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Bloggingheads and the Old Challenges of New Tools
Two years ago I was invited me to participate in a weird but cool experiment. The author Robert Wright had set up an online talk show of sorts called Bloggingheads. Two people with something interesting to say–economists, political scientists, human rights workers, seasoned journalists, and others–would pick a topic. They would talk on the phone while filming themselves and then upload the recordings. Others could then watch them hold forth.
I loved the inventiveness of the format. I loved how a conversation could be embedded in any other site. I loved the way people would just talk for an hour rather than squeeze their points down to meaningless sound bites. And so even though it was just a volunteer gig, I dove in. It was took a while for me to get used to the medium–staring into the glass eye of a camera and pretending it was a human head just doesn't come naturally to me. And crackly cell phone connections didn't help. But on the best of occasions it was fun. It let me expand what I used to do only on the printed page. I had interesting talks with all sorts of interesting people, such as Craig Venter, Neil Shubin, and my brother.
But now my experiment's over. This post is an explanation of why, and how this turn of events has gotten me thinking about the future of science in new media.
Last month Bloggingheads posted a talk between Paul Nelson, a creationist, and Ronald Numbers, a historian of science. They even put the talk on a Saturday, which they set aside for science. (Hence the name Science Saturday.)
In my job as a science writer, I try my best to convey an accurate picture of where science is at the moment. That means I do not write about just anything. I write about research and ideas that have held up under scrutiny. Sometimes that means writing about an important new development in a line of research that has emerged from peer review. Sometimes that means writing about a fierce debate between scientists who all have made a lot of important discoveries on the topic. It doesn't mean writing about creationism–or medical quackery, or any other non-science–in a way that implies it really has scientific merit. I have sometimes blogged about creationists, but chiefly to explain why scientists do not take them seriously.
I brought these standards from my writing to my work at Bloggingheads. So I was not happy to find a creationist holding forth there (and never even being challenged about a 6,000-year-old Earth). Did this mean that the people who run Bloggingheads consider creationism real science worth discussing–with a creationist at that?
The answers I got were various and murky. It had been a failed experiment, I was told, although I couldn't figure out what a success would have looked like. I was also told the whole thing didn't really matter, since young Earth creationism is so far beyond the pale that it doesn't pose a threat of being taken seriously. Of course, surveys show that actually a lot of Americans are young Earth creationists. But let's assume for the sake of argument that it didn't matter. I couldn't figure out why Bloggingheads would bother with him, when the world of credible and interesting science is so wide.
I was assured that this would never happen again, so I decided to continue recording talks for Bloggingheads. And then it did happen again.
Last week the linguist John McWhorter spoke to Michael Behe. Behe, like Paul Nelson, is part of the Discovery Institute, your ultimate destination for Intelligent Design–a k a the progeny of creationism. So now Bloggingheads had two people from the Discovery Institute on in the space of a few weeks. Behe has written a couple books on intelligent design, in which he makes various claims about what evolution can't do. He tells us it can't produce complex biology; it can't even account for drug resistance in the past few decades in malaria parasites. So the great Intelligent Designer who shall not speak his/her/its name must be responsible.
Behe has published his arguments in non-academic books–the sort I write. He does not have a trail of peer-reviewed papers to back it up. The closest he's got is a single paper on a computer model he published five years ago, which doesn't even mention intelligent design. What's more, it was promptly and effectively rebutted by the evolutionary biologist Michael Lynch for making all sorts of unwarranted assumptions about biology. The paper has been virtually uncited since. In other words, Behe has not opened up a new field in which other scientists have published lots of new research.
Instead, biologists point out basic errors in Behe's description of evolution. Reviewing his latest book in Science, University of Wisconsin evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll wrote, "Behe relies on invalid assertions about how genes and proteins evolve and how proteins interact, and he completely ignores a huge amount of experimental data that directly contradicts his faulty premises."
McWhorter, however, decided to have Behe on and tell him what an important book he had written.
I lodged another complaint, and got more various and murky answers. It was produced by someone else on a weekday rather than Saturday, so it didn't count. McWhorter didn't think the talk would go the way it did, I was told, and so he had it taken down.
I thought that was bad decision, too. But now the conversation has been put back up. You can read more about all this over at Cosmic Variance, home of Sean Carroll–the Caltech cosmologist Sean Carroll, who also did Bloggingheads.
As you can see from Carroll's post, he was not happy with things either. So he and I talked to Robert Wright and other Bloggingheads people today. I had expected that I'd get a clear sense of what had happened over the past month at Bloggingheads, and what sort of plan would be put in place to avoid it happening again. I imagined some kind of editorial oversight of the sort that exists at the places where I regularly write about science. I didn't get it.
My standard for taking part in any forum about science is pretty simple. All the participants must rely on peer-reviewed science that has direct bearing on the subject at hand, not specious arguments that may sound fancy but are scientifically empty. I believe standards like this one are crucial if we are to have productive discussions about the state of science and its effects on our lives.
This is not Blogginghead's standard, at least as I understand it now. And so here we must part ways.
I've written this post mainly just to put my decision in words. It may matter to very few people, and if most readers of the Loom have skipped this post to await some juicy science, I understand entirely. But the arc of this two-year experiment has got me thinking a bit about where the public discussion of science is going these days.
We have some wonderful new tools to tinker with, to build funky new devices. We can build communities in which lots of people can write, talk, read, and listen to discussions of science. And we can even expand those communities through linking and embedding and other kinds of mental infections.
These tools may look pretty and shiny, but they don't really have any sort of new spirit built into them. We use them as we see fit. The problems that have made me part ways with Bloggingheads (and Carroll too) aren't very different from the problems that science has long had in op-ed pages in newspapers. There have been some excellent essays about science in op-ed sections, but the fact is that they can also be very unhealthy for even the most basic facts in science.
A far more extreme example of old spirits and new tools is the Huffington Post. It has been celebrated as the future of journalism. But it's a dumping ground for New Age quackery–the same quackery that Arianna Huffington was pushing long before she started her eponymous site.
I'm still going to play with the new tools that come my way. But I am going to think a lot more about the spirit in which those tools are being used.
Update: Robert Wright has left a comment, where he responds to my post. He claims that both I and Sean misrepresented our phone call with him. We didn't. Note that in his comment he refers to a policy he laid out a year ago. He doesn't say what that policy is. I'll add a more detailed (some might say tedious) response to the end of his.
Comments (73)
Links to this Post
- Behe's "objectionable" interview reinstated « Open Parachute | September 1, 2009
- Bloggingheads and creationism « a simple prop | September 1, 2009
- Sean Carroll and Carl Zimmer quit Bloggingheads for promoting creationism « Why Evolution Is True | September 1, 2009
- Principled Stands « Occluded Sun | September 1, 2009
- Well, that was predictable | Uncommon Descent | September 1, 2009
- Zimmer and Carroll say adios to Bloggingheads | Science News | September 1, 2009
- Zimmer and Carroll say adios to Bloggingheads | The Atheist Mind | September 1, 2009
- Standards for discussion and the bloggingheads.tv controversy « Bradley Monton's Blog | September 1, 2009
- Bloggingheads Teaches Another Controversy » The Center for Science Writings | September 2, 2009
- More fallout from the Behe bloggingheads.tv brouhaha « American Freethought | September 2, 2009
- Bloggingheads' Behe Debacle « Left Flank | September 3, 2009
- Collide-a-scape » Blog Archive » Collide-a-scape >> Confronting Anti-Science Views | September 3, 2009
- Discovery Institute: Bloggingheads Hysteria « The Sensuous Curmudgeon | September 4, 2009
- Bloggingheads: Capo non grata | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine | September 4, 2009
- Friday Quick Links – false symmetry | September 4, 2009
- Robert Wright Speaks… | The Loom | Discover Magazine | September 5, 2009
- sticking a fork in bloggingheads.tv? | weird things | September 6, 2009
- Peer Review for Bloggingheads « Droit Blog | September 7, 2009
- The Evolution Of A Blogginghead; Or The Ballad Of Jim And Jerry « Around The Sphere | September 9, 2009
- Bloggingheads Diavlog With Craig Callendar « Not Even Wrong | September 13, 2009
- Boycotting Bloggingheads: Reaction to an Intelligent Design debate shows limit to public discussion. | Uncommon Descent | October 15, 2009
- On Bloggingheads With Michael Specter | The Intersection | Discover Magazine | November 14, 2009
- SELF DEVELOPMENT BLOG » On Bloggingheads With Michael Specter | The Intersection | November 15, 2009
- Existence, Uplift, and Science News | CONTRARY BRIN | October 24, 2012
Good for you Carl. I always enjoyed your conversations and those others have had, but it sounds like a sound decision to me. When you've got the History channel showing ghost hunters, and the Discovery channel selling advertising space to the Creation Museum, it's getting harder to find a place with real scientific integrity.
Glad to see it here.
I've watched a couple of the bloggingheads "exchanges" and while I did learn and enjoy them, they never really held me, I didn't feel a desire or need to come back for more. I had heard of both events you listed, and they both really taint the whole concept for me. There's not enough gain for the gems, and now it's down to "where's the quality control by the organizers?" As for the HuffPost, I never really trusted that.
Thank you for your fine efforts to educate everyone.
Thanks for your BH appearances — although I understand the decision and am glad there's been fallback from yourself and Carroll, I'll miss the talks.
There is still plenty of good content on BH to listen to (esp UN Plaza with Matthew Lee and Mark Goldberg) but these 2 incidents have made me VERY weary of the editorial overlordship of Robert Wright.
Very interesting look behind the scenes of what's going on with Bloggingheads. I'm very suspicious of Wright, especially after his latest book, which is full of very woolly thinking and doesn't show any real understanding of what science is all about, it seems to me. I think his mission is to fuzz up the differences between "faith" and science to the point that people can't tell the difference.
bravo, mr zimmer. Thank you for taking a stand.
Dammit. I just finished commenting on Sean's post and now I see this.
Hope you don't feel like sloppy seconds, but I would say the same exact things to you, Carl, as I said to Sean: This is a very well written essay, you've obviously thought about reasons, they're solid and I have no interest in arguing with them anyway, and all I can say is I appreciate and support the statement you made, and selfishly, I'll miss you on Bh.tv.
Ah, well, I'll have to make do with learning from you and enjoying your work through the text channel for a while. I encourage you to post recordings of your interviews to the extent that your interviewees are comfortably with you sharing them with the unwashed. Even audio would be great if video seems like too much of a hassle. You are a great interviewer and the real-time, back and forth aspects are never quite captured in write-ups, even in transcripts.
Good for you Carl.
I suspect the root of this problem is over the definition of the word 'science'.
To most of the public, and probably to the blogginhead overlords, the word means something like "the collection of facts about the world".'
To scientists, on the other hand, 'science' is a description of a methodological technique.
More specifically it means: 'the method we use to determine whether an idea about the natural world is wrong'.
This clash over the definition of science underlies many of the current points of contention in the science blogging community- the accomodationist debate of science/religion compatibility can only exist if you are prepared to accept the 'science is a collection of facts' definition.
I suspect Robert Wright also accepts this definition and as such it is not unreasonable to have people on bloggingheads who have their own interpretation of the 'facts.'
To me, science is the method, and in my opinion you shouldn't label anything as 'science' (science saturday, for instance) if it disregards the scientific method. Its the only way we know how to prove something is wrong.'
I think that it's important to have real standards in deciding what methodologies to endorse, even with the limited endorsement of public engagement. I also think that it is very desirable to have journalists who set those standards as high as you do, and that in this case that calls for the decision you are making. That said, I don't think that it's accurate to claim that your standard is simple. Any simple standard just wouldn't do for the job, which calls for human judgment until we are much better than we are today at translating the rules we use in our judgment accurately onto paper. "peer-reviewed science that has direct bearing on the subject at hand, not specious arguments that may sound fancy but are scientifically empty" seems to me like a false dichotomy, but also like a standard that fails to be anything but a statement in belief in unspecified authorities. Do not creationists have their own peerages with their own peer reviewed publications? More importantly, wouldn't sincerely adhering to any standard too simple to contain clauses for its own modification cut off the possibility of self correction that is the heart of this dimly perceived standard, 'the scientific method' that you are actually using?
As far as I can tell, the scientific method, as an idea, has been looked at very hard and found to be very hard to find spelled out clearly yet correctly. There is something that a few cultures have and most do not which enables those few cultures to produce a much more accurate and much more rapidly progressing world-view, but while it's not as puzzling a distinction as that between ancient markets and late 17th century capitalism, its still puzzling to me.
I applaud your decision… for a very specific reason. You have set out to defend science journalism – or what science journalism can be – on several occasions (in fact, one of your post prompted me to subscribe to Discovery Magazine).
The most common and most egregious failings of science journalism tend to have their roots in a willingness to let integrity slide – to overextrapolate from inadequate data, to give an equal platform to bad but populist science, and so on, so one of the key requirements for science journalism to live up to the standards you set must be for those involved to insist on integrity.
You show yourself consistent with that principle in refusing to ally yourself with a project that is willing to start making those compromises – no matter how worthwhile the project has been till now. Hopefully BH will recognize what it means to have you withdraw and reconsider their position.
Surely you answer your own question here:
Of course, surveys show that actually a lot of Americans are young Earth creationists.
It does matter, does it not, if the republic is inhabited by young fools blinded by the poisonous unreason of fundamentalist religion?
I can understand why you're fed up with it yourself, and maybe bloggingheads tv isn't the best way to sway the masses, but, what then? Maybe you should do one with this guy: http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/
He has some solutions.
Bravo Carl. I applaud this decision by you and Sean.
Outeast: Discover magazine, nothing to do with the other slimy guys.
I enjoy the format and uniqueness of "bloggingheads" but have only watched a few episodes, including those with you or Sean (and have never seen the 'offending' episodes). I don't know anything of the backchannel communication that has gone on, but hope maybe there is still some chance at resolution that might eventually bring you two back. I respect the thoughtfulness of your decisions, but hope you're not simply opening the door to more objectionable material by leaving your time/space to someone else. "Principle" can backfire, and if it means YOUR voices not being heard by as many people, well, that's NOT a good thing!…
The old media relies on money. The one thing you know about an old media entity, like the New York Times, is that somebody rich (or once rich) owns it. As is commonly noted, freedom of the press is really freedom of people who own the press.
The new media relies on reputation. The cost of something like Bloggingheads is very small. Bloggingheads does not own the format, but they own the name. Strangely, although there is a lot of criticism of the new media for being irresponsible, the only thing a new media entity has going for it is its reputation. An entity like Bloggingheads has a lot more motivation for responsibility than an old media entity. And its important for people like us and Carl to hold Huffington Post and Bloggingheads to a high standard.
But, because the cost-of-entry is small, there is good reason to hope that a better option than Bloggingheads will emerge. And, with virtuous competition, Bloggingheads may fess up and improve.
Carl, I think you've presented yours and Sean's conversation with me in a pretty misleading light. You write:
As you can see from Carroll's post, he was not happy with things either. So he and I talked to Robert Wright and other Bloggingheads people today. I had expected that I'd get a clear sense of what had happened over the past month at Bloggingheads, and what sort of plan would be put in place to avoid it happening again. I imagined some kind of editorial oversight of the sort that exists at the places where I regularly write about science. I didn't get it.
I told you and Sean the following:
1) Both of the diavlogs in question had been arranged without my knowledge.
2) I would certainly not have approved both of them, and probably not either of them, had I known about them.
3) The Behe diavlog, in particular, was blatantly at odds with guidelines I'd laid down to my staff more than a year ago in discussing the prospect of Behe appearing. Namely: Behe should only appear in conversation with someone who is truly expert in the relevant biological areas, and since most such matchups would yield a conversation unintelligible to a lay audience, it was hard to imagine a Behe pairing that would make sense.
4) Since these two diavlogs were arranged, I have told the staffers who arranged them that in the future they should make sure to clear diavlogs of this sort with me before arranging them.
Do you dispute my recollection of our conversation? Or do you see it as compatible with your own description of the conversation? I certainly don't.
It's true that I didn't give you the pledge you've asked for: No more creationists or Intelligent Design folks ever on Bloggingheads. I said that, for example, I could imagine myself interrogating ID people about their theological motivation. And I said I'd welcome a Behe-Richard Dawkins debate, since Dawkins is a rare combination of expertise and accessibility. But I also said that offhand I couldn't imagine any other Behe pairing that would work for me (though there may be possibilities I'm overlooking).
The key thing that I tried to underscore repeatedly in our phone conversation yesterday, is this: The two diavlogs in question were not reflective of BhTV editorial policy, and steps have been taken to tighten the implementation of that policy so that future content will be more reflective of it. Carl, am I really such a bad communicator that this didn't come through to you? And, if it did come through to you, why you didn't share it with your readers?
Anyway, I'm really sorry to have lost you, Carl. You made some great contributions to Bloggingheads, and I'm happy that they'll always be in our archives for people to see.
Robert Wright
Carl: I appreciate Robert leaving a comment. But my post was not misleading. Readers might want to take a look at Sean Carroll's own post on this matter. I hadn't spoken to Sean before we both spoke to Robert. We were both trying, on our own, to figure out what we were going to do. After the call, we wrote similar posts and came to the same conclusion about what to do. (Robert left much the same comment on Sean's post.)
I didn't explain Blogginghead's editorial policy, because I really don't know what it is. All I can say for sure is that it doesn't fit mine. I think that Robert's comment actually illustrates some of the problems I for one had with Bloggingheads. He refers to BhTV's editorial policy but never lays it out in his comment. He tells us what he could imagine, or not imagine "offhand." That's not a policy. As far as I can tell, extrapolating from what Robert said here and on the phone, he would be more than happy to have creationists back on, to talk to them about theology or talk about science in a "debate." Sean and I both asked if Robert also thought astrologers or anti-vaxxers might come on too. We didn't get a clear response. Given the fact that two creationists had been on Bloggingheads in the past month–apparently despite guidelines laid down a year ago–this was a disappointment to me.
Well played, Mr. Zimmer. The key point you made that resonated with me was wondering why BH would offer a platform for non-science when the world of amazing actual science was boundless. Surely, BH had not exhausted the real science topics.
Honestly, it would not surprise me if a series of emails between BH and the Discovery Institute surfaced, perhaps promising a bag of silver.
Perhaps, those who are interested in communicating accurate science to the public can start their own version of bloggingheads.
Thank you, immensely, for your strong defense of reason and honesty. Because that's the real problem with the DI and creationists in general — not their beliefs in the universe being somehow directed or purposeful, but their recurrent intellectual fraud on behalf of those beliefs, and the real-world damage done through such deception.
Reason, skepticism, honesty and vigilance against hypocrisy are not just pretty ideals, they are essential tools in building and maintaining a society that responds sanely to reality.
Reading Richard Wright's comment, I don't think he gets it. His supposed standard is far too fuzzy to give confidence that there won't be repeats of pseudoscience — which is a problem that extends beyond Behe and ID alone. Your standard, that both participants should agree on relevance to peer-reviewed research as part of the ground rules, is both clear and a necessary bulwark against woo.
Greg Egan summed up the nature of the scientific method best: It's systematic honesty. As Bloggingheads will not exclude those who are systematically dishonest as part of their editorial policy, it's clear that the site is not science-friendly.
I appreciate your decision, Mr. Zimmer, and hope I'll be able to see you discussing things on another site some day. Until then, I'll have to content myself with your blog and your articles.
Prediction: Bob Wright spells out clearly that creationist/ID proponents will not be on BHTV, with the possible exception that they are paired with a highly articulate and scholar who agrees to vigorously and pointedly challenge them WRT the particular field of study of that scholar (theology|biology|politics|law|sociology|history|etc), and furthermore, that any such pairing will be extremely rare (at most once every year or two). This will immediately be denounced by Very Very Smart science bloggers who use terms like 'goddycoddling' and/or curse a lot as proof that Bob Wright is secretly being paid by Templeton to promote evil, evil religion.
OTOH, I certainly appreciate and sympathize with Carl Zimmer/ Sean Carroll/Jennifer Ouellette that at the very least, Wright hasn't done a very good job of articulating a reasonable, clear policy. But from his comments so far (the public ones, at least), he appears to agree with Zimmer & Carroll's points, and I'm willing to conditionally accept his explanation that he just screwed up and did a very bad job of spelling out for his staff what's acceptable for the site and what's not. Hopefully, there will be a clear and acceptable statement of policy later this week when he posts his promised editorial guidelines at BHTV. I'd hate for this issue to result in permanently losing all of the good dialogs about science that occur there.
Although Mr. Wright portrays himself as far removed from the Blogginheads' decision to promote creationists as credible scientists, his own recent work suggests that he is interested in the issue.
His recent book (which I haven't read) is entitled "The evolution of God". Provocative?
Last week he authored a NY Times Op ed entitled "A Grand Bargain over Evolution"
The NY Times piece is, in my opinion, trivial and off the mark. The evolution of morality isn't a tough one; try the evolution of consciousness. But its clear that his agenda is to fudge the borders of science and religion.
We may not know the editorial policy of Bloggingheads TV, but we can guess.
afarensis, FCD wrote:
Perhaps, those who are interested in communicating accurate science to the public can start their own version of bloggingheads.
I was thinking along similar lines. What would the process require — two webcams, a way for the participants to hear one another (Skype?), somebody who can smush the two recordings together? In the age of the Internet Archive, Google Video and Vimeo, hosting's cheap.
Run away!!!!! Run away!!!!
Hey Carl, I will certainly miss your presence on bhTv, not only because I "discovered" you there, and was inspired to write some parasite-rock, but because I think that your interviews and discussions were truly some of the high-water-marks for quality on a site that already had many (Horgan, Johnson, Carroll etc.) and you were certainly one of the stars of the Science Saturday feature. Without getting into too much details, it sounds like the Numbers & Behe appearances were a product of mis-communication or lack of oversight on the Part of Bob Wright and his staff. But I applaud and respect the principled stance that you and Sean are taking in regards to maintaining the standards for scientific discourse as much as I'll miss having you guys doing diavlogs regularly. For what it is worth, after the Numbers diavlog (as well as some of the Templeton funded Percontations episodes), many of us loyal bhTv commenters worried about the possibility that new ventures into the more hand-wavy/crackpot arenas would prompt an exhile of what has always been the lifeblood of bhTv, namely the talent of the contributors. But I'm sure we will all continue to buy your books and read your blog. I certainly will!
Carl: Thanks.
It just goes to show how terrified the Evos are of having Darwin's unscientific creation myth exposed. What a bunch of pantywaists…LOL!
I guess the question is whether scientists should engage or ignore their opponents in the ID wars. If the goal is to educate the public and secure broad public support for the funding of science, the answer is pretty clear.
