Daily Archives: February 6, 2021

While covering the LoyolaMARS initiatives, Loyolan copy editor Brynn Shaffer sat down with some of the members of the team to talk about the club, their aspirations and the future of aerospace.

Troy Womack-Henderson, freshman computer science major

What inspired you to join LoyolaMARS? How did you first hear about it and how long have you been a part of it? How active are you in the team?

LMARS is actually one of the reasons that I decided to apply to, and attend, LMU. When I first heard about it, when I was applying around this time last year, I just saw that they were really involved in aerospace research, not just building rockets, but also just teaching about the aerospace industry and rocketry which was really cool When I was researching schools and I was considering LMU, since I knew it was in this aerospace hub of Southern California, I remember seeing an article I believe done by Seaver News, and it did a special back in 2018 on the current team. It had their website, and it basically just introduced me to what they were doing, their group and their society and everything. It all sounded really, really interesting and I hadnt seen other clubs similar to it at any other universities, so that definitely motivated my decision to apply to LMU.

Are you interested in space exploration at all, like being an astronaut yourself, or are you more interested in the behind the scenes/mechanical part of aerospace engineering?

I would definitely say a little bit of everything. I think that the aerospace industry, especially now with the industry in the U.S. trying to make space flight commercial and accessible to everyone, [is] a really exciting industry, and its something Ive always wanted to do since I was little. I really want to be an astronaut because I love space and I love rockets, and I think to do scientific research in space and help space exploration and humanity would be a really great thing for me to do for my career.

Marina Aziz, sophomore, electrical engineering with an emphasis in computer engineering major

Can you name a role model of yours? Maybe you have one within the aerospace industry?

Within people I know, definitely Dr. [Claire] Leon. I could talk about her for literally days. I love her. I admire her so much, shes such an incredible person. And the fact that she did the things she did before women in STEM was really even a thing. She worked for Boeing for 35 years, and then the AirForce for five and now shes a professor at LMU, so can you imagine like 45 years ago, she was working at Boeing, she stayed at Boeing for 35 years, was a manager, big-baller, shes just really cool.

With COVID-19 and the transition to Zoom, what has that looked like for you and the team? Has it been an easy or hard transition? Maybe discouraging?

The e-board people, like the president Matt, they havent made it very public if theyre struggling or not, but I think they have definitely had a good transition in terms of shifting from more hands-on projects to more like focusing on our careers. Which I think is really cool, I think they definitely made the most out of the situation that we were put in. The whole point of the club is to build rockets. So, you would expect that when we go online, were not going to be doing anything, right? But, if anything, I think that I feel more involved in the club now than I did before just because you always have like a speaker to look forward to or like a CAD workshop. Theres just always something to do now, and its like right at your fingertips. They definitely made the most out of it.

Sabrina Colet-Ruiz, senior mechanical engineering major

Are you interested in space exploration at all, like being an astronaut yourself, or are you more interested in the behind the scenes/mechanical part of aerospace engineering?

Definitely more like behind the scenes, for sure. I like space applications for satellites and for studying the Earth, but Im actually not really keen on Elon Musk, like colonization of Mars and stuff, I think its kind of a little ridiculous. I just think theres a lot of money going into it, and I think its so weird that people would rather move to Mars and colonize Mars, than just take care of what we have here. So I totally like the idea of satellites and rocketry and stuff to study Earth and to help improve the Earth, but I just think its a little weird that you would want to start another world on another planet.

What is your favorite thing about LoyolaMARS? Could be anything.

Right now I really like our speakers that come in to talk to us. So like speakers or more opportunities to talk to professionals in a smaller context than if you went to a big presentation at LMU, which they do sometimes, like the Seaver spotlights.

Clare Galvin, junior mechanical engineering major, computer science minor

What inspired you to join LoyolaMARS? How did you first hear about it and how long have you been a part of it? How active are you in the team?

I joined LMARS freshman year because I heard it would be a good idea to join a project as an engineering major and be working on it. And I chose LMARS because they came to speak to all the freshmen and caught my eye. First semester, freshman year, all of the project leaders came to talk to us and I was the most interested in rocket club. Since then, Ive been on the team, so three years and now I am the treasurer, so Im trying to be a little more of a leader in the club. Were now participating in this dollar per foot challenge.

Can you name a role model of yours? Maybe you have one within the aerospace industry?

One of our professors actually is our club advisor, Dr. Leon, Dr. Claire Leon. And we share a first name so thats fun. She is really cool. She was, I think, a VP, or at least a manager, at Boeing and then went to lead a division at the AirForce as a civilian. And she helped me get my connections that led to my internship last summer, so shes just been a really helpful mentor and shes just really cool.

How do you think being a part of LoyolaMARS is benefiting you individually? Maybe in either personal or professional aspects of life, or maybe just to fulfill a hobby of yours?

Its definitely helpful professionally. Its hard to know what to talk about in a job interview, but a project is the best thing to talk about for an engineering student, especially one that can apply so directly to a lot of the companies that are around us since we are in such an aerospace-heavy part of the world. Its been super helpful for interviews for me.

Jesus Arzapalo, sophomore philosophy major

Can you name a role model of yours? Maybe you have one within the aerospace industry?

Theres this astronaut who used to be a navy seal and also a doctor, his name is Johnny King. Its pretty crazy to be a navy seal and then go to med school and then become an astronaut, a really difficult career.

Professor Leon told me about the weekly speaker series. What are your thoughts on them? Are they inspiring? Who has been one of your favorite speakers thus far?

Yeah, they are inspiring. Its great to hear from people in the industry in engineering; just right now I came from one, her name was Candace Givens, she works at Northrop Grumman. She was describing her career as she started as a systems engineer and then she went to LMU to get a masters and now shes been working there for a while. Its really interesting to hear how people find different career paths. So that is inspiring.

Jose Garcia, senior mechanical engineering major

What are your duties and responsibilities as VP of LoyolaMARS?

I do a lot of outreach. I work with the president to figure out what speakers we should have. I also teach a class through the club, so I use it as a platform to help give back to the community, the LMU community as much as possible.

How does aerospace and medicine fit together, since it seems like a very unconventional path?

Its very common for astronauts to be doctors because they have different missions that are required, depending on what the budget is, to do specific research. So very often, youll find astronauts who have a medical degree or they have a PhD in something, but theyll bring along a whole team with different strengths, and with that, Ill just have more strengths allocated.

Is there anything you think the team is lacking/could be improved upon?

Members! I feel like there are a lot of tools and opportunities that I feel that we provide that I wish more people took advantage of.

This article is part of a three-part package series on LoyolaMARS, in which Loyolan copy editor Brynn Shaffer investigates the club in-depth. Read more coverage with a news story on everything you should know about the club,and anopinion pieceon why space exploration is fundamental to societal advancement.

Read more:
Meet the team behind the brains: LoyolaMARS students talk all things aerospace - Los Angeles Loyolan

Who:Elon Musk

Location: West Hollywood.

What he's wearing: A black tee celebrating the Apollo XIs 50th anniversary, black jeans, a leather jacket, and a black and white bandana.

Editors Notes: Don't be an idiot. It was only a couple of weeks ago that we saw a mask-less Musk getting up-close with Joe Rogan and Dave Chappelle (shortly before the comedian contracted Covid). Yet even with all the money andscientificknowledge at his disposal, Musk hasn't learned to mask-up properly.

Over the last year, the bandana has emerged as theface-covering of choice for celebrities who haven't quite got the memo (Johnny Depp, Bruce Willis et al). Sure, guidance on masks from authorities has been confusing and sometimes contradictory, with health officials previously urging the public not to buy masks, due to a major shortage in crucial protective gear. But surely if you cancolonize Mars you can put on an N95 respirator especially if you're going to eat out in a pandemic.

According to theCenters for Disease Control, a bandana is useful, but only if youve used the material as a base to make your own tight-fitting mask. Tying one around your face is not going to do a huge amount to protect you or others, and communicates a boomer, "IDGF" attitude to those in your vicinity.

Thankfully,the mask gamehas come a long way in the last year which means you can protect yourself and others while looking good. PPE gear is now firmly woven into the fabric of everyday life and it's being produced by the likes of Marine Serre and Off-White.

Check out some of our favorite protective gearincluding face masks you can work out in.

See the rest here:
Someone Tell Elon Musk That Bandanas Aren't Face Masks - Highsnobiety

Cleveland Cavaliers big man Andre Drummond seems to support one of the latest trends in economics.

He retweeted a post by Elon Musk to show his support for Dogecoin.

Dogecoin is an emerging type of cryptocurrency started by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer.

Last month, its value jumped by 800 percent in just 24 hours, thanks in part to Musks encouragement and the short squeeze of video game retailer GameStop.

Musk is best known as the CEO of auto manufacturer Tesla, Inc. and the CEO of SpaceX, a company that is looking to colonize the planet of Mars.

Drummond has been a key part of the Cavs promising start. He has always been one of the NBAs most ferocious rebounders, and he hasnt let up in that department since joining the team.

However, he may soon be on the move. There are persistent rumors that the Cavs will either trade or buy out Drummond in the coming weeks.

The hot rumor is that if he is indeed bought out, he would join the Brooklyn Nets to bolster their thin frontcourt.

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Andre Drummond backs Elon Musk, campaigning Dogecoin to pump to the moon - Cavaliers Nation

Oh, you tapped out early, filmmaker Rodney Ascher joked with me after his newest documentary, A Glitch in the Matrix, had its virtual Sundance premiere.

Id explained to him that I was so disturbed by an early scene in which an eyewitnessa.k.a. a person who believes we live in a simulated realityvividly describes a dissociative episode that I had to close my laptop and take a Klonopin. (A few days later, I watched the film againthis time beneath a number of comforting afghans.) For a filmmaker devoted to making work about irrational fears, there could be no higher compliment.

In the film, eyewitness Paul Gude tells his story of descending into the Null while rendered (as all eyewitnesses are) as a computerized avatar. He looks sort of like a ThunderCat but with a trick up his sleeve. His terrifying tale comes amid a barrage of wacko talk that shreds the fabric of existence, and the way Ascher slowly lets the pretzel logic buildmoving beyond online denizens with handles like Brother Lo Mystwood to include thinkers like Plato, Ren Descartes, Philip K. Dick, Elon Musk, and Neil deGrasse Tysonhas a cumulative effect. After watching the film, I am not entirely ready to say that we live inside an enormous high-powered computer program. But we all live somewhere, and that place is still pretty weird.

Aschers films, like the books of Philip K. Dick, have a tremendous knack for seeding playful paranoia. His first feature, Room 237, used different interpretations of The Shining to investigate obsessive behavior. The Nightmare, which explored sleep paralysis, had an unforgettable midnight Sundance premiere in which an audience member (who later explained she suffered from the condition) caused a kerfuffle that spread through the crowd, much to the directors glee.

A Glitch in the Matrix, which debuts at virtual cinemas and VOD this Friday, is a serious film about an enormous topic, and includes testimony from the so-called Matrix murderer Joshua Cooke. But its also a movie about nutcases who think we live in a microchip and the planet is inhabited by NPCs (i.e. non-player characters, a term imported from video games). It takes a special kind of filmmaker to make this story work; Ascher is that filmmaker.

Vanity Fair: So you do the research, you have conversations, you replay them 100 times as you edit, you create the trippy visuals. At what point did A Glitch in the Matrix really start to fuck with your head?

Rodney Ascher: It would be a better story to say that it did. But even having conversations with Joshua Cooke about the murder of his parents, I would go home and play with my kid, then fall asleep in front of the TV. Its a day at the office. I like to think that my movies are crazier than I am in person.

What affected me was being in the mix roomwatching it big, hearing the sound design and music that Jonathan Snipes made. Hearing that existential dread at a loud volume does start to work through your lower intestines.

Your movies are always funny, but you seem to go to great lengths to never make fun of your subjects.

I dont have a Dogme 95type list of rules, but its a matter of watching, rewatching, and revising. There are jokes in there, but I hope were never mocking the people were talking to. There are plenty of things people say that I dont necessarily agree with.

Anyone doing a close read of your work would probably never think these are your points of view. There are inconsistencies throughout, anyway. Some of these characters accept that we live in a computer simulation, and are coping with that. Joshua, from prison, is denouncing it.

Both cant be true!

Most of the time you watch and think, Well, this guys nuts. Then someone floats an idea and its Oh, yes, well obviously. This happens time and again in your films. Its your special trick to make something bananas seem palatable. Is this something you do in life? Do you live to make strange arguments?

See the original post here:
Is Our Whole World Just a Simulation? Enter A Glitch in the Matrix - Vanity Fair

If youre on PlayStation, chances are youve had easy access to the developerSpiders best game yet, and by now, are probably nearing the end of your journey. You wont be able to continue playing after completion, but you will be able to return to a previous save file. So if you want more from the island, the best thing to do is complete the extremely interesting and rewarding companion side quests (especially if youd also like a pirate face tattoo). If youve been there and done that and still want more, here are other games like Greedfall to think about.

A sequel to the PS3s Mars: War Logs, which you dont need to have played in order to enjoy its successor, The Technomancer is incredibly similar due to its mechanics. As an electricity-wielding, melee-proficient soldier on Mars, youre able to utilize three different combat styles (one with a staff, one with a gun, and one with a shield). The combat has essentially the same PS3-era, arcade-like feel, and similar character appearance and animation style.

Speaking of appearance, you can edit Zachariahs hair and face to a modest degree, and you can outfit him with the gear you find along your journey by looting enemies and opening chests around the maps. Other RPG elements also endure; skill trees enable you to devote more focus towards improving specific combat styles and your technomancy powers overall, and another menu allows you to upgrade other, less combat-oriented Talents, such as Charisma, Science, and Lockpicking.

Just as the settings of Teer Fradee are divided by faction and aesthetic, so too are the cities of Mars. Ophir is cold and sort of cyberpunk in style, while Noctis is like a Martian bazaar. The games story is decent, and though the premise is not quite as original as Greedfalls, the elaboration upon the premise is. Simply put, its not like any interpretation of Martian colonization youve already seen a hundred times before.

Finally, the hallmark of a Spiders game is undoubtedly its satisfying companion system. Each of them has a different combat style and benefits to offer, and three (two women and one man) can be romanced. Now, dont get discouraged by the first options offered to you. Just trust me, there are much better folks waiting to help you, like Beg, the sun-scarred and seemingly dull mutant.

An ambitious RPG, Vampyrs story revolves around doctor/vampire Jonathan Reid. The emphasis on communication and diplomacy between characters is there, as is the skill tree progression system. The combat shares the same foundation asour previous Mars themed entry, plus a sort of toned-down version of Bloodborne. I draw this comparison mainly from the shared gun mechanics; melee definitely comes first, but an easy, close-range shot from a pistol will help damage and disorient enemies. However, your most useful tools wont be your weapons but your supernatural powers.

Enemies are scattered throughout the open world, but every kill seems to pose possible consequences and ramifications. Reid is no legate of any congregation, like De Sardet, but he certainly has to pick his words and actions just as carefully. 20th-century London is a close-knit place.

Ive only played the latest installment of the Dragon Age series. Though previous entries of these games might be more like Greedfall, I feel confident in recommending Dragon Age: Inquisition to almost anyone. The massive world is divided into sections to which you can fast travel; this allows for incredibly diverse locations. The combat is arcade-ish, but the true appeal for those reading this would be the stellar companion system.

Playing as a Qunari rogue, I romanced Dorian, my mage companion. I found my partner to be valuable in combat, and I complimented his and my skills with the long-range weaponry of Varric and the brute strength of Blackwall, whom I outfitted with the finest armor I could craft. Truly one of the best games Ive ever played.

With that, you now know of three games like Greedfall to pick up and enjoy.

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If You Loved Greedfall, Try These 3 Games Like It - KeenGamer News

Despite facing criticism from users and lawmakers as well as being hit with a class action lawsuit after it imposed trading restrictions on GameStop, AMC, and other stocks targeted by the r/WallStreetBets community, Robinhood has seen a flood of new capital and users.

