Neil Sattin.com

For the past four months, I’ve pretty much lived with my laptop computer at my side.  The internet is just a couple clicks away at any moment, which has made blogging (and keeping in touch with the world) relatively easy.  Any time I have a spare second – on with the computer!  So imagine my dismay the other night when I plugged in the charger for the laptop battery, and…nothing happened.  With a certain amount of cord-wiggling I managed to get in one last charge, and then I spent three hours salvaging as much as I possibly could, moving files onto my desktop computer, and hoping that I got everything.  Then I took a few breaths to survey the new landscape – figuring out how I, laptop computer-less, might go on.

OK, I’m being a little overly dramatic.  The proximity of the laptop computer, though, made it very likely that I would jump online throughout the day, to do this or that.  This or that what, you ask?  Good question!  After only a couple days of laptop-freedom, I’ve realized just how inefficient it made me to have a computer next to me all the time.  Now that I have to make space in my life to visit my poor, abandoned desktop when I want to be online, it’s forced me to be a bit more methodical about what I’m doing when I visit.  And I suddenly have a whole wealth of time on my hands – time that I might not have noticed before, when, given a free minute or two, I might have quickly checked my e-mail or done the aforementioned this-or-that.

Having a diversion perpetually that close-by also was an obstacle to being present – for myself, and especially for my family.  I often found myself hoping that Dash wasn’t getting the wrong idea, wondering when he would get his special laptop-computer appendage.  As excellent as it is to be always connected to the world “out there” (where all of you are) – that only makes it all the more important to learn how to focus on the world RIGHT HERE.  Next to me.  And the world next to you.

Today you go into coffee shops, and people are sitting there with their laptop computers on – probably also listening to their iPod.  Tuning out the world that’s right there in front of them.  One of the local cafes has declined to get a wireless internet setup – and while that irked me when I found out about it, I suddenly GET it.  Use the computer when it’s necessary.  Check your e-mail once or twice per day, max.  The rest of the time – LIVE.  Talk to the person next to you.  Get to know what’s happening in your neighborhood, and forget about the headlines on the Yahoo homepage. 

For what it’s worth, I’ve also changed my homepage to Google, which is refreshingly stark and distraction free.  When I sit there and stare at the screen, pondering what I might google, it’s an opportunity for me to think “oh.  wait a minute.  I turned on the computer to do something useful, right?  what was that again?” – and back on task.  I like to think that this means you’ll have to wait a lot less time to get an e-mail response from me (my apologies to all of you who are waiting – I’m gonna get right on that).

At some point I will get around to re-soldering the power supply jack to my motherboard.  After all, it’ll be nice to have the laptop available for traveling and other times when it’s actually necessary.  In the meantime, however, I’m enjoying my newfound freedom.  I made a (small) list of all of the things that I actually need a computer for, and I keep it next to me when I’m at the computer, to remind myself of why I’m there and what I need to/ought to be doing. 

1. Write on the blog(s).
2. Check e-mail and respond to it.  Correspond with the people I care about.
3. Pay Bills.
4. Read other blogs that I care about.
5. Research things I’m writing about or that are important in my daily life.
6. Occasionally research random stuff.  Occasionally.  Occasionally.  Like almost never.  Like, if you’re doing it right now, you should probably either find something in 1-5 to do and do that instead, or just walk away.  Walk away.  Seriously.  Why are you still sitting there?

So when the things on my list are done, or don’t interest me at the moment, I turn the computer off, stand up, and go find something else that needs doing.  Like hanging with Tonya or Dash.  Or washing dishes.  Or writing more music.  Or calling a friend.  Or journaling.  Or…(my non-computer list goes on and on)

Do you have a list of non-computer-related things that aren’t getting done?  Remind yourself of why you need the computer – make a list, and restrict yourself to JUST THOSE THINGS.  Make sure that you’re prioritizing the non-computer things in your life.  If you have a laptop, try keeping it tucked away in a room where you go to use the computer, and otherwise leaving it there, turned off, while you go about the rest of your day.  I’d never say “kill your computer”.  But keep it in its place.

When you’re out in the world interacting with other people, having conversations, it helps to have fresh breath.  Don’t you want to go to bed knowing for certain that you’re not going to offend your partner with bad breath?  Haven’t there been times when an associate (or, gasp, a potential significant other) got a little too close for your comfort – on account of their halitosis?  Even in our overly-perfumed world, bad breath easily sneaks its way into our awareness.  Unfortunately there’s no easy way to deliver the message to someone else that you’d like them to “exhale away from you” – but there IS something quite easy that you can do for yourself to ensure that your breath is fresh all the time.

