Palo Alto, CA|News|
Virtual Reality Helps Users Understand Their World Better
Stanford teamed up with the University of Oregon to study the issue of the environment and how people's minds can be changed regarding it.

I've been a writer as long as I can remember -- in my secret hiding places as a kid growing up in Woodstock, Vt. Professionally, I've worked for decades as a reporter and editor for a number of California publications, including the North County Times (which was folded into the Union-Tribune group in San Diego County), Del Norte Triplicate and Times Standard on the Redwood Coast, Tahoe Daily Tribune and most recently with the online community news site Lake Tahoe News on the South Shore.
I've written in many beats, with some travel involved. My travels have taken me to cover U.S. sprinter Michael Johnson delivering the Olympic torch to Stonehenge at sunrise on its way to London for the 2010 Summer Games. Eight years before, my press coverage granted me my own running leg of the Olympic torch in South Lake Tahoe on its way to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Stanford teamed up with the University of Oregon to study the issue of the environment and how people's minds can be changed regarding it.

Tis the season for Bank of America to donate $285,000 to South Bay charities to serve the needs of Silicon Valley.
SF Giants shortstop and Pleasanton native Brandon Crawford teams up with Wells Fargo to dole out education grants for Bay Area schools.
Anna Quinlan of Menlo Atherton School came up with the idea when her diabetic friend complained she is not alerted of low glucose levels.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is wrangling over three options to handle traffic on Bay Area bridge tolls next year.
A vehicle hit a pedestrian on the major thoroughfare, resulting in a road closure between Barcells and Toledo avenue.
Los Altos pulls out all the stops -- and baking sheets for its Gingerbread House Exhibit sure to delight everyone in your festive clan.
As the Registrar works to finalize election results, the Santa Clara Co. Library District was pleased voters passed the $50 million bond.
The stormy weather is making life tough for the homeless who are in great needs for items to keep them warm.
Big smiles all the way around from 24 kids in three Santa Clara Co. schools when they received new bikes. And no assembly required.
The search engine giant holds the distinction this year of making the two biggest land deals in the U.S. on opposite ends of the nation.
Alumnus John Hopkirk and his wife, Anne Murphy, have proven their fan loyalty with a $2 million gift earmarked for a new sports center.
Motorists can expect to delays traveling Monday in this congested area north of Interstate 280 and east of Highway 17.
All is up for grabs either Dec. 10 or in February when the courts determine whether the FCC's new rules governing the Internet will apply.
The five state senators and one assemblyman want to introduce a bill in response to a report indicating 3.6 million students using e-cigs.
The Firehouse 5k/10k Walk-run will close a number of roads in Santa Clara on Sunday.
High school students in the west valley of Santa Clara Co. may join a teen academy and dream of going into police work starting in January.
Santa Clara County commemorates the time with events — one featuring sections of the AIDS Memorial Quilt from the Names Project.
The Redwood City image publishing service will make free photo books for Calif. fire victims and donate $150,000 to Butte County's relief.
The Santa Clara County commute appears especially troubling Thursday morning with a number of incidents on SR237, Hwy 101, SR87 and I-280.