Poll: Space Tourism

by | Apr 14, 2021 | Poll, Travel | 263 comments

From time to time we’ll see something on the news about space exploration or space tourism and OMWC is invariably intrigued. Take, for instance, this story about a hotel in space.

There is no way I’d voluntarily blast off into space. I am not that adventurous. I prefer to stay on this planet, thanks very much.

OMWC, on the other hand, would go in a heartbeat given the chance.

How about you? Would you go into space? Would you stay at a space hotel?

 

H/T to Mexican Sharpshooter for the topic!

About The Author

SP

SP

I've got an idea! How about we just stick to the Constitution as written and then the government can leave me the fuck alone.

263 Comments

  1. robc

    When its as safe as flying to Europe, I would prefer space.

  2. DEG

    I’d go.

  3. Timeloose

    In a second.

  4. Mojeaux

    The Expanse has informed me everybody wishes they were “Earthers” with real gravity, fresh water, and fresh air.

    I’ll just keep my feet on terra firma, thanks.

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      Growing up on the Moon was boring, I admit

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        So that’s why you’re so dusty

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        I resemble that!

    • Cy Esquire

      Yep. It’s nice down here. For all off the bitching and moaning that goes on, you’d think it were the 8th cricle.

  5. UnCivilServant

    Who’s paying and how much does it cost?

  6. Q Continuum

    When are we leaving?

    • TARDis

      ^Tits in zero G^

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        +1 Barbarella

      • Ted S.

        +1 Duran Duran

      • Q Continuum

        ^^^This guy gets it.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Three ^^^ tits? What is this, Total Recall?

      • Bobarian LMD

        No, this is The Hitchhikers Guide!

        Eccentrica Gallumbits is the far-famed triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six.

        “Some people say her erogenous zones start some four miles from her actual body. Me, I disagree, I say five.”

      • Not Adahn

        Since she’s a beloved character, does this imply that “whore” in the UK in the ’80s wasn’t a terribly perjorative term?

  7. LJW

    No unless it’s necessary to flee from the destruction the Democrats cause. Space doesn’t strike me as a fun vacation destination.

  8. Ask your doctor if BEAM is right for you

    There’s an international project (name escapes me for the moment) that’s touting a one-way trip to Mars and has asked for volunteers; supposedly many tens of thousands (IIRC) have already signed up.

    If I weren’t married, I’d go on such a journey tomorrow.

    • Urthona

      You’re crazy. Antarctica is 1000x more habitable. Go there instead. nobody will big you i bet.

  9. Surly Knott

    Nope. Nope nope nopity nope.
    I’ve grown accustomed to gravity, don’t like small confined spaces (and what’s more confining than endless vacuum all around?), etc. Maybe in 50 or 100 years things would be different, but I’m no sort of pioneer or early adopter.

    • rhywun

      I know the absence of gravity long-term causes health issues but… man, some days I wish.

      • Mojeaux

        I’d like to think I’d do better than Howard Wolowitz, but I really doubt it,

  10. Ownbestenemy

    Beam me up! Wifey says “have a good trip!”

  11. Yusef drives a Kia

    I would only go if I didn’t have to return, I’m going to be uploaded into a Cylon Raider and travel the Galaxies…
    as the Cylon Raider,

  12. Ted S.

    I’d think sex in zero gravity would be tough to clean up after.

    • TARDis

      Maybe for SpacePronᵀᴹ it would be. Not everything needs a moneyshot.

      • Ted S.

        You clean the santorum out of the rooms, then.

        And hope that everyone swallows instead of spitting.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Well now you just ruined it. *hurk*

      • TARDis

        “*&%#!@#$! Somebody just hurked in the Spooginatorᵀᴹ filtration system!”

      • Don escaped Cancun

        moonshot?

    • blackjack

      Man, right here on earth it sometimes cost half of one’s net worth!

    • Chafed

      Q, we are going to need a ruling.

  13. westernsloper

    Fuck no. No wind, no water to swim in, no going outside. Stuck in a space hotel with 280 sci-fi dorks with one restaurant and a gym? Hard pass.

    • Mojeaux

      Man, if Agent Sloper doesn’t want to go …

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Yeah, but cosmic rays give you superpowers.

      • westernsloper

        Sunshine on earth gives you vitamin D and it is a superpower. It stops the #covid, makes you healthy (well right up to the skin cancer but never mind) and it makes me happy. If I couldn’t go outside and roam around, or just do nothing and feel the sun I would go insane. I did not do well living in WA state for a year. Living in a sterilized artificially climatized bubble in space sounds like torture to me.

      • blackjack

        This is very true, especially the part about Washington state.

      • slumbrew

        . If I couldn’t go outside and roam around…

        Would you say you like to gambol?

  14. topnotchtoledo

    Biophilia is real. Have fun in your lifeless human centered, top down, centrally controlled, group exercise. I’ll be down here enjoying sunsets, eating fresh food and drinking beer. Take all your friends with you too.

  15. Scruffy Nerfherder

    I would absolutely go.

  16. KSuellington

    I’m adventurous as all get out and have been to over three dozen countries and in some remote places east of bumfuck Egypt and I have very little desire to go to space. I like good old Earth too much to leave her.

    • westernsloper

      ^this guy gets it. There is a whole fricken world here most of the people signing up to go to space have never even seen more than a smidgen of. You want to explore? Go to a shithole country.

      • rhywun

        Feh, I don’t like shitholes. That said, space is also a shithole for now.

      • pistoffnick

        “Go to a shithole country.”

        And overthrow their government? ;^)

        Is the U.S. a shithole country yet?

      • westernsloper

        No comment.

      • Bobarian LMD

        Yet?

      • KSuellington

        Absolutely WS. I know you’ve been around the planet quite a bit as well. There are so many damn places to explore that a lifetime really isn’t enough. I’ve had to slow down the travel as three little kids will do that, but still have too many places left to visit. Yet to set foot on the African continent and I really want to get over there. Morocco, Ethiopia, Botswana, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique are all on the list to hit at some point.

  17. blackjack

    I will totally go, if it helps the mission.

    • rhywun

      Space is a wasteland.

      • blackjack

        That dude’s playing a twelve string strat, wild!

        Wasteland or no, I still want to be a starrider!

      • blackjack

        That guy’s a badass, thanks.

      • egould310

        Good tune. Classic 80’s Brit-rock. Kinda’ U2, kinda’ Cult. Goth, but jangly with a nice dose of new wave.

        At home in the wasteland https://youtu.be/ubbYUpdMi70

    • Hank

      Kind of funny, considering they’re a feminist and I’m grading on a curve.

      “Sir, a feminist’s humor is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.”

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      I can’t deny any of that.

      Rush still kicks ass.

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        I’m a big fan, kind of why I thought it was funny, I’ve heard it all when it comes to Rush, tedious, juvenile, screaming Hamster vocals, you know what I mean…

      • TARDis

        This. Funny, but yes, I still love the music. Can’t dance to it? So?

      • Hyperion

        Rush is more of cerebral type music.

      • TARDis

        Of course. It reminds me of the old arguments I’ve had with my wife. “It’s fine to like music to dance to, but I don’t usually listen to music with my feet and my ass.”

      • Mojeaux

        I ❤️ Rush.

        It is not sex music, no.

      • Hyperion

        Cold Fire sort of is, in a twisted way…

      • blackjack

        I’ve seen them 4 times and you are right.

        This song has worked for me back when.

      • blackjack

        And, I once had a girl take this one very literally.

      • Chafed

        Details?

      • blackjack

        I try to avoid that, but this particular time was in a van, back when vans were still cool. Or, before they became cool again.

      • Hyperion

        Saw them twice. They suck in concert, much more a studio band I suppose.

      • Sensei

        Same.

  18. Hank

    I wouldn’t be an “early adopter,” but if they work out the bugs (gravity changes, protection from meteors, etc., etc.) then make me an offer and we’ll see.

  19. EvilSheldon

    Visiting outer space? Hell yeah, no question. I’d trade everything I’ve ever made just for the opportunity.

    Long-term resettlement is another question.

    • commodious spittoon

      Considering trading everything I’ve ever made for long-term resettlement.

      Stupid mask mandates.

      • blackjack

        In space the covid droplets travel forever! We might even be wearing these mule feeders just to stop intergalactic spread right now.

      • commodious spittoon

        Fuck space, I’m relocating to a state that quits the fucking pandemic pretense. Any one of them will do.

  20. Tonio

    When I was young I was expecting to retire to a lunar colony.

  21. Spudalicious

    I would absolutely go, but I would let some guinea pigs go before me to work out the bugs.

  22. Hyperion

    “How about you? Would you go into space? Would you stay at a space hotel?”

    As long as I never have to come back to this totally demented place, sure.

    • Bobarian LMD

      You know you can just unsubscribe, right?

  23. Timeloose

    Think of space as a rich folks retirement to FL.

    Float around all day, no aching joints, robots wait on you, no heart issues.

    I can see it becoming a choice for a few really wealthy and eccentric people. They will have to figure out the massive logistics of supplying the station. They would have to be self sufficient to keep from becoming subject to extortion by governments and other criminals.

    • Hyperion

      “They would have to be self sufficient to keep from becoming subject to extortion by governments and other criminals.”

      Give them copies of ‘The Moon is a Harsh Mistress’, they’ll figure it out.

  24. I'm Here To Help

    I’m claustrophobic, so no way in hades for me. I actually got to go inside one of the space shuttles back when I worked for NASA. It was in the OPF getting repaired for its next mission, and we were doing an audit of their processes. Got dressed up in a bunny suit and climbed in. Climbed right back out with my heart at about 200 beats per second. WAY too cramped in there for me, and the thought of not being able to get out of it…

    Heart rate doubled just thinking about it.

    • Bobarian LMD

      And the shuttle was roomy compared most space travel devices.

  25. Drake

    Resettlement yes. Tourism, not that interested.

    • Hyperion

      Same here. I want off this rock for good, because there’s no hope left here.

    • blackjack

      Yeah, I don’t really believe the cops on this one. He thought she was white so he committed sexual battery on her in retaliation for asian “hate crimes”? Sounds like the cops got him to say some stupid assed shit so they could pump up the volume in court. It’s as fallacious as the rise in asian attacks itself.

