Catching up PART 1 – NEST

…the heck have I been? Well, dear readers… There’s been quite a gap in my posts save what I’d sent forward in time from the past. (The “jumping the timestream” posts were written and sent forward into the future by scheduling an automatic publish date years after they were written..) Why the gap? Lots and […]

Jumping the Timestream: A Note from 2013

Greetings! This is a note specifically relating to my son, Grayson. Basically, after a swim lesson this morning (July 22, 2013), we had such a fun day that I was wondering what (if any) of its focus might linger into the future. With that in mind, I thought I’d send this forward to a time […]

Timestream Post: Moment of Self-Doubt from 06.14.2012

Well, all of my posts can’t necessarily be rosy, can they? Today, I’m grappling with the ramifications of my decision to engage in a popular television project investigating alleged Unidentified Flying Object sightings and crashes. The results of the project, now titled, “Chasing UFOs,” bears little resemblance to the hard science project I was led to […]

Timestream Post: A note from 03/17/2012

Well, I’m standing in the midst of my 5th year wedding anniversary, and I thought it sensible to send a note forward another five years. (It seems a nice increment for several reasons… not the least of which is our digits. *grin*) We’re just hours from a renewal of our wedding vows downtown at a Las Vegas-style Strip-front […]

Leaving Bigelow Aerospace

While I can’t speak too explicitly about the circumstances surrounding my departure, it’s time for me to update these chronicles to report that I’ve left my position as lead human factors analyst and radiation modeler/instrument designer at Bigelow Aerospace. I expect that this news may perplex many readers who know how long I’ve been working […]

What the world thinks spacecraft scientists/engineers do…

Well, ramping up to the birth of our second child, (daughter Sloane on 08/05/14!), I’ve been completely absorbed by family by night and the incredible clip at work at Bigelow Aerospace by day. -And amidst it all, I’ll admit that there is a visceral seduction in the elbow-grease-saturated chaos. So, with this in mind, during […]

At the Right Place at the Right Time…

Finally. On top of all of the other trouble I’ve been habitually getting myself into during the last several months, a series of unlikely and highly serendipitous events recently culminated in a sudden career shift. -One that, I might add, I’ve been pressing for and gambling on for some time. –And for longtime readers, it’s […]

“Astronaut Politics” Meme

One of the universally-championed benefits of human space exploration is not actually related to any physical activities performed while in space. Instead, an important aspect of leaving our world is the change in perception that space exploration has upon astronauts themselves, and the societies that receive them, upon their return. Irrespective of country of origin, […]

Exploring Extraterrestrial Artifacts on the Wow! Signal Podcast

A quick note today urging a listen to the latest episode of Paul Carr’s Wow! Signal Podcast, “The Serendipity Schema,” where like a bad penny I turn up once again. This time, Paul digs into my 2010 paper on xenoarchaeology, giving me an opportunity to explain its interdisciplinary rationale, the conceptual hot water into which […]

Hacking Classrooms via Mars

A short report today on the inspiring Mars Education Hackathon I recently had the good fortune to be invited to attend in San Francisco. Hosted by the Mozilla Foundation, digital studio MX, and local PBS affiliate KQED, the two-day blitz included six ad hoc project teams – fresh and interdisciplinary collaborations between planetary scientists, computer […]