It's Engineering Week. News from Utah's Top Engineering School

Hello Troops,
It's Engineering Week nationwide. Engineering students from coast to coast are celebrating the only way engineering students can - creatively.

Julie Anna is a volunteer at the Space Center and an engineering student at USU in Logan. I asked Julie to send regular updates for The Troubadour, realizing many of you may choose engineering as your career choice, and might like a glimpse into the world of an engineering student. Please take a moment to read and appreciate the field of engineering. Engineering is an expanding field that needs bright students like you.

Thanks Julie for taking the time to keep our readers updated on USU's activities.

Mr. W.

Report on Engineering Week. Utah State University

By
~Julie of the North

This is Julie of the North, special on site reporter for the Troubadour, reporting live from Utah State University. Today marks the opening day of Engineering Week, and it has been fabulous so far. Free breakfast consisting of muffins, bananas and milk was provided for all the brave souls willing to venture up to the third floor of the Engineering Building.

Throughout the day, massive amounts of ferrous fluid were found in the engineering atrium for all the engineers to experiment with, examine, and play with. Ferrous fluid is liquid that is magnetic. When it is introduced to a magnetic field the density of the liquid changes. The surface of the ferrous fluid provides an almost frictionless surface for magnets, so it is possible to sling magnets across a table incredibly fast. When I squirted ferrous fluid onto a magnet it formed spikes and interesting patterns. It is also possible to gather the ferrous fluid together and form a sort of gel with it due to the magnetic properties. When I touched these gel masses, they felt like gummy candies. The one bad thing about ferrous liquids is that they stain really badly, so there are many engineers wandering through the halls with brown spots on their hands and arms. I feel like I got turned into a Dalmatian.

The next stop for the day was going to my engineering class. I am taking Thermodynamics and we started learning about what happens when a gas or liquid is pushed through a chamber with inlets and outlets, like a nozzle or a turbine. Although classes aren’t always as much fun as some of the more social activities of an engineer, they teach us the building blocks in order to do what we do best, create and imagine. My classes remind me that engineering is a way of life, not just something fun every now and then. After class, I was treated to free Aggie ice cream, once again provided by the College of Engineering, and I got my favorite flavor, Aggie Blue Mint! For all of you down in Utah County who have never had Aggie Blue Mint, it is worth the trip to Logan just to eat it.

The day continued with club competitions. Today the competitions were Paper Tower sponsored by ASCE (American Society of Civil Engineers) and the Edible Car sponsored by ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). My roommate and I participated in both of them. The rules for the Paper Tower are that you get two Statesmans (the on-campus newspaper) and a yard of tape and you get to build for 10 minutes. There are prizes for the tallest tower and the most aesthetically pleasing. We made a pyramid shaped tower, but we ran out of paper before we could complete the pyramid, so our tower didn’t really support itself. Later, there were some engineers on the floor who were analyzing the structure of our tower, and they decided that if we had more paper, then it would have been an awesome structure.

We were going to make our car out of rice crispies, but we didn’t make it to the store, so we made it out of materials provided by ASME. We made the body of our car out of a carrot. We also carved axels out of carrots, but they were incredibly flimsy and started bending so we switched to pasta noodles instead. We used cookies for the wheels, life savers for supports, and gummy strawberries for the wheel caps. Our car completed the race in 3 seconds (which is somewhere between 3^rd and 4^th place), but we were most excited that our car actually survived the race to the finish line! Another cool feature about our carrot car, lovingly named Han Solo II (Han Solo I was made during last year’s engineering week, and didn’t survive out of the freezer), is that it is equally good upside down as it is right side up.

Tonight will be the first episode of nerds vs. zombies, an epic battle taking place inside the engineering buildings on campus. I will be sure to let you know all about it.

Happy Engineering Week! Make sure that you all do something nerdy to celebrate!

Tuesday, the Start of a New Week.

Hello Troops,
Well, we enjoyed our two day weekend and now its time to uniform up, grab our weapons and reengage ignorance from the trenches. Having too many days off can lead to psychosis with unrealistic visions of what life should be like. No, we have to work for a living like everyone else. So, back to the battle and don't even think for a minute our enemy is taking a holiday. While we were closed for two days, Ignorance reclaimed hundreds in Pleasant Grove alone - taken by the dark forces of mindless hours of television, video games and Facebooking.

Another good week lies ahead, and to start it off correctly, we need to ponder a few things.
First, let me remind many of you why you're in school. Without a good education you will find the following event cancelled.

And that means spending the rest of your life in jobs that won't fulfill you. Remember, you only live once. Make the most of what God has given. Get an education, then find someone that will pay you to follow your dreams. No small task indeed.


And finally, something amazing from the Imaginarium. This is a one man show extrordinaire.
You know, I'd bet with a bit of computer help from a friend or two you could pull this off.

Enjoy, and I'll see many of you in the trenches. I'll be the one hunkered down in the mud, next to the fire enjoying a can of pork and beans. Oh, and remind me to clean my glasses before we get orders to go over the top.

Mr. W.

Sunday's Sum Up

Hello Troops,
It's a snowy Sunday and I'm good with that because we have a two day weekend! You might be thinking my stating we had a "two day weekend" was odd considering most people have two day weekends (or at least two days off from work each week). Well, two day weekends are odd for those of us that work at the Space Center. We work six days a week, with Sundays our only dark day. So, those Monday holiday's that roll around once a month or so are blessings for us. They are reminders of how most people live. Please don't get me wrong, I enjoy what I do or I wouldn't be doing it, and I'm grateful I have work - especially work I love, but it is nice to experience life with two days off a week.

We had a fantastic overnight camp with awesome fifth graders from Cedar Ridge Elementary School. The kids were generous in their post camp survey praise, awarding perfect scores of 1 to the Odyssey and Galileo. Congratulations to the Odyssey for taking the much coveted "Director's Trophy" for the camp (the trophy given to each week to the simulator with the best scores from the campers). Adam was shocked to the point of shouting during our post camp meeting when the results were posted on the Discovery's white board. He thought he'd bombed.

