More friends!

PZ and Blake look a little unimpressed, like Vox or JAD were taking the photo. Since Sastra looks so happy, I'll guess instead that both are like me and get impatient with phototaking as a process.

Man - Blake is indeed imposing. By no means am I saying he's mean (well, except in verbally carving creo-bots, hence the OM), but I hope all the creo "Internet tough guys" note that their opponents are not always sterotypically nerdy and small. I of course am sterotypically nerdy and small (male, glasses, 5'6", 140 lbs maybe...).

Sastra could probably take him.

Seriously, I wish there were more opportunities to see more of everybody in the flesh.

So to speak...

I'm still waiting for Ben Goldacre to release the photos of you, P-Zed. . . then people will have something to be frightened of!

Hi Mollies!

@ 2

In the Flesh? Im all for it,lets bring on the first australian Pharyngufest !!

Kong did not have a cool hat.

When I first saw the photo I thought you had been hanging out with Kate Moss' ex-boyfriend (it's the hat that does it).

Blake, just how tall are you??

Sastra looks lovely!!!!

Do not taunt Happy Fun Blake.

Hat + octopus!

Blake is tall, but his enormous size here is a trick of the camera. The camera also distorted PZ's tentacles -- good grief, they came out looking like a beard!

Meeting internet friends in person is always a bit disorienting. I've done it a number of times. On the one hand, it's fun to have actual person-to-person conversations with people you've already established a sort of intellectual relationship with through technology. On the other hand, you're all a bit worried that you could blow it. You might say something stupid, or snort milk out your nose, or somehow manage to do something which will make them stagger away in shock, amazed that they ever took you seriously.

"That was PZ Myers? That nice, unassuming, soft-spoken guy who tried to go IN through the 'OUT' door? Ok, that does it. From now on, I'm a creationist."

So far, though, everyone I've met was pretty much as I expected, and I've been pleased with all. Though Blake was younger than I thought. I had assumed, based on his remarkable erudition and eloquence, that he was at least as old as PZ and me. Maybe older, a sort of role model to grow into. So much for that. Pbbbt.

Is that Blake or John Popper?

I must say Sastra is indeed as beautiful as she is brilliant, and Blake's stature is as imposing as his wit.

Is that Blake or John Popper?

Only his bass player knows for sure...

Sastra is indeed very pretty.

For some reason, though, I'm no longer as confident that I want to learn physics from dr Stacey ...

Congrats to Blake and Sastra!

Blake, my octopus (Ocho--you may remember him) says hi.

Hi, Ocho!

Sili (#14):

I have a letter which says I have a PhD. Cripes, isn't that good enough anymore?

(And you thought that only happened in comic strips. Hah!)

#16

I have a letter which says I have a PhD

That's actually three letters but who's counting?

Just a general thought,

I really like it when I have a face to associate with a nick,lots of people here will never be able to meet in person because of the geographical divide,but have in the past and hopefully will in the future have animated discussions about all sorts of topics and in a way become familiar with each other over time,so its nice to be able to put a face to a commenter's nick.....

Do not taunt Happy Fun Blake.

HA!

Nice to put a face to the name, Blake...

Be well...

Back to summer (and diapers)...

PZ, I'd love to see a photo of you, Blake, Ed Brayton and Troy Britain together. Well, it might take two photos. ;)

Hm,lets see,

I think Id like to see a photo of Bride of Shrek,Lilly de Lure and Kseniya together,oh,and in Bikinis that is !!

Patricia nekkid for me

Molly, heck--didn't Sastra just win the Tour de France?

Sastra looks radiant as ever.
In the long ago days before blogging she was one of my heroines for introducing me to rational skepticism, and secular humanism instead of just being an ass for the sake of doing it.
(In Alabama, there ain't a whole lot of rational skeptics to be role models. Either you love Jesus, or you're a satanist. Not a whole lot of inbetween and either position is equally silly.)

I'm still convinced A1's going to open fire at me from the bushes outside my house one of these days.

That's a pretty sweet pimp hat Mr. Blake has on.
That could be our answer to mainstream acceptance: Pimp hats.

Oh bullshit Scooter, you jest wanna know if I have iron jugs or not. ;)

JThompson (#24):

Ironically, I bought that hat in Alabama.

Blake Stacey:

Ironically, I bought that hat in Alabama.

It needs a bigger brim.

Uh, you are channeling Superfly, right?

#25 Patricia

you jest wanna know if I have iron jugs or not. ;)

I don't really have a boob fetish, but I've been trying to overcome that male deficit.

Do you know anybody who has tides?

Those 'Iron Jugs or Not' scare me, I'm a crushed, squashened, ruptured hull of a man shell already.... Rescue me !!!

Blake, you remind me of Penn Jillette. Not gonna lie.

I like Penn Jillette as well, but being compared to him?

sorry that guy has as many kook ideas as the dingbat woo-pharts he attacks.

Not exactly a compliment.

Blake, welcome to the club of Big Goons.
One friend of mine from the 'net said of me when we met IRL: "Dude, you got a case of the Damn Bigs!"

Penn's hair is curlier.

Oh, and I don't want to abolish public schools.

I meant Penn's looks only.

It's forced perspective, I tell you. (-:

Blake's utter awesomeness is matched only by his total awesomeness.

Oh - and he's tall, too? Kewl.

Hi Sastra!

Hey, I'm 5'9" - would I be the second-tallest if I were in that picture too? :-)

Nice pic, PZ, thanks for posting.

