So True...

Just thought I'd end November with this interesting meme that was posted on my Facebook news feed a few days ago. I could definitely relate to it...ever since January of 2011. Won't elaborate—but the amount of fun and memorable memories that I have of last decade is equated to the amount of memorably tumultuous experiences I've had over the past five years. It's true that a lot of cool things have happened to me since the start of this decade (finally being able to do the HALO jump in 2013, appearing on my favorite TV show The Big Bang Theory two months ago, etc...), but if I can go back to the feeling of contentment (not complacency, mind you) that I felt in December of 2010, I would. Happy Monday.

An End Of An Era Will Soon Be Upon Us...

Ronald Martinez / Getty Images

Kobe Bryant just announced this evening that he will be retiring from the NBA at the end of this season. I'll wait till next Spring to start realizing the fact that a sports icon who devoted almost 20 years of his life and five championships to the city of Los Angeles will soon be departing from the Lakers...

Maybe now, the media will spend as much time talking about Michael Jordan's true heir as they do gushing about Stephen Curry and LeBron James. Those two definitely deserve to be recognized for their talents and accomplishments, but come next April [I'd say May, but the Lakers do not look like playoff material (that's an understatement) as of this entry], one of the greatest basketball players of all time will be playing his final game at STAPLES Center. I'm tryin' not to get emotional here...


Getty Images


Getty Images

Happy Thanksgiving Day, Everyone!

Or should I say, as an annual tradition— Happy Falsify-A-Peace-Treaty-Then-Slaughter-Your-Dinner-Guests-And-Steal-Their-Land-And-Eat-Until-Your-Sick Day!!! Of course, this seems a bit redundant considering these two memes I found online that speaks the truth about current world events... Carry on.

One Down, 17 More to Go...

NASA / Chris Gunn

NASA’s Webb Space Telescope Receives First Mirror Installation (Press Release)

NASA has successfully installed the first of 18 flight mirrors onto the James Webb Space Telescope, beginning a critical piece of the observatory’s construction.

In the clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland this week, the engineering team used a robot arm to lift and lower the hexagonal-shaped segment that measures just over 4.2 feet (1.3 meters) across and weighs approximately 88 pounds (40 kilograms). After being pieced together, the 18 primary mirror segments will work together as one large 21.3-foot (6.5-meter) mirror. The full installation is expected to be complete early next year.

“The James Webb Space Telescope will be the premier astronomical observatory of the next decade,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This first-mirror installation milestone symbolizes all the new and specialized technology that was developed to enable the observatory to study the first stars and galaxies, examine the formation stellar systems and planetary formation, provide answers to the evolution of our own solar system, and make the next big steps in the search for life beyond Earth on exoplanets.”

Several innovative technologies have been developed for the Webb Telescope, which is targeted for launch in 2018, and is the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Webb will study every phase in the history of our universe, including the cosmos’ first luminous glows, the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, and the evolution of our own solar system.

The 18 separate segments unfold and adjust to shape after launch. The mirrors are made of ultra-lightweight beryllium chosen for its thermal and mechanical properties at cryogenic temperatures. Each segment also has a thin gold coating chosen for its ability to reflect infrared light. The telescope’s biggest feature is a tennis court sized five-layer sunshield that attenuates heat from the sun more than a million times.

“After a tremendous amount of work by an incredibly dedicated team across the country, it is very exciting to start the primary mirror segment installation process" said Lee Feinberg, James Webb Space Telescope optical telescope element manager at Goddard. "This starts the final assembly phase of the telescope."

The mirrors must remain precisely aligned in space in order for Webb to successfully carry out science investigations. While operating at extraordinarily cold temperatures between minus 406 and minus 343 degrees Fahrenheit, the backplane must not move more than 38 nanometers, approximately one thousandth the diameter of a human hair.

"There have many significant achievements for Webb over the past year, but the installation of the first flight mirror is special," said Bill Ochs, James Webb Space Telescope project manager. "This installation not only represents another step towards the magnificent discoveries to come from Webb, but also the culmination of many years of effort by an outstanding dedicated team of engineers and scientists."

The mirrors were built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. Ball is the principal subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the optical technology and lightweight mirror system. The installation of the mirrors onto the telescope structure is performed by Harris Corporation of Rochester, New York. Harris Corporation leads integration and testing for the telescope.

The James Webb Space Telescope is an international project led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA works with the international science community to explore our solar system and beyond. We look to unravel mysteries that intrigue us all as we explore to answer big questions, like how did our solar system originate and change over time, and how did the universe begin and evolve, and what will be its destiny?

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Chris Gunn

Photo of the Day: Stare at This Image of Pluto at 4:20...

NASA / JHUAPL / SwRI

Psychedelic Pluto (Press Release - November 12)

New Horizons scientists made this false color image of Pluto using a technique called principal component analysis to highlight the many subtle color differences between Pluto's distinct regions. The image data were collected by the spacecraft’s Ralph/MVIC color camera on July 14 at 11:11 AM UTC, from a range of 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers). This image was presented by Will Grundy of the New Horizons’ surface composition team on Nov. 9 at the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS) meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) in National Harbor, Maryland.

Source: NASA.Gov

Since Christmas Is Coming Up...

Gotta love the Internet... It's a wondrous place filled with such clever memes.

I Agree With This Meme...

I stumbled upon this meme on Facebook three days ago and it's been lingering on my computer desktop since then. Not anymore. Saddam Hussein must be laughing in his grave right now... "Mission Accomplished?" I wonder if George Dubya wanted to smack himself upside the head for making that premature declaration about the Iraq War aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln back in 2003. In all fairness though, President Obama said that ISIS was "contained" prior to the Paris attacks last Friday. If not for his naïveté, our military forces wouldn't have been fully withdrawn from Iraq four years ago...prompting militants to call open season on taking over the beleaguered country and causing the Islamic State to eventually rise. The gist of this entry: Our recent presidents seemed to underestimate the enemy—and overstate America's military effectiveness when it comes to waging a conflict in the Middle East. And in the case of Bush, starting a war to make up for your dad's previous failure (George H.W. Bush was unwilling to have U.S. military forces enter Baghdad and oust Hussein in 1991's Operation Desert Storm) is not good foreign policy. Carry on.

Remembering A Fellow 49er...

Just a few hours ago, I drove down to Cal State Long Beach, my college alma mater, to attend a vigil for Nohemi Gonzalez at the campus' University Student Union. Gonzalez was one of 129 people who sadly lost their lives in the Paris terrorist attacks two days ago. Around 2,000 attendees—which included Nohemi's classmates, her family and friends, faculty and staff members, alumni (like myself) and foreign dignitaries—were on-hand to hear about what a bright and ambitious student Nohemi was at CSULB before traveling to Paris to study there for a semester. It completely struck a nerve with me that a prodigious industrial design student who attended the same school as me would be a victim of such a senseless tragedy. As shown in the photo above, Ms. Gonzalez's family should take solace in the fact that there were so many people who showed up today to support them in this time of sadness. Rest In Peace, Nohemi... I didn't know you personally, but the stories told this evening by the people who did indicate that you're someone who would've left a positive mark on my life if we met. Farewell.

Honoring the People of Paris...

Just thought I'd share this photo that I saw on Facebook showing the 1 World Trade Center in New York City with its antenna spire lit in blue, white and red—corresponding to the order of colors on the French flag. First, Charlie Hebdo and now this. The people of France need all of the support they can get as they have been continually placed in the crosshairs of cowardly fanatics since January. This is another example of why the war on terrorism will not go away for a long time. Pray for Paris.

I'd Vote for Trump on This...

I really would.