The historic and original "Welcome new posters! Introduce yourselves here!" thread

[tomgv15]

I moved to Decatur Il last summer. While I've been an active SF reader since the 70's I have not been active in fandom since then. I'd like to know more about the St. Louis scene. I'm mostly interested in print SF, and the sceptical approach. For a long time I felt like an oxymoron, a Science Fiction fan who doesn't believe in alien visitations and abductions. I felt much better when I learned that both Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverburg are skeptical. Unfortunately I've met many fans of fantasy and Science fiction who maintain their "suspension of disbelief" at level 10. I'm glad to know that there are people who love imaginary works without being lost in them.

[Ducky]

I'm Crystal, 28, from St. Louis...
I've been binging on the skeptical literature pretty hard for the past couple years, reading Randi, Skeptic, Skeptical Inquirer, some Nickell, Shermer, and Gardner too, and of course good ol' P&T.
I found "Flim-Flam" in a used bookstore, filed in with the paranormal gobbledygook, and I've never looked back -- though I still do read the stuff for laughs (and just picked up a first edition of The Interrupted Journey at the St. Louis Book Fair for a buck... whatta deal).
This looks like a good forum. *smile* I'm glad to be here.
I was wondering... Is there any kind of skeptical group in St. Louis? I've been trying to turn one up since I moved here last year, to no avail...


Welcome!

[hipparchia]

Hello everyone!
I am an economics reporter from Bulgaria. Haing the chance to be exposed every day to the Bulgarian press, I encounter woo galore. As a remedy, I spent some time with this forum, liked it and decided to join.

While Bulgaria may be joining the European Union soon and while we are pretty advanced in technology (at least in the big cities), when it comes to woo beliefs, it can be scary. Suffice is to say Sylvia Brown is here in all her paperback glory, along with Masaru Emoto, and absolutely no one in the media or anywhere- forums even, has tried to debunk those books. Not to mention all the witch doctors and fortune tellers. It's kinda like the US in the 70's, I suppose. All the claims fashionable back then are in full force right here. Pyramids, ear candles, NLP- you name it.

I believe also in due course a skeptical community may be built in this country- who knows- maybe 20 years from now, when the woo runs its historical course...

[Irony-Man]

I am a lawyer currently teaching law subjects to business students. One of the things I teach them is contract law, and one of the most important elements of contract law is that there has to be an exchange between the parties of something with a recognizable or tangible value. I was also explaining to them the technique of the cross-examination.

I always ask them what benefit they would receive from a psychic (the answer is supposed to be entertainment) but usually receive a number of woo-woo answers or placebo effects. I then confess that I am slightly psychic (which is actually like saying you're slightly pregnant) and that I can contact the dead for them. Now usually, because I've told them of the effect it doesn't work. There usually isn't the necessary level of co-operation from the students. Today however I had a group that contained some people who were true believers and I asked them to think of a dead person they want to contract (oops lawyer/Freudian slip).

Then I ran thru the cold reading techniques. I asked a series of questions about a man I saw with a child but it was in the past. I also asked about the letter the letter "G". Normally that gets someone's grandfather involved today it was a little different. The "G" prompted someone to say guitar and I seized that to say that yes I was getting a message about playing the guitar.

To cut to the end of the story, I was able to bring out that the student was thinking about Jimi Hendrix, that he played the guitar and that he wanted to be professional. I left him with a positive message from Hendrix to keep working on a song built around the chord of "G".

I then asked the other students to tell me what I had told them about the subject's dead person and they repeated back to me everything I just stated. They didn't notice that I had only asked questions and had stated nothing.

Afterwards I explained what I had done and how. Even then there were still people who made the claim that some psychics are real. I left them with the suggestion that they should believe whatever they wanted to as long as they didn’t deceive themselves.

So this is my introduction of myself to these forums. I have lurked around them on and off for the past couple of years and look forward to actively participating.

[JuliaPeeps]

Hi I'm Julia from The Skeptic Express, I love this forum but couldn't remember my old name and password so I'm back as me.

[Spidey13]

Welcome to you last three people who joined. I'm too lazy to mention each one individually and give you each some witty comment, but just remember that you are all very special in my heart.

[m_larue]

Hi--
I'm new to this site; new to forums, and having the dickens of a time figuring out how to move around. Not new to the skeptical community, at least as a lurker. Eventually will post some queries and join in some threads. For now, just "Hi, all!"

[wollery]

Hi--
I'm new to this site; new to forums, and having the dickens of a time figuring out how to move around. Not new to the skeptical community, at least as a lurker. Eventually will post some queries and join in some threads. For now, just "Hi, all!"Yeah, moving around can be difficult, I generally try one foot in front of the other, but I find that method doesn't work too well if I want to go sideways. :D

Ahem, sorry. Welcome to the forums, enjoy yourself and try not to get too worked up by some of the idiocy that gets posted here. :)

[Hominid]

Good evening (from where I sit) to all. I live in rural South Australia and my name is Tom . My occupation involves direct contact with health care consumers and am therefore privileged to be confessor to peoples beliefs about the nature of health and illness. As a skeptic my personal interest lies in what is can be supported scientifically and then its application to humans. As such is suspect I will be following mainly the medical/scientific side of the threads.
It is nice to be here.

[BoogieWoogieWookie]

Hi, I'm Emeria...

I kinda forgot how I stumbled into here, but been looking around here a whole lot until I found the courage to see.
Hi and welcome to the forums. I'm pretty new myself.

[BoogieWoogieWookie]

Hi!
Im Magnus, new to these forums, but I have read Randi's Swift for about a year now. I am studying political science in Trondheim, a city in the middle of Norway and enjoy my studies :)
well, that's my intro. I am sorry for any spelling or grammar errors ( My first language is Norwegian)
Greetings Magnus! I read posts for a long time until I registered. This is actually the second time I registered after having lost/forgotten all my info.

[BoogieWoogieWookie]

Hello everybody! I found this forum while perusing links from other forums. Looks pretty cool and the posters seem like nice, intelligent people :) so I joined.
Hello and welcome Raziel. Yes, there are many interesting discussions and some intelligent people here. Wish that I was among them.

By the way, err..what does 'perusing' mean?
(I have a dictionary somewhere but I can't remember how to use it.)

[BoogieWoogieWookie]

Hi

I'm Womble ( I tend to plod along, but collect information, more of a reader than a poster )
Howdy and welcome.

I tend to wamble on sometimes.

[BoogieWoogieWookie]

I'm Larry, almost 60, teach chemistry, love teaching, learning. Intensely dislike (being polite in my phrasing) fake science , misused science and calling anything that, by its' nature, can't be scientifically validated scientific. Side interests in media history/development (especially s.f/fantasy/horror and AA/black film and television), cooking (especially M.F.K. Fisher and Elizabeth David - both of whom, I hate to admit, I became acquainted with only last year, and Joe Amendola- baker and instructor emeritus, ex CIA - Culinary Institute of America), and edged and projectile weapons and their effective use. Happily communicate on any of these as well as a number of others. Pleased to note that non-skeptics appear here - helps lighten the boards (I found Steve lots of harmless fun). Best to all and happy to be here!!
Hello Larry.

I too am almost 60 and teach, love teaching and dislike (not being polite in phrasing) the ignorant DA's that embrace all the woo crap. I teach electrical engineering and my side interests are a little different. I do, however, love science fiction but not fantasy/horror as much. I suspect that the majority of those here are fond of good science fiction. It seems to go along with critical thinking.

I agree that non-skeptics are fun and am glad they are here. It is quite entertaining to watch them being devoured by those with superior intelligence and thinking skills.

[BoogieWoogieWookie]

Greetings mighty JREF forum.

Huh, introducing one's self is hard. I've been looking at this blinking cursor for a while now. All right, we can do this...okay, we can't. Let us pretend.

The brief form of Rassilon: I was introduced to the JREF by the Penn & Teller series on Showtime (the name of which breaks rule 8). I have been reading the weekly commentaries for several months now, and have recently started reading the forums. As such, I thought it was time to add myself to the mass of forum users so I could post if I should I have anything relevant to say...although previous experience that doesn't seem to indicate relevance is a requirement.

In terms of religion, while I should be agnostic, realistically I am atheistic.

In terms of life, I'm over a quarter century old at this point and on my way back to school to resume my physics studies. Additionally, I am boring, single, annoying and often mistaken for immovable object.

For anyone curious about my chosen nickname: yes, I am a long time Doctor Who fan.

Hmm, "brief form"...well, too late to shorten it now. I've clicked submit.

--Rassilon.
Greetings and welcome, Rassilon!

Don't worry about short, long, etc,, just jump in there.

Deity!! Wish I was near a quarter century! How about well over 1/2 century!

[Darat]

Greetings mighty JREF forum.

Huh, introducing one's self is hard. I've been looking at this blinking cursor for a while now. All right, we can do this...okay, we can't. Let us pretend.

The brief form of Rassilon: I was introduced to the JREF by the Penn & Teller series on Showtime (the name of which breaks rule 8). I have been reading the weekly commentaries for several months now, and have recently started reading the forums. As such, I thought it was time to add myself to the mass of forum users so I could post if I should I have anything relevant to say...although previous experience that doesn't seem to indicate relevance is a requirement.

In terms of religion, while I should be agnostic, realistically I am atheistic.

In terms of life, I'm over a quarter century old at this point and on my way back to school to resume my physics studies. Additionally, I am boring, single, annoying and often mistaken for immovable object.

For anyone curious about my chosen nickname: yes, I am a long time Doctor Who fan.

Hmm, "brief form"...well, too late to shorten it now. I've clicked submit.

--Rassilon.

Aren't you meant to be dead? Oh well the Dr will be pleased to know at least one other Time Lord did survive! Welcome!

[Tailgater]

I have not been able to figure out 2 things in this forum and hope someone could answer this.
1. How do i minimize text...seems i can do everything but that.
2. How do i pull one sentence only from a post and respond to it...ie: Darat responding to Rassilon above.
Hmm....3
Is there a better place I should ask these questions?
Oops....just saw the support and help was seperate from newb thread...sorry.

[Katachresis]

I like this (http://206.225.95.123/forumlive/misc.php?do=bbcode) page. It has lot's of cool stuff.

[Tailgater]

I like this (http://206.225.95.123/forumlive/misc.php?do=bbcode) page. It has lot's of cool stuff.

Testing YES!!!! thx alot Kat. You just opened my world!

[Katachresis]

Oh no! What have I done?

I'd go back and edit out the link, so every newbie in town doesn't use Hellfire and Spoiler, but you quoted me, so I can't.

Just use this gift wisely, my child.

[EnanMyHero]

Name is Alan. Managed to find this site by Googling my son's name: Enan Smith. RoadToad had a thing goin on and I read it and he said that there's some interesting stuff here so I figured I'd take a cool. My user name is after My Son of course and he was my hero and he always will be.

Enan Alexander Smith
November 10,2003
January 28, 2006
Always Loved and never forgotten

[Mad Hom]

Hello everyone Sam here. I've been lurking on this forum for months,mostly cryptozoology stuff as Bigfoot and his hairy brethren are my pet bleever-stomping activity. I work nights and keep odd hours so when I'm up in the wee hours keeping to my sleep schedule I enjoy trolling for bigfoot bleevers to argue with and this seems like as good as place as any.

Of course I have no idea how to do all the whizbang neato forum stuff like quotes,tags,image/link posting and whatnot but I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.

Mad Hom

[Eos of the Eons]

Welcome. The stories here in this thread are quite often the most intriguing and even heartwrenching. Good to see great new folks.

[tim]

Name is Alan. Managed to find this site by Googling my son's name: Enan Smith. RoadToad had a thing goin on and I read it and he said that there's some interesting stuff here so I figured I'd take a cool. My user name is after My Son of course and he was my hero and he always will be.

Enan Alexander Smith
November 10,2003
January 28, 2006
Always Loved and never forgotten

Alan, you are very welcome here. Roadtoad is a highly respected member of JREF and, IMHO, you have a good friend in him. Our deepest sypathies for the loss of your son.

[EnanMyHero]

Ty. Don't have much time to look and read, but will browse when I get the chance.

[zizzybaluba]

Hello,

I'm Steve from Cleveland Ohio, USA by way of Maryland.

I've been reading the forums for the past month, and I am so impressed by you folks! You all have your head squarely on your shoulders.

