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Well duh on my part!! 
Hello all I look forward to being here!
Hello all I look forward to being here!
ENT Forum Get To Know You Thread!
- Thread starter Top41
- Start date
- Status
Hey,
I'm Scott, am 36 and live in New York, USA. I discovered Trek when I was five and loved it ever since. I welcomed and enjoyed TNG and the rest of them (aside from Voyager, but I like some episodes). My interests in SF generally run to genre TV. My favorite shows (genre and non-genre) are Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Space:1999, V, Galactica, Buck Rogers, The Incredible Hulk, Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel, Babylon 5, The Prisoner, Dallas, The Fugitive, I Spy & The Honeymooners.
I also write free-lance business articles while I revise my novel. I've been married for 8 years and bought a house last year. Luckily, my wife is a SF fan and is very undewrstanding of my video, soundtracks and comics obsession!
Oh, and I lost 20 pounds this month!
I'm Scott, am 36 and live in New York, USA. I discovered Trek when I was five and loved it ever since. I welcomed and enjoyed TNG and the rest of them (aside from Voyager, but I like some episodes). My interests in SF generally run to genre TV. My favorite shows (genre and non-genre) are Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Space:1999, V, Galactica, Buck Rogers, The Incredible Hulk, Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel, Babylon 5, The Prisoner, Dallas, The Fugitive, I Spy & The Honeymooners.
I also write free-lance business articles while I revise my novel. I've been married for 8 years and bought a house last year. Luckily, my wife is a SF fan and is very undewrstanding of my video, soundtracks and comics obsession!
Oh, and I lost 20 pounds this month!
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Hi, I'm Tim. I'm 42, and I'm a Trekaholic.
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Doh! And I can't get my avatar to show!
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Right, well, my name is Kai, i'm single, male and in live in France. Oh but i'm British though. And soon to be returning in september to start a computing degree at the looniversity of Middlesex.
I've been a trek fan as since i first saw Star Trek III: The Search for Spock when i was about 6. And yes, i cried like a baby when the Enterprise went *BOOM*. Due to this, i'm a big fan of all the TOS-Movies, Constitution class refits and 'old' trek tech. I do like DS9 TNG and Voyager though - i'm not preferential though, i like all of them equally. Enterprise i love though, as it fits in with my old trek tech thing
In the real world though, i'm a mechanic, and a damn good one! I'm a Ford Engine specialist - although i work on Vauxhalls, VW's, Mercs and BMW's. If you ever have a problem with a CVH, Pinto, Essex, Cologne, X/Flow, Lotus Twincam, Cosworth, BDA-BDT, Zetec, Zetec-S or Duratec engine - i'm your man
Not really much else to say other than aside from trek, i enjoy cooking, eating out, getting extremely geeky (i used to be in IT y'know), playing exceedingly violent computer games that involve giblets and gore and not a lot else
I've been a trek fan as since i first saw Star Trek III: The Search for Spock when i was about 6. And yes, i cried like a baby when the Enterprise went *BOOM*. Due to this, i'm a big fan of all the TOS-Movies, Constitution class refits and 'old' trek tech. I do like DS9 TNG and Voyager though - i'm not preferential though, i like all of them equally. Enterprise i love though, as it fits in with my old trek tech thing
In the real world though, i'm a mechanic, and a damn good one! I'm a Ford Engine specialist - although i work on Vauxhalls, VW's, Mercs and BMW's. If you ever have a problem with a CVH, Pinto, Essex, Cologne, X/Flow, Lotus Twincam, Cosworth, BDA-BDT, Zetec, Zetec-S or Duratec engine - i'm your man
Not really much else to say other than aside from trek, i enjoy cooking, eating out, getting extremely geeky (i used to be in IT y'know), playing exceedingly violent computer games that involve giblets and gore and not a lot else
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Umm...greetings. *Waves awkwardly* Long time lurker, no time poster, so...ummm...here I am! My name is Elswyth. I am 15 years of age and was a Trek fan since I was two (hey, who else can say they called Levar Burton "Geordi" when they watched him on Reading Rainbow?) I watched Voyager with my mother, although I don't remember too much of it, but I've been hooked on TNG reruns ever since I could say Staw Twek! I'm a big Enterprise fan, but didn't start watching until the beginning of season three. Actually, I didn't know Enterprise existed until season three! I don't watch much television, except for Star Trek, so I hadn't a clue.
Outside of Star Trek, I'm a science-fiction and fantasy junky. My nose is constantly in a book, and when I feel like it, I work on writing my own. I read the dictionary for fun and study fictional language in my spare time. I'm working on Sindarin and Klingon currently (Telling someone their mother has a flat forehead in the gutteral, harsh sounds of Qo'nos is strangely satisfying...). I am considered a big time nerd and bookworm by my peers. I also enjoy acting and film making, and spoilers (I'm guilty!). I also have two dogs which I lovingly named Tribble and Porthos. I think that's about it...
Outside of Star Trek, I'm a science-fiction and fantasy junky. My nose is constantly in a book, and when I feel like it, I work on writing my own. I read the dictionary for fun and study fictional language in my spare time. I'm working on Sindarin and Klingon currently (Telling someone their mother has a flat forehead in the gutteral, harsh sounds of Qo'nos is strangely satisfying...). I am considered a big time nerd and bookworm by my peers. I also enjoy acting and film making, and spoilers (I'm guilty!). I also have two dogs which I lovingly named Tribble and Porthos
. I think that's about it...Hi, My name is not Arianwen, tho that's what I use in the medieval society I sometimes "play" in. I am a huge Enterprise GEEK and when I was in high school many years ago I was obsessed with TOS and even attended two conventions! I sorta liked TNG but when the Borg showed up, wahoo!!! that was some cool stuff. I used to have a small crush for Wesley, my bad! I loved DS9 when it was new and sometimes watched Voyager.
I'm 29 and holding and have been married almost 5 months to a Brazilian guy I met on the net He does not share my Enterprise addiction *I have most of the books!* He tolerates my babbling about really cool eps like the Risa one and the one where Trip and Reed are stuck in the shuttlepod, god those were funny!!
We have two fur-kids, no skin kids yet. I work as an Office Slave and I hate it!!!!
If that stupid network cancels Enterprise, I will throw our TV out the window!!
I'm 29 and holding and have been married almost 5 months to a Brazilian guy I met on the net
He does not share my Enterprise addiction *I have most of the books!* He tolerates my babbling about really cool eps like the Risa one and the one where Trip and Reed are stuck in the shuttlepod, god those were funny!!We have two fur-kids, no skin kids yet. I work as an Office Slave and I hate it!!!!
If that stupid network cancels Enterprise, I will throw our TV out the window!!
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Greetings! I'm Andy, 26, and live in Illinois, USA. I've been a Star Trek fan from the womb, and my favorite series is TNG. I like ENT pretty well, but mainly I watch it because it's what's current in Trekdom. I'm really kind of ambivalent toward it, especially when I read the debates here. But I will pontificate on that some other time.
If I were a species from Star Trek, I think I would be a bizarre mix of Vulcan and Betazoid. In actuality I'm a human. I work at a library, though I'm trying to get into editing. Eventually I will probably teach at some institution of higher education, most likely philosophy.
Apart from ST, I've always loved Doctor Who, and thanks to this BBS I'm rapidly becoming a Stargate SG-1 fan. I'm also pushing myself to get into Star Wars by reading the novels. Oh, and I like the X-Files and Nowhere Man, too, even though the latter only lasted a season and I didn't even see all of that.
If I were a species from Star Trek, I think I would be a bizarre mix of Vulcan and Betazoid. In actuality I'm a human. I work at a library, though I'm trying to get into editing. Eventually I will probably teach at some institution of higher education, most likely philosophy.
Apart from ST, I've always loved Doctor Who, and thanks to this BBS I'm rapidly becoming a Stargate SG-1 fan. I'm also pushing myself to get into Star Wars by reading the novels. Oh, and I like the X-Files and Nowhere Man, too, even though the latter only lasted a season and I didn't even see all of that.
Hello ALL!
I'm 20 from London England and I've been a closet trekkie and 'shipper for so long I can't remember when I started.
My favorite shows are TNG, TOS and ENT.
Data and the crew are just great characters. And the acting quality of the show was brilliant!
TOS just seems to get better every time I watch it, which i think is amazing for a program that old. Classic!
And I have been excited about ENT since I heard rumors of a trek prequel involving a Vulcan female science officer, though some parts of the show have left me disapointed it has made up for in other great areas.
I'm 20 from London England and I've been a closet trekkie and 'shipper for so long I can't remember when I started.
My favorite shows are TNG, TOS and ENT.
Data and the crew are just great characters. And the acting quality of the show was brilliant!
TOS just seems to get better every time I watch it, which i think is amazing for a program that old. Classic!
And I have been excited about ENT since I heard rumors of a trek prequel involving a Vulcan female science officer, though some parts of the show have left me disapointed it has made up for in other great areas.
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I just figured out why I irritate so many people in some of these strings. After going through this one, I find limited folks here in their 50s (like me). I was in high school when Kirk and company were doing their thing for the first time on TV. That was pretty heavy stuff back then.
Anyway, my name is Mia. I'm a huge sci-fi fan. I'm new to the Trek forum and the online fandom. Hi! My username is Lowly Uhlan, real mame is Erik. I'm a butcher and lifelong native of Pacific Beach (that's in San Diego). I've been a Star trek fan since about 1972 (grandma would let me stay up late to watch TOS in syndication). Age 36. My favorite series changes from time to time, right now I'm liking ENT and TOS the most, Voyager the only one I don't like.
My other interests are reading science fiction (Niven, Gibson, Heinlein, Herbert are my favorites, taking a "break" to read an excellent compilation of the original REH Conan stories), pen&paper RPGs, miniature wargames, the beach, wasting time in coffee houses.
My other interests are reading science fiction (Niven, Gibson, Heinlein, Herbert are my favorites, taking a "break" to read an excellent compilation of the original REH Conan stories), pen&paper RPGs, miniature wargames, the beach, wasting time in coffee houses.
My life with Trek...
Hi. I go by the name Ranjur. My real name's Brian, and I'm a 21 year-old college student from Mississippi. I have an older brother that introduced me to Trek at a young age. I still remember watching the pre-TNG premiere special broadcast of the Cage over and over again (thanks to my brother's taping). I followed TNG as I got older... I still remember watching the saturday/sunday afternoon marathons occasionally with a friend of mine (very exciting at the time). I remember leaving the theatre feeling betrayed by Kirk's death in Generations. I turned to the Shatner Kirk novels for solace.
I didn't approach DS9 at first, kind of apprehensive about a show about a station (never watched Babylon 5). During about season 4, I began to notice the quality of the series, and started watching it whenever I could. From then on, I was hooked. Voyager came along, and I was a little disappointed at first. I guess I'd been so impressed by Benjamin Sisko's boldness, that I didn't immediately respect Janeway as a captain. I thought her actions in the season premiere were a bit suspect, to say the least. As the series progressed, I became more and more intrigued by Voyager's plight. During this time period, I wrote a huge novel of fanfiction, created some new characters. Of course, due to impending events, it all because obsolete, but it was fun in the making.
DS9 ended, and tears were shed. To me, it boasted more dramatic excellence than I'd ever seen in Trek, mostly because of Avery Brooks and the rest of the incredible cast. Voyager came to an end, and I shed no tears. It just sort of passed without incident. When Enterprise came along, I never really gave it much of a chance... I was at college and frequently pre-occupied. Never really had a chance to catch it on TV. I started looking into it briefly, and read about all the inconsistencies people were pointing out. (Klingon foreheads and Ferengi to name a few... and the ship design irked me, because I really thought ships of the period were big globes with warp nacelles). Season three of Enterprise was about ten episodes in, and I had recently watched TOS, TNG, and DS9 all the way through in a short period of time. I decided to give Enterprise a chance. A friend had Seasons 1 and 2 recorded, so I gave it a cursory glance, and soon embraced it. I was extremely impressed with Season 3, and followed it up until this point.
I find it highly ironic that the series is in danger of cancellation immediately after I put my misgivings aside and gave it a chance. I never thought I'd be in the same position as the loyal fans during the latter part of TOS's third season. But it's happening, and it's draining my spirit a bit. I suppose time will tell.
Sorry if this was too long-winded... i just thought a brief summary of my passion for Trek would be appropriate for this forum.
