Reader (and typo-hound) Dave G. reports the following:
There will be a huge convention in Minneapolis come November, where thousands of members of the woo-woo fraternity will congregate at The Edge Life Exposition. In looking at the booth location floor plan, I noticed that booth numbers ending in 13 are absent. Thus they have #100-112, then 114...; 200-212, then 214, etc, which has caused me to wonder if perhaps those people know something to which the rest of us are not privy.
I took a look a their site, and yes, it does read like the anti-TAM. You can learn how to connect with your angels, discover your inner psychic, and even discover how the secret to happiness is in your mouth – namely through holistic dentistry. Dave continues:
Another anomaly: The convention is scheduled for two days- Saturday, Nov. 14th, Sunday, the 15th. However, apparently you can purchase a three-day pass! They do not give particulars, but it is ranked with the Gold Card Pass as far as its privileges are concerned.
Dr. Steve Novella of Skeptics Guide to the Universe stopped by the JREF recently and had an interesting discussion with James Randi about magic and neurology. We were able to tape it and share it with you on YouTube.
If you'd like to make comments, please visit this link to go to YouTube directly.
Chemical and Engineering News may have a narrow audience, but long time JREF friend (she's never missed a TAM!) and educator Sachie brings this cheery article to our attention.
From the article:
Darlene Cavalier, a Pennsylvania mother of four, a former business developer for Walt Disney Publishing Worldwide, and a onetime cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers, is a vociferous fan of science and, with her slam-dunk smile and enthusiasm, is adding a literal verve to the idea of science cheerleading. Courtesy of Darlene Cavalier
I have received a personal message from beyond the grave, in the form of an audio file. It was posted under the heading American Chiropractors apply for the Zerobrainer Award. It seems that D. D. Palmer, the founder of chiropractic, has been monitoring the Quackwatch Healthfraud discussion list and the Science-Based Medicine blog from wherever departed spirits reside, and he is pissed. He singles me out for criticism and addresses me as Harriet.
He says I should be devoting my retirement to ladylike pursuits: knitting, ladies' clubs, baking cookies and the like. Thinking is not a woman's game. He says he had 5 wives himself and they knew their place.
There's an old joke that goes something like this:
A man walks into the police station and says "Officer, I'm pyschic, and I just sensed a murder. It was awful! If you go to 212 Main St. and look in the basement, I'm sure you'll find a man stabbed to death." So the officer brings the psychic along, and upon finding a body there, arrests him. "Why are you arresting me?" the psychic asks. And the officer replies, "If you were really psychic, you'd have known that's what I was going to do, and you wouldn't have come along. And if you're not psychic, you must have killed this guy to know what had happened."
Chemical and Engineering News may have a narrow audience, but long time JREF friend (she's never missed a