Dear Cia Column

Dear Ice,

Hmm, that's a bit better, but still just a tad too broad of a question. Sooner or later I'm going to have to start not counting these, as they reek of milking points.  

In any case, meditation is probably not something I can properly advise on given I don't meditate.  I was never able to meditate before back when I was an amorphic mess, and I simply don't feel interested in meditating now as I feel I'm happy and focused enough with proper health and sleep (and if I had the time for it, I feel it more constructive to read, draw, walk, or at least do something on the server like answer these Dear Cia questions).  

But I do recognize that meditation IS a very helpful practice, as it offers similar benefits to sleep but in a fully lucid state. Granted there are MANY forms of meditation and I hate to simply toss them all into a collective pile since I'm sure certain variations are better or more specialized than others, but this is a broad question so I'll give a broad answer.

Those that do choose to meditate on a daily basis are able to enhance on one of the below benefits:

- better memory
- better physical health
- better mental health
- better focus
- less brain fog
- greater relaxation
- greater ability to deal with stress
- better sense of self and belonging
- better satisfaction of life
- spiritual fulfillment

Some are curiously similar to the benefits of getting proper sleep (no kidding, lol), others are simply part of what I call the "human propensity for spiritual fulfillment.  We all want to do something with our lives, or belong to something greater than ourselves, and so some meditative practices that follow an ancient tradition or a reverence for the unknown are bound to fill in a void left by a cobbled-together modern lifestyle.  At the very least it's a hobby, and as I've mentioned many times, hobbies are a great and simple way to give a person something real and tangible to do that can leave behind a legacy -- in the case of meditation, it's a kind of mind-and-body hobby, not unlike yoga, exercise, hiking, or even singing.  ^^

Never underestimate the power of doing SOMETHING, anything, even if it's badly -- just something out-of-the-ordinary that reminds you that you're human, not a prisoner to a workplace or school.  

And that seems like an appropriate time to play this...




--Cia

Dear Cia,

What are the best foods to eat while you are fighting and recovering from the common cold?

Dear Ice,

Aha!! A specific question at last!  That's more like it!  
Granted I believe similar questions have already been asked in the past -- but those were specific to flu, not the common cold, and besides this topic bears repeating.

First and foremost, it's important to distinguish between "prevention" and "treatment". Prevention is eating quality foods that will diminish (although sadly not eliminate) the chances of getting sick, as well as the intensity of the sickness.  And treatment is for when you're actually sick, and you have to operate under a compromised immune system... an internal "war" situation, if you will.

Most of the mainstream health advice, such as eating a lot of Vitamin C, is valid, but only in the context of prevention -- yes, vitamin C (and Vitamin D) are very good to have in large amounts to help combat your sickness.  And yes, eliminating grains and sugar, especially wheat, are important to do as a preventative measure to avoid illnesses (not just cold and flu, but stomach flu as well which is horrible XD ), but are not wise to eliminate DURING a sickness because then you have to contend with withdrawal symptoms on top of the cold/flu.  

But once you're actually sick, the scenario changes.  Too much Vitamin C can actually be a bad thing while sick -- and in fact eating too much food in general is not generally a good idea, because your body needs to divert as many resources as possible to defend itself from pathogens, and can't afford to divert much attention to digesting an influx of nutrients.  Not surprisingly, your gut plays a huge role in combating a cold/flu, so treatment should focus on easing as many irritants to your gut as possible.

So consider the following suggestions...

1) Be already free of the effects of wheat, grains and sugar by this point; it will lessen the duration and intensity of your illness if you no longer have a compromised immune system or chronic inflammation caused by these.  If so, don't return to consuming these during your illness, unless in very very small amounts (e.g., a tiny bit of white rice in chicken soup).  Resist the urge to eat a hefty bowl of oatmeal, toast, or Cream of Wheat while sick, as these are NOT good cold foods.

2) Be prepared for intermediate fasting.  This may be a given if you're very weak by the cold and naturally don't feel like eating.  This is on purpose; if you don't want food (meaning you get nauseous by the thought of food), that means your gut doesn't want food, and you should not force it to eat food.  When you start getting hungry again after such a "fasting" period, then that means your body is winning against the pathogen and needs reinforcements.

3) Eat less food than usual.  Especially when recovering from an intermediate fast, don't pack on the pounds quite yet.  Eat small quantities of food at first, such as a nice bowl of chicken soup and maybe half an orange.  Even if it's small, these should be enough to satisfy you for a while, and you can slowly and gradually ramp up the amount over the next couple of days.

