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I've studied and been fascinated with NLP. A blog specific to NLP by Richard Bandler and John Grinder is somewhere in my mind finding it's way to my keyboard.  

One of the findings of NLP is the connection between our eye movements and it's correlation with specific processes in the brain. This system works well unless you're like me and you've study this and test yourself and others on a daily basis. Nowadays, I know where my eyes go when I'm talking to people. Even knowing these facts, I find that when I am just going with the flow of a conversation, my eyes are on autopilot and they rarely lie.

So here's a basic though not a definitive guide to spotting a lie. This is not an exact science because a knowledgeable practitioner can easily manipulate this. However, this can make for fun experiments when talking to strangers, friends, coworkers, interviewees, your boss, significant other, and so on.

The following are some general patterns that you can use when talking to someone. It shows the various directions of eye movements of a person and explains what is usually going on in their mind at that moment. It illustrates that a glance to the observer's left usually reveals a creative process -- when someone is "making up" facts or lying. A glance to the observer's right reveals that the subject is remembering facts.

Here is a more detailed explanation of this method:

Up and to the Left: Indicates a visually constructed image. If you asked someone to "Imagine a Red Velvet Cheesecake with a whipped cream topping", this would be the direction their eyes move. In their mind they are "Visually Constructing" the Red Velvet Cheesecake.

Up and to the Right: Indicates a Visually Remembered Images. If you asked someone to "What color shirt did you wear yesterday?", this would be the direction their eyes move. In their mind they are "Visually Remembering" the color.

To the Left: Indicates an Auditory Construct thought. If you asked someone to "Try and create the sound of a speeding train in your head", this would be the direction their eyes move. In their mind they are imagining and creating the sound of a speeding train.

To the Right: Indicates an Auditory Memory. If you asked someone to "Remember the Marine Corps Hymn", this would be the direction their eyes move in while remembering the hymn.

Down and to the Left: Indicates a Feeling / Kinesthetic / Sensory impression that is being created. If you asked someone to "Can you remember the taste of chocolate?", this would be the direction their eyes move in while they recall a smell, feeling, or taste of eating chocolate.

Down and To the Right: Indicates an Internal Dialog. This is the direction of someone's eyes as they "talk to themselves."

How to use this information to detect a lie?

Let's say that you have a friend who owes you some money. You have heard that they just got paid and you want to suggest that they pay you back. You try to be polite and ask them, "Did you get paid yet?" They answer, "Gee, not yet. The boss said maybe next week." and look to their right (your left). This would indicate that they are constructing or "making up" what their boss said. They are telling a lie.

Police often ask a suspect to describe someone in detail. If the suspect looks to their right (your left) they are generally constructing or "making up" the visual description. If they look to their left (your right) they are generally recalling the details from their visual memory.

So, in general, a glance to your left when observing a person indicates that they are creating or "lying" while a glance to your right signifies that they are remembering an actual event, or being "truthful."

But there's more to the story...

Another thing that forensic interrogators look for is the use of contractions -- words like isn't, doesn't, weren't, etc. These are usually used by people telling the truth. On the other hand, people who say is not, does not, were not, etc. are often lying.

They also look for the reactions and facial expressions that accompany what the person is talking about. If someone says "I'm so sad that it happened!" but there is a delay in their expression of sadness, they are probably not being honest. The example is often given of someone who receives a present that they don't like. They often respond with "Wow. It's beautiful, I love it!" and then, some few seconds later, they smile and appear to look happy. Truthful emotions are spontaneous and instantaneous.

Another method used by professionals is to change the subject. A person who has been telling lies about a particular event will welcome the change of topic and will be visibly relaxed. An innocent suspect or a person who has been telling the truth will usually want to continue the dialog and will find the change of topic puzzling and attempt to regain focus on the topic.

Body language is also a good thing to observe. Liars usually do not use their hands. They often fold their arms together in front of them or position items such as books, cups or other things between themselves and the person asking the questions. Sometimes they touch their mouth or nose alot.

