I want to take a moment and say how much I appreciate the commenters on this blog.
Yes, sometimes some commenters are a pain in the glute, and sometimes it takes a lot of patience dealing with some comments and commenters. But far and away, most of the comments on this blog are supportive, or inquisitive, or just shooting the breeze, because we have a community here.
I appreciate that. I like it when people find a mistake I’ve made, so I can correct it (assuming it is in fact a mistake). I like it when people go out of their way to tell me they like what I’ve written. Or when they send me off to some other page that has more info, or contrasting info, or whatever. Or when they send me tips, news items I can write about that I might have otherwise missed.
Some contentious blogs have comments turned off*. Wimps. If I turned off comments I might as well sit here in my office talking to myself. I want feedback. It would be hypocritical to do it any other way. That’s science, baby, and we know it works. How could I expect anything less from myself?
Without commenters it’s easy to make mistakes. I mean, it’s easy because you don’t have to deal with them. Say something wrong, drop it into the ether, and it’s gone. For proof, watch any talking head political show. These guys say stupid things all the time, and off it goes into space, never to be challenged or argued or debunked. That’s what happens when you throw things down a one-way pipe.
I like having commenters. Keeps me on my toes.
So comment away! Remember my rule, but jump in. Say something!
*Some more straight-forward blogs have comments turned off for various reasons, and that’s fine. It’s the ones who post strong opinions on topics and have feedback turned off I’m talkin’ about here. What are they so afraid of?
June 5th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I always enjoy reading your blog, and like the wide variety of topics you comment on. But, I keep getting caught up in the spam -o -meter.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
no, nevah…
June 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
I only started reading this blog recently, but I check daily now. Keep up the good work!
June 5th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
awwwwwwwwwrrrr. Thanks for the appreciation day
You’re right. People who are self-centered and don’t want to be challenged are the ones locking their comments or worse… MODERATING them
Is there anything more wimpy than instant moderation? I mean the ones where they stop every comment and then only display the positive ones that go with their mindtrack so people will think that this planet is only made of people that agree with him. THAT, my man, is being a scarridy cat.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I just lurk. I hate posting, well, anything. Dunno why. But I love you Blog phil, and it makes me wish I had gotten into astronomy. *sigh*
June 5th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Hai there! I don’t comment much, but I’ll consider this a thread a call to delurk.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
I thought this blog was about astronomy! This is not astronomy! You should blog about astronomy! Astronomy! Why are you writing thank yous? Are there thank yous in astronomy?
June 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
You are a star Phil. But what kind of star would you be?
bog standard main sequence?…I’ll go for cataclysmic variable.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you asked me so nicely, I guess I should say “Okay, I’ll post comments on your blog if you’d like me to.” I know I love it when people post comments on my blog.
That particular xkcd has some strong language. However, I think this one summarizes your position on allowing comments quite well:
http://www.xkcd.com/242/
June 5th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Ah, using xkcd in your posts like a true scientist…
June 5th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Damn! Got beaten to the punch…
June 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
“Thank you” is not a degree in astronomy, but it’s something you can earn – and when you earn and deserve it, then it’s ok
But, Phil, I want to give the “Thank you” back to you, because it’s an honour for me to post on your blog. Without your very interesting posts and news concerning astronomy (and other interesting stuff!!) there would be no replying at all!
I am visiting your page more than twice a day for over 1,5 years and even when I do not always agree with you, it’s still and always a pleasure to come here. Just go on as you do!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
“What are they so afraid of?” Criticism and disagreement which may prove that they have written something that is wrong. It can hurt to be very publicly wrong if you invest a lot of ego in being right.
Not that I would know.
Keep up the good work Phil. I learn things in a fun way here.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I don’t do much commenting, since your site is pretty damn good on its own. Come to think of it, most of my comments are responses to ridiculous comments…
June 5th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
No comment!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Huh?