4) Don't be afraid of fat. Your immune system relies heavily on fat and cholesterol (which is your body's natural antioxidant); and the better your body's quality of fat and cholesterol, the better able it will be to combat illness. Although #3 above still applies and you should limit the intake regardless, make sure that what little food you DO consume comes with a healthy serving of fat and nutrient-dense food whole, unprocessed foods.  Chicken soup is a great example because it's small, yet can pack a treasure trove of fat and nutrients, so long as you: 1) leave the skin on the chicken, 2) use dark meat and white meat, 3) leave the bones to make a richer bone broth, 4) add only high quality green vegetables, 5) add a little carrot and potatoe for healthy starch, 6) add only a handful of flavoring, such as sea salt and some lemon, and 7) add no grains or pulses to it.

5) Aside from grains and sugar, try to avoid dairy as well for the time being, as it too can produce excess mucuous that will only make you feel miserable.  That means an embargo on milk, yoghurt, soft cheeses and possibly even butter. Ghee might be an exception, but there's many good alternatives to it while sick that I don't feel it's worth it to experiment. ^^

5) Once your body improves enough to eat more complex things than chicken soup, consider graduating to eggs and liver, which are examples of nutrient-dense food with amazing amounts of vitamins and minerals, which will certainly help clean up the mess the cold virus left behind.  As for plant foods, lean more on the side of leafy-green vegetables than anything, as starchy plants and fruits may offer too many calories than you need while sick and bed-ridden (and again, the vitamin C of some fruits won't help you during the worst phase of the illness).

6) Also consider eating either fermented foods, or at least probiotic supplements, during the sickness. Remember, most of the action is occurring in the gut, so you want to reinforce your good bacteria with greater numbers to help restore your system to normalcy.  If you already eat or take these, increase their intake while the sickness is at its worst

7) As for nutritional supplements, add them responsibly while sick, and generally stick to natural solutions. Cod liver oil is still helpful during a sickness as much as prior to it, and garlic, turmeric, cinnamon and clove are all things that can be added or taken to help improve some symptoms.  Coconut oil [cold-pressed or extra-virgin] and oregano oil are also powerful anti-viral agents, and can be taken if you want to expedite your recover (though beware, oregano oil may be TOO powerful, and might harm your gut bacteria as much as the virus, plus it tastes nasty too).  XD

And even if it's not food... always remember to REST! XD
Sleep and bed-rest will be your allies, and the more you get of it, the faster you will recover.  ^^


Hope this helps.  


--Cia

Thanks Cia

Dear Cia,

What is the best advice for making a good first impression (for a teacher, peer, parent)?

Dear Ice,

*facedesk* And you were doing so well... XD

I guess you answered your own question... DONT MAKE PEOPLE FACEDESK!!! XD


--Cia

Dear Cia,

Why are our "pinky finger's" so small?

Dear Ice,

To symmetrically-compensate your thumb (they are roughly similar in size) and to provide the best leverage. Ever wondered what contributes the "opposition" to the "opposable thumb"?

Pinky fingers are actually hugely important; it can be said that the middle fingers are mostly there to help provide the Pinkies some muscle, but otherwise they do all the coordinating. With your Pinkies, your grip won't be anywhere near as strong.

It's a similar situation with your pinky toes, although the dynamics are different.


--Cia

Ok, makes sense, thanks Cia.

Dear Cia,

I haven't really done a lot of cooking - the most I have done is make Hamburger Helper, or grilled cheese sandwiches or pancakes. I also do not like taking a long time to make a meal. Are there any sites with simple, easy, and quick recipes online that you can recommend, following the "get rid of wheat" idea?

Dear Lom,

Well glad you asked, and it's very exciting to hear that you're interested in cooking (even if just a little). ^^

Although I've just begun reading up on this resource, Michelle Tam from 'Nom Nom Paleo' offers an incredible wealth of Paleo-ish recipe ideas that are highly nutritous, tasty, grain-less, easy to do (since she herself admits to being a bit lazy), low-inflammatory, funny, and generally accompanied by a wealth of really cool pictures.  She also separates her egg recipes into a corner, so you can take comfort in the knowledge that you can read everything else safely, although for the sake of choline I do hope you do your best to reconsider your stance).  ^^

http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex

I also have her hardcover book which is awesome, and I'm eating it up like Paleo hot cakes... it's very easy to read and a nice insight into how the author looks after her family.  

Most other resources I've used for recipes have come from physical books such as Dr. William Davis' own assembled cookbooks (i.e., 'Wheat Belly 30-Minute (Or Less!) Cookbook') or from Paleo books such as Dana Carpender's '500 Paleo Recipes' or Julie Mayfield's 'Paleo Comfort Foods'.  Primal/Paleo diets are a bit more hardcore than what I've recommended (as they really stress the elimination of grains, dairy, processed and high-glycemic foods), but serve as a great (and safe) base for healthy wheat-free dishes, on which you can affix any modern things you enjoy that don't cause inflammation for you (such as dairy, certain processed cured meats, and potatoes).  What I like about Mrs. Tam is that she's not terribly adherent to the Paleo principles and in fact only really uses them as a template -- part about being human is that we're flexible, and, minus a terrible autoimmune response, we are body's can withstand some bad or inflammatory foods from time to time.  It's like getting sick, and we get past illnesses all the time.  

