Remains of James Doohan Lost in New Mexico

caffiend666 writes "According to a Space.com news article the cremated remains of 200 people were lost in the mountains after their trip to space. 'The search for the UP Aerospace payload of experiments and the cremated remains of some 200 people — including "Scotty" of Star Trek fame, as well as pioneeering NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper — continues within rugged New Mexico mountain landscape.' Is it just me, or does it seem appropriate that they lost the landing party? Here's to a safe recovery!"

Comments

No problem.

[ScrewMaster]

Spock will figure out the only logical place it could be.

Re:No problem.

[srmalloy]

I guess the engines really couldn't take it...

Re:No problem.

[rob_squared]

Too bad it wasn't Mexico. If I had to be lost somewhere, it'd be the land of Latinas and tequila.

Re:No problem.

[rubycodez]

someone should have warned them, "the engines, they cannae take much mare a this!"

Re:No problem.

[novus ordo]

Keith Richards' nose?

Re:No problem.

[boyko.at.netqos]

Dude, joking is fine and all, but just keep it to a minimum. It's not just James Doohan's ashes lost in New Mexico, it's also the ashes of John B. Marques, a 24 year old man from Austin, Texas, who died in December 2004. He was my close friend. There are also 198 other people - people with families and loved ones.

Re:No problem.

[Miseph]

Not to be an ass about your dead friend... but seriously, relax. Suck as it may, he's gone, and there's no sense in worrying he might have been injured, or that he's offended.

Besides, I'd expect that if your buddy wanted to be launched into space, he'd have a sense of humor about this sort of thing.

Re:No problem.

[lordmatthias215]

If I had to be lost somewhere, it'd be the land of Latinas and tequila.

Sounds a whole heck of a lot like the New Mexico I know...

Re:No problem.

[McFadden]

And in that vein...

I wouldn't worry about looking for Doohan. Just wait a few weeks and he'll show up on eBay.

Re:No problem.

[sherms]

So will Scotty and the others. I'm just curious at what price? In my will, I already have a practical joke planned on my baby brothers. I just with I could be there to see it unfold.

Re:No problem.

[Himring]

Indeed. The one human state free of all troubles and worries: dead....

Monty Python did the entire "dead parrot" skit at Graham's funeral....

Re:No problem.

[boyko.at.netqos]

Well, technically, I think he wanted to be launched by catapult... but this was the next best thing.

Re:No problem.

[camg188]

I dunno... It seems sort of romantic to me to have your mortal remains lost in a mountain. Seems like a pretty good resting place to me.

Re:No problem.

[Anonymous Coward]

Ghrahm (sp?) is dead? Well, damn! I was hoping they'd get back together, now I know why they can't.

Re:No problem.

[Snaller]

Life sucks - might as well accept it.

Re:No problem.

[Himring]

Graham Chapman isn't it? The one who was king arthur. Yes, quite dead. Pushing up daisies and all that....

Re:No problem.

[Anonymous Coward]

don't worry, the 'next generation' will discover him after 77 years or so.

Poor Gordo Cooper...

[Blackbrain]

As Gordo would have said: "Looks like someone screwed the pooch on this one".

Clever...

[DoofusOfDeath]

He *knew* the Nexus was going to go through that exact point.

Re:Clever...

[dilbert627]

Either that, or the Genesis project is being developed at Area 51.

Obvious

[Anonymous Coward]

He was always wearing a red shirt. It was inevitable that he would be lost.

Re:Obvious

[Infoport]

no, it is only the new crewmen in red shirts who are doomed. If you have a nickname, you are pretty much safe.

and being Ensign something, well you might as well leave your good boots at home for someone else.

Re:Obvious

[Anonymous Coward]

Bu-dump-bump plus cymbal.

Someone will say that Scotty was protected because he had a name and wasn't of "ensign" rank. I'd say that he lasted soooooo long, but the power of the red shirt killer was simply too great to overcome.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirt_(character)

Note that Uhura also wore red. http://www.megomuseum.com/startrek/uhura.html

Re:Obvious

[solitas]

http://echosphere.net/star_trek_insp/insp_expendab ility.jpg

Re:Obvious

[Anonymous Coward]

My daughter took one look at this and said, "The Wiggles?"

what

[wizardforce]

It sounds like this landing did what they wanted it to other than the fact they lost the thing- which makes me wonder why they didn't think of using a tracking beacon of some sort rather than calculating where the thing was. all they would need to do is go toward ths signal.

Re:what

[Anonymous Coward]

Im not understanding the problem here, from the article it sounds like the whole thing was a-ok, just the post launch hardware didnt land where it was supposed. If the rocket did what it was supposed to why would the remains and other crap have come back to earth?!

Re:what

[wizardforce]

If the rocket did what it was supposed to why would the remains and other crap have come back to earth?

because it was never meant to leave Earth completely, it was SUPPOSED to come back down

Re:what

[jddj]

Or just put a tractor beam on it on the way down.

Re:what

[Anonymous Coward]

It sounds like this landing did what they wanted it to other than the fact they lost the thing- which makes me wonder why they didn't think of using a tracking beacon

You misspelled tractor beam.

Raise your hands

[suv4x4]

Who else thinks the whole idea is kinda retarded? I mean, in the beginning I thought the ashes of those people will be dispersed in space, which was very strong as a symbol and a ceremony, of sorts.

But carry them in space and land them (and now .. to lose them)? What the hell was the effin point of this whole thing?

Re:Raise your hands

[Infoport]

hey now, everybody who has actually been to space stand up

(wish I could just go up to space and back)

although ejected would have made a lot of sense...but then wouldn't they have had to give it a ceremony, like when Spock was launched into space (with Scotty playing a dirge on the bagpipes, flag over it, etc) ?

Re:Raise your hands

[BlargIAmDead]

I think the point was to see how the remains of several cremated people reacted to zero g conditions. We now now that when subjected to these certain conditions they gain enough intelligence to outsmart NASA :)

Re:Raise your hands

[Clazzy]

What the hell was the effin point of this whole thing? They simply haven't invented photon torpedos yet so can't blast their corpses into space.

Re:Raise your hands

[Keys1337]

FOR CHRISTS SAKE!!! You know damn well he can't stand anymore! He's just a clump of ash in a can. j/k

Re:Raise your hands

[Saeger]

*shrug* Most cultures are still obsessed with the mind's dead vessel; that's not going to change overnight.

IMO, both cremation & cemeteries are a huge waste of resources. When I finally get around to writing my Will, it'll include something to the effect: "If my pattern of mind is beyond repair, drop my naked nutrient-rich matter into a vertical hole and plant a tree. I forbid energy-wastful cremation, and burial in a rip-off casket in a drab cemetery surrounded by giant obelisk phallic symbols..." Of course, there's probably some business-friendly laws which says that's illegal.

Re:Raise your hands

[Ignis Flatus]

What the hell was the effin point of this whole thing?

to make money, of course. it was a private enterprise.

Re:Raise your hands

[suv4x4]

IMO, both cremation & cemeteries are a huge waste of resources.

Cremation is useful in that it avoid infection spreading (especially, but not limited to when the man/woman died froma dangerous infection disease). It gets cremated and can be dealt with with much less resources.

But dropping the vessel from space and losing the ash in a forest isn't exactly what I imagined it should be like.

Re:Raise your hands

[sendai2ci]

Claim that it is your religion, PC should still trump business-friendly.

Islamic burial traditions for one specifies burial without a coffin, with markers or any sort discouraged. Although they are laid on their right side with their face towards Mecca...

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

nah it's just that depending on where you want that tree, you might be considered a biohazard. Can't have you leeching germs into the local water supply or whatever.

Re:Raise your hands

[prelelat]

to make money, of course. it was a private enterprise. I can't tell if that was a pun or not.

Either way good call.

Re:Raise your hands

[metlin]

Human beings and cultures across the world are obsessed with symbolism - and death.

A lot of things we do, intentionally or otherwise, are deeply symbolic in nature.

And one but needs to look at the various religions to understand our fascination with death.

So, combine the two and you are bound to get some weird (and occasionally interesting) results.

Re:Raise your hands

[Black-Man]

Yeah... except you're probably considered toxic waste considering a life of ingesting pesticides, heavy metals, and drugs.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

And one but needs to look at the various religions to understand our fascination with death.

Religion doesn't have a fascination with death. Religion has a fascination with using the fear of death to control their followers. Indeed, religion has about as much fascination with death as it does life.

Re:Raise your hands

[Icarus1919]

You're right. Cremation and burial is definitely a huge waste of resources. We should leave bodies where they fall; it's a safe, clean alternative.

Re:Raise your hands

[value_added]

"If my pattern of mind is beyond repair, drop my naked nutrient-rich matter into a vertical hole and plant a tree. I forbid energy-wastful cremation, and burial in a rip-off casket in a drab cemetery surrounded by giant obelisk phallic symbols..." Of course, there's probably some business-friendly laws which says that's illegal.

I had this in mind when I chose to bury two of my dogs in the backyard. Looking back on the experience (I ended up with two small plaques and planting some flowers and shrubs), I don't regret my decision. I could write an essay on the subject, but it should suffice to say it just seemed like the right thing to do. From every point of view.

Whether the above is legal, I don't know. My guess is that it isn't. Once upon a time people (at least those who owned land) had family cemeteries. Maybe someone here who knows more about such traditions could enlighten us. At any rate, today, at least here in California, burying someone on private land, irrespective of whether you own one acre of land or 1000 acres, was made illegal sometime in the 1920s (?).

It's kind of shame, really. Obviously, we can't all just around burying people just anywhere (broadband deployment is complicated enough), but there's something to be said for being buried in the dirt, and having someone come along and plant some grass or a tree where you were laid to rest.

Recyling at its best.

Re:Raise your hands

[syousef]

But carry them in space and land them (and now .. to lose them)? What the hell was the effin point of this whole thing?

Why to boldly go where no cremated remains had gone before of course!!!

That said I agree with you - what a waste of money, time, and resources.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed. I thought it was so very cool he was going to have his ashes sent into space. Like a burial at sea but so much better.
Has anyone ever heard of foregoing a burial at sea for sending the ashes on a frickin boat ride? To return later?

-"How was your trip?"
-"Great! We reached the zenith of pointless stupidity!"

I don't know what's more disappointing, the final place these ashed end up, or the living people who are behind this whole thing.

Re:Raise your hands

[Mr2cents]

Well spoken. It's an industry. The one thing I remember when my grandfather died (it was an insanely emotional period - my other grandfather had just died a week earlier, both unexpected), the undertakers were there in no time and asked my grandmother: "do you want him to be buried in first class or second class ground?" (literally). What is she supposed to say at such a time? Of course she chose "first class", thinking she would honour him that way. In reality, she just paid a lot of money.. for what? I was quite disgusted.

Re:Raise your hands

[Trogre]

You'd have to make damn sure they left orbit completely, or there's going to be some pretty messed up space trips in future decades.

You know, space junk and all that.

Re:Raise your hands

[EvanED]

I've always told people that:

1.) I don't care what you do with my body after I've died,
2.) unless my death is suspicious. Then I want to be buried and preserved as best as possible, so that if the police later decide they need clues and want to exhume my body, they can.

Re:Raise your hands

[veganboyjosh]

considering a life of ingesting pesticides, heavy metals, and drugs.

i don't see what my high school years have to do with anything...

Re:Raise your hands

[Maxx169]

I've made it very clear to my other half that I want to be stuff and left on the couch. Preferably in an intimidating pose.

Re:Raise your hands

[freaker_TuC]

My grandma has died 2 months ago, the government already closes the bank account at first knowledge of death. This to pay the expenses of the undertakers, the church service, the after service (in Belgium with coffee cakes and sandwiches, because it's a tradition to eat and talk with the relatives around in a room/tables) and some other expenses...

These expenses start with the "cheapest" which is not really "cheap" anymore but rather expensive and if you want to be buried with some decency (which won't change anything for you anymore anyways), the bill will be -very- expensive/uncatholic ... It seems to be a profitable business, maybe some idea through the web *shrug*

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

Hopefully you'll be more interesting of a compost heap than you did as a human being, eh loser? "I forbid energy-wasteful cremation..." Just goes to show that the Internet acts like a giant magnet for all the insane fuckers in the world. Get yourself some medication.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

I had this in mind when I chose to bury two of my dogs in the backyard.

How did you get them to stay there? Mine always dig themselves out.

Re:Raise your hands

[feyhunde]

The laws aren't Business-Friendly, they are related to public health. Lets say I did what you wanted and planted you in a shallow grave with no casing and planted a tree. While a very nice gesture, your bodies' parasites and fungi live on. And if you died of say, Cholera, your Cholera rich body is leaking it into the ground water. While there is a racket associated with much of the funeral biz, and much of it is greedy, there is reason behind the laws. Burial laws are in place to be a public health issue, and are written in river valleys where water tables make it so that naked corpses in shallow holes spread disease. Now what I like are cremation with a few options for ashes. A caveat for incase of foul play of course. I like spreading my ashes as an option. Burying an urn is what my grandparents had done (they are in national cemeteries). While the last option that sounds nice is get your ashes compressed into a Diamond/Diamond like gem. I'm morally against to normal Diamond due to the economics. However, I like the idea of having my ashes in a Diamond that can be given to my grandchildren and on down the generations.

Re:Raise your hands

[damista]

It is disgusting. When my daughter died last year, the funeral director wanted to talk us into a $5000 coffin, even though she was to be cremated. Where's the point in paying craploads of money for a casket which will be burned? We ended up with a $1500 coffin...still pretty steep for "fire wood".

When it's my time, I'll be cremated and my ashes scattered at the same place as my girl's...hopefully by then, it is possible to cremate people without putting them into an expensive box first.

Funeral directors are business people and as such they are interested in making money...the more the better. Their advantage is that they can use people's grief to make even more money. Grieving peole are easy targets as they are very emotional and much easier to talk into something. As you said: Who would say 2nd class?

Re:Raise your hands

[camperdave]

Very few people can pull off "intimidating" when stuffed and left on a couch. "Creepy", on the other hand...

Re:Raise your hands

[catmistake]

Burial rituals are for the living. Chances are your family will want to honor your wishes, if in doing so they will be coming to terms with your passing. Whether resources are wasted or not is incidental.

As for me? I won't need to worry about it. Death is no big deal. Been there, done that. This time, I'm going to live forever.

Re:Raise your hands

[KarmaRundi]

Well, you can make the whole thing a little less wasteful by being an organ donor or you could donate your body to science so some medical student can get a few more miles out of it. If you plan to die in Tibet, you could consider sky burial.

Re:Raise your hands

[siriuskase]

When my husband died, I rented a coffin for $200. We used it for almost a week before finally getting him cremated. Not bad, I guess considering what a motel goes for around here.

Re:Raise your hands

[Columcille]

although ejected would have made a lot of sense

How much thruster capability did this wee spacecraft have? Enough to eject several cannisters of ashes and propel them away? And better, propel them out of earth orbit so as to avoid even more space junk? Would the wee beastie craft have been able to make it back into the atmosphere as planned? I wouldn't think so, and Scottie would freak out trying to fix the problem. Rest in piece, indeed.

Re:Raise your hands

[stanmann]

Cardboard cremation boxes can be had for about $200.

Re:Raise your hands

[that this is not und]

Anti-terrorist burial tradition specifies the body be encased in a wooden casket lined with pigskin. Extremely wealthy terrorists may be hermetrically sealed in stainless steel or precious-metal caskets, in a bath of pork lard.

Re:Raise your hands

[ScrappyLaptop]

Actually, cremation is not just energy-wasteful, it is also resource wasteful. At least if you are composted (whoops, I mean "buried with reverence"), most of your physical matter has the potential to be reused, be it by bacteria, plants or worms. Sure, cremation could be solar powered (just pop the body up to the top of the tower of that solar furnace in New Mexico for a few minutes), but wouldn't it be cool if our cultural tradition was to drop the body in a hole and plant a tree? Cemetaries could become parks for happily remembering loved ones instead of the barren (except for manicured grass and big drab squares of stone), desolate, *business-efficient*, unhappy places they are now.

Re:Raise your hands

[popejeremy]

I agree. When I die, I want to be catapulted into a shark infested ocean or something else both spectacular and cheap. I have no desire to be a burden financially those I leave behind, and if they can get a cheap show out of it, all the better!

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

That kinda sucks for anyone years in the future who may want to study the body to see how you lived and what caused your death.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

Just had a weird flashback of playing online games and seeing corpses dissolve into thin air. How do they do it.... ;)

Re:Raise your hands

[Rie Beam]

Actually, the idea of a minimal-impact burial is alive and well. Fitting with the tradition, it's called a "green burial". Google isn't all that helpful at this point, but it's essentially being unembalmed, being thrown in a cardboard box and having a tree plotted over you as opposed to a traditional process. I'm not sure how popular it is now, but an article from about a year ago denotes a small, but growing, trend:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/artic le.html?in_article_id=389741&in_page_id=1879

Re:Raise your hands

[Desert Raven]

Now, just think about that.... $200 for a cardboard box.

I'm pretty sure I could find something that comes in a box that size that would cost under $200. And then I'd have whatever came IN the box too.

For under $40, you could build a box out of 3/4" plywood, marine-grade, not even the cheap stuff.

Even at its most cut-rate, the funeral business makes the mob look like upstanding citizens.

Re:Raise your hands

[Serzen]

I worked in a cemetery for two years, mostly as just a caretaker, mowing the grass, trimming around headstones, straightening the headstones that the riff-raff came and knocked down, things like that, but I did have to do a few burials, and it was a highly educational experience.

In New York, a body is required to be buried in a concrete "vault", which is nothing more than a box for the casket to go in. This is to prevent diseases from leeching out of the body and into the ground where they can infect the groundwater or the cemetery employees. I was told by my overseer that the law was enacted after a particularly rainy year in which a number of cemetery workers had contracted TB from standing in muddy pits digging graves next to plots where TB victims had been buried. How true it is, I don't know, but, as someone who has been in a pit, digging that hole, I was glad to know that the plots around me and uphill of me were all ones with vaults.

The rules for cremated remains don't require that the ashes be placed in a vault, and there are special rules for Jewish and Islamic burials, whose faiths require that the corpse be buried in contact with the soil, but I only got those in passing and never had to bury any Jews or Muslims, so I don't know the details.

Re:Raise your hands

[jeffasselin]

I made a "biological will" as we call these docs here in Canada 10 years ago (I was about 22). In it, I give my body to science after I'm done with it. How this works is that they can take out any good parts for transplants, studies, dissection, training, etc. After one year, anything left is cremated and the ashes given back to the family. I asked for my ashes to be dispersed in nature after. That way, my leftover body will have some good use instead of costing thousands of dollars to be disposed of.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

Firmly clutching the remote in one hand, right? :)

Re:Raise your hands

[bulliver]

How did you get them to stay there? Mine always dig themselves out.

You went too far. You were supposed to bury them in the Pet Semetary (sic), not the Micmac burial grounds...

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

This... http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiGLADBAG.html makes a lot of sense to me!

Send Me to Glory in a Glad Bag

(Don and Mim Carson and Steve Mason)

People tell me that I ought to save my money *
So that I could be laid away in style,
In a walnut box with all the fancy trimmin's
Vacuum sealed to keep me fresh a while.

cho. But Send me to Glory in a glad bag.
          Don't waste a fancy coffin on my bones.
          Just put me out on the curb next Tuesday
          Let the city sanitation bear me home.

I don't need a fancy funeral *
Flowers and tears and all that jive
When I'm dead that won't impress me
Just buy me a beer while I'm alive.

Re:Raise your hands

[Daengbo]

"Cemetaries [sic] could become vast areas of infectious disease for happily dying alongside loved ones instead of the barren (except for manicured grass and big drab squares of stone), desolate, *business-efficient*, unhappy places they are now."
Fixed that for you. ;)

Re:Raise your hands

[suv4x4]

That kinda sucks for anyone years in the future who may want to study the body to see how you lived and what caused your death.