      • Not an Economist

        The only problem with that is there are people dumb enough to do it

      • blackjack

        It’s my understanding of how cops work that is driving my assessment. They know what will result in increased penalties and they are trying to get the perp to admit certain things. They cheat and lie to do this. This is a very likely case of that and eventually, the guy gets hit with much less serious charges and pleads to that. I’ve seen people get gang enhancements for wearing a Raiders shirt while driving a car which contained some dude who fired a gun out of the window, unbeknownst to the raider’s fan. Guy’s still in prison and probably because of the ten year enhancement for his fucking shirt. Never talk to cops about anything serious.

      • Master JaimeRoberto (royal we/us)

        Asians should not hate.

  26. DEG

    We’ll find out soon enough if this is true

    CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PLAN to unveil legislation expanding the size of the Supreme Court on Thursday, according to three congressional sources familiar with the closely held measure.

    The bill would add four seats to the high court, bringing the total to 13 from the current nine. The number of justices on the Court, which is set by Congress, has fluctuated throughout the course of the nation’s history, before settling on nine in 1869.

    • rhywun

      Bring it on.

      I say the crazier they get, the sooner we can be rid of the worst of them.

    • blackjack

      Pretty sure you’re trying to sway the “Hell yes I’ll go to space” vote with this link.

    • creech

      They could probably get “bi-partisan” support from feckless GOP senators if the legislation said that each party, not the president, could pick two of the four new justices.

      • Brochettaward

        That would defeat the entire purpose of the Dems expanding the court. It’s about packing it with their guys.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Why even submit that bullshit EO then…

      • Urthona

        Because they’re not together on this. It makes it look even more stupid. It actually may be a good sign in some ways.

      • Ownbestenemy

        If the stupid party can pounce on it sure. Right now it should be wall to wall ads how the president created a commission and the Dems in Congress said fuck you…we go now!

    • l0b0t

      I’m gonna go ahead and say it IS high time the court was expanded. In the last 100 years, the population of the US has tripled. Yet, the SCOTUS is the same size and astonishingly, hears fewer cases per year than they did a century ago.

      • UnCivilServant

        What’s that got to do with stacking additional partisan hacks to overturn the constitution?

  27. LCDR_Fish

    Something like a hotel in space seems like a waste.

    However…I’d volunteer for a one way deep space exploration mission.

    • egould310

      Me too. Not interested in a crummy hotel in space. But I’d volunteer for an exploration of the solar system. Just load up a bunch of tunes on a playlist. Bring a couple guitars. Replace one of the fuel tanks with a bourbon tank. I’ll be fine. I’ll walk around some planet looking for Little Green Men, and send detailed reports of my findings back to Earth.

      • UnCivilServant

        “It looks like egould doesn’t realize he’s landed in Topeka.”

      • UnCivilServant

        The punchline loses some effect when I delete the rest of the joke.

      • egould310

        You gotta’ try, though. Stay golden.

  28. Mojeaux

    Space will become as demented as Earth as fast as people get up there. Why? Because humans gonna human.

    So if people want to leave to get away from the people here, well, remember: Wherever you go, there you are.

    • Timeloose

      True, but if you want to get away from people there are only a few places left. One has too much pressure and the other to little.

    • Brochettaward

      The good thing about space is that there will pretty much always be a new frontier, if the technology to get us to places develops.

  29. Brochettaward

    Is the front page stuck on Sugarfree’s Jamala article for anyone else? Neither of the PM links or this article are showing. Jamala article is stuck saying it’s at 13 comments. Articles load fine if I access using the little sidebar on the left.

    • UnCivilServant

      Some people have been seeing a bug where the articles on the front page don’t update.

      I’ve not experienced it, but several reports have come in.

    • blackjack

      I get that on my phone, but not my laptop. It might be the version of Tampermonkey or something.

  30. hoof_in_mouth

    Absolutely, I’m planning on it. Heck, in 15 years I might even take the one-way trek to Mars with Elon. I’d rather go to Venus and float in a big bubble, but for some reason people love cold dusty rocks.

    • UnCivilServant

      Start firing managers at GASB.

    • rhywun

      Kaffer? Cafer? I guess I’m not South African.

      Change it to National Gross Income Report.

      • slumbrew

        kaffir – apparently it’s known as “the k-word” in South Africa. Because everywhere is stupid.

      • slumbrew

        Next you’re going to claim you’ve never seen Lethal Weapon 2.

      • rhywun

        Never seen either of them. The “buddy cop” genre is toxic to me.

      • slumbrew

        The first one is great – I re-watched it a few years ago and thought, “man, this is so clichéd” but realized that _this_ was the movie that established those clichés (sort of how I felt watching Citizen Kane – you need a little background to realize how groundbreaking it was).

      • Not Adahn

        “What you reading there?”

        “The latest issue of Saltwater Sportsman.

        “Is that the one with the article on deep sea fishing?”

        “… yeah/?”

      • rhywun

        Oh. Yeah, I’ve seen that word and never had a clue what it meant.

    • Sensei

      I work in a a highly regulated industry. This kind of stuff is usually a good thing.

      They get so tied up and distracted on this non issue and you get six months to a year of basically little meaningful regulatory change.

