Day 357: It was gorgeous, sunny, and 71º F as we were leaving work today. Unfortunately, the rest of the week is going to be grey, drizzly, and mid-50s, but I sure enjoyed this.
Michael Hanscom
Year 50 Day 356
Day 356: It was a work from home day, and nothing of particular interest happened, so we’re back to yet another “me on the couch” shot.
Year 50 Day 355
Day 355: Though the fabric is still in fine shape, I’m afraid the print on this shirt is degrading to the point where soon it won’t be remotely legible. So, for posterity: The “coexist” is made up of the Death Star, the One Ring, a xenomorph, the X-Files ‘X’, the Tardis, Shazam’s bolt (not a lightning bolt scar, though it is often mistaken for that), and a Star Trek Type TOS II phaser.
📚 Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Storybook by Lawrence Weinberg
29/2024 – ⭐️⭐️
An uninspired children’s adaptation of The Search for Spock, complete with odd errors (“Uhuru”, for instance), illustrated with stills from the film.
Year 50 Day 354
Day 354: Found quite the score while out shopping this morning — an impressively good condition set of the classic Star Trek Blueprints from 1975, with all twelve sheets still in the original faux-leather pouch. If you’d like a closer look (and aren’t lucky enough to stumble across a set), here are scans of the full set at Cygnus X-1.
📚 Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
28/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A bit of a deviation from the main thread of the Vorkosigan , but still related (similar to how Rogue One is “A Star Wars Story”). Bujold continues to demonstrate a gift for creating flawed but endearing characters and dropping them into situations both amusing and adventurous. And while I wouldn’t have expected much from a sheltered, naïve, gay obstetrician who’s never met a woman in his life before venturing off-planet, title character Ethan makes for a very entertaining protagonist.
Year 50 Day 353
Day 353: Gave a presentation/workshop on basic document accessibility to the college’s tutors today. Went over alt text and headings, why they should be used (complete with brief NVDA screen reader demo), how to use them in Word and Google Docs, why not to use Canva, and how to use the Read&Write extension for Chrome. All in all, not a bad session, even at the end of a long week.
Year 50 Day 352
Day 352: Got to spend some time tabling for the Access Services department today as Highline hosted a bunch of prospective students visiting from local high schools. Days like this always amuse me — I have very clear memories of being a freshman in high school and thinking the seniors looked so adult. As a 50 year old…it’s a little different.
Year 50 Day 351
Day 351: Still a little chilly for my tastes, but the spring sunshine is really nice, and the trees and flowers are definitely enjoying the warming weather.
📚 The Face of the Unknown by Christopher L. Bennett
27/2024 – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A “year four” adventure that serves to both bridge the gap between TOS and TAS (and explain some of the changes to the ship and crew between the shows) and to take a much deeper dive into the First Federation as first introduced in The Corbomite Maneuver. Along the way, we get to learn more about Balok’s threatening puppet, Spock gets some introspective assistance, and Kirk…well, Kirk does his thing with impassioned speeches and eyeing alien women. The exploration of the First Federation is obviously the core theme, and it’s done well, extrapolating well from what little we learn in the TOS episode. One of the better TOS novels.
