I’m not saying this is what Jeff is doing but if he was trying to goad Elon into doing something reckless and killing himself, this is what it would look like. https://t.co/5fXMzNP7AB
— Starfish Who Just Wants To Grill (@IRHotTakes) June 7, 2021
JUST IN: Jeff Bezos will be flying to space on the first crewed flight of the New Shepard, the rocket ship made by his space company, Blue Origin.
The flight is scheduled for July 20th, just 15 days after he is set to resign as CEO of Amazon. https://t.co/m4gfZpwhlc
— CNN (@CNN) June 7, 2021
Not very far into space, not for long, but the bragging rights…
… If all goes according to plan, Bezos — the world’s richest person with a net worth of $187 billion — will be the first of the billionaire space tycoons to experience a ride aboard the rocket technology that he’s poured millions into developing. Not even Elon Musk, whose SpaceX builds rockets powerful enough to enter orbit around Earth, has announced plans to travel to space aboard one of his companies human-worthy crew capsules. British billionaire Richard Branson, whose own space company, Virgin Galactic, is planning on conducting flights to suborbital space for ultra-wealthy thrill seekers and competing directly with Blue Origin. Branson has long said he would be among the first passengers aboard Virgin Galactic’s rocket-powered plane, but that flight is expected to take place later in 2021.
Blue Origin’s flight crewed flight will see the company’s six-seater capsule and 59-foot rocket tear toward the edge of space on a 11-minute flight that’ll reach more than 60 miles above Earth…
Though the company has not announced how much it will sell regular tickets for, Blue Origin said one seat will be given to the winner of a month-long auction that’s currently in progress. The bidding was at $2.8 million Monday morning but it hit $3.2 million after Blue Origin’s announcement…
More ‘alpha nerd male’ japery:
front side open so the spear flies high instead of on target. beta male shit here. look at that left arm flail like a child. https://t.co/7xOUjDjr7y
— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) June 7, 2021
he also clips his back heel with his foot and almost falls over, incredible. every viewing is a new unathletic thing.
— World Famous Art Thief (@CalmSporting) June 7, 2021
Never-ending generational war:
Early in the day to witness a murder, but here we are pic.twitter.com/apHxa4zhwG
— Louisa ?? (@LouisatheLast) June 7, 2021
And if you haven’t checked Popehat’s twitter feed today, don’t miss this thread:
What happens when the most misanthropic lawyer on Twitter takes six 14-year-olds to the Happiest Place on Earth during COVID?
Let’s find out.
/1
— LolWhatInsurrectionHat (@Popehat) June 7, 2021
Raven
Got to the Lowcountry and had an early seafood din in Port Royal!
Raven
Fishcamp on 11th
https://www.fishcampon11th.com
Kristine
Not rooting for fatalities during any of these Billionaire Boys Battles because karma’s a bitch.
But I wouldn’t say no to a few injuries.
NotMax
@Raven
Could you geographically explain the whereabouts of low country for us rubes?
Cermet
Maybe Elon will do a flight around Mars to one up Bezo’s – of course, Elon’s brain will turn to mush but then, how could we tell?
Geoduck
@NotMax: Never been there myself but Wikipedia gives you the basics.
Raven
Raven
We’re in Beaufort and sitting on a Lania looking directly at Parris Island Marine Corps Recruiting Station. It’s a fascinating area, after the civil war St Helena Island was left the the Gullah folks. Daughters of the Dust was filmed there and there are still Gullah folks here but it is rapidly becoming developed.
debbie
@Raven:
Those are some nice looking oysters.
NotMax
@Geoduck
Huh. Given my druthers I’d opt not to inject a single solitary cent of my money into the economy of South Carolina.
markregan
When Bezos’s group manages to achieve orbit as opposed to this three minutes in space business, he and Musk should have a celebrity death match Up There somewhere. Winner gets to stay Up There forever, with preferably unmanned drones delivering oxygen and sandwiches and scrubbing carbon dioxide as needed.
Charlie’s wife goes down
To the Scollay Square station
Every day at quarter past two
And through the open window
She hands Charlie a sandwich
As the train comes rumblin’ through.
No he’ll never return
And his fate will be unlearned
He may ride forever
‘neath the streets of Boston
He’s the man who never returned.
Ten Bears
We shall see what we shall see, shan’t we? I am doubtful.
If they were to end up near-earth orbital debris I’d probably have to chalk it up to Eiron, the Goddess of Irony, and her tendency of late to not as discreetly as she did in the past fly by and pass gas.
Jay
Roger Moore
It seems like an especially foolish way to do it. Musk’s rockets have a lot more testing than Bezos’s, and have actually done cool things like taking people to the ISS. There are plenty of things not to like about Musk, but he has taken the risks of space travel very seriously.
MagdaInBlack
@Raven: I was in Beaufort in 1985 ( i think) and my big thrill was ” Omg its The Big Chill house! ! ” ?
Cermet
@Roger Moore: As in thinking one way trips to Mars are a thing he should propose – nutcase.
pluky
Someone needs to read up on Icarus.
The Moar You Know
I’ll take Elon’s launch record over Jeff’s any day. That being said, Jeff will be fine.
OldDave
@markregan:
Thanks for the earwig. I think.
Brachiator
Yeah, this is insane. But if there were an affordable trip to the International Space Station, I would go in a heartbeat.
I had hoped that in my lifetime there might be a space hotel (like the one featured in 2001: A Space Odyssey) or a lunar hotel. I think this might happen for my young niece and nephew, now in their very early 20s.
Meanwhile, a NASA spacecraft made the closest flyby of Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, in 21 years today, shooting by Ganymede at an altitude of 645 miles. The last pass by Ganymede took place in 2000. We should get a few photos soon.
It also amazes me that there are clouds and wind on Mars. And I love that the space wizards at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are finding ingenious ways to use what they learn about Mars to solve little problems involving the Mars lander.
Even though I am more than happy with what we are getting from robotic space craft, this kind of problem solving might get us closer to eventually getting humans on Mars.
JoyceH
Today I went to the dermatologist for one of those all over skin tests they say you ought to do. Have a lot of those bumpy brown spots that I called moles but are apparently keratosis. She said all common and benign. I said I had some on the top of my head. She looks on the top of my head and gasps and says, “Uh-oh.” Then she laughed and said, “Oh, that’s hair dye! I’ve just never seen them purple before.”
Another Scott
Mysterious sinkhole in Mexico has voracious appetite
https://p.dw.com/p/3uVJH
Zooks!
Cheers,
Scott.
Raven
@debbie: 2$ each!
Raven
@MagdaInBlack: Conroy lived here.
Poe Larity
Bezos retiring is hoping they break up Amazon so he’ll be way richer than Rockefeller when they broke up Standard Oil.
He should buy a SpaceX Dragon flight just to troll Elon.
dr. bloor
Was it wrong for me to have immediately flashed on “Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun” when I saw the Bezos bit?
japa21
@markregan: Haven’t heard that in ages. Now you’ve given me an earworm that will keep me from sleeping tonight. GTH.
NotMax
@Poe Larity
Adjusted for inflation, John D.’s personal worth would be between $400 and $500 billion in today’s money, more than Bezos’ and Musk’s combined.
dmsilev
@markregan: Charlie’s wife was clearly glad to have him out of the way. Otherwise, instead of a daily sandwich she would have just given him the extra bit of change needed for his full fare and he’d have been able to get off the train.
Roger Moore
@dmsilev:
This was always my objection to the whole thing. Or he could get off the train and try to jump the turnstile. Or just let them arrest him for failure to pay his fare.
NotMax
After 20 years, confirmation that Ganymede is still there.
;)
RaflW
The Zuck foolery makes me think of a Star Trek episode (The Galileo Seven, apparently). He’s a LOT smaller than the Taurus II hominids, but they weren’t great shots.
Mike in NC
@dmsilev: Kingston Trio. Hadn’t thought about them in 40 years.
NotMax
Noted FYI (especially for any who’ve never seen it) that Ace in the Hole is available on Prime. Ahead of its time depiction of the media circus, which Kirk Douglas’ brusque bravado fits like a glove.
Ruckus
@Raven:
Not that far south of where I was stationed for 2 yrs. A lot of that area is beautiful.
Omnes Omnibus
@markregan: I’ve always had a weakness for this updated version.
zhena gogolia
@JoyceH:
Scary!
trollhattan
@NotMax:
And here I was, thinking Belgium was involved.
Omnes Omnibus
@trollhattan: That was so one thread ago. Get with the times, man.
Mike in NC
@NotMax: A wonderful classic. Netflix has got “The Big Lebowski” now.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, WaterGirl was eating babies.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Well, if you want to be truly accurate, it was just one (dutch) baby.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Another Scott: how does it compare to a guatemalan sinkhole?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@WaterGirl: I don’t believe that, one Dutch Baby is never enough, they’re tiny.
WaterGirl
@?BillinGlendaleCA: You can’t eat just one? I thought that was Lay’s potato chips.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: Lay’s Potato Chips are made from people? Soylent Green got here sooner then we thought.
Steve in the ATL
@Omnes Omnibus: Cape Cod chips are made from wealthier people, if you prefer that flavor
NotMax
@trollhattan
(Late back to the thread.)
Belgium? That’s on Tuesdays.
;)
WaterGirl
@Steve in the ATL: My first laugh out loud of the day.
Searcher
Has everyone forgotten that Bezos nearly died in a helicopter crash in 2003?
It was even related to scouting a site for Blue Origins.