Is The Mind Material Or Immaterial?

I will argue that the mind is immaterial based on lots of arguments. I have discussed evidence before for dualism.

First by the introspection argument

The Argument from Introspection

"A more universal consideration is the argument from introspection. The fact is, when you center your attention on the contents of your consciousness, you do not clearly apprehend a neural network pulsing with electrochemical activity: you apprehend a flux of thoughts, sensations, desires, and emotions. It seems that mental states and properties, as revealed in introspection, could hardly be more different from physical states and properties if they tried. The verdict of introspection, therefore, seems strongly on the side of some form of dualism"

Another argument for dualism is the premise that we have privileged access to our mental states.


the premise that you have a special ways of knowing about your own mental states. This knowledge is not usually based on any evidence or observation. You can just tell that you're thinking about elephants. You don't have to infer it from any evidence. But other people do have to infer what you're thinking, from your behavior and from what you say. So you're in a better position to know what you're thinking than they are. You have a kind of special or privileged access to your mental states which other people lack.

You don't have any privileged access of that sort to your height or weight or shoe size. In principle, other people could be in a better position to know your height than you are.

Most philosophers will agree that we do have some kind of privileged access to our own mental states, even if it is difficult to spell that claim out in detail.

But some philosophers go further and argue that the only way we can explain or account for this privileged access is if facts about your mind are facts about what's happening in some private non-physical realm. Physical objects and their physical properties, on the other hand, are all publicly accessible. Other people can know more about your height, and your weight, and the physical state of your brain, than you know. So if your mental states were just physical states of some sort, like neurophysiological states of your brain, then that would make your mental states all publicly accessible.


Other arguments for dualism are discussed here by philosopher Edward Feser

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2008/10/some-brief-arguments-for-dualism-part.html

Things I Got This Christmas

5 Disc entertainment system
Cranium Game Board
Creative Mp3/WWA player 1gb holds 500 songs with lyric display
Nintendo Gamecube system
3 games TMNT, Lord of the rings, G cube-x3 game
Axe set
T shirt
Pants
Lots of body wash, deorderate, tooth brush, toothpaste, blistex creme
Pack of lotto tickets
Poster
Lifesavers
Sweater

Happy Holidays And A Happy New Year!

I like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and an Happy New Year!.

Why It's Very Difficult To Do An Near Death Experiment

Why? you may ask here's why


The fact is if I was out of body experience too, I would be a lot more concern about my lifeless body down below and seeing possible dead relatives then seeing a sign up above. Their is a major problem for these nde experiments, and also if someone who was out of body did claim to see a sign above then the skeptics would say maybe they were peaking at it before they went unconsciousness. Look at the shoe on the ledge case of a woman claiming to see a shoe outside the building. But still the sceptics, say well maybe she looked out the window. Even if she did it still wouldn't, explain how she was able to describe how the shoelace was tugged into the toe of the shoe.

So I wouldn't be surprise if this new study done on near death experiences and out of body experiences done by Sam Parnia and others. Which you can find here. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910090829.htm.

That it produces negative results. But of course it may not but the likely heard is most of near death experiencers probably are more concerned about their lifeless body and seeing dead relatives then about a trival thing like a sign. I could be wrong. We will see.

Wwe Armageddon Pay Per View Results

1. Dark Match: The Miz and John Morrison defeated Jesse and Festus.
2. Vladmir Kozlov defeated Ecw champion Matt Hardy in a non title match
3. Cm Punk defeated Rey Mysterio in an Intercontinental Championshop finals match.
4. Finlay defeated Mark Henry in an belfast brawl match.
5. Later in the night Hbk comes out explaining why he's with Jbl.
6. Batista defeated Randy Orton.
7. Santa's little helper match: Maria, Kelly Kelly, Mickie James and Michelle Mccool defeated Jillian Hall, Victoria, Maryse and Natayla Neidhart.
8. John Cena Wwe champion defeated Chris Jericho
9. Triple Threat Match Edge Jeff Hardy defeated Edge and Triple H to become new Wwe champion.

Ghostly Facts

Ghosts want to be noticed.

Ghosts have no sense of passing time.

Often, they do not know that they are dead.

Sometimes they exist in a state of confusion, perhaps like being stuck in a dream.

Ghosts can smell things and love the smell of lemons.

Ghosts have a sense of humor and love to hear humans laugh.

Sometimes ghosts get bored with their surroundings

Most ghosts are happy, but some still cling to an emotional pain.

They can appear to the living in dreams.

They can leave behind certain scents, such as perfume.

They can make sounds that are audible.

They use their energies and ours to move things.

They are pranksters.

They usually appear as intense balls of light called orbs that are neon blue or violet.

Ghosts favor night due to the decrease in daytime energy use.

Ghosts may appear as mists or vapors.



A hooded black smoky figure is a dark entity and you should be careful around them. They usually appear at the foot of beds.

Some alleged hauntings are actually a "residue," which is a past event that replays itself over and over.

Certain places are portals or vortexes where ghosts transport themselves.

Hauntings are most intense around children entering puberty, as kids this age are emitting immense amounts of energy.

Ghosts can read your thoughts.

Ghosts retain all the memories and emotions of their lives.

Sometimes ghosts are trapped and need to be released. Let them know they can move on.

Noisy, troublesome ghosts are known as poltergeists.

Ghosts tend to be very temperamental.

If a spirit was a jerk while living, they will probably still be a jerk while a ghost.

Ghosts hang out in cliques with other ghosts.

Ghosts make friends with other ghosts from different eras.

If you hear a strange whisper in your ear when sleeping, it is probably a ghost.

Ghosts do not sleep.

Ghosts like to climb up and down stairs at night.

Most ghosts can't or won't hurt you.

Animals can see or sense spirits, that's why you often see them just staring intensely at what appears to be nothing.

If you are being haunted, if you simply ask them to leave, they will. Say something like "I know you are here but you are scaring me please leave."

When a ghost enters a room, the room usually gets cold.

Animal ghosts exist and have been sighted.

Ghosts who lived hundreds of years ago keep up with the trends.

Children perceive ghosts as imaginary friends.

New Scientist Article Called Creationists Declare War On The Brain

The Whole article is one bad piece. Why? Well first anyone who disagrees with the mainsteam science view that mind is produce by the brain are classified as creationists. Also it also puts intelligent design in the same way of thinking as creationism. But creationism is different then intelligent design. How? Well creationism relies on a bible as it's evidence. Where intelligent design relies on two facts that no scientist's denies.

1] Biological animals are intelligent
2] Their is design in evolution

Now biologists say they admit both of those things. But it's like biologists who are devoted to naturalism appear not very happy that those two things are facts. Also it's true that a lot of christians have used intelligent design to get their case across. I personally don't like that christians have hijacked intelligent design.

Here's what Patricia Churchland says in the article

Patricia Churchland, a philosopher of neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego, "it is an argument from ignorance. The fact something isn't currently explained doesn't mean it will never be explained or that we need to completely change not only our neuroscience but our physics."

But that's not what dualists are saying. Postulating that mind is seperate from the brain, that the brain is a filter of consciousness is an alternative that should be taken seriously.

Here's another piece from the article.

Schwartz and others argue that since the mind can change the brain, the mind must be something other than the brain, something non-material. In fact, these experiments are entirely consistent with mainstream neurology - the material brain is changing the material brain.

Consistent?. True it's consistent if you preconceive that the brain is doing the changing itself without a soul.

The deathblow to materialism is the fact that we have an inner life. How do emergent systems give rise to an inner life?. Of course they don't. Also their's another way out for materialism by positioning epiphenomenalism. The big problem with this is we know we have conscious experiences but it says consciousness is an illusion.

Facts That Support Substance Dualism

1. We have an inner life
2. Evidence from post mortem survival
3. Psi evidence
4. Neuroscientific evidence is compatible with neuroscientific evidence for example the brain is a transmitter decoder of consciousness. The information is received and decoded by the brain.
5. Other phenomena such as stigmata challenge that mind is an emergent property of the brain.



Here's an interesting study on extracting images from the brain.

http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273(08)00958-6

Perceptual experience consists of an enormous number of possible states. Previous fMRI studies have predicted a perceptual state by classifying brain activity into prespecified categories. Constraint-free visual image reconstruction is more challenging, as it is impractical to specify brain activity for all possible images. In this study, we reconstructed visual images by combining local image bases of multiple scales, whose contrasts were independently decoded from fMRI activity by automatically selecting relevant voxels and exploiting their correlated patterns. Binary-contrast, 10 × 10-patch images (2^100 possible states) were accurately reconstructed without any image prior on a single trial or volume basis by measuring brain activity only for several hundred random images. Reconstruction was also used to identify the presented image among millions of candidates. The results suggest that our approach provides an effective means to read out complex perceptual states from brain activity while discovering information representation in multivoxel patterns.

It looks like they've been successful at developing a basic method for translating brain state/image correlates into perceptible images. It will lead to interesting new technologies, no doubt. Philosophically, however, it isn't surprising. Not exactly, but it's sort of like what a DVD player does on a TV screen when you pop in a DVD and hit play.

Do Materialist's Misuse The Use Of Critical Thinking

I think so that set it to a very new level. That any experience must CANNOT be paranormal in origin. Don't get me wrong their's nothing wrong with critical thinking but when it's push to the extreme to make someone closed minded. For example, let's take taps ghost hunters they say that 90 percent of reported apparitions they have investigated and turned about physical things. But when they say that 10 percent of it could be attributed to a paranormal origin. Well that's when someone like Phil Plait comes in and says no critical thinking is not used here. Basically all alleged paranormal happenings must be fraud, or physical in origin. Of course though I should point out taps wasn't completely sure that the 10 percent figure was correct. Because they say it's possible that the percentage might be higher. But nonetheless, as I said before I am much into ghost hunters I am more for researching to see what scientists have to say such as psychical researchers.

Their are many areas of evidence that support the survival hypothesis. Which has been I have mentioned numerous times.

Museum Recordings Provide Haunting Evidence?

I never been to keen on ghosthunters, I rather see parapsychologists or psychical researchers gathering cases with collobaration. It because psychical researchers care very careful not all the time but sometimes they are. But nonetheless the qualifications it's important to collect data on apparitions, poltergeists etc.]

