Stumble upon

[Tanja]

Any stumblers here? I have wasted many an hour stumbling upon random sites...I think it's a brilliant idea.

[Rat]

I had it installed ages ago, but lost it in a Firefox uninstall/reinstall. You have, however, reminded me to get it back. I'll let you know if I find anything worthwhile. Or maybe I won't.

Cheers,
Rat.

[prewitt81]

Yep. I'm prewitt81 on there too.

I pretty much use my reviews to bust on pseudoscience and quackery.

[Tanja]

Hi prewitt81, I think I saw you at RSLancaster's stopkaz page. I use the same avatar as here.

[prewitt81]

One of the cool features of StumbleUpon is that you can review websites. Here are some of the reviews that I'm proudest of. Maybe someone will get a chuckle out of them:

A scientology site: When will people stop believing in fairy tales like chemical imbalances and wake up to the obvious truth that aliens from space live in our brains, causing all sorts of problems that are only solved by spending thousands of dollars on treatments and therapies developed by a writer of science fiction novels? PS: Battlefield Earth was the best movie ever and I am an idiot.

A page about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: Uh-huh, this guy is a scientist, sure. I bet he thinks he can fly too. . . oh. . . he does? Seriously, I've seen these people "fly." It's called hopping. Maybe if I grow a beard and say a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense, people will call me "Your Holiness" and give me all their money. It sounds like the perfect plan. . .

A pro-EVP site: It's pretty condescending to say that people think EVP is BS because they don't understand. I don't have to go investigate when the crazy guy down my street tells me there's a purple giraffe in my bathtub, and I don't have to look too far into EVP either. I'm not saying that anything should be instantly dismissed, but if this phenomenon were real, it would turn the world upside down. Scientists all across the world would drop what they were doing, uncrap their pants, and start working on talking to all the dead people out there. This isn't happening. Instead, Joe and Jane Crazyarses set up ridiculous websites and attract people that wouldn't know the real world if it bit them in the hinder. Our world is full of wonders without resorting to superstitious and paranormal hogwash. A lot of "EVP" is just interference from CB radios and infant monitoring devices.

Responding to a critic of Mr. Randi: Every time I have ever heard Randi speak, he has been very careful about saying that, although he could replicate things like spoon-bending, that did not mean de facto that it was not paranormal, but that there was a much more simple explanation. I believe your point is valid about skeptics making no judgement until the facts are in - but there is a limit. If you tell me that a winged rhinocerous is swimming in your toilet, I'm not going to rush to the bathroom to look. The skeptical movement needs someone like Randi to stand up to people and say "All you have to do is demonstrate what you claim, but I won't believe you until you do." I get enough wonder out of life without people having to make more things up. And lest you think no harm comes from strange beliefs, read here ratbags.com/rsoles/history/2001/candacenewmaker.htm (http://www.ratbags.com/rsoles/history/2001/candacenewmaker.htm)

An alternative medicine site (Ayurveda): Using this "perfected health care system" you can be completely healthy - just like people who live in India! I definitely trust medical practices from 5,000 years ago when people lived to the ripe old age of 36 and headaches were relieved by a simple hole bored into the skull.

From a "Natural Cures" page: Wow, Natural Apple Cider Vinegar sure cures a lot of ailments. And double wow, they just happen to be selling it on commission!

A "Chakra" page: Can I balance my energy system? Can I detoxify my quantum fluxuations? Can I stop harmful vibrations in my chi pathways? I made those last two up (the first one is from the main page). It's all BS psychobabble and it doesn't mean anything. Tell you what, send me $400 and I'll unpolarize your auras along the westward matrix, ok?

An evangelism page: God loves you so much that, if you don't love him back, he'll throw you into a fiery Hell for all eternity. Not for 10 seconds, not for 10 minutes, eternity. That's perfect love. You know you love your spouse when you can imagine burning him/her forever and listening to his/her screams throughout eternity - it's the same with God! The idea that a perfect being made an imperfect creation, and then punishes them for being imperfect is ridiculous. The worst person that ever lived doesn't deserve an eternity in the Christian hell. A perfect being would forgive everyone - especially those less perfect than himself. The idea that a "saved" former rapist will rejoice in Heaven and that a good {insert other religious or non-religious gro**** who is "unsaved" will burn in Hell is equally ridiculous.