Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with focus

Need the part # for a 2009 Ford Focus Passenger-side Mirror

jlabrash — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:38:00 -0800

I'm trying to find part number(s) to repair a sideswiped passenger side mirror on a 2009 Ford Focus. Most of the mirror is intact, so I'd like to replace only the piece that clips the mirror into the holder cavity. If this isn't possible, I'll grudgingly pony up for the whole mirror assembly. Bonus question: is there a place to buy the part in Orlando, FL before Sunday? Thanks!

All of a sudden, everybody wants to open a day spa catering exclusively to hedgehogs

Anonymous — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:50:24 -0800

How do I stop noticing what everyone else is doing and concentrate on what I'm doing? I am beginning to fulfill pre-requisites for a graduate program I want to do, and I find myself being a little too aware that there are other people who are also following the same path. I know in my bones I have everything it takes to do this, and that this being "overaware" is just throwing me off my game and leading to pretty ridiculous thoughts that I find myself getting anxious about.

It's like the time I decided to build bridges out of toothpicks and suddenly everybody seemed to be doing that in their spare time or winning awards for being the best toothpick bridge-builder. Or the time (five years back) when I was considering becoming a pharmacist and everyone seemed to be considering becoming a pharmacist, was in pharmacy school, or was a pharmacist, leading me to temporarily believe that admission to pharmacy school was completely impossible because everyone was trying to get in. Or when I was getting married and everyone seemed to be getting married too.

This program is extremely important to me and I'm shelling out a lot of money to fulfill the pre-reqs. I am determined to focus on what I'm doing, do the best I can, and not pay attention to what other folks are or aren't thinking about doing. I know part of the reason it seems like everyone is interested in this path is because I've been focusing more on it and am in all the same places as these people. But how do I forget about them and just concentrate on me?

(What's the Story) Morning blurry?

XiBe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:29:21 -0800

IKnowYouAreNotMyDoctor-filter: one blurry eye in the morning. Hello,

I've had a new eye behaviour since this Monday. Waking up, I quickly opened my eyes, only to discover a slight change of perception to my right eye, and a feeling as if opening my peeled something off my cornea - but it might just my brain trying to adapt a blurry right eye to a perfect left eye.

Yes, because I don't wear glasses or lenses - never have. I used to have very clear vision in both eyes (not perfect, mind you, but I could read easily some very far texts).

I slowly regained focus on my right eye, but since then I have a slightly blurrier vision in the right eye than my left. Next morning (yesterday), I woke up with no noticeable change. This morning, I again woke up with a blurry right eye, which improved in the next few minutes.

Yes, I am planning to see an ophthalmology, but it can take months before I get a appointment, so in the meantime I'm asking The Hive: have you ever witnessed such a behaviour (both the morning blur, and the slight loss of focus from one day to the next)? Should I be worried?

Details: I'm 32 and healthy, I work on a computer all day (have been for years with no issue)... and have slightly lacked sleep these last few days (what with being single again, y'know).

Thanks a lot for any insight.

Gaaaaaaaaaaah brain huuuuurts.

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:46:56 -0800

How can I extend my concentration for longer? I'm in a fix and have six weeks to prepare a lot of material for a doctoral exam. This involves lots and lots of reading. I can make it about 4 hours before my concentration is shot, but I need to squeeze in a couple extra hours a day. I already get quite a bit of exercise, so I'm not sure that will help, but what tips and tricks do you have to refresh your concentration when you need to poop some more work out--to put the brain-hurtiness at bay? I don't really have a choice here, due to my own poor planning.

No speculation on whether I can or should be doing this--I can and I have to and that's about it. Thanks.

Measuring improvement in ADHD symptoms

[user was fined for this post] — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:52:13 -0800

I have begun treatment for adult ADHD. What things can I do during the next several weeks to objectively measure my progress? I've started taking Strattera, which often takes up to six weeks after reaching one's target dose to see significant results. My doctor suggested keeping a daily journal in which I record how I feel about my focus, concentration, forgetfulness and so forth.

