The question is, is space exploration a good national investment? I happen to think "yes", you think "no".
I'm serious: We're talking about survival of the species here. One big rock, and we're all boned. We need to get off this rock, and we need to not be jacking around. The costs are trivial (relative to, say, farm subsidies, or the defense budget) and the payoffs are, like, uh, big.
Humans are at their best under adverse conditions. Does it make sense to get technological advancement from fighting each other, or fighting the elements on a hostile planet? I vote for #2. Too bad there's nobody I can vote for who agrees with me.
In principle, I agree with you: Private enterprise is the best mechanism to develop and exploit space. However, NASA can and should be developing the raw technologies to enable that to happen.
Shuttle is a stupid and poorly designed program, and it should have been scrapped 10 years ago. Same for ISS. They're a waste of time and money.
However, space exploration is, literally, the cheapest insurance we can buy. Yes, the Space Race was a PR campaign to Beat Those Russkies, but the collateral advances in sciences and technology are unparalleled.
There is one option for guaranteeing the long-term survival of the human race: Get off this rock. If that's not an evolutionary imperative, I don't know what is.
Even with the gross idiocy of the current NASA administration, their budget is peanuts relative to the vast sums wasted on your behalf. There are plenty of places that tax money could be better spent, but NASA is small potatoes. I think Congress should give them their budget, leave the pork alone, and let NASA get back into the R&D business (rather than the space truck operations business).
Wow. I wonder how artists are going to adapt to technological advances? It's not like there's ever been a new medium to explore before. This is totally unprecedented! What WILL we DO!?
Deep breaths, Sparky. Somebody will figure out how to do it.
There exists a threshold of inconvenience beyond which the roll-your-own devices become attractive to me. I'm not worried about those devices being hamstrung.
I'm a rocket scientist. Does political activism look like a rocket to you?
"Now is that so hard?"
Uh, yeah. If I need to spend all my time babysitting the courts, I don't have any time to do things that are actually productive and helpful. Never mind the fact that I'd need a law degree.
"You may also have a bomb on your bus, but it's worth it to avoid the occasional nerd getting hassled by the cops, right?"
Exactly.
PS and by the way, did you hear that story a couple months ago about the Brazilian guy who was shot dead by the London police because they thought he was suspicious looking?
No, I'd say Bush's administration is QUITE effective. They're running the tables against civil liberties, free expression, and the rule of law. They are implementing their agenda VERY efficiently.
Your contention is that they're not interested in the things they're not interested in. That's pretty obvious.
Government should not be part of my daily life, ever. That's the (unachievable) ideal.
Tivo will either keep me happy, or they'll lose my business. Frankly, right now, it's not looking too good for them. I like my Tivo a LOT, but I won't put up with any shenanigans...
If they sell me a product that does A, B, and C, and then (at some time after my purchase) deactivate C, then they've taken something away from me that I paid for.
That's the problem, and that's why they might be sued. (I say might, because I don't know whether it will in fact happen or not...)
Why would an engineer who can write waste his time with press releases? A writer who knows basic engineering or statistics (or not) and writes press releases is a marketroid, by definition.
Marketroids are them who create press releases, and think that they're important.
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The question is, is space exploration a good national investment? I happen to think "yes", you think "no".
I'm serious: We're talking about survival of the species here. One big rock, and we're all boned. We need to get off this rock, and we need to not be jacking around. The costs are trivial (relative to, say, farm subsidies, or the defense budget) and the payoffs are, like, uh, big.
Humans are at their best under adverse conditions. Does it make sense to get technological advancement from fighting each other, or fighting the elements on a hostile planet? I vote for #2. Too bad there's nobody I can vote for who agrees with me.
In principle, I agree with you: Private enterprise is the best mechanism to develop and exploit space. However, NASA can and should be developing the raw technologies to enable that to happen.
Shuttle is a stupid and poorly designed program, and it should have been scrapped 10 years ago. Same for ISS. They're a waste of time and money.
However, space exploration is, literally, the cheapest insurance we can buy. Yes, the Space Race was a PR campaign to Beat Those Russkies, but the collateral advances in sciences and technology are unparalleled.
There is one option for guaranteeing the long-term survival of the human race: Get off this rock. If that's not an evolutionary imperative, I don't know what is.
Even with the gross idiocy of the current NASA administration, their budget is peanuts relative to the vast sums wasted on your behalf. There are plenty of places that tax money could be better spent, but NASA is small potatoes. I think Congress should give them their budget, leave the pork alone, and let NASA get back into the R&D business (rather than the space truck operations business).
Wow. I wonder how artists are going to adapt to technological advances? It's not like there's ever been a new medium to explore before. This is totally unprecedented! What WILL we DO!?
Deep breaths, Sparky. Somebody will figure out how to do it.
It's an awful lot easier to obtain a false, portable DNA sample than a false, portable fingerprint.
There exists a threshold of inconvenience beyond which the roll-your-own devices become attractive to me. I'm not worried about those devices being hamstrung.
I'm a rocket scientist. Does political activism look like a rocket to you?
"Now is that so hard?"
Uh, yeah. If I need to spend all my time babysitting the courts, I don't have any time to do things that are actually productive and helpful. Never mind the fact that I'd need a law degree.
Well, this particular individual was fortunate. Others have wound up substantially more dead.
For the record, I am very much not in favor of that.
"You may also have a bomb on your bus, but it's worth it to avoid the occasional nerd getting hassled by the cops, right?"
Exactly.
PS and by the way, did you hear that story a couple months ago about the Brazilian guy who was shot dead by the London police because they thought he was suspicious looking?
I'd rather be less safe than less free.
Please explain to me how I change a court that is ruling unjustly.
No, I'd say Bush's administration is QUITE effective. They're running the tables against civil liberties, free expression, and the rule of law. They are implementing their agenda VERY efficiently.
Your contention is that they're not interested in the things they're not interested in. That's pretty obvious.
Government should not be part of my daily life, ever. That's the (unachievable) ideal.
"i'm still not convinced there's a "good purpose" for guns"
Protecting myself from another person, or nation-state, that has guns is indeed a good purpose.
"With my money."
Step 2 is to give them less of that. First things first...
"would thus have even less juice to get anything done"
Now you're getting it. A less effective government will be less intrusive, and that's Good.
It's not pissing and moaning to take my business elsewhere. That's called "a free market".
I don't owe Tivo my loyalty. As soon as they go too far, I'm gone. They're mighty close.
So will selling out their customers.
Tivo will either keep me happy, or they'll lose my business. Frankly, right now, it's not looking too good for them. I like my Tivo a LOT, but I won't put up with any shenanigans...
If they sell me a product that does A, B, and C, and then (at some time after my purchase) deactivate C, then they've taken something away from me that I paid for.
That's the problem, and that's why they might be sued. (I say might, because I don't know whether it will in fact happen or not...)
The last thing NASA needs is more press releases. I'll leave your silly assumptions to you.
Why would an engineer who can write waste his time with press releases? A writer who knows basic engineering or statistics (or not) and writes press releases is a marketroid, by definition.
Marketroids are them who create press releases, and think that they're important.
"fully compatible with MS Office"
Until Office 12 ships with a whiz-bang new encrypted file format.
For spreadsheet work? Real men must be masochists...
Uh huh, because when you're talking RF antenna design, longer is always better.
Right.
You are aware that the overwhelming majority of Earthlings live on or near the water, right?
Right, because non-Western news sources all have perfect Western pronunciation, huh?