HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: lfoard@Turing.ORG (Lawrence C. Foard)
Subject: Re: A prediction
Organization: The Turing Project, Charlottesville Virginia.
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 01:41:33 GMT

In article <1992Jul28.190755.296@cco.caltech.edu> carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU writes:
>I predict that next Tuesday, most major newspapers in the United States of
>America will carry stories about a gruesome double murder at 92 Second Street
>in Fall River, Massachusetts.  The prime suspect will never be convicted of
>murder, and the murder weapon will never be found.

Been hacking those UPI computer systems? :-)
-- 
>>Unix/C Contract worker available 5 years C/unix work experience<<  ______
Available for Telecommuting/Travel and contracts on the T Line       \    /
in the Boston MA area. Send me e-mail for a copy of my Resume.        \  /
       -- VWIS 508-793-9568 (2400 baud), Linux support BBS.--          \/
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
From: grante@aquarius.rosemount.com (Grant Edwards)
Subject: Re: Get Off John's Back Please!
Reply-To: grante@aquarius.rosemount.com (Grant Edwards)
Organization: Rosemount, Inc.
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 16:10:26 GMT

dabbott@augean.eleceng.adelaide.edu.AU (Derek Abbott) writes:

[ the attributions are so confused at this point that I deleted them]

: >>>I am amazed that fully half of the traffic of this newsgroup is
: >>>comprised of your three-line messages ("I'm having an astral
: >>>wank, everybody!"), empty posts (" "), and one-screen text dumps.
: >>>
: >>>Call me a skeptic, but I would think an intelligent life form who
: >>>wanted information distributed would get in touch with someone
: >>>who had a clue.
: >>>
: >>>   Come on guys! Give the guy a break. I know John and he's a really
: >>>   nice man. If you don'l like his posts then skip them. But geeze
: >>>   why so hostile? Freedom of speech is for everyone not just the
: >>>   people you agree with!
: >>>                                  Denise
: >>
: >>      It's not a question of freedom of speach it's the quality/quantity
: >>      of John messages.  It is rediculous and should be tempered.
: >>
: >>      Steve Food_for_the_Grays
: >
: >       What is missing here is an appreciation for the attitude & beliefs
: >       of sci.skeptic readers.  The reason why this group is sci.skeptic
: >       is - surprise! - we are skeptical of paranormal claims.  This 'forum'
: >       provides an objective, skeptical view of extra-ordinary claims.
: >
: 
: Since when did skeptic=hostile ???????

I haven't seen much hostility towards JW -- at least not nearly as
much as Derek used to generate with his posts.  If JW doesn't want to
hear skeptical (and lovingly sarcastic) opinions about his posts then
he should keep them out of sci.skeptic.

I think that the denizens of sci.skeptic have been quite tolerant of
JW.  He's been cluttering up the group with private messages and
making ludicrous statements that positively invite someone to draw
their rapier and pink John a good one.

One suspects that the lack of response to JW's posts is in part due to
the fear that he is just rattling our collective cage, and one is
still embarrassed from the last time one fell for a tongue-in-cheek
skeptic baiter.

--
Grant Edwards                                 |Yow!  Well, O.K.  I'll
Rosemount Inc.                                |compromise with my principles
                                              |because of EXISTENTIAL
grante@aquarius.rosemount.com                 |DESPAIR!
From: mcirvin@husc8.harvard.edu (Mcirvin)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: test that proves obes
Date: 30 Jul 92 16:22:37 GMT
Article-I.D.: husc8.mcirvin.712513357
Distribution: sci

fofp@castle.ed.ac.uk (M Holmes) writes:

>mcgrath@cs.uiuc.edu (Robert McGrath) writes:

>>The *primary* difference is that an OBE "feels real" and is remembered
>>just like waking experience.  Dreams (including, I think, lucid dreams)
>>do not "feel real", they feel, well, dreamy.

[disagreeing with this...]
>One example taht I remember was that I was flying. I thought "hmmm, I
>can't fly, is this a dream?" Then I answered "nope, I'm flying because
>of this hang-glider on my back" (I don't hang-glide, but I did do
>gliding around then).

Let me add another example... For years I had a recurring dream in
which, in various otherwise ordinary situations, I would discover
that I had the ability to levitate about three feet off the ground.
I would invariably think: "Wait.  This happens in *dreams* all
the time, but this time it's *real*!"  I would then become very
frustrated trying to fit the phenomenon into the rest of my
world-view, since it didn't seem to have any plausible physical
explanation.  I was sufficiently fooled to specifically reject 
the possibility that I was dreaming once again.

