Gambit, Part 2

What a wonderful weekend this has been. I got a lot of work done at home and managed to get in a golf game, cleaning my house, and going to game night with my friends and even a date! So much fun here on this end and I’m actually ready for the week ahead.

Elliptical Machine: Calories- 629, Miles- 3.95

Gambit, Part 2

The Enterprise is under attack from the mercenary ship but the phaser beams were rigged so that the ship would not be damaged. Riker and Picard worked together to send this message to the Enterprise. Data and Worf have a slight argument the next course of action but they smooth things over and life on the Enterprise continues to go smoothly. Riker and Picard are still trying to pretend they don’t know each other and that they hate each other. The mercenary captain continues to pit the two against one another and tells Riker he must shoot Galen if he wants to become a permanent member of the crew. Talera confronts Picard about his real identity and he reveals who he is and she reveals that she is a Vulcan intelligence agent on a secret mission. The Mercenaries are apparently searching for an ancient Vulcan weapon that amplifies thoughts and kills people. Meanwhile the Enterprise has picked up a Klingon who is just waiting around the next location for the mercenary ship. While the Klingon is being held for a “health and safety examination” the mercenary ship attacks. Riker and Picard lead the team to the Enterprise where they get the last artifact and Picard “kills” Riker so he can return to the ship. The Enterprise now follows the ship to Vulcan where Talera beams down to put together the final pieces for the weapon. Talera turns out to be a member of a Vulcan underground resistance group trying to eliminate outside influence on the planet. Picard outwits Talera and everything is set straight on Vulcan and the Enterprise. 

Yep that is Robin Curtis (the lesser of the two  Lt. Saviks) as Talera. 

Gambit, Part 1

Nothing to share today, Yet another boring blog post in one week! I really apologize everyone about the boring ass posts it is just that I have been so damn busy lately to even think about what is happening around my world. 

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 600, Miles: 3.70

Gambit, Part 1

The senior staff is searching for Captain Picard who has just disappeared a few weeks ago. They are searching for him in some intergalactic dive bar and they finally come up with a lead. A man has seen Picard but reports that he was in a weapons fight and was vaporized. The crew of the Enterprise goes on with their lives though everyone is heartbroken at the loss of their leader, Riker especially. Riker manages to secure the permission to investigate Picard’s death. The Enterprise heads to a planet linked to a group of mercenaries that have been raiding the sector for the past few months. While on the planet the landing party is attacked by the raiding group and Riker is taken on board as a hostage. Once on board the mercenary ship Riker meets their captain who rules the ship through the use of torture devices. Riker and the mercenary captain butt heads initially but a crew member named Galen suggests he kill Riker. This only brings Riker and the captain close to each other. By the way Galen is Captain Picard who has also been captured by these mercenaries. The Enterprise figures out that these aliens have been raiding ancient Romulan ruins in search of something but they are unsure what. Picard and Riker finally get a chance to talk to one another about what is happening and they develop a quick plan of attack. The Enterprise engages the mercenary ship while it was attacking a Federation outpost and that is when the cliffhanger happens. Right as the mercenary ship is firing on the Enterprise. 

Interface

I did this workout yesterday but was in no mood to write it up because I was feeling just a little bit pissy about being constantly cancelled on by potential dates. But today I am feeling in much better spirits so I have decided to put the smile on my face and push on! I had a great day today and went on a 4 mile run with a friend of mine. Nothing to fantastic to be honest.

Elliptical Machine- didn’t write down my stats

Interface

LaForge, Data, and Crusher are working to perfect a system where a person can interface with a probe to go into a dangerous situation safely. The system is not perfect but it needs to be in a matter of days when they are to perform a rescue of a Starfleet vessel that was stranded on a planet with a toxic atmosphere. Meanwhile we learn that the USS Hera has disappeared, the ship that LaForge’s mother was recently made captain. Everyone in LaForge’s life seems to be moving on with the loss of Captain LaForge except for Geordi himself. He even starts to see his mother while he is interfaced with the probe on the planet. She tells him that they are stuck on the ship below and he goes off the deep end about trying to find her. Everyone on board tells him to get over it and Picard even goes so far as to ban him from making the interface again. LaForge of course disobeys this order and makes the interface with Data’s help. He finds his mother on the ship but it is quickly revealed that she is just the image of his mother being used by a group of aliens who are stranded on the Starfleet ship and need help getting back to the surface. In the end LaForge moves on an accepts his mother’s death. 

In this episode we get to meet LaForge's parents who are played by Ben Vereen and Madge Sinclair, both of whom starred in Roots with LeVar Burton. Ben Vereen was a big broadway star and Madge Sinclair is famous as playing the Captain of the Saratoga in Star Trek IV. 

Liaisons

St. Cloud’s gay pride festival was larger than I had expected for the town and I am sure that in a few years it will be much more of a big deal. I will give the folks of the planning committee,, your drag performers kinda sucked last night. I would strongly advise that you go the Minneapolis and hire some good queens! This is my only advice other than that I had a total blast last night in St. Cloud and it was very fun to celebrate this event in my former school town. On a related note I have found that since I have become a more active person I do not suffer a headache or a hangover nearly as bad as I did when I was chubbier guy.

