Comments on: Science Friday: Space Tourism, Phobos Pics, Sugar Car, and Alien Attacks

By: Kuvagh

Kuvagh — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:51:26 +0000

16: Maybe this is a little late, but Serbo-Croatian means between Serbs and Croatians. The falling out between the PRC and USSR is called the Sino-Soviet split, as Sino is to Chinese as Serbo is to Serbian. Another example would be the Franco-Prussian war between France and Prussia.

By: Woulfe

Woulfe — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:41:16 +0000

What’s next ?

Cars that run on Soda Pop ?

Oy vey, I can see Soda Pop going from $1.00 for a 12oz bottle to $5.00 overnight if they ever figure that one out.

If it can be taxed they’ll figure a way to tax it.

By: Mary Jane

Mary Jane — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:54:11 +0000

#27 That’s why I wrote “mostly”. But even those crops, which are not considered a human food source, have roughly the same effect on the market, via livestock, rerouting of subsidies, occupation of valuable farmland, soil detereoration and ecosystemal degradation due to monocultures etc. pp.

So I’m definitely not relaxing, not even a little. Those who do the relaxing are the reason why it’s going downhill.

By: Xai

Xai — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 01:57:51 +0000

10. Mary Jane – April 11, 2008
A car powered by sugar? What a load of……… whatever they’ve come up with in the past few years, they are mostly using fuels that are in some way derived from “sustainable” agricultural sources… and what happens at this very moment? Food prices are skyrocketing. That’s anything but sustainable. The question should be: a car? We have to drive less, we need prevention strategies, a better modal share etc., and we have to get rid of carbon-based combustion engines in general, incl. fuels that rely on carbon-based intermediates or energy sources in the production chain.”

Not all the plants being considered are edible or considered a food source for humans. Relax a little…

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:31:29 +0000

#25. I hear you. While we may not be at that stage this instant, we are rapidly heading there. And I, for one, would not mourn the loss of Wal-mart business philosophy (greed at its apex) or SUVs (giant, stupid, macho, f**k-you mobiles). My wife and I have tried taking trains into Los Angeles and have found it to be much less stressful than risking your life in LA traffic. The trains are clean and quiet, and take only slightly longer than driving. Sooner or later, use of these systems may no longer be voluntary as fossil fuels ARE finite; and the supply needle is a LOT closer to ‘E’ than ‘F’ right now. If anyone out there has seen the comedy film, “Idiocracy”, it’s a humorous, but scary look at the future we are careening toward if we are not careful. The true flip-side of Roddenberry optimism!

By: CmdrR

CmdrR — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:45:49 +0000

Amen, Mary Jane. You can’t put your dinner in the gas tank.
Mass transit.
Regional transit.
2-person cars.
NO MORE SUV’s.
Urban planning that puts jobs and homes together rather than grabbing bribes and rubber stamping every strip mall and condo.
Green food. (Sorry, you’ll have to mostly make do with stuff grown within 200 miles of your home to cut down on shipping.)
Close Wal-Mart. (No joke. Just take a look at the over-packaging, shipping, waste, disregard for human and labor rights and general crappiness all found in one place — not to mention the very worst aspects of consumerism.)

Wow — didn’t even feel that rant coming until I was halfway through it.
But, in all seriousness, there’s no magic needed here at all. Just willpower. Time for a Roddenberry-esque evolutionary step.

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:20:12 +0000

As for the illuminated shower, I just had this horrible image of a crack or short in the lighting fixture. Water is electrically conducted and…instant Darwin Award! Or, as Sean Connery’s Bond would say, “Shocking.”

By: [The] TOS Purist aka The Purolator

[The] TOS Purist aka The Purolator — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:47:03 +0000

I may be being too much of a Trekkie, but I have to point out that if you were rescuing Captain Kirk from the Romulans, you wouldn’t be part of an “away team.” That term only came into use in Picard’s time; in Kirk’s era it was called a “landing party.”

I dunno, maybe you want to correct that to avoid pissing off other TOS fans/TNG fans alike… *shrug*

By: Mary Jane

Mary Jane — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:12:38 +0000

#16 a friend of mine is Croatian, and she refers to everyone down there (incl. herself) as Yugos. And btw: there are “Germano-French” people. They are called Alsatians.

By: RoMario

RoMario — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:21:58 +0000

- That croatian folk sure has a ..phobia to meteorites..what a lucky man…