Cowboys on Mars?

Tech Central Station ^ | 13 January 2004 | Glenn Harlan Reynolds

[Lando Lincoln]

Lot's of links, but I though the article was a good read.

Lando

[rdb3]

Cowboys on Mars? No! Leave them at Texas Stadium. It's easier to make fun of 'em that way.

[Brett66]

Looking forward to the announcement tommorrow. 3pm EST.

[Paleo Conservative]

NASA officials were afraid that Bush's plans might interfere with funding for the Space Station, and quite deliberately came up with the largest figure they could plausibly manage in order to ensure that the Mars mission plan died on the vine.

The space station should have died on the vine. It's not needed, and it's mainly a high tech pork project. The Superconducting Supercollider that was cancelled was a much more worthy science project.

[RobbyS]

My thought is that we will have to crank up our program just because the Chinese have now taken an interest in space. Our military needs to keep the "high ground "and NASA helps do that without worrying about a lot of talk about "militarizing" space. Furthermore, there are no many Rickovers in the military, who can keep technical development from becoming captive to the (short-term) career ambitions of military officers.

[Lando Lincoln]

Lando

[Johnny_Cipher]

Cowboys on Mars? No! Leave them at Texas Stadium. It's easier to make fun of 'em that way.

Not so fast. Australia started out as a penal colony for the British, and they ended up all right. Mars would be a great place to send our felons, rapists, cocaine users, etc. :)

[rdb3]

Mars would be a great place to send our felons, rapists, cocaine users, etc. :)

Yeah, I agree. Besides, Democrats live in another world anyway. May as well make it official.

[redhead]

"Cowboys on Mars?"

Naw...Send these guys.

[Johnny_Cipher]

Besides, Democrats live in another world anyway. May as well make it official.

And the best part is, if we sent Michael Moore, they'd have emergency food stores if their crops failed. Of course, we'd need to borrow one of the Russian's heavy-lift rockets to heft his fat a** up there.

[MHGinTN]

After Robinson Crusoe on Mars, cowboys will be anticlimactic.

[RobbyS]

In his "Martian Chronicles." Ray Bradbury made cowboys the first settlers of his "Mars."on the grounds that such frontier types were the natural ones to put there.

[Spruce]

I always imagine where we would be had the US Manned Space program not been slain after Apollo. I have high hopes for this new initiative.

[Johnny_Cipher]

In his "Martian Chronicles." Ray Bradbury made cowboys the first settlers of his "Mars."on the grounds that such frontier types were the natural ones to put there.

I vaguely remember the miniseries made from the book in the 70s. I don't recall cowboys being the settlers in the book though - a good excuse to re-read it.

[RobbyS]

Just re-read it again today. I was surprised how unscientific it is. Obviously his "Mars" is not the real Mars but something like one of those "M"-type planets on Startrek: the background for a morality play.

[RobbyS]

Oh, I don't mean actual cowboys: just the general Plainsman type who were inured to a rought life.

[Cvengr]

I just know there's an Aggie joke begging to breach out of this thread.

[Johnny_Cipher]

Obviously his "Mars" is not the real Mars but something like one of those "M"-type planets on Startrek: the background for a morality play.

We're all learning more and more about what the "real" Mars is like and hopefully will continue to do so. What an exciting time this is.

[Lando Lincoln]

An alien walked into a shop and told the owner that he came from Mars and wanted to buy a brain for research. ''How much is this one?'' he asked. ''Well that one is a Husker's brain and it's $20,'' he explained. ''How much is that one?'' he asked ''Well that one is a Sooner's brain and its $100.'' he explained. ''And how much is that one?'' he asked. ''That one is an Aggie's brain and it is $500'' he explained. ''Why so expensive?'' the alien asked. ''Well it has hardly been used!''

Just kidding, just kidding!

[hdrider]

Not so fast. Australia started out as a penal colony for the British, and they ended up all right. Mars would be a great place to send our felons, rapists, cocaine users, etc. :)


.....and ALL of California's illegal aliens.
The Moon..Mars...good place for aliens don't ya think?