Liaisons

The Enterprise is playing host to two Iyaaran ambassadors and Picard is going to the Iyaaran home world as part of cultural exchange. Troi and Riker are to play liaisons to the ambassadors but one of them demands a change from Riker to Worf and he is less than pleased.  Worf’s ambassador is rude, condescending and awful to him for the entire visit and the two butt heads until Worf decides to do what any good Starfleet officer would do, kick the ambassador’s ass.  After this episode the ambassador and Worf get along fabulously. Meanwhile Troi’s ambassador becomes quickly infatuated with desserts, chocolate and pleasure activities. Troi enjoys this approach at first but eventually she wants to have a serious conversation about ship’s functions and human values and mores. Meanwhile while on route to the Iyaaran home world Picard’s shuttle is damaged and he and the Iyaaran pilot land on a nearby M class planet. A woman who has been on the planet alone for the last 7 years finds Picard and takes him to her makeshift shelter. Picard has been injured and slowly but surely this woman starts to reveal that she is crazy. When Picard confronts Anna about this situation it is revealed that the whole thing has been a test from the Iyaaran’s who didn’t understand the concept of love and attachement. The other two ambassadors were attempting to better understand aggression and pleasure while on their visit. Picard is mad about what has happened but he shrugs it off and the ambassadors part way back to their home. 

Descent

The last two days have been quite good I must say. Things at school are a little tough at the moment because of the sheer number of students that I have on my caseload but I will make it by and manage. I am also happy to say that the weather this fall has been amazing; I love it when the fall starts cool and crisp. It really gets me in the spirit of the season. IN a bit of bad news, due to the fact that I am so busy with work and other responsibilities I have had to drop out of assistant directing the fall youth theatre shows. I am bummed about this but I need to maintain a certain level of mental health so that is what prompted that decision. Today I am heading up to St. Cloud to attend their annual Gay Pride festival. I’ll be exploring the park, going to dinner and a drag show. It should be a good time and at least I will be attending a pride festival this year since I skipped out on Twin Cities pride in June.

Weigh-in: I now weigh 195 pounds!!!!!!!!

I did part one of this episode on Friday and part two of this episode today.

Elliptical Machine:

Part 1- Calories: 450, Miles: 2.60

Part 2- Calories: 575, Miles: 3.77

Descent, Part I and Part II

Part I

The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Federation outpost that is under attack. Upon beam down the landing party is attacked by a group of Borg drones but they are acting much more like human warriors than a typical drone. These Borg move quickly, talk about themselves as individuals, and display emotions. While being attacked Data shockingly displays a violent outburst of aggression and anger. Starfleet puts the whole quadrant on alert and tensions rise as the Enterprise responds to multiple false reports of attacks from nervous Federation citizens. Meanwhile Data is trying to figure out how he has developed a display of emotions and he continues to be baffled by the outburst. The Enterprise is attacked by a Borg vessel, though it is not a typical cube design. During the attack two Borg are beamed over to the Enterprise to attack and the ship speeds away in a subspace porthole. One Borg is killed but the other lives and is put in the holding cell. Data is supposed to talk to the Borg and determine if he is broadcasting a signal to other Borg in the area. The Borg’s name is Crosis and he activates some device that makes Data start feeling emotions again. Shortly thereafter Data and Crosis leave the ship and go through a subspace porthole which the Enterprise closely follows. The shuttle is traced to a planet some 65 lightyears from Federation space. Picard orders for nearly the entire crew to beam down to the planet to form search parties, leaving a skeleton crew on board and Dr. Crusher in command of the ship. On the planet Picard, Troi, and LaForge are captured by the Borg, Data and the new leader of the Borg… Lore.

Part II

Lore reveals that he plans to use the Borg to destroy all biological lifeforms in the galaxy and turn the Borg into a race of pure artificial intelligence. Data takes Picard, LaForge and Troi to a holding cell where soon they estimate that Data’s ethical processor has been deactivated and therefore he is being controlled by Lore and not under his own control. Lore has been testing out new procedures on the Borg but decides to use LaForge for these tests and he puts Data in charge of them. While LaForge is being experimented on Picard and Troi put into motion a plan to reactivate Data’s ethical processor and they eventually get this processor to work again. Meanwhile on the Enterprise Crusher beams most of the crew back up to the ship but the Borg are attacking them so they make a run for it and use the sun and metaphasic shields to destroy the Borg ship. Also at the same time Riker and Worf are captured by a group of Borg in hiding who are being lead by Hugh, the Borg the Enterprise rescued nearly a year ago. Hugh is very angry about what the Enterprise did to him, he does agree to help Riker and Worf recover the away team because his friend LaForge is among the captured. During a confrontation Data refuses to kill Picard and before Lore can kill Data the whole scene is interrupted by Riker and Worf and all hell breaks loose. Data ends up killing Lore so that he can’t be a problem to the universe anymore! In the end Data and LaForge have a conversation abouth Lore’s emotion chip and LaForge refuses to let Data destroy it in case he wants it in the future.

