Welcome new Members! Introduce yourselves here!

[AdMan]

Originally Posted by Aegist

I saw an interesting post about this subject by Orac recently (thanks to Reddit):

Oh damn. Still no links for me yet. But search for Respectful Insolence: "The problem with homeopathy, according to naturopaths" by Orac

Here is the link: http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/20...o-naturopaths/

[Foolmewunz]

Originally Posted by Aegist

I saw an interesting post about this subject by Orac recently (thanks to Reddit):

Oh damn. Still no links for me yet. But search for Respectful Insolence: "The problem with homeopathy, according to naturopaths" by Orac

GENERAL TIP FOR NEWBS:

As Adman demonstrated, if you have an interesting or important link to provide and have not hit your 15 posts (you slackers ), some kind soul is apt to do as Adman did and find it for you and provide the link. But on the off chance that you're dealing with some lazy bastage like me, you can copy the link and then screw up the format. For instance, the proper link to a window I happen to have open right now....

http://neverseconds.blogspot.ch/

That will format correctly because I've got more than 15 posts, of course. But if you want to get us to close it up for you, just put a few spaces in there or delete the colon and two forward slashes so it appears as plain text.

http neverseconds.blogspot.ch/

A fellow poster can easily repair that for you and post it, or you can just include in your post, "I've deleted the :// after "http" so just re-insert to have the link work."

[arthwollipot]

Of course, there are plenty of threads in Humor and Community that exist almost solely for the purposes of increasing one's post count.

[Nessie]

This is a simple post to increase my post count by one, to get to that magical 50 so i can get my avatar

[Bell]

Originally Posted by Nessie

This is a simple post to increase my post count by one, to get to that magical 50 so i can get my avatar

Welcome to the forums Nessie. You realize you do not exist, do you?

[Nessie]

Originally Posted by Bell

Welcome to the forums Nessie. You realize you do not exist, do you?

I exist in the hearts of the Scottish people

[Foolmewunz]

Originally Posted by Nessie

I exist in the hearts of the Scottish people

That would be heartening unless one recalled that their men wear dresses, they think haggis is food, and their idea of sport is to chase a little white ball around and beat it with sticks.

(We have a rather erudite and vocal Scots minority in these forums. I can't recall a Nessie thread in quite some time, though. Isn't it the season that the locals always make a sighting; coincidentally right at the beginning of the tourist season?)

Welcome aboard. You can just exchange some banter here for a few more posts, but as Arthwollipot and I have both mentioned there are threads for which the apparent raison d'etre would seem to be ratcheting up your post count. (My favorite was always the "Word Association Thread". You don't even have to think up a sentence.)

[Allecher]

It looks like we have a robust crop of newbies, welcome! If you are planning to go to TAM check out the "Amaz!ng Meeting! and other Skeptical Events" section for a number of threads to help you get oriented.

[knowthecosmos]

Thought I'd drop a quick post to introduce myself as I'm a new user here.

My name's Scott and though I'm new here, I'm not new to skepticism or advocating for empiricism in society.

I'm a returning college student after a ~8 years in firefighting/EMS, now with a focus on astrophysics and cosmology. On top of school, I am a producer for the Virtual Star Parties on Google+ with AstronomyCast.com and CosmoQuest.org. If you haven't heard of our amazing star parties, you can watch the recordings of them on youtube through the UniverseToday account. We have a lot of fun sharing views of the universe through the eyepieces of astronomers across the world!

I've also been focusing a lot of my effort into EPO (Education and Public Outreach) online and locally in California, which has given me an opportunity to setup a website. You can find that in my profile details, but is still a work in progress as I add more content.

I look forward to corresponding and collaborating with all of you in the future!


Cheers,
KnowTheCosmos

[Bell]

Hi and welcome KnowTheCosmos.

A star party. I still need to go to one. I really would like to see some of the planets up and close, so to speak.

[knowthecosmos]

Originally Posted by Bell

Hi and welcome KnowTheCosmos.

A star party. I still need to go to one. I really would like to see some of the planets up and close, so to speak.

Well we'll be having one this evening around 21:00 PDT on Google+/Youtube which is broadcast live, and then recorded for those who are unable to see it live.

