Woo of the World

The Pros of Khan

2011-06-07T23:19:00.000-04:00

Hey - the internet isn't only for voyeurs and narcissists and videos of monkeys washing cats!

The Khan Academy is a non-profit, web-based grassroots initiative founded by MIT graduate Sal Khan. The Khan Academy's mission is to educate the masses, free of charge, on just about any topic you can think of, from simple arithmetic to chemistry and much more, all delivered in short, easy to follow YouTube videos.

It all started as a series of short videos posted to the internet to help tutor his cousins, and has now grown to an video library with more than 2300 short films which has served up more than 58 million videos to date. A non-profit organization, the Khan Academy has received funding from both the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Google.

I have viewed a couple of these videos (cough) simple math (cough) and they are quite well done. they're not heavy, not too long, and there are a lot of pictures (suits me well)!

I wanted to share because it seems like a good place to pick up some extra smarts, if you or someone you know happens to need them.

Debunking Fuel Myths

2011-06-03T11:45:00.000-04:00

Gearing up to take The Fam to Florida this summer I have been reading up on cost saving and travel tips. An interesting article I happened upon from Edmund's is on gas related myths. As the vacation season and gas prices are in full swing, I thought I would share.

One part I found funny:

Changes caused by high gas prices aren't all bad: Many families that have made changes to their lifestyles to cut down on the gas spending have found some unexpected benefits. One mother decided to walk to swimming practice with her children and enjoyed the extra opportunity to bond with them. Other people have taken to walking or riding bikes and have lost weight as a result.

High gas prices can stop you from being sedentary! Get your butt out of that car tubby!

Happy Weekend!

Implanting False Memory

2011-05-31T11:03:00.002-04:00

Implanting False Memory

Great post on Neurologica regarding memory and perception. Last night I was watching a show on Animal Planet called 'Finding Bigfoot' (boo Animal Planet, boo!) and the bigfoot 'experts' were validating the sighting of a bigfoot based on the strong eyewitness accounts. This article helps understand why such accounts are practically worthless.

Autism Vaccines Fraud

2011-01-19T16:39:00.001-05:00

This is essentially the death blow to the autism/vaccinnes link that was invented and perpetuated by Andrew Wakefield. The British Medical Journal has determined that Wakefield's research was an orchestrated fraud with direct financial interests as his key motivation behind its design. Though the woo will no doubt continue on, all credibility of its original and chief propagator has been officially obliterated.

How much blood is on this man's hands?

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Homeopathic Woo, Part 2

2011-01-19T15:20:00.001-05:00

The second half of the Canadian news piece. My head is going to explode.

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Homeopathic Woo

2011-01-19T15:03:00.001-05:00

A look at the multi-billion dollar homeopathy industry. Look out Big-Pharma, Big Alt-Med is looking at you. Reminds me of the skeptic joke: What do you call alternative medicine that actually works? Medicine.

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7 Reasons For Not Believing In UFOs

2010-09-18T09:46:00.006-04:00

Let me first say that it's ok to believe in UFOs as they are real. What?? Yes... objects in the sky that you can't identify are UFOs. However, that does not mean that they are space ships piloted by E.T.

Let me also say that I typed this post and all of the content below using swype on my droid x... Please forgive grammar and spelling errors.

I read this post over at Totally Off Beat news and thought I would take a stab at a point by point take down of their arguments to believe in (alien piloted) UFOs while I sit here at the Honda dealership waiting for my car to be serviced.

Here is the original article

Here is my sophomoric comment:

This post, though entertaining, is rife with logical fallacies... I'll try to expound on each 'reason' as a service to clear thought.

1. This is an argument from authority. If Chef Ramsey thought there was a gold butcher knife with a diamond encrusted handle orbiting Mars, that doesn't make it true.

2. Same as number 1, but worse; let's not forget the witch trials and exorcism, purgatory, etc... Magical thinkers saying it's ok to think magically isn't a convincing argument.

3. I like this reason (except for the magical thinkers endorsement). The math suggests that there is a pretty damn good chance that there is life on other planets (google Drake equation). However, this likelihood in no way supports that idea that aliens loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly.

4. Another argument from authority. People in power are still just people who are likely to be wrong about things... or lying for the sake of being sensational - hell, he's a politician...that's his job!

5. Anecdotal observations without evidence. If I claim I saw bigfoot mowing my neighbors lawn, does that make it true? What if the whole block saw it? Does it mean that there is a tribe of prehistoric primates living in the woods of the local skate park or does my neighbor just like to wear a monkey suit when he does lawn work?

6. The Rockefeller Initiative was a flop basically because there really isn't anything to report; just because I demand the government hand over documents about purple dragons living under Mount Rushmore doesn't mean they exist (the documents, well, purple dragons too, actually). Clinton did disclose what he could on some more well known incidents, but we still have thing called National Security that we have to maintain. This is called 'moving the goal post'. Ask for A, receive it, then cry that B is being withheld, therefore conspiracy!

7. Holy tractor beams another argument from authority - this is easier than I thought it would be. I won't explain this one again, but I will say this: History Channel be damned! I mean come on already! Really? You can't come up with a show that covers something that deals with history?? You're the HISTORY CHANNEL! Tell those dweeb writers coming up with this crap to send their resumes to the Sci-Fy channel. Good grief.

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Rally to Restore Sanity

2010-09-17T13:16:00.005-04:00

Jon Stewart is hosting what he calls the Rally to Restore Sanity on the Washington Mall on October 30th, which he notes is a date of 'no significance whatsoever'.

Obviously, this is being organized to marginalize Glen Beck's recent theocratic revival road show, the Rally to Restore Honor (because honor only belongs to a certain cross section of the population; it's a proprietary thing don't ya know).

One rally sign suggested that I thought was funny: 'I disagree with you, but I'm pretty sure you're not Hitler'.

Visit the Rally to Restore Sanity website for more information.

The 'Rev. Sir Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A.' will be hosting an event on the Mall at the same time, the March to Keep Fear Alive.

According to Colbert's site:

America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man, was built on three bedrock principles: Freedom. Liberty. And Fear -- that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty. But now, there are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear -- forces with salt and pepper hair and way more Emmys than they need. They want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget -- "Reason" is just one letter away from "Treason." Coincidence? Reasonable people would say it is, but America can't afford to take that chance.

More on the March to Keep fear Alive here.

Being Open Minded

2010-09-16T22:26:00.001-04:00

‘Open-minded is you may well have a point of view, but you're open to changing it.’

- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer
NPR, September 14, 2010

I picked up on this blurb the other day while listening to the Justice being interviewed on the local radio channel. Though simple, it resonated with me as open-mindedness is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately.

Why are our beliefs and opinions so sacred to us? Many of us hang our hat on them and are unwilling to budge one way or the other as it seems to be a sort of personal defeat. Is it really the compromise of self-identity to say, ‘maybe I don’t know’?

All too often, we’re wrapped in our beliefs, however hazardous they may be to our own safety or those adjacent to us; we’re unwilling to consider that we may not have the full understanding of whatever it is we’ve decided to champion. This type of thinking, as author Michael Specter points out in this excellent TED speech on science denial, is dangerous.

At what point do we decide that we’ve learned enough about the world and we no longer need to think critically about how we regard it? I am baffled by people who have cantankerous opinions on social-political issues but have done no investigation into whatever it is they are defending or playing activist against. Is it because sometimes we’re ignorant of our own ignorance, or metaignorant?

On metaignorance, fellow critical-thinker Jeff Ellis writes:

‘This unawareness or unwillingness to admit their ignorance subconsciously prods them to make (wrong) assumptions in order to fill the void in their knowledge’.

