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rocketyak's comments
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rocketyak  ·  1127 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Mars2020 descent footage

I have that reaction as well but I also work on Percy right now lol

rocketyak  ·  2112 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Mars rover Opportunity goes dormant amid huge dust storm

Coming out of the woodwork after being 6ft under in rover work for the last several months.

I think you meant Opportunity in the first paragraph; Curiosity will be fine =) I drove her yesterday. We're re-tracing our steps to go do more drilling, so as long as we can localize ourselves the impact of the dust storm right now on that mission are minimal.

Oppy has -some- chance; she's in a low power state now, but if the ambient conditions are right (not too cold, Tau goes back down sooner than later) then even if she does turn off she has the ability to wake back up.

rocketyak  ·  2251 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 24, 2018

Right? I'm sure I was spending way too much time with my little screen. Ooops.

So now I've got a flip phone. I'd forgotten how satisfying it is to hang up calls by closing the phone. Plus hitting the keys a million times to text = just saying 'screw it' and calling people. I can see this being a good change already.

rocketyak  ·  2252 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Do You Want refugee's Secret "Make Bae Happen" 3rd Date Dinner Recipe? Here Ya Go

Lemon chicken pasta with capers. Pretty sure either this or homemade snicker-doodles is how I hooked my bae.

Recipe -

- salt & pepper 2 chicken breasts cut into large chunks

- add 1-2 tbsp olive oil to a deep pan

- brown the chicken on all sides on medium high and then remove from the pan

- sautee a few cloves of garlic in the same pan on medium with 1/2 tbsp butter until fragrant

- add about half a lemon sliced into 1/8" rounds and let cook for ~2 minutes while stirring

- de-glaze the pan with 1/4 cup white wine then add 1/4 cup chicken broth plus 1.5 cups water plus 1/4 cup lemon juice

- return chicken to the pan with 16oz of raw pasta

- bring to a light boil and then let simmer for 10-12 minutes (6-8 if you are using GF pasta) covered until chicken is cooked through, and pasta is cooked to al dente

- stir in about a tablespoon of capers

- serve with some shredded Parmesan on top

If your bae likes cheese like I do though there's an awesome one pot recipe for cheesy sun-dried tomato pasta that is so. freaking. good. Mine is mildly lactose intolerant, so I just make that when he's out of town.

That feeling when the square footage of my $2k/month apartment is only slightly more than the cost of your mortgage. Oof. Who wants to help me move JPL to the midwest on a big crawler...

rocketyak  ·  2253 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 24, 2018

Life is better this week; not feeling as overwhelmed which is nice, and I think getting to see some family over the weekend helped so much. Plus now my fiance's sister is married! Fiance and I were dancing during the reception and had this exciting but also kinda weird realization that the next wedding we'll go to is ours. Starting to set the fire under myself to get plans nailed down, though our date isn't until October.

I lost my cell phone on Friday. Left it, dead, on top of a car that then drove across Cincinnati, so it's gone for good. I've surprised myself in really dragging my feet on getting a new one though. Like the first couple days were super hard because I felt like no I neeeeeeed my phone ahhh but with the wedding and having to do pre-planned things for planning ours there really wasn't time to spend an hour or two at the store getting a new one. Then I noticed by Monday that I actually feel pretty great without a phone. When I go on runs it's just me whoever I'm with, the birds, the plants, etc. I used to hate running without music, but this week it has been so calming. And now about a week in, I can tell my focus is better and my mind is quiet. Kinda want to see how long this can go...

Mars driving post will happen in the next couple days. I got really inspired to work on the Nepal pictures/video so now that's here + shared with family & friends. Birthday is this weekend and I have no plans. Hopefully my more extroverted friends won't be mad if I just bake things and read because honestly that's all I want to do. Life is good =)

rocketyak  ·  2253 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018

    I think driving any of these all-electric vehicles is going to change your perception of driving, from "all the comforts of home, in the car", to transportation as utilitarian need.

Interesting, and that makes sense considering range is the name of the game with EVs right now and weight from extra BS = less range.

I wonder though how that will change when widespread use of autopilot enters the game, since my assumption is that autonomy is more likely to show up in all the EVs/hybrid/tech-y cars before the gassy ones (totally talking out of the air here). Once you remove the passenger from driving, it seems like the trend would go towards making the interior more home-y rather than less. I guess it makes the most sense to think two branches will emerge: one cheap utilitarian set of vehicles, and a set of luxury ones.

Those new Civics keep popping up in my life lately as a lot of my friends and family are getting them and loving it. I got to drive one over the weekend and yeah. If they could stuff a battery in the bottom I'd trade in my Prius for it yesterday.

rocketyak  ·  2253 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Homebrewing Raspberry-Apple [hard] Cider, Part 1

Since I can't drink beer (celiac) I've been considering doing some homebrew ciders at some point. Really interested to see how yours goes! What's the long term timeline after step 3?

rocketyak  ·  2261 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018

What's your opinion on the Bolt? Might be able to fit a roof rack on that.

rocketyak  ·  2261 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018

Just want to say those mittens look incredibly comfy =) Nice job!

rocketyak  ·  2261 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018

Really sorry to hear =(

rocketyak  ·  2261 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018

To be fair it's not just work that has me so stressed. We went from evacuated for a wildfire that came within a few blocks -> watching my sister's psychotic dog that barks constantly for 2 weeks -> overtime fiesta at work with no time to just sit. I just want to afford to be a hermit for like 3 weeks and then come back and still be employed lol

rocketyak  ·  2261 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: January 17, 2018

I've been lurking in the woodwork for a while, figured I'd pop back in and say hello.

The good

Had my first drive on Mars on Jan 2nd which was super exciting. More on that in a post I'm working on & will link here when it's done. Bottom line - it was awesome. Drilling capability on the rover should be back soon!

Fiance's sister is getting married this weekend, which means we get to see family for the first time in over a year. It will only be a couple days, but his family has the most fun weddings and I really really miss them.

The normal

Training for marathon #6 is going well. Not too enthused that my running routes are all flat and the race is going to be hilly, so hopefully the stairs and inclined treadmill I've added into my training routine will help with that. Not sure what else to do besides drive myself into the mountains at 4am to get in hills before work. We'll see what happens.

I've started making art again!

https://imgur.com/a/aztKc

Always trying to be creative with xmas gifts for friends and family, I decided this year to sketch everyone's pets onto plywood, use nails for a good border, and then fill in the colors with yarn. I'm pretty proud of how they turned out, and it's one low-tech thing I can do now that really does relax me. Which I need because...

The ugly

I can't even begin to describe how burnt out I am right now. I can't remember even basic words when speaking (would call it aphasia but it goes away when I'm not long term loosing my mind; had it on and off in grad school), GAD is hardcore kicking in, and basically I feel like I'm trying to live on fumes with half a brain. It's so frustrating to not be able to articulate myself at work, and I'm sure it must be confusing to see someone who clearly knows what they're doing not be able to use words to talk about it, and someone who a few months ago was on top of everything and coming in before deadlines no longer be able to make an extended, extended deadline. I love the work I'm doing and don't want to complain, but at the same time I keep getting asked to work overtime on days off and can't get myself to say no. I was supposed to work overtime the day before NYE and ended up being so sick I couldn't leave my bed for 4 days. On day 5 I was back at 8am. At least in a sense it shows how much I love what I'm doing, because it's a dream job.

I know the answer is that I need a break, I just don't know how to get one, because I have no vacation days. Without trying to go into too much detail, I got hired into NASA not as a full employee but as a long term contractor (DC level people putting a stranglehold on JPL hiring is my understanding) which means while all my colleagues get 8+ weeks of vacation every year I max out at 5 days. I was told that the contractor->JPL transition would be quick, but 2 years later here I am, still with no ability to take a break, and still no timeline for the conversion. Going to Nepal feels like a mistake, and even half of that trip was unpaid leave. I didn't know this would keep going this long. With half our family on the other side of the country and the other half in Europe, I haven't seen family besides my sibling, who luckily lives nearby, in a year. It doesn't help that I hate living in a city setting, I don't like LA weather (would much prefer to be snowed in right now! I used to love it) and our rent just raised us out of being able to afford our apartment. So now we're hunting again, and most places ignore you when you mention you have a service animal. Guys, I'm exhausted.

rocketyak  ·  2344 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 25, 2017

rover gonna rove

It was a nice surprise to find out popular science picked up on a news release from JPL about the work I + feed extended drilling team have been hammering out since June:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/news/a28765/curiositys-drill-is-finally-about-to-be-fixed/

I'm still geeking out about this because it's a magazine I've been reading since I was little. So even if my name isn't mentioned just the fact that something I've directly been working on is being talked about omg.

