Mentor vs Career Coach

I was wondering what is the difference between a mentor and career coach at work. Here is what I learned today:

A mentor is someone more experienced who shows you the way to do something and help you navigate a preexisting, well-defined path. So, if you are a new hire, joined a new program, ... you can ask a more senior person, a veteran in that position, perhaps your predecessor, to be your mentor and show you how things are done.

A career coach is someone who helps you create a new way, find a new path, to better fulfill your professional goals.  If you are an innovator, entrepreneur, leader, wanting to do something for the first time, build a new initiative or program, develop a company or product, you can benefit from a career coach to create that new way of doing things.

Nybble

It amazes me that during all my years of studies and career as a computer scientist, I just came across the term nibble or nybble, meaning half a byte, or 4 bits.

In the Nick of Time

In the Nick of Time: just in time, just before it is too late, the last moment.

Jupiter! We are almost there.

As most Americans get ready to enjoy the fourth of July long weekend with barbeques, fireworks, or traveling to new places, NASA is getting ready for their own celebrations and fireworks, and exploring new worlds! Juno mission is expected to enter Jupiter's orbit after a five year journey! It will then orbit the gassy planet for a year to achieve many scientific objectives like mapping Jupiter's magnetic field, looking for its solid core, understanding its origins and evolution, and as a result origins and evolution of our Solar System.

No spacecraft has ever got this close to Jupiter. Jupiter poses many dangers and risks to Juno among it is the high levels of radiation so deep in the radiation belt. Juno orbit insertion (JOI) is challenging.  In fact, Juno spacecraft will risk Jupiter's fireworks for Science.  Here is our 4th of July movie trailer:

So this 4th of July, when gathered with friends and family, if you want a SciFi thriller movie to watch, watch the real deal!

p.s. I cannot believe I had started this blog exactly 5 years ago on July 5 and even wrote about Juno's launch.


References:

[1] http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/juno/main/index.html
[2] https://www.missionjuno.swri.edu/
[3] http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-coverage-media-activities-for-juno-mission-arrival-at-jupiter
[4] http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=6538

Starchips!

Finally advances in technology is making it possible for big minds like Stephen Hawking to achieve their big dreams, not by building larger and larger instruments, but by fitting as much technology as possible into smaller and smaller gadgets. For the first time, it is becoming plausible to consider interstellar travel that can happen during one's lifetime not thousands of years. The approach sounds simple: build thousands of small smart chip instruments. starchips, and set them on their way.  Do not worry if many gets lost or do not reach the destination, you can afford this risk. But if only one succeeds, you are unlocking mysteries never known before. And that makes all the difference. Learn more here:

Forget Starships: New Proposal Would Use 'Starchips' To Visit Alpha Centauri

Moral equivalence

Thanks to Facebook discussions, today I learned a new term "moral equivalency":

1. "Moral equivalence is a term used in political debate, usually to criticize any denial that a moral hierarchy can be assessed of two sides in a conflict, or in the actions or tactics of two sides."
   
   
   Reference:
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_equivalence

What is ALS?

These days social media is full of #IceBucketChallenge videos, aiming to raise awareness about ALS disease.  Eventually, I was challenged by a good friend of mine.  If it was not during such a busy time for me, I probably would have also joined the fun and would have a video of ice water poured on me, in addition to donating for the cause.  I did donate to ALSA for the cause, and I encourage you to do the same for ALS or other research areas related to human body and health.  Instead of pouring ice bucket on me, I decided to do something from behind my desk, like I mostly do.  I thought to myself, how much do I really know about ALS? Not much, I realized.  So, I figured let that be my lesson of the day today and help raise awareness and spread the word.   Here are a few things I learned by a quick search.  Would you like to add anything?

ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.  It is also referred to as Motor Neuron Disease (MND).  However, there are five different motor neuron diseases.  ALS is the most common among the five.  In the United States it is also called the Lou Gehrig's disease.  Lou Gehrig was a major league baseball player who died of ALS in 1941, and his fame made the public learn about this disease.

ALS is a neurodegenerative disease, causing  "progressive loss of structure or function of neurons functions".  Initial symptoms include weakness of muscles where neurons are damaged.  75% of people with this disease experience muscle weakness in their arms and legs.  Other symptoms may include difficulty swallowing or cramping. "Over time, patients experience increasing difficulty moving, swallowing (dysphagia), and speaking or forming words (dysarthria). "[2]

The average survival time of this disease is 39 months.  Only 4% of the patients survive more than 10 years.  The exceptional case is that of Stephen Hawking who has lived with the disease over 50 years!  His survival seems as exceptional as his science!

 References:

[1]http://www.alsa.org
[2]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amyotrophic_lateral_sclerosis
[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig
[4]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking