A Monday without Responsibility.

Hello Troops,
A Monday without responsibility. I could see across the valley from my front window this morning. The depressive inversion was lifted. I stepped outside to fill my lungs with clean air only to find many of my neighbors were doing the same. We all stood on our driveways with arms outstretched as if we were in devout supplication to God taking in clear sunshine and crystal air. There would have been dancing in the streets if music were present (and thank goodness there wasn't because the sight of me dancing in the streets would bring fits of uncontrollable laughter which could result in sudden brain hemorrhages in my more elderly neighbors).

So, without responsibility I sit. Perhaps I'll post something that reflects my lifted mood.


Have I forced a smile yet? Come on, how many of us see ourselves in the cartoon above? Don't be embarrassed. Celebrate your inner nerd.

How about another.
I'm thinking that I like the word Planeteers. I'm really liking the word Planeteers. You'd all better watch out because when I like something I have been know to do crazy things.
What's that? An idea?......
Yes, I think I'll start calling all volunteers "Planeteers". Would you like to tell everyone that you are a Planeteer? Kind of like the Space Center's version of Mouseketeers.

I put this here as an example of how some people problem solve. They see a problem and, instead of attacking it head on with both barrels blazing, they choose to ignore it. They believe it will either fix itself or someone else will deal with it. I heard this type of person say, "Won't it go away on its own?". Well, I suppose all problems solve themselves in the end. It's called death.

Have a Great What's Left. I'll see many of you in the Trenches this week.

Mr. Williamson

My Quest to Find the Space Center's IT Department. An Unauthorized Post......

From Space Center Wikileaks.
What "They" Don't Want You to Know.

I hacked into the Space Center's Blog to share the following with you all. Read quickly because it will be deleted as soon as 'you know who' discovers it.

I won’t give you my identity because it would risk my status as a volunteer and hopefully a future employee. Let’s just say I’m someone who happens to be of a curious nature when it comes to all things Space Center. I asked Mr. Williamson once about the computer programs running the simulators. He explained that the Voyager’s controls were written in Hypercard. The other simulators were using Revolution.
“Soon we will have our first set of Cocoa controls in the Galileo,” he added with a look of satisfaction.

I knew the Space Center was a unique institution, the only of its kind on the planet, so I was naturally curious about who wrote the programs if they weren't available commercially. Mr. Williamson looked surprised by my question and asked for my name (he has a tendency to forget my name but that’s OK, he’s busy and I’m just one of many faceless volunteers that darken the Space Center’s walls on a regular basis). I said my name and he promptly wrote it on a sticky note. Below my name he put a check mark with the words “Too Curious” scribbled in a manuscript barely legible. I pretended to hear someone call my name and lied about being called for an acting part. I walked away shaken by his reaction.

I found a blue shirt Supervisor who had befriended me in the past and asked him the same question. He said he would tell me what he knew but made me swear never tell anyone where I got the information. He took me by the elbow and walked me down the hall toward the Faculty Room. We stopped and stepped into a classroom’s doorwell.

“The Space Center has its own IT department but its kept hush hush. Only Mr. Williamson and his most senior staff know who they are and where they work. For your own survival as a volunteer, I suggest you never mention programming again. Let’s just say that lose lips sink volunteers and ships.”
He told me he knew a few other things and if I was really serious about learning one of the Space Center's darkest secrets to return to this doorwell again after the last of the staff left the building after the 2:30 P.M. missions ended. He stepped from the doorway, looked up and down the hall and walked quickly back toward the Odyssey.