We're in the 21-st century. He doesn't need to study your body to find how you lived, he just needs to Google your name.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

a small, but growing, trend

Can I make any money on it?

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

Umm.. This is because they (and probably you) are American.

Americans lose whatever critical facilities they ever had if 'Space' or 'Guns' or 'Dollars' are mentioned. They also believe that what they see on TV or from Hollywood is actually real. Don't laugh - how else do you explain current American foreign policy?

All that has happened to the remains (and what will happen to paying passengers in the near future) is that they go up in the air and come down again. Much like a see-saw, only higher. There is a justification for sounding rockets to do this, but it's pointless for anything else. Incidentally, if you had used a sounding rocket, you could have been doing this easily and cheaply since the late 1960s.

If you ever thought this was anything different, you are part of the problem. Learn to use your mind critically. Then maybe you will start to appreciate civilisations rather than tearing them apart.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

And the article title is misleading "Why dad's eco-funeral went horribly wrong". Well, what is exactly their grief ? They bury it in the ground to be recycled and they complain not beeing able to remember the exact place ? It is weird on quite a number of levels.

Furthermore, I saw standard funerals going wrong, and it is not really pretty either (for instance, 200 person to the funeral of an old lady of my family, that died 45 years after her husband, and had her place reserved next to him. She basically spent several years planning her funeral. Unfortunately, coffin size changed over the years and they discover during the ceremony that they could not get the coffin in the grave without putting it vertically. I can't really render it with words, but it definitely could be a scene in a Zoolander-like movie. And I won't describe one case, in my wife's family, in a winter burial, where one guy carrying the coffin slipped near the top of ice covered street. The coffin made a 200 meters glide, and fortunately didn't broke in pieces)

So, yeah, green burial are a good idea, even if my family have no idea of where my body is. Or dumping my body in the sea, would be ok too. Or just burn me and let my friend snort the ashes...

Re:Raise your hands

[blind biker]

In many ways I agree. But then, cemeteries are the only places where they won't build highways or office complexes. As small as they are, they are patches of more-or-less protected land with a little bit of green.

Re:Raise your hands

[name*censored*]

>>Just had a weird flashback of playing online games and seeing corpses dissolve into thin air. How do they do it.... ;)

Ah, nuts to THAT! Iwant to know how they manage to RESPAWN.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

It's funny because it's true!

Re:Raise your hands

[stanmann]

It has to be certified by the state health department for storage and transport of human remains. doing that as a one off today will cost you rather more than your materials. and yes, for $40 of materials, but how much time, and how much does that time cost on a commercial scale.

Re:Raise your hands

[apparently]

"drop my naked nutrient-rich matter into a vertical hole and plant a tree." Well, the safer way would be something like Capsula Mundi:

Capsula Mundi is a design for a biodegradable coffin made from starch plastic that holds the deceased in a fetal position... Capsula Mundi is planted in the earth like a seed. Above it, to signal the presence of occupied space, is a shallow concave circle dug out of the ground. In the center of which, a tree is planted, the essence of it chosen in life by the dead one, the care of this tree is the responsibility of everyone. The aim is ecological burial, literally a more natural way to decay.

Re:Raise your hands

[ultraexactzz]

Family cemeteries are fine in Ohio, so long as the decedent has a familiar relation to whomever is already buried in the cemetery, and so long as the owner does not receive any monetary compensation.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anne_Nonymous]

>> ...thrown in a cardboard box and having a tree plotted over you...

When the tree reaches maturity, it is choped into a few cords of firewood, which are then shot into space.

Re:Raise your hands

[nobuddy]

My will says "Give away any parts anyone wants, burn the rest."

Re:Raise your hands

[smellsofbikes]

To the best of my knowledge, in many states, it is required that you buy a casket, and in most states it is required that you buy *some* sort of container, even if it's just a little cardboard box like an ice-cream container for the ashes. Luckily, those are cheap, comparatively, like $20 or so. My dad's ashes are still sitting in that little box, 6 years later, on my mom's clothesdryer. (Not a real sentimental family, but boy we have procrastination down to a science.)

And if he were still around, he'd be pissed, coz he always said he wanted to be composted.

It *is* legal to bury a human body on your property, although it's very difficult -- easier if there's any evidence there was a pre-existing graveyard there already -- but there are requirements for depth and containment that make nutrient-recovery difficult.

I personally plan on chugging a quart of nitroglycerine and jumping off a building (if my heart lasts long enough to get to the edge.)

Re:Raise your hands

[josecanuc]

And funeral directors all over the U.S. almost universally claim that "state law" in whatever state they are in requires a burial vault into which the casket is placed.

Unfortunately, in most states, this is a lie. Some cities may have such requirements, but few states have burial vault requirements. Nevertheless, grieving family members are told all kinds of false regulations that cost money.

The funeral/burial industry preys on emotions and milks families out of huge amounts of money (thousands of dollars) for unnecessary funeral products or services.

Best bet, if you're going to go for the whole funeral/casket/burial thing is to pre-plan (but don't pre-pay!) your funeral services before you die. That way, you can pick out the low-cost items that you want to buy rather than have a highly emotional spouse or sibling pick "only the very best" for what is now a lump of organic material and water.

Re:Raise your hands

[Serzen]

While I'm not going to try to deny that there are shifty funeral directors, my comments were based on first hand experience as the guy who puts the body in the hole. There are regulations that the cemetery has to follow to be allowed to operate. I was a cemetery employee, paid by the local government, and never once received a dime from any funeral home--even when the funeral director failed to bring pall bearers and we were asked to carry a casket, the cheap bastard never even offered to give us a tip.

Where I worked, and in all the cemeteries I've been in, it's the job of the "gravediggers" to stay out of the way and not get involved in any capacity with the services. The funeral home is supposed to supply all materials for the burial, in accordance with local regulations; the only thing we provided was the digging, filling and mowing, also the cement footer for the headstone to be placed on was provided by the cemetery.

Re:Raise your hands

[raddan]

Hellooooo... katra? Not everyone thinks ahead enough to dump their brains into Dr. McCoy for safekeeping. Sometimes you just gotta have a body.

Re:Raise your hands

[mcb]

You might be interested in green burials.

Re:Raise your hands

[Anonymous Coward]

At any rate, today, at least here in California, burying someone on private land, irrespective of whether you own one acre of land or 1000 acres, was made illegal sometime in the 1920s (?).

And these are the kinds of laws (like drug, gambling and prostitution laws) that only complete fucking idiots pay any attention to.

If a loved family member wants to be buried on their own land, the human being hasnt been born who can say "No, youre not allowed".

Re:Raise your hands

[gotem]

Now honey, here's the ring from my ex-wife, literarily , would you marry me?

