Wednesday, July 12, 2006

The move to JPL

Since my last post, I have moved from working at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston, Texas to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA. When I began my stint at LPI I was immediately chased out of town by Hurricane Rita, so if history is any guide, LA will be shortly be struck by a huge earthquake.

A few quick impressions of JPL - first is that it is much larger than LPI. LPI had a real family environment that is lacking here at JPL. Also, the computer staff at LPI was a crack team of experts who pounced on any problem. This move a bit more slowly here at JPL, which is understandable in terms of the much greater number of people who need computer service.

For example, I have a bright and shiny laptop sitting on my desk since I started a week ago today that I have been unable to log into. Hopefully, the tech folks are supposed to contact me today about setting up my account (fingers crossed!). I've been limping along on my old G3 iBook, the one that Apple calls a "clamshell" and I call a "toilet seat." Here's a picture of the same model:
I'm not complaining about this old workhorse, mind you. This puppy has served me well since 1999, so atheistics aside, it's a great computer.

Aside from computer issues, I do appreciate the fact that the cafeteria is called the "Red Planet Cafe" and the coffee cart is called the "Coffee Rover." It's my kinda place.