It has been almost two years since I learned that Paramount+ was developing a new Star Trek series. The time has finally come!
Ever since Star Trek: Enterprise premiered, I have made a conscious effort to enjoy the various spin offs and movies on their own. I get tripped up every now and then, though, and get irritated for not following correctly from established Star Trek lore.
Star Trek Discovery has not been received well by a lot of people, including the closest trekkies in my life. I see their point. I don't enjoy it as much as previous spin offs but I still enjoy it. Actually, I enjoy it more than Picard which tends to bore me.
Aside from the wokeness that my friends complain about, my issue with Discovery has been this thread of depression that weaves through it. The stakes are so dire and the emotions are laid on thick.
For a season of Star Trek Discovery, they brought back the Enterprise NCC-1701 and its captain, Christopher Pike. TOS characters Number One and Spock were also featured. I thought that it would be an excellent idea to do a series with them. Forget the "prequels" of Star Trek Enterprise and Star Trek Discovery. That was the prequel I wanted to see. Apparently, I wasn't the only one to think so. To my immense delight, in May 2020, I learned that this series would go into development.
Star Trek Strange New Worlds, I hope, will bring back some of the old charm and optimism that I felt with The Original Series and the Next Generation. We're looking good from what I've seen!
I was a little too heated to write about my reaction to the SCOTUS leak that Politico published. The published draft of the majority opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and remove the federal protection granting the right to abortion. It's not surprising and we knew where this was headed with Trump's justices. Still it is shocking and deeply disappointing.
What is still making me angry are conservatives making hay over the leak of the opinion. Really? That's what's important? Not the overturning of Supreme Court precedent that expanded the rights of women? Democrats better take this issue and beat the drum into the next elections.
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I went all the way to Chicago for a cake. Yup. A cake. Mother's Day is coming up and I wanted to get my mom a mango cake that is made at a Filipino chain bakery called Red Ribbon. From her facebook post... looks like it was a smashing success.
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I've sent out signed paperwork to start the roof repairs. So now I've got to wait until I'm put on the schedule and that should be a week or two from what I've been told. I've also secured an extension of an existing loan that I have with my credit union. Based on the estimates, I will be able to get this paid and financed without too much trouble.
There is one thing that I still need to tie up and that is getting rid of the threat from the tree that still hangs over my house. I'm not willing to leave it up to chance anymore. All of it or at least the overhanging bit is coming down. However, I'm running into a problem where I've got three places that have still not returned my call. It feels like I've been blacklisted or something.
I've had my macbook for almost seven years now. It has been the longest serving computer I have ever owned and I believe that I got my money's worth out of it. Lately, the battery has noticeably degraded. The rubber gasket lining the display is coming out. But more importantly, I have been playing with the last 10% of the storage. I'd fill it with files and then transfer them over to an external hard drive. Whenever I would look into the storage, I'd always be bothered by how much "other" data was sitting there.
Even though it is a year old, I decided to get an iMac. I've been wanting a desktop for a while and I've been debating for a couple months now on whether I should pull the trigger. Yet, I would also think that I should get another macbook and purchase an external monitor and keyboard. I'd look on the Apple website make out a bunch of orders and then click out of the page--not wanting to pay for it. But one day, as I was looking at the refurbished catalogue, I decided to stop wasting time and do it.
I got it yesterday and started the process of setting it up. I didn't want to transfer everything from the old mac to the new one. I didn't want that "other" data coming along for the ride. So I transferred what I could. I made my personal settings on the iMac. I downloaded some of the programs that I used like Office and Dropbox. It took up most of the day.
I've since wiped my macbook and updated the macOS to Monterey. I intend to keep it light, with just the programs that I need to use while out traveling. At least now, I have a lot more storage available.
I have been following the war in Ukraine by the Russians and I have come to a disturbing place. Fuck the Russians. Fuck them all.
