Not as nasty as I feared, but the consecrated hunk o’ Jesus I put it on was ghastly.

It’s tough to tread that line between contempt and admiration: Jerry Coyne writes about the Templeton journalism awards. It really is a smart move on the part of the Templetonites to coopt journalists to sell their bankrupt line by tossing a good-sized chunk of money at them.

One interesting revelation is that the journalism awards aren’t simply handed out by cunning Templetonistas who spot a promising compromiser in the ranks of reporters — you have to apply for the fellowship. Hey, should I? They’re closed for now, but I imagine there will be a bunch of 2011 fellowships awarded, and I wouldn’t mind spending time in Cambridge.

All I have to do is write an essay “outlining [my] interest in science and religion and detailing a specific topic [i] hope to cover”. Here’s my start:

Religion is the antithesis of science, an anesthetic for the mind that disables critical thought and encourages the acceptance of inanity as fact, and wishful thinking as evidence.

Do you think it will appeal to their review panel?

Oh, probably not. Here’s John Horgan’s experience.

One Templeton official made what I felt were inappropriate remarks about the foundation’s expectations of us fellows. She told us that the meeting cost more than $1-million, and in return the foundation wanted us to publish articles touching on science and religion. But when I told her one evening at dinner that — given all the problems caused by religion throughout human history — I didn’t want science and religion to be reconciled, and that I hoped humanity would eventually outgrow religion, she replied that she didn’t think someone with those opinions should have accepted a fellowship. So much for an open exchange of views.

Oops. And John is so much more polite than I am.

Now I really wish those application essays were available for public reading. I’m sure they’re exceptionally entertaining.

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Mooney ‘fesses up. I’d love it if he’d post his application essay!

I just need a machine, I guess.

Earlier, I linked to that ghastly “Negotiation is Over” anti-research site. Let me balance that with a link to the pro-science site, Speaking of Research. Compare the two, it’s enlightening. Guess which one relies on shrieking all-caps accusations and threats of dire harm to the people on the other side?

There’s this contest, see, where a fabulous free wedding is given away. And one of the contestants wrote to me with their plans for a godless affair at the Boston Museum of Science, and from their description both are geeky nerds, and they’re trying to get this wedding arranged fast since the bride’s grandfather is dying of cancer, so how could I resist? I voted for them. That’s all you have to do to give them a shot at winning.

Dammit. I keep trying to overcome this teddy bear image, and everyone knows I’m a soft touch.

I have to say that my opinion of Iowa has gone up in my short visit here. Not only have Iowa Democrats beaten back an attempt by Republicans to outlaw gay marriage, but the University of Northern Iowa Freethinkers and Inquirers has organized a whole Darwin week of talks — lots of talks, and all that I saw were remarkably well attended. I’m sad to say I have to drive back today, because I’d really like to hear Hector Avalos’s talk tonight. If you’re in the area, you should check it out.

Also, if you’re near Cedar Rapids tomorrow night, you should go to the Flying Spaghetti Monster fundraiser for the A-Team, which I’m supposed to tell you is the most bad-ass atheist organization in all of Iowa. It’ll have endless quantities of spaghetti, cheap beer, and pirates, so you can’t go wrong there.

It must be. I’m reading the results of a poll of Republicans, and the answers don’t make sense. For example, look at this one result:

Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win?

Yes 24
No 43
Not Sure 33

A quarter of Republicans think our president is rooting for the terrorists? That’s simply nuts.

Read the rest. The percentages for absurd questions like whether Obama is a socialist are unbelievable enough, but when it gets to the issues it simply gets worse. 77% want the Bible taught in the schools, for instance.

Maybe I should just stay in Ireland.

Here’s an interesting test: measure your Risk Quotient. It’s a 50 question survey of a set of questions, some simple and some obscure, in which you estimate your confidence in providing an answer. You aren’t scored on just getting the right answer, but on whether you accurately assess your likelihood of being right — if you answer wrongly but with great confidence and certainly you’ll score poorly, but if you answer just as wrongly but with a more cautious appraisal of your certainty, you’ll score better. If you’ve got a serious case of the Dunning-Kruger effect, you might want to avoid the survey. It won’t help your self-esteem.

I scored an 83. I’m completely uncertain about whether that is good or bad.

And what have I accomplished? Thanks to Steve and Dierdre Metzler, who gave me a tour of the local pubs and restaurants, I have learned something important. Guinness in Ireland is a completely different beast from Guinness anywhere else; here, it’s a silky smooth ambrosia with not a hint of bitterness. It went down so easy I could have easily slid 3 or 4 of them down my throat, but given my current sleep-derived state, I restrained myself to one.

Of course, then we had to follow up with Irish coffee, and yeah, in a few minutes my head will touch the pillow and I will be spending an evening deep in Tír na nÓg.

The crafty Taisha McFall, creator of the Ray Comfort Tampon Case, is having a birthday tomorrow. What she’d like for her birthday is that women everywhere be free of fear and able to live their lives in some security, but barring that, you could make her happy by donating to Women for Women, an organization that works to help women survivors of war.

Donate online. It’s a nice present for Ms McFall and even nicer for women who’ve been raped, who’ve lost their homes, or worse, lost their children.