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William Shatner Wakes Up Crew for Final Discovery Mission

The Space Shuttle Discovery left the International Space Station this morning for the last time. To commemorate the ship's accomplishments over 27 years of service, the crew was greeted to a morning wake-up message from Capt. Kirk. "Space, the final frontier," Shatner said in a prerecorded message. "These have been the voyages of the space shuttle Discovery. Her 30-year mission: to seek out new science, to build new outposts, to bring nations together on the final frontier, to boldly go and do what no spacecraft has done before."

185 comments

  1. WoW by dakkon1024 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This is nerdy, even by my standards.

    1. Re:WoW by Higaran · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yes, but it's still awesome on soo many levels.

    2. Re:WoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      oh too true

    3. Re:Wow by ae1294 · · Score: 1

      That would have been a pretty emotional moment I would think.

      I wonder if they all screamed KIIIIIIIRK! for waking them up

    4. Re:WoW by FlapHappy · · Score: 1, Funny

      World of Warcraft is kind of nerdy.

    5. Re:WoW by Sonny+Yatsen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      But, it's so appropriate. Ask a lot of the Astronauts and Engineers at NASA what inspired them as children to work for NASA and in space and you will get a pretty good percentage of people citing how they, as kids, sat around a tiny television set in the late 60s or early 70s watching Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Spock explore the galaxy.

      I can't think of a better or more appropriate way to send off the Discovery as it goes home. (There is a little bit of me in the back of my head that wished that the Space Shuttle Enterprise made it to space - then Shatner's sendoff would be even more appropriate.)

      --
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    6. Re:WoW by blair1q · · Score: 1

      Being geeked by this is an indicator of one's nerdiness. I wonder what the non-American crew thought of it.

    7. Re:WoW by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Being geeked by this is an indicator of one's nerdiness. I wonder what the non-American crew thought of it.

      At this point, I'm betting even the non-American crew is aware of Star Trek.

      It's been around for almost 45 years at this point.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    8. Re:WoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More than likely, they thought exactly the same sorts of things as the American crew.

    9. Re:WoW by dakkon1024 · · Score: 1

      I only played for 3 years. I'm straight thug I tell you.

    10. Re:WoW by vxice · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Shatner said in a prerecorded message." Historic event, he almost considered waking up for it.

      --
      every anarchist is a baffled dictator. Benito_Mussolini
    11. Re:WoW by blair1q · · Score: 1

      So has anime, but if I'm on the ISS and the theme from Astro Boy comes out of the speakers, I'm unlikely to recognize its cultural significance.

    12. Re:WoW by danbert8 · · Score: 1

      I think this is a more awesome Star Trek wakeup:
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjBrqS6hitk

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    13. Re:WoW by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      So has anime, but if I'm on the ISS and the theme from Astro Boy comes out of the speakers, I'm unlikely to recognize its cultural significance.

      Great, now I've got that song stuck in my head ... "he is brave, and mighty, and wise ...".

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    14. Re:WoW by blair1q · · Score: 1

      To make up for it I shall hum the theme from underdog while I walk to the bathroom.

    15. Re:WoW by antdude · · Score: 1

      Too much World of Warcraft (WoW) for you. :)

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    16. Re:WoW by isorox · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So has anime, but if I'm on the ISS and the theme from Astro Boy comes out of the speakers, I'm unlikely to recognize its cultural significance.

      That's because is has no cultural significance beyond a few nerdy fanboys. Star Trek is a massive, multinational, franchise. The last film brought in $125 million internationally, and indeed it was shown on the space station when it came out. Kirk and Spock are internationally known by anyone with the slightest interest in space.

    17. Re:Wow by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      It's hard to get emotional in zero-g. The tears just sort of sit there...

    18. Re:Wow by dishpig · · Score: 1

      Especially when he told them about the red commemorative jumpsuits that had to wear for landing.

    19. Re:WoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sort of like Leonard Nimoy 'congratulating' me every time I level up in STO?

    20. Re:WoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well when I was in England in the early 90's I watched an episode of the original Star Trek dubbed in German. Since Star Trek was certainly available to most of the television watching public worldwide I'm going guess that every one of them "got it". Why would you think it would be "thought of" differently by non-Americans?

    21. Re:WoW by History's+Coming+To · · Score: 1

      There are two geeks sitting here who are trying to work out whether to cry, giggle, or giggle till they cry. This is the whole point of (good, hard) science fiction....to predict things so well that there's no real option but to go out and do it for real. Good on Discovery, good on Shatner, good on Roddenberry and good on humanity in general.

      Yes, we were promised jetpacks back in the 70s, but this is nearly as good, and frankly, has a whole lot more charm. I love this stuff.

      --
      Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
    22. Re:WoW by discord5 · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Shatner said in a prerecorded message." Historic event, he almost considered waking up for it.

      They tried doing a live version, but gave up and simply cut out all the pauses between the words. They were also afraid that Ricardo Montalban would show up in the middle of the introduction. Instead of a wakeup call with some memorable words, there'd be a scream so powerful that it would be capable of making sound in a vacuum. "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!". I mean, imagine waking up to that.

      So NASA kinda looked at all the pros and cons, and decided that the best option was simply not to invite Shatner personally. He's been known to be a bit of a prick at times too, so that's why people don't invite him to the cool parties anymore either. That, and that horrible toupee. Does he still wear the toupee?

    23. Re:WoW by syousef · · Score: 1

      "Shatner said in a prerecorded message." Historic event, he almost considered waking up for it.

      Well, what do you expect. He's an old man now! It should be !@#$ my GRANDad says.

      --
      These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    24. Re:WoW by sortius_nod · · Score: 1

      Reading the article, that's all I could think of. Bravo!

