The Next Bus To Mars

I was watching a show about sending people to Mars, what it'd take to get a crew. The big issue is the length of time it'd take to get there and back, years. And of course on such a journey, all of them cooped up in a tiny spaceship, there'd be all kinds of chances to get sick of each other. Or, on the other hand, to be attracted to each other. So one of the issues addressed was sex between astronauts.

Then right after watching this show, I took the bus downtown. I started thinking, What if the crew was the people on the bus? Just a random bunch of people. We all seemed to be getting along OK, at least in the 20-30 minutes together, of course also with people getting off and on. There was no sex I saw, except a young man was speaking with a young woman ... and there's no telling where that could lead, say if they were alone in a motel instead of on a bus...

So among the first crew to Mars we have: A boy with a big backpack, so big he's wearing it and sitting sideways so the backpack has its own seat. Put him down for two tickets. A schoolgirl who's drawn a red peace symbol on her cheek. A big potbellied guy with a beard. A cleaning lady at one of the motels who's chomping her mouth up and down all the time but apparently not chewing anything. A little later there was a guy I've seen on the bus before, who knows a lot about Korean society from a couple of sales trips he's made there.

I minded my business, just sitting there thinking about (and making notes about) the others. I'm sure I'd qualify, at least, for the trip to Mars.

An Economy Devastated By Birthdays

I love the news of new planets being discovered all the time. Maybe it's time for me to get a real estate license, with all the new territory about to be opened up.

Most of the ones being discovered are Jupiter sized and probably lifeless. But they're expecting to find some Earth-sized ones out there as well.

There actually is one that's about the same size, but it's too close to its sun (meaning it's extremely, hellishly hot). Up there the number one industry is sunscreen -- and the average SPF is 40,000. You layer it on six inches thick before you take the dog out.

One interesting detail is it rotates its sun all the time -- whoosh, there it went again! -- meaning lots more years are passing.

Here's a laugh line from a very good article about the new planets:

The expolanet's "year" is thus shorter than our day - meaning that even if there is an asbestos-based civilization their economy is utterly devastated by birthdays.

That's the way to say it! Imagine having a birthday every few hours. You're just born and you're older than Methuselah (well-known old guy, look it up).