GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

January 27 is NASA Day of Remembrance

POSTED BY: GOJIRO
UPDATED: Thursday, January 27, 2005 21:16
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Thursday, January 27, 2005 4:08 AM

GOJIRO


Please take a moment today to visit www.nasa.gov and remember those heroes who have fallen while in the service of all humanity.


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Thursday, January 27, 2005 5:29 AM

ZOID



Fellow Browncoats:

Going into space is perhaps one of the silliest things human beings currently do. But it won't always be so. At some time in the unforeseeable (but, hopefully near) future, we will finally establish a proper foothold off-planet. When we do, it may well mean an end to want and poverty on this Earth, our home.

I hope we bypass Mars as a colonial project and set up shop in the trans-Martian asteroid belt instead. One day, as we avail ourselves of the plenitude of precious ores there, perhaps the people of that time will reflect upon a benevolent God, Who has provided such bounty for His children: an entire planet, conveniently broken into bite-sized chunks for our consumption.

The practical advantage of an asteroidal settlement over a Martian one is the energy saved when moving about from worldlet to worldlet, and when moving processed resources back to Earth. There is none of the monstrous expense and danger of landing and departing from a planetary gravity well. Just a gentle push in the right direction and a whole train of high-quality materials is headed Earthward. And getting from rock to rock is as simple as finding some volatiles and using them as reaction mass to provide a push in the right direction for your prospector ship; nothing so wasteful as an actual rocket.

And with plenty of rocks the size of a large metropolis, just waiting to have living spaces bored out (or constructed on their surfaces, acoording to taste), there will be no shortage of elbow room for the settlers who cross that first ocean to a New World. Next stop: The Kuiper Belt and an end to Hunger, forever.

I would love to see these days come to pass. But I'm afraid there's an infinitesimally small probability that anyone of my generation will still be inhabiting flesh in that era. Perhaps our sons or granddaughters, though, will see this dream made real. The greatest gift the world's astronauts, living and dead, are giving us is pioneering that frontier for us.

Are Humanity's various space exploration programs a frivolous expenditure, given the world's need in so many areas of human strife? Perhaps; but, by that logic so were the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria...

God bless our modern-day pioneers, and speed the day that their labors come to fruition.


Respectfully,

zoid
_________________________________________________

"Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me." The Ballad of Serenity

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 5:58 AM

THATWEIRDGIRL


They are explorers. They are courageous women and men. Our world has been given precious few throughout time, and we should remember them. I think of them everyday. It was my dream to join them. Perhaps some day.

You are the ones that conquered fear. May the gods bless you.

a small excerpt I wrote once upon a time when I was younger
Quote:

I can imagine how it would feel to ride the elevator and step across the threshold of the ship from the gangway. Fear and excitement rolled into intense joy. And the courage! Would I have the courage to take that step? To cross that threshold? I hope so. It is an experience I have lived many times in my dreams, both waking and sleeping...I can’t look back, believing that Eurydice will still be there when we break the sphere, she will be there, no need to look back....Spinning uncontrollably away from the blue...I could then crane my neck to stare back at Her. Knowing I had crossed out of the shadow into the light, fully stepping into the beautiful void. Eurydice is safe and waiting for me.
...feel the beautiful release of earthly bonds. It’s our only chance to feel that release without passing forever out of reach of life. If that means that life is taken in that moment, so be it. For me it is not only the hope of discoveries and advancement and exploration, it is an experience to be coveted to be gripped tightly and embraced...
Where would I be right now if my brain worked in overdrive or my piloting skills were ace level? I would be trying to get into their world. The world of possibilities. The world of living in the future. The world of heroes, unsung and worshipped. Few have the desire to be in that world and fewer have the talent. As I said, I feel envy. I feel joy. I feel gratitude. I feel sorrow. I feel lucky to be even a nameless witness.



www.thatweirdgirl.com

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 6:16 AM

ZOID


twg-gy:

Amen, Sister! Nothing weird about those sentiments. Are you sure you've chosen your moniker correctly?

How about, "ThatPrettyYoungWomanWithTheHeartOfAPoetessAndThePlayfulnessOfAPuppy"?
Or 'TPYWWTHOAPATPOAP'... 'TiPpY' for short?


Appreciatively,

zoid

P.S.
I like the way TiPpY looks, too. Kinda reminds me of a rollercoaster ride... Fits you, I think.
_________________________________________________

"Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me." The Ballad of Serenity

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 6:31 AM

THATWEIRDGIRL


Zoid,

Thank you. I wish I had the mad word skills you possess.

TiPpY.


~~~~~~
Your loved ones were daring and brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that says, "Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy." They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished to serve, and they did. They served all of us. --R. Reagan

www.thatweirdgirl.com

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 6:42 AM

ZOID



TiPpY:

You know, reading our commemorative posts above, I'm struck by a wistful reminiscence of Stephen Sondheim's lyrics: Isn't it rich? Are we a pair? You the Poetess and I the Pragmatist; you feeling bound to the Earth, my dreams in mid-air...


v/r,
-zed

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 6:54 AM

THATWEIRDGIRL


Z,

What a surprise. Who could foresee? I come to feel about you what you felt about me. Why only now when I see I feel what you say. What a surprise. What a cliché...


I always liked that song.

TiPpY

www.thatweirdgirl.com

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 7:05 AM

ZOID



TiPpY:

Still got my funny nose from the "Got Suspended From Work" thread. How about you?


v/r,
-zed

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 7:51 AM

THATWEIRDGIRL


Z,

nose and water squirting flower

TiPpY

www.thatweirdgirl.com

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 10:10 AM

INDIGO


Thank you Gojiro for posting this -- I forgot to put it on my calendar.
When I was younger, oh high school or so, I remember watching the Challenger lift off live in class. I remember the sudden, unreal plume of white explosion; and we sat there, voices caught in our throats. I don't remember the sounds hereafter, cries, sobs, no no no, silence... I think that they echoed what my husband, myself, my brother and sister-in-law sounded out when we learned that the Columbia was destroyed. Grief, and a strange, strangled love and pride for them.
We did not know them, but we loved them. We did not know them but we shared a love for space and all its possibilities and beauty.
Loving space is not leaving the love of Earth behind, rather, embracing the whole of existence.

Indigo, between earth and sky.

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 4:19 PM

MONTANAGIRL


Wow, thanks for the link. I did not know about this until today. What a fabulous memorial.

Packer fans welcome.
All others tolerated.

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 4:25 PM

GOJIRO


It's actually the third Thursday in January every year. Doesn't get much press, but I think people should know about it.

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Are you a Southern Ohio Browncoat? If so, join our Yahoo group for news and events: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firefly-ohio/

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 8:24 PM

ALIENZOOKEEPER


And today, I believe, is the 19th anniversary of Challenger. I made myself a promise this week, that I'm going to drive down to Florida and visit the memorial next year.

Vince the Alien Zookeeper

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Thursday, January 27, 2005 9:16 PM

THEREALME


Zoid and TWG/TiPpy:

Your posts have moved me! Thanks!

The Real Me

(The Real Me cannot currently receive messages from this site; he is not ignoring you. But he CAN receive e-mail at realme@pcibroadband.net.)

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