The popular fee-free investment app, which bills itself as "democratizing" investing while selling its users' trading data to hedge funds, was a nexus of the amateur trading activity that buoyed dark horse stocks and walloped short-sellers like Melvin Capital. After it restricted trading on popular stocks to sell-only as prices fell last Thursday, though, Robinhood became something of a villain as users felt it had turned heel and lawmakers demanded hearings.

Now, just like the massive investment funds that had the value of their ownership stakes in GameStop inflated astronomically thanks to all this activity by amateur investors, it's starting to seem like Robinhood will make it out OK after all.

For one, Robinhood is seemingly still very popular. According to The New York Times, Thursdaythe day of Robinhood's strictest trading restrictionswas also its best ever: it saw over 177,000 downloads (twice the previous week's daily rate) and had 2.7 million daily users.

Robinhood also announced on Monday that it raised another $2.4 billion in a new funding round led by Ribbit Capital and including existing investors such as ICONIQ Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, and NEA. Bloomberg reported that the investment would convert into equity at a $30 billion valuation or a 30 percent discount on its initial public offering (IPO), and then would be followed by another $1 billion infusion converting to equity at either a $33 billion or a 30 percent IPO discount. Robinhood has been planning to go public in May since late last year, either through an initial public listing, a direct listing, or a merger with a SPAC.

Robinhood was also given a platform from which it could explain itself to a reasonably friendly audience. In a conversation with SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk on the social media app Clubhouse on January 31, Robinhood chief executive Vlad Tenev said that the National Securities Cleaning Corporation asked for $3 billion in collateral to back up trades of increasingly volatile stocks on its platform.

This ask was "an order of magnitude" larger than usual, Tenev said, adding that "Robinhood up until that point has raised around $2 billion in total venture capital." This is what led to Robinhood restricting trades and tapping credit lines at six banks as well as seeking emergency cash infusions.

Musk was there to speak directly to his biggest fans about crowd-favorite topics like Mars colonization and artificial intelligence. It was undoubtedly a friendly audience for Musk full of acolytes, and he threw seemingly "tough" questions at Tenev only for them to be calmly explained. Clubhouse, where the conversation took place, is a hangout for Silicon Valley and Valley-adjacent types primarily backed by VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, which was an investor in Robinhood's latest funding round.

Still, Robinhood isn't in for smooth sailing, exactly. The company now faces increased regulatory scrutiny and saw a class-action lawsuit shortly after it began restricting trades. This recent spectacle will likely refocus attention on accusations from Massachusetts securities regulators in late December that the company takes advantage of inexperienced customers. In a 50 page response released late Friday, Robinhood insisted that it has actually gone out of its way to democratize finance and dismissed claims that it gamifies investing, lets customers engage in risky trades, and that any of its techniques could be considered illegal.

The truth is that Robinhood has momentum, a hooked user base, and a business model that seems empowering for users but rather exploits them. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Robinhood's senior director of product management Madhu Muthukumar said that the app's gambling-adjacent interface is intentional and designed to make it feel like something thats familiar to populations that historically have not been served. And for all the rhetoric around "democratizing" finance, Robinhood sells all its users' trades to huge firms such as Citadel Securities which sees them before they are even executed on the market. Indeed, the SEC fined Robinhood $65 million recently for losing investors tens of millions of dollars due to its business dealings with market makers.

Robinhood is reminiscent of another company here: Facebook. The tech giant skates through every controversy no matter how outrageous and becomes more powerful while directly exploiting its users' privacy and at the same time claiming to "give people the power to build community."

As Jacob Silverman writes in The New Republic, the troubles it's facing now are unlikely to halt Robinhood's advance. In a time of rampant poverty, precarity, and also absurd wealth, we are heading towards becoming a nation of gamblers hoping to strike it rich. That Robinhoods siren call is more popular than ever should be read as a omenthe app is simply bringing more people to a casino when they have less to gamble with. And in a casino, the house always wins.

More here:
Robinhood Screwed Its Users But Is More Popular Than Ever - VICE