Billions for bailouts, but nothing for NASA???

[Lady's Human]

I've been ordered not to break the speed limit on my way home from work tomorrow morning..........I get out at 7 AM EST, and the launch is theoretically at 8 AM.

Got to get comfy on the couch with the pretzels and Cocoa.

[RICHARD]

I've been ordered not to break the speed limit on my way home from work tomorrow morning..........I get out at 7 AM EST, and the launch is theoretically at 8 AM.

Got to get comfy on the couch with the pretzels and Cocoa.

Thanks!!......4:50 pst...

Speaking of pretzels?

I bought an industrial sized bag of Halloween candy that had all kinds of assorted stuff inside.

I had a bag of pretzels sticks too. I took a tootsie roll out-no, not the kitteh kind- and flattened it out with my fingers and wrapped it around the pretzel......


I wasn't bad. It wasn't the messy chocolate covered pretzel stick I have had before......

Now to find a way to improved on the concept...

Astronaut pretzel sticks in the shape of rockets??

[Cinder & Smoke]

I can't speak my mind about Congress........It's a family site.

" ...But, no, you sent us Congress.
Good God, sir, was that fair?"

Oooooopsie!



Forgive me for tempting you to cross the line ...
Plumb furgot those clowns help sign your pay check!

You show remarkable restraint!

[aTailOf2Kitties]

we're spending millions and billions of dollars investigating other places while people on our own planet are starving to death? Something's wrong here.

[Lady's Human]

Those billions spent on space research generate jobs and new technologies (which generate jobs).

Walk into a hospital.......most of the tech used in treatment is from NASA.

The computer on your desktop? NASA

The internet? DARPA

Agriculture improvements? NASA

Weather satellites? NASA

Yeha, it's a real waste of money.

[kokopup]

I agree with 'Lady's Human' that the monies, spent by NASA, comes back into our economy many times over. Being a former NASA employee I saw first hand the technology that later flowed into main stream America and the World. If you look at the cost of all products, the only things that cost less today than any other time in our history are those things tied to technology. Technology that was developed by NASA or NASA contractors.

[Lady's Human]

The NASA budget for FY 2009 is 17.6 billion dollars.

That means each person in the US is paying 15 cents per day (Using the estimate of 305 million US residents) for a program which has had massive returns on the investment.

I'll take that bargain any day of the week.

[Cinder & Smoke]

If you all don't start putting 'EST' next to the launch times,
I am going to petition to have your astronaut cards pulled.

I always have the momentary loss of time zones and then panic sets in-
I start to do the math then figure if I am late or early.

Now, to set the alarm for "earth time" tomorrow morning..5 a.m. PST!

The Left Coast is gonna be *pi$$ed* when he tunes in at "Oh:dark:Thirty"
this morning ... the FireWorks won't begin till 11:00 am EDT = 08:00 LCDT
(LCDT = Left Coast Daylight Tyme).

Now, about the TZ notations:

Is your suggested "EST" to stand for "ESTIMATED" or "Eastern STANDARD Tyme" ???
("Etimated" as in wild, hopeful, complete guess)

11:47 Edit:

GOOD GREF, people - let's just DO IT!
Now the Weather Gurl is *waving* her RED Flag for another Weather Hick-Up!

Darm P-corn is gona get cold - again!
11:50 = TWO Weather NO-goes.

[Lady's Human]

I think Richard is still hung over from the scrub yesterday morning.

[Cinder & Smoke]

time now = 10:57 am

WAG Tyme ("WILD-A$$ Guess") is:

Countdown resume @ T-4:00 is now 11:04 am Eastern
Push da Button at 11:08 am.

[Lady's Human]

Wag time?

Da wagger is sleepin on da couch.

No waggin here?

[Cinder & Smoke]

<**pounds head on screen**>

We'd better order lunch ...

Miz Weather sez NO go till 11:20 am Eastern ...
Countdown will resume from T-4:00 at 11:16 am.

BUT - that's another WAG Tyme.

[aTailOf2Kitties]

That means each person in the US is paying 15 cents per day (Using the estimate of 305 million US residents) for a program which has had massive returns on the investment

well I'd rather have my 15 cents go to help one of the thousands of people who lost their jobs in the Recession than to some overpaid nerd who figured out how to spend 68 million dollars on a couple of one-way probes to the moon.

I've been to Kennedy Space Center and enjoyed every second of it. Let's face it, space is mysterious and really interesting. I'm not saying NASA souldn't exist, I'm just saying I think the gov't needs to focus more money on fixing problems right here in the Good Ole U-S-of-A before spending billions of dollars exploring space. Don't suspend all activities, just tone it down a little.

[Lady's Human]

Let's try this one more time....

No (or reduced) NASA.........

No hospital room monitors

No MRI's

No CT scans

No microcomputers (At least highly improbable that they'd be available as consumer items)

A wide variety of high tech ceramics, plastics (Mylar), glass products.

No remote crop monitoring (Ya think people are hungry NOW?)

No weather satellites

No comms satellites

Cell phones? Nope.

cable TV? Nope. (no satellites for comms)

Fly by wire aircraft? nope (commercial aviation would be more expensive. Southwest Airlines $99 fares? Doubtful)

Composites? Nope.

and on, and on...........

and guess what? All those technologies and products EMPLOY PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!

Better to give them jobs than handouts.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Good GRIEF!

Better pass out the Dinner Menu, too.

NOW they've reset the clocks to resume the countdown at 11:26 am -
with plans to Push da Button at 11:30 am (Eastern) ...

HOWEVER, the Weather Gurl and her Observation Pilot won't "guarantee"
the weather opening will be LONG Enough to accomplish the launch.

UPPIEDATE:

"We're *ALMOST* clear - with a probable 10-minute window" ...
NOW we're thinking of Pushin da Button a minute or two earlier.

Better *wake* da Wagger - she won't wanna miss this!