Thread for strange questions

[Abba]

Was landing on the moon and the Apollo missions worth the tax payer money?

Is there a purpose to someday establishing a base on the moon, and if so, why hasnt it been done yet?

What effects will privatisation of space exploration have going forward?

[FearlessF]

The wife wanted to go to this upscale shopping mall today.  She was looking for some specific shoes.  I suggested Walmart.

The second pair she said she liked was $750.  I forget the brand, doesn't matter.  $750.

why would something you wear on your feet be worth $750 dollars?

maybe not the strangest question
why is this question NOT considered strange?

[MrNubbz]

If she saw it at say Famous Footwear would she buy it for 59.99 and she still be interested

[utee94]

why would something you wear on your feet be worth $750 dollars?

maybe not the strangest question
why is this question NOT considered strange?

I've seen some cowboy boots I thought were worth $750.  

It's possible I'm not an excellent judge of this type of thing.

[FearlessF]

I've purchased golf shoes for $99, but thought they robbed me

couldn't be worth more than $75

[Cincydawg]

She didn't buy anything.  We were in a shop called Mephisto, I think it was, that claimed to have the best shoes in the world.

They had some "on sale" for around $200, but she didn't like the sole.  

https://www.mephisto.com/us/

These were more practical, and I thought they were dressy enough, and we walk quite a bit around here where we're somewhat dressed up.  $200 was OK.  I have two pairs of Allen Edmunds that I got at their outlet store for about $140 or so.  Men's shoes don't cost anything like women's, ha.  She looked at Bally also, too expensive.

She wanted to go into Cartier while we were there.  Our wedding rings are from Cartier, but they weren't horribly expensive, everything else there is.  Fortunately, for me, she's very reasonable about spending money on stuff.  

That's a nice mall, it was nearly empty, and they are working on a rather large expansion of some sort, an attached hotel and restaurant etc.

https://atlanta.curbed.com/atlanta-development/2018/7/17/17581432/buckhead-phipps-plaza-nobu-renderings



The pace of development reminds me of 2007, huh.  This isn't near where we live but north at Buckhead.

[Cincydawg]

It's interesting that a 15 yard penalty and a 5 yard penalty have the same effect inside the 5 yard line.  What if a team could kick a PAT from say the 35 yard line and have it count 2 points?  That would make kickers more valuable.

What if there was a rule that a kicker of either type had to play at least one offensive series each game?

That would be weird.

[Riffraft]

Was landing on the moon and the Apollo missions worth the tax payer money?

Is there a purpose to someday establishing a base on the moon, and if so, why hasnt it been done yet?

What effects will privatisation of space exploration have going forward?

Much of the early miniaturation of electronics was initially a result of the space program. Development of many of the insulating materials we use today were a result of the program. The technology that came out of the space program is almost endless.

Would they have came anyways? That is a good question. Maybe, but definitely would not have came as fast. Look at the movies involving future tech before the space race or even during the early years of it. Nothing was miniaturized. People didn't think in those terms until there was a need for it and the space program provided the need. 

[Cincydawg]

The fact that the US cannot put a person into low Earth orbit today is incredible to me.  In 1970, I would have been certain we'd be to Mars by now, easily, and have bases on the Moon.  We almost quit on space with manned exploration.

Today, I think we're better off exploring with drones than with humans.

Colonization is another story.  The concept of pulling an asteroid into an L5 point for mining purposes is interesting to me.

[Entropy]

As a child I would have guess by this time we'd have at least a colony of researchers on the moon.   I would never have guess we would have given up on manned space exploration.   

[Cincydawg]

https://www.space.com/alien-life-europa-enceladus-second-genesis.html?fbclid=IwAR2DwrorEml93TL5INdxXoIBh7gMa-8Alh5mQLxCeKMUISTVXSW3EZG9ghY

[FearlessF]

Probably suited for the Climate thread, but there's space talk here....

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/methane-leak-space-greenhouse-gases-pollution-fracking-ohio-a9249631.html?amp

[SFBadger96]

The pace of development reminds me of 2007, huh.  This isn't near where we live but north at Buckhead.

I've stayed at what this calls the Whitley (it has been the Buckhead Ritz Carlton--business trips on a very favorable corporate rate--better than at the Marriott down the street), and been to that mall several times. But never to Cartier. But once I left that job, I haven't had occasion to go back.

[Cincydawg]

Yeah, the Ritz changed hands and now is the Whitley.  I heard the Ritz was building a new place there, and a new one near us too somewhere.

We were walking the area one summer looking at condos and it was hot for some reason.  We ducked into the Ritz just to get some AC and the doorman offered us both cold waters, we appreciated that, we were not guests.  It was nice service.  We decided we didn't care for the walkability of the area, no parks.

The wife was watching some show last night and they had traffic stopped on a road in Costa Rica to allow a sloth to cross the road.  She asked me what the term was for the animal, and I told her, it has a complex French name.  I mentioned the words froth and moth and both, as being similar spellings, and she asked why both was pronounced that way.  It's interesting to see the terms she doesn't understand because her English is otherwise so good, but you can see odd terms like froth and sloth would not be in her vocab.

In other news, this "tower" in the rendering below is up the street from us, and a curious story.



https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/12/18/21026892/atlanta-2019-2020-development-beltline-midtown-construction

They built a $3 million sales center for the condos, and a few months back started excavation, and then quit.  So there is a hole now, but zero equipment for anything.  The condos are pricey, and I'm guessing they are not selling well.  So, there is a lot of speculation as to whether it will really happen, or not.  It's an expensive piece of land in a prime location, so hopefully the S or sell it to someone who will do something.  The market is very tight around us, but quite a few new units are slated to be built in the next couple of years.  I think this place just over priced themselves.