Captain's Blog: Voyages of the USS Ulysses

Apache the Wolf Dog

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:38:00 +0000

Apache enjoys playing keep away with the tennis ball now. He gets the ball and then bobs and weaves and slides around to keep from letting you get it back. The fur along a line from his shoulder to his tail comes up and is quite interesting. He is becoming to look more and more like what he really is and it is very beautiful.
He is also very good therapy for me since I am afraid of big dogs. At the last dr visit on Saturday, April 19, he weighed between 66 and 71 pounds, couldn't get him to stand still long enough to get a definite reading.
He is learning to sit and wait before he takes his treat from my hand, I can hold it over his nose and he waits until I say ok and hand it to him before he takes it.
So we are both learning, he is 18 weeks now and I am glad that we have gotten him his shots. His brother and sister from the same litter have died, because they didn't get their shots. His sister was the runt and was the exact image of a wolf and was a beautiful little girl and so sweet. I am very sad that she is dead, his brother was more of a loner and flighty.
I have been working very hard trying to teach him and train myself not to be afraid of him.

I am waiting for him to get a little calmer, but then we are going to get a harness and a wagon and teach him how to pull it. Thinking of then decorating the wagon as the Captain's Yacht and use it to raise money at charity events. First thing we have to do is teach him not to get so excited and jump on people.

See you all next time.

USS Ulysses Has Lost One of Her Adopted Children

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:22:00 +0000

These pictures are the pictures of Reno at his 22nd Birthday Party, apparently the last pictures taken before he died.

I know that some of you are new to our ship, but for those of you that have been to the Living Desert and have been to Eagle Canyon, you remember our beloved, Reno.

My husband and I went to Wildlights last night and when we stopped by to see Reno we were told the very sad news that he is gone. Reno died in June of this year, shortly after his 22nd birthday.

For some background, for those that didn't know him. He was the oldest mountain lion in captivity, and was of our early adoptees at the Living Desert. Some of our members were able to have what is called a one-on-one with him. Which is time with him in his feeding room, with just a cyclone fence between you and him.

We were so very close, that I could have reached out and touched him, and boy did I want to, but they wouldn't let us. I know that I will miss seeing him when I go there, and I am very, very sad at his loss.

His mate, Sedona, has another mate now, but she is also getting up there in years, and yes she still does get that sore on her tail the keeper told us. The keeper said that the staff took his passing very hard, which is understandable, he had been at their facility for most of his life.

The Ulysses will be running with lights dimmed for the rest of the holiday season in honor of this great and majestic animal.

Sincerely,
Juanita Gamble, Vice-Admiral
CO, USS Ulysses

An Evening With Robert Picardo

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 05:33:00 +0000

OK, I admit it, I'm the token Original Series fan on the Ulysses, with a meager history of watching TNG, DS9 and Voyager episodes. Even so, the wry and intelligent Emergency Medical Hologram "Doctor" portrayed by Robert Picardo on Voyager was memorable like no other character on that show. "7 of 9" was memorable, but only in the sense that any stacked "actress" in a silver jumpsuit would be, and Chokotay was memorable as yet another Hollywood magical Injun whose wise aboriginal paganism confers the mystic power to commune with animal spirit guides. I'll grant aliens all kinds of superpowers, but unless the Virgin Mary gets equal time, don't throw tribal vision quests at me, OK? Anyway....

I've been in Vegas the last few days helping the IFT recruit at the Star Trek convention and I was thrilled to be invited to dinner with Mr. Picardo last night, as a guest of the IFT chapter USS Las Vegas. Dinner at the Stratosphere restaurant "Fellini's" was excellent and Mr. Picardo was very gracious, patient and generous in his dealings with the 25 or so in attendance. He took time to speak to everyone, posed for endless photos, and signed anything handed to him. He spoke to the group at large, recited passages from his book, and even sang a bit! And he indulged all questions from the audience politely and humorously. Need I mention that not all Star trek fans are socially adept? :-)

Looking a little more into his career today, I see that Picardo also crosses over into my comic-collecting life- he voiced both Amazo and Blackhawk in the Justice League animated series, and plays the Principal in the cartoon "Ben 10", about a superpowered kid. Anyway, a great time was had by all. While many actors I have met fall into the category of "dancing bear with ego problem", Picardo distinguished himself as a nice funny friendly guy. Unless of course he's really an SOB - he's a really great actor, so who can tell? :-)

Remembering Scotty

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 02:23:00 +0000

The very first rocket to launch from Spaceport America in New Mexico successfully delivered James Montgomery Doohan's ashes into space today, along with messages and condolences from his fans around the world, myself included.

Doohan is beloved by all Star Trek fans for his portrayal of Mr. Scott, stalwart Chief Engineer and 3rd in command of the Enterprise. But Doohan wasn't just a fictional hero. And since it was Doohan who died and not Scotty, let's honor the man instead of the character. Doohan was a true hero of WWII, fighting real-life Nazis before he ever met his first Klingon.

Here is an excerpt from his biography at Wikipedia: At the outbreak of the Second World War, Doohan, aged 19, joined the Royal Canadian Artillery, and was eventually commissioned as a lieutenant in the 13th Field Regiment, part of the divisional artillery of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Doohan went to the United Kingdom in 1940 for what became years of training. His first combat assignment was the invasion of Normandy at Juno Beach on D-Day. Shooting two snipers along the way, Doohan led his unit to higher ground through a field of anti-tank mines and took defensive positions for the night. Crossing between command posts at 11:30 that night, Doohan took six rounds from a Bren gun fired by a nervous sentry: four in his leg, one in the chest, and one through his right middle finger. The bullet to his chest was halted by the silver cigarette case he carried, and his wounded finger was amputated which he would conceal during his career as an actor.

Despite his injuries, Doohan remained in the military, trained as a pilot and flew an artillery observation plane. He flew Taylorcraft Auster Mark V aircraft for 666 (AOP) Squadron, RCAF, as a Royal Canadian Artillery officer in a flying role in support of #1 Canadian AGRA (Army Groups Royal Artillery). All three Canadian (AOP) RCAF Squadrons were manned by Artillery Officer-pilots and 'aircrewed' by Artillery personnel serving as observers. Though never actually a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, he was once labelled the "craziest pilot in the Canadian Air Forces." One of the many legendary stories of his flying years tells of Doohan slaloming a plane - variously cited as a Hurricane or a jet trainer - between mountainside telegraph poles to prove it could be done, which earned him a serious reprimand.

Rest in Peace James Montgomery Doohan.

Spring Is Here!

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 02:42:00 +0000

Can You Believe That We Even Had A Winter?

I guess we had to just make-believe this year, that we had a winter, which I think was more like summer for most of the time. These pictures are from 2004 when it snowed in Beaumont in April, can you believe that!
This year we got one day of snow, and it was gone before I got home from work, we even had to go high on the mountains to find any to drive in.
Well for those Californians, I hope that you enjoy these snow pictures, for those Mid-Westerners and Easterners, I know that you got more than your share this year. So just pretend that these are palm fronds flying around.

Hope that all of you have a good SPRING, and that you all remembered to set those clocks ahead, 3 weeks earlier than usual.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Juanita

Daylight Savings Time

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 22:47:00 +0000

Do you ever feel like time is stalking you? Do you feel like it is creeping up on you silently like a predator? Are you afraid to turn around in fear that there might be that large animal behind you, like our friend over there?

Well, don't look now, but Daylight Savings Time is stalking us again, and it is coming to get us tonight! So my friends, don't forget to set those clocks forward this weekend, and lose that one precious hour of sleep.

Don't let our little, or should I say, BIG, friend, TIME, get you, by forgetting to "SPRING FORWARD" for Daylight Savings Time.

Don't forget to join us for the Living Desert Away Mission on March 17, 2007 at 10:00 am.

Juanita

Here, there be whales...

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 02:02:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I joined our sister ship the USS Athena on a trip to watch whales off the coast of Long Beach. Although we spotted a few, they were a little shy. The sea lions were amusing and the weather and ocean were beautiful. Here's a short video:

Sorry for not posting!

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 03:06:00 +0000

I have been a little sick, ok a lot sick! I have the flu that is going around. Let me give you some advice, DON'T GET IT! This year, the flu is really nasty. The cough makes you feel like you are coughing up your lungs and your shoes.

On Tuesday night, I actually expected to see my feet coming up with my cough. I spent the night sitting in my chair coughing. I haven't been to work since last Friday, the doctor took me off for a week.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year and that no one else ends up looking like this, just laying on the floor and coughing.

Happy Holidays!

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 02:19:00 +0000

We hope that everyone had a good Thanksgiving and that everyone is going to have a great Christmas and Happy New Year.

Hope that we see everyone at your meetings and that we have a great 2007. Don't forget that we have our animal adoptions to vote on at our meeting.

Juanita

Khaaaaaaan!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Sun, 19 Nov 2006 06:38:00 +0000

Caught the special showing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at the Grauman's Chinese on Tuesday. It seemed to be an original theater print, but with the Director's Edition DVD fresh in my mind, it actually came up short on picture quality and suffered from the absence of the added scenes. BUT... there is absolutely nothing like seeing a film like this on the BIG screen, playing to a full house packed full of fans! The best and biggest TV is just not big enough to convey the majesty of a big movie and the contagious emotion of an audience.

The coolest part was the before and after "Inside the Actor's Studio"-type of live presentation featuring Majel Barrett Roddenberry before the movie, and director Nicholas Meyer and Gene Roddenberry Jr following it. We got to see 10 minutes of Roddenberry's upcoming documentary 'Trek Nation'. Meyer's anecdotes were especially candid and entertaining! Oh, and Chase Masterson was there too, adding virtually nothing.

This is just the greatest Trek movie ever. Say what you will about Shatner, but I love BIG stage actors like him and Montalban - I don't want to see some method actor mumbling his lines so they seem "real", I want ACTING! Kirk is THE Captain. Everything in this movie came together - the words, the performances, the direction, even the efx were advanced enough to be OK today. Needless to day, a great time was had by all!

Permanent spot on Laughlin league

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 03:52:00 +0000

I have been trying to get a spot on the Laughlin Mixers league that bowls on Tuesday nights since September. I was substituting for a lady for a couple of weeks but on last Tuesday I was told that I am going to be a permanent starting this Tuesday. That is why my kittie is so hyper this week. I am excited to be bowling.
So for all of you that try to get ahold of me, here is my schedule:
Tuesday: I bowl
Wednesday: we go to Skyline Softball game
Friday: I bowl

So I am online on Saturday, Sundays (sometimes), Mondays, and Thursdays.
You can always email too.
Juanita

Follow up on Bowling

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 03:03:00 +0000

Here is the results of my first night of the Tuesday bowling. I worked very hard to bowl the way they wanted me to and I bowled an average of 135 which falls within the parameters they set for me.

Janet said that they want me to bowl for her until January at least and depending on her results possibly permanently.

So I will keep you updated.

Juanita

Shanghaied by Pirates

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 02:44:00 +0000

On November 4th we were kidnapped by Pirates while attending a Ball. We were watching a very talented gypsy, when they just came from the ceiling and the woodwork, just like cockroaches and kidnapped all of us. But we did have a hunk of a pirate, Andre was gorgeous with bulging muscles and when he sweat, women hyperventilated.
The show was great, acrobatic pirates, great food, mostly good singers, except for the princess, she needed some practice. Treasure, the female pirate, proved that men will follow the orders of a woman, she spoke and those male pirates moved. She could sing also, she had a beautiful voice. Our pirate did end up on the good side, so we were happy. We had chicken and a choice of beef or shrimp with it, rice, veggies (yuck), and hot apples with ice cream drizzled in chocolate for dessert. And oh yeah, endless drinks, soda, ice tea, etc were free, alcoholic drinks were extra.
It was a very fun time, and very interactive, the pirates were always asking for crowd encouragement. Captain Jack Sparrow was even in our section of Orange, or at least a very good copy of him, all the way down to the mannerisms and speech patterns.
If you get the chance, I encourage you to go to the California Pirate's Dinner Adventure in Buena Park.

The Worse I Am the More They Want

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 04:04:00 +0000

It is so weird, the worse I bowl the more I am wanted. I have been trying to get on the Tuesday Laughlin league as a substitute and haven't been able to. The one person that wanted me to sub for her kept telling me that her surgery was being put off for one reason and another. And all the time my bowling on Friday was getting worse and worse. Now when my average is getting really sucky, I am sitting there Tuesday night watching Gene bowl and another women comes up to me and asks me to bowl for her starting Halloween and until at least the beginning of January.
So now I have to go tell the other lady that I have a chance to bowl now, and that she has to find someone else to bowl for her when her doctor finally decides to let her have her surgery.
The team I am going to bowl for wants me to bowl between 118-138. They are in 4th place, but it is very weird that someone wants you to bowl bad.

Very confused,
Juanita

Blue Angels are Coming so watch out Pirates!

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:29:00 +0000

The Blue Angels are performing this Saturday, October 14, 2006 at Miramar, no less. Yes indeedy folks, we are going to TOP GUN! These flyers are worth sitting out in the sun on the tarmac and sweating to see what they can do, I am definitely looking forward to it. I have a brother who retired from the Blue Angels and I have always wanted to see what they can do.

But those flyers have to watch themselves because on November 4, 2006 the pirates are going to be around. We will be going to the California Pirate's Dinner Adventure in Buena Park. This is another show that is worth the wait for. We will meet outside in line at 3:30, but make your reservations for the 5:00 show first. We hope to see you all there, and don't forget these are PIRATES! So be brave and be careful mateys!

Sincerely,
Juanita Gamble

You're not going to believe this!

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 04:04:00 +0000

Ok, everyone sit down! Oh, ok, you are sitting down. After three years in the works, "The Missing Clue" the latest mission of the crew of the USS Ulysses has been finished. Look for it's posting on the Ulysses website in the near future, the webmaster does have a personal life, and he does have to do some web magic to it before he can put it up. But Hey, it's done!

My Paper Fleet Grows!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 05:00:00 +0000

I have no idea if I'll do any more of these paper starship models or not, but this one was simple and small, about 5 inches total. Lots of interesting curves but horrible instructions. Well, it's cheap fun and it keeps me off the streets at night. And I did just find an Enterprise-E...

Trek Remastered Review

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 04:59:00 +0000

I stayed up well past bedtime Sunday night to watch the remastered classic Trek TOS episode "Balance of Terror", newly syndicated and playing on the local CBS affiliate. I didn't make notes or anything, since I wanted to simply enjoy it, but here are my impressions after a day or two. No, I haven't seen any other reviews.
First, the episode itself was a classic submarine battle with the added tension of an unknown enemy and a crewman's suspicion about Spock's loyalty. I don't have episodes memorized, but I couldn't spot any blatant edits for time, even though the episode was certainly short.
This new reincarnation of TOS is designed to spotlight a re-recorded theme, re-mastered sound, updated effects, HD-TV resolution, and a new video processing scheme to add "depth".
On the plus side, I had no issues with the sound, even the re-recorded theme. It sounded crisp and clear, and the theme was authentic. There was something about the video that just wasn't right. It was like the contrast was way too high. The color was over-saturated. Characters had shiny foreheads and shadows looked muddy. There's the possibility that this existed somewhat in the original episode, what with it deliberately designed as a claustrophobic nail-biter where the players are supposed to look sweaty. I should probably withhold judgement on the video until I see "lighter" episodes. Also note that I watched on a standard TV.
My real issue is that the average viewer isn't going to spot a damn bit of difference in the effects. Out of timid loyalty to fanatic purists, the newly digital Enterprise still flies at weird angles, the space scenes around the bridge are still washed-out stills, and the cosmos still look pretty mundane. Perhaps because this was a ship-bound story, there may not have been the opportunity for effects wizards to show off. But then why premier with this episode? My wife is slightly more familiar with Trek than the average viewer, and her reaction was "what's different?". Even the opening looked the same. Maybe the travelling matte outlines are gone, and the ship flies a little steadier, but there was a great opportunity here to really create a buzz about a cool new "Trek enhanced". But it just looks like "Trek cleaned-up". I see no added value that would make any station want to pull this out of the late night graveyard.

My Week in Focus

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 02:23:00 +0000

Geez, that sounds like the beginning of one of those news documentary kind of boring-type programs. I know it has been a while since I posted but it has been a long week. Tuesday night we went down to the bowling alley to see if we could get on the Tuesday Laughlin league, but still no openings.
Wednesday we went to the usual Skyline softball game to watch them pretend to know what they are doing. They are Gene's friends but they are not very good softball players, more like watching the Keystone Kops play sports, very entertaining.
Thursday was our day of rest, or was supposed to be, the air conditioner at work decided to forget how to work. The temperature was 96 degrees in the building all day and even our fans were blowing hot air. The people and the computers were running sluggishly. So when I got home, it was dinner and a nice cool bed, I was completely sick to my stomach from the heat.
Friday the building was freezing, they got the air conditioners fixed and as usual blasted them all night. It felt like it was about 12 degrees and so everyone was walking around with their sweaters and cups of coffee. When I got home we got ready and went down to our bowling night, and bowled pretty good. The team we are supposed to bowl against apparently quit, so we bowled against ourselves. When we got done bowling we went next door and had a drink at the Wheelhouse.
Saturday morning I was supposed to go to the Aquarium of the Pacific with the Athena crew but when the alarm went off, I was very dizzy and was having a sugar attack. I called off from the away mission and stayed in bed until about 11:00. Gene came home from having the blue truck smogged and asked how I was. I was feeling better so I went with him to the Route 66 Car Show in San Bernardino and walked around a little.
Now I am just catching up with all the things I didn't do during the week. Guess that's all for now.
Juanita

This Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 02:11:00 +0000

Had an eventful weekend. Enjoyed the Toshiba Tall Ships Festival in Dana Point, it was something that we had never done before and quite exciting. I was a little worried stepping across from ship to ship a couple of times since they weren't exactly moving in sync, but there were deck hands there to give a helping hand. We tried some of the food and also had our pictures taken dressed up as pirates, which was quite fun also.
On Sunday, Gene and I went to practice bowling and we played 6 games. Gene even bowled one game of 199, only one pin away from a 200, that was really exciting. We had kids next to us, so we had to educate them on how to be courteous while you bowled and wait your turn, but otherwise it was an enjoyable time.
I finally was able to get Gene to give in to letting me buy him the knee brace, he used the elbow brace when we bowled Friday on the Kings and Queens Vegas League. We hope to also get on the Tuesday night Laughlin League but we have to go back Tuesday to see if we can find two openings or not.
I also got my new phone, it is kind of a cross between a phone and a keyboard. It is a stick phone that opens up into a keyboard and has the camera in it and has the internet and I am going to download ringtones also.
Well I guess that's everything for this weekend.
Juanita

The wonders of science!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:02:00 +0000

The wonders of science! If you can read this post, I have figured out how to blog by phone!

A day on the Holodeck

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 02:25:00 +0000

I have a few hours before I have to start my tour on the bridge so I think that I will take a swim on the holodeck. So just use your imagination and see my lake, deep blue surrounded by a deep green forest. The trees are lush and full, and above is a large full moon to swim by. The water temperature is just right for a swim and it is very inviting.
So if you don't mind I will take my swim alone.
Carry on, Dismissed.
Vice-Admiral Gamble

These are the Remastered Voyages...

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 05:26:00 +0000

Word from StarTrek.com is that original series episodes are about to be remastered with all new digital effects shots, and even a re-recorded theme including the soaring vocal. Shatner's immortal voiceover will be kept but remastered. As long as the pacing, acting, and other substantive meat of the show isn't affected, I see nothing wrong with inserting CGI ship, planetscape, and space shots, especially if they replace the cheesy stills on the "monitors" around the bridge. Just as long as they don't replace phasers with walkie-talkies or make Greedo shoot first!

The updated episodes will only be available via brodcast outlets, no plans have been made to release to DVD. Although now that they've sold us the entire original series on DVD, you can count on seeing these next year around Christmas probably. And then a year or two later on Blu-Ray, and then in Super-Duper-Hologram-HD, etc, until we finally pay to have them implanted directly into our brains. Then they'll figure out how to completely CGI the entire dead-by-then cast and start making NEW episodes to sell us!

All quiet tonight

noreply@blogger.com (Juanita) — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 02:37:00 +0000

Night shift is quiet tonight on the bridge. I like third shift once in awhile, it gives me a chance to just sit back and enjoy command, without the pressure. Kind of like having my cake and eating it too. I am craving a cup of tea, so I think I will go get some. As I walk into my ready room, my mouth is already watering. I order Earl Grey, hot, and enjoy the tart smell of the Bergamot as it materializes on the replicator stand.
I go back to my seat, sit back down and watch the stars go by as I sip my tea. The night goes by without a problem. As the morning shift reports in and everyone changes duty information, I look forward to a nice, soft bed, and a long nap.
Vice-Admiral Gamble

Killing time on Labor Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Bob Rivard) — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 06:16:00 +0000

Like I don't have enough to do, I decided this weekend to attempt building a paper model of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701 bridge. I've found various websites where insane people have published printable models of just about anything you can imagine. The bridge model really caught my eye, and aside from reacquainting myself with the X-acto knife, wasn't that hard to build. I learned a lesson or two should I try this again, but all in all it came out pretty spiffy!