Thursday, December 31, 2015

17 to 01: I, Mudd


This one takes a weird veer into Derek's surprisingly Libertarian views on copyright law. 

Not surprisingly, we glance over objectification of women and the ethics of having sex with robots. Not a lot of lessons to pull from this one except that Derek does not like Harry Mudd.

Also, what is camp? Yes, I'm ignoring the definition Derek throws out.

17 to 01 is available on iTunes. It updates Thursdays at 01:00 AM CT and Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET / 9:30 CT. We're also amazingly on Stitcher.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

TRO: 3087 - Cortona

3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fracturing continues in the wake of the technological and military upheavals of the 3050's. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. With any luck this series will be the last anyone hears about 3087. 

Cortona (Block 1)
Overview
The Battle for Outreach changed the Wolf’s Dragoons. The response expected by the entire Inner Sphere was a half-cocked ground war waged by elite mercenaries against a proper state and Star League member. Instead, The Dragoons were eerily cool. Outreach rebuilt, the Dragoons rebuilt, and in January of 3068 Colonel Maeve Wolf announced that The Dragoons would be offering their technical expertise in the operation and maintenance of HPG stations. It wasn’t until 3070 that they had a major buyer, The Federated Suns, who brought them on to handle a single Class A HPG station with associated B stations.

It didn’t take long for The Word to react. A false flag operation disabled the HPG, but the Dragoons kept their contract with the use of their secret weapon; a Cortana omnimech equipped with a mobile HPG station pod. While not as convenient as a full HPG facility, it kept communications operating during the attack while repelling the Blakists.

Based off of the venerated Marauder II, the visually similar Cortana was pushed through production during the rebuilding of Blackwell. Despite a number of design flaws which have arisen over the years, there are currently no plans to release a Block 2. Only slight modifications have been made for Cortonas now manufactured on Capolla and Fomalhaut.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

17 to 01: The Trouble with Tribbles

Oh my goooooooood! Derek doesn't like "The Trouble with Tribbles"! Beneath my every line of dialog in this episode is my desire to scream at the impossibility of Dereks' wrong opinion of this episode that is wrong!

They're Tribbles! They're adorable! Everyone is having fun why aren't you having fun Derek?!

17 to 01 is available on iTunes. It updates Thursdays at 01:00 AM CT and Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET / 9:30 CT. We're also amazingly on Stitcher.

Thursday, December 17, 2015

17 to 01: By Any Other Name


Now with new and improved Balanced Sound(TM) Technology! Also, we are way out of order as the work on this has gotten backlogged. I've got a week of vacation coming and I absolutely will not be able to fix it then.

It's always harder to talk about good episodes and "By Any Other Name" is a good episode. It's an underrated gem that's got a solid story and an eeeh concept behind it.

I am legitimately excited about the return of coffee cups, Mad Manning, and the Federation's amazing technicolor jumpsuit. I am more excited about ball pit ghillie-suit action Sulu.

This episode was written by Jerome Bixby, who also did "Mirror, Mirror," "Requiem for Methuselah," and "Day of the Dove." So they got him to do two more, which shows that Star Trek was pretty right to listen to Derek.

17 to 01 is available on iTunes. It updates Thursdays at 01:00 AM CT and Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET / 9:30 CT. We're also amazingly on Stitcher.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

No TRO entry today

Sorry. Work has been kicking me in the ass and I'm going out of town on Saturday, so my plate is kinda full.

I can't even promise to post during lunch because I don't have a lunch due to some training we have at lunch. I don't have to go, I only have to go if I want people to think I want to get better at my job

So I have to go.

Here's a link of me yelling at some asshat on tumblr.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

17 to 01: Patterns of Force


Due to ongoing audio issues, here's a very early "Patterns of Force." It's unanimous this episode doesn't go hard enough against Nazis, but it does provide a great pretext to discuss current events. 

So is Star Trek progressive because it doesn't go in on Nazis, or is that where it fails in its generally progressive tone? If this is a failing, is Star Trek's greatest strength in just having these conversations so that, 48 years later, we can still talk about it and make it relevant? "Starting a conversation" is often the pretext desperately grasped when a career based on being inflammatory starts sinking; is Star Trek any different?

17 to 01 is available on iTunes. It updates Thursdays at 01:00 AM CT and Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET / 9:30 CT. We're also amazingly on Stitcher.

Wednesday, December 09, 2015

TRO: 3087 - Coyote

3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fracturing continues in the wake of the technological and military upheavals of the 3050's. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. With any luck this series will be the last anyone hears about 3087. 

Coyote COY-4N
Overview
       The Coyote is best known for participating in the 3081 SLDF actions against the Ghost Bears. Sent by First Lord Centrella’s Magistracy, they became emblematic of Operation Velvet Thunder. The operation’s failure to defend The Draconis Combine and the Coyote’s shortcomings in combat led to it becoming a laughing-stock amongst the Bears and many denizens of the Inner Sphere. Most citizens of the Draconis Combine see it as a symbol of The Star League’s token assistance in their hour of need. Those who scorn the Magistracy Armed Forces or their own nation’s involvement in The Star League point to the Coyote and Velvet Thunder as proof.
       Few of its critics consider that the Coyotes seen in action in the early 80’s were the colonization support ‘Mechs Magesty Metals and Manufacturing brought to the Star League as demonstration units. Magesty planned on being the beneficiary of a new wave of colonization allowed by what they then termed “an unprecedented era of peace.” Their floor models were conscripted and sent to Luthien as The First Lord, despite her reservations, was determined to shame Successor States into action with the Periphery nation’s willingness to fight the inexorable Ghost Bear assault. 
       The ‘Mech made to power campsites and fight pirates was sent up against one of the most advanced militaries in human history. Magesty Metals later sued the Magistracy for damage to the design’s reputation but even after seven years, their predicted boom in colonization hasn’t materialized. Neither have sales for the Coyote as anything but a rugged, front-line BattleMech.

Thursday, December 03, 2015

17 to 01: The Immunity Syndrome


Derek and I talk about actors, identities, and how your career moves on after you've been on Star Trek. Please enjoy "McCoy is a bad doctor" jokes numbers 1,472-1,903.

I never picked up the "telepathy is crazy long ranged" thread, but this Shatner conversation is due dilligence for any conversation on Trek. I apologize if you're a William Shatner fan, but William Shatner--at the very least during the creation of Star Trek--was a total choad.

But seriously; everyone spit into this can.

17 to 01 is available on iTunes. It updates Thursdays at 01:00 AM CT and Friday nights at 8:30 PM ET / 9:30 CT. We're also amazingly on Stitcher.

Wednesday, December 02, 2015

TRO: 3087 - Ojear

3087 is a Battletech alternate universe where The Jihad never happened. Instead, political fracturing continues in the wake of the technological and military upheavals of the 3050's. Its history is told through the pages and designs of TRO: 3087. With any luck this series will be the last anyone hears about 3087. 

EVE-1002 Ojear
Overview
‘Mechs like the Hermes II and Hussar have served as fine platforms for The Word of Blake’s advanced C3 systems, but in the mid-seventies, internal pressure mounted for a dedicated carrier. This resulted in the Ojear, a BattleMech dedicated to acting as the forward element for a Level I’s C3 network.

The Ojear is also a test-bed for a number of experimental technologies. It’s likely that the extreme design needed to defray costs by housing equipment that hasn’t seen widespread use in the field.

Tuesday, December 01, 2015

Anthophobia



This thing is like a music video with no music.

I mean, there's music, but...