I am doing this, but I feel the need for some strategies to measure my progress in a quantifiable way, if such a thing is even feasible. Since my attention frequently wanders, I can track discrete events like "remembered to take the trash out this week" but have trouble keeping track of things like "worked for 30 minutes without fidgeting or getting up from desk."

Any and all suggestions are welcome. The other ADHD threads have some great ideas, but they seem focus on tips for dealing with symptoms rather than measuring the effects of those symptoms on a daily basis.

Possibly relevant details:

- I'm 30 years old
- I've had the usual ADHD symptoms my entire life but have never been treated before now
- I work from home at a job done entirely by computer
- My primary goal right now is to finish my CS degree when I return to school this fall (I dropped out due to my inability to study effectively)
- I use a Windows PC, if there are software recommendations
- My wife is willing to assist with any strategies that work better with the aid of another person

Thanks in advance!

Quitting the competition, while still running the race

Chrysalis — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:25:20 -0800

Help me get my focus back on my own life and happiness and stop comparing/competing with my ex in my own mind... and stop having how I compare with others as a condition to my happiness/self esteem in general... 3 months ago I found out my boyfriend had been cheating on me, so I packed my bags the same day and moved back to my home town (I'd moved city to live with him, had been there a year) to try to rebuild my life. I've been doing a pretty good job of that, all things considered, and now have a great job, am studying and keeping busy with my sport, have reconnected with all my friends and have a pretty good social life, but I still find myself comparing or competing with him in the back of my mind... wondering whether I'm doing better or worse than he is (I cut off all contact so I don't know anything for certain and he doesn't know what I'm up to)... even though I know it doesn't matter and there's enough happiness to go around for both of us.

Due to the fact that he cheated on me with much prettier girls, my already shaky confidence in terms of attractiveness, has taken a bit of a beating, whereas he would have got a huge ego boost and being very handsome, charming and a seasoned player who knows what people want to hear, no doubt has more girls on tap. I've been getting some male attention which has been reassuring but somehow I feel like maybe I should be trying to be a player like he was, and compete with him on that level. Then I remember that I actually *don't* want to just have a whole bunch of meaningless encounters or dishonest relationships just to stroke my ego, I would at some point like to have a real, caring relationship, if indeed such a thing is a realistic expectation, and I certainly don't want to use or decieve anyone the way he did me. Sometimes I worry that maybe the fact that I want something different in terms of relationships to what he wants is some kind of deficiency and Mr Player knows something I don't.

We also compete in the same sport, him much more successfully than I, and I'm sure that would continue to be the case, and to be honest, that bothers me. I always put in 100% effort but he has more natural talent and experience. I hate that he was so awful and is living out my dream.

I know I need to go back to thinking in terms of "me" not "we" and just focus on my own life and have that be enough in and of itself, and that he is not the kind of person I should even want to be like, but there's always a little voice in my head when something good happens going "haha, take that, I win" and the opposite when something bad happens. And then, as in the above example, sometimes I want things I don't even want, just so that I can feel like I came out alright. I guess I have a bit of a fear that he's just more of a winner in life and I'm the loser who got played - I don't want to think like this!

I know I am a competitive person anyway, and I have always been guilty of comparing myself to others, to the detriment of my own happiness, but I want to change. I want to stop comparing myself to him, and to other people, and stop setting "being better/the best" as a precondition to my happiness/sense of self worth. I feel like I'm wasting my life away like this!

What are some things I can think about or do to help me live my life in the context of my own personal values/goals/dreams again and not keep having to compete to prove to him or myself that I am a great person?

Keep On Truckin'

ocherdraco — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:18:56 -0800

How do I reboot myself when I feel like I'm getting nothing done at work? Occasionally, I have a day at work (like today) where I don't get very much done because of distraction, or feeling overwhelmed by all the things on my to do list. (Knowing that I'm not going to be able to make all my deadlines can make it difficult to decide which deadlines to focus on.) I stay late at work to help compensate, but sometimes I feel that does nothing except make me more tired and stressed.

There's lots of advice on AskMe about how to deal with distraction and workflow—I've used it to good effect. But these kinds of days still happen from time to time, and it can be hard to rebound into productivity.

What can I do to keep one day of distraction and underproduction from turning into a string of them?