June 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
And, by the way, PZ gives his best commenters an award:
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/molly.php
June 5th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
This is the only blog I ever comment on…though I usually don’t make comments on the more “controversial” postings. I’m not the type of person to talk politics in the real world, and the anonymity of the internet doesn’t seem real. That being said, I have always felt I could ask pretty stupid questions about astronomy and get encouraging answers. Without Phil’s personality/work/attitude/etc I don’t think this site would have such an environment! Thanks, Phil!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Yup, I agree with Doc Flimmer, the thanks goes to Phil! Without his blog we’d have to post comments on some -eek- biology blog!
Once I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.
Rich
June 5th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Something.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Thank YOU, Dr Plait, the best thing about your blog
is that my 17 yr old Son started looking into astronomy
and other scientific interests because of it.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
You’re welcome, Phil! Seriously, though, from my posts and your blog and the general attitude, I have no doubt you and I could sit in a coffee house in Boulder and have a civil conversation on politics or religion for hours! Or attend a star party together, and I could learn tons from you, without politics or religion ever coming up. Open-mindedness doesn’t mean that people have to agree on everything, nor does it mean making up your mind and never changing it!
Robert
June 5th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Jeez Phil, enough with the Politics, get back to the astronomy.
j/k
June 5th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Felt like a good time to finally leave my first comment! thanks a million for the info and entertainment. i strongly support your mission to provide us laymen with insight and education, and i adamantly support your crusade against the anti-science folks around our nation who somehow end up with political power to misuse.
So my first question ever to our infamous BadAstronomer:
Maybe it was just too juvenile to mention, but i noticed you didn’t have any comments on the broken toilet on the ISS! maybe you could tell us the complications of something a simple as flushing the toilet on the ISS, and why it costs millions$$ to get a new one from russia?
Thanks again for the information and inspiration!
Next time you’re near Downtown Denver, stop in at Govnr’s Tavern (7th & Logan) and i’ll buy the first beer!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I’ll avoid the low road next time i comment, I swear!
June 5th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
I enjoy reading lots of science articles, and after reading one of the latest scientific americans (about the event horizon beyond which we won’t be able to detect other galaxies) I have a questions I can’t seem to find an answer to.
If there gets to be a point after which we cannot detect anything, how do we know there isn’t lots and lots of universe we can’t see? How would the gravitational effects of these bodies differ from the “expansion” of the universe we often talk about?
I guess my questions is why don’t we think that instead of the universe expanding, the effect is actually the very small gravitational pull from lots and lots of stuff around us that we can’t see? Couldn’t things like the acceleration of galaxies away from each other suggest that there may be lots more matter we can’t see exerting a pull on everything we can see?
June 5th, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Thanks backatcha Phil! This is a great blog. I thoroughly enjoy reading it and I learn stuff, which is a plus.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
W00T!
June 5th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Thank *you*, Phil, for having such a wonderful blog.
I don’t comment often (as someone else has generally already posted what I was about to say,) but I’ve been enjoying reading your blog for more than three years now. Keep up the great work. 
June 5th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
There is no such think as “community” on the internet. I learned that from BAUT.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Phil, you hit on and utilize the essence of astronomy that makes
it such a wonderful and productive science: The important
contributions of everyone, including the so-called amateurs
who partake of observing the heavens.
What other science has so gained so much by the active
participation of the amateur community?
Every group will always attract a few flakes, but they don’t
matter in the end. It’s when you go nuts trying to keep
everyone and everything in line that your forum and your
ideals start heading south. There are quite a few related
forums on the Net that could learn from your example.
Quite a few of them could have been great forums, but
their need to keep absolute control only drives away the
ones who could make some real contributions and they
end up with the same old “approved” people saying and
doing the same old things over and over. It’s not only
boring, it makes those forums ultimately unimportant.
So let freedom reign, Phil! That is why true democracies
have and keep the best nations on this planet. The same
applies to the virtual world as well.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Wow. The Skepchicks just had a big group hug a couple of weeks ago, and now you’re doing one here. I feel even warmer and fuzzier.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
That sort of thing happens when you don’t shave for a week or two.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
We live to serve, Dr. BA. By your command.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Phil,
I read your blog every chance I get. It is an inspiring source of knowledge and ammo against pseudoscience and superstition. You have also introduced me to an awesome Mexican blog (Libre Pensar), and for that I thank you.
