So ... only 50%?

I know this will be only of academic interest to the two people who regularly read this blog, but a study published last year by the University of East London indicated that almost 80% of boys had seen people having sex by age of 16, and some estimates put the volume of Internet traffic devoted in one way or another to sex as high as 50%. 

 Click on image to enlarge

A study published earlier this year in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Psychology, was conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Germany and used MRI scans to map the brain structures of 64 men, ages 21–45, who possessed a broad spectrum of pornography consumption habits (from zero to 19.5 hours a week, with the average being about four). Researchers measured the men’s reactions to both pornographic and nonpornographic images. They found a correlation between the amount of pornography subjects consumed in a week and smaller volumes of grey matter in a part of the brain associated with motivation and reward processing; less activity in a brain region associated with sexual stimulation; and a decrease in connectivity between the reward center and the region of the brain integral to setting and achieving goals.

The researchers believe that, taken together, the data support their theory that “pornography exposure might lead to wearing and down regulation of the underlying brain structure, as well as function, and a higher need for external stimulation of the reward system and a tendency to search for novel and more extreme sexual material.” In other words, regular porn consumption creates a negative spiral in which more novel and extreme images are required to achieve the same results.

But don’t throw away that dirty DVD collection just yet. [Damien's note: Again, I realize that my visitors have no such dirty DVD collection, unless they mean dusty DVDs of Masterpiece Theater and such.]

The researchers presented a solid theory that elegantly explains their findings and fits neatly with existing models of brain architecture. But this study can’t tell us whether watching porn causes changes in the regions of the brain involved in sex and motivation, or whether some individuals are born with brains prewired to need extreme reward and sexual stimulation, driving them to watch more porn.

Though the data do indicate a connection between porn consumption and grey matter volume, it isn’t very strong. On a scale of zero to one, the correlation ratio for porn hours and smaller grey matter clocks in at an inconclusive 0.432. Furthermore, the study recruited relatively few men (64, hardly representative) and relied on the subjects to self-report their porn consumption habits — a notoriously unreliable method of data collection when it comes to questions about sex.

More studies will be required if we want to fully understand the long-term effects of sexually explicit material on the human brain. Until that day comes, practice moderation; nothing pleasurable in life comes without some kind of cost, so why would we expect porn to be any different?

Source: The Advocate [surely an unbiased place to find out about porn]

Monks gone amok?

In this episode, worlds collide. One world is a monastery in New Mexico, where monks strive to remain tranquil in all circumstances. The other world is United Airlines, which is designed to test the patience of monks who strive to remain tranquil in all circumstances.

Or so it seems. Because it is easy to keep a steady pulse in the splendor and isolation of a desert. But on the phone with United? That is much, much harder.

Our tale begins with a flight taken in late November by a Brother John Baptist of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, in Abiquiu, N.M. (The monks requested that their monastic names be used, for privacy reasons.) He had flown to his native Malawi in southeastern Africa to visit his sick mother in late November, on a round-trip ticket bought by the monastery for $2,489. Though some of the travel would be on another carrier, United sold the ticket.

Soon after he arrived in Malawi, he realized that he needed to stay longer. So the monastery called United to reschedule his return trip, adding a few weeks to his stay.

That’s when the trouble started. A monk at the monastery, Brother Noah, called United and said he was told that the company never received payment for the ticket. This sounded insane, given that Brother John Baptist had already used the outbound portion of the itinerary. United’s rep then said something a little contradictory: Brother John Baptist actually had credit for a return flight, but he could not use this credit because of suspicion that the original transaction was fraudulent.

The best idea, the rep suggested, was for the monastery’s leader, Abbot Philip, to visit the United desk at the airport in Albuquerque, a three-hour drive away.

Brother Noah asked for a supervisor.

“I spoke to a Mark,” Brother Noah told the Haggler. “He took full responsibility and said that he was reissuing the ticket. He said we’d receive it via email. We waited two hours. It never came.”

Brother Noah called again and provided the original confirmation number, passenger name and so on. The customer service rep couldn’t find it. So he asked again for a supervisor.

“This was the most frustrating call of the day,” Brother Noah said. “Everything became our fault. There was no evidence that Brother John Baptist had been placed on a new return flight. No record of the conversation with Mark. I really struggled to remain calm and charitable. My monastic life is about staying peaceful in all circumstances. I failed during this call.”

The Haggler was intrigued. What exactly does a livid monk sound like, anyway?

“I said to her something like: ‘Thank you for speaking. God bless you. I will pray for you. But you have not been helpful.’ ”

Whoa, Brother Noah! Dial back the rage there, fella. You’re going to pop a vein.

When the Haggler noted that this outburst didn’t really sound like an outburst, Brother Noah laughed and then elaborated.

“It was my tone of voice,” he said. “I know that it manifested anger.”

Abbot Philip decided that it was time go high-tech. The monastery posted an open letter on its website — what, a monastery can’t have a website? — explaining the predicament to online visitors and asking for help. The post included a rebuttal to United’s claim that the round-trip ticket was a fraudulent purchase.

“The credit card belongs to the monastery, and I made the reservation personally,” Abbot Philip wrote. “In any case, canceling a return flight without notice and stranding a passenger abroad is not a reasonable first step to resolve concerns about possible fraud.”

