The Endeavour

As a child of the Space Age, I am very dissapointed. 2010 has arrived and we are still using internal combustion engines. When I was in preschool, everything was about space and being an astronaut. What it meant was new technologies and exploring the stars in giant space ships and returning home to nuclear powered homes and flying cars. What happened?

If I actually took the time explaining the why’s of this situation this note would be a boring political piece. So, instead I am going to talk about the fantasy. The same fantasy that has been cruely dashed upon the rocks of reality.

Sure, we have some of the promised technology. We have cell phones that tell us how to drive using GPS satellites. We can boil water in seconds using a box that emits microwaves. We have hundreds of television channels that expose us to all things possible and impossible. We have televisions as large as a wall and no thicker than a slice of bread. We have devices on our wrists with computers that used to be as large as a house.

I remember getting up at 2am to watch the first launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia. What an exciting new area in space exploration. Today there are fewer than 5 shuttle missions left before NASA scraps the remaining shuttles. They are THAT old and outdated. WHat is NASA replacing them with? A “new” type of rocket and capsule. NEW? Bah!! Same ol same ol. (actually, I am really excited about it. I missed out on all the Apollo missions and the new launch vehicles harken back to those good ol days)

Back to the cars. I love my little Mazda but it doesn’t fly. Heck it still runs on gas. It is 2010 people! We must demand better, more futuristic, stuff. I don’t think cars should fly. (Imagine the pile ups after an in-flight fender bender) But I do believe gasoline is antiquated and stinky and expensive. Less stinky than horse and buggy but at least a cell phone can’t ignite horse manure.

-MRC