A Day, A Week, Hemant, A Year

For all of the years that I have lived in Saskatoon, I had never visited the Mendel Art Gallery. I’m not sure why, but I just never got around to it. So to remedy this oversight, I decided to head over to the gallery this past Sunday. For those who are not familiar with the Mendel, here’s a brief description from their website.

Indeed, the Mendel Art Gallery is at the forefront of recasting the image and vibrancy of the City of Bridges as a major creative cultural centre in Saskatchewan and Canada. We recognize our role and responsibility not merely as stewards of the art objects we collect, preserve, research, and present, but as a potent agent of social change, driven by the multiple social, cultural, and educational possibilities of an expanded vision for the public art museum.

Through synergistic partnerships with contemporary artists and curators, like-minded organizations, special interest groups, and progressive members of the local business community, we demonstrate, on a daily basis, the necessity of art to the quality of life, and to the cohesion and advancement of Saskatoon as a first–rate, creative city.

Prior to leaving for the Mendel, I visited their website to see what the current exhibits were. There were two in particular that I was most interested in seeing. One was called “COOLART” which is an exhibit displaying artwork by students of Saskatoon’s schools. The other was “artistsbyartists” featuring the work of two Saskatoon artists - Yuka Yamaguchi, a self-taught artist born in Kobe Japan, and Dave Geary whose politcal work focuses on a “Great Saskatchewan Socialist Utopia that never was.”

The gallery is free to the public, but there is a donation box so I threw some money into that before making my way to the “artistsbyartists” exhibit. Yuka Yamaguchi’s work is described in the following manner. I tend to agree with it.

Her drawings are inward-looking, reaching both extremes of cute and the grotesque.

Looking at her work I found them interesting, but difficult to determine the meaning of. I thought I had a pretty good idea about some of them, but most of them were just way out there. This led me back to a bio of her at the start of the exhibit in hopes of getting a few hints to where she was coming from. It stated something along the lines of her work being done on the fly, with her just drawing without knowing where it would take her, without meaning. This definitely made sense. For example there was one piece that had a little girl sitting on the ground with a dismembered leg. She was proceeding to braid the muscles and tendons that were protruding from the piece that was still attached to her. Another one entitled “Inside of Me”, was of a fish impaling that same little girl.

The first piece I saw by Dave Geary was of two plush, stuffed animals. One of them was shaped like the province of Saskatchewan, and the other one was fashioned after a Saskatoon Berry. I said something along the lines of, “What the fuh?” As I made my way through the rest of his work, these two characters actually made sense, and went along with the rest of his pieces. Here’s a brief bio of him taken from the Mendel’s website.

Dave Geary is well-known as an artist, designer, cartoonist and zine producer. Images represented in artistsbyartists are a continuation of a political poster project Geary began in 2005 entitled The Great Saskatchewan Socialist Utopia that never was.

On display were Geary’s pieces that are influenced by posters found in 20th century socialist movements throughout eastern Europe. Geary takes the look of these posters and adds his own twist on them to fit into his “The Great Saskatchewan Socialist Utopia that never was” project. I generally liked them and thought they were quite clever.

The “COOLART” exhbition was in the main gallery so I made my way over there. I was surprised to find out that the Mendel presents the work of about two hundred students from kindergarten to grade twelve. There was a wide range of artwork including drawings, collages, sculptures, photography, and paintings. A lot of the work was very impressive, even from some of the younger participants. There are definitely some talented artists in Saskatoon.

There were two other exhibits in the main gallery including “Articulation Express : Celebrating Ahasiw” which looks at the life of aboriginal performance artist Ahasiw Maskegon-Iskwew. There was a movie playing, but I only watched it for a few moments.

“Lasting Impressions : Celebrated Works from the Gallery of Hamilton” has made its way through six venues across Canada. This exhibit focused on the modern art movement of early 20th century art - some of the most defining times in Canadian Art. I made my way this exhibit, but honestly I had little interest.

Overall I’m glad I finally made my way to the Mendel Art Gallery. I thoroughly enjoyed the two exhibits I specifically went to see, and will definitely keep my eye on the new exhibits that will go on display in the future. I’m already looking forward to the next “artistbyartist” featuring Sonya Adams who finds, “inspiration for her disquieting drawings from the remains of outmoded communications technology.” Sounds interesting. If you’ve never been to the Mendel, or haven’t been there in a long time, I highly recommend heading out there and supporting this Saskatoon gem.

I’ve managed to get the video of my call into the Hoops show that aired on Raptors NBA TV and The Fan 590 on Thursday, April 19, 2007. I had to be a little creative in getting it. I just recorded the segment with my digital camera during a rebroadcast since I don’t actually have a VCR or PVR hooked up to my entertainment system. Not the most high-tech solution, but it got the job done.

You can also listen to the audio broadcast of the entire show here.

Hoops is a weekly talk show that is broadcast on Raptors NBA TV and on the Fan 590, a sports radio station in south-western Ontario. It’s hosted by Eric Smith, “The Coach” Jack Armstrong, Paul Jones, and Sherman Hamilton.

Whether it’s on the court or off the court … HOOPS has all the stories covered regarding the Toronto Raptors, the NBA, and basketball in general.

With the Toronto Raptors set to face the New Jersey Nets in the opening round of the playoffs, excitement among fans is reaching explosive levels. You could see the enthusiasm amongst the Hoops hosts as well as the fans calling in. About halfway through the show, there was a call from Edmonton and Eric asked him if he was getting a sense of excitement amongst Edmontonians, and out west in general. Not surprisingly the caller said that if it wasn’t for satellite TV, he wouldn’t know anything going on with the Raptors.

Being a big Raptors basketball fan living in Saskatchewan, I knew where he was coming from. Eric then pointed out that there was a lot of calls coming in from all across Canada, and wanted to try and hear from all provinces. So with that, I decided to call in and continue the conversation of the popularity of Raptors and basketball in general across Canada.

It took a while to get past the busy signal, but I finally got through to the screener. He asked for my name, where I was from, and what my question was. After realizing that I was extremely intelligent, and probably incredibly handsome, he told me that he would put me on next.

“We have Hemant from Saskatoon. Hi you’re on Hoops.”

Eric may have pronounced my name properly, but the graphic on the TV sure had the spelling somewhere out in left field.

On the Phone
Hemond from Saskatoon

Oh well, I guess it’s better than Herman T. So since I was live on national television and radio, I put on my game-face and got down to business. I told the guys that I wanted to continue the discussion they started with the caller from Edmonton earlier. I explained that when the Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors joined the league in 1995, it sparked an interest with me in the NBA. But it didn’t take long for me to realize that it was very difficult to actually see any coverage of the games since so few of them were actually broadcast in this part of the country.

My interest in the league continued, but I wasn’t very dedicated or involved. Then when I moved to Guelph, just outside of Toronto, all of the Raptor games were broadcast giving me what I needed to really feed my interest. The six years I was there was awesome for getting my fill of Raptors basketball. Then when I moved back to Saskatoon last year, I explained that I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to follow the team as easily.

As the guy from Edmonton stated earlier, I reiterated that with the help of today’s cable providers, one can get coverage of the Raptors for the entire season. I did emphasize however, that there are still some hoops (no pun intended) that need to be jumped through in order to achieve this, such as pay a premium fee to subscribe to Raptors NBA TV.

The question I fielded was why does the Raptors organization tout themselves as Canada’s team, but for areas outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) they are generally ignored by the sports media, and the sports networks make it so difficult to watch the team?

Out of everything the panel had to say in response to the question, Eric had the most intriguing statement. Actually, he started it off with a question to me.

In Saskatoon and area, do people tend to follow the Toronto Blue Jays, and get excited about the Major League Baseball season.

He already knew the answer, but he wanted me to answer it anyway. I responded with something along the lines of the following.

Yeah, I know a lot of people who follow the Toronto Blue Jays pretty religiously, and yeah, I think people tend to get excited about the baseball season.

Eric then when on to say that it took almost thirty years for that to happen. After ten years, the Blue Jays were ignored just as the Raptors are now outside of the GTA. He really feels that the same type of thing will happen with the Raptors - he just hopes (and me too) that it doesn’t take as long. I then asked the guys what sparked that interest in the Blue Jays to spread across the country, and the panel all agreed that it started to happen when the team began winning consistently, finding themselves at the top of the American League.

The call ended and I sat back to think about the conversation I just had. Even though it seems grim right now for interest in the Raptors to catch on in this part of the country, the guys over at Hoops seemed to have pointed out a little light at the end of the tunnel. And if their theory is correct, and the Raptors continue on this winning path that they have been following, the end of that tunnel may be closer than one thinks.

It’s been five years. Five long years. Almost an eternity since the Toronto Raptors qualified for the NBA post season. It was 2002 the last time the Raptors played in a playoffs and every season since then has been disappointing, depressing, frustrating, and maddening. But this year under a new president and general manager, Bryan Colangelo almost completely rebuilt the team resulting in nine new players. Despite the overhaul, analysts were still dismissing the team. The organization however knew they had something special, and the team set their own goals despite what the rest of the league were saying.

1. Qualify for the playoffs
2. Win the Atlantic Division
3. Get home-court advantage in playoffs

On Sunday, April 1st the Raptors defeated the Charlotte Bobcats to clinch a playoff berth. A few days later, Friday, April 6th, they seal the deal on winning the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers. Then on Sunday, April 15 their third goal was met by taking down the New York Knicks - home-court advantage in the first round of the post season. Not bad for a team that wasn’t expected to make much noise this year.

