TigerTedd

We were also the first ever team to be top of any league in history, after winning game 1 in the first season of the football league.
...you'll never sing that.

You both make such good points. I’m so torn.
Unless you really buy into the necessity of humans being a multi planetary species, and I’m not sure that I do, the only reason to go to mars is to say we did it. Then I can see us not doing it again for generations. There’s not really anything we can do that robots can’t, so why risk human lives. 

And yet since 1969, think of all that we have achieved in terms of automated exploration of the solar system and beyond. We've explored the outer planets and their moons, sent vehicles to Mars, launched numerous telescopes, including one orbiting the Sun 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, we've even landed a probe on a comet. All magnificent technological achievements that required plenty of money and dedication. We've learned much about the universe, discovered thousands of exoplanets...and so on.  All using the increased technological capabilities that you've spoken of. I see no evidence that humanity will turn against the endeavour of exploring our universe from Earth, or with spacecraft/telescopes sent into space...and that's a good thing. I don't see at all, this rapidly closing window of interest in scientific exploration that you are speaking of.  What I do see is an unnecessary rush towards missions that we are not yet ready for and aren't particularly necessary at this time. 
The mission to the moon in the 60s was, as I'm sure you well know, as much about making a political statement as it was about achieving a stepping stone in making humans a multi-planetary species. It was a great success but once it was achieved there was simply less appetite for the pushing humans further... there wasn't much to gain by going back to the moon over and over again. So why bother?
Yes computers have advanced in the intervening decades....but humans haven't...we are still just as vulnerable and unsuited to space as we were in 1969.  Maybe that's the reason spaceflight hasn't taken off (excuse the pun) since the moon landings...whereas unmanned space exploration has been going from strength to strength. 

So @Highgate doesn't hold with the "short window" argument, but if I've got this right (apologies if not) neither does @TigerTedd. Yet before the perfect storm that was Elon, there seemed no hope whatsoever of Humans becoming multiplanetary. Here's the opening of the space chapter of a book I wrote a few years ago about the future:

Look at that extraordinary progress in powered flight from 1903 to 1969. And then the regression so that we nowadays can't send anyone to the Moon - instead we can only go a thousandth of the way there to the ISS. You might think, "so space travel has stalled a bit - so what?"
But then think about the intervening time. Think about technological progress which can be measured in many ways, but an easy marker is Moore's Law. By a conservative measure, computers are now more than a billion times faster than in 1969 - that puts the extraordinary regression in space capabilities into context. Other technology is a billion times better, yet spaceflight is worse? Doesn't that tell you something about the potential future of spaceflight?
In 2000, we had the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, who dreamed of a human future in space, create his own rocket company Blue Origin. Twenty-four years on, it has proved so hard they are still yet to send a single gram of anything into orbit! In 2014, NASA gave experienced aerospace company Boeing $4.2 billion to build a small spacecraft to take Humans to the International Space Station. Have they succeeded? No! A decade on, even now they might give up on the project given the problems that have beset Starliner.
It is only the combination of Musk's extraordinary visionary engineering and business mind, and his passion for the future, that sees us where we are today. If he were to go, that may very well still be the end. If he stays it will still be incredibly hard and needs vast resources. Just in the last couple of weeks he has moved the incorporation of SpaceX from Delaware (where most US companies are incorporated) to Texas, in order to protect it. The Delaware courts forbade him receiving his Tesla compensation package, which his court documents stated he would use to fund an interplanetary space program, so that money is currently not available. A vote of Tesla shareholders is now being held to see of he can move Tesla from Delaware to Texas. But this is why SpaceX is the most valuable privately held company in the world, because shareholders or bureaucrats would end its mission if given half the chance. I don't believe any other Human would have kept the business in that form, as it makes funding so incredibly difficult.
These are some reasons the window is unlikely to remain open for long.
 

