WHY WE ARE IGNORING ARMSTRONG

boblonsberry.com ^ | 08/28/12 | Bob Lonsberry

[subterfuge]

I happen to work at a DOD facility very near Cape Canaveral. I sent a note to the HR manager suggesting the flag be at half mast for Mr. Armstrong. She replied that “President Obama said that our flag should be at half mast this coming Friday.” Exact words. I am not kidding.

And we’re virtually in the shadow of launch pad 39 A. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it yet.

[RavenLooneyToon]

The choice isn’t which research budgets.
The choice is cutting entitlements, then taking that money and pour it into a job creating mega project such as the Moon Shot and Star Wars.
These projects produced a booming economy as well as a slew of research funding and a boon to technology unmatched in the history of mankind.

[oh8eleven]

Have you any idea how many people that was? Even an inkling?
Sure I do - who do you think paid them? I got my first TAX paying job in 1964 and I continue to pay TAXES to this day.

[RavenLooneyToon]

I spent nearly ten years in the industry. After The Gipper years ended I started my own business and am still in business. Am still developing new technologies and am in the midst of rolling out our newest product. Very exciting here.
But it all pales to the first Shuttle flight. I had HR call every Rent-A-Center in the area and had the floor filled with color TVs so as everyone could see the fruits of their labors.
The company only made a few parts for the project, but we were all proud that day.
I'll never forget looking down on the shop floor and seeing the entire production floor waving little American flags cheering while watching the fifty or sixty TVs we rented for that day.
It still brings a shiver up my spine.
May I suggest you forward this memory to your HR?

[oh8eleven]

There is quite a lot "out there" and some of it will be needed soon.
There's quite a lot of what out there (other than space)? Why do we need it and why soon?
Be specific in your answers and handwriting counts.

[RavenLooneyToon]

You should be proud.
Your tax dollars were being spent on the industry that requires the best of scientists, the best of engineers, the best of machinists, the best of production and quality control technicians.
And most impotently..the NEED for engineers and scientists.
Now your taxes are spent on supporting out of work History majors, and those who won't work or won't improve their situations.
No contest.

[RightOnline]

Met Shepard three separate times. Great guy. Have a picture on my wall of he and I shaking hands.

[subterfuge]

Since iwrote the message you responded to the HR lady replied that “yes, it is for one day only per the president.” Shameful. I think they had it at half mast for a week for Sally Ride.

I’m not saying any more to them. I’m new at this biz because I got laid off somewhere else after 33 years of exemplary service...so they could keep more minorities and women. They made no secret of it.

Happy FReeping!

[jboot]

I suppose that soon is relative. Not soon as in next year, but soon as in a century or less. There is quite a lot of stuff that we will need if man intends to do something with himself other than go back to the caves.

Energy: unlimited solar power, exotic helium isotopes for future fusion reactors.

Materials: metals are abundant everywhere in the solar system. Metal is getting more and more expensive to mine and recycle here. There will come a tipping point when it is cheaper to get it from the moon or asteroids.

Room. We are going to need it. There's a spare planet next door named Mars that could be tweaked to make a second earth. It already has water. So does the moon.

Like I said, this is only important if we intend to keep developing new technology, making more people and expanding our horizons. If we are going to go back to hunting and gathering in small bands it isn't necessary. And that is the only other choice. We can't live like we live now forever. Our choices are up or down.

[oh8eleven]

soon as in a century or less ... There's a spare planet next door named Mars that could be tweaked to make a second earth.
Just needs a tweak? Second Earth? Really? Annnnnd, we move 5-6 billion people - how?
When it comes to water, I guess you think our oceans will be gone in a century?
Speaking of room - the planet's entire population could fit "comfortably" into Texas, with room left over.
Sorry, but you watch too many movies.

[af_vet_rr]

Why doesn’t the Republicans have a memorial service for the guy. They have the microphone for the next three days. Use it for some good. There are two stories hogging up the airwaves....the storm and the GOP. Nothing else is going on.

That would assume that they care about anything other than heaping praise upon themselves.

[jboot]

And you have no vision.

[af_vet_rr]

It shocked the hell out of me, but my daughter sent me a post from Huffington that sounded like it should have been written at a more Conservative site:

I once spent a day with Buzz Aldrin at a book festival around the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, and more than one of the fans who came out to meet him took a moment to complain about the fact that Neil Armstrong no longer did similar events. One woman vented: "I helped pay for your trip to the moon! And he can't even sign a piece of paper for me?"

Buzz Aldrin, unflappably polite, said he was sorry she was having trouble completing her collection and thanked her for coming. But I wished I could get her alone to challenge her logic. Yes, American taxpayers paid for the trip to the moon that Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins enjoyed. But the three astronauts also risked their lives in doing so, and this was after they had already served their country by flying combat missions in Korea and later flying experimental aircraft as test pilots. I wanted to ask her: Exactly how many years of his life do you think Neil Armstrong owes us? Exactly how many autographs should he have to give? A thousand? Ten thousand? How many times should he have to answer the question, "What did it feel like to walk on the moon?" In the day I spent with Buzz Aldrin, I saw him give hundreds of autographs and answer that question hundreds of times, but Buzz Aldrin is an extrovert, a person who clearly enjoys the company of new people and thrives on sharing his stories with others. By all accounts, Neil Armstrong was a textbook introvert, a person who found encounters with new people draining rather than energizing. (Michael Collins seems to be somewhere in the middle.) Neil Armstrong's tendency toward introversion might have been one of the factors that made him the perfect choice to be the commander of Apollo 11, and as part of that duty he made the sacrifice of setting aside his introversion to share his experiences publicly for years after the journey. How much more did he owe us?