Unfortunately the anticipated Melbourne visit by “The Bad Astronomer” Phil Plait in November will not be taking place. He will however be speaking in Sydney at the Australian Skeptics Convention. For more information see http://www.users.on.net/~ct/skeptic/nsw/convention.htm
This year’s Australian Skeptics National Convention is titled “Beyond a Joke” and is being held in Sydney. It will run from 12th-14th November.
“This year’s convention will be a mix of Scepticism and belly laughs with top line comedians adding their own insights into the world of the paranormal.“
Please visit the URL below for more information http://www.users.on.net/~ct/skeptic/nsw/convention.htm
Skeptics Conference
On July 20th 1969, Man first set foot on the moon. Millions of people around the world were riveted to their TV screens as Neil Armstrong stepped from the Landing Module. Reality TV par excellence! Two years and five successful missions later, the number of moon-walkers had reached twelve.
Since Apollo 17 splashed down in 1972, momentum has gathered for the proposition that we have all been misled by the US Government and by NASA in particular. The case for this was probably best presented by Fox’s TV special Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon? which aired in the USA in February 2001. Millions of viewers apparently found the pro-hoax arguments persuasive and convincing.
Firstly, there were the technical experts (American and Russian) who claimed that NASA did not possess the technology in 1969 to achieve these feats, or at least, the likelihood of success was so tiny that the risk of real Moon landings would not have been seriously contemplated. This proposition is supported by the fact that no other country has since visited the Moon, and that NASA’s own manned missions since 1972 have been confined to Earth orbit.
Secondly, film footage of astronauts on the moon is said to contain so many technical errors that it must have been shot in a studio on Earth. Some of these alleged “errors” include ;
These and many other “flaws” came thick and fast, and to many viewers they provided hard evidence for a Moon Landing Hoax which was “Not only a fake, but a poor fake“.
Thirdly, the subsequent commercial film Capricorn 1 simulated landing on Mars in a way that was at least as “realistic” as the Moon Landing footage. It therefore View More Moon Landings
(Reviewer Rob Brown)
Things were strangely quiet on this Saturday night in Preston for the 2004 Science Drama Awards show was performing to a packed house. Months of preparation and qualifying rounds had come down to this one night, to which many people had travelled hundreds of kilometres across Victoria to attend.
Seven schools came to teach and entertain the audience with science. The host for the evening was Chris Krishna-Pillay who did a fine job and showed much enthusiasm throughout the night. The schools showed various levels of preparation and steady story telling. Unfortunately there were one or two who failed to show much that the audience could hold onto. Overall the schools used various themes for their pieces from growing beans on Mars (illustrating plant germination) to a Shakespearean tale of the love between Sodium and Chlorine (illustrating metallic and non-metallic bonding). There was much music from Devo to Wham, and movement from ribbon twirling to cartwheels.
There were two standout performances: Caulfield Grammar Grade 4 who received the Primary School Award, and MacRobertson Girls’ 7-12 who received the High School Award.
Caulfield demonstrated the principles of electromagnetic waves. They created a strong story with a boy completing a science project, trying to entertain his flighty sister who would rather simply dance through life. They involved a lot of kids, and succeeded strongly in both science communication and entertainment. A xylophone will never sound the same again to those who saw the show.
MacRob translated “Romeo and Juliet” into a story of two chemicals strongly attracted but from different backgrounds. Yes, it did get whimsical, but this was their humour and they milked it often and very well. Many students played music as well as their acting roles in this piece – showoffs!
The personal highlight for me was Chisholm Catholic School, who though they weren’t the best actors, made the air thick with irony as they told of the life and contributions of Galileo Galilei. Definitely a skeptic’s highlight!
How and Why It Works
Squat at the edge of the bed of nails and sit down on the nails … don’t press on the nails with your hands. Then lie down fully on the nails … don’t press your head on the nails at any time. A feeling of wonder will come over you, soon replaced by a feeling of futility and ordinariness. Never mind, enjoy the rest of the day.
There are lots of large nails in the bed of nails. When you lie on it, your body touches about half of the nails … that’s about 750 … so for a 75kg body each nail will press with a barely noticeable force of about 100 grams. Because the nails are large (4-inch), the points are not particularly sharp. You can press a balloon onto the nails without it bursting.
NOTE: You can’t stand on the nails, or press on the nails with your hands or feet when you sit down, as there would be too much pressure spread over only a few nails. And even when you lie on it you mustn’t rest your head with any force.
How to Make a Bed of Nails
This can be a good school project … about 12 man-hours is required. Its mass is 20kg, mostly due to the nails. The materials required cost about $170 –
Clamp the 3 boards together and trim two edges so they become the same size. Cut batten to make a rectangular box that fits to the inside edges of the board. Screw the box together at the corners. Glue and screw it to one of the peg boards. Attach strong handles to the sides of the box … these will be handy for carrying it about.
Push a few pairs of nails up into the box and drop in some lengths of the thinner battens. These will stop the middle of the box from sagging or bulging out. The thinner battens must fit between diagonal rows of nails so that they don’t block any holes. Going along the diagonals allows the inner battens to be as thick as possible – such is the power of geometry. We used two long ones and two short inner battens, but any arrangement will do. Mark the positions of the inner battens on the outside of the box, or you’ll lose where they were.
Place the second peg board over the nails and press it down. Make sure the holes of both peg boards are lined up (the nails will ensure this). Screw both peg boards to the edge and middle battens (one screw per side and one screw per middle batten will do, for each peg board). These are just to hold things in place – more screws will be added through the plywood sheet at the end. Turn the box over and support it on two bricks. Now push a nail through every hole, starting with the diagonals alongside the internal battens. This takes several hours but with practice you can press a nail through the first peg board, find the hole in the second peg board and push it through. Tap it with a small hammer … very little force is needed. When most nails are in place remove the bricks and fill all the holes with nails. Check that none of the nails has a sharp burr on its tip … the points of 4-inch are really quite blunt. With all the nails fully in place, place the plywood sheet over the nail heads and screw it into place. This needs a good number of screws … 3-4 along each side and 3-4 along each inner batten. Drill pilot holes through the plywood and the lower pegboard so the screws bite into the side and inner battens. The plywood will keep the pegboards in place and stop the nails from sliding back out. That’s all there is to it! One person, or two people walking in step, can easily carry it about. Point the nails away from your body when carrying it, and be careful not to let anyone stumble or anything fall onto the nails. If carried in the boot of a car, put a spare sheet of plywood or a heavy rug over the nails so you can put things on top of it. It’s easier to get onto the bed of nails if it stands on two milk crates.
Warning over illegal chain letters
“The Age“: More than 1000 Victorians have been sent warning notices this week after consumer affairs inspectors intercepted nearly 13,000 illegal chain letters.
More than 80,000 of the letters have been seized around the country. The letter details the plight of an indebted man who participates in a “perfectly legal business opportunity” and reaps $1.1 million. Recipients are asked to send $10 to a name on the top of a list and forward the letter to 200 people. It promises that $70,000 in $10 notes will flood their letterbox. Consumer Affairs Minister John Lenders said the letters were a form of pyramid selling and individuals who particupated in such schemes faced fines of more than $24,000 if prosecuted. http://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/cbav/fairsite.nsf/pages/of_hottopics_davidrhodes?OpenDocument
Gambling world-wide is a huge, multi-billion dollar industry. In Victoria alone, almost $4.4 billion was lost in the 2001-2002 financial year. This included $1 billion at Crown Casino, $385 million on lotteries and $527 million on racing and sports betting. What hope is there for the punter when so much is lost?
Punters have eternal hope. They know that horse racing is one of the few gambling opportunities where they can gain an edge. Inside stable knowledge of the ability of horses can often lead to stunning plunges and betting coups. And many punters think it is possible to gain an advantage by careful observation of the behaviour and condition of horses as they parade in the mounting yard before a race. They often refer to an elite group known as �astute judges�. These are the old men, hanging on the mounting yard rail, who by simply eyeing a horse before a race can assess its winning chance.
In 1989 Geoffrey Hutson first attempted to become an astute judge, by picking out winners based on their looks in the mounting yard. He failed dismally. But he made a remarkable discovery – that he could pick losers. With this knowledge he returned to the racetrack and observed in minute detail the pre-race behaviour of over 10,000 horses. He has written a book about it called Watching Racehorses.
Geoffrey Hutson was born and bred in Melbourne. He spent over 20 years at the University of Melbourne as a Research Fellow in Animal Behaviour, studying the behaviour of a wide range of domestic animals, including sheep, cattle, pigs and horses. He has written numerous articles for scientific journals, newspapers and magazines, including Applied Animal Behaviour Science, New Scientist, The Age, The Sunday Age, and Turf Monthly magazine. He left the university in 1998 to pursue a career as a full-time punter. He now bets on the stockmarket for serious money and on racehorses for serious fun.
Channel 7’s one-off gameshow special “Deal or No Deal: Test of the Psychics” aired last night. Regretfully the psychics were no more successful than the usual contestants.
Australian Adam Clark was 21 in 1997 when he announced that he’d invented a revolutionary new “streaming” technology for the internet. Now 7 years later, he’s earnt $16 million from investors who have helped his company raise $28 million on the stockmarket. He’s even sponsored races in the Melbourne Cup.
But now investors are getting nervous – if “Adam’s Platform” really works, then why does the inventor refuse to give independent demonstrations? When it was first announced, technology gurus were sceptical and said it couldn’t logically work. Might they have been right?
