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Astronaut Neil Armstrong Has Died
dsinc writes "Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon, has died. NBC News broke the news, without giving other details. Neil was recovering from a heart-bypass surgery he had had a couple of weeks ago. Sad news, marking the end of a glorious and more optimistic era... RIP, Neil." Also at Reuters.
And a great pilot. You will be missed.
http://xkcd.com/893/
RIP Neil.
http://xkcd.com/893/
May he rest in peace.
But at least they were able to get men on the moon. The USA can't even get people into space at the moment.
One of the greatest men of the last century - thank you for your contributions to mankind.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
Neil Armstrong, honorary Mooninite.
"On the moon, our weekends are so advanced they encompass the entire week."
I'm too young to remember his accomplishments firsthand, but because of his accomplishments with the help of the entire infrastructure of the space race, I was able to grow up with the dream of living in a future in which I could visit the moon and mars... Now I feel that dream has died right along with him.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"First things first -- but not necessarily in that order"
-- The Doctor, "Doctor
I hope your balls fall off. Show a little respect FFS.
I urge you to go tell Buzz Aldrin your opinions.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
And a loss for all mankind.
Godspeed, Mr. Armstrong.
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
If only he was Heartstrong.
The fact he lived so long and yet didn't see other people go to mars, or even back to the moon is an offensive reality, I really hope things change within the coming decades.
I just heard some sad news on talk radio - Astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong died today. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.
...and he's taken the last giant leap for mankind.
Doesn't get any more legendary than that. RIP
"She's furniture with a pulse"
Mr. Armstrong, I watched you jumping about on the moon when I was nine years old. It was unbelievably cool! The future seemed to be one of boundless possibility.
Now I'm older, and more cynical, and the world hasn't really turned into the place I thought it would be at this point - but whenever I think about your trip to the moon I'm suddenly a wide-eyed nine-year-old that still believes anything can happen. It gives me hope that mankind really will solve it's most vexing problems, once it finally decides to do so.
Thank you for everything, sir. I hope your eternity is a pleasant one.
#DeleteChrome
At least NBC fixed the headline. It first read "Astronaut Neil Young, first man to walk on moon, dies at age 82."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtFBRJFN3p8
We will get back there. Not today. Not tomorrow. But eventually.
RIP Neil Armstrong
20 minutes into the future
A lot of people ask to have their remains sent into space, but he's already been there. Has he said what he wants done with his remains?
Of course, as best we know, nobody has operable technology right now to place a person on the moon...
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I'm just sad to hear this.
One of the greatest, you will be remembered
Oh that would be fun to watch.
When I saw this on Slashdot's front page, my heart sank like "oh god no". Then I saw the comments under TFA about how the site managed to have it as "Neil Young" in the headline...a more dubious feat, but disturbingly typical for the proofreaders at NBCNews.com for some reason. (I read 'em daily so I've seen their fumbles too often...slow down a bit guys!)
Anyway, RIP Neil Armstrong. I hope we can step on the moon again soon.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
Everyone knows the real Neil Armstrong never left the moon, who do you think started building the first military moon base, and was later put in charge of it? In fact the entire Apollo program was designed to deliver astronauts to the moon, and then fake an Earth landing and use body double to replace them. Did you see how big the rocket needed to get all that crap to the moon was? And how small the lunar module was, no way did it have the power to escape to orbit and enough fuel to return to Earth. The Moon landings were real but the Earth landings are a HOAX!
A moment of silence for one of those who used math and fire to punch a hole in the sky.
There's no proof that you actually have a brain, either. Funny how you can sit there typing a message that can be broadcast instantly all around the world from your house, on a computer that is engineered to sub-nanometer precision, you can take medication that is engineered on a molecular level, and you can drive a car made of composites that were only dreamed of 50 years ago, yet you refuse to believe in the Apollo program.
So what, pioneer, voyager, viking and all the rest are fake, too? Curiosity is fake? To what end would the government continue to fake all these programs - considering the glee with which it cuts NASA funding wouldn't it be easier to just not to fake them in the first place?
I was little during the moon landing and thought it was pretty cool! It was only later when I came to appreciate the hazards and the guts to do the moon landing.
A class act. And a great pilot. You will be missed.
Navy pilot - combat veteran, test/research pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor. Of course he was most famous for being an astronaut, commander of the Apollo 11 mission and the first to walk on the moon.
