Hack - Blog Posts

TV Shoutout: Mr. Robot

Mr. Robot is a fresh new show, but it quickly captured our attention and we don’t want you to miss it!

What it is about: Elliot Alderson (Rami Malek) is a socially-challenged cyber-security engineer who moonlights as a hacking vigilante, and discovers a hacking group with a mysterious endgame.

Why you should watch it: Plenty of things, from big to small details, set Mr. Robot apart from other courses we usually have on TV. Firstly, it is one of very few shows on TV that accurately portrays hacking—and the life and technology around it (Sam Esmail, the creator, was a coder I believe). For the ones who care, it is a very big deal since the portrayal of technology in most TV and movies has generally been... questionable.

Secondly, Mr. Robot explores the ongoing, and very relevant, fight between 99-percenters vs 1-percenters. Which might sound too vague and nebulous for some, but Mr. Robot smartly keeps the focus small—focusing on Elliot and the people he encounters instead. To keep things short, I’d just say Elliot himself is also a very interesting character, brought to life by Rami Malek’s intense talent.

Mr. Robot is also a very beautiful show to watch with a cinematic flair, and there are little touches that makes the show feel inherently progressive. Although definitely not in any significant roles (except one, for now), an Indian man, a Chinese, a gay, and young woman with hijab had all been portrayed during the total 2 episodes that had aired. It also recognizes the presence of misogyny in the tech world, and in general Mr. Robot is a very prescient show.

And it’s a damn good thriller.

Who should watch it: The ones who enjoy psychological thriller—especially Fight Club in regards to Elliot’s psychological state and Mr. Robot’s nihilism (and fans are calling it, there might be Tyler Durden-esque twist coming!)—or just general thriller, really. The techies. The paranoids, the secret anarchists, and just general TV/movie lover.

Where you should start: It’s been only a couple of episodes, so yeah, from the start. You can jump ahead to whatever episode airing, but you’ll miss the brilliant, movie-like pilot.

Status: 2 of 10 episodes already aired, and second season has been greenlighted due to strong buzz!

Bonus: The first 4-minute clip of Mr. Robot, watch!

In the likely event that this might be helpful to students around the world - so we know that most scholarly articles have to be paid for to access.

I’m not sure if you know this life hack, but the website Sci-Hub unlocks most of them, you just paste the link to the article and chances are it’ll be available to download.

I just figured I’d share this, because I know it’s such a pain when you find a promising article and it’s not free. If this helps a single person then my work here is done.

You never know how much you will feel, until you come across that which stops you in your tracks, not from fear but from sheer mental overload.

You never know how much you love, until you find yourself losing the very thing that kept you grounded.

Don't be afraid to live, don't go through this alone..... That which is painful is often more rewarding.

NASA Co-Op Week 12: Makers & 3D Printers

Well-being of a generation can be measured by the number of children who attend a Maker Faire. Houston's George R Brown Convention Center was filled with programmers, 3D printers,hand made creations, geeky gear and folks passionate about their ability to create. Houston Maker Faire featured 150 booths, soap makers, FIRST/ VEX robotics teams, LEGO builders and cosplay costume makers. Us NASA interns and Co-Ops set up a booth sharing about career opportunities, letting students share ideas with NASA and coloring pages with kids. Folks tried on an Apollo 11 helmet and space walk glove.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Apply for a NASA internship open now, login to apply. Sooner the better. There are also fellowships and scholarships available: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/students/login/

Mentor a FIRST Robotics team. Teams with students age K-12:

http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/coachesmentors

Apply to be a NASA Community College Aerospace Scholar open now: https://nas.okstate.edu/ncas/

Activity sheets for students: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/about/resources/jscfacts/activity_coloring_sheets.html

Co-Op for NASA. What does this mean? Flip-flop between working at NASA and studying in college. This is how NASA hires a majority of their Civil Servants. Job openings are updated every week or so: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htm

Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/4iaScOqvI64

Full-time positions at NASA. Use this website and simply search "NASA": https://www.usajobs.gov/