Dec 15, 2011

All right - still chairing a session...

From: ella <ella@bitconferences.com>
Subject: Re: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd AnnualSymposiaofBacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: December 15, 2011 1:03:06 AM PST
To: 

Dear Knut,
 
Thank you for you reply. We have revise the program and keep the chair position for you in session.
 
Thanks again for your efforts.
 
Merry Christmas!
 
Ella


Ok, there is an issue that I feel a little "guilty" about.
They are building a session around my hoax and they recruited
a co-chair.  I feel not so well about dragging a colleague into this.
On the other hand, why would some serious scientist register
for such a conference, unless the person plans a vacation or
some other tour of the country. Hope Oleg does not mind....

Here is a link to the current program (still on some staging site):
http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcm2012/fullprogram_sbi.asp

Here is the part of the program that my honesty will chair:

Seems they re-arranged the program

Probably the doorman suggested a change in the program.
My broad expertise qualifies me to chair any of these other sessions (they all sound very good).


On Dec 14, 2011, at 12:56 AM, ella wrote:

Dear Knut,

Thank you for you kind reply. We will keep the chair position for you in session 4-3.  We have checked again for your speech title. It may be suitable in

SBI 4-1: New Approaches to Antibacterial Drug Discovery  (speaker Available) 
SBI 2-1: Old vs New Antibacterial Targets of Superbugs      (chair Available)
SBI 2-2: Development of Effective Antibiotics against MRSA, VRE and VRSA (chair Available)
SBI 2-3: New Strategies of Discovering Antibacterial Agents from Natural Products (speaker Available) 
SBI 2-4: Clinical Trials on Novel Antibacterials (speaker Available) 
 
What about your consideration is? Do you think your speech title will be more suitable for the above sessions? Please free to contact me and I will make some changes.
 
We sincerely hope that you and your wife can come together. Please tell me when you make the decision.
 
If possible, could you send the invitation letter to your colleagues or tell me the contacts of them. Thanks again for your efforts.
 
Please contact me freely when you have any question.
 
Best regards,
 
Ella
 


Of course! (Whatever!):


发件人: 
发送时间: 2011-12-14  23:03:38
收件人: ella
抄送:
主题: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd AnnualSymposiaofBacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Dear Ella, 

SBI 2-1 would be suitable.  I think that the trojan horse approach that I describe for the bit bug is a nice fit here.  I will meet some o my colleagues next week and tell them about the conference.

Best wishes and thank you so much,
- Knut


Dec 8, 2011

Made it into the program!!!

If you go to their website, I am now part of the program (unbelievable!).

Just to preserve the program entry in case something happens:




But still, I am only listed as session chair but my hilarious talk title is not listed.  Perhaps I really need to send them my abstract pasted into their official form.  I decided to rub it in a little deeper.
From: 
Subject: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of BacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: December 8, 2011 12:34:37 PM PST
Hi Ella,
I forgot to send you the abstract in the formal registration form.  It is attached to this e-mail.
Best wishes,
- Knut


Now the fun part starts....

They really want to collect the $2000 registration fee (this is for the early bird).  Well, I need to make up a story to drag it along a little more.
From: 
Subject: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia ofBacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: December 8, 2011 9:39:56 AM PST
Hi Ella,
Thank you very much!  It is an honor to be selected as the chair for this session, particularly for a 
newcomer in the field, like me who has little experience but sound half knowledge.  Again,
thank you so much!
I will try to put in my registration early, but I will be traveling over the holidays and I might not
be able to get everything together in time.  I will also have a look at the offered tours.  My wife
Wendy Willcox might be able to join me, but she has to check her schedule for next summer,
so we might register together when she has made up her mind.  She has some other business
in China and we might be able to combine our trips.
Regarding my talk title, it still does not seem to be listed in session SBI 4-3.  Could you check
again?  I will try to get some of my colleagues to register as well, and it would help if they can
see that I am speaking at the conference.
Thank you so much for all your help - I am looking forward to this adventure!
Best wishes,
- Knut

Promotion!

Wow!  I got promoted to chair a session at the conference.  My credentials must speak a strong language!
Subject: Re: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia ofBacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: December 8, 2011 1:16:34 AM PST
To:
Dear Knut,

Thank you for your kind reply and reminder. Here we invite you to chair session 4-3: New Drug Development for Bad Bugs.  We have uploaded your information into the website.

For the registration, please log on the website:
http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcm2012/register.asp   We appreciate you would finish the formal registration online for us to confirm your participation.

For your question about renting a car, I give you some suggestion below:
1. You can Select Tour Items when you register, for more information, you can refer to the website below:http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcm2012/tour.asp   or
contact Mr. Liam Cao  His E-mail: liam@biteomics.com

2. If you want to rent a car, I give you some advice:
1)  You can contact the staff in your hotel, maybe they will help you.
2)  What's more, you can refer to the website below:http://www.zuche.com/cms5root/pages/English/index_eng.html    The biggest car rental firm in China, you can call   +86 400-616-6666
Or you can also call +0086-20-37591805, the number of one branch office in Guangzhou.
3)  You can also call  +0086-20-3645 5505     +0086-20-36328199    or  the  24-hour Customer Service number:0086-13668985348
Above is a rental firm number which located near to the Guangzhou Baiyun International Convention Center (WCM-2012 will be held in this center). I think it may be convenient for you. But it is a small company. Thank you for your understanding.

All in all, please contact me freely when you have any question. I will try my best to help you.

I would like to remind you of the deadline of December 15, before that deadline, you can enjoy the early bird registration rate.

Best regards,

Ella

 After making it into the program, I need to make sure that my name is being listed on their online program staging page.

发件人:
发送时间: 2011-12-07  23:51:14
收件人: ella
抄送:
主题: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia ofBacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Dear Ella,
Thank you very much of the good news.  I am happy to be part of the program, but it seems that my presentation is not yet listed.  Could you please double check - I just don't want that there is an error.
On another note, I am wondering whether it will be possible to rent a car after the conference for some tourist explorations.  I'd love to drive perhaps to Hong Kong and even perhaps down to Malaysia.  I've heard that this is a beautiful area.  Could you recommend some companies that I could contact?
Best wishes,
- Knut

Feels like a paper got accepted!

I made it through the scientific review process!  Here is Ella’s response.  Did they smell something?  On the other hand, the different fonts used for my (fake) name and the rest of the message tells me that this is a copy/paste job and a standardized response.  The review was obviously done by the local dumpling guy.


Subject: Re: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of BacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: December 2, 2011 12:41:08 AM PST
To:
Dear Knut Buttnase,

Sorry for the delay.

This is Ella, from the Organizing Committee of SBI-2012, Guangzhou, China.

I am glad to inform you that after much consideration, your abstracts have been accepted. You are entitled to give us a speech atSBI 4-3: New Drug Development for Bad Bugs

The time allot for your speech is 20-25 minutes. We have updated the program and released the information online:http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcm2012/fullprogram_sbi.asp . We will upload your information after your registration.

For the registration, please log on the website:

We appreciate you would finish the formal registration online for us to confirm your participation. I would like to remind you of the deadline of December 15, before that deadline, you can enjoy the early bird registration rate.

Look forward to your reply.

Ella



Silence...

After this.  Silence - for a while.  I probably pushed the limit.  But, no!   Ella also wants me to put the abstract and CV into a one-page format and she e-mailed me a template.  For now, let’s wait and see what happens - if they catch me, I don’t want to waste too much time with this.

Ooops! I did not expect that they have an SAB - Oh my, they will most certainly catch this obviously fake abstract.

Subject: Re: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of BacteriologyandInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: November 23, 2011 9:59:51 PM PST
To: 
Dear Knut Buttnase,

Thank you for your reply. We have received your abstract and biography and send them for our SAB for evaluation.

Since the abstract of your speech and your biography would be proceeding for compiling the congress handbook, so we sincerely hope you would like to refer to the attached format. Please be aware it shall not be exceed one page. Thanks again. Sorry for any inconvenience cause to you

Look forward to your early reply.

Best regards,

Ella

Regrets?

So, I submitted an abstract (a fake one, using a fake identity) - I did feel a little strange just because this is something that one normally should not do.  I certainly did not feel good about.  On the other hand, I asked them to stop spamming me and this company or whatever they are are most certainly annoying the hell out of me and out of a lot of my colleagues.

Ok - it is time for the abstract:

From:
Subject: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of Bacteriology andInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: November 23, 2011 3:29:54 AM PST
Dear Ella,
Here is my abstract.  My CV is also attached.
- KB
Abstract for the 2nd annual symposia of bacteriology and infection, Guangzhou, China
Title:  
Effective eradication of the bit bug by massive response with mocked-up targets
Knut Buttnase
Univ. of Rachel, Rachel, NV
Microorganisms come in many different forms and shapes.  Human pathologies are multifaceted and cause various pathologies.  A less known artifact of bug infections include the stressful, sometimes daily, encounters with the so-called bit bug that enters the system usually during the night hours.  Unfiltered, its effects begin with increased annoyance, particularly after many unsuccessful attempts to remove the host from the candidate list.  Later stages can include suicidal thoughts and phobias against others, clearly a sign of involvement of the central nervous system.  Here, we describe an attempt to retaliate from within using a trojan horse-like response.  Disguising identities by mock up of novel targets and impostures interactions with the host are being discussed as potential forms of therapy.  First results are being presented.  Conclusions:  Since the first published examples of Wendy Willcox’ strategy, zany responses to bit or related bugs have become an effective tool for affected patients to regain sanity.  This simple mock-up strategy appears also affective against novel forms of infective and fast spreading bugs.
My CV was attached as a word file (I used a poorly written CV from someone who recently applied to my lab as a template):
Curriculum Vitae
Knut Buttnase,
Dr fak-ED, extraordinary professor Center for Extraterrestrial Sciences University of Rachel,
Rachel, NV
USA
Education and Professional
1989-1994 Fak-ED doctorate, Lappii University, Lunkkaus, Finland
1995-1998 postdoctoral, State Institution (lun. asyl.), Bumblefac, Missouri
1999-2006 Resident Researcher, BLM, all. mad. eup., BuFu, Iowa
Since 2006 extraordinary Brotfresser, Univ. of Rachel, Rachel, NV
Skills
Fak-ED doctorate, Lappii University, Lunkkaus, Finland postdoctoral, State Institution (lun. asyl.), Bumblefac, Missouri Resident Researcher, BLM, all. mad. eup., BuFu, Iowa extraordinary Brotfresser, Univ. of Rachel, Rachel, NV
Mol extrabiol: low gravity PCR, DRT, YFC, and BuFu discovey, Elise (fuer, but cannot play the piano).
Engineering and defying gravity experiences: Acidic OOBE, LSD-based OOBE, and other forms of astral projections, flight license (3rd class with honors), locale 1 and 2 experiences.
Other: empirical interpretations of Occam’s razor, abductee, speaker at various lunatic type conferences.
Computer: Fortran, Space Perl, Frogger (Sega), C- and various touch and imagine- based systems such as
Presentations (selected from nusquam)
2005  Bacteriophage ghost membrane particles in samples from the lunatic keta-3
exploration site, 3rd conf extrat. biol., BuFu, Iowa (podium)
2008 Loss of evidence of bacterial contamination of lunar soil (podium and poster), Zool and Bot conf, Annamamgapoor, India.
2008 Evidence of bacterial contamination in extraterrestrial soil samples, a retrospective study (podium), Lun Heaven state hospital annals. Also: comment in the
J of Arom Therapy, Handbook of Schmu and Bloedsinn (Austrian and Northern Italian edition).
2009 First encounters with the bit bug and its annoying manifestation. Poster, MCIVth ASO and ASI meeting, Rostock Germany.
2010 Attempts for therapy - getting the bit bug out of the system is difficult. Podium, MCVth ASO and ASI meeting, Kaulquappa, Australia
2011 Fake retaliation by disguising identities - what we can learn from Wendy Willcox, Conceptual Gedankenexperiment, unpublished.

I decided to let them simmer a little and here is the reminder (note the poor copy/paste job with Knut’s name in a different font size than the rest of the message).

Subject: Re: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of Bacteriology andInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: November 14, 2011 12:31:37 AM PST
To:
Dear Knut Buttnase,

It is long time without hearing from you, how is everything going?

Have you finished your abstract and biograhy? If yes, could you send them to us? Attached please find the template. Thank you for your support.

Your early reply will be highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Ella

Tataaa! They took the bait. Perhaps, they don’t keep track whom they invited or not and they most certainly did not expect that someone invites himself:

Subject: Re: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of Bacteriology andInfection (SBI-2012)
Date: November 3, 2011 10:30:12 PM PDT
To:
Dear Knut Buttnase,

Thank you for your reply and speech title, it will be welcome in the conference.

Could you forward us your abstract and biography in 10 days? Attached please find the template.

Look forward to your early reply.

Best regards,

Ella

I answered, using a new email address and a fake name, Knut Buttnase (perhaps some German radio listeners remember that name).

