The Glade 4.0

It's today.

Been waiting for this for a while - the next one will be in the year 2117. North America didn't really get to see the previous one in 2004, and the last one before that was in the 1800s.

For South Florida, it'll start just after 6pm, and we won't see the middle or end parts, but we'll be able to see the exterior and interior ingresses along with the black drop effect.

I built a solar funnel a few months back just for this day. (Well, and to look at sunspots, because sunspots are relatively cool. (Ok, bad pun.)) Unfortunately, it's really cloudy this morning, hopefully that clears up, or you'll hear me complaining for the next 105 years.

Useful links:
http://www.transitofvenus.org <-- Information and viewing tips.
http://www.heavens-above.com <-- Use to find your local transit times.

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Yep

I watched the beginning of the NASA EDGE broadcast from Mauna Kea. I missed first contact by about ten minutes, but I caught second contact.

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Was cloudy Watched it online.

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So 105 years of complaining? /evilgrin

One would hope, prior to 105 years elapsing, that science will advance to the point that anyone can assume the correct vantage point to observe a transit of Venus anytime they like. LIkewise a transit of Earth, a transit of Mars, a transit of Jupiter, etc.

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The only way the United States will do it is if the terrorists were poised to launch suicide bombs from the moon.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Sadly it's either that, or that we start hocking mineral rights on the moon or asteroids.

That's not entirely true, we just have to shoot all the beancounters at NASA and let the stargazers have control again.

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Selling mineral rights on the moon and on asteroids isn't a bad thing. We will one day need those metals.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

You sure about that? There aren't any less metals on Earth than there were 1000 years ago.

The Empirical States of America are rapidly going downhill. We're still pretending we're number one, and in a lot of areas we are, but other forces or ascending and we are descending, becoming the 16th century Spain of the modern era.

We need to start doing things ourselves rather than outsourcing it to save us the trouble.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

But there is certainly more and increasing demand over the last 1000 years for that same and finite amount.

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I prefer to think of them as "Fighting evil in another dimension"

Need MOAR metals.

Especially if we're to build my dreadnought from which I will crush the galaxy beneath my bootheel.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
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Yes, there is less metal on Earth than there were 1000 years ago. We've shot several tons of it into outer space. Some of it is now floating in the asteroid belt, some of it is hanging out around Neptune and Pluto, some of it is now on the surfaces of Venus and Mars, and some of it is leaving the Solar system altogether.
Imperial. Empirical means something completely different.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

True, I was tired and in a hurry.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Prove it.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

You mean with empirical evidence? Like perhaps an observable dictionary entry?

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.

Dont forget the small quantities that were reduced to their component subatomic particles.

Also, entropy has a lot of terrestrial metal oxidizing and spreading itself around. While technicaly, the iron from rusted cars is still on earth, it's spread rust-dust all over the place, that will never be recovered as usable iron again.

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Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █

Don't forget that there is vastly more iron on earth than just what we can presently mine out of the crust layer (and rather shallowly, at that). As a fraction of the total iron on earth, I'd have to say the amount of iron lost/gained/rendered unusable in the last 1000 years is vanishingly small.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

The fact that we are unable to mine that iron, and that it would likely be a bad idea even if we could, is another reason for the mining of asteroids. Furthermore, the total amount of iron available on Earth is of little consequence if we're building something in the outer Solar system. Not only would it be a longer trip to get supplies from Earth, but it's also a larger gravity well to accelerate out of than an asteroid.

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Buckle your pants or they might fall down.