What do you do when you're not here?

ElecMoHwk · Post #1by **ElecMoHwk** » 03.12.2006, 02:31

Could not find a topic in this area about this but it's a huge curiosity. I've found guys on this forum that seem to be amazingly talented in the fields of programming, 3d modeling, astronomy, graphics, and all other forms of geekiness....

What do you guys do day to day? What day jobs do you guys have?

Another question, related but more specific.

Who here works for NASA in some shape or form?

Dollan · Post #2by **Dollan** » 03.12.2006, 02:56

I manage Student Family Housing for my University... and I have one friend who *did* work for NASA, but is now an instructor here.

...John...

buggs_moran · Post #3by **buggs_moran** » 03.12.2006, 12:49

By day I am a mild mannered mathematics teacher at a small boarding school for boys with behavioral issues...

By night I am a crime fighter...oh no wait, that's not me... By night I am a Celestia geek, Flickr photographer, amateur astronomer, occasional web designer, humanist, and all around procrastinating lazy American.

ElecMoHwk · Post #4by **ElecMoHwk** » 06.12.2006, 07:04

I guess I should answer my own thread eh?

I work at JPL, as a Communications Chief on the Deep Space Network. The thing that talks to Voyager still, as well as anything else beyond the moon (and a few closer things as well)...

I typically read through these forums and play with Celestia during the down times here at work, since my 12 hour shifts leave me with little time for anything other than sleep and some time with my fiancee at home!

SkyScraper · Post #5by **SkyScraper** » 06.12.2006, 09:05

I am curios
What NASA has to say about celestia :?:

ElecMoHwk · Post #6by **ElecMoHwk** » 06.12.2006, 10:15

I wouldn't know. All I do know is that another one of the guys I work with also plays with Orbiter alot. We both like both programs... but officially I don't think there's any word on it

DEStRucto · Post #7by **DEStRucto** » 07.12.2006, 07:04

during day time i work as a star gazer..

at night i work at a contact center, bugging americans, asking for business managers and owners.. its all good.. :lol:

Sky Guy · Post #8by **Sky Guy** » 07.12.2006, 19:28

I work at the Palomar Observatory as their public information officer. There are quite a few JPL people here from time to time.

I am using Celestia to put together a solar system tour that would highlight some (hopefully) interesting asteroid and KBO discoveries made from Palomar.

LordFerret · Post #9by **LordFerret** » 04.01.2007, 04:29

A little late on this post, but why not...

I'll stake my claim as that similar to buggs_moran, a "procrastinating lazy American" LOL!... I'm retired. I used to be a software programmer doing applications development. These days, having discovered Celestia, I play and explore with Celestia a lot and am now beginning to try my hand at .cel scripting. I also devote time in the online gaming arena involving a game called DoD (Day of Defeat), where I'm a server admin and forum moderator. The game involves WWII combat simulation (of sorts - it's for fun). I also waypoint DoD maps for bot usage (Sturmbot v1.7). An amature photographer since age 10, (specializing in photomacrography), I'm also currently in the process of scanning the 10's of thousands of negatives, slides, and prints I've accumulated over the years for archival to CD's... a painstaking and daunting task for sure. Such are the things which keep me busy.

As for the NASA question... I used to work with a guy years back who, at one point in his career, worked for NASA doing quality assurance with the Shuttle program... something to do with tolerance of parts manufactured for the Shuttle. I also have an uncle who did a little collaborative work with Cornell and Goddard many years back, helping co-author an educational publication entitled "How Far A Star?" (1969 LCCN: 75602786).

Dracontes · Post #10by **Dracontes** » 10.01.2007, 14:13

I've not been here for quite a while so...

I'm a Life & Earth Sciences student at Universidade do Algarve in Portugal so that includes a lot of class attendance and preparing for performance evaluations.

I'm an amateur artist, which includes bouts of creativeness as my disposition wills, and the management of the gallery I linked above and many others. I am deeply interested in the history of life, being somewhat of a dinosaur nerd, which includes perusal of pertinent forums and mailing lists, besides drawing the creatures.
I'm somewhat of a despondent user of Wikipedia, though I think I've made worthwhile contributions to it.

That among other things...