There was a time when I wouldn’t go anywhere without a pack of Cinnamon Trident, but gum (and most mouthwashes) only temporarily mask the problem.  Chewing gum runs out of flavor (and protective value – same with breath mints), and mouthwashes dry your mouth out with harsh alcohol – along with having the other adverse effect of ruining anything else you might want to taste (nothing like a yummy dinner at a restaurant lashed with Listerine).  However, several years ago I came across a new source of information about bad breath – along with a product that actually WORKS to effectively combat the effects of halitosis.

Quick Disclaimer:  If you have really BAD bad breath, and it doesn’t go away, that could be the sign of something serious going on with your health.  Check with a dentist or a doctor to make sure that you’re otherwise a-ok.

What really causes bad breath

If you want a really thorough explanation, you should check out “The Bad Breath Bible” – which is a collection of all the information that Dr. Harold Katz (the creator of Therabreath products) has learned through his years of research into bad breath.  Here’s the skinny in brief:  At the back of your tongue, there are ridges.  Within those ridges live fun little bacteria – anaerobic bacteria, the kind that thrive in an oxygen-deprived environment.  Those bacteria give off the nasty-smelling gasses that stand between you and your sweet-smelling ideal.  The solution to halitosis first GETS AT those bacteria, exposing them to the effects of your treatment, THEN it kills them, but with something gentle – oxygen.  Sure, all that alcohol in most commercial mouthwashes kills the bacteria, but the alcohol dries out your mouth, leading to a chain of events that actually causes MORE of that bacteria to form.

So here’s a method that I found…that works.  And it’s easy to follow.

1. Floss your teeth.  Just because the bacteria at the back of your tongue is the main source of bad smells doesn’t make it the ONLY source.  Use floss (I prefer “Glide”) to get rid of any food debris that might be hiding out between your teeth, and to also disturb the little colonies of bacteria that otherwise wouldn’t be touched by your brushing.
2. Brush your teeth.  I use a toothpaste from JASON Organics called “Healthy Mouth” – which is imho the best toothpaste there is.  How can I make such a claim?  First, the toothpaste tastes great (it’s flavored with clove and cinnamon) – so you can eat literally right after you brush your teeth.  I’m serious – you can even drink orange juice without that “oh no, I just brushed my teeth” sort of feeling.  So unlike most toothpastes, it doesn’t ruin your palette.  Second, whenever I go to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, there is almost never any “calculus” (i.e. tartar) on my teeth for them to scrape.  I always get this look like “why are you here again?” – and inevitably they ask what I use for toothpaste.  Finally, Healthy Mouth is an all-natural organic toothpaste, without any SLS (sodium laurel sulfate, a foaming agent that can cause irritation, and that also happens to be in most other commercial toothpastes) – so it’s good for you and good for the planet.
3. Use a tongue scraper on the back of your tongue to GENTLY remove the coating.  The coating is what protects those little bacteria hanging out in the grooves.  Make sure that you’re GENTLE – you don’t want to actually hurt your tongue, you’re just trying to get the (sorry about this) mucous coating off.  Try to go back as far as you can – in order to avoid triggering your gag reflex it helps to take deep breaths and exhale as you’re reaching back with the tongue scraper.  So, again, be gentle with your tongue scraper (you can get one at any pharmacy) – just expose those little bacteria so they’re vulnerable for what’s about to follow.  Rinse your mouth with a little water when you’re done with this step.
4. Gargle with Therabreath.  Take a capful of Therabreath, gargle it as far back in your mouth as you can (try to reach the spots that you just scraped with your tongue scraper) – then swish it around the rest of your mouth.  Try to get everything thoroughly.  Spit the mouthwash out.  Repeat if you’re paranoid.  DO NOT RINSE.  That’s it!  Therabreath has a stabilized oxygen compound that works immediately on those newly-exposed bacteria, and keeps on working for several hours.  Plus, it doesn’t dry out your mouth and it also has the property that you can eat soon after and fully enjoy the tastes of the food you’re consuming.  Bad breath begone – without any side effects!

FYI, I’m going to keep my product recommendations to an absolute minimum, so that you know that when I recommend something it really works.  Therabreath Mouthwash totally transformed my life in the “no more bad breath” department, which is why I’m writing about it.  The link takes you to the Therabreath website -  there are other products on the website that that are also effective, but I’ve found that the Therabreath Mouthwash was really all I needed to get rid of bad breath.

That’s all there is to it.  For more information, check out the “Bad Breath Bible” (it’s a free download) – and give the 4-step treatment I just outlined a try.  You can pick up Therabreath directly from their website, and it is also carried by many local pharmacy and grocery store chains (just be forewarned, they often keep it on the “specialty oral care products” shelf – not with the other mouthwashes).  When you address the problem of bad breath for good, you’ll never have to worry about whether or not your breath is an issue for the people around you.  I guarantee those people will thank you – silently.  And you can breathe a risk-free sigh of relief.