Keep looking up, no wait, duck and cover instead

I think I’ll start back blogging with one of my doomsayer posts.

Some people are planning to mine the asteroid belt, which is cool and not a bad idea. There are a lot of resources out there that can be used on Earth and in space and of course a lot of money to be made. The people planning this seem to have the resources, as in lots of money, and the knowledge to do it or to at least start a real effort to try. Yet no one seems to be worried about this.

Has no one read 60s and 70s science fiction?

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

You know how the media love to play up any talk of an asteroid that comes close to the Earth? Those things can get pretty close just by chance. Well, when you can get a rocket to an asteroid you have the potential to then aim that asteroid. Earth is towards the bottom of the Sun’s gravity well relative to the asteroid belt. That means you can drop a really big rock on the Earth from out there.

OK, that’s all I wanted to say. Forget about it, just go back to what you were doing. There’s probably nothing to worry about.

For the record I think that mining the asteroid belt is a good idea and I am all in favor of space exploration. If our government is too short-sighted to keep it up then private industry will have to take over, but there are some things that need to be kept in mind when there are people and robots flying around out there.

Sorry I’ve been away for so long

Wow, it’s been more than a month. I was away so long they changed blogger and I have to figure out how to use it again.

Things got really hectic around here and I was short of usable time. Then I got sick. Then I broke a tooth and today I had root canal.

So I’ve been short of brain power and energy that I could free up for blogging, or for anything for that matter.

Maybe I’ll thrill everyone with a discussion of my dental adventures as they are on-going. Maybe not.

Watch this space, there is definitely more to come. This was only an extended hiatus due to unmanageable circumstances and nothing more. I will blog on.

Consider that a threat, a warning or a promise as you see fit.