Quote from: Cassia on Today at 11:50:41 AMOur wealthiest people now just as confidently talk about colonizing Mars. They have no fucking clue.

They truly don't.  They have enough wealth and power to make anything happen here on Earth, and so they think they can walk on water out there.  Arrogance and stupiity.  Space is harsh and uncaring, least of all to wealth and status.  Space cares about two things and two things only: knowledge and preparation.

Still, we really do need to get out there eventually.  If for no other reason than the sheer difficulty and harshness necessitates cooperation on a level that overcomes our tribal and violent way of life.  Humans are natural wanderers and explorers - to move forward together, we must move forward individually.

QuoteIf we ever approached the speed of light, our mass would also approach infinity. There are good reasons I think we will never see aliens. It's the physics of reality-when moving at a blazing 10% of the speed of light, it would still take 42 years to gets to our nearest star.

True.  And we'd have to deal with collisions and radiation.

And one more thing - any colony on the moon or Mars or Europa or elsewhere must be regularly supplied by Earth for a long, long time, probably forever.  Space colonization entails a very serious commitment - we can't boldly go then get distracted by other things.

Yeah, no one ever takes into account the interstellar medium that, at relativistic velocity, would grind a spaceship to dust.
And if anyone ever reached the speed of light they would collapse and become a black hole.

Quote from: Nobody on Today at 10:37:41 AMJeez, Trump can't even flip a coin properly!
All he did at the Army-Navy game was gently toss it in the air. What an ultramaroon! 🤣

And to think that when I was young, I loosely held a notion that some smart people where sort of guiding the ship. Now I think back to the 50s-70s when nearly everyone confidently smoked cigarettes. It calms your nerves, you know.

Our wealthiest people now just as confidently talk about colonizing Mars. They have no fucking clue. Putting lethal radiation, toxic atmosphere, extreme temperatures and poisonous dust storms aside, they have no concept of how specialized our evolution makes us. From the microbe infestation in our bodies that we need to survive to the gravity that keeps our skeletons, blood vessels, eyeballs and muscles together. Millions of years of specialization wasted on an alien planet.

 Not to mention the distances and energy required. Forty-times further way than the moon at its closest point. Launch windows on 2.5-year intervals. Seven months to get there.  Six to 44 minutes round-trip radio comm. No rescue. Suicide mission. Go already Elon, godspeed.

If we ever approached the speed of light, our mass would also approach infinity. There are good reasons I think we will never see aliens. It's the physics of reality-when moving at a blazing 10% of the speed of light, it would still take 42 years to gets to our nearest star.

Star Trek was set in the 2,260s. I doubt we will be cruising to distant galaxies. The species will do well to just survive till then.

Jeez, Trump can't even flip a coin properly!
All he did at the Army-Navy game was gently toss it in the air. What an ultramaroon! 🤣

Quote from: drunkenshoe on December 12, 2025, 12:59:04 AMhttps://pin.it/3dZ4uwRUJ

Perfect. Since the dawn of time...

My inner 12 yo approves.

I'm glad I'm old. But I worry for our cats.

https://www.startribune.com/ice-agents-visit-brooklyn-park-coffee-shop-arrest-cook-after-ruse-to-get-him-outside/601545607?utm_source=gift

Yup.  The worst of the worst.  Big old signing bonuses to those who want to be legally nasty and go after those hideous cooks for being a part of the community. 

Quote from: Gawdzilla Sama on December 13, 2025, 09:13:04 PMThe Romans murdered any number of people for entertainment.

No no no. The christians were murdering each other for worshiping god the wrong way.

Nothing has changed.