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After spending two days closeted up in the Vancouver, Westin Bayshore with four of the most brilliant women I have ever had the pleasure to meet, it finally hit me.  There I was, I had just cut through the center of Stanley Park making my way back to Georgia Street at Coal Harbour. I had a good sweat worked up and had just done about a 5 KM run along the Sea Wall, looking out over the city to one side and the beautiful BC Mountains on the other. The water sparkled as the sun made an appearance from beneath the dusky grey clouds that had been hovering protectively over the city, since my arrival, and there it was. That familiar pungent, skunky smell so familiar to the residents of British Columbia.

It was the last morning of an intensive two day brainstorming and planning session to work out the beginnings of our branding and marketing strategy. We were working in the Crown Suite, about the size of a small apartment, frantically capturing ideas on a flip chart and lap tops.

The hotel was old but stunning. The harbour, was beautiful beyond description. The food was exquisite, though we didn’t actually eat at the Bayshore, we did find some excellent fair at the Lift and Cardaro Restaurants. The work was creative, fast, and filled with enough brilliance to give me a couple “I’m not worthy moments.”

Like any travel journey, it wasn’t all perfect; my necklace went missing, which was incredibly upsetting as it is a family heirloom. In good-natured Canadian fashion the staff was very helpful and it was soon recovered.

There was a problem with the wine glasses in the bar being a little too soapy, and, of course, it rained most of the time we were there. But the morning of my run, that morning through the park, past the Aquarium that doesn’t have very many fish, past the miniature train, with the sun shining warmly on my skin, it was glorious. The air had that clean just after it rains smell and it felt so darn good to be outside instead of stuck inside of a too warm gym running the tread mill at Toledo.

But I was oblivious to all of that as I jogged through the paths that cut a clear center line through all of the green that is Stanley Park. I ran past the rowing club, a family of ducks, the main entrance of the park and out onto the running path that skirts Georgia Street. And then it hit me. It was impossible to miss, that pungent, skunky smell of someone smoking a joint of BC Bud.  And at that moment, I knew, beyond any doubt, I was home!

John Medina's Brain Rules

When I first saw John Medina, I was at a data geeks’ conference in San Diego California. His presentation style was vigorous and engaging, and the topic was mesmerizing. So much so, that I bought his book, Brain Rules, when I returned to Canada the very next week (http://www.brainrules.net/).

I am now in my second read of the book. This book is so amazing that I didn’t even take a break in between reads. I also wanted to capitalize on one of Medina’s “rules” repeat to remember. There is so much information crammed into this little book and I want to remember some of it. So here is a summary of John Medina’s Brain Rules, and how I interpret each one within my own life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be intelligent into their old age, because it isn’t just about reading and putting information into your brain, there is a lot more to it.

Rule # 1 – Exercise is good for the brain. This is interesting because it makes so much sense. Exercise is good for the rest of our bodies why not our brain. For me this was a no brainer. I exercise. I think I am pretty smart. Hmmm, maybe all this exercise I do is also helps me be smart. The most shocking thing is the depth and breadth of impact that exercise can have on the brain. Better than any pill, it can reduce the impacts of advance dementia and Alzheimer’s. It can even help anxiety, stress, and depression. I have none of these, but I do have a sharp mind and intend to keep exercising now that I know how good it is not only for my body but also for my mind.

Rule #2 – The brain’s primary purpose is to help us survive long enough to pass on our genes. Make sense? Well a little simplistic, but we are a product of our own evolution. The way I interpret this is that the brain’s job is really to get us to the stage where we want to and can have sex. OK that does explain our societies obsession with it.

Rule #3 – Every brain is wired differently and the re-wiring goes on all of our lives. Thank goodness

Rule #4 – Attention only lasts about 10 minutes, you can only attend to one thing at a time (multitasking is a myth. I had to confirm the multitasking thing, which alas turns out to be true (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_multitasking). So that means that talking on your cell phone while driving really is bad. Don’t do it!

Rule #5 – Repeat to remember, at least in the short term. Isn’t that what I am doing?

Rule #6 – Remember to repeat, our long term member helps us repeat things and avoid doing stupid things. However, it seems to me that we do a lot of stupid things in pursuit of Rule #2 above.

