Hemant has a summary of the Atheist Alliance International Convention 2007. I should have been there! Maybe next year I'll be invited to speak — it sounds like maybe some people would like me to speak…
As soon as the picture of PZ was up, there were cheers from the crowd. (PZ, you had fans at the convention!)
Vox populi!
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As you watch the time fade away, sit back and enjoy it and start mentally rewriting your talk. I had it pared down to "I'll post it on the web later, bye!"
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The Australian had a few things to say about the convention.
It sold out.
That's probably enough. This convention could have been much, much bigger, with a little more support. Next time — and I did hear the organizers talk about the possibility of doing it again in two years, hint, hint — it can…
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Vox populi?
Does this mean PZ is an omnidirigible too?
Good jorb.
Attention hog ;)
(yes this was a pittiful attempt at the 500,000)
This sounds pretty cool. In fact, the whole event sounds like a lot of fun.
We're so close, the excitement is overloading my poor little heart.
What's that you say Brownian?
eek
You're too calm in real life. We'll have to hire an actor to properly demagogue the crowd into a Bible burning frenzy. You do have a reputation as worse than Hitler and/or Stalin to maintain.
Re: 500,000th comment contest
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Hilarious that someone had Richard Dawkins sign a banana!
Are we there yet? (It's more irritating if more than one person says it.)
Hilarious that someone had Richard Dawkins sign a banana!
I heard it's because they couldn't get a jar of peanut butter through customs.
Here I'm living less then 5 miles from the convention and I waited too long to buy a ticket.. I'll be looking forward to hopefully seeing PZ next year.
Come again?
Can I just say that this is the first time I've commented on this thread?
...what a thing to win with this lil' bit of prescient commentary!!...
Re: Rev. BigDumbChimp # 13
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
Are we there yet?
After this shameless display of greedy posting I'm going to need a shower.
Is this the thread we're all commenting on for no reason other than to win the comment competition?
Did I win?
Are you guys posting just to try to win the contest?
If I win maybe they'll send me to... San Francisco!
I suppose this could be a test of atheist morals; Damn the content, I wanna go to England.
I'm not really trying to win the contest; I just find this thread the most interesting conversation I've participated in all week.
Are we there yet?
It's a good read...the friendly atheist's blog...PZ how come you didn't advertise it on this blog? Or maybe you did and I didn't see it. I wish I had gone there.
Kids, no, we're not there yet. And now sit back down in your chairs, buckle up and stop hitting mom in the head with the can of spray cheese.
No Pete, we're posting because we actually have things to say. (Well, other people do, I just like to see my name on the screen.)
England or San Francisco, I just want a trip.
Have you decided on a title for your book, PZ? (Now I'm just posting in the hope that I could become the 500,000th comment poster :-)
Not I....
So everyone's just trying for 500,000, huh?
That's why the running total should have been blinded as we got close.
The comment counter doesn't seem to be updating in real-time. Damn!
Don't you guys have something better to do?
If none of us gets the trip, we deserve a collective Molly Award for our persistence.
People may find Hitchen's drinking addiction amusing, but I wish he rather didn't drink so much...what a waste if he were to die young because of his habit.
It's like voting in federal elections in Canada. Traditionally, the outcome has been decided before the polls close in the western provinces, so it's a blind gambit in which you continue to play even though you may have already lost.
The flashing orange lights on the SAN over there --> would say yes.
Well, this thread would certainly win some sort of fastest growing award.
Damn, I keep getting the 'too many submissions' error. I guess I'm technically spamming now.
Brownian, Imagine how fun voting in Alaska is.
Sounds like a blast.
Wait. There's a contest here?
I pretty much have nothing to say. This is a space sitter on the way to 500,000.
Okay, the counter was a 499,957 before this thread even begun. It's gotta be at a half mil by now.
Dawkin's has plans to write a children's book...something which will talk about how to think rationally, etc. (see the Friendly Atheist's blog). PZ, any plans on your part to do something similar? We can't have too many books like that!
I vote Brownian be banned for spamming
;)
I pretty much have nothing to say. This is a space sitter on the way to 500,000.
Me neither.
What do you guys think this rash is?
We have to be there by now. I need to use the restroom.
Brownian, it is still at 499,957. They are playing with us.
We have to be there by now. I need to use the restroom.
Jeez John, you never lined up for Def Leppard tix? Use a bottle.
We have to be there by now. I need to use the restroom.
I need to go, too! Damn, I was hoping to see the winner announced before I left.
Probably flesh eating bacteria
Mom!
Rev. BigDumbChimp touched my side of the car. Make him stop.
Now it is at 499,582. The numbers are wonky.
Wha???? The counter just rolled back to 499,582!!! What happened?
Oh well.
The counter just changed to 499,582.
Stop it! Or I'll turn this contest right around and we'll all go home.
Is that what you want?
I just saw it move. No not that, this..
499,582
#4:
Hey, I already have the cover done for him!
Richard Dawkin's New Book
(SFW, don't worry)
Now it is stuck at 499,623 :-(.
The suspense is killing me!!!
499,623.
Number nine.
Number nine.
Number nine.
Ooh, a counter update!
499,582.
Wait, now it's 499,623.
What's going on?
Don't make me turn this blog around and go home! I can reach all of you from here! (Yeah, I never believed it as a kid, either)
Are we there yet?
