Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Astronauts to Iraq
I'm a very practical person. So all this wasteful war really bothers me. I mean, I appreciate nation building and all, but it's quite expensive. Bullets don't just grow on trees.
When I heard about the landing of the space shuttle Discovery, I had similar thoughts. What do we really get out of the space program? There must be cheaper ways to perform this scientific research.
And then I realized the obvious solution. Send our astronauts to Iraq. It's every bit as inhospitable as outerspace. I'm sure they could run all their tests in the desert there, and if they succeed there, then, hey, they could succeed anywhere. And the best part is with gas prices so high, we could save on all that rocket fuel. All it ever does is blow up anyways, so why not just save it for Baghdad. We can get double duty. Now that is using taxpayer money wisely.
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Yes, this is sarcastic.
When I heard about the landing of the space shuttle Discovery, I had similar thoughts. What do we really get out of the space program? There must be cheaper ways to perform this scientific research.
And then I realized the obvious solution. Send our astronauts to Iraq. It's every bit as inhospitable as outerspace. I'm sure they could run all their tests in the desert there, and if they succeed there, then, hey, they could succeed anywhere. And the best part is with gas prices so high, we could save on all that rocket fuel. All it ever does is blow up anyways, so why not just save it for Baghdad. We can get double duty. Now that is using taxpayer money wisely.
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Yes, this is sarcastic.
# posted by Josh : Tuesday, August 30, 2005
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it's a shame you were being sarcastic. i actually agreed with much of that, especially the space program stuff. i mean, sure, everybody likes to see a good rocket launch and all on tv, but in all honesty, who really cares? i think people become astronauts just to wear those funny suits. that's why i would do it. :D
I think your post would fall apart the day they discover how to grow bullet trees in 0G gravity. But until then, it'll just be remembered as one of the many posts that Josh wrote because he was:
A) Taking drugs
B) Nothing better to write
There's no obligation to post every day, unless, of course, that was your Rosh HaShanah resolution.
A) Taking drugs
B) Nothing better to write
There's no obligation to post every day, unless, of course, that was your Rosh HaShanah resolution.
# posted by 
: September 01, 2005 10:06 PM
: September 01, 2005 10:06 PM
Bec - Sarcasm is just an exaggerated way of speaking the truth.
Erica - Weird is me.
Anon - My guess is no matter what they discover, producing bullets with minimum wage labor will be cheaper than any space miracles.
A) Taking drugs
This blog was originally mainly a site for me to share my weirdness in a forum fitting for it's absurdity. It is only more recently that it has taken a more serious turn. For everbody telling me to look forward, there is somebody asking why I don't look back.
B) Nothing better to write
While this post may seem like a silly ramble, beneath the surface lurks a number of actual issues. Satire is a form of serious expression.
Erica - Weird is me.
Anon - My guess is no matter what they discover, producing bullets with minimum wage labor will be cheaper than any space miracles.
A) Taking drugs
This blog was originally mainly a site for me to share my weirdness in a forum fitting for it's absurdity. It is only more recently that it has taken a more serious turn. For everbody telling me to look forward, there is somebody asking why I don't look back.
B) Nothing better to write
While this post may seem like a silly ramble, beneath the surface lurks a number of actual issues. Satire is a form of serious expression.
Josh-
Obviously some of the greatest literary, political, and sociological works that have been written are in the form of satires. I did see some real issues that are underpinning the post, be they political, economic, or just flat out expressions of pragmatic concern.
With regards to the war i'm unwilling to start an argument as i fear it may not end.
Regarding the space shuttle program I do firmly believe that it is important. While one would not normally think of curiosity as a virtue, I am inclined to say that Aristotle would see it on the same grounds as megalopsychos. Without plain curiosity and the will to uncover, observe, and understand new phenomena the human race would still be in the Stone Age. (I refrain from saying categorize and experiment as these are fairly newfangled terms that represent fairly modern methods of cognization, although, if one looks at the advent of these methods and there usage over the past couple of hundred years, one can see the advancements in culture, science, and medicine in very stark terms.) Actually, per the mishnah in the 5th perek of Avos we would probably be in the Iron Age. In a sense, curiosity is hishtad'lus, and the space program seems to me a pure expression of the frailty of man trying to understand the prima facie ungraspable cosmos wrought by G-d himself.
Obviously some of the greatest literary, political, and sociological works that have been written are in the form of satires. I did see some real issues that are underpinning the post, be they political, economic, or just flat out expressions of pragmatic concern.
With regards to the war i'm unwilling to start an argument as i fear it may not end.
Regarding the space shuttle program I do firmly believe that it is important. While one would not normally think of curiosity as a virtue, I am inclined to say that Aristotle would see it on the same grounds as megalopsychos. Without plain curiosity and the will to uncover, observe, and understand new phenomena the human race would still be in the Stone Age. (I refrain from saying categorize and experiment as these are fairly newfangled terms that represent fairly modern methods of cognization, although, if one looks at the advent of these methods and there usage over the past couple of hundred years, one can see the advancements in culture, science, and medicine in very stark terms.) Actually, per the mishnah in the 5th perek of Avos we would probably be in the Iron Age. In a sense, curiosity is hishtad'lus, and the space program seems to me a pure expression of the frailty of man trying to understand the prima facie ungraspable cosmos wrought by G-d himself.
# posted by : September 08, 2005 4:49 PM
: September 08, 2005 4:49 PM
Anon - I love your Hashakfic take on curiousity. I also do have a fundamental appreciation of the space program. Sarcasm aside, I value the many discoveries that have been made as a result of NASA's work. At this point in time, however, I feel that we have reached a point of stagnancy. Just sending ship after ship to float around in space does not seem to answer enough questions to justify billion dollar budgets and putting lives at risk. I would actually like to see some new goals made, such as manned settlement of the moon or a new shuttle technology that is quicker and safer.
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