| User | Comment |
|---|
Crayons   | | posted 23-Jun-2008 7:25pm |
Not really, I don't see what the big deal about it is. |
Galomorro  | | posted 23-Jun-2008 7:45pm |
No. More of a waste of money. |
Enheduanna  | | posted 23-Jun-2008 8:00pm |
Not really. |
| stellarlove21 | | posted 23-Jun-2008 8:22pm |
Although I like the idea of exploring outer space and discovering new planets/star systems, the space program wastes a lot of money that could be going towards health care & other programs to help HUMANS here on planet EARTH. |
dab  | | posted 23-Jun-2008 8:26pm |
I think humanity's future requires getting off this planet. If we're stuck here only, I think we will stagnate and die. So, yes. |
| dab | | posted 23-Jun-2008 8:41pm |
Gee, now I'm depressed. I see that there are two great challenges facing humanity right now, human life extension and learning how to get off the Earth and live out there. I understand, I think, why people shy away from life extension but that people do not even associate space exploration with hope is really disheartening. Perhaps we really won't make it. Or, perhaps as they say, "the meek shall inherit the Earth, the rest of us are headed for the stars". At least I can hope. |
bill   | | posted 23-Jun-2008 8:53pm |
"hope" seems kind of pathetic to me. I see it more as and adventure or the next great frontier. The space program is about the human spirit. It embodies our boldness, our drive to achieve great things. |
| Kristal_Rose | | posted 23-Jun-2008 10:46pm |
It's seems like a good thing to do.
My own research benefits quite often from papers NASA publishes.
Just as our continents have scattered resources best shared across the globe, likewise the moon and planets have scattered resources like water, metals, and methane fuel which could create great things when combined. Heck, we could turn the whole solar system itself into a pilotable space-ship by doing nano propulsion on half of some planets and the sun.
The stuff I most enjoy is the balloon and and slingshot space stuff which doesn't further tax our energy resources to accomplish.
More hopeful though would simply be planning on a billion years of sustainability here. Escaping to other planets because we've ruined our own is like building a car from scratch because our old one needs washed.
~
I do think massive government employment is a good thing, and NASA is way better than having a decadent defense industry.
What I think would be better though is a group of similar science engineers focused on green energy and urban renewal solutions. Even our existing massive solar projects are already the result of NASA research though.
I think every urban roof-top should be either a solar collector, a sky-light, or a garden. That would put people to work and solve our economic consumer/production decline. |
| Pomeranian | | posted 24-Jun-2008 12:00am |
really I couldn't think of a better objective correlative for hope than a space program. |
| Melf | | posted 24-Jun-2008 2:10am |
No. I was looking at an old survey the other day - something along the lines of 'Are space programs worth the billions put into them?' and a few people were saying they are because they'll let us get away from this planet. I don't think that, because I doubt it will happen in my lifetime. |
| judgescratch | | posted 24-Jun-2008 7:11am |
No, but science, enginnering, and knowledge. |
| Biggles | | posted 24-Jun-2008 7:29am |
I suppose so. |
Iseult  | | posted 24-Jun-2008 9:19am |
No.
I think they're exciting and we learn a lot, but there is plenty of problems down here on Earth that we need to address first. |
| Melf |
What does that mean? |
| LindaH | | posted 24-Jun-2008 10:39am |
Not really. |
| they | | posted 24-Jun-2008 11:10am |
Nope.
I associate them with hoax and conspiracy and very scary politics. |
| Galomorro |
|
> I think every urban roof-top should be either
> a solar collector, a sky-light, or a garden. That
> would put people to work and solve our economic
> consumer/production decline.
Yes, yes, YES! I would be in such heaven! All three of these. Teach kids in school about these subjects. |
| Pomeranian | | (reply to Melf) posted 24-Jun-2008 2:07pm |
It means two things: it's a fancy way of saying 'a space program is a symbol of hope' and it means I am pretentious. |
| cloudhugger | | posted 24-Jun-2008 2:56pm |
No, I associate it with the government having too much money to spend. |
| cloudhugger | | posted 24-Jun-2008 2:59pm |
I believe the 'space program' giving hope is smoke and mirrors. It's really camoflage for the 'Star Wars' program. Satelites and missiles are being aimed at each country so every one has a button to push. |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to Galomorro) posted 24-Jun-2008 8:29pm |
I have a few ideas like that. For instance if I were mayor of LA, I'd push for requiring that all new illuminated signage and outdoor lighting except walkway safety lighting be solar or wind powered.
Air-conditioners are a peeve of mine. Seems to me if one needs to use them frequently they should move further North. |
| Kristal_Rose |
I had an idea to keep the defense industry thriving without putting the planet too at risk, and that is an international ban on electrical/chemical weapons, including gun powder and fueled delivery vehicles. I figure we could keep weapons designers quite entertained building cross-continental mechanical catapults or paraglider delivery systems to release ninja stars. On the other had, I'd allow any surveillance tech to assure no one was breaking the treaty, producing guns or nukes somewhere. |
| Galomorro |
Well not only should you be mayor of L.A. but I'd like to see you run for U.S. prez. I rather doubt if Obama has such good ideas as these. |
| cloudhugger |
JWhat fun pictures that put in my head. I could see all that! Yes, do it! |
| jettles | | posted 25-Jun-2008 12:19pm |
no |
| cerealkiller | | posted 25-Jun-2008 12:43pm |
What "space programs"? |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to Galomorro) posted 26-Jun-2008 12:23am |
I seriously considered it at one time, and was at least able to directly deliver my ideas to Kucinich's campaign manager.
Since then though I've concluded that the only real legislative power was finacial power, so am pursuing that first. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself.
For instance I'd like to buy out defense plants and turn them into manufacturers of wind turbines. |
| LindaH |
It would be cool to have smart catapults, where you can directly send a letter to your friend across the country, and have it arrive on their doorstep (and hope the parachute opens) |
| LJD | | posted 26-Jun-2008 12:40am |
NO |
| Kristal_Rose |
It could get quite crazy really: balloon/geo-slingshot launched sattelites with hydro-mechanical cuckoo-clock computers hosting giant magnifying lenses to incinerate targets. High-pressure tank bombs to destroy dams. Believe me, weapons designers would have no shortage of new weapons. At least there wouldn't be any lingering bio-hazards or radiation. Forgotten land-mines would still be a problem. Japan fought WW2 with a lot of stuff like pits of dung-spears and flaming balloons, so it's not as far-fetched as it sounds.
The important part is that it open the door to global inspections. Unfortunately that requires a more open transparent society than we even have amongst ourselves with competitive corporate trade secrecy. Anyone with a basement machine-shop could manufacture pocket-nukes unnoticed if it weren't for radioactive material monitoring by sattelite. Same goes for bio-weapon design, for which there is no tracking. The international law would have to allow instant search anywhere based on any hearsay intelligence, and then international supervisors would have to monitor the inspectors to assure no corporate trade secrets were divulged. |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to LindaH) posted 26-Jun-2008 1:09am |
It would be 'uncool' to be in a hot-air balloon or paraglider in the path of such mail delivery though.
I was just reading about hurricane Katrina the other night. The prospect of getting hit by a 160mph toaster, tricycle, or chipmunk does not sound good.
Way back in the 30's buildings had mailing tubes between them, and rather expected the nation to be full of them everywhere in the future. Their efficiency could be way improved today with suspension magnets and slippery PTFE plastics. Large cross-continental versions make more sense to me than the air mail we use now. I guess I'll have to include that in my floating wind/solar monorail designs. They should be large enough to send a single person or their luggage. Claunstrophobic people would still probably prefer sitting in a bullet-train to being shot in a capsule through a dark tube though. |
| LindaH |
What would happen if something (or worse, someone) got stuck mid-shoot? |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to LindaH) posted 26-Jun-2008 1:48am |
With the catapult or mailing tube? I'm guessing mailing tubes did get stuck on occasion and require costly repairs.
I think I'll see if the wiki has an entry. A indeed, people have been transported in such things http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tube
and very nice vacuum-train plans we should have built 30 yeas ago exist too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vactrain
My hovering version (though I had only thought of monorails) makes just as much sense as the version 1000 ft under the sea, especially for over land, where otherwise expensive tunnelling is required. My version would be powered by floating atmospheric wind-turbines. |
| Galomorro |
Well you've got more good ideas than anyone I've ever heard of and your IQ is probably higher than any of the other candidates. You're ahead of your time. I'm impressed -- keep up the good work letting people know of your ideas. The buying out of defense plants idea is excellent too. Good luck financial-wise. |
| JessicaWoman99 | | posted 26-Jun-2008 1:41pm |
Yes hope for a cure for cancer or people in a wheelchair can walk someday |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to Galomorro) posted 26-Jun-2008 7:52pm |
Perhaps I should write a book "If I were president". If it became popular whoever's in office might pay attention to my plans.