And now the Toronto Raptors have been called one of the most dangerous teams in the east, many (including analysts Reggie Miller and Charles Barkley) expecting them to reach the Eastern Conference finals in a battle with the solid Detroit Pistons. Raptors coach Sam Mitchell who was called the worst coach in the league just last year is the favourite for this year’s Coach of the Year award. Bryan Colangelo is a guarantee for the Executive of the Year honours, and rookie Andrea Bargnani is at the top of the list for Rookie of the Year (although his emergency appendectomy a month ago resulted in him missing the last fourteen games, and likely his chances of winning the award). I mean winning twenty-plus games more than last season cannot go unnoticed.

We’re not sure who we’re going to see in the first round since the season is not quite over, but it’s currently a toss-up between the Washington Wizards and the New Jersey Nets, and will be decided in the final regular season game on Wednesday. Getting the Wiz would be the best scenario since they’ve just been hit by an injury bug, losing two key players in Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler. The Nets are a scary team with the “three-headed monster” in Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Vince Carter. Even though they’ll be finishing in either the sixth or seventh seed, they can do some serious damage. Despite this one cannot help finding a Raptors - Nets match up quite intriguing, getting a chance to see Vince Carter go up against his old team in the Raptors. It would be an intense battle, and the fans at the Air Canada Centre would be ruthless. This would definitely be a more high-profile series.

I’m torn on who I want to see in the first round. I want the Wiz so we get an easier opening series, but I want the Nets and VC for what will be an unforgettable and insane piece of entertainment. Either way, I’m just happy that the Raptors have made it to the post season and have an excellent chance of going deep. What does suck is that while I was living out there the team was terrible for most of the time. Then when I move away they get things straightened out and have the strongest team they’ve ever had. I can just imagine the atmosphere out there right now, especially since the Leafs suck and are done for the year.

The main reason for this post is to make a calling for those out there who don’t usually watch NBA ball, for whatever reason. I just ask that you tune into a Raptors playoff game this year - I guarantee that you’ll have a great time. They play an exciting and fast paced, team oriented style of ball that will keep you on the edge of your seat, plus they are Canada’s team. Or if that doesn’t convince you, the Raptors Dance Pak may be what is needed to lure you in.

If you were disappointed by March Madness this year (and I can’t imagine how you weren’t), come cheer on the Raps. Their first game will be either this Saturday or Sunday and will be televised across the nation. Check your local listings or raptors.com for scheduling.

Note: my playoff beard starts on their first game of the post season - I’m not sure what to expect.

I was recently doing a vanity search on Google. Searching on “Hemant Naidu” came up with the usual results putting this blog at the number one spot, and the “Not There Benefit CD Against Wal-Mart” bringing up second place. Surprisingly I had never performed a search on my nickname, “Naids”. I thought for sure that this blog would again be at the top of the search results. Instead my blog came up in the number seven spot.

Up at the top was a website called naids.org and when I clicked on it there seemed to be a lot of links to AIDS websites. Very interesting. Then not much further down the search results there was something that caught my eye - “Urban Dictionary: naids”. Imagine my surprise when I followed the link and found out that “NAIDS” has come to mean:

The kind of AIDS that you get from sharing needles.

Oh my god, I have NAIDS! I never should have shared that needle with Miles.

So I just wanted to take this moment to clarify the meaning of my nickname. As most of you know, my last name is “Naidu”, pronounced ny-doo. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine the origin of my nickname - merely a shortening of my last name to “Naids”, pronounced nides. The urban dictionary word “NAIDS” is an acronym, and is pronounced nayds.

There is NO CORRELATION with my nickname and the urban definition. My nickname IS NOT a reflection of my immune system not functioning due to me sharing needles with drug addicts. I CAN GUARANTEE that my immune system is strong and that I have NEVER used a needle for recreational drug use. The only needles ever inserted into my body have been administered by trained medical professionals.

Note that these search results are based on Google’s current Page Rank for websites containing the word “naids”. Hopefully over time the Page Rank of my pages will creep to the number one position.

If you’ve been keeping up with my posts over the last ten days, you know that my vacation was a busy affair. Ryan, Connie, and I were running around non-stop visiting many of the great tourist destinations of the greater Los Angeles area and Las Vegas.

I hadn’t been on a decent vacation in some time so it was definitely great to finally go on one. It may have had a little hit on my pocket book, but ones got to live - that’s what money is for. So as I sit here on my couch a day after getting back with my thirst to travel quenched, I find myself already planning my next trip.

And last but not least I want to take this moment to thank Ryan and Connie for having me in their home for the last ten days, and trucking me around from one great destination to the next. We sure put on a lot of kilometres. I look forward to visiting you guys again, wherever you may be.

If you didn’t get a chance to read all of the posts, you can see them all here. You can also see all of the photos from the trip at the following links:

• The Getty Center
• Hollywood and the Magic Castle
• SoCal Beaches
• Los Angeles Lakers vs Phoenix Suns
• Las Vegas
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

I was up pretty early Thursday morning even though I had packed the night before. Ryan and I hung out for a bit before he left for work at around 6:30. I watched some T.V. before getting into the shower. My flight was scheduled for departure at 1:30 out of LAX so Connie and I left at about 9:15, leaving time for traffic issues so I could get checked in with at least two hours to spare. Surprisingly the traffic was really good and we ended up getting to the airport in less than an hour.

