14 hours ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

😉  

As far as Elon Musk, I'm certain his mission is to setup a colony in space/moon/mars of which he will control who can be a member and the qualifications necessary ... of course this is just my narrative. 🙂

Cheers, Rob.

 

😁 Nope. Musk has made it clear that the Role of SpaceX is to create a tansportation system to Mars and the Moon. Creating a colony on Mars and the Moon will be for others to do.

44 minutes ago, martin-w said:

You the employee isn't hell bent on getting us to Mars though.

That's because me-the-employee could care less about going to Mars. There are too may other things here on Earth right now that need attention. The survival of the human race isn't dependent on us going to Mars. Our survival is dependent upon us fixing what's wrong here on Earth...NOW. Methinks you've been watching too much sci-fi and smoking the wrong stuff (with all respect).....Doug

P.S. I would agree though that Mars would make an excellent base for the newly-formed Space Force to protect us from the alien invaders which could be here any time now - do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do...

1 hour ago, W2DR said:

That's because me-the-employee could care less about going to Mars. There are too may other things here on Earth right now that need attention.

 

Did you mean "couldn't"?

And who's getting us to Mars? The richest man on the planet who can afford to do so. Meanwhile, the rest of society can deal with the many other things you mention. Its not one or the other, we can do both. And of course, he's not just getting us to Mars, he's also known for a certain EV car company that is helping us transition away from fossil fuels. He's also known for a certain solar roof product thats doing the same. And the batteries of course that are doing the same. So thats some of your "other things" right there. Like I said, I like to know WHAT the richest man on the planet is spending his money on. And yes, its not just Mars.

 

"The survival of the human race isn't dependent on us going to Mars. "

Of course it is! In the long term.  And if we don't begin working toward those long term goals, addressing those long term threats, as well as the short term threats, we will regret it. Planet killing asteroids are rare but could destroy all life on this planet at any time. Or of course knock us back into the stone age. A CME is also a threat of course. And given the way the planets political system is set up, with legalised bribery by fossil fuel companies in many countries, and procrastination by politicians, there's a possibility we won't be able to limit the warming of the planet and we cross a disastrous tipping point.

Then we have overpopulation. More real estate than this planet has, will be required.

Edited January 9, 20215 yr by martin-w

16 hours ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

So you must really hate AVSIM 😉  hehe ... just about every website (especially the free ones) have the right to control the narrative.  I removed myself from Facebook many moons ago when I discovered they lied about the data they collect and sell ... such specifics of what they sell were NOT listed in the Privacy and Usage terms...

No Rob, I quite like AVSIM. I believe "our" community pretty much polices itself and the mods allow a wide range of opinions to be expressed, not to mention our collective love of aviation. We don't all have to love Airbus to the detriment of all others for example! 🍻

I to used to have a FB account, but then deleted my account (allegedly... has it really gone??) after a while due to the above and getting stressed about it in general 

2 hours ago, martin-w said:

Bezo's has donated $10 Billion to fight climate change

Good for him. A shame he didn't donate that 10 billion towards constructing better infrastructures in countries which need it - irrigation projects, better health & housing, schools. I would say that those things are more tangible to the people in those countries and also far quicker to implement and come to fruition. Not that fighting pollution is bad, just that there isn't a quick fix. The people in desperate need of improved conditions probably don't give a flying fish or have any idea about climate change..

35 minutes ago, martin-w said:

Planet killing asteroids are rare but could destroy all life on this planet at any time. Or of course knock us back into the stone age.

We`re our own planet killing asteroids it often seems to me. By the time we do make it to Mars  we will probably need the survival technology and know-how we will have developed to survive the martian environment; to also survive on Earth. 

36 minutes ago, HighBypass said:

Good for him. A shame he didn't donate that 10 billion towards constructing better infrastructures in countries which need it - irrigation projects, better health & housing, schools. I would say that those things are more tangible to the people in those countries and also far quicker to implement and come to fruition. Not that fighting pollution is bad, just that there isn't a quick fix. The people in desperate need of improved conditions probably don't give a flying fish or have any idea about climate change..

 

He probably does. That was just his Earth Fund".

Climate change is a threat to the regions you mention. In fact its they that are suffering already. 

Edited January 9, 20215 yr by martin-w

23 minutes ago, CYXR said:

We`re our own planet killing asteroids it often seems to me. By the time we do make it to Mars  we will probably need the survival technology and know-how we will have developed to survive the martian environment; to also survive on Earth. 

 

Worth pointing out also, that resources on this planet are running out. Mining the Moon, Mars and asteroid belts will be required. Unless of course we develop the technology to construct on the atomic scale.

I wouldn't trust atoms... they make everything up! 

19 hours ago, Rob_Ainscough said:

They aren't a monopoly, they are "popular".  They got popular because users/people want a single place to go to be able reach the most amount of other people (be it friend, enemies, agenda, or just something in-between).  To be honest, I'm surprised there are so many "services" for free that do the same thing ... Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitch, YouTube, etc. etc. 

Well, Youtube is owned by Google and has been engaged in biased censoring for some time now. 

Just recently, Google and Apple removed the Parler app from their stores.  Yes, one can get the app elsewhere, but this and other actions are just another form of intimidation and control being exercised by these powerful companies.

Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, etc., may not technically be monopolies, but for all intents and purposes they hold the power of one.

I'm not OK with allowing a few mega-corporations to have this level of control over speech.  This type of power is dangerous.

Dave

6 hours ago, martin-w said:

Did you mean "couldn't"?

Thank you for correcting my typo. My apologies to you and the forum for this oversight. I promise to try harder in the future.

2 hours ago, HighBypass said:

I wouldn't trust atoms... they make everything up! 

And electrons are so negative. 

That's why I've always liked protons better.

8 hours ago, HighBypass said:

Good for him. A shame he didn't donate that 10 billion towards constructing better infrastructures in countries which need it - irrigation projects, better health & housing, schools. I would say that those things are more tangible to the people in those countries and also far quicker to implement and come to fruition. Not that fighting pollution is bad, just that there isn't a quick fix. The people in desperate need of improved conditions probably don't give a flying fish or have any idea about climate change..

I became sort of an environmentalist on Christmas Eve 1968.  I remember it vividly: I was watching the TV broadcast of Apollo 8 orbiting the Moon. 1968 had been such a terribly depressing year and listening to Anders read verses 1–4, Lovell read verses 5–8, and Borman read verses 9 and 10 of the creation narrative of the book of Genesis had a profound impact on me.   I don`t know after the events of this past year if there will be any money left for the scheduled returns to the Moon in 2024. But younger persons should witness what I witnessed 50 years ago. It`s going to have to happen to them on their watch. Space exploration just can`t be described by conventional means. It`s not only rocket science. Sure, Mercury and Apollo were about missile payloads. But along the way, for all the wrong reasons, we discovered something about our good Earth; and ourselves; that we hadn't expected. It's something like having to leave and/or loose a girl; to know how to  better love her. I like to think that going back to the Moon and beyond; taking that long and difficult way; is the best way back to our home. Because it's where all that there is to love; lives.

 

 

 

Edited January 9, 20215 yr by CYXR

True. But the majority of people only read what they want to hear. Dealing with concepts and ideas that are either hard to grasp or differ significantly from a particular viewpoint is not, in my experience, something that the average person is comfortable with.