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A quick update

I’m at the big Atheist Alliance conference, and this has been the very busy day, so I thought I’d just mention a few of the fun things going on.

  • Last night at Libros Revolución was a blast, and thanks especially to Keith for driving us around. Lots of familiar people from the threads here were present, as well as many new people. I do have to comment on one fellow (who can volunteer his identity if he wants):

    i-c6233d7abfb17e871bbf5bb08acbacc0-tattoo.jpg

    Awesome tattoo.

  • At lunch, I got to sit next to Jill Sobule. She reads Pharyngula! Everyone say hello to Jill now. Of course, she also ‘fessed up to reading WorldNutDaily for the humor value, so this may not be an entirely flattering revelation.

  • The secret guest at this meeting was supposed to be Ayaan Hirsi Ali; her presence was kept secret because of the threats against her life. To no avail, though: local security freaked out on the Queen Mary and in Long Beach, and she wasn’t allowed to attend. We had to settle for a too-brief video link from an undisclosed location.

  • Got little kids? Here’s a site you must check out, Charlie’s Playhouse. THey are making and marketing simple games and displays about evolution for young kids, a niche that needs to be filled. Their wall hanging belongs in every grade school classroom in the country.

  • My talk is over. I took a different direction than I usually do — I got lots of questions, which is good, but I never can tell how successful these things are. People tend not to go up to the speaker and say, “that sucked”. (You can, you know—I can take the criticism).

  • I’ve done three video interviews so far today, and there were several others stacked up. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be at the happy hour social event at 6, the banquet at 7, and this Religiomania thing, whatever it is, for at least a little while around 10. Busy busy busy.

  • I fly back tomorrow. I may just sleep all the way home.

Have fun in the comments while I play!

Tonight!

I’m getting some email from local people wanting to get together while I’m here in LA. The best opportunity is tonight (Friday, 26 September), when I’ll be speaking downtown at Libros Revolución, at 312 W. 8th St (between Broadway & Hill streets). We’re scheduled to start at 7:00pm, but due to the curiously static nature of evening traffic in LA, we’ll probably offer a little leeway and may start a little later than that…and of course, if you can’t make even our delayed starting time, I’ll be hanging about afterwards, probably seeking out some nearby watering hole. So come whenever!

Minnesota science standards

Here it is the time of year when Minnesotans are reviewing the state science standards, and I’m off in California, shirking. At least Greg Laden is on top of things, and while there are some things that need to be fixed, it’s mostly good news: no creationists are making a fuss this time around. Last time, I attended a couple of Cheri Yecke’s dog-and-pony-shows, and there were creationists on stage, on the committees, in the administration, and in the audience. This time, only pro-science people are there, arguing over significant issues and not whether giants were in the earth in those days and how many ID buzzwords they could sneak in.

That’s an old rock

Geologists have just discovered the oldest terrestrial rock yet: some badly battered bit of something called a faux-amphibolite from Northern Quebec, Canada that has been dated to 4.28 billion years ago. I’m afraid most of the paper is way above my head — lots of radioisotope measurements, discussions of the details of the local geology, etc. — but I can at least note that this means Ken Ham is wrong by a factor of over 713,000. I am impressed by both the age of the rocks and the magnitude of the error a creationist can sustain without exploding into a cloud of pink pixie dust that fades to the sound of waning calliope music.


O’Neil J, Carlson RW, Francis D, Stevenson RK (2008) Neodymium-142 Evidence for Hadean Mafic Crust. Science 321(5897):1828-1831.

Palin changes mind on evolution

It’s a stunning about-face. Not only does she admit that evolution is valid, but she confesses that she herself is an example of a transitional form.

“I am gutted that I have let the American Right down like this,” she said at a tearful press conference this morning, surrounded by her collection of stuffed polar bears in the den of her Anchorage home.

“Our primary argument for Creation and against the communist satanic onslaught of evolution has always been: ‘Well I’ve never seen a chimp turn into a man’ or ‘Show me a gorilla giving birth to a human baby and I’ll believe in evolution’.

“It has been an argument as sophisticated as our Grand Old Party, and I am devastated that I have undermined it, firstly by transforming from a pitbull to a woman, and now into an elderly male slave-owner.”

It remains to be seen how the American electorate will deal with this revelation, since while she is now an admitted evilutionist, she is also still a peppy, chipper, attractive former beauty queen, and it remains to be seen whether any statement of substance can distract them from superficialities.