--Ranjur
Hi. I go by the name Ranjur. My real name's Brian, and I'm a 21 year-old college student from Mississippi. I have an older brother that introduced me to Trek at a young age. I still remember watching the pre-TNG premiere special broadcast of the Cage over and over again (thanks to my brother's taping). I followed TNG as I got older... I still remember watching the saturday/sunday afternoon marathons occasionally with a friend of mine (very exciting at the time). I remember leaving the theatre feeling betrayed by Kirk's death in Generations. I turned to the Shatner Kirk novels for solace.
I didn't approach DS9 at first, kind of apprehensive about a show about a station (never watched Babylon 5). During about season 4, I began to notice the quality of the series, and started watching it whenever I could. From then on, I was hooked. Voyager came along, and I was a little disappointed at first. I guess I'd been so impressed by Benjamin Sisko's boldness, that I didn't immediately respect Janeway as a captain. I thought her actions in the season premiere were a bit suspect, to say the least. As the series progressed, I became more and more intrigued by Voyager's plight. During this time period, I wrote a huge novel of fanfiction, created some new characters. Of course, due to impending events, it all because obsolete, but it was fun in the making.
DS9 ended, and tears were shed. To me, it boasted more dramatic excellence than I'd ever seen in Trek, mostly because of Avery Brooks and the rest of the incredible cast. Voyager came to an end, and I shed no tears. It just sort of passed without incident. When Enterprise came along, I never really gave it much of a chance... I was at college and frequently pre-occupied. Never really had a chance to catch it on TV. I started looking into it briefly, and read about all the inconsistencies people were pointing out. (Klingon foreheads and Ferengi to name a few... and the ship design irked me, because I really thought ships of the period were big globes with warp nacelles). Season three of Enterprise was about ten episodes in, and I had recently watched TOS, TNG, and DS9 all the way through in a short period of time. I decided to give Enterprise a chance. A friend had Seasons 1 and 2 recorded, so I gave it a cursory glance, and soon embraced it. I was extremely impressed with Season 3, and followed it up until this point.
I find it highly ironic that the series is in danger of cancellation immediately after I put my misgivings aside and gave it a chance. I never thought I'd be in the same position as the loyal fans during the latter part of TOS's third season. But it's happening, and it's draining my spirit a bit. I suppose time will tell.
Sorry if this was too long-winded... i just thought a brief summary of my passion for Trek would be appropriate for this forum.
--Ranjur
This really does sound like an AA meeting... 
I'm a 34 year old female who lives in Charlotte, NC. I've been married for almost 10 years to a wonderful man who puts up with me and my opinionated nature for reasons I can't fathom.
My screen name comes from a (affectionate?) nickname I got from my friends at work when I get fired up about something.
I started watching Star Trek with syndication of TOS, loved TNG and DS9 too and the first few seasons of Voyager. Most people here know I have been disappointed with the last few seasons of Voyager and Enterprise, though I still watch Enterprise from time to time hoping it will get better.
I enjoy a lot of science fiction and fantasy, history, comedy, and to my husband's delight I actually like sports!
I'm a 34 year old female who lives in Charlotte, NC. I've been married for almost 10 years to a wonderful man who puts up with me and my opinionated nature for reasons I can't fathom.
My screen name comes from a (affectionate?) nickname I got from my friends at work when I get fired up about something.
I started watching Star Trek with syndication of TOS, loved TNG and DS9 too and the first few seasons of Voyager. Most people here know I have been disappointed with the last few seasons of Voyager and Enterprise, though I still watch Enterprise from time to time hoping it will get better.
I enjoy a lot of science fiction and fantasy, history, comedy, and to my husband's delight I actually like sports!
I don't know why it took me so long to open up this thread and see what it is
Better late than never I guess hehe.
My name is Brent Justice, i'm a 24 year old single male, living in Dallas, Texas.
As you can see I registered here a little over a year ago, but did lurke before that time. I know I don't have a lot of posts under my belt here, but I do read the forums frequently. I also participate in the Enterprise running comments threads and in the Scifi/Fantasy forum.
I got started on Trek at a very early age, when I was in my single digits. I use to stay over at a friends house, and his dad had EVERY TOS episode recorded on tape. Every time I went over to my friends house we'd watch the tapes, and I saw every episode of TOS, that right there got me into Star Trek.
I then made sure to catch TNG in '86 when it aired, and then followed with DS9, Voyager and now Enterprise. So I'm a long time fan and have seen every single episode from every series and every movie.
