficult it becomes to imagine the unimaginable and this is really taxing mentally as I discovered. Exhausting even!

My delight: Hydrogen Sulfide

In the book, I describe in detail why I used this very toxic gas, hydrogen sulfide, as a mechanism for suspended animation during long space travels. Today, I watched a TED video and much to my delight, what I described and envisioned is actually coming true! Yes, they have human trials of this and the results are astoundingly positive. Watch the video to learn more about this important toxic gas

TEDTalks : Mark Roth: Suspended animation is within our grasp – Mark Roth (2010)

The Bottom Line

Research, hard work and tremendous passion can even bend even the most impossible of challenges into reality.

Written by Jon in: aging,chemicals,death,health gear,internal workings,medical miracles,medical procedures,mortality,motivation,predictions,resolution,success,technology,truth |

Feb
05
2009

Muscle Memory is great… too bad it doesn’t last!

This is a great case study as to the power of muscle memory!

During the summer, I ran off to the Philippines for a few months were my diet consisted mostly of rice, bananas and water so I did the equivalent of an extreme diet while relaxing on the beaches and exploring the local area.

Taking a break from working out

I absolutely love working-out at the gym, the weight is always the same but depending on your diet, mental attittude and overall fitness, you can either lift more or less on any given day. It’s the ultimate in optimization as you can see the results quantified on a weekly basis as you tweek your lifestyle. It seems that every year, I end-up being somewhere for a few months were my diet (still healthy) gets severely limited, I sweat a lot and without a gym, lose some muscle mass and fat like I was on some sort of extreme diet. Stressing the body in this manner makes sure it’s constantly reminded and optmized and never gets use to any particular set of habits.

Results of an extended break

As expected, I loose about 30 pounds of weight over a few months time, my pants need belts, my shirts seem like they are a few sizes too big and my weight lifting ability (once I do return to the gym) would make a little girl feel strong!

…then muscle memory kicks in!

I started again at the gym two months ago, since then, I have gained back 25 pounds, almost doubled all my weights lifted since I began and my “old body” is coming back wonderfully! Two months ago, I had trouble lifting 14kg dumbbells, now I am lifting 25kg dumbells without must trouble and will probably hit the 30kg ones in a month or so the way I am gaining. My arms, chest, legs have all grown noticeably as well during this time and the fat gained has been extremely minimal due to my extremely clean diet. I have managed all these gains without the use of ANY supplements other than a little protein powder a friend left me, no GH, no steroids… not even creatine! This is muscle memory at it’s best.. I have been working out for more than half of my life so these gains are just getting back what I had, nothing “new” yet. A few guys at the gym who are still lifting what I use to lift two months ago are astonished by my gains, they come-up to me and say a few things in broken English but mostly “you’re strong!” hahahahhaha… I tell them this is nothing, wait a few more months once I hit the creatine and real protein powder! I am now just on the verge of hitting 180lbs and my goal is to be 200lbs by September with as little fat as possible.

My body type

My body is originally ectomorph which means I am a very hard gainer, naturally skinny and have a very lean build. Through years of hard work at the gym, I have transformed myself into more of a mesomorph while maintaining the traits of a ectomorph… meaning (once muscle memory is done), my gains are very hard to come by, I have to eat like crazy just to gain a little weight and the gains that I do make go away very fast once I stop. I am still gaining a lot overall thanks to muscle memory right now but that will soon taper off… too bad the 45 degree curve of progress doesn’t keep going huh? That would be amazing but as soon I approach about 190lbs, my natural limit, things get extremely tough for me at the gym, hence why this time around, that is when I will START taking the creatine and protein supplements.

The Bottom Line

Muscle memory creates steroid-like gains without the side effects.

Written by Jon in: discoveries,experiences,fitness,food,healthy habits,medical miracles,motivation,success,supplements |

Apr
23
2008

Promising cancer treatment using radio waves

Cancer is a disease that, in a high portion of cases, is completely avoidable with proper diet, exercise and healthy living choices (including where and how you live). But for those unlucky enough to be diagnosed with cancer, I found this video that has some promising results. Screw chemotherapy, hello radio waves!

The Bottom Line

The best cure is avoidance.

Written by Jon in: cancer,discoveries,experiments,internal workings,medical miracles,medical procedures,mortality,motivation |

Aug
29
2007

The Ultimate Artificial Arm

Bionic arms aren't so science fiction anymore If you are unlucky enough to require the use of an artificial limb, I hope this gives you hope that the functionality desire may not be that far away.

Dr. Goldfarbs Background

Dr. Goldfarbs is a professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University who has been fascinated by prosthetic limbs since childhood, and did his masters degree into designing a robotic artificial leg. He later did his doctorate in developing a computer controlled brace that would allow paraplegics to walk with the use of electrical stimulation on their muscles! He’s currently doing research into dramatically improving the usability and functionality of artificial limbs.

Power requirements are the next hurdle

Dr. Goldfarbs realized while doing robotic research that the achiles heel of any powered prosthetics is the inability to function for extended periods of time without having to have the power supplies refreshed (plugged in). As a result, he exchanged motors for special materials that expand and contract based on varying voltage, functioning very much like normal muscle tissue. In 2000, while doing research for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency), he developed a fuel source that simply used hydrogen peroxide instead of conventional motors and batteries.

Military needs artificial limbs!

With impressive advances in body armor, the number of casualties that the military suffers from was sharply down but as limbs are still exposed, a record number of limbs where being amputated. Having impressed other researchers, he then set his sights in 2005 towards developing an advanced prosthetic arm ever with 30 million dollar in funds from DARPA.

DARPA Results

The artificial arm developed by Dr. Goldfarbs was radically different then anything currently in the marketplace and has almost the same functionality of a real one! The artificial arm has more dexterity, freedom of movement and power then what is currently available with the added benefit of using a liquid fuel power system which can be refreshed when ever the user desires. Other researchers are also studying implantation of electrodes directly within the central nervous system to control artificial limb movement instead of using current methods.

The Future of Artificial Limbs

Dr. Goldfarbs is now researching the development of an artificial leg using the same technology he developed with DARPA funds for the next generation artificial arm.

Video

I found a video by Dean Karmen, I don’t know if the arm is the same as the one developed by Dr. Goldfarbs but the end of the video is interesting regardless.