The Naked Now
When FOX allowed Joss Whedon an intellectual property blank check so that he could create Firefly, his vision was profoundly unique and decidedly un-Star Trek. The Alliance, Whedon’s Starfleet equivalent, is portrayed as unwanted big government, both bumbling and oppressive. Gene Roddenberry’s starship crews were harmonious visions of a utopian future while the crew of the Serenity must struggle to get along and to survive. No replicators there. Perhaps that’s why Firefly (and also Star Trek’s own DS9) is part of my beloved television show pantheon. It took something I understood very well, and showed me a different way to look at it, and, rather than railing against my established conventions, I embraced the new layers that allowed me to love more deeply.
Now what does that have to do with The Naked Now, a terrible episode of television that I bid you not to watch?
Encounter at Farpoint: Parts 1 & 2
Image via Wikipedia
There’s no way to pin down the exact date in time where I first saw an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Likewise, there’s no way to quantify the day I moved from seeing an episode for the first time and becoming a Star Trek fan. Twenty years ago, a nice round number and as good a guess as any, I was nine years old. I would have wrapped up fourth grade, a year of intense bullying and not entirely coincidental first signs of academic faltering—the worst year of my young life. TNG was wrapping up its fourth season and had just wrapped up arguably its best season ever. It was officially established as a worthy successor to the original and already stood on its own as one of the best science fiction shows of all time. We were meant for each other.
Like many real stories of true love TNG and I did not immediately find each other. Our start was rather auspicious in fact, like trying onion rings for the first time—it takes time to establish how great is the good and how awful is the bad. Perhaps my ability to overcome my first experience with TNG it is proof of just how drawn to the show I was.
I remember distinctly walking into the family TV room, an adult show on the TV, my father in his chair. My queries were answered patiently, I learned the show’s title, and maybe I gleaned some concept of… concept. Whatever I first learned as my dad explained Star Trek to me was short lived. My first viewing was cut very short. The episode on the screen was a repeat from season one, the infamous Conspiracy, and I had just stepped into the scene most infamous. Moments into my first viewing of Star Trek, a man was ripped apart by phaser fire, exposing an alien bug living in his exploded torso. I left the room, shaken.
Game night
- Image via Wikipedia
Tonight was the first ever Connecticut hosted game night since I've moved here. It was much needed. I am convinced that dudes need, well, time with other dudes to survive. Plus, the male species seems to enjoy excuses to drink beer and the chance to mow down bags of chips. We had those consumables and an evening where the only drawbacks were our approaching bedtimes and unseasonable humidity. Here's what went down:
Arkham Horror (x1)
This game is a beast and ran the evening as it usually does. When a game features not one but two half-foot tall card decks and something around 20 total draw piles you know you're in for a mental workout.
It's a cooperative game which means the group wins or fails and the enemy here is the game mechanics themselves. The setting is that of the collective works of H.P. Lovecraft and his demonic visions which, incidentally, mean nothing to me. The Ancient One slumbers beneath Arkham all the same and it is up to the Investigators to keep him there or snuff him out. Tonight we drew Nyarlathotep, whatever that is, and as the game progressed we were sunk under piles of monsters and mayhem. It was not a lack of weaponry, which can sometimes be the case, and we were a touch low in the vital 'clue token' department, but tonight it seemed to just be in the cards that we had to go face to face with the beast. Actually, this is the kind of rules packed games that for every 10 rules you remember to follow you forget about 20 to 80. We forgot to awaken the Ancient One. So we did and then we took it on head on. This was probably the highest point of satisfaction in the evening as we wiped the floor with the baddie and won the game handily.
On to game two.
Pandemic (x2)
This was my first chance to get my dice rolling hands on this new legend in the cooperative gaming field. I found it as satisfying as I hoped. In this game the players are CDC scientists squashing out four strains of virus. It has the complexity I enjoy but an all important factor hard to find in the games I love. Speed. When Arkham ends I always feel like I ate too much at the Thanksgiving table and need to push away and rest awhile before I take another crack at the feast. As soon as game one of Pandemic ended I knew I needed a game two. I had the game learned in one setting and watching the little virus pieces fly around the globe with our researchers in hot pursuit was a thrill. In game one things got out of hand way to quick and North America exploded in a hot mess of disease meaning our demise. Game two was the exact opposite and if you feel disease free today, well, you can thank us.
