So. See you Friday? Starts at 7:30. You can RSVP here or on our Facebook invite, if you’re a Facebooker, or on Meetup by clicking on the badge in the sidebar.

Oh! And check out these photos David sent in from the CFI picnic last Saturday:

CFI Pittsburgh Canoe Trip 2009

This year, we are doing something a little different – for those who prefer a little extra challenge, we are offering three different options for participants to choose. All of the excursions end at the outfitters location in West Newton – the differences are in the put-in locations. You have the choice of 1.a fairly short run (2 hrs or so) from Cedar Creek Park, or 2. a medium length run (4 hrs or so) from Smithton, or 3. for those desiring something a little more lengthy, putting in at Whitsett (6 hrs or so). Every one can arrive at the outfitter at the time appropriate for their run and be transported to the put-in location. Then, as the group works its way downstream, those who have opted for the shorter runs can join the group as they get to the other put-in locations. By the time we get to West Newton, we should have a veritable armada – well, flotilla, anyway.

Rate schedule is as follows: $30 from Cedar Creek Park, $35 from Smithton, and $40 from Whitsett. This price is per canoe, two people per canoe. A third person can ride in the canoe for an additional $3. This is great if you have a child or a friend who wants to participate. And for those of you who have your own canoe, the outfitter will transport your canoe to the put-in for a nominal fee ($3 or $4 I think).

So if you are looking for some summer fun, come on along for the ride. Maybe YOU can enjoy the rope swing – or not. To reserve your canoe, e-mail BillK at unkabeard@verizon.net and send a check for the correct amount to:

CFI-Pittsburgh
PO Box 19003
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Reservations need to be in and paid by July 31st.

You remember Mr. Sherman — Illinois Representative Monique Davis interrupted him while he testified before the Springfield House State Government Administration Committee to spectacularly flip her shit:

I don’t know what you have against God, but some of us don’t have much against him. We look forward to him and his blessings… I’m trying to understand the philosophy that you want to spread in the state of Illinois… This is the land of Lincoln where people believe in God… What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous… It’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists… Get out of that seat! You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon.

This is just a sample of Mr. Sherman’s experiences. Come out and join the discussion this Tuesday!

When: Tuesday, May 5th 2009, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Where: Quaker Meeting House, 4836 Ellsworth Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (Oakland/Shadyside)

I don't need to dig for a photo of Dr. Campbell because I can just Google for photos of Darwin. He's that good.

Dr. David Campbell of The Darwin Center For Science & Reason brings Darwin to life in Darwin Remembers, a theatrical experience from the voyage of The Beagle to his death with actors recreating the voices from the past. I’ve seen this performance on dvd and Dr. Campbell is absolutely wonderful. I cannot think of a better way to mark the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth than stepping into history with Dr. Campbell’s Darwin live on stage, and I’m delighted to say that we can!

Where: Carnegie Science Center
When: 2pm Saturday January 31st and every Saturday in February!
More info: call (412) 237-3400

If you’d like to meet Dr. Campbell and discuss The Darwin Center for Science & Reason, he will be the special guest speaker at the Center for Inquiry’s February dinner meeting.

When: February 12th, 6pm [edited! I originally posted the 2nd]
Where: 2238 Route 51 Clairton, PA 15025 [Jefferson Hills]
More details: CFI calendar

Quoted from a message from CFIC-Pittsburgh’s Steering Committee Treasurer Chuck Bobich:

CFI Community of Pittsburgh will hold tonight’s general meeting at the Carnegie Science Center, starting at 7:00 PM and lasting to about 9:00. We’ll meet in the Digital Dome, where dome operator Frank Mancuso has outlined a program that promises to be even more spectacular than last year’s, including:

• A brief review/overview of the Digital Sky System – a how and why explanation
• A few updates in the world of Astronomy.
• The Digital Universe fly through with some modifications to make it different from last year, but still “flying out to the edge.”
• “Hubble Views” – a 4 minute tribute utilizing some Hubble Telescope images.

This program goes far beyond what is normally shown to the public. There is no charge to our members for this event. However, we’ll make our normal voluntary collection to cover expenses, plus a twist…in the best secular humanistic tradition, one-half of tonight’s proceeds will be donated to the Pittsburgh Food Bank.

You can track tonight’s event at this link plus get other news from our Community’s website.

CFIC-Pittsburgh is lucky to number a facility like the Carnegie Science Center among its resources. I hope a sizable number of you decide to join us for tonight’s special show.

——

You are also invited to join us at Bettis Grill 36 for a pre-meeting dinner at 5:30!

(Non-burger options available.)

Pre-meeting dinner:
When – Thursday December 11th 5:30-6:30ish
Where – Jerome Bettis’ Grill 36 (ground floor Del Monte Bldg.)
393 North Shore Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Meeting:
When – 7pm-9pm
Where – Buhl Digital Dome, Carnegie Science Center (North Shore Drive)

More Upcoming December CFI Pgh Events:

CFI Pittsburgh’s Structured Discussion will be continuing their look at the historical Jesus, Tuesday December 16th at the Quaker Meeting House in Shadyside. This lecture series by Bart Ehrmann, with discussion led by Victor Bernard has been going on for a bit but you are welcome to jump in.

Movie night will be at our gracious host Bill H’s place the evening of Wednesday December 17th. For information on either and contacts please see the CFI Pittsburgh site.

Here is a write-up from the Trib: Workshop, show reveal how ‘mentalists’ work their magic

You’ll probably recognize a ton of people in this video, including Lawrence Krauss, who is speaking in Pittsburgh on Oct. 3. I recommend Googling anyone you don’t already know.

If you like what you hear definately checkout Pittsburgh’s CFI chapter.

A deep fried cheeseburger. Or proof there could not be a loving god?

At our pre-meeting dinner gathering at Bettis Grille, Brandon was the only one who braved the deep fried cheeseburger. Although, rumor has it BillH has successfully taken on one of their deep fried meatloaf sandwiches in the past. We, as skeptics of course, require proof. Research grants may or may not be available for proposals delving into the subject of which deep fried monstrosity is more extreme*.

After our table of nine completely failed to finish the Tower of Carrot Cake (for two) we headed over to the Carnegie Science Center to meet up with the rest of the crew for a private showing of their IMAX film “Wild Ocean”. I am not sure if I can recommend allowing your entire field of vision to be filled with an undersea mass of undulating sardines being attacked from all directions by dolphins and dive-bombing birds on a full stomach. If the action scenes don’t make your tum flop, gorgeous swooping aerial shots of waves crashing over rocky shores just might.  You should see it, and you should see it before dinner, but probably not if you’re planning to go out for seafood.

Questions I have after watching this documentary on the importance of maintaining the oceans’ biodiversity that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual subject:

1. When did sharks become prettier than dolphins or is thinking dolphins are adorable something you grow out of? Does this mean I’m old?
2. Is it totally badass to surf in the part of the world where the greatest number of shark species are waiting for the cold front to refill their favorite all-you-can-eat buffet or just nuts?
3. Aren’t you glad there isn’t a deep fried sardines appetizer on the Bettis Grille menu?

Following the movie we discussed some upcoming events that will be composed in a more serious post once details are finalized. There was also some discussion about science education, and those who weren’t off marveling at the most inaccessible accessible restroom I’ve ever seen while this part of the conversation happened are invited to write about it. (Hint.) 

* And by “may or may not” I mean “aren’t but should be”.

About forty years ago, I attended a pyramid scheme sales pitch sponsored by some friends of mine who had already been duped into the scheme. (I also got asked to attend one of these for a different product a few years later, as well.) The way they sell these gimmicks is that they show all these people who are living the “good life” and have supposedly made tons of money with this scheme as testimonials. And they spend close to an hour showing images of large houses and yachts and expensive cars. But they gloss over the nuts and bolts of the plan and count on their mark being distracted and dazzled by all the glitz who get caught up in their enhanced desire for financial success to think too clearly about the scheme behind the scenes.

For a number of years, I used to sell heated paint spray booths to bodyshops. The brand that I handled used what is known as a “direct fire” heating plant. One of my competitors sold booths with “indirect fire” heating systems. He used to write articles for trade publications stressing the dangers of direct fire. He did this by writing one or two paragraphs listing the potential problems of direct fire (which did exist but were very slight) and then spent the next two pages describing in excruciating detail the terrible things that could be the result of these potential problems.

By now you are probably asking “what does all this have to do with creation science?” Quite simply this: it’s like déjà vu all over again. This presentation was merely sleight of hand and smoke and mirrors. The presenter, a Dr. Charles Jackson, from East Tennessee State was supposed to give a 30-minute presentation to be followed by a 30 minute Q & A session. What he gave was a 45-minute presentation, about 5 minutes of which was actually devoted to his argument, that was nothing more than a variation on the tired old “intelligent design” notion that it-just-looks-like-it-had-to-have-been-designed-by-an-intelligent-designer nonsense.

The rest of the time he spent doing two things: quoting famous freethinkers out of context and trying to imply that they would support his poor logic, and touting his own credentials to try to support the assertion that he’s not just some irrational crackpot. (This, of course, was in response to Richard Dawkins’ quote that “anybody who doesn’t believe in evolution is either dumb, ignorant, or insane. With his poor critical thinking skills, and hence a lack of developed intellect, I would characterize him as ignorant, and with his irrational belief in superstitious nonsense with no viable evidence to support it, I would consider him at least partially insane.)

So what we had was a very poor and very weak variation of a thoroughly discredited argument started up in a whole lot of insubstantial window dressing, all of which appeared to be intended to distract the listener from the lack of substance in the argument itself. It’s something that I have seen many times before and I left the presentation feeling very angry that this guy would have the arrogance to waste my time presenting this as cogent, logical thought deserving to be part of rational discourse on the subject of evolution. As Yogi said – it’s like déjà vu all over again.