I checked in as soon as I got there and it was only 10:30, so I had about three hours to kill. I wandered around, grabbed something to eat, and read. Nothing too exciting. LAX is lame, so my options were limited. It’s been a while since I’ve been through a U.S. airport security point, and I was flabbergasted that they didn’t check anything. In Canada, they make you take out electronic equipment so they can test it for explosives and such. At LAX, they didn’t do anything like that. Unless they have some type of machine that we don’t, it seemed pretty strange since they make it out like they are so concerned with security.

The flight was on time and went well. Once again I had a T.V. so I managed to make the time pass nice and quick. I had some little girl behind me who was imitating a coyote for a good portion of the flight which I could have done without. I’m currently sitting in the Calgary airport killing time again. I now have over a four hour layover before my flight to Saskatoon. After going through customs I pitted in Kelsey’s for a brew and something to eat. I did ask if I get could get on an earlier connecting flight to Saskatoon, but everything was pretty much full and I would have to pay a small fee to do it. I couldn’t be bothered. I should be landing in Saskatoon shortly after 11:00 tonight. I’ll catch a cab home and then crash in my bed. It’s been a busy ten days.

Wednesday was the last full day I had in Los Angeles and we had a trip planned to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. There is only one tour a week so today was the only day we could do it. For those who are not familiar with JPL and what role they play in space exploration, here’s a short excerpt taken from the JPL website.

“Do not go where the path may lead,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail.” That could be the motto of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Trailblazing has been the business of JPL since it was established by the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s. America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, was created at JPL. In the decades that followed, we sent the first robotic craft to the Moon and out across the solar system, reconnoitering all of the planets. Pushing the outer edge of exploration, in fact, is the reason JPL exists as a NASA laboratory.

The tour was scheduled for 1:00 pm so Connie and I were planning on picking Ryan up at work (his first day back since I got here) and have lunch at the “Dirty Truck”. Apparently a mobile catering truck would stop by their office everyday at lunch serving pretty good Mexican food. The truck came to be known as the Dirty Truck, even though it wasn’t really that dirty. For some reason I was really excited to try it out.

Connie and I arrived at the office on schedule at 11:30, giving us enough time to grab a bite to eat and head to JPL which would be about a 30 minute drive. They recommended checking in around 12:30. Ryan met us outside the office by the “Dirty Truck” and asked Connie if she had brought their passports. Apparently you need them to get into the facility if you are not an American citizen. I carried mine with me at all times while here, so I had mine. There must have been some miscommunication because Connie knew nothing about bringing passports. The real story is still under investigation.

We looked at the time and decided we had no time for lunch and would have to drive back to Rancho Cucamonga (about 15 minutes), grab the passports, and then drive to JPL in Pasadena. We would be cutting it close. Ryan jumped in the driver’s seat and we were off at breakneck speeds. Luckily the freeways weren’t too busy. We picked up the passports and headed to NASA. As we got back on the freeway the fuel light came on, adding another element to this adventure.

We finally arrived at JPL at about 12:45 and had no problems getting through security. We got to the visitor’s building and they were not checking people in yet. We made it just in time As we were waiting in the lobby, I overheard some people talking about Saskatoon. I went over to them and asked, “Did I hear someone say they were from Saskatoon?” I kid you not, there was a young software developer for Dreamworks Animation whose parents were visiting from Saskatoon. What are the odds of that? We chatted for a couple minutes before we checked in with our tour guide.

The tour started off by watching an interesting film (narrated by Harrison Ford) giving an overview of JPL and what unmanned planetary missions they’ve been responsible for. I enjoyed it quite a bit. Once the film finished the tour guide took over and started to talk about the replicas of satellites in the room including Voyager and Galileo. Ryan and I noticed that he seemed to repeat himself quite a bit.

After we finished in this area we moved on to another place that had more replicas of famous unmanned probes including the first one launched into orbit by the United States - Explorer 1. There was also a display for the world’s lightest material called Aerogel. It was pretty neat how it looked like it was there, but kind of like a hazy hologram. Here’s a picture of Ryan checking it out.

After this piece of the tour we moved on to another facility where JPL’s mission control was housed. This room was pretty cool and you could see live telemetry coming from actual spacecraft in real time. There was also two giant screens showing the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and countdowns to their next two missions. Sounds pretty straightforward, doesn’t it. Well, our tour guide went into about a ten minute talk on UTC, continually repeating statement after statement. Ryan, Connie, and I were having a tough time keeping our composure. It was ridiculous. There were fairly young children in the group (one was wearing an orange NASA flight suit), but come on - they likely weren’t following much anyway. Then when the guide finished his big lecture on UTC and how to tell time, he asked if anyone had questions. One of the children raised his hands and asked, “What is the UTC on those clocks?” It may have been the most hilarious thing we’ve seen in while and I can’t believe none of us cracked up. The tour guide started explanation again, but made it real short this time. I’d like to think that the child was actually sticking it to the tour guide - mocking if you will….but I highly doubt it - he was only about four.