I do have a question:
I am reading “Pale Blue Dot”, and there Sagan discusses the problems they had with Voyager 2′s radio and camera, and how its “nukular” power plant would probably allow it to continue doing amazing science until 2015. I assume the same holds true for Voyager 1. Do you know what the functional status is of the Voyagers and Pioneers? Location and speeds? Official NASA support for those missions at present? Are they still returning any useful data? Have they found Jesus, floating there in the 3K background radiation?
In all seriousness, I thank you profoundly for the work you do, and please keep the good work.
Frank.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Me.
I’ve been a regular reader since way before the blog, first because of the moon hoax stuff, later because of the astronomy articles, and the bitesize stuff. I enjoyed the writing style, and I enjoyed the Bad Astronomy in movies articles. There were definitely some “wow, never thought of that!” moments there… Thank YOU, Phil.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Like “slang”, I also found this site originally by looking for moon hoax material – or rather material to fling at the moon hoaxers. I know I don’t comment much on the pure astronomy pages here, but that isn’t to say I don’t read them!
There’s always something fascinating to read here, and usually if I can comment positively I will, but usually I subscribe to the “better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt” mantra. I know more than the average Joe about astronomy, but not really enough to join in with the high quality level of posts here.
It’s nice hanging around here, and I hope there’ll always be a comfy chair for me to pull up. Tea for me please – Earl Grey will do nicely.
June 5th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Look, this is ridiculous, Phil… no matter what way you do the math the numbers just don’t add up – you don’t have the delegates!! Give it up, science boy!!!
I’d like to draw your attention to reams and reams of spreadsheed printouts and a gaggle of like-minded individuals that add up to a pretty awesome trumping of your so called thank-you. Over and over again it has been proven beyond belief that there is absolutely no way to prove the existence of thanks, but yet day in and day out you wheel out your science as if it is some last bastion of gratitude. And to what end?
What is your agend here, Phil? Yeah sure, that’s right, you don’t have one! I didn’t fight in two world wars… true… but that doesn’t mean I haven’t got a right to get all grumpy at absolutely nothing!
June 5th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
…and another thing. I drove by a party planning place the other day that was called Event Horizon, so that puts an end to all this black hole nonsense you keep drubbing on about!
June 5th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Frank – I googled “Voyager status” and found this page:
http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/weekly-reports/index.htm
Seems everything was ok up to March this year.
For Pioneer I found this one:
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1972-012A
A more in depth search should bring up whatever info you want. Remember – Google is your friend!
Phil: Why are my comments still being flagged by the spam filter? Is it my username or something?
June 5th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Dear Phil.
On behalf of me and my wife I want to say thank you for your website, with your wonderful blogs and video posts. You have got me interested in Astronomy so far beyond any of my other hobbies and what have you.
I can’t thank you enough and as you are showing your appreciation for us I wish I could show mine for you and your wonderful site. Please keep up all the posts and know that your time knowledge is not being wasted as I hope to go back to school in the near future to study astronomy thanks to your wonderful way of explaining some of the most complicated issues in the simplest way, making it easy to understand yet not making anyone feel as though you are dumbing it down.
Thank you again.
Nick
June 5th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
It’s going to be hard reading your next book without being able to leave a comment. I suggest leaving a couple of blank pages after each chapter for comments.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
“What is your agenda here, Phil? Yeah sure, that’s right, you don’t have one! I didn’t fight in two world wars… true… but that doesn’t mean I haven’t got a right to get all grumpy at absolutely nothing!”
ROFLMAO. I resemble that remark!
Seriously, we all love Phil (in a manly Platonic sort of way – one would hope). I was made aware of this site from the SETI Institute broadcasts with Seth Shostak – I believe it was the recurring Brains on Vacation segment. It would be nice to get some of Seth’s comments on the blog from time to time. I haven’t seen any unless he’s posting under an alias.
Keep up the good work, BA.
June 5th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I have watched this blog evolve, which proves there is no Intelligent Design.
waitasecond
J/P=?
June 5th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
“These guys say stupid things all the time, and off it goes into space, never to be challenged or argued or debunked.”