Thought metaignorance is forgivable to some degree, it’s when one becomes aware of their ignorance that things start to get ugly; one realizing that they’re ignorant, but they defend their position for the sake of the defending the position. This really isn’t a flavor of ignorance so much as it is intellectual dishonesty and lazy. To realize that you’re not educated on the topic of concern and to defend your position with vitriol, is unbecoming. Lying, really.

To make a claim on the basis that it is fashionable, or mysterious, controversial, etc., while knowing that you’re either making shit up or that there are gaps in the information that are critical to drawing reasonable conclusions is an exercise in mental masturbation, a stroke of the ego.

Some may say that I suffer the fate of being dogmatic as a skeptic, as skeptics are regarded as ‘anti-something’ most of the time, following talking points like a political party. How can I know for sure that vaccines are safe, that the warnings from climate scientists should be heeded, and that homeopathy is a sham? I can’t be 100% sure. But I am willing to change my mind based on the evidence - not anecdotal - but scientific evidence.

I do not cherry-pick information to support my beliefs, rather I dislodge, move and refine my beliefs using the ideas that challenge them as a lever. I actively seek new data and perspectives with goal of better understanding the world. I do not know everything, but I’m willing to learn. I’m open-minded.

I am willing to change my mind, for the sake of truth. In skepticism and critical thinking, there are no sacred cows.

The Dark Tower

2010-09-09T17:14:00.001-04:00

Being a card-carrying Uber-Geek, I love all things J.R.R. Tolkien, Stan Lee, Stephen King and Gary Gygax (Google him). I had many 'what if' discussions with my fellow Uber-Geeks on how cool it would be to see The Lord of the Rings done on the big screen. Now it's been done, and wonderfully, thank you Peter Jackson. Super-Hero movies (there weren't too many good ones 15 years ago) - done, thank you CGI. D&D video games, done, thank you BioWare.

One 'what if' that seemed impossible though, was The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Not only because of the immense scope of the story, but because the ambition of many other (with a few exceptions) King adaptations fell way short of the King's vision. It just didn't seem possible that this opus would ever be visualized on any screen in a way that would have done it the justice it deserves. Even when I heard J.J. Abrahms bought the rights to the film, I was excited, but skeptical of what the final result would be.

That said, I am very excited about the announcement I received in the Stephen King Fan Newsletter today (I told you, Uber-Geek), that Ron Howard and NBC are going to bring this masterpiece to the big screen (in three or more films) and to television (as multiple mini-series bridges between films) with the intent of telling the whole story, in as many hours as it takes, as King intended it to be told.

******* AWESOME! Drool... Let's hope that Ron Howard doesn't 'forget the face of his father'!

Press release:

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, September 8, 2010 – Universal Pictures Chairman Adam

Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley—along with Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment and Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC & Universal Media Studios—today announced that Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have acquired the rights to produce three films and a television series based on the seven epic novels, short stories and comic books from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower.

Ron Howard will direct the first film and the first season of television, which will be written by Goldsman. Goldsman will produce the film through his Weed Road Pictures with Howard and Grazer for Imagine Entertainment. Howard, Grazer and Goldsman will executive produce the television series for Universal Media Studios. Kerry Foster will executive produce the first film for Weed Road Pictures along with Todd Hallowell and Erica Huggins for Imagine Entertainment.

“I’ve been waiting for the right team to bring the characters and stories in these books to film and TV viewers around the world,” said King. “Ron, Akiva, Brian along with Universal and NBC have a deep interest and passion for the The Dark Tower series and I know that will translate into an intriguing series of films and TV shows that respect the origins and the characters in The Dark Tower that fans have come to love.”

The Dark Tower is Stephen King’s opus of seven bestselling novels with, to date, more than 30 million copies sold in 40 countries. The novels incorporate themes from multiple genres including fantasy, science fiction, horror and adventure. After the series was completed, a prequel of comic books based on one of the characters was also published.

“Building a franchise home for The Dark Tower is an exciting opportunity for this studio, and we’re thrilled that Stephen has entrusted us to bring his beloved novels to the big screen,” said Fogelson.

“Stephen King is a brilliant storyteller who creates imaginary worlds that resonate with the broadest audiences across ages and demographics,” said Gaspin. “We are thrilled to partner with our colleagues in the film division and Brian, Ron and Akiva to bring Stephen’s vision to the largest audience possible through this innovative multi-platform collaboration.”

Howard, Grazer and Goldsman are planning for the first film in the trilogy to be immediately followed by a television series that will bridge the second film. After the second film, the television series will pick up allowing viewers to explore the adventures of the protagonist as a young man as a bridge to the third film and beyond.

“We are excited to have found partners at Universal who understand and embrace our approach to King’s remarkable epic,” said Howard. “By using both the scope and scale of theatrical filmmaking and the intimacy of television we hope to more comprehensively do justice to the characters, themes and amazing sequences King has given us in The Dark Tower novels. It might be the challenge of a lifetime but clearly a thrilling one to take on and explore.”

“The worlds of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series are richly detailed, inter-locking and deeply connected,” said Goldsman. “By telling this story across media platforms and over multiple hours—and with a view to telling it completely—we have our best chance of translating Roland’s quest to reach The Dark Tower onto screen. We are proceeding with tremendous excitement, fidelity to the source material and, quite frankly, no small amount of awe at this opportunity.”

“King has created the most visually enthralling places and characters in The Dark Tower,” said Grazer. “The synergy created across all the media divisions of our partners at NBC Universal to tell this remarkable story is ground-breaking and invigorating. This project will be one of the most exciting and challenging that I will have ever worked on and I am thrilled to be a part of it.”

The Dangers of Science Denial

2010-09-01T14:09:00.000-04:00

Michael Specter, New Yorker journalist and author of Denialism; How Irrational Thinking Hinders Scientific Progress, Harm the Planet, and Threatens our Lives, gives a compelling talk in the TED series on the dangers of science skepticism without objectivity.

Adam Savage on Object Obsession

2010-08-27T15:13:00.000-04:00

Mythbuster Adam Savage gives a entertaining talk on object obsession, from TED 2010. I love the rapid fire enthusiasm.

Speaking Out on Global Warming

2010-08-25T17:14:00.001-04:00

In light of the news that every prediction that would support the hypothesis that global warming is real has been confirmed, and that so much doubt, due largely in part of ‘Climategate’ which demonized climate scientists and overshadowed the redemption of their cause once they were cleared of nefarious design, and the perpetual media propaganda machines such as Fox News which poisons the hope of public objectivity and critical analysis of the calls of alarm being made by climate scientists, I am encouraged to learn of a new initiative led by the Union of Concerned Scientists designed to publicly combat the misinformation that is so deftly fed into the minds of the casual global collective.

Breath.

Cheers to progress and constructive public debate.

Don't Be A Dick

2010-08-17T15:08:00.000-04:00

Dr. Phil Plait's now famous speech (OK, in certain circles), Don't Be A Dick, from TAM8 (The Amazing Meeting) in Las Vegas. This is delivered to an audience of skeptics, but the prinicples are universal and can be applied to everyday life. Simple, but brilliant.

Phil Plait - Don't Be A Dick from JREF on Vimeo.

Science Literacy

2010-07-29T21:21:00.005-04:00

Neil Degrasse Tyson on why it is important to be scientifically literate:

WARNING, not safe for work. The buffoon rapping clowns, Insane Clown Posse, are prime examples of why science literacy is so important:

Wow. I feel guilty for putting them in the same post with NDT!

Whoop There It Is

2010-07-29T20:11:00.002-04:00

In Idaho, Texas, South Carolina, Michigan and California, pertussis (aka whooping cough) outbreaks are on the rise. The word 'epidemic' is being used to describe the trend.

In California, the cases so far this year have increased five times more than those in 2009, with more than 1500 cases and the death of 6 infants. It's the worst outbreak in more than 50 years.

Pertussis is completely preventable, that is to say, no one needs to suffer or die from it. In order for this ideal reality to manifest, one simple thing needs to happen: everyone who can be vaccinated for pertussis should be vaccinated for pertussis.

Now hang on a second Jason! I read on the innernets that vaccines have poisonous mercury toxins and stuff in them!

Just relax (link). Ever eat fish sticks? How about your kids?

Well, I was talking about this with my speed-walking group, who all happen to agree with me that by not vaccinating my kids I am really not hurting anyone else.

Actually, you are. You are compromising the effectiveness of herd immunization. Not everyone who gets vaccinated is 100% protected from the targeted affliction as vaccines are not 100% effective; full immunity is achieved by vaccinating large populations. There are many people who cannot be vaccinated due to allergies, weak immune systems, or age - they rely on herd immunity.

Yeah, but in my gut I know it isn't safe to pump vaccines into my baby, my parental instinct says that it's dangerous and the science can't be right.

Your gut is wrong. When making serious health decisions that have potentially dangerous consequences for not only your children but everyone else's you haven't met, don't consult your gut, consult a physician. They are there to give science-based medical advice.

But the scientists are in bed with 'Big Pharma' and just out to turn a dollar - it's just a sham!
You're watching too many X Files re-runs. Conspiracy theories, while fun to ponder over a bowl of popcorn and an Oliver Stone flick, are dangerous and playing havoc with the scientific literacy in our country. Yes, pharmaceutical companies want to be paid for their product, like anyone else who manufactures a product, but no one is fabricating vaccines and beefing up the schedule to simply route your wallet while knowingly poisoning children.

Question: If scientific consensus is not the best bet to understanding our world - what is? Anecdotal observation? Intuition? Hollywood? The Huffington Post?

First mumps, now pertussis. What's next?

[Dismount Soapbox]

Blowin' in the Wind

2010-07-28T16:41:00.002-04:00

Ohio is to become the host of the nations largest wind farm. Terra-Gen Power recently secured $1.2 Billion dollars in funding to build off-shore wind farms in Lake Erie. Terra-Gen Power is teamed with GE who will supply the super-efficient turbine engines which require no power from the grid and can harvest energy from wind speeds as slow as 7mph.

The effort plans to deliver 1000 megawatts (I've read this is enough power for 7000 homes) by 2020 but some of these 225 ton, 300 foot tall turbines are projected to be constructed and operating as early as 2012 (drat, just in time for the apocalypse) supplying around 20 megawatts in energy to local communities. The initial offshore farm is to be located about 6 miles northwest of Cleveland, with future farm locations yet to be determined.

This article states that a 2008 study by Michigan State University’s Land Policy Institute shows offshore (Great Lakes) wind potential, for Michigan alone, is 321,936 megawatts - more than 10 times the amount of electricity generated in the state, during peak loading, from all sources, including coal and nuclear.

These types of innovations (and the massive funding that goes along with them) are exactly what Ohio needs to employ our highly-skilled industrial workforce, rejuvenate our economy, and make Ohio a leader in this desperately needed alternative power resource.

Yeah, I'm a little excited.

Bad Universe coming to Discovery!

2010-07-27T12:55:00.000-04:00

Dr. Phil Plait, astronomer, author and skeptical activist, has a new series coming to the Discovery Channel this fall called Bad Universe (play on his popular book and blog, Bad Astronomy).

The preview looks good and the show format seems to be similar to the Mythbusters, but only focused on cosmic issues as opposed to ninjas or moose/car accidents (not detracting from MB - they do great things for skepticism; see 'Moon Landing' episode, et al).

Check it out!

Tragic Proximity

2010-07-26T12:50:00.000-04:00

Leonard Pitts Jr., columnist for the Miami Herald, wrote an editorial regarding the near-Ground Zero mosque that has resulted in explosive controversy.

In particular, he highlights intellectual dishonesty which surrounds this controversy:

And then, there is Rabbi Yaakov Thompson. In an opinion piece for the Sun Sentinel, he accused Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, leader of the group that would worship at the new facility, of taking chutzpah ``to a new level,'' even though, he added, ``I realize that those behind Cordoba House have no connection to terrorism.''

That bears repeating. Though he acknowledges the people behind Cordoba House are not terrorists, the rabbi still demands New York tell them No. In so doing, he blithely legitimizes the idea that tribe is destiny, that you and I are each individually answerable for the crimes of those who merely look like, talk like or pray like, us.

This 'tribe is destiny' argument can apply variably to any crime perpetrated by a group. Should white catholics be allowed to build homes near elementary schools because of rampant catholic priest pedophiles? Should all postal workers not be allowed to bear arms? This is nonsensical flawed thinking and should be dismissed as such.

He continues, focusing on one of the ideas that makes our country great:

We should not be without sympathy for those who cringe at the notion of a mosque so near Ground Zero. Memory of what happened there is burned into us all. To put a mosque there would be an unavoidably painful and provocative thing.
But the Constitution does not carry an escape clause. We do not get to jettison our national ideals just because they cause pain or provoke. To the contrary, that is the time they are most severely tested and most desperately in need of defending.

This article resonated with me because it underscores the importance of maintaining core philosophical standards during the most heated of debates. While I agree that building this structure is an exercise in poor judgement and bad taste which has already undermined its purpose, its construction should not be obstructed on the grounds of an argument that defies the intent of our founders.

Under the Milky Way

2010-07-23T20:06:00.001-04:00

Last week I enjoyed a family vacation with my wife, children, brothers, nephew and parents up on West Twin Lake in Lewiston, Michigan. All of us being in the same place at the same time for any length of time is an unfortunate rarity; needless to say we had a great time.

Thursday(?) night, I helped my brothers finish a bottle of tequila using one of my favorite tools: Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. Waiter, check please.

After sitting out on the deck into the small hours, my youngest brother and I determined it to be a good idea to venture beyond the glow of the cabin and negotiate the wooden stairs and landings leading down a steep embankment to the beach and the dock beyond with nothing but starlight to guide our awkward path.

We managed to stagger down to the dock and to its terminus over the black water while giggling over whichever joke we were capitalizing on. Looking up, we were awestruck by the full demand of the night sky above the lake, unobstructed by trees or city light and void of cloud or moon.

The stars were bursting and brilliant and the Milky Way was stretched across the dome of the sky seated upon the horizons east and west and arched between, a rheumy ribbon of star dust whose grains were individually indiscernible but collectively distinct as it hung in the celestial expanse above our swaying heads. It was for me a rare moment; to witness the cosmos unobstructed and free of urban pollutants. A humbling reminder of the vastness of space, its all encompassing and overwhelming proximity, and how hopelessly insignificant we are.

In a word, awesome. Cheers!

iDosing

2010-07-21T17:04:00.000-04:00

iDosing is not real, and you should never have to sit down with your child to discuss the dangers.

What is iDosing? It's two tones of slightly varied pitch played individually through the left and right channels of headphones which creates an audio effect, commonly referred to as binaural beats, which allegedly makes you freak out worse than the first time you listened to the introduction of ELO's Fire on High.

How is it a threat to your children? It's not. Though there are some minor physiological effects to prolonged exposure to binarual beats, such as an increase in dopamine in the brain and less need for sleep, but it's certainly nothing that is going to make your face melt and your head explode.

Some bonehead kids are posting videos of themselves on YouTube listening to these 'digital drug' tones for prolonged periods of time and then freaking out when the tone changes or the volume increases. Don't seek these videos out, they're quite underwhelming.

For the sake of this post, I subjected myslef to 30 seconds of binaural beats, which did have a profound effect: annoyance.

If you're afraid that your child is 'iDosing', take her to a movie. The park. Buy her a guitar. A book. Enroll her in martial arts. Yoga. Curling. Anything. Do something proactive to occupy her time rather than having her lay around fantasizing what altered states might really feel like and building the confidence to sample them through something foolish like iDosing.

Don't succumb to the hysteria like this Oklahoma community has.

Other things to be afraid of: Pink Floyd albums, increased consumption of Jolly Ranchers, sleeping till noon, backwards masking, Harry Potter, the choking game, bloody mary, Ouija boards, Slipknot, South Park, them triffling liberals, video games, and anything else one of our 'infotainment' heads cites as a menace.

Seacrest out.

Pattern Seeking

2010-06-19T07:47:00.001-04:00

Michael Shermer, author of Why People Believe Weird Things (among others) and founder of Skeptic magazine, gave a great speech at TED on pattern seeking and self-deception which I've talked about here.

Hi Diddly Ho.

2010-06-12T13:11:00.005-04:00

Hello loyal readers... both of you.

It's been a while since I posted; despite my mildest fantasies of being a regular blogger with something interesting to blather on about, updating WOTW on a regular basis has proven to be a challenge. In the interest of filling the void between then and now, I'll drop a few snippets of what I've been up to or thinking about in this post.

Disabled the Cable. We decided that the 2-3 hours of cable television that we were watching per week wasn't worth the $90 per month extra on our bill (DVR, premium channels and HD content), so we pulled the plug. So what good is a HD TV without HD cable? Well as it turns out - just as good as it was before, but cheaper.

I built my own HD Antenna using the directions posted in this You Tube video. The only thing I did different than poster was I bought a spool of 14 gauge galvanized wire and used that instead of wire coat hangers (no paint scraping this way).

At first I just mounted it to the wall behind my entertainment center, and it just worked OK, I was able to get most of the major networks in HD; NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, CW, PBS and few others, but every minute or so I would get a splash of large pixels across the image and periodically I would just lose the signal altogether. Unacceptable.

I stumbled upon this site, TV Fool, which lets you enter your address and then it will display a 'radar' graph of local TV channels and their azimuth from true north in relation to your location. The radar graph has different colored rings which rate the likelihood of picking up said signals from in the house, the attic, the roof, or a space-rocket sized antenna in your yard.

I ended up placing the antenna in the attic, with the help of my lovely assistant Kim, and now I am picking up 40 channels of HD content in Dolby Digital without any interference at all, all for free. Nicey nice.

The other nerdylicious endeavour was rolling my own HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer). I built this shoebox-sized powerhouse from a Thermaltake MiniITX case, Zotac H55-ITX Intel Motherboard with HDMI output (support 1080p and DTS HD and Dolby True HD, Intel i3 dual-core processor with on-chip video processing (weird but cool) and W7 Premium. It reads my whole audio/picture/video library and allows me to so from the soft cushy recesses of my couch using the Logitech diNovo mini remote with qwerty keyboard and thumb mouse. Goo.

What else?

I spent a week in North Carolina training on some civil engineering software.

Texas passed their ass-backwards public school curriculum - that's one giant step backward for mankind. Watch for their misinformation creeping into a textbook near you.

Britain's General Medical Council barred Dr. Andrew Wakefield, Woo-Spinner In Chief of the anti vaccine hysteria, from practicing medicine. Ouch. Not to worry though, he has come to the United states and set up a center to study childhood developmental disorders in Texas of all places. Perfect.

Ibuprofen gets a bad rap.

Organic foods stocks increase.

Finished this book.

What other completely random thoughts?

Cigars are good. Kids are crazy. Five Guys Burgers are deadly. Oil spills are total bullshit. Friends are missed. Vacation will be fun. My wife rules. I can't grow a very good moustache. We have a new vegetable garden.

Oh... Ohio's own Black Keys have a new album, 'Brothers'. Very good... this one has a little Motown mixed in with it - very soulful and cool. Check it out!

Ok. I'm done. See you next time... hopefully sooner and less spastic.

Um... Facebook Sucks.

2010-05-05T22:12:00.003-04:00

Facebook has done a literal 'one-eighty' on it's privacy policy since its inception, a disappointing though not surprising devolution which is detailed here.

But the hits keep playin'... get the skinny on their latest endeavour to screw its users here.

Don't understand what the hell is going on with all of their recent changes? The Handy Facebook to English Translator can offer clarity.

Uhhh... Facebook like sucks and stuff Beavis.

The Vaccine War

2010-04-27T17:15:00.001-04:00

'The Vaccine War' airs tonight on PBS (Frontline) at 9:00.

More here.

Found this at Dr. Phil Plait's excellent Bad Astronomy blog along with other current vaccine related news.

Facebook Erodes Your Privacy

2010-04-26T16:54:00.002-04:00

From Electronic Frontier Foundation on April 19th:

Today, Facebook removed its users' ability to control who can see their own interests and personal information. Certain parts of users' profiles, "including your current city, hometown, education and work, and likes and interests" will now be transformed into "connections," meaning that they will be shared publicly. If you don't want these parts of your profile to be made public, your only option is to delete them.

Done.

Other Enrichments

2010-04-24T10:53:00.001-04:00

Had a great week. Made it up to Columbus for some aikido training (so sore) and reconnect with some missed friends, and also had the pleasure of discovering (they didn't exist until I heard them) a new band on the way home courtesy of Zune marketplace.

There are few things in life I enjoy more than great new music (most of those other things are drizzled in maple syrup). I really get a charge from it. I download a lot albums with singles that are cool/fun/delinquent/etc., but it's rare that I listen to an entire album that really resonates with me right from start and I instantly know that it will become one of those 'heavy rotation' favorites.

Alberta Cross is one of those rare gems. The singer sounds a little like Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon and Jim James of My Morning Jacket, two of my favorite bands. Their music is a blend of blues, jam rock and country western that reminds me of Wilco, Neil Young, and David Gilmour. Their sound is full, confident, haunted, and remarkably refined. For me, it invokes images of the lost highway and the lonely west, wherever they may be, but still has the weight and strength to rock with reckless abandon. Go get this album.

Albert Cross - The Broken Side of Time

I'm Just Sayin'...

2010-03-21T10:00:00.002-04:00

Google trends aren't necessarily the 'end all be all' of what people are thinking, but it is an interesting tool to gauge the temperature a bit. I thought I would ping the collective conscience of the Lone Star State in light of the recent disaster with the Texas Board of Education. Anyhow, I don't know exactly what this means, or if my search terms are necessarily fair for comparison, but it gives me a sense that maybe the present draft of curriculum reforms may be an inevitability. Hopefully, I am misguided...

Search trends in Texas over the last 30 days; searches are depicted in the top chart, and news stories are displayed in the bottom chart. A comparitive volume of search terms by local sub-regions are below. Please note, the TBOE is based in Austin.

View full chart here.

The Mess with Texas

2010-03-18T22:00:00.002-04:00

The Texas Board of Education has preliminarily revised their curriculum for public textbooks (final approval is in May), and they've done it in the spirit of a far-right conservative propaganda, rather than in the spirit of intellectual honesty or educational interests. Basically, screw the kids, there's politics at hand!

The unfortunate changes include but are not limited to:

* Removing Thomas Jefferson from the the list of writers of the Declaration of Independence because he coined the phrase 'separation of church and state' (I'm not joking).
* Failing to recognize Tejanos died alongside Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie at the Alamo.
* Added the Black Panthers to the the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. studies to 'add balance'.
* Communist witch-hunter Joe McCarthy is vindicated of any moral wrong-doing for the infamous McCarthy hearings.
* Removing the word “democratic” from the description of the U.S. government, instead terming it a “constitutional republic".
* Refused to require that students learn that the Constitution prevents the U.S. government from promoting one religion over all others.
* Cites country western music as an important cultural influence but has stricken hip-hop from the list.
* Questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government.
* Teaching 'all sides of evolutionary theory', including the 6000 year old young earth 'theory', and by theory, I mean fairy tale.

