I know, it’s not very scary, but here’s something that might strike terror into a few hearts: October 2007 has been Pharyngula’s first million visit month. I remember the first month I broke 300 visitors (Woo hoo! Ten readers per day!) so I find it a little frightening.

Scienceblogs is currently suffering from a rogue ad that hijacks your browser and whisks you off to some wretched commercial site trying to sell you software to prevent your browser from being hijacked. It is evil, stupid, and obnoxious, and please do not purchase the software they are trying to extort from you. The sciencebloggers are all weeping and howling in frustration in our backchannel network, and we’re firing up urgent flares begging our technical people to come purge the vileness…but it’s a weekend, the tech people are all in New York, and unlike those of us living in Morris, Minnesota, they seem to have more exciting things to do than fuss over computers.

Patience. The ad will be destroyed. The advertiser will be turned over to an angry mob of science nerds who have been contemplating interesting punishments all weekend long. Karmic balance will be restored.

The winner of this month’s Molly award dominated the voting this time around — I guess the combination of cephalopod and poetry was irresistible. Everyone congratulate Cuttlefish, OM.

With so many delightful and extensive conversation examples lately, this must be the perfect opportunity to mention that it is time to select the new Molly winner for October! Leave a comment here naming names of the people you like to read in the comments, and I’ll tally them up at the end of the weekend.

Since there is a wee bit of acrimony going on right now, I’ll remind everyone that this is to be a positive process — no howling against any nominee. If you think someone mentioned is just awful, please instead of trying to cast negative votes (I don’t count them), get behind someone you do like.

Before everyone goes nuts with the queries, here’s the official word on the now closed commenting contest.

It will take a day for us to determine the winners of the contest. We have to make sure our data is correct before making the draw happen. We will email the winners directly. If you don’t hear, you didn’t win. It will probably take a week or so to contact and hear back from the winners.

I have no say in anything, and will not know anything until the winners contact the big guys managing the contest.

You are encouraged to go on commenting to run the tally up to a million.

We have a new Molly winner: congratulations to David Marjanović!

I’ve also updated the blogroll with a few new names.

It’s that time of the month again, when we try to acknowledge the work of some commenter (or inanimate carbon rod) who has most delighted us by bestowing admission in the grand Order of the Molly. Just leave a comment here naming your favorite commenter or random object intended to mock the proceedings, and I’ll tally them up at the end of the week.

Also, I maintain this mega-blogroll, and I’m appallingly generous in putting blogs on it — of course, I’m also appallingly ruthless in expunging blogs that haven’t had an update in 30 days. All you have to do is:

1. Check the current blogroll in case you’re already on it.
2. Make sure you’ve got an RSS feed for your blog. I can’t put anyone on the blogroll without a syndication feed.
3. Leave a comment with a link to your blog, perhaps with a little explanation about why you deserve to be read by anyone. If your RSS link is hard to find, tell me what that is, too. It’s also helpful if you tell me what category of my blogroll looks like a good home for you.
4. This time around, since this is a Molly thread, you also have to vote for some great commenter. If you haven’t read the comments enough to know anyone, what the heck are you doing asking me to read your blog?

See? It’s easy! Do all that and I’ll put you on the blogroll. Let’s be realistic, though — it’s not the greatest honor in the world, and it’s also diluted by the fact that there are so darn many of you on the list right now. But hey, it’ll get you a link for at least a little while.

Oh, and note that leaving a comment in this thread will also put you in Seed’s 500,000th comment contest! You can’t lose!

You may have noticed (how could you avoid it?) all the information about Seed’s new contest: if you’re commenting with a valid email address, you’re in the drawing. The prize is a 5-day trip to a great science city (there’s a poll to determine which one) — this is good, because even if some wacky creationist or HIV denialist or demented Republican wins, their reward will be some intense exposure to real science. I tell you, the brains behind this outfit are cunning and nefarious in their machinations. (If you are one of those deluded individuals who doesn’t want their illusions dashed, you can ask to be excused from the drawing. They’re cunning, but also nice.)

While I’m alerting you to the largesse of our host, let me mention another good deal: subscribe to Seed magazine, and they’ll give you this utterly faboo S^b beaker/coffee mug. I picked one up while I was in NY, and they are great — I’m half-seriously thinking I ought to get 6 subscriptions myself so I can have a whole set in my house, especially since my Trophy Wife™ has been casting covetous glances at my mug. Imagine your mornings, reading Seed, sipping coffee from that lovely mug; you’ll be the perfect image of the upscale nerd, just like me.

The commenters have spoken, and two new Order of the Molly awards have been issued.