Yeah, because we wouldn't want to try and understand the complexities of FAS. Screw 'em.

Data don't just grow on trees you know. Unless you're studying trees, I guess.

That's pretty similar to a research project I did in jr high. Except, I had to use firecrackers, as I couldn't get alcohol.

Um. IFS? You're assuming I'm disapproving?

Conclusions don't just come out of butts. Unless you're talking pasta.

Yes, it's not a terribly difficult leap to assume you are disapproving. "Your Tax Dollars In Action" is almost always used in a "look at how your money is being wasted" context, and "bleeding-edge" is clearly being used in a derisive fashion.

That, and folks like Swiftee (and you many times) can't seem to seperate political disagreement from personal vindictiveness (ie. I disagree with Myers, therefore I must assault every action the man takes).

Petty and ignorant. If not you, Swiftee for certain. But if you'd care to elaborate on the purpose of your post, I'd like to be shown I'm wrong about you Mitch.

Don't like biological research. OK you never get to step foot in a medeical facility again. Bleeding and leeches for you.

"I'd like to be shown I'm wrong about you Mitch."
He's going to be spending some sleepless night worrying about vindication.

Hey, let's let Meyers explain his methodology shall we?

Here's what was going on behind the garage when these naughty little children were caught:

("Hey bobby..wanna see sumthin' really cool?")

"We take zebrafish eggs and put them on a real bender: we soak them in various concentrations of alcohol (which are hard to compare with human blood alcohol levels, I'm afraid, but trust me: these are such gross levels of ethanol that mere humans would be dead and pickled. Fish are tough), and let them stew for hours."

"Since fish development is much, much faster than human development, it's rather like having a woman start drinking straight Everclear a few weeks after discovering she's pregnant, and staying snockered throughout the first trimester."

Experiments in human biology at UM Morris....

Drown a species whose tissues are nothing like human, and whose gestation is nothing like human in a solution so toxic it would kill any human (he thinks, but can't be sure 'cause it's hard to compare fish biologies with human)...

Wow, anyone want to guess what happened to the little fishies?

Then we get the red faced "story":

"[But..but Dad..]Children are being born every day with fetal alcohol syndrome [we're scientists doing science dad...really]"

PZ Meyers is a blithering idiot who after realizing that he had some pretty cool (and expensive)toys at his disposal did what any blithering idiot (or eight year old child) would do.

FAS has been legitimately studied, by genuine researchers for years.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fas/

The effects of alcohol on developing babies are well known and irreversable.

Every quack "scientist" out there has some seemingly legitimate excuse for their bathtub experiments and PZ is no different.

Heh, I half expect his next trick will be to see if he can add some other substance to a gestating zebra fish to see if he can force the cells to form the likeness of Christ's face so he can mock Christians..no, really.

Oh and BTW jfs; to set the record straight. I'm not mocking Meyer's politics here, I'm mocking his standing as a faculty member of the University of Minnesota, I'm mocking his standing as a "serious biologist" and I'm mocking him personally because he's a clueless, self important moron.

And I'm using Meyer's own words to do the mocking...nothing up my sleeve.

I'm an electrical engineer,not a scientist; but it doean't take a degree in science to detect quackery in practice.

If I ever post a breathless description of an experiment where I connect wires to a light socket and proclaim my wonderment at the fact that the light bulb makes light I won't be surprised to be mocked.

I won't bill the state of Minnesota for my materials and time either.

I'll get to mocking his politics in my own good time.

"Don't like biological research."

Unsupported conclusion based on personal bias.

Remainder of comment ignored.

"If I ever post a breathless description of an experiment where I connect wires to a light socket and proclaim my wonderment at the fact that the light bulb makes light I won't be surprised to be mocked.

I won't bill the state of Minnesota for my materials and time either."

Thanks, Swiftee. Now I have to clean my monitor.

I doubt you'd ever bothered to comment on PZ's blog entry if you hadn't already acquired a handy axe to grind. Of course, if you hadn't betrayed so much cocksure ignorance swiftee, and if Mitch hadn't bothered to join in, I likely wouldn't have posted here. I was just thinking Mitch was a bit smarter than that. *shrug*

As you've already been chastised for over there swiftee, it doesn't follow that a grossly simplified (and intentionally entertaining) description of an experiement means it was at all simple. Also, to reiterate another's comment on your trolling attempts at Pharyngula, if you possess the intimate details of exactly what goes on during embryonic development in adverse conditions, please publish it and save hundreds of scientists' time and millions of dollars of research. Less strawmen, more problem solving please.

jfs,

I'm all for problem-solving.

And I'll allow that my "criticism" of the zebrafish experiment was probably hamfisted...

...sort of like PZM's approach to religion, and people of faith. Y'know - grossly ignorant in a smug, inflammatory sort of way.

The difference, of course, is that I can and do understand and appreciate science (I started college as a bio major, and but for an abiding hatred of chemistry might have stayed with it). No knee-jerking here...

...as opposed to PZ, who uses his science to cloak what is at the end of the day a corrosive bigotry toward religion and people who believe in it.

"I doubt you'd ever bothered to comment on PZ's blog entry if you hadn't already acquired a handy axe to grind."

Truth be told, I *am* pretty well aquainted with the Meyers parade of lunacy, but this was just a case of my having detected another random act of boobery on his part "on-the-fly" as it were.

Like I said, I'm and electrical engineer, not a biologist; I posted a link to get you started on learning how genuine scientific explorations into FAS have been conducted..read them, you'll find that after having done so, re-reading Meyers is just that much more comical experience.

Personally, I often have cartoon bubble in my head while reading Meyers, of the three stooges at work...Hey Moe! Look at the blender! nyuk, nyuk.

Nothing more convincing than science arguments from kooks who think God waved a magic wand and created all the animals so Adam and Eve could have barbecue. At least it sounds like Swiftee has *some* credentials, though. Hey Swiftee, how much do you charge to install track lighting?

I know how you feel jfs....we're ashamed that you ever considered yourself a Republican too.

Especially since it's obvious that you're too dense to comprehend anything you read.

This isn't a case of "ooo-ooo, look at what the librul professor is up to now", it a case of "ooo-ooo, look at what the wacky, nutjob professor is up to now".

But of course, I've said that at least twice already...pfft.

Seems to me (and I'll bet to everyone who reads this too) that since you can't defend Meyers the nutjob professor, you think you'll have better luck defending Meyers the drooling lefty psycophant.

That won't help either.

The fact that Meyers is a lefty in addition to a professional moron is almost QED.

I had some fun with this experiment of his, too:

Who would've thunk it? PZ is an anti-choice fundy. Seriously!