Mirror Physics and True Mirrors

I never heard of true mirrors until recently.  I find this video fascinating but hard to follow!

It's from a science blog called Physics Girl.

Here's the link:

Physics Girl

Another video from YouTube:

I copied the instructions on how to make your own mirror:

I haven't tried to make one myself yet.  

Broken glass from dropping the mirrors can be dangerous.

A homemade mirror will show a line down the center where the two mirrors touch.  For a perfect model I saw them selling for over $200! So much money for two mirrors attached together!

The Neapolitan Mastiff

"The Neapolitan Mastiff or Neo, comes from Italy, where once it was used as a gladiator dog in the bloody spectacles of the Coliseum. They were also used as war dogs by the Roman legion. Today, they are generally protectors of the home. Distinctive in appearance, the largest males can top 200 lbs and are covered in loose, wrinkly skin with hanging jowls."   
From Top 10 Lists - Listverse

Funny Surgery Cartoons

My Iron Deficiency Anemia

I'm having another spine operation to correct a "lump" which developed on the incision site from my first operation.  The "lump" is a pseudomeningocele.

From Wikipedia:
"A pseudomeningocele is an abnormal collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that communicates with the CSF space around the brain or spinal cord. In a pseudomeningocele, the fluid has no surrounding membrane but is contained in a cavity within the soft tissues."

Anyway, while having my pre-op blood work they found that I have anemia.  It was a surprise to me because I have no symptoms.

I thought the treatment would be easy. Take iron tablets 3 times a day.  But after spending a day on and off the toilet with painful black tar-like stools; I decided to stop taking the medication.  Maybe after my operation next week I might try 1 tablet a day.

I found the chart above with some strange causes for anemia.  I can believe some of them but there are others that are just too much for me to believe.

~candle burning (This is my favorite.  How can this cause anemia?  I thought about it but haven't come up with anything.)

~depression

~excess tea/coffee (Well maybe)

~widower

~Poor Detention (What the heck?  Does this mean that if they made after school detention more enjoyable there would be fewer cases of anemia?)

So I guess that if you're an immigrant who burns candles and drinks a lot of tea; you have a "very high risk" for getting anemia.

Any ideas?

Backyard Snow: 21 February 2015

The sound in the background is my heat pump; working extra hard at 14 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius).

O.A.R. -Peace

I love the video.  It goes great with the music and lyrics.  Try full screen.

O.A.R. - Peace

I don't wanna fight no more

I only wanna get to shore

Baby don't slam the door tonight

We ran another off the tracks 

That's time we can't get back

We can save tomorrow if we try

Oh oh oh oh until we make this right

Oh oh oh oh I won't say good night 

I just wanna make you laugh

I just wanna see that smile

Babe we're only here, oh for a little while

I just wanna hold you till we fall asleep 

I want love, I want us, I want you, I want me, I want peace

Everybody needs a place, somewhere that's warm and safe

For shelter from this crazy world we're in

But tonight I let the rain inside, I took away your place to hide

I'm sorry that I made you cry again

Two Days Without Water

I get my water from a private well.  It needs a well pump and a well pressure tank to work. My well pressure tank finally died.  It must have been about 30 years old so I can't complain; except that it decided to die on some of the coldest snowy days in February.  July would have been much better.

Luckily I know of a good contractor.  Eric came in the snow and spent the entire day replacing the tank.

I had no idea how much going without water would be such an inconvenience. Using bottled water to drink is easy.  What's really bad is having to go without taking a shower.  You can wash your hands if you use the the water from a bottle.  You can take a "sponge bath".  It's just not the same.

So I melted some snow in cooking pots to have more water to use for washing. That helped a little.

What's the very worst part?  You can't flush the toilet!
After one flush the tank is empty and won't flush again.  I used some melted snow and bottled water to refill the tank but it takes a lot of water.


A well pressure tank is not a well pump.  Here's a video that explains it.

It felt so good to get my water back.

I can understand how bad it must be for the people who have no water for a long time or even lose their home.

New Blog Design, February 2015

I want to make my blog easier to navigate and less cluttered; so I set up a simpler design.

I used Georgia font in bold, italic because it looks more personal, like real handwriting.

I changed the font to Verdana because it's a little easier to read.


Verdana,  Verdana bold,     Verdana bold & italic. Verdana small, Verdana even smaller
Georgia,     Georgia bold,          Georgia bold & italic.       Georgia small,       Georgia even smaller

There's not really much of a difference. Just for fun I might try other fonts and switch around a bit.

I made the text black instead of the original dark grey.

A plain background on the lower part of the blog will make the links for the websites and blogs stand out.

These websites and blogs are updated with the newer posts on top.
Besides posting, I like to share parts of the web that I enjoy visiting.

I'm not sure why but I don't get many comments.  I'll try to respond to each comment and visit the blogger's site.

I Tried the Mirror Hallucination!

From the Listverse site I read an article about mirrors.  

10 Crazy Facts About Mirrors - Listverse

Item 8 claimed that mirrors can cause hallucinations.

From: Mind Hacks
The strange-face-in-the-mirror illusion « Mind Hacks

"At the end of a 10 min session of mirror gazing, the participant was asked to write what he or she saw in the mirror. The descriptions differed greatly across individuals and included: (a) huge deformations of one’s own face (reported by 66% of the fifty participants); (b) a parent’s face with traits changed (18%), of whom 8% were still alive and 10% were deceased; (c) an unknown person (28%); (d) an archetypal face, such as that of an old woman, a child, or a portrait of an ancestor (28%); (e) an animal face such as that of a cat, pig, or lion (18%); (f ) fantastical and monstrous beings (48%)."

"More mysterious, however, were the participants’ emotional reactions to the changes:

The participants reported that apparition of new faces in the mirror caused sensations of otherness when the new face appeared to be that of another, unknown person or strange `other’ looking at him/her from within or beyond the mirror. All fifty participants experienced some form of this dissociative identity effect, at least for some apparition of strange faces and often reported strong emotional responses in these instances. For example, some observers felt that the `other’ watched them with an enigmatic expression – situation that they found astonishing. Some participants saw a malign expression on the ‘other’ face and became anxious. Other participants felt that the `other’ was smiling or cheerful, and experienced positive emotions in response. The apparition of deceased parents or of archetypal portraits produced feelings of silent query. Apparition of monstrous beings produced fear or disturbance. Dynamic deformations of new faces (like pulsations or shrinking, smiling or grinding) produced an overall sense of inquietude for things out of control."

To trigger the illusion you need to stare at your own reflection in a dimly lit room. The author, Italian psychologist Giovanni Caputo, describes his set up which seems to reliably trigger the illusion: you need a room lit only by a dim lamp (he suggests a 25W bulb) that is placed behind the sitter, while the participant stares into a large mirror placed about 40 cm in front.

The participant just has to gaze at his or her reflected face within the mirror and usually “after less than a minute, the observer began to perceive the strange-face illusion”.

  I tried it:

The first time:
 I saw my cheeks puff up as if I were filling them with my breath.  Then I saw my face disappear as if it was invisible.  My shoulders and chest were visible but it seemed I could look through where my face was supposed to be and into the dark room.  
But I still was not sure if this was due to my eyes adjusting to the dark or if it was a true hallucination.

The next time I tried it:
Besides my head becoming invisible then coming back into view; the reflection's eyes moved on their own.  I looked directly into the reflection of my eyes and they moved away then stared back at me.  I knew it was only an illusion so I was not afraid.  My nose became slightly rubbery.

To summarize:
I think I experienced some mild hallucinations.  It was not only my eyes becoming adjusted to the dark.
1. My head became invisible then came back.
2. My cheeks puffed out slightly for a moment.
3. My nose became briefly rubbery.
4. This is the strangest hallucination of all.  The reflection of my eyes moved on their own as if it was another person looking back.

I'm not sure what all this means, maybe nothing. 

Added OMG Facts to My Links List

It's hard to leave this site once you get into it.  There are so many great facts.
I just could not find a way to search for a particular topic, which is frustrating. But it's still worth a visit.

You can find it here & in Links List.
OMG Facts - The World's #1 Fact Source

Teacher Arrested at JFK

My brother Tony found this on Facebook.

Medscape Now on Interesting Sites Column

The sight has medical news.

It also has information on specialties.

Here's the direct link:
Latest Medical News, Clinical Trials, Guidelines – Today on Medscape

It's also on my list of Interesting Sites.

Picnic Doll with a Human Face

I like the music and the video but I'm not sure what's going on.  This first video is my favorite of the two.  They are the same song just different videos.

I found this translation (Russian or Belarus).  

It's a little rough but here are the lyrics.

Picnic Doll with a Human Face

The world seems divided into two parts. 

The shop-windows with blue glass 

Quietly weeping sexless mannequin - 

A doll with a human face. 

Requests lonely nights 

He asks at the sky one - 

To fire from the sparks of the original 

Broke into his heart, 

It was sweet ... 

To make it hurt ... 

To repent later ... 

... Here and crying sexless mannequin - 

A doll with human 

Yes, a doll with a human a-a ... 

Will he tumbleweed, 

Will wait to fire hopes of verse 

To one glass bondage 

Change for a thousand, 

Yes, change for a thousand others. 

And while he pinned silence 

For showcases a blue glass ... 

Quietly weeping sexless mannequin - 

A doll with a human face ... 

Silence ... m-m-m- 

A doll with a human face ... 

Silence ... m-m-m- 

A doll with human 

Yes, a doll with a human face ...

I found this other video about the song.  It's something like voodoo. 

The first video was from one of my favorite sites:

The Link

Погляд у залюстаркоўе.

Two Quick Healthy Desserts

It was Sunday afternoon and I was in the mood for something sweet which was not too sugary.  I searched several websites and came up with these two easy to make deserts.  They don't involve any cooking skills but still taste great.

Microwave "Baked" Apple Slices

1. Remove or cut around the core of the apple. 

2. Slice and arrange the pieces on a microwave safe dish.

3. Add butter or margarine.

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon and whatever else you'd like.

5. Cover with plastic wrap and cook for about 4 minutes.

Be careful, it will be very hot.

Banana and Strawberry Slices

1. Just slice them and eat them together.

But my banana was still green so I tried to ripen it by putting it in a toaster oven and baking it at the lowest setting for about an hour.  I got that idea from searching the web.  

The banana started to get black on one side so I stopped heating it after about 30 minutes!

But inside it was still okay.

2. Sprinkle a small amount of sugar on top if it's too tart.