Much of what I suggest happens eventually anyhow because we can't afford otherwise. It's the stuff that requires investment first we need to work on. The world has been full of people for a century with the ideas we need, like Fuller for instance. It's the finance/admin structure that wasn't accomodating, not since FDR at least. People won't allow the reigns of change unless things appear desperate, then they'll even let a Hitler reign in hopes of improvement. |
| Galomorro |
Hey -- good idea, such a book. So many things just take so LONG to happen -- like the testing of drugs to save peoples' lives, for instance -- so many years of testing, then no one can afford them anyway... |
| LindaH |
I like your practical uses of rooftops ideas |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to Galomorro) posted 27-Jun-2008 12:03am |
Testing? You mean 'sell it and see what happens'? 'Children of mice were free of apparent defects'? 'Benefits outweigh risk of death'? Watching 200 people for two months hardly factors into their costs, I suspect.
What sort of hurry are we in? If the goal is to preserve humanity, a small 20 year test before releasing a product with possible 'thalidimide baby' consequences to millions of people is nothing.
If higher education were free to those gifted or studious, CEOs didn't require 400 times the salary of others, and quarterly returns weren't siphoned off to the investor class, though our taxes pay for NIMH research given free to biotech anyhow, we wouldn't have such costs. India is right to defy the WTO and prohibit medical patents. Those guys try to patent water when they can get away with it. |
| Galomorro |
It just seems that there should be a way to get these things speeded up because of such long waits when there are all these incurable diseases out there. I think the price of life-saving drugs bugs me more than the wait. There's too much of a discrepancy between the rich, who can afford any kind of healthcare they want and the poor who don't get much of anything. |
| Matty | | posted 27-Jun-2008 12:54pm |
I associate spce programs with nothing. |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to Galomorro) posted 27-Jun-2008 10:03pm |
Here, yeah. Not so much discrepancy in places like Castro's Cuba, socialist and co-founded by a doctor, hence free medical school and socialiszed medicine. Thus they were able to offer doctors to respond to Hurricane Katrina. We didn't accept, nor do I think did we accept Venezuela's help for emergency home heating oil, as both responses from socialized nations make our situation appear embarrassing. |
| Kristal_Rose | | (reply to Matty) posted 27-Jun-2008 10:06pm |
Space is so vast, so infinite. |
| Galomorro |
Thanks for all the info - you're very knowledgeable. |
| southernyankee | | posted 1-Jul-2008 11:01pm |
No, not really.
Besides, I wonder how much fuel they use every launch. With these high oil prices, shhhheeeeee |
| southernyankee | | (reply to dab) posted 1-Jul-2008 11:03pm |
> Gee, now I'm depressed. I see that there are two great challenges
> facing humanity right now, human life extension and learning how to
> get off the Earth and live out there. I understand, I think, why
> people shy away from life extension but that people do not even associate
> space exploration with hope is really disheartening. Perhaps we really
> won't make it. Or, perhaps as they say, "the meek shall inherit the
> Earth, the rest of us are headed for the stars". At least I can hope.
Human life extention seems a LOT more useful.
|
| Kristal_Rose |
Worse than the fuel, each launch punches a 1/4 mile hole in the ionosphere. Hmm, that doesn't really sound so bad number wise. We banned CFCs to prevent such damage though. Supposedly it was an issue.
I think green powered interplanetary launches would be so cool though, balloons and sling-shots and such. |
| kcthedog | | posted 2-Jul-2008 12:08am |
Yes, I believe in the quest that mankind is on, an ever expanding horizon of possibilities the infinite universe!
|
| dab |
With an estimated 100,000 people dying of old age every day, I'd say that it's a more immediate problem. I think space travel is a comparably important problem, long term. Fortunately, there's no reason why we can't work on both problems simultaneously. |
| aquawolfy |
Nope not at all |
