Chet The Dog

Posts Tagged ‘asteroids’

Did We Mention …

that this is available for preorder? That way, in case of a huge asteroid hit and the destruction of life as we know it, you’ll still have something to look forward to!

Asteroid Mining

“The Google guys and James Cameron are going into asteroid mining?” Spence says.

“They’ve already formed a company,” Admin says. “Planetary Resources. This is a very long-term project, but so was – for example – the exploration of our own planet.”

“What about people who say all our efforts should be focused on earthbound problems?”

“Earth’s resources are finite. If we hope to go on for a long time, we’ll need resources from somewhere else. That’s the practical side. There’s also a spiritual side.”

“Spiritual?”

“I’m talking about the human spirit. Isn’t curiosity a big part of it?”

“I’ve never thought about that,” Spence says. “Sorry – just a joke. But how do we know there are minerals on the asteroids?”

“A lot of the heavy minerals on earth came from asteroid hits,” Admin says. “The planet’s own supply got sucked to the core back in the molten ball days. The asteroids could also be a source of water.”

“What about mining the moon? It’s closer.”

“It’s another possibility, certainly for water. But I don’t know about heavy minerals there. There’s a lot I don’t know about this – but I suspect there’s one Plunderer out there who’s an expert on space mining, the legal side of it for sure.”

Welcome Henry and Barney; two patient waiters.

The Thread: From The Dog Who Knew Too Much

Women of a certain type have an effect on Bernie. This was that type of woman, easy to see just from the way Bernie’s mouth fell slightly open. Curvy shape: check. Big blue eyes: check. Face tilted up in his direction: check. Poor Bernie: that was all it took.

“That’s me,” Bernie said. “And this is Chet.”

She backed away. “He’s so big. I’m not comfortable around dogs.”

Not comfortable around me? True, I’m a hundred-plus pounder, but she had nothing to be uncomfortable about, unless she pulled a gun or something like that. I watched her hands, square-shaped, a little plump, with bright red nails.

“You can be comfortable around Chet,” Bernie said.

“Why is he looking at me like that?”

Bernie glanced over at me. “Uh, not sure, actually. But he means well.”

Of course I did! But I kept my eyes on her hands, just in case. Funny how the mind works: mine was making some kind of connection between red nails and guns. Then I started thinking about the way women paint their nails – I’d seen Leda, Bernie’s ex-wife, do it many times – and men never did. Next I thought about what human nails were for, so small and dull-edged. And after that I lost the thread.

Welcome Amy Mae.

Tomorrow: asteroid mining, pros and cons.