5 jobs with great alien-life balance

5 jobs with great alien-life balance5 jobs with great alien-life balanceLeave your Earthly-bound cubicle forever NASA has a new job opening for someone to defend the planet from alien invaders. This new Planetary Protection Officer would be given a six-figure salary to protect us from alien contamination as we explore the cosmos.The role was created in 1967 after the U.S. ratified the Outer Space Treatyand promised to be careful about what we may bring back from space missions to avoid their harmful contamination and also adverse changes in the environment of the Earth resulting from the introduction of extraterrestrial matter.The job is currently a full-time, three-year commitment that became vacant after our current Planetary Protection Officer vacated the role.Aliens may seem like science fiction, but several leading scientists and thinkers are convinced theyre already walking among us. Tech billionaire Elon Musk wouldnt rule out the possibility, saying that if there are super ans pruchsvoll aliens out there they are probably already observing us.Similarly, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking believes we are not alone, and he warns that the aliens we will meet may not be E.T.-friendly. Hawking is convinced that aliens would be rapacious marauders roaming the cosmos in search of resources to plunder, and planets to conquer and colonize. One of NASAs own partners remains absolutely convinced that aliens exist.So laugh now, but be aware that extraterrestrial life is no joking matter. You can prepare to become an ally of our future alien overlords by acquiring the skills needed to work remotely from Mars. Besides becoming a Defender of the Earth, here arejobs that are out of this world.NasalnautSmells get intensified in the heat and in confined spaces. This is bad enough in a car, but in outer space, you cant just roll down a window and let it air out. You may be stuck with those obnoxious odors for years. One space mission was even aborted in 1976 because two cosmonauts couldnt bear the smell of fuel in their air supply.Thats why NASA has a Master Sniffer, George Aldrich, whose job is to smell everything an astronaut could encounter from fabrics to grease. Aldrich is part of an odor-testing panel that U.S. space missions must clear before launch.By becoming a nasalnaut, you too could make one small sniff a big step for all of mankind.Space lawyerWhere theres adventure, theres liability. You can join the frontiers of legal interstellar experts debating space tourism accidents and moon-mining mineral rights. Space lawyers even have their own legal journal. Hurry now, so you can address the risk concerns of the locations of satellites and signals. The Earths going to need a lawyer when the aliens make contact.Space tour guideStart brushing up on your astronomy. If you lack the physical and mental requirements to be an astronaut, a U.K.-backed report believes there may still be ways for you to get to outer space by becoming a space tour guid e. The Microsoft and The Future Laboratory report identified this role as one of tomorrows jobs that will be in demand as technology breakthroughs make commercial space tourism viable.Downside Youll probably have to know the name of every meteorite and asteroid.Government UFO-verification expertGot good communication skills? Become a liaison between aliens and the public. The U.K. Ministry of Defence has a UFO Desk Officer whose job is to investigate any sightings of extraterrestrial beings.Since the universe is a very large place and mankind has only explored a very small corner of it, we cannot rule out the existence of intelligent life on other planets, the current UFO officer wrote in 2008 about their jobs, We therefore remain open minded on the topic. In the absence of proof either way, this position seems a perfectly sensible one.

What to Do When a Co-worker Loses His Job -The Muse

What to Do When a Co-worker Loses His Job -The MuseWhat to Do When a Co-worker Loses His Job A few years ago, on an otherwise typical Wednesday morning, one of my companys executives called a last-minute meeting. My co-workers and I, most of us looking bewildered, gathered around a table and learned Lisa (not her real name) would no longer be working at the company.While it welchesnt exactly clear whether or not Lisa had been fired or let go, the one thing that was plain as day was that we werent to gossip about it among ourselves. That was, it seemed, mora than anything else, the reason the meeting had been called.Though we understood the reasoning behind the instruction, it was difficult not to say anything at all to one another and simply go about our day has though nothing had happened, as though this very senior person, whom most of us admired and valued, would be no longer a part of our workday. But so it goes One day youre working side-by-side with Trevor, emailing him for the numbers you need and laughing with him over the annoying fire drill during one of the coldest days of the year- and the next, his desk is clean, and his chair is empty. What are you supposed to do? How are you expected to react? Since I struggled with complying 100% with the VPs recommendation that we not speculate about it, I decided to reach out to Melody Godfred, Muse Coach and founder of Write in Color, for her expert advice on how to handle a co-workers dismissal professionally, but also like a real, live menschengerecht with feelings.Though it may feel natural to analyze whats happened when a co-worker loses his job, Godfred suggests reminding yourself where your primary responsibility lies with your employer. She goes on to say that the best thing to do is avoid engaging in any speculating, gossiping, or general conversation, and that goes for both publicly and privately. It should go without saying that talking smack about your employer- even if your work wife got canned- i s ill-advised. Not only could it jeopardize your job, but it could create a toxic culture that inhibits your own growth and the companys as well. And, Im sure in your hasty anger, saying that so-and-so shouldve gotten fired instead isnt something youd ever want to come back and haunt you. As Godfred points out, Culture is a big buzz word right now, and though it can be over-emphasized, it has real meaning in a situation like this where the vibe at work is almost as important to your happiness as the work that youre doing. If you kill that vibe by being negative and badmouthing your own employer, all youre accomplishing is making yourself and your colleagues miserable, and even potentially talking your way into getting fired.With that said, its nearly impossible to continue on as normal when this happens to a member of your team- especially when you dont know all the details and when you genuinely liked the individual. Its not crazy to wonder if youre going to be the next to disappea r. Your mind, inevitably reeling, starts to question your own security or lack thereof. Maybe you even begin questioning your wertmiger zuwachs. Is it possible that your job is on the line and you have no idea? Or, if youre certain that your boss has no complaints about your work, you wonder Is this the first sign of bigger lay-offs to come? Regardless of whether youre concerned about getting fired for performance or laid off due to company budget cuts or department restructurings, it wont help you much to let the anxiety reach record proportions. Instead, schedule a frank conversation with your manager and speak candidly about your concerns. If beginning a frank conversation on the recent employees firing or lay off feels scary, then try working it lightly into the conversation, maybe even making a small joke if you have an easy and communicative relationship with your boss. You might say, I was really sorry to hear about Name of persons departure. I dont expect to know all the det ails, buthope Im not nextChances are, your boss will put your fears to rest right then and there. Or, the conversation may end up being an opportunity for you to get valuable feedback on ways you could improve yourself- not just to avoid getting fired, but to put yourself in the running for a promotion or a raise. Once youve had any fears about your own job loss quelled, know that you dont have to up and forget about what happened and bury yourself in your assignments. You should feel at liberty to reach out to the person who lost his or her job, but Godfred doesnt recommend commenting specifically on the situation. Rather than saying, It sucks that they did this to you, you can say Ill miss you at the office. If the person was a friend, of course you can and should continue to be a friend to him or her, especially because chances are they need a friend more than ever during this difficult time.Godfreds advice is spot-on. Even though Im not guilty of bad-mouthing my company, a wiser me would have remained even more mum, for my own sake. So, offer a shoulder or an ear, and let your pal know hes missed, but avoid saying anything that you wouldnt be comfortable having the CEO get wind of. Sure, you may think you know the whole story, but rarely is that the case with these complicated matters. And, if other co-workers try to engage you in gossip and pointless chatter, shut it down. Youre not helping the person who lost his job by talking about him behind his back. Youre only instigating future problems- and, like Godfred said, putting your own position on the line. Yes, this is a hard situation, but unfortunately its one thatll probably rear its head a few times throughout your career. Learning how to handle it now will only help you in the future.

