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2001-08-24 - 2:47 p.m. Inspiration and a Border Collie named Cheryl "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too." These words were spoken 39 years ago by President John F. Kennedy at Rice University in Houston as part of a speech exhorting the United States to increase its commitment to space travel and exploration Driving to work today I was listening to NPR's "All Things Considered." The White House archives have released new tapes from JFK's presidency. This man, the leader of Camelot who challenged NASA to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade, was actually not interested in space exploration. He saw the entire space race as an exercise to 'beat the Russians' and retain our political reputation as the dominant world power. Listening to NPR, learning that JFK never believed in space exploration should have disillusioned me. But strangely, it only moves me more. JFK may not of believed himself, but he gave us pure inspiration - intangible, invaluable, untouchable inspiration. And I am his legacy - an aerospace engineer and satellite designer born on the second anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. JFK has no idea he was starting an effort that would put manned a permanent manned presence in space, discover black holes, prove Einstein's theory of relativity, help break the sound barrier, and along the way invent technology that benefits all mankind. Inspiration is what separates us from the monkeys. Believing in something deeply enough, passionately enough, to dedicate your life to it, even to give your life for it. I remember exactly where I was when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. It was a snow day, no school in my county. My mother and I had been shopping when we stopped at my grandmother's house. My ashen-faced Mammy met us at the door with news of the explosion and the ground fell out from under us. I remember watching with the rest of the nation, hoping vainly for survivors. The Challenger crew were also JFK's legacy. They believed enough to give their lives. They "slipped the surly bonds of earth � and touched the face of God." - J. Magee's High Flight The Challenger explosion, JFK's speech, a love of flying, and my high school physics teacher are the reasons that today I sit at a NASA desk designing guidance and control systems. I'm not the only employee of NASA/GSFC. Sorting through the post vacation mail, I noticed we've hired a border collie to herd the center geese population. GSFC is a large wooded campus, acres and acres of buildings, labs, trees, grass, lakes. We also have a rampant Canadian geese population. They're smart and aggressive and they poop all over everything - the sidewalks, the parking lots, the building entrances. I thought I left the biological landmines back on the farm, but GSFC has the same problem. So the management hired a border collie named Cheryl. She and her trainer randomly visit the center to attack the geese. Her trainer pulls up next to the geese flock and releases her from the car. The idea is to condition the geese to a state of fear. Anytime, anywhere, from any car - boom - a border collie could leap out and attack them. Their only safe haven is the Goddard lake. A DOG GONE GOOD CONTRACTOR: A new Contractor named Cheryl has started work on Center with an unusual task. She will be chasing geese to discourage them from congregating on our walkways and parking lots. Cheryl is a Border collie and is well trained for this type of work. She will chase geese but not harm them. She will not chase other animals or humans. Cheryl will be at full command of her trainer at all times. Cheryl and trainer, Wendy, will be on Center at irregular times and irregular days. Irregular, because geese have a tremendous learning capacity and will catch on to a pattern quite quickly. Wendy has reported that she will even have to change vehicles from time to time, because the geese will get to know what type car the dog will be visiting in. While Cheryl is friendly to humans, she also loves her work. It would be best not to disturb her during her work hours as she is on the clock like all our Contractors. While this will not be a total solution to all the goose problems, this should result in much cleaner sidewalks and walking areas by discouraging the geese that graze our lawn areas. Apparently the geese are smart enough the trainer has to constantly change cars to make this fear conditioning work. At least they didn't choose to infest the center with geese predators, like coyotes and mountain lions, which was an alternative considered by my management according to a study distributed to all employees last spring. Your space program at work for you. Hey, if I get poop free sidewalks, I will buy the dog treats. � � Scribble to Theo previous - next �