As for work | 9 March 02010, 17:23 |
Work at NASA continues, despite all the hoopla and hand wringing. This week we have crew members coming over to the low-fidelity Orion mockup to test out some Rotational Hand Controller (RHC) prototypes. One of the prototypes is a super-expensive mockup made at Langley that's electrically functional and has the correct translation, which is kind of cool, except that the body is a very old design and not really representative of what we're planning on doing. The next one is a stereolithed model that's volumetrically equivalent to the current baseline proposal, but I've made models of all the buttons and put them on Velcro so that we can move them around and try different places (in particular there's a lot of question about where the launch abort button is going to go). (more ...)  | |
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Alice in Wonderland | 9 March 02010, 17:16 |
| Saw Alice in Wonderland last night. 3D, even. It was a gorgeous movie; the scenes of Wonderland were visually stunning (the Red Queen's castle was particularly great). Good enough to forgive some of the CG bloopers (there were a few). They also made a really good treatment of the story (The what? Who sees a movie and cares about the story?). Totally recommended.
I saw it in 3D; in general I think the 3D thing is a bit overhyped and I really don't care much about it, and in the past those things have given me a headache. In this case it worked though; at some points it seemed like they made things swoop out at the audience just because they could, but in general it was pretty smooth. Before the movie they had a preview for the NASA Hubble servicing mission movie. (more ...) | |
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The sky is right there where we left it | 3 February 02010, 16:26 |
... and I'm actually kind of excited about the new direction that we're getting. There are two parts that bother me:
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Keeping perspective | 2 February 02010, 20:45 |
| There's a lot of emotion (and some hard feelings) about the president's FY2011 budget proposal for NASA. A lot of smart, dedicated people have worked for a long time to bring the Constellation program as far as it has come, and many of those people are understandably upset that the president has called for the program to be canceled outright.
The bad feelings aren't about people losing their jobs. I'm sure that's a concern for many, but there's something else, something much deeper. Engineering isn't just the practice of cobbling something together from a collection of pieces and ideas - it's a creative endeavor, an art, and just like other artists and artisans, engineers put a lot of time, effort, and energy into their creations. (more ...) | |
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Right | 29 January 02010, 12:06 |
| Well I moved a year ago and kinda fell down on the job in terms of keeping this stuff up. Yes, it's been over a year since I posted last. Why even bother? I dunno. Might as well! Anyway, it was an ... interesting ... year, and I just never managed to get to this stuff. But I'm kinda back and the site is kinda back and maybe I'll start posting here again. I transferred some of my old posts from the old server to the new service but not all of them. Still no photos, but that will be fixed eventually. (more ...) | |
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Ike (again) | 31 October 02008, 8:11 |
| I said I would post about this, but then I didn't. Work is really hectic. So the short version: Ike was annoying; I woke up and the TV said we were evacuating, so we packed the animals and a pile of junk food and not quite enough clothing into the car and headed northward. Evacuating was fun (less fun for Clio) and I got to see new places and meet new people, then we came back (after Clio pooped on someone's rug and bit someone else we figured it was time) and didn't have electricity or running water at my apartment for another week. (more ...) | |
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Ike | 25 September 02008, 12:12 |
| If you tried to send me e-mail in the last couple of weeks, it bounced because I was without power. Now I have power and e-mail (and air conditioning, and potable water, and refrigeration, and such). I'll talk about this later; I have to go to work soon. | |
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Well crap. | 6 April 02008, 19:56 |
| I just realized it's been several months since I took that vacation, and I still haven't finished posting about it. On top of that, I can't seem to find the text I wrote.
I don't feel too bad about it because I don't recall writing very much. Basically, I had an uneventful trip to Prague, and when I landed around 3pm it was already dark outside, and very cold (though I was prepared for that). I wandered around Prague for several hours, bought some really good food at some sidewalk stands, and had some good beer (pilsner, of course) but didn't try this one. (more ...) | |
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Why yes, I am lazy! | 5 February 02008, 18:23 |
| Still haven't posted those last few vacation entries. I'll get around to it some day. It's on the list ... | |
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Almost done | 12 January 02008, 18:40 |
| I've only got a couple of vacation posts left, but every time I sit down to do this I quickly get bored. Also, I've been putting in a lot of extra time at work, so when I get home I'm not really in the mood to sit in front of the computer. Maybe I'll finish tomorrow. I really had fun in Prague, but I didn't write much about it so the editing should be quick. | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 2.99 | 12 January 02008, 18:34 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now.
