ek

Cechini Finishes 4th In Weekend Invitational

Joseph Cechini finished 4th in the 2024 Family Weekend Invitational, Kiski School Cross Country Meet. Cechinin, representing Mercersburg Academy, covered the 5K distance with a time of 18:49.8. Related Stories Prunty Claims Victory At AXA Man On The Run Schindel Competes In OFSAA Championships Sean Trott Reflects On NY Marathon Display Nakeno Creighton Memorial XC […]




ek

Bermuda Karting Club Racing Weekend Results

Speed returned to the Southside Motor Sports Park as the Bermuda Karting Club’s race day 13 took place. Brian Bulhoes won two of the three tag senior class races, with Nathan DeCosta winning the other, while Roman Wilkinson won all three tag junior class races. Scott Barnes took the checkered flag in all three races […]




ek

Bermuda Karting Club Racing Weekend Results

The final race day of the Bermuda Karting Club’s season took place at the Southside Motor Sports Park. Brian Bulhoes won two of the three tag senior class races, with J’Auza James winning the other, while Roman Wilkinson won two of the three tag junior class races, and Lucas Flood won the other. Jason North […]




ek

Results: Bermuda Karting Club Week Two

The Bermuda Karting Club’s 2024/2025 season continued at the Southside Motorsports Park, delivering a day of high-octane action. Nathan DeCosta demonstrated his mastery in the tag senior class, securing a clean sweep of victories across all three races. His dominance was mirrored by Syah Pedro in the tag junior class, who similarly claimed the top […]




ek

Results: Bermuda Karting Club Week Three

The Bermuda Karting Club’s 2024/2025 race season saw the third race day at the Southside Motor Sports Park. William Dunkley won two of the three tag senior class races, with Jason Correia winning the other, Syah Pedro won all three races in the tag junior class races. Brian Bulhoes won all three L206 class races, […]




ek

Crime Stoppers Weekend Film Experience

Crime Stoppers Bermuda will hold their 7th Annual Weekend Film Experience from February 29 to March 2, 2024. A spokesperson said, “Crime Stoppers Bermuda is thrilled to announce the 7th Annual Weekend Film Experience, its premiere fundraising event, to be held from February 29 to March 2, 2024, at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute [BUEI]. This […]




ek

B1 Weekend To Feature Screening & Discussion

The B1 Empowerment Weekend on September 20-21, 2024, will feature ‘B1: The Movie’ screenings and discussions with filmmaker Dr. Ric Mathis. A spokesperson said, “On Friday and Saturday, September 20th and 21st, 2024, an empowering weekend has been planned for community engagement featuring a screening of the powerful film, B1:The Movie, and discussions with Atlanta […]




ek

Project Hyperion is Seeking Ideas for Building Humanity’s First Generation Ship

The dream of traversing the depths of space and planting the seed of human civilization on another planet has existed for generations. For long as we’ve known that most stars in the Universe are likely to have their own system of planets, there have been those who advocated that we explore them (and even settle …

The post Project Hyperion is Seeking Ideas for Building Humanity’s First Generation Ship appeared first on Universe Today.




ek

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season Two Promotional Video

A new promotional video for Star Trek: Lower Decks: Season Two is available from StarTrek.com...



  • Star Trek: Lower Decks

ek

Star Trek Day Coming September 8

Did you know? Star Trek turns 55 this year, and to coincide with the anniversary of Trek first...




ek

Star Trek: Prodigy Opening Credits Released

Paramount+ has released the opening credits (and with them, the theme) to the upcoming series, Star...



  • Star Trek: Prodigy

ek

Classic Trek Games Now On GOG

As part of the Star Trek Day celebration, commemorating the 55th anniversary of the original...




ek

Another Classic Trek Actor On Lower Decks This Week

Per the Star Trek On Paramount+ Twitter account, this week’s episode of Star Trek: Lower Decks will feature...