The show is a great opening to the 7^th and final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. We finally get to see one of the ladies taking command and doing a pretty good job of things. We also get to see Troi having a bit more of a brain and eventually she will become a command officer as well. The series had really hit its stride in later half of the second season and grew stronger and stronger as each season went by and I really think the show could have gone on for an 8^th season, too bad they wanted the crew to go on and make movies instead. The shame there is that of the four Next Generation movies one of them is amazing, two of them are just ok and one of them is horrible. Oh well.

I am also incredibly proud as I write this post as well because this marks the completion of ten seasons of Star Trek. My plan is to be completed with this season of the Next Generation by the end of October and to start Deep Space Nine on November 1^st. At this rate I should be done with that series by October 2013, Voyager by September 2014 and Enterprise by January 2015. 

Timescape

Today was simply a glorious day outside and I was stuck inside working. And despite that small detail I had a wonderful day at work. There was a love connection made between a few of my students that I don’t really approve of, this small detail makes me feel like an over protective father, yikes! A student played along with me on a joke on a 6^th grader in which I said that if paperwork was not returned fingers would be cut off! The seventh grader in my room played along and pretended that he was missing a finger. Both boys had quite the laugh that hour. Finally there was a hilarious incident regarding the perception of maturity. The stories that I have accumulated over the years with my students could not be written they are so funny and odd. This of course is one of the reasons that I love my job, besides the fact that I get to help my kiddos.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 590, Miles: 3.23

Timescape

Picard, LaForge, Data and Troi have all been away at a conference and are on their way back to the Enterprise when strange things start to occur on board the roundabout. They begin to experience periods of time standing still and they determine that they have been caught in some type of subspace or time continuum rift. They find that there are shifts throughout the whole system and they carefully navigate back to the Enterprise, which they find to be in a battle with a Romulan warbird. LaForge devises a way for the group to beam over to the Enterprise which is currently frozen in time. The find Romulans all over the ship and Troi even finds that Crusher has been hit with a disruptor and will die as soon as time returns. Data also finds that the warp core is on overload and a breach will destroy both ships in a matter of hours. Picard has a freak out in engineering and it is the result of subspace psychosis, which goes away quickly. They three move to the Romulan ship to see what happened and they find two different problems. The first is that there are aliens on board the Romulan ship and the Romulan’s quantum singularity is causing the whole problem. The alien is not a Romulan but a subspace alien who is trying to protect its young that are living in the Romulan singularity. Data, LaForge, Picard and Troi develop a plan to turn back the time in order to stop the ship blowing up, stop Crusher getting killed and then solve the whole situation from happening. Their plan goes off well enough and all is set right . 

Second Chances

My elliptical is still making noises but I am now waiting for the parts to show up in the mail so that it can be repaired this weekend. I worked out today on my elliptical and the noises really started bugging me a good 10 minutes into the workout but I decided to cope with it and carry on with the routine. I am now only two episodes away from starting the final season of Star Trek: The Next Generation! I really have pretty much nothing to say on today’s blog so I really am sorry that this post is a bit lame.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 565, Miles: 3.52

Second Chances

The Enterprise is orbiting Nervala IV, a planet that Riker had been on nearly 8 years ago and almost didn’t escape alive. Upon beam down to the planet Riker and the rest of the away team come face to face with Riker. It appears that there is a duplicate Will Riker somehow and so Lt. Riker is sent up to the Enterprise for medical testing. Crusher finds out that this man truly is Will Riker and further research shows that 8 years ago Riker was beamed up to the Potemkin but somehow a duplicate was sent back to the planet. So Lt. Riker has been living alone on an isolated planet for 8 years and he’s a little miffed by the whole thing and well so is Commander Riker because now there are two of him. Troi and Lt. Riker meet and to him they are still in love and throughout the course of the show the two fall back in love which is something I would have thought Troi was smarter than but oh well. Riker and Riker continue to butt heads about how to regain access to the station’s computer core and it is decided that they will have to go into the core itself to fix the problem. While there the two’s lives are endangered and this brings them close together finally. Lt. Riker is transferred to the USS Gandhi but Troi does not opt to go with him and stays on the Enterprise. To help distinguish himself from Will Riker this other Riker decides to go by his middle name Thomas.

So Data had and evil twin and now Riker has a semi-disgruntled genetic copy hanging around the galaxy. The show is again a play on the topic of seeing yourself and not liking what you see. 

Rightful Heir

Another day at the farm and I’ve again gotten very little done from my ”to do list.” The main thing I accomplished was working out and watching The Big Bang Theory. I’m finally watching the season premiere of Glee. My initial impression is that Unique is a bit too much for a full time appearance on the show but maybe he/she will grow on me. Once again today I did a full episode of Star Trek and then 40 minutes in the sauna at my folks’ house.

Rightful Heir

Worf is having a crisis of faith and it has been getting in the way of his work on the Enterprise. Picard confronts him and tells him he needs to figure out his problems and sends him on a leave of absence. Worf chooses to go to a Klingon monsetary of sorts where a group of Holy men are waiting for the return of Kahless. Worf sees Kahless in a vision one night by a fire but it turns out not to be a vision but to be a real live person who says he is Kahless, come back to save the Klingon people. Worf is skeptical of this and has his doubts. Worf, the monks and Kahless come on board the Enterprise for some medical examinations. Gowron the head of the Klingon high council shows up to oversee the tests and disprove that this man is Kahless. Gowron fears that his power is being threatened and wants to disprove this supposed messiah. Genetic testing reveals that he is indeed the man he purports to be but there are still doubts especially when he can’t provide certain details about his mythos, his death and even the afterlife. Worf confronts the monks and Kahless about who he really is and they finally confess that he is a clone that they built in a lab from Kahless’ blood found on a knife of from thousands of years ago. Worf is furious and decides to share this information with Gowron but he does not want the public to know about the deception. Worf proposes that Kahless be named the emperor of the Klingon people but only in name. He will not have any power but will be figure to guide the morality of the Klingon people.  

 

Suspicions

I’m house sitting at my parents place this weekend and getting a good dose of the farm life. I grew up on a ten acre farm with horses, llamas, cats, dogs, bunnies, and a donkey. It was fun and a great way to grow up and I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about it, but I don’t need to live it full time again. That being said I do enjoy a good day on the farm now and then. The other benefit of staying at my parent’s house is that they too have an elliptical but they also have a sauna! I spent my normal 45 minutes on the elliptical and then 40 minutes in the sauna.

Suspicions

Doctor Crusher enters her quarters in a terrible mood when she gets an unexpected visit from Guinan who needs some help with her elbow. Apparently she has injured herself during a match of tennis with LaForge, but Crusher says she can’t help because she has been relieved of duty. Crusher proceeds to tell Guinan how the whole mess has come to pass that she was relieved of duty and now on her way to a hearing at Starfleet headquarters. The story is now told in flashbacks as Crusher tells the story of hosting a science meeting on the Enterprise and how two parties end up dead. One of them is the Ferengi scientist who invents a subspace shield generator, the other a strange alien who agrees to pilot the shuttle in an experiment. Crusher then begins an investigation but determines that the only way to solve the mystery of the Ferengi scientist’s death is to do an autopsy even though the family has specifically said no. Crusher finds no evidence of foul play so we assume the Ferengi committed suicide. This is when she resigns and we pick up from the moment Guinan is talking to her and gives her a kick in the pants to keep working to prove her case. She figures out that there must have been sabotage so she hijacks a shuttle in an attempt to recreate the shield experiment. While on the ship things go well and it is proven that there was sabotage and a murder. The odd alien apparently faked his death in order to steal the technology but Crusher kicks his ass and proves she was in the right. In the end Crusher wants to give Guinan a tennis racket but Guinan reveals she has never played tennis and just wanted to light a fire under Crusher's butt. 

This was a fun Film Noir style episode and I really enjoyed it a lot. It kept you involved and interested. It was also fun to see Dr. Crusher get a really good episode to play with and prove she has some brains. 

Frame of Mind

My elliptical machine is making a clunking noise and a creaking noise and even a whooshing noise and all three of them are driving me up the wall. Today I got off the elliptical after 20 minutes and decided I finally needed to call Livestrong and get my darn machine fixed. Too bad Livestrong isn’t open after 5 pm so I need to give them a call tomorrow afternoon. Looks like I will be running tomorrow afternoon or skeazing off of my parents to use their elliptical machine.  

Frame Of Mind

Riker is in rehearsal for a play that Dr. Crusher is directing on the Enterprise. The play takes place in a mental asylum with Riker playing a crazy man accused of murder and Data playing the menacing psychologist. During the rehearsal period though Riker has been developing some psychological issues of his own and starts seeing images and having a heightened awareness of pain and others emotions. At the same time Riker is supposed to go on an undercover mission on a planet in a state of civil unrest. Riker continues to shift back and forth between reality and being a mental patient on this planet, and he soon loses track of reality and his delusions. Riker is told he will undergo an experimental procedure to prove his innocence of murder but this only confuses him more and the line grows ever more thin between normal and crazy. In the end an abduction of Riker is staged by the crew of the Enterprise though this proves to be unreal as well and Riker comes to on an operating table. Riker manages to escape and it is revealed that he was kidnapped to provide critical tactical information with the factions of the planet he was observing. Riker feels uneasy as the show ends and asks Crusher if he can tear down the set by himself.  

