The Troubadour

Monday, October 22, 2012

October is Nearly Gone. Have I Forgotten How to Start A Ship? And the Imaginarium.

Someone asked me what I do in my spare time now that the Space Center

is closed. Well, I've found a new hobby!

I'll be at Lindon's Walmart Friday evening if anyone wants to join in the fun.

Hello Troops,

October is nearly gone. The Space Center has been closed for nearly three months. I can't believe the last time I flew a mission was May 30! I'm worried I may forget how to start and run a simulator. Let's see,

1. Unlock the Voyager
2. Turn on the lights
3. Start my computer, then the sound system and the two sound effect computers
4. Turn on the powered amp.
5. Start the 2FX computer.
6. Start the five DVD players and the Tactical computer.
7. Turn on the lights in Decontamination. Turn on the backlit panels.
8. Load the correct programming on the Flight and 2FX computers.
9. Load the correct flight program on the tactical.
10. Run to the Bridge, start the Records and Science computers.
11. Start the right Security Computer, then slide the plastic away from the
       left Security Computer and start it. Slide the plastic back.
12. Start the four computers on the Left Wing.
13. Start the First Officer's computer.
14. Start the four computers on the Right Wing.
15. Start the Engineering Computer. Turn on the Iso Chip light.
16. Start the Telephone and Long Range Computer.
17. Turn on the Borg Lamp. Turn on the two side lamps
18. Run back to the Control Room and do a Log In. Hit the Log In button one
   million times.
19. Do a Log On at the 2FX station and Tactical Stations.
20. Test the sound effects. Load the correct music. Check the background
   engine sounds.
21. Back to the Bridge to hit the Log On Screens for every computer.
22. Back to the Control Room to do a System Reset, then Flash all the screens.
23. Test the mic and the vocal mixer.
24. Vacuum if necessary.
25. Check the Crew Quarters. Do a quick bathroom clean if necessary.
   Straighten the sheets on the beds if necessary.

AND I'M DONE. There, I think I'm still OK. I'm not as rusty as I thought. I dare any of the Voyager Staff to look over the list and tell me if I've forgotten anything.....wait.

26. Get the Iso Chips in their right configuration.

There. I dare the Voyager staff to find something I've forgotten.

Have a Great Day Troops, and enjoy a quick walk through the today's Imaginarium.

Mr. W.

Fast Food Movies

An A for Creativity!

A B

I'm a B person. You should see my fingers fly across a 10 keypad.

Ask any of my staff. Careful though, they may get lightheaded as they

describe the spectacle. I'm just that fast!

Alternate versions of the Harry Potter movie posters here in the

Imaginarium.

"Not very good," NASA responds.

See what a McDonalds can be? Yes this is really a McDonalds

with a bit of imagination.

I curse gravity all the time when I trip on my untied shoelaces.

Imagination: A

What a unique bike lock up.

I'm sure I've seen this problem in the 6th grade math books.

Yes, this new math is just like this!

Please tell me where I can buy this. I'm going to go around my

neighborhood late at night and put them on all my neighbor's minivans

displaying the "other" version.

Somebody has found himself in the wrong neighborhood.

I'm convinced you'd still sell some of these because we

all know there is one born every minute.

And finally, how about an imaginative Halloween?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

What the Space Center Did for Me

The Original Voyager Captain and First Officer's Station. 1990

The Voyager Captain and First Officer's Station after the first remodel. 1995

The Current Voyager Bridge looking at the Captain's Station. 2012

Hello Troops,

"Save the Space Center" is the name of a new Facebook site sponsored by Brent Anderson and David Kyle Herring, both former employees of the Space Center and long time supporters!

"It's been nearly three months since the Space Center closed for renovations, and as far as we know nothing has been done," David Kyle explained on the Facebook page.

I appreciate the sentiment and enthuasim so many of you have shown toward the Space Center. Remember, the school district has a difficult decision to make between three options:

1. Spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the Space Center and bring it completely up
   to current codes. The district was planning on building a new Space Center on a vacant lot to the
     north of Central School in 2019. Does it make sense to spend so much money now, only to build
   a new Space Center building in a few years?
2. Close the Center now, save the renovation money and put it towards the new Space Center
   building. This plan would also move the new building ahead a few years.
3. Close the Space Center completely. An option on the table but not favored by the vast majority
   of district's administrators and board members.

A decision this important takes time. Imagine the large amount of data that must be gathered, especially when talking about thousands and perhaps millions of tax payer dollars! I have a meeting with the district's administrator over the Space Center on Tuesday. Hopefully she will have the district's decision. Teachers, students, Space Center staff and volunteers can then plan accordingly.

I'd like to share a post written by Brent Anderson and taken from the Facebook page. In this post, Brent explains how the Space Center affected his life.

Please visit Save the Space Center on Facebook and like the page. For more information about the Space Center and its unique mission, visit SpaceCampUtah.org.