If you need free online resources, I haven't used them a whole lot, but you can simply Google things based around a Paleo diet since that serves as a great rallying point for grain-less food ideas.  Searches like "quick and easy paleo", "simple paleo", "lazy paleo", or "paleo for those who can't cook" will yield some valuable results.

If you genuinely don't have the time to cook, it's not impossible to get healthier with standard fast food or restaurant fare,... it simply won't be as effective.  For instance, a McDonald's meal which includes a Big Mac without the bun, some fruit instead of their fake fries (fries in themselves aren't bad, but I feel their fries are simply potato-flavored sugar), and unsweetened ice tea or water CAN be healthier and CAN make you lose weight or get slightly better -- nevertheless, you would still have to contend with poor or questionable ingredients full of pesticides or from tortured, drugged-up animals, doused up to their eyeballs with preservatives, and cooked in all manner of sludge seed oils which I feel are the true culprits of heart disease (mainly because of their very pro-inflammatory, rancid, oxidized nature).  So this can certainly slow down any improvements, and may require the use of supplements to counteract the negative effects (omega 3 supplements to counteract sludge oil, and extra "healthy" fat to counter the fact that McDonald's hamburgers are surprisingly saturated fat-deficient, believe it or not) -- but even if it's worse than a proper whole foods diet, it's still significantly better than the alternative.  Remember, we're adaptable creatures, and we should and can adapt and thrive against the realities of our modern life.  ^^


--Cia

Dear Cia,

I was called "articulant" by some old guy today.

1. What does that mean?
2. Is that bad?

Dear Luigi,

Hmm, I would assume that either he or you are mispelling "articulate", since I've never heard of "articulant" before except in the context of other languages (like, say, French).

In any case, if you were indeed called "articulate", that was done essentially to compliment you for speaking fluently and coherently, with proper enunciation of words, few mispellings, very few "um's" or "ah's", a good command of vocabulary, and possibly even sounding lively, charismatic, confident, free-of-doubt, and/or spirited.  What do most comedians, Anthony Hopkins, and self-motivated healthy kids all have in common?  They're all impressively articulate compared to the average person, sounding perhaps much smarter than they are, and usually a joy to listen to.  

TL:DR;... it's a fancy way of saying "you sound smart". XD

Now as for whether it is bad... well that depends on whether you like being called smart or if you want to create for yourself some illusion of being a kind of tough-guy ignoramus truant.  Then again, considering your average school-goer is FAR from articulate, being articulate would be a nice way to differentiate yourself positively from the rest.  Besides, many popular Hollywood and television actors are made to talk in an articulate manner (aided by cuts and multiple takes), and if you can essentially be like that naturally (without the help of memorized lines and cue cards) then that can be a very valuable asset in a world that idolizes television characters.


--Cia

Dear Cia,

Why do you think in the early days of humanity we were more carnivorous as opposed to more omnivorous when plants were obviously more abundant in most places and we were structured physically made to be able to digest plants just as well as meats?

Dear Ice,

Ah, that's a very fascinating question, although one that cleearly is entrapped in some modern beliefs.  Granted, I've fallen victim to that trap as well, but in all seriousness... how much DO we know about our ancient past?  We don't even know how long we, as a species of homo sapien, have been around on this Earth; even setting aside beliefs from a small subset of religions that we're only 6,000 years old, evolutionary theory is not entirely concrete on the notion that we're 1,000,000 years old either, despite the fact they often talk as if they are.  We still don't have a "missing link" that ties us to the great apes, and evidence that may indicate that we have a history older than conventional theory assumes is often tossed aside as quackery, disrupted or covered up.  In a sense, conventionality becomes a religion in itself, asking you to assume, without a doubt, that we're less than a million years old, are related to apes, and have largely been stupid and boring up until Europeans did stuff (<=lol, subtle). XD

So if there was a hyper-advanced Precursor Civilization 80,000 years ago, we will never know and good luck because no one will ever entertain the thought, and no one will let you dig your way down to the surface of Antarctica. >.<

But I digress....

If for just this once we can afford ourselves the luxury of petty assumptions about what we ate as a species, we can certainly try to come up with possible explanations for why we adopted more carnivory.  But again, let's analyze the question first before we assume an answer....

#1: More carnivorous... compared to what?  If we were to assume that we did evolve from apes, which apes in particular?  Chimpanzees are omnivores like us, but gorillas are mostly herbivores, blessed with the right gut microbiome to break down fruit and cellulose down to all the fat and protein they could ever need.  Again, since we don't know what our precursor species was, we don't know if we at some point were herbivores and became carnivores, or maybe we started off as carnivores and became omnivores (perhaps improving our microbiome makeup as time passed)?  

