Link Thread

[Nate the Great]

I wasn't expecting to see a Star Trek joke in a Not Always Right entry today...

[Nate the Great]

Star Rekt is best known for his habit taking real music videos and changing the lyrics to Trek themes.


Well, today he did something different. He listed some times when it would be irresponsible and terrifying for children to be on board the E-D.


Of all of the examples listed my only problem is with "Disaster", that's not the fault of anyone on board, it was a random quantum filament that could've happened anywhere at any time without warning (and I'm pretty sure the thing could've happened to a planet just as well as a ship).


It does make you wonder how the assignments would be different if the E-D really was going on a long-term exploratory mission outside the Federation. For example, it wouldn't be the glorified taxi that it often was, so there'd be a smaller ratio of visits by hostile aliens.

[Nate the Great]

This year's episode of "Matt Parker uses the occasion of Pi Day to find increasingly silly ways of calculating pi" features a cameo by 3blue1brown. I've never seen this guy before!


The idea of using collisions between objects of differing masses to calculate pi never occurred to me, but I find it exceedingly silly. There's no such thing as a material that will create a perfectly elastic collision, nor is there a way to ensure the objects stay on the same linear path without physical constraints that will cause excessive energy loss via secondary collisions and friction.


I'm reminded of the time the Mythbusters tried to create a Newton's Cradle with wrecking balls.

[Nate the Great]

Old TOS novel cover art: Harry Mudd


Just in case you've never seen Mario cosplaying as a pirate and hitting on adult Powerpuff Girls. Hehe.

[Nate the Great]

Just when I think I know everything about Ocarina of Time...


The amazing part to me was learning that the Poe Sisters were named after the Little Women because one of the creators liked the 1994 movie.

[Nate the Great]

John Cleese in a British radio show parodying TOS


Funny of course, but I can't help but feel that there's too much material dedicated to "we're doing a parody of Star Trek" and not enough material dedicated to actually being a parody of Star Trek.

[Nate the Great]

Certifiably Ingame tackles what it means to be the flagship of the fleet.


The biggest thing that occurs to me is "why are we sending the flagship out past the known Federation for a years-long mission of exploration?"



I mean, really. And this doesn't even apply to just the E-D, but the 1701 as well. Kirk's ship seldom hung around the core of the Federation.



Then again, Trek never really used the term "flagship" correctly. It's supposed to mean the lead ship of a fleet, the one that figuratively flew the admiral's flag. The only time that I recall the Enterprise even serving as the key member of a fleet, admiral or no admiral, is First Contact. Even the Battle of Wolf 359 had the flagship be the Melbourne under Admiral Hansen.


In a loser sense a "flagship" could also mean simply the most advanced or important ship in the general fleet, which would fit the Enterprise, except when it doesn't. Sure the refit 1701 was the most advanced for a time, but they were quickly supplanted by the Excelsior class. I even think that the Galaxy class didn't hold the title very long after the Borg invasion.