dimland radio 4-23-11 show notes

Some Pet Peeves

I just thought I'd touch on a few of those things that get under my skin. I covered three pet peeves: the way credit cards are shown being used in commercials (they're run through the readers the wrong way), air bags as a comedy device in film and on TV, and the common mistake of red "licorice" (licorice is black, not red!).

A Couple Tales Of Psychics

"I see water nearby."

Skeptic Benjamin Radford wrote about a psychic "nailing it," at least according to the media, when it came to helping police find the body of one of the Long Island serial killer's victims. Well, not exactly nailed it.

Then I told of a Swedish psychic arrested for fraud. Duh!

Ben Radford's article is here and the Swedish fraud is here.

Measles? Really?

This should never happen!

Believe it or don't, but there's a measles outbreak in Minnesota (my home state). Measles, like mumps and polio, should be gone. It's close, but it's not gone yet and it seems to be making a bit of a come back. As of 4/21/11, there are 21 cases of measles in the North Star State. This lead me to talk about the importance of getting vaccinated; you and your kids.

The piece on the outbreak is here and information about vaccination safety is here and here. And here's a bit of encouraging news.

Movie Recommendation: Jaws (1975)


The first of the summer blockbuster movies. Sure, the shark doesn't look as real as it would if the movie was made today, but it's likely that the movie wouldn't have been as good if the mechanical shark had work better (or been done using today technology). If it had, Spielberg would have used it more and that would have diminished the suspense and terror.

It's still excellent!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Little Red Corvette' by Prince & 'Powerline' by Husker Du
Second ad break bumpers: 'When I'm Not' by The Magnolias & 'Above It Now' by Figures
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

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

dimland radio 4-16-11 show notes

I've Been Accused Of Thinking I'm Smart

This is a book.

Well, that's what a former employee of the company I work for thought. He didn't care for me because he got the impression that because I read books I think I'm smarter than everyone else. I do read books, but there are quite a few people smarter than me am. I ain't no genius.

Skeptical News Items

No night vision here.

The first item was about Penn & Teller's upcoming series for the Discovery Channel.

In the dark in more ways than one.

The second item came from the satirical paper, The Onion, that made a good point about the Ghost Hunters program.

Comparing Apples And Oranges

Comparing these items

Starting with a brief mention about the "birther" conspiracy movement, I then took on the idiom of comparing apples and oranges. Turns out they are very similar. Perhaps it's time to retire the phrase.

Learn more here.

Logical Fallacies: Special Pleading

Inspired by the skeptical podcasts, Skeptoid and Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, I'm doing a series defining logical fallacies. This week's logical fallacy is "special pleading". I'm continuing to use those two sites so that we might learn how to recognize those mistakes made by all of us.

You can learn more from Skeptoid and the Skeptic's Guide to the Universe.

Top Ten Conspiracy Theories

This one gets it right, even if I didn't draw it.

I did a quick run through of Benjamin Radford's list which appears here. Then I segued into Jesse Ventura's comment on finding the actual events of 9/11 less believable than the "truthers'" ideas of what happened that horrible day. But what the "truthers" believe needs a good going over by Occam's Razor.

You can read more here.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Electric Lash' by The Church & 'Music For Boys' by The Suburbs
Second ad break bumpers: 'Walking On Your Hands' by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry & 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' by U2
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

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

dimland radio 4-9-11 shows

Living In Interesting Times (Follow Up)

A continuation of last week's talk on the work situation and how it's been really stressful. It just seems as though the stuff is piling up sky high. But I still have a job (for now).

A Couple Tales From Dim's Art School Days

I relate the story of my standing up to a snark delivering upper-classman and its results. Also, I lamented about a mistake I made on the mix tape I put together for the Halloween party of my second year at art school.

Acupuncture

Ouch!

I read a story from sciencedaily.com on the effectiveness and hazards of the ancient art of sticking needles in people.

JFK Assassination

Seconds after the "magic bullet" did its damage.

I decided to take on the piece-of-cake topic of Pres. Kennedy's assassination. I talked mostly about the Discovery Channel's Unsolved History JFK: Beyond The Magic Bullet. I also talked about the kill shot ("Back and to the left.") which wasn't really addressed in the documentary.

You can watch the documentary here, watch this conspiracy theorist's video piece that misses the point of the "magic bullet" recreation, this article is about the physics of the kill shot, here is the gruesome kill shot (note his head does move forward slightly as the bullet enters), and these two Skepticblog entries here and here.

