His link to the Kickstarter today (plus his generous contribution) put me almost a third of the way to the goal.
OK, well, not sure that Jeff Garzik’s $1000 contribution was a result of that link, but thanks! I’ll try to give money’s worth.
[Friday-morning update]
Got my first $500 contributors overnight, and almost halfway to the goal.
[Afternoon update]
Past the halfway mark, with eleven days to go.
Chimpanzees would cook if given the chance.
This effort would require four launches of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, which is currently in development and is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2018.
The purpose of my Kickstarter is to show how it could be done, faster, cheaper, with more people.
In Japan? The Diet is going to take up a Japanese version of the Commercial Space Launch Act.
Why they hate climate skeptics:
As described above there were a number of factors and incidents that brought the skeptics movement to where it is today. Under different circumstance skeptical heroes might have included Freeman Dyson, Michael Crichton, Matt Ridley, Bjorn Lomborg, and Michael Fumento instead of Carl Sagan, Michael Mann, Bill Nye, and Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
The forces for group cohesion can be powerful. Within the skeptic community voices that dissented in any way (or even just said “I don’t know”) tended to become more and more marginalized. Those who might dissent now have for the most part left, shut up or deferred to “science” and their places have been taken by those who believe. I once asked on a skeptical forum, why the group responded so harshly to any statements challenging climate fears, but no one ever commented or challenged any statements no matter how ridiculous exaggerating climate fears. I was told that false statements against the climate understandings represented real threats, but little harm could come from overstatements of climatic risk. No one on that forum took issue with that position and that’s when I figured I could not learn much more there. This is a group on a mission that is not accepting of distractions.
I subscribed to the Skeptical Inquirer back in the eighties, but I quit when Schermer took over, it started to veer left, and to a dogmatic atheism.
A new concept. New to me, anyway.
Are they different than LGBs? It does seem like a different situation, in that there is no “treatment” required for LGBs. And the treatment seems to be extreme, and in the long run, perhaps not helpful, or it makes things worse.
And no, it’s not “bigoted” or “phobic” to ask the question.
[Thursday-morning update]
[Bumped]
The worst thing about this piece is this:
Americans are fat because we eat large portions, and because we eat foods that are high in sugar and fat. Americans are fat because we eat large portions, and because we eat foods that are high in sugar and fat. Perhaps it’s time for the surgeon general to put scary warning labels on sugary and fatty foods.
That is a profoundly ignorant statement, nutrition wise. People don’t get fat from eating fat
Beyond that, even if were smooth, I’d never ride it. I’m too claustrophobic.
Still seems to have ethical and integrity issues on the subject of climate research.