Does Telekinesis or Psychokinesis really exist?

This is an old blog post from a website of mine that I recently deleted. I decided to re-post it to this blog. The original date of this post was sometime in July during the year 2011. 

I’ve been hearing about this type of phenomena for years, even as a small child, but does it really exist?  This amazing feat of mind-over-matter and/or the ability to move objects with mere thought, perhaps may be more properly known as (PK) “psychokinesis,” although I usually hear it called (TK) “telekinesis.”  Personally, I don’t care what you call it; I just want some real, raw proof that it actually exists without all the inconclusive evidence, failed test results, magic tricks, mental delusions and any other grey area that covers the land of utter hooey.

Don’t get me wrong, I used to be more into this type of stuff and my curious mind would rarely rule out something as impossible unless I knew for sure, but as the years pass by, it seems that more and more people are obsessed with miraculous magic, mythical gods, fictitious fantasies full of fairy tales, and so on.  I suppose people are getting bored with actuality and want to create a newfangled, altered reality that simply isn’t even there to begin with.  This brings us to one of the many subjects that fit within the walls of “real or not real” and/or “exist or nonexistent,” and that being Telekinesis – a.k.a. Psychokinesis.

Okay, I’m not going to drag this subject out further than it should, so I’ll be rather quick; if you’d like to add more to this particular blog post when I’m done, there’s always a comment field that you can blast your opinions into.

Now, I’ve read a fair amount about psychokinesis over the years, but never really took it that serious. I always figured that it would be a big stretch for the mind to be able to noticeably move objects using brain power alone, and that if it was ever able to be achieved, it would take years of practice to be able to barely move a tiny object a fraction of an inch.  What makes the possibility of telekinesis the most interesting to me, is not the actual moving of objects with your mind, but all the scientific laws that it would destroy in the process.  I’m still undecided – when it comes to whether or not it exists.  Personally, I’ve never really messed with it that much because I figured that, even if I did succeed in the manifestation of my TK or PK abilities, my life would not change or be impacted much if I could make a tiny object move a fraction of an inch by concentrating for extended periods of time.  …Talk about a waste of time!

At any rate, when speaking about measurement and observation, parapsychology researchers describe two basic types of measurable and observable psychokinetic and telekinetic effects in experimental laboratory research and in case reports occurring outside of the laboratory.  Micro-PK (also micro-TK) is a very small effect, such as the manipulation of molecules, atoms, subatomic particles, etc., that can only be observed with scientific equipment. The words are abbreviations for micro-psychokinesis and micro-telekinesis. Macro-PK (also macro-TK) is a large-scale effect that can be seen with the unaided eye. The adjective phrases “microscopic-scale,” “macroscopic- scale,” “small-scale,” and “large-scale” may also be used; for example, “a small-scale PK effect.”

So, as you can see, some folks are so desperate to prove that telekinesis / psychokinesis really does exist, that they are willing to test down to the microscopic particles, such as atoms and whatnot…  Ha-ha!   Even the macroscopic scale of measurement during some of these TK tests, involves very tiny objects.

In closing:  The sad reality is that regardless of all the claims thus far, there hasn’t been anyone who has proven to the scientific community without a shadow of doubt, that psychokinesis exists without magic tricks or trickery, bogus tests results, scams, con-artist acts, flimflams, and so on…  I can tell you one thing, if a person can actually look at an object and fling it across the room just by thinking about it, with the way the world’s communication and media is today, they will be on the news and a global star within hours.  Of course, they will also most likely be subjected to a battery of strange lab tests, so if you really can lift your couch up off the floor just by thinking about it, you might want to keep quiet about it unless you like a bunch of people wearing white coats, shoving probes up your ass…  Ha-ha-ha!

Maybe Telekinesis should just be for entertainment on the Television and Psychokinesis should just be a sport for the Psychopaths?  Does TK and PK really exist?   If so, is it on a large enough scale to really count?  What’s the largest object you have moved with your mind?  You tell me…

---End of Post "Does Telekinesis or Psychokinesis really exist?"

Were we born with Altruism and a Conscience?

This is an old blog post that I relocated here from another website of mine that I recently deleted. The original date of the post is lost, but it was somewhere around the year 2012, for reference.

I’ve seen a lot of debates online lately within the comment fields and random forums, and I’m not talking about the typical religion & politics arguments, either.  Actually, I usually try to steer clear from religious subjects and politics, unless I’m just in the mood to stir up some crap and argue. Ha!

Anyway, I’m seeing a lot more queries about evolution, consciousness, conscience, altruism, anthropic principles, and so on.  Although those particular subjects are seemingly more interesting than your basic science versus religion debates, they often start getting to the point where it really doesn’t make a damn difference either way.

At least these people are using their brains for thinking and whatnot, but sometimes it seems like it would be more productive to focus on your own problems and mundane life, as opposed to being online exchanging thoughts with a bunch of people who are, for the most part, unqualified idiots that think they have unraveled the properties of the universe simply because they had a little too much drugs, alcohol, or way too much free time on their hands. LOL!

At any less than ordinary rate, I’ll get back to the main subject at hand:

Were we born with altruism and a conscience?

Hopefully, in due time, I’ll have some gurus show up in my comment field with their opinions, so that anyone who reads this post, can become enlightened with such infinite wisdom, and so on…

As for my answer: I really don’t know for sure. It seems that humans (along with most other life) are born with a lot of natural instincts and pre-installed cognitive functions, so I’d say that we are born with a conscience along with altruism, but it develops with personal experience and your surroundings, etc.  I know at a very, very young age, I sure had a conscience due to my strong feeling of right & wrong.  Altruism sounds like a ‘born with’ trait that evolved right along with survival skills…

Okay, I’d like to think that most of y’all know what ‘conscience’ is: “consciousness of the moral right and wrong of one’s own acts or motives.”

Altruism is “unselfish interest in the welfare of others.”  “Pure Altruism” is when you give something of value (a reward or benefit) with no expectation of any compensation or benefits, either direct or indirect (for example, receiving recognition for giving).  Although altruism is considered “unselfish,” it often seems selfish to me, when you analyze it a little further.  Feeling good and gaining a higher level of self-importance from giving something to somebody, providing food to someone, helping someone in need, etc., is sort of like getting something back, just not in a material sense.  I suppose it depends on how you look at it, and what type of people we are dealing with.

On a quick change of subject, while searching for online debates featuring the “were we born with altruism and a conscience?” question, I stumbled upon a semi-related topic.  Have you ever heard of the Tabula Rasa?  Uh, well, I haven’t heard of that one before, not that it was a big loss or anything, just saying…  Well, in case you didn’t know what in the hell it was:

“Tabula rasa is the epistemological (a branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of knowledge) theory that individuals are born without built-in mental content and that their knowledge comes from experience and perception. Generally, proponents of the tabula rasa thesis favor the “nurture” side of the “nature versus nurture” debate, when it comes to aspects of one’s personality, social and emotional behavior, and intelligence. In Western philosophy, traces of the idea that came to be called the tabula rasa appear as early as the writings of Aristotle.  However, besides some arguments by the Stoics and Peripatetics, the notion of the mind as a blank slate went largely unnoticed for more than 1,000 years.”  You can read more about this subject online, as I’m not taking up much more space for the “blank mental state” theory, as we have enough blank minds out there as it is…

In closure and in my opinion, when dealing with the question about whether or not we were born with altruism and/or a conscience, I’d say there is more debate about the altruism than the other.  With that being said, I’ll provide three related links below – one is a fairly large Wikipedia page about this very subject, and the other links are still somewhat related as they talk about finding self, auras, and God from another dimension, etc.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism  

* God is from another Dimension...

* Do you have an Aura? What does "finding self" mean?

—End of Post “Were we born with Altruism and a Conscience?”

Quantum Jumping vs. Deep Meditation & Creative Imagination

This is an old post that I moved from another website to this blog.

Original Post Date: 7/08/2012

What is all this talk about “Quantum Jumping?” I’m sure many of you have run across the adverts related to this subject, and there is a lot of talk about it on the web, as well. Today, I’m going to delve into this topic and just see what all this “jumping” is about, with or without the quantum babble. With what little I have gathered in the past, I’d say that a person can achieve, whatever this expensive course supposed to do, similar goals with deep meditation and creative imagination, but we’ll see…

[Researching… Watching Videos… Sorting through crap…]

Okay, I’m back. Wow! …Such marketing hype out there!

A quick quote from the official Quantum Jumping website: “Quantum Jumping is a meditation and visualization technique created by 84-year-old Burt Goldman, a leader in the human consciousness movement. Quantum Jumping is a powerful way to tap into the expanded zone of awareness where ideas and inspiration flow freely.”

To me, these people seem to gain a euphoria similar to those in church while praying, singing, and praising the Lord. Some of these folks also seem to feel a sense of Nirvana like people often find in Buddhism and/or during deep meditation while using creative imagination.

To cut to the core of this method, Quantum Jumping is based on the idea that multiple universes exist. Hell, most folks think this universe doesn't even make sense. This “jumping” technique sounds very similar to astral projection, astral travel or a form of OBE (out-of-body experience), as they (the people that promote & market this concept) claim that you can get in contact with another YOU from another universe. Hmm, I suppose they are proponents of String Theory, as well? Anyway, on their official website, they will plainly tell you that it doesn’t matter if you take their concepts literally or metaphorically, because their classes work, regardless. (Red Flag! Save your money!) I have no doubt that this stuff works well for many people, but if you can achieve the same goal for free or for very little money, why fall for the hype? On the other hand, if ya got plenty of money and are looking to encounter some cool, creative, boogy-boogy astral travel via a wild, free-roaming imagination, dive on in! Oops, I mean jump on out! LOL!

Speaking of classes, they are extremely expensive, by what I gather. Don’t worry, I’ll provide a YouTube video in a moment, that will provide you with an honest review.

Now, I must say, people have been doing this sort of thing for ages! But before, they didn’t have this “Quantum” label to smack onto it.

The whole quantum this and quantum that, is sort of trendy right now, if ya haven’t noticed. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve studied a little bit about quantum mechanics and whatnot, and it’s very interesting, to say the least. It is one aspect of science that does seem to get a little “spooky” or religious sounding for a lot of standard scientists, but no matter if you agree with the foundation of quantum entanglement or whatever, for example, it makes a person think.

In my opinion, when it comes to quantum entanglement and related theories, viewing the universe and the life within it as a whole, is an excellent way of thinking. Call it a theory of unity if it makes you feel better, but I’ll also provide a video that takes a peek at that, as well.

Since this post does most of its talking by way of videos, I don’t have much to add, other than I see an upcoming spiritual-type religion surfacing more and more, in the field of human consciousness. I believe that this particular way of looking at awareness or spiritual growth via the study of consciousness, is more positive for humanity as whole, when compared to a lot of the dogma I see today, but that’s another subject…

This video features a seemingly honest review about Quantum Jumping:

This video features concepts about quantum entanglement and becoming one with the universe:

What’s your opinion?

If you took the time to read and/or research about Quantum Jumping concepts along with watching those 2 videos provided above, you should have a pretty good idea of whether or not you think there is anything to it or not. Personally, I think Quantum Jumping, whether it works or not, is overly priced marketing hooey, and that one could find the same results or better, by cheaper (or free) alternatives using deep meditation and creative imagination. That’s just my opinion, of course; what’s yours?

---End of Post "Quantum Jumping vs. Deep Meditation & Creative Imagination"

The History of Money - Barter, Trade, Gifts, Coins, Bank Notes...

Side Note: This is an old post I wrote on another website at the beginning of the year 2013. I recently deleted that website, so I decided to repost it here. Actually, there will be a lot of reposting of content to multiple blogs of mine over the next few months because that particular website had about 200 pages and nearly 70% of that was worthy of saving. But back to the subjects at hand...

This is such a lovely subject, especially since many folks are always thinking about money. I hear it all the time on the beloved writing site called “HubPages,” as many people are in a constant battle with this whole writing online for extra greenbacks thingy or, in some cases, typing poppycock for pennies. Ha!

Well, after reading a little bit about the history of money, just be glad you are not out there bartering cows, sheep and chickens for wheat, fruit & vegetables and clothing, or out trying to trade your pretty bracelets and cute seashells or beads for some half-stewed squash, green tomatoes or a small, dried-out serving of wild boar meat that stayed on the fire too long, for example.

