Opinion: April 2005 Archives

It irks me to no end when someone gets in the check-out line in a store and then is confused when the cashier asks for payment. Some people don't realize that they'll have to do something to transfer funds to the store in return for the goods.

I don't know how many times I've been in a line and the cashier will say "That'll be $XX" and have the customer stare blankly at them before realizing that it's time for them to fumble through their purse for their checkbook (I know it's down here somewhere) and a pen (I just had it). That's followed by "What's today's date?" and "Where am I again?".

And, surprise, just when I thought things were going to move, she decides that it's time to balance her checkbook (I wouldn't want her to overdraft, now would I?).

Ten minutes later, the transaction that should have taken no more than 30 seconds is complete... except for recording the transaction in her check register and stowing all of her gear back in her purse. A company of Marines could stow a base camp in the time it takes for her to repack her luggage!!

And men can be just as bad with their "Oh, just one more thing I forgot that's at the back of the store but I'm an Olympic sprinter so I'll be back before you can ring up all of my stuff" attitude. If you forgot something, you have three choices that won't piss me off: 1) Don't get it, or 2) Get out of line (take your stuff with you!), go get it, and return to the end of the line, or 3) Make your purchase, take your things to your car, and come back for the forgotten item. Inconvenient for you? Tough nookie!! It's convenient for me! And that's all I care about.

And cell phones at the check-out line? DON'T GET ME STARTED THERE!

My point is : If you get in line to check out, BE READY TO CHECK OUT! I am, and I don't want to wait for your sorry butt to figure out how it all works. I have places to be, thank you very much.

Have a pleasant day.

My two cents.

Mark

The Space Shuttle Discovery rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building Wednesday afternoon and arrived at the launch pad just after Midnight. It will sit in place until launch sometime after May 15.

It underwent 286 modifications to improve the safety. One of those improvements is a heat tile repair kit. With it, astronauts could (theroetically) repair damaged or replace lost heat tiles that protect the Shuttle upon reentry.

While I think that we should always strive to make vehicles (all vehicles) as safe as possible, I think that there is a point at which we decide that there are risks in life that can't be avoided. We should look at the Shuttle for what it is: A complex, hulking, tin can sitting on top of 500,000 gallons of fuel. And, as we saw with Challenger, it can become a bomb.

The men and women who make up the astronaut force are well aware of the dangers that they are taking. They very well know that if they set foot on board a space shuttle, they may not step off again. They also know that when they step into the airplane that transports them to the Kennedy Space Center, they may not step off of it either.

There is no way possible to remove all danger from space travel. Likewise, there is no way to remove all danger from driving your car to work every day.

40,000 people die in car accidents in the U.S. every year. When you compare that with 14 atronauts lost on Space Shuttle flights over the past 25 years, I think that's a pretty good record. Sure, no one likes to watch people explode or burn up, especially our most revered explorers.

So, while I agree that reasonable precautions should be taken to protect the shuttle and the astronauts aboard, I don't agree with all of the unnecessary hand-wringing that has been going on at NASA and in the government over the past two years.

Let's get on with sending astronauts not to the space station, but to the moon -- and beyond.