Slashdot Mirror
NASA To Announce Module Name On Colbert Show
olddotter noted that NASA's Facebook page says "NASA's newest module for the International Space Station will get a new name on April 14. The agency plans to make the announcement with the help of Expedition 14 and 15 astronaut Sunita 'Suni' Williams on Comedy Central's 'The Colbert Report.' The program will air at 11:30 p.m. EDT."
The USS Jon Stewart.
Ok, everybody. There was a lot of talk about the name of this module. We are on the Colbert Report tonight to talk about what name we picked after all the submissions. Tonight, we are glad to announce that the name will be, Jonathan Stewart!
Sig? No thanks. I don't smoke.
You'd assume this means they decided to name it after him...wanna bet?
If the toilet can be named the "crapper," the urine->water module can be named the "colbert" with no problem!
The program will air at 11:30 p.m. EDT. The name, which will not be publicly released until the program airs."
The paragraph, which will not make sense until this sentence is substantially revised.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
that the same person Colbert would vote for if he himself were not running.
Nullius in verba
The summary, which the editors did not read.
Is this some sort of crazy neo-yoda-speak? Am I missing out on a new meme? :(
Their may be a grammatical error, misspeling, or evn a typo in this post.
This is probably the first time in 10 years news about NASA has stuck in my mind. Sure some scientific stuff is interesting to read... sure I hear press releases and news tidbits, but those go in one ear out the other. This is the best "stick to your ribs" news (aka marketing) NASA has made with the post baby boomers.
No comprende? Let me type that a little slower for you...
Land toilet -> crapper, ship's toilet -> head, space toilet -> colbert
Let's start a campaign. From now on a space toilet shall be a "colbert".
Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
The real news was that this was announced on the NASA Facebook page. The medium is always the message - as Colbert's success demonstrates.
I know this is slashdot, but can we at least have complete sentences? Please?
The sentences, that won't be completed until slashdot gets pro editors.
Wow, you obviously didn't get much out of that tax funded public education, so I can see where your "ideals" come from. /burn karma burn/
My Babylon
So you can accidentally the whole sentence? You'd wish!
I know its been covered a lot elsewhere (scienceblogs.com) but I don't think it can be understated. Colbert Report is a great venue for science, a wonderful public face. He's had on lots of scientists, more than any show I can recall in a couple decades.
I don't recall the last fun show that had the host actually talking to an Astronaut in orbit.
So even if NASA goes with Serenity for the name, I'm glad they went onto Colbert to announce it.
Well. If there was a sentence before that, that included that same, it makes sense. But maybe it is some German thing, because in spoken German sentences like this are not that rare.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
You're right. I didn't want to be in school, however since we live in a "free"* country, government enforcers made me attend so tax-funded bureaucrats in my local school district would be able to keep their educational budgets intact even while making do such rudimentary things as coloring maps in a CP-level History Class or trying to learn German from the woman who'd been the Spanish teacher the year before. I found it was far more effective to pursue an education by exploring on my own, coupled with finding mentors who knew a great deal about certain subjects. Maybe that sounds elitist, but the same path is open to anyone with a little curiousity about the world. Crazy idea, I know, not wanting to use tax dollars taken from other people for my own benefit.
Wrong wrong, I'm using the 'Pro' version of slashdot.
In the Pro version, all grammar is corrected. There's also the political distortion field. There's a slider at the top of the page that lets me choose ConservativeLiberal.
By moving the slider everyone's comments are automatically refactored to reflect my beliefs. Go ahead, say something positive about B.O. I'll never see it!
It also merges duplicate stories, merging their comments.
And best yet, I NEVER have any missing poll options. It gives me a text field where I right in the correct answer, and then it's always the most popular.
This is great, you should get the pro version.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
I said it before, and I'll say it again:
The public's lack of interest in NASA has nothing to do with pop culture, it's that NASA isn't doing anything interesting anymore.
In the days of the space race, it was very exciting. The "us vs them" competition with the USSR, people doing things never done before, going to places nobody ever went before. And all that done by launching people with experimental hardware done on monumental scales.
Where is all that now? NASA keeps shuttling people between ground and space station, where they do amazing experiments, such as how spiders react to a lack of gravity. The hardware is still big and dangerous, but now if something goes wrong it's not because it's new unproven tech, but because the management at NASA is stupid. The Mars robots are about the most interesting thing being done these days, and even that isn't all that exiciting.
