Hi all,
Here to wow you with my stories of everyday life, it's time for AMA #37 with me, RocketHokie13.
- My name is Mike, I graduated in the class of 2013 with a degree in aerospace engineering and a second major in ocean engineering (should have stayed one summer to get enough credits for a second bachelors)
- I picked up a masters degree in aerospace systems engineering in Huntsville, AL before moving back to Maryland for work, which is my home state
- I have traveled over a lot of the US, and my family goes on cruises regularly, which is my preferred style of vacation. My favorite trip however was a trip to Japan last year, which I can talk about all day long. If you want a more domestic trip, Alaska was a phenomenal experience
- Outside of Virginia Tech, I am a long suffering Washington sports fan, except I follow the Orioles as the Nationals weren't around when I began watching baseball. And the last year was very strangely enjoyable for me as a Commies fan
- My hobbies are playing some video games, although that's been limited to just rocket league lately, and one day finding time for my model train layout and collection. I find my hobbies are totally consumed at the moment with wedding planning, as my fiance and I are getting married this July.
- I mostly just work to provide for my almost 15 year old dog, who has been with me since three weeks into living on my own. That way he gets to live the dream of eating and sleeping the day away.
Edit:
- HokieSax14 reminded me of a rather odd period of my life, where I spent 3 years moonlighting as a video game announcer for a small time game as a part time job. It was definitely an interesting time
That's enough to start, fire away.
Comments
What's your dogs name? What type of dog? Hows his health?
Favorite crab spot in MD?
When I adopted my dog, his name was Al Capone. But he was the runt of his litter and his head never grew to match his body, so he didn't seem to match his name. I just shortened it to Al, but sometimes I call him Albert. I'm not sure his breed, but the closest match I can find is a Carolina Dog.
My buddy is doing pretty well for being almost 15, I think. He's very lumpy, but none of them concern the vet, and he's basically deaf and going blind. He's had a couple of teeth out but he still jumps around like a nut every time it's time to eat, so we're just taking life one meal at a time.
As for me, the truth comes out in the first question. Yes, I'm born and raised in Maryland, but I don't really care much for crab picking. I'll gladly have crab soup or crab cake sandwiches, but I'm not a connoisseur. I'll get my crab fix at Woodys in North East, MD or Schaeffers in Chesapeake City, MD.
Where in Md are from? I grew up outside of Annapolis. Graduated same year as you from VT lol
I grew up ~25 minutes from Baltimore.
"~25 minutes from Baltimore" could be "outside Annapolis" - y'all might be neighbors!
Certain towns tend to associate more with either city. I'm pretty confident he's north of Pasadena if he said Baltimore. Probably north of baltimore - Towson, Parkville, Timonium, Ellicoit City, etc - if he identifies more with Baltimore.
Yeah I'm trying not to dox myself too much, but definitely not in Annapolis- that's the wrong direction.
Ellicott City is south of baltimore
Yes, but no one (I've met) from Ellicott city says that they're from 'nearby annapolis'
Correct- thats a good 40 miles away
I used to say I grew up in the triangle of Baltimore/Annapolis/DC because nobody outside the area knows where Odenton/Gambrills is.
fair, but Arundel Mills and the growth of a certain secret agency there it has gotten much bigger more known. it's more affordable than columbia and less crime than laurel/pg county
You were my neighbor!
I feel vindicated
Lived in the Herald Harbor...I don't think half the people in Annapolis know where that is
I grew up in Bel Air.
That's fresh, prince.
Yeah, I dated a girl going to Chapman College in Orange, CA.
One of her roommates found out I was From Bel Air and they just about fell over themselves, until I set them straight.
My point to the OP was that The town I grew up in fit his description of his home town. I was giving the opportunity to contact offline, if he'd like.
What kind of work do you do since you have a masters in aerospace engineering?
Do you ever catch yourself using the phrase: 'it's not rocket science, ya know....'
I work on rockets for a living with a defense contractor, but that's about as far as I'll say about that.
It's funny, occasionally I've had people say that to me after they find out where I work, but when I graduated VT and went to get my masters, everyone I was in school with wanted to work on rockets. Then I got a job doing that, and so that's what my day to day is. It has become much more mundane. My fiance is an engineer in the corporate world working in a different field, and from listening to her experiences and some of my other friends, I can tell you that for the most part it's no different than any other engineering job.
The tests are cooler though.
I can vouch for that.