One hour later I went to the Faculty Room to buy a soda. I heard people talking and stopped before anyone saw me. I peeked into the room. Emily, Stacy and Jon were huddled around the pop machine. I could barely make out what they were saying
.
“They’re starting the Voyager Controls then?” Emily asked.
“Today,” Jon replied. “I think Mr. Williamson is going down there to meet with them after we all leave.”
“I’ll give him my art work to take with him. They’ll need it,” Emily said.
“What are they like,” Jon asked. From the question I gathered that Stacy was the only one who had actually met someone from IT.
“You don’t want to know,” Stacy replied.
“Come on, tell us something,” Jon stepped closer into the huddle, bringing Emily with him.
“Well, I could tell they hadn’t seen the sun in a long time. Their skin is prison pallor white and slightly transparent. I could just see veins streaking like lightening across their cheeks and necks.”

I heard someone else approaching and knew it was time to step into the room to buy my soda. I cleared my throat and stepped in. The huddle immediately broke apart.
“What do you want?” Emily said perturbed.
“Just a soda,” I answered sheepishly. She motioned me forward. I stepped up to the coin receptacle, dropped in four quarters, made my selection and left as quickly as I could.

The flights ended at 5:00 P.M. I stayed behind pretending to be waiting for my ride. I hid in a classroom doorway and waited for Jon to leave. He is always the last to leave the Center on a Saturday. At 5:40 P.M. I heard the school's front doors latch shut. Jon was gone leaving only the custodian in the building mopping the floors in the new addition. I was alone in the old section. I walked back to the doorway where the Supervisor and I had met earlier. There, taped to the door, was an envelope. I removed it and found a map of the school with detailed descriptions on how to get into the building when no one was there. Arrows pointed the way down the south hallway and into a section of the building I’d never seen. Under it he’d written “Good Luck” with a red pen.

Today I woke with a determination to solve the mystery of the Space Center’s IT department. I faked sick to stay home from church. Once the family was gone I hopped on my bike and peddled the few miles to the school. I walked around the building once looking for cars. There were none. The building was empty.

I entered the school from the door I’d left partly ajar the night before.

The school was quiet. It was weird. Usually the sound of explosions, music and kids shouting and screaming filled the vacuum. I took out the map, paused to get my bearings, and proceeded down the hallway - past the front doors and office.

I walked toward the Cafeteria and Faculty Room. The sound of my footsteps echoed off the brick walls. Needless to say I was spooked and terrified I'd get caught. But, as I wrote earlier, I am of a curious disposition.

There is was just like the map said. "Look for a hallway with ramp and Fallout Shelter sign".

I was curious why a Fallout Shelter sign was on the wall in the first place. Fallout Shelters disappeared from American's lexicon in the 1980's. Why was this sign still there? I also noticed the arrows pointing down the hallway were scratched away.

I turned and looked down the cold, dimly lit hallway. The air was thick, carrying a feeling of gloom. I was tempted to abandon my quest, but considering what I'd risked to get that far, I decided to soldier on. I started my descent down the ramp.

"Look for a door labeled 'Boiler Room'." the map said. "If you're willing to stare into the abyss then go through that door." There was nothing else written. It seemed the Supervisor abandoned his attempt to learn the truth at this point. He failed. I wouldn't. I had to go on.

I picked the lock and slowly opened the door. I was met by a concrete stairway descending down below the main level of the school, ending in a room illuminated by a single lightbulb. My heart raced. Sweat formed on my forehead.

"Hello," I said hoping there would be no response. There wasn't. I repeated my greeting. It was again met by silence. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained," I mumbled and stepped into the mystery and down the stairway.

At the bottom of the stairs was another staircase.

It ended abruptly into a cinder block wall. I examined the wall. "Hypercard Department" was written in pencil on one of the blocks. I remembered the Voyager was programmed in Hypercard in 2000. The computer language hadn't been used since. Was this the home of the Hypercard programmers?

I knocked on the bricks and stepped back. I smiled thinking how absurd it was that I would even consider anyone could still be there, trapped behind that solid barrier. I turned to continue my explorations. It was then I heard the sound of someone or something scratching the brick from the opposite side of the wall from where I was standing. The sound was very faint and stopped as abruptly as it had started. Needless to say I was freaked out..

