I’m at The Amazing Meeting London, an Old World instance of the skeptical conferences organised by the James Randi Educational Foundation. (Or more correctly, I am waiting for breakfast at my threadbare Bayswater hotel, where I sleep in a basement closet.) I came to London Friday night and started off with a few social hours with other Swedish skeptics at a pub. Yesterday was the first of two conference days, and I’ve been making acquaintances left and right. Apart from the locals, I’ve met a lot of Norwegians and Americans. Among the locals, these days, is Rebecca Watson. She promised me to get a decent broadband connection ASAP so the Skeptic’s Guide can go on undiminished.

We had excellent talks by Manchester physicist and UK TV celeb Brian Cox, writer and film-maker John Ronson (Of Men Who Stare at Goats fame), science journalist Simon Singh, atheist bus campaign organiser Ariane Sherine and science writer Ben Goldacre. James Randi, who had to stay home in Florida for medical reasons, fielded questions via Skype, psychologist Richard Wiseman emceed and did parlour tricks, and Simon Singh got the first UK JREF Award for his valiant fight against the frivolous chiropractic libel suit. Randi announced that the Million Dollar Challenge is not getting closed down after all.

With such luminaries presenting, I’m sort of relieved that there wasn’t room for me on the roster. Though I could probably have put something reasonably good together about “Palaeolithic” diet.

Today we have George Hrab, Glenn Hill, Adam Savage, Tim Minchin and Phil Plait on. Good times!

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