Report

Chief Science Officer’s Log: (2013.0902) September Science Report

Posted by Amy MacKinnon on 2013.0904
Posted in: Report, Science. Tagged: , , , , .

Can We Build a Star Trek Tricorder?

Qualcomm is offering a $10,000,000 prize to whomever can invent the first medical tricorder. Many companies have entered this race and already have some production models. This would be a great leap forward in medical diagnosis, and a boon for Starfleet Medical officers. Read more about the race here: http://americablog.com/2013/08/can-build-actual-star-trek-medical-tricorder-theyre-sure-trying.html

New Technology Will Help Assist Women in Childbirth

The sad truth is that even in our current century, pregnancy and childbirth are the #1 killer of women who are child-bearing age, and it tends to be worse in rural areas and developing countries that are far from good medical access. The ePartogram seeks to help lower this statistic. Much like you’d remember in the Starfleet archives where Lieutenant Worf delivers Keiko O’Brien’s baby in Ten Forward on the Starship Enterprise, the ePartogram will help walk birth attendants through the steps of labor and delivery, and identify and prevent complications. Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/deniserestauri/2013/08/26/how-emerging-technology-will-save-womens-lives-during-childbirth/

Earth Life May Have Originated from Mars

Mars Hubble

Yet another theory has arisen that life on Earth began on Mars. While Mars isn’t a very hospitable planet for life currently, it was the perfect place for the creation of certain materials millions of years ago. Scientists are now speculating that life started on Mars because it has boron and molybdenum and Earth’s crust has very little, and this is needed to create the RNA, DNA, and proteins. This life-forming material traveled over to Earth on meteorites but we know the real truth about where our genetic materials came from…the ancient Humanoids that existed in the Milky Way Galaxy and spread their genetic makeup across the universe before going extinct. You can read more about the false theory here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23872765

=^= LT Amy MacKinnon
Chief Science Officer & Cyberneticist
USS Loma Prieta

Chief Science Officer’s Log: (2013.0826) August Science Report and Departmental Summary

Posted by Amy MacKinnon on 2013.0826
Posted in: Report, Science. Tagged: , , , , , .
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The USS Loma Prieta’s science department continues to make exciting breakthroughs in a variety of scientific disciplines.We are happy to report that even though Ensign Shawn Alpay has been largely distracted by while writing his fan fiction, the Stellar Cartography department has continued to thrive. Thanks to the efforts of Ensign Alex Ionescu, Stellar Cartography’s SETI @Home project has computed so much astronomical data that the USS Loma Prieta BOINC account  now ranks in the top 95th percentile of all SETI @Home team’s worldwide.
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At our recent crew dinner, honoring the decommissioning of the SFI based NCC-26848 (we’ve now taken up operations on the newly rebuilt NCC-26848-A), Xeno Psychologist Ensign Melissa Crystal conducted an experiment on the crew’s capacity for taste. Using small strips of chemically treated P.T.C. paper, individual members of the crew place them on their tongues to determine their status as a ‘non-taster’, ‘taster’, or ‘super-taster’. Those who have the abnormal sensory capacity of super-tasters were met with a distinguishing bitter taste from the test strips. Thankfully, adult beverages were on hand to wash away the experiment’s unpleasant aftermath.
Now for a summary of this month’s scientific discoveries from around the Federation:
 
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Scientists Invent a Hangover Free Beer
For years scientists have been trying to perfect alcohol concoctions that don’t get you drunk or have other ill effects and now an exciting step forward has come about. Scientists are getting closer to creating alcohol that has the same great taste, but doesn’t get you drunk or hungover. By adding electrolytes to the beer, they realized that the taste was unaffected but it was helping to keep the drinkers hydrated. As this research continues they may even create alcohol that has absolutely no drunken effects at all. I wonder what they will call this synthetic alcohol…maybe synthehol? Read more about the new beer here.
 
Implantable Device Records Brain Activity
Researchers have developed a device that can not only record neural activity in the brain but also send electronic charges to it. With devices such as these they can better treat movement conditions like Parkinson’s, and may even help with other brain disorders like depression. Our Starfleet doctors and nurses are very excited about the possibilities of this new way to treat conditions. I just hope a device like this doesn’t get into the hands of those who would use it for ill, like the Romulans. For more on this ground-breaking research, click here.
=^= LT Amy MacKinnon
Chief Science Officer & Cyberneticist
USS Loma Prieta

Science Officer’s Log (2013.0410): [Pre] First Contact Day and [Pre] Replicators

Posted by Zach Perkins on 2013.0612
Posted in: News, Report, Science. Tagged: , , , .

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[ABOVE: Ensign Andy Smith cuts a newly printed combadge from his replicator, after successfully printing a science department themed iPhone case]

The crew assembled to anticipate the momentous occasion (in 50 years time) of First Contact. In command was First Officer Jon Sung, Captain Perkins having been called away on an important mission to the Coachella System. The crew was pleased to welcome new recruit, Ensign Melissa Crystal.

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Headquarters being temporarily unavailable, the crew was hosted by Ensign Smith… who has a frakking REPLICATOR. During the course of the evening, the replicator produced two badges and an iPhone case. It was determined that the more ambitious project of creating Geordi’s visor should be postponed due to inherent structural anomalies.

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[ABOVE: USS Loma Prieta crew members celebrate their First Contact Day fiesta with a game of Artemis: The Starship Bridge Simulator]

After the traditional absorption of picklebacks, the crew donned their sombreros for several rounds of Artemis. Concerns were expressed about the extreme probability of recreating the Kobayashi Maru. Said concerns having proved more or less valid, the crew switched to playing Spaceteam. Gameplay was found to be faster, louder, and more hilarious than Artemis. Excellent results were achieved by shouting absurdities and waggling devices. Ultimately all perished horribly, and the meeting adjourned.

Replicators gonna replicate,

=/= EN Kelly Jensen
Scientific Dilettante
USS Loma Prieta

CHIEF SECURITY OFFICER’S LOG (2013.0223): #BATTLESTATIONS!

Posted by Erik Roberts on 2013.0502
Posted in: Artemis, Events, Report, Security.
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[ABOVE: The view from the Main Bridge]
Per Starfleet regulations, the USS Loma Prieta has long since conducted shipboard tactical drills with great regularity. Finding current systems somewhat lacking, the crew sought out a third-party provider for our simulations, and not too long ago happened across a promising holodeck program called “ARTEMIS”. This wasn’t our first go around with a major ARTEMIS based tactical simulation, but it was by far our most ambitious, involving many other ships and crews. The fleet-wide drills were headed up by our First Officer, CMDR Jon Sung, and the ship’s Tactical Officer, LT(jg) Michael Owens. Accompanying them were Chief Engineer LCDR Tom Hesser and myself.
Utilizing co-working spaces in Starfleet Headquarters San Francisco (a location code named: WeWork), we set up two mock bridges and began running the simulations. As part of an unofficial recruiting effort for Starfleet, the decision was made to bring in civilians so they could see the amazing opportunities that existed in the high-stakes, fast-paced life of a starship bridge. The simulation was a bigger success than was originally planned, and ended up being attended by over 120 people. We even had the pleasure of having the commanding officer of the USS Golden Gate, Admiral David Nottage, in attendance along with several of his Marines from the 49th MSG and 13th MEU, as well as a civilian scientist Brian Johnson representing the creators of the ARTEMIS system.
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[ABOVE: CAPT Perkins tackles the Gorn and the crowd goes wild]
There was only a slight security breach: a Gorn prisoner broke loose from his shackles, overpowered me and the Marines from the USS Golden Gate, and attacked our commanding officer, CAPT Zach Perkins. Thankfully the Captain, being an honors graduate of the “James T Kirk School of Hand to Hand Combat”, swiftly took down the Gorn in a matter of seconds. It didn’t take me long to recover, and I quickly took the Gorn back into custody for immediate evac. The rest of the evening went off without a hitch (save for a few technical difficulties that were quickly tended to by LCDR Hesser).
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[ABOVE: LT(jg) Nicole Lippman, EN Tiffany Bukowski, LT(jg) Ben Roodman]
I must make mention of the incredible Ten-Forward staff we had on
hand, headed up by EN Tiffany Bukowski, EN Kelly Jensen, and LT(jg) Nicole Lippman. Manning the airlock/front of house was LT(jg) Casey Koon, EN Jessie Philipp, EN Andrew Rogge and LT(jg) Ben Roodman.  At some point in the evening, there might have been a slight malfunction with the synthahol replicators, because they neither tasted like nor had the same effect (or lack there of) as true synthehol. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that some people might have been … intoxicated. Strangely enough, it didn’t seem to grossly affect the quality of the various bridge crews — in fact, it made the simulations almost infinitely more fun. If only I could have gotten away with that in my Academy days!
Due to the event’s overwhelming success, Starfleet has asked us hold yet another ARTEMIS tactical simulation. After some system upgrades, we’ll definitely be doing this again in the near foreseeable future. Look for us under the code name: #BATTLESTATIONS.
Until then,
Roberts out.
=/= CAPT Erik Roberts
Chief Security Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4
Team Leader
ADU-008 “Section 8”
Starfleet Special Operations

Away Team Report: (2012.1129) TNG Season 2 Remastered in Theaters

Posted by Zach Perkins on 2013.0501
Posted in: Away Missions, Report.

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July’s theatrical screening of remastered Season 1 episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation had been amazing. After seeing TNG in theaters, we never wanted to watch it another way again. But alas, we knew it was a once in a lifetime event, and we’d never have the joy of viewing the Enterprise-D on a movie theater screen again.

Lucky for us, we were completely wrong.

At the end of November, the crew of the USS Loma Prieta was once again tasked with the joyful mission of beaming down to the Century 9 theaters in San Francisco, this time for a screening of ‘Q Who’, the first dramatic appearance of the dreaded Borg, and a special hour plus extended version of ‘Measure of a Man’.

The Borg on the big screen were terrifying! The medium lent itself well to conveying the truly massive scale of the Borg cube. While ‘Measure of a Man’ in contrast is a more static episode than ‘Q Who’, where the action almost entirely takes place in a single court room setting, the theatrical setting still greatly enhanced the drama.

Since this screening took place almost immediately after the Creation Entertainment San Francisco Star Trek Convention of November 2012, uniforms were deemed optional for the away team. But lo and behold, every single member of the USS Loma Prieta away team showed up in uniform. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, that’s just the kind of top class crew I’ve got.

~Capt. Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

Away Team Crew Manifest:
CAPT Zach Perkins
CMDR Jon Sung
LCDR Tom Hesser
LT JG Jesse MacKinnon
EN Cindy Bee
EN Andy Smith
EN Chef Spencer Scott
EN Shawn Alpay