The power supply to a computer is often the most underappreciated component of a computer and can well be a key to better, faster and smoother computer speeds of your computer.
But who ever thinks of that silver box tucked away in the back of your computer?
Most people simply have the power supply that came installed in their computer. If it ever overheats and breaks down, stopping their computer from starting dead cold, that is the only time most computer users ever think of, replace or upgrade their computer.
Imagine if you had an erratic source of electricity to your home that was sparkly, erratic or underpowered. In the same way if the power supply is an inexpensive one it may be erratic in its power output. You may well have upgraded your computer – added drives , added a second cd/dvd reader or burner, a new powerful video card , or a number of external USB devices – whether they be mice, keyboards , external drives powered by the USB port alone , and never thought that you were taxing your limited amperage power supply. All of this extra power usage by these new components that you have added to your computer without thinking of the consequences on your already stretched power supply can both dampen your computer performance and shorten the life of your power supply.
How is computer power supplies rated? Computer power supplies are usually rated by amperage. However this is a peak amperage measurement. This can be of a most optimistic rating. Late in the day – a couple of technicians overseas snap one or two of the better examples of their factories workmanship onto a load meter. They snap on the power briefly and note – did you see that – 500 watts. I’m sure I saw 500 watts says technician number 2 and even 3 and they mark the test results down. And if the numbers do not jive absolutely it can always be blamed on batch consistency or even a different group of products. For after all isn’t it a test of average load of a number of transformers.
Everything in life as they say comes down to practical logistics.
Most of the mass market computer that you will find in big box stores etc is mass produced. This has advantages of low cost and easy repair at the factory. The product has been set up and tested. If there is a problem with the computer it can be easily fixed, in, most cases with a simple swap of components at the factory. The computer model and its common problems and fixes are well known. The flip side is that the components have been carefully sought out, extensively tested and component quality shaved down to the bone.
As a result you do not have a lot of leeway with power supply to any upgrades or simple USB hardware additions to your computer system. Thus it is a wise idea to replace your power supply.
How can you judge which power supplies are better than others. First of all you can do a rough judgment by weight. The better power supplies will have a lot more copper metal in their transformer and will be much heavier. Inexpensive power supplies are very lightweight. You will notice the heavier weight of better power supplies immediately.
Next the better power supplies will have higher wattage. 200 – 300 watts may be fine for older Pentium 2s and 3s; newer computers may well need a minimum of 350 – 400 watts or more. It is not only power in watts but the consistency that matters. The better power supplies will be marked with consistent power output levels on their markings. As well they may be marked as having dual or more channels, What this means is that there are two or more entirely separate power supply channels, Thus there will be one distinct channel of power for the motherboard and another for the peripherals. When a DVD drive comes on it the power supply to the motherboard will not diminish even for a second.
Your computer speed will be smooooooooth.
The last thing to note is either the amount of plug outputs and the amount fans built into the power supply. The better power supplies will have the luxury of providing lots of extra plugs – both for convenience, and the expandability their power supply offers.
As well there may be extra fans to properly cool the better, more powerful power supplies. Even though there may be extra fans, the power supply over may be incredibly quiet due to the higher quality ball bearing based gearings and advanced sophisticated heat sensing power switching controls.
The ac power supply of your computer may well be the most unappreciated taken for granted component of your computer. A better power supply can be one of the keys to increasing the speed and consistent performance of your computer especially as you upgrade your computer adds new components. Might be a good idea to invest in a new. High quality computer power supply.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
How Adware And Spyware Can Harm Your Computer
We all know that computer viruses exist and have heard the many horror tales of how they can take out thousands of computers in one shot. Unfortunately for those whose computer has been damaged by a computer virus, these tales are not only true, but very destructive and time-consuming. However, even if you know how to protect your computer from one of these malicious viruses, there are other malware programs that can be almost as damaging and is far more common. The culprits are called spyware and adware.
These irritating programs can interfere with your computer every time you jump online. Adware is more or less harmless when settled onto your computer by itself. Mostly it simply generates a lot of spam (unsolicited and unwanted email) for products that bring advertising directly to your email. Adware can also produce "popup" ads on your computer.
Spyware, however, is much more threatening and dangerous to your computer. Spyware not only floods you with advertisements, but it also accesses information on your computer and delivers it to other companies and potentially dangerous people. Additionally, spyware can change your entire computer through PC configurations which open you up to a world of trouble. Spyware is utilized by unscrupulous people as one of the main means of identity theft because it fishes information from your computer and can "learn" about almost anything you do on the Internet, then report back to the originator.
There are numerous methods for ridding your computer of spyware, but the most effective is learning to avoid it in the first place. You can begin this process by adjusting your computer settings appropriately. Depending on your operating system, you may need to do some informal reading of your system's help files. You should find your Internet connectivity options and then look for a tab that refers to the security of your computer system. You should always adjust this to at least Medium security, or Medium-High. If you change it to High security, that setting might actually prevent you from accessing web sites that you need; so Medium is normally recommended.
You also need to ensure you have a firewall in place on your computer. A firewall is sofrware that can be configured to automatically block out unidentified programs which attempt to gain uninvited access to your computer. The parameters of your firewall are easy to set, and by doing so you allow certain programs in while keeping harmful (or questionable) ones out. Given most people's lack of knowledge about programs that need to run on a computer, a firewall will sometimes try to block program resources that are indeed harmless. That, however, it is a small inconvenience for keeping your computer and information safe from intruders.
Lastly you certainly will need an anti-spyware program running on your computer's background. This helpful software can be downloaded from an Internet merchant or purchased at any store selling computer software. You need a program that can detect and intercept spyware as it attempts to invade your computer; it should also have the ability to scan your computer for existing spyware and isolate it. Make sure to keep your anti-spyware program up-to-date with new daily or weekly "definition" files so that it works effectively. You never want to leave your computer unprotected and open to spyware or adware.
These irritating programs can interfere with your computer every time you jump online. Adware is more or less harmless when settled onto your computer by itself. Mostly it simply generates a lot of spam (unsolicited and unwanted email) for products that bring advertising directly to your email. Adware can also produce "popup" ads on your computer.
Spyware, however, is much more threatening and dangerous to your computer. Spyware not only floods you with advertisements, but it also accesses information on your computer and delivers it to other companies and potentially dangerous people. Additionally, spyware can change your entire computer through PC configurations which open you up to a world of trouble. Spyware is utilized by unscrupulous people as one of the main means of identity theft because it fishes information from your computer and can "learn" about almost anything you do on the Internet, then report back to the originator.
There are numerous methods for ridding your computer of spyware, but the most effective is learning to avoid it in the first place. You can begin this process by adjusting your computer settings appropriately. Depending on your operating system, you may need to do some informal reading of your system's help files. You should find your Internet connectivity options and then look for a tab that refers to the security of your computer system. You should always adjust this to at least Medium security, or Medium-High. If you change it to High security, that setting might actually prevent you from accessing web sites that you need; so Medium is normally recommended.
You also need to ensure you have a firewall in place on your computer. A firewall is sofrware that can be configured to automatically block out unidentified programs which attempt to gain uninvited access to your computer. The parameters of your firewall are easy to set, and by doing so you allow certain programs in while keeping harmful (or questionable) ones out. Given most people's lack of knowledge about programs that need to run on a computer, a firewall will sometimes try to block program resources that are indeed harmless. That, however, it is a small inconvenience for keeping your computer and information safe from intruders.
Lastly you certainly will need an anti-spyware program running on your computer's background. This helpful software can be downloaded from an Internet merchant or purchased at any store selling computer software. You need a program that can detect and intercept spyware as it attempts to invade your computer; it should also have the ability to scan your computer for existing spyware and isolate it. Make sure to keep your anti-spyware program up-to-date with new daily or weekly "definition" files so that it works effectively. You never want to leave your computer unprotected and open to spyware or adware.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Best Body Building Supplement
Supplements are concentrated doses of nutrition. They are extracted from natural food sources (you need to check this out often) and are in a form where the body is ready to absorb them. Basically, these are additions to the normal diet and cannot be substituted for the basic diet.
