1st Heinlein Prize Awarded

baxissimo writes "The first ever Heinlein prize for Advances in Space Commercialization is going to be awarded to Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, for various activities including his efforts as Founder and Chairman of the Ansari X Prize. The prize is a cool 1/2 million USD plus a few other nifty trinkets -- a gold Heinlein Medallion, the Lady Vivamus Sword (as described in Heinlein's book Glory Road) and a Laureate's Diploma. The award ceremony will be held in Houston, July 7, 2006. This prize has been around a good while (since Heinlein's death in 1988?) with no awardees. Hopefully this will make the existence of the prize a little more widely known, and help spur further developments like the X Prize."

Space commercialization?

[daniil]

Is this like selling air?

Re:You'd think...

[Anonymous Coward]

it seems to me the more people/companies/organizations/entities that are trying to get into space, the faster our species as a whole will get off this rock and start exploring the universe.

From this moment on, you will be known as Mister Obvious.

So Good!

[bepolite]

I just hope after this Dr. Peter H. Diamandis remembers TINSTAAFL! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TINSTAAFL [wikipedia.org]

Let me get this straight...

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

...this is a prize for offering a prize?

The best part?

[dr_dank]

He can yell "front!" at any time and have beautiful women available to do his bidding 24 hours a day. He even gets a fair witness included at no extra charge.

Re:The perfect lady

[celardore]

[Insert cutting remark here]

Re:You'd think...

[Cleon]

Yes, but you may refer to me as "Lord Obvious, Commander of the Conspicuous, Master of the Manifest, and Realizer of the Recognizable."

No.

[Anonymous Coward]

Because there's no air in space, silly.

Re:That was fast

[lucabrasi999]

There are only a half dozen comments or so and the site is already down. Bummer.

I actually saw the web-site before it went down. IMHO, It was a pretty poor design and we are all better off without it.

Re:Space commercialization?

[GundamFan]

No more like selling airplanes... You can have all the free space you want (remember to hold your breath). Me? I'm going to pay for a seat on the spaceship (with things like air and heat) if I go.

Re:No.

[alx5000]

There's an Air and Space Museum!

Re:Space commercialization?

[drinkypoo]

"Get on the plane, get on the plane... I tell them FUCK YOU, I'm getting in the plane. Let Evel Knievel get ON the plane!"

Re:What is it with Heinlein?

[__aaclcg7560]

The problem with extreme left-wing socialistic science fiction is that there's no boobs or underage sex. It's soooo boring. :P

Misplaced recognition

[amightywind]

awarded to Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, for various activities including his efforts as Founder and Chairman of the Ansari X Prize

An award for someone who gave out an award? Why don't we recognise actual innovators?

Re:that sounds like a cool sword

[Medievalist]

I have a pretty extensive collection of swords on my wall.

Well, it's a cav saber, so unless you've got some fairly uncommon skills the wall is where it belongs.

Re:Up came amightywind

[bestinshow]

My username > * > Your username!

Whos Pwned Now ;)

(woo, end of day immaturity)

Re:Let me get this straight...

[spezz]

...this is a prize for offering a prize?

Exactly. And now that the first Heinlein prize has been handed out, the first Alfred Bester Award for excellence in the field of distributing the first Heinlein Prize can be given out as well.

Re:The perfect lady

[muellerr1]

[snip]

"...cutting remark here."

Any way you slice it, it's still Slashdot.

Re:You'd think...

[chiok]

You'd think with a Heinlein prize, the award would be a giant gold breast. ;)

I think you meant "the award would be time travelling back to when your mom was still hot."

Re:Space commercialization?

[Eric S. Smith]

“space commercialization”:

Is this like selling air?

That could be the “Gillette” business model, sure. Send ’em up for cheap, and then ding ’em for the oxygen and the CO2 scrubbers. A little less transparently exploitative than the more obvious launch-for-free-and-charge-for-re-entry scam.