Page O' Crap

Quantum Scalar Resonance Vortex Transmutes: If only they knew what these words meant

2011-07-14T13:49:00.003+10:00

Here is an idea to make shite load of money (no ethics please, we're new age followers); take a stack of words that sound impressive, take them out of context, foster them on an scientifically uninformed public, and watch the money roll in. Take this as an example:

EarthCalm Quantum Cell: $99.00

This sticker is supposed to transmute the electromagnetic energy from a phone into a beneficial field that can surround and protect your family. They claim it contains "circuits that utilize Scalar Resonance Technology are comprised of multiple sets of circuits that mirror the structure of the earth's electro-magnetic field". There is so much to dissect in this short paragraph. Beneficial field of what? Mirror circuits? Scalar Resonance Technology? $99? The sticker would cost about 2 cents to make. Smells like powerband all over again.

So what the hell is Scalar Resonance Technology? Let's look at their description.

Scalar Resonance Technology is the process whereby each EarthCalm circuit is matched to its mirror circuit, which exponentially increases resonance to the earth.

OK.......... Mirror circuit?? What do you mean? Define the mirror circuit of a battery connected to a light. You can't, can you? Then you tag on something about exponentially increasing the resonance. What do you mean? Do you know that in a DC circuit there is no resonance? In an AC circuit, do you mean increasing the frequency of the resonance, the width of the resonance, or the peak of the resonance? Where did you learn your electronics? Because you should go and get a refund.

A scalar wave is by definition a wave that is exactly matched by another wave, i.e., it has the same frequency and the same height or amplitude but has the opposite direction, such that one wave exactly cancels out the other.

Ummm, no and yes. A scalar is a quantity that has a magnitude only. But yes, you can take a wave, invert it, and add it to the original wave and they will cancel out. You can do this experiment and it show the exact cancelling out every time.

Imagine in a pond two waves of the same frequency and amplitude, but coming from different directions. When these waves meet in the middle of the pond they cancel each other out. One might see a flat area in the middle of the pond where the two opposing twin waves met. The result however is not zero, but rather that another dimension is accessed.

Everything up to that last sentence is correct. But that last sentence is pure crap. You just told us in the previous section that the two waves exactly cancel each other out. That is, the result is zero. Now you are saying it is not zero? You can't have it both ways. And, you can always tell when stuff is just being made up when out of the blue you just add extra dimensions. Where is this dimension? What properties does it have? Where is the experiment to show this dimension exists?

It’s an interesting and exciting new concept: that when two energy fields exactly balance each other or cancel each other out, a dimension is accessed that is everywhere at once and has the power to heal.

Ahh, the repeat of the contradiction of exactly cancelling out, and, um, not cancelling out. Also, see what they have done here? They have ditched the experimentally verifiable (two waves exactly cancelling out) are now running with this dimension idea that is not verified by experiment and has no evidence for it what so ever. The rest of the text now is based on this flawed idea. No need to read on. Don't think I'll be buying this product.

So the whole idea behind this device has crumbled. This is a classic way to create the illusion that a product is backed by science. Take some science, then twist it every so slightly (or why not twist it so it says the exact opposite) and then make any claim you want. Once the ~~mark~~ customer has gotten past this point, the sell is so much easier.

I was wondering, Can someone buy this product or similar and if this powerful beneficial field does not appear around your family, can you sue them?

Extra: Here is a USB device that can also create this powerful beneficial field. It's only $179.00. Surely a bargain!

But they said it will make money......

2011-01-20T18:51:00.003+11:00

Ken Ham is a creationist from good ol' Queensland who didn't have much success trying to introduce creationism into the science curriculum here so he moved to the USA. This is his logic in a nutshell:

He is now trying to build a theme park based around the story of Noah's Ark.

He already has a creation museum in Kentucky. The motto is "Creation Museum - prepare to ~~dis~~believe." Mad Magazine voted it no. 14 on its most dumbest things of the year 2007. Let me quote what they said:

"Finally there is compelling evidence that the theory of evolution is wrong! For proof positive that man's intelligence has not evolved in eons, consider the Cro-Magnon brained imbeciles behind the recently opened Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. The museum's exhibits don't merely challenge science, they ignore it completely! It's the only place in the world you can see man riding bareback on a dinosaur — except, of course, in an old episode of The Flintstones."

His Noah's Ark theme park was endorsed by Governor Steve Beshear who has decided to provide $45 million in tax incentives to the project. His reason for this? Because a report said that the park would bring in 1.6 million visitors and $250 million to the state.

Let's look at this report. It was a feasibility study commissioned by Ken Ham and written by his mate Brit Breemer. It's 10,000 pages long. So you would expect the governor or his staff to have read the study, questioned its findings and had independent analysis of the document. Only after such deliberation would you commit $45 million.

An article in the courier-journal.com looked at the claims made and questioned the findings of the study. When pressed about the proposed funding by the government:

"Beshear's aides later acknowledged that the state never obtained a copy of the study.

Spokeswoman Kerri Richardson said that wasn't necessary because the governor's staff had met with Ark Encounter staff and knew the study's conclusions."

So this governor just promised them money because they said it would be good for the state. Well, if they believe creationism, they will believe anything. By the way, I've got a bridge that's up for sale.......................

Just 'cause we haven't found anything yet.... part 2

2011-01-17T15:21:00.002+11:00

Following on from the last post, what should we expect to find if bigfoot did exist? If they do exist, then they must leave some sort of a trace.

Let's assume that bigfoot is a primate, more specifically a great ape.

Facts about great apes
- Gestation period is roughly 9 months for all great apes.
- Females and offspring stay together for at least the first 3 years of the child's life.
- Females give birth every 4 - 7 years once they reach the mature age of 10 years. (Humans being the only exception).
- Average life expectancy in the wild is a maximum 40 years. In captivity, about 10 years more.
- Sustainable population is at the very minimum 1000. Less than this and they are classified as critically endangered. Every the bigfoot true believers think there has to be at least 2000.
- Most of the time spent eating and pooing. Humans again the exception because of the amount of meat we eat. The mountain gorilla eats about 34kg of vegetation a day!

Let's start with 1000 creatures, half female. Of these females if we spread them out over a 40 year life span, 3/4 are over 10. Of these, let's say 1/4 or these give birth in one year. That's about 90 births a year. Not all of these children will survive to adulthood. Let's be tough and say there is a 90% chance that the baby doesn't make it to adult hood. So that leaves about 10. Now, if the population is stable, this means that to balance out the births, we need 10 adult creatures to die every year. If they have been around for over 10,000 years, there should be at least 100,000 corpses in varies stages of decay. So we should be able to find some remains, eg, Hair, bones. Status: None found. Isn't it strange that when people say they have found such evidence the material always gets away.

With 1000 specimens out there, surely we should have conclusive pictorial or movie evidence. I mean, the Amur Leopard is smaller, exists in a more inaccessible habitat, consists of only 30 - 35 left in the wild and we can get superb footage of it.

We should have found faeces. These would contain the DNA of the bigfoot. Has such evidence been found? No.

That's a lot of food they eat. Where are the food scraps? And spending most of the day eating means that you probably spend most of the time in one place, especially the female caring for its young. So why has no one come across bigfoot nests, or a bigfoot den? Here you would undoubtedly find hairs and poo.

Unless they are carnivores, although we should still find poo. But then we should have found the bones of the creatures they ate with bigfoot teeth marks. Again, nothing found.

Also, from a historical perspective, there is absolutely nothing in the fossil record to show that a creature of this type could have evolved on the American continent. No evidence that a creature such as this could have migrated either. Nothing.

This is when you need to think well, maybe absence of evidence IS evidence of absence. The less you find the more likely it is that the creature does not exist.

A final note, does anyone remember a couple of years ago when two men claimed to have found bigfoot and had the corpse in a freezer? The Age newspaper ran two articles on it (here and here), I even heard Red Simons on 774 radio interview one of the men. Not much questioning went on. They sent samples away to be DNA tested.

Well, guess what? The DNA samples came back and showed it to be a mixture of human DNA and opossum DNA. Then, others were allowed to look at it, and what do you know, it turned out to be a gorilla suit. Here's a news report.

Personally, it would be fantastic if such a creature existed. It would revolutionise our understanding of evolution and we could extend our knowledge of primates. But reality has to kick in. People have searched for so long and nothing is found. What does all the evidence point to? That such a creature does not exist.

Deadpool '11: First entries in

2011-01-16T15:16:00.004+11:00

Here are the first entries:

Come on peoples, you know you want to be in it.
Edit: Welcome aboard Andrew.

Just 'cause we haven't found anything yet....

2011-01-12T11:09:00.006+11:00

"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."

I've head that a lot from believers when it comes to discussing whether bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, or any other cryptozoological creature exists. "Just 'cause we haven't found anything yet doesn't mean it doesn't exist". True. However, this doesn't mean that it does exist.

What we need to do is ask the individual who is making the claim to lay out their evidence. And we should start with the idea that their claim is false. Why? Because it is the default position. Before I made the claim, the claim didn't exist. For example, if I make a claim that there is a polar bear living in my house, you should start off with the assumption that I don't and not believe my claim. (In general conversations this form of questioning would piss people off if you did it for every claim they made. For instance, if I said that there is a cat in my house, you would probably accept it. But if an extraordinary claim was made, I reckon that's when it's OK.)

OK. Once the claim is made, let them bring forward their evidence. Now the more extraordinary the claim, the better the evidence should be. And, this is crucial, we should look at all possible explanations. Then after looking at the evidence we should say which explanation is the most likely based on what we already know.

We should have an evidence meter.

And it should start in the grey section down the bottom, meaning no evidence.

For bigfoot, the Patterson-Gimlin film is put forward as evidence.

Now we ask ourselves, is that really bigfoot, or is the most likely explanation "a guy in a suit". Well, Greg Long researched this by interviewing the people in the town where Patterson lived and found that Bob Heironimus claimed he was the guy in the suit. Other townsfolk said that they had seen the suit and that everyone in the town at the time knew it was a hoax.

OK. Let's see which claim (it is truly bigfoot, it is a guy in a suit) is the most likely. We should start with the null claim. That it's a guy in a suit. Then look for signs that rules this out emphatically. And I mean complete rules this out. First let us look at the video but this time remove the shakiness by using modern stabilisation techniques.

Looks like a man walking in a suit to me. But what about Bob's claim that it was him.

Is it possible that it was Bob in a suit? Yes. What is the most likely explanation? Guy in suit. Why? Because we know of previous occasions when people have dressed up in animal suits. Fancy dress parties, gorilla grams, etc. There is no extraordinary evidence in this footage to make us change our minds. In fact when the townsfolk first saw the film, they said that it was Bob. That's how Bob walked, they said.

But that doesn't mean that Bigfoot doesn't exist. Remember "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." But this is not always true. I'll look into this next post.

Deadpool '10: The final result

2011-01-01T11:29:00.002+11:00

Well, the results are in. It was not a good year for predictions. Unlike last year, where you needed 6 hits to win, it only took two.

So this years winner is, me.
Thanks for the entries. If anyone is interested in Deadpool '11, just make your wishes known in the comments section.

More crap reporting

2010-10-03T11:52:00.002+11:00

The standard of science reporting in Australia is generally crap. Although it shouldn't surprise me since the average Ozcah and Mersaydees has very little science knowledge. Not only that, critical thinking is alien to most; Exhibit A: Powerband bracelets. Just look at the number of footballers who wear this piece of crap. Thomas, Pendlebury, Cloke, and O'Brien just to name a few. Note to Harry O'Brien - it's dangerous when those that think they are intelligent are, in fact, not. These guys would fall for Jedi mind tricks. (I know, I know, but if you believe in it, it must be true. Plus I don't think it would be hard to convince footballers.)

Look at this headline for instance:
NASA discovers brand new force of nature
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

This is not what NASA has said. Basically what they are saying is that they can't think of why the Pioneer anomaly exists. The Pioneer anomaly was first observed back in the 80's. John Anderson found that there was an extremely small acceleration on the Pioneer 10 and 11 space probes that wasn't accounted for. Now this effect is really, really tiny. Some of this acceleration was explained by considering the uneven heat distribution around the probe. But basically we don't know what is causing this acceleration.

What NASA is saying is that MAYBE there is a new force that MAY be causing this anomaly. Notice the use of the word MAY. For those writing headlines, look that word up in the dictionary and don't make shit up.

Another thing ninemsn.com.au, this is filed under your technology section. Rename it. This is not technology. It's, if properly reported, science. Again check your dictionary for the meaning of those two words.

How Harry Potter flew: Wind is the answer says scientist

2010-09-23T10:00:00.003+10:00

Newsflash
A computer engineer has created a computer model showing how it was possible for Harry Potter to fly using natural means. Sudden gusts of a powerful wind like a vortex could, in theory, have made it feasible that Harry Potter didn't need a supernatural cause in order for him to fly.

This should be online front page news! Why not? This was.

Wind could have split Red Sea, scientist says

The parting of the Red Sea is one of the many miracles described in the Bible and a spectacular feat of early special effects in the 1956 Hollywood epic The Ten Commandments.

But now a Christian engineer claims to have proved the phenomenon has a basis in science.

First of all, notice how a computer programmer in the story becomes a scientist in the headline. Wow. The sub editor probably thought that since a programmer and a scientist may use a computer for more than just email and facebook, they must have the same amount of training in, well, nerdiness. So they are the same thing, right?

Also, a computer program itself becomes science. No! A computer program is written to help develop a hypothesis. The hypothesis itself may be completely wrong and thus the program. Science is what we do to determine if the hypothesis has credence or not.

Before we even try to explain a phenomena, surely the first task is to determine if the event even took place. Now in the case of the Exodus, there has been no archaeological evidence what so ever that such an event took place. Here are some references:

Did the Red Sea part? No evidence, archaeologists say
The exodus
The Bible Unearthed

Anyway, here we have a Christian apologist, Carl Drews, (who in this case should really be called a Jewish apologist since this really is a Jewish story and not a Christian one) writing some code and fiddling with some parameters. It turns out that by tweaking the parameters just right, the program can cause the waters to separate. And of course, if it can happen on a computer it must be able to happen in real life.

Now have a look at something he wrote in one of his essays discussing another event in the bible:

2. The sun moved backwards for Joshua and for Hezekiah.

Here we encounter our first hoax, involving Harold Hill and the NASA computers. It was a sin to make up this hoax. It is a smaller sin to propagate it without verifying the facts, but certain evangelists do just that. The idea behind the story is to make up some scientific-sounding story to explain a Biblical event. This pattern appears later in creationism literature, in supplying details of the catastrophes claimed to be part of the Flood events.

My objection to the Biblical story is that I don't see how this could have happened without leaving some geological trace, and without the Book of Jashar mentioned in Joshua 10:13 I don't have enough details for a good analysis.

Your honour, I rest my case.

A few simple questions

2010-09-21T12:41:00.002+10:00

Ages ago I asked my grandfather the following questions mainly because I wanted him to understand the way my philosophies have been shaped.

Do you only follow your faith because that is what your were born into?
If you were born into a different religion, would you have been just as ardent in your faith?
When and why did you stop believing in ideas such as Father Christmas or the Easter Bunny?
Do you apply this reasoning (ie. why you stopped believing in the Easter Bunny) to all aspects of your belief systems?

