Galactic Coast Power Hour

08/03/2023

Happy National IPA Day! Special broadcast tonight at Vallensons' Brewing Company - Details below 👇

08/02/2021

Always supporting TEXAS Craft Brew. Cheers! 🍻

11/26/2020

Galactic Guy and The SCENE Magazine publisher JOHN ENNIS crashed an after-hours, pre-Thanksgiving Day rehearsal at Scout Bar as legendary Houston band THE HUNGER prepared for their first album release party in 15 years. Hunger founders, brothers and harmonizing lead vocalists THOMAS WILSON and JEFF WILSON sat down with Ennis for a Galactic Coast Power Hour conversation about their start, influences, signing with UNIVERSAL, touring with KISS, once having the fourth most played rock radio song of the year (Vanishing Cream) behind only Metallica/Pear Jam/Smashing Pumpkins, unintentionally igniting a famous music festival riot from the stage, ecstasy, what type of music/clubs attracted the more attractive females, keyboards, motivation for writing songs, more keyboards, Garageband, how the music industry has changed over 30+ years, CDs, streaming services, iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, Bandcamp, how releasing a new album has changed in the last 15 years, wives, children, shutdowns resulting in unwanted free time resulting in new songs and material, Scout Bar, Taproot, Nine Inch Nails, Deftones and the Arizona State Police, The Hunger's newest self-titled album and the upcoming album release party at Scout Bar on Saturday, December 5.

Discovery Channel Galactic Guy and SCENE Magazine publisher JOHN ENNIS crashed an after hours rehearsal at Scout Bar as legendary Houston band THE HUNGER prepared for their first album release party in 15 years. Brothers, lead vocalists and The Hunger founders THOMAS WILSON and JEFF WILSON sat down....

09/04/2020

Happy Friday!! One our of 'sister shows' Weekends On The Water is going LIVE at 7pm tonight for a preview of everything going on along the Waterfront Capital of Texas this holiday weekend. Will even include one of John's Galveston Beach craft beer secret tips. ;-) Give it a listen (link below) if you get a chance. But more importantly, have a great holiday weekend!! Cheers!!

06/25/2020

COOL NEWS TO REPORT ALERT: NASA Names Headquarters After ‘Hidden Figure’ Mary W. Jackson

Yesterday (Wednesday, June 23), NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA.

Jackson started her NASA career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Jackson, a mathematician and aerospace engineer, went on to lead programs influencing the hiring and promotion of women in NASA's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. In 2019, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

“Mary W. Jackson was part of a group of very important women who helped NASA succeed in getting American astronauts into space. Mary never accepted the status quo, she helped break barriers and open opportunities for African Americans and women in the field of engineering and technology,” said Bridenstine. “Today, we proudly announce the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building. It appropriately sits on ‘Hidden Figures Way,’ a reminder that Mary is one of many incredible and talented professionals in NASA’s history who contributed to this agency’s success. Hidden no more, we will continue to recognize the contributions of women, African Americans, and people of all backgrounds who have helped construct NASA’s successful history to explore.”

The work of the West Area Computing Unit caught widespread national attention in the 2016 Margot Lee Shetterly book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race.” The book was made into a popular movie that same year and Jackson’s character was played by award-winning actress Janelle Monáe.

In 2019, after a bipartisan bill by Sens. Ted Cruz, Ed Markey, John Thune, and Bill Nelson made its way through Congress, the portion of E Street SW in front of NASA Headquarters was renamed Hidden Figures Way.

“We are honored that NASA continues to celebrate the legacy of our mother and grandmother Mary W. Jackson,” said, Carolyn Lewis, Mary’s daughter. “She was a scientist, humanitarian, wife, mother, and trailblazer who paved the way for thousands of others to succeed, not only at NASA, but throughout this nation.”

Jackson was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia. After graduating high school, she graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942 with a dual degree in math and physical sciences, and initially accepted a job as a math teacher in Calvert County, Maryland. She would work as a bookkeeper, marry Levi Jackson and start a family, and work a job as a U.S. Army secretary before her aerospace career would take off.

In 1951, Jackson was recruited by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which in 1958 was succeeded by NASA. She started as a research mathematician who became known as one of the human computers at Langley. She worked under fellow “Hidden Figure” Dorothy Vaughan in the segregated West Area Computing Unit.

