I’m Back at Goddard

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The contracting task I was working on last year was over at the end of August. I had some time off coming, and I took it. And then I decided to retire. (I was about to turn 68.) A colleague who runs a small consulting firm with contracts at Goddard has asked me to join his firm, and I’ve said, “Yes.” I’m starting this morning with the job title of Chief Engineer.

46 thoughts on “I’m Back at Goddard”


  1. Congratulations!

    Now, I have a number of friends who can explain to you what the meaning of “retire” is….

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    • I’ve retired four times, at last count.

      Each led to a different new adventure.

      I’ve decided that, for me at least, “retirement” is a euphemism for “I wonder what job adventure is next?”

      😉

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  10. Congratulations! A good quantum mechanic is hard to find…

    “Be sure to lock up your tools at the end of each shift.” – advice given me by my maternal grandfather, as I was headed off to my first post college job as a programmer.

    He wasn’t wrong…

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        • Yeah, without assistance, you might make flowcharts where the decision block only had ‘yes’ outputs…

          On Mon, Feb 8, 2016 at 6:40 PM, hogewash wrote:

          > wpdavidd commented: “One wouldn’t want one’s flowcharting template and > print ruler to go missing….” >

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  14. I have to say I’m surprised they would hire a senile old fart that heads up a cabal.

    Congratulations Mr. Hoge. Hope you enjoy the work.

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  16. Those who are truly valued keep getting pulled back in.
    Those are who are not you can’t seem to boot out fast enough.
    I hope they make you adopt a Scottish accent.
    Well done.

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  18. Congrats Chief Engineer Hoge.

    Be careful when investigating those Dyson Spheres. (Star Trek: TNG epsiode “Relics” for those who don’t remember)

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  20. Reminded me of my college days interning in space shuttle ops group in Rockwell during the first space shuttle missions. Good times

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  23. In other news… let’s see if this cuts and pastes to look reasonable:

    Docket Date: 02/08/2016 Docket Number: 163
    Docket Description: ORDER, LEAVE TO
    Docket Type: Ruling Filed By: Court Status: Denied
    Ruling Judge: MASON, MICHAEL D
    Reference Docket(s): Motion: 134
    Docket Text: ORDER OF COURT (MASON, J.) THAT DEFENDANT BREITBART.COM’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFF’S SUPPLEMENT TO HIS MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION BE AND HEREBY IS DENIED AS MOOT, ENTERED. (COPIES MAILED)

    Docket Date: 02/08/2016 Docket Number: 164
    Docket Description: ORDER, RECONSIDERATION
    Docket Type: Ruling Filed By: Court Status: Denied
    Ruling Judge: MASON, MICHAEL D
    Reference Docket(s): Motion: 144
    Docket Text: ORDER OF COURT (MASON, J.) THAT PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR COURT TO FIND THAT ITS DECISION DISMISSING DEFENDANTS, BECK, TWITHCHY, MALKIN, MERCURY RADIO ARTS, AND THE BLAZE IS A FINAL ORDER FOR PURPOSE OF APPEAL BE AND HEREBY IS DENIED, ENTERED. (COPIES MAILED)

    Docket Date: 02/08/2016 Docket Number: 165
    Docket Description: ORDER, PLACE CASE ON STAY DOCKET
    Docket Type: Ruling Filed By: Court Status: Denied
    Ruling Judge: MASON, MICHAEL D
    Reference Docket(s): Motion: 155 Opposition: 156
    Docket Text: ORDER OF COURT (MASON, J.) THAT PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STAY COURT’S JANUARY 12, 2016 RULING IS DENIED, ENTERED. (COPIES MAILED)

    Yeah, it looks a little rough, but i think you will be able to get the picture. No stay of my victory last month. That comes just after i told the court last week that he lost his appeal, but its unclear if that played a role. And no interlocutory appeal certification for the people who won on Sept 3. Of course Brett seemed to settle with malkin/twitchy, but there you go.

    No idea what the reasoning is, all i can read is docket entries. and they have been known to be wrong, so take that with a grain of salt.

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  24. Good luck.

    Here is a nice little article.
    R.I.P., MOC
    Excerpt:

    On a blistering Houston summer day in 2002, a legend of the manned space program retired. The ceremony took place in the Mission Control Center, where the retiree had labored tirelessly for nearly four decades. Few people attended. No cake or ice cream was served, no gold watch or plaque presented. Indeed, most NASA employees took no notice at all, because the retiree wasn’t a person.

    It was a machine.

    For nearly forty years, the Mission Operations Computer was the electronic heart of the MCC. The MOC, or “mock” as it was lovingly (and sometimes not-so-lovingly) called, drove the console displays and indicators, calculated orbits and trajectories, and enabled men and women to fly in space, build space stations, and land on the moon. It was alternately the object of admiration and annoyance, of fondness and frustration, but without it America could not have had a manned space program.

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    • I saw some footage from one of the recent probe missions — can’t remember the exact one — and it looked like a software project room in corporate land. It was just a bunch of laptops around a table.

      Granted, probe vs. manned mission, and I’m sure they were using some bigger hardware elsewhere as needed, but… it just didn’t seem to fit the scale of what they were doing.

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  26. Hitler is probably very upset that Brett and his hooligans can’t seem to get banned from Goddard.. again..

    Congrats.

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  30. Just so I am clear for the next newsletter, is that Chief with just one I or is more like Chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiief? I want to make sure everyone is up to date on the latest style guide.

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