Pharyngula

Posted by: Knockgoats | June 4, 2009 8:55 AM

Congratulations Bill! Overdue indeed. For May, strange gods before me, and (for his heroic efforts to drum some sense into africangenesis) a_ray_in_dilbert_space.

Posted by: Carlie | June 4, 2009 9:04 AM

"overtime" meaning "tenaciously not letting anyone get away with crap", of course.

Posted by: SC, OM | June 4, 2009 9:12 AM

Er, and

Carlie

I knew I was forgetting someone.

Posted by: Kseniya | June 4, 2009 9:28 AM

I cast my vote for Kel.

It's nice to see Carlie showing her face around here again, though. Hi Carlie!

(If I leave some tasty fish and a freshly-killed seal pup out on this nearby ice flow, will Thalarctos come back? Hmmm. It may be worth a try.)

Posted by: cicely | June 4, 2009 9:36 AM

I vote for the geologist tag-team from the Deathless Thread(s).

Posted by: Walton | June 4, 2009 9:42 AM

Aquaria.

Posted by: Thriftybat | June 4, 2009 9:49 AM

Not sure if I'm entitled to a vote. :

Cerberus.

Posted by: Sili | June 4, 2009 9:53 AM

I didn't get an errormessage. Updating does not show my post. Apologies if this ends up being a doublepost anyway.

Congrats!

I only have one note for May: grolby - this is likely due to my checking the blogs from work ... (and generally not being able to keep up ...)

Of course, I'm unemployed now ... (reeeeeeeally need to get working on applications ...)

And let just repeat Raven - talk about overdue.

Kel and Carlie are names that ring familiar - with goodness.

Posted by: strange gods before me | June 4, 2009 9:59 AM

Adding to my ongoing nominations of 'Tis Himself and Carlie, I had bookmarked this to remind me that Cerberus kicks ass.

Posted by: John Morales | June 4, 2009 10:03 AM

I just knew Bill would end up with an OM...
Grats Bill.

I want to give an honorable mention to 'Tis Himself, I reckon if he hangs around he's bound to achieve it.

But my nomination for May (um, was he even posting in May?) goes to ... Smoggy Batzrubble, who burst into the scene with what I consider to be beeaaut-tiful satire.
Perhaps a little overexposed to begin with, but hey, those first couple of posts were a riot.

Posted by: strange gods before me | June 4, 2009 10:12 AM

I just knew Bill would end up with an OM... Grats Bill.

Yeah, actually he's one of those who I always figured already had one, because it was just obvious that he should.

One more reason he deserves it, then: persistent quality.

Posted by: Kel | June 4, 2009 10:19 AM

I never know who to vote for, especially on a month to month basis. As for old favourites, I nominate: Clinteas and Feynmaniac

Posted by: Kobra | June 4, 2009 10:25 AM

Accursed typos! I need to stop reading the things Rev. BDC writes. He's influencing me, I tell ya!

Posted by: thalarctos | June 4, 2009 10:37 AM

stoichimetry

That's stoichiometry, dammit. I know that.

Accursed typos! I need to stop reading the things Rev. BDC writes. He's influencing me, I tell ya!

Yep, that's it--it's all Rev. BDC's fault!

Posted by: JackC | June 4, 2009 10:49 AM

Well deserved, Bill - Congratulations!

I have been swamped this month, haven't paid enough attention to vote, so I abstain.

I am sure Bill would appreciate that.

JC

Posted by: Sven DiMilo | June 4, 2009 10:58 AM

But...but I always vote for Bill! What am I supposed to do now?

Oh, I know: Ken Cope.

Posted by: Janine, OMnivore | June 4, 2009 11:04 AM

Hey Bill! Welcome to the club! Did anyone show you the secret tentacle shake yet?

Now to pick people and, dammit, I always forget some.

Ken Cope
Jadehawk
Carlie

Posted by: Religion™ Brand Brain Staples | June 4, 2009 11:12 AM

I haven't been following the comments here as rigorously as some, but I have had occasion to see strange gods before me demonstrate both tenacity and insight.