There are also two highly recommended books that take a scientific look at this assassination: Gerald Posner's 'Case Closed' and Vincent Bugliosi's 'Reclaiming History'.

Movie Recommendation: 12 Angry Men (1957)

The classic jury room drama with and outstanding cast. It's terrific!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Ace Of Spades' by Motorhead & 'Empty Glass' by Pete Townshend
Second ad break bumpers: 'Debaser' by Pixies & 'Primary' by The Cure
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

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

death. i'm not for it.

It's Mr. Death. He's here about the reaping?

I know you’re going to have a difficult time accepting this, but I just don’t like the idea of dying. Nope. I don’t like. I don’t like it at all. To steal from Michael Shermer, when it comes to the idea of an afterlife, I’m all for it. But, being an atheist, I really don’t believe there is anything after this life. Death is the end of the journey.

And that sucks.

Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t suck enough for me to start believing in an afterlife. Besides what would an eternal afterlife be like? How long would it take for it to get boring? The concept of heaven I hear of seems as though there wouldn’t be much to keep me occupied. I suppose worshiping the alleged head man would keep me somewhat busy, but for how long?

So what would be a cool afterlife for me? I think that the best thing would be an afterlife in which time and space have no meaning. I could go anywhere and anywhen I want. I could explore the universe from end to end. I could witness any pre-historical, historical, and future event that grabs my fancy. And not just the history of earth, but the history of everywhere. Hell, I’ll have all eternity to deal with, so I’m sure it would keep me a little busier than some Stone Age deity or 72 virgins ever would.

Ah, if only.

It occurs to me as I reread what I’ve written so far that I hit on something that I believe is correct. Death, not the afterlife, is a state of being (can it be called that?) in which time and space are meaningless. At least it is to those who are dead. You see, they don’t exist. The dead can have no awareness of anything. The dead can’t even be aware they are dead. In a strange way there is a kind of comfort in that. In not existing, I mean.

Before you start thinking this is a suicide note, be assured I want to live as long as I possibly can. That is as long as my mind and body still work fairly well. I do think about dying frequently. It must have something to do with being middle-aged. I see funeral processions head by my office, located near a funeral home, and I often think, “There’s someone whose worries are over.”

Yep, I don’t like the idea of dying. We all have it coming. As I understand it, humans are the only living things on earth capable of contemplating their own death. Lucky us, eh? Too much time is spent not existing to worry about anything really. I try to remember that when get too hung up on my everyday worries.

Well. I try.

dimland radio 4-2-11 show notes

Living In Interesting Times

A little talk on the work situation and how it's been really stressful. It just seems as though the stuff is piling up sky high. But I still have a job (for now).

$280.00!

That new (new to us, it's a 2001) car just cost us about $280 dollars. Headlights needed adjusting, some light bulbs needed replacing, the rear window wiper needed attention. And an extra key that cost us $60 but it shouldn't have. Oh, well, you can't take it with you. Especially if you don't have it to begin with.

JREF's 2011 Pigasus Awards

When pigs fly!

Each year the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) awards people and organizations that promote pseudoscience, superstition, you know, woo. Click here to see this year's "winners".

It's Not True: Celebrities Die In 3s

Elizabeth Taylor, she was a hottie back in the day.

What constitutes a celebrity? How much time has to pass between deaths before you stop counting to three? So in March, we lost Elizabeth Taylor and Geraldine Ferraro. That's two, who's number three? I give a few suggestions.

Check out this site dealing with celebrity deaths.

iRenew Bracelets, Power Balance Bands, Placebo Bands: One Isn't BS

An honest product at a modest price.

The one that isn't BS is the Placebo Band. The other two claim to improve your balance, health, energy, etc. At best, what they provide is the placebo effect. The hucksters of these bands (excluding the honestly named and marketed Placebo Band) use tricks to convince you that the items work.

To see the tricks click here and here. To get your Placebo Band, which is much more affordable then the Power Balance bands ($60.00 Australian) or the iRenew bracelets (2 for $19.99 US) it will run you $2.00 (Australian).

Craig Ferguson Passes Off An Urban Legend As A True Story

Craig, how could you?

I wrote about this here and finally talked about it on the show.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Surfers Are Back' by The Barracudas & 'Love Is For Lovers' by The dB's
Second ad break bumpers: 'Lay All Your Love On Me' by Abba & 'Say Goodbye' by Hunters & Collectors
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

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