Tips For Modern Survival

We are living in a time of uncertainty. The world is evolving in such a fast pace that it is almost impossible to keep up yet we are expected to. Society expects us to adapt to new things that are sprucing up and for a moment it feels like the world has changed overnight. In every aspect of our lives, things are changing. It is unlike a decade ago. Should you be worried? Yes you should but do not lose hope. Below are some tips for modern survival.
As human beings, we do not naturally respond well to change. It is too risky. Way too uncertain! We gravitate towards things that have stability and as much as we would like to keep it that way, the world has different plans for us. Things happen that are out of our control be they man-made or natural disasters, political revolutions and even current events. They all have an impact in our lives, directly or indirectly.
Being prepared is one way of being a step ahead. Accepting that you cannot be a hundred percent in control will save you a lot of time of being in self denial. Keep yourself informed by being aware of all the risks around you and you are well on your way to surviving these modern times.
Survival is an instinct that is deeply embedded into us. Normally, when everything seems right people often don't know that they have this survival instinct. But should something go wrong, it is the person whose lifestyle has included in it preparedness and a habit of planning that is most likely going to be able to meet the trials that stand in his way.
Modern survival is more than just having supplies for backup. It is a way of life. To prepare for the future which is unknown, start by changing your way of thinking. Liberate your view of everything and keep an open mind. It will save you a lot of heartbreak so that if you hit rock bottom, you will be standing on your feet in no time!
Do not let the system hold you down. I don't mean that you should go against the law. No, that's a sure ticket to jail. Knowing that you have the power in you to transform your life is a way of modern survival. Who said that after you graduate you should get employed? Too many people already do that. You can come up with legitimate ideas to earn yourself a living while doing something that you enjoy!
Do away with things that you do not need. You do not have to have a new car so that your friends can have a new found respect for you. Keeping up with the Joneses has become the new way of life for many. Competing with others to see who can keep up will only lead you to debt. The best way to go about it, remain true to who you are. Cut your coat according to your cloth!
Have your own goals and arm yourself with the know how before stepping into the world. Being smart is the one way you can go through modern survival and come out of it with dignity. Hopefully these tips will help you through these uncertain times and help you enjoy them nevertheless.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6846505

Rats feeling empathy for one another like humans

Calling someone a rat should no longer be considered an insult. The often maligned rodents go out of their way to liberate a trapped friend, a gregarious display that’s driven by empathy, researchers conclude in the Dec. 9 Science.

“As humans, we tend sometimes to have this feeling that there’s something special about our morals,” says neuroscientist Christian Keysers at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience in Amsterdam, who was not involved in the study. “It seems that even rats have this urge to help.”
As many pet rat owners know, rats are highly social animals, says study coauthor Inbal Ben-Ami Bartal, a psychologist at the University of Chicago. Bartal and colleagues wanted to see whether rats would take action to ease the suffering of a cage mate. The team put one rat inside a clear cage that could be sprung from the outside, and left another rat to roam free outside the cage for an hour at a time.
Initially, the free rat would circle the cage, digging and biting at it. After about seven days of encountering its trapped friend, the roaming rat learned how to open the cage and liberate the trapped rat. “It’s very obvious that it is intentional,” Bartal says. “They walk right up to the door and open the door.” The liberation is followed by a frenzy of excited running.

The rats would selectively take action when another rat was in distress: Empty cages didn’t inspire rats to learn how to open the door nearly as well as those who were motivated to rescue a trapped rat. By the end of the experiment, only five of 40 rats learned to open an empty cage, while 23 of 30 rats learned to open the cage to free an occupant. (And trapped stuffed animals fared no better than empty cages.)

“If I open the door, that rat’s distress goes away and my distress goes away,” psychologist Matthew Campbell of Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Atlanta, who studies empathy in chimpanzees. “They are affected by what the other is experiencing, and that alone is remarkable.”

To push the limits of the rats’ goodwill, Bartal and her team pitted a trapped rat against trapped chocolate, forcing a rat to choose which one to release. “These rats adore their chocolate,” she says. The results astonished Bartal: The rats were equally likely to free a rat in distress as they were to free the sweets. To a rat, a fellow rodent’s freedom was just as sweet as five chocolate chips. 

And the niceness doesn’t stop there:  “The most shocking thing is they left some of the chocolate for the other rat,” Bartal says. The hero rat left a chocolate chip or two for its newly free associate in more than half of the trials. On purpose. “It’s not like they missed a chocolate,” Bartal says. “They actually carried it out of the restrainer sometimes but did not eat it.”

Interesting read. Spike in firearm purchases in 2011 by 2million

http://news.yahoo.com/fbi-data-shows-spike-firearm-purchases-2011-045125172.html