Posted by: Lynna | June 4, 2009 11:37 AM

I vote for Smoggy Batzrubble. There's this line from the anti-christ-as-gay thread: "perverted pastors pronging panicked parishioners" -- and then there are Smoggy's reactions to right wingers making fun of his name in another thread. LOL

I realize this is a vote for sometimes puerile levity, as opposed to a vote for Kel, whose comments are often educational, but I can't help myself. (I am worried that Smoggy Batzrubble may be secretly scenting his comments with mind-control compounds. We are all helpless now.)

Smoggy, send my best wishes to Floyd Rubber, your former cellmate.

Posted by: Watchman | June 4, 2009 11:55 AM

Congratulations, Bill. Well deserved!

Kel gets my vote for this month.

Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | June 4, 2009 12:45 PM

strange gods before me
a_ray_in_dilbert_space

Smoggy Batzrubble will get a nomination next time…

I vote for Ekipt for this comment:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/05/another_clue_to_the_identity_o.php#comment-1663204

…and so will Ekipt if he/she/it/squid keeps it up. Man. I'm still laughing. Awesome!

Posted by: David Marjanović, OM | June 4, 2009 12:50 PM

(Kel, raven, and especially Feynmaniac have been overdue for years. They just weren't the most noteworthy commenters of May.)

Posted by: Bill Dauphin, OM | June 4, 2009 1:12 PM

*blush*

I hope noboddy interprets my lateness in noticing this as lack of gratitude: I was busy responding at tedious length in a thread long since scrolled off the front page... as is my wont! ;^)

Well, gee, now I can die happy! I hope this doesn't mean I'm obligated to disappear for awhile, as have so many of my previous fellow Mollinarians.

As for May's Molly, I finally did what I've always intended to do, and actually made myself some notes. Accordingly, I nominate...

Watchman and Cerberus for their indespensible contributions in the Maine same-sex marriage thread. (Just as films released in the spring often get overlooked for Oscars, it seems to me that seminal contributions from early in each month often get overlooked for Mollies.)

In addition, it recently dawned on me that Jadehawk has not yet been Mollified... and that's just wrong!

Posted by: Jennifer B. Phillips (aka Danio) | June 4, 2009 1:19 PM

Huzzah! Congratulations Bill Dauphin, OM

May Mollies: Carlie & Kel

Posted by: Patricia, OM | June 4, 2009 1:43 PM

Congratulations Bill!

Josh deserves some sort of 'leather fingers' Molly for all the typing he did trying to educate the morons of May.

If more than one vote counts, Kel and Jadehawk have been making great comments too.

Posted by: Brownian, OM | June 4, 2009 1:48 PM

A hearty congratulations, Bill. Well-deserved.

Let's see now; I believe Kel is first on the list of those who are long overdue for a Molly.

As for the newcomers (relatively speaking), I bet 400 quatloos on the thralls Strange Gods Before Me and Smoggy Batzrubble.

And, since no-one's mentioned it yet, I nominate Sastra for yet another Calamari Cluster ("Tentacle Cluster" is what the civvies call it). She's always outstanding, but her succinct synopses of the discussion at hand have left me at a loss for words (imagine: me!) more than a few times as of late.

Posted by: Angel Kaida | June 4, 2009 2:50 PM

Cerberus, for the George Tiller threads.

Posted by: Alan Kellogg | June 4, 2009 3:18 PM

I'll be daring and say Kel this time around. Well, as daring as I get these days. :)

Posted by: Pierce R. Butler | June 4, 2009 3:51 PM

Hank Fox!

(with a starting-pole nomination for next month to Aquaria)

Posted by: Cotku | June 4, 2009 4:12 PM

Walton, for his post in The Elephant's Wings.

Posted by: Janine, OMnivore | June 4, 2009 4:34 PM

Aquaria, if you are not smart enough for an OM, I sure as shit should disown mine. Dammit, you bare yet an other person that I should have nominated.

Posted by: Aquaria | June 4, 2009 5:17 PM

Funny, when I saw 'fin-fringled frolic," I thought it said five-fingered frolic, and thought, so that's what these young people are calling it these days...

Posted by: Sastra | June 4, 2009 6:17 PM

Overdue indeed! Congrats to Bill Dauphin!

And be sure to look at his pic on his webpage -- he's a hottie!!!11eleventyone!!!

(I remember he once tried to cheer up Walton(?) by mentioning that someone had once posted something to the effect that he (Bill D.) was "hot" -- so no one, any where, at any time, for any reason, should ever give up hope that someone else could consider them attractive. Heh. Funny thing is, though, he really is pretty cute...)
;)

For this month:

Another vote for Kel, who is also overdue.

So is AJ Milne.

And my votes for Dan L. and H.H. are waiting in the wings...

Posted by: HappyKiwi | June 4, 2009 6:47 PM

DON'T vote for Smoggy Batzrubble. He's a self-satisfied dickwad who only thinks he's funny and he gives New Zealanders a bad name. You should all follow Sven's example and killfile him then maybe he'll go away and leave me in peace.

Posted by: Smoggy Batzrubble | June 4, 2009 6:53 PM

Well that was weird.

Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM | June 4, 2009 7:05 PM

Aquaria once again proves the adage that one should be dragged, kicking and screaming, into office.

I usually like to nominate two people, but my lists are buried somewhere on my desk (I just had to do some cleaning...), and I have to pay some bills to dig down to them. But, I'll start off with another overdue nominee, Kel. Once I find my list, and see which die I need to use, I'll add my second nominee.

Posted by: Ichthyic | June 4, 2009 7:12 PM

DON'T vote for Smoggy Batzrubble. He's a self-satisfied dickwad who only thinks he's funny and he gives New Zealanders a bad name. You should all follow Sven's example and killfile him then maybe he'll go away and leave me in peace.

MPD's are a bitch, ain't they?

;)

congrats to bill. well deserved.

Posted by: Alex Deam | June 4, 2009 7:20 PM

Okay, firstly congrats to Bill. Well deserved.

Now, onto my nominees. My main preference is to nominate strange gods before me, mainly for good debunking of libertarianism, pro-life and several other arguments. Good work.

However, I'd also like to vote for Alan B for some excellent geology last month.

Posted by: Patricia, OM | June 4, 2009 7:27 PM

Smoggy - Another one of your cell mates? Whad ya do to this one, use all his ketchup and jelly packets to make hooch in your own socks?

Posted by: Rey Fox | June 4, 2009 9:11 PM

"Too many OMs don't sign with their OM"

Nah, I disagree. It was funny when Blake first started doing it, but the novelty has worn off, and I'm not a big fan of the practice.

Posted by: C | June 4, 2009 11:02 PM

I'm mostly a lurker here, and may not be qualified for the voting, but I'd like to nominate Strange Gods and Carlie this month. Smoggy has been a delight, helping to defuse my rage against anti-abortion nutcakes with his excellent satire right when a laugh is most needed.

And Bill Dauphin is one of the reasons I return again and again to this site, and read the comments as well as PZ's posts. Always human, and always seems to know what he's talking about, which is a wonderful and rare combination. Congrats!

Posted by: heliobates | June 4, 2009 11:22 PM

Free Smoggy!

Ram semen doesn't kill people. People kill people.

Posted by: Smoggy Batzrubble | June 4, 2009 11:52 PM

"Ram semen doesn't kill people"

Ummm...a farmer friend of mine was found choked to death on ram semen (we don't need to go there)... I simply mention it to show there are worse things than doing a Carradine.

BTW powdered ram semen is yummy on porridge. And in prison Floyd Rubber reckoned it had quite an effect on him when he snorted it. Just don't import it for supply.