That phrase comes up at my work from time to time. Along with, "Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and nuclear weapons." ;^)
I will add that my favorite saying is actually from this comic, which is displayed prominently at my cubicle.
Do you prefer the larger cruise ships, with more entertainment offerings, or the smaller cruise ships that are more intimate?
Related: What is your favorite individual cruise ship?
So I'll preface this by saying the vast majority of my cruise experience has been with Royal Caribbean, though we've sailed with Princess and Norwegian as well. I have sailed a fairly wide variety of ships, and for me I love the big ships, but maybe for a counter-intuitive reason. I do love the entertainment option, because my favorite part of cruising is relaxing all day, then getting a nice dinner and a show in the evening. But even the small ships offer that. What I love about the big ships is finding those secluded little areas tucked away from the crowds- there's a lot more of them than on the small ships.
My favorite ship so far is Royal Caribbean's Wonder of the Seas. The Oasis class ships were a total design shift from any ship I've been on before, though I definitely see the inspiration from the Anthem class. They have distinct areas that really make the ship feel bigger, and they've nailed the vibes of each of them. Specifically, they have a central park in the middle of the ship with streetlights, plants everywhere, and piped in bird and night animal sound effects, which is my favorite spot to hang out, especially in the evening when they'll have some laid back, live music. I also enjoy the boardwalk on the back of the ship, which feels like you pulled it right off the beach.
The Wonder is one of three Oasis class ships I've sailed on, but what sets it apart is it's the only ship I've been on with a smoke-free casino. I like going to the casino one or two nights of the cruise, but I don't smoke and the smell is an annoyance. Having a separate smoke free room, completely disconnected from the main casino, was really nice for me.
Big fan of the schooner bar on RC.
Also, we're doing an Alaska cruise the summer after next. Any recommendations for excursions?
The schooner bar was better when it was more in a side part of the ship, IMO. Now it's always part of the promenade which isn't my favorite. Ironically I love cruising but dislike crowds.
Same. My wife and I have mostly been on Carnival, and love their Serenity decks.
RC has the solarium, which is adults only, but i find it crowded unless we're in port. I also loved staying on the ship when we're in port, it's empty.
So 1) I hope you're doing a land and sea cruise. We did that with Princess and it was amazing. By far my favorite trip prior to going to Japan. They had it so well organized and you saw so much.
2) hopefully you're there during a salmon run. We did a bus tour in ketchikan that was awesome, if for nothing else but it took us along the river and we saw Grizzlies, eagles, otters, and tons of salmon.
3) I like trains, so I loved the White Pass and Yukon Route railway in Skagway, just gorgeous scenery the whole way.
4) If you're doing the land portion too, the most fun we had was a 4-wheeler tour just outside of Denali national park. We went in August, and wound up booking an 8 PM-12 AM tour because the others were full. It wound up being amazing, just my family and two guides, and it didn't get dark until 11:45 PM. Highly recommend it.
First off, you're brilliant. Geeze what a list.
Second, congratulations!
Third, were you a horn in the MV's?
Don't let the degrees fool you- I spend most of my day with Microsoft excel, PowerPoint, or on the floor trying to make sure people don't glue things the wrong way.
Thank you, my fiance and I are very excited, but also ready to be done planning and start celebrating. The honeymoon is also a big thing we're excited for, of course.
Yes, I was in the MVs from 2009-2013 playing baritone. So I got to see some of the last good years of tech football, unfortunately.
We definitely had a good amount of overlap in the MVs.
Where is your honeymoon?
We're headed to Hawaii for two weeks. A short visit to Oahu for Pearl Harbor, then splitting our time on Kauai and the big Island.
My brother, Mrs Chumps, and I are headed to Big Island+ Oahu started Apr 26 -- I'll report in the travel thread!
I'm excited to hear about it!
Great plan, Oahu is for pearl harbor and that's about it (lots of other things but you can go to another island and see the same stuff with way less traffic). Kauai is amazing.
We can't wait. I've heard so many good things.
Always gotta ask to anyone who I know was one - favorite MV's Stand Tune and fav halftime show
I enjoyed playing scatman, mostly just for the fun of "looking around" like a blind ref the whole time.
As far as halftime shows, I really didn't get to into them (secretly, I was there for football. Marching was my least favorite part). I'll cheat and say the pregame show was my favorite, by senior year you really didn't have to learn anything 😅
Most underrated campus food?
Favorite building on campus, and least favorite building?
I'm a sucker for junky Chinese food, so the Chinese place in Owens was dangerous to me. But I also loved the spicy Asian chicken wrap and the hokiesteak at west end.