I dunno. Keith Olbermann, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert rip on some of those talking heads all the time.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Phil, thanks to you, I’ve a pair of binocs, I’ve renewed my interest in astronomy, and I’ve even recently gone to the bookstore to pick up some books. I got Cosmos by Sagan, A Brief Illustrated History of Time by Hawking, Physics of the Impossible by Kaku, I think one by Tyson, and a starchart and planetary/lunar guide from the Smithsonian. I also got The God Delusion by Dawkins, as you’ve renewed my skepticality, too. BUT GUESS WHICH BOOK WAS OUT OF STOCK?! Yeah, that’s right: Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing “Hoax” by Phil Plait! So it’s being mailed to me.
Keep up the great work. I appreciate reading your posts so much!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I have been a regular reader of this blog for quite some time, although I normally do not post comments because most of the time someone has already beaten me to the punch.
Being a blogger myself, I deeply admire your concise and clear posts, especially the ones about pseudo-science.
Keep up the good work!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I feel so special. I’d like to thank the fans. Now do something about the light pollution in my area! I can barely see the Ursa Major Cluster!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
We love you too, Phil.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Thanks, Phil! I’ve been reading your stuff *before* it was even a blog. I might even hazard a guess that you were responsible for turning me toward the critical-thinking side. Not that I didn’t always think that way, but it didn’t matter as much when I didn’t know what was at stake. Keep up the good work, and I hope I’ll see you in TAM 6!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Wow, the graciousness is overflowing today BA. I bet Obama’s success in the Democratic primaries played a role.
In a totally unrelated note, I was wondering if anybody else would be inclined to start a new national holiday that celebrates absolutely nothing. I propose to call it Arbitrary day, set at any arbitrary point of the year (preferably one of those months without a holiday, such as June, August, or October). At the start of every year, people would vote for a day that strongly needs a holiday, and we’d be free of work for absolutely no reason. We can choose to celebrate this day any way we like, but with no religious or nationalistic overtones. Just a fine Arbitrary Day.
June 5th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Ick! Why spoil the party by mentioning politics…? :-p
Seriously though Phil, you’ve created a great platform that has both edumacated and entertained. I’m looking forward to your next book as well as your first novel… (?)
I just wish you’d get back to doing ‘Q&BA’ again… I mean your retired now really aren’t you? You must have plenty of free time!
June 5th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
I like the site, and the forums too. And before I put my foot in my mouth I will leave it at that.
June 5th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Is sitting in my office talking to myself a bad thing?
June 5th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I can’t remember when I subscribed to your blog, but I’m glad I did.
Unfortunately, as a picky graphic designer I prefer to read it in my news reader.
I say with a very high level of respect (the level where I actually _want_ to work with someone) that the design of the weblog could be improved.
It’s fine, as is, and perhaps it benefits from a grass-rootsy look-and-feel but I’d be happy to refine your header graphic a bit if you want (don’t want to sound ‘designer arrogant’, I just want to offer what I specialize in to assist what you’re doing an awesome job of… namely weblogging and tracking science for your readers)
June 5th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Phil,
This is only one of 2 blogs I read regularly (the other being My Lord and Master, Xenu’s, of course). You are definitely the most interesting and amusing writer I have come across. I can’t wait to see you again at TAM6!
June 5th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Say something!
AARDVARKS!!!!!!
June 5th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Like many of the comments above, I started coming to your blog when the Moon Hoax hoax was doing the rounds, and particularly once I purchased your first book when I visited the Parkes Radio Telescope in Feb ’05. The world needs more people like you, Phil. May you blog on for many years to come.
Astronomy – the subject my school counselor told me I would not realistically expect to do with my marks.
June 5th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
If you like positive feedback, here’s some….
I’ve been reading the blog for a few months now I think, and have read it daily. I think it’s fantastic, honestly. I don’t often comment because I read at work, or am just too lazy… but I’m an avid reader. Keep it up, please?
June 5th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Yea, we the commentators.
Not that I ever really contribute anything.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
I come to your blog because I find it a reliable source on matters/latest developments related to space .
