Requiem for a Park City Class....

One month ago a class of gifted fifth graders from Park City’s three elementary schools were scheduled to come to the Space Center for a field trip. It was a select group. Only a few were chosen from each school to make up their numbers. Then........it struck.

Swine flu was found in one Park City school two days before their field trip. The day before their trip the Superintendent canceled school to prevent an outbreak. I got a call that day canceling the field trip to the Space Center. One week later we rescheduled the trip for May 20th.

Today is May 20th. Twenty very excited Park City students arrived at the Space Center at 3:15 P.M. with Boarding Passes in hand. They were ready for the EdVenture of a lifetime. I was excited to see them. I knew they had to go the extra mile to be chosen to attend this special field trip. It was an honor to have them with us.

At 4:00 P.M. I was finishing my Bridge speech. I was explaining their role as actors in our unscripted play. Suddenly I heard a snap. It was the sound an electrical breaker makes when its tripped. The main viewer disappeared along with the televisions. In a second I realized we were experiencing a power outage. Just as I understood the consequences the rest of the electrical equipment went out. We were in a partial dark. The only visible light came from the emergency battery lights on the exit signs.
“OK everyone stay seated,” I said to the class. I heard my staff laughing from the control room. The door to the bridge opened and my two Supervisors came up the stairs.
“The power went out,” Spencer explained. I look at him wondering if he realized the stupidity of what he had just said. Of course I knew the power was out. There was no question the power was out. Isn’t it interesting that people always state the obvious?

I told the class we were in good shape. Our power outages were usually short lived. They arrived early so we had a buffer zone. If the power was restored within 45 minutes we could still get through the mission. My plan was to take them outside to wait on the playground. My staff pointed something out I didn’t know - It was storming outside. Cancel plan 1. Move on to plan 2. We went to the gym. We gave them basketballs while we waited. Twenty minutes later they were getting board. The power was still off so we had to switch gears. We took out the Space Center’s Honor’s Night Bingo. Emily, Stacy, Megan, Rachel and other younger staff led them in several games of Bingo. The Space Center’s Candy Counter provided the rewards.

It was 5:00 P.M. The bewitching hour had arrived. The 45 minute buffer zone was expired. The power was out. A phone call to Rocky Mountain Power suggested the power would be off until 11:00 P.M. I walked onto the stage and gave them the bad news. We were sending them back to Park City. I was upset. First the Swine Flu and now a power outage. These poor kids couldn’t cut a break.

Oh Fortuna........... you are a crafty one. From your ruined temples you send the Fates to deal harshly with us. What have we done to incur your wrath? Last week it was the Magellan’s bulb. This week your mischief appeared in many places:

• The Magellan’s air conditioner broke on Monday. The repairman says the condenser was cracked. I had to close the simulator.
• Today I heard the crackled laugh of the Fates when I started the Voyager’s morning mission for fifth graders from Rowland Hall / St. Marks School. The Voyager’s primary CD player broke just before the mission. The Command Officer’s MP3 player went on the fritz. The Engineer’s MP3 player broke in mid training. Yes Fortuna, kick me when I’m down and then kick me again.

I walked the Park City kids out to their bus and sent them on their way. No one was happy about the turn of events but it was out of our hands. I can’t shake the feeling that some universal power has turned its attention to our little school and Space Center in the middle of back water Utah. My first concern is to find the mischievous Imp and send him on his way. Surely it must be someone else’s turn to be on the receiving end of irritating events. I hate to wish misfortune on anyone because of my Christian nature but when your back is to the wall, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Tonight I’m consulting my Roman mythology. Somewhere there must be information on appeasing the wrath of an forgotten Goddess. Maybe a sacrifice of some kind? I’d be happy to sacrifice an old computer if necessary. We could take one of the spare Imacs up to the school roof and toss it off while shouting “Fortuna is Blessed!” Or better yet let us find favor with another immortal. Perhaps we could persuade Jupiter to take up our cause?

Fortuna, Roman Goddess of Fortune
or in our case - misfortune.

I’ll work on this. A note to my staff and volunteers. Watch what you say and do at the Space Center. Don’t take our success for granted. There is nothing Fortuna loves more than to squash the hopes and dreams of any mortal feeling proud and boastful of his accomplishments. We will continue to do what we do best - provide the best field trip experience in the State of Utah and do it humbly. I stress Humbly.

Mr. Williamson's Quest. A Day by Day Account of my Battle with Fortuna, Goddess of Fortune.

The Quest. Day 1

Friday.
We had a Magellan mission arriving at 4:00 P.M. Brittney V. walks up to my desk at 3:45 P.M. That was the moment the Quest began. One minute all is right with the world. Then, in an instance things change - for the better or the worse.
“The Magellan projector is doing that flashing thing again and it won’t come on,” she said. The news itself wasn’t a deal breaker. We always keep a spare bulb for every Space Center projector. I went into the Magellan and tested the projector myself. The bulb was dead. In an effort to speed things along because of the impending Magellan crew I called Kyle and asked him to come down and switch projectors. The Space Center owns two of he NEC special projectors that throw a large picture from a short distance. One is used in the Magellan and the other is kept in the faculty room.

I fetched the spare projector, opened the cupboard and took out the spare bulb. My plan was to install the spare bulb in the bulbless spare projector and have it ready for installation when Kyle arrived. I opened the spare bulb and attempted to slide it into place.
Houston, we have a problem. The bulb wouldn’t lock into place inside the projector. Kyle arrived and confirmed the problem. The spare bulb was missing something on the bulb’s casing. I purchased a defective bulb off Ebay in an failed attempted to save money. We were in a pickle.

In came our superstaff! The Voyager was open. I started shuffling Flight Directors. I moved Taylor into the Galileo. I moved Rachel from the Galileo into the Odyssey. I moved Emily out of the Odyssey into the Voyager. Our missions would be unaffected by this mishap. I had other things to do to get things ready for the overnight camp. Alpine was sending just enough kids to run the Odyssey and Galileo. I had a test group coming in for the Phoenix. My plan was to get the camp started and then purchase two new replacement lamps and have them shipped next day delivery so we’d have them by Tuesday.

The Quest. Day 2

Saturday
Without the Magellan projector the two Magellan private missions had to either be canceled or switched to the Voyager. I successfully transferred the 11:30 A.M. Magellan into the Voyager. The 2:30 mission wouldn’t work. The Voyager was booked. I phoned the Magellan crew and explained the situation. It was a special mission for the woman’s husband’s 40th birthday party and they couldn’t reschedule. I told Brittney to prepare to fly without the projector. She assured me they could pull off ‘Death Trap’ reasonably well projector less. The crew was given half off. The Space Center operated that mission at a loss. What else can you do? Take care of your customers and keep your reputation strong in the community.

Later that day I found a replacement bulb from a company somewhere in the Eastern half of the US. I ordered it online and paid extra for next day shipping. I realized they wouldn’t get the order until Monday so expected the bulb on Tuesday.

The Quest. Day 3

Tuesday
The bulb hadn’t arrived when I finished the field trip missions. Realizing that many people are inept at their jobs and couldn’t give an owl’s hoot for customer care I called the toll free number of the bulb company and spoke to customer service. A young man’s voice answered. He spoke American English. That was a good sign. He checked into the order and discovered it had come in too late for a Monday ship out even though I ordered it on Saturday. He assured me it would go out that afternoon. I could expect delivery Wednesday. That was still OK. We didn’t have another Magellan until Thursday.

The Quest. Day 4

Wednesday
The bulb hadn’t arrived when I finished the field trip missions. Sound familiar? Now surprised someone could be THAT inept at their job I called customer service again. This time I spoke to a young man named Brooks. I explained the situation and made it clear I was getting hot under the collar. He blamed the situation on the warehouse, said there was a real clerical screw up and said he would resolved the matter personally. He gave me his direct line and said to call him on Thursday if the bulb hadn’t come.
“Brook’’s,” I said in a tone serious yet understanding, “I need this bulb, that is why I ordered it next day delivery. I have a theater out of commission and I need this resolved. May I trust you to resolve my problem for me? Will you look at this as your personal mission in life to make me happy?”
“You can count on me Sir,” he replied. “We value our customers and want their loyalty.”
I felt I had a friend in some office building somewhere east of the Mississippi. I looked to Brooks to restore my faith in humans.