I moved on, finding these signs near a door that looked like it hadn't been opened in decades.

The room lit by the single bulb held the school's Boiler, just as described on the door in the hallway at the top of the staircase. I tapped my chest to calm my speeding heart and continued.

I entered the Boiler Room. It was strangely quiet. I thought the boiler would be working, considering it was a cold winter day outside. To my left I found another stairway ascending into blackness.

There was a sound. I quickly turned 180 degrees to face a stairway in the cornor of the room. There was whispering coming from the stairway. I froze. I don't know how long I stood there motionless like a deer in a car's headlights. It seemed like an eternity before I found the courage to step lightly and move forward.

The stairway led up to a landing before turning 90 degrees. I walked closer and paused. A couple gulps of air gave me the oxygen to move forward the last three steps to see what was at the top. I looked up and froze. I was sure I saw one eye peering at me from around the corner at the top of the landing. The eye and forehead vanished, leaving behind the sound of footsteps as whoever it was moved down what sounded like another concrete hallway.

I had a decision to make. Would I continue in my quest for the illusive IT department or cash in my lucky chips and leave?

TO BE CONTINUED........

Signed,
Your Friend
The Truth Will Prevail

Friday. Happy for Some. The Long Arduous March for Others....

Hello Troops,
The cold getting you down? Do you find yourself staring out the window wondering if its worth the bother of getting dressed and braving the slippery roads? Depressed over the fact that you'll get to see your favorite teacher at school today, you know the one, Miss Sarcasm - who graduated from the University of Southern North Dakota at Whoople in 1909 and kept alive by copious amounts of coffee laced with formaldehyde.

Remember, you've always got a friend as close as the nearest tree. Perhaps the Tree Huggers and Hippies had it right all along. Honestly, there is something soothing in a long standing tree. It's a kind of permanence in an ever changing world. We enjoy the tree's shade. We enjoy its colors, so why not give one a hug and tell it your troubles (just be sure there isn't anyone around that knows you when you do).

And now, a bit of science thrown into the pot. Get it?

You know me and my love for the absurd ladened with imagination. Yep, this one is just what the doctor ordered.

And finally for Friday. Let's take a peek into Snape's email account and see what he's been reading.

________________________________________________________

It's been a fun week at the Center. Tonight we end it by hosting students from Sego Lily Elementary for the Overnight Camp, add in several private missions on Saturday and that will wrap up the week.

Thanks to the staff for their hard work and to our visitors for coming and spending their hard earned money on our programs. Remember, the Space Center doesn't receive a yearly budget. We have to raise our money the old fashion way - we must earn it.

Mr. W.

A Worthy Cause, For Sanity's Sake

Laura Loops, Accident Prone Since She Was Two.
A Meanace to our Sidewalks and Streets

Hello Troops,
I know many of you are always on the look out for a good cause to rally behind. I think I may have found one for you. Isn't it time we did something about underage driving?

Is your neighborhood like mine, besieged by mini road warriors driving their plastic vehicles while wearing nothing more than disposable diapers? They've taken the streets from us, making driving hazardous because you never know when they'll appear from behind a a parked car and dart in front of you in a harrowing game of chicken, pitting my 15 ton Lincoln Battlestar against their ten pound Fisher Price Chopper.

Larry "Dimples" Mulligan, The Terror of Tree Lane. If he doesn't drive you off the street with his Big Wheel, he will get you between the eyes with his Red Ryder Double Barrel BB Gun.

Join our cause. Put these hardened pre Juvenile delinquents back into their cribs where they belong. Lets take back our streets!

Mr. W.

The Future of Mankind. A Heavy Topic for a Wednesday Morning.

Hello Troops,
Something short and worthy of a moment of your time. A few words from Carl Sagan on the future of mankind in the video below.