New Options Emerge for Aviation Fuel

New Options Emerge for Aviation Fuel New Options Emerge for Aviation Fuel The jet engine fuel market is evolving. New fuels that could replace conventional petroleum-based liquid jet fuels that require no alterations to existing equipment are being developed. In fact, petroleum alternative fuels have advanced to the point that they have equivalent performance and can be used in existing fleets as drop in replacements. They can be co-mingled with existing fuels at airports at every stage of delivery, storage, distribution, and utilization in aircraft and their engines.The biofuel industry has seen much activity in the last several years in evaluating, testing, and certifying synthetic fuels for aviation. Conventional jet fuels are kerosene-type distillates such as Jet A (in the U.S.) and Jet A-1 (worldwide) for commercial aviation turbines, and jet propellant JP-8 and JP-5 for military jet engines. Two leading processes for producing synthetic paraffinic kerosene (SPKs), the same para ffins as traditional jet fuels, are Fischer-Tropsch (FT) Synthesis and hydrotreating to create hydrotreated renewable jet fuel (HRJ).Fischer-Tropsch Fuels In UseMost synthetic fuels flown by commercial airlines and U.S. military planes today are blends of FT fuels with traditional fuels. Many feedstocks produce a variety of petroleum-alternatives FT fuelsBiomass-to-liquid (BTL) fuels use sources such as agricultural and forest residue, prairie grass, and municipal or industrial wasteCoal-to-liquid (CTL) fuels use coalCoal-and-biomass-to-liquid (CBTL) fuels use a mixture of coal and biomassGas-to-liquid (GTL) fuels use natural gas.To create FT SPK fuels, feedstocks are first converted to syngas with a process called gasification, and then FT processing reacts unterstellung gases with carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and a catalyst to make long hydrocarbon chains. These chains are then cracked and separated into finished liquid jet fuels.The RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, recently repo rted that a number of FT fuels are technically viable substitutions for fuels currently used in military aviation in the U.S. Their composition, purity, density, toxicity, thermal stability, and compatibility with other fluids and materials, among other properties, have been evaluated and shown to be equivalent to conventional fuels. Military aircraft including Army Black Hawk helicopters, Air Force F-15 Eagles, and many others, have passed successful test flights and are now certified to use blends of 50% FT-derived jet fuels with 50% JP-8 jet fuel.The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Aviation Fuel Committees recent specification ASTM D7566 has enabled certified use of FT fuel blends of up to 50% in commercial aviation flights. Since the ASTM specification, FT blends have already been used by a number of airlines in normally scheduled passenger flights, while others such as Lufthansa have announced a six-month trial of commercial flights to study long -term effects of BTL fuels on engines beginning in April 2011.Algae under a microscope. Photo credit Texas AMHydrotreated Renewable Jet Fuels Tested and Undergoing Certification A newer process for creating aviation fuels derived from renewable oil sources is HRJ processing. Fats or oils from nonfood, seed-bearing crops or algae are treated with hydrogen, which saturates the oil molecules and removes oxygen and contaminants. The result is similar to unfinished FT fuels, a long, straight hydrocarbon chain that must undergo similar cracking and separation finishing.Blends with algae-derived HRJ fuels have completed successful test flights in commercial jet engines, and progress is being made towards extending ASTM 7566 to allow for 50/50 blends of drop-in HRJ fuels with Jet A for commercial aircraft. HRJ certification is also under way for military aircraft.Blending for AromaticsSPK fuels lack aromatic hydrocarbons, which swell to seal o-rings and other elastomeric seals, so blends wi th conventional fuels that contain them are currently required for certification. New synthesized kerosene-containing aromatic (SKA) fuels are being evaluated for certification that may hilfestellung longer term goals of producing fully synthetic replacement fuels that could be used without blending.These compatible fuels allow extensive aviation infrastructures and more diverse sources of fuel to be used.Debbie Sniderman is an independent writer.