I wrote a remembrance of Phillip Tobias for Scientific American Blogs. Please have a look. Thank you very much.

Check out this amazing obituary, of sorts, for Phillip Tobias on Scientific American Blogs!!!!

The James Randi Educational Foundation, which does important work on behalf of skepticism and education, has been without a communications director for a while now, but has just announced the appointment of Carrie Poppy to that position. From a blog post by DJ Grothe:

I am pleased to share some exciting news straight from the James Randi Educational Foundation, and to introduce you to the newest member of our team, Carrie Poppy. After months of searching and interviews, we are thrilled to have Carrie join us. She has been involved in the non-profit world for several years, and has worked on many successful campaigns in LGBTQ rights, animal protection, and skepticism, a cause about which she is especially passionate. I asked Carrie a few questions from our brand new offices in the heart of Hollywood, California. (Open house details to be announced in the weeks ahead; stay tuned!)

The rest of the post is an interview with Carrie.

Everything I’ve heard about Carrie Poppy is pretty positive, often glowing. The PETA link is interesting; if you’ve followed my commentary on “animal rights” you’ll know that I have a very pro-animal rights mixed with anti-animal rights set of views. And in between. Maybe that’s a topic we should bring up again in the near future.

Hi folks

We did a google hangout thingie yesterday which went very well (you can see it here) but my webcam apparently sucked. Even though I changed the tagline under my name several times to various very funny comments you can’t read it, and this is presumably because the resolution of the web cam was low so the whole thing got messed up.

(Compare my part with other people who had better resolution.)

The folks who made this video are passing around notes on what seems to work but I thought I’s start a thread here to discuss it as well.

What are your recommendations?

Fund Raider!!!!!! Continue reading Sarah Moglia was wrong. →

Some day I want someone to write up an expose on Monopod Man because, if he really is who people say he is and if his other identities are the same as they seem to be, it is important that people know who he is. But I’m not going to do that, or at least, not now. Monopod Man is the guy who was bothering women at a conference, and also, walking around with a camera that may or may not have been set up to obtain “upskirt shots” of people who may or may not have been wearing skirts or kilts, and while he may or may not have been doing that, he also may or may not have posted “upskirt shots” on the JREF forum.

Anyway, Rob Tarzwell wrote a Facebook Note that referred in part to Monopod man, and has become part of the corpus of information regarding TAM related events that may or may not have happened. Rob has modified his facebook notes and has asked me to indicate that here since I had previously referred to it. Also, this same information has been significantly expanded on by Greta Christina who has related information provided by a person who was one of those involved in reporting the activities of Monopod Man.

Rob’s updated post is here, and in case you can’t see that, this is what it says:

Act I: TAM 2009

I notice an outrageously drunk conferee hitting on a non-conferee in the Del Mar Lounge. She was at the stage of being quite anxious but trying very hard to remain polite. I asked him if maybe the woman had had enough. He was far too drunk to notice his inappropriate behaviour and became surly. I watched from a distance. He decided to kick it up a notch, leaned across the table, and licked the woman’s neck. Myself and another gent physically restrained him and frog-marched him to his room. Hotel security wanted to eject him immediately. God knows why, but I intervened so he could stay. He was a royal pain in the ass for hours while we babysat him in his room, and he remains bitter about the experience to this day. I would not plead with hotel security if that were to happen again.

Act II: TAM 2011

Two women approach me and another conferee. They are pale and trembling. Allegedly*, a man with a camera on the end of a telescoping monopod has been attempting to surreptitiously take photos up their skirts. Yes, he was attending TAM. They had taken concerns to conference organizers and got little satisfaction. Hotel security confiscated the camera. I later learned the individual was “well-known” and had been complained about in previous years, and yet there he was again.

Act III: Female safety?

I go to conferences. Lots of conferences. I am nauseated with conferences. None, NONE, involve the kind of outrageous shitshow behaviour I routinely witness at TAM. I could supply many more anecdotes. Oh, anecdotes aren’t data? Well, these anecdotes are human beings – our sisters.

Frankly, I admire Rebecca Watson’s restraint and tenacity, and her longsuffering support of an organization which, while it does perhaps do net good in the world, has yet to take a long, serious, hard look in the mirror and acknowledge that, if we’re ever going to get past this sophomoric bullshit and present a credible face of rationality in an irrational world, the irrational world we need to start with is us.

*Wording changed 15 June 2012 to make it clear that I did not directly witness the alleged incidents. I did directly witness the palpable fear and revulsion the women were experiencing.

There are many, many comments on that post including questions, clarifications, and all sorts of other stuff.

Greta Christina’s information and commentary is here, mainly. Or at least, start there and work your way outwards.

Rebecca Watson of Skepchick joins several Free Thought Blogs bloggers to discuss sexual harassment at skeptics/freethought/atheist conferences, especially apropos TAM and DJ Grothe.

You will find this link handy to have on the side.

Rodney King was found at the bottom of a swimming pool, current reports indicate. He is dead at the age of 47. There are no details.

Sarah Moglia getting a Mohawk for the SSA Fundraiser: Continue reading Sarah Gets a Mohawk →