    25. Re:WoW by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

      No, what's nerdy is you wrote it as "WoW" not "Wow" or "WOW" but "WoW" which sadly in my eyes reads as World of Warcraft (and I don't even play the damned game)
      That's nerdy.

    26. Re:WoW by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      If Ricardo Montalban showed up, I'd think they would be more worried about the zombiepocalypse.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    27. Re:WoW by Geminii · · Score: 2

      You can't ask him to show up bald. There's hell-toupee.

    28. Re:WoW by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Though TOS is a bit of a mixed deal. Yes, the saucery ships, Kirk and Spock et al are fairly recognizable ... but from what I can gather, the original series itself is kinda neglected - and its theme is quite unknown. Relative scarcity of international syndication in its heyday, I guess

      The opening by Sir Patrick Stewart and TNG theme OTOH...

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    29. Re:WoW by sznupi · · Score: 1

      I'm confused... "This is the whole point of (good, hard) science fiction....to predict things so well that there's no real option but to go out and do it for real. Good on Discovery, good on Shatner, good on Roddenberry and good on humanity in general" in one line?

      NVM how the point of (good, hard) science fiction seems to be somewhat different - to explore how perhaps possible (vs. "outright fantasies"; or creative shortcuts meant to ease production (Roddenberry...), make the wold more palatable for limited experiences of audiences, make the work of storytellers, scriptwriters and authors easier) future circumstances would influence us, our reality. NVM how the dream of "spaceplanes" (Discovery...) grabbed public imagination (humanity in general...) mostly via pop science fiction of the 30s, 40s or 50s - a times of great advances and inspirations from airplanes (kind of like those airplanes from "our" times were no doubt influenced by marine tech advances - vs. boring reality) - but it didn't make "go out and do it for real" a good idea (kinda how we can even build the airplanes from first Wiki link - take a Harrier, remove wings and canopy). If anything, STS set us back.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    30. Re:WoW by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      To me it would just be a sad reminder of how little NASA has advanced since Star Trek was on the air. Here I am sitting in LEO on a space shuttle less advanced and capable than the rocket that took us to the moon in 1969, and I got an aging William Shatner in my ear reminding me that none of my childhood dreams were ever realized.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    31. Re:WoW by sznupi · · Score: 1

      In other words, they were inspired by absolute fantasies, determined largely by creative shortcuts for ease of production, to make the fictional world more palatable to limited imagination of audiences determined by Earthly experiences, make the work of storytellers, scriptwriters and authors much easier?

      Though - yes, it might be the best and most appropriate way to send off the Discovery as it goes home [1] - considering how the dream of "spaceplanes" grabbed public imagination mostly via pop scifi of the 30s, 40s or 50s (on which STS designers and decisionmakers were probably raised?) - a times of great advances and inspirations from airplanes (like those airplanes from "our" times were no doubt influenced by marine tech advances - and we can even build them: take a Harrier, remove wings and canopy - vs. boring appropriate ideas)

      (BTW, why is the Enterprise counted as a Space Shuttle, as an orbiter, anyway? Equivalent in Buran program is called "Buran aerodynamic analogue"... Another "well meaning" grande lie?)

      1. With the possible exception of, say, somebody from the ISS crew quietly installing HAL console (some small & light cardboard-like construction with LED, hidden inside ISS cargo, plus repurposed comms) in the cockpit of Discovery. :) Unfortunately, it's too late for that... and any possible Stargate: Atlantis or James Cook themes don't seem to be in the same league.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    32. Re:WoW by sznupi · · Score: 1

      A great contribution to such state of affairs is probably... the Shuttle (itself possibly partly a result of following "childhood dreams" - I guess a lot of people responsible for it were raised on "spaceplanes" in pop scifi of their childhood)

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  2. Damnit Jim by nharmon · · Score: 5, Funny

    You should have just grabbed the microphone and yelled...

    KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

    1. Re:Damnit Jim by SnarfQuest · · Score: 2

      Hello Discovery, it's ... ... timetogetup.

      --
      Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
    2. Re:Damnit Jim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    3. Re:Damnit Jim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.khaaan.com/

    4. Re:Damnit Jim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, at least he refrained from performing his rendition of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"...

    5. Re:Damnit Jim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's dead, Jim.

  3. Final frontier by BSAtHome · · Score: 1, Funny

    He is dead Jim.

    1. Re:Final frontier by BarefootClown · · Score: 1

      "I'm dead, Jim."

      --

      "Make it ten--I am only a poor corrupt official."
      --Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), Casablanca

    2. Re:Final frontier by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      "He's dead, Jim!"

      "Good... you get his tricorder, I'll get his wallet!"

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    3. Re:Final frontier by alchemy101 · · Score: 1

      Wasn't there an episode where I threw my shoe at the enemy?

  4. Pretty Ironic.... by penguin_dance · · Score: 1

    Considering politicians are trying to kill the space program.

    --
    If you've never been modded as "flamebait" or "troll," you've never tried to argue a minority viewpoint here!
    1. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by ae1294 · · Score: 1

      Good.
      When everyone in the US has a roof over his head, then the space programme can be restarted.

      Roofs are being outsourced to countries that can afford them... The war on terror is costing a little more than we thought. Everyone's gotta cut back for the greater good you know?

    2. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Asten · · Score: 2

      Of course, shutting down the space program is going to result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs across the country. the ROI on dollars invested in space is pretty good, I bet.

    3. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lol, and then when all of those retards that can't take care of themselves pop out 10 kids a piece, and they all need a roof too... right? I guess we'll just cancel the shuttle program again, eh?

    4. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by GigG · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It isn't the job of the US Government to put a roof over anyone's head.

      --
      Is buying a Harley Davidson as your first motorcycle since you were 16 at age 49 a midlife crisis issue?
    5. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by ElectricTurtle · · Score: 2

      See, now you're letting reality ruin that perfectly good angsty self-righteous rhetorical bullshit. How else is this guy going to get his bleeding heart pumping without a convenient scapegoat?

      --
      I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
    6. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by trollertron3000 · · Score: 2

      But it is in their best interest. The people are government. If you have a lot of people without roofs you have a lot of angry people not doing their part to move the country forward. Eventually they come and burn down your roof to make the point sink home.

      --
      Tiger Blooded Bi-Winning Machine
    7. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by polar+red · · Score: 1

      a little ? how 'bout $1000000000000 or about $300000 per American since 2001.

      --
      Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    8. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by polar+red · · Score: 1

      correction : $3000 per American

      --
      Yes, I'm left. You have a problem with that?
    9. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by ae1294 · · Score: 2

      a little ? how 'bout $1000000000000 or about $300000 per American since 2001.

      You make it sound way worse than it really is. The credit card bill isn't due until 2012.

    10. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Oxford_Comma_Lover · · Score: 1

      > When everyone in the US has a roof over his head, then the space programme can be restarted.

      We have enough roofs for everyone, we just value our personal space a lot. How many people could live in the houses of slashdotters alone without straining the physical location's ability to support them?

      --
      -- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
    11. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Asten · · Score: 1

      Aw, my bad. ;)

    12. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by SnarfQuest · · Score: 1

      It's the governments job to fondle your privates in a public place, and to arrest you if you try the same thing.

      --
      Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
    13. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As argument go, "RoI" is about as meaningful and logical as "grace of God". Reagan has managed to herald a world in which technocrats are more religious than theocrats.

      What matters is: which option reduces suffering?

    14. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My question is: how much did NASA pay William Shatner to record the message?

    15. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      Eh. What's an order of magnitude or two between friends.

      $3,000 for ten years, huh? Hell, most people pay more than that for basic cable. You're just complaining 'cos you don't like the show.

    16. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by spire3661 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is quite possibly one of the dumbest statements ever. "Hey Columbus, no more boats for you until every king's subject is a free man...."

      Exploring space is worth FAR more then wasting money on people who should either do for themsleves or die out. Exploring space > wasting money on a worthless human that cant even take care of itself. We have BILLIONS of humans and we recklessesly encourage EVERY human to make more.

      Consider space exploration the mother of all insurance policies. It is absolutely imperative that we learn how to live off this rock for the survival of the species. There is no debate on this. At SOME point we HAVE to get off this rock. Armageddon literally could be tomorrow or several billion years from now.

      --
      Good-bye
    17. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Kosi · · Score: 1

      The people are government.

      These times are gone for many decades now.

    18. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by trollertron3000 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Tell that to the people in Egypt.

      --
      Tiger Blooded Bi-Winning Machine
    19. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Kosi · · Score: 1

      It was gone for many decades there. Any bets on how long it will take them to get a government that does not act in the best interest of all people there, if they ever get one? Hint: even in the so-called democratic countries, a government making politics for the people, and not for themselves and their surrounding lobbyists, is a rare thing.

    20. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Second_Derivative · · Score: 1

      So that would be why all those towns full of "retards that can't take care of themselves" such as Detroit and Camden see their population dry out rapidly?

      Come on mate, please don't swallow this "welfare queen" propaganda. It is not in your best interest, never mind the best interests of the world at large.

    21. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

      It isn't the job of the US Government to put a roof over anyone's head.

      That is interesting.
      What else is its job then?
      The chinese define the job of the government as follows:
      a) make sure everyone has enough to eat
      b) make sure everyone has enough to be clothed
      c) make sure everyone has access to health care
      d) make sure everyone has a roof over his head
      e) and most of all: make sure everyone has access to education

      This are the five main principles a ruler or a government should follow.

      angel'o'sphere

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    22. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by sorak · · Score: 1

      As argument go, "RoI" is about as meaningful and logical as "grace of God". Reagan has managed to herald a world in which technocrats are more religious than theocrats.

      What matters is: which option reduces suffering?

      The second isn't an option. Maybe if the majority of the country did something that we currently are not doing, then it may become one, but our current priorities are as follows:


      1. 2/3 of the government spending are in social security and military spending. Failure to increase spending is seen as a cut, and cuts are entirely unacceptable.
      2. Tax increases are unacceptable.
      3. Penalize people republicans don't like. You say art museums are getting a dollar per year from every US citizen? That has to be cut to zero...same for sesame street.
      4. Maybe we can make less photocopies or something. We got a buck fifty from those artsy-fartsy types, save a couple of bucks on office supplies and maybe we can use that to pass a new tax cut, which will stimulate the economy and fix the...

      What problem were we trying to solve again?

    23. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by cycleflight · · Score: 1

      The trouble with this is if you pacify those hundreds of people without roofs by giving them roofs, and their response is to now be a lot of happy people not doing their part to move the country forward. Then eventually they don't have to come burn down your roof, because the country, and everyone's roofs, die of lack of funding.

      --
      "...And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?" ~Bob Moawad
    24. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by trollertron3000 · · Score: 1

      True that. It's a balance. We can't bankrupt ourselves to keep everyone living well. That's where the tough part of the job comes in. I pity those SOBs in Washington DC. No matter what they do someone somewhere hates them for it.

      --
      Tiger Blooded Bi-Winning Machine
    25. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by WWWWolf · · Score: 1

      And here's the same on a little bit less, um, misanthropic terms:

      When people say "let's feed the poor instead of wasting money on X", they usually mean "let's throw money at some short-term solution that we can actually implement while politician Y's term lasts". Now, short-term solutions are important, but you should never forget that they're just that - short-term solutions.

