…and this is a 
Phil is pleased that water has been discovered on Mars, and thinks this is a good reason to send spaceships there…and back. As a biologist, I wonder what alien life forms could be flourishing in that damp opportunity, and would urge careful disinfection. Who knows what weird parasitic microorganisms could be lurking there? Do you really want to endorse a rocket jockey when what you really need is someone able to understand and fight the alien threat?
Vote for Pharyngula. Unless you want Martian pod-fungus to eat your brain.
P.S. Also, you need to vote for anyone other than Stop the ACLU in this category.
Comments
Posted by: Ithika | December 8, 2006 11:14 AM
Tough on Martian pod-fungus, tough on the causes of Martian pod-fungus?
Posted by: The Decidenator | December 8, 2006 11:14 AM
I'm certainly going to vote for Stop The ACLU. That's some of the very best entertainment on the internets.
Posted by: Saint Gasoline | December 8, 2006 11:15 AM
A vote for the Astronomer is a vote for the terroris....uh, brain-fungus!
Posted by: Mike Haubrich | December 8, 2006 11:23 AM
I tried to stuff the ballot box by voting from work and a different IP address than my last vote, but I would have had to install an upgrade to flash, and they are kind of strict about that here at the bank.
I have every confidence in you, though.
Mike
Posted by: Steve_C | December 8, 2006 11:23 AM
I voted for Orcinus. But talkleft is a really great site too.
StoptheACLU should only win a W.A.T.B. blog of the year... NOTHING else.
Posted by: Bronze Dog | December 8, 2006 11:24 AM
The problem with rocket scientists is that they're all too eager to calculate the trajectory for the nuclear weapons, and as we all know, every sci-fi-y monster in existence only grows stronger from the power of the atom.
Posted by: llewelly | December 8, 2006 11:34 AM
But ... if a Parasitic Martian Pod Fungus is the danger, and a weblog is the answer, shouldn't we be voting for Carl Zimmer?
And what about the Great Martian Sand Squid of the Desert?
Posted by: Warren | December 8, 2006 11:41 AM
Yeah, we could have a whole new generation of trolls living in the Martian substrate, for all we know.
Posted by: coturnix | December 8, 2006 11:47 AM
It appears that Feministe may be in the best position to beat STACLU, they are actually beating it right now. The others are way behind.
Posted by: George | December 8, 2006 12:06 PM
If you happen to be at your university or local public library, go to a few Internet access terminals and vote more than once!
I've voted several times today.
Posted by: Jim in STL | December 8, 2006 12:10 PM
But whose program will provide the jobs? I am currently working on a new line of brain-eating fungus detectors and will soon begin lobbying congress for a giant single-source, no-bid contract. I will employ millions....nay, billions.
Remember, no brain-eating fungi have ever started a war...or a bird flu epidemic!
Posted by: PZ Myers | December 8, 2006 12:13 PM
You better vote often. Skepchick and I are negotiating a bet: if I lose, I pose for their calendar. I don't know if I'm going to go for it -- there doesn't seem to be any upside
ifwhen I win -- but do you really want to risk it?Posted by: Rosie Redfield | December 8, 2006 12:48 PM
John Rummel's the man standing between us and the alien hordes; he's Planetary Protection Officer for NASA.
http://www.articlesextra.com/nasa-rummel-aliens.htm
Posted by: Scott Hatfield | December 8, 2006 12:55 PM
"Vote for Pharyngula, unless you want Martian pod-fungus to eat your brain?"
Talk about an argument ad baculum. I smell a Chick tract-style Pharyngula promotional brochure in our near future.
Cheekily....SH
Posted by: Stanton | December 8, 2006 2:08 PM
Maybe we could have Scott pose for the brochure, too.
Posted by: Magnus Malmborn | December 8, 2006 2:17 PM
The boobie-terrorist is making new threats. Get out and vote, people!
Posted by: Sastra | December 8, 2006 2:51 PM
Dang! I voted before I saw this...
I don't know about the guys here, but I would just *love* to see you on the calendar, perhaps holding a squid in a strategic location.
Posted by: Scott Hatfield | December 8, 2006 3:01 PM
Stanton wrote: "Maybe we could have Scott pose for the brochure, too."
Oh, that appeals to my vanity. Would I get to be the stylized faceless 'Savior' of science? Somehow I think PZ would fill that role better than me!
On the other hand, I'm bald with a goatee and (frankly) not all that pretty. I'd probably make a pretty good 'demon of faith' or something like that. Hey (brightening) this could formalize the way some folk demonize other folk! Brilliant!
