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Yeah, well, I'm sure NASA is already wondering the same thing with the ISS, seeing how Russia is currently the only method they have of bringing people to and from the station. At this point though, at least the science community has been able to keep peace.

As always, I'm a bit skeptical. Not that it can't be done, but how effective can these actually be? How many lumens will it produce? How long will the plants live? Will they produce more seeds? Is bioluminescence a dominant trait? Or will future generations of my night light glow dimmer? Oh the botany!

I'm constantly amazed by Don Pettit! Check out this SOTS video if you haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlQPjvTkjok

So sign language isn't really one-to-one, but that is something that I really want to work with, so I look forward to getting a unit. I think this system has a lot of potential as a learning tool! Awesome job guys!

I was thinking along the same lines. If, for instance, a car is stopped on top of the bag in traffic, or at a red light, then I imagine accelerating while on the bag could cause potential ripping, or depending on how deep the hole is, it could pull the bag right out, leaving it as a hazard for other cars. Not to completely discount this idea though, because I do think it's quite innovative.

Right, but I would say that the general startup mentality is that you will be working more than the average work day. So telling people to work longer, rather than inspiring people to work longer, is usually not the best way to go about it. To what extent can you actually require someone to work longer anyway?

I think a large part of not saying "We need to work longer" is that if the work is interesting and rewarding enough, then employees will WANT to work longer. As soon as a manager says "We need to work longer", it generates an environment driven by employer demands instead of employee happiness. If you manage the work load at your company well enough, and the work environment is positive, then employees will be inclined to work longer out of desire to see the company excel.

When do you think Google search will be able to do the Batman Equation? http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=batman+equation

I definitely agree with you, and though I feel that this petition can be more eloquently stated and logically founded, I think it's a good way to at least start the ball rolling on getting a proper petition out there. (I didn't start the petition, but as an advocate of NASA, I figured HN seemed to be a good place for this to be discussed.)

As for private sector space, though much of it is currently driven by profits, my thoughts are that if the private sector can lay out an infrastructure to make it easier to access space, then the scientific community has more of a capability to continue research at a lower cost. This is the same idea of how NASA is continuing to send supplies (and eventually astronauts) to space through SpaceX. Eventually, NASA won't have to spend as much on transportation costs, because the private sector will have made reaching space cheaper. Or at least here's to hoping!