shame on us
A friend pointed me to a blog called PostSecret this weekend. Apparently people write a secret they’ve never told anyone else and send it to somebody in Germantown, MD.
This one had a NASA contribution…
10 Responses to “shame on us”
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Michael Doornbos on November 11th, 2009
I saw that over the weekend. That’s a tough truth there. Need to turn the ship around, and fast.
Beth Beck on November 11th, 2009
Wow! We should have a poster printed. Reality check.
skytland on November 13th, 2009
I agree Beth! That’s a good idea…
iMensah on November 12th, 2009
It is a sad truth, but do you want to know what I say? I say “Get over it”. Everyone knows that government, no matter what branch, typically runs on old technology because old technology is tried, true, generally safer, and…CHEAPER. If you want cutting edge, go to the “outside” and work for a tech company; that’s where the real innovation is.
Rolando Quintanilla on November 12th, 2009
Your statement pains me, we can’t afford to think “because we are government”. It is psychological, if we expect that we use old technologies/ techniques because we are government, then we will use old technologies/techniques. Our expectations become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
John Benac on November 12th, 2009
Bide your time folks. We are the ones to implement Constellation, or whatever else they do with the money. Historically, and for the foreseeable future, NASA and their contractors are the only game in town (when the game is on) when it comes to leading human exploration beyond earth orbit.
And if robotic exploration is your gig, then the statement simply does not apply. NASA is doing the coolest stuff that’s being done (and their contractors.)
Some people, somewhere in NASA will always have boring jobs.
Rolando Quintanilla on November 12th, 2009
We are the future, I agree that we have to be patient. My biggest fear is that I/we will be eaten up by the system, and nothing will change. I have seen so many of my senior counter parts get eaten up by the system. It hurts to see people who you know had a lot of passion as younger engineers get jaded by the system.
If all we do is lead things the way we think things should be led today, we will still be 10 years behind industry.
I see a lot of opportunity for NASA, but whether we will fulfill our promise I am not sure. I can only keep faith and hope that we will.
lwarren on November 14th, 2009
When I was a kid, I wanted to work at Disneyland. After all, Disneyland is "the happiest place on Earth." It's a magic place where you can blast off in a rocket, fly over London in the Jolly Roger, get attacked by a giant squid 20,000 leagues under the sea, take a cruise on a jungle river, and then visit 19th century New Orleans.
Even as a child, I recognized that the magic would fade as soon as I walked through a door labeled "Castmembers Only." The magic is the result of a small city of Disney employees working behind the scenes. Giant facilities include generators, food preparation, pumps, filters, electric sub-stations, sewage treatment and garbage staging. The behind the scenes 'City Works' of Disneyland is carefully hidden from the guests in order to maintain the sense of magic.
There are castmembers that get to BE Mickey Mouse! But they are no more important than the meticulous janitors that keep the park spotless.
NASA is a little bit like Disneyland. NASA is a magic place where you can blast off on a rocket, build a spacecraft to cruise through the trail of a comet, take pictures of baby stars, fly over the planet in 90 minutes, study the ice caps without getting cold. Like Disneyland, the magic of NASA really isn't magic at all.
When you walk through the doors, you find that it takes a lot of hard work by a lot of people. There are people that get to GO to space! But they are no more important than the technician that installs the space potty.
To get to my point: behind the scenes work is rarely glamorous and not always inspiring. There's paperwork and meetings and processes and training and certification and more meetings. It takes all of that and more to make the magic happen.
@msengupta on November 21st, 2009
It seems what's missing is the connection to the agency's missions and goals that makes comments like that on the PostSecret message so prevalent. It is our responsibility as employees to understand & appreciate the role we play within the grand scheme of space exploration. However, just the same, it is the agency's responsibility to enable us to take ownership in all parts of professional lives. There's no reason the government cannot develop and implement new, innovative technical and process-based approaches in doing business. I believe we're already headed this direction: President Obama's SAVE Award initiative is a shining example of enabling federal employees to take ownership in improving efficiency within the government. If our Administration is taking strides to adopting innovative approaches to doing business, there's no reason federal agencies cannot do the same.
Dhanashri@yahoo.com on July 20th, 2010
I want to join nasa but I don’t no how to go?