I'm a sorta non-practicing catholic (catholic ancestors, but never baptized or confirmed). I spend way more time than I'd like to trying to chase the woo out of people I know (co-workers trying buying magnetic bracelets, my sister trying to buy the latest thing off a paid-program, etc) and you provide me with a lot of help.

I sincerely hope that I can contribute some to the forum, and look forward to doing so.

Thank you all!

[Katachresis]

I sincerely hope that I can contribute some to the forum, and look forward to doing so.

Thank you all!

No, thank you. When the voices of reason are heard by those that do not use facts, evidence, or proof, we all benefit.

You have contributed, and I hope you will post more.

[mommyrex]

Hi, I'm mommyrex, here to prove that western Kansas is not completely devoid of skeptics. For the past few years, I have been deeply involved in a privately funded skeptic breeding program, and most of my time is devoted to raising three little skeptics. ;)

How I got here: I've been reading Randi's weekly commentary for about a year (thanks to one of my skeptic brothers), and I already hang around (primarily lurking) at the skepchick forum.

I look forward to learning and having fun here!

-mommyrex

[tim]

Hi, I'm mommyrex, here to prove that western Kansas is not completely devoid of skeptics. For the past few years, I have been deeply involved in a privately funded skeptic breeding program, and most of my time is devoted to raising three little skeptics. ;)

How I got here: I've been reading Randi's weekly commentary for about a year (thanks to one of my skeptic brothers), and I already hang around (primarily lurking) at the skepchick forum.

I look forward to learning and having fun here!

-mommyrex

Welcome! The skepchick forum is great - some of my best friends are skepchicks!
So when do we get to see you posting?

[Slothrop]

I've always found skepchicks to be the very best sort of chicks. :o

And so to introduce myself: I hope posting to the forums will be as fun as my little bit of lurking has lead me to believe. I'm Norwegian, I make movies and was lead to this forum by way of doing some research into a documentary on the cheerful topic of death. After reading all 100+ pages of the "Loose Change" thread it just seemed like this was my kinda place despite not really considering myself a "skeptic."

[tim]

Welcome, Slothrop!
The Scandinavian countries are well represented here, with posters from Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. We look forward to your posts!

[Mr. Skinny]

Hello,

I'm Steve from Cleveland Ohio, USA by way of Maryland.

I've been reading the forums for the past month, and I am so impressed by you folks! You all have your head squarely on your shoulders.

I'm a sorta non-practicing catholic (catholic ancestors, but never baptized or confirmed). I spend way more time than I'd like to trying to chase the woo out of people I know (co-workers trying buying magnetic bracelets, my sister trying to buy the latest thing off a paid-program, etc) and you provide me with a lot of help.

I sincerely hope that I can contribute some to the forum, and look forward to doing so.

Thank you all!
Welcome, Zizzy

We've got a few posters from Cleveland on the forum, a few from Columbus, Dayton, and Cincy/Northern Ky.

I managed to survive a few years in Cleveland (including the blizzard of 77-78). What side of town ya from?

[zizzybaluba]

Welcome, Zizzy

We've got a few posters from Cleveland on the forum, a few from Columbus, Dayton, and Cincy/Northern Ky.

I managed to survive a few years in Cleveland (including the blizzard of 77-78). What side of town ya from?

I think I got the "by way of" reversed... I grew up on the southeast side of Cleveland (Garfield Heights), but now I live near Baltimore.

[Mr. Skinny]

I think I got the "by way of" reversed... I grew up on the southeast side of Cleveland (Garfield Heights), but now I live near Baltimore.
Too bad. Was hoping we had another Buckeye skeptic.

Garfield Heights was still sorta being taken over by malls and such when I lived there, IIRC. I lived in North Olmsted for a while, and Lakewood for a while. Had some good times in Cleveland (when it wasn't snowing).

[DrugFreeAlcoholic]

I used to be a denizen of the "dumb jock niche" in high school. I wrestled and lifted weights, won tons of medals from both activities, and broke the school squat record for my weight class.

At around age 16-17, I somehow ended up at christianforums.com, where I mainly debated evolution/creation and existence of gods. Little did I know, I would be learning logical fallacies from various websites and develop an interest in biological evolution, which then lead to an interest in philosophy, which then lead me to read a logic book on my own free will (assuming free will exist), which is now leading me here to the JREF.

I'm not as strong as I used to be since I found this new hobby, but now I is smert. :D

So now I'm a computer geek, with an avid interest in science, philosophy, and skepticism (I'm skeptical about my own existence, and even skeptical about skepticism! But I don't think Randi advocates philosophical skepticism, does he?), I'm always searching for the most logically consistent position, and can't get any girls. (Couldn't get girls when I was a 'rassler anyway, and all the ones that come to me just have bad taste... or just don't have free will). And to corroborate my geekiness, I memorized the proof for 1+1=2 using the Peano axioms.

If you're ever so skeptical that you doubt that even you exist, there are a few self-evident truths (one being that there are only a few self-evident truths): All right angles are congruent, twice two makes four, and DrugFreeAlcoholic is dull. :)

I want to expand my skepticism beyond the subject of existence of gods and evolution/creation. So I hope there are a lot of believers in big foot, loch ness, UFOs & aliens, astrology, phsyhics, homoeopathic and/or alternative medicine here on JREF.

[wollery]

I want to expand my skepticism beyond the subject of existence of gods and evolution/creation. So I hope there are a lot of believers in big foot, loch ness, UFOs & aliens, astrology, phsyhics, homoeopathic and/or alternative medicine here on JREF.There are a few, but they generally don't last too long!

[zizzybaluba]

Garfield Heights was still sorta being taken over by malls and such when I lived there, IIRC.

I grew up a block from Garfield Mall... now its a great place to get your car stolen. I visit Cleveland quite often (lots of family and friends still there) and believe it or not I find quite a few skeptics there. They're not the most computer literate bunch though, so I wouldn't expect to see them here any time soon, unfortunatly.

[Lester]

Hi All,

I am Lester from the UK. Have been knocking around Spiritualism for over 20 years and have visited many churches/events. I do believe in life after death but the vast majority of "mediums" have not proved it to me. Have written a few articles about visits to see some UK mediums which were posted on other UK sites.

Any questions? I will be pleased to answer best I can.

Regards

Lester

[Darat]

Are you from Leicester Lester? ;)

:welcome4

[Ducky]

Hi All,

I am Lester from the UK. Have been knocking around Spiritualism for over 20 years and have visited many churches/events. I do believe in life after death but the vast majority of "mediums" have not proved it to me. Have written a few articles about visits to see some UK mediums which were posted on other UK sites.

Any questions? I will be pleased to answer best I can.

Regards

Lester



What is the average air/speed velocity of an unlaiden swallow?

[Roadtoad]

What is the average air/speed velocity of an unlaiden swallow?

English swallow, or African Swallow?

[Lester]

Darat-No, I'm from my mother

Fowlsound-Average air speed/velocity of an unlaiden swallow is faster than that of a laiden one.

Roadtoad-Makes no difference

I think you are slightly off topic for this site? But nice to hear from you.

Lester

[Kiwiwriter]

I'm Dave Lippman, aka Kiwiwriter, for my three years of living in New Zealand (where I got married and my daughter was born).

I come from a family of mathematicians on my mother's side, and am a historian and journalist by trade, so I have little use for con men and ideoogical fanatics.

I particularly dislike Holocaust deniers, because they are consummate liars, racists, and anti-Semites, whose true agenda is to rehabilitate Hitler, restore National Socialism, and rewrite the history of the Holocaust, turning it from being a tale of horrifying butchery and kleptomania into being the white race bravely defending itself from destruction by cleansing Europe of a dangerous subhuman vermin.

My other main interests in wrecking the paranormal are hooting at the claims of psychics (amazing how often the world has failed to come to an end), and debunking the Bermuda Triangle (probably because of my interest in history). I also have a visceral dislike of astrology, because of my longstanding interest in astronomy.

When I was a kid, my grandmother would point me out to her pals and say, "David's interested in ASTROLOGY!" Her pal would say, "Ooooh, what sign are you?" When I said for the umpteenth time, "Astronomy, Grandma, not Astrology," she'd get embarrassed, and her pals would wonder what the heck I was talking about.

My wife and I have several of Jim Randi's books, and we're both big fans.

Don't know how often I'll hang out here, because of my web page on World War II history, but I'll probably be around some.

[Jon.]

I particularly dislike Holocaust deniers, because they are consummate liars, racists, and anti-Semites, whose true agenda is to rehabilitate Hitler, restore National Socialism, and rewrite the history of the Holocaust, turning it from being a tale of horrifying butchery and kleptomania into being the white race bravely defending itself from destruction by cleansing Europe of a dangerous subhuman vermin.

Don't beat around the bush, tell us what you really think! ;)

Welcome to the forum! I expect you'll have fun if you do hang around here!

[Yukon]

Well, hello!

I was writing an article on dowsing and conducted a google search for "water witching" and was presented with a link to the JREF forum. What I read was incredibly entertaining and I've been coming back to the forum ever since.

I thoroughly enjoy Mojo's responses and the Admiral's wit is amusingly scathing (something that is appreciated here at the office).

I don't want to bore anyone with facts about myself, so I 'll wait for a good debate and bore everyone with my opinions:D .

Looking forward to discussions about how many people still really believe in God. I'm wavering...

Til then..

[Jon.]

Are you from the Yukon?

[Yukon]

No, no...was given that nickname early on. It's from a poem (humerous poem) about a strapping young lad, Yukon Pete and his somewhat boisterous girlfriend, Big A@@ Little...I didn't name them, I just resemble them.

[mycodenameismilo]

Hi folks,

I've been coming to the JREF website and following the forums for some time now, and I thought I might join in the fun. I particularly enjoy beating homeopathy and other "alternative" medicines over the head with logic and reason, mainly because it's so easy. I've been following Rolfe's tussle with the RCVS about veterinary homeopathy with interest - as a vet I often find myself at the sharp end of the war against hocus-pocus, and I really appreciate what Rolfe et al are doing to save the reputation of the profession.

As a karate enthusiast, I also get kicks (feeble pun) from debunking all that mystical stuff that infect the martial arts. It's nice to debate the whole pressure point or chi thing with someone - but it's funnier to watch a devotee get their arse handed to them by non-believer who just fights better...

All the best,

Eoin

[dahduh]

Hi All,

Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa; I've been plowing through the Point of Interest, SETI and Skepticality podcasts, and what fun it has been too. And the stuff on Randi's web site is just fascinating. It is truly refreshing to hear good sound sense for a change; especially when your minister of health thinks ARVs are poison and that vitamins and the African potato will cure AIDS.

Mind you, all you Americans have my sympathies too. I would be rather nervous if my president thought he was appointed on his mission by God, and absolutely appalled if my countrymen elected him not once, but twice. Good luck, guys.

In the meantime, keep spreading the skeptical word. Once a skeptic, always a skeptic, and we all know how exponentials work.

Dahduh.

[chucksheen]

Sigh. Spam.for all your truth needs.

[Yukon]

Mind you, all you Americans have my sympathies too. I would be rather nervous if my president thought he was appointed on his mission by God, and absolutely appalled if my countrymen elected him not once, but twice. Good luck, guys.
Dahduh.

Amen, brother.

[XXX]

Hello! Just joined up here at JREF. I found this place while doing 9/11 research and I really wanted to join in the conversations that were being had. Seems like there are many fairly intellegent people here.

[tim]

I'm Dave Lippman, aka Kiwiwriter, for my three years of living in New Zealand (where I got married and my daughter was born).

I come from a family of mathematicians on my mother's side, and am a historian and journalist by trade, so I have little use for con men and ideoogical fanatics.

I particularly dislike Holocaust deniers, because they are consummate liars, racists, and anti-Semites, whose true agenda is to rehabilitate Hitler, restore National Socialism, and rewrite the history of the Holocaust, turning it from being a tale of horrifying butchery and kleptomania into being the white race bravely defending itself from destruction by cleansing Europe of a dangerous subhuman vermin.

My other main interests in wrecking the paranormal are hooting at the claims of psychics (amazing how often the world has failed to come to an end), and debunking the Bermuda Triangle (probably because of my interest in history). I also have a visceral dislike of astrology, because of my longstanding interest in astronomy.

When I was a kid, my grandmother would point me out to her pals and say, "David's interested in ASTROLOGY!" Her pal would say, "Ooooh, what sign are you?" When I said for the umpteenth time, "Astronomy, Grandma, not Astrology," she'd get embarrassed, and her pals would wonder what the heck I was talking about.

My wife and I have several of Jim Randi's books, and we're both big fans.

Don't know how often I'll hang out here, because of my web page on World War II history, but I'll probably be around some.

Hmm. Very interestink! I had some contact with David Irving a while back - that was before he was imprisoned in Austria. I'm also a little annoyed at the Japanese reluctance to accept Nanking.....
And it's James Randi - not Jim.
A warm welcome!

[sushil_yadav]

Dear friends,
I am a new member from India. I have posted my article "Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment" in Philosophy/ Religion forum. You are requested to kindly read the article.

sushil_yadav

[Mrs. Hmmphries]

Welcome all you new people!


Except for spammy-guy.
No welcomes for him...

[Ducky]

Welcome all you new people!


Except for spammy-guy.
No welcomes for him...



I was going to post something but you keep having distracting avatars.

Please stop having avatars that make me think things that could cause my fiancee to be convicted of murder.

Please. Think of us weak fools.







Ohyeah.

Welcome everyone except the guy spamming. To him I wish painful hemhorroids.



ETA:

flirting and 'roids in the same post. Bet you don't see *that* everyday!

[Roadtoad]

Hey, you have to admit: it's not every day a new poster gives you a heads up that he ought to be put on ignore right out of the gate.

[Ghost Connections UK]

Hi

My name is Kim, I live in the South East, UK

I been running a paranormal investigations team for the past 2 years

Interesting forum

Off to look round :)

[brooklyn44]

First post (after a year of lurking)!
I'm Renee from New York and I've been avidly interested in Mr. Randi's objective view of life. I'm old enough to remember his appearances on Johnny Carson's show. I was a young adult at the time and was well into my search for intelligent life on this planet not based on myths. I am a cultural Jew who doesn't accept mono-,, or any other, theism.

I was planning on joining the Bermuda Triangle cruise, but other commitments came up. It was the idea that I wouldn't have the chance to meet any of you in the flesh that has caused me to jump in and say hello.

[Ducky]

I was going to post something but you keep having distracting avatars.

Please stop having avatars that make me think things that could cause my fiancee to be convicted of murder.

Please. Think of us weak fools.







Ohyeah.

Welcome everyone except the guy spamming. To him I wish painful hemhorroids.



ETA:

flirting and 'roids in the same post. Bet you don't see *that* everyday!


Oh come on! this was funny!

LAUGH BITCHES!!!!



Oh, and welcome kim and renee...

[treble_head]

I still want to know who these "Laugh Bitches" are. They sound neat.

[Roadtoad]

Ursula and Mabel. Very elderly, very slow. They were so cranky, no one in their right mind would even date them, much less marry them. Made a habit of taking out their false teeth during their weekly dinner out at Denny's, (which is probably why Luke T won't ever eat there again; that sight alone would make ME gag.)

Sorry, the Laugh Bitches weren't much fun at all.

[Mini]

I'm from India - been reading posts on these forums and found some too effing funny for words.
['New Blood'? Me? Well, long time since I've been new anything.]

[wollery]

I'm from India - been reading posts on these forums and found some too effing funny for words.
['New Blood'? Me? Well, long time since I've been new anything.]Greetings Mini.

Round here we tend to say [rule8]ing, but that's because we're a bunch of weird [rule8]s!

The 'new blood' tag doesn't last too long, so I wouldn't worry about it.

[treble_head]

yeah. "new blood" is a moniker that isn't appreciated, but it's better than "muse" if you're a dude. You'll get there eventually. I was ticked by that one. If I wanted to be a pretend girl, I'd stil be trolling the Yahoo chat.

I may have said too much. I mean, I never did that! Shut up! Yeah! I'm still cool. Good cover up on that.

[Roadtoad]

yeah. "new blood" is a moniker that isn't appreciated, but it's better than "muse" if you're a dude. You'll get there eventually. I was ticked by that one. If I wanted to be a pretend girl, I'd stil be trolling the Yahoo chat.

I may have said too much. I mean, I never did that! Shut up! Yeah! I'm still cool. Good cover up on that.

Could be worse. We could call 'em "Fresh Meat."

[Mini]

Y'mean I'll be OLD blood soon?

[Obscurifer]

Howdy, folks! I realized recently that I could no longer remain both silent and sane. It's time for me to take action in support of reason, knowledge, and justice.

[Hutch]

Howdy, folks! I realized recently that I could no longer remain both silent and sane. It's time for me to take action in support of reason, knowledge, and justice.

Welcome--and another Buckeye joins the fray (now in Ali-Bama, but born and raised in the Akron, OH area)

Go for it!

[agapornis]

I am from Sweden, I visited Carla Baron's extremely tasteful websites and was SOOO impressed that she cooperated so very much with the coppers in finding bodies everywhere. I've always heard that no lost persons was ever found that way, but I must be wrong then. I registered here just to find out if the bragging in Carlas two sites were absolutely beyond reproach...

[tim]

I am from Sweden, I visited Carla Baron's extremely tasteful websites and was SOOO impressed that she cooperated so very much with the coppers in finding bodies everywhere. I've always heard that no lost persons was ever found that way, but I must be wrong then. I registered here just to find out if the bragging in Carlas two sites were absolutely beyond reproach...

Welcome to JREF.
I don't know of a case where a "psychic" has solved a criminal case It's a claim made over and over again, but when you chase it down it turns out not to be true.
Let me state the challenge again in these circumstances. If anyone can prove such an ability, they get the $1,000,000.
As skeptics, we ask that if you make a claim like this, proof is required if you expect it to be believed. We don't think that's too much to ask.............
It sounds like you may belong here.

[Steve H]

Hi. I'm Steve from Pittsburgh, PA and as a former "woo woo" who managed to snap out of it on his own, I'll encourage critical thinking here alongside you fine people. In addition to attacking pseudoscience, I'll also weigh in on some of my other interests - sports, military history, and current affairs.

[Roadtoad]

I am from Sweden, I visited Carla Baron's extremely tasteful websites and was SOOO impressed that she cooperated so very much with the coppers in finding bodies everywhere. I've always heard that no lost persons was ever found that way, but I must be wrong then. I registered here just to find out if the bragging in Carlas two sites were absolutely beyond reproach...

Welcome, agapornis. Just a suggestion: Search for any and all threads from Kelly J, and read through. Then read her blog.

Keep a box of Kleenex handy as you do. You'll need it.

[tim]

Hi. I'm Steve from Pittsburgh, PA and as a former "woo woo" who managed to snap out of it on his own, I'll encourage critical thinking here alongside you fine people. In addition to attacking pseudoscience, I'll also weigh in on some of my other interests - sports, military history, and current affairs.

Welcome, Steve! You'll find a very wide range of topics on this board. It's also a fine resource for information. If you have a question about anything - and I mean pretty much anything - if you post the question there will probably be someone who knows the answer, or knows where to find it. If your dog's unwell, ask - to my knowledge we have four vets. Astrophysics? Yep. Medicine? Yep. Engineering? Yep. History? Yep. Literature? Yep.
Just ask........

[Toussaint Tatsugi]

Cheers.

Antonio here, pretty much a sceptic of most claims, but always willing to see the true believer bang their head against the wall for sport.

I was drawn here through a discussion regarding the rabid believers who claim their "scientific fact" that proves CIA bogeymen dropped the Twin Towers with cruise missles. I fugure any group willing to sally forth on that topic is worth taking a look at.

[tim]

Cheers.

Antonio here, pretty much a sceptic of most claims, but always willing to see the true believer bang their head against the wall for sport.

I was drawn here through a discussion regarding the rabid believers who claim their "scientific fact" that proves CIA bogeymen dropped the Twin Towers with cruise missles. I fugure any group willing to sally forth on that topic is worth taking a look at.

Well shucks thanks! :o
You may not know it, but one our folk was in the Pentagon on 9/11. There's no doubt in his mind what happened!
Welcome to sanity and reason!

[CP489]

Hey all, I'm CP489. I got here by way of a long journey studying atheism, which somehow led me to Randi's site (probably a link I followed). I loved the commentaries so began to look around. Most of what you guys talk about is way over my head, but I'll throw in my uneducated opinion from time to time.

Hope to get better acquainted with all of you soon.

Also, how many posts until I can have an Avatar/sig? Just wondering.

[Katana]

Hi.

My name is Erica. Originally from Chicago. Work in medicine. Looking forward to some lively discussions!

Thanks,
E

[Roadtoad]

Hey all, I'm CP489. I got here by way of a long journey studying atheism, which somehow led me to Randi's site (probably a link I followed). I loved the commentaries so began to look around. Most of what you guys talk about is way over my head, but I'll throw in my uneducated opinion from time to time.

Hope to get better acquainted with all of you soon.

Also, how many posts until I can have an Avatar/sig? Just wondering.

Simple, actually. If you take out your wallet, you'll notice there's some green pictures of dead guys. Send me all you have... :D

[Katana]

I was wondering the same thing (about avatars that is). Is there some sort of initiation ceremony?

[Roadtoad]

Hi.

My name is Erica. Originally from Chicago. Work in medicine. Looking forward to some lively discussions!

Thanks,
E

Be careful what you wish for, Erica.

Anyway, welcome.

[treble_head]

I was wondering the same thing (about avatars that is). Is there some sort of initiation ceremony?

Yes. But it's dirty. Not really worth it. Most of us with avatars still have the avascars to go with them.

kidding aside 50 posts should do you. The 3 word story, Real Spawn of the Thread that Will Not Die and Phil's Pub are all great places to boost your post count.

[tim]

I was wondering the same thing (about avatars that is). Is there some sort of initiation ceremony?

Yes, there is. You have to beaten by a wombat. Now, where could you find one of those.....................
In truth, I believe you have to make 50 posts. Quite a lot of folk don't make it that far so it sort of regulates things. I'm sure that won't apply to you, Katana. A warm welcome, by the way! There's much to learn here and a great deal of fun as well. We look forward to you joining the discussions!

[tim]

Oh, and don't take any notice of the toad...........

[Katana]

Yes. But it's dirty. Not really worth it. Most of us with avatars still have the avascars to go with them.



Ooh, la, la. Where are they? Curious minds want to know...

[Darat]

:jrefwelcome

[espritch]

Hey all, I'm CP489. I got here by way of a long journey studying atheism, which somehow led me to Randi's site (probably a link I followed).

Studying atheism? Is there a course?

:) Welcome to the JREF.

[treble_head]

Ooh, la, la. Where are they? Curious minds want to know...

*picks up stuffed doll*

they initiated me here... and here... and *lip quivers* I... I can't go on.

[CP489]

Studying atheism? Is there a course?

:) Welcome to the JREF.


Yeah, that was worded badly. How about reading arguments for and against atheism? Yeah, that's better.

[AitchJay]

Hello from tropical Darwin, Australia.

*looks around for more Aussies*

[Ducky]

Hi.

My name is Erica. Originally from Chicago. Work in medicine. Looking forward to some lively discussions!

Thanks,
E


Welcome Erica. How do you feel about guys with titanium in them?

Enjoy. :)

[Ducky]

Yeah, that was worded badly. How about reading arguments for and against atheism? Yeah, that's better.


Welcome :)


And welcome to the new Aussie. We've got a few of y'all on here. Talk to the wombat.

[dbschlosser]

I've been a JREF member for a couple of years and a Forum member since the last TAM, but this is my first post. By way of introduction, I wanted to let fellow JREF members that a colleague and critical thinker is running for public office. Details available by searching <schlosser congress arizona>

News release
For immediate release

Schlosser Offers Real Choice in Election for Arizona’s First Congressional District
- Flagstaff resident dedicates campaign to balancing the national checkbook,
libertarian principles of freedom, responsibility, and accountability -

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 23, 2006) – David Schlosser today announced that he is seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona’s First Congressional District. A resident of Flagstaff, Schlosser is a long-time public policy activist and seasoned campaigner with a history of public service.

“I believe only a limited government can protect the rights of all Americans because a government that tries to do everything for everyone does nothing well,” Schlosser said. “Democratic and Republican members of Congress consistently fail to control their addiction to more money, more political power, and more bureaucracy. They demonstrate time and again their complete inability to respond to the most important challenges we face. I am standing for election because I believe Arizona voters should have the opportunity to reject politics as usual when they choose their Congressional representatives in November.”

