Last night I had a peculiar dream in which, for reasons obscure, I hijacked one of the dishes of the Ryle Telescope at the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge and drove it at high speed along a railway line all the way to Oxford (pursued by an ice cream van). To non-astronomers this probably sounds completely barking, but I should point out that the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory is located at the site of Lord's Bridge, a former railway station on the (now defunct) line between Cambridge and Oxford and some of the telescope dishes move along sections of the old track. Of course the track no longer extends all the way to Oxford, and in any case there would be bridges under which one of the 13-metre antennae of the Ryle Telescope could not possibly pass. Such mundane considerations don't matter in the world of dreams, however, and the whole escapade was like a madcap chase scene from a daft movie. I woke up chuckling.
I'm by no means an expert in the interpretation of dreams but on the occasions when I can remember what I've dreamt about it always seems to be a weird juxtaposition of things I've experienced in the recent past. In this particular case I recall reading an article about the possibility (now, I believe, shelved) that the Oxford-Cambridge railway might be reinstated. I've also been reading tweets and facebook messages from people currently at a radio-astronomy workshop in the Netherlands.
My interpretation of this sort of thing is that during a dream the sleeping brain is sifting through recent experiences and relating them to others, including recent events and things lodged in long-term memory. If I'm right, then this kind of dream is basically a by-product of the workings of a sort of subconscious filing system. Not sure how the ice cream van fits into this scheme though.
There are other kinds of dream, of course, and they don't always fit into this pattern. In my experience the majority don't make any sense at all, so I won't say any more about that class. I don't know how many people have regular recurrent dreams, but I do; these are of two types. The first is a standard "anxiety" dream. I could be sitting in an orchestra on the stage of a concert hall, or some similar situation. I have a musical instrument in my hands and am dressed for the part, like all the other musicians. It is shortly before the performance is due to start. The problem is that I don't actually know how to play the instrument. Time is ticking away and I'm soon to be found out. How do I escape? I think it's obvious that this dream is closely related to impostor syndrome.
That kind of dream is quite disconcerting, especially since it's recurrent. But I can give an example that's even weirder. As regular readers of this blog – both of them – will know, I was unwell for a period last summer. During the worst of this episode I was confined for a while in a psychiatric clinic. I wasn't there for very long (perhaps 3-4 days) but I didn't really keep track of time very well and in retrospect it seems I was there much longer than that. I was also heavily sedated for a lot of the time I was there. The effect of this was to blur the distinction between sleeping and waking almost completely so I literally didn't know whether I was conscious or unconscious.
Now I know for a fact that I didn't have any visitors when I was in that place. However, I have perfect recollection of a time when a young man (a former student of mine of Cardiff University) came into my room, sat down beside my bed and opened a discussion about physics, his plans for doing a PhD in Early Universe Cosmology, and various other topics to do with books and films. Looking back on this I realize that the conversation I'd imagined was actually a kind of synthesis of bits of other conversations I'd previously had with the same person in a different environment (i.e. my old office in Cardiff University). The peculiarity is that I now remember that imagined pastiche of a conversation as if it were actually real, and it has always been difficult for me to convince myself that it didn't happen. It's almost as if the filing system had gone into reverse, pulling old memories out of their drawers and sticking them back in my consciousness.
Related to this (possibly) are various memories I have of very early childhood. These are often very vivid, but in many cases completely at odds with facts that I've subsequently established. I think what has happened in such examples is that I haven't actually remembered the event in question, but have been told things about it so frequently that a memory has somehow been constructed to accommodate the narrative.
Over a year on I still find the clinic episode quite scary to think about. I think that's mostly because it's an extreme example of how one's perception of what is real and remembered versus what is imaginary and dreamt can get confused. Am I really writing this? Or am I dreaming? Are you really reading it? Are you dreaming? Wake-up!


