Posted on 08/05/2005 8:21:03 AM PDT by sheltonmac
For here
Am I sitting in a tin can
Far above the world
Planet Earth is blue
And there's nothing I can do
- from "Space Oddity" by David Bowie
It's amazing what we continue to learn from NASA's space program. Eileen Collins, commander of the latest Discovery shuttle mission, took time out of her busy schedule of wasting taxpayer dollars to make a few remarks on the condition of Earth as it appears from an altitude of 220 miles.
Commander, what would you like to say to those of us who will never see things from your point of view? Can you really see the Great Wall of China from that height?
"We would like to see, from the astronauts' point of view, people take good care of the Earth and replace the resources that have been used."
Right. We'll start pumping oil back into the ground just as soon as you rocket scientists invent a car that runs on hugs and happy thoughts.
Why is it we can see the stars down here at night, but can't see any in the pictures sent back from the shuttle? Is it the lighting in space? The camera setting? Or does it have something to do with Earth's atmosphere?
"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin. We know that we don't have much air, we need to protect what we have."
Um, okay. As long as there are plants and algae, I don't think that will be a problem. You've heard of a process called photosynthesis, right? Of course you have. You have two master's degrees.
Look, if you don't have any interesting observations or scientific tidbits to share, how about some eloquent quote about the awesomeness of space exploration--you know, kind of like Neil Armstrong when he stepped onto the moon?
"Sometimes you can see how there is erosion, and you can see how there is deforestation. It's very widespread in some parts of the world."
Yeah. I realize that we're down here and you're up there, and perhaps we can't see the deforestation for the lack of trees, but do you see those big brown patches? Those are called deserts. And that really big white one? That's Antarctica, and since it receives less than two inches of precipitation a year, it is also technically a desert. In fact, it's the world's largest desert, spanning an entire continent. Deserts are notorious for their lack of forests.
Like Bowie's Major Tom, there really is nothing these astronauts can do except talk about what the Earth looks like from a tin can floating in space. And now that the shuttle has become a celestial soapbox for environmentalist ramblings that have no basis in scientific fact, perhaps it's time to ground it permanently.
Unless, of course, something interesting comes along--like watching paint dry in zero gravity.
Unless, of course, something interesting comes along--like watching paint dry in zero gravity.
No runs or drips how cool
concur bump
Mundane is not the same thing as pointless. The more dull and routine space flight becomes, the better.
Now we have the wacko/enviroes flying in a space ship....notice any connection there? Could this be where the term "space cadet" originated? Inquiring minds want to know...
I don't know, but if I heard my command pilot talking in such enviro-inanities I'd be a little worried about the trip home.
Shut up and Fly.
She can notice erosion from SPACE?! What eyesight she has! If only she had been able to help me find the golfball I lost on the 11th hole last weekend.
Yes, the Grand Canyon.
who is this woman and how did she get her job?? i overheard news people refer to her as colonel. colonel of what?????
"The atmosphere almost looks like an eggshell on an egg, it's so very thin."
As opposed to an eggshell on ... what? Something else? She was blathering nonsense.
Corn.
This mission was extremely important.
1) UPS TRUCK (deliver supplies)
2) TEST FIXING OURSELVES
3) ACTUALLY FIX OURSELVES
4) DECIDE WHETHER OUR SPOUSE STOLE OUR BLANKET
5) TRASH TRUCK (bring trash home)
I tried waving, but I guess she didn't see me.
Both of you seem to think that these astronauts FLY. In Richard Feynman's book, he noted that the astronauts do not fly the shuttle, and the only thing they are really "needed" for is to push the button that says the landing gear should go down--which, of course, has an override control available to Houston.
I am aware of what they do...I was using it metaphorically, the same way Laura Ingraham uses it when she says "Shut Up and Sing" when referring to hollywood types.
It is a shorthand for "Do what you are good at, trained to do, expected to do, and paid to do, and don't use it as your platform for spouting off your personal feelings and opinions about things you might not have any expertise at."
BTW, I read Feynman's book "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman", and I found it extraordinarily entertaining. The guy is a certified genius, and a certified nutcake...both coexisting quite nicely in one body!
Someone might need to hit the retros also. Unless we're talking about a really long landing gear.
okie dokie, got it.
You're right,his first book was hilarious. His 2nd book was about being on the (first) shuttle accident investigation. Not as good of a read but still worth it. I think I heard that Feynman died a short while back.
I used his practical joke about solving the rubber band around the wrist thing... worked pretty well. I especially liked how he got honors in English by writing (not even very well) about currents, eddies and vorices around wingtips, which was redundant. But the judges didn't know what he was talking about and couldn't take issue with it, whereas the guys busting their butts writing about points of literary minutiae were ripped apart by the judges & didn't even score honors... I guess they had baloney in education even back then.
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