And we also praise Christina and her staff of the Galileo. Although the two ships tied with perfect 1's, the Odyssey took the trophy because it takes 8 campers to the Galileo's 6. I'm compelled to apologise to Christine for the method used in posting the scores. I put the Galileo's scores on the board first, leaving all believing the Galileo took the trophy. I put the Odyssey's scores second to last. Adam shouted in disbelief as many cheered. Others booed because I'd led them to believe the Galileo had taken it. What can I say but "guilty".

I want to officially welcome Ashleigh to the Space Center. She is our newest volunteer. I also wanted to congratulate Jason F. on doing an awesome job as 'doctor' in the Odyssey on one of the Odyssey's Saturday missions. His character was played brilliantly.

The only bad news to report is the death of the Odyssey's new printer (new might not be an inappropriate term, I bought the printer on Ebay - hoping to save a buck or two). The printer gave up the ghost Saturday morning. It kept messaging that it was too busy to print the papers being fed to it from the Odyssey's Control Room. We checked the network cable - ok. We turned it off and on again, we reloaded the software, we did everything possible to bring it back to purpose but nothing worked. Its now been given a proper reward for its services. It sits in the dumpster at the back of the school. Another couple hundred dollars tossed down the gullet of that dumpster. I'll think twice about ordering printers from Ebay. Sometimes it isn't worth trying to go cheap. A lesson to be learned.

How about something cheerful? I'm not one for video games, even though many classify what we do at the Space Center is an elaborate video game. But I confess a weakness for Mario Kart. I tried other games and failed. Take Halo for example. I played it once in multiplayer mode. There were too many buttons on the controller to push and I got confused. My opponents took advantage of my handicap and took delight in slithering behind me and shooting me point blank in the back of the head as I struggled to back away from the rocky cliff. I just gave up.

Mario Kart is my one true video game weakness. I've played it on every system and became proficient enough to hold my own and occasionally come in third or fourth. So, imagine my delight when I found this new version of my beloved game.

I'd pay good hard earned American money to play this version of the game and have just the opponents in mind I'd like to play against.



And how about these selections from the Imaginarium?


This might be something to take to heart. Remember, the vast majority of people you interact with on a daily basis (except your mother) are not interested in your ponderings, so in a social situation remember the poster above. Think more and talk less.

This will help the next time you immerse yourself in that piece of fantasy. I'm wondering where we would find the Imaginarium. Suggestions?
The only other thing missing from this poster is Clovershire, home of my home away from home - Cloverdale.
Oh, I can't find South Dakota either. Yes, its my home state and deserves Fantasy status (I'd be careful if you're tempted to voice a contrary opinion, especially if you've never been to South Dakota - home of Mr. Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Badlands, Wall Drug, Devils Tower and the number one attraction - the guided tour of Mr. Williamson's childhood and teen haunts).

Finally, someone the dictators in the Middle East wish was on their side.

I'll see you in the trenches Troops. Enjoy your day off from school and try to do something constructive.

Mr. W.

An Email from a Friend of the Space Center.

Dear Mr. Williamson,

I had some spare time and I really like writing so I wrote this for you and your staff

When I look at the stars I think big of starships and warp-drives, places far away. Of Alpha and Delta, Beta and Gamma. I think of Romulans, Klingons and honor, Orion Pirates and Borg, The Federation and Starfleet. I think of war and peace,danger and death, cheers and silence,lies and threats. Of bombs and mines, explosions and radiation, chaos and racing against time. I think of Shadows, the best time of my life. I think of Guardians, the hardest decision of all. I think of the future as well as the past. But most of all I think of a dream, a spark of imagination... A reality.

Dedicated to the space center and it's wonderful staff.

Annika

I's Early Saturday Morning at Camp. Time for Bed.

It's 11:55 P.M. Our 45 fifth grade campers from Cedar Ridge are settling down for the night. I finished typing their Rank Certificates an hour ago. They sit on my desk top waiting to be signed. Pandora is playing the Enya channel as I type this last entry for Friday ( or the first for Saturday).

A few of the male staff are finishing up a game of cards in Discovery. The rest are finding places in the Magellan to unroll their sleeping bags and bed down for the night. The female staff are in the gym. Mrs. Houston prefers chaperoning in the gym. I prefer it that way as well. If the boys are in the Voyager and Odyssey, I get to sleep in front of my desk. It's quieter, meaning I might be able to squeeze a few more minutes for zzzzzzzzz's before waking up at 5:45 A.M. to get ready for my Saturday morning doughnut run to WalMart.

It's been an interesting and busy week at the Space Center. Mrs. Powell's father passed away at the beginning of the week, Emily contracted some strange flu that put her straight down. The rest of us managed to keep the ship afloat. We were short staffed so we survivors rolled up our sleeves and mucked in to get the job done. Thanks to all those that went the extra mile!

OK, Pandora is playing something resembling music - a collection of sour notes played by two or three winded bagpipes, although I can't be sure.

I think it's time to go to bed.

Mr. W.

What the Space Center Experience can do for a Kid

Hello Troops,
Although we don't see students this young, this photo pretty much sums up the experience for the vast majority of students who visit the Space Center. You hear it as they descend the stairs from the Voyager's bridge at the end of the mission...

"Dude that was so sick."
"I saved us."
"At the last second I ....."

I hear it all the time. Students explaining how they saved the ship from certain death. Students talking about how they pulled off the impossible with seconds to go. Students, put into situations that required them to think quickly, make decisions based on presented information, and held accountable for those decisions all agreeing that it was the best field trip ever. Students given the chance to be Superheros for the first time in their lives.

Yep, that's what we do.

See you in the trenches. There be more coming today. Not to mention our overnight camp with 45 students from Cedar Ridge and then a full slate of missions on Saturday. The weekend is upon us.

Mr. W.

P.S. Did you really think I'd let a post get by without something from the Imaginarium?

And Finally, Isn't this just about one of the coolest bridges you've seen? It demonstrates real imagination and creativity in design and function. I'd love to take the Battlestar over this at excessive speeds not recommended for causal driving. Going airborne over that last curve might get a bit dicey though....

Wednesday and All Hands on Deck!

Hello Troops,
We start today's news by offering our condolences to Sheila Powell on the death of her father yesterday.

Many of our staff and volunteers do not know Sheila. She is a field trip teacher working the A.M. session from 9:30 to 11:45 A.M. Sheila has been with us for three years now and does a fantastic job working with our visiting teachers and students.

Our thoughts are with you Sheila and we anxiously await your return to the classroom.

It's All Hands On Deck!

With Sheila absent the full duty of running the Space Center's classroom falls on Lorraine and Aleta. With Lorraine in the classroom full time we found ourselves short staffed in the simulators. I sent out the alarm yesterday for help and, true to the Space Center spirit, our staff rose to the occasion.

Aleta stayed for the full day, putting aside the work she had to do for scouts. Aleta will also be going the extra mile and helping with the extended field trip today.
Thanks Aleta!

Casey gave up much needed sleep (he works the graveyard shift at a local motel) to come in and help. Thanks Casey!

Ben came in to help even though it was a school day. Ben has the option of doing many of his high school lessons online. Thanks Ben!

Lorraine will be working exclusively in the classroom which is very difficult. The students aren't always well behaved and the repetition of doing everything (same lesson and star show)over and over again up to four times a day for 8 hours isn't good.
Thanks Lorraine!

Today we have double field trips (9:30 - 1:30 and 2:00 - 6:00). Everyone will be rolling up their sleeves to get the job done.

Here's a few thoughts for today.

Fresh ideas. It's what we are all about.

If you're wondering when is the best time to get things done. This is your answer.
This is so true. I remember as a young boy my depression era grandmother would take us to JB's Big Boy for lunch in Rapid City, South Dakota. She always put several of these things in her purse.
"You never know," I remember her saying.

Well, me for one sure enjoys my refrigerated air, but I see the point.

Have a great day Troops,

Mr. W.

Tuesday's Chatter

Hello Troops,

We had a good Monday. I want to thank Alex Anderson for coming in with no notice to fill in for poor Emily. While we enjoyed a sunny warm day, Emily was under a dark cloud. She looked like death warmed over and was promptly sent home. We're hoping for a speedy recovery. Casey and Ben volunteered to come in today to make sure we are properly staffed for the two large classes coming for a field trip.

This is another example of the quality of people that work and volunteer at the Space Center. They understand our Center is a community effort. Each of us stand side by side to provide our visiting students with an outstanding experience. And when a musket ball takes one of us down, another steps in to keep the line strong.

I appreciate the extra mile everyone gives.

How about a few items from the Imaginarium to get this day started right?

Apple can improve anything. Right? It's all in how its packaged and sold.

Another high school event sponsored by the "Whatever Club" ruined by members of the "Killjoys". Any other life long members out there besides me and Spencer Merryweather?

I thought for a moment what a perfect sticker this would make and distribute. Think of all the places you could leave one? How about sending one to that High Councilman who kept everyone in a stupor for forty minutes. How about sticking one on your parent's bathroom mirror after spending an hour or so with them, trapped in the car, as they reminisced about their childhood and the lessons they learned that you somehow are not getting?

Or what about sticking one on the forehead of the kid you were asked to babysit for an hour or so. You know the type, never stops talking about things that make no sense. Oh and mesmerizing you with her full doll collection with accessories.

But then I realized I'd be sure to find one or two or more left for me by my math class and decided against it.

Have a Great Day,
Mr. W.

The Outcasts and the Dreamers (From the Space Center's Archives)

Hello Troops,
John Martellaro wrote this article. It discusses Macs and PCs (a modern debate with a flavor of the Crusades) and introduces us to revolutionizing the mainstream by pushing the envelope - thus moving the establishment forward. Our work at the Center does just that. I enjoyed the article and encourage you to read it. Share your thoughts by commenting.

Mr. W.
P.S. Thanks Bill for bringing it to my attention.

Utopia Planitia
I recall the proposition by the science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) that the first starship will never be built by Earthlings. Heinlein maintained that only the children of the Lunar colonists or Martian colonists, having been born in space or Earth colonies, would have the vision to reach for the stars. Earthlings, on the other hand, would remain steadfastly mired in the mud of Earth politics - war, poverty, and taxes.

Heinlein doubted that the governments of Earth, having only an Earthly focus and
orientation will ever have the vision, courage, and money to build starships. Today, 37 years after the Apollo missions, we remain unprepared to make the commitment to building a space- faring infrastructure. Our first space station, the International Space Station (ISS), is not designed for the fabrication of additional space vessels in space. The Shuttle conducts routine tasks in low Earth orbit, but cannot even travel to the Moon and service a colony there. So how does this apply to computers?

The point here is that one can seldom make a quantum leap by being absorbed into the mainstream. Innovation, by definition, means something out of the ordinary. Maureen Dowd wrote in the New York Times, January 21, 1998, "Actually, Microsoft has been a force for greed in the economy, more brilliant at marketing and purloining and crushing than it has been at innovating." (Note: I will, generally, in this column, follow the company line set by Steve Jobs: Apple must succeed by building brilliant products, not by insisting that Microsoft is the enemy and must lose for Apple to win.) But I quote Ms.Dowd to make the point that if the general culture is moving in one direction, then it is almost surely due to human nature and human foibles. On the other hand, the people who have made the most impact on our culture, for the good of mankind, have almost always been courageous outcasts and renegades. Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Madam Currie, George Patton, Amelia Earhart, Harry Truman, just to name a few at random.

So if you are part of the mainstream, then you have been absorbed into what every one else is doing. (The whole point on Apple's 1984 commercial.) By default, you will always see things their way. You can never make a contribution to the group as a whole by giving up your individuality and going along with the group. You wear the blinders of the group. You care only for the passions of the group. But to step outside is to see the group in perspective.