  • Star Trek: Lower Decks

ek

Several S&S Trek Books On Sale For $1 This Month

Several classic Star Trek books from the Simon & Schuster era of publishing Trek novels are on sale...




ek

36 Arrests Made During Cup Match Weekend

“The policing plan implemented over the just concluded Cup Match holiday weekend, was in the main, successful in preventing any major criminal activity,” the police said, adding that there “were thirty-six arrests for various offences, the majority being for outstanding warrants.” A police spokesperson said, “However of particular concern, among them were ten persons arrested for […]




ek

Minister Weeks On Shooting Incident

“This was a heinous and cowardly act of violence directed at our police officers last night,” Minister of National Security Michael Weeks said. Minister Weeks said, “We are grateful that no one was hurt during this dangerous incident. This is a threat to law and order, and we must all do our part to bring the […]




ek

Mitchell Enjoys Modeling At NY Fashion Week

[Written by Stephen Wright] Aspiring model Nalia Mitchell had the experience of a lifetime strutting down the catwalk at the recent New York Fashion Week Festival. Mitchell was among a handful of Bermudians who successfully applied for the Model Experience, which allowed participants to walk the runway, connect with brands and designers, share the stage […]




ek

Minister Attends CTA Caribbean Week In NY

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Owen Darrell recently attended Caribbean Week hosted by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation [CTO] in New York from June 16 – 21, 2024. A Government spokesperson said, “This year’s event at the InterContinental New York Times Square, marked the organisation’s 35th anniversary. It brought together the region’s finest tourism representatives […]




ek

BTA Highlights Bermuda Art Month’s Final Week

As Bermuda’s second annual Art Month draws to a close, the Bermuda Tourism Authority [BTA] “encourages both locals and visitors to take advantage of the ongoing exhibitions and remaining events that have made this celebration of Bermuda’s vibrant culture and creativity such a success.” A spokesperson said, “While October is nearly over, the exhibits at […]




ek

Netflix Top 10 Week of Nov. 4: "Countdown: Paul vs. Tyson" Enters the Ring; "Meet Me Next Christmas" Unwraps #1

Season 2, Act I of "Arcane," the animated series based on the popular multiplayer online battle arena game League of Legends, also had a strong debut, taking second place with 6.3M views.




ek

Holky z pasťáku, šnečí animák a Guy Pierce coby kněz: vynikající kolekce Aussie & Kiwi Film Fest je tu!

Se skvěle kurátorovaným programem přichází do dvou pražských kin, Lucerny a Edison Filmhubu, festival Aussie & Kiwi Film Fest. V pátek 15. listopadu začne ve velkém sále Kina Lucerna jeho 11. ročník uvedením svérázného animovaného snímku Paměti z ulity, jehož režisér Adam Elliot byl před sedmi lety hostem Anifilmu a při té příležitosti poskytl Reflexu rozhovor. A co další snímky z druhé strany zeměkoule, které nás až do 20. listopadu čekají?




ek

Hřib: Máme hodně úspěchů, ale nezajímali jsme voliče. O kmotrech v ODS mluvil už Topolánek

Piráti musí přestat řešit vnitřní spory a vrátit se k tomu, co voliče nejvíc zajímá, říká nový předseda strany Zdeněk Hřib v prvním rozhovoru po zvolení v podcastu Padni komu padni. Nejdůležitější je dle něj zlepšit kampaně, aby pirátští voliči přišli k volbám. Bez nich by dle Hřiba ze sněmovny zmizel liberální hlas.




ek

Zrodila se hvězda! Trump v projevu děkoval Elonu Muskovi. Čím se mu budoucí prezident může odvděčit?

S Trumpem v Bílém domě má Musk příležitost posunout svůj vliv na novou úroveň a významně ovlivnit pravidla hry v technologickém světě. Těžit může například z možného vlivu na regulace v klíčových sektorech, kde působí. Muskova podpora Trumpovi byla sázkou na nejistotu, ale první reakce trhu naznačují, že se tento risk možná vyplácí.




ek

Ve věku 76 let zemřela bývalá ministryně spravedlnosti Marie Benešová

Ve věku 76 let zemřela bývalá ministryně spravedlnosti a místopředsedkyně sociální demokracie Marie Benešová. České televizi to potvrdila někdejší ústecká hejtmanka Jana Vaňhová, o úmrtí advokátky na síti X informoval také předseda Rady ČTK David Soukup. Benešová se ministryní spravedlnosti stala ve vládě Jiřího Rusnoka od července 2013 do ledna 2014, a potom znovu ve vládě Andreje Babiše od dubna 2019 do prosince 2021, tehdy už ale jako nestranička za hnutí ANO.