Clinteas and Scooter need to get out more :-p

Kseniya #35 wrote:

Hey, I'm 5'9" - would I be the second-tallest if I were in that picture too? :-)

Hmm ... I doubt it. I'm pretty sure that PZ's at least 5'9". I'm 5'4".

And Blake is indeed awesome. I'm not sure if you can see it, but there is a feather in that hat. I felt decidedly unhip.*

*using the word "unhip" is no doubt very unhip.

OK. Blake starts as tighthead prop for the Godless XV, then.

Sastra, obviously, is scrum-half.

Seeing you guys in pictures always strikes some amount of cognitive dissonance. You can't be people! You're just smart brains in vats that I enjoy reading.

And Michael X is fullback...

Mrs. Tilton,
Are referring to the game the rest of the world calls "bananas?"

(get the Izzard reference and you win 10 points towards the Earned Molly Credit program.)

Re: #36

*using the word "unhip" is no doubt very unhip.

"Jeez, you're so unhip it's a wonder your bum doesn't fall off!" Zaphod Beeblebrox

But not in your case.

Michael X @40,

indeed I am not, I am referring to the other code. Rather awkwardly for a heavily atheist site, this is sometimes called "the game played in heaven."

You can easily tell rugby from football because in rugby, Italian players will handle the ball even when they think the ref is looking.* Also, in football you have small fast forwards whom the huge lumbering backfielders try to cripple, whereas in rugby it is the reverse. (I stole that last line from somebody, can't remember who.)

* It will be quite clear to savvy readers that this is no slur on the Italian rugby 15, tough and elegant players if hopefully outclassed in 6 Nations competition. No, it is a slur on the Italian football 11, rightfully hated everywhere outside the peninsula. Do you want to know why I was content to see Spain defeat my adopted homeland for the European championship this year? That Spain had played brilliantly throughout the tournament and thoroughly deserved their victory was a minor point, yes. But far more important, they knocked the damned Italians out.

Moi @42, 2. para:

Arse. For "hopefully" read "hopelessly", of course.

Freudian slip, perhaps. They looked pretty good against a dismal Scotland this year, if not quite good enough to avoid the spoon.

Rugby!? I thought "scrum-half" sounded strange. It made me think of Harry Potter actually. But I'm afraid the closest I'll get to that game is wearing a jersey. Very 'white person' chic, ya know.

Michael,

the scrum-half is quite easily understood, really. He's just like the center in your American football. Except that, before he gives the ball to the quarterback, he first throw it into a 16-man multi-ton agglomeration of violence and then recover it.

Also, the quarterback isn't called quarterback but rather out-half or fly-half, or (in the southern hemisphere) 21/32 or something like that.

Damn! I've been dealing with a broody hen today. Missed everything.

Sorry Scooter, you're gonna really be flat now. I've actually got SIX iron jugs. *smiles sweetly*

The size of Blake makes me imagine Rev. BigDumbChip IS Kong! ;)

One of the things I like about rugby is the name of the position for the guy wearing jersey number 8.

It's Number Eight - very abstract.

Cricket, though, has the best position names.

Clinteas wrote:
"In the Flesh? Im all for it, lets bring on the first Australian Pharyngufest!!"

I'll second that. But where? Australia is a biiig place.

Pfft... I'm taller than Blake AND have a cooler hat.

Nothing personal, bro - it is an awesome hat, there's no denying.

EEK-- atheists! Scary.
(Hide the children.)

DingoDave,

various people have met in Brissie before,because the infamous Bride of Shrek and John Wilkins are up that way,I think there's a few of us in Adelaide,me and a cpl others are in Melbourne,maybe Sydney or Melb would be the way to go?
Im gonna risk it and leave my contact mail here,so we can get the ball rolling if people want !
You or any other aussie can contact me terminate111 at hot mail

Those look like TAM pix (not to be confused with tampax).

Congratulations... I am dripping with envy. I aspire to write as well as the Molly winners. I feel lucky and humbled to get to post where they post.

Thanks for posting the pix!

clinteas, I live in the Barossa, but I'm not a joiner. Sorry.

John,

fair enough,I was just wondering if there would be interest really....

Btw, there will doubtless be another "Meet PZ" event this September at the Atheist Alliance International Convention in Long Beach, CA. (ok, it's not Australia, but it's closer to Australia than Minnesota.) He's speaking again, and I know I and several other Pharyngula readers will be there.

More info at

http://www.atheistalliance.org/conventions/2008/

Sastra,

you guys have an unfair advantage....:-)

Then again,Im not sure they would let Blake Stacey into the country here,wearing that hat !!

You know, if the camera angle had been reversed, we might all be talking about "Hulk" Sastra and Wee Blake the Waif.

I mean, maybe.

Hey it's Sastra! Andy and I met her at TAM6 and I had a great time with her (hopefully we'll see you next year at TAM7!).

We have the photo of the three of us here: http://www.new.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1097799&l=156db&id=526622470
(I forgot to grab your email address though.)

Blake: nice work at the last skeptic's trivia contest in Boston. I almost asked to see the SkepDude calendar proof. (I was over with the Granite State Skeptics table.)

Gee, I should hang out on the comments section more often. I had no idea I was cavorting with such well known people.

Blake is a really good guy to have on your Skeptics In The Pub trivia team, esp. if you want to DESTROY THE COMPETITION!! (Gives Blake a virtual high-five).