Robert Heinlein saw the same effect in the governments of the world attitude towards space travel. (In his day, a slide rule and space travel were the absorbing interest of young scientists. Today, computers seem to have taken over that preoccupation.) He predicted that only those pioneers who left the Earth would be tough enough and
courageous enough to build a space-faring infrastructure.

To all those people who say, "Microsoft has won the war. Give in and go with the flow," we say, "You should go about your business. Those of us who work with the MacOS (and BeOS, Unix, and Linux) are the outcasts and the dreamers. We will pave the way with a different way of thinking and a different agenda. We want our freedom to create, and we enjoy the excellence of our systems. We will remain steadfastly on the outside while we invent the future."

If the time ever does come when technology enables us to leave the planet and build
a homestead on the Moon, Titan or Mars, you can bet that it will also be the renegades and outcasts that will be first in line to leave. The rest of mankind will remain, dwelling on the Green Hills of Earth, content to stay at home and be satisfied with what everyone else is doing.

Space Center Stories from the Past. November 5, 2006

Space Center Journal
November 5, 2006

________________________________________________________

Kids Comments

Every morning I stand at the top of the spiral staircase waiting for crews to make their climb to the bridge. Every morning I get the same response. Overwhelmed and unbridled joy is the only way I can describe it.

"Wow, this is Star Trek," a boy said this week as he stopped two steps from me and dissected every part of the bridge with his eyes. He was holding up the line. I stepped forward, pulled him toward me and asked for his Boarding Pass. I got the glazed
look.

"Your Boarding Pass," I asked again. It was produced and taken. I showed him where to sit. He moved one step and stopped, "Chad, this is sooo cool. It's Star Trek," he
exclaimed. I'm not sure who Chad was for no one responded, perhaps Chad was at the bottom of the steps unable to move because of the blockage caused by this young admirer.

Later in the week we had another crew overcome by the experience. During the 'Cry
From the Dark' asteroid sequence a boy at Left Wing Power jumped out of his chair as the Captain was shouting "Thrusters! Use the Thrusters!" and the alarms rang.

"My heart is beating so fast I can't stand it. It is going to pop out of my chest! THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER!" he shouted so all could here. That young man gave this old teacher a moment of pure satisfaction. Stacy and I looked at each other in the Control Room and grinned.

"Now that is what I'm talking about," I said as I prepared to take the crew deeper and
deeper into my web. At the end of the mission the Engineer stopped and looked at the bridge one last time. You could see he was reluctant to leave.

"Are you coming," the teacher asked.

"This is the best field trip in the whole world," he pronounced. "It was so exciting my
heart still won't stop beating."

Friends, this is what is being said about what we do. We tell stories that will never be forgotten. These children will take this experience with them to the grave. It will be a story they will tell and retell for years to come. It will be their story of courage and bravery against overwhelming odds.

Before their visit to the Center, courage and bravery are things they've only read about in books and seen in movies. Now, they experienced it first hand and are alive to tell the tale to unsuspecting parents waiting at home. Friends, It Is Magic. Don't you fell awesome to be a part of this?

Is It Chocolate?

Last week I was on the bridge doing what I do - calming the excited and showing them where to sit. Halfway through placing the morning class I noticed a young man standing beside me. It was someone I'd met at the beginning of the line and instructed to sit at the Record's Station. He had the hood of his hoodie up and had his hands cupped in front of his mouth.

"Sir," he said quietly. I usually don't allow interruptions during the seating of a class. If I do I'm bombarded with questions about the set, the decor, and how one's job is to be performed. I felt him getting closer to me. "Sir," he said again. His voice was urgent. I stopped the line and turned to help him. I saw two large eyes looking up at me from the shadows of hood. The boy had his hands to his face. I noticed his mouth was covered with something brown.

"Chocolate?" I wondered. "Doesn't this boy know how to eat? He spread chocolate all over his face. What a mess." I looked into his cupped hands. Brown also. "I'm throwing up," he said spitting onto his palms. There is nothing that gets a big guy like me moving faster then those words. I sprang into action reaching for the trash can at the First Officer's Station. I set him down on the Security platform with the can between his legs. A box of kleenex was luckily available. A quick examination of the carpet and his uniform gave relief. We caught the eruption in time.

For many of our campers walking up to the bridge is overwhelming. To us - nothing.
To them this is something quite frightening. It is one thing to play a video game but to be completely immersed into a game is something different. The two most spoken
responses to seeing the Voyager's Bridge for the first time are, "This is so cool," and
"This is so scary."

Metta's Workout

Last week we had our share of surprises. On Thursday the visiting school arrived with
35 in each class. Teachers are instructed to notify me if their class size is larger than 32 so we can have the Galileo ready to accommodate the large numbers. This teacher
neglected to do so and was apologetic. The apology was welcome but we still faced the same problem. Would there be enough staff. Stacy was needed to fly the Phoenix. With Aleta home, recovering from surgery, that left Metta and I in the Voyager. The
working schedule showed it was an A day for our high school interns. Casey was due in so the catastrophe was avoided.

Training and briefing was finished. I gave my `blast off' speech and left the bridge at
10:35 A.M. I walked into the Control Room expecting to see Metta and Casey . I
walked into the Control Room finding Metta alone at the helm. I sent Metta to
Discovery to ask Lorraine to come in and help us as soon as she had the morning class to lunch. Lorraine's help would save us for the last ten minutes of the mission but what about the other fifty?

Metta understood what was being asked of her. We sprang into action. I did everything I could as Tex to verbally help kids struggling at their stations. Metta
ran back and forth between the Bridge and the Control Room doing both jobs. Luckily she knew the mission well enough to know when she was free for a minute or two to help the kids. I also used the Captain and First Officers as Bridge helpers. The
Captain moved around the bridge solving problems as they arose with me talking him through them in his ear.

Near the end of the mission Casey arrived. He was late due to illness. He ran up to the
bridge. With him in place I was able to speed up the mission. The students finished the flight.

Metta was fantastic and earned her title of `Miracle Worker'.

We Survived. And Now, the Weekend.