Well, I'm back on a plane. My luggage arrived late last night, and I picked it up this morning when I got to the airport. The airport here really isn't equipped for that sort of thing; I had to go backwards through customs via the employee entrance to get to the baggage claim area, then deal with more rude people to get my luggage, then go back through customs, outside, upstairs, and back inside to check in. The check-in desk for my flight was actually in another building, which I had to ask someone at an information desk to find out, so back outside, walk past two buildings, into the right one. (more ...) | |
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OK, really | 12 January 02008, 18:30 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now.
Does everyone in Rome pay $15 for a pair of underwear? I don't want Dolce & Gabbana underwear. Seriously. This country is so stupid. | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 2.75: This title is getting a bit cumbersome | 12 January 02008, 18:29 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now.
More of the same. Still no luggage, and I leave in the morning. I'm going to have to buy clothes tonight. | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 2.6: Still no luggage | 12 January 02008, 18:28 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now.
Rome is about like yesterday. Still no word on my luggage. Tomorrow is my last day here. | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 2.5: When in Rome, be a Pest | 12 January 02008, 18:16 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now.
Rome is not as fun as Milan was. People here are definitely more rude, and the staff at stores and restaurants all seem annoyed to have customers. In other places I've been, I would say that it's because I look like a tourist, but I think I blend in pretty well here, and everybody starts talking to me in Italian. I can get through basic transactions in Italian, and people do seem to speak good enough English that I can get things done, so I don't know what the deal is. (more ...) | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 2: Rome! | 12 January 02008, 18:15 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now.
Rome! Finally! After deplaning, we all trudged off to baggage claim, where about 10 bags came off the carousel for the entire 767 full of people. So I moved off to the huge line of people at the missing baggage desk. Like any airport line, about 95% of the people were civil about the whole thing, and a few people got really worked up and belligerent. The people at the desk handled it pretty well, considering. I was told that my baggage was still in Moscow, which was only a little surprising. (more ...) | |
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Wait for it | 30 December 02007, 8:06 |
| I have a couple more posts, for Rome and Prague, but posts written on the Tablet PC require a certain amount of editing to account for poor handwriting and bouncy planes. The Tablet does remarkably well at recognizing my handwriting, but there are a lot of spacing issues and things like "I" being replaced with "¥". I spent a bunch of time yesterday putting up photos and the first few posts, so I'm going to step away from the computer for a while and do other stuff, like clean up the apartment. | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 1.6: Maybe I am the only one ... | 29 December 02007, 22:20 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now. I'm taking a few minutes to write about the comical experience I had making a transfer in the Shanghai airport. If you want to go to China, you have to get a visa in advance. Everyone tells you this, but I didn't really pay much attention because I was only going to be in Shanghai for about 3 hours while I was transferring from one flight to the next. When I checked in at Incheon, the person looked at my ticket, then at my passport, and said "hey, you don't have a visa for China." I told her that I knew, and was just transferring, and asked if she would make sure that my luggage got checked through to Rome. (more ...) | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 1.5: Incheon | 29 December 02007, 22:14 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now. I wasn't supposed to spend any time in Korea, but my flight out has been canceled. It's cold and nasty here, and Incheon is a fairly small town, but I had the opportunity to walk around and stretch, which was nice, and also had some excellent seafood fried rice. The fried rice in this part of the world is different than what you get in the US, and it's much better. The rice made being stuck here an extra day worthwhile. | |
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Chasing the Sun, Part 1: Sydney | 29 December 02007, 21:43 |
| Note: I wrote this while I was still on the trip, but didn't get around to posting it until now. I have to admit - I miss the travel. Airports, airplanes, delays, lost luggage, tourists, rental cars and taxis; all worth it if you get to see somewhere new and different. So this winter, instead of being fiscally responsible, I've abandoned work for a few weeks and am taking a trip westward 'round the world. I gather that normal people don't do this-my evidence being that my goals for this trip so baffled two travel agents that I ended up buying the plane tickets myself (the SkyMiles travel agency quoted me over $10,000 for the trip - are you kidding?). My original goals were:
My first stop was Sydney, which I just left. (more ...) | |
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Things I miss about Atlanta | 15 September 02007, 15:00 |
| So I've lived in Houston for a couple of months now, and am finally starting to find my way around. While I still don't think of Houston as home, I definitely feel somewhat settled in (when Clio and my furniture get here, the illusion will be mostly complete). But there are a few things that Atlanta really did better than Houston:
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Incidentally | 30 June 02007, 13:09 |
| Those of you who know me know that I've been on a quest of sorts, for at least a few years. The quest is for knowledge, but a specific bit of knowledge. I'll recap:
We've all heard the phrase "it's not rocket science." Somebody says that when they're describing an intellectual task that is far from challenging. For example, one might say "He can't even make microwave popcorn? It's not rocket science or anything." That's fine for most people, who (presumably) view rocket science as something far beyond their mental capacity. (There's a variation on this, "it's not brain surgery." I'm going to ignore that for now but perhaps I'll come back to it later.) But what about a rocket scientist? (more ...) | |
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Chemists don't paint their own houses | 10 May 02007, 10:06 |
| My proof of this: latex-based paint. It looks great on paper: cleanup is easy, the paint is easy to apply, the dried product is water-resistant, and it doesn't smell bad like oil-based paints. What's not to like? I'll tell you what. My house hasn't been painted in 5 years, and doors still stick to their door frames. I nearly need a crowbar to open the closet doors (I just leave one of them open all the time), because the paint on the door sticks to the paint on the frame. Also, latex paint won't stick to any other kind of paint, except on really porous surfaces like drywall. (more ...) | |
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Rampant Incompetence | 17 December 02006, 19:23 |
| Most of the problems we face every day can be traced back to a single cause: rampant incompetence. People tend to hold overly favorable views of their abilities: driving skills, problem-solving skills, logical prowess, engineering expertise, and so on. Incompetence does more than cause the unskilled to reach erroneous conclusions or make unfortunate choices: it robs them of the ability to recognize their mistakes. The upshot of this is that the incompetent, in addition to frequently being wrong, also tend to be unshakably confident [1].