He inspired generations of scientists and engineers. Because of Armstrong and his fellow astronauts my friends and I in elementary school knew math and science were important and were highly motivated to pay attention. We had real heroes are role models.
And Neil was a giant of Mankind. Thank you for being there, to lift us up and show us a view beyond our horizons. You will always be remembered, and admired along with all those who worked as part of the biggest and most successful team ever assembled, to take that one, small step for all of us.
If we do become a space faring people to future generations he will likely be the best remembered American. Name anyone that accomplished anything greater in the last 200+ years? There is only one person in all of human history that will be remembered as the first person to step foot on another world. Even to this day it's likely the greatest accomplishment of us as a species let alone as a nation.
Sigh. Not to minimize Armstrong's achievements — which took courage, brains, and skill — but he himself would probably wince at your hype. One of the greatest men in the 20th century? He led a historic space mission. That's a big deal, but it's not in the same class as wiping out smallpox, discovering relativity, defeating Nazi Germany, holding a nation together with a third of its workers unemployed, laying the foundations of the computer revolution...
There was a time when I was hopeful that humanity would form colonies on Moon or Mars, or perhaps even terraform there. It became extremely clear in the last couple of decades that infrastructure projects - the kind requiring massive investments and and resulting in long-term (only) benefits - are no longer easy to fund. This statement holds true for everything - space exploration, bridges, high speed railways, safer investments in nuclear energy, better fuel alternatives, improved roads - if it lacks immediate gratification and short-term economic and political upside, it is no longer generally funded.
This reality notwithstanding, we (as a species) are making some serious (but very slow) progress into space. There are concerted efforts by private organizations to build manned space vehicles, and helped by prizes like the Ansari X prize. Even government sponsored work - like Curiosity landing on Mars successfully - is stirring up public's imagination (although I'm afraid not enough to overcome the forces that prevent infrastructure investments across the board). Up and coming economies - especially China - are interested in making a name for themselves as innovators. This desire to establish a brand in the world stage is seemingly fueling China's space program (as it once fueled America and Soviet Russia's programs). India might yet join in and make real investments (but given India is India, there is no end to it's tendency to fail despite having all the talent and resources it needs to succeed).
So I think Armstrong might have died being disappointed at what we have achieved so far, and what we have not - but I suspect that he did not die thinking that we have given up, or that our future in space is bleak - I suspect that he'd have instead known that there is still hope, and that we are making progress - just that our progress isn't structured and US-centric as one might have imagined a few decades ago.
-- obligatory (but true) caveat: my comments my own, and don't reflect my employer or colleagues' positions.
Godspeed.
The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.
Never met Neil Armstrong. I suspect one day we will have a memorial park at tranquility base.
Hundreds and thousands of years from now, people who made the first moon landing possible will live on through the name of Mr. Armstrong, who will continue to appear in the history books. Thank you, Mr. Armstrong.
Sig
Go pour salt in your eyes.
Why?
Because being that fucking egregiously stupid should HURT.
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for hnnnngh!
He was non-military, for one.
He was a former Naval Aviator who flew combat missions in Korea. This experience probably made a significant contribution to his ability to remain focused and calm.
Retired is not "non-military".
After Phyllis Diller and William Windom died this week, I thought about the proverb of death coming in threes. Crap.
Another Step down for this graph http://xkcd.com/893/
It's too bad we lost a great adventurer. :-(
May he rest in peace.
I'm here for the experience, not the Hyperbole.
Is of him and Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon. My dad worked for Grumman and worked on the LEM.
A great man has left us. RIP.
I agree that he would probably have considered it hype as well, but I disagree that he wasn't in the same class. He inspired a generation of kids to become engineers, pilots, and astronauts. He rallied the entire globe around a peaceful cause. He was a leader. And he was the face of NASA, and the proud face of what America was capable of. And in 1969, in the middle of the Cold War and the Vietnam War, amidst huge problems around the country with race riots in Watts and Minneapolis and Chicago and Baltimore, here was this Great American Hero that we could all agree had made a remarkable achievement. We needed Neil Armstrong to be who he was.
John
The first true World Hero. At the center of a great collective effort they put the right man. And he never wanted to steal the credit from the team. You will be missed.
I was 4 and remember being rushed inside by my parents and grandparents. Many people were crowded around our TV, as not everyone had one yet.
That blurry, slow, staticy picture would forever inspire me to love space and science.
We need more of this for our future. Money better spent on building and science as opposed to destruction....
..........FULL STOP.
RIP Neil Armstrong. You'll forever rest among the heroes of humanity, alongside with Gagarin, Newton and Einstein.
All around the world, regardless of politics, religion and nationality, you inspired people and opened the future. You were the first human to ever walk another world. To cross the immensity of the hostile void, and to actually walk on the moon. You made us all make that giant leap. You changed forever the way we think, at night, when we looked at that silvery crescent up there.
I wasn't born when you did it, and yet, you still inspired me to love science and dream of a better future. Future generations won't forget you. The best tribute we can make to you is continuing what you started. More than ever, we should continue the space program. Unite humanity together to send people on Mars and beyond. That would be the best way to honour you, Neil Armstrong, hero of humanity.
stupid statement,
Armstrong wasn't born in Kenya.
...and whitey's on the moon.
So passes Major General Neil Armstrong. Born in August of 1930, died this day in the 2012th year Anno Domini. Veteran of the Korean War. Test piliot when man was trying to go as fast as possible. Father, grandfather. Part of the Gemini missions, part of the Apollo program, Congressional Gold Medal recipient, Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, first human being to ever walk on the moon. American hero.
You were the first of a handful of us to ever walk there, let alone leave our planet. Those first steps on the moon will always be yours sir. I can only imagine what it was like. Godspeed on your final journey and may you rest in peace Mr. Armstrong.
This is indeed a sad day as we have lost one of the world's great explorers. The population of this planet has some very tough decisions to make in the course of the next few years; decisions that will make a huge difference in the quality of life, if not the future of our species. Let this moment be a time for inspiration and I hope that it helps us realize that we can recapture that spirit of adventure that led a modest man from Ohio to accomplish one of the greatest accomplishments in human history.
Neil wasn't the quarterback, he was the football.
When the football has a bad spin or tumbles it does not correct the spin/rotation itself. Armstrong did so with a Gemini capsule that was in danger of going out of control. Similarly he had to land Apollo 11 manually when the computers were hazarding the ship. He was a pilot, not a passenger.
...then may his ashes be scattered among the moon's dust.
Were I American, I'd be proud to see my taxes pay for such a mission. Heck, I'd be proud to see my *Canadian* tax dollars pay for it (though, it might only get them 99.742% of the way there ;)
What a hero and what a sad day.
I guess Toy Story 4 is out of the question now.
I am just glad Armstrong got to see the current crop of Internet moguls and other billionaires finally picking up the ball the U.S. government dropped, virtually the instant he set foot on lunar soil. A whole generation of aeronautical and astronautical engineering got a pink slip then. It was a travesty.
Guys, honor this man's memory and don't let us down again.
Good Luck Mr. Armstrong.....RIP
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
You showed the world that if you put your mind to it anything is possible.
He also had a pretty good sense of humor.
Love ya Neil. Thanks for being a legendary kind of guy.
One last breath for a man, one enduring legend for mankind
My next sig will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush
> I hope your balls fall off.
Awesome.
I was fortunate to get a first hand viewing on TV of all the Apollo missions while bouncing on the knee of my father. The Apollo 11 astronauts were my first heroes and not long after I could read I enjoyed every book, magazine and encyclopedia article I found about them and their mission.
Armstrong is the model on how to be a hero; do something exemplary and treat it as just another day at the office. Embrace knowledge, challenge your mind and enjoy your job. And when it's over, it is over. Armstrong shied away from the public spotlight and certainly passed on what would have been many lucrative opportunities to cash-in on his fame. Instead, he remained pretty much the same person after the mission as before.
Sad day today, to know of the loss of a great person.
It's been a bad month for Armstrongs, hasn't it?
We've always had computers and cars. For at least 6000 years or so.
rewriting history since 2109
You're thinking of Louis Armstrong.
You are getting people confused...Louis Armstrong was the guy who landed on the moon.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
It's not like a person's bodily tissues failing after decades of service should be a surprising or unexpected event. Probably, the fault is in our own DNA, causing our cells to give up and fail according to a schedule.
Perhaps instead of arguing over healthcare or corporate taxes or other petty trival issues we should as a species work on stopping these biological decay processes, and since that is a very complex problem, develop methods to preserve ourselves if we fail before the cures can be developed.
I bet if Mr. Armstrong had been successfully cryogenically frozen, the people of our future would make a considerable effort to bring him back.
My 82 year old mother says "Well, if he's my age and he's dead then I'm glad I never went to the moon."
For very obvious reasons it cannot be staged. The biggest one being the Soviets.
