Return to Form

Deciduous forest. Calm. Falling leaves. "Island" from Glassworks by Philip Glass. A stack of books to read during this week's staycation:

• Ninety-Three by Victor Hugo
• Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
• Dubliners by James Joyce
• Lysistrata by Aristophanes
• The Birds by Aristophanes
• The Random House Book of Science Fiction Stories

Back to happiness again, my anger at two events, the death of a fellow Eagle Scout (né fed. gov't. census worker) in rural Kentucky and the declaration of an Alabama youth to join a foreign fighting force, finally subsiding.

Meanwhile, I assess Iran's missile capabilities. Others may want to isolate Iran and North Korea - I look for positive achievements. The people of Iran and North Korea need to eat and work just like anybody else. What regular work or skills can we exchange with one another to improve our lives? I don't pay attention to the overt threats or fears of the Iranian or North Korean governments, knowing that all governments must by nature prove their strength to themselves, their people and their neighbours. If an Iranian or North Korean can design, build and launch a missile-based weapon, can the same person help design, build and launch a vessel for our species to populate the Moon and Mars, joining India, United States, Europe, Brazil, Japan, China and South Korea in the new quest for outer space habitation? We need a lot of people to get a few people exploring new frontiers, especially since the horizon is no longer just an ocean separating two pieces of arable land.

As a group of goldfinches flies through the woods, I wonder about a paradigm shift. We see the Moon and Mars as barren and unable to support life when we really mean that it can't support life as we know it, expecting an atmosphere rich in oxygen, nitrogen and other pertinent gases, not to mention water.

Other people wise in the ways of nutrient production have pondered this question just like there are those who say we can build silica-based housing on the Moon using native material and not have to transport all our structures with us. In other words, instead of populating other planetary bodies with us first, should we send robotic miners and builders ahead of us to construct housing and grow/create nutrient-based input for our soon-to-arrive bodies? Maybe have contests between robotic crews on speed/quality of construction to attract regular viewers for advertising revenue to fund further development?