Evolution has been understood well enough to be recognized as true for quite some time now. As Theodosius Dobzhansky (biologist & Christian) noted in 1972: "The evolution of life, and the evolutionary origin of mankind, are scientifically established as firmly and completely as any historical event not witnessed by human observers. Any concession to anti-evolutionists, suggesting that there are scientific reasons to doubt the facticity of evolution, would be propagating a plain untruth."
You can learn about evolution in the encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution
or from a university: http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
among many other places.
A spoiler – it turned out that the truth is much more interesting than limited human imagination – enjoy!
Carl, I have watched and enjoyed most of your appearances on Blogging Heads including the last one with your brother Ben, very nerdy and very interesting stuff, loved it. I am glad you are backing away from what has become an open forum for nutters and fraudulent, pseudo scientists. Why put yourself in the same mix? My hope that other internet video avenues will open up as meeting places for serious discussions between real scholars. Of course, I continue to enjoy your blog and never miss an entry if I can help it.
#35 (and any other who are tempted):
Feeding the trolls (responding to provocation that is there only to provoke) is not recommended.
I hope you take this opportunity to find a way to improve on the bloggingheads format as a means of science communication and discussion. For example, the ability to show pictures or graphs.
Then you could host it here at Discover and invite all of us on to explain to the internet how exciting science can be.
Am glad you and Sean Carroll opted to stand by your convictions. Unfortunately Robert Wright simply doesn't get it, even after your conversation with him.
Regrettably, the folks over at the Dishonesty Institute are now crowing about this:
"How Bloggingheads.tv Interviewed Michael Behe, Censored Him, Changed Their Minds, and Lost Darwinist Approval".
That's the headline from the lead article in their latest "issue" of Nota Bene, their agit-prop e-mail newsletter that "claims" to be "sound" journalism.
With warm regards,
I'm quite sad Carl Zimmer has decided not to appear on bhTV. I was delighted to listen to Zimmer and John Horgan, whose research on war is similar to research I'm doing in IR and Poli Sci, because it was like a crash course in topics I wished I had pursued in college. The science diavlogs helped me work out what part of "social science" I think is more important. So, I thank you, Carl.
I thought John Horgan was a bit harsh about the decision you and Sean Carroll have reached independently. I think he missed a big point. The Discovery Institute and Michael Behe are not about the scientific project, because they've found their Truth. They are activists looking intentionally to sow confusion where scientists and laypeople cannot articulate their perspectives adequately. It's one thing to be a scientist; it's another to volunteer to be cannon fodder on a podcast, TV program, or diavlog with such cynical opportunists. Charitably, I think Horgan is too generous to these activists.
I'm also concerned about what you report about Bob Wright's claims about his "rules". I hope Wright is not complicit. I argued months before for an objective poll, like the way The Economist holds its debates, for bhTV to gauge the popularity of the diavlogs to improve pairings and performances. But, it seems bhTV is compromised by some sort of editorial confusion or worse, and no polling trick will help it.
There's an entire underground of podcasts in the ether, Carl, so I hope you will take the tattoos and parasites where your talents can help people. It's not preaching to the choir: there just might be some Gen Y'ers out there who will take up the sword because of you. And, there might be people like me young enough to take a science or journalism course early enough to make an impact. Maybe, too, like Abbie Smith, you will get a chance to kick some crackpot ass!
Thank you, Mr. Zimmer!
I am one of the many disappointed about your decision and bhtv is very much poorer for it. First I want to say that Behe-McWhorter diavlog was a terrible and I didnt get past minute 2. My questions is dont you feel you have missed an opportunity in not doing a diavlog with Bob Wright publicly debating this matter? This is a very important subject and how valuable would it be to have it in the public domain? Maybe after that discussion you would still decide to leave bh tv but at least that discussion will be there for everyone to see.
It may be undeserved but scientists have a reputation for being arrogant and thin skinned and bh TV is a possible outlet to the larger public who may hold those preconceptions. Time to dispel those myths, no?
Carl: I don't see how doing a diavlog with Wright would present people with anything beyond what I've laid out in this post. Robert will, I believe, be discussing all this with BHTV regular George Johnson on Saturday.
I have a hard time understanding how an interview with someone as
well knownnotorious as Behe could slip past editorial notice. This is not an oversight, it's a complete editorial failure.
Part of the article says:
"… young Earth creationism is so far beyond the pale that it doesn't pose a threat of being taken seriously. Of course, surveys show that actually a lot of Americans are young Earth creationists."
Why would so many people be young Earth creationists?
Creationism teaches:
that all the various kind of creatures were created as those kinds:
Genesis 1: 25
"God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good."
Science observes that the created kinds of creatures reproduce:
"according to their kinds."
Bacteria produce bacteria,
dogs produce dogs,
humans produce humans
The Bible, creationism, and scientific evidence are in agreement:
Creation (with variation within a created kind) … yes.
Evolution (one kind of creature changing into another kind) … no.
No disrespect to George Johnson but it won't be the same. He as far as I know isn't planning to leave bh TV so how will he properly defend your position?
As a lay person with a cursory understanding of biology, I think I reject the sort of pseudo-science put forth by the Behe's of the world. My vision of the natural world aligns pretty closely with the vision of the scientific community–as far as I can tell. However, this episode appears to me–an admitted layman–as a case of two sensitive divas storming offstage because they don't like one of the members of the chorus. This certainly can't help your cause.
Ah, I love the smell of religious wars in the morning.
I'm in the minority who would like to see Carl reconsider his decision. I am certain of the integrity of the decision, but I discovered Carl, and an awful lot about science, on BHTV and I hate to think of others potentially missing out on such discovery.
I hope you will reconsider, Carl, though it seems a done deal. Maybe in a couple of years?
Anyway, thanks for your generosity in appearing on bhtv. You will be missed.
I have not been a subscriber to Discover magazine for several years so things may have changed, but at the time, their regular feature "Jaron's World" regularly spoke about nonsense as if it was legitimate. If I'm not mistaken, you wrote for them during this same period. Perhaps the more important difference–nothing wrong with it if it is–is that Discover thought it was appropriate to pay you for your contributions, and bloggingheads expects you to contribute for free.
I will write the same thing I wrote on Sean's blog.
I understand your need to take a principled stand, but I really do think it was a mistake on the part of the administrators, not some vast conspiracy cooked up by Bob Wright because he wants Templeton money. People have mentioned 2 diavblogs in which crackpots were allowed on. But compare that with the 100's of episodes that have been truly serious and informative. If this is a reputation thing, isn't your move a bit overboard? Can't you instead state your principles and then continue educating the public?
By the way, Robert Wright and George Johnson have a diavblog up now discussing this whole controversy.
Hi Carl,
I'll make this comment brief. I'm a commenter at BhTV and I love science. We have all been following the interactions between you, Sean, BhTV and others. I don't want to comment on what the right or wrong action may be as I realize that there are many factors involved that I'm not even aware of. However, I do want you to know that we value your participation at the site very highly and that we are experiencing the consequences of this disagreement as a terrible loss. I hope that you will reconsider your decision in the future. You will certainly be welcome back.
Thank you for your contributions,
Mr. Zimmer, I understand and respect your decision to withdraw from Bloggingheads, though I am saddened by your decision, because I have found your Bloggingheads diavlogs extremely informative, and because I believe that your Bloggingheads diavlogs have provided a very high quality of science education to a very large audience. I've written a proposal, http://bit.ly/5qtj0, for addressing the problems you raise respecting the Bloggingheads editorial process. Thanks very much for considering this proposal.
As a non-accomodationist atheist who has been given a platform by BHTV to argue that science and religion are not the tiniest bit compatible, I would like to announce that:
I am willing to trust Robert Wright's explanation of the Behe affair;
I applaud BHTV for making a commitment to discuss controversial matters including the intersection of science and religion, while most of the world is pretending the controversy doesn't exist;
I accept that this noble commitment may sometimes go wrong, as in the admittedly and admitted foolish mistake of having Behe interviewed by a non-biologist who couldn't call his BS;
I observe that noble commitments to repeatedly discuss dangerous controversies cannot possibly be expected to go right every time;
I put forth that people who have served us well in the past, should be allowed more chance than this to recover from their (or their coworkers') errors – even more than one error, so long as mistakes don't seem to be happening systematically;
And I announce my intention to stay on Bloggingheads.tv.
The decision to leave BHTV, though understandable and even noble, makes no sense tactically. The aim of such forums is to inform the non-specialist public about science, which can also mean to engage it where it is most dogmatic and confused. Not to be part of such an engagement is to facilitate the very thing you want to eliminate- the vulgarization of scientific discourse. Discussion, debate–isn't that the most effective way to expose such frauds while giving those of us who are non-specialists, who live not among scientists but among regular and mostly god-fearing folks, better tools to convince?
So, the site posts two segements you with disagree, and which they have freely admit were ill advised and didn't meet their editorial standards, and your reply is to boycott making any more contributions? Wright argument is perfectly sound: content contributors shouldn't be able to dictate editorial policy, and a match up between a creationist / IDer/ what have you and an eloquent and informed critic shouldn't be ruled out, out of hand. I have zero sympathy for ID or creationism, but the correct way to combat these arguments is through open discussion and public appeal, not by bullying editorial staffs into promising you they wont ever allow their proponents on.
Carl, I've enjoyed your prior contributions to BHTV. I hope you'll reconsider this.
There seems to be an interesting point here as regards acceptable editorial policies. Would it make any difference if Bloggingheads were considered a TOOL, and not a publisher or broadcaster with editorial standards? Surely you have a point when they include it under the label "science", but then there was a historian of science arguing on the other side? Would you consider not using YouTube, which perhaps you don't anyway, because they allow videos by creationists? Or not getting on the bus because they allow creationists on board? There are many fine lines to draw here, and while your decision is perfectly respectable, I feel that it is also questionable in the context of a medium (or tool) whose point is precisely a conversation between different viewpoints. And, yes, thumbs down on creationism!
Carl: If Bloggingheads were a tool, then the issue might be different. But it's not a tool. It's not just an open site for uploading anything you want, like YouTube. There are editorial decisions being made. So therefore it's more like a magazine.
To start, I think it's fair to resign over repeated "slip-ups." It speaks to integrity and the unwillingness to be cajoled or duped into believing the possibility of a creationist, let alone a YEC, having a debate with a biologist (or geologist, or paleontologist, or any field that relies on expertise in the vicinity of evolution or abiogenesis) on the merits of Evolution versus Creationism. The two don't even play on the same field as Evolution is built on tested hypotheses, fossil record evidence, and all sorts of other data that individually are factual. Creationism is, at its roots, an idea based on the suspension of disbelief, the abhorrence of skepticism, and the reliance on articles of faith.
Creationists often try to play "gotcha" with tangential information and attempt to discredit an entire theory based on minute items they perceive as an inconsistency (radiocarbon dating, for example). Unfortunately, the methods by which they determine such inconsistency is wholly subjective as they impart the bias upon which their entire belief is built – that of a divine creation.
It is grossly disingenuous and an insulting slight to scientific and empirical methods to frame the two as sides of the same debate. Any scientist, or individual familiar with science, would be hard-pressed not to feel insulted when asked to cover encounters between creationists and evolutionists and then call it a scientific discussion. I applaud the authors' ethical guidance in choosing to leave.


