The Trek Prop Zone Community Blog List http://www.trekpropzone.com/forum/index.php?app=blog Community Blog List Syndication Wed, 23 Jun 2010 05:40:30 +0000 owner@trekpropzone.com (The Trek Prop Zone) IP.Blog 60 <![CDATA[Roger's Blog - Dragoncon 2009]]>
I think the turnout was a record this year (We will never hear the Staff of DC say due to City Fire Ordinances and the like) and I will say that meeting up with several of the Board members here as well as the RPF, the time I had there was a great one. I was particularly impressed with James and the the group from Phase II, having never met James Cawley in person, I had no idea of his devotion and dedication to the craft of Film making and his attention to detail he demanded on the Series. After chatting a couple times and sharing stories it did not take me long to see he have a clear vision for the future of the series and I pretty much shared it along with him. I was extended a personal invite to the set to set them casting their magic, I intend on taking him up on that in the near future. The viewing of the upcoming episode "The Baby" was a treat and seeing the camera work and the way those guys nail the angles from TOS it was like putting on an old pair of shoes, it fitted very well. Great Job Guys!!

The overall hotel experience was ok, the Hotel Staff at the Hyatt I found to be a but crude and rude, shouting orders of "Don't stop, keep moving, "Go to the Left, go to the right" please don't stop and chat" etc something that I did not find in abundance at the other host hotels. The Crowds were a bit overwhelming at times in certain locations (The Dealers Room Downstairs at the Marrott for instance was really bad at times, but other than that not too bad.

I never stay at the host hotels for several reasons, the main one being I would tend to want to join some of the parties going on within the hotels at the wee hours of the morning that included drinking and other activities and never getting any sleep. The younger generation here knows what I mean. :)

All in all it was a great time had by all, thanks to Stingray, Tiberius Kirk, Andy B, Mirror Scotty and to I am kirok for taking the time to meet-up. Looking forward to seeing all of you and I hope more of the board members there.]]> Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:28:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Bankard123's Blog - Back to the Beginning, Pt. 1 - Buck Rogers]]>
Much like "Star Trek," "Buck Rogers" rode the wave of technological change. Robert Goddard had launched the first liquid fueled rocket only three years earlier, creating the world's first "Rocket." The possibilities at the time were scientifically controversial; Goddard's claims in 1920 that such a rocket could be developed that might one day reach the moon had been scorned as crackpot physics. But a black plume of smoke that rose a mere 41 feet from the ground in Auburn, Massachusetts seemed to presage things to come. The doubters doubted... but the dreamers began to dream.

Out of those dreams came Buck Rogers, a man from the present who slept in suspended animation until revived in the distant future, where rockets and ray guns and video screens were commonplace. Pure nonsense, naturally, only fit for weirdo magazines like "Amazing Stories"... or the funny papers.

And, in the funny papers, children ate it up; there was something there that hadn't been there before. The final frontier was no longer the wild west but straight up. The air in 1929 was suddenly alive with invisible radio waves from the blooming radio broadcast industry (1922), and the strange tales of Buck Rogers seemed like they just might not be so strange after all. If you could send sound through the air, maybe you could send moving pictures. If you could send a small rocket 40 feet in the air, maybe you could send a bigger one even higher... Lindbergh had flown across the Atlantic two years earlier - why couldn't people fly farther and faster in the future? Buck Rogers was a future you could nearly touch.

Buck blazed new trails in the funny papers. In earlier times, comic strips were limited to a four-panel story arc; each day featured one story snippet that began, bloomed, and fulfilled itself by the last panel. "Buck Rogers," on the other hand, was one of the first popular "serialized" comics, where stories slowly unwound over the course of weeks, and even months.

Three years after the inception of the "Buck Rogers" comic strip, Buck became one of the first syndicated radio dramas, broadcasting three times a week from 1932 to 1947; a year later, Christmas brought the first toy Ray Gun, the "X-31 Rocket Pistol," which flew off the shelf at unstockable speed. A dead-ringer for the weapons portrayed for years in the comic strips, the "X-31" was the phaser of the Depression; like so many of us on this board, it was the dream of thousands to wrap their hands around a 'real' piece of future technology that their hero carried.

Many of us on this board own one of these beauties, second-, third-, or fourth-hand. It is interesting, at least to me, to note this: The 10-year old children who first held them in 1934 would go to bed happily cradling them each night after radio adventures, while their parents stayed awake to hear news broadcasts about a guy named Hitler, who had just taken control of Germany. These same children would be the ones who would, 8 years later, be cradling real guns and real radios, with real rockets raining down destruction, with war machines undreamed of in their childhoods unleashed upon them, as they fought for all of Buck Rogers' principles in a very real way.]]> Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:52:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Bankard123's Blog - A Nod To Influence]]>
A rack of faux weapons, scanners and communications devices sufficient to put down a Yang insurrection may seem a little excessive, but then, few might understand the depths of that influence.

I can't begin to understand the confluence of effects that transformed me as a child; all I am sure of is that "Star Trek" was instrumental in creating the person who is writing this today. I was never deluded into believing there was some alternate universe in which Starfleet actually existed - but it existed within me. My first schoolyard fight was with a schoolyard bully who was in the habit of toughing up little girls. I had no particular affinity for the critters at the time, but putting a stop to it was simply the "Starfleet Thing To Do."

And it continues to exist in me. Within the last week, I've been called off into the night on rescue missions with histories and complexities to long to list here. Not My family. Not My Problem. But not to answer those calls to get off the couch, turn off the TV and intercede before disaster struck someone else's family would have been a betrayal of everything I hold as sacred in my view of my humanity. I can't Not get involved. I can't let it fall apart. I can't walk away.

I am Starfleet. And as all the Christians sit at home, watching the 11:00 news, I'm scouring the streets. Because something has to be done, and everyone else is busy. Because Jesus saves on Sundays, in the pews, and the rest of the times and places rely on people who are willing to fight for people, simply because someone has to.

Some polish their crucifix; I keep imaginary technology under glass. The meaning in both exists only in those who believe. One declares that good works are unnecessary for salvation - it's a gift, a free ride. The other declares good works are the only road to salvation - something to fight for... something Worth fighting for.

That... is an influence. And, speaking for myself only, that is why these tokens of my past are more than simply a hobby.]]> Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:54:00 +0000 <![CDATA[Roger's Blog - Second Hand Smoke....]]>
So this brings me to Second-hand smoke, is it still dangerous?

The U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona last year issued a comprehensive scientific report which concludes that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or work increase their risk of developing heart disease by 25 to 30 percent and lung cancer by 20 to 30 percent. The finding is of major public health concern due to the fact that nearly half of all nonsmoking Americans are still regularly exposed to secondhand smoke.

The report, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, finds that even brief secondhand smoke exposure can cause immediate harm. The report says the only way to protect nonsmokers from the dangerous chemicals in secondhand smoke is to eliminate smoking indoors. Fair enough. However, the Surgeon General's comments provide no macroscopic health-risk perspective for policymakers to utilize. Is, for example, second-hand smoke statistically more dangerous than drinking alcohol? Than driving? Than skydiving?

If these items carry as much or more danger than why not ban them, too? Oh, wait- we tried that by something called Prohibition. Now that was a real success. The fact is that everything in life carries risk (there is a saying, "Life is hazardous to your health"). Second-hand smoke entails risk but, as noted, so does being a passenger in a car. The Surgeon-General's report, when judged in a relative-risk perspective, really does not provide much guidance as to which risks should be the subject of limited public regulatory resources.]]> Tue, 20 Mar 2007 10:35:59 +0000 The dancing datafraction... - Phew! Four hours of juicy concentration madrigals from the 14th century and the 16th century and the major differences between them. The same goes for the fauxbourdon and falsobordone (don't even begin to think they're the same!) I can tell you how the opera was developed in France under le Roi Soleil and how it came to be imported from Italy to England with G.F. Händel. Omg, soooo tired....Eh, music.
Now I have to listen to something else. No more motets by Dufay, no more masses by Palestrina (though I really like him).

The test went very well, I hope to get a "Pass with distinction". Since this is what I've been the doing the last seven years (playing, reading and listening to Early Music) I should have known what I was doing, right?
But now I'm not going to worry about that ^^. I'll eat some nice food, listen to some POP-music and play some stupid computergame. And of course continue with that darn Enterprise D desk. I've managed to make some drawings of it...blueeeeepriiiiints I believed it's called. I've planned what materials to use and how many pieces it should consist of and how much it's going to cost and what----
Ok, let's go back a few steps. Didn't I say I was going to do some easy things to let the brain rest? Hm, I belivied I did? So, that's what I'll do now tongue.gif. Rest!



THE Man!! Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina 1525-1594


]]> Sat, 17 Mar 2007 14:05:29 +0000 <![CDATA[Roger's Blog - Beer, Dammit I love the Micro-Brews]]>
Well here in Alabama the limit for beer has been 6% by volume as long as I have lived here, which meant beers like the ones I have mentioned above cannot be bought here, I have to travel to Atlanta or Nashville to get them.

Well believe it or not, the Senate is getting ready to pass a bill to raise the limit to 14.9 percent in the coming week. This will be a victory for all of us here whom have struggled to get a decent beer when we go out to a resturant or nightclub.

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MONTGOMERY - A group called Free the Hops wants Alabama retailers to be able to sell beer with more than double the alcohol content that state law allows.

Calling Alabama laws "artificial and antiquated," the Vestavia Hills-based group also wants to abolish a law that limits the size of beer containers to 16 ounces.


State Sen. Parker Griffith, D-Huntsville, has introduced a bill that would change Alabama's long-standing 6 percent alcohol limit for beer to 14.9 percent. That would permit the sale of what he calls "specialty" or "gourmet" beers.

"It's just one of those things that a city as sophisticated as Huntsville should have because we have such a cosmopolitan group of people coming in and out," he said.

A companion bill to Griffith's was introduced in the House by Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville.

Similar legislation failed in the 2006 legislative session, but Griffith said he isn't expecting major opposition this year.

Griffith's bill was sent to the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. In the House, Jackson's bill was assigned to the Tourism and Travel Committee.

The House committee has scheduled a hearing on Jackson's bill for March 21. According to a statement from Free the Hops, it will host a private beer-tasting later that day for lawmakers.

Separate local bills have been introduced for Jefferson and Mobile counties, but the Griffith-Jackson measure would make it effective statewide in so-called wet counties and cities.

Its Web site says 98 of the world's 100 most popular beers aren't available in Alabama because the state limits the percentage of its alcohol to 6 percent and the size of its containers to 16 ounces.

"It's a gourmet beer that's not allowed," Griffith said. "These people are expert brewmasters. They are very dedicated. They are just like winemakers.

"There are no specific companies. It's a very limited market for it, but they're very, very active. They're just like any other specialized hobby group that really wants to be able to do what they want to do."

Emory Folmar, administrator of the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, did not return a phone call for comment, but Griffith said the ABC Board doesn't oppose the bill.

Griffith said the brewing industry is also not opposed to the legislation because specialty beers represent a tiny share of the market.

Griffith has bipartisan support with five co-sponsors, including Sens. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville; Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope; Steve French, R-Birmingham; Zeb Little, D-Cullman; and Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro.

Jackson lives in a dry city and a county, Clarke County, where only one city, Jackson, permits alcohol sales. Of the five other counties he represents, Monroe is also dry. Bedford and Little also live in dry counties.

Jackson has no co-sponsors on his House bill.

]]> Wed, 14 Mar 2007 19:10:22 +0000 <![CDATA[Roger's Blog - On Sunday Mornings....]]>
I can recall during my stint in the service (Army, 11 years) that Sunday Mornings were something that no matter where I was stationed, we took time to visit the chapel and try and remember the things and love ones that were on our minds most of the time, and I enjoyed the kind of laid-back schedule we could operate on, allowed a lot of us to catchup on the things we overlooked during the rest of the week, same as I am trying to do now as I sit here...lol

I think that this time is important and I am grateful that this time and this day is given to us for whatever purpose we intend to use it for, just another day of the week some will say, not me, I look forward to it each week.

To be continued.....

]]> Sun, 25 Feb 2007 16:06:51 +0000 <![CDATA[Roger's Blog - Travel]]>
I am finding my spare time at home to be quite enjoyable and look forward to tackling some of the 2 dozen kits I have piled up in the closet, trying to rebuild my stock of paints, sandpaper, dremel parts and accessories to get started on a couple. I have a Spock Ray Generator Kit I am itching to start on, I am waiting on the electronics at the moment, but it looks like a great and fun kit to build.

So, I am enjoying the fact that I am traveling less, now if only I can get the wife involved in some sort of hobby that she can do while we are at home together...And believe me I am looking...

To be Continued....]]> Sun, 25 Feb 2007 01:04:03 +0000 <![CDATA[Roger's Blog - Tennis]]>

I'll be back......]]> Thu, 22 Feb 2007 12:03:03 +0000 <![CDATA[FHC's Blog - KAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHNNNNN say that 3 times.]]>

Well ok I have one.

Today is day 5 or so of my working on my P3 Kit (see thread on forum). After slicking my primer so well that if a fly landed on it the fly would slide off, the paint had a reaction to it and bubbled up in a small place. I doubt that you could see it if the kit was done. Still, it bothers me and i'm going to sand that area down and repaint it.

Thanks for stopping by. smile.gif

Day 6

Sanded it down and tried it again. Got a bubble in a different place.

AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH

Need more sand paper.

Day 7

More paint problems. This thing is becoming a pain in the Phlox. I think I have them worked out now and should be no problem from here on.

Day ???

well with much effort it nears being close to being done. More photos posted today.

Day??

OK OK I am back tracking (not getting it done) I know but I was thinking, "I wonder if I could light this up some way?" This is either going to be very cool or 2 pounds of junk. biggrin.gif

Day ????

I have power and I have lights, now where am I going to hide this switch? I should go back to watching TV as a hobby. tongue.gif I hope to get this done this weekend.

Day ???? I have no idea how long it's been

OK made some big steps foward with the placement of the batteries and the switch I also figured out how to not have to glue down the real cowling. Placed some photos on the forum.


month??

Well this weekend I hope to apply the power and light this up. Those that have been following along at home, we are almost ready to bring this puppy home.]]> Thu, 22 Feb 2007 02:44:04 +0000