Category: Captain’s Log

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Captain’s Log (2012.1031): “When Looking To The Stars, Keep Both Eyes Open”


Over the last year and a half I have had the great fortune of serving as the commanding officer of the USS Loma Prieta.  I’d like to thank my crew and senior staff for their hard work and dedication at length, but instead I’ll just let their accomplishments speak for themselves.

Since June of 2011, the USS Loma Prieta has published 10 articles in the Region 4 Newsletter, and 3 in the STARFLEET Communique. We have hosted over 35 away missions, meetings and events, and have never gone a month without an in-person activity.

In that time our crew has collectively earned:
-3 OCC (Officer Command College) certificates with Honors,
-12 OTS (Officer Training School) certificates,
-passed a total of 64 STARFLEET Academy courses,
-received the 2011 Region 4 award for Shakedown Chapter of the Year,
-received the 2011 Region 4 award for Officer of the Year,
-received 4 STARFLEET Awards of Merit,
-earned one place in STARFLEET Academy’s Red Squad,
-and all with a perfect MSR reporting record.

Five of our officers have trained with the San Francisco Fire Department to become certified Disaster Response Volunteers under the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team program. When the next “Loma Prieta” type earthquake strikes San Francisco, the crew of the USS Loma Prieta will be there to help.

In 2012 we began the ‘Federation Aid for Developing World’s’ Program, through which we raised $100 as a Kiva microloan to help get a family run flour production business in Uganda off the ground. Our Stellar Cartography team also founded a SETI @ Home group that has analyzed more data to assist in the search for extraterrestrial life than 79% of all other SETI teams globally.

In August, the USS Loma Prieta achieved its first great piece of PR success when we produced a highly professional Star Trek themed viral video with Discovery Channel’s Revision3. To date, this video has received 95,000 hits on YouTube garnered much needed attention for our chapter, region and fleet.

As I write this summary of our chapter’s accolades, I’ve come to realize that I may very well be the proudest Captain in Region 4, if not all of STARFLEET.  There’s no telling what’s in store for us, but as we head at full warp toward 2013, let’s remember our motto: “When looking to the stars, keep both eyes open”.

Perkins, out. =/=

CAPT Zach Perkins
Commanding Officer
USS Loma Prieta
Starfleet, Region 4

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Captain’s Blog: (2012.0722) “When Looking To The Stars, Keep Both Eyes Open”

It’s been far too long since I made a formal entry into the Captain’s (b)log. Since April, we’ve continued our regular pace of holding at least one crew meeting and one away mission per month. We’ve conducted regular tactical ARTEMIS bridge simulations, had remastered TNG screenings, held a Star Trek board game night, went on a trip to the Maker Faire Bay Area, had a Prometheus opening weekend screening, a STARFLEET Academy study night, and even witnessed the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. In April, Ensign Robert Schaefer once again updated our ship’s logo, this time in full glorious LCARs color! Ensign Thomas Marrone also created a new logo for Region 4, and while it was well received by many chapters, in June the COs took a vote and ultimately decided to stick with the old logo. But as they say – “change is like an iceberg. It might be slow, but it can’t be stopped”. In May, the crew successfully launched the Federation Aid for Developing Worlds program. Using KIVA Micro-Loans, the USS Loma Prieta contributed $100 to a family in Uganda to finish their home and buy the supplies they needed to start a maize business in their community. In six months, the crew will select a new recipient for Federation Aid in a different sector of the Galaxy. The last few months have also been an exciting time for the Stellar Cartography department. In addition to viewing the transit of Venus across the Sun using special solar sensors, Lt(jg) Ben Roodman and Ensign Shawn Alpay have started the USS Loma Prieta’s ‘SETI @ Home’ team. Through the use of BOINC software, we’ve donated our computers’ spare processing time to analyze radio signals received from space and aid the scientific community’s search for extraterrestrial life. In less than two weeks, our small team has risen from the very bottom up to the 40th percentile of US based SETI teams. As Captain, I’ve had a few personal achievements as well. The comedy podcast ‘Improvised Star Trek’ recorded not one but two of my episode title suggestions, “Hell’s Nacelles” (out soon) and “The Postman Always Hails Twice” (available now). As Region 4 Social Media Director I’ve been working to revamp the Digital Shakedown Certification program, starting by working with a Region 4 shakedown vessel in Arizona, the USS Leonidas. Also, in conjunction with STARFLEET Medical, I took over as Chief of SFI Fire-Rescue, which will soon create a cadre of Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) made up of STARFLEET Paramedics, Damage Control, and Rescue officers. Since launching, our pace and ambition has been relentless. With remastered TNG movie theater screenings, astronomy based away missions, and ship vs ship ARTEMIS battles on the horizon, there are no signs of us letting up. Now more than ever we must bear in mind our ship’s motto – “When looking to the stars, keep both eyes open.” ~Capt. Zach Perkins Commanding Officer USS Loma Prieta Starfleet, Region 4

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Captain’s Blog, Supplemental: (2012.0605) The Transit of Venus

[Above: Close-up of Venus by the Japanese Hinode spacecraft]

On June 5th, 2012, the USS Loma Prieta witnessed one of the rarest of known predictable celestial phenomena: the visible transit of the planet Venus across our Sun. These transits occur in pairs, eight years apart. The last transit occurred in 2004, but before that the transits hadn’t occurred since 1874 and 1882. Knowing that the next transit wouldn’t occur for at least another 105 years (in 2117 and 2125), this was a once (er, twice) in a lifetime event that could not be missed. The Loma Prieta’s stellar cartography team was immediately directed to prepare for observations of the event and take detailed sensor readings.

[Above: Capt. Perkins using the Solar Sensors]

However, due to the immense power of our star, the phenomenon could not be observed with the naked eye and would make our standard sensors and cameras useless. With the assistance of civilian Federation scientist Dr. J. Cox, we devised an ingeniously improvised device out of a pair of level 5 wielding googles, supplemented with an additional pane of level 9 glass. Together, these provided the level 14 protection necessary for safe solar viewing. Dr. Cox’s ‘solar sensors’ were further augmented with binoculars for magnification.

[Above: Dr. Cox’s improvised Solar Sensor device]

Much to my amazement, our ‘solar sensors’ worked magnificently! Through the device would could clearly see the tiny planet transverse in front our star like an ant crawling across a bright green apple (the solar sensors made the sun appear that color). Sadly, due to the extreme magnification and strange lighting of the ‘solar sensors’, it was impossible to get a clear visual record with our iPhone model Tricorders. Even though we were unable to take any high res holo-images, the exhilaration of seeing the planet Venus with our own eyes made the mission a resounding success.

[Above: Holo-image of the Sun through Solar Sensors, x4 magnification]

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

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Captain’s Blog, Supplemental: (2012.0331) TNG Mystery Dinner Party – ‘The Orb of Knowledge’

As the Captain of a starship, you’re afforded a few privileges that they don’t typically mention in the literature at your local Starfleet recruiting office. It turns out that one of those privileges is recruiting a private chef, and then ordering operations to deactivate all the replicators for the day so that you can show of your new chef to your senior staff.

And that’s exactly what I did when I recruited Ensign Chef Scott Spencer. And then, like that hack Emeril, I kicked it up a notch to warp 11. Instead of just serving the senior staff a meal of intergalactic proportions, I decided to secretly transport and trap them in a holodeck while they ate. Just as appetizers were being served, my senior staff found themselves assuming the roles of the crew of the USS Enterprise-D circa the late 2360s, just as they returned from their now famous away mission to recover the mythical and elusive Orb of Knowledge.

Cmdr Jon Sung was transformed into LtCmdr Data, while LtCmdr Tom Hesser became LtCmdr Geordi LaForge. Capt. Erik Roberts was Lt. Worf, En. Cindy Bee was En. Ro, En. Kristin Koperski as Counselor Troi, En. Jesse MacKinnon as Cmdr. Riker, En. Amy Sloan as Dr. Crusher, and Lt(jg) Ben Roodman played Guinan, complete with iconic hat! Meanwhile, I assumed the role of ‘Admiral Di Lithium’ to oversee the simulation, while Lt. Samantha Dolgoff, En. Andy Smith, En. Carla Newman, Crewman Ian Sayre, and Crewman Jessie Philipp served as supervisory staff.

Back in the galley, Ensign Chef Scott Spencer, assisted by Crewman Jenny Wilson and Crewman Chris Leung as his kitchen staff, began serving us amazing dishes from all over the Alpha and Beta quadrants. From Andorian tuber root to asparagus in yamuk sauce, targ in blood wine to the exotic ‘Parthas a la Yuta’, it was a five star meal that an Admiral would dream of.

While we washed down our meal with a healthy mix of Klingon Bloodwine, Château Picard, and Federation Standard Synthale, the crew gradually unraveled the mystery of the disappearance of the Orb of Knowledge from the Enterprise-D. ***SPOILER ALERT*** They were all guilty! However, I choose to omit from my log exactly how and in what way they were guilty; you’ll have to pick up your own vintage copy of the ‘How To Host a Star Trek TNG Mystery’ holo-program to find out!

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

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Captain’s Blog … Stardate 2012.0213 Commissioning the USS Loma Prieta

On December 27th, 2011, it was with great pride that I received orders from Starfleet’s Chief of Operations to assume full command of the USS Loma Prieta. Under her new registry designation of NCC-26848, we brought the Loma Prieta to full readiness as a mainstay vessel of the Fourth Fleet.  It had only been six months prior, with a skeleton crew of officers and crewmen, that we took the aging Ambassador class cruiser out of dry-dock and began the painstaking process of upgrading, recruiting, and taking her through what I believe to have been one of the most exciting and accomplished shakedown cruises that the fleet has ever seen. On January 28th of 2012, all of our hard work came to fruition when we hosted a truly epic celebration in Starfleet Academy’s Presidio district, and opened our doors to a flood of new crew members, visiting dignitaries, and Starfleet flag officers.

Everything on the menu that day was remarkable. From Cmdr. Jon Sung’s stash of Romulan Ale, to the case of Klingon Blood Wine that I bartered for from a shady Ferenghi merchant. From Lt(jg) Nicole Lippmann’s expert bar-tending skills, to LtCmdr Tom Hesser’s home-made Hassperat and Ensign Tria Connel’s tea sandwiches. And last but not at all least; Lt Samantha Dolgoff’s Gagh, Sisko-style Cajun Gumbo, and her special BBQ Targ recipe; the entire menu was truly of galactic proportions.

The events throughout the day were also not to be missed. I’d like to thank Lt(jg) Ben Roodman for seeing to our ‘Zero-G Combat Training’ facilities (ie: the bounce house); LtCmdr Hesser for handling the arduous process of setting up our ARTEMIS consoles for the ‘Kobyashi Maru Beatdown’ tactical exercise; Chief Petty Officer Cody Bratt for his highly skilled photography and portrait taking skills; Ensign Andy Smith for funding our USS Loma Prieta branded shot glasses; Yeoman Cindy Bee for being the best cheerleader (and the worst tactical officer) a crew could ever ask for; Lt Samantha Dolgoff for being the best chef and secret girlfriend (SHHH! Don’t tell Starfleet or they’ll reassign us!) a Captain could have; and most of all I’d like to thank our illustrious First Officer, Cmdr Jon Sung for hosting the entire thing, and for tolerating the giant mess we made.

I would also like to thank Admiral David Nottage, CO of the USS Golden Gate (Region 4, San Francisco), for officiating our ceremony; Captain Joshua Andrews, CO of the USS Sandstorm (Region 4, Las Vegas) and Vice Admiral Jerry Tien, CO of the USS Eagle (Region 4, Fremont) for gracing us with their esteemed presence; and Captain Erik Roberts, XO of the USS Paegan (Region 2, Florida) who has since transferred to the USS Loma Prieta as our new Chief of Security! I’d also like to thank all of the new friends and crew-mates who attend our party. Many of you have already registered for Starfleet and joined us as commissioned officers, and we’re looking forwarded to adding even more of you at our next meeting!

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