TAM8 Part 2 – More fangirling

I’m not sure what it means that I only vaguely recalled what happened on Friday of the conference. Maybe I was exhausted from the previous day and spending my time listening to talks, or maybe those rooficoladas were really potent. Either way, Friday was sort of a blur.

I spent some of the talks filling in for Hemant whenever he had to step away from liveblogging to go do more important things like interview people or search for caffeine. Let me tell you, it was incredibly tempting to post embarrassing gossip on his twitter feed and blog, both of which were open for my abuse. Thankfully for Hemant, I resisted. Not to mention I learned all the really good gossip long after liveblogging was over, alas.Me plotting Hemant’s blogging demise.

At one point during the conference Eugenie Scott from the National Center for Science Education made a guest appearance! She had just finished hiking in the Grand Canyon and stopped by TAM before her flight. I did a little evolution fangirl flail and ran off to go meet her. I saw her speak at Evolution 2009, but was too shy to say hello at the time. This time I got to say hello, squee about evolution a bit, and squee even more when she said she knew about boobquake and liked it.And after the last talk, I got to meet Brian Keith Dalton, better known as Mr. Deity! I absolutely love Mr. Deity, so that was pretty fun. Also, I think he was one of the handful of people who didn’t know what boobquake was. This was oddly refreshing in a way.
That night some of us had dinner in the Mexican restaurant. I’m convinced their margaritas did not contain any alcohol. Actually, I’m convinced none of the mixed drinks in South Point actually contained any alcohol. I gave up on getting even the slightest buzz and eventually switched to beer for the rest of TAM. If you know how much I dislike beer, you understand how drastic of a step this was.

The Del Mar wasn’t super exciting that night, so Hemant showed me various geeky math stuff, including how to calculate poker probabilities. …I swear that is not a euphemism for something. Anyway, now I know enough about poker to not just randomly bet and hope I end up with something, woo. I actually saw the World Series of Poker on at the restaurant I went to tonight and remembered what he told me, so I guess he’s a good math teacher after all!

Saturday was a bit more exciting since I actually had enough sleep to function. Since I was speaking on Sunday, I was invited to this little speakers reception around dinner time. I was able to speak to Pamela Gay and Debbie Goddard a lot, and Phil asked me to sign something for this special little thing he’s going to do (sorry, you’ll have to wait for him to announce it!). I also saw Richard Saunders of Skeptic Zone again (who was charming), but this time got a photo.I also got a quick photo with Paul Kurtz and James Randi, though I didn’t get to talk to them at all since they were running off to something.

TAM8 Part 1 – Fangirling

The Amaz!ng Meeting was, well, amazing. It can be succinctly summarized as a four day long skeptical orgasm. …And by that I mean an orgasm due to geeking out about skepticism, not that you’re skeptical of your orgasm. Because the latter wouldn’t be that amazing.

Anyway.

There is so much to talk about that I’m going to have to break it down into different topics. And since I’m currently getting tagged in dozens of facebook photos and squeeing over their contents, I figured I’d start with a nice fangirling post. Skeptical celebrities, woo! I’ll blog about the actual talks and other various observations later today.

When I arrived at the conference, I was amazed at how many people I already knew. I guess I never realized how much networking I did while president of the Society of Non-Theists – I could hardly walk through the hallway without seeing a familiar face. But I’m the type of person who’s really shy around strangers – I have a hard time initiating conversation with someone, especially if they’re famous. I pretty much immediately saw James Randi and Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy, but ran away due to fear. While I was running away in fear Richard Dawkins walked right by me. For some reason my reaction was not to flail or faint or pee my pants – instead I blushed like crazy. Yep, geek-crushing on Dawkins.

At the opening reception, I ran into my friend Ashley Paramore (fellow Secular Student Alliance board member and videoblogger healthyaddict), who is about a million times more social than me. Actually, this is probably an understatement. She proceeded to take me around and introduce me to people, and helped me work up the nerve to go take a photo with Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame.I actually had to go back and take a second photo (the one above) because my camera is being held together by duct tape and fell apart before the photo could save. Thankfully Adam was nice enough to do another.

I was standing a couple feet away, just having been introduced to Jamy Ian Swiss by Ashley, when I hear “Jeeeeeeeeeeeen!” and get surprised hugged by Phil Plait!Having someone I was avoiding out of shyness run up and hug me seriously made me feel so much better for the rest of the conference. I cannot stress how freaking nice Phil is. I constantly ran into him throughout the conference, and he always said hi and started chatting with me.