The Chase

It has been a wonderful cooking weekend! This morning in the kitchen I made a delightfully spicy meal for myself, Huevos Rancheros. Not sure if it was an authentic recipe but it had peppers, onions, eggs, and chorizo so that sounds official enough to me. Now I’m off to a birthday party for a three year old.. woo hoo! Or something like that.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 635, Miles: 3.87

The Chase

Picard is paid a visit by an old archeology professor from his youth. Professor Galen shows up with a very lavish gift as an attempt to get Picard to go on an extended archeological mission with him that would pull Picard from the Enterprise for maybe up to a year. Picard has to decline and Galen storms off feeling that he has been betrayed. A few hours later the Enterprise gets a distress signal from Galen who is under attack. The Enterprise gets there in time to rescue Galen but he is badly injured and dies shortly after he is brought on board. LaForge and Data uncover some Data on the ship that gives a clue to what he was attempting. Picard now takes it on himself to fulfill Galen’s mission even if it disrupts the ships current diplomatic mission. Crusher and Picard decifer that the numbers are part of a genetic code from races spread across the quadrant. They are missing a few pieces of the puzzle though it seems and they begin retracing Galen’s flight plan. On one planet they run into two Cardassian ships and  Klingon ship and upon further discussion they are all on the same mission. The Klingons believe it to be the code for a weapon and the Cardassians believe it to be the plans for a power source. The three work together and figure out where the next target planet is but the Cardassians are being tricky and open fire on the Enterprise and Klingons and head out first. Having caught wind of the plan before the information was revealed Picard gave false information. The Enterprise, now playing host to the Klingon captain, heads to the correct planet. Once there the Humans, Cardassians, and Klingons are confronted by a group of Romulans who have been tracking the entire scenario for days. The codes are all put together and the image of an alien woman appears who informs them all that she was the last member of  a race of beings that spread their genetic material across the universe to make sure there was humanoid life across the galaxy. The other aliens don’t take the message to heart and leave but Picard and the crew of the Enterprise appreciate the message for its historical value. 

Lessons

I worked out twice today but during this workout I went backwards for a little more than half of the total time on the elliptical machine. The calorie count is not as high, nor is the distance but my ass sure knows that I worked out twice! Going Backwards On The Elliptical HURTS!

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 439, Miles: 2.60

Lessons

Picard finds himself wanting to do some personal work during an evening off but is interrupted from working, using the computer and even having a cup of tea. He is informed by Data that Stellar Cartography is allocating much of the ship’s resources for an experiment. Upon visiting the department he meets the new head of Stellar Science, Lt. Commander Nella Daren, who is a little brisk at first. Picard is curious about this woman and his interest grows when he watches her play in a music recital with Data in Ten-Forward. The two form a bond over music and their bond quickly turns to romance. Picard and Daren begin seeing a romantic relationship which is a struggle initially for Picard but he gives into his feelings and the two enjoy many enchanting duets. Picard is challenged when he must send Daren on a dangerous away mission to set up a special force field to protect a starbase from a fire storm. During the mission it appears that Daren has died in an accident and Picard feels terrible for sending the one he loves on a mission that killed her. Daren ends up surviving the mission and comes on board in rough shape, she feels bad for putting Picard through the ordeal and hopes that he does not feel guilty for what happened. Of course he does feel guilty and the two agree that she would be best to transfer to another ship. The episode ends on a somber note with Picard experiencing true love but having to give it up because of his career in Starfleet.

The first 35 minutes of the show can essentially be summed up as “BrownChickenBrownCow” meaning that Picard finally gets to get it on with a woman who is completely available to him and every bit his equal. In the end you feel bad for the guy because it seems he will never find true love and happiness. 

Starship Mine

This evening I decided to part in an adventure that I have not done since my days at St. Francis Junior High in the Family and Consumer Sciences room. Come to think of it, it may have just been called Home Economics back then but I can’t remember. Anyways back to the point, today I made banana bread! As I write this post my two loaves of goodness are baking and just like a nervous parent in the delivery room I hope they turn out okay and fulfill my hopes and dreams! Whenever I cook I reminded just how much I love to cook and bake and I wonder why I don’t do it more often. I am also reminded what a nightmare I can be in the kitchen. Not in the sense that things go wrong or fires start and houses burn down but in the sense that I am not always the most organized person in the kitchen. I am also partial to listening to cheesy ‘80’s music, singing, dancing and drinking while cooking. I am sure that I look like a crazy fool while in my kitchen but I maintain that it would make a wonderful cooking program for the Food Network. How often have we all watched those cooking shows like Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay or my personal favorite Giada de Laurentiis, and thought “how is it possible that this bitch is that organized when she cooks?” The answer is quite simply this… IT IS NOT POSSIBLE. Which is where my show, “One Crazy Bitch in the Kitch”, comes into play to add humor and simple cooking recipes that the American public might actually be able to recreate at home. Someday it may happen, you never know!

Also of special note today is that it is Star Trek's Birthday!!!!!! On this day in 1966 the very first episode of the original series aired, The Man Trap. Star Trek is 46 years old! I hope to be done with all the seasons by the time Star Trek turns 50 years old! I think I am well on the way to reaching that goal. 