The list goes on. It's ugly. It's outrageous. Google it.

Why should you care? Texas has over 4.3 million public school students and the BoE, which consists of a handful of lawyers, a dentist and a weekly newspaper publisher, determines their curriculum centrally, not by district. That makes Texas the largest purchaser of textbooks in the country, and in the spirit of the Almighty Dollar, the publishers basically put whatever Texas dictates into their textbooks; you gotta keep your best customers smilin'. That means, we get all the gore that is left in the wake of this twisted revision, and by we, I mean everyone. That's right; your kid's school district may be purchasing the textbooks that were written to the Texas standard of education - which is jacked.

Don McElroy, board member and dentist, stated, “We are adding balance. History has already been skewed. Academia is skewed too far to the left”. If it is the case that the standards are skewed to the left the answer is not to distort to the extreme opposite, the answer should be consensus, and that consensus should be determined by experts in the particular realm of academia NOT political gargoyles.

Let's hope the people of Texas stand up and set this train-wreck back on course.

Court Rules Against Anti-Vaccine Claims

2010-03-16T22:13:00.007-04:00

A panel of judges has ruled against the anti-vaccination movement's claim that thimerosal, a preservative in (some) vaccines which contains trace amounts of mercury, causes autism. Scientific data has proven this theory wrong for years, and despite the aforementioned cult's effort to prove otherwise, a court of law has ruled against them. More here.

Despite this ruling, which is a huge nail in the coffin of this argument, I predict that the anti-vax cult will continue its zealous march to demonize that which it is unwilling to objectively understand or come to terms with. No doubt, the 'moving of the goal post' and conspiracy mongering and the ad hominem attacks (see comments) of those who differ in perspective or fairly and objectively judge against them will increase.

The real shame, beyond the tragic undue suffering of innocent children affected by compromised herd immunization and the destabilization of delicate public confidence in science based medicine, is the colossal amount of wasted energy that could be directed towards research efforts to make a meaningful difference in peoples lives.

'An age is called Dark, not because the light fails to shine, but because people refuse to see it.' -James Michener

M-O-O-N Spells Moon!

2010-02-13T14:39:00.001-05:00

Someone asked me to take a look at this video of an 'ancient alien moon-base', allegedly filmed by Neil Armstrong himself, and give my opinion on it.

Here goes...

For starters, Occam's Razor eliminates the possibility of alien moon-bases as a hoax as it (a hoax) is a far more plausible explanation over ancient moon ruins. When pondering a query 'unexplained' in nature, the simplest and most plausible explanation should always be accepted. Over a hoax, alien space pioneers is a wild and extraordinary theory by several degrees of magnitude.

But all default logic aside...

Why is the video footage so poor in quality? None of the other footage from the moon landing is this poor. Was it perhaps recorded from an intercepting TV here on Earth that picked up the (poor) signal? On what would it have been recorded? A VCR? They didn't exist at the time. Did a TV station pick it up? Why wouldn't they (the hypothetical TV station) have broadcast it to the public? Were they silenced by a government? How did the government know they picked it up? Did they triangulate on their position? They should have been wearing their foil helmets.

The structures look like primitive human dwellings - why would this be? An alien race that has the science and technology to defy the laws of physics and travel across the universe would build a moon-base out of moon mud-rock with adobe-style window sills? Those structures show the limitations of human imagination, not alien ingenuity. If anything, it looks like a ruin from the set of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

There is no atmosphere on the moon so what has has left the 'moon-base' in such a state of disrepair? Alien black mold? Meteorites? Moon-quakes? Certainly the moon doesn't have any of the violent natural forces which grind the surface of our planet and everything on it into mush. Why is this moon-base gutted and crumbling? Wouldn't the laws-of-physics-and-nature-defying-aliens have considered this or was this structure some sort of cosmic tent and the moon an orbiting KOA campground?

Why would the aliens choose the moon? The Earth, filled with life and endless usable resources is just a stones throw away. This would have been obvious to those smart enough to fold time and space to travel unfathomable distances on unknown fuel sources - surely the Earth would have been a better base? My bad, they did have the pyramids.

Why the primitive stone/mud building materials? What purpose would a structure made out of moon mud-rock, or concrete (did they have a mixing plant or a brick furnace too?) would have served in the unforgiving environment of the moon? Why even build such a structure? The non-sustainable and primitive materials they elected to use certainly would not have protected them from the vacuum of space. Did they sit around in space suits inside their primitive moon structure? What a drag, after all that hard work, to not be able to take your helmet off and stretch your tentacles a bit.

Was it only only used as a galactic bus stop? Aliens sitting under a rock canopy waiting for a passenger-ship to pick them up after a long day at the moon quarry?

Where are the alien materials? Surely they had some sort of environmental force-field generator, or Krypton ore, or a 'space modulator' or something of similar extraordinary dream fodder to protect them from the hostile environment of space.

Why would NASA hide it? Wouldn't it be the most incredible discovery in human history? Were they protecting the public? From what - knowing that there is life somewhere else in the universe? I think most people believe in life in the unvierse anyway, and if they haven't considered it, can easily be convinced based purely on mathematics alone. What would have been the harm in knowing about ancient space ruins? Panic? We do that already without any meaningful evidence.

If there were an alien moon-base found, wouldn't we have been clamouring to get back up there and rip that godforsaken moon to shreds to unearth and recover the alien artifacts or abandoned technology (excluding structural engineering technology) left behind? Can one honestly believe that NASA and/or the nefarious US government, especially during the cold war, would have left any stone unturned to get a leg up on the Ruskies or red China? We would have military posts there, if not hotels and hot dog stands, right now if evidence of alien civilization would have been found.

Why is it alien? It looks like any other human built dwelling - so if it does exist (which it doesn't) why wouldn't it have been possible for another country to have built it there? Again, what evidence of aliens is there?

Why different floors? There is nearly zero gravity so why the need to put level floors in like an earth bound dwelling?

Most belivers in UFO forums who support this footage claim that the structure is about a half a million years old - how do they know? Was is carbon dated? If yes, what material was it and who did the testing?
Again, isn't a hoax the most plausible explanation?

Genesis - Foxtrot

2010-02-08T21:24:00.003-05:00

I am a huge Genesis fan, particularly the early albums which featured Peter Gabriel on vocals and Steve Hackett on guitar. It's cerebral and at time times a bit hokey, but it's unique, melodic, powerful, and displays musical talent and composition that has seldom been equalled in rock.

I have been listening to the same analog mix of Foxtrot, that I bought back in 1989, regularly for the last 20 years and would have been perfectly content going another 20. However, being one that possesses a Zune Marketplace 'Pass', I am allowed to download unlimited albums from their library for a fixed $15 a month. Browsing my favorite bands last night, I found Foxtrot, New Stereo Mix from 2008, and went ahead a downloaded it to give it a listen.
They have taken every track and meticulously restored them. You can hear Gabriel's breathing in between lyrics, and every little raspy nuance in his voice comes through crystal clear. The guitars and bass are much more crisp and resonant, and the drums have so much more presence than the original recording. It's like hearing it for the first time, and as one commentor stated, they actually sound like a rock band. Awesome.

Beyond the enhancement to the tracks, its the stereo mix that makes listening to this album special. They have brilliantly defined the ambient space of each track, setting sounds at you from all new angles without detracting from the composition that fans expect. I was delighted to hear new ambient background sounds that were not discernable to me in the original recording, or at least, I never noticed them before. For the record, Supper's Ready sounds absolutely incredible. This recording, and a descent pair or ear-buds, is an absolute MUST for any Genesis fan. It's like a 'director's cut' of your favorite movie with an enhanced soundtrack.

