"jr" <cre### [at] gmailcom> wrote:
> "Samuel B." <stb### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:

Yay, power's back on! It got knocked out last night, thanks to Tropical Storm
Hilary.

> > But yeah, I like a good debate, provided all parties are arguing in good faith.
>
> yes, in good faith.
>
> (that then precludes conversation with about any politician who ever walked the
> Earth :-))

I'm looking at my country's next presidential election and just shaking my head
`:/

> > ...
> > > re space, there's plenty of it :-)
> > We should colonize it, truly.
>
> oh man, I misunderstood, completely.  I'd read it as in "elbow room".

I guess I meant everything... Having personal space is good for the individual,
and having access to outer space can be good for everyone :)

> > But we should be extra careful not to contaminate
> > possible ecosystems. (Ever read the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson?) There
>
> think 'Red' or 'Green', but that must be 20 years ago, longer ?  no memory as
> such.

It's been about 16 years for me, I think. The 'Reds' were adamant about
preserving Mars' ecosystem. The 'Greens' might have been all about greening up
the place, but I can't remember. Just remember it was mainly about the difficult
job of terraforming Mars, and that it was a good book series.

> fwiw, re "Sci-Fi", Iain M Banks (in the 'Culture' books) had peoples who
> gene-engineered themselves to function in vacuum, for periods of time.
>  given that most of space is just that, I like the idea.

That sounds vaguely familiar...

> > (I think India might be making a moon landing here pretty soon...)
>
> this week, fingers crossed.

Yes! And hopefully this attempt goes better than the last (unfortunate things
happen, unfortunately).

Russia's got a moon mission going too, but I think it has already hit a snag.
With any luck, it won't be a major setback for them.

> > ...
> > That's good. Personally, I have at times found it hard to feel alone and
> > comfortable, even though I live in a rural area. (My personal bubble feels
> > really huge sometimes.) The feeling has only gotten worse over the years,
> > especially since Airbnb became a thing. People coming in droves, sometimes
> > playing loud music at night. It's not always bad but I often feel penned-in,
> > since I am not a very outgoing person.
>
> interesting really because, like you, I'd describe myself as not very outgoing,
> yet, I envy people who (can afford to) live in, say, Tokyo.  think them real
> lucky having the products and services of _millions_ on the doorstep.

It would be nice to order a pizza on a whim, or have a package reliably make it
to my doorstep (and not some post office). But the noise would be too much for
me, I'm pretty sure.

Would greater access to products & services outweigh the busyness of the place
for you? Or maybe the busyness is part of the appeal? I can imagine how seeing
and hearing all the commotion from a cozy apartment would be neat.

> > ...
> > I agree with you, and it's very messed up. These are actual people.
> >
> > I was just pointing out a couple possible issues ...
>
> sorry, yes.  it is just that certain issues simply leave me depressed-as-fuck,
> and the vision of 200+ self-interested parties ("nation states"), armed to the
> teeth (except, to their credit, Costa Rica), "negotiating" in times of looming
> crises is one of them.

Yeah, it sucks. There's probably a middle ground somewhere, with borders and
societies being a bit less... discrete. More continuous. I think it might have a
chance of happening, but it seems there are people and organizations
intentionally causing division.

It's been suggested many times that all world leaders should take a bunch of
mushrooms and meditate on things. It would be great if it helped, but it's also
said people lacking a conscience are drawn to power, or find it easier to stay
there, so, idk.

I read the news almost every day, but I try not to get too upset about it all.

> > ...
> > I listened to one of their songs yesterday, and the vocalist seemed very
> > familiar. They had a 1996 album, so I'll give that a listen, since that's the
> > time period in which I heard her last.
>
> :-)  enjoy.
>
> fwiw, "I don't wanna see what's happening outside"..  while I (we, I guess :-))
> can relate to that, the track as such .. lukewarm ?  may have another go as the
> "wikipedia blurb" read quite interesting.

That might be my least favorite song by him, but I can definitely relate to it.

The song that really made me like the guy is "Some Sunsick Day." It seems to be
about a species that experiences a great disaster, yet manages to rebuild their
society. Happy and sad.

Sam

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