Hello Troops,
What an awesome staff!
Earlier this week I wrote about the perfect storm due to hit the Center on Wednesday and Thursday. It came, we stood firm and it blew through without so much as a single sail ripped from the Voyager's masts.

The wind started picking up around 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, quickly followed by sheets of nearly vertical rain. The boiling gray ocean threw itself against the Center's hull. We felt the deck give way beneath our feet, tossing us like rag dolls port side and nearly over the banister into certain death. The ship pulled itself from the brink, straighted out long enough for us to get our footing and bunker down for 48 hours of unrelenting turbulence. The alert was sounded and it was all hands on deck.
My thanks to everyone for their efforts, especially Lorraine and Sheila in the classroom and everyone in the simulators. Our work was appreciated by our visitors.
We gave them near perfect performances (near perfect because I wasn't running every mission ;)

So, as a reward for two days of going above and beyond, I present a bit of fun to help us unwind and relax for the overnight camp tonight and a full slate of missions and classes tomorrow.

Enjoy,

Mr. W.

Horror flicks on Planet Zlob. Bleck finds the sight of humans so disgusting he hides behind the Concession Stand to avoid looking at them.

Moss is the poster child for all IT nerds. I know many of the Space Center staff love the British comedy "The IT Crowd". If you haven't seen it, I suggest you give it a try.

The Empire is looking for a few good Clones! Join Today and Save the Empire from the Rebel Alliance. (We sound do a poster like this for the Orion Pirates with Bill as Mad Dog in the place of Darth Vader).

A quiet moment as dad leaves for work.

They are out there, many lurking in the nation's graveyards waiting and watching for the unsuspecting teenagers out looking for a good time in what they think is a deserted place (for you Dr. Who fans).

And finally, a quick stop on the way home from work for a coffee and a warm sticky bun. Join us the next time you're in town.

And finally a 'steam driven' retro computer. Wouldn't you like one of these sitting on your desk at work or home?

Pure Imagination

Insanity or Imagination? Don't know, but wouldn't you rather see this rolling through your neighborhood than the 100 or so identical unremarkable minivans that bland our countryside?

And yes, I'd love to have the Addams Family as neighbors

Imagination is the guiding force practiced by those of us with the good fortune to be employed at the Space Center. It is the intoxicant that drives us day by day to motivate students to look beyond the here and now and gaze into the world of what may be through hard work, education and the spark of imagination, the very thing that makes us human.

Imaginists (my word for those of us that dabble in the art if imagination) toil to nourish the sense of wonder that provides the rich soil from which imagination grows. The fruits of which are seen all around us in our creations and the creations of our fellow travellers through this mortal sphere.

I challenge you to do every assignment in school and work creatively. Do it differently than anyone else. Put a bit of yourself into every task. Suddenly you'll find yourself standing out of the crowd. Opportunities will come because you took the risk to shake up the norms.

Of course, sometimes you'll fail. I'm use to flops. I'll take them any day over the mind numbing repetition of doing everything exactly like everyone else. I'll take the risks and the flops to create something from time to time that garners applause - but more importantly, something I can be proud of and unique to me.

So, to sum everything up, I challenge you to live your life so that you can say on occasion, "I did that".
That's the power of imagination.

Today I'd like to pay tribute to the creative work of certain individuals who have inspired my sense of wonder. Please sit back and partake in a feast of Pure Imagination.

Simply,
Mr. W.

A Test of Wills

Hello Troops,
Today will be a true test of our ability to juggle multiple events at once. Some might say we stand ready to challenge a perfect storm without regard for life or limb, yet here we stand - ready for whatever may come.

The following events are swirling in the darkest of clouds over head.

1. We have our normal field trip from 9:30 - 1:30. One of the classes will be 35 students. This requires a full teaching staff and four simulators.
2. We have another 2 classes coming for a field trip from 2:00 - 6:00 P.M. Again, the staff will be staying late to accommodate this extra field trip.
3. Central Elementary has parent teacher conferences today between 4:00 and 7:30 P.M. The halls will be choked with parents and students.
4. Mr. Schuler finishes his Aviation Merit Badge Class tonight starting at 5:30 P.M.
5. Mrs. Clegg will be starting her Nuclear Science Merit Badge Class tonight at 6:30 P.M. This will prove to be interesting because both merit badge classes and the field trip require the Discovery Room. How we will juggle that is yet to be determined.
6. Another concern is keeping children from crawling all over the Galileo in the Lunchroom. Several teacher hold their conferences in the lunchroom. Their children run loose while their parents talk, and of course, the Galileo is a child magnet. They are drawn to it like flies to fire.
7. Another concern is keeping children away from the Starlab Dome while we teach the Starlab lesson to the field trips. I'll have to post guards at the Galileo and the Starlab.

The wind is blowing and clouds swirl overhead. But, never fear, we are the staff of the Space Center. We will prevail as we always do because we are good, adaptable and flexible. It's that simple.

Thanks Troops for the extra effort today and tomorrow will require.

Mr. W.

Classroom Discipline. The Key to Success

Commentary
February 06, 2011
Fix Education Now!
By Brad Fregger

Every time I hear the President say something like "The goal of the administration is to assure that every child has access to a complete and comprehensive education, from the day they are born to the day they begin their career" (State of the Union, 2009), I wonder why it's taking so long.

Later (March 2010), Obama expanded on his theme:

In pockets of excellence across this country we're seeing what children from all walks of life can and will achieve when we set high standards[.] ... [But] politics and ideology have too often trumped our progress.

Obama blames the Democrats for opposing extra pay for teaching excellence and the Republicans for opposing funding for early childhood education. He honestly believes that if our education dollars are spent how he chooses to spend them, then the problem will be solved.

While these solutions might be worth trying once the major problem is addressed, as solutions of first choice, they fail miserably. Obama seems to understand this; in his 2011 State of the Union, he said this:

As many as a quarter of our students aren't even finishing high school. ... And so the question is whether all of us -- as citizens, and as parents -- are willing to do what's necessary to give every child a chance to succeed. That responsibility begins not in our classrooms, but in our homes and communities. It's family that first instills the love of learning in a child.