#2: Edible plants are more abundant?  Remember, we're not gorillas, cows or birds, so we don't possess the right gut microbiome to eat tree bark, grass, or grains.  Note also that most of the fruits and vegetables you see in the supermarket would not have existed back in those early days, since many are cultivated hybrids invented since the agricultural revolution.  Even setting aside the hundreds of varieties of grain, staples like broccolli, cabbage, modern bananas, almonds, and apples would not have existed,... certainly not in the large, nutrient-rich, non-toxic form you know them today.  Nor did agriculture exist, so all the subsidized bounty of food in all Western supermarkets are a relativley modern phenomenon, one which didn't exist even 100 years ago... prior to that, human taste in fruits and vegetables was beholden to seasons or wealth.  

So really, our available edible flora in early prehistory comes down to edible perenial greens and flowers, tubers, nuts, some fruits, and, near the coast, kelp.   Likewise the reverse is true... nowadays our supermarkets are only limited to a few staple fish, birds and ruminants, such as cows, pigs, lamb (not even elder sheep, but young lamb! Geez! XD), goat, chickens, turkeys, fish and some shellfish.  Free from modern sensibilities, we can include a myriad more animals, some still with us like caribou, rabbits, bison, anteloupes, yak and deer, and some extinct like mammoths, passenger pigeons and aurochs.  Add in lizards, snakes, turtles, insects, and rodents, and of course the eggs for all of these animals, and suddenly what seems scarce in modern times is actually a veritable BONANZA of living, walking food for the avid omnivore.  Best of all, this food grows itself, raises itself, can move itself when weather gets cold, and can propagate itself to ensure a continuous food supply.  

And lastly....

#3: We can digest plants?  We can digest SOME plants, but clearly not ALL plants... it's part of being an omnivore, where we become jack of all trades, masters of none.  A dog can get almost all its fat, protein and carbs from raw meat, it's carnvirous digestive system is efficient at doing that; likewise, a cow can get all ITS fat, protein and carbs from all the grass it processes throughout its complicated digestive tract.  We have to make due with a relatively tiny, generalized digestive tract that is great at sampling multiple food sources, but isn't specialized enough to get its full nutrition from it.  Even if all we had to eat was muscle meat, we would still be deficient and miserable as we do need fat, and we do need some plants -- and in almost every traditional culture, meat and organs were prized, but plants and tubers were collected or traded wherever possible.  Yams, coconuts, tiger nuts, and mongongo nuts were and still continue to be important staples of many traditional cultures.  It can be said that we as humans naturally crave things that are sweet, salty and fatty, and a varied omnivorous diet would let us get the best of all three.

===========

Now all that being said, I feel we were always omnivorous to a degree, and the only reason we seemed to become more "carnivorous" is because our methods of hunting down more game improved.  As powerful as they are, chimpanzees couldn't take down a wolly mammoth... but maybe chimps armed with spears, bolas and fire could have done so.  Why would they have wanted to hunt more meat?  Aside from being both salty and fatty (back in the day when fat was prized), the meat would have supplied more than enough fat and protein (and some carbohydrate sources, such as the waste in ofal and liver, or glycogen from the muscles), certainly enough to cover all a human's micronutrient needs.  It would have had high satiety, providing energy for days, especially once cooking and drying was invented.  And if it came from safe sources, such as insects, lizards and other easy prey (and later domesticated animals and their eggs/milk), then there wouldn't have been the same risk and expense of hunting animals that are known to be delicious and nourishing, as opposed to plant sources that would grow inconsistently (again, pre-agriculture), might be poisonous (in the case of, say, ancient cassava), and aren't as nourishing or satisfying to eat (due to the properties of carbohydrates).    

If you recall my prior answers, I've stated that our brains are primarily composed of fat and cholesterol.  Given that animal-based foods often provide the best and highest quality fat, especially before the days of coconut and olive oil, the case could be made that the consumption of animal fat, especially with greater regularity as primitive technology and hunting methods improved, helped make our brains comparatively larger than those of other primates. While there ARE some plant-based sources of fat, they are either not found in all areas of the world (ie, coconuts, mongongo nuts) or they offer an incomplete fat profile (ie, avocados, which are great for monounsaturated fat, but have little valuable saturated fat).  And in cultures with access to high-quality fatty plants, it's no surprise that cultures have traditionally consumed lots of them (the Polynesians coconuts, and the Kung! Bushmen mongongo nuts), and always in conjunction with a good animal protein, such as fish or ruminants.  In areas with no viable plant fat sources, such as in the Arctic or the Great Plains, we see the native cultures value high quality animal-based fat sources such as seal blubber or bison fat (which, combined with dried muscle or ofal meat, becomes the famous pemmican).  Even in vegetarian-heavy South India, ghee has been rightfully heralded as an essential part of their cuisine, being the highest-quality fat source available to them, and providing them with essential fatty acids they wouldn't normal obtain, or protection from the phytates of all the grains and pulses consumed.

