[Update - May 31, 2010 - I heard back from leading Otter expert Dr. Hans Kruuk and here's what he had to say re: the identity of the animal in these photos:

Looking at the size of the hairs in relation to body, I'd say something like mink, agreeing with your identification. Otters also have a thin layer of very dense, dark grey under-fur, and in the picture I can see no sign of that.

If you take that observation and combine it with the findings of Dr. James Patton quoted over at Forgetomori.com:

“[The] mystery critter looks more like a mink than an otter to me (longer fingers, without any evidence of webbing).  It clearly was dead in the water for a prolonged period, hence the defurred face and head, and somewhat swollen appearance”, wrote Patton.

I think we have all the expert evidence converging on Mink as the identity of the mystery corpse of Canada.  However you don’t need to be an expert to know that a rotting dead animal, while monstrously odiferous, doesn’t have to be a monster in fact.]

They say what’s old is new.  Lately the cryptozoology world has been awash (pardon) with creatures found on beaches or near water.  These critters all share some common features.  First, they’re dead.  Second, they’re either hairless or nearly hairless.  Third, they’re photographed and the odd pictures are shared on the Internet.  Then the speculation storm washes all around us.

This is not new, mind.  The history of dead things washed up on shore is long and disgusting.  From a dead shark posing as a plesiosaur to a dead raccoon posing as a mutant experiment these photos apparently capture the imagination of viewers, and that’s all it takes to make good news copy.

This week’s corpse-célèbre washed up near the town of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Ontario and was discovered by a couple of  nurses who photographed it and then shared the photos.  The animal is said to be less than a foot long, with a rat-like tail.

Canadian Mustelid Corpse - Top View

(Read on to find the solution!)
» Continue reading “The Media Otter Know Better”

On May 15th and 16th, we held our 2nd Skepticamp here in Atlanta. This year’s event included presentations from 18 attendees, a poster presentation session, a round table discussion on “Skepticism for Everyone through Social Media”, sword fights, a pony made of cake and 60+ attendees each day!

Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

For me, the presentations that stood out came from LaVerne Knight-West and Dr. Ginger Campbell (host of Brain Science Podcast and Books and Ideas). Each shared their personal journeys and experiences with the skeptical community, and warm, fuzzy feelings ensued.

Dr. Ginger Campbell at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

Certainly the most unique presenter at Skepticamp was martial arts expert, John Clements. In addition to the fact that he brought SWORDS, he himself was highly entertaining. One of the more quotable Skepticamp moments: During a demonstration with SWORDS, John matter-of-factly states, “People with weapons KILL people without weapons, that’s why we have so many of them.”  I was afforded the opportunity to challenge him in duel. I could have killed him, but the 2nd rule of Skepticamp is “Be Awesome. And Don’t Kill Anyone.”

Presenter John Clements is no match for Taylor Proctor's sword fighting skills.

I was personally excited to see the presentations from Brian, Laura, Veronica, Sean and Bob, who participated in our SkeptiBOOTcamp workshops over the weeks leading up to Skepticamp. The whole thing was a bit of an experiment, and I hope to develop the idea further before next year’s Skepticamp. I do encourage other organizers to consider doing something like this before Skepticamps. I think each participant’s presentation benefited in some way from the support and assistance gained through the different workshops.

Presenter Laura Ross at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

Another notable aspect of Atlanta’s Skepticamp was our theme, “Critical Thinking For Everyone.” I felt the message successfully resounded throughout the weekend. Each presenter shared their own unique perspective on skepticism, and the panel on “Skepticism for Everyone through Social Media,” yielded a lot of discussion and sharing from the audience. I felt an overall sense of humility from participants throughout the weekend, a sentiment that can seem sometimes lacking in the skeptical community.  I want to give extra thanks to Swoopy from Skepticality, for helping me out with my idea for a theme and really running with it.

Maria Walters and Tim Farley during panel discussion at Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

I definitely learned a lot more from organizing this year’s Skepticamp than I did during the planning of Atlanta’s first camp last year. The discussions and events of last weekend’s event, raised interesting questions in my mind to consider as I think about how we can move forward for next year’s Skepticamp. Namely, What is primary goal of having community events like Skepticamp? Is it to promote skepticism and critical thinking, or is it to nurture the skeptic?

There was marked shift in the nature of presentations from last year to this year. Last year, a majority of presentations were informative overviews of topics like logical fallacies, neuroscience, evolution, detox myths, etc. This year, more presentations addressed a skeptic’s humble lesson learned. Presenter Russ discussed how our fears, often fueled further by media sensationalism, can lead to the presumption of a crisis and unnecessary hysteria; Christian gave us an account his pleasant and relaxing visit to an acupuncturist, (despite leaving with an unhealed knee injury); Brian shared an anecdotal example of how even the most rational of skeptical critical thinkers are not immune to irrational thought. I’m excited and very interested to see the direction in which presentations might go for next year.

Thanks to all who volunteered, gave a talk, and attended Atlanta Skepticamp 2010!

I personally want to give extra-special thank yous to:

Maria Walters – for taking charge of planning when I was stressed and over-committed.

Mark Ditsler of Abrupt Media – for all things A/V club; equipment, recording, streaming, time-keeping. His contribution was priceless, as always

Derek Colanduno- for offering up our venue (even if it was quite toasty)

David Rodriguez – for designing our Skepticamp logo and shirts.

Derek (again) and Swoopy of Skepticality – for being our badass MCs.

Brian Thompson of Amateur Scientist Podcast- for coming all the way to Atlanta to record a live podcast at our Skepticamp Fundraiser in March.

Kylie Sturgess, George Hrab, A Kovacs and Surly Amy – for their recorded messages to Atlanta Skepticampers.

Shayna Glick – for making my Skepticamp dreams come true! All I wanted for Skepticamp was a pony!

SkeptiPony, official mascot of Atlanta Skepticamp 2010

Thanks to all our sponsors!

JREF

Skeptic Magazine

Fund For Thought

Skeptical Inquirer

Skepticality

Amateur Scientist Podcast

Thinking Man Tavern

Skepchick

Surly Ramics

Tree Lobsters

Abrupt Media

Bluefox Graphic

Skepticamp, created in Denver, perfected in Atlanta!

This is a longer version of my research posted at The Examiner.  You can comment there without having to sign-in.

As a vocal skeptic, I’ve become known among my friends and family as the go-to person to determine whether or not news stories or photos on the Internet are true.  Sometimes this just means going to Snopes.com to check and see and see what the folklore researchers have come up with.  Other times I have to dig in and do the research myself.  The latest piece of dubious dumbness to come across my desk is a photo purported to be of Arizona Hispanic protesters out complaining about the new state law the state just passed.

This photo is currently circulating in e-mails. It appears to be a fake.

It is an e-mail with the subject line of “VERY SCARY: Give us free” and contains this image, along with the following text:  

I started by checking the Snopes site, but so far they don’t have an analysis up.   Message boards battered back and forth on whether or not the sign could be real.  Some people feel that even if the photo is fake, that this is a real sentiment in the Arizona Latino community.

But does it show a real sign?  Many investigators are looking to find a copy of the original photo, or supplemental photos of the setting to see if any other evidence supports the idea that the sign is real, or evidence that will falsify it.  I suspect the latter is more likely.

Original photo of protest of WBC. Courtesy SkepticRN

Here is a crude fake of that photo wherein I replaced the perfectly sensible original message with something silly.

Areas around the lettering show thick black and the letters stark white.

  

 Now, let’s compare those known fakes to the the “Arizona” protest photo.  First, again, here is the protest photo that has been doing the rounds on the chain e-mail circuit, and directly below it is the ELA analysis:

ELA of the "Arizona" photo also shows distinct areas of alteration.

 The similarities between my admitted fake and this photo are quite obvious.  They are especially apparent in the lower sign, the one threatening future cop killings. This suggests that the top part of the sign may not have been as heavily altered.

Just to be clear, this image shows very, very strong evidence of being altered.

History is full of people faking evidence to fulfill their bigoted fantasies or support their ideologies.  From the Protocols of the elders of zion to Obama’s birth-certificate conspiracy theory, people have used their creative powers to make the world the way they think it ought to be.   Still, with the Internet it is now possible for serious researchers to join together and collaborate to get to the truth.  

A skeptic investigator wants to be as definitive as the evidence will allow.  In this case the evidence strongly supports this being a faked photograph altered to create the incendiary message it currently carries.  It is extremely likely that other photos from the May 1st protest at the LA Times will come out and show what this man’s sign actually said.  But we don’t need that to know this photo is faked.

One of the greatest things about being in the Skeptical community is how quickly we rally around a cause. It seems that no matter what the subject, we have at least one person who’s a domain expert in the field; We have a belly-dancing astronomer for Pete’s sake!

I got a message on Google Talk today from my good friend @MasalaSkeptic, asking if I knew anyone who was hiring. It seems that a member of the Atlanta Skeptics had just been laid off and was looking for a job. Since the Atlanta Skepticamp is in a few days, I mentioned that we should make an effort to help that person and others out. Bringing together smart, critical thinking job-seekers and employers that value those same skills really is a no-brainer.

That’s probably why it occurred to me.

If people show interest and some good comes from this, who knows, maybe there will be a website in the near future. For now, I’m starting small. It would be great if a few people actually get some help out of this, but what I don’t want (and refuse) to do is detract from why we hold Skepticamp in the first place – to encourage participation in open discussion about science and skepticism. I want to prevent headhunters and commercial job sites from being involved; just friends in the community connecting with others. To borrow from Google’s alleged motto and “not be mean” is the goal.

