The Daily Dose/November 30, 2018
By Gaylon Kent
America’s Funniest Guy
In The News
Contact Light: Man returned to Mars this week when the InSight explorer landed safely this past Monday. The pics we’ve come to know and love from the Martian surface have been sent though, frankly, not much has changed. Among InSight’s objectives is to study the planet’s interior and while the project is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, most of the instruments are European. It was launched this past May.
Yeah, Yeah, Whatever: It’s nice we can send machines to Mars. It would be better if we could send humans to Mars. Regular readers of this crap know we are unabashed fans of manned space travel here. Apollo 11 is one of our earliest memories and our own personal feeling is putting people on the moon is our species’ finest hour, bar none, it’s not even close. It is one of the lines of demarcation w – a dividing line between all that came before and everything that followed. We also believe that had we been sufficiently motivated, we could have had men on Mars in the 1980s.
Those that say our government can do better things with the money probably make a good point. But governments have funding exploration for centuries and there is no reason to stop now. It is in our DNA to explore. It’s why thousands of years ago men crossed rivers and climbed mountains and it’s why Columbus sailed west. It’s why we went to the moon and it’s why I asked my wife out on a date:
To find out what’s there.
Some Philosophical Crap: Yes, it’s nice we can send unmanned spacecraft to Mars. They’ve done some useful things. But those who say a robot can do everything a human can do are wrong. Robots can do almost everything a human can do. The one thing they cannot do is tell us what it’s like to be there!
It’s why we went to the moon and it’s why we should go to Mars.
Today at the Site
The Diary of a Nobody: Sparrow and The Wife head into town for some shopping and lunch, plus they BBQ for dinner. In the Sleep Log, Sparrow gets 16 hours of sleep Wednesday night.
Every part of sleeping 16 hours was enjoyable…I enjoyed farting around Wednesday morning looking forward to it and I enjoyed waking up the couple of times I was obliged to use the can because it is satisfying to look at the clock and realize you still tons of sleep to look forward to and when the time came to wake up that was satisfying too, in a mission accomplished kind of way.
On This Date
In 1954 – Ann Hodges a 34-year-old housewife, is hit by a meteorite while taking a nap in her Oak Grove, Alabama home. The meteorite had crashed through the roof of the family home and bounced off a large radio console before landing on Hodges, who was napping on the couch. Hodges received some bruises but recovered and the incident remains the only recorded instance in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space.
In 1991 – The United States win the first Women’s World Cup soccer tournament, defeating Norway in the title match 2-1 in Guangzhou, China. The Americans had won their pool before defeating Taiwan in the quarterfinals and Germany in the semifinals. The first tournament had twelve teams, though the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 1999 and 24 in 2015. The US has won the most titles, with three (1991, 1999, 2015).
In 1963 – Dale and Grace are at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second and final week with I’m Leaving It Up to You. Their time on the charts was short: their follow-up the following year went to #8 and that was their final chart single. Dale and Grace were not related, a record company executive who knew Grace Broussard had heard Dale Houston sing in a Louisiana bar and thought they would make a good team.
Quotebook
I learned that the destination is only as worthwhile as the trip you are willing to take. And that the trip is always a toss-up.
Steve Walsh
Answer To The Last Trivia Question
The Army/Navy football game has been played on three college campuses: the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy and Princeton University.
Today’s Stumper
I’m Leaving It Up to You by Dale and Grace marked the first time in Hot 100 history that a duo replaced another duo at #1. What song did I’m Leaving It Up to You replace at the top? –Answer next time!
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