Stuff that's happened

I've noticed that I rarely write in this blog about what's going on. So here's what's going on.

This weekend, the men from the Christian Raging Alcoholic Social Hour (CRASH, a.k.a. our "Life Group") will be going up to Mammoth for some much desired R&R. And
Matt, whether he knows it or not, will be leaving on Friday at 6pm.

At work, I just finished working on a proposal to work on "Transport in the Three-Body Problem." Essentially, the goal is to view the solar system as a fluid in which all the asteroids and comets are like "tracers" showing us where the fluid is going. We want to characterize the mixing of this "fluid" which is "stirred" by the gravity of the several planets. We can color code the fluid and make diagrams like the one shown.

Today a reporter from Engineering and Science magazine is going to talk to my colleagues and I about our work, especially this notion of the Interplanetary Superhighway, where tubes in space connect all the planets, via that fluid-like motion I mentioned. Later tonight, my friend and colleague
Koon and his wife will take Francois and I out to dinner to celebrate the completion of the proposal that we all worked quite a bit on.

It looks I got my talk accepted for the
13th Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Ponce,
Puerto Rico, February 9-13.
The title is Design of Multi-Moon Orbiter, and it's about using a single spacecraft to orbit multiple moons of Jupiter, something that's never been done before. I'm excited to go -- so let's keep our fingers crossed and hope that I can get the travel money. Anyone else want to come? It's Puerto Rico, not Cuba mind you.

My mom is up in Oakhurst and hopefully I can see her some time in the next few weeks. My sister is thinking of going to culinary school. And my dad has been going on dates. For myself, I've been to a few bars recently, mostly to hang out. I've met a few women. So much balance is needed in this life, such as balancing the drive to pursue, which can take up tons of time and energy, and the drive to just do and be and wait and see. I'd rather take the latter road. There are many battles and adventures to be had, and many are taking shape. Perilous and varied shape!

As an aside, and I may write a pamphlet directed toward Christian audiences entitled "Back to the Bar: Why Christians Should Give Up Prohibition and Drink Socially." We'll see though.

The natives are getting restless. The time has almost come.

Corporations have been enthroned. An era of corruption in high
places will follow and the money power will endeavor to prolong
its reign by working on the prejudices of the people...until
wealth is aggregated in a few hands...and the Republic is
destroyed.

- Abraham Lincoln