Kate Mulgrew, Garrett Wang, and Robert Picardo show us around the Voyager set.


I find it odd that Wang refers to a transporter chief, "whoever that may be at the time." Of course there was never such a person on Voyager, but it occurs to me that such a person would've been useful as a side character. What with all the races in the Delta Quadrant who don't have transporter technology, you could've had an episode where the chief is kidnapped and tortured to tell the Kazon or whoever how to make their own transporters.


I also find it sad that Wang didn't recognize where the "no matter where you go, there you are" quote comes from. I've never seen Buckaroo Bonzai and even I can remember a detail like that. It's been a hidden joke of the set crew since the TNG days. Before that, actually, as it's on the Excelsior's dedication plaque!

An attempt to pin a conversion rate between dollars and gold-pressed latinum.


The best balance is where a slip is a dollar and a bar is two thousand dollars. Of course (yet again) the creators really didn't care about this sort of thing when they were making the show, but I do wonder why they didn't write down a little note somewhere giving a simple conversion ratio for future writers.



A comment points out that while we know that a strip is a hundred slips and a bar is twenty strips, we never got the conversion between bars and bricks. When Quark is in Morn's storage unit full of bricks, how much is that (if Morn hadn't extracted the latinum, of course)?



Short Treks introduces a "big bar" equal to 100,000 Federation credits, but how many bricks to a big bar? And how many 23rd century credits to a dollar? In one of the comics Spock has back pay equal to 611,700 credits. Let's call this ten years of back pay, as he doesn't seem like the guy to go to Risa or anything expensive on leave. He probably just visits Vulcan (not necessarily his parents) or goes on a scientific expedition.



Today the executive officer of a US Navy ship makes about $136,000/yr. Let's bump it up to $150,000 for round numbers and Spock's double duty as science officer (plus the flagship status of Enterprise). 60,000 credits a year means 2.5 dollars/credit. A "big bar" is therefore $250,000. If a bar is $2000, that's 125 bars to a big bar.

I forgot to convert 23rd century credits to 24th century credits. I have to do that before I can convert 23rd century big bars to 24th century bars.



Incidentally, the Federation offer for the Barzan Wormhole is 1,500,000 credits up front and 100,000 per year thereafter. (So much for TNG not using money, Gene!) For a lum sum call it a fifteen year pay period, or 3 million credits total. Let's call this the equivalent of buying Alaska. $7.2 million in 1867 is $125 million today. So a 24th century credit is 40 dollars and thus equal to 16 23rd century credits. A big bar is therefore 6,000 24th century credits or $24,000 or 12 bricks.



(Meaningless aside, ten credits for a tribble is $25. If tribbles are rare enough I don't suppose that's a problem.)

Some Stack Exchange speculation on whether Carol Marcus was the "blond lab technician" that Gary Mitchell distracted Kirk with.


Just to prove that I'm not the only one who tries to Do The Math and fact-check to prove or disprove theories.


Personally I like the idea but don't see how it could work with the established chronology (although Kirk being a lieutenant and Academy instructor before he's really been in space is always going to be a square peg in a round hole).


The specifics about David's conception and Kirk's near-encounter with Ketteract's Omega disaster are in one of the novels, but I forget which one.

It's Disney Music Box Day!


Beauty and the Beast Prologue (this song doesn't get the acclaim that it deserves)


Once Upon a Dream (I'd up the speed to 1.5 if I were you)


A Whole New World (1.25)


A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes (1.75)


When You Wish Upon A Star (1.25)


When Will My Life Begin (1.5)


Ducktales Theme (1.75)

Explaining Errors in Star Trek Wiki: DS9 Edition!


(Part One, anyway)



An unexplored planet is only 6 light years from DS9. Explanation: it's "behind" the wormhole. So what? The ancient Bajorans made it to Cardassia!



Someone was actually confused about where Quark heard of Fizzbin. I would assume it's obvious: the Federation shepherded Sigma Iotia until they were able to apply for membership, and they spread the game throughout the known galaxy. Plus it would make sense for Ferengi to study all known gambling games, right?


Someone else brought up the question of why would you buy food at Quarks when you can just go to the Replimat. Off the top of my head, Quarks has higher-class replicators that use more specialized and expensive base material. Perhaps certain races have more refined palates that find "ordinary" replicated food unpalatable and are willing to spend money on the better stuff.


Someone else wondered why Keiko was able to start a school without a teaching certificate. Someone speculated that getting one wouldn't be unusual for a botanist in order to teach others, but I'll go with the simpler "nobody else seemed to want the job, so anyone is better than nobody." (Of course that does beg the question of why Bajor wouldn't send a teacher to DS9 at the end of the Occupation if children are going to be on board).


Why is Quark counting his profits in plain sight? Explanation: he's flaunting his wealth. Yeah, that doesn't work for me. The real reason is that there isn't an office/vault set to hold the scene in instead.