Re:Raise your hands

[CharlieG]

I'm going through this right now - but in a very different way. Mom is dieing - we know it, SHE knows it. She called in a family friend who USED to own a funeral parlor - and still has connections, and said "I want to be cremated, after a 2 night wake" She planned it out totally, except for chosing her casket because she is not well enough to go see them - she gave me what the budget was (cheap) and said "spend no more than X" One of the local churches (mom isn't a big church goer) will bury your ashes in the rose garden. That church happens to be where the local AARP meets, so it's pretty much the closest thing to a church she regularly goes to

So, basically, instead of leaving the burden on me (dad has dementia, so..), she planned the who thing out - right down to what she wants in her death notice

I'm glad I'll probably have this Mother's day with her (didn't expect to) and if she makes it to her birthday at the end of the month without suffering, that'll be a bonus

Re:Raise your hands

[Chyeld]

When I still had enough free time to play games online in a semi-competitive manner, I used to joke when I died:

Everytime I die, I ask myself,"What would Jesus do?"
Then I respawn.

Re:Raise your hands

[elsilver]

When I finally get around to writing my Will, it'll include something to the effect: "If my pattern of mind is beyond repair, drop my naked nutrient-rich matter into a vertical hole and plant a tree..."

Not to put too much of a damper on your plans, but your Will won't make it through all the necessary bureaucracies for several months after your death -- much too late for it to contain any useful instructions on your disposal.

I'd suggest a sticky-note on your monitor instead.

E.

Re:Raise your hands

[catbutt]

I think the question was directed at those spending the money.

Sad :(

[Goalie_Ca]

Scotty always wore a red shirt :(

Re:Sad :(

[DumbSwede]

In the game of life we are ALL wearing red shirts

Re:Sad :(

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not. I'm not wearing a shirt. Or pants.

Re:Sad :(

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a nudist, you insensitive clod!

(hmm... waiting, waiting, waiting.. Lameness filters always seem to take the thrill of spontaneity away.)

Re:Sad :(

[endlessoul]

Damn, man. That was deep.

I mean +10 Insightful deeeep.

Re:Sad :(

[that this is not und]

There is no weird spooky symbolism in the people in landing parties who wear red shirts being the ones most often to die.

The red shirt signifies someone from the security department. They go along on landing parties to provide security and are logically the most likely to be killed.

Scotty was a different case, he was a high staff officer, and probably wore whatever he wanted.

Before anybody flames me for being a trekkie, please note that I am commenting about the real Star Trek program, not the derivative junk, which I find irrelevant. I only remember watching one Star Trek episode in real life in an original broadcast, because I wasn't that old at the time.

Re:Sad :(

[Panzergheist]

I always thought of mine as a darker shade of fuchsia, really.

clear throat, cue theremin

[circletimessquare]

Rural New Mexico, the final frontier. These are the remains of James Doohan. Its five-minute mission: to explore cactus and scrub mesas; to not burn up and burst its canister; to boldly go where no cremated remains have gone before.

oooooo waaaahhh, wah wah wah wah wah....

Re:clear throat, cue theremin

[Anonymous Coward]

oooooo waaaahhh, wah wah wah wah wah
oooooo waaaahhh, wah wah wah wah waaaaahhh (ooo wah wah wah ooo waah waah)
oooooo, wah wah wah wah wah wah, oooo, waaaaah waaaaah
ooo wah wah wah wah waaaaaaaaaaaah

Re:clear throat, cue theremin

[Anonymous Coward]

Please post this with a Creative Commons License. I sooooooooo want to use it.

Re:clear throat, cue theremin

[Anonymous Coward]

You left out the whooshing...

Re:clear throat, cue theremin

[dotgain]

Whoosh!

Sent into space?

[Anonymous Coward]

Man, if I was, like, "Send my ashes into space when I die" and they were like, "OK, we can send you in a suborbital trajectory", I'd be all like, "Fuck that bitches, I said SPACE".

Re:Sent into space?

[Duggeek]

werd.

Somewhere,

[greenguy]

James Doohan is having a good chuckle. And then rolling his eyes.

Re:Somewhere,

[MorpheousMarty]

You were lucky to have a LAKE! There were a hundred and fifty of us living in shoebox in middle of the road.

Not again,

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the second time he's put himself into a transporter loop waiting for rescue.
Clevernickname better get off his blog and go get him.

Re:Not again,

[ICA]

If only I had moderator points, that is one of the best comments I have read in a long time.

Damn it Jim!

[nihilistcanada]

I am a doctor not an orbital scientist!

His Last Words

[Hoi Polloi]

"Yah c'nt bury me, yoo got na ashes!"

Wow, they weren't retarded.

[Actually, I do RTFA]

They did use a tracking becon. As far as they can tell, it is still working, to a couple km (diameter) circle. Unfortunately it landed in mountainous terrain, and "go[ing] towards the signal" is a physical impossiblity. (Okay, not impossible, but quite difficult). Also, the terrain is messing with the signals.

Next week (no hurry I suppose), the manufacturers of the tracking device are bringing more sensitive equipment and more experienced searchers to search for it.

Re:Wow, they weren't retarded.

[rbanffy]

Mental note: Always use a GPS beacon. This way we know where it is all the time.

Re:Wow, they weren't retarded.

[Panzergheist]

Maybe I should volunteer to help in the search. I know this place like the back of my

Re:Wow, they weren't retarded.

[NeoManyon]

Next week (no hurry I suppose), the manufacturers of the tracking device are bringing more sensitive equipment and more experienced searchers to search for it. Yes it is only the experienced searcher that can walk around and properly say "Nope, not here..."

Re:Wow, they weren't retarded.

[bill_mcgonigle]

Good point - cheaper than a big search party, I'd guess. Unless the rocket landed in a desert where they could just walk over and pick it up. Anyway, your design is better for the worst case. Sorry, no mod points today.

Re:Wow, they weren't retarded.

