And a one and a two

[micktravis]

Hello all.

I suppose I identify myself as a skeptic but I've been doing so since long before I became aware of the "skeptical community" 3 or 4 years ago. I'm not inclined to pick a new descriptor although a few of my dealings with (and opinions concerning) some of more prominent skeptics have been less than stellar. I'm far from a true believer when it comes to things best described as "paranormal" but I do my best to place intellectual rigor above comfort.

About me: I'm a TV Producer and a Photographer (more the latter than the former, and hopefully increasingly so) living in Los Angeles. Before moving here in 2002 I lived in the UK for a bit, and I grew up outside Toronto. Despite my seemingly artsy-fartsy jobs I actually have a pretty solid science background. I studied computer science at Uni, decided it wasn't for me, and went back and did a Film degree. More importantly (as far as a science background goes) my dad was a rocket scientist. Literally. He worked for the ICI and then the British Government in their Aerospace branch during the years leading up to Apollo 11 - NASA farmed out a lot of work to the Brits because of the crazy time crunch. He worked primarily in propellants but also found the time, along with the rest of his team, to fulfill a request from NASA and invent Mylar. When his contract was up he got recruited by BP to figure out how to use Mass Spectrometry to find oil and so we moved to Canada. All of this is a very long way to say that I grew up with a basement filled with beakers, bunsen burners, and any piece of recently outdated tech he could fit into his car. I was the only kid I knew with a PDP-11 in the basement and 2 litres of mercury in a bottle under my bed.

So I may be the enemy here. Or not. I haven't had time to look around fully. I may vigorously disagree with people here from time to time but I try to remove my ego from any decisions about belief - if I think I've been wrong about something I'll admit it and move on. But I'll also stick to my guns when I think I'm right.

Ok! Plane is landing. Please excuse the length of this post - it was this or Two and a Half Men.

Cheers,

Mick

[Arouet]

Welcome!

[NinjaPuppy]

Welcome!

You're in good company. Believe it or not, you're not the only one who had mercury as a 'toy'

[craig weiler]

Howdy Mick,
I am just finishing a book that I seriously recommend. Randi's Prize by Robert McLuhan. He does the best job I've seen of understanding both sides of the debate and getting to the heart of the issues. I personally find parapsychology skepticism to be weak and unsupported by the facts, relying mostly on questionable arguments, arrogance and and a lack of intellectual honesty.

[ProfWag]

[Craig Browning]

Welcome!

Maybe you can help our host get a grip on the whole Apollo thing

[craig weiler]

I subscribe to the Aardman theory of a moon landing. Someone did land on the moon, but it was a home built rocket built by a clueless guy with a cheese fetish and his somewhat more intelligent dog.

[Craig Browning]