But for those of us fortunate enough to samplelife in Japan, it has been an experience never to be forgotten with a thousand memories to be stored away forever.
From the flurry of factoids, the avalanche of attitude, and the vague, urgent promises, voters got to sample at least three hallmarks of American life that ought to leave us more disturbed than we were just yesterday.
All that we're waiting for now is the chance to test the much-lauded battery-life and do a full run-down with a review sample -- expect that pretty soon.
Kepler is searching for Earth-like planets around far-flung stars, and the Mars Science Laboratory will sample the Red Planet's geology looking for the building blocks of life - though it will not explicitly look for life itself.