Goodbye Casual and Hello Usual

Hello Troops,
This is the eve of the Space Center's Official Opening for the 2008-2009 School Year. For the last couple days we've hosted our own school for the full four hour field trip. Central students are beneficial at helping us work the bugs out of our programs. They are the victims in our dress rehearsals and, in return for their patience, they don't pay. Well, all that ended this afternoon. Central is finished and tomorrow at 9:30 A.M. we open with our first school of the season - Westvale Elementary School.

It is funny to be able to point to an exact date and time when your life disappears. You see, since July 31st I've either been on vacation or here, working on the Perikoi mission, scheduling classes and field trips, designing a web site, working on simulator repairs, spending too much money on everything from programming books to new simulators, etc. etc. etc. This is my favorite time of year because I can arrive at 8:00 A.M. and actually go home between 6 and 7 P.M. All of that will change tomorrow, September 25, 2008 at 9:30 A.M. From that moment on we are open nearly every school day running two to four classes per day on missions, classes, and starlabs. We run around here "like chickens with their heads cut off" doing pretty much the same thing day in and day out.

Don't misunderstand me, I love my job and wouldn't have it any other way but I still find it interested that everything will change at an exact point in time and stay that way until another exact point in time at the end of May.

We tired something new today on the Voyager school mission. For the first time in years and years we had a doctor on the bridger in addition to the staff. One of our staff set up a sick bay in the Captain's Quarters right off the bridge. During the mission Lorraine sent "injured" crew into the sickbay for a quick scan and a tasty M and M. It worked well and gave crew members a welcome stand up and stretch during the mission. She looked for those a bit bored and sent them in for a dose of attention. It also worked well for attack scenes. Now we can thin down the number of students at the working stations thus increasing the stress level for those that remain. We will try to implement the Field Trip Doctor whenever staffing will allow.

Well, It is time to go home and enjoy the rest of my Worker's Eve. I'll see many of you here in the trenches as we continue to battle ignorance, stupidity and apathy.

Mr. Williamson

The Magic of the Space Center.

Hello Troops,
Take a minute from your battle with ignorance and let me share a thought.
Many times throughout the years we've all heard Space Center visitors say,"This is better than Disneyland!". Each time I hear that I wonder how that can possibly be! Disneyland has everything from expensive, imaginative rides to restaurants and shopping. The parks are squeaky clean. The sets effectively transport you from the daily grind to the world of imagination. I'm an admirerer of everything Disney. So...... being a fan (I don't own a pair of Mickey ears so I don't consider myself a FANatic) I'm honored to hear such things but really couldn't, until now, accept the statements as truth.

I recently returned from a week at Disneyworld. That week gave me multiple opportunities to compare and contrast the best theme park in the world to our humble log cabin approach in Pleasant Grove. I could write a small book on the subject but today I'll share my greatest realization.

I noticed that when people get off a Disney ride they speak briefly about the experience. You hear things like: "That was awesome," to "I think I'm sick," to "That wasn't what I expected," to "That drop almost gave me a heart attack!". You also hear them talk about others in their group:
"Did you see mom's face?" and "I thought Dad was going to throw up!"
The ride discussion quickly ends and the family starts talking about the next meal or hurting feet or exclamations to hurry to get the next Fast Pass. The ride discussion ends quickly because every participant had THE EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE! They were side by side. They all saw the same thing, heard the same sounds, smelled the same smells, and jumped at the same time.
A further discussion is pointless because every comment you make is answered with "We Know, we were there,".

Now compare that to a group leaving one of our simulators after a fun 2.5 to 5 hour mission. Read the points I make below and see if I'm not spot on with this observation:

• We hear from moms that their children's mission talk continues all the way home and then on for days afterword - Why?
• Each person on a Space Center mission gets a different ride! Think about it. You have the captain who experiences a somewhat different mission than a security officer. Each person picks up certain story points that others don't because everyone does a different job.
  
• Only by sharing your mission experience with the team does a team begin to understand the entire mission. A mission is like a jigsaw puzzle. Only by putting the pieces together do you get to see the picture.
• Humans are story tellers. That is what we like to do when we get together. Think about your family gatherings. The adults set around and tell stories to each other. Think about the time you spend with your friends. Don't you tell each other stories? That's right, you're sharing your daily experiences and insights. If we don't have stories to tell, the conversation turns silent and we move on to another group where stories are still being shared.
  