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Groupe Eyssautier hires top French broker Brunet
The group's strategy is to double in size in the next five years with offices in London and Geneva and a network in Africa
Renowned French insurance broker Charles Brunet is joining newly independent Groupe Eyssautier in what is seen as a significant recruitment coup.
Brunet, who is in his 60s, is well connected with shipowners, not only in France but also Asia, Scandinavia and the US, and specialises in major fleets. Clients include Carnival Corp and other cruise companies.
Many international shipping groups that place part of their insurance cover in France route the business through Brunet, who may well be the country's best-regarded marine broker.
Shareholder in the firm
Brunet, who was with La Securite Nouvelle (LSN), will join Paris-based Groupe Eyssautier next month as a director and also become a shareholder in the business, which was the subject of a management buy-back from Willis-linked Gras Savoye earlier this year.
Chief executive Paul-Eric Eyssautier tells TradeWinds that he is very pleased to have Brunet, who has been a good friend for decades, onboard.
Eyssautier and Brunet have been close since their fathers were friendly competitors in Marseille many years ago.
Eyssautier says the stake that Brunet will take in the business is still under discussion but the move is like the veteran broker "being born again".
Since the buy-back, Groupe Eyssautier has recruited a top cargo specialist from Amlin in Belgium and is in discussions about other hires.
Groupe Eyssautier, which also operates from Marseille and Athens, places hull, protection-and-indemnity (P&I), war risks and other covers for 1,500 ships controlled by about 250 owners.
A prestigious list of clients includes Louis-Dreyfus, ferry operator SNCM and several Greek companies, including Enterprises Shipping & Trading, Marmaras Navigation and Olympic Shipping.
Eyssautier tells TradeWinds that the strategy is to double in size over the next five years, with the company planning offices in London and Geneva, where it has commodity trading clients, as well as building a network in Africa.
02 August 2013Retour

subset: commoncrawl


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Kaieteur News Editorial
Corruption in Guyana is entrenched and widespread and it is choking the country's development. Serious consideration must be given to what lies ahead, should the government fail to decisively and aggressively confront corruption. For the past 15 years, Guyana has suffered from a perception that it is a highly corrupt country, and this is evident in the March 2017 report of the United States Department of State, which pointed to the magnitude and depth of corruption in the country.
In 2016, Transparency International (TI) Correction Perceptions Index (CPI) has ranked Guyana among the most corrupt countries in the world, with a score of 34 where zero means highly corrupt, and a score of 100 indicates that the state is not corrupt. It means that Guyana has moved up by 11 places from 119 and a score of 29 in 2015 to 108 and a score of 34 in 2016. When a country's CPI falls below 40, it has reached a tipping point, where most government institutions are corrupt and in a state of relative dysfunction.
While this is not the case in Guyana, many Guyanese do not have a favorable view of the leadership or of some of the country' most critical institutions, such as health and education. In 2015, the Global Corruption Barometer which assesses corruption in national institutions globally, found that most Guyanese felt the country's police and parliamentarians are extremely corrupt.
The promises made by the last administration to strengthen the country's anti-corruption frame-work were a sham because nothing of substance exists to effectively address the pervasive and endemic corruption that has afflicted the country. Since independence, only a few public officials have been jailed for corruption in Guyana by the Burnham government. No one has been jailed by the PPP administration, despite the massive increase in corruption. This is a striking phenomenon, which can only be interpreted as supporting the view that corruption and impunity in Guyana are deeply entrenched and widespread. Few expect that the much-heralded anti-corruption bill will advance the fight against corruption.
This administration is not blameless, either. Prior to entering office, it had committed in its election manifesto to bring an end to the incidence of rampant corruption in the country. Very importantly, it acknowledged that sustainable economic growth is not possible without combating corruption, whose costs are far-reaching. Corruption is a major concern for developing economies like Guyana, and the adverse socio-economic consequences it portends are substantial. Corruption impedes economic growth, undermines the rule of law, and tears down the fabric of society. It erodes the quality of life of citizens by diverting public funds away from critical social services, such as health care, education, water, roads and electricity.
It also leads to human rights violations, reduces investor confidence, stunts business activity, wipes out jobs, fuels migration, increases the price of goods and services, undermines and destroys confidence in public institutions, and enables organized crime and other threats to human security to flourish. And, yes, corruption also steals public funds. The current administration had said that Guyana will be developed only if corruption is tackled in an uncompromising manner. However, as is now well known, this is being done at a snail's pace in spite of the fact that several forensic audit reports have found many public officials from the last administration culpable of corrupt practices.
It is of great concern to the general public that after two years in office, this administration has not yet honored its election anti-corruption commitments. Although many, including supporters of the coalition believe that the government knows precisely what must be done to arrest the tentacles of corruption, yet it appears that there is a lack of courage and political will to effectively implement some the corrective measures proffered in the forensic audit reports.
Breaking election promises goes to the root of credibility and trust and when our leaders act in this way, it erodes their credibility, trust and confidence that a believing electorate has reposed in them.


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The downstream sector of the petroleum industry should be managed transparently
Less than two weeks to Christmas, there seems to be no solution in sight to the problem of long queues which recently returned to fuel stations across the country. This is despite the recent presidential directive to the Ministry of Petroleum and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to arrest the situation. But it is obvious that the timing of this scarcity was designed by the perpetrators to maximise their illicit gains since it is a well-known fact that the Christmas and New Year season always witness major movement of people, goods and services.
We note particularly that the independent marketers association had earlier threatened to withdraw their services due to alleged breach of bulk purchase agreement with NNPC. The group had accused the corporation of selling fuel to it above the bulk price of N133.28k per litre, an allegation the NNPC denied. Whatever may be the reason for the scarcity, the agony of people having to spend hours at fuel stations can only be imagined, especially at this most critical period of the year.
The question that arises out of the current situation is whether Nigerians would ever see an end to the perennial scarcity that has come to define the management of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. It is an issue that should worry the current administration, especially since there seems to be no coherent policy in place to deal with the issue in a holistic and lasting manner.
Going forward, there are a number of things that would need to be done, beginning with selling off the ill-maintained refineries that have become huge drain on scarce resources. Over the years, these refineries have continued to fail in terms of satisfying the essence of their establishment, given that the importation of petroleum products has become a major and running routine in the economic management of the country. The reason, as often adduced by the industry experts, is that the refineries have either all broken down due to poor maintenance culture or that the installed production capacity cannot meet the ever-growing local demand for petroleum products.
While it makes no sense that Nigeria continues to import finished petroleum products at huge cost to the economy, experience has also shown that the government is not adept in the efficient management of businesses. If anything, the tales of corruption, ineptitude, sabotage and other sharp practices in the oil and gas industry have continued to confirm this widely held opinion. That is why we believe that the proposed idea of spending hundreds of billions of naira on the turn around maintenance (TAM) of these moribund refineries is tantamount to throwing scarce resources down the drain.
What President Muhammadu Buhari and his administration must therefore realise is that as long as the subsidy remains, the incentive for private and public actors to game the system will continue to be there. Also, as long as there is default in subsidy payment, which is not inconceivable given the current state of our finances, supply will be constrained, which necessarily pushes pump price many times above the market price, with serious impact on cost and volume of production in the economy and untold hardship on the populace, especially the poor.
Whatever may be the challenges, it is our considered view that something has to be done to end the fuel scarcity, especially as we move towards the Christmas and new year holiday season. But as a permanent solution, the federal government must muster the requisite courage to overhaul the downstream sector of the petroleum industry which goes beyond periodic hikes in the pump price of PMS. The sector has to be more accountable, transparent and efficient.


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After a long… long week of feeling really awful, I'm back to normal!!!! :-) Back to beading, working, living! :-)
Here are this week's BAO Items of the Week.
Please visit the BAO blog to find out what special offers are attached to these gorgeous items.
My Item this week is my new piece that I posted a few days ago: Leah's Jewel Choker
Purchase and pay for this choker between now and 17th May and receive 5% + FREE shipping!
Also, don't forget… the EtsyBeadWeavers Challenge is currently open for voting – Go and check the beautiful entries and vote for your favourite!!!


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Ordering Your Cat Enclosure Is Easy
First Step
Select your product and add to cart.
Second Step
Place order by going through checkout process. If your order is $750 or more you will have the option to use ZipMoney to order your Catnip Cat Enclosure. To find out more information about ZipMoney click here.
Third Step
One of our expert team members will then call you to finalise your order. And organise freight with Toll Ipec that will deliver Australia wide.


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Leafing out
growing in leaps and bounds
right in front of our eyes
The beautiful sights of Spring
Beautiful leaves-- Perfectly caught! ♥♥
Beautiful shot, Laura!
Lovely signs of spring
Very pretty, and I guess it took some time to get the required result, but certainly worth it.
So Beautiful.


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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Members of New York's Egyptian community descended on the coffee shops, delis and Hookah bars of "Little Egypt" on Wednesday to celebrate the overthrowing of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi after one year in office.
Some people gathered on the sidewalks of the neighborhood in Astoria, Queens, but most congregated inside the public places and their homes, eyes glued to Arabic-language news programs and TV images of demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square.
"We gave him a chance for one year and he didn't do anything," said Abdilmoniem Mohamed, 55, a Bronx resident who was at the Arab Community Center in Astoria watching coverage of the events.
Mohamed, who moved to New York in 1979, said he had considered the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011 the happiest day of his life, until Wednesday, and would now be comfortable allowing his girls, both in their 20s, to visit Egypt.
As word spread up and down the streets of Little Egypt, friends and neighbors greeted each other with effusive congratulations. Egyptian flags were displayed on sidewalks and in store fronts. Outside one cafe, a group of men sang "lift your head high, you're an Egyptian."
Egypt has been in turmoil since Mubarak's fall, arousing concern among allies in the West and in Israel, with which Egypt has a 1979 peace treaty.
On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of anti-Mursi protesters in Tahrir Square erupted into cheers, set off fireworks and waved flags after Egypt's top army commander announced the suspension of the Islamist-tinged constitution.
The reaction was more subdued in Little Egypt, where the fall the first freely elected president for the Arab world's most populous country, raised some concerns for the safety of friends and family in Egypt and for military rule.
"I'm not happy. I'm not sad. I'm confused," said Ehab Mohamed, owner of Zaitoun, a small store a couple of doors from the community center, who added, "He came in the legal way. They should have made a new election."
Ehab Mohamed said he had voted for Mursi, but was not pleased with his presidency. He also said he did not trust the armed forces to not try to assert a more permanent position.
Heba Khalifa, 35, a medical interpreter who lives in Queens, said she believed Mursi supporters were mostly "in hiding" in the neighborhood. "Believe me they are around, but today they are playing the victim," she said.
Khalifa said she was optimistic about Egypt's future and saw Mursi's ouster as a "curve" in the road to democracy. "Is this the last curve? No. There are more curves ahead," she said.
Her husband, Amr Khalifa, said he was of two minds: "The Egyptian in me is elated," he said, while the intellectual was "aware of the complexities" of the military takeover.
Amr Khalifa said he also was deeply concerned about the safety of his family, most of whom live in Cairo and Alexandria. "Whether the Islamists strike tonight, tomorrow, next week, believe you me, it will happen," he said.
Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Lisa Shumaker


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When the weather gets rough, we get going. And we get a running start before cannonballing into the refreshing depths of our local swimmin' holes. Because there are very few situations in which we'd rather sit in our cars sweltering, sweaty palms sticking to the steering wheel, when we could be tossin' back chilled iced tea before jumping off of the rope swing.
Luckily for our nostalgia-driven swimming quests, we've got our pick of places to cool off in, and these are just three of 'em:
Rockmart Swimming Hole
Don't quote us on this, but this might be a swimsuit-sometimes-optional situation. Use your discretion, as this isn't a place where you can *officially* swim, let alone in your skivvies. Pish posh, we say. There are things to jump from here! For extra authenticity, say that you're, "headin' down to the crick." People will be impressed.
Watson Mill Bridge Park
If sliding on your belly across these shallow shoals doesn't make you feel like a penguin, we don't know what will. But you'll still be able to appreciate the 100-year-old picturesque covered bridge as you splash around with your buds. We're not saying this would make a slammin' Facebook cover photo, but then again, we're not saying it wouldn't.
Mill Creek
Here it is, folks. The initiation to summer that you've been waiting for—yes, we're talkin' about rope swings here. Jump on, arc over the cool water below and let out a hoot or a holler (heck, why not both?) as you let go and fall in with excellent form, delivering a glorious splash to all that surrounds you.
Safety note: don't swim alone, not only because it sounds depressing, but also because it's dangerous. Same goes for diving headfirst. There are rocks down there, kid.
Jump On Into These Three Swimming Holes, er, Swimmin' Holes
Saturday, Jun. 07, 2014


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Newchapel Junction is a large privately-owned finescale "O" Gauge layout representing the post-grouping period and based somewhere in the Yeovil area where the SR and GWR ran together. The layout is largely semaphore signalled with the signals electrically interlocked with the points. Combined train-describer block instruments are used to control movements between the main terminus station and the main running lines.
The layout can be assembled with or without a single-line branch which diverges from the main line and leads to a terminus station. See the 'Layout Sections' and 'Layout Track Plan' pages for more details.
We recreate the impression of a busy railway in its heyday with frequent arrivals and departures from the main station. The locomotives in use vary from large main-line express passenger types to humble tank engines of both SR and GWR origin. Engines from trains arriving at the main station proceed to the loco yard to be turned on the semi-automatic power-operated turntable before either going on shed and being replaced by a fresh engine or returning to their trains for the next outbound movement. A large 5-road goods yard enables continuous shunting and remarshalling of freight trains. The layout also includes a double-track main-line circuit where trains can be seen running at speed.


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Recently we visited the Multi-vision Self-Help Group's biocenter in the Gatwikira area of Kibera and spoke with one of the community members running the biocenter. The Muvi group partnered with Umande in 2006, and the biocenter has been fully operational since 2008. They are able to serve 250-300 people daily, including men, women, children, and the disabled; they offer toilets, cold showers, hot showers, biogas for cooking, and a community center on the upper floor of the building. Gatwikira has been able to put in place the Beba cashless payment system, which has increased transparency and accountability for the group, and has increased security for the caretakers and the biocenter's users, who do not need to carry cash in order to use the biocenter.
Gatwikira is a heavily populated area in Kibera; it is mostly filled with homes, as well as one school. The addition of the biocenter has increased sanitation in the area and decreased related health issues. The affordability of the biocenter has translated to widespread use by members of the community. Muvi has become a place for the community to meet—the upper level of the building is used to view football games, to hold Church services, and to hold community meetings. They additionally provide hygiene promotion, sanitary kits for women, condom dispensers, and educational materials on sanitation and health.
Even with the successes the biocenter has already had, there are still improvements the group leaders would like to implement. Muvi hopes to tile both floors of the biocenter completely, as well as plaster the walls fully. They also hope to expand the biogas kitchen to a separate area outside the biocenter in order to expand its use and usefulness for the community. Finally, there is a need to install a reedbed, which will protect the surrounding area from overflows of sewage from the biocenter, especially during the rainy seasons. We are certainly optimistic about Muvi's future and the impact they will continue to have on their community.
Written by Rachel Powers


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Design project
Bütçe $250-750 USD
I need some graphic design. I'm want a landlord pack designed
Bu iş için 37 freelancer ortalamada $433 teklif veriyor
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Deep Eddy Vodka is an Austin-based beverage brand that is now showing fans how to craft signature cocktails in the comfort of their own home. Hosted by renowned mixologists Jason Ducharme and Ben Walker, the Texan company's cocktail maker sessions will be offered at Dripping Springs distillery starting this month.
Offered monthly, Deep Eddy Vodka's "Dive in to Mixology" series will introduce participants to the brand's latest product releases while teaching them how to make their very own tasty and handcrafted cocktails. In addition to learning how to make their very own beverage blends, participants of these mixology classes will learn about Deep Eddy's versatile product range and will get a chance to enjoy their finished cocktails in the company's sophisticated lounge -- located inside its distillery.
In an effort to reach a millennial demographic, beverage brands are inviting consumers to take part in experiential events that are not only memorable but also educational and promotional.
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- By: Jana PijakNov 16, 2015
References: deepeddyvodka & spirits.blog.austin360
References: deepeddyvodka & spirits.blog.austin360


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This month I was able to use one of Julia's newest released images called "Nessie Cat Girl"
World Wide Open Design Team Challenge #29
15th December to 12th January 2018
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- Images sponsored by Julia Spiri for December Challenge


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RL Home Page
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RL24, RL28, and RL34 Trailable Yachts
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CBH System Explanation from Yachting NSW
CBH - Class Basic Handicaps Trailer Yachts use the Class Basic Handicapping System (CBH). The Class Basic Handicap was conceived by Yachting Victoria in 1985 to cater for open fleet racing of different classes of trailable Monohull yachts. The CBH rating uses a measurement derived from the JOG measurement system. As in all measurement systems there is a correction factor which enables the results from the measurement to be adjusted. The CBH for each class is set to such that only a well sailed yacht, in top racing condition, would have an equal chance of winning a series of races over varying conditions against equally well sailed yachts from other classes. It is therefore recommended in club racing that back calculated personal handicaps are used and that the CBH is used as a starting point for handicappers to rate the different boats. In open events organisers should use the CBH for the champions trophies but are also encouraged to run some form of individual handicapping to give all participants a chance of winning a prize and hopefully increase participation in the sport. Applying for the CBH - To obtain a CBH the owner/ class representative needs to: 1. Submit a set of class rules with an application form and 2. Submit a boat for measurement together with the approapriate fee to the Yachting Victoria As a part of the measurement procedure all yachts will be subject to stability and self righting tests. Yachts that cannot meet this requirement will be obliged to demonstrate that they are buoyant prior to the issue of a CBH. Provision is made for modified yacht designs to be issued with the CBH. These yachts are required to carry a "MOD" symbol on the sail next to the insigna to identify it as a yacht modified away from the basic class design. CBH Review Once again this year the CBH's were reviewed in light of the performance of the various classes during the season's racing. An open forum was held with representatives from interested associations and clubs providing input to the CBH Committee. Anomalies will always occur however the CBH Committee believes that the CBH's for trailable yachts this year is improved over last years figures. CBH and Yardstick The CBH is a handicap system developed for trailable yachts whereas the yardstick is the handicap system used for off the beach yachts. Both systems are administered seperately, Club handicappers should note that the adjustments that have been made to the figures for both systems over the years may not translate well between the two handicapping systems. Key to CBH Table B Rated Beam BLM Batten Length Minimum BM Maximum Beam CBH Class Basic Handicap E Mainsail Foot EPF Effective Propeller Factor I Foretriangle Height J Base of Foretriangle KF Keel Factor LOA Length Over All LPG Longest Perpendicular of Largest Genoa (Luff to Clew at a right angle to the luff) LWL Length of Water line Mass Total mass NS No Spinnaker Allowed OALM Over All Mast Length P Mainsail Hoist SL Spinnaker Luff SMW Spinnaker Maximum Width SPL Spinnaker Pole Length FOOTNOTES 1. Unlisted classes will require full measurement to obtain a CBH rating. Measurement Application Forms are available from the Yachting Victoria Office and need to be submitted with a set of class rules and approapriate fee. 2. Swing keel classes with centre case flaps shall apply the same CBH as te drop keel version of the same class. eg. Ultimate 18. 3. Any variations in class rules shall be reported in writing to Yachting Victoria. 4. Any variations from the above measurements which have not been reported in writing to Yachting Victoria will render such a boat liable for disqualification. 5. All handicaps are subject to amendment in the light of performance information.


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Guy Meachin is as a Director of Photography and Photographer based in London.
He has developed a body of photographic work that aims to explore the visual relationship
between photojournalism and fine-art photography.
For the last 5 years, Guy has been documenting the legacy of the British Empire,
specifically Britain's last overseas territories.
This website is a record of this and other journeys.


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"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing... I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human." -Oriah
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Why Smoothie?
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The Golden Age of SF is However Old You Are When You Die In An Alien Invasion
The columns of light striking the soil informed him of his condition. He was inside a SF story. Obviously.
His room appeared no different than it had before; the bed he woke up in, from which vantage point he witnessed this impossibility of aggression, was comfortable and worn and sagged near the center where he tended to resolve in his nightly rotations. But however familiar the setting seemed, he knew it could not be real, that this was no longer his real life – if indeed he had ever had one. In real life, green shafts of unknown energy did not smash into fields and streams, sending floods of muddy frog-water and whole stalks of corn careening through the morning sky. In the real world, one could not sense the fissuring of the crust below through the foundations of a house, the disconnection of plate from plate as the earth itself buckled. Since these things did not happen in the real world, this must not be the real world.
Assuming he had entered a fictional universe, some very basic questions begged an answer. First, what sort of story was it? SF isn't without its own inner lines of demarcation, after all. Looking around, he set about trying to determine the parameters of his condition. Maybe if he could guess whose story he was in, he could figure out his role, a way to survive.
He narrowed his view, tried to look beyond the obvious. After all, perhaps this was a pastiche inside a dream or on a television show, itself occupying a less Golden Age-type tale. Maybe he should start small, think creatively. What criteria could he use? He looked away from the window, from the glaring blaze of heat-death; from the walls, blank and simple, devoid of clue or genre marker; past the empty nightstand, the mundane closet, the boring things strewn and hung here and there. Looking down, he saw the bed. Ah ha.
A writer would start here, and so he, being written, started here. Whose bed could this be?
He recalled the massive, luxurious beds featured so prominently in the works of Robert Heinlein. These beds were central to the galaxy-wide Red-Headed League that Lazarus Long had spawned. More action took place between sheets in the typical Heinlein book than ever happened between enemies, who usually dropped after a single shot. Looking left and right, he noticed the absence of even one, let alone two, people there with him. This was not Heinlein's bed.
Could this be Le Guin's bed? Was this the place where brilliant scientists crashed with manic irregularity, to dream up a fiery addition to some foreign physics? Was it a strange bed on a frozen world, a friendly posh bed or a simple warm bed in the territory of doubtful allies? He checked beneath the sheets, found the familiar things; the beam hadn't left him genderless. Looking at his arms, he found that they too retained their usual hue. The beam had not rendered him colorless and gray. Alas, this was not Ursula's bed.
Was it William Gibson's bed? Was it a lonely rack in a shoddy motel, where a broken and lost relic of the filthy future might be consumed by a figment of someone else's imagination? Was it a mere cubby hole, the ultimate symbol of minimalism and badass-ness, a claustrophobic cubicle where one might be ridden by a girl with sharp claws? Well, it was a bed; that alone seemed to disqualify it. He checked about for ratty plastic interfaces, or "decks;" none were apparent. Inside the bedside table, a lack of stimulants, weapons, or eyewear of any sort. No go for Gibson.
He tried to remember a bed in the works of Philip K. Dick, but came up empty. Maybe this was reflective of the man's life. Other than one terrifying scene of domestic paranoia involving a teenage narc, he could remember not one example. Dick seemed to steer as clear of rest in his writing as he did while writing. If this was Dick's bed, surely it was a mere pretext, a trap-door he would soon fall through into a hell of perceptual doubt or esoteric cosmology. More likely than not, in Phil's universe, there were no beds at all.
He scrolled through the traitorous royal chambers of Herbert, the Freud-laden psychopathic millionaire mattresses of Bester, the horribly heavy beds of Lem, newly populated by the very old. He considered the lonely corporate-funded suites of Tiptree. He came up blank.
Outside, the beams moved steadily closer to the house, sending ancient trees up into wisps of smoke and ash. Time was running out, and so were ideas. A strange thought struck him from the corner of his mind. There was a new writer, he thought, whose stories had been showing up over the past few months. He liked to play with tropes, to layer allegories, to explore transcendence and iterative identity. He was also quite fond of literalizing, and considered SF to be a dialogue, carried on by SF writers in a constant interpretive cycle. He didn't mind sacrificing a nameless, faceless character to make a point, either. There was a bed in one of his stories, and it was filled with the copied forms of a whole history of lovers. Maybe this is his bed, he thought, the heat now palpable as the beams moved across the lawn. He couldn't recall his name.
This entry was posted on September 23, 2011 at 3:06 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags fiction, humor, meta-fiction, philip k dick, robert heinlein, science fiction, self-reference, SF, short story, ursula k. leguin, william gibson. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


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We strive to provide products of superior quality to ease the job of farriers in maintaining horses soundness and are continuously investigating and investing in new ways to improve our products. We believe in the importance of and maintain close contact with farriers to better understand their needs.
Innovations in the Mustad horseshoe factory


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The AX61131TM industrial-grade 19″ 1U rackmount chassis, which is compatible with ATX form factor motherboards. Two USB ports, power switch, two LED indicators for power status and HDD activity, and reset button are located on the front panel. It also has two internal 3.5 drive bays for storage and a PCI slot for expansion. Additionally, the AX61131TM accommodates two 4 cm ball-bearing fans to ensure excellent heat dissipation.
1U Cost-effective Rackmount Chassis for ATX Motherboard
1U Cost-effective Rackmount Chassis for ATX Motherboard
• • Supports IMB serials (IMB206/IMB207/IMB208)
• Two 4 cm system Fan
• Supports 1U Flex ATX 270W power supply
• Internal two 3.5 HDD drive bays
Surabaya 60171
East Java - Indonesia
Mobile +62-821-3994-0054


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Hi everyone! Today I'd like to share my lo that I did for the latest Paperdvizhnik sketch challenge. I just absolutely LOVE this sketch! The possibilities are many with this one!
Here is the awesome sketch:
And here is a close-up of my lo:
We can't wait to see your interpretation. Have fun!
As always, thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!


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Time travelers are all around us. Getting ahold of a time twister, Alex, Jonathan, and Zoe leave earth and start the search for a planet they could live on. Lots happen before that and Jonathan isn't going to be happy how he traveled. It is opened ended. Did they find the planet? Did they return home?
Alex's asides are a hoot. I loved how he starts the journal. I laughed out loud. I find it a hoot. Alex and Jonathan are a riot. Just like some of the kids I know that age. I hope there is a book 4 so I know the answers to my questions.


