The European Space Agency, nearly, or, perhaps, even more than a year ago, launched an unmanned, automated probe rocket to catch up to the asteroid in its orbit, taking many months to do so, with the intention of establishing itself in orbit around the small planetoid object, to collect data from close by, and to eventually send a small probe, loaded with instruments for collecting samples and performing tests, down to land on the surface, where it will perform various scientific procedures to collect even more data about the asteroid’s composition and structure…

This data will tell us what is made of, how old it is, and many other pieces of information, all of which will advance our understanding of asteroids, and the solar system, in general, and specifically, in much greater detail than we could ever find out by just observing from afar…. In the process, unknown and unacknowledged, except by a very few people who can see the bigger picture, this mission is the first step in what may be the ONLY possible way for our species to survive into the future….

This landing on another piece of real estate in our solar system signals the advent of the true Age of Space for our species, and, with the rapidity of the coming environmental crisis here on Earth, colonizing the asteroids, and/or Mars, or, potentially, the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus, may be our only hope of keeping ANY of us alive…. I hate to be pessimistic, but, as far as I can see, this is not something that is debatable any longer…. our time is coming, and sooner than anyone wants to believe….

Yes, we’ve walked on the Moon, and we may yet also colonize that planetoid, as it is so close to Home…. but, the possibility of not being able to live on the surface of the Earth any longer is a distinct threat to our having any future at all…. We may be too late already to save the Earth from becoming toxic to our lungs and metabolism, not to mention the effects of the rising of the seas on our fresh water supplies, and ability to grow the foods we eat….

Our ONLY hope is, quite possibly, to establish colonies on the nearest bodies we can get to, as fast as we can muster the resources and technology to do so, then, when established as self-supporting,  spread from there into the rest of the system…..The material resources are there; the asteroids, many eons ago, were another planet, larger than Earth and Mars, that broke up to form the belt between Mars and Jupiter we see today.

These orbiting chunks of rock, some as large as some of our smaller continents, some as small as dust, are chock full of all the metals, minerals, and substances, including water, in the form of ice, we would conceivably need to keep civilization functioning (Saturn’s rings, for example, are supposedly made of ice..) Power is more than plentiful, in the form of sunlight, as well as nuclear fission (much safer to produce and handle in the vastness of space), or, nuclear fusion, if and when we discover its secrets, as well as the chemicals needed for rocket fuels, all are to be found, relatively easily, in the asteroids….

So, the map above, a digital image made from composites taken AT THE SITE, represents the first exploration into our solar system, beyond the Earth/Moon/Mars neighborhood, with the specific intent to explore the possible uses of the rest of the solar system in saving, and continuing human existence…. as such, it is much more significant, and important, than many people are aware of…. and, less aware than they NEED to be, if they want to secure a place in that future….

Unless, of course, y’all hang around here, where, you can be sure, I’ll be keeping a weather eye on all of it, and will let y’all know how the countdown is progressing, whether it means counting down to the time when Earth is no longer able to serve as our Home, or counting the time until we will need to be gone elsewhere, if we wish to make a new Home, in Space…. at all…… Count on that, for sure….

Gosh, look Ma! It’s an intro! Why, so it is Bubba! Let’s tell gigoid, so he can….. Never mind, I’ve got it…. Hold on, ffolkes…..

Shall we Pearl?….

“Any certainty is a delusion.” — Smart Bee, with gigoid’s full agreement

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On a normal morning, I’d use the article below to begin a rant; today, that just isn’t going to happen. The above was done prior to getting up today, without knowing I’d wake up in a world of hurt at 1 AM, again, at 3 AM, with me, exhausted, but, giving up on sleep about a half hour ago…. Add some plumbing issues, first thing, and you’ve got an interesting morning shaping up….. Without descending into whining, let’s just say that this Pearl will be the fastest ever posted, start to finish, and leave it at that, without going any further into why I need to get done so fast…

This article actually is good news, as a Federal Court put aside a conviction of a citizen, because the military had used their technology and ability to hack into PRIVATE computer systems, in the homes of American citizens, justifying it by claiming they were looking for evidence of criminal (collection of child pornography, etc.) activity by naval personnel, and for evidence of terrorist activity, simply because they have a naval base in the state where it took place, to wit: Washington state….

Read the article, it gives a chilling account of how the government, and the military, is spying on its own citizens, without their knowledge, and, even more disturbing, have software already in place that allows them to access any computer, in anyone’s home, as long as it connects to the internet… I hate to say I told you so, but, I did…. they are spying on us, looking right into our homes to find out what we are doing…. because, quite simply, they can, and they feel they have that right, since nobody is stopping them….

This attitude has spread so deeply into the entire government of this nation, now, the president (note, no capital, as that would show more respect than he deserves….) thinks he has the power to wage war, whenever he feels it would politically expedient, such as now….. He wants to be remembered as the president who fought terrorism…. when what he is, is the president who pulled the covers off the charade being carried out by all of our branches of government, of turning this country, officially, and permanently, into the oligarchy it has actually been for many years…. Now, they aren’t even bothering to hide their disdain, and complete dominance of the American public…

I hurt, so, it’s natural to rant… but, it hurts so much, both physically, and emotionally, I can’t do it any more today…. This article makes note of a hopeful sign, but, also signals the advent of a time when the rich, powerful assholes in charge of the world’s governments are not going to bother to hide their control much longer…. Mark my words, they are going to have to assume tighter control soon, or the possibilities for revolution offered by the Internet will cause them to have to fight out in the open to maintain their position…. and, unfortunately, except in this country, THEY have most of the weapons in the world, and, if recent history is any indication, they won’t hesitate to use them on their own people…. witness Ferguson….

