Congratulations @elonmusk and #SpaceX – how I wish Douglas Adams were alive to see “Don’t Panic” in large friendly letters on the Tesla That was a classy addition.
I’m not often driven to introspection or reflection, but the question does come up sometimes. The big question. So big, there’s just no containing it within the puny boundaries of a single set of punctuationary bookends.
Who are these mysterious and unsung heroes of obscurity and shadow? What is their origin story? Do they have a prequel trilogy? What are their secret identities? What are their public identities, for that matter? What are their powers? Their abilities? Their haunted pasts and troubled futures? Their modus operandi? Where do they live anyway, and when? What do they do for a living? Do they really have these fantastical adventures, or is it a dazzlingly intellectual and overwrought metaphor? Or is it perhaps a smug and post-modern sort of metaphor? Is it a plain stupid metaphor, hedged around with thick wads of plausible deniability, a soap bubble of illusory plot dependent upon readers who don’t dare question it for fear of looking foolish? A flight of fancy, having dozed off in front of the television during an episode of something suitably spaceship-oriented? Do they have a quest, a handler, a mission statement, a department-level development objective in five stages?
I am Hatboy.
https://hatboy.blog/2013/12/17/metalude-who-are-creepy-and-hatboy/
No, this was a bit of a downer but I basically ignored it because, like I said, it was a good day.
I think it’s normal to poke fun at someone when they’re being amusingly boastful or are otherwise pleased with themselves, and specifically I think it’s fun to do it to you, because you do it all the goddamn time so I assumed it was game on.
Yeah, fair enough to move past my comments. I was basically, well not joking, because I wasn’t trying to be FUNNY, but…not being entirely serious. Musk’s rocket, in particular, was an amazing accomplishment. And I don’t REALLY think we’ll all be dead soon.
But–and I hope you can understand given my American context–I find it hard to be too excited about the accomplishments of one obscenely rich man, when those accomplishments aren’t directed at improving the shit my world has become. Right now, mostly my country, but you know that may not be the end of it.
Musk is surely one of the better obscenely rich men in this world. But no matter how nice he is, and how little he may ravage the environment in his work, he doesn’t really direct his wealth to the betterment of all. Just like the rest of them. And this rocket wasn’t the achievement of mankind, working together, it was just what a rich guy can do when he throws a shitton of money at something.
When he throws a shitton of money at something that won’t mostly profit him, then you’ll see me get excited.
Fair to say. I had a similar discussion on Facebook recently, regarding the sheeple-like excitement folks have for this One Percenter and his toys, as opposed to (for example) confiscating all his wealth and giving it to NASA to actually do something good for the whole species.
It’s a really interesting and difficult question. I don’t know where to really start with it. I just think, at this stage in our civilisation, it’s too much to expect more than a One Percenter who is doing vaguely outwards-and-forwards-looking things with his wealth.
True advancement and a utopian future are unlikely to happen overnight, or even in our lifetimes. Or, obviously, ever at all. Unless you choose to take a long view and accept that there are going to be a ton of deaths along the way.
But if he wanted to voluntarily give me some of his money – just, like, twenty or thirty million dollars – that would make this cool moment into a really cool moment.
Just thought it would have been a nice defense of Musk if you had known about it. I recall know he was doing something like that in Puerto Rico, but I never heard a follow up story and they still don’t have much power there, so I don’t know if it fell through due to dirty capitalist greed or not.
(for the record, anyone who is baffled or concerned about this exchange, we’re just referring to a conversation outside this blog, where BRKN was hurt over my raining on his parade in a different context. It’s sort of an in-joke but we all know my in-jokes are terrible and that’s my fault, right BRKN? But you would never rain on my parade by saying so?)
No no no. The point of an inside joke or reference is that not everybody gets it. So explaining it ruins the exchange. And your in-jokes are fine, you just can’t get stoma hurt when not everybody GETS them.
Hatboy's Hatstand 
Cool story bro! (sarco possible)
2020? 2150? We’ll all be dead before 2020.
Parade, meet rain.
Save us, Elon Musk. Or anyone with the will and courage to do what must be done. Wink wink, nudge nudge.
Uh, righto.
2020 is a pretty tight timeline. Don’t know that I’m feeling that bleak, but it may just be because today was a good day.
Bleak is the new normal over here. It’s like Orange is the New Black, but with less pissing on things.
OK maybe not with less.
So this is why you think it’s normal to piss on parades Hatboy?
No, this was a bit of a downer but I basically ignored it because, like I said, it was a good day.
I think it’s normal to poke fun at someone when they’re being amusingly boastful or are otherwise pleased with themselves, and specifically I think it’s fun to do it to you, because you do it all the goddamn time so I assumed it was game on.
You pouty little bitch.
Fair enough.
Yeah, fair enough to move past my comments. I was basically, well not joking, because I wasn’t trying to be FUNNY, but…not being entirely serious. Musk’s rocket, in particular, was an amazing accomplishment. And I don’t REALLY think we’ll all be dead soon.
But–and I hope you can understand given my American context–I find it hard to be too excited about the accomplishments of one obscenely rich man, when those accomplishments aren’t directed at improving the shit my world has become. Right now, mostly my country, but you know that may not be the end of it.
Musk is surely one of the better obscenely rich men in this world. But no matter how nice he is, and how little he may ravage the environment in his work, he doesn’t really direct his wealth to the betterment of all. Just like the rest of them. And this rocket wasn’t the achievement of mankind, working together, it was just what a rich guy can do when he throws a shitton of money at something.
When he throws a shitton of money at something that won’t mostly profit him, then you’ll see me get excited.
Fair to say. I had a similar discussion on Facebook recently, regarding the sheeple-like excitement folks have for this One Percenter and his toys, as opposed to (for example) confiscating all his wealth and giving it to NASA to actually do something good for the whole species.
It’s a really interesting and difficult question. I don’t know where to really start with it. I just think, at this stage in our civilisation, it’s too much to expect more than a One Percenter who is doing vaguely outwards-and-forwards-looking things with his wealth.
True advancement and a utopian future are unlikely to happen overnight, or even in our lifetimes. Or, obviously, ever at all. Unless you choose to take a long view and accept that there are going to be a ton of deaths along the way.
Yeah, I agree with you. And I certainly am not saying we should take his money away. OK, don’t want to belabor this cool moment further.
But if he wanted to voluntarily give me some of his money – just, like, twenty or thirty million dollars – that would make this cool moment into a really cool moment.
OK OK, I stand corrected:
https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/04/tesla-creates-virtual-power-plant-with-50000-australian-homes/
Do I have to even say it, though, dude? I mean seriously. You know what I mean.
Yeah, I heard about that. Not sure what you don’t have to say or what you mean.
Just thought it would have been a nice defense of Musk if you had known about it. I recall know he was doing something like that in Puerto Rico, but I never heard a follow up story and they still don’t have much power there, so I don’t know if it fell through due to dirty capitalist greed or not.
(for the record, anyone who is baffled or concerned about this exchange, we’re just referring to a conversation outside this blog, where BRKN was hurt over my raining on his parade in a different context. It’s sort of an in-joke but we all know my in-jokes are terrible and that’s my fault, right BRKN? But you would never rain on my parade by saying so?)
No no no. The point of an inside joke or reference is that not everybody gets it. So explaining it ruins the exchange. And your in-jokes are fine, you just can’t get stoma hurt when not everybody GETS them.
I’m fine with not everybody getting them. Next time you mouth off about it though, I’m going to remind you what a whining pussy the God of Driving is.
In fact, the God of Driving may have just become a character in one of my stories. So well done there.
If your fine with it, quit whining everytime we don’t get them.
No no, I think we’ve established that the onus is on you to not make me feel bad. Pretty sure that was the lesson here, O Lord.
Oh you are screwed.
See, I made my comment precisely because that’s not how the freaking world works. Buy a helmet, princess.
Also, don’t type your just to hurt my feelings. That’s petty and mean.
Feel free to keep whining about average quiz scores though. That’s entirely on your audience.
THERE’S A 1:1 CORRELATION
Incidentally, you should know that not even the God of Driving is above the law.