GinohnNews

G: Already knowing that we probably wouldn't take him, I still arranged a meeting with another potential dog. The foster had warned me beforehand that he would be too high energy, that he was still a puppy, would destroy our furniture and get on top of tables and countertops. I thought I'd check him out anyway since lots of these fosters are a bit kooky sometimes.  Pepper brought Simba over last Thursday and he was very sweet, very adorable, and very high energy. We all liked him but figured he would jump the fence and we really couldn't have a dog up on the countertops. So we had a nice visit and said goodbye.

On Friday I went to hang out with my friend Amy who lives in DC. She took me to one of her yoga studios for a class, and I really enjoyed it although I had a lot of trouble with the balancing poses. It was a bit advanced for me. The space was lovely— lots of natural light and really cool floor to ceiling wallpaper of a bamboo forest on one wall.

Amy either paid for me or used a free pass for me - I'm not sure but she treated me and then they gave me a free pass to another class. So I hope to go and repeat the process with her in a couple of weeks.

We walked down the street and popped into Sala Thai for lunch. I got a yummy dish that would be on my diet except too much salt. It had boiled tofu and veggies in some kind of dark sauce. Amy had tofu panang and didn't think it was very good. She said another place down the street was better. Next time!

Then she took me to an "investment property" house in Mount Pleasant that she and her partner Erin had just bought. Apparently it was a steal and they were the lucky ones who got it. It was also a dump that needs to be completely renovated, but they still should easily make a bundle with it.

The deconstruction guys had only been at it a day or two, but basically it was just rubble inside. And dusty. I don't think I need to repeat that part of the day until some reconstruction begins.

Anyway I had a lovely day and then came home and John and I went over to Rich and Izolda's for dinner— sushi. Izolda really knows how to make sushi that we love and we had a wonderful time eating and hanging out all evening until late at night.

Saturday day I went to make more bowls for the Empty Bowls event. I made thirteen bowls and hung out with other nice bowl making people. John went to help Dave move stuff from storage to his house, and got treated to dinner.

Saturday night was a party at Noelle's. Her sister was visiting— her brother too (we've met him a couple of times before) and it was her birthday. It was a great party and I accidentally had more to drink than I intended. I had a blast though. At one point Noelle made me put on some pink 4 inch heels and I danced in them for a while. I don't think I could have done it sober. I would have been thinking too much about how it felt and that they hurt. Or something.

On Sunday we caught a movie then went over to Renee and Alex's to play some games. No one else was there so we watched some of the SAG awards with them. Then we played a few rounds of Scattergories until Rizolda showed up. Then we played Hoopla. We had fun. Then John and I left for home.

J: At the beginning of this year, James Randi changed the entry rules for his million dollar challenge. The challenge used to be open to anyone who claimed a supernatural power, one that had measurable effects. Now (after this month) the challenge is only open to those people who have been acknowledged by the media or academic world, or passed similar challenges from other skeptical societies. Essentially, Randi is now concentrating on the famous people.

I think this is a good idea for three reasons. First, it targets the right people. Second, it gets more airtime for Randi and his gang. And third, it's a better bet for Randi to make, odds-wise.

I don't mean to say that Randi is more likely to run into a real psychic if he leaves his doors open to the general public. I just think that, taken out of its supernatural context and presented as a simple propositional bet, the challenge might be a good bet to take for anybody who needs the money.

Let's do the math, shall we? If, for example, you have a 0.1% chance to make a million dollars (by, say, using a dowsing rod to find buckets of water in a grid), then your expected return is .001 of 1,000,000 - or a thousand bucks. When you win you get a million bucks and a really good story, a few talk shows and some endorsement signings.  Of course, when you lose (which is most probable) you at least still have a good story to tell and your reputation is none the worse for wear. If your expenses are close to nothing each try, your total return over many challenges is better than break even and—mathematically speaking—you should take the bet, even if it's only a one-time offer!

For all the psychic celebrities however, it's a horrible bet to take. They have to factor in the 999 times out of a thousand that they'll lose the challenge, possibly along with their cushy psychic act that already made them a good salary. It's easy enough to see that's a bad bet without using mathematics or psychic powers— which is why none of the famous psychics have accepted the challenge.

So unless losing the psychic challenge ruins your career, it could be weighted in your favor. You have until April to apply.