I agree with like 99% of what you’re saying. Elon is a bit of a t***. And I think there’s definitely more than a bit of vanity about having a city called muskville on mars. Rather than saving the world. Even if that happens to be an accidental side effect. If it’s a vanity project, then at least it has some benefits to humanity rather than just a giant platinum statue or something. 
but the 1% I don’t agree with is that there is a small window of opportunity. And that’s just because I’m selfish and would love to see a man (or woman) land on mars in my lifetime. Clocks ticking. 

Replying to @Carl Sagan and @TigerTedd's objections to my post, I'm not at all advocating governments or individuals stop spending on science/engineering projects related to space or elsewhere. My point is, that if saving humanity was the goal of Mars Colony then that money could better be spend on other science/engineering projects elsewhere. I have no problem at all with spending money on scientific endeavours. The JWST (maybe the best thing ever built in my opinion) cost something like $10 billion, so according to the IMF's figures we could build 700 JWSTs a year for the same cost as global Fossil Fuel subsidies. It's not the price of the JWST or the upcoming ELT in Chile etc..,  that I have an issue with, those present wonderful value for money as far as I'm concerned...unlike the subsidies of course. 
I don't really share the viewpoint that we have a short window of opportunity here for economic or societal reasons. I don't think humanity is turning against science all of a sudden, far from it. Given the technology that will probably be available in a couple of centuries or more, with the probable enormous advances in robotics and AI for example, this project will be far more feasible in the future than it is now.  As I don't see that there is any particular rush, it would be wiser to wait and concentrate our efforts in more pressing areas for now, such as a clean energy infrastructure... if saving humanity really is the ultimate goal. 
As for Musk and his money. I agree saving the world is not his responsibility, it's just that if that is his goal, I think there are better ways to go about it. Nobody should be as rich as he is, but that's the fault of governments really... he is absolutely free to spend his money as he wishes.  
I'd have to quibble with your definition of 'inescapable conclusion' there.  It could be that people simply don't know who he paid the money to, Jack Dorsey is the only name I can think of, or that the money was shared among a large number of people, such as shareholders and so on.  Yes, many people love to hate Elon now, but you have to admit a lot of that is down to his own behaviour and his frequent objectionable outbursts. 

I don’t think it’ll ever really count if it comes by way of points deduction. Although if Forest end up in 10pts following a points deduction, I’ll take it. 

I don’t think it’ll ever really count if it comes by way of points deduction. Although if Forest end up in 10pts following a points deduction, I’ll take it. 

A lot of people have a go at musk for spending his money on space when he could be spending it solving other problems.
But it’s not really Musk’s responsibility either way. He could be spending his money on hookers and yachts as many Uber rich people do. He’s decided that the space problem is important to him and he wants to devote a lot of resource to solving it. Many people will say it’s not the most pressing concern right now, but as @Carl Sagan it is, nevertheless, a concern that needs addressing. If Elon doesn’t do it, who will.
War, famine, global warming, wealth inequality, etc. these are all problems too. But it’s not only Elon’s job to fix them. There are other billionaires out there who could stick their billions behind these causes (like bill gates is very into his vaccines). Or, heaven forbid, world governments might even try to solve them. But now I’m just being fanciful. At least Elon has set himself a realistic goal. 

I think it terms of realistic goals, both would be on par, along with myself bagging a date with Cheryl Cole. 
I'm with you on that he can spend his money how he likes, I see him as someone that has a lot of "nerd" in him and the money to attempt to bring science fiction to reality, fair play. 
Boys with toys on a much grander scale, his Boring company bringing out things like flamethrowers, all points towards that theory. 

Yeah, well part of our fanbase sounds like they have had a frontal lobotomy half the time.
Same at every club, always a few that are a total waste of atoms.

Snowflakes will survive quite happily in mars. It’s incredibly cold there. 

Scotland in the Euros

The reasons to go to Mars versus, say, Antarctica, are (at least) threefold. 
 
One is that we currently inhabit a closed system, even with Antarctica. And it's widely acknowledged Earth has already exceeded what's called its "carrying capacity", meaning we're already overloaded. Unsustainable over and medium time frame, either we need more raw materials or we opt for degrowth, which means your children having a terrible time of it, and their children way worse. And, as Humans squabble over what's left, they'll probably destroy themselves. 
 