Anyway, when a person reads various history books in conjunction with online references, many of the dates don’t match up. So, when you see a date listed here beside a certain form of money, just feel free to add a +/- sign to the end of it, when contemplating the accuracy.

Going through the timeline, although I’ll leave out a few similar mediums, I’ll list several types of money used by civilizations along with their estimated dates that they originated – except for the method that was used during our prehistory, of course. Before we begin, one must first understand that “money” is any object of value that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services along with the repayment of debts and so on. …Way before paper money, bank notes and metallic coins ever arrived to the scene, the Homo sapiens have traded items of value in the exchange of gifts, livestock, tokens, etc.

Okay, let's go back to what most humans refer to as “prehistory.” Prehistoric people used common livestock such as cattle for their main money source, and probably looked at chickens and sheep sort of like we would small change. I mean, let's compare a chicken to 25 cents (a quarter) and a cow to twenty- or 50-dollar bills, for example. This would be classified as “barter,” which is to trade by exchange of goods.

Since we are going back to ancient times, one can only imagine what all they may have traded. I mean, I wouldn’t stop at just livestock, and one may also say that the phrase “exchange of goods” is at least a semi-ambiguous statement, to say the least.

Moving right along into roughly 1200 B.C., some of these bi-peds used seashells as money. Starting from the Maldives, the use of cowrie shells as a form of currency spread throughout the Pacific. This practice later reached Africa by the 19th century. This type of money was both used as whole pieces and as small pieces that was often found in the form of beads. Speaking of shells, that reminds me of a short blog post I wrote on a Nature Blog about Razorshells in the sand. I wonder how much money they would have been worth back then? I mean, at least they looked cool. But anyway...

Sometime around 1000-500 B.C., the Chinese used typical tools that were cast in metal and punched with holes, which made them easy to string together, as a form of money. Have you ever heard of “knife money?”

Somewhere around 640 B.C., the state of Lydia supposedly made “the first true coins” consisting of a gold & silver alloy that normally contains an image of a lion’s head. Whether or not Lydian coins were the first, doesn’t matter, but either way, coin currency came about long after barter and trade. Shortly after, Greek coins arose (around 465 B.C.). The Roman coinage system was reformed around 27 B.C.

I’ve heard several different dates within different dynasties of China on this next one, but we’ll say that around the years 800-820 (A.D.) the earliest bank notes were issued. I have also read that the Jin Dynasty issued the first “true” bank notes during the year 1189.

Henry II of England really stepped up to the monetary plate in 1158 and created some high-quality coins with a nifty little cross design that was based on a silver penny. Well, well, ain’t we slick…

Are any of y’all sick of hearing about money yet? No? Uh, okay… I am, so I’ll speed this thing up…

Moving way on up the timeline, during the 17th century, the use of checks spread rampantly in Europe. Hmm, I wonder what they did to people who “wrote bad checks” back then? Ha!

Blah, blah, blah… Oh, I’m still typing this blog post about money… Uh… The Bank of England issued its first bank notes in 1694. Woot-woot!

This next tidbit is something I learned today (shows how much US history I’ve studied in the past), which is that the United States Treasury issued the first dollar bills for national circulation, in the year 1862. You know, those green suckers people used to often call “greenbacks.”

Going by what I have read lately, Credit Cards first appeared in the United States of America during the year 1949. …It is funny though, as we begin the year 2013 (at the time I’m writing this), the US seems like one giant maxed-out credit card itself… Anyway, Debit Cards started to be used during the 1980s although I didn’t start using mine until about the year 2000, which is when I started trusting their electronic transfers more – since ya know, “everybody is doing it;” ha!

Oh, I almost forgot one interesting subject about money, which is not about trade/barter, coins, bank notes, paper cash, etc., but it is about gifts.

Normally I wouldn’t resort to such, but for the explanation of what is known as a “gift economy,” I’ll copy a quick excerpt from Wikipedia, here:

“In a gift economy, valuable goods and services are regularly given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Ideally, simultaneous or recurring giving serves to circulate and redistribute valuables within the community. Some consider the gifts to be a form of reciprocal altruism. Another interpretation is that implicit “I owe you” debt and social status are awarded in return for the gifts. Consider for example, the sharing of food in some hunter-gatherer societies, where food-sharing is a safeguard against the failure of any individual’s daily foraging. This custom may reflect altruism, it may be a form of informal insurance, or may bring with it social status or other benefits."

