Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Thursday, April 24, 2014
The USS Merlin
Okay, so I happened across this thread. For those you who don't go to reddit ever, it's about the difference between the Trills introduced in The Next Generation episode, "The Host," and the Trills represented in all of Deep Space Nine.
In "The Host," Odan can't use transporters, The Federation doesn't know anything about his race, and the Trill wear standard, nose-based appliances. In Deep Space Nine, Dax uses transporters all the damned time, she negotiated the Khitomer Accords as a member of The Federation, and she's just a pretty human with spots.
Star Trek is full o' this shit:
In "The Host," Odan can't use transporters, The Federation doesn't know anything about his race, and the Trill wear standard, nose-based appliances. In Deep Space Nine, Dax uses transporters all the damned time, she negotiated the Khitomer Accords as a member of The Federation, and she's just a pretty human with spots.
Star Trek is full o' this shit:
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
The Essential DS9: Season 4
You know I love Deep Space Nine. Not everyone has the time to invest in a new show, and DS9 has a rough introduction. To help some people get into it, I've compiled a list of five episodes from each season of Deep Space Nine that focus on essential stories and character moments of the series. I've also added a few supplemental episodes that are very good, but don't quite make the cut.
Way of the Warrior, Parts I & II (4x01): Hey, it's that Worf guy. Way of the Warrior is the first episode to get those big, epic fights DS9 becomes known for. The buildup to the fight and the fight itself at the end do a great job of keeping everyone busy, working characters, and keeping the action going. It is the best fight scene in Trek, hands-down. That title is sort of like winning a snail race, but it's still a win.
It's a repilot that clearly marks the point where the show hits its stride. This isn't a ratty, abandoned station with a crew that's trying not to kill each other. This isn't three runabouts, a commander, and two-dozen Starfleet officers thrown at a floating sprocket with a vague missive about "not fucking it up" that's faintly heard over the sound of an admiral's ship entering warp. This isn't those same officers bitching about being "in the middle of nowhere;" it's their home.
This is Deep Space Nine, commanded by Captain Ben Sisko, home port of the USS Defiant, Gateway to The Celestial Temple, the quadrant's first line of defense against The Dominion, and an ass-kicking dispensary open 26/7, willing to serve Klingons, Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, Romulans, and Breen free of charge.
Way of the Warrior, Parts I & II (4x01): Hey, it's that Worf guy. Way of the Warrior is the first episode to get those big, epic fights DS9 becomes known for. The buildup to the fight and the fight itself at the end do a great job of keeping everyone busy, working characters, and keeping the action going. It is the best fight scene in Trek, hands-down. That title is sort of like winning a snail race, but it's still a win.
It's a repilot that clearly marks the point where the show hits its stride. This isn't a ratty, abandoned station with a crew that's trying not to kill each other. This isn't three runabouts, a commander, and two-dozen Starfleet officers thrown at a floating sprocket with a vague missive about "not fucking it up" that's faintly heard over the sound of an admiral's ship entering warp. This isn't those same officers bitching about being "in the middle of nowhere;" it's their home.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Houma Movie Club, License to Drive
Man, this was a rough one. We had some personnel problems and technical problems too.
It's all up from here though.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Force of eWaste
Otherwise, I'm sorry.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
The Essential DS9: Season 3
You know I love Deep Space Nine. Not everyone has the time to invest in a new show, and DS9 has a rough introduction. To help some people get into it, I've compiled a list of five episodes from each season of Deep Space Nine that focus on essential stories and character moments of the series. I've also added a few supplemental episodes that are very good, but don't quite make the cut.
The Search, Part I (3x01): Meet Defiant, Starfleet's first warship. You'll have to watch the second part on your own time. ;)
Supplemental: Civil Defense (3x07): Just good times with DS9 itself and Dukat being Dukat.
The Search, Part I (3x01): Meet Defiant, Starfleet's first warship. You'll have to watch the second part on your own time. ;)
Supplemental: Civil Defense (3x07): Just good times with DS9 itself and Dukat being Dukat.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Houma Movie Club: The Prophecy
The Prophecy's only crime was in not being great. At least expectations are low for License to Drive next week.
Friday, April 11, 2014
So a while back I wanted to run a
Battletech Strategic Game. I set it in the "distant future" of 3087. The
Battletech timeline has since moved on 31...something? I'm not in a
blogging mood recently, but I did find some of my old fiction for it.
Each piece covers a different faction. This one is a fiction piece about a commander in the expanded Clan Ghost Bear space.