I thought of this video after learning of the shootings in Tuscon. I know there are many who blame the heated political rhetoric for the carnage. There may be some truth to that but I think there is more. The young man was mentally unstable and needed treatment. He didn't receive the help he needed, like so many others suffering from mental illnesses in the country,

I spent over one year working in the children's unit at the State Mental Hospital in Provo while attending BYU. I gained a valuable understanding of the importance of continued care and treatment for those suffering with mental illnesses. The kind of care and treatment many are not receiving today because society has, for the most part, turned its back on this troubled part of our population. Perhaps we need to revisit this issue.

We all live on this blue dot in space called Earth. Perhaps it's time we learned to get along. I think it's time we all grew up. I really grow tired of all the hate I see on TV and hear on the radio and read online. I believe we can learn to be civil in our disagreements. We can learn to respect other view points. We can 'man up' and admit when we are wrong and realize that no one, and I mean no one, has THE whole truth. There is too much of "It's my way or the highway". America is a melting pot of cultures, ideas, religions and philosophies. Let's cherish that diversity and start looking for the good in everyone. It's time to bend a bit in the wind before the next storm uproots us and sends us all tumbling into the abyss.

We have a marvelous future ahead....
We Humans are Capable of Greatness

Mr. W.

Tuesday. January 11. A Rant for the Day. Excuse me while I get up on my Soapbox.

Hello Troops,
International standardized test results are in. As predicted, American students did poorly in all subjects and measurements except one when compared to their counterparts in the industrialized world. Can you guess which area American students excelled?


Yes, its Self Esteem. Why is that you wonder? Because our American culture is overly focused on creating schools that make students feel good about themselves, even if their scores, behaviors and attitudes don't warrent such praise. Praise is given where it is not deserved. Rewards are presented when they are not earned. It is all in the effort to 'make the child feel good about himself'.

May I used a term to describe my feelings on the subject? Hogwash.

If we continue on this misguided course we'll have lines of unemployed people who feel good about themselves but have no marketable skills and can't provide for themselves or their families. The focus of the world's economy would have shifted eastward across the Pacific. These people will complain that "no one cares" and wonder why "someone doesn't do something for them". They will remind each other how special they are as they stomp their feet in the cold and grumble that life isn't fair. Wow, a reality lost on an entire generation.

I've traveled the world. I've been to 28 countries. I've visited their schools. If we don't wake up and begin demanding excellence from our students, teachers and schools (and of course parents, because if parents don't enforce excellence at home then everything schools do becomes pointless) then we will find the sun setting on this country's future and shining brightly on Asia.

Meet your future employers and creditors.
Sobering isn't it? And it may be too late to turn the tide.
Go on, Ask them how they feel about themselves? Laughable isn't it?

Amdrew Lam in New America Media wrote:

That Asian-Americans dominate higher education in the last few decades in America is also worth noting. Less than 5 percent of the country’s population, Asian-Americans typically make up 10 to 30 percent of the best colleges. In California, Asians form the majority of the University of California system. And at University of California, Berkeley, Asian freshmen have reached the 46 percent mark this year. Also worth noting is that of the Asian population in the United States, two out of three are immigrants, born in a continent where self-esteem is largely earned through achievements, and self-congratulatory behaviors discouraged, and more importantly, humility is still something of a virtue.

In the East, the self is best defined in its relation to others – person among persons – and most valued and best expressed only through familial and communal and moral deference. That is far from the self-love concept of the West – where one is encouraged to look out for oneself, and truth seems to always originate in a minority of one.

In much of modernizing Asia, of course, individualism is making inroads. The Confucian culture that once emphasized harmony and unity at the expense of individual liberty is now in retreat.

But if there’s a place in Asia that still vigilantly keeps the ego in check, if not suppressed, it’s the classroom. In Asia, corporal punishment is still largely practiced. Self-esteem is barely a concept, let alone encouraged. Though not known to foster creativity, an Asian education with its emphasis of hard work and cooperation, critics argue, still largely provides the antidote to the culture of permissiveness and disrespect of authority of the West.

