Richard Dawkins "The God Delusion" Speech at Kepler's Books

Richard Dawkins talked about his latest book, The God Delusion at Kepler's on Sunday night and I was lucky enough to attend

Kepler's of Menlo Park, Ca. has been an independent bookstore and an anchor in the community for over 50 years, often championing writers with advanced ideas. Since the SF event has been sold out for nearly a month, Keplers caught the overflow of people who were willing to drive at least 25 miles to hear Dawkins. The store was packed - standing room only. There are a few more pictures at Professor Dawkins' website here.

<-- Here's yours truly with one of the nicest, most thoughtful and kind people I have ever met.

After a brief introduction and a great speech by David Cowan, Mr. Dawkins spoke for about an hour followed by a 30 minute Q&A session. While signing copies of his book he was gracious enough to sign my copy of Wired (The New Atheism) as well - that's feckin cool!

I recorded the entire presentation and you can download it here. (RIGHT CLICK and SAVE or CLICK to stream. MP3 File (54 meg)) I know tickets for Mr. Dawkins speaking engagements are being sold above cost online and I hope he agrees with me that getting the message out is the most important thing is to get the word out.

That said, please support the cause:

The Richard Dawkins' Foundation for Reason and Science is a dual-nationality nonprofit group established in the United States and Great Britain.

The Official Richard Dawkins website has pages an pages of great information - definitely check it out.

You can Read the first chapter of The God Delusion!

And of course you'll want to buy The God Delusion.

tags: Richard, Dawkins, God, Delusion, Tour, Kepler's, Keplers, book, sign, california, audio, photo

Language Center of Brain When "Speaking In Tongues" Studied

Glossolalia, otherwise referred to as "speaking in tongues," has been around for thousands of years, and references to it can be found in the Old and New Testament. Speaking in tongues is an unusual mental state associated with specific religious traditions. The individual appears to be speaking in an incomprehensible language, yet perceives it to have great personal meaning. Now, in a first of its kind study, scientists are shining the light on this mysterious practice -- attempting to explain what actually happens physiologically to the brain of someone while speaking in tongues.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered decreased activity in the frontal lobes, an area of the brain associated with being in control of one's self. This pioneering study, involving functional imaging of the brain while subjects were speaking in tongues, is in the November issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, the official publication of the International Society for Neuroimaging in Psychiatry.

Radiology investigators observed increased or decreased brain activity - by measuring regional cerebral blood flow with SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) imaging - while the subjects were speaking in tongues. They then compared the imaging to what happened to the brain while the subjects sang gospel music.

"We noticed a number of changes that occurred functionally in the brain," comments Principal Investigator Andrew Newberg, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology, Psychiatry, and Religious Studies, and Director for the Center for Spirituality and the Mind, at Penn. "Our finding of decreased activity in the frontal lobes during the practice of speaking in tongues is fascinating because these subjects truly believe that the spirit of God is moving through them and controlling them to speak. Our brain imaging research shows us that these subjects are not in control of the usual language centers during this activity, which is consistent with their description of a lack of intentional control while speaking in tongues."

Newberg went on to explain, "These findings could be interpreted as the subject's sense of self being taken over by something else. We, scientifically, assume it's being taken over by another part of the brain, but we couldn't see, in this imaging study, where this took place. We believe this is the first scientific imaging study evaluating changes in cerebral activity -- looking at what actually happens to the brain -- when someone is speaking in tongues. This study also showed a number of other changes in the brain, including those areas involved in emotions and establishing our sense of self."

Newberg concludes that the changes in the brain during speaking in tongues reflect a complex pattern of brain activity. Newberg suggests that since this is the first study to explore this, future studies will be needed to confirm these findings in an attempt to demystify this fascinating religious phenomenon.

tags: Glossolalia, speaking, in, tongues, religion, god, fundamentalist, fundamentalism, born, again, evangelical, christian

I'm Not Saying A Word

Mozilla Releases Officially Firefox 2.0

The award-winning Web browser is now faster, more secure, and fully customizable to your online life. With Firefox 2, we’ve added powerful new features that make your online experience even better.