Make up your mind on this particular article I will link here.

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?StoryID=83255

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I just like to say Merry Christmas to everyone. Also thanks for making comments to my blog. I will be posting more blog posts before christmas, then I will take a little break from blogging. But I will be back soon after.


By the way here's something interesting about a new article out entitled Against the Tide. A Critical Review by Scientists of How Physics and Astronomy Get Done.

Here's a brief summary

This book deals with the tension between the scientific establishment of a given time, and scientists with radical or heretical ideas, who work outside the mainstream, and have difficulties in having their ideas accepted or even seriously critiqued...much of the scientific activity at the present time confirms [sic] to a set of ideas and paradigms which are unquestionably accepted by the vast majority of practising scientists. Most work is done within this framework, and those who disagree with it find it difficult to survive academically, because they are denied grants, positions, research facilities like observing time on telescopes, invitations to speak at conferences, the opportunity to publish in the best research journals, and even to post their papers on open electronic archives heavily used by the community. These difficulties make it impossible to air radical ideas, or glaring inconsistencies in experimental or observational data, which challenge the very foundations of mainstream science. This suppression of dissent and challenging new ideas, without examining them carefully for correctness and applicability, prevents progress in human knowledge, and the vast resources expended on science go in vain, merely perpetuating unqualified beliefs and dogmas... The book should be read by everyone working in science, to become acquainted with the anguish that some people feel at the way they have been treated by the scientific establishment...

As you can see anything outside mainsteam science is difficult to challenge the paradign. Because of the set of ideas that are in the minds of mainsteam scientists.

European Weekly Long Range Outlook

Here is what the long range european weekly forecast is saying for North America.


Dec 8-14

--Drier than normal pattern over Alaska
--Normal temperatures and slightly below-normal precipitation across British Columbia and the Pacific northwest.
--Dry and warmer than normal over the Southwestern U.S. west of the Divide.
--Drier and slightly colder than normal from the western Prairies down through the high Plains of the U.S., including the front range.
--Much colder than normal with normal precipitation from the eastern Prairies down through the eastern U.S. Plains, Midwest, Ohio Valley and Ontario. Above normal snowfall in the usual lake-effect snow belts.
--Below-normal temps and slightly drier than normal over the Southeastern U.S.
--Below-normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation from the northern Middle Atlantic states through New England, southern Quebec and the western Maritimes.
--Normal cold and above-normal precipitation from the eastern Maritimes through Newfoundland.


Dec 15-21

--Dry pattern over western Alaska with normal temperatures.
--Well below-normal temperatures from eastern Alaska and the Yukon Territory through the Northwest Territories, down into the Prairies and into the northern U.S. Plains and Midwestern U.S. Generally drier than normal in northern and western part of this region, but frequent clipper storms could lead to normal snowfall from Saskatchewan to the Midwestern U.S.
--A piece of this well-below normal air could get west of the divide and spill into most of British Columbia.
--Normal temperatures and precip over the Southwestern U.S.
--Above-normal precipitation from the central Rockies through the Ohio Valley and lower Great Lakes and then into Northeastern U.S.
--Temperatures back to normal with normal precipitation in the Southeastern U.S.
--Below-normal temperatures from Ontario through Quebec and the Maritimes with normal precipitation. Plenty of Lake-effect snow again.
--Normal temperatures and precipitation for Newfoundland.


Dec 22-28

--Drier than normal over most of Alaska. Normal temperatures in the west to well below in the eastern part of the state.
--Bitterly cold (well below normal) from The Yukon Territory through western parts of the Northwestern Territories then down into the northern half of BC and the northern Prairies.
--Below-normal temps across the remainder of western Canada and into the northern half of the Pacific Northwest. Precipitation in this region below normal with the exception of the eastern slopes of the Rockies from Alberta to Montana where snowfall will be normal.
--Above-normal precipitation from the central Rockies through the central Plains and into the Midwestern U.S.
--Normal temperatures and precipitation across the Northeastern U.S., most of Ontario and Quebec.
--Slightly milder and drier compared to normal over the Southeastern U.S.
--Normal temperatures and above-normal precipitation over Newfoundland.

Objections To The Idea That Their Is a Soul

First is that materialist's say that people believe that only homosapiens have souls. Not everyone thinks that some believes we all have souls which is what I agree with.

Another is our thoughts, feelings appear to be fragile when the brain is affected. This argument though true to an extent. It does have a major flaw. That being it doesn't entail that thoughts, feelings etc.] can't go on without a brain. Why? Because as mentioned before their is more than one way to look at the mind brain relationship. If their's is an astral body which i believe their is those memories, thoughts, feelings are transmitted to that body when we die.

Of course I can only speculate but one thing is certain, at least to me that their is overwhelming scientific evidence for an afterlife of some kind.

Another piece of data that I haven't come across until now which also appears to support the view that the brain acts like a radio.

Doctor Gerald Schroeder has put forward a theory that the human brain acts as a “radio” - picking up the data of the mind, the mind which is external to the body, and adding individual experiences and feelings back into the collective.

This is supported by experiments conducted by the David Lynch Foundation - whereby where a large collective focus and meditate upon peace and love, the crime level is statistically and dramatically reduced for a short time in that locality.

My New Computer I Love It

I like my new computer I got from my sister.

Here's the details of it

352 Intel Celeron D Processor
512mb of memory
160gb hard drive
dvd-dual drive


It's a lot faster than my old computer was and the hard drive is a lot bigger . Right now I have window's xp I heard their are too many bugs on window's vista.

Update On My Father

My father last night and my mom and brother went out to grab some coffee at tim hortons. My mom told me that my father wanted a bottle of wine she said no they went to time hortons. My father open the car door and tried to jump out. Luckily my brothers grabbed him. Today, my other brother, sister and her husband, mother took my father to the hospital, they admitted him. I feel so depressed right now I wish things will turn around. Right now we got to try to get his mental condition back to normal. It looks he may not be able to go to Halifax on the first week of december for tests done on his heart.

this is because of his mental condition. My mom is rightly worried that he may try to jump out of the vehicle before they get to halifax. Well I am typing this my mother is still over the hospital with my father.

Materialists Say Ghosts, Esp And Other Paranormal Phenomena Are Impossible

This is a typical response from a materialist. I was once a strong atheist myself until i started to have paranormal experiences that defy conventional explanations. I tried fitting them into possibilities such as fraud, seeing patterns but none are there etc.] But those explanations couldn't fit the facts of what I was experiencing. Another ridiculous response from materialists is that mostly it's religious people would experience ghosts etc. Completely untrue, that is if you research this topic you would find out that isn't true.

One materialist which his screename is Hyndis did make one good point. He said that a lot of ghost pictures are blurry out of focus photography. I agree to a certain extent that pictures of supposed ghosts won't work. Because, anyone can doctored up a picture or we could be seeing patterns. I saw some pictures that do look like ghosts, however you could say they were doctored up or i was seeing patterns where nothing exists at all. However how about the evidence collected by psychical research on apparitions? Like the work done on apparitions by FWH Myers, among other phenomena.

http://www.survivalafterdeath.org.uk...pparitions.htm

I didn't get any response from him. He probably never even went to the article on apparitions. No surprise there.

Survival After Death Or Oblivion?

Keith Augustine in his article the case against immortality. He says the evidence for survival and psi is very weak compared to the evidence produced in neuroscience. Well true of course neuroscientific evidence is stronger however does it really support the view that consciousness is an emergent property of the brain. I would say no one of the data points Keith Augustine mentions a lot is the brain split experiments which don't really show two conscious streams of consciousness.



The brain split experiments don't show two conscious minds. http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Papers/PhilofMind3.htm

According to more than one author, the theory of two conscious minds seems incompatible with the over-all unity of mental functioning shown in split-brain patients outside the experimental (split-brain) setting. This unity would not be explainable through the dominance of one hemisphere and it would include complex motor skills such as playing the piano that involve the active participation of both the cerebral hemispheres. As Wolfgang Gasser formulates it nicely: "Cutting the lines of communication between the two sides of a brain (split brain patients) has incredibly few consequences. Primarily it is the soul which continues maintaining the coordination of the two sides." The unity of behavior after splitting the brain is even observed in non-human mammals, which in flagrant moral contradiction with the fact they are 'sacrificed' for research clearly suggests they are substantial selves just like humans.

Also in general, we already know that there are complex non-conscious or subconscious cognitive processes and that they may have a strong impact on behavior. Therefore, it is more parsimonious to explain split-brain phenomena by such known processses than to prefer an exotic new theory of the creation of two conscious minds by the severing of the corpus callosum, just for the sake of debunking radical substance dualism.

You can find more about this here

In Titus Rivas paper called a few remarks on the death of dualism.

http://www.geocities.com/athanasiafoundation/Dualismlives.htm

Now another bulk of evidence Keith uses is from this site here.

http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/ghost.html

I will leave it up to you does this evidence in this site show consciousness is an emergent property of the brain? or does it show that consciousness is filtered by the brain?.

About the Phineas Gage case. It appears the case is not a well supported case at all. Which can we found on wikipedia under the heading Distortion and misuse of case.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

Unknown Structures Tuggings At Universe Says A New Study

This is called ''dark flow'' which is a named nodded up with two other unexplained astrophysical phenomena[dark matter and dark energy].

The article continues on by saying

The presence of the extra-universal matter suggests that our universe is part of something bigger—a multiverse—and that whatever is out there is very different from the universe we know, according to study leader Alexander Kashlinsky, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

The theory could rewrite the laws of physics. Current models say the known, or visible, universe—which extends as far as light could have traveled since the big bang—is essentially the same as the rest of space-time (the three dimensions of space plus time).

You can check out the article here. Which was published in national geographic.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081105-dark-flow.html

Winter Is Coming I am Excited

All weather models are in full agreement that the northeast and eastern canada will experience a very cold blast of cold air. This will bring lake effects snows for Ontario among many other areas. Their is a possibility of a noreaster or 2 in the long range too for Atlantic Canada. The Euro shows that the cold air will stay in place with some relaxation after thanksgiving then the pattern repeats. It appears the weather models want to blow up and storm or two. One of them appears to happen by the middle of next week. These storms could impact Nova Scotia and possibly Southern New Brunwick, Prince Edward Island. It will all depend on where the snow/rain line is.

