The Underbelly Of The Omega-13

Day 113: As a big fan of the movie "Galaxy Quest," I always refer to this view as "the underbelly of the Omega-13." If you don't have a clue, you really need to watch the film, especially if you love "Star Trek." And if you are a "Star Trek" aficionado who is also a weaver, you'll understand when I say that this is what happens after you enhance the dilithium matrix in/on the warp core. If you are still in the dark here, just go away. You're using up valuable oxygen.

What you see here is the reverse side of the "Scandinavian Favourite" crackle-weave tablecloth I'm currently weaving. Note that I say "reverse," because there is no actual "wrong" or "right" side to this particular fabric. The "back" has red diamonds on a white ground solely because that's the way I threaded it. The "front" has white diamonds on a red ground, exactly opposite to this. When the tablecloth is complete, I'll be able to use either side as the mood strikes me. This pattern is proving to be rather demanding with respect to keeping the motifs the same size along the length. Several times, I've had to unweave half a diamond and replace it in order to stay within the acceptable tolerance of "two inches plus one throw." Measurement is critical when you're weaving patterned panels. Small variations can be eased as the panels are sewn together, but only within certain limits. And because we weavers are human, not Vulcan, we beat irregularly depending on our emotional state.

Star Trek

Day 134: "Captain, I am detecting several objects of indeterminate nature off the port bow. They are keeping pace with our speed of warp five." Data's fingers danced across the console as he spoke, running a sequence of analyses as he attempted to identify the phenomenon. Picard's crisp order for the viewscreen cut across the other background voices on the bridge. "Sensors indicate an electrostatically charged field between the objects and the Enterprise, sir. It is interfering with obtaining a visual lock. They appear to be composed of hydrogen, oxygen and trace elements. One moment...the sensors show...no, that cannot possibly be correct...small amounts of the oil commonly found in Helianthus...Earth sunflowers, sir...and urates consistent with nitrogenous waste. With all due respect, sir, I believe humans would call that substance 'bird poop.'"

We picked up a light dusting of snow last night, with clouds dissipating by morning. The rising sun cast handsful of sparkling diamonds on the ground and, as usual, I tried to capture the glint and glimmer with the camera with no particular success. I retreated to the house to try again through the dirty glass of my east window, but the camera wanted to focus on the dust motes. As I panned in an attempt to find a cleaner gap, these objects hove into view; water droplets hanging from one of the shepherd's-hooks holding my bird feeders. Suddenly, I was transported into the world of Star Trek and a photographic adventure. Microcosm, macroscosm...who is to say in which we live?

Doctor Who

Day 70: To me, Christmas has always been a time of anticipation. That's half the fun, right? I've never been one for poking into packages or trying to read through the wrapping paper. In fact, I generally avoid handling Christmas gifts lest I guess what's inside them and spoil the surprise. That said, although I do participate in a rather elaborate gift exchange with two friends, living alone places me under the scope of Santa's radar and to offset that, I always buy myself a present for under the tree and then make myself wait until Christmas Day to open it.

Okay, yes, I admit I bought myself a microscope several weeks ago, but I had an immediate need for it, so it couldn't very well go under the tree unopened. However, when Lego released their Doctor Who set, I found myself considering purchasing a toy for myself. I was doing a good job of resisting temptation until I visited an astronomer friend who showed me hers, fresh off the shelf. Sigh. What could I do? I ordered it.

Here you see the unopened package. It will remain unopened until Christmas morning. It's only a few more days. I think I can muster that much resolve. (Be it noted that this will be my first experience with Legos. They've become much more complex than they were when I was a teen.)

Let's Go To The Fair!

Day 336: It's that time of year again, and today was my first shift at the 2015 Puya...Washington State Fair. It will always be the "Puyallup Fair" to me and to many local residents, although it is quite different from the agricultural festival it was when I first began attending. It's become much more commercial, a place where attendees shop for vacuum cleaners, car squeegees, fireplace inserts, hot tubs, silverware polish, plastic trinkets, and with every advancing step, noses are assaulted with odors of foods which would not be considered fit for human consumption outside the fair venue. The Fair is all about money these days, as I discovered when I paid an additional $8 to walk through the Star Trek exhibit.

