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JBB’s Final Thoughts Episode 36: Possible Ancient Astronaut, indeed

Life changes inspired before the arrival of COVID-19, beginning with leaving my teaching job at Fitzgerald Elementary to apply for position that has been my life-long dream and far beyond the confines of CCSD.

MP3 Version:

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Resources:

• music: Social Blindness – 22K by Smart Sound Music





• All images and screen grabs by Joe Bustillos ©2020 except where noted





• CBS News Coverage: Apollo 11, screenshot 2019-07-16





• Empty Las Vegas by Josh Metz, https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2932568266766674&set=pcb.2932568556766645&type=3&theater, retrieved 2020-04-08





• Gemini-Titan (GT)-6 – Gemini 6 of 7 – Space Photography – Outer Space. Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S65-63194/S65-63194~orig.jpg. NASA ID: S65-63194. Date Created: 1965-12-17





• Astronaut Edward White during first EVA performed during Gemini 4 flight, Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/S65-34635/S65-34635~orig.jpg. NASA ID: S65-34635. Date Created: 1965-06-03





• PORTRAIT – GEMINI 12 PRIME CREW. Full resolution (URL): images-assets.nasa.gov/image/s66-46952/s66-46952~orig.jpg. NASA ID: s66-46952. Date Created: 1966-01-01





• JobsUSA, NASA Astronaut Candidate application, screenshot 2020-03-31





• Neil Armstrong, X15 Pilot, NASA Archives





• Franklin Chang Diaz, NASA Astronaut, NASA Archives





• Ronald E. McNair, NASA Astronaut, NASA Archives





• The battle of Gilgamesh and Enkidu with the Heaven Bull by Oleg Kuzmin, https://www.artstation.com/artwork/EgbOe, retrieved 2020-04-08

Episode Notes/Script:

Joe Bustillos, here.

I can’t believe that the last time I recorded a podcast it was well past 100 outside and I was still all caught up in the post-Apollo 11 moon landing 50th anniversary nostalgia. I mean, it’s only been a 9-month gap, it’s not like I’m pod-fading or anything. It’s an interesting observation that, except for last school year (2018-2019), my capacity to produce podcasts (or even blog!) pretty much evaporates as soon as school is in session, beginning with when I started working for Full Sail Labs in the summer of 2015. Damn. So, the reasons that I’m making the effort to produce this podcast episode is many-fold.

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You might have heard, the world has changed over the past month, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I have more time on my hands, even though this week is the beginning of the fourth week of Nevada’s work-from-home/remote teaching policy. The first week was disorienting, but you have to remember that I taught fully online for six-years before coming here. So my mind immediately went to how are we going to convert our superficially technological teaching practices to something that can work for most of our students. During week two I set up a Slack channel so that my fellow teachers could post questions and suggests over a common channel instead of trying to manage this via email chains. I also began trying to nail down student email accounts so that communication could be something more efficient than playing phone-tag. I ran into more than a few snags but my partner who teaches music was able to get over eighty students to check in, which is pretty good considering how many families from my school have no technology at home, no Internet and no access to even smartphones. I’ll be spending part of my Spring Break continuing to try to bridge the communication gap. So, that’s something that I never anticipated the last time I posted a podcast.

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Another thing I didn’t anticipate when last we spoke was deciding that it was time for me to leave Fitzgerald and find another school better suited for my skills or perhaps another career entirely. It’s complicated, but suffice it to say that most of my teaching positions have average three to four years before I found myself updating my resume. It also turned out that one organization looking for new recruits is an organization that I’ve dreamed about being a part of since I was a little kid. During the month of March NASA was accepting applications for the next group of astronauts. My fandom is pretty self-evident to anyone who has spent time with me, beginning with the posters in my classroom, the theme of several lessons I’ve taught over the  years and Kennedy Space Center being a frequent destination when I lived in Florida. The question was what I might have to offer as an astronaut candidate given my academic and career history and some what “older age.”

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I looked over the application materials and immediately had serious doubts about my qualifications and the incredibly small possibility that I might catch any positive attention with my application. I had already been engaged in looking at teaching positions primarily in Las Vegas, but kept channels open for other possibilities outside of CCSD. Then we went on lock-down and that made me more cautious about whether it was worth the effort of filing out the NASA application. Change is hard. I should know, I keep doing it every couple years. And here I am, at a time when many of my “vintage” are looking to slow things down, for an “escape clause,” or some excuse to devote more time to napping on the couch.

I got down to the last couple days before the close date and decided that if I didn’t try than I would hate myself for not at least giving it a go. The application process itself was pretty much like all the other applications I’ve been filling out for the past couple of months. The first part of the application wasn’t too much of a challenge. But then there was a section of the application that began,

“Please describe any other skills you possess or activities you participate in that provide additional support to your applicatio