The whole thing was a HUGE publicity stunt and a big dick waving contest between the US and the USSR. Considering how easy it was for the USSR to get spies to some key positions in the US, I don't doubt that they had a pretty good view on the whole moon program, too. A chance to expose that program, a program that the whole nation dedicated considerable resources to and that was watched by people all over the globe, as staged would have been an absolutely priceless PR victory for the USSR. If they only had had a HINT of a chance that this could have been debunked, they certainly would have jumped on that opportunity. Everyone all around the globe had their eyes on that event. You really think they would have let the opportunity slide to expose the US as fakes?
It seems to me that trying to stage it and keep it hushed up would have required more resources than simply doing it.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I don't want to steer this discussion away from the topic, but this is exactly why no theist will ever be able to convince me about the "truths" of his religion. How am I supposed to believe that those word-of-mouth stories that are thousands of years old could be true when people believe in such ludicrous things as "the moon hoax", despite the fact that it was a much more recent event and there are tons of material evidence to support the fact that there was *no* super-competent con man who supposedly managed to trick thousands of engineers into thinking that they are not building a fake rocket and that they are not receiving fake telemetry not from the Moon? People *want* to believe in the irrational, they find something irrational everywhere they look. Human capacity for self-deception never ceases to amaze me.
Ezekiel 23:20
I made a little 'motivational' tribute here
Keep exploring, Mr. Armstrong!
Forward! -- Emperor Norton, 2012
While I do understand that the US is in financial difficulty, it strikes me as important that the first man to walk on the Moon---on another celestial sphere---should be given a significant send off.
Frankly, I think the funeral should be at least on par with that expected for a _sitting_ president, and probably beyond. It may well end up being the most important funeral, or the most important man, in the history of the United States, if not the world.
Neil Armstrong deserves a state procession---an international procession. America and the World owe both he and his generation that much at least.
May the Maths Be with you!
that I won't be whoring myself for karma.
all too easy....
He will still continue to give no fewer interviews than he did before
Well, I'm absolutely not related to this great pilot, I wasn't even born when he took his giant step, yet...
As a guy whose first (and of course unfulfilled) vocation at 6 yo was astronaut (sorry, firemen, you're still too close to the ground), who watched documentaries on space and astronautics over and over again, who attended an astronomy club at 14, who had a large poster of the man in situ above the bed (I know, it was Aldrin actually), and whose most notable deed in the domain was helping in ruining an innocent bystander's crocodile shoes after a hazardous SaturnV model rocket launch...
call me stupid but today, I feel a bit like an orphan.
Well, I'm absolutely not related to this great pilot, I wasn't even born when he took his giant step, yet... As a guy whose first (and of course unfulfilled) vocation at 6 yo was astronaut (sorry, firemen, you're still too close to the ground), who watched documentaries on space and astronautics over and over again, who attended an astronomy club at 14, who had a large poster of the man in situ above the bed (I know, it was Aldrin actually), and whose most notable deed in the domain was helping in ruining an innocent bystander's crocodile shoes after a hazardous SaturnV model rocket launch... call me stupid but today, I feel a bit like an orphan.
They staged his death on the same sound stage as the moon landing. Nice way to bring it full circle. Truly, one of the finest actors of his generation. Today's robots lack the same grace and elegance he had, but they work for scale. Damn Budget cutbacks!
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Go in glory dude.
Uhm, care to sell me that computer of yours? I'll give you my house for it. And if you explain me how you to build that working, fully usable computer with sub-nm scale features, you'll have to excuse me for a moment while I try to get a multi-billion credit to start mass production (Intel would provide it instantly).
"Sad news, marking the end of a glorious and more optimistic era..."
I'm sure Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins will be happy to hear that the "era" ended with the death of one third of the Apollo 11 astronaut team, and that the era is defined in terms of one man among several who spent time on the Moon.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
fully usable computer with sub-nm scale features
Sub nano-meter precision. Not features. Derp. What you figure Intel with it's 16 nm process in research right now is working with an error of greater than 10%?
I remember the white suit and dodgy video, in a hall full of school kids.
RIP.
There was an unknown error in the submission.
Now only 8 living humans have set foot on another world.
That number will be zero soon, and might remain zero forever.
As a follow up. For those who have read Tom Wolf'e's "The Right Stuff", and remember the end of the book, Neil Armstrong had the right stuff!. The comment, I believe was partially in regard to ejecting from his plane at just the right/last minute. It was later he joined the astronaut corp. Some more background some might have missed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/space/armstrongfull.htm
"he's not resting, he is just atoms and water and pudding, there is no god, science, Mitt Romney, midichlorians!!!"
http://www.theonion.com/articles/july-21-1969,10515/
Somebody had to be second.
Dogma always gets in the way. Religion sadly doesn't have a monopoly on that. In that case it'd be easy to identify the kooks and send them on their merry way to another continent. Or place them on the B Ark.
The Giant Space Goat cometh(and Armstong never set foot on the moon and the Earth is 6251 years old). Here's your bunk. We'll follow you shortly. Promise!
20 minutes into the future
The same way it produced Armstrong and the tea party.
Neil Armstrong. You gave me not only hope for a future, but had me dreaming of what fantastic things were to come. You as my role model, was why I made a career in aerospace.
Thank you Mr. Armstrong.
Here ya go! https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/hold-state-funeral-neil-armstrong-symbol-american-dream-and-inspiration-generations/f2Nkgn6G
America, the Eagle has left.
3 things about computers: they're alive, they're self-aware, and they hate your guts.
He had "the right stuff".
sic transit gloria mundi
I'm not quite sure he'd appreciate to be switched back on again as some weird Moon-zombie from the past.
We as a race are quite a lot and we as individuals have a lot of different interests. While some like going to the moon others like to research age.
The notion that a people should pour all its efforts into one big undertaking is simplistic at best and fascist at worst. While I myself have trouble chewing gum while walking I'm quite sure that a lot of scientists can research a lot of different things at the same time without too much trouble.
Better also throw in a philosopher ot two in there because immortality is bound to be messy.
What's the Kickstarter URL? Will I get a T-Shirt?
20 minutes into the future
Have we seen his birth certificate yet?
I grew up on Merritt Island and saw all the moon shots. I stayed up on a school night to watch Apollo 17 go off at night. I wanted to be an aerospace engineer, but my friends' dads were getting laid off, so I went for physics instead because it was science.
I got hired as a software developer and worked on science/weather satellite systems, and many other wonderful things. After years of dreaming I got my pilot's license. I can't get very high into space...but it's as high as I can get myself. My life has been guided by the inspiration I got from the space program.
I'm not the only one. When leaving AirVenture via Appleton this summer, the TSA lady suddenly whispered, "That's Gene Cernan over there!". Her co-worker didn't know and didn't care. Even though us science geeks might see her as just middle-aged and unglamorous and in a reviled job, she was excited and inspired by seeing the last man on the moon.
Later I got to shake his hand and saw several other people got up, just to be near a person that's walked on another world. They were inspired too.
So to Neil Armstrong, thanks for your bravery, your skill and may you rest in peace, knowing that you and your compatriots engaged in the greatest adventure humanity ever carried out and providing the inspiration that we can be more than squabbling primates.
Now he won't be able to enjoy the upcoming iPhone 5. Why couldn't you hold on one more month man? This thing is gonna be GLORIOUS!!!!
I hope your balls fall off. Show a little respect FFS.
He'd have to grow 'em first.
I do not look forward to the day when there is no man left alive who has set foot on the moon.
You gave me imagination, dreams - and especially anxiety listening to your trip, and then watching it in year 1 class. Thanks, mate. Cheers on your new adventure - I'm sure the technical and engineering aspects of your new journey will be extremely interesting! Peace!
YankDownUnder Veni, Vidi, volo in domum redire
I'm out of words - his passing touches me deeply.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
So you think that experiencing absolutely nothing, forever and ever, like you never existed is better?
Not enough of them.
> There's no proof that you actually have a brain, either
Wut... Of course there is. You cut a person open, there's their brain. We nailed this one like.. hundreds of years ago.
Yes, well, that's why I called for a couple of philosophers.
I'm afraid I'm quite unsuitable for such musings since I completely forgot how it felt before I existed. I supose life before conception was dull.But decomposition could be a profound experience.At least you'll not be alone since there are a multitude of helpers of the grave.Perhaps some sort of flute would be in order for the more unruly worms that are bound to show up like trolls in a B-list blog's comment section. Sounds like a marvellous opportunity to quit smoking.
I've not been before. I can do it again.
20 minutes into the future
Are you being flippant? You don't experience ANYTHING. It does not matter if the universe ceases to exist the moment you die : from your perspective, it does.
After you die, it doesn't matter if you were Jeffrey Dahmer or Neil Armstrong. For YOU, your life experiences never even happened.
To me this prospect is far more upsetting than some religious view of heaven or hell.
Even though I have no account here, I am grateful when I'm able to read the many inspirational, insightful comments on a sad day...
I know Neil Armstrong was a naval aviator but I couldn't help but remember this at the same time and thought it was appropriate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzQYd_INSOg&feature=relmfu (High Flight F-104)
I love his rendition of "when the saints go marching in". He'll be missed!
I don't want to steer this discussion away from the topic, but this is exactly why no theist will ever be able to convince me about the "truths" of his religion. How am I supposed to believe that those word-of-mouth stories that are thousands of years old could be true when people believe in such ludicrous things as "the moon hoax", despite the fact that it was a much more recent event and there are tons of material evidence to support the fact that there was *no* super-competent con man who supposedly managed to trick thousands of engineers into thinking that they are not building a fake rocket and that they are not receiving fake telemetry not from the Moon? People *want* to believe in the irrational, they find something irrational everywhere they look. Human capacity for self-deception never ceases to amaze me.
Fascinating. I take the opposite lesson, that despite the all of the evidence for the moon landing there are deniers just 40 years after the event. I can imagine in 2000 years most people not believing the story of the moon landing. From their standpoint, how could a primitive technological society who just learned about spaceflight manage to get to the moon and back. And then for some reason just "stopped" going all of a sudden for 50-100+ years.
From a theological standpoint, if Jesus arrived today as in the BIble there would be just as many disbelievers 2000 years ago as there are today despite all of the video and news stories generated.
But then the conspiracy nuts will just counter that the Soviet Union was an invention of the CIA for the purpose of funnelling boatloads of money to the military-industrial complex.
I'll add another "me too". I was 5. My Mom found me and took me to the TV and said "Watch this, its important".
Of course I'm being flippant. Otherwise it would be impossible to maintain a straight face.
The prospect of complete and untter nonexistance can be maddening if you spend too much thought on it.
But then again the wind is southerly. This is a hawk. That is a handsaw.
20 minutes into the future
The Boomers were responsible though for the eventual budget cuts to NASA and education...
Let's be slightly more realistic here: no specific *generation* is responsible, conservatives are. Even when outnumbered in terms of registered voters, they very often win because more of them actually do vote, do so along party lines & as told by an authority figure, and are far less prone to burning out to the point of apathy. (They also have the "mission from god" mindset that condones just about any misbehavior that will let them defeat their rivals.)
The closest we can come to realistically blaming a generation would be to focus on the Boomers' parents, though... As a group, they were much more conservative (as their support of McCarthyism demonstrated & shows like All In The Family depicted) and really disliked the more liberal nature of the Boomers as a whole. They turned out in far greater numbers to vote than the Boomers, so as owners of expensive property here in California, they were the ones that wrecked our education budget passing prop 13 so their property taxes wouldn't keep increasing, elected Ronald Reagan & Bush I as Presidents & Reagan as governor of California. That set the stage for the political situation we have today.
From what I've read, a significant percentage of that generation was against spending on the space programs. The Baby Boomers were young enough to be entranced with the space program; that's why space-based science fiction shows & movies were so wildly popular with their generation. Psychologically/politically, the norm is for people to be at their most liberal in their 20s, remain in favor of educational spending while raising kids, and only start feeling threatened enough by the world to favor military/police spending in their senior years.
Now mostly at Usenet:comp.misc & SoylentNews.org (it's made of people!)
We need it simply to use as evidence when in 10 years Fox News claims he never existed. (FYI, they ran a thing a dozen years back saying the landing never happened and that Neil Armstrong lied. They pushed it quite heavily for a short bit-- I think it was an experiment in propaganda.)
You were an inspiration to generations. I stood and looked at the moon as a 6 year old, wondering what it was like where you were. I lived in awe and admiration of you and your generation not just accomplished, but also the scope of your dreams.
I once had the opportunity to hear you speak, and it only increased my respect for you.
You and your brethren will be sorely missed.
God speed to you Neil Armstrong, may spend your eternity among the stars...
Ed Harris was *John Glenn*
was watching the moon landing in July 1969 on a black and white TV at my grandparents house in California. I was two months away from turning three years old. That was something all Americans could take pride in the accomplishment of, even though it was a brave few who actually did it.
...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
Your argument is ultimately based on the belief that you are going to die, and it is impossible to avoid, and so you might as well make weird witticisms about it.