If Melora can't use an antigrav wheelchair because of Cardassian technology incompatibility, how come Bashir can use an antigrav stretcher in "Necessary Evil" two episodes from now? They really don't offer a valid explanation, but I'll offer one. The antigrav stretcher could use Cardassian tech, but not Melora's wheelchair because the Cardassians wouldn't have accounted for such technology. They sure seem like the kind of race to execute parapalegics in the name of efficiency and eugenics, don't they?


Why did Sisko leave the station undefended in "Meridian"? Explanation: DS9 has other ships near it to defend the station. No, the real explanation is that the show introduced the Defiant specifically to get away from the station every once in awhile. Furthermore, Starfleet has been slowly upgrading the station's weaponry this whole time. You don't need the Defiant there all the time when there's no immediate threat.


"Meridian" is the first DS9 episode after Voyager's disappearance, why isn't anyone talking about it? The proposed explanation doesn't gel, but I have a simpler one: this isn't really a DS9 problem. There would undoubtedly be other starships in the DMZ to handle Maquis problems without bothering DS9.



There's an interesting discussion on the "Meridian" page about why Starfleet ignored the Dominion's orders to stay out of the Gamma Quadrant.

Explaining Errors in DS9, Part Two!


Why would the Cardassians let a Bajoran scientist work with the newly-discovered Odo?

Attempted explanation: This kept Dr. Mora busy so he couldn't help the resistance.
I'm confused as to how Dr. Mora could help the resistance. It's not like his skills extend to weaponry or similar.


If Mrs. Vaatrick can't pay for power to keep her lights on, why are her automatic doors still working?
Attempted explanation: The doors had a backup battery.
I have troubles across the board with this scenario. You'd think the Federation would pay enough to maintain a minimum standard of life for all Bajorans as an example of the good they could do if Bajor joined the Federation.


How come the computer tracks Bashir by his commbadge but can instantly track civilians like Jake who don't wear commbadges?
Attempted explanation: Children of officers have continual biosign locks on them so their parents can track them.
Yeah...that's silly. This is a plot hole that just can't be solved. I'd be more willing to say that DS9 is so old that it can't isolate individual lifesigns without a commbadge (or Cardassian equivalent wrist-mounted communicator). But that raises further questions...


In the page for "The Adversary" it's asked why Kira and Odo come along on purely Starfleet missions. The big problem is that if you're going to use logic for that sort of thing, the Defiant would have a dedicated crew that we would rarely see and the main cast would be stuck on DS9 except for extraordinary circumstances.



Along the same lines it's asked why the Changeling in "The Adversary" is willing to harm Odo. I'd argue that the Founders define "harm" as permanent damage and whatever that chest-punch thing the other Changeling did to Odo was their equivalent of a Vulcan neck pinch, designed to subdue Odo and not hurt him.


Wouldn't sticking Garak in a holding cell for six months be considered torture?
Attempted explanation: Nobody knew he was claustrophobic at this point. Besides, part of Garak's problem with small spaces is the whole experience-lack of air, darkness or irregular light, increasing temperatures, lack of stimulation, etc. They probably shipped Garak off to a penal colony where he would have his own room and could go outside every day. Not a resort, but not a small closet either!


There's a bit of discussion about the effectiveness of miniaturized photon torpedoes against Jem'Hadar in "One Little Ship", specifically vaporization. I argue that shrunk antimatter can only explode in conjunction with shrunk matter. The booms would affect Jem'Hadar like firecrackers, not grenades.


How come the transporter lost cohesion so fast in "Our Man Bashir"?

This time there's actually a reasonable explanation-Cardassian transporters aren't designed with redundancies to preserve patterns the same way that Starfleet ones can. Furthermore, we have to presume that Cardassian transporters aren't updated as often as Starfleet ones.


In "The Passenger" there is a question about how Kira can use a runabout's transporter to beam out four people when there are only two pads. So what? In "Up the Long Ladder" the transporter handled way more than six people at once, no doubt a transporter platform can combine pads for larger objects or more people (using much more energy than usual, I assume)


The question is asked about why the Changleling that's impersonating Bashir didn't save the dying Changeling infant. Memory Alpha confirms that it would've been the imposter due to the uniform transition (the real one was still wearing the older station design, not the TNG movie style). My reply is that the imposter figured out that there was no way of saving the infant even if he linked with it (no doubt he would've had to merge with it like Odo did, which would've qualified as "harm").


The question is asked why Ezri's spots aren't visible on her legs in 'Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang" when Jadzia proved that the spots go all the way down. All the commenters can offer is that she camouflaged them like Jadzia did in "Trials and Tribbleations." Complete nonsense. Except for Vic, everyone in the Las Vegas program was hardwired to see all occupants as humans (without racial prejudice, I might add). Ezri would have no reason to use the technobabble "makeup" from the earlier episode, it's easier to chalk it up to "they forgot."

It's always fun to see two of my favorite YouTube channels crossover...


Adam Savage meets Matt Parker of Numberphile, etc.


Furthermore, Adam is a Patreon supporter of Numberphile and knows what a Parker Square is and can make Parker-something jokes (just as a Parker Square is a not-quite perfect magic square, a Parker-something is something you try that doesn't quite turn out right).

I actually have a link to share.

Eminem's Without Me... in Klingon.

(If it's been posted before, well... this thread is long.)

Explaining Errors In DS9, Part Three!


Why would Bashir be willing to change Quark's gender so easily?

Attempted explanation: Cosmetic surgery for a mission is hardly anything new. Plus having Brunt in charge would be bad for the Federation.


While I'm sure that the Federation is open enough that body modifications for lifestyle choices have become commonplace, I'm not sure how that would affect this situation. Bashir knows that it'll only be for a few days. Besides, from what we know of Bashir's ethics, the consequences of Brunt in charge wouldn't be a factor, only Quark's health and opinion. Would he do it anyway? I'm not sure.


The question is raised about whether Bashir would feel hesitant to accept the Karrington due to his genetic modification "cheating". I don't have a problem with this, there are no doubt numerous aliens with mental capacities equal to Bashir's and that isn't considered cheating. Plus, imagine having to come up with conversion factors for every known alien race to even the playing field (imagine the Vulcans being told that their scores have to be multiplied by 0.8 to have a fair comparison with humans!)


In "Call to Arms" several Galaxy-class vessels are seen without registry numbers.

Attempted explanation: They were assembled quickly to shore up the fleet and there might not have been time.


I call shenanigans. No matter what the screen might imply, it takes a long time to build a starship. More than enough time to paint on some numbers.



One idiot on IMDB complained that there were more Defiant-class ships in "Call to Arms" when THE Defiant was said to be a one of a kind prototype. Are you telling me that more Defiants (with design input from O'Brien) weren't on the assembly line the day after the Dominion first appeared?


Tosk got his ship fixed without paying anything.

Attempted explanation: O'Brien did it as a favor.


I think it's simpler. The Federation wants to establish relationships with the races of the Gamma Quadrant, so anybody coming through the wormhole gets free repairs until a formal agreement with their government is made.


Another idiot brings up the fact that we see Tosk's ship docked, why would a ship from the Gamma Quadrant be compatible with station airlocks? Even if you toss out the real-world reasons, there's an in-universe reason. The Progenitors/Preservers designed sentient life to have a bipedal construction within a certain size range. Of course all airlocks would be approximately the same size as well, and as long as a seal can be made, who cares what the individual doors look like?


In "Change of Heart" it's asked why Dax and Worf didn't use the cloaking suits from Insurrection.

Attempted explanation: The tech was still new, and the Dominion would be scanning for such things unlike the Ba'Ku.


Plus I imagine that cloaking suits would require regular maintenance and charging. They also looked pretty fragile, I'm not sure they could survive a jungle environment anyway.



It's asked why the Founder can't maintain her face, but can maintain her uniform. If she didn't Link with Odo, I could argue that she's (gasp!) wearing real clothes to minimize the strain, but since that isn't the case I got nothing.


In "Civil Defense" it's asked why Bashir couldn't heal Dax's burns. For once the Attempted Explanation was correct: the burns were too severe. In this instance it's not like the burns are from the outside in like phasers, it was inside and outside simultaneously: it's a forcefield! Plus Dax had to pull her hands OUT of the forcefield, inflicting more damage.

Explaining Errors in DS9, Part Four!


There's discussion on the "Defiant" page about the ship being deserted and easily stealable. It's brought up that naval ships never have less than 25 percent of their crew on board. Another flimsy excuse is that the warp core isn't as volatile.



What? Sisko specifically said that the ship is overpowered! Furthermore, as long as there's antimatter existing outside of containment pods on Defiant, you need someone to keep their eyes on the gauges 24/7. This is just ridiculous.


Also from "The Defiant" it's brought up that the warp speed limit is ignored. I'll argue that a way around it happened within a few months and that's why we don't hear about it past a couple TNG mentions. Furthermore, the Defiant might be overpowered for its size, but it's overall warp effect would be much smaller than a Galaxy class (can someone explain why the Defiant is so small again?).


In "Destiny" a comment asks why the replicators had to be specifically set to make Cardassian food. One comment speculates that Cardassian and non-Cardassian food might cross-contaminate in the replicator. Um, what? I would certainly expect the replicator to do a full sterilization after each order as a simple matter of cleanliness.


Also from "Destiny", Bashir treats Morn for food poisoning, but doesn't notice all the latinum Morn keeps in his second stomach. A commenter suggests doctor-patient confidentiality.



It's also wondered why the Cardassian scientists would change from "Terok Nor" to "Deep Space Nine" instead of the Bajoran designation. My immediate reply is to ask why there would be a Bajoran designation in the first place. The government was in upheaval, Kira didn't think it would last more than a few weeks. I doubt the name of the station really mattered that much to them (no wormhole yet means it would be a proverbial truck stop only).


An idiot commenting on "The Die is Cast" seems to think that Odo is not a part of the Bajoran militia. Why wouldn't he be?

It's brought up that Bashir's dad got two years for eugenics but Kasidy only got six months for smuggling. I'm not sure I have an explanation for this one.


For "The Dogs of War" it's asked why the new Defiant would STILL have the NX designation. Of course we all know it's to reuse stock footage, but I have a problem with the Defiant using NX at all. Maybe for the first mission they took it out of mothballs without time to repaint, but by the second appearance it should've been NCC. Of course the second Defiant should've been Defiant-A, but I understand not wanting to alter the CG model so close to the end of the series.

Mathologer tackles shoelace patterns.


Well, if the true purpose of aglets is sinister, then the true purpose of the whole arrangement must be sinister as well, right?

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It


An anime about two science majors attempting to quantify love. It's fun watching these people attempt to do normal relationship stuff while at the same time applying a scientific method that was never meant to tackle an issue like this.



Besides, XKCD answered this question years ago.

Lindsey Stirling does a Beauty and the Beast violin medley.


Am I the only one who hears the first few notes of the DS9 theme at the very beginning?

Tom Scott talks about variations to the "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells" song.


Where I grew up it was always "the Batmobile lost a wheel."


Or in other words, what the Joker sings.

Brock Peters as Soul Power in Static Shock.


You never know where Trek alumni will pop up, so it's Trek Actors in the DCAU Day!


Rene Auberjonois played many roles, probably most notably Kanjar Ro.
Michael Dorn of course was the first voice of Steel and Kalibak.
Kate Mulgrew (with a ridiculous Russian accent!) played Red Claw early in Batman TAS.
David Warner was Ra's Al Ghul

The biggest might be Michael Ansara as Mister Freeze.
Malcolm MacDowell as Metallo, of course.

https://www.mezzacotta.net/itoons/?comic=408

I made a cryptic crossword about the funnies!

EC Henry says that Bajorans and Cardassians are the same species.


His claim is that this particular hybrid is the only cross-species child that we've ever seen that can reproduce without external medical intervention.



For the moment I'll accept that Sarek and Amanda needed external intervention to conceive Spock. Some novels even state that he was a test-tube baby that was later implanted. But let's look at all of the hybrids mentioned in Trek:


Talla the Andorian/Aenar. The Aenar are really a subspecies of Andorian, so this doesn't count and shouldn't really be on the list.


Various Betazoid/Human hybrids. There's no mention of medical intervention, but I suppose it's possible. Betazed sure seems like they've been members of the Federation long enough for any "intervention" to be minor and routine, probably just a hypospray for both parties.


Deanna and Worf's parallel Klingon/Betazoid/Human children. No mention of intervention, but probably likely. Dr. Crusher would have enough experience with both to keep it minimal, I'll bet.


Lwaxana's half-Tavnian son. This one is problematic, because if intervention was required by Tavnian doctors you'd think this whole "if it's a boy you'll have to give him up" thing would've come up sooner. Personally I hated that episode thoroughly.



Seska and Culluh's child. This is a linchpin. Would Seska PRETEND to be taking her shots to create a child with Culluh? Furthermore, would Culluh want a child with a non-Kazon in the first place, instead of simply a concubine who can give him good ideas? For that matter, would the Delta Quadrant races in or near Kazon territory believe in medical intervention to create hybrids? Only the Vidiians seemed to have sufficient medical knowledge to facilitate such hybrids, didn't they?


(Meaningless aside: Kes and Neelix certainly acted like they could create a child without external intervention. If Kes needed medical intervention, I doubt "The Phage" would've provided adequate time to do so. Furthermore, Kes would've done the necessary preparations as soon as Voyager's medical knowledge became available even if she wasn't planning on needing it for a few years.)


Nikolai Roshenko and Dobara's child. Seemingly no intervention. While I suppose Nikolai could've used the tech in his outpost, I doubt it would have full medical technology. Furthermore, slipping her a hypospray while she slept seems like unethical behavior.



Phlox and Cole's children. We don't have enough evidence one way or the other.


Naomi Wildman. It's mentioned that Samantha and Greskrendtregk had been trying for awhile, so intervention seems likely.



Klingon/Human. Intervention needed for full Klingons, none needed for half-Klingons.



Klingon/Romulan. Intervention possible, not enough evidence. Given the length of the Klingon/Romulan alliance in the 23rd century, I imagine the kinks have been worked out and it's just a hypo on both sides.


Klingon/Trill. Intervention needed.


Ocampa/Human. None mentioned, but I'm sure Doc could figure out what's needed.


Romulan/Human. This one's important. I doubt Sela's father (a novel gives his name as Volskiar, FYI)would want to go through the bother of intervention to have a child with a Human concubine, so this one seems natural.


Trill/Human. None mentioned, but I think it would be necessary.

Romulan/Human - Aren't Romulans and Vulcans the same species with about five millenia of separation? So how come so much difference?

I don't know. Perhaps by the 24th century less medical intervention between Vulcanoids and humans is necessary. For that matter, no doubt the notes from Spock's conception proved useful for future couples wishing to emulate Spock's success. It stands to reason that with more Vulcan/human couples out there (may I direct your attention to the novel "The Vulcan Academy Murders" where a human man marries a Vulcan woman) the needed intervention will get more efficient and less invasive.

Ginger Rogers performs Alice in Wonderland.