发件人:
发送时间: 2011-11-03  22:09:13
收件人: ella
抄送:
主题: Re: 099-Call for Speaker at 2nd Annual Symposia of Bacteriology andInfection (SBI-2012)
Dear Ella,
This is so exciting!
I am very interested in this conference.
Thank you for inviting me!
My title could be:  "Effective eradication of the bit bug by massive response with mocked-up targets"
Best regards,
Knut
Professor Knut Buttnase
Center for Extraterrestrial Sciences
University of Rachel
Rachel, NV

So, I decided to take BIT for a spin and to reply to one of their invitations. Here is the one that I received:

On Nov 3, 2011, at 4:24 AM, Ella wrote:
2nd Annual Symposia of Bacteriology and Infection (SBI-2012)
Time: July 30-August 1, 2012
Place: Guangzhou, China


Dear Dr. [my name],

BIT’s 2nd Annual Symposium of Bacteriology and Infection (SBI-2012) hosted by Information Research Center of International Talent, SAFEA and China Medicinal Biotech Association will take place from 30 July to 1 August, 2012 in Guangzhou, China. As the operating organization, BIT World Congress cordially invites you to be a speaker at SBI 2-1: Old vs New Antibacterial Targets of Superbugs of the congress and deliver a lecture in your expertise.

The first conference of SBI-2011 has been held successfully in the past year as one of the sub-conferences of Annual World Congress of Microbes in Beijing China with more than 400 participants from 48 countries and regions. The second congress promises to be an even greater event that will emphasize practical and advanced ideas for accelerating bacteria research and development. It now is time for more experts and scholars as well as industrials leaders to join the 2nd SBI-2012 in Guangzhou to take the subject into a higher study standard.

The program of SBI-2012 this will conclude 4 major aspects, please check the detailed program followed:

SBI-1Breaking Research on Superbugs
SBI 1-1: Prevention, Surveillance and Statistics of Resistance to Antibiotics and Biocides
SBI 1-2: Revisitingbβ-Lactamase-Associated Resistance Mechanisms
SBI 1-3: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
SBI 1-4: Vancomycin Intermediate/Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VISA/VRSA), and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE)
SBI 1-5: Helicobacter spp.and other Gastrointestinal Infectious Diseases
SBI 1-6: Escherichia coli O157: H7 and other STEC
SBI 1-7: Cronobacter spp (Enterobacter sakazakii)
SBI 1-8: Salmonella: from Basic Science to Clinical Issues

SBI-2Drug Discovery and Development for MDR Strains and Superbugs
SBI 2-1: Old vs New Antibacterial Targets of Superbugs
SBI 2-2: Development of Effective Antibiotics against MRSA, VRE and VRSA
SBI 2-3: New Strategies of Discovering Antibacterial Agents from Natural Products
SBI 2-4: Clinical Trials on Novel Antibacterials

SBI-3Tuberculosis
SBI 3-1: Immunology, Cell Biology and Innovative Vaccines of Tuberculosis
SBI 3-2: Mycobacterium Tuberculosis
SBI 3-3: Diagnosis of Tuberculosis

SBI-4Translational Medicine for Antibacterial Drug Development
SBI 4-1: New Approaches to Antibacterial Drug Discovery
SBI 4-2: Multidrug Resistance
SBI 4-3: New Drug Development for Bad Bugs

If you would like to give an oral presentation at this conference, please submit title by email to ella@bitconferences.com. All proposals are subject to review by the scientific advisory board to ensure the overall quality of the conference. For further questions,please visit Website: http://www.bitlifesciences.com/wcm2012/fullprogram.asp

We look forward to seeing you join us at this influential event in Guangzhou next year.
Sincerely,

Ms. Ella Cheng 
Program Coordinator
Organizing Committee of SBI-2012, China
East Area, F11, Building 1, 
Dalian Ascendas IT Park, 
1 Hui Xian Yuan,
Dalian Hi-tech Industrial Zone,
LN 116025, China 
Tel: 0086-411-84799609-813
Fax: 0086-411-84799629

All this is spam - but they are building a business with it...

It appears that BIT is not willing to remove my name from their e-mail spam list.  It is frustrating and, quite frankly, I have the feeling that this aggressive marketing has lured many innocent researchers into signing up for one of these conferences.  A quick web search seems to confirm this suspicion:

Of course, because of my extensive background in synaptogenesis!

Subject: 310-reminder-Call for Session Speaker at 3rd Annual Congress of NeuroTalk (NeuroTalk-2012)
Date: October 20, 2011 10:44:37 PM PDT
To: 
BIT's 3rd Annual Congress of NeuroTalk (NeuroTalk-2012)
 Time: May 18-20, 2012
Venue: Beijing, China

Dear [my name] ,

I'm writing to follow-up my last invitation, would you please give me a tentative reply? Thank you very much.

