A South African with the apropos last name of Shuttleworth has paid $20 million for an eight-day space excursion (starting today) that will take him to the International Space Station.

I just don’t get it. At all. Now, I know it’s his prerogative to do whatever the hell he wants with his money, but still. I think we have enough stuff down here on earth that could benefit from those millions. I’ve never quite “gotten” the purpose of space travel, anyway. His blast-off pisses me off.

Further evidence that this man needs a bit of a beating can be found on the website devoted to this mission, which includes a listing of Mark Shuttleworth’s likes and dislikes (kinda like the “Turn Ons” and “Turn Offs” found in Playboy centerfolds, except without the loopy, toddler-esque handwriting), as follows:

Likes: spring, cesaria evora, slashdot, chelsea, finally seeing something obvious for the first time, daydreaming, coming home, sinatra, sundowners, durbanville, flirting, string theory, linux, python, mp3s, reincarnation, snow, mig-29s, travel, lime marmalade, mozilla, body shots, leopards, the african bush, rajhastan, russian saunas, weightlessness, broadband, iain m banks, skinny-dipping, fancy dress, flashes of insight, inexplicable happinesses, post-adrenaline euphoria.

Dislikes: admin, legalese, running, London winters, salary negotiations, anxiety, public speaking.

Uh, Mark … didn’t you forget “Likes: wasting money”?

Please. If you’re going to list your Likes and Dislikes, can we at least be treated to a super sexxxy shot of you vacuuming your plush living room carpet in kneesocks, high heels, cut-off baseball jersey, and backwards baseball cap?

Please.