[mkatrina]

Actually, let me give you the rest of the story (sorry Paul) I'm actually a big supporter of space commercialization but I'm very concerned about Rick Homans (Bill Richardson's appointment) being in the leadership position for the spaceport. He isn't technical but he is 100% political. Why does that matter? My friends at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) tell me that Jerry Larson, President of UP Aerospace, had developed an impressive flight profile for the launch on April 28th with a good landing point. Jerry had built into this launch a good amount of margin just in case the rocket went off course. The WSMR guys tell me they were very satisfied with the plans. So what happens? At the last minute, Rick Homans decides that there isn't enough error margin and forces UP Aerospace to move their landing point 5 miles west. Jerry resists and is told to either move it or don't launch. The result is a rocket flight that goes exactly according to Jerry's plan but because Rick forced them to move the landing point it ends up in the mountains. As of today they still haven't recovered the payload. That is not a success even thought Rick is telling everybody it was a great success. If you are supposed to launch and recover stuff as part of your commercial operation then a failure to recover is a failure. Rick was interviewed by Kevin Robinson of the NM Biz Weekly and he admitted to moving the landing point but said "Safety is number one." I'm so tired of hearing that from politicians that want to hide their timidity and cowardice. Space flight is hard and it's dangerous but so is flying through the air. Rick now has a safe flight under his belt and all of the people who paid money to fly to space have got nothing to show for it but less money in their pocket - good job Rick. That's good for business??? You might think that the spaceport would be trying to make it up by helping UP find the payload - wrong. My friends at WSMR tell me that Jerry has been searching by himself with help from WSMR but nothing from the spaceport. Once again a great move to encourage business on the part of the state. Here is the big question: What if Jerry is unable to find the payload? Do you agree that Rick Homans should commit to finding the payload even if it takes a couple of months? Or, should he just leave the remains in the mountains? Keep in mind, it is Rick's fault that they are lost in the first place. Finally, a related point. Is the focus of the spaceport just on investing to build a playground for the rich. Originally I didn't think so but based on their "lack" of support for small companies like UP Aerospace, it seems that the state, in particular Rick and the Gov, are focused on ensuring that nothing jeopardizes the space port for Virgin Galactic and Sir Richard. The poor guys at UP have invested everything they have to get their company going (credit cards, 2nd and 3rd mortgages) and they are at best tolerated by the spaceport. I think if you look at the numbers, UP has invested more in the state than Virgin Galactic has. How ironic!

Searching in the wrong place...

[ChangeOnInstall]

Has anyone checked ebay yet?

Summary is incorrect

[treeves]

Nitpick: TFA says they didn't get into space. TFS says "remains of 200 people were lost in the mountains after their trip to space."

Re:Summary is incorrect

[Doppleganger]

TFA says, in its summary, "Cremated Remains of 200 Lost in Mountains After Trip to Space".

TFA also says "the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket and its payload nosed into space on a suborbital trajectory"

Where does it say they didn't get into space?

Re:Summary is incorrect

[Sabaki]

Hmm. The article I read says it did get into space:

After a successful blastoff from New Mexico's Spaceport America on April 28th, the UP Aerospace SpaceLoft XL rocket and its payload nosed into space on a suborbital trajectory. As part of launch operations, the rocket was tracked by specialists at the neighboring White Sands Missile Range.

Re:Summary is incorrect

[Jarjarthejedi]

I think he's classifying space as orbital and beyond, not suborbital.

Genesis

[Expertus]

Looks like they missed the the planet Genesis by quite a bit.

Re:Genesis

[Anonymous Coward]

"Looks like they missed the the planet Genesis by quite a bit."

Either that or there's a man-made cave in New Mexico that no one knows about

as lame as it sounds?

[hurfy]

"...location of the rocket hardware is known within some 1,300 feet (400 meters) or so. But given the dense vegetation on the side of the mountain being searched, along with equipment available to the search team, pinpointing the exact locale has proven a tough assignment.

Yet another trip up on the mountain is slated next week, Larson said.

Joining the search this time is the manufacturer of the transmitters onboard the rocket gear."

Excuse me....transmitters and parachutes and known within 1300 feet and you couldn't find it?!? What is their idea of a transmitter..an RFID tag glued to a button battery? Or did they not think to include a matching receiver in the recovery team?!!?

Good aim tho to hit the only vegatation in New Mexico ;p

Re:as lame as it sounds?

[peragrin]

Did you miss the part about it being on the side of a mountain? how about the part where the radio signals are bouncing around the canyon walls creating echo's and false readings?
When was the last time you climbed a mountian? searching them isn't always a walk in the park in your tennis shoes.

Heck you didn't even have to RFTA just the comments to learn that much. Slashdot is definitely going down hill.

Re:as lame as it sounds?

[Anonymous Coward]

Excuse me....transmitters and parachutes and known within 1300 feet and you couldn't find it?!?

Finding a wreck in the wilderness is hard. Note that a circle with a 1300ft radius is about half a mile on a side, and covers about 120 acres. It's tough to find a relatively small bunch of equipment in the middle of all that.

About ten years ago a business jet crashed into the woods near their destination airport in New Hampshire while landing. Despite a concerted effort by rescue crews to find the wreck in order to rescue the people on board and the fact that the aircraft was being tracked on radar right up to the accident and it crashed at a fairly well known location about 20 miles from the airport, the wreck of the jet was not found for almost three years.

Breaking news...

[fireman sam]

The ship has been found, but unfortunately everyone on board have been confirmed dead. :(

Re:Breaking news...

[fireman sam]

Insightful? WTF are the slashdot mods been smoking?

Re:Breaking news...

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe that he is implying that it doesn't matter that their remains are lost, as they are already dead. I as much as anybody else respected "Scotty" and some others who were flown up but it's not like their ashes will do them or us any good.

Re:Breaking news...

[that this is not und]

You are incorrect. This is a bizarro-world instance.

The ship has NOT been found, but everyone on board has been confirmed dead.

Re:Breaking news...

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you, for the best fucking laugh I've had in a LONG time. LOL

Too much shore leave again...

[mdsolar]

He'll get recovered.

Maybe Will Robinson

[www.sorehands.com]

Maybe Will Robinson will find Scotty.

It was bound to happen

[Anonymous Coward]

She can't take any more, Captain!

Obligatory Bones Quote:

[rts008]

He's dead, Jim!

No big surprise

[Waffle Iron]

The capsule probably just encountered a rift in spacetime and ended up landing somewhere like ancient Rome or 1920s Chicago. As I understand it, this kind of thing happens all the time to space vehicles. They probably shouldn't waste too much effort looking for it in the present.

Sounds like a good chance...

[jpellino]

We have a payload in that thing. The email we got made it sound like they have a pretty good chance of getting it. The black paint looks cool, but it also looks like a shadow.

Send in the red shirts!

[WheelDweller]

In these crazy days, doesn't it seem like there's a lawyer somewhere just WAITING for the first time a journalist writes the headline, "Lost in Space" so they can get copyright infringement?

Maybe I'm too cynical. :>

Seriously though; "Scotty" was a huge hero even before Star Trek. One of his previous roles was on June 6th, 1944: he was one of them attacking Fortress Europa. His efforts, and the efforts of thousands of other guys wasting their childhood fighting Nazi Germany is why we're free. Why the show could air; why the benefits of freedom are so available. I liked'em before, but upon learning that, I'm his biggest fan.

My dad came behind the push at Anzio, he got a late start. Dad is why I know this was such a huge accomplishment. Thanks so much, "Scotty".

Re:Send in the red shirts!

[Torvaun]

"...wasting their childhood fighting Nazi Germany..."

What the hell, man? I know all war is supposed to be bad these days, but I had a grandfather who fought Nazi Germany. My other grandfather was in the Pacific. Neither of them have ever stated that that wasn't the right place for them to be.

Wasting is the wrong word there.

Re:Send in the red shirts!

[WheelDweller]

True; "wasting" is the wrong term. Maybe I sould have said "sacrificing".

My intent was to convey that, for that generation, parties with the girls back home were trades for battles with some real, hard troops...and women they night never see again. They had to grow up very, very quickly. If they grew up at all.

Their sacrifice was huge; and in this propganda war, it's refreshing to be called on such a typo!

Thanks for improving my day!

damn!

[networkzombie]

It's a good thing he was already dead. On a more serious note, I totally knew this would happen.

anywhere near ...?

[dltaylor]

Maybe, while they're looking, they'll find Bender's head.

Of course, they'll have to rebury it to prevent changing the timeline.

Re:anywhere near ...?

[Thuktun]

Of course, they'll have to rebury it to prevent changing the timeline. "Ooh, a lesson in not changing history from Mister I'm My Own Grandpa! Let's get the hell out of here already! Screw history!"

Not exactly

[kahrytan]

  They should launched Doohan and Cooper into deep space. They deserve better then to be shoved back to this stinkin planet.

They'll be found eventually..

[sprior]

On Ebay...

she's breaking up!!

[einnar2000]

After all those years of saying things like "she's breaking up cap'n, she can't take much more of this", it was bound to eventually happen. The engineer had to pass away before his ship even had a chance of malfunctioning like this, after all. ;)

Someone failed grade 5 math

[Rix]

Take directional measurements at two points. See where they cross.

Re:Someone failed grade 5 math

[afaik_ianal]

... and somebody failed physics.

If they followed your suggestion, they probably wouldn't find it. The signals in mountainous terrain bounce all over the place.

Even if it were that simple to locate, you've still got to get in there to pick it up.

Re:Someone failed grade 5 math

[fistynuts]

Taking measurements at two points to find something is surely why they call it triangulation.

Re:Someone failed grade 5 math

[Anonymous Coward]

To solve this problem you must use direction finder systems that actually measure the phase of the signal and the delay between waves. The signal that comes first (read first as fractions of microseconds before) is the one that went through less (or zero) reflections. These receiver stations usually have an antenna array forming a circle, and only one station can find the rough direction where a signal is coming from. You don't need multiple stations because the software can find the direction by measuring the signal delay among all antennas and drawing a line between the antenna with the lowest delay and the one with the highest, the first being the direction where the signal comes from.

This is very expensive stuff, but governments have them and use them everyday to monitor for airwaves use/abuse; if you have good connections maybe they can help.

Re:Someone failed grade 5 math

[Floritard]

Ironic that the remains of the transporter chief lie in an area so inaccessible. A solid advocate for beam technology even from beyond the grave!

He's not really dead

[Rix]

He just stored himself in the transporter buffer.

Re:He's not really dead

[Kiuas]

It's worse than that, he's dead Jim!

Scotty, Wherefor Art Thou?

[A3gis]

http://www.legalwarfare.com/comics/lostScotty.jpg

what?

[Anonymous Coward]

Gordon Cooper died?

Old age, I assume?

Crap I feel old. These were heroes when I was growing up in the late '60 well into the '70s... The whole space race was still a recent thing. Like the Beat... Oh, I really, really feel old now.

I wonder how many other 'doters feel this way right now.

but ...

[freaker_TuC]

not as we know it !

Looks like he's...

[ICantHearYourMusicAn]

...gone where no man has gone before. (But they're trying to fix that too)

proprietary crap must be the problem ..

[freaker_TuC]

must be because of darn gps problems, the federation had better launching and tracking technology...
that will teach them to use proprietary crap!

Re:Obvious Umm.. ."Where No...

[davidsyes]

Man Has Gone Before"...

Scotty: Beige-ish shirt.

IIRC, he also was in beige in the episode with Captain Pike...., in the "flash-backs"

Oh no!

[Airconditioning]

Welshy!! :(

The slashdot community continues to fail to read

[Braedley]

Nowhere in the article does it say anything about the cremated remains falling back to Earth. I think Space.com just got it wrong. The article says that they can't find the rocket components, presumably for the experiments that were on board. In fact, I doubt that the mission would have been a success if the ashes returned to Earth, seeing as how it's assumed that when you say you want to be burried in space, your remains actually stay there for a decent amount of time.

Star Trek XI?

[cashman73]

Star Trek XI: The Search for Scotty?

Shhhhhh! Don't Berman & Braga them any ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Better than the alternative

[steveha]

I'm glad they are lost on Earth rather than being lost in space; the irony would have been terrible.

steveha

This is too beautiful a setup...

[chris_eineke]

In Soviet Russia, Red Shirts wear (were) you!

Re:This is too beautiful a setup...

[Anonymous Coward]

My cousin in London is a werewolf...
and he wears a shirt...
you incensitive slod!

Good thing it didn't land on the Mexico border

[maniac/dev/null]

Good thing it didn't land on the Mexico border, otherwise it'd be hell deciding where to bury the survivors.

I told you so!

[purpleraison]

I rub it in, but I predicted this when it was originally posted that they were doing this. Read my post here --> http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=232687 &cid=18920769

What else are you supposed to love

[msimm]

after their gone...not like that. Never mind.

Wherefore != Where

[necro2607]

OK. The word "wherefore" is equivalent to "why", not "where plus some old shakespeare stuff". Read this article for a quick explanation, or see here for a dictionary definition.

Re:Wherefore != Where

[A3gis]

Damn, had that wrong for years then! Cheers!

Re:Wherefore != Where

[Anonymous Coward]

Wherefore didst thou never think to open a dictionary, before thou didst essay the use of a word that was so foreign to thy modern speech?

Makes you understand

[caffiend666]

Makes you understand why William Shatner refused a free flight on the maiden voyage of a Space Ship Two :) These guys jinxed themselves...

mulching

[cathector]

in some countries there's also the option of being mulched, which makes a lot of sense to me. fwiw, i had a brief email exchange a couple years ago w/ Susanne, mulching's Swedish flag-bearer, bemoaning the unavailability of mulching in the U.S., and she was very nice.

Touch of the bubbly, Scotty?

[ChrTssu]

Given that they touched down in New Mexico, I think a glass of Gruet in their names is in order. To going boldly, friends.

Re:Touch of the bubbly, Scotty?

