>In comparison, too bad Gates is such a
>vacuous person- all that money &
>doesn't have a clue.

Out of curiosity, on what do you base that? I have met him, and he really is a damn smart person, and he has put many hundreds of millions (billions?) to various philanthropic purposes.

I think the reason so few ultra-rich will toss anything at space is because, deep down, it still doesn't feel possible to them. Constrasted with just building a slightly better racing boat. Once someone provides an existence proof of a private rocket ship, I expect there will be a fair amount more interest.

John Carmack
www.armadilloaerospace.com