That link to the APS is just a statement of growth and not opinion. I do agree that even the best of us can get stuck with our paradigms creating enough inertia not to be able to accept change. Happens all the time.

First my disclaimer. I've paid for my coursework including many volumes of references and all the remedies I purchased. I've only charged for the cost of the remedies and worked pro-bono but gladly accepted donations when given. I've never been in any NHS or state funded/private insurance as a practitioner. I can't comment on that aspect although I can see the public frustration in supporting an alternative form of treatment that has no apparent repeatable result in double blind tests, consequently labelled as placebo. I'd probably join you on the picket march with that.
That's where comparisons between scientific methodology and homeopathy come acropper. Scientific methodology is too simplistic. Here's an example:
You get 200 random individuals, 100 per set and give them an experimental drug to relieve psorasis (eczema), the other set gets the placebo. The drug wins and the 10% of placebo results is as expected. No problems with any of that. It gets published in a peer review journal.
Another 200 split into 2 sets, one gets given homeopathic sulphur (treats specific forms of eczema). Both sets report similar results as if they took a placebo. Therefore homeopathy is proven to be as effective as a placebo lactose pill.
We all go away happily convinced.
The homeopath looks at these results and quickly realizes that it's not testing 100 rash ridden people at all as each of those 100 are individual cases can have a possible 100 different remedies based on physical type, left side, right side, extremities, mind, skin, eyes, nose, throat (tongue), worse for night, worse for day and so on. So the sample in this case cannot represent a fair test. Now if someone collected 100 'fair, fat and flabby' females and given 8 primary remedies in an extended trial then I'll sit up and take notice.
The other aspect of homeopathy I want to state is that it began as a form of treatment by medical doctors. They knew their patients very well and would treat a broken limb with splints, operate when necessary, use herbal tinctures for disinfectants, prescribe opioids for pain, depression and so on. When they came up against a topical rash, they prescribed coal tar because pretty much everyone was affected by coal dust. Coal tar soap is still used today for eczema. It doesn't cure it, but it relieves the symptoms for a while. Why use calamine lotion on chicken pox pustules? Because it works, temporarily. Now some doctors adopted Hahnemann's approach and instead of hiding the symptoms or 'driving it back into the body', used the homeopathic concept to drive the disease 'from inward to outward'. So they mixed up the active ingredient of coal tar and gave it internally in weak doses (they didn't want to poison their patients). For some, this worked! These cures were recorded, collated by like minded, cutting edge pharmacology and eventually published in a materia medica. The Materia Medica - the primary resource for homeopaths is a collection of case files over a hundred years, matched with those drugs/herbs/poisons/elements that cause similar symptoms and was proven to work in individual cases.
It was a solution when there wasn't an alternative. It became a specialty in time, but it was always had a medical (not snake oil) basis. Medicine has advanced over the last 75 years and homeopathy has become orphaned, abandoned by doctors.
Here is a sample page of a simplistic materia medica: http://www.homeoint.org/books/...
Just by reading that in a historical perspective will give you a feel of what the patient was like.
Homeopathy has changed over the last 30 years with certain schools promoting 'mixtures' and trying to keep up with tech or extending it into forms of radionics where the vibratory state of a remedy is captured, made into a slide and the projected light from it infused into some blank pills or sterile water. If you want to equate this with placebo then go for it. I just don't believe it myself until proven, and I haven't seen any proof.

I agree with the mind transplants, but I wouldn't want a clone of myself as such.

Regards
No 2

True homeopaths (properly trained ones) don't just give you pills and expect a cure. It doesn't work that way. The patient undergoes extensive interviews and if properly done, interviews with close family/acquaintances until a picture emerges of the patient's symptomology. This includes the mental state as well as well defined physical internal and external bodily locations places, times and processes. This picture is compared with thousands of possible remedies until the closest match is found. The progression of a cure isn't a 1 pill treatment but can be over a period of months using different remedies.
The prescribed regimen of taking a selected pill, it's concentration and form is complex as well. There are certain foods that can't be taken because they will negate the effects of the remedy.
The other aspects are also significant being:
A 'proven' homeopathic remedy is just what it says. It's been known to work. Many remedies (especially from manufacturers) aren't proven and consequently you will find that homeopaths make their own if mother tinctures or specific sources can be found and used. Some manufacturers are very good at making certain types of remedies but weak with others.
A true homeopathic practitioner has documented successes and will continue to practice. Others I have known have given up because their methodology was poor, took shortcuts and failed or didn't have enough successful treatments.
Hahnemann http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S... is worth a read if you can get a copy of his original work.
In the end, he has a point and that is under the right conditions, the action of 'like cures like' does work. Not for everything though but when it does work it is miraculous in speed and effect.
I don't particularly care what modern allopathic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A... doctors and/or researchers come to conclusions about homeopathy because I've experienced cures on myself (whilst under training) and treated patients who had given up. To say it is a placebo becomes a bit nonsensical as there is little to distinguish that from a homeopathic cure. In other words "Hey I'm cured! I don't give a crap if you think it's placebo."
Homeopathic remedies are extremely weak and can lose their strength totally if exposed incorrectly.
Homeopathy has been run down consistently since the advent of Sulfa drugs and anti-biotics.
Homeopathy is very popular in 3rd world countries because they are cheap to produce.
If you go to a naturopath who also practices homeopathy, then my first thoughts is to just accept their naturopathic diagnoses. You really need a good homeopath who just does that. Mixed holistic practitioners are ok, but not when homeopathics are involved unless their primary skill is homeopathy itself.
If you need to know some of my case histories, then reply here.

