STAR TREK PICARD

No time to write much tonight... gotta get up early tomorrow to watch Season 1 Episode 4 of Star Trek Picard which should be available the moment I wake up tomorrow!

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STAR TREK DISCOVERY

For much of 2016 and virtually all of 2017 I was casually looking forward to watching the newly announced Star Trek series being produced by CBS. The series premiere aired on CBS last September. It was OK, but it was not enough to inspire me to sign up for cbs all-access to watch additional episodes.  I am currently enjoying a five week free trial of cbs all-access and I caught up on the series and have been watching it week by week for the past three weeks. The series is beginning to grow on me. It uses a much more modern storytelling technique than the original Star Trek from the 1960's, Star Trek Next Generation or Star Trek Voyager.  Star Trek Discovery has a 15 episode story that it has been unfolding and it is compelling. As different as this Star Trek is form its earlier incarnations, it is still Star Trek.

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, January 27, 2018

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Apples and Cinnamon	780	162	9	18	1,020	72
Met Rx Chocolate Cookie Dough	400	58	6	31	167	28
	1,180	220	15	49	1,187	100
L U N C H
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich	700	55	31	17	286	31
Libby's - Sweet Peas	245	42	2	14	1,050	21
	945	97	33	31	1,336	52
D I N N E R
Panda Express Brown Steamed Rice	440	75	11	10	420	2
Panda Express Honey Walnut Shrimp	400	30	26	16	520	10
Panda Express  Broccoli Beef	300	26	14	18	1,040	14
	1,140	131	51	44	1,980	26
Totals	3,265	448	99	124	4,503	178
Your Daily Goal	2,038	255	68	102	2,300	76
Remaining	-1,227	-193	-31	-22	-2,203	-102
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 108 extra calories from exercise today

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STAR TREK BOLDLY GOES INTO THE CLASSROOM

I was not the best student in grammar school, although I skated through with a some timely help from my parents as well as on the strength of my innate intelligence. This plan kept me going into high school, although it sputtered  quite a bit once I hit biology, chemistry, physics and calculus.  My college career was not an overwhelming success as I had not developed the proper study habits required.  Obviously, I was taking the wrong courses.  I am sure I could have easily 'aced' a class on Star Trek, like the one currently offered at UC Davis in California. Now that's something I could have easily sank my teeth into.
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from theaggie.org (The California Aggie)
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Star Trek as a Social Theory: To Boldly Go Into the Classroom

DAVID MADEY — SCIENCE@THEAGGIE.ORG

January 25, 201818

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  UC Davis students learn how fictional universe mirrors our own

For over 50 years, the science fiction franchise “Star Trek” has captivated millions of fans worldwide. And at UC Davis, you don’t have to travel across the universe to take a ride aboard the USS Enterprise. There’s a class for that.

Anthropology professor James Smith, a “Star Trek” fan himself, is the Captain of the ANT 191: Topics in Anthropology starship crew. The course title is “Star Trek as a Social Theory.”

“This course uses ‘Star Trek’ as a vehicle for understanding critical themes in social theory and anthropology, while also teaching students how to think about ‘popular culture,’ television, and daily life anthropologically,” Smith said.

Each week, students watch a single, 42-minute “Star Trek” episode in addition to assigned readings and in-class discussions analyzing social and anthropological theory. The series acts as a cultural map, mirroring the social constructions of one universe and comparing it to our own.    

“It reflects the optimism of the Kennedy era in the U.S., and also presents an opportunity for us to question some of the assumptions informing that optimism,” Smith said.

Students examine questions like: Should there be a universal standard for making ethical decisions? Does technology make us “more human” or does it enslave us? 

“I want students to think seriously and critically about what these imaginings of future entail so they can learn to understand some of the cultural assumptions that are packed into them,” Smith said.

Currently, the class is watching episodes from “Star Trek: The Original Series” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” but Smith says he may explore more of the franchise in the future.  

On Dec. 4, the UC Davis Human Rights Lecture Series explored how “Star Trek” can be used as a tool for students to examine human rights-related topics. And now, for the first time at UC Davis, “Star Trek” has become the framework for an academic course.

Human Rights Studies Director Keith David Watenpaugh and Chancellor Gary May co-hosted the event at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. The title of the series was “Star Trek/Human Rights: To Boldly Go to Human Rights for All.”

“Certainly in the 50 years since ‘Star Trek’ appeared, talking about, contesting, fighting, and dying for human rights has been a definitive element to being human,” Watenpaugh said.

The “Star Trek” franchise inspired May to pursue the sciences at a young age. With a background in electrical engineering and computer science, May did just that.  

“I’m thrilled to hear about the new ‘Star Trek’ class and I hope to visit it, along with another class called the Science of Superheroes,” May said. “As many people know, I’m a ‘Star Trek’ fan — the original series — and one of the reasons I like it so much is because it deals with broader issues of the human condition: rights, race and ethics.”

As such, May jump-started a 10-year campus-wide initiative entitled, “To Boldly Go.”  The plan seeks to increase UC Davis’ national ranking by strengthening the university’s research expertise and growing a diverse community that represents the demographics of California. A final plan is scheduled to completed this July.  

May is also an aficionado of other superhero franchises like the “Avengers,” “X-Men” and “Justice League” because of their pursuits for good.  

“I want students to feel empowered to be like superheroes — agents of their own success, their careers and their destinies — to do some good in the world,” May said.  

The class will also explore the more specific themes of “Star Trek” such as politics, freedom, translation, empire, capitalism and more. 

“The numerous episodes that responded to human right issues in the 1960s still resonate with us today, and also give us a sense of how people in that era were thinking about rights and also the timeless nature of human rights questions,” Watenpaugh said.

The end of the course entails a creative writing assignment in which students imagine that they are a part of a Klingon or Vulcan High Council. As a member of the council, the students must go revisit the year 2018 and write an ethnographic report on some aspect of the community from the lens of either a Klingon or Vulcan standpoint. The assignment gears students to explore the issues inherently constructed in our society.

“In the Star Trek world, this utopian future emerges after apocalyptic events in our current near future, so there is a message about the end of the world not in fact being the actual end, but rather the beginning of something else,” Smith said.

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Your Food Diary For:

Friday, January 26, 2018

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Instant oatmeal - Apples and Cinnamon	780	162	9	18	1,020	72
	780	162	9	18	1,020	72
L U N C H
Subway - Seafood Sensation	820	100	38	26	1,480	16
Chips - Chips	375	38	23	5	425	3
	1,195	138	61	31	1,905	19
D I N N E R
California Sushi Sampler	600	92	18	12	1,800	16
	600	92	18	12	1,800	16
S N A C K S
Klondike - Klondike Bar, 1 bar	250	29	14	3	70	23
	250	29	14	3	70	23
Totals	2,825	421	102	64	4,795	130
Your Daily Goal	1,972	246	65	99	2,300	74
Remaining	-853	-175	-37	35	-2,495	-56
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 42 extra calories from exercise today

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Saturday Weight 251.3 lbs

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MARC DAMNIT!

from the urban dictionary....

god damnit 

The phrase "God Damnit", which when expressed in a grammatically correct fashion would read "God Damn It," is a vulgarity used to express frustration. It's literal definition is "May the Christian God Damn it to Hell". In slang, it is a phrase used in a generally non-religious context. For example, if one cannot get an electronic device to work properly, one might exclaim "God Damnit!", meaning that you are so upset with the device you wish that God would condemn it to eternal damnation.
It is rarely used literally, and is considered a lesser of vulgarities, though to the extremely religious it is considered highly offensive. In the Christian faith it is considered a violation of one of the ten commandments.
"I can't get this VCR to work! God Damnit!"

There is no god responsible for the backwards march of my weight. There is one person responsible. Me. Marc. My title of today's blog post, Marc Damnit is meant to show that I am upset with me.  and me only.  There is a solution to this. Stop being a jerk. I did not forget how to manage my weight. I simply stopped. I made hundreds of wrong decisions. I lost weight making hundreds of good decisions. So today, I declare that I am going to REVERSE the direction of my weight. (again)
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This morning, the scale said: 263.3 lbs.  I was sad when my weight crested over 240 lbs. I was sadder when it crested over 250 lbs. I was devastated when my weight crested over 260 lbs. The thing about losing weight is this: When I make my first initial success getting under 260 lbs. I will oddly be happy. No check that... not happy.... happier... no check that... less devastated... ah heck... Let me just be happy. First I have to get (back) there.  Once I get back under 260 lbs, then I will worry how I should feel about it.

I will begin again today by carefully watching what I eat and logging everything just like I used to when I was so successful in the past.

KOBAYASHI MARU

My 9th grader told me that she has an assignment at school to write an essay on what the United States should do about the nuclear weapons program in North Korea. I wonder if her teacher is familiar with the Kobayashi Maru? (hint: Star Trek reference)  I believe that even Captain Kirk would be stumped by this one. We know what won't work. And I have not heard from anyone who has some good idea that does not involve the destruction of South Korea as collateral damage. I believe we can thank both President Carter and President Clinton for pretending to solve this problem nearly 25 years ago.  The lie that the problem was resolved 25 years ago is just like the lie that the problem in Iran was solved last year. My point is that the solution is unknown. Captain Kirk defeated the Kobayashi Maru stimulation by cheating, but he did beat it. Clinton, Carter and Obama 'defeated' rogue nuclear weapons proliferation by pretending to solve the problem. 

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OPINION

EDITORIAL

You can thank Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton for North Korea’s nukes

By Post Editorial Board

January 6, 2016 | 8:54pm

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North Korea’s boast that it just detonated its first hydrogen bomb met instant doubts from the White House and arms experts. If they’re right, Pyongyang “only” has plain-old atomic bombs. What a . . . relief? But, as one Chinese expert told The Wall Street Journal, the H-bomb claim still shows that tyrant Kim Jong-un is “marching in that direction.” For all this, thank Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. North Korea couldn’t have done it without their gullibility. Back in 1994, President Clinton prepared to confront North Korea over CIA reports it had built nuclear warheads and its subsequent threats to engulf Japan and South Korea in “a sea of fire.” Enter self-appointed peacemaker Carter: The ex-prez scurried off to Pyongyang and negotiated a sellout deal that gave North Korea two new reactors and $5 billion in aid in return for a promise to quit seeking nukes. Clinton embraced this appeasement as achieving “an end to the threat of nuclear proliferation on the Korean Peninsula” — with compliance verified by international inspectors. Carter wound up winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his dubious efforts. But in 2002, the North Koreans ’fessed up: They’d begun violating the accord on Day One. Four years later, Pyongyang detonated its first nuke. Now, the Obama administration (long content to kick the North Korea can down the road) says it will never “accept” a nuclear North Korea. Funny: The president said the same thing about Iran, then cut a deal that guarantees the ayatollahs go atomic. Yet North Korea is more of a wild card, a concentration camp of a nation run by a tiny, ruthless elite. If it ever lives up to its boasts and unleashes that “sea of fire,” will Carter, Clinton and Obama shed public tears for Pyongyang’s victims?

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Your Food Diary For:

Monday, May 15, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal	600	114	12	24	450	0
	600	114	12	24	450	0
L U N C H
Read - 3 Bean Salad	300	65	0	5	1,500	40
Chicken Tenders	200	14	10	12	520	0
	500	79	10	17	2,020	40
D I N N E R
Grilled Cheese, 2 sandwich	832	74	45	33	700	12
	832	74	45	33	700	12
S N A C K S
Skinny Cow - Salted Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream	480	51	27	6	255	36
	480	51	27	6	255	36
Totals	2,412	318	94	80	3,425	88
Your Daily Goal	3,579	447	119	179	2,300	134
Remaining	1,167	129	25	99	-1,125	46
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g

Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, May 15, 2017

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
5.0 Mile Urban Hike	69	939
4.5 Mile Urban Hike	74	710
Daily Total / Goal	143 / 30	1,649 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	143 / 210	1,649 / 4,130

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EVEN STEPHEN HAWKING CAN BE WRONG

I can think of nothing that is going to make people question my humilty than if I question Stephen Hawking. Stephen Hawking has one of the greatest minds on anyone living on earth in the last few generations when it comes to astrophysics, quantum mechanics and the evolution of the universe. This has been his specialty. Recently he has warned that if humankind is to survive global warming, we might have to colonize new planets. Even if we take the scientific 'chicken littles' seriously who are warning about the temperature of the earth rising 1°C over the next 100 years. Is it reasonable that we are going to find another planet in a nearby solar system that is as perfect as Earth is even after 100 years of global warming? The lesson here is that a genius in astrophysics is not necessarily a genius in climate change or socio-economic policy. I suspect that readers of the New York Times and graduates of elite universities will have trouble understanding this. That is why I am trying to provide guidance. Geniuses in astrophysics are not necessarily the same people that I would unquestionably seek guidance from in other areas that are outside their expertise.

Think about it. For example, would you take geo-political advice from someone who had excelled in real-estate development?  Oops, bad example. However, regarding our president, we must remember that in the election that was held in November, Trump bested someone who had never excelled in any field. Oops. Again this is not true. I seem to remember that Hillary Clinton cleverly invested $1,000 in cattle future contracts and made $100,000 in profits.  That's not too shabby. Still, being an expert in bribery and dishonest kickbacks is only an accomplishment in that she has (so far) avoided prison.

Back to my original thesis for the day regarding the warning from Stephen Hawking...  It is true that the increased heat from our sun is definitely going to make our planet uninhabitable...in about billion years. Therefore it is true that eventually we may have to leave our neighborhood in the Milky Way - but we really do have plenty of time. We can use that time to work on our warp engines and transporters. 

from the telegraph.co.uk

Tomorrow’s World returns to BBC with startling warning from Stephen Hawking – we must leave Earth 

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   Sarah Knapton, science editor 

2 MAY 2017 • 4:46PM

Humans will need to colonise another planet within one hundred years to ensure our survival, according to Professor Stephen Hawking. The astrophysicist has made a new documentary, Expedition New Earth, as part of the BBC’s new science season Tomorrow’s World. In it he will claim that time is running out for Earth and if humanity is to survive climate change, asteroid strikes, epidemics and overpopulation we will need to leave our planet and venture further afield.

Your Food Diary For:

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker - Instant Oatmeal - Original	400	76	8	16	300	0
	400	76	8	16	300	0
L U N C H
Taylor Farms - Asian Chopped Salad	560	46	42	11	1,155	21
	560	46	42	11	1,155	21
D I N N E R
Homemade - Beef and Bean Burrito	600	50	47	77	2,000	0
	600	50	47	77	2,000	0
S N A C K S
Ice Cream Sandwich, 1 Sandwich	180	29	6	3	135	16
Cottage Cheese w/ Mango	300	25	6	35	924	23
	480	54	12	38	1,059	39
Totals	2,040	226	109	142	4,514	60
Your Daily Goal	1,997	249	66	100	2,300	75
Remaining	-43	23	-43	-42	-2,214	15
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g

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We will leave our solar system when we are ready... We have plenty of time to develop our means of transportation. We are going to need a proper ship, and a transporter room might come in handy as well. 

ENTERPRISE

After finally finding the time, and the sunlight to visit an actual trail on Tuesday, I was back indoors on an elliptical machine on Wednesday. As I mentioned in a previous post, there are four seasons: Sping, Summer, Autumn and Netflix.  When one spends so much time on an elliptical machine looking for a diversion - there is nothing better than discovering a new TV series to watch. As a guy who had seen every episode of the original Star Trek, Star Trek Next Generation and Star Trek Voyager - I had somehow managed to never see Star Trek Enterprise. I have been remedying that situation lately. I guess after that, I can watch Star Trek Deep Space Nine.  And when I am done with all of that - it should be time of the brand new Star Trek making its debut in May.  Star Trek Discovery. I like Star Trek.

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from wikipedia...

Star Trek: Enterprise (titled simply Enterprise until the third episode of season three) is an American science fiction television series created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series. It originally aired from September 26, 2001 to May 13, 2005 on UPN, spanning 98 episodes across four seasons. Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the first Starfleet starship, Enterprise (registration NX-01), as they explore the galaxy. An ongoing storyline, referred to as the Temporal Cold War, continued through the third season, in which forces from the future attempted to manipulate events in the present. In the third season, an escalation of this campaign introduced the Xindi and dealt with the repercussions of their attack on Earth.

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Your Food Diary For:

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Trader Joe's Apple Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal	650	135	8	15	850	60
Bread, raisin, toasted, enriched	168	32	3	5	214	4
	818	167	11	20	1,064	64
L U N C H
Subway - Footlong Steak and Cheese	760	96	20	52	2,060	16
Harvest - Sun Chips, 1 bag	210	29	9	3	310	0
	970	125	29	55	2,370	16
D I N N E R
Kroger - Chef Salad	1,000	27	73	58	1,846	15
	1,000	27	73	58	1,846	15
S N A C K S
Fit Crunch - Cookies and Cream, 1 Bar (88g)	380	27	16	30	490	6
	380	27	16	30	490	6
Totals	3,168	346	129	163	5,770	101
Your Daily Goal	2,488	311	83	125	2,300	93
Remaining	-680	-35	-46	-38	-3,470	-8
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g

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       Your Exercise Diary for:

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
Elliptical Trainer	102	698
Daily Total / Goal	102 / 30	698 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	298 / 210	2,280 / 4,130