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Archive for May, 2008

May 27

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Moron of the Day: Wendy Portillo

From CBS News, “A Port St. Lucie, Fla., mother is outraged and considering legal action after her son’s kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class. Melissa Barton says Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had her son’s classmates say what they didn’t like about 5-year-old Alex. She says the teacher then had the students vote, and voted Alex, who is being evaluated for Asperger’s syndrome — an autism spectrum disorder — out of the class by a 14-2 margin.”

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May 24

Panda Earthquake Detector

From reuters.com, “It’s been well-documented that animals are better than we are at picking up little changes in the surrounding world. Watch your dog lose his marbles 30 minutes before a thunderstorm arrives and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. It only makes sense then, that the pandas at Wolong National Nature Reserve near Chengdu, China, realized that an earthquake was coming long before the ground started shaking up to half an hour before, according to a British tourist who noticed a marked difference in behavior.”

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May 22

Six Earths

One Minute Shift – We’re Ready. This is the winning video from the Institute of Noetic Sciences 3rd YouTube contest. Produced by 13-year-old Shannon Leonard and his friends, this video expresses a heartfelt call from youth who are ready to make the change to living more sustainably. They pointedly ask if we’re ready to do the same.

Here are some other interesting 1 Minute Shift Videos:

May 22

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Jung & Alcoholics Anonymous

May 6

Sheldrake’s Other 4 Experiments

May 5

Canine Cognition and Behavior Grant

The University of Florida’s Canine Cognition and Behavior Lab has received a research grant to investigate the human-animal bond and its implications for human consciousness research. Dr. Clive Wynne is the lead researcher on the project, “I am thrilled to be involved with what I hope will be the definitive study into how dogs know when their owners are coming home. This is important work that will deepen our understanding of the dog – human bond.” The grant was awarded by Alex Tsakiris, of Skeptiko as part an ongoing effort to support research into controversial science.

An interview with Dr. Wynne on Skeptio

May 5

$250k Bond for Sheldrake Attacker

A man accused of stabbing a lecturer on thought transference last month at a downtown Santa Fe hotel will remain in jail unless he can come up with $250,000.

On Friday, state District Judge Michael Vigil set the cash-only bond for Kazuki Hirano of Yokohama, Japan, who has been held for a month at the Santa Fe County jail on a charge of attempted aggravated battery with a knife or, in the alternative, attempted murder. If convicted of the first charge, he faces up to three years in prison. If convicted of the second, he faces up to nine years. No further hearings have been set in the case.

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