Aaargh! Dueling events on Thursday night!

Oh, well, they’re easy to resolve spatially. If you’re somewhere near Minneapolis, you should attend JT Eberhard’s talk in Smith Hall at 7. He’s going to be talking about “Campus Preachers: An Excuse to Build Forts and Other Shenanigans”, so I’m sure there’ll be tips on what to do when Brother Jed comes to town.

I can’t go! I’m going to be in the Twin Cities on Thursday night, down near the airport, because I’m flying out to speak at Elmhurst College on Friday. But I’ve got another commitment for this Thursday night. I’m appearing on Virtually Speaking with Jay Ackroyd, a kind of talk show that takes place in Second Life. I’ll be tottering about with a poorly controlled avatar, and you can join in by creating your own avatar, or you can just listen in as if it were a live podcast.

So you can listen to me if you’re anywhere in the world, but you’ll need to physically come to Minneapolis to see JT.

It’s another godless birthday. March must be a good month for birthing ferocious atheists — so procreate in June/July!

Today is the man’s 70th birthday — I didn’t see a thread of well-wishers on the RDF site, so let’s start one here.

Hey, he and I are both Pisces, there must be something to this astrology stuff.

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I’ve been informed that my knowledge of astrology is deficient, and that his birthdate falls under some other sign. Therefore, astrology is wrong.

I’ve been saying for a long time that that ‘journal’ that published the meteorite microbes story was a joke: now someone who has also published in the JoC gives us a look at the review process there. It’s not very rigorous, as you might expect.

She also gives a good mineralogical explanation of the structures they were seeing (see also Ian Musgrave’s summary). This paper’s dead, Jim. But don’t be surprised if you see it cited in other papers from the fringe astrobiology crowd in the future.

It’s a giant amoeboid horror!

Suddenly, I appreciate one benefit of living in Minnesota.

This isn’t a news service: go to the BBC or CNN now and read up on the 8.9 earthquake that just hit Japan. There is a tsunami rippling across the Pacific right now, too.

I think this one was more of a wrong number.

Found you online and had a question…

Hi, my name is Susan Dahl. I did a search online for Christians and I came across you. It would be great to have more info about what you are sharing online for the benefit and help of others.

I am writing because I would like to find some new friends who have a walk with the Lord in the Puget Sound area. Even in the Northwest, there are still some of us out there!

I look forward to hearing from you.

God bless you,

Susan Dahl

It’s OK. I’ve decided to name my penis “The Lord” just so these spammy Christian emails will make a little more sense.

Praise the Lord!

After the serious earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, a website popped up that blamed the event on gays and lesbians, prostitution, and baby seal clubbing, a website that has been rightfully denounced by the media and gay and lesbian groups.

But I’m suspicious. There are a couple of things that make me doubt; one is that the site is a little too free in flaunting photos of naked people from gay events in New Zealand, which is not typical of conservative religious sites. Another problem is the excess — it is clearly trying to be sensationalist. And yet there is no one, no church taking credit for the site, which is very peculiar.

This isn’t a site representative of much of anything. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s either the work of an obsessive religious zealot — an individual, not a group — or of someone intentionally trying to discredit religion with an over-the-top fake. Either way, whoever made that crazy site needs some pity.

I’m in Minneapolis right now to give a talk at 2 at the Roseville library. My fellow Minnesotans all know we’re being hit with a big snow storm — the weather service is howling about blizzards and whiteouts. I’m beginning to suspect I’m not going to make it home today.

I have a Human Physiology class scheduled for 8am tomorrow morning. I’m hoping one or two of my students will see this message in a bottle and pass the word: I will be trying to get home today, but I’m not going to be stupid, and will give up rather than bulling on through hazardous conditions. If I do make it home, I will put a big message here saying COME TO CLASS MONDAY MORNING! Check before you go to bed tonight and if I’m stranded somewhere and don’t confirm my arrival…sleep in tomorrow.

I know you’ll all be hoping for my safe and timely travel.

Talking all day. Tired. Talking more tomorrow: Atheist Talk radio with Minnesota Atheists at 9am Central time. Also giving another talk at 2pm. Then driving home in a snowstorm. Yay Minnesota.