How to handle depression

Depression can affect  us all at some point in our lives, either directly, or through a loved one or work colleague. Some people don’t even realise they have it and shrug it off without concern, while the effects on others can drastically change their lives. The worse thing to do with serious depression, is to ignore it and hope it will go away, because it simply won’t. In this article I have combined research from across the Internet, along with some of my own experiences on how to handle depression. Of course, the first port of call should be a visit to your doctor and ask for whatever channels of assistance there are.

From a personal stance, I’m a happy, go lucky kind of guy, with what I consider a great sense of humour, and nothing really knocks me off my perch unless it’s a serious issue with family or friends. But there was a dark time in my life where I would burst into tears right in the middle of a conversation with a family member, with no explanation of why, I had lost all faith in myself, and become a different person. Fortunately this period didn’t last long, and looking back it seems like the whole thing was a bad dream. Of course I made an appointment to see my doctor, and was prescribed anti-depressants, I’m not too keen on tablets or pills and didn’t take them, I kind of found my own way out, which enforces the point that there is no quick fix and whatever works for some doesn’t work for others.

Some of the symptoms of depression are below:

• Continuous low mood
• Irritable and intolerant of others
• Lack of motivation
• Lack of energy or interest in sex
• Changes in appetite or weight
• Neglecting your hobbies and interest
• An inability to function normally in everyday life
• Lethargy, fatigue, and the feeling that doing things takes a lot of your energy
• Persistent sadness, including fits of crying either uncontrollably or being set off easily, feelings of anxiety or emptiness
• Feeling blue, sad, and generally down over a period of at least two weeks
• Feelings of worthlessness, self-blame and a lack of self esteem
• Sleeping a lot more or less than usual, or experiencing insomnia
• Unusual weight gain or loss, overeating or appetite loss
• Finding thinking or concentrating difficult, “foggy” thinking, inability to make clear decisions or forgetfulness
• Pessimism, or feeling a sense that life is hopeless, pointless and futile This may even lead to a feeling of numbness
• Body pains, cramps, digestive problems, headaches, and other aches that don’t go away with medication or treatment
• Being irritable or restless a great deal of the time
• Suicidal thoughts, thoughts about dying, or attempts at suicide

Seeking help is often considered a sign of weakness, but leaving depression alone in the hope that time will heal it all is the worst possible thing to do, I was pushed by family to make the first step to my local GP, and was in self-denial, in the thinking that this is not a serious affliction, and I have no reason to be depressed, therefore it must be something else (wrong! Sometimes you are the last person to see the change in your personality). The longer you leave getting help, the worse the depression will become and the harder it will be to self-help. Most, if not all types of depression will simply intensify over time.

Depression drains your energy, hope, and drive, making it difficult to do what you need to feel better. But while overcoming depression isn’t quick or easy, it’s far from impossible. I’m afraid it’s the old catch 22, where you cannot think normally (unknowingly) and the last thing you will want to do is to listen to reason from others about your state of mind. The trick is to look at yourself from the outside, accepting something not quite right is going on, and treat yourself slowly, but surely, as if you were giving advice, or treating a totally different person than yourself, (this was my strategy).

Ok I will skip all the meditation, positive thinking  and spiritual classes stuff, on the basis that depression puts you in the frame of where it is extremely difficult to find the enthusiasm needed for such things, but like I said, it’s whatever works for you, and if you can manage this then that’s great!

Feelings of depression or anxiety are completely natural, feeling down or blue is a natural part of life. The key to depression recovery is to start with a few small goals and slowly build from there, but as I said, the first call is to your doctor.

Understand that it is an illness and not a flaw in your character. Learn what you can about depression, read into the subject, knowledge is an important way to reassure yourself that depression is real and can happen to anyone, do not feel ashamed!
Think you’re the only person ever to be depressed? Go to the library and pull out five biographies. It’s highly likely that at least one of those high achievers suffered from depression. Do a little research online to find famous people who have overcome depression. Read about the many celebrities who are revealing their battles with depression. Read their stories. Take heart in the fact that there are others who have overcome depression, only you have the benefit of their experiences to draw from too!

 
Keep a journal of your journey through your depression. Document your feelings somewhere personal and completely private. Write in it daily if possible, let out your darkest thoughts and get them off your chest, this has worked for friends of mine to great effect.
Your body needs to be well-nourished, well-rested. Consider taking a chromium supplement. Some depression studies show that chromium Picolinate reduces carbohydrate cravings, eases mood swings, and boosts energy. Supplementing with chromium Picolinate is especially effective for people who tend to overeat and oversleep when depressed. Omega-3 fatty acids also play an essential role in stabilizing mood.

Exercise releases a natural anti-depressant chemical in your brain and gets you into doing something active. Start small with a simple walk to the local store or around the block, or to your garden gate might be the way to begin. Gradually work up to a routine that fits with your needs and enjoyment. A 10-minute walk can improve your mood for two hours.
Get yourself a pet. The routine involved in pets needing to be fed, groomed, and played with can be very satisfying for a depressed person. This is especially so because pets don’t provide a sense of judgment, but return love and acceptance, it’s a new soul mate.

 
Try a hobby you enjoy or think you’ll enjoy. Immerse yourself in it, painting is great, learning a new instrument such as guitar is also good. Direct your thoughts by joining a class if you are up to it, keeping busy is a fantastic remedy.
Reintroducing daily attention to grooming can help improve your mood and give you a sense of well-being. Get a new haircut or new clothes as part of cheering yourself up. Concentrate on the parts that you do love about yourself instead of fretting over what you don’t like. It is so easy to feel not bothered on this one, but trust me, a little effort pays off big style.

 
Doctors will prescribe medication. Ask questions about the medication you’re taking, including the duration and side effects. Be sure to report back to your doctor on anything you notice doesn’t feel right or if you’re experiencing side effects. You may need to have a change of dosage or switch to a different medication.

 
If you don’t want to take anti-depressants, make this clear to your doctor. Do your research beforehand to discuss alternative options because you will need to convince your doctor that you have the ability to actively work on your depressive thinking patterns and your lack of resilience without the aid of medication. While doing this can take some convincing (have a list of questions for the doctor), it is your right to express your preferred approach to treatment. It is important, however, to realize that battling depression without the aid of medication is challenging and can take longer.

 
Above all, listen and take on board any advice given to you, even if you believe it makes no sense, try to open up and resist being critical about advice. Others often see what you cannot.
Accept you are ill, staying in bed, not wanting to go out, feeling deflated and worrying are all symptoms, you must tell yourself that these symptoms will not last forever. Think of happy memories and acknowledge that there will be many more happy episodes in your life in the future.

There are many more things you can do if you research a little, but the main message is to confide in someone, family or friend, listen to their advice, use their straight thinking for a while, they will understand, then take little steps as above, slowly. Depression cannot be cured overnight, but it can be dealt with and managed with the right tools, and with the use of that little spark deep down inside you, you can build on it one step at a time, to a point where you can look back with disbelief at the person you once were. You are unique! You are special, you can unashamedly love yourself, you are deserving of happiness as much as the person next to you. Depression is an illness, you are not inferior, you’re  just not well.

Images/Flickr/research/helpguide.org/wikihow.com/Google/wikemedia

author Jimi
About Me

Do you seriously hate your job?

Do you have that sinking feeling when you think of going to work, maybe it comes the night before, or on route. Do you seriously hate your job? Of course there are people who love their job and can’t wait another minute to start, these are the lucky ones, but some people absolutely dread the thought of their workplace, some to the point of being physically sick depending on the reason they hate it so much. The reasons can vary, from disliking the actual work, to operating in a living hell, caused by your boss or co-workers.

is this you?

One of the main reasons you hate your job is stress, where your workload is creating pressure, things can get on top of you. This can be rectified by finding more time to relax when at home, try explaining your anxiety to your spouse or family where they could possibly relieve you with help on certain chores. Have a polite chat with your boss, explain that your workload or deadlines maybe unrealistic and could they be managed more efficiently.

