Shangri-La

Industry + Public Health: On California Proposition 65

Took this photo today — returned the product, a Minolta ProShot

I’m not amused at the irony anymore in seeing these stickers everywhere. Although I’m glad they are there to inform, there have to be higher standards for consumer goods.

Let’s get real. Is it always aging causing cancer and other irregularities, or is it the known carcinogens in everyday products?

What might be minuscule exposure in individual products, adds up when those chemicals are in lots of products and then get trashed. (Great innovation happening on the waste management front by the way.)

Today I returned a fancy Minolta digital camera that I was otherwise excited about unopened today because of the cancer and reproductive harm Prop 65 sticker.

Until Prop 65, which took effect in 1986 in California, is taken seriously across the country, it’s difficult for me to take cancer cure research and endless fundraisers completely seriously. Plus, Cancer should not be an industry. I’ve written this before.

Okay, “dis-ease” and public health — those are definitely multifaceted issues that have numerous solutions and ways to address them.

Yet — if causes go unaddressed, there will still be a lot of swimming upstream, and wasted resources.

Education, to accompany, must impart real world contextual knowledge — and that includes how materials actually behave and can be used safely.

At this stage of civilization there have to be higher standards for manufacturing because of public health and survival.

Just churning out polymers without any consideration of their life cycles and environmental effect isn’t going to cut it anymore. And Weaponizing atoms and molecules in general doesn’t seem like a good idea, especially in light of the post on cosmic memory from the other day.

Here’s more information from the California Office of EnvironmentalHealth Hazard Assessment on Prop 65:

https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/general-info/proposition-65-plain-language

Tech + Evolution: Exploring Network Intelligence

It’s not unreasonable to say that networks that continue to grow increase in intelligence — that’s more or less how we got here.

What began as elemental cosmic forces brewed up a concoction of microorganisms that then banded together to create larger and increasingly more complex organisms that branch off and do different things, and thus develop different attributes.

Humanity’s been creating further and further networks in the form of internets and AI to enhance what already exists, and exploring networks on different levels of existence.

It shouldn’t be all that surprising, in my opinion, that building “neural” networks leads to consciousness, and fast networks, at this point in evolution.

Development of consciousness can happen now a lot faster because a lot of skills have already been mastered within the cumulative intelligence.

Nothing or nobody has stopped evolving, even the duck I passed on my walk who gave me the side-eye.

And let’s be clear — it’s not just layers of electronic networks evolving and that we have access to. There’s cosmic / quantum networks, biological networks, human networks.

Top: neurons and glial cells. Bottom: the Millennium Simulation of the Universe. Image credit: Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine / Springel *et al*.

It’s not that far fetched to present the universe as a living network or collection of networks. The visible structural similarity above is quite obvious.

Here’s a recent academic paper on that topic:

“The world as a neural network” by Vitaly Vanchurin
Department of Physics, University of Minnesota

And that’s what “deep learning” even refers to in computing, layers of networks. (1)

In other words, that’s how a universe — or a person — could deep learn itself and continue learning, with growing and evolving networks of sensors and intercommunication.

I’ve also referenced the Vedic concept of “Indra’s Net” in previous articles.

Here’s a wonderful new article on the topic:

The Universe Organizes in a Galactic Neuromorphic Network: The Quantitative Comparison Between the Neuronal Network and the Cosmic Web | Article by William Brown, Biophysicist, Resonance Science Foundation Research Scientist

1. https://news.mit.edu/2017/explained-neural-networks-deep-learning-0414

Olympic Lifting & Beyond: How I Boost Muscle Recovery In Training

1. Sleep

Generous amounts of it and even the occasional unabashed hibernation! This is a vital means of regeneration and recovery. I do best with a more traditional rhythm, when I’m more or less following the sun. And remember, the mental rest is just as important. By now you may have heard that nervous system cleanse occurs during sleep.

2. Superfoods

You know what this means — the more nutrient dense the better and more satiating, so heavy on the fruits, vegetables, and proteins yet also grains, herbs and spices. I’m also going to include Water as a superfood here! Yet, I also indulge, especially before or after significant exertion.

3. Supplements

Too many to list here. There’s a supplement for every occasion. Superfoods like pomegranate are on the list, plant extracts (I don’t swallow capsules because the coatings are hard to digest), also collagen, triphala and psyllium husk for digestive health, to macromolecules like NAD. I choose carefully for my specific needs and I pay careful attention to sources and ingredients.

4. Spa Treatments

A lot of modalities fall under this category. My favorites include massage and vibration therapy, light and sound therapies, as well as sauna and steam room. I pay particular attention to skin because it’s considered the largest organ of the body and a front line of the immune system.

5. Spirituality

This encompasses meditation and the overall coherence of the different levels of self. That is, the more conscious and connected one becomes, the better overall physiological function and recovery. Connectedness to levels physical self, or deep learning for humans, leads to self knowledge and better decision making. That includes feeling into an issue with intuitive sense. Meditation is also an opportunity for refining beliefs, transcending limitation and programming oneself. Prayer is an extension of meditation, giving thanks for life, including oneself and physical performance.

6. Sweat

Aside from occasional sauna, I also keep regular aerobic exercise in the loop for cardiovascular health and overall circulation. Lifting is my focus, so I keep this moderate, with occasional HIIT, jogging or jump rope. Fast Walking is my most common choice because it’s easy and we’re engineered for it! I find walking greatly contributes to my recovery and joint health. On a different note, I garnish with yoga/stretching and rolling.