New Magpul Device for Pistol Mags: SHOT Show 2005 Pics | DefenseReview.com (DR): An online tactical technology and military defense technology magazine with particular focus on the latest and greatest tactical firearms news (tactical gun news), tactical gear news and tactical shooting news.
Magpul Industries Corp. has come out with a new AR-15/M16 floorplate replacement part that aids in pulling magazines quickly from mag pouches. It's called the Magpul Ranger, and it essentially accomplishes the same thing as the Magpul 5.56 NATO in a lower-profile configuration.
Magpul Industries also has a pistol mag version of the Magpul Ranger, which Dave Acosta showed DefenseReview at the Magpul Industries booth at SHOT Show 2005. Dave has a demonstration video that shows the advantages of the new pistol mag Magpul device, and how it can be employed in a tactical scenario.
You can contact Magpul Industries Corp. by phone at 303-652-8301 or toll free at 877-4MAGPUL, by fax at 303-652-8305, or toll free fax at 888-MAGPUL3, or by email at [email protected]. Ask for Rich Fitzpatrick.


You're in charge of how you put the content into the website. Of course you need a strategy. Divi is your technology partner. The settings are built into the Modules. The process of using Divi drives your website into existence. You don't have to spend a fortune to have a website. This layout was done using one of the pages from the Consulting Layout Pack.
When planning a website the content is equally important as is the design. Decisions about where to place the content can be changed as many times as needed. Using the Visual Builder your changes are visible as you make them.
When a company lives up to what it says it will do it is a worthwhile company. This is precisely what Elegant Themes, the makers of the Divi theme, does. Nothing is too difficult for the tech support team because they know how Divi works.
Even though they might live half way around the world, they're there.
If you have ideas, share them. They're only to glad to have new suggestions.
The game of technology isn't won, it is achieved with teamwork excellence.
The possiblities with Divi are endless. There is no limit to what you can create. The way the Divi Framework operates is within the boundaries of good website building. No code was used to build this page. Once you know how the Divi Framework operates you can work it, and it will work for you. You mold and shape the content.
If you would like to purchase the Divi Theme click on this button. It is my Affiliate link. I've used Elegant Themes since 2012, and have no hesitation recommending excellence.
Your information is not shared or distributed, it is only used to contact you.


The conference takes place from July 30 to August 2, 2019, at Lewis University, Romeoville, Illinois, United States.
The conference theme and call for papers.
For all updates on IGA 2019, please follow our news page.
If you have any questions, please contact us at igalewis@lewisu.edu.


Traveling Stories is a 501c3 nonprofit organization working to outsmart poverty one book at a time & inspire a love for reading everywhere. Your donation today gives a child the chance to fall in love with reading for the first time! Since 2010 we have established seven international libraries and one local story tent with free literacy coaching for at-risk kids in San Diego.


Am J Public Health. 2011 Jun;101(6):1089-95. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.300091. Epub 2011 Apr 14.
Encouraging contraceptive uptake by motivating men to communicate about family planning: the Malawi Male Motivator project.
Shattuck D1, Kerner B, Gilles K, Hartmann M, Ng'ombe T, Guest G.
We examined the effect of a peer-delivered educational intervention, the Malawi Male Motivator intervention, on couples' contraceptive uptake. We based the intervention design on the information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) model.
In 2008 we recruited 400 men from Malawi's Mangochi province who reported not using any method of contraception. We randomized them into an intervention arm and a control arm, and administered surveys on contraceptive use at baseline and after the intervention. We also conducted in-depth interviews with a subset of intervention participants.
After the intervention, contraceptive use increased significantly within both arms (P < .01), and this increase was significantly greater in the intervention arm than it was in the control arm (P < .01). Quantitative and qualitative data indicated that increased ease and frequency of communication within couples were the only significant predictors of uptake (P < .01).
Our findings indicate that men facilitated contraceptive use for their partners. Although the IMB model does not fully explain our findings, our results show that the intervention's content and its training in communication skills are essential mechanisms for successfully enabling men to help couples use a contraceptive.