Spirit Sol 664

Many writers and philosophers have spoken of the same idea: life is change, the Eternal Now, you can't step in the same river twice, etc. This concept is logically sound, and I should embrace it. But I have a really hard time with change, especially when the team's changing.

The team's changing.

In a good way; at least nobody I like is leaving. We're bringing in a raft of new scientists, and they're sitting there monitoring the SOWG meeting. It feels weird to be, increasingly, an old-timer on this project that I still think of as the Fresh New Thing. But more, I'm worried that the new scientists are harbingers of unhappy days ahead, days when some of the scientists I've known and liked will be leaving.

I'm sure I'll like the new people, too. But it won't be the same. The moving finger writes, and, having writ, moves on.

We're doing okay on our drive template. Unlike the primary mission, the scientists are actually trying to keep ahead of the line on the graph that shows how far the rover needs to progress each sol. We'll take a hit at Thanksgiving and maybe another at Christmas, but for now we're ahead of the line, even after turning around and going back to spend a week or so IDDing Larry's Bench. Today we're going to make the situation even better, by plowing ahead another sixty meters.

The gaggle of new scientists has brought back a familiar face, Steve Squyres, who's still kvelling about our recent 100m drive (okay, 94m) and looking forward to this one. But, he points out, "You can't slide anything past this uplink team -- even if you try to blow past something interesting, they'll make you turn around and go back!"

Maybe I should figure out a way to cow the new scientists now, before they can develop a troublesome attitude. Change can also be seen as an opportunity, of course.