Is there a doctor or medical student in the house?

deeper red — Sat, 02 May 2009 10:04:06 -0800

Any doctors or medical students in the house? My father had a CT head scan a few weeks ago. It was just a precaution because he's a little unsteady on his feet (he's 71). The letter from the specialist says there's nothing wrong apart from "an ill-defined area of low attenuation over the left parietal lobe likely representing a small ischaemic focus". The doctor advises aspirin.

What does this mean?

Please help me decide what to do. At all.

Solomon — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:48:45 -0800

Please help me develop some "stickability". By stickability I mean "the ability to start a project and work at it until it's conclusion" and "quit starting new projects".

Since January 1st this year, I've started at least 10 new projects. They include exercising, losing weight, catching 150 Pokemon, learning to juggle with three balls, origami, getting to bed at a regular time and baking one new meal from scratch three times a week. I've started each one of these projects and enjoyed them for varying periods of time, ranging from 3 months (exercising) to 15 minutes (the time it took to learn how to fold an origami hat and cup). The problem has been going on for several years, but it's only this year that I've realised what I've been doing.

I tend to follow a specific pattern when acting this way: something new floats into my field of attention. I spot it, and something goes on in my brain, and I get very very excited about it. I do whatever it is for a while, then the switch goes off, and instantly I want nothing more to do with it. At all. Ever again. It is dead to me. In the meantime, I might have spent a lot of money/time/effort on something, that's all gone to waste. Lifting weights has no long term benefit if I don't continue to exercise the muscles. Learning to cook food doesn't benefit me if I don't actually do it any more, and just order takeaway. I don't have an infinite supply of money, and if I've spent a fortune on expensive home gym equipment, it turns into a very expensive clothes hanger. I very nearly took another job because of this behaviour, which I can see now would have been a disastrous move.

While I'm engaging in the activity, focus on it isn't a problem. All of my attention is on performing it, to the detriment of other things. I tend to blow very hot-and-cold with my friends because of this. One minute I'm all over them like a rash, the next, I never want to see them again. I don't think it's a problem with patience to learn the new skill, because I really enjoy learning these new skills. It seems to be more a matter of motivation to keep learning them. While I'm learning/doing them, I feel amazing. 100% in flow, or something, and I can't imagine doing anything else. But at some point, the candle will go out, and that's when I come back to earth, so to speak, and realise that I really don't care for this new thing any more.

I did think at one point that there was something big that I wanted to do, that all these other little things were "hiding", so I sat down and wrote a list of the things I wanted to do. I, based on past experience, probably got bored with this list before it was completely finished. I did get to about 70 things. Nothing that I wrote down really struck me as being something I'd want to spend the rest of my life doing, though. I'm aware that people change over time, and that what attracts us while we're young might not do so later on in life. I just want something that has an interest that lasts longer than a couple of weeks.

On the upside, I do have a lot of new skills. I just want to find something that I enjoy doing, in a more rational way. It seems to be quite an emotional response to the stimulus.

I guess there are two parts to my actual question. A] How can I quit engaging in this behaviour (hopefully this solution will be something quick to learn, lol) and B] is it worth looking for some kind of substitute to take it's place?

Also, am I alone in this?

What are some good vitamins for brain and general health?

peregrine81 — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:36:55 -0800

What are some good vitamins for brain and general health? I currently take Vitamin D and omega 3 supplements cause the potential positives outweigh the chance its snake oil. I notice the Omega 3's increase my ability to focus and relax a little bit so that's good.

What other things can I take to improve my brain functioning/focus and keep me in good health? Especially with the new flu going around I want to be in peak condition.

I already exercise semi-regularly and use my brain in excessive amounts, get enough sleep. I don't eat particularly well as I live in a dorm and have little time/money for good food, but I try.

Especially with the new flu going around I want to be in peak condition.

What other things can I take to improve my brain functioning/focus and keep me in good health?

What are some safe, non-addictive drugs that have the same positive side effects of Vicodin?

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:40:23 -0800

What are some safe, non-addictive drugs that have the same positive side effects of Vicodin? I can't believe I am asking this question, but here goes. Two weeks ago I underwent minor surgery to extract a lymph node for a full biopsy. The doctor gave me a prescription for Vicodin, for the pain. I was on it for 2-3 days before my wife flushed the pills; probably for the best.

