"HQ to Security, who's that really big nerd with the camera?!!"

Oh yeah baby, I gots da pics!



So as you can see, the new jobs has some kick-ass perks!

I took a little visit to the high desert today to work in the Air Force Research Lab, more specifically the rocket propulsion lab, deep in Edwards Air Force Base.

As a kid from Houston, this trip is SUPER cool. I mean, the space program started here. They built the Saturn Rockets here. Verner Von Braun lived, breathed, and blew shit up here. They kept the craters folks, seriously. This is the birthplace of NASA, and home of the test pilot training school. This is where they make astronauts.

Yeah, the best of the best with the right stuff. That's them.



Oh, and there's also a shitload of nerds stuffed inside a multiple level sub-terrainian facility built into the side of a mountain. These are ACTUAL ROCKET SCIENTISTS people. If I was allowed to talk about some of the things I saw in there, I would. Holy shit I would. However, I have this little thing called self-preservation, and it kind of keeps my big mouth shut.

Officially I didn't see a damn thing. Unofficially I didn't see a damn thing.

But holy cow what I didn't see was so damn cool!

I had a real blast talking with the guy who wrote the MEAP Java2 code that makes Rover drive across Mars. I saw a helmet worn by Michael Collins, you know him...he was the guy orbiting the moon when Neil Armstrong was chatting about "one small step for man." Hell, yeah people this is one fun job.



While I was waiting for Santos to finish a memory dump on one of our machines, I walked into an office full of actual rocket scientists. I suddenly felt a strong urge to test the waters and shouted:

"Greedo shot first!"

I was immediately greeted with a host of unpleasant faces (many with adult acne and bad hair) shouting back:

"No way, Han Solo shot first!"
"George Lucas must die!"
"Solo man, he nailed him"

Ah yes, I was surrounded by my kind. A kindred spirit floating amongst his brethren....

....only I get laid.