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 632, Mile: 3.90

Starship Mine

The Enterprise has docked at the Remmler Array to be decontaminated using a baryon particle beam. This beam will not harm the ship’s structure or computer but is absolutely deadly to living materials so the entire ship must be cleared before the decontamination can take place. Picard is dreading this stop because base Commander Hutchinson has invited the senior staff to a reception while they are off the ship and he has a reputation to be talkative and annoying. While at the reception Hutchinson corners everyone but Picard finds a way out when horses are mentioned. Picard takes this opportunity to go back to the Enterprise to retrieve his personal saddle which of course any serious rider would always have with him. On the planet Riker pawns Data of on Hutchinson which is beneficial to everyone because Data is working on his small talk skills so it gives him practice and keeps Hutchinson away from everyone else. Back on the Enterprise Picard finds a technician messing with a conduit panel but before he can figure out what is happening he is captured. The Enterprise has been boarded by a small group of mercenaries who are trying to steal Trilithium resin, a deadly substance that can be used to make weapons. Picard escapes and begins attempting to thwart these terrorists’ plans to steal the materials, all while the deadly baryon beam is makings its way from the rear of the ship to the front. Back on the surface the senior staff is taken hostage in the reception room, they manage to outsmart the captors by modifying LaForge’s VISOR to emit a high frequency pulse that renders everyone but Data unconscious.  The terrorists get away but the Trilithium device explodes and they all die on their getaway ship and Picard has the beam turned off just in the nick of time.

The show features a brief appearance by Tim Russ who would later go on to play Tuvok in Star Trek Voyager a few years later. Interestingly enough Picard renders him unconscious by use of the Vulcan neck pinch, a funny bit of foreshadowing for his future character. The show plays very much like a Die Hard in space. I almost wanted to hear Picard say “Yippie Kaya Motherfucker!”

Birthright, Part 2

My new brown boots came in the mail today! I had been searching for a pair of brown ankle-height boots but have not been able to find them anywhere. I checked all of my favorite shoe stores including DSW, Kohls, Bass and the Famous Footwear where I bought my black pair of ankle-height boots. I finally broke down and found them on amazon and shipped them to my house. Ok well that is not the whole story. The real story is that yes I had been looking for these boots for a long time but then I finally got impatient and drunk one night an ordered them on amazon. The devil in my life is the amazon.com iPhone app because it makes it so damn easy to shop online in this modern age. And when you combine easy shopping on the phone and copious amounts of liquor… PAUL BE SHOPPIN’. It is a bad thing because every once in a while I have a random package show up in the house with a movie, book or piece of clothing inside it. It is almost like Christmas but I am the one paying for the gifts and getting surprised all at the same time. YEAH!

I forgot to write down my elliptical stats after my workout L

Weekly Weigh-In: 198!!!!

Birthright, Part II

Worf is being held against his will in the Klingon/Romulan camp just outside Romulan space. The Klingons in the camp explain to him that they were captured by the Romulans at Khitomer and requested to stay at this camp to avoid bringing shame to their families on the Klingon home world. The Romulan prison warden and the head Klingon explain that Worf must not be permitted to leave because they want the place to remain a secret from the Klingon home world. Worf meets several of members of the camp including the 20 something Klingon children who know nothing of their culture or the world outside of their camp. Worf is very disgruntled to learn about this and feels he must start educating these young Klingons about the ways of the warriror. The Romulan and Klingon leaders are quite upset and inform Worf that he must stop driving a wedge between these two racial groups. He explains that outside of the camp Romulans and Klingons hate each other. The Romulan leader explains that in the camp this is not the case in fact he reveals that he is married to a Klingon woman. Worf develops an attachment to one of the young females but this is thwarted when he sees that she has Romulan ears. She is the daughter of the Romulan leader and a Klingon woman. Worf can’t tolerate this initially but initially she turns his mind. Worf takes one of the young men on a hunt and this again pisses off the Romulan leader who sentences Worf to death. Before he can be killed the Klingon teenagers stop them and request to leave the planet with Worf. The leaders agree to let them leave but Worf makes the children promise not to mention the camp in order to protect their parents and their family honor. While all of this was happening the Enterprise has been looking for Worf but they have very little information to go off of. Eventually a Romulan supply ship meets the Enterprise and Worf and the children are beamed aboard to start their new lives. 

Birthright, Part 1

PURPLE PANTS! I think my obsession with nontraditionally colored pants has come to possibly its climax. I was at Target today with a coworker on a mission to pick up skittles for an activity in my homeroom. Well a skittles run turned into picking up not only skittles but a book, a lap desk a bottle of water and a pair of purple dress pants. They are not a bright purple but rather a very classy shade of aubergine that will look simply fabulous with my grey cardigan or my oatmeal cardigan that I bought earlier this year. I have been so enjoying reinventing my style this summer as I purchase a new wardrobe for myself. The goal is to change up my style a little and incorporate more colors into the wardrobe. In the past I have been in a black and grey phase that I am going to try to bust out of in a big way.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 642, Miles: 3.97

