NASA Culture (2 of 2)

(originally posted at www.opennasa.com)

The first time I ever thought of culture, I did so kicking and screaming. It was World Cultures class in ninth grade. Everyone had to take it. I didn’t know why I needed to take any kind of culture or history class at the time. My eyes were on the future, my head in the stars. Thinking back, I have no idea what I was thinking.

Culture is cool. I get that now. And it’s important, too. It’s a unifying force and the unseen hand of progress and failure, tolerance and pride, beauty and injustice. It’s always there and might be the most important factor in our success as an agency and nation.

What is NASA culture to you?

Our Nation: Culture and Change (part 1 of 2)

(originally posted at www.opennasa.com)

Culture.

What does that word do for you? I hear it thrown around a lot when talking about change. And change, unless maybe you’ve been living in a Thai jungle for the last 2 years or so, seems to at least be a hot topic on many people’s minds lately.

(No offense intended if you have in fact been living in a Thai jungle and feel this image unfitting.)

How important is culture to a country’s ability to change? Is change an inherent characteristic of our nation’s culture?

President-elect Obama, in his acceptance speech on election night, said, “For that is the true genius of America- that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.”

I bring this up first as a topic on a national level because I think it’s important to understand change in the context of our nation’s character, regardless of political stance, before getting down to how NASA fits in.

(Feel free to comment on NASA culture here if you want, but part 2 will be “Our NASA: Culture and Change”.)

Blind Dog in a Meat House

(Originally posted to www.opennasa.com)

“FITZPATRICK!!!” He’d call, running up and grabbing my facemask with a giant fist of hard, burly knuckles, “you’re running around like a blind dog in a meat house, son!”

Eloquent words recalled from my days prowling the defensive backfield as a free safety on the high school football practice fields. My coach would make it a point to yell from the complete opposite side of the field, making everyone stop in their tracks to watch his 260-pound frame barrel down on me to inform me that:

A) I was out of position

and

B) I didn’t have a clue why I should have been in the right position.

A Line in the Sand

(originally published at www.opennasa.com)

I recently had a conversation with a friend about blogging. She said, “I would never blog—I’m worried enough about my words coming back to haunt me through email, let alone captured for the world to see through a blog.”

I told her how I was trying to learn the ropes of blogging (though I’m terribly infrequent about it, I know) and that I try to put at least some conscious thought into the words I use in any communication, including emails and even my post-it notes, which are carefully edited, often crumpled up and re-written to cram all the details I’m trying to convey on that tiny neon green sheet of paper before being applied to a coworker’s monitor in an attention-grabbing location. But, at the end of the day, I’m ok with my words running free, even through the abyss of the Internet.

Yes. These words, too.

I then went on to say, “then again, maybe I just don’t know any better.”

One Year on the Job

(originally posted on www.opennasa.com)

Whew-I made it!

One full year on the job.

(NASA, I’m writing you this blog entry as a combined present for our anniversary and your 50th birthday. Even though I’m technically late on both and you might have been hoping for a more substantial present like a bouquet of tulips or a nice dinner at that fancy French restaurant in town or a pearl necklace-yeah right on my salary!-I hope you won’t use that in future arguments over which TV show we’ll watch on Tuesday nights. I’m still voting for House, for the record).

I started full-time at NASA back in August 2007, having graduated the previous May after spending five co-op tours at JSC over the previous four years. They say you usually don’t start talking to yourself or addressing the agency as your significant other for at least 10 years, so I’m thrilled to be ahead of the curve on this one.

An Introspection

What to do about the endeavor of space exploration? Does it matter like it used to? Did it ever matter? Does its relevance live up to the challenges and expenses it necessitates? Does it capture the hearts and minds and dreams of humanity?

Should it?