Persistent, Niggling Questions

[Nate the Great]

PNQ: How do you feel about people reposting stories from other sites without properly crediting them?


Story from Retail Hell Underground (September 2018)


Story from Computer Stupidities (the site hasn't been updated since 2013, and I personally know the story is much older than that)


I understand that Computer Stupidities is a relic from the days of dialup (I read the site during those days), but that doesn't forgive blatant plagiarism. The RHU poster could've said "this is one of my favorite stories from rinkworks.com" and I would've been fine, but s/he didn't. It sounds like a recent personal account.

[Nate the Great]

Today is Mark Hamill's birthday...


PNQ: What is your favorite role of his? You can't say Luke Skywalker, Trickster, or Joker because I want more interesting answers.



I've never played any Wing Commander games and only know of his connection through Spoony.



I'll have to go with Hobgoblin from Spider-Man the Animated Series.

[Nate the Great]

In The Voyage Home the Klingon Ambassador (Kamarag, ahem) calls Kirk a "renegade and terrorist." Renegade, granted. He defied orders and stole a starship.


PNQ: How was Kirk a "terrorist"?

[NAHTMMM]

Well, he was kinda "freedom fighter"y on Organia, wasn't he?

It doesn't have to make sense to us, it just has to make sense to those who believe the Klingon Empire's official version of events.

[Nate the Great]

This month is Mickey Mouse's 90th birthday...


PNQ: Favorite classic Mickey Mouse shorts?


By "classic" I mean the original run, i.e. pre-Mickey's Christmas Carol. You can find a list here, and an incomplete YouTube playlist here.


Mickey's Band Concert-my only problem is the early deformed Donald Duck design
Through the Mirror-I like the use of small objects as substitutes for human-sized props a la Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and I like Alice in Wonderland, so this one's obvious
Mickey's Trailer-props folding in and out of hammerspace, and the classic corn on the cob typewriter gag are just the tip of the iceberg
The Brave Little Tailor-to anyone who says that Mickey is boring, show them this short

[Nate the Great]

Today I was reminded of the Smash Brothers "No Items, Fox Only, Final Destination" meme...


PNQ: Why are the hardcore fighting gamers even playing Smash Bros in the first place?


SSB isn't supposed to have mechanics akin to serious fighting games anyway!

[Nate the Great]

So someone drew fan art of what the Rescue Rangers would look like if their show was rebooted today...


PNQ: Would a new show use the Indiana Jones and Magnum PI-inspired costumes for Chip and Dale, or would more current culture icons be used?


I suppose Indiana Jones is iconic enough (and bomber jackets ubiquitous enough) that it would still work for Chip, but the whole "Hawaiian shirt=goofball" thing is a bit outdated these days, right? I'd think to modern audiences Hawaiian shirts have reverted to their original meaning of "wacky tourist." Wouldn't a modern Dale be more likely to go with something more akin to Jude from 6teen; the whole slacker skater knit cap and baggy pants thing?

[Nate the Great]

Nintendo rereleased the Gamecube controller adapter again for the Switch for Smash Bros Ultimate...


PNQ: Why do we still have to use the Gamecube controller port format for these things? Can't they make a Gamecube controller with a simple USB connector?

[Nate the Great]

Watching "Indiscretion" again...


PNQ: Why would Kasidy want quarters on the station, and why did Dax suggest she move there?


Think about it, her quarters on on her ship and she's fully capable of sleeping there whether or not it's docked at Deep Space Nine. Then again, Morn also runs a cargo ship and has quarters on the station. Are we to believe that nobody is allowed to sleep on their own ships when they're docked at Deep Space Nine?

[Nate the Great]

Watching "Trials and Tribbleations" again:


PNQ: Why is everybody using hand tricorders?


Think about it. Hand tricorders are useful if you're exploring a new planet and need a scanner to detect everything. But the need to scan a large area for explosives only, don't they make a larger, more powerful model of scanner (a backpack model, perhaps) that could be calibrated specifically for this task? Surely there are scanning methods that would be undetectable by 23rd century sensors, no matter what the range.



For that matter, why is everyone putting tribbles up against the sensor diode when every tricorder we've ever seen can cover several dozen feet at minimum? If Darvin built his bomb to be undetectable except at short range, they could've dropped a line of dialogue to that effect.

[Nate the Great]

It's official-there will be no N64 Classic. Nintendo says that the NES and SNES were just to kill time until the Switch, and they'd rather not sell us games once if they can get us on the hook for a monthly subscription instead.


PNQ1: Do they not grasp in the slightest that there's a demographic that will never pay for Nintendo Online? Ever? (Like me, but that's another story...) For that matter, a demographic that will never ever ever buy the Switch, but might buy more Classic consoles?

PNQ2: How about making the Classic consoles continually profitable by including a cartridge port to sell us packs of 25 more games every so often? Maybe make the cartridges more expensive to pay for the licensing fees for certain popular third-party games?

[Nate the Great]

In my Netflix watching I tend to stick to TNG and DS9, with the occasional TOS...


PNQ: Would anyone be interested in a "Nate Finds Five Good Things About Every Episode of Voyager" thread?


Some ground rules off the top of my head:


1. I have to watch it, not just read the script like the anniversary retrospective threads.
2. No more than two of the five can be quotes. I can add more quotes for six, seven, etc., but there have to be at least three non-quote positive things per episode. Just tossing off five lines that I like seems lazy.
3. I won't promise one episode a week. Maybe it'll be monthly, maybe I'll do one every other day. Whatever. Stress would tempt me to get cynical and nitpicky.


Or I suppose...


PNQ2: Would you prefer me to do a B5 thread instead? There will probably be more nitpicking there, I'm warning you.

[Nate the Great]

Watching the SFDebris review of "The Pegasus" again...


PNQ: Did the Federation no-cloak rule make sense in universe?


SFDebris suggests that the Romulans may have made equal concessions that we never knew about.


To me, it falls in the same category as the no-money rule. It's okay to be high and mighty about not using money just as long as we don't interact with other races that do use money. But if we do, protesting the existence of money sounds like idiocy or lunacy. Likewise, choosing not to use cloaks if we can makes the Federation look like idiots.

[Nate the Great]

In watching SF Debris' review of "Family" again, I was reminded of his conclusion that it's worth watching once, but doesn't stand up to repeat viewings.


PNQ: Opinions?


I actually like the episode and always include it in my TNG marathons of good episodes. Who says Star Trek has to be high stakes and phaser shootouts all the time? At its heart Trek has always been about how characters react to the events that happen around them and whether they regret the actions that they took in response to these events. These characters don't become beloved by just giving orders to attack this or scan that, we have to know how their decisions affect them.

[Nate the Great]

Regarding Q's conclusion in "Tapestry" that Picard "isn't that important."


PNQ: What events can you think of that Picard would do drastically differently from any alternative or substitute?


Let's go straight to his Memory Alpha page and start at the Starbase Earhart bar fight in 2327.


The Stargazer Years



* One wonders how his relationships with Walker Keel, Jack Crusher, and Beverly Howard would've emerged. Probably nothing more than passing aquiantances.
* If he was on the Stargazer at all he wouldn't have taken command, or if he did he wouldn't have had the necessary skills to keep it for 22 years.
* No doubt his relationship with Jenice Manheim wouldn't have gotten very far, certainly not the "love" stage that was implied.
* One wonders if a different captain could've saved Jack Crusher's life.
* No Battle of Maxia, no Picard Maneuver. The Stargazer would've been destroyed.



Overarching TNG issues



* His replacement's relationship with Q would've been quite different, but that's a completely different essay, particularly if Riker had been in command from the start.
* Data wouldn't have been defended and would've died after "The Measure of a Man." No Data means a host of other problems, but that's another list.
* Worf would've died after "Sins of the Father" since it's doubtful that another captain would've defended him. Duras would've taken over the Klingon Empire, which would've slowly been assimilated by the Romulan Empire after Sela and her group killed him. No more Federation treaty, the events of "The Defector" would've killed the Enterprise crew, the Dominion would've conquered the Alpha Quadrant, etc. This is a whole nother list, folks.



If someone else wants to cover Season One, feel free. If nobody else does, I'll probably return to this eventually.

[Nate the Great]

I don't watch "Wrongs Darker than Death or Night" very often, I'm not fond of episodes set during the Occupation, with the exception of "Things Past." However, Kira says that to use the Orb of Time she must petition the Prophets and let them decide if her proposed time journey is worthwhile or whatever.



PNQ: Then how did Arne Darvin use it in "Trials and Tribbleations"?


I doubt revenge or intended murder would be considered a reasonable time travel mission statement.



PNQ2: Kira claims that since she's not a Federation citizen the usual time travel rules don't apply to her. Huh? Isn't time travel a big enough risk that the Department of Temporal Investigations would poo-poo any unauthorized time travel, regardless of who's doing it?

[Nate the Great]

So I just saw a YouTube video about why a fourth Kelvinverse Trek film never happened...


PNQ: Why isn't it a matter of law that when a studio declares things like how much a movie cost to make and how much they made from it, that the numbers have to be accurate?


It annoys me that movies always cost more than the studios admit, and that the "profit" declared isn't really what the studio gets to keep. You know, the numbers that help decide whether a sequel is viable?

[Nate the Great]

Today I stumbled upon the expression "parental units" for the first time in awhile...


PNQ: Does anyone ever use this expression sincerely, not as sarcasm or a joke?

[Nate the Great]

Watching SF Debris' review of "The Drumhead" the following occurs to me that completely escaped Chuck...


PNQ: What do the crimes of one's ancestor's have to do with the the person in question?


Case 1: Simon Tarses lied about his grandfather being a Romulan.


What does this have to do with anything? As Picard says in "Reunion", he can't punish Duras for the crimes of his father Jarod. At worst Tarses is guilty of lying about his background, that's it. Then again, why did he do this in the first place? If we're to believe the expanded universe, Saavik is half-Romulan and grew up in the Romulan way of life before Spock rescued her. I thought 24th century humans were more tolerant than 23rd!


Case 2: Sabin says Worf shouldn't be trusted as security chief because his father collaborated with the Romulans.


Okay, fine, at this point the only ones in the Federation who know the truth are the Enterprise senior staff. But again, what does this have to do with anything? Are you telling me that humans of today, who don't suspect Germans with Nazi ancestors, are better than 24th century humans?

[Nate the Great]

After today's recap of "Unnatural Selection" I found myself wondering if there were more reasons why the Pulaski/Data dynamic never worked as well as McCoy/Spock, besides the obvious, of course.


PNQ: Feelings about the following hypothesis?


McCoy's serious jabs were about Spock's philosophy. He knew that Spock had emotions, so he could target there. Plus he knew that Spock could give as well as he got, he could defend himself.


Pulaski's jabs are about Data's construction, things that are out of his control. And Data could never defend himself because everything Pulaski said was either true or a matter of opinion. And debating opinions that have no empirical right or wrong is impossible if you don't have emotions. Pulaski was being insensitive and sometimes even a bully because of this.