Ahh, looks like I didn't follow the thread all the way to the bottom. I was missing the `[graphics]` directive.

Same crash as OP:

Process: factorio [56125]
Path: /Applications/factorio.app/Contents/MacOS/factorio
Identifier: com.factorio.factorio
Version: 0.9.8 x86_64 (2012071800)
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [345]
Responsible: factorio [56125]
User ID: 501

Date/Time: 2013-11-17 19:03 ...