Star Wars?

[HARDCORE]

When my son (now away at university) told me years ago of the theory he was working on (Unified Fields), and how it could rewrite most (if not all) that we think that we know about space, he left me in the dark!

Well apparently, I was not alone in the blackness of space, both inner and outer, for when my youngest son recently sat down with several of his professors (PhDs), and attempted to explain the basics contained within his ideas, they too went away slack-jawed and puzzled!

On my way home from down town this evening (my wife driving), I began to read two stories in today?s newspaper that also echoed the fact that, in this field (space science), even many of the knowledgeable scientists ?May Not Know For Sure What In The Hell They Do For A Living!??

First off, and in a scenario that reminds me greatly of the people of Earth in the days of Prince Henry The Navigator of Portugal, we now discover that the universe, and not the Earth itself, is indeed flat!

Galaxies, it seems, were distributed in a pattern that resembles the ripples of sound (Sound in Space - Hmm?), that were generated by the Big Bang! And with the recent tsunami in South East Asia showing us (if on a much smaller scale), how fragile the people of our planet really are, my own nightly sleep patterns have become a little less at ease, and certainly, far more unsettled!

As a matter of fact, Earth Astronomers too, are raising no end of Hell over potential cutback$ in funding! It seems that President Bush is far more in favor of a hands on approach to space exploration - one that entails ?Going (personally) where no man has gone before?, whereas, a few Astronomers prefer a ?Long Range Show and Tell Film Presentation? - one generated via telescope and camera from millions of miles away!?

As such, the President is more interested in human space exploration (or so it seems), and the astronomy community favors a long-range, look and see approach, sought of like ?Alice through the looking glass!? (opinion)

Apparently, the guys with the political and scientific checkbook (Current Administration) also have a love affair with the Moon and Mars (primarily). Where-as, the high-powered crystal gazers (Astronomers) have their sights on deep, deep, deep space (Warp 10 anyone)?

Both sides of this celestial issue have their hearts and space suits in the right place, but if I read the stories correctly, the Powers That Be feel that we had better get a grip on the reachable before we begin to chase Captain Kirk (and Mr. Spock) half way around neighboring galaxies. After all (the Prez must be reasoning), there are places close at hand that no human eyes have ever beheld, and with our own Earth resources far from limitless, maybe we had better get a handle on our own (continuing) survival, before we go traipsing off in the hunt for ETs, Vulcans and Darth Veda!!

Even though my son (the one who is studying new forms of propulsion to ease us through space at a faster clip) will probably disagree with me on this, I too believe that we had better first sink our teeth (for the time being) into the apple that is close at hand, if you can call the moon and the Red Planet close?

The Moon (after all) is but a trifling quarter million miles down the road (hardly a hop, skip and a jump away as space travel goes), and Mars is a mere 35 Million miles, as the extraterrestrial crow flies! So maybe we had better seek out the goodies that these two fellow space travelers have to offer first - raw materials and discoveries that could benefit generations of Earthmen (and Earth women) yet to come!

After all is said and done, what if Columbus would have set his sights (like H. G. Wells) on the Moon instead of the New World? We might today have advanced colonies on said Moon, while New York, Los Angeles and Washington DC were still undiscovered?!

"Hey, you know, maybe old Herbert George Wells had the right idea after all?"

VERITAS

[Boats]

Good piece HC and written in a manner that as usual makes one ponder the issues of the day. Keep up your local observations as they enlighten us as well as bring current relevant data to the forefront.

[HARDCORE]

Thanks Boats!!!