The thing is, the Vicodin was AMAZING! I found that I was able to focus and get things done like never before. The two days I was taking Vicodin were two of the most productive days I've ever had. Apparently this is a positive side effect for a small percentage of the population.

So, I'm smart enough to not get addicted to Vicodin, but I would absolutely love to find a non-addictive drug or stimulant that does exactly what the Vicodin was doing: helps me focus and makes me more productive.

Or is this just an incredibly bad idea? I hate to admit that I think I need drugs to help me focus and be more productive but I found the Vicodin experience to be very positive.

A better way to pause

aerotive — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:03:24 -0800

I'm looking for a way to pause/unpause VLC using the middle mouse button even if VLC doesn't have focus. Any ideas? I often use VLC to play one-off audio files, podcasts and such. The system is a media PC hooked up to a big-screen TV in my living room. I'll frequently start playing a file remotely from my den using a screen-sharing app, then listen to it in the living room. I like to avoid having to constantly turn the TV off and on solely to press pause.

So using a utility called X-Mouse Utility Control I've configured all middle-button clicks to be converted into a Enter key click, and I've configured VLC to recognize Enter as pause/unpause.

Problem is this all breaks down when VLC doesn't have focus. Is there any way to make this work when some other app has focus? Or another utility or program that would work better?

This is on Windows Vista.

How to get someone to actively listen

miles1972 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:35:23 -0800

How do I get someone to focus and pay attention more? I am directing a play. I have directed many plays and this is a professional production with full technical support.

Myself and the entire company are friends, we laugh a lot we are generally having a good time in rehearsal. We've had a very productive first week, morale is good. The room is open to try things, everything great.

One snag: I have an actor who continually does not pay attention when I am talking to the room. I will tell everyone what we are moving on to, everyone begins to get ready for the next section, except for Don, who looks around, asks, "What are we doing?" He usually doesn't pay attention unless I preface everything with "Don!" wait for him to look at me and then give instructions.

Is there some other way that I can get him to be ready and attentive?

I'm not sure exactly what is pre-occupying his mind in these moments - it does seem to be his own script, etc. So it's not like he's checking text messages or something. It's just that I continually have to work so hard to get him to pay attention the first time.

Anyone, fellow theatre artists, teachers, leaders, etc have any tips or methods with dealing with this type of thing?

Can I chew away my ADHD?

sixcolors — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:50:20 -0800

Should I take nicorette gum for my ADHD? Has anyone tried nicorette to control ADHD? What are the side effects? What are the risks?

I am having a really hard time focusing. I had to discontinue my medication two years ago because I lost my health insurance. Without health insurance, Adderall would cost me almost $300. I know I could get generic Ritalin a lot cheaper, but I'm not crazy about Ritalin's side effects.

I tried alternative stuff like omega 3 and choline supplements, removing sugar from my diet, and gettting extra exercise. None of those things really help me, in fact, exercise sometimes make my ADHD worse.

I used to drink caffeinated beverages, it helped somewhat, but it caused me to have longer/painful periods. I don't want that!

Automatic Focus-Bracketing?

alms — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:01:06 -0800

Are there or will there soon be any cameras that will automatically shoot a focus-bracketed series of photos that could then be combined to create a single image with increased depth of field? More discussion of focus bracketing here, here, here, and here.

There are two steps in creating a focus-bracketed image: taking the series of photos, and combining them using image manipulation tools. It would be nice to have the first step automated.

The interweb killed my attention span.

pseudostrabismus — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:41:51 -0800

I have the attention span of a gnat. I find it incredibly difficult to get any meaningful work done. I seriously cannot even get up from writing simply to change a CD without being distracted by something shiny and then falling into a two-hour timewarp and then I look up and it's 5pm and instead of working I'm brushing my cat and I still haven't even changed the damn CD, and nothing gets done.