ek

Freaky long weekend




ek

Geekvape and Porsche Absolute Racing Join Forces for the Macau Grand Prix

Tagged as:




ek

OVERKILL выступили без DEREK TAILER

OVERKILL выступили без гитариста Derek Tailer'а восьмого ноября в Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Музыкант не смог принять участие в концерте из-за болезни.
#Overkill #ThrashMetal #Thrash_Metal


Видео: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vWwZCAQip4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GB0Jl6-odHI




ek

Two Weeks With My New Knee


It has been almost two weeks since my surgery and it has been boring. I have destroyed two and a half beds and let myself out of my crate one time before she put carabiners on the door. Also, I have destroyed one hard plastic cone,
one nice soft cone that was borrowed and now my mom has to find a new one to replace it,
one horrible blue donut thing from my last post, one pair of pants,
and one stuffy. The stuffy was my reward for not destroying anything on Friday.
I have not removed any of my sutures though. I'm sure everyone will be proud of me for that.

Today my mom stayed home with me to talk on the phone, make faces at paper and stare at the computer all day. I got to go outside and spend some time helping her talk on the phone while staring at paper. It was nice and sunny so I nibbled on some grass,
checked on some of the plants,
and looked for my squirrel friend (without running over and looking up his tree).
Ubas are meant for bouncing and running and having fun. There is nothing fun about all this sitting around in crates. I feel a whole lot better, my knee isn't acting so naughty and I keep telling her I'm healed, but she doesn't believe me. She says I have WEEKS more to go before I can jump and twirl and leap and play with my flirt pole. I only had a tibial crest transposition, a wedge recession sulcoplasty and lateral fascial imbrication. Can someone please tell her that my knee is all better now?

hugs,
Uba







ek

Board Game Review: Tokyo Sidekick

Earlier this summer, Tokyo Sidekick arrived on our doorstep from Japanime Games. I knew absolutely nothing about the game before it showed up. Turns out, it's a big game, with a big board, in a big box. Unpacking everything, I was pretty impressed with the breadth of inventory. Check out the pic below from the publisher of the core game components beyond the board and cardboard standees.

My copy also included a comic book giving the origin stories of the heroes, as well as upgraded acrylic standees. The components are well made and I particularly like the acrylic upgrades; you’ll want these for sure if you can get them.

 

Perusing the rulebook, I started to get a good understanding of Tokyo Sidekick. It’s a cooperative game designed by Yusuke Emi where 2-4 players take on the role of heroes and sidekicks who battle against villains, supervillains, and menaces, while also navigating around the central board to deal with incidents as they crop up. There’s a lot going on at once for players to manage, and that’s part of the fun. It feels a lot like playing Pandemic, if the characters we played in Pandemic  were more personable and relatable. 

Turns pass back and forth between players and during the active player’s turn they must do their best using their array of selectable actions (actions that are paid for with energy cards  from their deck) to thwart evil and handle critical incidents that have been revealed. We didn’t find there to be much analysis paralysis during turns. At the end of each player’s turn, during the End Phase, new incidents are added to the board, the player redraws their hand, and circumstances are evaluated to determine whether additional steps grouped under something called “Crime Time” will occur. If it does occur, special effects on enemy cards activate, towns on the map get destroyed, a subset of incidents on the board become critical (if you leave these unresolved on the board for too long, you lose the game automatically), new enemies are revealed from the enemy deck and placed on the board, and new incidents are added to the incident row (to be added to the board on future turns).

What I love most about this game is the detailed descriptions and backstory on every hero and sidekick. Chamaru is my absolutely favorite sidekick to include on my team. Look at his adorable profile!

There’s even a mind map at the end of the rulebook showing the intricate connections between each hero and sidekick in the game. The artwork is lovely too. Sometimes I’m a bit hesitant when a new Japanime game is released because I never know if the artwork is going to push boundaries a bit too far out of the family friendly genre (which is always a shame when it happens because the gameplay is usually solid). Happy to report that while the game isn’t going to win any awards from the feminist corner for empowering representation, it’s nothing too risque; tweens and teens can play this without being scandalized.  Another thing I really enjoy about Tokyo Sidekick is the free lesson in Tokyo geography. All the locations on the board are neighborhoods of Tokyo, like Otsuka, Waseda, or Shinjuku. If you thought Pandemic was good at teaching you world geography, this game is really good at teaching you the areas of Tokyo as you move between them.