Mozilla today released Firefox 2, a major update to its popular and acclaimed free, open source Web browser. Firefox is developed by an international community of contributors working together under the umbrella of the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit, public-benefit organization dedicated to improving the Internet experience for people everywhere.

In less than two years, tens of millions of people worldwide have discovered the easier, faster and safer online experience that Firefox provides. Translated into more than 35 languages at its release, Firefox 2 is available in a native language version for more people around the world than any other Web browser.

Firefox 2 is immediately available for Windows, Mac or Linux operating systems as a free download from www.getfirefox.com.

“Firefox 2 delivers the best possible online experience for people today,” said Mitchell Baker, CEO, Mozilla. “The improvements Mozilla has made to the ease of use, performance, and security in Firefox 2 reflect our ongoing, singular focus on meeting the needs of Web users all over the world.”

What’s New in Firefox 2

Improvements to the user interface, security tools and options for customization, combine to deliver a rich, engaging, safer and more productive Web browsing experience for all.

Tabbed browsing. Firefox popularized tabbed browsing, enabling multiple Web sites to be viewed as separate tabs contained within a single browser window, and improving people’s efficiency by helping them better organize their desktops. In Firefox 2, tabbed browsing has been further improved with the addition of individual close buttons on each tab, enhanced tab navigation features, and a session restore system that automatically restores previously-open windows and tabs when a new browsing session is started.

Spell checking. Modern Web sites are increasingly complex with the rollout of new, rich Internet applications, such as word processors, spreadsheets and blogging tools. Inline spell checking in Firefox 2 automatically checks for spelling errors and suggests corrections as users interact with Web sites, bringing a common desktop feature to the Web.

Search. Search is one of the most frequently used features of the Web. With Firefox 2, Mozilla improves the browser’s integrated search capabilities, making it even easier for users to find the information they are looking for. The new Search Suggestions feature dynamically updates a drop-down list of suggested search terms as users enter text into the search bar for Google, Yahoo! or Answers.com search engines.

Web feeds. Firefox users can now take better advantage of the frequently updated content offered by Web sites, with increased options for handling Web feeds. Users now see a preview of the content being offered and are given the option to subscribe to a feed as a Live Bookmark, using a Web service such as Bloglines, My Yahoo!, or Google Reader, or with a desktop application.

Identity theft protection. In addition to its award-winning safeguards for blocking drive-by installation of spyware and unwanted pop-up windows, Firefox 2 helps protect users from identity theft by quickly informing them when they surf to a questionable Web site. To protect users’ privacy, Phishing Protection is active by default with a local blacklist that updates hourly, rather than sending information to an external online service. An enhanced mode is available where users may optionally elect to have Firefox check the validity of Web sites with a third-party Web service, such as Google, prior to loading the site. Phishing Protection provides warnings, advice and guidance when Firefox encounters a Web site that appears to be fraudulent or malicious.

Proven security model. Mozilla’s open and transparent community-driven security model helps ensure Firefox provides the safest possible online experience. Thousands of security experts and technical contributors from around the world examine and analyze the Firefox source code, uncover potential threats and vulnerabilities, and work together to quickly identify and address emerging threats. This open, distributed, innovative approach to security puts people’s interests first and delivers the safest Web experience possible.

Customization. No other browser can be customized like Firefox 2. With thousands of add-ons that enhance the browser’s functionality and features, Firefox lets users personalize their Web browsers to fit their interests and style.

tags: firefox, web, browser, new, security, open, source, free

Schools Ban Tag, Running - Insist Kids Wear Helmets and Mittens

Officials at an elementary school south of Boston have banned kids from playing tag, touch football and any other unsupervised chase game during recess for fear they'll get hurt and hold the school liable.

Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban.

Elementary schools in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Spokane, Washington, also recently banned tag during recess. A suburban Charleston, South Carolina, school outlawed all unsupervised contact sports.

"I think that it's unfortunate that kids' lives are micromanaged and there are social skills they'll never develop on their own," said Debbie Laferriere, who has two children at Willett, about 40 miles south of Boston. "Playing tag is just part of being a kid."

Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.

