Announcements
thusspakezuska | July 16, 2008Hello, dear readers...if there are any of you left...I've been away for a week taking care of mom, plus the usual migraine breaks...back home now, and hoping to get back in the blogging groove asap.
Meanwhile, Physioprof is off guest-blogging at Feministe for two weeks and you absolutely have to read his deconstruction of a really atrocious piece of reporting in the New York Times about Title IX and science, Teh Ladeez Jus Don Liek Teh Scienz. Warning: the quotes from the NYT will make your teeth hurt.
oracknows | July 12, 2008Don't forget, everyone, the 91st Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle is fast approaching and due to land at Sorting Out Science on Thursday, July 17. Check out the guidelines for what we're looking for and get your bst skeptical stuff ready to submit before the deadline. The contact information and deadline for this particular installment are listed here.
In the meantime, I've tentatively decided to take the organizer's prerogative and to host the 100th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle myself in November. If life gets crazy, and I change my mind, I'll let you know. If you still want to host, know…
oracknows | July 10, 2008It's been a week now since my wife and I learned that our beloved dog, whom we've had for eight years, had terminal cancer. At the time I was so sad and down that I just couldn't even imagine getting myself into the appropriately light-hearted frame of mind that I try to maintain. In the week since the shock of learning the diagnosis, I still can't achieve that frame of mind, although, as you may have noticed, I've been able to achieve the level of sarcastic snarkiness directed against pseudoscientists and antivaccinationists that my readers have come to expect. It's easy when you're angry…
oracknows | July 4, 2008Better late than never (for me to announce it, I mean), the 90th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle has descended upon the blogosphere from Down Under, this time brought to you by prominent Australian skeptic and battler against woo, a guy who's even harsher on antivaccinationists than I am, Peter Bowditch.
Go forth and enjoy!
Next up on July 17 is Sorting Out Science. Start getting your best skeptical writing together and join us back here in two weeks for a little summer skepticism. Guidelines for submissions and the schedule can be found here, and if you want to host one of these check out…
oracknows | June 29, 2008Lest I forget my obligations here, I have to post a reminder that the 90th Edition of the Skeptics' Circle is fast approaching and will be here on Thursday, July 3. In fact, because it's being hosted by prominent Australian skeptic Peter Bowditch at the Millenium Project, it may well be earlier than that given the rather large time difference. (Of course, if you're in Asia or Australia you won't notice.) That means there's less time than usual to get your submissions to Peter before July 2 for inclusion in the Circle. So get cracking while there's still time! The contact information and…
oracknows | June 19, 2008Better late than never, they always say. Michael Meadon may have been a few hours later than the usual edition of the Skeptics' Circle, but when he finally delivered the 89th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle it was well worth the wait. He even showed me a promising new blogger:
Redonkulous Redundancy is a new blogger and first-time Circle participant (be nice!) who aptly skewers CAM advocates for their bait-and-switch tactics: yes mainstream medicine has (serious) problems, no, CAM is not the answer.
Here's hoping I can give him a little boost for that spot-on post.
Next up to host is, believe…
oracknows | June 16, 2008On Friday, I made an announcement about the Skeptics' Circle scheduled for July 31 in the light of having learned some very bad news, namely that the planned host, Jeff of Blue Collar Scientist, had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer. I wanted to verify that Jeff wasn't going to host (as I assumed he wouldn't; after all, it's only a blog carnival). Jeff finally got back to me and informed that (1) he is doing as well as can be expected and (2) he won't be hosting. Once again, let's all wish him nothing but the best in his impending battle against this cancer.
I was originally going to…
oracknows | June 13, 2008It'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…
oracknows | June 5, 2008I must admit that I was getting a bit worried. Morning came today, and there was no Skeptics' Circle. I went to work. Every so often throughout the day I checked again.
Still no Skeptics' Circle, at least as of early afternoon.
I got home from work around 8 PM, and to my relief, there it was in all its usual glory, a bright, shiny new edition of the Skeptics' Circle over at Jyunri Kankei. And, boy, after subjecting myself to all the idiocy of the "Green Our Vaccines" rally over the last three days, I sure did need a cool, soothing dose of critical thinking, science, and reason. So head on…
thusspakezuska | May 19, 2008I missed contributing to the last Scientiae, which is up over at Flicka Mawa's pad, and deals with Career Paths, Perspective, and Changing Self Image. Scientiae is always great; go and read.
I am the host of the June carnival, and finally got my call for posts up at Scientiae. The call is reproduced here after the jump. Posts aren't due till June 6.
Hi folks, Zuska here. I suppose I should start with an apology for getting the next Scientiae topic out so late. But hey, the good news is you don't have to turn in your submission until June 6!
The new topic is: Added Weight. "Huh?" I hear…
thusspakezuska | May 11, 2008This is a bit of a late announcement, but I thought some of you might like to play. See full announcement here.
For the next issue, Seed editors want to see the typical or not-so-typical places where Scienceblogs readers do science.
For the chance to get your scientific work space featured in Seed, please send a photo of it to
art AT seedmediagroup DOT com
by Tuesday, May 13th at 5:00pm EST. Please write "Where I Do Science Photo Submission" in the subject line, and send as high a resolution image as you can. No people in the pictures, please. Please include with the photo:
Your Name…
oracknows | May 8, 2008Sometimes being a skeptic can be a real bitch. And no one knows that better than the host of the latest installment of a blog carnival that has, believe it or not, been running over three years now, the ever-popular Skepbitch. She's served up a heaping helping of the best skeptical bitching from the last two weeks. Head on over and enjoy!
Next up to host is Action Skeptics on May 22. If you're a blogger, start getting your best skeptical posts ready to submit for the next Skeptics' Circle.
Finally, as always, if you're interested in hosting, check out the schedule and guidelines, as well as…
oracknows | May 4, 2008Forgive me if you find bloggers trumpeting their traffic numbers to be painfully boring. Truth be told, sometimes I find them boring too. However, I hope you'll indulge me just this once, given that regular readers know how rarely I do posts dedicated to discussing my traffic. (Just remember that blogging is an exercise in ego gratification, anyway.) It's just that March and April have been the best two months ever in terms of traffic on this blog, and I can't resist taking a moment to post about it. Just take a look:
In March, there were 128,996 visits to Respectful Insolence, and in…
oracknows | May 3, 2008Time's flying by once again.
You know, the longer I serve as the organizer of this great endeavor that I did not start, namely The Skeptics' Circle, the more it amazes me just how good it routinely is. It also amazes me just how fast time flies between editions. This time around is no exception. Already, the next edition is due in a mere four days, on May 8, 2008. This time around, the host will be The Skepbitch. Besides having an utterly awesome name for her blog, the Skepbitch is--well--a skeptic. In fact, so dedicated is she that she was willing to subject herself to a lecture by Sylvia…
oracknows | April 29, 2008I'm a day late on this, but welcome ERV (a.k.a. endogenous retrovirus) to the Collective. A graduate student studying the molecular biology and evolution of HIV, her joining the Collective was forced to be earlier than she had intended because of an unfortunate incident resulting in the temporary removal of her old blog by Google. However her entrance into the Seed mothership, we're glad she's here now...
oracknows | April 28, 2008It's that time again: The 20th edition of the only blog carnival (that I know of, at least) for blogging about surgical topics has landed over at Surgeonsblog. Yes, Sid Schwab takes on the 20th SurgeXperiences, with limericks, even!
Head on over!
thusspakezuska | April 25, 2008Greetings, Gentle Readers. I just rescued a number of comments from hang-up in moderation. No idea why most of them got moderated - they didn't even have links in them. Some of them were made many days ago. I want to apologize to you all for not getting those comments out there sooner. I have been going through a bout of almost daily migraine and have not been on the computer much at all, let alone blogging, let alone tending to the blog. Until I get my next botox treatment and it kicks in, it may continue like this so please be patient.
oracknows | April 24, 2008Better a little late than never, I'm happy to say that the 85th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle has arrived at Andrea's Buzzing About:. What is it about Andrea anyway? And what is this obsession about looking under rocks? What will be found under all those rocks? There's only one way to find out!
Next up to host is The Skepbitch. Now if there's a name for a blog that is better for a host of the Skeptics' Circle, I can't think of it right now. In a mere two weeks, the Circle will once again meet, this time on Thursday, May 8. Start sharpening your skeptical pen to produce searing bits of…
oracknows | April 18, 2008Once more, time has flown by. Worse, it's flown by fast enough that Ben Stein's bit of argumentum ad Nazium propaganda has finally slimed its way into theaters. Now, more than ever, we need a hefty dose of real skepticism (as opposed to the pseudoskepticism and denialism that masquerade as science and skepticism--like Expelled!). That's why it's good to see the 85th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle coming up on Thursday, April 24 at Andrea's Buzzing About:, But Andrea can't do it by herself. She needs the help of skeptical bloggers to give her the raw material that she can forge into a paean…
oracknows | April 10, 2008...at Archaeoporn.
And it's a good one too, served up in a straightforward, no-nonsense style. As much as I like the sometimes wild creativity some hosts bring to hosting the Circle, there's definitely something to be said for a well-organized, well-introduced, "just the facts, M'am" sort of presentation, and that's what we have here. That, and lots of good skeptical blogging served up for your browsing edification. March your way through the links at the 84th Meeting of the Skeptics' Circle, and you won't be disappointed.
Next up to host is Andrea's Buzzing About:. Her shot at hosting the…