Alex Anderson Presents at the Space Center's Voyager Club. From the Archives: The Vomiting Student, Alex, the Space Center's Casanova, and the Overnight Camp Satisfaction Scores. Enjoy this Week's Imaginarium Theater.

Alex Anderson Presenting to the Space Center's Voyager Club

February 28, 2026

     Alex Anderson was the presenter at the February Voyager Club meeting held at the Space Center on Saturday, February 28. His topic was the art and science of the perfect simulator's tactical screen.

Alex (Voyager Club's Vice President) Introducing New Members:  Ed, Thomas, and Zane

     The meeting started at 8:00 A.M. with Bingo.  Andrew A was blessed with a couple of wins and took home the most sugar.  The meeting itself started at 8:30 A.M.  The first item of business was the introduction of new members.  

Kyle and Levi Presented Receiving 2 Years of Service Pins

      Years of Service Pins were the next item of club business.  Alex presented Kyle and Levi with their 2-year pins, which they proudly attached to their lanyards. 

Eden Received a 3 Years of Service Pin
 

     Our final presentation went to Eden.  She received a 3 Year Pin.  

     The Space Center is lucky to have dedicated, committed volunteers.  Kyle, Levi, and Eden are examples of the quality of our volunteers.  

      Alex took the remaining time to teach the Voyagers about the purpose of tactical screens in our space simulations.  

Alex is showing examples of effective tactical screens from the Space Center's Voyager simulator circa 2005.  

     Several aspects of a good tactical were discussed:  Size, Content, Artistic component, etc.  That discussion led into the second half of his presentation, the new 3D tactical screen being implemented into Thorium Nova.  Nova is Alex Anderson's new simulator software under development.  He gave the audience a potential completion date of 5 years.  

The Voyagers were Impressed with Thorium Nova's Tactical Capabilities

      Thorium Nova's devotion to "real time and real space" was what impressed me the most.  It is being developed in a gaming-universe style, where the crew is truly in control of the simulator. 

     Alex started at the Space Center years ago as a young junior high student.  He was a fantastic volunteer, supervisor, and flight director.  He is still one of the Space Center's most devoted supporters. He created Thorium, the software used in nearly all local starships, at no charge to the space centers that use it.  

      On a side note, as I was searching The Troubadour's archives for today's post, I came across this fun short story about Alex and the fainting woman from 2009.  

That Alex, what a Casanova!   

  

Alex Anderson and His Effect on Women. (March 1, 2009)

I've been impressed with Alex A's talent both as a programmer and as a Flight Director. This weekend, I was a witness to another undiscovered talent: Alex A's effect on females.

     I returned from running an errand in Orem and found a woman wearing a Phoenix uniform sitting in the Briefing Room. A man was standing beside her, also in uniform. Of course, I guessed they were part of the Phoenix crew. Alex was their Flight Director. They were on a five-hour mission. The woman didn't look well. The man was beside her as if offering additional support.
     "I'm feeling better," I heard her say. I turned around to ask about the circumstances and found the Phoenix Control Room empty. The crew was on a break. A few moments later, Alex appeared.
     "We had a woman faint on the bridge," he said innocently. "I was in the middle of the mission, and she just fainted. It was the craziest thing."
      I looked at him in amazement.  "Alex, are you telling me that this woman, not girl, a WOMAN, fainted during one of your missions? What effect do you have on women anyway? Was it your voice? Was it your inflection? Perhaps it was a combination of the music and your voice. I've heard such a thing was possible, but never in my 18 years as a Flight Director have I brought on lightheadedness in a woman. I've caused multiple cases of vomiting, but never fainting. What a Casanova. You stud!"
     It was dark, so I couldn't see the multiple shades of red parading across Alex's face, but he did laugh. I told him this was something I had to write about in this week's Troubadour Post.
     "Why do you think I told you?" he responded. With that, he disappeared into the Phoenix's Control Room.
     I noticed a moment later, his Engineer character suddenly had a very suave voice. I mentioned to his second chair, Dave Daymont, to keep an eye on him and not let him get carried away.

Have a Great Week, Troops!

Mr. Williamson

From the Archives. March 1, 2008

Overnight Camper Satisfaction Scores

 

Barratt Elementary Students on the Magellan 

The Overnight Camp. Feb. 29-March 1, 2008

Hello Troops:
Here are the results from the student survey taken by the campers at
the end of the Overnight Camp of February 29 - March 1, 2008. This camp was sponsored by the 6th-grade students of Barratt Elementary. There were 45 campers. A special note, this is the second week the Phoenix achieved a perfect score! Very rare indeed. Great job, Phoenix crew!

Our Flight Directors were:

Voyager: Bryson Lystrup (Shadows: 11 campers)
Phoenix: Dave Daymont (Supernova: 6 campers)
Odyssey: Stacy Carroll (Outlaws: 8 campers)
Galileo: Taylor T. (Scorpion Relay: 5 campers)
Magellan: Brittney V. (Red Storm Rising: 15 campers)
_________________

The first question: Think about your story in the simulators. Were
they fun? Did it have good characters? Did it challenge your brain, or way too easy to solve?

Here are their choices:

A = 1
B = 2
C = 3
D = 4
F = 5

Here are the results. Remember, a 1 is a perfect score.

Voyager story's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Galileo story's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan story's quality score: 1.13 (Last camp's score: 1.07)

Odyssey story's quality score: 1.14 (Last camp's score: 1.50)

Phoenix story's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VOYAGER, GALILEO, AND PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP STORY HONORS.

__________________

The next question: How would you grade the simulators'staff? Think
about friendliness, helpfulness, and acting.

Voyager staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Galileo staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan staff's quality score: 1.07 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Odyssey staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Phoenix staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VOYAGER, PHOENIX, GALILEO, AND ODYSSEY FOR TAKING TOP STAFF HONORS.
____________________

The next question: How much did you enjoy your job in the simulators?
Choices: (1 = Great; 2 = Good; 3 = OK; 4 = Not So Good; 5 = Bad)

Voyager job's quality score: 1.09 (Last camp's score: 1.10)

Galileo's job quality score: 1.20 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Magellan's job quality score: 1.07 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Odyssey job's quality score: 1.29 (Last camp's score: 1.38)

Phoenix job's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP JOB HONORS.

____________________

The next question: Did you feel that doing your job made a difference in the
mission?

The Camper's choices were: Yes(1) Maybe (2) No (3)

Voyager making a difference quality score: 1.09  (Last camp's score: 1.10)

Galileo making a difference quality score: 1.00  (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan making a difference quality score: 1.00  (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Odyssey making a difference quality score: 1.14  (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Phoenix making a difference quality score: 1.00  (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GALILEO, MAGALLAN, AND PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP HONORS IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
_____________________

The final question: Would you like to come back to the
Space Center again for another mission?

The Camper'schoices were: Yes (1), Maybe (2), No (3)

Yes: 100% (45 students)
Maybe: 0% (0 students)
No: 0% (0 students)

The Director'sTrophy: Overall Scores averaged:

Voyager: 1.04   LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.06
Magellan: 1.05   LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.11
Odyssey: 1.11   LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.25
Galileo: 1.04   LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.12
Phoenix: 1.00.  LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.00

Overall Average: 1.05 Last Week: 1.11

The PHOENIX is awarded the Director'sTrophy! Super Job, Dave Daymont and his staff: Rachel H. and Hanne P.

SATISFACTION SCORES:

Our Satisfaction Scores for the Overnight Camp. Campers were asked the following question at the end of their survey.

1. How would you rate your overall experience for this overnight camp?

Their choices follow:

10 = The funnest thing I've ever done in my life.
9
8
7
6
5 = As Good as watching my Favorite Movie for the first time.
4
3
2
1 = The Most Horrible, Boring time I've ever had.

The students are asked to rate the overall camp experience on that
scale. They are given verbal instructions on the rating system to
ensure comprehension.

Here are the results for today's overnight camp.

Voyager: This Week: 9.18   Last Week: 9.60
Galileo: This Week: 9.20   Last Week: 9.80
Phoenix: This Week: 10   Last Week: 10
Magellan: This Week: 9.87   Last Week: 9.67
Odyssey: This Week: 9.43.  Last Week: 10

The MAGELLAN takes the Prize for Best Satisfaction Score!

Overall Ranking by all campers for this Overnight Camp:
This Week's All Ship Average: 9.54 out of a perfect 10.
Last Week'sAll Ship Average: 9.81 out of a perfect 10

Thanks, everyone, for Another Great Overnight Camp!

Thanks for all you do to support the Space Center,

Mr. Williamson

From the Archives. March 1, 2009

Vomit and Other Tales

The week got off to a semi-fluid start on Monday. I was in my Flight Director's chair, my Bridge speech was finished, and my 'Tex' character was in full voice. I was introducing the Left Wing Power Officer to the rest of the Bridge Crew, explaining his strange habit of screaming whenever the engine temperatures reached 90, when I saw Lorraine spring to her feet.  Something had caught her attention. Her quick sprint toward the Record's office meant someone was in trouble. Not knowing the facts, I continued my introductions. I was explaining the reasons for the engineer's smile (he sits higher than everyone else—you’ve heard the speech a thousand times) when it dawned on me what was happening.

VOMIT.  It had all the signs of a gastric explosion on my Bridge. My first instinct was to dive under my counter and pretend nothing had happened, but after 18 years, I’ve learned you cannot wish it away. Both eye and nose testify to its presence. I had to choose: stop the mission for hazard control, or let Lorraine and Metta deal with it while I forged ahead at full warp.

Lorraine burst through the Control Room door, confirming that we had a vomiteer on the bridge.  “GIVE HER THE HAPPY BUCKET!” I said to the staff in a voice of controlled panic. 

“She has a trash can,” Lorraine said.  The situation was under control. Lorraine is a wonderful mom with an intimate knowledge of these situations. I’m told all mothers do; it comes with the training. 

"How much are we dealing with?" I asked, envisioning something the size of a pond on the bridge carpet.

“There isn’t much,” Lorraine noted. “She caught most of it in her hands.”

(Doesn't that leave you with a wonderful mental picture :)

My thanks to Lorraine and Metta for their help with our Monday morning explosion. I also want to thank the girl’s mother for feeding her a light breakfast—the remains of which were very easy to clean up. The rest of the day went well. How could it not? If you start with a gastric explosion, the only way to go is up!"

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