The other day, I came across a picture of a Russian with his head blown off and his clothes burnt off his body. I saw a video of a Russian whose skeletal remains were being picked at by puppies. Things that should rock to me to my core no longer do and I look at these bodies and feel that what has happened to them was deserved.
It appears that this war (and it is a war--not a "special operation") is supported by the Russian people. State propaganda has done its job well. Yet, it is amazing to me that the people cannot see through all the bullshit. Instead, what they can see with their own eyes, what they can hear with their own ears, is dismissed as "fake." They prefer their truth be given to them by a government that will lie, censor, and get rid of anyone that stands in their way.
Aside for the few flickers of light in that dreary place, I have no sympathy for them. Let them live in this nightmare of a world that they are brining upon themselves.
While I was at my parents last, my mom gave me some things that I had left when I moved out. One of the items was my high school diploma. It's not my real diploma but an old fashioned one that is large and rolled up. It probably hasn't seen the light of day in over twenty years.
I don't dwell too much on my days in high school. That time of my life wasn't the greatest and it's not necessary to go into the details on why. Let's just say that I've moved on with my life and I'm happy to leave it in the past.
One of my classmates died. B makes the third one now gone. It is interesting to see the comments in tribute to him. Apparently he was well liked by many. I am, I regret to say, not among them. B was a bully to me at times. He and another classmate tried to get me to drink what I would say was piss filled beer at an after-prom. He failed mostly due to the fact that I would never trust him and that suspicion is probably what saved me from severe embarrassment.
I don't know what happened with B after graduation. I never came into contact with him ever again. I like to think that those tributes are real. That he was a positive force in other people's lives in a way opposite to the way he was in mine.
Maybe tomorrow I'll roll out the old diploma--revisit some of the past.
I've been waiting for this day for four years but it has seemed longer than that. I make no secret about my distaste for Donald Trump's policies and him as a person. He, his sycophants in congress, and his supporters have caused me to abandon the Republican Party. I am too liberal for one party and too conservative for another.
I was at the dealership trying to deal with a car repair this morning so I watched it there. I was curious to see what President Trump would do since he decided to he was going to skip town and the inauguration. He made some interesting remarks, boarded Marine One, then Air Force One, and then flew out of our lives - hopefully for good.
The rest of the morning was rather morning. It occurred to me - have I become so used to the shit show that was Donald Trump? Did I want more? That's a disturbing thought.
COVID-19 continues to hang over all of us like a deathly specter. Although, thankfully, no close family members have fallen to the virus, I remain constantly worried-especially for the older members. Death has touched family members of friends and coworkers.
I contracted COVID during Thanksgiving. It was fortunate that my family did not get together this year for the holiday. I became extremely tired on Tuesday that went into Wednesday but there were no other symptoms. On Thanksgiving morning, however, I woke up with a fever. I began my quarantine but partly because of the holiday, I wasn’t able to get a test until Tuesday. I received word a couple days later that I had tested positive.
Fortunately, I had a mild case. I had a low fever of 101oF, a cough, exhaustion, and lacked an appetite. The fever only lasted four days however the cough and exhaustion lingered for almost two weeks.
On the political front, Joe Biden has won the Presidential Election. It was a nail biter to be sure but the mail in ballots proved to be critical. President Trump has refused to concede and continues to this day to say that the election was fraudulent, stolen, or whatever he needs to grasp at. I didn’t think my disappointment and frustration towards Trump could get any worse. I was wrong.
On January 6th, a joint session of Congress was called to tally the votes of the Electoral College. Republican Congressmen and Senators objected to the votes from Arizona. While the two houses divided to their respective chambers to debate and vote on the objection, a large group of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol and rioted. It went on for a few hours before the rioters were cleared. The Senate and House decided to continue on with the vote and Joe Biden is now officially the President Elect.
The politics of the last four years have left me exhausted and bitter. The topic still interests me but I have no joy in following it. I am frustrated with my party and its followers that continue to hold on to Trump. This includes my father. I am not sure if there is any more common ground. I am not sure if I even want to associate with them anymore.