The Quest. Day 5

Thursday
The bulb hadn’t arrived when i finished the field trip missions. Sound excruciatingly familiar? I was back on the phone. Brooks didn’t answer so I called customer service. I explained the situation to someone new. He said he would find out what happened and have Brooks call me. He also explained that the problem was never at their warehouse. They never had the bulb in stock. They were having it drop shipped from NEC and that is where the problem was.

I called Brooks back. No answer. I left a message telling him my faith in humanity was in his hands and to call and give me good news. I reminded him to leave a message if I didn’t answer. I hung up.

Now what would you do? I sat at my desk suffering through a record breaking foul mood. I had to make quick decisions. What would I do with a 4:30 P.M. Magellan mission. What would I do about a 4:00 P.M. mission the following day? What about the overnight camp? What about the two Magellan missions on Saturday? I know how upset people get when their best made plans of several months go down the toilet with one phone call from me explaining I don’t have a simulator for them and to find some other venue for their party - oh, at last minute as well. Yes........ I’m in the crapper covered in something hitting the fan over my head. You get the unsavory picture I trust?

The Voyager was open for that day’s Magellan’s crew. I had already done three missions that day and didn’t want to do a fourth but Kyle couldn’t take the mission and Emily was already in mid flight in the Odyssey. Suddenly my foul mood took a darker turn. Ask anyone about my pleasant nature last Thursday. You’ll see their face take a serious turn, their eyes enlarge to twice their normal size and their index finger drawn across their throat.
I had a few moments before the 2:00 P.M. mission so I got on the internet and searched for another company. Minutes before my mission, with my group waiting at the revolving door I found a company called CDW. Instead of placing an online order I decided to place it over the phone. I called sales.

A pleasant, faceless voice answered. Suddenly it seemed my luck would change. He asked if the Space Center was part of the Alpine School District. If so, they had a Utah State contract. I could buy the bulb at a discount - $100 to be exact. I told him at that price I’d take two. I reached in my wallet to produce the credit card. It wasn’t there. Kyle had it.
I put him on hold, went into the office and took the school’s credit card out of the safe. I charged the amount, hung up the phone and did my 2:00 P.M. mission feeling I had completed my Quest!

At 4:00 P.M. the mission ended. I sat at my desk regaining my sanity. A thought crossed my mind. It couldn’t be as easy as that. Something was wrong. Fortuna, the goddess of luck and fortune wouldn’t be cutting me a bit of slack would she? No, she’s been on my case lately with one thing and another. I had a sudden feeling that my contentment was false. Fortuna had lured me into the belief that she had caste her hook into someone else's pond.
“Think you got me do you?” I said to her under my breath. The room was full of staff and I didn’t want them to think I had reached level 5 on the Space Center Madness Scale. I reached for the phone to call CDW to confirm my order. The phone crew cold. She was unhappy I was on to her game.

I got a woman this time. I gave her my order number.
“Im sorry sir but that order is not placed. Your credit card was declined.” I put her on hold, walked into the office and asked the secretary why the school’s credit card had been declined. A few questions later I was back on the phone telling CDW the school’s credit card had a limit of $500. I was up the creek. The Space Center’s credit card was with Kyle and I had no way to pay for the order. I felt Fortuna’s staff jab me in the ribs. She thought she had me. Oh Fortuna, do you really think I’m that easily defeated? I pulled out my own American Express card and charged it to my own account. After all, what’s $750 when you’re at war with one of Olympia’s Gods? I hung up and went about my business. Victory tasted sweet.

Thirty minutes later an uneasiness found a place in my mind. What had she been up to in that hour? I called CDW again. I gave the agent the order number. She told me the order was placed and shipping. I was about to end the call when a thought crossed my mind.
“Please tell me where the package is being shipped?”
“No problem sir, It is address to Alpine School District Accounts Payable. The address is 575 North 100 East in American Fork Utah.”
My heart skipped a beat. Just at that moment a crack of thunder from Mount Olympus was heard across Greece. Fortuna was celebrating.

