Category: General

Sixty pages (one and an half-spaced)

I’ve just collated my TeX files that make up the bulk of the Definitions chapter and I have sixty pages. That doesn’t include the introduction section to the piece nor does it include my attempt at a definition; this is just the discussion on previous definitional attempts. In a few days I’ll finish up my own attempt at a definition and try to write it up not just as a section of the thesis but also as a potential paper.

This is big news. I’ve been hoping to break this camel’s hump for a few weeks now and it’s finally cracking.

Inappropriate analogies over; I’m going to bed.

10/02/2008

Reading the Maps

I’ve been meaning to link to `Reading the Maps’ for a while now; there are some great posts up there about wacky alternative archaeologies of Aotearoa, but this post on recent talkback radio discussions blaming the `Jews’ for the current banking crisis in the States (whilst others are blaming the Government) has spurred me to do the decent thing and let my (small but growing) audience share in the wisdom of another blog.

I won’t provide much in the way of commentary to the conspiracy theorising that occurred on the radio; I wasn’t listening to the talkback and I don’t know the hosts so I’d be idly speculating where `Reading the Maps’ isn’t. I’m not surprised that these anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories are being touted; they are unfounded but have never really lost their favour with the hoi polloi. It’s a crude generalisation, I know, but people don’t seem to like oppressed peoples seemingly doing well, and the Jewish population have done so well (relatively speaking) given just how oppressive the multitude of European nations where to them.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Go read.

10/01/2008

The Conference Presentation

My presentation came with slides and my presentation software, Apple’s `Keynote,’ has a record function, so I recorded the talk as I gave it and thus I have a movie of the talk synced to the slides. Below you will find links to the YouTube clips; due to YouTube not allowing videos of more than ten minutes in length my thirty-two minute talk has been cut up into six `logically’ separated parts that can be enjoyed by all and sundry.

I will admit that this talk is edited. I have removed from the resulting movie file two interruptions. One of the interruptions was someone asking that the projector be lowered so that people at the back could see the slides and the other was someone asking me not to read out any of the quotes; he was voted down on the matter. Neither of the edits remove any content or criticism of the presented material.

The next Dentith Files (Sunday the 5th of October, 11am, 95bFM) will be on my conference experience. Should be interesting.

09/30/2008

Conference Aftermath

Expect a fuller report later this week; all I need say is that Vincent Gray, a `prominent’ New Zealand Climate Inactivist, claimed my paper was filled with with fallacies and that I do not understand how Science works.

Luckily it seemed like nearly everyone else I spoke to differed in their opinion. Expect a recording of the talk to appear either this afternoon or sometime tomorrow and you can read either the shorter version available in `Skeptic Magazine’ (vol. 14, no. 2) or the forthcoming publication of the talk in the New Zealand Skeptics magazine.

09/29/2008

Smoking does not cause Global Warming

Sometimes, in the process of investigating things you discover weird links. Today’s ‘What the?’ moment comes from `Forces International,’ a pro-(cigarette-)smoking site that tells you the `truth’ about smoking (apparently it’s not just non-lethal but also lovely, smells good, improves your sex life, fixes cracks and was something Jesus did). Browsing about their site I hit upon the multimedia portal and discovered that they host, amongst their pro-smoking propaganda, videos and multimedia galore on the `Global Warming Scam.’

Interesting bed fellows. It would be wrong of me to suggest that this irrevocably taints the Climate Inactivists because, quite possibly, they’re embarrassed by the association. It does kind of make sense, though, that the pro-smoking lobby would seek comfort and succour from the Inactivists. Both contend the scientific consensus on matters pertaining to them is wrong and both think the debate has been politicised.

And, of course, both are wrong.

Back to the `researching.’

Update: Look at this list of topics Forces members are concerned about.

09/22/2008

Johnny the Red for President ’08

I wasn’t asked to help out on Johnny’s campaign, which I think is a grave oversight, especially given my qualifications as the self-professed ‘Conspiracy Theorist of the World’ but I have been asked to fulfill the much lesser duty of advertising Johnny to the to the world. So, meet the only presidential candidate who professes with extreme prejudice.

Johnny the Red for President

That is all. Normal programming to resume shortly.

09/22/2008