Another reason may be that colleagues, or your boss is giving you a hard time, of course we cannot get on with everyone but if you are being treated unfairly, then it’s time to do something about it. Life is too short to be treated in this way and certain steps can cure your unhappiness, if you leave things fester and do nothing at all, the situation will only get worse. If a colleague is giving you problems, have a quiet polite word with them and explain they are causing you much upset, and ask them what the particular problem is, this may appeal to their better side, and at least know that you are no push over.  If you are being blatantly bullied and have tried the above, then have a discreet meeting with your boss and explain the situation, to either have a word with the offender, or maybe move you or them to a different environment. To have another colleague to back up your view is even better.

Do you imagine this before work?

If your boss is bullying you, then the first step is to set up a meeting and ask why, and if there is a problem, what is the best course to remedy it. This step may help on a personal level, but in a severe case then you have no option other than going higher up and making a complaint, again getting a colleague to accompany you is invaluable.

Maybe the problem relates to yourself, depression is suffered by one in ten in the UK, illness and outside family pressures can disrupt your normal standard of work. Above all, keep your sanity, try to explain your position to your boss, hopefully they may be able to ease off, during your time of hardship, with giving extra time off or alleviating your work load until you are fit enough. Get outside help from your doctor if depression is the issue and make a plan of recovery with your family.

Ok, so you have tried all the above and things are still bad, don’t despair! Keep a good and optimistic mind-set, you got this job didn’t you? Then you are capable of getting another! The good news is that you have recognised where you are at, and it’s time to figure out what to do next, things can only get better. Start a job search, don’t tell anyone, keep it as your secret, you will be amazed how this secret can cheer you up and alleviate your current situation, think of that day when you can give in your notice and say goodbye to your troubles. There are a wide variety of tools to help you look for another job, and it’s easier to find a job while you are currently working. Looking for a job while you are working can be a great relief valve, and give your mind other things to focus on besides your current problems. Do not tell any prospective employer that you hated your previous job, this only leads to future problems.

Take your time looking for a new job, make sure it’s the one for you. When the time comes, resign gracefully, always leave on a good note, besides, it’s not worth the time or energy letting off steam, focus on your next adventure, it’s their loss, not yours.

Be happy!

Unfortunately, with a few exceptions, money dictates how we live. If you can earn money by doing something you love, then you’ve cracked it! If your financial position is bad, or you have a family depending on you, then your options are limited, but you should not go through life being unhappy and hopefully using some of the tips above will help. Of course if you prefer to live in a tree and play guitar all day without imposing on anyone, and it makes you happy, then that’s ok too! Again, life is too short and too much of a treasure to be unhappy.

Images flickr/utube

author Jimi
About Me

Save the Whale! Save the Dolphin! Save the Abalone?

What is an Abalone I hear you say? Well there is a famous board game with the name of Abalone, but I’m talking about a sea creature that belongs to the phylum Mollusca group which includes scallops, clams, sea slugs, squid and octopuses. Molluscs are predominantly marine creatures, and best known for their beautifully formed and coloured calcareous shell. Abalone  are members of the family Haliotidae and the genus haliotis, which means sea ear, referring to the flattened shape of the shell. The name Abalone is derived from the Spanish-American word aulon or aulone.

The Abalone has a pair of eyes, a mouth and a pair of tentacles, it scrapes algal matter into its mouth with a long file like tongue small enough so it can be ingested. Throughout its life, an Abalone contends with a variety of predators. The eggs and larvae are eaten by filter-feeding animals. Though juvenile Abalone hide, they are active at night (nocturnal) and crabs, lobsters, octopuses, starfish, fish and predatory snails prey on them. Loss of habitat., coastal development  and pollution have ruined large areas of Abalone habitat In the last 20+ years, and the commercial catch of Abalone worldwide has declined from 18,000mt to a little over 10,000mt. (mt/metric tonne).

Abalone California

If the Abalone didn’t already have enough problems, they have one more, they are one of the most prized sea delicacies sought for the restaurant plate. This marine snail has been prized for many years as a gourmet delicacy. It was harvested in great numbers between 1975 and 1990, causing populations to decline rapidly and significantly. With a quick search, I found that Wild French Abalone were priced at £25.00 for 160g. Countries harvesting the most in order of highest are China, Korea Chile, Australia, USA, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, Misc. Countries (Mexico, Europe, Thailand, Philippines, others).

Abalone shell

Illegal harvesting is by far the largest and most important reason for the decline. In Canada, The Northern Abalone is protected under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). Fishing of northern Abalone in British Columbia is also banned under the Fisheries Act. Illegal harvest and low recruitment are the most significant threats to the northern Abalone, affecting both the recovery capacity and the reproductive abilities of the species. Despite a total harvesting ban in 1990, northern Abalone populations show no signs of recovery. Poaching (motivated by high demand and elevated prices owing to the abalone’s scarcity) continues to be a major problem. The effectiveness of the ban’s enforcement may ultimately determine whether Abalone have the opportunity to increase.

Since the 1980s, black Abalone abundance has plummeted primarily from a bacterial disease known as withering syndrome. Other causes of the rapid population decline are likely due to historical overfishing, poaching and natural predation, the likelihood that black Abalone populations will continue to decline towards extinction (within the next 30 years) is very high.

Where there’s big money available, people take risks getting it, and in Australia recently, a diver who had drowned was found in shallow water with a large illegal quantity of Abalone attached to his body, the experienced diver who regularly dived off the reef was also bitten by a shark in 2011, where he swam back to shore with the shark attached and a passer-by helped him prise off the shark, which swam away. Abalone poaching in Victoria carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years and a $150,000 fine.

Not the way to go.

The Abalone is another creature on the long list of creatures under threat and facing extinction because of man, and because the Abalone never makes it big in the top ten I thought I would give it a plug (excuse the pun). As ever, supply and demand out-way each other, and all we can do is support protection, outlaw illegal fishing with bigger fines and imprisonment, but most of all stop eating the little fellow.

Abalone wars

Abalone wars risky business

images/utube/flickr

author Jimi
About Me

God, or science? Is it the wrong question to begin with?

In the past few centuries science has gradually overtaken many of the traditional grounds for believing in God. What was once mysterious, with no perceivable answer was almost certainly put down to the powers that be, science has unravelled many of these mysteries which can now be explained in the workings of our universe. Even though science has answered all the questions, some corners believe that science will ultimately arrive at a complete understanding of our universe within time, therefore leaving no grounds for God whatsoever.

Charles and William Darwin

One of the biggest turning points in which people started to question their belief in religion, was the publication of Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection’ The book was extremely controversial, because the logical extension of Darwin’s theory was that homo sapiens were simply another form of animal. It made it seem possible that even people might just have evolved, quite possibly from apes, and destroyed the prevailing orthodoxy on how the world was created. Darwin was vehemently attacked, particularly by the Church. However, his ideas soon gained currency and have become the new orthodoxy. Charles Darwin, who could be said to have sparked the religion v science debate, struggled with his own faith. Darwin trained as an Anglican parson and, in his diaries from explorations on his ship, the Beagle, even referred to himself as “quite orthodox”. In his autobiography, Darwin wrote: “The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble to us, and I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic.” But Darwin lost his faith as a result of the death of his daughter, not because of his theory.

Gods sphere of influence has shrunk drastically in modern times, as physics and cosmology have expanded in their ability to explain the origin and evolution of the universe. Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist at Arizona State University said “We would be surprised to find ourselves in a universe in which we couldn’t live,” Krauss said. What’s more, “most of the universe is rather inhospitable to life.” And emphasized that 500 years of science have demonstrated that God, that vague notion, is not likely.

Of course there are always more questions than answers on this subject and some could argue that science and religion are fundamentally separate, for example, some questions to which God is the answer are not scientific questions, people want to know why the universe exists, the purpose of our existence and what comes after it, science can’t answer these questions, it can at its best show us a glimpse of how, but not why.