We have these stories because we all experience a different aspect to life. Are you getting my point? We slaughter Disney in one very important aspect - our 'rides' give everyone something different. In addition to that - our rides continue well beyond the time spent in the ships. The mission residue continues for years to come as stories pass from person to person on the semi-shared experience.

This is the magic of the Space Center! It has taken 18 years to really understand but I think I get it. What are your thoughts? Share them if you would using the 'comment' feature of the Blog.

All the Best,
Mr. Williamson

Space Center News Update. All the News That's Fit to Bore!

Read "The Space Center News" Below or 

Pick it Up from Elmer in Downtown PG. Our News is Worth Every Penny!

Hello Troops,

And now, the news from the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center.  

• Brent Anderson, our former chief programmer and all around Lord of Computers received an LDS mission call to the Prague, Czech Republic Mission.  He enters the MTC in February.  He is currently at BYU and very excited, I've been told, about learning a new language.  It shouldn't be too difficult.  Brent already speaks English and a host of other computer languages.  How could Czech be any worse than C ++?
• BYU's School of Engineering has accepted the Space Center for a Capstone project.  The student engineers will build a new Galileo simulator.  We expect delivery sometime in May.  Dr. Long's electrical engineers will assist by doing all the electrical work.  This new Galileo will have a metal exterior and work stations for six crew members.  Needless to say, we are all awash with excitement except me.  I'm the one that needs to worry about the final bill.  This project may put the United Federation of Planet's Central Bank into difficulty.  We may need to go to the Federation Government for a bail out.  Why not, everyone else does? 
• Parts of the Voyager are getting new carpet.  The old gray carpet was showing its age.  After eight years and thousands of children's shoes later the old carpet was giving up the ghost.  Large dark age spots were showing up everywhere, especially in front of the small Voyager fridge.  Gray was not the best choice for color.  It was a decision I made eight years ago and regretted.  Today my repentance was complete when the carpet men brought the new carpet.  It is a smattering of colors - with navy blue being the dominant hue.  There is also a sneeze of red which matches nicely with the red carpet that covers sections of the Voyager's walls.  The carpet men left  two sets of stairs uncarpeted at quitting time Friday.  They'll return Monday afternoon.  Tonight's overnighter is interesting.  The staff and crew have nice new carpet and sticky, uncarpeted stairs to walk on.  Oh well, you never know what to expect when you come to the Space Center.  The staff discovered something else they like about new carpet - The smell.  I found them in the ship at the beginning of the camp.  They were like cows in the field - down on all fours  with their snouts dragging across the new carpet.  
• Our programming class started last Saturday.  Bridger is teaching our Programming Guild (and certain special guests) how to program in Cocoa.  To those like me that think cocoa is used for double fudge brownies - you are correct but..... Apple has taken a very descriptive word and used it for a computer programming language.   Hey, how could a computer language called Cocoa be difficult to learn?  Following that logic - imagine how difficult it would be to learn a programming language called 'Chopped Liver'.  Wait a minute, isn't that what Windows and Vista is programmed in?  My apologies to our PC fans.  
• I'm relearning how to tell our school mission "The Children of Perikoi".  I found an old recording of me telling the story four years ago.  That recording will shorten the learning curve putting us in the groove sooner rather than later.
• Our School Year Flyer is out.  You can sign up for classes and Super Saturdays.  There is also a section of the flyer for donations.  Money will hemorrhage from our accounts this year with the Galileo rebuild and the Voyager refit.  Anything resembling good old American money will be welcome.  I'm even willing to accept Euros - a sign of our desperate need.  I draw the line on Russian Rubles and Chinese Won.  I don't like the way Russia is throwing its weight around and as for the Chinese - they won too many gold medals in the Olympics with girls barely out of diapers parading as 14 year olds on their  gymnastics team.  Oh, I don't think I'll take any of that phony Canadian money either.  Who can trust a dollar nicknamed a Loon?  

Well, that is about it Troops.  There are other minor things I could list but I feel I'm already taxing your attention so I'll stop while you're still semi conscious.  Enjoy your week.  We surely will.  We Open with School Missions This Week.  Wish us luck!

Mr. Williamson