When they tell me there is no more new Star Trek for a few months.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes twitter account for the week of July 11th through July 17th.
July 11 “My mother… I could never tell her I loved her.” Spock- The Naked Time, Stardate: 1704.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 12 “You’re on a mission of exploration. There’s something to be learned from every lifeform.” Dr. Phlox- Fight or Flight, Date: May 6, 2151 #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“How many people does it take, admiral, before it becomes wrong? Hmm? A thousand? Fifty thousand? A million? How many people does it take, admiral?!” Picard- Star Trek: Insurrection, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 14 “For a minute I was thinking to myself, There’s a warm wind blowing in from Minicoy.” Sisko- The Circle, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 15 “Somewhere, in that totality known as the universe, is a galaxy called the Milky Way. Tucked into the corner of that galaxy is a planet named Earth.” The Doctor- Tinker Tenor Doctor Spy, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 16 “Thank you for the drinks.” Mr. Homn- Haven, Stardate: 41294.5 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 17 “My love for my daughter is too deep for display. My pride in her runs even deeper. My daughter freely chose to do what she is doing, as the people of Gideon are free to choose.” Hodin- The Mark of Gideon, Stardate: 5423.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Note: This article was originally started in June and was held in a draft form until it was completed and released now.
Adopters of new technology. Grabbing something that has a buzzword attached to it and running with it. It’s trendy with techies to jump into something shiny. There was even a course I had to take at my college to identify and understanding emerging technologies. Well I’ve actually dipped my toe into that water, and it wasn’t on purpose.
I’ve got the reputation for being a “technology whisperer” when it comes to computer issues. From family members to previous jobs, I had people approaching me about how to fix various IT issues. If I can get my hands on the device, I can usually “scare” it into working again. Most of this happens by poking around in the device until I find the correct settings or functions. However fixing them and understanding them didn’t mean that I was interested in being the first to get them. At first I was hesitant about getting wireless routers set up in my home because I was concerned about outside connections. Later as I saw the security options, I adopted the technology. I don’t need the latest OS or cell phone when the hype is the biggest because I know they will have some bugs that need to be worked out. I have no problems letting someone else be a guinea pig and getting burned while all the kinks are resolved. So when I heard about cryptocurrencies and NFTs, I thought “no thanks”.
Why was that? Well the first time I heard about NFTs was from my college aged art student. Apparently anyone can take a piece of art and turn it into an NFT without the artists permission. Something that really bothered the art community. For those of you who don’t know, NFT stands for Non-Fungible Token. Boiled down, an NFT item (mostly artwork, but it can be assigned to videos. music, in-game items and other things) has a blockchain code attached to it. This code cannot be duplicated (the non-fungible part) and the record of it’s ownership is contained within the blockchain. Allegedly this gives a value to the image in question by trying to make it rare. Yea, a piece of artwork that has a limited run number imprinted on it (such as number 30 of 100 prints) is something similar, but I tend to trust the individual artists who put these out since I can support them directly. Here is an example of a limited print run artwork.
Print 1 of 10 of Starbug (Red Dwarf) by the artist, Michael Goodwin
To me, this has value. The artist made it, the artist signed it, the artist got money for it. I can enjoy it on my wall and it will still be there if a server goes down. I still own it if someone hacks the account the NFT is connected to. An NFT can’t be held in my hand. It’s a glorified graphic file which anyone can right click and save. I’ve noticed when someone tries to artificially inflate the value of something, and I tend to avoid it. While I’ve enjoyed collectable card games, I didn’t jump on them right away. When they first came out and I noticed that they had the word “collectable” attached to it, I held off. When a comic publisher releases 12 versions of the same issue with different covers, I just buy one because I want the story on the inside. The NFTs producers even tried to attach them to a brand name with limited success. So it was no surprise that no one was buying the Star Trek NFTs at the official Star Trek convention in April. When the Admiral Pack went on sale at Mission: Chicago, it had a list price of $250. Now you can get one on their website for $189 (at the time of this article’s publication) Yea that collectors item really took off. One of the more popular NFT themes, the bored apes, had a unit sell for $50,000 in 2021 only to be re-sold in 2022 for $115. Ouch. While that may have been a one-time anomaly, an article in Marketwatch stated that the bored apes had lost 60% of their value in a month earlier this year.
OK Carl, I get what you are saying, but how do you now own NFTs if this trend is going south?
Believe me, I was just as shocked as you are. I received an email from a vendor for an upcoming concert that I purchased tickets for. Basically it said, “Congratulations, we are giving you an NFT of your ticket (which can’t be used to get into the concert) for free.” I remember raising an eyebrow at this email. When I looked at the NFT website (which was legit from the ticket company), it showed two generic looking tickets attached to my account. The same looking thing. Perhaps if there had been a different image on each NFT ticket, it may have been interesting. But it was just a boring looking ticket. And since I had purchased tickets to a second concert later in the year, another pair of NFT “tickets” showed up in the account a few weeks later. Again with similar boring illustrations on it. “Trade them with your friends, give them as gifts or sell them off to collectors.” Big whoop.
I purchased the tickets to the two concerts because my wife and I wanted to enjoy an evening together watching an artist we liked. Had I been on the fence about purchasing the tickets; the cost, not the opportunity to get an NFT, would have been the deciding factor.
I’ve talked with other friends about this whole NFT fiasco. And I think I’ll end this rant with a comment that has stuck out ever since I heard it. “The way you’ll know if NFTs are really going to take off is if the porn industry gets involved with it.” The more I thought about it, the more I believed this person was right. The porn industry has always been early adopters of new technology that gets their product out to the masses while making them money. Magazines, cable TV, VHS tapes, pay-per-view, the internet, DVDs, Blu-rays, 4K High Def, streaming, etc. When holodecks become common place, I’m sure that the porn industry will be right behind NASA and PBS in adopting the medium. If you look closely there hasn’t been any movement by the porn industry into NFTs. There are plenty of bondage chains, but no blockchains. (Fade Out)
So I found two more FASA catalogs that I didn’t own on Ebay. They were decent prices, so I snagged them and when the last one arrived today, I sat down and scanned it. I had purchased it sometime last month but it was being mailed from Australia. I had posted some of the other scanned catalogs in past blog entries, but recently I had combined all of this information in one central location in my FASA Star Trek RPG section.
This is the issue that came from an Australian ebay seller and it was printed length wise. To my knowledge, it is the same catalog that could be found in the United States. The first couple of pages detailed the Battletech supplements that FASA had released at the time. Following that was two pages of Doctor Who RPG books and one page of Doctor Who miniatures. The last half of the catalog is dedicated to the Star Trek RPG. Some of the interesting entries includes the description, ISBN and Stock Number for the mysterious Star Trek Ground Forces Manual. If anyone has a beta-copy of this book, I’d love to obtain it or get a PDF scan. I’ve always wondered what was in this book. I would try to preserve it here in my FASA historical information that I’ve placed on this website. We also see the details and the cover to the Star Fleet Marines tactical boardgame of ground combat. I wonder if this would have been similar to the Starship tactical combat game that FASA had a lot of success with? Another mysterious cover was Operation: Armageddon. I don’t know if this was a supplement for the Starship tactical simulator or an RPG sourcebook. This was another book that never hit the shelves and was (allegedly) one of the books that someone at Paramount (I suspect Gene’s assistant) had issues with. Struggle for the Throne was another side-game that would have dealt with political intrigue within the Klingon Empire. The last page was an advertisement for the Top Gun boardgame.
What a difference a couple of years makes. This booklet sized catalog primarily focused on two of FASA’s biggest properties at the time. Renegade Legion and the Battletech universe. The last third of the catalog details the Star Trek material that FASA had on hand at the time. While the Next Generation Officer’s Manual was listed, nothing else stood out. We had the standard entries, but no speculation entries of what might have been. This was getting close to the run for the FASA license and not a lot was listed.
I will be adding these two catalogs to the main catalog article very soon. As I come across additional catalogs, I’ll scan them and list them here.
It’s fireworks time, but be safe out there with how dry it is.
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes twitter account for the week of July 4th through July 10th.