What's needed is not nonsense like Britney getting involved in the space program, but a space program that does something the public would be interested in. A colony on the moon, and astronauts on Mars would be a start. Sure it's dangerous and expensive, but it's also very much exciting, and the danger didn't stop anybody in the race of getting to the moon.
I think, judging by their chosen venue, the name they release will be obvious. To do otherwise would just be tacky.
"Yes, we'll get all the recognition we can from your show, but not scratch your back in kind."
Glad they went with it, as it was the winner. Aside from that, the name marks much more than anything like Serenity would.
Serenity shows the world what? There are a few scifi geeks in NASA? At most, maybe that they find inspiration in grand goals. Naming it Colbert, on the other hand, signifies a return to pop-culture significance. That the people are excited about space again. Or at the very least, naming it after Colbert will ensure that the module stays in the public eye as he continues his "status updates" (like he did for his baby eagle and a few other stunts). It would be a huge missed marketing opportunity NOT to name it after a television host who has supported science more than any other in recent history.
Of course, they already know this. That's why it's being revealed on his show.
I'd like to watch this show, but I don't have cable. It's very nice that they have full episodes available on Colbert Nation. However, is there any way to watch the show online Tuesday night? Does anyone know how long they wait before putting that night's show onto the web?
It is a complete sentence.
The name
which will not be publicly released until the program
airs.
The name airs.
The name will not be publicly released until the program.
They could have used an extra comma maybe, but it still makes sense.
(FUCK SLASHDOT "EDITORS"! THEY FAIL EVERY TIME!)
Bloody yanks! The proper term is crappiæ.
Good to see you agree! Fidel isn't some capitalist pig-dog like Obama. Amazing that this site is so full of people who agree!
Did you mention the cameo appearances by Sean Hannity and the Back Street Boys?
Wrong wrong, I'm using the 'Pro' version of slashdot. In the Pro version, all grammar is corrected...where I right in the correct answer
Ouch.
Well, you didn't get much of a sense of humor in your intellectual wanderings, did you?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Obviously you're not using the Pro version.
What?
Go ahead, say something positive about B.O. I'll never see it!
To be honest, I'd rather they did something about body odor instead of talking around it...
np: Denzel + Huhn - Kinogat (Time Is A Good Thing)
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
Serenity now! Serenity now! SERENITY NOW!
Hehe, I loved that episode. What is this "Firefly" you speak of? Was it on before or after Seinfeld?
Seeing that your posting this comment you obviously aren't using the pro version. I through in a little bad grammar to test who was pro and who's not. However, I will have to assume that's what you are commenting about, because pro corrected it for me automatically.
Thanks for playing.
Do not meddle in the affairs of sysadmins, for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Wrong, wrong. I'm using the 'Pro' version of Slashdot. In the Pro version, all grammar is corrected ... where I write in the correct answer
Ouch.
If there's an ouch there, those of us with the Pro version aren't seeing it.
NASA guy introduces Patrick Stewart who walks out in robes and a crown and says, "From this day forth, all the toilets in space shall be known as... Colberts!" Then he beams off the stage. They don't even have to name the module just all the toilets. I'd be happy even though I voted Colbert.
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
...his followers to name the module after one of the phrases flashed during the opening sequence of his show. I would have loved to see it named "Multigrain".
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
The name to be announced will be "Colbert's Serenity", as in being in the the state of "serenity" while sitting on the "Colbert".
If this shows up in tomorrow's episode, Colbert owes me $50,000 for my writer's fee.
Slashdot's rate-of-post filter: Preventing you from posting too many great ideas at once.
Actually, I think that announcing it on the show is an attempt at a graceful way to say "no."
Nope, product of a public education, I just value the access of everyone to a decent education for free if they want one. I think we can do better, but "libertarians" tend to be those who think they didn't get much from their eductaion (and usually didn't).
My Babylon
Note that "Enterprise" has a long history even outside of fiction. A USS Enterprize was one of the most famous ships of the wars against the Barbary Pirates, c. 1800. As far as I know, that's not the case for the name Serenity.
I wouldn't knock the word "Enterprise" as a cool name either. It's similar to "Endeavor," "Adventure," "Challenge" and related concepts of hurtling into danger. I think the word "Adventurer" originally referred not just to seafaring traders/explorers but to their financial backers as well, so even "Adventure" has a corporate-finance connotation. We just usually say "venture" instead.
Revive the Constitution.
Actually, I did want to know what the ants did in low gravity, but that shuttle blew up.
Is that it took all this time for NASA to figure out they should probably team up and help promote themselves through one of the most popular tv shows on earth once they had become a fixture on that show. It's almost like Colbert said to NASA, "Hey, guys. Here's a gift. Don't screw it up." It looks like they just may not, at that.
that will be named Bush or cheney. Always full of crap and fails a lot.
These mistakes would be less common if people would use parenthesis where they can be used.
It's unlikely that anyone would write:
The name (which will not be publicly released until the program airs).
Commas are often seen (and taught) as superior to parenthesis in style. I disagree. I've been pleased to find that some authors use parenthesis. I've noticed in particular that the Nobel price winner, Orhan Pamuk, used plenty of parenthesis in his book, "Istanbul".
You shouldn't bash the comma, there were a few places where it would have worked quite nicely in your post. Though I agree wholeheartedly that parentheses get left out in grammar classes (if you're lucky enough to get them) in the US education system.
"Educate the mind but never at the expense of the soul."~Blessed Basil Moreau
In the Pro version, all grammar is corrected. [...] It gives me a text field where I right in the correct answer
You should try the Platinum version, it even corrects syntax and makes your posts sound automatically both funny and insightful!
You just got troll'd!
And before anyone tells me I should have seen this mistake if I was using something as good as the Pro version, the Platinum version comes with an irony detector.
You just got troll'd!
Why can't we call it a Colbert on land too? "I'm heading to the Colbert to take a Colbert." "Man, my Colbert stinks! I shouldn't have had those tacos for lunch." One if by land, two if by Colbert.
For the record, I love the Colbert Report. Especially the one a week or so ago where he lambasted Glen Beck for making his career off of 9/11. Colbert and Stewart are amazing.
I don't know about the ants, but the worms survived
Sounds like you got your answer...
but now if something goes wrong it's not because it's new unproven tech, but because the management at NASA is stupid.
Proven tech? I guess, if your idea of "proven" is fewer flights in a product's lifetime than there are flights per day in the US.
It takes about 8 minutes for the shuttle to reach orbit. With 125 launches, that's less than 17 hours of real-world testing. Aside from single-launch vehicles, the shuttle probably has the *least* amount of "proven technology" of any product currently in use anywhere in the world.
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I'm not upgrading until the irony detector highlights all ironic posts by platinum members for non-platinum users - they're the ones I have the most trouble with... (and until they fix that bug where it keeps detecting Alanis Morissette irony.)
Whatever name is announced to the public, The engineers, mission controllers, and astronauts will call it "Node 3". That's what we have been calling it all through the design stage. For example, in this photo, you can see the hatch is labeled "To LAB", short for US Laboratory Module, not "Destiny".
http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photos/060707/060707_last-hatch_hmed_1p.hmedium.jpg
Transcript of NASA segment from the April 14th, 2009 Colbert show.
Colbert: As many of our watchers will recall, NASA recently had a contest allowing the public to vote for the new name for "Node 3", the newest module of the International Space Station. Thanks to you, my fans, the highest voted name was "Colbert". However, NASA reserves the right to select any name they choose, regardless of the results of the contest, leaving many wondering if my prestigious and time honored name will indeed grace the new module.
(laughter from audience)
Colbert: Tonight, we have a very special guest from NASA - a two time visitor to the International Space Station - here to officially announce the selected name. Please offer a warm welcome for Astronaut Sunita Williams!
(audience cheers) Sunita walks on stage, shakes hands with Colbert.
Colbert: Thank you for coming.
Sunita: It's a pleasure to be here.
Colbert: I know we are all waiting to hear what NASA has decided, but first tell the audience a little about yourself.
(Snipped for brevity - read about her here. She was one of the astronauts to use the ametuer radio stations on the station to talk with school children - very cool stuff.)
Colbert: Thank you "Suni". You've done some amazing things, and we look forward to the contributions yet to come. (applause from audience) Ok, it looks like we might have a revolt on our hands if we don't cut to the chase. NASA has chosen you to officially announce - here, tonight - the name of the newest module for the International Space Station.
