Science Fiction authors are turning into modern-day prophets...
No, that is not an exaggeration.
Often times, things have happened in our world that we can look back and go, "You know, one of my favorite authors from the 60's theorized that would happen." Since I read so much, it has happened a LOT to me.
This was the first time it was funny. This reference is to "2010", and it is happening now in 2009.
Read a news story today about some new bureaucratic nonsense being pushed upon the crew of the International Space Station. The station commander, a Russian cosmonaut, was forced to leave the area populated by his astronaut co-workers, move all the way back across the station, and relieve himself in the facilities of the Russian hab module. Apparently, this new rule - supported by both NASA and the Russian space agency - stipulates that crew members must use "national facilities," meaning that they can only use the head in their part of the station and eat their own food. It was the first time in my life I've read the words "national" and "toilet" side-by-side.
The Russian commander snaps back at his superiors, describing the crew as "well-educated, well-mannered" people who have to work together regardless of any bureaucratic drivel forced on them by their governments. Anyone with a shred of common sense realizes that these are people stuck in a metal canister - about the same habitable volume as your average two-story house - floating 190 miles over our heads. They have to work and live together whether they - or their governments - like to or not.
And so, I am forced to recall the words of Dr. Heywood Floyd to the flight crew of the Alexi Leonov: "Just because our governments are behaving like asses doesn't mean we have to."
Often times, things have happened in our world that we can look back and go, "You know, one of my favorite authors from the 60's theorized that would happen." Since I read so much, it has happened a LOT to me.
This was the first time it was funny. This reference is to "2010", and it is happening now in 2009.
Read a news story today about some new bureaucratic nonsense being pushed upon the crew of the International Space Station. The station commander, a Russian cosmonaut, was forced to leave the area populated by his astronaut co-workers, move all the way back across the station, and relieve himself in the facilities of the Russian hab module. Apparently, this new rule - supported by both NASA and the Russian space agency - stipulates that crew members must use "national facilities," meaning that they can only use the head in their part of the station and eat their own food. It was the first time in my life I've read the words "national" and "toilet" side-by-side.
The Russian commander snaps back at his superiors, describing the crew as "well-educated, well-mannered" people who have to work together regardless of any bureaucratic drivel forced on them by their governments. Anyone with a shred of common sense realizes that these are people stuck in a metal canister - about the same habitable volume as your average two-story house - floating 190 miles over our heads. They have to work and live together whether they - or their governments - like to or not.
And so, I am forced to recall the words of Dr. Heywood Floyd to the flight crew of the Alexi Leonov: "Just because our governments are behaving like asses doesn't mean we have to."