I made the mistake of saying this on the air one day and Jesse ripped me a new one.  It’s an interesting paradox on our show how my partner can pull stuff out of his ass every day making half of it up and that’s fine, but if I bring something up and don’t have an encyclopedia of facts to back it up… I’m the idiot.  LOL!

Well, with StarFest going on this weekend, I thought it was a good time to bring this up again with the necessary documentation.  I remember reading an article some years ago that many of the engineers at places like MIT, grew up watching Star Trek and seeing the “technology” of the future.  These same engineers tried to duplicate this technology for the real world.  It’s no coincidence that your flip-top cell phone looks just like a communicator from Star Trek TOS.

Here’s an article from Network World. (Click to read the full article) In the past few months a number of technologies and products that invoke the Star Trek name have been rolled out. MIT was the latest with a tractor beam-like device, but all manner of other new stuff from Star Trek funeral products to healthcare items are also out there. We’ve gathered up some of the more recent products so you can have a quick look-see.

The History Channel also recently did a special called “How William Shatner Changed the World,” Synopsis: Yes, it’s really true, Capt. James T. Kirk of the Enterprise is responsible for many of the gadgets and technology we know and love today. How so? Well, this utterly disarming and even hilarious special shows how the “Star Trek” fans of the ’60s and beyond were often inspired by the outer space show to create in real life the gadgets and gizmos they saw on their TV screens. That cell phone of yours? Marty Cooper, former chief engineer for Motorola, talks about how he wanted nothing more than to make a cool “Star Trek” communicator. Other inventors, scientists and computer-world types talk about how “Trek” influenced the careers they chose and the cool stuff they invented as a result of being obsessed with all things Spock and Kirk.

This is not your average, dry cable documentary; host Shatner, a delightful ham at heart, has a huge amount of fun narrating this special, and the science stuff is doled out with a hearty sense of humor (one that uses vintage “Trek” clips to their full absurdist potential). Even fans without a lingering affection for all things “Trek” will probably get a kick out of this special, which has an interesting point underneath all the fun: Science fiction often directly influences science fact. [from The History Channel]

Legions of faithful trekkies are working right now on marvelous things that will one day be part of our everyday lives.  Thank you Gene Roddenberry, for making our lives better.

“Computer. Tea. Earl Grey, hot!”

I’m going to Starfest this weekend and it should be a lot of fun!  I’ve never been to a Sci-Fi convention before, and the line-up looks great.  There are sessions on practically everything.  Whether your into Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Carribean, or even one of those Fangora horror weirdos, there’s something for everyone.  Great guests, too.  I know he was on Battlestar Gallactica or something, but I want to talk to Adam Baldwin about playing John Casey on Chuck on NBC.  I LOVE THAT SHOW!

Check out the line-up at www.starland.com.

Star Wars: I’m most excited about the People vs. George Lucas session, where we’ll all get to spout off about what a lousy job he did on the first three prequels.  I had high hopes going to each movie and was disappointed everytime.  Jedi Clue looks like fun, although I don’t know how it’ll be playing in a room full of people.

Star Trek: Actual Star Trek Academy classes!  How cool.  I also want to go and watch the Klingon battle.  Though I’d never actually get “involved” in a battle, it should be a blast to watch.  I know Jesse thinks its dumb, but those bat’leths are nothing to mess with.

Bat’leth

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in their costumes and maybe drinking a little Romulan Ale!

Live Long and Prosper!

I’m taking my wife out on a date tonight, just the two of us.  This is the first time we’ve gone out since last summer.  Why has it been so long?  We had a terrific babysitter who went and left for college.  Damn higher education! 

My kids are super easy to babysit.  At 11 and 7, they’re pretty self sufficient.  Not quite old enough to be left alone though… they’d kill each other.  That being said, Amy & I are still very picky - as everyone should be - about who watches our kids.  Also, being relatively new to town, we don’t really know enough people to have a lot of choices.  We’ve got a new sitter we’re trying out tonight for the first time.  She seems like a really nice kid, and she’s still got 3 years of school left, so I hope it goes well.

Our big plans: Dinner & “The Bucket List”

I may have to have a big steak.  I was really good yesterday.  Amy wanted to go to lunch at Taco Bell, so I tried one of the Fresco Chicken Burritos (only 9 grams of fat).  For dinner, my daughters made chef salad with lots of veggies and I had a nectarine for dessert.  This morning… Cheerios.

I did some cardio and crunches yesterday.  Today, back to the gym for circuits.  We haven’t done a weigh-in on the air in a few days, but I’m still hovering right around 200.  This morning - 199.6

Have a great weekend!

There is a lot of talk these days about the new Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig movie The Golden Compass which comes out this Friday.  The religious camp is upset because the book was apparently written by an atheist and the atheists are upset because they don’t feel the movie is anti-religious enough.

Here’s the deal.  Unlike most of the people doing the talking… I’ve read the book (the series actually - there’s three books).  The main gist of the books is there is this “dust” that falls from the sky and is less attracted to kids.  It starts collecting on them when they hit puberty.  The church believes it to be evidence of Original Sin.  Nicole Kidman and the Magistrate (the Church) are trying to find a way to destroy this dust.  The story centers around Lyra and Will(who we don’t meet until book two) who have to fall in love to put everything right with the world.

Don’t over think it.  It should be a pretty good young adult action flick and Nicole Kidman looks smokin’ hot.  The second book stunk in my opinion and the third, while still stinking, is pretty good to wrap everything up.