      It took me a bit to realize it.

  31. Gender Traitor

    Is the TSA involved in any capacity whatsoever?

    • blackjack

      It’s OK, just show up for departure nude. I heard that works!

  32. Yusef drives a Kia

    Peace out kids, see you in 6 hours….

    • Brochettaward

      Dr. Bro recommends 8 hours of sleep a night.

  33. Tejicano

    Go to space? Nah, I’m not real good with cramped spaces for long periods of time. Worse when it’s with a group of people I didn’t choose to be with. Being in the military at least you all had a similar purpose which brought you all together – and even that really sucked more than you might expect.

  34. Tejicano

    Now for an OT rant of sorts.

    One of the things I like about living on a big city is the anonymity. And since Japanese generally stick to their own business it usually works out. But why is it that the kids who work at Starbucks seem to feel some need to get chummy with the white guy who shows up a couple times a week? If they were this way with all their customers it wouldn’t bug me so much but when it is obviously just for the Gaijin – I’d prefer to avoid the spotlight.

    Lucky for me that there are more than a couple Starbucks outlets on my way to work so I can go just a little out of my way to avoid these unusually friendly kids. But I had just gotten them trained to fill my flask directly rather than putting it in a paper cup first – then throwing the cup away, which is exactly why I go to the trouble of bringing a flask. So now I have to explain that I am trying to cut down on garbage before placing my order because most of the time when I don’t state that clearly they fill a cup, pour that into my flask, then throw the cup away.

    • blackjack

      Sounds like yet another asian attack to me.

      • Chafed

        Stop fetishizing them.

    • l0b0t

      I once had my Thermos prepped with Bourbon/ sweet cream and just wanted the Starbucks to fill it with dark roast. Before I could get a word out, the helpful young lady took my Thermos to the sink and ran it under the hot water tap to warm it up for the coffee. Sigh…

      • Gender Traitor

        But she had a degree in Art History, I’m sure!

        So did you leave the Thermos hidden after that and pour the coffee in from their cup before throwing the cup away?

  35. Hank

    “Retailers urged to re-think police calls for low-level crimes after George Floyd’s death

    “George Floyd died in police custody after a corner store clerk reported he had used a fake $20 bill, a nonviolent offense so low-level that police don’t usually take people to jail for it.

    “Now, as the trial over his death continues to unfold, criminal justice reform experts and diversity specialists are hoping the case will prompt retailers — from small businesses to major chains — to reassess how they treat Black and other minority customers and how they can handle loss prevention cases more equitably.”

    https://www.startribune.com/retailers-urged-to-re-think-police-calls-for-low-level-crimes-after-george-floyd-s-death/600044887/?refresh=true

    • blackjack

      There’s really no public interest in preventing counterfeit currency, right? Besides, the arrest could get messy. Best to just legalize counterfeiting to prevent this sort of thing.

    • rhywun

      And the diversity experts shall lead them.

    • Chafed

      Want to see lots of stores in bad neighborhoods close? That’s how you do it.

      • blackjack

        The general public is asking, ” Wait, they don’t take people to jail for this? What?”

      • Chafed

        Exactly right.

      • creech

        No, the taxpayers will be asked to cover all shoplifting and vandalism losses. Within weeks, all items will be on sale for $0 and there will be a rush of entrepreneurs opening stores as one always gets more of what is subsidized.

      • KSuellington

        They’ve been doing exactly this here in SF and as a result even chain drugstores are shutting down locations due to massive shoplifting.

    • Brochettaward

      to reassess how they treat Black and other minority customers

      It’s still OK to call the cops on the homeless white dude stealing, though. EQUITY!

    • Chipwooder

      Can’t wait for the stories lamenting the lack of stores in poor neighborhoods once the owners of these places decide they’ve had enough of being robbed.

      • slumbrew

        “retail deserts”

      • Chafed

        It’s already happening in SF. These geniuses cannot make the connection between massive theft and stores closing.

    • J. Frank Parnell

      Did the store call the cops about the fake $20? I’d heard that they just kicked him out and someone called the cops later because he was wandering around acting crazy in front of the store, but maybe that was just right wing fake news.

    • l0b0t

      “…offense so low-level that police don’t usually take people to jail for it.”

      WTF?!? Counterfeiting is an arrest immediately and hold for the Secret Service type crime.

    • Brochettaward

      If Hefner were still alive, you’d never see a plus size model on the cover of Playboy. That shit wouldn’t fly with the Hef.

      • Chafed

        I think you’re right. There is a reason his magazine outsold and outlasted the others.

  36. Chafed

    The Daily Caller is losing it over Biden’s announcement we are leaving Afghanistan. What’s the over/under on him going through with it? Also, anyone else find it strange he chose 9/11 as the day?

    • Urthona

      It’s not an announcement we are leaving Afghanistan. it’s an extension of Trump’s deadline. I predict he keeps extending it and no one calls him on it.

      • Chafed

        Fair point on extending Trump’s deadline. Though I will say Trump seemed only modestly invested in doing it.

      • Urthona

        But does Biden? I dunno.

      • Chafed

        I really can’t tell. I have no idea what motivated him to make the announcement.

      • Urthona

        Maybe he needed some more troops home to stick in front of the capitol building.

    • Brochettaward

      I find it moronic that he chose 9/11. He’s basically giving the enemy a propaganda victory. 9/11 is going to be an Afghan holiday soon enough.

      • Urthona

        Yeah. Wtf was that about?

      • Brochettaward

        Like Obama, he’s making his decisions purely based on how they sell domestically.

        I do find it funny that a year ago the establishment was telling us how irresponsible it would be if Trump did this and basically running cover for the deep state that was telling a sitting president to fuck off.

      • Urthona

        I also saw today that he’s continuing Trump’s deal selling arms to the Saudis after criticizing it before.

      • Brochettaward

        Both parties give preferential treatment to the Saudis, but the Dems love to play that card when out of power going back to Bush.

        I don’t know why. Most Americans don’t care about the Saudis. They probably should given that it’s where most of the whack job terrorists who made up Al Qaeada actually came from, but they don’t.

      • slumbrew

        It’s a deeply stupid choice to make.

      • Chafed

        I was thinking the same thing.

    • slumbrew

      Same. Their preening just rubs me the wrong way. The fact the preening continued after they sold out to Unilever just pushed it over the line.

      • Chafed

        I like the cut of your jib. Is the Steve’s near Davis Square still around?

      • slumbrew

        Long gone. We had a Steve’s in my hometown on L.I. growing up but the chain folded long ago. Steve himself founded Herrell’s, which are still around.

        That location became the first Bertucci’s and is now my go-to cafe (good GF options for the wife).

        Coincidentally, I was just making an ice-cream base tonight – it’ll be way better than anything Unilever sells.

      • Chafed

        That’s a shame I worked there the summer of ’86. Good work on making your own.

      • slumbrew

        I used to make enough ice cream that I splurged for a machine w/ a compressor (vs. the ‘freeze the insert’ style) – lets you make back-to-back batches without having to wait 24 hours to refreeze the insert / having multiple bulky inserts.

        Of course, I promptly stopped making as much ice cream not long after I bought it…

        I still like making it but since I try to avoid carbs, it’s pretty much the worst thing I can cook.

        This batch is a gift – a friend asked “what’s the best ice cream to buy? we’re having a birthday party for my dad this weekend after not seeing him in over a year due to covid.”

        Basic vanilla – amazing how great that is when you make it yourself.

      • Akira

        I still like making it but since I try to avoid carbs, it’s pretty much the worst thing I can cook.

        Haha, that’s kind of my issue. I want to try making creative ice cream flavors and ornately decorated cakes, but I don’t want to eat all this stuff (and most people in my life are trying to get healthier too, so it would be hard to pawn it off on anyone else).

      • slumbrew

        It’s usually just holidays & special occasions at this point (cinnamon ice cream for Thanksgiving is a big hit).

        I’d experiment quite a lot more if I had someone to pawn it off on.

    • Brochettaward

      I mean, if you look past what he’s saying and the fact that you agree with him, most people would be fired if they went on an online rant about their employer that gained notoriety.

      • slumbrew

        This used to be true. Now it would depend on the rant and, more importantly, the phenotypic traits of the person making that rant.

        The shocking part is he’s not being fired given his phenotypic traits.

      • Hank

        Indeed, although in this case I was wondering if he could have protected himself more – eg, could he have filed a racial discrimination complaint for the racially segregated meeting?

        Didn’t the IRS used to have this big battle with private schools which practiced racial discrimination? BJU lost its tax exemption when it banned interracial dating, and here we have a school which hold race-segregated meetings.

        The difference, apparently, is BJU is in the South and these guys are in New York City, which would be the woke capital of the universe if it wasn’t for certain college towns.

      • rhywun

        Or SF or Portland or Seattle.

        Outside of Manhattan and a couple hipster neighborhoods, NYC is not as woke as the media (or the composition of its city council) would lead you to believe.

    • Chafed

      Dude’s got principles and balls.

      • slumbrew

        Based on that alone, I suspect he’s a great teacher.

      • Hank

        My speculation would that there are influential parents who like him as a teacher.

      • Chafed

        Yep. Probably one of those teachers you respect whether or not you like them and you learn in his class even if you aren’t good at the subject.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Always one in everyone’s life. Mrs. Watkins was mine and told me “if you stop being lazy, you’ll be someone” took me 25 some years to figure that out.

      • Hank

        They were some of my favorite teachers. Whether I was one of *their* favorite students…don’t be nosy.

      • Chafed

        Hank was hot for teacher or teacher was hot for Hank?

      • Hank

        This one time I wasn’t even trying to be dirty.

  37. Trigger Hippie

    Yes, yes, and Hell yes! Hell, sign me up for a mission to Mars. I’ve always wanted to see the Earth from upon high. If for nothing else only so that I can shit on Flat Earthers for being so damn silly…

    And if I should die somewhere between those travels, so be it. I can think of hundreds of ways to buy the dirt farm far less spectacularly.

  38. Chipwooder

    I would absolutely go to a space hotel….if I could afford it. These days I’d be hard-pressed to afford a couple of nights at a Holiday Inn in Poughkeepsie.

    • Brochettaward

      You’re 50 years too early. Instead of busing the homeless out of town, the future is sending them into space.

      • slumbrew

        Too inefficient. Think “soylent green”

      • Chafed

        I was never clear if that’s composting or recycling. Either way, it’s a win for Gaia.

  39. Brochettaward

    It was already discussed briefly on here that they know something they aren’t telling us about the vaccines if they suspended the Johnson and Johnson after just 6 cases out of 6.8 million. There’s no way these arrogant pricks take that PR loss on the “Biden vaccine” unless they were scared shitless of something bigger.

    What I don’t get is why there were some people so eager to take the J&J shot compared to the others.

    • Chafed

      The best reporting about is Alex Berenson’s Twitter feed. There are definitely more unreported adverse events. The actual number remains to be seen. CDC also has a problem with collecting, publishing, and providing guidance on adverse events.

      The short answer to your question is one shot instead of two.

      • slumbrew

        Aside from 1-vs-2, it’s a traditional vaccine vs. an mRNA vaccine (or is that “vaccine”?). The thinking is that the former has a much longer track record than the latter.

      • Gender Traitor

        Also the J&J is not a mRNA vax.

      • Chafed

        What is it exactly? My understanding is foggy but I don’t believe it is weakened or dead covid-19 virus.

      • Chafed

        Thanks slumbrew. I’m not buying the urban myth that any of these shots will alter my DNA. But it appears none of them are traditional vaccines and I am concerned there isn’t enough data on the delivery methods.

      • Akira

        My big worry is that there’s zero knowledge about any long-term side effects. People keep telling me “no experts are predicting anything like that” but how can they when they haven’t even been in use for over a year? Most of the time, nobody foresees any bad effects until those bad effects start to appear.

      • egould310

        I’m very suspicious of the vaccines. My whole life, vaccines were tested through multiple trials which took seven or more years for the vaccine to be approved. Then all of a sudden COVID-19 happens and a vaccine is ready and approved in seven years? What changed?

        I’m avoiding the shot as long as I can. It just doesn’t reconcile in my mind.

      • slumbrew

        Yeah, it’s not changing your DNA.

        With the mRNA vaccines, there is _some_ concern about the delivery agent – the lipid nanoparticles used to transport the mRNA through the cell walls are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and particles accreting in your brain would be bad (think symptoms like MS or ALS), but AFAHS any studies showing negative effects from those nanoparticles were using roughly 10,000 times the dosage you’d see from the vaccine.

        My concern is basically:

        – we don’t have any long term results from the vaccines
        – I’m not at any real risk from covid

        so there’s no real reason for me to rush and get vaccinated.

        All of the vaccines are almost certainly fine. It’s certainly not any sort of grand conspiracy – there’s just uncertainty around long-term track record.

      • egould310

        Then all of a sudden COVID-19 happens and a vaccine is ready and approved in seven months. Months. Not years.

      • slumbrew

        Chemtrails are real, tho.

        (j/k, hitting the rack – ‘night all)

      • rhywun

        Yes, they aren’t vaccines and I wish the media would stop calling them that.

        Have you ever heard anyone call the annual flu shot a “vaccine”?

        It’s going to look a bit ridiculous when the media ramp up their campaign to make everyone take the ‘vid shot every year.

      • Ownbestenemy

        As far as I can see, outside doctors, all reactions logged are voluntary to some database.

    • Akira

      It was already discussed briefly on here that they know something they aren’t telling us about the vaccines if they suspended the Johnson and Johnson after just 6 cases out of 6.8 million. There’s no way these arrogant pricks take that PR loss on the “Biden vaccine” unless they were scared shitless of something bigger.

      The government created a perfect storm of bad incentives by pushing every single person to get it as soon as it comes out. They pretty much guaranteed that there’s going to be a rush to get it to market so they can make the greatest possible profit before natural herd immunity kicks in, side effects be damned.

      The adverse effects certainly don’t inspire confidence. They’ve had nurses at my work giving the shots to people who sign up for them, and a lot of people have pretty serious flu-like symptoms; one lady had to be sent home because of it. My brother reported that his brain was foggy and sluggish for a whole day after getting the second shot of the Pfizer. These are fairly minor effects so far, but I see them as a warning that they cut major corners on these things.

      HR did sent out an email saying we still have to wear masks even if we’ve been vaccinated. It’s dumb, but kind of a relief because if the unvaccinated people had to continue wearing masks, they would serve as a visual marker of the heretics and probably result in pressure and singling out of people who don’t want to get the shot.

      I wonder if we’re going to see people forge vaccination papers. As I understand it, the “passport” was some kind of digital verification scheme, which would be harder to fake. The most reliable way might be to make an appointment but somehow convince the nurse to not actually give you the shot (not sure how someone would talk them into that).

      • slumbrew

        if the unvaccinated people had to continue wearing masks, they would serve as a visual marker of the heretics

        I’m certain this is the reason Fauci & co are still saying “you need to keep wearing a mask if you’re vaccinated”. That and/or they don’t want the unvaccinated to stop wearing masks because everyone else has stopped.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Regarding passport…sorry I got rid of my phone. Im a technophobe, I have EM sensitivity, a phone exploded while I was using it and I have PTSD….

