dimland radio 3-23-19 show notes

Minnesota House Passes Hands-Free Bill But...

After I warned my listeners of my cold and promised to minimize the sniffling and throat-clearing, I talked about the Minnesota House of Representatives passing a bill that limits cell phone use while driving to hands-free only. One representative said it is a good start, but thinks the bill could go farther by increasing fines, as well.

 

I agree the bill should go farther, but not by raising the penalty.

 

It should...

...Ban All Cell Phone Use While Driving

When it comes to distracted driving, any cell phone use is a bad thing. The idea that the bill, if it becomes law, will require drivers to use the hands-free option when talking on the their cell phones gives the impression the hands-free is safe. There is strong evidence that it is not.

 

Our brains cannot multitask. It can switch back and forth from task to task, so it seems like we can to two things at once, but we really aren't. And the multitasks we are doing we are doing badly.

 

My advice? If your phone rings while you are driving and you can pull over safely to answer it, do that. If you can't pull over, don't answer it. Call the person back when you can safely do so. And for pity's sake, don't place a call while you are driving.

 

Click here for the National Safety Council's white paper explaining why cell phone use, hands-free or hands-full, and driving don't mix. 

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: The Example Of Distracted Driving Given In White Paper

I noticed something about the tragic example of distracted driving given in the summary of that white paper on how hands-free cell phone use while driving is not safe. It didn't explicitly state that the young woman was using the hands-free option. In fact, it seems more likely she was holding her phone.

 

I suppose the authors wanted to give an example of inattention blindness, but I would have thought it would have been more effective to use a hands-free example.

 

And Jack The Ripper Is... Still Unknown

 

Once again there's news about the identity of Jack the Ripper. Once again someone has attempted to twist what ever evidence they think they have to fit their idea of who the killer was. Once again the killer is thought to be Polish immigrant barber Aaron Kosminski. Once again the news media and social media gets excited. Once again the evidence is crap.

And still the identity of the murderer remains unknown.

 

Some news outlets were dubious, but a quick glance at the headlines showed a more credulous approach to the story. Wouldn't want to discourage the clicks. This article has a credulous headline, but is otherwise pretty dubious. However, Forbes.com's article drills home just how ridiculous this latest claim is.

 

However, one group believes they know who the Ripper is because they asked his ghost! The group are ghost hunters and they contacted the ghost of Walter Sickert, an artist who some think may have been Jack. Well, if you can't take the word of a ghost...

 

Face it, kids, the likelihood is that we are probably never going to know the identity of one of history's most notorious serial killers. He will remain a mystery. And having a little mystery in life ain't so bad, is it?

Three Cool Things 

 

 

1) My friend Scott Roberts is an excellent artist and he's working on a mural, which, in its early stages, looks way cool. I'm sure the finished mural will look good, but I think the subtlety of the early stage is excellent. You can check out Scott's other work here.

 

 

2) Through Facebook I spotted another artist whose work has me repeatedly exclaiming, "Wow!" He is Frederick Cooper and his portrait work is super cool. I especially like his topic choices. Click here for his website.

 

3) We are less than a week until opening day of the 2019 season of BASEBALL! That's cool.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Everyday Story of Smalltown' by XTC & 'Tide Is High' by Blondie

Second ad break bumpers: 'Man With The Lightbulb Head' by Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians & 'You Took' by The Church

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 10-4-14 show notes

Did You Know?

 

Did you know that at the bottom of each show notes entry is a listing of the songs I played on the show? Whenever possible I link to the videos of those songs so you can check them out. Last week I linked to concert footage from the recent Replacements concert. So, check it out!

 

Old Friends And Memories

 

I then talked about a couple old friends from way back in my working at Wendy's. They were boyfriend and girlfriend and were coworkers at the Wendy's. When they got married, I was asked to be in their wedding party.

 

That lead me to talk about dancing. I used to dance back in those days at First Avenue, but the music I danced to was usually of a faster tempo and way cooler than the popular music of the day. Well, at the reception, a danceable song was played and I cut the rug.

 

So, 28 years later the girlfriend/wife of that couple tracked me down through Facebook. I was very excited to hear from her.

You're A Naughty One, Saucy Jack

 

The identity of Jack the Ripper has finally been determined. Well, not really. It's just that yet another person has written a book claiming to have discovered, through the science of DNA, just who the Ripper was.

 

Russell Edwards is the latest in a long line of writers believing he has cracked the case. But, there is lots of room for doubt. He may have the right guy, but his evidence has too many problems to be definitive.

 

You can read more here and here.

Walter O'Brien Isn't Human, Allegedly

On a recent Adam Carolla Podcast, Adam's guests were Nick Santora and Walter O'Brien. They were on to promote the new CBS series Scorpion. The series follows a group of super-geniuses as they help the American government battle terrorists. The show is based on O'Brien who is himself a super-genius.

 

A few claims were made on the show that set off my BS detector. O'Brien kept referring to the left brain/right brain thing, which really isn't a thing. (See here and here.) And Santora added a couple eyebrow raising statements.

 

One was how super-geniuses have 20% higher rates of unemployment, substance abuse, and suicide. Really? 20% for each of those? Methinks Santora is pulling numbers out of his butt.

 

The other was the howler that, because O'Brien possesses a 197 IQ and his brain is 20% (yes, again 20%) denser and heavier, has is "literally a different species." Literally? Really? O'Brien is incapable of reproducing with other humans?

 

I think Santora is just a tad bit guilty of over-hyping his new series. There are others who have their doubts about the claims of Mr. O'Brien.

 

Movie Recommendation: From Hell (2001)

 

20th Century Fox

 

I have recommended this grim, stylish film about Jack the Ripper. I figured since I was talking about Jack the Ripper on this show that I should recommend it again. It may be bleak, but I find it well done and fascinating.

  

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: 'On The Phone' by Man Sized Action  & 'Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time' by Gang of Four
Second ad break bumpers: 'OK This Is The Pops' By Tones On Tail & 'One Step Ahead' by Split Enz

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.