From: Michael Lorrey (retroman@tpk.net)
Date: Mon Nov 25 1996 - 16:43:03 MST
Crosby_M wrote:
>
> I must have missed it - what does TANSTAAFL stand for?
> Mark
> ----------
> From: Michael Lorrey[SMTP:retroman@tpk.net]
> Sent: Saturday, November 23, 1996 9:59 PM
> To: extropians@extropy.org
> Subject: Re: META: subscription list accident
>
> Gee, was it something I said?
> --
> TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey
TANSTAAFL is the acronym for "There ain't no such thing as a free
lunch." which was coined by Robert Heinlein in his novel _The_Moon_is _a
_Harsh_Mistress_, and is the national motto of the Lunar Republic
founded in the novel. it is also known by many engineers as a slang way
of describing the Laws of Thermodynamics, Motion, and Energy. It is a
favorite of Libertarians who are sci-fi fans, as it is also a great
short description of the Libertarian Party Platform, which explains why
so many Libertarians are Scientists and Engineers, and vice versa.
For myself, the Lorrey Drive is a new propulsion technology which
challenges peoples commonly held perceptions of these laws, but does not
violate them one iota, in fact it relies on them to achieve its
performance. For people who do not understand or cannot believe that it
works, it is my way of adamantly saying "I am not a quack, and I'll
prove it to you."
Its funny, so many people in this world will easily believe that they
they deserve a free lunch, but cannot believe that space travel is easy.
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey --------------------------------------------------- President retroman@tpk.net Northstar Technologies Agent Lorrey@ThePentagon.com Inventor of the Lorrey Drive Silo_1013@ThePentagon.com --------------------------------------------------- Anything I say can and should be used against me.
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