Citing the soaring annual budget deficit and unsustainable national debt, Schlosser highlighted several examples of Congressional failures to address America’s national priorities. “Our elected representatives are more interested in building bridges to nowhere than securing our borders. They are more interested in creating new bureaucracies than securing our ports. They are more interested in who gets paid to build military hardware than securing our troops. And they are more interested in funneling corporate welfare to their contributors than making our taxes lower, fairer, and easier to calculate.”

Schlosser asserted that both Congressional parties are equally guilty of influence peddling and pork barrel spending. “Democrats and Republicans are more interested in protecting their privileges of office than serving the public. They seize control of issues over which they have no Constitutional authority and use social security, health care, the environment, and tax policy to reward friends and punish enemies. They manipulate public spending in ways that would put you and me in prison. And their idea of campaign reform is to limit your First Amendment rights to free speech while insulating themselves and their colossal money laundering schemes.

“More than 200 years ago, America’s founders risked blood and treasure to choose a country that would be governed by leaders, not rulers,” Schlosser said. “I believe Arizona voters should have the same choice in 2006.

“I am the only candidate dedicated to smaller and more focused government, lower and simpler taxes, and greater public transparency and accountability. I believe it’s time to balance America’s checkbook, and I invite the voters of Arizona to join me in this crucial mission.”

Schlosser listed several specific initiatives important to his candidacy:

§ Greater control over immigration and American borders, based on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship rather than deportation, amnesty, or new categories of international visitor status.

§ Increased access to health insurance that is personal and portable, rather than hampered by employment or government conditions.

§ Increased public transparency and accountability that is based on a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution and government accounting standards that comply with the same rules applied to private companies, rather than lock boxes, trust funds, and emergency and supplemental spending bills.

§ Improved public schools that are based on parent and student choice, with standards of achievement established by employers and universities rather than political agendas and unfunded federal mandates.

§ Greater national security that is based on robust human intelligence, domestic and international sharing of intelligence, diplomatic and covert support for democracy movements, and defensive military action, rather than new and bigger bureaucracies.

§ Increased retirement and family financial security that is based on personal and transferable ownership of assets, rather than politically manipulated welfare.

§ Enhanced environmental protection that is based on concepts of private property, rather than public ownership subject to political games.

§ Greater legislative accountability through term limits, the Presidential line-item veto, an end to the practice of “ear marking” special funds for individual projects or districts, requiring Congress to vote on all regulations created as a result of legislation it passes, and changing Congressional rules to ensure members read the legislation they are considering.

“Voters have a real choice in November,” Schlosser said. “Arizona can return to office the representatives who created this crisis, or choose a real voice of change and leadership. As an independent voice for responsibility and accountability in Washington, I can do what is right and – in a closely divided Congress – earn greater influence for the citizens of Arizona’s First Congressional District than any other candidate.”

Schlosser, 38, lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he is a public relations manager for a global microprocessor company and has been a part-time instructor in the School of Communications at Northern Arizona University. He brings nearly a decade of political experience to his campaign for Congress. His wife, Anne, is a corporate training and development professional. For more information about Schlosser and his campaign for Arizona’s First Congressional District, visit URL.

# # #

[Mr. Skinny]

Welcome :)


And welcome to the new Aussie. We've got a few of y'all on here. Talk to the wombat.
The wombat is an Aussie? :jaw-dropp

Always thought he was an Englishman.

[treble_head]

The wombat is an Aussie? :jaw-dropp

Always thought he was an Englishman.

Considering his location is Bedfordshire, England, I'd go with your assumption.

[tim]

I am, of course, the only known English wombat. I'm happy to clear up that little misconception.
Now don't forget - look after your wombat and your wombat will look after you!

[Mrs. Hmmphries]

I've been a JREF member for a couple of years and a Forum member since the last TAM, but this is my first post. By way of introduction, I wanted to let fellow JREF members that a colleague and critical thinker is running for public office. Details available by searching <schlosser congress arizona>

News release
For immediate release

Schlosser Offers Real Choice in Election for Arizona’s First Congressional District
- Flagstaff resident dedicates campaign to balancing the national checkbook,
libertarian principles of freedom, responsibility, and accountability -

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (May 23, 2006) – David Schlosser today announced that he is seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona’s First Congressional District. A resident of Flagstaff, Schlosser is a long-time public policy activist and seasoned campaigner with a history of public service.

“I believe only a limited government can protect the rights of all Americans because a government that tries to do everything for everyone does nothing well,” Schlosser said. “Democratic and Republican members of Congress consistently fail to control their addiction to more money, more political power, and more bureaucracy. They demonstrate time and again their complete inability to respond to the most important challenges we face. I am standing for election because I believe Arizona voters should have the opportunity to reject politics as usual when they choose their Congressional representatives in November.”

Citing the soaring annual budget deficit and unsustainable national debt, Schlosser highlighted several examples of Congressional failures to address America’s national priorities. “Our elected representatives are more interested in building bridges to nowhere than securing our borders. They are more interested in creating new bureaucracies than securing our ports. They are more interested in who gets paid to build military hardware than securing our troops. And they are more interested in funneling corporate welfare to their contributors than making our taxes lower, fairer, and easier to calculate.”

Schlosser asserted that both Congressional parties are equally guilty of influence peddling and pork barrel spending. “Democrats and Republicans are more interested in protecting their privileges of office than serving the public. They seize control of issues over which they have no Constitutional authority and use social security, health care, the environment, and tax policy to reward friends and punish enemies. They manipulate public spending in ways that would put you and me in prison. And their idea of campaign reform is to limit your First Amendment rights to free speech while insulating themselves and their colossal money laundering schemes.

“More than 200 years ago, America’s founders risked blood and treasure to choose a country that would be governed by leaders, not rulers,” Schlosser said. “I believe Arizona voters should have the same choice in 2006.

“I am the only candidate dedicated to smaller and more focused government, lower and simpler taxes, and greater public transparency and accountability. I believe it’s time to balance America’s checkbook, and I invite the voters of Arizona to join me in this crucial mission.”

Schlosser listed several specific initiatives important to his candidacy:

§ Greater control over immigration and American borders, based on the rights and responsibilities of citizenship rather than deportation, amnesty, or new categories of international visitor status.

§ Increased access to health insurance that is personal and portable, rather than hampered by employment or government conditions.

§ Increased public transparency and accountability that is based on a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution and government accounting standards that comply with the same rules applied to private companies, rather than lock boxes, trust funds, and emergency and supplemental spending bills.

§ Improved public schools that are based on parent and student choice, with standards of achievement established by employers and universities rather than political agendas and unfunded federal mandates.

§ Greater national security that is based on robust human intelligence, domestic and international sharing of intelligence, diplomatic and covert support for democracy movements, and defensive military action, rather than new and bigger bureaucracies.

§ Increased retirement and family financial security that is based on personal and transferable ownership of assets, rather than politically manipulated welfare.

§ Enhanced environmental protection that is based on concepts of private property, rather than public ownership subject to political games.

§ Greater legislative accountability through term limits, the Presidential line-item veto, an end to the practice of “ear marking” special funds for individual projects or districts, requiring Congress to vote on all regulations created as a result of legislation it passes, and changing Congressional rules to ensure members read the legislation they are considering.

“Voters have a real choice in November,” Schlosser said. “Arizona can return to office the representatives who created this crisis, or choose a real voice of change and leadership. As an independent voice for responsibility and accountability in Washington, I can do what is right and – in a closely divided Congress – earn greater influence for the citizens of Arizona’s First Congressional District than any other candidate.”

Schlosser, 38, lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., where he is a public relations manager for a global microprocessor company and has been a part-time instructor in the School of Communications at Northern Arizona University. He brings nearly a decade of political experience to his campaign for Congress. His wife, Anne, is a corporate training and development professional. For more information about Schlosser and his campaign for Arizona’s First Congressional District, visit URL.

# # #


Heh.
I lived in Flagstaff up until about a year ago.

[Amraann]

Hello!!!!!!
I found your site yesterday from link posted at another site I am admin. of.
We had a thread about the fraud that is Sylvia Brown and someone posted a link to here.

I spent much of my day yesterday reading here.
Just a fabulous site! Nice to be here!

[treble_head]

Nice to see you here.

[Eos of the Eons]

Eoin


Is that your real name mycodenameismilo? Coooool!!

I'm already enjoying Katana's posts in the science threads too.

Welcome everybody!

[Curious Chloride]

Hello to all, I have been lurking for a while and decided it was time to join in the interesting debates here. Look forward to catching up in the threads.

[Darat]

:welcome4

[ChewieRot]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum. Long time skeptic. I never got religion. The church we didn't go to when I was a kid was anglican. (btw. "Mom, is church open every Sunday?" "Sure it is hon." "Then how come we only go twice a year?" is best not said sitting the pews.) I have some whacked out cousins who are radical catholics, and they internject religion and god into everything. "It's god's will..." "We thank god for..." "With god's help.." It drives me up the wall.

I'm also bothered by medical / health care scams and goofy health care claims.

I have been reading Randi's newsletters for a long time now, and treasure each new issue of Skeptic.

[Bradk3]

I've lurked long enough, I suppose it's time to join in.

Hello everyone! I stumbled across one of Randi's commentaries about 6 months ago while searching for information on Bigfoot and have been a fan of him and this forum ever since. It's taken me a while to decide to join in, but I'm here at last.

A couple of things I think I should let everyone know: 1) I'm an active Mormon (so lock up your wives and daughters) and 2) I have been guilty of holding a few 'woo' beliefs in the past (some may say that "an active Mormon with 'woo' beliefs is redundant, but be that as it may...). But, after perusing the forums for the past months, I feel that I'm welcome and among friends. Thanks.

I'm happy to report that Randi and all of y'all have successfully convinced me of the error of most of my 'woo' beliefs, have encouraged me to be far more critical of the rest and have taught me to take myself far less seriously at times. Again, thanks.

I am still Mormon, however -- but there may be hope for me yet...

[Dr Adequate]

A Mormon, eh? That's OK, we'll get kurious_kathy to cast the demons out of you.

[Bradk3]

"Demons - Be GONE!"

*SMACK*

*THUMP*

*groan*

Okay, um... that, er... didn't work.

[Dr Adequate]

If you're going to try that again, put newspaper down first.

You do not want to know what ectoplasm does to carpets.

[Hutch]

*checks posting history*

Ah drat, about time to welcome some of these newbies, see who the next mass poster is...

ChewieRot, welcome. Was raised a lukewarm Catholic myself but got over it, you'll be most welcome in the Medical forum.

Bradk3, Doc Adequate took care of your welcome. I will note that there are several ex-Mormons among our Forum and they do not share your continuing faith--just so you know.

Curious Chloride--(Were do people come up with these names from ?!?!?!) Wecome and join right on in.

Amraam--Hope you don't try read the entire Loose Change posts or we won't see you for another two weeks!! Welcome.

*Looks around* My work here is done. Back to trolling Loose Change...

[median]

Greetings chaps:)

What can I say?

Looking forward to converse with you all, although the phrase 'small fish in a large pond' springs to mind!:jaw-dropp

Still, glad to be here:boggled:

[Rabbit]

What can I say?


For starters, you can explain the differences amoung thw concepts of 'median', 'average' and ...what's the other one? 'medium'? I am clueless.

That's tonights homework.

Tardiness is acceptable.

[Chicken Pot Pie]

Just a quick re-intro...

I used to be k-a-b-o-o-k-i-e, without the dashes, lol. I decided that since I'm a sub and a clown in a bible-belt town, I'd better watch throwing my name aroun'. I juggle for my kids, and tell them they can find my horribly outdated webpage by googling the k-word, and when I tried it myself, my profile for the JREF comes up on hit #4, while my clown website is on the second page! Sooo...

Hello again!

[Aquila]

What I'd really like to know is why I've never seen a bumper sticker in America which says "Ban Guns"?

[GregC]

What I'd really like to know is why I've never seen a bumper sticker in America which says "Ban Guns"?
The shipment was robbed at knifepoint. Welcome to the forum.

[Dogdoctor]

Just a quick re-intro...

I used to be k-a-b-o-o-k-i-e, without the dashes, lol. I decided that since I'm a sub and a clown in a bible-belt town, I'd better watch throwing my name aroun'. I juggle for my kids, and tell them they can find my horribly outdated webpage by googling the k-word, and when I tried it myself, my profile for the JREF comes up on hit #4, while my clown website is on the second page! Sooo...

Hello again!
Welcome. Hey you need to register your clown site with the search engines so it comes up first. You also need to add some Meta tags to your web page. let me know if you want some help.