People have been doing things like this for thousands of years.
However, maybe, just maybe, the civilization we live in has developed sufficient technology and infrastructure that it doesn't have to be this way.
...a legend birth for the man kind
RIP Neil :|
Neil Armstrong: Some people dream of riches, some of fame, some of power. Neil, I don't know what you dreamed but it inspired too many people for you to leave us so soon. I only wish I could be half the man you were, may you rest in peace among the heavens you connected us with.
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But i feel compelled to today. I'm not American and I don't like everything the US does or stands for, but admire it immensely in lots of other ways. Neil Armstrong for me encapsulates the WIN spirit and attitude of the US, the headstrong, confident, unstoppable attitude of a by gone generation, and boy did he bask the US in a glory the whole world had to stop and watch. If I was an American I'd be in mourning right now. Sad day for everyone when an old fashioned bad ass bites the dust.
The conspiracy theorists have got an answer to that: cheap grain imports from USA.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
I remember a story from one of the Apollo documentaries: he went out to test on a rocket-powered LEM simulator, which involved hovering ~5 metres above a concrete pad and landing. It malfunctioned, crashed, and he ejected with seconds (at most) to spare. An hour after his near-death experience, he was in his office, wokring as if nothing had happened. Another astronaut came in and asked him about the crash; he said something to the effect of 'no big deal'!
A brave, hardworking, and modest man. RIP.
The English word fart is one of the oldest words in the English vocabulary.
Mr. Armstrong you were not just an American hero or icon, you were our first off-world ambassador. I hope, as i am sure you did, that we can all work together to touch the stars and never stop exploring. Rest easy as you took the first step we must take up the yoke and take the further steps on other unexplored places in this solar system and beyond.
Chief Thinker www.devotedskeptic.com
Thank you for a life of inspiration.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
From: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/PCI_angioplasty_article.aspx "Interventional cardiology and cardiovascular surgery is basically a scam based on a misunderstanding of the nature of heart disease. Searching for and treating obstructive plaque does not address the areas of the coronary vascular tree most likely to rupture and cause heart attacks. If there was never another CABG or angioplasty performed or stent placed, patients with heart disease would be better off. Doctors would be forced to educate our citizens that their heart disease risk is determined by what they place on their forks. Millions of lives would be dramatically extended. To abandon the theory of stretching and cutting out areas with plaque would shut down interventional cardiology, nearly all cardiovascular surgery, and many suppliers of the biotechnology. In many cases, interventional cardiology is the major income generator to hospitals. The ending of this ill-conceived, out-dated and ineffective technology would dramatically downsize hospitals in the United States and free up over $100 billion annually in medical care costs. Besides being ineffective, interventional cardiology places the responsibility in the hands of the doctor and not the patients. When patients finally realize they must take control of their heart problems with aggressive dietary modifications (and when needed medications for temporary periods) we will essentially solve the health crisis in America.
The sad thing is surgical interventions and medications are the foundation of modern cardiology and both are relatively ineffective compared to nutritional excellence. My patients routinely reverse their heart disease, and no longer have vulnerable plaque or high blood pressure, so they do not need medical care, hospitals or cardiologists anymore. The problem is that in the real world cardiac patients are not even informed that heart disease is predictably reversed with nutritional excellence. They are not given the opportunity to choose and just corralled into these surgical interventions.
Trying to figure out how to pay for ineffective and expensive medicine by politicians will never be a real solution. People need to know they do not have to have heart disease to begin with, and if they get it, aggressive nutrition is the most life-saving intervention. And it is free."
When I heard about his treatment a couple weeks ago, I tried to figure out how to contact him, but to no avail. Neil Armstrong benefited from the best of 1960s technology, but sadly did not benefit from the best of 21st century medicine (aggressive nutritional intervention). Sad. We could have had him healthy and vibrant and as a witness to the better side of human kind for another decade or two. Instead some heart surgeons can afford to make a few more payments on luxury cars and big houses.
We just lost Martin Fleischmann (just as LENR aka "cold fusion" is resurging) probably from the same kind of widespread nutirional ignorance in the medical profession.
