Star Trek Picard

We're 8 episodes into the 10 episode arc of the life of Jean-Luc Picard, well after the voyages of the Next Generation.  And I have to say that I'm finding it totally enjoyable.

Jean Luc (or annoyingly "JL") starts off as a broken old man, working in the vineyards after his stint in Starfleet, and some less-than-stellar experiences in the end.  Its interesting to see him develop his character and act less aged, and regain that spark that made him the inimitable captain.

The crew is interesting and has a fair amount of depth to them.  You feel something for them, and its worth it in a way. 

And I love the way it connects to the treks that came before.  There's a link to Voyager, and 7 of 9.  There's a link to TOS and the way the Romulans were presented.  You've got the Vulcan/Romulan link.  There's the Irumadic syndrome Picard has, and that we learn about in the last episode of Next Gen.  There's a link to Hugh the individual Borg.  There's a link to the AI in Discovery (or at least there seems to be).

And then there's Soji, the android, who appears to be related to Data - or is it Lore?

And there surely is some connection back to Q.  All the signs point that way.

Now its fun to go back and watch various episodes of TNG, VOY, and TOS that are called out in the story.  It helps understand this complicated story.  Its really cool.

As for the comment that this is somehow not trek, I have to disagree.  This is certainly not TNG - this is a darker, more pessimistic concept.  Certainly after war with the Borg, the Dominion, and other events, this has to have reshaped the utopia. 

And besides, there are certainly undertones of this darker world in the other shows - but they are presented in a more subtle way in general.  They just don't dwell on it.  Corruption, double agents, conniving, deceit. These were all shown in Starfleet.  And DS9 was no walk in the park; it was certainly dark and had an unusual tone.  So this is an extension of that.

I would say overall that CBS has done a really amazing job with the Star Trek franchise.  I have to imagine that Gene Roddenberry would be surprised at what its become - but you have to change with the times.  Maybe he would have seen that too.

Trumps continuing failure. Our national nightmare.

I posted recently that Mr Trump is failing in his response to the Coronavirus.

I wanted to expand in this a little.

He was ill-prepared to handle it. He reduced funding for responding to any global threat, and eliminated high-ranking roles that were established under Obama.

And then, he proceeds to blame Obama for this. Which (a) is false and (b) is something he could have rectified, I dunno, anytime in the three years since he took the job. So blaming someone else from many years ago is an outright lie. This comes right back to "this isn't my fault" blame shifting.

Then, there's his talks, like the one shown in this picture. This is a public health crisis. But never one to miss a bit of self promotion, he's wearing his stupid fucking hat. And at some point during his ramblings, he talks about how great he is and how he understands this stuff, and maybe how he could have been a doctor (that's how I interpreted it, others thought he meant something else).

How Bout caring about Americans who may get sick and die, rather than just about yourself?

And finally, the CDC, as it does, creates their worst-case scenario. This type of information had previously been made public for other crises. Because, of course, their job is to be scientists. To gather information, so informed decisions can be made by public and private health organizations.

But in this case, they were instructed not to release it. A copy leaked to the N.Y. Times. They called the CDC with questions, and were greeted with questions about how they obtained it - and were told outright that questions would have to go through the Whitehouse.

Information that should be made available to the public is now being politicized. Specifically for trumps gain.

He does not care about anything or anyone. Except of course himself. He wants to be re-elected and be made supreme leader. And the only way he can accomplish this is by controlling the information and lying to us.

So as I said before, if you are still buying what this snake oil salesman is touting then its on you.

You are part of a cult.

Leadership

The juxtaposition is jarring. Truman felt responsible for everything that happened under his watch.

Trump not so much. Whatever it is, it's not his fault. He didn't do it. Just watch yesterday's press conference for a lesson on how *not* to lead.

Anyone who still believes in this guy is simply a lost cause at this point. Trump has nothing to offer - and has failed, miserably, at managing a crisis.

He himself has been enraged that this virus is affecting his re-election chances. Not that people are sick. Not that we have a pandemic. Not even that our economy could (and will!) suffer.

He was mildly concerned that the market was down, but only because he was pinning part of his campaign on the fact that the economy is great!

He's a selfish fool. "Me! Me! Me!" Is all he's got. And if you don't see it, then please go buy more toilet paper and fill your ears with it.

—-
"The buck stops here" is a phrase popularized by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with the phrase on his desk in the Oval Office. The phrase refers to the notion that the President has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions.

Who wins here?

This came into my mailbox a couple of days ago. 

They can say what they want. The reality is that the marlins don't have to pay parking attendants, and get the city to manage the parking situation (as I recall the city gets $10 per space filled, based on the original deal, so the marlins make $5 with no cost). 

And this eliminates the resale market, meaning they always make the money. 

We heard you and we are here to improve your experience. Marlins Fans March 4, 2020 View as web page We heard you and we are here to improve your experience. The Miami Marlins are pleased to introduce Free Flow Parking which will ease the arrival experience to Marlins Park for Marlins games and other ballpark events. Free Flow Parking will be convenient for event attendees; aimed to mitigate traffic and congestion around the ballpark, and provide event attendees quicker access to ballpark amenities and the action on the field. In partnership with Miami Parking Authority, the Marlins will become the first professional sports team to offer full on-site free-flow parking which uses a vehicle's license plate as the credential for parking on event days. With this exciting announcement, we are also resetting the price of parking for Marlins home games. Fans who pre-purchase parking at Marlins.com/Parking will pay $15 for the 2020 season, excluding Opening Day. Learn More Free Flow Parking will: Miami Parking Authority will validate parked vehicles rather than collect payments or scan parking passes at parking facility entrances Allow event attendees to pre-register their license plate and pay for parking in advance via Marlins.com/Parking or the Parking icon on Marlins Page of the MLB Ballpark App Allow event attendees who don't pre-register a vehicle license plate to register and pay for parking on site using the PayByPhone App or on-site pay stations located in each parking garage lobby Remove the need for cashiers and allow for greater focus on guest experience from service staff Allow event attendees who fail to register a vehicle license plate and receive a promissory note during the event to pay the event parking fee within 24 hours before the promissory note converts to a $36 City of Miami parking violation citation Reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption with shorter wait-times and less idling upon entering parking facilities in conjunction with additional green initiatives, including newly installed electric car charging stations and bike share kiosks © 2020 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. MLB trademarks and copyrights are used with permission of Major League Baseball. Visit MLB.com. Any other marks used herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Trump is wrong and endangering everyone.

The coronavirus starts and there's a lot of nonsense coming out from the whitehouse. 

Then it spreads, and as a nation we're looking for leadership. Someone to calm the fears. And when that doesn't happen, the news media breathlessly runs stories about how bad this and starts a panic. And the population starts stocking up as though the end of the world is near. 

Because they're looking for someone to selflessly act and show us the right way to react. 

It's certainly not the fool in the Oval Office. He says it's a hoax. Which helps no one. And because of his cuts and neutering of agencies that are equipped to deal with this, he has no real plan. He asks for money - but why not just reallocate from his insipid wall. No. Heaven forbid! I'm sure he's using the "caravans of people bringing the virus that we need to keep out."

And he assigns mike pence to somehow lead an effort to combat this. The very same mike pence who blundered his way through several health crises while governor of Indiana. 

Meanwhile his own son (Donnie jr) posits a theory that this is somehow a conspiracy to hurt daddy's re-election chances. 

And trump lets it go. Saying nothing. And absurd people  with a platform are espousing similar conspiracy theories that this is contrived or as trump said "a hoax."

Meanwhile his "tell" is that he looks afraid when you see him. He's a germaphobe and surely this scared him. But he talks tough, while saying nothing. 

This is real life. People are scared. People are dying. If he can't take it seriously, then he must be removed him from office. (This is another in a long list of reasons). 

His ineptitude here will lead the country to ruin. 

Do people care? Will people figure out he's actively endangering them? 

He plans to hold his rallies because...yeah. 

Wake up people. His cowardice and blustering here should make you see what he really is: a scared little man who is in way over his head. 

Short. Sweet. To the point. That's the beauty Dave's iPhone.

Charge on!

As my own kids head off to college, I'm reminded of my own experiences at university.

I got my bachelors degree from UCF, and stayed on for my masters. But here's the thing: I got those degrees in the late 80s/early 90s, when UCF was still finding its way after fairly recently moving on from being Florida Technological University.

As an aside, UCF continues to grow, and they are trying very hard to recruit students. But many still think of it as "second tier" behind Florida and Florida State. (To be fair, one of my sons friends eschewed her chance to go to Florida in favor of UCF. She's always welcome to drop by, while those gators and seminoles aren't!)

It's a funny thing when I look at it. I started off at the University of Miami. That was where my dad went. It was the local school. It was home in some ways. But it turned out not to be right for me, and the expense was hard on me and my parents.

So I dropped out and looked for a new school. I wasn't interested in Florida or FSU; at the time they didn't fit me. USF was an option. And there were a few out-of-State schools I considered, and got into.

But in the end, UCF worked for a bunch of reasons. Certainly in-state tuition was a plus. But it was amazing how the university was small but growing. There was a ton of research going on, and they were recruiting professors like crazy. And had adjunct faculty from industries. So it has a richness you weren't likely to find elsewhere.

There's a scene in "Hidden Figures" where one of the main characters wants to attend college but can't because segregation is an issue. She persuades a judge to let her take classes because someone has to be first.

I felt kind of like that. UCF could only grow if some of us - the kids who could go elsewhere but might choose it for own reasons - went there and succeeded. We had to be first.

The experience overall was good, but there were stops and starts, goods and bads. I had lots of opportunities, and there was always research available. But it was a spit of land on the east side of town, near little forgotten towns, and far from the flashy theme parks.

I graduated, took a job for a few months and decided to go back to grad school. I hadn't moved, so why not UCF? I knocked on doors until I got a research project I wanted: a nasa funded study. Cool. I was part of something. And maybe that's why I think of hidden figures?

(And this is why I find the connection between UCF and the space center so interesting)

That experience was great. I learned more in that 18 months than I did anytime after. Both in the classroom and beyond.

I look back on it fondly. I did consider staying on to get a PhD, but the timing was wrong and I moved on.

Did I make the right choices along the way? I can't look back with regret. So yes, I think I did.

Today, no one asks where my degree is from unless it's in a broader context. Sometimes being a knight makes an interesting connection. But I find that living in south Florida, saying I attended Miami (technically I'm considered an alumnus even though I don't hold a degree from there) makes better connections.

Not that I am dismissive of where my degree is from. It's just interesting to me how some people think of UCF as second tier while others don't. And Miami is pretty universally respected.

But I have two degrees in engineering from a school I mostly enjoyed.

People can think what they want. I lived my collegiate life to the fullest.

So "charge on!"

Stupid is as stupid does.

Garth Brooks performed at Ford Field. You know where the Detroit Lions play.

Their most famous player was RB Barry Sanders. A hall of famer and personal friend of Brooks. So Brooks wore a Sanders jersey to his own concert.  By the way, Barry wore #20.

But stupidity ensued as the basket full of deplorable folks who think the dotard is the messiah went nuts. They stupidly and hilariously assumed that Brooks was touting *Bernie* Sanders in '20.

Barry heard about it and tweeted he was up for Brooks being his VP. And then the lions also promoted the ticket.

🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️