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City Guide Porto
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General Information
Porto is the second largest city of Portugal, located near the coast in the north of the country. It is built into hills overlooking the Douro river estuary. The city proper of Porto is fairly small, with approximately 240,000 inhabitants, but the greater metropolitan area is quite large, with more than 1.5 million inhabitants. While the official name of the city is Porto, it has become common recently for people from other parts of the country to refer to it as "Oporto". This is due to its close and lengthy association with port wine and the reference to the actual product, "o porto". The people of Porto are also known to consider themselves as culturally distinct from the rest of Portugal, and they often say "o Porto é uma nação," or 'Porto is a nation."
The city and its surrounding offer many things to see from Portugal's rich history, which goes back to the Romans who settled here in the 4th Century. The city is full of interesting architecture from many periods, with medieval and modern buildings side by side. The buildings and atmosphere of Porto are distinct from other Portuguese cities, mostly due to its strong mercantile roots. The downtown of the city is characterized by impressive, monumental granite edifices that also have something elegant and ornate about them.
Porto has a semi-Mediterranean climate, although it''s strongly affected by the Atlantic ocean, which makes it cooler than other Mediterranean cities. However, temperatures can rise as high as 40ºC (104ºF) in August during occasional heat waves. Normal summer temperatures average around 24 ºC (75 ºF), however. Summers are very dry in Porto meaning that the heat rarely feels opressive even when it does get unusually hot. Winters are mild and more humid, with occasional cold nights when temperatures can drop below 0ºC (32 ºF.)
The language spoken in Porto is Portuguese. Spanish is widely understood and spoken by almost all Portuguese as a second language, and many can also speak English and/or French.
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The most common religion in Portugal is Roman Catholicism, with approximately 84% of the population declaring itself part of this religion. Only about 19% of those people are actively practicing Catholics, however. A small percentage of the Portuguese population is Protestant, about 1%. There is also a small number of Muslims, and very few Jews, as Jews had long been persecuted in Portugal.
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The currency used in France is the Euro. Notes come in denominations of €100, €50, €20, €10 and €5 and the coins in use are €2, €1, € 0.50, € 0.20, € 0.10, € 0.05, € 0.02 and € 0.01.
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Tipping is important in restaurants in Porto, and it is also customary to tip hotel staff. Service charges are not included in restaurant bills, and it is common to tip 10% or possibly more if the service was really excellent. In hotel rooms, it is customary to leave a tip for the room service, figuring a euro or two for each day of your stay if the service was decent. It is also nice to give a tip of € 1 - 2 to porters who carry luggage to your room.
In taxis, you can tip whatever amount you think is appropriate, and don't have to give a percentage. Some people round up the bill to the nearest 5 euro and others tip 10% of the fare.
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Value added tax (called IVA in Portugal) ranges from 8% for books and food to 17 - 19% for luxury goods. Usually the tax is already added in the displayed price of items and services.
The value-added tax can be reclaimed by visitors from outside the EU as long as the purchase is more than € 60 (VAT included) and was purchased at one store on the same day. In order to do that, look for shops displaying the sign "Europe Tax - Free Shopping Portugal." Ask in the store for a tax refund cheque, which displays a description of the goods and the personal information of the purchaser. At the airport, your purchased items need to be taken to the customs clearance before checking the luggage in. The cheques are stamped by customs and cashed on the spot by Global Refund Tax - Free Shopping staff at the airport.
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To call Porto from abroad, first dial +351 for Portugal and then 22 for Porto, followed by the local number. There can be high charges on calls made from hotels, restaurants and bars and it is generally cheaper to use a calling card. Public telephone boxes take coins or phone cards for local and international calls and in some cases also credit cards.
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Internet cafés are plentiful in Porto, often located in communication centres where you can also phone, fax and make photocopies. Other internet cafés are regular cafés or restaurants that offer free wifi to their customers. Many shopping malls, hotels, and libraries also have wifi.
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Emergency Numbers
National emergency number for Ambulance, Police and Fire Brigade: 112
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Opening Times
Shops in Porto are generally open Mon - Fri from 9 am - 1 pm and from 3 pm - 7 pm. Larger stores such as supermarkets, department stores and shops in malls will usually stay open all day without the lunch break, and also stay open later in the evening, closing at 9 or 10 pm. On Saturdays small shops are usually open from 9 pm - 1 pm, while bigger stores stay open until 5 or 7 pm.
Bank hours are generally Mon - Fri from 8.30 am - 3 pm, and post offices Mon - Fri from 8 am - 10 pm and Sat from 9 am - 6 pm.
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Public Holidays
On the following days, most shops, banks and museums will be closed, and public transport is likely to be more limited.
January 1, New Year's Day
April 25, Day of Liberty
May 1, Labour Day
June 10, Day of Portugal
August 15, Assumption Day
October 5, Day of the Republic
November 1, All Saint's Day
December 1, Restoration of Independence
December 8, Day of Our Lady
December 25, Christmas Day
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In Porto, as in any other city, you need to be alert for potential pickpockets, and take good care that your valuables are always secure. The places where most pickpocketing occurs are usually at busy tourist attractions or on crowded public transport. Also be careful at night to walk on well-lit streets and not to walk alone if possible.
Driving in Porto can be very dangerous as the laws are different from other places, and the local drivers can be rather reckless. So if you plan to drive in the city, make sure to learn the important traffic laws and try to be alert at all times.
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Dear tobook.com visitor, you also can contribute to our city guides with events and articles. Do you want to inform our readers with an upcoming event or do you want to publish your article, please
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Travel Pangea
Travel Republic is a travel search web site appearing as agent solely. Each product (e.g. flight, lodge or car rent) has its own price unbiased of every other merchandise booked at the same time and creates a separate contract instantly between you and the provider of that product. Travel Republic champions worth, selection and adaptability and does not promote, organise or organize package deal holidays. Teardrop trailers are fairly cool and I even had a chance to stay in one when I was a kid. Too dangerous they don't seem as popular anymore. Prepare or airline passengers have to maintain their essential carry-on gadgets accessible and effectively-organized, and Cocoon GRID-IT Organizers are the most versatile and completely customizable system for organizing all the stuff we stock with us that tends to be troublesome to keep organized. You get to skip the road and save money. But this only works for seventy two hours, so group your activities accordingly. Click on here to learn more.
I'm a nature lover. As proof, I've sustained injuries chasing the recycling truck down the alley on a slippery winters morning. I'm in a CSA to help assist native small farmers and I purchase natural milk. Vanning is where I'll have to take a raincheck on natural useful resource preservation. At 10-15 mpg, I'm undoing a variety of Prius owners good works… and this was a challenge to overcome. After we are on trip or if now we have to travel on enterprise, there are so … Read More


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Forty seven third year pupils spent an action-packed weekend in the countryside as they took part in a Bushcraft experience at Cholmondley Castle Gardens.
Throughout the weekend, the girls and boys were taught a number of essential survival lessons such as igniting fires, making shelters and basic first aid.
To make a fire the pupils were split into groups and had to scour the forest for wood. They then used skills shown to them by the camp leaders to create sparks to get a fire going.
The adventurers then moved on to the very important job of setting up camp and making a shelter. To do this they used materials including paracords, tarp, pegs, branches and any other items they could find in the forest.
As part of camp life each shelter had to create a set of rules that all camp mates would have to abide by. These included some interesting regulations, from the sublime: "there is a democracy" and "everyone must do their job", to the silly: "cake always to be in stock" and "no Manchester City fans!"
The pupils then used their hunting skills as they donned face paint during a camouflage and concealment game before learning how to gut a fish.
The second day focussed on first aid. The adventurers were told to assess their surroundings and given tips on how to locate casualties. They were also advised on what to do to give the person the highest chance of surviving.
Next up, the boys and girls were thrown in to a 'real life' situation where they had to utilise the first aid skills they had acquired. Mr Ehegartner, Mr Byrne, Mrs Goddard and Mr Hanson acted as the injured survivors of a plane crash and the pupils discussed and put into action everything they had learned.
At the end of the visit the boys and girls were the first group ever to clear camp, which they were allowed to do because they had impressed the camp leaders so much.
Head of Life Studies, Mr Alex Ehegartner, organised the trip and was delighted with how the trip went: "We spent the weekend learning basic survival techniques and doing practical activities to reinforce their learning. It was great to see kids being kids, running around the woods enjoying themselves and playing forest games – all with no technology!
"They really impressed me with the way they ran the camp and how they carried out their roles."


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A new lounge bar has opened at the Veryan Sports and Social Club. Sports shown on the big screen, regular theme nights and much much more. Everyone is guaranteed a warm welcome from hosts Andrew & Matt, for latest news visit their facebook page.
Opening hours:
Mon-Thurs 5pm-10pm; Friday 5pm-11pm; Saturday 4pm-11pm; Sunday Noon-10pm.