Re: starship-design: Lawmen, Taxmen and Bureaucrats

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 10/12/02 8:29:26 PM, lparker@cacaphony.net writes:

>> >Hey Kelly,
>> >
>> >Glad to see some of us are still around.
>>
>> Still hanging in ther -- and answering mail from the web site.  ;)
>
>Yeah I've noticed that dead or not, it still gets the occasional hit. Wish
>one of us had time to burn...

Yeah.  Should do something with it.
:(



>> I've seen mega-corps drill for oil in the deep ocean, in the
>> arctic, etc.  Do
>> mines in the tops of mountains, deeps of jjungles, etc.
>>
>> Corps are quite willing and able to take risk and handel
>> frounteers.  Even
>> hire some real characters to work out there.  BUT -- they
>> need to see money
>> at the end of it.  So far there is nothing out there thats a
>> real draw.
>
>Gee, Kelly, you agreed and disagreed in the same sentence! Well almost
>the
>same sentence...yes the mega corps do take risks, very calculated,
>quantified, limited, demarcated .... but still, risks. That is not quite
>the
>same as sending a mission after an asteroid that might, MIGHT, have
>unimaginable riches inside it, and maybe, MAYBE being able to extract them.
>Losing a man to a construction site accident on a drilling platform barely
>makes headlines, just an obit. Losing a man on an asteroid extraction
>operation would just about put the company out of business. Not the same
>risk at all.

If it would cost that much, the thing could be made of gold and still be 
worthless.  Companies risking their existence on the next big deal is more 
common then you think.  Its almost the rule in aerospace.  Its why aerospace 
is considered such a risky game to play.




>> The focus of the origional editorial seemed to be that it
>> would not / could
>> not be the big powerfull corps or organizations, but would be radical
>> nonconformists.  Folks like the individuals who went out on
>> their own and
>> pioneered the west on the lawless frounteer.  But it is the
>> big corps and
>> organizations, with their demands for reasonable order, that
>> pioneer on the
>> kind of nasty frounteers we do now on earth, or will do in
>> space.  They won't
>> be crooks and pirates, because such folk get each other
>> killed and are to
>> much trouble to put up with.  They will be agressive,
>> arogent, probably often
>> not real polite, or not conformists.  But not exactly crooks
>> or pirates.
>
>You mean people like Rutan, Benson, Kelly and Kistler don't qualify? Gee,
>you just broke my romantic heart <G>. 

Na not even close.

;)



>Seriously, I think you were taking
>his
>reference to rogues, pirates and misfits a little too literally. 

Given he went on to a long rambling salute to the glories of lawlessness and 
chaos, to the point of almost suggesting ruthless criminals are cool, I think 
I should?


>It may
>well
>end up being some mega corp that leads the drive into space, but there
>will
>a person or people in charge of that corp who have that spirit he was
>talking about. I just wish them luck with the board of directors...
>
>Lee


I think we agree more then he would have.

;)

Yes, its going to be won by folks backed by executivs with a lot of guts, and 
enough charisma to get folks to sign over a few billion bucks to be a part of 
that dream.

;)

Kelly