I'm a scifi fan through and through. There are lots of other series I love as well, like Stargate SG1 for example, really big fan of that series, and of course Babylon 5, the Buffyverse and many others.
So while scifi is my entertainment, what I do as my career is in the computer field. I'm a journalist for an online computer hardware review site, i'm the senior editor at HardOCP.com. So for example a couple of my reviews: http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjEw and http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjEx I wrote those, so that gives you an idea what I do.
As you can see i'm quite the technical geek, so I'm also very interested in the tech side of Star Trek. I love talking about and discussing all the technology in Trek and how it works.
My nickname that I use in multiplayer games is HardDrone, my servers name is Central Plexis and i've created The Collective as my workgroup, my other nickname some people call me is Borg Drone, ya, I like the Borg lol.
Another great interest of mine is music, i'm very much into electronic music, specifically Nu Skool Break Beats and love creating music. I use programs like FL Studio to create music from scratch, i love some good loud beats w/synths and stuff. Music is something I really enjoy, I also sing to music, even though I can't sing well, that doesn't stop me
I also love getting out doors when I can, camping is real fun for me, hikking as well, or going out on a boat.
Better late than never I guess hehe.
My name is Brent Justice, i'm a 24 year old single male, living in Dallas, Texas.
As you can see I registered here a little over a year ago, but did lurke before that time. I know I don't have a lot of posts under my belt here, but I do read the forums frequently. I also participate in the Enterprise running comments threads and in the Scifi/Fantasy forum.
I got started on Trek at a very early age, when I was in my single digits. I use to stay over at a friends house, and his dad had EVERY TOS episode recorded on tape. Every time I went over to my friends house we'd watch the tapes, and I saw every episode of TOS, that right there got me into Star Trek.
I then made sure to catch TNG in '86 when it aired, and then followed with DS9, Voyager and now Enterprise. So I'm a long time fan and have seen every single episode from every series and every movie.
I'm a scifi fan through and through. There are lots of other series I love as well, like Stargate SG1 for example, really big fan of that series, and of course Babylon 5, the Buffyverse and many others.
So while scifi is my entertainment, what I do as my career is in the computer field. I'm a journalist for an online computer hardware review site, i'm the senior editor at HardOCP.com. So for example a couple of my reviews: http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjEw and http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjEx I wrote those, so that gives you an idea what I do.
As you can see i'm quite the technical geek, so I'm also very interested in the tech side of Star Trek. I love talking about and discussing all the technology in Trek and how it works.
My nickname that I use in multiplayer games is HardDrone, my servers name is Central Plexis and i've created The Collective as my workgroup, my other nickname some people call me is Borg Drone, ya, I like the Borg lol.
Another great interest of mine is music, i'm very much into electronic music, specifically Nu Skool Break Beats and love creating music. I use programs like FL Studio to create music from scratch, i love some good loud beats w/synths and stuff. Music is something I really enjoy, I also sing to music, even though I can't sing well, that doesn't stop me
I also love getting out doors when I can, camping is real fun for me, hikking as well, or going out on a boat.
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My name is Rob. I am 31 and live in Lubbock, TX. I was born in South Carolina and moved to Texas about five years ago.
I originally became a fan of TOS when I was a young boy watching it in syndication. I've since seen all 10 movies in theaters and watched TNG. After TNG, I stopped watching for awhile, but have come back with Enterprise which I've enjoyed (especially the third season).
I am a newspaper copy editor and page designer by trade and enjoy movies, particularly horror and science fiction.
I originally became a fan of TOS when I was a young boy watching it in syndication. I've since seen all 10 movies in theaters and watched TNG. After TNG, I stopped watching for awhile, but have come back with Enterprise which I've enjoyed (especially the third season).
I am a newspaper copy editor and page designer by trade and enjoy movies, particularly horror and science fiction.
My Name Mark Webster i am 17 years old. I have been watching Trek since i was about 6 ever since i saw TOS on BBC 2 i've been hooked on trek.
I Live in Kirkby, Nottinghamshire, UK, (Mouth Full)
I have no favourite show i like them all and i have seen probaly almost every single Episode made apart from TAS. (never got to see one
)
My favourite movie is First Contact.
I Live in Kirkby, Nottinghamshire, UK, (Mouth Full)
I have no favourite show i like them all and i have seen probaly almost every single Episode made apart from TAS. (never got to see one
)My favourite movie is First Contact.
I'm Shawn, I've been a trek fan since I was young, watching episodes of TNG and DS9, I remember for the longest time thinking that Photon Torpedoes actually meant Ninja Stars for some reason.
Anyways, I live in Ontario, Canada I'm in the army reserve, I'm usually the guy that points out all the technical flaws in military related movies. I would like to get work as a technical advisor as a kind of dream job, but right now I am training to go into insurance claims investigation.
I like Enterprise and I really admire the Trip/T'pol romance which I was hoping for since season 1.
Anyways, I live in Ontario, Canada I'm in the army reserve, I'm usually the guy that points out all the technical flaws in military related movies. I would like to get work as a technical advisor as a kind of dream job, but right now I am training to go into insurance claims investigation.
I like Enterprise and I really admire the Trip/T'pol romance which I was hoping for since season 1.
Posted by Miss Thang:
Posted by Superman:
Well, my real name's Kal, but most everyone calls me Clark...
Sorry. Heh. That's my screename.
My name's Chris. I'm twenty-seven years old and grew up in the small town of Abbeville, Louisiana. I was born, however, in Lafayette, LA, a city thirty miles or so north of Abbeville. I returned to the place of my birth ten years ago, and other than three semesters in a Catholic seminary in eastern Louisiana, haven't left the Lafayette area.
Ironically,(at least to me)I married a beautiful woman who happens to work at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, my aforementioned place of birth. My wife's name is Ali, and we've been married for a little over a month now. Yay us!
I am currently working on an MA in Creative Writing at the main campus of the University of Louisiana here in Lafayette. I hope to teach freshman and sophomore composition and literature as my day job, but by night(or early morning or whenever)I want very much to write sci-fi, horror, and some non-genre fiction. Above those genres, however, I aspire to break into the comic book field one day soon. I have had a life-long passion for comic books and would love to write them for a living or even, just for my own gratification.
Eh, cher, how 'bout dem Ragin' Cajuns?
Bienvenue, beb!
Always good to meet kindred souls...
Mea Sha, We Ragin Cajuns are Evvveeerrrrryyyyyyy Whhheeerrrrreeee
My Star Trek experience began as a youngster watching TOS in its initial network run. I learned of the program's existence one morning while about to leave for school. My sister and I carpooled with the girls who lived next door and they had just come over and were chatting before we left and the subject of this new outer space T.V. show came up. I clearly remember the older of the two sisters, Cindy, saying "Ewww... and the one with the pointed ears..."
Naturally, my interest was aroused. Now there was something in addition to Lost in Space for the science fiction fan to watch. I found out that this new program was on channel 7 (the local NBC affiliate KPLC in Lake Charles, LA - I grew up near Jennings about 35 miles away)
The first episode I ever say was Courtmartial. Funny how you remember things through a kid's eyes. In the early scene when Jamie Finney beams aboard the Enterprise and accuses Kirk of killing her father, I didn't think of what she was saying as much as I was thinking "Wow, in the future we won't even need doors! Needless to say, I was hooked.
I have various memories about the first season episodes. Miri impressed me. The Alternative Factor confused me (truth be told: it still does!). The Menagerie was cool, and so forth. What I quickly realized and appreciated was that Star Trek was not the "kid stuff" science fiction I had been exposed to previously. It was real drama (as well as adventure) in a science fiction setting.
I found Shatner's voiceover monologue in the opening credits resonant.
"These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise..."
The words suggested heroic deeds...
"her five year mission, to seek out new life and new civilization..."
...and great purpose...
"to boldly go where no man has gone before..."
...to do something truly special
All heady stuff for a 9 year old in the 1960's when we were trying boldly to go to the moon to redeem John F. Kennedy's promise that we would do so before the end of the decade.
I would rediscover Star Trek in syndication and judge through somewhat older eyes that it really was good stuff even as I entered Jr. high and High School. (It was important to be cool at that age.)
I graduated from Our Lady Immaculate and attended high school at Hathaway High a few miles to the north. In the summer between my junior and senior years, I participated in an 8 week program at The University of Southwestern Louisiana sponsored by the National Science Foundation. It was the Student Science Training Program SSTP. That experience would require a seperate chapter. Suffice to say, I met other "brainy" students from all parts who shared an interest in things like science fiction and Star Trek.
