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Sweet Dreams Are Made By This
Posted by
michael
on Sat Jan 17, 2004 09:16 PM
from the dreaming-my-dreams-with-you dept.
from the dreaming-my-dreams-with-you dept.
schnoz writes "From Takara, the folks who brought you Bow-Lingual the dog translator, comes the Dream Workshop. Before going to sleep, all you have to do is stare at a photograph of what you want to dream of (Natalie Portman maybe) and record the dream plot. When you fall asleep, this gadget waits for REM and then uses your voice recording, lights, music and aroma to help direct your dream."
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Why not... (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe Thinkgeek could sell a "Natalie Portman in Hot Grits" version?
Re:Why not... (Score:5, Funny)
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Yeh! (Score:4, Funny)
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Re:mod parent up for poster having balls. (Score:5, Insightful)
That's how I've always looked at it, a gay man is just one less competitor for the ladies. The more men who turn gay the better. I've been chatted up by blokes on numerous occasions and I see it as a compliment not a problem.
I've always seen some truth in the idea that homophobes are often closet homosexuals who are threatened by gayness because they are in denial about their own sexuality. I'm glad that homosexuality isn't as much of a taboo as it was in my parent's or grandparent's time. I hope society continues to become more accepting of peoples preferences.
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Re:Why not... (Score:5, Funny)
They were workin' on it, but the prototypes kept petrifying.
KFG
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Re:Why not... (Score:5, Insightful)
-B
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Re:Why not... (Score:4, Funny)
-B
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Re:Why not... (Score:5, Funny)
Only if it has a mute feature.
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Re:Why not... (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Why not... (Score:5, Funny)
Were you bleeding from the rectum?
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dreaming (Score:5, Interesting)
Hacking dreams???
Re:dreaming (Score:5, Funny)
What did I get?
Advanced knitting.
-- Demolition Man
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Re:dreaming (Score:5, Funny)
As for me, I normally change my dream input by consuming Tequila before bedtime. It rarely disappoints.
Parent
Interrogation/torture device? (Score:5, Interesting)
A sleep-depraved Saddam is forced to stare at a photo of his dead son's bodies. After he's finally allowed to sleep and REM kicks in, a voice-over script explains to him that its all his fault and guides him on how he should cooperate fully.
After steering his dream through freedom, a comfortable exile, and a harem of virgins he is conveniently woken up for his next round of questioning.
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Re:dreaming (Score:5, Funny)
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the worst nightmare (Score:5, Funny)
i swear if someone did that to my machine, i d use a hot iron to brand -1 Troll on his forehead
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Sounds Tempting! (Score:5, Interesting)
My dreams could use a bit of spicing up, but I think I'll opt for Johnny Depp instead of Natalie Portman. Anyone know how much 14,800 yen is in US Dollars?
Re:Sounds Tempting! (Score:5, Funny)
Back in the dark ages when I was in college I used to tape lectures and listen to them while I was asleep. Amazing results!
weird, i fall asleep during lectures all the time, and nothing good has ever come out of it
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Re:Sounds Tempting! (Score:5, Funny)
It was me and the professor. Only, he looked different. He had daisy duke shorts on and was carrying a rifle. I approached him, and he spoke.. but I couldn't understand. I think it was another language. When I got closer, I noticed my skin was burning. And then I realized I was covered in fire ants. I jumped off of a cliff towards what looked like a pool of water at the bottom. Only when I hit it, I realized it was a pool of broken glass. I tried as best as I could to swim through the glass, but my skin was literally falling apart.. when I could no longer move, I woke up.
Needless to say, I failed the exam.
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I'm dreaming of... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I'm dreaming of... (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't know about you, but I can't seem to get even the most basic shell scripts right when I dream about computers. I can't verify the truth of the statement, but I've heard it said that the right side of your brain is the side most active during dreams, and it is also the less logical side of your brain. If that's true my first assumption is that dream learning would be mostly worthless for highly logical things like math or programming, but might be useful for art.
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Re:I'm dreaming of... (Score:4, Informative)
I shouldn't dismiss it that hastily.