These should be questions that everyone must ask themselves in order to justify whatever belief system or philosophy they follow. And the answers must be consistent.
I find it amusing that my grandmother is so proud of me that as a 12 year old I read the bible. And when she asks me why I don't go to church or believe in a god, she seems amazed that the answer is "because I've read the bible".

On reflection, here are a few more questions that I could have put to him.

If there was no god, would you still act the way you do?
Would you completely change you morals?
How would you determine if something was right or wrong?
If there was no afterlife, would you change the things you do to improve this world rather than hoping the next one is better?

I don't know if any if these question would have made him seen the world through my eyes. Most likely not.

Deadpool '10 update

2010-09-01T19:43:00.003+10:00

Vale former Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon.

His passing means there is an update to the leader board.

I've hit the front.

Anglican Church: Asset Rich, Income Poor

2010-04-08T17:40:00.004+10:00

Just saw a report on St Paul's Cathedral in Bendigo. The 140 year old building has been closed for over a year because of structural problems. They need to spend about $1 million to fix it up.

You would think that repairs to such an important building for the Anglican faithful in regional Victoria would be funded by the Anglican church. No such luck. As I heard on the report, they are asset rich, but income poor. They have been asking for donations and now they are asking for government assistance: “Come on, Mr Brumby, help us out.” Shouldn't it be "Come on, archbishop Dr Philip Freier, help us out."?

How would the masses react if some extremely rich individual, who had assets in the $10's of millions of dollars, asked for a government handout because he had no income but didn't want to sell his TV's or cars? Two words I think, *** ******! They would say sell some of your assets and live off that.

So if the Anglican church was so intent on fixing the cathedral, they would sell something to pay for the repairs. Since they won't, it means they don't. And doesn't this reflect on their attitude towards the parishoners? Thanks for your patronage and money over the years, but we wash our hands of this and if you want it fixed, do it yourselves.

Religious organisations asking for public money, crying poor. What a crock.

The face of an image created by a 14th century artist

2010-04-01T08:58:00.003+11:00

Well, this should be the heading for this article published in The Age. Instead we get "Technology and shroud give Christ a new face", with the byline "Scientists recreate image of Jesus - and he's nothing like the Renaissance depictions." Ummmm, it's extremely like a Middle Ages depiction of Jesus, because that's when it was created. All the evidence points to this. Check out this powerpoint presentation (12MB) outlining the evidence. Some one even created their own shroud using techniques that were available in the middle ages.

The shroud was carbon dated back in the 1980's and that showed that it was made around 1300. Now the believers come up with all sorts of arguments to say that the dating is all wrong. The usual claims are:

1. The guys doing the dating got it wrong. But three separate labs all got the same answer. There were also other fabrics sent as controls. The labs had no idea which fabric was part of the shroud. Each piece of fabric was correctly dated.

2. The pieces of shroud given to the labs were from a damaged section and so the dates are misleading. Let's think about this for a moment. The Vatican themselves were the guys in charge of removing the pieces. Why would they want to take a piece from a damaged section? Well, if they knew it wasn't genuine, then they could keep the controversy going. So that would mean it's a fake. If they believed it to be genuine, then surely they would want the science to back up their claim. They would be extremely careful to pick a pristine part of the shroud for analysis. Then the dating is correct and it's still a fake.

And as per usual, before the test the believes said that they would recognise the results of the carbon dating. And then was the tests were done, they didn't recognise the results. That's a classic example of being dogmatic and closed minded and not accepting the evidence.

If they were so concerned that the dating was wrong, let's retest. You would think that would be a pretty simple thing to do. But guess who doesn't want to do it. Wny? For the same reason that it was created in the first place. There's no business like the relics business.

Mackillop's choice

2010-02-19T19:19:00.002+11:00

So for the 25% of Australians who look up to a former member of the Hitler youth, today is a big day. They may get a saint. What is a saint? According to www.catholiceducation.org, a saint is:

- "the standard operating model for human beings."
Operating model sounds like operating thetan. Smells of L. Ron here.

- "Christ’s bride, totally attached, faithful, dependent."
And we thought they were against same sex marriage.

According to www.catholic-pages.com, saints are

- "persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived lives of great charity and heroic virtues." So why bother with the whole canonizing circus? This page then goes on about how JP II proclaimed at least 278 saints.

It also states that "In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: one becomes Venerable, Blessed and then a Saint. Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized as having lived heroic virtues. To be recognized as a blessed, and therefore beatified, in addition to personal attributes of charity and heroic virtue, one miracle, acquired through the individual's intercession, is required. Canonization requires two, though a Pope may waive these requirements. Martyrdom does not usually require a miracle." No need for miracles, just get yourself killed in action.

For those 25%, the miracles are probably going to be believed as such without rigorous questioning. For the other 75%, surely we should be getting good journalism asking the question, are these events really miracles? i.e. can't be explained unless evoking a god. I've only seen two articles ask this question, here and here. All other media has been unquestioning and pandering.

I also question the claim that they have been using science to prove these are miracles. They obviously have no idea what science is. Science doesn't prove anything. It can only measure how probable an explanation is. It's a way to find out the most probable explanation using the evidence available. It tries not to bring in unjustified assumptions such as unfalsifiable supernatural beings. So if they were really using science, they would come to the conclusion that the most probable reason for the so called cancer miracles are chance remissions. These do occur.

So to paraphrase a cook who some thought wore a brown shirt, "No miracle for you!!!".

Nearly five years

2010-02-01T20:15:00.002+11:00

I've just read an article in the Sunday Age Life magazine that resonated with me. Sarah Wilson wrote about how she doesn't drink anymore and how at parties and functions she has to explain her reason (it used to be a health one). I know exactly what she means. I've also explained it as a health reason, which it was. But why in our society do you need to have some problem to stop drinking? It's a sad indication of how endemic alcohol is in our culture.

It's nearly five years since my last drop and at the moment I have no inclination to imbibe again. Just like Sarah, I've found this an interesting experiment, both as an onlooker of society and as a study of myself. I've changed during this time, having to be discover who I am and to be myself without the use of a crutch. Now in conversations I want to delve deeper in topics and question and argue points. The problem being, sometimes others in the conversation, if they have had too much to drink, stop making rational points and the conversations begin to stagnate and bore. At other times, the conversationalists have little to talk about because they only have a narrow range of topics they can discuss, mainly work and, ah, work. Their solution, grab a beer.

I've been asked if I'll ever drink alcohol again, and the answer is I don't know. But one thing is for sure, it won't be because of the reasons I over indulged in the past.

Who are you?

2010-01-30T22:39:00.003+11:00

When Herman Rockefeller went missing, I suspected that he had a double life that included a secret girlfriend. I imagined him finally being caught, and having to confess to his distraught wife and family. I was right but also so wrong.

But what makes someone like Herman lead a double life? Was it because Herman couldn't express his innermost feelings to his wife? How shocked must she be feeling right now? Was he afraid to be himself? And if he did attempt to communicate who he was, was he rejected?

Here is an extract from the book 'Anatomy of a Secret Life,’ Dr. Gail Saltz, which looks at this issue. Here are a couple of short snippets:

We all have secrets; we live and breathe them every day. We may not know what one another’s secrets are, but we know they’re there. They’re always there, invisible presences in everyone’s lives, the subtext beneath the text, the almost uttered but then swallowed sentence, the cryptic, fleeting expression on someone’s face. Humankind’s basic needs are food, water, and shelter, but secrets aren’t too far down the list of essentials. They provide a safe haven that allows us the freedom to explore who we are, to establish an identity that is uniquely our own. But even the deepest secrets can also be shared; they are the currency of close relationships, the coin of exclusivity, sometimes the key to love itself.
...
Under some circumstances, however, secrets can also be profound sources of shame, guilt, anxiety, despair.
...
But when our secrets start to control us — and far too often they do — then a normal life clicks over into something else: a secret life. When that happens, everything changes. Suddenly we find ourselves forced to give up any remaining vestiges of openness and casualness and instead submit full-time to the exacting rules that the secret life inevitably demands.

Does everyone live a secret life to some degree? I think so. Do I lead a double life? Sort of. This blog is anonymous in that my identity is nowhere linked to it. Why? For one reason, because of the profession I'm in. I'm an actor who plays a certain character and my audience should only see that character. Also, it would not be good for my career, considering stuff I've written.

Is this hidden from my family? Yes and no. Most of my family don't have the internets, so it's no big deal. I've mentioned to parents about stuff I've written on my blog and they roll their eyes, so they don't ask what the address is. They probably get enough of my rantings.

This has got me thinking of those that I know personally who lead some what of a secret life from their partner. Should I do anything about it? What are the consequences if I did? Is it really my business? It's a lot to think about.

First one is down in 2010

2010-01-28T20:25:00.002+11:00

Chemical Ali has finally met his doom, and Ms Dodo has the first hit. And we also welcome Jade.

First entries in

2010-01-22T10:25:00.000+11:00

The first entries for the deadpool are in:

Deadpool 2010

2010-01-14T10:52:00.004+11:00

Is anyone interested?

Added: OK I run this again this year. Give me your ten before end of january. Here are the details.

It starts when you put your entry in.

Here are my ten:

		Birthdate
Laurent Fignon		12/08/1960
Seve Ballesteros		9/04/1957
Byrant Gumbel		29/09/1948
Tionne Watkins (T Boz)		26/04/1970
Margaret Thatcher		13/10/1925
Ronnie Biggs		8/08/1929
Don Rickles		8/05/1926
James Garner		7/04/1928
Dennis Hopper		17/05/1936
Zsuzsanna (Zsa Zsa) Gabor		6/02/1917

I'm a bailiff....I stand.

2010-01-09T22:50:00.003+11:00

Should holiday's be spent watching reruns???? Am I wasting time lying on the couch watching season's six and seven of The West Wing? Maybe. Maybe not.

While thinking about having a break from The West Wing, my mind cast back (I have no idea why) to the shows I loved to watch back in the 80's, two of which were Night Court and Soap. So, what do I do? I try to get my hands on these shows. Will it be the case of nostalgia clouding my memory? Will they disappoint this time around?

Well, I got a copy of season's 1 and 2 of Night Court. Let me say that season 1 starts slowly but by season 2, it had me laughing just like the first time I watched. It had some fantastic characters. Dan Fielding (played by John Larroquette) is a sleazy right wing district attorney. John won four emmy awards in a row for this role. But my favourite character is Bull Shannon (played by Richard Moll). 6 foot 8 inches of superb comedic delivery. And as a teenage boy, who couldn't forget Markie Post playing Christine Sullivan, the naive defending attorney. Classic 80's hair.

Verdict: It holds up well and still produces laughs.

And the '09 Deadpool winner is ......

2010-01-05T09:44:00.005+11:00

Mel.

I would be surprised if any deadpool competition had someone who had a 60% strike rate. Unbelievable! I don't think that we will ever see this type of "success" again, whether it be points wise (126) or number of hits. And I wouldn't get her mad, 'cause if she puts you on the list, your time may be nigh.

Should you be remembered for an invention that never actually worked?

2009-12-27T16:14:00.004+11:00

Reading a review on the book Firepower: The most spectacular fraud in Australian History, I came across the story of engineer Ralph Sarich and his orbital engine.

I first heard of the Sarich Orbital Engine back in the 1970's from our neighbour who talked about it enthusiastically and, I believe, was an investor. Since I had an interest in mechanical/electrical inventions even back then, I kept my eyes and ears open for news on this engine which made some impressive claims. It claimed to have more power and have less emissions. Sarich won numerous awards because of this engine. The company created to make the engine raised millions of dollars on the stock exchange.

You may ask in which cars is the engine being used right now and why haven't you heard about this great Australian invention. During the research and development of the engine, it was found that it was difficult to lubricate and it suffered from overheating. These technical problems were so limiting that no production model could ever be successfully developed. But there was some good news. In the research process, the company did invent a new fuel injection method which is currently used in motor boat engines.

Now, Sarich ain't no fool and must have seen the writing on the wall, and by 1992 had sold all his shares and intellectual property in the engine for about $200 million. By 2004 the company had accumulated losses of around $480 million.

So what did Sarich do with all this cash. Invest in research and development of other technologies? No. He bought real estate and is now one of the richest in Australia. In this article about his real estate investments, he says that retiring and playing golf is a "waste of the brain". What, and real estate investing during a boom is rocket science????????

It's interesting to note that in the above mentioned article it makes even more claims about the engine saying it "was 40 per cent lighter, 60per cent smaller and 35 per cent more efficient than standard car engines. Why it never took off in cars remains in dispute". Why it never took off in cars remains in dispute????? It's only in dispute from conspiracy theorists. It didn't take off because it was not feasible. Even Sarich knew that and got out back in 1992. Why else would he get out? Why didn't you ask him in the interview?

Anyhoo, he now plans to get into green technologies. As he said, "At the moment we haven't done much (but) it's an area that I really like. I think there's great potential in it". Why has it taken him 15 or so years from 1992 to be interested in green tech? Wasn't one of the reasons for inventing the orbital engine back in 1972 to decrease fossil fuel use because of the environmental concerns back then? If he was really keen on green issues surely when he got his $200 million he would have put some of the into that area. Call me cynical, but I doubt this guy has got any environmental concerns. It's cash, cash, cash, and more cash. Which really means me, me, me, and more me. It seems that he is only interested in something if it can make him a crap load of money. The environment is just a means to achieve that goal.

But, you may say, he just donated $20 million to build a neuroscience wing in WA. Doesn't that show he's not just thinking about himself? Hmmm, as a young man he was involved in a car accident and severely injured his back. Maybe he's thinking that those injuries may come back to haunt him later in life and he needs appropriate facilities to deal with that.

High Brow Time

2009-12-22T13:55:00.002+11:00

I've been watching a bunch of talks given by Nobel Prize winners on the history of particle physics, both experimental and theoretical. They are fairly technical but I did like the talks by Glashow, Veltman, t'Hooft, Cronin and Myers.

Myers talked about some of the problems of LEP which were caused by some strange situations. If you thought that a baguette was a strange thing to shut down a machine, what about two deers shagging!

ABO - no, I'm not being racist, it's about blood

2009-10-16T18:26:00.004+11:00

Back in the mid 90’s a book was written by Peter D’Adamo advocating that your diet should be different depending on your blood type. It also claimed that if you ate the wrong food for your blood type, you would not be well. An interesting premise. The question arises, is there any evidence for this claim?

This interest by D’Adamo came about through his father’s work. His father James noticed that different diets affected people differently at the European health spas he was working at. So with his “keen powers of deduction and insight” he asked himself the question what nourishes the body, and his answer was blood (whether this is true or not shall be looked at later). So his conclusion was that people with different blood types should eat differently. He based his work initially by only looking at the ABO grouping. Eventually he published a book about diet named after himself and set up an institute. As a side note, it’s interesting that this institute also practices cranial manipulation, spinal manipulation, and structural alignment. He claims that some of these practices can solve emotional and mental problems, but that can wait for another post.

So Peter jumps on his fathers idea about blood type and diet, and begins to search for evidence. He finds two studies which he thinks vindicate his father. The first one is a study about peptic ulcers and the second about stomach cancers. Now from the text it is hard to pinpoint exactly the studies he is refering to, but looking in the index it looks like these studies are both by
E. Aird et al., both published in 1954. One is called "The Blood Groups in Relation to Peptic Ulceration and Carcinoma of Colon, Rectum, Breast, and Bronchus". You can read the paper here. This is enough to convince him his father is correct.

Now, this in the 1980's. Why doesn't he search for more recent data? Why rely on only two studies? I shall ignore those crucial questions and look at the above study. Its results say that in the British hospitals where they gathered their data, blood type A was more common in patients suffering from cancer of the stomach, and O-type was more common in patients suffering from peptic ulcers. Notice that there is no mention of diet in the study. Nowhere is there a claim that diet is causing the stomach cancer or ulcer. That is a huge leap to make. But that's not all. I hope he kept reading the paper because here is an interesting extract from the comment section:

"The simplest, though not necessarily the most acceptable, explanation of ouir findings would be the assumption that A substance is carcinogenic with respect to the stomach while both A substance and B substance protect against peptic ulcer."

So there is another possibility about why the difference. Maybe it's inherent in your genes. There is no way diet can affect that.

Now firstly we should really do other studies to see if this finding holds true for other groups of patients. You should never rely on just one study. So has any other studies been done? How about this one by Akumabor, "The ABO blood groups in relation to carcinoma of the stomach and duodenal ulcer in a Nigerian community" published in, wait for it, 1986. Why didn't he use this one? It was while he was researching his book. It was published way before his book was released. Maybe because of this conclusion:

"Contrary to expectations, carcinoma of the stomach in this community predominates in group O persons, occurring in 64·2%, whereas blood group O occurs in only 55·6% of the population. This is in contrast with previous studies in which carcinoma of the stomach was commonest in blood group A patients."

So in this study, it O types are more common with stomach cancers. This negates the data his beliefs are founded on. Maybe if lots of data from all around the world was taken, all these blood type differences would cancel each other out and there would be no relationship between blood type and stomach cancers. There goes one of his main reasons for believing what he does.

But what about peptic ulcers? Could there be reasons other than blood type and diet? Stress and stomach acid were common reasons people thought why ulcers may be induced. And there was this Australian named Robin Warren who claimed that is was a bacteria that caused ulcers of the stomach. Initial people thought he was ga-ga, but as the evidence mounted up and mounted up and mounted up, the doubters changed thier minds and agreed that he was right. His reward, the 2005 Nobel Prize. It is now know that bacteria is the main cause of ulcers.

So where does this leave D'Adamo? Firstly, he should have based his ideas on more than a couple of studies. He should have looked for evidence that contradicted his theory. Good research involves trying to find holes in your own theory. Your theory and the evidence supporting it has to be watertight if you wish it to be accepted.

That's quite a long post and it's just about the introduction. He's not off to a good start. But let's ignore all of this as I'll look into why he thinks blood type and diet are interlinked in my next post.

Is this irony?

2009-10-04T11:39:00.003+11:00

Poster on a church in North Fitzroy.

A close up

Through the streets of your town(s)

2009-09-21T19:04:00.008+10:00

Don't let the green tram fool you, it's not Melbourne circa 1990......

Creativity thrives in the streets....

All that remains .....

Deadpool 2009 - Mel is the bringer of death

2009-09-21T18:23:00.003+10:00

Well, Mel is surely the best contestant ever in this competion. 5 down and still three months to go. A miracle is required for her not to win.

Deadpool 2009

2009-06-27T11:13:00.002+10:00

With the passing of Michael Jackson it is time to update the deadpool for 2009. There are only 3 competitors in this years competition and Mel has been outstanding.

I'm on holidays and moving............ must post more often.

Nut-job of the Week - No. 6

2009-03-19T17:35:00.002+11:00

There was an article in The Sunday Age M magazine (March 15th) titled "Can a common herb really help combat the common cold?" by Paula Goodyer. The common herb is Echinacea. There used to be a copy of this article on the web, but somehow it has now disappeared.

I wonder why it was pulled?

Could it have been because the only studies quoted in the article were one supportive of echinacea being helpful in combating a cold and one not supportive. Good balanced journalism. Maybe the next time The Age reports on, say, whether the MMR vaccine causes autism, they would have a balanced article by mentioning one study showing it does, and another showing it doesn't. Because science works by opinion, doesn't it???? Forget evidence.

How could they forget to mention this study or this one?

No. It's probably more likely they got rid of it because of what Professor Marc Cohen of RMIT said. Here is his testing procedure to determine if the echinacea you buy is legit. This is the relevant extract from the article:

"Some research suggests that an effective extract or tablet will make your tongue tingle when you swallow it" he says. "Another guide is the price - if a product is cheap, it's probably not effective - although a high price is no guarantee of quality."

There you go, check the tingle and the price. Maybe an expensive 9V battery has the same effect! No mention of looking for the mass of active ingredients on the bottle's label. Probably because there is none. That is because the manufacturers do not have to provide evidence for the effectiveness of this supplement. This basically means that anyone could put some echinacea extract in a bottle, jack up the price, and start counting the profits. There is no need for rigorous scientific testing to see if any chemicals in the echinacea can help with colds. Just use anecdotes.

Dr Cohen received his Phd in Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering from Monash and has another Phd in Traditional Chinese Medicine, form the Open University for Complementary Medicine. Now I can find Monash Uni easily on the Web, but the other place I can't find. Quackwatch.com says:
"The Open University for Complementary Medicine (in Sri Lanka) has no academic standing and does not provide a proper basis for calling oneself a medical doctor."
If anyone can find any info in this institution let me know. Maybe I can get my PhD from there.

So for those comments, Professor Marc Cohen, welcome to Nut-job of the week.

Nut-job of the Week - No. 5

2009-02-26T18:35:00.003+11:00

The line of self help gurus is never ending. Every now and again Oprah has her favourite and they appear on her show. You just know that the cash registers will start ringing and that this latest guru will make a bundle. And of course they do a world tour to cash in on their success. So welcome to Australia, Eckhart Tolle.

I don't care how slowly he speaks, it still doesn't make any sense. Can someone please translate this? WTF?

Just read this line from his book The Power of Now,

The pain-body consists of trapped life-energy that has split off from your total energy field and has temporarily become autonomous through the unnatural process of mind identification.

And people pay money to hear this guy? It'll cost you $165 if you go and see him in Melbourne!!!!

You're on the list, Eckhart Tolle, Nut-job of the week number 5.

Nut-job of the Week - No. 4

2009-02-14T09:47:00.002+11:00

I’m back on, having been reconnected to the interwebs. The deadpool is still open for those that want to enter.

It’s time for another nut-job of the week. We don’t have to go far, this week it is that ~~Start~~ Catch the Fire Ministries Pastor, Danny Nalliah.

I like the way he links Victoria’s bushfire with abortion bills being passed in the Victorian government. Those country Victorians must be so evil. Also, he says that god told him back in october that bushfires would come to Victoria. Most of us know the simple equation Summer+HighTemperatures+Victoria=Bushfires. No need for a man with a long beard in the sky.

Here are some of his other views (thanks Crickey.com.au):

Nalliah on multiculturalism: "Like a pressure cooker or bottle of soda water waiting to explode, the simmering racial war will reach its inevitable climax later, if not sooner... The multicultural melting pot has turned into a pressure cooker and it’s now a case of assimilate or implode Australia."

Nalliah on himself: "Pas. Danny has traveled to many countries in Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, USA, Australia and has ministered to crowds of more than ten thousand people. He has seen thousands come into the Kingdom of God during these meetings and many blind, deaf, dump (sic), crippled people healed by the power of God. He also writes in his book of a dead girl who came back to life, when he prayed for her in Jesus Name."

CTF on homosexuality: "Nicola Roxon, and by implication the Prime Minister, has now stated that homosexuality is more important than fatherhood. Along with pandering to homosexual couples by changing laws to normalise what God says, and nature proves, is unnatural, the Labor government is now telling us that if you don’t agree you can have no place in government initiatives."

We have former treasurer Peter Costello trying to distance himself from Danny. But Peter was best buddies, and probably still is, with Danny. Check out his Australia Day message to Catch the Fire Ministries.

How can you turn your back on Danny, Peter? He was one of the few that stood up for you and anoited you as Australia's next prime minister. Surely that was also revealed to Danny via god. Other gods in conversations with their prophets must have crossed lines with Danny's conversation. Heaven really should be looking into their telecommunication problems.

So Danny, welcome to the honoured list that is Nut-job of the Week.

Among the Living: 09 first entries in

2009-01-24T18:55:00.000+11:00

Here are the first entries:

Door
1. Patrick Swayze 18/8/1952
2. Christina Applegate 25/11/1971
3. Michael Jackson 29/8/1958
4. Winona Ryder 29/10/1971
5. Steve Jobs 24/2/1955
6. Kent Hovind 15/1/1953
7. Dick Fosbury 6/3/1947
8. Herbert "Herb" Alpert 31/3/1935
9. Patrick G. Duffy 17/3/1949
10. Robert Culp 16/8/1930

ms dodo
1. Peter Falk 16/9/1927
2. Zsuzsanna (Zsa Zsa) Gabor 6/2/1917
3. Bernard Schwartz (Tony Curtis) 3/6/1925
4. Nicolas Sarkozy 28/1/1955
5. Patrick Swayze 18/8/1952
6. Hazel Hawke 20/7/1929
7. Steve Jobs 24/2/1955
8. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) 17/1/1942
9. Ronnie Biggs 8/8/1929
10. Ted Kennedy 22/2/1932

Death and needles

2009-01-22T09:42:00.001+11:00

Deadpool '09
Entry: get it in before 31/1/09.
Remember: Choose 10 people who will not make it through the year. The younger the better.
Check here for points details.

News flash
Wow, knock me over with a feather! Studies continue to confirm that it doesn't matter where you stick needles into your body, traditional acupuncture spots or not, there is an anelgesic effect. This is most likely due to a strong placebo effect.

Now any rational person might begin questioning that maybe the underlying theory of traditional acupuncture maybe wrong. If it doesn't matter where the needles are, maybe there are no meridians in the human body. Of course, we have never found these, nor any signs of Qi, the magical life force. However, we get comments like the following from the above article -

"She said the success of "fake" acupuncture was due to a strong placebo response from sticking a needle in the body."

Let's see, the results from fake points are exactly the same as from real points, yet the effect from the fake points are a placebo response but the real points aren't. But you can't tell the difference. No meridians found, no Qi found, the same effect. Wouldn't you think it's all a placebo response? Occam slaps palm against forehead.

Nut-job of the Week - No. 3

2009-01-21T10:43:00.002+11:00

Breatharians believe that you don’t need to eat or drink water to remain alive. They claim that air, sunlight or some supernatural source is all that is required to survive. Jasmuheen (Born Ellen Greve) is an Australian who has repeatedly claimed to live on nothing but tea for months on end. Here is a video in which see outlines her theory. Warning: It’s 30 minutes long. (Or you can read this transcript in which she makes her claims.)

Do I really need to write anything here? This is a dangerous belief. There have been cases of people dying because of this.

She was challenged to demonstrate her claim for only one week by 60 Minutes which she accepted. They had to stop it after 4 days when she showed signs of becoming seriously ill. Of course she had an excuse. On the second day she said the air was polluted, so they moved her to a mountain retreat. Guess what? She continued to worsen hence they stopped it. Do you think this experience would make her rethink her beliefs? Don’t be stupid.

So, Jasmuheen, you are the Nut-job of the Week.

Nut-job of the Week - No. 2

2009-01-14T20:08:00.004+11:00

Here is Dan Aykroyd promoting a brand of vodka.

This is not, I repeat, not a joke. It is not satire, even though it may appear to be. He actually believes this. This is why, in the main, actors should not be listened to. The make-believe they are a part of starts affecting their brain. Rationality seeps out and is replaced by woo woo.

Inspiring the last Indianna Jones film, these crystals were held to be made by Aztecs and ‘baffled’ scientists. Sorry boys, but these skulls have been shown to be products of the 19th century during which the trade in pre-Columbian artifacts was rife. Fakes were abundant.

What a convoluted and crazy way to sell booze at inflated prices. And to think people buy this shite.

So for this, Dan Aykroyd is my Nut-job of the Week.

Nut-job of the Week - No. 1

2009-01-07T10:01:00.003+11:00

I’m going to try and post a bit more regularly and the only way I’m going to achieve this is to give myself a deadline. So I’m going to introduce a weekly post about the person who has done his or her bit to decrease the average intelligence on this planet. They will become my Nut-job of the Week.

The first Nut-job of the Week.

Just when you thought Riverdance was a nightmare you only had to experience only once, the man behind it is back. And he thinks he’s recovered from his ‘mystery virus’ thanks to the ‘Plexus System’. According to their website:

The existence of energy has always been accepted. As the Master of Science, Einstein concluded that everything is energy and beyond energy is a Supreme Intelligence. Within the Plexus System, we have begun to understand the powerful effectiveness of this intelligent life force.

First of all what do you mean by energy? And hang on, everything is energy and beyond energy is Supreme Intelligence. But if everything is energy, how can there be a beyond???????? WTF?

You know this stuff is complete shite when you have statements like these:

The Plexus System has, for many people, accentuated their vibrational frequency

What the hell are our vibrational frequencies and how come my doctor never checks if mine are OK?

The intelligent life energies take a number of forms and are normally in a state of continuous flow throughout the body. Similar to nervous impulses, they travel through a system of definite channels and in recent research these channels have been extensively mapped out by Scientists measuring variations in electrical skin resistance.

Give me your references for proof of these intelligent life energies and these so called channels in which it flows. Sure scientists have mapped skin resistance, but what the hell has that to do with intelligent life energies. Those maps give us an idea of how electricity may flow in the body. You know, electricity, the stuff which is used to power your computer on which you compose this trash. It ain't intelligent, we have to direct it and we can control it.

So for embracing this, Michael Flatley, you are the Nut-job of the Week.

I’m listing. Better straighten up then.

2009-01-03T16:01:00.002+11:00

December is usually the time everyone puts together their list of top 10, 50, 100, or googol of the year 2008. So what the hell I’m doing one as well but it’s in January. What a rebel. Anyway, this is my top 10 list of top 10 lists of 2008.

10. The top 10 scientific discoveries.
This scrapes in because it does highlight great science. However, this list should really be called “The top 10 scientific achievements”. For example, the LHC hasn’t discovered anything yet. Lift your game Time Magazine.

9. The top 10 Onion headlines.
The Onion never fails to disappoint. ‘Wealthy Teen Nearly Experiences Consequences’. So close to the truth…

8. The top 10 most popular searches in google.
Guess who was bigger than the Olympics this year? Did someone say Sarah Palin??

7. The top 10 strangest stories.
This makes it because it has the “Bigfoot found” hoax. Those guys were even interviewed on radio 774 Melbourne by Red Symons. People are so gullible. Some of the other stories are just plain weird.

6. The top 10 worst predictions.
There’s nothing like predictions by journo’s, pundits and those that think they know. Economists are the worst, like Donald ‘There will be no recession’ Luskin.

5. The top 10 athletes.
Because the Olympics were held in Beijing, I’ll let the Chinese newsagency pick these. Not a bad list. At least it isn’t USA centric. The lists produced by US papers always contain obscure names from sports like the NFL. Widen your view.

