al1701

Al goes see Star Trek

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:39:59 GMT

I went to the Star Trek exhibit at the Detroit Science Center today. They had props, costumes, and models from the movies and series as well as mock-ups the original bridge and the TNG transporter. They also had a shuttle simulator. It was cool and a good use of a day.

If any trek fans are reading this, I also wanted to put down my thoughts about the new Star Trek movie coming out in less than two months. Specifically, I my thoughts on fans early reactions.

Long story short: Shut the hell up and actually watch the damn movie before passing judgment.

I know ConfusedMatthew has already voiced his disgust about the trailer on YouTube. I'd like to personally thank him for starting the hating before this film has even reached threaters. This has already spilled over on to the new ship as well. Seriously, you people need to simmer down.

The ship design is great. It takes the original series design and makes it look modern. I know people wanted to see the original ship but that wouldn't even fly in threaters in 1979 which is why they changed the design for the first six movies. I'd go so far as to say the new design is better than the original.

I'd also like to mention I believe the biggest bellyachers out there don't know much about the original series. You're complaining about how Star Trek is not an action franchise but forgetting the original series was an action series. It wasn't an episode of the first season unless Kirk ripped his shirt and/or there was a fight in the engine room. One of the great things about the original series was it combined action and cerebralism.

Also, THIS IS A TRAILER! Cerebralism is never done justice but a couple minute long trailer. The trailer is meant to get you psyched about the movie. Action gets people in the threaters. So, wait until you've actually seen the fricking movie before you start complaining.

It was bound to happen

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:17:09 GMT

We got our first decent snowfall here at Mount Pleasant. It wasn't too much but enough to cover the grass. It also snowed at my parent's house. My mom's mad because she isn't a huge fan of snow. And the road commission says they'll be scaling back plowing and salting side roads after running out of salt last year. Hopefully, this winter won't be as brutal.

I don't know what it is, but firefox is screwed up at the moment. It won't even let me post here. So, until I find out what's going on, I'll be using explorer.

CMU and Ball State Going to Play for All the Marbles

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:57:27 GMT

After a nail biter of a finish, Central Michigan is heading into what could be the division championship game against the undefeated Ball State. Being a Chip, I'm hoping to CMU to pull off a win to get our third straight trip to Ford Field and the MAC Championship. This game will be here in Mount Pleasant where our football team has been unstoppable. We're also the first real threat Ball State has faced this year in their milk toast schedule. This should be a good game.

In other news, it looks like my fears of Senator Sarah Palin will not come to pass ~~thank God~~. Beigch has pulled ahead as they count the early and absentee ballots. Minnesota is going to a recount and Georgia is headed to a runoff. Just when you thought the election was over.

Obama wins

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:12:32 GMT

Obama has won the presidency convincingly (not by historical landslide numbers yet but more convincingly than Bush did in either of his elections). I'm officially a happy camper. I've been pulling for him since January and I'm glad to see him go all the way in spectacular fashion. Now he has to take the controls of this train wreck Bush has left him. Hopefully how he ran his campaign is an indication of how he'll run the nation.

Here in Michigan the Democrats now have 8 of our 15 house seats and Levin was reelected. Both the medical use of marijuana and stem cell research have been approved by the voters as well. We didn't pick off McCotter though.

Now we have to wait to see if Obama takes Indiana, North Carolina, and Missouri. He's looking good in IN and NC but MO could go either way.
Of the senate races, Steven's scares me the most. If he wins, he'll be expelled on the spot there will be a special election that in all likelihood yield Senator Sarah Palin.

Weather and the election

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:38:19 GMT

I forgot about my own account for a while there. Well, it's election day and guess what, weather plays a role in it.

It a commonly accepted fact that Republicans benefit slightly from bad weather on election day. The people mostly to be discouraged by rain and snow are lower income people who tend to vote Democratic. It's probably not enough to swing any but the closest elections but it's one of those little statistical things people look into. This is year is poised to throw a curve ball on this.

What we're looking at is discouraging weather going head-to-head with enthusiasm about the candidate. Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, has put up incredible enthusiasm numbers especially compared to his Republican opponent, John McCain. So, the question is if Obama supporters are willing to brave the win to vote for their candidate. We will probably know this evening. Rain is forecast on the Eastern Seaboard where many battleground states will giving us our first clues of Obama's performance.

Weather Journal Week 2

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 12:39:54 GMT

Week in Review: Finally winter seems to be well entrenched here in Michigan. Snow blankets the ground and the temperatures are bitterly cold. The week started out a little mild (for Michigan January standards) but the temperatures fell by the end of the week. Obviously, everything that fell out of the sky was frozen and maybe amounts to a few inches. There was nothing to remarkable around here this week. Though that goes for much of the country. Unlike last week there wasn't much gulf influence and that hampered severe weather development somewhat.

This coming week. The cold should continue and a few more inches of snow are expected for Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The temps should moderate somewhat late next week and into the following weekend though still remain below freezing. So winter sports lovers in Michigan should be happy. Outside of the system moving through Monday and Monday night there shouldn't be anything too noteworthy. But you never know with Michigan weather. If anything happens, it will be here.

World Weather Events: Northern Winter tends to be a quiet period in the weather news world. While no doubt something weather related happened, it wasn't enough to really make the news. However, the dreary conditions for the South Carolina primary might have affected turn outs.

Welcome to Al's Weather Journal

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 13:48:07 GMT

So, here's the first entry in my weather journal. Basically a weekly (if I remember to do it) review of my local weather for the past week and my thoughts on the weather for the week ahead. I'll also have thought on major weather events from around the world.

First off: Week in review.
I live in Michigan where the slogan about the weather is "if you don't like the weather, wait five minutes for it to change". Well, that sums up this past week. We started out with spring-like thunderstorms that flooded my dorm's parking lot (but fortunately not my car) and put CMU in the dark for 21 hours. Then we went back into winter with a coating of snow falling Thursday Night and Friday Morning. Well, not exactly five minutes but still quite changeable.

Next Week
Forecast shows my area going into the deep freeze (finally, I'm tired of these mild winters). Snow prospects also look promising so hopefully winter will actually stick around after a January thaw on steroids. I won't go into details since forecasts tend to fluctuate shift to shift. Still, if this going forecast holds, I'll be one happy camper.

Major Weather Event
Snow in Baghdad. In recent years the Middle East has had its fair share of freak snow storms. It's certainly unusual for region that during the summer bakes in triple digit heat. Perhaps it's evidence of climate change. People are seeing it as a sign or peace which would certainly be welcome there.

Hopefully I'll have some more interesting entries during the Hurricane Season and Severe Weather seasons. But, if we get some active or unusual weather I'll write about it.