<Evil Grin*gt;
Excellent convention, and excellent (and thought-provoking) talks by the big four. PZ's presence would've been icing on the cake.
Excellent write-up, Hemant
499,623
I am afraid we are jamming the system. She cannot handle the stress.
Hey, Brownian just turned the counter around!
What!
Looks like this is the only thread getting comments...look at the permalink url's...they are all serially numbered!
What happened to the comments on other sciencblogs? Or is it just us here who are doing all the heavy lifting?
Ban me for spamming? But I...oh.
Clever ploy, Reverend, but it's not going to work.
499,623.
All of these comment today without a christian apologist.
This is almost funny.
England is mine, I tell you. Mine! Mine! Mine!
Hey, quit doing that, Brownian! Or we'll never get there!
drats. On to super double secret plan #2. Spam.
499,623.
How long before we get over a hundred statements on this "topic"?
499,623.
All of these comment today without a christian apologist.
OK, did or did not God give me hemorrhoids?
Discuss.
This is so addicting! And there I was, smug that I wasn't prone to addictions!
Must. Keep. Commenting. Until. Winner. Announced.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrghgh!
I someone making a real comment on another post wins this, I say we steal their lunch money and run their pants up the flagpole.
499,623.
Get your finger out of the counter! Let it get unstuck!
499,623.
All of these comment today without a christian apologist.
This is almost funny.
Ok fine.
WHY ARE ALL OF you Ahtiets so AFRAID of the one true lord AND god. WHY DO you hate JESUS!!!???!?!??!!111
This reminds me of when Computing Services at my university had a 1,000,000th log on contest - some of us evil students wrote a script for one of the Unix workstations to hammer the mainframe with log on/log off pairs. They ended up giving two awards - one for the million'th log on (one of us, of course), and then throwing out all our entries and giving the "real" million'th customer another one.
Are we there yet?
How long before we get over a hundred statements on this "topic"?
Minutes, at best.
499,623.
You know what would really suck, if someone like Legion won this posting one of his droppings on a Science Blog that has not banned him.
He is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you'll get.
Seriously, I've heard that the best way to avoid getting the piles is by exercising...jogging/running.
499,656.
The clock just ticked.
So, has anyone seen any nice kitten pictures lately?
They're rolling it back in hope that they get a 500,000 comment that isn't one of us jokers.
I don't like Jesus because he hates Samoans. They kept that out of the Gospels, but he totally said it. He said, and I quote, "Samoans? I hate 'em. Their tattoos a totally gauche."
Prove me wrong.
So, what were the awards?
They're rolling it back in hope that they get a 500,000 comment that isn't one of us jokers.
I can wait them out. I don't have a life.
I have this fear that my manager is going to come by and ask me to have a meeting, and I'll have to tell her to go take a hike. Sometimes my inside voice comes out.
WHY ARE ALL OF you Ahtiets so AFRAID of the one true lord AND god. WHY DO you hate JESUS!!!???!?!??!!111
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | October 1, 2007 1:41 PM
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?
Tra la la la la la!
Where is it you work again and what is your manager's name?
Appropriate Random Quote on PZs sidebar right now:
Weasling out of work is important to learn; it is what separates humans from animals. Except for weasels.
Homer Simpson, The Simpsons
When they say the second prize coffee cup holds a wicked cup of coffee, does that mean the wicked cup of coffee is included in the prize?
499,656.
I someone making a real comment on another post wins this, I say we steal their lunch money and run their pants up the flagpole.
Posted by: John McKay | October 1, 2007 1:40 PM
How can they check content while keeping a count?
---. .----
\ /
\ /
| /
| /
| /
|/ <----- Announcement of the winner.
Time vs Productivity (at work) of commenters
I'm at the point where I hope anyone wins. This whole thing is making me anxious. I must admit I want it to be someone on this blog.
499,701.
I am now tearing out my hair. Come on! Come on!
ERV I do remember you once saying that you did not blog from work.
Get back to work faking all that HIV / AIDS foolishness.
Where is it you work again and what is your manager's name?
I work for provincially funded health agency. My name is on my blog, and a quick search should turn up my manager's name.
Why don't you try to look me up? We'll hold your place.
Stupid HTML formatting requirement!! Messed up my beautiful graph showing time vs productivity right now of all commenters here.
:-(.
I fear Jesus because he is one of the undead, like vampires, zombies, and Dick Cheney.
You people remind me of when I was a kid calling WDVE to be the 12th caller and win tickets to see Chicago or whatever, and I figured out that they only had 4 phones, and if they picked up and said "You're the 4th caller, thanks, bye" they hung up, but then you could stay on the line and be the 8th and 12th.
What was I going to say?
Oh yeah, atheists can have no morals, and therefore NO FUN!
This is my first one in like two hours!
499,701.
How long before PZ comes down from his mount and gives us a smackdown for this silly hijacking of this thread?
Ok I'll be ri...WAIT A MINUTE!!!
*fist shake at brownian
Yeah yeah! Why don't you all go and look up Brownian's manager (and ERV's, and anyone else who is commenting here)?
Over 100 comments in less than an hour. Is this a record, PZ?
Damnit, I am not a spammer!
Brownian - if God hates the Samoans, he must hate the Welsh even more.