The rulebook is very detailed and well written. We didn’t have any trouble understanding the instructions and we weren’t left with any unanswered questions after reading it.

The myriad of hero-sidekick combinations and the variety of enemies in the enemy deck make the game highly replayable. We’ve played a handful of times and have yet to even eke out a win but we never got tired of trying. The first time we played we didn’t stay on top of incidents and then after that we tried to manage our incidents better but were overrun with villains. I’m sure there some clever strategy to score a victory in Tokyo Sidekick, but we haven’t stumbled upon it yet. Which is another plus for the game as far as I’m concerned; there’s no easy win to be had here. You’re going to have to collaborate closely with your team partners and really put your heads together to beat this thing.

This is definitely a game to put on the shopping list, if you’ve not ordered it yet. The Kickstarter for Tokyo Sidekick  just closed the first week in September, but Japanime has already started taking pre-orders for the retail version of the game on their website. If you’ve got tweens, I especially think this is a must-have. The whole family can work together to save Tokyo and learn Japanese geography in the process.

-------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Japanime Games
Players: 2-4
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 75 minutes.
Game type: deck building, cooperative, hand management

Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.




ek

Free National Park Weekend

This weekend is another FREE pass to our National Parks.
Matthew Daly in Washington, D.C. Associated Press June 15, 2009

The U.S. National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations at national parks, starting this weekend.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced earlier this month that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments—including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite—will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20 and 21, July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16.

"During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families," Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

"I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation's crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends."

Most Americans live less than a day's drive from a national park, Salazar said. Last year national parks attracted more than 275 million visits, generating an estimated U.S. $10.6 billion for local economies and supporting more than 213,000 jobs, he said.

For the Park Service, the free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half million dollars a day from entrance fees that range from $3 to $25. A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees. The country's other 244 parks are already free.

Kendra Barkoff, a spokesperson for Salazar, said the lost revenue should be more than offset by an increase in park tourism. Many tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and other vendors near national parks will offer other discounts and special promotions on the free-weekend dates, she said.

The waiver applies only to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours, or concessions, Salazar said.

Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat representing Montana, applauded the free weekends. Baucus has co-sponsored a bill that would cap park entrance fees at current rates unless approved by Congress. The bill also would limit fees on national forests and other federally managed lands.

"There is nothing better than spending a weekend in Glacier or Yellowstone, and to be able to do it without straining the budget is even better," Baucus said in a statement. "Folks should be able to enjoy our outdoor heritage without going broke."

Kitty Benzar, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, a Colorado-based group that opposes fees on public lands, said Salazar's announcement was an admission that high fees are a deterrent to park visits.

"Twenty, 25 dollars does mean a lot to people," she said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.




ek

Adventure Planning :: with globe trekker, Justin Lichter

With summer starting to wind down, the mosquitoes and black flies are fading. Winter will come soon. It is a great time of year to get outside and also start dreaming of trips that you want to do for next summer. I mentioned in a previous blog post how I go about looking into the routes that I am going to embark on, so naturally I want to transition to how you all can set out on a long hike.

Here would be a few pointers that I would recommend.

1. Plan, Plan, Plan.
You haven’t planned enough if you haven’t thought about a lot of things for your trip. The route is one thing and the most obvious. However you should also be looking into how frequent and reliable the water sources are, how often you might be able to get more food or purchase food at a store, the weather for the area during that time of year, and fine tuning your gear. No doubt you will have some nerves at the start of a trip, but if you plan well and are comfortable with your gear going into the trip then that should ease the nerves a little.

2. Train
As your trip begins top take shape you will ideally start to train for the experience beforehand. This will help make your trip as enjoyable as possible as well as getting you used to your equipment. This will help your feet get ready, and if need be callused, for you shoes and to break in your shoes and help your hips and shoulders get used to wearing a backpack. If you prepare beforehand then you’ll be ready to hit the trail when the time comes and the mileage that you planned for the trip won’t be daunting. The training will also help in your planning because it will let you know what distances and terrain are obtainable for the trip in the time that you have.

3. Gear Up, But Not Too Much
Research the gear that you would like to use on the trip. Do as much research as possible looking online and asking questions of shop employees, but definitely do NOT just ask shop employees. Some store employees are great, but each has their own personal opinion and they might not even have done the activity or been to the terrain you are looking at doing. My typical gear list has many recurring pieces of gear, but there are also many things that change depending on location and time of year. This helps to keep your pack light by taking only what you will need. For example, there is no reason to carry a 3lb. -20 degree sleeping bag if you are heading out to the High Sierras in the summer. Chances are you can probably get away with a sub 2lb. 30 degree sleeping bag, especially if you plan on sleeping in a tent because that will add about 10 degrees to your sleep system. Get your system streamlined and dialed beforehand and then only take what you think you’ll need. If you don’t use it every day then generally you don’t need it. Also, try to make things have multiple uses. For example I use a half length sleeping pad and then use my backpack for the lower half of my sleeping pad. This saves about 8oz on my sleeping pad and makes it more packable since my backpack won’t be needed for anything else while I am sleeping.

4. GO!!!! And Have Fun!
Set off on the trip and have a blast. Remember that if you are setting out on a longer trip and you think you might need a piece of gear, want to swap out a piece of gear, or find out shortly into the hike that you aren’t using something that you are carrying then you can always mail something that you are carrying back home when you get to a town to resupply. On the other hand you could also mail something to yourself by General Delivery to the post office in a town. If you mail it priority and decide you don’t need the gear, then don’t open it and you can usually forward it elsewhere for no charge! This is also a great trick so that you only need to carry the maps that you need for each section and not add weight by carrying maps for the entire trip. Use these tools to keep your pack light.

For more info about Justin Lichter, follow him @ http://www.justinlichter.com/.




ek

Pizza a Day Diet: Star Trek Pizza

A few years back, when Cynthia Leitich Smith was off to Vermont for the VCFA residency, I undertook an exploration of Austin pizza joints and pizza blogging: the rules were these: aside from a dinner salad prior to the pizza, my meals were pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  For ten days.  For the record, the first time I did it, I lost five pounds; the second time, two and a half.

Here's the inaugural post from 2009:  A Pizza a Day and Other Weird Activities.

I tried this again January 2015, but posted only to my Facebook account (I'll be reproducing the posts here along with this edition, with the term "archive" in the header).  I also did it in July 2015.

To view the entire line-ups, just click the "pizza a day" label.

This time, I decided to do something a little different, since I'm on the verge of exhausting Austin's specialty pizza places:  I'm going to see how many pizzas I can make using various techniques.  I'll also take a look at some of the places I've missed or have recently opened.

And, for Christmas, I received this nifty little item:

Yes, it is a starship Enterprise pizza cutter.  So of course I had to make a couple Star Trek-inspired pizzas:
(You can see the Enterprise if you squint real hard).  The saucer section was Canadian bacon with an olive for the bridge.  The nacelles were scallions and the engineering section Belgian endive.  The pizza didn't turn out so great but the cutter worked fantastically.

I also made a pizza in honor of our Klingon allies:

This one sort of drifted apart due to migration of the mozzarella, but it is a Klingon D7 class battlecruiser.  The main hull was a green pepper, while the nacelle supports were red onion.  The nacelles themselves, and the neck section, were scallions, and the bridge was a mushroom slice.

Q'apla!



  • pizza a day
  • Pizza a Day Diet

ek

Star Trek: The Cruise 2017!

Ever since November 2, 2016, I've been meaning to blog about the Cubs winning the World Series, and I may yet, but I think my post about their getting into the World Series ("Every Cubs Fan is Ten Years Old Tonight") pretty much sums things up (though obviously it didn't cover their blowing the lead in game 7, extra innings, and that rain delay...).

But for now, I thought I'd blog about what happened this year, between January 9 and 15, when I boarded a very large ship for the first time and set sail with some 2000+ like-minded individuals for the first annual Star Trek Cruise.

All the elevators were decorated like this
Many of the restaurants and bars were similarly themed...
It was an absolutely fantastic and fun experience: the cruise ship was decorated (as much as possible on a finite budget) to recreate Federation technology and decor and there were activities and performances and autograph and photo opportunities by and with the likes of William Shatner, John deLancie, Denise Crosby, Marina Sirtis, Terry Farrell, Ethan Phillips, Max Grodenchik, Robert O'Reilly, Casey Biggs, and Chase Masterson.

My mess dress uniform for the formal
There were also four official theme nights: (i) A Night in the Holodeck, where you were supposed to dress as your favorite holodeck/holosuite character; (ii) Q's Masquerade Ball, where the sky was the limit; (iii) the Captain's Formal Gala; and (iv) an Evening on Risa.

I first heard about the cruise back in August of 2015 or so, when it was first announced, and decided that I really had to go. Now, although I've been a Star Trek fan since I was a kid, I've never been to a con or on a cruise, but there was just something about this idea that I found fascinating. 

So I decided I'd go, and I made the affirmative decision that I was going to embrace the cosplay.  Granted, I didn't have to, and there were a significant number of folks who ended up wearing Star Trek-related garb or generically appropriate clothing, but I decided that I would dive in, as it were (In part, I did so because half the fun of a vacation is anticipating it, and preparing the cosplay was an engaging extension.

At first, I debated doing makeup and going all out as a Trill or a Vulcan (and took the appropriate
Go Niners!
accoutrements onto the ship, but ended up not going that extra step for logistical reasons).  And there were a couple costume ideas I considered and then discarded as either too unwieldy or just not right.

Eventually, though, I decided to do costumes not based on individual particular characters per se, but ones that would evoke an episode or the world of an episode (Incidentally, I tend to think this is one of the reasons for the appeal of books like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. Readers who like imaginative play like to imagine themselves in those worlds, perhaps more so than they imagine themselves as Harry Potter or Frodo).

So, what were my favorite episodes that lent themselves to cosplay? Well, for the favorite holodeck character, I decided early on that I wanted to do something related to baseball, since it was the favorite game of Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine and the subject of one of the more goofily charming episodes, "Take Me Out to the Holosuite," in which a Vulcan captain challenges Sisko and the crew of DS9 to a baseball game.  Both sides had their own uniforms and the DS9 crew were the "Niners."

I ended up having problems figuring out how to do the uniform in a screen accurate manner, so decided to wing it and do what I ended up calling a "Deep Space Nine throwback uniform," complete with Terok Nor (the former name of Deep Space Nine) logo. :-). As you can see, though, there were a number of people who had less difficulty than I did in getting a screen accurate uniform :-):
  

And people were already pulling out the stops for the evening. Here are a couple pics:

The Q Continuum made an appearance
Really creative holodeck no. 1
A transport in progress. The photo doesn't really do it justice
Really creative holodeck no. 2
A very nice historical look

For Q's Masquerade, I found myself with a dilemma: the idea was that it would be a masked ball, but when you wear eyeglasses, masks can prove to be a bit difficult.  In the end, I went with a wild west outfit, because I figured I could wear an "outlaw bandana" as the mask.

The costume is based on the worlds of either the Original Series episode "Spectre of the Gun" or the Next Generation episode "Fistful of Datas." Ultimately, I kept the mask in my pocket since it interfered with the eating and drinking.

As you can see, there were a number of folks who had similar ideas:


They had to change the venue for the masquerade due to weather, so I didn't get as many shots as I'd've liked, but here are a few:
 
 
 
 
 



For the Captain's Formal Gala, I decided that I could wear my tux, but I'd always liked the formal dress uniform that was introduced in Star Trek: Insurrection and also appeared in DS9, so I went with that.  I confess that at first I had thought it would be the most boring night of cosplay, since everyone would be in Star Fleet formal uniforms.  And people did that, but there was a bit of variety as well...

 
 
 
 
 
 
The last official theme night, an evening and barbecue ("Targ-BQ") on Risa, seemed to be the most troublesome costume-wise, or at least the one that stretched people's creativity, especially since the only really distinctive Risan outfit was Picard's infamous "silver speedo."  There actually were brave folks who went with that, but one of my favorites was the couple who dressed up as George and Gracie, the humpback whales from Star Trek IV.

And what am I wearing? A conventional pair of board shorts and a garment called a "sleeveless hoodie." It's actually off the rack, but I did have someone ask me if I'd made it myself. I bought it because I'd never heard of such a thing before and the idea of a sleeveless hoodie seemed kind of bizarre to me and therefore suitably Risan :-).