There is a range of body building supplements available in the market. You could easily get vitamin, mineral and even protein supplements. Then there are fat burners, carbohydrate blockers, testosterone boosters and creatine. Chemical supplements are also available if you have taken up body building professionally. But beware; many of these body building supplements are prohibited in the international sports arena. They could have a debilitating effect on your health too if used for a long time.
The type of body building supplements and the quantity of body building supplements you require will depend on what your purpose was in the first place in taking up body building. If you just wanted an athletic and fit body, not essentially muscle mass, you may not require too much of body supplements. And perhaps small doses of vitamins and minerals should be enough.
But if you are looking to develop rippling muscles you may have to partake of liberal doses of body building supplements. And you may be needing more of protein supplements.
Which is the best body building supplement? There can be no sure shot answer to this. You may really need to scour the market for the genuine supplements because there are quite a few fake ones floating around. Supplement manufacturers will go to any length to convince you of their product. Remember, the best body building supplements are those that work and do not harm.
Don’t believe what the supplement manufacturer tells you. Try looking for genuine reviews of supplements that give an unbiased view of the efficacy of the supplements based on scientific tests. There are many reviews contracted out by the manufacturers themselves. If you want rapid results in your lean muscle growth you need to use the correct and only the best body building supplement.
There are several body building supplements being sold today such as whey, "andro", arginine, BCAA's, CLA, creatine, carnitine, glutamine, HMB, MCT's, tyrosine, plant sterols, DHEA and many more. Then there are the cell-signaling hemodilators that are said to create dramatic increases in muscle size, endurance, power output and load capacity.
Let your search for the best body building supplement be guided by logic and intelligence. If you are not careful while zeroing in on the correct body building supplement not only will you have wasted money but you may also harm yourself.
Choosing the right body building supplement will help you get good muscles growth. Do not conduct uneducated experiments on your body. Rather, seek the help of body building professionals or ask your gym instructor for advice on building the body you desire. Remember to take care of cardio exercises besides building body muscles. Muscles without stamina is no good for you anyway.
A Car Buying Guide: The Resale Value Of Your Car
Right off the bat, let's clear one thing up. You will not profit from buying a car unless you intend to, or are already in the business of buying and selling cars. Depreciation will decrease the value of your car the longer you use it, no matter what. It isn't an investment, so no matter how you carefully treat it, you can never make the money you bought your car with back, much more make a profit off it.
Now with that out of the way, here are some tips to guide you in your car buying expedition, particularly if you do not intend to keep the car for life. These are tips to maintain the substantial resale value of your new car. Think of it as accepting the fate that your first car buying experience will have to end in a break-up.
- Stick with classic colors and options. A neon green car may strike your fancy, even if no one really understands why, but buying a car fit for resale entails sticking to the basics.
- Remember that setting up the car's engines, audio and detail accessories will not necessarily boost the resale value of your car. Why juice it up anyway if you know you want a more expensive car for keeps down the financially stable road?
- There are some detailing jobs that will remain classic resale boosts: a nice stereo, sun roofs and leather seats.
- Buying a car that is easily maintained helps, too. Readily available parts and a familiar engine will keep maintenance hassles to a minimum. Polish it, have regular check ups and get multi-point inspections done.
- Think about safety when buying a car. Check if the latest technologies in car safety are present in the car. A safe car is a more resalable car than muscle-packed, speed mobiles. Check for airbags, anti-lock breaks, traction control, electronic stability and side airbags.
- Look for technological adaptability when buying cars. Take heed from future-minded car manufacturers that make simple cars that can house future technological advances.
- Take a look at the prospect ten years later when buying cars. Think if it fits the baseline profile of its type: compact, sports, luxury, SUV etc. In short, know what buyers expect from these types of cars.
- Don't go wild with it. A souped up vinyl tattered car is a hard sell. Think about this before buying a car that costs more and you plan to turn into a customized bullet.
- Keep your region in mind. Certain features and styles are expected in certain regions dependent on the terrain and lifestyle. Why settle for buying a compact car in a mountain filled county?
- Despite the rising costs of fuel world wide, it is still a safe bet to decide on buying a car that has a bigger engine. The logic of which still escapes some.
- Beware of monthly payments for navigation systems and in car communications systems when buying cars.
Finally, learn to buy a car that you'll enjoy. Financial advice is wise, but worthless if you ride a vehicle you didn't want to be caught dead in when you were still fantasizing about buying your car.
Now with that out of the way, here are some tips to guide you in your car buying expedition, particularly if you do not intend to keep the car for life. These are tips to maintain the substantial resale value of your new car. Think of it as accepting the fate that your first car buying experience will have to end in a break-up.
- Stick with classic colors and options. A neon green car may strike your fancy, even if no one really understands why, but buying a car fit for resale entails sticking to the basics.
- Remember that setting up the car's engines, audio and detail accessories will not necessarily boost the resale value of your car. Why juice it up anyway if you know you want a more expensive car for keeps down the financially stable road?
- There are some detailing jobs that will remain classic resale boosts: a nice stereo, sun roofs and leather seats.
- Buying a car that is easily maintained helps, too. Readily available parts and a familiar engine will keep maintenance hassles to a minimum. Polish it, have regular check ups and get multi-point inspections done.
- Think about safety when buying a car. Check if the latest technologies in car safety are present in the car. A safe car is a more resalable car than muscle-packed, speed mobiles. Check for airbags, anti-lock breaks, traction control, electronic stability and side airbags.
- Look for technological adaptability when buying cars. Take heed from future-minded car manufacturers that make simple cars that can house future technological advances.
- Take a look at the prospect ten years later when buying cars. Think if it fits the baseline profile of its type: compact, sports, luxury, SUV etc. In short, know what buyers expect from these types of cars.
- Don't go wild with it. A souped up vinyl tattered car is a hard sell. Think about this before buying a car that costs more and you plan to turn into a customized bullet.
- Keep your region in mind. Certain features and styles are expected in certain regions dependent on the terrain and lifestyle. Why settle for buying a compact car in a mountain filled county?
- Despite the rising costs of fuel world wide, it is still a safe bet to decide on buying a car that has a bigger engine. The logic of which still escapes some.
- Beware of monthly payments for navigation systems and in car communications systems when buying cars.
Finally, learn to buy a car that you'll enjoy. Financial advice is wise, but worthless if you ride a vehicle you didn't want to be caught dead in when you were still fantasizing about buying your car.
The New BMW M6 Coupe: One Of The Most Beautiful Cars In The World With High Speed Engine Concept Complimented With BMW Parts From Parts Train
The all new BMW M6 Coupe is the most sophisticated and powerful 6 Series ever: five-liter engine capacity, 10 cylinders, 507 horsepower, 383 lb-ft maximum torque, and engine speed beyond the 8,000 rpm limit.
The BMW M6 V-10 507 Hp Engine comes with all the driving dynamics required for the racetrack, while in terms of comfort and equipment it is simply ideal for all roads. Its chassis and suspension, elegant body in innovative lightweight technology, as well as the wide range of luxury equipment and the ten-cylinder high-speed engine gives the car a dynamic and impressive performance.
BMW's high-speed engine concept allows an optimum gearbox and final drive transmission ratio in all cases, thus guaranteeing impressive thrust and momentum on the road at all times. The engine control unit has ionic current technology serving to detect any tendency of the engine to knock, misfire and suffer mis-combustion. This intelligent control unit is able to sense any tendency to knock via the spark plug in each cylinder, checking the correct ignition setting and recognizing any tendency to misfire and thus allowing the engine to run as closely as possible to its theoretical limits, developing optimum power and performance in the process.
Variable dual-VANOS camshaft control ensures an optimum cylinder charge cycle. This means even more performance, an improved torque curve, optimum responsiveness, lower fuel consumption, and emissions reduced to a minimum.
Its twin chamber exhaust system is made of stainless steel all the way to the silencers, before exhaust emissions leave the car through the four tailpipes. Exhaust emissions meet the European EU4 and, respectively, the US LEV2 standards.
The BMW M6 seven-speed SMG transmission is the world's only sequential transmission with seven gears and Drivelogic. With qualities even greater than on a six-speed SMG gearbox, this transmission allows manual selection of gears with extremely short gearshift times as well as comfortable cruising qualities thanks to the automatic gear selection function.
