I haven’t had a chance to update this blog in a while, which seems to be a common fate for most blogs. I’ve just been uncommonly busy. 

My last update was a few months back in August 2022, shortly after I attempted another L3 certification. As noted there, it was a failed attempt, but as always I learned some important lessons. 

The last post before that was from June 2022 when I attended the 40th annual launch of Large Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS) in southern California, way out in the high desert. This was the first time I’d attended a big national launch like this. 

On a personal note, the last six months or so have been nonstop. Shortly after LDRS, we moved from Los Angeles back to the midwest to be closer to family (all in the Chicago area) and the cross-country move, with an 18 month old toddler, was eventful to say the least. We spent fall getting settled into our new home in a new community, figuring out childcare for our daughter, and exploring the area while the weather was still relatively warm. Later in the fall I took another math class, differential equations, which was incredibly demanding and time-consuming, but I successfully completed it – another math class under my belt, after taking calculus I, II, and III, as well as linear algebra last year. 

I still have a lot more classes to take if I want to knock out all of the math and science pre-requisites (one more math, a three-part physics sequence, and four or five engineering classes), but working my way through them slowly is better than not doing it at all. And to be honest, slowly – one class at a time – is all I can possibly muster right now, given my schedule.

Now that this most recent class is over and we’re much more settled into our new place, though, I really want to get back into rocketry. I still have that L3 certification to finish, and I have half a dozen other rocketry projects I want to dive into as well. I’ll be sure to post more updates accordingly!