Categories
Announcements Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Skeptics Circle announcement and a plea to fellow skeptics

It’s that time again.

Round and round the Skeptics’ Circle goes, coming rapidly around to arrive yet again in less than a week. This time around, it’s set to land on next Thursday, June 19 at Ionian Enchantment. Blog-specific instructions for submitting your pearls of skepticism, science, and critical thinking can be found here, and more general instructions can be found here. So, if you’re a blogger who regularly likes to apply reason, skepticism, and critical thinking to dubious claims, get cracking and send Mike your best stuff before Wednesday! And, as always, if you’re such a blogger interested in hosting one of these sessions, check out the guidelines for hosts to see what’s involved and then drop me a line.

Now for a more serious matter. If you look at the Skeptics’ Circle schedule, you’ll see that the 92nd Meeting of the Skeptics’ Circle is scheduled for July 31. The host was to have been Blue Collar Scientist. Unfortunately, via PZ Myers and Phil Plait, I recently learned that our host has been diagnosed with liver cancer. My sympathy goes out to Jeff, and I said so in an e-mail, along with an offer to put in his service the few connections I have in the world of liver surgeons. I also encourage all my readers to offer their support as well.

Sadly (and I almost hate to bring this up), there does remain the cold, hard issue of who’s going to host the July 31 Circle. I tried e-mailing Jeff, but not surprisingly he never responded. My assumption for the moment is that he won’t be able to host, given that a blog carnival is of trivial (actually, of no) importance compared to taking care of a life-threatening disease. However, fairness and consideration for Jeff demand that I try to find out for sure one way or the other directly from Jeff himself before I either give the slot away to one of the hosts already signed up for a date later than July 31 or decide to take the slot myself. So, if anyone out there can help me out and tell me how to get a hold of him, I’d appreciate it.

By Orac

Orac is the nom de blog of a humble surgeon/scientist who has an ego just big enough to delude himself that someone, somewhere might actually give a rodent's posterior about his copious verbal meanderings, but just barely small enough to admit to himself that few probably will. That surgeon is otherwise known as David Gorski.

That this particular surgeon has chosen his nom de blog based on a rather cranky and arrogant computer shaped like a clear box of blinking lights that he originally encountered when he became a fan of a 35 year old British SF television show whose special effects were renowned for their BBC/Doctor Who-style low budget look, but whose stories nonetheless resulted in some of the best, most innovative science fiction ever televised, should tell you nearly all that you need to know about Orac. (That, and the length of the preceding sentence.)

DISCLAIMER:: The various written meanderings here are the opinions of Orac and Orac alone, written on his own time. They should never be construed as representing the opinions of any other person or entity, especially Orac's cancer center, department of surgery, medical school, or university. Also note that Orac is nonpartisan; he is more than willing to criticize the statements of anyone, regardless of of political leanings, if that anyone advocates pseudoscience or quackery. Finally, medical commentary is not to be construed in any way as medical advice.

To contact Orac: [email protected]

Comments are closed.

Discover more from RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading