Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Never Trust NASA

With apologies to Randy and the movie Armageddon, I put up the above headline. 

Late last week I posted about a whiskey that uses the sugar Type 1 Diabetics urine.  I thought it might be a used in  future space missions to provide booze in deep space.

Well, I think NASA showed their view on alcohol in space, not by chiming in on a current or future mission, but instead with the tragedy in Chile.

The 33 trapped miners in Chile have been given MP3 players, bedding, and clean clothes through supply tubes, but a NASA doctor advising Chile says there's two things on their wish list they won't be getting. The men have been given nicotine gum instead of the cigarettes they've demanded, and won't be given alcohol, at least for the time being, the Telegraph reports.

"From the alcohol standpoint, we need to first get their nutrition up before we make any considerations there," said NASA's deputy chief doctor, adding that he is very impressed with the efforts of rescue workers and the "courage and the organization" of the miners. The men were given their first hot meal in 26 days yesterday—meatballs, chicken and rice.

While I can understand no cigarettes due to the lack of oxygen, and I commend that they were given nicotine gum, but why no booze?  These guys are facing death every day….and they want a drink.  Come on NASA, give them something there.

http://www.newser.com/story/99567/trapped-miners-denied-booze-smokes.html

6 comments:

  1. I hate to pull the soldier card... but, this is another call by a person who has never looked death in the face. Ed, we both were in the Army and were in the first Gulf War. We know the that the axiom, "there are not atheist in foxholes," has real merit. It is for this reason, this sense of mortality that the Army has issues with soldiers and drinking. The constant feeling of being on or near the edge facing ones own death requires you to take that edge off... releasing that stress.

    I doubt that the men in that mine are asking for cases of alcohol so they get completely fucked up and out of control... rather, I think they are just asking for a little beer to relax, take the edge off and help the time go by with ease. I mean hell, it's not like the folks up top cant control how much they send down. A couple of six-packs will do a hell of a lot more good than bad.

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  2. Agreed.

    In fact, in Zagreb at Camp Pleso, they had the first bar that I had ever seen in a warzone.

    In friends I spoke with, it was due to the UN "Running the show".

    That was the most laid back atmosphere I had ever been at during a deployment....people didnt get drunk, but had a few. Stress seemed at a low.

    One or two beers or a bottle to pass around would really keep those guys from getting cabin fever.

    Sorry NASA, you blew this one.

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  3. I can see NASA's point. I mean, dehydration has to be one of the many concerns with being stuck in a mine for weeks at a time. That said, I don't see why they can't at least send down light beer... it's mostly water anyway, right?

    And how many times have you seen a story where someone is trapped with only a case of beer to sustain them, and they stick it out? I can think of one story off the top of my head where a guy was trapped in his car by an avalanche and sat there drinking a case of beer until he was rescued.

    Liquid bread: is there anything it can't do?

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  4. Jayro, just check out this story

    http://smokesandbooze.blogspot.com/2010/01/haiti-and-whiskey.html

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  5. Nice. I don't think I could've done it. Mostly because I hate whiskey.

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  6. Hum, Whiskey or Water (Yes Pun intended)
    Least we forget NASA, gave us Tang and who can drink Tang without alcohol :)

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