the silver bulletin

USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
VOL 10, NO 12
DEC 2004
THE
SILVER
BULLETIN
U.S.S. Pioneer
NCC-5280-D
“Closest to the Final Frontier”
December 2004
1
The Silver Bulletin
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
USS Pioneer
Denver Chapter---UFPI, Starfleet and Grand Alliance
Email: info@usspioneer.net
Crew list (post events and info) PioneerCrew@usspioneer.net
Newsletter Exchange
Address:
USS Pioneer
PO Box 350206
Westminster, CO
80035-0206
info@usspioneer.net
The USS Pioneer
Meetings are
sponsored in part by
the Decker Branch
of the Denver Public
Library
THANKS!!!!
Deadline for Next Issue:
December 31, 2004
Friday 10pm
Direct Submissions to
newsletter@usspioneer.net
Table of Contents
Pioneer Staff
page 3
Captain’s Log
page 4
XO Files
page 5
Membership Services
page 7
Engineering
page 8
DVD Review of ELF
page 9
Medical Musings
page 10
Communications
page 11
Library
page 11
Pioneer Calendar
page 12
Save the Date!
page 13
DVD Releases
page 14
Happy Birthday!!
page 15
Housecalls
page 16
Sci-Fi Snippits
page 18
Holiday Filking
page 19
OCP Report
page 21
Cool Links/Contacts
page 22
Classy Ads
page 23
THE SILVER BULLETIN is the monthly publication of the USS Pioneer. It is solely for hte
entertainment of our crew and is not intended to infringe on the copy right or trademarks of
STAR TREK as held by Paramount Pictures. To reproduce material found herein, please contact
the editor for permission.Submissions to THE SILVER BULLETIN are gratefully accepted.
Subscription rate is $12.00 for 12 exciting issues.
The Silver Bulletin
2
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Pioneer Staff
Commanding Officer
Commodore Debby Horst
Command Staff
Co@usspioneer.net
Engineering
XO@usspioneer.net
Departments
Medical
Chief of Engineering Chief of Medical:
Lt. jg Darrell Harrod
Lt Gary Hudson
engineering@usspione medical@usspioneer.net
er.net
Asst Chief of Security
Alan Shaklee
ashaklee@wcgcorp.com
General Eng/Sec
members
Dan Gallegos
Rob Briscoe
Natalie Peck
Diana Dean
Duane Jonland
Eric Boethin
Joe Horak
Kathy Bennett
Chris Hudson
David Reineke
Eddie Cross
December 2004
Communications
COC/Librarian, Editor
Lt Karina DeCounter
Communications
Communications@usspioneer.net
karidrgn@comcast.net
Chief of Science
Charles Harrod
c/o Lt jg Darrell Harrod Historian
darrellwharrod@earthlink Lt Bob McKeal
drbob@usspioneer.net
.net
Navigator
Counselor/OCP
Lt Doug DeCounter
hackmodeler@comcast Fleet Captain Audi Jack
audicj@aol.com
.net
Propmaster
Tristan Cloud
Executive Officer
FtCptn David Horst
Webmasters
FT Cptn David Horst
dhorst@usspioneer.net
Mitch White
Sisko@usspioneer.net
General Med members
Bob McKeal
Laura Evans-Mckeal
Carissa Harrod
Kay Burch
Dee Horak
Nikki Hudson
Rose Berg
Asst Newsletter Editors
Commodore Debby Horst
FT Cptn David Horst
Mitch White
Sisko@usspioneer.net
newsletter@usspioneer.net
General Comm members
Doug Davenport
Brooks Williamson
Kathryn Johnson
Daniel Morse
Pam Brown
3
The Silver Bulletin
USS Pioneer
Captain’s Log
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
It's December, in case you hadn't noticed.... Lots of things going on,
including getting ready for the visit from Santa. I've been a really good girl
this year, Santa..... Don't forget to stop off at my house!
Thanksgiving was really nice. I loved the Star Wars DVD boxed set, and
our dinner was awesome. Thanks to everyone who complemented my
cooking, as you know, that will definately get you invited back! The next
weekend, we took on the Science Fiction Academy with SFI with a viewing
of Galaxy Quest. Thanks, David, for setting us up with that.
We're planning a big holiday celebration on the 18th, hopefully not just
a party, but also a chance to thank Gumby for serving as our RC. He is
moving on to other things and the Stormbringer will become a Region 4
chapter. Luckily, he will still be here in Denver so we will still see him. If
you would like to go to the party, we think it will be at Gumby's and it will be
a potluck. We will bring a few games, and probably our PS2 and stuff. If
you need more info, please let us know.
Since Enterprise and Smallville (and Lost, Andromeda, etc.,) are all reruns,
we're skipping the next few weeks to take care of end of year and holiday
things. We'll start again in January, on the 7th.
December is the election for the Pioneer CO, XO and SO. Only those who
are in UFPI or SFI are supposed to vote. You can send a proxy to the
meeting with a Senior Staff Member to make your voice heard. If you are
interested in becoming a Senior Staff Member, please let us know.
Best wishes to Marcy Davis and Shawn Conner who are getting married
later this month. Most of us remember Marcy when she was just 14 and
joined the Pioneer for the first time. She's really grown up!
On the list for events.... the New Year's Eve Party, the trip up the mountain
to Central City/Black Hawk, the after-holiday party, plus a few other things
not yet on the schedule. Please check out the center pages to see what is
on the calendar. If you want to add something, please just set it up and let
us know the details!
Here's hoping that everyone has a great holiday!
Until next month;
Commodore Debby Horst
Commanding Officer
USS Pioneer
The Silver Bulletin
4
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
XO Files
Here we are at the end of another year. Looking back we had another great
year on the USS Pioneer. We did a lot of good work for our charities and
added a couple of new ones, the Irish Festival that went to support Habitat for
Humanity. We were back at the Denver Pavilions for the Hot Sounds that went
to benefit the DFL. The OCP program we are getting close to double last year’s
efforts at $100,000 in cut, counted and sorted coupons. Excellent work! We had
great participation keep it up until the end of the year!
We had a very hard time choosing our annual awards program winners and
the votes were very close. In many cases we gave out multiples. The Affiliates
program did especially well this year due in part to my constant reminders
and keeping the new releases up to date on the website. Thanks to everyone
who ordered through our website you helped us pay for the website in full and
most of the awards for the awards program. This Holiday season remember to
check Amazon first they often have the best price and many times are the only
place to find those hard to find items. There are a lot of great DVDs coming
out and look for my article on upcoming releases. Check them out at http:
//www.usspioneer.net/Affiliate_programs.html
Thanks to everyone who braved the cold and joined us in our Annual after
Thanksgiving feast and movie Marathon. We had plenty of very good food and
got to relive the adventure of the Original Star Wars Trilogy, or for the younger
crowd Episodes IV, V, VI.
It was great to see these classics again and for me it has been quite a while
since I had seen them so it was an extra special treat. Everyone had a great time
and no one went away hungry that is for sure. Thanks to everyone for bringing
all that great food and to Debby for cooking the turkey, stuffing and her special
recipe mashed potatoes ;-)
We also had the SFA GalaxyQuest event where we watched GalaxyQuest one
of our all time favorite movies and took the Academy tests. We watched it
through one time then had to go back and find many of the answers. We had a
very good time and got all four of the test complete finally. We only had a few
people attend but we had our neighbors join us since they had never seen it.
Thanks again to Joe and Dee for having Firefly viewings. It is great to see these
again and I can’t wait until the movie which has been moved back to Sept. It
will be that much better! We have had great food each week and last week Joe
surprised us with BBQ steaks. Thanks! They will be in hiatus until Jan as will
be Smallville/Enterprise viewings. Check the website for the movie at: http:
//serenitymovie.com.
December 2004
5
The Silver Bulletin
XO Files (Cont)
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
My last bit of news is that Johnathan ‘Gumby’ Simmons will be stepping down
at the end of the year as RC for our Starfleet Region 17. They will still be
around and stop by and say hey once in a while. We wanted to do something to
say Thanks and Good Luck so we are throwing him and his clan a Retirement
Party on Dec 18th. The details are still being worked out so stay tuned to your
Pioneer channel for all the details. Kari and Doug are hosting another New
Year’s Eve party. Also a former member of ours is getting married in the
afternoon of that day. Congratulations!
There are plenty of opportunities for everyone to take an active role in running
the club and we need each and every one of you to help out. There are many
ways for you to do just that, from volunteering at one of our many community
service events, planning and organizing and event or activity, contributing to
the newsletter or website or even taking on one of the open positions aboard
the ship. Every little bit helps and is greatly appreciated. If you aren’t sure what
you might do but are willing, let one of the Senior Staff know and we can help
you with some ideas. We have several positions open, so if you are interested in
getting more involved let us know there is a place for everyone.
“If you have tried to do something and failed, you are vastly better off than if
you had tried to do nothing and succeeded.” - Richard Martin Stern
“Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” - Pat Riley
“A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn’t will
find an excuse.” - Stephen Dolly, Jr.
Fleet Captain David Horst
Executive Officer
USS Pioneer NCC 5280-D
Region 17 Chapter of the Year
The Silver Bulletin
6
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Membership Services
Local Expirations:
Expired - Steve Geiser, Monica Ayhens, the Gallegos Family, Ivan Horst, the
DeCounter Family
Renewed - Alan Shaklee, the Horst Family - Thank you for your continued
Support
* If you have any Pioneer membership concerns or questions, please direct
them to command@usspioneer.net .
SFI Expirations:
Expired –The Harrod Family
Renewed - Audi Jack and Family, the DeCounter Family – Thank you for your
continued Support
* You can join/renew online @ www.sfi.org
*Note: it could take up to 8 weeks for your membership to be fully processed.
Renew early, renew often, renew online. If you have any SFI membership
concerns, please address them at any time to either: helpdesk@sfi.org or
compopshelp@sfi.org.
UFPI Expirations:
Renewed? - The Mckeal Family, Hudson Family, Brooks Williamson, Kathryn
Johnson.
*Reminder: You need to turn in your Chapter Assignment Card to
get credit for UFPI renewal. . If you have any UFPI membership concerns,
you may address them at any time to debby@usspioneer.net.
If you need a form see our web site http://www.usspioneer.net or David Horst
dhorst@usspioneer.net our Recruiting Officer. If you have any membership
concerns you can always direct them to command@usspioneer.net or see
Debby or I for assistance.
December 2004
7
The Silver Bulletin
Engineering
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
A couple exciting tidbits of news from the Engineering Department! Dave Reineke
has found the elusive Oberth class starship model for the Ships of the Line project.
Hopefully he will be the winning bidder on e-bay and we’ll be on the way to
completing another of the ships for the project.
Laser Tag went very well this month. Pioneer crew all placed high out of the
32 participants, most of whom were less than 4 feet tall, which made them more
difficult to hit! I placed second and fired so many shots that instead of a shot
number such as “761” I only had an ! exclamation point. The event was a blast
(pun intended) and we worked up quite an appetite. We attempted to try out a new
restaurant nearby only to find it closed. We ended up at the trusted Village Inn
where we discussed a myriad of subjects, tried some new menu offerings and I even
ran into an old friend. All in all it was a great outing. The only downer was that
our favorite manager is not working at Laser Quest anymore. The new negotiated
price is $6.50 per game. We’ll see if they give us the same deal next time. Rumor
has it that another local sci-fi club may be challenging the Pioneer crew to a Laser
showdown soon so practice up on you targeting skills and come help us to victory!
The holidays are upon us and amid the hustle and bustle of shopping, food, visiting
family, food, helping others, food and wrapping presents, there is more food! This
of course leads into the inevitable New Years Resolutions to lose weight, exercise
and stay healthy. See, there is balance in all things.
This time of year I like to think of all the things that I can be thankful for in my life.
I have great kids, family who live close together, good friends, a career that I enjoy
(most of the time, ok only some of the time lately but I’m sure it’ll get better), a
roof over my head, fun hobbies and interests, food to eat, (there’s that food again!)
and I’m still relatively healthy.
I’ve been fortunate to meet people who come to America from all over the world
in the quest to build themselves a better life. Talking with them helps me to gain
a perspective on how well we have it here. Many of the people I’ve met over the
years left their country of origin to have more freedom, escape oppression and
sometimes even to escape death. They came here to earn more money to help their
families back home or to obtain an education which they can use when they return
home. The standard of living many of these people describe to me is sometimes
very poor when compared to how we have things here. It’s not just living
conditions that are bad. Worse is the lack of freedom to believe as you choose,
whether it be beliefs about religion, politics or philosophy. To not have the ability
to choose where you work or where you go after work. Although we sometimes
disagree with each other, I think it is great that we can express our opinion without
the fear of being imprisoned or worse. I like to think that knowing how others live
helps me keep things in perspective.
The Silver Bulletin
8
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Engineering (cont)
I offer you this question for the holiday season. Ask yourself and your family; what
are you thankful for this year? Think about it before you answer. Our answers to
this question may vary, but it will be the right answer for each of us.
Happy Holidays!
Gary Hudson
Chief of Engineering
DVD Review of ELF
You know how we love DVDs and Sales, especially sales on DVDs. This is one we
wanted to see at the theatre but just never made it. So when it came out on DVD we
got it and we are very glad we did. ELF stars Will Ferrell as Buddy an Orphan that one
Christmas Eve crawls into Santa’s Sack and makes the trip around the world and back to
the North Pole. Buddy is raised by Master Tinker Papa Elf played wonderfully by Bob
Newhart in his usual deadpan humor. The DVD, 2 disks, is packed with special features,
deleted scenes, and how they did it documentaries. The cinematography is excellent
with great use of forced perspective to show the size difference as Buddy grows up. As
it becomes very clear that he isn’t like the other elves, Santa (Ed Asner) and Papa Elf
finally tell Buddy the truth that he is a human and not and Elf and his real dad is in New
York City! To top it off his dad (James Caan) has ended up on the naughty list!
He makes the Trek through the Seven Levels of the Candy Cane Forest, past the sea of
swirly twirly gumdrops. Then he walks through the Lincoln Tunnel and into New York
City. Buddy sees New York through his ‘new eyes’ in scene after scene of side splitting
humor as he tries to find his dad. It would be hard to pick the funniest part and there
are whole bulletin boards dedicated to that on imdb.com. Words can’t do justice to the
humor.
Buddy meets his dad and finds that the ‘real’ world is seriously lacking in Christmas
Spirit. Buddy wanders into Gimble’s Dept Store and the store mgr thinking he is an
employee puts him to work at the North Pole preparing for Santa’s visit. Buddy falls in
love with a beautiful store elf Jove (Zooey Deschanel).
Buddy tries to fit in but just can’t and ends up running away. But what does he see in
the sky …. Santa’s Sleigh crashing into Central Park, where the Clausometer has fallen
to zero due to lack of Christmas spirit. His Dad and Brother find Buddy and Santa and
come to the rescue. In some great scenes we see that Buddy’s childlike enthusiasm and
love of Christmas has infected his new family and especially Jove. Together they help
build the spirit back to save Christmas.
The whole movie is very well done and Will Ferrell does a fantastic job as the Elf out of
the North Pole, all in all a great Christmas movie. I give it 4 out of 5 Christmas Trees.
December 2004
9
The Silver Bulletin
Medical Musings
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Well, another year has past and the crew of the Pioneer is a bit older and
hopefully we are all a little bit wiser. This past year it has been my
privilege to be the Chief Medical Officer for the best crew in the fleet,
however I will not be continuing my role as the C.M.O. I will still be part
of the crew of the Pioneer (you can’t get rid of me that easy). I would like
to take this opportunity to make a special thank you to all of you in the
medical staff for the support and hard work over this past year, you are
second to no one. I would also like to challenge the crew to not be shy, and
try taking on some of the challenges of the positions that are open, everyone
on senor staff would like to see more of the crew take advantage of this
opportunity, and also would like hear any input you can offer. I will still keep
everyone updated on the going on’s in the local sport scene.
Second Elway/Bon Jovi Mini-Movie
The second AFL mini-movie, “Rumble in the Montecito,” starring Philadelphia
Soul co-owner JON BON JOVI, Colorado Crush co-owner JOHN ELWAY, four
AFL players and members of the cast of NBC’s primetime hit Las Vegas, can be
seen on more than 5,200 Regal Cinemas, United Artists and Edwards Theaters
screens in 430 theatres nationwide beginning Friday, December 3 and running
through December 30. A director’s cut of “Rumble in the Montecito” is released
as a bonus feature on the Las Vegas: Season 1 DVD, containing all 23 episodes
including new uncut and uncensored footage.
Darrel Harrod
The Silver Bulletin
10
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Communications
It’s hard to believe that another year’s almost over. I hope
everyone’s had a good time and is looking forward to new and
exciting adventures for next year. Doug and I will be hosting a
New Years Eve party again this year. Please contact us at 303429-9529 if you need directions. Please bring some snacks and
drinks to share and perhaps we’ll all chip in for a pizza or something. Oh yes,
finally I have put a trip to Wings over the Rockies on the schedule. It’s the
little air museum at Lowry. There’s a mock X-Wing fighter left over from the
Star Wars Celebration that occurred out there just before Star Wars 1 came out.
Library
Here’s a list of some of the books available for check-out or sale from the
Pioneer Library. Please contact me if you would like one.