      People wave the "let's feed the poor instead of wasting money on X" expression as if that'd solve all of their problems. They want to be the heroes who say how things will be fixed. Sure, nix a space program, and you have money to spare. Can you solve the world hunger? No. You soon realise that despite of those grandiose promises you just said, you're actually applying band-aid. After the money is gone, you notice that you're not any nearer to a lasting solution. And then everyone else will realise that your plan had a few holes in it. Think they'll like it?

      Space research is part of the long-term solution to improved standard of living: scientific and engineering research means better technology, better technology means a better standard of living. The sad part is that the results come in decades, not in a few years. Colonising other planets might be even a longer term plan than that, but the rewards could be even higher.

    26. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Woldscum · · Score: 1

      China = Communist

      USA is not China Yet.

    27. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by nedlohs · · Score: 1

      No way, a constitutional republic built upon ideas of individualism and democracy* operating under a vaguely capitalist economic structure has a different idea of what government should be to that of a totalitarian government operating under a vaguely communist economic structure. Who would have thunk it?

      * ideas of, not actual mob rule.

    28. Re:Pretty Ironic.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It is absolutely imperative that we learn how to live off this rock for the survival of the species. There is no debate on this. At SOME point we HAVE to get off this rock.

      Or you could face the facts: we're never getting "off this rock". Not in appreciable numbers, and not with any self-sustaining technology, not for the foreseeable future. Getting mass to orbit is expensive. The technology isn't even on the horizon to lift people or industrial machinery in anything more than negligible quantities. Dicking around the solar system with current technology is like trying to cross the ocean by splashing around in mud puddles. You won't get anywhere and you'll just make a mess. Focus on things we can do now like robot probes and leave the manned exploration where it belongs, in crappy fantasy shows.

      Why the obsession with humanity's survival anyway? We had a good run and everything has to end. Once you're gone, you're gone. No mutant space tribe in sector Z29 will give two shits that spire3661 ever lived. And it makes no difference whether they remember the garbage you consider culturally significant, like Socrates or Genghis Khan. Those guys were just as bad-ass whether anyone remembers them or not. This delusional self-grandeur that you have some vested interest in the human race millenia from now is asinine. Just another way of coping with our utter cosmological insignificance.

      So you can believe in fairy tales like Invisible Sky King or Humanity's Future in the Stars. Or you can accept the simple truth: we're all wormfood. Enjoy it while it lasts.

  5. Wow by Lefty2446 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That would have been a pretty emotional moment I would think.

  6. Mount olympus of geekdom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just came. Just for the geekness.
    Gosh. I am jealous.

      Epic win.

    1. Re:Mount olympus of geekdom by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I think Shatner owes you an new pair of underpants...

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  7. Have you noticed... by tekrat · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That William Shatner has, for more than the last decade, made an entire career out of being a parody of himself?

    I think it started with those Priceline commercials where he was singing "I've got two tickets to paradise..", and since then, all he's done is essentially do an SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up.

    And only he could get away with it.

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Have you noticed... by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 4, Funny

      I love Shatner in Boston Legal, hate him in Shit my dad says, that last show sucks gallons of ass :(

      --
      This is the sig that says NI (again)
    2. Re:Have you noticed... by EnsilZah · · Score: 2

      And only he could get away with it.
      Well, to be fair there's also Hasselhoff.

      Oh wait, parody is not the same as mockery.

    3. Re:Have you noticed... by preaction · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Adam West started doing it earlier. So it's a shouting match you want, eh? Well game on Quahog! AAAAAH! AAAAAH! AAAAH! AAAH AH! I'm beating you!

    4. Re:Have you noticed... by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 1

      The last decade? Let's go with "more than quarter-century". He was in on the joke, seemingly, before anyone else was: Shatner does Rocket-Man, spoken-word.

      My favorite part about that is how the audience doesn't quite seem to get it.

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    5. Re:Have you noticed... by Captain+Spam · · Score: 1

      That William Shatner has, for more than the last decade, made an entire career out of being a parody of himself?

      I think it started with those Priceline commercials where he was singing "I've got two tickets to paradise..", and since then, all he's done is essentially do an SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up.

      And only he could get away with it.

      Yeah, I was just thinking about that. Except when it came across my mind, it was Adam West. As in the term, "Adam Westing", as it's come to be known in some circles. And how he was doing it while Shatner was still acting like an ass to his former castmates.

      Not that I'm complaining; Shatner really needed to get over himself and stop taking himself so seriously, of course.

      --
      Demanding constant attention will only lead to attention.
    6. Re:Have you noticed... by mrchaotica · · Score: 2

      Somehow I always thought ass was measured by weight, not by volume. I learned something new today!

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    7. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then you have no taste. Boston, like all the cop/lawyer/hospital drama, sucks ASS. $h*! My Dad Says is funny as hell.

    8. Re:Have you noticed... by Xeleema · · Score: 1

      show sucks gallons of ass

      Don't let Tosh2.0 find out they're ripping-off his schtick. It took him three whole shows just to suck a metric litre of ass and hold it without coughing.

      --
      "When I am king, you will be first against the wall..."
    9. Re:Have you noticed... by GPLDAN · · Score: 1

      I dunno, Charlie Sheen is doing a pretty fucking good job of getting away with it as well...

    10. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps because high-density ass is often preferable to high-volume ass?

    11. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That William Shatner has, for more than the last decade, made an entire career out of being a parody of himself?

      TJ Hooker?

    12. Re:Have you noticed... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      I dunno, Charlie Sheen is doing a pretty fucking good job of getting away with it as well...

      Well, Shatner knows he's poking fun at himself.

      I don't get the impression that Charlie Sheen is actually dialed into the fact that he is, or definitely appears to be, somewhat unhinged of late.