Engineers are by no means an exception, but as designers of everyday products, we have the ability to cause a great deal of misery as our incomprehensible designs are thrust upon the public. One way to avoid this general misery is to ensure that new engineers are well-rounded and at least familiar with all of the fields that may seem tangential at best to their chosen area of study. (more ...) | |
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My last word on the matter | 13 November 02006, 23:43 |
| Over the last few years, we've seen a growing trend - an ugly one - the increased use of Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) on airplanes. It's not just passengers bringing more gadgets on to planes with them, either: in 2003, Lufthansa and British Airways demonstrated a cabin 802.11b wireless system for passenger use; Qualcomm and American Airlines demonstrated an on-board mobile phone pico-cell in July 2003; recently, Boeing Connexion has been installing 802.11b wireless systems on Lufthansa airplanes. Even the FAA has been thinking about rescinding the rules requiring passengers to turn off electronic devices during takeoff and landing.
Why is this a disturbing trend? (more ...) | |
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My encounter with the UAE fuzz | 17 February 02006, 13:22 |
| So I'm in the U.A.E. these days, and I've been meaning to make some posts on random things that have happened so far but haven't gotten around to it. But I did want to put this one up because it was kind of funny.
At road construction projects that are on highways outside of major cities, the construction crews will routinely put up sizable speed bumps to keep people at a more reasonable speed (~10 km/hr) through the construction zone. These are well marked, but still it's not the sort of thing you expect to encounter when driving 140 km/hr down the highway. (more ...) | |
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*sigh* | 21 January 02006, 20:52 |
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Cell phones on planes | 14 December 02005, 21:10 |
| It seems that people are skeptical about the dangers of operating Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) on airplanes. I've heard the same tired argument ("but I leave my phone on all the time, nothing bad happens") several times already. Well, sometimes bad things do happen. Usually not "planes dropping out of the sky" bad, but bad nonetheless. Airplane systems (including Air Phones and the like) are subject to rigorous electromagnetic emission standards to establish and provide control of the electromagnetic characteristics and compatibility of these systems. PEDs, however, are not subject to these restrictions, and electromagnetic interference from PEDs carried on by passengers have been reported as being responsible for many anomalous events during flight. (more ...) | |
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No talking on the plane | 30 November 02005, 21:02 |
| I stay in hotels a lot these days, and most hotels that I stay at plop a free copy of USA Today at my door every morning. So I read a lot of USA Today as well.
In today's USA Today there was an article by Kevin Maney in which he discussed the pummeling of people who carry on loud phone or VOIP conversations on airplanes. This is something I approve of, but he also made some flippant remarks about how cell phones really aren't the safety hazards that the FAA makes them out to be. I disagree on that, and wrote him an e-mail saying so. (more ...) | |
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Meet Clio! | 13 April 02005, 21:45 |
I got a puppy! Her official name is Marchwind Sonrisa de Alegría (Marchwind smile of joy), begotten of Ch. Belcanto Eight is Enough and Ch. Marchwind Nicole, but that's a bit cumbersome so I'm going with Clio (who was, for the lazy but curious, the muse of history). She's just about 10 months old, and (coincidentally?) I've been talking like a 10 month old recently. I'll try to snap out of it... | |
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Misappropriated holidays | 17 March 02005, 19:24 |
| Every year on St. Patrick's day I have to wonder how a Catholic holiday can come to America and end up as an excuse for binge drinking. And more importantly, why this particular one, for several reasons.