4. The top 10 astronomy pictures.
Simply out of this world.

3. The top 10 viral videos.
Shoes being thrown, crazy Christians, and how to use your fridge to score. Did I see Sarah Palin??

2. The top 10 jackasses of the year.
This list contains those whose faculties for reason and clear thought are either non-existent or have left them. Is that Sarah Palin again??

1. The top 10 skeptics who kicked ass.
To balance the nut-jobs in the previous list, here are the guys that did the most to promote sanity and that’s why it’s number one on my list. Hats off to The Guardian in conjunction with Ben Goldacre and Simon Singh.

Among the Living 08: The round up

2009-01-02T10:15:00.004+11:00

Well, that's another year gone. How time flies. '08 brought many things. For some it was a sad time as we farewelled Jane McGrath, Charlton Heston, Arthur C. Clarke, and Suharto. But this list brought happiness to our winner, Minkey. Could you image the joy she must have felt when hearing that poor Jane has finally succumbed to cancer, knowing that she couldn't be beaten unless a miracle occurred.

However there were some we wished we would be saying goodbye to. ms dodo must be feeling extremely unlucky. She put Chemical Ali on her list. A wise choice one might have thought. He'd been given five death sentences and was due to be executed in February. The Iraqi has held out and has made it to 2009 and has been given another death sentence, which takes his tally to 6. Will someone choose him to cease existence in 2009????

Elizabeth Murdoch just keeps going on, and on, and on. She turns 1oo in February this year. I'll wish her a happy birthday because we all know she be kicking on.

Other popular names that disappointed us this year were Amy Winehouse, Ariel Sharon and Ben Cousins.
So here are the final points for all participants.

Does anyone wish to play again????

I'd rather be disfigured than have a rash

2008-11-04T10:39:00.006+11:00

Some many things to write about, where do I start. Paralysis caused by too much choice. There is so much that I've wanted to rant about the last few months but I haven't been able to select one. But watching Mornings With Kerri-Anne today made me want to write this post.

The guest she had on was Meryl Dorey, president of the Australian Vaccination Network. Now if you go to their website, they are actually anti-vaccination so their name is highly misleading, not a good start. She claimed to have read the scientific literature and come to the conclusion that vaccinations are not necessary. I would question her ability to do science rather than just reading science articles. For example, she wrote a letter to the British Medical Journal in response to an article on homoeopathy writing, "Homoeopathy is a system of healing that has been around for over 200 years. It does not operate in the way that allopathic medicine does." In effect saying we can't use science to determine if homoeopathy works. Great science. Also, can you spot the logical fallacy?

Anyway she must believe that before vaccination the world was like this:

When in fact is was like this:

and hospital wards looked like this:

and to think this still happens in some countries:

Just talk to those who had polio as a kid, and I have. They would have given anything to have had the vaccination.

Why people laugh at creationists

2008-10-14T18:15:00.002+11:00

Here are a few youtube videos showing just how poor the arguments are for a literal interpretation of the bible.

There are more episodes of this. One creationist called VFX tried having these videos banned using the DMCA laws. VFX was wrong and had to post an apology.

Nerd alert

2008-09-20T12:22:00.002+10:00

Just when you thought maths was boring......

I Will Derive

Pi Day Song (Lose Yourself in the Digits)

Finite Simple Group (of Order Two)

I shouldn't, but I'll bite.....

2008-08-02T12:23:00.003+10:00

The following comment was made regarding my last post:

God hater.

Let me give you some good advice. If you are walking down the street, and you come across God, your enemy, you will need weapons of power - a sword, a shield, and a dagger. You will need trinkets of magic - a ring, a magic bag, and a shawl.

Don't rely on helpful witches. eBay is your best bet.

I'll respond to this without attacking the anonymous author themselves, in contrast to what they have done. However I always find it curious that some claimants of a form of supernatural belief seem to be the angriest, most violent and unkind people. Chill out.

They claim that am I god hater. Just leaving aside the fact that hate is a very strong word, I don't hate god. How can you hate anything that, looking at all the evidence, doesn't exist. It's like saying I hate the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, or the Tooth fairy. It's a waste of energy to hate the non-existent. All I say is that we don't need the concept of a god or gods to explain the world around us. We've started to grow up.

How will I recognise this god they speak of if I'm walking down the street? Will they be wearing a badge, "Hello! My name is God."? And why does this being need to find me on the street? Can't this god find me anywhere? Why wait? Can I keep finishing each sentence in this paragraph with a question mark?

The weapons required seem a bit medieval. Surely if I'm to face this omnipotent being I'll need more firepower. How about a H-Bomb, or at least a 9 mm Uzi or a phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range. A ring, a magic bag and a shawl are probably the best defensive measures. When dealing with imaginary beings it's best to use imaginary objects. And at least the shawl will keep me warm during these cold winter days....

As I don't know any witches, eBay was always going to be my first point of call. Do you think this shawl would look good on me? It's only $1200.

Rants that I would have been proud to have written

2008-07-20T21:24:00.002+10:00

Here are a couple of posts from other bloggers that you have to read.

The first one is a response to an article written by Yvonne Fullbright on 'transcendent sex', whatever that is. It goes through the article line by line showing the flaws in the logic. For example,

'Some people actually supersede the state of climax and reach a state of transcendent sex.'

“Some people” is a fun trick to use when you have no actual evidence to support your premise. “Some people say that Yvonne Fullbright eats the souls of orphan children!” See? It’s easy and fun.

The next one is by PZ Myers on the curious case of a boy exiting a church after receiving communion without, shock horror, swallowing the host. This post was followed by a volley of vitriolic hate mail including death threats. He has posted some of the responses on his website complete with the offenders email addresses. Someone tracked down one of the death threat emails to the source and the perpetrator was using her work email. She was fired. Her husband then came out and said that he wrote the email and, get this, it was PZ Myers fault that she got the sack.

And to round it off with WYD nearly over, here is a bit about Padre Pio, whose body was flown in for the occasion. There's nothing like a corpse to get the youth of the world feeling happy.

World youth day: Good for the profession

2008-07-06T23:02:00.002+10:00

With World Youth Day nearly upon us, here is one way the economy may be, um, invigorated.

Brothels braced for Papal visit
Check out the photos and their captions, superb. I can't paste them here due to copyright laws.

By the way, why is it called World Youth Day when it goes for 6 days? The church has never been good with anything that requires math. Too much thinking and rationality. We don't want that, do we?

And I like this bit of thinking from Julian Morrow..

Thanks to the World Youth Day Amendment Regulation signed by the the Deputy Premier, John Watkins, on June 25, doing something which "causes annoyance or inconvenience to participants in a World Youth Day" could now lead to a criminal conviction.

It is astounding this law was signed off by Mr Watkins, who is also the Minister for Transport. One of the main causes of annoyance and inconvenience in this state - and one likely to affect World Youth Day participants - is the public transport system. Atheism notwithstanding, I pray to God that Mr Watkins will cop a fine under his ridiculous law.

Among the Living 08: We may have a winner

2008-06-25T20:12:00.002+10:00

Jane McGrath has left this earth, however for Minkey this takes her to the top of the leader board with 42 points.

This will take some beating.

Down by the river

2008-06-15T23:57:00.002+10:00

I found a body in the Yarra River a week and a half ago. It made the channel 9 news and that one second that I was on TV combined with the obscured photo in The Age means I have nearly fulfilled my Warhol quota.

We'll, a student of mine found it but wasn't quite sure what it was. She came to me explaining that she had seen something strange floating in the water. Together we went to the scene of the UFO (unidentified floating object) and I knew what it was. I sent her back to school under the impression that it may be something innocuous while I phoned the cops to explain what I'd seen.
Within five minutes cops turned up from everywhere. Uniformed, plain clothed, in divy vans, on bikes, in squad cars and on foot. Photos taken, witness (me) questioned three times by three different cops, and calls made to search and rescue retrieve.

Meanwhile the media turn up and start filming. A duck flies in and lands on the water to examine the body. Just to make sure it is a body, the duck starts pecking. Channel nine should have good film of that. I leave partly because I have to go back to class and partly because I don't want to be interview by the media.

A few days later I'm in the cop shop making my official statement. I'm intrigued that the first line of the statement is TheDoor ".. is know to police." I always thought that tag meant you were a crim or involved in organised crime. Hang on,...........

No Comment

2008-05-11T19:19:00.004+10:00

Favourite comments submitted on this page of crap:

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Holiday reading":
Dear Mr Mad as Hell,
Could I suggest that you start to read books that are soothing and relaxing? Perhaps a mindless murder mystery, or a romantic novel where the girl meets get the man, or the girl, or the man gets the girl, or the man? Or a sweeping historical mystery or romance? Maybe you are too brainy for your own good, and this is the reason why you are as mad as hell and not going to take it any more, at all. Or maybe a acid trip every Sunday?

Rohan has left a new comment on your post "Among the Living 08: More points awarded":
Just need Whitlam to die and I'll take the lead, yay for old people!

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Minor minor parties V":
Come on, we know you are a CEC stooge.
Get your blundstones back on, and I hope to see you outside Melbourne Central handing out your usual filth.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "How did they know I was a Dandy Warhols fan??":
How is belief in God different from belief in any other concept.
You believe that an "atom" exists? O.K. show me one. You believe in string theory. O.K. show me a string. If you can't, then just shut up, seems to be your attitude.
Naturally, if religion posits an entity that is above and beyond material reality, then it is behind the eight-ball to prove to science's satisfaction that such an entity exits. In all likelihood, it is impossible for religion to "prove" anything within the conceptual horizon of science, because the evidence that those who believe in God does not count as "evidence" within science. Like, you want me to point to Mr God I saw down the Milk Bar the otherday.
Nonetheless, I urge you to go to Church and do the lightbulb experiment. I have prayed to God and Jesus told me that for the next six months the lightbulbs will be kept burning so that Mr Page O' Crap can reunite with his spiritual self.

elaine has left a new comment on your post "Dilemma":
ha! conversations with my godfather invariably go something like this: him: have you been to church lately? me: no. him: well, as long as you've been drinking some good bottles of red - and not that socialist grape* - then that's all that matters. come over here and give your godfather a kiss.
*merlot.

Mel has left a new comment on your post "Sosedi, Buren, Mezoblebi, ....":
Oh, we talked to the neighbours across the road when they got robbed too. Robbery seems to bring our street together...

Mary, Mary quite contrary

2008-05-11T19:04:00.002+10:00

I'm stating the obvious, but don't believe everything you read in the papers. Well, take it with a grain of salt the size of the MCG.

We have all the papers saying the Victoria will have the highest paid teachers. Well, there is a caveat to that. You will be the highest paid if you are a first year teacher or a teacher who has been teaching for over 13 years. All others won't be. And this will change next year anyway when NSW get their pay rise.

And worst off are third year teachers who now will be thanked for having over two years of experience by being paid the same as first year teachers. Guess where I lie. Thank you so much Mary for representing me and others like me in the negotiations. That's how well we are valued, two years mean nothing.

Among the Living 08: A new leader

2008-04-06T17:02:00.002+10:00

Charlton Heston's demise is not Rohan's because we have a new leader. He's moved from the bottom to the top in two weeks. Also appearing on the leader-board for the first time is Jason. Welcome aboard.

Holiday reading

2008-04-02T09:49:00.003+11:00

Being on holidays gives you time to relax and peruse bookstores and libraries. Two of the books that I've read over the last week contained the following passages which I thought I'd share with you all.

Ken Kalfus – Excerpt from “Last night at the Planetarium”
An essay from “Dumbing Down” edited by Katherine Washburn and Joan Thornton

Those that defend the introduction of science fiction in our science museums often promise that it will interest children in science, so that they will go on to pursue “real” science, or at least put more effort into it at school. But when adults use science fiction to demonstrate that “science is fun”, they imply that science taken straight is not fun and needs to be sugar-coated with fantasy. At the Hayden [the New York Planetarium] it can be dispensed with altogether. As anyone learns after a few years of being a kid, adults characteristically insist to children that pursuits like science, reading, and school are fun, while they display no interest in these subjects themselves.
The reason “real” science isn’t fun is that it is usually depicted as a single body of knowledge, or basically a collection of facts. What devalues these facts is the popular belief that scientists are always replacing them with new ones. In our popular media the history of science is often portrayed as the rise and fall of dogma. In the long run, all these “facts” are equally valid and their proponents will eventually be vindicated. As everyone all knows, they all laughed at Christopher Columbus, when he said the world was round. They all laughed, when Edison discovered sound.
There is too little in the schools – and virtually none at all in planetarium programs, in the mass media, or in the lyrics of Ira Gershwin – about science as a process, a means of comprehending nature using the tools of observation and reason. The establishment of the scientific process as the basis for society was a triumph of the Enlightenment, and since then its principles have remained intact. At times, usually when advances in technology have offered a closer look at natural phenomena, observation and reason have forced scientists to reconsider previously held theories. The embrace of the new theories may have been bitter defeats for the old theories and their proponents, but they were victories for the scientific process.
Other means for comprehending the universe are of course available, such as those of employ the tools of faith and mysticism, and they have their uses. But when they become confused with science, they bring with them the brimstone whiff of the medieval.

“Affluenza” – Clive Hamilton

If adults who are sexually attracted to children are called paedophiles, what do we call adults who set out to make children sexually attractive? Advertising executives.

While governments urge us to ‘reduce, re-use and recycle’ manufacturers and marketers of consumer goods spend billions persuading us to do otherwise. Continued opposition to the imposition of a levy on plastic bags, for example, is based on the fear that once consumers take their own bags to the shops they will begin to think about their needs rather than stroll around the aisles buying things needlessly.

Among the Living 08: More points awarded

2008-03-25T16:55:00.002+11:00

With the passing of Arthur C. Clarke, we have a new entrant on the leaderboard. Welcome Rohan.

Back in time

2008-03-24T01:47:00.002+11:00

My housemate’s sister had a theme party for her birthday the other week. Usually themed parties celebrate/mock bygone eras. Her bygone era was the ‘90s. Surely that wasn’t that long ago? And then you realise that 1990 was nearly 20 years ago!
I’m a bit of a hoarder and I’ve found some old ticket stubs from the 90’s. Here are some of the events I witnessed that I still have physical evidence for. I’m disappointed that I didn’t keep more stuff from that time.

Big Day Out, 22/1/95, Showgrounds, $49.10
Australian Track and Field Championships, 7/8/9/10 March 1996, Sydney (Competitor)
Melbourne International Film Festival - Unmade Beds, 2/8/98, Capitol Cinema
Stereolab, 4/2/98, Prince of Wales, $20
Ed Kuepper, 9/9/99, The Continental, $15
Oktoberfest, 23/10/99, Showgrounds, $3
TISM, 17/5/98, Hi Fi Bar, $15
Hoodoo Gurus-Final Tour (Ha!), 28/11/97, The Palace, $26.50
Vans Warped Tour, 24/1/98, Showgrounds, $36
Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes, 7/7/96, The Continental, $15
Melbourne International Comedy Festival - Hoot, 13/4/96, Napier St Theatre
Victoria v West Ham United, 21/5/95, Olympic Park (Freebee)
Australia v Iran, 29/11/97, MCG, $41 (Devastation)
Bledisloe Cup, 11/7/98, MCG, $64.75
U22 World Basketball Final – Australia defeat Argentina, 10/8/97, Melbourne Park, $22.50
North Melbourne v Sydney Grand Final, 28/9/96, MCG, $62 (Jubilation)
North Melbourne v Adelaide Grand Final, 28/9/98, MCG, $42.50 (Concession – Terrible day)
North Melbourne v Carlton Grand Final, 25/9/99, MCG, $45 (Student cards are great)

Some of the events that no physical evidence exists for but I know I was part of:
Anthrax gig, 1990, Entertainment Centre, (now Lexus Centre)
England v Pakistan Cricket World Cup Final, 1992, MCG
Living Colour gig, 1992, Festival Hall
Big Day Out, 1993, Showgrounds
Carlton v Geelong Grand Final, 30/9/95, MCG
FIFA World Youth Championships, Semi final Australia v Brazil, 17/3/93, Olympic Park
Countless TISM gigs
Countless Australia v …….. Soccer matches held at Olympic park

What things did you get up to in the 90’s?