      He really seems to have some mental health issues going on at the moment. Or, he's got a remarkably strange strategy to get himself his next gig.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    13. Re:Have you noticed... by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      The difference being that Charlie Sheen is actually crazy. Like Tom Cruise, except without the Messiah complex.

    14. Re:Have you noticed... by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 2

      SNL skit where William Shatner plays William Shatner hamming it up

      That reminds me of the SNL skit where Eddie Murphy teaches Stevie Wonder to do a Stevie Wonder impression... Can't get to the YouTube link from here, but here's an excerpt from the skit transcript:

      • Richie (Murphy): That’s the worst Stevie Wonder impression I’ve ever seen in my life.
      • Alan (Wonder): [grinning] What’s the matter with it?
      • [The crowd roars with laughter as Stevie grins at Eddie, who breaks down and laughs helplessly for several seconds along with the audience.]
      • Alan: I can funk! I can funk! I can funk...
      • Richie: Yeah, yeah, but this, what’s you’re doing is ridiculous. It’s nothing like, I know Stevie Wonder, man, and he’s like, you have to mellow out, you see, you’re too tense. Loosen up. You have to see me do a Stevie Wonder impression...
      • [Eddie Murphy takes a pair of sunglasses out of his breast pocket. Crowd roars as Eddie puts them on.]
      • Richie: You gotta smile a lot, like this, you see, you gotta smile. [grins]
      • Alan: [grins with his mouth wide open] You mean like this?
      --
      It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
    15. Re:Have you noticed... by Kosi · · Score: 1

      He has taste, and a good one. BL is made by David E. Kelly, who also created "Picket Fences" and "Ally McBeal", IIRC. They all are society satires disguised as dramas.

      Because I can hardly stand TOS and James T. Kirk anymore, I was very suspicious when a friend advertised BL to me. But I had to admit that Shatner is brilliant in the Danny Crane role!

    16. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I watched Boston Legal nine times before I realized it wasn't a new Star Trek.

    17. Re:Have you noticed... by rbrightwell · · Score: 1

      William Shatner made a career out of being a wonderful entertainer. In addition, he has a lot of talent in other areas and a great sense of humor, including not taking himself too seriously. What I appreciate most about him is his zest for life. I bet he was like a kid in a candy shop getting to do this for the Discovery guys. I used to get a real kick out of his ShatnerVision videos he and his daughter made. Check them out.

    18. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It really depends on the state of ass output matter.

    19. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When it comes to the question: "how big is that ass?"
      Volume is every bit as important as mass.
      So whether you're asking if it's small or if it's bigger,
      Both measures contribute to the significant figure.

    20. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "ass" measured in volume is usually referring to the potential contents of a rectum

    21. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You've never seen tubgirl.com, have you?

    22. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sucks gallons of ass

      It's measured by gallons when you're suckling on it.

    23. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It all started with "Free Enterprise". I heard the writers do a running commentary screening, followed by a Q&A, at a con, some years back. IIRC, the self-parodying approach originated with Shatner - he said he simply couldn't play the role straight.

      [Young Robert was in a fight with a larger kid while wearing a gold Starfleet uniform, when William Shatner appears to him]
      Imaginary William Shatner: I think I ought to tell you that that, uh, Aryan youth is gonna kick you into oblivion.
      Young Robert: But what about in "Arena" when Kirk fought the Gorn? That giant lizard monster was three times as big as him!
      Imaginary William Shatner: My boy, that was a TV show. I used a stunt double. I always use a stunt double. Except in love scenes. I insist on doing those myself.
      Young Robert: Well, what would you do to avoid a fight?
      Imaginary William Shatner: I wouldn't dress like a geek. Gold is not your color. Think earth tones.

    24. Re:Have you noticed... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Insightful?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

      So that's what the flushing sound was ...

    25. Re:Have you noticed... by mcvos · · Score: 1

      I'm a bit confused. Is it Charlie Sheen or Tom Cruise that doesn't have a messiah complex?

    26. Re:Have you noticed... by vidnet · · Score: 1

      that last show sucks gallons of ass

      For those europeans too lazy to do the math, that's between 2.5 and 4 litres of bum.

    27. Re:Have you noticed... by phoenix_rizzen · · Score: 1

      Shatner in Shit my Dad Says is great. The other actors, though, are crap. Especially the youngest son and the daughter-in-law.

      If they re-cast Shit my Dad Says, it could easily replace Two and a Half Men.

    28. Re:Have you noticed... by Killjoy_NL · · Score: 1

      Fun thing is, I am a european ;)

      --
      This is the sig that says NI (again)
  8. How he said it ... by UnknownSoldier · · Score: 3, Funny

    Oblg. ;-)

    "These have been ... the voyages ... of the space shuttle ... Discovery.
    Her 30-year mission: ... to seek out .. new science, ... to build new ... outposts, ... to bring nations together ... on the final frontier, ... to boldly go ... and do what ... no spacecraft ... has done before."

    1. Re:How he said it ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Jim! Is that you?

    2. Re:How he said it ... by sycodon · · Score: 1

      What's sad is how NASA bureaucrats butchered up such a classic into. It's unlike the never ending speech they give when the Shuttle launches...

      Liftoff of mission ## with the the first gay, transgendered Muslims proving NASA Administrators are really cool guys and will now maybe get an invite to the Hollywood parties where scantily clad girls will rub up against them, which is the closet most of them get to a female in years, flight!

      --
      When Fascism comes to America, it will call itself Anti-Fascism, and tell you to give up your guns.
  9. So nerdy it is awesome by Stregano · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Just think of how motivated you would be to go to work in the morning if Shatner gave you a wake up call like this:

    "Work, the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of , to boldy go where no computer programmer has gone before. To seek out new code that would shatter new civilizations."

    --
    The world is how you make it
    1. Re:So nerdy it is awesome by c6gunner · · Score: 2

      It would be cool on Monday. By Wednesday, I'd be reaching for my phaser.

    2. Re:So nerdy it is awesome by danbert8 · · Score: 1

      I think this is the better alarm clock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjBrqS6hitk

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    3. Re:So nerdy it is awesome by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would refuse to work any day I had to wake up to that fat old retard - Stargate SG-1 is so much better than Startrek TOS - hell any scene from Startrek TNG blows Shatner's entire fat stuttering career out of the water.

  10. Time, to wake up, and, to, go, where no... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...shuttle crew, has, gone before.

  11. We Need Audio! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    C'mon folks, doesn't anyone have a link to the actual audio?

    1. Re:We Need Audio! by Sven-Erik · · Score: 3, Informative
      --
      - "Every demand is a prison, and wisdom is only free when it asks nothing." Sir Betrand Russell
    2. Re:We Need Audio! by GigG · · Score: 1
      --
      Is buying a Harley Davidson as your first motorcycle since you were 16 at age 49 a midlife crisis issue?
    3. Re:We Need Audio! by Sven-Erik · · Score: 2
      --
      - "Every demand is a prison, and wisdom is only free when it asks nothing." Sir Betrand Russell
  12. Boston Legal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Have you seen Boston Legal?

    He was anything BUT Captain Kirk and I have to say, some of his finest work on TV or movies.

    1. Re:Boston Legal by VMSBIGOT · · Score: 2

      Bad example. His clamshell cell phone made the communicator chirp when he opens it, and in a later episode he tells people he used to captain a spaceship:

      Denny Crane: [walking through a crowd of reporters] dennycranelaw.com. Pictures, bios, hobbies. I once captained my own spaceship. Muli-talented.
      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402711/quotes?qt0401847

      I also seem to remember a few quips about his 'other' job, hinting at his work for Priceline. I always got the impression that he was spoofing himself as a running gag throughout the show.

  13. What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by thewils · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Then he could have woken them up with "Kirk to Enterprise".

    --
    Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
    1. Re:What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by Shimbo · · Score: 1

      Then he could have woken them up with "Kirk to Enterprise".

      ...get your clothes back on.

    2. Re:What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by thewils · · Score: 1

      ...beam down Yeoman Rand and a six-pack.

      --
      Once I was a four stone apology. Now I am two separate gorillas.
    3. Re:What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 1

      The Enterprise never flew in space. I think it was just a test mock up for gliding.

      --
      I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    4. Re:What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by quacking+duck · · Score: 1

      The Enterprise was *meant* to be refitted for spaceflight after atmospheric and landing trials; unfortunately some specs changed while building Columbia, and overhauling Enterprise would've meant a very expensive tear-down and rebuild, so they built Challenger around a test bed frame instead.

    5. Re:What a pity it wasn't Enterprise by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Though that probably still doesn't justify calling it Space Shuttle Enterprise, or *orbiter* - Soviet equivalent was simply called "Buran aerodynamic analogue"...

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  14. Was played on my drive in by Shivetya · · Score: 3, Interesting

    and it was simply awesome. Obviously anyone listening to most news radio shows on their drive will have heard it. I wonder how much the current generation connects to those words? I know that some will equate it with Star Trek but I wonder how many have seen it. I was further amazed at how much his voice did not seem to have changed.

    --
    * Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
    1. Re:Was played on my drive in by v1 · · Score: 4, Funny

      if I got a wakeup call and wasn't quite firing on all cylinders just yet I'd be hard pressed to figure out if I was hearing Kirk or someone trying to book me a flight with pricewatch

      --
      I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
    2. Re:Was played on my drive in by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      Ya, but...how could you possibly get a better flight than what you're already in?

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    3. Re:Was played on my drive in by RockoTDF · · Score: 1

      I dunno man, the shuttle is pretty damn pricey. And the hotel offers the shuttle comes with are kinda cramped.

      --
      There is more to science than physics!

      www.iomalfunction.blogspot.com
    4. Re:Was played on my drive in by pckl300 · · Score: 1

      I wonder how much the current generation connects to those words? I know that some will equate it with Star Trek but I wonder how many have seen it.

      Well, if there wasn't the pretext of "William Shatner", I wouldn't have recognized it.

      --
      In the beginning, there was null.
    5. Re:Was played on my drive in by sznupi · · Score: 1

      I was further amazed at how much his voice did not seem to have changed.

      That didn't seem to be the case at all... it's not even a case of remembering it wrong (and our memory is pretty bad, overall), it opened with very different original sample.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  15. He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by danger42 · · Score: 1

    Have you ever kissed a girl?

    --
    -nd
    1. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by __aaelyr464 · · Score: 1

      Have you ever kissed a girl?

      ...and all of /. waits with bated breath for Nicole Stott's answer.

    2. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting with baited something.

      --
      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    3. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by blueg3 · · Score: 2

      Yeah, astronauts are notorious for having a hard time finding dates.

      Actually, at least 5 of the 6 crew are married.

    4. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think the OP is referring to a SNL skit that Shatner did a few years back...

      MyLongNickName

    5. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by fiannaFailMan · · Score: 1

      Wasn't marriage almost a pre-requisite for being an astronaut on the Mercury program?

      --
      Drill baby drill - on Mars
    6. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      You've been waiting so long you've become a master of waiting with bated breath?

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    7. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I'd hit that!
      Oh wait, this is slashdot... never mind.

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    8. Re:He also asked the crew of the Discovery... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Astronauts and movie stars rarely have trouble hooking up.

      In the case of the Astronauts, most conversational one-upmanship at parties can be ended with the terminal coupe de grace: "I am an Astronaut. And I've flown to [orbit/the moon] and back. And what do you do?"

