Tuesday, July 21, 2009

40 years ago...

we humans visited the moon. Each Apollo module carried computers having processing power much less than a modern PDA... but we made it, through sheer brilliance we made it...

Today, anyone with an average computer and an internet connection can go to the Moon or even Mars thorough Google Earth...



What happened to the manned space program in the last 40 years? We visited the Moon a couple of more times, docked a Russian space craft with an American one and put up Skylab, Mir, the ISS and various other space stations, and were generally stuck in lower-Earth orbit for 4 decades. Tsk Tsk Humans!

All this while the human race achieved immense leaps in the fields of computing, robotics and other sciences needed to make a journey possible... We created the shuttle, a spacecraft with unmatched capabilities, but never really used it to it's full potential. We sent dozens of very successful unmanned missions around the solar system (and in the case of Voyager, beyond the solar system as well!) and as I mentioned before, even a bored teenager sitting in front of a computer has more knowledge about Mars than NASA ever had of the Moon before the start of the Apollo program...

So what has kept our feet grounded on this matter? Is it Environmental concerns? I don't think so, coz every day millions of people start their day by polluting the environment with their car engines... Is it safety concerns? not really! (although there's a possibility that a solar flare can fry the astronauts like omelets inside the spacecraft... hik hik) Is it a lack of technology? Most certainly not!

So what's basically keeping us from Mars is the lack of political will, and a president who's willing to put his money where his mouth is... Our generation certainly needs a bold Kennedy, and till that day comes, we'll all have to do with Google Earth!

note: any comments suggesting that the Moon landing was a hoax will be given the Patented Buzz Aldrin Conspiracy Theorist Treatment! lol ;)

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Haiyooo

I was about to go out and get a haircut, but it just started raining and buses + rain are not my ideal combination at 9 in the morning... Buuuut, whatever.

I finished reading like 50% of Questionable Content (from 600-something to the latest) and I love it!!! You really don't know who's gonna grab Faye's boobs next do ya? ROFL! xD So, I've been kinda glued to the PC for the last 3 days and mum called me an addict and made a big fuss about it. And she leaves today and tells me to go get a haircut. In the rain! Now you get why I'm whining ya? :)

Watched the Star Trek movie yesterday and I think I'm gonna be a trekkie... Woohoo! :)

aaaaaaaaand Firefox 3.5 (the greatest browser ever btw) apparently has a big security hole so don't panic, just follow the instructions here to patch up for now... DO NOT UNINSTALL FIREFOX AS IT MAY BLOW UP YOUR COMPUTER!!!

bad joke? :S

Friday, July 10, 2009

Salt

A big tree, a few buildings, clustered around a dusty pitch. He walks, soaking in the salty breeze, under the hot Colombo sun. Deserted, utterly deserted, is the scene in front of him. He walks in, through the doorway of the furthest building. Takes some time to look at the plaques and the pictures, note the familiar salty grime on the tables. Take the stairs, their look out post, the warning centre. Things haven’t changed one bit, even the garbage can is exactly where it used to be, all those years ago. Garbage can! He remembers that failed recycling drive… Does anyone talk about recycling anymore? Do they really talk about the environment like they used to? Or are we all just worried about something that they say is going to come, and abusing that fear for their own gain? His moment of thought brings him up another flight of stairs, he now looks at a deserted hall, rows and rows of chairs, neatly arranged. “Hasn’t changed one bit” he thinks, looking at the stage that he was scared to climb back then… He walks out the double-doors, into the dirty balcony, and stares out at the ocean, gleaming like silver in the midday sun, and breathes in a lungful of wet, salty air…

 

WANT.TO.GO.BACK!

:(

 

 

P.S: just testing out Windows Live Writer… pretty cool shiz! :)