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my world. my journal. my rules. How the space program contributed to an enjoyable weekend 02/04/2003 (Note: This was originally written as a post responding to an entry in Uncle Bob's Journal.) UB: Let me start by saying that I agree that this unfortunate accident being hyped as a “national tragedy” is a bit much, and while I enjoy making fun of the dead, I disagree with your assessment that there are no tangible benefits to the space program. I’m not ranting, nor raving, and feel free to completely dismiss or ignore my opinion. Whatever. But here’s how the space program contributed to my enjoyable weekend: Friday, I took the day off of work and went snowboarding in the Poconos. I strapped on my snowboard (lightweight composites), my helmet (shock-absorbing helmets), and goggles (anti-fog, scratch resistant lenses), and had a great day on the slopes. After an exhausting day, I drove home along a higway where workers were sealing the newly-constructed breakdown lane (skid-resistant coatings). After narrowly avoiding a collision when answering my cellphone (wireless communications) I learned that some friends decided they were coming by tonight to hang out. I told them to buy beer. After returing home, I heated up some frozen pizzas and waited for my friends to show up. I was awakened twenty minutes later by the smoke alarm (fire detection systems) after inadvertantly dozing off while the pizzas were in the oven. A quick call to Domino’s and I had enough food for everyone before they arrived. We ate pizza and drank beer as we watched the “Minority Report” dvd (lightweight composites, image processing/3d graphics tools) on my brand new 42” Panasonic plasma screen tv, (flat panel monitors) an amazing birthday gift to myself. Waking up with a slight hangover late Saturday morning, I headed over to a new indoor driving range to try out a new composite driver I had received as a birthday gift (shape memory metals/aerodynamics). Satisfied, I bought some lunch at McDonald’s before heading home. I do love me some fries (NASA welding techniques on Shuttle’s external tank used to improve reliability in stainless steel fry pots used in restaurants). Anyway, you get the idea. Good weekend. Thanks, NASA. And, sorry to hear about the flaming heap dropping from the sky. I didn’t go into some of the other notable commercial products resulting from technological benefits of the space program such as: microcomputers, implantable heart aids, trash compactors, sports bras, aircraft design analysis, portable vacuum cleaners, ultrasound scanners, arteriosclerosis detection, lubricant coating processes, pollution measuring and control devices, MRI, corrosion protection, and child safety seats, basically because I had no use for any of them this weekend. Jeff MarksChemical Engineer
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content is copyright © Jeff Marks 2003. All Rights Reserved.
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