Star Trek 2.0 (Spoiler Alert!)

About the Star Trek movie; as far as the franchise is concerned, it doesn’t fit. In the first place, Uhura speaks three dialects of Romulan? Spock speaks of Romulans and Vulcans sharing common ancestors? Until TOS is well under way no one (on Earth) suspected that. (Remember the shock on the Enterprise bridge the first time Romulans were actually seen? Everyone looked suspiciously at Spock, as if he might be a spy.) Vulcan and Romulus destroyed? Amanda gone? There goes “Journey to Babel,” ST: III, IV and…well…countless novels. From the get go, young Kirk driving that “antique” car like an ace, when in “A Piece of the Action” (as a grown man) he is clueless (doesn’t know what a clutch is until Spock tells him). The whole Spock/Uhura thing was pointless (poor Scotty).

“Spock Prime” said that in the proper timeline George Kirk lived to see Jim take command of Enterprise. What happened to that? There wasn’t any attempt to resolve the deviations in the timelines which were setup for just such a thing. There were just too many holes in the storyline that are irreconcilable with the official ST canon, even taking time travel into account. Bringing in Leonard Nimoy was a desperate grab for coherency that didn’t work. Sorry. They’d better do a sequel ASAP (before Nimoy dies) to plug the holes or it is destined to be an asterisk (like a bar room tale one night on Risa).

I liked the actors. Kirk and young Spock were fine. McCoy was very likable, as was Sulu. Uhura was a doll and Scotty, “spot on.” The most pleasant surprise was Chekov. Goof seekers will notice a shuttle bearing the call sign NCC-1701-A, which had to be a joke, but was pointless and inexcusable. For thrills and splash I’d give it a 7, but for overall story I can only give it a 3, or less, considering what it does to the credibility of anything springing from that mucked up setup. Still, I’ll probably see it again, though not for another $8.

In my previous post I referred to the growth of 3D modeling in Google Earth and how much I find it rewarding. I've also mentioned my interest in creating scenery for Flight Simulator. Those seem inexplicably related, but I never realized how much so until yesterday. There is a program for converting the KML files generated by GE for use in making "photoreal" additions to the FS world (roads, rivers, fields, etc) , but terrain is a bit more tricky. The learning curve I ran up against in my desire to build a fictitious island slapped me down somewhat as I began to realize how much studying is involved. Nevertheless, figuring the rewards to be worth the effort, I am committed, and even if I have to learn C#, so be it. Yesterday, during my research, I stumbled across a reference to something called "SketchUp." The author of the article I read was decrying the fact that Microsoft hadn't followed the example of Google in giving its users a free tool to simmers, the way Google had given GE users SketchUP. I had no idea what was being referred to so I looked it up. If you know what I'm talking about please forgive my ignorance and excuse me as I risk turning this into a tech blog by elaborating.

SketchUp is a free 3D modeling tool that is so easy to use that thousands of interested users have been contributing their own creations of familiar territory to the "Google 3D Warehouse" for the betterment of the overall Google Earth environment. I downloaded it and in less than an hour I had given dimensions to all the buildings at the Houston Yellow Cab lot. My work was crude, but it was done with no experience whatever. Then I started watching the training video tutorials. I have played with other such programs before, some of them very expensive; but I've never seen anything do all the things SketchUp does, with the user friendly simplicity of this amazingly revolutionary tool. So take this as my shamelessly slavish endorsement and do yourself a favor (if you haven't already), download it and give it a whirl. I guarantee you'll be impressed.

In the meantime, I will continue pursuing my much more difficult Flight Simulator terrain design project and perhaps devote a little time following my niece Misty's lead and tweak this site a bit, since it has fallen to neglect somewhat of late. My only recent accomplishment in the FS realm has been the updating of Supercar's FSX instrument panel to include a GPS-NAV switch and clock. The switch installation wasn't easy, but is very worthwhile in that it allows the aircraft to follow the GPS line automatically, which is a pretty big deal on long flights. The panel itself is still rather Spartan, but changes in the program platform from FS9 to Flight Simulator 10 made the modification a challenge. Since Microsoft has closed the ACES studio (the design team responsible for FS development) I suppose I'll have plenty of time to grok the current rules of terrain design before any more changes come down the pike. BTW (by the way), here's a look at my updated Supercar instrument panel--

As I have returned from the wilderness I find my natural tendency for the proliferation of words increasing slowly, as can be evidenced by the slow increase in output to this page. It is taking place however on another front. Years after the completion of A Journeyman's Rite, posted here, I have recently found myself inspired to pick up that long set aside tale and finally produce the obviously intended sequel. I am happy to report that some progress is being made on that front. The characters are coming back to life for me, and the story is taking shape on paper (or, more realistically, on the screen [in a Word file]). But before I get very far along with that, I'd like to "clean up" the copy that is linked to. Though I was quite pleased to accomplish the blog posting of the book at all, which was quite a project at the time, the pasting wasn't really satisfactory. All the proper form was lost, and correcting it for readability presented a task I didn't quite know how to deal with, nor did I have the patience for it. I've been rethinking that, and perhaps soon I'll get around to correcting it.

In the meantime, I've been trying to figure how best to incorporate Facebook into my online reality. Twitter seems pretty much a waste of my time, but so many of my friends and family are now using Facebook that, as I mentioned before, it strikes me as a good way to easily and quickly pass along articles of interest. The columns that don't provide those click-points, I will continue to post here.