Which takes us onto the next point, that by not having all our eggs in one basket, even if something terrible happened to Earth, Humanity, creativity, intelligence and more could go on. Once we build a society away from Earth on Mars, it's far easier to build other off-world colonies. 
 
Then, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky once wrote: 
"Earth is the cradle of the mind, but one cannot live in a cradle forever" 
Going to Mars frees us from this cradle of the mind. It gives us a whole new frontier to stimulate dynamism and creativity. It gives us a whole new view of our place in the Universe. Leaving behind the parochial mindset that Earth is somehow special and the only place for Humans, it transforms us with a new mindset, to boldly go and spread complexity, goodness, curiosity, art, science and love out among the stars. Given the potential numbers of Humans and post-Humans who can live after us, going to Mars now is the most ethical thing we can do, as it will lead to the most good being done in the future Universe. 

I was never too bothered, but got one (Doorbell/Cam) as a present.
I rarely use the contact/intercom thing to be fair, but it's sometimes handy to see who's there (*When we're out).
I've since added a camera (only) to the rear garden, which covers 90% of the garden, plus the all important access to the shed.**
I've turned off the phone notifications for the latter, as it goes off when sheets/towels/large pants are a-blowing in the breeze!  
 
*I have never used the mobile app thingy to check and/or answer, when we're in.  I just walk through "The Great Hall to the door, and open it... a bit like a human being!... Unlike a friend who will literally sit on his sofa and talk to the caller via the doorcam!  Idle Bugger!
 
**There is absolutely no need to keep a permanent eye on my shed, of course, as there is absolutely nothing of value in there.  But it's such a lovely looking shed.  Etc... 

Good for talking to delivery people when you’re out. You can speak to them through your phone on the ring doorbell.

Ship 28 and Booster 10 were stacked together on the Orbital launch mount last night in preparation for the 3rd integrated Flight Test. I'd expect it early in March, but there's still a chance we'll see something this month.
Ship 28 is one of the last first-generation Starships. A few others have also been built, but SpaceX has already begun constructing a newer model. At this stage all the ships and boosters are expected to fail at some point in the flight or, if not, they'll be ditched in the sea. It won't be until later in the year until we start seeing these land on their return from orbit.

This is typical from the FA. Completely useless no bottle or backbone, just want a yes man.
However fortunately Southgate is a man of principle and dignity. He has said before he doesn’t want to overstay his welcome and again he was playing down staying on by saying let’s see how we get on. If we don’t win the Euros I think he’d move on of his own accord. 
He’s done an outstanding job for England, thought we were unlucky in Qatar v France if we’d won that (and could’ve gone either way and we were arguably the better side that evening) we could have gone on to win it. It was right he was given the Euros given it was a short turnaround of only 18 months from World Cup.
He needs to win the Euros now, this team is ready (injuries permitting) and if he does then he should be given the option to take us to the World Cup if he wants it.

Of course there's always the possibility that the relegate themselves through gumption alone and get their points deduction next year, which would be hilarious.

Do you think that they are favourites to win AFCON this year?

They never led were behind 3 times, I feel Luton missed a great opportunity today. I think it’s between luton and the red dogs for the last relegation place , I reckon Everton have enough to stay up. Of course hopefully they’ll be a points deduction for Everton and forest and they both go down 🤣

I'm more annoyed that Luton missed a chance to put some pressure on Forest.

My mum and granny both worked as cooks at the British Midland Hotel, where the team were ensconced under a strict night-time curfew in the days leading up to the final.
Reg Harrison and Jackie Stamps were friends of the family, so naturally the ladies showed them the way out of the kitchens in order for serious 'team building' to take place (probably in the Brunny).

If you were 103 we’ve already won it in your lifetime 🙄

I would actually pay good money for a live stream of the court proceedings between these two.
Win.  Win.  
🤣