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Why Do People Travel To Star Trek Conventions?

by Anil Polat | Aug 18, 2017 | Pictures and Video, Travel Journal, Travel Unravel | 0

People travel for many reasons and for 10-20,000 every August in Las Vegas, that reason is Star Trek. Although I’ve been to the Creation Entertainment Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas several times, I still have trouble answering the question I’m asked most about it: why do people go to Star Trek conventions?

As you can see in the video above, as I spoke with other Trekkies at the convention this year, people attend Star Trek conventions for a very human reason – one that won’t feel alien to any traveler or person. Plus, you’ll get to see a glimpse of what goes on at the largest Star Trek convention in the world.

This post is part of Geek Takeover Week 2017.

All The Cosplay Pictures From The 2017 Star Trek Convention In Las Vegas

by Anil Polat | Aug 17, 2017 | Pictures and Video, Travel Journal | 0

klingons stlv 2017

I’ve been to several Star Trek conventions in Las Vegas and while there’s always been cosplay, this year the costumes jumped to another level in terms of creativity and complexity. You can take a look at the cosplay from 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 to see the evolution of Trek fans dressed in costumes but at the 2017 event there were more people cosplaying than ever.

These are some of the best cosplay photos from the 2017 Star Trek Convention held at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino.

TrekPool (Deadpool Star Trek mashup)

trekpool star trek las vegas 2017

From Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

lokai star trek las vegas

The Niners From Take Me Out To The Holosuite

niners copslay

Gorn Beauty Queen!

gorn beauty queen

Tholian

tholian cosplay las vegas

Star Trek Beyond Alien and T’Pol

cosplay star trek las vegas 2017

Andorians

andorian cosplay las vegas 2017

Borg Queen and Data

data and borg queen cosplay stlv 2017

All Species Can Cosplay!

dog star trek cosplay 2017 las vegas

From A Piece Of The Action

piece of the action cosplay

Klingon Family

klingon family cosplay las vegas 2017

Live Long And Prosper, Vulcan

vulcan cosplay

It’s A Cellular Peptide Cake

data troi cake cosplay

Mashup!

star trek las vegas cosplay 2017

Red Shirts

star trek vegas red shirts

Borg

borg cosplay

More Klingon!

klingons las vegas

Jon Snow-Klingon Mashup!

jon snow klingon 2017

Kazon

kazon cosplay

From The Animated Series

star trek animated series

Guinan

guinan cosplay 2017 las vegas

The Enterprise!

enterprise cosplay 2017 las vegas

Antedeans

antedean cosplay

More Vulcans

vulcan cosplay las vegas 2017

Costume Contest Winners

star trek las vegas costume contest 2017

Orions with their Ferengi

orion ferengi cosplay 2017

The Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas draws over 10,000 people per year to the city every August. It’s 5 days of all things Trek, testing the limits of even the most diehard geeks!

trek galaxy cosplay mashup

Nearly all of the cosplay you see above was handmade. These aren’t costumes people are picking up at a specialty shop, but making on their own for the fun of the convention. There’s also an annual costume contest, judged by, among others, legendary makeup artist Michael Westmore. The Klingons in the top photo took first place, winning themselves $1,000 for their creative efforts.

I wasn’t nearly able to fit in all the cosplay photos I took from the convention in this post but you can see all of the costume pictures I took in my Las Vegas album here.

This post is part of Geek Takeover Week 2017.

A Potterhead Shares 5 Things You Must Do When Visiting Harry Potter World In Orlando

by Anil Polat | Aug 16, 2017 | Advice, Guest Post, Travel | 0

This is a guest post by 16 year old writer and #1 Potterhead Brian Selcik, a student at the Metropolitan School of the Arts. Brian has previously been a guest here before, writing how you can plan your very own Harry Potter tour in London. He’s visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando 4 times and shares what he’s learned from experience to make your trip there even more magical.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (we’ll call it Harry Potter World) is one of the most magical experiences for fans of all levels. Whether you’re simply a movie watcher (I’ll try to forgive you) or a super fan like me, everyone will enjoy the magic that Universal has to offer. As amazing as it is, there are some things you should know before visiting Harry Potter World.