I started searching for a bike early this summer while I was on furlough due to COVID-19. The big box stores didn't have bikes. The bike shops only had the crazy expensive bikes or the niche bikes. I put myself on a waitlist with my local bike shop for a Marlin 6. I would still check out the various bike websites to see if anything came back in stock.
Ebikes came to my attention while I was waiting. I almost pulled the trigger with the VanMoof S3 but I kept hearing about negative experiences online. The S3 seemed to suffer from quality control issues, bad customer service, and the fact that it would be months before I could get one shipped.
While checking out ebikes on the Trek website I found one model that had stock. I went to my local shop and had them put in an order--the Allant+ 7.
It's a class 1 ebike so it is a pedal assist motor up to 20 mph. I thought about getting a class 3 which goes up to 28 but those are more expensive, they are illegal for trail use in Michigan and Indiana, and 20 mph is plenty fast for me.
I've had it for a few weeks and it hasn't been trouble free. I've had to have the rear brakes adjusted, a crank tightened, and a defective battery replaced. The guys at the local shop have been terrific in making sure that everything was taken care of. I now see the value in such places.
The Allant is a blast. The motor gets me up to speed with less effort on my part. I've never biked farther or longer. I've even done intercity travel with it. Work is 15 miles away. I've made the ride but I'm not ready to do it every day.
Mom texted me early this morning to say that free masks were being handed out at University Park Mall. The owner of Big Panda Buffet in Mishawaka was giving them out from 10 AM to noon. The Covid-19 pandemic has made certain products like masks and and hand sanitizer scarce. I decided that I shouldn't pass this opportunity up. Apparently I wasn't alone as there was a long line snaking through the mall parking lot, end to end. The wait wasn't long though--about twenty minutes for me. I am grateful to this owner and his generosity.
A little while after I got back home, my Mom dropped by to give me her recycling. The village were she lives would set out a recycling bin once every month at the local grocery store. They quit doing that. I agreed to take her recycling. I only fill up my bin halfway at most anyways.
What she also dropped off was a sprayer that I needed to buy. The roof of my garage has moss growth on it and I needed to take care of it. The grade on this roof feels a lot steeper when you are actually up there. I've never thought of myself as being afraid of heights. My watch thinks otherwise.
Getting your mom a vacuum for Christmas may not be the best idea. Do dads need another tie? I wasn't sure what to get my parents this year. A vacuum for mom was heavily considered though. There were gift ideas--but iPhones, or paying Comcast to connect my parents' house to the internet were out of my budget range.
Last year I thought it would be a good idea to give them a gift card to a fancy (and expensive) restaurant. The gift wasn't something that they would get to keep until they decide to get rid of it. Rather, it was an experience that they could enjoy in the moment. It occurred to me that I should try that again this year.
So what is something that my parents haven't done? Turns out they have not seen a Broadway show. Calm down--I'm not sending them to New York. But! The Lion King is coming to the Morris next year. Perfect.
I was going to get up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to go stand out in the freakin' cold to get tickets. A radio ad said that the Morris would be opening up the ticket booth to walk ups in the morning for two hours before they open up to phone and internet orders. Fortunately, that plan is cancelled.
In perhaps the only time in my life--a Facebook ad turned out to be useful. The ad said they were accepting orders now--a day before official release with a special code. Well whadda ya know, the damn code worked. Two tickets are now on their way...to my parents house. Crap, I forgot to change the shipping address. So much for a surprise. But hey, it's done!
When I applied for my current position, I was leaving a job that I had for ten years and beloved co-workers. However my life was stagnating. At my interview, I said that one of my weaknesses was that I don't leave what I find comfortable. I needed to step forward.
Although I love my job--seriously probably the best I have ever had--I am taking another step. I have accepted an offer for a supervisory position in a different department. I will officially have people under me which hasn't happened since my college job. I'm terrified.
It'll be a month or so before I start. Time will be needed to bring in my replacement. Wish me good luck!
Today brought us to my favorite park: Epcot. More importantly, we were there for the Festival of the Arts which means... art... and food!
I had started eating well before this picture of some dishes from Mexico. The nice thing about being in a group of three is that we can share these expensive treats... for the most part.
Germany had this braised rib dish that was so good, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Beef Wellington at the America Pavilion.
Not seen is is the flight of chocolates (in liquid form). Holy diabetes that was sweet! Mike bought a coffee to dump the chocolate in because we couldn't handle it in its pure form.
The festival had setup these booths so you can be in famous works of arts. Here were are trying to cross the Delaware. No one listens to the navigator.
Channeling my inner Frida Kahlo.
World showcase is my favorite thing about Epcot. Here we are in Canada.
Getting on in the day, we were filling pretty full but there was a reservation at Les Chefs de France.
As kids, we would never have expected to do table dining at Epcot. Here we are!
I opted for the boeuf bourguignon. Kris and Mike opted for the fish. The food was okay. The deserts were top notch. I took our waiter's suggested and got a complicated dish which was a nest of merengue with banana cream inside it, whipped cream and berries on the top. On the side of which was a berry flavored ice cream on top of something crunchy.
After dinner we caught the our last viewings of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. After two decades, Disney will be ending the show.
I was was struck at how beautiful this looked at night and had to get a picture before leaving.
We started our day in the Animal Kingdom as it was opening an hour before all the other parks and we figured that we could rope drop Flight of Passage. By the time we go there, though, the line kept going and going until we were in the next land over--Africa. When we finally got to the end of the line, we decided that it wasn't worth the wait. So we continued on past Africa and into Asia to ride Expedition Everest.
With the crowd waiting to get on Flight of Passage, the rest of the park was remarkably empty.
We also took the opportunity to go on the Safari ride. I have read suggestions that the best time to see the animals were in the morning or evening. This lion didn't disappoint. Not quite roaring--but definitely making his presence known.
We hopped on over to the Magic Kingdom after a quick breakfast.
One of the new things that DW introduced since I last visited was The Muppets Presents... Great Moments in History. It takes place in Liberty Square at certain times of the day. If you can, please take time to check it out.
Getting reservations to Be Our Guest was a priority for me. I've wanted to check it out since New Fantasyland opened but you can't go in without a reservation. We went for lunch and I had the braised pork with mashed potatoes and green beans. If you need a filling lunch that will last the day, that would be it! However, now that I've been there and checked it out, I probably won't be going back any time soon.
Sibling story time!
Wrapping up the evening with Dumbo.
I have always wanted to check out the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue--a dinner show at the Fort Wilderness Resort. As a Christmas present, they bought me dinner. It was a small crowd that evening so we managed to get upgraded to closer to the stage.
The food was meh with the exception of the strawberry short cake--that was first rate. It was all about the show and that was thoroughly enjoyable. I've got some other things I want to check out first but I would definitely go back.
All the parks had closed by the time the show was over so they provided busses to make sure we could get back to our own resorts. Usually, you have to go back to a park for a connecting bus. Unfortunately, our bus driver hit something on the way so we had to stop at Coronado Springs for a while. We weren't able to get back to our room until midnight but we got a fast pass out of it.
Earlier this past fall, I started planning on going to Disney World. It had been a number of years since I last had a proper vacation and there were a number of new things that had opened since. It was also a good time because there were a number of things going away. I mentioned this to my sister and it turned out it was a good time for her and her fiance, Mike to go as well. So we decided to go together.
Since Kris and Mike live near Detroit, we flew out of there to Orlando.
Arrival at MCO
We arrived to the All Star Music resort mid-afternoon. After stowing our stuff, we headed out to Animal Kingdom. The last time I was there, Expedition Everest was in construction. I was really looking forward to getting on that and seeing Pandora - The World of Avatar.
Pandora at Night
Pandora was fantastic. Kris managed to score some fast passes for Flight of Passage, the E-ticket ride for the land. While the ride wasn't technically impressive to me, the flying around Pandora was. The sights and smells were awesome. You almost regret having to come back to this boring planet.