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Re:I'm dreaming of... (Score:5, Funny)
Being unconscious for that amount of time isn't called sleeping - it's called being in a coma.
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must be user error (Score:5, Funny)
Mars (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Mars (Score:3, Funny)
To be used for fun...and evil... (Score:5, Funny)
meh? (Score:5, Funny)
This isn't that email i get 15 times a week proclaiming "Amazing Breakthrough In Software Technology! Turn Woofs into Words! Free Download!" is it?
stare at a photograph of what you want to dream of (Natalie Portman maybe) and record the dream plot. When you fall asleep, this gadget waits for REM and then uses your voice recording, lights, music and aroma to help direct your dream."
It's probably not recommended to have a device cooking up some grits when there's no one there to keep an eye on it. But in other news, i did hear that they are selling perfume that smells just like natalie portman!
Flim-flam. (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, I'm a skeptic. I suppose I should want to try this product beforhand to be scientifically valid... but testimonial "evidence" with this sort of product does not give me any motivation to hand out money so I can reward these people to test their wild theory.
Ryan Fenton
Re:Flim-flam. (Score:5, Informative)
Example: The Wigetmobile is the best selling car in america because it's super-cheap and super-reliable, according to statistics. Your uncle says he drove his into a tree and it nearly killed him, so you don't buy it, because his vivid description of his near-death incident (probably on account of his own stupidity) "outweighs" statistical evidence that the product is good. This is the same thing, only in *reverse* of the product advertising.
Alex Chiu is a big fan of this kind of marketing exploitation. He's also a complete idiot.
Parent
Re:Flim-flam. (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually, I do lucidly fairly often - presuming you mean being in control of and aware of the dream as a dream state. I haven't found it to be a magical thing that needs a trigger, just a simple exploration of thought. Flashing lights haven't had anything to do with my experiences, as I have always slept in darkness. I also haven't experied any special therapudic effects from such dreams either. If anything, it's just an open-ended mental game, like a daydream, and definetly not something to obsess over, or waste time on instead of sleeping. This is just another testimonial of course, and an oppinionated one at that. I encourage scientific exploration for those in the field - but distrust those with something to sell, so to speak.
Ryan Fenton
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Wet Dreams (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wet Dreams (Score:3, Funny)
This dream brought to you by... (Score:3, Insightful)
Combine this with sound rifles, through-wall sonics and lasers...mmm scarrry.
Lucid Dreaming is Cheaper (Score:5, Interesting)
Although lucid dreaming [lucidity.com] is not exactly the same as dream control [lucidity.com], it does give you the ability to control your OWN ACTIONS in a dream. The advantage of lucid dreaming is that you don't have to buy any gizmos to make it work (although some people do sell things to help you achieve lucidity). The disadvantages are, as I mentioned, the fact that you only control yourself and not necessarily your surroundings and it takes some time to learn the skill of becoming lucid in a dream.
Lucid dreaming is basically a technique for becoming conscious that you are in a dream without actually waking from that dream. It takes some work, believe me. We're talking months here. But it is kinda cool. Once I realize that I'm dreaming, I usually take advantage of that fact by blasting any enemies around me with a Godzilla [godzilla.co.jp]-like breath weapon! While this is admittedly pretty geeky, I can say that here without being laughed at (right?) because we're all geeks. Plus, it's pretty neat to see Bill Gates go up in flames!
Another advantage of lucid dreaming is that it's a proven technique whereas this new gizmo is just something that someone is trying to sell you.
GMD
Re:Lucid Dreaming is Cheaper (Score:5, Interesting)
One interesting thing about your point is that this device could assist lucid dreaming. In fact, the Lucidity Institute that you link to sells a similar device called the NovaDreamer. [lucidity.com] The NovaDreamer detects REM sleep, then uses flashing lights to hopefully introduce dream signs into your dream. At $138 USD, this device is much cheaper than the NovaDreamer, which costs $395 USD. [128.121.104.103]
I've been experimenting with a home-brew solution (a web page that flashes and talks at random intervals throughout the night,) but I've had very limited success with it.
While we're on the topic, I wrote a very long piece [geocities.com] about Lucid Dreaming in 1996 -- many people have put it on their own sites
Parent
What I want to see... (Score:4, Funny)
I think that could turn out to be really really amusing, although I fear what would happen if it ever got slashdotted. I'd probably end up with a dream about hanging Gates while doing naughty things with Natalie Portman on top of a beowulf cluster of hot grits while the goatse man and penis bird watch.
Reviewed In Consumer Reports! (Score:5, Informative)
Device not needed... (Score:3, Insightful)
LotR (Score:5, Funny)
Dream Instigation (Score:3, Insightful)
Isn't this similar to the phenomenon of waking up and realizing that your dream contained bits and pieces of what was on TV/radio while you slept (eg, your radio or TV is set as a wake-up alarm)? I.E., your subconcious mind picked-up on cues while you were sleeping and inserted them into the dream.
I just hope it's not powered by windows ce.net... (Score:5, Funny)
On a serious note, google up lucid dreaming and read about it. It actually works. Years ago I tried to make one of these things by having a bunch of LED's blink rapidly. It didn't work, but it was a neat form of meditation. But seriously, there's nothing like a lucid dream.
Lucid Dreaming (Score:5, Informative)
I've never been a big one for altered conciousness, but I did do some lucid dreaming for a while. Basically you just get good at recognizing when you're dreaming, and then you can start controlling what happens. Yes, Natalie Portman is an option.
It does take some dedication, though. Keeping a dream journal is essential. There's some basic info out there that will help get you started.
The only downside I found is I sometimes felt I wasn't sleeping as deeply. But it is a great way to explore altered conciousness without worrying about killing brain cells or geting addicted to anything.
Cheers.
Re:Lucid Dreaming (Score:5, Interesting)
One of the methods used to treat the condition is a form of lucid dreaming in which you train yourself to recognize, in your nightmare, that you are in control of the situation. By moving a finger or something similar to "break" the paralysis, you can then wake up fully.
For a long time sleep paralysis was treated with SSRI's, usually tricyclic antidepressants that, in light doses, would keep REM light enough to fully emerge from the paralysis stage. But if you've ever been on an SSRI, the side effects can be pretty miserable.
It's an interesting subject that has a study all its own here. [uwaterloo.ca]
Parent
Monroe Institute (Score:4, Interesting)
Cheaper alternative - Do it yourself project (Score:4, Interesting)
Obligatory Simpsons Quote (Score:4, Funny)
Marge: Homer, has the weight loss tape reduced your appetite?
Homer: Ah, lamentably no. My gastronomic rapacity knows no satieties.
Barring anything else... (Score:5, Funny)
Then again, the employees already live in Japan, home of used panty vending machines. For the curious, the cost is supposedly 1000 per pair.
I now await a slew of replies from pseudo-clever
Just about everything troll (Score:3, Informative)
Not that anybody should trust redirect URLs, but let me warn you:
Re:Great for those tough bugs problems (Score:4, Interesting)
Of the many times I have solved The Problem, only once was it actually a solution, and even then it was more like a thought that actually put me on the right track when I awoke, more out of coincidence I think then anything else.
Many times I have awoken with the semantic equivalent of "My code will be fixed if I just pick a purple lilac and feed it to my dog.", only much, much wierder in a way that I can not just summon up while awake to provide a good example for. And it all makes such sense at the time.
I'm sure some people really do solve problems in their dreams, and goodness knows a good night's sleep always does help me. But I wonder how many people really solve problems in their dream, and how many people just think they've solved problems. I've managed to drag several ideas from my dreams back into the waking world, including quite a few semi-interesting sci-fi plots, but none of them are worth anything when examined in the light of the sun, except perhaps some entertainment value.
One of the things I remember dragging back was a music melody that was going to make me famous... I don't recall the specifics but I do recall it only involved two notes a whole step apart in some entirely uninspired rhythm; in the waking world it was terminally dull, as you might imagine a two-note melody would be. (I have on the other hand written some music I rather enjoyed based on the wierd feeling I sometimes get after having wierd dreams, but the music did not come to me in my sleep.)
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