Given how important fat has been to our growth as a species, it seems criminal that it be demonized today in favour of man-made "healthy" sludge oils processed from byproduct seeds, their adoption rate coincidentally paralleling the rise of heart disease.  It makes the low-fat craze from the US and other gullible people even more demented, especially as we get fatter, sicker, stupider and more disconnected from reality the more carbohydrates we eat to compensate for the inherent fat deficiency.

So really, the question isn't so much why we became carnivorous over time... it's really more a matter of why we ate more fat over time, certainly more than other fellow omnivores such as chimps, pigs or rats.  If a pig could have the luxury of consuming the same rich fat sources as we have, and gradually started getting smarter and more resourceful, could it not some day form a kind of pig tribe, pig settlement, pig civilization and pig world given enough years of evolution?  They're already one of the smartest animals on Earth, so maybe the assumption is not far off.

I can imagine millions of years from now, a piggy Iceman asking a piggy Cia via a piggy internet why pigs became more carnivorous as opposed to more omnivorous when plants (now made more abundant by piggy agriculture) were so abundant?  I wonder if the piggy Cia ultimately would come to the same conclusion that I have -- that it's ultimately a matter of fat. ^^




--Cia

Dear Cia,

Not sure if this is a good place to be bringing this up, but I logged on recently and noticed that there is a temporary tp plate to a Molten portal that leads strait to the town. I was wondering, will this be permanent, or are you guys still trying to formulate a way to do a cross-dimension tp?

Also, I kinda wanted to decorate the tp hub spot and make decor for the twin portals as well. Is it cool if I go ahead and start on that? Will it affect anything?

-- Wiph <3, This guy

Dear Luigi,

Hmm, well yeah this is mainly reserved for non-server questions.  I mean you can still ask them, but it would honestly be a waste, especially since they wouldn't be worth any points. -.-

But as to your question, you'll probably want to check with Flamm since he's the one who set that portal up.  I know through Lom that it is possible to do direct dimensional links using a little known (but slightly buggy) command, although this wasn't known to flamm until after he built the portals.  But since you're the town owner, you decide how you want to get to your town and how to decorate it, and I'll be sure my folks can meet your needs appropriately. ^^

I still long for a food question.... *sigh*

--Cia

(don't know if this counts as next day, but I'm still curious to ask you. I'm very inspired by superheroes and comic books )

Dear Cia, If you could have any super power, what would it be? Would you have super speed so you can quickly bake and serve very quickly and become the world record holder for fastest baker ever? or read minds so you can steal recipes from the minds of people who are incredibly successful and steal their great ideas and create it before them?

You're not limited to those powers, any power you can think of, don't get too ambitious though.

-- Drew

Dear MOAB,
[nice new name, btw]

Wow... it shows you haven't been here in a long while, lol. XD

Well first and foremost, your answer has been asked before... twice in fact (once by SlayerDeathicus, the second by Tex).  Granted I think the original was phrased more as a "three magic wishes" question, but of course I opted to grant myself some kind of power, although not nearly as narrowing as the ones you suggest, lol.  

And in light of the fact I saw the movie "Lucy" recently and absolutely LOVED IT, I think my wishes still hold true, and can easily translate to your answer here...

https://bigsister.forumotion.com/t419p225-dear-cia-column#7724

Granted I would rather not be AS mean-spirited and callous as Lucy -- in that sense, John Travolta's character in 'Phenomenon' as the gentle super-genius is still very appealing to me, although coupled with Scarlett Johansson's badassery and confidence in 'Lucy' would certainly be a winning proposition in my book.  ^^

As for baking,... er,... it may come off as a shock, but I'm not actually a baker IRL.  I tried to be, and in fact as part of trying to be MORE like the character of Ciabatta I crafted here in the virtual world.  But in doing so I found some very inconvenient truth about wheat and our modern diet in general, and after several months of being lighter, stronger, healthier and happier as a result of eating "truly" better, I can proudly say that I'm not a fan of baked goods... period.  I mean sure I will still make the occasional paleo-style bread made out of coconut or almond flour and eggs, in the hopes of satisfying a liverwurst or tuna melt sandwich fix, or make dark chocolate almond butter cookies to appease a small dessert craving, or eat cheesecake.  But these are now seldom rather than chronic, back in the days when EVERY meal of the day had to have some kind of dessert.  The craving simply doesn't exist there anymore.