Favorite building on campus was probably Lane, since some of my favorite memories were there. Cop out, I know. Least favorite- surge. Hated going there.
Special shout out to the year I lived on 1st floor Newman. The tours had the example dorm room down there, right next to our bathroom. The number of times you'd walk out of the shower with a towel on to find a family of 4 on a college tour checking out what a dorm bathroom was like, that was interesting.
Hey Mike! Do you still do any active stuff with Battletech? What are your thoughts on the new "Gothic" announcement?
Honestly, I think I got too involved, and how the experience ended soured me on the whole thing. I haven't done anything battletech or mechwarrior in years.
For those that didn't know- Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries was my favorite game growing up. I loved giant battle robots (probably the engineer in me). I got involved in a game called Mechwarrior Online, at first just casually, and then dabbled in some competitive gaming for a bit before realizing I'm not that good of a gamer. Instead I got the opportunity to shout cast (announce) for fan run tournaments, and then eventually for actual money tournaments. It was a lot of fun, and I got three years of awesome memories out of it before it came to an end.
Edit- to answer your question, I've seen some references to battletech Gothic, but I'm so out of the scene that I don't even know what it is 😅
Man I'm sorry to hear it had a bad ending for you! Mech Warrior 5: Clans just came out a few months ago and has a really cool campaign that revolves around a star in Clan Smoke Jaguar during the Invasion of the Inner-Sphere. They also just released a DLC campaign for Clan Ghost Bear.
Mech Warrior 5: Mercenaries also came out a couple years ago and is so cool
I got to play some early MW5 demos, in a semi "pod" simulator experience. It was clunky, but darn if it wasn't cool as heck.
I'll also never forget being in the room when they announced MW5. They had the audio cranked up and the reactor startup had the floor vibrating. It was so awesome.
https://youtu.be/Gz8Y1V8gy1A?si=EbSZP0I6Y8w58nbT
Ultimately, even though it didn't end how I pictured it, as a battletech nerd it was just the coolest thing every year to go to Mechcon. And so much nostalgia, even just getting to meet George Ledoux (the voice actor behind Duncan Fisher, the announcer from Solaris in MW4:Mercs) was so cool. I got to make money and travel in exchange for watching a video game, so I can't complain. I have tons of great memories from it.
I haven't done much *playing* Battletech, but I do enjoy the novels, and I think I still have all (and I mean all, I hunted some down) of the Classic Battletech novels in dead-tree format in a bin in my storage space. I've been on a reread off and on over the past year, but I'll admit I get confused when the Jihad comes in. And I hear there's a lot of new stuff since then. (I keep seeing references to new-to-me Clans on reddit.)
Any suggestions on what to read and what to ignore?
What's the dumbest thing you have ever done?
Whats the nicest thing you have ever done?
What's your favorite sound?
Soup and a sandwich- what ya got?
Man, both of these are hard.
Dumbest- there's plenty, but one time I was in a crosswalk (with the walk light on) and someone driving makes a right turn right in front of me. So I reach out as he drives by and slap the side of his car with my hand. Well of course he pulls over, gets out, and starts yelling at me. I'm not normally a confrontational person and let's just say I didn't enjoy it.
Nicest thing? Also hard so I'll go with a recent one- there was a gentlemen in front of me at the grocery store last week who was checking out, but when he went through his wallet I think he realized he couldn't afford everything. So he was trying to figure out what to get rid of, and it was just stuff like some milk, toilet paper, coffee, etc. I'm in a very fortunate place in my life, so I just told him I'd pay for it. I don't know his situation, but it didn't matter to me.
Favorite sound?
Cheesy version: when my fiance is laughing so hard she basically can't breathe, she makes a hooting sound like a fake owl and it cracks me up.
Cute version: my dog snores a lot when he sleeps and I love it 🥹
Soup and sandwich- I'll go with fire roasted tomatoes, chicken, pesto, and mozzarella panini, with broccoli and cheese soup.
Dog snores are fantastic
That's a first class soup and a sandwich. And they work together for dipping in my book.
Whats the most almost-arrested you've ever been?
Probably a couple of times I've gotten pulled over but gotten away with a warning. Not very exciting there.
How good are you at kerbal space program?
Ironically I never had the patience for it. I do own it but rarely have played it. Just not my sort of game, and if I spend too much in it it starts feeling like school.
Do you still have Jedediah or is he tumbling through space somewhere?
Nerds gummy clusters or Swedish fish?
Swedish fish, but I'm a chocolate candy person over sugar candies. Swedish fish are one of those things I get a craving for, get halfway through a bag and I'm no longer sure i like them.
1) looking back at your time with the MVs, what's the most Band Camp story that may or may not have happened to you or someone you know? (wink wink)
2) As you said Marching was not your favorite thing. Was that because marching is hot and sweaty, or because you found our marching program is not creative like other programs?
3lWhat was the primary gripe during your time with the MVs with the program or administration
4) Time Machine dillemma. You can go back a re-live only one experience. Your time at VT or your time with you pup Albert. Once you choose you must give up the other one permanently.
5) Given the trend from last year's Sheffield test to this years Leap71's recent aerospike engine printing with AI at what order of magnitude do you think engine design and capability will increase over the next 5 years?
6) Realizing that those are more designed for space travel which may or may not be part of your job does AI design, in your opinion, works pose significant threat to new aerospace engineers graduating from VT or do you see a path where engineers are still pivotal even when variable learning by AI systems overcomes current obstacles to their design programming?
1) well, there was a time with a portable stripper pole on one of the buses. I forget what game we were going to.
2) I just didn't like having to learn new shows, music, etc. It was a lot of time invested. I definitely was more of a football fan than a marching fan.
3) Primary gripe with the MVs? That's a hard one, I'm a pretty easy going person. I don't really think I had too much to complain about other than the usual hot, tired, etc. I felt like Coach Beamer was always super supportive of the band, so it didn't seem like a big clash between band and athletics (I have for a long time gone to games at and been a fan of University of Delaware, and I can't say the same for that school).
4) I enjoyed my time at VT but I have had my dog for a dozen years, and for many of them he was my sole roommate. I would do anything for him, and that includes giving up my time at VT.
5) So I don't have a ton of experience in those fields (3D printing, aerospike nozzles, or AI) but I can say a few things. Aerospike nozzles are not new technology- they've been around a long time and have their advantages and disadvantages, just like any other engineering design. Where I see the most excitement in the industry is in 3D printing- that's where you'll see the biggest gains and the biggest jumps forward in technology. The industry is investing heavily into 3D printing, because in our world the limiting factor isn't really in the conceptual design, but that we can't manufacture these advanced, improved designs with the capability we had previously. Being able to print complex geometry rather than conventional machining is a game changer for nozzles, but a whole lot more. In fact from what I have seen, the biggest use so far seems to be in air breathing designs (think hypersonics). There's some other applications that are extremely interesting in my world, but I won't mention them here.
6) AI is the current buzzword that I've actually seen the least impact in my job. I'm not sure if that's mostly due to security concerns (believe it or not us folks at the working levels do have to worry about that), or just lack of a solid use case. My company does have some internal AI tools, and I can see a possible use at the conceptual design level, but I struggle to see it revolutionizing our industry. Maybe I'm just not visionary enough 🤷
AI is certainly a big buzzword in the intelligence community at the moment and many people that I know who are much smarter than me think it will revolutionize analysis...still at the end of the day if it's garbage in; you'll get garbage out.
There will always need to be a human on the other end that has the knowledge & experience to recognize when AI gives a crap result.
I definitely remember hearing about the stripper pole one. I think that was later on in my time so it was either a kickoff game in 2010/2011 or the Sugar Bowl if I remember right
What is your favorite tech game?
This may be the hardest question. My first two years (2009, 2010) were a treat. I'll listen several.
Nebraska vs. VT was one- I saw Danny Coale break open down the sidelines before Tyrod did. I remember yelling, pointing at him, just hoping he would throw it.
Miami vs. VT in 2009 was awesome. They were highly ranked (lol), talking trash (lol) and came to Lane in a monsoon and got their teeth kicked in. It rained so hard we couldn't see past the 40, a bunch of people's phones died because the band uniforms don't keep water out, they keep water in, and we had a blast. I remember the first time I went to play in the stands, I nearly popped my eyes out of my head because my baritone was full of water. No sound at all came out, just a stream of water out of the bell 😂
FSU vs VT in the 2009 ACC championship was fun. The weather sucked, but the game was awesome. Kinda strange to hear the hail bouncing off your shako though.
Miami vs. VT in 2010 was also awesome, for a different reason. Close games are fun when we win. And we had the perfect view to watch Logan run it in right up the middle on 4th down, headed right towards the band.
