I got out of bed at 2:10am to film the Falcon Heavy launch from my driveway, where I have a direct, due east line of sight to Cape Canaveral. I’m thinking “What a time to be alive!” and “Why didn’t I pursue the aerospace career I started in college?”

@RantSomeWhere Yup. I just finished editing the video (about 2 min of passable footage with my old DSLR). Trying to figure out where I can post it so I don't give my identity away on Devrant.

@M1sf3t I had a tuition scholarship to a university under a grant from NASA to do self-contained GAS canister-based experiments on the shuttle. I lost it due to bad grades my freshman year (bit off way more than I could chew). Was promised I could get it back if I improved my grades, but then I went out of the country for a couple of years. When I returned, my mom's health was not good, so I went to another uni nearer to my home to be able to visit her more often. Ended up graduating from there instead with a business and CIS degree. At the time I didn't see a clear path forward in becoming a NASA payload specialist. The odds were too much against me with regular budget crises and each shuttle taking one payload specialist per launch and only 6-8 launches a year. If only I'd known then that SpaceX would become a thing and that there would be a bigger need for programmers for their avionics, I'd have followed that path. Now I'd be lucky to be a janitor at SpaceX.

@RantSomeWhere "Oh heck! Video files can't be longer than 60 seconds" it says. this video is 2:52 in length. I'll keep looking for an anon video upload site. Not really into those as I usually don't have anything to hide. Devrant is my "safe space" to blow off steam. haha.

Here it is. Enjoy! https://gofile.io/?c=mu46X8

@M1sf3t same. I was recently reviewing my old scholarship application portfolio and laughing at the memory of the jokes the other student applicants in my school and I would crack about being in “Overachievers Anonymous”. We were in e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. It was borderline ridiculous and our retired teachers still mention our class from time to time when we pop up in the news (a friend works at Pixar, for example). Pretty good for a podunk rural cowboy school!