The guide then started to talk about the planets and the distance between them, making it difficult for spacecraft to communicate efficiently with mission control. He continued to repeat himself over and over. Another child asked the question, “Can I sit on the edge of Saturn’s rings?”

We then moved on to the final facility that housed the test room for the Mars Rovers. This was easily the best part of the tour, especially since a different tour guide made the presentation. She proceeded to explain (without the repetition) how they used the test room to run simulations prior to missions, and how they still use it to mimic problems the rover may encounter or is currently encountering on the Martian surface. She was pretty thorough and did a good job of explaining the rover to us.

This wrapped up the tour and we were lead back to the visitors center. The tour was decent and I liked getting to see what I did, but I was disappointed with how elementary it was. I’m not saying I’m a genius or anything, but they didn’t talk about anything I didn’t already know (and I’m pretty sure that most people who are even interested in going on a tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have a basic knowledge of the solar system and the major unmanned missions). The only thing I really learned about was the history of the facility. The last tour guide did mention there was an open house in May where the actual engineers are to speak. That would probably be more interesting, but I’m not going to be around.

Since we had to skip lunch we were all pretty hungry. I wanted to make sure I had Mexican food while in California so we hit a place Ryan and Connie had been once before. It was quite good, but I mistakenly ordered a burrito that had no meat in it. We’re not sure what was actually in it, but it looked like a pancake. You can see more picture from the day here.

We had a few items on the agenda for Tuesday in Las Vegas. I had known about a Star Trek : The Experience attraction since it opened a few years ago and made a point to see it if I was ever in Vegas. My brother actually saw it when he was in Vegas recently and said it was pretty good. Since I am a pretty big Star Trek geek and Ryan is a closet Trekkie, we decided to go check it out. Connie claims she does not like Star Trek, so she decided to enter a poker tournament while we, “boldly went where no one had gone before.”

Star Trek : The Experience was at the Las Vegas Hilton hotel so we checked out from Treasure Island and headed over there. We had breakfast at the Hilton’s buffet which was pretty good. The selection was decent, but not spectacular. I’m not a huge fan of buffets (again, my germophobia), but when in Rome…

A poker tournament was just starting when we finished breakfast, so Connie got into that and Ryan I made our way to the Experience. There was a huge gift shop with all sorts of cool Star Trek things. I would have bought a few bottles of Klingon Blood Wine or Romulan Ale for sure, but I didn’t want to risk losing it at customs. Once we finished in there we decided to go have a drink at Quarks Bar and Restaurant. If that doesn’t make you smile, then you’re not a Trek fan. Quarks Bar is a replica of the bar by the same name from Star Trek : Deep Space Nine.

We were just planning on having a Romulan Ale (blue lager), but when we walked in there was a guy drinking this green bubbling thing which we found quite intriguing. We sat at the bar and went through the menu. We weren’t sure which one it was so we asked the bartender (she wasn’t a Ferengi, or a Dabo Girl). She told us that they were The Borg Sphere and the Warp Core Breach. When we read what they were on the menu, we had second thoughts since it was only 11:45 am.

• Warp Core Breach: (for two or more) (10 oz. of liquor) Red alert! Order this drink and prepare to separate our saucer section! Sensors indicate five different flavored Rums, Razzmatazz, and fruit juices. We add pure ice crystals from the planet Exo III. You’ll need more than one officer to handle this situation.
• Borg Sphere: (for two or more) (10 oz. of liquor) Prepare to be assimilated! Resistance is futile…when you consume this beverage consisting of Gin, Rum, Vodka, Melon Liqueur, sour mix and Sprite.

10 ounces of liquor before lunch is pushing it. Luckily they had mini version of each of these drinks with only 5 ounces of alcohol. That’s much more doable. We figured it was after noon somewhere in the galaxy. Ryan ordered the Borg Sphere and I ordered the Warp Core Breach. I could just post pictures of these drinks, but that would just not do them justice. So instead, check out the video below.

As we were sipping our drinks, a Klingon warrior came by to hassle us. He looked at us and said he could tell we were probably from California since he could smell the smog on us. He also laughed at us for getting the mini versions of the Borg Sphere and Warp Core Breach, claiming that children on his home world drink the full size versions. We managed to convince him to let me have my picture taken with him, even though we seemed to disgust him.

We finally managed to get through our drinks and we headed to buy our tickets for the two simulators the Experience offered - Borg Invasion and Klingon Encounter. We spent a little time looking at the exhibits they had featuring a running time line of major historic Star Trek universe events, as well as historical artifacts.

We got in line for the Borg Invasion 4-D experience. There was trivia questions being asked as we waited in line. I got them all correct - usually without even having to wait for the multiple choice options. Yes, I’m a geek. They finally let us in and the first encounter was underway. They use live actors as well as actual sets to make the experience more genuine. We were greeted by a lieutenant who directed our attention to a view screen. The Doctor, from Star Trek : Voyager explained to us that we were going to be part of a Federation experiment because we had a certain gene that would help fight off diseases, and more importantly, Borg nano-probes.

Midway through his briefing, the station we were on came under attack by the Borg ship. The lieutenant and another officer then proceeded to lead us through the station to a waiting transport - all while being chased by Borg drones who had transported aboard. We all eventually boarded the transport and departed the station, only to be intercepted by the Borg ship’s tractor beam.

Events continued to play out on the ships view screen until we eventually escaped and the ride came to an end. As we walked out we saw there was a box of goggles which we are pretty sure we were supposed to be wearing to get a 3-D effect of the view screen. Maybe that’s why that part of the experience didn’t seem right. Oh well.

We were running behind schedule since it was already 1:30 and we were supposed to meet Connie at 1:00. We found her and told her we still had one thing to see. She decided to go have a drink at Quarks bar while she waited. Ryan and I got in line for the Klingon Encounter.

In this one, we are transported from our present time to the future, where a group of Klingons believe that one of us is the ancestor of Jean Luc Picard. Their plan is to kill that ancestor so Picard is never born (we believe that Ryan was that ancestor). Luckily the Starship Enterprise was able to intercept the Klingons transporter beam and get us on their ship. An officer lead us from the transporter room through some corridors to a shuttle bay where we all boarded a shuttle that was to take us through a rift in the space time continuum to get us back home.

As we launched out of the Enterprise’s shuttle bay, the ride really took off. I’ve never been on these types of simulators before and I must say that they are pretty convincing. I really felt that we were flying through space and that we were in the middle of a space battle between the Federation and the Klingons. They made sure we strapped in when boarding the shuttle, and that was definitely a good idea because we were thrown around hard. They did warn people not to get on if they had back problems, heart problems, or were pregnant. One poor dude stayed back.

There were windows in the front and top of the shuttle that really made the experience realistic, especially when the Enterprise and Klingon ships flew overhead. As the battle waged on, we finally made our way through the time portal and were now flying over the strip of Las Vegas. It was pretty cool. But the Klingons managed to follow us and the battle continued for a bit. Once they were defeated, the shuttle proceeded towards the Hilton to drop us off. We all go off of the shuttle and as we walked down a hallway there was a T.V. on a local news channel. The story was how unidentified flying objects and explosions were being reported in Las Vegas.

The Klingon Encounter was quite a bit better than the Borg Invasion simulator according to me. It just seemed a lot more convincing. Maybe if we actually had the 3-D glasses for the Borg Invasion it would have been better. I’ll have to ask my brother if he wore glasses when they went through.

We went back to Quarks Bar to get Connie. She chickened out and didn’t get the Warp Core Breach or Borg Sphere. Instead she got this one.

• The Royale: A cosmic cosmopolitan, a favorite at Hotel Royale as well as in finer intergalactic establishments throughout the Quadrant. Made with Raspberry Vodka, Orange Liqueur, cranberry juice, and lime juice.

I wanted to get a souvenir so we went back to the gift shop and I took a look around. I was tempted to buy a Tribble. Connie loved them. I just decided to get a t-shirt instead.

Something we did see in the hotel that was pretty surprising was an iPod vending machine. It was an actual vending machine that you could buy a full blown iPod from. It had a pretty good selection. Here’s a picutre simulating Ryan shaking the vending machine after hypothetically putting in $300, and having the iPod get stuck on the way down.

Our next stop was Hoover Dam which was about a 30 minute drive from Vegas. Ryan and Connie had been there once before, but didn’t mind going out there again so I could see it. We didn’t take an actual tour of the dam, but just walked from one end to the other, enjoying the great structure.

After getting our fill of the dam, we decided to head back to Los Angeles. What should have been a fairly smooth drive turned into a bit of a headache once we hit an hour long traffic jam about halfway back. The highway was marked as “under construction” and traffic was backed up for miles. Once we passed the “construction” zone, it turned out to be two guys measuring a little piece of the shoulder. It was brutal.

We rolled back into Rancho Cucamonga at about 8:30 and just chilled for the rest of the night. Even though I’m not a gambler, and have never really had a drive to make a dedicated trip to Las Vegas, I’m glad I had a chance to see it. It is definitely something to behold, and I would definitely consider going back at some point to see more of the great shows they have to offer. You can see more pictures from the Las Vegas trip here.

Since Las Vegas is fairly close to L.A., we thought it was a good idea to make a trip out there while I was here. We left at about 10:00 on Monday morning. The drive was pretty cool across the Mojave desert. I’ve never seen terrain like that before. I made sure not to let Ryan take any shortcuts because I have seen what happens to tourists in movies like “The Hill Have Eyes”. Many stretches saw the desert covered with Joshua trees. There is a national park named for them, but we won’t have a chance to visit it on this trip.