What about the kids?

2008-03-15T11:36:00.003+11:00

I just had to comment on this article in Friday's Age about the principal of a exclusive Jewish school who has fled the country because of allegations of child molestation.

This paragraph in particular got me thinking:
"Parents were also concerned that the psychological treatment of the girls had been compromised because the school had refused to release information to outside psychologists. Students and parents were instead referred to school-nominated psychologists."

The parents are worried because the school used school-nominated psychologists? But hang on, isn't this school run by a particular Jewish community (Adass) and they have very strict laws about communicating and mixing with those outside this exclusive community? I assume parents send their kids there because of this particular reason. So they should be glad they don't use outside help.

And another thing, the parents are worried about the psychological effects on their children due to the alleged molestation. Fair enough. But I'd be also concerned about the psychological effects of children growing up in a secluded environment and not being allowed to interact with the wider world. Stuff like no stories in which boys and girls are friends, (in fact boys and girls are not allowed to mix), thinking that calling someone by their first name is forbidden because it may lead to sex, and forget it if you are a woman who wants to further their career after marriage because that's out of the question.

I think this community has more to worry about then just these allegations.

It's not a real job if you don't get paid

2008-03-03T20:23:00.002+11:00

There is a economic furphy that we must have full employment, that is, the unemployment rate must be kept low. Underlying this statement are one assumption which I think needs to be carefully looked at.

Assumption: You are only contributing to society if you are in a paid job.
This is a crock of shtimpy. In fact I think that there are people who contribute far more to society by staying at home then some out there who are earning money. I would even put forward the idea that if more people did stay at home, the world would be a better place. One reason that everyone has to work in a job that pays money is due to the financial pressures put upon them by ideologies of certain governments. The conservative mantra is that money is the determinant of not just your material wealth, but your social wealth as well. So it looks down upon those that stay at home and "not work". Because of course when you are at home you don't do any work, just ask any stay at home mum or dad. If more people stayed at home, the impact that may arise from such things as the possible collapse of the ABC child centres would not be so great.
By taking this further, we get the situation that by having less people "working" the unemployment rate would be lower!

On a side issue, there are the misleading terms "earn" and "make" when it comes to describing your wage. This article has an interesting idea that we should replace these terms with 'receive'. Does an executive of a paper-clip company really 'earn', say, $300,000? Do they contribute to society in a way that is 6 times that of a rubbish removalist on a wage of $50,000? Which one would disrupt society more if they stopped doing their job? Who is more valuable to a functioning society?

Awe

2008-02-27T20:21:00.002+11:00

Writing and maths are the two cornerstones of advanced civilisation and when the two are combined, one can experience true awe. Recently I've been reading books on maths (sometimes my brain craves mental exercises, problem solving and understanding how people think) such as "The Archimedes Codex", "The man who loved only numbers" and "Born on a blue day". Sometimes you just have to sit back and be amazed at genius. After reading Archimedes' proof regarding the area of a parabola, I couldn't help but put down the book and be astounded at how he did it. Pure geometric genius. No calculus required, however he was ever so close to coming up with the idea. If only he had algebra and the Greeks didn't have a fear of infinity.
Talking about infinity, I like to freak out my year 11 maths students by telling (and proving to) them that there are the same number of even numbers (2, 4, 6, 8, ...) as there are whole numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ....). That's courtesy of Cantor.

Was that so hard?

2008-02-13T20:09:00.002+11:00

8th May 1985 - "The vast majority of today's population were either children then or had not been born. They cannot profess a guilt of their own for crimes that they did not commit. No discerning person can expect them to wear a penitential robe simply because they are Germans. But their forefathers have left them a grave legacy. All of us, whether guilty or not, whether old or young, must accept the past. We are all affected by its consequences and liable for it. The young and old generations must and can help each other to understand why it is vital to keep alive the memories. It is not a case of coming to terms with the past. That is not possible. It cannot be subsequently modified or made not to have happened. However, anyone who closes his eyes to the past is blind to the present. Whoever refuses to remember the inhumanity is prone to new risks of infection."

12th April 1990 - "We, the first freely-elected parliamentarians of East Germany, admit our responsibility as Germans in East Germany for their history and their future and declare unanimously before the world:
Immeasurable suffering was inflicted on the peoples of the world by Germans during the time of National Socialism. Nationalism and racial madness led to genocide, particularly of the Jews in all European countries, of the people of the Soviet Union, the Polish people and the Gypsy people.
Parliament admits joint responsibility on behalf of the people for the humiliation, expulsion and murder of Jewish women, men and children. We feel sad and ashamed and acknowledge this burden of German history."

7th January 1998 - "The Government of Canada today formally expresses to all Aboriginal people in Canada our profound regret for past actions of the federal government which have contributed to these difficult pages in the history of our relationship together. One aspect of our relationship with Aboriginal people over this period that requires particular attention is the Residential School system. This system separated many children from their families and communities and prevented them from speaking their own languages and from learning about their heritage and cultures. In the worst cases, it left legacies of personal pain and distress that continue to reverberate in Aboriginal communities to this day."

13th February 2008 - "For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.
To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.
And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry."

You're not normal

2008-01-28T15:23:00.000+11:00

Coming back from the Hanging Rock races I had strange conversation with the person sitting next to me on the connecting bus. The bus ferried passengers from the race track to Woodend station and was packed. This woman sat down next to me with her young daughter on her lap. She struck up a conversation with me and asked who I was at the races with. I pointed to Ms Jade and Jason who were sitting in the seats across the aisle. She asked if I wanted to swap seats with her to be nearer to them, but I said that I was OK where I was. It was only a 10 min bus ride and it would have been a hassle anyway to change seats. I was quite happy to peer out the window and watch the world go by. She found this quite strange, and asked me a stack of other questions and tried to fit me into some kind of category such as a genX-er. Exacerbated by her inability to do so, she called me "strange", "not normal".
What is normal? It is impossible to define and I think that "a normal person" doesn't exist. You would think that an academic at a major university (which she was) would also agree. Is it normal to be a 40-50 year old male, showing off to your wife with your impressive ability to get drunk (like this is really hard to do) and then walk up to two people sitting at the races and slur "How good is it to be an Australian today?" This happened to me and Ms Jade. We looked at each other, then looked at this man. Ms Jade responded that it would be good if we were ahead on the punt. Not the response he was hoping for. He then looked at the cryptic crossword I was doing (obviously not an Australian thing to do), muttered some derogatory remark under his breath and walked off. To answer him, it's not good if you are representative of Australians.
I am not "normal", and I'm glad.

Among the Living 08: First down

2008-01-28T15:00:00.001+11:00

The first one is down, Suharto. 5 points.

Island living

2008-01-21T23:06:00.001+11:00

I have been in Vanuatu and had to comes to terms with the language,
while taking in the view,
sleeping under a net,
getting woken early by roosters,
living amongst the Ni-Van,
using local transport,
snorkeling and swimming,
tagging and recording endangered giant turtles,
standing on the rim of an erupting volcano,
and eating the magnificent local produce.

I have stories of local rebellion, dodgy foreign aid organisations, no money, and exploitation which will be told soon......

Among the Living 08: First entries in

2008-01-21T22:48:00.000+11:00

UPDATED
Here are the first lot of dead pool entries:

Those who are outstanding, get them in quick.

Among the Living 08: Selections

2008-01-16T15:31:00.000+11:00

Here are my 10 selections:

Name	DOB
Amy Winehouse	14/09/1983
Zsa Zsa Gabor	6/02/1917
Suharto	8/06/1921
Jason Becker (Shredder)	22/07/1969
Pete Doherty	12/03/1979
Ben Cousins	30/06/1978
Dick Clark	30/11/1929
Farrah Fawcett	2/02/1947
Margaret Thatcher	13/10/1925
Courtney Love	9/07/1964

Here is a nice website which has the deaths for this year listed.

Among the Living: We begin again

2008-01-12T12:20:00.000+11:00

Well, 2007 has gone and it's 2008. I'm running the deadpool again this year. Entries will close on the 19th of Jan and entry is $5. Send me your 10 names and you are in.
Rules and points as per here. The results for 2007 were:
A-man 45 pts (Anna Nicole Smith)
'Door 18 pts (Lobby Loyde)
JadF 18 pts (Lobby Loyde)
TomC 13 pts (Pavarotti)

A-man wins. Can you get your $5 from JasF and JadF, and I'll get the cash off the other two.

Let the games begin.

Would you believe?

2007-12-23T18:31:00.000+11:00

Evil. Addictive. Antisocial. That's the only way to describe what happens when you are given the complete series of Get Smart. Comedy Gold. I've been watching the episodes and did they cast the most gorgeous women.
Of course there's 99:

Charlie Watkins (great disguise):
and, the scientist Dr Steele, all from CONTROL:

Evil also has a pretty face. KAOS has Octavia, a robot:
and Mrs Neal to name a few:
Then there are others. Mrs Weatherly, a femme in distress:
and Tanya:

Sorry about that....

Chicken Little

2007-11-27T12:02:00.000+11:00

I can't believe the level of doomsday predictions being uttered by the defeated liberal supporters. Check this link from Perth for some classic examples. Some are threatening to leave the country. Please do, we would be better off without you.

This election has restored my faith in the Australian public. I do hope that they voted Howard out not because of how it may effect the amount of cash in their wallets, but because they wanted to turf out lying, deceiving, pompous, weak, gutless, racist, misogynistic, buck-passing, uncaring, born-to-rule attitudinal, selfish and self-serving politicians.

Let's hope that K07 really does implement a true education revolution and give back to the public schools what has been taken away from them. ps, K07, give Brumby a call and tell him to start the revolution off by giving Victorian Teachers their fair dues.

The last word before saturday

2007-11-21T09:19:00.000+11:00

The guys at Political Compass have looked at the major parties in the upcoming election and have come up with this:

One thing that strikes me is how authoritarian all the major parties are. I wonder if we did this 30 - 40 years ago where the parties would lie. In fact it would be an interesting exercise to do a time lapse image watching the dots move over this period of time. I bet you it would look like as if One Nation was leading the way and the rest wanting to catch them. What a sad reflection on the swinging voter. Face it, it is to them that the politicians pitch their policies.

Minor minor parties IX

2007-11-19T21:51:00.000+11:00

What the hell, I’m just watching TV at the moment so I’ll finish of my look into the senate.

The independents

Group V: Tony and Amanda Klein
Tony classes himself as an average Victorian. He’s worked in the private and public sector. He says he has no specific policies and will approach any decision based on his life experience and background. Given this is all his website says, it’s really hard to work out what he stands for. Surely he has certain values and beliefs that may influence his decision making?

Group T: Joseph Kaliniy and Koulla Mesaritis
It was really hard to find any information on these two. The only thing that I could come up with was someone else’s look at the senate.
This website has gone into detail about who each senate candidate is preferencing. Anyway, the site refers to Joseph as the roundabout guy who stands in every election there is, a la Steve Raskovy. He is campaigning against problem roundabouts and parents’ rights to discipline their children.

Norman Walker
I can’t find anything at all about this guy except that he’s a mature age student. Still, this guy gets my vote ahead of some of the others.

Darryl O’Bryan
This guy loves the constitution. And I mean really loves the constitution. He wants to go around to every school preaching about the constitution. He wants to remove all lawyers from our parliament. He says that the current tax laws are unconstitutional. In fact, I hazard to guess he think everything is unconstitutional.

Tejay M Şener
He is an applied physicist and his website has a few youtube clips outlining his policies. Some of which include:
- A Bill of Rights
- Heaps of funding for child centres and nursing homes.
- Cut funding to a sporting organisation if an athlete of their's is found using drugs.
- Rural Australia to get funding for satellite TV, phone and internet.
- Funding for public television like Channel 31.
- Funding for robotic vehicles. (What’s the bet that’s what he is working on?)
- Stop sales of uranium and no to nuclear power.
- Bring the troops back home.

That’s it. I’m not going into the preference deals because someone has already done this, thank goodness. Now to vote.

Minor minor parties VIII

2007-11-19T20:48:00.000+11:00

This post looks at the anarchists and socialists.

Anarchists

The anarchists have two members standing (Group I on the Victorian ballot) including the frequent newspaper letter writer and broadcaster Joseph Toscano. They define an Anarchist Society as “a voluntary, non-hierarchical society based on the creation of social and political structures that allow all people equal access to that society's power and wealth". Joseph is not even enrolled to vote but because he’s entitled to vote he is entitled to be on the ballot. His policies include:
- people can throw out non-performing MP’s by signing a petition.
- people can initiate referendums.

Good luck to Joseph, he’s been up for election at least 6 or 7 times.

Socialist Equality Party
Looking through their website I stumbled upon pictures of their candidates, one of whom was one of my supervising teachers during my dip ed. Not only that, he’s standing in the house of reps in my seat. He was a nice guy. Anyway, I’ll now look at their policies.
- Withdraw all troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Those responsible for the war be tried for war crimes.
- The release of anyone captured in the war held in US prison and detention camps.
- Remove Australian troops from the south pacific and spend the money on schools and hospitals.
- The disbanding of the entire Australian military apparatus.
- Repel of all anti-terror laws.
- Preferential voting to be replaced with proportional representation.
- Remove discrimination based on nationality, ethnic background, religion, gender or sexual preference.
- Right to abortion.
- Opposition to the death penalty.
- Public ownership of large privately-owned industrial, mining, service and pharmaceutical corporations, together with banking and financial institutions and privatised utilities, with full compensation to all small shareholders.
- A fully-funded, high-class public school, university and TAFE education system.
- Billions to be provided to the public health system, to finance a huge expansion in staffing, training, technology and equipment.
- Vast expansion in funding for the arts and scientific research.
- Freedom of speech and an end to political, intellectual and artistic censorship.

It’s a very idealist platform. Unfortunately the world is not ready to live in such a socialist utopia.

Socialist Alliance
The Socialist Alliance doesn’t advocate the whole-sale changes the Socialist Equality Party does and their policies do not seem to be as revolutionary. Here are some:
- Tear up Work Choices.
- Phase out coal power for renewable energies.
- No Gunns pulp mill.
- No dredging Port Phillip Bay.
- Universal and free education and health systems.
- Medicare to cover optical and dental.
- More money for all levels of public education.
- No TAFE or university fees.
- A living wage for all carers, pensioners and unemployed.
- Troops to be brought back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
- Restore civil liberties lost under anti-terrorism laws.
- Support same-sex marriage and adoption rights.
- All refugees welcome to Australia and be given full citizenship rights.
- Repeal all laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
- Build new public housing to end the waiting list.

That just leaves the independent candidates. I'll have to get this done tomorrow since I need to post my postal vote before I leave.

Minor minor parties VII

2007-11-18T17:23:00.000+11:00

I started looking at the remaining parties for future posts, but this one is too good to leave for another day. So this is my second post for the day. I think this is a first.

Australian Shooters Party
Basically these guys think that the Greens have “an idealistic, skewed and dangerous vision for the future.” Here are their policies and I'll let you decide if they have “an idealistic, skewed and dangerous vision for the future.”

- The right of the law-abiding citizen to own and use firearms. Just forget about what may happen if you give everyone guns. What happens if you don’t agree with a certain law? Do you cease to be law abiding and will you hand in your weapon?

- You can carry non-lethal methods of protection if firearms are not an option. These guys must be proud of those youths who carry around knuckle dusters.

- Support recreational hunting. If you’ve got a gun, you might as well use it, especially to kill things just for fun.

- 4WD and horses can run free in National and State parks. Let those poor 4WD’s into the forests, it’s their natural habitat. As tiny babies, 4WD’s were removed from the forests and now that they have grown up, they just want to go back.

- Opposes undue violence on TV, films and video. And yet they are OK if the violence is perpetrated by themselves. Work that out.

- Any law which has no demonstrable benefit should be repealed. Well, only if it doesn’t benefit guys with guns.

- Environmental laws should be framed with regard to the greater good and not to placate a minority pressure viewpoint. Hmmm, I wonder if a policy having 4WD’s running rampant through forests is for the greater good, or to placate a minority pressure viewpoint.

This reminds me of the Sacred Cows and their song, "Kill, Kill, Kill, Thrill, Thrill, Thrill". You know, after reading this I think I need a gun. Or maybe a red sports car. I don't think I'm a man unless I have one of these.

Minor minor parties VI

2007-11-18T16:58:00.000+11:00

I’ll now look at three parties which I think belong in the same section but I can’t think of a collective label for them.

What Women Want Australia

This party has been set up to address issues affecting women. They feel that politics has been dominated by males for too long and that women should be given more say in the direction of the country. Here is their youtube ad.

Their policies include:
- Medicare should cover dental, midwifery, physiotherapy and complementary and natural medicine. The evidence for complementary and natural medicine efficacy is minimal or non existence. Medicare should not be used for treatments that just don’t work.
- Right to choose whether to continue with an unwanted pregnancy.
- Do not support Work Choices.
- Paid parental leave.
- Same sex couples to have same rights as heterosexual couples.
- A critical assessment of our welfare system that often provides little incentive for people to find full-time employment.
- Free preschool program for children.
- Better funding for public schools.
- Abolishment of HECS and reintroduction of free university education.
- Water: Reduce, reuse, recycle. Free water tanks for homes. No dams.
- Energy: Ratify Kyoto protocol. Invest in renewable energy, but not nuclear.
- Invest in new rail, walking and cycling infrastructure.
- Support fair trade and humanitarian relief and welcoming to our shores refugees from war-torn countries.

Carers Alliance

This party has been formed by carers of those with disabilities who believe that the mainstream parties have neglected their role in our society. There are about 2.6 million carers in Australia. Their policies are all geared towards having a say in the funding and structure for the carers. The want to implement Recommendations 18 and 19 of the House of Representatives Inquiry into Balancing Work and Family which are as follows:

Recommendation 18 (8.42) The Australian Government consider allowing adults, who incur care costs for the care of elderly relatives or relatives with a disability, to have the choice of either receiving all current carers’ benefits or claiming these costs as a tax deduction where they can demonstrate that paid care was necessary to allow them to work.

Recommendation 19 (8.53) The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs make access to its funding programs more flexible, including the $19,000 per child per annum under the Inclusion Support Scheme, so that community groups and businesses can establish child care centres that have expertise in the needs of children with a disability and allow the development of after school hours care and vacation care for special needs children.
They also want more funding and services for mental health care. Also, if carers move interstate they lose disability services. They believe that no one should be disadvantage by moving states.

Non-custodial Parents Party (Equal Parenting)

This party’s main policies relate to divorce or separation. They believe that the starting point of any judgment should be that of 50:50 equal share parenting. They believe that both parents are important for children growing up. They also believe that there is an ingrained culture in the Family Court that prevents them from looking at equal share parenting. They wish to abolish the Child Support Agency and repel the Child Support legislation.

They support the Marriage Manifesto. This includes that marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life and that children have a right to a father and a mother. They list 21 points as to why marriage matters. The points have certain claims. For example: Point 20, Married women appear to have a lower risk of experiencing domestic violence than do cohabiting or dating women. This statement is based on a US study using data from 1987-88 and 1992-93. I don’t know whether this may apply to Australia.

Other policies include:
- Do not support the Iraq or Afghanistan wars.
- Support free trade and globalisation.
- Recognise climate change exists. They support the removal of emphasis on coal power but don’t want nuclear power. However further down on their web page they say that alternative sources are by themselves not solutions to the problem and then go on to say that coal and nuclear are the only two viable sources of power.
- Support a Commonwealth dental scheme.

This last party has the feel of a party that came into existence because of one angry man. It has one core issue and the rest of the policies have just been put together in haste. The other two parties seem to have had more thought put into their ideas and seem reasonable.

Minor minor parties V

2007-11-16T17:19:00.000+11:00

I'm away on the weekend of the election and so am doing a postal vote. I've received the ballots in the mail so I need to get cracking with my research. This installment looks at the religious parties.

Christian Democratic Party
This is the party run by Fred Nile. I do enjoy this tidbit they have on their web page. We "were responsible for saving the Letona Fruit Canning company, which has unfortunately closed!!!!!" Anyway, here are their policies:
- Parliament starts with a prayer. Which version of Christian prayer do they want? In fact why not let every sect have an opening prayer. And every religion.

- Zero tolerance drug policy. They all point to Sweden as having a successful zero tolerance policy. This article suggests that drug use actually rose after this policy was introduced.

- Immigration should be for those who can readily integrate into Australian society. There should be a 10 year moratorium on Islamic immigration. That is, you better be white, Christian and speak the Queen's English or keep out!

- Fund chaplains in all schools. Again, which denomination has preference?

- Schools should not be used for social engineering experiments such as the promotion of alternative lifestyles such as homosexuality. Yeah. That's what every teacher tries to do.

- Accepts that the scientific debate around climate change is unresolved and in that sense the CDP remains agnostic in respect to scientific elements of the climate change debate. This just goes to show that they have no idea of current scientific thinking and that they still are intellectually in the dark ages.

Family First
I'll put these guys in even though they have a senator because they are really a minor minor party. They don't overtly state they are a religious party, but we all know they are part of the new evangelical "money money me me" movement. Also, they ranked highly on the Australian Christian Values Institute poll. On their website, their policies are listed as over 30 one liners which link to a pdf. This is disingenuous. The one liners may look good on the surface to the naive web surfer, but you need to get the nuts and bolts of the policy to find out what evil lurks within.
- FAMILY FIRST believes “family” refers to relationships that bind grandparents, mums and dads and their children and form the basis of a community. Provided your not gay, a single parent, just plain single, live in a de facto relationship, or don't have your own business.

- More money in your pocket. This means cutting taxes and restoring "real" competition. Hang on a second, doesn't real competition end up mostly with monopolies??? What about taxes to build infrastructure? But then again, "small business is the true hero of our economy". Not nurses, teachers, doctors, the sanitation workers, etc. Notice how the word society is not mentioned? It's the economy, stupid. No need for society.

- Mandatory ISP pornography filtering. Like that's going to work!!! And who defines what pornography is? As Tom Lehrer once sang, "For filth, I'm glad to say, is in the mind of the beholder".

- Ban alcohol ads which are aimed at children or which link drinking to personal, business, social, sporting, sexual or other success. Fielding put this bill up in parliament once. Guess what happened??

- No to euthanasia, abortion, drugs, same-sex marriage, bill of rights. Yawn... What are you afraid of? Your kids blaming you for their distorted upbringing, and wanting to get rid of you. Who could blame them?

Anyway, the rest of the policies aren't really policies but just a bunch of supposedly feel good statements such as we will reduce class sizes at schools, or introduce initiatives that create incentives to reduce waste and pollutants in the environment. But nowhere does it state how they will do it. Maybe if they just pray hard enough, God will do it. Nothing for us to worry about then.

Democratic Labor Party
I'll put these guys in here since they were mainly the Catholics that split from the Labor party in the 1950s. It's amazing these guys are still around since the reds under the bed have basically gone. Anyway, here is what they would do and believe:

- Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. That's the usual mantra for the fundamental religious types.

- Make divorce difficult to do. Presumably if you are in an abusive relationship, then it's your fault and you probably deserve it.

- Federal funding for students attending non-government schools. If we want to indoctrinate our kids with our crazy ideas, you have to pay for it.

- China have a claim on Taiwan, unless the Taiwanese want to be independent. I thought the Taiwanese have made this clear????

- Opposed to imposed multiculturalism, but migrants are free to maintain their cultural practices and traditions. I'm still trying to understand if this is a contradiction.

- Abolition of the Office for the Status of Women, the Commission for the Future, the Human Rights and the Equal Opportunity Commission, and such.

I'll stop there. They have other policies which seem ok, but I can't be bothered going over them and checking them out. My eyes have glazed over.

One Nation and One Nation WA
I'll put them here because they mention Christian values on their website. Also one of their policies is to re-introduce Christian ethics into schools. Of course, nowhere is it spelled out what these ethics are. The WA branch is even having a lone candidate stand in the Victorian senate. Here is a video of one of the Victorian branch candidates. Basically, build more dams and no more immigration.

The Secular Party of Australia
This party was not able to be registered in time and so their candidates don't have the party next to their names. On the Victorian Ballot there are listed as group P. Their policies are:
- supports the 19th century notion that education be "universal, secular and free".
- end religious tax exemptions and subsidies.
- ceremonial references to religious beings are anachronistic, ethnocentric and divisive. Pledges should be towards principles, not deities.
- Support a Bill of Rights.
- religious indoctrination of children in schools violates the rights of the child. The requirement, whether by parents or schools, that children wear religious attire, is a form of indoctrination. The Secular Party therefore opposes this practice. It is the policy of the Secular Party that all forms of religious attire be prohibited in all government schools.
- the right to access information and entertainment, in private, free from censorship dictated by religious ideas.
- become a republic, with an Australian head of state.
- recognise global warming as a significant and dire threat to global civilisation. Implement phased introduction of a carbon tax. Support geothermal, tidal and nuclear energy.

These guys will get my approval way ahead of the others, even though I may not agree will all their policies.

Minor minor parties IV

2007-11-13T20:17:00.000+11:00

With the environment being a huge issue this election, parties have popped up from everywhere that are trying to address this issue. Here are a couple.

Climate Change Coalition
This party has got some big names in it. Karl Kruszelnicki, Patrice Newell, John Harvey, just to name a few. They come from diverse backgrounds; the left, the right, the rational. Their policies include:
- Ratify the Kyoto Protocol and support binding emission targets for all nations beyond 2012.
- Set a mandatory target of 30% electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020.
- Oppose nuclear power.
- Establish a nationwide moratorium on new coal fired power stations and new coal export projects until their carbon emissions can be safely sequestered.
- Introduce energy efficiency standards for motor vehicles, requiring improvements consistent with the emissions reduction targets and world's best practice.
- Emphasise energy efficiency and conservation by expanding mandatory energy performance standards to cover all energy-using appliances and equipment in line with world's best practice.

These are all noble policies.

Conservatives for Climate and Environment
This party believes in supporting a Liberal style of economic management with a heavy emphasis on the environment. However they don't want over-regulation in response to climate change. They think that market based innovation with a strong carbon price signal will be far more effective. Their policies include:
- Drive emissions reduction with strong carbon tax (including fuel) right through to consumer level, reducing the tax burden in other areas
- Ratify Kyoto and join the lead group of countries
- Reduce emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050 with solid interim targets
- Provide greater protection for native forests
- Oppose the planned Gunns pulp mill
- Implement a thorough, constructive and public review for the IR system, to support productivity in a just and fair manner
- Put more effort into Indigenous reconciliation and health
- Assist Pacific Islanders and others in our region affected by climate change
- Ensure anti-terrorism measures do not undermine basic rights (e.g. Hicks)

One of their guys on the Victorian senate ballot is Steve Raskovy. He is a serial writer to the Herald Sun and is one who stands as an independent in every election there is, even in local sporting club elections. His writings have always had a right-wing leaning and I'm extremely surprised that he would agree to some of the policies mentioned above, eg. basic rights for terror suspects. Methinks he has just latched onto this bunch to try to in.

Of course there are the Greens, but there not a minor minor party anymore so they don't make this cut.

The senate has heaps more which I'll try to get through before the election. I'll have a look at the parties with a religious bent in the next post.

Minor minor parties III

2007-11-12T21:49:00.000+11:00

Senator On-line
This is an interesting concept. The idea is that if you elect their representative, then the way they vote in the senate is decide by you. Here is how it will work.

All bills put forward in the senate will be published on their website and you vote on whether you wish that bill to be passed. The votes are counted and the party will vote on what the majority want. The majority is 70% or more for 100000 state votes. If this criteria is not met, the representative will vote in accordance with the majority view. If a majority in the state is not straight forward, they will look at the national result and vote accordingly.

This is a interesting idea which seems to be based on the Swiss model of everyone voting for everything. The major assumption is that the public are informed. It reminds me of the film "The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer", where this idea is used to create a dictatorial government. Check the film out if you can find it.

Minor minor parties II

2007-11-11T14:03:00.000+11:00

The Liberty and Democratic Party
The philosophy of this party is that of libertarianism. Basically they state that government creates a nanny state and so our freedoms are restricted. They propose the following:
Economic - Australians (rich and poor) have never had it better so there is no need for welfare. People give to charities anyway, so no need for handouts. As for tax, you don't pay till $30000, then it's a flat rate of 30% from then on. You get rid of public health care, and everything becomes user pays. In fact you privatize all government institutions. Can you spot a flaw in this economic policy?

Global warming - They acknowledge that the climate is changing and that man may be partially responsible, but government is not the way to attack the problem, the free market will fix it. They forget that the market is driven by marketing, that's why VHS was used rather that BETA, even though BETA is the better media. The market doesn't necessarily give us what's best. Just think of Microsoft.

Environment - They are of the opinion that smaller government leads to a better environment. I'd like to see what data they have to back this up.

Victimless crime - There should be no punishment for victimless crime. I had to check out what crime could be victimless. Some of these I agree with, eg, blasphemy, apostasy, flag burning, homosexuality, euthanasia. However some so called victimless crime may not hurt an individual, but be detrimental to society as a whole. Things like not wearing seatbelts and helmets.

Firearms - You can own a gun for sport, hunting and self defence. Yep, can anyone see potential problems here?

Labour Market - No minimum wage. Welcome to a Dickensian world.

Lifestyle choices - Consenting adults are free to engage in any activity or to live with who they want. They say that adults are not children and shouldn't be told what to do. I don't have a problem with this provided it involves consenting adults and doesn't inflict harm on others.

There are other policies that you can check out for yourself, but they all rely on the assumption that all take responsibility for their actions and that by doing things that are good for the individual, the society will benefit. I believe that this is definitely not the case, and that there are many out there who never take responsibility for what they do (can you think of anyone??) and that selfishness only benefits the few you are connected to, and neglect the welfare of the broader population. It takes a very short sighted view and is mainly concerned with the now and not the future. In our point in time, I don't think that these policies would work.

Time to justify the ranking

2007-10-30T10:16:00.000+11:00

Since this blog is listed on a political blog ranking, I better live up to it.

The Senate
Vote below the line. Don't let any party dictate how your preferences go. Look what happened in the last election. Many labor votes voting above the line didn't realise that they probably voted in a senator who they may not have wanted in the senate, one Steven Fielding of Family First. So please vote below the line. I know there are a lot of boxes to fill in, but I'm sure you know how to count to 100 and it is worth that extra 2 minutes. As to what some of those candidates stand for, here is the first short piece in a series looking at the lesser known parties.

The minor minor parties
Citizens Electoral Council
These guys are followers of Lyndon LaRouche. Lyndon LaRouche believes that humans are created in the living image of god. Not just any god, but the judeo-christian-islamic one. If he was created in the living image of god, then this god must have been a naughty boy since Lydon spent 6 years behind bars for committing mail fraud and tax violations. He is homophobic and thinks that the British family runs the world drug trade.

The CEC believe that the world is just about to experience a huge depression that will plunge everyone "into a New Dark Age beyond the imagination of most people alive today". They have been saying this for the last 40 odd years. It reminds me of those Christian groups that have been expecting judgment day any time now for the last 2000 years.

Policies
Education - The education system should be totally overhauled and students should be taught in the classical Greek way. No rote learning and new-age mumbo jumbo that is being taught in today's school. Hmmm, they haven't been in a school environment lately have they? New-age stuff isn't being taught in schools (well not at my school) and even the Greeks had to rote learn some things. By the way, a lot has been learned in the last 2500 years and I don't think kids could wait that long to find out that atoms contain protons and neutrons. The Greeks also didn't invent the idea of experimenting so science would be strange class with no testing of ideas.

Environment - Do humans impact on climate change? According to them it's "simplistic greenie scaremongering". They think our energy requirements should be met by nuclear technology and that renewable forms of energy production will produce a net economic loss to the community because of maintenance issues. They also want to control all the countries energy resources. Their policies will prevent "economic ruin, rolling blackouts, collapsing industries and consequently, death, starvation, disease and anarchy". Make up your own mind.

Economy - Their economic philosophy is that of Lyndon LaRouche. They want to establish a national bank and fund investment in agriculture, manufacturing or infrastructure which will create a million jobs. Where do they plan to get the money? Get rid of the GST and impose a 0.1% tax on speculative investments. Do you think this would work?

Arts - They support funding of the arts, but only a form of art based on the "classical tradition". That means no funding for modern art, of which the "psychotic" Blue Poles by Jackson Pollock is an example. Best to read their pamphlet, "Children of Satan III—The Sexual Congress For Cultural Fascism". This policy would reduce suicide, drug use and crime. Fantasy land, anyone?

That's just a sample of their policies, check out the website for the rest.

Car 0 'Door 3

2007-10-27T16:35:00.000+10:00

Just when I thought that my car had got the better of me and was dying, I've managed to bring it back to life. Three problems; electrical, brakes and stereo. The first problem was responsible for the third as I latter discovered.
The first problem had been around for at least a year and finally my battery couldn't cope anymore. After about 4 weeks of testing, that problem was fixed by replacing a part worth $45. My battery has recovered and should survive till the real death of the car.
The second problem needed to be fixed since no brakes = much mayhem. That required a part replaced which, due to my connections, came in cheap at $115.
The electrical problem caused the amp on my stereo to blow up and I've been using an old boom box from the '80s for my listening needs. As you may know, I've been using old VCRs, TVs, and other electrical equipment to build guitar effects. I was able to use parts from an old TV to build a little amp which I've now installed. No need for the boom box in the back seat taking up space. So anyone traveling in the back doesn't have to have that rather large and heavy ghetto blaster sitting on their lap. The only problem is that it's not a stereo amp. But what the hell, mono is better than zero.

Listed in a listing

2007-10-14T20:07:00.000+10:00

I've made the top 100 blogs about Australian Politics. I'm at number 82. Whoo hoo. (Well, top 100 according to that particular website.)

Facts, don't let them get in the way.

2007-10-05T10:18:00.000+10:00

Seems like lil' old Georgie Pell doesn't think that the climate is changing. But then again it took the catholic church over 300 years to finally agree with Galileo that other planets may have moons around them. Although Pope JPII during his apology speech said that Galileo must have been divinely inspired. Can't let the facts determine the truth, can you?

I wonder how well George Pell understands science? He comments seem to be relying on selective bits of information that have been provided by biased sources. If he really did want to find out how scientists have come to the conclusion that the world is changing because of us, he may have to learn about geology, physics, chemistry and meteorology. Hmmm, if he did study these topics, he may find that some stuff in the bible could be wrong. But that's unpossible. Best he not look in these topics, he may learn something.

I'm always amazed that the religious types hold faith much higher than the facts, rationality, logic and, more importantly, questioning.

Christians aren't the only ones. How about the story of two goats being sacrificed to appease a Hindu god because a plane was having technical difficulties. If this could really solve the problem then why the hell call in the electricians?????

And another thing, completely off base, I can't stomach those athletes that praise some deity for the success that they had. If their deity is such a powerful and influential being, why bother with the hard training and dedication? Surely they could just sit around doing nothing and when they are competing call on their higher power to guide them to victory. Don't they have enough faith in their own deity to deliver? What sort of believer are they? If they had true faith there would be no need to train. Training is admitting your faith is weak. And if your faith is that weak that you have to train, then you really have no faith at all. Just admit it to yourself, your don't really really believe, do you??

New addition to the family

2007-10-02T21:29:00.000+10:00

I've finally found an old sewing machine pedal that I could attack with power tools. After gutting it, and using some gears and bits from an old VCR, I've housed the latest addition to my musical devices:

The wah

My setup now looks like this:
There are more on the way....

Among the Living: It ain't over till the fat man sings

2007-09-18T11:03:00.000+10:00

Pavarotti is laid to rest so that means that TomC has picked up 13 points.
The leaderboard is:
A-man 45 pts
'Door 18 pts
JadF 18 pts
TomC 13 pts

Still three months to go...

Talk soup

2007-09-06T22:17:00.000+10:00

I was at this party the other night meeting and greeting as you do. I got talking to someone and the conversation turned towards a discussion of a philosophical nature. At last, I thought, an interesting topic. However, the young lass stopped the topic dead by saying that this wasn't a party conversation and proceeded to completely change the subject.

What the hell determines a "party discussion"? Why can't you have non-banal, stimulating conversations? When I talk to someone I want to know what you think, and why, about deep and intellectual topics. I want to hear other points of view and the reasons that they have for reaching their conclusions. I want to be challenged and, conversely, challenge their thinking. Not only that, but I'm attracted to women with whom I have these conversations. Talking about being attracted to, it seems that I attract pets, gays and young girls. None of which is in my target demographic. That's my luck.

The Emperor's New Clothes

2007-08-21T14:38:00.000+10:00

Don't you hate it when someone tells you to listen to this great new band, how you gotta go and see them play, and when you do they are not what everyone cranks them up to be. OK, maybe that particular performance wasn't their best, but when you've seen them a few times and they still sound crap, you can't be mistaken. The funny thing is that sometimes these bands get such glowing praise from those who are supposed to have music cred, that the average punter, who wants to look cool and hip, jumps on the bandwagon and becomes another sycophant too afraid to say that they don't like the band. I call these kinds of bands The Emperor's New Clothes. (This is not to disrespect the artist from England with the same name.) These are the types of bands that are crap, but everyone is blind to that fact except the few who don't fall for the hype.

Exhibit A
ENTER SHIKARI - Sorry You're Not A Winner
This band has been played to death on JTV and they are rubbish. This song tries to incorporate every genre of music from Death Metal to experimental electronica. Let me tell you something my grandpa once said to me, "That's like oil and water, sonny, they just don't mix".

PS. Rosie, the presenter of the show, is perplexed by how the singer gets that death metal voice. My advice to her is watch the friggin' video. He's using a voice effect!

Exhibit B
The Basics
I've seen these guys a few times and I still can't work out what the hype is all about. Music is supposed to be emotive. It's supposed to express what the band members are feeling. If that's the case, then these guys must be taking Novocaine, 'cause I get the impression that their not feeling much at all. Here's a suggestion, don't take yourselves so seriously. Lighten up.

Exhibit C
Aleks and the Ramps
Even the drummer left this band. No more needs to be said.

Odds and Odds

2007-07-24T21:56:00.000+10:00

I just saw something on TV that will give me nightmares. A news report on SBS showing a man with a 15kg facial tumor. He looked like an alien from Dr. Who. Shivvvverrs.

Respect for Brian May, Queen guitartist. He has just turned 60 and he will soon submit his PhD thesis in astrophysics which he began just as he was forming Queen, 35 years ago. If this isn't enough incentive to finish mine, nothing is. Actually, I've just been reading about Brian and I'm impressed. What a multi-talented guy. Double respect.

My obsession with creating a digital delay is unhealthy. I need a real life.

I'll end on a quote:
"Now that we are in year 12, like, we are no longer students, like, we are people who want to learn." - The School Captain

As the Oz brothers once said, "This country is stuffed!"

2007-07-17T22:08:00.000+10:00

It's a sad day when governments overrule the courts. I'm not eloquent enough to express how I feel so I'll use the words of others.

Naturally, the common people don't want war ... but after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.
Hermann Goering

This appears on the front page of "Howard's Guide to Staying in Power".

Education is dangerous - Every educated person is a future enemy.
Hermann Goering

This appears on the second page of "Howard's Guide to Staying in Power". Make sure to keep the people dumb.

I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: 'The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair.' In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
Bertrand Russell

When will we ever learn.

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.
Douglas Adams

Apparently never.

It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.
Epitetus

Those in power, listen to this piece of advice from over 2000 years ago.

Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
George Santayana

Split Enz was wrong.

The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
Albert Einstein

The inherent apathy in this country angers me.

Law and justice are not always the same. When they aren't, destroying the law may be the first step toward changing it.
Gloria Steinem

So true.

We ought always to deal justly, not only with those who are just to us, but likewise to those who endeavor to injure us; and this, for fear lest by rendering them evil for evil, we should fall into the same vice.
Hierocles

How can you tell others to be just and fair, hypocrite.

The journey into sound continues....

2007-07-07T16:07:00.000+10:00

That was then ......

This is now .....

On the right is the newly housed phaser, or the "Phase'Door", on the left the SM-9 super metal pedal.
And below is the complete setup for producing the classic 80's metal sound; Ibanez produced, 'Door crunched (with some help from Ibanez), and Marshall power.

I will be making some more effects.. but first, let us now ROCK!

More Melbourne Meanderings...

2007-06-29T17:49:00.000+10:00

One of the great things about living in this city is exploring not just spatially, but temporally as well. For the past two years we have taken the students to Urban Seed, which is situated at 116 Lt Bourke St. This building has had an interesting history and it's fun to tell the kids what activities went on here.

Previous to being the home of Urban Seed, an organisation helping homeless and addicts, it was Ancient Times House. From 1954 till 1999, it used to house a collection of artifacts from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. It famously housed a mummified child. This collection was put together by the Australian Institute of Archaeology. This sounds like a genuine scientific collaboration trying to unravel the past using the time honoured process of critical enquiry. But you would be mistaken. It was basically set up to "prove" that the bible is true.

It used the same logic and archaeological evidence of guys like Sir William Ramsay who is always portrayed as a former atheist who came to believe that the bible was true after much research. Whether he was or not a rabid atheist is disputable. Needless to say, archeology as a science has evolved dramatically since Sir William's time of the late 19th century. His evidence that the bible, more specifically Luke, is true is that place names match. Does this mean that Shane Maloney's books are true because they contain real places? Hang on, didn't I seen Murray Whelan walking down Sydney Rd ? A friend of mine, the Stallion, was once shown a copy of the Ten Commandments (in 1991) on small tablets as they would have been originally written, or so the curator said. Wow. Too bad that there is no current archaeological evidence at all that the exodus happened. In fact, the evidence points against it. The bits and pieces of this collection are mostly housed at Latrobe Uni.

Before housing these artifacts, I've been informed that the building was the home of the Communist Party during the time that Menzies tried to outlaw it (the party, not the building). Is there anyone out there that can confirm this?

Stories worth keeping

2007-06-28T21:52:00.000+10:00

I've been meandering through the city over the last few days with my students who are discovering many aspects of our city. As part of their experience we headed into ACMI for a presentation on their Digital Stories program. ACMI have recorded stories about people from all walks of life which run for about 3-4 minutes. I didn't expect much, however I was moved to tears whilst watching some of these incredible tales. The presenter really knew which stories would emotionally affect you. The stories of immigrants were the ones that got me going. Images of places where family members also were interned, photos so similar to ones seen on mantle pieces, tales from past worlds, strangers in a strange land. Then there were stories told by those who have led lives so different to the one you have experienced. You got to see how they viewed the world around them.
We all have a story that should be saved for posterity.

Ball!!!!! Yes!!!!!!

2007-06-21T19:35:00.000+10:00

The community cup is on again this weekend and while cleaning up around the house, I found the footy record from the community cup that I went to in 1998. This is just more reminiscing from me.

How did they know I was a Dandy Warhols fan??

2007-06-17T16:32:00.000+10:00

These are the comments from my post I just didn't get it.

Anonymous_1 said...

Godless hippy,

The light wouldn't go out if you were reading the Good Book for once. God would keep it on becuase (sic) he loves you and wants you to be saved.

A-Man said...

Hah! Godless hippy. That's awesome. I can't even tell if anonymous is being sarcastic or serious.

If he/she is actually serious, I have a question...
In the history of electricity and churches, has there ever been a light globe go out in a church or other Christian establishment? Or in fact, at the house of anonymous? Because, if any light globes have ever been replaced even once, then by your logic, God doesn't love you or the patrons of the churches either...

Anonymous_1 said...

Dear A-man,

There is a circle in Hell set aside for people who ask rhetorical questions. They sit next to the sarastics (sic), those who make puns, and those who blind their hearts and minds to the truth by using tricks of language.

Of course lightbulbs eventually go pop. They are man's inventions, not God's creations.

If God wants a person to read the Good News, He will intervene in the world as necessary. That is proved a thousand times in the Old and New Testament. I suggest you educate yourself.

But if you "scientists" want to do the world a service, why don't you get yourself to a church one time, with a pencil and pad, and observe there if a lightbulb blows and observe whether anyone at the time was reading a Bible.

Instead you use poor logic to make the nasty minded joke that if a lightbuld goes out then God has foresaken (sic) his believers. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you are a callow youth and do not know what you say.

Anonymous_2 said...

"Proved a thousand times in the Old and New Testament"?

