My Mission: Lucid Dreaming

I just came across an article about lucid dreaming and it intrigued me because I have had a lucid dream at least once that I can think of, and it was awesome. At some point in the middle of my dream I realized that I was in fact, dreaming. I took complete advantage of this and did all kinds of things that could only be done in a dream. I flew all over the world, I went into the ocean and could breathe just fine, and lots of other stuff that I don't remember because it was so long ago. The article spoke of lucid dreaming as having consciousness in your dream and realizing that you are actually dreaming. Having that kind of control in that world of dreams would make the 22 years of my life spent dreaming more fun and exciting. It would for anyone.

After reading up on the subject it seems as though being in control of your dreams and being lucid are two different things. A person can be lucid in their dreams and not have any control over it whatsoever. Can you imagine being able to do whatever you wanted whenever you wanted? Not to mention that your subconscious and conscience mind will be linked together for the duration. As far as I can tell there has not been a whole lot of studies on this subject. So what if practicing lucid dreaming and controlling dreams helps the mind process information better when you are fully conscience?

Not only that but think about the adventure and excitement you could have right in the comfort of your own bed. Who wouldn't want to river raft through the Nile, board down Mount Everest, or fly through the open skies whenever they wanted to? Also, if you could tell that you were having a nightmare, you could have no fear because you would know that nothing would harm you, nothing. Also, what about if what people say about dreamscaping is true? That is when you meet another person in a dream, or joining another person in their dream. How freakin cool would that be?

So, with all this being said and all the other reasons for having fun with this, I am on a mission to be in control of my dreams. I am going to try everything possible in order to achieve this. Like all things it will just need a lot of practice. After all practice makes perfect. And I will update on here every now and then on my progress. So where do I start?

It doesn't look like this lucid dreaming is going to happen overnight. The first step is to enhance my dream recall. Which is of course, remembering the dreams that I had after awakening. I can do this sometimes but not all the time. So I guess I will work on that for now. I will need to be able to remember at least two to three dreams per night in order to move on the inducing lucid dreaming. So wish me luck. Hopefully I will be ready to induce in a few weeks.



We all start when we are young.

Snowboarding Rocks!

Snowboarding Rocks!, originally uploaded by Domain Barnyard.

If You Speak They Will Listen

Earlier I posted a blog called discrimination that was basically a hit to all those rich uppity ski resorts that do not allow any riders. Well guess what? Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico has just announced that starting in March 2008, snowboarders are welcome. I guess they figured out that riders do actually pay to ride on mountains. They probably all got together and had an all day meeting to discuss this issue. I can see it now......
"DON'T ALLOW THEM HOODLUMS ON OUR SLOPES!!"
"But we need the money."
"THEY ARE ALL BIG DUMMIES!!"
"But money is good."
"Did the maid leave the iron on?"
"Who wants tea?"
"What were we talking about?"
"Oh ya, money."
"Ok, let the little uneducated punks come ride our mountain, but we will not be nice to them."
"Golf anyone?"

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

Histrionic personality disorder and pathological lying go hand in hand. They are both attention seekers and they are both connected with early childhood. Once a person has at least one of these mental illnesses, there is really no way to get rid of it. People, mostly women, that have HPD are self-indulgent, self-centered, and dependant on others. They will tell stories of unrealistic fantasies and claim it to be their life story. Sometimes they show intense anger in inappropriate situations, particularly if they are being challenged. They may even attempt manipulative suicide threats in order to gain the attention they are seeking. It just comes with the disorder. When it comes to their emotions, they are shallow. They do not understand others or themselves at any depth and so they do not even try. They only believe the fantasies that they tell themselves is the reality.

Pathological liars are also called mythomaniacs and they take on many of the same characteristics of a person that suffers from HPD. They will exaggerate things to no end that make the situations utterly ridiculous. They always need to do things better than any other person they come in contact with. No matter what or who, it or they, are. They make their own reality around themselves and do not value honesty to any degree. When called out on one of their lies they will react in intense anger depending on their personality. Another two things that go hand in hand are honesty and loyalty. So if the honesty is not valued, neither is the loyalty. They will embellish a story to make a person(s) look work worse than they really are. Over time they contradict what they say and will also change their stories to create other fantasies. The worst attribute of a pathological liar (and possibly the scariest) is that they believe their own fantasy made up stories themselves. Every lie that they tell, becomes a reality to them.

Did I just describe someone that you know? Maybe I just described you. People like this are all around us. I may have just described your best friend, mother, father, husband, wife, or even yourself. So let me ask you, what can be done about this? There is no cure except for therapy. But even for therapy to work the person will need to be telling the truth and that is impossible for a person with these attributes. So really, there is no cure.

The people that I myself have come in contact with that have all of these characteristics, are also somewhat of hypochondriacs. They will claim that they have some sort of illness or injury that stops them from pretty much doing anything, at all. Once they make this claim, then it becomes their reality and they will truly believe that they have that illness or injury. They will even go so far as to have major surgery to make their claims real to everyone else. If one doctor turns them away and refuses to do the surgery, they move on to the next doctor until they find one that will perform surgery on them. Sad.

What is even more sad is the people that will go along with their stories and believe them. Those people will turn on everyone else as well. That's double sad. I could go on and on about this whole thing but I think I will cut it short here. Maybe I'll write more about it later because I have a lot to say about the subject. Peace to all.

burton snowboarding

Shaun White is a pimp. Pure pimp. He is the pimpest of all that is pimp. There is no one more pimp than the pimpest pimp of them all, Shaun White.

Money vs Family

Here's a question for you. I was told the other day, by someone that I won't mention, that when it comes down to it, I need to figure out what is more important to me; money, or family. So I had to think about this for a while. Having money means being able to provide for my family and give them all the things that they want as well some things for myself. It also provides a roof over our heads and a light to read a book. We can't survive without it, we need it.

But then I thought about the rest of my family and close friends that all live in another state. What if something happens to them and I am not around to let them know how I feel about them before something really bad happens? What becomes more important then? The family with me now and the rest of the family that has been there my whole life, or money?

Why should anyone need to make that kind of decision? I need both of them. One of them is more important than the other, to me anyways. Family will always be number one. But when it comes down to it, no one can survive without some kind of earned income in the world today. Well, I say that loosely. I know a few people that are able to survive off income that is not earned by them, but they leaned how to play the system and hurt others that used to be close to them in the process. That is a whole other story though for another day.

The point here is, in a nutshell, there should be nothing more important than family. We should all do our parts to support our families and provide for them no matter what. Too many people lose sight of the most important things in life and they will do whatever they need to, in order to survive the way that their selfish selves want to, no matter who it is that they knock down on the way. Money is important, but not that important.

There are some people out there that need to take a serious look at themselves and the things that they have done to make them who they really are. Most of them won't do it though and they will continue to stab knives in backs and continue to hurt other people, just so long as they get what they want. The fact is, they don't see it as them doing anything wrong and they feel as if they are the victim. They can honestly believe their own lies and manipulation. They do it so often that they truly start to believe it themselves.

There may not be any help for these people and honestly would they accept it if it was offered? I really don't think so. But for you sane people out there when it really does come down to it, family is more important. But you will find that money is always and will always be around and needed, but the next time you are kissing your wife or wife to be, playing with your kids, painting a room for your grandparents, or gathering around for Thanksgiving dinner, look around and see if you can spot what really puts the smile on your face.

Another Snowboarding Movie

This video gets kind of slow towards the end but the music is all good and so is the riding. Nothing special just some kids having a lot of fun.

Snowboard

Snowboard, originally uploaded by teadrinker.

This is fun

Wolfmother - Snowboarding - Avalanche

This guy has some big fat hairy balls at the least!!!

Getting Closer

The season is getting closer. A bunch of snow got dumped up here so the slopes will be opening a bit early. Can't wait.

Nothing much to say today except for T-day I smoked a turkey and let me tell you, it was the best damn turkey I have had. I used cherry wood chips and injected the turkey with a special sauce to give it a spicy touch. So it was sweet on the outside and just a tad spicy on the inside. Sweet and spicy. MMMmmmmm, sweet and spicy.

So watch the video to pass the time.

