This chain of emails is unaltered except for the removal of identifying information: On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 3:09 PM, Benjamin Reinhardt <[email protected]> wrote: Hello, Would it be possible to get more information regarding the rejection decision on my paper for Conference 2013? Thank you. On Fri, May 3,... [Read More]

If you’ve been paying attention to space news recently, you’ll know there’s a lot of conflict in congress concerning the course that they want NASA to take. It’s like a bunch of small children fighting over a teddy bear – in the same way that the bear isn’t fun for... [Read More]

Today, the NYT writes about yet another bizarre interplay between government and private incentives - in this case, the helium market.  The upshot seems to be that the days of getting a free balloon for getting your braces off might soon be over. A spike in the price of helium... [Read More]

 Saturday Space Stories!  Ordered from least to most probable: Through some excellent mechanical design, you can now imagine that you’re in a Battlestar Galactica space battle with your stomach as well as your brain. Verdict: while the simulator is a very cool real thing, close quarters space combat with robots-that-have-evolved-into-people... [Read More]

Today holds a special place in my heart: it's the long standing Caltech tradition known as Ditch Day! While it started off as a normal senior ditch day, Caltech undergrad culture being what it is, it didn't stay normal for long. The original Ditch Day "stacks"-a Caltech euphemism for locks-were... [Read More]