Bottom line: if Obama's proposals fail, it's the parents' fault.

When it comes to education, this administration, along with education elites, is ignoring the elephant in the room: the absence of classroom discipline. Teachers lack adequate authority to establish and maintain an orderly atmosphere where learning can happen. The result is that too often, students are not being provided "access to a complete and comprehensive education."

Let's shine a light on two "pockets of excellence" where our children are receiving exceptional educations.


The first story was shared by a friend, Sue (not her real name), who had two children in school in a relatively poor section of Tacoma, Washington, where 77 percent of the children were from families receiving government assistance. Sue was concerned about her son, who was having difficulty learning to read. She volunteered as a teaching assistant in a variety of the school's classes.

Sue moved to a different neighborhood the next year, where 48 percent of the children were on public assistance. The major difference in the demographics of the two neighborhoods was that the initial school had 40 percent minorities, while the new school had only 10 percent.

After Sue's children had been in the new school for about a year, I called to see how things were going, especially regarding her son's reading.

He's doing great ... What made the difference was the amount of classroom time a teacher has to spend on discipline. Previously the time spent on discipline was, conservatively, at least 70 percent. In their new school, not one minute of class time is ever spent on discipline. And that has made all the difference in the world.

The children in Sue's new school are getting three times the education just because discipline is under control.

What might be the result if total discipline was established in a class of low-performing minority students from families subsisting on government assistance?

That question was answered when my "adopted" grandson, Adnan Barqawi, was offered the opportunity to spend two years in the "Teach for America" program.

Adnan is an extraordinary young man, a Palestinian Arab who immigrated to the U.S. at seventeen to attend Virginia Tech, joined the Corps of Cadets, and then rose to be regimental commander of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (the first Muslim ever to lead a university ROTC program). After graduating with honors and many awards, Adnan received his U.S. citizenship and gave the keynote address at the 2009 Virginia Republican Convention. He aspires to become a U.S. senator from Virginia.

Adnan was sent to a school in Marianna, Arkansas, where over 90 percent of the students in his fifth-grade class are from families on government assistance. His first impression upon entering the classroom was one of complete chaos. He struggled with a solution and finally decided to install the same discipline that he had learned in the Virginia Tech Corp of Cadets. Everyone was expected to say, "Good Morning, Mr. Barqawi" when they arrived and have their homework completed by class time. If they didn't, they had to sit on the floor; desks were reserved for students who had completed their work. Adnan accepted no excuses. Discipline in his classroom was maintained, period.

That first fifth-grade class started out at a second-grade reading level, scoring in the low 30th percentile for fifth grades statewide. When the 2009 fall semester was completed, the class average was in the 90th percentile, and all of the students were reading close to grade level or above. This was a phenomenal accomplishment, to be overshadowed only by the achievement of Adnan's fall 2010 fifth-grade class.

This class started out with the same issues as the previous class. However, this time around, Adnan was limited to teaching science and math subjects. In Arkansas, all fifth-grade students take a state-administrated science proficiency exam. Adnan's class average score for this statewide exam was 97.5 percent, the top fifth-grade class in the entire state.

This does not happen by accident. It demands everything President Obama mentioned: "high standards," "high expectations," and providing every student with a "complete and comprehensive education." However, Adnan will tell you, none of this is possible until discipline is established.

Why do we, as a nation, allow this situation to continue? The main problem lies with the education elites, who are too focused on their "ideology" and not on the reality of what goes on in many classrooms across America.

Adnan's solution is simple but firm. Initially, the students are hesitant to go up against their new teacher, and it is at this time that Adnan lays down the rules for being a student in his classroom. He is very careful to explain that it is to the students' advantage and for the sake of their future that he demands their commitment to this level of discipline. Within a week or two, the students are already seeing results and have accepted fully that Adnan is committed to their success.

In two years and three classes, Adnan has not run into a child he couldn't reach. Every one of his students has come around and ended up excelling, including one student who held a loaded gun to Adnan's head the first day of class. But that's a story for another time.

Solving the educational crisis in America involves a paradigm shift in the thinking of the administration and the educational elites. Until they acknowledge this elephant in the room and deal with it, our classrooms can never be the conducive environments for learning that our children need to excel. Let's give back to our teachers the authority to establish and maintain discipline in the classroom. Let's fix education now!

Pleasant Grove High School's Phantom of the Opera

Hey everyone, this is Adam (Odyssey Flight Director)

Some of you might have noticed that I haven't been at the Space Center much lately, and that is because I am currently a part of Pleasant Grove High School's production of The Phantom of the Opera. I'm writing this to hopefully get you people who read the blog to come and see the production. You can buy tickets at PGHS in the finance office, or at the show before it starts. If you are planning on buying tickets at the show I suggest you be there very early (like 6:00ish) because we could sell out. Tickets are only $5 for kids, $6 for students, and $7 for adults. The show has already been going for a week and will continue on through this next week (Feb 7-12). The show starts every night at 7:00 p.m. in the PGHS auditorium. It truly is an incredibly magnificent production and I hope to see all of you there!

Thanks

Adam

A Monday. For Some Wow! For Others Nooooooo.

Hello Troops,
Just about to leave for the Space Center. Thought I share a few things to get the week off right.
It's a busy week at the Center. We have double schools (field trips that go from 9:30 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.) on Wednesday and Thursday. I've got SEP parent conferences on Wed. and Thur and our 9:30 - 1:30 field trips on Wed - Fri all have about 35 kids in each class meaning all four simulators will be in use. Yep, a busy week.

Now this is what I call dreaming big.

And this one gets the Monday Imagination Award. Clever and worthy of a mention

And finally, I present the sad story of Kade the Koala. He once had a beautiful wife (Koala Anderson), nice sports car, hugh house... And now? Only an apple and cold concrete beneath him. It could be any one of us sitting there in his place except for the Grace of God. Let Kade's story of greed, ambition, love and loss at any cost be a lesson to us all.

