Volconvo: Ideas worth debating

With the domination of Christianity from 500 AD, Jonathan Miller wonders how disbelief began to re-emerge in the 15th and 16th centuries. He discovers that division within the Church played a more powerful role than the scientific discoveries of the period. He also visits Paris, the home of the 18th century atheist, Baron D'Holbach, and shows how politically dangerous it was to undermine the religious faith of the masses.

It wasn't actually Mother's day, but the eve of Mother's day. My wife received a phone call from Afghanistan, from our younger son. It was Sunday morning for him and he was getting ready to go to work. He usually doesn't have access to a phone. I suspect that even the Army has a heart and allowed use of Defense Department assets to allow deployed troops to talk to their mothers.

My son owns a 3 bedroom house in Junction City, KS. My son rents two of those rooms to other NCO's in his unit. They are both deployed to Afghanistan with my son. He sees one of them as they exchange duty shifts, twice a day. The other he is able to meet in the mess hall several times a week.

My son described his day as getting up, going for a run (he runs marathons and half marathons for fun), showering, etc., eating breakfast and reporting for duty. After duty, it is time for bed. 12 on and 12 off, 7 days a week, leaves little time for anything else.

My wife asked him if he ever went off base. He responded that people shoot at you if you do. He said that they left base only in armored vehicles. I'm not sure if that means that he does or doesn't leave base.

Anyway, the point is that he was able to call his mother on Mother's Day, and he put in the effort to do so.

The life story and work of Nikola Tesla. He invented AC electricity, Neon Lights, Radio transmission, The Electric motor, Wireless electricity transfer, Remote control, Hydraulics, Lasers, Space weapons, Robotics, and many, many more things.

The Dalai Lama had a discussion in his home Dharamsala, India, on March 15th, 2011 with some Thai Buddhists. The first question asked of him is basically "How does Buddhism mesh with modern science?" His answer is quite refreshing to hear from any leader of any religion.

Ever evolving high-tech gadgets and the Internet have given Big Brother a peep hole into the lives of everyday Americans. Now, without the hassle of planting bugs or breaking and entering, the government can monitor virtually anything it wants.

This is a presentation on science, religion, and how poorly-designed humans, the Earth, and the universe really are. The presenter, Neil deGrasse Tyson, is the new host of the PBS-TV program "NOVA scienceNOW", director of the Hayden Planetarium in the Rose Center For Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History. He is the recipient of seven honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal.