Star Trek – Page 6

Planilum Light Emitting Glass Is Efficient Light Bulb Replacement

"Back in my day, Sonny, we had light bulbs, vacuum packed glass globes that had a filament in them, You put power into it, and the filament put out light."

"I thought they were using transistors instead of vacuum tubes when you were a kid, grandpa", the young man asked, turning his inquisitively,

""No, Sonny, not for electronics, for light. None of these solid state glow thingies, Real Light, from a glowing filament."

""You mean like in a television picture tube? I have seen pictures of those at the museum."

Grandpa shook his head,knowing that it was a lost cause. "Kids nowadays, they have it too easy", he thought as he flipped through channel 987, looking for old reruns of Star Trek. "Just too easy."

The incandescent light bulb may indeed soon be a relic of the past, along with vacuum tubes and television picture tubes. Helping with its well-deserved demise is Planilum Light Emitting Glass.

Planilum bulbs consist of 4 layers of special glass, a rare gas and serigraphed phosphors. But they are not just pretty, they are efficient. One of these bulbs will last for about 50,000 hours, or about the same as 34 typical light duty light bulbs. In other words, you could expect it to last about 20 years.

The bulbs do not get hot to the touch, but rather stay close to the same temperature as the human body with a soft, warm glow. I can imagine how well these bulbs would lend themselves to uses in unique shapes that is not practical with hot, relatively short lasting sources of light. While Planilum Light Emitting Glass bulbs are not available yet, expect to see them in the not so distant future.

Aloha from the Beach

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MP3 Video Clock Radio

Greg Chaffins

I like to wake up early and hit the Beach, it is just something that I have become used to doing. There are times that I don't always wake up on my own, and this is where something like the JWD MP3 Video Alarm Clock could come in handy. This clock can wake you up to your choice of FM radio, favorite MP3 or even your favorite video, thanks to its screen and built in speaker. The unit will cost about $88, and can be found here.

It would be interesting to see what different videos people would choose to wake up to, given a choice. I can imagine quite a variety, from home videos of loved ones and meditation pieces to clips of Enter the Dragon and Star Trek. Then again, maybe there are some personal choices that we probably should not discuss in mixed company.

Aloha from the Beach,
greg

source

The Star Trek Original Series Plot Count

Greg Chaffins

If you are reading this blog then you probably either have or know someone that has watched Star Trek: The Original Series more than once. While this television show has withstood the test of time and continues to be popular, there are certain plot elements that were used more than once. While this is not uncommon in a television series, it is entertaining to see the statistics of the plot usage. Kudos to ex-astris-scientia.org for getting these interesting plot counts together. So, without further ado:

Rank in total usage/series usage count

10. A Federation official influences the development of an alien planet: 4
9. Kirk argues a computer to death: 4
8. An enormous machine/being has to be destroyed to save the galaxy: 5
7. Being a Vulcan, Spock is immune to an infection/injury/radiation: 5
6. A whole planet is under computer control: 7
5. A scientist or Federation official goes insane: 8
4. A superior being/race holds our heroes hostage for their enjoyment: 8
3. McCoy finds the cure for a previously unknown disease in a matter of hours: 10
2. Kirk’s womanizing qualities help solve a critical situation: 12
1. Kirk engages in a brawl and/or has his shirt torn: 25

I personally am surprised the number of times Kirk engages in a brawl was not higher, but that number (25) is getting close enough to half of the episodes to sound about right. That is one thing I loved about the original series, it really lived up to Roddenberry’s “Wagon train to the stars” concept.

Aloha from the Beach,
greg

source:ex-astris-scientia.org

How Would Gene Roddenberry Feel about Trek XI?

Greg Chaffins

So, how would Gene Roddenberry feel about the upcoming Trek XI movie, which is actually a prequel to the original Series but featuring his characters?

Apparently he would feel quite good about it. In his own words, from 1981 letter to the fans, taken from “Star Trek:Creator – The Authorized Biography of Gene Roddenberry”

"…I think it would be wonderful years from now to see Star Trek come back with an equally talented new cast playing Spock and Kirk and Bones and Scotty and all the rest as they say tomorrow’s things to tomorrow’s generations"

How much more perfect could it have been worded than that?

I am looking forward to this movie, definitely, and it is a great thing for Star Trek fans. However, I do not feel, as some others do, that if this movie does not do so well it could mean the end of the Star Trek franchise for some time to come. If anything it could help to find new fans, which in turn may seek out other fan efforts and keep all things Star Trek happening. So far it would seem that the possibility of the movie failing is nothing to worry about if it stays on its current course. While it is a fine line to please the hardcore fans and the general populace, I can't help to think that both the timing and the production crew are just right.

Aloha from the Beach,
greg