[Chicken Pot Pie]

Welcome. Hey you need to register your clown site with the search engines so it comes up first. You also need to add some Meta tags to your web page. let me know if you want some help.

Thanks, Dogdoctor. It really is out of date, and it was made with a builder on geocities, so I get confused trying to change anything on it. I'm a sub off from school at the moment, so you can pm me or yahoo IM me sometime when you're not too busy. We're just starting to get some thunder and a few distant thunderclaps, so I may have to shut 'er down if it gets worse this evening, but I really do appreciate your offer!

[Dogdoctor]

Thanks, Dogdoctor. It really is out of date, and it was made with a builder on geocities, so I get confused trying to change anything on it. I'm a sub off from school at the moment, so you can pm me or yahoo IM me sometime when you're not too busy. We're just starting to get some thunder and a few distant thunderclaps, so I may have to shut 'er down if it gets worse this evening, but I really do appreciate your offer!
I need to get my notes at home so I will pm you later. I learned to do html here http://vu.org/calendar.html#Internet

[tracer7]

Looking for an Excel pro here. I need to figure out how to set the tabbing order(not moving the tabs in a worksheet) in a form. I want to be able to control where the cursor goes once the user hits the tab key in a protected form. I read it was data/validation, but that's not working. Anyone????

[Dogdoctor]

Looking for an Excel pro here. I need to figure out how to set the tabbing order(not moving the tabs in a worksheet) in a form. I want to be able to control where the cursor goes once the user hits the tab key in a protected form. I read it was data/validation, but that's not working. Anyone????
There is a "Computers, Links and the Internet" forum. Try posting there.

[donq]

Just saying hello. I'm an educator that tries to encourage critical thinking and evidence based conclusions. No easy job in this culture of superstition that grips America.

[wollery]

Greetings dong, welcome to the forum.

I was informed, only this morning, that dong means east in Chinese.

I don't know if there's any relevance, but it's an interesting coincidence.

[hcmom]

The home page told me I should come here and introduce myself. I'd really hate to show that I don't follow directions well this soon, so here I am. I got here via the Museum of Hoaxes site, but mostly all I've paid much attention to has been the JREF Challenge applications.

While I am easily as skeptical as the next person, (and way more cynical than most)('tho apparently less cynical than the 9/11 conspiracy theorists...) I am not willing to totally discount the possibility of many paranormal type things. I've never seen a little green man from outer space, and I have a tough time believing damn near anyone who says they have, but they might be out there. Same with ghosts, although I have personally encountered events that seem ghost sponsored. Nothing enough for me to say that there are for sure ghosts however. And I have done an honest-to-goodness real telekinetic act, but I was only 7 or 8 at the time, and was never able to recreate it, so even though I'm positive it happened, it's not of much use in my life...

Gee, and you should hear me when I'm talkative!

[Johnny Pixels]

Welcome hcmom!

I got signed up here after reading the JREF challenge application threads too. You sound like you've got a open mind, which is a good thing for here because it can get a bit strange at times.

Don't worry too much about following instructions, unless they come from Darat of course, and make sure you only post funny stuff in the humour forum, because we have a guerilla force stationed there. Watch out for the ninjas too. They're a good natured bunch but they seem to be a bit short on pockets because they keep banging on about Loose Change...

[Hawk one]

Greetings dong, welcome to the forum.

I was informed, only this morning, that dong means east in Chinese.

I don't know if there's any relevance, but it's an interesting coincidence.

In Norwegian, "dong" is a slang word for condom.

Edited to add: Of course, neither applies to donq, whose nick is with a q and not a g.

[Ducky]

In Norwegian, "dong" is a slang word for condom.

Edited to add: Of course, neither applies to donq, whose nick is with a q and not a g.



Don't pay any attention to these jerks, donq. They are still upset that I stopped sleeping with them.



Ps. Hawk, just so you're hip to the kid's slang these days, "dong" also is slag for penis, like cock, wang, schlong, prick, willie, tallywhacker, and hootenanny stick.

[Hawk one]

Don't pay any attention to these jerks, donq. They are still upset that I stopped sleeping with them.



Ps. Hawk, just so you're hip to the kid's slang these days, "dong" also is slag for penis, like cock, wang, schlong, prick, willie, tallywhacker, and hootenanny stick.

No, I'm upset because Tami's stopped sleeping with me. (walked right into that one, fowl.)

And it's nice to know that wherever you go (except China), dong will somehow be associated with sex.

[Ducky]

No, I'm upset because Tami's stopped sleeping with me. (walked right into that one, fowl.)

And it's nice to know that wherever you go (except China), dong will somehow be associated with sex.


yeah she said that rash of yours really freaked her out. Some pennicillin should clear that up, pal.

[Hawk one]

I didn't get that rash until after she started sleeping with me. So if I were you, I'd be calling for a doctor's appointment for a check-up soon...

[Ducky]

I didn't get that rash until after she started sleeping with me. So if I were you, I'd be calling for a doctor's appointment for a check-up soon...



Must have been MdeC's goats.

Filthy animals.

[Hawk one]

Actually, it was Lynn's wombat...

[Ducky]

Actually, it was Lynn's wombat...


I hear it's shaved to get rid of crabs...

[Rissask]

HI.

I am Maggie, married and 36.... and a huge skeptic. :D

People who believe in things for which there is no evidence annoy me, basically. And the fact that people would rather believe in superstitious nonsense over science in todays 'age of reason' :rolleyes: really annoys me.

I am from Canada and a Techncial Writer.

[tkingdoll]

HI.

I am Maggie, married and 36.... and a huge skeptic. :D

People who believe in things for which there is no evidence annoy me, basically. And the fact that people would rather believe in superstitious nonsense over science in todays 'age of reason' :rolleyes: really annoys me.

I am from Canada and a Techncial Writer.

Heh, I like your style! Call it like it is.

Welcome to the forum.

[Rabbit]

HI.

I am Maggie, married and 36.... and a huge skeptic. :D

People who believe in things for which there is no evidence annoy me, basically. And the fact that people would rather believe in superstitious nonsense over science in todays 'age of reason' :rolleyes: really annoys me.

I am from Canada and a Techncial Writer.

Have you met dglas (http://206.225.95.123/forumlive/member.php?u=9032)?

[Ducky]

HI.

I am Maggie, married and 36.... and a huge skeptic. :D

People who believe in things for which there is no evidence annoy me, basically. And the fact that people would rather believe in superstitious nonsense over science in todays 'age of reason' :rolleyes: really annoys me.

I am from Canada and a Techncial Writer.


Welcome Maggie!

Do a search for a username of "litewave"'s posts for some fun blood boiling inanity.

Enjoy :)

[Zumo de Mango]

Hello Zumo here,

Heard lots about this forum form my sister, tkingdoll. Looking forward to some interesting discussions. I have heard a lot about you. :)

[treble_head]

bad things, I hope.

[Zumo de Mango]

Err....mostly.

[treble_head]

sweet. So... Zumo... is that a family name?

[Donks]

Hello Zumo here,

Heard lots about this forum form my sister, tkingdoll. Looking forward to some interesting discussions. I have heard a lot about you. :)
Hello tkingdoll Mk II! Welcome to the forum. Don't break any more of tkingdoll's windows.

[Terry]

Greetings, Zumo, and welcome. Any sister of Teek's seems likely to be worth having around :)

[tkingdoll]

Right, what's all this?

Stop what you're all doing immediately and leave my sister alone!

*gets all argey bargey*

Wah! I am still forum princess aren't I? :(

Cry.

Just remember this, Ms Mango, I heart treble_head and I hearted him first so no hearting from you, OK?

Also, I know where you live.

[Zumo de Mango]

Hey, I didn't break the window! It was tkingdoll's singing. Forum princess, mutter, mutter.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

[Jeff Wagg]

Hey, I didn't break the window! It was tkingdoll's singing. Forum princess, mutter, mutter.

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I saw Zumo do it. Or rather, I saw her reflection in the broken glass. Close enough..she's guilty.

[Donks]

I saw Zumo do it. Or rather, I saw her reflection in the broken glass. Close enough..she's guilty.
I agree with Wagg.

[Zumo de Mango]

Oh that is nice, my first day at school and I am being bullied into giving my pocket money. Or something like that.

Actually, I broke the window by merely thinking about it, call it a gift.

[Donks]

Oh that is nice, my first day at school and I am being bullied into giving my pocket money. Or something like that.

Actually, I broke the window by merely thinking about it, call it a gift.
A paranormal claim by the 4th post? You're fast! Someone will be with you shortly to demand evidence. I'd do it, but I'm gullible.

[treble_head]

*gets all argey bargey* Giving it all the chat?


Just remember this, Ms Mango, I heart treble_head and I hearted him first so no hearting from you, OK?



ummm... you spelled my name right, so it must be a typo. Either that or some nefarious plot, I have no doubt.

[Zumo de Mango]

Well, I would love to stop and chat for a bit longer about my glass shattering abilities but I have to go now. See you all later. :)

[trap32]

howdy folks...

I enjoy long walks on moonlit beac...er...sorry wrong forum:eek:

I heard about this place and thought I would check it out.

I will probably lurk more than I post but who knows...looking forward to learning a thing or two.:cool:

[Mr. Skinny]

Welcome, trap32.

Zumo, welcome as well.
*sigh*, not another one

Skinny

[Roadtoad]

I saw Zumo do it. Or rather, I saw her reflection in the broken glass. Close enough..she's guilty.

Nah. Sylvia said it's Teek's fault.

[Ducky]

Hey, I didn't break the window! It was tkingdoll's singing. Forum princess, mutter, mutter.

Thanks for the welcome guys.



Welcome! It is good you got your revenge on Teek's window for her selling you to us for a pound. (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=1691715#post1691715)


She should have held out, we would have gone as high as a pound fifty.

[tkingdoll]

*sigh*, not another one

Skinny

:mad:

[Hotspur]

Nah. Sylvia said it's Teek's fault.


I thought is was always Lisa's fault:D

[omatsu]

Hell friend. I'm a new member from Japan. Good to see you all!

[Eggs 99p]

I am new too, not new like a baby is new just new to this forum

[Jon.]

Greetings Omatsu! I assume you meant to say "Hello" and were not making reference to the recent date that some felt had satanic implications.

Hello Eggs 99p! How many eggs does one get for 99p? What kind of eggs? Chicken? Quail? Thousand year old duck? Human ova?

[tkingdoll]

I am new too, not new like a baby is new just new to this forum

You are, however, a baby, aren't you?

[aggle-rithm]

Greetings Omatsu! I assume you meant to say "Hello" and were not making reference to the recent date that some felt had satanic implications.

Hello Eggs 99p! How many eggs does one get for 99p? What kind of eggs? Chicken? Quail? Thousand year old duck? Human ova?

Mmmm.... thousand year old duck....

[orphia nay]

howdy folks...

I enjoy long walks on moonlit beac...er...sorry wrong forum:eek:

I heard about this place and thought I would check it out.

I will probably lurk more than I post but who knows...looking forward to learning a thing or two.:cool:

Welcome, trap32!

I'm not sure, but I might be experiencing some sort of déja vu. ;)

I'm not sure what you'd like to learn, but I know I've learned a lot about logic and critical thinking from being here. Plus, I've had a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy it here, and that you enjoy posting, too.

[Darat]

:sewelcome:

[Hawk one]

So Zumo de Mango, do you have any flaps stories to top tking's?

[jstro]

Hi folks,

Just signed on, although way overdue. I've been a fan of Mr. Randi's for a long time. I'm a research scientist/engineer in pharmaceuticals. Grew up in Oregon, went to grad school out on the east coast and settled here in the Midwest (northern Illinois). Married, with 2 cats and a dog :) Oh yeah, also just became a JREF member. Looking forward to gabbing with you all.

John

[Chaos]

Oh that is nice, my first day at school and I am being bullied into giving my pocket money. Or something like that.

Actually, I broke the window by merely thinking about it, call it a gift.

I support that claim. I got cracks in my monitor just from reading her posts.

[tim]

Right, what's all this?

Stop what you're all doing immediately and leave my sister alone!

*gets all argey bargey*

Wah! I am still forum princess aren't I? :(

Cry.

Just remember this, Ms Mango, I heart treble_head and I hearted him first so no hearting from you, OK?

Also, I know where you live.

