About Reflections of JWST: Exploring the Cosmos by Maynard Hurley

Reflections of JWST, Exploring the Cosmos

As I like to say, “I’m not Carl Sagan or Stephen Hawking, but I made their telescopes!”

I have been a mirror maker most of my life. But, more pertinent to this book, I was the leader in the optical shop for the James Webb Space Telescope mirror polishing. We mirror makers consider the mirrors to be “the heart of the telescope.” And, when I say “Reflections of JWST,” yes, there is a tongue-in-cheek pun intended. But please don’t misunderstand.

This was supremely difficult and tedious work. We felt like we were always near the edge of failure – “walking the tightrope of mirror making.” I am reminded of the saying: “Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.” Well, we were “lucky,” but we worked for it and, we made our own luck! We bootstrapped ourselves from meager beginnings to the greatest observatory mankind has ever created.

Now, with the launch at hand, we all have the luxury of contemplating the Cosmos! It is our “time machine,” and we will now be able to look back in time and not only see where we came from but also where we are going in the future.
This book is a collection of my “Reflections of JWST.”

Maynard

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Author Bio:
Ever since childhood, I was in preparation as a toolmaker to the Cosmos. I was a telescope mirror maker, to be specific. Dad had always made telescopes even before I arrived in 1957. He was the master optician at Kitt Peak, making the world’s biggest telescope mirrors that collected light for monstrous mountaintop observatories. I grew up with telescopes in my blood. We joined forces after college.

We worked together as father and son partners, making big mirrors in the desert. I learned from the master where he taught me the refined secrets as only he could. After a decade, we separated unwillingly with his early passing, and I was alone to carry on the family tradition. I took this expertise and added a graduate degree to augment myself before joining Kodak for even more, and this time “top secret,” telescope making. By now, I ascended to the next level in both technology and passion. In 2004, after a good seven-year run, opportunity raised its surprising head and enticed me away from the “dark side” with the promise of the James Webb Space Telescope. We called it Webb, the World’s most fantastic telescope project.

The Chief Engineer position at Thompson was the lure that caught this fish. Soon I was transported west to California for more telescope making fun. We were to polish Webb’s mirrors and eventually deliver them to the origami space telescope, which unfolds as it traverses to a solar orbit some million miles from its creators.

When the “Origami Telescope” unfolds in December 2021, taking on the dimensions of a tennis court, it will be 100 times more powerful than the legendary Hubble Space Telescope. Moreover, it’s a “time machine,” so sophisticated that we can look at the delicate signatures of the past, some 14 billion years ago! This fantastic tool is a product of the skillful hands and ingenious minds of over 2000 talented engineers, scientists, and technicians. Humankind will soon see the universe as never before.

As I age and reminisce, I feel obligated to share my story; our story, the Webb mirror makers, the “Webbsters.” I reflect and realize that I too am “out of warranty,” if you will. Here is my story and Welcome to my world.

Maynard

About LIFE – User Manual: Instructions for living a life as a human being

This manual contains instructions and explanations on what is human being and how does life of a human being works. It is a user manual for human beings and how to live the life they want.

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I am just an ordinary person. Just like you.

The Ghost by M K Devidasan

Shaji, an IT professional and only son of a wealthy Muslim landlord, helped Sujatha, a Hindu girl, by taking money from his father’s locker towards the capitation fee for her engineering college admission in Bangalore. The indebted girl pawned her innocence for his lust. Raju, a classmate of Shaji, who was in the porn business, had an eye on this beautiful girl with frequent mention to Shaji, who never agreed. Once during her visit to the village, she went missing. Gossips went around blaming Shaji for killing and disposing of her body. On his visit to town to prove his innocence, the police arrested Shaji and tortured him to the point of his hospitalization. The ghost of missing Sujatha appeared to save her mentor and savior, and Shaji was released. The cause of the death was a mystery which she revealed with an unexpected thrill and suspense.
A mystery suspense novel that will keep you enthralled on thorns till the end.

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Writing has always been a hobby for M K Devidasan. However, it was not always something he thought he could make a living with. After retiring from the Indian Air Force as a Wing Commander serving 32 years, he realized he has something valuable to share with the world and turned to write full time. Since turning his passion into a profession, M K Devidasan has written prolifically and is constantly exploring new themes, genres and ideas. It’s incredibly hard work, but he is never happier than when he sits down at his desk putting the opening words to a new book or story on paper.

About Sons of Brutality

Los Angeles is in the grip of terror as two serial killers are dropping bodies throughout the city. One is killing in the name of justice; the other is killing in the name of obsession.

When the mutilated bodies of two young women are found murdered in the Hollywood Hills, with an inverted cross branded into their chest, Detective Addison Mowbray is convinced that the killer must be driven by a fascination with the occult.

With his lieutenant wary to pursue this line of investigation, only Addison’s violent-tempered partner, Jed Perkins, and Lilly Coniglio, a passionate medical examiner from the Coroner’s Department, will help the detective follow the leads, wherever they may take them.

While Addison and Jed navigate a murky, disturbing occult landscape in search of answers, another series of bloody murders plague the LAPD as a vigilante continues to leave a trail of victims, with plastic police badges left beside their bodies as a calling card.

Digging deeper into the brutal Hollywood Hills murders, the detectives uncover something even more terrifying than a killer hiding in the shadows as they discover an organization so vile and powerful that it changes their lives forever. Struggling with their own demons, these two flawed detectives find themselves as the only ones standing between this evil organization and a spectacular season of carnage in the City of Angels.

Set against a backdrop of urban bleakness and social inequality, Sons of Brutality combines deeply flawed protagonists with human monsters, integrating strong dialogue, violent action, and gripping suspense.

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Author Bio:
Daniel is a musician who has toured throughout Australia and America with various bands. Founder of Xcel Business Solutions, he lives in the Blue Mountains. Daniel has written and collaborated on many different musical projects and travelled extensively. His passion for music, off-beat stories, and the written word ensure he is always busy.

His first novel, Sons of Brutality, draws heavily on the situations he encountered inside smoke-filled spaces around the world throughout the 1990s and the underbelly culture he experienced while on tour in America.