Posted by: Crudely Wrott | June 5, 2009 12:47 AM

Glad to see Bill Dauphin recognized. Attaboy, Bill!

a_ray_in_dilbert_space has been a real soldier for accuracy and a paragon of patience.

As many others have said, Kel has been a stalwart and a reliable source of good stuff.

The two of them have taught and amused me, which is the surest way to hold my attention.

Lately though, I've been a fawning devote of Aquaria and I'd like to restate my recent nomination for her worthiness. A very nice blend of rage, wit and sweetness. Yeah, I vote for her.

I'd like to give a deep bow to Smoggy Batzrubble. If he can hold his own for another month he'll be high on the list.

Posted by: ethin | June 5, 2009 3:03 AM

Free Smoggy Batzrubble! Also, I vote for him for May.

Posted by: Rorschach | June 5, 2009 5:14 AM

It looks to me as if Smoggy is making the biggest splash of any newcomer since Etha

Apples and multifunction printers?

Posted by: Becky | June 5, 2009 6:12 AM

I vote for a_ray_in_dilbert_space for May.
His verbal beating of africangenesis made me laugh several times!

Posted by: MikeG | June 5, 2009 6:46 AM

I'll cast my vote for Kel and Cerberus.

Posted by: Rorschach | June 5, 2009 7:11 AM

Strange Gods for his consistently lucid thinking matched only by his breathtaking stamina on the abortion threads.

Strange Gods is female,I believe.

Posted by: Drosera | June 5, 2009 7:41 AM

Strange Gods is female,I believe.

That's a mistake you only make once ;)

Posted by: Rorschach | June 5, 2009 7:53 AM

That's a mistake you only make once ;)

Oh nooooooooz,dont tell me !

And once?
*Looks awkwardly at Naked Bunny*
LOL

Posted by: Aquaria | June 5, 2009 8:15 AM

Ray--

I just went through that one thread, and I have to say that you deserve the title of Climate Change's Pit Bull. You would not give up, and good for you! Most of us just tell AG to fuck right off, because he's always that disingenuous and arrogantly imbecilic.

Can I double vote? Kel and Ray?

Posted by: Kristjan Wager | June 5, 2009 9:22 AM

How do you people keep up with the comments enough to feel qualified to nominate someone? Back in the days, I used to be able to keep up with the comments at Pharyngula (heck, I wrote an embarrassing large percentage of them), but these days I've got a hard time just keep up with PZ's posts.

Posted by: Janine, OMnivore | June 5, 2009 9:27 AM

Kristjan, I will let you in on an open secret. This voting is just as scientific as all of the internet poll the horde here likes to crash. I look at this as a means to acknowledge the many people who make this site a worth while stop.

Posted by: SantaCruzOM | June 5, 2009 9:38 AM

I'm relatively new here, so I'm still learning the rules. Now that I understand the "OM" designation, I feel the need to point out that my OM is not a true "OM", at least not in the sense of its meaning here. I also want to note that my screenname was not crafted to intentionally mislead anyone or imply that the OM honor had been bestowed upon me. This is my handle pretty much everywhere I go. It is simply a guitar reference and carries no other significance. That said, I'd love to make a contribution so compelling that I might be considered a candidate for a true OM one day. I suspect there's little chance of this happening. Though it would be quite cool to be known as SantaCruzOM, OM.

Anyway, just wanted to put that out there....carry on. Oh, my vote goes to Smoggy Batzrubble.

Posted by: Sili | June 5, 2009 10:12 AM

Sounds like there're a lot a people I need to catch up with ...

You're right, Sastra. Bill's not half bad looking. Nicely trimmed beard for sure - even if it's not quite my thing. Of course, this just helps to confirm that I'm not your type (either). :sulks:

I only found out Naked Bunny was male this past month. I guess that just helps to confirm that I'm a bloody sexist.

Posted by: Matt Heath | June 5, 2009 5:10 PM

Congrats Bill.
Walton (because, crazy politics or no, he earned it with patience and y bsmashing troll on their own terms) & strangegods (for general awesomeness and to balance out Walton).

Posted by: Crudely Wrott | June 5, 2009 7:16 PM

By virtue of Matt Heath's accommodation above and the recall that it instigated, please count another vote for Walton.

He has taken some major hits and has at times appeared to be on the verge of packing it all in yet he remains. And by so doing I assume he has listened and learned from the responses to his posts. I observe that during this time I have listened and learned how to better state my case as an atheist and better parse the apologetics of someone of faith. My observations seem to match my assumptions. I consider that a fair deal, square deal. Both have profited.

Not bad. Not bad at all. I knew this blog was good for something. =P

Posted by: Sven DiMilo | June 5, 2009 10:20 PM

I recall with crystal clarity the day the Pong machine showed up in front of Woolworth's at the mall.
Imagine! Having control over the images on a video screen for the first time! Started all this, in a way.

Posted by: Kseniya | June 5, 2009 11:13 PM

Good call on John Morales, Nerd. His style is not ostentatious and is therefore easy to overlook at Molly time, but his contribution to the blog is well deserving of recognition.

Posted by: Kseniya | June 5, 2009 11:32 PM

David:

Was the missing part "wearing a truly horrible beard"? ;-)

Nope. :-)

Oh... wait.... that's a beard?

Ok. Bailiff, scratch the "pet gastropod" observation from the record, please.

Posted by: Bride of Shrek OM | June 6, 2009 12:07 AM

Oh, and congrats to Bill. Welcome to "the club". Well deserved and well overdue.

Posted by: bastion of sass | June 6, 2009 9:14 PM

Kel, Cerberus, and Alan B.

Congrats to Bill!

Posted by: John Morales | June 9, 2009 9:55 PM

Kseniya.

<ducks>

Posted by: africangenesis | June 28, 2009 8:41 PM

Becky#94,

"His verbal beating of africangenesis made me laugh several times!"

You must be a scientific illiterate. I doubt you can demonstrate that you understood anything you were laughing at.

Posted by: Rorschach | June 29, 2009 8:05 AM

Look hon, I have more scientific knowledge in my pinky than you do in your entire brain

Becky,
as much as I would like to be impressed by this,please show your pinky before you claim stuff like that,its the internet,anyone can claim shit here.AG does it all the time.

Posted by: Rorschach | June 29, 2009 8:18 AM

Why not???

:-)

Posted by: Drosera | June 29, 2009 8:33 AM

What's all this about Pinky and the Brain?

Posted by: John Morales | June 29, 2009 8:45 AM

Drosera, wow! I was only aware of "Pinky and the Brain" from Charlie Stross's The Atrocity Archives and The Jennifer Morgue.

It all makes sense, now... :)

Posted by: Bobber | June 29, 2009 9:01 AM

Watchman (#115):

Speaking of potential candidates, I haven't seen Bobber around lately. Bummer.

SC (#117):

And where is Bobber?

This is what I get for not reading through EVERY thread on a timely basis.

I promise to throw in my two cents (.17 cent, adjusted for intellectual inflation) when I feel my opinion may be worth posting (it isn't always, there are quite a few here who usually express what I want to in a far more pithy and interesting manner). I'll disengage the lurking device more often.

Posted by: Feynmaniac | June 29, 2009 9:20 AM

Yeah, I grew up on Pinky and the Brain too. Looking back, that was a very strange show.

Posted by: Becky | June 30, 2009 9:44 AM

Africangenesis,
For my science knowledge I will only say:
I have a BS in physics from FSU
A MS in physics from RPI
I am currently an engineer at NASA

In the comments for Idiot America you posted a lot of skimble-skamble, and had the appearance of sheer senselessness. Which implied, to me that you read a couple of articles that confused you and didn’t care enough to look up the references, so you developed a belief on the subject.
To one post a_ray_in_dilbert_space posted the in reply to your statement of having read the realclimate FAQs:
"And yet you still call the tuning process an "exercise in tweaking parameters and curve fitting"? You may have "read" it, but you certainly didn't understand it.