If you're on Google+ just search for Fraser Cain (Publisher for UniverseToday) as he is the host, along with Dr. Pamela Gay. We have a whole lot of fun, and I'm sure at least one of our astronomers will be sharing planets, along with globular clusters, galaxies, nebulae, etc.


Cheers,
KnowTheCosmos

[Bell]

Originally Posted by knowthecosmos

Well we'll be having one this evening around 21:00 PDT on Google+/Youtube which is broadcast live, and then recorded for those who are unable to see it live.

If you're on Google+ just search for Fraser Cain (Publisher for UniverseToday) as he is the host, along with Dr. Pamela Gay. We have a whole lot of fun, and I'm sure at least one of our astronomers will be sharing planets, along with globular clusters, galaxies, nebulae, etc.


Cheers,
KnowTheCosmos

Thanks. I don't have Google+ but what is the YouTube channel?

(You can paste the url and substitute the :// with a space)

[knowthecosmos]

the youtube channel is: http www youtube.com/user/universetoday/videos

It can also be seen live on CosmoQuest -- http cosmoquest.org/Hangouts/


I'm not one to typically proselytize for a particular "social network", but Google+ has turned into an amazing place for those with shared interest, including various science disciplines, skepticism, mathematics, etc. The engagement of the folks there is truly staggering. Definitely worth a look, IMO.


Cheers,
KnowTheCosmos

Originally Posted by Bell

Thanks. I don't have Google+ but what is the YouTube channel?

(You can paste the url and substitute the :// with a space)

[Akhenaten]

Hi there, KnowTheCosmos.

[Bell]

Thanks!

[knowthecosmos]

Hi there Akhenaten!

Originally Posted by Akhenaten

Hi there, KnowTheCosmos.

[Allecher]

I've watched a few of Frasier Cain and Pamela Gay's astronomy-related hangouts and I agree they are great! In fact I think Frasier has really led the way on taking full advantage of the hangout feature in G+.

Welcome KnowTheCosmos!

[AdMan]

Welcome all!

Bienvenidos a todos los nuevos.

[arthwollipot]

Hangouts are generally off-limits for those of us on limited downloads.

[knowthecosmos]

That is sad, but true. Limited bandwidth can be quite a problem for hangouts.

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Hangouts are generally off-limits for those of us on limited downloads.

[knowthecosmos]

Thank you, Allecher! We do have a great deal of fun utilizing the hangout features on G+ and are always testing out new ways to use them.

There are some exciting things in the works, especially regarding the MSL Curiosity landing in August!

Cheers!
KnowTheCosmos

Originally Posted by Allecher

I've watched a few of Frasier Cain and Pamela Gay's astronomy-related hangouts and I agree they are great! In fact I think Frasier has really led the way on taking full advantage of the hangout feature in G+.

Welcome KnowTheCosmos!

[sprung]

sup.

any other canadians?

[LashL]

Originally Posted by sprung

sup.

any other canadians?

At least 196 of us, probably well over 200 by now.

Welcome!

[T4eresa]

Thanks for the welcome.

Of course there is plenty in naturopathy to take with a grain of salt. Frankly there's a lot of conventional medicine that is unsubstantiated as well. I am quite resistant to all manner of brainwashing so I don't think I need a 12 step cure. I found Applied Kinesiology and muscle testing to be utter theatrics. I'm skeptical about a lot of Chinese medicine but didn't study it directly and will not make it my project. There's a fair bit of the herbalism that is "traditional", and a lot of new science piling up about plant uses. If you root around at the shared edge of homeopathy and herbalism you will find that there is a nice mixture of factoids that have later been confirmed along with the usual mysticism.

As for your questions:
What do you like to eat? chocolate
Where ya from? Tennessee
Coffe or Tea? Yes
Cats or Dogs? Yes
Who was on the grassy knoll? Bigfoot
Ever seen a Bigfoot? Yes
Was Jesus really divine, or simply precious? Depends on your definition of divinity.
Occupy Wall Street are a bunch of filthy hippies. Yes or No? Yes. And that's OK.

I expect some insufferability here. And I know that most here are likely to view me as another woo woo idiot if I reveal my ND credential. But perhaps some will be able to refrain from assuming thusly.

For now I must study for boards, and this is a diversion.
Thanks for being friendly!
T4

[orlykthnxbai]

Yeah, I know, I am posting here quite some time after first signing on.

ME: 40's, male, from midwestern US. Background in Automotive, electronics and computers a hobby and (at times) passion.

Raised Protestant "Evangelical", left that non-sense back in the late 80's / early 90's. I didn't just quit going, I outright got my name taken off the rolls.

Being automotive, I hear a LOT of BS claims about miracle products that claim to be a virtual "mechanic in a can" or "tune up in a bottle" (one product actually says that on the label).

Atheist- why ? Because talking animals, a 6000 year old universe and an ever living deity who kills itself as a sacrifice to itself to appease itself is about a bold a claim as one can make, and is as lacking in the needed evidence as any claim can be. Sorry kids, I lost faith in faith a long time ago.

orlykthnxbai

[bruto]

Originally Posted by orlykthnxbai

Yeah, I know, I am posting here quite some time after first signing on.

ME: 40's, male, from midwestern US. Background in Automotive, electronics and computers a hobby and (at times) passion.

Raised Protestant "Evangelical", left that non-sense back in the late 80's / early 90's. I didn't just quit going, I outright got my name taken off the rolls.

Being automotive, I hear a LOT of BS claims about miracle products that claim to be a virtual "mechanic in a can" or "tune up in a bottle" (one product actually says that on the label).

Atheist- why ? Because talking animals, a 6000 year old universe and an ever living deity who kills itself as a sacrifice to itself to appease itself is about a bold a claim as one can make, and is as lacking in the needed evidence as any claim can be. Sorry kids, I lost faith in faith a long time ago.

orlykthnxbai

Automotive threads tend to arise every once in a while in the forum community area. Always good to have another mechanical realist in the mix.

[Akhenaten]

Originally Posted by orlykthnxbai

Yeah, I know, I am posting here quite some time after first signing on.

It's always good to lurk for a bit before you start. It's the ones that start machine gun posting five minutes after their account is approved that end up looking like big, fat sillyheads.



This thread might be of interest to you:

So, how many Gear-heads do we have here?

Welcome to the Forum.

[SusanB-M1]

Bruto
Seeing your name here, may I ask if you are recovered from your accident recently?

[bruto]

Originally Posted by SusanB-M1

Bruto
Seeing your name here, may I ask if you are recovered from your accident recently?

Yes, slowly but surely. I got X-rays the other day and my neck vertebrae are doing well. I get to taper off the neck brace during the next two weeks, then a long PT regimen to be able to look behind me again! I got the arm sling off too, as clavicle is healing, though not done yet. I have some new bone flexing but not actually coming apart now, and a nasty but normal lump where the clavicle is going together crooked. Still seeing double, hearing loss in left, and tingling on whole left side, supposedly connected with continuing brain swelling that might relax soon, and still some killer road rash even after six weeks, but I'm doing all right really. I was in very good shape going into this, so I had a bit of slack. I can walk and talk and read and understand stuff, and with moderation I can do some work around the place, so it's not so bad. With braces off I was able finally to take a proper shower and wash my hair all in one go, what a luxury! It's going to be a kind of lost summer where construction and other work are concerned, but it could be a lot worse.

I seem to be able to hit the computer keys more accurately, too, which is good.

[orlykthnxbai]

Originally Posted by bruto

Automotive threads tend to arise every once in a while in the forum community area. Always good to have another mechanical realist in the mix.

The "Circle Cycle" thread came to my attention when I was doing a Google search. Ranked pretty high.

It is pretty remarkable the amount of BS in the automotive world. Having a background in electronics and computers also helps because those are aspects where more and more BS is creeping in.

One of the worst offenders of the market for years was "Slick 50". A lot of people don't realize that Dupont (the makers of "Teflon" or PTFE) never intended that stuff to be used in an engine and have discouraged it's use as an oil additive for years.

Thanks for the tip.

orlykthnxbai

[gigantor]

Hi All!

I'm a long time reader and enjoy the intellectual quality of these forums, so I decided to join the interesting conversations.

I'm a systems analyst and run my own little business servicing other small businesses IT needs. I appreciate the broad range of topics in this forum and hope to contribute to the discourse.

