ORBS, WHO CAN EVER DOUBT THE ORBS?

Well what a mad cap week its been.

Last Thursday Rob and I drove to Vegas to attend The Amaz!ing Meeting 7 at South Point Casino. We met up with friends from LA, Amanda and 1000 other ubergeeks critical thinkers and skeptoids.
It was a really fun and interesting few days. Got to see, listen and meet some of the fore thinkers in the field. Michael Shermer, James Randi, Penn and Teller, Adam Savage, Phil Plait to name a few.

Skeptics Three

Panels and talks ranged from the harm of the Anti Vaccine movement, critical thinking in the media and entertainment industries, hunt for Bigfoot, magicians and ethics and why the world probably won't end in 2012.

Panel on magic and ethics.
L-R James Randi, Penn, Teller, Ray Hyman and Jamy Ian Swiss

We also got to witness an attempt for the $1 Million Paranormal Challenge. The lady Connie Sonne, believes she can dowse for cards with a bead onna string among other things, like making dogs yawn for instance. The protocals were are set out the agreed to by both parties. She had to dowse 3 cards correctly to move to the next level. It was interesting to watch but kinda slow.
As someone Twittered "it was like watching the worlds dullest card trick"
Surprise, surprise she failed.
She took it all in good grace at the time but now she she claiming she was cheated. I'm no psychic but I could have predicted that one.
I hope the next public challenge will involve ninjas, fire and tigers.

There were quite a few Aussies there so it was nice to hear a familar strine.

Ye Old UFO

On Sunday we drove back to Flagstaff with Amanda and her friend Jo. We spent the week doing all the great touristy things. The were very impressed by the Grand Canyon, 800 year old Pueblo ruins and lava tubes but I think the Ye Olde UFO Store in Sedona was the winner.

Grand Canyon, sisters and dogs.

Amanda's new album cover, Wukoki ruins

It was a mix of tongue in cheek and out right belief that overweight seppos are regularly being probed by perveted aliens.
It was next to the Crystal Magic store, which had great books like 'Who Built The Moon?'...riddle me that Phil Plait, 'The Crystal Children', 'What Is A Vortex' and many, many about digital camera backscatter caused by the distance between the lens and the built-in flash is decreased, thereby decreasing the angle of light reflection to the lens and increasing the likelihood of light reflection off normally sub-visible particles (thanks wiki) life forms that travel in groups and are believed to be the human soul or life force of those that once inhabited a physical body here on earth. (thanks random kook) . Orbs... gotta love the Orbs.

Orbs all around us in the Lava Tube

Good fun.

I'VE SEEN PENN AND TELLER DO THIS TRICK IN VEGAS.
I WAS DEAD IMPRESSED TOO.

I'm not surprised Penn is one of Lucys.

AWWW MY ADOPTED HOME STATE IS A MERE BAIRN....

now lets get all that youngern Uranium out of it.

Of course I knew this.
I have read The Book and looked at all the pretty pictures, the pictures are very pretty, but really, its bloody hard to get a ugly pic of the biggen hole.
Damning heh proof that the Grand Canyon was caused by Noah's flood.

no wonder we have no beaches.

REGRETFULLY, A.H. PERRY, BRAKEMAN WAS CUT IN TWO WHILE SWITCHING AT WINSLOW
From the 100 years ago section, AZ Daily Sun

Having 5 dogs in the house for teh last week has been interesting and we are finally getting into the swing of things.
We are looking after an ex foster we had back in Feb. I never would have recognized him. How quickly they grow up and change. We had him as Kodiak, now he is Romeo.
He is very cute, mostly well behaved and is dealing with Darwin and Roo being mean to him at every opportunity.




Found a new and fun 2 person game via BoardGame Geek. Sadly we have not met many people who like playing strange games, so mostly its just the two of us...alone...in the dark...playing Caylus or Zombies, quietly crying and wishing we had friends.
No its not all that bad, but some of the games would be better with more than two people, hence my semi regular search for good games.
I came across Blue Moon and the reviews looked promising. I ordered the basic set and two extra packs off Ebay. The two packs have turned up so far but they don't come with rules. Lucky the internet came through once again, and we have played a few games.
Each pack is a different 'race' with certain powers and special abilities in which you attempt to smite the other player as hard as you can then brag lots.
The two packs we have so far are the Mimix, your basic half naked Amazon warrior chicky babes and the Khind, small punky children, who are fairly weak on their own but are scary in knee kicking gangs.

There are some good reviews, but what gets me sometimes is when people decribe a certain game as 'wife approved' meaning that their non gamer woman actually will play without too much begging.
I was born a gamer girl and know many females who love to play games, so it kinda sticks in my craw, not craw..craw.....
I much prefer "non gamer approved", less of the image of the long suffering, patient woman who sumbits to the odd game of 'Hide The Artichoke" to keep her nerd man happy.
Its good fun, easy to learn and we are looking forward to the seeing the new decks.

On Thursday we are headed off the Vegas baby....forecasts of over 100F and many many geeks.
We are meeting Amanda there...have a good flight and I hope you found the Euc lollies.
Freinds from LA and Flagstaff are converging aswell.
It's The Amazing Meeting. A big skeptics do.
As long as the pool and Margaritas are believable, I'll be happy. It should be a whole lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to it.