It's hard to believe it was snowing last week.
The temperature nudged up to 18 degrees today and the climate control in my car kicked in for the first time this year to cool me down rather than warming me up. The traffic wasn't too bad today, at least compared to the last couple of weeks, and so I had a relaxing drive for once. I had a couple of excellent podcasts to listen to as well.
Firstly, from Australian Public Radio comes this thoughtful and evocative interview with the late Arthur C Clarke, repeated from 2001. It covers his life from his earliest memories, his school days and wartime experiences with the first radar systems, his writing including his famous article on communications satellites for which he was paid the princely sum of fifteen pounds and his memories of working with Stanley Kubrick. He also muses on science, religion, scuba diving and his own mortality.
Secondly I picked up this Skepticality podcast from a couple of weeks ago from skeptic.com that features an interesting and amusing interview with magician, scientist and sceptic David Acer, best known as 'Doubting Dave' from the excellent kids tv show Mystery Hunters. The show is an excellent example of an entertaining format that encourages critical thinking amongst its audience, as it gently debunks urban legends, ghost stories and other examples of the paranormal. Apparently the show had received hate mail (from adults) after no more than a passing mention of evolution in one episode, so the writers have had to tread carefully on the subject of religion, but anything that encourages children to challenge received opinions and ask awkward questions has to be applauded.
In other news, priest attached to party balloons vanishes in Brazil - a case of nearer my god to thee, perhaps? Also, the scientific method as applied to prayer and aspirin ...
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