Peace to all....SH
Posted by: Scott Hatfield | December 8, 2006 3:01 PM
Stanton wrote: "Maybe we could have Scott pose for the brochure, too."
Oh, that appeals to my vanity. Would I get to be the stylized faceless 'Savior' of science? Somehow I think PZ would fill that role better than me!
On the other hand, I'm bald with a goatee and (frankly) not all that pretty. I'd probably make a pretty good 'demon of faith' or something like that. Hey (brightening) this could formalize the way some folk demonize other folk! Brilliant!
Peace to all....SH
Posted by: Mena | December 8, 2006 3:32 PM
No "Best Religious Blog"? Will the persecution never end?!?!?! :^@
Posted by: George | December 8, 2006 3:50 PM
Yes, Pharyngula has pulled ahead! 881 to 785 for those bad ass astronomers.
Posted by: Torbjörn Larsson | December 8, 2006 5:19 PM
Um, "parasitic microorganisms"? They wouldn't be adapted to us which should be an initial problem for them. And as I understand it chances are that different amino acids or what have you would be easily recognizable by our immune systems. Or have mars meteorites already transmitted pod-fungus rotting some brains around here on either side? Dang, PZ's hypothesis is sneaky.
But what if their relatives outcompete our own fauna in some ecologies? Worse than pod-fungus must be nutritionpoor or poisonous pod-fungus. What doesn't eat me better must be edible. Or sociable.
Posted by: mikey | December 8, 2006 6:52 PM
Brain-eating fungus doesn't scare the boys over at Sadly, No!, but they did shout out for votes for Pharyngula.
http://sadlyno.com/archives/4542.html
Although you might be uncomfortable with the moniker "P. Zizzy". As long as you're over there voting for this indispensible resource in the War on Christmas, why not stop by the "Best Humor Blog" section and cast a vote for the Sadly, Nos?
mikey
Posted by: JamesR | December 8, 2006 7:13 PM
PZ
The Skepchick has it in for you on this voting business.
Posted by: zuzu | December 8, 2006 8:42 PM
Right now, Feministe is way ahead of Stop the ACLU, and TalkLeft is only about 30 votes behind them.
They need stomped.
Posted by: Cubist | December 8, 2006 9:46 PM
Quoth PZ: "As a biologist, I wonder what alien life forms could be flourishing in that damp opportunity, and would urge careful disinfection. Who knows what weird parasitic microorganisms could be lurking there?"
As it happens, much skull-sweat has already been devoted to precisely this question, and there is an extensive group of thought-provoking gedankenexperiments centered upon one of the more interesting scenarios.
Posted by: Smart_Cookie | December 8, 2006 11:21 PM
Okay - so I've probably just alienated a whole lot of Posters over at the JREF forum, who are all voting for Phil and the BA blog, because I voted for PZ.
Im expecting a personal Happy Squidmas message!
Posted by: Corporal Kate | December 9, 2006 8:24 AM
PZ, I've really been enjoying the Battle Of The Bald Scientists (I have a thing for bald guys). It was a hard decision for me to make. The chance to see you naked in Rebecca's calandar gives me one more reason to vote for Phil.
Kisses
Kate
Posted by: lo | December 9, 2006 3:33 PM
PZ, don`t mock this subject. You aren`t exactly a specialist in exobiology.
You of all people, who has a profound grasp of microbiology, should welcome and support the exploration for life in our solar system - which from a mere rational perspective is very likely to be fruitful, and be it in a hundred years, when exploratory technology has evolved to a state where we begin to understand the history of our solar system better - that is from a detailed systematic view. From nothing comes nothing.
That alien microorganisms pose any real threat however is a rather irrational idea, from the stance of the molecular and cellular aspects of our evolutionary immune systems alone.
However scientists are so extremely concerned about a aseptic environment and disinfection for mere data reasons alone. You don`t wanna spend billions of dollars, and gather decade long support just do end up with microorganisms that came from earth itself. An isotope analysis won`t help us in this case any further as well, and so forth.
Exobiology is by now a full blown science, thought at all major universities, and don`t ridicule it.
PS: Haven`t read Phils post.
Posted by: seedmagfan | December 9, 2006 3:48 PM
After that bit of news - I voted for PZ again. As skeptic.com wrote - 'cheesecake for critical thinking????????' - a reason for the ?????? I'd say! Go PZ!
Posted by: steven | December 11, 2006 5:40 PM
Alien microbial bas*****