Monthly Archives: January 2012

And people say the space program is ending…!

Posted on 31 January 2012 by josephshoer

NASA just closed their latest application drive for astronaut candidates. A staggering 6372 people applied – the second-largest candidate group in NASA’s entire history! (Personally, I’m rooting for this one.) What gives? Do people love science and technology a lot more … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA, Space | Leave a comment

Gaming Machine: Part the First

Posted on 28 January 2012 by josephshoer

I have decided to build myself a gaming computer. This decision was spurred on by three factors: (1) I want to know what happens in StarCraft 2, and my current computer can’t run it, (2) I want to play Skyrim, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gadgets | 4 Comments

Support

Posted on 26 January 2012 by josephshoer

I am a member of the “millennial” generation. You know, the stereotypical hipster kids who like some band you’ve probably never heard of and are living with their parents, unemployed. Except…that’s not me. I graduated from college and immediately went to … Continue reading →

Posted in Graduate school, Politics | Leave a comment

Antitechnocracy

Posted on 14 January 2012 by josephshoer

A reporter from This American Life did something interesting for today’s broadcast: she brought together a ninth-grade global warming skeptic and the executive director of the National Earth Science Teachers Association together in the show studio for a discussion. (Audio available here.) … Continue reading →

Posted in People, Science, Skepticism, Social commentary | Leave a comment

A Universe Full of Worlds

Posted on 12 January 2012 by josephshoer

This week has been great for exoplanet news! Ever since the launch of the Kepler space telescope, it seems like extrasolar planet discoveries have been rolling in constantly. But this week at the American Astronomical Society meeting, there were several … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Space, Wow | Leave a comment

Calling All Space Tech!

Posted on 10 January 2012 by josephshoer

In grad school, I became a big fan of NIAC (the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts) and the Office of the Chief Technologist. These wings of the NASA organization support research into far-flung, visionary technological concepts. They are the parts … Continue reading →

Posted in NASA, Research, Space | Leave a comment

Small Web Update

Posted on 7 January 2012 by josephshoer

I’ve been doing a fair number of fantasy maps lately, taking pictures of them, and putting them on the Internet. So, I’ve decided to give them their own section on my images page, and their own Picasa album.  There’s even … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Fantasy, Maps | Leave a comment

Flying to Titan

Posted on 2 January 2012 by josephshoer

Decadal surveys and other prioritizations of potential NASA exploration missions often rank one thing very highly: a sample-return mission from Mars. However, I think there are some much more scientifically interesting, technologically challenging, and engaging to the public mission proposals … Continue reading →

Posted in Concepts, NASA, Science, Space | 2 Comments