Sweet Jesus my fecking head hurts. Celeste - you might want to start saving up for your child's therapy now. He's in for years and years worth of ass-kickings.

tags: tag, kids, children, banned, sport, sports, recess, accident, accidents, game

Richard Dawkins on the Colbert Report

Dawkins discusses his new book "The God Delusion" on the Colbert report.  Colbert's sarcasm is brilliant in it's subtlety. When you realize Colbert agrees with Dawkins and is in character the finer points are humorously illuminated.

tags: richard, dawkins, stephen, colbert, god, delusion, religion, atheist, darwin, evolution

Early Childhood TV Viewing May Trigger Autism

A series of data sets analyzed in a paper by economists at Cornell University and Indiana University-Purdue University suggest a connection between early childhood television viewing and the onset of autism. And the authors urge further investigation and research by experts in the field.

In a paper to be presented at a conference of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Oct. 20, in Cambridge, Mass., the authors reviewed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey on TV viewership rates among children and compared it with data from the National Climactic Data Center, which looks at the amount of precipitation communities receive. This analysis showed that children from rainy counties watch more television. When autism rates were then compared between rainy and drier counties, the relationship between high precipitation and levels of autism was positive.

"We tested our hypothesis using existing, well-known data," said Michael Waldman, a professor of economics at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management and a co-author of the research paper. "The analysis shows that early childhood television viewing could be an environmental trigger for the onset of autism and strongly points to the need for more research by experts in the field of autism."

Thirty years ago, it was estimated that roughly one in 2,500 children had autism, while today some estimate that number to have increased more than tenfold, to as high as one in 166. At the same time, television viewing has increased dramatically due to easy access to cable and satellite television, more traditional broadcast offerings and the market penetration of VCRs and DVDs.

Because there are no large data sets that track whether children who watch a lot of TV when they are young are more likely to develop autism, the authors examined the connection between autism and two factors that generally increase the amount of TV that young children watch: precipitation and access to cable TV. They find that current school-aged children who live in California, Oregon, and Washington counties that received large amounts of rain and snow when the children were young are more likely to be diagnosed with autism. Furthermore, children who grew up in California and Pennsylvania counties during the 1970s and 80s with high cable subscription rates were also more likely to be diagnosed with autism. These analyses control for differences between counties in income, population, and demographic mix - other factors that may influence the autism rate - and also examine changes in county autism rates over time as well as differences at a point in time.

"Our analysis is not definitive, but it certainly raises questions that seem to have gone unasked in autism research to date," added Sean Nicholson, an associate professor of policy analysis and management in Cornell's College of Human Ecology. "The medical community is increasingly convinced that something is happening in the environment that triggers an underlying biological or genetic predisposition toward autism, and these findings strongly support the need for taking a closer look at early childhood television viewing."

tags: television, tv, autism, research

Text Messaging After a Disaster Free Phone Lines

From Gizmag: RU OK? In the crush to communicate with family and friends after the weekend's 6.7 earthquake on the Richter Scale in Hawaii, sending text messages proved to be a quick, efficient way to communicate, according to Verizon Wireless. In the aftermath of earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, voice call traffic rises exponentially.

In fact, call volume on the Verizon Wireless network in Hawaii increased 250% over a normal Sunday during the height of the emergency. Text message volume also soared and given the low stress nature of text messaging on the network, Verizon has offered some emergency wireless communications tips which are worth a read.

1 - Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers in your phone.
2 - Have additional charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for back-up power
3 - Forward your home phone calls to your wireless number if you have to evacuate
4 - Limit non-emergency calls to conserve battery power and free-up wireless networks for emergency agencies and operations
5 - Send brief text messages rather than making voice calls for the same reasons.

They’re all logical, so it might be worth passing them on.

"Verizon Wireless customers have many options to communicate vital safety information and our early numbers indicate many residents and visitors turned to text messaging following the quake and its aftershocks," said Hal Navarre, head of Verizon Wireless Hawaii network operations. "We encourage the general public to use text messaging during an earthquake or other disaster because it can be a faster and more efficient use of the network, and also saves battery power on your phone, which is especially important when commercial power is out."

tags: text, message, sms, disaster, hawaii, volcano, earthquake, cell, phone, flood, hurricane, tormado, communication, emergency, cert