Captain’s Log: February 2023

Greetings, Crew!

We just got back from a little trip to Florida. Fun to get away during that really cold snap! Now it's time to put the pedal to the metal for MarsCon!

I hope you can all stop by the blood drive and the room, and hopefully lend a hand (or an arm). Our blood drive is starting out really slow this year - oddly so - so please help to spread the word. It will be fun to see everyone at the convention, including the dealers and the Girl Scouts selling cookies. In the immortal words of Leila Kalomi, it's been a long time!

Our meeting this Saturday is at the Wentworth Library (199 Wentworth Avenue East) in West St. Paul at noon. We'd love to see you all in person. If you can't make it, please join us by Zoom (link below). It's a good bet that we'll find a place for lunch after the meeting, too.

At the meeting you'll also hear details about the upcoming Twin Cities Regional Science Fair, St. Patrick's Beer Tasting party, the NLC Gala, and much more.

See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

MarsCon 2023 – Party Room and Blood Drive

We are having a party room at MarsCon this year!! Yes, it's true. At this Saturday's meeting we will discuss the details and set up a meeting of the committee. Get ready to join us for some visiting and fun as we get our gangster for A Piece of the Action.

We need help on Friday for set-up, Friday and Saturday nights for hosting, and Sunday for take-down. We also have a blood drive on Saturday and only 3 donors signed up, so please add your name to an appointment slot at https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=MarsCon

Much more information will be shared at the meeting - see you there!

February General Membership Meeting Zoom Link (meeting is IN PERSON)

In case you can't come to the in-person meeting on Saturday, here's a Zoom link so you can join us. Please sign in a few minutes early to check your tech and sound.

Topic: USS Nokomis General Membership Meeting February 2023
Time: Feb 11, 2023 12:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3141085993?pwd=S21TampnV01XUjNrc2QyK2kvSzMyQT09

Meeting ID: 314 108 5993
Passcode: 12345

Dial by phone: 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 314 108 5993
Passcode: 12345

 

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: January 25, 2023

Greetings, Crew!

Thanks to the group that came to pack food last night at Feed My Starving Children in Coon Rapids. We packed over one box (of 36 Manna Packs) per person, which is great! The whole crowd had over 80 people, from little kids that had to stand on boxes to older folks. It was fun, and afterwards we went out for pizza (tip: Muddy Cow has great pizza). The food we packed will go to Trinidad.

See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

 

 

Captain’s Log, Supplemental: January 18, 2023

Greetings, Crew!

We had a great meeting on Saturday. Thanks to everyone that attended and participated. Thanks especially to Phill, who put together a fun scavenger hunt for us. Based on the clever clues, we found various objects including potatoes, ice cubes, keyboards, and my right elbow. Congratulations to Ben and Emma, who got the most points, and to Rich, who solved the otherwise-unsolvable riddle. It was super fun!

We have made the official decision to host a party room at MarsCon this year. We will do A Piece of the Action, with gangster costumes and The Book. Please use the signup sheets to let us know when you can help with setup, teardown and greeting people in our room. More information will be coming soon.

See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

Star Trek: Picard Season Three Premier

We have a reservation for 20 at the Twin Cities 400 Tavern in Northeast Minneapolis. They have a back room with a big screen TV that worked well for the first episode of Strange New Worlds, and they are eager to have us back. Check out the menu and have a look at the room on the site.

Please let us know if you're coming by adding your name to the signup sheet under My Nokomis on the website.

Feline Rescue: Donate until Sunday

As promised, we are making a donation to Feline Rescue of St. Paul in the name of our long-time member, Jane Dusek. We collected donations at the events in October and online. We're giving everyone until Sunday, January 22nd to make final donations so we can send the money next week.

For a reminder of the various ways to pay, see this article from 2022. If you use a method that is not immediate (snail mail) please let Pam know to expect your donation.

Captain’s Log: January 11, 2023

Greetings, Crew!