Job seekers: If you’re attending the Atlanta Skepticamp and are looking for a job, please send your resume and a cover letter to skeptijob at gmail dot com. I will NOT give your information out to anyone except those people who attend Skepticamp without your consent.

Employers (or people who know about a job): If you are attending Atlanta Skepticamp and are looking to fill a position, please send a job description and the pertinent info to skeptijob at gmail dot com.

Thanks!

@JoeAnderson

Hi all! Just a quick note to let you know that the Skepticamp schedule has been posted. Check out the Skepticamp page for more all the details! And if you haven’t signed up yet, there’s still time. Register and come help out – we’d love to have you!

This is a rushed post on short notice so I apologize in advance for being abrupt. Tomorrow and Thursday, the Westboro Baptist Church is planning a series of demonstrations in Atlanta. We are trying to round up participants to counter protest. Westboro Baptist Church is run by Fred Phelps who puts on the God Hates Fags protests. NOTE: Don’t click that link on a full stomach. It’s evil.  They protest around the country spreading their message of hate at military funerals and other public events.

The best counter protests I’ve seen involve peaceful demonstrations that collect money for charities like this one.

Others take a more surreal approach:

http://laughingsquid.com/san-franciscos-answer-to-westboro-baptist-church/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/94878257@N00/4540981479/

Anyway, we are rallying the troops at the last minute. Details of what to do below the fold! » Continue reading “Westboro Baptist Invades Atlanta”

Have you registered for Atlanta Skepticamp yet? If you haven’t, you are missing out on these AWESOME t-shirts that I just ordered!

Don’t worry – I ordered a few extra. Sign up soon to help out and get one! Not sure what you can do? Check out our page on Other Ways to Participate at Skepticamp!

I’m excited to say our speaker time slots for “Atlanta Skepticamp 2010: Critical Thinking For Everyone” are currently all filled! I’m looking forward to hearing a wide range of talks this year!

I also realize there are people  really looking forward to giving a talk this year, who did not register in time to get a speaker time slot.  I’ve heard from people who would love to contribute a presentation to Skepticamp, but are really not into the idea of giving a talk in front of on an audience. To accommodate more participation, we’re announcing a Skepticamp “Poster Session” which will take place Saturday May 15th 10am-12pm (Day 1 of Skepticamp)! We’ll also begin May 16th, day 2 of Skepticamp, earlier at 10 am and we’ve got something special planned that we’ll be announcing soon! If you’ve been on the fence about attending Skepticamp, you REALLY don’t want to miss this!

We’re asking people to contribute their most creative submissions for Skepticamp, not just poster presentations! For more suggestions, please visit our page on Other Ways to Participate at Skepticamp. Personally, I’m hoping to see at least ONE skeptical diorama!

If you’re having trouble thinking of a topic for your contribution to Skepticamp, I encourage you to address, in your own way, the idea of “Critical Thinking For Everyone.” We’re taking the opportunity of Skepticamp this year to champion this idea, and invite our participants to explore the topic. I discussed  the upcoming Skepticamp and “Critical Thinking For Everyone” with Atlanta’s own Derek and Swoopy on a recent episode of Skepticality. I encourage everyone to check it out, and I’m looking forward to seeing/hearing great things from my fellow skeptics in a few weeks at Skepticamp!

Note: Don’t forget to register for Skepticamp, if you haven’t done so already!

I work in the arts.  Have for all my professional life.  And yes, I am a bleeding heart liberal that believes it is the state’s responsibility to help fund arts and culture.  It is simply a quality of life issue that we all deserve.  Indeed you will find many of us at Atlanta Skeptics either work in the arts or are active participants in arts related endeavors such as theater, museums, puppetry, etc.  Why?  Because arts and culture help us think, feel, and understand the world around us.  We are better critical thinkers and skeptics because of it.

It has been proven that art, theater, music, and other such cultural activities are a necessary part of a persons life and help greatly with education.  Apparently, however, the lawmakers in Georgia take a different stance on the importance of the arts and arts funding, a stance that I do not agree with.

The $17.8 billion budget passed by the House on Wednesday calls for the elimination of the Georgia Council for the Arts. Georgia would become the only state in the U.S. without an arts agency if that plan holds as the budget works its way through the Senate before going to Gov. Sonny Perdue.

It’s already a fact that arts funding in this state lags behind much of the country (we’re presently ranked 44th) so it is no big surprise that the whacko’s in the capitol building want to get rid of it altogether. It is a travesty, however, that should not be allowed to happen.  In an economy where jobs are already hard to come by, this decision will cut many jobs that depend on Georgia Arts Council funding.   How does cutting more jobs, by cutting a small part of the state budget help things?  In fact it will hurt far more than it helps.  I urge you, all of you who read this, to contact your state senator or representative and even the governor.  Let them know how you feel.  Try to do something about this.