In other news (apolitical thread)...

[MikeDeTiger]

Finally back at work today after a surgery last Monday.  A procedure normally associated with much older men.  Ugh.....I feel like I'm recovering like a much older man too.

I think I have no choice but to make it official and purchase an actual "Get Off My Lawn" sign to put out front. 

My dad always said I've been an old fart since I was a toddler.  Guess he's right.  

[MikeDeTiger]

I built up an impressive amount of work emails while I was away.  Makes me seem way more important than I actually am.  

[utee94]

Just shift-delete them all.  If they REALLY need something from you, they'll write you back.

[MikeDeTiger]

@SFBadger96 , yikes......glad nobody was hurt.  

[847badgerfan]

I let a friend drive my car when I was in HS and he cracked it up, along with 3 other cars. My dad was super pissed, and rightly so.

My car sat until I had the money to get it fixed. About 6 months later I had my car back.

[847badgerfan]

Very happy to know that the astronauts are back safe. I hope they are OK long-term. 10 months in space is a long time.

[MikeDeTiger]

I wonder what they do to stop muscle atrophy.  I remember learning way back in elementary school that there's risks with joints and the ligaments and tendons that were considered mostly impossible to mitigate.  As far as not responding well to returning to gravity after a prolonged period, I mean.  I don't know what's the longest anyone spent in space back then, so I don't know if that was theory or empirical fact. 

At any rate, I hope they're all physically able to resume normal life in short order with no long term consequences.  

[NorthernOhioBuckeye]

They do have resistance training on the space station to keep muscles from atrophy. I don't think that it is completely sufficient to keep muscles up to par per say, but it is better than nothing. 

[MikeDeTiger]

They have my respect.

I think I would've crapped my pants and then died of a heart attack the minute I found out I was trapped in space beyond the precise amount of time I was supposed to be there, with no immediate Plan B to get me home.  

[bayareabadger]

They have my respect.

I think I would've crapped my pants and then died of a heart attack the minute I found out I was trapped in space beyond the precise amount of time I was supposed to be there, with no immediate Plan B to get me home. 

On the one hand, I feel that. On the other, I have a sense if I trusted someone to send me up there at all, I’d have a weird level of faith they’d get me back. 

Granted, I’ve developed some skills related to rolling with punches and just flipping off that freak out impulse.

[FearlessF]

I'd have never trusted someone to send me up there at all

very similar to me as traveling half way around the earth just to visit some god forsaken country that isn't real friendly to Americans 

[OrangeAfroMan]

I'd have never trusted someone to send me up there at all

very similar to me as traveling half way around the earth just to visit some god forsaken country that isn't real friendly to Americans

apolitical thread

[FearlessF]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/what-nine-months-in-space-does-to-the-human-body/ar-AA1BggBX?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=10ed12a055494921ef16df53cc4c3bd1&ei=19

'Accelerated ageing'
The heart and your blood vessels also have an easier time as they no longer have to pump blood against gravity - and they start to weaken.

And the bones become weaker and more brittle.

There should be a balance between the cells breaking down old bone and those making new.

But that balance is disrupted without the feedback and resistance of working against gravity.

"Every month, about 1% of their bone and muscles are going to wither away – it's accelerated ageing," Prof Bailey says.

And this becomes apparent on the return to Earth.

The video below shows the astronauts needing support to get their bodies out of the capsule and on to a stretcher.

All of this is why astronauts go up to space in tip-top physical condition.

Then, their daily routine involves two hours of exercise – a combination of treadmill, cycling machine and weights - to maintain as much muscle and bone health as possible.

[Gigem]

They have my respect.

I think I would've crapped my pants and then died of a heart attack the minute I found out I was trapped in space beyond the precise amount of time I was supposed to be there, with no immediate Plan B to get me home. 

Well, both astronauts have been to space before, for long periods of time.  These were very experienced astronauts, and also accomplished military pilots.

Also, the spacecraft that brought them home was already docked to the ISS since Sept 2024.  They're ticket home has always been available, it just wasn't convenient to bring them home right away due to logistics and such.  

I have to say I'm extremely disappointed in the way Elon Musk has acted about this whole episode.