Friday, July 27, 2007

Drunk Driving Reaches New Heights

Recent news strongly suggests that NASA has allowed for astronauts to fly after the mass consumption of alcohol. NASA has denied any allegations at the moment, but says they are investigating into the matter. In the event that these stories are true, it certainly raises very important issues.

The space program has had millions upon millions of dollars invested into it. Potential astronauts supposedly go through harsh conditioning and a very selective process before even gaining the opportunity to fly in space. I really cannot believe that after all the money and all the effort put into the program that something like this would happen. It was not long ago when I was a little kid and gazed into the stars hoping to be an astronaut one day. It hurts to think that people that would finally achieve a goal would risk their lives on something as shallow as a drink.

In all honesty I am surprised of the negligence and overall lack of attention this subject may have garnered before this article. How hard would it be to implement a breathalizer before takeoff? Or how about this: astronauts are held in quarantine days before liftoff, why not just remove all alcohol the day before a launch? Would it really cause that much grief?

With all of the recent manpower that has gone behind police efforts to crack down on drunk driving, I wonder how NASA conveniently slipped through the system. More importantly, everybody knows that money has been taken away from our space program these past few years, and it just dawned on me that this is certainly not the kind of press coverage NASA could be using in perhaps its twilight years.

To read the article click here

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Virtue of Job(s) Still Untested

With an economy that has been steadily growing the past few years, speculators have to wonder when the next big dip is going to occur. Well it certainly isn't going to happen in June, as Texas unemployment rates remain their lowest in June since 1976. The lovable number (4.1%) continues to bolster Texan pride, giving those southern stalwarts even more reason to proclaim Texas could be its own d#%ned country if it pleases.

But in all seriousness, this increase can mean only good things provided the market remains at a steady increase. But remember the golden rule that whatever comes up must come down. At one point or another, if (or should I say when) the market tumbles, interest rates would currently be stuck at a value too high for borrowers to pay back their gambles, resulting in nothing but trouble.

Until then, live up that life, and for those non-Texas residents, maybe it's time to put up that GTT sign and see if the grass truly is greener in the Great Plains.

To read the article that sparked this writing in its entirety click here or the title.