Temple of the Blind

No I haven't stopped reading.  After I finished Brian Harmon's book The Box, I wanted to keep reading the series The Temple of the Blind.  Once I got all the books, I've just kept reading book by book.  I'm almost finished with the last one.  He has a new book out called Spirit Ears and Prophet Sight.  I'll read that next while I wait for the latest book in the Rushed series, A Matter of Time.

Temple of the Blind

When Albert finds a mysterious wooden box waiting for him in the driver's seat of his locked car, he has no idea that it will lead him on an extraordinary and terrifying adventure. Each clue he unravels leads only to more questions as he pieces together a map of the complex, subterranean system that lies beneath the city and the strange labyrinth hidden deep within. Can he discover the meaning behind the box? Or will the endless darkness and the things that lurk unseen within these walls swallow him forever?

A little more than one year ago, Albert and Brandy discovered a fantastic labyrinth hidden deep beneath the streets of Briar Hills, Missouri. Now, strange telephone messages are stirring up the memories of those dark passages and it seems that it may be time for them to return to that perilous, underground world to finish what they started. But when a strange envelope is given to him by a girl named Andrea, Albert finds that he is being steered not toward the university’s steam tunnels, where he began his last journey, but to the bizarre ruins of Gilbert House in the woods north of the campus. Together with Brandy and her best friend, Nicole, Albert ventures into the forest in search of answers. There, amid the crumbling walls and overgrown brush, they encounter Wayne, another local student who was also lured to these ruins by a mysterious envelope. Banding together, the four of them descend into the recently opened cellar door and discover the nightmarish secrets that have long been hidden within the terrible hallways of Gilbert House.

Having survived the nightmare that he and his friends found hidden within the crumbling ruins of Gilbert House, Albert Cross is newly determined to seek out the answers he has long been denied. He suspects that at least some of those answers may await him in the mysterious underground labyrinth he and Brandy discovered the previous year, the place he calls The Temple of the Blind. But to get there, he and his friends will have to deal with a madwoman, avoid the strange and deadly creatures that prowl the dark passageways and decipher the remaining clues to unlock the temple’s map. To make matters worse, the man with no eyes awaits them with a very unpleasant demand. 

Will his friends choose to remain by his side? And will he finally be able to conquer the fear room?

“The things in this tunnel are imaginary as long as you don’t prove them otherwise…” This was the warning of the Sentinel Queen. But can Wayne really ignore these “imaginary” things to save his own life? Separated from the companions he had grown to trust, Wayne stands alone as he prepares to take his first steps on a journey through a terrifying, personal hell. The dark and ancient tunnel that lies before him will test his courage to its very limits and force him to face the greatest fears he has ever known…and even the past he seeks to flee. And even if he is strong enough to endure this torturous passage, does he have what it takes to survive what lies beyond? The things that lurk in the Wood are not imaginary. It is a place of immeasurable darkness and despair, a place where death is eternal, but never final…

 

Urged onward by the mysterious Sentinel Queen, Albert, Brandy and Nicole venture ever deeper into the Temple of the Blind…and into the greatest danger they have yet faced. Endless miles of twisting passageways and perilous chambers stand before them, and with Albert’s box of clues finally exhausted, they will have to navigate the dark corridors utterly blind. And time is ticking as a dangerous beast stalks them with murderous intent. Meanwhile, Wayne struggles to catch up to them with a warning that all may not be as it seems. Someone is lying to them. Is it the mysterious old man who aided Wayne in his journey into the Wood? Or is it the kindly Sentinel Queen? Together, the six of them must decide who to trust. The very fate of the world may hinge on the actions they take this night. 

Albert Cross emerges from the terrifying labyrinths of the Temple of the Blind with a broken arm and a burdened heart, only to discover that he and his friends must now climb to the summit of a mountain engulfed in fire. Lost in a world of perpetual darkness, surrounded by countless miles of deadly forest, they have no choice but to journey onward or perish in this strange land where little separates the living from the dead. Exhausted, hungry and weak, they will need to rely on every skill they have to survive this final task, including those skills they don’t yet know they possess. 