        They won’t be able to make it digital unless they admit that parts of this society choose not to get IDs and choose not to get cellphones. Given that cellphone ownership barely beats out ID ownership.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        There were other stories (afraid I don’t have the time to find the links) from earlier in the year regarding the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and weird and occasionally fatal blood issues if I recall correctly. Maybe there’s something inherent with coronavirus vaccines, or maybe just this specific CV, they’re starting to get data on and they’re spooked.

    • Chafed

      EU has reported far more adverse events and is way behind us in distributing a vaccine. Here are some actual numbers.

      1/ Reminder: the EU has seen more than 200 cases of these clotting/platelet issues around the @AstraZeneca vaccine (which is very similar to the @JNJNews shot). And they’re no joke. They kill healthy people, and the cases go south remarkably fast. pic.twitter.com/b8HwAikT3o— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) April 14, 2021

  40. hayeksplosives

    I’m not a good enough physical specimen to go to space. I’d follow every blog and photo from the more adventurous folks out there though!

    I prefer to explore from inside my min, in fiction and fact and philosophical “what iffing.”

    The recent talk of Elon Musk wanting to set up a Mars colony as a libertarian paradise is very exciting, but also fraught with peril. Someone will want to “lead” it, suck blood from it. It makes me think immediately of Mars Colony on Babylon 5.

    Mars colony attracted the hard-working, adventurous, physically fit Earthers who wanted more freedom, a starting point for new lives. In the series, eventually the now corrupt EarthGov puts down a “rebellion” of Mars colony and works other terrible things that seem more plausible now than they did in the 1990s.

    Babylon 5. What a wonderful show, esp Seasons 2-3. and 4. And you know, 1.

    Final note of Season Three, spoken by G’kar

    It was the end of the Earth year 2260, and the war had paused, suddenly and unexpectedly.
    All around us, it was as if the universe were holding its breath . . . waiting.

    All of life can be broken down into moments of transition or moments of revelation. This had the feeling of both.

    G’Quon wrote, “There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way.”

    The war we fight is not against powers and principalities – it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender.

    The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation.
    No one knows the shape of that future, or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain.

    —Citizen G’Kar

  41. Yusef drives a Kia

    It’s been 6 hours? yep, Howdy Glibs, another day has begun,
    Carpe Covfefe!

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, Yu!

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Hi dee ho! Sapponing?

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      Always bad news? Really?

      • Sean

        Joe Biden’s America, get used to it.

        J/K, i link good, bad, and weird.

    • Gender Traitor

      Nice cover! Thanks, and good morning, Sean!

      • Sean

        Mornin’

    • Festus

      That’s just wild… Last night I humming “The Sun Always Shines on TV” to myself and the old video popped up in my feed not two hours ago. Now this. A-Ha has taken over the interwebs.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, UCS!

      • UnCivilServant

        How are things this day?

      • Yusef drives a Kia

        Grey drizzle, but not a bad day so far,

      • UnCivilServant

        I happen to like drizzly days. They calm me down.

      • Gender Traitor

        Good! Got my hair done yesterday, so if I can get away from the office early again today, I’ll get to work right away on wrecking it by going swimming. Also excited that SP is coming to town next week. We’re trying to work out where & when to meet for lunch Wednesday.

        How are you today?

      • UnCivilServant

        Annoyed at myself for eating at 11pm when I should have just gone to bed instead.

      • Gender Traitor

        Please don’t beat yourself up. I hope it didn’t have adverse physical effects like heartburn – if you’re just frustrated that you succumbed to temptation, let it go and start fresh today. Will the weather be conducive to a nice walk later?

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s supposed to rain all day and well into tomorrow. The expected wind isn’t that bad so I might still be able to get a walk in. I do own an umbrella.

      • Gender Traitor

        By the way, I have started reading the last of the Warhammer stories you sent me, but I’ve also managed to start doing a (very) little bit of writing myself. Unfortunately, nothing I could ever bring myself to show anyone, but with any luck the act of doing it will inspire some ideas for stories that I COULD share at some point.

      • UnCivilServant

        If you ever want feedback, I’m more than willing to provide.

      • Gender Traitor

        Thank you. I hope I can produce something so that I can take you up on that,

  42. Stillhunter

    Ya, Ya conspiracy theories…. maybe, maybe not, but shit like this and our government’s track record do not inspire confidence. My opinion is this whole thing is a huge test trial since they could never get approval to test on humans as too many ferrets were sickened and died after being vaccinated and exposed to wild virus. I’m not getting this jab nor are my kids, ever.

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/05/joseph-mercola/the-well-known-hazards-of-coronavirus-vaccines/

    Coronavirus Vaccine May Be a Disaster Waiting to Happen

    Kennedy goes on to summarize the history of coronavirus vaccine development, which began after three SARS epidemics had broken out, starting in early 2002.

    “The first one was a natural epidemic that had moved from bats to human beings. The second two were lab-created organisms where people were experimenting with the coronavirus … That’s noncontroversial. Everybody accepts that.

