New Mars Forums

Shoot.  We already knew this.  Every MIB fan knows that supermarket tabloids are the best investigative reporting on the planet.   :sleep:

For all we know, a primitive civilization of intelligent beings could exist on Titan today.  The first analysis capable of telling otherwise began mere days ago with the arrival of the Cassini probe.

The only thing we have to suggest otherwise is a series of assumptions about biochemistry.  A long series of assumptions.

Actually, it's easier to just leave out the minerals rather than make filters deal with them.  Thus, the only mineral in the water from standard US life support systems is tincture of iodine.

Yuck!     No wonder the Russian water tastes better.

Hmm...

The claim was made earlier that $10 billion US of NASA's budget is spent on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.  That leaves NASA about $5 billion for other projects.  As long as NASA is tightly saddled with Shuttle and ISS, that $5 billion seems a better indication of NASA's capabilities than the $15 billion gross value, of which 66% arrives already spent.

I don't think $3 billion compares too unfavorably to $5 billion.

Take it from someone who lives in a state where Huey Pierce Long is a folk hero: Every state has its booger eaters.

Florida just came to attention in 2000 because of its potential for statistical advantage in a very tight race.  There is no evidence to indicate that nose picking is more prevalent per capita there.

You know, that's a good point.  There are no hazardous waste disposal professionals on Mars.  This means there are no hazardous waste handling licenses on Mars.  Which in turn means that Marsians will need to know what is actually physically harmful for them to handle and not just what they're forbidden to touch by law.

The mercury from your example, is most immediately toxic in its water soluble chemical compounds and not in the pure form that your brother was playing with.  Same with lead.  But either metal will eventually oxidize into toxic forms if left in a landfill, so both are regulated as hazardous materials in any form here in the States.  Since that isn't a resonable expectation on Mars, I wonder if the US environmental regulations would apply to a US colony there?

I foresee that bathtub gin will become a thriving martian industry...

Hello All.

Yes, Cobra, I'll admit it.  My primary motivations in deciding to vote the Kerry ticket in the US Presidential race are: 1) I believe that the conduct of President Bush's cabinet and administration in general has been reprehensible for no good reason too many times, and I can't just give approval for more of the same; 2) Kerry appears to be breathing OK and is officially registered to run for president; and 3) I can't abstain again and go another four years without any moral justification to complain about the president.  I just can't do it!  I don't side with the commies or the libertarians, and only agree with 8.5 out of 10 key Green Party values.  That leaves Kerry.

If you have a better candidate-that's-not-Bush, I'm open to suggestions.

Shaun and Cindy, I agree that problems with social structure are increasing in the world at large, and not just in our own countries.  The causes are related to overpopulation with a correspondingly increased ease of travel and communication.  No, homosexual marriage isn't a symptom of overpopulation; society could adapt to one such change.  But today we have billions of people requiring millions of such changes.  It's no surprise that some institutions, like marriage, just can't change to keep up as smoothly as we'd like.

No, I can't give you as much as I'd like to in the way of pro-Kerry arguments.  However, a sufficient number of anti-Bush arguments DOES make a pro-Kerry argument.

Personally, I'm going to cast my vote mostly on local issues, such as which candidate gives my favorite answer to questions like "How likely am I to be hauled in for checking out my local library's copy of BushWhacked! ?" and "How long can the cops throw me in the hole with a pair of panties on my head before they have to let the district attorney know where I am?"  My favorite answer is an authoritative, unqualified "NEVER!", preferrably given from loudspeakers and later cast in a stone monument.  But that hasn't been forthcoming from the Bush administration.

True. 

And you'd want to pick some dim little star, too.  Preferably something not even visible to the naked eye.

"Save the Earth!" is too catchy a slogan for the opposition.  You'll want to avoid that. 

"Save Zilwickie 2359-8999 19!" sounds like more of an international phone number than a planet.

You mean you're not even going to name the poor lil' ol' Jupiter-class planet before you blow it to smithereens?   ???

Not for us! 

My wife has already informed me to have the drugs ready and she's not even pregnant yet.  I quite agree with her, and if she didn't want any I'd appreciate it if the doctor would ask me next. 

Having just been through a preventable illness with a child in my care, I don't see the value in leaving the child open to another.  Please don't get me wrong: children need to build immunity on their own.  Too little exposure to infectious material is just as bad as too much.  Every child should have a little taste of dirt every day.  However, the list of illnesses preventable by vaccine isn't so long that it makes a difference to their overall health.  Children are going to get sick whether vaccinated or not.  I simply find it worth the expense to know that it isn't diptheria.