The Welsh are very proud of their rugby, and in the 70s they use to be really good. Then in 1991 they co-hosted the World Cup. And lost to Western Samoa 13-16. Some wags were heard to say "and that was only Western Samoa. Imagine what would have happened if we had played the whole of Samoa".
Well, in 1999 they did. Again in Wales. The score:
Wales 31 - 38 Samoa
Oh, and this year they managed to avoid Samoa. They lost to Fiji instead.
Bob
500,000 yet?
SHHHHHHHHHHH
I hear if you type his name three times on a blog he comes and gives you an atomic wedgie.
Did I mention that you people remind me of...
What?
I did?
Apologies for inadvertant double post.
499,701.
Browny and Chimpy. Both of yous please settle down. You are making the rest of us nervious.
I totally dont blog at work.
But I do comment on SciBlogs.
:P
We should have Pharyngula pool...$1 from everyone and the one who predicts the winner gets it all!
Does Matt the heathen get a prize for being the 100th comment on this thread? Maybe a wicked cup of coffee, sans cup?
Apologies for advertant triple post.
I feel so ...dirty. And not in a good way.
499,701.
SHHHHHHHHHHH
I hear if you type his name three times on a blog he comes and gives you an atomic wedgie.
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp | October 1, 2007 1:56 PM
PZ!
PZ!
PZ!
That will get my panties in a bunch!
Or do I nead to misspell his name?
Yay! The counter ticked again! 499,739 :-) .
Speaking of the undead, I was in a film called 8 1/2 Short Films About Zombies, and it premiered last night.
You can all officially brag that you know me.
Apolog...
aw, screw it. Nobody else is apologizing
499,739.
Woo-Hoo! We are well on our way to two hundred pointless posts.
500,000, whatever, I have no interest, which is why I'm posting now.
Semantics.
:0
Hmmmm. Running out of things to say.
Maybe we could have sing-a-long. Does everybody know the lyrics to In-a-gadda-da-vita?
I bet five bucks that the counter will get to ~499,950 and roll back to 499,500 again.
updates are faster now!! 499,755 now! Yay...hopefully I can still salvage this day and get some work done.
PQ!
no...
PX!
no...uh...
PJ!
shit...
PP!
grrr
PI!
EZ!
LZ!
DQ!
etc.
What if they remade '8 1/2' starring zombies?
499,755
Are we sure this isn't silly?
say, how bout them Mets?
I just blew off a friend for lunch. I hope he got my email that I wouldn't make it in time.
I feel like such a jerk.
A jerk with a chance to go to Cambridge! Woo-hoo!
I'll take you on that bet, Brownian! I say the counter will not roll back to 499,500.
:-).
You can all officially brag that you know me.
I know Brownian.
Nice try Brownian with the link there for s distraction.
!!!CLICK HERE!!!
where's my damn commentobot?
499,755.
What other movies should be remade with zombies? I would like to see 'Chinatown' down like that.
A distraction.
see what I did there?
I just realized that this is the most I've commented on any thread...in fact my comments here exceed all comments on all threads that I have made so far!
I'm not saying there is any substance to what I'm commenting...just the numbers.
Might I remind everyone (again) that they do NOT pick the winner based on who made the 500,000th comment?
Zombie Dr. Dolittle (the Rex Harrison one, not the Eddie Murphy one)
499,779! Yay!
499,779
Just how hard does a materialist have to work to push things up to a half million?
What if they remade '8 1/2' starring zombies?
I wouldn't be surprised. I'll bet Michael Bay is looking for some art to destroy a project right now.
Who would play J.J. 'Jake' Gittes? Would you wait until Jack died, re-animate him and have him star again?
The comment counter does not update in real time.
Speaking as a Cubs fan, all I can say is "HURRAH"!
I did not know that! Crap!
What are the rules, anyway?
I dont think its the 500,000 comment that wins.
I think the contest just goes until they reach the 500,000 comment.
*blink*
"Might I remind everyone (again) that they do NOT pick the winner based on who made the 500,000th comment?"
Wha...what?
back to work then...
Might I remind everyone (again) that they do NOT pick the winner based on who made the 500,000th comment?
Do too!
Wait. What?
It's not good to miss lunch.
I think MOST everyone understands that Rey Fox, but ya have to admit it would be cool to be the 500,000th one.
Oh, and my guess is that the bOObies guy will sneak in and get the post.
Rey Fox:
Yes, but there's still something alluring about having it end . . .
I just figured out that I'm in the same city as Brownian. Maybe he's that creepy/smelly guy I see getting coffee every morning...
Or we could continue in the spirit of trying to immanentize the eschaton*...
nah. Back to work.
*(not Atrios)
You mean he is not already one of the shuffling dead? I am shocked!
But there is no way to confirm that I'm precisely number 500k, I assume . . .
In an unrelated topic, does anyone here program in SAS? I'm trying to write out the arctan formula for great-circle distance calculations, but I can't get it to work.
Here are the rules:
How does it work?
You can enter in two ways:
1. Everyone who posts a comment on ScienceBlogs, along with a valid email address, will automatically be entered into the drawing.
2. Everyone who signs up for our brand-new newsletter, the ScienceBlogs Weekly Recap, will also automatically be submitted.
The contest will conclude when we reach the 500,000th comment. When will that be? Keep an eye on our Network Statistics to find out. (Limit one entry per email address.)
