cranium crunches

An on a lighter note...What do you do to kep your gray matter from turning into pudding?

We usually set a 1000 piece puzzle over Christmas, which is supposed to keep the brain sharp. This year we didn't.
Hubby is a sudoko fiend. I am studying Spanish, just to see if I am able to learn anything. Keep having flashbacks to highschool French class, conjugating verbs. AGH!

Play crib? Crosswords? On line gambling? What do you do to keep your gray matter from seizing up in this cold weather? What is challenging and fun? A few years back I taught myself WAY TOO MUCH algebra. That was challenging, but not fun. I also have the second law of thermodynamics floating around in my head for no apparent reason, other than Hubby is a steam engineer. Does anyone know the second law of thermodynamics? No Googling! That's a cheat!

What is your brain busting past time?

I play scrabble with my favorite people.

I read the Western Canada Poultry Swap. I spend some time weekly at our elementary school helping students that are having some difficulties with reading. Most of the time they just need to read to somebody one on one. I read a lot of newspapers online and I help the grandchildren with their schoolwork. The wife and I took Uno's advice and did a couple puzzles during our Christmas break.

I play board games and read tons of books. I’m an avid reader. Also trying to wrap my head around basic poultry genetics on my better days. So far I know just enough to be dangerous, but not enough to do any real damage. Heh.

Wow..genetics, that's a HUGE topic of study. I don't know that 'simple' and gentics can be said in the same sentence. Maybe once you get like ipf, TruNorth and Cynthia (and others whom I have forgot to mention)THEN you can wave a hand breezily andsay (in a French accent) Oh, zee jeneteeks...eet eez zo zimpell.

^ Haha, THAT day won't be for a good long while yet. I'm stuck happy swimming in the kiddie pool for now.

I love crossword puzzles, and Scrabble, I am addicted to Scrabble on line with my Iphone.
Read as much as possible, but that is usually only in winter.
Reading a Pearl S Buck novel right now, very interesting...it's called Kinfolk.

Pearl S Buck, powerful writer.

I read Western Canada Poultry Swap
and you can learn so much about a
lot of different subjects.

Yes exactly what Karona said! So many great things I learn that I know nothing about and must start to research which leads to dirty laundry and dishes piling up That's my excuse anyways and then it usually ends up with me with a fantastic idea or plan and hubby rolling his eyes! Although he is on board with trying to raise pigs (for dinner) and I got him the storeys book so he'll be set to get on it haha

SerJay wrote:Yes exactly what Karona said! So many great things I learn that I know nothing about and must start to research which leads to dirty laundry and dishes piling up That's my excuse anyways and then it usually ends up with me with a fantastic idea or plan and hubby rolling his eyes! Although he is on board with trying to raise pigs (for dinner) and I got him the storeys book so he'll be set to get on it haha

Let me know how the pig thing goes I have been trying to talk hubby into it also.

uno wrote:Wow..genetics, that's a HUGE topic of study. I don't know that 'simple' and gentics can be said in the same sentence. Maybe once you get like ipf, TruNorth and Cynthia (and others whom I have forgot to mention)THEN you can wave a hand breezily andsay (in a French accent) Oh, zee jeneteeks...eet eez zo zimpell.

Yep, you forgot HigginsRAT and Coopslave, but that is OK. Me, I'm not in that rank yet of knowing much about genetics, but that is what I am spending my learning hours this winter on, studying, here, there and everywhere, gonna get a good handle on all the understanding of genetics, my winter project. Have a most wonderful day, good post, CynthiaM.

The thought of my grey matter turning into pudding has halted all of my extracurricular activites. I love pudding...waiting........nothing yet.........

Hmmm, second law of thermodynamics? This is without Googling and a guess off the top of my head, so don't laugh if it's completely unrelated to the actual answer! I think it's "matter cannot be destroyed or made and cannot be created from nothing". Am I close?

I read a lot, both in English and German. If I like it a 600 page book takes about 3-4 days to read thru.

Love puzzles, 1000-2000 piece ones if i can find a table that fit them, on the floor my cat destroys them at night....

Beginning of december I started a nice 800 pg mystery novel in German, got 30 pages in and had a car accident(2 days before christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS!) and haven't been able to read ANYTHING since, can't focus on even a single sentence.

Right now I would be happy if my brain was pudding, it would at least not hurt and hopefully taste delicious! Right now my brain is less then pudding(what does it make it then, Ether?). Useless useless useless

I wanna finish that book and the started puzzle on my new(old) makeshift puzzle table.

After 5 children and the 6th on the way my grey matter has turned to pudding already!! LOL At least that is what most people tell me! I love doing suduko, and the "mind" games as hubby calls them. I enjoy trying to solve puzzles but am hopeless when it comes to crosswords. I am trying to learn chicken genetics also, but have not accomplished much. I also love to read, and learn different training methods for horses.(these I ususally merge into my existing training methods) I am also trying to become a carpenter, welder, and have been working on different reciepes for baking, I seem to always change the recipes and my children when they really like something I make ask me to put it in their cookbook. I am making each child their own cookbook starting when they can tell me which they like and which they don't. I also sew, making some of my own patterns, and am trying to learn more than the basics for knitting and crocheting. Keeps the puddle of grey matter sloshing around a little.

I read WCPS and holy smokes you guys rock my brain half the time and the other half I'm usually full of emotion
from reading postings on here eitherway I do find that most of my reading is done on here now a days.
Thanks all for opening up a whole new world to me and helping as I learn

oooo, wraking brain... something about pressure and temperature seeking a state of eqilibrium....

Scrabble, knitting, crib and learning about Animal Husbandry (much through this site) and then applying it is what keeps me on my mental toes. I must say though, once we've accomplished all our 'inside' winter goals within the next couple of years, I'll be ready to take a course or two.

Having said that, has anyone heard of these people and know if their courses are reputable: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

HOpeful and Arctic, I think you're both on the right track. As I learned it the second (?) law of thermodynamics says 'energy can neither be created nor destroyed'. I have heard variations on that theme. Or is that the third law? How many laws are there? Never mind, not important.

Okay, googled now cause I had to know. I came up with the *first* law of thermodynamics. Here's a Wikipedia quote:
The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be transformed, i.e. changed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed

Arctic is getting very close the the second law:
over time, differences in temperature, pressure, and chemical potential equilibrate in an isolated physical system

Arctic wins.

Funny I have the Great Courses catalogue in front of me now, trying to decide what my brother would like (as a late Christmas present). I have a few and some are great, some boring, just like all university courses. We have no terrestrial radio on the 3 hour drive to town and satellite radio is a bit repetitive so we listen to Great Courses. Some are better on CD (listen) some better on DVD (with visual aids).

All I can recommend is wait for the sales - they go from $$$ to almost nothing regularly.

And if you get one and like the professor, remember it.

But we listen to a lot of radio and become real experts on things like the politics of the Sudan, the sex life of bumblebees, etc.