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Starfleet Academy - season 1, episode 10 - Rubincon

SPOILERS

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Okay, nice feint: The Rubicon was actually the maladapting doctor trying to speak about Rubin particles. No one took their legions into Rome, and so no one needed the stabby stab.

A lot of the work done in previous episodes bears fruit in this season final episode. Tarima gets to do more than just gaze Ophelia-like in sorrowing vulnerability. She knew the Leonardo Da Vinci quote, and she finds the channel they need to neutralize the Omega 47 mines. Yes, she gets to do the magic thing that we are reassured is not magic because they have laughed at it being magic. Ha ha ha. Ho ho ho. What a silly idea. It is obviously telepathic echolocation, yeah. Glad we have that sorted out.

I do like the low-key affinity between Jett and Derem. She sees herself in him and gives him exactly enough to anchor his new self.[1]

Also glad that the new friction between Gemini and SAM is being worked out.

Because we spend so much time on Caleb and his issues, I am less invested in his triumphs. I don't grudge him his success, but it's a bit "Yes, how nice, ... anyway.".

I need more about Anisha Mir's past. If we're going to spend all of season one hunting for her, and success for many is confirmed by finding her - I need to know more.

And - aside from the fact that I really enjoyed the scenery chewing - I am feeling a bit sad for Nus Braka. I believe all sorts of things from my childhood for which I don't know the science. Being wrong is not the same as lying. However I do realize that he has told us several versions of his childhood, and he has woken up and chosen violence.

I am sorry we have pared down our "chosen ones" and do not show Kyle or Ocam or even Dzolo (this episode could have done with a touch of snark). Do the War College students not deserve to travel to Betazed?

We did return to proper Star Trek standards of saving the day with a skeleton crew, against overwhelming odds, with an impossibly mathy problem, and our young photonic cadet does wizard motions in the air, moving energies and vibes and gosh darn it ALGOdarnRITHMS.

Aaahh. I feel like I have just had a real long draw of an old fashioned milkshake made with real milk and real ice cream and real summer strawberries, where there is an additional 1/3 serving bonus in the metal mixer cup. Yeeeaaah.

[1] - confession time - I do find the smile of George Hawkins to be absolutely winning. I will not be taking questions at this time.

[2] - according to dramatic theory, plays that end with couples' reunion, and return of lost family members are comedies. So - there ya go.

Starfleet Academy - Season One; Episode 9 - 300th Night

SPOILER

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Well, this is a two-parter season finaleeee, so on its own it is unsatisfying because unresolved. And we also know that even though a second season has already finished filming, the show-runners are going to leave us dangling over the void at the end of Episode 10.

AND - just before I get into episode 9, I want to comment on the name of the final episode: Rubicon. Erm. I know Star Trek has a hard on for Rome, but um. There was a prophecy that Rome would be safe until the Rubicon (a strategic river) was crossed. All Roman armies returning to Rome stopped on the appropriate side of the Rubicon. Caesar brought his legions across the Rubicon, and the republic fell and became an empire (with an emperor in charge). Who, at the Academy is Caesar (I would vote for Lura Thok but this metaphor means she gets stabbed by her buds - although that means that Jett Reno is the grieving widow, and that I would like to see)? What is the sacred river in this context? Was the Federation a republic, and who will become emperor? And so on. I may regret this paragraph but this wouldn't be the first time that a cool name gets co-opted for a screamingly unrelated concept. There. I feel better.

So.. Once a fangirl has accepted Warp Drive and Transporters and Magic Snackie-Snack Windows[1], a fangirl has to just cover her ears and say "lah lah lah" every time whacko-banana technology is used. And besides which, I have excusium for how a lethal net of mines was so quickly cast around Federation space.[2]

So. I'm onboard for the idea of emotional overflow at the end of the school year, whether that is bonding rituals (Jay-Den), or efforts to start anew (SAM). I'm not up for unsupported character twists. Yes, SAM has probably had a change of heart since, for her, it has been 17 years since she last saw Genesis, but certainly she could recall that Genesis welcomed her openly. I am not happy that SAM might be turning into a type of person that does harsh things and glides by on their quirky charm.[3]

Also, I have mentioned that I was worried that Genesis was becoming the "mother" of the group because she welcomes, and accepts, and helps every time we see her. She welcomed SAM. She assisted and saved Derem while he did his heroic walk outside. She did not rat on Caleb when she found him accessing a forbidden comm panel. She watched over SAM in the pub. She helps Tarima through her drunken off-rail excursion. And blah de blah de blah. We watch her skills blossom on the bridge, and she saves her team's face in the games competition, and then admits Derem back into the team's scheme for revenge pranking. Huh. And now I am supposed to believe that the other cadets find her selfish and fearful? Guys, guys - do you even read what you write?

