3pm
I’ve slept with a CPAP for nearly a third of my life. From the beginning, my CPAP has improved my sleep. I sleep with less disturbance and awaken refreshed. I adapted to it easily, largely, because I never needed a full face mask. The design of a nasal-pillow mask is such that I can still read in bed before going to sleep and I can lie on either side without discomfort. Head congestion; however, is an unpleasant additional challenge. The positive air pressure helps but has clear limits. As I suffocate, my body tries to compensate. I either open my mouth to take a breath or I suddenly wake up gasping. Neither is pleasant.
Being awakened by suffocation is disturbing. And it is an entirely different disturbance being awakened by pressure-driven air from the nose to the throat and out through the mouth.
There is a state of mind that exists between sleep and being fully conscious where one wants to wake up and remain asleep. During this twilight of awareness, I often simultaneously cling to and flee from my dreamworld.
Suffocation distorts dreams and creates strange narrative landscapes. It is difficult to describe.
Often, there is an internal argument where I am of more-than-one mind. One of me wants to stay asleep, and another wants (needs?) to wake. I am avoiding the suggestion of duality because I also recognize an observer to the debate among selves.
Who are the voices? Who are the observers? Which among them is self? Or should I be comfortable with we (plural) of selves: that we are instead of I am?
2pm -- “Another day...”, I say to with a sigh to no one in particular.
Today, there is a visceral sense of relief that is being felt by many Americans. The rousing performance by Joe Biden in the Super Tuesday primary represents the extraordinary angst many people have for the possibility of a Bernie Sanders presidency. A “feelings” trend appears to have emerged that has surprised quite a few people, including many that are completely comfortable with Democratic Socialism. The feeling is rooted in the fear and dread of a second-term Donald Trump presidency.
Massive amounts of fake news and conspiratorial content have spread over social media before and after the 2016 US Presidential Elections despite intense fact-checking efforts.
Research indicates that smart phones are 
Science is an endeavour that draws on all of our uniquely human abilities. The need of science appeals to and is guided by common values. Therefore, it needs feelings and imagination as much as observation, analysis and logic. However, here’s a view of science you might recognise as common, or at least see promoted:
In a newly released strategy, the United States has proposed an increased global effort to locate 300,000 or so Earth-impact risks and prepare for potential future meteor collisions that could destroy cities, civilization, or all life as we know it. Near Earth Objects (NEOs) are defined as asteroids or comets that come near our planet’s orbit.
In general, we feel awe when in the presence of something that is so big, beautiful, powerful or complex that it is hard to wrap our heads around (e.g. gazing at the stars and contemplating the vastness of the universe, witnessing the destructive force of a natural disaster). We feel it when we are struck dumb by the presence of the mysterious, magical, wondrous or beautiful and its experience drives us to seek explanations. Something has not only defied our expectations about how the world works, but it has made us want to understand, explain and find meaning in what has happened.
Most of us have experienced this creeping sense of being overwhelmed: the feeling not merely that our lives are full of activity – that can be exhilarating – but that time is slipping out of our control. The quest for increased personal productivity – for making the best possible use of your limited time – is a dominant motif of our age. And yet the truth is that more often than not, techniques designed to enhance one’s personal productivity seem to exacerbate the very anxieties they were meant to allay. The better you get at managing time, the less of it you feel that you have. It’s understandable that we respond to the ratcheting demands of modern life by trying to make ourselves more efficient. But what if all this efficiency just makes things worse?
