I have noticed that I still get a few hits on this site now and then. I should have mentioned that I am now back home and not really traveling. You are welcome to still drop by and read some of the old posts for nostalgia sake, but there will most like not be any new posts, unless I stumble accross a fortune and retake to the road. Thanks for reading.
Daniel
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Friday, September 4, 2009
SpaceX Tour
I had a rare opportunity yesterday. I had a chance to tour the Hawthorne, California SpaceX Facilities. Some of you may know that I am a big fan of the company. For those of you who don't know who they are.. Look them up. They are very cool.
My aunt got me the number of a nice man who works there. I called him up, asked him some questions and got a tour out of the deal. I also got swag. In this case SpaceX swag consists of mints, post-its, a notepad, rocket shaped paper clips, a mission sticker, and a 64Mb rocket shaped flash drive.
It is a neat place. All of the engineers and support staff work in the same cubicle farm. Even the owner / CEO / CTO, Elon Musk, has a cubicle. They are building a big control room there as well. From there they will launch all of their vehicles whether they are physically on a small island in the pacific or in Florida.
Everywhere there are rocket engines. Most are Merlin engines being prepared for Falcon 9 launches. I was surprised to see how small the engines are. They are not much taller than I am. They are one of the most efficient kerosene / LOX engines ever built though.
The whole building has a cool energy about it. They are practical and doing some big dreaming at the same time. The people there looked like any one of the people I have worked with over the years, but they have a bit of an extra spring in their step because they are working on rockets.
One further point of interest, a small tidbit for my less geeky acquaintances, they have a full size mock-up of the 'Iron Man' on the production floor. Apparently Iron Man 2 was filmed in the building. Coming next summer to a screen near you.
Sam's Summary
My aunt got me the number of a nice man who works there. I called him up, asked him some questions and got a tour out of the deal. I also got swag. In this case SpaceX swag consists of mints, post-its, a notepad, rocket shaped paper clips, a mission sticker, and a 64Mb rocket shaped flash drive.
It is a neat place. All of the engineers and support staff work in the same cubicle farm. Even the owner / CEO / CTO, Elon Musk, has a cubicle. They are building a big control room there as well. From there they will launch all of their vehicles whether they are physically on a small island in the pacific or in Florida.
Everywhere there are rocket engines. Most are Merlin engines being prepared for Falcon 9 launches. I was surprised to see how small the engines are. They are not much taller than I am. They are one of the most efficient kerosene / LOX engines ever built though.
The whole building has a cool energy about it. They are practical and doing some big dreaming at the same time. The people there looked like any one of the people I have worked with over the years, but they have a bit of an extra spring in their step because they are working on rockets.
One further point of interest, a small tidbit for my less geeky acquaintances, they have a full size mock-up of the 'Iron Man' on the production floor. Apparently Iron Man 2 was filmed in the building. Coming next summer to a screen near you.
Sam's Summary
- I visited Space Exploration Technologies Headquarters
- I planned an hour driving time
- It took 15 min
- I was early
- So I got to sit in there ultra modernish lobby with a connector saleswoman.
- The tour was good
- They gave me water and swag
- I asked a ridiculous amount of questions.
Friday, August 21, 2009
A bit of excitement
My uncle and I rode road the street of Santa Monica after Dark a few Days ago. By 'road' I mean upon our bicycles. It is an interesting habit of his. The road are clear and it is nice and cool. Not a bad idea really. We loaded up the bikes with flashing lights and hit the streets.
The real story begins when we got back. We were hanging out in the office (me on the couch feeling sick, don't ride hard before warming up.) My uncle heard a noise from the front of the building.
"That does not sound right" he said or something like it and got up to go check out what was going on. In the mean time someone tried several times to start a car. A couple unsuccessful times. The engine turned over but would not start.
A man climbed out of a car directly in front of the apartment and started walking away. My uncle asked him if he needed a jump. The man did not answer and just kept walking. Immediately five police cars turned on their lights and swarmed into the intersection. The jumped out of their vehicles with guns drawn. A police dog was barking viciously.
At this point my uncle slowly backed up the side walk and came back inside. He had been behind the suspect and in the line of fire. Enough to make anyone nervous.