Mostly I am dissatisfied because episode 9 was mostly setting the stage for episode 10. Anyhoo.

[1] - I have always been disappointed that the Magic Snackie-Snack Window wasn't envisaged as the Magic Snackie-Snack Table Cloth as per my favourite fairytales. It would have been emotionally satisfying. :)
[2] - (a) replicator technology means that fully functionally super boomy mines can be made rapidly; (b) transporter technology means that such mines can be placed by ships travelling at warp; since we saw Caleb and team leave a warp travelling ship without becoming Khionian glitter barf, then it's possible; (c) the mine-bombs are so hugely destructive that they only need to be close enough that the expanding explosive corona reaches other mines.
[3] - I have a friend that I and others have forgiven and forgiven for over 50 years, and we will do it again because he/she has charm/charisma that we cannot explain or resist. Yes, we talk about it; yes, we still love him/her.

So.

I have had cell phone problems for the last eight months. Various "solutions" have failed me. I am not ready to share those, only stab my interim cell phone repeatedly in its blackened little heart.

My first cell phone was a little green flip phone that I still have because it was absolutely adorable, an LG 125, in 2006. I had to give it up when the networks were changing and would no longer accept its protocol.

So I got my second cell phone in 2016. An LG X Power. It was so perfect for me that I have bought other LG products based solely on the quality of my perfect little LG phone. Alas, again the networks have changed, Now 3G is phased out in favour of 4G/LTE or 5G. This meant that my perfect cell phone could no longer send/receive texts. I am a print being.

My generous mother had an opportunity to get me a second-hand iPhone 14 (the interim phone). We needed help to move the SIM card (we didn't know about SIM cards). This new-to-me phone was not a success. Someday I might be able to share the experience, but currently I am in the NO APPLE PRODUCTS EVER camp and unlikely to budge soon.

So.

I thought I would get another LG phone. Sadly, LG stopped making phones in 2023. Another product vanquished by its own success. No repeat customers because the high quality prevented customers from needing anything new.

So. Fine.

After much research I selected a CHATR Mobile compliant phone and had it shipped to me. Then I ordered a CHATR SIM card. After inching my way forward in new-to-me jargon and unmentioned-because-everybody-KNOWS-this info, I placed the CHATR SIM card in the CHATR compliant phone and attempted to authenticate the SIM card. One cannot create a CHATR account until one has a CHATR phone number. To get a phone number, one must authenticate the SIM card. The initial online page automatically recognized my location as Salmon Arm BC. Entering the 16 digit code and proceeding to the next page, brought me to only Toronto Ontario numbers to choose from. The option to change the location took me back to the initial page where one needed to enter the 16 digit code. Which again led to the Toronto numbers. Giving up, I tried to select a Toronto number, but was not permitted. I attempted to enter a "ticket" requesting help. One cannot create a ticket unless one has a CHATR account. One cannot create a CHATR account without a CHATR phone number. One cannot get a CHATR phone number without authenticating the SIM card. Supplication through FB was worse than doing nothing.

So. SO.

Now that I knew enough, I took the CHATR SIM card out of the newest phone, took my old SIM card out of the EVIL APPLE DEVICE, and placed it in my new phone.

Everything works. I still have the phone number I've had since 2006. Texts come and go like minnows in a stream.

It cost me $10.00 CDN for the CHATR SIM card, and for that price I learned a lot about SIM cards - and a LOT about CHATR's customer service. My corollary suspicion is that Roger's customer service has a similar flavour. As lessons go, that was pretty cheap.

What phone did I get? A Motorola: Moto G Play 2024. Still new in its box, but cheap because not the latest. The only downside is that nobody (reputable and Canadian) makes covers for it - not even Motorola. :)

Starfleet Academy - season 1, episode 8 - The Life of the Stars

SPOILER
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Okay. I confess that I am a captive of the very excellent characters created by the young actors of Starfleet Academy. I will now watch any plot-holey drivel the unskilled writers care to extrude for me.

When they threatened my SAM, I was ultimately just grateful that they left her alive, even though I disbelieve the solution so much. Soooo much.

So. There is the real problem that all the students are traumatized by the events in episode 6, where a War College instructor and a War College student lose their lives, and many others are wounded, physically and emotionally. Ake's solution is to bring in a trauma counsellor in the guise of a new instructor with a new course. Theatre.

As a method for digging into tender emotions, it is a reasonable ruse, and the reactions of the students are true and work at releasing some of the anguish.

The play that is chosen to be the catalyst is "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder. I was expecting it to be a straight up hurrah about good ol' american values - and it kinda is - but it is also surprising. Although it won the 1938 Pulitzer Prize for drama, none of its runs have been longer than a few months, some only weeks. It has been restaged and the frequency of revival and adaption is increasing. It appears that it is a dramatist's play. By which I mean there is more interest in acting in it than watching it. I suspect it is popular with high school drama teachers because it explicitly states that there is to be no scenery and no props. Cheap to produce, yes/no? Same for Starfleet Academy.

There are two things that ruffle my feathers. Well, there are more, but I will speak of two.

One is that all the adults in this episode are people who are no longer in their own time. Two are genuine time-travel transplants and two are beings that continue to live and live, like proverbial vampires. Somehow, since we are not including the traumatized War College students in this thespian intervention, this feels weird. Okay, not precise, but it's kinda creepy, like flaneurs sampling a novelty, or overkill because the over compensations for previous traumas never end, or ... I dunno, but it's a thread I want to keep picking at.

The second is the lack of budget for makeup/prosthetics and so on. No Lura Thok, and Jay-Den excused for most of the episode because of "a cold".

I need Genesis to have her own story. We see her befriending and supporting everyone. She's being turned into the "mother" of the group, and while I love her tender persona, it seems in conflict with her take-no-prisoner approach to her own career. I was glad to see Derem damp-eyed for SAM because I really don't want him calcifying into an asshole. I also need Ocam to have his own story. He has been kind and easy going, and I suspect it is a lot of work. I can't decide whether I want Genesis/Derem or Genesis/Ocam, or Derem/Ocam, or charming happy thrupple....

SPOILERS for Starfleet Academy Episode 7 - Ko-Zeine
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Episode 7 is a cool down from the trauma/drama of episode 6, where a War College instructor and a War College student lost their lives, and many were wounded, and all on the training mission were at risk of dreadful consequences. It is apparent that the school year has continued on since the Miyazaki crisis, and there is now a short Spring Break - All Worlds' Day - and the Academy and College are emptied. We follow two pairs of Academy students as they appear to highjink their way through more life lessons.

Caleb and Genesis do what appears to be the standard Disrespect the Place and the Equipment, but turns out to be a full reveal of how far Genesis will go to achieve her goals. In previous episodes we have seen her natural leadership, and lateral thinking under pressure. Here we are shown that she is a candidate who is following in the Kirk-rules-are-just-guide-lines attitude.

Derem and Jay-Den face the old Trek Trope of the Political Betrothal in Childhood. We learn more about who Derem is and who Jay-Den is becoming. Derem was promised in childhood to a royal person, Kaira, who will inherit the responsibility for a whole planet.

Derem is surprised by the timing of the marriage. He was expecting to complete Starfleet Academy, serve a number of years, and then return to take up his duties. Things have sped up because Kaira is inheriting earlier than expected.

Kaira tells us that Derem's selection as her future consort was decided by a "birthdate lottery". Derem tells us that he was raised with her, almost like a sibling. Other things we learn from both of them show that Derem is being treated as female human consorts are often treated - their interests and vocations are not only secondary, but expected to be relinquished as needed.

And Derem meets the moment, and gives up his interests and achievements without a second thought. As we discover, he has regrets, but he is determined to put them aside and, as he says, "make it work".

Kaira is happy to accept his obedience, as royalty often does, without really understanding that it is a sacrifice - willing, but nonetheless a sacrifice. It is only when Jay-Den gives the Ko-Zeine's (Best Man) toast to the new couple, that Kaira understands what Derem's willing obedience is costing him.

And then she immediately rejects Derem, and ejects him, forcing him to abdicate so she can have the marriage annulled. She then makes the rejection his fault because he had personal interests that he put aside for her. She effectively says that he shouldn't have had any interests that were not the same as hers, and that willing sacrifice was not enough, and, in fact, insulting. Then she notes that she will be the first woman to rule Khionia alone.

This puts new light on Kaira's previous actions. She obviously has not been communicating with Derem or he would have known about her mother's health scare. She arrives with her own Ko-Zeine, Quill, apologizing for not being present when Derem arrived - although she was apparently aware that the matrimonial abdustion was occurring. Kaira is holding hands with Quill, and it is obvious they have become very close in Derem's absence. Considering that she is envigorated by the challenge of being the first woman to rule Khionia in her own right, and that Derem would always have been an ornament to her life, and not a partner - not even a junior partner - it is likely that she was looking for a reason to put him aside all along.

