The TANK Vodcast

We aim to please our viewing audience here at The TANK Vodcast!

When a YouTube comment on the episode for November 23rd, 2007, asked for some of the highlights regarding the predictions of a ‘Psychic Directory’ - I went through my old emails to find the transcript for perusal!

The original idea is credited to Richard Saunders - he had the brainstorm of looking at one of the most popular psychic publications here in Australia, involving fifteen people making forty predictions for the year 2007 in the Australian Psychics Directory.

I then researched the claims that were made and presented for the show in November, in order to see if they held true by the end of the year! Some, as you can hear yourself, I was quite generous about by listing as ‘too vague‘!

I will admit this - one DID later come true, Nicole Kidman’s pregnancy (prediction number four) - but it was only announced in January ‘08!

As for “a woman president in ‘07“ for number thirty-three? Hmm… not yet in ‘08 either… don’t look at me, I voted for Darwin!

No, not very impressive. We encourage people to make their own tallies and check - see if your own predictions are any better, for a start!

The list included:

• Tony Priest with the first prediction – “coalition forces will have a major policy change to the situation in Iraq. These were to be made within the next twelve months as a result.” Tony Priest, you better hope there’s a saviour for you because your political pundit career ain’t looking too good. That is our first “no“.

• Joy Arena says that “Solar energy becomes prominent, world wide and grand scale!” You wish, and so does Dr Karl - sadly, we’re going to have to say no.

• According to Simon Turnbull – “Global positioning chips become standard security devices and your valuable items are being tracked. That one bit the big brother with a big no.

• Rose Abate-Matteo claims that “Russell Crowe – will be in a sequel to ‘A Good Year’! No, not unless “3:10 to Yuma” to features a Wild West outlaw zipping a little yellow car around rural France… That’s a Non!

• Kelly Isara believes in the Numerology claim that 2007 was a number nine year – and might be challenging and disruptive for those in a comfort zone. What the?? With that, it joins our too vague list.

• Wagih Samwell says that “Automation causes job losses in professional fields like accountancy.” Never mind, maybe they can now Chartered Accountants can become LION TAMERS! No.

• Angelica Danton also gets a YES with the prediction for number 24! She said that Kim Beasley may not be the leader of the Labor party next year! Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett to play more pivotal roles? Well, you get a yes, but since Beasley has been buzzing around for sooooo long, I’d say it was kind of a given.

• Heather Alexander predicted that the “Southern states likely to be hit with coldest weather and global warming is shown to be true!” Chilly reception for that one - with a big no.

• Joy Arena! With the claim that Kylie Minogue - retires! Wrong! She produced a new album out as of November 26th. No.

• Elisabeth Jensen claims that banks are going to be naughty and hold all your money in June and July of this year. You might like to travel with lots of credit cards regardless - but alleged psychic Elisabeth Jensen still gets it wrong. NO.

• Francis Bevan apparently sees Kylie Minogue getting married! Uh no, she was too busy with the new album that Joy Arena didn’t see coming! No.

• The final one was Heather Alexander claiming that strong earth tremors would hit New Zealand in early May, - but the only earthquake that was recorded happened in October - so earth may move under your feet, but your prediction comes tumbling down. NO.
  

This by fifteen people who are ‘professional psychics’ making forty predictions in the Psychic Directory with twenty-nine outright wrong… well it certainly makes you wonder how come psychic publications don’t go BACK over their predictions from the previous year and reflect on what it tells them about psychics! Maybe reconsider the business altogether…?

But never mind - the TANK Vodcast is there to question and where there’s a claim, there’s a test to be made! Enjoy re-viewing the show, especially the fun of the 2007 Hobart Skeptics Conference at the start!

The Sydney Skeptics were hopping on Saturday, with a featured presentation by Richard Saunders of The Tank Vodcast!

Richard’s talk on “Fakes, Frauds and Fools” - the international presentation that has traveled across the USA and even on the Alaskan Amaz!ng Adventure Cruise 2 - was received with great enthusiasm by the Meetup.com crowd of Sydney Skeptics at the Australian Skeptics dinner.

Skeptical networking has become an international trend, with clubs and pubs springing up everywhere - London, New York, Seattle, The Bay Area and many more, with nearly 7000 members worldwide and growing. The online networking sites of Meetup.com and Facebook allow for people worldwide to check out events and coordinate lectures, pub-crawls, dinners and like-minded get-togethers.

The Sydney Sceptics Meetup Group was started by Nathan Jones and Rachael Dunlop. Youthful regulars on Sydney skeptics scene include Rachel Macalpine, Mike Inside and Alan Conradi, all of whom are members of the Facebook Australian Skeptics networking site too.

Richard Saunders was joined by his co-host of The TANK Vodcast, Stefan Sojka. The appreciative listening crowd at the The Chatswood Club included Barry Williams, the Executive Officer of the Australian Skeptics, whose popular skeptical blog has returned to The Australian newspaper national website.

Simply check out the site at http://skeptics.meetup.com for future events hosted in Sydney and worldwide. The more the merrier and the more informed!

The TANK Vodcast team are proactive presenters, with much more planned both nationally and internationally this year - so stay tuned and check out the evidence of their adventures on upcoming TANK Vodcast shows.

See Richard and Stefan live on the night in the next TANK, online on the 14th of March!

Tank Vodcast reporter Kylie Sturgess was invited to appear on ABC radio in Western Australia to talk about that classic of skeptical investigations, UFOs. Kylie gives her reflections on a theory about an ‘alien hair sample’ and support for scientific research into alien life. This interview is from the 5th February, 2008.