For some reason, the White Rabbit sounds like Elmer Fudd. That's weird...

Explaining Errors in DS9, Part Five


In the page for "Shakaar" there's a bit of conversation about why the Cardassians left Bajor. One person thinks that Bajor's resources were used up, so it wasn't worthwhile to stay there anymore. In the show they hint that the Detapa Council made the decision in the name of the treaty, which angered the military. The existence of a "Demiltarized Zone" implies that the Cardassian War ended in a stalemate and both sides didn't feel it was worthwhile to continue fighting.



There's confusion about why DS9 isn't orbiting Bajor in the Mirror Universe episodes. Remember that the station was only moved to stake a claim on the wormhole. I hadn't noticed because as I've mentioned elsewhere I don't rewatch DS9 Mirror Universe episodes, they're just depressing.


It's brought up that Mirror Sisko shouldn't exist because the Prophets orchestrated his conception in our universe and wouldn't in the Mirror Universe. A good point.



In "The Ship" there's a Benzite that doesn't use a portable gas emitter. Of course there would be advances in medical technology. Remember that in TNG Benzites only recently started joining Starfleet. It stands to reason that Benzar only joined the Federation recently. Once they joined the full power of Starfleet Medical could be dedicated to eliminating the gas emitter. Perhaps later Benzites have a gas infuser under their uniform that can pump the gas directly into their bloodstream.



Also from "The Ship" the Changeling is able to stay hidden (i.e. shapeshifted into a bulkhead) for well past Odo's established 16 hours, and that's in a wounded state! I would argue that our heroes wouldn't be scanning for something when they have no reason to suspect a Changeling is there. My big question is why it would pretend to be part of the ceiling instead of hiding in some remote part of the ship.


A commenter wonders why it's okay for Bashir to kill Sloan. My response is that Bashir never intended to kill Sloan, he didn't know about the suicide pill. You could also argue that since Section 31 members go through a lot of trouble to avoid the responsibilities of Federation citizens, that they forfeit their rights as well. "I killed Sloan? Who's Sloan? Federation records show that nobody of that name exists, so obviously I killed nobody!" Furthermore, Sloan killed himself, had he cooperated no harm would've come to him (besides imprisonment and a lengthy trial, of course).


In "Empok Nor" someone asks why they didn't scan and detect the Cardassians that were in stasis. Two simple explanations: they didn't expect anyone on board so they didn't check, and the stasis pods were well shielded to block conventional scans.


In "The Seige of AR-558" it's asked why the Defiant was carrying freight. I ask why the Defiant is able to carry freight at all! It's only four decks, where would you find room for a cargo bay? And again I have to ask, WHY is the Defiant so small?


In "Shadows and Symbols" the only explanation offered for Ezri forgetting Verad in her list of the previous hosts is "he was unsanctioned, so it doesn't count." My explanation is "hosts don't count until the buffer period is over and the joining is complete."


In "The Search" Jake mentions that last week they were on Earth taking things out of storage, and now they're on the station. Since when does a few days count as "deep space"? I always had a problem with the entire Federation being traverseable in a few days at high warp. The DS9 Tech Manual states that Bajor is 50.3 light years from the Federation's inner perimeter. Let's define "inner perimeter" as the established core of the Federation, not counting the fringe regions. In the Star Trek Encyclopedia the core of the Federation is 8000 light years across, with fringe regions being 10,000 light years across. At Warp 9 it would therefore take 5 years to go across the inner perimeter.



Cestus III is mentioned to be at the other end of the Federation. It takes eight weeks to travel there, and subspace communications take three months (chalk this up to intervening nebulae that ships can go through but scatter subspace, so you have to relay long-distance comms way out of the way).



Then again, "Valiant" states that it would take three months to travel around the Federation's perimeter. So once again we have a situation where the writers refuse to Do The Math or consult the reference materials. If the 8000 light-year "core" is meant, that's 25150 light-years. Three months at Warp 9.5 is 475 light-years. To do 25150 light-years you'd need over 13 years. Okay, so let's pretend that the perimeter mentioned is an even smaller "inner inner" core which is just the founding members (i.e. the TOS-era Federation). 475 light-year circumference is 150 light-years across. Vulcan is a little over 16 light-years from Earth, FYI.

Michael Johnson performs "Almost Like Being in Love".


I'm sure the style was indicative of its era, but the classic musicals rarely go together with this style for a reason. I'm having trouble pinning a genre onto this version. Seventies jazz?



Gene Kelly, show us how it's done.



Today I discovered the 1966 TV version of Brigadoon featuring Robert Goulet, Peter Falk, and Sally Anne Howes. I've never seen Robert Goulet this young or imagined that Peter Falk would reprise a role made famous by Van Johnson (when he's this young he actually looks more like Gene Kelley, doesn't he?). And Sally Anne Howes' Scottish accent is awful, but then again I don't recall any English actors who can pull it off. Remember that Sean Connery is Welsh, not English.


And of course the Nat King Cole version was used in Groundhog Day.

A Not Always Right story featuring a Star Trek joke.


