New Mars Forums

Glad you like it, Cindy...   

Can't wait to see some more of these fantastic signatures on here...

I'll have to check it out...

That reminds me of the original Spider-Man animated series I used to watch when I was a kid...weird backgrounds and all.  I was a pretty big fan of it for a while.  My favorite superhero was Superman, however... *Sorry*... I used to watch the reruns of that original series (live action) as well...

You know what, this world could use a few superheros, couldn't it?    :;):

B

In case any of you would like to keep tabs on Isabel, here's an excellent site... 2003 Hurricane Site

It's a very clean, fast-loading site that has all the updated reports put out by the National Hurricane Center (NHC) <Tips hat in due respect> 

The link marked "Discussion" is the best, as it has all the detailed explainations concerning current conditions and the various forecast models.  (Warning: Jargon Alert, for non-weather people.)

B

P.S.  I can't wait until the Hurricane Hunters start making their runs into Isabel (when it draws a bit closer).  Those boys are going to be in for a bit of a ride!  <gives salute to these brave souls>

And just imagine the joy and relief he felt when the lander rose up from the surface of the Moon, looking out the window as the tiny craft slowly closed in on the capsule, knowing that you wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

It still blows my mind that all of this was done almost 35 years ago...like a peice of the future dropped in the middle of the 20th Century...

B

I would suggest reading Zubrin's "Case for Mars," for starters.  It's a book written in clear, easy-to-understand language about what it would take to launch a bare-bones mission to Mars and how to stay there for an extended period of time.

As for airlocks, that's easy...just have two doors with adequate seals around them...and make sure they are *never* both open at the same time, typical Hollywood sci-fi movies notwithstanding...

B

Well, that's a pretty dramatic example that I've experienced just a handful of times.  At one time, back when I was still a teenager or my early 20's, I had an interest in "dreamology," and I would read stuff about how you can "control" your dreams by keeping dream logs, making efforts to think about dreams upon awaking, etc....and by exercising this conscious "control," I believe I was able to actually get to the point of controlling my dreams from the "outside," so to speak. 

But let me tell you this...(this is so weird, and it's a clear example of how amazing the mind can really be sometimes...)  When I read your post about smell and taste in your dreams, and how rare that's supposed to be.  I took a few minutes to try and remember whether I've experienced smell or taste in my dreams...and I couldn't recall any examples of experiencing those two senses in my dreams.  But just last night, I was taking my pills as part of an asthma study I've just been enrolled in, and I noticed they had a bitter taste to them, as opposed to placebos which can sometimes have a sweet taste to them (as these are usually made of sugar.)  Well, I had a dream early this morning in which I actually bit down on one of my "morning" pills (I take 4 per day, only the evening ones have the bitter taste,) and I *distinctly remember* it having a sweet taste, as I if was eating a peice of candy.  Isn't that weird, or what??  So I know I can at least "taste" stuff in my dreams..LOL...so we'll see what we can do about smelling things in dreamland...   

As for recurring dreams...I have a number of those, even now.  One is driving up to the top of tall mountains (to where it's cold and snowy), another is New York, as if I'm looking for something there, like where I used to live or something. (I can't tell you how many times I've "visited" NYC in dreamland, although I've never lived there...as to why, I haven't a clue.)  Yet another is about airplanes doing crazy stunts in the sky and crashing down to the ground, forcing me to either freeze with pure horror as the plane dives right towards me, or me attempting to run to safety as I watch the plane crashing down way too close for comfort.  Other dreams I've had in the past have run just like a feature-length film, with characters and a plot and everything (those are cool, as they seem to last for hours, and gives me stuff to ponder the next day.)  Also, in the past, I've noticed how easily I can run and jump over things without ever getting tired, as if I had an unlimited amount of physical stamina.

On rare occasions, I've had dreams of me traveling to the future, such as the whimsical-looking buildings I mentioned before.  Probably the most poignant "future" dream I've had is when I went about 100 years ahead in the future, in the hometown where I grew up.  There didn't seem to be too many people around, with none of the hustle and bustle that you typically see today, and harmony with nature seemed to be the order of the day.  I remember going into a low-key store where they sold stuff, but the "merchandise" was behind glass enclosures, like you see at musuems.  There was an attendent in this store, asking me if I needed assistance, but I kindly refused, as I "knew" I didn't belong there (and not wishing to embarrass myself due to my obvious ignorance), but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how to "buy" something in this store (there being no visible interface or anything.)  It wasn't until later that I found out that you were supposed to communicate with a computer by way of *thought* to find out about it, purchase it, or whatever, which made perfect sense in the end.  As far as the past goes, I can only remember going back to about 1970 or so...and I've never dreamt of old houses and stuff like that.

I guess that's why I'm now an aspiring SF writer...after all, they talk about how Steven King writes his books from his dreams..lol.  As for that "tornado hits cabin" dream...who knows...?  I just remember the stupendous roar of the wind, the screaming kids, the air being sucked out of the cabin, the suction trying to yank me away as the cabin was blowing apart around me, ect.  I honestly can't remember what was taking place in my life at the time.

Dreams, if you can remember them, are pretty weird animals, aren't they? 

B

Very cool, Spider-Man...you've got some real *artistic* skill there.

Care to make some sigs for the rest of us?..    :laugh: 

B

I would say that's true of me as well...when I was a kid, I went all the way through to the end, but now, I can usually stop/change it.  I've even woken up in the middle of a bad dream, thought about what needed to be changed, and promptly went back to sleep and the same dream as before, fixing what I thought about when I was awake (!) 

Also, what's the deal with differing rates of "dream time" and "real time?"  It's been my experience that dream time runs far faster than real time, and I've heard it in others as well.  I've even had nights when I was waking up like every 15 minutes, but I would have vivid dreams in between.  What seemed like an hour or more in the dream only turned out to be 15 minutes off the clock.  I've always found this to be pretty weird...

B

Shaun, I agree with you 100% on this one... 

My take on this whole issue that mining and possible terraforming *probably* will not be decided by those of us here on Earth...it will be the Martians that will decide what is done to their planet.  Why should it be otherwise?  If a group of people settle on Mars and they decide to remake their planet into their own image (and paying for it with their own sweat and blood)...what are we here on Earth to tell them what to do?

But we have a *long* ways to go before this becomes something we'll have to "worry" about..lol...

Indeed.  Unfortunately, the "cycle of history" is the one thing that the human race just hasn't been able to get under control....history has repeated itself for 1000's of years, and there's little reason not to think this will continue into the indefinate future, whether we want it to or not.  It's like, we're dammed if we do, dammed if we don't.  The point I'm trying to make these days is that we (the U.S.) needs to not lose sight of the problems here at home...what good is the global, "peacekeeping" hegemony if we allow things to fall apart in our own house?  It's high time that we get "real" about this.  I just can't help but to have the feeling that the terrorists are playing these games with us to do just that...making us forget about taking care of our "own" in the process of fighting them (after all, what do *they* have to lose...not much, it seems.) 

But the United States...we're in the unfortunate position of having so much to lose, as opposed to the potential gains we may have by execising control over in the Middle East.  I honestly feel that we've painted ourselves into a corner...which is exactly what the terrorists want to happen.  I say it's time to start playing our own game, instead of theirs...the true strength of a nation begins at home, not in some distant land under a broiling sun.

Anyone care to revisit what happened to the great Roman Empire??... 

We can debate all day long about the morality of what we're doing in Iraq...but we just cannot afford to lose sight of what's *really* important to America and the rest of the world...we just can't.  We want to fight a war over there because we feel there's a legit reason to do so...fine, so be it.  That's not what I have a problem with.  The problem is paying for it.  This idea of pulling mega-billions out of thin air, with the hope that it'll just somehow "fix itself" later on down the road...come on, people, it's time to get a grip on this situation.  Let's get our own priorities straight and then figure out how to go about solving all of the world's problems.

I think I'll just leave it at that...

B

Yes, I was appalled to read about that too...to think that a 40-year old person could be so ignorant about something as basic as the seasons....   ???

But here in the States...that sort of thing is distressingly common.  Like my friend who is a successful architect was asking me about why people don't live on Mars....as if he honestly didn't know what an incredible achievement it would be just to get someone there and back, not to mention people actually living there. So many people in the U.S. "just don't get it."  They really don't.  They're so busy wrapped up in their own little world that they don't even take the time to read the newspaper anymore, let alone take a moment or two to figure out some of the basics of the universe around them.

I think a lot of it has to do with our parents...because I was extremely lucky to have a dad who sparked my interest in things like science, weather and astronomy...he would actually go out with the Astroscan and look at the stars and planets with me when I was a kid, and he was the one that constantly pointed out the amazing sweep of the sun as it traversed through the seasons, not to mention standing on the back porch with me during those rock-'n-roll summer thunderstorms.  Furthermore, I had the good fortune of being able to spend summers at my grandparents' farm, where I got to experience the wonder of nature firsthand...to me, life just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for those wonderful memories of my childhood.

To me, this is a constant lament of the modern American era...we, as a people, have forgotten what it's like to experience the awe and wonder of the world around us...and it's just not learning about space and the weather and all of that...it's about the little things too...like the things that make us human.  Like the popular contemporary trend of mothers hiring nannies from 3rd world nations to raise their kids so they can spend 24/7 at the office...as if working and making money is the end-all, be-all of their existence.  No wonder why there's so much unhappiness around here these days... 

I'm *seriously* beginning to think that a major economic depression a la the Great Depression of the 1930's is exactly what this nation needs at this time...so we can get back to being *human* again...and perhaps people would take a moment to actually look up at the nighttime sky and experience the emotions of wonder and awe.  Parents need to be able to come home from work at 5pm (like my dad, my mom came home at 3pm, when I got out from school,) and actually take a few minutes each day to teach their kids about the world around them.  That sort of thing just doesn't happen anymore.

Sometimes to get where you want to go, you have to step back a bit, and sadly, I honestly think that's exactly what this country needs right now...   ???

Shaun, it sounds like you're playing roulette with your skin...lol...as if I should talk...lol.  Seriously, though, that sounds pretty scary, expecially since I'm only 26 degrees off the Equator myself...and I have no health insurance.  If I start getting those nasties on my skin, I'd be up sh*t creek without a paddle.  Be very thankful that you guys have universal health coverage down there (like the rest of the "sensible" world.)  I just have to sit back and hope to God that nothing seriously happens to me health-wise...at least until we have our Democratic revolution and we get some damn health coverage for those of us who need it and can't afford it.  Please let me know when the Australian government starts allowing Americans to immigrate there...seriously, I'd move there in a heartbeat, if only I could... 

B

--- Do you have any hurricane stories, Byron? 

Not yet...I've been here in FL for over a decade, and while I've sustained a direct hit from a tropical storm and several brushes by hurricanes 200+ miles away, there hasn't been a direct hit by a hurricane in the South Florida area since Andrew in '92 (just before I moved here from Orlando.)  But this is the time of year that I keep a close watch on the weather sites...and there's a new hurricane way out in the Atlantic (Isabel) that Bastardi thinks has a good chance of making it all the way across to the U.S.,(as does the Hurricane Center) and it'll probably be the season's biggest storm, as it may experience some explosive deepening in about 4 days' time.  Definately something to keep a very close eye on...

I have heard some harrowing tales of people who were in the path of Hurricane Andrew, however, like people having to huddle under mattresses as their houses blew apart around them.  In one case, a guy attempted to keep the wind from blowing down the front door, but it eventually blew it open like an explosive device, with tornado-like winds howling through the entire house in seconds, tearing off the roof as if it was tissue paper.  Such is the power and the fury of a 140-mph hurricane  ???

Hurricanes are serious business around here, and when they do threaten this area, all the local TV stations go to 24-hour news, and governments have to evacuate the coastal areas, while people rush the home improvement stores to prepare for the possible impact.  I live about five miles inland from the ocean, so I'm not in an evacuation zone, but I have a number of over-sized jungle trees in my backyard, which would surely come down in a 100-mph+ storm, so if we do get nailed by a direct hit, I'd better get my chainsaw ready...lol.  As for the house itself, all I can say is, State Farm had better be ready to pay out big...lol...as I've been paying some big, fat premiums to them lately  :angry:

If and when a biggie does hit around here, I fully expect Uncle Sam to be forking out some serious cash for the rebuilding as well, because if we can spend a half trillion for Iraq, we can surely help our own in times of need. 

If Isabel does make it all the way across (in about 8 days' time,) you can bet that I'll have my video camera ready to catch the action...at least until I'm forced to retreat into the old sauna (!) in the garage that I'll be using as a safe room..lol..  :laugh:

In spite of the tremendous damage these storms are capable of inflicting, I still can't help but to be completely awed and amazed by these incredible cyclones...as there's really nothing else out there on this planet Earth that can come even close.

B

P.S.  While I've yet to see a hurricane...I've seen things like eight inches of rain in like 3 hours...boy, you should see what that's like...

Cool...I have to say that your philosophy of life is pretty similar to mine...   

Indeed, what you've described is what has gotten us (humanity) to where it is today - and it will enable us to achieve the dreams of tomorrow, such as making Mars a second home for the human race...

B