After two years in the computing pool, Jackson received an offer to work in the 4-foot by 4-foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel, a 60,000 horsepower wind tunnel capable of blasting models with winds approaching twice the speed of sound. There, she received hands-on experience conducting experiments. Her supervisor eventually suggested she enter a training program that would allow Jackson to earn a promotion from mathematician to engineer. Because the classes were held at then-segregated Hampton High School, Jackson needed special permission to join her white peers in the classroom.

Jackson completed the courses, earned the promotion, and in 1958 became NASA’s first Black female engineer. For nearly two decades during her engineering career, she authored or co-authored research numerous reports, most focused on the behavior of the boundary layer of air around airplanes. In 1979, she joined Langley’s Federal Women’s Program, where she worked hard to address the hiring and promotion of the next generation of female mathematicians, engineers and scientists. Mary retired from Langley in 1985.

In 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act that posthumously awarded the honor to Jackson, who passed away in 2005, and her “Hidden Figures” colleagues Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Christine Darden.

In 2017, then 99-year-old Katherine Johnson was there to personally dedicate a new state-of-the-art computer research facility the bears her name at Langley. Johnson, another original member of the West Area Computing Unit, also was honored as a trailblazer and given the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. In addition, Johnson was part of the group honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, and NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, also bears Johnson’s name.

“NASA facilities across the country are named after people who dedicated their lives to push the frontiers of the aerospace industry. The nation is beginning to awaken to the greater need to honor the full diversity of people who helped pioneer our great nation. Over the years NASA has worked to honor the work of these Hidden Figures in various ways, including naming facilities, renaming streets and celebrating their legacy,” added Bridenstine. “We know there are many other people of color and diverse backgrounds who have contributed to our success, which is why we’re continuing the conversations started about a year ago with the agency’s Unity Campaign. NASA is dedicated to advancing diversity, and we will continue to take steps to do so.”

For additional information on Mary W. Jackson, the “Hidden Figures,” and today’s Modern Figures, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/modernfigures

06/23/2020

Unfortunate that one of the premier powerboat destination events on planet Earth (and an event the Galactic Guys have been proud to participate in over the years) had to be postponed at the last minute. BUT there is little doubt it is probably the right and responsible decision. If all goes well in the short term, the second half of 2020 is going to be jam packed with awesome events thanks to the addition of many that have been rescheduled.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT: Scheduled to kick off tomorrow (Wednesday, June 24) and continue Thursday, Friday and into the weekend with a series of events, the 13th annual Texas Outlaw Challenge has been postponed according to organizer Paul Robinson.
“We regret to report that COVID-19 metrics being published from this past weekend within the Houston area have shown an aggressive increase in positive cases,” Robinson explained. "The public concern at many venues within our local community is real, and responsible decisions must be made to ensure the safety and health of you, our boating friends. If that isn’t enough, it seems that today’s latest weather report has flash floods and an 80-percent chance thunderstorms throughout our event area over the next four days."
“The Texas Outlaw Challenge is infamous for setting a high bar of value for its guests, and we recognize that the upcoming event, due to uncontrollable circumstances over the past few days, would not have produced an experience representative of our past productions,” he continued. “These are difficult times that are provoking tough decisions. We truly regret this unavoidable decision. Safety and health must be a priority for all. The Outlaws will ride again very soon—that is a promise.”
According to Robinson, plans are to reschedule the event for late this year. “I very much believe we will get it done this year,” Robinson said. “It bothers me terribly to have postpone this year’s event. Once we see a window, we’ll go.”
Registrations will remain on file and will be honored on the future 2020 date or at next year’s event scheduled for June 23-27, according to the release.

06/22/2020

We hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and is off to a great start this week. ;-)

06/21/2020

Happy Father's Day!!! May no fathers go thirsty today!! Cheers!!

06/19/2020

Happy Friday!!

06/17/2020

Weekends On The Water - Weekends On The Water is the official podcast for there Waterfront Capital of Texas and broadcast weekly live from the Jet Surf Houston Studio along the north shore of Clear Lake near Galveston Bay, Galveston Island and Houston, Texas. Hosted by The SCENE Magazine publisher a...

06/08/2020

OOPS!

The United States announced its Space Force first, but Netflix's streaming series was first to launch, meaning it might win a trademark war.

06/05/2020

Just a quick reminder that past GCPH guest Ojos Rojos Htx will be releasing a new single and playing three sets tonight (Friday, June 5) at Bonez Draught House & Sports Grill. We will put a link to the episode back in October with 3/4th of the band.

Ojos Rojos - "Kick Back" Single Release Party - Friday, June 5Ojos Rojos - "Kick Back" Single Release Party Friday June 5, 2020 Bonez Draught House 21 and up show No cover