In the West, the word kung fu is known largely as martial arts. It has a larger meaning in the East: spiritual discipline and the cultivation of the self. A well-kept bonsai is good kung fu, so is a learned mind and so, for that matter, is the willingness to perfect one’s guitar playing. East and West may be commingling and merging in the age of globalization, but beware - that ubiquitous baseball cap that Funtwo is wearing on YouTube can mislead - it houses very different mentalities in Asia - for when it comes to the perception of self, East and West remain far apart.

Has the emphasis for self-confidence gone too far in America? Take the French tune "Frere Jacques" in preschool, for example. French children may still sing it as “Brother Jack! You’re sleeping! Ring the bells!” But in America the once innocuous song has been converted to: "I am special! I am special! Look at me! " No surprise that the little train that could is exhausted: it’s been laden with super-sized American egos.

In a classic 1992 study, psychologists Harold Stevenson and James Stigler compared academic skills of elementary school students in Taiwan, China, Japan and the United States. It showed a yawning gap in self-perception between East and West. Asian students outperformed their American counterparts, but when they were asked to evaluate their performances, American students evaluated themselves significantly higher than those from Asia. “In other words, they combined a lousy performance with a high sense of self-esteem,” noted Nina H. Shokraii, author of “School Choice 2000: What’s Happening in the States”, in an essay called “The Self Esteem Fraud.”

Troops, don't misread this by saying that self esteem has no place in our schools because it does. What I'm saying today, as I've said in the past, is too much of anything is bad. Schools should be institutions of encouragement and "the skies the limit" not an overemphasis on 'how everyone feels today'.

It is time to roll up our sleeves, put away the electronics and study. It is time to take the hard classes. It is time to demand teachers that hold your feet to the fire and not pat you on the head and send you on your way with a sucker and good helping of self esteem. Don't accept praise unless it is really earned. Give back the silly 'participation' ribbon when given and shock them to their core by saying: "I didn't win. In fact, I sucked. Why are you giving this to me?" It's time to refocus attention on schoolwork. We have the American Dream to protect and it all begins in the classroom and at home.

Let's do this.

Mr. W.

P.S.
How about a smile to end the day. You deserve it for reading my ranting. This is a bit of sci-fi crossed with a children's classic.

Wookie the Chew

Monday at the Center

We're Back for Another Week.

Some alert and aware.
Others exist in a twilight zone of consciousness, afflicted by stupors of thought

Hello Troops,
It's Monday at the Space Center. Amazing how that happens every seven days.
We've got a busy week with field trips, after school field trips and private missions. This weekend we host 45 students from Sego Lily Elementary School.

Our overnight camp went well. The Highland kids were generous in their scores. I'd like to congratulate the Voyager for taking top honors. Good work Jon Parker and his staff. They flew Canada. The Magellan came in a very close second.

I want to congratulate Erin W. for earning her One Year of Volunteer Service Pin. The pin was awarded during our End of Camp meeting in Discover on Saturday. Erin is an awesome volunteer. By the way, please ignore the cheesy smile. I only get a few hours of sleep on overnight camps, and by 10:30 A.M. Saturday I'm on my 27th working hour (having started at 7:00 P.M. Friday morning), so anything I do on Saturdays is done on mental fumes only. Real coherent thought eludes me until Sunday morning.

The Super Saturday also went well. We were all anxious to get home though. It was a busy week back from the holiday vacation.

How about a few items from the Imaginarium to start the week off right?



Look at the sticker in the window, then look at the license plate. Get it? My "Earth was Visited by Ancient Astronauts" friends will (its a TV show that really stretches the theory that man's development throughout history was the direct result of alien intervention).


The perfect place for your iphone. Yes, you'll be the talk of the school. Be sure to wear your Wranglers and cowboy boots. Oh, and a nice western cut plaid shirt will top it all off perfectly.