Here's the Noaa's prediction for the 6-10 day temperatures

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/610day/

8-14 day temperatures

http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/predictions/814day/

Now let's look at the arctic oscillation[AO] which is one of major players for bringing cold arctic air into north eastern America and Eastern Canada. When it is negative.

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/daily_ao_index/ao_index_mrf.shtml


As you see it remains negative throughout the period.


Also look at the negative arctic oscillation[NAO] which if negative also brings down cold arctic air.



http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/pna/nao_index_mrf.shtml

It also remains negative thoughout the period to somewhat neutral.

Finally the Pacific/North American Pattern. When positive it brings helps bring cold weather to Northeastern America and Eastern Canada

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/pna/pna_index_mrf.shtml

It also says mostly positive throughout the period.

Keith Augustine's Response To Neil Grossman's Article In The Journal Of Near Death Studies

Here's some citations from Neil Grossman's article. Unforunately as Michael Prescott says his article is not online.

http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/michael_prescotts_blog/2008/11/four-errors.html

Let me go though some of Keith Augustine's responses in the comment section he made in Michael Prescott blog.

Keith Augustine says, "being unconvinced of the reality of the supernatural, paranormal, or survival doesn't make one a dogmatic, close-minded, or "hard-core" skeptic; it simply makes one a skeptic."

Really a lot of scientists were skeptical of survival, paranormal and the supernatural until they could no longer ignore the massive amounts of evidence. Also, Keith is trying to protect an outdated worldview. We know now that reality is much bigger than we ever imagined.

Keith calls people a pundit because they disagree with him. No one likes to be called names.

I have always considered that materialism could be true. Of course you can say I don't consider materialism which is downright false.

Also I think we know the evidence Keith, it was summarized in the article the case against immortality. Their is ways to falisfy the transmission theory one would be to demonstrate that the brain is a generator. Now you can say that has already happened. But what most of us argue is that the brain is a complex receiver of consciousness.For example some of the evidence Keith uses is from the brain split experiments and Wilder Penfield's experimental findings. Benjamin Libet's finding that brain activity precedes a conscious decision, which is routinely presented by sceptics, in their dull way, as 'another nail in the coffin for dualism' (Blackmore, Dying to Live, p. 237), and which of course is open to contrary interpretations, as Libet himself pointed out. Wilder Penfield's experimental findings on the neurological basis of memory is also used by sceptics in an anti-dualist sense which Penfield himself did not endorse.

“Edwards puts the last nail in the coffin for a version of astral body theories when he observes that:”
“If the astral body is an exact duplicate of the regular body it must die along with the regular body ... If the secular body died as the result of a brain tumor or as the result of being shot through the heart, the astral brain and astral heart must have been similarly injured (22).”

Wait a second, what dualist says the astral body is made of ordinary matter?. None that I know of. This is a straw man. I see the astral body as a different type of matter but isn't affected by death. But this different type of matter can mimic the physical body.

I found an interesting comment down in the footnotes that read: "[1] We have no more reason to believe that human consciousness continues to exist after death than we have to believe that water buffalo or other animals continue to have experiences after they have died."

Umm no reason to believe?. How about our inner life?, experiences, empirical evidence that support psi and survival after death. Now if that isn't reason to believe that what is?. Also, the multiverse theory doesn't fit well with materialism. I mean the mystics have been saying for a long long time now that their are other realities/universes/dimensions.

Very Mad And Sad

Well I was just chatting to a girl, that I have feelings for and got my heart stopped on. You told me, that she has gotten engaged to a guy and is possibly pregnant. I got very upset and took her off my yahoo messenger friend's list. She used me the nice guy. She said by possibly feb of 2009, she would visit me and that was the plan. Now, she has gone back on that promise too.


It's bad enough that my family is going through hell right now. But to have someone I had feelings for tell me that's she engaged and possibly pregnant with another guy. It has my blood boiling.

Professor Ray Hyman Skeptical Inquiror Article

Professor Ray Hyman believes that if mainstream science accepted psi was real that it would change science forever. But isn't science about breakthroughs?. Of course it is.

Here's where Hyman makes that clear

The first request is that the scientific community accept the claim that psi is real. The second is that they do so by exempting parapsychologists from the requirement that they provide evidence according to acceptable scientific standards. Both requests amount to changing science as we know it. Obviously, the scientific community will not, and should not, acquiesce to these requests.

Hyman also claims in the article in the skeptical inquiror that some parapsychologists say such as Dick Bierman, Walter Lucadou, J.E. Kennedy, and Robert Jahn, that the evidence for psi is inconsistent, irreproducible, and fails to meet acceptable scientific standards.

Now this is contrary to Bierman's success in replicating the presentiment experiments of Dr Dean Radin (where human reactions seem to occur marginally before an event occurs.

Nevertheless, Hyman's essay is disingenuous at best, if you do a little investigation and pay attention to his choice of ideas. First of all, I've read the papers by Bierman and Kennedy as well as a letter by Kennedy in response to Bierman's paper. In no case do they deny the REALITY of psi, only the ability of the evidence to be replicated based on consistent decline effects. This is due in great part, Kennedy poses, that we're not dealing with chemicals or continents but with thinking, complex human beings with a dizzying range of motivations, beliefs and fears. The concept that emerges should be that we still do not know how to study psi with consistency...YET. But of course Hyman jumps right to his preferred conclusion, which is that psi is nonexistent because of this supposed shortcoming.

Second, we have the cherry picking of experts. What makes Bierman and Kennedy more reliable than Radin and Utts, a professional statistician? Why, they reach the conclusion that support's Hyman's pre-existing bias, of course--that psi is non-replicable and therefore must be bunk. This is to say nothing of the other work out there, such as the experiments by Rupert Sheldrake, that show consistent replication. Those are ignored.

Finally, note how cleverly Hyman jumps to an uncalled for conclusion in order to discredit parapsychology in general. He says that what is implied by the conference is that psi advocates are asking the scientific community to give them a free pass--to set aside experimental rigor for psi as a special case. I have NEVER seen nor heard a parapsychologist express such a thing, just that their work be judged according to the same criteria as other research.

One can only conclude that this is another Hyman hit piece using selective data and questionable conclusions to preach to the CSICOP (excuse me, CSI) choir.

Barack Obama The Us President

Hopefully he will bring peace and order. His plan to help fix the economy is get the american people to give up some things. All his plans sound good, is it too good to be true?. That certainly is the question i am pondering. I mean are these promises all the really are? nothing more. Time will certainly tell. I for one, ain't a Obama supporter as of yet. But, I could be soon that is if his plans really do come to fruition. One of the major problems right now, of course Iran has an nuclear programme. Are they building nuclear weapons?. The Iranian president says no we are not building weapons of mass destruction.

Who are we to believe?.

Does God Exist?

This is a good question, that has got me thinking for a long time. First of all, I think that god is not a person more like something that is very difficult to describe. Maybe god is a light in other realms of reality?. It sure does make a person think eh?. The evidence for survival of bodily death doesn't necessarily show that their is a god but it does make it more likely.

Some questions to ponder

1. Does god exist?
2. Is their more than one god?
3. Is any religious concepts of god correct?

I would say yes to the first question and no two the last two questions. That's just my opinion.

New Skeptiko Podcast

Here's another new skeptiko podcast

Dr. Jon Klimo on Channeling and Consciousness


Guest: Dr. Jon Klimo, discusses his 30 plus years of research into channeling and other unexplained aspects of human consciousness.

You can watch it here

Enjoy

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=67

Things Are Pretty Bad

My father is getting panic attacks bad ones. He panics about almost everything. he is on new medication that hopefully will help him. I still get the odd panic attack myself, i found that counselling was the best medicine. My brother Tommy is also going through some tough times, such as his two kids he made with a girl named Melissa. Well she's got custody of them but now my brother does get partial custody to see his kids, which is good. One of the kids has autism, my my mother and father told my brother that he should be in a special school.

Happy Halloween

I just want to wish everyone a happy halloween.

Dr.Steven Novella's Attack On Dualist's Supporters

Recently Neurologist Steven Novella on his blog Neurologica a two part post titled Reports of the demise of materialism are premature.

Here's some points that I like to address from his posts.

Steven Novella says

The New Scientist has recently discovered what readers of this blog have known for a while - that the denial of materialist neuroscience is the “new creationism.” In fact I have written extensively over the past year about the embrace by the Discovery Institute (an intelligent design group) of cartesian dualism, the notion that the mind is a different substance from the brain. The primary proponent of this argument for the DI (and a frequent foil of my blog entries) is Michael Egnor, a creationist neurosurgeon. But the New Scientist article correctly points out that this is actually part of a larger movement and a larger strategy.

So, anyone who disagrees with the materialist view is labelled a creationist?. Of course Intelligent Design is an alternative to evolution, like cartesian dualism is an alternative to theories that mind is either epiphenomenal or an emergent property of the brain. The question is should science be fully materialistic or dualistic?. For me after studying the evidence, I have come to the conclusion that we live in a dualistic universe.

The Dying Brain Hypothesis Lives On

Jason J. Braithwaite, a researcher in visual cognitive neuroscience has wrote a critique on Dr. Pim Van Lommel's study on nde's. His criticisms are that survivalist's nde researchers have completely misunderstood what the dying brain hypothesis really says. According to this theory, as formulated by Susan Blackmore and others, it's not the mere presence of anoxia that causes vivid seeming hallucinations, but the rate of its onset. If it comes on too rapidly, the patient will lose consciousness and black out, so no conscious experience or memory could occur.

He also mentions studies done on epileptics that show large scale seizure activity occurring in deep sub-cortical regions, that does not register at all on scalp-based EEG traces - an indication that an EEG is an unreliable measure of neural activity.

True, their maybe some deep brain activity that the instruments may not detect. The question really is not that their is no brain activity going on, but is it the specific form as regarded by contemporary neuroscience as the necessary condition of conscious experience. Activity of this form is eminently detectable by current EEG technology, and as we have already shown, it is abolished both by adequate general anesthesia and by cardiac arrest.

He also cites evidence that inter-ictal discharges in the hippocampus or amygdala alone are more than sufficient to produce complex meaningful hallucinations - no involvement from the cortex is necessary.

Yeah ok hallucinations which is the keyword here. Their are clear differences in nde's that happen in cardiac arrest or clinical death compared to electrical stimulation to the brain. This has been shown not just by nde researchers but also by other neuroscientists. Such as Dr. Edward Kelly and Dr.Emily Kelly in their book called the Irreducible Mind.

Keith Augustine has updated his essay called Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences. He expands greatly on mentioning his exchange with nde researchers called Does Paranormal Perception Occur in NDEs?
http://www.iands.org/pubs/jnds/jnds25.html

To me Keith Augustine completely underestimates probability theory. I mean their are thousands of near death experience with apparent accurate out of body perceptions. Now Keith mentions some cases which appear to show that some nde's are hallucinatory.

Things I Did Yesterday At Coop

1. Did a bunch of markdowns
2. Did the bakery
3. Sweep the floor
4. Put out some red bulk onions
5. Put out some brocoli
6. Bagged up some bananas
7. Put out some iceberg lettuce
8. Put out a bag of 2 lb bags of carrots
9. Counted bags of cranberries
10. Put out some white bulk onions
11. Put out a couple of cauliflower'
12. Put out 1 and a half boxes of bulk bananas
13. Cleaned out 3 big sinks with sos pad
14. Put out some bags of 5 1b carrots
15. Put out a bag of green beans
16. Put out a box of bulk yams
17. Put out a bag of 2 lb bags of parnsips

Questions And Answers On The Transmission Theory Of Mind And Brain

1) Do you have an explanation for the process of the detachment and reattachment of a non-physical mind to a body?

2) What is a non-physical mind composed of?

3) Where are all the non-attached minds right now?

4) What powers it when it is not attached to a body?

5) What is it transmitting to brain? If thoughts, how are the thoughts generated and how do the thoughts travel to the brain?

6) What keeps a mind individually cohesive (not dissipating into whatever medium it dwells within) when not in a body?

7) Why are minds proposed to be unaffected by entropy?

8) Have the number of minds increased, as the number of brains have over the centuries?

What i think powers the soul is a medium of some kind.

As far as the question with have the numbers of minds increased. I would say yes slightly but reincarnation halts the process.

They travel to the brain like how a tv works, only the brain is a complex tv.

The non-attached minds are in other realities.

That is the thing We don't know if the soul continues forever. It may not it really depends. What perserves you is the process of other lifes on this planet. Past lives.

The Paranormal

Being a materialist myself before I use to find this paranormal stuff was all bunk. It took a long while to realize this materialist view of reality is wrong. Near death death studies challenge greatly materialist theories of mind/brain relationship. They will continue too do for for years to come. If the evidence points towards a soul surviving death we must accept it. Bringing up the same old tired arguments like mind can't survive death because neuroscience proves mind dies when the brain dies. These arguments have been refuted over and over again.

Things I Did Today At Coop 3

1. Did two big boxes of cardboard
2. Put out some bulk pumpkins
3. I put out a 50 lb bag of bulk turnups
4. Did 4 and a half boxes of bulk bananas
5. Bagged them all up
6. I marked them all down
7. I put out 10 5 lb bags of carrots
8. I put out 15 bags of 3 lb bags of mcintosh apples
9. Put out some bulk bananas
10. Put out 10 5 lb bags of onions
11. Trimmed up a box of iceberg lettuce
12. Bagged them all
13. Put them all out
14. Put out a box of bulk tangerine oranges
15. Put out some bulk green beans
16. I trimmed up some cabbages
17. Put them all out
18. Bagged up some potatoes
19. Reduced them all down

Excellent Refutation Of The God Of The Gaps Argument Against Dualism

This blog is by philosopher Edward Feser

One of his posts rebuts the god of the gaps argument. Called some brief arguments for dualism part 1.

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/

Things I Did Today At Coop 2

1. Did 3 boxes of cardboard
2. Put out 8 boxes of 8 bags in each box of 31b bags of oranges,
3. Put out 2 bags of 48 bags of 21b onions
4. Put out the garbage
5. Cleaned off ledges
6. Put out 1 box of bulk bananas
7. Swept the floor
8. Did markdowns
9. Did some wrapping
10. Lifted a bunch of barrel's and wooden boxes and moved flowers
11. Bagged up some bananas
12. Put out some yellow beans
13. Put out 10 bags of 10 pound bags of beets
14. Put out 2 bags of 20 bags of 5 lb onions
15. Put out some avacadoes
16. Put out some ginger snaps


Things I did in the past

- Trimmed up some cabbages
- Put out some grapefruit
- Watered 30 plants
- Put out 2 boxes of bulk bananas
- Put out some green beans
- Put out 2 boxes of hothouse tomatoes
- Put out some 88 oranges
- Put out some bulk turnups
- Trimmed up a whole box of iceberg lettuce
- Put them all out
- Trimmed up a whole box of romaine lettuce
- Put them all out
- Put out a box of golden delicious apples
- Put out 3 big 50 lb bags of corn
- Put out a box of kiwi
- Put out a box of black plums
- Put out a box of red plums
- Put out some leaf lettuce
- Put out some black grapes
- Put out some red grapes
- Put out a box of granny smith apples
- Put out a bunch of 5lb bags of potatoes
- Put out some 20 lb bags of potatoes
- Put out a box of royal gala apples
- Put out some yellow plums
- Put out a box of field tomatoes
- Put out some red delicious apples
- Put out some yellow peppers
- Put out a box of green peppers
- Put out some orange peppers
- Put out a box of red peppers
- Put out a box of cantalopes
- Put out some 3 litre pear boxes
- Put out a box of cluster tomatoes
- Put out a box of peaches
- Put out a box of green onions
- Put out a bag of 24 bags of 2lb carrots
- Put out a bag of 10 bags of 5lb carrots
- Put out some rhubarb
- Put out 6 boxes of strawberries
- Put out 4 boxes of packed mushrooms
- Put out a box of bulk mushrooms
- Put out a box of garden bagged iceberg salads
- Marked downed a bunch of stuff suchs as peppers, iceberg lettuce, bagged, apples, oranges, turnups, plums and peaches
- Put out some organic bananas
- Put out a box of necturanes
-

Things I did Today At Coop 1

I am going to now write also about what I have done on my job at coop

1. Did two big boxes of cardboard
2. Trimmed green onions
3. Put them all out
4. Put out two boxes of 5 x 6 tomatoes
5. Put out a box of field tomatoes
6. Put out two boxes of bagged clementine oranges
7. Bagged up some bananas
8. Took the skin of corn a big bag of them
9 .Put out some red delicious bulk apples
10. Put out some bulk golden delicious apples
11. Put out a box of bulk black plums
12. Put out some bulk red plums
13. Put out some turnups
14. Put out a box of bananas
15. Watered a bunch of flowers


Well that is mostly it for today that I did.

Rebuttal To Penn And Teller's 1st Episode Of Bullshit

It's called talking to the dead.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=IRaEiP1Gx_E

First Penn talks about Magician Harry Houdini who showed apparently that all mediums were frauds at least that is what materialists who have people believe.

It appears the Houdini code has been broken

http://www.victorzammit.com/afterlifearticles/houdinicode.htm

Of course through the episode they go on with skeptics that are debunkers of mediums.

Survival After Death Website Is Back

I am happy that the site is back it has an enormous wealth of information on the evidence for surival and psi. The sure amount of professionals and articles and the discussion on evidence for survival and psi makes it the best site for extensive research.

http://www.survivalafterdeath.org.uk/

My Past Workout

Here's what I did

Bench press 145 pounds for 12 reps
145 pounds for 10 reps
195 pounds for 4 reps


Cable crossovers

90 pounds for 12 reps, 12 reps, 12 reps

Incline bench press for for some reps can't remember how many.

And then I went on the treadmill for 35 minutes and burned 402 calories.

Books I Am Currently Reading

Here they are

Goosebumps presents the girl who cried monster
Goosebumps welcome to dead house
Jingle all the way
Goosebumps diary of a mad mummy
Goosebumps invasion of the body squeezers
Goosebumps ghosts of fear street
Goosebumps cry of the cat
Goosebumps headless halloween
Goosebumps say cheese and die again
Goosebumps invasion of the body squeezers part 2

So far I have read the girl who cried monster and welcome to dead house.

Possible Hurricane Named Kyle

It looks like Kyle could become a category 1 hurricane. It's put in the air rather Nova Scotia and New Brucnwick, Pei get hurricane force winds. But according to environment canada it looks like we will get at least 100mm of rain and at least 100 km/h winds. Certainly enough wind to knock out power.

Ironically too this storm is coming five years after hurricane Juan hit the maritimes.

Here is the current warnings so far for the maritimes

http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/warnings/ns_e.html

Bills Bills Bills

Well right now my family and I are having a hard time with bills.

It's crazy

We have a bill at Izzard's grocery store in the total of $495.00
A bill for our cat for $75.00
A phone bill
A cable hookup bill of $87.00

Yeah times are hard right now. Oh well things will get better. I am sure.

News

Here's a bunch of random news events I found across the net.

Is the Earth one of a kind… or one of many?

http://www.space.com/searchforlife/080918-seti-earth-rare.html

Why spirits wear clothes? I hope there’s no shopping in the after life. I HATE changing booths.

http://metgat.gaia.com/blog/2008/9/why_spirits_wear_clothes

My Most influential Scientists

Here's scientists I admire for their dedication to our knowledge.

Dr. William James
Werner Heisenburg
Issac Newton
Dr. Magaret Mead
Plato
Max Planck
Descartes
James Cleak Maxwell
Professor Ian Stevenson
Dr. Marco Biagini
Dr. Glen Hamilton
Dr. Karl Pribram
Physicist David Bohm
Thomas Edison
Dr. Carl Jung
Wright Brothers

Interesting Case And New Skeptiko Podcast

You can read about it here



Dead woman wakes up after 17 hours with no brain activity!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1021818/The-mother-came-dead--minutes-life-support-machine-turned-OFF.html


Also another new skeptiko podcast by Alex Tskaris

Titled: Noreen Renier, Psychic Detectives and Skeptics

Guest: Noreen Renier, discusses her work as a psychic detective and adds new information to the skeptical investigation of Ben Radford in The Skeptical Inquirer.

