Prose and Kaa

I just sent this via their web site.

It has recently come to my attention that American Airlines intends to air an interview with a woman named Meryl Dorey who is associated with an Australian organization called The Australian Vaccination Network. In spite of its name, the organization provides no solid, scientific information about vaccinations, but is instead dedicated to preventing people from vaccinating their children. Ms. Dorey is an HIV denier and also believes that doctors lie and poison babies.

It is an extremely dangerous organization that has come under serious scrutiny in Australia. Her claims have been proven false time and time again.

Given that last year, 100 AA passengers had to be tracked down, and more than two dozen quarantined, because a child infected with measles was brought on a flight, I don't see how you can, in good conscience, even consider airing such a thing. It is providing your passengers wrong, dangerous information.

I must therefore say that if you do air this interview, I will no longer consider American Airlines a safe alternative for travel, and will make sure that all my friends and relatives know why.

By propagating anti-scientific, anti-vaccination propaganda, you're making the problem worse, not better. Please reconsider your decision. I've never had reason to complain before now, but I feel VERY strongly about this issue.

Thank you. I hope AA will do the right thing.

Probably won't do a bit of good, but I mean it. If they air this pack of lies, I will no longer travel by AA.

For more information, read the Bad Astronomy blog. Don't let the name fool you: Dr. Plait defends all of science, not just astronomy. And anti-vaccination is bad science.

Last week, I packed my bags and went to Las Vegas for five days. I don't gamble. I don't drink. I don't smoke. And I had no intention of partaking of the other thing that's legal in Nevada that some people look forward to when they go to Las Vegas.

So why the hell did I go to Las Vegas? To attend The Amazing Meeting 9, also known as TAM 9 From Outer Space.

The Amazing Meeting or TAM is the annual conference of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), a group of educators, magicians/entertainers, scientists, etc. whose mission is to promote rational thought in our irrational world. This was my first one.

The first TAM was in 2003 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where the JREF was based at that time. It quickly outgrew the modest space and has since been held in Las Vegas, most recently at the Southpoint Hotel Casino and Spa a few miles south of The Strip in Las Vegas, NV. There have also been TAMs held in London and Australia. There have been cruises to the Bermuda Triangle, Alaska, Mexico, and the Galapagos Islands. All of them have been very successful.

Basically, it's a place where a lot of skeptics and freethinkers from all over the world and from all walks of life can come together for four days and make friends, learn, and just hang out. <irony alert>In one of the world capitals of irrational thought. :)</irony alert>

This year, there were 1652 of us in attendance.

One of the many things that skeptics take seriously is public outreach. We do it in many different ways. Some use blogs, others use podcasts, some create websites . . . it just depends on your personality. Still others are very public about their skeptical, rational outlook. These include people like James Randi, Banachek, Jamy Ian Swiss, Penn Jillette (all magicians); Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Dr. Phil Plait, Dr. Lawrence Krauss, Dr. Pamela Gay (all astronomers and/or (astro)physicists); Adam Savage, Bill Nye (The Science Guy), Julia Sweeney, George Hrab (entertainers/muscians); Derek & Swoopy, DJ Grothe, Richard Saunders, Chris Mooney, Dr. Steve Novella, Bob Novella, Jay Novella, Evan Bernstein, Rebecca Watson, Blake Smith, Ben Radford, Dr. Karen Stollznow, Brian Dunning, Robert Price, Joe Nickell (all podcasters); Sean Faircloth, Daniel Loxton, Dr. Richard Dawkins, Jennifer Michael Hecht, PZ Myers, Dr. Richard Wiseman, Dr. Ginger Campbell, Dr. Rachael Dunlop, Ben Radford, Greta Christina, Michael Shermer, Dr. Eugenie Scott, Jennifer Ouellette . . . I could go on and on and on for a good, long time naming people whose names are household words to me, but most of whom the average person has never heard of. Which is tragic.

One of the big issues right now with the skeptical movement is vaccination. When children are vaccinated, it helps protect them (vaccinations are not 100% effective, and there is a small chance of adverse reactions: absolutely no one in the skeptical community has ever claimed that this is not true, regardless of what you might have heard) from a host of terrible diseases that used to kill thousands of vulnerable people annually.

