Archive for August, 2006
I just starting taking phophatidylserine every few days. About 100 mg in the evening. Years ago I took this saliva test (to measure free coritisol and other things) and it suggested that phosphatidyl serine supplementation would be helpful. At that time is was extremely expensive, now it’s only mildly expensive. So I bought a small bottle from the Vitamin Shoppe to try it out. You can get it at any vitamin store.
The interesting thing I noticed immediately after taking 3 softgels of PS was I slept better. ALOT BETTER. More solid and certainly deeper. On occasion I wake up a bit groggy, but lately I’ve been feeling great when I wake up. I don’t take it everyday for some reason, I just take it every once in a while. Just an intuitive thing.
The second thing I noticed was how vivid my memories are. Like in great detail. Pretty cool.
Phosphatidylserine is a phospholidpid found in brain tissue. It’s also found in soya and egg yolks. It’s thought to have a positive impact on memories and age related decline of mental function. It has also been suggested that it’s helpful in reducing cortisol and helpful for managing stress.
I did try another brand besides the Vitamin Shoppe. It had a blend of neuro compounds in them (I am always a little leary of those). This blend was rich in L-alpha glycerylphosphorylcholine (or a form of choline) and also had phosphatidyl serine, I took it around dinner time (which they suggested not to do) and it gave me nightmares and I felt a little depressed the next day. So I don’t think that’s a good blend for me. I never really cared for choline anyway, always makes my mucles tense. it was called cognitive something??
So, in the meantime, I think I’ll stick with the pure phosphatidylserine from the Vitamin Shoppe, I like it. Sleep great, feel better. Think more clearly. So far so good.
August 27th, 2006
Recently I drank alot of green tea and decided to hook up 2 surround sound systems - 1 for my TV and 1 to my computer system. For my TV, I have a digital cable box and a digital video recorder as well as a HDTV. In order to get true ‘digital’ surround sound, then you’ll need a 5.1 or better surround sound receiver WITH a fiber optic digital sound input (many stereo receivers these days are also DVD players - just make sure your DVD home theater system has a digital fiber optic cable input option). My receiver has the fiber optic input, but didn’t come with the cable.
So after reading the instructions for the 4th time, I went out and bought the fiber optic cable at Radio Shack for $20, not knowing why exactly I was buying it. My surrround system (5 speakers hooked up to my receiver and cable box sounded great already. I was just using the red and white sound in cables). But an interesting thing happened, when I hooked up that fiber optic cable from my cable box to my stereo receiver the quality instantly and dramatically improved. And a little light came on telling me I was now receiving ‘digital’ surround sound. And wow, the sound quality is awesome. Who knew. Combined with hi def channels, the result is that I am going to be spending a lot more time than I already do vegging in front of the TV. Great 
So if you are hooking up a surround sound system and have ‘digital’ cable and want true ‘digital’ sound then make sure your receiver has the fiber optic input and go get the cable. It’s a nice addition to a home theater and it’s only $20.
Now, my computer didn’t have the fiber optic option, and I wasn’t going to hook up a digital reciever to my computer, but maybe someday when I have nothing better to do. Right now, I just have the Creative Labs 5.1 speakers (under $50) and a sound blaster live 5.1 surround sound card and it’s pretty good. The 3-d sound I experience from sitting at the computer is very cool, games are great and music, espcially from Yahoo, is really amazing.
I wonder what they’ll think of next….
August 26th, 2006
Welcome to the Loose Change. This site is just some random stuff, thoughts and ideas I threw together. Some of it might actually be interesting and worthwhlie, who knows! Stay tuned.
August 26th, 2006