This all happened slightly after midnight. Needless to say we were up all hours peeking out doors and windows trying to figure out what was happening. The forensics unit even showed up to lift finger prints and tow the getaway car off.
Twice policemen came to the apartment to take statements from my uncle, a valuable witness to we are not sure what.
We may never know what really happened. It looked like a failed car theft, but how did the cops know to be there? Well that's all I have for now.
Sam's Summary
The real story begins when we got back. We were hanging out in the office (me on the couch feeling sick, don't ride hard before warming up.) My uncle heard a noise from the front of the building.
"That does not sound right" he said or something like it and got up to go check out what was going on. In the mean time someone tried several times to start a car. A couple unsuccessful times. The engine turned over but would not start.
A man climbed out of a car directly in front of the apartment and started walking away. My uncle asked him if he needed a jump. The man did not answer and just kept walking. Immediately five police cars turned on their lights and swarmed into the intersection. The jumped out of their vehicles with guns drawn. A police dog was barking viciously.
At this point my uncle slowly backed up the side walk and came back inside. He had been behind the suspect and in the line of fire. Enough to make anyone nervous.
This all happened slightly after midnight. Needless to say we were up all hours peeking out doors and windows trying to figure out what was happening. The forensics unit even showed up to lift finger prints and tow the getaway car off.
Twice policemen came to the apartment to take statements from my uncle, a valuable witness to we are not sure what.
We may never know what really happened. It looked like a failed car theft, but how did the cops know to be there? Well that's all I have for now.
Sam's Summary
- Someone tried to steal the car in front of mine.
- It would have certainly made pulling out easier if he had succeeded.
- The cops swarmed him like he was in a movie.
- There were gun drawn.
- I stayed up half the night peeking out my window.
- I got to do flips in a padded gym for the first time in ages (thanks to my cousin who is not really my cousin)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
St. Louis Wins
My uncle and I went to a merging cars contest this evening. While everyone was stuck there in the parking lot trying to jockey their way to a chance to get stuck on the freeway, the Cards and Dodgers showed up and decided to play a little pick up game.
The game was a pleasant diversion from the sounding car alarms and ladies screaming at parking attendants. They played 4 and a half solid innings (we may have showed up late). I forgot to take my camera. My apologies on the lack of physical or digital evidence of this highly true, if hyperbolized story.
All in all a nice evening. Good seats too. Upper deck on the rail, down the third baseline. To top it off someone up top made a terrific paper airplane that made it almost to the field. Great game.
Sam's Summary
The game was a pleasant diversion from the sounding car alarms and ladies screaming at parking attendants. They played 4 and a half solid innings (we may have showed up late). I forgot to take my camera. My apologies on the lack of physical or digital evidence of this highly true, if hyperbolized story.
All in all a nice evening. Good seats too. Upper deck on the rail, down the third baseline. To top it off someone up top made a terrific paper airplane that made it almost to the field. Great game.
Sam's Summary
- Baseball
- Parking lot
- aggressive maneuvering (is this word too big for dyslexics?)
- The Saint Louis Cardinals won (as may be deduced from the title of this post)
Friday, August 14, 2009
The extended stays
I have been visiting folks at length out here on the left coast. That is the main reason for my long hiatus from this mode of communication. I spent over a month with my good friend in Washington, then it was two weeks with my sister in So cal (I went back to visit my brother who was also visiting), and now I am holed up in Santa Monica with my aunt and uncle.
I have been hopelessly applying for engineering jobs. So far no takers. There are lots of cool things going on out this way, they just don't seem to be able to pick a good resume when they see one. There are rocket companies and electric car companies and everything in between. Back home there are Applebees and Walmarts.
Time is running out though. I should be back on the road soon. I have a wedding to make. A good friend is getting herself all hitched up back in Roanoke, VA. Remember Roanoke? Great bike rides. I have about 40 days to make it there. I will probably leave this weekend, swing a bit north and then head to my sister's in VA.
While this is the same sister I visited in VA before, it is not at the same location. I have been gone long enough to miss the effort of moving. Nice of me. I may have a bit of babysitting to do in order to make up for my laziness. The madness should be over by mid october. I will have been on the road for two thirds of a year by then. I will also be leaving my carefree twenties behind and entering my carefree thirties.
Thanks for read to all you wonderful people who still seem to check this site even though I am MIA most of the time.
Peace
I have been hopelessly applying for engineering jobs. So far no takers. There are lots of cool things going on out this way, they just don't seem to be able to pick a good resume when they see one. There are rocket companies and electric car companies and everything in between. Back home there are Applebees and Walmarts.
Time is running out though. I should be back on the road soon. I have a wedding to make. A good friend is getting herself all hitched up back in Roanoke, VA. Remember Roanoke? Great bike rides. I have about 40 days to make it there. I will probably leave this weekend, swing a bit north and then head to my sister's in VA.
While this is the same sister I visited in VA before, it is not at the same location. I have been gone long enough to miss the effort of moving. Nice of me. I may have a bit of babysitting to do in order to make up for my laziness. The madness should be over by mid october. I will have been on the road for two thirds of a year by then. I will also be leaving my carefree twenties behind and entering my carefree thirties.
Thanks for read to all you wonderful people who still seem to check this site even though I am MIA most of the time.
Peace
Monday, July 20, 2009
Happy anniversary Appolo 11
Some of you may not know that today is the fortieth anniversary of man's first steps on the moon. Well, it is. July 20th 1969 A.D. It is mind boggling to consider. 10 years before I was born, Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin had walked on the moon.
Mankind has accomplished many things. There was the outright bravery, sacrifice, and daring of D-Day, the discovery of America, the circumnavigation of the globe, and the invention of the burrito, but all of it pales next to the story that is Apollo 11.
The trip to the moon did not take as long as Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic, we knew where we were going to within a a handful of miles, and only stayed a few hours, but for the first time in human history a nation came together to build and accomplish something monumental and beyond comprehension, not out of fear or hope of personal gain, but raw and passionate desire an curiosity.
Sure the the politics were motivated by the cold war, but for the people involved it was the challenge it's self and the reward of having succeeded that motivated them. Whenever has the impassioned work of hundreds of thousands of people been joyfully given for two men to place their boot on a distant shore?
For this, Apollo 11 and the following flights stand as the greatest achievement of the human spirit at the same time being the pinnacle of our engineering.
Most of the world is happy to take pride in the fact that man has stepped on the moon, but few are willing to push on to give further such triumphs to their children. For them social security it more important than hope. Myself I will take the risk of losing everything to gamble on a world where anything is possible.
Mankind has accomplished many things. There was the outright bravery, sacrifice, and daring of D-Day, the discovery of America, the circumnavigation of the globe, and the invention of the burrito, but all of it pales next to the story that is Apollo 11.
The trip to the moon did not take as long as Columbus' voyage across the Atlantic, we knew where we were going to within a a handful of miles, and only stayed a few hours, but for the first time in human history a nation came together to build and accomplish something monumental and beyond comprehension, not out of fear or hope of personal gain, but raw and passionate desire an curiosity.
Sure the the politics were motivated by the cold war, but for the people involved it was the challenge it's self and the reward of having succeeded that motivated them. Whenever has the impassioned work of hundreds of thousands of people been joyfully given for two men to place their boot on a distant shore?
For this, Apollo 11 and the following flights stand as the greatest achievement of the human spirit at the same time being the pinnacle of our engineering.
Most of the world is happy to take pride in the fact that man has stepped on the moon, but few are willing to push on to give further such triumphs to their children. For them social security it more important than hope. Myself I will take the risk of losing everything to gamble on a world where anything is possible.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Heading out
Nothing terribly important to say at the moment. My friend and I are heading out to the Cascades to do a couple days of backpacking. We are pros, so much in fact that we had to go out yesterday and purchase backpacks and nose cream. If you are looking for us we'll be the two tall guys with price tags still hanging of our sunglasses.
Sam's Summary
Sam's Summary
- Goin' Campin'
- Got me a pack fer the haulin O' things
- Sleepin' bag a mostly
- Bags is huge!
- Shore hope dem bears don't show.
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