Well, at least for this blog anyway...

I've decided that, at least for the moment, I'm going to use this blog as a running commentary on the bad logic and poorly constructed arguments that show up among professional writers and "pundits" who should honestly know better. The number of people who get paid to write authoritatively regarding issues which they demonstrably don't understand is continually amazing to me, as are the logic-free leaps made in drawing conclusions, so I am going to busy myself commenting upon such elements when they present themselves in professional writing.

Since the origins of the site (or at least the running gag that spawned the site name) dealt with someone presenting an argument without any substantiation and continuing it in utter defiance of anything resembling objective detachment, it seemed a fitting tribute to use the site in this way.

Just think of me as a young, logic-obsessed Andy Rooney, bitching about how everyone else screws things up...only more annoying...

So, the site name came from a running joke that developed in response to several threads on high-end instrument cables (yeah, sounds hilarious, right? But trust me, it is).

One particular purveyor of high-end cables (who I shall refrain from naming, since this isn't about bringing him bad business) got rather hot under the collar when confronted with the fact his claims lacked scientific basis (as demonstrated by a number of Electrical engineers with experience in acoustics) and that he was unwilling to back up his own claims regarding his own product.

He withdrew into claiming that he was being persecuted and trying to defame those folks who disagreed with him. He also deleted a number of his own posts (for what purpose is up to the observer to decide)...

Anyhoo, in the interest of debunking snake-oil salesmen, I now provide the links to the discussions on the matter, which, once you sort through the evasion, are actually very good rundowns of the science on the matter and a somewhat pathetic character portrait of the sort of person who makes a living based on claims that s/he cannot and will not substantiate...

Opening to an Epic: The Original Discussion
Act 2: It Travels
Intermission
Finale: Pot Stirring

Picofaradian goodness of the highest caliber...