I think my attention span fell apart for three reasons:

1. I went freelance and now have less external structure to keep me productive.

2. I got a laptop and now spend about 6 hours a day online, sometimes working, but more often clicking around the internet. The ability to keep switching my focus by clicking to a new page seems to have trained me to change mental channels constantly, and drastically shortened my tolerance for boredom. I read an assload of stuff online, and can easily get focussed on something interesting, but if it's boring... NEXT.

3. The work I do now is much harder than the old work.
I did okay when a prof or boss would give me an assignment and a deadline. I could just cough something up, revise it, and get it in on time and reasonably well-done, without caring too much. All my writing was a re-explanation of something I already knew or had just researched, no problem- there's pretty much a "right answer" for that kind of work, and the job is just to write the right answer with some finesse. That I can still do.

But now I'm trying to shift my work, so that I mostly write fictional things that I have to generate myself. There are so many possibilities, none are right or wrong, and just considering the ideas daunts me, let alone writing iterations of those choices. And I really want my writing to be perfect, so the easiest way to do that, obviously, is to procrastinate. There's no deadline, no accountability, and the work itself isn't fun. Sure, the reward of "having written something" is great, but the process of "writing something" kicks my ass.

This is the real problem, I think; how to kill the brain-imps who would rather I have a sparkling clean apartment and an unwritten screenplay forever?

I've read articles on many major productivity websites and the GTD book. They didn't really help. I would rather not go on prescription stimulants (even though I probably do have ADD). I have no substance abuse problems and I'm in excellent health.

So far, the best I can do is earplugs + coffee + a very granulated to-do list + a timer set for short increments of time (10 minutes) to keep me on-track in bite-sized amounts. Those work OK, but there must be more good tricks where they came from.

So hive, what do you do? How do you motivate yourself to work on rewarding long-term projects that are boring in the short-term? How do you avoid the sugar-high that is MeFi and the rest of the web, and focus on the insoluble fibre that is your pet project? How did you train yourself to have discipline?

Thanks.

How can I hone my problem solving skills?

Solomon — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 06:12:43 -0800

What questions do you use to stimulate your thought processes when you have a problem? When I have a problem, I tend to imagine I'm talking to an expert in the field of whatever it is I'm doing, and ask them questions about what I'm doing wrong.

For example, I have a problem in a relationship. I imagine I'm talking to a therapist about it, and try to think about what questions they would ask me about the relationship, to help me solve the problem. I find this works really well, as it forces me to think about the issue, and verbalise the problems, which tends to stir up more ideas and potential solutions.

Unfortunately, I'm not an expert in any field, so the questions I ask myself tend to be limited. And seeking an actual expert isn't always convenient or warranted. Of course, if an expert was warranted, I would contact one. It's just that most of the time, one isn't. I don't want to call Nigella Lawson every time my sponge cake doesn't rise.

I'm familiar with the concept of flow, and seem to be using it when I'm in a problem solving state, for what that's worth. I do collaborate with others when the situation calls for it, and I do research online.

My questions are these: how can I enhance this "concept"? What generic questions could I ask myself to get my thought processes working? Are there any other things I can do that will get my mental "fixing a problem" juices flowing?

Any personal experiences are welcome.

How to control worry and focus on what needs to get done?

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 05:05:11 -0800

How do you stop worrying so you can work? When you start to freak out with worry, how do you stop? With a big deadline looming at work, I have found myself getting so overwhelmed by worry that I can't think straight and therefore can't work. I have to take a walk to stop internally freaking out ("oh my god oh my god oh my god").

I mostly worry I won't finish in time. I also worry that outsiders will find a mistake in the report or the method. I feel responsible for the reputation of the entire group. This is a long-term project, so I worry people will think "he worked on this for how long and still, this part isn't perfect?"

I particularly am having trouble making a final "to do" list, because as I think about certain loose ends, I get really critical of myself for not having finished them yet. They are 99.9% done, but that 0.1% gap seems hard to close. There are only one or two steps for each, but I have trouble thinking about them because I get derailed into thinking "oh my god, Important Step B is not 100.0% done, what have I been doing with my time, how could I be so stupid, someone else should be in charge of this project, am I even going to finish this?"