It appears that the audience is expected to believe that, as brutal as the process was/is, Derem will be "better off" returning to Starfleet. However, we are not shown a shot of Derem gazing happily/dreamily/wistfully at the meteor shower, unlike Kyle and Jay-Den, Genesis and Sam, and solitary Caleb.

Derem has experienced a crushing rejection. He can't return to his previous groove because his goal is no longer available to him. Will he ever be able to return home, or will he always be known there as the Failed Consort? If this calcifies his experimental asshole persona it will be a tragic waste.

My little Suzi cat went missing last 05 July 2024, and I was too ashamed to talk about it because, yes, I had let her outside.

She started as an indoor cat, and she strenuously objected to that state of affairs. I think I may have documented some of our exchanges of opinion, and ultimately she won. She was an outdoor kitty for two years or more and then went out at 4:00 pm on 05 July 2024 and never came back.

Oddly, I knew that it was most likely that she had been consumed by the local coyote pack because they had been active in our area during that time. However, secretly I had a small-flame conviction that she was not dead.

On 07 August 2025, I got notice that Suzi had been found in downtown Salmon Arm (about 4 miles from here). She has been back home since 12 August 2025 and it perfectly happy to be an indoor kitty. *whew*

I have no evidence, but I believe Suzi was trapped and dropped in Salmon Arm. I'm just grateful that she wasn't dropped in the woods.

Kenvue is now the parent company of Tylenol, previously hived off from Johnson & Johnson.

As soon as I heard the nonsense about Autism, I went searching for the real story that must be fueling this vendetta. And there is something paywalled on New York Times. So, I don't know what it is, but I know that somebody has failed to leap at the chance to be a sycophant.

For a while the other day, I thought that the Luigi meme on my FaceBook was prophetic, since I saw it before I heard about Charlie Kirk, but the event happened around noon Utah time, and I saw the meme around 5:00 pm BC time, so obviously a response. It's the first meme I've seen about Luigi for months.

The meme was human Luigi in his saint form, his expression gentle benevolence, magically supporting an extremely smooth 3D heart in his cradling hands. The meme said, "Keep Them Afraid".

I was so surprised to see it, I didn't pay much attention to the details of his clothing - other than noting it wasn't any version of green. I am unable to find it again.

Another victim of being bought by a US-based company:

Yves Veggie Cuisine is being discontinued by Hain Celestial Group, the US company that bought it in 2001:
https://vancouversun.com/news/canadian-yves-veggie-cuisine-vegan-brand-discontinued

Other companies bought by US concerns and then plants closed in Canada:

Western Star Trucks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Star_Trucks
Red River Cereal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Cereal

And .....I can't remember all the other names. Poot. The point is always that the acquisition means that the plant (with jobs) closes in Canada. And we lose a really good product. Bah.

I am thoroughly steamed about Yves because they are head and shoulders above other brands.

And the fricken jobs.

The more I learn about Mr. Poilievre's loss of parliamentary seat, the more delighted I become.

It turns out that the successful Liberal candidate has been beavering away quietly in Carleton for the last two years, wearing out sneakers and boots, going door to door.

Snortle, bwahahaha, *sniff* hohoho

More power to The newly Honorable Bruce Fanjoy. :)

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/05/01/canada-election-poilievre-defeat-qa-00321245

I confess that I am slightly entertained that Mr. Poilievre lost his seat.

I know that someone will move aside and let him back in the House of Commons, but ... bwahahaha ...

Back in 2018, I baked some Brown-Sugar Shortbread Cannabis Cookies, and misplaced my notes. Found them recently in a perfectly logical place (o noes!).

The process can be adapted to any baked good.

Brown Sugar Short Bread Cannabis Cookies

1.5 g dried cannabis
0.5 pound butter
0.5 cup brown sugar
1.5 cups fluffed all purpose flour

DECARB CANNABIS

Decarb cannabis in oven at 200 F for 30 minutes to an hour in a covered baking dish. Allow to cool.

INFUSE BUTTER

Infuse cannabis into butter. Melt butter in a mini-crockpot. Crush the decarbed cannabis very finely and add to butter. Allow crockpot to run on low for 6 to 24 hours. Pay attention to the aroma and stop the crockpot if it begins to smell bitter. Unplug the crockpot and allow the infused butter to solidify overnight.