Are you threatening the well being of a fellow poster, Teek? If so, the moderation team will have no alternative but to slap you round the ear next Saturday. :p

[tkingdoll]

Are you threatening the well being of a fellow poster, Teek? If so, the moderation team will have no alternative but to slap you round the ear next Saturday. :p

Hey, if my mother can't get away with that threat anymore, what makes you think you can? Although, now I think about it, I believe the specific threat was "stop fighting or I'll bang your heads together". Zumo will be there on Saturday too, perhaps you can try that one :D

[tim]

Hey, if my mother can't get away with that threat anymore, what makes you think you can? Although, now I think about it, I believe the specific threat was "stop fighting or I'll bang your heads together". Zumo will be there on Saturday too, perhaps you can try that one :D

'Coz I'm a wombat and your mama ain't!:p ;)

[treble_head]

Wow. Just a little switcheroo, and that's an insult!

[tim]

Wow. Just a little switcheroo, and that's an insult!

That may be, but Teek and I have met IRL, so she knows that ain't so. I'm looking forward to meeting Zumo de Mango as well!

[treble_head]

That may be, but Teek and I have met IRL, so she knows that ain't so. I'm looking forward to meeting Zumo de Mango as well!
No no. I meant that you could claim her momma was a wombat... :D

I met Teek in real life too. I gots me phototype pictures to prove it.



ETA: Oh. Yeah. My bad. There was a reason for this thread. Welcome all.

[Zumo de Mango]

Welcome! It is good you got your revenge on Teek's window for her selling you to us for a pound.

She should have held out, we would have gone as high as a pound fifty.
A pound!!!!!!! Wow that much eh? She told me it was 20p.

[remirol]

> HELLO SAILOR

...Or just good morning. There's this nag box telling me I should post here and introduce myself. So. Um. Hi! I'm me. I'm an aspiring skeptic. That is... I like to think I can be skeptical, but it's not an ingrained reflex yet, so I'm learning. It seems to take awhile. =/

I originally found this site from another poster's reference to the Challenge itself (Doc, you watchin'?) in response to some questions and/or statements posited in another forum. I'm still spending time reading the archives and I find the entire thing and its history fascinating. For now, I think have to put myself in the camp alongside everyone who says they'd be delighted if someone actually WON the challenge -- think of the opportunities for study in new fields it could open up if such things COULD be proven to exist? It's just a shame that there are so many people far more interested in jerking others around rather than properly exploring the boundaries of truth itself.

Anyway. That's enough. Hi. :P

[tkingdoll]

> HELLO SAILOR

...Or just good morning. There's this nag box telling me I should post here and introduce myself. So. Um. Hi! I'm me. I'm an aspiring skeptic. That is... I like to think I can be skeptical, but it's not an ingrained reflex yet, so I'm learning. It seems to take awhile. =/

I originally found this site from another poster's reference to the Challenge itself (Doc, you watchin'?) in response to some questions and/or statements posited in another forum. I'm still spending time reading the archives and I find the entire thing and its history fascinating. For now, I think have to put myself in the camp alongside everyone who says they'd be delighted if someone actually WON the challenge -- think of the opportunities for study in new fields it could open up if such things COULD be proven to exist? It's just a shame that there are so many people far more interested in jerking others around rather than properly exploring the boundaries of truth itself.

Anyway. That's enough. Hi. :P

Welll helloooo sailor!

Welcome to the forum!

[johnee]

My name is John Sargis, posting for the first time.

I am an Electrical Engineer specializing in computer architechture.

I've always lived my life in a "scientific method" manner, which does prevent me from sometimes just enjoying the moment, but I refuse to be taken in by hoaxters.

Let justice prevail for the little scientific guy!

:)

[DanKirby]

Another new poster here.

I've been coming to the site, reading the commentaries and such for a while now. I've been hanging around the forums a lot lately, so I figured it was time to sign up.

That's about it, I guess. (I'm not very good at these kind of posts)

[someguysomewhere]

Yeah hey, how's it going.

New poster here. Got pointed here by a friend, and I must say that I'm all in favour of anything that serves the purpose of beating back some of the rampant stupidity that seems to thrive in the world today.

I'm a high school teacher from Vancouver, BC, Canada, if anyone cares.

[treble_head]

Let justice prevail for the little scientific guy!

:)

Darwin, or Randi?

[treble_head]

That's about it, I guess. (I'm not very good at these kind of posts)

Durned right you aren't. Try it again, but this time with more gusto. :p

[treble_head]

I'm a high school teacher from Vancouver, BC, Canada, if anyone cares. I didn't, but now that you mentioned it, I'll do my best to fake it.

Welcome, all 3 of you new peoples. And remember. I only kid because I hate love.

[Jon.]

I'm a high school teacher from Vancouver, BC, Canada, if anyone cares.

Yay! Another Vancouveronian! There's a meetup thread in the TAM & other stuff subforum. We're trying to herd the cats to get together in a few weeks.

What subject(s) do you teach?

[someguysomewhere]

Yay! Another Vancouveronian! There's a meetup thread in the TAM & other stuff subforum. We're trying to herd the cats to get together in a few weeks.

What subject(s) do you teach?

Oh, I teach whatever they pay me to teach. I'm not proud. I'm basically an educational whore.

Mainly Social Studies and English though. But I've taught 17 different courses in 5 years.

[Ducky]

You know, you stay on this forum long enough and some guy somewhere comes along thinking he knows something about education.

Psht.












WELCOME!!!

[Ensign Edison]

Hey everybody. Long time lurker, here. I've seen a few things I wanted to comment on recently, so I figured it was time.

I'm 26, in the NYC area, and have been a skeptic for more than half my life. I'm not a real Ensign, that's a dorky Star Trek reference combined with an old screenname. I'm a stay-at-home-dad to the world's cutest boss at the moment, but I'm in the process of starting my own business.

Okay, to the skepticaling with me! :D

[Hutch]

Hey everybody. Long time lurker, here. I've seen a few things I wanted to comment on recently, so I figured it was time.

I'm 26, in the NYC area, and have been a skeptic for more than half my life. I'm not a real Ensign, that's a dorky Star Trek reference combined with an old screenname. I'm a stay-at-home-dad to the world's cutest boss at the moment, but I'm in the process of starting my own business.

Okay, to the skepticaling with me! :D

Ah, an actual surviving Star Trek Red-shirt Ensign--how did you ever survive this long??

Get thee over to the Forum Community and be sure to post in the Befroe Kids; After Kids thread.

Welcome to the Forum

[DarkSol]

Hey all! I'm a some what long time lurker and I registered a while back to say hey and voice my opinion on whatever.

I'm 23, stuck in BFE in Virginia, and I've been a lifetime skeptic. If there isn't any tangible evidence, then I'm extremely skeptical about it. I'm still in college right now, I've been working on this darn degree for a very long time and there still isn't an end in sight.

I hope I'll be able to make some good contributions in here eventually. :duck:

[Spidey13]

Hey all! I'm a some what long time lurker and I registered a while back to say hey and voice my opinion on whatever.

I'm 23, stuck in BFE in Virginia, and I've been a lifetime skeptic. If there isn't any tangible evidence, then I'm extremely skeptical about it. I'm still in college right now, I've been working on this darn degree for a very long time and there still isn't an end in sight.

I hope I'll be able to make some good contributions in here eventually. :duck:

Eh, don't sweat it. I've been here for about 10 months and I have yet to make any kind of quality contribution.

Welcome! :D

[B.D.]

Howdy. I found this forum through a google search on another topic. I signed up so I could reply (although hasn't had any replies for about a week :dig:).

I've always been a skeptic. If someone can't provide evidence for something, I'm probably not going to buy whatever it is they're pushing. "Because I said so" is not evidence.

I'm 23, stuck in BFE in Virginia
Where at in BFE Virginia? If you don't mind sharin' ;) I'm from Portsmouth.

[marebear1967]

Hi my name is Mary.Iam 39 and Native American.Iam seperated and have two daughters Samantha 12 years old and Stella 2 years and 7 months old.Stella can see and talk to spirits and Angels and has been doing so for over a year now.I know some of you here may not believe that but it's true.If I were reading this post instead of writing it I may not believe it but when it happens in front of your face you become a believer.She stares at the ceiling at nite and talks,smiles and laughs.Her Poppy (my father-in-law) visits her everynite.I have shown her pics. of past relatives (my Dad Sam,my grandma Edith and her Uncle Mike-my brother-in-law) and she points to them and says thier name and tells me that they come in her room.When I watch her eyes move across the ceiling I know she is seeing and talking to a spirit.It is amazing to watch.I have learned from this that people who don't believe in the paranormal have never had anything paranormal happen to them.But that is just my opinion.

Mare

[Spidey13]

Hi my name is Mary
Hi, Mary!
.Iam 39 and Native American.Iam seperated and have two daughters Samantha 12 years old and Stella 2 years and 7 months old.Stella can see and talk to spirits and Angels and has been doing so for over a year now.I know some of you here may not believe that but it's true.
:)
If I were reading this post instead of writing it I may not believe it but when it happens in front of your face you become a believer.She stares at the ceiling at nite and talks,smiles and laughs.Her Poppy (my father-in-law) visits her everynite.I have shown her pics. of past relatives (my Dad Sam,my grandma Edith and her Uncle Mike-my brother-in-law) and she points to them and says thier name and tells me that they come in her room.When I watch her eyes move across the ceiling I know she is seeing and talking to a spirit.It is amazing to watch.
I bet! Any evidence??
I have learned from this that people who don't believe in the paranormal have never had anything paranormal happen to them.
I have learned that people who don't believe in green fairies who live in toilets have never seen a green fairy in their toilet.
But that is just my opinion.

Mare

Welcome to the forum. I hope you have fun and learn something. BTW, cute kid! :D

[DarkSol]

Howdy. I found this forum through a google search on another topic. I signed up so I could reply (although hasn't had any replies for about a week :dig:).

I've always been a skeptic. If someone can't provide evidence for something, I'm probably not going to buy whatever it is they're pushing. "Because I said so" is not evidence.


Where at in BFE Virginia? If you don't mind sharin' ;) I'm from Portsmouth.


Well, I'm from Waynesboro, but I'm actually studying over at ODU in Norfolk. :D

[DarkSol]

I have learned that people who don't believe in green fairies who live in toilets have never seen a green fairy in their toilet.

Can't say I've seen a green fairy in my toilet, but I've definitely seen worse things. :jaw-dropp

[B.D.]

Well, I'm from Waynesboro, but I'm actually studying over at ODU in Norfolk. :D
Cool. That's about 30 minutes from where I live. :cool:

[Roadtoad]

Hi my name is Mary.Iam 39 and Native American.Iam seperated and have two daughters Samantha 12 years old and Stella 2 years and 7 months old.Stella can see and talk to spirits and Angels and has been doing so for over a year now.I know some of you here may not believe that but it's true.If I were reading this post instead of writing it I may not believe it but when it happens in front of your face you become a believer.She stares at the ceiling at nite and talks,smiles and laughs.Her Poppy (my father-in-law) visits her everynite.I have shown her pics. of past relatives (my Dad Sam,my grandma Edith and her Uncle Mike-my brother-in-law) and she points to them and says thier name and tells me that they come in her room.When I watch her eyes move across the ceiling I know she is seeing and talking to a spirit.It is amazing to watch.I have learned from this that people who don't believe in the paranormal have never had anything paranormal happen to them.But that is just my opinion.

Mare

Welcome, Mare. However, just a few things you might want to think about...

First, this is a skeptics forum. One of the frequent things you'll be hearing here is the call for evidence. In this group, it tends to refer to things like tangible, testable facts, things we can put to work for ourselves, and see if, in fact, it's true. I don't want to discourage you, but even among the more spiritual among this group, there's a desire to deal with tangible facts, rather than what we feel.

Second, much of what you're discussing comes into the realm of suggestion. This is probably not the place to discuss it, but your daughter "sees" angels and spirits because she's been told they're there to see. As a parent myself, it disturbs me.

When my youngest son was nine or ten, he swore up and down he saw a crying woman in his room. In California and much of the Southwest, there's a legend of "La Llorona," and this has been discussed for years by people of all faiths. According to an old friend of mine, Don Miguel Cervantes, and yes, that's his real name, it's the Virgin Mary, and she's weeping for the lost. Her presence signifies that the individual who sees her is either not long for this world, or someone close to them is about to depart this life. Needless to say, Matt was rather freaked out about the whole thing, and at nine, you shouldn't have to worry about whether or not you're going to die.

