Star Trek XI - and so it begins.........

I need to get this off my chest..... so here goes.....

With filming of the new movie starting last Wednesday, and with all the talk about the new Star Trek movie all over the web, some saying how bad it's going to be, others saying its going to wonderful, and others saying to just wait and see until it comes out, I just want to say that I loved the original series. I loved the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and enjoyed Voyager. I even found Enterprise an enjoyable series. I like Star Trek. I like to think of myself as a true fan (something Michelle and Kieran have to put up with with amazing dedication!!!!). I don't let it take over my life, but I am just so pleased that they are even actually making a movie.

I hear from so called 'true fans' that Star Trek is about going forward and not backwards and that they shouldn't be doing this movie in Kirk's era and stick with the Next Generation or a new crew in the Next Gen era. What made Star Trek so special were the stories and how they managed to show current events within an exciting sci-fi format - I loved the drama, the action and the fantastic characters that populated this wonderful universe that Gene Roddenberry created, no matter what century they were in, whether it was the 22nd, 23rd or 24th. There are so many stories that still need to be told in the TOS era. Afterall, why are all of those web-based fan movies like Starship Exeter and New Voyages so popular?

As much as I'll miss William Shatner and the gang in the new movie, at the end of the day these actors can't live forever. For Star Trek to survive and last another 40 odd years it needs film-makers like J.J. Abrams and his team to do radical things like this. Good luck to them.

I'm going to remain optimistic about this movie. I haven't been this excited about a Star Trek movie since Star Trek VI : The Undiscovered Country back in 1991/92, and eagerly look forward to any news and gossip that comes out with each passing day up until the film opens on Christmas Day, 2008. I'm sure that they can pull this off. I just dont understand why there are so many people who feel that the film will suck when they don't even know what its going to be about. I see and hear rumours all over the internet about possible storylines, but these are just rumours.

There will always be those individuals who think Star Trek is for geeks, and that all Star Trek fans are single men, sad nerds with no life - Hey.... I'm married to a wonderful, gorgeous woman, I have a lovely son and have a wonderful job and most of all - I'M HAPPY!!! - that doesn't sound too sad to you does it?

Anyway, back onto the subject at hand.... Star Trek has always been about showing an optimistic view of the future. Come on, lets be optimistic about this film... You may all be surprised.

Oh, by the way - In case you don't know, my favourite Star Trek was the original series.... and I am more than happy that although the actors will be different, I'll be able to see my favourite crew do one more adventure on the big screen.

Oh.. and incase you're interested..... Here's the cast!!!!

Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachery Quinto (Spock), Leonard Nimoy (Old Spock), Karl Urban (McCoy), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), Zoe Saldana (Uhura)

I hear you knocking..........

Uh oh... Its that dreaded time of year again - Halloween! I hate it. So far we've had none of the little s**ts knocking on our door yet - That might have something to do with the big sign that I have attached to our front door telling people to (basically) piss off and not knock!!

Anyway, I've been busy working on another 3D render - Here's an early shot. Its not quite finished yet, but it's coming along rather nicely. I still need to finalise the lighting and add some furniture and things just to spruce it up a little bit.

And finally... Many years ago (1999 or 2000 I think), I watched a really good program on Channel 4 called Spaced. I usually hate sitcoms, but this show was different. I loved all the references to Sci-Fi, computer games etc. Not only that but it also stars one of my favourite actors, the fantastic Simon Pegg (who just so happens to be Star Trek's new Mr Scott in the forthcoming Star Trek movie). Anyway, I decided a couple of days ago to order the complete boxset from Amazon and it arrived in the post this morning. Now I can't wait until the weekend when I will be able to sit down and watch every episode in one sitting..... Yeah... I'm sad I know!!

One last thing before I go.... Here's a nice panoramic image that I took with my camera for you to admire. I took when we visited Essex last week.

Basildon... Chav central....