What a great logo for a band of Space Pirates. Too bad everyone recognizes the source. Curse you Star Wars..

And finally, an add from when I was a youngster. Didn't care too much about cavities back then did we?

Hope to See you Soon in the Trenches!
Mr. Williamson

It's Friday. What a Happy Day.

Hello Troops,
Our first Friday back from the Christmas Holiday. Highland Elementary students will be attending our overnight camp. Tomorrow is the January Super Saturday. Fun and excitement all around. Let's get this weekend off to a great start.

By the way, when is the last time you attended a Space Center program? Perhaps its time to book a Super Saturday or private mission. Don't forget a summer camp. Summer camp registration begins in two weeks.

Are we ready for a few items from the Imaginarium......

Hogwart's Approved Game Consoles


I've always wondered about those Hufflepuff kids. What criteria does the sorting hat use to select a Hufflepuff? The mental picture I get of a Hufflepuff is someone soft and cuddly. I'm wondering if Mrs. Weasley was a Hufflepuff. Did we ever get to meet a Hufflepuff in the movies. Perhaps we didn't because they were the ones that never came out of the library....

Here's an idea of something creative to do the next time its snows. Surprise everyone on your block. Go out and turn all the parked cars into something from Cars. You'll be the talk of the town.


This next one cannot be true. They forgot something..... duct tape.
OK, this is for all of you out there that love the British sitcom "The IT Crowd". It is awesome and has Mr. Williamson's seal of approval (although it would be rated PG if it were a film so perhaps not for the youngest in the home. The Brits can be a bit 'off color' at times with their humor). Any more of you "IT Crowd" fans out there?


And from the "Why didn't I think of this when I built my house" Department... It is the ultimate 'get away' room.

And finally, The Pirate Crossword Puzzle.

OK Troops, you've had your fun. Time to strap on your gear and head into the trenches. There be ignorance to conquer in all it forms today.

Remember, use use your imagination or lose it. Do something creative today, even something as simple as driving a different way to work, or be really daring and instead of that Diet Coke, how about a Diet Dew! What about brushing your teeth with your opposite hand, or ordering something from your favorite fast food stop that you've not tried before. Think of the endless possibilities.

Have a Great Day and I hope to see you soon at the Space Center.

Mr. W.

It's Wednesday at the Imaginarium

Hello Troops,
We are well into the thick of it at the Space Center. It's day 3 since we all returned to school and work. The staff seems to have adjusted back into the cycle of get up, work, school, bed. The simulators are behaving as expected except for a few glitches. The Galileo put me in a foul mood yesterday. Foul moods dampen my usual cheery disposition. The amp didn't come on so the ship had no sound. Perfect timing too, the field trip was ready to fly A Diet Coke Zero brought me out of it (whoops, the secret's out. The way to pull Mr. W. happy out of a foul mood is a Diet Coke Zero served at exactly 33 degrees. A box of Whoppers has been know to help as well).

We've enjoyed telling Midnight Rescue for the past couple days. It makes a nice change from endless tellings of Perikoi. It's the variety that makes it survivable.

By the way, the summer camp schedule is almost ready to be posted, I worked on it yesterday. Be sure to sign up for summer camp.

OK, how about a few items from the Imaginarium to get your Wednesday off to a good start. I've got a few examples for you today.

We start with this...

Yep, I admire the attitude displayed in this picture.

Everyone wears this "I'm completely normal and I'm cool," front so they can better fit in with the crowd they want to hang with. That is normal. We all want to be part of a tribe, but what are you like when there isn't a soul around to impress? Yes, yes..... The sign is right isn't it? You've got your weird ways like everyone else. Just to let you in on a secret; its that peppering of weird that makes you, YOU. It's what the people that know you best, like about you. So, let the real you out once in awhile for an airing. It will do your soul good.

By the way, are you as sick of winter as this snowman? I was fed up with winter last Tuesday. I drove to Harts to pick up my morning Diet Dew and Snack Wells. I found my car door's lock frozen when I returned to my car. The automatic unlock button stopped working a year ago so I was stuck. I wasn't wearing a coat which made matters worse. A jacket wasn't very effective in the 15 degree weather. Five minutes of shivering and working the lock finally opened the door. I was in a foul mood. Winter is officially scratched off my favorite seasons list.

And finally, something from Lego that shows real imagination.

Have a good day and I'll see you at the Space Center. Make it sooner rather than later.

Mr. W.

P.S. Cloverdale's Bookmobile is coming to your street. Click here to look at the new titles.

http://ourcloverdale.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-donations-to-cloverdale-village.html

Procrastinators of the World, Unite!

Hello Troops,
I'm sitting at home shell shocked and attempting to come to terms with he fact that this is my last day of leave before I pick up my kit and splosh through the slush and muck, across field and forest, to rejoin my comrades in the trenches. Ignorance is once again to be engaged. Our holiday truce is concluded. One more good meal tonight, then its a steady diet of rations; warm beans (if we can make a fire) perhaps flavored with a bit of pork rind. The brown water the cook calls coffee will wash it down.

I had great expectations for this Christmas vacation. There was a list of things I'd hoped to accomplish but didn't. There's a little angel sitting on my right shoulder right now, chastising me for my laziness. There's a little devil sitting on my left shoulder congratulating me for slacking off. My current headache is the result of their quarrel.
"That list will have to be done. You've just procrastinated," the angel is saying to me.
"There's always tomorrow," the devil just countered.

Sometimes you just need to just stop on life's busy highway and vegetate. Sometimes you need to grab a hot cup of whatever and just stare. I've been known to stare out the window or at a point on the wall or at people I don't even know or at that box in the living room (whether its on or off). I let my brain drift to find its own course, taking me along for the ride. Of course this kind of mental adventuring requires a great deal of sustenance. Frequent trips to the kitchen provide the fuel and Christmas time is always the best time to find the most delicious mental fuel laying about.

I noticed my belt has shrunk over the past two weeks. Cheap leather is the only explanation. I'll have to either purchase a new belt or make fewer trips to the kitchen. Hummmmmm, I hate tough choices.

Space Center News:

• The Galileo is about to get a new set of simulator controls. Our Programming Guild has been working for months creating ship controls in Cocoa (Apple's language for the iPad and iPhone).
• The Magellan has a couple new large signs to dress up its blank white walls. We hope to have more made.
• The Phoenix's Control Room was reorganized. The Phoenix staff have more counter space now.
• I took a few minutes yesterday and started up the Voyager. The Voyager has a personality of its own and if its neglected too long (like the past two weeks we've been closed) it acts up and throws a bit of a temper tantrum (meaning something won't work, either a computer or sound mixer or monitor). I spoke nicely to the ship before I started anything. I turned on the lights, went up to the bridge and explained why we've been gone for so long. I told her that she was never forgotten during our absence and how excited we all were to come back. With fingers crossed I started to turn everything on. I'm happy to report that the Voyager responded well to my soliloquy. Everything ran perfectly. Fingers crossed I get the same results tomorrow.

OK, how about a G Rated Sunday chuckle? Of course you won't get it if you don't know your basic physics. By the way, this is Sheldon from "The Big Bang". It's a better than your average run of the mill comedy.


Have a Great Sunday and I'll See Many of You in the Trenches This Week.

Mr. W.

P.S.
Read about the strange Implosion in Cloverdale, but keep it hush hush. Something just released on the notorious CloverLeaks.

http://ourcloverdale.blogspot.com/2011/01/cloverleaks-brings-you-truth-about.html

Dreading the Return to School Are We? A Letter from the Minister of Education.