On the Na'vi River Journey
Unfortunately it wasn't a full day but it was packed with new experiences.
I have been wanting to go to a dim sum restaurant for a long time. There aren't any near where I live. To get some, I needed to go to Chicago so I got my friend and former co-worker, Gibran, and hopped on a train to the big city.
So this is where we ended up. MingHin has a location near Millennium Park and is an easy walk from the train station.
When we got in, Gibran shared that he was not a seafood person. I was a little frustrated because a lot of the dim sum that I wanted to try had some seafood in it. He played it safe and ordered a plate of General Tso's Chicken. I was there for the dim sum. Here is some of what we got:
Shrimp Dumplings with Peas
Tofu Wraps
Siu Mai (ground pork and shrimp)
We ended up getting six dishes, seven if you include the Gen. Tso's. The total bill ended up coming to $48 even which was substantially lower than what I was expecting. The food was fantastic and I would definitely like to do this again.
When I leave work is when the place starts hopping with business but this evening, there was not one car in the parking lot. I thought to take a picture as I don't expect to see an empty lot any time soon--if ever. We are currently experiencing a winter storm with over a foot of snow accumulation expected. Good thing I can ride this out over the weekend.
Man, all I wanted to do was pick dessert, and now I am being interviewed by the property manager again. I quit my job of almost 10 years for marginally better pay and more benefits. I’m into week three of my new job at an Indigenous American run casino and I still feel like I am on a withering trial run. Even going on a group lunch with the big bosses, I have to be on my toes for questions.
What do I do for fun? I don’t know. My whole life feels like the cosmic example of mediocrity. I can’t think of anything that I excel at. I can’t think of anything that I have a passion for. I can’t think of anything noteworthy that I enjoy.
“I like to travel.” And there it was, my go-to answer. It true, I like to travel. I don’t get to do it very often but it is one thing that isn’t a half-lie.
So there were, were, the core admins and executives having lunch. It is supposed to be relaxing and fun but being the new guy has got me on edge. I’ve always been like that. Whether it being State Rep. Neal, CFO Mike, or now Asst. Gen. Manager Justin, I get tongue tied when I’m around people that have the power to fire me on their slightest whim.
Training is going slow. I feel like I should be paying more attention but listening and observing how something is done, is not how learn best. I suppose when I start doing work, I will find out how much knowledge I’ve actually retained.
My first choice to see the eclipse was in Alliance, Nebraska. The weather forecast wasn't looking ideal so the second choice of Douglas, Wyoming became the number one choice and that's where I was heading when I broke camp at two in the morning.
I was heading out on unknown roads in the dark and I couldn't see much beyond the road markings. Aside for the fuck ton of deer, I was alone on the road which was fine with me. I did make a stop and looked out at this dome of stars. Gibran didn't seem to care but I took it in.
We stoped in Lusk, Wyoming to fill up on gas. By now, we had been joined with other people traveling on the road. As we headed out, we could see people now camped out on the road turnouts. When we got to I-25, they were all packed. Although Douglass was where I was headed, I decided to push on to Casper because I knew there was one place that I knew we had a good chance of getting a place to park.
We arrived in Casper just before sunrise and joined a line of cars waiting for the fair grounds to open. When everyone was in the gate and parked, there was plenty of room left.
Next to us was a gay couple and their adopted south asian boys. I was amused when this socially awkward man (who was alone) decided to join them. It was a good sense of comaraderie though. One guy was passing out extra solar eclipse glasses to those who needed them for free.
As we waited, high altitude clouds were moving in and I was worried that this trip was going to get screwed over.
And if wasn't the clouds it was going to be a balloon.
If you look at the lense flare at the bottom, you can see how far into the eclipse the picture was taken.
I knew that I was going to get shitty pictures if I tried to photograph the eclipse. Professionals could see to that. But what I could do was take video of the skies as it was happening. I could at least experience my surroundings when it happened.
As soon as the last bit of sun disappeared from my solar glasses, I took them off to see a hole in the sky surrounded by white corona. To me, it seemed unreal. Even with that last bit of sun, I knew it was the sun. Now it was replaced by this sky sun flower. I noted that it appeared like an upside down Star Trek com-badge. Remembering that I brought binoculars I wasted precious moments trying to find them in the car. But I eventually got them and was mesmerized by what I was seeing: fine lines in the corona. Flares at 12, 1 and 3 (you can hear that in the video). and I could start seeing bubbling magenta lava-like light peering from the mountains and valleys at the 1 o'clock position. I knew that in a split second, it would be over. I ripped the binoculars away and saw the diamond ring with my own eyes. But in another split second, the light was too much and I turned away.
I had almost two and half minutes of totality and it seemed like 10 seconds. It simply wasn't enough time to appreciate it all. I understood why people had said that it doesn't compare to a partial eclipse. I understood why people chased these events. I don't want to die without seeing another one.
With a mix of emotions, we started our journey back home.
Eventually we joined everyone out on the interstate and came to a standstill. After a few hours, I crossed the median and went back the opposite direction to head back into South Dakota. I wasn't the only one that had this thought and although there was heavy traffic and a another detour, we kept moving.
We had one last dinner in Custer, South Dakota. On our travels, the previous day, we were amused by a restaurant that touted an American, Mexican, Italian, and Chinese buffet. As odd as it was. It was actually pretty good. Finally, we put gas in the tank and headed home.
Our first real stop on this trip was going to be Wall Drug. Unfortunately, Gibran was asleep for the usual road signs leading up to it so he couldn't be hyped up as much as I hoped. As the sun came up we witnessed some beautiful scenery. Fields of sunflowers blanked stretches of visible land in yellow. We took an opportunity to use a turn out to view out over the land and stretch our legs.
Remember, you can always click on the pictures to enlarge.
Even though he actually bought stuff, I don't see him coming back here any time soon.
The next stop was the South Dakota Air and Space Museum just outside Ellsworth Air Force Base. Much to my surprise, I think Gibran liked it here. He spent a good amount of time looking over the exhibits. Meanwhile I was looking over the security gates, wondering at what could have been if I decided to make a different choice.
It was lunch time when we headed out to Rapid City. We ended up at Golden Corral. I'm not a huge fan of it but at least it filled me up for the rest of the day and I didn't have to worry about hunger.
Next stop was Mount Rushmore. The last time I was here was in the summer of 2001 while I was in AFROTC. I am impressed by the new improvements. I wasn't impressed with the crowds and the parking fee though. This was the stop that Gibran was looking forward to. I was going to make him pay dearly for it!
We took the loop trail that went down into the ravine, back up to the base of the mountain and continued around back to the visitors' center. Gibran was motivated only to get it over with and to get an ice cold water.
After Mount Rushmore, we headed over to the nearby KOA to check in and setup my tent for the night. The day wasn't over though and soon we were off to another site:
This is the Crazy Horse Memorial. It's been worked on since the 1940's. Estimated completion date: Never, Probably. I see this as a money pit and and refuse to give it $1. However, I am more than happy to take a free picture from the side of the road. If Gibran wanted to go in, I probably would have, though.
I didn't tell him where my final stop for the day was going to be. I was pretty sure he wasn't aware of Devil's Tower, and I was hoping to get a reaction from him when he finally saw it. Didn't get that but I think that he was impressed at seeing such an odd sight.
We headed back to Rapid City for some dinner. Since our parking pass at Mount Rushmore was good for an entire year and it was night, we decided to stop by there once more to see it lit up. Mount Rushmore at night is a sight to see. Pictures with our point and shoots cannot do it justice. Looking at the monument against a background of brilliant stars and the big dipper above the heads of the presidents is truly impressive.
We didn't stay long; I needed to get some sleep because we still had a three hour drive to get to Wyoming.