How about 'Happy Birthday To You'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...
No update yet from the Feb 2 2015 court case.

Well there is always The Shaggs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Try and fit that into impossible.

There is quite a lot of Lute music (in tablature form) from Renaissance/Elizabethan onwards. The early continental music is not as melodic though (Bakfark). Bach wrote the Lute Suite (which I believe was never played on the contemporary Lute) which ended the dominance of that in court music. What is not commonly known is that the Lute in a consort was played with a plectrum for volume. I've never used one as I can envisage that it would damage the fragile top. There were similar instruments like the Chitarra (steel stings) Bandora and the unusual Orpharion with extensions of the 7 course like the Theobor. I almost bought one from a Luthier working in the Budapest museum in the late 70s but he wanted $2000US at the time. It's playing the instrument that is an eyeopener. When properly tuned to its resonating frequency, the image I get is 'aural architecture' (TM) - a phenomenal subjective sense of creation. Lute recordings where you hear echo or unusual depth is probably not added by the audio engineer. The Lute is reasonably difficult to play, but the killer are the 3~4 different systems of tablature. You really need to learn them all to be reasonably proficient.
Procul Harem's 'Whiter Shade of Pale' is Bach-like, but not derived from his written work! Jan Akkerman's 'Tabernakle' is standard fare, but includes a few tracks of his own. Faust (German Krautrock 70's band) wrote a piece that I've played on Lute and Guitar "Picnic on a frozen River" ff.. I can't remember if they intended to perform that on lute though.
I'm not sure (maybe I don't want to admit it) if there is much creativity in music nowadays. Rhythms, 12 notes/octave are finite. Quite a few modern pieces are based on 'influences' of classical composers. Sampling is just cheating. I can go on, though there are some brilliant compositions if you look hard enough.
One of the silliest copyright infringement decisions was when the owners of Kookaburra filed claim against Men At Work http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M...
'Kookaburra' is a children's tune and was played weekly in schools, recording made of it and so on. Even if you listen to the track in question "Down Under" it is not very easy to identify the part in question.
Some of the avant garde music breaks the somnambulism of middle of the road pop/rock. Listening to 40 year old Krautrock and some Daevid Allen's compostions breaks the numbness somewhat. You get some fresh ears for a while!

Just got to say that having an extension of your phone on your arm is a great move and goes waaay back (as a concept) ref: Dick Tracey. I'm still waiting for the full implementation of this as Dick's watch didn't need a phone (or charging).
Unfortunately it doesn't work as a standalone item which is a mistake. It should pair with all phones and OS as well.
So if I'm interested in this - I'll have to buy an iPhone. I really don't want to do that.

So congrats to Apple for V 1.0 - it's a step in the right direction.

I did not know that. And I think have Predestinaton somewhere in my wife's last DVD buying frenzy. I still have Aunty Jack to watch first......

I'd like to see a spin-off - CSI:Computer Repair. There's a whole pile of stuff that can go on in that scenario.
Another (non-related) would be 'Lifestyles of the Poor and Mundane'. But back to the story. In the UK and Australia, there is the reality show of reality shows. It's called Goggle Box where they video families watching TV. That is truly pathetic.

Those screens! Are they CGI? Animated? Does someone code to make those screens with multiple windows on black? What's the OS? Linux?

Why not Narns? You got something against them?

Lathe of Heaven http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00... worth every bit of the 7.3/10

By His Bootstraps was one of his written in 1941. I'd like to see that as a movie.

Loderunner! Fantastic game and wasted hrs on it. I couldn't get past L22 in Championship Loderunner :(