Perhaps you should bring an apple to the Space Center for Kade when you come in to work or volunteer. I'm thinking we will call this new charity drive Kade Kare. Your Thoughts?

Mr. W.

Bracken's Amazing Shot

Hello Troops,
Bracken Funk is one of the Space Center's amazing Flight Directors currently going to school and playing basketball for Fresno State in California. He sent me the video below on Friday. Yes, he is amazing. Just what you would expect from a Space Center employee.

Bracken will lead this summer's Leadership Camp for our 14-17 year olds. Be sure to register. Summer camp registrations are underway for anyone 10 to 17 years old.

Mr. Williamson

The End of a Friday......

The Younglings from Rocky Mountain Elementary are down for the night. The staff and volunteers have either gone home or are in their sleeping bags winding down from several hours in the simulators. I'm at my desk writing this blog post while I consider hitting the sack myself. The kids have been really good - which is a blessing for us. We have exactly 23 boys and 23 girls on this camp. It's not often we get a perfect balance.

I just looked outside. The ground is dusted with newly fallen snow. More is falling, but only visible in the street lamp's light. I'll have to brush the snow off the Battlestar before leaving at 6:05 A.M. to pick up the morning's donuts at WalMart. We're out of M and M's (our patented Magic Medicine for everything from Denebian Slime Devil bites to excessive solar radiation to third degree phaser burns and disfiguring transporter malfunctions). I've got to remember to pick up a bag or two during my morning donut run.

This room I'm in doesn't have heat so the temperature hovers in the mid 60's for most of the day and lower 60's at night. I brought an extra blanket, having learned my lesson by shivering all night long on last week's camp. Speaking of the cold, before going to bed I need to push the override button for the gym heating system. Mrs. Houston tells me that the heating shuts off at midnight unless I do.

In 12 hours or so our Super Saturday will start. It ends at 5:00 P.M. For myself, and many of the staff, our one day weekend begins when we hear the final latch engage on the school's front doors when the last person leaves the building at 5:30 P.M. I feel a rush of accomplishment, having put in another long week as I drive home listening to A Prairie Home Companion on the Battlestar's radio. Those darn folks from Lake Woebegon are a hoot, don't ya know.

Now let's be honest....... Don't you wish you were here with us right now and not in your warm bed at home?

Time to collapse on my pad with two blankets, and dream of epic battles in the Orion Cluster.......

Mr. W.

Friday's Considerations at the Imaginarium

A full day's cycle from night to day

Hello Troops,
It's Friday and we're off to the races. "A Cry from the Dark" is on the agenda for Windor's fifth graders. Rocky Mountain Elementary's students will make up our crew for the Overnight Camp, then a Super Saturday on Saturday. It is a busy weekend - just the way we like it at the Space Center.

Just a few items for your consideration as we get the weekend off to a good start.

Am I the only one who's noticed the dark clouds of gloom and doom hovering over so many people's heads in Utah? My desk is located at the crossroads of three of our five simulators at the Space Center, so I get to listen to people from every part of the State, along with my own staff and the staff of Central School. Many tell me of their premonitions of impending doom. They feel the Apocalypse is nigh. They see the writing on the wall.

"There has never been so much unrest in the world," I've heard some say (funny, but they've forgotten both world wars).
"Have you noticed the strange weather, just as foretold," others say (funny, but have they forgotten the dust bowl of the 30's? Just to name one example).

I return their worried look to mirror what they're saying, but deep inside of me their fear isn't taking root. Why, you may ask. Am I not a believer in the Mayan Calendar? Do I believe revelation? Well, no and yes - to a degree.

I've lived long enough to see bad times come and go. Just from what I know about history, I guarentee there have been worse times. I challenge anyone to bring me evidence that what we see and hear today is worse than anything that has happened in the past. You'll find it difficult if not impossible to do so. Isn't it a pity students today aren't spending more time studying history? Without that historical foundation, our students lack the mental tools needed to sift through the propaganda to see what's true and relevant.

My advice, spend some time reading history. Watch the History Channel. Watch a bit more channel 7 and 11. Become informed, and suddenly you'll see we've had it much worse and still managed to pulled ourselves out. Have a little faith in what humanity can do when our backs are to the wall.


And finally, a comment or two on parenting.
I had it worse growing up in South Dakota during the 60's and 70's than anything many of you experience today. Back then, parents, teachers and principals could get away with things they wouldn't think of today. Why I remember the time I told my mother I hated her. I was just a youngling wanting to go outside and challenge my friends to a dirt clod fight in the vacant lot at the end of the street. My mother wanted me to spend my precious after school time cleaning my room or something. She gave me a couple good swats on the rear end for saying I hated her and sent me to my room. A few minutes later she crept to my doorway and listened to me laughing. Her spankings didn't hurt but I surly had a way of making them sound like they did. She burst in trailing smoke from both ears. To make a long story short, I ended up standing beside the road on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with a sign around my neck reading "He's yours. By the way, he is the great great grandson of Gen. Custer" ;)

Back then everyone had permission to discipline a child. It wasn't uncommon for my friends and I to come home from school with bruises on our backsides and hands from our teachers, principal, custodian, lunch ladies and the bully from the class next door who everyone was terrified of (We weren't always the best behaved children).
And when spanking didn't drive the devil out, mother always had our dog Frosty. I've always wondered why mother kept a puppy around the house.

Yes, growing up back then was much different.

See you in the trenches,
Mr. W.

A Real Cloaking Device?

This is a great article.....A real Crystal 'cloaking device"....Klingon's beware.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-02/using-special-crystals-researchers-achieve-true-invisibility-visual-spectrum

Sheila Keller-Powell
State Coordinator,
National Geographic Bee
Space Center Educator

A Black and White Thursday

Hello Troops,
Imagination can be expressed in many forms. Digital imagination is especially effective because it captures a moment in time and presents it as a snapshot to the observer for consideration. The observer's mind takes the image and creates an imaginary world from his past experiences, giving a place and purpose to what is seen. Cloverdale is where I practice this form of imagination. I find it more rewarding than a crossword puzzle or sudoku.

