An Update and a Ghostly Visitor

Hello Troops,
Another winter day on April 15th. Spring is doing just what Spring is suppose to do - transition our part of the planet from frigid winter to baking summer. Some Spring days give you temperatures in the 90’s and others, like today, give you cold and snow. Spring is a smorgasbord of weather - a delightful feast for those of us that appreciate unpredictable weather.

Today was another busy day at the Space Center. Many staff and volunteers were in working on Summer projects. The Odyssey is slowly being put together and Megan Warner, the Phoenix Set Director, came in to give her simulator a few stokes of the paint brush to cover a splattering of unsightly blemishes.

I took a few hours off to go see Aliens Vs. Monsters, or was it Monsters vs. Aliens? I don’t recall. I paid the premium and saw the 3D version. To be honest I didn’t care for the film The writing and plot was too childish. I’m sure the younger ones enjoyed it but not me. Animated films are a tough sell for an older crowd. Pixar does it well. I’m never disappointed with a Pixar film.

After the movie I stopped at the Space Center to check on the staff. After a few questions were answered and a crisis or two resolved I decided to go home for the night. I made my rounds checking to see who was in the building and locked all the open doors. Stacy Carroll was working in Discovery’s animation studio. I told her I was leaving and to check the doors once again before she left. She gave me an OK. I walked out the door, turned, locked the door and then pushed it back onto the wall mounted doorstop. The door clicked and locked into open position. I turned and started down the hall. That’s when something strange happened.

Just before entering the Briefing Room I heard Discovery’s door unlatch itself from the wall lock. A moment later it close. I wondered why Stacy closed the door. I walked back to Discovery, opened and propped open the door and asked her why she closed the door. She came out of the studio saying she hadn’t shut the door. She thought I had.

That was the second EUC (Event with Unidentified Cause) of the day. On the way back from the movie I discovered my car’s fan wasn’t working.
I didn’t put the two events together until I got home from the school. The third EUC happened when I got out of the car and put the garbage cans back. My neighbor’s dog, started barking at me. My neighbor’s dog has never barked at me. Never. Now this dog was running back and forth barking at me. It seemed agitated. What was going on?

I walked into the house and found the big screen TV on. It was on ESPN. My nephew watches ESPN so I thought he forgot to shut off the television before he left for work. No one else was home. I went into the bedroom for a few moments. When I came out the satellite dish had been turned off. The TV was showing Dish Network’s test screen. OK........ I started putting two and two together.

I’m talking to those who’ve been to a Disney theme park now. Do you remember the end of the Haunted Mansion ride when your car turns toward the mirrors and you discover you have an unwelcome hitchhiker in your car with you of the ghostly persuasion? Well, I was sure that a mischievous little Space Center ghost hitched a ride in my Battlestar and came home with me. That was the forth EUC of the day. I turned off the TV, picked up my computer and began typing up a quick post on a Genie and little boy for my Cloverdale Blog.

Half way through the post the fifth EUC occurred. The power went out. Luckily I was working on my laptop and had plenty of juice for the post. Thirty minutes later the power came on. A few minutes after that my nephew Chaz came home. I asked him why he left the TV on.
“I didn’t watch TV today,” he said. “I got up early and went to work.”
I was surprised. Everyone else in the house was gone all day as well. So, we have our sixth EUC.
Well, to top the night off the power went off again at 8:00 P.M. A seventh EUC all in one day! I think I may be lucky. Spencer Robinson stopped by a moment ago to return the Space Center credit card. He needed it to pick up building supplies for the Odyssey. The power came on right after he left. I’m thinking my unearthly visitor saw a chance to move on. I should call Spencer and warn him my hitchhiker may have caught a ride with him. It would be interesting if several EUC’s hit him tonight! We shall see. We shall see.

We're Working for You!

Hello Troops,
It’s Spring Break! I’m writing to you from the very heart of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center - my desk. I’m not the only one working during the vacation. With me out here in space are.

Alex A.
He is working on video. He has a new program for star effects. All of us give him a double thumbs up for his discovery and the go ahead to begin the process of recording and using in the ships.
Jon P. and Spencer R.
Jon and Spencer are working on the Odyssey refit. The Odyssey was brought into Space Dock on Monday. The old girl was desperate for a little TLC. She’s been stripped down to her supports and new desks are being installed. New bunk coverings are going in as well. Its not a major re- architecture but enough work is being done to give the ship a breath of new life.

Dave Daymont
Arriving at the crack of noon is Mr. Dave Daymont. He is working in Discovery on the Phoenix’s new summer story. It has the Borg! Yes, I’m feeling all of you shudder with excitement. Another Space Center story with the Borg.

Stacy Carroll
Stacy is in the Animation Studio working on computer graphics for the Galileo. She will transition from the old Galileo to the new one sometime this summer. The new Galileo will need new material and she is working hard to create it.

Emily Perry
Emily is on her computer working on the tactical screens for her new summer story “Plague” and “The Lost Throne” Imagine that, 2 stories from the Odyssey.

There you have it. While all of you enjoy days of carefree fun and frolic know that your Space Center friends are hard at work creating new and exciting EdVentures for your summer. I’ll keep you posted on developments.

