Fri, Dec 03 2004

Once again I have sadly neglected the blog. My head is heavy with shame. My feet are ankle deep in remorse. My knees are trembling with regret. Well you get the idea.

As I said above I have some good news and some bad news. First two pieces of good news, to offset the one piece of bad news.

First off, "A Skeptical Blog" is not dead...just moribund. I have been very busy with various things and just have not found the time to update as I would like. I realize that this excuse is getting really old, but unfortunately it is the only one I have.

I am hoping that I can get back to regular posting soon. I still plan to make a lot of changes around here, it is just a question of when I will have the time. Not to worry though, I promise, I will be back.

The second piece of good news is, believe it or not, my paper was accepted for the "Call for Papers" at "The Amaz!ing Meeting Three" (for all the information that is fit to print, click here). There is the email from Professor Ron Hall:

Dear Mr. McLaughlin,

On behalf of the James Randi Foundation I write to inform you that the TAM3 paper presentation committee has selected your proposal for the Sunday papers session.

Specifically we invite you to give your presentation entitled "Media Bias. Is it the same as Experimental Bias?" on Sunday morning January 16, 2005 (actual time to be announced later).

Please write me back as soon as possible to confirm your attendance.

Just a final reminder (as stated on the TAM3 call for papers web site) that all selected paper presenters are responsible to pay for their own attendance including registration. JREF greatly appreciates your volunteer participation, but unfortunately cannot fund any part of your trip.

If you accept, Mr. Randi has asked me to invite you to the Saturday night Speakers' Banquet (dinner is on JREF) where we hope you can attend and have an opportunity to meet the many other talents and noted speakers of the conference.

One again, I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience, and I thank you for your commitment to JREF and your valued contribution to making TAM3 a success.

Sincerely,

Ray Hall

I cannot begin to express the honor I feel to have this paper accepted.

Now for the bad news. There is simply no way I can go.

As we can see to the left, my attempt at raising money was none too successful. Not that this surprises me, I said at the beginning that I am really lousy at asking people for dough. I really did not try very hard, for instance I never did write other bloggers asking them to link to my fund raising attempt. Another problem was the lateness of the acceptance. Professor Hall told me that they would be making a decision by November 10th. When I did not hear from Professor Hall for so long a time, I took what money I had saved for the trip and used it to buy Christmas for my kids. When you hit the bottom line, this is more important to me than going to Vegas in any case.

Needless to say I am really disappointed that I will not be able to attend. Still I never really thought I had a chance anyway, I was completely surprised when I got the acceptance letter. Still just the fact that they think that I have something important to say, and they were willing to give me a forum to say it, is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

And hey, there is always next year. I have a feeling that Penn & Teller are not going to change the format of there show anytime soon, and they did get picked up for a third season. And since I am not going anywhere either...

While I am on the subject, I would like to offer a very public thanks to Professor Hall for the personal time he took with me. I certainly hope he does not feel it was wasted. He was very kind and offered me all sorts of great suggestions. I mean, they must have been great, they accepted the silly thing.

I would also like to thank Livius Drusus, from over at Freethought Forum. the only person that actually made a pledge of $100.00. And also the very nice Birthday Wish (my birthday was Nov. 29, making me...ug...45). I promise guy, I will get to writing again. Hell I will even try like hell to visit the forum. I do miss posting and writing. Maybe even a few readers of this very blog will drop by and make a contribution. We can certainly hope.