I do still bake, though... bake casseroles and roasts and potatoes/yams and all sorts of nutrient-denses uses for an oven.  I've learned to use a pressure cooker, cast iron skillets, dutch ovens, stick blenders, slow-cookers, smokers, grills, comals, tawas, and even a Moroccan tajine.  I gave up being a bread baker in order to try to be a culinary gourmand instead of whole, unprocessed, unindustrialized, nutrient-dense foods, and in all honesty I find it to be a pretty damn good tradeoff. If I were to have super-powers, I'd use it to make my cooking even better and more accessible to smash the myth of "healthy eating" that has infected our culture for the last 60 years. ^^

I wouldn't mind reading minds, though... but certainly not to steal.  I'm no Steve jobs. XD
Best use of mind reading is to control your audience, and sway them to your line of thinking.  Invoke what I call a Ratatouille Revelation moment...



...and gain a potential ally rather than another needless adversary.  Besides, most successful celebrity chefs in those cable channels (with the exception of Alton Brown who's awesome!) made their fame propping up the Standard American Diet (or appropriately abbreviated to, "SAD"), so to be honest there wouldn't be a whole lot to steal anyway.  >v>


--Cia

Dear Cia,

How bad/good is coffee for our system?

Dear Avocado,

Ah, an interesting food,... er, drink question.  

I have sort of a minor tolerate/hate relationship with coffee,... I didn't really drink it a lot since it seemed too strong for me, plus I always preferred tea drinking anyway.  But as my work got more intense and mu sleeping time less prevalent, during my pre-diet days I was willing to start my day with the proverbial cup of joe since I desperately needed that energy boost.  And yes, it worked, but at the cost of some nasty GI problems later.  I guess the drawbacks for me weren't all that bad considering some people get serious addictions, sleeping disorders, and other problems through chronic coffee consumption, and perhaps my general dislike for coffee helped prevent the problem from getting worse.  

Given this negativity, do I feel coffee is bad overall?  Yes, but only in exaggeration, and under certain conditions or body states.

The exaggeration portion is a given... coffee IS a powerful natural stimulant up there with yerba mate, and stimulants will produce cortisol and force out adrenaline in order to get you that mighty burst of energy.  That may be good on occasion, but if you over-stimulate yourself multiple times a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks in a year, for many years, it IS going to plague hell on your body, from potentially increasing your blood pressure, to fatiguing your adrenal gland, reducing your body's insulin sensitivity, creating an acidic GI tract, and, of course, causing an addiction.

As for body states... coffee can potentially cross react with grains, especially wheat and its gluten protein given the similarities that coffee (also a "seed", or rather bean) has with that notorious protein complex.  So anyone with a sensitivity to wheat (and, with continued consumption, possessing an inflamed or damaged intestine) may experience the same immune response when consuming coffee.  That might have had something to do with my GI tract given how much of a bread eater I was pre-diet.  Also take into consideration that while coffee DOES help stimulate gall bladder secretion (really helpful when consuming fats and reducing the overall acidity of the food), the phytates in grains like wheat do the reverse... they inhibit the function of the gall bladder and can even disable it through the production of gall stones.  The end result is that, with a sufficiently-damaged body, you can potentially get all the worst of coffee and none of its benefits.  

But if your body is healed and free of any inflammation, and your diet rich and nutrient-dense, then I feel coffee is not unlike a good black tea... rich in antioxidants and polyphenols, a good source of quick energy and focus, and blessed with a long and interesting history as a pivotal intellectual motivator during the Ages of Reason and Enlightenment.  Granted it still needs to be in moderation, but a person in good health rarely needs such a powerful pick-me-up all the time.  Also bear in mind it has to be caffeinated... decaf goes through some extra processing that inadvertently strips the coffee of all its benefits, leaving you with flavored brown water (much like how skim milk is simply milk-flavored chalk water, lol). XD

Since I didn't know any of this until recently, originally during my diet-change I lumped in coffee as part of the "bad" foods I tried to avoid, since I knew full well it plagued hell on my stomach.  In hindsight, perhaps I was right to do that since I likely needed to heal first before I could safely drink it again.  I fell back to my old stalwart drink, tea, and also incorporated a natural coffee alternative made of chicory, which is a SUPERB coffee-like drink that is even healthier and is a wonderful prebiotic, yet harder to find and lacking caffeine.  Nine months later in January, I had my first coffee in a while at a restaurant as a means to forego drinking alcohol (since the place failed to stock on my favorite hard cider) -- mainly to experiment to see how my body would react to it. And sure enough... it behaved itself.  ^^

Now I'll drink a nice cup of coffee every weekend at least, or sometimes a nice blend of of coffee and chicory (much like how they do it in Louisiana).  It will never dethrone peppermint or chicory from my list of favorite flavored hot drinks, but I feel more comfortable drinking it infrequently anyway... it ensures it will never have more than a moderate effect on me.  

In summary... I feel coffee is not necessarily either bad or good, but it simply needs to be respected -- properly respected, it can be a great ally or at least a fine treat. ^^


--Cia

Dear Cia, why do you promote newer players on such low notice? Is it a trust thing?

Dear Brave,

Heh, I knew you wouldn't use any of the questions I suggested.  Now you shall never know about the awesomeness that is ghee, or the various methods to become less forgetful (which, now that I think about it, are pretty much like asking the question twice, lol).  Enjoy your bad memory.  XD

As for this crazy question is concerned... it actually came up recently when another two knuckleheads were whining about not getting promoted, despite the fact that they were completely and utterly unqualified for the role.  And in fact this is story that has gotten repeated endlessly throughout the past year, not just with the latest promotion... by now I've come to expect multiple howls of indignant dissapoint, and by now as well I simply tune it off like I would construction noise outside my office window.  It can't be helped, though... some people just don't realize how bad they are, and by extension they think everyone is just as bad as they are.  The fact that that is so transparent to me is reason enough why they're not Deputies.  

But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Bottom line is, I think I'll take the time to answer this one by recapping on a few facts...

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#1: Yes, it is a trust thing.  Deputies have access to things like /give, /kick and /tp, they have voting rights for internal staff members, and they have the authority to process whitelist reviews; moreover, they have access to other secrets that are not immediately visible to standard players.  That is a LOT of power for such a small role, and so it can't go to just about anyone.  The only time I will offer a non-qualified person a position of power is as a Monthly Moderator on Little Brother, but few of you have actually taken advantage of that right (kudos to A4 and Tex for being the only two people in recent history brave enough to volunteer).  In short, if a person displays no ability to keep a secret, no ability to communicate to other players and staff, no ability to form coherent sentences, and no ability to hide selfish or childish behavior, then I certainly won't trust them with the keys to my car.  

Heavens knows I tried... the very first two Deputies we ever had, chosen by one of the most dubious moderators we ever had, were two of the least qualified people that could have been chosen for the role.  Still, I was willing to broaden my horizons and let my dubious moderators have her dubious Deputies... and sure enough, they SUCKED!!!  They caused more problems then they were set to solve, they became arrogant, greedy and power-hungry, they began harrassing my dubious Moderator terribly (which I still think contributed to her leaving), and they eventually participated in crimes against the server as a means to bolster their own Skyscraper server (and probably as vengeance for not being given /op or something).  Obviously this isn't somethng I'd like to repeat if I can help it.  


#2: Duration is irrelevant.  The world record for fastest-promoted player on our server still goes to Miisaka, who got promoted to Veteran a mere one week after being here, and then to Deputy two weeks after the fact.  That of course was accompanied by howls of anger from certain people, including players who have been here (and on Gunia's) since the very beginning.  But if I'm willing to accept the risk of putting up with such a horrifying chorus of whining, surely it's for a very good reason.  And Miisaka was a VERY good reason. 

The reverse is true as well... we have staff who have taken ages to promote (ie, Liz), or who have never been promoted at all (ie, Minoriko).  This is not bad planning or even my own choice/preference... there are reasons why that was or is the case. 


#3: Favors, building skills, brown-nosing and popularity are irrelevant:  Building a road doesn't make one Deputy material.  Building a city doesn't make one Deputy material.  Being popular enough to gain a crazy group of zombie player followers, stirring player revolts with a clap of the hand, and "Talking Like This" doesn't make one Deputy/Commissioner material.  Talking to me via Steam doesn't make one Deputy material.  Calling me "mistress", and clinging to me and my opinions like a barnacle most DEFINITELY doesn't make one Deputy material.  

They can certainly help in accumulating reasons for the decision... I mean if a person is greatly qualified AND has awesome building skills, great writing skills, is willing to touch base with us outside the server, and is more or less likable (aka, Coco), then yeah the decision has a very solid foundation.  But the difference is that even if someone like Coco didn't have those amazing "mad skillz", she would STILL have gotten to be Deputy because....


#4: Behavior is important.  I often get accused of being biased towards girls and older players, setting aside that we still have a lot of girls and older players that have no staff positions... none of the people that hurl those accusations ever stop to consider that perhaps the bias lies in the fact that they're, on average, a lot more mature, level-headed, patient and trustworthy then your average whiner.  Maybe I'm just biased towards maturity, then?  [yeah, what a crime against humanity for sure]

How can I tell good Deputy material when I see it?  

Is the person whiny?  Clingy?  Insecure?  Cowardly?  Bored? Incapable of thinking for himself?  Does the person have to be handheld, and be told what to do?  Does the person think of nothing else but of trying to "please Cia"?  Does the person ever finish what he starts?  Does the person hold good behavior hostage in exchange for Creative Mode or some semblance of attention?  Does the person ask good questions or display good communication skills ingame, on the server, or via Steam?  Is the person selfish and egoistic, and cares only of protecting his pride regardless of the harm caused to others?  Has the person stolen or griefed before, or been an accomplice to such a crime?  Has the person built cages, obsessed with questionable roleplaying, participated in "Swarming" of 8x girl players, or done other creepy or inappropriate things?  Is the person truly genuinely helping for the sake of helping, or does he expect something in return; and if he doesn't get it, does he bow out graciously, or start a new server and verbally assault this one as some massive (and ultimately ill-fated) act of revenge?  Does the person's actions make less work for me, or more?  

