Off topic, but don't go too far overboard - after all, we are watching...heh.
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Re: Re: Anouther NASA boomsticker

Tue Dec 14, 2004 9:17 am

Originally posted by Tommy Boy
what is a boomsticker?
A word I made up. :D

Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:28 am

Originally posted by deathBOB
Heloooo!!! Government agency! How much do you really expect out of them?
That being said, I agree with hightimber, NASA has contributed so much, why do we dwell on a little satellite?
dB, LordShard is correct in that NASA has had its share of blunders and they're high-profile due to the cost of the projects and the blood-thirsty media's desire to report bad news.

As a spoiled society, we're only interested in bitching about things we see as negatives. NASA has delivered many, many, many more dollars in spin-offs than they have ever spent on missions. Short-sighted people will never understand that and we shouldn't waste our breath trying to educate folks who would rather stick their collective heads in the sand.

A lot of the technology needed to build the PCs we play games on today was an offshoot of technology that NASA created in order to send men to the moon in the 60s and build our shuttle fleet in the 70s. The nature of space travel is that we need to build things as small, light, and as reliable as possible (read: miniaturization). All of this technology trickles down into the electronics we use each and every hour of each and every day.

Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:00 am

Originally posted by hightimber
dB, LordShard is correct in that NASA has had its share of blunders and they're high-profile due to the cost of the projects and the blood-thirsty media's desire to report bad news.

As a spoiled society, we're only interested in bitching about things we see as negatives. NASA has delivered many, many, many more dollars in spin-offs than they have ever spent on missions. Short-sighted people will never understand that and we shouldn't waste our breath trying to educate folks who would rather stick their collective heads in the sand.

A lot of the technology needed to build the PCs we play games on today was an offshoot of technology that NASA created in order to send men to the moon in the 60s and build our shuttle fleet in the 70s. The nature of space travel is that we need to build things as small, light, and as reliable as possible (read: miniaturization). All of this technology trickles down into the electronics we use each and every hour of each and every day.
THe miniturization used in our PCs wasn't because of NASA, it was because the tech firms like AMD, Intel, ATI, Nvidia wanted to make smaller chips so they could make faster components. The only usefull thing nasa has come up with (I beleave it was nasa) was the Cell phone (evil!) and microwaves, or something like that.

Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:20 am

What about Tang and Velcro:roll:

Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:46 am

Originally posted by SGT DEVILDOG
What about Tang and Velcro:roll:
Velcro was around alot longer than Nasa. Or was that zippers?

Tue Dec 14, 2004 12:32 pm

Originally posted by LordShard
THe miniturization used in our PCs wasn't because of NASA, it was because the tech firms like AMD, Intel, ATI, Nvidia wanted to make smaller chips so they could make faster components. The only usefull thing nasa has come up with (I beleave it was nasa) was the Cell phone (evil!) and microwaves, or something like that.

Some interesting reading here:
http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/spinoff.html
:beer:

Tue Dec 14, 2004 2:18 pm

And I bet they didn't make a single dime of it back from all those. (Many of their "best" spin offs seem somewhat obscure)

Tue Dec 14, 2004 3:15 pm

Another page about NASA spinoffs:
http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinselect.html

imo, if NASA had never been many things we use today
would not be here.
:beer:
And another one with more stuff:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/home/spinoffs_feature_k_4.html
:beer:

I think NASA has more spinoff stuff than anyone else I can
think of.

Tue Dec 14, 2004 5:49 pm

Allot of the stuff on the second link isn't bein used anymore/being phased out. When is the last time you saw an ear thermoniter? WHen is the last time you've had edible toothpaste? Or when is the last time you've need a "space pen". Although I used to have a "space pen" I never needed to use it, and it was eventually stolen. >.<

Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:04 pm

Spinoffs from the spinoff maybe. i don't have any links for
those :)
Most inventions are build from other inventions.
:beer:

I like the one about bar codes, I never knew that NASA
did that one.
It would be a different world today if we didn't have bar codes.
:beer:

Tue Dec 14, 2004 6:36 pm

The one that most impressed me is the cooling suit for MS patients.

Tue Dec 14, 2004 9:53 pm

Some people, even when presented with facts, just refuse to believe.

Bill Clinton: I DID NOT have sex with that woman.
Monica: Mmm mm mmm

More spinoffs

Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:03 pm

Originally posted by hightimber
Some people, even when presented with facts, just refuse to believe.

Bill Clinton: I DID NOT have sex with that woman.
Monica: Mmm mm mmm

More spinoffs
I didn't say I didn't beleave, but when a place like NASA has 2 major screw ups a year, wher eare the people being fired?

More importantlly, why isn't NASA making money off these spinoffs? o_O

Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:13 pm

Originally posted by hightimber
Sometimes people hit a hot button with me. Categorizing all NASA people as morons is more than I can ignore.


Your not alone hightimber.

I live 5 minutes from the Johnson Space Center and our community and the city of Houston takes great pride in NASA. One of the astronauts killed in the Columbia tragedy, who's family we are good friends with, lived a few houses down from me and to hear a statment as such angers me immensely.

Lordshard, I know (I hope) your not trying to piss anyone off but why so much negativity towards NASA? Because one satellite was lost during re-entry?

Re: Re: Re: Anouther NASA boomsticker

Tue Dec 14, 2004 10:35 pm

Originally posted by LordShard
A word I made up. :D


Ohhhh, I have never heard it before, and now know why...

:)
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