ot off the launch pad. But admittedly, it takes a while to travel 400 million or more miles, so it's no surprise to see that a $4,999,999,999.oo three-legged computer, spy camera, dirt sniffer, ice digger, solar collector, weather station, etc. gadget would take this long to get up there. But now that the first 24 hours has passed since touchdown, and we're seeing the dramatic pictures unfold, I can't help but scratch my brain over the astounding similarities I'm seeing between this "alleged" Mars polar ice cap and the eerie landscapes I've encountered out in west 'Taxes'.
And if you've ever taken that seemingly 10-month drive out to Deaf Smith County up near Amarillo, you'd know what I mean. There's the ultra-flat landscape, littered with pebbles and rocks, devoid of "appearant" life forms, hundreds of miles from any sign of civilization. And after a west Taxes wildfire, even the occasional clump grass would have disappeared. As for that "polygonal permafrost" pattern they're showing us in the "Martian" landscape ? Hey - I'm talking about the Panhandle Region of Taxes .... You think they don't have that up there ?
So naturally I'm wondering if NASA didn't actually just LOSE that expensive, creepy little robot in the west 'Taxes' desert, and don't even know it yet. Of course, they do have that very revealing photo of the actual landing, taken from a Mars orbiter, but if the little rascal WANTED to confuse the science nerds, he (or she) might get his (or her) satellite friends to send whatever kind of fun photo image they chose. Meanwhile subject lander is laughing it's little solar fins off while it enjoys the wide open spaces of Taxes, sending back false information about a distant planetary mission it never even had to endure.
Sure, right now you're thinking I'm some kind of nut job for suggesting such a prep
osterous scheme. But when you see the images of a coyote trotting, or a tumbleweed rolling across that otherwise lifeless "Martian" landscape in the coming weeks, you might just have to reconsider your OWN sanity.And don't be alarmed if you happen to find a horrifying giant scaly, horned monster staring at you in the camera lens ... possibly even spitting blood at you from his own eyes.
T
hat'll be the fearsome-looking 'Taxes' Horned Lizard ... or "Horney Toad", as we used to call them as kids. He only LOOKS big and mean when he's an inch or so from the camera lens. But if there's a martian lander within a hundred miles of that sunny, desolate region, he'll hang out with it, if only for the shade, 'till he runs out of ants. And that won't likely be any time soon.Just wondering .....
