Report, edit, etc...Posted by Staredit.Net Essence on 2004-05-06 at 22:40:03
I'm opinionated about many things, and I tend to rant alot.
I just finished watching a, extremely cool show on the Discovery Channel, which was about building a megacity inside a pyramidal structure, thousands of feet tall (think of those pyramids you can build with toothpicks, enlarge, then suspend your stuctures within). At first, my reaction was "this is an awesome concept! I can't wait to see it built!" Then, I heard that the date for completion was in 50-60 years.
Then I remembered that it was being built in Japan.
Whar bothers me is that nowadays, everything is being built in Japan, or Germany, or Europe, or China, or anywhere else but North America! I want to know why North American society is so afraid of widespread technological change. Since when have we become a continent full of people who justify not moving forward with the phrase "It costs a lot of money now, so I'm not gonna!"
I was reading The Science of Discworld (by Terry Pratchett), and it had a section on the 'Space Elevator' concept (basically you string a incredibly strong cable into geosychronous orbit, and you can ride this up and down like an elevator). In the book, Pratchett hypothesizes that, while the cable originally costs billions to construct, this cost would be paid back once you have more materials going down than up (which is a likely occurrance: asteroid mining, for example, could bring in a lot of money). This proves that the cost is, effectively, zero.
Sounds reasonable, right?
It'll never get off the ground. With presidential policy changing every four years (because, let's face it: most of the money is in the US), how does one expect to organize a project that lasts more than that!
I'm running out of steam, so that's it for now. But I'll be back with more...
I just finished watching a, extremely cool show on the Discovery Channel, which was about building a megacity inside a pyramidal structure, thousands of feet tall (think of those pyramids you can build with toothpicks, enlarge, then suspend your stuctures within). At first, my reaction was "this is an awesome concept! I can't wait to see it built!" Then, I heard that the date for completion was in 50-60 years.
Then I remembered that it was being built in Japan.
Whar bothers me is that nowadays, everything is being built in Japan, or Germany, or Europe, or China, or anywhere else but North America! I want to know why North American society is so afraid of widespread technological change. Since when have we become a continent full of people who justify not moving forward with the phrase "It costs a lot of money now, so I'm not gonna!"
I was reading The Science of Discworld (by Terry Pratchett), and it had a section on the 'Space Elevator' concept (basically you string a incredibly strong cable into geosychronous orbit, and you can ride this up and down like an elevator). In the book, Pratchett hypothesizes that, while the cable originally costs billions to construct, this cost would be paid back once you have more materials going down than up (which is a likely occurrance: asteroid mining, for example, could bring in a lot of money). This proves that the cost is, effectively, zero.
Sounds reasonable, right?
It'll never get off the ground. With presidential policy changing every four years (because, let's face it: most of the money is in the US), how does one expect to organize a project that lasts more than that!
I'm running out of steam, so that's it for now. But I'll be back with more...
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Mr.Camo on 2004-05-06 at 23:16:43
All these are true. Nothing really interesting happens in the U.S. 
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Dark Templar on 2004-05-07 at 09:46:26
Might want to put backslashes in your code so they work. 
Ex:
Ex:
QUOTE
[B][/B]
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Aster on 2004-05-07 at 15:27:23
Lol........I do agree about President Bush anyway.
And by the way
We're running out quickly cuz of Bush, actually
( Iraq: $ >100 billion
Afghanistan: $ >50 billion
Education funds: $ <1 billion )
And by the way
QUOTE
most of the money is in the US
We're running out quickly cuz of Bush, actually
( Iraq: $ >100 billion
Afghanistan: $ >50 billion
Education funds: $ <1 billion )
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Yoshi da Sniper on 2004-05-07 at 16:13:39
QUOTE(Dark Templar @ May 7 2004, 08:46 AM)
Might want to put backslashes in your code so they work.
Ex:
Ex:
QUOTE
[B][/B]
I was wondering why they weren't working... I did it for him.
Report, edit, etc...Posted by Staredit.Net Essence on 2004-05-11 at 22:18:41
LOL...thanks, Mike!
...I'm so lazy, it's not even funny...
...I'm so lazy, it's not even funny...