Some attempts by me to try to help with improving human health:
https://www.changemakers.com/morehealth/entries/health-sensemaking
http://www.changemakers.com/discussions/discussion-493#comment-38823
Something to keep in mind:
http://www.pdfernhout.net/to-james-randi-on-skepticism-about-mainstream-science.html#Some_quotes_on_social_problems_in_science
"Much of what medical researchers conclude in their studies is misleading, exaggerated, or flat-out wrong. So why are doctors -- to a striking extent -- still drawing upon misinformation in their everyday practice? Dr. John Ioannidis has spent his career challengin
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
I wish I knew what'd happened that caused his death. 82 is not that old anymore. I've seen too many seniors die on account of hospital-borne infections and other screwups.
Was a little kid 7 and really thought walking on the moon no big deal, just wanted to ride my bike. Mom was livid.
I think it is the time for everyone to revisit John F. Kennedy Moon's Speech. I wish I was alive in that era. Everything sounded so exciting and promising.
http://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/ricetalk.htm
It will be discussed over and over, but this man did what countless generations before him dreamed about. We can never truly quantify the amount of change that has occurred because of his stepping on a celestial body. May he rest in peace and look back with pride on what has been accomplished because of what he was willing to dare. Remember, there is no tow service once you pass the ionosphere. There was no way to get back if they landed safely and had a problem. NASA delayed the video feed so that if something went wrong, it wasn't broadcast live on TV. They would just say that signal had been lost. He ignored these risks and put his life on the line.
Mr. Armstrong,
From all your fellow Eagle Scouts; Thank you.
One Token Ring to Rule them All, One Search Engine to Find Them, One WAN to bring them in, and TCP/IP Bind them...
The whole thing was a HUGE publicity stunt and a big dick waving contest between the US and the USSR.
If only there were someone worth waving our dicks at now.
William of Ockham had no beard. The most likely explanation is that it was chewed off by squirrels every morning.
Much as it pains me to be off topic, I noticed you got modded insightful, so I'll challenge you.
Similar to Armstrong, Christ's life did not take place in a vacuum. (pun intended). Almost everyone in the region knew him or of him. Much like today's news, most people were able to evaluate it and take judge whether it made sense or not.
The people who were there, simply found the events and the claims to be credible.
They SAW him...heal the sick... give sight to the blind...raise the dead ...and even appear to people 40 days after his Resurrection The fact is that MOST people aren't stupid. But people with axes to grind and the kooks get all the press, much like today. Most people that saw Armstrong walk on the moon believe it happened - even to this day. So do their children, so will their great great grandchildren. Believe or don't - you would trust an expert in science, but you won't lend an ear to an expert in theology. Your own argument proves you wrong. Even Thomas would not have been so jaded.
But you probably don't know that before they emerged from the spaceship, Aldrin pulled out a Bible, a silver chalice, and sacramental bread and wine. There on the moon, his first act was to celebrate communion.
It's sad that he has passed away. I remember it being all over the news when they landed on the moon (though, being only four at the time I didn't stay up to watch it). I do remember in 1972 staying up late at night to watch the last Apollo missions beams live on TV. It was a great thrill (especially for someone as young as myself).
It is also sad that it has also brought you the lunatic fringe. I'm in several arguments with people who are busy slamming him and calling him a liar and a fraud etc and saying he never walked on the moon. In spite of them not being able to prove the things they are saying, they just refuse to acknowledge any evidence (including 3rd party evidence) that man has been to the moon. I guess you just can't argue with stupid.
Sure enough, the cow costume was hanging up next to the superhero outfit and sailors uniform. (S,Spud)
"As we got below 30 feet or so, I had selected the final touchdown area. For some reason I'm not sure of, we started to pick up left translational velocity and a backward velocity. That's the thing I certainly didn't want to do, because you don't like to be going backwards, unable to see where you're going. So I arrested this backward rate with some possibly spasmodic control motions, but I was unable to stop the left translational rate. As we approached the ground, I still had a left translational rate which made me reluctant to shut the engine off while I still had that rate. I was also reluctant to slow down my descent rate anymore than it was, or stop (the descent), because we were close to running out of fuel. We were hitting our abort limit."
"I guess that, at that altitude, running out of fuel wasn't a consideration. Because we would have let it just quit on us, probably, and let it fall on in."
Rest in peace and Tranquility.
Yup. As odd as it sounds, the USSR protected our freedom. As long as they existed, our politicians had to act as if they were the good guys.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
And you really think they cared too much whether some people starve to death if they could put the US to shame? Stalin sure didn't give half a shit.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Stalin was long dead by that time and Brezhnev certainly did care. And that's why the USSR was not the worst place to live back then.
I don't say that conspiracy theorists are right, though.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap