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The most beautiful death

The most beautiful death
Brave New World novelist Aldous Huxley was diagnosed with cancer in 1960, at which point his health slowly began to deteriorate. On his deathbed in November of 1963, just as he was passing away, Aldous — a man who for many years had been fascinated with the effects of psychedelic drugs since being introduced to mescaline in 1953 — asked his wife Laura to administer him with LSD. She agreed. The following letter — an incredibly moving, detailed account of Aldous's last days — was written by Laura just days after her husband's death and sent to his older brother Julian. Transcript follows. 6233 Mulholland Highway Los Angeles 28, California December 8, 1963Dearest Julian and Juliette:There is so much I want to tell you about the last week of Aldous' life and particularly the last day.

16th and 17th Centuries home | 6th-15th centuries | 18-19th centuries | 1901 to World War II | 1945 to 21st century Christopher Columbus to the Caribbean – motives, local people and historical impact Portuguese ahead of other Europeans in Africa and Asia – maritime trade to Africa and Asia The Portuguese to America – Brazil, conquest and slavery Spain's Empire expands, to the year 1600 – from the Caribbean, to Mexico, New Mexico and South America Spain in Latin America in the 17th Century – including New Mexico and Texas French, Dutch and English to America – north from Florida, 1550 to 1700 The Protestant Reformation – discontent, Luther's protest, spread of conflict and more Renaissance. Thirty Years' War – 1618-48, origins, witches, pogroms, Peace of Westphalia Dutch Capitalism and Liberalism – prosperity, tolerance and a modern liberal order Stagnation and Decline in Spain – the landed and their value dominate England, from James to William and Mary – from civil war to the Glorious Revolution Science and Philosophy

64 Things Every Geek Should Know - laptoplogic.com The term ‘geek’, once used to label a circus freak, has morphed in meaning over the years. What was once an unusual profession transferred into a word indicating social awkwardness. As time has gone on, the word has yet again morphed to indicate a new type of individual: someone who is obsessive over one (or more) particular subjects, whether it be science, photography, electronics, computers, media, or any other field. A geek is one who isn’t satisfied knowing only the surface facts, but instead has a visceral desire to learn everything possible about a particular subject. A techie geek is usually one who knows a little about everything, and is thus the person family and friends turn to whenever they have a question. If you’re that type of person and are looking for a few extra skills to pick up, or if you’re a newbie aiming to get a handhold on the honor that is geekhood, read on to find out what skills you need to know. 1. USB – Universal Serial Bus GPU – Graphics Processing Unit 2. 3.

How to Remove Your Google Search History Before Google's New Privacy Policy Takes Effect [UPDATE 2/22/2012] It is important to note that disabling Web History in your Google account will not prevent Google from gathering and storing this information and using it for internal purposes. More information at the end of this post. On March 1st, Google will implement its new, unified privacy policy, which will affect data Google has collected on you prior to March 1st as well as data it collects on you in the future. Until now, your Google Web History (your Google searches and sites visited) was cordoned off from Google's other products. This protection was especially important because search data can reveal particularly sensitive information about you, including facts about your location, interests, age, sexual orientation, religion, health concerns, and more. Here's how you can do that: 1. 2. 3. 4. Note that removing your Web History also pauses it. If you have several Google accounts, you will need to do this for each of them.

What Does Your Body Language Say About You? How To Read Signs and... - StumbleUpon Art by LaetitziaAs we all know, communication is essential in society. Advancements in technology have transformed the way that we correspond with others in the modern world. Because of the constant buzz in our technological world, it's easy to forget how important communicating face-to-face is. When conversing old-school style, it's not only speech we verbalize that matters, but what our nonverbal gestures articulate as well. Body language is truly a language of its own. 10% from what the person actually says40% from the tone and speed of voice50% is from their body language. Lowering one's head can signal a lack of confidence. Pushing back one's shoulders can demonstrate power and courageOpen arms means one is comfortable with being approached and willing to talk/communicate

Antique Maps, Old maps, Vintage Maps, Antique Atlases, Old Atlases The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s so easy to hide in your little bubble, typing your little words with your little fingers on your little laptop from the comfort of your tiny chair in your miniature little house. It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer. Available in print withThe Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

Sebastian Seung: A Neuroscientist Reverse-Engineering The Brain hide caption A map of neurons of the mouse retina, reconstructed automatically by artificial intelligence from electron microscopic images. A. Zlateski based on data from K. A map of neurons of the mouse retina, reconstructed automatically by artificial intelligence from electron microscopic images. Our brains are filled with billions of neurons, entangled like a dense canopy of tropical forest branches. How these neurons interact with each other — and what the wiring is like between them — is key to understanding our identity, says Sebastian Seung, a professor of computational neuroscience at MIT. Seung's new book, Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are, explains how mapping out our neural connections in our brains might be the key to understanding the basis of things like personality, memory, perception and ideas, as well as illnesses that happen in the brain, like autism and schizophrenia. "These kinds of disorders have been a puzzle for a long time," says Seung.

