kisma Johnson's blog: "Just Gut Instinct"

This Ad Was Posted to Craig's List Personals:

To the Guy Who Tried to Mug Me in Downtown Savannah night before last.
Date: 05-27-09, 1:43 A M EST.

I was the guy wearing the black Burberry jacket that you demanded that I hand over, shortly after you pulled the knife on my girlfriend and me, threatening our lives.

You also asked for my girlfriend's purse and earrings.

I can only hope that you somehow come across this rather important message.

First, I'd like to apologize for your embarrassment when I drew my pistol after you took my Jacket. The evening was not that cold, and I was wearing the jacket for a reason.

My girlfriend had just bought me that Kimber Model 1911 .45 ACP pistol for my birthday, and we had picked up a shoulder holster for it that very evening.

Obviously you agree that it is a very Intimidating weapon when pointed at your head, wasn't it?

I know it probably wasn't fun walking back to wherever you'd come from bare footed since I made you leave your shoes, cell phone, and wallet with me. [That prevented you from calling or running to your buddies to come help mug us again].

After I called your mother, or "Momma" as you had her listed in your cell, I explained the entire episode of what you'd done. Then I Went and filled up my gas tank as well as four other people's in the gas station on your credit card. The guy with the big motor home took 150 gallons and was extremely grateful!

I gave your shoes to a homeless guy outside Vinnie Van Go Go's, along with all the cash in your wallet. [That made his day!]

I then threw your wallet into the big pink "pimp mobile" that was parked at the curb .... after I broke the windshield and side window and keyed the entire driver's side of the car.

Later, I called a bunch of phone sex numbers from your cell20phone. Ma Bell just now shut down the line, although I only used the phone for a little over a day now, so what's going on with that?

Earlier, I managed to get in two threatening phone calls to the DA's office and one to the FBI, while mentioning President Obama as my possible target. The FBI guy seemed really intense and we had a nice long chat (I guess while he traced your number, etc).

In a way, perhaps I should apologize for not killing you . .. . but I feel this type of retribution is a far more appropriate punishment for your threatened crime. I wish you well as you try to sort through some of these rather immediate pressing issues, and can only hope that you have the opportunity to reflect upon, and perhaps reconsider the career path you've chosen to pursue in life.

Remember, next time you might not be so lucky.

Have a good day!

Thoughtfully yours

Kisma Johnson

The aircraft crashed into the field before my eyes. I’d been lazily strolling down a country lane when the jet fighter thundered overhead. And a couple of seconds later I saw the disaster. Well, actually, I hadn’t. I’d imagined it. I’d seen images, but they were within my own mind. Yet, a couple of hours later I turned on the news and there, not fifty miles from my location, a jet fighter of the same type had crashed. Was it the same fighter that had flown over me? halloween-3I don’t know, but chances were high. And there was little doubt I had had a premonition of disaster. Now, I won’t tell you the type of aircraft, or when it happened. As with most anecdotes, it is unproveable, and I mention it simply as an example of one of my many experiences, and the thought patterns following the event. You see, I didn’t go all mystical. I went all rational. First of all, I knew the jet type intimately. I’m ex-RAF and worked for 18 months on a squadron that flew the type. My office was in the hangar, and I walked past them dozens of times a day. I saw them fly dozens of times a day, and knew many of the aircrew. And the simple fact was, I knew how the jet sounded, acted, and where the dangers lay. So the question is: did I unconsciously note there was something wrong with that jet, thus producing the mind image? This is the most likely explanation. If, of course, it was the same jet I saw. This is a totally rational explanation. And if such pre-knowledge can happen to me, it must happen to hundreds of people every day - which is an unused resource. Researchers are slowly drawing back the shadows of precognition. We now know electromagnetism can affect the mind, and some attribute it to pre-knowledge of earthquakes, etc, as known to be sensed by animals, and some humans. mobile Knowledge intuited unconsciously can easily produce a premonition. Such knowledge can come from anything from subliminally smelling the hint of gas, to a fleeting conversation heard days ago, but triggered by something new. Two and two come together and a flash of pre-knowledge can be the result. Why isn’t this vast pool of pre-knowledge being used to save lives? Okay, a premonitions bureau has been tried from time to time, without much success. Any information received was too late. This is no longer the case. Now we have mobile phones and instant communication. Of course, many such premonitions are spurious, and such a bureau would be inundated by hoax calls. But I’m convinced that a dedicated network of researchers and operators would eventually find a pattern in the nature of calls coming in, allowing them to issue suitable alerts. Once that happened there is the possibility of a real pre-knowledge intelligence ability, especially regarding the rise in premonitions surrounding major disasters. And if ever shown to work, it would destroy the notion that there is no value in parapsychology. Of course, everyone would need to know the number of the network so as to contact it straight away. Now what catches the attention? The US emergency number is 911; the UK has 999. I know. How about 666?

Sometimes when you think you're guessing, your brain may actually know better. After conducting some unique memory and recognition tests, while also recording subjects' brain waves, scientists conclude that some gut feelings are not just guesswork after all. Rather, we access memories we aren't even aware we have. "We may actually know more than we think we know in everyday situations, too," said Ken Paller, professor of psychology at Northwestern University and co-researcher on the study. "Unconscious memory may come into play, for example, in recognizing the face of a perpetrator of a crime or the correct answer on a test. Or the choice from a horde of consumer products may be driven by memories that are quite alive on an unconscious level." The findings were published online Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The research, done with only a couple dozen participants, adds to a growing body of conflicting evidence about decision-making. In one study done in 2007, researchers found that quick decisions were better than those given lots of thought. But a study last year suggested neither snap judgments nor "sleeping on it" trump good old-fashioned conscious thought. The new study During the first part of the memory test in the new study, participants were shown a series of colorful kaleidoscope images that flashed on a computer screen. Half of the images were viewed with full attention as participants tried to memorize them. While viewing the other half, the participants were distracted: They heard a spoken number that they had to keep in mind until the next trial, when they indicated whether it was odd or even. In other words, they could focus on memorizing half of the images but were greatly distracted from memorizing the others. A bit later, they viewed pairs of similar kaleidoscope images in a recognition test. "Remarkably, people were more accurate in selecting the old image when they had been distracted than when they had paid full attention," Paller said. "They also were more accurate when they claimed to be guessing than when they registered some familiarity for the image." Splitting attention during a memory test usually makes memory worse. "But our research showed that even when people weren't paying as much attention, their visual system was storing information quite well," Paller said. The brain's role During the tests, electrical signals in the brain were recorded from a set of electrodes placed on each person's head. The brain waves during implicit recognition were distinct from those associated with conscious memory experiences. A unique signal of implicit recognition was seen a quarter of a second after study participants saw each old image. Other related research has shown that amnesia victims with severe memory problems often have strong implicit memories, Paller and his colleague, Joel L. Voss of the Beckman Institute, said in a statement. "Intuition may have an important role in finding answers to all sorts of problems in everyday life," Paller said.