I will admit to not being a climate expert, but that was funny weather you are an expert or not.
Bringing this back to the topic at hand I will say once more that a_ray_in_dilbert_space has my vote AGAIN for the May 2009 Molly. For having the temperament to try to educate you when you are clearly unable to accept any interpretation than the one you currently have. I do not have that kind of temperament, I usually state a few expletives and call it a day.

Posted by: Feynmaniac | June 30, 2009 11:31 AM

What physicist lacks the curiousity to become informed on an important topic such as this?

Becky didn't say she lacked curiosity, just the patience to try to educate you. It's also the reason why others did not participate in that conversation.

Posted by: africangenesis | July 1, 2009 7:07 AM

John Morales,

Many of the analyses of the models funded by and/or submitted to the IPCC in advance of the AR4 were called "diagnostic subprojects". I think the meaning is that the model problems are being diagnosed. The high lattitude issues were largely attributed to errors in surface albedo feedback which were further refined to the models have a delayed spring snow melt vis'a'vis the observations, and this was found to be due to errors in snow cover fraction parameterizations, snow water equivilents, and due to incorrect albedo parameterizations of the snow cover in forested areas due to the shadows cast by stems. The models have also received checkups on how well they reproduce precipitation and the solar cycle response and on many other features and been found wanting to various degrees. I think my usage is similar to that of the IPCC FAR Working Group I.

Posted by: africangenesis | July 1, 2009 8:33 AM

No problem, if what I'm saying isn't clear, I don't mind being questioned. It might have seemed a strange word to use in this context.

Posted by: Becky | July 1, 2009 8:51 AM

Africangenesis,
We’re going to take your last reply point by point, to help you understand.
You said: ”You are assuming that the realclimate.org FAQs are a reliable reference. I cited plenty of peer reviewed diagnostic results that showed how wrong the climate models got the 20th century climate whose temperature trend they "matched", coincidental "matches" like that don't happen from the physical first principles when so much else is wrong. You evidently don't appreciate how much of the model "physics" must be parameterized for in order to bridge widely different time scales, compensate for lack of resolution, fill in for unknown past state and for computational practicality.”
True, you copied and pasted from a number of online sources, none of it was original. Cherry picking by copy & paste is not impressive, as I recall back on idiot America your entire argument boil down to 2 main points:
1.) The models have errors. Well of course the models have errors, and all models have errors.
2.) The data is nonlinear. So what, not everything in nature is linear.
You said: “I've no problem with you voting for a ray in dilbert space, he'd be a cut above the usual winners, but you are wrong about who was educating whom.”
This quote just shows how clueless you are, numerous people voted for a ray in dilbert space, but I will quote Nerd of Redhead, who, summed it up so well by saying, “special shout out to A_Ray_In_Dilbert_Space, who may be new, but did an awesome job with the liberturd AG, refuting the latter's alleged scientific outlook on AGW again and again.”. Africangenesis, please observe that when I copy & paste, I use quotes (“”) AND say who I’m quoting.

You said: “You must be a dream at the whiteboard. Well they say the PhD is more representative of persistence than anything else. What physicist lacks the curiousity to become informed on an important topic such as this?”
And this shows your problem in understanding you did NOT read what I said in it’s entirety, I said I normally don’t bother with cluless needle-dicks like you, Thanks much to Feynmaniac for pointing that out, I was worried I didn’t make myself clear (I studied physics NOT writing).
I am reaching the point of stating expletives. Therefore I AM DONE WITH YOU. You may have the last word, because I have better things to do than deal with your sorry ass. Your next step to self-improvement will be to remove your head from your anus.

Please, let’s bring this back to voting for the Molly, but I’m sure you cannot think of anyone to vote for because in your sorry little mind you are all that matters.