We're heading in to the new year with great plans for fun. We start with the virtual membership meeting this Saturday (Zoom link is in this newsletter). We'll catch you up on all the upcoming events and end the meeting with a fun, virtual scavenger hunt. Here are a few highlights.

On January 24th we're packing food for Feed My Starving Children from 7:00 to 8:45pm at the Coon Rapids location. There are still spots open to join us, so go to fmsc.org and add your name to the USS Nokomis group. After the packing, we'll head out to dinner together.

In February, we have our membership meeting on the 11th at the Wentworth Library in West St. Paul. As usual, a group will go out for socializing after the meeting. We will offer a Zoom link, so you can join us virtually if you can't attend in person.

February also has the 2023 Valentine Dinner, of course! Signups are due by the end of the day on Saturday, January 14th, so please go My Nokomis and get your name on the list. The four-course evening can accommodate 12 persons and will remain at $35 again this year, and the event starts at 6:30.

March is jam-packed, with the Twin Cities Regional Science Fair on the 3rd and 4th, MarsCon on the second weekend (including the Blood Drive), and our meeting and Beer Tasting St. Patrick's party on the 18th. There are a couple of things that really need your attention in March:

  • Start looking now for that winning beer (or other beverage) to bring to the party. Prizes are good!
  • At the meeting on Saturday, we will discuss whether we'll have a party room at MarsCon this year. This requires volunteers, and we don't have enough at this point. We are hoping to A Piece of the Action, which is low-budget and low-maintenance. Wear your gangster duds and you're done! We'll have The Book and serve Red and Green, so the tasks are not strenuous. We absolutely need people to help with load/unload on the afternoon of March 10th and the morning of March 12th, plus people to hang out in the room and greet our guests. Add your name to the signup sheet in My Nokomis on the website, or drop me a line, to let us know you can help. We're super eager to rejoin the con world and hope you are, too!

Because MarsCon and our blood drive are on the second Saturday of the month, our meeting will be on the 18th. In addition, we are moving our April meeting this year. That meeting will happen on the 15th instead of the 8th, so mark your calendars now. You'll hear more about our plans for the April meeting this Saturday.

That's it for now. See you around the Galaxy!

Mary

January General Membership Meeting Zoom Link

Join us for the January Membership Meeting, followed by a virtual scavenger hunt. Please log in a few minutes early to check your tech.

Topic: USS Nokomis January General Membership Meeting
Time: Jan 14, 2023 12:00 PM Central Time

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3141085993?pwd=S21TampnV01XUjNrc2QyK2kvSzMyQT09

Meeting ID: 314 108 5993
Passcode: 12345

Dial by phone: 312 626 6799
Meeting ID: 314 108 5993
Passcode: 12345

Captain’s Log: January 4, 2022

Greetings, Crew, and happy New Year!!

Welcome to January. It's now only 40 years until Zefram Cochrane makes history on First Contact Day! No pressure, NASA...

Here are a few things you need to know about upcoming events:

  • Our January meeting will be VIRTUAL! The Zoom meeting starts at noon on January 14th and will be followed by another fun virtual scavenger hunt. The Zoom link will be in next week's newsletter.
  • Feed My Starving Children is on January 24th from 7:00 to 8:45pm at the Coon Rapids location. You can sign up HERE with our USS Nokomis group. There are currently 8 spots open in our reservation. After the packing, we'll surely go out for dinner nearby.
  • Signup for the 2023 Valentine Dinner is due by the January meeting. Please add your name to the online signup list (under My USS Nokomis) by January 14th, or email Mary. If we have more than 12 people signed up, we will draw names after the meeting.
  • We hope to have a MarsCon room this year! If we can get enough folks to help, we'll recreate the Sigma Iotia episode (yes, we will have The Book) and get our own Piece of the Action. The tasks are loading and unloading (fairly small loads for this room) and populating the room with your lovely, gangster-clad selves. Again, please sign up for the committee - we can not do it without enough people!!
  • Our next blood drive is scheduled for March 11th at MarsCon. Soon we will have the online signup ready, so you can sign up and recruit your friends and family to donate.

See you around the Galaxy!

Mary