Comments on: Zoned out

By: DingoDave

DingoDave — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:49:43 +0000

Ummm…Make that ‘binoculars’.

By: DingoDave

DingoDave — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:46:21 +0000

Those boas are Sooo… Honolulu.

But seriously, we Australians tend to be very unappreciative of the Magellanic Galaxies. Under a dark Southern sky, they stand out like dog’s balls. They’re absolutely fantastic. Try looking at them through a pair of 10×50 binoculares.

We don’t know how lucky we are.

By: Radwaste

Radwaste — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 02:57:40 +0000

Mr. Saunders, thanks for coming to D*C, too. It’s a delight to be around people who want to learn. So few seem to.

And again, Phil, delighted that PhD doesn’t mean Permanent Humor Deficit and that you’re an engaging public speaker (Powerpoint aside, yes I know it was a free talk). I had four others, family and friends at the Con, and they’ll all be there next year.

Hoping to see you both!

By: G

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 01:41:35 +0000

The BA wrote at Skepchick:
“If I have a blind spot on some issue because of my gender (or race or education or economic status or political affiliation), then I need to know about it…I don’t know exactly why there is such an imbalance of men versus women in the skeptic movement…Breaking boundaries and shattering old paradigms is part of what skepticism is all about”

Looks like both that podblack.com blog (FOUR essays on women and superstition!?) and that podcast (FOUR women active in skepticism on a podcast?!) are a good source for the BA to learn about such things. Adding both to my bookmarks.

By: RichardSaunders

RichardSaunders — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:51:21 +0000

We are all of us doing what we can. Thanks Phil for the shout out. The show is going so well.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:06:57 +0000

Australian lingo for skeptic is sceptic.

By: Podblack

Podblack — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 07:48:31 +0000

Much better. You may keep the boas in future.

Now, we’ll work on quality over gender-focused conferences, education being better profiled at every conference in future and so much more – just listen to the Skeptic Zone and you’ll hear what not only I but so many of my friends and co-workers have been getting up to whilst you’ve been star-gazing for skepticism…

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 05:17:17 +0000

Thanks so much for coming to DragonCon this year. My son (5) really got a lot out of your talk about the end of the world. I showed him your picture on the dust jacket of Death and he immediately said, “That’s Phil.” I hope you will be coming back next year.

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:12:10 +0000

The URL is fixed. Sheesh.

By: Podblack

Podblack — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:12:55 +0000

[note Digital Cuttlefish - he STILL hasn't changed it in the main body of his blog, despite his protests... Still $1!!]

By: Podblack

Podblack — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:11:28 +0000

No, Phil – the first is to the WordPress blog, as a ‘Skeptic’s Circle host’. Who, exactly? The second is just another at the end of a list called ‘Kylie’? Seriously, it takes more than that…

By: Joel Birch

Joel Birch — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:01:19 +0000

Hi Phil,

For the record, the podblack url with the word ‘wordpress’ in it is the old one, so if you point to that then no Google-juice is conferred to Kylie. Hence, the D*C link is correct (awesome!), but the Carnivalence link is incorrect, as is the link in this ‘zoned-out’ post.

I couldn’t resist piping up about this. Kylie’s site is hugely deserving of all the search-engine ranking she can get as she does a great deal of good for the skeptical movement in Australia. Thanks BA!

By: Metro State Atheists

Metro State Atheists — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:35:00 +0000

Ya missed Grinspoon’s talk! Maybe next time.

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:20:56 +0000

Uh, Kylie:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/09/04/tales-of-dragoncon-overview/

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/01/31/carnivalence/

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:19:33 +0000

Mike Sperry: sigh. No good idea is original.

By: Podblack

Podblack — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:45:13 +0000

Saunders, you were just _jealous_. You were COVETING that pink boa, I just know it. You were just _too_ gleeful when he traded it for the black one!

By the way – the fate of those boas, Saunders? I found where you stuck them in my check-in luggage and they were given to the cleaning lady of my hotel room in Auckland, en route home. :p I bet you thought I would never get rid of them!

By: Podblack

Podblack — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:42:47 +0000

Stand back people.

Phil Plait actually mentioned MY BLOG for the first time.

Pity he linked to the OLD one… it’s actually http://www.podblack.com...

Guess that means I don’t owe Digital Cuttlefish of http://www.digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com $1, as I still win my bet!

By: Mike Sperry

Mike Sperry — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:30:05 +0000

Re: that very last statement you made about sharks: (warning, NSFW language)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v284/CapnNismo/Motivational%20Posters/flying_shark.jpg

By: RichardSaunders

RichardSaunders — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:29:27 +0000

He was wearing the pink one until I took it off him!

By: Michael L

Michael L — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:06:51 +0000

Phil, if you really wanted to make a statement, you should have worn the pink one.

By: Michael Howard

Michael Howard — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:22:30 +0000

I dearly hope that Boa appears in the “Death From the Skies” book jacket in the Author’s photo