      In the case of the Shat man: "I ...am....Captain....James....T....Kirk." (note he not only gets the white chicks, the brown chicks, etc. but blue ones, green ones, and anything else susceptible to his trademarked level of awesome)

      I can't really imagining winning out against either of these sorts in conversational pickup-bar kung-fu fights....

  16. Re:Still splitting the infinitive ... by blair1q · · Score: 1

    If you wish to reach the infinitive, you must first reach halfway to it.

  17. Splitting the infinitive is fine... by Oxford_Comma_Lover · · Score: 2

    The rule about splitting infinitives is a prescriptivist grammarian trope. In other words, it's fine as a recommendation, but it isn't really a rule: a bunch of people invented it as a heuristic a hundred years ago and since then grammar nazis have used it. "To boldly go" actually sounds slightly better to my ear because it is two iambs in a row.

    If it's clear from the sentence that it is an infinitive, it doesn't sound awkward, and it is clear that the modifiers modify what you intend them to, it doesn't matter that you don't follow the heuristic. It's not something like spelling "all right" "alright," where anyone well-educated on language will know right away that it's wrong.

    --
    -- IANAL, this isn't legal advice, and definitely isn't legal advice for you. Also, Squee!
    1. Re:Splitting the infinitive is fine... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thats what she said!!!

    2. Re:Splitting the infinitive is fine... by Nefarious+Wheel · · Score: 1

      The rule about splitting infinitives is a prescriptivist grammarian trope

      Quite so. The original argument against split infinitives was that it made sentences difficult to translate into Latin. There may be some argument that this has limited relevance today.

      --
      Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
  18. Re:A has-been celebrates an ending. Sad. by Bloodwine77 · · Score: 2

    You may call him a has been, but how many current astronauts were inspired by shows like Star Trek? You could also call James Doohan a has-been actor, but that man inspired so many people, such as myself, to go in to engineering. RIP Scotty.

  19. And by the way, have we peaked ? by boorack · · Score: 1

    Space shuttle is propably the most complicated piece of technology ever developed. Over one million moving parts. It was created 30 years ago. Sometimes I think that in many fields technology has peaked back then ...

    1. Re:And by the way, have we peaked ? by rbollinger · · Score: 1

      True irony would be if the above post was made from a mobile device.

    2. Re:And by the way, have we peaked ? by FatLittleMonkey · · Score: 0

      Space shuttle is propably the most complicated piece of technology ever developed. Over one million moving parts.

      Do people really still say that as if it's a good thing?

      --
      Science is all about firing a drunk pig out of a cannon just to see what happens.
    3. Re:And by the way, have we peaked ? by sznupi · · Score: 1

      But what was the gain from such complexity? (and anyway, surely you would put Energia-Buran somewhat higher on the scale? Basically a decade younger, developed using more modern CAD/CAM approach plus with better concept from the start - the orbiter was just a payload of Ares V-like launcher. Even while maintaining at the same time two active manned programs...)

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  20. Re:A has-been celebrates an ending. Sad. by Darth · · Score: 1

    well, technically Doohan is a has-been considering he's dead. That shouldn't take anything away from the quality of work he did when he was alive or the impact it had on anyone's life.

    On topic though, I don't get why it would be a problem that a person who played an iconic character in popular culture that relates to space exploration did this. It would certainly make less sense for someone who is currently popular but has no relationship to the subject matter to have been selected.

    --
    Darth --
    Nil Mortifi, Sine Lucre
  21. The Shat is the Sh1t by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gotta love the guy.

    1. Re:The Shat is the Sh1t by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      hahaha, "The Shat".
      awesome.

  22. wrong sci-fi quote by corbettw · · Score: 2

    Shatner should've woken them up by yelling "There's a man on the wing of this space craft!"

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  23. Or how about HAL "If you'd like to hear it.... by Bob_Who · · Score: 3, Interesting

    HAL:...I can sing
    Dave Bowman: Yes, I'd like to hear it, HAL. Sing it for me.
    HAL: It's called "Daisy."

    "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you......"

    1. Re:Or how about HAL "If you'd like to hear it.... by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Oh my, the prank could be total - say, somebody from the ISS crew quietly installing HAL console (some small & light cardboard-like construction with LED, hidden inside ISS cargo, plus repurposed comms) in the cockpit of Discovery. Alas, it's too late... and any possible Stargate: Atlantis or James Cook pranks don't seem to be in the same league.

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  24. Hope the lady astronauts are wary by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 1

    Being in orbit makes you alien enough to get nailed by the Kirkster.

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
  25. Video/Audio recording clip? by antdude · · Score: 1

    No audio/video recording clip of this? I'd love to see/hear it. :)

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    1. Re:Video/Audio recording clip? by spyder-implee · · Score: 1

      Yeah, wtf?! Why wouldn't they post it?

      --
      Take what ye can. Give nothing back!
  26. Star Trek theme was second choice? by e9th · · Score: 1

    Does the first choice involve Rick Astley?

  27. The Cosmic Perspective by SnowDog74 · · Score: 1

    It's worth noting that a massive letter writing campaign organized by Star Trek fans in 1979 convinced NASA to rename the first Space Shuttle, originally the USS Constitution, "USS Enterprise" and the first black female, Dr. Mae Jemison, was inspired to pursue her career after seeing Lieutenant Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) on the original series.

    The influence of Star Trek can be seen everywhere, but polls of NASA engineers have revealed that a good portion of them were motivated toward aerospace careers because of Star Trek. My only hope is that near Earth orbit is not, if politicians have their way, the final frontier of our space exploration in my lifetime.