These days, when I dream about levitating, I usually just enjoy it.
Perhaps my brain is getting mushy.

-- 
Matt McIrvin  mcirvin@husc.harvard.edu
From: rodb@slugo.corp.sgi.com (Rod Beckwith)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: alt.close.minded.ninnies
Keywords: go back to sleep
Date: 21 Jul 92 23:20:11 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.

Hear no evil,speak no evil,see no evil & bury your head in sand.

	How long did it take us to fly?
	How long did it take to prove the Earth was round?
	How long did...............I think you all get the POINT!
	(if you don't,go back to sleep)

You SKEPTICS keep the rest of us striving for greatness....THANKS!:*]

R.I.P.

Rod

-- 
Rod Beckwith     |$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ 
Datacom I/S      |"The great obstacle of progress is not ignorance,
rodb@corp.sgi.com|but the illusion of knowledge."
                 |$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
From: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Carl J Lydick)
Subject: Re: There are no atoms! [LONG]
Reply-To: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU
Organization: HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 11:06:56 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.000421.19647@rosevax.rosemount.com>, grante@aquarius (Grant Edwards) writes:
>paulk@garfield.cs.mun.ca (Paul E. King) writes:
>
>: Well, he's right. Atoms are a man-made concept, and does not really
>: have to exist.  It merely helps us explain what we see around us.
>: Gravity does the same job.  So do the laws of Conservation (which
>: Einstein had proven false, by imposing quantum mechanics on us).
>
>What?  
>
>I thought that Einstein didn't believe in QM.  Didn't he make the
>remark about god not playing dice with the universe?

He didn't like some of the results of QM, but his Nobel prize was for work in
QM:  The photoelectric effect, in particular.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU | NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL

Disclaimer:  Hey, I understand VAXen and VMS.  That's what I get paid for.  My
understanding of astronomy is purely at the amateur level (or below).  So
unless what I'm saying is directly related to VAX/VMS, don't hold me or my
organization responsible for it.  If it IS related to VAX/VMS, you can try to
hold me responsible for it, but my organization had nothing to do with it.
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
From: arsmith@nyx.cs.du.edu (Alan Smith)
Subject: REAL positive thinking.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 03:36:05 GMT


(This is an article I found in the _Denver Post_ 7/12/92 page 2E. 
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are not those of Nyx, Du, CSU, the
_post_, Peter Pegnam (the dude who wrote the article), myself, or much of
anyone else.)  

By Peter Pegnam:
T
Three people in Scottsdale, Ariz, are used to being consicered bizzare.
After, all, the message they carry is that people need not die but can
live forever here on earth.
[Goes on to describe the fact that the group "CBJ" (Charles Brown, Berna
Dean, and James Strole) has 15,000-20,000 people on their mailing list
worldwide.]
The three readily admit that there is no scientific proff that human
beings can live without death.
On the other hand, "There is no scientific proof that human beings have to
die," says Berna Deane, another member.
[I know, "10 billion people can't be all wrong," *I* didn't say it.]
"I personally feel that death does not happen naturally" says James
Russell Strole, another member.
[the next couple of paragraphs tell how doctors "who believe strongly in
the power of positive thinking say believeing in physical immortality is
unrealistic and potentially dangerous."  After that it tells how "CBJ" got
their name (Charles, Berna, James), and the group's early history.]
"There is a support system for death, and most people don't realize that,"
strole says.
[more of the same.]
This is how CBJ describes the alternative, physical immortality:
"Those who experience and live physical immortality do not accept the 
death-oriented culture and belive that the physical, mental and emotional
`death programs' which have been geneticaly and culturally encoded within
the human body can be eliminated through and `awakening' process involving
cellular regeneration and a synergistic movement between people focused
together.
"The reality of physical immortality is that the spirit of man the the
physical body, the spirit and body, are one.
"Through cellular awakening, the spirt is unleashed, the death program is
eliminated, and a new quality of life emerges."
Brown explained what he meant by "cellular awakening."
"A new intelligence begins to be released from within the body itself,
begins to send signals to the briand, developing a new consciousness, a
new awareness, fron that chemical action and reaction.
"It's not something where you have to go into a trance or a meditation to
accomplish.
"It becomes innate, it beocme bioligical.  It becomes who you are
naturally, rather than you having to work at it."
Physical immortatlity takes a group effot, they say.
[ the rest is a mythological justification, a statement worth quoting.
"Strole says CBJ is no trying to create a new religion or philosophy." and
a recruitment pitch.  End of article]

Big Al.  All speling erors are min, sorry about that, he spelled great.
From: sichase@csa1.lbl.gov (SCOTT I CHASE)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: skeptic-faq V 0.1
Date: 30 Jul 92 00:21:41 GMT
Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory - Berkeley, CA, USA
Distribution: na
Reply-To: sichase@csa1.lbl.gov
NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.3.254.196
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   

In article <1992Jul29.214827.13287@ringer.cs.utsa.edu>, djimenez@ringer.cs.utsa.edu (Daniel Jimenez) writes...
> 
>What if the aliens say "Factoring is intractable."  Humans don't know if
>there is any less-than-subexponential solution to factoring.  Factoring
>could even be NP-complete (unlikely, though).  It might turn out that
>all the computing power in the universe may not be able to factor a 10000
>digit number in a reasonable amount of time.

I don't mean to be picky, but there certainly have been some 10000 digit
numbers factored already.

-Scott
--------------------
Scott I. Chase			"The question seems to be of such a character
SICHASE@CSA2.LBL.GOV		that if I should come to life after my death
				and some mathematician were to tell me that it
				had been definitely settled, I think I would
				immediately drop dead again."      - Vandiver
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
From: warren@nysernet.org (Warren Burstein)
Subject: Re: July 4, 1992 - Global Spiritual Independence Day
Reply-To: warren@nysernet.org
Organization: Mail to News Gateway at Wang Labs
Date: 23 Jul 92 10:49:14 GMT

In <l6mh8tINNlq6@news.bbn.com> ingria@bbn.com (Bob Ingria) writes:

>Ah, one of those astral chat lines: just think
>1-aleph-null-900-love-you!  Where does one beam if one wants the hard
>stuff?

John's hot tub, of course.

Actually, there was a movie at the Jerusalem Film Festival called
"Sacred Sex" which, judging from the reviews, seemed to be a
documetary about an approach to sex based on Eastern philosophies.
One review said that before seeing the movie he never thought that sex
could be made boring.
-- 
/|/-\/-\       I'll leave you with this saying:
 |__/__/_/     NEWARK has been REZONED!! DES MOINES has been REZONED!!
 |warren@      
/ nysernet.org
From: wsadjw@rw7.urc.tue.nl (Jan Willem Nienhuys)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Bouncing uk-mail (was Re: skeptic-faq V 0.1)
Summary: reverse uk-adresses
Date: 31 Jul 92 09:11:33 GMT
Reply-To: wsadjw@urc.tue.nl
Organization: Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

In article <1992Jul30.211658.18401@ccu.umanitoba.ca> rutkows@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Chris Rutkowski) writes:
>Since e-mail to Paul Johnson has been bouncing every time I tried, I am
>posting these corrections/suggestions directly to this group. 

The bouncing is caused by the fact that the domain "uk" actually is on 
another planet, where things are done in reverse order (cropcircles over 
there are naturally made by ET's) :-).
Try reversing the part after @, so "paj@gec-mrc.co.uk"  rather than
"paj@uk.co.gec-mrc" . This worked for me every time when I got bouncing
mail back from "uk".

JWN
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,alt.paranormal
From: boyken@herky.cs.uiowa.edu (Karl Boyken)
Subject: Re: PSI - summary of book review
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 13:28:29 GMT
Organization: Dept. of Comp. Sci., U. of Iowa

In article <zlsiida.1099@fs1.mcc.ac.uk>, zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd)
writes:

[...]

> Other than that Karl only seems to be saying that any model is just a model 
> and we shouldn't get too carried away with it, in case we mistake it for the 
> reality.  Well that's OK, either he phrased it badly or I was in a flame-
> ready mode for some other reason when I read it.
> 
> The point though is that the models used by science have great predictive 
> power.
> 
> +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
> |  I don't take part in any sport that requires me to change clothes  |
> |  Dave Budd, MCC, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England   (44)061-275-6033  |
> +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
> 
> 

Just to show that I can be agreeable, I have to say that I agree with you
entirely on all points.

Except the part about sports that require me to change clothes.

Geeze, maybe I need a rest.

