So far, this week has been great. My intern pitch was successful and my Texas Aerospace Scholars are rock awesome! My roll as their team mentor has been great fun, though I have, unfortunately had to serve as the one who grounds them in reality occasionally...

I am starting to consider it a practice in crushing dreams. Patient explanations have given way to "No, that won't work.. no matter how many plants they bring with them, in 500 days, they are not going to be able to take their helmets off and breath the "air" on Mars." Really. They won't believe me. Or "No, you can't power your rover with a nuclear turbojet engine. I know in your vast experience as a high-school-intern-airplane-mechanic that someone told you the PT-6 is a really cool engine. But you can't turn it into a nuclear engine. And, while I'm at it, a turbojet is AIR BREATHING. That means you need AIR to run it. Just drop it and find another idea... <2 days later>... No, I don't want to hear your proposal for this engine, why haven't you started working on something else yet!!"

But their project is awesome, they are all smart motivated kids..

Other than that, I bought a dresser (yippee) which will actually start a chain of reoganization of my apartment - moving a bookshelf, a computer desk, and finally having room for a dining room table. On Friday I leave for Canada. WHoo hoo!