And now, I need to beam up to the mother ship to have my human mask refitted. It was wrinkling in the warm weather we experienced over the last couple days.
(Emily taught me how to use the camera on my Mac. I'm having too much fun)

Mr. Williamson

What Will I Do with One Week Off? And Other things.

Hello Troops,
All of us in the Alpine School District will enjoy our Easter Break this week. Some of you already had your break and some may have theirs after us. I’ve looked forward to this vacation since returning back to work from the Christmas vacation. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy working. Some say I live to work but honestly, if I don’t get the occasional break from mission after mission, flight after flight I think the repetition would drive me either to drink or to a more prolonged stay at a certain institution in Provo that specializes in treating people who’ve misplaced their sanity and can’t find it for the life of them.

I knew I was ready for this vacation last Friday. I finished teaching my 9:00 A.M. pre-algebra class. The students left the room leaving a quiet behind that I decided to stay and enjoy for a few minutes. My bag of peppermint mints, used to bribe students to focus on their work and not on their daydreams, sat on the desk needing to be put away. I opened the top drawer where I keep my bribes side by side with the teacher’s manual to put the bag of mints away. I reached into the bag to take one out, closed the bag and put it away. I sat on my cushioned chair and spun around a few times while sucking on the mint. I’m not one to leave things in my mouth too long so I went right to chewing. The swallowing when wrong. The mint bits didn’t all go down. I needed a drink.

The Discovery Room has a sink, faucet / drinking fountain combination. I stood over the drinking fountain, bent down and positioned my mouth over the nozzle and pressed the button.

Its a wonder how your memory works. I’m fascinated with what it chooses to remember and what it chooses to forget. My memory failed me at that moment. If it was working properly , like it was designed to do, I would have remember that drinking fountain’s twisted sense of humor. Instead of releasing a nice arc of water it shoots the water at you with the force of a fire hose. The water isn’t aimed at your open mouth. The fountain shoots it at your eyes.

I pressed on the button and was on the receiving end of 9000 pounds of pressurized water right into my face nearly washing my contacts out of my eyes. I stood dazed for a moment while the water ran down my face and onto my shirt. I thought I heard the pipes under the sink rattle in a form of perverted pipe humor. It was right then and there I knew I needed a vacation. My last remaining finger holding me to the cliff overlooking the chasm of chaos and delirium released its hold. I felt myself falling.

A few rolls of paper towels later I was ready to shut off the lights and return to my office. I still had my wits about me - which surprised me. I’m glad because I’d need them for the overnighter and a full day of flights on Saturday that awaited.

What Will I Do?

That is a good question. I considered a trip to Vegas to visit my brother. Decided against it. There is something about Vegas that bothers me. It could be the heat. Or maybe the sound and look 0f all that money flushed down the gambling toilet every day. I think of what I could do with some of that money at the Space Center.

Several in the family wanted to go and spend the week at my house in South Dakota. It sits on the hillside overlooking the town of Deadwood in a beautiful nestled pine covered valley in the Black Hills. I was raised in South Dakota and it is nice to go back for R and R. My mind was changed on the matter when I found out South Dakota was buried in snow from recent storms. Why would I want to go stay someplace where the snow drifts are ten feet high?

Instead I think I’ll stay right in in Pleasant Grove. After all, it is pleasant in Pleasant Grove. Besides, there is enough work to do at the Space Center to keep me busy all week. And there I go again - I have a week off and I still go in to keep up. At least there are no students in the building and there are no missions. I can actually work at my desk in peace and quiet.

Have you ever looked at where my desk is located? I work right in the middle of commotion. I have the Voyager in front, the Odyssey to my left and the Phoenix to my right. All day and all night I hear clashing music and explosions from the three ships. Add a never ending stream of staff and visitors that swarm around my desk all day and all night long out of necessity to move from ship to ship etc. and its a wonder I get anything done at all.

Think of it this way, imagine you are the manager of a factory that uses noisy machines and employees lots of people. Now take your office and put it right smack dab in the middle of all the machines and people. Now, I dare you to get anything done. Go ahead, just try. Now you understand how hard it is for me to focus sometimes and why there are times you see me crouched in the corner with my eyes shut and hands over my ears ;)

Yet...... I still love my job and the people I work with. You are all fantastic and I appreciate the hard work and dedication you give to your job. I know many of you have things you’d like to do at the Center this week so I’ll send out an email with the times I’ll be in every day.

So, lets enjoy this week. Work if we must and play whenever possible. Let’s let our brains recharge and imaginations run amuck.

Bryson's Married!

I attended Bryson Lystrup's wedding reception yesterday. Bryson worked at the Space Center for years and years. It was very nice. Kyle Herring took the pictures below. Bryson looked happy and his new wife was beautiful. Bryson is a lucky young man.

The Happy Couple

Braydn Lystrup, the Young Brother and Voyager FD. I asked him to bring me a fork.
He had someone else do it. That's gratitude for you.

I enjoy a reception with good food and I must hand it to the Lystrups for the spread at this reception. They had a cheese cake bar complete with two chocolate fountains! While most people stood in the reception line I kept myself in the refreshment line. Brock, Spenser Dauwalder and I couldn't leave until we had taste tested the offerings multiple times.

Good Luck Bryson!

And now troops, I’ll see you all in the trenches.

Mr. Williamson