Sunita: Yes.
Colbert: Then, without further delay, Sunita Williams, ladies and gentlemen.
Suinita: Thank you. "Node 3", as it has been known, is the newest addition to the ISS, due to be sent up February 2010. It will provide life support systems, including water recycling and oxygen generation, for the ISS. Tonight, it is my great honor to announce on behalf of NASA that it has now, officially, been renamed "Xenu". (laughter from audience) No, seriously.
(Sunita can't keep her face straight, causing Colbert to break from script with a smile. Sunita breaks into laughter)
Colbert: We are going to get sued for this.
End Transcript - sorry, you're going to have to wait for tomorrow's airing for the revelation of the true name.
Oh, was that my outside voice?
It's hard to generate genuine public interest in a space program or any other program when the public as a whole would rather wallow in trendy fads and pseudo science. Those who think NASA is doing nothing interesting are quite wrong. Take for instance the Cassini-Huygens probe that NASA launched to study Saturn and her moons. Here was a great example of a bold, recent mission by NASA. It involved a lander, an attempt to search for traces of life, and studying one of the most known items in our solar system, Saturn's rings. Yet, despite the awe that such an undertaking would impose upon most people, this mission became mired in public criticism over the fact that it used plutonium as a power source. The simply fact of the matter is, once you push beyond the asteroid belt, things like solar panels become terribly inefficient for power generation so something like nuclear material needs to be used. Nonetheless, this fact didn't stop high profile physicists from complaining about nuclear matter being used on board a spacecraft that would be operating in an environment that is already crawling with radiation (you didn't think all of those charged particles belched out by our sun just fizzled did you)?
So NASA stands in an incredibly precarious situation. Every move they want to make to the 'final frontier' will involve increasingly complex, risky, and costly developments. Yet, they still must push forward because, well, that's the whole point of the organization. Then, even when they do something right (Cassini was and still is a great success), their programs are still stained in criticism and filth because it is so easy to rally the ignorant public into a critical frenzy by dropping phrases like, "environmentally unfriendly," "a danger to public health," or "a waste of tax-payers money."
This isn't the only place we see this kind of thing happen. Worldwide, nuclear physicists are under criticism for trying to develop and streamline nuclear power production terrestrially. Robotics and AI fields get attacked for developing "dangerous, possibly threatening" near sentient autonomous weapons (paranoid much?) And even the medical field gets it when they investigate something like stem-cell research or human growth factor and the whole ordeal becomes a blasphemous religious issue.
It seems that the general population is too stupid to think for themselves so they let themselves be rallied by the loudest (and often very biased) sources, by tactics like fear-mongering or mercy pleas. The only reason this wasn't allowed to occur during the Cold War days was because Joe public was more worried about the 'evil commies' than he was about 'cooking the dolphins with plutonium.' Now there are no evil commies to fear so we fear the unknown instead.
The last great revolution in society was the digital revolution supposedly. Some experts think the information and robotics revolutions are next. It seems to me that we are more likely to see a "naive complacency revolution" instead...
Cheers.
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
You forgot how it all moves in a clockwise direction.
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
The public's lack of interest in NASA has nothing to do with pop culture, it's that NASA isn't doing anything interesting anymore.
Well, isn't that fun.
We can't have public interest in NASA doing anything important if public interest isn't in NASA doing anything important.
Maybe if "the public" at large would get off it's fat lazy tv-addicted ass and start caring about something more than the fate of the latest soap characters, we might see funding for things that really matter to the human race as a whole.
Meanwhile, the people involved with NASA and all the other attempts to try and show people what a wonderful, beautiful universe it is, are wasting their time? Why don't we just disband it completely, then?
Sorry, not sniping at you. You just gave me an opening...
SB
It's old. The more humans I meet, the more I like my cats. At least they are honest.
If he's an intellectual, then I'm the internet.
Log on to me and despair! :D
This is the sig that says NI (again)
It takes about 8 minutes for the shuttle to reach orbit. With 125 launches, that's less than 17 hours of real-world testing. Aside from single-launch vehicles, the shuttle probably has the *least* amount of "proven technology" of any product currently in use anywhere in the world.
By that standard, nuclear weapons are, perhaps, the most unproven technology in existence. I'd seriously doubt if they had a full millisecond of real world testing.
SWM seeks new sig for a brief fling