We stopped for lunch in a 50s diner in some U.S. Marines base town. We tested our 50s entertainment knowledge and failed miserably. We also stopped at an outlet mall, but mostly just looked around.

We rolled into Las Vegas just after 3:00 and checked into our hotel right away. We stayed at Treasure Island which is right on the strip. We had tickets for the 7:00 show of Cirque du Soleil : Love so we didn’t have much time to do anything before. We just got changed and had dinner at a Vietnamese place in the hotel. Everywhere you go in the hotel you can hear the “dinging” of the slot machines. I’m not sure how the workers take it.

The show was playing at The Mirage which was right next to our hotel so we just walked over there. We picked Love since Ryan and Connie had seen all of the other Cirque du Soleil shows that are playing in Las Vegas. Here’s a little description of the show.

With LOVE, Cirque du Soleil celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles

Born from a personal friendship and mutual admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque founder Guy Laliberté, LOVE brings the magic of Cirque du Soleil together with the spirit and passion behind the most beloved rock group of all time to create a vivid, intimate and powerful entertainment experience.

With LOVE, Cirque du Soleil celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles through their timeless, original recordings. The exuberance of The Beatles will be channeled through the youthful, urban energy of a cast of 60 international artists. Using the master tapes at Abbey Road studios, Sir George Martin and Giles Martin have created a unique soundscape of The Beatles music for LOVE. With panoramic sound and visuals, the audience will experience The Beatles as never before. Only at The Mirage, Las Vegas.

The show was pretty cool. I had never seen a Cirque du Soleil performance before and I would definitely see one again. The performers can do some rather amazing things and have a lot of guts. You couldn’t catch me hanging from the ceiling like they were. Apparently this one didn’t have as much acrobatics as other ones, but there was a lot of great dancing. I really liked the dancing, but I would also see one more focussed on acrobatics some time.

The show finished at about 8:30 so Ryan, Connie, and I just walked down the strip. There was definitely a lot of people there and the weather was cooperating nicely. I think the forecast said it was 30 degrees celsius. We stopped by an outdoor bar at one of the hotels and each got a drink. It was a pretty good deal - only $30 with tip. I thought we would just sit there until we were done, but according to Ryan and Connie, they said we could walk around the strip with them. Even though they said it was OK, it didn’t feel right to me and I kept trying to hide my beer. We finally some some other people walking around with their drinks, so I was a little more at ease.

We stopped at the Bellagio to watch the famous watershow. We managed to find a space around the ledge despite how busy it was for a front-row seat. We watched a couple of the shows - one to Faith Hill’s, “This Kiss”, and some opera song. It was awesome.

We continued to walk around more and then Connie decided to head back to the room. Ryan and I hung out in the Treasure Island casino for a while and I decided to put some money in a slot machine. I’m a high roller so I went to the quarter slots and put in $275. I lost it within one minute. Oh wait, did I say $275? I meant $2.75. Like I said, I’m a high-roller. Here’s a picture of the intensity of the game.

Since Ryan and I were so devastated by the loss, we had to call it a night. It completely deflated our enthusiasm. We went back to our room, watched a little tube, and went to bed.

Most people who know me are aware that I am a huge NBA fan. Since I was going to be in Los Angeles, there was no way I wasn’t going to see a basketball game. With two teams in the city, it was really a no-brainer to want to see the Lakers as opposed to the Clippers. Even though the Lakers are a playoff bound team, they would definitely not have much going for them if it wasn’t for Kobe Bryant.

Not only was I going to have the chance to see a legendary team and one of the premier players in the league - I was also going to see them play one of the best teams out there in the Phoenix Suns, featuring fellow Canadian and two-time league M.V.P., Steve Nash.

Tip-off was at 12:30 at the Staples Center. Ryan, Connie, and I were on the road by 10:00 and stopped for breakfast at a place whose portions sizes could feed a small family. Despite the restaurant being pretty busy, we were in and out of there in no time and on our way to the stadium.

It was about a 45 minute drive to downtown L.A. and traffic cooperated with us. I was not surprised to see a statue of Magic Johnson outside of the Staples Center, but I was surprised to see one of Wayne Gretzky. Ryan and I both agreed that he should have been wearing an Oilers jersey as opposed to a Kings jersey.

Prior to the game the three of us took a quick peak in the Lakers store to see if there was anything interesting that we wanted to buy. Since it was so busy we decided to go in there again after the game. We made our way to out seats in the upper 301 section. As far up as they were, the view was still pretty good. The stadium is built with the seating sections so steep that it is pretty hard to get a bad seat.

