dimland radio 3-30-19 show notes

Money-Sapping Crap From Goop

Spreading bullshit to the gullible with disposable income since 2008.

A member of the Minnesota Skeptic's group brought our attention to the item you can see above. It's real.

I can save you the $27.00. There is no such thing as a psychic vampire. There. You needn't waste your hard-earned money.

A Dimland Radio ARGH! Misspelling Whoa. Again.

I know I've arghed about this before, but I just had to bring it up again when I saw the color guide for page 11 of Daredevil #296. First word on the page is the misspelling of the word "whoa". For some reason, people under the age of 40 keep spelling it w-o-a-h.

 

I don't get it.

 

I find this especially aggravating as it was from reading comic book where I learned how to spell the word.

ARGH! Will this insanity never end?

 

Abraham Lincoln Would Have Won Regardless

 

 

The above screen capture appeared on my Facebook page the other day. It was posted by a personal friend of mine and I had to look into the veracity of the claim. Not that I didn't trust my friend's word, but I'm a skeptic and it's what we do.

 

Turns out my friend is wrong. Lincoln was in a four way contest for President in 1860, in which he received the most electoral votes by far. He won the office, but my friend is wrong that he need the Electoral College to win.

It's true. Lincoln did only receive 39.8% of the popular vote. However, that was 10 points more than the next highest vote recipient, Stephen Douglas. So, Lincoln would have won even if it was just based on the popular vote.

 

My research led to my finding some interesting facts about previous Presidential Elections. There have been five times in US history in which the loser of the popular vote won the presidency. In fact, one lost both the popular vote and electoral vote and still won the office.

 

And it was legal! Sanctioned by the US Constitution.
Three Cool Things

 

1) Camera technology has been improving and improving and just about everyone has one now right there on their phone. All those cameras and still no good footage of bigfoot, Nessie, Moth Man, etc. It should be telling us something. Oh! Look! And albino moose in the wild! Cool!

2) Pretty cool video demonstrating that space is really big and that the nearest stars to us are very far. Super far. Super-duper far. I mean really, really, really far.

 

3) Echoing a cool item from last week, except this is way, way more cooler. BASEBALL IS BACK!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Beatle Boots' by Love Tractor & 'Alice's House' by The Psychedelic Furs

Second ad break bumpers: 'Constant In Opal' by The Church & 'King Of The Hill' by The Minutemen

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 3-23-19 show notes

Minnesota House Passes Hands-Free Bill But...

After I warned my listeners of my cold and promised to minimize the sniffling and throat-clearing, I talked about the Minnesota House of Representatives passing a bill that limits cell phone use while driving to hands-free only. One representative said it is a good start, but thinks the bill could go farther by increasing fines, as well.

 

I agree the bill should go farther, but not by raising the penalty.

 

It should...

...Ban All Cell Phone Use While Driving

When it comes to distracted driving, any cell phone use is a bad thing. The idea that the bill, if it becomes law, will require drivers to use the hands-free option when talking on the their cell phones gives the impression the hands-free is safe. There is strong evidence that it is not.

 

Our brains cannot multitask. It can switch back and forth from task to task, so it seems like we can to two things at once, but we really aren't. And the multitasks we are doing we are doing badly.

 

My advice? If your phone rings while you are driving and you can pull over safely to answer it, do that. If you can't pull over, don't answer it. Call the person back when you can safely do so. And for pity's sake, don't place a call while you are driving.

 

Click here for the National Safety Council's white paper explaining why cell phone use, hands-free or hands-full, and driving don't mix. 

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: The Example Of Distracted Driving Given In White Paper

I noticed something about the tragic example of distracted driving given in the summary of that white paper on how hands-free cell phone use while driving is not safe. It didn't explicitly state that the young woman was using the hands-free option. In fact, it seems more likely she was holding her phone.

 

I suppose the authors wanted to give an example of inattention blindness, but I would have thought it would have been more effective to use a hands-free example.

 

And Jack The Ripper Is... Still Unknown

 

Once again there's news about the identity of Jack the Ripper. Once again someone has attempted to twist what ever evidence they think they have to fit their idea of who the killer was. Once again the killer is thought to be Polish immigrant barber Aaron Kosminski. Once again the news media and social media gets excited. Once again the evidence is crap.

And still the identity of the murderer remains unknown.

 

Some news outlets were dubious, but a quick glance at the headlines showed a more credulous approach to the story. Wouldn't want to discourage the clicks. This article has a credulous headline, but is otherwise pretty dubious. However, Forbes.com's article drills home just how ridiculous this latest claim is.

 

However, one group believes they know who the Ripper is because they asked his ghost! The group are ghost hunters and they contacted the ghost of Walter Sickert, an artist who some think may have been Jack. Well, if you can't take the word of a ghost...

 

Face it, kids, the likelihood is that we are probably never going to know the identity of one of history's most notorious serial killers. He will remain a mystery. And having a little mystery in life ain't so bad, is it?

Three Cool Things 

 

 

1) My friend Scott Roberts is an excellent artist and he's working on a mural, which, in its early stages, looks way cool. I'm sure the finished mural will look good, but I think the subtlety of the early stage is excellent. You can check out Scott's other work here.

 

 

2) Through Facebook I spotted another artist whose work has me repeatedly exclaiming, "Wow!" He is Frederick Cooper and his portrait work is super cool. I especially like his topic choices. Click here for his website.

 

3) We are less than a week until opening day of the 2019 season of BASEBALL! That's cool.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Everyday Story of Smalltown' by XTC & 'Tide Is High' by Blondie

Second ad break bumpers: 'Man With The Lightbulb Head' by Robyn Hitchcock & The Egyptians & 'You Took' by The Church

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 3-16-19 show notes

A Correction
 

A couple shows ago I talked about Operation Pizza Roll, which was a sting operation put on by skeptic to catch a psychic using hot reading on their audience. While talking about the sting I misspoke. I said that the psychic told his audience that they should feel free to "video tape" the proceedings.

 

For shame.

 

I corrected my error.

Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie?

A screen capture from seconds after McClane should be dead. Six cops with drawn weapons and not one of them took a shot.

On last week's show I talked about losing my ability to suspend my disbelief while watching Die Hard 2. I had a little more to say about that, including the number of police officers who could have (and should have) shot super-cop John McClane. The number is seven. I found the clip online as part of a WatchMojo.com video clip of 10 Badass Moments in the Die Hard Movie Series. The scene in question ranked number six.

 

Then I began to rethink the idea the Die Hard (the original) of whether or not it could be considered a Christmas. I speculated and debated with myself for a few minutes and I came to the conclusion...

You'll just have to listen.

 

Along the way, I corrected my misuse of interchanging the terms clip and magazine when it came to talking about the blanks used in Die Hard 2. Click here to get it straight.

 

Plenum

The other day, my boss introduced me to the word plenum. He was telling me about a particular part of a furnace called a plenum. Then later that same night, as I was listening to the latest episode of The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe and rogue Cara Santa Maria did he weekly segment "What's The Word?"

 

Can you guess the word?

 

Coincidence?! Yes.

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Someone Doesn't Know How Pie Charts Work

Science Insider produced a video explaining why human breasts differ from all other animals with breasts. It's an interesting and informative video.

 

However, the person who created the animated graphics for the video doesn't know how pie charts work. We are told a total 1.5 million women are affect by breast cancer worldwide each year. And we are also old that 570,000 women were killed by breast cancer in 2015. I would say that's an effect. The 570k is part of the 1.5 million for 2015. We are shown the graphic below. Can you see the error?

 

The pie totals to 2,070,000 not 1,500,000.

Facebook And The Female Nipple

 

One of the policies on photographs shared on Facebook is that users are not to show female nipples. I have posted the cover of Pixies' album Surfer Rosa, which features exposed female nipples, on my Facebook page only to have in promptly removed.

