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Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#81

Post by jacobwilliamroy »

krick wrote: post #38

Not sure how much of a news story it is. I also want to build the ISS of the sea, I always did. Now, I don't have a famous granddad with whom I share my last name, but even if I did it's not like it's enough to build ISS of the sea. The article is written in a very dreamy tone and contains very little substantial information. It firmly assures that "Proteus will be" such and such, as if they are making the finishing…

Well youre just some john doe. Even if I had the funding, I still would try to rope in either fabien or jean-michel just for the name recognition alone. Money would be more easily available with such people aboard the project, and (as long as we're smart and courageous) more money will just make things run smoother. So I would put Fabien out in the papers, smithsonian magazine, wherever our pr specialists think would have greatest fund raising impact.

Now "would I?" is a whole other question. Human missions are kind of old school now that we have fully autonomous devices such as the surf glider, underwater gliders, animal-tag based telemetry, multiple global satellite internet networks. If I was collaborating with Fabien, I would put that name to use raising money for something a little more modern, such as autonomous monitoring of military hydrophone arrays, measurement of radiation around nuclear sub pens, locating and monitoring the 60+ beluga whales just recently released from the russian whale jail.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#82

Post by mywacaday »

iso1210 wrote: post #11
9nGQluzmnq3M wrote: post #6

I suspect somebody was inspired by the Octonauts' Octopod, down to the "liquid door" hatch inside: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/octopod/images/f/fd/Octo...

I never really liked Octonauts. I was gutted when the kids were old enough that they didn't want to watch the latest Fireman Sam movie on the other hand - especially after I'd spent 2 years waiting for it :( They grow up so fast.

My nearly 5 year old is obsessed with Octonauts and is able to recite a lot of accurate factual information form their end of show "Creature Reports", now if i can only get him as obsessed with school.....

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#83

Post by eplanit »

bambax wrote: post #10

Jacques Cousteau was a horrible person, both personally (bigot, anti-Semite, pathological liar) and professionally. It's inexplicable that he passes for a defender of nature when in reality he "explored" things by blowing them up with explosives and destroyed unique sites, etc. The grandson is a different person of course; but he invokes his grandfather's name as a reference and proof of competence. Don't fall for it…

I think The Life Aquatic was an excellent parody of Cousteau (though it wasn't really about Cousteau). The character played by Bill Murray was probably more sympathetic than Jacques.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#84

Post by eplanit »

henearkr wrote: post #64
bambax wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Listening to Michael Jackson's songs is one thing. Saying he was a great human being and wanting to put things to his name is another. If you like Cousteau's movies, good for you. But invoking his name and making him a hero is, I think, wrong.

He was a great oceanographer, engineer, filmmaker, and he opened the eyes of multiple generations on what lies in the oceans and how it's fragile and important to protect it. Isn't that worth a monument? He may have said/done/been bad things at the same time. Do we bury all bronze busts of Wagner?

Yup. That's how Cancel Culture works.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#85

Post by i_am_proteus »

krick wrote: post #38

Not sure how much of a news story it is. I also want to build the ISS of the sea, I always did. Now, I don't have a famous granddad with whom I share my last name, but even if I did it's not like it's enough to build ISS of the sea. The article is written in a very dreamy tone and contains very little substantial information. It firmly assures that "Proteus will be" such and such, as if they are making the finishing…

I'm not sure I understand the point of this exercise. If it's being built in reasonably shallow water, why not just have the structure be mostly above-water, with sensors underwater and apparatus for divers and remotely-operated vehicles?

Decent choice of name, of course.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#86

Post by notduncansmith »

booleangate wrote: post #21
iso1210 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never really liked Octonauts. I was gutted when the kids were old enough that they didn't want to watch the latest Fireman Sam movie on the other hand - especially after I'd spent 2 years waiting for it :( They grow up so fast.

Fireman Sam is trash. Long live Sarah and Duck! ;)

Never thought I’d be giving shouts out to Sarah and Duck on HN but here we are. That show has a rare combination of real chill and real personality. As my son is aging out of Sarah and Duck, I’m hoping to find similar content to offer him that will be stimulating but not spastic like so many shows. I would also love to find more stuff like Beat Bugs and Motown Magic, which are a bit more typical but still wholesome.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#87

Post by noetic_techy »

Can I ask the obvious question? What good is a stationary lab in one spot in the ocean? Didn't we do plenty of that in the 70's?

If you really want something interesting, build a sub that can park itself in stationary locations or some sort of crawler lab with legs that do minimal impact on the floor and have the ability to reach the deepest parts such as the Mariana Trench. The ocean is huge and parking in one spot seems ridiculous.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#88

Post by bambax »

YeGoblynQueenne wrote: post #42
bambax wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plenty of sources (in French). For example: Anti-Semitism: https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/06/18/la-plonge... Cousteau's first wife Simone was independently wealthy and financed his boat (Calypso) and expeditions. She lived on board most of the time (yet never appears on camera). But he had another secret family (with kids) on the shore with a former flight attendant, since the late 70s. Simone only lear…

Regarding bigotry and antisemitism, there are, of course, caveats in the article you link: Interrogé par Le Monde, Erik Orsenna confie : « C'est évidemment une lettre ignoble. Mais j'ai peur que si l'on ouvre toute la correspondance des Français de l'époque, et si l'on écoute l'enregistrement de leurs conversations, on découvrirait beaucoup d'autre antisémitisme de cette sorte. Autrement, Pétain n'aurait pu rencontre…

Cousteau falsely claimed to have been a member of the Résistance when he was in fact protected by the occupying German army. His first film received a positive critique in his brother's newspaper Je suis partout in 1943, which launched his entire career. He later said the film only came out in 1946.

The part about his personal life is to further substantiate the "liar" part. It's not just that he had a "mistress"; he had another family and hid it from his wife, whom he didn't divorce because he needed her money. She died of sorrow when she eventually found out. I think it tells something about his character.

I'm getting downvoted heavily for all these comments, but I persist in thinking we should be more careful about the "heroes" we choose. This man is no hero. He's horrible.

Re: Jacques Cousteau’s grandson wants to build the ISS of the sea

#89

Post by bambax »

henearkr wrote: post #64
bambax wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Listening to Michael Jackson's songs is one thing. Saying he was a great human being and wanting to put things to his name is another. If you like Cousteau's movies, good for you. But invoking his name and making him a hero is, I think, wrong.

He was a great oceanographer, engineer, filmmaker, and he opened the eyes of multiple generations on what lies in the oceans and how it's fragile and important to protect it. Isn't that worth a monument? He may have said/done/been bad things at the same time. Do we bury all bronze busts of Wagner?

He blew up coral reefs with dynamite!! By this measure, the Monkey Christ affair "opened the eyes of multiple generations" on the importance of religious paintings.
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