Need. More. Air.

 

1. Anytime someone says “We know...” my bullshitometer needle jumps, and if they say “We all know...”, the bullshitometer pegs in the red, and my offendometer also pegs at my being included in the statement without my permission. If they say “I believe”, or “I think”, well, then it might be worth a listen.  It seems to me that the users of the offending expressions are most often on the Left.

   Unfortunately, I haven’t learned to let the platitudes and unsubstantiated pronouncements wash over me ignored.  My blood pressure goes up and I often talk rant at the TV or radio.  My wife says “just turn it off”, but I must be a closet masochist, because I seldom do.

   Posted by dick       08/04/2005  at  01:35 PM  



2. BSmeter aside, miss astronaut is completely correct. The atmosphere is extremely thin compared to the bulk of the planet. But hey, that’s due to a couple simple things like physics and gravity. And there are several areas on the planet - Haiti, Madagascar, the Sahara, etc. - were the population has ravaged the land. I’ve heard that you can see areas of intense smog (LA, Mexico City) from space.

   Don’t overreact to her simple statement. We do need to protect and improve the environment. But I don’t accept the Greenpeace/tree hugger/Gaia First way of getting it done, and I don’t feel that space lady was implying all that much. OTOH she could be a whacko greenie who should be gagged. I don’t know her.

   Posted by Drew458       08/04/2005  at  01:49 PM  



3. Hey Frank, I take it that picture of you is the last thing your TV sees! AARGH! CBS..Dan Rather...BLAM!

   Posted by wrenchbender       08/04/2005  at  02:43 PM  



4. NASA is pretty PC these days, and I’m sure their crews are, too.  One clue is the “diversity” seen on all the flights.  Also, the Columbia disaster was apparently due to a tile-glue change [ie. non-asbestos containing], which made it more brittle at high temperatures.
   I pray for their safe return---then hire Rutan et al.

   Posted by toast       08/04/2005  at  08:41 PM  



5. NASA being politically correct and allowing greenies to dictate their use of manufacturing materials may very well be directly tied to the destruction of both shuttles!  The foam problem is a result of using environmentally friendly materials instead of previously used non-evironmentally friendly materials that are far superior in their desired properties.  Same goes for the infamous O-Ring problem.  Read the following and have your mind blown!

   http://www.investors.com/editorial/issues03.asp?v=8/2

   Now, judging that the amount of hazardous materials used in the shuttle is very low and presents a negligible impact on the environment as we only have a few shuttles.  If the usage of hazardous materials will ensure the safety of the astronauts and the success of the mission then an exception should be made.  However, using the same materials in millions of cars or commercial airplanes would be bad.  It comes down to simple common sense, you cannot ban materials entirely until you can fully replace them with at least an equal quality replacement or an improved replacement.  Apparently, known good materials were replaced with inferior crap whose properties were not even close to that of original material all in the name of being green!  For that fau pax, two multi-billion dollar shuttles were lost along with some very expensively trained astronauts with spouses and children left behind.

   My grandfather spent years crawling through WWII Naval ships running electrical cable through asbestos lined cable ducts and conduits.  It fell on him all day long and he had no respirator nor even a simple mask.  He breathed that stuff in on a daily basis for more then 8 hours a day every work day.  He also chain smoked heavily.  Did he ever get cancer?  Nope, he died at 78 from sudden heart failure after he came back from the bathroom in the middle of night.  The doctor’s said he had no pain as it was a very fast event.  Several of his younger brothers went the exact same way, reached their mid 70’s and died quietly and quickly.  I think it all comes down to genetics, some people will have a reaction to asbestos and others will have a reaction to tobacco.  I had a great uncle who lived to the age of 105 and at 99 was smoking two packs of lucky strikes a day and still cutting and splitting wood with an axe, wedge and sledgehammer.  He only went into a nursing home when he was 102!  He lived next door to his daughter who helped him out now and then (basically cooking for him).  His daughter lived till she was 100!  Of course they were both physically fit having worked on a farm since birth and stayed active in their old age.  Neither one needed a wheelchair, walker, or scooter chair because they exercised through hard work.

   Posted by MJS       08/05/2005  at  09:29 AM  

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