    The Chinese, the Americans, the Europeans all got together and said, ‘We need to develop a vaccine against coronavirus.’ Around 2012, they had about 30 vaccines that looked promising. They took the four best of those and … manufactured the vaccines. They gave those vaccines to ferrets, which are the closest analogy when you’re looking at lung infections in human beings.

    The ferrets had an extraordinarily good antibody response, and that is the metric by which FDA licenses vaccines. Vaccines, as you know, are never tested in the field. They never give 5,000 people the vaccine, 5,000 people a placebo vaccine, and then tell them to go out and live life and watch what happens to those people. That never happens.

    The way that vaccines get licensed is that FDA gives people a vaccine or the industry gives them the vaccines, and then they do a serological response [test to] see ‘Did you develop in your blood antibodies to that target virus?’ The ferrets developed very strong antibodies, so they thought, ‘We hit the jackpot.’ All four of these vaccines … worked like a charm.

    Then something terrible happened. Those ferrets were then exposed to the wild virus, and they all died. [They developed] inflammation in all their organs, their lungs stopped functioning and they died.

    Then those scientists remembered that the same thing had happened in the 1960s when they tried to develop an RSV vaccine, which is an upper respiratory illness very similar to coronavirus.

    At the time, they did not test it on animals. They went right to human testing. They tested it on I think about 35 children, and the same thing happened. The children developed a champion antibody response, robust, durable. It looked perfect, and then the children were exposed to the wild virus and they all became sick. Two of them died. They abandoned the vaccine. It was a big embarrassment to FDA and NIH …

    Those scientists in 2012 remembered that, and they said, ‘This is the same thing that happened [back then].’ So, they look closer and they realize that there are two kinds of antibodies that were being produced by the coronavirus. There are neutralizing antibodies, which are the kind you want, which fight the disease, and then there are binding antibodies.

    The binding antibodies actually create a pathway for the disease in your body, and they trigger something called … a paradoxical immune response or paradoxical immune enhancement. What that means is that it looks good until you get the disease, and then it makes the disease much, much worse …

    Coronavirus vaccines can be very dangerous, and that’s why even our enemies, people who hate you and me — Peter Hotez, Paul Offit, Ian Lipkin — are all saying, ‘You got to be really, really careful with this vaccine.’”

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      Interesting, I’ll need to look into this further before I get any vaccine (been waiting for Novavax). Gracias.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        If this was the case with these vaccines though, the paradoxical response I mean, it seems like it would have already cropped up in a big way but with politicization and media obfuscation who can tell nowadays?

    • Sean

      GF came home yesterday talking about fully vaccinated people increasingly being hospitalized in NJ with the ‘Vid. Coincidence?

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        It’ll be blamed on those pesky variants. Vaccinate harder and remember to get those boosters will be the response regardless of the cause.

    • EvilSheldon

      ‘Joseph Mercola’ is the only thing you need to read in that article.

      • Stillhunter

        Ahh. The old anti vaxxer “argument”.

    • Festus

      That ain’t good.

  43. Sean

    What’s the steak situation in space?

    • UnCivilServant

      None of your favorite cooking methods will work.

      • Not Adahn

        Getting two cast iron skillets ripping hot, and putting the steak between them?

        Sure, you’ll need clamps… or maybe magnetize one of the skillets? Unless you get them hot enough to hit the Austenite transition.

    • rhywun

      Ham steaks, maybe.

      • Festus

        No thanks, too many prions in the humanoid pigs.

      • TARDis

        No worries, you soon wouldn’t remember a thing.

  44. Festus

    Mornin’ Glibbies! Had a light-hearted moment at work last night. New hire asked how old the building is and I told her that one of my friend’s sister worked there when we were in high school. “When was that?” “Oh, about 1981 or so.” She looked at me like I’d just sprouted a gripping hand, “How old aaaaare you?” “56” She walks away shaking her head. Haha, I asked her later how old she thought I was and she thought I was about 44. Glib-Fit for the win! (pickling is also a form of preservative).

  45. Cy Esquire

    It’s like cruise ships only worse!

    I’d go if it were a ‘stake your claim’ kind of thing and we had tech that was reliable in transport and sedation. But even then, the earth is already a pretty awesome place I haven’t gotten to explore most of.

    Space is a hostile, unforgiving environment. Having to depend on people around me is bad, doing it when they might be responsible for killing us all? I might have to stay home.

    • sarcasmic

      Aw, come on! You don’t want to drink recycled piss in an environment where proper bathing is impossible?

  46. db

    I missed this last night.

    I’d sign up for a reasonably priced trip to orbit in a heartbeat. I’m not particularly interested in suborbital trips.

    I’d go to the moon in a heartbeat as well.

    Given the opportunity to visit Mars and return, the decision would be similarly easy.

    If we’re talking permanent or semi-permanent relocation, I’d need a business plan.

  47. sarcasmic

    Space as in go up, look around, discover that zero-g sex is totally impractical, and drop back down? Sure.

    Space as in accelerate to 17,000 miles an hour to achieve orbital velocity, and then use atmospheric friction to slow back down? No thanks.

  48. JW

    I’d go, but I’d be vomiting constantly from the motion sickness.

    Or is it….. SPACE MADNESS?

  49. limey

    I’m late to the launch, which suits me fine, because everything I know about space makes it sound like a terrible place to visit.