Darth Vader, Legos, and webOS

Last night while I was at Target; I came across a giant Darth Vader Legoman.

With a push of a button, Darth's lightsaber ligts up and he moves.

Sadly, there was no audio.

But wait!

I had just downloaded two apps that morning on my Prē.

So I pulled up the "Darth Vader Breath"
http://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.demosoft.darthvaderbreath&applicationid=4586
app and added the needed audio to the display.

It was much more effective.

After that got old, I opened up "Saber Ultimate"
http://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=de.draegerit.app.saberultimate&applicationid=4195
and had a ligtsaber duel with Lord Vader.


It's about this time that my brother walked away…

Australian Coke and Waco Dr Pepper

I drink Dr Pepper.

It's good stuff.

And if you read your can of this good stuff, it'll say "Plano, TX" on the side.

That's where I grew up.

Last month, I went to Australia on business. I couldn't find Dr Pepper anywhere.

For most of the week, I drank water.
And I never drink water.

I tried drinking Coke, but something tasted... off.

I found out that they don't use corn syrup down under; they use sugar.

Huh. I've had Dr Pepper made with sugar several times. This Coke should taste better than this.

It didn't.

And I just found out why.


After returning to the States and drowning myself in Dr Pepper; I came across the last two cases of "Made with Real Sugar" Dr Pepper in my local Walmart.

Woo!

But something was... off.

It tasted almost like that Australian Coke.

The "off-ness" wore off and I really enjoyed my 24 cans.

I eventually studied the can long enough to realize that the words "Imperial" and "cane" were not present.

The reason that both sodas didn't taste like the nectar of the gods was because they failed to use Imperial® cane sugar.
They used some other sugar instead.

So between the random sugar-of-choice, and my unfamiliarity with Coke; the combination was almost un-palatable.

Then I opened my first can of corn syrup Dr Pepper less than an hour ago.

What the heck is this stuff‽

If Imperial® cane sugar is the good stuff, then "Real Sugar" must be mid-grade.

Which leaves corn syrup as the cheap stuff.

Which it is. And that's why we use it.

As I take another sip from my soda, I realize that my taste buds have some adjusting to do...

San Diego Recognizes Klingon as Official Language

In a bold move, the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) has traded all of the English signage posted at Gaslamp Trolley Station for those written in Klingon.

Some may view this as a simple publicity stunt for the annual Comic Con held at the San Diego Convention Center, but others think it has a deeper meaning.

As mentioned, the English signs at the station have been removed. This forces transit users to either learn Klingon, or remain in the dark. Anti-Spanish language groups have been supporting this approach for years (although, with English signs).

By having Klingon as the only language at the station, San Diego has declared that Klingon is not only an officially recognized language, but one that it feels enough of its citizens and visitors are fluent in that it is the only one needed.

And since the United States has no official language, there is nothing forcing the MTS to post English signs.

As a San Diego native, I find this approach refreshing.

This is a major breakthrough for not only Klingon, but all conlangs. This is a major step down a very long road.

With official backing from the State, local California businesses can't be far behind.

Klingon translations were provided by Steven Boozer, Chris Lipscombe, and Michael Roney, Jr.

My Australian Adventure - Thursday

Last day.

I met James and Tracy for my last breakfast down under: cereal and muffins.

Tracy was staying a few extra days on her own, so we said our goodbyes (and wrote a post card to Marc Okrand) and James took me to the airport.

SYD is setup differently than any other airport I have observed.
Instead of letting each airline have a permenent presence, they set-up shop just long enough to take care of business at any one of the identical ticket counters available.

So, three hours before my flight, I watched the Chinese airline take down their cardboard flight attendant, and United put up their signs.

Not armed, I made it through customes without a problem.


I had a random pizza, and picked up some final souvenirs.

Including a boomerang and a didgeridoo. Apparently wooden weapons and heavy, blunt objects are allowed.


During my 13 hour flight back to LA, I discovered thw the port for my headphones was busted.

Thanks, United

Without sound, I didn't feel the need to watch any movies.

Going through US customs at LAX was a breeze. And oddly, instead of keeping us in the airport, we ended up outside.

When I realized that I was about to exit the building, a rush of emotion washed over me; I was in California.
I was home.

I slowly stepped into the Californian air, taking in everything.

And then I saw it: sunshine. I saw the California sunshine on the other side of the road.

I couldn't resist.

I made my wa across the street and out of the shadows.

The light spilt over the buildings and onto my face. Oh! It was glorious.

It felt so good to be home. To feel the sun. To see the palm trees.

I wanted to stay. It was painful to leave. I had to rip myself away and force my body back inside the airport.

Standing in queue for security (again), it felt cruel to trap us inside, denying us the sensations just beyond the wall.

These thoughts were soon replaced by the realization that I could find Dr Pepper.

And eventually, I found some. At McDonald's... Um, sure.

That's all I purchased.

A few gate changes and slight departure delays later, I was on my way to Chicago.

With a working port, I plugged into the planes music stations.

The first few songs were quite appropriate.

An in-flight movie later, and I was almost home.

Starving, I found food and Dr Pepper.

And I finally figured out how to get a mobile boarding pass.

So for my last flight, I handed my Prē to the gate agent, she scanned it, and I boarded the plane.

The flight was only 30 minutes, not even enough for a drink service.

Which was fine by me. I was ready to be done with planes.

IND was almost empty when we arrived. And my bags were almost the first ones to show up.

My wife picked me up out front, and we went home.

My Austrailian Adventure - Wednesday

The day we came for.