Birthright, Part 1

The Enterprise is docked at Space Station Deep Space Nine to assist the Bajoran government with repairs to the planet’s aqueduct system. While on board Worf is approached by an alien who claims to have information on his father who he claims is actually alive. This pisses Worf off to no end and the whole crew of the Enterprise seems to be in tuned with this fact and Troi even attempts to talk it out with him to no avail. Meanwhile Data has detected an intrusion in sickbay and he goes to investigate what is happening. He finds Dr. Bashir, DS9’s chief medical officer, who is working on an experiment dealing with a device found in the Gama Quadrant. While Bashir, LaForge and Data are working on the device in engineering it overcharges and a high powered beam hits Data. Data is out for about 45 seconds but during that time he has a vision of Dr. Soong working on a blacksmith’s anvil. He is resuscitated but the three cannot explain to occurrence of Data’s dream so they begin running diagnostics but Data is not satisfied with that so he begins examining his dreams. He talks to Picard about his dream who informs him to begin exploring his thoughts, so Data begins painting visions from his dream. Data then goes to  Worf for advice on what to do and hearing about Data’s father encourages him to go in search of his own father. Data convinces Bashir and LaForge to recreate the experiment and he is once again rendered unconscious. Data enters another dream state where he encounters Dr. Soong and has a conversation about his own cognitive abilities and how he has grown into a new level of consciousness. Data and Bashir have a conversation about his dreams and the two part ways with Bashir off to write a paper on the incident. Meanwhile Worf finds the Klingon camp in Romulan space and is perplexed to find that Klingons don’t want to leave the planet. The show ends with Worf being confronted by a few Romulan guards.

A large portion of this episode is based at Deep Space Nine and the show helps to serve as a bridge between The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Deep Space Nine had just premiered shortly before this episode aired and this was to help show a connection between the two Star Trek shows and encourage fans to watch the new show. 

Tapestry

Honestly nothing really that impressive happened today and I’ve made no profound discoveries on this fine Wednesday.

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 400, Miles: 2.5 

I only went for a 25 minute workout today and then did my crunches. 

Tapestry

Picard is involved in some type of accident and it renders him dead on the sickbay table. When he dies he sees a large white room and a “god like” figure in the distance, the figure though is Q who has now decided to mess with Picard in the afterlife. Picard and Q have an in depth discussion about his past and any possible regrets he may have. Picard expresses a desire to change the events surrounding him needing an artificial heart years ago when he was a new Starfleet Academy graduate. Picard suddenly comes to as he is slapped in the face by an angry woman that he apparently recently dumped! Picard is a young man in his twenties with his two good friends Marta and Cortin; the three are getting ready to part ways on their first assignments. Cortin is playing a game called Dom-Jot when a few Nausicans decide to challenge him to a match which Cortin loses. Cortin, Picard and Marta determine the Nausicans have cheated to win the game but Picard tries to talk the others out of getting revenge on the cheaters. Cortin decides to get revenge by cheating as well but eventually Picard stops him and thus he prevents him getting stabbed in the heart. Picard comes to on the Enterprise again but now he is a Lieutenant junior grade in the astrophysics department on the Enterprise. Picard is totally unsatisfied with this existence and talks Q into letting him redo his changes. Picard is sent back to the Dom-Jot table where the fight occurs and he loses his heart. After this he wakes up on the operating table and life goes on as usual. 

Face of the Enemy

The first day of school was a total success! I met a bunch of my students and had a really fun day! There is something very special about the energy in a school on the first day back to class. It is a very unique mixture of adrenaline, anxiety, fear, joy, anticipation, hormones and sweat. The latter of course being because it is always a million frickin degrees on the first day of school. The highlight of my day has to be having a pleasant conversation with one of my students about his new pet dog. The reason this is a highlight is because this student came into open house and said to me “I hate you and I don’t want to be in your class”. Making a real connection with a student is one of the reasons I love my job!

Elliptical Machine- Calories: 670, Miles: 4.09

Face Of The Enemy

Counselor Troi awakens in a dark room and is slightly disoriented and when she turns on the lights she makes a startling discovery, she has been transformed into a Romulan. She is informed by Sub Commander N’Vek that she has been recruited against her will to assist in the transportation of a mysterious cargo to Federation space. She is on board the Romulan Warbird Khazara and she is impersonating Major Rakal of the Tal Shiar, the Romulan intelligence organization. Troi is given very little information to work with and her first encounter with the commander of the ship goes rough but thankfully most Romulans fear the Tal Shiar. Troi and N’Vek meet in the cargo hold to examine the cargo being transported. The cargo is in all actuality three high ranking members of the Romulan Imperial Senate. Meanwhile on the Enterprise they are not missing Troi because she is supposed to be a psychology conference. The Enterprise picks up a former Starfleet ensign who 20 years ago defected to Romulus. He states that he was simply ready to rejoin his family and life on Earth and that he has a message from Ambassador Spock. His message is to send the Enterprise to meet up with a cargo ship to pick up some precious cargo. Meanwhile back on the Warbird, Troi is having difficulty keeping things under control with the Commader who is very resentful of the Tal Shiar and unwilling to cooperate. When the Warbird rendezvous with the cargo ship Troi says they are not trustworthy so N’Vek destroys this ship. Soon after, the Enterprise is on the scene to meet the cargo ship that was destroyed. The two ships play a cat and mouse game of trying to locate each other and figure out what is happening. Troi takes over the Warbird and shocks the Enterprise when she reveals herself as Commander of the ship. The cargo is secretly beamed on the bridge of the Enterprise but the Romulan Commander takes back control of the ship. Picard manages to get Troi of the Warbird just in time and she is returned to normal. 