Discrimination

The definition of discrimination is unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice. The word comes from the latin word "discriminare" which means to distinguish between. Discrimination and prejudice are two words that are used one in the same. Prejudice is a pre-judgment of a person(s) or group(s) for the way they act, look, or even for what they are involved with. Disparate treatment with discrimination would involve setting a condition or a requirement that would allow a smaller proportion of those that have the attribute to be able to comply, without reasonable justification.

Do you see where I am going with this? There are ski resorts out there that do not allow snowboarding. How is it that this is not discrimination? It seems to me that one group of individuals has a prejudice against another and acts upon this prejudice. This may be bold words but I feel it is an issue that needs to be addressed. Think about it. Not too long ago there were public schools and public facilities that did not allow people of any color on the premisces. You are probably saying to yourself right now, "what?? No way that ever happened!!" Well, yes it did, and now, the same thing is happening on our ski resorts.

What is it about the snowboarding community that has these resorts banning them from entering their property? The last time I checked, snowboarding was an olympic sport. Which means that the entire world recognizes it as a respectable sport, except for these resorts that do not allow them on the property. Is there some sort of stereotype given to snowboarders that make each one a pot smoking rift raft that does nothing but cause trouble everywhere they go? If anything, allowing ALL snow sports at a ski resort would only bring in more money. That is what these rich uppity a**holes are looking for right? More money.

Some resorts of note that do not allow snowboarding are Taos, New Mexico, Deer Valley, Utah, and Alta in Utah. These are a few of the resorts that we snowboarders cannot go to when we want to ride. I took it upon myself to call one of these resorts, Taos, and ask them why they do not allow snowboarding. The response given to me was that it was just company policy. When asked if they felt that this was discriminatory the response was again, just company policy.

This is getting a bit long so I'll be quick about my feelings on this. Whatever it is that makes thee uppity a**holes think that their Sh*t don't stink, think again. I am sending out a message to all you stuck up, persnickety, selfish, discriminating jerks (to put it lightly) that snowboarding is a respectable sport and we will not set back and be discriminated against. Most boarders are a hundred times more talented than you rich, snobby people and none of us are prejudice against doing something you love. We don't discriminate against you so don't do it to us. The ONLY resort that was ever made that did not allow skiiers, Green Valley in California, was burnt down. Probably by you idiots. Take heed you discriminating skiers, one day, it will be our turn.

This video says it all.


Another blog of note is Gadling

Pure Powder

Serfaus. BC, originally uploaded by -kar-.

Wish I was there.

'Eat Ham' Turkey

'Eat Ham' Turkey, originally uploaded by shadowed_by_night.

T-day almost here

Let's Take a Walk Through My Head

I was just sitting here at work thinking about how it is that I came to be where I am today and where I would like to be. My job is OK I guess. I get paid decent and really, the job is easy. The only problem is that I started this job right out of high school and only did it for the money. I also waited 9 years to go to college.

In no way shape or form did I ever imagine myself where I am today. I never thought that I would be living in the city I live in, I never thought I would have the job that I have, and I never thought I would spend my days daydreaming of better things. That could be the problem, I never thought. I thought about the things I always wanted to do but I never planned them out to make them happen. Every time I was close to making something happen, I would screw it up somehow. Except for the wonderful woman that I have. I almost screwed that one up too but luckily saved it somehow.

So now I want all those things that I wanted when I was young, and more, but they are still out of my reach. What does it take to get these things? Patience, opportunity will knock someday? I'm almost out of patience. Here I am 29 years old and the only thing I have to show for my life is a wonderful woman. Don't get me wrong, that is enough to bring me up when I am down. But what about the rest of our lives? Kids, marriage, what then? I will work harder than ever to give them the things that they want and the life that they want, only to achieve a minimum for myself. Is that they way my life was planned?

I know that if you want something you need to go out and get it, but how come everything is so damn hard to obtain? Maybe I'm just blabbing nonsense here but I have to get it off my chest. Here I set at work everyday dreaming of something more. Dreaming of the perfect life where money is not a problem and I am happy at my job, where I live, and everything else. This is not for me and it was never meant for me, but it is what I have. Somehow, things need to change.

