dimland radio 2-6-16 show notes

A Tale Of Snow

I began the show with a lengthy (and maybe boring) recap of all the shoveling I did in the aftermath of Minnesota's latest snowstorm. We didn't get dumped on by the amounts that the East Coast suffered a couple weeks ago, so it was an admittedly easier task. Still, it was a fair bit of snow clearing that needed to be done.

B.o.B. Thinks The Earth Is Flat. NdGT To The Rescue...

I hadn't heard of rapper B.o.B. before I spotted he had outed himself as a Flat Earther. Which is something he has in common with internet personality Tila Tequila. So, B.o.B. took to Twitter to show his ignorance and Neil deGrasse Tyson took to Twitter to attempt to help the rapper come into the light.

 

It became kind of a deal on the internet and wound up as an amusing segment on Comedy Central's The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

I took the opportunity to mention that our ancient ancestors figured out that our planet is a sphere. They didn't need to go into space to figure it out, they just made simple observations. Aristotle could see that some stars were not visible in the night sky as observers went farther to the North. He surmised that the Earth must be round. Eratosthenes made measurements of shadows cast by the sun at high noon on the Summer Solstice and discovered the farther North one went the longer the shadows grew. He, too, surmised the Earth must be round and he even did some math to figure out its circumference. He was pretty damn close. And he did it all without the help of Google.

 

HIV Positive Charlie Sheen Consults A Quack, Dimland Radio Science Zero Bill Maher Promotes That Quack

By now, most everyone who knows who Charlie Sheen is knows that he went public with being HIV positive. It wasn't the most shocking of news given what we've heard about Sheen's lifestyle. He went on the standard science-based medications and his viral load dropped to undetectable levels. Undetectable, but not gone.

Enter the quack. Samir Chachoua has some pretty quacky ideas about how to treat HIV/AIDS. Don't use what science has given us, use milk from arthritic goats. Yeah, that's the ticket. So, Sheen eschews actual medicine for this unproven snake oil and surprise! his viral load goes back up.

 

Enter Dr. Oz. Of all people, Dr. Oz comes on the scene to get Charlie back on the rails. Sheen was a guest on Oz's show on which he admitted being a "human guinea pig" for Chachoua's treatment. To Dr. Oz's credit, he along with Sheen's actual doctor had a kind of intervention to convince the Hollywood bad boy to get back on his meds. Sheen agreed and later began tweeting negatively about Chachoua.

 

Enter Dimland Radio Science Zero Bill Maher. Maher had Chachoua as a guest on his HBO show Real Time. Maher has a problem accepting science when it comes to medicine and pharmaceuticals. He believes "Western medicine" hasn't done shit in 50 years about cancer, for instance. Which just isn't true. Detection methods have improved. Treatments have gotten more effective. Survival rates have increased.

 

What great advancements have there been in homeopathy, naturopathy, iridology, reflexology, chiropractic, magnet therapy, acupuncture, aromatherapy in the last 50 years, eh, Bill?

 

Science blogger Orac wrote a lengthy, comprehensive piece on this whole affair. You came read it here.

 

Movie Recommendation: None

 

I ran out of time. You are on your own this week.

 

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Pride' by Echo & The Bunnymen & 'Spinning Round' by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

Second ad break bumpers: 'YYZ' by Rush &  'The Wait' by Killing Joke

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
 
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