For Thursday, I'd like to present three images in black and white I found recently for your consideration. Where do they lead your imagiantion? Who are they and where are they going? What are they thinking? What is the rest of their story we will never see?

It is for you to decide.

Taking a moment to listen to the snow? (Click to Enlarge)

You've heard of the moonwalk. Perhaps we are seeing the fist timewalk ever captured on film. (Click to Enlarge)

Music on a Snowy Day (Click to Enlarge)

And now, it is time to get to work.
A yellow bus will be arriving soon and then, watch out. All Imagination will break loose!

Mr. W.

Aleta Cratchet of Williamson and Marley Simulations

Aleta Cratchet stumbled through the biting cold. The wind driven snow swirled around her, making it hard to see where the curb ended and the street began. She held her mittened hand up against her forehead hoping to shield her eyes from the stinging ice.

The Cratchet children were reluctant to get out of bed because of the cold. Their small coal fire had gone out during the night. Coal was a necessity the Cratchet's couldn't always afford on the wages paid by Williamson and Marley. The extra time it took to get the children up and off to school meant she would be late for work. It was apparent after leaving her flat that she wasn't the only one delayed by the storm. The pavement was busy with people, all looking for a friendly door and fire. Alas, that wouldn’t be her lot. She worked for Williamson and Marley Simulations.

She opened the door to the shop slowly, hoping the small bell attached to the frame wouldn’t ring. It did.
“What is this?” Williamson bellowed from his dark musky office to her left. “The clock on the wall shows ten past. If I’m not mistaken, you’re employment starts at the top of the hour. Am I correct, or have you found employment elsewhere and have come to turn in your notice?”

“I beg your pardon Mr. Williamson. It will never happen again. My children needed more attention to get off to school. You see, its the cold. Our fire went out...”

“Silence!” he shouted. “What happens out of this office is no concern of mine. I expect you to respect your obligations to this office as you do your responsibilities to your offspring. Why should I be required to suffer discomfort because of your choices? Perhaps you've forgotten the work houses, supported by my taxes. There is always a place for you there. ” His voice was sinister in sound and cold in intent.

“Yes sir,”

“Then let this be the last time we visit the subject of tardiness. Get to your desk. We’ve a business to run and coin to make.”

Williamson and Marley Simulations

Aleta walked down the hallway toward the cubicle she called her office. The carpet under foot was worn with age. The rose pattern all but gone. She found her desk, turned on the computer and pulled her coat tightly about her. A coal stove sat in the corner. Through the grate she saw the faint orange flame struggling to dance in the unwelcomed Arctic air. The coal bucket beside it held three pieces of coal, the amount allocated for a winter’s day by Mr. Williamson’s reckoning. The temptation to put the entire day’s ration into the stove nearly overtook her sensibilities. A moment of weakness would warm the room for an hour or so, but afterwords, her only companions would be the dark and cold.

She reached for the flashlight kept on the desk beside her. The light illuminated a perfectly round section of the ceiling above her head. She imagined it was a burning torch. She held her fingers over it to warm them. It was a quarter past the hour. She heard Williamson shuffling down the hallway, sniffing at the air. He seemed oblivious to the cold and rarely kept a fire in his office, not wanting to bear the burden of lost coin spent on comfort. It was two years ago he agreed to supply the clerk’s office with coal, and that was only after repeated pleadings from the local vicar of St. Anthony’s Church on the Commons.

Williamson used his nose to sniff out waste. Aleta could tell he was sampling the air for evidence she’d used more coal than the agreed on ration. She was happy she’d resisted the temptation. The noise in the hallway stopped.

“At work are we?” a cracked voice spoke from the doorway. She looked up to see the top of a head partially covered with thinning hair. An eye appeared, It looked at her, then the stove.

“Yes sir,” she replied.

“See to it then. Waste not want not,” he grumbled. “No one respects a day’s work anymore,” he mumbled as he shuffled back toward his office. “Be here all the earlier tomorrow,”
His door shut, leaving the office quiet - except for the sound of the wind and snow pelting the four squared window. Aleta turned toward the computer. Three day's of work for a normal office waited to be done before lunch. It was Williamson's way.

P.S.
Boy was it cold today. When I came to the Space Center it was 6 degrees. Aleta arrived on time and sat at the desk. I noticed she hadn't removed her coat. That wasn't surprising. The office, Odyssey and Phoenix have air conditioning - but no heat. On a day like this, the Space Center office stays around 64 degrees. When I saw Aleta sitting at the computer all bundled up, the kernel of a short story popped into mind. And you know me, tis a temptation I can't resist.

Astronomers "Weigh" Heaviest Known Black Hole in our Cosmic Neighborhood - Astronomy Magazine

Hello Troops,
A very interesting read if you have a few minutes.
Mr. W.

Astronomers "weigh" heaviest known black hole in our cosmic neighborhood - Astronomy Magazine

And for Monday...

Hello Troops,
It's a Monday and the start of another work week. Just a few random pictures to start the week off right.
The title picture is fitting when one considers the news coming from the Middle East. We have the Old Guard slightly unerved by their nation's young. We have a new generation of young people who realize they don't have to accept the injustices their parents tolerated. They demand democracy, and as a result, we hear the dominos falling. First Tunisia, now Egypt and then what? We live in interesting times.

I realize America's young rarely have time for news, considering all the demands for your attention (I realize asking you to cut some of your Facebook time for the news is going too far), but I feel strongly that you should. Take a moment and read about the events that are unfolding in this unstable part of the world. It will affect you in some way.

I always wondered where falling stars came from. Now the only question left to ask is why I hadn't realized this before....

What's wrong with this picture? That's right, it's missing Pleasant Grove. And what would be used to illustrate our lovely little town in the back woods of Utah? Some might vote for the Purple Turtle, while the more intelligent among you would insist the Space Center is the best representation of what makes Pleasant Grove unique.

So how do you vote? Purple Turtle or The Space Center?

And finally, Wall - E - Star Wars Style......

Have a Great Evening Troops,
Mr. W.