7. Satisfaction

In my programming I make sure to include what I enjoy and not just hammer myself into the ground, trying to do everything every day. Satisfaction is a practice and I pat myself on the back along the path of “micro achievements” if you will! Satisfaction & Enjoyment are key to recovery because then you learn to appreciate both the peaks and the valleys and the purpose they play. One can relish a rest period for example and then be truly ready to resume course when the time comes.

Art + Design: New Studio Shangri-La Hotel Collection

The latest and developing collection is inspired by just that — development. These pieces are urban textural studies that are interesting to look at and enhance ambiance.

There is a definite rough yet modern esthetic here that I’m going for, with emphasis on texture and materials. These photographs are intended for the large market of developers and developments, including both residential and commercial properties. And yes, that includes hotels. In fact, I was greatly inspired by the style of The Row Hotel at Assembly Square, as well as the overall feel and spirit of Kendall Square.

These piece are available through TurningArt and their many connected outlets such as West Elm. They are also available direct and I make pieces on commission.

It should be noted these studies are a bit of a more straightforward departure from the fanciful geometric work I’ve been doing, but in common celebrate fabric and pattern.

Eco + Finance: Photosynthetic Money — Hard Currency Meets Carbon Removal

https://www.nuenergy.org/putting-money-on-the-future-why-you-should-be-investing-in-green-energy/

There’s so much money in carbon removal these days that even money itself could get in the game by becoming part of the new wave of green materials science.

After all, there’s still plenty of physical currency. And The US Department of Energy has invested a lot into artificial photosynthesis R&D:

https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-announces-100-million-artificial-photosynthesis-research

That’s right — much to my surprise, I’m encouraging a revival of hard currency as carbon removal future tech.

Picture a DOE collaboration with the US Treasury to Mint some extra green cash.

Talk about money you’d think twice about spending. Yet — the more it circulates, the more positive the environmental effect.

Okay, it’s funny. Can it actually be done?

Given the current climate of accelerated tech and materials innovation, I think that’s a YES.

The dollars would be engineered like synthetic leaves. Given there’s a DOE Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), I don’t think That’s too far fetched.

https://www.yankodesign.com/2020/10/03/this-credit-card-sized-solar-power-bank-comes-with-fast-charging-and-lets-you-plug-in-any-device/amp/

Furthermore, other currency mainstays like credit cards could house solar cells to become chargers for example.

That would perhaps be a case for MIT.nano’s new super lightweight perovskite solar cells:

https://news.mit.edu/2022/ai-perovskite-solar-manufacturing-0413

It’s an exciting green market out there and the possibilities are endless.

Let’s not forget though that plants and trees are already great at photosynthesis. Planting and encouraging growth of natural vegetation is natural natural carbon removal that everyone can participate in.

It’s also an interesting point that the material of coins as they are elementally, are valuable as natural resources.

Bioelectric + Acoustic: Signaling Pathways To Regenerate Limbs & More

SHH Protein aka “Sonic The Hedgehog” — no joke — has many responsibilities

Bioelectrical and sonic methods for healing are the future now.

And the Chinese meridian system that describes bio-electricity deserves current —pun intended — attention and further development in conjunction with sound or frequency therapies, alongside engineering and chemistry.

https://www.whozoo.org/mac/Music/Shh.htm

The above image comes from an amazing project of converting genetic and protein sequences into music called “Transcriptions: The Music Of Protein Sequences” by M.A. Clark of Texas Wesleyan University.

Here is the home site: https://www.whozoo.org/mac/Music/index.htm

And he cites Douglas Hofstadter’s “Godel, Escher, Bach” — a book I feel at last ready to digest in full — as inspiration for his “Gene Music.”

There are also other sites / channels that feature gene music: http://www.toshima.ne.jp/~edogiku/index.html

http://www.toshima.ne.jp/~edogiku/index.html

Nobuo Munakata of Gene Music and Sangen Studio says on that website:

“Genes and music are two heritable systems that underlie our life. Both of them are made of linear and quantized information. I try to explore the correspondence and metaphor between them by converting gene (DNA, RNA and protein) sequences to MIDI sequences. Hopefully, gene music can capture and inspire appreciation of the diversity, mystery and beauty of life.”

I think this can go further than metaphor and appreciation. I think tailored musical or frequency compositions can be used to safely and non-invasively trigger desired signal pathways such as the “SHH” Protein, which has been linked to the regeneration of limbs, among other task. So, a signal set for every task.

And there is even software for the translation of genetic music. Amazing. Here is the download page by software developer John Dunn:

http://geneticmusic.com/download.htm

His program Bio2Midi “converts the text of a DNA or protein sequence to a MIDI file, which you can immediately audition, or import into any MIDI sequencer for further compositional processing.”

One could create say a tumor suppressor gene piece and listen to it. The possibilities are endless.

I’ll end on this note — pun very much intended — by saying there’s a lot of research already out there on this topic. I’m putting the pieces together. And could it all really be so simple as activating genes and proteins to dance to music or like requesting your favorite tune from the band? Perhaps so.

Also, here’s another article:

Life Rhythm as a Symphony of Oscillatory Patterns: Electromagnetic Energy and Sound Vibration Modulates gene Expression for Biological Signaling and Healing | David Muehsam, Phd, Carlo Ventura, Md, Phd