Post Race!

[Peter Porter]

After being trapped in a drive-thru for more 20 minutes, they gave me a Filet-O-Fish instead of a Big Mac! I thought about checking my order, seeing the manager dealing with 3 complainers near the pick-up window, but it was insanely loud with everyone beeping their horns!

Someone is out of a job tonight.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Ya know, if you eat fast enough, you can't even taste what it is anyways.

[Shaggy Hiker]

I've lost a few good shoes that way, and possibly a cat.

[dilettante]

Al should retitle that. I'm thinking "The Empty Lives of Millennials Pushing 40."

[Shaggy Hiker]

I prefer his older works:

[Peter Porter]

I prefer his older works:

Which was this one?

[dday9]

Amish Paradise

[Peter Porter]

Amish Paradise

Too bad AL doesn't have it on his channel. It wouldn't have been blocked.

I can still watch it from another channel on YouTube.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Around 11 last night, a lightning bolt hit pretty close to my house. There was virtually no pause between light and sound, so the strike had to have been within about 0.2 miles. Considering that I live in a suburb, and am surrounded by houses in a radius greater than 0.5 miles, somebody had a much more exciting evening than I did.

[yereverluvinuncleber]

My mother law was hit by lightning and survived decades ago, she was holding an umbrella in a storm and a smaller off-shoot of the lightning hit her, coming out of her leg. She still has the scar.

[Peter Porter]

The building where I work was hit by lightning a week ago. Working on the top floor with overhead windows, when it hit, everything in our office dissappeared in a flash of light, like if we got nuked.

With our soundproof glass which blocks the sound of airplanes and heavy raindrops, we still heard the strike, but it wasn't deafening.

[Shaggy Hiker]

I've been on a planet that got hit by lightning, a few times.

[Bonker Gudd]

Apparently on Venus the lighting is so slow that a human could run away from it.

[dday9]

Booker, I am convinced that your account is purely AI driven and slowly getting smarter (or dumber) by learning off of the Post Race.

#provemewrong

[Delaney]

Apparently on Venus the lighting is so slow that a human could run away from it.

Yes but with the pressure and the sulfuric acid rain, he won't go very far...

[Delaney]

the first Russian probes on Venus had a lifetime of 0 minutes, they crushed before landing because the pressure on ground is about 75-100 bars (1000-1450 PSI). the next two had a life time of less than one hour...

[dday9]

I remember reading about that in one of the cold war era books.

It is interesting to see that the USSR focused on Venus whereas the USA focused on Mars. I'm sure there was a pissing match in there somewhere, but I wonder why after the moon they both diverged on "what is next".

[Shaggy Hiker]

Booker, I am convinced that your account is purely AI driven and slowly getting smarter (or dumber) by learning off of the Post Race.

#provemewrong

Booker?

[Shaggy Hiker]

Why not send a lander to Mercury? I hear the sun there is quite bright.

[dday9]

Darn autocorrect.

[wes4dbt]

I remember reading about that in one of the cold war era books.

It is interesting to see that the USSR focused on Venus whereas the USA focused on Mars. I'm sure there was a pissing match in there somewhere, but I wonder why after the moon they both diverged on "what is next".

I'd say once we found out what the conditions were like on Venus we lost interest. Mars gives you the possibility to send a human, colonize, mine or maybe use as a stepping stone to more distant places. Plus who want to go even closer to the sun. lol

[dday9]

"The motherland is cold. Let us inch closer to the sun." - some Russian scientist probably

[Delaney]

I'd say once we found out what the conditions were like on Venus we lost interest. Mars gives you the possibility to send a human, colonize, mine or maybe use as a stepping stone to more distant places. Plus who want to go even closer to the sun. lol

That's exactly what happened. Venus was a good choice as it has the same size than earth and at that time, they didn't know about the pressure and the atmosphere because the whole planet is cover by clouds.

in fact it look pretty much like Mars
picture of venera 9 (the first picture of venus)


picture from venera 13

[Delaney]

Why not send a lander to Mercury? I hear the sun there is quite bright.

Mariner 10 was the first probe going near Mercury in 1975 and has taken a few picture. the planet has no interest as it is a big rock in space. it has not atmosphere and is too close of the sun

[Shaggy Hiker]

As if that ever stopped anyone.

[Delaney]

why bother with Mercury when you have everything you need on the Moon

[Shaggy Hiker]

Because it's there.

[Shaggy Hiker]

Better suntans?

[Shaggy Hiker]

Lower real estate prices?

[Delaney]

Lower real estate prices?

That's a good point but higher price of transportation

[Shaggy Hiker]

Yeah, that will keep the real estate prices down, but I believe there might be a bus service via Amazon in the near future.

[dday9]

I don't think the rain forest would want to be that close to the sun.

[wes4dbt]

We could rename the world, Sauna. For a while, but after all the water is evaporated I thing we should name it "The Rock".

[dday9]

If humans go there then I don’t think I would want to smell what The Rock is cookin'

[Delaney]

Yeah, that will keep the real estate prices down, but I believe there might be a bus service via Amazon in the near future.

I think Elon already tried some autonomous car flying into space, that's maybe the solution but the travel will still take some time. I'm not sure you will be able to spend your weekend in your Summer house very often.

[Shaggy Hiker]

I wonder what Mercury smells like?

[Shaggy Hiker]

The planet, I mean, not the metal.

[Shaggy Hiker]

And certainly not the Greek god.

[Peter Porter]

I wonder what Mercury smells like?

I've read that Mercury smells a wee bit like sodium, so it's almost odorless.

[Peter Porter]

But we can change that if we can get Elon to send a volunteer there in a future flight!