Episode 4 - It's Not Rocket Science === Pat: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome to English with Pat and Pops. I'm Pat... Pops: I'm Pops... Pat: And we're talking to you from Boynton Beach, Florida. Uh, what's the weather like today, Pops? Pops: Uh, it's a little, uh, cloudy today so it's not quite as nice, but, uh, still warm. 77 degrees, about 25 Celsius. Winds, about eight miles an hour. And, uh, there's about 30% chance of rain out there today, so... Pat: Oh, wow. Pops: Yeah. Hold onto your umbrella. Pat: Yeah. Hold onto to your hat. It's still not too bad of a day though, right? Pops: No, it's not bad at all. Pat: Yeah, Pops: It's, it's okay. It's warm, so we'll take it. It's, it's, it's, it's still good with the warmth. Um, I'm enjoying it. Pat: Yeah. Um, so let's jump right into, um, today's episode. Pops: Yeah. This is kind of gonna be out of this world a little bit, huh? Pat: A little bit out of this world, that's right. Yeah. We're gonna be talking about space and space travel. Pops: Ah, boy, that's good. A good topic. I like to talk about this. It's pretty interesting, yeah. Pat: Outta this world. Just like pops. Pops: Little out there, little... so for those of you know me, I'm a little spacey sometimes. Pat: Oh, that's right. Oh man, we got a, we got a [00:01:00] comedy hour coming in. Um, so yeah, we actually just saw recently, right, uh, Elon Musk on the news saying that, uh, astronauts could be on, he could be putting astronauts on Mars as early as, uh, 2029. Pops: Yeah. Colonizing, uh, Mars actually, so, yeah. Pat: Yeah. He wants to build a self-sustaining city there. Pops: That's pretty... it seems pretty aggressive to me, an aggressive schedule, but yeah. Pat: Yeah. Yeah, that's seven years basically. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: And, uh, yeah you were around for the first moon landing, yeah? Pops: Yes. Well, I wasn't there personally, but... I did see it on television. Pat: You missed... Pops: I missed... I missed my ticket. Pat: Yeah. Pops... Pops forgot to, uh, set his alarm. He missed the shuttle. Pops: I missed the shuttle that day. Yeah, but no, I, well, I was, you know, I did happen to see it. I think I was in school at the time. They, uh, they actually used to, when I was in school, when the, uh, landings on the moon and things like that, they would show them, uh, the different launches. I think the original landing, that was in July. So I was [00:02:00] just watching it on TV. Pat: The first moon landing you're talking... Pops: The first moon landing, the very first one. But, uh, the subsequent ones, you actually, if they happened during the school year, you'd actually... they'd stop school, take you to a big room with the old type TVs and let you watch it. Pat: Oh yeah. Pops: Yeah, it was pretty cool. Pat: Yeah, I bet. Pops: It was cool in two ways. Pat: Yeah, right. Pops: You didn't have to go to school. Pat: Exactly. Pops: You didn't have to study. Pat: Anything to get outta class. Pops: I was looking for every way possible... Pat: Yeah. Pops: ...at the time. Pat: But, so we've come a long way. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: Um, you know, that was what, 69? 1969 was the... Pops: Yeah. Pat: ...the moon landing and um, you know, now we're talking about astronauts on Mars. Obviously we've sent rovers to Mars, unmanned craft, right? Pops: Yeah. Pat: Um, but as, as soon as seven years we're talking about having people there and possibly starting to build a, a city, you know? And so I guess what would you, what do you think if you were in a position to, to go to Mars, um, would you, is that something that interests you? Pops: Uh, no. You know, going, [00:03:00] going into space is one thing. I think I'd be more interested in going and being up there and seeing, you know, the stars. Pat: Just in orbit. Pops: In orbit around the planet, or, you know, a, a shallow orbit. What do you, whatever they call this, but... Pat: Yeah. Pops: Going to Mars, uh... Pat: You want like a, a luxury space travel. Pops: Yes, I... I want the food I want. I want to get, you know... Pat: All you can eat buffet. Pops: Yeah, exactly. I want, I want, I want an easy, cushy ride to Mars if I'm doing it, yeah. Pat: Yeah. So you're, you're, you're thinking more, let me take in the sites, not so much exploration, first man on the... Pops: I'm a quick hitter. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Okay. Pat: In and out, yeah. Yeah, I, you know, I, I've always kind of debated, you know, myself about if I was ever given the opportunity or say, had the money to take one of those, you know, those billionaire rides... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...into space or whatever, if I, you know, I'd like to think if I had the resources, I'd do it, but I really, you know, I don't know. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: Um, it's something, something still [00:04:00] a little bit scary about space, even though it's, it's, it's new and it's probably the, the ultimate sort of, um, you know, adrenaline junkie's dream... Pops: Yeah. Pat: But... Pops: Yeah. What are they charging people to do that... aren't... they were charging fees, like a million dollars or something? Pat: It was definitely over, you know, I think it was millions, you know... Pops: Oh, really? Pat: ...a ticket or, yeah. Pops: Oh. Pat: I mean, there's not so many seats and you have to think it's, you know, pretty costly to send people up there. Pops: Yeah. Pat: Right. Pops: I don't think I could, uh, I might max out my credit card there. Pat: Yeah. Pops: If I decide to go on this... Pat: Might have to be calling your bank for a new line of credit on that one, yeah. At least, hey, you could, you could never come back. You might not have to, uh, pay that loan off. Pops: If... if, yeah, if it's a one way trip. Pat: Yeah. Pops: You're... you walk away. Well, you don't walk away, but... Pat: Yeah. Exactly, but, so anyway, I guess with, with the, you know, travel to Mars on the horizon and things, um, makes you think that the, the, the landscape as far as... you know, [00:05:00] the, who's gonna govern, um, space in the future, and sort of... Because you have, you know, a guy like Elon Musk who owns SpaceX... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...you know, a private company. You got Jeff Bezos, you got different governments trying to all sort of plant their flag in you know... Pops: Right. Pat: ...different places and planets and you gotta think some of the rules as far as, you know... Pops: Right. Pat: ...what governs laws in, in space are gonna have to change or there are gonna be new ones written, right? Pops: I, I, I would think so. And I mean, can you imagine if, uh, "whomever company" or Elon or somebody like that lands on Mars and they find something extremely valuable? Pat: Yeah. Pops: I mean, the government's gonna want to, you know... Pat: A piece of that. Pops: Somebody's gonna want, you know, want to control it. Want a piece of it, want to tax it, want to, you know, whatever. So... Pat: Yeah. Pops: Yeah, even, and then other people are gonna want it, you know, to go there and, and see if they can do the same thing. So there's gonna be an automatic, uh, contention to, to kind of control it, so, uh, or, or to have [00:06:00] some part of it, yeah. So... Pat: Yeah. Yeah, right now, you know, we have the... sort of the standing treaty is that no one can own anything in space. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: But it's clearly gonna have to change when we're talking about colonizing places, right? Pops: Right. Pat: You know, once you're settling down, somebody's owning something. Pops: Right. Pat: Right? Pops: Yeah, uh, somebody's gonna, yeah. Somebody's gonna consider it theirs, if they spent the money to get there and, uh, develop whatever it, you know, even put a community there, it's theirs, you know? Pat: Yeah. Pops: To some degree. Pat: I mean they had to pay for all that research development, all the rockets, and, you know... Pops: Right. Pat: Yeah and it is something funny actually. I saw, I saw online the other day, um, you can actually buy real estate on... on the moon. Pops: Oh, really? Pat: Well, technically you can't, but it's, it's scammers... it's people trying to scam, so to any of our listeners keep a, keep an eye out for, uh, moon real estate. I was thinking about a Christmas gift for you could be... Pops: A little... a little uh... Pat: ...a little plot of land on the moon. Pops: One meter... little one meter plot of, uh, plot of space on the moon. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Yeah.. Pat: Exactly. But, um, yeah, I [00:07:00] mean, it makes you think there's gonna be one day on, on different planets, you know, sort of, um, ownership on a smaller scale, like, you know, to begin with, it'll just be the first civilization, but eventually once it's colonized, you know... Pops: Yeah. Pat: You could technically have a, a second home on another planet or... Pops: Right, yeah. Pat: ...something like that. But... Pops: It, it would be interesting if you, you know, the whole legal piece of that too is like you know... what rights... you know, again, establishing what rights exist in another world. Like there's... we have different rights in different countries here. Pat: Yeah. Pops: So what, you know, what's gonna be, you know, there's gonna have to be something governing that whole thing so it... Pat: That's what... Pops: ...opens up all kinds of possibilities. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Yeah. Pat: And that's what leads me to believe, I mean, it's certainly not going to be an easy road. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: You know, we already, we, we can't really agree on much as far as different nations... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...um, on the planet we're... we currently inhabit. Pops: Right. Pat: You know, when you think about owning new things, you think we're just gonna get, you know, what's the likelihood that we just get along and say, oh, you know, [00:08:00] let's, let's explore it together. You know? Pops: Yeah. It's probably good that there's only like four or five countries able to do this. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Because at least it keeps it down to a manageable, you know, manageable group. Pat: Right, yeah. Pops: If it was hundreds of people... special interests, boy, it'd really get out of control quick. I would think so, yeah. Pat: Yeah and you gotta, you know, it's, a good thing I would, I would say, well, I hope it's a good thing... I, I, you know, I can't tell the future, but I, I think it's good that we're, you know, starting the conversation about colonizing other places because we clearly have a lot of issues here on earth already... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...that, you know, a lot of them, we could, we could make better and improve, let's say, you know, waste or overpopulation or, you know... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...our resources really, really shrinking. Pops: Right. Pat: Um, you know, things like that we could slow down, but it doesn't look like we're going to. Pops: Right. Pat: So we're probably gonna have to move on. Pops: Find alternatives to, you know, to improve life here on earth. Pat: Yeah. Pops: To some degree. So, you know, cuz [00:09:00] and, and... the, the thing that we... I was thinking about was the whole technology advancement... how far technology's come since the moon landings and things like that. And maybe this'll spur another dramatic improvement in technology that will make people's lives better, but... Pat: Yeah. Pops: The resources are finite on the planet, so... Pat: Yeah. Pops: ...yeah, so you do have to go someplace else. Pat: Right. Pops: Space is finite... resources. So, it seems to me it's kind of the next logical jump, you know, to, to, to see if we can colonize other planets. Pat: Yeah. Pops: So, yeah. Pat: And as far as technology's concerned, I think it's probably good that a lot of this space travel is kind of moving into the private sector. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: You know, because then it's not... you don't have that bureaucracy of governments and, and things... and you can also, you know, maybe at these comp... well, clearly at these companies, you know, Elon Musk has done some pretty amazing things with the rockets that land themselves and all this stuff. And, you know, you have to think if part of that's [00:10:00] because they have been able to develop the technology... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...um, you know, under a, a company that... you know, gives them the freedom to do so. Pops: Right. Pat: Or, you know, without the... Pops: They, they can... Pat: ...the restrictions of a government. Pops: Right, yeah. In other words, most governments are into the cap, the money that they have, taxation of the people and things like that, so they're kind of restricted. But... Pat: Yeah. Pops: You know, it's, it's, it's good because, you know, you have one person's kind of vision driving this, this goal... Pat: Yeah. Pops: You know, so yeah. It kind of keeps it, I think, more focused... Pat: Right. Pops: ...than it would if it was a government project to some degree. Pat: Yeah. Yeah. Pops: I think there's a mix of both, you know? Pat: Yeah. And, you know, it's clear, there's, there's been a lot of good things that have, that have come from the, you know, privatization of sort of innovation in space, right? Pops: Yeah. I, the amazing thing is... I think is that whole, uh, re-landing of those booster rockets on, uh, I think [00:11:00] that's amazing. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Kind of, uh, recycling or reusing of the same hardware. Pat: Yeah. That's incredible. Pops: It is and it's just amazing to watch it and then to think we actually pulled it off and did it. You know... Pat: If any... Pops: It's an kind of an incredible feat, you know? Pat: Yeah, yeah. If any, if any of our, our listeners haven't seen that go, you know, search, um, for SpaceX, um, I, I think maybe like booster rockets, you know, self landing or something. Pops: Self landing, yeah. Pat: It's pretty incredible. They come back down, if you haven't seen it already, they, they, you know, send a, a spaceship into space and then the boosters that get, get them there... Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: ...out of the atmosphere, come back down and land by themselves. So... Pops: Yeah. Pat: You know, hey, hey, we were able to do that and, and making some pretty quick advancements. So I, I don't think this seven year timeline of getting a man on Mars, is that farfetched. Pops: Yeah. Pat: I'm sure you know these guys, Elon Musk knows better than we do. Pops: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Pat: So, it's possible, right? Pops: It's possible. Yeah. And then I, I actually was kind of curious about the [00:12:00] whole process of who they'd pick to go, you know, who they'd pick to do this. Pat: Mm. Pops: You know, your applying for the job to be the first colonist on Mars. Pat: Yeah. Pops: It'd be interesting, uh, interview process, I think. Pat: Exactly. I... I can only imagine the, the sort of candidates they've had. Pops: Yeah. Pat: They, they would have. Pops: Right. Pat: Um, you know, have to be a very special type of person to be willing to be the first one to colonize a new planet, right? Pops: Well, yeah. You're risking your life, one, and then two, if it is successful then you're there for probably a pretty good, pretty long period of time... Pat: Yeah. Pops: ...before you come back so... Pat: I mean, you'll, you'll have your name in the history books for sure, but then, you know, there's also the aspect of you're leaving a lot behind, you know? Pops: Yeah. Pat: Hopefully you don't have an extensive family. Pops: Yeah. Yeah, I know you, you're gonna be, uh, and the whole thing of being up there and being kind of, uh, you know, with a team of people, I know, but it's just... Pat: Isolated. Pops: Just isolated. I still think it would be very isolated, even if you're with, let's say five, [00:13:00] ten people or whatever they plan on doing so... Pat: Yeah. That's why, you know, it is, it, I think it takes a very specific type of person and you have to be able to be comfortable being alone. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: Um, quite a bit. Pops: Right. Pat: And, you know, I, I think it's the, it's the ultimate sacrifice. You know, you're kind of hopefully doing it for the, the betterment of mankind, you know? Pops: Mankind, yeah. You're, you're doing it for unselfish reasons, but it just seems like, uh, yeah, it would be, uh, that's the reason why I, I'm thinking about when you asked me before about going. I think about some of those things. Pat: Yeah. Pops: I just think it'd be a little too, it's not my, it's not my personality. Pat: Yeah. You're not, you're not submitting your resume for that one. Pops: Yeah, no, I'm, yeah. I'm not typing out my CV to do that thing. For that job. Pat: Yeah. Pops is more on the, you're on the Royal Caribbean sort of cruise line... Pops: The cruise line... Pat: ...space travel. Pops: Yeah. I want to hit the bar at five. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Okay. That kind of guy. Pat: Yeah. I don't, I don't think that's gonna fly with, uh, colonizing Mars, yeah. Pops: No, I don't think so. I think they'd, uh, probably will weed me out pretty quickly. Pat: [00:14:00] Yeah. You're not the guy we want. Pops: Yeah. Pat: Um, alright, so anything else on this topic or can we move on? Pops: No, you know, I, uh, I think we kind of, we've covered it pretty good so... Pat: Yeah. Okay, so let's move on to today's idioms. Um, do you have the first one in front of you? It's also gonna be the... Pops: It's, it's, it's kind of the title of our, uh, episode here. Pat: Yeah. Pops: It's not, it's not rocket science. Pat: Yeah. It's not rocket science. Pops: Yeah. Pat: And, uh, what does that one mean? Pops: Uh, it's not very complicated. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Yeah, it's... Pat: Yeah, it's pretty simple, right? Pops: It's pretty simple stuff. Pat: Yeah. Pops: You know, you, you don't have to put a lot of thought into, making it happen. Pat: Yeah. Rocket science is something thought to be pretty complicated as, as we, you know, sort of have elaborated on before. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: Um, so yeah, it's something that's not too complicated. Pops: Right. Pat: So let's role play that one. Let's say I'm, I'm training you at your new job. Pops: Mm-hmm. Yes. Pat: And the job is you're a cashier, right? Pops: Ah, okay. Pat: So, okay, so, um, hey Pops, this is, this is how you open the, the cash register. Uh, you see I'm hitting [00:15:00] this button. Do you understand? Pops: Yeah, I got it. It seems pretty simple. You just hit this button right here. Yeah. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Okay. Pat: Yeah. It's not rocket science. Pops: Yeah. Okay. Pat: You got it? Pops: That's it. I got it. I, I'm on top of it. Pat: Alright. Pops: I think I can handle it now. Pat: Alright, cool. So that's, that's, it's not rocket science, it's just something you say, um, you know, in that, in that fashion as I just did. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: Kind of after you explain something and you just wanna reiterate it's... pretty easy to do. Pops: It's pretty easy to do. You don't need to put a lot of second thought into it. Pat: Yeah, and I'd say, so this one, I'd say on our, on our scale of, you know, how common it is, I'd say it's fairly common. Pops: Yeah. Pat: It's sort of, it's, you know, it's a very, has a very specific use. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: But it's also used quite frequently to emphasize how easy something is. Pops: Simple tasks. Yeah. Pat: Yeah. Alright, so let's move on to the second one. What's that one? Pops: I like this one. Spill the beans. Pat: Ah, to spill the beans. So what does that mean? Pops: Uh, to give away a secret. Pat: Yeah. Pops: To give away something that's supposed to be quiet or [00:16:00] kept quiet. Pat: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You end up, you know, to spill the beans, to, to say something you didn't, didn't intend to, you shouldn't say. Pops: Didn't... didn't intend to. You kind of may have, uh, you know, given away some kind of surprise or something like that. Pat: Yeah. Pops: A gift or something. Yeah. Pat: Alright, so if we role play this one, um, let's say that you're my cousin. Pops: Mm-hmm. Yes. Pat: And I'm telling you about a surprise party, uh, for my brother. Pops: Right. Pat: Okay? Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: So, um... hey, we're gonna have a, um, a surprise party for Ryan next Saturday at, uh, two o'clock. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: And I know you're gonna see him this week, so, um, be sure to, you know, don't spill the beans. Pops: Oh, I, I, I'll remember. I won't say anything. Pat: Okay. Pops: I'll keep it quiet. Pat: Okay, good. I planned this party for a long time, so... Pops: I know you put a lot of effort into it, man. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Okay. So, you can count on me. Pat: Keep it quiet. Okay. Pops: Alright. Pat: Thanks. Yeah, so that's, that's to bill the beans, right? Pops: Right, Yeah. Pat: Just to, you know, it's almost used as a warning or if you say, don't spill the beans, it's used as a [00:17:00] warning, right? Pops: Yes. Right. Don't spill... yeah. It is a warning. Yeah. Just to kind of give you a quick reminder. Don't say anything. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Don't screw up. Pat: Exactly. And, um, so what's the, what's the last one? The last idiom. Pops: Under the weather. Pat: Yeah. Under the weather. And what does that mean? Pops: Uh, feel, uh, to feel ill. Sick. Pat: Yeah. Sick. Pops: Sick. Pat: To be sick. To, to be ill. Yeah. Pops: Right. Pat: Um... so... let's say, um, we're two couples, let's say, you know, husband and wife, and we're gonna meet for dinner. Pops: Mm-hmm. Pat: Right? Pops: Right. Pat: So I'm, I'm a husband with my wife. You're a husband with your wife, right? Pops: Yes. Okay, got it. Pat: And, um, okay, so I run into you at the restaurant. Oh, hey guys. Um, how's it going? Pops: Uh, good. Where, where's Sheila? Is she running late? Pat: Uh, no, she's actually, she's feeling a bit under the weather. Um, so she decided to stay home. Pops: Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Uh, hope she feels better... Pat: Yeah. Yeah. Pops: ...in next few days, okay? Hope it's nothing serious. Pat: Alright, I'll give her, yeah, I'll give her your regards. Pops: Okay. [00:18:00] Great, great. Love to see her. Pat: Yeah. When she gets better, you will. Pops: Okay. Pat: Alright. So that... yeah. That's, that's under the weather. Um, just to feel sick and it's... that one, that one I'd say is, um, pretty common. Pops: Yeah. Pat: Right? That's a... people you know often say that instead of, I'm, I'm sick, or somebody's sick, they... under the weather is like almost the first thing outta your mouth. Right? Pops: Right. Pat: At least here in where we live. Pops: You know, I used to hear this a lot when, uh, when... at work people would call in and say, uh, if, if... they wouldn't say, I'm, I'm not feeling well. They'd say, I'm under the weather today. I just, I just can't make it in. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Or something like that. Pat: It almost softens it a bit, right? Pops: Yeah. It kind of makes it more, yeah. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Easier to deal with for some... for some reason. I don't know why, but... Pat: Yeah, I don't know... I'm not sure exactly why it is either. I, I know that... that's a good example though. When, when somebody's calling out of work, they, they typically say that, and I think it's, you know, maybe you're feeling guilty and, and to say that you're sick is, I don't know, maybe... [00:19:00] Pops: Well, how sick are you. Pat: Yeah. Pops: You know. Pat: It begs that question, I guess. Pops: I guess so. Can you really still come in, you know. Pat: Yeah. Pops: We really need you, but... Pat: But that's... it's a very, very common one. Pops: Yes, it is. Pat: Right? Pops: Very common. Pat: Yeah. Okay, so those were today's idioms. Pops: Mm. Pat: Um, so we just wanna let everyone know that, um, you know, to follow us on social media if you can. Pops: Yeah. Pat: Um, we've posted some, some new stuff there. Um, on Instagram. We've, we've posted a, you know, a blooper video and we're getting some more stuff out there, so come check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Um, and as always, you know, send your questions, comments, episode ideas to info@patandpops.com. Or, you know, send us a message through the contact section of our website. Pops: Yeah, please do. We, we, we, uh, also love you guys to send in any, uh, suggestions... anything you'd like us to talk about. We can throw in a different little segment here or there. Pat: Yeah. Pops: So, yeah, we'd love to, to, you know, make it work for you. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Alright. Pat: We're gonna keep, you know, we'll, we'll try to keep coming up with [00:20:00] some cool stuff, you know... Pops: Fresh ideas. Pat: Yeah. Pops: Yeah. Pat: Any, any ideas are welcomed, right? Pops: Yeah, they are. Most definitely. Pat: Yeah. So, um, yeah, thank you all for listening. Pops: Yeah, thanks again. We appreciate it and we're, uh, we're doing well, and, uh, it's all because of you guys, so thanks a lot. Pat: Yeah. Alright. We'll catch you next week. Pops: Alright. Take care. Pat: Bye. Pops: Bye.