I also know that I am not alone here. There are thousands of people that did not expect to be where they are, and really, just don't like where they are. Somehow we all make the best of whatever is thrown at us, no matter the obstacle. Strange how things work out in life. So with all this said, what then is success? Is it one of those philosophical words that has no meaning other than what you yourself make of it? In other words, what is success to you? If so, then I am not successful.

This whole thing might not make any sense to you but it makes sense to me. Just trying to figure things out. Funny thing is, I have been trying to figure things out for about 15 years now.

Niners Cheerleaders

Niners Cheerleaders, originally uploaded by CoachCashMoney.

GO TEAM!!!

All About Fun

Well, it's the weekend and I'm kind of just surfing the net being lazy. I came across this video and it came to me that this is what it is all about. These guys aren't pros. They don't get paid to board, although I'm sure that they would love it. These are just some average Joe's out for a ride. Too many times we get caught up in the professionalism of everything that we forget how fun it is just to get out there and do the things that we love. The one and only thing that stops me from getting out there everyday is the MONEY part of it. If the damn thing didn't cost so much I would be out there everyday. So the next time you are out there doing whatever it is that you are doing be it boardin, golf, fishin, spending time with your kids and loved ones, whatever. Just remember that there might not be a tomorrow. Live life the way you want to and be happy. Also, have fun doing it.

vail january 2005 012x

vail january 2005 012x, originally uploaded by TedescoOPO.

I have to say that Vail Colorado is probably the best place I have ever been to for boarding. This picture is beautiful and captures just how much snow Vail actually gets. Also if you notice, there is not a single person in sight. Everytime I have gone to Vail it is like I have almost the entire mountain to myself. That makes it all worth the extra money paid to board there. If you get a chance, go, it is worth it. If the snow ever comes that is!!!

no SNOW no FUN

no SNOW no FUN, originally uploaded by force73.

Where is all the snow people????

Snowboard

Snowboard, originally uploaded by Québécois autour du monde.

Flyin

Getting Ridiculous

OK, this is getting ridiculous. Last year at this time there was 10 feet of snow on the ground here in the 505. OK maybe I exaggerated just a bit, but c'mon, there is not even a sign of snow to come and it is already Nov 15. What's the deal? It looks like this year we are going to have to go to the snow since it doesn't look like it will be coming to us. In the mean time I have no choice but to resort to skating.

Rodney Mullen. Need I say more? The guy is a genius with the deck. That's deck, not, well you know. The man does stuff with a board that I have never even heard of. Check out this video that shows his creative mastery.

Burton T.V.

How about that? Wierd stuff. I posted some Burton stuff earlier today and then come to find out in a press release that they are going to have a six series t.v. shows this winter. They are calling it "Terje's Season Pass" that stars, yep you guessed it, Terje Haakonsen and will feature such Burton riders as Nicolas Müller, Shaun White, Mads Jonsson, and Kevin Pearce. The series is set to start on New Years Day Tuesday, 1/1/08 on Fuel T.V. at 8 pm ET/PT. Terje is an amazing rider and I am looking forward to seeing this series. If you have never seen him ride before I included one of his top videos on YouTube below. Check it out. For more on the t.v. series follow this link. Transworld Snowboarding

Mr. Jake Burton

Since we are on the subject of snowboarding, and I think I have figured out what I am going to base this blog on, something I love, I am going to go ahead and raise my fist to the infamous Jake Burton Carpenter. If you know anything about boarding then you know who this man is. The founder of Burton Snowboards and creator of my favorite snowboard (at the moment) the Burton Twin Series.

Mr. Burton did something that most of us only dream of doing and followed what his passion is despite breaking his collar bone a few times in the process. One of these days I hope to follow in his footsteps to do what I have always dreamed of doing. He has provided the world with means to pursue the fun in life that we all desire. So here's to you Mr. Burton, bottoms up!!

Oh and to pump you up even more for the season, check out this video. SICK!!

jake burton meets rice

jake burton meets rice, originally uploaded by Hometown Invasion Tour.