But when I am calm, things seem manageable. I can get myself organized to finish things up on time. I can list the Important Steps and the few "to do" items that would close that 0.1% for each of them, and it's a realistic amount of work to do. I can also see that, in reality, the project will never be perfect. There will always be ways that others could improve upon the work, and that's just the way these projects are.

Do you have any tricks to help me shift back into being calm and productive when I get into that freaked out state? This is a fairly new thing for me (well, I can see hints of it in some procrastination in college, and it's gotten worse around deadline times over the past few years), so I don't have good tricks yet. What works for you?

"5 hour energy" product does more than keep me awake

Niomi — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:14:59 -0800

Lately I find myself using 5 hour energy product even when I'm not drowsy as it sees to significantly improve my ability to focus and socialize. Are there dietary supplements available that will give me the same effect in a more reliable manner? Is this safe? Will my body build a resistance to it? I started using this product to adjust to third shift serving. Now that my sleep schedule has adjusted to the difficulty that working these hours can create, I find myself using it even more frequently. I am more comfortable socializing and better at it, I'm happier to work and I work harder, I am much less likely to forget that you asked for extra napkins with your meal. The energy drinks at $4 a bottle are a little expensive to use once a work day never mind multiple times a day. Plus, as advertised, they only work for five hours. A page from the website (http://www.5hourenergy.com/ingredients.asp) suggests that a chemical called Citicoline may be responsible for increased mental facilities but some googling (admittedly my google-fu is pretty weak) doesn't turn up any way to take this as a dietary supplement. Caffeine may be part of the answer but using coffee or tea has not been nearly as effective as use of this product.

In a search of previous questions on energy drinks and similar problems with focus I read a lot of people advising that cutting out the drink entirely would result in more energy in the long-term. There are also a lot of people that suggest AD(H)D as a cause of this problem. These aren't the answers I'm looking for. If you want more information on the specific sorts of problems this product helps me with, there's a more detailed question in my profile from several months ago.

"The First Noel, the Angels did..." oooo look, a Snow Flake!

matty — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:18:54 -0800

Adult ADD... if you've got it, how do YOU handle it? I've recently been diagnosed with Adult ADD. It certainly explains a lot about my personality, but it leaves me with a LOT of questions. I used to be in the military - and it was the only job I've ever really thrived in. I guess I handle the environment well when forced to focus. That and I tend to hyperfocus, which was perfect as an air traffic controller. But now I'm out of the military in a less constrained environment.

I don't focus on any one task (except bodybuilding) for more than 5 minutes at a time. In the gym I don't think about anything except what's right in front of me. The weight. But at work I jump from task to task (and the internet - like now!) and hardly accomplish any of them. None of it is interesting enough to keep me involved with it for more than a couple of minutes. I've always had a hard time carrying on a conversation because I change subjects to fast, so these days I'm more of a listener. And hey OMG - there's window washers outside!!

At home in the evenings my partner gets upset with me while we're watching TV because I'm also surfing the net and texting on the phone at the same time. He says I can't get enough input. He's kinda right. LOL.

My question(s) is - I'm DEAD SET against doing any drugs to help me focus. Other than the exercise that I already do (again, bodybuilding and cardio 6 days a week), what can I do to help me focus? I found a related AskMe here, but it's over 3 years old. Are there any new approaches to controlling my myself? Are there any mefites out there who are the same way, and what do they do?

Find it: Website with a unique explanation of lens focal lengths.

odinsdream — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:46:08 -0800

Find-that-website filter: Website with a unique explanation of lens focal length with respect to photography and zoom lenses. This page explained lens focal length and related it to viewing a very large 2-D print of a scene from different positions in the room. Moving closer, further back, etc., with the point that zoom lenses aren't really zooming into the picture so much as they're cropping, or something along those lines.

I want to see individual threads.

doift — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:42:28 -0800

Photography tips, please: I'm photographing some flat but textured textile art, and want to capture the texture in as much detail as possible. And I don't so much know what I'm doing. I want to be able to zoom in to the finished photo and clearly see individual threads. I'm using a Canon S60. Right now I have it set on a tripod, parallel to and about two feet away from the textile piece- any closer and not all of the 18x22 inch piece is in frame. Light is the overhead room fluroescent light plus a worklight near the tripod. So far my best results have come from just letting Auto Focus do its thing, but I suspect it could be better. The instructions in the camera's manual for Manual Focus are unhelpful; I get as far as "adjust the arrows until the image appears focused," but no matter where I adjust it, the LCD screen looks exactly the same level of grainy.

