From: ccorke@sympatico.ca   
      
   In my own opinion, there are two types of people, explorers and settlers.   
      
   The explorer type personality is the type to push the bounds of human and   
   personal experience. History is filled with the exploits of the great   
   explorers. From sea captains such as Cook, to people like Lewis and Clark,   
   right up to those astronauts who have left their footprints on the moon.   
      
   The settler type personality are, well just that. They wait someplace safe,   
   and won't venture out until it is safe to do so. History is not filled with   
   their names, but they make up the vast percentage of humankind.   
      
   Lacking much exploring to be done today, todays explorer type people push   
   their own bounds of experience like 'delt0r' does, taking part in extreme   
   sports, and most definately making their life a wonderful experience.   
      
   We need space tourism in it's current form, albeit in it's infancy, to get   
   the start on our outward spread off this planet. Right now, it's just an "up   
   and down trip", but much more than that is possible.   
      
   I am sure there were those who asked similar questions during the   
   exploration of the Americas, questions like why the explorers risked their   
   lives and the lives of their crews to visit that hostile place.   
      
   The risk of exploration pays off in time with new places to settle.   
      
      
    wrote in message   
   news:1133802677.323080.172740@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...   
   >   
   > Fred Hapgood wrote:   
   >> And will weightlessness be such a draw?   
   > With sufficient imagination, definitely. The wife and I have some ideas   
   > for fun in weightlessness that would be well worth paying large amounts   
   > of money for, would require more than the 2-3 minutes you get in the   
   > 'vomit comet' and would be, well, let's just say further description   
   > would be more suited to certain less reputable sections of the alt.   
   > hierarchy than a highly respectable sci. group like this one. *waggles   
   > eyebrows lewdly*   
   >   
   >> Of course there is the subjective sense of 'being there,'   
   > Yes, as you so rightly put it, of course there is. That's the draw. Why   
   > do you think people spend months' worth of wages on two week holidays   
   > abroad when they could stay at home and read about all those exotic   
   > places?   
   >   
   > For that matter, why do you think there have already *been* space   
   > tourists?   
   >   
   > Space tourism makes sense because there is just no other way in which   
   > space can be profitable with current technology, knowledge and   
   > infrastructure. The bottom line is, very little will ever get done if   
   > there's no (monetary) profit involved. =-/   
   >   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)