[extropy-chat] I give thanks

[Robert J. Bradbury]

I know it isn't Thanksgiving.  But I still feel like
giving thanks.  I thank the fact that the world has
two functional robotic explorers on a distant planet.
I thank the fact that the dust from a body which
contains knowledge with respect to the formation of
our solar system is on its way back to Earth.  I
thank the fact that this month a spacecraft will
take off to direct a landing on one of the original
solar system entities.

I thank the fact that we have something like a
triple cocktail against HIV.  I thank the fact
that smallpox is effectively DOA and polio
may be close behind it.  I thank the fact
that we can identify something like the SARS
virus in less than a year.  I thank the fact
that the WHO recognizes that avian flu may
represent a significant risk to humans and
appears to be on top of it.  I thank the fact
that we now have the genomic sequence of the
plasmodium organism and malaria's days are
numbered.

I could go on but I will not.  I reflect on
that Klingon phrase "Today is a good day to die".
Perhaps that perspective is mistaken.  Today
may indeed be a good day to live!

Robert