Big-Bang

One of the main hubs of discussion is the big band theory, there are varying models on the notion that the universe expanded from an infinitely dense state to its current cooler state over the course of 13.7 billion years and cosmologists can also model the events seconds after the big bang to the current, but what happened seconds before is murky, therefore something must have existed before and initiated the explosive event.

god loves geeks

I find that simplicity is often the best route, and let’s face it, I don’t think any of us are, or will ever be, capable of understanding everything. Science can show us an understanding of life as the activity of carbon and a mixture of molecules that eventually rot into the ground, but it can’t be used as a tool or social glue that motivates people to allow us all to live and follow the rules of an eventful life. The cold notion that there is no purpose in the universe would just not do, whether true or not, what really matters, even though knowledge of our surroundings must continue, is about what happens at a human scale, such as relationships to other people and things we experience in a lifetime. I can also certainly guarantee that in a time of desperation we need something, whatever God we believe in, to call upon in our hour of need, and whether science agrees or disagrees is irrelevant. It isn’t one or the other, we require both.

images flickr

author Jimi
About Me

UPDATE: It seems my article has provoked some thought, and i have been approached with a request (via Twitter) from Mr. Jim Armstrong to publish his views on the subject, as i respect every personal view, i have published Jims thoughts below:

Is there a God?

Like many of us in the world, I was brought up as a child to believe in the existence of an Omnipresent God, who sent His only Child to the world to save us from our sins. It is a wonderful thing to have a faith like that, and to preserve it through their whole life, and I envy all who do .

However, as the years progressed for me through my childhood to Adulthood , I found myself asking questions. Just as I believed there was a Heaven in the Holier sense, I have found myself in my time of life asking, how can God continue to be as we perceive in the face of Science?

I look at our World and see how Religion has caused wars through the Centuries, the Blood that has been spilled in the Name of God. How Generations follow in the footsteps of their fore- fathers through blinkered eyes .

The Catholic church has a normal man enshrined in white robes and gold and placed on a throne of Gold so many Millions of people can worship and revere Him .Would Jesus ,The Son of God approve of this ? When even Our Children are being abused by the very core of this religion? Whether it is Allah Jehovah or Mohammed, it is all the same thing, a belief in a higher Power.

I believe there is a higher power. However it is not a power that is born out of the minds of Humanity that is given to the corrupt Churches and Governments that have all, but destroyed this Planet with their greed.

As we live our lives full of our self- importance and our belief that we are special, it is easy to forget how small we are in the grand scale of things. The Universe is so vast it is mind boggling. If you look up to the night sky, and see the stars shining, think of each one of them akin to a grain of sand .

There are not enough grains of sand on the earth that could fill the minute patch of sky you would be looking at! Do you still believe in God? Think of the vast distances between the Stars discovered and the Planets that have been discovered orbiting them. Think of all the countless galaxies that we now know to exist so far away. Now through the vastness of time, their light has just reached Earth and we can see what they once looked billions of years ago, a portal looking into the past.

I believe that Humanity, although vain in this, cannot be the only so called intelligent life forms. Indeed, I would bet that there are many Civilizations out there now, and many who have become extinct through natural disasters, or from themselves, countless worlds, with all kinds of life beyond our imagination.

So I give you this question -

If you were The God who created all things, why would you send your only Son to a small insignificant speck of dust in the Cosmos? Surely this story must become obsolete with the passage of time and the progression of Science. We are all made from star stuff, down to molecules in our bodies and to the calcium in our bones. Perhaps this is why we have this compulsion to look to the sky for answers. Not for a God, but from where we came from?

Please take time to watch this fascinating video. Perhaps it may be the start of another Spiritual Journey for you as it was for me?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UftXDH-7H_0&feature=share&list=PLC21A35D981CE541E

(there is no embedded code on Jims video, so copy and paste the URL to watch)

Author Jim Armstrong/Scotland

Thank you for your thoughts Jim.

Jimi

Kim Jong Who?

What do we know about North Koreas Kim Jong- Un? It seems quite strange that there is little known about one of the worlds most discussed leaders, especially one who has come to the forefront with his threats to The United States. But because of the secret nature of North Korea, it’s almost impossible to obtain a detailed profile. Even his age is a guess at being 29 or 30 years old, his mother, Ko Yong Hui, a former dancer and mistress of Kim Jong-Il is also guesswork.

