Look, I know Bezos has lots of money. But if we can send the nutty perfesser AND ann coulter to mars? I’ll contribute some dough. Or effort. Hey Jeff, whaddaya need? I’ll get it for you. I’ll give you a few more suggestions for your interplanetary passenger manifest.

So “we” believe in colonizing Mars, but “our” elected officals are all about cutting funding to science and NASA and space research.

Gotcha.

Off-topic, but did you hear that Ken Lay died of a heart attack. A mixed blessing since he died before his trial. I blame Kira (geeky DeathNotes reference).

Look, I know Bezos has lots of money. But if we can send the nutty perfesser AND ann coulter to mars? I’ll contribute some dough. Or effort. Hey Jeff, whaddaya need? I’ll get it for you. I’ll give you a few more suggestions for your interplanetary passenger manifest.

Dude, I know. I really gotta start that PayPal account.

Well, I can’t speak for other lefties, but I think we’re not in the twilight of our existence quite yet(though Bush’s policies are certainly dim) but will be if these nutbars succeed in populating the Earth until there’s standing room only. But Jesus Mary Joseph that is dumb stuff, Gavin, is that really the first chapter? What an embarrassment.

how exaclty do these republicans plan to escape from the earth and populate other planets when they keep undermining science in the educational system and on the national level.

mystery god of technology, indeed.

I suggest adding a couple of additional flights to the Space Shuttle in 2010. Mars: The Final Voyage. Put up a crew list – I nominate both Coulter and Reynolds to boldly go…elsewhere. Please.

From the same article quoted by Reynolds, in the section entitled “Unique Hazards”:

“Their reported choice of hydrogen peroxide and RP-1 as propellants is interesting, particularly the hydrogen peroxide,” [John] Garvey noted. By comparison, the DC-X/XA used liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

“Numerous new entrants to the rocket business have favored—at least initially – hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizer instead of liquid oxygen, usually for perceived safety reasons, even though that means sacrificing performance,” Garvey observed.

However, highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide presents some unique hazards relative to liquid oxygen in flight operations as well as shipping and storage, Garvey said. Hydrogen peroxide can “rapidly decompose” if contamination is present.

“Every so often there is a story about an amateur rocketeer burning down the garage—or worse—due to such an accident,” Garvey explained. “For whatever reason … no major operational launch system has employed it for primary propulsion.”

Glenn, the goo! Keep the green goo away from the fuel tanks!

So that’s how Insty plans to launch his robot body into space. Y’know, I’m almost tempted to say Insty and Bezos deserve each other, but that’s not fair to Jeff. True story about Bezos: A few years ago, my mother (who’s a realtor) showed a house of his. The whole place was practically unused, so much so that when she turned on the kitchen sink she had to let it run for a bit to clear out the dirty pipes. The exception was the attic over the garage where Bezos lived while at that house, which was completely off-limits. Kinda gives an idea of the transhuman mindset.

Oh, yeah, and on the survey — kinda says something about our energy policy that more experts think Afghanistan was a net negative than think our energy policy is helping, even when weighted toward conservatives.

I’m going off topic here too, ’cause I’m crackin up at this. Yesterday was the fourth of july. I have two sock drawers. (That may well be the best constructed non sequiter in the history of the spoken word.) In my “other” sock drawer, I had two really old M80s. Way in the back corner. Couldn’t tell ya where I got them, or how long ago. Anyway, the scotch will flow, and I went and got them (the M80s, not the socks). Everybody kinda freaked out. “Oh no, mikey, don’t fuck around with those. You could hurt yourself. Just put ’em back, ok?” Sorry, babe, mikey wasn’t put on this earth to play it safe (when he’s not sober). With a John Wayne swagger, I took one of the M80s out to the street and, with a Cap’n Jack Sparrow cocky grin, lit the fuse. I backed away and looked up at the terrified crowd, smiling with the look of “oh, baby, this is gonna be COOL!!” Well, the fuse burned down and the M80 just sort of hesitated for a second, then, with a mighty PFFFFTTTT it fizzled. Completely. Anticlimax is too kind a word. It was just dorky. Fuck. I put the other M80 in the trash, went back inside and had a drink.

Why am I relating this tale of Explodus Interuptus? Think of it as parable, children. North Korea has been fucking around with ballistic missiles. The western press has breathlessly reported the administration’s talking points. These missiles could hit the west coast of the US!! FEAR. TERROR. PROVOCATION!!! This aggressive act cannot be allowed to stand! Once again, the winguts were in full cry, terrified by the overwhelming power of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. *AHEM* Doods. They can’t GROW RICE!! They have, what, six warheads? We have six thousand. Their military budget wouldn’t pay for a decent Haditha level atrocity. And we are told to FEAR THEM!! They mean us harm, and they can hold America at risk!!

