Sam Ogden

Sam Ogden is a writer, beach bum, and songwriter living in Houston, Texas, but he may be found scratching himself at many points across the globe. Follow him on Twitter @SamOgden
  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: The Question of Obesity

    Obesity is an epidemic and perhaps America’s biggest health problem. That’s the message in HBO’s four-part, multidisciplinary documentary “The Weight of the Nation.” Producers Sheila Nevins and John Hoffman pull no punches, shining a light on the multibillion-dollar food and advertising industries, as well as on public officials for not addressing the issue, and for actually making the situation worse. And they have no shortage…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: Is Philosophy Dead? (Revisited)

    A subject we have discussed here before has raised its head yet again. In January, theoretical physicist and Director of the Origins Institute at Arizona State University, Lawrence Krauss, published A Universe From Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing, a book that purports to explain how something — the universe — could have emerged from nothing, the kind of nothing implicated by…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: Asteroid Mining?

    The billionaire-backed Planetary Resources, Inc. announced Tuesday (April 24) that it hopes to mine near-Earth asteroids for water and precious metals, with the dual aims of making a tidy profit and helping open the final frontier to further exploration and exploitation. The plan involves sending "a swarm" of 20-pound satellites, at a cost of as much as $5 million apiece,…

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  • Activism

    AI: Have You A Better Method?

    Sometimes you guys send in very thought provoking emails, and we benefit from your knowledge, humor, and insight. And sometimes your emails spark a good discussion. Today's Inquisition subject comes from Skepchick reader, ullrich, who emailed us to say: I’ve been periodically asked via email to sign a change.org petition demanding that Backpage.com shut down their adult ads section, because some…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: Google’s Project Glass

    Yesterday Google gave us a sneak peek at what it’s calling “Project Glass”. Basically, these are augmented eyeglasses that keep Google services available to the wearer at all times. According to the video the company posted on Google+ Wednesday, the glasses will have the capability to display messages, chats, appointments, weather and maps right in your field of vision. The pictures on the Project Glass page…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: Apologies

    I must apologize yet again for being unprepared this week. My life has turned extra crazy lately, and my involvement here has suffered for it. You all are free to discuss whatever strikes your fancy (movies, music, TV shows, the news), or if you want at least a little structure, you can try this throw away exercise: You can write…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: Two Wrongs?

    By now, you all have probably heard the crazy shit that recently spewed out of conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh's face. Limbaugh came under fire for calling Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and “prostitute” for testifying on Capitol Hill about contraception coverage. The outburst resulted in a backlash against “The Rush Limbaugh Show” in which companies began pulling…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    AI: Sing, Sing a Song

    . . . Or not. Hey, I got nothing today, folks. I’m swimming in work-related BS, and haven’t had time to take a break to find a decent discussion point. The good news is, it looks like the other contributors’ posts of late are enough to keep the blog on a serious track for a while. So why don’t we take a right…

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