A Year Since the Launch

One year ago, I was lucky enough to see the last NASA Space Shuttle launch in person. I joined over 100 other participants in the NASA Social program (formerly NASA Tweetup) as we had exclusive media access to the best seats in the house in Cape Canaveral, Florida.. We shared laughs, knowledge, and more laughs as we celebrated all that the US has done with the space program in the last few decades.

Amazingly, we've come a long way since then, with SpaceX's Dragon becoming the first private spacecraft to dock with the International apace Station and China launching its first woman into space. Space exploration will continue, even without the shuttles.

For my thoughts at the time, check out the following posts:

- Initial announcement of my trip

- Philadelphia Examiner interview

- WHYY interview

- Recap of the first day of the two day program

- Video from the Shuttle up close

- Video of the final liftoff (also embedded above)

- Post Launch thoughts

- Writeup for Media Tapper

A Boy, a Man, and a VHS Player

Check out the hilarious video below of a filmmaker who left a video for himself 20 years ago. He obviously takes some editing liberties, but he's allowed to since he's talking to himself!

I never had a camcorder as a kid, but this is something I definitely would have done. I did, however, own a VHS player, and would often record my favorite shows and movies of the time. I was talking to my mom the other day and she still has her dedicated VHS rewinder, which I remember using especially for avoiding the extra charge that Blockbhster would penalize you for if your returned tape was not fully rewound.

Thank You, Internet

The internet has changed my life. I've been able to easily keep up with old friends, find new friends that share my interests, and keep myself educated on everything from history to electronics. And of course, this blog would be nothing more than a personal journal if I couldn't share it online.

The flag shown above was created by Google and is comprised of several quotes about what makes the internet awesome. Check out some of the quotes in detail in the video embedded below, and add your quote at Google's site.

#ScienceLooksGood: This July 4th Could Explain Everything

This July 4th can explain everything. And I mean EVERYTHING, as in how the universe works. Scientists have been puzzeld for decades as to why some particles have mass and some don't, and they have hypotehsized the existence of something known as the Higgs Boson particle that would explain why. It's rumored that scientists will announce the discovery of the Higgs Boson, or "God particle", on July 4th.

Ezra Klein made me SO happy by geeking out and going into the importance of the Higgs boson. It's a great primer - check it out!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There are many other videos on the history of the Higgs boson on a very helpful MSNBC page. 

The Minute Physics YouTube channel that Ezra refers to is also beyond awesome.  Here's a quick one, which covers the equation called the Standard Model that predicts the existence of the Higgs Boson:

Check out Minutephysics on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+!

#ScienceLooksGood: Carl Sagan is the Man

My good friend Monika Brooks alerted me to this wonderful PBS post that challenges scientists to explain concepts to a group of 11 year olds. The topic, as shown in the video below, is "What Is a Flame?"

The contest is appropriately named after one of my heroes - Carl Sagan. He was an astronomer with an uncanny ability to explain complex terms in a normal way. 

Hey Carl!

This was best exemplified in his book and TV series Cosmos, which defined space exploration for many folks in the 80s. I didn't discover Cosmos until 2002, and I immediately fell in love with it.  Check out the Cosmos intro below: