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So, I recently learned of San Francisco's "filth" problem, caused by its massive homeless population. Apparently the city by the bay deals with bums in the streets, shit on the sidewalks, and used syringes that are sprinkled through downtown like a fresh coat of newly-fallen snow. The poop in particular is a massive issue as addicts/vagrants shoot up in the streets, then defecate on the closest slab of pavement. A local TV station found over 300 piles of human waste while walking the downtown thoroughfares. A subway escalator was forced to close when its gears became clogged - with feces - because homeless people would shit on the stairs, then watch it grind up at the bottom. Did you know that San Francisco spends 70 million dollars a year power washing piss, puke, and poop from its sidewalks/streets, only to have the issue return as soon as the cleanup crews go home? It's a disgusting problem, a failure of local leadership, and a shit-stain on the reputation of a city that's known for it's beauty. Kind of makes you want to sing a classic song: "I left my shart...in San Francisco..."
I mention this because it reminds me a little of what's been happening in the skies above us, as we begin our conquest of space. With our current technology, space is disgusting ... and the International Space Station is known to smell like a prison. We've all been desensitized by watching Hollywood movies, and even Ripley's Nostromo had a degree of sanitization. We think space travel is as clean as a Star Trek episode, with luxurious staterooms, carpet in the public hallways, and antiseptic workstations like the movie Life. But space is really gross, with adult diapers, sweat that clings to the body, and air so filled with floating mucous, dead skin, and other unintentional human excretions that it looks like pollen in the air. It's basically like living on a WWII submarine, often referred to as a "stink ship." As Mad magazine used to say, "Yeccccchhhh!"
I mention this because it reminds me a little of what's been happening in the skies above us, as we begin our conquest of space. With our current technology, space is disgusting ... and the International Space Station is known to smell like a prison. We've all been desensitized by watching Hollywood movies, and even Ripley's Nostromo had a degree of sanitization. We think space travel is as clean as a Star Trek episode, with luxurious staterooms, carpet in the public hallways, and antiseptic workstations like the movie Life. But space is really gross, with adult diapers, sweat that clings to the body, and air so filled with floating mucous, dead skin, and other unintentional human excretions that it looks like pollen in the air. It's basically like living on a WWII submarine, often referred to as a "stink ship." As Mad magazine used to say, "Yeccccchhhh!"
But despite San Francisco-style cleanliness, what's happening in space travel is really fucking cool. Musk & Branson are neck-in-neck in launching tourists into the sky, and China & Russia have picked up where NASA left off and are racing to the moon again - and beyond. The twenty-first century is the era that we'll finally leave our planet, and begin to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. I believe in ET's and that the universe is teaming with life, so this is an amazing period of discovery - and we're lucky to witness it. I also believe that we're on the verge of abandoning the internal combustion engine, and exploring new technologies far greater than just hybrid cars. And hopefully, in addition to Space X, Virgin, & NASA, "Dyson" will jump on the interstellar bandwagon and start cranking out air purifiers that will clean the spittle out of the air.
About two weeks ago I had some engine work done on my 2006 Buick, so the dealership gave me a loaner which I drove for two straight days. My Lucerne has a "Northstar" - it's a rocket on four wheels - but the SUV that Woody Buick loaned to me was a top-of-the-line Envision, with all the bells & whistles of a Cadillac - at a Buick price. I was stunned at how much technology has changed in a decade, and how many safe-driving gadgets are now available to the driver. The engine in particular - a peppy V6 hybrid - was a marvel of computerized wonder, coming on when I needed power and shutting off at stop lights. Gone is the need for a massive V8 under the hood (sadly), and I started to notice just how many hybrids now shared the road with me. Like space travel, we're witnessing a technological Renaissance with cars on the road. Gas engines are quickly going away, with hybrid/electric vehicles becoming the norm in this transitional era between internal combustion engines and fully-autonomous vehicles. California wants to ban new gas cars in ten years, and its only a matter of time before the rest of the country follows suit. The twenty-first century is the time when all transportation changes, from cars here on Earth to spaceships in the heavens. Chuckling ... I'm hoping for a clean transition.
So, if cars are this much better in a decade than you know damn well that spaceships are the same. When Apollo went to the moon, it's computer could barely run an old Atari game; now, we have more computing power in our iPhones than in all of 1960s NASA. Think of how much technology must go into a Space X rocket ... and then think of how that very rocket is just an internal combustion engine. If gas-powered cars are becoming obsolete, then how much longer we we use rockets to leave the Earth? Like Stephen Greer says, our current engines are basically retooled 1940s technology, and its high time to make the jump from gasoline/rocket fuel to zero-point energy. Gas powered engines are as dirty as a San Francisco street, and if new technology is available for cars, you know damn well it's available for space travel. I'm a believer that the powers that be are sitting on some amazing new discoveries, and now that we're leaving our planet, it's time for that knowledge to finally become public knowledge so we can clean up our acts, both on and off the Earth.
I really want to know what's out there...
So, if cars are this much better in a decade than you know damn well that spaceships are the same. When Apollo went to the moon, it's computer could barely run an old Atari game; now, we have more computing power in our iPhones than in all of 1960s NASA. Think of how much technology must go into a Space X rocket ... and then think of how that very rocket is just an internal combustion engine. If gas-powered cars are becoming obsolete, then how much longer we we use rockets to leave the Earth? Like Stephen Greer says, our current engines are basically retooled 1940s technology, and its high time to make the jump from gasoline/rocket fuel to zero-point energy. Gas powered engines are as dirty as a San Francisco street, and if new technology is available for cars, you know damn well it's available for space travel. I'm a believer that the powers that be are sitting on some amazing new discoveries, and now that we're leaving our planet, it's time for that knowledge to finally become public knowledge so we can clean up our acts, both on and off the Earth.
I really want to know what's out there...