*****        _My_ views, no one else's--except those I plagiarize         *****
Karl Boyken, system programmer | Distant cousins, there's a limited supply, and
Department of Computer Science | we're down to the dozens, and this is why:
The University of Iowa         | big-eyed beans from Venus--oh my, oh my!
boyken@herky.cs.uiowa.edu      |                           -- Captain Beefheart

Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
From: claudio@nmsb.larc.nasa.gov (Claudio Egalon)
Subject: Re: Weakly World News
Reply-To: claudio@nmsb.larc.nasa.gov (Claudio Egalon)
Organization: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA USA
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 20:30:58 GMT

 One day I bought the Weekly World News just to have some fun 
with it. Well it turned out that there was two articles (in the same 
edition) about extraterrestrial beings. One of them said that the ET's 
were conspiring with the US and Soviet Union to end to Cold War 
(nice guys!). Another one said that the soviets had captured a flying 
saucer and was going to use the ET technology to defeat Americans! 
Which one should I believe??? Neither one I bet!
From: kring@efes.physik.uni-kl.de (Thomas Kettenring)
Subject: Re: skeptic-faq V 0.1
Organization: FB Physik, Universitaet Kaiserslautern, Germany
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 10:19:50 GMT

In article <1863@snap>, paj@uk.co.gec-mrc (Paul Johnson) writes:
>[FAQ omitted]

I tried to email this correction of typos (plus one date, Newton's
theory of gravity), but the mail bounced (Returned mail: User unknown).
So I have to post it.  Paul, can you mail me when you saw it?

-------
Hello!  Nice work, this FAQ of yours.  I have some corrections.
Due to a curse put on me by an evil wizard, I can't read
anything without proofreading it, and I thought this time
it would be productive to share my findings.  Better to have
as few errors in a FAQ as possible...

(The above paragraph I used on alt.pub.dragons-inn, but I think the wizard
part doesn't fit as good in sci.skeptic...)

Change each:	to:     
Galilleo	Galileo
accupuncture	acupuncture

>1.7: What is the `Experimenter effect'.
				       ^?
>be obtained, but does not extend into speculation.  So religeous
							     ^religious
>its best to assume innocence unless you can prove guilt.
   ^it's
>	the world into doing their will.  The Beast was prophesised in
								^prophesied
>independantly do every experiment to confirm every theory.  Because
	 ^independently
>Some people talk about `Khunian paradigm shifts'.  This refers to the
			  ^Kuhnian
>A few hundred years ago [Dates, anyone? PAJ] Issac Newton proposed his
			 (that was 1666)	^Isaac
>multitplied unecessarily' [anyone know the original Latin? PAJ].  In
     ^multiplied ^unnecessarily
>Geller does nothing which a competant stage magician such as Randi
				   ^competent
>Thats pretty remarkable.  But before you post to the Net, consider:-
     ^That's
>This is also known as the `Roswell Incident'.  Philip Klasse has
							    ^Klass
>bark (which contains asprin).
			 ^aspirin (Robert Asprin is a fantasy writer)
>effect will be.  Great importance is also attatched to the way in
						^attached
>A belief that the essential oils of various flowers have theraputic
								^therapeutic
>who is alledged to speak to us through His Works, should be lying to
	    ^alleged
>o The `Leidenforst' effect may play a part.  This occurs when a cold,
	       ^Leidenfrost
>  religions such as Hinduism and Sihkism don't seem to attract New Age
				    ^Sikhism
>  Christianity, but some favour heritical variants such as Gnosticism.
				    ^heretical
-- 
--------------thomas kettenring, 2 dan, kaiserslautern, germany---------------
Do you ask a Napoleon why it has to be Moscow, of all places?  Do you ask a
Mondrian why one has to paint only in the rectangularly framed primary colours
Red, Blue, and Yellow?  Ah, how all questions are ruined in view of a persuas-
ively recited system of madness! And is there a mortar keeping those systems
together firmer than real or supposed enemies?  -  Robert Gernhardt

Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
From: Tim.ONeill@english.utas.edu.au (Tim O'Neill)
Subject: Re: Troublesome JFK Posts
Organization: University of Tasmania (Australia)
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 05:12:41 GMT

In article <1992Jul25.200541.15706@rosevax.rosemount.com>, grante@aquarius.rosemount.com (Grant Edwards) writes:
> 
> revpk@cellar.org (Brian 'Rev P-K' Siano) writes:
> : 
> :         I'd like to recommend a small action to take to keep the JFK posts 
> : the hell off of sci.skeptic. Namely, mailing the posts that appear on 
> : sci.skeptic back to the poster, with a note saying, "Please stop 
> : cross-posting JFK material to sci.skeptic."
> : 
> :         It's not menat to flood anyone's mailbox, or cause a bandwidth 
> : problem. But it's got to be done, sooner or later.
> : 
> :         If we wanted to read more conspiracy theories, we can subscribe to 
> : alt.conspiracy or alt.conspiracy.JFK. But we've been flooded with this stuff 
> : for a while now. 
> : 
> 
> I agree.  The JFK stuff in sci.skeptic is getting really annoying.
> Unless somebody comes up with a better idea, I think I'll start doing
> as Brian suggests.

As an Australian, who doesn't really care which yank shot which bloody
president, I thought Rev P-K's idea was a good one, so I decided to track
down the posters of the first message on each JFK thread.
To my horror, I found that a fellow Aussie, a certain Derek Abbott of
Adelaide University, was responsible for them *all*! 
Anyway, I sent off a polite note to Derek and hopefully he won't
crosspost JFK stuff to sci.skeptic anymore.
Tim O'Neill
From: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU (Carl J Lydick)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: july 4, 1992 - global
Date: 27 Jul 92 14:12:22 GMT
Reply-To: carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU
Organization: HST Wide Field/Planetary Camera

In article <712142829.0@iphase.FidoNet.Org>, Ken.Stuckas@iphase.UUCP (Ken Stuckas) writes:
>-> Another friend knows when I want to talk to her. She'll often phone
>-> at such points when I consciously ask her to (telepathically). What
>-> I'd like to do is understand this phenomenon better.
>
>Oh, I think I can help you understand.  It is either a product of an
>overactive imagination, an illogical system of rationalization or a hoax on
>your part. 
>
>Such skills have yet to be demonstrated in a controlled setting.  If you can
>demonstrate these "skills" then call up James Randi and arrange a
>demonstration.  You may win the $100,000 he has set aside for anyone who can so
>it. 

Last I heard, Randi's offer is in abeyance until the Geller suit is settled and
Randi recovers from the financial drain that's placed upon him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl J Lydick | INTERnet: CARL@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU | NSI/HEPnet: SOL1::CARL

Disclaimer:  Hey, I understand VAXen and VMS.  That's what I get paid for.  My
understanding of astronomy is purely at the amateur level (or below).  So
unless what I'm saying is directly related to VAX/VMS, don't hold me or my
organization responsible for it.  If it IS related to VAX/VMS, you can try to
hold me responsible for it, but my organization had nothing to do with it.
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic,alt.alien.visitors
From: grante@aquarius.rosemount.com (Grant Edwards)
Subject: Re: Human Parthenogenesis? (Was: Questions from an interested p
Reply-To: grante@aquarius.rosemount.com (Grant Edwards)
Organization: Rosemount, Inc.
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 19:34:00 GMT

kevinq@Ingres.COM (Kevin Quinn) writes:
: John_-_Winston@cup.portal.com writes:
: >write The Third Eye, a book that I love.  Lobsang had an Englishman's 
: >body that was never in Tibet.  He had been living as a Tibetian monk
: >for many years then he made a switch with an Englishman who was ready to
: >pass on anyway. 
: 
: Oh good god, John, you get more rabid by the month!
: 
: On the other hand, you're almost as entertaining as scanning the tabloid 
: headlines in the supermarket checkouts.  Keep it up!
: 

Ah, but the tabloids have PICTURES!  John will never be able to
compete with the darling pictures of Nessie's baby, or the flying
saucer sitting on the flight deck of the Nimitz that the Weekly World
News had.  Or is it the World Weekly News?  Either way it's a great
paper.

--
Grant Edwards                                 |Yow!  I want to so HAPPY, the
Rosemount Inc.                                |VEINS in my neck STAND OUT!!
                                              |
grante@aquarius.rosemount.com                 |
From: wsadjw@rw7.urc.tue.nl (Jan Willem Nienhuys)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: Anti-motion sickness wristbands
Date: 21 Jul 92 15:09:10 GMT
Reply-To: wsadjw@urc.tue.nl
Organization: Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

In article <1992Jul15.012428.27716@u.washington.edu> mpark@u.washington.edu writes:
>I'm sure you've seen these advertised: elastic wristbands
>with a little button that presses against a special [ahem]
>acupuncture point, thereby alleviating motion sickness.
>
>Does anybody have the straight dope on this... device?

I have read reports (anecdotal) that ANY gadget fastened to the body in such
way that you constantly feel it and think about it, has a "placebo" effect.
IN the report I read it was a physician who taped a piece of paper (folded)
to his arm. It had a charm written on it.
Motion sickness seems to have great potential to be cured by placebo  effect.
JWN