Some investigators say that long and detailed answers to otherwise simple questions can indicate a lie. It's as if the more detail the person gives the more he tries to convince the questioner that he is being truthful. If they are confronted or accused of something, the liar will usually deny the accusation in a calm and emotionless manner instead of getting excited and saying things like "What? You think I did it?"

With careful video analysis, some investigators can observe rapid twitches in facial muscles that indicate a lie. Poker players, who want to leave with the most poker chips, often learn to "read" the facial expressions or "ticks" of other players to determine if they hold a good hand of cards or are just "bluffing."

To become adept at distinguishing lies, ask some neutral questions to establish the baseline of the subject. Watch their facial expressions and eye movements and test this method by asking questions and observing the pattern of shifts to left, right, up and down.

A word of caution: this method may be reversed in left-handed people. It also may not apply to people who have rehearsed their answers or who have taken drugs or consumed alcohol.

Some YouTube videos -

NLP Lie Detector Explained

NLP Eye Patterns

NLP According to Samuel Jackson

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've seen the emergence of Location Technology. It's all around us, from our cellular phones, portable GPS, car based GPS, Apps, Games, and so on. What you may not realize is, Location Technology has been around for a long time.  

Here's a fun look at the History of Location Technology

I love to read books but no matter how much I read, I'm always amazed at how much our ancestor's were able to accomplish.  

Smoke Signals

Back... back in time, everyone from the American Indians to the Ancient Chinese used Smoke Signals to locate home and communicate signals to remote groups or individuals.

Celestial Navigation

I'm not a mathematician but I'm confident that many reading this can run circles around me when it comes to math. For centuries our ancestors used the stars and mathematics to determine coordinates based on the position or location of the stars and sun. I know I would've been lost for sure! In the mid 18th Century, clockmaker John Harrison invented a chronometer which allowed sailors to determine longitude by accurately tracking the time change between home and their current location

Homing Pigeons 

Certain types of Rock Pigeons were bred to be able to find their homes from extremely long distances. These were used for courier services and navigation for thousands of years.

Magnetic Compass

By using a magnet to point to the earths poles, this invention allowed navigators to finally determine their heading, in addition to latitude and eventually longitude.

Radio Triangulation

By measuring the strengths of radio signals, ships, aircraft, and military ground troops began to be able to estimate their coordinates from very long distances.  

Satellite GPS

There's a group of around 30 satellites that orbits the earth and is used to triangulate the position of the receiver. Nearby satellites send timestamped messages, and the receiver calculates the distance of each satellite based on the speed of the incoming messages compared to the time they were sent. The size of these receivers have shrank considerably since the 1960's when this technology was first deployed.

Automotive GPS Navigation

While many GPS receivers were used for military purposes since the 1960's, the automotive GPS nave unit became the first dedicated GPS device to gain traction among consumers. Initially mapless and slow, these devices now include very detailed maps with turn-by-turn directions and connectivity to additional services like real time traffic.

GPS Enabled SmartPhones 

Every smartphone on the market, be it the Blackberry, Android, iPhone, Windows, etc. have changed the apps industry by allowing third party software applications to take advantage of user location.

Today we have the ever evolving world of Location Based Applications, Gaming, and Social Networks. These apps are everywhere and most developers now have some location functionality to their product. The past 2-3 years, consumers have shifted from candy bar, texting focused phones, to full featured smartphones. These phones have taken over and are in the hands of millions of consumers. We've only touched the tip of the iceberg. The next decade will be an exciting time in technology and mobile electronics.

I’ve read some reviews about a book by Dr. Kevin Leman, called The Birth Order Book. It’s very interesting and here’s some food for thought. Did you know that approximately 80% of Harvard students are first borns or only children. One can argue that first borns cost so much to send to Harvard that parents run out of money for the rest of the children (: