And now for something completely different! Listen close, and you will hear a tale of an intriguing interplay between consumer choice, government regulation and market competition, the likes of which happen all around us but for the most part go unseen. There are two brands of unsweetened almond milk  - let's call... [Read More]

I’m a little confused. Maybe there’s something I’m missing, but I’m not sure why having the single common trait of being good at winning elections makes a group of accountants, lawyers, economists, MDs, real estate agents, jet pilots, and reporters suddenly qualified to determine the validity of space missions. Sarcasm aside,... [Read More]

For those of you interested in a broad overview of the cutting edge of space exploration, or just in need of a space excitement boost: Mason Peck, the NASA Chief Technologist (who also happens to be my PhD advisor) did an AMA on Reddit yesterday.  He answers a swath of... [Read More]

I recently came across a letter written by Ernst Stuhlinger in 1970.   It’s a fairly long letter, but provides some good arguments for space exploration. What stood out in my mind was this  (possibly fictional) story: “About 400 years ago, there lived a count in a small town in Germany.... [Read More]

Distracted by a could-not-be-more-beautiful day, I forgot to put up a "May the Fourth be with you" post. Like the Jedi, my negligence has given rise to The Revenge of the Fifth! If your nerd quotient is not dangerously high enough to have seen these before, here are some very... [Read More]