How do you know that your society is screwed? – RANT

flying, thoughts, USA

This week-end we went to visit Houston and did the obligatory visit to the Space Center. Oh, how disappointing it was. How do you know you’re screwed as a society?

  • When 25% of the public display area inside the Space Center is a food court filled with junk food you wouldn’t feed to your dog
  • When your gift shop and photo booth get the prime floor space
  • When you present a selective history of the NASA history omitting most of the accidents and sacrifices that led to the accomplishment of manned space flight.
  • When many visitors are foreign speaking visitors from Eastern European and Asian countries
  • When your space shuttle landing simulator is “kaputt” – both, like in “two”
  • When your robots arm display has no balls (the payload) to play with
  • When you show mostly mock-ups instead of the real stuff the tax payer has been paying for

Considering manned space flight was one of the biggest accomplishments of man kind in the previous century, the Space Center is a sorry display of stuff that was prepared and thought to be fun for kids, but fails on almost all levels. How disappointing! Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all that Houston ended up only with the Space Shuttle mock up instead of one of the other three surviving real shuttles. Hey, Texas already has one scattered all over northern Texas anyway. Boy, am I upset about this Space Center! What a missed opportunity to excite future generations for space travel. NASA was and is financed by tax dollars. I would expect them to spend our money more wisely and on less of this – “Oh, science is Fun!” shit. Until then, more junk food to the nation. Knock yourself out. I won’t be back.

 

Baby Logic #78 – Baby Steps

baby

Ro has recently tried to wean himself off sucking his thumb. But he’s struggling with this old habit:

Ro <can’t sleep, coming out of his bed room after 45min>: I’m sad

me: Poor you. What makes you feel sad?

Ro: I feel lonely.

me: !?!!!?

Ro:  I feel lonely without my Lovies. <“Lovies” is his word for his special stuffed toys that he sleeps with – namely Pluto (also see “Pluto Song”), Sebbi (short for Sebastian, his cat), Waddles the Penguin and a nameless small dog.

me: But all your Lovies are in your room.

Ro: I know, but every time I hug them I suck my thumb!

me: Hmm. That’s hard. I understand. But you can put them on your bottom bunk bed in your room, so you’re not lonely.

Ro <crying>: I can’t – I feel lonely.

me: Then take them and just hug them.

Ro: But then I want to suck my thumb – it feels so good.

me: I know. <in fact I do, I myself still have a bite mark from sucking my thumb from when I was a child> – Let’s make an exception today. It was a long week-end. You can suck your thumb today. Just today. I allow it. It won’t be bad.

Ro: OK. Maybe I can suck it once a week?

<Negotiator!>

me: We’ll see. Now go back to bed. Hug your stuffies. I love you.

Ro: I love you, too, daddy.

<Awwww>.