I enjoyed this new mix on a new pair of Zune Premium Headphones V2, which I picked up from Ebay last week. You can't beat these things things for the price of $20, they cancel out most room noise and provide deep bass. Listening to the new mix in the car didn't provide the same impact that the headphones did, as far as the stereo directional enhancements are concerned, but the sound quality enhancement was abundantly evident.

They have also released Nursery Cryme, Selling England By The Pound, Trick of the Tail, Wind and Wuthering in this new format. I can't wait to listen to them too...

Here's a clip of some Foxtrot material being performed live back in the day (not from the recording I have been gushing about). Yes, Gabriel was a freak, or a pioneer, however you view it. I prefer the latter.

2010 Resolutions

2010-01-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Goals, posted and staring me in the face, are the only way I can initiate and accomplish extraordinary efforts which are generally dampened by the tremendous gravity of the status quo. I tend to put my money where my mouth is when I 'put it out there'.

It's taken long enough to produce them, but here they are:

For 2010:

1. Be a better person for myself, family, friends, and colleagues.

2. Cardio, and lots of it. I am not concerned about weight, shape or BMI - just endurance, breathing, and strength; everything else is residual.

3. Visit ACSO more frequently; I miss training.

For 2011:

2. Pursue Shodan.

A refrigerator posting to accompany this declaration for frequent reflection.

Here is something for your attention...

Divinations

2010-01-23T21:31:00.000-05:00

Mastodon. 'The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfu*$er in the room'. Name that movie!

James Randi Trounces Homeopathy

2010-01-22T19:30:00.001-05:00

Meditating on a comical query over at The Thinker on homeopathy, a great 'take down' video of homeopathy by 'The Amazing' James Randi, skeptic, magician and founder of the JREF, came to mind. Check it out...

Eco-Challenged?

2010-01-12T22:29:00.004-05:00

I posted the following comment in response to a post over at palentologist Scott Sampson's excellent blog The Whirlpool of Life.

Interesting perspective.

While I agree that a general disconnection from the natural world would be a problem, I am not convinced that it is an inevitability that we're already falling in line to suffer.

While many people do spend 10 hours a day in front of a computer screen, myself included as a consequence of employment, I do not feel any less connected to the natural world than I did before the advent of the Internet, in fact, I am generally clamouring to get outside after a typical work day.

This urge to get out is reflected on a larger scale by National Parks breaking attendance records (288 million visitors in 2009) for the third year in a row and this trend doesn't seem to support the hypothesis that the ever increasing inundation to digital distractions would interfere with natural experiences.

My oldest son loves Scooby-Do (and Dinosaur Train too for that matter). If I would let him, he would watch episodes back to back all day. But if I present the option to watch Scooby Do or go outside and dig a hole in the yard, he's grabbing his shoes and looking for a shovel. Why is this? Could it be that we are hard-wired to seek and experience our environment? Do we have a natural drive to learn what we're capable of and discovering those limits in the natural world is a sort of evolutionary homecoming? Are we subconsciously driven to gravitate to the outdoors? Would it be possible for mankind to completely turn it's back on nature by way of digital distractions?

On that last question - is there evidence that is the case? Is industrialization and consumerism driving a wedge between us and the natural world, or are they being re-invented to lessen the human footprint and make us collectively more aware of our impact on the planet? I perceive the 'green' global movement to be bigger than it has ever been in that everyday business from the 'Mom and Pop' shops to the global companies are now 'going green' in an attempt to contribute to the eco-security of the planet. And sure, there is green profit to be made too. Hey, an enviro-cash pun!

I would suggest that the environmental global consciousness has been elevated to an unprecedented level. For example, in the Architectural, Engineering and Construction industry, LEED design, or 'sustainable design' has exploded and is practically a prerequisite to stay competitive... it's not just some novel resume bullet point or hippie pipe dream. 10 years ago, no one knew, or cared for that matter, what sustainability and green design and construction was. Are these trends perpetuated not only by business decisions to be more efficient in our development, but also by a deeper connection to the environment?

Also, is the Internet different from any other distraction? TV? Video Games? Books? Toys? I have heard this argument with the variable culprit substituted by said alternatives.

While I agree that there are undue and unforgivable ecological tragedies that occur across the planet on a daily basis, I am skeptical of the inevitability of a technological lobotomy that would effectively hobble our collective efforts to be more responsible stewards of the environment. In my anecdotal observations, the opposite seems to be the case - we are witnessing a green revolution.

I share your concern for the future, but maybe I have more faith in mankind to do the right thing, regardless of current perceived blunderings or distractions, and also based on what I believe is intrinsically part of our existence; a general respect, if not for all a reverence, for the natural world.

Am I dreaming out loud?

National Influenza Vaccination Week

2010-01-11T21:25:00.003-05:00

What's cold, wet, filled with viruses, and is solely responsible for literally saving millions of lives around the world on an annual basis?

That's right Virginia - vaccines.

To mark this incredible human and scientific accomplishment, and to encourage the American people to be proactive about protecting themselves, their loved ones, and their communities from undue illnesses, specifically the seasonal and H1N1 influenza viruses, President Obama has declared this week National Influenza Vaccination Week.

Why am I posting this? Two reasons:

1. I am a firm believer in the science of vaccinations and their effectiveness to protect us all from unneeded suffering.
2. In his declaration, the President directly asks each of us to inform and encourage our friends, family and neighbors to get vaccinated.

They're free, they work, and for Pete's sake they're safe. Load up the van and take 'The Fam' out to get stuck today!

For more information, visit the CDC's NIVW website.

Happy NIV Week!

Mumps Outbreak

2009-12-21T14:16:00.002-05:00

This year, 600 cases of mumps have been reported in the Brooklyn area, compared to 300 reported cases anually for the whole country, which has prompted the CDC to issue a multi-state mumps alert for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

In this area, herd immunity (the type of immunity that occurs when the vaccination of a portion of the population, or herd, provides protection to unprotected individuals (Wikipedia)) is faltering. This is largely due to parents who are not vaccinating their children out of ignorance and/or a misguided distrust of science-based medicine perpetuated by the anti-vaccination 'movement' led by celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and her ilk. Want pediatric medical advice? Ask a celebrity.

The MMR vaccine only has an effective immunization rate of about 80%, meaning, the full benefit of the vaccine is not gained by all those who receive just one dose; hence there are two MMR shots in the schedule. Vaccination rates need to be at around 90% of a population to ensure that nasty viruses, like mumps, don't have a place to live. When the vaccinated population falls below 90%, then it puts everyone at risk, not just the kids whose parents have elected to not protect them, but even some kids who have had both doses. It should be noted that only 60% of the Brooklyn area mumps cases occured in unvaccianted people; this speaks volumes to the importance of herd immunization.

The source of the outbreak in the Brooklyn area has been identified as being an unvaccinated child who had recently returned from the U.K. (which has suffered 4000 mumps cases this year and has a rampant anti-vaccine movement) and then attended a camp where other people picked it up and took it back to their respective communities.

As the distorted and ill-conceived propaganda that drives the anti-vaccine 'movement' increases, so to do the illnessess and deaths. But don't take it from me, I'm not a doctor, I just play one on TV. Doesn't that qualify?

Take time to talk to your physician; the one with 'M.D.' behind his or her name.

Spiral Architect

2009-12-09T21:03:00.003-05:00

I saw this story on NBC Nightly News this evening:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Awesome! How cool would that have been to witness?

Of course all the alien-probed whack-a-dos are swarming YouTube and laying down their ominous back tracks to accompany what must be an outreach effort from our galactic neighbors. Yawn.

The real challenge is to contemplate what it might have really been without falling back onto the old and lazy, UFO explanations. Some folks are saying that it was a comet and some are saying it was a Russian missile that was spinning out of control although apparently the Russian government claims no such testing was underway at the time.

Regardless - there are other more plausible explanations outside of the usual UFO default. It's just a matter of figuring it out, or waiting for more evidence of what really happened to surface. The simplest explanation should always be accepted before an unprovable and extraordinary one, even though the later may be more romantic or enchanting to consider.

Still... COOL!

UPDATE: Russia did launch a rocket yesterday that failed (story), and here is a simulation of a 'tumbling rocket' which demonstrates the exact same pattern. Sorry E.T.!

Oh, and here's Black Sabbath with 'Spiral Architect'. Play it Tony!

Fishy Mercury

2009-11-28T18:57:00.004-05:00

I have to say, I love Information is Beautiful. A very cool blog.

They recenly posted a nice piece on H1N1 safety. The graphic has a section on thimerosal, a preservative that contains trace amounts of mercury. Thimerosal was demonized by the 'Anti-Vaxxers' and was blamed for the increase in children diagnosed with autism, although scientific studies did not support their claims.

Anyhow, this discussion has been an interest of mine (I have children) and I have been following it for a couple of years. I have frequently wondered how much mercury is a 'trace' amount. This clip from their blog puts it in perspective. If you have an opinion about vaccines (everyone seems to) then the whole post may be of interest to you too.

Jedi Mind Trick

2009-11-25T22:06:00.005-05:00

My four year old son loves Happy Meals, and despite his vast collection of more involved and expensive toys, he loves the little toys that come with the meals and can be found employing one or two of them at any given moment.

Over the summer, we went to McDonald's for lunch before going to the movie theater, and the Happy Meal I bought him came with a bobble-head of Master Yoda from Star Wars, but the head is mounted on a miniature spaceship of some sort (Star Wars nerds please forgive my ignorance).

There is a button on the side of the ship, and when you push it, Master Yoda speaks. When I pushed the button I heard Yoda say through a garbled little speaker in his head, 'Man of the wee be with you'.

Not really understanding why Yoda would say that, I pushed it again to verify. Sure enough, 'man of the wee be with you' was repeated. I expected 'may the force be with you', but with the Clone War cartoons being out and me having not seen them, I just shrugged it off as some new chapter that I wasn't privy to.

Months went by. My son regularly played with this toy, and I repeatedly heard the same odd message.

One night, I was sitting with my wife while my son played with the Yoda toy and I shared with her how weird I thought it was that Yoda was saying 'man of the wee be with you'.

She stared at me for a couple of seconds with a look of bafflement before saying, 'you're joking right?'. She then laughed and said 'he is saying may the force be with you'.

I was convinced that she was wrong having heard and pondered it several times. I borrowed the toy from my son and began pressing the button. Over and over again I heard 'man of the wee be with you' and every time she heard 'may the force be with with you'. I hit it about a dozen times trying to hear correctly, and finally, it came through as 'may the force be with you'.

The wrong message was ingrained in my brain, probably because it was loud in the restaurant the first time I heard it, and that's all I was able to hear. I had to concentrate and consciously reject what I thought was real in order to hear what was actually going on. What is even more interesting to me, is that 'man of the wee, be with you' is 7 syllables, and 'may the force be with you' is 6, and depending on whichever way I now choose to hear it, I hear the different syllable cadences as well. Crazy.

This story has been a long journey to get to my point: The mind is easily fooled. Sometimes we misinterpret what we see or hear, even though we may feel strongly about what we experienced. I found this to be a sort of audio 'brain teaser' similar to the simple geometric images that we've all seen that play with our depth perception.

We can also see patterns or structure in what really is nothing more than noise and randomness. This is called pareidolia. Some of the more common examples of pareidolia are faces in random objects (I once saw Tim Curry's 'Darkness' character from the movie Legend in a slate bathroom tile (this is the gayest picture of said demon I've ever seen)), Jesus in toast/car windows/orange peel/grilled cheese sandwiches, pirate ships in clouds. All are nothing more than unconscious pattern seeking (although, some cases could be more than just pareidolia... this one is hard to refute).

We are hard-wired to unconsciously identify and lock onto patterns, it's an ability that helped us survive and evolve as a species. An infant recognizing her parents' faces, our ability to recognize methodological patterns and repeat processes such as fire building, noticing migration patterns of wild game or seeing seasonal/celestial patterns for agricultural exploits. For millions of years, pattern recognition aided in keeping our bellies full and the home fires burning.

Ghost Hunters, and other spinners of woo, will exploit this. For example, when I was in junior high school, my music teacher played us recordings of some minister who claimed that rock albums played in reverse contained 'satanic' messages. What was interesting about it, other than sparking a greater personal enthusiasm for rock music (I bought Rush - Hemispheres the very next weekend after said minister trashed it and warned me of the evil therein), was that I could never really hear anything but gobbly-goop until the minister told me what I was hearing. Once he shared the 'diabolical message', it was as clear as a bell.

This hold true with Ghost Hunters too. If you watch the programs and pay attention during the analysis of the audio data they capture, they always play it back with big subtitles across the bottom of the screen telling you what you're hearing, otherwise it would just sound like mush. It's a mind trick, and it's baloney.

Most conspiracy theories and persuasions towards 'synchronicity' are contrived by way of pareidolia, finding coincidence and patterns in random and often misinterpreted/misrepresented data, but both of those topics are worthy of broader consideration and I've already rambled too long in this post.

So, whether your puzzled by a Jedi bobble-head, a demon posing for a glamour shot, holy grilled cheese sandwiches, or the compelling crackle and sputtering of ghostly audio, first consider that it may be your mind exercising its pattern identification tools and making something out of nothing at all.

Droppin' Science

2009-11-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

Brought to you by John Boswell at the Symphony of Science. I found this to be a very innovative and enjoyable musical experiment. This track features Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Michio Kaku and Robert Jastrow.

2012 @ Information is Beautiful

2009-11-23T14:02:00.003-05:00

The folks at Information is Beautiful presented this lovely Believer/Skeptic comparison chart that covers most of the different arguments regarding the upcoming 2012 'apocalypse'. Anyhow, having bought some of Daniel Pinchbeck's woo myself, I thought I could make some ammends with my psyche by sharing the word here. It's OK to be wrong, as long as you grow from it!

WOTW Disclaimer

2009-11-19T13:46:00.010-05:00

This is a personal blog.

The views and opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related to or associated with unless explicitly stated otherwise.

My thoughts and opinions may change as I learn more and refine my understanding of the issues that I am blogging about; this blog only provides a snapshot of the knowledge, views, and opinions that I hold at a particular point in time. I reserve the right to evolve my thoughts and to change them while either providing or denying any assignment of reason.

This blog includes links to other sites/blogs operated by third parties. These are provided to the reader only as a means of convenient access to the information contained therein. I am in no way responsible for the content of any other sites or any products or services that may be offered through other sites.

I retain the right to include, exclude or edit individual comments left by visitors of the blog, or to disable commenting on posts with or without any explanation. As a general consideration, unwarranted and/or profane verbal abuse of anyone for any reason will not be accepted.

The Power to Believe

2009-11-17T22:43:00.001-05:00

Since I was just talking about the power of belief, here is King Crimson, The Power to Believe. This is the 'other enrichments' part.

The Miraculous Placebo

2009-11-17T22:13:00.003-05:00

Someone close to me, who knows I do not believe in miraculous or supernatural happenings or the proclaimed mediums of said phenomena, recently asked me, ‘What about when people get up on a church stage and are healed of blindness or pain by the minister? Do you think that is fake? Why would all those people fake it?'

As it turns out, while I do believe that all the evangelical hocus-pocus and fervor is void of any healing magics, I do not believe that (all of) the participants are faking it, and I would submit that some recipients of the ‘healing power’ actually experience some temporary physical and/or psychological benefits to said ‘miracles’ (though I do reject that the completely blind regain sight or those disabled by true paralysis actually stand and walk).

