eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (07/25/89)
In article <14484@bfmny0.UUCP> tneff@bfmny0.UUCP (Tom Neff) writes: >I treasure Henry's acerbity, Perhaps I should make a comment about this. On occasion I enjoy Henry as well. As NASA gets more connected into networks of the world (and as many of the computer security types don't learn about them), some of the stuff I mentioned at HQ and other NASA sites become more common knowledge [for instance they were considering a policy on freeware]. As time has progressed and I have become more cynical (climbing DOWN the ladder, so to speak), I encounter more and more NASA people who discover the space mailing list or at Ames (News). And they comment on the readership, Henry among others. In large part they just ignore his (and others) more negative ramblings (no one ever listens to me). Its not a matter of not listening to one's critics: there are traditional paths of comment and review, and networks aren't one of them. But the point of this note to you is to illustrate how NASA is changing and how some of the bureacracy reacts to people (since people asked). Water off a duck's back. There is a point where people just regard things as noise and that point is reached very quickly by people reading who have work to do (unless you have a news window on a multiwindow workstation). So Henry has pushed most people's internal button's too far and lost credibility. >What's missing is getting down and dirty on the inner planets, in my >view. That's where the excitement lies. IMAX on a sample return and >rover mission! How bout it! Sounds great. Don't see a question mark. The problem is understanding the scale of these endeavours. Consider holding a conversation in light-time. That's a real problem going to places like Mars or Venus. Just so long as you don't have the short-term "must have it now" mentality. Space is big, really big...... 8) Another gross generalization from --eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers: "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?" "If my mail does not reach you, please accept my apology." {ncar,decwrl,hplabs,uunet}!ames!eugene Live free or die.