“You’ve got to realize, the police are very skeptical. They’re not going to give me any clues or information. Of course, they don’t know where he is. But, no, they give me nothing, and I don’t need anything. I mean, I’m really am a psychic, and this is my job.”—Noreen Renier

Check it out here

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=64

Scientists Launch Largest Study of Near-Death Experiences

This is very interesting

http://inventorspot.com/articles/scientists_launch_largest_study_neardeath_experiences_17677

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080912/sc_livescience/neardeathexperienceswhatreallyhappens

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910090829.htm

Here's a brief summary

ScienceDaily (Sep. 10, 2008) — The University of Southampton is launching the world's largest-ever study of near-death experiences this week.

The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study is to be launched by the Human Consciousness Project of the University of Southampton - an international collaboration of scientists and physicians who have joined forces to study the human brain, consciousness and clinical death.

The study is led by Dr Sam Parnia, an expert in the field of consciousness during clinical death, together with Dr Peter Fenwick and Professors Stephen Holgate and Robert Peveler of the University of Southampton. Following a successful 18-month pilot phase at selected hospitals in the UK, the study is now being expanded to include other centres within the UK, mainland Europe and North America.

"Contrary to popular perception," Dr Parnia explains, "death is not a specific moment. It is a process that begins when the heart stops beating, the lungs stop working and the brain ceases functioning - a medical condition termed cardiac arrest, which from a biological viewpoint is synonymous with clinical death.

"During a cardiac arrest, all three criteria of death are present. There then follows a period of time, which may last from a few seconds to an hour or more, in which emergency medical efforts may succeed in restarting the heart and reversing the dying process. What people experience during this period of cardiac arrest provides a unique window of understanding into what we are all likely to experience during the dying process."

A number of recent scientific studies carried out by independent researchers have demonstrated that 10-20 per cent of people who go through cardiac arrest and clinical death report lucid, well structured thought processes, reasoning, memories and sometimes detailed recall of events during their encounter with death.

During the AWARE study, doctors will use sophisticated technology to study the brain and consciousness during cardiac arrest. At the same time, they will test the validity of out of body experiences and claims of being able to 'see' and 'hear' during cardiac arrest.

The AWARE study will be complemented by the BRAIN-1 (Brain Resuscitation Advancement International Network - 1) study, in which the research team will conduct a variety of physiological tests in cardiac arrest patients, as well as cerebral monitoring techniques that aim to identify methods to improve the medical and psychological care of patients who have undergone cardiac arrest.

Dr Parnia will formally announce the launch of the AWARE study at an international symposium to be held at the United Nations on September 11.

We shall see what they find.

Why I Think Near Death Experiences Provide Evidence For An Afterlife

Their are many compelling reasons. One is their is a lot of veridical cases where patients apparently accurately perceive earthly events from a vantage point outside their physical bodies. Just in case you missed my post on accurate out of body perception cases. Here's the look to the post.

http://paranormalandlifeafterdeath.blogspot.com/2007/08/
out-of-body-verdical-experience-list.html

Another is the fact that a lot of near death experiences were flatlined. This shows that their was very little brain activity going on.

New Debate With A Materialist

Well I ain't going to copy the wrong debate it's way to long. He mentions in the debate which is about the mind/body problem that dualists used to believe that all conscious actions such as vision, hearing, tasting things etc.]. That they were all attributed to a non physical soul. But now we know that all those things that caused by brain processes. Now it's true that the mind is dependent on the brain. He acknowledges that the mind also affects the brain. He thinks that fits well with physicalist theories of mind/brain. This however argues for downward causation. Hmm, he says he has read up on neuroscience. By the way this user's name is Deathmonkey and he is a physicist.

For example

A new book, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, by Sharon Begley) goes on to discuss, there is growing evidence that the mind can influence the physical characteristics of the brain — the brain can change in reaction to the mind, and the causation is not always “one way.” Experiments on humans (some of the Buddhist monks under the Dalai Lama’s direction) seem to demonstrate that the physical organ of the brain can be shaped and transformed by choices made by the mind.

He also says that neuroplasticity can be explained in a physicalist context. But all of this phenomenon argues for downward causation which physicalist's say is impossible.

Exploring Chicago's Haunted Past Among Other Things

Here's an interesting link where historical societies have joined forces with Chicago area Paranormal Spiritual Observer, Psychic, and Internet radio show co-host of The Unexplained World, Edward Shanahan, to create 'Haunted Historical Locations - tours and experiences'.

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=134399

So how was my day today? It was ok I went for a walk enjoying the sunshine. Back to work tommorrow at coop.

The results of WWe Unforgiven

Triple H wins WWE Championship Scramble
Big Show attacks the Undertaker
Divas Champion Michelle McCool def. Maryse
Matt Hardy wins ECW Championship Scramble
Shawn Michaels def. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho wins World Heavyweight Championship Scramble
World Tag Team Champions Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase def. Cryme Tyme

The Casual Closure Argument Of The Physical Universe

I think it's important to mention an common argument by materialist's the casual closure of the physical universe . Quantum physicist Henry Stapp rebuts this by saying that both Dennett’s book Freedom Evolves and Searle’s book Mind are based on the premises of classical—not quantum—physics.

Stapp pointed out that both of these thinkers assume the causal closure of the physical, by which is meant that the physical world at all times is completely determined for all times by the physical laws. At any given moment, the physical world (e.g., the locations and velocities of all particles) is thus closed off from "external" causal influence. The result of this classical view is that any so-called mental or volitional input is viewed as essentially redundant, or unnecessary. Stapp emphasized that the physics of the 20th century, quantum mechanics, has departed in dramatic and significant ways from the ideas of classical physics. Stapp mentioned briefly some of the faulty reasoning that is apparent in Searle’s book. For example, he noted that by the end of Searle’s argument, he does not even reconcile the basic points and premises that he started the book with—and this is coming from one of America’s leading philosophers! Stapp said that the main point Searle ends with is that the familiar Cartesian concepts most philosophers employ must be revised because they are causing so much conceptual confusion. Overall, Stapp highlighted the strange fact that two of the most prominent philosophers today, Dennett and Searle, are still acting as if they were largely ignorant of the fundamental facts of quantum theory. Stapp’s view, by contrast, maintains that orthodox quantum theory leads naturally to the view that consciousness is efficacious in the physical world. Mind does indeed influence matter. Thus, the physical world cannot be causally closed-off from mind.

My Father Has Some Damage To His Heart

It is treatable thank god. But still it's not good.

Powerful Post Tropical Storm Hanna

Yes it most definitely looks like it will hit us. I hear the weather channels saying like 50-70 mm of rain or much more. It does look like according to meterologists their won't be much wind with this storm. I hope so if the power goes out that would really suck. We will see.

Here's the heavy rainfall warning that has been issued by Environment Canada

Pictou County
3:50 PM ADT Saturday 6 September 2008
Rainfall warning for
Pictou County continued

This is a warning that significant rainfall is expected or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions..Listen for updated statements.



A band of heavy showers as developed in advance of tropical storm Hanna. Rainfall amounts of 20 to 40 mm are forecast with this rainband across southwestern Nova Scotia however local amounts could be as high as 60 mm.

The remnants of tropical storm Hanna remain on track to cross the valley and central Nova Scotia Sunday afternoon and western Cape Breton Sunday night. Rain at times heavy will develop on Sunday as Hanna nears and will taper off by Sunday evening in hannas wake. Total rainfall amounts of 60 to 80 millimetres are forecast however locally higher amounts are possible. Winds will be gusty from the south to southeast ahead of Hanna on Sunday but wind warnings are not required at this time.

Signs that your house maybe haunted and more

Here are signs that may make you decide if your house is haunted or not.

http://www.examiner.com/x-716-Paranormal-Examiner~
y2008m9d2-House-Hunting-Signs-That-A-House-May-Be-Haunted

Now I want to talk more about cold fusion. Here's a summary of the evidence for cold fusion

Summary of evidence for cold fusion

Cold fusion experiments have been conducted with many types of apparatus. The main constituents are:

* a metal, such as Palladium or Nickel, in bulk, thin films or powder;
* an excitation in the form of electricity or magnetism, of temperature or pressure cycle, of laser beam, or of acoustic waves.[58]
* heavy or light water, hydrogen or deuterium gas or plasma;

Cold fusion has remained controversial, but several experimenters have reported excess heat, helium-4, low-level neutron production, X-ray emission, and/or transmutation of elements.

The Power Went Out Last Night

Yeah it sucked nova scotia power saying it was either a lightening strike or something else.


I was asleep and the power came on it scared me lol then it went back out then finally came on permanately.

Now it looks like will be getting a tropical storm named Hanna. Oh boy not good news.

Also a Hurricane Ike could follow on the same path towards us.

New Skeptiko Podcast

Alex Tskaris got another new skeptiko podcast episode titled Skeptic Lynne Kelly on Cold Reading Techniques


Guest: Lynne Kelly, author of The Skeptic’s Guide to the Paranormal , discusses using “cold Reading” techniques in psychic medium readings.

Watch the episode here

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=63

It looks like we will be getting heavy rain and wind from Hanna. It won't be it looks like a hurricane by that time. But a tropical depression nonetheless after all the rain in nova scotia as of late any amount of rain is not good. What we need is a dry spell.

An EVP To Chill Your Soul

Check it out here

http://www.examiner.com/x-716-Paranormal-Examiner~
y2008m8d30-An-EVP-To-Chill-Your-Soul

Update concerning the scole experiments

About the scole experiments apparently 5 years after the cessation, the Scole mediums began receiving new communications

http://www.thescoleexperiment.com/book_00.htm

Why I am not so fast to jump to the conclusion that someone else is crazy

If I had no powerful experiences with the paranormal. I probably would be yes very skeptical of other people's experiences. But after having lots of paranormal experiences I no longer jump to the immediate conclusion that the person is deluded. But now what reason do i have to justify this? Well, I have also been researching the evidence for life after death.




Mainstream science has an extraordinarily poor understanding of subjective experiences. Perhaps that is because it refuses to question its foundational assumptions that consciousness is fully explainable through chemical and physical properties of brain tissues, that precognition is impossible in principle, and that anyone who has an experience to the contrary is deluded or mentally unbalanced. The resistance of mainstream science to look at the evidence for survival in a fair matter is still not happening.

Lessons of Katrina well-learned

Apparently lessons have been learnt and history looks like it won't repeat itself.

http://www.wdam.com/Global/category.asp?C=8388&nav=menu123_2

other news

Flies react within 200 milliseconds to swat threat

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/aug/29/flies.reactions

Maple Leaf Foods Recall List

There is more products being recalled. Also more deaths.

Here's the updated recall list here

http://www.mapleleaf.ca/pdf/BartorRdProductRecallList.pdf

Another death blamed on listeriosis outbreak

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/Another+death+blamed+on+listeriosis+outbreak/Canada/ContentPosting?

isfa=1&newsitemid=CTVNews%2F20080829%2Fmeat_products_080829&feedname=
CTV-NATIONAL_V3&show=False&number=0&showbyline=False&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False

This Summer Sucks A Lot

We had a lot and i mean a lot of rain this August. Haven't been able to mow the backyard yet it's soaked in rain. Well, saturday I celebrated by birthday my brother got me a card, and some lotto tickets. What we really need is a dry spell but according to the weather forecasts that won't happen.

The days are obviosuly getting shorter so their is a less of a chance of a heatwave. Damm this summer sucks. The price of gas too doesn't help either. But their is a bright side I guess for me and that is this winter could be very snowy and cold. I love that. Oh well I guess you got to take the bad with the good.

The War Continues Between Psi and Mainstream Science

So with all the replicated evidence for psi. Your probably wondering why maintstream science doesn't take psi seriously. Well, their are a number of reasons, one of them is the fear that we will plunge back into superstition. Chris Carter's book called Parapsychology and the skeptics goes through the skeptic arguments against psi and refutes them. I remember listening to the skeptic's guide to the universe, Steven Novella had Alex Tsakaris from skeptiko on. DJ Grothe asked Ales Tsakaris how he could consider psi phenomena because after 100 years their is no evidence for psi. This I find a very flawed argument.


Here's an interesting video entitled ''Science and the taboo of psi'' by Dr. Dean Radin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw_O9Qiwqew

More Random News

RIP: Fundamental Physics research at Bell Labs.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/08/bell-labs-kills.html

Leading astrobiologist and proponent of panspermia claims NASA has embargoed news of life on Mars for political reasons.

http://estimateofthesituation.blogspot.com/2008/08/has-nasa-embargoed-life-on-mars.html


Strange clouds at the edge of space

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/25aug_nlc.htm

Why Dawkins is right and his critics are wrong

A supporter of Richard Dawkins titled why Dawkins is right and his critics are wrong. Obviously a one sided article. I for can clearly see that Richard Dawkins is pushing a position. http://www.secularism.org.uk/whydawkinsisrightandhiscriticsar.html.

Obviously Richard Dawkins believes strongly that the paranormal is bunk.

Very Humid and Hot Day Outside

It's hot and humid outside pretty unbearable. It was raining hard outside earlier and very humid . Now the sun is out and it's hot and it's very humid along with it. According to many websites this could be a classic winter for many places.

Here are some sources I have tracked down on early predictions for this upcoming winter.

Old farmer's almanic

Long ranger forecast

http://www.almanac.com/weatherforecast/ca/1

Could this winter's weather add to economic woes?

http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/a/

could-this-winters-weather-add-to-economic-woes

Will see what Noaa says and others soon.

Some Good Wrestling Music Videos

1. Tell me a lie- tribute to Shawn Michaels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elBGHdvlYgk

2. Hulkster in heaven- Hulk Hogan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwE6F7md1LQ

3. King of kings- Triple H

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q40ThsbuSp4

4. You can see me- John Cena

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbiT_ALfouc

5. The Macho Man's theme song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74T8scTDPDM

More Mental Mediumship Evidence

Here's some references that you can look up yourself to see the data.

Positive results supportive of mediumship claims

- Dr J. G Pratt (1936) 'Towards a method of evaluating mediumistic material' Bulletin of the Boston Society of Psychical Research, 23

- J. G. Pratt & W. R. Birge (1948) 'Appraisal of verbal test material in parapsychology Journal of parapsychology. 12, 236-256

- Professor Getrude Schmeidler (1958) Analysis and evaluation of proxy session with Mrs Caroline Chapman . Journal of Parapsychology 22 137- 155

- Professor Archie Roy & Patricia Robertson (2001) A preliminary study by the acceptence of non-recipients to medium's statement to recipient Journal of the Society of Psychical Research 65.2, 863, 91-106

- Professor Archie Roy & Patricia Robertson (2004) Results of the application of Roberston-Roy protocol to a series of experiments with mediums and participants ' Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 68.1, 874, 18-34

Professor Archie Roy and Patricia Robertson found positive evidence to support the claim that mediums can communicate with the deceased. Also Professor Gary Schwartz and Dr.Julie Beischel who I made mentioned before also found positive evidence.

Have been sick lately

Not feeling well hopely I get better soon.


My birthday is coming up on August 27th. I will turn 24 years old.

Random News

World's tallest woman Sandy Allen passed away at the age of 53 years old.
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=133072

Michael Prescott discusses in this new blog post titles ''Igorance is bliss''

http://michaelprescott.typepad.com/

A new skeptiko podcast titled Dr. Julie Beischel Responds to Critics of Psychic Medium Research

Guest: Dr. Julie Beischel of the Windbridge Institute explains her research into the psychic medium phenomena and addresses skeptical claims about the validity of her findings.

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=62

Owen's Hart's ghost video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkAicya8gSY

So what do you I think well it's sure is strange. Don't know what to think really.

More Debating WIth Skeptics On Infidels Forum

Check it out here

http://iidb.infidels.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=241920&page=31

This skeptic resorts to name calling, and says he has critical thinking? This is clear pseudoskepticism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoskepticism

My Predictions For This Year's Summerslam Event

1. Montel Vontacious Porter v.s Jeff Hardy

I think Jeff Hardy will win.



2. Winner takes all tag team match

I think Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix will win.



3. Ecw champion Mark Henry v.s Matt Hardy

I say Mark Henry will win.



4. Edge v.s The Undertaker in a hell in a cell match

The undertaker will win I think.



5. John Cena v.s Batista

John Cena I think will win.



6. Shawn Michael's announcement



I think Shawn Michaels will announce his retirement.



7. World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk v.s JBL

Jbl will win I think.



8. Wwe champion Triple H v.s The Great Khali

Triple H I think will win.

Did The Universe Come Out Of Pure Randomness?

I don't think so, one very strong reason is that the chances of that happening are very very very slim. Especially our universe if the constants changed one iota we would not be here. Of course the materialists will say that out universe is not really that amazing knowing that for example an asteroid can hit the earth at any moment. But however the chances are also not good for one to hit. It appears that our universe has been indeed been fine tuned.

Let's use this analogy I buy a lotto ticket and win the chances are totally not good. You have a better chance of getting into a car accident or struck by lightening. The chances of the universe coming from pure randomness is like winning the lottery every single day of your life. Maybe even more. So now to get away from the idea of god ,scientists postulate the many world's interpretation. which would still need to explain away, the immense fine tuning for example of the cosmological constant.

A New Skeptiko Podcast

It's titled Skeptical Inquirer Editor, Ben Radford

Guest: Ben Radford, managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer magazine discusses what separates skeptics and “believers”, psychic medium research, and psychic detectives.

You can listen here enjoy.

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=61

Materialist's Claim Their Is No Evidence For Life After Death

This is an claim, that has been going on for a long time now. I really don't know, how they can claim that. Because if they really look into, parapsychology and psychical research they would find evidence.

A skeptic named Derek Colandun he hosts a podcast called Skepticality

I recently had an exchange with him

Ah,

Well I would if someone gave me some proof... I'm not against the idea, in fact... I'd LOVE it if it were true. But, I just can't live my life against logic.

Although, I have no problem with people who DO believe in the idea of them having a soul, even a form of 'god'. I just hate when people use it as a basis to force others to act certain ways, or to justify ANY action they perform. That is how we end with crazy violence and wars.

In fact, when I went to college I was only one semester from a degree in theology. I didn't MEAN to do that, just all my extra electives and such ended up that way. My counselor really tried to have me stay for ONE more semester to get the second major. I REALLY was just done with school at that point, so I skipped it. I've always been VERY interested in how people can believe illogical things which make them feel as if they can cause harm or redicule on others with zero proof. Just more of a sick, twisted, interest I have always had since I was about 11. I blame it on my father, who might be more atheist than Richard Dawkins. I thnk he got that way cause his mother forced him to go to some uber-Catholic school his entire childhood.

But, it is funny that on a message board about people being 'Infidels' you felt the need to bring up that you aren't one!

Derek C.


Well, I was a skeptic before too this has not taken away any logical thinking. What has made me believe is the awesome research done in parapsychology and psychical research that got me thinking on my toes. I see much purpose in life. I had many experiences with the paranormal that i couldn't explain as anything physical no matter how hard i wanted to explain them that way.

The Skeptics

The skeptics claim that if their really was evidence for life after death their would be billions of dollars being spent. Lol, yeah this skeptic obviously doesn't know much about this. If he did he would know that evidence such as the cross correspondences would dismiss a miss opportunity for mainstream scientists.

What a mean thing to do

All Mick Foley did was try to help Edge what does he do?. He starts beating him up.

The Undertaker Returns At Summerslam

I am so happy that the Undertaker will make his return at Summerslam to wrestle Edge. Edge has been a pain in many fans sides and deserves to beat up bad. By the way, the match will be in a hell in a cell this is awesome pure brutality.

The question I am thinking on is will Vickie Guerrero go back to Edge? Could this be a setup? Or could Kane come back as the old kane with the mask which I think is really in his bag?. We will see.

One of my favorite quotes

"I regard the existence of disincarnate spirits as scientifically proved, and I no longer refer to the skeptic as hving any right to speak on the subject"

Prof. James Hyslop, Columbia University

21 Days Into The Afterlife By D Dr. Piero Calvi-Parisett

Interesting new website about a book entitled 21 days into the afterlife you can download the book for free too at his website.

http://www.openmindsite.com/

Your Mind Is Not Your Brain

Skeptiko has another new podcast this time interviewing Dr. Craig Hogan. It is called Your Mind is not your brain.

Check it out here

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=60

Why The Production Theory Of The Mind Being A Product Of The Brain Is Fundamentally Flawed

So why is it flawed you ask?. First, Yes it's simpler than the transmission theory but just because it's simple does not mean we should favor it. We know for example that reality is not simple and the universe certainly is mysterious. So I got a challenge to the materialist's if they can rebut the evidence that points strongly in the direction that consciousness survives death. Not cherry pick either but rebut it where it makes sense and cannot be countered by evidence.

I am certain a lot of materialist's assert that dualists are creationists and believe that the universe is only 2,000 years old. Sorry, to give the materialists bad news but that is not the case.

More about the transmission theory can be found here

http://www.esalenctr.org/display/confpage.
cfm?confid=9&pageid=86&pgtype=1

Fine-Tuned Universe

Check it out here

http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewvideo.php?
id=p6FQdyHUXwc&tid=130952

The Winds Of Change

Which a paradigm shift come in mainstream science? One that accepts the overwhelming evidence for survival of bodily death, psi phenomena who knows. I hope so, but I don't know I lose my optimism sometimes.

So what is a paradigm shift anyways

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm_shift

Demolition is back in wrestling

This is so awesome the best tag team ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8Ei2PgTrQo

Are The Materialist's Right I would Say No

I a lot of times wonder if the materialist's are right and that their is no meaning in life, no afterlife, no free will, no god. But when I look at the evidence and my own personal experiences I see that the evidence does in fact point towards the above mentioned things.



Then when all natural explanations are ruled out

Currently, there are three prevailing theories regarding non-physical consciousness:

1. Survival of Consciousness — there is life after death and some recognizable part of our consciousness goes on to live beyond the body and talk to mediums.

2. Super-Psi — the medium retrieves the information using clairvoyance, precognition, and/or telepathy (collectively called “psi”) with the living.

3. Psychic Reservoir — all information since the beginning of time is stored somehow and somewhere in the universe and mediums are accessing that cosmic store rather than communicating with the deceased.

Their still is psychic reservoir theory and super psi theory. That could explain away all the evidence for survival however it appears now the evidence has tilted in favor of survival.

Now here comes the big questions

1. How long do we survive for? I would say that time does not exist so the afterlife goes on for forever.

2. Is the afterlife a dream like reality or a real reality? I ain't sure on that one could be a real reality.

3. Are spirits made up of a different type of energy and matter? I would say they are

How we can learn from children with half a brain

Interesting news today in NewScientist entitled How we can learn from children with half a brain. This does not sit too well with the assumption that the mind is a product of the brain. Perhaps the brain is a filter/receiver of the mind.

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/brain/mg19926645.700-how-we-can-learn-from-children-with-half-a-brain.html

NICO is a charming and sociable teenager from Argentina who loves fencing, singing in his school choir, and drawing cartoons. He rushes, smiling, to kiss my cheek whenever we meet, chatting animatedly about the drawings he has brought me. A few years older, Brooke is a friendly and witty young man who radiates positivity. He settles comfortably into a chair in my office, leisurely sipping a Coke and ready to try my latest battery of tests. He recently graduated from high school, and enjoys his job bagging groceries at a local supermarket.

They both look like ordinary teenagers, but peer inside their heads and you will find they are anything but. At the age of 3, Nico had his right cerebral hemisphere removed to control severe, intractable seizures. Brooke had his left hemisphere removed at 11 because he was suffering from Rasmussen's encephalitis, an autoimmune condition in which the body.

Another Skeptic Saying That The Concept Of An Afterlife IS a Impossibility

This is from a user named Exbeliever from infidels.org forum

The notion of an enduring self is nothing more than wishful thinking.

Human beings just cannot come to grips with the fact that like all other living organisms.... they too are expendible and will be extinguished and replaced with more living organisms who will also be extinguished in the cycle of life and death.
Really? the evidence points strongly towards an enduring self for all living organisms.


He goes on and says this


If one were offered a billion dollars one could not prove verifiably that the consciousness of a person survives their bodily death.

Such a thing will never be proved because it's an impossibility.

My response

You see that, is the problem we survivalist's are faced with. That many skeptics, are certain the concept of an afterlife is an impossibility. No matter how strong the evidence to support it is.

Skeptics Says Why Do People Believe In Nonsense Like A Soul

Skeptics such as Neurologist Steven Novella and Dr. Susan Blackmore among others see the general public as gullible believers. Of course maybe they are correct, but then again maybe they aren't. I feel strongly that they are wrong based on the extensive reading I have done on evidence for survival of bodily, psi phenomena and other phenomena.

Dr. Steven Novella reminds me more about someone who likes to advocate their position than lead the scientific method. For example, he says all predictions of materialism mind equals brain function have been validated really?. What Psychophysiological influence such as Stigmata, Sudden whitening of hair or skin, Meditation and Healing, Sudden and voodoo death, Psychoneuroimmunology, Postponement of death, Faith Healing, Specific Physiological Changes Appearing Spontaneously, Maternal Impressions, Community of sensation, Suggestion at a distance, Distant Intentionality Studies: Clinical and Experimental, Sympathetic Symptoms, Yogis, etc.

Why Idealism Does Not Make Much Sense Like Materialism

To me idealism does not make much sense like materialism.

Materialist's assume that only physical reality exists sees matter as absolute and consciousness as an illusion.

While Idealism sees consciousness as primary but seems not too take matter seriously.

Where DUALISM takes both of these realities sujective and objective both seriously.

Neutral Monism seems to not too take consciousness or matter seriously.

Here's my top 10 wrestlers of all time

Here's my top 10 wrestlers of all time

1. Hulk Hogan
2. Stone Cold
3. Batista
4. Triple H
5. Kane
6. The Undertaker
7. The Ultimate Warrior
8. The Macho Man
9. Andre The Giant
10. Bret Hart

Trevor Murdoch Released

Well, wwe wrestler Trever Murdoch has been released from the wwe.

"We have come to terms on the release of Trevor Murdoch as of today, July 03, 2008. We wish Trevor the best in all future endeavors."

Source: wwe.com

Another Interesting Piece of evidence in support of near death experiences

Another piece of evidence in support that they are not brain based. Some individuals have described in amazing detail, facts about their physical surroundings that they should not have been able to know. Some have described details of medical procedures performed on them. Some have related memories of conversations that others had during their medical emergencies or even described the jewelry and clothing worn from those around them.

Some accounts have given verified details about what happened outside the immediate room, down the hallway, or even miles away. The amount of verification is sometimes staggering. People blind from birth have correctly visual details of things around them and outside their presence. Many of these near-death details were of events occurring when the individual had no heartbeat or brain wave activity, as indicated by ''flat EKG and EEG readings, sometimes over lengthy periods of time.

Atheist philosopher Antony Flew attests that NDE's certainly constitute impressive evidence of the possibility of the occurence of human consciousness independent of any occurences in the human brain. This evidence equally certainly weakens if does not completely refute my argument against doctrines of a future life''.

Mind Body Problem

To me the mind is information, the brain is a receiver, consciousness is the soul [signal] and the spirit realms is the transmission. Materialist's assume that memory is somehow stored in the brain, one reason for this is diseases such as alzheimers appear to wipe out memory. However, it appears their are documented cases of patients claiming to have their memory coming back.

For example in Irreducible Mind Book

There are scattered reports of people apparently recovering from dementia shortly before death. The eminent physician Benjamin Rush, author of the first American treatise on mental illness, observed that "most of mad people discover a greater or less degree of reason in the last days or hours of their lives". Similarly, in his classic study of hallucinations, Brierre de Boismont noted that "at the approach of death we observe that ... the intellect, which may have been obscured or extinguished during many years, is again restored in all its integrity". Flournoy mentioned that French psychiatrists had recently published cases of mentally ill persons who showed sudden improvement in their condition shortly before death....

[Other examples of more recent vintage follow. Then:]

Such cases are few in number and not adequately documented, but the persistence of such reports suggest that they may represent a real phenomenon that could potentially be substantiated by further in traditions. If so, they would seriously undermine the assumption that in such diseases as Alzheimer's the mind itself is destroyed in lockstep with the brain. Like many of the experiences discussed in this chapter, such cases would suggest that in some conditions, consciousness may be enhanced, not destroyed, when constraints normally supplied by the brain are sufficiently loosened.[Pages 410-411]

Of course the mind body problem is still with us, however the mind body problem could soon be solved. I don't think it will be solved by physicalism.

Near Death Experiences/Out Of Body Experiences Evidence

Another piece of evidence in support that they are not brain based. Some individuals have described in amazing detail, facts about their physical surroundings that they should not have been able to know. Some have described details of medical procedures performed on them. Some have related memories of conversations that others had during their medical emergencies or even described the jewelry and clothing worn from those around them.

Some accounts have given verified details about what happened outside the immediate room, down the hallway, or even miles away. The amount of verification is sometimes staggering. People blind from birth have correctly visual details of things around them and outside their presence. Many of these near-death details were of events occurring when the individual had no heartbeat or brain wave activity, as indicated by ''flat EKG and EEG readings, sometimes over lengthy periods of time.

Atheist philosopher Antony Flew attests that NDE's certainly constitute impressive evidence of the possibility of the occurence of human consciousness independent of any occurences in the human brain. This evidence equally certainly weakens if does not completely refute my argument against doctrines of a future life''.

James Randi Calls The DogsThatKnow Experiment Woo Woo

He calls the experiment woo woo and declines to participate in the experiment even though he was on skeptiko. This is not the first time he has decline to participate for example he has also decline to see the raw results of Dr. Gary Schwartz and Dr.Julie Beischel's work on mental mediums.