When I read about a “gift economy,” I can’t help but think more about people working together as opposed to the commonly corrupt monetary systems we often see today. That is why I saved the form of money via gifts for last, as I think it sort of doesn’t belong in the same category as the others, if ya get my drift…

At any rate, if anybody starts hating their money after reading this post, they can always feel free to send me an expensive gift or a rather large monetary donation, you know, just for your sake, of course… LOL!

Addition:  I originally wrote this on another website and there were a couple of comments in the comment field, so I’ll post them below:

I started the comment section with: “As societies became more complex, a need arose for a uniform medium of exchange to acquire goods. Money was created to fulfill this role, and it evolved from cattle to precious metals, and finally, to coins and bank notes. Today, money is exchanged more abstractly, through credit cards or electronic transfers.” —Timelines of History

Yeah, the same concept that allows us to flourish and grow also allows for us to sell out, cheat, and become corrupt. Yep, I’ll take me some more of that “money stuff” any day… LOL!

Commenter said: “Roman soldiers were paid for work in salarium or salt. This explains origin or word salary and phrase “worth one’s salt.” Many societies used Porto money like cocoa, tobacco etc., and it would be interesting to know why cowrie shells were used as money.”

I said in reply: “It is commonly believed that Roman soldiers were at certain times paid with salt. (They say the soldiers who did their job well were “worth their salt.”) The word ‘salary’ derives from the Latin word salārium, possibly referring to money given to soldiers so they could buy salt.  If you are curious as to why or how cowrie shells were used as money, instead of me explaining this, it might be easier to start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shell_money

Thanks for stopping by and good luck with the online revenue; ha!”

Since that commenter mentioned tobacco also being used like money back then, it reminded me of a blog post I wrote on another blog that was called "Can Ultra Lights or Additive-Free Cigarettes help you quit?" 

At any rate, if anybody has any additional comments, feel free to add them below…

---End of Post "The History of Money - Barter, Trade, Gifts, Coins, Bank Notes..."

History of Electricity - From Magnetism to Nuclear Power...

After recently writing a blog post about the “Quest for Zero Point (Free) Energy,” I thought it was a good time to slap down a quick entry about the history of electricity.  This beloved form of power can, of course, come from many sources such as magnets via magnetism, water (hydroelectric power), steam, solar power, wind power and from crude sources like burning coal, gasoline, and other miscellaneous fuels along with the dreaded nuclear power plants that we need less of in this world, and so on.

Toward the end of this post, I’ll provide a few additional resource links and a couple books (shopping links) from Amazon that relate to this subject.  One of those books is what got me thinking about various subjects that have to do with the history of things, how stuff got started, etc.  Anyway, before I begin with the timeline of electricity, I must say that I’m not going to include a thorough step-by-step progression chart of how the Homo sapiens knowledge of electricity evolved over the centuries.  I’ll jot down a few historic tidbits and leave you with a few links so you can further your study, if desired.

On another subject, this small timeline of events only covers standard, basic history facts.  In reality or, at least in my opinion, there have been civilizations that lived here long ago that were far more advanced than the human beings of today and most likely had access to some type of crystal technology along with a special skill to use the Earth as a free source of energy and the ability to tap into the grid of Zero Point Energy, etc.  Anyway…

Way back in 600 B.C., Thales of Miletus stumbled upon the fact that when you rub a piece of Amber against fur, that it would hold what appeared to be a magnetic property for a short time.  The friction was actually creating what was later known as “static electricity.”  During the year 1600, William Gilbert (an English physician) published his well-known work about magnetism.

After the year 1700, the “Electrostatic Generator” came to the scene.  Using wool threads and a glass globe, the English inventor Francis Hauksbee developed a contraption that could generate static electricity.  Not too many years later, 1745-46, a device was invented to store static electricity, by Ewald Georg and Pieter van Musschenbroe.

To prove that lightning was a form of electricity, Benjamin Franklin created a cheap lightning conductor using a kite with a key tied to the string.  Dang, talk about being resourceful and ingenious; ha!

