Sponsor's Message

This kind of announcement often produces huge divides and tends to polarise people into two camps: those who think manned space exploration is a great idea, and those who think there are much better things for us to spend money on.

When you look at the state of the planet and the number of people still dying from disease, war and famine, it's hard not to understand where those opposed to "wasting" money on space exploration are coming from.

But even they must acknowledge that space exploration does create some very significant technological advances that benefit everyone on the planet.

Just look at how much our technology advanced in the 1960's thanks to the space race that was taking place between the USA and Russia.

We have America's determination to put a man on the moon by 1970 to thank for many hi-tech breakthroughs that now serve to improve our every-day lives or which look set to play a crucial role in our futures.

The printed circuit board, teflon, fuel cells, GPS -- the list goes on and on.

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There's also something perhaps even more important...

I refer to the way in which the entire world, for just a moment, became one people without concern for race, religion or other division at the very moment Neil Armstrong took the last step down Apollo 11's ladder and touched the surface of the moon.

Quite frankly, I can't think of a single event that has brought the peoples of this planet closer together -- albeit just for a few minutes.

If you're old enough to remember the moment that man first walked on the moon then you'll remember what a hugely unifying and exhilarating event it was. It would sure be nice to relive such a global sense of elation.

Unfortunately, I doubt that mankind returning to the moon will produce the same effect -- but a manned Mars landing might.

On the downside however, the financial cost of getting man to Mars and back is truly horrendous and may be as much as a trillion US dollars according to some.

So how much is a trillion dollars?

Well it seems that the folks over at TV3 news don't expect their viewers to be very bright so in last night's bulletin they went to great lengths to explain the real size of this very large number.

Unfortunately, those who inhabit TV3's newsroom are even less bright than their viewers -- listen to this clip from that bulletin to find out why.

Didn't I just write a column about declining standards in the news media?

Let's hope that however much is spent on furthering man's exploration of space, the benefits are manifold and can be used to improve the lives of every person on the planet.

Lighten Up
Yes, it's time to cast off the worries of the week and relax with a little of what's good for you.

Don't you just hate the way that, when they're selling cars, people tell such horrible lies about the condition and quality of the vehicle they're trying to get rid of? Well just look at this eBay auction for a breath of fresh air.

Now we all know that our computers are filled with tiny chips, but this is ridiculous.

Here's another Flash game based on an old favourite but with an interesting new flavour. Unfortunately it comes out very small on my screen.

With any luck, next week you'll start to see the introduction of the raft of new features and content I've got planned for this website. Stay tuned!

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