I haven't been writing much. I've been busy on burning a stump, which was dug out of the ground by a nephew with a small excavator, and dragged to the burning pile.
The stump is what was left of a huge willow growing on the edge of the pond. The root system was enormous, and the roots are not like anything I've ever seen. The fine roots are so closely spaced, they're like a sponge, with dirt encapsulated in the tiny spaces between. They burn up like steel wool, and it takes a hot flame to burn them away.
So far, I'm a little over a dozen of smaller nuisance trees contributing to the burning. Most were around 8 inches in diameter at the base, and offered a good hot fire to burn away the major part of the stump, which was turned over, and the area covered with roots on the top. Much of the stump is gone, but there is still more to burn away, after I clear any dirt that is now exposed. That's for another day. The project is beginning too much like a job, and I'm ready for a vacation from the task.
I see there will be another Moon mission. For some reason, this one is concerning for me. While I know technology has allowed improvements to older designs, and safety included in these improvements, I have this nagging feeling D.E.I. has corrupted those involved. If this project is like most other projects the government has manipulated with its grubby fingers, an astronaut should really consider another line of work. May God be with them, because the incompetent are not much help.
This Artemis moon mission is especially concerning because it uses SLS (Space Launch System) parts, which are leftovers from the Space Shuttle program. 1980s technology. That's why those in the know refer to SLS as "Shuttles Leftover Sh!t" or something similar. They're spending 10x (or more) as much as it would cost to have Blue Origin or SpaceX do it, simply because Congress has never heard of the sunk cost fallacy.
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