Upon graduation from high school, I attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (they have since dropped the "Southwestern" part of the name - a good thing since it is located in Lafayette, LA which is definitely in the south central part of the state.) There I renewed some friendships with students I had met the previous summer as well as connecting with many others with various shared interests.
I majored in computer science which was a hot area for the University at that time.
<side story>
Apparently, it still is. A few years back, we receive a late night phone call. My wife calls me over to the phone - it's my sister calling. Fearing the worst, her first words are: "Don't worry, nobody died or anything." The news was actually bigger. My alma mater had just defeated Texas A&M in a football game at Cajun Field. She told me the fans poured on to the field after the game and hauled down the goal posts!
The following day, I visited a client. He was an Aggie (a graduate of Texas A&M - and a recent one at that). I didn't tell him who my alma mater was, but at a quiet moment I memtioned that A&M had it rough last night. He sheepishly sighs, and says: "yea, and apparently they have a large computer science Ph.D. program too." He then goes on to tell me about an acquaintence of his from A&M who works in a developemnt lab (possibly Lucent, but I do not remember for sure). Apparently the lab was loaded with USL alumni and they were giving his friend from A&M no respite from grief.
</side story>
At any rate... I finished up my college days while working full time for the university computer center as an operator for the university's Multics mainframe computer. Getting to use and program one of those machines was a joy. Getting to actually run and maintain one... now that was a big deal... at least until it was time to graduate and move on to other things.
The first Star Trek movie came out before I graduated (I think the second one did too but I'm not sure off the top of my head) It was good to see the old gang back together again, but I was relieved by the second movie - even though they killed off Spock.
My first job out of college was for a small company in Lafayette that built training simulators for the oil industry. They were to the oil industry what aircraft simulators are to the avaiation business. The work was demanding but intensly fun. Since I worked for a small company, we all had to wear multiple (technical and sometimes non-technical) hats. It was a great experience as I had the chance to do things at an earlier point in my career than if I had worked in a larger established technology company.
After 2 1/2 years there, I headed west for Houston, Texas -- still single -- for a job at a larger oilfield services company. That company was undertaking a factory automation project. They were building a new department to write the software to tie everything together. They needed to send someone off to Japan to provide technical support to the Japanese firm for a PDP-11 running RSX. I didn't know hardly squat about RSX (a one week internals class in Dallas remedied that), but I knew a lot about the PDP-11 architecture and hardware.
I wound up being in Japan (mostly in the Nagoya area with a little over a month in Funabashi City across Tokyo bay from Tokyo.) for a total of 9 months. To make a long story short, I wound up with a wife and years later a family out of the deal.
I've kept up with Star Trek more or less through the years.
I've watched all TOS episodes n times where n is a very large number.
I only sparingly saw any animinated episodes.
I've seen all of the movies though not all of the later ones right awzy.
I was a fan of TNG when it came out and watched most of the episodes through to the end.
I watched some of DS9 whenever I got the chance.
I saw the opening episode of Voyager and watched it on and off as I got the chance.
I've been a more faithful viewer of Enterprise - and my 11 year old son is a devoted fan of it too. (Watch it with the decon scenes guys...)
Today, I am a computer technology consultant in Houston, Texas looking for my next gig and eagerly awaiting the next Enterprise episode.
Naturally, my interest was aroused. Now there was something in addition to Lost in Space for the science fiction fan to watch. I found out that this new program was on channel 7 (the local NBC affiliate KPLC in Lake Charles, LA - I grew up near Jennings about 35 miles away)
The first episode I ever say was Courtmartial. Funny how you remember things through a kid's eyes. In the early scene when Jamie Finney beams aboard the Enterprise and accuses Kirk of killing her father, I didn't think of what she was saying as much as I was thinking "Wow, in the future we won't even need doors! Needless to say, I was hooked.
I have various memories about the first season episodes. Miri impressed me. The Alternative Factor confused me (truth be told: it still does!). The Menagerie was cool, and so forth. What I quickly realized and appreciated was that Star Trek was not the "kid stuff" science fiction I had been exposed to previously. It was real drama (as well as adventure) in a science fiction setting.
I found Shatner's voiceover monologue in the opening credits resonant.
"These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise..."
The words suggested heroic deeds...
"her five year mission, to seek out new life and new civilization..."
...and great purpose...
"to boldly go where no man has gone before..."
...to do something truly special
All heady stuff for a 9 year old in the 1960's when we were trying boldly to go to the moon to redeem John F. Kennedy's promise that we would do so before the end of the decade.
I would rediscover Star Trek in syndication and judge through somewhat older eyes that it really was good stuff even as I entered Jr. high and High School. (It was important to be cool at that age.)
I graduated from Our Lady Immaculate and attended high school at Hathaway High a few miles to the north. In the summer between my junior and senior years, I participated in an 8 week program at The University of Southwestern Louisiana sponsored by the National Science Foundation. It was the Student Science Training Program SSTP. That experience would require a seperate chapter. Suffice to say, I met other "brainy" students from all parts who shared an interest in things like science fiction and Star Trek.
Upon graduation from high school, I attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana (they have since dropped the "Southwestern" part of the name - a good thing since it is located in Lafayette, LA which is definitely in the south central part of the state.) There I renewed some friendships with students I had met the previous summer as well as connecting with many others with various shared interests.
I majored in computer science which was a hot area for the University at that time.
<side story>
Apparently, it still is. A few years back, we receive a late night phone call. My wife calls me over to the phone - it's my sister calling. Fearing the worst, her first words are: "Don't worry, nobody died or anything." The news was actually bigger. My alma mater had just defeated Texas A&M in a football game at Cajun Field. She told me the fans poured on to the field after the game and hauled down the goal posts!
The following day, I visited a client. He was an Aggie (a graduate of Texas A&M - and a recent one at that). I didn't tell him who my alma mater was, but at a quiet moment I memtioned that A&M had it rough last night. He sheepishly sighs, and says: "yea, and apparently they have a large computer science Ph.D. program too." He then goes on to tell me about an acquaintence of his from A&M who works in a developemnt lab (possibly Lucent, but I do not remember for sure). Apparently the lab was loaded with USL alumni and they were giving his friend from A&M no respite from grief.
</side story>
At any rate... I finished up my college days while working full time for the university computer center as an operator for the university's Multics mainframe computer. Getting to use and program one of those machines was a joy. Getting to actually run and maintain one... now that was a big deal... at least until it was time to graduate and move on to other things.
The first Star Trek movie came out before I graduated (I think the second one did too but I'm not sure off the top of my head) It was good to see the old gang back together again, but I was relieved by the second movie - even though they killed off Spock.
My first job out of college was for a small company in Lafayette that built training simulators for the oil industry. They were to the oil industry what aircraft simulators are to the avaiation business. The work was demanding but intensly fun. Since I worked for a small company, we all had to wear multiple (technical and sometimes non-technical) hats. It was a great experience as I had the chance to do things at an earlier point in my career than if I had worked in a larger established technology company.
After 2 1/2 years there, I headed west for Houston, Texas -- still single -- for a job at a larger oilfield services company. That company was undertaking a factory automation project. They were building a new department to write the software to tie everything together. They needed to send someone off to Japan to provide technical support to the Japanese firm for a PDP-11 running RSX. I didn't know hardly squat about RSX (a one week internals class in Dallas remedied that), but I knew a lot about the PDP-11 architecture and hardware.
I wound up being in Japan (mostly in the Nagoya area with a little over a month in Funabashi City across Tokyo bay from Tokyo.) for a total of 9 months. To make a long story short, I wound up with a wife and years later a family out of the deal.
I've kept up with Star Trek more or less through the years.
I've watched all TOS episodes n times where n is a very large number.
I only sparingly saw any animinated episodes.
I've seen all of the movies though not all of the later ones right awzy.
I was a fan of TNG when it came out and watched most of the episodes through to the end.
I watched some of DS9 whenever I got the chance.
I saw the opening episode of Voyager and watched it on and off as I got the chance.
I've been a more faithful viewer of Enterprise - and my 11 year old son is a devoted fan of it too. (Watch it with the decon scenes guys...)
Today, I am a computer technology consultant in Houston, Texas looking for my next gig and eagerly awaiting the next Enterprise episode.
- Status