Get anyone to like you – Instantly – Guaranteed Get anyone to like you - Instantly - Guaranteed If you want people to like you, make them feel good about themselves. This golden rule of friendship works every time - guaranteed! The simple communication techniques that follow will help you keep the focus of the conversation on the person you are talking to and make them feel good about themselves. The Big Three Our brains continually scan the environment for friend or foe signals. Eyebrow Flash The eyebrow flash is a quick up and down movement of the eyebrows. Head Tilt The head tilt is a slight tilt of the head to one side or the other. Smile A smile sends the message "I like you." Empathic Statements Empathic statements keep the focus on the other person. Example 1 George : I've been really busy this week. Tom : So you didn't have much free time in the last few days. Once the basic formula for empathic statements has been mastered, more sophisticated empathic statements can be constructed by dropping "So you..." Example 2 Flattery

99 of the Best Windows Freeware Programs You May Not Know Of Due to the popularity of my previous article on Help Desk Geek entitled 99 ways to make your computer blazingly fast, I’ve decided to write another list post with 99 items, but this time on Windows freeware programs that you may have not heard of. If you search for “best freeware programs” or “top freeware apps”, you’ll get lots of lists, but mostly with programs everyone has already heard of: AVG anti-virus, 7-zip, Firefox, OpenOffice, etc., etc. That’s all nice and fine, but what about all those little gems programs that work great, but don’t get all the headlines? In this article, I will try my best to mention as many small name freeware programs as I can that can help make you more productive! It’s a long list, so feel free to bookmark it and refer to it later on. These are written in no particular order! Additionally, some of the programs I mention have free versions that have a few restrictions or are limited in some way. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

What your finger length tells about you Finger Length Helps Predict Test Exam Results, Homosexuality, Cancer, Musical Ability and Aggressive Personality -- Study Shows Your finger length can predict how you will do on various tests in school. They can also tell if you are likely to be homosexual or straight, if you will likely get certain cancers, be a musician, writer or a scientist, or if you will have an aggresssive or passive personality.The two fingers that are important are the index finger -- the one you use to point to something -- and the ring finger. Reading, writing and arithmetic... In a recent study from the help of online universities, the results of mathematics and literacy (reading) tests for seven-year-old children could be predicted by measuring the length of these two fingers. In a study to be published in the British Journal of Psychology, scientists compared the finger lengths of 75 children with their Standardised Assessment Test (SAT) scores. How they did the research Finger lengths may predict cancer!

Pesto, Olives and Tomato Grilled Cheese Feet have growing pains, you know. It’s true because our 5-year-said so. I asked him to put away his toys and his response was, “I cannot walk as I have too many growing pains in my feet.” I get those around my waist. Odd. Well, no need to expand your waist or feel any guilt with this grilled cheese recipe. Start with fresh ciabatta or your favorite bread. Grab your favorite prepared pesto or make your own. Let the schmearing begin. Did you schmear the pesto all over both pieces of bread? Grab your favorite type of olives and prepare to chop them up. Chop up to your preferred size and scatter over the pesto on one of the slices of bread. Now slice up that gor-gee-ous tomato into two or three slices, depending on the width of the bread, and layer over the olives. Slice up your favorite cheese. Still staring, eh? That’s better. Spray both sides of the sandwich with olive oil or butter-flavored nonstick spray. Place the sandwich on the plate, cut in half and prepare to dig in. Description

Out of Body Experiences: Embark on a Journey to the Astral World It is impossible not to be curious out having an out of body experience. Not just because it is something bound in mystery and excitement – the idea of being liberated from the limiting confines of our bodies is indeed very appealing – but because it is something which makes up a certain essence of our culture. Mankind has always dreamt about releasing himself, whether through controlled flight or artificial weightlessness, or through redemption and religious experiences. Having an out of body experience is something, which we cannot help but crave, and something that, in many ways, is very easy to imagine. We all encounter something not dissimilar to an out of body experience each night when we dream, and within our dreams, we are free from any of the limitations we face in waking life. Often, many of us encounter out of body experiences without understanding how or why it took place. Interested to learn step-by-step techniques of astral projection? Find out by signing up for Steve G.

Seven Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction Image by Lloyd Arnold via Wikimedia Commons Before he was a big game hunter, before he was a deep-sea fisherman, Ernest Hemingway was a craftsman who would rise very early in the morning and write. His best stories are masterpieces of the modern era, and his prose style is one of the most influential of the 20th century. Hemingway never wrote a treatise on the art of writing fiction. 1: To get started, write one true sentence. Hemingway had a simple trick for overcoming writer's block. Sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. 2: Always stop for the day while you still know what will happen next. There is a difference between stopping and foundering. The best way is always to stop when you are going good and when you know what will happen next. 3: Never think about the story when you're not working. 7: Be Brief.

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