psychology dector

I did what I’ve done a million times when my battery ran low:   I unwound my charge cables for my laptop and plugged one end into the wall and the other into my computer.   The light on the box in the exact center of the cord, halfway between wall and computer, flickered, dimmed, brightened and then went out.   That box, I later discovered, is called a “brick.”   And what the flickering light indicated was that the brick was going bad like a short in a light bulb.   Flash, bang, and a power surge.   The result?   My computer recognized that something was plugged into the power port, but no power was reaching the battery.   The brick was dead. I hopped on the internet and found a cheap charger to fit my finicky laptop and figured that was that.   The thing arrived a few days later and when I plugged it into my computer, it again registered that something was occupying the power port, but the charge level on the battery continued to fall. ...

Ten years ago today, my mother dropped dead on the driveway of a friend’s house after a New Year’s party.   She was 62.   She was not well and hadn’t been for years. At the hospital as we stood over her lifeless body, a nurse pulled me aside and asked me to witness her removing my mother’s jewelry and personal effects so they could put her in the body bag.   We walked around the bed removing bracelets and rings, a small pendant, and finally, her worn shoes.   Everything went into a large zip lock bag with her name on it:   Patricia Martin.   The nurse handed me the bag and told me she was sorry for my loss. In the end, we leave this world as we entered it:   naked and alone. After her death, I dreamed of her a few times until she told me that she would no longer be able to visit me.   I understood this to mean that she had to move on to whatever existence was ahead of her and leave this life behind. So today, I bear witness to her life, to wh...

Albert Ellis’ work with Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) struck a chord with me as I was reading his work this week.   In his view, people disturb themselves by their own rigid and extreme beliefs about events in their lives.   I could relate to this in a way, because I often set unrealistic standards for myself or refuse to back down when facing a task that is clearly beyond my capability.   Since I’ve been recently diagnosed with a heart valve problem, it is crucial that I be careful with stress and anxiety to control my blood pressure.   Heat and other external factors can also cause complications if I am not careful.   My diabetes and kidney issues must be carefully monitored and kept under control so that I avoid any other problems.   I am often tempted to overdue my activities which leads to stress on my heart and low blood sugar.   It is hard to accept that I cannot do what I used to as a younger man. In a search for balance in my life...

A few weeks ago, I decided to splurge on some new notebooks and two fountain pens.   After typing everything directly on the computer from my notes for several months, I wanted to get back to engaging with the pen on paper.   I wanted to practice “slow writing.”   In my case, it will be “painfully slow writing”; I am left-handed and have suffered from severe writer’s cramp for most of my life.   I knew, though, that if I stuck with it long enough, my cramping muscles would get into shape and I’d be able to write through an afternoon without stopping every few minutes to massage my claw back into a hand. After shopping around on several websites, I ordered three different notebooks to try out—an Exacompta Basics Black with Silver edge , 5 ½ inches by 8 inches; a Clairefontaine Basic Black, Large , 8 ¼ inches by 11 ¾ inches; and a Clairefontaine Basic Black, Medium , 5 7/8 inches by 8 1/8 inches.   All three were made in France with high quality paper.   It ...