Mr. Kerbin Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 16 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said: I am happy to report that I have paid off my student loans! how aren’t you like 90 or something once you get those paid off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Steve Posted March 18 Author Share Posted March 18 6 minutes ago, Mr. Kerbin said: how aren’t you like 90 or something once you get those paid off I didn't have that much to begin with, I went to a cheaper in state college and lived frugally, scolarships were fairly plentiful, and I worled 15-20 hours a week for the last two years. I believe the total amount in loans was under 5k or so. So not a herculean task but still a big weight off of my shoulders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 56 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said: I am happy to report that I have paid off my student loans! Congratulations! And great job being smart with the finances too, that's impressive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedAl1en1 Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 a family friend dropped off their dog so we have puppy snuggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultimate Steve Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 Need to vent I guess. Maybe this would be better for the venting thread but ehh. Given my situation I'm kind of at the mercy of whatever organization was the first to give me a job offer, I do not have the luxury of choosing my location. But damn. I really wish this had turned out differently. Generally I'm stuck wherever I land for 1-3 years or so before I actually have the experience required to actually have a choice in where I end up. And I'm just thinking about the other places I could have landed if things out of my control didn't happen. I could have landed around Denver, working on test hardware supporting a human spaceflight adjacent project, right next to the rocky mountains and a load of other things to do, in a place generally friendly to my sibling should they decide to visit. I had been given good marks on the interview, and was practically told "We would hire you if we were still allowed to," and it could have happened if only the company hadn't done a massive hiring shakeup and cancelled that position. I could have landed near Seattle, another LGBT friendly area with mountains and as much rain as I'm used to, and snow too, working on flight software, my area of greatest competency, for reusable launch vehicles, doing hands on hardware in the loop testing as well, my second greatest competency. One interviewer called my presentation among the best he'd ever seen. And I could have gotten that job if only the company hadn't hired someone at level 3 replacing the level 1 position I was interviewing for. I could have landed at NASA, at the same place my grandpa spent 30 years at, working on experimental antennas that will be used on the Lunar surface, a 30 minute drive from where my family is moving to, and a 30 minute drive away from some of our closest family friends, in a climate very similar to my hometown, and not great but on par with home on the LGBT front. I got through the interview and was given okay marks, maybe not enough to get in. I'd love to know if I was actually good enough, and I could have known, if only the Department Of Government Efficiency hadn't mandated that NASA needs to shrink, cancelling all of their open positions. Instead I landed in the middle of nowhere in Texas, where it is a 2 hour drive to the nearest thing to do, where nobody drinks the water, where it rains trash and dust more frequently than rain, where the sides of the highway have more trash than I've ever seen anywhere else, where the roads are terrible and filled with very aggressive drivers, where it doesn't snow, rarely rains, and is 80 degrees in winter. From a legislative standpoint I would understand if my sibling never visits. And it looks like I'm gonna be working with the same 4ish tests on the same 5ish things the whole time I'm here, in areas I have no exposure to and I don't find that exciting, despite the interview being for a more software oriented position (I do not expect to write a single line of code here). I mean "the grass is always greener on the other side" and all, but there is like no grass here except for that which people have to coax into keeping alive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 1 hour ago, Ultimate Steve said: Need to vent I guess. Maybe this would be better for the venting thread but ehh. Given my situation I'm kind of at the mercy of whatever organization was the first to give me a job offer, I do not have the luxury of choosing my location. But damn. I really wish this had turned out differently. Generally I'm stuck wherever I land for 1-3 years or so before I actually have the experience required to actually have a choice in where I end up. And I'm just thinking about the other places I could have landed if things out of my control didn't happen. I could have landed around Denver, working on test hardware supporting a human spaceflight adjacent project, right next to the rocky mountains and a load of other things to do, in a place generally friendly to my sibling should they decide to visit. I had been given good marks on the interview, and was practically told "We would hire you if we were still allowed to," and it could have happened if only the company hadn't done a massive hiring shakeup and cancelled that position. I could have landed near Seattle, another LGBT friendly area with mountains and as much rain as I'm used to, and snow too, working on flight software, my area of greatest competency, for reusable launch vehicles, doing hands on hardware in the loop testing as well, my second greatest competency. One interviewer called my presentation among the best he'd ever seen. And I could have gotten that job if only the company hadn't hired someone at level 3 replacing the level 1 position I was interviewing for. I could have landed at NASA, at the same place my grandpa spent 30 years at, working on experimental antennas that will be used on the Lunar surface, a 30 minute drive from where my family is moving to, and a 30 minute drive away from some of our closest