Monday, July 20, 2009

Forty

Happy fortieth anniversary of the first walk on the moon--where men may never return.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This civilisation is over.

I hope the next one has the sense to kill the progressives.

OBloodyHell said...

> I hope the next one has the sense to kill the progressives

They never do, david, they never do.


I believe that a part of our going to the moon was, as suggested, based on American exceptionalism.

It was technologically premature, unfortunately, in the sense that, while possible it required a visible expenditure of effort which NASA has never had sufficiently effective PR to justify (common sense, which adequately justifies it all on its own, is anything but common).

I think it is unfortunate that, having ceded the task to another nation, it's likely to be the Chinese or the Japanese who do it.

The Chinese will do it for obvious reasons -- as a national prestige project, akin to building the world's tallest building.

The Japanese have been lax in their space efforts, leaving it to us to provide the horses necessary to get things "up there". As we fail to do so through bureaucratic stupidity (both in the public sector and through anti-business practices in the private one), the Japanese will perceive the advances of their natural rivals (the Chinese) and begin to grow less complacent with piggybacking on American efforts, and will go on a crash program of their own to compete with the Chinese in space. This will probably occur whenever the Chinese establish their own space station up there.

It's not yet the Pacific Age, but that Age will muster in the first serious, permanent efforts in space.

I thought well of the chances for Australia in this "Pacific Age" matter until the last decade, when they've systematically screwed up their own independent nature by directly suppressing it, and having the people tolerate it -- as evidenced by the UK-style gun grab and the sad fate of Crocodile Dundee. The seem determined to mire themselves in the welter of Liberal-Green Mediocrity.

Bob's fav, the kiwis, are about the only light of Western Civ shining well on this future, and even that is limited. I think space apparently is going to belong to the Chinese and the Japanese.

Bob Cosmos said...

Killing progressives? Like clubbing baby seals!

Bob Cosmos said...

I watched Neil and Buzz when they landed, and when they walked. Later, I met Buzz Aldrin in person and could not think of a single thing to ask him. Two things about me you probably didn't care to know. No, you cannot have the last 30 seconds back.

OBloodyHell said...

> Killing progressives? Like clubbing baby seals!

Where do I sign up?

> No, you cannot have the last 30 seconds back.

That's ok, it only took me 3 seconds to read.

:oF

Anonymous said...

Maybe women will return to the moon. Come to think of it, it's pretty boring up there. Let's go to another galaxie instead.