Scorpion Tails Have "Stun" Setting

Well...kind of. Scorpions do prodcue two kinds of venom. One providing a quick strike attempt to avoid danger and another more deadly knock out punch. The first kind of venom made me think of the old stun gun.

To Boldly Go or Not To Go

I just read that the Bush administration is giving NASA the go ahead to start developing nuclear rocket technology (free registration required for link). They're not saying the rockets would specifically be used for a mission to mars, but the technology would make that goal much more feasible. I'm not sure what the pricetag will be, but I'm sure it will be huge. I think I saw 45 Billion somewhere so let's just go with that for the moment.

Now in thinking about these nuclear rockets I find myself kind of torn. On the one hand... nuclear rockets are cool! Beyond being just cool however, I think there is really something to be said for striving towards a goal like Mars. Exploration and going where no one has gone before is more than just a macho pursuit. I really think it inspires people and draws them together. Well I'm not sure it does, but I think it could. Supposedly after we went to the moon there was an overwhelming senese that we could accomplish anything.

On the other hand, instead of being a metaphor for human ingenuity solving a gargantuan problem, could this really be the ultimate example of people running away from their real problems? The question to be raised is how can we justify spending billions to send man to a cold lonely planet when there are millions of starving people here on earth? I heard the president of World Vision speak at Park Street this week and he touched on much of the need around the world. You don't hear about it that much because famine in Africa or impossible living conditions in Cambodia don't make "good news", but the problems are real.

Right now I'm probably more inclined to think we should spend less money on exploring space and more on improving the living conditions of the planet, but I don't think it's necesarily an obvious answer. It's ultimately the question that every single person who lives with a surplus faces. How can I justify going sking or buying this or that when there are people starving? I give to relief organizations, but I also buy my own little nuclear rockets all the time.