Fifty-fifty at zero, zero, zero!
Just what does that mean? The photo I snapped tells all. First, it's my bother-in-law's birthday today (happy birthday), and he turns an ancient and unprecedented fifty years old. Second, it's also the fiftieth anniversary of Star Trek, which premiered on CBS a half century ago. So, fifty and fifty all in one picture.
The "zero, zero, zero" is geek talk for the spatial co-ordinates of Starfleet Headquarters here on planet Earth, the very center of the Federation Of Planets of the future. This picture was snapped on the precise spot on Horseshoe Bay in San Francisco where the Federation's central base of operations will stand in the year 2161. In fact, that garbage can in back marks the exact location where Captain James Kirk accepts his commission from Admiral Nogura to command the USS Enterprise. I had desired my brother-in-law to climb into the garbage can so that he would be in the correct location, but a friendly yet stern park warden told us not to do that. I did explain the cultural significance of the spot, and he relented, but the light was fading so I took the best picture I could get at that moment. Maybe I will Photoshop my brother-in-law into the garbage can later.
Since I somehow managed to take the picture of 50-50 @ 0,0,0 without getting the famous Golden Gate Bridge in the shot, here is a picture of me and my wife in a nearby spot. There's the bridge, too.
My wife took this photo of me bending one of the support struts for the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a wonder of the post-modern era that you can just go out and display any superpower you have at hand and publish it on the Internet without any mask or costume, and pretty much nobody will care. I mean fifty years ago, if I were to demonstrate my ability to bend steel girders with my bare hands, I'd be the lead for every newspaper and media broadcast for a month. They'd give me a superhero name like "Mr. Stupendous". I'd have a decent government job protecting the planet from supervillains. I'd probably have my own headquarters, maybe even at 0,0,0.
Instead, since movies and television are absolutely glutted with superhero entertainment, people are incredibly jaded when it comes to dealing with folks with exceptional powers. It's very much a "what have you done for me lately?" mentality. On the one hand, it's easy to become downhearted since it's so difficult in today's media to gain any recognition. On the other hand, I don't like crowds so I'm comfortable knowing I will remain anonymous no matter what I do.
In any case, the formerly stern park warden wasn't at all pleased to see me bending the Golden Gate Bridge, but he was too frightened to stop me. He was a lot bolder when he returned with full reinforcements from the National Guard, and apologizing the entire time, I used my super strength to repair the damage I had done (not pictured).
Well, this JSVB Post was supposed to be about my brother-in law so I drifted a little there. Mea culpa, and Happy Birthday!
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