( I'm going to get serious )

Fun fact: Did you know that adults need to get boosters for some of these childhood diseases? For TDAP, it's about 10 years. Why? Because it's not about you. It's about other people, especially children too young to get the vaccination.

So when I went to TAM 9 and they announced that for one day, they had free TDAP vaccines, I jumped out of my chair and went to stand in line, missing the rest of the panel that was very interesting.

The line was out the door and about 30 feet down the hall. I waited.

Eventually, I got the shot in the arm, got a sticker (A STICKER! YAAAAAY!), my picture made with a toy bear, and a certificate saying I got the vaccination. I believe the final count was 305 people who got the TDAP vaccine.

I mentioned this on Facebook.

And got, "Why?" a lot. "Why did you get TDAP?"

Brennan. Seth. Jonah. Nathan. Suzi. Penelope. Nicholas. Caleb. Elias. Kathryn. Julian. Luna. Liliana. Annabelle. Fisher. David. The as-yet-unborn children of two of my coworkers. Those are who I got the booster shot for. I may never lay eyes on many of these children of my far-flung friends (and I know I left out a lot of my friends' young children, and I apologize profusely, but a lot of you don't post their names and . . . I just didn't have the time to research), but on the chance that I do, how terrible would it be to pass on a terrible disease because I didn't do something that took literally 20 minutes and a few days of pain in my arm?

So does that answer the question in a way that everyone can understand? If you don't like "because I wanted to," or "to counteract the stupidity of the anti-vaxers," or any of a number of other very good reasons, does this make it abundantly clear?

It turns out that if you wash something electronic—let's just randomly say, oh, a Sony Digital Voice Recorder, model ICD-SX46—it no longer works.

Even if you very thoughtfully leave it on top of the dryer so the heat will dry it out.

So, check those pockets before you do laundry!

This has been a public service announcement.

Hey, everyone! Your friendly neighborhood Skippy, here!

Here's a tip for homeopaths who want to have a keg party, but don't have the fundage for a keg:

1. Fill a bathtub with water. To the brim.


2. Add a single drop of the beer of your choice.


3. Agitate the water to mix the drop of beer with the water thoroughly.


4. Drink up! It may not taste like beer, but it'll have the same effects!


5. When the tub only has a few drops left at the bottom, fill it back up with more water.


6. By the principles of homeopathy, each subsequent tub full will be more powerful than the last!


7. By the 8th or 9th tub full, you should be able to get passing-out drunk with only a single sip! But make sure you agitate after each refill!

Caution: Make sure not to accidentally mix anything else into the water. *wink* *wink* By the principles of homeopathy, anything you mix in the water gets more powerful with each dilution!

Try the same technique with champagne (for wedding receptions)! Bourbon! Chocolate milk (for kids' parties)! Cyanide-laced Kool-Aid (for creepy religious cult gatherings)! The possibilities are as endless as the gullibility of anyone who uses homeopathic remedies!

Disclaimer: Neither Skippy nor kaasirpent can be held liable for driving breweries out of business. Or for any resulting water toxicity for anyone gullible enough to take this post seriously.

I just listened to the first installment of a fiction podcast called Metamor City. I encourage everyone who is into podcasts to listen to this one. It is amazing. And if you're not into podcasts, then go listen to it, anyway.

The setting is in Metamor City, somewhere in the north of an alternate world where magic works, the technology is advanced, and at least one city—Metamor City—is Cursed. The inhabitants have to protect themselves with amulets or risk being taken by the Curse...to become something else. Humanoid animals. Children. Stunningly attractive...members of the opposite sex.

There are vampires, incubi, succubi, ghosts, and...probably things that don't have names lurking on the lower levels of the tiered city. Street gangs of rogue wizards roam the streets.

The first episode is from the point of view of a rookie homicide detective named Michael Perelli. His new police chief is a wolverine. The medical examiner is a vampire who works for the police after becoming a free agent. His new friend on the force, Kate Cattain (?) is...special, as well. More than he realizes at first.

The city has a dark underbelly, and it is in this underbelly that Michael will be spending his time. If he survives. :)

The podcast will feature a number of readers, each playing a different character, which I find very intriguing. It also has sound effects which add considerably to the ambiance of Metamor City and gives you a better feel for being "in" the story.

Go. Listen. Enjoy. Do it. Now.