Fairly Ordinary Heroes

This news may seem a little late, but it's been festering in my mind for quite a while so I decided to just place my thoughts here anyway.

Shenzhou VI has returned from its fairly uneventful trip, and the Chinese have responded with the pomp and flair typical of a striving nationalistic country. The two colonels who went into space are being hailed as heroes. Every country needs a hero or two, and they need to be suave and iconic to whip up a good frevor.

Not to belittle our latest taikonauts, but aren't we forgetting somebody? A team of geeky bespectacled folks who got them up there into the first place? Was there anyone who remembered the rocket scientists, the mechanical engineers, the risk analysts, the firmware programmers? Who were those who REALLY made it all possible, constructing a machine not only capable of propelling human beings hundreds of miles above their natural habitat, but also capable of comfortbly housing them and catering for their basic needs (and then some)? Why was there no mention of the dilligence, skill, and sacrifice of the folks behind the scene?

So do your local geeks a favour. That high speed connection allowing you to read this blog? That processor core that squeezes more wires than the strands of your hair into a single centimeter of silicon to allow you to surf the net, chat online and listen to mp3 at the same time? The engines and control systems of your family car? The fridge that keeps your food fresh? Or the light bulb and electrical systems that keep the day going way into the night? They're all the collective fruits of sweat, blood and toil from your local brainies, young and old, alive or dead. Take a while to appreciate them a little; they rarely get the thanks.