Enough, read, and weep…. then, I’d suggest you do what I plan to do, which is to stock up on ammunition, for ALL the weapons I possess…. I’ll add a few pearls afterward, to help soothe the angst that surely will follow….

http://blog.sfgate.com/crime/2014/09/12/porn-conviction-tossed-over-militarys-surveillance-role/?cmpid=hp-hc-bayarea

Mostly, the following ended up being stuff that our Beloved Ruling Class would believe, or, describes them, or is something one or more of them has actually stated at one time or another… or, in a couple of cases, shows what they would have said, if they were in the habit of telling the truth…..

“Why bother building any more nuclear warheads until we use the ones we have?” — overheard at the lunchroom mess in the Pentagon

“The Bible is an opiate to keep the beasts of burden patient.” — Pope Leo X

“The keenest sorrow is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.” — Sophocles

“In the first place, God made idiots.  That was for practice.  Then he made school boards.” — Mark Twain

“After he got good at school boards, he finished up by making Congress.”– Mark Twain (found later, in his notes, as originally intended as part of the previous quote…) (Okay, I made it up…. if he’d thought of it, he would have….)

“It is our duty to make the best of our misfortunes, and not to suffer passion to interfere with our interest and public good.” — George Washington

“How dieth the wise man? As the fool.” — Smart Bee

Quick after-note: Look at the somewhat out-of-place-with-the-others quote by Georgie W., our first president. In response, I have two short questions….  First, can you think of a single national-level elected official in this country who could, or would make such a statement? I don’t think I have to answer that; you can do it yourself to find the only response, to wit: no way. Second, what the fuck happened?….. Where did they go wrong? Okay, that’s three, so, we’ll just go on, leaving this to fester….

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The following pearl is an odd one, and I’m not sure exactly what point SB, or my subconscious was trying to make…. but, it’s not bad, if you look at it with the thought in mind, it is merely a series of comments on life, without expecting any of them to actually mean much in terms of how to live life, or what to expect from it…. It just sort of says, “Here, look at this for a minute… interesting, eh?”

Hey, they can’t ALL be perfect necklaces made up of gorgeously matched gems; some of them are the artificially induced sort of pearls, which, while beautiful in their way, and of value, when viewed with proper appreciation, are not going to have the same effect as the more compelling sort…. which, if you think about it, is just like life itself…. maybe they’re deeper than they seem…. Whatever, they work, so, here they are….

INTRODUCTION, n.  A social ceremony invented by the devil for the gratification of his servants and the plaguing of his enemies.  The introduction attains its most malevolent development in this century, being, indeed, closely related to our political system.  Every American being the equal of every other American, it follows that everybody has the right to know everybody else, which implies the right to introduce without request or permission.  The Declaration of Independence should have read thus:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident:  that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, and the right to make that of another miserable by thrusting upon him an incalculable quantity of acquaintances; liberty, particularly the liberty to introduce persons to one another without first ascertaining if they are not already acquainted as enemies; and the pursuit of another’s happiness with a running pack of strangers.”

— Ambrose Bierce, “The Devil’s Dictionary”

“While my BRAINPAN is being refused service in BURGER KING,  Jesuit priests are DATING CAREER DIPLOMATS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“The emperor has no clothes.” — Michael, my former neighbor’s “odd” son, pointing at the POTUS (Obama, at the time….) on TV…. (It isn’t my label in that description…. Micheal, about 7 years old, is considered a “problem” child in school, for two of his behaviors they can’t understand…. First, he has little impulse control, and whatever he sees, or thinks, or does, or. or… he tells the nearest person about it, whether he knows them or not…Second, he is considered different because he “sees” things other people don’t, and can’t…. Some are of things far away, and patently outside his experience, that, somehow, always turn out to be true visions of future events, or just stuff he shouldn’t be aware of, logically, as it happened elsewhere in the world, a week after he shared it…. Spooky, but, damn fascinating, isn’t it? People are strange…. thank goodness…)

“Somebody has to do something, and it’s just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us.” — Jerry Garcia (1942-1995), Musician, the Grateful Dead

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.” — G. K. Chesterton, ILN, 7/16/10

“For the record, pot, like the “Reader’s Digest”, is not necessarily habit-forming, but both can lead to hard-core addiction: heroin, in one case, abridged bad books in the other.  Either way you look at it, a withdrawal from a meaningful life.” — Mordecai Richler, “Going Home Again”

“It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.” — Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey

For the life of me, I can’t do it…. Moreover, I’m going to ask y’all not to try, either, as it’s given me a headache just trying to follow that path…. The above pearl’s meaning, or directed train of thought(s), is, as far as I can figure out, completely inscrutable to the human mind, or, mine, anyway… and my subconscious ain’t talkin’, more’s the pity. Good thing it’s over…. and, please, don’t go back & read it again…. Once was probably enough for this one…. I guess it IS cute, though, with a smirk or two in it, in spots….

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“As I grow older I find I don’t have to avoid temptation any longer–now temptation avoids me.” — not attributed in SB…. however, I can testify….

“The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.” — Albert Einstein

“A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.” — Oscar Wilde

Well, ffolkes, I’ve done all the damage I can do for one day, especially today…. I’m outta here to go drug myself into insensibility…. Provided I wake up by then, I’ll see y’all tomorrow…..