July 4 (re: the US Constitution) “These words and the words that follow were not written only for the Yangs, but for the Kohms as well!” Kirk “The Kohms?” Cloud “They must apply to everyone or they mean nothing! Do you understand?” Kirk- The Omega Glory #StarTrek #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 5 “Well, you tried being alone and it hasn’t done any good. So maybe it’s time to stop brooding and start talking.” Kira- The Search, Part I, Stardate: 48212.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 6 “I don’t know much about Borg women but my advice to you is: don’t.” Paris- Revulsion, Stardate: 51186.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Do not deny the challenge of your destiny. Get off your knees and soar. Open your eyes and let the dream take flight.” Korris- Heart of Glory, Stardate: 41503.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“How the hell did you end up with Section 31?” Burnham “It’s a very interesting journey, actually.” Tyler “Tell me.” Burnham “But it’s classified. A word that pops up pretty frequently in my new vocabulary.” Tyler- Saints of Imperfection #StarTrekDiscovery #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Math is just another language.” Hoshi- Observer Effect, Date Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 10 “A single word can lead to tragedy. One word misspoken to misunderstood and that could happen here.” Troi- Darmok, Stardate: 45047.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
So as you no doubt noticed, I didn’t do a lot of posting in June. I had a few posts about Star Trek e-Book deals and Shadowrun character sheet. But after that it was automated posts about the daily Star Trek quotes twitter account that I run. Yes it bugged me that I didn’t get more blog posts put up. So why did that happen? June of 2022 turned out to be very busy and very sucky towards the end.
I had the opportunity to go to several concerts (photos soon in the photo album). One of them was “Weird Al” Yankovick, which is always a treat. I have a draft of a blog post started for that event which I will finish up and post. I also started a draft post about my first NFTs that I now own (yea I’m just as shocked as you are) which will see the light of day soon.
It seemed like every weekend I was out of town taking care of one thing or another. I missed a lot of Svengoolie. Luckily, Creature Features posts their episodes on YouTube so I could catch up with them later. There were also lots of days that when work got over, I needed to unwind away from the computer. I did get some new game books and I found several new items out in the garage (more on those later). I was also able to catch up on a lot of my comics. I won’t got into detail on them now, but I’ve really been enjoying Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Obi Wan Kenobi and The Orville. I’ve also had the opportunity to catch up on some movies that I’ve missed.
But the thing that sucked most of all is that my household finally got hit by that bug that’s been going around. Yea… that one. Right at the end of the month. I missed out on two concerts because of it (one was Howard Jones that I really wanted to see). And as you can imagine, it also wiped out a lot of spare time that I had.
Thankfully we are on the mend (thank god for vaccines). I’m really wanting to get back to some gaming and geek articles. I’ve got a big FASA project that I can’t wait to unveil. I’m thinking of several new article types that I want to start posting on a regular basis. They won’t be marathons like the Character Creation Challenge, but they will be a series that will take a while. More on that soon. I’ve also got a fantasy campaign that I need to get on paper. The ideas have really been churning in my head.
I can see from my plugins that I’ve been getting regular hits to the site. Thank you for sticking with me. I hope that the upcoming articles will make it worth your while.
“I am Human.” Boimler “Oh! Wow. Then you need to drink more water, your skin is a mess. But still, I think I should add your biological distinctiveness to our own. It’s kind of our thing.” Borg Queen (hologram)- I, Excretus, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekLowerDecks #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 29 “I’ve got some stuff that would tranquilize an active volcano.” Dr. McCoy- Wolf in the Fold, Stardate: 3614.9 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 30 “It’ll take time but the important thing is that we not give up.” Macias- Preemptive Strike, Stardate: 47941.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Sometimes I think you North Americans read nothing but comics. And these ridiculous science fiction novels.” Reed- Shuttlepod One, Date: November 9, 2151 #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“You are the dreamer, . . . and the dream.” Preacher- Far Beyond the Stars, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
July 3 “It’s never a good sign when the patient feels the need to comfort the doctor.” The Doctor- Survival Instinct, Stardate: 53049.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
Here are the Daily Star Trek Quotes that will appear on the @STrekQuotes twitter account for the week of June 20th through June 26th.
June 20 “How are actions that are wrong lead to a greater good?” Picard- Descent, Part II, Stardate: 47025.4 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 21 “He gave his life in an attempt to save others. Not the worst way to go.” Kirk- The Doomsday Machine, Stardate: 4202.9 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“It matters because if you do not learn from your mistakes, you will be doomed to repeat them.” Tuvok- Learning Curve, Stardate: 48846.5 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 23 “These spiritual types love those dabo girls.” Quark- In the Hands of the Prophets, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 24 “For 500 years, every ship that has borne the name of the Enterprise has become a legend. This one is no different.” Admiral Nakamura- The Measure of a Man, Stardate: 42523.7 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 25 “Humans do have an amazing capacity for believing what they choose and excluding that which is painful.” Spock- And The Children Shall Lead, Stardate: 5029.5 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 26 “Two Vulcans stroll into a bar, hustle a few games of pool and walk out with an armload of TV dinners. Sounds like an old episode of The Twilight Zone!” Tucker- Carbon Creek, Date: April 12, 2152 #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Now, you’ll have to excuse me, Captain, I have an appointment with eternity and I don’t want to be late.” Dr. Soran- Star Trek Generations, Stardate: 48650.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Security isn’t like the other departments. No, its a higher calling. We stand shoulder to shoulder, holding the line against dangers known and unknown.” Shaxs- Envoys, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekLowerDecks #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 14 “Why?! He wasn’t Darhe’el! Why?!” Kira “He’s a Cardassian! That’s reason enough.” Kainon “No! It’s not.” Kira- Duet, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Federation has taught you that conflict should not exist. Ha. But without struggle, you would never know who you truly are.” Krall “You have no idea who we are. But you’ll soon find out.” Sulu- Star Trek Beyond, Stardate: 2263.2 #StarTrek #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 17 “It took some time and it wasn’t easy but eventually we were forced to reevaluate our beliefs.” Dr. Phlox- Future Tense, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 18 “What did you have to do to earn your uniform?” Kar “Study. Years of study. Learning about science and ships and navigation.” Chakotay- Initiations, Stardate: 49005.3 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Gaila, who is he?” Uhura “Who’s who?” Gaila “The mouth-breather hiding under your bed.” Uhura- Star Trek (2009), Stardate: 2233.04 #StarTrek #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
I don’t recall much about this Shadowrun character. It is possible this could have been our mysterious missile shooter. I do know that the name Hammerstat was found on a list of customers at one of my previous occupations. I thought the name sounded very manly and could be used for a tough character. I know that I drew the character image myself.
“I’m not a chauffeur. There’s no free rides on my ship. You were once a Starfleet officer. I will use you, or anything else I can, to achieve my mission.” Lorca- Context is for Kings, Stardate: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekDiscovery #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Sweetheart, I once performed an emergency C-section on a pregnant Gorn; octuplets and let me tell you those little bastards bite.” Dr. McCoy- Star Trek Into Darkness, Stardate: 2259.55 #StarTrek #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“If I stay here, at least I know what the future is going to be like.” Nog “You stay here, you’re going to die. Not all at once, but little by little. Eventually, you’ll become as hollow as I am.” Fontaine- It’s Only a Paper Moon #StarTrek #StarTrekDS9 #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
“Cosmic thoughts, gentlemen?” Kirk “We were, speculating… is God really out there?” Dr. McCoy “Maybe He’s not out there, Bones. Maybe He’s right here… the Human heart.” Kirk- Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Stardate: 8454.1 #StarTrek #StarTrekTOS #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 10 “How about a phaser? A low stun setting at just the right moment might do the trick…” La Forge “Geordi, I cannot stun my cat.” Data- Force of Nature, Stardate: 47310.2 #StarTrek #StarTrekTNG #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 11 “If the bugs glow in the dark, at least you can tell when they’ve crawled into your sleeping bag.” Tucker- Rogue Planet, Date: Unknown #StarTrek #StarTrekENT #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
June 12 “I’ve got an Ocampan who wants to be something more and a Borg who’s afraid of becoming something less. Here’s to Vulcan stability.” Janeway- The Gift, Stardate: 51008 #StarTrek #StarTrekVOY #IDIC #WeAreStarfleet
