I blame the Moon. That lump of grey cheese hanging over our heads does all sorts of crazy things to human beings. Now it seems the guys at NASA have decided to plan ahead for more manned missions there. That new Aries 1X probe isn't going to be cheap. It's a lot of cash to spend to find a little buried ice on a rock two hundred and fifty thousand miles away.

Is this a good thing? On the one hand, I'm thrilled to bits that NASA haven't given up space exploration, despite the obvious danger and potential failures they might encounter. For a human being to send himself into a dark enviroment he couldn't possibly survive in at such distances, with so little chance of rescue if things go wrong, is inspiring. It really is. The spirit that made sailors cross seemingly endless oceans, risking falling off the edge of the world (or more usually, crew mutinies), has always been the stuff of legend.

Take those hardy Vikings. They sailed out to Iceland, Greenland, even as far as Newfoundland if current thinking is correct. There are some people who believe some Vikings migrated as far as South America. They did this in open row boats. A modern reconstruction was sailed from Norway to Ireland as part of a celebration a few years ago and the crew suffered horribly even in relatively calm seas. Those dark age adventurers were made of stern stuff.

The problem of course is that other side of human endeavour that remains somewhat more selfish. Conquest and wealth will be part of the human pysche for as long as we exist on this earth, because it's an extension of our natural instincts and a major reason for our success as a species. NASA are hoping to reach Mars, setting foot there fior the first time. That would be a stunning achievement. Nonetheless, when it all becomes a mundane part of our lives as space explorers, writers, and dreamers often so wish, we will eventually bring with all the human foibles we despair of at home.

Most of us are familiar with Star Trek and its successors. There's a wonderful underlying optimism to these theatrical tales of science fiction. So much so that the concepts are almost imbedded in our culture. Could we really build a benign and unselfish federation of worlds?

We're lucky. The chemicals that combined to make life on Earth are everywhere in the universe, but the conditions in which it could start and thrive are extremely rare. Our planet is one in countless others that couldn't possibly support life. I wonder how many of us are thinking "Ahh, but that's life as we know it..."

Good luck to NASA and the astronauts who will sit on top of a metal cylinder filled with explosive substances that will hurl them hundreds of thousands of miles across empty space. Who knows? Maybe they'll find water after all.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Last night was dragging a little. I'd played the guitar, fumbled the keyboards, listened to the radio... No. I've had enough. I just needed to step outside and get some fresh air, and my excuse was to pop down the road for a burger. You can still get those at a relatively cheap price these days.

As I approached the fast food outlet I noticed customers waiting in the premises. Four men, shaven heads, lounging around with the calm confidence of people who order nails on the side with their takeaways. They gave me an appraising glance as I came in. You have to expect that with people used to violence. They automatically size up the opposition by habit.

The problem is that I don't belong to their tribe. My clothes and appearance don't match their visual recognition signals of dangerous manhood. To me that means little. Human beings are tribal creatures and we adopt rules for measuring ourselves against others as a matter of course. If they're comfortable with themselves and mind their own business, why would that concern me?

The problem of course is that we sometimes do jostle for social dominance. Our outward displays of fashion and gesture usually suffice. Sometimes one party feels the need to push further, to be aggressive, to force a retreat of their rivals or maybe even worse. I must be honest, whilst I wasn't intimidated as such, there was a prickly atmosphere in that takeaway last night. The vendor cooked my burger very quickly and handed it to me without the usual chat. I took the hint.