We are proud to announce that BIT’s 3rd Annual World Congress of NeuroTalk-2012 will be held during May 18-20, 2012 in Beijing, China, with a theme of “Open the Black Box of Nervous System”. We have started up for one month and get many responds from numerous experts in various fields. As planning, we may update our program of Session Chairs by the end of September. I’m writing to you again to remind you of this great event in order that you won’t miss it. Hope to get your early reply. On behalf of the organizing committee, we’re pleased to welcome you to offer a speech at Session 111: Synapse, Synaptogenesis, Synapse Formation and Elimination  
The annual congress NeuroTalk initiated by BIT Congress in 2010 has become accepted as an influential conference for worldwide neuroscientists to discuss and develop the latest research breakthroughs as well as potential business opportunities. Our speakers have enjoyed the crowd and the program of our past events and we are confident that you will like it also. We have had guests such as Dr. Clay M. Armstrong, Winner of the 1999 Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, USA; Dr. Dick F. Swaab, Professor, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, The Netherlands; Dr. Zang-Hee Cho, Director, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, South Korea; Dr. Gong Ju, Director, The Fourth Military Medical University, China. Very appealing is the energy that our audience shows and their great interests in the topics that we line up.

The aim of NeuroTalk-2012 is to foster a positive environment for neuroscientists to meet with each other to stimulate the desire to collaborate and change the word of technology and innovation in the related field.

For more information, please see: http://www.bitlifesciences.com/neurotalk2012 .
We are looking forward to hosting you in Beijing next year!
Regards,
Ms. Rose Chen
Program Coordinator
Organizing Committee of NeuroTalk, China
East Area, F11, Building 1,
Dalian Ascendas IT Park,
1 Hui Xian Yuan,
Dalian Hi-tech Industrial Zone,
LN 116025, China
Tel: 0086-411-84799609-804
Fax: 0086-411-84799629

Another one... many Nobel prize winners are invited... And this all because I am a heavy hitter in Genome Research? (not really)

From: "Alina Yu"<jessica2@bit-wdd.com>
Subject: Confirmation for Session Chair/Speakers on BIT’s 3rd World DNA and Genome Day-2012
Date: November 22, 2011 9:13:52 PM PST
To: 
Reply-To: Alina@dnaday.com

Dear Dr. [my name] ,

BIT Congress is proud to present BIT’s 3rd World DNA and Genome Day (WDD-2012) which will be held during April 25-28, 2012, Xi’anChina. This event is designed for international educational exchange and scientific exchanges in China.
This is an invitation for you to join us in this congress. You can talk about your interests under the Track 6: Human Genomics and Personalized Medicine by submitting your speech title and CV to us. If the suggested thematic session is not your current focused core, you may look through the whole sessions and transfer another one that fit your interest (more details about the program topics are at www.dnaday.com ).

BIT Congress is a scientific organization dedicated to the promotion of intellectual exchanges and collaborations in technology and science, particularly in Life Sciences, IT, New Energy, Materials Science, Environmental Science, and MarineTech. BIT has organized major international symposia and conferences with participation of leading scientists from around the world for 9 years.
WDD has become accepted as an influential conference for celebrating the revolutionary developments in biological and medical sciences since the discovery of the double helix and setting the stage for the advancement of biology and medicine in the 21st century. The congress has broad public support and has the additional goal of spreading and increasing the understanding of modern biological sciences among the lay public.

For 2012 World DNA & Genome Day, BIT plans to: 
 
ü  Invite 8-10 Nobel Laureates as plenary lecturers
ü  Invite 20-30 leading scientists of the Human Genome Project
ü  Organize 300 scientific and technological presentations at the leading edge of the life sciences
ü  Schedule 10 DNA-related scientific popularization programs for the public
ü  Integrate 2-3 cultural and art events
 
    Xi'an enjoys the title of "A Natural Museum of History", it has been the most popular tourist city in China and the World owing to its brilliant historical and cultural relics, and spring is the most pleasant season for a visit. There would also be an opportunity to travel to other Chinese cities and present lectures. You are welcomed to submit papers and abstracts. Besides that, you are also encouraged to organize new session if your current research interests beyond our topics.
 
We look forward to hearing from you and hope that you can join the congress. 

To facilitate us to know your further interest, we appreciate your advices on:
 
1.     Would you like to join the Scientific Advisory Board?
2.    Focused session and speech titles.
3.    What’s your opinion to be the session chair/moderator?
 
Below is the detailed info about the program, further info is available at www.dnaday.com
 
Sincerely yours,

Ms. Jessica Tong
Organizing Committee of WDD-2012
East Area, F11, Building 1,
Dalian Ascendas IT Park,
1 Hui Xian Yuan,
Dalian Hi-tech Industrial Zone,
LN 116025, China
Tel: 0086-411-84799609-801
Fax: 0086-411-84799629