The Space Center

by Brent Anderson

I first attended the Space Center at age 10 and was amazed to discover that as a child I could make a difference. I was so influenced by the Center that, after being rejected 3 times for a volunteer position, I decided at age 13 to franchise the place and started finding advisors to help me in my endeavor. When I approached Mr. Williamson with my proposal to create a new, standalone center, he suggested I work there instead. As I left that meeting, I whispered to myself, “Well, here’s to the first day of the rest of my life!”

Over the next 6 years, I not only found an outlet for thousands of volunteer service hours, I was blessed to learn computer programming, networking, databases, web development, information security, 2d and 3d animation, photoshop, and countless other skills in a flexible and safe environment. I was able to give back with these skills in various volunteer classes, working with students who have since gone on to achieve great things in engineering, math, and science. I personally used these skills to start companies, develop a computer programming and information systems consultancy, become self-reliant, and continue to give back on a local, national, and even global scale through software I have developed and sold internationally, and personal contributions to open source software projects used around the globe. I have participated in state-sponsored security presentations, a university lecture series, and even served as a client and judicator for BYU Electrical Engineering Capstone projects - all because of the Space Center. And I’m only 23.

Without the Space Center, my life would be dramatically different. I don’t think I would have had the skills or experience necessary to start companies, to develop mobile apps, to win scholarships in high school, or to receive the State Sterling Scholar in Business award. I wouldn’t have had the exposure to countless contacts in business and industry that have proven very valuable to my business and my clients. The Space Center changed my life forever and for great good, helping me to reach beyond your “average” teenage and young adult experiences and instead to excel and discover the value and importance of volunteerism, of service, and of education.

My dream is to help the Space Center be a permanent pillar of educational experiences in our own community and beyond, a place where students discover the difference they can make and catch a vision of what our world could be like. Simulation in education is an incredible thing, and for over 20 years the Space Center has delighted, inspired, and educated hundreds of thousands of patrons. Even if the profound impact of the Space Center was felt by just a fraction of these patrons, the overall force for good reaching out through changed lives and broadened minds is inestimable. No one can truly measure the number of lives touched by the Space Center and Mr. Williamson. This is why the Space Center is worth keeping, and why I feel an urgency to help make this refit and upgrade as fast, and efficient as possible - so that the Center, her director, and her staff can return to “practicing the discipline of wonder” and begin her next chapter in shaping and inspiring the minds and hearts of children, students, parents, and all patrons once more.

Friday, October 19, 2012

News, Ancient Picture of the Day, A Facebook Drive and The Imaginarium

Hello Troops,
There is an update on the Space Center's renovation. Check out the right side bar.....

I've got a great math class this year. They are good kids, fairly sharp, and quick witted. They enjoy a good anecdote served with side of sarcasm. They're quiet (mostly), get their work in on time, and enjoy listening to my "When I was your age...." stories. What more would a teacher want in a class? Mind you, their attentiveness to my stories may be a ruse to avoid classwork.

Today's Picture of the Day

This picture was taken in the mid 1990's in the Briefing Room (Space Center Office). A few things have changed in the Briefing Room.
1. Our picture of Christa McAuliffe hangs in the hallway today.
2. The "USS VOYAGER" sign above the white board was there because back
then, the Briefing Room was considered the Voyager's Briefing Room. It was
a part of the Voyager. Voyager crews used the Briefing Room for crew
meetings. Think of the Briefing Room as the Voyager Captain's Ready Room.
3. Pictures of the Space Center's staff were displayed on a bulitten board at the
front of the room.
4. This picture was taken at the end of an Overnight Camp.
   Back row staff: Dave Wall; Odyssey Set Director. Bill Schuler, still at the
   Space Center today. Me. Mark Daymont; current Magellan Flight Director
   and Space Center educator. Jason Hills, volunteer. Alan Steward (behind
   Jason) Space Center programmer. Stephen Porter; All around good guy
   and Supervisor.
   Front Row: Ryan Davis; volunteer. Luke Mattson; volunteer and Corbin
   Simmons; volunteer.
5. We had burgundy colored staff shirts.

Overnight Camps started at 5:00 P.M. Friday evenings and ended at 11:00 A.M. Saturday mornings. The campers went to bed at midnight and got up at 6:30 A.M. Campers enjoyed an all you can eat pizza supper on Friday nights after they were briefed on their missions and trained to fly their ships. The price of an Overnight Camp was $30.00. The Voyager and Odyssey were our only two ships. Things have changed, haven't they?

Space Center Facebook Page

Kyle Herring and Casey Voeks have opened a Space Center Facebook page. They would appreciated it if you would 'like' the page the next time you go to Facebook.

They are asking people to post their pictures of the Space Center and post stories of your Space Center experiences. They are afraid people will forget the Space Center if it is closed for an extended period of time. I told them that would never happen - not with our die hard fans!

The Imaginarium