The sugar bowl would have been awesome too, if the officials had realized Danny caught that ball.
What's your opinion on the best college marching band? Having seen the OSU band at the game VT played at the Shoe in 2014, I hate to say good things about anOSU but their band definitely IS the best I've ever seen; the Bart Simpson skateboarding was amazing. That said the "script Ohio" doesn't hold a candle to the MV running into the shape of Virginia.
Follow-up-what's your most and least favorite AWAY stadiums you performed in?
Honestly, I thought Tennesee's band was very impressive, as was Alabama's. But those schools have way more resources (and scholarships, I believe) for those bands, so it's not surprising.
My favorite away stadium to play in was the super dome in New Orleans, although I hated marching on a turf field because the little rubber pellets get in your shoes almost instantly. If we don't count NFL stadiums, Lane North was nice because we always won (those were the days). Least favorite was UNC, they stuck us in the corner where they were doing renovations, it wasn't very nice. Although you can't expect the visiting band to get prime seating, so I get it.
I was in the HT's for 4 years, Obviously HS band too. What "resources" specifically does Tennessee's marching band have, that the MVs don't? More directors? A better practice field? More snare drums? I mean we are talking marching band here. Are they allowed to practice more? Honestly don't get it.
Obviously I wasn't in the UT band so I don't know for sure, but from my outside perspective it was clear they had some nicer equipment and more dedicated trucks for moving it. I also think, but am not sure, they had scholarships. That is the biggest differentiator IMO. Scholarships = more prospective members = more competition to make the band = better product.
Obligatory pic when equipment trucks are discussed...
That was one of my favorite roads to clear my head and take a drive on when I was in college. A lot of good memories there.
Also, what a dumbass for trying to take a 53' trailer through there.
Lol, answer is: 'basically a borderline ivy league college that's so hard to get into that's full of Mensa people'
I've met a lot of really smart people in my life and not one of them ever mentions mensa. The people that talk about being in mensa are some of the most disfunction people I've met, like they can probably do math that I've never heard of but don't understand causation vs correlation. Or something more simple.
Especially when you drive right past a sign that says "no tractor trailers...."
Hey looks like we had a couple of years of overlap in the MVs.
Any good Dave stories/memories? Also, what was best/funniest band nickname you heard in your time there?
Fellow space engineer here (civil, not defense)
We all know the moon isn't made of cheese, but if it was made of bbq spare ribs, would you eat it?
Favorite unclassified mission you've worked?
I mean, who wouldn't eat BBQ spare ribs? Frankly, if it was a hard cheese (or even semi soft) I would eat it too. Soft cheese isn't for me.
As for an unclassified mission- I don't have one 🤷
Would you rather be the top scientist in your field or get mad cow disease?
If you were a hot dog and you were starving, would you eat yourself? I know I would....
Hmm. I'll probably go with the top scientist
Oh good! I was worried you were going to pick mad cow.
For reference to the above odd questions - Space, The Infinite Frontier - SNL skit
Thanks Mike! Got a nominee for next AMA?
Anybody still Interested in doing these, or has it run its course.....
Ah geez, you asked for a nominee and I ignored you. I've been very busy at work and this just slipped my mind. Who has already gone?
1 hokietopher
2 dcwilson
3 Fernley
4 senjohnblutarsky
5 ltrpeters
6 vtnerf
7 lancerhokie
8 souphokie
9 bar1990
10 GGC
11 Chazz Michael Michaezz
12 Highty Tighty
13 APFOW
14 H_ighlander_okie
15 MaroonX2
16 French
17 LBT
18 Kville Hokies
19 Frostys Dad
20 Egbert
21 Brewin
22 HokieFireman
23 HokieJeep
24 VPIHokieME
25 theMattBoard
26 alum07
27 VTJ12
28 Gokartmozart
29 MVhokie69
30 maxANDcheese
31 8300A_Hokie'12
32 Skippypbm
33 Daveinop
34 Mas Scott
35 King James
36 VBVTUSCG
37 RocketHokie13
FWIW: I still find them interesting and have enjoyed reading each one. I don't know if I've been active enough in the TKP community to warrant an AMA, but I'd be interested in doing one.
Sure - have at it- we are officially in the doldrums of collegiate off-season. We've got nothing else to talk about other than how VT is screwed because of (insert NIL/Donors-budget-spending/SEC-BIG/Nike deal/ACC GOR/Whit-Sands reason here). You'll be AMA #38
Awesome! (the have at it part, not the VT is screwed part)