Finally done wading through the drilling sequence for now... though it's probably going to change a few more times. At least now I have the architecture figured out in my mind so I can start mapping that out in some visual way and subsequently figuring out what needs testing next month.

Otherwise work is going well. We had a crazy drive planning day yesterday since the sol plan got pulled at the last minute after some unusual data came down (dirt in a weird spot), which meant lots of work for me and the other strategic planner outlining relevant data to look at later and where we think things will go over the weekend (spoiler: it kept changing until our answer basically became ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). It was super fun though; first time there has been so much action for me on strategic planning :D There are some cool panoramas from where we are on the ridge currently, so once those get past ITAR I'll share them.

Zelda

Fiance and I have been 100% addicted to Zelda Breath of the Wild this week since he got a Nintendo Switch. It's such an open ended, relaxing, beautiful game. Very different from the other Zelda games, but in the best way possible. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a new game addiction. Spoiler - you can ride the bears... very carefully.

rocketyak  ·  2344 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 25, 2017

Yes! I'm going as a penguin, fiance is going as a squid. We're weird, but at least we found each other ha.

rocketyak  ·  2345 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 18, 2017

No worries - busy week for me too. Hmm I'll try this and see what happens. I'm starting the cultures over tomorrow since I threw out everything from the botched batch, but for the next week I'll try this and see if it helps. Also you've inspired me to to screw around with some pH strips in food this weekend, ha. Thanks!

rocketyak  ·  2345 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 18, 2017

Hmmm this is interesting. I guess it just dries things out thereby firming it up? I wonder how this differs from usual gelling.

rocketyak  ·  2345 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: This Land Is No Longer Your Land

My Morning Jacket did a remake of the song with the old? or maybe just similar? lyrics. I love this version though.

rocketyak  ·  2350 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 18, 2017

Yeah, it just didn't look any different than it did right after I mixed in the cultures. No gelling and (surprisingly since it's not homogenized) not much layer separation. No idea what the pH might have been since I was a bit afraid to taste it since it wasn't doing what I expected.

My method

- Bring a quart of goat milk to just below a boil in a dutch oven

- Put the top on and let it cool off the burner for 15 mins (or until lukewarm - 15 mins worked for me)

- Whisk in 1/4 cup yogurt <- my issue may have been here since the recipe I used the first time around was with a half cup, and we just didn't leave enough of the last batch

- Put the lid back on, and put it in the oven with a light on for 4-6 hours (check at 4 for gelling, my first batch was good at 4.5 so I figured a cap of 6 hours would start getting too sour for me)

- Put it in the fridge once finished.

Any suggestions for a culinary pH meter? I hadn't considered that as a gate check for yogurt making, but it makes a lot of sense. Not sure what else I can use it for, though I'm tempted to just start poking all kinds of things and get some food science data going ha.

And haha right!

rocketyak  ·  2351 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 11, 2017

Thanks! Definitely living a dream.

rocketyak  ·  2351 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 18, 2017

Good luck! Sounds like you've got a handle on it. Start slow and get enough fuel and you'll be fine =)

rocketyak  ·  2351 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 18, 2017

Ooo good luck! Marathons are addicting. Do you have a fuel plan? Also body glide. Everywhere. Especially if there will be any humidity or precipitation - it will make life more comfortable around mile 23.

Also if you're food motivated like me, it might help to have someone at the finish holding your favorite dessert haha. It's literally all I think about the last couple miles.

Hope it goes well! I'm sure it will be beautiful. Also have fun in S. Korea =)

rocketyak  ·  2351 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 18, 2017

Continuing my streak of mind-melting drill sequence reading/organizing. At least things make sense now that I have a better handle on the macros, plus I found out this fantastic piece of 2003 NASA history exists. Came for the rover drifting, stayed for the algorithms.

Goat milk didn't work very well for yogurt... maybe I didn't use enough starter? Maybe the different structure of goat milk protein means it needs to boil/incubate for longer? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ The tasty, sometimes very stinky, experiment continues. If anyone has yogurt making tips I'm all ears!

Also picked out our wedding colors so yay for progress.

rocketyak  ·  2359 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Pubski: October 11, 2017

My eyes are falling out after spending 2.5 days now wading through sequencing for the new drilling configuration we want to use with Curiosity on Mars. At the same time I'm loving it because doing this means I'll get to help write the sequence for the next phase, and then a robot on another planet will be using code I worked on. Life goal close to complete.

I need to get back on board with wedding planning - got my dress, the venue and what he's going to wear, which is pretty good for a year out, but I don't want to be rushing around mid-2018 trying to get things planned at the last minute.

Also I made yogurt from scratch this week, so that was tasty. Going to try using goat milk for next week's batch and see what happens.

    It's pretty bizarre that it charges you for a phone charger but doesn't hit you for gas.

This weirdly glazes over most of the finances involved with driving, including almost bi-weekly oil changes, and the trap where you can get stuck near a university doing minimum fare drives for two hours only making ~$5/hr. Also the star rating is unrealistic as most people will give 4 stars when they're satisfied not realizing penalties for drivers start at 4.6 and below (or at least they used to). At least now people can tip; that was a huge reason I made the switch from Uber to Lyft and still exclusively use Lyft when I need a ride.

    Also, "a passenger slammed the shit out of your car so we suspended you from driving." I'd really like to see the footnote on that one.

I drove for Uber and then Lyft for a few months after grad school and literally never heard of that. Maybe it's a footnote for leased cars that didn't apply to me?

rocketyak  ·  2361 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: California Wine Country is burning

Yeah they can move very quickly; especially around mountains due to wind effects. Plus wildfires that get large enough tend to influence the atmosphere around them (i.e. coupled fire atmosphere dynamics), making their movement even harder to predict. Though the research in this area is promising! Bonus: research in the journal of combustion which is just a fun place to browse.

I was living within 2 miles of the Sand Fire last year, and it was insane and terrifying how quickly the fire line moved. Nothing like laying in bed and seeing a fire-tornado on the ridge out your window. Luckily I had a go bag by the door, so leaving quickly was easy, and the fire didn't reach my place. Same thing happened again a couple months ago when the La Tuna fire was within 2 miles of where I moved to, ha. This state is determined to almost burn me down.

rocketyak  ·  2366 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Job Interview in two hours... USE YOUR MAGIC

Yay!! Late to the party but great to hear it went well. I've noticed with multi-stage interviews that if one goes well, then subsequent ones do too because that guy will pass on that you're a fun, competent person to chat with. Hopefully that's the pattern you find as well =)

rocketyak  ·  2366 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A few of my thousands of pictures from Nepal

Nepal is roughly the same area as Arkansas, so not all that big. While cities aren't generally that far apart, it took us 7 hours to drive the 60ish miles between Chitwan and Kathmandu because the roads are so windy and unkept. We hired a driver recommended by my local friend, and I wouldn't suggest trying to drive yourself unless you're familiar with driving in 3rd world countries... i.e. no signals and any signs/lines on the road are suggestions ;) If I went again I'd fly between cities (most have flights with very small planes); however, I'm really glad to have had the experience of seeing all the roadside villages, sights, and random herds of animals.

rocketyak  ·  2366 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Physicists find we're not living in a computer simulation

Does this truly put the argument to rest though? The conclusion seems to be that because the complexity of a machine (that we can conceive) would need more atoms than (we know of) in our universe, that it's impossible that we're living in a simulation. All that says to me is that it's impossible we're living in a simulation constructed of our best understanding of what a computer can be, and made of/describing the particles we know of... which only constitutes like 5% of the universe. What's stopping a system we can't comprehend made of matter we neither know of nor understand from being what's running the simulation?

Disclaimer: My opinion is based on the cosmos magazine write-up, as reading the paper just showed me how illiterate I am in quantum particle physics, haha. So if someone could explain why the paper proves I'm wrong that would be awesome!

rocketyak  ·  2367 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A few of my thousands of pictures from Nepal

    How are Pokhara and Kathmandu recovering after the earthquakes in 2015? I heard there are still lots of ongoing problems.
Pokhara didnt seem to be hit as badly as Kathmandu, the surrounding valley, and Bandipur. Repairs are in the works, but it's super super slow. Most of the locals we talked to linked it to corruption in the government, where money that should be going into road repairs, fixing older buildings, etc is going into people's pockets. I'm sure things will get put back together (it mostly was short of some of the world heritage sites taking an understadably long time to regroup and rebuild) but it will be a while. The flooding near Chitwan earlier this year didnt help with disaster relief funding, though from what I saw Chitwan at least has mostly recovered.

We never made it to Nagarkot! Next time. We found our swing outside Bandipur, and played on another on a hillside just outside Kathmandu. I do love those swings though... how many weird looks wpuld I get for building one in LA next to my apartment? Haha. Did you get to see/ride one of the wooden mini ferris wheels? Those things can go FAST! So much fun.