 

This is not acceptable on Facebook.
By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=933198

But, if you are eBay and you are paying to place an ad, well, then you can get away with...

 

This is acceptable on Facebook. I blanked out the nipples.

 Three Cool Things

1) The New York Times produced an animated video along the lines of the School House Rock series. They called it Fool House Rock and it addresses the anti-vax movement's success in bringing back measles. I especially like the FDR as the polio virus.

 

2) Above is a pretty cool way to troll an anti-vaxxer.

 

3) And the above image of the classic Universal Studios monsters as the members of KISS is very cool.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Luka' by Susanne Vega & 'Spirit Of The Radio' by Rush

Second ad break bumpers: 'I Believe In You' by Don Williams & 'Good Thing' by The Woodentops

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 3-9-19 show notes

Show 400!

Sure, it's arbitrary how we like big numbers that end in 0 or 5, but that's how we humans are. Sue us. 

 

This is the 400th Dimland Radio! It is also the nine year anniversary (or near enough) of the show first airing on Z Talk Radio. And it is now Z Talk Radio's longest running show!

 

Cool beans, eh?

Why She's The Girl At The Chain Store...

There's a young woman at a local convenience store whose eyes have that vacant stare thing going on. I don't want to make her self-conscious. I'm sure she's got plenty going on behind those eyes. She just reminded me of a couple super-models I had met.

 

She also had a message for me that caught me off guard.

 

Another Talk About Suspending My Disbelief

In order to enjoy just about any movie you watch, you have to be able to suspend your disbelief. But, sometimes a movie stretches credulity so far, it can't help but break.

 

I talk about two movies from 1990 and explain how I was able to go along with one, but the other was a bit too much. The movies? Total Recall and Die Hard 2.

 

Warning! I get rather worked up in this segment. My wife even got concerned.

 

And I weigh in on whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. And I wonder why there isn't a similar debate about Die Hard 2.

 

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Catching Up In A Movie Chase

In movies, when the plot calls for it, someone chasing another always seems to catch up not matter how much of a head start the another got. Sure, the chaser might be a faster runner, have a faster horse or car, but, in the case of Die Hard 2, just how did McClane catch up to the bad guys when they have a head start riding the same kind of snow mobile as our hero?

 

I give my idea on how it might have worked. Why didn't they ask me?

 

The Momo Challenge Is A Hoax

 

 

Much like the Blue Whale Challenge from not so long ago, the internets and news media was a buzz with concern that kids were joining in on a series of challenges that became increasingly dangerous ultimately leading to suicide. This one is called the Momo Challenge. It's accompanied by a creepy image of a Shelley Duvall from The Shining like character, which I had been seeing shared all over my Facebook feed.

 

"Would you like to play a game?"

Turns out that, just as with the Blue Whale Challenge, the Momo Challenge is a hoax. The kids ain't gullible enough to follow some app to suicide. But social media and the news media are gullible enough to think the kids would do it.

 

More on the story here.

 

Three Cool Things

1) I found another interesting podcast. This one comes from Rolling Stone magazine and it's called Rolling Stone Music Now. It's been around for a while and I'm picking through the shows that look interesting to me. It's cool.

      

1a) There's an interview of the great Pete Townshend, in which he says a new Who album will be released this year! That, if it happens, is very, very cool!

 

2) Through the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast I learned more about the remix versions of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's and White Album. The remixes were done by Giles Martin, Beatles' producer George Martins' son, and Giles brings a clarity to the sound that wasn't there before. It's cool!

 

3) Show 400! Nine years! Longest running show of Z Talk Radio!

 

And the not so skeptical were skeptical that the skeptic would last.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'Y.O.Y.O.Y.' by Cheap Trick & '(The) Metro' by Berlin

Second ad break bumpers: 'Everyone A Puzzle Lover' by 10,000 & 'Absolute Beginners' by The Jam

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

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.