So Mrs. Bad, Little Bad, Nephew Bad, and I took a day trip to San Francisco to soak up some cool air (it’s been pretty hot around here the past couple of days) and try an ice cream place I heard about on a travel show. We went to Golden Gate Park to go to a part of it we hadn’t been to before, and at one point I nudge my nephew and say "Doesn’t that woman look like Bjork?" Turns out, it was her (we confirmed later on the internets when we got home). I didn’t talk to her or anything; I figure, let her vacation in peace.

Still, that was cool.

Oh, and the ice cream was good, too. If you’re near the Mission District, try Mitchell’s ice cream. Avoid the purple yam, but the mocha fudge was very yummy.

I just got done watching the doomsday show on the SciFi channel (if you missed it, I heard it will be replayed on June 25^th, so check your local listings). I think it was not too bad– I was expecting more cheese, and it was remarkably low in that, especially given that channel’s penchant for extra fromage.

It was pretty accurate for the most part, though I did wince once or twice. I really don’t think a robot uprising is anything we need worry about too much, for example. Maybe a little, but really, I don’t think military drones will get "a mind of their own".

The astronomy sequences were pretty good. I had some further comments on GRBs that I wish they had used. I really stressed the low probability of getting fried by one, as well as the low probability of a global killer asteroid impact. In general, the show was slightly alarmist, but it did a much better than usual job of showing what we can do about preventing a lot of these threats.

So overall, I think it was OK. It covered a lot of ground, wasn’t unnecessarily gloomy, had a lot of expert opinions, was fairly if not totally accurate, and did talk about mitigation.

One thing most people don’t know about filming something like that is the amount of time spent doing it. I’d guess it took about 5 hours to do all the interviewing… but that includes a segment of me looking through a telescope that was never used. That took over an hour to set up and shoot. Mrs. Bad Astronomer noted that I was on a lot, but never for more than about three seconds. I probably got more air time than anyone else (except Michio Kaku I suppose), but it was in really short segments. People who know me will laugh; it takes me three minutes just to state my name. I’m a little wordy sometimes. OK, all the time.

It was also cool to see so many friends on the show. Neil Tyson, Seth Shostak, and especially Barbara Thompson, who had an office across the hall from me when I worked at Goddard Space Flight Center. She is a very dear friend whom I love madly, so it was neat to be on a show with her.

All in all, it was a fun experience. I’d like to do more stuff like this in the future (maybe next time I’ll try to project more gravitas when talking about a GRB sterilizing our planet down to the base of the crust), so if any Hollywood types are reading this, my rates are reasonable, and I’ll guarantee you’ll have a more accurate and dramatic show. You know where to find me.

As you know by now because I am shilling it constantly, the SciFi channel is airing a show at 9:00 p.m. tonight on doomsday scenarios. The producers asked if I could travel to NYC to do some pre-show press stuff, but unfortunately I couldn’t get away (and I am such a media whore you just know that has to be true).

However, the show did sponsor a press conference in DC, and it was covered (not terribly seriously, of course) by the Washington Post. It’s a funny (and short) article, so take a look. Now I really wish I had gone on the junket; astronaut Ed Lu was there, and I met him at James Randi’s The Amaz!ng Meeting in January. He is a great guy, and I like him a lot.

Oh well, the obvious conclusion is: when offered a chance to travel on someone else’s nickel, take it.

Anyway, after I watch the show tonight I’ll post a review as soon as I can.

‘

Got some extra cash lying around, and dying for some future retro goodness? Then check out this record player that runs on a motor based on the Mars Rover motor. According to that page, it costs $125,000 and weighs a modest 770 pounds. The original website is in Japanese so I can’t read it, but it’s loaded with cool pictures like the one above.

If your turntable gets stuck in the sand, NASA is not responsible.

Tip o’ the hat to the fair Emily at the Planetary Society Blog.‘

OK, maybe not all media, but this week I am on radio, TV, and a podcast. Not too bad!

• First off, I’m featured on "Declassified: Countdown to Doomsday", a two-hour TV show about different end-of-the-world disaster scenarios. It airs on Wednesday, June 14 at 9:00 pm. on the SciFi Channel. Check your local listings. This show should be fun; we talked about several ways the world can end, and I tried valiantly to make sure to point out that although these scenarios are real, the odds of them happening any time soon are very low (as I like to say, how many people do you know who have been killed by a gamma-ray burst?). The show is hosted by Matt Lauer.
• Second, I’ll be doing my regular "Brains on Vacation" segment on the Are We Alone radio show. We talked about the inefficacy of intercessory prayer (say that three times fast!). That airs on Sirius Satellite radio, on the Discovery Channel (channel 119), Wednesday at 2:00 and 9:00 a.m., and 9:00 p.m. EST, and repeats Sundays at 11:00 p.m. EST. This means one of the shows airs at the same time I am on the SciFi channel. That’s kinda cool!
• Finally, I did an interview with the good folks at The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe, a fine group of skeptics which includes the delicious Rebecca, whom you may remember from such blog entries as this and of course this. We talked about all sorts of things, including the comet that didn’t kill us all in May, and how NASA is getting screwed by Congress. I also wax on about manned versus unmanned space exploration. You can see the show notes here.

Not only that, but I just got back from doing another TV interview for a show that’ll air next year. I’ll talk more about that later!

I wrestled with myself a bit about posting this, but really, we are all human (except for spambots) and so we all have certain biological functions that, although we try to ignore/suppress/downplay them, they will always make themselves heard.

Or smelled.

So I will simply link to this FAQ about gaseous emissions, and excuse myself from further comment.

Oops! With the convention over the weekend, I totally forgot to let everyone know about the 35^th Skeptics Circle, hosted by Skeptico. There are some really good essays, as usual, including a guest blogger with a funny back story. I have a couple of entries there as well.