----
see? But it's still fun to try and get the 500,000th comment..=)
screwed a blockquote tag up there.
What did I win?
I just figured out that I'm in the same city as Brownian. Maybe he's that creepy/smelly guy I see getting coffee every morning...
Probably not. I don't start to smell unpleasant until shortly after noon.
OK, just counted. I win!!!!
5000,000!!!
OK, maybe not, just wanted to say that
Rey Fox made a BS claim about how they will not pick you as a winner just because you made the 500,000th comment. And I believed him and wasted my precious comment time in looking over the rules.
ALL COMMENTS ARE VALID.
Let the insanity resume!
499,785.
This is like waiting for the odometer to turn over in a car. You do not want to miss it.
I feel...ashamed...like I've been...had.
Oh, I'm such a FOOL! I'm a FOOLISH FOOL!!
"one per e-mail address," what kind of crap is that?
Actually, I wanted to say 500,000. I just can't type because God didn't let me evolve enough.
Might I remind everyone (again) that they do NOT pick the winner based on who made the 500,000th comment?
Oh. Yeah. The rules.
No, I guess Brownian squeezed in first. (Of course, the last count listed isn't likely accurate, and there may be others posting elsewhere as well. But it's got to be done now. Which means I'd better get to work.)
Guess I should use all my e-mail accounts though...
Kay, I'm getting lunch then.
Damn.
Can we talk about Merkins again? I think this is as good a post as any to bring them up.
This one's from my last job...
Oh wait! In my excitement, I neglected the hundreds and was just looking at the last two digits. Silly me! So now I have to correct myself (and get in one more chance to go to Cambridge . . . )
So I see that you also get MAXIM!!! LOL!
aaaaaand this is the job before that one (the account might be dead but what the hell)
Fishing for 500,000? How pathetic?
Sooooo....how about those see-through frogs?
I can safely say that was a nice example of herd dynamics.
Glad I could be a part of it.
Now I'm going to go hang my head in shame in the server room.
I am now having images of the "She's my sister...my daughter!" with zombie Jack and Faye. With every slap, pieces of hand and face are flying. Also, when Jack's nose it cut, does it just fall off?
...and here's a brand-spanking new gmail account...
499,813!! 187 more comments and we'll be there! YAY!
WHAT!!! Ok, then I'm definitely getting back to work. Damn rules (and evidence, and all that cold-cruel-world stuff)!!!
I still think we should collectively award ourselves the Molly this month for producing the most stimulating thread of all time.
Shit! now it sez "voting is closed."
Why do they call it "voting?"
And one from my college e-mail.
499,813.
Getting to zoom past two hundred on the way to three hundred. Woo-Hoo! The is the greatest thread ever!
re: "499,813!! 187 more comments and we'll be there! YAY!"
Must be slow to update as it's been sitting on that for over two minutes.
(Another cheap 500,000 attempt...)
Oh, look! I have a Gmail account, too.
Voting was for where to get sent Sven, not posting.
You people are pathetic! Get back to work!
(Looks at counter...)
Well, damn.
Adrenaline rush high still there...this is a strange feeling...this anticipation, curiosity...too much excitement for my poor heart!
There I fixed it for you....
:)
do they still have hotmail?
Voting is closed. Did England win?
What? I am still trying to get that prize. See! My hand is still on the car! And zombie Jack and zombie Faye are helping me out.
499,821 now! C'mon c'mon c'mon...
From Friendly Atheist's post:
B-b-but DJ Grothe and Matt Nisbet assured me there's no such thing as "atheist bashing". Maybe the threats against her were Dawkins' fault. That's gotta be it.
uh...I think I got 6 free ones from Comcast?
499,785 comments
*begin out-of-place attempt to sound profound*
If the 500,000 comments represented the time since the Cambrian explosion, this would be approximately the time when Homo sapiens arrives on the scene!
(How was that?)
Might as well throw all the email addresses in here.
I wonder how many other threads on these sciencblogs are going crazy...or is it just this one thread?
See, speaking at one of these shindigs would go a long way toward earning that Atheist...abominable Atheist of America...most Atheist...of America...how did it go again?
Well, I would have, if all these degenerate people hadn't reminded me that I do have another e-mail address, or two.
It's not my fault! I'm a gamblin'-o-haulic! I gots me no free will!!!
(This is what they wanted from us, isn't it?)
I still think we should collectively award ourselves the Molly this month for the most shame producing thread of all time.
But we still get the Molly? The important thing is to get a prize, dammit.
OK, I may not get the 500K one, but here's my pathetic attempt at number 200 on this, the dumbest post I have ever helped make even more dumb.
And this one.
Immanentize the Eschaton!*
*(not Atrios)
Apologies for the advertant, uh, dodecaple post. Or something.
A trip? My company is sending me to San Diego (from Indiana) this week. Then visiting relatives in Louisiana next month. Can I pick when to go?
-- CV
499,830! only 170 left to go!! Come on, people...get those fingers busy now!
hee-hee.
My FireFox has been acting up lately, and while I was reading these comments, an Alert popped up:
"This document contains no data."
Indeed. :)
PS: I want Brownian in the pool.
499,821
OK, it would be base to go *open* another e-mail acct. just for this. So this will be the last of it.
Now I really am going to return to being a productive member of society.
Really!
I mean it!