June 5th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I’ve been reading your blog for years (you and recently PZ Myers are the only blogs I have ever read regularly) but rarely comment. Perhaps I will do so more often now. Anyway Phil, you are awesome. So that’s my feedback.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Ok so I guess it’s time to de-lurk. Absolutely, Positively the best science/astronomy blog out there Phil! I’ve been following your blog for the past year and I continue to be impressed by your ability to tell-it-how-it-is. Can’t wait till Death from the Skies hits the stores!
Oh, by the way, you are way cooler than PZ
June 5th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Well if you insist I will oblige with further trolls. Possibly some questions that could be answered by google, but mostly the other thing.
What was life like before XKCD…
June 5th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
You’re quite welcome!
.
.
.
What, you expected another thank you back? Well, now that you mention it… Thank you, Phil. Your blog is a terrific place to browse and to learn, and to be entertained.
I don’t remember if I first came here because of the Moon Hoax or from a reference by another web site. I’ve been following the site for a long time. It’s been worth the reading. Keep fighting the bad and anti- science, political or otherwise.
John B. Sandlin
June 5th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Probably my one and only comment but I wanted to let you know that I never miss your blog on any day I can get to a computer. I am a 66 year old woman who is very science oriented and I enjoy you, and your “folks” here. Many thanks to everybody for making my day more enjoyable and educational!
June 5th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
So… how ’bout that MOND?
June 5th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I’m not much of a commenter myself, mostly because I’m not in my element and there’s usually a bunch of people who have already voiced what I had to say before me.
Exactly like now. So now I’ll just say that I am a regular reader of this blog…. and for a good reason. Keep it up Phil! You rock!
June 5th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I’ve been reading your site since 2001 (maybe 2000?). I don’t comment often as my field of science is computers, not astronomy; same reason I don’t comment too often at PZ’s site either. The wife has a Masters in biology, but again, not my field and she’s just not as hip as I am anyway (heh). But, it was specifically your site and James Randi’s site that lit the fire under me to work on my PhD. I read your site and thought how amazing it was that you knew so much and could articulate so well. I just had to strive for that level of knowledge. So I guess I never did thank you or James, so perhaps now is a good time. Thanks Phil. I don’t think I ever would have even tried had it not been for bad astronomy.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Thank you, Elwood! I will certainly buy my Uncle Google a beer the next time!
June 5th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
One of the following statements is true.
1) The moon landings were a hoax
2) the LHC will cause the earth to explode in a mass of Strange Matter.
3) you run a good blog here.
4) the face on mars was carved by Egyptian astronauts.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Okay. You asked. Though it displays my staggering ignorance of the deeper workings of the universe, I must ask why, if we can “see” only 13 or so billion light years away, do we think that’s as far as it goes? What there tells us that that is the end? Will better technology allow us to see farther eventually? Is this question laughably stupid?
June 5th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
You’re most welcome, Phil. It’s your forum and you run it with a pretty light hand, from what I’ve seen.
Post what you want, what you’re passionate about. Otherwise what’s the point? Anyone who disagrees with you is free to say so, or go elsewhere, or both.
For what it’s worth, I find most of the comments here civil and quite often informative. It’s a good crowd.
I confess to having used this blog as a resource for my SF role-playing campaign. I’m researching the various types of supernovae, and immediately thought of BA as a good starting point.
Keep it up; your book is on my list. We can never have enough science popularizers of your caliber.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Thank you Phil. Thanks for doing what you do. Thanks for giving us this forum to participate. And a big thanks for making it fun.
Funnily enough I was expecting you to say, to paraphrase you, “Thank you everybody you’re all great, but…” because there’s always a but. But (see) there wasn’t. That’s why we like you and what you do.
Thanks.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
i’m a reader, never commented before
nice to see comments are actually read
mad props for being so in touch with nasa
love your news, keep up with the updates, thanks
btw, i especially love your texas news, im in sugar land.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Love Science (working on my BSc) especially astronomy. Love skepticismicity. Love your style, enthusiasmness, knowledge and ability to communicate all of the above clearly and with great humour. Love the blog and the folks who comment here. It’s a great place to hang out. Thank you : )
June 6th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Phil. what you said. is why i come here. i never comment. It’s just about getting it right. or trying.
June 6th, 2008 at 12:15 am
*sniff*
I LOVE YOU, MAN!
