I have a billion things to do this weekend, but since today is conspiring to just be silly, I’ll just leave this here for you. Click it, and don’t forget to hover over the red button at the bottom.

P.S. That’s not my real tattoo, though Zach got the location correct.

Perhaps the single greatest feeling in the world — better than winning the lottery, better than seeing your baby being born, better than having fresh batteries in the TV remote — is waking up to find out you’re in the latest Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal comic. Click the panel here to read the whole thing.

Even better? There’s a new SMBC book! I haven’t read it yet, because Zach hasn’t sent me a free copy in exchange for relentlessly shilling his stuff here on the blog, but I assume it’s at least mildly diverting. Look, SMBC is the funniest science-based web comic done by a geeky ginger who also draws himself shirtless all the time, which, let’s face it, is a niche that’s nearly saturated (assuming Rupert Grint doesn’t start one as well).

His first book, "Save Yourself, Mammal!" is really funny, and this new one is a collection of comics hand-picked by Zach, so it’ll be the best thing you’ve ever read, or Zach will send you a dozen long-stem roses flown in from Ecuador^*.

[NOTE: Many of Zach's comics deal with topics that are probably NSFW. If you buy the book you may get the vapors if you are inclined thusly. Be ye fairly warned, says I.]

^* Hey, if it’s on the Internet, it must be true!

Zach Weiner, of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, and Kelly Smith, of Weinersmith, interviewed me for their new podcast, The Weekly Weinersmith. I am actually only their second guest, so we’ll see if the podcast survives.

We talked about the James Webb Space Telescope, mostly, though as usual when I talk to Zach we both revert to 15 year old boys. But only briefly, and only if 15 year old boys paid attention in world history class.

I’ll note I made a mistake in the interview: I said JWST will have 6 mirrors, but it actually has 18. D’oh! I remember very clearly picturing the telescope in my head (it’s hard to do a web search during an interview) and for some dumb reason I was thinking of the old MMT, which I’ll admit is a little bizarre. Heat of the moment, I guess. I wasn’t even within an astronomer’s usual factor of two, so I guess I have to give myself three geek demerits.

I think I made up for it by calling JWST — since its future is uncertain — "Schrödinger’s telescope".

In fact, the stuff I said about JWST deals mostly with its politics and budgetary woes. I’ve written about this before:

- Where will JWST’s money come from?
- The Senate has “saved” JWST? Hang on a sec, folks…
- The watershed moment for JWST
- Hubble’s successor: doomed or saved?
- Congress puts NASA and JWST on the chopping block

So there you go. I’ll note that it’s mostly wondering about JWST’s and NASA’s future until about 45 minutes in, and then we get all optimistic and fun.

Zach and Kelly were great hosts, letting me blather on until I ran out of air. Knowing them both — Kelly’s a scientist, and Zach a hugely devoted science enthusiast and supporter (he’s teaching himself advanced calculus and blogging about it) — this will be a podcast to keep your ear on. Subscribe to it!

Does Zach Weiner know me or what?

Click to see the whole comic.

I would’ve gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling auditors!

I was going to make an empassioned plea about how science does really make a lot of stuff better, but then decided that this Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal strip was too funny to try to add any snark to it.

I’m just glad Zach didn’t draw the science advisor to look like me.

Is this the greatest t-shirt idea ever thunk up? Why yes. Yes, it is.

That is Zach Weiner’s latest idea, which he claims is based on this Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal strip, though it’s closer to this one, but of course is in reality based on my book.

And will I be getting one? Duh.

I was on travel yesterday and didn’t get a chance to link to the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal web comic, leading to approximately a metric ton of emails and notes on Twitter telling me about it. I know, the sample I have extracted below doesn’t give you a hint why people would be telling me about this particular strip, but click it to get the whole picture.

OK, spoilers below the fold! Don’t read until you’ve looked at the comic!

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