MAKE COOKIES

Blend infused butter with brown sugar until the grittiness of the sugar is gone. Add flour in 0.5 cup amounts, stopping when the dough is no longer sticky, but is still pliable, soft, and not dry. Press bits of dough into a 0.5 tablespoon form, and tap out gently onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Chill the cookies on the cookie sheet in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

BAKE COOKIES

Preheat oven to 325 F. Place chilled cookie sheet directly in oven. Bake 11 minutes, and then reduce heat to 300 F and bake a further 20 minutes. Allow cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheet.

Somebody bought me a year of paid account! What a kind gift!

Thank you!

This is a youtube of Hildegard von Blingin's version of Chappelle Rohan's Pink Pony Club. HvB says she will not keep it up forever, which is a shame because it is a perfect rendition of something already perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7jOobdrdGo

I've been seeing young women wearing severe business suits with long sleeves and high collars and itsy bitsy mini skirts - seriously Jewel Of Heaven revealers and I have been uneasy.

I finally figured out why. I have a deeply held fashion belief: if your knees are out in the breeze, so should your elbows be equally on show. And conversely, if you want the gravitas of the heavy jacket and cuffed white shirt, then your skirt has to reach closer to your knees.

Don't want that much skirt? Then you are going to have to roll up the sleeves of the white shirt and wear the suit's waistcoat instead of the jacket/coat.

This is going to be some Golden Mean of Fashion, I just know it, which means everyone is going to try to break the rule and still look like a promotable authority. Yeah. Have fun storming the castle.

I saw this the day after human Luigi's most recent court appearance, and the meme uses photos of him from that day.

It's one of those split memes where the person is shown in two nearly identical poses but with different expressions. The upper expression is usually mildly "no" or "who cares", and the lower expression is also mildly "yes" or "hmmm good idea" or "there's a thought".

So, the caption for the first Luigi expression is "Elon just sent an email" and the caption for the second Luigi expression is "Please respond to this with 5 bullets ..."

This feels like we're sliding effortlessly along in the myth-making groove.

... I have achieved 69 today.

Good grief - whoever expects that? Also, my current personal belief is that I am about 38, and my general inner being has never stopped being 5.

May you all enjoy much time.

This is a bit delayed, but people took pictures of the human Luigi at his most recent court appearance. Obviously there are lots of pictures to be taken that weren't, and I find it interesting that the pictures released in the memes are always ones where Luigi appears calm and bemused. We only once saw any angry outburst from the human Luigi, and that during his first entry into a prison facility. It is easy to believe he was provoked, since the guards then promptly walked him face-first into a wall.

Considering the most recent demented vicious chaos (Trump's latest real estate proposal), it feels like the last sane event in the USA was Luigi and the CEO.

The memes I get shown have slowed down immensely. I didn't respond to any that were super hostile, so they dropped off my feed early on. The "milder" ones have slowed down as well. The most recent are:

On a telephone pole, a glue-on black and white poster that said "I am Luigi". Very Spartacus. Nothing on the poster requesting action.

A small story meme where Luigi is claimed to be innocent, and he will be released as it becomes apparent that he is innocent because *the real Claims Adjuster* got away, and will continue to act for justice in egregious CEO situations.

A picture of Batman staring at the Bat Signal in the sky, and the face of Luigi in Sacred Heart mode appears in the place of the bat silhouette. It is not well blended so, considering that Batman is a self-important billionaire, I'm not sure what is hoped for.

[There is one more I can't remember at the moment - I will add it when I remember.]

The most recent is a picture of the Gulf of Mexico renamed as the Gulf of Luigi.

I have seen a few others, but these are the most mythological in tone. They are not all working towards the same goal, but they all take Luigi as a comet full of portent.

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Drat this working for a living all to heck.

Recent Entries

All's Well that Ends Well - yes?[2]

Pursued by Bear?

CHATR Mobile (Rogers Canada) - a lengthy lament.

Good Ol' American Small Town Aesthetic

Derem dodged a bullet?

Suzi's big scary adventure

Kenvue in the Doo Doo.

Luigi pop-up

USA has not been Canada's friend for years.

Small Gloatings

Ignoble pleasure

Cannabis Baked Goods - how to.

Thank you!

Pink Pony Inn

I have opinions - elbows and knees

Belated Noted Luigi Meme

By the way ...

Luigi calm and bemused

The last sane thing.

The Gulf of Luigi and The Claims Adjuster