What is known, is that Kim Jong-Un is the third and youngest son of dictator Kim Jong-Il, who died in 2011, his experience of the West is when he studied at the International School of Bern in Switzerland, where his biography claims he was an extremely learned student, excelling in English, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Russian. But fellow students portray a different boy, one who after the age of 15 was sent back to a military academy in Pyongyang, a boy who failed at science and only just scraped through English, German and Maths, a boy who loved American basketball, idolizing players such as Michael Jordan, a boy who loved playing video games, a boy who was always pleasant to other students and loved shooting basketball.

kim jong un

This boy, now a young man, has been shaped by the regime to emulate his Grandfather Kim Il Sung who ruled the country with an iron fist by giving him carbohydrate rich diets making him corpulent and round faced, along with the trademark Mao style suits and the iconic box cut hairstyle.

Dennis Rodman

During his first months in power, he has taken a highly visible role with the aired propaganda sent to his country and the world, conveying his authority over the military and also painting a different picture of a country known for its brutal labour camps and malnourished citizens. Kim prefers to show the modern North Korea, with him touring fitness centres and modern restaurants in the capital Pyongyang, even inviting a British diplomat to ride a roller coaster in the new amusement park. The basketball fan also invited ex professional basketball player Dennis Rodmen to Pyongyang, one of the few if not only Americans he has met.

Behind the glossy brochure though, Kim has to deal with reality, where he requires the approval of the military, he has to be seen as a leader in authority, as Supreme Leader. He has recently conducted a brutal thinning out of officers who he viewed to be threateningly un loyal in the military, by executing them by firing squad, where even one of his ministers was ordered to stand as a target on an army range to be blown up by mortar fire. He has also secured his authority by securing his domestic power base by issuing threats to South Korea and the U.S.

So why threaten his neighbours, along with one of the world’s superpowers? After all, even though he has 1.2million soldiers (kitted out with Russian hardware from the eighties) and short range missiles, Kim is well aware that a real conflict would be devastating for his country. The reason is that he can show his people that he is no push over, and will not be dictated to by outside threats of any kind, by any country. This has two advantages, firstly it shows strength where the population support him (starving or not) in a sense of national unity, and secondly where the Generals would hesitate to challenge him by showing weakness to the regime.

There are other advantages to playing the seemingly mad tyrant, as with his father, who threatened South Korea, by playing the bluff card, where South Korea gave in, and provided food and fuel aid to the impoverished North along with generating investment zones. So what does he have to gain from threatening the U.S.? He wants them to lift sanctions imposed, that ban export to his country of luxury items such as gems, yachts and sports cars. These items would be extremely useful as bribes to high ranking officials. All these tactics were used by his father. The question is how far Kim can go with the bluff card and what will happen if he is pushed into a corner if he doesn’t get what he wants. There has already been criticism (a dangerous game in a regime) by his elder brother Kim Jong-Nam, who has said bitterly, that his brothers regime is a joke. Kim Jong-Nam is now hiding in Singapore, after being thrown out of a Chinese hotel with the sudden cancellation of his regime funded Visa Gold card and news of a North Korean hit man being arrested by South Korean officials on his trail.

Father and Grandfather

My view? I think that Kim Jong-Un would be happier playing the X-Box and being invited to the U.S. to watch a couple of basketball games, Dennis Rodman was reported saying that Kim asked him get in touch with President Obama and ask him to ring him “If you can Dennis, I don’t want war, I don’t want to do war” The request is almost back to the boy in Switzerland, but Kim is no longer a boy and his survival is dictated by the expectations of his countries regime, a regime that puts military strength foremost, even when the population are dying of malnutrition. Kim has no political agendas other than the legacy of his father and grandfather but how long he can play the bluff card in his threats is worrying, there are other forces to be considered such as Japan and China, and they can change the game where things could escalate to where Kim has his back to a corner and the only way out would be to act on his threats, or lose respect from his generals. I hope it’s the latter.

At time of writing, World looks on while North Korea conduct missile tests.