Red November (x2)
Our nightcap was yet another cooperative masterpiece and the game I know best. The first I heard of this game was also the first time I knew I needed it. This scenario features a doomed submarine,check that, doomed gnome submarine and you and your friends must survive the catastrophe for a full sixty minutes to ensure your rescue. With my dad, my girlfriend, and good friend Chris all familiar with subs in some way this seemed like the kind of thing that we were destined to all enjoy. Tonight the ship went down both times which is starting to tip the scales to more failures than successes in this one. As often happens in cooperative games this is probably a strong indicator that we're finally starting to know the rules well enough that we're actually following them.
Thanks to everyone who bought me games, expansions, and brews that make these nights possible!
Limitations of genius
As long as I own an iPhone I will run MobileMe. There is no greater peace of mind then knowing that while you pump gobs of personal information into an easily misplaced chrome 3x5 card you can always access it using Find My iPhone through MobileMe. I used it constantly whenever I thought I had lost my mind, and phone, just so I could confirm it was still in the apartment and I could keep checking the couch cushions. The service can also be used to remotely lock the device, or should it truly be a concern, completely wipe it clean.
Unfortunately I no longer own an iPhone, I now use an iPod touch. When that gets misplaced during your first trip to the Groton Public Library your options are considerably more murky.
I was really surprised when I fired up MobileMe in desperation 'Frankenbeaker' (Before my iPhone died it was known as 'Beaker' and I transplanted its brain into an iPod) showed up as a device I could contact using Find My iPhone. There is a smidgen of peace of mind that if the iPod ever gets connected to a located WiFi network it will lock itself and let me know.
Still, that's a lot of me packed into 8GB of space. So far I've changed passwords to my email, Twitter, Facebook, and I'm starting work on my bank accounts. Only email, Twitter, and Facebook automatically log the user in but I'd rather be safe then sorry with the accounts that actually matter. Can anyone think of anything else I can do?
Conclusion: Find My iPhone? Genius. For an iPod touch? Less so. Me? Idiot.
Digital assisted pool would make us slightly better
During our vacation semester at Ithaca College one of the activities that would actually get Jordan and I out of the apartment was playing pool for free at the student center. We weren't that great but I think we looked pretty good beating each other. Jordan would often have games where he looked especially on. One particularly memorable night a shark-like character who grew bored with sharking himself on the next door table popped a challenge to the bearded one. He sort of had to accept. He held his own but I remember when the challenger finally let him go we snatched our IDs and fled from the game room like someone was chasing us. Never take us out of the comfort zone of beating each other.
Now if only we had this genius contraption. It's always nice to see college science applied to where the world truly needs it.
{Via: Engadget}
Heathernet Help Desk: Laptop Batteries
Most college grads of these outrageous aughts have come to know the distress that comes with our laptop's lithium ion battery calling it a good run before even a good two or three years of school is run off of our machine. Not only is it frustrating for the many of us who have made the Apple switch, it quickly becomes unfairly expensive. This leads us to proudly declaring that our machine "just works," and then add, "when we plug it in." My computer is four years old and begging for it's third new battery to take drinks from. Um, hey, I leave the "electronic device that incurs a regular cost to use" job to my iPhone, thanks.
In the past this has led me to search for a solution and I've also given some quasi-flawed advice on the topic. Read on for my update on the problem:
I have the power! (To creep you out further.)
I see... Me
Let me be clear. My iPhone is the greatest computer I have ever owned. I can feel the tears of my iBook gathering on her keys as I openly tik-tak the words of my betrayal. My iBook, God bless her, doesn't fit in my pocket. My iBook, my tireless companion, does not have multi-touch. My iBook...uh, is... is not a woman, jeez, listen to yourself man!
About a half hour ago someone could have tapped me on the shoulder whilst I sat here at my desk and said, "Your obsession is showing."
What’s in a tagline?
20oz to geekdom has been The Heathernet's tagline since its inception. Now that the original design has disappeared from the face of the internet I thought the tagline was owed a post honoring its allegiance to sugary excess.
Celebrating the soda
Now we'll never forget how stupid I was when the day finally comes that the doctor tells me to stop with the soda pop.
Heath’s Twitter
- Sports are stupid. They make me mad. And that's stupid. 4 hours ago
- Aaaaah, who am I? This is not what I do!! http://t.co/1G1wt9Rp 2 days ago
- Watching NOVA always reminds me of my dad. Half of what I know in this world was learned Tuesday nights at 9. 4 days ago