Peace out, rock on and, um, flying spaghetti monster bless you!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:22 am
sorry on that comment… i have to do a LOL the one above!
June 6th, 2008 at 12:29 am
“DLCon 05 Jun 2008 at 10:33 pm
One of the following statements is true.
1) The moon landings were a hoax
2) the LHC will cause the earth to explode in a mass of Strange Matter.
3) you run a good blog here.
4) the face on mars was carved by Egyptian astronauts.”
I know it. I know it. It´s 4) isn´t it. Just kidding it´s 2) of course.
Whatyousay, wrong again. D**n!
Sereously i´m a long time reader from germany (first comment though) and i realy like your blog. I learned a lot about astronomy and even your political post are an interesting read (we don´t hear a lot about this here).
so thank you BA and please keep up the good work.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:47 am
This is the best science blog! Keep up the good work Phil. Looking forward to your new book.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:07 am
# Will TS on 05 Jun 2008 at 5:04 pm
Depends what you’re saying …
Muttering “Wow! What an awesome supernova image” or “Hmm.. thatpuzzling planetary nebula mystery could thatbe caused by … Iwonder?” now that’s alright.
Muttering : “God is telling me to kill them! Kill them! Kill them all!” OTOH … is definitely a bad thing!
Bad Astronomer your blog often has this joker Laughing Out aLoud & Rolling on the Floor Laughing My Rectum Off!!
& even when its not, heck I still love it!
Well done … & THX! 
June 6th, 2008 at 3:19 am
Thankyou Dr Phil Plait.
I may not always agree with everything you write. (Grits teeth, must NOT mention LHC ethics, particle physicists arrogance ..* Must not mention*)
However, I always enjoy reading your blog and feel deeply honoured and happy to be able to participate on it.
(Even if lately I have just been lurking more than posting … Plus even if I do give Gia & perhaps some others the irrits by having my say too!
)
I wish you the blessings of peace, joy and love & hope you keep up doing the good work and keep on allowing those whose views sometimes or even always differ to still have their voices heard (or read) as well.
Salaam, Shalom, Peace.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:26 am
It is very important that alternative voices are heard.
You, Bad Astronomer have allowed me to speak and put my side of the story – the Palestinean one -to the western audience of people where it is very, very rarely, if indeed ever allowed to be heard.
I thank and respect you so much for that.
I am glad my contribution is appreciated – I hope it reaches you and others and causes you all to think more about what is often crushed down and stamped upon by the Israeli-Jewish lobby into murderous silence.
But for once its not about politics – just me saying thankyou.
Thankyou.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Wow, I get to post anything?
Ok here goes… a while ago I bragged about finishing my master thesis, and well, yesterday I finally got my degree! Seriously! I have like, a title! In astronomy, no less.
I’m so frakkin’ proud of myself.
And I’m proud of being a regular reader (if not commenter) of the excellent bad astronomy blog.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:39 am
The BA blog is part of my usual lunchtime reading at work… or, in this case, as work’s been a bit boring so far today, my mid-morning killing time read. Always enjoyable. Keep it up.
June 6th, 2008 at 3:48 am
Like so many others all I can really say is :
No worries, Bad Astronomer / Dr Phil Plait!
Posting here is very much my pleasure & I am delighted & honoured to be able to comment on what is my all-time favourite blog!
So Thankyou!
I’ve just got a trio of minor suggestions to make a superluminous (“beyond mere brillance”) blog that little bit better :
I) Please! Please, please, can you enable us to edit our comments here?
II) Or if not, then at least preview them … ?
&
III) It’d be so great to get transcripts of the vocal stuff like Utube, Q&BA,
etc ..
My computer is slow, old and lacks sound so I miss out on these altogether. Yes, I should get it fixed or replaced but I just don’t have the cash. (I’m trying to save up but on my income ..Well that’s blinkin’ hard!)
Now I’m sure I can’t be the only person in this sort of situation … So please, please, is there any way you can post transcripts here to go with these things?
Oh & one last thing, someone helped me out with the guide to italics, bolding, emphasising, quoting, etc .. here but it may be useful to others if you post instructions for this & the emoticons somewhere here. Most
ppl know them sure, but a few don’t and, having been in that situation myself, I know folks’d appreciate that!