 Images/flickr

author Jimi
About Me

Haven’t heard of 3D Printing?

Imagine for a moment, that maybe some time in the future, that at the press of a button you could replicate anything you like, you know, kind of like in the Star Trek movies, where a laser magically scans in front of you and hey presto! You have a new, working stun gun or a simulated burger.

Well if you have haven’t heard about 3Dprinting, that future is here now, be it at an early stage, but it is developing quickly. Hard to believe? Read on. Let’s compare it to the early years of the Internet. Email for example, that we all take for granted now was first developed in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson, who also made the decision to use the “@” symbol to separate the user name from the computer name (which later on became the domain name). Take a look at AOL’s page in 1989 below, and things have moved on a little but nowhere near what we have today. The point is, that it all looks a bit naff in retrospect, but look how far and how quickly things have progressed, and I think, 3D printing will follow the same innovations and speed of the Internet, although rather than being focused on connection and information, it could change our manufacturing process’s worldwide.

AOL 1989

Ok, so what is it, and how does it work?

At the moment there are various types of 3D printing technologies (just search it on Google), but they all share the same thing in common, they all produce a real three dimensional object. The process begins by creating a digital file, basically a 3D drawing of the item to be replicated. This is created on a computer using CAD (Computer Aided Design) at this stage it’s only a drawing which has been put into file format.

The next stage involves sending this file to the actual machine (3D  printer) and to understand this method it helps to forget everything you know about normal printing for a minute, and think of it as a machine that deposits droplets of melted material, or fusing material, such as powder for example, together, but making one layer at a time from the original start drawing. Much like a pyramid, where each layer on its own has no relevance, but when all the layers are bonded together they make a complete structure. This is obviously a basic explanation, but I hope it gives you the idea. Take a look at the videos for a more detailed view.

3D unit

3D printing is becoming much talked about, and with the ever decreasing cost of the technology and hardware it is now enabling home and school projects, making small, but complicated items that previously would have taken weeks to model or make from scratch. The distribution of files for different projects are now available free for download, some causing controversy, such as the design and printing of plastic guns.

The possibilities are endless, and because there is little or no waste in manufacturing items, it attracts the manufacturing industry. One of the most important applications of 3D printing is the Medical Industry, where exact replicas of a patient’s body can be made quickly and used to assist in operation procedure. There are many other industries taking the process on board, such as sportswear, where at one time a prototype shoe for example had to be handmade with the extra waiting time if it required modification, now it can be designed at a desk and produced straight away with any modifications completed there and then. Airbus is now making airplane parts, with less waste and lighter design that had previously involved complicated unique to the part, machines.

The technology in my view, is at an early stage, where attempts to make electronic boards for example look basic and still involve wire wrapping, a world away from the boards used at the moment, but the fact that if were perfected (and it will be) it would change the world of electronics completely. This is only one example, and the advances in technology, along with the imagination of innovators will see endless possibilities. 3Dprinting really is one to watch. Can you imagine applications for this technology?

Video

Que drumroll! And now, 4D Printing

Images flickr/utube

author,Jimi
About Me

Greatest explosions, ever!

Here’s a few of the greatest explosions ever! From accidental manmade explosions, to natural explosions light years away. One thing is for sure, there are more to come, and hopefully these are natural explosions we can observe from the safety of planet Earth, and not accidental caused by ourselves.

Tunguska Explosion

Widely thought to be caused by an asteroid, the explosion at the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in 1908, destroyed over 500,000 acres of forest, an area equalled to the size of Tokyo. The explosion is thought to be 250 times more powerful than the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Mount Tambora

A blast hurled out roughly 140 billion tons of magma and not only killed more than 71,000 people on the island of Sumbawa and nearby Lombok, but the ash it released created global climate anomalies, when  in  In 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded with the force of roughly 1,000 megatons of TNT.

K-T Extinction Impact

Killing half of all species on the planet, this explosion was the end of the dinosaurs, caused by an asteroid estimated to be six miles wide, thought to have hit an area off the coast of Mexico. With the strength of 10,000 gigatons of TNT, the impact darkened the world with a blanket of dust.

