This posting started as a comment on a friend's Facebook posting. Yes, the original version was plenty lengthy, which is why I chose to re-post and revise it on my blog. The revision does not stray from the original comment that much, save for the Wells-Verne intro, and going into one or a few subjects a bit more than I did originally, and maybe correcting some small areas in spelling and/or grammar - or just to set it up better as a blog posting, rather than a first reaction commentary.