What I do accept as a ‘miracle’ in these claims is the miraculous power of mind over body; the placebo effect.

When receiving new age treatments including but not limited to homeopathy, Reiki, magnetic or crystal treatments, and some natural supplements treatment (such as glucosamine for joint pain), the ‘effects’ are oftentimes felt by simply believing that the treatments will work to begin with.

Double-blind scientific studies have shown that people receiving sugar pills instead of actual medicines for medical conditions can show similar results to those which would be expected from people who received actual medicines. The number of people showing positive results for improvement in the placebo groups can be higher than 30%.

A recent AP report states:

The placebo effect accounts for about a third of the benefits of any treatment — even carefully tested medicines, scientists say. This dates to a landmark report in 1955 called The Powerful Placebo. Viewed as groundbreaking, the analysis of dozens of studies by H.K. Beecher found that 32 percent of patients responded to a placebo.

The placebo effect no doubt applies to faith healing as well. The inspired atmosphere and mass hypnosis can lead many to believe that they are receiving some Divine treatment, and as with sugar pills, believing it is enough to trick the brain into making it so if only for a short period of time.

Would it make much of a difference with a terminal illness? I'm skeptical, though I am aware that cancer patients are encouraged to believe that recovery is possible and to keep fighting with a hopeful spirit and positive attitude. This attitude, though most likely not enough without the full compliment of modern medicine (though some quacks may lead you to believe otherwise), could possibly be the difference between life and death.

I recall an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit where an unsuspecting alternative medicine patient received a liberal treatment of a gold-painted kazoo being played over him by an actor posing as a doctor to help relieve stress and neutralize negative energies. Though the treatment was clearly a joke to the viewing audience, the patient thought everything was legitimate and ended up reporting that he felt much better.

While the placebo effect is a testament to the power of mind over body, the effects of the placebo are unknowingly credited to the 'woo' that is triggering them, be it faith healers, new age treatments, sugar pills, or golden kazoos.

H1N1 Special Report

2009-11-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

If you're on the fence about vaccines, especially the H1N1 vaccine, be sure to listen to this special report brought to you by Dr. Steven Novella, host of the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe. In short, get off the fence!

Fort Hood and Political Correctness

2009-11-12T22:00:00.001-05:00

I was thinking about a political correctness and critical thinking thread over at The Thinker today after reading and listening to some NPR stories about Major Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter.

One article states:

Both fellow students and faculty were deeply troubled by Hasan's behavior — which they variously called disconnected, aloof, paranoid, belligerent, and schizoid. The officials say he antagonized some students and faculty by espousing what they perceived to be extremist Islamic views. His supervisors at Walter Reed had even reprimanded him for telling at least one patient that "Islam can save your soul."

The broadcast story I listened to talked about how concerned Hasan's professors were over how despondent he was, how poorly his coursework was going, and how he would become upset over the lessons they were teaching as they conflicted with his personal and religious philosophies.

Despite all of this, his professors were giving him second chances and spending time and energy encouraging him to get his act together. They expressed that this was being done partly out of the virtues of being educators, but also in part because they were afraid of offending him, or the immediate Muslim community that he was a member of. They didn't want to focus on him because they didn't want to come off as bigots.

It does seem that political correctness prohibited them from making better decisions. I am not sure that it stopped them from analyzing the situation objectively, as they had concluded based on his behavior and performance that he was a problem, but they weren't willing to address it openly for fear of some sort of professional, political or perhaps even violent retaliation.

More on this can be found here.

And on the Fourth Day...

2009-11-12T20:54:00.000-05:00

...I looked back over the volume of my work here at WOTW, a whole three posts, and realize that one is a sophomoric criticism of ghost hunters which ends in a rant of angry chimpanzee proportions, and another ends with the F-bomb despite my promise to refrain from profanity.

So... in an effort to avoid unnecessarily tainting skepticism with undue negative or cynical connotations, I am pledging to focus more on content than sarcasm which can be a crutch for weak arguments.

Anyone who knows me personally will tell you that this will be a difficult promise to fulfill.

And now for something completely different!

Wilco - You Never Know. I think they are skeptics too, or at least they were when they wrote this song.

Dawkins and Tyson

2009-11-11T23:38:00.000-05:00

I have read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and have listened to him speak in many different forums, and though I find his arguments to be sound and thought provoking, they are always quite pointed.

At an event with Richard Dawkins, Astro-Physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson seems to have made the same observation. Here is the exchange and what I thought to be a comical yet galvanizing response from Dawkins.

Ghost Lab

2009-11-10T23:33:00.000-05:00

Ahhh the Discovery channel. What's not to love? You've got Mythbusters, Dirty Jobs, The Colony, Ghost Lab, Shark Week - wait a second... Ghost Lab?

Ugh. You know, as a matter of principle, I've decided to author these posts without using profanity. However, watching this show inspires me to explore new combinations and artistic applications of foul language. Must... resist...

The premise of the show is that the hosts, the Klinge brothers, 'use science' to investigate and present 'evidence' in favor of paranormal activity. They do this by using the tried and true scientific method of walking around in the dark using the same ghost gadgets that all the other ghost quacks use. Oh, and they swear a lot. At each other and at the empty rooms playing the parts of the 'ghosts'. Para-swear-ology, very scientific. In tonight's episode, while hunting the ghost of John Wilkes Booth (in a location that JWB never went to), Brad Klinge yells 'you killed one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever seen you f-----'. What happend to respecting the dead?

They set up equipment to capture audio of their antics. While recording, their 'scientific' efforts are frequently interrupted by 'Did you hear that?' and 'Did you see that?' and 'Did you feel that?' When whomever they're standing with answers by staring back with a stupid look on their face, the inventor of the phenomenon starts in with a 'Dude I to swear to God blah blah blah', you get the picture.

When they take the 'data' they captured back to the lab, which is a horse trailer with flat screens TVs in it, they begin the objective 'analysis'. Any pop, click, squeak, sigh, fart or sneeze caught in the audio recording is instantly deemed a ghost; shirk a dozen other plausible explanations for what was heard and go straight to ghost. Science. They should read up on Occam's Razor.

Much like their investigation, watching this show, and surely blogging about it, is a fruitless endeavor and a colossal waste of time. When it is over, I only find myself in a state of mind that makes me want to administer a good ol' fashioned Hannibal Lecter style nose bite to one of their meaty faces. Gruesome? Maybe a smidge.

Now... what time does Mythbusters start?

Carl Sagan Day

2009-11-09T23:42:00.002-05:00

Admittedly, I have not read the entire Sagan library, but one day more than ten years ago, I purchased The Demon Haunted World; Science as a Candle in the Dark (here for Google Book version), on a whim. I was craving some unknown perspectives to fill the large voids in my generally anemic understanding of the universe, and knew that Carl Sagan had something to offer as I was a fan of Cosmos and Contact.

To say that this book had a profound effect on my psyche is a gross understatement. It completely floored me, fascinated me, and liberated me. I recall enthusiastically reading large sections of the book aloud at night to my then girlfriend and now wife. The idea of employing critical thinking as a tool in navigating the daily bombardment of quackery was empowering and at the same time challenging to me as I had suffered as a sucker to many woo's in my life (and still do from time to time - I think it's part of the human condition).

Dr. Sagan's confidence in the promise of science and the promotion of ration is truly inspiring. The clarity and perspective offered in this book on many topics including UFOs, bigfoot, witch trials, demonic possession, false memories, homeopathy, and other pseudoscience is something everyone should have the opportunity to receive.

All gushing aside, and although I am two days late in noting it (I just started this blog today so please forgive me), I think that Carl Sagan Day is a wonderful devotion to a truly noble and inspiring person. His book is why I started this blog and why I am devoted to the skeptical movement.

Happy Carl Sagan Day!