… Continued …

So there we were in the Haunted Guest Quarters of the Old Infirmary, and I had already heard the ghost once. In the morning, my colleague and BFF Lynne who was staying with us for a couple of days noted that she had heard the mysterious footsteps as well….
Continue reading A True Ghost Story Part 2: The Ghost In the Hall →

Everything I’m about to tell you in this story is true.¹ This is a long story, so it will span more than one blog post. You might not want to read this story while you are alone or while sitting in the dark.²
Continue reading A true ghost story. Part I: A City of Death and Misery →

… in the last ten years. Here’s Bill Maher:

Reports from Lower Manhattan are sketchy, but the tide gauge shows that the Atlantic Ocean is receding, but not before filling the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel with several feet of water, probably flooding several subways, and covering the New York Stock Exchange floor with a few feet of water.

So far five or so people in the New York City area and one person in Maryland have been killed, including the very tragic case of two kids killed instantly when a large tree crashed through their house, where they were inside playing.

The power outages are extensive and the storm is not anywhere near over, but I thought you’d like to hear about the Wall Street thing….

Sandy was originally scheduled to pass over the Gulf Sream, intensify, then back off a bit in intensity as it spun closer to the cost, with the midpoint of the thousand mile wide tropical storm passing over the coast in the wee hours of the morning, Tuesday. Instead, Sandy has sped up and is heaving itself landward as a full blown Category One hurricane of unbelievable extent. Since the hurricane is hitting New Jersey, it’s right punch is heading for New York City, and as I write this, the storm surge at The Battery (that’s the lower, southernmost tip of Manhattan, where you catch the Staten Island Ferry) is a few inches below the level at which it is likely to flood the subway in that area.

The expected normal high tide is scheduled for about two hours form now and the storm tide is currently at just over 10 feet, and will easily hit the 10.5 mark (that’s where it starts to flood the subway, probably) without any difficulty.

No one really has a clue as to what will happen if the subway is flooded. I’m thinking there will be a lot of pumping followed by a lot of rinsing (salt water can’t be good for any of the structure, piping, wires, tracks, or anything). Do keep in mind that the subways are always being pumped out, so minor flooding is probably not too big of a deal. Of course, there is no telling what will happen if the Second Avenue subway becomes temporarily attached to the sea!!!! Halloween just around the corner … perfect timing … (Note: Proof that no matter how good Wikipedia may be, it is also a harbinger of the end of civilization as we know it, is that the Second Avenue Subway entry does not have a single reference to Giant Alligator.)

Anyway, the next few hours, any time from now to about 1:00 AM eastern time, is when important news from New York is expected. that’s not the only thing going on, of course. Barrier beaches and coastal zones are getting pretty badly ripped up as we speak in New Jersey and Delmarva, and West Virginia is getting snowed on. And so on. Stay tuned. If you’re in the area, let us know how you are doing.

Teen Skephchick has just announced that they have a podcast, starting now. From Mindy:

I’m excited to announce the very first episode of the Teen Skepchick Blog Show. In this episode, Eddy, Ali, and I discuss Ali’s piece on going to college. You will, for the first time, hear my 12-year-old girl voice, Eddy’s charming English accent, and Ali just trying to keep us on topic.

Details are here.

For most people, he’s going to do it by raising your taxes. And lying.

One of the more interesting and useful individual projects I was involved in over the last year was the production of two expert panels about climate change at CONvergence 2012. The panels were moderated by Desiree Schell, recorded, and edited by KO Myers into an episode of Skeptically Speaking.

The panels included Maggie Koerth-Baker, John Abraham, Shawn Otto and Yours Truly. I mention them now because all of the issues discussed in those panels are still very current and relevant, and if you have not listened to the podcast, I’m sure you will want to.

Click here to reach the Skeptically Speaking page on this panel, and from there you can click through to download the podcast or read the transcript.

Almost immediately, as many as 25 families rushed their kids out of the theater, but not before a gruesome opening sequence — in which a bloodied female corpse is thrown at the camera — was witnessed by children as young as five. “They started playing the movie and I thought – this doesn’t look right,” Natasha Lewis, mother of eight-year-old Dylan, told Yahoo UK. ”Everybody just scrambled for the exits, all you could hear were children crying and screaming. Everyone was very upset.”

Yup. They showed Paranormal Activity 4 instead of Madagascar 3. Ooops.

No relation. But anyway, he also did this:

Before I go any farther I’d like to note, with concern, that the automatic spellchecker thingie on the computer I’m using does not recognize the word Ixnay. Ameshfulsnay.

Anyway, this is fun, and important, about Ryan telling lies.

And by “fun” I meant “very disturbing.” Thank you Rachel Maddow for doing what you do.

Which is why I’m voting for Brian Barnes in my congressional district.