The variable, speed-sensing M Differential Lock gives the M6 superior driving stability and optimum traction. Its Dynamic Stability Control with the first stage of DSC is conceived for maximum driving safety.
With all these outstanding features, BMW has continued its tradition of excellence in the M6. Likewise, Parts Train is the ultimate site for the ultimate car featuring BMW Car Parts. Check out its online BMW Parts and BMW Accessories at http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByVehicle/BMW . It offers discount prices on new, OEM and aftermarket BMW auto parts and BMW car parts for all BMW models.
The BMW M6 V-10 507 Hp Engine comes with all the driving dynamics required for the racetrack, while in terms of comfort and equipment it is simply ideal for all roads. Its chassis and suspension, elegant body in innovative lightweight technology, as well as the wide range of luxury equipment and the ten-cylinder high-speed engine gives the car a dynamic and impressive performance.
BMW's high-speed engine concept allows an optimum gearbox and final drive transmission ratio in all cases, thus guaranteeing impressive thrust and momentum on the road at all times. The engine control unit has ionic current technology serving to detect any tendency of the engine to knock, misfire and suffer mis-combustion. This intelligent control unit is able to sense any tendency to knock via the spark plug in each cylinder, checking the correct ignition setting and recognizing any tendency to misfire and thus allowing the engine to run as closely as possible to its theoretical limits, developing optimum power and performance in the process.
Variable dual-VANOS camshaft control ensures an optimum cylinder charge cycle. This means even more performance, an improved torque curve, optimum responsiveness, lower fuel consumption, and emissions reduced to a minimum.
Its twin chamber exhaust system is made of stainless steel all the way to the silencers, before exhaust emissions leave the car through the four tailpipes. Exhaust emissions meet the European EU4 and, respectively, the US LEV2 standards.
The BMW M6 seven-speed SMG transmission is the world's only sequential transmission with seven gears and Drivelogic. With qualities even greater than on a six-speed SMG gearbox, this transmission allows manual selection of gears with extremely short gearshift times as well as comfortable cruising qualities thanks to the automatic gear selection function.
The variable, speed-sensing M Differential Lock gives the M6 superior driving stability and optimum traction. Its Dynamic Stability Control with the first stage of DSC is conceived for maximum driving safety.
With all these outstanding features, BMW has continued its tradition of excellence in the M6. Likewise, Parts Train is the ultimate site for the ultimate car featuring BMW Car Parts. Check out its online BMW Parts and BMW Accessories at http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByVehicle/BMW . It offers discount prices on new, OEM and aftermarket BMW auto parts and BMW car parts for all BMW models.
Epilepsy: Ignore It And You're Dead
I ignored my symptoms of epilepsy, and nearly killed three people.
One morning I offered to drive my youngest brother and nephew to the beach. I drove along Highway 246 with the boys in the back seat.
Next thing I knew I woke exhausted and confused strapped to a gurney in an ambulance speeding toward a hospital.
I was later told I had a grand mal seizure. I had driven the car off the road. The car nearly flipped over. No one was hurt but we dodged a scary bullet.
Having that seizure helped to make sense of other odd past experiences, waking up one morning to find my ankle cut to the bone and blood on the glass edge of a nearby aquarium, moods of agitated confusion I often suffered while in high school.
I wasn't an idiot after all! I simply had a short in my electrical wiring. I found solace in arrogant denial and chose to ignore the disorder. Yes, even after the car accident. The accident caused me to lose my license so what was the problem?
But then I went blind.
The petit mal seizure struck a few days after the car accident. While in the shower I began to see a rainbow of colored lights swirling in my vision. The colored lights grew along with pressure in my skull.
I couldn't see!
A strange terror overwhelmed me. I talked out loud while desperately trying to ignore the fear. I pleaded with God to make it stop. It seemed as if all the monsters in the world were after me.
Suddenly darkness swallowed the lights. The fear vanished. My sight gradually returned. I found myself sitting on the floor of the shower stall with my throbbing head in my arms. The pain stopped within minutes. I felt fine, as if the seizure never happened.
I called a neurologist that day and bullied an appointment out of the receptionist. I was later diagnosed as having temporal lobe epilepsy.
Now, in seventy percent of the population afflicted with epilepsy the cause is unknown. The disorder often runs in families.