Watch The Entire Match The Ultimate Warrior v.s Orlando Jordan

Watch it here

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-cfDYoxzEU

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sSRUpxmVMI

Results To WWE Night Of Champions

Here is the results too last night's WWE Night Of Champions

1. Woman's Champion Mickie James defeats Katie Lea Burchill[ Woman's Championship Match]

2. Kofi Kingston def. Chris Jericho (New Intercontinental Champion)

3. WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison & The Miz def. Finlay & Hornswoggle (WWE Tag Team Championship Match)

4. Ted DiBiase & Cody Rhodes def. World Tag Team Champions Hardcore Holly & Cody Rhodes (World Tag Team Championship Match)

5. United States Champion Matt Hardy def. Chavo Guerrero (United States Championship Match)

6. Mark Henry def. Big Show and Kane ( New ECW Champion)

7. World Heavyweight Champion Edge def. Batista (World Heavyweight Championship Match)

8. WWE Champion Triple H def. John Cena (WWE Championship Match)

So What Would It Take To Falsify The Transmission Theory?

Keith Augustine has asked on the infidel forum what would it take to falsfy the transmission theory? It has been pointed out many times how it could be falsified.

For Example Chris Carter's rebuttal to Keith Augustine's Article ''Does Consciousness Depend On The Brain''.

” The exact type of functional dependence between the brain and consciousness – production or transmission/permission – is the issue at stake.

http://www.parapsychologyandtheskeptics.com/rebuttal_to_keith_augustine.htm

WWF Now WWe A Blast From The Past

Remember the machines I don't either lol until I watch this youtube video of them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOHrxECFkjI

Interesting Links

Here's some interesting links for information on survival related topics.

Reincarnation
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/personalitystudies/

Near Death Experiences

http://www.near-death.com/

Reincarnation

http://www.near-death.com/newton.html

Instrumental Transcommunication

http://www.pd.org/topos/perforations/perf5/commun-with-dead.html


THE REALITY OF INSTRUMENTAL TRANSCOMMUNICATION VOICES SCIENTIFICALLY DEMONSTRATED ON 5TH DECEMBER 2004 DURING EXPERIMENTS WITH MARCELLO BACCI AT GROSSETO ITALY, EUROPE

http://www.victorzammit.com/afterlifearticles/bacci.html

The Holographic Universe

http://www.earthportals.com/hologram.html

Potential Medium to Departed to Medium Communication of Pictorial Information:
Exploratory Evidence Consistent with Psi and Survival of Consciousness

http://www.enformy.com/mediums.htm

Meditation found to increase brain size

Here's more evidence to show that meditation can change the physical structure of our brains. So it appears that mental practice can change the brain.

People who meditate grow bigger brains than those who don't. Researchers at Harvard, Yale, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found the first evidence that meditation can alter the physical structure of our brains. Brain scans they conducted reveal that experienced meditators boasted increased thickness in parts of the brain that deal with attention and processing sensory input. In one area of gray matter, the thickening turns out to be more pronounced in older than in younger people. That's intriguing because those sections of the human cortex, or thinking cap, normally get thinner as we age. "Our data suggest that meditation practice can promote cortical plasticity in adults in areas important for cognitive and emotional processing and well-being," says Sara Lazar, leader of the study and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School. "These findings are consistent with other studies that demonstrated increased thickness of music areas in the brains of musicians, and visual and motor areas in the brains of jugglers. In other words, the structure of an adult brain can change in response to repeated practice." The researchers compared brain scans of 20 experienced meditators with those of 15 nonmeditators. Four of the former taught meditation or yoga, but they were not monks living in seclusion. The rest worked in careers such as law, health care, and journalism. All the participants were white. During scanning, the meditators meditated; the others just relaxed and thought about whatever they wanted. Meditators did Buddhist "insight meditation," which focuses on whatever is there, like noise or body sensations.

It doesn't involve "om," other mantras, or chanting. "The goal is to pay attention to sensory experience, rather than to your thoughts about the sensory experience," Lazar explains. "For example, if you suddenly hear a noise, you just listen to it rather than thinking about it. If your leg falls asleep, you just notice the physical sensations. If nothing is there, you pay attention to your breathing.

The Wwe Draft Last Night

In case you did not watch wwe Monday night raw here is a list of wrestlers who were drafted.

Ecw champion Kane drafted to Raw
Rey Mysterio drafted from Smackdown to Raw
Batista drafted from Smackdown to Raw
WWe champion Triple H drafted from Raw to Smackdown
Jeff Hardy drafted from Raw to Smackdown
Matt Hardy drafted from Smackdown to Ecw
Commentator Jim Ross drafted from Raw to Smackdown
Commentator Michael Cole drafted from Smackdown to Raw
Mr. Kennedy drafted from Raw to Smackdown
Umaga drafted from Raw to Smackdown

Dark figure haunts visitors to Oxford Castle

A photograph, which has captured a dark figure taken in the foreboding underground Crypt at Oxford Castle Unlocked, has revealed the paranormal does exist and confirms beliefs that the Castle is haunted. The photograph was taken on Friday 16 May by a member of the public at a ghost hunt organised by Fright Nights, the UK's leading ghost hunt specialist. The brave ghost hunter, who was alone in the Crypt at the time, took the photograph with his digital camera. Keiron Brown from Alton in Hampshire was astonished to see the dark shadow of a figure at the end of the corridor leading into the Crypt when he looked at the images on his computer after the event. The astounding photograph has since been analysed by experts at Fright Nights and at Oxford Castle Unlocked. Martin Jeffrey, Director of Fright Nights stated “We were amazed by this photograph. Our analysts have shown that the figure is jet black and unusually not lit up by the flash, whereas the side walls and the wall behind it have visible lighting caused by the flash. We can also confirm that the figure is facing the camera and seems to have some form of hood, head dress or blindfold. We know that the Crypt was used for the storing of criminals especially those waiting execution, so the figure fits perfectly within the history of the Castle”. Fright Nights were granted exclusive use of Oxford Castle Unlocked in which to hold overnight paranormal investigations for the public since early 2007. The visitor attraction is thought to be one of the most haunted buildings in the country.

Throughout its dark history, the Castle has served time as a royal residence, a centre of justice and as the county Gaol, hidden from public view behind impenetrable 5 metre high stones walls until its closure in 1996. Martin continued, “This photograph tops off a fantastic eighteen months of ghost hunting events at Oxford Castle Unlocked. We have had continual paranormal activity throughout the Castle that has inspired attendees to return over and over again.

Skeptic, James Randi Breaks -Off Negotiations On DogsThatKnow Experiment

Check it out here no surprise here
http://www.live-pr.com/en/skeptic-james-randi-breaks-off-
negotiations-r1048192588.htm

Is there a hidden planet in our solar system ?

An icy, unknown world might lurk in the distant reaches of our solar system beyond the orbit of Pluto, according to a new computer model. The hidden world — thought to be much bigger than Pluto based on the model — could explain unusual features of the Kuiper Belt, a region of space beyond Neptune littered with icy and rocky bodies. Its existence would satisfy the long-held hopes and hypotheses for a "Planet X" envisioned by scientists and sci-fi buffs alike. "Although the search for a distant planet in the solar system is old, it is far from over," said study team member Patryk Lykawka of Kobe University in Japan. The model, created by Lykawka and Kobe University colleague Tadashi Mukai, is detailed in a recent issue of Astrophysical Journal. If the new world is confirmed, it would not be technically a planet. Under a controversial new definition adopted by the International Astronomical Union last week, it would instead be the largest known "plutoid." The Kuiper Belt contains many peculiar features that can't be explained by standard solar system models. One is the highly irregular orbits of some of the belt's members. The most famous is Sedna, a rocky object located three times farther from the sun than Pluto.

Sedna takes 12,000 years to travel once around the sun, and its orbit ranges from 80 to 100 astronomical units. One AU is equal to the distance between the Earth and the Sun. According to the model, Sedna and other Kuiper Belt oddities could be explained by a world 30 to 70 percent as massive as Earth orbiting between 100 AU and 200 AU from the sun.

Dr.Rupert Sheldrake And The Skeptics And My Workout

In a recent skeptiko podcast by Alex Tsakaris, Dr Rupert Sheldrake talks about the dogmatic skeptics such as Dr.Richard Wiseman.

You can check it out here:

http://www.skeptiko.com/index.php?id=56

Also I went to the gym yesterday here's what I did

Flat bench press 185 pounds for 10 reps, 225 pounds for 5 reps, 4 reps
Incline bench press 125 pounds for 10 reps, 145 pounds for 8 reps
Flat dumbell press 55 pounds for 8 reps, 8 reps, 7 reps

Tricep pushdowns 105 pounds for 10 reps, 115 pounds 10 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 7 reps

The man who created the supernatural

The supernatural frogs falling from the sky, mysterious airships, spontaneous human combustion... it all fascinated Charles Fort, whose appetite for the paranormal lives on today in sci-fi, conspiracy theories and that quirky chronicle of the unknown, the Fortean Times. No one knew what to make of The Book of the Damned, which appeared in bookshops across America in January, 1920. At Brentano's Bookstore on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, the cardboard cartons containing it had arrived from the publishers Boni & Liveright during the Christmas rush. They were quickly pushed into the storeroom with other new titles, to make room for the illustrated children's picture books and popular romance novels that were displayed as ideal gifts. The cover price was one dollar. It was a fat little volume covered in bright red fabric and adorned with neat gold stamping: the title, The Book of the Damned, the author's name, 'Charles Fort', and a pretty decoration of a planet spinning merrily amid a cluster of stars. On the dust jacket was an endorsement from the novelist Theodore Dreiser - 'It is wonderful'- and a promise of what was inside: 'In this amazing book - the result of 12 years of patient research - the author presents a mass of evidence that has hitherto been ignored or distorted by scientists... Things that [seem] incredible support the author's argument, which he develops with strong touches of sardonic humor and flashes of sheer poetic insight.' Nothing else identified the contents as fantasy, religion, science, or philosophy. The attention-grabbing title presented an arresting mystery, and the modest paper wrapper made it all the more beguiling: simple block letters and swirling grey and pink shapes suggesting planets, surging lava, and a solar eclipse.

Customers stopped, picked up the book and turned it over in their hands. With sidelong glances, they cracked the cover to peer inside. They wondered if the author was promising immorality or criminality, hedonism or atheism - in 1920, it was possible to find any of those subjects between the covers of a new book.