So then they go to shoot the damn thing (yeah, ok, I bet you see where I’m going with this) and it blows up 35 seconds into the flight. That’s because, well, ICBM technology is HARD, and if you have to eat tree bark, it’s hard to do your best thinking. Jeezus, asshats, these clowns are halfway around the world, and they aren’t particularly GOOD at this. Can we now start to recognize that, other than some decent counter-terrorism teams and some righteous intel, we don’t really need much of this militarization to protect us? Can we recognize that we need to operate proactively against terror cells on a small–unit/specops basis, but NoKor and Iran are not a fucking “existential threat” to America? Can we understand that this is all political fear-mongering by people who understand how to run a venal (but somewhat successful) campaing, but couldn’t govern a retired teachers book club?

Just sayin

mikey

Oh Christ, mikey, I sure as hell wish we could realize all that. It seems unlikely, under this regime. I wish many of my fellow citizens weren’t such idiots, too.

BTW, count me in $ for the Shoot-Insty-and-Ann-Into-the-Sun Fund.

I Really think a “B” Ark would be a good idea in this case.

Mo’s Bike Shop scooped me!

If Reynolds, Coulter, Malkin, and whoever else are on the A ship, I’ll gladly go on the B ark with as many telephone sanitizers as I can shake a stick at.

I am surprised that no-one has made the obvious acronym / pun about a S,N-Ark.

Singularity is the rapture for the 1337.

British comedian Ben Elton wrote a novel titled “Stark”, in which a rupert murdoch-style Australian billionaire heads a plan to send the world’s rich into space until pollution deals with the poor.

This whole escaping-to-space business is giving me flashbacks to 1977, when the Whole Earth Catalog (only it was CoEvolution Quarterly by then) brought out that book on Space Colonies. O’Neill Colonies! The L-5 point! Mass-drivers, and free energy from space! Yeah! It only seems like yesterday.

In fact I still have my copy. Possibly time to have a garage sale.

I think I prefer the other flashbacks, the ones with the dancing lemmings and Hughie the Datura Dwarf.

Hmmm, and I thought Silko’s Almanac of the Dead was over the top when it portrayed a right-wing conspiracy to ruin Earth and leave it!

Populating Earth until there’s standing room only is the surest way I can think of to hasten the twilight of our existence.

Only a planet with a stable and reliable ecosystem is capable of supporting an economy big enough to have a surplus that can be invested in expensive new projects like colonizing Mars.

Coulter can have her over-the-top nonsense, but it is the reality-based liberals who built NASA (in spite of constant hostility from conservatives) who will be the ones to terraform Mars, Ganymede and other choice real estate.

I’m reading Ann Coulter.

Oh, God, did she just say Malthus was a liberal? Oh God, this is wretched.

I’m reading Ann Coulter…Oh God, this is wretched.

Well, I can’t say I’m entirely surprised to hear that…

Since they were excluded from the Rapture, and found themselves stuck down here with all of the Lost Tribes of Liberals, it’s not surprising they’d develop their own conveyance to get to Heaven’s Gate.

I wonder who’ll break the news to them that what Insty thinks is the comet Hale-Bopp is actually Jonah’s best side.

I’d like to offer up some travelin’ music for Ann & Glenn

When I feel you coming round me – ridin in the sun
Goin home move your mind toward Mars and then beyond
Genesis is not the answer to what we had before
I we altogether in you…

…Only the sun knows what we really need to know
Only the sun holds the secret
And more than human can we be
Cause human’s truly locked
To this planetary circle…

…7000 Gypsies swirlin together
Offering to the sun in the name of the weather
Gonna Hijack – HIJACK THE STARSHIP

from Hijack: lyrics by Paul Kantner

David Cross had a nice routine about this:

“Yeah, we’re going to the moon! No, no, not you. Just the rich. No, see, the meek inherit the earth. Have fun with that.”

Hey mikey! I have two sock drawers too! TWINS!

We believe in populating the Earth until there’s standing room only[…]

Hmm. Somebody sure isn’t doing her part. Not that I’m complaining or anything.

[…] Heh. Hey Glenn- I think I’ve found a new recruit for your space program. His name is “J. Grant Swank: Pastor, Author, Transhuman.” “The Bush administration is rushing a delivery of precision-guided bombs to Israel, which requested the expedited shipment last week after beginning its air campaign against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, American officials said Friday.â€? […]