Dimland Radio

dimland radio 2-29-20 show notes

A Shout Out

I have a new listener! They sent me a nice message and it warmed my heart. Thank you so much.

You can warm my heart too by subscribing to Dimland Radio on iTunes or following on Podbean.

Shameless plug over. On with the show notes.

Don’t Panic. Wash Your Hands.

Just some soap and water and twenty seconds of washing. Frequent hand-washing can go a long way toward hindering the spread of illness.

It’s called COVID-19. It’s a strain of the coronavirus and it’s all the rage now. Everyone is getting it.

Well, not everyone. But of those who do get it 80% will be sick for a week or two, recover, and be fine. That remain 20% may have more serious complications. The fatality rate is about 2%.

Since October, at least 18,000 Americans have died from the flu. Remember SARS? That was also a coronavirus and it’s fatality rate was close to 10%. We survived that.

I’m not telling you to shrug this off. Take it seriously, just don’t panic. Wash your hands. Here’s a link to 13 myths about coronavirus debunked by two pathologists.

However, what does concern me is that the Man/Child in the Oval Office has put VP Mike Pence in charge of America’s COVID-19 response force. Greeeeaaaat. Mr Anti-Science will save the day. The man doesn’t even accept evolution. And we have five more years of this nonsense.

There were a couple other aspects with this whole COVID-19 thing that I talked about. One was that another reason to poach rhinoceros has been discovered. The rhino horn is now being peddled as a cure for COVID-19. It’s not. Rhino horn can’t do shit. Leave the rhinoceros alone.

And, two…

It’s Not True: Corona Beer Has Nothing To Do With Coronavirous

Of course it doesn’t. And despite claims on the internets, no one really believes it does. The notion did give me the opportunity to make a joke at Corona beer’s expense.

Flat Earth Can Hurt

“Mad” Mike Hughes was killed when his latest attempt to determine whether or not the earth is flat went awry. Hughes may not really have been a flat earther, but he was affiliated with a flat earth group who gave him financial support. The association is enough to realize that conspiracy theories taken to extremes can be dangerous, no matter how benign they might seem.

This is why skepticism is important. Rational thought could have prevented this. However, Hughes had the daredevil personality, so I don’t think conspiratorial thought can be held completely responsible. “Mad” Mike would probably still done his rocket launches if he got his funding from a group trying to prove men walked on the moon.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Skeptic vs Cynic

I innocently and gently corrected the misuse of the word cynic by the hosts of the wildly popular Stuck in the 80s podcast. And what do I get?

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: Ram by The Yoleus

First ad break bumpers: Little Red Corvette by Prince and After The Lights Go Out by Urban Guerrillas

Second ad break bumpers: Nothing Turns Out Right by The Mighty Mofos and Diane by Husker Du

Closing song: Angler’s Treble Hook by $5 Fiddle

That’s it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

Subscribe to Dimland Radio on PodBean!

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you’d like.

Images used under Fair Use.

I’ve Moved

Please visit https://dimland.com/blog-feed/ for my show notes! If you have WordPress, please follow me there for access to my blog on a regular basis. It’s free to open an account. Thank you for all of your support! See you at Dimland.com!

dimland radio 1-25-20 show notes

New Dimland Website Is Coming

My wife is putting together a new website for me. It may take some time, so bear with us.

This should improve the blog situation for me. We will switch over to WordPress for the blog. I am currently using Blogger and Blogger sucks.

Holding The Snark At Bay

I told the tale of a recent visit to the supermarket and my use of the express lane when I was pushing it on the number of items. I was admonished by the cashier. I apologized to her. She was right, mostly. However…

There was no one behind me in line.

Another Python Has Died

I talked a little bit about Monty Python member Terry Jones’ illness and death. The illness he had was a form of dementia that robs people of their ability to communicate. My father-in-law had the same thing. I talked about how it affected him.

I also blogged about Terry Jones this past week.

Islamophobia Slinks Around The Internets

A couple of my Facebook friends, one of whom is a cousin of mine, shared the above image. It’s bullshit. The McCarran-Walter Act (not McCarran Warner Act) of 1952 had to do with immigration to the United States. It did not ban Muslims from holding political office.

If it had, it would have been unconstitutional. There is no religious requirement to hold office. I pointed that out on both of my FB friends’ posts. My cousin responded that his Facebook had been hacked and he didn’t post that image. He removed it and changed his password.

My Old Art School Is Now A Boutique Hotel

It’s gone from a yearly tuition of about three grand when I attended school in 1983 to about 20 grand a year when it stopped being an art school. Now that it’s a boutique hotel it’s a mere $249 to $449 a night.

Click here to see some of the rooms that are available. I can place a couple of the rooms, but the renovations make it difficult.

And It’s Not Haunted!

Well, probably not. It was rumored that a servant who worked for the rich family who owned the mansion turned art school turned boutique hotel hanged herself in the main stairwell. Which of course means her ghost haunts the place.

I never encountered anything ghostly in my years there. That doesn’t mean it’s not haunted, but it’s not haunted.

And These Places Aren’t Haunted!

The claim of the old art school being haunted got me thinking of something I saw on social media. It’s a video that was shared by noted skeptic Sharon Hill. The video is a ten minute discussion of a live event edition of the Ghost Adventures show and its shortcomings due to not being able to edit. Its host Zak Bagans has done very well financially NOT finding ghosts.

