Re: RE: Re: starship-design: scoops and sails and something topush against.

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/16/98 6:37:43 AM, lparker@cacaphony.net wrote:

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>Kelly,
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>> I was saying that colonies don't last long, and seldom are
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>> started, without a
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>> practical economic reason for there being there.  Same way lots
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>> of the US is
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>> being abandoned since their not much economic draw for it.
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>>
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>> This was in responce to the suggestion from some one that we
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>> would go out and
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>> found colonies just because.
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>Ahh, okay. I understand now. And I was pointing out how colonies didn't just
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>"start", they began with fishing camps (an economic justification). Without
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>going into boring historical detail, we are both right, we're just not
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>talking about quite the same thing.

Right!



>In fact, there were "causes" behind most of the colonies. I was just
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>pointing out that they were usually preceded by advanced scouts (the
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>fishermen in most cases, but not all) and were attempting to reach some
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>haven which they had been told was exceptionally attractive. Unfortunately,
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>many of them went off course and ended up settling somewhere besides where
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>they had originally intended, or their "causes" disappeared (frequently
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>political causes) and the colony subsequently foundered.
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>
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>You were just taking exception to fishing camps being considered
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>colonies...which they weren't.

Agree on all points.



>Incidentally, the ones that survived were mostly private ventures of one
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>variety or another and although they frequently had difficult times at the
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>beginning they mostly survived because conditions at their landing point
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>were close to ideal and their cause held up.
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>There may be lessons here for would be colonists of the planets and other
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>stars...

Find rich aliens and raise the Jolly Rodger?   Hum...  Works for me!    ;)   

Far better then Zenon's "send them out to die for the cause".  Certainly a
agrees with my demand for a profitable colony.


>Lee

Kelly