But it can also be caused by damage to the brain caused by head injuries or brain diseases. Meningitis, for example, or a tumor.
Children who suffer an extreme fever can later develop epilepsy. My fever ran at one hundred four degrees for two weeks, to give you an example. I was fourteen years old. My neurons fried, baby.
I also have an uncanny knack for getting struck in the head by moving objects, balls, bats, doors, even a seagull one time. If the object is moving toward my head it will knock me out.
I'm the only person in my family with epilepsy. Connecting the dots isn't hard.
But never fear! The majority of epilepsy cases can be controlled with medication. Most epileptics can and do live a normal life as if the disorder didn't exist.
I use the old standby drug Dilantin to control my seizures. I haven't had a seizure in years. I work, drive a car, and do normal every day things like any other person, but only because I'm on medication to control my rebellious brain.
If you have any of the following symptoms of epilepsy then please get to a doctor and tell him or her what you suspect:
1. You often wake feeling sore, exhausted, and disoriented (and you know sex has nothing to do with it)
2. Your mind goes blank for several seconds and you stare blindly
3. Double-vision
4. Sudden behavior changes
5. Localized muscle spasm (my arm occasionally twitches)
6. Whole body muscle spasm
7. Twitches (Like I said)
8. Tics
9. Hallucinations
10. Changed hearing
11. Smell sensations (Occasionally my tea smells like fish oil)
I don't have enough room to list all the symptoms. Epilepsy is a complex disorder with symptoms that can change as easily as a woman changes her mind.
But if you have been diagnosed with epilepsy you can't ignore it. The beast will grab you sooner or later. You won't see it coming till after you wake up on the floor and see people staring down at you in fear.
Or after you wake in an ambulance and find yourself strapped to a gurney as I did after the car accident. I'll never forget the frightened look on the paramedic's face.
My nephew, who had a cold before the car accident, jokes my 'shock treatment' helped to rid him of his cold. I can laugh because I can't remember the accident. I'm grateful he's able to make a joke about it.
I nearly silenced him forever.
One morning I offered to drive my youngest brother and nephew to the beach. I drove along Highway 246 with the boys in the back seat.
Next thing I knew I woke exhausted and confused strapped to a gurney in an ambulance speeding toward a hospital.
I was later told I had a grand mal seizure. I had driven the car off the road. The car nearly flipped over. No one was hurt but we dodged a scary bullet.
Having that seizure helped to make sense of other odd past experiences, waking up one morning to find my ankle cut to the bone and blood on the glass edge of a nearby aquarium, moods of agitated confusion I often suffered while in high school.
I wasn't an idiot after all! I simply had a short in my electrical wiring. I found solace in arrogant denial and chose to ignore the disorder. Yes, even after the car accident. The accident caused me to lose my license so what was the problem?
But then I went blind.
The petit mal seizure struck a few days after the car accident. While in the shower I began to see a rainbow of colored lights swirling in my vision. The colored lights grew along with pressure in my skull.
I couldn't see!
A strange terror overwhelmed me. I talked out loud while desperately trying to ignore the fear. I pleaded with God to make it stop. It seemed as if all the monsters in the world were after me.
Suddenly darkness swallowed the lights. The fear vanished. My sight gradually returned. I found myself sitting on the floor of the shower stall with my throbbing head in my arms. The pain stopped within minutes. I felt fine, as if the seizure never happened.
I called a neurologist that day and bullied an appointment out of the receptionist. I was later diagnosed as having temporal lobe epilepsy.
Now, in seventy percent of the population afflicted with epilepsy the cause is unknown. The disorder often runs in families.
But it can also be caused by damage to the brain caused by head injuries or brain diseases. Meningitis, for example, or a tumor.
Children who suffer an extreme fever can later develop epilepsy. My fever ran at one hundred four degrees for two weeks, to give you an example. I was fourteen years old. My neurons fried, baby.
I also have an uncanny knack for getting struck in the head by moving objects, balls, bats, doors, even a seagull one time. If the object is moving toward my head it will knock me out.
I'm the only person in my family with epilepsy. Connecting the dots isn't hard.
But never fear! The majority of epilepsy cases can be controlled with medication. Most epileptics can and do live a normal life as if the disorder didn't exist.
I use the old standby drug Dilantin to control my seizures. I haven't had a seizure in years. I work, drive a car, and do normal every day things like any other person, but only because I'm on medication to control my rebellious brain.
If you have any of the following symptoms of epilepsy then please get to a doctor and tell him or her what you suspect:
1. You often wake feeling sore, exhausted, and disoriented (and you know sex has nothing to do with it)
2. Your mind goes blank for several seconds and you stare blindly
3. Double-vision
4. Sudden behavior changes
5. Localized muscle spasm (my arm occasionally twitches)
6. Whole body muscle spasm
7. Twitches (Like I said)
8. Tics
9. Hallucinations
10. Changed hearing
11. Smell sensations (Occasionally my tea smells like fish oil)
I don't have enough room to list all the symptoms. Epilepsy is a complex disorder with symptoms that can change as easily as a woman changes her mind.
But if you have been diagnosed with epilepsy you can't ignore it. The beast will grab you sooner or later. You won't see it coming till after you wake up on the floor and see people staring down at you in fear.
Or after you wake in an ambulance and find yourself strapped to a gurney as I did after the car accident. I'll never forget the frightened look on the paramedic's face.
My nephew, who had a cold before the car accident, jokes my 'shock treatment' helped to rid him of his cold. I can laugh because I can't remember the accident. I'm grateful he's able to make a joke about it.
I nearly silenced him forever.
Sex And New Relationships
Brad was just completing his divorce after having been married for over 25 years. He had not dated in what seemed like forever to him, and had no idea how to start. “How do you start a new relationship?” he asked me in our counseling session.
“What are you most concerned about?” I asked.
“Sex,” he answered.
“What about sex?” I asked.
Pause…. “Well…performance. What if I can’t perform? What if I’m too nervous to perform?”
“Okay. Let’s start with sex.”
In the 35 years that I’ve been counseling, I’ve discovered that the one mistake people make in starting a new relationship is to have sex too soon. There are many reasons why people have sex too soon: they think it will create deeper intimacy, they are just in it for the conquest, they are afraid of rejection if they say no, they get physically carried away, they like sex. Let’s take the example of Yvonne.
Yvonne is a lovely young woman in her middle thirties who really wants to get married and have children. She has no trouble meeting men, but the relationships don’t last. In fact, they rarely even get started.
The problem is that Yvonne often believes what men say to her early on in the relationship. The last man she dated a couple of months ago, came on really strong. He told her on the first date how wonderful she was, how he had rarely met anyone like her. When he came on sexually, she resisted, although she was really turned on and attracted to him. He suavely said to her “I bet you’re worried that if we have sex I won’t call you again.” “Right,” she said. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Well, he answered, “I’m not that kind of man. Can’t you tell that we’re really connected to each other? I haven’t had such a good time in years! Of course I want to see you again!” Yvonne agreed that they were having a wonderful time. She put aside her inner warning signals and had sex with him. Sure enough, he never called her again.
The reality is that, no matter how wonderful things seem on the first or second date, this is not enough time to deeply care about someone. And sex without deep caring might be a physically satisfying experience, but it is flat emotionally and spiritually. It will almost always leave both people feeling like something was missing. Without love and caring, it is easy to move on to another person, another conquest. It is easy to dismiss the encounter - since something was missing, it must not have been the right person. But these two people never gave themselves a change to see if they were right for each other. They jumped into the most physically intimate of experiences before there was any emotional intimacy. They tried to get the intimate connection through sex, but great sex is an outgrowth of intimacy, not a cause of it. Without love and caring, any problem becomes too much to handle, any deficiency or imperfection becomes cause to move on. Physical attraction is never enough to see people through the inevitable conflicts that come up in primary relationships.
Deep caring comes through spending time together getting to know each other. It comes from months of laughing together, crying together, discovering what is deeply endearing about each other. It comes from having conflict and getting through it to understanding each other on deeper levels. It comes when two people let each in on the soul level. You need to love someone’s soul before you will be willing to go through the challenges that come up in all relationships. Without that depth of love, it is just too easy to leave.
