Truth be told, I just wanted to post this nifty photo of the Canadarm in action. Because now I can observe that “I bet that arm could throw a real eh!-maker, if it wanted to!
Now that was funny. You have to secretly admit that that was humorous, even if you will not acknowledge it publicly.
There are a shitload of photos of the space station and affiliated activities here - courtesy of the Yahoo Space “journalists”, who (unlike NASA) almost never get it right.
What I want to know is how the fiddly-fuck Canookistan got to be The Top Dog – the Big Cheese, The Grand Poobah, Numero Uno, Dique De Bologna Grande! – of space robotics? Not that they don’t deserve it – they do. But still … The Backbacon Boys?
Here is some smut, and Last Of The Fews Daily Whatever.
…And Kickin’ And Screamin’ has some really good stuff posted already this mornin’.
Tags: dooby
June 8, 2008 at 8:28 am
The CSA’s robotics is the niche its carved out for itself. Pretty impressive for such a small, lightly-funded and young organisation. And even more impressive when you think that its operating in a de facto socialist country.
Unfortunately, they’re about to get into bed with the Chi-Coms as well as the US, Europeans and Japanese, and share their Canadarm technology with them.
Looks like there’s going to be another mini Space Race, then.
June 8, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I’ve my doubts about the Chinese and Japaneses abilities in space. They’ve screwed up waaaay too many times so far for them to be serious challengers to the US and the ESA.
Also, both countries/nationalities seem to have that custom of evasive, “face-saving” obscurity of communication that has and will continue to prevent factual failures from being addressed efficiently and directly.
For instance, just try getting the straight story of the massive failure of the Japanese Hibuka(?) space probe that was sent to that astroid a few years ago. Or the details of the consistently failing Chinese booster down in Gianna (or wherever).
A friend of mine – when discussing the Jap/Chink space efforts – exclaims (whenever he can) that, “Ya gotta have a big dick to explore space!”
June 8, 2008 at 12:51 pm
BTW: My friend usually waits to express his space-penis sentiment until he’s in public and someone is in mid-sip on a drink. Spews are inevitable.
No one liked my Eh!maker joke? Waa. It pleased me soooo much…
June 8, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I’m not really familiar with other agencies’ space shenanigans apart from when they do something in partnership with NASA. That includes ESA, KAXA, RKO even. I am worried about how NASA is going to send people into space in the post-Space Shuttle pre-Orion/Ares I lag though. I suppose it’ll be on board a Soyuz, but they’re looking decidedly old (not that there’s anything wrong with that; Ares I will have the modified Saturn V motors, the J2-X to lift it), and something like the past two Soyuz re-entries have had to use ballistic re-entry.
It always comes down to the size of one’s genitals. Even in space.
June 8, 2008 at 1:00 pm
*JAXA…
June 8, 2008 at 1:01 pm
And now that I get it, I think the ‘Eh! Maker’ joke is funny. Sorry, I’m slow today.
June 8, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Yeah – I’ve always had an issue with the way Canookistaniis spell “eh”. It should spell like it sounds: Ay!
I’m spewing silliness today, but I’m in the mood.
I mentioned the space-penis comments a friend makes simply because it never stops amusing me. It’s his delivery, I think. It just sounds sooo funny, and racist, and redneck, that I just have to giggle. All that plus the shock value of making such a statement in public “polite” company just cracks me up every time.
Its also an excellent demonstration of the idea that laughter is an interrupted defense (defence?) mechanism: watching other people struggle with the utter offensiveness of the remark – and its apparent truth – and its total racial biggotry aspect – set off all sorts of defensive psych reactions in the unwary.