Batman and Pirates.

At work, I pigged out on pancakes and got a fleeting glimpse of Betty on Friday. After work, I did some stuff around the townhouse and watched "Batman: the Brave and the Bold."

Today, I found other stuff to keep me busy. I watched half of Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl. I played more of "LEGO Batman": I completed the Villains' Episode 1 did the first two chapters of Episode 2. I also did some free play using various villains, including Poison Ivy, the Penguin, and Man-Bat.

Betty sighting, David Trek.

I saw Betty on Tuesday. She was talking with someone outside her department, and I waved to her. She smiled and waved back. I didn't see her at all yesterday or today.

And now, "David Trek":

Personal log, 210901.29--Things have been pretty uneventful these past few days. We arrived at Gacrux on Sunday night. Since then, we've been doing our typical giant star routine: scanning the star from above (our perspective) in a orbit while travelling at full Drift speed. Hopefully, our next stop will prove more exciting....

Betty sightings.

I saw Betty twice today, but she didn't appear to notice me on either occasion. First, she visited the break room while I was at lunch. I tried to wave to her, but she didn't seem to notice me. Later, I spotted her in the elevator lobby talking on her cell phone. She seemed kind of down (not crying, but gloomy), so I didn't linger.

Inkheart, LEGO Batman, and Peter Pan.

Yesterday, I kept busy. I played "LEGO Batman" and completed two more chapters in the Villains' Episode 1, as well as doing some free play. I also got together with Harry and Liz and saw Inkheart. When I got back to the townhouse, I did some laundry.

Today, I did the usual stuff. I played "LEGO Batman" in Free Play. I started watching a DVD I bought with a gift card I got for Christmas--the Platinum Edition of Disney's Peter Pan.

Betty sightings, David Trek.

Well, after not seeing Betty all week, I finally got to see her a few times today. First, I spotted her leaving the women's restroom as I was heading for the men's room. I don't think she saw me, since I was in my departments' room when she first came out. I thought about calling to her to get her attention, but nature was shouting at me at this point (if you catch my meaning), so I ducked into the men's restroom instead. Then, I spotted her while I was on my lunch break. She came in the break room while I was eating, and we talked briefly.

And now, "David Trek":

Personal log, 210901.23--Things have been a bit boring this past week. We arrived at Deneb late Sunday night and have been doing a high orbit at full sublight (Drift) speed ever since. I did some research on a few of our upcoming stops and was pleased to see one of the stars we're heading for has a planet. It will probably be a Jupiter-type planet, which rules out away missions to the surface. Still, we can orbit it much faster than the star it revolves around and get some good scans. Perhaps we can even do some shuttle-based scans as well.

Spider update, David Trek dream, and LEGO Batman.

I gave my spider (Peter V) another small spider on Saturday night. By the time I went to bed, Peter V had captured the spider and was feeding on it. This morning, the remains were in the spider's garbage pile.....

I had a "David Trek" dream last night: I went with a group of my crew in a shuttle to an Earth-like planet. Shortly after our arrival, some military people showed up and took us into custody. We didn't put up a fight, and they took our weapons and communicators. They loaded us and the shuttle onto a flatbed and took us to a secret prison-like facility. They put us in a large room with several beds in it, most of the beds in alcoves in the walls. While we familiarized ourselves with our new surroundings, Gene found a way to free us. I don't remember how he did it, only that I found myself teleported back onto the ship. I expressed my gratitude to be back, and there was an argument on the bridge about what we should do next. After all, the people who captured us had less advanced technology than we did, and they did have our communicators, weapons, and one of our shuttles in their possession.....

Today, I played more "LEGO Batman." Having finished the Heroes' story, I decided to start the Villains' story. I played the first two chapters of Episode 1: the first chapter had Clayface and the Riddler. The second chapter had Mr. Freeze and the Riddler. I also did some free play using my custom Batman (Batman in a black costume). I was pleased to discover that some characters I bought (the Mad Hatter and Man-Bat) were also available to me in free play. The Mad Hatter has mind control gear like the Riddler, and Man-Bat has the ability to glide and super strength. Below is a pic I took of my two custom characters that I made in Arkham. The resolution isn't great, but they are Batman (on the left) and Batgirl (on the right) in black costumes. The yellow things they're holding are Batarangs.

LEGO Batman.

Well, I finished the Heroes' story today. I completed the last two chapters of all three episodes, which also unlocked the Arkham Asylum access (technically, I only needed to complete one episode to do that). In Episode 3, I fought with the Killer Moth as Batman and Robin. The final battle with this insect-themed villain involved a giant light bulb and a couple of turbines.

In the final chapter of Episode 3, I (as Batman and Robin) faced off with the Joker and Harley Quinn. First, I fought with Harley outside the cathedral where she and the Joker had been cornered by the police. I used a water cannon to knock her around a little before going inside. I chased her around the inside for awhile, then fought with her and the Joker. The Joker used a remote-controlled helicopter (life-sized) to shoot at me, but I shorted it out with a water cannon I built inside the cathedral's bell tower. He came at me, shooting a gun at me when I was far away and zapping me with a powered-up joy buzzer when I was close. He zapped me as Batman and as Robin a few times, but I finally beat him down as Robin. In the cut scene, a swarm of bats attack him and Harley, then Batman and the cops take him into custody.

Afterwards, I accessed Arkham from the Batcave and used the "create-a-character" feature to make black-costume versions of Batman and Batgirl. If I find the time and don't have any more memory card issues, then I will start the Villains' story next week and mix in some free play with my custom characters.

Betty sightings, David Trek.

I have seen Betty a couple of times the past few days. Yesterday, I saw her in the break room during my afternoon break. There were a fair number of people in there, and she didn't appear to notice me until she got up to leave. She said "hi," and I said "hi," and then she left the room. Today, I spotted her as I was running important documents to the lobby. I wasn't sure it was her initially (she was in front of me and walking away), but she spotted me when she turned around after she had entered her work area. I waved to her, then entered the stairwell.

And now, "David Trek":

Personal log, 210901.16--We are nearly done at the Crab Nebula. Earlier this evening, we teleported about half of the robotic sampling containers to the edge of the supernova remnant to collect more material for the replication systems. In a few minutes, we will begin to move away from the Crab Nebula so we can move into position to leap to our next destination--Deneb.

Betty sighting.

I saw Betty this morning. Like some other recent Tuesdays, we ran into each other (not literally) in the stairwell. She was leaving for lunch, and when she saw me, she asked me how I was.....

David Trek, the weekend.

Personal log, 210901.11--The last few days have gone well. We arrived a point about 45 million miles from the Crab Nebula on Thursday night. On Friday night, we narrowed that gap to about 35 million miles and began a parallel course along the edge of the supernova remnant. On Friday and Saturday night, we teleported the robotic sampling containers to the very edge of the nebula and collected enough material to refill all of the ship's replication systems, including the energy pods for the shuttles. Tonight, we continue our scans of the remnant.

Meanwhile, in this world, I have kept busy this weekend. On Friday, I caught a glimpse of Betty through the window of her department as I was heading for the stairs. After work, I did some ironing and finished reading a book Harry had loaned me a few weeks ago. On Saturday, I got my hair cut and went to the wedding of the son of one of Diana's friends. That evening, I got together with Harry and Liz at their place. We got carry-out pizza and watched two movies: Eagle Eye and Horton Hears a Who. Today, I added another movie on DVD to my collection: Peter Pan (Disney's Platinum version). I played my "LEGO Batman" game and completed the third chapters of Episodes 1, 2, and 3. In Episode 3, I took turns using the Batwing and the Batcopter to take on the Scarecrow (he was in a biplane).

Glimpse of Betty, David Trek.

I got a brief glimpse of Betty on Tuesday as I was leaving work. I saw her through the window of her department and waved as I was heading for the elevator. And now, "David Trek":

Personal log, 210901.07--Things have gone well with our orbit "above" Betelgeuse. I have been pondering our next destination, the Crab Nebula. My research on the place revealed it to be a supernova remnant in a state of expansion. Clearing, entering the Nebula is not feasible, though I am sure the ship's shields would give us some protection. I have discussed the matter with Gene, and we decided it would be ideal to enter normal space about 45 million miles or so from the remnant. Moving at full sublight speed, we get the ship about 10 million miles closer, then travel roughly parallel with the nebula for several days before moving back out. Another issue that has risen is the need to restock our replication systems. I pondered having the ship move as close to the edge of the remnant as possible and use the matter/energy conversion beam to harvest material. The problem is that we would have to get too close for comfort to use the beam, plus the edge would be moving toward us the whole time. After some deep thought and discussion with Gene, I came up with a solution: we will teleport special containers to the edge of the remnant. The containers will automatically draw in the excess helium from the edge, then signal the ship once they're full. We can teleport the containers back and use the ship's smaller version of the beam to re-absorb the containers and their contents. The ship's engineers are currently busy designing and building the containers. They assure me the containers will be ready by the time we reach the nebula.

LEGO Batman.

I had some troubles with my "LEGO Batman" game. Apparently, the data in my saved game got corrupted, so I had to start over. I was so frustrated about this that I dug up a bunch of cheat codes online and entered them. Most of the codes I entered were suit upgrades, though I did unlock a few characters like Batgirl, Nightwing, and the classic version of Catwoman. I went through the first two chapters of all three Heroes' Episodes. Right now, I am thinking I might just play the game that way: no free play until I get to the end of the story--I will just work my way through a chapter or two for each episode. The new chapter for me today was the 2nd chapter of the third Episode. I got to fight Harley Quinn as Batman and Robin after fighting our way through a circus.

Batman stuff, misc. items.

Well, I finished watching The Dark Knight on Friday evening. It was as dark as I remember from when I saw it in the theater, and I find myself wondering when the third Bale-as-Batman movie will come out. I have heard rumors about Poison Ivy and the Riddler being the villains in it. Hopefully, they won't as Jim Carrey to be the Riddler again.

I played more "LEGO Batman" today. I started Episode 3 on the Heroes side. I got to duke it out with the Mad Hatter after fighting my way through a toxic waste plant(?) as Batman and Robin. I did it again using my black costume Batgirl in free play so I could get the red brick and most of the mini-kits. I also did the 2nd chapter of the Villains' Episode 2: the Penguin and Catwoman stealing a large gem (possibly a pink diamond?) from a museum. I was intrigued to see that Catwoman, like Poison Ivy, also has a kissing attack.

Some other items: I didn't see Betty at work on Friday, though I did see her car in the parking lot. The spider that ate Sixy is still alive, so I have dubbed it "Peter V" (not intended to rhyme). I saw another spider similar to the original Peter in my room last night, but I decided to put him in the "spider refuge" in my laundry room instead of putting him in the jar with Peter V.

Happy New Year!

Proof that I had a white Christmas last week (unlike the time I was in California for Christmas):

I saw Betty from a distance on Wednesday afternoon at work. Hopefully, I'll see her from a much shorter distance away on Friday (since I had the day off today).

Speaking of today, Batman seemed to be the theme. I watched an hour of more of The Dark Knight today. I also played my "LEGO Batman" game for a few hours. I completed the Villains' Episode 1: the Riddler and Two-Face raiding Gotham's Gold Reserve was the final chapter. I started the Villains' Episode 2: Penguin and Bane stealing a radar/transmission dish from the docks. I did some free play as well, finally getting the rest of the minikits in the first chapter of the Heroes' Episode One. I also picked up some minikits on the Villians' side in free play, utilizing my black costume version of Batgirl.

Besides that, I did other things today. First, I watched "Mythbusters" for awhile on Discovery. Next, I wrote out my resolutions for the year (something I haven't done in awhile). Then, I did some reading. Later, I ironed some shirts for work. And now, "David Trek" :

Personal log, 210901.01--We arrived at our second stellar stop last night: the giant star known as Betelgeuse. For once, Lt. Commander Collins got to be on the bridge during our faster-than-light "leap" to our destination. Normally, we've been doing the leaps around 2100 hours, which is about an hour or so before her duty shift starts. Using what we learned at Antares, we are doing orbital scans with the ship oriented so that the star appears below us from our perspective. The ship can do a wider orbit this time since we plan to be here for about a week before we move on. The next several days should be fairly relaxing compared with the last few weeks. No away missions, no shuttle flights, and no "are we going to make it around in time?" issues. Just a high orbit scan....