September 16, 2004

2004-09-16 News

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

September 15, 2004

Dr Hutson resume

Mysteries of the mounting yard explained

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

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.

September 14, 2004

2004-09-14 News

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?

August 24, 2004

Lawrence Leung – Skeptic

What is the Price of a Man’s Soul?

… About $4.50 , as at 8.30 pm on Friday 12th of April, if you happen to be young Melbourne comic Lawrence Leung.
Lawrence Leung Mr Leung made this revelation to an appreciative audience, which included seventeen Vic Skeptics and associates. He had listed his soul on E-Bay, partly from curiosity, and partly because his mother and his Priest had strongly advised against selling it to the devil.
Performed during Melbourne’s Comedy Festival, this one-man show, entitled “Skeptic“, featured episodes in a personal quest to confront the paranormal, such as staying in a haunted castle, and attending a John Edward event (while taking copious notes).
Mr Leung also presented a graphic documentation of a series of dubious but highly risible controlled experiments involving rakes, blindfolds, black cats, ladders and mirrors.
The show included audience participation of the “Mind-reading” variety. Lawrence made several accurate, seemingly impossible predictions about aspects of the night’s performance. Readers who attended Marc Salem’s recent show “Mind Games” at the CUB Malthouse Theatre would have seen some similar mind-boggling prophetic utterances sealed in an envelope and opened at the end of the show.
It was a pacy show, quirky yet polished. Probably very few people share Lawrence Leung’s refreshing outlook on life. More’s the pity.

For more information

August 20, 2004

DVD – Melbourne Convention 2002

7 hours covering 8 presentations on one DVD from the highly successful Australian Skeptics 2002 National Convention held in Melbourne.
Contents:

  • Roland Seidel
    • Sucker Bets
  • Richard Lead
    • How to get rich Without Working and many other Myths
  • Dr Valerie Yule
    • The Psychology of Gambling
  • Rev Tim Costello
    • Social Impact of Gambling in Australia
  • Narendra Nayak
    • Being a Skeptic in India and Confronting India’s Godmen
  • Dr Paul Willis
    • How to confuse a creationist with a roast chook
  • Ray Crossley & Bob Nixon
    • Digging the dirt on dowsing
  • Bent Spoon & Skeptic of the Year
  • Convention Photos

Price: $20
DVD: PAL All Regions
Contact vic[at]skeptics[dot]com[dot]au if you’re interested in purchasing the DVD!
This DVD is in MPEG 1 format to enable extended viewing time. This results in a slight reduction of video quality.
Copyright © 2002 Victorian Skeptics

August 8, 2004

Hellfire

Borderline Skeptics Survive Hellfire and Dam(Nation).

By Laurie and Eden Smith.
Summer 2003, a time that will always have warm memories for the Borderline Group. To quote Russell Kelly, “We must have sinned more than usual to deserve this fiery hell“.
Here at Callaghan’s Creek, the first threat was just over the hill where a lightning strike started the first of many fires. At Mitta-Mitta, the Kellys and the Bradshaws were no further away from the Bogong fires. Over at Mount Beauty, Tracey O’Brien would have been paying keen interest to the fire reports, as would Tony Norton at Bright.

Things changed quickly following bad weather conditions, and we were all soon in that well-known ditch. The next two weeks were so crammed full of rumor, action, inaction, evacuations, highs and lows that we are all still catching up on lost time.

Despite record attendance at local churches, and the combined efforts of Ouyen’s women, no rain fell and the fires moved on when there was little else to burn.
The Kellys and ourselves received many amazing offers of assistance from Melbourne Skeptics that we will always remember fondly, so do come and visit us here in Australia’s water divining capital and don’t wait for a natural disaster to get in touch!

For more information

August 8, 2004

May 2003 Talk

Primary Science Education – a Cause for Concern?

From the address by CHRIS KRISHNA-PILLAY, Manager, CSIRO Education Victoria, to The Australian Skeptics (Victorian Branch) Public Meeting, held Wednesday 21th May 2003 8pm at the Barton Room, Whitehorse Inn Hotel, 5 Burwood Road, Hawthorn. Transcribed by James Gerrand.
The question is; should we be concerned about primary science? The answer is: yes. Why are people so worried? There are three main reasons.
The first is that science is ever changing so we need primary education to adapt to the changes. Currently there are weaknesses in the system, both in the content and in the way we educate.
Secondly, primary science is the seeding point for our science based technological society. You have the opportunity to make people care about science and technology, its process and why they matter. If you can’t make people care then you are relying on luck. Chris considers he was lucky View More May 2003 Talk