    My generation and yours needs our own July 20, 1969 to usher in another era of progress. We need seemingly unattainable goals to push us beyond the reaches of our imagination... to boldly go, as corny as this may sound, where no mind has gone before. If we shutter our intellectual curiosity, we are doomed for generations.

    Sagan was right... had the Library of Alexandria not burned down, and set the world back some 1700 years in intellectual progress, there might today be survey ships returning from Alpha Centauri with a dodecahedron insignia on their hull. Just imagine.

    1. Re:The Cosmic Perspective by SnowDog74 · · Score: 1

      ... should read "first black female astronaut" in the first paragraph.

    2. Re:The Cosmic Perspective by sznupi · · Score: 1

      From what we know about our universe, it's very unlikely any survey ships will be coming back. Also, archetypal "dark ages" are largely a myth, a fabrication of following era - those were also times of immense progress.

      Generally, it's possible that such grandiose inspirations do at least quite comparable amounts of harm and good. STS (and how it provoked ignorant Soviet generals into pushing for "strategic counterpart" for nonexistent advantage, when their engineers wanted to do different things, also outside LEO...) can be easily seen as a great contribution to the possibility of near Earth orbit being the final frontier of manned space exploration in our lifetime [1]. Unsustainable crash projects in the style of Apollo (not that STS was very different) also aren't the way (BTW, please remind me - what happened with public attention soon after July 20, 1969?). Overall, be careful for those "boldly going beyond the reaches of our imagination" minds to not fall out of their skulls (as one saying with being "open minded" goes) - for one example at hand: it's quite possible that designers and decisionmakers of the STS were raised by pop scifi from 30s, 40s and 50s - scifi with many dreams (nightmares, it turns out?) of "spaceplanes", no doubt inspired by rapid advances in airplane technology during that time. Kinda like those airplanes from "our times" - no doubt influenced by rapid advances in marine tech (and we can even build them! Take a Harrier, remove wings and canopy) - vs. what reality dictates as a good idea (for airplanes! Not launchers and spacecraft... unless you want something analogous to Catalina at best, Spruce Goose at worst)

      (BTW, why is the Enterprise counted as a Space Shuttle, as an orbiter, anyway? Equivalent in Buran program was called "Buran aerodynamic analogue"...)

      1. It's not very likely though. Have $100 million? Get yourself a ride (those are the people responsible for almost all orbital "tourists")

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  28. Are We Sure? by Kozar_The_Malignant · · Score: 1

    Are we sure it was Shatner> Did he try to hit on Nicole Stott?

    --
    Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
  29. mmm by D+rent · · Score: 1

    I would prefer to be awaken by Kara Thrace...

  30. HAL! by BigFootApe · · Score: 1

    I take it nobody asked Douglas Rain to do the job?

  31. URL for audio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.archive.org/download/STS-133/03-07-11_STS-133_FD12_Crew_Wakeup.mp3

  32. Re:A has-been celebrates an ending. Sad. by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    Could'a used Trump. He could've called them up and told them they were all fired. Same toupee problem, though.

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  33. Saddest day in USA manned flight by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's a shame really.

    When Star Trek was on-the-air new missions were being launched every year getting ready to go to the moon.

    Since then.... Nothing... Discovery will be the LAST USA built spacecraft to launch from the USA for the next 5-10 years MINIMUM.

    It's cute and fitting to shut down a program like this... But ALL USA MANNED travel is on the chopping block. China and India will be the next humans to leave earth's orbit... Not the "better" countries.

    In the movies, we went to Jupiter by now. We had a moon base. Reality is that we just turned out the lights...

  34. He's 80! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The guy's 80. Cut him some slack.

  35. Nice by Alimony+Pakhdan · · Score: 1

    For those of us who were weaned on the one and only real Trek and remember the first flight of the Shuttle, this seems nice.

  36. retake by cstacy · · Score: 1

    I think he should have been more like, "Hail fellows, well met!"

  37. Anyone seen Shatner's video about mountain climbin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    its funny as!

    Quote " A mountainerr

  38. Raumpatrouille Orion Was: Re:WoW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Rücksturz zur Erde!"

  39. A fitting end to an era. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think it's so fitting. William Shatner has awakened the imagination of a generation interested in space exploration.

  40. Recorded... the message was recorded. by AP31R0N · · Score: 1

    Prestop preadding pre to every verb. Pre- doesn't pre-go with verbs.

    I will record a message.

    I am recording a message.

    I recored a message.

    They played a recorded message.

    --
    Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
    1. Re:Recorded... the message was recorded. by cstacy · · Score: 1

      Prestop preadding pre to every verb. Pre- doesn't pre-go with verbs.

      I will record a message.

      I am recording a message.

      I recored a message.

      They played a recorded message.

      Sometimes things are recorded as they are being delivered, live. Pre-recorded is when you recorded it beforehand, which is the case in this wake-up call. "Pre-recorded" is correct. It is also often the default meaning.

  41. Re:A has-been celebrates an ending. Sad. by sznupi · · Score: 1

    Space flight != launches to LEO. With in-situ resource utilization / manufacturing and sending almost exclusively miniaturized humans in deep hibernation (what we can do already), chemical launchers are perfectly enough; no need for magical technologies or structures.

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
  42. Re:A has-been celebrates an ending. Sad. by sznupi · · Score: 1

    James Doohan ... actor

    And, apparently, with an honorary degree in engineering.

    (though I can't help but wonder how many fruitless fantasies persist because of scifi inspirations)

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
  43. and how can u 4get... by airdrummer · · Score: 1

    this classic scene in the finding nimmo episode:

    Alan Shore: [referring to a book about parasites found on salmon] This book, "A Stain Upon The Sea" it's all about these sea lice.
    Denny Crane: Interesting.
    Alan Shore: They call them cling ons.
    Denny Crane: Did you say Klingons?

    smds does suck, tho:-(