If the answer is yes to one or more of the above, chances are he/she is not good Deputy material.  And in fact, despite ALL the 300+ players we've whitelisted, only a tiny fraction have gotten past that gauntlet of maturity.  It's as much a defeat for me as it is to you guys, because I'm the one who has to work long and hard, and have my resources stretched thin... but if people aren't selected properly, I'll just have a bigger mess to clean up later.  So it has to be done once and it has to be done right, because....


#5 BEING STAFF IS A RESPONSIBILITY, NOT A REWARD!!!!!  It's no coincidence that we have lost many Commissioners lately, either because of retirements, resignations or voluntary demotions... it is a VERY HARD JOB!  Most people assume that it's part of an elite cadre of players that get to shoot around WorldControl, Creative Mode and lasers, and are generally given all my love and affection or whatever.  The actual truth is far more disheartening; and between the endless amount of work, the requirements to adhere to certain standards of participation, writing, enforcement, investigation work, adhering to strict particaption quotas, accepting my occassional intrusions of privacy, and dealing with idiotic or perverted whitelistees (or even players on the server).... It becomes pretty much like a part-time job.  And in fact they do get a kind of non-monetary stipend, but that's not really a reward either, so much as compensation for all the horrors I put them through.  

And I appreciate their efforts to try to do their best and not let me down; but it comes to the point where it just becomes so much work, they begin to lose the reasons why they wanted to play on the server or help in our staff.  Some will break down crying, admitting defeat and failure, and begging to let them start over to something simpler, more free, more akin to the magic and joy of being a normal player with little to no responsibilities other than the basic ones in the Creed that are simply common sense.  And I respect those that choose to admit this, accept a demotion or a departure, and resume a normal server life as a happy but casual contributor to peace and prosperity -- physically powerless, but free as a bird, and all the more whole for it.

I often joke that the #1 requirement for becoming a Deputy is NOT wanting to become a Deputy.  And true enough, none of the people chosen for staff positions within the last year have actually "asked" to be one, or lamented not being one.  If you don't value the freedom you have now, and you have no clear idea of the sheer responsibilities that you will have to take on should you choose to be staff, then for your own protection you're clearly not qualified.

And besides...


#6 Cia's choice is irrelevant:  Too many new and clingy players automatically assume that by getting on my good side (or in most cases, "trying" to get on my good side, often way too hard and unsuccessfully), they can be assured some position of power or favor.  It's what I call the wolfpack mentality, and servile Beta and Gamma wolves will gravitate to appease the alpha wolf (who can be male or female, believe it or not) as a means of courting favor and assuring a future chance to usurp power themselves. 

But aside from being a rather immature, petty and embarrasing means to gain favor, I also wrote the staff hierarchy rules specifically to guard against the possibility that I might grow mad with wuv and blindly pick someone stupid that only talks to me and no one else.  I can certainly suggest or recommend people that might be good Deputy material, and other staff will regularly come to me looking for an opinion on such-and-such person.  But ultimately, it is a Moderator or Commissioner, not me, that makes the final decision to choose to Deputize someone -- and it HAS happened where a Moderator or Commissioner has turned down a recommendation of mine much to my confusion, only to later help me realize just how badly I misjudged a person's character.  This also applies to Moderators and Commissioners themselves... Cay and I nominate a person for promotion, but it is up to all the Moderators, Commissioners and Deputies themselves to vote on it parliamentary-style.  If a candidate has not worked well with other staff members or has done questionable things that are note by other staff members, they DO have the power to decline the vote; this has yet to happen, but it's another good check and balance to prevent the kind of abuses and cronyism we see in real-life governments.

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Granted, nothing is perfect, and sometimes we are over-eager or over-cautious; this can still lead to long-term benefits anyway, or more messes to clean up later.  But all in all I feel the system works and has been surprisingly effective at allowing me to select a staff I can trust, for whom I can delegate my work appropriately, and who interact with the player base wonderfully.  They are as much a reason for our successes as you guys have been, and while I want ask that they be given unconditional respect, I do ask that you offer them your patience and understanding as they're sacrificing their fun and enjoyment for the uneviable role of keeping you safe and putting up with my... eccentricities.  



--Cia

Dear Cia,

My doctor recently said that she wants me to get my cholesterol down. Do you have any suggestions on food that is easy to find that will help with lowering it?

Dear Cia,
When you see this, what do you think?