The End of All We Know and Ghostbusters! Our Thursday at the Space Center.

Was Earth hit by asteroid during the night? Is this massive ash fallout the result? The evidence seems to say yes. The skies are dark. Temperatures have plummeted. Could there be chaos in the streets of Pleasant Grove? Is our local WalMart under siege? Are throngs of people stealing arm loads of food and supplies while helpless senior citizen door greeters try to stop the theft with scolding words and excessive finger pointing? Are citizens huddled in their homes praying for deliverance. Am I a witness to the end of the world? Is the wick fueling the flame of humanity at its end? Is there enough time to consume even a small portion of my food storage? I’m far to young to die. I’ve so much to live for. Fortuna, take the young and old. Spare the middle aged. It sounds cruel but its every age group for themselves now. Where’s my gun? What’s this!!? A Phaser? What can I do to protect myself with a bloody phaser?

OK, OK enough of the rambling.

That first paragraph may be the foundation for a mediocre fiction story but happily it is only that - Fiction. In reality, Pleasant Grove was buried in snow last night while we all slumbered. I took the following pictures when I arrived at the Space Center at 8:30 A.M. I thought those of you that don’t live here, including our Space Center friends in other states might want to see this for yourselves. Granted, there are places in this country where this snowfall seems hardly worth mentioning but for an April 16th I’m impressed. How about you?

My Office and Desk at the Crossroads of the Space Center. Yes, the Dumping Ground.

Rachel Stacy and Kyle in a High Level Meeting on the Galileo

We are at work again here at the Space Center on day four of our vacation. My office is a disaster and the Galileo team are having a meeting. I’ve contacted our local branch of GhostBusters to do a complete ectoplasmic scan of the school and Center for strange readings (refer to my post yesterday). I will attempt to recreate the phantom door closing in a controlled environment with proper protection in case the spirits decided to take their mischief one step further. I remember from the movie a great deal of green slime is usually that next step. I’ve fashioned a tolerable rain coat from the large industrial sized trash can liners kept in the school’s cafeteria. I’ll be ready, plastic wrapped, goggled, and paper toweled for anything they conjurer up.

Me, taking a moment before an attempt at parley (look it up and learn something) with a poltergeist.

I’ll keep you posted. And now Pleasant Grove’s Ghostbuster and Pest Control Service is here. I’ll update you once again after we scan the building and attempt to make contact.

Mr. Williamson

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