This is also a better forum for presenting things of a more personal and mundane nature, such as Google Earth discoveries or Flight Simulator experiences. I can easily loose myself for hours in either of those pursuits. GE 5.0 is truly awesome, but for the life of me I can't figure out why, since they provide a map of Mars, there is no Moon. There are definitely improvements over 4.0 in the 3D renderings of some locations. For example, before the upgrade, where there was merely an aerial photo of Baylor Hospital (where I go twice a week), there is now good 3D detail of the building and the surrounding area. Austin is also quite good, though Houston and New Orleans have lots of room for improvement. Check out Walt Disney World. You can tell from the photo credits how much help was provided by the Disney company, which almost makes it the next best thing to going.

Happily, Microsoft recently passed along an update for the NVidia driver used by my laptop, which really has improved my overall Google Earth (and Flight Simulator) experiences. So, because of that, I encourage everyone (Windows users only, of course) to keep up with available updates. It's easy, it's free, and it often fixes problems; and we Windows users know there is always room for improvement.

The wound-vac was removed on Friday. For the first time in nearly two years I am not tethered to a machine constantly sucking fluid from my body. Walking will never be as it was, but already the pace of my mundane life is quickening. Lately I've found Facebook to be of some use, mostly as an outlet for posting articles that are setup for "sharing." I'd prefer to do that here. There are many things I'd like to share that don't provide Facebook links. For example an excellent piece by Victor Davis Hanson about Iraq and Afghanistan. And there are countless amusing tidbits on "global warming," like this, this and this (from Provda, of all places). Oh yes, I've got lots of catching up to do.

This has been a very tumultuous year which is ending much better for me than when it began. I have much to be thankful for and many to thank for helping me along the long and difficult road to recovery from a crippling physical injury, which I have accepted and am learning daily to live with.

These last three months have been particularly refreshing. The beginning of October saw me able, for the first time in over a year and a half, to provide for my daily needs over the course of a week, establishing a "homestead" at an Intown Suites that allowed me access to doctor visits via taxi. Two weeks after that acquisition of a power chair gave me freedom from the taxis and access to the entire city via the Dallas transit system. And on the fourth week God created a Walmart next door! The wound-vac canisters that filled in two days are now half full after nine. God willing I will shed that "ball and chain" soon.

The laptop Foy and Wynetta gave me after my second hospital stay continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. I've even had my interest in Flight Simulator as a hobby rekindled. Having recently graduated to Flight Simulator X (FSX), I modified the Supercar instrument panel and am beginning to grasp the fundamentals of FS design. I have two scenery creation projects underway for inclusion in the program: the Lakewood Yacht Club, and my own "fantasy island."

And, I'm happy to report that I've again started writing fiction. I've been reading a lot of fiction lately and a couple of weeks ago, after finishing a Clive Cussler novel, I was hit with inspiration on with a sequel to A Journeyman's Rite. After all these years, the path became clear and I knew where to take the story. Yes, I'm feeling encouraged. 2009 is pregnant with promiss.

As the line goes in the theme from Enterprise, "It's been a long road, getting from there to here." At last I have arrived. Believing in "the hope of the heart" pays off. My "Payday, Someday" has arrived (thank you, R.G. Lee). The interest continues to compound and confound. Cheryl came to visit this past weekend. The broken circle is complete again, and in to the future it will roll. Power chairs are good for that too, especially in my case. My vehicular utilization curve is limited right now but I'm making the most of what I have--be it a motorized wheelchair on the physical level, or virtual aircraft via Flight Simulator on the imaginary plane. Flights of fancy can yield tangible rewards. I recently purchased Microsoft Flight Simulator X (Ten), or FSX. It had been a while since I'd gone "simming," and what skills I had were rusty, to say the least, but I had missed the challenge. As soon as I learned, via an online test, that my laptop could run the program I took the plunge. After a few days of experimenting I discovered, quite by accident, that there is a flight simulator in Google Earth. It is rather simplistic, compared to the Microsoft product, but it is interesting. It can be found in Earth View, under "Tools." Caution: Can Be Habbit Forming. Diversions can be good. As Spock once said, "The more complex the mind, the greater the need for simple play." I allowed myself to go too long without. No more. As John Fogarty said, "I'm ready to play." It will take some time for me to get back up to speed, but my reluctance to resume activity has been overcome. I'm back, with a vengence! Stay tuned...

Now is the summer of my discontent (actually my second in a row) grown cautiously optimistic by the slow healing of my recently installed new hip. Yes, I've been idle from posting for some time, but I have been physically immobilized for much longer. It has taken a family intervention and a trip to more qualified healt care professionals in Dallas, but at long last I am regaining functionality of my left leg. I am a long way from being able to walk without a walker or cane (if ever), but I can get around somewhat on my own, and the outlook is better than at anytime since my accident in March of 2007. It's been a tough road back, but I am encouraged and have been receiving great encouragement and assistance from my family (particularly my sister, Debbie, and her two daughers, Misty [husband, Patrick] and Melody [husband, Danny]). My friends Foy, Ken and Ray have also given great support, and it is nice to have the prayers of many others, including my parents and Cheryl. I have lots of catching up to do here, so much so that it's hard to know how to proceed. At least this is a start.