A Trekkie of the first water, I expected something special, perhaps a scale mock-up of 1701-D, Klingons lurking in dark corners, phaser blasts I should dodge or something of that nature. What I found instead were lighted panels showing the Star Trek timeline, stock photos and text straight out of the various concordances for the series. There were lighted instrument panels, but without any explanation of the functions, again falling way short of anything found in the concordances, and there was a mock-up of the 1701-D's bridge, but you could not enter it unless you shelled out an additional $15 to have a single photograph of yourself taken in the captain's chair.

There were four or five larger-than-life facial sculpts including Data, a Cardassian and Neelix, all with bulging artificial and unrealistic eyes. There was a Borg in its cubicle and Worf, standing life-sized in a dark bay, again both very bad works in resin or plastic. Largely, the exhibit consisted of costumes in cases, purportedly those worn by the actors, but every one looked dingy and dirty, like something which had been in grandma's attic for the last fifty years. You'd have thought they'd have had them dry-cleaned before putting them on display. I left the building after a mere ten minutes, feeling as if there were Ferengi gloating in the gloom over having bilked me for the price of admission. Trust me, there's more to see in any Trek convention's dealer room than you'll see here.

Although I was disappointed in the Star Trek building and the overall commercial nature of the modern-day fair, what I really enjoy most are the animals, grange displays and the Pavilion where all types of needlework from quilts to tatting are well-lit and nicely shown. Those things are to me what define a county or state fair. Give me pumpkins and sunflowers and 4-H sheep, and I'm a happy camper, even if I do have to walk through a concourse thick with a fog of deep-fried Oreo grease to reach them.

Exploring Strange New Worlds

Day 124: Lieutenant T'var made a note on her personal tricorder that the syntax of the Cladonian language was one of the most complex she had encountered during her tour of duty aboard the Chomsky. An expert in xenolinguistics, she had made one significant breakthrough to advance her analysis: the Cladonians were a symbiotic species, and subtle intonations from the secondary component, barely perceptible even to her keen Vulcan ears, had the ability to change a positive statement to a negative. That one fact had culminated in a number of substantial misunderstandings following a peaceful first contact, and relations with the ship's crew had become strained over the next few months despite the Cladonians' gentle nature. A colleague had remarked that the Cladonians were "inclined to listen, but too closely," often reading hidden meanings into a phrase voiced by a human with a stuffy nose or a raspy throat. However, with T'var's insight into the nuances of the native language, a foundation for communication had been laid even though consistent translation was proving difficult to achieve.

Fans Don't Let Friends Wear Red Shirts

Day 229: As an avid fan of Star Trek from its very first season in 1966, I was shocked and horrified when the Next Generation debuted almost twenty years later. What were they thinking, I wondered, to trespass on hallowed ground? I actually rebelled against the thought of our old friends being supplanted by a batch of upstarts in stretchy Spandex uniforms, and I flatly refused to watch any of the first season. When the show returned for a second year, I sneaked a glimpse, feeling ever so much like I was compromising myself. The first episode I saw raised my hackles. "Imitators!" I swore, "Rip-off!" but I went back for a second look. It didn't take long before I was hooked.

Of all the following iterations of Star Trek, I have to admit that the Next Generation was my favorite series, although I felt it suffered greatly with the loss of Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy. Still, I watched every episode religiously, went to every movie, and attended almost every Trek convention held in the Seattle/Portland area. Sadly, as the various series concluded, the number of "cons" diminished and finally faded entirely away. Star Trek, it seemed, had put on the red shirt and died.

Then in 2009, I heard a rumour about a new movie with an entirely new cast playing younger versions of the Original Series characters. I walked into the theater prepared to be disappointed. I walked out two hours later utterly enthralled.

Four years! Has it actually been four years? I went to see the newest movie yesterday, and if you're expecting spoilers here, go somewhere else. The only things I will say are that in my opinion, this is the best movie yet, and that you'll want to watch all the previous films in order to catch the subtle cross-references this alternate timeline presents. In fact, I am anxious for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it several times in a row in the hopes of picking up those I missed. That said, you don't have to be a fan of the previous movies to enjoy this one, but being well-versed in Star Trek's future history will add an enormous depth to what this movie offers.

Fans don't let friends wear red shirts. Star Trek...a brave new world of Star Trek...lives!