family friends, in a climate very similar to my hometown, and not great but on par with home on the LGBT front. I got through the interview and was given okay marks, maybe not enough to get in. I'd love to know if I was actually good enough, and I could have known, if only the Department Of Government Efficiency hadn't mandated that NASA needs to shrink, cancelling all of their open positions. Instead I landed in the middle of nowhere in Texas, where it is a 2 hour drive to the nearest thing to do, where nobody drinks the water, where it rains trash and dust more frequently than rain, where the sides of the highway have more trash than I've ever seen anywhere else, where the roads are terrible and filled with very aggressive drivers, where it doesn't snow, rarely rains, and is 80 degrees in winter. From a legislative standpoint I would understand if my sibling never visits. And it looks like I'm gonna be working with the same 4ish tests on the same 5ish things the whole time I'm here, in areas I have no exposure to and I don't find that exciting, despite the interview being for a more software oriented position (I do not expect to write a single line of code here). I mean "the grass is always greener on the other side" and all, but there is like no grass here except for that which people have to coax into keeping alive. Speaking from experience, whenever a situation seems like the worst that could have happened, there are usually many unseen advantages to being where I'm being. Those factors are outside of your control, yes, but there may be even larger-scale factors that could result in your position being the best place for you to be. There's no way to know for certain. I hope you find some greenery (metaphorically, but in Texas finding it literally is nice, too) to look at and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoVampire Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 well guys, I remembered. I am sorry for the scare of seeing my flesh, but, I want to show off my henna tattoo. It was done by one of if not the countries foremost expert on henna in the US, a talented artist knows as Dreamie. So, with the knowledge that you will see my flesh <my hand lol> have a look! Spoiler It is in the spoiler for space reasons, and not because I dont like looking at my hand lol. yeah, lets go with space reasons lol 235603182025 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoVampire Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 Today i tick off a box on my nerdy bucket list! A friday at renfaire! The faire im going to right now march/april has a spring break week where they have a single friday open. That day is today! My next chance at a friday at renfaire is in november at TRF (nations largest ((possibly worlds)) renfaire). And of course the stage im at waiting for the first act is having audio issues… guess what ever was screwing audio up last sunday is still messing it up. 101403212025 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 (edited) Well, this isn't quite something I did in KSP, so I'm putting it here instead. I finally organized a timeline of my alternate history thread on the forums. I had to change a few of the launch dates to make things fit. But now they do! And now I'm pretty sure that the thread is currently in the month of October, 1971. I love how if you were to look at how Venera (meaning Venus) is spelled in Russian, in the English alphabet it looks like it says Behepa. But, it does indeed say Venera. Edited March 21 by Kimera Industries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunlitZelkova Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 3 hours ago, Kimera Industries said: I love how if you were to look at how Venera (meaning Venus) is spelled in Russian, in the English alphabet it looks like it says Behepa. But, it does indeed say Venera. Meanwhile I as someone studying Russian does the reverse, reading English letters as Cyrillic nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoVampire Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 How have you spent the last hour or so of your sunday evening? Me? Hiding at a gas station under its huge overhang at the pumps. Hiding from what? Hail!! Sudden thunderstorm with hail. Sooner or later it will end and i can resume my trip home from ren faire. As i type this im hearing hail bounce off someone behind me and hit me. So yeah. Did not expect to spend at least an hour of time after ren faire trapped in a gas station parking lot hiding from hail. For those wondering its size: between pea and marble. Not going to do much if stationary besides maybe dent chrome (the pea sized) but marble sized hitting you while you yourself are doing 55-65mph? It could shatter a windshield!! 210303232025 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 (edited) You know what's one of the coolest space missions ever? Vega 1 and 2. You know what's one of the most forgotten space missions ever? Vega 1 and 2. First, they flyby the planet Venus and release a lander probe. But it's not just a copy of the previous Venera landers, no, they've also got balloons that deployed in the air and transmitted atmospheric data for several days. Then, to top it all off, the spacecraft go on to visit Halley's Comet. In fact, the name Vega comes from Venera (Venus) and Galleya (Halley). I've known about these missions for a while, but they felt particularly cool today. I bet these missions would be more well-known if the landers had taken pictures. They didn't because they landed on the night side of Venus, which is fine and all, but come on, a nighttime picture of the Veneran surface. They could've made it work. Just imagine it. A Venera-style lander, illuminated by a lamp, while its dim light fades into the fog, and rock formations in the distance can just be made out... Edited March 24 by Kimera Industries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDE Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 33 minutes ago, Kimera Industries said: A Venera-style lander, illuminated by a lamp, while its dim light fades into the fog, and rock formations in the distance can just be made out... I think you forget just how bad those cameras were... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 (edited) 2 hours ago, DDE said: I think you forget just how bad those cameras were... It would've been terrible quality, sure, but terribly interesting, too. Just like the audio the landers recorded. There's not much to learn from or listen to, but it's still fascinating to have around. Edited March 24 by Kimera Industries Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunlitZelkova Posted March 24 Share Posted March 24 5 hours ago, Kimera Industries said: You know what's one of the most forgotten space missions ever? Vega 1 and 2. Not by me! My local space museum has a 1:1 replica of the VeGa spacecraft. There is actually a surprising amount of Soviet stuff there, and the appraisal of the Soviet space program is mostly positive. It's nice to see considering how bashing anything and everything Soviet is in vogue in some history circles. At the same time, there is a known reason for that... none of the placards or anything has been updated since 2009 or so, meaning there is still a massive informative mural describing the Constellation program as the future of American spaceflight. Just a couple years ago they finally got around to putting up, I kid you not, images and blurbs about the Artemis program printed out on 8x11 paper, taped to a whiteboard attached to the wall. Photo by me. That is indeed a sub-scale replica of one of the Mars spacecraft behind it, but despite having loved seeing the VeGa ever since my interest in Soviet stuff took off in 2018, I did not actually realize there was a Mars spacecraft replica until last year. The 1:1 Syncom 2 and 1:6~ Gemini always distracted me, I guess. The museum is the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, in case you were wondering. One of the actual X-38 prototypes is there by the way, and because for some reason it is not cordoned off with rope fence as other vehicles are, you can walk right up to it and touch it. It's also the V-131R, meaning it has the proper shape the production X-38 would have had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted Thursday at 10:42 PM Share Posted Thursday at 10:42 PM (edited) Someday I'd like to visit a nice museum. That day is not today. In the meantime, here are some pictures from my telescope. These aren't recent, but I wanted to share: Jupiter and pals, Io is washed out by glare but Europa is visible right above it. The smudge in the lower left is not a moon, it's a consequence of my phone's eyesight. The Pleiades. This star cluster is indeed blue and is passing through a dust cloud, which the young, hot stars light up blue as well, but the color you see here is not a result of that. You need a good long exposure to really get that sort of thing, which my phone can't do. I'm sort of like an ameteur-ameteur astronomer. Lastly, no night's worth of telescope observations would be complete without destroying your night vision by checking out the Moon. The seas visible in this photo can be seen as the claw of a crab, the ears of a rabbit, Charlie Brown kicking a football, ancient craters filled with lava, or pixels on your monitor. Your choice, really. There you have it. I can see the rings of Saturn, the crescent of Venus, and resolve Mars, but it would seem my phone can't. Someday I'll get really nice equipment. Or perhaps someday we'll all be flying to these places ourselves, who knows. Edited Thursday at 10:44 PM by Kimera Industries Resized images. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubinator Posted Friday at 12:56 PM Share Posted Friday at 12:56 PM (edited) I saw the zodiacal light last night! I wasn't even expecting to, but the place I chose to visit happened to have optimal conditions. Firmly in Bortle 3, with no large cities or obstructions to the west, just small towns, and of course a clear moonless night. As the night got darker, it became clear the light was not sticking straight up out of the horizon but in line with Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus, and it had nothing to do with the city lights below as there were more stars to the left and right even though there were cities underneath. It stayed visible for a couple hours after it got dark. Visually, it extends to where the Pleiades are right now. I've always envisioned myself seeing that years from now, on a desert mountain in the absolute middle of nowhere, but it turns out it can be found within an evening's drive from home. Edited Friday at 12:58 PM by cubinator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoVampire Posted Saturday at 10:55 PM Share Posted Saturday at 10:55 PM Im at ren faire. I know who coulda guessed lol. I was watching a husband/wife act (escape artist and variety act) and i was watching the water torture escape. Prior to the show as people were filtering in one of the stage managers comes up behind me and gets my attention. They ask me to shout a very specific name at a key moment in the show. That moment is when they call up a volunteer to play the part of a pirate. The name I am asked to shout? Big Daddy. Now before yall freak out, im gonna not make this less funny. See this was only about an hour ago or so. At this show there were some ASL interpreters and funnily or scary enough a TON of sub 10 year old kids. Sitting on either side of was a sub 4 year old to my left and an 8 or 9 year old. My first thought? Im going to traumatize kids. My second thought? Their parents brought them to a ren faire, and its a family show (not NOT a childrens show) with some adult humor. So, yes i shouted Big Daddy. I cant stop laughing! 175503292025 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zozaf Kerman Posted yesterday at 12:43 AM Share Posted yesterday at 12:43 AM Well, it’s been a while, but I finally got access to the forums again today after a few months. What’s new? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimera Industries Posted 18 hours ago Share Posted 18 hours ago 21 hours ago, Zozaf Kerman said: Well, it’s been a while, but I finally got access to the forums again today after a few months. What’s new? Nothing much. I started building a Lambda-class Imperial Shuttle out of Legos, except I'm not going to buy the set so I'm just making a who-cares-what-color-ship using the free online instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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