Many of you have probably already heard of Jill Bolte Taylor. She is a neuro-scientist who had a stroke and studied her own experience to better understand the workings of the brain. She has recently released a new book about her experience entitled: Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey. She is an eloquent speaker and has a message for humanity about consciousness and choice. Please watch her 18 minute TED lecture here. It is one of the most fascinating and inspiring ta... Read Full Story

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is conducting research via an online survey. The survey is a bit lengthy at 40-60 minutes long, but you are not required to answer every question. Participation in this survey would make you an important part of new scientific research. Richard Dawkins writes, " I strongly support this research. It is being carried out to the highest standards, and I am very much looking forward to seeing the results when they are all analysed. I shall be... Read Full Story

Sam Harris, author of such works as: The End of Faith, and Letter to a Christian Nation, is preparing to run an fMRI study of belief and disbelief and he needs research volunteers to help him refine his experimental stimuli. All you have to do is take some surveys! Sam will post the survey results on his website when the research is completed. Go to http://www.samharris.org/ to participate.From www.richarddawkins.net:Research Volunteers Neededby Sam HarrisWe are preparing to run another fMRI ... Read Full Story

When people ask me what I do, I often have to pause for a moment to figure out what to say. Most people, I think, do not have difficulty with this question. They can say, I'm a lawyer, I'm a contractor, I'm a journalist, I'm a mechanic, etc. Their careers are easily defined. I once dreamt that I too would be able to have any easy answer to this question, but at nearly 28 years of age, I am beginning to come to terms with the fact that I do not fit cleanly into any one category... Read Full Story

I freely admit it--I have a fascination with India. Though I've never been (I am planning a trip, however) I am in love with the art, culture, music, history, and spirituality of India. I am especially fond of "Bollywood" film and soundtracks. I have an extensive A. R. Rahman collection which never leaves my I-Pod.I suspect that I am not alone in this obsession, so I thought I'd pass along a link to a new 13 episode TV show called "Ooh la la la." This is a Indian r... Read Full Story

I decided that this year I was going to shop around for new automobile insurance. I have had several years of clean driving and I'd like to get the best rate possible before I trade in my elderly vehicle for a newer version.I haven't switched car insurance companies for five years. The last time I did was a nightmare. I spent weeks calling insurance companies, giving the impatient operators all of my most secret information, and then being strong armed by their sales pitches. Each one... Read Full Story

I have been hearing a lot about "pay for blogging" websites lately. I belong to several freelance organizations, and many people within these organizations have been recommending pay per blogging as a revenue source. Curious, I decided to check out one of the sites that had been mentioned to me by other freelancers. Blogsvertise was recommended to me by several people and I liked several things about it. My favorite thing about the site was that it explicitly stated that you are ... Read Full Story

The news about the environment has been decidedly grim. Every where I turn I am confronted by deforestation, water pollution, trash, climate change, etc. Sometimes it seems like these problems are irreversible. But I know that with proper motivation, the habits that cause these environmental problems can be changed. But we can't wait for government or gigantic corporations to take the initial steps. Individual citizens must act first.Everyone has the power to improve the environment ... Read Full Story

I would like to find some new and interesting blogs to read without wading through a bunch of mediocre ones before finding a shining star. What are your favorite blogs? I have been haunting Neil Gaiman's and Wil Wheaton's blogs for years now, but I'd like to get into some new ones. I like to read about current events, international news, India, animals, and lots of other things. Send me your suggestions! I'd love to discover some new reads :) Read Full Story

Have you ever taken a leap of faith? Blindly jumped and didn't know where or how you were going to land? I took one of the biggest leaps of faith of my life this past month when I quit my job to pursue my bliss. I quit my job in order to maintain my personal ethics, and I was not sure what I would do after I turned in my letter of resignation.But I did not allow myself to dwell on the unknown or the fear of not knowing how I was going to pay my bills and meet my responsibilities. Inst... Read Full Story