Monday ranting

Since I'm in a bad mood from driving to work only to find the only gate i can use to get to my office locked until tomorrow, i'll jump on my soapbox for a couple of things aimed at the fairer sex.
First, for the ladies: why on Earth would you sit in a restaurant across from the guy you came in with (for breakfast, so i doubt you are starting a date at 0800 on a Sunday morning), and stare at another guy and make coy little smiles? Not polite grins, facial expressions you would use in a bar near closing time. Just wondering.
Next, i got a good laugh reading this little gem on a man-hating website. Wow, for implying you have all the answers that certainly reads a bit on the ignorant side. I'll be the first to admit that in many fields (space included), women have gotten a raw deal time and again. But you are a perfect example of screaming to be heard, not caring what you say. Your opening paragraph is correct; they did evaluate women candidates too in the early days. But they did a myriad of other tests on both sexes that to this day have no explanation (as in the late 50's they had no idea what would happen to the human body). Guess it would've been inconvenient to mention the female specific tests too. And let's say for a moment they had picked women. To climb on top of very unreliable rockets that had a nasty tendancy to blow up. What kind of support do you think the public would have offered had a wife & mother been incinerated on national TV? Keep in mind, this is the early 60's.
Anyway, reading further, i guess what you're saying is we should ignore what happened? Not study what might happen, change evaluations so you can safely mix a crew to spend 3+ years together in a tin can? Yes, the judgement will probably be somewhat unfair, but is it worth risking lives for the sake of equality? Oh, and on your listing of notable women in space: a bit presumptuous that Col. Collins is the first female in the "Universe" to command, isn't it? Or is your crusade merely confined to people here? Or maybe just Americans? Funny since the first woman in space was a RUSSIAN, and flew alone (hence was the commander of her craft), and flew 20 YEARS before the USA flew a female. And what exactly did Coleman do with Chandra, other than simply doing her job?
I have another name for you: Linda Ham. Ring a bell? I doubt it. She was one of the senior shuttle managers that decide there was no reason to worry about the foam strikes on Columbia and was the individual who denied the requests for satellite imagery and she okayed the re-entry. Let's try and be fair and balanced, shall we? Or at least let's quit framing other people as being able to walk on water.
Farther down: "most women". Not all?

I do indeed like how you close and i think it is a fine idea. Please, start a girls only space company since obviously they will never get ahead at the old boys club & head to Mars. And since most rockets are shaped somewhat phallically, i expect you will use a different shape (to do otherwise would be insulting to you, having to "ride" one of these machines to get to your destination). Can't wait to see how that flys! In the meantime, I sent your article to a few female friends of mine at NASA. Seemed to be more head-shaking than way-to-go. It's almost as if they think YOUR kind of rhetoric is a bit off-target. But what do i know. I just a stupid boy.

Poor fools...

...that get roped into spending on average somewhere in the neighborhood of $160 (according to a national news reporter) on your significant other b/c Hallmark and a fat little putz with a bow & heart-shaped-arrows who wears little pinky diapers tells you you should. There's a good message to send; give me shit or obviously you don't love me!!!

Hey, what else did you expect to hear from me today? But to show i'm not totally crass and can participate, here's a valentine from me to you...Sweetheart.