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Miscellaneous thoughts and ramblings
Saturday, March 26, 2005
 
More Favored Than the Birds

En route to the Moon in Verne's sequel, Round the Moon (1870), the French adventurer Michel Ardan asked his traveling companions, "Why cannot we walk outside like the meteor? Why cannot we launch into space through the scuttle? What enjoyment it would be to feel oneself thus suspended in ether, more favored than the birds who must use their wings to keep themselves up!"
Click on the picture for a beautiful high resolution version and information about the shuttle mission in which it was taken. Click the post title for some historical background on the development of untethered spacewalks.

Thanks to Redsugar Muse for pointing me to the picture.
(Here is a previous post about another awe inspiring space picture.)
Comments:
Hi Dr. Bean!

The picture happens to be my wallpaper right now. If you do it right, the astronaut is just about the size of an icon. I always tell people to look at my cool wallpaper, and say "Watch what happens when you click the astronaut." Then I push the laptop over and have them do it. When they click the astronaut I say, "Ow! Ow!".

It's incredibly lame, but it gets a laugh every time.
 
Hi Butcher!

That's hillarious. I'm going to start doing it immediately. Thank you.
 
Umm... Buther: I tried it both on my wife and on my 9 year-old son. Both are usually very easy audiences.

Stunned silence from both of them. Nary a smirk. Crickets chirping in the background. Tumbleweeds rolling by. They thought I was nuts, but not in a funny way.

I think there must be something wrong with my delivery.
 
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