[jbeaupre]

Nice! Someone else who actually knows about Gruet. I like buying the stuff because it's from my home turf and cheap for the level of quality. Plus I get a kick asking the staff at the wine store about it and watching them get excited.

hurm

[arse maker]

Well after the obligatory jokes.. It's a bit sad to think of someone's final resting place being lost then being the source of jokes. It seems fitting if he could have been shot off into space. The whole v'ger idea of floating space until something or other happens is pretty appealing. Especially if you reject modern religion and think of the universe in a more physics orientated sense, it's the only way you can really hope to live on beyond your life. Anyhow, that's all my sentimentality for the year :)

Re:hurm

[Anonymous Coward]

Especially if you reject modern religion and think of the universe in a more physics orientated sense, it's the only way you can really hope to live on beyond your life.

The only problem with living on beyond your life this way is YOU'RE DEAD ALREADY!!!! You aren't living beyond your life. That has no basis in physics whatsoever! And even if you reject modern religion, surely you understand that death has nothing to do with how long your remains exist. If that was the case, I suppose King Tut is still alive and kicking, eh?

Re:hurm

[rholland356]

It's not like it was his entire remains. They shot up only a fraction of his ashes. I'm certain there is plenty oof Mr. Doohan left to spread around...

Think of the Environment!!

[dazlari]

That's just crazy. Here I was thinking he would be polluting space, crashing in to the ISS in 30years or so.

Why o' why didn't they just fire him into the side of a nearby Mountain - it'd have saved on the Rocket fuel and thereby made a smaller environmental ... impact. :o/

Quick! Check Vasquez Rocks!

[Chas]

Damn Gorn!

Or was it the crazy dude from the antimatter universe with the space ship?

Maybe it was those two ditzy rocker dudes in the telephone booth...

Re:FUCK YOU SLASHDOT

[Anonymous Coward]

I gotta change my Threshold, I canna take it any more Capn'

Appropriate?

[Anonymous Coward]

Only if they were wearing red shirts

Scotty has the last laugh!

[farrellj]

"Landing party lost to..."

- Unknown Alien Fungus
- Hostile Natives
- Salt Vampire
- Spoon faced aliens
- Bad TV ratings

There are logical reason to this

[aepervius]

Firstly, as far as I remmember you are not buried *foreever* in a cemetary, after a while (50 years?) you are remain get taken care of. Somebody in the caretaker industry stops me if I am wrong.

Secondly imagine if people would get buried everywhere at the will of their family or their own will. Very quickly you would not be able to dig somewhere without finding half rotten remains, with all the infection danger that they represents. This would be a health catastrophe. So NO the reason you can't burry people whereever you want is not an industry lobby reason, actually most law on burrial I know of are from the 19th century and early 20th, and predate caretaker industry lobbying.

Re:There are logical reason to this

[laron]

I think one could combine the "graveyard" and "plant a tree" ideas. Imagine a traditional graveyard (maybe a bit spacier) with a young oak tree on every grave. After 100 years or so, you cut down the tree, digg out the roots and have a new hole right there for the next burial.
And you would never lack wood for coffins.

Re:There are logical reason to this

[khallow]

I doubt health problems would be an issue unless the person died of a communicable disease like cholera or polio. Of course, in the 19th and early 20th Century, that would have been a serious problem. OTOH, given the laws against desecration of human remains, being able to bury human remains just anywhere would be a huge obstacle to construction.

Re:There are logical reason to this

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be quite a bit spacier.

A grown tree would probably require at least 10x10m2 area (give or take a factor of 2 depending on type of tree)

Re:There are logical reason to this

[NotmyNick]

Firstly, as far as I remmember you are not buried *foreever* in a cemetary, after a while (50 years?) you are remain get taken care of.

Well, yeah. That's the way it works in Germany and Austria, but here in the U.S. we've got lots of land. Other countries have different traditions. Traditions, and their associated mythologies, are often rationalized to available resources.

Possibly

[Rix]

But that's solvable simply by gathering more data points. It will converge on the location.

I imagine the problem isn't so much getting to it's location, as finding a path to it. Simply heading in a straight line for an unknown distance isn't feasible.

Re:Possibly

[Anonymous Coward]

Furthermore, by pretending having troubles to find it, they generate ton of publicity. I mean, they probably wouldn't find it if it landed right under their desk. In a few days, they'll make headlines by having found the ashes.

Re:Possibly

[ArsenneLupin]

In a few days, they'll make headlines by having found the ashes. ... if the Krikkit robots don't beat them to the punch, that is.

I guess fate finally caught up with him.

[Anonymous Coward]

Being a red shirt on almost every episode without getting killed is tempting fate quite a bit.

Not the Genesis project

[Rix]

Transparent aluminium.

That's not the real reason

[Rix]

It's to keep them in the ground when the zombie apocalypse comes.

He's dead Jim!

[Madman]

All the water in his body is gone!

Scotty isn't lost...

[NeuroManson]

He just "went home".

No intelligent life out here

[voislav98]

I guess a rant about the quality of engineers today is in order. Scotty could still teach them quite a bit about those impulse engines: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relics_(TNG_Episode)

Lost in the Mountains....

[thewiz]

Instead of Lost In Space.

Whoda thunk it?

She's got a PATENT on it!

[Anonymous Coward]

No wonder she bemoans the availability of mulching in the US.... she has a *patent* on it in 35 countries!! Don't believe me? Read http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425822/614084, one of the articles your google search turned up.

Imagine having a patent on burial or cremation. I'd bemoan whole countries not owing me royalties too!

That's what you get ...

[eck011219]

... for being in a landing party with a Star Trek red shirt guy. They always lose those guys.

It'll take them 48 hours to find the remains...

[Maltheus]

...but since they don't have 48 hours, they'll do it in 12.

How did he book the flight?

[jmcwork]

If only he had used Priceline.com he would not have had these troubles. (It pays to have friends in the right places!)

If it was a test flight ...

[shmigget]

The article says the rocket was meant to reach suborbital flight and return and had no problems, so apparently this was a test flight, but if that's the case they why was it carrying real cargo instead of a test cargo? I mean, imagine if the rocket had exploded a few miles up, or had crashed in the ocean.

Patience, Grasshopper

[bill_mcgonigle]

I mean, in the beginning I thought the ashes of those people will be dispersed in space, which was very strong as a symbol and a ceremony, of sorts.

Ah, that's just for the impatient. Scatter their ashes on the Earth and wait for our Sun to go nova - same result, longer latency, less fuel.

Send Away Team

[iridium_ionizer]

This whole thing smacks of Star Trek III. I am sure that once we locate his remains we will find that he has been brought back to life by the Genesis project.

I'm confused

[default luser]

Were they supposed to bring the ashes down with the rocket? I thought the whole purpose of this flight was to take the ashes up into space and scatter them.

Bring the ashes BACK? Sounds kinda bass-ackwards to me.

Captain Kirk is screaming...

[alshithead]

Scotty, beam yourself up before it's too late!!!