One of my interests is Bigfoot and I'm skeptical that it is an extant creature, yet think that there is sufficient circumstantial evidence to warrant further study of it.

I currently provide technical support for the Bigfoot Forums website and look forward to discussing that topic among others.

Glad to be here!

[Akhenaten]

Hi there, gigantor.

Welcome to the Forum.

[SusanB-M1]

Bruto

Many thanks for your reply. I am so pleased to hear that the repairs are working, even if rather slowly. It certainly helps to have a fitness routine which makes it more likely that the body will heal well.

[SuperchartsII]

Howdy - I'm back! Back in 2001 I was active as Supercharts. Well, to make a 12 year story shorter I tried to log in again as Supercharts but we couldn't get verified so I re-registered as SuperchartsII. Can't wait to post 50 times so I can include my semi-famous Icon of LRON testing a tomato.

[Akhenaten]

Welcome back!

Looking forward to seeing ol' Liverlips about the place fairly soon.

I don't think much has happened since 2001, so you haven't missed anything.

[AdMan]

Welcome back!!

Oh, wait...

[Foolmewunz]

Originally Posted by SuperchartsII

Howdy - I'm back! Back in 2001 I was active as Supercharts. Well, to make a 12 year story shorter I tried to log in again as Supercharts but we couldn't get verified so I re-registered as SuperchartsII. Can't wait to post 50 times so I can include my semi-famous Icon of LRON testing a tomato.

[channeling Transformers]
Look, kids! It's a Prime! Don't see many of them about.
[/channeling Transformers]

[DuvalHMFIC]

I've been meaning to register here for a bit, as I've just lurked for the last month or so.

I'm not really sure what info I'm supposed to post here, but I'm a 32 year old fitness equipment refurbisher/servicer, and I'm going back to school (gulp) to finish my electrical engineering degree. I decided the best time to do this would be right as I've had my first kid. She was born at 29 weeks and has been in the hospital for the past 5 weeks (as of today, she was born May 21). She's doing well and hopefully we'll get to bring her home within a week.

The majority of my skeptical exposure (aside from stuff like Mythbusters or South Park) has come in the form of podcasts. Being that I work alone in a warehouse all day, I've got nothing but time to listen to the plethora of skeptical and science-related podcasts. Some are better than others, of course. The older I get, though, the more I am fascinated with all things related to science.

[Ketyk]

Hi Duval.

The JREF has a page related to skeptical podcasts here. Maybe you can join in some of those discussions. Maybe even start your very own thread! You do that here:



If you have any questions about the site, feel free to come back to this thread. (Like maybe where to find wacky emoticons: )

[Foolmewunz]

Originally Posted by DuvalHMFIC

I've been meaning to register here for a bit, as I've just lurked for the last month or so.

I'm not really sure what info I'm supposed to post here, but I'm a 32 year old fitness equipment refurbisher/servicer, and I'm going back to school (gulp) to finish my electrical engineering degree. I decided the best time to do this would be right as I've had my first kid. She was born at 29 weeks and has been in the hospital for the past 5 weeks (as of today, she was born May 21). She's doing well and hopefully we'll get to bring her home within a week.

The majority of my skeptical exposure (aside from stuff like Mythbusters or South Park) has come in the form of podcasts. Being that I work alone in a warehouse all day, I've got nothing but time to listen to the plethora of skeptical and science-related podcasts. Some are better than others, of course. The older I get, though, the more I am fascinated with all things related to science.

Hey, welcome aboard and congratulations on your new baby. Glad to hear she's doing well and you'll get to take her home. We have a thread over in Forum Community for posting pics and bragging on our infants (we also have one for older kids who "graduate" from that thread). Babies good!

Congrats, too, on going back to school. It's a tough decision when you've got a new child on board, but probably better to get through it now rather than when she's mobile and starting school, herself. Good luck in your pursuit. We have a lot of engineers here. The practical application of science seems to bring out the skeptic in a lot of people.

Take your time and check out the various sub-forums. There's a little something for everyone. In Forum Community and Humor there are threads purely devoted to one and two line posts where you can easily ratchet up your post count so you can get to post links, obtain an avatar and a signature line.