Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 5:07:03 PM

1

THIRST!

I hate insurance companies.

Ours sent me a bill with an "estimate" if I paid in full for the year almost 200 less than if I paid monthly

So I did so

Now I got a bill for the remaining balance.

But I have an email confirmation that I paid in full.

If they charge my bank account, that email will go to the bank showing I was charged fraudulently, and I will also complain to the state and to AAA - we get the AAA discount.

Syrah 11/16/2019 5:51:56 PM

2

War of the World’s. - H.G. Wells.

A most remarkable science fiction speculation on human and alien first contact.

Terrestrial and extraterrestrial disease organisms are a problem for space travel and particularly for contact with non-earth born species. Even for those long disassociated with the primary colony can be a problem. 

Like earth, when the Vikings first stepped foot on the new world In Newfoundland and Columbus a little later in the Caribbean, diseases traveled both east and west. The ones traveling west wiped out most of the indigenous populations.  

The new world gave the old world arthritis and sexually transmitted diseases. Fun times.

What would happen if we were to travel to new worlds? (Star Trek intro).

Maybe it is a good thing that the nearest stars are light years away. 

Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 5:59:18 PM

3

Reply to Syrah in 2:

There are so many stories where aliens want to eat us. When I taught astronomy, I would ask what that might mean. No one got it - it would mean that we had compatible biochemistry, possibly supporting the panspermia hypothesis.

Or it might just be that our biochemistry is so easy for the chemistry of the universe to produce.

In any case, we might someday find aliens that just want To Serve Man

Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 6:03:36 PM

4

In #3 Kosh's Shadow said: o Serve Man

Spoiler video

Syrah 11/16/2019 6:12:16 PM

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Reply to Syrah in 2:

in Wells’ book, the Martians brought the red weed. It was harmless to humanity. Or, mostly harmless, in a Douglas Adams  sort of way. The red weed leaves a mess, but dies and rots.

Wells described an alien race that had wiped out disease by some fashion or other before they came to earth. The Martians were effectively defenseless against earth born opportunistic diseases. Their traditional prey was some bipedal creature of very minimal description. Maybe they were sentient, maybe not, Wells leaves that a question for the purpose of heightening the horror. When the Martians consumed terrestrial prey, they absorbed terrestrial diseases. The Martians were doomed the moment the crawled out of their cannon fired shell/capsules.

it is a great story, and amazing for having been written in an age when the coal fired steam engine was the hight of humanities technological prowess.

Syrah 11/16/2019 6:13:43 PM

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In #3 Kosh's Shadow said: In any case, we might someday find aliens that just want To Serve Man

“It’s a cookbook!”

Syrah 11/16/2019 6:16:37 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 3:

it is a thing. 

A silicon based life form might be tasty, but it would slice up our innards something awful if it wasn’t already downright poisonous. 

Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 6:48:04 PM

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In #5 Syrah said: it is a great story, and amazing for having been written in an age when the coal fired steam engine was the hight of humanities technological prowess.

HG Wells predicted bombings of cities in the 1936 movie Things to Come. No one believed it.

Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 6:50:06 PM

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In #7 Syrah said: A silicon based life form might be tasty, but it would slice up our innards something awful if it wasn’t already downright poisonous. 

Horta?

Even subtle differences in biochemistry could make one planet's life inedible to another's

Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 6:52:37 PM

10

More on Things to come

Trailer

buzzsawmonkey 11/16/2019 7:06:50 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 10:

It's been a long time since I've seen it, but my recollection is that the society which arises in "Things to Come" is as fascist as the society of the silent precursor, "Metropolis."

Kosh's Shadow 11/16/2019 7:13:58 PM

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Reply to buzzsawmonkey in 11:

I believe you are correct..

But Things to Come did predict bombing cities (which actually did occur in WW!, not just WWII)

Any society that thinks that technocrats can do better is fascist.

USSR worked very hard to get computer predictions of what to produce - it did not work as well as the free market, by far.

Thomas Sowell, Basic Economics should be required readings by any would-be politician.

As for AOC, I would just love to tell BU I would not hire anyone from there given she learned everything wrong.

Occasional Reader 11/16/2019 8:35:04 PM

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Reply to Kosh's Shadow in 8:

Huh? The Germans had already bombed London in the *First* World War.  You can see shrapnel scars on “Cleopatra‘s needle“ to this day, that are a result of bombings from that war, not the second world war.

Occasional Reader 11/16/2019 8:37:43 PM

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In #2 Syrah said: The new world gave the old world arthritis and sexually transmitted diseases

And I was aware of that syphilis probably spread from New World to old, but I’ve never heard that claim made about arthritis.

buzzsawmonkey 11/16/2019 8:41:16 PM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 13:

It is my understanding that the Germans used Zeppelins rather than, or possibly in addition to, planes when they bombed London in WWI.

doppelganglander 11/16/2019 9:07:34 PM

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Reply to Occasional Reader in 14:

Arthritis is an autoimmune disorder. It can't be transmitted from person to person.