His parents were always “three sheets to the wind.” His mother once told me that she wished she had become a nun like she had originally intended. His father, while I knew him, despite his drinking problem, was able to maintain a job with NCR. But I understand he was let go after I left East Lansing. Ultimately, I don’t know what happened to my friend’s parents, but the prognosis was obviously not good.

I was reminded of my friend’s parents when I recently watched the film Crazy Heart. For his efforts, Jeff Bridges won an Academy for best actor for portraying the role of an over-the-hill country singer with alcohol and drug addictions. When the film opens, the main character is playing the bowling alley circuit. The movie also has a subplot involving a May-to-December romance. Jeff probably didn’t deserve his Academy Award for this flic, but maybe he did for life-time achievement.

Anyway, I found the movie to be very derivative of an earlier movie: The Wrestler. The general plots are the same, just substitute a broken-down singer for a broken-down wrestler. I’m not a country music fan, but I loved the music in Crazy Heart, which also captured an Academy Award.

I didn’t like the ending of Crazy Heart. The “hero’s” rehab was way too easy and the ending was very unsatisfying. The conclusion made logical sense (younger woman dumps older man), but lacked emotional punch. Life just isn’t as clear cut and clean as the movie’s ending. If movie goers want something that doesn’t pull punches, they should watch the classic movie The Days of Wine and Roses. I saw the latter movie with some high school buddies, including the one mentioned above. To this day, I wonder what impact the movie had on my high school pal. I know I never saw him consume alcohol.

Cultural Definition of “three sheets to the wind”:

To be “three sheets to the wind” is to be drunk. The sheet is the line that controls the sails on a ship. If the line is not secured, the sail flops in the wind, and the ship loses headway and control. If all three sails are loose, the ship is out of control.

The American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy

The team, led by José Contreras-Vidal, reports that they have been able to discriminate enough information from EEG signals to accurately reconstruct 3-dimensional hand movements. I’m itching to see the paper itself because–assuming it is legit–this will be a remarkable advancement in extracting information about intention from extra-cranial sensors.

For several years, now, research teams have been able to interface sub-cranial EEG sensors directly to the brain in order to allow–for example–paralyzed individuals to direct prosthetic limbs using their mind. To date, however, sensors positioned outside the skull on the surface of the head and face have been relatively low-yield for intentional, sophisticated movements. (One only need to spend 3 minutes playing with games such as NeuroSky’s “Adventures of Neuroboy” to appreciate how low-grade the current extra-cranial EEG interface world truly is.) Part of the problem is that the brain’s electrical signal–while already faint–is even further dampened by the insulating properties of the bones of the skull. Another messy complication for extra-cranial EEG measurements is the huge electrical spiking caused by muscular activity that distorts or masks the already-weak electrical signal coming from the brain directly. How did the Contreras-Vidal group overcome these obstacles? Well…stay tuned to find out. (As of the original publication of this blog post, the Contreras-Vidal paper is still pre-press.)

What to expect from this? Well, given the fact that the Contreras-Vidal, et al, method for brain computer interface (BCI)-driven 3D motility doesn’t require the itsy-bitsy complication of open brain surgery, this seems like it will have huge potential for rapid adaptation to the general consumer market. I can’t even wrap my mind around all of the potential applications for this type of technology–from medical interventions for individuals with motor impairments, to lifestyle enhancement and convenience applications, to gaming and entertainment–not to mention the numbers of individuals who will be more drawn to neuroscience and engineering due to the inherently interesting appeal of brain machine interfaces (thus ultimately accelerating the progress of neuro/tech development).

Let me know your thoughts–are you at all nervous about our journey as we plunge toward an ultra teched-out society? What are you most excited about with respect to the fast-approaching BCI future? As with any emergence scenario, it is literally impossible for us to predict the full breadth of changes that we will encounter in lifestyle and culture as these thrilling technologies begin to saturate the social fabric. At the same time, however, it’s a fallacy to think of the future as something that happens to us. Indeed, the future is what we create.

“Wittwer surmises that he was probably the last doctoral student of the late Guarth Hansen, USU Distinguished Professor Emeritus and renowned biochemist. Wittwer remembers working industiously at the lab bench when Dr. Hansen stopped by and said, “Carl, you’re doing a great job but once a day you need to stop and think about your basic hypothesis and what your research is trying to tell you.”

Wittwer recalls that another valuable piece of Hansen’s advice was not to take things at face value. “He asked me, ‘Carl, why do you think the chemical in the bottle is what you say it is?’”

“Dr. Hansen taught me to ask more question,” says Wittwer. “And not to necessarily believe everything I read, saw, or heard.”"

Uncle Vincent, a retired surgeon, was featured in a story that ran in SLTrib (12 July 06) about his membership in a group called the Dirty Shirts. They get together every Wednesday rain or shine to play golf in the summer at Rose Park Golf Course or bowl in the winter months at The Ritz. Some Wednesdays, they just meet at Lumpy’s for lunch. Uncle Vincent is the oldest of the group, which averages over 85 years of age.

According to the SLTrib “The golf is pretty informal — a lengthy list of whimsical rules that would make the president of the USGA storm the place ensures scores stay reasonably low — but the lunch afterwrd is serious business. All 16 Dirty Shirts take their turns aphabetically to be “host” of the lunch and pick up the check. The host must provide desert, preferably homemade . . .”

My Grandmother Rees lived alone until she was almost 100. She loved to play bridge but was continually outliving her bridge club members. Two of her sisters were at her funeral. Almost all of her 12 brothers and sisters lived long productive lives.

So what is the secret to living forever? In the case of the Munks (my grandmother’s family) there must be several factors, foremost is genetics. But hard work and not smoking probably help(ed) a lot. My Mother is also very nutrition conscience (my Father was a biochemist and nutritionist). And I’m sure that didn’t hurt.

This subject is a huge issue in Mormon culture. I keep hearing all kinds of horror stories about the relations between parents and children, and keep being told examples of how parental expectations are both problematic and unrealistic. How parents can see their children in only one light, and fail to take into consideration their children’s needs and desires. This is ironic for a culture that claims to emphasize the family.

Parents who say that they would rather see their children dead than come home early from a Mormon mission need to reevaluate their own lives. They need to ask questions like: Am I putting my social status above the happiness of my child? Am I unfairly transferring my expectations to my children? This issue of parent/child relationships was effectively examined in Richard Dutcher’s adult Mormon-genre movie States of Grace. Here the director/writer looks at the issues of a Mormon missionary going home early and a young girls “transgressions” in Hollywood. It is a must-see for all thinking Mormons, any parents for that matter.

I think the bottom line is: We need to love our children (and, in my case, grandchildren). Each child needs to live his/her own life. If they are gay, so be it. We must come to grips with the fact that they, in all probability, will not be changing. If they need to be agnostics or atheists, so be it. Religious beliefs can and do evolve. Forcing our beliefs onto them is a losing proposition. Both movies are good and recommended. But I didn’t like the ending of either.