I found out that one of the textbooks the kids were using at that time had a lengthy discussion regarding La Llorona, and it went into extreme detail regarding stories of people who had seen her and died rather gruesomely. My wife, Peggy, and I had a long talk with the teacher, and with Matt, about why this sort of thing simply does not happen.

Matt's 19 now. You and I should be anywhere near as healthy. And, no, none of our relatives or friends died, gruesomely or otherwise. It would be several years before his great-grandfather died, though in his case, he'd been ill for many years.

There's a real risk in promoting this kind of "second sight." Please think long and hard about this as you encourage your daughter in this kind of thing.

I would also say this: It may not be something you're thinking of doing right now, but I would strongly suggest you pass on ever taking the Million Dollar Challenge. Mr. Randi is a man who does not suffer fools, regardless of their age. Neither do the members of this board. Should you decide to engage in this, the results will be less than encouraging.

All this aside, I hope you will stay. Hopefully, you can learn from a great many of those here.

[Roadtoad]

I'll add this: you might want to read through this essay. (http://eagle.la.asu.edu/ast112/critical-thinking.html) I think, Mare, you'll find it helpful.

[marebear1967]

Hi,I do not tell her they are spirits and angels she tells me.I would NEVER put her through that challenge thing and I know this is a "skeptics" board.And maybe a great deal of people here can learn from me.I came here to see what kind of people don't believe and to share my viewpoint.I will read the essay but stand true to what I believe as I guess everyone here does as well.Thank you for the welcome.By the way Iam sorry about what happened to your son.Has anything paranormal ever happen to you? I was just wondering.

God Bless,Mare

[Roadtoad]

Only those things which could later be explained by rational investigation, Mare. And, BTW: Thanks for your concern for Matt. I appreciate it.

[marebear1967]

Your welcome.

[Diakaryu]

Wanted to say Hello to everybody. Thanks to PvP I found Randi and spent an entire Sunday digging up videos of his various exploits. I honestly had no idea a movement this large was under way to relive people of what you folks are calling "Woo" (note ~ I have no idea what that stands for other then I assume through context it means superstition or what not)

So far, I’m very impressed with the community here, I’ve been lurking for a few days while waiting for verification and so far I’m elated that this “light” in the darkness exists.

Thanks
B.

[Rabbit]

Wanted to say Hello to everybody. Thanks to PvP I found Randi and spent an entire Sunday digging up videos of his various exploits. I honestly had no idea a movement this large was under way to relive people of what you folks are calling "Woo" (note ~ I have no idea what that stands for other then I assume through context it means superstition or what not)

So far, I’m very impressed with the community here, I’ve been lurking for a few days while waiting for verification and so far I’m elated that this “light” in the darkness exists.

Thanks
B.

Gosh, that might be the best introduction post I have ever read.

The term "woo" can be looked up in a site called the Urban Dictionary, a great reference site.

BTW, there are many movements. Some people focus on witchcraft, some on the trouble in Iraq, some just stick to the humor section. JREF is if nothing open minded.

Look around, go to places that you might not have. I can't tell you how much I have learned by just wandering around this forum.

Good luck, have fun, and welcome!

--Rabbit

[tojohndillonesq]

Howdy folks, Newbie here!

I got interested in reading the Million Dollar Challenge submissions, and found myself fascinated by the psychology of those who are intelligent and sincerely want to know the truth about their special "powers" or whatever they are working on. The ability of the human mind to see selectively is truly astounding.

A famous tennis coach who used to run "vacation clinics" discovered that some folks apparently cheat without realizing it. They truly believe they are making the correct line calls. The coach vidoetaped them making bad line calls and showed them the video; in most cases they laughed and asked who he got to dress up like them! They knew they did not cheat, so evidence to the contrary must, by definition, be faked.

I watch the dialogue between Kramer or Wagg and the applicant and find myself a bit frustrated sometimes because the applicant is not given enough "help" in defining what he wants to do. I know this is to avoid the accusation of tampering, and a different approach would probably taint the process. I would just like to see if there is a way to help people out of their delusions rather than rejecting them out of hand.

One last thing... the thing I like best about Randi is that I believe he is sincere in wanting to see someone succeed. I am not sure that is true of most members. There is a big difference between scepticism and hostility; I find a lot of hostility in the members forums and postings, and sometimes find it in the letters from Kramer and Waggstaff. Hostility is almost invariably a sign of fear and self-doubt. At the least it is a useless, conversation ending reaction. You see it in the letters of the applicants, and I am dissappointed when I see it in the letters of the members. We are supposed to be better than that. Communication of facts should not be loaded with emotional baggage (even if the facts themselves create emotions).

BEST!!!

Scott





I guess my approach would ta

[Diakaryu]

I noted the "hostility" as well when I first started reading the Forum's.

However, I believe a simple answer pretty much clears it up.

Most if not all the applicants seemingly have a universal talent and that talent is to not read the rules. The challenge itself is by most accounts is a very easy process to start. The problem lies in that seemingly 99.9% of the applicants can't seem to find the time to even bother reading the scant number of rules. Nor following through with simple requests such as “Find 3 people or No we don’t allow cloud busting claims anymore” It’s right there and black and white and nobody is willing to do it.

So yes at first I saw it as hostility, now I see it as. Cut the BS if you want to do this, follow the rules.

B.

[Roadtoad]

I noted the "hostility" as well when I first started reading the Forum's.

However, I believe a simple answer pretty much clears it up.

Most if not all the applicants seemingly have a universal talent and that talent is to not read the rules. The challenge itself is by most accounts is a very easy process to start. The problem lies in that seemingly 99.9% of the applicants can't seem to find the time to even bother reading the scant number of rules. Nor following through with simple requests such as “Find 3 people or No we don’t allow cloud busting claims anymore” It’s right there and black and white and nobody is willing to do it.

So yes at first I saw it as hostility, now I see it as. Cut the BS if you want to do this, follow the rules.

B.

I think I'm going to like you, Diakaryu. Welcome!

[tojohndillonesq]

I'm not denying that Waggs and Kramer have every right be exasperated by many, or most, or nearly all of the Applicants inability to follow instructions (or answer a simple question, or to even hold a coherent conversation). Clearly though, these folks are, for the most part, mentally ill. When they remain confused and get abusive, you just have to pity them. Some of the apologies evidence the painful realization of deep self-deception.

By some definitions we could say that anyone who believes he has paranormal powers is mentally ill. He is quite literally incapable of distinguishing his desires from reality (or at least what other witnesses would agree is reality). Just like the tennis players I mentioned in my last post.

As I understand it, the point of the Challenge is to educate. To overcome ignorant superstition and fraud. Anything you do that has even the appearance of bias (hostility, obfuscation, incomprehension, impatience, etc.), hurts your cause. It gives folks an exuse to blame JREF for their failures. If you don't give the appearance of trying to understand what they are saying, then how can you determine that what they are saying is wrong?

I'm not talking about "being nice" or "being respecful of others." Those are merely social measures that vary from culture to culture. I simply mean "results based behavior." If the result you want is to reduce or eliminate foolish beliefs, there are proven ways to change people's minds. Any good sales guy knows them.

To me, the Challenge legitimizes the entire effort and this web site. Without the Challenge, the site becomes just another place where those of like mind come together to vent. With the Challenge, the JREF becomes the steak in the ground that says "We live by what we say."

Perhaps I misapprehend the goal of the JREF and the Challenge?

Best,

Scott
---------------------------------
"The man who's forced against his will, retains his own opinion still."

[tojohndillonesq]

Apologies for my malapropism- it was a typo.

[Dr Adequate]

A famous tennis coach who used to run "vacation clinics" discovered that some folks apparently cheat without realizing it. They truly believe they are making the correct line calls. The coach vidoetaped them making bad line calls and showed them the video; in most cases they laughed and asked who he got to dress up like them! They knew they did not cheat, so evidence to the contrary must, by definition, be faked. Fascinating example of self-deception. Have you got a reference? Thanks.

[Chaos]

Apologies for my malapropism- it was a typo.

Don´t apologize. Claim it was a pun. People here love witty puns.


Okay, people here also love lame puns, but, well, there´s no accounting for taste.

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Hello. My name is Victoria Silverwolf. You can call me Vicki.

I was born on February 8, 1956, of mixed Hispanic and French-Canadian ancesty. I was raised in a typical American Catholic family, but I turned out an atheist/skeptic. My philosphical heroes are Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov.

I have been married for twnety years. I am child-free by choice, but I live with sixteen cats. I have been a lacto-vegetarian for many years. I work as a hospital pharmacist.

Politically, I am ultra-liberal on social/cultural issues, and middle-of-the-road on economic issues.

I have been a science fiction and fantasy fan since childhood.

It's nice to be here!

[tojohndillonesq]

Fascinating example of self-deception. Have you got a reference? Thanks.

Vic Braden, circa 1980, in an article from Tennis Magazine. Braden is a famous Tennis Instructor, and is also a Psychologist, hence he focuses on that aspect. The following is an example of solid thinking in the face of something the "woo-woos" would ascribe to "psychice predictive powers."

<My uncalled for sarcasm in brackets>

----------------
"Vic Braden, a highly experienced tennis coach, discovered something both remarkable and frustrating. He found that he was able to predict when a tennis player would double fault before the player's racket had even hit the ball. When he put his ability to an empirical test, he proved to be about 90% accurate. <<Obviously he is Psychic!>>

"His years of tennis experience gave him the intuitive ability to see some flaw in a player's serving motion before contact with the ball. Braden's uncanny ability was somewhat disturbing to him, though, because, try as he might, he could not figure out what it was that he was picking up on. <<Wait Vic, don't go all rational on us...you are psychic! You can win one million dollars!>>

People can do amazing things with their intuitive judgments, in highly specific areas or in everyday life, but they are often clueless about how they do it. No amount of careful introspection can unveil what is being done behind the scenes. Braden has recently hooked up with some biomechanics experts who are using advanced computer modeling to try to identify what pattern makes double faults so predictable." <Jeez! He is obviously afraid to admit that he is tapping into the higher resonancy frequencies of his spiritual powers to predict the future. Or else he is an alien and wants to keep it secret.>

-------

Best!

Scott

[tojohndillonesq]

Hello. My name is Victoria Silverwolf. You can call me Vicki.

I was born on February 8, 1956, of mixed Hispanic and French-Canadian ancesty. I was raised in a typical American Catholic family, but I turned out an atheist/skeptic. My philosphical heroes are Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov.

I have been married for twnety years. I am child-free by choice, but I live with sixteen cats. I have been a lacto-vegetarian for many years. I work as a hospital pharmacist.

Politically, I am ultra-liberal on social/cultural issues, and middle-of-the-road on economic issues.

I have been a science fiction and fantasy fan since childhood.

It's nice to be here!

Welcome to the gang! Kinda quiet here in the daytime. For entertainment, I recommend looking at the Million Dollar Challenge applications/submissions.

Best!

tojohndillonesq
(scott)

[gasmonso]

Hi everyone, great topic love the show. I myself was raised Catholic until my brain developed... now I'm Agnostic. I suppose God could exist, but until I meet him, I doubt he does. Umm, what else...

Oh while I don't believe in God, I do believe in psychic abilities and Ouija boards... go figure. Before you call me a nut case, read about my personal experiences on my site which is in my profile. Then feel free to call me crazy :)

I would post direct links here, but I don't want to be considered a spammer and cast into oblivion :(

gasmonso

[fbinder]

Hello,

My name is Fabio, I am an IT instructor from Brazil. I used to follow the Cosmos Series from Carl Sagan and I came to JREF because a friend told me about a book called FLIM-FLAM. I read it and it was an "enlightning" experience.

[Hutch]

Oh, ricklesnarpers, I guess it's my turn to play nice with the newbies....;) :D


greetings gasmonso (and WHERE did you come up with that name?) I am ex-Catholic turned deist, but without the other stuff...get thee to Religion and the paranormal boards for good discussion.

salutations fbinder; we have a couple of Brazilians here, one of which has broken male JREF hearts (and who knows, maybe some female ones as well, ya never know) on several continents...you'll figure out who it is soon enough.

and I may have to call you silverwolf, vicki, because that is just to good a sounding name not to be said over and over. Enjoy.

and tojondillonesq, welcome, although you have interacted with several veterans already, neither managed to actully get the words 'welcome' into the conversation..so I'll take care of that. Welcome!

Now get out there and post, people...I need to get back to the umberdraggles at Loose Change...:D

[Diazo]

*looks out from behind the lurker curtain* Time to get my feet wet. ;)

A big hello to everyone on the forum.

As to myself, I am a 25 draftsman in Edmonton, Canada who has been lurking around the forum for a couple weeks now.

I came across the forum due to the video that is known as Loose Change and was looking for a place where I could get actual facts and evidence about what happened.

Having watched the video, it is a relief to find a forum like this where events like this can be discussed in a reasonable fashion.

Branching out from the General Skepticism sub-forum, I am very impressed by the topics and people posting in the other areas as well.

Enough about me, I'll be around the forum and hope to see everyone there.

[gasmonso]

My nick was actually my first password generated for me by the university's computers back in 1996 when I registered. I figured that "gasmonso" was not very secure and slowly it became my nick because it grew on me :)

[Pete Tattum]

Hello everyone...

I'm Pete from Inverness in Scotland. I've been a skeptic, sci-fi fan, and agnostic for a very long time...It's good to be here!:D

[Spidey13]

;)

:)

:D

Welcome, you three. I see you are all already well-versed in the usage of smilies. This should serve you well in your travels. Good luck and be careful not to step in whatever that is over there. :gasp:

[Woody-]

Greetings all

Joined up mainly to participate in the 9/11 truth posts over in the General Skepticism and The Paranormal section but Ill probably add my two cents just about anywhere.

[Darat]

:welcome2

[Dr Adequate]

Vic Braden, circa 1980, in an article from Tennis Magazine. Braden is a famous Tennis Instructor, and is also a Psychologist, hence he focuses on that aspect. Thanks!

[Dr Adequate]

Oh while I don't believe in God, I do believe in psychic abilities and Ouija boards... Ouija boards, pendulums, dowsing rods, etc can seem very convincing to the operator.

However, have a look at the articles Ouija boards and Ideomotor effect

If you can seriously get results which can be demonstrated to be accurate and not caused by the ideomotor effect, you have a good chance to (a) win Randi's million and (b) prove the existence of the afterlife.

I'm rooting for you but not betting on you.

[Esperdome]

Hi everyone.

Came here from the nogodblog and lurked a couple weeks, I guess its time to get my feet wet.

I live in southeast Texas and am hoping to live through another hurricane season :relieved:.

This place seems HUGE to me, and I hope to find a niche here.

[Hawkeye]

Hey everyone,
Long time reader first time poster.
To begin, a brief history of how I came to be here.

I was born at a very young age...
Ok seriously, I first discovered James Randi when I stumbled upon a video of a lecture he gave at Princeton University. In it, he tells the hilarious story of his small effort to combat the sillyness of "counterfeit detector pens."
I was instantly hooked. I started to poke around to find out more about him and soon discovered the JREF website and the 1$ million paranormal challange. I checked out some of his books, I watched all the videos I could find, and I began browse these forums.

A skeptic was born.

[SezMe]

Welcome, Hawkeye. Hopefully, you won't have to be "born again". :)

[tim]

Welcome, Esperdome!
There is a lot here, but it's pretty easy to navigate around. Choose your area of interest and get stuck in!

[Hux]

Hello to everyone, the name's Hux and I have lurked for a while! (You know how it is when you find a new forum - it feels like butting in on a conversation) so I hope you'll be gentle with me.

[Sal The Butcher]

from what i have been told this forum is not a place where peoples counter arguments will consist of insults, i look foreward to this

[bob_kark]

from what i have been told this forum is not a place where peoples counter arguments will consist of insults, i look foreward to this

Just avoid the Politics forum at all costs.

[SezMe]

What the hell is that damn Hux doing butting his nose-insky in all our busi.... er, welcome, Hux.

[De_Bunk]

Hi...

Im De_Bunk...

I see dead people...


DB

[Roadtoad]

In DeBunkese:

"Dead"="Stupid."

Welcome.

[De_Bunk]

Yes...

And my apartment complex was built on a cemetery...after they dug all the bodies up and used the bones to prop up the sewer pipes that run underneath...

DB

[lister]

Hi guys and gals.

Long time lurker, and signed up a while ago but never really officially checked in :)

I'm a 31 year old software engineer from the UK. I was brought up pentecostal christian (son of a minister), and although I did my best to believe for a long time, my brain finally won through in my 20's.

First heard about the paranormal challenge on some woo group on Usenet a few years ago (alt.dreams.lucid if I remember correctly). I think the thread was entitled something like "Why Randi's challenge is a fake" :D

I remember reading the thread and thinking the challenge sounded pretty reasonable to me. At that point I thought the challenge was a new thing and I was quite pleased because I didn't see how the woo's could argue around it. How naive was I! :D

Imagine my surprise to discover it had been going for 40 years!

Learnt loads since then, and this site really has been an invaluable education to someone whose only frame of reference was the world of fundamental christianity. Proud to call myself a skeptic now :)

[tim]

Welcome Lister!
There are quite a few of us British on the forum - and it's all the better for that!
Where abouts in the UK are you?

[lister]

Welcome Lister!
There are quite a few of us British on the forum - and it's all the better for that!
Where abouts in the UK are you?
Thanks. :) I'm in Worcestershire.

[Ducky]

from what i have been told this forum is not a place where peoples counter arguments will consist of insults, i look foreward to this


Welcome Sal!


ETA:

That's true, for the most part we don't respond with insults...unless you go to the politics section.

[Roadtoad]

Welcome Sal!

ETA:

That's true, for the most part we don't respond with insults...unless you go to the politics section.

Shhhhh! You're scaring off all the fresh meat, Fowl!

[gumboot]

Hi everyone,

I joined up about a week ago, but only just sort of noticed this thread! Sorry.
I'm from Auckland, New Zealand, in my early twenties, working free-lance in the film industry and preparing to be an officer in our territorial army (part time army).

I stumbled across this site after looking in 9/11 related conspiracies, specifically "Loose Change". Loving the depth of knowledge at this place. :)

-Andrew

[gasmonso]

Ouija boards, pendulums, dowsing rods, etc can seem very convincing to the operator.

However, have a look at the articles Ouija boards and Ideomotor effect

If you can seriously get results which can be demonstrated to be accurate and not caused by the ideomotor effect, you have a good chance to (a) win Randi's million and (b) prove the existence of the afterlife.

I'm rooting for you but not betting on you.

I've pondered the million dollar challenge, but I am currently doing more research into the Ouija on my site. Basically, I'm talking to people with experience and trying to find some commonality, patterns, etc. I'm aware of the ideomotor effect, but that surely doesn't explain my experiences... not a chance.

Most discussion of the Ouija quickly degrades into crazy talk and people like myself are dismissed as naive or nuts :) With my site, I'm trying to change that by interviewing as many people as I can about their experiences. I personally believe there is more to the Ouija than just the ideometer effect and chance.

gasmonso

[Apathia]

I have dubious ISP and piece of Internet software called "AOL."
It's browser wasn't letting me actually join this forum site till I installed Firefox.
Now I'll see if I'm really here. At least my screen name is agknowledeged.

I came to Rand's site for background material for some stories I'm writing and wasn't dissappointed. Bad luck and woo-woo make good stories. And there are already so many more entertaining tales here than I could ever dream of using in stories.

OK, now for the test!

[orpheus]

Hello all,

I've browsed these forums with great pleasure, and I'm happy to have joined. Looking forward to being a part of this community.

orpheus

[wollery]

Greetings Hyparxis and orpheus, hope you enjoy your time in this asylum, errr forum.

Orpheus, you must play your lyre for us sometime.

[StarSeed]

Hi all. I'm a novice pendulum channeler who has been interested in 'woo' my whole life. I've tuned into shows like CTC and Rense since 96, and have recently begun to take a more active approach to 'woo'.

I'm just about finished getting my butt whooped over at skepticforum, so I hope to begin taking my licks over here soon, and bounce back and forth between bruisings. heh. :D

Eventually, I hope to hone my talents enough to take the challenge.

[wollery]

Greetings StarSeed, perhaps you can clear something up for me - how do you channel a novice pendulum? :p

[StarSeed]

Greetings StarSeed, perhaps you can clear something up for me - how do you channel a novice pendulum? :p
heheh. Good one. ;)

[Dumb All Over]

Hello,
I am not Sylvia in disguise. I've been reading this website for a few years now and only recently started posting. Great fun!

[Jon.]

Hi Dumb All Over! I trust you're not also a little ugly on the side!



























I really hope your name is a Zappa reference.

[chonwaen]

I came to be here because of the wonderful interview of Mr Randi on the DVD set of Penn and Teller's newest series. I am not sure if I can name it due to the profanity rule for the boards, so I won't. I had an experience in my past that I just can't explain rationally except for maybe blind luck. Unfortunately for me, it doesn't quite feel like blind luck emotionally. Plus a friend states that there seemed to be a result from it. I know this is incredibly vague, and ask forgiveness in advance. I am just wondering if I am a whack job or not. I am typically a very rational individual. If you are a research technician, you have to be, your work demands it. Consequently, it can be rough being a skeptic of one's own experiences at times. The challenge itself is quite intriguing. However, I seriously doubt that I shall ever have any good cause to apply. What I experienced would be quite tough to try to replicate in a controlled fashion. I feel that I had somehow (unsure of exactly how) protected a house from harm utilizing a form of psychic power or paranormal willpower. I state paranormal willpower because I did try to excercise my will to protect the house of a friend.
A friend stated the next day that a group of rowdy people seemingly up to no good quieted down, passed the house by, and then started back up after they passed by the house. Perhaps they just temporarily lost steam, or some other luck based happenstance. I did feel mentally drained the next morning, though. Either this is a case of several random events in my life that night that seem to fit together well this way, or somehow by excercising my will, I created an effect. Either way, it pretty well freaked me out. I have never attempted this since. At the time, I figured that the level of mental exhaustion that I experienced meant that I had not yet figured out to control my 'ability' and could cause myself harm if improperly used. Since that time, I have also developed some doubts in my own mind as well about even truly having that ability. However, to this day, I am still not 100% convinced that it was mere chance, either. If anyone has any suggestions, or constructive comments regarding this, I welcome them wholeheartedly.

[openmindedskeptic]

I am here because I am hoping that someday someone will win the price!
My background...I was raised Catholic with strong religous faith that seemed to disappear with aging. I am now 40 yrs old, a mother of four and a college professor.
Although I am pretty convinced that there is no life after death or any greater power (GOD), I am not happy with this. I am almost as unhappy as when I discovered that my parents were Santa!
Two very important people in my life recently past away. I was certain that if there was some life after death, ghosts or any other supernatural events, I would see some sign or proof after the death of my father and grandmother. Both were incredible faithfull...but nothing ever happened.
I have a hard time accepting that these two humans who had so much love for me and me for them could be out of my life forever. Unfortunately for me I think this is the case. I really wish that I had the faith and belief in an aferlife...I would be happier. My mother is happier because she belives my father to be with her now at all times....whatever. I don't feel this.
My husband was a former catholic and now a buddhist. We are both stuggling to find the "meaning of life" and nothing seems to fit.
I am hoping to find some peace of mind and resolution by beign a member of this forum. I am still looking for the answers!

I look forward to getting to know you all!

[Dumb All Over]

Hi Dumb All Over! I trust you're not also a little ugly on the side!
I really hope your name is a Zappa reference.
"Whoever we are, wherever we're from, we should've noticed by now our behavior is..."

And, yes Jon, I'm slightly ugly on the side!

[tim]

Welcome, chonwaen and openmindedskeptic!

chonwaen, I'm not sure quite what you're getting at here - as you say, it's very vague. Can you think about describing things better then perhaps start a thread in skepticism? In the meantime, welcome!

openmindedskeptic, I don't think any one of us will ever discover "the meaning of life, the universe and everything". It doesn't work that way.
We live on a beautiful planet, full of incredible wonders, and we are lucky indeed to have the chance to experience it. Death is something we must all go through, and for many of us the belief is that there is no survival afterwards. That doesn't take away the delight we can feel in being alive while we are here, does it? The wonder of seeing a rainbow, or a forest, or the sea, or any of the unbelievable things that surround us. It doesn't take away the love we feel for each other, does it?
For me, the answer is "no". I relish every day of my life and the time I spend with those I love. If it must stop - sooner for me than for some of our younger members perhaps - then stop it must. Until then, I enjoy every minute!
Try reading Richard Dawkins. He says it better than I ever can!