One question I was recently asked was, why do we even need historians? It’s somewhat true I hate to admit. Most of the history in the last few hundred years has been recorded on vids and stored in the Nets. You could watch any number of historical events that have been recorded and never need to visit a historian. I suppose my answer to that is, interpretation. You can watch a video of something but that doesn’t mean you know what it means. Perhaps my profession should be renamed ‘interpreters’ instead of historians.

But I digress. What I really wanted to talk about was I am off to Vegas baybay. vVegas that is. I really can’t afford a trip out to the Nevada desert but I can plug into my home vat bay and enjoy a few months out in vVegas. I can’t wait. Of course, for extended stays in a vat bay you have to have a med tech come out and plug in all your diodes and what not. So my wait is a few more hours I think.

So that’s it for now. Just a quite note that yes I am still alive and yes I am back to bloggin after a long spring semester! Lets hope I win big at the tables!

But that’s getting off topic. I wanted to talk about something that blew my mind when I read about it yesterday. There’s pollution on Venus. Can you imagine? More importantly, who cares? So, I’m sure everyone who reads this is well aware of the state of affairs on Venus. Massive floating cities sit high above the ground, where no man can dare to go, except for adrenaline junkies, miners, and fringe idiots. Basically, how it works as I understand it, the upper atmosphere of Venus is quite nice, while the surface is just a hell. The wind speed of the upper atmosphere spins at nearly the same rate as one earth day. Also, because of the crazy pressures there, a breathable human atmosphere practically floats on the thick Venusian atmosphere. So, design yourself a self contains massive city, plunk it in the upper atmosphere and keep the pressure at the right amount and boom, floating cities. It’s worked so well that Venus is nearly covered in cities. Don’t like your neighborhood? Fly away! It’sreally quite an interesting political and social environment. There are massive floating yachts that some people, rich of course, live on year round. I’ve even heard of a few that can go into high orbit and even leave orbit. There’s one rich bastard I saw on a ‘those rich bastards’ vid, that has built himself a sea faring vessel that he uses on the oceans of Earth. He then takes off from an approved ocean launch site, into orbit, flies off to Venus in it and spends months sailing around the atmosphere. Rich people love to show off.

So what do all those floating cities do with their waste? Dump it out the bottom of course. And where does it all go? Into that thick soupy atmosphere. Now, initially you wouldn’t think anything of it. But, the Venusian cities have been around for a good century by now. More are flooding into the skies as we speak. Of course the recently formed, well within 20 years, centralized Venusian government has put a halt to new cities. They are trying to preserve their pristine atmosphere while at the same time allowing people in to pay more taxes.

At any rate, several Venusian environmental groups have begun complaining about all the garbage being dumped out. Why? Well, there is some loose scientific evidence to suggest it can have an impact on things. Of course, no one cares as those impacts will not effect the sky cities. So why all the hubbub? Corporate interests. That’s why.

In addition to several hippie communities that have managed to make stable structures on the surface of Venus, as well as vast below ground areas, several corporations have taken an interest in the surface in recent years. Why? Resources of course. Some damn fool said there may be something of value down there and everybody went ape shit. Of course, resource allocation is not the same as it was 300 years ago. Most things can be synthesized these days. But some very exotic things can not. I don’t know the particulars but suffice to say, someone things there’s something of value. Well, one day, while a not to be named corporation was setting up shop, a large amount of metal scraps was deposited nearly on their heads. It melted pretty quickly of course but scarred the beejesus out of them.

Funny times. That of course led to lobbyists on the Venusian government, Earth government as well as every space and colony agency there is. You know, there’s so many damn agencies right now I can’t keep them all straight. We need them I guess, but every time you turn around there seems to be one you never heard of.

Well, I have to get back to grading papers. Just thought i’d share the lunacy happening on Venus. I’ve never made it to the floating cities in person though I’ve gone there virutal. Nice digs really.