Good point. I've shamed myself worse than this before...
see, now it sez "City voting is closed" and I feel EVEN MORE FOOLISH!
Plus I'm out of e-mail addresses and just totally procrastinating at this point.
You?
The updates are coming in faster! 499,848 now!
Look! An old AOL address.
848 now? Christ, I swear I've put in 50 posts since it was last at 821...
499,848.
I think I will be perversely happy if we did overload the system.
What's this about email addresses you all are talking about? Isn't it about the comment that is labeled the 500,000th comment?
Look! Another old AOL address.
Uh-oh, I got the spam warning.
Comment counter seems way off
This thread has raked in the most comments per unit time! Wow! Any other busy threads out there?
zohn: no -- the winners are random.
Oh for fuck's sake.
What if one of the creationist trolls ends up winning the contest? Maybe SciBlogs could just send him to the least scientific place on Earth. Maybe the Vatican.
Losers. I must win, 'cause I'm Almighty!
499,860! Nail-biting finish coming up! And strangely, I feel calm all of a sudden!
Grading? What grading?
are we there yet?
499,860! Almost there! [looks around for a cigarette for afterwards, forgetting he no longer smokes]
499,860
It's like deja vu all over again.
I've tripped and I can't get down!!
... vox Dei, hmh? :P
I'm so gonna get a T-shirt whit a "VOX DEI" on a big red print.
Yeah, one of the trolls...that would be...educational?
Oh! You mean, once the comments hit 500,000 they will pick anyone at random without regard to when that commenter posted? Seems so wrong to me!
"What if one of the creationist trolls ends up winning the contest?"
Ha! Or, like, John A. Davison (does anybody let him comment any more?)
Chimpy, can we start a side thread here about how having no prayer at school affects prayer at church? We can use some laughs here.
I have but one email address! Seems so wrong that they will pick out a random email address instead of the one that gave them the 500,000th comment!
Sadness!
Go science blogs!
Nah wouldn't be there. It would be here.
Almost there! [looks around for a cigarette for afterwards, forgetting he never did smoke]
Just checked the "5 most active" bar...this one is (natch) #1, but the next 3 are other Pharyngula threads.
Looks like we're the only people immature enough to post this kind of gibberish.
I think John A Davison is blocked on this blog. He might be able to comment on the other Scienceblogs out there. But I don't think any of the other blogs are raking in comments like this thread is!
As long as I get some coffee first.
Wait...the Creation Museum isn't...scientific? "Ya used me, Skinner...Ya used me!"
But...the flood and all...
I am afraid you are mistaken. While the Vatican has a much longer history, the dishonor would have to be that creationist playpen.
499,907! Almost there!!
No purchase necessary.
Stupid alternate email addresses.
BDC, I'm impressed. All this excitement and you still take the time to type in an html link.
Nerves of steel, or what?
Whisky?
" Isn't it about the comment that is labeled the 500,000th comment?"
NO.
Note the word "drawing", and that everyone who has commented and has a valid e-mail address is eligible (even if they're not around today). Also, it's open it to people who don't necessarily comment at all (see number 2 above).
If it really were given to the 500,000th comment, then this place would be spammed to death. And I think we can all be grateful that that hasn't happened.
240+ in what...about an hour? Amazing. Best to ya all, I'll make this my last one on this thread.
Please don't void where prohibited.
What the hell, I'll make an attempt at the contest too..
Show me the money!
What? No coffe where you work? What is wrong with your place of employment. I think you better pray about it.
I have nothing to say...still feeling kinda stupid for trying to be the 500,000th commenter in spite of knowing that that is not the winner!
250th!
This is the kind of crowd that gets worked up watching as the odometer rolls over from 99,999 to 100,000.
Maybe the 999,950 side bet will get the contest shut down as a gambling site.
Alright. I quit. No point in commenting further...there is no glory in being the 500,000th.
Time to go eat that lunch which has been sitting in the microwave.
I bet it'd get all you regulars knickers in a twist if some idgit lurker like me, who's posted (I think) twice, won.
(did I win?)
So. What bis the record for most mostings on one of PZ's thread? Do we want to break it?
"This is the kind of crowd that gets worked up watching as the odometer rolls over from 99,999 to 100,000."
Ha! You're right! When I turned my old VW bus over to all zeroes I stopped (somewhere godforsaken in Florida, as I recall) and took a photo of the dashboard.
Slut.
Nope...it would be cool. You wrote 'idgit.' There should be some prize for that.
Stupidity? Like all of my posts in this thread.
Since it's one per email address, well no reason to have spammed this place other than getting the 500,000th. And I'm pretty sure 500,000 has come and gone and the counter up top means about zip. It's already been rolled back once.
I think they should keep the counter going. Think of all the creobots we'd scare away for fear of committing posting number 666,666.
Yes!
Watch it turn out to be Neal, who WILL BE VERY EXCITED (JACK ASSES.)
Keep em comin people! I gotta be somewhere at 3!
(East Coast 3)
I lied, one last post...GO ATHEISTS!
When Dad sold our old VW bus at 99,983 I about lost my mind. If I'd had a driver's license then I would have taken it for seventeen miles before giving it to the new owner.
We should give something to Neal anyway...
I dunno...like a swift kick in the ass, maybe
Damn. I did the same exact thing on my old VW bus... and on the way to a Dead show to boot.
