April, 1999

Hypnosis: Myths and Science

Sean O'Neill

Board Certified Psychotherapist

Sean O'Neill, a board certified psychotherapist practicing in Annandale, Virginia, will give a talk, which includes a live demonstration of hypnotism involving all present who choose to participate.

Saturday, April 17, 1999, 2:00pm -- 3:30pm
Montgomery County Library - Bethesda Branch
7400 Arlington Road
Bethesda, Maryland
Everyone Welcome -- Members and Non-members -- No admission charge
Call the NCAS Skeptic Line at 301-587-3827 for further info.
NCAS Elections

Do you like the way NCAS is run? Do you not like the way NCAS is run? It’s time for the annual NCAS elections. Do your part for skepticism in the National Capital area and run for a board position. If interested let us know before April 15^th. Call the NCAS line (301-587-3827) and leave a message or send email to ncas@ncas.org.

Millennium Madness

Remember to reserve the Weekend of May 8-9, 1999 for the annual NCAS weekend. We will meet from Saturday morning through Sunday noon at the Sheraton Inn Conference Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 50 miles south of Washington, DC. See separate write-up about the weekend.

Capital Science Lectures

On Tuesday, April 20, ROBERT A WEINBERG of the Whitehead Institute for biomedical Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology will speak on CANCER DEVELOPMENT AND CELL IMMORTALITY. Normal cells proliferate only to a point, doubling until they reach a limit prescribed by an internal molecular clock. Unfortunately, cancer cells can disconnect this clock to proliferate indefinitely, giving them an often fatal immortality. This is part of the CAPITAL SCIENCE LECTURES, Carnegie Institution, 1530 P Street N.W., Washington, DC 20077. All lectures are free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Call (202) 328-6988 or email Sherrill Berger at sberger@pst.ciw.edu for details on attending.

Tired of Renewing your NCAS membership?

Are you tired of writing a check every year to NCAS? In order to make your life simpler (and save some money at that), the NCAS Board has approved a multiyear membership option. The following table shows you the expanded opportunities to save money. Let us know which option you choose when you renew.

Membership class	1 year	2 years	5 years	Lifetime
Single	$20	$35	$85	$200
Double	$30	$50	$100	$250
Student	$10

Time to Renew?

Check your mailing label. If the renewal date has passed, please send $20 (for one person) or $30 (for two-member households) for a one-year renewal to the NCAS address at the top of this calendar or you will be dropped as a member.

NCAS – The National Capital Area Skeptics Presents

Millennium MADNESS

The 1999 Weekend Retreat

May 8-9, 1999

Sheraton Inn, Fredericksburg, VA

Join fellow skeptics for a fun-filled weekend discussing the next century and how we are handling the end of the current one. Everyone seems to want a piece of the action – from religious cults forecasting apocalyptic events, to technophobes fearful of the Y2K bug, to entrepreneurs wanting to make a few bucks as the century winds down. How much of this is hype, how much of this is real, and how should rational individuals react to the growing hysteria?

Schedule

Friday evening, May 7. Arrival at hotel. Informal get together with NCAS members.

Saturday, May 8, 9am-6pm. Workshop sessions:

Registration begins at 8:30am
What was the millennium like 1000 years ago?
Workshop session on credulous thinking: Is new age thinking overwhelming us? Are we becoming a more credulous society?
Religious cults and the coming millennium.
A field trip to sites in historic Fredericksburg is planned for 2 hours in the afternoon.

Sunday, May 9, 9am-noon. Workshop sessions continue:

Y2K and all the techno-problems of year 2000.
Marketing the new millennium.
A skeptics response to millennium madness.

To register: $50 for one person, $90 for two.

By May 1 send name, address, telephone number, email address (if any) and registration fee to:

Millennium Madness Weekend

NCAS

8006 Valley Street

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Fee includes workshop sessions, 2 continental breakfasts (Sat. and Sun.), lunch on Saturday, and one set of handouts.

Hotel registration: If you wish to stay at hotel, register by April 23. The rate is $99+8.5% tax per night. Mention the NCAS weekend when registering. The Sheraton Inn is off I95 at Virginia Route 3 in Fredericksburg. 540-786-8321.

Fredericksburg is under an hour south of Washington, DC and under 90 minutes from most suburban Maryland locations.

For less expensive hotels in the Fredericksburg Area:
EconoLodge 540-786-8374
Best Western Thunderbird 540-786-7404
Ramada Inn 540-786-8361
or check the web site: http://www.ego.net/us/va/fb/lodging/index.htm

For additional information call NCAS at 301-587-3827 or send email to ncas@ncas.org.