Whatever the case may be – I really love your blog, BA , & its
another big thanks from me for having me on it!
June 6th, 2008 at 4:12 am
Kristin on 06 Jun 2008 at 3:35 am :
Why not? Everyone else does & hey I do!
Congratulations! Frakkin well done! Good work!
If you want a (new?) paper topic you’re welcome to examine my idea on the “One ring” thread about that mysterious planetary neb (SuWt2) with no central white dwarf but instead an odd A type sub-giant binary. My idea being that it was a Be star thatsplit in two leaving anebbulous shell and thebinary ratherthan asingle white dwarf .. If you wish too of course!
I’d also love to see what you think of my better ways of naming the MOA-numbers survey brown / red dwarf with planet on the “Welcome to our tiny family” thread ..
& Kristin please if you’re ever on the IAU comittee, please vote to get Pluto’s its rightful planetary status back!
Anyway, enough with overloading you with work already!
)
Go out & celebrate
(& if you’re in Adelaide, South Australia, sometime please let me know & I’ll shout you a beer at the Mawson lakes pub near the planetarium!
June 6th, 2008 at 4:28 am
Our pleasure, mate. Your blog is part of my daily reading at work too and I have to say, the commenters on this blog are some of the most interesting I’ve come across anywhere. Every single entry has at least one comment with some very useful information.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:31 am
CONGRATULATIONS Kristin! Good Job! I will raise a glass to you tonight (and every night ; ) to celebrate.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Phil, you’re welcome.
I, too, have been visiting your site since before you started your blog (I first came here following a link from Bill Arnett’s nine planets page, back in the days when we had nine planets, you know?).
Keep up the good work, and, please, bring back Q&BA.
June 6th, 2008 at 6:19 am
I’m gonna parrot what most people have already said, and say “Thank you!” for such a wonderful blog.
It’s funny, really…I found your website about two years ago, when I googled “Moon Landing hoax” because some idiot at work was harping about how it was staged, NASA is evil, yada yada.
To my complete surprise, you had the most effective anti-moon-hoax info I’ve ever seen. I liked it so much that I read the rest of the site, and then, finally, the Blog.
So now I’m a daily visitor to your fine blog, obsessively checking at least three times a day for updates. It’s such a nice change to get away from all those lame, hackneyed Political blogs. Everyone and their mother has a political blog, and it’s so tiresome to get politics in a website that isn’t about politics. I appreciate that you keep said political rambling to a bare minimum =)
Your updates are always entertaining, and I’ve learned so much from you over the past couple of years. I had a passing interest in Astronomy for as long as I can remember, but you really cemented that into place.
Some of the stuff you’ve said has literally blown my mind. I mean…the Universe is flat? The Big Bang was an explosion OF space and time, not in it? Absolutely mind boggling stuff. It’s things like that that keeps me coming back for more.
I may not be able to venture into space (yet), but I CAN fly airplanes, so that’s something, right? And now, thanks to your blog, every time I’m up there at night, I get a real appreciation for what’s above me.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:47 am
I learn almost as much from many of the commenters as I do from you, Phil, and that’s quite a lot.
What I don’t know about astronomy fills up beginner’s books, but with a background in communications, EE and physics, I like the mix of technical and lay conversation here. If anything BA has spurred me into trying to learn a little about your black (sky) art.
Thanks to you, and to everyone.
June 6th, 2008 at 7:51 am
And another “thank you.” In fact, I want you to know that I no longer subscribe to any other blogs (but lots of news sources). Your brevity, good manners, humor (if often sophomoric, which I too am guilty of), and personalization make it worth sticking with. I know everyday that I am listening to a real person with a family and fears and ambitions and optimism (which is understandably in short supply in this world).
I especially admire your willingness to encourage comments. If I had a blog, I would be one of those wimps who would not. I have grown too tired of hostility and hackneyed, worn-out arguments. Perhaps you feel that you need to keep pushing the rock up the hill, which makes you all the more admirable, but after six decades that idealism and energy is pretty much retired.