Ummmm...what?
I'm not attentive enough. I missed both 50,000 and 75,000 on my car despite telling myself I'd watch for them.
You've got a long way to go to break the record -- there's some post around here with over a thousand comments.
You know, I get a fraction of a penny every time you people click here. I'm thinking I might be able to make a million dollars if I put a little random number generator in a post that created a new big number every time you loaded it.
Long time reader, first comment. Should I feel bad about myself?
I've got a Toyota pickup truck that I expect to be driving when it ticks over from 199,999 within the next six months or so, as I'm at something like 182K already.
500Kth?
me?
Who said his name 3 times?
Long time commenter, first time reader.
You know, this blog is stoopid!
Not going to happen . . . but it'd be nice, wouldn't it?
...
I'm just a borderline spammer, aren't I?
We love you, PZ.
I AM AFRAID THAT WOULD MAKE NEAL! THE MOST ELITE MASTER OF WINNERS!!!!! (YOU JACK-ASSES.)
Oh crap, watch, now PZ will win...
What's all this stuff about a 500000th comment?
;)
Hey, Janine is making fun of us over at denialism.com. Isn't that a disqualifying offense?
Are the blogmeisters furiously deleting spam posts? That may delay the magic number.
-- CV
499,964
Well, I was a productive member of society for a bit there.
Not as satisfying as they'd like you to think . . .
I think this should be number 500K, right about . . . NOW!
Can Canadians win?
//big money big money
//mamma needs a new pair of snowshoes
It occurs to me that if I won, it would turn out that people voted to send me to Philadelphia for a week.
(Second prize, two weeks in Philadelphia, ba-dump chang!)
One more shot. I've never won anything.
It's not the size of the number, it's the number of identical numbers ticking over from all 9s to all 0s.
Philadelphia...
mmmmm...cheese steaks.
Oh crap. I was wondering why this thread had so many posts. It says, "499,973 comments" on the top of the webpage.
You know, I am saddened that our gleeful inanity cannot match the cheer bulk of creationist and godfearing chattering.
hah. i love this game. i love how slowly the post count climbed until the last thousand or so.
Last one. I promise.
Woah!
I'm here all week...tip your waitress...don't eat veal
Yay! 1,000,000 comments!!
I'm so mad I missed it!!!
then it began to climb. now only 27 to go!
Tinyfrog: Yeah, that's what got me sucked into this silliness too. ("Let's see what's going on down there . . . ")
OK, 500k, right NOW!
I'm really feeling it. SCIENCE!
Are we there yet?
500,000 comment contest is getting close. If I win I'm glad I did so on PZ's blog.
Are the blogmeisters furiously deleting spam posts? That may delay the magic number.
This thread contains no spam; we're having an important conversation about probability, time, and... er, old VW bus odometers.
That's right, ladies and gents...Sven has shows at 7, 8, 8:15, 8:22, and 8:27.
499,981
19 more. Is this more or less silly than waiting for New Year's? At least here we're somewhat in control . . .
Yeah! I win! Don't I? No? Well, screw you all then...off to work.
Hurry up, folks, the counter sez 19 to go and they're waiting for me upstairs
"Almost there..."
"Stay on target!"
While we are all here... let't talk about FRAMING!!
remember timing is key! but blast posting is better!
anyways. i cheered when i saw hemets post about PZ. he seemingly became dennett for a day (he stole dennetts seat early on)
I like to vox, on the catwalk.
499,988
And I'm sure that eleven posts preceded mine. So here we are: #500,000!!!
499,992!
"Almost there..."
"Stay on target!"
"Lost Tiry...lost Dutch. They came in from behind!"
Will I be 500,000?
Shameless blogplug.
The post count can't keep up with the comments just on this blog.
7 more comments according to the bar...
7 more!
Who are they trying to kid? We all know that was 500k.
Ok, they say 499,992. Seven of you just posted. So (once again), here it is:
500K!!!!
You should have played spot the IDer.
And finally:
Almost there!
Yeah but be honest, I was making fun of myself also. This has become some kind of goofy.
Awww, I just missed it.
Last chance to see all that many nines for a while...
My pulse is racing... 80085!
Maybe we could send the trolls to listen to Hovind talk to god in jail.
Kent: "Hi God."
God: "I knew you were going to say that."
Kent: "Of course you did God, but I--"
God: "I knew you were going to say that, too. I'm God remember?"
Kent: "I do, Hallowed by thy Name and all. Listen God, I've got a ques--"
God: "--Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done. You were gonna say that after, right? I totally knew it."
Kent: "Yessir, you certainly are great. Listen God, the prisoners here keep dropping the soap, and helpful guy I am, I--"
God: "Think of a number."
Kent: "What?"
God: "Thinkest thou of a number, er, -eth, Kent."
Kent: "Um, kay. Fifty-four."
God: "No, don't tell me; just think of one. (I knew you were going to say fifty-four, though.)"
Kent: "Uh, God, can we do this later? I really need your help."
God: "THINK OF A NUMBER KENT!"
Kent: "Fine."
God: "You were thinking of seven, right?"
Kent: "No, it was--er, seven. Yup, you got it, God."
God: "I knew it! Well, that's why they call me God. Well, that and I told 'em to."
Kent: "Yeah, yeah. Say God, I was wondering if--"
God: "Kent, listen. I'm God, right?
