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Cake day: August 22nd, 2023

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  • The movie ended up being what I expected from the trailer: a disappointment. This should have been a movie just about Georgiou, and a movie about Section 32 should have been something else a entirely.

    The Hunger Games concept was kind of dumb, but I actually liked the San story. It gives Georgiou more depth and complexity, but it could have been a lot more. Unfortunately, it was just sandwiched in between an action-whodunnit with a lot of new characters (who were not adequately developed on their own rights) instead of being a drama with some action scenes, as a story like it should have been.

    I love Michelle Yeoh, and I’ll watch her in anything, but this was a poorly written and directed movie that didn’t know what it should have been.








  • It’s a slow burn introduction to Trek. The show starts off having not much to do with Trek, as the crew itself has nothing to do with the Federation or Starfleet, but they go through a process of learning what Starfleet is, and they try their best to aspire to its ideals so they might be accepted to the academy when they reach the Federation. Ideas (e.g., prime directive, augments, temporal directives) are introduced one at a time with explanations. It’s not meant to “just” be a kids’ show, it’s meant to be a kids’ introduction to Trek. And as a fan of Trek, I think also a good introduction for a non-fan who might feel lost by how vast the Trek universe is. It’s not about politics or diplomacy, but it carries the same spirit of unity, optimism, and the hope for the best of humanity that underlies Trek.



  • Gimp, Inkscape, and Scribus were terrible to use after using Adobe for years. Get Affinity suite instead and save yourself the rage and frustration. It’s one-time payment license (not a subscription) and they have deals. I got the license for the three of them for $90. They are way closer to Adobe products and definitely worth the one-time cost.

    I love the concept of open source, but you can only make so many compromises in quality and usability, especially if you’re likelihood depends on it. Gimp, etc just aren’t there.

    (On the other end of the spectrum, Blender is so amazing I can still hardly believe it.)



  • The newest release is visually awful. It drove me crazy and I had to downgrade back to the last stable (102). The content density was wildly inconsistent and text would be squished in one area and really spaced out in another. The toolbar moved so action buttons were in the title bar area, away from where your mouse would be (compared to before) if you’re interacting with your inbox.

    Other than that, the old version works just fine. Multiple email accounts, calendar and contacts. It does the job. Minor nitpicks, like dark mode doesn’t dark evwrything, you still have to manually change your reading window colours. But at least it’s once and done.




  • Dukat. I don’t like him a person, but he’s a great character. No other Trek character has ever been written as richly or layeredly as he.

    At first you assume he’s your basic racist bent on hatred and power. Then you realize his obsession with Kira isn’t just about destroying an enemy, but his secret love-hate for Bajoran women. We meet Ziyal whom he mostly loves, but is ashamed of. He goes mad, starts a cult, makes himself appear Bajoran and starts a relationship with Kai Winn (ostensibly with other motives, but I think he reveled in it), and ultimately dies for and in his mad faith.

    DS9 is lower on my list when I rank the various series, but some of the characters, and defininitely Dukat, top the list of characters.


  • As a non-Christian, I never made that Xmas connection.

    Well, as a Christian, I wouldn’t feel bad about it because the poster is not correct. The X in Xmas does not stand for a cross, it comes from the Greek spelling of Christ which is Χριστός. The chi-rho symbol (☧) is an imposition of the first two letters (Χ and ρ) and is still commonly used to refer to Christ in some denominations.

    As a bonus: if you’ve ever wondered (or not wondered) why some Christian symbolism uses a fish, ἸΧΘΥΣ (or ICTHYS) is an acronym for Ἰησοῦς Χρῑστός Θεοῦ Υἱός Σωτήρ, “which translates into English as ‘Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior’.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthys) This has been used since the first century.


  • I’ve been shipping them since Rutherford told Badgey, “I was just trying to impress Tendi. I mean, look at her, she’s so cute!” Earlier that same ep they’re in the holodeck in the EV suits and they accidentally embrace (due to mag boots) which mirrors the B’Elanna and Tom scene where B’Elanna told Tom she loved him.

    But if you really think about it, they’ve been hinting at the crush since the beginning. He was willing to change his career to make the time to watch a pulsar with her (which was episode 2). When Tendi thought T’ana was transferring her off the ship, they tell each other how much they love the ship and hug. Later that ep he tells Billups he’s been triple backing up memories with her because he doesn’t want to forget her again. (Notably he doesn’t mention backing up memories with Mariner or Boimler.) They’ve always just a little closer than best friends, and damned if it isn’t adorable!



  • Well, I mean, the obsessively and angrily chasing Aang party definitely shouldn’t be emulated, but he’s got a very good character growth arc.

    • He learns his worth as a person (and as a prince) doesn’t come from his abusive father, but intrinsically from his own self.
    • He gains the insight and humility to admit he was wrong and seek forgiveness from the people he wronged
    • He learns to empathize with other people, and that he is his strongest when he releases (and is no longer clouded by) his anger and fights for good.
    • He learns to appreciate the people who love him (Iroh) instead of chasing after someone who doesn’t (his father).

    The world would be a better place of everyone could learn the lessons that Zuko learned.