2701st Regiment (Bloody Maw) Headquarters
Irece,
July 3086
Unni Ghostbear adjusted the collar of his uniform, making sure the SLDF-style Colonel patch on his collar-immovably sewn-on was it was-- sat correctly. His chest, adorned with only his Galedon V campaign medal and his mechwarrior qualification medals paled in comparison to even some of the 2701st Lieutenants. He wasn't even technically qualified for the hot-drop that landed him in the Bloody Maw's frontlines two months ago. The Maw had reformed and repaired on Irece, and now, finally, stood at full strength again.
Ghost Bear occupation had curtailed much of the paperwork which had plagued the Inner Sphere's military structure as well as the use of adjutants, which Unni suspected was much like having one's own personal lower casteman for lazy commanders. None the less, it was Merchant Ty who had done a bulk of the work necessary to adapt Unni into a unit filled with spheroids and second-rate freebirth warriors[1].
"Colonel Unni?" Ty peered into the commander's office, "They're playing you on."
Unni scowled, every inch the reluctant Clansman to outsiders, griping madly about ceremony, about formality, about an Inner Sphere unit, and an immediate lack of someone to shoot, kill, or destroy outright.
His quarters adjoined his office, and he cut through there to the main corridor just inside of the admin building's main entrance. He walked calmly up to the platform, with a gait just too lively to make it a march. The band--a collection of loud brass instruments--played through the song for probably the tenth time, it was a generic military fanfare that was probably old when the Star League fell apart, and undoubtedly got less tolerable with every iteration.
He mounted the steps and before him stood the entirely to the Ghost Bears 2701st Regiment, the Bloody Maw. Mechwarriors, vehicle crews, and infantry-basic and armored, were arrayed in orderly ranks before the stage. He approached the podium, and the tired music faded gracefully. No part of Clan warrior training taught warriors how to give speeches to a unit when you took command. It was not necessary, a new commander appeared, orders were given--
He was a different warrior now, and he resolved to give the best address possible, regardless of however strange it may seem to him,. To adapt was the way of the Clans.
"For gods sake," Ty had suggested when Unni had mentioned the oddness of it to him, "don't drone on. Believe it or not, a lot of you trueborns are in love with your own voices; just say something nice about the unit, outline some expectations, and don't talk about trueborn or freeborn, or even how you got here." Unni had nodded then, and nodded again as he adjusted the microphone.
"I was impressed with what I saw on Galedon V, and with what I have seen since. You are warriors of Clan Ghost Bear; do not forget it."
Without a further word, he turned and left the stage, hardly noticing the surprised faces of his Majors or the sound of his XO's improvised dismissal of the troops.
Colonel Unni was satisfied; waiting in his office was a technician with a patch identifying him as a low-level worker in the Irece HPG facility[2] and a clearly-identifiable orders package marked with the insignia of the Khan.
---
1: There is a distinction made between between freebirth Clanners and spheroids within the Caste system. Freebirth Clanners tend to know their place.
2: It makes sense that within the Clans, there would be a clearly-identifiable structure to allow others to know their place. Seems like it would save time on trite introductions.
2701st Regiment (Bloody Maw) Headquarters
Irece,
July 3086
Unni Ghostbear adjusted the collar of his uniform, making sure the SLDF-style Colonel patch on his collar-immovably sewn-on was it was-- sat correctly. His chest, adorned with only his Galedon V campaign medal and his mechwarrior qualification medals paled in comparison to even some of the 2701st Lieutenants. He wasn't even technically qualified for the hot-drop that landed him in the Bloody Maw's frontlines two months ago. The Maw had reformed and repaired on Irece, and now, finally, stood at full strength again.
Ghost Bear occupation had curtailed much of the paperwork which had plagued the Inner Sphere's military structure as well as the use of adjutants, which Unni suspected was much like having one's own personal lower casteman for lazy commanders. None the less, it was Merchant Ty who had done a bulk of the work necessary to adapt Unni into a unit filled with spheroids and second-rate freebirth warriors[1].
"Colonel Unni?" Ty peered into the commander's office, "They're playing you on."
Unni scowled, every inch the reluctant Clansman to outsiders, griping madly about ceremony, about formality, about an Inner Sphere unit, and an immediate lack of someone to shoot, kill, or destroy outright.
His quarters adjoined his office, and he cut through there to the main corridor just inside of the admin building's main entrance. He walked calmly up to the platform, with a gait just too lively to make it a march. The band--a collection of loud brass instruments--played through the song for probably the tenth time, it was a generic military fanfare that was probably old when the Star League fell apart, and undoubtedly got less tolerable with every iteration.
He mounted the steps and before him stood the entirely to the Ghost Bears 2701st Regiment, the Bloody Maw. Mechwarriors, vehicle crews, and infantry-basic and armored, were arrayed in orderly ranks before the stage. He approached the podium, and the tired music faded gracefully. No part of Clan warrior training taught warriors how to give speeches to a unit when you took command. It was not necessary, a new commander appeared, orders were given--
He was a different warrior now, and he resolved to give the best address possible, regardless of however strange it may seem to him,. To adapt was the way of the Clans.
"For gods sake," Ty had suggested when Unni had mentioned the oddness of it to him, "don't drone on. Believe it or not, a lot of you trueborns are in love with your own voices; just say something nice about the unit, outline some expectations, and don't talk about trueborn or freeborn, or even how you got here." Unni had nodded then, and nodded again as he adjusted the microphone.
"I was impressed with what I saw on Galedon V, and with what I have seen since. You are warriors of Clan Ghost Bear; do not forget it."
Without a further word, he turned and left the stage, hardly noticing the surprised faces of his Majors or the sound of his XO's improvised dismissal of the troops.
Colonel Unni was satisfied; waiting in his office was a technician with a patch identifying him as a low-level worker in the Irece HPG facility[2] and a clearly-identifiable orders package marked with the insignia of the Khan.
---
1: There is a distinction made between between freebirth Clanners and spheroids within the Caste system. Freebirth Clanners tend to know their place.
2: It makes sense that within the Clans, there would be a clearly-identifiable structure to allow others to know their place. Seems like it would save time on trite introductions.
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
The Essential DS9: Season 2
You know I love Deep Space Nine. Not everyone has the time to invest in a new show, and DS9 has a rough introduction. To help some people get into it, I've compiled a list of five episodes from each season of Deep Space Nine that focus on essential stories and character moments of the series. I've also added a few supplemental episodes that are very good, but don't quite make the cut.
Necessary Evil (2x08): Necessary Evil looks back at the occupation and challenges the usually airtight relationship between Odo and Kira. It is 100% character and it positively sizzles.
Supplemental: Rules of Acquisition (2x18): You learn about Ferengi society, grand Negas Zek and The Dominion. A good Quark episode.
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Monday, April 07, 2014
Thursday, April 03, 2014
Battletech 3087: Dragoons Pact Turn 1
New Earth
January, 3087
Connor McArty grinned. He wasn't going to win this battle, but he'd qualified almost six times over. Black Hand had seen a bit of action, just enough to get him into the thick of things and drop a Crescent Hawk Mateaus and one of two Fleas painted in ComStar colors. Unlike the commander of the similarly-painted Daishi in a ravine to the north, he preferred his command unit to play the back of the field; mobile and capable of leaping on any opportunity that presented itself instead of wading into the middle of battle.
Of course, the Daishi's plan had worked. The Dragoon command platoon had broken down into lances; one supported the pressed forces to the north while the other, faster, two circled around (McArty's lance to the west, Major Kim's to the east) to press the opfor flanks with hit and run attacks. With any luck, their forward elements would break off to regroup when surrounded. McArty couldn't make a win with it, but if he could slow them down, most of his company could avoid (simulated) destruction and escape.
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
The Essential DS9: Season 1
You know I love Deep Space Nine. Not everyone has the time to invest in a new show, and DS9 has a rough introduction. To help some people get into it, I've compiled a list of five episodes from each season of Deep Space Nine that focus on essential stories and character moments of the series. I've also added a few supplemental episodes that are very good, but don't quite make the cut.
The Emissary (1x01): This is the pilot and introduces the larger conflicts and characters of the series.
A Man Alone (1x04): This episode explores Odo and his place in society. In addition, it marks the beginning of Keiko's school and the friendship of Jake and Nog, one of the series' most important friendships. 1x03, Past Prologue, is really great too, but there are better Kira episodes.
The Emissary (1x01): This is the pilot and introduces the larger conflicts and characters of the series.
A Man Alone (1x04): This episode explores Odo and his place in society. In addition, it marks the beginning of Keiko's school and the friendship of Jake and Nog, one of the series' most important friendships. 1x03, Past Prologue, is really great too, but there are better Kira episodes.
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
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For those of you who aren't familiar with them, Slivers are a type of creature in Magic who share abilities. Few Slivers don't have...