Kent: "Uh, yeah."
God: "And isn't the fact that I'm talking to you proof of my love?"
Kent: "Uh, yeah, I guess."
God: "Well, there you are. Remember what we talked about. If you ever need my help, just ask. Of course, I'm omniscient, so you don't really need to ask, but I like the grovelling. Love it, actually. Anyway, I gotta go, Kent. There are millions of people in Africa who need my help, and I've really got get to ignoring them."
Kent: "Uh, yeah. 'Kay."
Voice from the next cell: "Hey Go-o-o-od Boy: it's almost time for you to 'love' your neighb-o-o-our!"
Kent: [Whispering] "Dear Lord: If you truly are listening, please switch me with Pastor Ted, instead."
Hey Dad,
Even though that's not how the winner will be chosen, will the SEED overlords tell us who the 500,00th was, just for bragging rights?
must....comment......again...!
Must. be. over.
WInner winnner chicken dinner!
I still feel the need to comment, just to kind of help this thing coast to a finish...
500,000!!! (Again. A while ago. *sigh* . . . )
It's over. See ya all later.
Well, I saw the "That's It!" after my last post, so I'm claiming 500K for myself!!! (Mom will be so proud!)
Good grief! Nearly 300 posts for an article that was just posted? How I wish I could have attended this conference. Perhaps next year they will convene here in southern California.
That's it. It's done. No number displayed either. Back to your gray, miserable existances, everyone.
You don't have to go home but you can't stay here.
phew! "It's Done!!"
bye, all...it's been...well, stoopid.
Janine,
Did you sing that or say it?
Well. That was fun.
Well, that was pathetic.
Pussies.
I plan to win by posting the 1,000,000th comment.
Next, I think I'll watch the spam filter here at work and watch the ticker creep closer to 4,500,000 for the year.
300 comments in about 2 hours? Not too shabby. Keep up the pace and we'll be looking at 1,000,000 sometime around April?
Oh, yeah, right. It was in a song. Damn, did not even like the song much. You do not want to hear me sing. So I shouted very loud.
Well, I had been inclined to agree with Janus ("Well, that was pathetic"), but now that I see Hank Fox throwing down the gauntlet . . .
So. Does anyone want to get this thing over 400? Let all of the outsiders think something worthwhile is happening here.
And by the way:
As I understand this, it wasn't the 500,000th person to post a comment. It was some ONE of the commenters from the past 5 weeks.
I understand a box with a cat in it will be involved in the selection process.
Shouting is better than singing any day (at least when I do it).
YES, on to 400. Maybe PZ will earn like a dollar.
Hank, would that cat be alive and dead at the same time?
Hey, could it be a zombie cat?
Do zombie cats also eat brains?
Hmm. The counter didn't roll back.
Who was it that I owed a finsky to?
Okay we can all agree on 400. But then no more. 400 is the cut-off. Mmkay?
Am I right in remembering that Rey and Hank are married or related in some way?
Rey
Hank
I'm guessing discussions are a blast at their house.
:)
Would not a live cat eat brains if she had the chance?
Why? You think there's a shortage of comments and we'll run out.
I say nuts to you and your artificially low limits.
Me! I won something! Yay!!!
Hello?
Am I too late. I heard there was a party going on where none of the guests had anything interesting to say, and I figured this was the place for me.
Hello?
(Where'd everybody go?)
Oh, damn, Rey. Now that the truth is out we'll have to start living together to keep up appearances.
Where do you live? I'm in upstate New York. If you bring me a golden retriever puppy, I'll let you have the guest room.
I'm not changing any of my personal hygiene habits.
I hope you like country western.
Where has everybody gone? It just got good and than everybody leaves.
'pouts'
Would not a live cat eat brains if she had the chance?
Well, of course she would. And indeed I have observed such. Being that she is a zombie cat, though, I suspected perhaps some other behavior was rampant...like maybe just eating toenails or something.
366!
So I'll take that as an ...I'm wrong?
So you're an Edmontonian, eh Matt the heathen? I think there are others lurking around here, too. We're so much godlessier than Calgary.
Stupid Calgary.
I say nuts to you and your artificially low limits.
I say that Isaiah 64:2 mandates the low limits. So there.
I have had cats that licked toenails and other such things just lying about. Perhaps a zombie cat would stop grooming herself. Howelse could you tell that she is a zombie?
Wait! The cat is in a box. We have no way of knowing!
As long as I've come this far I may as well stay for 400.
I gotta get a life.
PZ, have any of your past posts elicited 400 comments?
I realize this one is kinda like a bottle of aspirin, mostly stuffed with cotton, but still.
Well PULL the damn cat out of the box! We need to KNOW this.
Oh shit...Janine wait. Make sure you have gloves on first...and maybe a jacket. Shit, wanna borrow my body armor before you do this?
I think I'm going to be pissed if the 500,000th comment was very spamlish in character and had to substance to the post.
Onward to 1,000,000 now, lads and lasses!
Erwin!
What have you been doing with the cat? She looks half dead.
I've got some armor that's plus nine against half alive/half dead cat boxes, until it's time to clean the litter box.
I once thought my blank post was the perfect example of mindless commentary, but it only got 84 comments.
Josh, pulling the cat would not be so easy. Calling her a zombie cat is my stupid way of solving the problem.