Hello Troops,

I spoke to a few former students as I left the school today (yes, it may come as a shock, but some of us have to work for a living). They were hanging out on the playground. They were having a good time until I asked if they were ready to go back to school. Wow, talk about a mood changer. The air suddenly got dark. They described what seemed to be a concentration camp where their freedoms were suspended and they had to 'tow the mark' or else. Of course everything they said was exaggerated but it did get me thinking, and when I start thinking you'd better expect a post.

So, in the spirit of good fun, I wrote this letter to those students from the school they described to me.

Mr. W.

P.S. Thanks to thepeoplescube.com for a few of the pictures below.

This message was brought to you by
The Ministry of Truth, Education and Propaganda (Minitrue).
We Think, So You Don't Have To.

A Message from

Silas T. Sludge
Minister of Truth, Education and Propaganda
Pleasant Grove

Attention All Students:

School vacation is coming to an end. As the Minister of Education I urge to put away your newly acquired distractions (given to you for no apparent reason other than you were born) and reacquaint yourselves with your textbooks and school schedules.

All students are ordered to return to our schools Monday morning displaying happy and cheerful dispositions. Of course, once the bell rings, you will immediately take your learning positions as displayed in the photograph above, taken from your Good Student Handbook issued at the start of the school year.

Any student caught in any state of semiconsciousness will be dealt with according to the rules and regulations outlined on pages 10 through 15 in your handbook. Discussions of what you did during the holiday are permitted in the common areas and cafeteria only.

Remember the sacrifice society has made to ensure you have a good school to attend. Think of your parents working day in and day out without complaining so you have this opportunity. An opportunity many children do not have. Look how tired they are at the end of their work day - all for you.

How will you thank them for this sacrifice? Will you toil forward, always forward, toward the end goal of graduation and finding a meaningful role to fill in our society? It is expected.


This is Albert Slipple. He exemplifies the Ministry's idea of a proper student. He rises early and fixes breakfast for himself, his brothers and sisters and his working parents. He does the dishes before leaving his modest apartment for the six mile walk to school. He keeps himself company on the long arduous trek by singing songs of courage and steadfastness. His grades are always top of the class. He sings in the school choir. He helps the school custodians. He works with the school's headmaster by reporting on students that have forgotten the rules as outlined in his well worn and memorized Good Student Handbook.

Delma Dropsley, on the other hand, is a student recommended for special care as outlined in your Good Student Handbook. She is often late for school and becomes distracted easily. She has been known to question the rules and has used unapproved colors in her science notebook. She has also been found on numerous occasions loitering outside one of the city's schools after school hours instead of working at home on her homework. Such behavior cannot be tolerated.

Remember, school is a happy place. It is your home away from home. It is a place deserving your love and complete and undivided attention. It is a place where you can forget who you are and focus instead on what is expected of you. It is a place where the confusion of free thinking is shackled and replaced the knowledge that we will do the thinking for you.

If you find yourself questioning this, please report your disturbing thoughts to a teacher, headmaster, custodian or lunch lady. We are here to help you be happy and have ways to help clear your thoughts from distractions. You must trust us.

Welcome Back to Where you Belong!

Signed,
Silas T. Sludge

ALERT....... ALERT...... ALERT.......

You were caught snickering during the reading of this letter. This is a violation of the Good Student Handbook. You have been reported. Your misconduct number is below:


Follow the instructions as given in your certificate of misconduct. And shame on you.

_________________________________________________________________


Hello Again Troops,
Well, did I get it right? How many of you are feeling the dread of returning to our "mind control factories"? It's not so bad. Think if it this way - summer vacation is a mere five months away!

And how about a bit of tele from the Imaginarium to brighten this cold day? This clip comes from the Imaginarium's Comedy School. It is the kind of school where your can let your imagination run wild to produce some very clever things.

Mr. W.

P.S. Cloverleaks revealed what really happened on Millstone Road.
http://ourcloverdale.blogspot.com/2011/01/cloverleaks-brings-you-truth-about.html