ST DS9: Avatar Book 2 of 2
S.D. Perry
ST DS9: Section 31: The
Abyss
David Weddle and Jeffrey Lang
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
IV
Mixed
STNG Stargazer: Gauntlet
Book 1
Michael Jan Friedman
STNG: Maximum Warp:book
1 of 2
Galanter, Dave & Brodeur, Greg
STOS: Starfleet Year One
Friedman, Michael Jan
The Lost Era: Catalyst Of
Sorrows
Margaret Wander Bonanno
December 2004
11
The Silver Bulletin
USS Pioneer
Pioneer Calendar
The Silver Bulletin
12
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
4
Noon
11
Noon
6:00pm
18
TBA
31
TBA
7:00pm
Save the Date!!
December
LaserQuest CTE Contact: Gary Hudson,
security@usspioneer.net
USS Pioneer Monthly Meeting: Debby Horst,
command@usspioneer.net
Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo: Karina
Decounter karidrgn@comcast.net
Holiday event to be announced
Blade Trinity Movie event
1
New Years Eve Party: Karina and Doug
DeCounter karidrgn@comcast.net
January
Happy New Year!!!!
2
Central City/Blackhawk Trip
8
Noon
10
USS Pioneer Monthly Meeting: Debby Horst,
command@usspioneer.net
7:00 pm Birthday Party at Laser Storm
15
1:00
23
2:00
12
Wings Over The Rockies Museum Karina
DeCounter karidrgn@comcast.net
Model Building Session: Doug DeCounter
hackmodeler@comcast.net
February
Noon
USS Pioneer Monthly Meeting: Debby
Horst, command@usspioneer.net
Firefly viewing every Tuesday night at 7pm thru December. Contact
Joe, jorak@usspioneer.net
Enterprise / Smallville Viewing every Friday night at 7pm starting
January 7 until re-runs. Contact: Debby Horst, debby@usspioneer.net
Other adventures TBD
After holiday party
Swimming
December 2004
13
The Silver Bulletin
Upcoming DVD’s
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
These are just a few of the new DVD releases I thought might be of interest and would
consider buying. Enjoy – David
Dec 7th
The Bourne Supremecy
Star Trek Voyager – Complete 6th Season
Crusade – The Complete Series
Dec 14th
Lord of the Rings – Return of the King (Platinum Series Extended Edition)
I, Robot
Star Trek – Original Series Season 3
Quantum Leap – Complete 2nd Season
Dec 21st
Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Seventh Season
Shaun of the Dead
The 4400 - The Complete First Season
Star Trek Voyager - The Complete Seasons 1-7
Dec 28th
Battlestar Galactica (2003 Miniseries)
Resident Evil - Apocalypse (Special Edition)
Battlestar Galactica - The Complete Epic Series
Jan 4th
Troy (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Las Vegas - Season One Uncut & Uncensored
Jan 11th
The Village (Widescreen Edition)
The Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition)
Jan 18th
Farscape - The Peacekeeper Wars
Jan 25th
AVP - Alien Vs. Predator (Widescreen Edition)
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (Widescreen Edition)
For these and many more upcoming and current releases check out our affiliate link to
Amazon.com http://www.usspioneer.net/Affiliate_programs.html and help support the
USS Pioneer and it’s charities.
The Silver Bulletin
14
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Happy Birthday
Decembermber
1 Natalie Peck
USS Pioneer
3 Brian Bonsall
Alexander on ST:TNG
4 Tony Todd
Kurn on ST:TNG
9 Michael Dorn
Worf on ST:TNG
13 Christopher Plummer
Chang on ST:VI
14 Kathryn Johnson
USS Pioneer
15 Kathy Bennett
USS Pioneer
15 Garrett Wang
Harry Kim on ST:Voyager
15 Michael Shanks
Daniel Jackson on Stargate SG1
20 Nicole deBoer
Ezri Dax on ST:DS9
22 Dina Meyer
Donatra on ST:Nemesis
24 Nicholas Meyer
ST Director/Writer
25 Rick Berman
Star Trek
28 Nichelle Nichols
Uhura on TOS
January
2 Rob Briscoe
USS Pioneer
5 Stephen Hawking
ST:TNG
5 Dee Horak
USS Pioneer
6 Aron Eisenberg
Nog on ST:DS9
7 Mark Allen Sheperd
Star Trek
9 Joe Horak
USS Pioneer
12 Kirstie Alley
Saavik on STII:The Wrath of Khan
20 DeForest Kelley
McCoy on ST:TOS
23 Debby Horst
USS Pioneer
27 James Cromwell
Zefram Cochran on ST:First Contact
December 2004
15
The Silver Bulletin
Housecalls
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Next week is: National Hand Washing Awareness Week
(www.henrythehand.com).
Drug Nation
Interesting statistics were noted in the new CDC/Dept. of Health and Human
Services annual report – “Health, United States 2004” – published last week: 44%
of Americans take at least one prescription medicine and 16% take at least three;
American life expectancy increased to 77.3 years (a new record); deaths from the
nations three leading killers – heart disease, cancer and stroke – are down 1-3%;
health care spending increased 9.3% to $1.6 trillion; drug prices rose 5%; 49% of all
US women are taking prescription medications, versus 39% for all US men.
The Nose Knows: Interesting research report from the British Medical Journal.
It appears that dogs can be trained to “sniff” out bladder cancer. It seems they can
smell a unique protein shed by a bladder tumor into urine. When presented with urine
samples from 36 bladder cancer patients and 108 normal controls, the trained dogs
correctly identified the abnormal urine 41% of the time (pure chance guessing would
have revealed on 14% correct).
“Hey, Who Put Saltpeter in My Saltpeter?”
An over-the-counter pill used to treat erectile dysfunction has been recalled because
it may contain an unlabeled prescription medication. Spectrum Group is recalling
its product, “Male Power Plus”, because it may contain tadalafil (more commonly
known as Cialis, the third prescription drug approved for erectile dysfunction!).
Tadalafil should not be used by patients who have had a heart attack or stroke, and
can dangerously lower blood pressure, especially on patients already taking nitrates.
The company advices consumers to contact them at 226 S. Beverly Dr., Beverly Hills,
CA 90212. (The title quote from this paragraph comes from a favorite episode of
M.A.S.H., not to be confused with when Klinger sputtered “Who put gasoline in my
gasoline” when he threatened to ignite himself.)
“Man Pillows”
A Japanese company is selling a normal looking pillow with a Life-sized arm
protruding from the top border for “women who like to sleep with a man’s arm
around them but are unwilling to do the relationship work required” to cuddle with an
actual person. Seems a “Woman Pillow” is in the works. Not sure how this fits into
“Housecalls” but I thought you all might get a chuckle out of it. I did. And it was in
one of my medical journals!
A New Lie-Detector?
Results from an interesting study at Temple University School of Medicine in
Philadelphia using new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques
demonstrated differences in brain scans of persons lying and those telling the truth.
Using fMRI technology, the researchers found that a total of seven different areas of
the brain were activated in the deception group, whereas only four areas of increased
The Silver Bulletin
December 2004
16
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Housecalls (cont)
activity were seen in those telling the truth (showing that it does, indeed, take more
brain effort to lie than to tell the truth!). More studies are planned.
The Perils of Country Music
I’m not making this up. In fact, this research was reported in the journal “Social
Forces” in 1992 and just won an “Ig Noble Prize” given out for dubious research.
Here’s their results: southern cities that play the most country music on the radio have
the highest suicide rates among whites. Yep, they looked at 49 different southern cities
and their results explains the differences other researchers have found in urban white
suicide rates. (You know what happens when you play country music backwards? You
get back your dog, your truck, your job, your girlfriend …)
Oldest American Dies at 114
As reported today at CNN.com, America’s oldest living person died at the age of 114.
Ms. Verona Johnston was born in 1890, graduated from Drake University in 1912, and
voted in every election (including 2004) since women got the right to vote in 1920.
She is survived by 4 children, 13 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren. Ms.
Bettie Wilson of Mississippi is now the oldest living American, also at the age of 114.
(I like this part of the story: she rarely visited doctors, never used the deductible on
her health insurance, and had the “thinnest file on record” at her doctor’s office!)
Testing the “Five Second Rule”
(I’ll end this weeks issue with this beauty.) Another Ig Noble Prize went to Jillian
Clarke, a high school student researcher who tested the “five second rule” used by
many to determine if it’s okay to eat something that’s fallen on the floor (i.e. if it’s
on the floor less than five seconds, it’s okay to eat). There were three parts to her
research. First she surveyed 100 adults about the practice and found that (surprisingly)
women are more likely than men to eat food after it’s fallen on the floor. Second,
she took microbial samples of many different floors (elevators, kitchens, classrooms,
bathrooms, etc.) and found fairly low bacteria counts. Last, she dropped Gummy
Bears and cookie crumbs for five seconds onto floors pretreated with bacteria, and
then put the food onto culture plates. Her conclusion: “The 5-second rule won’t
protect us when the floors are truly filthy.”
More next week,
ADM David A. Miller, MD
FDP Medicine Director
valsalva5@hotmail.com
Housecalls for the week ending December 3, 2004. (Important health and
medical information gleamed from the ton of medical stuff I receive each week!
“Housecalls” is now archived at www.millerarchiv.blogspot.com.
Permission is given to Trek fan clubs to reprint past articles for chapter
newsletters. Please credit “Housecalls” and the above website address when
reprinting.)
December 2004
The Silver Bulletin
17
Sci-fi Snippits
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
For fans of Stargate SG1, looks like there is good news, and bad news.
While it appears that SG1 is back for another season, we will probably
only see Richard Dean Anderson in about 4 episodes. Also, Amanda
Tapping will be MIA for a while due to her pregnancy leave. Atlantis
looks like it will have at least one more season, but someone is talking
about a movie, too. Whether this means a movie instead of another
season (after season 2) or along side another season, no one knows!
Also, rumors abound that we‛ll get some ‘fresh blood‛ in from Earth,
and that Weir and Sheppard could both have new bosses.
On Lost, sounds like there are several people on the island that didn‛t
get there with Dr. Jack and Company. Rumor is that Kate will end up
with Sawyer for a while before settling with Jack. A cargo plane with
Zoo animals also crashed on the island. Since Charlie was killed by
Ethan, is he now a part of the island--did it bring him back to life, or
was it truly Jack? Some mind altering drugs will affect a bunch of
the islanders, and only Vincent is safe! And now, the Marshall has to
be dug up. YUK! At least one main character and several minor ones
will die before seasons end. I wonder if they are counting Charlie‛s
death in this one? Note that this week‛s episode talked about the red
shirts and Captain Kirk. Locke was not very complementary about Kirk.
Sounds like we are getting another Babylon 5 movie call ‘The Memory
of Shadows.” It will have elements from both the original series as
well as from the failed spin-off ‘Crusade.‛
WOW! A visit to the Andorian Homeworld is on our Enterprise
schedule. We‛ll get to see where Shran is from. Looks like an Artic
world, and there is an underground sub-species that is blind and
telepathic. These people are also more white than blue. Another
episode looks at the transporter technology, and yet another features
Trip and Reed fighting for their lives in EV suits.... I love Enterprise!
Rumors on Smallville.... We‛ll see a ‘super dog‛ named Krypto and the
return of Justin‛s mother. She could be the one who got Lionel out of
jail.
In the OMG catagory, Justin Timberlake will reportedly play Marvel
Comics superhero Iron Man in a new movie.
Reporting by Kaity Storm
The Silver Bulletin
18
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Holiday Filking
Doctor, the
Hologram
(Sung to the tune of “Frosty, the
Snowman.”)
Doctor, the Hologram,
Was just made for short-term work.
Though he’ll cure your ills
With his shots and pills
His matrix was set to “jerk.”
Yes, Doctor, the Hologram,
Started off in life dorky.
Yet he’s been in love,
Lost a kid, shed some blood,
And sings opera songs off-key.
There was a time when Janeway
Would not look him in the eye.
But Kes stepped forth to plead his
case
“He’s a real-life Hologuy!”
Oh, Doctor, the Hologram,
Has a thing for Seven of Nine.
But with many like him
And our Harry Kim
He’ll just have to stand in line!
Oh, Doctor, the Hologram,
Is a doctor, not a toy.
Nor a mannequin
Or even Anakin
Just like dear old Doc McCoy.
Thumpity-thump-thump
Thumpity-thump-thump
Look at him operate!
Thumpity-thump-thump
Thumpity-thump-thump
Corticals he’ll stimulate!
December 2004
Let It Snow
(sung by: Jean Luc Picard) Oh, the
vacuum outside is endless, Unforgiving,
cold, and friendless, But still we must
boldly go-- Make it so, make it so,
make it so!
Red Alert
(to the tune of “Jingle Bells”)
Dashing through the stars
In a shiny Klingon ship
Going off to war
Looking forward to the trip!
Crewman at their posts
Phasers standing by
We’re going to make the most of this
Just watch those starships fry!
Oh! Red Alert! Red Alert!
Flashing on the walls.
You can bet we won’t be late
To answer battle’s call!
Oh! Red Alert! Red Alert!
The high point of the day!
Killing aliens, blasting ships,
Oh, how we love to play.
Wreck the Halls (“Deck the
Halls”)
Wreck the Halls, start wars from
quibbles
Tra-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!
Let’s have fun and stomp on tribbles
Tra-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!
Don we now our war apparel,
Tra-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-la!
Singing Klingon Kristmas karols,
Tra-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!
19
The Silver Bulletin
USS Pioneer
Holiday Filking
Captain Kirk is
Beaming to Town
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
In the Long Line
for Star Wars
(sung to the tune of “Santa Claus is Coming (sung to the tune of “The Twelve
to Town”)
Days of Christmas”)
You want a good fight
To set the world right?
In the long line for Star Wars
Are you an alien babe who’s free for
I saw waiting there,
the night?
Twelve Death Stars ‘ploding,
Captain Kirk is beaming to town.
Eleven X-Wings veering,
Ten Wattos buzzing,
With his officer Spock
Nine Vaders breathing,
And Montgomery Scott,
Eight Leias bitching,
Dr. McCoy
Seven Wookies wailing,
(He’s a doctor, not a toy!)
Six blasters blasting,
Captain Kirk is beaming to town.
Five Obi-Wans,
Four Darth Maul Groupies,
He faced off the “real” Klingons
Three stormtroopers,
Who looked more like ourselves.
Two Han Solos,
He beat them on the head real good
And a nerd dressed up like
And sneered, “Are you Klingons or
Jabba the Hut.
Christmas elves?”
Oh, you all better live
By the Prime Directive!
With his phasers on stun
He knows best for everyone.
Captain Kirk is beaming to town
Yes, Captain Kirk is beaming...to town!
The Silver Bulletin
20
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
OCP Report
For the month of November, the crew turned in the following coupons:
Food
Nonfood
Total
Carissa & Darrell
$ 254.95
$ 459.80
$ 714.75
Kari & Doug
76.55
163.59
240.14
Debby & David
1,500.00
4,500.00
6,000.00
Audi
272.45
620.20
892.65
Totals:
$2,103.95
$5,743.59
$7,847.54
Added to our January-October total of $84,417.27, our year-to-date total now is
$92,264.81.
When I looked at the OCP web site today, December 4th (sorry for being so
late with this report, Kari), the project had collected more than a million dollars
of coupons--$1,079,419.55 to be exact--and Starfleet provided almost half of
those--$491,680.52. USS Charleston shows $105,674.35 and USS Horizon
shows $73,162.70. Since it’s after the end of November, there’s a good chance
that those figures all include November contributions.
I’ll be in Honolulu the day of our December meeting, but please turn in your
OCP coupons to Darrell or Debby or David.
This is our last chance for the year to “run for the roses”, as the equestrian
crowd says, so I’ll hope to find lots of coupons waiting for me when I get
home.
Keep clipping!
Fleet Captain Audi Jack
Counselor / OCP Coordinator
December 2004
21
The Silver Bulletin
USS Pioneer
Links & Contacts
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
USS Pioneer
http://www.usspioneer.net
Email: info@usspioneer.net
Mailing List: pioneercrew@usspioneer.net
Newsletter Exchange: PO Box 350206,
Westminster, CO 80035-0206
UFPI Membership Services
2609 Crystal Falls Drive
Mesquite, TX 75181-4015
www.ufpi.org
Starfleet Membership Processing
P O Box 1708
Lima OH 45802-1708
www.sfi.org
www.I-SCI-FI.com
I Sci-Fi, Do You?
Thursdays, 7-9 pm!!
Live! Internet SciFi News and Interviews
Region 17
Website: http://www.Region-17.org
Email List: region-17@yahoogroups.com
Grand Alliance
http://www.grandalliance.org
Email List: members@grandalliance.org
The Silver Bulletin
22
December 2004
USS Pioneer
“Closest To The
Final Frontier”
Classy Ads
Cool Stuff You Can Get
Pioneer T-Shirts-Navy blue
50/50 or 100% cotton: $12.00
$1.00 extra for each size past XL
Federation Ball T-Shirts
50/50 or 100% cotton: $12.00
Pioneer Sweatshirts
Standard wt.: $15.00
Heavy wt: $20.00
name on the right hand pocket
Pioneer Jackets
$56.00
optional embroidering of your
If you are interested in ordering anything here, see the Quartermaster. If you
want additional items, such as Pioneer pins, hats, pencils, pens, etc., please
advise so we can gauge the interest.
Star*Land
For all your sci-fi needs.
PO Box 24955 • Denver, CO 80224
http://www.starland.com
e-mail: Starland@starland.com
Phone: 303-757-5850
Fax: 303-727-4597
Sign up for Free Movies!!!!
December 2004
23
The Silver Bulletin
The Silver Bulletin
USS Pioneer
PO Box 320206
Westminster, CO 80035-0206