So, what I said to Brad was, “Take your time. Don’t jump into bed until you feel so safe with each other that even if the first time you make love you don’t get an erection it won’t ruin the relationship. It may take months or longer before you feel that safe with someone.”
“Months? I’m supposed to wait months before having sex?”
“Brad, I don’t know how long it will take for you to feel loved and loving, safe and deeply caring. It depends on how much time you time you spend with each other. It depends on how honest you are with each other. It depends on how you each deal with conflict. You will certainly not feel safe until you have conflict and see how the two of you handle it. What if you discover that your partner completely shuts down or gets enraged in conflict? Will you feel safe if you are worried about her reaction if you can’t perform? All this takes time. What’s your rush? Is it sex you want or a relationship you want?
“Okay, I got it. I want a relationship. Whew! I actually feel some relief knowing that it’s okay to take my time!”
“What are you most concerned about?” I asked.
“Sex,” he answered.
“What about sex?” I asked.
Pause…. “Well…performance. What if I can’t perform? What if I’m too nervous to perform?”
“Okay. Let’s start with sex.”
In the 35 years that I’ve been counseling, I’ve discovered that the one mistake people make in starting a new relationship is to have sex too soon. There are many reasons why people have sex too soon: they think it will create deeper intimacy, they are just in it for the conquest, they are afraid of rejection if they say no, they get physically carried away, they like sex. Let’s take the example of Yvonne.
Yvonne is a lovely young woman in her middle thirties who really wants to get married and have children. She has no trouble meeting men, but the relationships don’t last. In fact, they rarely even get started.
The problem is that Yvonne often believes what men say to her early on in the relationship. The last man she dated a couple of months ago, came on really strong. He told her on the first date how wonderful she was, how he had rarely met anyone like her. When he came on sexually, she resisted, although she was really turned on and attracted to him. He suavely said to her “I bet you’re worried that if we have sex I won’t call you again.” “Right,” she said. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.” Well, he answered, “I’m not that kind of man. Can’t you tell that we’re really connected to each other? I haven’t had such a good time in years! Of course I want to see you again!” Yvonne agreed that they were having a wonderful time. She put aside her inner warning signals and had sex with him. Sure enough, he never called her again.
The reality is that, no matter how wonderful things seem on the first or second date, this is not enough time to deeply care about someone. And sex without deep caring might be a physically satisfying experience, but it is flat emotionally and spiritually. It will almost always leave both people feeling like something was missing. Without love and caring, it is easy to move on to another person, another conquest. It is easy to dismiss the encounter - since something was missing, it must not have been the right person. But these two people never gave themselves a change to see if they were right for each other. They jumped into the most physically intimate of experiences before there was any emotional intimacy. They tried to get the intimate connection through sex, but great sex is an outgrowth of intimacy, not a cause of it. Without love and caring, any problem becomes too much to handle, any deficiency or imperfection becomes cause to move on. Physical attraction is never enough to see people through the inevitable conflicts that come up in primary relationships.
Deep caring comes through spending time together getting to know each other. It comes from months of laughing together, crying together, discovering what is deeply endearing about each other. It comes from having conflict and getting through it to understanding each other on deeper levels. It comes when two people let each in on the soul level. You need to love someone’s soul before you will be willing to go through the challenges that come up in all relationships. Without that depth of love, it is just too easy to leave.
So, what I said to Brad was, “Take your time. Don’t jump into bed until you feel so safe with each other that even if the first time you make love you don’t get an erection it won’t ruin the relationship. It may take months or longer before you feel that safe with someone.”
“Months? I’m supposed to wait months before having sex?”
“Brad, I don’t know how long it will take for you to feel loved and loving, safe and deeply caring. It depends on how much time you time you spend with each other. It depends on how honest you are with each other. It depends on how you each deal with conflict. You will certainly not feel safe until you have conflict and see how the two of you handle it. What if you discover that your partner completely shuts down or gets enraged in conflict? Will you feel safe if you are worried about her reaction if you can’t perform? All this takes time. What’s your rush? Is it sex you want or a relationship you want?
“Okay, I got it. I want a relationship. Whew! I actually feel some relief knowing that it’s okay to take my time!”
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