Aquiel

Summer has officially ended today and school starts in full swing tomorrow morning. I am very scared about the 5:30 am wake up that I have planned for tomorrow, especially because I woke up today at nearly 11am! YIKES. It is going to be culture shock central at the Olson house tomorrow morning and it will be even worse because I have given up coffee and soda. Basically this means no wake up aid for me. With a weekend of food and drinking it goes without saying that I am up a few pounds from the other week but I am totally committed to getting back to my sub 200 weight.

Elliptical Machine: Calories-627, Miles- 3.37

Aquiel

The Enterprise has been sent to investigate the sudden loss of communication to a Federation communications station near the Klingon border. Upon beam down the only thing living at the station is a dog that was apparently one of the crew members pet. The station only had a crew of two, Lt. Aquiel Uhnari and Lt. Rocha. On the station Dr. Crusher finds some cellular residue on the floor boards and she brings it over to the Enterprise for analysis. The stations shuttle craft is missing and the investigation begins. LaForge begins looking through the station logs and Aquiel’s personal logs. He finds information linking problems to a Klingon patrol ship that has been harassing the station for the past few weeks. Picard contacts the Klingons who are initially unwilling to help but Picard plays the Gowron card and gets their support. The Klingons reveal that they did not kill Aquiel because they have her in custody for entering their space. For Federation members it is odd that the Klingons are so uncooperative with the matters of the investigation. Aquiel now on board the Enterprise has a pretty weak story which centers on her “not remembering what happened.” Riker and Picard continue investigating the whole thing and find that Aquiel had several issues with the newly assigned Lt. Rocha and that she appeared to possibly have a motive to kill him before leaving the station. LaForge continues working with Aquiel to figure out what happened but he has developed a very close personal and physical relationship with her which clouds his judgment. Meanwhile Crusher finally analyzes the cellular reside from the floor boards and it has some strange properties. It mimics the exact shape of her hand and she deduces that it is a coalescent organism that inhabits a being for it to survive. It is unclear if the organism is now the Klingon or Aquiel. While in the middle of a ritual mind meeting between LaForge and Aquiel, Riker interrupts and separates the two to save his life. While relaxing in his quarters with the dog we learn that the coalescent life form is currently the dog and LaForge destroys it. Aquiel turns out to be innocent and she heads back to Starfleet for reassignment and the parting between her and LaForge have a bittersweet parting. 

I personally think the episode would have been more interesting if Aquiel had simply been the killer. It would have made the parting between Geordi and Aquiel more disappointing and would have advanced his character in a better way. Plus I think that the whole weird being/the dog is the danger thing was a little far fetched and ridiculous... even for Star Trek. That is just my two cents on the subject. 

Ship In A Bottle

Yesterday was a glorious day outside and I took full advantage of the good weather. I went for a trail ride at my sister’s place with my sister and a friend of ours. My horse Beau was a bit of a turkey during the ride but it was still a very enjoyable time. After the ride I took the time and gave him a bath and a good grooming. I maintain that this is one of the most soothing and relaxing activities that I know of. There is a special bond between horse and man and when it is a good relationship it is very near a relation of equals.

Elliptical Machine- Calories:450, Miles:2.3

Ship In A Bottle

Data and LaForge are on the Holodeck engaging in some relaxation in the form of a Sherlock Holmes story but the program is malfunctioning. Data asks Lt. Barclay to run a diagnostic on the system and Barclay discovers the Professor Moriarty program that had been stored and frozen some 4 years ago. Professor Moriarty had somehow become self-aware and nearly a sentient life form and tried to take control of the Enterprise. Well he is back and mad as hell that he has been kept waiting for the last four years. He demands that he be removed from the holodeck and then confounds Picard and Data when he magically walks off the holodeck into the hall. He is told to wait for his time and be patient but of course Moriarty cannot do either of those things. He takes the Enterprise hostage and demands that he be given a way to remove his true love, Regina Bartholomew, off the holodeck. Picard, Data, and Barclay now attempt to work to meet Moriarty’s demands. They are unable to transport off the holodeck but Data makes a shocking discovery, that he, Picard and Barclay have never left the holodeck. The three put a plan into motion so that they can fool Moriarty and regain control of the Enterprise. Moriarty and Bartholomew are given a shuttle and take off to explore their new life together in the universe. Picard regains control of the Enterprise and it is revealed that Moriarty never left the holodeck and that he is now living in a simulator. In the end Picard poses the question that we all could be living in some holodeck simulator living out the dreams of some other master race out there in the universe.