We decided to pop down to my old home in Laindon for a few days this week (We came on Sunday and are returning home to Evesham tomorrow), and although we've had a nice break, I would just like to say how arrogant, and horrible some of the people from the area have become.

To those of you who have pissed me off (and especially that silly brat who decided to call Kieran a c**t for no apparent reason while her mum (a typical essex single Mum in her tracksuit, talking on her mobile) just ignored the whole thing...... UP YOURS!!.

And why is it that Basildon is so full of scenes like this.......

Has Basildon become the Chav capital of Great Britain since I moved away in 2002?

Can't wait to go home now back to the country!

Note to Dan *** Sorry mate that we couldn't meet up while we were down visiting. I did try ringing your phone a few times, but I couldn't get through.

Uh oh.. Rant time....

I'm in a bad mood at the moment. I feel like having a rant today...........

One thing about working in a school is having to work with lots of highly qualified, professional people who have degrees, and all sorts of higher education qualifications that most of us wont have unless you have been to university, or something like that.....

.... So why is it that some of these 'professionals' have little or no computer knowledge whatsoever. I'm talking about a teacher who has to ring for technical assistance because they can't start their computer only to find that it just isn't plugged in at the mains, or a teacher who can't log on to the internet because he is trying to log on using the wrong username (even though they have been using the same username for the past couple of years).

I've come to the conclusion that all teachers should now have some sort of basic IT training because even though they may have the degrees, and the certificates to prove that they can teach, they simply can not work the simple things, which I hate to say, can be done by almost anybody these days. Come on..... this is the 21st century - todays children are tomorrow's workers. Most will end up working in an environment which requires them to have some sort of contact with computers and technology. How will they be able to do that when the people who teach them can not even switch on a computer, or even copy and paste a file in Windows.

I taught myself everything I know about computers, from the first day I touched a computer in the early 1980's to today ; How to build them, how to program them, to develop and code a website using HTML, programming (Visual Basic and other languages), networking, 3d CGI graphics, video and audio editing. I never went to university after school (simply because I just couldnt afford it). Not wanting to sound big-headed, but I know more about computers than anybody in the school where I work, and yet because I lack that piece of paper saying that I have a degree, I end up not being able to earn as much as someone who say has got a higher qualification. Why should I have to pay just to do an adult course (ie Open University), so that I can learn stuff that I already know. The wage divide between University graduates and 'common' school leavers like myself is discrimination - having a degree doesnt necessarily mean that that person is better at a particular job.

I'm constantly told at school by the teachers that I would make a really good IT teacher. Unfortunatly without a degree, that'll never happen. Fair enough, I could never teach a subject like Modern Languages, Maths, or English without having to study those subjects at a greater level than those I did at school, but my experience, and knowledge far surpasses a lot of the teachers at my school in regards to computers.

Personal experience and development will always beat qualifications.

Rant over....

Vocalist Wanted......

Opps, I was meant to include this in my last post but I forgot....

I thought all of my visitors (well, all one or two of them) might like to listen to an early version of a song that I am working on. I've titled it simply 'Dreams', and I think it would sound great with some lyrics and some awesome vocals and chords, but I guess that will never happen.

Hey, I suppose I could always sing on it.....

......Ok, maybe not.

Anyway, CLICK HERE to enjoy Dreams

'Running Up That Hill'

As part of my 'Get Fit & Healthy' regime, I've just been out for a run up a nearby hill here in Evesham called Bredon Hill. 4.08 miles of gruelling climbing and muddy terrain!

Do I feel better for it...... I'll tell you when I've had a bath and a long rest!!!

Click on the images for a bigger, more detailed view of the route.

MAME CABINET UPDATE

Haven't had too much time lately to work on it. The existing cabling for the joystick and buttons was a bit shabby, (two actually came loose from the circuit board) so we've re-soldered the wires and it should be much better now with less of a chance for the wires to come loose again.