And I thought of another video that was part of an attempt to bring a skeptical ghost and other paranormal claims investigation show to cable television. The attempt was called The Skeptologists and it didn’t fly. The cable networks prefer mystery-mongering shows to science-based skepticism.

Well, that crew was investigating an allegedly haunted ship, when their producer played a little trick on them.

Cool Thing: Bluntnose Sixgill Shark

Scientists captured video of a huge fish! It’s a bluntnose sixgill shark and it’s big! It’s way cool.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: Ram by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: U Got The Look by Prince & Tony’s Theme by Pixies

Second ad break bumpers: Houses In Motion by Talking Heads & C’est Comme Ca by Les Rita Mitsouko

Closing song: Angler’s Treble Hook by $5 Fiddle

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 1-18-20 show notes

Let It Snow

It wasn’t the biggest snowfall we’ve ever gotta in the Twin Cities, but the timing did make it tricky. I decided to do my Friday night job over the weekend. That job is cleaning an office building. Mentioning that led to...

Tales From The Janitor’s Closet

This segment was pretty much just me going on about some things office workers do that make janitors grumble. There always seems to be at least one person determined to make the janitor’s job harder. the jerks.

A Dimland Radio Pedantic Moment: Good Will Hunting

We watched Good Will Hunting a couple weeks ago. It’s a good movie. Oh, sure, he’s a math genius, but Good Will doesn’t know how to mop. As if!

And I suggest a possible career path Good Will’s best friend, played by Ben Affleck, might pursue.

Sports!

I mentioned last week that the Minnesota Vikings were (note that, were) in the playoffs. They managed to beat the New Orleans Saints and move on to San Francisco to take on the 49ers. I predicted the Vikes would lose. They did.

Well, at least they won’t lose the Super Bowl.

A Dimland Radio Science Zero Or This Can’t Be What Gwyneth’s Vaj Smells Like

Goop, the website designed to extract money from the gullible, has a new product. It’s a scented candle that Goop claims smells like their leader’s vagina. It’s called ‘This Smells Like My Vagina’. The vagina in question belongs to America’s princess Gwyneth Paltrow.

How does Goop come up with these ideas?

But it’s a misrepresentation. It’s just some perfume, not the smell of Gwen’s genitals.

I imagined how a particular customer might have been disappointed by the bait and switch.

Cool Thing: Behind The Scenes Photos From Harry Potter Movies

The Harry Potter movie series (and books) are among my favorites. So, I thought it would be of interest to share this site which shows some of the behind the scenes magic. It’s cool.

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: Ram by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: Electric Lash by The Church & Love Vigilantes by New Order

Second ad break bumpers: Seven Year Ache by Rosanne Cash & O.K. Wait by Naked Raygun

Closing song: Angler’s Treble Hook by $5 Fiddle

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 1-11-20 show notes

More Busy And Interesting Times

It was a harrowing week. I didn’t get my show prep as finalized as I normally do, so I was kind of winging it through the show. I did have bullet points, but not much else written down.

It was busy because a full time employee who cleans several properties was in the hospital with the flu. Get your flu shot! And the supervisor and I had lots of fill in work to do.

It was harrowing because my dad has been ill with an infection since Christmas and this week saw me doing a lot of visits. I had to get Dad to a doctor’s appointment, convince him to use his damn cane, get groceries, do laundry. All while worrying these two 80-somethimngs aren’t going to be able to stay in their house much longer.

Big decisions are gonna have to be made and soon.

Cool Thing: Minnesota Vikings Are In The Playoffs And…

Photo: USA Today

They beat the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans in their first playoff game of 2020. It was very surprising, because even the most diehard fan believed a win there over such a tough opponent would be highly unlikely. But the Vikes did indeed rise to the occasion and beat dem Saints.

The following week was filled with speculation on how well the Vikes would fair against the San Francisco 49ers. Confidence on the part of the fans and local sports analysts began to soar as the week went on. The Saints were the toughest foe of this postseason and our boys beat them. They surely can beat the Niners. No problem!

Let me state the Dimland Radio Vikings/Fans/Analysts correlation:

The higher the confidence on the part of fans and analyst of a Vikings playoff victory, the greater the likelihood the Vikings will lose.

I predicted a Vikings loss to the Niners. (But I always predict the Vikings will lose, so this is no big deal.)

The game was played yesterday.

The Vikes lost.

Oh, well. At least they won’t lose the Super Bowl.

A Dimland Radio ARGH!

My ARGH! is the frequency of which I am smelling marijuana, pot, weed, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. I smell it when driving almost everyday. I smell it when shopping for groceries. I find it troubling.

I’m not a prude. I have had some experiences smoking the stuff, but it never did all that much for and I feel no desire to spark up.

But I had a request for pot users. A couple actually. One is to not drive under the influence, please. The other: Go with the edibles. I won’t have to smell those.

Moms. Keeping Us Humble

I showed the Minnesota Niche video on the MN Skeptics meet up group to my parents. Dad seemed mildly impressed, but he was still sick so that may have tempered his reaction.

Mom, on the other hand…

Music heard on the show…

Dimland Radio opening theme song: Ram by The Yoleus
First ad break bumpers: Entre Nous & Limelight by Rush

Second ad break bumpers: Subdivisions & Tom Sawyer by Rush

Closing song: Angler’s Treble Hook by $5 Fiddle

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.