First, a bit on St. Patrick: Irish? Nope. He was actually born in Scotland, and lived most of his life in Britain or France. But that's a minor point, especially given the fact that the Irish tend to hold him in high regard. Fine. That one I can overlook, but there are better reasons to choose a different saint if you're looking to cut loose and have a bit of fun:
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Trench: 1, C-130: 0 | 22 January 02005, 15:54 |
| Normally, when construction work is being done on an airport runway, there are several safety precautions that are taken. In addition to safe work practices, a large "X" is placed at the end of the runway under construction (sometimes the "X" is lighted), and the airport issues a NOTAM (Notice To Airmen) to inform any pilots that might be landing at that airport that the runway is not in service.
Normally. In mid December, a C-23 Sherpa flew into a US operated airfield in Iraq during the day and the pilot saw, much to his surprise, that there was active airport construction and a trench was being dug across his runway (no NOTAM had been issued, and there was no runway marker). (more ...) | |
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So what the heck is it, already? | 22 June 02004 16:13 |
| Since I'm posting stuff, I'm going to ask this again, because I still haven't gotten an answer.
It's a question I have. Actually, it's turned into sort of a quest. Here it goes: I'm sure you've heard the phrase "it's not rocket science." Or maybe you heard the variation "It's not brain surgery." It's what you say when you're referring to something that isn't insurmountably difficult (and presumably rocket science and/or brain surgery are insurmountably difficult). Fine. But what does a rocket scientist say when he's referring to something that isn't insurmountably difficult? Presumably he/she won't say "it's not rocket science," since (for all we know) the thing in question may in fact be rocket science. (more ...) | |
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Appropriation vs Authorization | 22 June 02004 16:02 |
| This was in the FAA VOICE newsletter a while back; I just stumbled across it looking for something else but I thought it was pretty neat. The question is, what's the deal with "authorization" and "appropriation" in congress? You hear a lot (at least around budget time) about appropriation bills and whatnot, but I (and apparently others) never really understood what that meant.
Well, Deandra Brooks (from the FAA's Office of Government and Industry Affairs) offered the best explanation that I've ever seen: "In congress, you have the Budget Committee, authorizing committees, and an appropriations committee. While much of their work is intertwined, they all do something a little different. (more ...) | |
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Whoa ... | 15 May 02004 16:09 |
I found this flier in the hallway of the apartment the other day:
"Dang, there's just not enough time in the day to bath myself. I wish there was some stranger who could do it for me." naaah ... | |
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More on TMI | 28 March 02004 10:04 |
| The New York Times has an interesting article from March 29 on the incident. Among other interesting points in the article are the fact that nobody seemed to have a clear handle, even the day after the event, of what exactly went wrong. The vice president of Metropolitan Edison suggested that the accident may have begun with the failure of a valve in a pump in the cooling system, but the manufacturer of the pump (Bingham-Willamette) pointed out that such a valve failure could not have been the cause, because "we have no valve in our pump." (Herbein, the vice president of Metropolitan Edison, was probably referring to the maintenance valves in front of the emergency feedwater pumps that had been accidentally left closed after earlier maintenance). (more ...) | |
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Three Mile Island | 27 March 02004 23:26 |
| March 28 marks the 25th anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island! In honor of the occasion, I'd like to go on for a bit about it.
If we learn anything from history, we learn the most from historic failures. History provides us with many spectacular failures, and it is imperative that we learn from them. The nuclear power industry provides us with some very spectacular failures indeed, and I'd like to ramble for a bit on a very important one: the accident at Three Mile Island. The near-catastrophe at Three Mile Island (hereafter TMI) started in Unit 2 of the plant on March 28, 1979 and the resulting drama gripped the nation for weeks afterward; as pregnant women and others were fleeing the area, the President of the United States toured the plant as two feeble pumps, designed for other duties, worked to keep the core of the plant from melting (one of them eventually failed). Unit 2 at TMI had a lot of problems at the end of 1978 when it was set to be started. (more ...) | |
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No shit, there I was ... | 21 June 02003, 00:31 |
| So a friend of mine was on TV today -- specifically, he was a guest on the show Tech Support on People TV, which is broadcast live to whoever is watching in metro Atlanta. Since it's not everyday that most people get on TV, and there was supposedly room in the studio for 3 friends to watch, I went with two other people to watch David be on TV. Which was going to be fun.
So we get to People TV, and all I can think of is UHF, but whatever -- it was really neat to be hanging around the studio, and we were going to be sitting in the control room watching the show. At least that was the plan until about 40 seconds (literally) before the show started, when the producer of the show asks us "are you three on camera?" We thought that he was asking us if we were going to be on the show, so we said "no" -- to which he said "Well, you are now," and started herding us through the door into the studio. (more ...) | |