Huge slump at moment. Folks over-purchased chasing hype/scarcity during and following COVID. Production increased but demand has softened sharply, for several reasons. For a lot of folks I know, it’s as simple as they simply don’t have the physical space to keep accumulating bottles. Others have grown bored and decided to exit the “hobby” and send 90% their collection to places like K&L for auction.
Have you talked to any actual NASA employees (not just contractors) that work in science?
For what it’s worth, I watched today’s Artemis II launch with them. While proud of the mission, they’re likely in your “Doomer” category after a year being devastated and demoralized by having their science budgets slashed, grants/projects cancelled, having been forced to fire good contractors of 10+ years and then watching some of the most knowledgeable/skilled folks take early retirement. Don’t let the awe or Artemis fool you — NASA, especially when it comes to science, has been gutted and functionally degraded. For what it’s worth, they’re not focused on earth/climate science.
Yep, I work with them every day, since I am myself a NASA contractor. I'm curious what you think the major distinction is between a contractor and a civil servant in the first place. I work directly as part of a division (used to be "on site" before 2020, but now I'm remote so that doesn't quite fit) doing 80% the same job as any of my civil servant colleagues. I really don't think the range of opinions is all that different on either side of the fence.
I'll repeat that there are a lot of problems, but it's not nearly as bad as some people on the internet make it out to be.
Fair question—I probably overly delineated the two as I currently only know people on the civil servant side at NASA. Decades ago (!) I worked in the DC, hung out some folks, and often the ones who had strong opinions related to policy were the ones at risk of losing/keeping/winning a contract, not the government employees. That was probably in the back of my head when I made the distinction. I don’t really have a strong opinion either way now, but I felt it was only fair to answer you as best I could. Either way, I’ll try to be cognizant of that potential bias in future.
With that said, and while I haven’t had much exposure to what folks on the internet are saying, all I know is I’ve never seen this group of friends this worried or impacted. Most of them are also the type to just keep their heads down, focus on the mission, and wait for the winds shift.
As a huge fan of Ron D. Moore’s shows, and especially For All Mankind, I don’t see how it could possibly have (or have had) any meaningful impact on NASA or NASA-adjacent efforts. Especially Artemis.
I also run at night an I find it safer after 10pm than during early evening or daytime. Other than my running shirt and shorts, which are an obnoxious high viz color scheme, I wear a headlamp as well.
Oh, and an Apple Watch as I’m tracking mileage with the goal of running a thousand miles this year. As a bad athlete (I ran 22mi last year), part of my attraction to running is the lack of necessary gear.
This. FP usage changed my aversion to writing and helped me stay the course on re-training myself to write cursive and move past RSI/cramping. Pilot VP is my goto FP for meeting notes since it’s retractable.
I had pretty terrible RSI (and even more terrible handwriting) and could write much without cramping up or pain. What helped for me was teaching myself proper cursive and fountain pens. Rather than clutching a ballpoint and marking with jerky finger/wrist movements, I now use my arm for larger movements and let the pen glide. It’s helped tremendously. It’s slow going at first but keep at it. Plus fountain pens are pretty fucking cool. Also, paper matters too; but paper and notebooks are another fun rabbit hole.
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