This next tidbit would sort of rival with ancient ruins and other things that were allegedly found in the past, like the notion that batteries existed thousands of years ago, but anyway, the first battery was supposedly created in 1799-1800 by Alessandro Volta and was called “Voltaic Pile.”  So now you know where the term ‘volt’ came from, eh?

In 1820 electromagnetism was discovered!  Hans Christian, a Danish physicist, realizes the relationship between magnets and electricity.  This is fairly big because it quickly led to other experiments like the “induction ring” by Michael Faraday, the “electromagnet” by Joseph Henry, along with other people starting to experiment and/or perform experiments with magnetism and electricity, etc.

1878-79, Joseph Swan, a British inventor, creates an “incandescent lamp” that was later modified and improved by Thomas Edison, hence the creation of our much-needed light bulbs; yay!

This next tidbit was interesting to read, as it spoke about how in 1881, the English town of Godalming, Surrey, demonstrated the world’s first public display of electric lighting as it wired the streets full of electricity.  A year later, scientists start to realize what is known as hydroelectric power, which is basically using water to generate electricity, and many water-based power plants and dams are built shortly after.

The next couple of years, 1883-84, the famous inventor Nikola Tesla invents a way to transmit electricity over vast distances.  Known as the “Tesla Coil,” this invention acts as a catalyst for the progress towards the conveyance of electricity throughout the world.  During this same time frame, steam power and steam turbines are developed to generate electricity.

During the 1950s, is when Nuclear Power started taking off.  Personally, I would like to see less nuclear power and more alternative ways to generate electricity.  There are many things I didn’t list here, but there is definitely a “greener” solution.  Which is probably why a few decades after the start of nuclear power, you started hearing more about wind power via wind turbines, etc., and solar power via rechargeable solar panels and cells, etc.

At any rate, I wished I would have studied more about magnets, magnetism, electricity, AC/DC current and whatnot, at an early age.  I say that because I think that with a little creativity and intuition, a lot of inventions and cheaper ways of living could have spawned from it, just like many folks that have studied these fields have achieved.  I’ve heard of a lot of inventions getting suppressed, as well, but we won’t go into that today.  I don’t know, but if I couldn’t figure out how to tap into the ether to harness some Zero Point Energy (ha!), then it would still be pretty nifty to build your own generators and create your own electricity by using magnets and electricity and/or magnetism.  Plus, the discovery of the relationship between magnets and electricity is what eventually led to the electric motor, for example.

Well, we just covered a brief timeline about the history of electricity.  If you are interested in a whole host of subjects that discuss the history and storylines behind the progress of mankind, you may be interested in the book Smithsonian Timelines of History, as I’ll provide the link in a moment.  If you are looking for a couple additional resource links that speak about the progression of electricity down through history, whether it be nuclear power, magnetism or whatever, you can check out the following:

“History of Electricity – Timeline” & “The History of Electricity – Electronics”

Affiliate Links:

‘Click Here’ to Search Amazon for books about the Timelines of History

‘Click Here’ to find books related to Electricity and Magnetism

Random Blog Link: “Himalayan Salt Products, Lamps, Teal Light Candle Holders…”

—End of Post "History of Electricity - From Magnetism to Nuclear Power..."

Traditional Weapons - Martial Arts - Bruce Lee included...

Just like the song says, “Everybody was Kung Fu fighting…” Well, not exactly everybody or everywhere. The explosion of the interest in Martial Arts, started a few decades ago in the U.S. and has slowly tamed back down, but it is still alive.

After the great Bruce Lee died, it seemed that a lot of these wannabe successors were coming out of the woodwork – some talented, some were just plain amusing. Many walks of life from young to old were Karate kicking, Kung Fu slapping, while the limbs were just a slinging.

Below, I’ll list a few traditional weapons in the diverse field of martial arts – Bruce Lee included. Side note: even if they are not used for self-defense, the routines make for great workouts, and it helps to sharpen your hand-eye coordination.

Nunchaku or Nunchucks – is a personal favorite of mine. Ever since I seen the movie “Enter the Dragon” at age 5, I was destined to own a pair. I started out with foam, later I made my own, now I probably have 10 or 12 professional ones ranging anywhere from tele-chucks, mini-chucks, studded chucks, metal nunchaku, acrylic nunchucks with flashing lights, and of course, the basic one made with wood.

The nunchaku normally consists of two sticks of wood or metal, connected with a chain and ball swivels. This swirling device can put on one hell of a display and can be used as an effective weapon in self-defense. Check out the video below, for a demonstration via Bruce!

Nunchucks via Bruce Lee:

3 Sectional Staff – is one traditional weapon that I haven’t mastered yet, and it isn’t seen as often in martial arts films. I only know a few moves but, once it is mastered, it can be an excellent weapon for defense along with a creative display of whirling wind and swinging fury. It consists of 3 long sticks connected by short chains. It is very interesting to watch; check out this awesome display, below:

3 Sectional Staff – Demonstration:

Sai – is an attractive, effective, traditional martial art weapon from Okinawa. Depicted below, is a typical pair of the weaponry known as the Sai:

This is great for trapping, blocking, blunt end strikes, and so on. It is believed by some, that this used to be an agriculture tool (like a lot of weapons) that later become “weaponized.” It is usually used in pairs. The Sai is versatile and can be wielded in many different ways. It is often twirled around during demonstrations, but in combat it is used for jabbing-type strikes, punches, blocks, and has the ability to ward off and/or trap a sword, etc. I own a large pair, and they are fun to play with, to say the least.

Bo Staff – this single section, long staff is favored by many. I was never that enthused about a bow staff – due to the simplicity of movements. But, regardless, if you become familiar with this long-range weapon, it can do some damage.  I must add, some grammar gurus will state that you can only say “staff” or “bo” but never “bo staff.”  I say call it what ya want; hell, saying “a long stick” is descriptive enough for me.  Ha-ha!

Bo Staff – Demonstration:

Kama – this is another farm tool that got modified into weapon form. It is also referred to as the “Okinawan sickle.”

It is dangerous, so I recommend buying an unsharpened, practice version for beginners. I have both, the training one and the real razor-sharp sickle. A real professional, razor-sharp Kama is lethal. I haven’t had much experience with it, for I only trained with this weapon for a short time. If you get enough speed going, it makes a nice whipping sound. I’ll provide a video below, that goes over some basic strikes; nothing flashy, just a simple demo:

Basic Movements of the Okinawan Sickles:

Eskrima or Escrima Sticks – is basically a short staff cut into 2 pieces. Often referred to as stick fighting. Most people look at this style of weaponary as primitive battle, sort of like having 4 sticks and 2 maniacs going at it like crazed lunatics. But actually, there is a lot of techniques to master, and it takes a good deal of time to perfect. Depicted below, is a pair of Rattan Escrima Sticks:

Tonfa – is sort of like enhanced, defensive, police nightsticks and are often used in pairs. They have exceptional defense properties along with the offensive tactics of holding/pinning an opponent and/or striking repetitive blows into you opposition. The picture below, depicts this traditional weapon known as the Tonfa:

Swords – of all kinds are often used in martial arts, ranging from the training bokkens for beginners to ninja swords (ninjato) along with what the ancient samurai swordsman used. Whether you’re fencing for play or wielding a powerful blow to an opponent, swords have played a big role in martial combat, down through the years.

Bruce Lee – Links & Products…

These where just a few common examples of traditional weapons in martial arts, as there are many more that I could have included…

Informative Links for the great Martial Artist & Philosopher Bruce Lee:

| Bruce Lee Foundation | Bruce Lee – Fight History | (Previous links no longer active…) Bruce Lee Movies & Title Confusion | Going from Wing Chun to Jeet Kune Do

‘Shop’ Bruce Lee: Bruce Lee’s DVDs | Bruce Lee – Books | [Links are no longer active]

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Use an Isobaric Subwoofer Configuration to Save Space and Increase Quality of your Bass

Original Post Date from a deleted website of mine: 2-12-2013

Although this type of subject is not limited to car audio, it is generally the most common scenario that would involve the need to save on speaker-box space, etc.

Many folks that are wanting hard-hitting bass in their ride, generally think that big amps, big subwoofers, big box = big boom. Well, maybe so, but we don’t always have the trunk space of a large family car or the behind-the-seat air space of a van, either.

I used to be big into the car audio sound systems for a few years (right after High School), have built many speaker boxes (ported, sealed… even helped build bandpass boxes with Plexiglas windows, and so on), and I only had to resort to an Isobaric configuration one time, during all of that, but many folks may be interested in this extra option.

Okay, for one, I must say that the bigger the box does not by any means equal louder bass. Big, sealed boxes commonly hit at a lower frequency and have better quality overall, but as for finding your highest dB (decibel) potential, it's about finding the perfect-sized box for the frequency that you want to peak at. For example, some people may prefer a tighter, more punchy bass that hits harder at a higher frequency – if you mainly listen to hard rock, for example. On the other hand, a person who listens to rap may prefer a much lower frequency of bass, you know, the kind that vibrates your seat even when you can’t even hear it. The human ear can only hear so low of a frequency (same applies to extremely high megahertz), so when you build a box that hits below the frequency of human hearing, it feels weird, to say the least (I’ve witnessed it before).

Anyway, they sell books for scientifically building the perfect box for your subwoofers, but that is not the primary subject of this post. Oh, if you are interested in such things, follow the (affiliate) link “Loudspeaker Design Cookbook,” and grab yourself a copy, today.

At any rate, I’m about to quickly go over the Isobaric configuration, its pros and cons, and why or when you should use it…

The main reason a normal person would want to use an Isobaric subwoofer configuration, also known as the “push-pull” subwoofer setup, is to cut your required box size literally in half, as you can divide the air space by 2, when using this method! Hey, that’s pretty dang good, if you require a 4.0 cubic foot box in a hatchback, and can get it cut down to a pleasant 2.0 cubic foot, eh?

The configuration is very simple, it’s just that you have to double your number of subwoofers. In less words, we will turn two Subs into 1.

As you can tell by the image above, the push-pull effect can only be achieved if one of the subwoofers are wired in reverse. So, hook one sub up as normal, positive to positive, negative to negative, and the other Sub in reverse, such as positive wire to negative post of speaker and vice versa.

With two subwoofer cones acting as one, you have just created a “Super Subwoofer,” so to speak. By science, with the way this works, the required air space to basically operate at the same level as one, has been cut in half; presto! Since the opposing speaker that is facing inwards toward the other has been wired with a reversed polarity, you get the push-pull effect as when one pulls back, the other cone pushes forward. This is simple stuff here!

Now, let's get to the heart of the matter, as to the pros and cons and what type of situations would call for an Isobaric configuration.

Cons: Well, for one, you must have twice as many subwoofers to perform this and, depending on the brand name, this could cost a fair amount of extra money. Overall, per the amount of energy and/or power your amplifier puts out, Isobaric setups are not as efficient as single Subwoofer units are.

Pros: I suppose one of my favorite aspects of an Isobaric setup is the lowered amount of distortion. Unless you have poor quality speakers and amps, this configuration sounds great and provides a tight, clean bass sound! The main Pro for this type of configuration is, of course, the box size is cut in half, which is great if you are short for room but still want some bump involved in your sound system.

In closing, here are the times when a person may need to resort to an Isobaric installation process:

* When you have a very tight space in your vehicle, trunk, etc., and would like to have the sound of 2 subwoofers but only have room for one or have 4 Subs and only have room for 2, and so on.

* If you have the extra money and have more Subwoofers than brains (just kidding) and would just like to enjoy the enhanced quality and less distortion that Isobaric sound systems have and/or have the time and funds to experiment with different options, etc.

* If you have several low-quality subwoofers that you don’t want to throw away but would like to find a way to make them sound semi-decent.

* If you have a big amp with a lot of extra power to spare, and you are looking for a way to “amp it up” without excessive amounts of distortion.

* If you are just seeking a tighter hitting thump and more accurate bass sounds for your sound system and have the extra Subs and a powerful enough amplifier to work with.

So, as you can see, many of y’all can do without this configuration, but there will be times that using this Isobaric Subwoofer Configuration to Save Space and Increase Quality of your Bass, will be the best option.

Shopping (Affiliate) Link:

‘Click Here’ for a Fine Selection of Car Audio & Subwoofers

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Related Post: Building Speaker Boxes: MDF vs. Particle Board