Keep it up, Phil. If this world can be saved, it will be done by folks like you. Oh, to the Dan who said this blog should be about astronomy: “One, it is. There is plenty of science, more than some of us layfolks can understand. Two, science does not exist in a vaccuum. Phil understands that. Apparently you don’t.”
June 6th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Yeah! What everyone else said. Good-O!
June 6th, 2008 at 8:08 am
MO man said:
[stage whisper]Pssst, MO Man. … I think Dan was being satirical. By deliberately parodying the loonies who think they should dictate what Phil can or cannot blog about, he figuratively headed them off at the pass.[/stage whisper]
June 6th, 2008 at 8:19 am
Um, what everybody else said, too.
Sadly, I’ve not been bitten by the astronomy bug, but it seems my 6-year-old has. My BiL is an enthusiastic amateur, and he let the kiddo use his telescope when we visited last spring. And then…it was all over.
So now, I read your blog, and watch the NASA channel on TV, both to educate myself and keep our daughter interested. I’m also kind of hoping that once she’s able to read on her own, your skepticism will rub off and reinforce what her dad and I are trying to teach her.
June 6th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Phil
I love this blog. I read *every* day and wish you would post more.
And I like the commenters’ vibe of “agree / disagree / please yourself”.
It is a civilised blog. From the awesome galaxy pictures to the Doomed! mouse, it’s the kind of cyber neighbourhood I like to hang out in.
Can I encourage other commenters to make time to visit Phil’s Ustream channel on a Sunday? It’s the business. Check back here on Sunday and Phil will tell you where and when.
If only you’d post in the middle of the night Phil. Then my comments would like fresh and early instead of tacked on to the end!
Bob(Big)
June 6th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Hey, Thanks Phil to you!
Thanks for many reasons. I grew up in a time without an “internet.” I always liked looking up into the stars and had to do that from the roof of my parents home in rural Maine, sometimes wearing a snowmobile suit to keep warm, star guide in hand and Johnny Carson playing on the remote speaker I wired up. Today I can travel to other worlds on the “net.” Thanks to you BA and AstronomyCast, Universe Today, Emily Lakdawalla and Galaxy Zoo. I tell everyone I meet about RSS feeds and usually get a blank stare. When I see someone with an ipod I ask them if they download podcasts, same stare. There has never been a time when so much quality information readily available. I love “Open Culture” http://www.oculture.com/. Take a guided tour of Paris, a semester in Quantium Mechanics or Berkeley Groks.
Thanks also for this last week at AAS. I hope the “Ustream.tv” live streaming of events was scene as a success. I enjoyed it very much. Great job! It doesn’t need to be said, but I will, it was a little rough around the edges, but that was not so important, what was was the content, Just great!!! Thanks so much. Is everyone blown away that we at home on the chat could ask questions and Phil or Pamela or Chris would ask them for US!!!
What blew me away was at one point Chris Lintott was at the controls of the laptop “chat” and I told him about my 8 yr. old daughters fun with Galaxy Zoo. When Chris gave his presentation about Galaxy Zoo he mentioned that “all you have to do is take the tutorial with a passing grade and you can classify objects,” an eight year old passed and two professional Astronomers failed” I replayed the video for my daughter, she was thrilled.
I add to the chorus of praise, “Thank You Phil, you BA” (was it cool at the LHC???) Don.
June 6th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Woo XKCD!
June 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Personally, I much prefer the commenters here to the ones at Pharyngula. I like PZ’s topics, but his commenters are certainly an acquired taste that I have not acquired.
I find that if I want to learn something (as opposed to rant about religion), I’m much more likely to achieve that here… if not from BA then from a commenter.
June 6th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Thankyons are hypothetical entities in cosmology, with the characteristic that they pass you faster than light, with little interaction.
But I’ll send one Phil’s way – there, saw it?
June 6th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I would say more but most of your astronomy posts cover the subject at hand pretty darn well where that I don’t really have any questions or have much to say other then “that’s so cool!”.
June 6th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
There are four blogs I read every day without fail: yours, PZ’s, Cute Overload, and icanhascheezburger. In that order.
RAWK ON!!!!!111!!1!11!!!!!!1eleventyeleven!!!!!1!