Gen Y in Space

                                                                                      By Simon S.

                Apart from sounding like a low budget Sci-Fi Original, this topic is going to be more relevant as time unravels, possibly making George Lucas look like Nostradamus.

                                                       MARS ONE

"Large living quarters are over-rated"

                In 2011, a team of people devised a plan of Inter-stellar proportions to make Mars a new home. According to the mandate, humans will be living (permanently) on the Red Planet by 2023, after which new groups of four will be sent every two years.

 The people who will be sent are most likely to be from Gen Y. Because of our age now, we will be seasoned enough to offer valuable experience, but still spry to manage the frights of space travel.

               This is the part where we all say “then what?” We’ve successfully colonized our neighboring rock with a few dozen souls. Why are we doing this and how will it benefit the Human race?



*Virgin Galactic™ is not liable for any

cosmic Radiation you may absorb.



               I don’t know! All I know is your children may be taking an internship on Mars before you know it. YOU might even mozy on over to the planet for a job or vacation. When you see those commercials for a luxury stay at the Martian Marriot, you’ll know I wasn’t just blowing cosmic smoke up your Astral Disc.

               

 

BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM

                There are Planets we’ve been eyeing for over a hundred years that could potentially harbor and sustain Human life. It is very likely that the generations directly proceeding us will be born on other celestial bodies. Mankind may call quite a few planets home by that time; maybe Earth no longer one of them.

Most of these planets look cozy on the outside, but it takes only one small factor for them to be uninhabitable.

Planet: Gliese 667Cc! Perfect we’ll take it! Oh what’s that? It’s 4 times the size of the Earth? Hmmm… that would make the effect of gravity on this planet equal to giving a 400lb ape a piggy back ride on Earth.

Each "fiber" represents a string of hundreds of millions of Galaxies. The bright spots are Super Clusters.
Where's Waldo?

                So the search continues, but soon enough we will discover a Terrestrial-like planet, and the means to beam over to it.

                The days of “the whole World” being confined to our pale blue dot are numbered. We are headed out to the cosmos at warp-speed, and expanding the grasp of Human-kind to unknown worlds.

~Simon S.

Don't Be a Rebel, You Conformist!

                                                                        By Tony Y.
                                                                                 

It leaves a tart flavor in my mouth to bear a title so crass, but you know it’s true.

People want to be unique. We all understand that scientifically speaking no two human beings are exactly the same (even identical twins), but somehow that isn’t enough for a majority of us, and we push for grander, more apparent differences.

We are attracted to renegades because they’re hip and romantic. Not soap opera romantic, but Charlie-Sheen-in-Ferris-Bueller’s-day-off romantic. (See below)

Are we mavericks because we dress glitzy or disrespect authority? Colored hair? Gauged ears? Black coffee? Tight pants? “Underground” music?

 

No!

 

I have nothing against any of these lifestyles, except when we trick ourselves into believing these actions and veneers turn us rebel.

This style of “fighting the system, man” is a trend. The clothes, attitude, and demeanor all morph over time, but every generation has its counter-culture of choice.

BEING A TRUE MOLD-BREAKER

What follows is a quote from SLC Punk, another movie with confused young people and innocence lost, but with tremendous heart and wisdom.

 

Brandy: “Wouldn't it be more of an act of rebellion…if you didn't spend so much 

time buying blue hair dye…and going out to get punky clothes? It seems so petty.” ”…You wanna be an individual, right? You look like you're wearing a uniform. You look like a punk. That's not rebellion. That's fashion.”

Steve-O: “Then what's rebellion?”

Brandy: “Rebellion happens in the mind. You can't create it. You just are that way.”

IT’S IN THE MIND

Spoiler Alert: do things because you want to.

Chasing a movement of flair and fashion is not wrong. But assuming that assimilating with that crowd will make you untraditional is right out. Having loud jackets and kaleidoscopic locks makes you something, but not rebellious. Wear those holey jeans because you like to. Dye your hair red because it’s your favorite color. Drink black coffee because cream and sugar isn’t your fancy. Do things because you want to.

Another pertinent quotation from the movie-box:

 

Troy: “Let me ask you something. People have been clowning me about this jacket since I got here. But if I take it off to make them happy, I’m weak, right?”

Jeff :(shrug) “Troy, what’s it matter. You lose the jacket to please them, you keep it to piss them off...either way, it’s for them, that’s what’s weak.”

 

SIDE NOTE

This has the potential to fold back on itself, when we ask “what if I want to be a conformist?”

            My answer: Go for it. If you are at peace with your intentions, then who is anyone (especially me) to tell you off?

            Moral of the story?  Be yourself. Cliché as a love poem about the Moon, I know. But as wise man George Watsky once said “...stereotypes start with a grain of truth, clichés begin with a boulder”

Yours Truly,

Tony Y.

Being Extraordinary

                                                                              By Jake F.

You want to be the superhero of your field, but your Genie lamp hasn’t found you yet. Fear not! Radioactive spiders or child-prodigy status are not necessary in clinching the title of awesome in anything you do.  The answer you are looking for is much more mundane: time & energy.

                Before you Einsteins debate me that time is energy, or that literally everything requires the two ingredients, hear me out.

The Method

 

                Now I'm not talking about being really good at what you do, I'm talking about being freakishly phenomenal. You may even get to the point where people know you by name. Tiger, Beyonce, Lennon, Jordan.

There is a scant observed formulary for achieving elite standing in any vocation: 10,000 Hours of practice. According to research by braniac Dr. K. Anders Ericsson of Florida State University, this many hours training in any single discipline will inaugurate you to Commander and Chief of your work. Bill Gates, The Beatles, Wayne Gretzky, Jimi Hendrix, and countless others have all fallen down that 10,000-hour rabbit hole, for the better.

                Before you begin fleshing out a healthy time-diet to acquire the needed hours to lock in your stardom, here are some common trumps to avoid.

Trumps to avoid

                Kicking a soccer ball against the side of a building every week for 40 hours will not make you Beckham in five years. You will just be really good at passing to a wall. The point is you need to practice correctly.  A great fencing Master once said “Practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent.”  Makes sense right?

 To sidestep wasted time and energy you need two things: first, you need to push yourself, and second, you must have coaching/instruction.

Growth

Pushing yourself to grow in your arena will offer you well-rounded skills. The guy from before who kicked a ball dumbly for five years didn’t push himself. That may have been a great starting point for a beginner, but after a while we all need to move on.

 

Mentorship

Finding guidance is more intuitive. It could be anything from a coach in sports or music, to reading a book about your topic of interest .This is essential because you need to know what your mistakes are and in what direction you should strive for next. If I may run our soccer analogy to the dirt, a deft coach may have had the idiot practice running with the ball or passing to teammates. Mentorship is pretty duh when you think about it. Assistance or instruction could mean merely going to school and learning about the subject or your passion.

 

So if your goal is to be on the A-list of your game, make out a weekly plan to harness this success law. It could be 20 hours a week, for 10 years, or 40 hours a week for 5. You have the freedom to choose the path, just remember to work your tail off.

 

Yours Truly,

Jake F.