Stress and Secondhand Smoke

Stress at work is just as bad as secondhand smoke

Workplace stress isn't just annoying -- it's as bad for your health as secondhand smoke, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard Business School and Stanford University.
"When you think about how much time individuals typically spend at work, it's not that surprising," says study co-author Joel Goh, an assistant professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.
The report compiled evidence from 228 other studies, and found that high job demands increased the odds of having an illness diagnosed by a doctor by 35 percent. Long work hours increased the chances of early death by almost 20 percent.
By far the biggest stressor was the worry that you might soon lose your job; that increased the odds of having poor health by about 50 percent.
Goh said he hopes his study will help companies think about the way they manage their employees. He said it might seem like demanding faster work or longer hours would increase productivity, but that might not be the case.
While employers might do their part to reduce stress, here's what the rest of us can do.

Keep a work stress journal

The experts at the Mayo Clinic advise writing down when you feel stressed. Was it during conversations with a particular person, for example? It may not be your job, but an individual who's causing problems, and you need to think about better ways of dealing with him or her.

Do a reality check

As the Harvard study showed, the biggest stressor is the worry that you might lose your job. Ask yourself if your job is really in jeopardy, or if it's just something you've concocted in your head. Asking fellow employees for their perspectives could help.

Ask yourself, do I really like my work?

Joanna Lipari, a psychologist in Los Angeles, has found that patients who love their work deal with stress much better than those who don't. "People who believe in what they're doing handle stress better than those who don't," she said. If you don't love your work, it might be time to think about finding work that really does make you happy.

Think through the worst-case scenario

Afraid you're going to lose your job? What would you do if you did? Lipari advises taking those steps now. If you think you would write a new resume or reach out to former colleagues to see if they're hiring, then do that now.

Set limits with your boss

If your boss wants you to work 10-hour days instead of eight-hour days, tell him or her you can't, but then go on to explain all the work you complete in your eight-hour day. "Make it about being project-oriented, not time-oriented," Lipari says.


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Overweight Gain Weight

People who think they're overweight are more likely to gain weight

Positive thinking can be a powerful thing, especially when it comes to the way you see yourself.
The mere act of perceiving as overweight — regardless of whether you really are — can actually contribute to you packing on extra pounds, according to a new study.
The study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, cites stress as the main culprit in the weight gain.
Researchers at the University of Liverpool used data from three longitudinal studies to look into the lives of 14,000 adults from the U.S. and the U.K. They specifically identified the subjects' perceptions of their own weight once they reached adulthood, whether or not that perception was accurate, and how much their weight changed over time.
While it may seem counter-intuitive, those who identified themselves as "overweight" in the studies were actually more likely to gain weight over time, turning to food and overeating as a coping mechanism for the stress they felt about their weight, researchers said.
Weight gain was more likely to occur even when the person wasn't actually overweight — creating a reality out of fiction.
"Realizing you are an overweight individual is in itself likely to be quite stressful and makes making healthy choices in your lifestyle more difficult," said researcher Dr. Eric Robinson in a release.
Study authors pointed out that the results of this study could prove challenging when it comes to helping people break the cycle of obesity.
"It's a tricky finding for public health intervention work," Robinson said. "You would hope that making a person more aware they are overweight would result in them being more likely to adopt a healthier lifestyle and lose some weight."
But that's just not always the case. Since there are any number of negative stigmas attached to weight problems — such as inactivity, overeating and depression — many people who are aware of their issue, or even perceive it to be so, fall into the trap of those stigmas.
"Instead of taking that stress, they ignore it and just use what has worked in the past to make them feel better — eating," obesity specialist Dr. Peter LePort told Yahoo Health. "But that stressful feeling is back as soon as they've finished eating, and they haven't solved the problem."
Robinson says changing the way society perceives obesity and weight gain can help.
"What is important is to tackle stigma in society," he said. "People with a heavier body weight have body image challenges. That is not surprising given the way we talk about weight as a society."