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[RC] Discovery home safe - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: ti Tivers@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== At 5:12 EST Discovery landed safely at Edwards AFB. The bulk of the mission was computer-flown and only after the final turn to line up with the runway did the human pilot take over. Throughout the history of the space programs, here and abroad, countless individuals have had to conquer their innate fear of the unknown. The Discovery vehicle itself represents a towering technological achievement, with science penetrating the murk of thousands upon thousands of complex unknowns. And throughout the history of the space program there has been criticism by the truckload--"It can't be done." "It shouldn't be done." "It's too expensive." "It's too dangerous." "It's not worth the trouble and cost." "It never happened--the whole thing was a fake." But those with the desire and the brainpower to make it all happen persevered. With an eye to the far future, they took one courageous, difficult step after another. Along the way, many extremely useful technologies were developed that are in full use on planet Earth today--indespensible now, but fought tooth and nail as the initial experiments were funded and carried out. There are those who can't see into the future 3 minutes in front of their noses. Refuse to contemplate the future. Fight attempts to modify the status-quo. Fight technology and even new thougts. More often than not, these are people who believe they're in control and don't want to lose that control to new ideas that they cannot grasp or cannot implement because they've already been left far behind. I believe it is human nature to want to explore. It is in the nature of some to want to achieve great things. The freedoms of Western society have made these individual explorations and achievements possible in every form of endeavor. But there are some who are deeply, religiously, opposed to freedom of thought and action. Sometimes a small group of these types can gather together and exert control over an entire society, giving themslves power over the thoughts and actions of all others. They do so by any means possible--it's a matter of life or death for them. At the government level, the most effective methods combine military with rigid ideology (religious or social). If the populace is mentally lethargic (or simply massively uninformed), with a deficit of personal courage, an initially small cabal can take over, set up an impenetrable, immoveable bureaucracy, and exert stifling power for decades or even hundreds of years. That, too, is human nature--to take what is not yours to take. As you read on these pages all about what cannot, or should not, be done, you should understand that what I have talked about has already been done and that others are going to move far beyond my puny ideas in the near future. Already have on the applied technology side--and some of that new technology is due directly to the space program. As you read the words of the self-appointed protectors of the past and the status-quo, consider what the motivation might be. To save you from yourselves? That might be the posture. But the motivation is control. Power over your thoughts and actions. Inhibiting your thoughts and actions. I would encourage all here, not to follow my lead, but to absorb all the valid information you can, put it to work for you, test it, refine it, and then achieve something special and meaningful to yourself as an individual. Far beyond anything that has already been done--already yesterday's news. ti =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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