I’ve always been fascinated with what people do at stop lights. I’ve written about this in the past.  here. here. here.  We have around 40 seconds in which we have no task but to wait and be ready for the light to turn green.   Fourty seconds isn’t a lot of time, but in a world of instant-everything I set out to see what people are actually doing at stop lights.

My rules:

1. I only recorded people I was able to see clearly
2. I only recorded people at stop lights (not stop signs, or traffic jams)
3. I only recorded people who were actually be stopped (I did not record people who were pulling up to a stop light as it turned green).
4. I only recorded people once (even if we stopped at lights multiple times together on the same trip).

 That’s it!

Here is what I observed in 200 drivers in Boulder, Colorado over the past few months:

 And of course the 0.5% who is looking around counting what other people are doing at stop lights and writing about it.

It was the last one.

JWST is a scientific inspiration.  It is the most incredible and complex, optical instrument we can feasibly put into space with the technology we have today.   It will capture the most detailed pictures ever recorded of our universe, and give us hard evidence of things we can just barely guess at.

I’ve personally been working on it for the last 7 years, and part of the JWST Primary Mirror Segment Assembly testing team for the last 4 years. 

All 18 flight mirrors have completed their last cryogenic optical test.  This is a major milestone, and has been one of the reasons JWST has been able to keep funding this year.  As an optical engineer the PMSAs are by far the most interesting and complex portion of JWST, and I am thrilled to have played such a large role.

Light is a huge part of our world, and has been the focus of my career and schooling for the last 11 years.  Today is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day, and the longest night, a time that has always been special in my life. 

Last year I organized a fire above Boulder to watch the Full Lunar Eclipse.  The year before we sent a flaming balloon into the heavens above Boulder.  This year I am sending JWST mirrors on their final trip back to Colorado. 

Since the last Winter Solstice I’ve dove into the most beautiful relationship of my lifetime, one in which purpose, deepening connection, and sharing with the world are the guiding principles.

 I went part time at Ball, opening up energy for more creative projects while maintaining my connection with JWST, space, and optical engineering. 

I rafted the Grand Canyon for 21 days with my dad, 280miles of adventure and exploration. 

I bought a house, and moved up Sunshine Canyon with three of the people I care about the most, returning to the forest, and mountain life I crave. 

I stepped down from Assistant Chief at BES, making time and gaining perspective on what it means to truly help someone.

I performed a wedding for a close friend, starting his partnership journey with a ceremony of love. 

I’ve continued helping to organize Ignite Boulder, running our 17th event at the sold out Boulder Theater a few weeks ago, challanging and changing my fear of public speaking and public spotlight into something I am cumfortable and capable of.

I climbed trees for a month in Oregon with Kate and my Dad, exploring my love of biology and climbing, and really opening up my life to the possibility of alternative jobs, and life experiences since I moved to Colorado.

I’ve continually opened my heart, and listened to it more than ever before.  It’s been hard and scary many times, but more and more I find myself inspired to empower the world around me with what I know I can give.

I think back on this solar year, and forward to the next one, and I feel hope, excitement, and love.  Join me in making this next cycle beautiful and inspiring for the whole world.

I read A LOT as a kid, probably every Hardy Boys book ever written (yes even the paperback ones, and the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys combo books).  I read a lot of SciFi (Science Fiction) books with my dad when I was younger, and by myself later on.  They were really formative for me, showing me the dreams and ideas of people throughout our world, and how it related to science and fantasy.

NPR recently did a survey of the SciFi books most recommended its listeners.  It’s a great list! I’ve read a huge number of the books on it.  Check out their main article for details on each book, but for brevity here is the text list.

I am not surprised by the top 10, although, I am surprised there are a couple on there I haven’t read (yet).  I’m also a bit surprised that one of my favorites (The Mars Series) came in at #95.  Most of all, I have to say I’m happy Dune is in the top 10, and that Atlas Shrugged is not on the list at all.  Sure it’s probably not a SciFi book anyway, but Gah!  I have a reoccurring fear that it will show up on random reading lists, and I absolutely hated that book.

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien

2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

6. 1984, by George Orwell

7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore

16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

25. The Stand, by Stephen King

26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller

36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne

38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys

39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells

40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny

41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks

55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman

57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold

60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett

61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard

69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore

74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi

75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke

77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin

79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson

82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks

84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock

91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury

92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge

94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson

96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

Synesthesia: mixing of the senses, in this case visual and auditory.

 Imagine your piano is a forest; each note is a firefly dancing in its own cadence.  Individually, they are nothing but a lone spark in the night, but together they are the most beautiful melody.  Put this together with the night happenings of the forest, and you have a song; a song of beauty, energy, purity, a song of dancing when no one is looking, a song of deep bubbling love.

It is one of the grandest quests we have, to understand, inspire, and keep opening up the universe of possibilities.  It keeps our inner wonder alive and thriving, as well as clearly shows that there is something out there bigger than any of us; something beautiful that we are a part of. 

I can think of no other task more deserving of our energy in this moment.  Go team humans!