Rule #7 – Sleep is essential to brain function – Duh!

Rule #8 – Stress makes it difficult if not impossible for the brain to learn. So, don’t be mean to your employees. Don’t be an ass to people around you, take a care and take care of yourself!

Rule #9 – Sensory stimulation helps us remember. The more senses are stimulated, the better we remember. Hmmm, how does that fit with the modern day class room?

Rule #10 – Vision is the most important sense, it takes up most of your brain’s processing power AND competes with other sense like smell, which is losing by the way.

Rule #11 – Women’s brains are thicker, fatter, and generally higher functioning than mens'. Yes, you read correctly. So, why in this day and age are women still discriminated against? No rule for that.

Rule #12 – Humans are powerful natural explorers and are driven to learn. Seems we have only recently come up with the term Life Long Learner, but hey we are catching on.

And there you have it John Medina’s 12 brain rules. In my humble opinion, this book is a must read for parents, teachers, educators, and business leaders on all levels. One of the best books I’ve read in recent years.

Ode to Air Travel

Air travel has gotten a lot of press lately. Not the least of which is the recent spate of coverage about the TSA agent who was able to smuggle a fake bomb through New Jersey’s security on Friday (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/03/tsa-agent-gets-past-two-security-layers-with-hidden-fake-bomb/).

WELL! Myself, along with many others could have told you that. Saturday I inadvertently carried an apple and liquid lip gloss (not in the TSA prescribed 1 quart plastic baggy, http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/3-1-1-carry-ons) through the San Francisco airport security. To be fair, I had also forgotten to put the lip gloss in the 5 ounce baggy when navigating the Detroit Metro security on my way out to San Francisco. Of course, I have been both intentionally and unintentionally packing undeclared liquids and lighters in my purse and bag for years. When I used to travel to Iceland, me and the other international travelers used to trade “bad” contraband type stuff hidden in our our pockets just to be able to text each other from various parts of world about whether or not the forbidden items made it through airport security. Not anything bad enough to get us into real trouble, but definitely little nothings that would normally be confiscated by a well-intentioned airport security agent.

There has also been a lot of writing about radiation and the new full body scanning devices. I won’t go into the true fact that they are more than a little invasive and probably a direct attack on individuals’ rights to privacy, nor will I write anything here in support of Steven Glover’s perspective that going through airport security is akin to being herded like cattle (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2192254/Ryanair-EasyJet-Herded-like-cattle-fleeced-like-sheep-We-mad-endure-torture-budget-flights.html), although it does at times feel like that.

What is a lot more worrisome to someone like me (and therefore worthy of a little attention here) is this notion of excessive and unnecessary radiation exposure from the security scanners themselves. Apparently, there is some exposure to radiation. However, even without the new scanners there is quite a bit of radiation exposure associated with air travel in general. The higher into the sky you go, the less atmospheric substance there is to protect you from radiation. People who travel, whether exposed to full body scanners or not, are exposed to a higher amount of radiation and there is nothing you can do about it (http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/designees_delegations/designee_types/ame/fasmb/media/backscatter_research.pdf). OK so radiation is there, probably not enough to cause fatal skin cancer (most skin cancers are more inconvenient than fatal),  making radiation exposure just one more wonderful thing air travelers have to muse over when contemplating their next airborne journey.

Of course, most of don’t think about these health and security type things when we are jetting across the continent at speeds slightly faster than sound. No, we think about how cramped the seats are, or the baby screaming his little head off 6 inches from your ear. Even worse is the 25 year old young man who flatulates every 15 to 20 minutes while sleeping with his mouth wide open right beside your face,  his incredibly strong bad breath washing over you in waves rhythmic waves. I did mention it was a four and a half hour flight, didn’t Iit?

But getting back to the factual health risks of air travel, the cramped seats are actually a little more than just plain uncomfortable. Flying can actually cause a form of blood clots called deep vein thrombosis. Now the airlines have done a lot of PR work to convince people that flying in those cramped economy seats don’t actually put you at higher risk for these clots (http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/story/health/story/2012-02-07/No-greater-risk-of-blood-clots-from-flying-economy-class/52993704/1), but really, you have to wonder. I do try to get up and move around. I typically take my shoes off, and I flex a bit. I’ve read that wearing panty hose doesn’t hurt either, but of course the best way to deal with this issue is to fly first class, which would also bring the nice side effect of letting you avoid all the cattle herding type line ups. Unfortunately, like most North Americans, I simply can’t afford that luxury. Executive class can be as much as 400% or 500% more costly than economy class.

Crying babies don’t come with any health risks per se, and unless you are right beside the baby, the engine noise usually does a lot to tone it down. Crying babies rarely bother me because hey they’re little and their little ears might be hurting (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/air-travel-with-infant/HQ00197). Besides, I think the parents usually feel worse about their baby crying than you do. The only time crying babies have actually bothered me was the trip from Minneapolis to Iceland where I was surrounded by triplets who seemed to work in unison. As soon as one started to show any sign of abating another would pipe right up to fill the void. I knew it wasn’t anyone’s fault, it was just a very exhausting trip. Ironically the young guy next to me slept through the entire eight hours. When I asked him how he did it, he pulled out his ear plugs and said, “huh?” Lesson to self: ear plugs for travel can come in handy, even if you don’t like them.

The thing that really drives me crazy when air travelling is being unfortunate enough to be situated next to the flatulator with bad breath! Like so many other things when enduring air travel, it is probably something I can do nothing about. Or is it? What would you do if you were stuck for 4 hours in economy class next to a flatulating, orally malodorous traveler?

Ohio - In the Deep (AKA Bat Cave anyone?)

 

When someone says “Ohio”, or “Toledo, Ohio,” I bet you don’t think “now there’s a destination city.” You might think “Holy Toledo,” or even ask, “Is Toledo a real place?” (Yes, I have been asked that) but you wouldn’t think of cool touristy-type things to do in Toledo, or Ohio in general.  It’s true, there isn’t much. Toledo does happen to have a an amazing museum that even has a couple of Van Gough’s and Monet’s paintings, but as far as touristy things to do, there isn’t much in Ohio.

However, myself and the Adventurous Britt (I mentioned him in a previous post about San Francisco) did happen to come across something pretty darn cool and very touristy in an Ohio sort of way. About 100 miles south of Toledo, in Salem, Ohio, there is a deep network of the prettiest caverns in the United States. At least that is how the tour guide presented them to us. This is not the Salem where the witch trials occurred, just in case anyone was wondering. That would be an altogether different tourist experience.

I have to admit, they really are awesomely and even hauntingly beautiful. Just over 1.6 kilometers in length and about 30 meters under the earth, these deep places are home to little brown myotis bats and who knows what other creatures human science isn’t sophisticated enough to identify yet.

Originally discovered in 1897 by a 17 year old farm boy working the fields, the caves were mostly filled with sand. Apparently this was a good thing, because even though there was only enough room to crawl, people did. Thousands of them came to see this incredible dark and mysterious place. They broke off stalagmites and stalactites that had taken thousands of years to grow. They wrote the names of their sweethearts on the walls and pretty much trashed an entire end of the caverns for future growth.

Thankfully, in 1922 the site was sold to a couple named Allen and Ira Smith, who had a little more respect for these precious dark places. They had the place excavated and preserved the remaining cavern crystal forests. Consequently, over 90% of the stalagmite and stalactite formations are still active today.

It is believed that the system was originally created as a result of the ice age. Scientists believe it was an aquifer that was home to a large underground river. Eventually it filled up with sand, which is lucky for us or it might have been destroyed back in the 1800s before people realized they were destroying the natural wonder.

 It is still pretty damp down there, especially in winter. However, there are places where the water runs even in summer, but the temperature is a comfortable 12 degrees Celsius all year round.  My dear friend the Adventurous Britt and I enjoyed the historical tour and didn’t even mind the occasional bat fitting around us. We even spent a good bit of time in the gift store, where (to my horror) he bought some non-Canadian maple syrup.

Note to anyone traveling from the North, there are few good restaurants other than chains like MacDonald’s and Wendy’s, and if you are travelling on a Sunday, as we were, not much else is open. Other than the lack of decent food, it was a very adventurous day and I highly recommend anyone who is out this way to make the journey. Unless you have an aversion to bats and dark caves. Hmmm, bat cave anyone?