The Quest. Day 6

Friday
I got to school at 8:00 A.M. and promptly called the District Office. I explained the situation to the receptionist. She said she would watch for the package and notify me when it came in. At 1:40 P.M. I called back. No package. A panic set in. I called CDW and had them track the package. They confirmed it has been delivered. WHERE WERE MY BULBS?
I called back. The receptionist said to try Accounts Payable because they were the ones it was address to. I called Accounts Payable. The woman who answered assured me they didn’t have the package.
“Try Printing. They get packages delivered there all the time,” she suggested. I called printing.
“Only FEDEX delivers here,” Shelley told me. “UPS delivers to the warehouse in Lindon.”
“What if the package says the District Office?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” she replied. “All UPS packages go there.” She gave me the number of someone named Clark.

It was 3:00 P.M. The Magellan mission was schedule to start at 4;00 P.M. The Overnight Camp was after that. The following day (Saturday) there were two Magellan private missions. I was back into panic mode. Fortuna had the knife in and was about to turn it.
I called the number.
“Is this Clark?”
“Yes,”
“This is Victor Williamson at the Space Center. I’m looking for a package that was delivered by UPS.”
“So its yours! What does it say on the package?”
“It says deliver to Account’s Payable.”
“Yes, I’ve got it. I was thinking that if someone wanted this bad enough to have it next day shipped they would call and come pick it up.”
“I’ll have someone there right away to pick it up.”

Bill was up and walking out the Briefing Room door volunteering to drive to the warehouse to pick up our package. Kyle was on hand to put the bulb into the projector. Bill came back with a package with two bulbs. Kyle took one and quickly put it into the open projector. A moment later it was mounted onto the wall and WORKING. My Quest was at an end. The week from heck seemed to be over.

A few minutes later Brittney came into the room and told me half the Magellan wasn’t reading the network. The Magellan crew was there getting briefed on their mission. It was Fortuna’s parting shot as she left Pleasant Grove looking for bigger fish to fry. Kyle spent some time in the wiring closet and resolved the problem. We were good to go.

And so my friends, that was my week. It wasn’t a pretty one. It caused stress and a few very unpleasant moods but we won in the end. The Magellan worked well as a ship and, to everyone surprise, took the Flight Director’s Trophy after the overnight camp. Perhaps it was Fortuna’s way of acknowledging the fact that I stayed in the battle and fought a good fight.

We are starting a new week. I’m wondering what challenge is waiting. Life at the Space Center means never a dull moment.

Mr. Williamson

News of the Week and My Thoughts on the New Star Trek Movie

Spencer D. at Star Trek

Hello Troops,
I’m writing from my sanctuary in Cloverdale. A beautiful hamlet in the Confederacy of Dunces.

Do You Know What Time It Is?
It was early Tuesday morning. The phone rang at 1:36 A.M.
“Mr. Williamson. This is Matt. We triggered an alarm or something and the police are here at the school. Can you come down and reset the alarm?”
I recognized the voice. I remembered Matt was overseeing the filming of a university student’s video project at the Space Center.
“What are you doing there at this time?” I asked in a semi lucid state.
“We finished early. We triggered an alarm while we were leaving the school.” he explained.
“You were suppose to be out of the building by 10:30,” I said trying to sound angry but controlled.
“Did you think I meant 10:30 P.M.? I meant 10:30 A.M. We were planning on staying here filming all night long. This was designed to be a twelve hour shoot. We finished early.”
“You didn’t say 10:30 A.M. I asked you when you’d be out and you said 10:30 at the latest!”

And there it was, another fantastic misunderstanding at the Space Center.
A film student at some university wrote a space story and needed a place to film. I gave permission and arranged to have the Center staffed by one of our people during the event. Matt knows the world of film so I asked him to ‘baby-sit’ them during the shoot. He agreed. When they arrived Monday late afternoon to set up, Matt and I had the conversation on the length of the shoot. If one of us had added an A.M. or P.M. in the conversation I would have been spared a call at 1:36 A.M. and a trip down to the school to reset a security alarm. There is a lesson to be learned here. It is obvious so I won’t spell it out. Let’s just say I learned it and I hope all of you do as well.
Oh, and thanks to my former 6th grade student, Ryan Armistead, for being understanding. He was the policeman waiting from me at the school. Small world isn’t it.

Small Overnight
On Wednesday Alpine Elementary called to report their overnight camp numbers. I expected lower numbers. This recession is taking its toll and families are watching their spending.
“Mr. Williamson, we have eight students signed up for this weekend,” the teacher reported. I tried to contain my surprise. It wasn’t just the recession, it was also the Swine Flu that concerned parents as well. I made a decision to cancel the overnighter.

The next day he called back and said the number rose to 13. I told him we could do it for 13. The camp moved ahead as scheduled. By Friday the number hit 14. I added six of our staff to crew the Phoenix and went ahead with the overnight camp planning.

I was tempted to cancel the camp but tradition got the best of me. I’ve never canceled a camp due to numbers in the entire history of the Space Center. That’s 18 years of camps! I wasn’t about to let it happen now. GM may be nearly bankrupt. Companies nationwide may be going out of business and homes foreclosed but by golly the Space Center will continue as normal come recession or depression.

Brady Young Married
Yes troops, our very own Brady Young got married on Friday. Brady is a flight director in the Voyager, a student at UVU and a member of the Geek Squad at Best Buy. He recently returned from a mission in Florida.
The reception was held at the Alpine Center on Friday evening. I couldn’t attend because of the camp and one hundred other things but I’m told it was fantastic. Congratulations Brady and may you and your new misses live long and prosper.

Bulb Woes
Brittany V. gave me bad news Friday afternoon.
“Mr. Williamson, the Magellan’s projector is flashing red and yellow again,” she said while I worked on my computer. It was 3:45 P.M. and the Magellan had a private mission coming at 4:00 P.M. I knew that combination of flashing indicated a burned out bulb. I called Kyle and went to work looking for the spare bulb.

Kyle arrived and pulled the projector off the ceiling. I found the spare bulb , unpackaged it but couldn’t get it to fit into the projector. It was the right bulb but was missing a small plastic piece. Kyle did some switching of housing and got the new bulb to fit into the projector. He hit the ‘on’ button and waited. Nothing but the red and yellow flashing indicator of death. The bulb was defective! I cussed under my breath. That was the last time I purchased a bulb from Ebay. Yes, I saved money on the purchase but lost out in the end.
“You get what you pay for,” I was told by more than one person in the room. You know, being responsible for the Space Center really sucks sometimes. Its really bad when you have a simulator without a main viewer and a 15 person party waiting in the lobby for their mission. In situations like this you rely on your fantastic staff. I starting reassigning people.
Taylor took over for Rachel in the Galileo.
Rachel took over for Emily in the Odyssey.
Emily started the Voyager and we switched the Magellan crew into the open Voyager. That solved that problem. Then I had to deal with the Magellan crews on Saturday and Monday.

In the end all groups but one were reassigned to the Voyager. The one group that I couldn’t rebook came on Saturday and flew a Main Viewerless Magellan at 2:00 P.M. It was a 40th birthday party. I gave the group a 50% discount. I believe they had a good time.

I ordered a brand new bulb. It will e delivered on Monday or Tuesday. Wow bulbs are expensive. Nearly $500!! This place costs a lot of money to run.

Star Trek Laughs and Woes
We went to see the new Star Trek movie Saturday evening at Thanksgiving Point. My sister Jilane and her husband came along. My mother wanted to come as well although she knows nothing about Star Trek. She likes getting out of the house. I laughed when she called me at the Space Center.
“Can I come to that Space Battle ...... ah....Star Wars movie you’re going to today?”
“Mother, its called Star Trek. Yes you can come as long as you behave and refrain from talking to me during the movie. Remember, this will be a religious experience for me and all the other Trekkers in the theater so I’ll trust you’ll be on your best behavior.”
Mother agreed to be good. I actually enjoy taking her to the movies. She buys the drinks and popcorn for everyone. Then on the way home we get to review the movie as we explain the plot and characters to her. She can get a bit lost with the digital sound and pictures, not to mention the jerky camera movement they use these days.

I gave mother the seat at the end of the row. Its easier for her to get out to use the restroom halfway through the show. Bradyn L., Spencer D., and my nephew Brock occupied the end of our row. Spencer D came in after we were all seated. He rushed to the theater after his Voyager mission.
He warned me he was going to do something stupid. He didn’t disappoint.
He came into the theater wearing somebody’s nerd glasses and a pointed aluminum foil cap fashioned after the ones the kids wore in the ‘Signs’ movie. We had a good laugh. He has no fear of people. That is a real sign of someone very confident of himself. I admire that.

OK, what did I think of the movie? Well, I ‘ll start by warning everyone that I will be talking about the plot so if you haven’t seen the move and don’t want me to ruin it for you then stop reading now.

I’m going to go through the movie point by point. If you disagree let me know.
1. The USS Keplar scene. OK. Good effects but I don’t like the jerky camera.
2. I’m sick to death of the time travel trick Star Trek uses to change history or bring back characters from the original series. Enough is enough.
3. Having said that, I like the feel of this new incarnation of Star Trek in a timeline change.
4. Young Jim Kirk and Spock are very well done.
5. Problem 1. Why are they building a Star Ship in Iowa?
6. Problem 2. Why are they holding a disciplinary hearing for Jim Kirk in front of the entire student body of StarFleet Academy?
7. Great job with Dr. McCoy.
8. Problem 3. Why do Academy Cadets need to staff the starships leaving for Vulcan? Going along for experience? Perhaps but wouldn’t the ships be staffed by members of the fleet?
9. Problem 4. Was it just be or was travel time to Vulcan done in minutes?
10. Problem 5. The Enterprise got behind the rest of the fleet by a minute or two because Sulu forgot to turn on something. Yet when they arrived at Vulcan the entire fleet was destroyed. Now, how did that happen when they were a couple minutes behind the fleet in take off?
11. Problem 6. WHERE ARE VULCAN’S DEFENSES? Doesn’t the mighty planet Vulcan have planetary defenses? Why are Vulcan’s just sitting there while their planet is getting gored by the drill beam? If they can’t fight then why aren’t they evacuating their planet?
12. If Jim Kirk and Sulu can disable the drill beam with machine guns why couldn’t one photon torpedo fired by anything on Vulcan do the same?
13. Good trick Chekov used to beam them while at speed.
14. Problem 7. WHAT THE HECK IS THE RED LIQUID AND HOW CAN A DROP OF THIS CREATE A BLACK HOLE. COME ON FOLKS. I KNOW ITS SCI FI BUT THIS IS SCI FI AND FANTASY. TOO MUCH.
15. Once they realized the planet was lost why didn’t the Enterprise start beaming hundreds and hundreds of Vulcans into the ship?
16. They said only 10,000 or so Vulcans were left in the universe. Where are the Vulcan starships, cargo ships, embassies, students at off planet universities, tourists, etc etc etc. There should be a lot more than that!
17. The Enterprise was at warp speed when Spock and Jim fought. At the end of the fight Spock ordered Jim into a life pod and ejected off the ship onto another world. Now remember, they got to Vulcan in a manner of minutes from Earth and yet Jim Kirk was ejected onto a moon of Vulcan! How do I know? Well, it shows Spock watching Vulcan get swallowed into the black hole from the moon.
18. Too convenient to have Jim Kirk meet Spock in a snow cave on a moon
19. Laughable to use an equation just presented to Scotty by Spock and have him use that equation to beam Jim and Scotty back to the Enterprise while it travels away from them at warp speed. What were the writer’s thinking? Come on, up until then they kept people to
“Stand Still” before beaming.
20. Problem 7. They figured out how to turn off Earth’s defenses from Capt. Pike? What a crappy planetary defense system if one starship captain knows enough to have it shut completely down! Laughable.
21. Again, the drill starts drilling in San Fransico Bay. Surely somewhere on Earth there must still be an F15 fighter with a sidewinder missile that could take out that drill? Come on!
22. They send only 2 into the Romulan ship? Why not an entire attack force? Where are the Seals?

OK, that’s enough. Multiple plot holes.
Did I like the movie. Yes, very much. I just wish the writers would give their audience some credit for intelligence. All of these things could have been taken care of with some thought and imagination.

Should you go see it if you haven’t? YES. I really hope they start a new television series or at least several new movies.

Take Care Troops,
Have a great week.

Mr. Williamson