Dozens read and responded to this post, and one person forwarded it to the Haggler. But before the Haggler became involved, someone else connected the monastery to a person with clout at United. Brother John Baptist’s ticket was quickly reinstated.

What had gone wrong? The first explanation was that the monastery’s credit-card company, MasterCard, had canceled the ticket. Brother Noah said a customer rep told him, “We have a significant amount of fraud for transactions in this region of the world, and it is the responsibility of the card holder to confirm payment directly to their credit-card company.” (Brother Noah said he typed detailed notes during the call.)

That answer sounded implausible to Brother Noah, as it would to all sentient beings, because MasterCard had processed the transaction and never issued a fraud alert.

A few days after this unsatisfying explanation, the Haggler contacted United. And a few days after that, United called the monastery and offered a $350 credit for future use and, for the first time, an apology.

“We really appreciated this,” Brother Noah wrote in an email to the Haggler, “because it was the first time someone had said it wasn’t the monks’ fault!”

So what really went awry?

A rep in corporate customer care told Brother Noah that United had recently hired a third-party fraud-detection company.

“They got a bit overzealous,” this rep told Brother Noah, according to his notes. “I can’t even say what I want to say about it. It has gone up the chain. One of our senior V.P.s was involved and knew about it. I don’t think they’ll be making this mistake again.”

To the Haggler, United was a bit more vague. “We incorrectly marked the charge for the ticket as fraudulent,” wrote a spokeswoman, Jennifer Dohm, “which is what prevented the customer from making a change and ultimately prevented the reservations agents he spoke to from resolving the issue.”

So United, and the rest of the world, have learned a valuable lesson: Do not mess with the monks of the Monastery of Christ in the Desert. Because, when wronged, they will seek justice, and they will use methods far more effective than yelling.

Source: The New York Times

Some connections need to be missed

From the "Missed Connections" page on Craigslist:

Source: Huffington Post

National Cuddle Up Day

Today, January 6, besides being the old date for the Feast of Epiphany or the Feast the the Three Kings, is also National Cuddle Up Day.

Yes, please!

Cain

The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints takes no official stance on this, but some members believe that the legendary Sasquatch or Bigfoot is Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve and murderer of his younger brother, Abel. 

The main source that usually is used to back this theory is the reminiscence of Abraham Smoot of a story from one of the Church's first apostles, David W. Patten. Patten claimed that in 1835 he encountered Cain walking along the side of the road. He wrote: "He walked along beside me for about two miles. His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark." 

We can see how someone could get Bigfoot from that description. The Smoot/Patten story was also quoted in Spencer W. Kimball's book, The Miracle of Forgiveness. In the 1980's, there was a Bigfoot sighting in South Weber, Utah and many members used this story to explain how and why these sightings occurred. 

Extract from Miracle of Forgiveness by the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball

On the sad character Cain, an interesting story comes to us from Lycurgus A. Wilson's book on the life of David W. Patten. From the book I quote an extract from a letter by Abraham O. Smoot giving his recollection of David Patten's account of meeting "a very remarkable person who had represented himself as being Cain.'

'As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me… His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the holy priesthood, and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight…"

(Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball, (1969) p 127

Damien's note: While I imagine there is no historical or causal connection with Spencer Kimball's quoting of this story about a man whose "skin was very dark," he is remembered as the man who, while serving as President of the Church in 1978, had a revelation (or oversaw a group revelation to the Church's leadership) that resulted in the Mormons extending membership in the priesthood to male members of African descent, something that had been forbidden from the late 1840s.

Rep. Louis Gohment plans to run for Speaker of the House

Oh, just look him up. I don't even know where to begin on the absurdity of this one. One quote will have to do:

“I talked to a retired FBI agent who said that one of the things they were looking at were terrorist cells overseas who had figured out how to game our system. And it appeared they would have young women, who became pregnant, would get them into the United States to have a baby,” said Gohmert. “They wouldn’t even have to pay anything for the baby. And then they would turn back where they could be raised and coddled as future terrorists. And then one day, twenty, thirty years down the road, they can be sent in to help destroy our way of life. ‘Cause they figured out how stupid we are being in this country to allow our enemies to game our system, hurt our economy, get set up in a position to destroy our way of life."

I don't need to point out that Mr. Gohmert represents to the nth degree what is already happening in this country because we "allow our enemies to game our system, hurt our economy, get set up in a position to destroy our way of life."

Not a joke

On November 30, 2014 an allegedly intoxicated Dwayne Fenlason, 48, drove his pickup truck into a ditch in Pomfret, Vermont, bringing a DUI citation -- and then subsequently drove an SUV to the scene to pull the truck out (earning a second DUI), and then an all-terrain vehicle to the scene (and a third DUI).

Source: WCAX-TV (Burlington), December 7, 2014

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 32,719 people died in traffic crashes in 2013 in the United States (latest figures available), including an estimated 10,076 people who died in drunk driving crashes, accounting for 31% of all traffic deaths that year.

The good news is that efforts to fight drunk driving have resulted in a 52 % decrease in deaths due to drunk driving since 1982 when the NHTSA started keeping records of alcohol-related statistics.