PZ Myers. 2004 Dec 05. Now I just need to find a phonebooth…. <http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/now_i_just_need_to_find_a_phonebooth/>. Accessed 2008 Nov 19.

Posted on M00o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr on Sunday, December 05, 2004

Now I just need to find a phonebooth…

You know what the IntarWebs are really good for? Playing little fantasy games, like making your own superhero! It's an elaborate web toy that lets you pick among hundreds of pre-drawn options to assemble into an alter-ego.

my alter-ego

There are a lot of options on the Hero Machine, but I tried to exercise some restraint. I toned up the body a bit (OK, a lot), avoided the garish codpieces and thigh-high fancy boots, but I couldn't help myself about the jetpack—who can resist a jetpack? There weren't any squid among the "companion" options (I suppose a limp squishy blob is an undramatic sidekick for a terrestrial superhero…), but the big spider was an acceptable second choice.

The big stick is for whacking fools upside the head. Or pointing to projected images on a screen. Very versatile.

(via Feministe, who makes for a pretty hot superhero herself)

Posted by PZ Myers on 12/05 at 09:33 AM
Humor • Weirdness • 3 Trackbacks • Other weblogs • Permalink
  1. "Who can resist a jetpack?" Indeed.
    #: Posted by  on  12/05  at  09:55 AM
  2. Dr. Myers, you look so serious.

    Then again, I'd look serious too with a dog-sized spider standing on my foot. Gives me the willies.
    #: Posted by Lauren  on  12/05  at  10:09 AM
  3. Fighting crimes against Science is a serious business, young lady.
    #: Posted by PZ Myers  on  12/05  at  10:13 AM
  4. Actually, I think I'm wondering, "If I try to use this jetpack, will it set my butt on fire?"
    #: Posted by PZ Myers  on  12/05  at  10:14 AM
  5. Nice disproof of ID smile.
    #: Posted by  on  12/05  at  10:30 AM
  6. Hmmm. That lab coat is awfully cape-like. And those of us who have seen The Incredibles know the kind of trouble those can cause. Just ask Edna Mode.
    #: Posted by  on  12/05  at  01:38 PM
  7. This is cool... thank you for sharing! Behold, my contribution to blog pollution:

    http://www.livejournal.com/users/allyson13/314912.html
    #: Posted by Allyson M Dyar  on  12/05  at  03:05 PM
  8. What is it with all these women and whips? If Gucci came out with a stylish leather whip as a fashion accessory, I think they'd clean up.
    #: Posted by PZ Myers  on  12/05  at  03:09 PM
  9. Yeah, Larry, I'm getting increasingly nervous about that jetpack. That, and my lab coat flapping in the wind, and I think we're looking at a fiery disaster.
    #: Posted by PZ Myers  on  12/05  at  03:14 PM
  10. Surely you have an anti-gravity device inside that jetpack. No muss, no fuss, no scorch marks.
    #: Posted by  on  12/05  at  10:59 PM
  11. The biohazard symbol is a nice touch; are you out to stamp out biohazards or should we regard your alter ego as a biohazard?
    #: Posted by  on  12/06  at  09:59 AM
  12. I just had to suit up as well ... this is far too much fun.

    http://rhosgobel.blogspot.com/2004/12/radagasts-avatar.html
    #: Posted by Radagast  on  12/06  at  02:30 PM
  13. These are so cool. I want someone to rig up a gallery of bloggers' alter egos!
    #: Posted by Rana  on  12/06  at  03:06 PM
  14. Majikthise has the central database for our new league of superbloggers.
    #: Posted by PZ Myers  on  12/06  at  03:23 PM
  15. I see you, too, have a new hairpiece. It also looks very nice and natural, but it seems to have slipped to your chin. Also, the legs look a lot longer than I imagined...
    #: Posted by John Wilkins  on  12/06  at  05:03 PM
  16. Aww, you're just jealous because it can't do Australians, since it won't draw them upside down.
    #: Posted by PZ Myers  on  12/06  at  05:10 PM
  17. Faster than a speeding photon!!! More powerful than the stench of formaldehyde from a rancid petri dish!!!!!! Able to leap tall buildings at the NIH in a single bound!!!!!!

    It's Cappppppppptainnnnnnnnnnn Myerrrrrrrrrrrrrs!!!!!

    You guys are really coolsmile
    #: Posted by  on  12/06  at  05:23 PM
  18. Can't....stop...playing.... just created... entire Earth and Planetary Sciences department... in heroic form..
    #: Posted by  on  12/07  at  04:45 AM
  19. I, too, just had to suit up. It's the start of a long week, and I needed something to take my mind off all the upcoming tests.

    I plan on making my superhero a recurring character in responses to creationist bilge I find around the IntarWeb. Far more entertaining than dealing with it straight-up.

    http://cogitoergosumatheos.blogspot.com/2004/12/sometimes-you-just-need-to-unwind.html
    #: Posted by  on  12/08  at  05:56 PM
  20. I passed the link on to my ex, who is a middle-school science teacher... she's now posted it on her web page as an extra assignment. She's done two or three herself already.
    #: Posted by ArtK  on  12/10  at  01:13 AM