Imagine starting your day without any coffee. Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons and vany other chains thrive on our coffee addiction. Add to that the fact that many of us have already had a cup or two even before venturing out to get a cup from one of those chains. Well, an Anonymous Coward has written in to tell us of some hard-working folks who had to give up real coffee for months at a time!
For years, the hard-working astronauts aboard the ISS had to begin their day with freeze-dried, reconstituted coffee served in plastic pouches. Now, this gross injustice may finally be remedied. The resupply mission scheduled to be launched today (Tuesday) will carry a new model of space espresso maker. Manufactured by Lavazza and the Italian aerospace firm Argotec, the machine is specially designed for microgravity operation, and uses off-the-shelf Lavazza coffee packets.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday April 16 2015, @04:07PM
It's a mind-control device that's so effective that people will pay good money to have their brains messed with.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday April 16 2015, @04:20PM
It's a testament to the power of culture, isn't it? We could have almost as easily have evolved the practice in Logan's Run or The World Inside, where you interact with actual people to satisfy venal desires. Instead, we have the virtual (somewhat) satisfaction of TV and computers. Is the result better, or are we trending toward the insipid reality of Fahrenheit 451?
My read: Most would be taken in and taken over by simulacra, but in the end reality, and real experience, trump all.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 16 2015, @11:20PM
I thought of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery. [wikipedia.org]
I also though of the ST-TOS episode where a guy had violated the Prime Directive [memory-alpha.org] and reworked a planet's culture in the form of Nazi Germany and they televised executions.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by Tork on Friday April 17 2015, @12:32AM
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