Wednesday, April 27, 2011

I Have Got To See This!

Too bad it's in 3D, but I'll make do...


The Cave of Forgetten Dreams by Werner Herzog.   Documents on film some of the oldest human art in the Chauvet cave of southern France.

UPDATE: Saw it tonight with a friend at the Uptown theater, presented in "glorious 2D."  Very nice film.  I'm pretty sure my head is not at all wrapped around the idea of 32,000 year old art dating from the dawn of modern man.  Of course, the seats at the Uptown are almost that old, but it's a mighty cool place to watch a movie.

"‘Birther’ Strategy Backfires"

You heard it on FOX...


Even the Wall Street Journal agrees, so does Yahoo, KITV Honolulu, and Al Jazeera.

Why the Obama campaign and the Whitehouse waited so long to present a public document and quash this stupidity ("whackjobism")we may never know. 

Will the birthers evaporate?  Doubt it; there are still Swiftboaters and 9/11 truthers.  What the teabaggers think of next?  No telling...no, wait, I said "think."  Will "The Donald" still run for President?  Aack!  Thpt! 

It would be nice to move on though...

Monday, April 25, 2011

What I've Been Listening To Lately

My iPhone, these podcasts, and some ear buds make the 23 mile commute entertaining and informative morning and evening...

image from photos8.com

A Christian and an Atheist "Because we're all wrong sometimes" 

American Freethought "Question.  Think.  Decide." 

Apologia "a friendly forum for both theists and non-theists to come together in search of some common understanding" 

Are We Alone SETI 

Astronomy Cast Astronomy Today 

Books and Ideas Dr. Ginger Campbell, M.D. 

Brain Science also by Dr. Ginger Campbell, M.D. 

Chariots of Iron Atheiskeptihumanists™ 

For Good Reason James Randi Educational Foundation 

Freethought Radio Freedom From Religion Foundation 

Gresham College Audio public lectures since 1597...podcasts being a recent development 

London School of Economics The LSE has plenty of seriously smart people lecturing on economics, politics, and the social sciences 

NPR's On the Media exploring "how the media 'sausage' is made" 

On Being formerly known as Speaking of Faith, with Krista Tippett 

Point of Inquiry Center For Inquiry 

PopTech Audio "world-changing people, projects and ideas" 

QuackCast Dr. Mark Crislip, M.D. 

Rationally Speaking New York City Skeptics 

Reasonable Doubts "your skeptical guide to religion" 

Reasonable Faith Just remember "You are not qualified to debate William Lane Craig

Righteous Indignation from the U.K. 

RSA Events: Audio the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce 

Skepticality Skeptic magazine 

Skeptics with a K from the U.K. 

Skeptoid Brian Dunning 

TED Talks my only video feed (and no, I don't watch it during my commute)

The Skeptic Zone from Australia 

The Skeptics' Guide 5X5 Five minutes with five skeptics (from the NESS) 

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe New England Skeptic Society 

Token Skeptic from Australia 

Unbelievable from the U.K. 

Try one, you'll like it. 

PS The language used in some of these podcasts may not be suitable for all listeners.

PPS Drivetime podcast listeners in Minnesota should be careful not to look like they are attempting to "compose, read, or send an electronic message, when the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic," as that is a violation of 169.475 USE OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Private Security Attitudes About the Role of Weapons in Preventing Workplace Violence

As some of you know, I'm working on a Masters in Human Development - concentrating on Leadership, Team Building, and Problem Solving...


Some recent discussions at the Security Source Online discussion group at LinkedIn have got me thinking there may be some detectable demographic differences between security professionals who hold strong opinions regarding the role of armed security personnel and armed citizens in reducing homicides at work, in houses of worship, or at school.

If you are a private security professional please visit Survey Monkey to take the survey titled "Private Security Attitudes About the Role of Weapons in Preventing Workplace Violence."

I am using Survey Monkey instead of LinkedIn Polls as there are people I'll be inviting to participate who may not have a LinkedIn account (yeah, really).  I do not have a premium account at Survey Monkey so I can ask only 10 questions. This make every question critically important, so please provide your best answer before proceeding.

The results of the survey will be tabulated and reported at Security Source Online and here at Eclectic Breakfast.

Thank you!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Black Swan

The book, not the movie...



The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, comes highly recommended by several of my peers.  I'm getting tired of heavy reading so I'm going to cut The Feeling of Risk from my 2011 reading list and replace it with Black Swan.  I picked up a copy last night with some birthday money. I will keep you posted...