Assuming I know very little about photography, what are some techniques (or links to resources where I can read about techniques) I can use?

Brain Drain

parallax7d — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:04:53 -0800

What is the physical resource inside your brain that gets used up when you focus and concentrate for long hours? How do you beef up the ability to sustain concentrated thought, aside from diet/exercise/sleep? Just FYI so I don't get the usual answers about how to "sharpen your mind". I exercise 5-10 hours a week, have a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep. I meditate almost daily. I play games, read books and use a flashcard program daily. I'm constantly studying. It's not that I'm not using my brain, it's just that it's not keeping up without relying on stimulants (mainly caffeine).

Is my vegan diet causing memory and focus problems?

davathar — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:22:22 -0800

My diet is almost totally vegan. I can no longer think straight and my memory is getting worse all the time. I'm struggling to regain mental clarity and control. I'm not willing to give up veganism. But I need solutions. For the last three years I've been practicing a vegetarian diet that is almost totally vegan. I occasionally eat dairy and egg products when other people cook for me as a concession to the difficulty of cooking vegan without experience. That, and I love cheese.

My decision to practice a mostly vegan lifestyle is morally motivated by my feelings about animal treatment. So I don't plan to ever go back to eating meat or fish of any kind. And more and more I'm cutting out dairy and eggs as I prepare more meals at home and seek out vegan friendly restaurants.

The problem is that I've noticed that my mood, mental clarity, and energy levels are poor these last few years. And I noticed the same thing when I was vegetarian about 10 years ago, but my diet was quite loaded with bread and cheese back then, so I figured that accounted for it.

I can read the same paragraph 5 or 10 times before realizing that my mind was elsewhere the whole time and I don't remember what I've read for the last few pages. The feeling that comes with this is the same thing all day long in all activities. My days end up being like a scattered random series of events that I'm in control of, but don't always remember initiating.

My memory has gotten so poor that I can watch a movie that I saw just 6 months ago and absolutely know that I saw it and remember scenes after I see them happen again. But I can't remember anything about what will happen for the rest of the movie at any point. In my programming work I struggle to remember the names of functions and the structure of the framework I'm using, or the code I've written already. In the past I used to be able to remember whole stories in great detail and keep complex programming structures in my mind while I worked on them.

I'm in my head all the time.

My Diet:
I currently take Omega 3 supplement in the form of Flax Seed Oil with added vegan source EPA. I have a spoon full of Lecithin daily, usually with pulpy OJ that makes the lecithin granules almost disappear. I take a high quality but low dosage whole food vegan multi. I take a B complex. And occasionally I take C, B5, Magnesium, and Zinc supplements also.

I have about a cup a day of Soymilk and tofu maybe once a week. Though that will likely increase soon since I just got a Soymilk Maker to save on costs. I'm a little worried about all the contriversy about Excessive Soy consumption.

I do eat a lot of bread, and consequently a lot of Gluten and high starch food. A friend of mine only buys "Sprouted grain bread" saying that it doesn't have the same tiring effect on her after eating that more refined and non-sprouted grain breads do. That stuff is very expensive ($4 or $5 a loaf) though, so I haven't tried it at home.

Due to not living near a good source of fresh foods and usually eating single course meals, I don't eat a lot of greens or other fresh veggies. I eat cereal for breakfast every day. And I eat a lot of dishes with beans and rice. Usually it's black beans or chick peas. Onion and green pepper are about the freshest I get with veggies.

I drink about 6 beers a week (one or two at night occasionally) and a few times a year I might actually get drunk. I drink about 3 cups (8 oz)of coffee per day mostly to keep from getting withdrawal headaches and because I like the taste. I don't think it helps with my clarity. It may even hurt.

My activity levels:
I work from home and almost never leave except for shopping or dinner with friends.

My exercise habits are that a few times a week I'll do a few sets of push ups and maybe sit ups. I stretch almost every day. And I walk my dogs in the yard a few times a day for 5 or 10 minutes. I haven't worked up a sweat in months.

Stress:
I sleep well most of the time, getting about 8 hours a day on average. My schedule is mostly consistent but I take naps occasionally when feeling particularly down.

My business has been crushed by the real estate economy the last few years and the stress has been overwhelming at times. The business hasn't gotten better yet, but I've settled into a pretty constant stress level. My lack of energy combined with the stress often leads me to feel depressed and hopeless.

What I try already:
I've taken the strategy of isolation from friends and family and even business associates in order to combat the growing challenge of mental distraction that seems to consume entire days and weeks with almost nothing to show for accomplishment. In the process I've given up my personal homes, my vehicles except for an old van, and most of my possessions like my tools. I've broken up with two good girlfriends and resisted new relationships from forming. Thinking about all that adds to the feeling of depression. But if I regain control of my mental clarity, I expect it will be worthwhile and recoverable. And I'm not much help or fun to be around when I'm stressed and scatter brained anyway.

I'm at my most clear when writing something like this or writing to a friend or in my journal. But it's incredibly time consuming. I limit my writing so I don't end up doing it all day long.

I've dabbled with Meditation, but as with exercise I've lost focus to develop the habit and it's a rare thing for me to sit still doing nothing unless I'm going to sleep.

I have almost no emotional content to my feelings lately. I'm holding on to sanity for the most part. But the days are passing and I'm aging with nothing changing for the positive in my life. I only keep going on the hopes of something more interesting being around the corner. But daily motivation to do anything is such a struggle that it's seeming less and less likely I'll get over the hump to that more interesting life I've enjoyed in the past.

The major potential factors I see as being responsible for what I consider borderline schizophrenia and severe memory loss are Lack of Exercise, missing nutritional elements, and stress.

I'm trying to fight the stress by simplifying everything in life and removing the distractions so I can focus better and get back in control of my daily life.

I'm trying to satisfy my dietary needs while staying vegetarian, but there's so much conflicting information out there that it's confusing and I may be missing something critical.

Exercise is probably the area I have the most trouble with. I just never have the energy to "feel like" doing it. I know it's sort of a chicken or egg argument. But I find it so incredibly boring that it takes a ton of motivation to get me to even spend 5 minutes working out. And the whole time my mind is screaming out to be doing something productive instead.

The challenge:
I almost hate to waste the time of readers here with all of this. I feel like I already answered the question of how I can improve my clarity and get my brain back. Diet and Exercise. Just do it. Stress will take care of itself if I take care of myself... But there is obviously something missing. Every time I try to do something, I do it once and the next day I forget, or don't feel like it, or get distracted by something new to try.

How can I become consistent in doing something that works? What mental perspectives may work well enough to stick with this rattled brain long enough to develop good supportive habits? Are there any quick fixes in diet or otherwise that may help in the mean time?

Thank you.

You Are Not My Opthamologist

jschu — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 16:44:34 -0800

What is wrong with my eyes? Several times a day I find it very hard to focus my eyes. My vision lapses out of focus and it's as though my eyes are momentarily paralyzed. This has been going on since I was a child. I'll be sitting there and suddenly my eyes lose focus and I stare off at some vague point in the distance. It takes all my willpower to force my eyes to actually look at something. It usually lasts ten or so seconds, during which I can blink & otherwise function normally while depending on blurry peripheral vision. Mostly, it's annoying and I get kind of embarrassed when this happens in the middle of a conversation. But occasionally it can be pretty dangerous, like when driving.

I'm a 22-yr-old healthy female. I have been seeing good eye doctors since I was a baby, since my sister had retinoblastoma as a baby (but they never found anything wrong with me). However, in more recent years I've been going to a cheap optometrist just to get prescriptions for contacts. I've needed contacts to correct nearsightedness and astigmatism since the age of 12, but like I said earlier, I remember experiencing this as a young child.

My question is, does anyone else have this problem? Is it something I should be worried about enough to see a doctor? I'm mostly curious to see if this is at all common; googling for "vision" and "focus" gets me nowhere.