Anonymous, you accuse A-man of poor logic and then base your argument on the assumption that something is in a book, so it must be true? Where is the tangible evidence? This post is about science and proof, which you have provided none of.

I wonder; if Harry Potter was written 2000 years ago, would we take that to be fact also?

This discussion is a good example of the difference between dogma, in particular religious dogma, and science. The dogmatist makes the statement "I am right", while the scientist asks the question, "Am I right?".

So how do we know who is right? Who makes the better argument? Who is using reason and who is using logical fallacies?

Let's start. The burden of proof is always on the claimant.
Evidence has to be provided by the person making the statement or hypothesis. Also, and this is crucial, the hypothesis has to be a non-negative statement. For example, "God exists" is a valid hypothesis whereas "God does not exist" is not. Let's replace the word god with "A teapot in orbit around Jupiter" or "The Flying Spaghetti Monster". Now it is impossible to rule out these two. However, there is just no evidence to suppose these things exist. Also, does the existence or non-existence of the teapot affect our understanding of nature? If not, then we can invoke Occam's Razor and disregard the hypothesis that the teapot exists in its said location.

Now A-Man is just after some evidence that anonymous_1's god exists. It's not up to him to prove that god doesn't exist, it's up to anonymous_1 to prove he/she/it does. What makes good evidence? As anonymous_2 says quite rightly, just because something is written down does not make it true.

So let's have a look at anonymous_1 evidence:
God loves us. Firstly, you have to prove god exists. You can't assume something you want to prove. Next.

That is proved a thousand times in the Old and New Testament. Give me chapter and verse of these instances. Oh, and make sure you specify which book you want to use. Have you read the works that your book has been translated from? Do you agree with its translation? Do you have it in its original tongue? Why do you think that these texts are factual or represent actual people? One assumption made here is that I haven't read the said texts and researched their origins. Doing so was one rationale that led me to the conclusion that there is no possible reason for such a being. In fact, I would even put it that these texts actually provide arguments against god's existence.

But if you "scientists" want to do the world a service, why don't you get yourself to a church one time, with a pencil and pad, and observe there if a lightbulb blows and observe whether anyone at the time was reading a Bible. (I'll just neglect the assumption that I haven't been to church. For 15 years I went to church, ah, and I can't help writing this pun, religiously.) An experiment we can perform. To make this a watertight experiment, the claimant must agree that if a lightbulb blows whilst someone is reading a bible then their god doesn't exist. They must be happy with the experimental conditions. No escape clauses. Then we can have someone continuously reading the bible with lightbulbs on all around.

The rest of the comments are just ad hominem attacks. It is the refuge of those that just can't provide any credible evidence.

Until such time as conclusive evidence can be given, I shall remain a "godless hippy".

(By the way, the day I gave up believing in the invisible being was the most liberating experience of my life so far. It wasn't easy. The entire process took a long time.)

Morcels

2007-06-11T21:50:00.000+10:00

Stuff that's in my head at the moment needing to be let out.

1) Corrections/retractions in a newspaper should be printed on the same page and in the same headline font as the original story.

2) Going to the footy this year (when we are not interstate, which seems to be every second week) has been so much more enjoyable than last year. We (The North Melbourne Football Club, not the Kangaroos) are playing a hard tackling, quick moving, chance taking brand. I'm enjoying the work of 19 (will be a future captain of the club), 11 (soon to join the 300 club), 24 (runs out of the backline like Dench did), 10 (our first father and son, and he will be a gun), 43 (a silent tackling assassin), 20 (not quite Shimma, but doing a magnificent job down back), 1 (he will/is scaring opposition coaches). It would only get better if we could get rid of 16, and bring back 38, 8 and 23. And I'm not reading all the gloom and doom stories in the paper.

3) Correcting exams is so boring. It's that time of the year and I also have to write reports this week. The new reporting system is not going to please some parents. But don't get me started on it.

4) I'm hosting a couple of trivia nights over the next month and I been having fun writing the questions, finding faces for my famous faces section, and putting together a music round that will be slightly different to the music rounds of previous trivia nights. I have this urge to test the questions on everyone, but I can't considering that there could be a leak. Anyway, here are famous faces from a previous trivia night.

5) I need to go out and see some bands. Rock and/or roll, it doesn't matter.

6) Training is going well and I feeling quite fit at the moment. The bodies taken a lickin' but it's kept on tickin'. I should be writing the next weights phase for the squad but I'm procrastinating.

7) Attitude to existence, keep em busy so they don't think, Am I right? versus I am right!. These are just notes to myself for future rants.

Old school III

2007-06-01T22:10:00.000+10:00

Time to revisit old nightclubs again.
Chasers was a Melbourne institution and hosted one of the best nights, Outlaw. The Hound Dog and Stratos used to spin excellent tracks and knew their ROCK. Many memories.

I just didn't get it

2007-05-27T18:33:00.000+10:00

"I was hopeless at maths and science. I just didn't get it." It's a statement I've heard a lot and I heard it again during a conversation I was having on friday night. It often follows the question, "So, what do you do?". Usually the topic of conversation changes and I don't get the chance to give a simple description of what science is, and how in fact most people practice science everyday without realising it. Now, one of the reasons I took up teaching was to show the beauty and power of these two topics. So here goes an attempt to give a primer on science.

You are sitting in the lounge reading a book with the lights on. At the end of a chapter you disappear to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. You come back to the lounge room and the light is out. What do you do?

Option 1
God did it. You sit down and that's it. Some prefer this and spend the rest of their lives in the dark.

Option 2
You decide to find out why the light is out. There must be some natural explanation. Believe it or not, this is the first step in thinking scientifically. So why is the light out? The bulb may have blown.
If this is your only reason you can think of, then you are just a novice scientist. A good scientist will trying to think of many reasons why the light may be out. It may be that your flatmate came in and switched off the light, a fuse may have blown or the electricity in the neighbourhood may be out. And sometimes there are reasons that although improbable, are possible. That possum living in the roof may have bitten through the wires. A thief has cut the power to your house in preparation for a robbery.
Now you have your reasons, where do you start? The simplest explanation is usually the go so you decide to see if someone has switched off the light. You perform an experiment. You flick the switch. Bingo! You go back to reading your book. However, sometimes it's not that easy. Sometimes it requires stepping outside the current problem and making other observations and doing more experiments. You may check other appliances in the room to see if they work. This can help narrow the range of reasons. You may need to ask the advise of others who have had similar problems. You keep trying different ideas, throwing out the ideas that don't work. This way of thinking is an example of the scientific process.

The next question is, what is the difference between good science and bad science? That I'll leave to another post.

Mobile Philosophers

2007-05-20T21:43:00.000+10:00

Update
Saw this sticker yesterday and it got me going:

What the hell is it supposed to mean?
Is it that you can only have morals if you believe in an invisible entity? Is it that you must be a conservative if you believe in said invisible being? Or are you supposed to stay in the right hand lane as some sign that you are a god-fearing mofo?

Old bit of post
Bumper sticker seen today;
"MY BOSS IS A JEWISH CARPENTER"
I thought that this needed some witty reply. The best I could come up with was;
I BET YOU HE'S GOT YOU ON AN AWA.
I'm sure that you can think of something better.

Here are some other stupid bumper stickers that deserve a response;
"PHYSICISTS DO IT IN ELEVEN DIMENSIONS"
FIRST TRY IT IN THE USUAL FOUR DIMENSIONS

"I OWN A GUN AND I VOTE"
TOLD YOU DEMOCRACY DOESN'T WORK

"BABY ON BOARD"
I'LL CRASH INTO THAT OTHER CAR THEN

I know these are pretty lame.

Among the Living: Another one bites the dust

2007-04-24T08:34:00.000+10:00

Vale Lobby Loyde. A great Australian guitarist.

However, it means that JadF and I have got our first points in the deadpool competition. A 65 year old male gets 18 points.

It's quite a weird feeling hearing about someones death knowing that it will help you in your quest to win a competition.

Conspiracy theory

2007-04-16T20:59:00.000+10:00

This is taken straight from websurdity.com. I think that the author may have something here. It also sounds like another familiar conspiracy theory going around...

Was the Death Star attack an inside job?

We’ve all heard the “official conspiracy theory” of the Death Star attack. We all know about Luke Skywalker and his ragtag bunch of rebels, how they mounted a foolhardy attack on the most powerful, well-defended battle station ever built. And we’ve all seen the video over, and over, and over, of the one-in-a-million shot that resulted in a massive chain reaction that not just damaged, but completely obliterated that massive technological wonder.

Like many citizens of the Empire, I was fed this story when I was growing up. But as I watched the video, I began to realize that all was not as it seemed. And the more I questioned the official story, the deeper into the rabbit hole I went.

Presented here are some of the results of my soul-searching regarding this painful event. Like many citizens, I have many questions that I would like answered: was the mighty Imperial government really too incompetent to prevent a handful of untrained nerf-herders from destroying one of their most prized assets? Or are they hiding something from us? Who was really behind the attack? Why did they want the Death Star destroyed? No matter what the answers, we have a problem.

Below is a summary of my book, Uncomfortable Questions: An Analysis of the Death Star Attack, which presents compelling evidence that we all may be the victims of a fraud of immense proportions.

1) Why were a handful of rebel fighters able to penetrate the defenses of a battle station that had the capability of destroying an entire planet and the defenses to ward off several fleets of battle ships?

2) Why did Grand Moff Tarkin refuse to deploy the station’s large fleet of TIE Fighters until it was too late? Was he acting on orders from somebody to not shoot down the rebel attack force? If so, who, and why?

3) Why was the rebel pilot who supposedly destroyed the Death Star reported to be on the Death Star days, maybe hours, prior to its destruction? Why was he allowed to escape, and why were several individuals dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms seen helping him?

4) Why has there not been an investigation into allegations that Darth Vader, the second-ranking member of the Imperial Government, is in fact the father of the pilot who allegedly destroyed the Death Star?

5) Why did Lord Vader decide to break all protocols and personally pilot a lightly armored TIE Fighter? Conveniently, this placed Lord Vader outside of the Death Star when it was destroyed, where he was also conveniently able to escape from a large-sized rebel fleet that had just routed the Imperial forces. Why would Lord Vader, one of the highest ranking members of the Imperial Government, suddenly decide to fly away from the Death Star in the middle of a battle? Did he know something that the rest of the Imperial Navy didn’t?

6) How could any pilot shoot a missile into a 2 meter-wide exhaust port, let alone a pilot with no formal training, whose only claim to fame was his ability to “bullseye womprats” on Tatooine? This shot, according to one pilot, would be “impossible, even for a computer.” Yet, according to additional evidence, the pilot who allegedly fired the missile turned off his targeting computer when he was supposedly firing the shot that destroyed the Death Star. Why have these discrepancies never been investigated, let alone explained?

7) Why has their been no investigation into evidence that the droids who provided the rebels with the Death Star plans were once owned by none other than Lord Vader himself, and were found, conveniently, by the pilot who destroyed the Death Star, and who is also believed to be Lord Vader’s son? Evidence also shows that the droids were brought to one Ben Kenobi, who, records indicate, was Darth Vader’s teacher many years earlier! Are all these personal connections between the conspirators and a key figure in the Imperial government supposed to be coincidences?

8) How could a single missile destroy a battle station the size of a moon? No records, anywhere, show that any battle station or capital ship has ever been destroyed by a single missile. Furthermore, analysis of the tape of the last moments of the Death Star show numerous small explosions along its surface, prior to it exploding completely! Why does all evidence indicate that strategically placed explosives, not a single missile, is what destroyed the Death Star?

Shamocracy

2007-04-15T10:24:00.000+10:00

The new electoral roll laws coming into effect tomorrow are, I feel, dodgy. They are supposed to limit electoral fraud. In effect, they make it harder to participate in the democratic process. Also, there are some interesting riders accompanying these changes. Here are two amendments.

-Increase the threshold for donating anonymously to political parties from the old limit of $1,500 to $10,000. Donors and recipients will not have to identify the donor's name for donations under this amount.

-Increase the level of tax deductible contributions from old limit of $100 per year to $1500 per year.

This increase is huge!
Why the hell should there be tax relief donating to a political party? Which party's members may benefit from these changes the most, I wonder?
For an interesting read, have a look at the commentary by Norm Kelly, a politics teacher at ANU and former member of the Western Australian parliament. He makes an interesting point that a person could contribute to the same political party at the state level and the federal level, totalling $90,000, without having to disclose it.

Why is there so little scrutiny and critical analysis in the press about these changes? Just another example of how todays journalists no longer practise journalism. The job now involves just rehashing press releases.

Wrestle-tastic

2007-04-13T08:38:00.000+10:00

I joined a-man at a Wrestlemania shindig and it was superb. I haven't watch pro-wrestling in a while and it was so good to see the crazy action again.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was at his finest and was wearing a t-shirt that sported a simple yet eloquent phrase.

I immediately wanted one of those t-shirts. Then I got to thinking (rare, I know). This idea can be adapted. Start with a plain version:

then customise it to suit the occasion. For example, a nerd may have:

and this one applies to some people at parties:

The possibilities are endless......

Whatareya....

2007-04-01T20:46:00.000+10:00

Here are four reasons why I don't have a myspace...
Reason No 1.
Reason No 2.
Reason No 3.
Reason No 4.

Return of the D.F.F

2007-03-28T17:22:00.000+10:00

I have decided to bring back the Door Film Festival. The theme for this one will be John Landis. The following three films were shortlisted:
The Kentucky Fried Movie
Animal House
Trading Places

The date: 6th or 7th Apr. Date depends on numbers. Let me know if you wish to attend.

It is going to be next saturday the 7th April.

This is a journey into sound..

2007-03-11T11:35:00.000+11:00

Over the summer I built a couple of guitar effects. Here are some samples of the sounds created.

Phaser
Subtle setting.
Subtle setting used for short segment of Slayer's "Seasons in the Abyss".
All dials cranked to 11.

Wha-Wha
Short segment of random notes.

I now just have to find housings for them because at the moment they are just sitting around like this:

Among the Living: One is no more

2007-02-09T18:03:00.000+11:00

We have the first points awarded in the deadpool competition. a-man has begun well. A 39 year old woman gets you 45 points.

I have put up the lists. A couple of notes on birthdates:
1. Tony Bullimore's birthdate is always given as circa 1939 so I've put it at 31/12/1939.
2. I can't find Tyler Fishlock's birthdate but he was 3 in 2006 so I'm pressuming he's born in 2003.

If you still want to join, you can.
ps. If I've made an error in birthdates, let me know.

Among the Living: Update 2

2007-01-31T22:13:00.000+11:00

Here is another entry in the Dead Pool Competition. This one from TomC..
1) Fidel Castro: I WILL prove it. One way or another.
2) Charlton Heston. The son of God will not save him again.
3) Ariel Sharon. Possibly already dead but not certified yet.
4) Tony Bullimore. Not the sharpest tool in the shed that one.
5) Diego Maradona.
6) Hermann Maier. Austrian Ski Ace-rides his motorcycle and his skis too fast
7) Tony Curtis. Just because you would be devastated that your hero passed on.
8) Little Richard. The king of rock n roll.
9) Pavarotti. Would be a tragedy.
10) B.B. King.

Come on peoples.... there are some of you out there who said that they have done a list. Where is it???????