Another of my favorites of the night was The Game headsets (from the eponymous Next Gen episode) that a couple of guys brought:
And then there were these guys whose three hour tour seemed to have gotten a bit sidetracked:

There was a lot of other stuff going on, as well, including the chance to randomly encounter the actors...

...pictures and autographs...
 
 
 
 
The Grand Nagus signed my novel! :-)
...shore excursions...
 
 
 
...on board lectures, panels, and performances...
William Shatner "christens" the cruise
Terry Farrell leads yoga

Lolita Fatjo discusses script coordinating...

Terry Farrell, Chase Masterson, and James Darren

Casey Biggs leads a wine tasting
...and, of course, the great tribble hunt:
There was way too much going on for me to have caught even a fraction of it, but you can see a ton of pictures at the 2017 Star Trek Cruise photo gallery and there's a great video here.

You can also check out the blog reports from StarTrek.com here: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6.

Live long and prosper!






ek

Austin Ironman 70.3! (Race Weekend!)

Okay, it's been a while, but I thought I'd finally post about the 2017 Austin Ironman 70.3 race weekend. :-). Like I mentioned in my last post, I felt fairly optimistic -- if anything I was a bit burned out on training.

The big kicker, though, was that the weather was forecast to be 38 degrees race morning, which resulted in a bit of last-minute anxiety, mostly due to the mantra, "Don't do anything different on race day." That is, it is unwise in the extreme to test out new equipment or clothing on race day. Unfortunately, faced with the prospect of a 38 degree swim and bike ride (and the fact that it would warm up quickly), we had to make some last minute adjustments.

The week before the race, I picked up a triathlon jersey that had sleeves, and borrowed some arm warmers from one of my training partners.  Saturday morning, I went for a five mile test ride and realized I needed gloves, which necessitated a trip to Austin Tri-Cyclist, where I was not the only one making such a purchase :-). 

I was still a bit concerned about the swim, but I had a wetsuit, so I figured I'd done all I could do. Still, I was coveting one with sleeves...
I next headed over to the Travis County Expo Center to pick up my swag bag, drop off my bicycle and gear, and check out the transition areas.

Our happy faces before we get out of the car into the cold...

 Next morning, three of us drove out together and arrived in the cold dark of the Travis County Expo. Center at around 5:30. Did I mention that it was cold? Eventually, we got on the bus to take us to the staging area at Walter Long (Decker) Lake. There, we put on wetsuits, met up with our other training partners, and shivered a lot.

Eventually, though, as the sun started to peak above the horizon, we lined up according to our projected swim times and prepared for the start of the race. I was still worried about the swim and the cold -- even though I was wearing socks (to be discarded just before start), my feet were starting to go numb and my arms were not happy either.

But then it was time! I ran into the water and dived in as soon as I could. To my surprise, it was actually pleasant -- the water itself was around 68-72 degrees, so compared to the air temperature, it was balmy.  The only real problem was that fog on the water and the glare of the sun were making it hard to see the buoys. About halfway through the swim I began thinking that the temperature really wasn't bad -- if anything, it was a bit too warm. 

Emerging from the water...

But then I finished the swim and stood and was confronted by the reality of confronting an air temp of around 40 while being soaking wet.  I grabbed my glasses from the special needs table and a nice man helped me get the wetsuit off. (This basically involved lying back on the wet ground, sticking my feet in the air and having him pull. Thank you, sir.). My time was a little slower than I would've liked, but I was fairly happy with it.

I made it to transition, took a big swig of water, swallowed the contents of an energy gel pack, and put on my winter cycling garb. Then I was off!

And it was frickin' cold.

Contemplating that wind chill...
 It was this weird Catch-22 where you want to go as fast as possible (for the race, of course, but also so you warm up), but also kind of are thinking that if you slowed down a touch the wind chill wouldn't be quite so bad.  I ended up spending the next hour shivering until the ambient temperature and I warmed up.
Now, I actually kind of like the bike route -- it's mostly country roads with little traffic, and I rode the route about a half-dozen times in training. The problem with it is that a number of the roads are not exactly well=paved. Bumps and potholes and patches proliferate, especially on Monkey Road. In fact, the dip where it crosses a creek is so bumpy that by the time I got there, there were at least a dozen water bottle scattered on the ground.

There were way too many hills, however :-).

Beyond that, the ride felt fine, although my back began to hurt about halfway through -- I wasn't used to spending that much time in the aero position, so most of the second half of my ride was with hands on the brake hoods. I made sure to stick with my hydration and nutrition plan, so I felt pretty good by the end of it.

Again, my time wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, but I was not displeased.

By the time I finished the ride, it was around noon and fairly warm, so I took the time to change from my sleeved singlet to a sleeveless one (Ironman rules require that you wear a shirt). 

Starting to feel the legs...
The run wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, although there were again too many hills :-).  I was pleased at the number and size of the aid stations -- water, electrolyte drink (Gatorade, iirc), Clif energy gels, Coca-Cola, and Red Bull were all available.  

I was definitely feeling my legs, but my quads didn't feel like they were going to seize up like they had when I did triathlons in the 90s -- all that training paid off, I guess :-). I managed to make it through without slowing to a walk (other than at aid stations, because I can't drink and run at the same time) and ended up with a run time that was comparable to my stand-alone half-marathon times.

At the finish line!
My final time was 5:50:36, which I'm pretty happy about. My goal had been 6:00:00, although I did think that 5:45:00 was not out of the question. :-).

Finisher photo! And medal!
The gang...
All in all, it was a great experience. I got out of my comfort zone, made some terrific friends, learned how to most efficiently change a bike tube, and never once thought, "I can't believe I'm paying to do this." (Okay, maybe once...).

After the race!
Celebrating the next day with Coach Peri!























ek

Eureka? Scientists’ first hints of life on other planets may not be so obvious

Knowing that you've found signs of life beyond Earth may not be as clear-cut and simple as one might think.




ek

Sneak peek

Sneak peek — tray, citrus chess board, serving board.




ek

Patrick Stein: Ray Tracing In One Weekend (in Lisp, and n-dimenions)

Earlier this year, I started working through the online book Ray Tracing In One Weekend (Book 1). I have been following along with it in Common Lisp, and I have been extending it all from 3-dimensional to n-dimensional.

I reproduced 4-dimensional versions of all of the book images which you can see on my weekend-raytracer github page.

Here is the final image. This is a 250-samples-per-pixel, 640x360x10 image plane of three large hyperspheres (one mirrored, one diffuse, one glass) atop a very large, diffuse hypersphere. Also atop this very large hypersphere are a bunch of smaller hyperspheres of varying colors and materials. The image is rendered with some defocus-blur.

Final image of 4-dimensional scene

Caveat: This depends on a patched version of the policy-cond library that is not in the current Quicklisp distribution but should be in the next.




ek

One Week E-Book Sale of Vacuum Flowers!!! One Full Week!!!

.

 


Open Road Media, which publishes several of my e-books, has announced a one-week reduction in price of Vacuum Flowers. Starting this October 18 and running through October 25, 2024, it will be available for $1.99. That's in the US only.

So if you're an e-book reader and have been curious about my novel... well, there you are.


And if you don't already know . . .

Vacuum Flowers is what used to be called a Grand Tour of the Solar System. Rebel Elizabeth Mudlark is operating off of stolen wetware and on the run from very dangerous people. She arrives in the inner system on a cometary orbit, which takes her through a great variety of human and post-human societies, including the most dangerous one of all--Earth.

That bit about the cometary orbit is not incidental. Comets enter the Inner System on either a hyperbolic or a parabolic orbit. The one is open, the other closed. I knew that the book would end with Rebel Elizabeth Mudlark standing in the stardocks with a coffin at her feet. But I didn't know if the person within the coffin would be alive or dead or if REM would someday return to the Inner System or was leaving it forever. I only decided that when I came to write the last page.


*











ek

Tom Brady’s 3 Stars of Week 10: Lamar Jackson, Ja'Marr Chase, Leo Chenal | DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Tom Brady gave his 3 stars of Week 10 which included Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson, Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase and Kansas City Chiefs LB Leo Chenal.




ek

Tom Brady's 3 Stars of Week 10, including Ravens' Lamar Jackson

Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season had a few memorable and exciting finishes as several stars showed out! Check out FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady to name his latest 3 Stars of The Week.