The two main reasons for the trip:
1) Tour the cave--make script revisions
2) Record the script


I met Tracy and Dan for breakfast and enjoyed some corn flakes (with sugar) and some chocolate muffins.
(The muffins at Jenolan were better...)

Then we were off to the studio.

"We're in Austrailia. At a recording studio. About to record in Klingon."

Yeah, I spent a large portion of the trip in absolute amazment or disbelief.

Tracy did a fabulous job on the recording.

I was on the other side of the glass following along with the script to catch any slips of the tongue.

We made a few alterations to help the recording flow better.

When Tracy got to the section on Cave Rules, she really hit her stride.

((Dan likes listening to the rules in the different languages. He says that the French almost sounds apologetic, while the German means business. Our goal was to beat the Germans.))

Tracy really got into character during the rules, and just kept on going.

But when we got to Maryanne's section, she asked that it be calmed down.

After Tracy made a very weak-sounding recording, I made sure she punched it back up for the next session.


After the recording was done, we listened to it all the way through.
I wasn't listening for much beyond pronunctiation at this point, and was focusing on the script one syllable at a time.

Why does she sound so weak? I think I'm going to be sick. Oh, it's Maryanne's section.

Luckily, the weakness fades quickly.

But Marryanne is happy with it.


Amazingly, we finished hours ahead of schedule. Apparently even the English version took longer and had more mistakes.


So we went to lunch by the beach.

I had french toast, covered with powdered sugar and syrup.


And since we had extra time, we toured the Sydney Opera House.


That night, we had our celebration dinner.

At a steak & seafood restaurant.

Unknown to our hosts, I eat neither.

So I had the burger. And this time, the tomato sauce was perfect. Nice and rich.
And the chips? Just the way I like 'em, thick.

My Austrailian Adventure - Tuesday

A side-effect of inviting me down, was the ability to have a Klingon on-site for promotional photos.

Despite my efforts, I was unable to gather a group of local Klingons.

(Rohan, regardless of wether or not you own a KDF uniform, I apologize for not remembering you live in Austrailia.)

Fortunatley, mIl'oD, my ship's moral officer and mascot, also attended.

In uniform, I proceeded to breakfast.

Chocolate cereal again.
((Oh, and the morning before I also had two chocolate muffins.
They were out of such things this time.))

Then we caught up with Dan, Domino (Dan's wife), and James.

We headed back out to the Cave, audioguides in hand (promotional pictures for an audio tour need to include the audio guide...).


Mid-tour, Dan presented us with the Jenolan patch.
Domino pinned it to my cloak,
and James proclaimed "You are now a member of House Jenolan."

A great honour, indeed.


At one point, I jokingly lifted my audio guide and shouted "matlh, HIjolchu'!". This somehow resulted in the photo shoot turning into a video recording.


After Domino was done taking pictures, Tracy and I took over Dan's office to add our script revisions to the soft copy.


Lunch in the bistro was a ceaser sandwich. It was nothing like I expected yet totally deliscious.


Our time at the Caves was coming to an end, and so we hit the gift shop.


And then it was back to Sydney.
We had a Wednesday morning appointment at the recorsing studio.


The drive was extended due to scenic detours and stops--well worth it.


After checking into our hotel in the city, we walked to dinner.

Not sure what the place was called, but it was near the water.


Daring to be adventourous, I ordered the kangaroo.

And well, either the meat itself, or the sauce it was under doesn't like me.

It tasted okay--a bit too chewy. But my body refused to take more than two bites.

Eventually, I ordered a salad.

It was the most disgusting salad I have ever had--but it made me feel ten times better. I was grateful.

After choking down as much salad as I could, I had a wonderful slice of chocolate cake.

My Austrailian Adventure - Monday

I had assumed that I would sleep in.
Instead, I awoke before 8 am.

I found Tracy in the restaurant and we had breakfast.

I'm confused by anyone who serves mushrooms and tomatoes for breakfast.

I had chocolate cereal.

That out of the way, we went to go find the platypus.

((Despite the fact that we were told about three platypuses live in the area, everyone insisted on referring to "the platypus".))

And we found him.


Then we toured the waterway. Very peaceful.

We met up with Dan, and the three of us all grabbed a copy of my translation, an audioguide, and headed out on the tour.

The audioguides were more advanced than I had imagined. Thankfully, I was not forced to wear a headset.

I had spent the last few months translating 4,884 words. Despite this, I was not prepared for what I saw.
Words are not enough. You have to see it.

Tracy and I noted modifications to the script as we went. Dan made some helpful comments as well.


At one point, Dan pointed out that a certain section was Maryanne's favorite.
It's a flowery bit about the sun throwing its rays across the rocks. And the colours, and so on.

Dan noted that the Klingon seemed short.

I admitted that the section in question had caused more than one headache.
I also pointed out that Klingon has no word for "sun" or "colour" and that "red, orange, brown" are all one colour as well as "blue, green, yellow".
The paragraph was complicated.

He understod.

But as it was Maryanne's favorite, we would look over it again.

Lunch in the bistro was interesting.
"Tomato sauce" is almost like ketchup. But it wasn't for me. At least not that brand.

Tracy and I flushed out the script, and made some modifications here and there; and had an epiphany when we got to Maryanne's section.


After that was taken care of, we joined a tour of the Lucas Cave.

The tour guide even pointed me out mid-tour and requested several on-the-spot translations like "Cathedral" and "Home of the Tooth Fairy".

Yeah...


Dinner was in the restaurant again, this time with Dan, his wife, and their two children.

Mmmm... chocolate cake.