Comments on: Time spent doing what you love is never wasted

By: vivek raykar

vivek raykar — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:03:55 +0000

Such a poetic depiction of astronomy.I am proud of science that rises to such a
level that there is no need of any so called religious or spiritual dimension
to be added separately to scientific experience.Science is enough.

By: Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum

Richard Drumm The Astronomy Bum — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 13:44:42 +0000

Phil:
Sorry I missed this post, I’ve been terribly busy the last few days.
Of course, I wholeheartedly agree. I do the same thing when taking the trash to the roadside here in Albemarle County. On my walk back to the house I usually pause for many minutes to see what’s happening above. It’s my passion as it is yours.

Now if I could just get a certain National Observatory to hire me to make high-def video programs for them to get this same passion spread to others…
[sigh]

By: The Drinking Bird

The Drinking Bird — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:30:40 +0000

Why we do what we do……

I’ve been catching up on my blog reading and a couple entries on Bad Astronomy bear passing on.

The first one, highlights a talk given by Brian Cox on the importance of science funding and why exploring the universe around us is important. There’…

By: Lonny Eachus

Lonny Eachus — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 06:08:21 +0000

I am a software engineer, and I enjoy the challenges that brings. I have warned past employers: often my most productive time is when I appear to be doing nothing but staring off into space, and not “producing” lines of code. If in contrast I am perceived as obligated to produce a certain amount of code in a day’s work, they will get perhaps half the value out of me that they would otherwise. It will also not be my best work, and I will not be happy in the job.

By: BigBadSis

BigBadSis — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 04:18:44 +0000

Really great post Phil. I got a little verklempt remembering those days. But I’m so glad you told your story. It was your very public passion (and my husband’s — an amateur astronomer) that encouraged me to bring the stars to my Girl Scouts. For our last encampment in a rural area of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, I brought my husband’s huge binoculars with it’s tripod in the hopes of getting the girls’ sights off the hiking trail and up to the heavens. I told them that as Scouts, we often talk about the earth around us, the Leave No Trace philosophy for the trail and places we visit, but I reminded them to look up. Look up! How simple, but how powerful. They saw the craters on a full moon that almost blinded us, and several moons around Jupiter. All were amazed and wanted to look again and again. I actually got a little emotional telling them what they were missing if they kept their head on the trail. Maybe a little passion will get their attention. Thanks Phil, for your passion and your outreach.

By: The physical and the spiritual « Living Questions

The physical and the spiritual « Living Questions — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 20:30:03 +0000

[...] resistance to the harmonic co-existence of reality and religion everywhere I look. I read science blogs that tout atheism as the only sensible choice one minute and deliver the most profoundly simple [...]

By: Tom

Tom — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:56:10 +0000

Great comment Phil! I wish we were neighbors, since you “get it”. We could both bet standing out there together with our noses skyward….and bag of kitty poo in hand.

By: Derfisch

Derfisch — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:49:02 +0000

Haha. Phil cleans out the litter box only once a week!

By: Time spent doing what you love is never wasted « Men Into Space

Time spent doing what you love is never wasted « Men Into Space — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:42:58 +0000

[...] Recently, I was performing the mundane task of taking out the trash. I went from room to room, collecting the detritus of the week. I then spent a few minutes scooping out and changing the cat litter, and, sighing, finally tied up the bag and hauled it out to the bins around the side of the house. As I lugged the hefty bin out to the curb in the darkness, I did what I do, what I Read ahead [...]

By: kuhnigget

kuhnigget — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:47:28 +0000

The sky and the ground interest me more and make me more happy than the world inbetween them.

That’s the coolest thing I’ve read all morning!