Latest info on local groups

PENINSULA SKEPTICS

We’ll lead off with the excellent news that after a twelve-month recess, Peninsula Skeptics are re-starting: on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The venue is The Peninsula Club, Gibson Street Dromana.

Your convenor Graeme Hanigan says: The night will be primarily social, perhaps a round table suggestion of topics for the future. Please go to the MEETUP GROUP to read more and to RSVP.

Graeme is also keen for Peninsula Skeptics to be involved in Science Week (mid August) and is looking for suggestions and ideas on some of the best ways to achieve this.

VIC SKEPTICS

are travelling nicely with our regular Skeptics Café at La Notte Restaurant, 140 Lygon Street Carlton.

The next event is on Monday 20th May, where Ken Greatorex will host our Ninth Annual Trivia Extravaganza.

Please join us (with a team of up to six people, or just by yourself) for a meal at 6pm, with the Trivia starting at 7:30 pm. See our EVENTS page for details of Skeptics Cafés well into the future.

Skepticism in the Bush

by Russell Kelly

There is plenty to keep a skeptic busy in the bush; alternative medicine abounds and belief systems involving the weather and animals are plentiful.  The recent drought spawned a plethora of water diviners but lacking confidence in the Bureau of Meteorology, many believe that the best indicator of impeding precipitation is the squawking of Black Cockatoos. The myth has been around for at least 100 years but for some reason the squawking during the drought seemed to have less effect than the nude dance in the paddock.

Emu oil is currently very fashionable to cure a wide variety of maladies and snake-oil salesmen find easy pickings especially with weight loss scams. A long-running study has confirmed that rural women are more obese than their city cousins and they are more likely to use alternative medicines, so there are plenty of candidates for the wacky products.

Medical conditions triggered by pollens and sprays are endemic in the bush and so are the charlatans who peddle ‘natural’ allergy therapies including the instruments to test allergy susceptibility. The TGA has recently closed down the web site of one of our local operators who with her gadgetry could diagnose the offending allergen and then provide a rapid cure using the latest in homeopathy potions.

Skeptics In the Pubs – How are We Travelling?

You’d have to say “very well”.

Victoria has adopted the “Skeptics In The Pub” idea with enthusiasm. If you turn to the back page of your latest Skeptic magazine , you’ll see that of the eight new Australian regional groups listed, six are in Victoria.

We’ve discussed Skeptics in the Pubs before;

Your Very Own Skeptics In the Pub

Great Ocean Road Skeptics

New Skeptics in the Pubs

Here’s a brief look at each group in alphabetical order.

Your Very Own Skeptics in the Pub?

 One of the interesting developments in Victoria and World Wide in recent years has been the growth of local “Skeptics In the Pub” groups.

In the past, we’ve often had the odd lone enquiry along the lines of “I live too far away from the City to attend your events. Is there a Skeptics group near me?”

The short answer was mostly “No”. However, we often chased up the enquiry, in an attempt to get some interest going. On most occasions, this lead nowhere.  Then we were shown how to do it, by enterprising  people in Country Victoria,  the beachside  suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula.