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Tag: Star Trek

September 17, 2023

I Discovered a Klingon Prison Planet Hidden in Alaska

While flying over this glacier in the Chugach Mountain Range, fact and fiction merged into one reality, as I was suddenly transported to the Star Trek universe. Here’s what happened.

In “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country” (1991), you may recall that Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy are banished to a Klingon ice planet, and it’s home to a not-so-cozy penal colony. Spoiler alert – They don’t stay there forever. When they break out, Kirk and McCoy have to hoof it on the frozen landscape beyond the Klingon force field to send their distress signal to the Enterprise.

Today’s topic is about that fictional Klingon icy terrain. Turns out it’s not that fictional.

The Elusive Denali
On the last full day of our Alaska trip, my family and I were hoping to take a plane ride up to see the famous Denali (the tallest mountain in North America). Any other transportation route starting from Anchorage would have taken too long for our 10-day itinerary.

The big unknown was if that day would offer decent enough weather conditions to fly around Denali. And apparently, those days are few and far between. We had originally scheduled our Denali plane ride during our very first day in Anchorage. But knowing the atmospheric odds were against us, we had this back-up day planned as well. As it turned out, both days failed the weather test. Fortunately, we were also prepared for that likelihood.

Glacier Flightseeing Tour
So, the backup plan was to take a Knik and Colony Glacier flightseeing tour (by Regal Air) in a tiny Cessna plane through the Chugach Mountain Range.

Whoa! What a ride. It was simply spectacular flying right over these glaciers. Sure, we had already seen a few glaciers while hiking in the Kenai Fjords National Park and during our glacier cruise on Prince William Sound. But doing a flyover was an entirely different adventure.

It’s hard to describe exactly what it’s like to experience a glacier this way. So, let me show you. Here’s some of my GoPro footage from our remarkable flight.


The Undiscovered Country
But as the title of this post suggests, there’s a bit more to my story.

While we were passing over Knik Glacier, our pilot informed us (as a throwaway comment) that below us was where they filmed scenes from one of the Star Trek movies with Captain Kirk.

I quickly turned my attention away from the outside view.

Star Trek? Star Trek? What?! (My Trekkie mind kicked into overdrive.)

“Which one?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I think the one with a Klingon planet.”

Klingon? Klingon planet? Klingon glacier? Klingon ice planet?

Holy Pike! It was Rura Penthe! Of course… the Klingon penal planetoid from “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country!”

I blurted it out for everyone to hear above the roar of the Cessna engine. (I felt like I had just won a round of “Jeopardy.”)

The pilot smiled at me. She said with a bit of amusement, “Yes, that sounds right.”

I could tell she wasn’t a Trekkie. But she was clearly a really great pilot. That was good enough for me.

Knik Glacier is my Star Trek Nexus
When we got home, I scrubbed through “Star Trek VI” on my iPhone, and yep, there it was. Knik Glacier.

So yes, my family and I visited Rura Penthe during our Alaska vacation.

It’s a nice place to visit. But I wouldn’t want to stick around for too long.

And don’t forget, the terrain is best viewed either from a Cessna… or a Federation starship.

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June 18, 2023

Why Strange New Worlds is Now my Favorite Star Trek Series

This Star Trek prequel has made what’s old new again. Here’s how it continues to successfully bridge the generations in my home as season 2 begins.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved season 3 of “Star Trek: Picard.” Of course there was pent-up demand to get the band back together for one more adventure. Yes, “Picard” was awesome, even though it felt like the last few episodes were rushed to get it all in. And yes, there were some plot holes, but who cares?!

We got another season of “The Next Generation,” and mostly at its best. That’s a gift, and a proper send off after the last movie (“Nemesis”) offered such an unsatisfying ending two decades ago.

But “Star Trek: Picard” was about good endings. “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” is about great beginnings.

Fun in the 23rd Century
I’ve said before that “Strange New Worlds” on Paramount+ has nailed the successful recipe of “Star Trek” better than any Trek since the original series. And in some ways, “Strange New Worlds” has improved on it.

It’s fun and optimistic. Each character and attached actor is compelling. The scripts are smart. The special effects lavish geeky love on the Enterprise in ways we Trekkies have only dreamed of.

But the show is no lightweight. It’s got some serious themes. Really serious. If you know “Star Trek,” you know the tragic story of Captain Christopher Pike, who precedes Captain Kirk. And the writers have decided to give Pike’s character insight on his future. Whoa. That’s heavy.

We know how it ends. Or do we?

Captain Pike Rocks!
Speaking of Pike, I’ve got to say that Anson Mount gives us arguably the best captain in the Star Trek universe. I know that’s going way out on a limb. But he perfectly captures the essence of the original Starfleet captain: a bold boy scout who still breaks the rules when warranted. He’s also really fun to watch.

His acting helps this series feel entirely confident and comfortable. It needed no time finding its groove.

“Strange New Worlds” is so confident in itself that it sidelined Captain Pike in the first episode of its second season and leaves the whole story to Spock and the rest of the crew, including Nurse Chapel and Dr. M’Benga.

Spock and Nurse Chapel
The first season set the structure of giving major storylines to each of the supporting characters throughout different episodes, and this trend is happily continuing. Instead of overinvesting in new guest characters each week, The writers of “Strange New Worlds” continue to focus on deepening our understanding of the Enterprise crew.

And we already thought we knew many of these characters, right?

Admittedly, the writers are bending Star Trek canon a bit, especially with the growing relationship between Spock and Nurse Chapel. But I think that’s absolutely fine. By now, we’re used to plenty of ‘reimagining’ of core science fiction stories.

Star Trek Doesn’t Need Salty Language
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” manages to be both fresh and retro simultaneously. It proves that you don’t have to warp Star Trek down a dark path to try to reinvent it like “Star Trek: Discovery” originally attempted.

It’s also resisted the urge to throw around four-letter words like both “Discovery” and “Picard” have done. Thank you very much.

Not that salty language is so critical an issue for me anymore, as our son is now thirteen. He consumes plenty of profanity when watching the MCU.

But back when “Discovery” premiered, he was only seven. And I was really upset that we couldn’t watch new “Star Trek” together.

Appointment Viewing
Happily, “Strange New Worlds” is Lester family viewing time. And this Trekkie dad couldn’t be more pleased to finally be sharing his life-long passion with his son. My boy loved the show’s first season.

No, “Star Trek” is not quite as cool as “Star Wars” or the MCU. Not for him (and that’s okay).

He insisted on giving me a little sigh and eye roll when I proclaimed after dinner that it was time to watch the second season premiere of “Strange New Worlds.”

He countered that he would prefer to watch the MCU’s “Secret Invasion” series. Fortunately, the premiere of that Nick Fury show on Disney+ was still a week away.

So he agreed to sit down on the couch with me and my wife for a little “Trek.”

Star Trek is Family Time Again
And when Spock (wonderfully reimagined by Ethan Peck) sat in the captain’s chair and struggled to come up with a clever line to order the Enterprise to warp speed, I turned to peek at my son’s face.

He was smiling. And yes, I think I spotted my young teenager laugh. The three of us all laughed together… watching “Star Trek.”

That was the best early Father’s Day gift I think I could ever get.

Our son may never be a Trekkie. And once upon a time, my wife didn’t know the difference between a Tribble and a Klingon.

But we’re all together watching “Star Trek.”

I’ll take it.

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April 9, 2023

Can You Charge your Tech from the Bedside Lamp?

It may seem like an obvious pairing, but most bedside lamps aren’t designed to supply power to your gear with a built-in USB port. Here’s one man’s fraught journey to a solution.

Can you transform your old bedside lamp into a rocket ship? As it turns out, you can. That’s exactly what I accomplished a few weeks back before I went to sleep.

I popped into bed, slipped down under the covers and gave the edge of the blanket an extra little flip to better align it with my neck as I repositioned my body.

Lights Out!
As it turns out, my blanket flip wasn’t so little. The blanket whacked my lamp with the perfect ‘snap’ (like a wet towel). Lift off!

Thankfully, the airborne lamp cleared my defenseless eyeglasses resting on my night table and then crashed to the floor. Somehow the lamp’s heavy glass shade didn’t shatter. But it cracked in a couple places. And the metal spine broke.

My wife turned and looked at me.

Sleeping in the Jungle
I’m clumsy, but usually I don’t accidentally send objects flying into the air.

I said I’d get it fixed, but I knew rebuilding the lamp would be a project that would remain forever low on my list of to-do’s.

So, I figured it was time to buy a new lamp.

But as soon as I started to think about what I wanted, I recalled a separate issue that I also needed to fix on my night table.

For years, I had been enduring the mess of charging cables for my iPhone and Apple Watch. They constantly squiggled about and regularly slipped to the floor. Every night, when I tried to charge my tech, it was like herding little white snakes.

It was a jungle.

In Search Of…
What I needed was a compact charging station on top of my night table to minimize my cable clutter. Better yet…

What about a new lamp with built-in USB ports for convenient charging and less clutter?

How’s that for an innovation?!

Hotel Lamps for Home Use
Of course, this is not a new idea. If you’ve stayed at a hotel lately, you’ve likely come across this type of multipurpose lamp.

But as I started doing my research, it turns out there aren’t that many lamps that can perform the USB charging trick.

Why not?!

Are hotels the only place you would think to charge your tech next to your bed? Aren’t we also doing the same thing at home? Well, I certainly am.
(Should I admit to that?)

Okay… If everyone’s doing it, why don’t more lamps have built-in tech chargers?

Macally Light Cube
So, in fact, there are a few ‘hotel’ lamps for sale on Amazon. But they don’t sufficiently address a variety of design needs. Many, in fact, appear marketed to students for dorm rooms. (I hope I’ve graduated from that designation by now.)

So, I flipped my search around and looked for charging stations that also come with a built-in light. That didn’t offer up much either.

I did come across one viable option called the LAMPCHARGESQ offered by a company named Macally:

This small LED cube comes with four 2.4 amp charging ports. Perfect.

The only downside is the LED’s tap-to-turn-on/off functionality. That’s because the LED has three brightness settings, and you’ve got to tap the cube four times to cycle it to turn off.
(Talk about a usability annoyance!)

And it’s not really a lamp.

My Lamp Quest Continues
So I set the Macally option aside and kept looking.

Ideally, I wanted a ‘real’ lamp with a pull chain or a simple switch that would allow me to work the lamp with only one gesture (yes, the joyous simplicities of analog tech).

Of course, I needed that USB port (2.4A please).

And I was searching for a choice that wasn’t so inexpensive (sub $20) that I feared it would short out and engulf me in flames or so costly, because it was wrapped in a brand luxury surcharge.

I went round and around… and around.

And then I came to my Kobayashi Maru…

The Power of Two
My wife read my last blog post, where I referred to my lamp quest, and she then suggested that I should look for a matching set of lamps… not just the one.

“Symmetry.”

That’s two lamps.
(Not one.)

Why didn’t I see this coming? I should know better.

Now, this had become an official bedroom design project, not just me playing with my little tech laboratory on my night table.

I showed my wife a couple choices that I had been considering.

(Redacted sentence here.)

What was I thinking?

My Quick Fix
So, I reconsidered my situation:

  • The purchase of two bedroom lamps would now move to our house ‘project list.’
    (You have one of those. Right?)
  • But I still needed a short-term solution for a light source next to my side of the bed.
  • And I really wanted a better charging design for my tech in the bedroom.
  • Plus my non-lamp choice could be repurposed elsewhere once a permanent lamp set was identified.

Suddenly, that Macally LAMPCHARGESQ nightstand LED with 4 USB ports looked pretty good.
Click.
I’m sure I’ll get used to tapping it four times to turn it on or off. (I’ve also learned that a long tap will directly turn it off and save the light setting. Yay!)

To Be Continued…
Of course, I need a holistic lighting solution for our bedroom, and my better half has reminded me the of wisdom of a well-thought-out plan.

For now, I’ve got a little glowing cube next to the bed that can also charge my tech.

Maybe that’s progress?

Or did I just fail the Kobayashi Maru again?

“What do you think of my solution?”

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