The eclectic learner

Shall we be able to sense brainwaves in the future? In my novel, The Strangers, two cyborgs named Naadir and Ashante are able to communicate with one another by using an EEG device which is implanted by their brains. With EEG, they have a virtual gate that can be kept ajar indefinitely so each can perceive a buzz of what the other is thinking, without being disturbed. When one of the cyborgs wants to communicate directly to the other, he pushes that virtual gate and full communication commences.  I have always assumed that this was just my idea, simple science fiction. Mistake! As I can see in today's article from CNN, a basic device is already able to achieve a similar result, although for now restricted only to controlling a small flying drone. In this article,  futurist Tiana Sinclair says that the drone she controls is a huge biosensor. She also believes that problems in our world can sometimes be fixed with the use of technology. One can only...

Will robots help the elderly in the near future? The answer is a resounding yes , at least by looking at the news reported by Komo News, in the article here: http://www.komonews.com/news/offbeat/Robocoach-Your-cybernetic-personal-trainer-336440471.html A collaborative idea from Singapore's IDA and MSF, Robocoach was developed by Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). The robot is part of a larger effort to help various segments of society including seniors, enhance their quality of life through infocomm. Due to the rise in the ageing population, there has also been high demand for healthcare and eldercare professionals.  T he first Robocoach is currently being tested at a Senior Activity Centre (SAC), the Lions Befrienders.  Trained volunteers are also present to help seniors during the routine. This exercise robot, has been well received by seniors who have been able to enjoy physical exercise in a novel way, while enhancing cognitive abilities. This is ...

What DARPA scientists are working on is 10 to 20 years ahead of the technology that's out in the public domain. As the author of a novel about Strangers (both cyborgs and humans) I keep my eyes open for all the new stories regarding cyborgs and the science behind them. Today I read this article about cyborg warfare today - here: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/darpa-double-edged-sword-us-military-industrial-complex/6854474 I will quote just 2 paragraphs because they made me think! 'Science fiction writers might set that kind of cyborg warfare in a distant future. But as Jacobsen writes, at any given time, what DARPA scientists are working on—especially in the agency's classified programs—is 10 to 20 years ahead of the technology that's out in the public domain.' 'DARPA's movement is towards coupling man and machine, so putting neuro-prosthetics in the brains of soldiers so that they can have what is called augmented c...

https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/the-retail The Retail by  Joshua Danker-Dake   Fiction - Humor   318 Pages   Reviewed on 09/19/2015              Author Biography Joshua Danker-Dake lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with his wife and two children. A writer and editor by trade, he also serves as the Strategy and Tactics Editor for Diplomacy World, the flagship publication of the Diplomacy hobby. Other things he gets rather excited about include He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, bombastic European power metal, and St. Louis Cardinals baseball. Book Review Reviewed by  Franz Sidney  for  Readers' Favorite The Retail by Joshua Danker-Dake tells the story of a would-be Christian author, Penn Reynard, who works returns in a hardware store after gaining his English degree. Writing in his journal, Penn describes with dry humour how some customers try t...

Readers Favorite I review books for Readers Favorite https://readersfavorite.com The fastest growing book review and award contest site on the Internet  Recipient of the "Honoring Excellence" and "Best Websites for Authors" awards by  the Association of Independent Authors, and BBB Accredited with an A+ rating. I love reading, escaping in a different world where the impossible can happen. What's better than playing some piano music (maybe jazz?) and curling up with a good book? Maybe drawing …but for me that's another story altogether! Happy day everyone!

Cyborg Chips Boost the Brain - sounds like somebody read my manuscript! Three years ago I wrote the first draft of a novel. I am now on the fifth draft and the 4th is circulating among ten beta readers who will hopefully point out where my prose or plot need improving. I'll talk about my novel in the next few day but for now I will let you know that it tells the love story of a man and a woman who live in Norwich and work for a robotics company. Although mine is a speculative, contemporary romance novel, there is more than a touch of sci-fi in it. Except, I refuse to label as  sci-fi what is actually happening daily under our eyes: the embedding of technology in each layer of our lives and all over our body, when not directly implanted in it. My lead characters work in a company where cyborgs are created and employed just like anyone else. Three years ago it was science fiction, but now, reading the news, I realise that my predictions were not so impossible ...

Home-made Powdered fruit smoothies Nowadays we are spoilt for choice when it comes to the so called healthy foods and their recent marriage to convenience foods. Browsing the net for fruit powders I found a delicious powder here: http://www.squires-shop.com/uk/product/sk-real-fruit-powder-strawberry?gclid=CP799pC0-8UCFSPItAodrSEAIg Sounds good huh? All the hard work is done for us. Health at your doorstep! Eating healthily is possible and cheap. Boy, was I wrong! This powder costs £10 X 100 g! Which means £100 - US$152 per kg!!!!! That's $69 USD per lb. This is how much we are asked to spend for a strawberry powder from an average company. (Some are cheaper, some a tad more expensive than the one above.) I wen into 'Back to Basics' mode and tried to make my own version. Here is the result.  If you want to save ££$$ and make your own, go ahead, you deserve it! Ingredients: a blender jar full of your favourite fruit (no added water or...

Tesco "free from" ginger cookies  http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=268624669 Hello everyone! Winter is here and it's been snowing in Norfolk - as well as in the rest of the U.K.  This is the time when all the resolutions of eating only fresh, nutritious food, raw and healthy, disappear at the same speed that the outside temperature decreases. Two weeks ago I decided to go wheat free - just like that - or cold turkey, someone would rather say more idiomatically. Anyway, after reading the first 90 pages of The Wheat Belly recipe book by Dr. Davies, anybody with a brain will start wondering if wheat is such a healthy food after all. This is not to say that Dr. Davies is 100% correct in his assumption, but let's discuss this in another post - suffice to say that in the middle of January, when most people enjoy wheat-based dishes such as pasta, bread, pasties, cakes etc. I suddenly decided to see if I would...

Good afternoon! Today we went to Tesco and for some reason we wandered in the dairy free, or 'Free From' as they call it, department…and lo and behold…there was a new vegan cheese there. A bit pricey but tempting…I bought all three types, block, slices and spreadable. (They are around £2.45 per pack). We tried the sliced cheese for lunch. Mamma mia!  These are the BEST ever vegan cheese slices we've tried. Thumbs up from all the family at the first bite! Here is their website address:  http://www.violife.gr This cheese looks like real cheese, has the same texture and taste (mild and not salty) and is completely different from the other Free From cheese that Tesco stocks. I read some review in vegan websites and it has five stars - it even melts as the temperature of traditional cheese. Here are the ingredients for all of you health conscious fellas! VioLife Creamy (spreadable) Water, coconut oil 24%, starch, modified starch, sea salt, stabilisers, vega...

http://www.simplehealthytasty.com/2010/07/homemade-vegetable-broth-powder.html Good morning! It's the first week of December and there's nothing like a warm soup to make me feel good. Some people asked me if I use stock for my soups. Yes, I do, I like a Swiss vegetable bouillon which is sold in most UK supermarkets. However, I have also found out years ago that I can easily make my own mix and store it for years, with no added ingredients that I might not like. So, today I'd like to share this simple recipe I found in Tammi's blog, 'Simple Healthy Tasty', which I found truly informative and full of lovely recipes. This home made broth should be a staple in your homes for sure! The recipe originates from a book I studied for my Nutritional Herbologist course, and I must say that book is also great! Tammi knows where to find good stuff! Vegetable Broth Powder 2 cups Nutritional Yeast (optional) 1/2 cup Real Salt 2 Tablespoons onio...

Good evening! I like experimenting with new soups when the cooler weather arrives here in England. This time I'd like to share a soup that I found really tasty - although I reckon that when it comes to personal preferences, everyone is different - and to make sure I won't forget how I made it, I will pen the ingredients before they leave my busy mind for good! I will add a photograph as soon as I can - so far I only managed to get really ugly ones! ************************************************************************ Hearty vegetable soup with cauliflower and kale Ingredients 1/ cauliflower, cut in small bits 2 large kale leaves, cut in bits, stalks not included 1 large onion, shredded 3 or more gloves of garlic salt to taste 1 spoon of medium Curry powder 1 medium potato, sliced and diced olive oil optional: a few tomato crisps * and some fresh parsley to add to each plate Preparation Stir fry all the ingredients, then add water (about 1 litre), and s...

Good morning, world! It's sunny today in Norfolk, and after a week of foggy, cloudy weather it's so energising to have breakfast in a sunny living room! But I am digressing. The reason for this post is another one- some lovely food I wanted to share with you! Well, at least the recipe... Last year I found  This  recipe in Gena Hamshaw's gorgeous Choosing Raw website. I tried to make it and as usual I adjusted the recipe to account for my preferences. It came out so good that I wrote, "voted 10/10" and put it permanently in my raw food recipes folder (which is an expensive plastic folder, with printed recipes, not a digital folder). Yesterday I decided it was time to prepare these tartelettes again as we had guests coming for dinner. With the ingredients I had I made 6 of them, plus a plate full of raw choc balls, and half a jar of raw nutella. Let me explain. The product in the picture above is the one prepared by Gena. My version is different and ...

I am so in love with the Natural Buzz - wonderful website, lots of useful information, and plenty of organic, had-made products for you lucky people who live in the U.S.A. Today I wanted to share their immune system boosting recipe, which reminds me of what Dr. Christopher taught us about natural healing. Nature knows best - always! Here's the recipe… Immune system booster 1/4 C. Honey 2TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar 2 Tsp Turmeric Pinch of Pepper 1/4 Tsp Ginger 1/4 Tsp Grated Lemon Peel Mix ingredients and store in refrigerator. Stir and add a large spoonful to hot water and drink like tea. We drink it every morning and every evening. Enjoy and Bee Well… To learn more about each ingredient you want to go to  The Natural Buzz ! I can almost visualise how one can twist this recipe to make a soar throat remedy or even some delicious dehydrated pills which could be so convenient to carry in a purse… Let me know how it works for you. I do prepare something very si...

This is how things go in my household nowadays - I turn on my iMac, thinking that I really need to update my blogs, and instead I stumble upon an interesting blog written by somebody else, where a link catches my attention and leads me somewhere else….until I realise that two hours have passed and my blogs remained intact! Which describes, by the way, exactly what happened yesterday evening. I was browsing a lovely blog named  anywaytostayathome , and of course I checked all the links there. Among them there was  mojomums , which was also rather intriguing, and once again, I checked their links. I ended up checking a new website called Phyto-fit . Mmm. That sounded interesting. Phytos means plant in Greek, so I had to have a look. Immediately. And was I glad I went there! First of all, their mission is inline with mine, "Our mission is a simple one. To become the largest Natural Health Based Solutions Company within the UK. Its so hard for consumers to know what is actua...

Although I don't seem to have any free time to post, I am still trying new recipes with raw food, vegan delicacies etc. My journey into natural healing continues and I am learning new things every day. One simple truth is that I feel much better and much more energetic when I eat mostly those things that Mother Earth has created - with no processing.  Sometimes people come to me and ask for one specific item that will make them feel better. Some think of a superfood or a formula or a new pill that might restore their failing health to its former glory. It would be nice to have such a product but in this moment in time it does not exist. So far I am not aware of any product which can revert overnight years of processed food, lack of exercise and toxin loading. Our body needs constant care and love just like our cars, computers and gardens do. However many excellent formulas Dr Christopher and Dr Schulze have created, none of them can work properly if we are daily polluting our...

Well! Long time, no see. I've been busy designing fabric and uploading my projects to Spoonflower and to Zazzle. Have a look and tell me what you think!!!!!!! It's so fun! Franz http://www.zazzle.co.uk/franzsunshinestudios http://www.spoonflower.com/contest_voters_temp/new?contest_id=247 http://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/sunshine_creations

Garlic  and Echinacea tincture - Cold and Flu Fighters!  We’re coming up on winter time again, and for many that means more colds, flus, coughs, sniffles and other annoying ills .  What natural remedy helps to keep you healthy during this time?  The answer is probably sitting in your kitchen cupboard.  It’s garlic. Garlic has been touted as a health booster for a long time, that’s nothing new.  Anecdotal evidence , old wive’s tales, and folk medicine are full of uses for the herb .  Turns out though, that they are actually pretty accurate. A study done at the University of Alabama at Birmingham sheds some light on exactly why garlic is such a powerful herb.  In the study researchers extracted juice from supermarket garlic and added small amounts to human red blood cells.  The scientists discovered that the cells immediately began emitting hydrogen sulfide (HS2) which acts a cell messenger. Interestingly, hydrogen sulfide is ...