The usual celebrities were there including Jack Nicholson and Penny Marshall, as well as some other well-known stars such as Tobey Maguire and Terrence Howard sitting courtside. We were also graced by some NBA legends including Clyde Drexler and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The actual game was not a complete blowout as we expected. The Lakers did a pretty good job of hanging around for most of the game, but Phoenix’s shooting and fast-paced game were too much for them to keep pace with. Ryan was cheering for the Lakers, but Connie and I were pulling for the Suns - although I did cheer for good plays by both sides. Kobe had some pretty sweet moves that you just couldn’t help but cheer for. Steve Nash’s penetration into the Lakers’ zone was completely dismantling the Lakers defense so I pointed out some defensive plays to Phil Jackson.

Following the game we made our way back to the Lakers store which was probably more busy than it was before the game. Connie got in the huge lineup while Ryan and I went through the store looking for something to buy. We both ended up buying a Kobe t-shirt illustrating his 81 point explosion last year against the Toronto Raptors. Since I couldn’t buy any actual Raptors merchandise at this store, I figured this was the next best thing - I get a little piece of Lakers and Raptors history.

After we left the stadium we just decided to drive around downtown for a bit so I could see it. This didn’t work out too well since a bunch of the major streets were closed off. After sitting in traffic jam after traffic jam, we just decided to head back to Rancho Cucamonga. You can see more pictures from the day here.

Even when stuck in a traffic jam in downtown L.A., something sweet can go down. See video below:

Saturday was southern California beaches day. We were on the road by 9:00 and the plan was to visit three beaches:

1. Santa Monica
2. Venice Beach
3. Bolsa Chica (Huntington Beach)

Here is a map (click it for a full-size picture) of the route we took. We started at Rancho Cucamonga in the north east.

The weather wasn’t the greatest for going to the beach, but we weren’t planning on doing any sun bathing. Our first stop was Santa Monica. We stopped at a Farmer’s Market during our walk from the parking lot to the beach. Ryan and Connie sampled some of the fruit and vegetables, but I didn’t because I’m a germophobe.

I was really surprised at how big the beach was. Not just length, but how deep it is as well. It wasn’t really crowded, but I can only imagine how insane it gets during the summer. Santa Monica is home to the first muscle beach. It’s a place for people to show off how strong they are. This one doesn’t have any weights, but it does have lots of other old school apparatuses. Ryan attempted to demonstrate his strength on some of the exercise equipment. After his workout, we walked out to the Santa Monica Pier.

Our next stop was Venice, just south of Santa Monica. A little history lesson - Venice used to house the Pacific Ocean Park which was also known as Dogtown, the birthplace of modern day skateboarding. If you’ve never seen “Dogtown and Z-Boys” or “Lords of Dogtown”, I’d highly recommend renting them. It is also the home of the second muscle beach - the place where Arnold Schwarzenegger was discovered. Here we walked down the Venice Beach boardwalk, and checked out the “local wildlife”. We also watched a little streetball at the world famous Venice Beach basketball courts. We passed a body piercing shop so Connie decided to get her nose done. You can see a video of it below.

Once we finished off at Venice, we got back on the road and headed south-east to Bolsa Chica, a.k.a. Huntington Beach. The main reason for going here was for Ryan to get some surfing in with his new board - a 6′3″ Surftech Channel Island Flyer II. I decided not to try surfing because I’m not the strongest swimmer, and the water is extremely cold at this time of year. Connie and I just decided to pull up some beach chairs and watch from the sidelines. There was a few other surfers out, as well a bunch of dolphins. They started to congregate around Ryan making us think that they were plotting something against him.

Ryan stayed out for about an hour before coming in. The wind had really picked up and it was quite chilly so we decided to call it a day. I was really surprised to see kids out in the water in only bathing suits. I put my feet for about three seconds and almost froze them off.

On the way home Ryan decided to stop by a surf shop in the city of Orange to pick up a bag for his new board. The shop was located near the Vans Indoor Skatepark so we decided to go and check it out. There weren’t any real good riders there at the time but it was still cool to see the world-class facility.

We got back to Rancho Cucamonga around 6:00 and just took it easy for the rest of the night. You can see more pictures from the day here.

While at the NBC studios we had an exciting moment with a possible celebrity sighting. A cry went out that was believed to be, “Look, it’s Ted Danson”.

There was clear disappointment in the car when it turned out the call was actually, “Look, it’s a chic dancin’.”

Since we had so much “fun” on Thursday night at The Magic Castle, we really didn’t think we could handle any more “fun” at a wine tasting in Temcula so we decided to just take it easy and do some shopping and see a movie. In the morning, Ryan and I went out to a nearby basketball court and played some hoops. We played some one-on-one, 21, and ran some shooting and post drills.

In the afternoon we went to a mall in the area and grabbed something to eat in the food court before going to see Grindhouse. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but it was pretty long, so be prepared. It’s almost three and a half hours long. After the movie I wanted to buy some clothes so we went to the Quicksilver store and I loaded up. I’m not sure I’ll have enough room in my suitcase to hold everything.