Trinity Blast

Named “the gadget,” the first atomic bomb was detonated at the Trinity Site near Alamogordo, N.M., in 1945, exploding with a force of roughly 20 kilotons of TNT. With a force of 20 kilotons of TNT, the bomb later ended World War 2.

Halifax Explosion

When a French cargo ship collided with a Belgian ship in 1917 in the harbour of Halifax Canada, The French vessel exploded with a cargo of explosive packages for World War 1. The explosion, equal to 3kilotons of TNT set off a tsunami 60 feet high, and 2,000 people were killed with 9,000 injured.

Chernobyl Russia

Known as the worst nuclear accident in history, the 1986 explosion of the reactor, blew its 2,000ton lid off causing more radioactive fallout than the Hiroshima bomb. The contamination reached more than 7,000 square miles, and exposed more than 600,000 to high doses of radiation. Ironically, after 350.000 were evacuated from the area, the site now attracts people by offering tours of the site.

Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided spectacularly with Jupiter in 1994 causing a shower of explosions, one of which was equal to a 6,000 gigaton TNT explosion, and left a dark spot on the planet roughly equal to the size of Earth.

Texas City Disaster

While the cargo ship SS Grandcamp was docked at Texas City in 1947, an on-board fire set off 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate, which not only sparked an explosion in the ship docked next to it, also carrying 1,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, but also spread to refineries in the area. The explosions killed approximately 600 people, injuring another 3,500, and even blew two aircraft out of the sky. The Texas City Disaster is known as the worst US industrial accident.

Gamma ray bursts

Gamma ray bursts, are the largest explosions known in our universe, the effects of one of these explosions have been detected from 13 billion light years away. Known as GRB 090423 it lasted approximately a second, originating from a dying star 100 times larger than our own sun.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Representing the only use of nuclear weapons to date, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War 11 in 1945 by the United States. The Hiroshima prefecture health department estimated that, of the people who died on the day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other causes. Hopefully we will never see the likes again.

images flickr/NASA

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Game Developers Conference news

If you like console and PC games, you may have been interested in the GDC (game developers conference) at the Moscone Convention Centre in San Francisco. At the conference, one of the events exhibited  a video of the next generation video graphics, unveiling Epic’s new Unreal Engine 4 demo, called “Infiltrator” running in real-time on a single GeForce GTX 680 which follows a soldier traversing what appears to be a futuristic city.

Epic point out that the video is for demo purposes only, and has no immediate plans to make Infiltrator a future title from the studio, but to give gamers a look at the future of what’s to come from the next generation of games. You’re not likely to see such high quality graphics on the PS4 or Xbox just yet because they use a lower GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) than the GTX680. The models are so detailed that only very high end PC’s will be able to handle the graphics at the moment, but things run quickly in this arena so who knows. Epic is the studio behind the Unreal Engines, which power many of the industry’s top games, including the Mass Effect series and the Batman Arkham games. Epic also makes Gears of War and Infinity Blade, pushing their own engines to the limit.

Epic’s new Unreal Engine 4 demo, called “Infiltrator”

Also at the conference, Facebook’s director of game partnerships Sean Ryan, discussed big plans for Facebook to launch multiple hard-core focused games on the network in an attempt to attract interest from an audience who previously had no interest in the social games that Facebook offer at the moment.

My view as a part time (when there’s nothing interesting on the TV to watch) gamer, is that I am really impressed with the development of games and graphics over the last few years. The price of games can be huge for parents, but if the money is invested in the advancement of technology in making the games more enjoyable through graphics and gameplay, then you could argue that it’s worth it.

On the subject of Facebook, I can’t see hard-core gamers spending time on the network for quite a long time in the future, if you have ever played any of the games available now, with loading issues and glitchy graphics, you will understand what I mean. Sony will be hitting the market with its PS4 around October in the US calling it the “ultimate gaming experience, priced around $450 (£296), but the UK will see it later than that. More pressure for parents, start saving now or watch your kids crying into the turkey, the days of an apple and orange in the Christmas stocking are over

 Images Utube/Sony

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