h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

People often ask me what I do at NASA. While this fellow's work deals mostly with Hubble Space Telescope imagery and I work more with lunar and Earth Observation imagery, our daily jobs are quite similar. http://t.co/IdXCOqFW

Oh, I knew bout that for ages! Them's my friends, cept for that tabby one there. He's mean. I beat him up every day.

You can't never have enough cats

Dewey, don't beat up any cats, space or otherwise

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16856812
And not a cat in sight

Well, I guess I should post this. It's often cringe worthy, but it does show where I work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sar5WT76kE

Was that Phil Collins at 1m 50s?

Heh... No, that's either Scott or Mark Kelly. Twin astronauts. Mark Kelly is the husband of Congresswoman "Gabby" Giffords.

I am going to guess this the Gangnam parody I've seen linked elsewhere... it was cool, but got that damn song stuck in my head for much too long, so I'll skip it this time.

You're correct. I watched it with the volume just audible. I still wanted to hear their altered lyrics... once!.


But it does show the campus off quite nicely. Obviously, I haven't been every place they shot a scene. But I do walk by the duck ponds each day. By the way, up until a week or so ago, the muscovie ducklings were still hatching as seen in the video. I think the hawks are getting fat off all the ducklings and squirrels.

Dewey! Great to hear from you, you old tom cat you.

Fascinating work, BG. I'd still like to do a history of space flight/exploration one of these days at the library. The images you guys come up with are breathtaking.

I actually couldn't get all the lyrics (it's usually quite difficult for me to make out song lyrics, especially in English), but I still think I'm better off having only watched it once...

Although I missed the ducks, too. Trying to decide if that is justification enough or not.


And yeah, that's a pretty impressive facility. So awesome that you work there!

Once was quite enough for me.

OK... this is quite tenuous, but my work is broached in the first question in this interview.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130401-the-loneliest-human-being

" I photographed, for example, about 25% of the lunar surface – the first time that had been done. I mapped about that same amount. That’s a lot of data to come back. In fact, I guess they’re still looking at it."

Yep. I'm looking at it right now.

Man....

I don't know how much longer I'll be doing what I do.

We're losing three people next week (sooner if congress s up and shuts us down with furloughs). We had already been cut back farther than we ever should have been. The three getting laid off have decades of experience. One was just commended on his 45 years working in the NASA photo lab. I'm now one of the most senior employees in the lab with just 16 years experience. That's not right! Somehow we still managed to get Excellent performance ratings last year despite our previous round of layoffs. I just don't see that happening after this. Of course, it won't be management that takes the hit, it'll be us that do if our ratings drop. In a year or less I'll be finishing up the Apollo Pan project. Once that wraps up, I have no idea if there will be other projects that require my experience (and the equipment I use). They're trying to get film collections from some of the other centers, but I can't count on that. No one is safe anymore. And what is depressing the hell out of me is how specific my experience is. I do a job that NO ONE else does in the world. What happens if/when you lose a job like that? What I do know is it's always better to get a new job while you still have a job. So, I have to at least start thinking about that. One thing I do know; if I keep even generally in the field I'm in now, archival film scanning, I can't stay here. I'll almost surely have to move. I doubt there is any need for my skills in the greater Houston area. Whatever happens I'll need to consider changing fields or changing location. Major stress, that's for sure.

Today, I've experienced a huge mood swing. I was pretty happy, elated, high, enthused with all the work I've recently been doing on my home.

One meeting to confirm the rumors at work has dropped me in a deep hole.

Dang.

Yep, times are tough, and the politicians aren't making things any easier. Wait, isn't it supposed to be their job to make things easier?

This is definitely politicians' fault. Sure, some of this is due to the end of the Shuttle program. We're just finishing up with all the remaining funding for Shuttle support. But NASA funding is anemic compared to where it should be. (see http://www.penny4nasa.org/the-mission/ )

But this mess is not helped one whit by the BS in congress. Right now, it's a forgone conclusion that even if the continuing resolution is passed with funding for the ACA against Ted "Imma gonna do a pretend filibuster against the House bill I recommended" Cruz's wishes, it will only be at the currently Sequestered budget level, which is a ing financial disaster.

But it also has something to do with the company I currently work for. Before we got this current contract two years ago, we took a work staff cut in anticipation of the future contract. Then three months later they cut us again. They've apparently lost an unrelated contract with NASA and then this happens.

I'm not privy to exactly why we're losing these latest three, but I definitely know that even if I last through this contract, whoever wins the next will probably be even worse. I have to move on. I just don't know how to.

So... Ted Cruz won. He shut down the US government to accomplish nothing more than get his name in the news. The ACA will open the health care insurance exchanges tomorrow but I'll just go in for some bureaucratic B.S. to make it official then be sent home for an indeterminate number of days, weeks or more. Since I'm not a civil servant, I'll be able to use my vacation time during the shutdown.

But that means I better go ahead and think seriously about doing my vacation now rather than just sit at home and burn my vacation doing doodly squat.


So... Scotland?

FYI I and mrs zen live 8 miles from Edinburgh airport and have a spare room

Awesome... More than having the spare room, you probably know where all the good pubs and restaurants are.

This could turn out very well.