1. Use Early-Admission (You May Already Have It)

Starting your day early is a very important factor. The earlier you get there, the less you have to wait for rides in the morning. The lines, especially in the summer, are incredibly long (and hot). If you can get to the parks as soon as possible in the morning, you can jump in the lines quickly and only have to wait about 30 minutes. This photo was taken bright and early at 8:47 a.m:

If you’re staying at any of the Universal Orlando on-site hotels, you almost certainly have early admission to Harry Potter World included with your accommodation. This lets you get into the park an hour (sometimes two) earlier than everyone else.

I would recommend doing Gringotts because that line probably reaches the longest wait time out of all the Harry Potter rides. After you’ve experienced the full queue, you can just hop in the single rider line from there on out.

2. Hop In Single-Rider Lanes For Much Shorter Wait Times

Single rider lines are available for the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and the Forbidden Journey rides. Essentially, single rider lines offer a shorter wait time since they’re used to fill in people-gaps on the rides, but you won’t be sitting with your party. For instance, if there’s a party of three going on the Forbidden Journey, they’ll fill in the fourth seat with a single rider. One thing to note: you won’t be able to experience the full queue (there are surprises along the way) with single rider lines, so if you can get that experience in the morning, it’s worth it.

3. Switch To Gringotts Bank Notes

If you plan to buy merchandise, bring money. Lots of it. All the galleons, sickles, and knuts that will fit into your bag… or you can transfer your muggle money into Gringotts bank notes at the Gringotts Money Exchange located in Diagon Alley. Just know that these bank notes can only be used in Harry Potter World. There isn’t requirement at to exchange your money at all, it is simply a novelty but for super fans and kids, a nice addition to the Potter experience.

4. GET BUTTERBEER! ALL THE BUTTERBEERS!

Regular butterbeer, frozen butterbeer, hot butterbeer, butterbeer potted cream, butterbeer ice cream, butterbeer fudge, OH MY DUMBLEDORE IT’S A BUTTERBEER EXTRAVAGANZA. Get it ALL. I quite like butterbeer, if you couldn’t tell.

5. Cool Off In Honeydukes Alleyway

Just located near the entrance to Hogsmeade is Honeydukes Sweet Shoppe. If you walk just past it, and make a left and another left, there is a small alleyway type location. It’s quiet and makes you feel as if you really are in the Wizarding World. Stand there, breathe in the magical air, hold your wand and live your best life as the wizard you are. Also, it’s usually cool/air conditioned. You’re welcome!

Thank you very much Brian for all the tips for visiting muggles! You can find more of Brian on the Harry Potter Fansite MuggleNet and he also runs an Etsy shop where you can purchase hand knit goods.

This post is part of Geek Takeover Week 2017.

When You Travel In A Plane, Time Slows Down For You: Here’s How To Calculate By How Much

by Anil Polat | Aug 15, 2017 | Travel Unravel | 0

andorra dali clock

We all know that our clocks change as we cross time zones in an airplane. Did you know however that you are actually traveling a bit further into the future, relative to your friends on the ground when flying? This effect is called time dilation, predicted and later proven by Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity.

Let’s quickly start by clearing up the title of this post since there are a few details which couldn’t so easily be summarized in a few words. The first thing to know is that whenever you move through space, by walking, running, driving, etc. relative to people who aren’t in motion, you are traveling just a bit slower through time. This effect has been confirmed by atomic clocks placed in airplanes as well as orbiting satellites and compared to those on the ground.

Additionally, according to Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, time moves faster in the absence of a gravitational field. (Relative to others who are in stronger gravitational fields; in other words, closer to ground, for example.) The higher up you are, the further you are from Earth’s mass, which means slightly less gravity for you and a slightly faster clock. While standing, even your head is ever so slightly moving a bit faster through time, since it’s a meter or two higher above the ground than your feet.

How noticeable is this effect? Well, not very as gravity is weak force, but using what’s known as a gravitational time dilation formula (originally discovered by the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz) we can calculate it.

time dilation formula

Assume you’re flying at 10,668 meters for 8 hours at roughly 1,007 kph, from true south to true north, where your friend is sitting at sea level; when you arrive, your watch will be running about 0.00504 seconds faster than theirs.

What’s all that north-south business? Well, since the Earth rotates and planes usually fly across this rotation, that would change the calculation a bit as you and your friend are moving in directions relative to each other.

Let me help you figure out how much in the “future” you are on your next 8 hour flight.

t1 = time elapsed (for person not moving)

t = time in seconds spent traveling
v^2 = speed, kilometers per second squared
c^2 = speed of light, 299792.458 km/second squared

So, t1 is what we’re looking for. t is time we’ve spent flying: 8 hours, or 28800 seconds. Let’s say our plane is flying at 920km/hour, that’s .25km/second. And c (the speed of light) is a constant in the universe. After inserting those numbers in the time dilation formula, t=28800.0000003. For the lazier, here’s an online time dilation calculator that does the number crunching for you. That means your friends, asleep (not moving), on the ground have experienced .0000003 extra seconds relative to you.

There are numerous time dilation formulas accounting for various scenarios, with gravity in mind, used to keep GPS satellite clocks in sync with those on Earth, among other things. So the next time a friend picking you up at the airport complains about your flight being late, tell them if they hadn’t been stuck in the past, they might have arrived at the right time.

This post is part of Geek Takeover Week 2017.

Geek Takeover Week 2017 On foXnoMad Begins Now

by Anil Polat | Aug 14, 2017 | Site News | 0

star trek las vegas 2017 borg

I love traveling and technology but this week I and my guests may not write about either. I’m guessing if you follow my site, there’s probably a good chance you’re a geek about something. Every August on foXnoMad, the geeks takeover with a new post each day covering science, science-fiction, fantasy, and more.

You’ve been warned. You’ll be assimilated. The geeks are here…

Monday: Geek Takeover Week 2017 On foXnoMad Has Begun

Tuesday: When You Travel In A Plane, Time Slows Down For You: Here’s How To Calculate By How Much

Wednesday: A Potterhead Shares 5 Things You Must Do When Visiting Harry Potter World In Orlando

Thursday: All The Cosplay Pictures From The 2017 Star Trek Convention In Las Vegas

Friday: Why Do People Travel To Star Trek Conventions?

May the Force be with you or live long and prosper, depending on your preference. I hope you’ll enjoy the posts I’ve prepared for you this week. There won’t be any new posts next week from August 21-25th, and regular twice-a-week posting resumes on August 29th. Qa’plah!

The Best Vegan Restaurant In Belgrade, Serbia

by Anil Polat | Aug 3, 2017 | Food, Green, Health and Fitness | 2

radost vegan belgrade

It’s hard to call something the “best” but Radost Fina Kuhinjica in Belgrade, Serbia serves excellent vegan and vegetarian dishes in an ambiance that would make it a great health-food restaurant anywhere. Radost is part of the very popular trend in the Balkans toward healthy, vegan, sugar-dairy-free foods in countries whose national dishes are often meats soaked in butter topped with cheeses.

Plan For An Afternoon

Radost is hidden across from the Belgrade Fortress and not the easiest place to find whether or not you’re using Google Maps. The restaurant is tucked away in an apartment, putting the first expression on people’s face a rather blank, “uuhhh, is this the place” look. Once inside though, you’ll see a cozy, renovated, vegetarian restaurant that looks nice without feeling arrogant about itself.

The aroma of the coffee though will set you immediately at ease. Radost’s caffeinated menu is varied with teas of all sorts plus coffees to give you a good afternoon kick. Although they officially open at 2pm, Radost serves drinks about an hour before. Like many vegan-vegetarian restaurants around the world, they’re not always the most punctual. Good coffee makes waiting for the daily menu – quite varied throughout the week – a bit easier.

belgrade vegetarian

There are Tex-Mex options, both in vegetarian and vegan varieties, Balkan salads, veggie burgers, plus cakes of all sorts – with or without processed sugar, depending on your preference. Lentil soups, eggplant dips, as well as many other traditional Serbian foods that are vegetarian by default are tweaked to become vegan if requested.

Breaking Bread, Or Some Equivalent

Radost, located at Pariska 3, is open from around 2pm-midnight on most days. They also hold occasional events in the evenings, though I didn’t make it to any, a good opportunity for travelers to meet similarly meat-minded locals. Prices are a bit above the average for Belgrade (not uncommon for most specialty restaurants) but Radost is hardly expensive.

radost belgrade

From the best restaurant in Pristina to A La Sante in Tirana, these vegetarian restaurants aren’t fortified vegan outposts on the other side of lines drawn in the sand as in many places. Rather, vegan cuisine is becoming an ever growing part of people’s occasional diets in the Balkans. In Belgrade, Radost is introducing an elegant, health-food dining experience to locals who are going out for a vegan meal on regular occasion – whether or not they love steak too.

About Anil Polat

Hi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More