Read the comments while you're there, the Trekkies have fun with their own jokes.

A Star Trek coronavirus joke.


Enjoy.

A roundup of Frasier/Cheers actors who have cameoed in various Star Trek shows.


The surprise for me is that the episode "Eye of the Beholder" features an Okudagram that mentions the U.S.S. Malone, Clayton, and Peterson.


As a little game, what kind of ships do you think these are?


For example, the Clayton would have to be a cargo ship, right? Cliff is a mailman, after all. Peterson would be some sort of workhorse, as Norm does odd jobs. Possibly it would have a larger than normal computer core, as Norm is an accountant.


Malone is the problem. That name would fit better for a starbase devoted to R&R, wouldn't it? A huge bar/casino, sports fields, holosuites, etc.

Explaining Errors in DS9, Part Six


The question is asked what would happen if the Founders found the adrift Sword of Kahless and sent one of their own to the Klingon Empire posing as Kahless. I reply with 1. Space is really REALLY big, what are the odds that they'll find it? 2. Even if they stumble upon it, it'll just register as as a bit of metal, what are the odds that their sensors are calibrated to identify this unique bat'leth design. 3. Since the Kahless clone is still around, what are the odds that a second one could show up and not be examined down to their cellular level and not be identified as a Changeling?


Odo's regeneration cycle was shortened from 18 hours to 16 hours at some point. Someone proposes that the increase in traffic due to the discovery of the wormhole has created additional pressure on him. Sorry, but no dice. Additional pressure? One imagines that the Occupation was just as stressful as this. Personally I always hated this set time between regenerations. In reality the time would vary with how much Odo changes shape during a given cycle. So it's 18 hours (or whatever) if he stays in default form the entire time and shortens with each shapeshift.



In "Starship Down" it's brought up that food and drink on the bridge of the Defiant is relatively common, given that Geordi told Sonya Gomez that it's a bad idea to have such things on duty. The explanation is that Sisko allowed it to maintain morale. I reply that Geordi was a stick in the mud given that all of the consoles are sealed, the ship is self-cleaning, and you can't expect people to just plain not eat and drink during extended shifts, especially on a warship where people need to be kept at their posts as much as possible.



Also in "Starship Down" systems are down and yet Kira and Sisko can talk to each other. Someone brought up the Universal Translators in their combadges or they could be talking the same language. Of course they could. Sisko learning Bajoran and Kira learning English (oh, my Federation Standard rants are coming back to me) are both plausible. But odds are it's just their combadges. They both have one and both languages are known by the translation circuitry.



IMDB brings up that in "The Sound of Her Voice" Quark pronounces "human" normally instead of "hew-mon." Well, duh. "Hew-mon" was always a mild insult, not a real case of Ferengi not being able to pronounce the word. It would be good for business to have the best Universal Translators in known space.



The Nit Central users brought up inconsistencies with Captain Cusak's uniform. The Olympia left known space a year before TNG started, and yet is wearing a third season TNG uniform. Oops. It's also brought up that Cusak is surprised at hostilities with the Cardassians when Starfleet was still at war with them when she left.


Someone also questions why the barrier timeshifted subspace signals, but not the shuttlepod. Well, duh, it can only timeshift transmissions, not a huge leap.



There's much discussion about imposing human regulations on Klingon traditions in "Sons of Mogh." The question is brought up as to whether or not the rituals could be considered religious in nature, and therefore protected. Yeah, that wouldn't fly. As Sisko said, it's premeditated murder.


A Nitcentral user brings up the question as to whether or not a Klingon house has a set name (Worf still says House of Mogh, not House of Worf), or changes with the name of the present head (we hear of the House of Duras, not the house of his father Ja'rod or his son Toral). This is a whole kettle of fish that could be its own post. The simplest solution is that the members of a given house can choose to change the name with a new generation or not.



For "Sons and Daughters" the question of Alexander's birth date and age was brought up on Nit Central. He was born Stardate 43205 ("The Emissary" is 42901.3 and "Reunion" is 44246.3, so Klingon pregnancies are three months and Alexander was a little over a year old when Worf met him. So either there's some time dilation going on here (which I thought the stardate system was created to avoid) or a lot of people Just Didn't Care.


Also in "Sons and Daughters" Alexander says that it's been five years since he saw Worf, but "Firstborn" was three years ago and it stands to reason that Alexander was on the E-D until it was destroyed, then went back to the Roshenkos. Put this all together, and you have to assume that Klingons mature faster than humans (reasonable) and mix and match Klingon and Federation timekeeping when talking (not reasonable).


The question of what happened to the "puppy" from "The Forsaken" when they blew up the computers prior to the Dominion Occupation comes up. My reply is that O'Brien would've localized the program ages ago for easy transfer, but more likely is that they only blew up the Ops interfaces to spite the Dominion. You can't just turn off all computers on DS9 and expect people to survive more than a day or so on backup systems.


How can Joran see the photo when Ezri is looking away? It's not like Joran is really there and seeing things; he only sees what Ezri sees. The explanation is reasonable, Ezri knows about the photo on a subconscious level and Joran knows what she knows and can point it out.



A Nitcentral user also points out that a transporter cycle takes time, longer than it takes to fire a bullet and have it hit its target at short range. Good point. Chalk this one up to artistic license, but could you imagine "smearing" the transporter beam (as I've discussed elsewhere regarding ship-to-ship transport) with these kinds of distances and time intervals?


It's pointed out on Nitcentral that Grilka should've been tossed out of her house when Quark lost his license. Good point, but given her personal wealth she probably bribed some officials to look the other way.


A Nitcentral user had many comments about the inconsistencies in "Far Beyond the Stars." I'll have to link you to it, it's too long to even summarize here.



Supposedly Guinan wrote some stuff back in the "Time's Arrow" days, so someone wondered why she wasn't mentioned as a notable African American writer in "Far Beyond the Stars". Simple solution: Sisko didn't know about it, and this "world" isn't the real thing, it's based on his knowledge.


Someone else wondered why Bashir's skin color wasn't a problem for a photo of the staff, given that he's (Asian) Indian. I'm not sure being that's on the same level as Africans or women in that time period. But then again, this is a Sisko illusion and not the real thing, he probably doesn't think of Indian prejudice at all. Then of course we have the question as to whether or not Bashir's race would be noticed in a black-and-white photo?

Explaining Errors in DS9, Part Seven


Someone on Nit Central wonders why the Orion Syndicate in "Honor Among Thieves" doesn't have a single Orion in it. A good point, probably someone didn't want to pay for the green makeup if it wasn't required.



For "Tacking into the Wind" someone on Nit Central wonders about Kira being credited as Colonel instead of Commander. I don't have a problem, even beyond the They Just Didn't Care joke. Kira is still a Colonel, it's not like she resigned from the Bajoran Militia. My problem is her being a Commander and not a Captain.


Bashir says that Section 31 has been in existence for 300 years, a problem since the Federation has only been in existence for 200 years. I don't have a problem, just because it was in the Federation charter doesn't mean that it couldn't have existed since the day after First Contact. Plus Sloan is hardly the most reliable source of information.


A Nit Central commenter wonders why it's okay with Sisko for Worf to kill Gowron, but it's not okay with Picard for Worf to kill Duras. There's a whole discussion to be had here, enough for a few posts by itself. Let's keep it simple and say that Picard wasn't as familiar with Klingon customs as he thinks he was.


For "The Homecoming" it's mentioned several times that runabouts can only beam two people at a time (with a dedicated transporter pad at that!) yet in TNG three or more have been beamed at a time from smaller shuttles (without a dedicated pad, so it's a site-to-site transport at that!). I'm not sure I have an explanation for this one.


For "Hippocratic Oath" there's question about Worf's statement that he was in Security for seven years, when it should be eight (seven seasons plus Generations, which was at least six months after the series). A Nit Central member points out correctly that Worf wasn't in Security for the first season, he was a general bridge officer.


In "The Maquis" Kira expresses support for the Maquis, yet in "Heart of Stone" she's against them. The explanation is that Odo would tell Sisko if she supported them. My answer is that she might support the Maquis' ideals and initial methods, but there's been enough time since for them to get too violent and criminal for her. Plus there's been her character arc of being softened and more Federation-compatible.

Explaining Errors in DS9, Part Eight


A Nitcentral user complains about Sloan's "death" in "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges" looking like a progressive phaser death and not a transporter effect. I don't have a problem with this one. Sloan would be ready with a holoemitter or something to make his "death" look like whatever he wants.


Bashir and Sloane take off their commbadges for an "off the record" conversation. Does this mean that the badges record everything as long as they're on a uniform? Disturbing implications. I prefer the explanation that this was merely symbolic, i.e. for the next few minutes they aren't Starfleet officers.



A Nitcentral user complains about Quark's illegal actions in "Invasive Procedures" not resulting in an arrest. The site claims that Starfleet has no juristiction over non-Federation civilians. I answer that even if Starfleet doesn't (a discussion for another time), ODO does!


There's a question about why Al Lorenzo would need to borrow Sisko's desk, can't he just make it in the holodeck? I answer that it's the same reason why we still value natural gems above lab-created ones: we prefer things to be real.


One Nit Central idiot wonders why Voyager can make the Delta Flyer out of spare parts, but O'Brien can't replicate a graviton stabilizer. I agree with the proposed explanation: the way the stabilizer was built. It's been well established that Cardassian tech is a lot harder to replicate than Starfleet tech. Plus we have no clue has to how large or complicated the stabilizer is, nor what rare materials are part of it's construction. The real question is how Empok Nor still has gravity in future episodes after its stabilizer has been removed.


IMDB brings up the fact that Worf should recognize Scotty in "Trials and Tribble-ations." My answer is that Worf wasn't really paying attention and Scotty looks quite different from what he remembers anyway.


A Nit Central user has a problem with O'Brien not being able to recognize Kirk on sight. I agree.



There's an issue with Worf referring to Darvin as "Darvin" without mentioning his original Klingon name (FYI, it's Gralmek). My issue is that people are acting like "Darvin" was an invented identity when he was actually murdered and replaced.


There are many complaints across various episodes about Odo being carried in shapeshifted form without strain from the carrier. I'd prefer the "simpler" explanation that shapeshifters can move mass in and out of another dimension when needed.


A Nit Central user complains about Miles and Keiko not having a vacation in five years when they've only been married for four. I answer that we have no idea when they met or how long they were dating beforehand. Alexander brings in the theory that 1 TNG season=/=1 year, but that opens another kettle of fish. Let's just say that Miles and Keiko had a vacation when they were dating.


Miles doesn't know any Maquis, what about Ro? The explanation is fair enough, he hasn't heard about Ro yet. "Tribunal" is stardate 47944.2, "Preemptive Strike" is stardate 47941.7 (that's when Ro returned to the Enterprise, she wouldn't defect for a few days or weeks). Maybe she hasn't even defected yet when he made the statement, and even when she does he couldn't be expected to hear about it same day, he probably heard about it from a message from Geordi days after THAT.


If Worf grew up in Russia, why would he say Soccer and not Football? We have no idea what four hundred years of history will do to those terms, do we? Maybe American Football finally conquered the world as a side effect of World War III!


There's debate as to whether or not Kiras rank of Colonel in the Bajoran Militia would translate as Commander in Starfleet. Especially comparing Army/Air Force/Marine ranks to Navy ranks (you'll recall me discussing something like this in regard to Number One being a Lieutenant in "The Cage" as being a UESPA rank which is Army based, not Navy based). Personally, I think Kira should've been given the field commission of Captain for the mission, she's sure earned it.



The question is brought up as to how it took so long for Odo to develop symptoms of the disease but other Founders are striken pretty quickly. I reply that he spent almost a year as a human which would keep it in stasis, plus he probably stays humanoid most days instead of a puddle in the Great Link. Plus you could argue that in the Great Link the disease could mutate rapidly as the Founders "reinfect" each other, which wouldn't affect Odo.


There are many comments for "What You Leave Behind" featuring memory clips of holographic doppelgangers of the main cast, which the real version wouldn't remember.


The question is raised about why Starfleet wouldn't send a replacement for Sisko as station commander after his disappearance. I don't have a problem with this, Kira's proven she can handle the job. My problem is the station and the Defiant having the same senior staff, but I've covered this elsewhere (and FYI, if Worf left Starfleet who's commanding the Defiant now?)


In "The Way of the Warrior" is brought up again how Klingons suddenly have red blood instead of pink blood as seen in STVI. It suddenly occurs to me that maybe Klingon blood has the interesting property of changing chemical composition in a zero-g environment. That is, unless you're floating around your blood is as red as any human's.



Another Nit Central user pointed out the distances to Cestus III issue. I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice that.


That's it for DS9, tune in soon for VOY!

Star Trek: Lower Decks trailer


So...yeah...that's something that's going to happen...


Is it weird that my biggest pet peeve is that everything in the setting is screaming TNG, but nobody is actually wearing a TNG era uniform? What was wrong with actually using TNG uniforms?

Grant Imahara died yesterday at the age of 49.



Well, that's a bummer.

Heinz is making ice cream based on condiments.



It's sad that this isn't even the weirdest thing to happen this month...

To benefit charity a bunch of celebrities are making home movie versions of scenes from The Princess Bride.



A few scenes are on YouTube, but they want you to download Quibi on the App Store or Google Play to watch it. As usual, two weeks free before they want you to pay. Of course I'll just watch the Princess Bride and then ditch it if possible, but if they want credit card information up front then the whole thing is off. Please stand by.

The Herbie theme pushed in a more Latin direction...

Ten secrets of the original Enterprise.


I actually knew about these things, but I hadn't thought of the slightly rotated bridge in many many years.

The Pink Panther theme reworked into major key.


Impressive work, but it just seems off somehow.

Food Theory tackles the perennial question: how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?


(Full original commercial, the short version remade in CGI, the classic "The World Looks Mighty Good to Me" Tootsie Roll commercial just 'cause)



(PNQ: Why is Mr. Fox a Peter Lorre impersonation, and what does Peter Lorre have to do with sunglasses?)


To me the big problem is that you need to define "lick" and "get to the center", particularly the latter. A lot of people treat the problem as "remove ALL the hard candy around the Tootsie Roll center" when that's not needed to "get to the center", you really only need to lick one spot until you touch Tootsie Roll candy.


(FYI, I hate Tootsie Pops. Chocolate/caramel/etc. candy and fruit candy should never ever be combined. It's madness.)

A compilation of every "Make it So" in TNG.


The words really start to blur after awhile, don't they?


I want to relate a bit from the novel "I, Q." Q reflects on Picard's use of those words. He likes it because Picard is unconsciously declaring "rearrange the universe to suit my desires."

A compilation of people wishing good morning to Captain Kangaroo.


Wait for the William Shatner entry, looking very seventies.


I still miss Captain Kangaroo. Today's kid's shows just can't compare.