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ISS's Node 3 Might Be Named "Colbert"
Panzor writes "NASA is running a contest to name the new addition to the space station, Node 3. The polls are open until March 20. The selection that is getting the most votes is 'Suggest your own,' and the leading name besides the official four (Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity, and Venture) is 'Colbert.' Comedian Stephen Colbert suggested on the air that fans write in his name. On March 5th, his vote count passed that of Xenu and Colbert pronounced himself Scientology's 'Galactic Overlord.'"
Technically, being in space and all, it should be named Alpha Squad 7.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
He asked for it Tuesday night, the next day it was so.
Colbert cannot be stopped...EVER!
I don't know where people are getting the number of votes from. I see "Colbert" is leading the User Suggestions, but I don't see a vote count anywhere. I see "Serenity" has 85% of the regular votes, but it doesn't say anywhere whether it has more or less votes than Colbert does.
I have no doubt that Colbert can and will (or has!) overtaken everything else, but where are people seeing actual results here?
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is kinky.
They should name it the Coulter, since the Node 3 recycles and feeds off of it's own waste products.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
Principal Skinner: All students please proceed immediately to an assembly in the Butthead Memorial Auditorium.
Principal Skinner (to himself): Dammit, I wish we hadn't let the students name that one.
I don't suppose anyone takes these kinds of things seriously anymore... a LITTLE pride maybe? Funny, yeah. A good idea? Sorry, I don't think so.
Why? Colbert gets to have a module named after him and NASA gets more free publicity then they could ever muster up on their own.
It's win win.
In fact, the contest rules state that the poll is not binding and they'll choose whatever name they like.
Sucks, really.
How is this a bad idea, and how does it show a lack of pride.
Essentially, the entire process was created to generate media attention, otherwise the module would be given a sterile name, or just a number. In an age where NASA seems positively boring they must actively compete with reality TV and myspace/facebook for the attention of the public.
I would be all for naming the module "FUCK" if it would make the public more interested in our space program; and I think Colbert encouraging the public to participate in an entertaining way can do nothing but good things for NASA. It helps make space fun again.
Most societies have used entertainment to help keep important issues in the public interest. Even Rome had it's gladiators to help remind it's citizens that the country was still at war, without them the citizens would have lost interest and stopped backing the expansion.
Seriously? Yes, and why should we be so serious all the time... let history reflect that our generation was both highly productive and capable of good spirited fun.
Sometimes the best solution is to stop wasting time looking for an easy solution.
These Colbert naming games are funny, until they happen to you.
Now I have to redo all my stationery...
No it won't. One of the rules of naming such semi-permanent structures is that they're not often named after living people. Colbert is amusing now (though I find him annoying, to be truthful) but what happens if in 5 years he runs over a group of children in a drunk driving incident? Do you really want a NASA module named after that? Is that going to be funny?
There are exceptions, but they're fairly rare and usually involve someone who either: a) invented the thing (Colt revolvers or Ferris Wheels), or; b) donated a tonne of money (anybody remember Enron stadium, or the Ken Lay Chair in Economics at Methodist University?)
Xenu is too religious, and a government agency wouldn't name anything after Scientology.
That's why NASA's suggestions are more benign, and why one of them will likely be chosen.
Besides, the subtlety of the shout-out to the Big Damn Heroes is awesome and not overt enough to eliminate the name.
Skot Nelson music is my saviour / i was maimed by rock and roll
Eh, that makes sense for an online poll with write-in. It discourages 4chan et all coming along and flooding the poll suggesting the node should be named something along the lines of "NIGGER COCKS OLOLOL".
The actual *chan hive-mind selection for this contest is "Battletoad"
More Twoson than Cupertino
Now that I know that there a bunch of "liberals" pushing Colbert... I'm going to set out and build a script for my right buddies to get it named after one of America's greatest Presidents....
In fact, we should even introduce legislation to rename the WHOLE space stations...
The Richard Nixon Space Station.
Man, that WOULD be the most expensive troll in the history of the world.
This is my sig.