Well, here in the real world of blogging, you'll be paid back in close to 400 blank comments. :D
Sheesh...you could clue me in to the fact that I've obviously gone off the rail for not paying attention.
*smack*
But your blank post did not have the offer of a reward. It was blank for blank's sake. True nothingness.
We idiots were here to win a contest. Simple Skinnerian behaviorism.
Janine, things aren't zombies just because you wish to call them that. Here's a Canada Film Board presentation on the subject: http://alteye.blogspot.com/2007/07/8-12-shorts-trailer.html
Brownian, there is too much Canadian content for me.
Okay, I'm waiting for comment 400.
Waiting.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Someone scare up a stimulating little rush of comments here, so I can get on with my day.
I've never won anything, so I don't have a hope in Hell of that trip prize. But I can see THIS through.
Maybe the person who posts comment 400 could win the right to appear on stage at the next blogger convention in one of those little leather outfits from the movie "300."
Tick.
Sweet Zombie Jesus, what have I gotten myself into?!
Josh, it is so much fun to watch people go off the rail. You never know how the crash will end up. It is good for laughs.
Hank, I am trying. But I will forgo wearing the leather outfit. As you can guess, I look nothing like those guys in '300'.
Tick.
Ah, you're thinking of the status of Canadian radio since 1971.
Josh, it is so much fun to watch people go off the rail. You never know how the crash will end up. It is good for laughs.
Fine...you're on the list.
I'm just gonna sit here and pout for a while, feeling stupid.
Can someone please say something about geo or paleo or evol so I can have something not stupid to contribute?
We really shouldn't be encouraging this sort of thing, you know.
I feel I should have something to offer about the poor cat in the box (being a philosopher of physics). It seems that for it to be a zombie, there would have to be some sort of interaction (interference) between the live-state and the dead-state: but this would require a degree of coherence impossible for such a large messy thing as an organism. So it's not a zombie. Just a (potential) fatality in science's quest to replace god.
(Somebody call PETA . . .)
We could grow this thread a lot faster if PZ would mock Scott Adams one more time. . . .
(Yes, yes, I know: there are some things we just shouldn't do.)
When I look back boy I must have been green
Bopping in the country, fishing in a stream
Looking for an answer trying to find a sign
Until I saw your city lights honey I was blind
They said get back zombie cat
Better get back to the woods
Well I quit those days and my redneck ways
And oh the change is gonna do me good
You better get back zombie cat
Living in the city aint where its at
Its like trying to find gold in a silver mine
Its like trying to drink whisky from a bottle of wine
Well I read some books and I read some magazines
About those high class ladies down in new orleans
And all the folks back home well, said I was a fool
They said oh, believe in the lord is the golden rule
They said stay at home boy, you gotta tend the farm
Living in the city boy, is going to break your heart
But how can you stay, when your heart says no
How can you stop when your feet say go
Oh my, I am a child of the seventies.
> Can someone please say something about geo or paleo or
> evol so I can have something not stupid to contribute?
uh... no.
When I took minerology as a part of my BSc I licked all the rocks in the lab and tasted the 10% aqueous HCl used to dissolve calcium carbonate. My TAs thought I was nuts, but who aced the lab exam, huh? That's right, me.
Later, the TA that I totally had the hots for ran into me at the campus pub while I was randomly doodling in my notebook on a quiet Wednesday evening. For some reason, I was thinking of that episode of Three's Company where Jack thinks 'therapist' is 'the rapist' and freaks out. The TA came up to me and asked what I was working on, looked over at my book to see "The Rapist" written in the margin of my notebook and nothing else on the page.
Even someone as blessed with the gift of gab as I couldn't recover from that one.
Here's what D. Adams is thinking about
I don't know, not much worse than Anselm's proof I'd say.
OK, I did my part and then some. I'm going home!
Physicalist, you're so existocentric.
God just spoke to me and told me that, at the exact moment comment #400 is posted here, he will make Kent Hovind's head explode just like in those Scanners movies.
Hey, I'm doing MY part.
Done.
400!
damn!
To the family of Kent Hovind: I had nothing to do with it.
Funny. My last post was about hitting 400. But it looks like I was saying that Kent's head blew up.
Comedic gold.
Hank, you are too modest!
When I took minerology as a part of my BSc I licked all the rocks in the lab and tasted the 10% aqueous HCl used to dissolve calcium carbonate. My TAs thought I was nuts, but who aced the lab exam, huh? That's right, me.
When I was teaching intro in grad school, we of course used 10% HCl to 'fizz' the carbonates in the sed section. The students were freaked out about using HCl and so I used to do this little demo whereby I would tell them it was fine and dribble some acid onto my exposed forearm. This was never a problem until about the fourth year I taught that lab. The bottle of acid I selected wasn't nearly as dilute as I had expected...
And there I come, see "384 comments", and wonder what godbots must have infested this thread... tssss.
Amusing, though. :-)
If Kent Hovind's head exploded, how would we know? It's not like he uses it.
I was there! The convention was wonderful, and I cheered for you!! :)
It was rather comical, though, when Dawkins pronounced "PZ Myers" as "P-Zed Myers".
Man, you guys just wasted a lot of time. And I read comments 1-160, so I wasted a lot of time too.
And there I come, see "384 comments", and wonder what godbots must have infested this thread... tssss.
Amusing, though. :-)