And he wasn’t the only skeptical celebrity to seek me out. Right after I saw Phil I was approached by Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of Doubt: A History. I knew boobquake was a media sensation (hopefully I knew that since that’s what my talk was about), but it still never dawned on me that so many people would know me. It was just so strange having people I admire approach me, knowing who I am and wanting to say hello or get a photo. And it was just as bizarrely awesome meeting so many readers and boobquake fans. I had to very quickly get used to the following exchange:

Person: You look really familiar.
Me: Hi, Jen McCreight.
Person: …That name sounds familiar too.
Me: I blog at Blag Hag?
Person: Hmmm…
Me: …Boobquake.
Person: OH YEAH OMG!!!!1!!!one!!

Eventually my friends would just stand by me going “You know she’s the boobquake girl, right?” This was actually somewhat helpful, since I didn’t really want to introduce myself to famous people this way, haha.

After the reception I was hanging out in the hallway with Ashley, slightly zoning out due to sleep deprivation. Hemant was going to be playing in a TAM poker tournament, and I had said I would go watch him for a while. All of a sudden she’s tugging on my arm and running.

Ashley: We need to go now.
Me: What? What happened?
Ashley: Jamy just invited us to dinner with Adam Savage.
Me: What.

Sorry Hemant, you got beaten out by Adam Savage.

Suddenly I’m speedwalking through the casino with Jamy Ian Swiss and Banachek talking about boobquake. The restaurant ended up being full so we decided on liquid fuel instead, and headed upstairs to a somewhat secluded margarita bar. We wait a little bit before Adam Savage and Phil Plait get there, and Adam sits right across from me.

I was peeing down my leg until someone mentioned I was the boobquake girl and I started laughing, and Adam pointed out that I was going to cause a disaster because my boobs bounce every time I laugh. I then proceeded to have a conversation about porn with Adam where we tried to out-weird each other with creepy fetishes. I cannot make something like this up.

Eventually Adam had to go, so got to talk with Phil a lot. I don’t remember if it was this night or another (yes, that’s how much I talked with him), but he asked me if I was still blogging after boobquake. I told him that I try to make at least a post a day, and he was surprised. Apparently he subscribed to my blog’s feed but it never worked. The fact that Phil Plait has been attempting to read my blog since April and failing because of a technical problem is seriously not acceptable. Damn you, Google Reader. I sent him a link to the correct feed, so hopefully that helps.

The little private party started to die, so I went back down to join Skeptics in the Pub at the Silverado Lounge. My friends kind of hated me that I had snuck off with drinks with Adam without telling them (sorry, I was sworn to secrecy!).

Me: I think the only person left that I really want to get a photo with is Richard Dawkins.
Julie: Well, he’s right behind you.
Me: What.
Richard Dawkins was about two feet behind me having a beer and I didn’t even notice. I went up and asked for a photo (the one from this post) and he politely agreed. Before he could escape I mentioned that we were going to be published together, and he suddenly became a lot more interested and friendly. I explained how the publishers for the Atheist’s Guide to Christmas were creating a US edition and wanted to add some American authors (which he didn’t know about), and that I was one of them. He asked what my piece was about, and I explained how it was a satire about atheist Christmas toys based on my Atheist Barbie drawing.

He asked a little more about me, so the talk turned to how I’d be starting my PhD and that I study genetics and evolution. I got to geek out about my undergraduate research for a bit since he was actually interested. Ashley then mentioned that I was also the creator of boobquake, and he remarked how he thought it was a wonderful idea, except that he didn’t like the word “boob.” Remember when I was wondering if a commenter on the boobquake post really was Richard Dawkins or not? Yep, it was him. Richard Dawkins has commented on my blog. Gah. I gave him a card to my blog and he happily accepted it, and we got one more photo.

I still can’t believe that I got to speak to Richard Dawkins for that long, and that he seemed so genuinely interested. I’m still on a fangirl high because of it. Oh, and since the guy with my camera screwed up at first, I now have a silly photo of all of our crotches:
I also met Michael Shermer and Brian Dunning right after that, but didn’t get a chance to snap any photos. Then I went to go retrieve Hemant as he lost at poker (though he made it really far!) and convince him to go to Skeptics in the Tub. He complained about how much he hated water despite the fact that he went and put on swim trunks and sat in the hot tub for a couple hours. Yeah, he really hates water. I also prodded Phil into coming. So yeah, I was hanging out in a hot tub with Hemant and Phil. Again, can’t make this stuff up.

Can you spot your hottubbing bloggers?

Eventually I went and crashed. All of this happened on just Thursday night. Fangirling about the rest of the conference will be up soon.

TAM8 Teaser: Me & Dawkins

Just moved back into my parents’ house near Chicago. I’ll be staying here until early September, when I’ll be moving to Seattle for grad school. Goodbye, Purdue! It was a good four years. I’ll probably visit at least one more time before I leave for good. As for you Chicagoans who read my blog, make sure to let me know if any skeptical/godless hijinks are going down in the Windy City. I’m sure I’ll be looking for any excuse to escape.

And as any of you who have moved understand, I am freaking exhausted. It’s amazing how much crap you can acquire over four years. It took two cars of stuff back, and probably threw two cars of stuff away. Thanks for helping me pack and move, Dad!

I’m still unpacking stuff here and lying around in a stupor. Until I start my real TAM8 posts, here’s something to taunt you:Stories later!

If you knew God was real, would you actually worship him?

I’m currently sitting in the Las Vegas airport waiting for my flight home (yay for finally having Internet access!). TAM8 was absolutely amazing, and I’ll be making posts about it over the next couple of days. But in the mean time, here’s one more discussion question for you guys, since you seemed to enjoy the last couple.

Let’s assume you have proof that God exists. You’re now a believer for whatever reason. But believing in God is totally different from following his laws and living your life the way he desires.

Would you actually worship him? Would your life change in any way? Or would you rebel for any ethical, philosophical, or personal reasons?

Now, this depends on what definition of God we’re using. A Protestant Christian God would be very different from a deist God, which would be very different from Zeus, etc. Feel free to discuss all, but unless you clarify in your comment, let’s assume you’re talking about the traditional Judeo-Christian God.

Irrational behavior

I like to consider myself a rational, skeptical person, but nobody is perfect. We all have irrational things we do. Some may be as benign as a good luck charm, while others may be a crippling phobia.

What are some of your more irrational beliefs or habits?

Sometimes I feel like knowing a certain belief is irrational makes it even worse. For example, I know I shouldn’t be an arachnophobe, but no amount of logical reasoning will make me quit flailing around even tiny spiders. And since I know I’m succumbing to my emotions, it makes me feel extra stupid. Anyone else feel this way?

TAM8 Liveblogging

Just wanted to give people a head’s up that Hemant is liveblogging TAM8 over at Friendly Atheist. Well, I’m actually filling in for him every once in a while whenever he’s off interviewing someone important. That’s why I’m able to let all of you know now, woo!
I am resisting the urge to post inappropriate things on his blog. The power is alluring, but I rather not be stabbed in my sleep tonight, haha.

Kill, sleep with, or marry

In honor of the totally awesome slumber parties Hemant, Jamie, and I have probably been having at TAM8, let’s all get in touch with our inner 13 year old girls and play an old stupid game: Kill, sleep with, or marry.

I’m sure there are alternative rules out there, but this is the version I learned when I was but I young lass grossed out by the idea that I had to pick someone to sleep with. You get a list of three people – usually celebrities, sometimes friends (if the goal was to figure out who had a crush on who). You must decide which of those people you rather kill, rather sleep with, and rather marry.

Those are the only rules. So yes, they’re open to interpretation. You magically don’t have to worry about pregnancy or STDs when you sleep with someone. Your marriage can be sexless, but generally implies living together. And killing…well, it can be as humane as you want (or not).

I’ll get you guys started with a couple of trios that fit in with my blog’s theme, but feel free to suggest more in the comments:

Three of the Horsemen: Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris

A Painful Decision: Ken Ham, Kent Hovind, Ray Comfort

The Golden Trio: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger

I guess that wasn’t fair to my readers who are predominantly attracted to women. Here, one more:

The Crazy, It Burns: Ann Coulter, Michele Bachmann, Sarah Palin (I’m so mean)

What proof of God would you need?

What kind of proof would it take for you to believe in God? This is a question I get surprisingly often. I usually start with one of these two answers:

1. I’m not sure, but if God is all knowing, he will surely know exactly what to do to convince me.

2. A large live tuna would appear in front of me right now! *waits expectantly* … *disappointment*

Yeah, I’m kind of a smartass at times. But then I usually follow up with a real, thoughtful answer. Greta Christina has an excellent article where she does just this: 6 (Unlikely) Developments That Could Convince This Atheist To Believe in God. It’s long but worth the read.

So how about you? What kind of proof would it take to convince you that God really exists? This could be anything from a vague deist God to Zeus to the Christian God of some highly specific sect.

Religious hang ups

In the past while I’ve been off at conferences, I’ve had you ask me various questions for blog filler. I figured this time we’ll do the opposite – I’ll ask you guys questions, and you can feel free to discuss in the comments while I’m away. So, here we go with the first question of the week:

For those of you who are no longer a part of the religion you were raised of, do you still have some religious hang ups that you just can’t shake? Things that make you feel guilty even though you rationally know you shouldn’t?

And for those of you who weren’t raised with religion (like me!), do you have any religious hang ups from being raised in a religious society/having religious friends/etc?

I have my first scientific publication!

My first scientific paper has been published! “Allelic recharge in populations recovering from bottleneck events” by Joseph D Busch, Jennifer McCreight, and Peter M Waser. It’s included in the new book developed by the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, Molecular Approaches in Natural Resource Conservation and Management:The book was actually released in June, but somehow I missed it. Just found out today because my professor gave me a copy as a going away present.

I guess I’m officially a scientist now. Woohoo!