One of my heroes

snowbunnies (some picture I found online)

snowbunnies (some picture I found online), originally uploaded by 1UP.

snowbunny

snowbunny, originally uploaded by morn88.

StephTheFly

StephTheFly, originally uploaded by WASABIdesign.

Nightflight #2 - grab

Nightflight #2 - grab, originally uploaded by Rune T.

Where is all the snow???

I don't know about any of you, but I snowboard and I am pretty disappointed at the snowfall so far this year. Whats the matter? Where is it? Is this the impact of global warming? I remember a couple years ago there was very little snow. I live in the 505 area and last year we had the most snow to ever hit the area. So far this year, nothing. Do I need to get out there and do a snow dance or something? Cuz I will. Here are some pics to get you pumped for the season.

49ers

What has become of the San Francisco 49ers? How did they go from winning seven games last year to losing seven in a row this year? Monday nights game against the Seahawks was probably the worst display of professional football I have seen all year. And the 9ers are my team!! The final score of that game was 24-0. If any of you saw the first half you would have seen Alex Smith's stats, total yards was like 43. The last play of the half Smith threw to Arnaz Battle about a 40 yard pass that was ruled complete, but we all saw that it was not complete. So had that pass been ruled the right way, incomplete, Smith would've had about 3 total passing yards for the first half. What? 3 total passing yards? I thought this was professional football. The 9ers had many chances to get in the end zone but they blew it every time.

That offense needs to make a complete turn around soon or the losing streak will continue. Last night was the first time I was truly disappointed in the 9ers. Here is a sample of the disgusting acts that I was unfortunate enough to witness.

What the Heck is Going on?

The U.S. Dollar fell again, oil prices are on the rise, and the stock market is plunging. What is going on? The housing market is also faultering due to the lack of payments on loans. Citigroup fell once again and will most likely lay off more people.

Today the Dow Jones closed at -360.92 or down 2.64 percent, the NYSE closed at -272.26. What will happen if this continues? How long can it continue before the whole thing crashes? Does anyone see a crash in the future? Should we take our money out of our banks?

What about the amount of energy we are using up? China is on the rise and is expected to be using like 5% more energy in the next year. Should we find other sources for energy like yesterday?

Writers go on Strike

What now? $200,000 annually is not enough? So far it is only the late night shows such as Letterman and Leno. If the strike continues then it could be just about all those television shows that you love to watch and make an event out of it every week. What will you do without the life lessons that you learn on Greys Anatomy? Who will win the Survivor challenge? Maybe this strike is a sign to bring people back into doing things that our elder reletives did, read books. Most likely not though, people will turn to the internet and YouTube. Some people might be fascinated by what it is that they actually find on the internet. Real life things that are really happening in the world today. Who'd a thought?

Instead of watching some fictional story about some fictional event that might happen to some people in the world but will never happen to them, they will be forced to learn about the real stuff that is going on in the world. Did you people know that we are still at war in Iraq? Do you even know who is running for President?

Lets look at it from the writers prespective for a minute and ponder that. From what I know this strike is about management and internet royalties for their shows. There is probably more to it than that, but that is what I know so that is what I am basing my judgement on. We have all been in their shoes. We are little people trying to survive in "Corporate America" working for the man just to be able to pay rent or a mortgage. The big boys make all the big bucks and it seems they haven't a clue about what it is that we go through on a daily basis to make ends meet. To be honest, they don't care. When they get that big they only care about themselves and what type of Bently they will be purchasing next.

In this way, I hope these writers send a message to those corporate A holes and make them think about it. But what about when the strike is over? Is a writers strike a big enough message to send out to "Corporate America"? No it is not. These writers are talented and some of them good at what they do, but the fact is, they are replaceable. In fact, I would replace them in a heart beat. Sure I wouldn't be as good as most of them, but I would do it and I would do it for less than what they get paid. To be a Hollywood writer is a dream for a lot of people and I bet all those networks are getting bombarded by resumes of people that want to get in the business right now.

So when you ponder the writers strike while surfing the internet because the only thing that is on television is re-runs of old worn out shows like MASH and Full House, think about not just the writers strike, but why they are doing it. It may help you figure out just where you want to be in the future and help you to realize that no matter who they are, CEO, President of the organization, VP of tech, etc. Remember this, no matter what an organization titles them, they are just people like you and I trying to make it through each day alive. For more see Business Week at the link.
BusinessWeek

Britney, Paris,... WHO CARES????

You know what is amazing? There are billions of people in the world that have internet access and not a single one of them have come to my blog site. That is absolutely amazing. Maybe it is because I don't post things that the media is all about these days like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, who gives a rats ass about those two? They are just regular people like you and I. Only, at one point in their life they were icons. Who cares about them and any other celebrity as far as I am concerned. What have they done for you lately? To quote a celeb that stays out of the media these days, Janet Jackson.

I bet just putting their names in this post gets me at least one person here. It is sad when you sit back and think about the things that draw people in these days. What have we become? Sex, money, and drugs are the future of the world and why? I want to know. That makes no sense to me at all.

I may be going overboard a little here but it is all I can see anymore, really. Should I blog about celebs to get traffic to my blog? Why? Who really cares?

BTW, I tagged this post with a bunch of crap that I think will draw people here, am I right?

The Distance

Remember, post a comment to make this story go the way YOU want it to.....

The Distance

I don't know which way I am supposed to go. As I look around I notice that in each direction the outlook is gloomy. It seems as if each direction I walk will lead me to absolutely nowhere. I decided to head towards the direction of the tree, maybe I will come upon some sort of life that could give me some answers, any answers. I need to know who I am, where I came from, where I am, and how I got where I am.

As I walk I could tell that I was headed to what seemed to be more of nothing. With every step I take I think to myself all the questions that I have. Who am I? How did I get here? What is this place? So many questions and my mind only draws blanks. Nothing comes to my mind except total darkness. Then I start to wonder if I even have a past. Is this the way I start my life? It can't be. I know what a kid is and I am definitely no kid. How do I know what a kid is?

Hours go by, I think, and there is still nothing to be found, no sign of life. I'm starting to get tired and my side hurts like you wouldn't believe. I have a few cuts and scrapes along the left side of my entire body. It seems as if I had been in a fight or had fallen and bruised my whole body. I must keep walking. I can't stop until I find something. My mouth is dry and I need something to drink and I am starving.

I can't walk anymore. There is nothing in sight and my body is weak. I'll just lay down right here and rest for a bit. How could I be so tired after only walking for a few hours? Damn my side hurts. I can't go any longer, but I have to. I need to find the answers. I need.... He passes out and falls to the ground.

Not long after he passed out and fell to his side a light shined bright along the horizon. This was no normal light. The light was very bright and lit up the entire sky of a sort of neon blue color. The light was moving toward him very quickly. Even though the light was so bright it did not wake him. He was hurt internally along his side. The bruises were getting bigger and he had no idea. The light was now about a hundred yards away from him and moving in faster. He just stayed there past out from the pain.





(Picture from http://www.aurora-inn.mb.ca/borealis.html)

Fiction By Everyone

I'm going to try something here. I know I don't have a lot of readers just yet, but I'm going to try it anyway. I am going to start a fictional story. I will only go so far. If someone reads it and has a good, bad, or even mediocre way for the story to continue, comment where you think the story should go. I will then use every one's ideas and put together the rest of the story little by little. Maybe once a week, twice a week, just depends on how many people participate. I think this will be fun and a good way for us all to relax a little and get ourselves out of the real world and into a fictional world where everyone has a part.

OK, here we go....


The beginning.....
Somehow everything got turned around. I wasn't supposed to be here. The air is different, I can actually breathe. Where did everything go? The place is empty and there is no sign of human life anywhere to be found. Where the hell am I and how the hell did I get here? Wait a minute, I don't even know who I am. Think damnit. What happened?

My mind is blank. I can't remember anything about anything. How do I know that the ground beneath me is dirt and that tall object in the distance is a tree? How do I know that these things that cover me are clothes? Up above me is a dark sky that does not seem to be the same color that it used to be. How could I possibly know this and not know who or where I am? What color is the sky supposed to be? Something is not right. What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? I can't just stay here where there is nothing but a single tree and some dirt. I need answers and I need them now.