Is There Anybody Out There?

(Photo NASA-JPL)

According to a study cited by National Geographic (so you just KNOW it's gotta be true!), "The sun and Earth will probably be spun out into a lonely region of space when the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies finish colliding about five billion years from now."

Which may help explain why Stephen Hawking was rambling on like a crazy person before his space-simulating, zero gravity flight in late April : "I think the human race doesn't have a future if it doesn't go into space. I therefore want to encourage public interest in space. A zero-gravity flight is the first step towards space travel."

But what is so very special about a species willing to pay more for gasoline, soda pop, nasal spray, printer ink and perfume than it is for tap [forget clean] water? Sounds to me like that kind of animal has a blind date with extinction, not an appointment with immortality.